U.S. patent application number 12/704650 was filed with the patent office on 2010-06-10 for dispensing closure with removable membrane.
This patent application is currently assigned to PORTOLA PACKAGING, INC.. Invention is credited to Richard D. Lohrman.
Application Number | 20100140268 12/704650 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44368114 |
Filed Date | 2010-06-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100140268 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lohrman; Richard D. |
June 10, 2010 |
DISPENSING CLOSURE WITH REMOVABLE MEMBRANE
Abstract
In an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a closure
for a container having a container opening. The closure includes
lower and upper separable component closure pieces secured to one
another. The lower component includes a removable membrane that may
be removed by the opening of a top contained in the upper
component. The top is further permitted to be removed from the
closure without detaching the lower component from the
container.
Inventors: |
Lohrman; Richard D.;
(Aurora, IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JAMES P. HANRATH
191 NORTH WACKER DRIVE, SUITE 1800
CHICAGO
IL
60606
US
|
Assignee: |
PORTOLA PACKAGING, INC.
Batavia
IL
|
Family ID: |
44368114 |
Appl. No.: |
12/704650 |
Filed: |
February 12, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11929160 |
Oct 30, 2007 |
|
|
|
12704650 |
|
|
|
|
11929009 |
Oct 30, 2007 |
|
|
|
11929160 |
|
|
|
|
11610217 |
Dec 13, 2006 |
|
|
|
11929160 |
|
|
|
|
11610217 |
Dec 13, 2006 |
|
|
|
11929009 |
|
|
|
|
10854925 |
May 26, 2004 |
|
|
|
11610217 |
|
|
|
|
60473847 |
May 27, 2003 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/270 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 47/36 20130101;
B65D 47/103 20130101; B65D 47/0838 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/270 |
International
Class: |
B65D 17/34 20060101
B65D017/34 |
Claims
1. A closure for a container having a container opening, said
closure comprising: lower and upper component closure pieces
secured to one another, wherein, the lower component closure piece
includes: a base body having (a) internal engaging structure
adapted for engaging retention with said container adjacent said
container opening, (b) a removable membrane joined to a top portion
of the base body through a frangible line of weakness, said
membrane sealing an area of said base body adjacent said container
opening and defining an orifice through which contents of said
container may be dispensed when said membrane is removed, and (c)
an upwardly extending annular top having a first attachment means
positioned on an external surface thereof; and the upper component
closure piece includes: a lid body having (a) a top having a
downwardly depending outer skirt, said top being interconnected to
a downwardly extending lid skirt through a hinge structure allowing
movement of the top between closed and opened positions, (b) a
second attachment means positioned on an internal surface of the
lid skirt adapted to engage the first attachment means on the base
body such that when the first and second attachment means are
engaged the lower and upper separable component closure pieces are
secured to one another, (c) an annular ring disposed inward of said
outer skirt, the annular ring having an exterior wall surface
adapted to engage an internal surface of said base body annular top
when the upper component closure piece is secured to the lower
component closure piece, and (d) an inner skirt downwardly
depending from an inside surface of said top adapted to engage a
portion of an interior wall surface of said annular ring when the
top is in the closed position, and said lid body further having at
least one line of weakness extending from a point vicinal a lower
edge of said lid skirt to said hinge structure such that a pulling
force applied to said top will be transmitted to said line of
weakness of said lid skirt to cause material separation thereof and
enable removal of said top from said container.
2. The closure of claim 1, wherein said internal engaging structure
of said base body provides a permanent attachment of the lower
component closure piece to the container.
3. The closure of claim 1, wherein said lid body further comprises
a tab depending downward from said lid skirt and extending a
distance below said base body.
4. The closure of claim 3, wherein said distance below said base
body is from 0.1 inch to 1.0 inch.
5. The closure of claim 4, wherein said distance below the base
skirt is of the order 0.25 inches.
6. The closure of claim 1, wherein when the top is in an open
position the annular ring defines an opening, said opening being
sized to permit removal of said removable membrane without
separation of said upper component closure piece from said lower
component closure piece.
7. The closure of claim 1 further comprising gripping structure
attached to said membrane to allow facile removal of said
membrane.
8. The closure of claim 8, wherein said gripping structure
comprises a pull-ring attached to said membrane at a position
vicinal an inner edge of said frangible line.
9. The closure of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of said lid
body comprises a material different from a material forming at
least a portion of said base body.
10. The closure of claim 8, wherein the hinge structure of said lid
body is made of polypropylene and the removable membrane of said
base body is made of polyethylene.
11. The closure of claim 1 further comprising a pour lip extending
upward from an inner circumference of said annular top.
12. The closure of claim 11 wherein said pour lip has a generally
arcuate form when viewed from above the closure and extends
approximately 180 degrees around the inner circumference of said
annular top.
13. The closure of claim 11 wherein said pour lip has a top surface
which reaches a maximum height above said annular top at a point
approximately 180 degrees from said hinge structure of said base
body.
14. The closure of claim 13 wherein said top surface of said pour
lip is tapered downward and inward and merges with said interior
wall surface of said annular ring.
15. The closure of claim 1, wherein said at least a portion of said
lid body has a different color than at least a portion of said base
body.
16. The closure of claim 1, wherein said first and second
attachment means are complementary snap fitting threads providing a
snap fit engagement of the lid body and base body.
17. The closure of claim 1, wherein said first and second
attachment means are complementary screw threads providing a screw
engagement of the lid body and base body.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation in part of U.S.
Application Ser. Nos 11/929,160 and 11/929,009, both filed Oct. 30,
2007 and both pending, which are continuation in part of U.S.
application Ser. No. 11/610,217, filed Dec. 13, 2006 and pending,
which is a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No.
10/854,925, filed May 26, 2004 and pending, which claims priority
to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/473,847 filed May 27,
2003. The entire contents of the above identified applications are
herein incorporated in their entirety by this reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Over the past few decades removable membranes have become
ubiquitous in packaging to achieve a combination of consumer
convenience and protection of product integrity prior to use. These
removable membranes serve as a primary seal prior to initial
removal. Moreover, their removal on initial package opening serves
as a tamper evidencing indication.
[0003] The removable membrane closure systems are often accompanied
by an additional closure which serves primarily as a dust cover
prior to initial opening and as a reclosure cap after opening and
the removable membrane is removed. In normal use, the additional
closure is removed on initial opening to access the removable
membrane. After removing the removable membrane to access the
contents, the package is reclosed with the additional closure to
create a multiple use package.
[0004] One form of removable membrane comprises a foil that is heat
sealed to the upper lip of a container after filling with contents.
The foil membrane is removed, by simply pulling off wherein the
heat sealed joint is ruptured. Another form of removable membrane
comprises a monolithic plastic structure wherein a thin plastic
membrane is joined to a primary closure body through a frangible
score line. In this case the package is initially opened by tearing
out the removable membrane along the frangible line.
[0005] Prior art membrane closures have often employed multiple
components to achieve the desired functional benefits. A first
component is the foil itself or a membrane frangibly attached to
structure suitable for attachment to the container. The second
component is normally the above mentioned reclosure cap. Typical
examples of such a prior art membrane closure systems are taught in
U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,184 and U.S. patent application Ser. No.
11/929,009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by
reference.
[0006] In the case of heat sealed foil membranes, additional
filling line complexity results from the necessity to heat seal the
foil after filling the container. In addition, removal of the foil
on initial opening often remains an inconvenience. The heat sealed
foil most often has very little accessible surface to grab, and the
strength of the heat sealed bond can vary and often be very strong.
These factors often make it necessary to puncture the foil with a
sharp instrument before manual removal. This can be messy and even
hazardous.
[0007] Plastic membranes are not so limited, since they are
manufactured with pull tabs which facilitate initial membrane
removal. However, the plastic membranes are supported and frangibly
joined to additional structure suitable for engagement to the
container. Should this attachment structure be readily disengaged
without a tampering indication, the tamper evident aspect of the
membrane removal could be circumvented. Thus the attachment is
often designed to be at least semi-permanent so that the only
access to the contents is to remove the membrane. However,
semi-permanent or permanent attachment to the container can lead to
mixed material recycling streams which complicates recycling
efforts.
[0008] Municipalities are becoming increasingly sensitive to mixed
material contamination of recycling streams. Of particular interest
is the presence of colored closures accompanying clear or natural
plastic containers. Here the colorant in the closure may adversely
affect the natural color of the recyclate. Of even more
significance is the incompatibility which may result from mixing
different materials. For example, small amounts of polyolefin
closures may adversely affect the properties of PET container
recycling streams. Therefore, municipalities are increasingly
advising residents to completely remove and discard closures prior
to discarding containers into recycle bins.
[0009] One such effort to facilitate complete removal of the
closure from the container is taught in PCT/US09/58029 filed Sep.
23, 2009 which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.
No. 61/179,569, filed May 19, 2009. The entire contents of
PCT/US09/58029 are herein incorporated in their entirety by this
reference. In that application, a single piece closure was taught
having a hinged top member monolithically attached to a base
comprising a pull-out membrane. Upon package exhaustion, the entire
closure may be removed by pulling on the top member to sever
frangible lines extending from the top through the skirt portion of
the base.
[0010] While effectively addressing the recycling issue, the single
piece, monolithically formed closure of PCT/US09/58029 anticipates
both the frangible membrane structure and the hinge structure to be
formed from the same material, normally low density polyethylene,
to achieve facile tearing of the frangible lines. Unfortunately,
low density polyethylene is inadequate in forming the best, robust
snap hinges favored by consumers.
[0011] A further problem that must be addressed with the single
piece design is that when pulling on the lid to sever the tear
lines extending through the base skirt, an upward force is
preferentially directed at a defined, fractional portion of the
skirt's circumference. It has been found that in some cases this
localized force is sufficient to overcome the gripping force of the
tamper evident structure retaining the closure to the container.
This raises concerns about the tamper evidencing of the package
design and forces increased structure to resist the localized
force.
[0012] Thus there remains a need for continued improvements in the
technology of producing a closure offering the convenience of a
removable plastic membrane removal yet not contributing to
recycling problems associated with mixed material.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0013] The instant invention solves the stated problems associated
with prior art removable membrane closure systems by offering a
structure wherein the membrane can be initially removed without
removal of the main body of the closure from the container.
[0014] A further object of the invention is to permit facile
removal of a portion of the closure structure from the container
after exhausting its contents such that the container recycling
stream is not negatively impacted by mixed or colored
materials.
[0015] A further object of the invention is to teach a closure
design which combines the convenience of a hinged top closure with
the convenience of an initial plastic pull-out membrane seal.
[0016] Other objects of the invention will become clear in light of
the following specification and drawing embodiments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0017] In an embodiment of the invention, the two piece arrangement
allows a hinge structure to be made of polypropylene, the preferred
material to make a strong, robust living hinge, and at the same
time allows making a frangible tear out membrane from polyethylene,
the preferred material for a tearable membrane.
[0018] In an embodiment, the two piece arrangement requires no tear
lines depending downward from the hinge. From a recycling
standpoint, the colored, hinged overcap is easily removed after use
and discarded. The natural polyethylene base can stay with the
bottle as it is compatible in color and material with the container
recycling stream. Bottles are generally made of clear material, and
often from polyethylene or other clear olefin. With a PET container
recyclate, the small amount of clear polyethylene may not be a
serious contaminant to the recycling stream. To remove the upper
polypropylene cover, one just pulls up on the lid and the top
"snaps off". The top is not vigorously attached to the base so this
removal is easy.
[0019] In an embodiment, the base of the two-piece closure can be
made very robust to vigorously grip the bottle, since it does not
have to be removed. Indeed, the two piece embodiment may even be
"permanently" attached such as with an adhesive.
[0020] Numerous other advantages and features of the invention will
become readily apparent from the following detailed description of
the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims, and
from the accompanying drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0021] A fuller understanding of the foregoing may be had by
reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0022] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a two-piece
component dispensing closure in accordance with one embodiment of
the invention;
[0023] FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the dispensing closure
of FIG. 1 shown assembled with a top lid in the opened
position;
[0024] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the dispensing closure of
FIG. 1 shown assembled with the top lid in the closed position;
[0025] FIG. 4 is a side view of the dispensing closure of FIG. 1
shown assembled;
[0026] FIG. 5 is a back view of the dispensing closure of FIG. 1
shown assembled; and
[0027] FIG. 6 is a side view of the dispensing closure of FIG. 1
shown assembled with the top lid in the opened position;
[0028] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the of the dispensing
closure of FIG. 1 shown with the top lid in the opened
position;
[0029] FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a two-piece
component dispensing closure in accordance with one embodiment of
the invention; and
[0030] FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the dispensing closure
of FIG. 8 shown assembled with a top lid in the opened
position.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0031] While the invention is susceptible to embodiments in many
different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will be
described herein, in detail, the preferred embodiments of the
present invention. It should be understood, however, that the
present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the
principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the spirit
or scope of the invention and/or claims of the embodiments
illustrated.
[0032] Description of Closure Structure
[0033] The various features of the instant invention will now be
described in conjunction with the embodiments depicted in FIGS. 1
through 7.
[0034] Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, there is shown a closure of the
invention generally indicated by numeral 10. Closure 10 comprises a
top lid part 14 and a separate base body part 16. Lid part 14 is
attached to base part 16 using suitable attachment means, such as
snap fitting threads 70/72 or screw threads 138/170 well known in
the art.
[0035] Lid part 14 comprises a top 11 interconnected to an annular
skirt portion 12 through a hinge structure 18, the top being
moveable through open and closed positions via the hinge structure.
Hinges 18 are best seen in FIG. 5. In the FIG. 5 embodiment, the
hinges depicted can be described by the well known characterization
of "butterfly" hinges. Other forms of hinge structure may be
appropriate for the invention, The hinge structure need not be
integrally formed. For example, the top 11 and the annular skirt
portion 12 may be separately molded pieces joined via a "ball and
socket" type hinge structure. Hinge structure joining a top
moveable relative to stationary skirt is well established in the
closure art. As shown in FIG. 1, the snap fitting thread 72 on the
base part is an annular thread which does not circumvent the entire
side periphery of annular top 40, thus leaving a channel 76 defined
between a pair of flanges 78 forming the boundary of the annular
thread 70. The channel 76 is further defined to accommodate for the
internal portion of the hinge structure 18, especially when the
hinge structure 18 is bending or flexing during movement and
internal clearance is needed.
[0036] FIGS. 2, 6 and 7 depict the top 11 in the "open" position.
The moveable top 11 comprises a disk-like portion 13 having an
inside surface 42. An outer skirt 30 depends from surface 42. Outer
skirt 30 is dimensioned to cover part of skirt portion 12 when the
top is in its closed position. A pattern of ribs or knurls projects
from the outside surface of outer skirt 30 to facilitate a
consumer's grip on the top 11. In addition, an inner skirt 34
having an outer surface 36 depends from surface 42.
[0037] Annular skirt portion 12 of lid part 14 has an upper
peripheral edge 15 from which a generally flat annular ring 19
extends radially inward. The inner circumference of annular ring 19
defines an orifice through which contents may be dispensed when the
closure is in use. A substantially vertical wall 35 depends
downward from the inner circumference of annular ring 19. As will
be explained below, wall 35 is molded seamlessly and forms a
sealing surface mating with surface 36 of skirt 34 when moveable
top 11 is in its closed position. In order to assist dispensing of
liquid contents, a pour lip 31 extends upward from the inner
circumference of annular ring 19. Pour lip 31 has a generally
arcuate form when viewed from above the closure and extends
approximately 180 degrees around the inner circumference of annular
ring 19. As seen in FIGS. 2, 6 and 7 pour lip 31 has a top surface
32 which reaches a maximum height above annular ring 19 at a point
approximately 180 degrees from the back of the closure base. The
function of the pour lip 31 is to avoid dribble of liquid contents
down the side of the closure or onto the container when fluid is
dispensed, especially from a freshly opened, full container. The
top surface 32 of pour lip 31 is tapered downward/inward as shown
and merges with vertical wall 35.
[0038] Continued reference to the figures shows a tab 69 depending
from and extending downward from the lower edge of annular skirt
12. Tab 69 extends downward to a position below the lower edge of
base body 16. Tab 69 is not attached to the base body 16. Tab 69
extends below the lower edge of base body 16 a distance sufficient
to allow the extending portion to function as a closure orienting
structure as explained further below. Typically, the extension of
the tab below the lower edge of body 16 is from 0.1 inch to 1.0
inch and of the order 0.25 inch (i.e. 0.1 inch, 0.25 inch, 0.5
inch, 1.0 inch).
[0039] The structural aspects of the base body portion 16 are
illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 7. The base body portion comprises a
skirt portion 22 depending from an annular top 40. The annular top
40 extends radially inward, terminating at an inner top perimeter
42 and extending downwardly defining an inner wall 45 and orifice
44 there-between. When the lid part is secured onto the base body,
the inner wall 45 engages wall 35 of the lid part. Prior to initial
opening, the orifice 44 is closed by a membrane 46 connected to the
inner top perimeter through a frangible line of weakness 48.
Further, a pull ring 38 (or other alternative gripping structure
such as a pull tab) is attached to the membrane 46. Force applied
to the pull ring causes the line of weakness to rupture, allowing
removal of the membrane to dispense the contents of the package. It
is noted that in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 through 7, the
effective diameter associated with the frangible line is less than
that of vertical wall 35. This arrangement permits facile removal
of the membrane without need to remove top lid part 14.
[0040] The base body 16 also comprises suitable container engaging
structure (not shown) positioned on the interior of skirt 22 to
achieve attachment of the closure to complimentary structure on the
exterior of a container neck Container engaging structures are
taught in the parent applications incorporated by reference.
Alternatively, well known structure such as screw threads or
adhesives may be employed to achieve attachment in certain
applications. It is noted that in preferred embodiments the base
body member need not ever be removed from the container by the
consumer. Thus, the attachment may be very robust and characterized
as "permanent" (i.e. difficult to separate without extra-ordinary
effort). Thus, a "permanent" attachment is one designed to prevent
component separation during normal use of the product.
[0041] Closure Manufacture
[0042] The closure 10 is normally manufactured as two parts. A
first part is the lid part 14. This part may be manufactured using
well established injection molding. One may use polypropylene which
is often the most suitable material for producing parts
incorporating the living hinge structures envisioned.
[0043] A second part is the base body 16. This part may be formed
using techniques such as injection or compression molding. A
preferred material for forming the base body 16 is polyethylene,
since this material has mechanical properties eminently suitable
for creating a tear out membrane having a frangible tear line. The
base body 16 may preferably be formed from "natural" material (i.e.
no colorant) since it is envisioned that its removal would be
unnecessary for proper recycling.
[0044] The final closure is created by combining the two separate
pieces together. This joining may be achieved in a number of ways.
One preferred method is to incorporate complimentary structure on
each part to allow a snap combination.
[0045] Closure Application to Container
[0046] Containers may incorporate a structural feature which allows
them to be oriented relative to a stream of closures. Such features
include handles, exterior geometries or "spotting" indentations
positioned on the bottom of the container. In the case of the
instant invention, the tab 69 also may serve as an orientation
feature for the closure relative to the bottle. This is
accomplished by having the portion of tab 69 extending below the
lower edge of skirt 22 of base body part 16 be positioned in a slot
extending in the length dimension of a closure feed chute. As the
oriented container passes by the closure feed chute, the container
and closure are both oriented relative to each other. In a
preferred application method, a simple snap-on application of the
closure to the bottle maintains this desired relative orientation.
It is noted however that other application approaches, such as
screw on application, may be employed using other suitable
orientation techniques. In this way the moveable top 11 and pour
lip 31 have a desirable orientation relative to a container feature
such as a handle.
[0047] Consumer Use
[0048] In use, the filled container with closure 10 applied is
distributed and used as follows. Upon purchase, the integrity of
the package is ensured by the presence of the tear out membrane and
the fact that the base body part 16 can be robustly attached to the
container in that it does not have to ever be removed. These
aspects provide excellent tamper evidencing. When the consumer
first opens the package, he maneuvers the top portion 11 to the
open position to expose pull ring 38. He then pulls on ring 38 to
remove the membrane which initially closed the dispensing orifice.
The consumer then dispenses the desired amount of product and is
then able to reseal the package by moving the top portion to its
closed position. In the closed position, the outer surface 36 of
inner skirt 34 forms a seal with vertical wall 35.
[0049] The dispensing process is repeated until the contents of the
package are exhausted. At that point the package is prepared for
recycling. The consumer first removes the lid part 14 which may be
colored and comprise a material having contaminant characteristics
relative to the major recycling product stream. In a preferred
embodiment, the lid part 14 may be removed by simply pulling up on
either the top 11 or the tab 69 breaking frangible line(s) 80
extending from a point vicinal a lower edge of the lid skirt to
about the hinge structure such that a pulling force applied to the
top or tab will be transmitted to the line of weakness of the lid
skirt to cause material separation thereof and enable removal of
the top from the container. This removal is especially appropriate
when the lid part 14 is attached to the base body part 16 through a
snap fitting. The base body part 16 is robustly attached to the
container itself, but need not be removed since it comprises
material compatible with the recycling material stream.
Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment the base body part 16 is
formed of natural material (no colorant) and therefore does not
contribute a contaminating color to the recycling stream.
[0050] Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, in one embodiment of the
invention there is provided a closure 100 for a container (not
shown) having a container opening. The closure 100 includes a lower
separable component closure piece 110 and an upper separable
component closure piece 150, which are secured to one another via
an attachment means 105.
[0051] The lower component closure piece 110 includes a base body
112 having internal engaging structure 114 adapted for engaging
retention with the container adjacent the container opening. The
base body 112 has a base top portion 116 and a base skirt 118
depending from a peripheral edge 120 of the base top portion 116. A
removable membrane 122 is joined to a section 124 of the top
portion 116 through a frangible line of weakness 126. The membrane
122 seals an area of the base body 112 adjacent the container
opening and defines an orifice 130 through which contents of the
container may be dispensed when the membrane 122 is removed.
Removal of the membrane 122 is achieved by providing a gripping
structure 144 such as a pull-ring attached to the membrane 122 at a
position vicinal the inner edge of the frangible line 126.
[0052] The base body 112 further has an annular top 132 extending
upwardly from the base top portion 116 and enclosing the orifice
130 therethrough. The annular top 132 has a first attachment means
134 (which is part of the attachment means 105) positioned on an
external surface 136 thereof. The first attachment means 134 may in
some instances be defined as a screw thread 138 extending outwardly
from the outer periphery of the annular top 132. The thread 138
does not circumvent the entire annular top 132, thus leaving a
channel 140 defined between a pair of flanges 142 which start the
thread 138. The flanges 142 and channel 140 aid in the automatic
machine securing of the lower separable component closure piece 110
to the upper separable component closure piece 150.
[0053] The upper component closure piece 150 is defined to include
a lid body 152 having a top 154 attached to a lid skirt 156 through
a hinge structure 158 allowing movement of the top 154 between
closed and opened positions. The lid skirt 156 depends from an
upper top portion 160 that extends inwardly to an inner skirt 162
that depends from an inside perimeter edge 164. The inner skirt 162
is adapted to engage an internal surface 146 of the annular ring
136 when the upper component closure piece 150 is secured to the
lower component closure piece 110.
[0054] The lid body 152 includes an inner top skirt 166 defining an
inner surface that engages the inner skirt 162 when the top 154 is
in the closed position. The lid body 152 further has a second
attachment means, such as a screw thread, 170 positioned on an
internal surface of the lid skirt 156 and adapted to engage the
first attachment means 138 on the base body 112 such that when the
first and second attachment means are engaged the lower and upper
separable component closure pieces 110 and 150 are secured to one
another. And the lid body 152 further has the lid skirt 156 being
formed with at least one line of weakness 172 extending from a
point vicinal a lower edge of the lid skirt 156 to said hinge
structure 158 such that a pulling force applied to the top 154 will
be transmitted to the line of weakness 172 of the lid skirt to
cause material separation thereof and enable removal of the top 154
from the container.
[0055] In other aspects of the embodiment, the removable membrane
122 is removable without removal of the upper component closure
piece 150 from engaging retention with the lower component closure
piece 110. In yet other aspects, the lid body 152 further comprises
a tab 180 depending downward from the lid skirt 156 below the hinge
structure 158 and extending a distance below the base skirt 118.
The distance below the base skirt is of the order 0.25 inches. In
other aspects of the embodiment, the base body 112 or at least a
portion of the base body is made from a material different from a
material forming the lid body 152 or at least a portion of the lid
body. And yet in other aspects of the embodiment, the lid body 152
or at least a portion of the lid body has a different color than
the base body 112 or at least a portion of the base body.
[0056] From the foregoing and as mentioned above, it will be
observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected
without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concept of
the invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with
respect to the specific methods and apparatus illustrated herein is
intended or should be inferred. It is, of course, intended to cover
by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the
scope of the claims.
* * * * *