U.S. patent application number 12/827257 was filed with the patent office on 2012-01-05 for pull-tab liner.
This patent application is currently assigned to PHOENIX CLOSURES, INC.. Invention is credited to Len EKKERT.
Application Number | 20120000910 12/827257 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45398914 |
Filed Date | 2012-01-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120000910 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
EKKERT; Len |
January 5, 2012 |
PULL-TAB LINER
Abstract
A closure package includes a closure cap and a liner having a
pull-tab. The liner is configured for use with a container having a
finish or lip portion having a sealing surface at an uppermost
portion thereof. The closure cap has a top wall portion and a
depending skirt portion depending from the top wall portion. The
top wall portion and sealing liner is adapted to coact with the
container sealing surface to form a seal therebetween. The liner of
the subject invention is for use with a closure package and is
disposed in cap, positioned intermediate the top wall portion and
the container sealing surface when the cap is positioned on the
container. The liner is circular and has a central portion and a
tab portion integral with the central portion, extending outwardly
from a periphery thereof. The tab is folded on or above a tangent
to the periphery of the liner, over the central portion into a
folded position, and defines a hinge region at the juncture of the
tab and above the tangential line to the liner circumference.
Inventors: |
EKKERT; Len; (Lemont,
IL) |
Assignee: |
PHOENIX CLOSURES, INC.
Naperville
IL
|
Family ID: |
45398914 |
Appl. No.: |
12/827257 |
Filed: |
June 30, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/378 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 53/08 20130101;
B65D 53/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/378 |
International
Class: |
B65D 53/00 20060101
B65D053/00 |
Claims
1. A liner for use with a cap and container assembly, said liner
comprising: a central disc portion having a circumference; a
pull-tab on a periphery of said central disc portion; said pull-tab
having a hinge area parallel with a line tangential to the
circumference or radially outside the circumference; said pull-tab
being capable of being folded on said hinge area to lay flat over
said central disc portion, whereby in use in the cap said folded
pull-tab biases said central disc portion against a wall of said
cap.
2. The liner of claim 1 further including at least one tab on said
periphery of said central disc portion in addition to said
pull-tab.
3. The liner of claim 2 wherein said at least one tab is in
proximity to said pull-tab.
4. The liner of claim 1 wherein said folded pull-tab has wings on
opposing sides of said pull-tab.
5. The liner of claim 1 further including a plurality of tabs on
said periphery of said central disc portion.
6. The liner of claim 5 wherein one of said plurality of tabs is in
proximity to said pull-tab.
7. The liner of claim 2 wherein the pull-tab is larger than said at
least one tab.
8. A liner having a pull-tab for use with a cap and container
assembly, said liner comprising: a central disc portion having a
circumference; a plurality of tabs comprising first tabs and a
pull-tab, said pull-tab being larger than the first tabs, at least
one of the first tabs being in proximity to said pull-tab, said
pull-tab having a hinge area parallel to a tangential line to said
circumference and touching or radially beyond the circumference,
whereby said pull-tab is folded along said hinge area to be
substantially flat against the central disc portion and be capable
of maintaining the liner within the cap when inserted therein.
9. The liner of claim 8 wherein the at least one of first tabs is
within 30.degree. of the pull-tab on the circumference.
10. The liner of claim 8 wherein said pull-tab is larger than each
of said first tabs.
11. A circular liner having a pull-tab for use with a cap and
container assembly, said liner having a pull-tab; said pull-tab
having a hinge area parallel with a line tangential to a
circumference of the liner or outside the tangential liner; and
said pull-tab being folded on said hinge area for use in the cap,
thereby forming retention areas on opposite sides of the pull-tab,
whereby said retention areas and said folded pull-tab bias said
liner against an opposing interior wall of the cap.
12. The liner of claim 11 further including at least one tab on
said periphery of said central disc portion in addition to said
pull-tab.
13. The liner of claim 11 wherein said at least one tab is in
proximity to said pull-tab.
14. The liner of claim 11 wherein said retention areas comprise
wings.
15. The liner of claim 11 further including a plurality of tabs on
said periphery of said central disc portion.
16. The liner of claim 12 wherein said pull-tab is larger than said
at least one tab.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to an inner seal for a container and
more particularly to a pull-tab for the inner seal to permit a
proper seal while allowing for easy removal of the inner seal to
the container.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] A heat sealable inner seal is often used in sealing a
container for products such as anti-freeze, peanut butter,
mayonnaise, liquid detergent, etc. Such an inner seal prevents
leakage and is also popular for providing an indication of whether
there has been tampering with the contents of a container.
[0003] Presently, a heat sealable inner seal generally includes a
multi layer composite structure with an upper layer of metallic
foil which is attached to a lower layer of adhesive material which
bonds the heat seal material. The inner seal also can include an
upper backing layer. Generally, the inner seals are inserted into
caps and shipped to a packager of containers. The packager places
the caps onto filled containers, with the coating of heat sealable
material being in contact with the land area of the neck of the
containers. The containers then pass through a conduction heating
system which conducts heat into the foil, under an induction heater
which generates heat within the metallic foil causing the
temperature of the foil to increase. The high temperature of the
foil melts the attached heat sealable adhesive layer, causing the
inner seal to bond to the container.
[0004] If the foil is heated to too low a temperature, the bonding
between the heat sealable layer and container may be weak or may
not occur, thus preventing the inner seal from performing its
sealing function. If the metallic foil is heated to too high a
temperature, the heat sealable layer may burn which may also
prevent proper sealing. Therefore, it is desirable to heat the foil
to a temperature within a desired temperature range to ensure
proper bonding of the inner seal to the container.
[0005] In the prior art no tabs have been used or as many as six
tabs that are integral with the central portion extend from the
periphery of the liner. There may be more tabs used, as will become
apparent. The tabs can serve as grasping portions, outside of the
sealed periphery of the central portion, that facilitate removing
the liner from the container and retaining the liner within the
cap.
[0006] In one known liner arrangement, a pull-tab is formed as part
of the liner to facilitate removing the liner from the container.
The pull-tab is a relatively small integral extension of the liner
that extends beyond the periphery of the liner that is sealed to
the container neck edge.
[0007] In order to integrate the pull-tab with a closure package,
e.g., a closure cap, a variety of configurations are in use. In one
arrangement, the pull-tab is folded over the liner so as to rest
within the periphery of the liner, between the liner and the top
wall of the cap when the closure cap is placed over the liner, onto
the container.
[0008] In order to assure that the tab remains flush with the liner
material during the manufacturing process, the pull-tab is
"hammered" or rolled after it is creased and folded to create a
hinge or fold. In the hammering process, a flat, hammer-like
striker is driven into the tab at about the fold or simply rolled
to permanently crease the material. When using relatively thin or
permanently deformable material, such as foil, this arrangement is
satisfactory to facilitate the tab remaining flush against the
liner.
[0009] There are, however, a number of drawbacks to the hammered
tab arrangement. First, when a relatively resilient liner material
is used, the tab tends to return to its unstressed state, and
unfolds, regardless of the force used to hammer the tab into the
folded position. This can be particularly troublesome if the
closure forming process is stopped and liners have not yet been
positioned inside of their respective closure caps. It has been
observed that the tabs tend to unfold and often become caught or
jammed on the cap threads or inner lip of the container during
insertion of the liner into the cap. When this occurs, the liners
do not properly seat within the cap and the cap must be rejected.
Further, the folded tab may cover too much or too little of the
container lip and thus result in an imperfect seal
[0010] Accordingly, there continues to be a need for a resilient
liner pull-tab therefore that correctly positions the pull-tab
during induction sealing so that a positive seal is formed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] A closure package includes a closure cap and a liner having
a pull-tab. The liner is configured for use with a container having
a finish or lip portion having a sealing surface at an uppermost
portion thereof. The closure cap has a top wall portion and a
depending skirt portion depending from the top wall portion. The
top wall portion and sealing liner is adapted to coact with the
container sealing surface to form a seal therebetween. The closure
package includes a liner disposed in the cap, positioned
intermediate the top wall portion and the container sealing surface
when the cap is positioned on the container. The liner is circular
and has a central portion and a tab portion integral with the
central portion, extending outwardly from a periphery thereof. The
tab is folded on or above a tangent to the periphery of the liner,
over the central portion into a folded position, and defines a
hinge region at the juncture of the tab and above the tangential
line to the liner circumference.
[0012] The tab is scored on the hinge above region noted and folded
over the central portion to reside within the periphery thereof.
The scoring is done to help the tab to lay flat in the closure. The
same tab can be held regardless of scoring if a tab or tabs are
used on one or both sides of the tab to hold it down.
[0013] The folded tab creates as retention area 60 that bias
against liner retentive ribs or the cap threads to hold the liner
in place in the cap until sealing is performed on the bottle
mouth.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0014] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a closure package
and an associated container, the closure package including a liner
having a pull-tab embodying the principles of the present
invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is top plan view of a die-cut liner illustrating the
liner central portion and the pull-tab, with the pull-tab being
unfolded from the central portion;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the liner of FIG. 2,
illustrated with the pull-tab folded back onto the central
portion;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of an exemplary
laminate structure of the liner material; and
[0018] FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the hinge region on the
tangential line of the periphery of the liner central portion
[0019] FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a liner with a pull-tab with
only one holding tab that can be on either side of the
pull-tab.
[0020] FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a liner with a pull-tab and two
holding tabs.
[0021] FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the liner of FIG. 7 showing the
pull-tab folded over.
[0022] FIG. 9 is a cross section view of a cup with a liner in
place, showing the pull-tab biasing the liner in place in the
cap.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in
various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter
be described a presently preferred embodiment with the
understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an
exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the
invention to the specific embodiment illustrated.
[0024] Referring now to the figures and particularly to FIG. 1,
there is shown a closure package 10 including a closure cap 12 and
a liner 14 embodying the principles of the present invention. The
package 10 is for use with an associated container 16. The
exemplary container 16 has a threaded neck portion 18 having a
finish 20. The finish 20 is that portion of the container 16
including the upper region which engages the cap 12, e.g., the
threaded area 18 and an uppermost sealing surface 22 of the
container 16. The container threads 18 engage complementary threads
(not shown) formed on an inner surface of the cap 12. It will be
recognized by those skilled in the art that the closure package 10
described herein can be used with containers having a snap-like or
beaded engagement configuration.
[0025] The cap 12 has a top wall portion 30 and a depending skirt
portion 32 depending from the top wall portion 30. The inner
surface 34 of the top wall portion 30 is adapted to co act with the
sealing surface 22 of the container 16 to form a seal therebetween.
When the package 10 is assembled, the liner 14 comprises a circular
disc and resides between the top wall portion 30 of the cap 12 and
the sealing surface 22 of the container 16, spanning the opening or
mouth 36 of the container 16.
[0026] The liner 14 has a central portion 40 that is positioned
over and in use, sealed to the sealing surface 22 of the container
16. A tab 42 is integral with the central portion 40, and extends
from a periphery 44 thereof. The tab 42 defines a grasping portion
46, that, when folded, is outside of the sealed periphery 44 of the
central portion 40, and is adapted to facilitate removing the liner
14 from the container 16. While shown in various shapes throughout
the drawings, no particular shape is intended.
[0027] In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the liner 14 is
formed from a laminate material M having a resilient substrate
layer 50, a foil or like gas-impermeable layer 52, and a heat
activated bonding layer 54, such as a heat activated adhesive. In a
current embodiment, the resilient substrate layer 50 is a closed
cell foam material, but can be chip board or paper backed and/or
coated and is relatively impervious to the environs and establishes
an air-tight seal between the container 16 contents and the
environs. The resilient material layer 50 permits the cap 12 to be
closely fitted to, and tightened onto, the container 16.
[0028] During the manufacture of the closure package 10, the stock
of liner 14 material M is cut to form the liner tab 42. The tab 42
is folded on a hinge line that is on or above a tangential line to
the liner disc and the tab 42 is "hammered" or rolled into place.
The liner 14 with the folded and hammered tab 42 are cut to form
the liner central portion 40, with the tab 42 integral with the
central portion 40. Those skilled in the art will recognize that
the die that is used to cut the central portion 40 is configured so
that it does not sever the tab 42 from the central portion 40 of
the liner 14.
[0029] Those skilled in the art will recognize that after placement
of the liner 14 in the cap 12 and positioning the cap 12 on the
container 16, the liner 14 must still be sealed to the sealing
surface 22 of the container 16. Sealing can be effected using a
variety of known methods. In one method of sealing the liner 14 to
the container 16, the package 10 is subjected to heat, e.g., heat
sealing, and the heat sensitive sealing layer 54 bonds to the
sealing surface 22. Thus, the cap 12 can be removed from the
container 16 and the liner 14 remains bonded to the container 16.
The bonded liner 14 helps to maintain the contents of the container
16 fresh, and provides tamper indication for the package 10. It is
evident that the liner must be kept in place and generally centered
in the cap until the liner is sealed on the bottle mouth.
[0030] In one method of forming the package 10, a cutting from a
stock of the liner material M is made to form a circular liner tab
42. As shown in FIG. 5, the tab 42 is then folded onto the liner 14
material M to form a hinge line 58 along or above a line 80
tangential to the circumference 82 of the line. If the hinge line
is above the tangential line, i.e., radially beyond the
circumference 82 of the liner, it should not be more than 3 mm
above.
[0031] The liner 14 material M, is cut to form the liner central
portion 40. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the die
that is used to cut the central portion 40 is configured such that
it does not sever the tab 42 from the central portion 40. The liner
14, having the tab 42 thereon, is subsequently scored, folded,
positioned and secured in the closure cap 12 to form the closure
package 10. The cap 12 and liner 14 can be placed onto the
associated container 16, and the liner 14 sealed to the container
16 by, for example, heat sealing. It will be recognized by those
skilled in the art that other methods of sealing the liner 14 to
the container 16 can be used to form the tamper-indicating package
10.
[0032] As stated above, a primary function of the tabs is to retain
the liner in the cap prior to placement on the container and
subsequent securing and sealing to the top of the container. A
pull-tab is generally larger than a regular tab so as to include a
larger surface to grasp when removing the liner from the container.
As stated, the pull-tab is generally larger than any regular tabs
present, and is sufficiently large to enable a user to grasp and
pull to remove the liner from the container mouth. When this larger
tab is folded over on top of the liner to fit inside the cap, it
exerts a spring effect that tries to push the liner out of the cap
during shipping and handling. To counteract this spring effect, the
subject invention folds the tab along or above the targeted line 80
radially beyond or outside the circumference 82 of the liner disc
40 (FIG. 5). The hinge line may be formed by a practice called
"coining" in which the liner material is lined on both sides in a
manner that does not tear the material. When the tab is bent over
the liner disc as shown in FIG. 3, it then secures the liner in the
cap by pushing up against a thread or liner retention bead 63
biasing the liner against the opposite wall in the cap (see FIG.
9). If the hinge line 80 is sufficiently distanced from the
circumference then it may be the only tab necessary for retaining
the liner in the cap.
[0033] In this embodiment, shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when the
pull-tabs is folded over as in FIG. 8, wings 60 and 61 are formed
and serve to supplement the retentive function of the pull-tab 42
in the cap, and form retention areas on either side of the
pull-tab.
[0034] In an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 6, there may be
other tabs 48 about the liner disc, which may be equidistant about
the disc circumference or randomly spaced. As many as ten
additional tabs may be used, or as little as one or none. It is
important when using multiple tabs that at least one of the tabs is
adjacent or in proximity to the pull-tab, preferably within
30.degree. of the pull-tab.
[0035] An advantage in spacing the hinge line from the
circumference of the liner is that the liner disc is better
positioned over the bottle mouth so that there is no interference
by the tab with the seal on the bottle mouth, i.e., the sealing
process by induction heating is not interfered with and a better
seal results.
* * * * *