U.S. patent number 3,707,240 [Application Number 05/067,467] was granted by the patent office on 1972-12-26 for closure with tear-off skirt.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Polytop Corporation. Invention is credited to Woodrow S. Wilson.
United States Patent |
3,707,240 |
Wilson |
December 26, 1972 |
CLOSURE WITH TEAR-OFF SKIRT
Abstract
A closure for use on a container neck may be constructed
including a top adapted to be located over the end of the neck, a
sealing structure serving as a cork or stopper for engaging the
interior of the neck located on the top so as to depend from it and
a dependent skirt located at the periphery of the top so as to fit
over and extend around the exterior of the neck. The skirt includes
a fixed portion and a tear-off portion separated from the remainder
of the closure by a severable means such as a line of reduced
thickness, perforations or both. A tab is located on the fixed
portion. With this structure the tear-off portion of the skirt may
be removed from the closure so that the tab and fixed portion may
thereafter be used as a handle in removing and replacing the
closure upon a container neck.
Inventors: |
Wilson; Woodrow S.
(Slatersville, RI) |
Assignee: |
Polytop Corporation
(Slatersville, RI)
|
Family
ID: |
22076179 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/067,467 |
Filed: |
August 27, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/256; 215/320;
215/344; 215/43; 215/901; 215/45 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
41/485 (20130101); B65D 2401/25 (20200501); B65D
2401/35 (20200501); Y10S 215/901 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
41/48 (20060101); B65D 41/32 (20060101); B65d
041/22 () |
Field of
Search: |
;215/41,42,46A |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
362,101 |
|
Dec 1931 |
|
GB |
|
370,659 |
|
Apr 1932 |
|
GB |
|
970,531 |
|
Sep 1964 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: Leclair; Joseph R.
Assistant Examiner: Garrett; James R.
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Woodrow S. Wilson U.S. patent application entitled "Initially
Sealed Closures with Sealing structures," Ser. No. 66,263, filed
Aug. 24, 1970.
Claims
I claim:
1. In a closure for use on a container neck, said closure having a
top adapted to be located over the end of said neck, a dependent
skirt to fit around the exterior of said neck, and sealing means
located within said skirt and beneath said top for sealing said
closure with respect to said neck, the improvement which
comprises:
said skirt being a cylindrical skirt extending beneath the
periphery of said top,
said sealing means comprising two separate sealing means,
the first of said separate sealing means comprising a cylindrical
sealing member having a downwardly tapering exterior bead adjacent
its lower end adapted to fit tightly within the interior of said
neck, said member being dependent from said top so as to extend
therefrom within said skirt,
the second of said separate sealing means comprising a projecting
ridge formed integrally with said top so as to extend therefrom
around the first of said separate sealing means, said second of
said separate sealing means being capable of engaging the end of
said neck so as to form a seal therewith,
an internal locking bead extending internally of said skirt, said
locking bead being capable of engaging a portion of a container
neck so as to firmly and securely hold said closure upon said
neck,
said skirt having a tab-like fixed portion and a tear-off portion,
said portions being located on said skirt beneath said internal
locking bead, said fixed portion extending to the edge of said
skirt remote from said top,
a line of material of lesser thickness than the remainder of said
skirt which is capable of being easily severed extending along the
side edges of said fixed portion and around the periphery of said
skirt adjacent and beneath the internal locking bead, said line
segregating said fixed portion from said tear-off portion,
said tear-off portion being capable of being engaged so as to be
completely severed from said fixed portion and the remainder of
said skirt along said line in order to facilitate removal of said
closure from said container,
said fixed portion of said skirt being capable of being moved to
facilitate removing and replacing said closure on said neck after
removal of said tear-off portion from said closure.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many different types of closures are intended to be used and then
reused in sealing a container neck. Thus, for example, common corks
or stoppers are frequently intended to be used in connection with a
bottle neck under such circumstances that they will be periodically
removed from and replaced within a bottle neck. Cost and other
considerations have resulted in the abandonment of the use as corks
or stoppers for many different container seal applications.
As a replacement for corks and stoppers in certain applications,
closures have been developed which utilize a top, a sealing
structure dependent from the top which is adapted to fit within a
container neck and a dependent skirt extending from the periphery
of the top so as to cover and enclose a portion of the exterior of
a container neck. It is known to form such a skirt with an internal
bead which will aid in engaging a corresponding seal on a container
neck so as to firmly hold such a closure in position. It is also
known to provide such a skirt with axially extending slots
facilitating the skirt being broken so that the entire closure may
be readily removed from the container.
Structures of this type are unquestionably utilitarian. However, it
is considered that they are not as utilitarian as desired for
commercial purposes. It is considered that many customers have
difficulty in disrupting the skirt on such a closure at one more
locations so that the closure may be readily removed from a
container. It is also considered that a closure with such a
ruptured skirt is comparatively difficult to remove from a
container and to replace upon the container.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An objective of the present invention is to provide new and
improved closures of the type described which are easier for a
customer to use than closures such as are specifically indicated in
the preceding. From this it will be apparent that an objective of
the present invention is to provide closures in which the skirts
may be more easily broken or disrupted than prior related closures.
A further objective of the invention is to provide closures which
are constructed so that they may be more easily removed and
replaced upon a container neck than prior related structures.
In accordance with this invention, these objectives are achieved by
providing a closure for use on a container neck, which closure has
a top adapted to be located over the end of the neck, a sealing
structure serving as a cork or stopper for engaging the interior of
the neck located so as to depend from the top and a dependent skirt
located at the periphery of the top so as to fit over and extend
around the exterior of the neck in which the improvement comprises
including on the skirt a fixed portion and a tear-off portion
separated from the remainder of the closure by an easily severable
structure or means and locating a tab upon the fixed portion of the
skirt.
With this construction the severable means or structure separates
the fixed portion of the skirt and the top so that the tear-off
portion of the skirt can be easily removed from the remainder of
the closure by a simple tearing operation When this is done, the
tab and fixed portion of the skirt are capable of being used as a
handle during removing and replacing the closure on the container
neck. A second tab may be located on the tear-off portion of the
skirt so as to facilitate a force being applied to it so as to
remove it from the remainder of the closure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The manner in which the various objectives of this invention are
achieved, as well as various advantages of it will be apparent from
a detailed consideration of the remainder of this specification in
conjunction with the appended drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the presently preferred embodiment
or form of this invention installed on a container neck;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken at line 2--2 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an isometric view similar to FIG. 1 of a modified
embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a still further modified
embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of another modified embodiment
of the invention; and
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken at line 6--6 of FIG. 5.
It is to be realized that the closures shown in the drawings are
not themselves the invention, but are structures embodying the
concepts of the invention. It will be realized that these concepts
may be embodied within other somewhat differently constructed
and/or differently appearing closures through the exercise of
routine engineering skill.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In FIG. 1 of the drawing there is shown a closure 10 of the present
invention formed as an integral article out of a polymer such as a
linear or non-linear polyethylene polymer, isotactic polypropylene
or the like. Various other non-polyolefin polymers having physical
properties similar to these polyolefins may be used in constructing
the closure 10. One important factor with respect to the entire
closure 10 is that it can be manufactured at a comparatively
nominal cost using modern high speed injection molding
techniques.
This closure 10 includes a top 12 which is adapted to overlie the
end 14 of the neck 16 of a conventional container (container not
shown). This top 12 is divided into an inner center section 18 and
an outer ring-like concentric peripheral section 20 by means of a
dependent sealing structure 22. This sealing structure 22 has a
cross-sectional configuration of essentially a "Vee" and extends in
a complete circle between the sections 18 and 20 so as to separate
them. If desired an exterior wall 24 of the structure 22 may be of
a non-linear shape so as to facilitate the interior of the sealing
structure 22 into the container neck 16 and so as to aid in forming
a seal against the interior 26 of this neck 16. This sealing
structure 22 is comparatively flexible by virtue of its wall
thickness so as to be capable of forming essentially a stopper-type
seal within the interior 26 of the neck 16.
The periphery of the top 12 (the periphery of the section 20)
carries a dependent skirt 28 which is divided into what may be
regarded or termed a fixed portion 30 and a tear-off portion 32 by
means of a line 34 of lesser thickness than the remainder of this
skirt. These portions may, if desired, carry a bottom reinforcing
rib or flange 35. This line 34 is adapted to be broken or severed
when force is applied to it as by pulling on a tab 37 attached to
one end of the tear-off portion 32 so that the entire tear-off
portion 32 may be readily removed from the remainder of the closure
10.
This line 34 extends axially on both sides of the fixed portion 30
and extends completely around the skirt 28 from one side of the
fixed portion 30 to the other side of this fixed portion 30.
Preferably the line 34 is located so as to extend around the
periphery of the top 12 so that when the tear-off portion 32 is
removed the entire remaining closure 10 will have a neat
appearance. The location of the line 34 in this position as shown
is also advantageous in avoiding undercuts in molding. In order to
facilitate removal of the closure 10 from the neck 16 this tear-off
portion 32 (and the line 34) should extend more than 180 degrees
around the axis of the skirt 28 and preferably at least 270 degrees
around the axis of the skirt 28.
The skirt 28 preferably includes an internal bead 36 which is
adapted to mate against a corresponding bead 38 on the exterior 40
of the neck 16. These beads 36 and 38 may be referred to as ridges.
They are adapted to engage one another so as to firmly hold the
closure 10 upon the neck 16. This entire closure 10 is constructed
in such a manner that it may be located on the neck 16 by being
pushed down upon it until such time as the result of temporary
material deformation the beads 36 and 38 pop over or snap over one
another.
Once the closure 10 has been located in such a manner the
engagement between the beads 36 and 38 may be broken by pulling
upon the tab 36, severing the tear-off portion 32 along the line
34. Once the tear-off portion 32 has been severed in this manner,
the fixed portion 30 will remain on the closure 10. After removal
of the tear-off portion 32 the sealing structure 22 will serve as a
cork to hold the remainder of the closure 10 in place on the neck
16. This will be the case even as the remainder of the closure 10
is reused.
Preferably, this fixed portion 30 carries another tab 42 which
extends radially outwardly from the skirt 28 at the portion of this
skirt furtherest removed from the top 12. If desired a small web 44
may connect the tab 42 with the fixed portion 30 so that these two
parts can be considered as an integral unit. Such a unit may be
used as a handle in repeatedly removing and replacing the closure
10 minus the tear-off portion 32 on the neck 16 in much the manner
in which a common cork or stopper is used. This "unit" of the fixed
portion 30 and the tear-off portion 32 is advantageous inasmuch as
it serves this function without extending from the container neck
16 in a significant distance and inasmuch as it may be constructed
comparatively easily at no significant cost in excess of that
required to construct prior closures which are related to the
closure 10.
In FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawing there are shown two modified
closures 50 and 60 of the present invention which are substantially
identical to the closure 10. For convenience and in the interest of
brevity various parts of these closures 50 and 60 which are
identical or substantially identical to various parts of the
closure 10 are not separately described herein and are designated
herein and in the drawing by the same numerals previously used to
designate such parts.
In the closure 50, axially extending openings 52 are used in place
of portions of the line 34 at the sides of the fixed portion 30. If
it is desired to use a rim 35 on the skirt 12, these slots 52
extend from such a rim 35 as shown. Small notches 54 may be used on
the rim 35 so as to facilitate its being broken in severing the
tear-off portion 32. Such notches may also be used on the closure
10. This closure 60 employs small perforations 62 along the length
of the line 34 so as to facilitate the severance of the tear-off
portion 32.
Such perforations 62 and such slots 52 may be used whenever the
closure 10 is to be formed of a material which is sufficiently
difficult to break so that it is desired to facilitate removal of
the tear-off portion 32 by the use of either of these expedients.
They may slso be used when it is desired to make the line 32
sufficiently thick so that openings or perforations will facilitate
tearing along this line. Because of its function, the line 34
either with or without the perforations 62 and/or the slots 52 may
be considered as an easily severable means or structure.
In FIG. 6 of the drawing there is shown another closure 70 of the
present invention which may be conveniently formed out of a
material such as can be used in forming the previously described
closures. This closure 70 includes a flat top 72 which is adapted
to overlie the end 74 of the neck 76 of a conventional container
(not shown). This top 72 carries on its under surface a cylindrical
sealing member or skirt 78 which is adapted to fit tightly within
the interior of the neck 76 so as to form a seal therewith.
Preferably a small downwardly tapering projecting ridge 80 extends
from the exterior of the sealing member 78 completely around its
periphery so as to engage and form the seal with the neck 76.
Preferably a secondary annular sealing ridge 82 is located on the
under surface of the top 72 so as to form a secondary seal against
the end 74 of the neck 76.
This neck 76 includes an enlarged external bead 84 located around
its periphery adjacent to the end 74. In the closure 70 a
peripheral cylindrical skirt 86 is located on the top 72 so as to
extend down along the neck 76 past the bead 84. This skirt 86
preferably includes an internal locking bead 88 which engages the
bead 84 so as to firmly and securely hold the entire closure 70 in
place upon the container neck 76.
A line 90 is located in the skirt 86 immediately beneath the bead
88 so as to extend nearly around the periphery of this skirt 86.
This line 90 corresponds to the line 34 described in the preceding
in connection with the closure 10. This line 90 has extensions 93
extending between the side edges of a small tab 92 which extends
from the upper portion of the skirt 86 to the bottom of this
closure 70. These side edges of the tab 92 are defined by means of
other lines 94 corresponding to the line 90.
This line 90 and these lines 94 are used to segregate the skirt 86
into what may be regarded as a fixed portion including the tab 92
and all of the skirt 86 above the line 90 and what may be regarded
as a tear-off portion beneath the line 90 extending at opposite
sides of the tab 92. If desired another tab 94 may be located on
what has been described herein as a tear-off portion, this other
tab 94 corresponding to the tab 36 as previously described. It will
be noted that in the closure 70 the tabs 92 and 94 extend in the
same plane as the remainder of the closure 70. This is considered
to facilitate handling without danger of damage prior to and during
closures such as the closure 70 being installed upon a container
neck.
The closure 70 may be installed on a neck such as the neck 76 by
merely being located over the neck and then by being pushed down.
When in such a location the closure 70 will be held in place as
shown. When it is desired to use the closure 70 the initial time
the tab 94 may be engaged and pulled so as to separate what has
been termed as the tear-off portion from the remainder of the
closure 70 then the closure 70 may be easily "deformed off" of the
neck 76 by lifting upon the tab 92. The individual ultimate user
may thereafter reapply or reuse the closure 70 minus this tear-off
portion to a container neck as desired.
Because of the structure of the closure 70 it would be extremely
difficult if not impossible for an individual user to remove the
closure 70 from a container neck without removing what is described
herein as the tear-off portion. This is considered valuable in
providing a visual indication to the ultimate customer that the
contents of a container have not been tampered with. It is
considered significant that with the closure 70 the tabs 92 and 94
are located where they are not apt to be moved during normal
handling of the container.
From a careful consideration of the preceding it will be realized
that the various embodiments of the invention as shown achieve the
objectives of the invention and it will also be realized that
structures employing the concepts embodied within the illustrated
structures may be manufactured at a comparatively nominal cost, may
be easily assembled upon a container neck using conventional
techniques and may be easily and conveniently re-employed a large
number of different times.
* * * * *