U.S. patent number 3,901,404 [Application Number 05/356,915] was granted by the patent office on 1975-08-26 for bottle cap.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Dairy Cap Corporation. Invention is credited to Jerome M. Feldman.
United States Patent |
3,901,404 |
Feldman |
August 26, 1975 |
Bottle cap
Abstract
A threaded bottle cap constructed of flexible plastic material
and having internal sealing surfaces for sealing against the neck
of the bottle on which the cap is secured. The sealing of the cap
is effected at separate zones with the cap deforming to increase
the sealing engagement. The cap also includes a ratchet ring
removably connected at its open end for locking onto the bottle to
prevent unthreading and unsealing and to prevent unauthorized
removal of the cap.
Inventors: |
Feldman; Jerome M. (Great Neck,
NY) |
Assignee: |
Dairy Cap Corporation (Jamaica,
NY)
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Family
ID: |
26944026 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/356,915 |
Filed: |
May 3, 1973 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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254393 |
May 18, 1972 |
3812994 |
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215562 |
Jan 5, 1972 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
215/256;
215/344 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
41/3404 (20130101); B65D 41/0421 (20130101); B65D
2401/25 (20200501) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
41/34 (20060101); B65D 41/04 (20060101); B65d
041/34 () |
Field of
Search: |
;215/DIG.1,40,41,42,43R,46A,256,344 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Norton; Donald F.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Pennie & Edmonds
Parent Case Text
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of applicant's copending
application entitled "Tamper-Proof Closure Cap," Ser. No. 254,393,
filed May 18, 1972, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,994. Application Ser.
No. 254,393 is, in turn, a continuation-in-part of applicant's
copending application entitled "Closure Cap," Ser. No. 215,562,
filed Jan. 5, 1972, and now abandoned.
Claims
I claim:
1. In a bottle cap for use with a bottle having a threaded neck
opening into the bottle, said cap being constructed of flexible
material and having a top wall, a cylindrical side wall depending
from the top wall and a thread on the inner surface of the side
wall for cooperating with the thread on the neck of the bottle, the
improvement comprising:
a. a first annular sealing surface extending downwardly from said
top wall and toward said side wall at an acute angle relative
thereto for engagement with the outside wall surface of the bottle
neck adjacent its opening into the bottle, said cap being of solid
construction from the first sealing surface radially outward to the
side wall;
b. a second annular sealing surface extending downwardly from said
top wall inwardly of said first sealing surface for engagement with
the top surface of the bottle neck, said second sealing surface
normally extending away from the side wall of the cap at an acute
angle relative to the top wall with the cap being of solid
construction between second sealing surface and the top wall;
c. said first and second sealing surfaces being spaced from each
other to seal against the cooperating surfaces of the bottle neck
at spaced zones; and
d. said cap being of sufficient flexibility to flex as the second
sealing surface engages the top surface of the bottle neck to
permit pivoting of said first and second sealing surfaces into
flush sealing contact with the top and outside surface of the
bottle neck.
2. The improvement in the bottle cap as set forth in claim 1
wherein:
a. said first sealing surface extends toward said side wall at an
angle of about 10.degree. relative thereto.
3. The improvement in the bottle cap as set forth in claim 2
wherein:
a. said first sealing surface is disposed radially inward of the
thread on the side wall of the cap.
4. The improvement in the bottle cap as set forth in claim 3
wherein:
a. the thread on the side wall of the cap terminates at a point
spaced from said top wall and below said first sealing surface.
5. The improvement in the bottle cap as set forth in claim 2
wherein:
a. said first and second sealing surfaces are flat surfaces which
intersect each other adjacent the top wall of the cap.
6. The improvement in the bottle cap as set forth in claim 5
wherein:
a. the angle of intersection of the first and second sealing
surfaces is about 80.degree..
7. In a bottle cap for use with a bottle having a threaded neck
opening into the bottle, said cap being constructed of flexible
material and having a top wall, a cylindrical side wall depending
from the top wall and a thread on the inner surface of the side
wall for cooperating with the thread on the neck of the bottle, the
improvement comprising:
a a first flat annular sealing surface extending downwardly from
said top wall and toward said side wall at an acute angle relative
thereto for engagement with the outside wall surface of the bottle
neck adjacent its opening into the bottle;
b a second flat annular sealing surface extending downwardly from
said top wall inwardly of said first sealing surface for engagement
with the top surface of the bottle neck:
1 said second sealing surface normally extending away from the side
wall of the cap at an acute angle relative to said top wall,
2 said second sealing surface intersecting the first sealing
surface adjacent the top wall of the cap, and
3 said second sealing surface providing a stop for engaging against
the top surface of the bottle to limit tightening of the cap on the
bottle;
c the cap is of solid construction between the second sealing
surface and the top wall; and
d said cap top wall is of sufficient flexibility to flex as the
second sealing surface engages the top surface of the bottle neck
to permit pivoting of said second sealing surface into flush
sealing contact with the top surfaces of the bottle neck.
8. The improvement in the bottle cap as set forth in claim 7
wherein:
a said first and second sealing surfaces are spaced from each other
to seal against the cooperating surfaces of the bottle neck at
spaced zones.
9. The improvement in the bottle cap as set forth in claim 7
further including:
a. a third annular sealing surface extending downwardly from the
top wall radially inward of said second sealing surface and facing
said side wall for engagement with the inner surface of the bottle
neck at its opening into the bottle.
10. The improvement in the bottle cap as set forth in claim 9
wherein:
a. said third sealing surface is spaced from said second sealing
surface to seal against the bottle neck independently of said
second sealing surface.
11. The improvement in the bottle cap as set forth in claim 7
further including:
a. an annular ratchet ring removably secured at the bottom of the
side wall of the cap for cooperating with aligned ratchet teeth on
the bottle neck to prevent turning of the cap in an unthreading
direction prior to removal of said ring.
12. In a bottle cap for use with a bottle having a threaded neck
opening into the bottle, said cap being constructed of flexible
material and having a top wall, a cylindrical side wall depending
from the top wall and a thread on the inner surface of the side
wall for cooperating with the thread on the neck of the bottle, the
improvement comprising:
a. a first flat annular sealing surface disposed radially inward of
the thread on the side wall of the cap and at a point spaced above
said thread and extending downwardly from said top wall and toward
said side wall at an acute angle relative thereto for engagement
with the outside wall surface of the bottle neck adjacent its
opening into the bottle, said cap being of solid construction from
the first sealing surface radially outward to the side wall;
b. a second flat annular sealing surface extending downwardly from
said top wall inwardly of said first sealing surface for engagement
with the top surface of the bottle neck, said second sealing
surface normally extending away from the side wall of the cap at an
acute angle relative to the top wall and intersecting the first
sealing surface adjacent the top wall of the cap with the cap being
of solid construction between second sealing surface and the top
wall; and
c. said cap being of sufficient flexibility to flex as the second
sealing surface engages the top surface of the bottle neck to
permit pivoting of said first and second sealing surfaces into
flush sealing contact with the top and outside surface of the
bottle neck, said second sealing surface being spaced from the
first sealing surface to seal against the bottle neck at a zone
spaced from the zone at which the first sealing zone engages the
outside wall surface of the bottle neck.
13. The improvement in the bottle cap as set forth in claim 12
further including:
a. a third annular sealing surface extending downwardly from the
top wall radially inward of said second sealing surface and facing
said side wall for engagement with the inner surface of the bottle
neck at its opening into the bottle, said third sealing surface
being spaced from said second sealing surface to seal against the
bottle neck independently of said second sealing surface; and
b. an annular ratchet ring removably secured at the bottom of the
side wall of the cap for cooperating with aligned ratchet teeth on
the bottle neck to prevent turning of the cap in an unthreading
direction prior to removal of said ring.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
With plastic caps and particularly with tamper-proof caps used for
beverage containers, proper sealing of the caps has been a problem.
Unlike the conventional metal caps, plastic caps do not employ a
sealing liner; but instead rely on the properties of the plastic to
effect a seal with the container or bottle to which they are
secured. The sealing of the caps produced in this manner has not
been altogether acceptable especially during shipping and related
handling where the containers are likely to be jostled or the cap
accidentally turned in an unthreading direction.
Presently available plastic caps generally provide only one or two
surfaces for effecting a seal with the bottle and typically rely on
the threads of the cap for sealing. Also, these caps depend on the
bottle neck configuration for sealing properties. Some cap
constructions have beads and ridges on their internal surfaces and
require bottles of specific configuration to accomplish their
sealing. These caps are not adaptable to a multiplicity of bottle
necks nor do they provide sufficient sealing capabilities.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a bottle cap constructed of
flexible plastic material having independent sealing surfaces. The
surfaces for sealing the cap on the bottle neck are formed in the
internal portion of the cap and engage the bottle neck along its
inside surface, top surface and outside surface. During tightening
of the cap onto the bottle, the cap deforms or flexes to cause the
sealing surfaces to move into flush engagement with the bottle neck
at both its top surface and outside surface. This deformation and
flush contact yields a superior seal. Also, the sealing surfaces
are not limited to any particular configuration of bottle neck
which makes them usable on practically any type of bottle. A
ratchet ring secured at the bottom side wall of the cap cooperates
with ratchet teeth on the bottle neck to prevent unthreading and
unsealing of the cap.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the bottle cap showing
the sealing surfaces;
FIG. 2 is a section view showing the closure in seated, sealed
engagement with the bottle neck;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged section of a portion of the cap showing the
sealing surfaces of the cap in initial contact with the bottle
neck;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged section similar to FIG. 3 showing the sealing
surfaces of the cap in their final flush contact with the bottle
neck;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cap as viewed from its
underside; and
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cap in position on a bottle and
showing the ratchet ring in the process of being removed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the drawings, the cap structure basically comprises a
body portion 1 with an internal thread 2 and sealing surfaces
generally designated by reference numeral 3. A tamperproof ratchet
ring 4 is removably connected to the body portion and includes a
plurality of internal ratchet teeth 5. The body portion is
cylindrical in shape having a top wall 6 and cylindrical side wall
7. A shoulder 8 connects the body portion to the removable ring
portion; and together with the top wall 6 and side wall 7 defines
an opening 9 for receiving a bottle neck. Thread 2 is adapted to
engage external thread 10 on the neck 11 of a bottle 12. The bottle
also includes ratchet teeth 13 designed to engage the teeth 5 of
the ring 4 in such a manner as to prevent the entire cap structure
from being unthreaded from the bottle neck.
The upper portion 14 of the bottle neck 11 provides surfaces
against which the sealing surfaces 3 of the cap cooperate to seal
the bottle from leakage. There are three sealing surfaces on the
cap and they are formed as an integral part of the cap. For this
purpose, the cap is preferably molded from plastic material such as
polyeurethane. In the preferred embodiment, the plastic material
has a density of 0.940 gm/cc.
One of the sealing surfaces is formed by an annular flange 15
extending downwardly from the top 6 into the opening 9. The
flange's internal surface 16 is substantially perpendicular to the
top 6, but its external surface 17 is at a slight acute angle to
the flange's internal surface 16 and tapers in a direction away
from the top 6. This surface faces the side wall of the cap. The
upper portion 14 of the bottle neck 11 is defined by three sealing
surfaces adjacent the opening into the bottle; an internal edge
surface 18, an upper flat surface 19 and an external flat surface
20. The flange 15 of the cap is located a distance from the side
wall 7 such that its external surface 17, functioning as a sealing
surface, will engage the internal edge surface 18 of the bottle
neck 5 and effect a sealing at this point.
Intermediate the flange 17 on the side wall 7, the cap is contoured
to define two flat annular sealing surfaces 22 and 23. The surface
22 extends downwardly from the top wall and toward the side wall at
an acute angle of about 10` relative to the side wall. The surface
22 is adapted to engage the outside wall surface 20 of the bottle
neck. The second sealing surface 23 also extends downwardly from
the top wall 6 of the cap. This sealing surface is spaced inwardly
of the first sealing surface for engagement with the top surface 19
of the bottle neck. The sealing surface 23 normally extends away
from the side wall of the cap and at an acute angle of about
20.degree. relative to the top wall. The sealing surfaces 22 and 23
intersect each other adjacent the top wall of the cap with the
angle of intersection being about 80.degree..
Although the sealing surfaces 22 and 23 of the cap are spaced from
the side and top walls, the cap is of solid construction behind
these sealing surfaces. Also, the sealing surface 22 is disposed
radially inward of the thread 2 on the side wall of the cap while
the thread itself terminates at a point spaced from the top wall of
the cap and below the sealing surface 22.
As stated above, the cap is made from a flexible plastic such as
polyeurethane. Also, the top wall has a thickness of between about
0.04 and 0.05 inch. This construction allows the cap to deform or
flex as it is threaded onto the neck of the bottle. This ability to
deform or flex permits the sealing surfaces 22 and 23 of the cap to
pivot into flush sealing engagement with the sealing surfaces 19
and 20 of the bottle neck.
As the cap is threaded down onto the neck, the sealing surfaces
will first move into contact with the cooperating surfaces on the
bottle neck. As shown in FIG. 3, the initial contact of the sealing
surfaces 22 and 23 with surfaces 20 and 19 will not be a flush
engagement. However, as the tightening of the cap is continued, the
surface 23 will, upon engagement with the top surface 19 of the
bottle neck, act as a stop tending to limit further tightening of
the cap. This initial engagement will cause the cap to deform or
flex and, in turn, cause the surface 23 to pivot. The pivoting of
the surface 23 will be effected due to the solid construction of
the cap behind this surface. The flexing of the cap and the solid
construction behind the sealing surface 22 will similarly cause
this surface to pivot. The pivoting of the surfaces 22 and 23 will
continue until flush engagement with the cooperating surfaces of
the bottle neck is effected.
As clearly shown in FIG. 4, the sealing of the surfaces 22 and 23
is at spaced zones. These sealing surfaces thus provide independent
sealing action. In addition, the sealing effect by the surfaces 22
and 23 is independent of the thread engagement of the cap on the
bottle. This is so since the thread 2 of the cap terminates at a
point spaced below the sealing surface 22. Also, the sealing
surface 22 extends radially inward beyond the thread 2 so that only
it engages the outside wall of the bottle neck, the thread 2
limiting its engagement to the threads on the bottle neck.
As the cap is tightened onto the bottle neck, further independent
sealing will be effected by the sealing surface 17 against the
inside surface 18 of the bottle neck. More specifically, the flange
15 is caused to deform or flex inwardly as the cap is tightened to
assure sealing of the surface 17 against the inside surface of the
bottle neck. As readily apparent from FIGS. 3 and 4 the sealing
effected by the surface 17 is independent of and along a zone
spaced from the sealing zone produced with the sealing surface 23.
The increased surface contact of all three sealing surfaces of the
cap due to the flexing of the surfaces and the independent action
of the sealing surfaces assures superior sealing
characteristics.
In addition to the sealing effected when the cap is screwed onto
the bottle, there is an engagement of the tamperproof ring 4 with
the ratchet teeth 13 of the bottle neck. Removal of this ring
serves to afford visual evidence that the bottle may have been
opened. This ring also prevents back twisting of the cap which
would unseat the sealing surfaces.
The ring 4 is severably connected to the cap portion by means of
the pivotal shoulder 8. At the junction of the shoulder 8 and
cylinder wall 7 a thin membrane zone defines a tear line 25. The
specific construction of this tear line and the ring structure is
set forth in applicant's copending applications mentioned above.
The tear line has sufficient strength to prevent the two portions
of the cap structure from severing when normal pressure is applied
to threadably remove the cap. A rip cord extension 26 is connected
to the ring 4 with a finger grip 27 having a heart-shaped cutout 28
formed therein. The grip 27 is breakably connected by tab 29 to the
ring 4 at a point where it has a thin membrane 30 and is used to
tear away the shoulder and ring from the rest of the cap structure
along the tear line 25 as shown in FIG. 6. When this is done,
turning the cap in the unthreading direction permits its
removal.
With the above construction, the ring 4 pivots outwardly about the
tear line 25 as the cap is screwed onto the bottle and the teeth 5
slid over the teeth 13. At the same time this is happening, the
sealing surfaces of the cap will engage against the bottle neck to
close the bottle against leakage. With the three zone sealing
provided by the cap of the present invention working together with
the ratchet ring which prevents loosening of the cap, a tight
leakproof connection between the cap and the bottle is afforded.
Rough handling of the bottles during packing and shipping will not
disturb this seal.
* * * * *