U.S. patent number RE29,850 [Application Number 05/842,697] was granted by the patent office on 1978-11-28 for closure spout having tear-out portion.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Breskin Industries Corp.. Invention is credited to Maurice Labarre.
United States Patent |
RE29,850 |
Labarre |
November 28, 1978 |
Closure spout having tear-out portion
Abstract
A closure of injection-moulded synthetic plastic material for a
bottle or other receptacle, such closure comprising a tubular body
having a throat insertable into the neck of the bottle and an
integral fluid-tight diaphragm across the throat with an external
gripping device by which the diaphragm can be torn off, wherein the
gripping device is a ring separate from the watertight diaphragm
but joined to the rim of the latter by means of a base connection
which is also integrally moulded. The closure has an integrally
moulded pouring spout, and a replaceable cap protecting the
spout.
Inventors: |
Labarre; Maurice
(Boulogne-sur-Seine, FR) |
Assignee: |
Breskin Industries Corp. (White
Plains, NY)
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Family
ID: |
26174752 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/842,697 |
Filed: |
October 17, 1977 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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Reissue of: |
706296 |
Feb 19, 1968 |
03459315 |
Aug 5, 1969 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Feb 21, 1967 [FR] |
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67.95797 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
222/541.9;
215/253; 215/295 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
47/103 (20130101); B65D 47/127 (20130101); B65D
47/36 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
47/00 (20060101); B65D 47/06 (20060101); B65D
47/12 (20060101); B65D 47/10 (20060101); B65D
47/36 (20060101); B65D 047/10 () |
Field of
Search: |
;222/541,562,189,525
;215/253,295,307,346,1A,354 ;220/94A,270 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hall; George T.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Rosen; Lawrence Berry; E. Janet
Claims
I claim: .[.1. A molded plastic integral pouring closure for a
container comprising, a tubular body comprising a throat portion
insertable into the neck of the container and a skirt spaced from
and outwardly of said throat portion integrally connected thereto
for disposition circumferentially of the neck of the container, an
extension of said throat defining a pouring spout, a sealing
diaphragm transversely of said throat closing said throat portion,
a tear-member connected to said diaphragm adjacent an edge thereof
and disposed internally of said spout and spaced from said
diaphragm, said tear-member comprising an arcuate portion for
pulling thereon for tearing out the diaphragm, and means integrally
connecting
said tear-member to said diaphragm..]. 2. A molded plastic integral
pouring closure according to claim .[.1.]. .Iadd.6.Iaddend.,
including a removable protective cap mounted on said closure skirt
enclosing said
spout. 3. A molded plastic integral pouring closure according to
claim .[.1.]. .Iadd.6.Iaddend., in which said arcuate portion of
said tear-member is substantially flush with an edge defining the
mouth of said pouring spout. .[.4. A molded plastic integral
pouring closure according
to claim 1, in which said tear-member comprises a split ring..]. 5.
A molded plastic integral pouring closure according to claim
.[.1.]. .Iadd.6.Iaddend., in which said tear-member comprises a
ring. .Iadd. 6. A molded plastic integral pouring closure for a
container comprising a tubular body having a throat portion
insertable into the neck of a container and a skirt spaced from and
outwardly concentric of said throat portion integrally connected
thereto for disposition circumferentially of the neck of the
container, an extension of said throat defining a pouring spout, a
sealing diaphragm extending transversely across the throat opening
closing same, a tear-member connected to said diaphragm adjacent an
edge thereof and disposed internally of said spout, said
tear-member being substantially ring-shaped and having a closed
arcuate portion thereof disposed in spaced substantially parallel
relation to said diaphragm so as to thereby be adapted for pulling
thereon for tearing out the diaphragm, said tear-member being
integrally connected to said diaphragm at at least two closely
adjacent points thereof. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 7. A molded plastic
integral pouring closure according to claim 6, in which said
tear-member comprises a split ring, a pair of base members being
integral with said diaphragm and joined to the ends of said split
ring. .Iaddend..Iadd. 8. A molded plastic integral pouring closure
according to claim 6, including a rupture ring member extending
substantially perpendicular to the plane of said diaphragm and
connecting said diaphragm to the said throat portion.
.Iaddend..Iadd. 9. A molded plastic integral pouring closure
according to claim 8, in which the thickness of said rupture ring
is less than the thickness of said diaphragm. .Iaddend.
Description
This invention relates to pouring closures or distributor closures,
injection moulded in synthetic plastics material and for use in
particular on the neck of a bottle or other receptable, for example
in order to extend the mouth of the bottle by a pouring rim or
spout, the mouth of the bottle before use being sealed by a
watertight diaphragm moulded integrally with the closure.
Pouring closures of this kind are already known in which the
membrane can be torn off by means of an external gripping device,
which is integrally moulded with the outer surface of the membrane,
and extends as a circle above the rim of the membrane near the
pouring edge or spout. In these known pouring closures the gripping
device is a tongue or tab. One end of the tab extends from the
outer surface of the membrane and forms a circle or spiral above
the rim of the membrane. The other end of the tab, that is to say
the free end, projects slightly above the edge of the pouring rim
or spout.
In this already known arrangement the membrane is torn off by
pulling the free end of the tab. However, particularly if
manufacturing tolerances have been exceeded, the tab itself can
easily be torn, particularly where it is attached to the membrane,
so that the membrane itself is not torn off. Furthermore, in these
already known pouring closures the rim of the membrane is joined to
the internal wall of the throat of the closure by a very thin ring
which is so arranged that its thinnest part extends in a plane
parallel to the plane of the membrane. The resulting effect is that
that thickness of the rupture ring, that is to say the thickness of
the rupturing part of the ring, this thickness determining the ease
with which the membrane can be torn off, depends on the width of
the gap which is left in practice between the two parts of the
injection mould during the process of injection.
The injection mould consists of two parts, a stationary part and a
mobile part, which are locked together before injection begins. The
precision of the thickness of the rupturing part of the rupture
ring varies slightly with the precision with which the contacting
faces of the two parts of the mould are held in contact with each
other, and this depends on the precision of functioning of the
locking device which locks the two parts of the mould together, and
depends also on the injection pressure, which tends to force the
two halves of the mould apart. Although the rupture thickness of
the ring can be kept to the specified thickness within fairly
narrow limits, nevertheless the variation in thickness, between one
ring and another, is enough to result in a high percentage of rings
whose rupture thickness is too great or too little. If the rupture
thickness is too great it becomes difficult to tear the membrane
off, and if the rupture thickness is too little the membrane can
become detached inadvertently.
The pouring closure or distributor closure according to the present
invention is of the general type mentioned above, but it is so
constructed that it is free from the faults already mentioned of
the known pouring closures.
The pouring or distributing closure according to the invention is
characterised by the following features taken singly or preferably
in combination:
(a) The gripping device is a ring projecting from the membrane and
joined to the rim of the membrane by one, or preferably by several,
bases, all these parts being integrally moulded. In a preferred
version of the invention the gripping ring is interrupted or slit
and its two ends are joined by two short bases to the rim of the
membrane at two points, preferably next to each other.
(b) The periphery of the watertight membrane is joined to the
internal wall of the throat of the closure by a very thin ring
which extends perpendicularly with respect to the plane of the
membrane and parallel to the direction of closing of the injection
mould.
The first characteristic mentioned above ensures that the gripping
device of the closure according to the present invention always has
a rupture strength higher than that of the very thin ring which
joins the rim of the watertight membrane to the internal wall of
the throat of the closure. This high tensile strength in the
gripping device is ensured by the fact that the applied pull is
transmitted to the membrane through the two bases being situated on
either side of the location on the gripping ring where the pull is
applied. There are preferably at least two of these bases joined to
the rim of the membrane at different locations whereas, in the
already known pouring closure, the tension of the pull passes
through only a single part, this being the single tongue or tab
whose free end is gripped by the operator, the pull being applied
to only a single location on the rim of the membrane. Furthermore,
the gripping ring of the closure according to the present invention
is less likely to get caught or jammed before the membrane is torn
off, in the course of manipulation of the closure and receptacle,
because the gripping ring according to the invention has no free
end, as have the grips or tabs of the hitherto known pouring
closures.
The second characteristic mentioned above ensures that in the two
parts of the injection mould, the stationary and the mobile parts,
the surfaces forming the gap which determines the thickness of the
rupture ring extend at right angles to the plane of the membrane,
and therefore extend parallel to the direction of movement of the
mobile part of the mould relative to the stationary part.
Consequently the width of the gap between these surfaces, and
therefore the thickness of the molded rupture ring, is independent
of the moulding conditions, that is to say independent of the
precision of functioning of the locking device which locks the two
parts of the mould together before injection.
The width of the gap which determines the thickness of the rupture
ring is also independent of the injection pressure used during the
moulding operation. The thickness of the rupture ring depends only
on the precision of centering of the two parts of the mould, with
respect to each other, and this quantity can easily be held to
close tolerances. The practical advantage obtained in this way is
that the pull required to tear the membrane out of the closure made
according to the present invention is practically independent of
injection press adjustment, particularly wear on certain parts of
the mould locking device, and also warping of the mould.
There will now be described by away of example, with reference to
the diagrammatical drawings, several versions of the closure
according to the invention.
In the drawings:
FIGS. 1 and 2 are axial sections of a pouring closure according to
the invention, FIG. 1 being a vertical sectional view and FIG. 2 a
perspective view. These figures clearly illustrate the shape and
arrangement of the gripping ring.
FIG. 3 shows the detail A of FIG. 2, drawn to a larger scale,
and
FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of an alternative distributor
closure according to the invention.
The version of the pouring closure according to the invention shown
in FIGS. 1 to 3 consists essentially of a single injection moulding
of a synthetic plastics substance, for example polyethylene. The
closure comprises the following parts, all integrally moulded.
A cylindrical throat 1 has an external diameter only slightly
greater than the internal diameter of the mouth of the bottle or
receptacle for which it is intended. In use the closure is mounted
on the bottle by introducing the throat 1 of the closure into mouth
3 of the bottle or receptacle. The closure is locked to the mouth
of the bottle or receptacle by an annular skirt 2 which
concentrically surrounds the lower part of the throat 1 of the
closure. The skirt 2 engages around the outside of the bottle
mouth, as shown in FIG. 1. The skirt 2 of the closure has an
internally projecting locking ring 4, which engages in an external
groove in the neck 3 of the bottle or receptacle. The closure is
mounted on the bottle or receptacle by forcing it on to such
neck.
The upper part of the pouring closure is in the form of an
outwardly curving pouring spout 5, which acts as a continuation of
the neck 3 of the bottle or receptacle. The pouring spout is
preferably very short, at most 1.5 mm. long, as shown in FIGS. 1
and 2, and it can be manufactured by injection moulding to very
small tolerances.
About halfway up in the throat of the pouring closure there is a
watertight transverse membrane 6, which is moulded as an integral
extension of the internal wall of the throat 1. The membrane 6 is
connected to the throat 1 by a very thin ring 7. The thickness of
the ring 7 is much less than the thickness of the membrane 6. This
is shown clearly in FIG. 3, which is drawn to a larger scale. As
will be seen from this figure, the axial section of the rupture
ring 7 is essentially rectangular in shape. The longer sides of the
rectangle occupy planes essentially perpendicular to the plane of
the membrane 6 (that is to say they extend in the direction of the
thickness of the membrane 6), whereas the shorter sides of the
rectangle extend parallel to the plane of the membrane 6 (this
being the plate of rupture of the rupture ring 7). Thus in this
example of the pouring closure according to the invention the
peripheral edge of the membrane 6 is joined to the internal wall of
the throat 1 by a cylindrical plastic collar 7 whose side walls are
coaxial with the throat 1, the thickness of the cylindrical collar
7 being much less than its height and much less than the thickness
of the membrane 6.
It is not, however, essential to the invention to have the collar 7
extending inwards, towards the interior of the receptacle, from the
surface of the diaphragm 6. All that is necessary is that the
collar 7 must extend in the direction of closing of the injection
mould, a direction which is usually perpendicular to the plane of
the diaphragm 6. The requirement is that it must be possible to
mould the rupture collar 7 in a mould whose two parts, the one
mobile and the other stationary, have surfaces parallel to the
direction of movement of the mobile part of the mould spaced apart
to leave a gap of precise width in which the collar 7 is moulded,
so that the thickness of the collar is a precise and determined
quantity independent of the moulding conditions, that is to say
independent of the precision of functioning of the locking device
which locks the two parts of the mould together, and independent of
the injection pressure, so that the moulded rupture ring 7 always
has exactly the same thickness to a close tolerance, in order to
ensure that the ring always ruptures under optimal conditions.
The diaphragm 6 is also equipped, on its outer surface that is to
say on its surface nearest to the pouring rim 5, with a gripping
ring or tear-member 8, which extends in an arc of a circle above
the rim of the diaphragm 6, near the pouring edge 5. In the version
shown here the gripping ring 8 is interrupted at 9, its two ends
being joined to the short bases 10 and 10' which merge at 11 and
11' with the membrane 6, all these parts being formed integrally
during the moulding operation. The points 11 and 11' are preferably
situated next to each other, as shown in the drawing.
Alternatively, however, the gripping ring 8 can if desired be in
the form of a closed ring joined to one, or preferably two, bases
which merge into the rim of the membrane 6, all these parts being
formed integrally during the moulding.
In the version of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the
internal surfaces of the gripping ring and of the bases 10 and 10'
are part of a cylindrical surface coaxial with the closure, to
allow easy removal of the closure from the mould, and to simplify
the design of the mould.
The bottle of liquid, for example oil, sealed by the pouring
closure according to the invention, as described above, is intended
to be sold on the market equipped preferably with an outer cap.
This is also an injection moulding, for example as illustrated in
FIG. 1 at 13. The cap is forced on to the pouring closure, lower
inturned rim 14 of the cap engaging with an annular rim 15 of the
throat 1 of the pouring closure. The rim 15 is also integrally
moulded with the closure. After the receptacle has been opened, by
tearing off the diaphragm 6 by means of the gripping ring 8, the
cap 13 is replaced to form a temporary protective closure.
The pouring closure according to the invention is not limited to
the versions described above, but can be modified in various ways
without departing from the scope of the invention. These
modifications, some of which have been indicated above, can be
applied to different parts of the pouring closure. In particular,
the outwardly curved pouring rim can be replaced by a pouring spout
of any known or appropriate kind.
Furthermore, the means for locking the closure on the neck of the
bottle can be other than shown here. In particular, the pouring
closure can be screwed to the neck of the receptacle. The
watertight diaphragm need not be situated halfway up in the throat
of the closure since it can, if desired, be near the top. Finally,
the means for locking the outer cap to the pouring closure can be
of various kinds. In particular the cap can be screwed to the
closure, or the cap can be forced into engagement inside the upper
part of the pouring rim, between the inner surface of the pouring
rim and the gripping ring.
The distributor closure shown in FIG. 4, where corresponding parts
have been given the same index numbers as in FIGS. 1 to 3, is
intended for use in the mouth of a flask or box containing pills,
granular material or a powder. This closure differs from the one
shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 only in that it has no pouring rim or spout
5. Moreover, in this case the watertight diaphragm may be mounted
on the outer rim of the throat.
* * * * *