AU665411B2

AU665411B2 - Container closure with abutting tear-off seal

Info

Publication number: AU665411B2
Application number: AU36806/93A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Sven Sondal
Original assignee: DUMA AB
Current assignee: DUMA AB
Priority date: 1992-04-10
Filing date: 1993-04-07
Publication date: 1996-01-04
Anticipated expiration: 2013-04-07
Also published as: TW206950B; EP0564755B1; AU3680693A; DE69213211T2; MX9302020A; EP0564755A1; ATE141884T1; CN1080254A; DK0564755T3; CN1038924C; DE69213211D1; ZA932517B; BR9301488A

Abstract

A closure (1) for a container (5) made of resilient flexible plastic material comprises a lid portion (2), a retaining ring portion (4) and a sealing strip (3) connected along a major part of its circumferential extension to the lid portion (2) and the retaining portion (4) by bridge sections of plastic material having score lines. The closure (1) is manufactured in a closed and sealed state and is mounted in this state on the container (5) filled with its contents. The hemicircular sealing strip (3) has a bulge with a convex profile (9) on its inside and close to one end of the strip (3). In an unmounted state, the sealing strip (3) is about hemicircular in form. When the closure (1) is in a state mounted on the container (5) as shown in the Figure, the bulge is displaced by a toroidal portion (11) on the neck of the container (5), thereby forming gripping means for gripping and tearing off the sealing strip (3). Also disclosed is a process for manufacture of a sealed container closure (1) with gripping means formed when the closure (1) is mounted in the container (5). <IMAGE>

Description

"i -1- P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 6 5 4 1

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: CONTAINER CLOSURE WITH ABUTTING TEAR- OFF SEAL o o Q 0 CO i nn

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The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: GH&CO REF: P21685-B:TJS:RK The invention relates to a sealed closure for containers, comprising a retaining portion for retaining the closure on a container, a lid portion connected to the retaining portion, and a tear-off sealing element connecting the retaining portion and the lid portion in an initial sealed state and provided at its one end portion with gripping means to facilitate removal of the sealing element through tearingoff. The invention also relates to a process for manufacture of a container having such closure.

One purpose with the invention is to provide a sealed closure the seal of which is less prone to accidental damage during manufacture, storage, distribution and handling prior to opening than safety containers known in the art, while not impeding easy manufacture at low cost.

Damage to seals may occur by unintentional lateral forces being applied to weakly sealed sealing members, the seal of which thus may be partially or wholly broken and the contents 20 thereby made unsafe for the consumer. Also, in order to o facilitate gripping when being torn off by hand, the sealings strip in such a closure uses to be provided with a gripping o tab arranged at and integral with one end portion of the strip. When manufacturing the closure, the gripping tab has to be fastened to the sealing strip by welding, this requiring a separate production step and thus entailing extra I cost. The finished closures have to be sorted and transported to the site where they are put onto the containers, and the containers have to be sorted, labelled and packed. In this connection, the relatively bulky gripping tabs extending beyond the circumference of the containers sometimes become entangled. This necessitates human interference in an otherwise automatized production line and adds further cost. Such drawbacks are reduced or entirely avoided by the closure according to the invention, which also possesses other i A 01m~

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surprising advantages which become evident from the decription with drawings and the claims.

According to the invention, there is provided a sealed closureN'Z c ontainer made of resilient flexible plastic 4)a clos M material,& comprising an annular retaining portion for retaining the closure on the container, a lid or cap portion connected to the retaining portion, and a circumferentially arranged tear-off sealing element connecting the retaining portion and the lid portion in an initial sealed state and provided at its one end portion with gripping means to facilitate removal of the sealing element through tearingoff, said sealing strip having a full-bodied portion of substantial circumferential extension joined to the lid portion and the retaining portion by score lines, and said fullbodied portion in a sealed state being radially supported by a toroid portion of the container for protection against accidental damage. Preferably said full-bodied portion has an o; inner, essentially flat surface being in contact with an 20 outer surface of the toroidal portion. It is also preferred for the full-bodied portion to extend over a sectional angle from about 900 to about 2700°.

According to an advantageous aspect of the invention, the closure further comprises a semi-bodied portion of substantial circumferential extension endwise joined to the full-bodied portion, said semi-bodied portion being joined to the cap by circumferentially interspaced bridge elements and to the retaining portion by a score line. In a sealed state, it is preferred for the semi-bodied portion to be radially supported by a toroid portion of the container for protection against accidental damage.

According to a particularly advantageous aspect of the invention, the gripping means in an unmounted state do not A 1>substantially protrude peripherally from the closure and are 3 arranged for being peripherally extended by the action of the container on the closure when the closure is being mounted onto the container. It is preferred for the gripping means to comprise one end portion of the tear-off sealing element, which end portion in an unmounted state of the closure extends along the circumference of the closure and between the lid portion and the retaining portion, essentially in the same way as the rest of the tear-off sealing element. It is also preferred for the the sealed closure, in a state where the closure is mounted onto the container, to have said end portion of the tear-off sealing element extend peripherally of the circumference of the closure, thereby providing gripping means enabling the sealing element to be gripped and torn off. It is furthermore preferred for said end portion of the tear-off sealing element to be provided with inner actuating means for radial displacement of said end portion by contact with an toroid bead portion on the outside of the neck of the container, said actuating means suitably forming an integral part of said end portion.

According to an advantageous variation of the inventive concept, the actuating means for radial displacement of said A end portion is arranged at a distance from the end of said end portion, said actuating means preferably including a bulge or cambered portion arranged at the interior surface of said end portion, said bulge or cambered portion extending in direction of the center of the closure. The end portion of Sthe tear-off sealing element may be suitably provided, wholly or partially, with a surface or shape that facilitates gripping. Preferably, said end portion of the tear-off sealing element may be provided, wholly or partially, with a surface or shape that facilitates gripping. Specifically, it may, for example, be provided with grooves or ripples or be corrugated or roughened in some other way.

L *1 4 According to a further advantageous variation of the inventive concept, the part of the tear-off sealing element extending in an unmounted state at the end portion or a part thereof extending from the end in peripheral direction is neither joined to the retaining portion of the closure nor to the lid portion. It is preferred for said end portion to be provided with an inner convex profile arranged for outwards displacement by bulge means arranged on the outside of the container, said bulge means preferentially being toroidal in form.

It is possible hut not preferred to arrange the actuating means for radial displacement of said end portion of the tear-off sealing means at the neck portion of the container, while keeping the profile of the interior wall of the sealing means about constant over the entire length of the sealing S,..means. Such an arrangement necessitates, however, a careful alignment of the actuating means for radial displacement on the container and said end portion of the tear-off sealing means during the process of mounting.

According to an additional preferred aspect of the invention, the sealed closure may possess hinge means.

However, the absence of such hinge means this is especially advantageous for certain uses where the opened container is disposed after being used for a short period of time only.

Such closures lacking hinge means are particularly advantageous for use with containers which are conically tapering towards their bottom end. In this context, it is also preferred for the retainer ring to be arranged for slidable removal via the bottom end after the breaking of the seal.

The present invention also provides a process for manufacture of a container having a sealed closure that prior to its mounting on the container does not have any gripping means extending peripherally therefrom, which gripping means are produced in the process by the action of the container on the closure when the closure is being mounted onto the container.

It is preferred for the process according the invention to comprise the following steps: a) manufacture of a sealed container closure comprising an at least interiorly rotationally symmetric retaining portion for retaining the closure on the container, a lid portion connected to the retaining portion by hinge means, and a tear-off sealing element connecting the retaining portion and the lid portion and having an end portion, said end portion being intereriorly provided with actuating means for radial displacement of said end portion, S" b) manufacture of a container having an essentially rotationally symmetric neck portion and bead means arranged Sexteriorly on the neck portion, c) filling the container with its contents, o d) aligning the rotational axes of the retaining portion of the container closure and the container, respectively, with the retaining portion of the closure facing the container neck portion, e) displacing the container closure along its rotational 0o axis in the direction of the container, while holding the container in a fixed position, f) radially displacing said end portion of the sealing means by abutting and displacing action of said bead means on said activating means and thereby forming gripping means for gripping the end portion of the sealing means when tearing it off, while simultaneously locking the contai- 6 ner closure on the container and thereby closing and sealing the container.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 an elevational view of a container provided with a first embodiment of the closure accoro ding to the invention, in section A A (Fig.

2), 1 Fig. 2 a planar top view of the assembly in Fig. 1, o in section H H (Fig. 1), o a Fig. 3 a partial view of the closure as shown in S 20 Fig. 1, in an unmounted state and in section B S- B (Fig. 2), o Fig. 4 a second partial view similar to that in Fig. 3 but in section C C (Fig. 2), SFig. 5 a third partial view similar to that in Fig. 3 but in section D D (Fig. 2), Fig. 6 a forth partial view similar to that in Fig. 3 30 but in lower half of section A A (Fig. 2), Fig. 7 a fifth partial view similar to that in Fig. 3 but in section F F (Fig. 2), 7 Fig. 8 the same partial view of the closure as in Fig. 3 but with the closure mounted on a container, Fig. 9 a second embodiment of a closure according to the invention, in a partial top view corresponding to Fig. 2, Fig. 10 the second embodiment in the same view as in Fig. 9 but in an unmounted state, Fig. 11 an elevational partial view of the second embodiment in an unmounted state, in section K K (Fig. 10), and Fig. 12 an elevational partial view of the second embodiment in a mounted state, in section F F (Fig. 9).

Sections G G and L L in Figs. 9 and 10 correspond to 20 sction B in Fig. 2 (see Fig. B) and the respective section S° with the closure in an unmounted state (cf. Fig. 3).

SA closure 1 made of resilient flexible plastic material is mounted on a container 5 (Figs. 1, The closure 1 comprises a lid portion 2, a sealing element or strip 3, and a retaining ring portion 4 with a rotationally symmetric inner surface. For the major part of its extension along the circumference of the closure 1, the sealing element 3 which has about the shape of a ring segment has the form of a fullbodied annular segment 20 joined to the lid portion 2 and to the retaining portion 4 via bridge sections of the same plastic material having score lines 13, 14 (Fig. 3) that can be easily broken by tearing the sealing element 3 in the circumferential direction of the closure 1. In respect of closure 1, "inner" refers to surfaces which, when the closure 1 is mounted on a container, are facing the container L 8 while "outer" refers to other surfaces; "outwards" refers to a direction from an outer surface, while "inwards" refers to a direction from an inner surface.

As shown in Fig. 2 the sealing element 3 extends circumferentially around the major part of the container 5, forming a circular segment of about 2400. The sealing element 3 has a grip portion 21 at the one end of the full-bodied portion The grip portion 21 enables the seal to be easily gripped and torn off. The full-bodied portion 20 is joined to a semibodied portion 22 (Figs. 4 and which continues to be joined to the re:ainer ring 4 by the lower score line 13 but is connected to the edge of the cap 2 by interspaced bridge elements 23. The semi-bodied part 22 covering a sectional angle of about 100° extends to the other end of the sealing element 3. Interspaced (cf. Fig. 6) bettween the respective sectional ends of the sealing element 3 is a flexible integral hinge element 24 permanently bridging the gap between f't C, the cap 2 and the retainer ring 4 (Fig. 7) and Inaving a pre- S" 20 dominantly peripheral extension covering a sectional angle of about Sn a mounted state (Figs. 1, 2 and 8) the full-bodied part of the retainer ring 3 by its inner surface 8 is in abutting contact with an outer bulge or toroid portion 11 of the container 1. This protects score lines 13 and 14 from being inadvertably broken by pressure exerted on part 20 from the outside and thus the seal from being damaged.

The container 5 is made of plastic material similar to that used for the closure 1, but can be made of a wide range of materials, including glass. The profile of the neck portion of the container 5 is provided with bulges and recesses at points where it faces surfaces of the closure 1 in such a way that closure 1 can be snapped onto the container 5 in the mounting process and be retained in locked position on the 9 container, and that the 'id ,urtion 2, after removal of the sealing strip 3, can be opened and closed at will. However, in the present context only the toroid portion 11 is of interest; the horizontal line H shown in most of the Figures dissects the toroid portion 11 (or the respective phantom toroid portion when the cap 2 is shown in an unmounted state) at a point where its distance from the axis of container 1 is at maximum.

The inner surface of the sealing strip 3 has a rather flat profile portion 8 between bulge 6 on the inside of the lid of cap 2 and bulge 7 on the inside of the retainer ring 4, and is in abbutting but essentially unstrained contact by this flat inner portion 8 with the toroid portion 11. Between the flat portion 8 and the toroid portion 11, there might be a mimimal interspace due to variations in exactness of fit and *manufacture of the respective parts, but such interspace will not be wide enough for the full-bodied portion 20 to be "oo" displaced inwardly by accidental pressure over such a Jj 20 distance as to damage score lines 13 and/or 14.

The second embodiment shown in Fig. 9 12 differs from the o first embodiment described above by the inner profile 8 of part of the full-bodied portion 20 of the sealing strip 3, as is explained in the following with reference to closure 1 in an unmounted state. Whereas profile 8 is about flat and forms a depression between bulge 6 at the lid portion 2 and bulge 7 at the retaining ring portion 4 (Fig. the other inner profile 9 (Fig. 11) is highly convex and inwardly bulging, thus forming a protuberance or bulge 10 (Fig 10). However, as can be seen in Fig. 3, the major part of the inner surface of the full-bouled portion 20 of the sealing strip 3 still has the flat profile 8 extending on both sides of the bulge along the sealing strip 3. The bulge 10 is arranged at a rather short distance from one end of the strip 3, preferably about 1,5 to 2 cm.

IL. pr" When the closure 1 is mounted on the container 5, the toroid portion 11 by contact with the relatively rigid bulge 8 on the contailner 5 displaces the sealing strip 3 outwardly, as shown in Figs. 9 and 12. The score lines 13 and 14 extend along the major part of the sealing ring 3. However the fullbodied portion 20 of the sealing ring 3 is not joined to the lid portion 2 and the retainer ring 4 in an the area where the bulge 10 is ar :anged. The score line-free portion of the sealing strip 3 extends in both directions from the bulge that is in the one direction from the bulge 10 to the end of sealing strip 3 at closest distance from it and, in the other direction, for a short distance only. Arrow 12 in Fig. 3 indicates the poirt from which the score lines 13 and 14 are extending counter-clockwise. The portion of the sealing strip 15 3 freed during the mounting process and intended to be griptoot.ped when the sealing strip 3 is torn off, is provided with shallow transverse grooves (not shown) at its outer and inner o surfaces for better gripping.

It is entirely feasible to have the score lines 13 and 14 extend for a longer distance than shown in this embodiment, for example from the bulge 10 to the end most distant from it or over the entire length of the sealing strip 3. In the latter case it is important for sealing strip 3 rigidity and o 25 score line fragility to be properly matched, so as to ensure that the score lines 23, 14 extending between the end of the I sealing strip 3 closest to the bulge 10 and the bulge 10 are broken and the freed end portion of the sealing strip 3 is displaced outwardly. It is also entirely feasible to provide the sealing strip 3 with a number of bulges similar to bulge arranged in short intervals and extending from one end of the sealing strip 3 for a distance in the direction of its other end; in this case, there ILs no need to carefully balance the fragility of the score lines 13, 14 against the rigidity of the sealing strip 3. Instead of such multiple bulge arrangement in intervals, the sealing strip 3 may also 11 be provided with a continuous bulging profile extending over a distance of its one end.

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Claims

2. A sealed closure system according to claim 1, wherein said full-bodied portion has an inner, essentially flat surface being in contact with an outer S 20 surface of said toroidal portion. :H r3. A sealed closure system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said full-bodied portion extends over a sectional angle from about 90° to about 2700.
4. A sealed closure system according to claims 1 to 25 3, the closure further comprising a semi-bodied portion of substantial circumferential extension endwise joined I to the full-bodied portion, said semi-bodied portion o °being joined to the cap by circumferentially interspaced bridge elements and to the retaining portion by a score line. A sealed closure system according to claim 4, wherein said semi-bodied portion in a sealed state is radially supported by a toroid portion of the container for protection against accidental damage.
6. A sealed closure system according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein said gripping means in an unmounted state do not substantially protrude peripherally from the closure and are arranged for being 6. S.21 686B1703 A 13 peripherally extended by the action of the container on the closure when the closure is being mounted onto the container.
7. A sealed closure system according to claim 6 wherein the gripping means comprise one end portion of the tear-off sealing element, which end portion in an unmounted state of the closure extends along the circumference of the closure and between the lid portion and the retaining portion, essentially in the same way as the rest of the tear-off sealing element.
8. A sealed closure system according to claims 6 or 7, wherein in a state of the closure being mounted onto the container, said end portion of the tear-off sealing element extends peripherally of the circumference of the closure, thereby providing gripping means enabling the sealing element to be gripped and torn-off. °o 9. A sealed closure system according to claim 7 or 8, wherein said end portion of the tear-off sealing element is provided with inner actuating means for radial 20 displacement of said end portion by contact with a toroid °bead portion on the outside neck of the container. 0 10. A sealed closure system according to claim 9, wherein said actuating means form an integral part of 0o, said end portion. 25 11. A sealed closure system according to claim 9 or wherein said actuating means for radial displacement of said end portion is arranged at a distance from the end of said end portion.
12. A sealed closure system according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein said actuating means includes a bulge or cambered portion arranged at the interior surface of said end portion, said bulge or cambe,.ed portion extending in direction of the centre of the closure.
13. A sealed closure according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein said end portion of the tear-off sealing J Z Aelement may be provided, wholly or partially, with a L surface or shape that facilitates gripping. S:21686B/703 I F, V 14
14. A sealed closure system according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein, in an unmounted state, the tear- off sealing element at its end portion or a part thereof extending from the end in peripheral direction is neither joined to the retaining portion of the closure nor to the lid portion. A sealed closure system according to any of claims 7 to 14, wherein said end portion is provided with an inner convex profile arranged for outwards displacement by bulge means arranged on the outside of the container.
16. A sealed closure system according to claim wherein said bulge means is of toroidal form.
17. A sealed closure system according to any of 15 claims 1 to 16 further comprising hinge means. on o on c u~us onus o D i, D cowo us oo ao D vo nit oo o on D u I o oa oo o oon D or on no o~o. ou~~ O ori~ L ~~oO uu: ws8 O I) Qd O L)B D ~bl lr r~ i B O 'T0 D~c9 1 Lu,
18. A sealed closure/according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said container is conically tapering towards its bottom end. systeM
19. A sealed closureaccording to claim 18, wherein said retainer ring is arranged for slidable removal via the bottom end after the breaking of the seal. A process for manufacture of a container having a sealed closure that prior to its mounting on the container does not have any gripping means extending peripherally therefrom, which gripping means are produced in the process by the action of the container on the closure when the closure is being mounted onto the container 15 said process comprising the following steps: 0480 S000 a) manufacture of a sealed container closure comprising an at least interiorly rotationally symmetric retaining S: portion for retaining the closure on the con- tainer a lid portion connected to the retaining portion by hinge means, and a tear-off sealing element connecting the retaining portion and the lid portion and having an end portion, said end portion being intereriorly provided with actuating means S 25 for radial displacement of said end portion, b) manufacture of a container having an essentially rotationally symmetric neck portion and bead means arranged exteriorly on the neck portion, Sc) filling the container with its contents, d) aligning the rotational axes of the retaining portion of the container closure and the container f 5 respectively, with the retaining portion of the r- 0o closure facing the containet neck portion, F, 16 e) displacing the container closure along its rotational axis in the direction of the container ,while holding the container in a fixed position, f) radially displacing said end portion of the sealing means by abutting and displacing action of said bead means on said activating means and thereby forming gripping means for gripping the end portion of the sealing means when tearing it of f, while simultane- ously locking the container closure on the container and thereby closing and sealing the container
21. A sealed closure ~e~'substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 00:22. A process for manufacture of a container having a 0 sealed closure substantially as herein described with S- -reference to the accompanying drawings. 0 4 Dated this 7th day of April 1993 DUMA AKTIEBOLAG By their Patent Attorney b :0:0.GRIFFITH HACK CO. *boo. L Abstract A closure for a container made of resilient flexible plastic material comprises a lid portion a retaining ring portion and a sealing strip connected along a major part of its circumferential extension to the lid por- tion and the retaining portion by bridge sections of plastic material having score lines and at its flat inner surface being supported by a toroidal portion (11) of the container neck for protection against accidental damage. The closure is manufactured in a closed and sealed state and is mounted in this state on the container filled with its contents. The hemicircular sealing strip has a bulge with a convex profile on its inside and close to one end of the o0 .15 strip When the closure is in a state mounted on the container the bulge is displaced by the toroidal portion thereby forming gripping means for gripping and tearing °t off the sealing strip Also disclosed is a process for 0°j manufacture of a such closure i eo ra 0 0.6 o a 9"" 1