AU681313B2

AU681313B2 - A tamper evident closure assembly

Info

Publication number: AU681313B2
Application number: AU32992/95A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Bryan Pritchard; Ronald Rae
Original assignee: BULLIVANT S NATURAL HEALTH PRO
Current assignee: BULLIVANT'S NATURAL HEALTH PRODUCTS Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1994-10-03
Filing date: 1995-10-03
Publication date: 1997-08-21
Anticipated expiration: 2015-10-03
Also published as: AU3299295A

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Name of Applicant: 4 Actual Inventors o Address for Service: *4* 4 BULLIVANT'S NATURAL PRODUCTS PTY LTD 010 008 616)

HEALTH

RONALD RAE BRYAN PRITCHARD CULLEN CO., Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 240 Queen Street, Brisbane, Qld. 4000, Australia.

A TAMPER EVIDENT CLOSURE ASSEMBLY *4 4 4 4 Invention Title: Details of Associated Provisional Application: No. PM8534 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:- THE INVENTION is concerned with an improved tamper evident closure assembly. In particular, the invention is concerned with a tamper evident resealable closure assembly.

Australian patent specification 585159 discloses a closure assembly having a cap part with a top and a depending skirt. A tear band or strip is connected by a frangible connection to the skirt and an anchor band. A hinge extends between the skirt and the anchor band and the underside of the top is provided with a downwardly extending spigot which, when the assembly is positioned relative to the neck of a container, allows the neck to be captured between the spigot and the inner .i wall of the skirt. This allows for re-closing of the cap relative to the container.

The tear band has a tab located adjacent the hinge and overlying the hinge. The closure assembly may be opened to enable the cap to be prised off the neck of the container by grasping the tab and progressively e ee 20 severing the tear band from between the skirt and the anchor band by causing the tab to move in a circular path about the assembly. A forward portion of the cap diametrically opposed to the hinge is provided with a lifting tab and once the tear band is removed, the cap 25 may be prised off the neck of the container by lifting Sthe tab and hinging the cap about the hinge and moving the cap upwardly of the neck of the container. The cap may be resealed against the neck by hinging it downwardly to enable the spigot to locate in the open neck of the container.

The spigot in this earlier proposal was of constant height and unless the spigot was properly aligned relative to the opening in the neck of the container, any misalignment during re-closure would place undue stresses on the hinge and would limit its life.

By providing the tab on the tear band immediately adjacent and overlying a portion of the hinge, moulding constraints were such that the hinge

I

could only be formed such that it did not project beyond the general confines of the outer walls of the cap skirt and the anchor band. As a consequence, the resultant hinge was not as strong as it might have been. The tab projecting from the tear band proved difficult to grasp and the severing of the tear band from the skirt and anchor band was progressive and required a circular motion to be imparted to the band to progressively sever it from the remainder of the closure assembly. Such progressive severance was a tedious operation.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved tamper evident closure assembly which at least minimises the difficulties referred to above.

According to one aspect, the invention provides a tamper evident closure assembly including a cap, a skirt depending from the cap, an anchor band, a tear band located between the skirt and the anchor band and frangibly interconnected to the skirt and the anchor band, a hinge extending between the skirt and the anchor 20 band and formed integrally therewith and having a thickness substantially the same as the wall thickness of the skirt and the anchor band, a portion of the tear band radially spaced from the hinge providing a tab for S* grasping by a user and normally extending over the anchor 25 band, a spigot extending from an interior surface of the Scap and having a wall portion adjacent the hinge of a greater height than the remainder of the spigot whereby when the tab is grasped and lifted over the cap the tear band may be severed from the skirt and the anchor band.

It is preferred that the cap be provided with a lifting tab to allow it to be prised from the neck of a container to which the closure assembly is mounted.

Preferably, the lifting tab is located diametrically opposed to the hinge. In one embodiment the lifting tab has rounded free corner portions.

The portion of the tear band providing the tab which may be grasped by the user preferably forms a loop although this is not essential. As indicated above, the tab on the tear band extends downwardly over the anchor band. Preferably, that tab extends downwardly and outwardly of the anchor band. As mentioned, the tab on the tear band is radially spaced from the hinge. More preferably, that tab is arranged diametrically opposite the hinge and below the lifting tab on the lid.

The spigot extending from the underside surface of the cap, as mentioned, has a wall portion adjacent the hinge which is substantially higher than the remainder of the spigot. In this way, when the cap is re-closed, the higher wall portion on the spigot locates within the open neck of the container to which the assembly is fitted and assists in locating the cap for re-sealing. The higher S.i wall portion is preferably arcuate in shape and S 15 progressively merges with the wall forming the remainder of the spigot.

The hinge is preferably a loop hinge having a substantially arcuate shape extending from and outwardly of the skirt and anchor band.

20 A particular preferred embodiment of the tamper evident closure assembly of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the drawings in which:- •Figure 1 is a plan view of the closure assembly according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a sectional view of the closure assembly taken along line A-A of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the closure assembly shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a sectional view of the closure assembly taken along line B-B of Figure 1; and Figure 5 is a plan view of the tear band incorporated in the closure assemibly of the invention.

With reference to the Figures, there is shown a tamper evident closure assembly 10. The assembly includes a cap 11 with a downwardly depending skirt 12.

The interior wall of the skirt is provided with a circumferentially extending bead 13. That bead cooperates with a bead on the neck of a container to which the assembly is fitted to allow the cap to be re-sealed against the neck of the container. A forward portion of the cap 11 is provided with a lifting tab 14.

The closure assembly 10 includes an anchor band The anchor band, in use, extends arcund the neck of a container and has a circumferentially extending bead 16 on an inner wall thereof. Bead 16 co-operates with the neck of the container and ensures that the anchor band is not readily removable from the container.

A tear band 17 is shown in Figure 5 of the drawings. The tear band is arranged extending between the skirt 12 and the anchor band 15 and is frangibly :connected to the skirt 12 and the anchor band 15. The S 15 tear band 17 has free ends 18 and 19 which in use terminate short of and either side of a hinge Opposite the ends 18 and 19, the tear band is configured .into a loop shaped tab 21. That tab is located diametrically opposite the hinge 20 and beneath the 20 lifting tab 14. The tab 21 extends downwardly of the S' closure assembly and outwardly of the anchor band to enable it to be easily grasped and lifted over the cap 11 to thereby sever the tear band from the skirt 12 and the •anchor band 15. This severing operation progressively tears the tear band from the skirt and anchor band commencing at locations either s;ide of the lifting tab 14 and progresses towards the free ends 18 and 19 of the tear band until the tear band is completely removed from the closure assembly. Once so removed, the lifting tab 14 may be grasped to snap the bead 13 from the neck of the container and to pivot the cap 11 about the hinge to enable the container to be opened. The cap 11 has a spigot 23 extenling from its undersurface. The spigot 23 has a long wall portion 22 adjacent the hinge 20. As shown in Figure 4, the long wall portion 22 of the spigot 23 has an arcuate shape and progressively merges with a short wall portion 24 which provides the remainder of the spigot.

I ~I 6 To re-close the cap, the cap 11 is pivoted about the hinge 20 and towards the opening in the neck of the container until the long wall portion 22 of the spigot 23 locates relative to the container opening.

This long wall portion then guides the cap in proper alignment with the neck of the container to facilitate re-sealing.

The hinge is substantially arcuate in shape as shown in Figure 2 and has a wall thickness corresponding substantially to the wall thickness of the skirt 12 and the wall thickness of the anchor band Since the end portions 18 and 19 of the tear band 17 terminate short of the hinge 20, opening 24 is present in the vicinity of the hinge 20. Since the tab 15 21 extends downwardly over the anchor band 15, an opening 25 is present immediately below the lifting tab 14.

:The long wall portion of the spigot assists in :'*.relocating the cap for re-closing of the container assembly and as a consequence stresses on the hinge are 20 reduced. By providing the tab 21 radially spaced from the hinge 20, the construction of the hinge 20 may be more substantial and gives rise to a stronger hinge.

Figure 3 shows a Z shaped connector 26 extending between the skirt 12 and the anchor band 15 in the region of the loop shaped tab 21. Connector 26 provides an additional telltale sign of tampering, if the integrity of connector 26 is broken or it is severed from the skirt 12 or the band 15, this indicates that the closure of the invention has been tampered with in some way.

Claims

2. The closure assembly of Claim 1 wherein the cap has a lifting tab to allow the cap to be prised from the neck of a container to which the closure assembly may be 20 mounted.
3. The closure assembly of Claim 2 wherein the lifting tab is located diametrically opposed to the hinge.
4. The closure assembly of any one of Claims 1 to 25 3 wherein the portion of the tear band providing the tab which may be grasped by the user forms a loop. The closure assembly of any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein the tab on the tear band extends downwardly and outwardly of the tear band.
6. The closure assembly of any one of Claims 1 to wherein the tab on the tear band is immediately below the lifting tab on the lid.
7. The closure assembly of any one of Claims 1 to 6 wherein the higher wall portion of the spigot is arcuate in shape and progressively merges with the wall forming the remainder of the spigot.
8. The closure assembly of any one of Claims 1 to 7 wherein the hinge is a loop hinge having a I_ 8 substantially arcuate shape extending from and outwardly of the skirt and the anchor band.
9. A tamper evident closure assembly substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings. DATED this 3rd day of October 1995. BULLIVANT'S NATURAL HEALTH PRODUCTS PTY. LTD. By their Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO. e *a a. o ea 1 I 9 ABSTRACT A tamper evident closure assembly having a cap, a skirt, an anchor band and a removable tear band between the skirt and the anchor band is disclosed. A hinge extends between the skirt and the anchor band and is of substantially the same thickness as the wall thickness of the skirt and anchor band. The tear band has a tab spaced from the hinge and which extends downwardly over the anchor band. A spigot extends from an interior surface of the cap and has a high wall portion adjacent the hinge. 0 •0 e• a i i I