EP0548838A2 - Originalitätsverschluss für Behälter - Google Patents

Originalitätsverschluss für Behälter Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP0548838A2
EP0548838A2 EP92121583A EP92121583A EP0548838A2 EP 0548838 A2 EP0548838 A2 EP 0548838A2 EP 92121583 A EP92121583 A EP 92121583A EP 92121583 A EP92121583 A EP 92121583A EP 0548838 A2 EP0548838 A2 EP 0548838A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
container
cover
seal member
closure
seal
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP92121583A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0548838A3 (en
EP0548838B1 (de
Inventor
Robert G. Keller
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Unilever Bestfoods North America
Original Assignee
Unilever Bestfoods North America
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Unilever Bestfoods North America filed Critical Unilever Bestfoods North America
Publication of EP0548838A2 publication Critical patent/EP0548838A2/de
Publication of EP0548838A3 publication Critical patent/EP0548838A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0548838B1 publication Critical patent/EP0548838B1/de
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D79/00—Kinds or details of packages, not otherwise provided for
    • B65D79/005—Packages having deformable parts for indicating or neutralizing internal pressure-variations by other means than venting
    • B65D79/0087—Packages having deformable parts for indicating or neutralizing internal pressure-variations by other means than venting the deformable part being located in a closure, e.g. in caps or lids

Definitions

  • This invention relates to tamper evident containers, and more particularly to closures having visible seals which reveal whether tampering or leakage has occurred, without the necessity of removing the closure to inspect the seal.
  • Containers such as jars with screw-on caps have been provided with various means for indicating tampering.
  • U.S. patent No. 4,778,069 discloses and claims a container having a tab extending from an inner seal through a slot in the container cover. Damage to the tab is indicative of tampering.
  • Patent No. 4,553,678 has a film or foil seal which is visible through a transparent screw cap.
  • U.S. patent No. 4,489,841 a color change in the skirt of a cap indicates that the package has been opened.
  • U.S. patent No. 4,674,642 relates to a closure for a container having contents under vacuum.
  • An inner liner has a projection which extends through an aperture in the container cap when vacuum is lost.
  • vacuum would be re-established after opening and re-closing of the container because of reaction of the contents with air admitted by opening of the container.
  • the tamper evident container closure of the invention includes an inner seal which is held in a concave or convex condition by a difference between the ambient pressure and the pressure of gas within the container.
  • the inner seal is visible through an opening in a top panel of the closure.
  • a convex condition also provides a tactile indication of security. Pressing upon the seal with a finger offers assurance of pressure, indicating that the seal has not been broached.
  • the closure of the invention provides external evidence that a container, such as a jar or bottle with a screw-on cap, has been subjected to tampering or leakage without resorting to complex devices which are costly to manufacture and which are, in some cases, unreliable. There will be fewer false positive signals of tampering than will result from some of the prior art expedients, and fewer false negative signals than there would be with other prior art devices.
  • the condition of an inner seal reveals whether the container has been tampered with or otherwise opened.
  • the seal configuration changes from a convex or concave condition which denotes container integrity, to another condition, signaling that the container has been opened.
  • the invention is discussed with reference to closure for a jar with a screw-on cover, but the invention is applicable to covers secured to containers by other means than mating screw threads, and to closures for other types of containers.
  • the inner seal which can be sealingly secured either to a lip of the container or to a container cap or lid as well reveals whether the container has been opened.
  • opened refers to either complete or partial removal of or leakage past the inner seal, which could expose the container contents to unintentional contamination or tampering.
  • the inner seal is visible through an aperture in the container cover, such as a circular central hole in a flat top panel of the cover. Enough of the periphery of such an apertured panel is retained to provide pressure for sealing to the seal surface of the container.
  • the aperture not be open when the cover is replaced. While this may be acommodated by retucking the seal member, it may be more desirable for the seal member to be sealed to the cover as well as the container rim.
  • the seal to the rim must be sufficiently strong to retain a hermetic seal but sufficiently weak to fail by shear when opening.
  • the need to close this aperture may also be acommodated by using a two element seal part of which seals to the cover and part to the container rim.
  • the two parts may be temporarily bonded with wax which melts allowing separation at the time of sealing.
  • FIG. 1 show embodiments of the tamper evident container closure of the invention as applied to a screw-on cap of a wide mouth jar, although the invention can be employed in other types of closures, such as caps for bottles, etc.
  • the jar generally designated by the reference character J in the several drawing figures, is hatched to indicate plastic material, but it could be a glass, ceramic or metal container.
  • the jar J has an open mouth portion M provided with an integral outwardly projecting helical thread T1 for engagement with an inwardly projecting helical thread T2 of a cover 10 for the jar J as seen in Figs. 3 and 4 when the cover 10 is screwed on to close the mouth of the jar J.
  • the cover or cap 10 which may be of plastic material, has the usual annular lip 11 which carries the thread T2, which lip can have multiplicity of external vertical extending grooves to allow manual gripping without slipping of the hand when opening or closing the container.
  • the cover 10 instead of the conventional continous disc-shaped top panel, has only an annular peripheral portion 12, surrounding an opening 13 which occupies most of what would usually be the central area of a top panel of a cover.
  • the annular peripheral portion 12 of the cover is sufficiently wide to provide pressure for sealing a seal member 14 to the rim 15 of the jar mouth M.
  • the seal member 14 which is preferably a die cut disc of flexible foil laminated plastic material and/or coated paper, is fitted in place within the cover 10 and applied to the container by use of radio frequency induction heating or some other conventional technique.
  • the seal is secured to the rim 15 of the container.
  • the contents of the jar J can be filled by a conventional process such as hot filling, nitrogen injection, under- or over-saturation with soluble gas, flushing of a head space above the contents with a soluble gas, or by any other known technique which will result in a head space pressure beneath the seal 14 that differs from atmospheric pressure.
  • the pressure in the head space within the jar J is lower than atmospheric, and the seal member 14 is accordingly deformed into the concave conformation illustrated. This contraction of the seal member 14 is readily apparent to one inspecting the seal through the opening 13 of the cover 10.
  • the cover 10 may also have a peripheral flange 17 for vertical stacking of containers.
  • Fig. 3 shows the jar J with its sealing member 14 in a concave disposition, indicating that no tampering or leakage has allowed outside air to enter the jar J.
  • an outwardly distended, convex seal 24 and could indicate an overpressure in the jar J to signal that no leakage or tampering has taken place as in Fig. 6.
  • Fig. 4 shows ambient air entering as illustrated by the direction of the arrows. If the contents were filled under an over-pressure, the pressurized gas would escape to the outside. In either case, the seal 14 will respond by taking on the unstressed flat conformation shown in Fig. 4.
  • FIGs. 5 - 8 Modified versions of the closure according to the invention are shown in Figs. 5 - 8.
  • the seal member 24 is sealingly secured, to the rim 25 of the jar J.
  • the seal 24 is shown as having a convex curvature in its undisturbed state.
  • Fig. 6 shows the jar J as it would be received after filling.
  • Fig. 7 shows the removal of the cover 20 if the seal consists of two elements.
  • Fig. 8 the closure of Fig. 5 - 8 has a central opening 23 like the opening 13 of the embodiment of Figs. 1 - 4, but the opening 23 can be smaller in diameter than the opening 13. The opening 23 permits inspection of the condition of the seal 24 or the combination of seal members 16 and 24 without removal of the cover 20.
  • the invention in either form, allows printing on the seal member, whether it be a member 14, or 16 or 24, avoiding the need to put printed content identification or other information on the cover 10 or 20,

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Closures For Containers (AREA)
  • Cartons (AREA)
  • Containers And Packaging Bodies Having A Special Means To Remove Contents (AREA)
  • Devices For Use In Laboratory Experiments (AREA)
EP92121583A 1991-12-23 1992-12-18 Originalitätsverschluss für Behälter Expired - Lifetime EP0548838B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US81273791A 1991-12-23 1991-12-23
US812737 2001-03-20

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0548838A2 true EP0548838A2 (de) 1993-06-30
EP0548838A3 EP0548838A3 (en) 1993-09-08
EP0548838B1 EP0548838B1 (de) 1998-07-22

Family

ID=25210477

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP92121583A Expired - Lifetime EP0548838B1 (de) 1991-12-23 1992-12-18 Originalitätsverschluss für Behälter

Country Status (7)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0548838B1 (de)
AT (1) ATE168649T1 (de)
CA (1) CA2084389C (de)
DE (1) DE69226341T2 (de)
DK (1) DK0548838T3 (de)
ES (1) ES2118781T3 (de)
GR (1) GR3027783T3 (de)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2317882A (en) * 1996-10-04 1998-04-08 Chown Peter A C A container for a pressurised food or drink product
DE10022177A1 (de) * 1999-12-27 2001-07-12 Uwe Friebe Vorrichtung zum Signalisieren des inneren Zustandes eines Behälters

Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4122964A (en) * 1976-07-02 1978-10-31 Morris Neal R Reusable closures for hermetically sealing containers
GB2130565A (en) * 1982-09-29 1984-06-06 Patent Dev International Ltd Container closures
FR2572708A1 (fr) * 1984-11-02 1986-05-09 Jujo Paper Co Ltd Recipient en papier pour liquides, et procede et appareil pour remplir et sceller ce recipient
US4721219A (en) * 1986-11-17 1988-01-26 Owens-Illinois Closure Inc. Composite, vacuum indicating closure
EP0269920A1 (de) * 1986-11-20 1988-06-08 Anchor Hocking Corporation Zusammengesetzter Verschluss und Behälter
US4852753A (en) * 1987-05-11 1989-08-01 Anchor Hocking Corporation Closure cap and thin walled container
US5057365A (en) * 1989-07-12 1991-10-15 501 Tri-Seal International, Inc. Cap liner and process for using cap liner to seal containers
DE4020371C1 (en) * 1990-06-27 1991-12-19 Kroma, Herrmann Und Wolf Nachfolger Norbert Herrmann, 6246 Glashuetten, De Sealing of glass and plastics containers - involves use of metallic layer and induction ring

Patent Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4122964A (en) * 1976-07-02 1978-10-31 Morris Neal R Reusable closures for hermetically sealing containers
GB2130565A (en) * 1982-09-29 1984-06-06 Patent Dev International Ltd Container closures
FR2572708A1 (fr) * 1984-11-02 1986-05-09 Jujo Paper Co Ltd Recipient en papier pour liquides, et procede et appareil pour remplir et sceller ce recipient
US4721219A (en) * 1986-11-17 1988-01-26 Owens-Illinois Closure Inc. Composite, vacuum indicating closure
EP0269920A1 (de) * 1986-11-20 1988-06-08 Anchor Hocking Corporation Zusammengesetzter Verschluss und Behälter
US4852753A (en) * 1987-05-11 1989-08-01 Anchor Hocking Corporation Closure cap and thin walled container
US5057365A (en) * 1989-07-12 1991-10-15 501 Tri-Seal International, Inc. Cap liner and process for using cap liner to seal containers
DE4020371C1 (en) * 1990-06-27 1991-12-19 Kroma, Herrmann Und Wolf Nachfolger Norbert Herrmann, 6246 Glashuetten, De Sealing of glass and plastics containers - involves use of metallic layer and induction ring

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2317882A (en) * 1996-10-04 1998-04-08 Chown Peter A C A container for a pressurised food or drink product
DE10022177A1 (de) * 1999-12-27 2001-07-12 Uwe Friebe Vorrichtung zum Signalisieren des inneren Zustandes eines Behälters
DE10022177B4 (de) * 1999-12-27 2004-02-12 Uwe Friebe Vorrichtung zum Signalisieren des inneren Zustandes eines Behälters

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0548838A3 (en) 1993-09-08
ATE168649T1 (de) 1998-08-15
CA2084389A1 (en) 1993-06-24
EP0548838B1 (de) 1998-07-22
CA2084389C (en) 2004-05-25
ES2118781T3 (es) 1998-10-01
DE69226341T2 (de) 1998-12-03
GR3027783T3 (en) 1998-11-30
DK0548838T3 (da) 1999-02-01
DE69226341D1 (de) 1998-08-27

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