EP0698559A2 - Fermeture inviolable pour récipients - Google Patents

Fermeture inviolable pour récipients Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0698559A2
EP0698559A2 EP95305360A EP95305360A EP0698559A2 EP 0698559 A2 EP0698559 A2 EP 0698559A2 EP 95305360 A EP95305360 A EP 95305360A EP 95305360 A EP95305360 A EP 95305360A EP 0698559 A2 EP0698559 A2 EP 0698559A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
closure
tabs
container
tamper
pilfer ring
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.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP95305360A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0698559A3 (fr
Inventor
Gerald L. Roy
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.)
Kerr Group Inc
Original Assignee
Kerr Group Inc
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 Kerr Group Inc filed Critical Kerr Group Inc
Publication of EP0698559A2 publication Critical patent/EP0698559A2/fr
Publication of EP0698559A3 publication Critical patent/EP0698559A3/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current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
    • B65D41/00—Caps, e.g. crown caps or crown seals, i.e. members having parts arranged for engagement with the external periphery of a neck or wall defining a pouring opening or discharge aperture; Protective cap-like covers for closure members, e.g. decorative covers of metal foil or paper
    • B65D41/32—Caps or cap-like covers with lines of weakness, tearing-strips, tags, or like opening or removal devices, e.g. to facilitate formation of pouring openings
    • B65D41/34—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt
    • B65D41/3423—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt with flexible tabs, or elements rotated from a non-engaging to an engaging position, formed on the tamper element or in the closure skirt

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a tamper-evident closure with a thin web of material formed between the tamper-evident tabs.
  • the invention also relates to a tamper-evident closure and container combination.
  • Tamper-evident closures of various types have been used in the past on containers to enable the user of a product to determine whether the container has been opened. Such closures have commonly been made of aluminum or plastic.
  • closures include an upper cap portion and a lower security ring or band which is attached to the cap portion by a failure line. When the cap is removed. the closure breaks along the failure line, leaving the ring separate from the cap portion. Often the security ring is heated and rolled under a shoulder of the container: plastic closures of this type are described in U.S. Patent Nos. 3,673,761 and 4,033,472.
  • U.S. Patent Nos. 4,506,795 and 4,595,110 describe tamper-evident closures with tamper-indicating tabs which fold upwardly and inwardly and lock against the lower surface of an annular shoulder on a container neck to retain the tamper indicating means on the neck as the cap is removed.
  • the tamper indicating means has a ring to which the tabs are integrally connected at their lower outer ends.
  • the tabs are resilient and are flexed by the container finish at the joints where they are joined to the ring.
  • These closures may be installed simply by screwing them onto a container neck in a one step process.
  • the flexible tabs guide the closure and center it as it is lowered onto the container neck for installation. They do not require the holding of the closure or the container finish to close tolerances. However. there is a small chance in such a system that flexible tabs may turn outwardly during shipment.
  • a tamper-evident closure is provided for sealing an open-topped container.
  • a container of the present invention has an external screw thread formed on the neck of the container and an outwardly projecting annular shoulder formed below the screw thread on the container.
  • a closure of the present invention has an internally threaded closure which may be removed from the container for dispensing the contents of the container.
  • the closure has a base wall for extending across the open top of the container, an annular sidewall integrally joined to the base wall about the periphery of the base wall and depending from it, and tamper-indicating features.
  • the tamper-indicating features include a pilfer ring depending from the annular sidewall and located axially in vertical alignment with the sidewall, a number of flexible tabs connected to the pilfer ring capable of being bent upward and radially inward from the pilfer ring for contacting the annular shoulder of the container during removal of the closure to prevent the pilfer ring and tamper-indicating features from traveling upward beyond the annular shoulder with the rest of the closure. As such the pilfer ring then breaks away from the closure.
  • the tamper indicating features also include webbed areas located between the flexible tabs to prevent the flexible tabs from flexing outwardly.
  • the closure may be advantageously made of plastic.
  • the tabs in the present invention join the pilfer ring along folded joints, and the tabs are spaced from each other in a circumferential direction.
  • the cross-sectional thickness of the tabs may be substantially equal to the cross-sectional thickness of the pilfer ring portion to which they are joined.
  • the tabs are preferably substantially rectangular in shape and project upwardly and inwardly.
  • the webbed areas are also substantially rectangular in shape, however, the cross-sectional thickness of the webbed areas is substantially less than the cross-sectional thickness of the tabs.
  • FIG 1 illustrates an embodiment of a closure 2 of the present invention.
  • Closure 2 has a base wall 112. Depending from the periphery of the base wall 112 is an annular sidewall 110. The interior of the annular sidewall 110 has threads for engaging corresponding threads on a container neck. The annular sidewall 110 is frangibly connected to a pilfer ring 125 through a weakened area 124.
  • tabs 121a, 121b, 121c...., 121n Depending from the pilfer ring 125 are a series of tabs 121a, 121b, 121c...., 121n.
  • tab(s) 121k the term "tab(s) 121k” will be used. However, if characteristics of all of the tabs are discussed the general term “tabs 121" will be utilized.
  • the tabs 121 are spaced circumferentially from each other. Between the tabs are placed webs 123a, 123b, 123c...., 123n, which tend to tie the movement of one tab 123k to the movement of its neighboring tabs 123(k-1) and 123(k+1).
  • These webbed portions are preferably rectangular in shape so as to well-match the space between the tabs.
  • the webs 123 generally do not extend as far, in a downward direction, as do the tabs 121.
  • the thickness of the material from which the webs 123 are constructed is also preferably less than that of the tabs 121, so as to allow a reasonable amount of flexibility.
  • FIG 2 shows an embodiment of a container 200 of the present invention has a shoulder 204 from which a neck 203 extends upwardly.
  • the neck 203 has opening 205 through which the contents of the container 200 may be dispensed.
  • the exterior of neck 203 has threads 201 which threadingly engage corresponding threads on the interior of the annular sidewall.
  • the neck 203 has an annular shoulder 202 which provides a projection which tabs 121 may push against so as to hold the pilfer ring 125 below the annular shoulder.
  • closure 2 When the closure 2 is used to seal the open mouth of the container 200. the closure 2 is installed by being screw-threaded onto the neck 203 of the container 200.
  • the tabs 121 Prior to the capping operation, the tabs 121 must be flexed inward so that they extend radially and inwardly, pointing towards the interior of the ciosure 2. as shown in FIG 3. Once the tabs 121 are flexed inwardly, the closure 2 may be placed onto the container 200. During this installation procedure, the tabs 121, so flexed, contact the threads 201 but travel over them. The tabs 121 also travel over the annular shoulder 202. Once past these obstructions, the tabs 121 flex slightly inwardly toward the central axis of the closure 2.
  • the presence of the tabs 121 also assist in the initial installation of the closure 2 onto the container 200. This is because the inwardly flexed tabs 121 tend to guide the closure 2 onto the container neck 203 during installation, even if the alignment of the closure 2 and the container neck 203 is not exact. In particular, if the alignment is not exact, the tabs 121 tend to push the closure 2 and or container 200 into alignment.
  • FIG 4 demonstrates the situation where no webs are between the tabs.
  • Wall 412 has depending skirt 410.
  • Tabs 421a, 421b, etc. surround the base. It is clear that, in both the initial installation and the operation of the tabs to produce a tamper-evident feature, that the tamper-evident result is defeated if one or more tabs inadvertently flex outward at any time prior to installation, as is shown in FIG 4. Such a "tab-out" condition may occur during shipment or during the installation itself. As may be seen from FIG 4, the tab-out condition is exacerbated by the independence of movement of individual tabs 421k. In other words.
  • FIG 3 shows that, in addition to the inventive features discussed above, the present invention also includes webs 123 placed between the tabs 121.
  • the webs 123 are advantageously present just near the base of the tabs 121, in particular, at the folded joints where the tabs 121 connect with the pilfer ring 125. However, the webs 123 may extend even as far as the tabs 121 themselves.
  • the webs are made of a similar material as the closure, but their thickness is generally less so as to not inhibit the tabs' inward movement. These webs prevent the outward flexing of the tabs 121 by connecting the movement of one tab 121k with the movement of its neighboring tabs 121(k-1) and 121(k+1).
  • the webs 123 serve to keep the tabs 121 from flexing outward by providing tension against outward movements in which the average distance between points on adjacent tabs 121 becomes relatively large.
  • the webs 123 do not, however, prevent the tabs 121 from flexing inward because the inward flex tends to decrease the distance between the tabs 121. That is, the webs 123 are useful for preventing the tab-out condition, but do not inhibit the effectiveness of the tabs 121 in providing a tamper-evident feature.
  • the weakened area 124 may include, for example, a circumferential cut in a series of frangible connecting posts (not shown) which hold the pilfer ring 125 to the rest of the closure 2.
  • the circumferential cut is made in the pilfer ring (or above the pilfer ring), which cut can be such that few of the connecting posts remain, or most of the connecting posts survive the cutting, as desired.
  • the present invention includes a pilfer ring 125 with tabs 121 and webs 123, the volume of the closure 2 below the weakened area 124 is relatively heavy.
  • the frangible connecting posts in this example, may need to be manufactured in an especially strong manner to ensure that the pilfer ring does not break away during installation. It has been found that a preferable width and thickness of such a connecting post lies in the range of .010 to .025 in.
  • the preferred materials are polyolefins such as polystyrene or polypropylene.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Closures For Containers (AREA)
EP95305360A 1994-08-24 1995-07-31 Fermeture inviolable pour récipients Withdrawn EP0698559A3 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US29519194A 1994-08-24 1994-08-24
US295191 1999-04-20

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0698559A2 true EP0698559A2 (fr) 1996-02-28
EP0698559A3 EP0698559A3 (fr) 1996-09-11

Family

ID=23136635

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP95305360A Withdrawn EP0698559A3 (fr) 1994-08-24 1995-07-31 Fermeture inviolable pour récipients

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0698559A3 (fr)
AU (1) AU1491695A (fr)
CA (1) CA2144910A1 (fr)
MX (1) MX9502429A (fr)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2000056617A1 (fr) * 1999-03-23 2000-09-28 Calmar-Monturas S.A. Dispositif de fermeture de bouteille
ES2154212A1 (es) * 1999-03-23 2001-03-16 Calmar Monturas Sa "dispositivo para el cierre de botellas".
WO2008155552A1 (fr) * 2007-06-19 2008-12-24 Portola Packaging Limited Système de fermeture et son procédé de formage
US11059633B2 (en) 2019-10-31 2021-07-13 Cheer Pack North America Flip-top closure for container

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3673761A (en) 1968-03-30 1972-07-04 Ciba Geigy Ag Method of applying pilfer-proof closures
US4033472A (en) 1974-08-19 1977-07-05 Albert Obrist Ag Closure for containers
US4506795A (en) 1983-02-18 1985-03-26 Kerr Glass Manufacturing Corporation Tamper-evident closure
US4595110A (en) 1983-02-18 1986-06-17 Kerr Glass Manufacturing Corporation Tamper-evident closure

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4657153A (en) * 1985-11-18 1987-04-14 Anchor Hocking Corporation Tamper-evident closure
US5090788A (en) * 1989-07-27 1992-02-25 Owens-Illinois Closure Inc. Tamper indicating package
DE4108453A1 (de) * 1990-04-07 1991-10-10 Deussen Stella Kg Behaelterverschluss

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3673761A (en) 1968-03-30 1972-07-04 Ciba Geigy Ag Method of applying pilfer-proof closures
US4033472A (en) 1974-08-19 1977-07-05 Albert Obrist Ag Closure for containers
US4506795A (en) 1983-02-18 1985-03-26 Kerr Glass Manufacturing Corporation Tamper-evident closure
US4595110A (en) 1983-02-18 1986-06-17 Kerr Glass Manufacturing Corporation Tamper-evident closure

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2000056617A1 (fr) * 1999-03-23 2000-09-28 Calmar-Monturas S.A. Dispositif de fermeture de bouteille
ES2154212A1 (es) * 1999-03-23 2001-03-16 Calmar Monturas Sa "dispositivo para el cierre de botellas".
ES2166698A1 (es) * 1999-03-23 2002-04-16 Calmar Monturas Sa Dispositivo para el cierre de botellas.
WO2008155552A1 (fr) * 2007-06-19 2008-12-24 Portola Packaging Limited Système de fermeture et son procédé de formage
AU2008264964B2 (en) * 2007-06-19 2011-04-07 Portola Packaging Limited Closure system and its method of forming
CN101784453B (zh) * 2007-06-19 2012-01-11 博得来包装有限公司 封闭系统及其颈部的形成方法
RU2461500C2 (ru) * 2007-06-19 2012-09-20 Портола Пекеджин Лимитед Запорное устройство и способ его изготовления
US11059633B2 (en) 2019-10-31 2021-07-13 Cheer Pack North America Flip-top closure for container

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
MX9502429A (es) 1997-02-28
CA2144910A1 (fr) 1996-02-25
EP0698559A3 (fr) 1996-09-11
AU1491695A (en) 1996-03-07

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