GB2237269A - A fitting for a container having a neck - Google Patents

Abstract

A fitting 12, preferably made from a plastics material, for the neck 16 of a bottle 10 comprises a body part 42 and at least two leg parts 44 hingedly connected to the lower edge of the body part 42. The body part 42 is arranged to engage the top part of the neck 16. Each of the legs 44 has an inwardly projecting portion, preferably a pair of beads 54. When the fitting 12 is mounted on the bottle 10, the legs 44 extend downwardly from the body part so that the projecting portion is received in a groove 22 in neck 16. The vertical edges of legs 44 may be sealed together, and each leg 44 may have an externally projecting bead 56. A cap having an internal groove (64 fig. 3) can be mounted on fitting 12 so that beads 56 are locked in the groove (64). <IMAGE>

Description

A FITTING FOR A CONTAINER HAVING A NECK This invention relates to a fitting for a container having a neck and particularly, but not exclusively, relates to a fitting for a bottle.

In this specification, for ease of understanding, parts associated with a container and the container itself will be described with reference to the container in an upright position with its neck at the top, and words such as "top" and "downwardly" are to be construed accordingly.

The invention is however not to be considered as being restricted to the case where the container is in an upright position.

A known sealing cap for a container having a neck comprises an upper circular panel portion and a skirt portion extending downwardly from the edge of the panel portion. Towards its lower edge, the skirt portion has an inwardly projecting bead which, in use, is received in a groove formed in the outer surface of the neck of the container. The cap is made from a plastics material. The moulding process used to form the cap places a restriction on the radial depth of the bead.

In the case of containers made from glass, dimensional tolerances are generally poor. The combination of poor dimensional tolerances of the container and the small radial depth of the bead produce the consequence that the cap can be easily removed. In the case of containers made from a plastics material, dimensional tolerances are better than they are for glass.

However, even in the case of a container made from a plastics material, the cap can often be easily removed by warming it. Where a container contains a valuable product, unauthorised removal of the sealing cap is undesirable.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new or improved fitting for a container in which the above mentioned problem is overcome or reduced.

According to this invention, there is provided a fitting for a container having a neck, the fitting comprising a body part for engaging the top part of the neck of the container and at least two leg parts hingedly connected to the body part, each leg part having an inwardly projecting portion, the leg parts being arranged so that, with the fitting mounted on a container, the leg parts extend downwardly from the body part and engage the outer surface of the neck of the container with the inwardly projecting portions received in a groove formed in the outer surface of the neck of the container.

Where the fitting of this invention is made from a plastics material, it may be moulded with the leg parts in a raised position. When the fitting is mounted on the container, the body part may be engaged with the neck of the container with the legs parts in a raised position.

The legs parts may then be pivoted downwardly until the inwardly projecting portions engage the groove in the neck of the container. The edges of the leg parts may then be joined together, for example, by welding. With the fitting of this invention, it is possible to achieve a substantially greater radial depth of the inwardly projecting portions of the legs parts than is possible for the bead of the known sealing cap described above.

Consequently the fitting of this invention cannot be easily removed from a container on which it is mounted.

The fitting of this invention may be arranged to receive a further member, for example, a sealing cap.

This invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fitting embodying the invention and a fragment of a bottle on which the fitting may be mounted; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the fitting of Figure 1 mounted on the bottle of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a sectional view of a cap which may be mounted on the outer surface of the fitting of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a sectional view of the cap of Figure 3 and the fitting of Figure 1 mounted on the bottle of Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a fragment of a bottle 10, a fitting 12 for the bottle and a sealing cap 14. The bottle 10 may be made from glass or a suitable plastics material, for example, polyethylene terephthalate. The fitting 12 and the sealing cap 14 may be made from a suitable plastics material, for example, high density polyethylene.

The fragment of the bottle includes a neck 16. The outer surface of the neck 16 is divided into four sections 18, 20, 22, 24, each of which has a cylindrical shape.

The first or upper section 18 has a smaller diameter than the second section 20 and the first and second sections are joined by a shoulder 26. The third section has a diameter equal to that of the first section 18 and the second and third sections are joined by a shoulder 28.

The fourth section 24 has a diameter equal to that of the second section 20 and the third and fourth sections are joined by a shoulder 30. Beneath the fourth section 24, there is a shoulder 32. The axial lengths of the first and second sections 18, 20 are approximately equal. The axial length of the third section 22 is approximately half that of the first and second sections 18, 20 and the fourth section 24 has a short axial length. The fourth section 22 together with the shoulders 28, 30 define a groove.

The top surface 34 of the neck 16 has an annular shape. The inner surface of the neck 16 has a cylindrical shape. Beneath the shoulder 32, the inner surface 38 and the outer surface 40 of the bottle 10 taper outwardly.

The fitting 12 comprises a body part 42 and four leg parts 44 hingedly connected to the body part 40. By way of modification, the fitting 12 may have A different number, for example, two, of legs. The fitting 12 is moulded with each of the leg parts 44 in a radial position and, in Figure 1, the leg parts 44 are shown in this position. As will be described, when the fitting 12 is mounted on the bottle 10, the leg parts 12 are lowered so as to engage the outer surface of the neck 16.

The body part 42 has a top wall portion 46 and a skirt portion 48 which extends downwardly from wall portion 46. The wall portion 46 has an annular shape and its internal diameter is equal to the internal diameter of the inner surface 36 of the neck 16 of bottle 10. The internal and external surfaces of the skirt portions 48 are cylindrical and the inner surface has a diameter equal to the diameter of the first section 18 of neck 16. The axial length of the skirt portion 42 is equal to the axial length of the first section 18 of neck 16.

Each leg part 44 comprises a relatively narrow upper portion 50 and a relatively wide lower portion 52. The upper edge of the upper portion 50 is hingedly connected to the lower edge of the body part 42 and the lower portion 52 extends downwardly from the upper portion 50.

The lower portions 52 are arranged so that their vertical edges can be joined together.

Each of the leg parts 44 is provided with an inwardly extending portion in the form of a pair of inwardly projecting beads 54. The spacing between the axial outer surfaces of each pair of beads 54 is equal to the distance between shoulders 28, 30 of neck 16. Each of the leg parts 44 has an outwardly projecting, wedge-shaped bead 56.

The axial length of each leg part 44 is equal to the distance between shoulders 26 and 32 of neck 16. The radial depth of each leg part 44 is equal to approximately half that of the skirt portion 48. The legs parts 44 are curved. When the fitting 12 is mounted on bottle 10, the inner surfaces of the leg parts 44 engage sections 20 and 24 of the outer surface of neck 16 and the beads 54 engage the section 22. The outer surfaces of the legs parts 44 are flush with the outer surface of skirt portion 48.

The cap 14 has a circular panel portion 60 and a skirt portion 62 extending downwardly from the edge of the panel portion 60. The inner and outer surfaces of skirt portion 62 are cylindrical. The inner surface of the skirt portion 62 has a diameter equal to that of the outer surface of the skirt portion 48 of the fitting 12. The axial length of the skirt portion 62 of the cap 12 is equal to the distance between the top surface 34 and the shoulder 32 of the bottle 10. The skirt portion 62 has an internal groove having a wedge-shaped cross-section and positioned to engage the external beads 56 of fitting 12.

In order to mount the fitting 12 on bottle 10, the body part 42 is placed over the upper portion 18 of the neck 16. The legs 44 are then lowered until the beads 54 engage the groove defined by third section 22 and shoulders 28, 30. The vertical edges of the legs 44 are then bonded together, for example by heat or ultrasonic welding. Alternatively, the vertical edges of legs 44 may be arranged to snap together. By way of another alternative, the inner surfaces of legs 44 may be bonded to the outer surface of neck 16.

When the fitting 12 is thus mounted on the bottle 10, the beads 54 hold the fitting 12 in position. Because the fitting 12 is moulded with the legs 44 in a raised position, the beads 54 can have sufficient radial depth to ensure that easy or accidental removal of fitting 12 is not possible.

After the fitting 12 has been mounted on bottle 10, the cap 14 is pushed over fitting 12 until the beads 56 are received in groove 64. With the cap 14 in position, the bottle 10 is sealed.

By way of modification, the cap 14 may be omitted and the fitting 12 may be arranged to function as a closure member. This may be achieved by replacing the annular wall portion 46 with a circular sealing panel portion By way of another modification, the fitting 12 may be formed integrally with a pourer.

By way of a further modification, the fitting 12 may be arranged to function as a one-way valve.

Although the fitting 12 has been described for use with bottle 10, with appropriate modification it is suitable for use with any type of container having a neck.

For example, by increasing its diameter, it may be used on a jar.

Claims (10)

CLAIMS:

1. A fitting for a container having a neck, the fitting comprising a body part for engaging the top part of the neck of a container and at least two leg parts hingedly connected to the body part, each leg part having an inwardly projecting portion, the leg parts being arranged so that, with the fitting mounted on a container, the leg parts extend downwardly from the body part and engage the outer surface of the neck of the container with the inwardly projecting portions received in a groove formed in the outer surface of the neck of the container.

2. A fitting for a container as claimed in Claim 1, in which, in each leg part, the inwardly projecting portion comprises at least one inwardly projecting bead.

3. A fitting for a container as claimed in Claim 2, in which, in each leg part, the inwardly projecting portion comprises a pair of axially spaced apart beads.

4. A fitting for a container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the legs parts are arranged so that, with the fitting mounted on a container, the adjacent edges of the leg parts can be joined together.

5. A fitting for a container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which each leg part has a relatively narrow upper portion which is hingedly connected to the body part and a relatively wide lower portion which extends downwardly from the upper portion.

6. A fitting for a container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the body part comprises a radially extending wall portion for engaging the top surface of the neck of a container and a skirt portion extending downwardly from said wall portion and arranged to engage the peripheral outer surface of the top part of a container, each leg part being hingedly connected to the lower edge of the skirt portion.

7. A fitting for a container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which each leg part has an outwardly projecting bead.

8. A fitting for a container as claimed in Claim 7 together with a cap, said cap having a skirt portion provided with a groove on its internal surface, the cap being arranged so that, with the fitting mounted on a container, the skirt portion of the cap can engage the outer surfaces of the body part and leg parts of the fitting with the outwardly projecting beads of the legs parts of the fitting received in the groove of the skirt portion of the cap.

9. A fitting for a container having a neck substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. A fitting as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in combination with, and mounted on, a container having a neck, said neck having a groove in which are received the inwardly projecting portions of the legs parts of the fitting.