GB2296911A

GB2296911A - Tamper evident closure with pourer for a bottle

Info

Publication number: GB2296911A
Application number: GB9500609A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Douglas Arbuckle
Original assignee: Guala UK Ltd
Current assignee: Guala UK Ltd
Priority date: 1995-01-12
Filing date: 1995-01-12
Publication date: 1996-07-17
Also published as: GB9500609D0

Abstract

A tamper evident closure (1) for a bottle (2) having an external screw thread (7) comprises a plastics pourer piece (9), an aluminium outer cap (10) with a screw thread (19) mating with the screw thread (7) of the bottle (2), a plastics inner cap (11) fitting inside said outer cap (10) and an aluminium guarantee band (12) joined to the outer cap (10) by means of a line of weakness (20), and means (30) for the snap-locking together of the pourer piece (9) and the bottle (2). Such that the outer and inner caps are removed together leaving the pourer piece in position within the neck. Stop means 26 on the outer cap retain the inner cap therein, and the inner cap removably snap fits by means of a collar within the pourer piece (28, Figure 2).

Description

GUARANTEE CLOSURE FOR A BOTTLE AND THE LIKE * * * * * DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a guarantee closure for a bottle having an external screw thread, of the type that comprises a plastics pourer piece, an aluminium outer cap with a screw thread mating with the screw thread of the bottle, a plastics inner cap fitting inside said cap and an aluminium guarantee band joined to the outer cap by means of a line of weakness.

Closures of the kind described above have a number of advantages and are widely used, but nevertheless behave somewhat unpredictably in use. Sometimes, for example, the pourer piece comes away from the bottle when the outer cap is being unscrewed and either remains stuck inside the outer cap or is lost, with all the disadvantages that this leads to.

The problem addressed by the present invention is to devise a guarantee closure of the type stated, having structural and functional characteristics such as to overcome the problems described above.

This problem is solved by means of a guarantee closure of the type stated, which is characterized in that it comprises means for the snap-locking together of the pourer piece and the bottle.

Other characteristics and advantages of the closure according to the present invention will be clearly apparent from the description given below of a preferred embodiment thereof: this is provided by way of a non-restricting indication, and refers to the accompanying figures, in which: - Figure 1 is a view in partial section of a closure according to the invention, - Figure 2 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of a detail of the closure shown in Figure 1, and - Figure 3 is an exploded view of the closure shown in Figure 1.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, 1 is a general reference for a guarantee closure for a bottle 2.

The bottle 2, which in this example is made of glass, comprises a generally cylindrical neck 3 having axes X-X and having a mouth 4 and a rim 5.

Around the outside of the neck 3, commencing from the rim 5, the bottle has an annular constriction 6, a screw thread 7 and an annular waist 8.

The closure 1 comprises a pourer piece 9, an outer cap 10, an inner cap 11 and a guarantee band 12.

The inner cap 11 is retained inside the outer cap 11 by stop means 13, while between the inner cap 11 and the pourer piece 9 there are means 14 for removable snapfitting. In this way the closure 1, at a point in its use when not yet fitted to the bottle, can be manipulated as a single unit.

The pourer piece 9 is made of some suitable plastics material such as polyethylene and includes a flat ring 15 that rests on the rim 5 of the bottle.

Extending away from the ring 15 are, on the top side, an annular anti-drip lip 16, and on the underside an outer tubular projection 17 which fits over the neck 3, and an inner tubular projection 18 passing into the mouth 4 and ending in a cage piece 18a whose function is to limit the rate of flow of the contents.

The outer cap 10 is made of aluminium and comprises a screw thread 19 which mates with the screw thread 7 to allow it to be screwed on and off as required.

The guarantee band 12 is also made of aluminium and is joined to the outer cap 10 by a line of weakness 20. The guarantee band 12 has an annular ridge 21 which is held in the waist 8 in order to keep the guarantee band in its axial position on the bottle.

The inner cap 11 is made of some suitable plastics material such as polyethylene and comprises a disc 22, from the underside of which there project coaxially an outer tubular projection 23, an intermediate tubular projection 24 and an inner tubular projection 25.

The outer cap 10 is provided with an annular ridge 26 situated immediately beneath the outer tubular projection 23 so as to retain the inner cap inside the outer cap and so as to form said stop means 13.

The intermediate tubular projection 24 abuts against the ring 15, on an upper annular ridge 27 formed on the ring itself.

The inner tubular projection 25 of the inner cap engages leaktightly in the inner tubular projection 18 of the pourer piece and possesses an external collar 28 that snaps removably over an annular ridge 29 projecting inwards from the tubular projection 18, said collar 28 and said annular ridge 29 constituting said means 14 of removable snap-fitting.

The closure 1 possesses means 30 for the snaplocking together of the pourer piece 9 and the neck 3 of the bottle 2. These means take the form of an annular bead 31 projecting inwards from the outer tubular projection 17 of the pourer body 9 and into the annular constriction 6 formed around the outside of the neck to accommodate the bead 31 more or less irreversibly.

As regards use, each time the bottle is to be opened, the outer cap is unscrewed and removed from the bottle, taking with it its inner cap as a result of the disengagement of the means of removable snap-fitting, while the pourer piece remains firmly attached to the bottle because of the presence of the locking means.

The chief advantage of the guarantee closure of the present invention is that it is safe and reliable in use, since the pourer piece remains firmly attached to the bottle, not only whenever the bottle is opened by unscrewing the outer cap complete with its inner cap, but also when the contents are being poured out.

A further advantage of the guarantee closure according to the present invention is the ease with which it can be manipulated when being fitted to the bottle during the bottling stage. This is because the entire closure according to the invention can be manipulated as a single item.

A further advantage of the guarantee closure according to the present invention is its structural simplicity, whereby it lends itself to large- and very large-scale production with only moderate costs.

Obviously, a person skilled in the art will be able to make many modifications and alterations to the guarantee closure described in the above example in order to satisfy any special requirements that may arise, while still remaining within the scope of protection of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims

1. Guarantee closure for a bottle having an external screw thread comprising a pourer piece, an outer cap with a screw thread mating with the screw thread of the bottle, an inner cap fitting inside said outer cap and guarantee band joined to the outer cap by means of a line of weakness and further comprising means for the snap-locking together of the pourer piece and the bottle.

2. Guarantee closure according to Claim 1, wherein the outer cap has stop means for retaining the inner cap.

3. Guarantee closure according to Claim 2, wherein the stop means comprise an annular ridge formed in the outer cap immediately beneath the inner cap

4. Guarantee closure according to claim 1, 2 or 3, and further comprising means for the removable snap-fitting together of the inner cap and the pourer piece.

5. Guarantee closure according to claim 4, wherein the means of removable snap-fitting comprise a collar formed on a tubular projection of the inner cap and an annular ridge formed on the pourer piece.

6. Guarantee closure according to anyone of claims 1-5, wherein the snap-locking means comprise an annular bead formed in the pourer piece and an annular constriction formed in the bottle with which said annular bead engages.

7. Guarantee closure substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the attached drawings.