IE43680B1 - A reopenable closure which serves hermetically to close a bottle or similar container - Google Patents

Abstract

1530165 Container closures REFIL AG 17 Dec 1975 [17 Dec 1974 31 Oct 1975] 51653/75 Heading B8T A container closure comprises (a) a cap having a top wall and a skirt which has an annular bead projecting inwardly from its inner surface; (b) a sealing element on the inner surface of the top wall of the cap; (c) a lifting element integral with the cap for finger actuation; (d) at least one slot in the cap skirt adjacent the lifting element, each slot extending from the lower rim of the skirt transversely to the plane of the rim through the annular bead and upwardly beyond it to permit the cap skirt to splay on being mounted on a container; and (e) at least one elastically resilient bridging member for each slot and which projects outwardly of the cap skirt on both sides of the respective slot, each bridging member being tautly stretched tangent. ially to the cap skirt when the closure is applied to a container whereby counteracting splaying of the slot it bridges. In the embodiment of Fig. 6 the cap skirt 41 has a single slot 27 bridged by a member 46. Splaying of the slot is counteracted by cooperation between the ramps 42, 43 on either side of the slot 27 and the side surfaces 47a and bottom surface 47b of a recess 47 in the member 46. The closure of Fig. 13 has two slots 82, 83 in its skirt 81, each slot being bridged by members 84, 85 respectively. A detailed description of constructions of the sealing element is given with reference to Figs. 18 and 19 (not shown). Tamper-indicating means may be positioned to bridge a slot and be ruptured by the first use of the lifting element.

Description

This invention relates to a reopenable closure which serves hermetically to close a bottle or similar container.

Various kinds of reopenable closures are known.

Thus, reopenable closures are disclosed in, for example, British Patent Specifications Nos. 324,688, 368,922 and 420,738, U.S. Patent Specifications Nos. 2,671,572 and 3,825,144, and German Offenlegungsschriften Nos. 2,210,414 ahd 2,319,617.

LO However, it is a well-known problem of such a bottle closures that on the one hand it is to achieve the most effective seal of the dispensing orifice of the bottle, which seal should withstand even increased internal pressures of 6 to 8 atmospheres gauge, whilst on the L5 other hand the opening of the bottle by removing the closure should be so easy that it should not require any tools and should if possible be achievable with one finger, e.g. the thumb of the hand which holds the bottle by the neck. :0 According to the present invention there is provided a reopenable closure which serves to close hermetically a bottle or similar container having a neck, a dispensing 436S0 orifice therein, a neck frontal face surrounding said orifice and an orifice bead located below the latter and having a constricted underside, which closure comprises (a) a cap having an upper cap wall and a cap side wall circumferential about said upper cap wall, said cap side wall having an inner annular bead projecting inwards from the inner face of said cap side wall and destined, in the closing position, to engage with the constricted underside of the orifice bead of the bottle, (b) seal means comprising at least one sealing element provided on the inner face of the upper cap wall and serving, in the closing position, to seal the Is dispensing orifice of the bottle, (c) a lifting element which is in an actuating side of the cap side wall, and integral with the cap and which may be actuated by the finger, (d) at least one slot in the cap side wall located 20 in a circumferential zone adjacent the lifting element, each such slot extending from the lower rim of the cap side wall transversely to the plane defined by said rim through the inner annular bead and upwardly beyond the bead to permit the cap side wall to splay on being mounted on the mouth of the bottle, and (e) an elastically resilient member, provided individually for each such slot, integral with said cap side wall, which projects out of the cap side wall on both sides of and bridges the respective slot, each such bridging member being arranged so that when the cap is seated on the bottle each such bridging member is tautly stretched tangentially to the cap side wall and thereby counteracts splaying of the slot it brldgee.

In the closure of the invention the arrangement disclosed actively and sufficiently seals the bottle &36S0 while nevertheless it permits the moving of the bridging member and lifting of the cap with relatively little exertion of force, e.g. with the thumb of the hand which holds the bottle by the neck.

Also, the sealing of the dispensing orifice of the bottle in the closing position, as described below, is adaptable to the unevennesses which are usually found, above all in bottles made of glass, both on the frontal face and on the inner wall of the part surrounding the dispensing orifice, in the form of variations of up to 1 mm in height or-width, and oan ensure a seal regardless of these unevennesses.

According to one preferred embodiment the cap may possess, in its side wall, a single slot located adjacent L5 the lifting element, and the bridging member for the single slot may possess a recess, running transversely to the plane of the bridging member, on its inner wall opposite said slot, and on either side of the slot, ramp portions may be provided which project from the '.0 outer face of the side wall of the cap, the said ramp portions projecting, in the region of the lower peripheral rim of the cap, so far that a surface of the recess facing the ramp portions, when the bridging member is moved downwards into a closing position, runs onto the ramp portions and tensions the bridging member.

The ramp portions can in that case be broadened out in the direction of the lower peripheral rim of the cap so that side walls of the recess in the bridging member, when the latter is moved downwards into the closing ) position, run onto the ramps so as to compress them and narrow the slot between them. The recess can preferably have a dovetail-shaped cross section.

Furthermore, the ramp portions may each possess, in an intermediate region between an upper external face of the cap side wall and the lower peripheral rim of the cap. - 5 43680 a hump over which the said facing surface of the recess of the bridging member must be forced when the member is moved into the closing position. The recess in the bridging member can advantageously be so constructed that even when the bridging member is completely moved downwards until it rests against the bottle neck side walls of the recess remain in contact with outer faces of the ramp portions and compress the outer faces of the ramp portions so as to narrow the slot.

On the other hand, the ramp portions may possess, at their lower ends, stop noses which prevent downward movement of the recess of the bridging member beyond the lower rims of the ramp portions.

The cap may also possess a stop above the ramp portions, against which stop the bridging member strikes when raised, thereby lifting the cap from the neck of the bottle.

Preferably, in the state of the closure before it is mounted on the bottle, there is a sufficient air gap between}on the one hand, the ramp portions and the adjacent regions of the cap side wall which extend away from the actuating side towards the opposite nonactuating side, and, on the other hand, the said facing surface and side walls of the recess and the regions of the bridging member which adjoin either side of the recess, in the plane of the bridging member, so that it is possible to manufacture the bridging member integral with the remainder of the closure.

Preferably, the bridging member is arc-shaped and is hinged to either side of the cap at positions on the cap side wall which are displaced from the non-actuating side towards the actuating side. The bridging member is arc-shaped and may enclose an angle of arc of 100° to 330°, and preferably of 120° to 180°, between the 3 S ό Ο positions at which it is hinged to the cap.

It is particularly advantageous if the cap possesses a stopper part which, in the closing position, projects into the dispensing orifice of the bottle to act as a guide and seal and which preferably has a sealing collar which surrounds the stopper part and which projects inwardly from the inner face of the upper cap wall and which is elastically deformed in the closing position, so that it rests sealingly on the frontal face of the bottle neck. At the same time, a free passage may at all times remain, between the stopper part and the sealing collar, to communicate with the inner space between the sealing collar and the inner face of the upper cap wall and a side wall L5 of the stopper part.

To prevent the closure from dropping off when it is opened with the thumb of the hand which holds the bottle, it suffices, in general, for the index finger of the same hand to rest lightly on the top face of !0 the cap near the side opposite the lifting element.

On the other hand, it is also possible for the closure to include a part such as a supporting member which is firmly mountable on the bottle neck below the dispensing orifice, the cap being hinged on the said part, on the !5 side opposite the actuating side. In order conjointly to carry the bridging member and the cap an elastically flexible strap joint may be provided on the sealing collar, said joint preferably being integral with the sealing collar and the cap.

A particularly good sealing effect, with good removability of the closure, is achieved if, in the preferred embodiment described above, the cap bears on the inner face of its upper wall, as a sealing element, a sleeve-shaped stopper part whereof, in the closing position, the lower end projects into the bottle dispensing orifice, whilst its cylindrical outer wall is chamfered towards the lower end, the chamfer being such that in the closing position its projects out of the dispensing orifice of the bottle to beyond the frontal face of the bottle neck and is pressed against the rounded rim of the dispensing orifice of the bottle, as a result of which the pressure of the inner bead of the cap side wall against the underside of the orifice bead of the bottle is intensified.

At the same time, it is particularly advantageous that the annular space in the interior of the cap around the sleeve-shaped stopper part is constantly in communication with the external air via the upper end of the slot or slots.

The combination of the sleeve-shaped stopper part with a chamfered lower end outer wall which is at distance from the inner face of the upper wall of the cap smaller than the distance of the inner bead, present on the inner face of the side wall of the cap, from the inner face of the cap upper wall, permits particularly advantageous interaction of forces in that the chamfered surface of the sleeve-shaped stopper part rests against the annular zone at the transition from the frontal face of the neck to the inner wall of the bottle neck approximately diametrically opposite the zone where the inner bead rests against the constricted underside of the orifice bead of the bottle neck, with the pressure, especially of the inner bead against the underside of the orifice bead of the bottle, being intensified by the tensioning action (toggle action) of the facing surface and side walls of the recess on the inside of the or each bridging member against the contact faces of the ramps, on either side of the or each slot in the cap, in the closing position of the or each bridging member.

The sleeve-shaped stopper part can be sealed from the 6 8 0 - 8 inside of the bottle by a cross-wall located below the chamfer, whilst the space surrounded by the stopper part may be open towards the top.

The sleeve-shaped stopper part can furthermore, to achieve a labyrinth-like seal, carry a plurality of annular ribs circumferential about the said stopper part, the height of the annular ribs being preferably from O.O1 to 0.2 mm and especially from 0.05 to 0.1 mm.

According to an embodiment which is of particularly simple design and is easy to manufacture, the slotting of the cap side wall has at least two slots which are both positioned over the mutually opposite regions between the lifting element and the opposite side of the cap side wall.

Preferably, two slots can be provided of which each is staggered, from the centre of the lifting element of the cap, for example, through an angle of about 60°, towards the side of the cap side wall opposite to the lifting member.

The lower rim of the said cap side wall can have a non-circular configuration, with the region of the inner annular bead of the cap located on the actuating side being at a shorter distance from the longitudinal axis of the cap than the regions of the inner annular bead intermediate between the actuating side and the Opposite side of the cap. The region of the inner annular bead located on the side opposite the actuating side may also be at a shorter distance from the longitudinal axis of the cap than the intermediate regions of the inner annular bead, located between the actuating side and the opposite side.

In this embodiment, again, there is provided a part constructed as a supporting member and firmly mountable on the bottle neck below the bottle mouth, on which 3 6 8 0 supporting member the cap is hinged, on the side opposite the actuating side.

As an additional sealing element, it is possible to provide, around the sleeve-shaped stopper part a sealing collar which projects inwards from the inner face of the upper wall of the cap and which is elastically deformed in the closing position so that it rests sealingly on the frontal face of the bottle neck.

The sealing collar may be of circular configuration where it joins the upper wall of the cap, and be of elliptical configuration at the free rim of the collar when the cap is in the open position, with the major axis of the ellipse extending from the actuating side to the opposite side of the cap and with the distance of the free rim of the collar from the foot of the collar being constant.

According to another embodiment, the sealing collar may have a circular configuration where it joins the cap upper wall,and at the free rim of the collar, and axial cut-outs emanating from the free rim of the collar can be provided so that the segments, left between the cutouts, of the collar wail are pushed together in the closing position and sealingly rest against the frontal face of the bottle neck.

Finally, the sealing collar can comprise a stiffened sealing ring and the collar wall which connects the said ring to the part of the collar adjacent the inner face of the upper wall can have a deflectable wall zone, adjoining the said part, a relatively more flexible and more elastic bending zone which adjoins the said wall zone, and a rigid neck zone, carrying the ring, the ring being thickened so that when it rests against the frontal face of the bottle neck a free space remains between this frontal face and the collar wall, which space, in the gbO first-described embodiment of the closure, is in communication with the external air through the axial slot or slots in the side wall of the cap.

The sleeve-shaped stopper part can be sealed from the inside of the bottle by a cross-wall below the chamfer, and the space surrounded by the stopper can be open in an upward direction. At the same time, a central portion of the cross-wall of the sleeve-shaped stopper part can be thickened and joined by a flexible annular zone to the end of the chamfer of the said stopper part.

In the embodiments where two slots are provided the lifting element may be merged with a bridging member at the two points of attachment of the latter which are located closest to the lifting element.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the bottle closure according to the invention, as an internal view I of the inside of the closure, as obtained when manufactured as an injection moulding; Figure 2 shows a cross-section through the embodiment of Figure 1, along the plane indicated by XV—XV in Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a top view of an embodiment similar to that shown in Figures 1 and 2, the closure being shown in the form resulting from its manufacture, before it is fixed to a bottle neck; Figure 4 shows a cross-section through the embodiment ) shown in Figure 3, in a plane indicated by XVII—XVII in Figure 3, with the solid lines indicating the closure before mounting on a bottle neck and the broken lines showing the same closure in position after mounting on a bottle neck, the shading having been partially omitted for the sake of clarity and the bottle neck being 3 6 S Ο indicated by lines ---· —~ · · - . ---; Figure 5 shows the same closure, in cross-section, as in Figure 4 but only in the position wherein the closure is mounted on a bottle neck; Figure 6 shows a perspective view of a closure mounted on a bottle neck, in one of the embodiments shown in Figures 1 to 5, with the bridging member moved fully downwards against the bottle; Figure 7 shows a side vie?/ of a further, particularly 10 preferred embodiment of the closure according to the invention; Figure 8 shows a cross-section through the embodiment according to Figure 7 before mounting on a bottle neck; Figure 9 shows the same closure in cross-section, but after mounting on a bottle neck; Figure 10 shows yet a further embodiment of the closure according to the invention in cross-section and partly exploded; Figure 11 shows a perspective view of the actuating 20 side of the closure according to Figures 7 to 9 mounted on a bottle, before tensioning by means of the bridging member; Figure 12 shows the same closure as in Figure 11 but in tiie position wherein it is tensioned by means of the bridging member; Figure 13 shows a top view of a further, particularly simple and easily manufactured embodiment of the closure according to the invention; Figure 14 shows a side view and, Figure 15 shows an internal view of the embodiment according to Figure 13; Figure IS shows a cross-section through the same embodiment as in Figure 13, along the plane indicated by XXX-—XXX in Figure 13; 3®β° Figure 17 shows a partly sectional view of an embodiment resembling that of Figures 13 to 15, of the closure with a supporting member, mounted on a bottle neck; Figure 18 shows a sectional view through a part of a cap in the open position, with a preferred embodiment of a sealing collar; and Figure 19 shows the same section as in Figure 18, but with the cap in the closing position.

The closure shown in Figures 1 and 2 is constructed as a cap 40 and has an upper wall 40a with a central stopper recess 53 surrounded by a sealing stopper part 50, of which the approximately cylindrical side wall 51 bears a peripheral sealing bead 54 whilst recess 53 is separated from the inside Of the bottle by a cross-wall 52. With the closure mounted on the bottle neck, the stopper part 50 projects into the bottle mouth, with the sealing bead 54 resting against the inner wall of the mouth, as is known e.g., from U.S. Patent Specification No. 3,825,144. As is known, such a stopper part has the advantage that the volume of air above the liguid in the as yet unopened full bottle is substantially less than in the case of the embodiment of Figures 3 and 4.

The cap side wall 41 extends downwards from the preferably circular periphery of the upper wall 40a of the cap 40 and possesses, on its actuating side, a single slot 27 which extends from just below the upper wall 40a down to the lower peripheral rim 40b of the cap 40, and opens out into the said rim.

On the inner face, the cap side wall 41 carries an inner bead 49 which extends round in a circle and v/hich is intended to hook under the orifice bead at the upper end of the bottle neck.

Outward-projecting ramps 42 and 43 are provided as a tensioning device on either side of the slot 27; these Λ cy, Ο 4«. ii «Jy C? Ci G ramps extend from the peripheral rim of the upper wall 40a of the cap 40, to the right and left of the slot 27, down to the lower peripheral rim 40b of the cap 40.

The frontal faces of the ramps 42, 43 are constructed in the upper region from the upper wall 40a to the intermediate region of the cap side wall, which is approximately at the level of the inner bead 49, as frusto-conically outward-chamfered slide faces 42a, 43a and, in a lower region extending from the intermediate region down to the lower peripheral rim 40b, as contact-making faces 42b, 43b which are approximately perpendicular to the plane of the upper wall 40a.

In tnis embodiment, the bridging member 46 is approximately crescent-shaped and partially surrounds the side wall 41 of the cap 40, over an arc of about 120°. Preferably, the bridging member is manufactured integrally with the cap 40 by injection molding in a plasties material and is joined by two flexible hinge connections 44 and 45 to the cap side wall 41. /0 The hinge connections between the crescent-shaped bridging member 46 and the cap 40 are preferably towards the actuating side of the cap and away from the opposite side 5' thereof. It has been found that a completely adequate tensioning effect is achieved with the closure of the invention if the arc described by the inner face 46a of the crescent-shaped bridging member, between the two hinge connections 44 and 45 is between 100° and 330° anti preferably 120° to 180°. The shortening of the bridging member, thus achieved, results in considerable saving of material.

On the actuating side, in the inner face 46a of the bridging member 46 and opposite the ramps 42 and 43, a recess is provided in the form of a continuous tensioning groove 47, of which the bottom surface 47a is at least as wide, or preferably slightly wider, than the sum of the widths, measured in the plane of the lower rim 40b of the contact-making faces of the ramps 42 and 43 and the slot 27, whilst the two side faces 47b of the tensioning groove 47 preferably diverge towards the bottom surface 47a, so that the cross-section of the tensioning groove 47 in the plane of the bridging member is of dovetailed shape. As may be seen from Figure 2, the tensioning groove 47 is continuous from the upper to the lower face of the bridging member 46, and the latter has a block-like thickening 46b of its surface, which increases the length of the tensioning groove. In front of the block-like thickening 46b the bridging member 46 carries an actuating nose 48, against which is placed, e.g. the thumb of the hand which operates the closure.

In the embodiment according to Figures 3 to 6 r corresponding parts carry the same reference numbers as in the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2.

The only difference from the latter embodiment is that the cap 55, in this embodiment, does not have a stopper part with a recess but instead a stopper 56 which projects as a depending sleeve from the inner face of the upper wall 55a of the cap 55 in the direction of the inside of the bottle. The outer side of the stopper sleeve has a frusto-conically chamfered sealing surface 57, extending down to the lower rim 58 of the stopper sleeve, in the region above and below the transition zone from the frontal face to the inner wall 10a of the bottle neck.

During mounting of the closure on a bottle mouth, and also after mounting the closure the annular space 59 which surrounds the stopper sleeve 56 on the inside of the cap is constantly in communication v/ith the external air through the slot 27.

Figures 1 to 3 show closures according to the invention as obtained from the manufacturing process, and before mounting on a bottle. The gap which, in this state is open between the inner face 46a as well as the side faces 47b and bottom surface 47a of the tensioning groove 47, on the one hand, and the outer surface of the cap side wall 41 and the side and frontal faces of the ramps 42 and 43, on the other, permits extremely simple release of the molding off its core if the closure is manufactured by injection molding.

Figure 4 shows a cross-section of the embodiment 10 according to Figure 3 with solid lines corresponding to the same condition as in the latter figure, the shading being partially omitted for clarity, whilst the broken lines show the same embodiment in position on the bottle mouth. As may be seen from Figure 4, on mounting the closure on the bottle mouth, the cap side wall 41 is splayed to assume position 41' whilst the bridging member 46, which previously was so located as to leave play between its tensioning groove bottom surface 47a and the contact-making faces 42b and 43b, now on being pressed down into the position 46' shown by broken lines presses, with the bottom surface of the tensioning groove, against the faces 42b'and 43b' of the ramps 42 and 43 which have moved outwards, together with the cap side wall 41, and as a result reduces the width of the slot 27 and produces a sealing circumferential tension in tne inner bead 49 of the cap side wall.

Hereby, the slot 27 is narrow through the side faces 47b of the tensioning groove 47 making contact with the lower regions of the outer side surfaces 42c and 43c with consequent compression of the ramps 42 and 43.

The stopper sleeve 56 is also deformed as a result of its frusto-conical end s irface 57 (see Figure 5) making contact with the transition rim—which in most cases is extremely non-uniform—from the mouth frontal face Ila to the inner wall 10a of the mouth 10, this deformation 6 30 - 16 being shown in broken lines at 56'.

Figure 5 now shows the closure mounted on the bottle mouth. Herein, arrows A, A', Β, B', C and D indicate the way in which the cap side wall 41 carrying the bead 49, the stopper sleeve 56 with its chamfered outer end surface 57 and the contact-making faces 42b and 43b together with the tensioning groove bottom surface 47a (Figure 3) all interact in this position to achieve the desired sealing tensioning of the closure.

Since the annular space 59 which surrounds the stopper sleeve 56 within the cap 55 is constantly in communication with the external air through the slot 27, mounting the closure on the bottle neck, in contrast to known closures, does not produce, in this annular chamber, an excess pressure as a result of which air could additionally be forced past the frusto-conical end surface 5-7 of the stopper sleeve 56 into the inner space of the hottie mouth 10, above the material contained in the bottle.

The interaction, which narrows the slot 27, of the side faces 47b of the tensioning groove 47 with the outer side surfaces 42c and 43c of the ramps 42 and 43 is maintained, as may be seen from Figure 6, even when the bridging member 46 has been swung downwards, by means of its actuating nose 48, against the outer wall of the bottle neck to the point that the tensioning groove bottom surface 47a can no longer act against the contact-making faces 42b and 43b of the ramps 42 and 43, in the direction of the arrow C (Figure 5).

In the improved embodiment, according to Figures 7 to 9, the cap 60, having an upper wall 60a and a lower peripheral rim 60b has a similar configuration to that in the embodiments of Figures 1 to 6, but the ramps 42 and 43 possess, in their central regions, at the points of transition from the slide faces 42a and 43a to the '*3683 contact-making faces 42b and 43b, transverse beads bla on ramp 42 and 6 lb on ramp 43, which prevent an unintended upward slippage by tne tensioning groove bottom surface 47a, from the contact-making faces 42b and 43b onto the slide faces 42a and 43a. Furthermore, stop noses 62a and 62b are provided on the lower ends of the ramps and prevent the bridging member 46 from swinging downwards into the position shown in Figure 6.

Finally, as may be seen from Figures 3 and 9, a sealing collar with a flexible foot part S5 and a leg part 64 is provided on the inside of the upper wall 60a; this collar provides an additional means of sealing, as is described in detail below for the embodiment of Figures 18 and 19.

It is particularly important that the additional sealing collar 64, 65 should, in the embodiments of Figures 8 to 10, rest by its flexible foot part 65 against the frontal face 11a of the mouth of the bottle neck in such a way that its rim should point towards the stopper sleeve 56. This achieves a self-sealing effect which is absent in the sealing elements described in French Patent Specification Ho. 1,342,700, to Krygler.

Figure 10 shows a further particularly preferred embodiment in which the advantages of the stopper sleeve 56 in the embodiments of Figures 4 to 9 are combined with those of the stopper part 50 of Figure 2.

The cap 70 with upper wall 70a and lower peripheral rim 70b possesses in this embodiment, a sealing surface 73-which the lower end of tapers towards the inside of the bottle-and a cavity 75 in the upper wall 70a, and the stopper sleeve 71 has a relatively thick cross-wall 72 which is joined to the lower end of the stopper sleeve by a relatively thin-walled elastic transition zone 74.

Furthermore, it is here once again possible to achieve an additional seal by means of the sealing collar 43®®° 64, 65, but in most cases the good seal achieved bycontact of the surface 73 against the rim zone between the frontal face 11a of the bottle mouth and the inner wall 10a of the mouth 10 is adequate, due to the interaction of the forces represented by the arrows in Figure 5.

The embodiments of the closure of the invention, described above, have successfully withstood a rise in internal pressure of up to 8 atmospheres gauge, due to increased ambient temperature and shaking, in the case of bottles filled with a liquid under pressure, e.g. beer or carbonated mineral water.

With reference to Figures 11 and 12, these show a closure in the embodiment of Figure 10 mounted on a bottle mouth; Figure 11 shows the closure with the bridging member 46 in the released position and Figure 12 with the bridging member 46 in the tensioned position, the actuating end of the bridging member 46 resting on the stop noses 62a and 62b and being prevented from unintentionally slipping upwards, and releasing the tension, by the transverse beads 61a and 61b. If the bridging member 46 is raised further from the position shown in Figure 11 by pressing the thumb against the actuating nose 48, it strikes the upper stop nose 63 and now lifts the untensioned cap off the bottle mouth, little force being required.

To act as a tamperproof seal to indicate that a filled bottle has not yet been opened, a seal can be glued or welded over the slot 27 and the upper surface of the thickening 46b of the bridging member 46 when in the closing position of Figure 12, this seal only being torn off or forced off when the bottle is first opened by lifting the bridging member 46.

In the embodiment of the closure shown in Figures 13 to 17, which is of particularly simple construction and easy to manufacture, e.g. by injection molding, the cap has an upper wall 80a and a side wall 81. The latter has two slots 82 and 83 which extend in the axial direction from near the upper wall 80a to the lower peripheral rim 80b of the cap side wall 81, and open out into said rim. The two slots 82 and 83 are each staggered by 60° from an actuating nose 88 which has two stiffening parts 88a and 88b. At each of the slots 82 and 83, a bridging member, respectively 84 and 85, which bridges the slot 82 or 83 and is articulatedly connected to the cap side wail 81 on either side of the slot £2 or 83, is provided near the peripheral rim 80b of the cap. An inner annular bead 89 projects from the inner surface of the cap side wall 81 and in the closing position the upper face of this bead presses against the underside of the orifice bead 11 of the bottle neck.

Preferably, the distance a of region 89a of the inner annular bead 89 from the central axis of the cap is less than the distance r from the intermediate regions 89c and 89d of the inner annular bead 89, which respectively comprise the slots 82 and 83 and are located between the actuating nose side and the opposite side.

The distance of the region 89b of the inner annular bead 89 on the side of the cap 80 which is opposite the actuating nose side is also preferably less than the distance r.

As a result, the inner annular bead 89 engages, with its regions 89a and 89b, on the actuating nose side and opposite side, respectively, more deeply in the constriction under the orifice bead ll, which facilitates a lever-like lifting of the cap 80 by means of its actuating nose 88.

On pressing the closure onto the mouth of a bottle neck, the lower peripheral rim 80b passes the orifice bead 11 of the bottle, thereby splaying the slots 82 and 83 and at the same time tensioningly stretching the bridging members 84 and 85 which act as tensioning stays. Once the inner annular bead 89 has been forced past the orifice bead li, tbe members 84 and 85 contract so as to tend to close the open ends of the slots 82 and 83 and thus increase the pressure of the surface of the inner annular bead 89 against the underside of the orifice bead ll on all sides in the same way as is effected in the previously described embodiments of the closure by the interaction of the ramps 42 and 43 with the tensioning groove 47 of the crescent-shaped bridging member 46.

On the inside of the upper wall 80a of the cap is provided a stopper sleeve 86 which can be constructed in the same way as in the preceding embodiments of the closure. Within the periphery of the stopper sleeve 86, the upper wall 80a has a downward dome 87 which serves to increase the pressure of the upper face of the inner annular bead 89 against the underside Of the orifice bead ±1 as the pressure inside the bottle mouth rises. Furthermore, the outer wall ot the stopper sleeve 86 can be provided with a plurality of parallel annular beads 86a (Figure 17), by means of which a seal resembling a labyrinth seal ls achieved when they rest against the inner wall 10a of the bottle mouth or the rim where the inner wall adjoins the frontal face lla of the mouth.

In the embodiment of the closure shown in Figure 17, the cap 80 has a supporting member 90. The supporting member 90 is joined, preferably integrally, to the cap 80 by a strap-joint 91. The manufacture of this embodiment of the closure by injection moulding is most simply achieved with the supporting member and the cap in an inline arrangement.

In the ease of the embodiment including a supporting member, the cap does not jump off on opening the closure and as a result the bottle can easily be washed whilst leaving the opened cap attached thereto, and can then be reclosed.

It is aiso possible to provide a sealing web in the slots 82 and 83 (this web not being shown in the drawing) to indicate that the bottle has not yet been opened after filling; on mechanically mounting the cap on the filled bottle, this operation being carried out vertically along the direction of the central (longitudinal) axis of the cap, this web stretches and thereby withstands the splaying of the slots 82 and 83, but on lifting the cap 80 with a finger, which is a one-sided operation entailing the lifting of the actuating nose 88, the web tears because of the less uniform distribution of the tension.

A particularly surprising feature of this simple and easily manufactured embodiment is that it withstands a rise in pressure to 6 to 8 atmospheres gauge in the free space above the bottle contents, which may be, e.g. beer or similar carbonated drinks. Higher pressures are attainable oy appropriate design of the tensioning device, e.g. hy using thicker bridging members, but this is not permissible because it entails the risk of explosion of the bottle. The closure permits pasteurising of the bottle contents.

The most important advantages of the new closure are, firstly, that substantially less force is required for opening and closing than in the case of the known closures referred to at the outset, since the opening and closing can easily be effected by lifting the bridging member, or actuating nose, of the cap, by means of one finger.

The customary and permissible tolerances in dimensions of the bottle neck cannot interfere with the firm seat and reliable functioning of the new closure. The closure is leakproof even if the dimensional tolerances are large, e.g. up to 1 mm. The relatively high elasticity and adaptability of shape of the material which may be used for the new closure facilitates compensating such dimensional tolerances. Finally, the closing pressure used can be much less than the permissible maximum internal pressure of the bottle.

Another'embodiment of a cap having a sealing collar is shown in Figures 18 and 19. Herein, the sealing collar 28 comprises a sealing ring 29 which is stiffened by a correspondingly greater thickness of the collar wall, whereas the collar wall connecting the ring 29 with the end 28a of the collar comprises a somewhat deflectable wall region 21 adjacent to the end 28a. This wall region 21 merges into an adjacent bending region 22 which, owing to its correspondingly thinner wall, is more flexible and elastic, and to > which there then is joined a neck region 23 which carries the ring 29 and is stiffer, owing to its greater wall thickness. The functioning of this sealing collar shown in the closing position of Figure 19 will be further explained below.

The differences in the thicknesses of the wall regions 21, 22 and 23 are dependent upon the extensibility of the material of which the cap is made. When the material is sufficiently extensible to allow circumferential expansion in the bending region 22 without appreciable elliptical deformation, the wall thickness of all three regions can be the same.

In the closing position of the sealing collar 28 shown in Figure 19, the stiff sealing ring 29 rests on the upper frontal face lla of the bottle mouth while retaining its mean diameter d that it assumes in the open position (Figure 18), whereby the neck region 23 is bent upwards with regard to the deflectable wall region 21 and the latter is bent outwards, at the end 28a towards the side wall of the cap 20. In this position, a passage 24 must remain between the wall of the stopper part 14 3 6 8 0 inside the bottle and the sealing ring 29, by way of which passage the space inside the hottie remains in free communication with the smaller annular space 26 between collar 23 and the upper inner wall 20c of the cap. The space 26a remaining between the angularly deformed sealing coliar 28, the inner side wall 20b of cap 20 and the frontal face 11a. of the bottle mouth is in communication with the outside air via slots 17.

If the pressure increases inside the bottle, e.g. when the ambient temperature rises, then the force component acting on the neck region 23 in the annular space 26 counteracts the force component that is trying to blow the cap off the bottle mouth, and compensates for the latter; thus, the latter force component can act only on the limited surface of the stopper part 14 but not on the considerable circular surface of the upper inner wall 20£ of the cap.

As the wall regions 21 and 22 of the sealing collar 28 must always have less thickness than the walls of the cap 20, it would be possible for the sealing collar to be ruptured at extremely high internal pressure. In order to prevent this, the distance between the bending region 22 and the inner side wall 20b of the cap 20 is so small in the closing position (Figure 19) that, when the inner pressure rises very greatly, the bending region 22 of the sealing collar 28, which under these circumstances may be slightly stretched, lies on this inner wall 20b.

In order to prevent the neck region 23 from snapping through a critical region of greatest, possibly elliptical, deformation or even movement of the collar in the direction toward the inner wall 20c of the cap when the sealing ring part 29 comes to rest on the frontal face Ila, the cap is so strengthened on its inner side in the zone 20a facing the sealing ring 29 that a critical position of deformation cannot be reached. And if, under these conditions, the sealing ring 29 should come to lie against the Zone 20a of the inner wall 20c of the cap, then the free communication via radial grooves 29a between the free space surrounding the stopper part 14 in the bottle mouth and the inner space 26 is maintained so as to take care of the necessarypassage of gas and possibly to equalise dimensional variations.

Bottle closures according to the invention may be manufactured particularly simply by injection molding from polyethylene or other plastics material, e.g.

Lupolen (registered Trade Mark) 1800 S of BASF, Ludwigshafen, West Germany. The cap and the bridging member(s) and, if present, the supporting member and the strap-joint which joins it to the cap, may all be molded integrally. In the latter case, where a supporting member is present, injection molding is most simply effected in the position where the cap and the bridging member(s) are at an angle of 180° to the supporting member. This also has the advantage that the cap and bridging members have a bias urging them into the open position.

The invention thus realises a bottle closure which can be opened and reclosed easily, with one hand, in contrast to the known closures referred to at the outset, and without the need to employ a tool, in contrast to a crown closure. If a supporting member is present, the closure remains joined to the bottle and can thus automatically be returned with the empty bottle, to a filling station. However, the closure does not interfere With drinking from the bottle and can be pulled off the bottle quite simply before the bottle is cleaned in an upside-down position on the modern washing machines used in filling stations.

Where necessary, the bottle closure with supporting member can, shorily before the bottles are washed on the said machines, be pulled upwardly off the bottle by a simple mechanical gripper, e.g. with gripper jaws with a knife-edge construction on the insides, whereby the closure is also slit open whilst being pulled upwards. In the preferred simpler embodiments of the closure, the closure is removed before washing the bottles. In that case, after each fill of the bottle, a new closure can be mounted on the bottle neck mechanically, by exertion of simple vertical pressure, the filled bottle being tightly sealed thereby. The closure can in particular be used tor standard bottle mouths e.g., those designated SNV-79,100.

Though the closure can very conveniently be opened with one hand, it nevertheless offers good protection against unintended opening. Where the cap has an inward-pointing stopper part, the filled bottle can be closed so as to leave very little air above the contents.

The dispensing orifice is covered by the closure, similarly to the situation with a crown cork, and this offers an improvement in hygiene over the old strap closure and the known closures referred at the outset.

In contrast to the previously known plastics caps, the seal is not effected against the inner wall of the mouth, the internal diameter of which, being dependent on the amount of material used when blowing the bottles, suffers from particularly wide tolerances, so that a high sealing pressure is required; instead, the seal is effected at the transition zone from the frontal face of the upper rim of the mouth to the inner wall of the bottle neck, the outer dimensions of the bottle, up to the mouth, being determined by the mold and tolerances of up to 1 mm heing immaterial. δ 8 Ο However, whilst with the known closures, the seal must be effected with a high contact pressure, which exceeds the maximum internal pressure of 8 to 10 atmospheres gauge, the sealing means of the closure according to the invention only requires a moderate pressure, sufficient to effect the initial seal, on the Stopper sleeve and, where relevant, on the sealing collar. As the internal pressure rises, a good high pressure seal is achieved, according to the invention, if the latter is used, in that the internal pressure of the inside of the sealing collar of the closure according to the invention has a similar effect to that in tubeless automobile tires, and presses the sealing collar self-sealingly against the frontal face of the bottle mouth.

The phrase bottle or the like means any type of container which has a neck with a preferably central dispensing orifice, the neck wail having the shape described at the outset; it is immaterial whether the container supporting this neck is of circular crosssection, as in the case of, e.g. a beer bottle, mineral bottle or wine bottle, or of square cross-section, as is the case, e.g., with many liqueur bottles, or is constructed as a bag in a box or as any other design which may be desired. Furthermore, this container may be made of glass, ceramic, plastics and even metal. It may be filled with a liquid but can also be filled with a granular solid.

Wherever the terms top and bottom are used in the preceding description, they relate to the position of the closure according to the invention when in position on a container neck, especially in the crosssectional views and the perspective side elevations.

Similar remarks apply to the terms upwards and downwards. 3 6 8 0 The term inwards denotes a movement in the direction towards the inside of the bottle mouth, that is to say downwards, whilst upwards denotes a movement out from the inside of the bottle.

The term slotting of the cap side wail means that this wall possesses one or more cut-outs or slots which are open at the lower peripheral rim of the cap and extend axially towards the upper wall of the cap. Whilst these slots are broad in one of the known closures mentioned at the outset, the slots in the closure of the present invention are preferably narrow in comparison.

Claims (4)

1. A reopenable closure which serves to close hermetically a bottle or similar container having a neck, a dispensing orifice therein, a neck frontal face surrounding said orifice and an orifice bead located 3 below the latter and having a constricted underside, which closure comprises (a) a cap having an upper cap wall and a cap side wall circumferential about said upper cap wall, said cap side wall having an inner annular bead projecting } inwards from the inner face of said cap side wall and destined, in the closing position, to engage with the constricted underside of the orifice bead of the bottle, (b) sealing means comprising at least one sealing element provided on the inner face of the upper cap wall j and serving, in the closing position, to seal the dispensing orifice of the bottle, (c) a lifting element which is in an actuating side of the cap side wall, and integral with the cap and which may be actuated· by the finger, ) (d) at least one slot in the cap side wall located in a circumferential zone adjacent the lifting element, each such slot extending from the lower rim of the cap side wall transversely to the plane defined by said rim through the inner annular bead and upwardly beyond the i bead to permit the cap side wall to splay on being mounted on the mouth of the bottle, and (e) an elastically resilient member, provided individually for each such slot, integral with said cap side wall, which projects out of the cap side wall on ) both sides of and bridges the respective slot, each such bridging member being arranged so that when the cap is seated on the bottle each such bridging member is tautly stretched tangentially to the cap side wall and thereby counteracts splaying of the slot it bridges. •ι 3 6 8 Ο

2. A closure as described in Claim 1, wherein the cap possesses, in its side wail, a single slot located adjacent the lifting element, and the bridging member for the single slot possesses a recess, running 5 transversely to the plane of the bridging member, on its inner wall opposite the slot, and wherein on either side of the slot, ramp portions are provided which project from the outer face of the side wall of the cap, the said ramp portions projecting, in the region of the 10 lower peripheral rim oi the cap, so far that a surface of the recess facing the ramp portions when the bridging member is moved downwards into a closing position, runs onto the ramp portions and tensions the bridging member. 3. A closure as described in Claim '2, wherein 15 said ramp portions are broadened out in the direction of the lower peripheral rim o± the cap so that side walls of the recess in the bridging member, when the latter is moved downwards into the closing position, run onto the ramps so as to compress them and narrow the 20 slot between them. 4. A closure as described in Claim 2, wherein said recess has a dovetail-shaped cross-section. 5. A closure as described in any one of Claims 2 to 4, wherein said ramp portions each possess, in an 25 intermediate region between an upper external face of the cap side wali and the lower peripheral rim of the cap, a hump over which the said facing surface of the recess of the bridging member must be forced when the member is moved into the closing position. 30 6. A closure as described in any one of Claims 2 to 5, wherein said recess in the bridging member is so constructed that even when the bridging member is completely moved downwards until it rests against the bottle neck side wails of the recess remain in contact 35 with outer faces of the ramp portions and compress the outer faces of the ramp portions so as to narrow the S 3 6 8 Ο - 30 slot. 7. A closure as described in any one of Claims 2 to 5, wherein said ramp portions possess, at their lower ends, stop noses which prevent downward move5 ment of the recess of the bridging member beyond the lower rims of the ramp portions. 8. A closure as described in any one of Claims 2 to 7, wherein said cap possesses a stop above the ramp portions,- against which the bridging member strikes 0 when raised, thereby lifting the cap from the neck of the bottle. 9. A closure as described in any one of Claims 2 to 8, wherein, in the state of the closure before it is mounted on the bottle, there is a sufficient 5 air gap between, on the one hand, the ramp portions and the adjacent regions of the cap side wall which extend away from the actuating side towards the opposite non-actuating side, and, on the other hand, the said facing surface and side walls of the recess and the 0 regions of the bridging member which adjoin either side of the recess, in the plane of the bridging member, so that it is possible to manufacture the bridging member integral with the remainder of the closure. 10. A closure as described in any one of Claims 5 2 to 9, wherein said bridging member is arc-shaped and is hinged to either side ot the cap at positions on the side wall of the cap which are displaced from the nonactuating side towards the actuating side. 11. A closure as described in Claim 10, wherein 0 said bridging member is arc-shaped and encloses an angle of 100° to 330° between the positions at which it is hinged to the cap. 12. A closure as described in Claim 10, wherein said bridging member is arc-shaped and encloses an - 31 43 6&Q angle of 120° to 180° between the positions at which it is hinged to the cap. 13. A closure as described in Claim 1, wherein the cap side wall nas two slots, which are 5 both positioned in the mutually opposite regions between the lifting element and the opposite side of the cap side wall. 14. A closure as described in Claim 1, wherein two slots are provided, of which each is staggered, 10 from the center of the lifting element, by an angle of about 60° towards the side of the cap side wall opposite to the lifting member. 15. A closure as described in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the lower rim of said cap side 15 wail has a rounded but non-circular shape, with the region of the inner annular bead located on the actuating side being at a shorter distance from the longitudinal axis of the cap than the regions ot the inner annular bead intermediate between the actuating side and the side 20 opposite said actuating side of the cap. 16. A closure as described in Claim 15, wherein the region of the inner annular bead ioacted on the side opposite the actuating side is also at a shorter distance from the longitudinal axis of the cap than the inter25 mediate regions of the inner annular bead, located between the actuating side and the opposite side. 17. A closure as described in any one of the preceding Claims, including a part constructed as a supporting member and firmly mountable on the bottle neck below the 30 dispensing orifice, on which supporting member the cap is hinged, on the side opposite the actuating side. 18. A closure as described in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the sealing means has a stopper part provided with a sealing collar which surrrounds the stopper part and which, 35 in the closing position 3 3 8 0 into the dispensing orifice of the bottle to act as a guide. 19. A closure as described in Claim 18, wherein a free passage at all times remains between the stopper part and the sealing collar, to communicate with the inner space between the sealing collar, the inner face of the upper cap wall and a side wall of the stopper part. 20. A closure as described in any of the preceding Claims, wherein said cap bears on the inner face of its upper wall a sleeve-shaped stopper part, the lower end of which, in the closing position projects into the bottle dispensing orifice, whilst its cylindrical outer wall is chamfered towards the lower end, the chamfer being such that in the closing position it projects out of the bottle dispensing orifice to beyond the frontal face of the bottle neck and is pressed against the rounded rim of the dispensing orifice of the bottle, as a result of which the pressure of the inner bead of the cap side wall against the underside of the orifice bead of the bottle is intensified. 21. A closure as described in Claim 20, wherein an annular space in the interior of the cap around the said sleeve-shaped stopper part is constantly in communication with the external air via the upper end of the slot or slots. 22. A closure as described in Claim 20, wherein said sleeve-shaped stopper part is sealed from the inside of the bottle by a cross-wall located below the chamfer, whilst the space surrounded by the stopper sleeve is open towards the top. 23. A closure as described in Claim 22, wherein a central region of said cross-wall of-the sleeve-shaped stopper part is thickened and adjoins the end of the chamfer of the sleeve-shaped stopper part by a flexible annular zone. 4 3 680 24. A closure as described in any one of Claims 20 to 23, wherein said sleeve-shaped stopper part carries, on its outer face, a plurality of annular ribs circumferential about the said sleeve-shaped 5 stopper part. 25. A closure as described in Claim 24, wherein the height of the annular ribs is from 0.01 to 0.2 mm. 26. A closure as described in any one of Claims 20 to 25, wherein a central cavity is provided in the 10 upper wall of the cap, within the periphery of the sleeve-shaped stopper part, the walls of which undergo deformation into the cavity when the cap side wall is splayed. 27. A closure as described in Claim 26, wherein i5 the wall of the cavity is thinner, at least towards its centre, than the upper wall of the cap surrounding the cavity. 28. A closure as described in any one of Claims 20 to 24, wherein the sleeve-shaped stopper part there 20 is provided, as a sealing element, with a sealing collar surrounding the stopper part and projecting inwards from the inner face of the upper wall of the cap and which is elastically deformed in the closing position so that it rests sealingly on the 25 frontal face of the bottle neck. 29. A closure as described in Claim 28, wherein said sealing collar is of circular configuration where it joins the upper wall of the cap, and is of elliptical configuration at the free rim of the collar when 30 the cap is in the open position, with the major axis of the ellipse extending from the actuating side to the opposite side wall of the cap and with the distance of the free rim of the collar from the foot of the collar being constant. 3680 - 34 30. A closure as described in Ciaim 28, wherein said sealing collar has a circular configuration where it joins the cap upper wall and at the free rim of the collar, and axial cut-outs emanating from the free rim > of the collar are provided so that the segments which are left between the cut-outs of the collar wall are pushed together in the closing position and sealingly rest against the frontal face of the bottle neck. 31. A closure as described in Ciaim 28, wherein ) said sealing collar comprises a stiffened sealing ring and the collar wall which connects the said ring to the part of the collar adjacent the inner face of the upper wall has a deflectable wall zone adjoining the said part, a relatively more flexible and more elastic j bending zone which adjoins the said wail zone, and a rigid neck zone, carrying the ring, the ring being thickened so that when it rests against the frontal face of the bottle neck, a free space remains between this frontal face and the collar wall, which space is 3 in communication with the external air through the axial slot or slots in the side wall of the cap. 32. A closure as described in any one of Claims 14 to 31, wherein the lifting element is laterally merged with each bridging member at the two points of 5 attachment of the latter which are located closest to the lifting element. 33. A closure substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

3. 3

4. A container having mounted thereon a closure as claimed in any of the preceding Claims. AGENTS FOR THE APPLICANTS