NZ197052A - Sealable dispensing cap for granular container contents - Google Patents

Description

Pricrity Date(s): Complete Specification Filed:"."'.'? Class: ZtfmlpA Publication Date: ?.l .1...*???.

P.O. Journal, Wo: .J?-.?P.

NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION POWDER CONTAINER WE, R & C PRODUCTS PTY.LIMITED, a company incorporated under the laws of the State of New South Wales, Australia, of 14 Campbell Street, Artarmon, New South Wales, 2064, Australia, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us and the method^ by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to a container and more particularly to a container from which the contents may be dispensed without completely removing the cap.

Containers for powdered and granulated products and for liquid products are known where the contents may be dispensed from the container without completely removing the cap. This may be achieved by having a cap which is rotatable to bring an aperture in the cap and an aperture in the container into alignment or by providing a slide or like mechanism to allow 10 an aperture in the cap to be opened or closed. To date there has not been available a cheap and simple container which could be closed in a gas-tight manner but from which the contents can be dispensed without completely removing the cap. The known containers in which the cap and the neck are connected by a screw thread also suffer from the problem that when used to dispense powders or granules there is a tendency for the powder or granules to get caught in the screw thread and, on being ground up between the threads, escape from the container.

The present invention consists in a container having a cylindrical neck portion and a cap disposed thereon, the cap comprising a circular end portion and a depending substantially cylindrical skirt, the radially outer surface of the neck portion and the radially inner surface of the skirt having cooperating screw threads such that the cap may be screwed down onto the neck until the free end of the neck portion makes sealing engagement with the inner surface of the circular end portion over an annular sealing zone, the skirt having a zone of reduced internal diameter immediately 30 adjacent the end portion and an aperture or apertures through the skirt within that zone, the free end of the neck being outwardly flared such that its radially outer edge is sealingly engaged with the radially inner surface of the skirt in the zone of reduced diameter, the arrangement being such that the cap can be unscrewed sufficiently to raise the aperture in the skirt above the free end of the neck portion to allow the contents of the container to be discharged therefrom.

In a preferred embodiment of this invention cooperating stop means are provided on the cap and on the container such that when the cap has been unscrewed a predetermined amount the stop means will engage to impede further unscrewing of the cap. The stop means preferably comprises a lip extending circumferentially about the outer surface of the neck portion 10 of the container and a corresponding annular lip around the inner surface of the skirt. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention the lips are chamfered off on their leading edges such that they will ride over one another when the cap is first screwed onto the container but will resist removal of the cap therefrom.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the container is flexible such that the contents of the container may be discharged by squeezing the container after the cap has been unscrewed and the container inverted.

It has been found that the arrangement according to this invention has the advantages that the container is gas tight when closed thereby avoiding inadvertently "puffing" the contents from the container when it is handled; the seal between outwardly flared free end of the neck portion and the inside of the cap prevents the contents sifting down into the thread of the container; the container can be used to discharge powders and granules as the discharge aperture is in direct communication with the interior of the container.

The container according to this invention is preferably 30 formed of a synthetic plastics material such as high density polyethylene, polypropylene or poly vinyl chloride.

Hereinafter given by way of example only is a preferred embodiment of the invention described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the neck portion of a container according to this invention with a cap in position and shown in cross sectional view, the container being "open"; Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the cap of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the neck portion of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a detail cross sectional view of a portion of the free end of the neck portion of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the cap of Fig. 1. 10 The container 10 includes a neck portion 11 and a cap 12.

The neck portion 11 is generally cylindrical and rises upwardly from the shoulder 13 of the container 10.

Immediately above the shoulder 13 is a circumferential locking flange 14 lying in a plane normal to the axis of the neck portion. The locking flange 14 is bevelled along its upper edge to form the downwardly and outwardly sloping surface 15.

A zone 16 of the neck portion 11 immediately above the locking flange 14 is provided with a two start thread 17 each 20 of which threads extends for three quarters of a turn. Above the zone 16 the neck portion 11 is an inwardly directed shoulder 18 which leads into a cylindrical zone 19 of the neck portion which is of lesser diameter than the threaded zone 16. The neck zone 19 terminates in an outwardly flared lip 21 which includes an annular sealing surface 22 and a cylindrical sealing surface 23 the operation of whijch are described later in this specification.

The cap 12 includes circular top portion 24 and a depending skirt 25. Adjacent its free edge the skirt 25 is 30 provided on its inner surface with a locking flange 26 which is bevelled along its lower edge to form the inwardly and upwardly surface 27. Spaced apart from the locking flange 27 by a zone 28 of increased internal diameter is a threaded zone 29 provided on its inner surface with a two-start thread 31. Above the threaded zone 29 is a zone 32 of reduced internal diameter which is provided with a radially directed discharge aperture 33.

In use the cap 12 is locked in place on the neck portion 11 by screwing the cap 12 downwardly into the neck portion 11 with threads 37 on the cap 12 cooperating with threads 17 on the neck portion 11 until the surface 26 slides past surface 15 and the locking flange 26 on the cap 12 locks behind the locking flange 14 on the neck portion 11. The outwardly flared lip 21 at the free end of the neck portion 11 will be 10 thus introduced into the reduced diameter zone 32 of the cap and the cylindrical surface 23 of the lip 21 will sealingly engage with the internal wall of the skirt 25 within that zone. When the cap 12 is screwed down further the annular surface 22 of the lip 21 will sealingly engage the underside of the top portion 24 of the cap 12 thereby preventing the discharge of material from the container 10 the aperture 33. Unscrewing the cap 12 to the limit permitted by the engagement of locking flanges 14 and 26 raises the aperture 33 above the level of the lip 21 and material can then be 20 discharged again from the container 10.

The lip 21 which is in sealing engagement with the inside surface of the skirt 25 of the cap 12 prevents material being discharged from the container from dropping down between the threaded portions 16 and 29.

Claims (8)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS; " 0 '

1. A container having a cylindrical neck portion and a cap disposed thereon, the cap comprising a circular end portion and a depending substantially cylindrical skirt, the radially outer surface of the neck portion and the radially inner surface of the skirt having cooperating screw threads such that the cap may be screwed down onto the neck until the free end of the neck portion makes sealing engagement with the inner surface of the circular end portion over an annular sealing zone, the skirt having a zone of reduced internal diameter immediately adjacent the end portion and an aperture or apertures through the skirt within that zone, the free end of the neck being outwardly flared such that its radially outer edge is sealingly engaged with the radially inner surface of the skirt in the zone of reduced diameter, the arrangement being such that the cap can be unscrewed sufficiently to raise the aperture in the skirt above the free end of the neck portion to allow the contents of the container to be discharged therefrom.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1 in which cooperating stop means are provided on the cap and on the container such that when the cap has been unscrewed a predetermined amount the stop means will engage and impede further unscrewing of the cap.

3. A container as claimed in claim 2 in which the stop means are so placed that they will engage after the cap has been unscrewed sufficiently to raise the aperture or apertures above the outer edge of the outwardly flared neck of the container.

4. A container as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 in which the stop means comprise a lip extending circumferentially about the outer surface of the neck portion of the container and a corresponding annular lip around the inner surface of the skirt.

5. A container as claimed in claim 4 in which the lower • t • » t •••• • ♦ •••• • • • « • • 4 •• • •• »» •••• - 7 - edge of the lip on the skirt and the upper edge of the lip on the container are chamfered such that they ride over one another when the cap is first screwed onto the container but will resist removal of the cap from the container thereafter.

6. A container as claimed in any preceding claim in which the container is formed of a flexible material.

7. A container as claimed in claim 6 in which the flexible material is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride.

8. A container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. R. & C. PRODUCTS PTY. LIMITED