NZ204276A

NZ204276A - Container closure with nestable pouring spout and airvent

Info

Publication number: NZ204276A
Application number: NZ204276A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: H Mueller; D B Dwinell; J J Laurizio
Original assignee: American Flange & Mfg
Priority date: 1982-06-03
Filing date: 1983-05-18
Publication date: 1986-09-10
Also published as: GB8313694D0; CA1215944A; IT8348415A0; NL8301966A; FI76036C; NO161724B; GB2121374A; KR840005049A; IE831301L; JPS6344629B2; DE3320015A1; DK251483D0; NL190152B; JPS58216553A; ES281977Y; SE455301B; ES281977U; ZA833527B; IN158859B; KR900000494B1

Description

<div class="application article clearfix" id="description"> 204276 Complete Specification Tiled: it.'. C!i_s: £2f.?.(. Publication Date: ..,.[1,0.SEP KC. Jo'.-rna!, No: Patents Form No. 5 Number PATENTS ACT 1953 Dated COMPLETE SPECIFICATION NESTABLE SELF-VENT SPOUT //We AMERICAN FLANGE & MANUFACTURING CO. INC., a company incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware, United States of America of 1100 West Blancke Street, Linden, New Jersey 07 036, United States of America do hereby declare the invention for which //we pray that a Patent may be granted to ijtotfus, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: 204276 Background of the Invention The incorporation of a self venting device in liquid dispensing spouts has long been recognized as a desirable aid in providing smooth, surge free pouring. One type of pouring spout commonly used on industrial size pails and cans consists of a collapsible spout having a flexible wall portion which allows the spout to be raised from a compact stored or nested condition to a fully extended pouring position. These prior art pouring spouts are available incorporating a self vent device which eliminates the need for a completely separate and more costly vent in the head of the container. In general terms such vent devices consist of an elongated tubular member having a circumferentially outwardly disposed flange at its lower end. With the spout in nested or stored position the upper portion of the tubular vent is affixed to the spout interior with the major portion of the vent extending axially beyond the spout into the container. Upon raising the flexible spout to extended pouring position the vent member is also axially displaced bringing the vent flange closely adjacent the spout base and providing a series of air entry passages therebetween. The above described prior art constructions while adequately performing their intended venting functions possess certain structural deficiencies which this invention overcomes. Of principal concern, the rather considerable overall axial elong-gation of the collapsed or nested closure as results from incorporation of the prior art tubular vent construction has serious drawbacks. For example, it is common practice for the pail manufacturer to furnish lids complete with closure independently of pail bodies which bodies are stacked ne' 2d within each other to reduce shipping costs. It is also tne practice to stack pail covers, however, that is virtually impossible with a pouring vent which doubles the vertical profile of the closure. In fact, even shipment of the closures ■■fall b < J per se becomes more costly as a result of the substantially increased bulk due to the prior art self vent. A further drawback resides in the necessity of securely affixing the vent member within the spout interior durinp- manufacture. This fabrication is normally performed as a heat sealing operation which is not only costly but must be consistently strong enough to prevent separation during shipment and handling. Also, once the vented closure is applied to a filled pail the tendency of the vent to separate from the spout 10 becomes even greater due to the mechanical sloshing action 1 i of the fluid. Chemical attack alone by the packaged fluid may severely stress the heat sealed joint between the spout and vent. Summary of the Invention 15 The invention is directed to a flexible pouring spout assembly for dispensing liquid products from containers. The drawbacks inherent in the above mentioned and other prior art self vented spouts are eliminated by the construction of the invention in providing an improved flexible wall pouring 20 spout closure of the type moveable by reversing the configuration of the flexible wall from a compact nested position to an extended pouring position with a vent member closely overlying said spout in its retracted position. The spout has a sealing channel by which it is securely applied to a pail opening neck by means of 25 a metal crimping ring. The overlying vent member has a peripheral lip by which it is mechanically secured in the spout sealing + 2 C 42 7 6 channel by the action of the crimping ring. The vent is formed to allow air entry at its periphery while permitting a central flow of liquid with the spout in extended pouring position. The resulting controlled fluid flow is thus achieved through 5 the use of a simple self vent which closely conforms to the configuration of the nested spout and adds insignificantly to 1 > the nested vertical profile of the closure assembly. Moreover, the manner of mechanically securing the self vent to the container opening by means of the metal crimping ring further assures against 10 damage to and separation of the vent under subsequent use conditions. The spout also has a hand removable sealing membrane sealing its opening as well as a reclosing cap for reclosing the opening when the seal is removed. It is accordingly a principal object of the invention to 15 provide a new and improved nestable pouring spout closure incorporating a self vent to facilitate smooth controlled pouring. W.W.MgG Another object io to provide a simple compact pouring vent fop uoo in conjunction with ncotablc pouring■opoufco. ur.■ A-further object io to provide an improved tamper evident 20 nootablo pouring opout—capable of boing readied for uco completely with tho unaidod hand. Other and more detailed objects will in part be obvious and in part be pointed out as the description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing proceeds. 25 In that drawing: Fig. 1 is a part elevational part sectional view of the 204276 nestable pouring'spout with pouring vent in accordance with the invention; Pig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the pouring spout closure and separately attached pouring vent; Pig. 3 is a sectional view of the pouring spout assembly crimped onto a container wall opening and in extended pouring position. Pig. 3a is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the spout container wall Joint shown in Pig. 3; and Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the pouring vent. In general terms, the self-vent pouring spout assembly in accordance with the invention consists of a nestable plastics pouring spout 1, a metal crimping ring 2, a plastics overcap 3 and a pouring vent 4. More specifically the pouring spout 1 shown in stored or nested position has a peripheral inverted sealing channel at its base made up of a shortened outer wall 6, a top wall 7 and an enlongated inner wall 8. A relatively flexible outer wall 9 extends from the lower end of the channel inner wall 8 to the lower end of a relatively rigid upstanding spout neck 10. The spout neck 10 has an exterior helical thread 11. Immediately above the thread, the spout neck 10 is closed off by a sealing membrane 12 surrounded by a tearing zone 13. A ring pull 14 suitable for grasping with the unaided finger closely overlies 204276 the membrane 12 In a horizontal plane and is integrally joined by a connecting neck 15 to the periphery of the membrane adjacent to the tearing zone 13. The vertical clearance between the membrane and the ring pull is less than the vertical cross sectional thickness of the ring pull. The metal crimping ring 2 has an inverted channel shaped configuration in r^ross section consisting of an elongated peripheral wall 16 terminating in an inwardly curled lower edge, a top wall 17 and a shortened inner wall 18 also terminating in a lowermost inward curl. The crimping ring 2 overlies and snugly confines the spout sealing channel therewithin. The recloseable overcap 3 has a circumferentially enlarged top wall 19 surrounded by a pair of hinged lifting bails 20 which in their initial stored position overlie the metal ring 4. A cylindrical skirt 21 depends from the top periphery and interlockingly engages beneath the lower curled edge of the ring inner wall 18. An internally threaded cylindrical sidewall 22 also depends from the cap top for engagement with the external thread 11 on the spout neck 10. Pull thread engagement and subsequent reclosing is achieved upon seating the uppermost end of the spout neck within the downwardly opening annular groove 23 disposed inside the side-wall 22. The spout, ring and cap are assembled as above described to give a secure compact closure unit adapted for efficient handling, shipment and storage. A generally cup shaped pouring vent 4 may also be supplied as part of the assembly comprising an annular bottom wall 24 and an upstanding outer sidewall 25 terminating in a peripheral jip 26. A series of air entry slots 27 are formed in an annular A 'JL 204276 | zone near the upper end of the vent sidewall 25. The upper -■# * ;ifcji end of the sidewall 25 also includes a short cylindrical band 28 Jf intermediate the lip 26 and slots 27. The center of the vent bottom wall 24 is open to provide a fluid exit passage surrounded •- "■* by an upstanding inner wall 29. A small drainage aperture 30 is • , £ also provided in the bottom wall 24. . ■ To adapt the closure assembly previously described to a self-vent unit the closure assembly is simply inserted into the vent 4 with the spout neck 10 and flexible wall 9 snugly confined 10 within the annular pocket formed by the vent outer wall 25 and inner wall 29. Both inner and outer vent walls are tapered in their upward extent to aid assembly. As the vent and spout are compressed together the cylindrical band 28 at the upper end of the vent outer wall 25 tightly surrounds the spout sealing 15 channel inner wall 8. When the vent lip 26 contacts the under surface of the sealing channel top wall 7 a secure friction fit engagement is created between vent band 28 and inner wall 8. Also upon completion of the assembly operation the uppermost end of the vent inner wall 29 surrounding the fluid exit passage 20 lies just beneath the spout membrane 12. The complete self vent ^ pouring spout assembly as seen in Pig. 1 thus becomes a secure, compact unit without resort to costly bonding assembly operations. Since the overall profile of the closure is changed very little, subsequent handling, packing and storage is economical and 'J 25 trouble free. Turning to the application and use of the self-vent spout assembly it can be seen in Fig. 3 that when the spout sealing channel is placed on a container opening the vent lip 26 is 7 - _ 204276 tightly squeezed between the opening neck 31 and sealing channel top wall 7. The resulting mechanical interlock renders dis-lodgment of the vent virtually impossible. This arrangement proves highly desirable in counteracting the damaging forces normally created by the sloshing action of the contained fluid. Moreover, the heretofor deleterious swelling action Imparted to synthetic plasticsparts by normally packaged hydrocarbons becomes inconsequential. To ready the closure for pouring the spout is raised by means of the large gripping bails 20 on the screw cap 3 causing the flexible wall 9 to unfold and reverse its disposition for erect pouring. Upon disengagement of the overcap 3 and tearing away of the membrane by means of the immediately accessible ring pull 14, the container is ready for dispensing. Liquid rapidly discharged through the central vent passage 29 is instantly displaced by atmospheric air traveling along the top inner surface of the spout and passing through the air entry slots 27. Having the membrane 12 disposed as near the spout opening as possible leaving just clearance for the ring pull 14 allows for maximum extension of the fluid passage wall 29:. With the wall 29 reaching at least to the horizontal plane of the air entry apertures 27, sufficient separation of the outgoing fluid and the incoming air is achieved for satisfactory venting. The self vent spout construction thus described facilitates rapid and accurate dispensing free of the uncontrolled pulsating surging characteristic of air locked containers. In addition to its simplicity and resultant cost effectiveness in manufacture, by maintaining substantially the same overall profile of the spout 204276 assembly when equipped with the self-vent, the conditions for packing and handling remain constant. This low profile construction is particularly advantageous in view of the common practice of stacking closure fitted lids. Various other changes in or modifications of the pouring spout assembly and different embodiments of the invention would suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and could be made without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention. It is accordingly intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as being illustrative and not in a limiting sense. </div>

Claims

<div class="application article clearfix printTableText" id="claims"> 204276 WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. An anti-surge pouring vent for nestable pouring spout closures comprising a thin walled plastics cup shaped member having an upstanding outer sidewall and a substantially imperforate annular bottom wall for substantially preventing the pouring o£ liquid therethrough, the upper portion of said sidewall having a series of circumferentially disposed air entry apertures, said sidewall upper portion terminating in closure engaging means and a central fluid exit passage formed within said annular bottom wall.

2. An anti-surge pouring vent as in claim 1 wherein said closure engaging means includes a frictional engagement section on said sidewall.

3. An anti-surge pouring vent as in claim 1 wherein said closure engaging means includes a circumferentially extending lip.

4. An anti-surge pouring vent as in any one of the preceding claims wherein said fluid passage includes an upstanding tubular wall.

5. An anti-surge pouring vent as in claim 4 wherein said upstanding fluid exit passage extends upwardly at least to the horizontal plane of said air entry apertures.

6. A container closure construction comprising a nestable integrally molded plastics pouring spout having an annular sealing channel peripherally disposed at one end, a relatively flexible outer wall extending downwardly from said sealing channel, a relatively 204276 rigid spout inner wall connected to the lowermost end of said spout outer wall and concentrically nested therewithin with said spout in stored position, said spout inner wall terminating in an uppermost free end, cap engaging means formed on said spout inner wall, a sealing membrane closing off said spout inner wall, an annular metal crimping ring overlying said spout sealing channel, an integrally molded plastics cap having a top wall and a depending skirt in engagement with said spout and an anti-surge pouring vent closely underlying and at least partially surrounding said pouring spout outer wall and substantially conforming to the contour of said outer wall in nested position so that the vertical profile of said nested spout is generally unchanged by the presence of said pouring vent.

7. A container closure construction as in claim 6 wherein said pouring vent includes peripherally disposed air entry apertures and a centrally disposed liquid exit passage.

8. A container construction as in claim 7 wherein said pouring vent joins said pouring spout in close proximity to said spout sealing channel.

9. A container closure construction substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. WEST-WALKER, McCABE per: ATTORNEYS FOR THE APPLICANT </div>