NZ534487A - Container and lid with indicator - Google Patents

Abstract

A closure for releasably closing a container having a mouth, the closure having a closing portion for closing over the mouth of the container, the closure having a skirt which depends from a periphery of the closing portion, and the skirt having first and second skirt portions which extend about respective portions of the periphery of the closing portion and which are frangibly attached to one another, and the closure having a securing portion at an upper edge of the skirt, the securing portion being configured to be engageable with a complementary securing portion on the container to releasably secure the closure over the mouth of the container.

Description

53UU8 7 NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT, 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION CONTAINER AND LID WITH INDICATOR We, INDUSTRIAL MOULDINGS LIMITED, a New Zealand company of 14-20 Meachen Street, Seaview, Lower Hutt, New Zealand, 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: intellectual property office of n.z. o 3 AUG 2004 RECEIVED 2 FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to packages, and to containers and closures or lids for containers. More particularly, the invention relates to closures or lids with indicators showing that 5 an attempt to open, or tamper with, the closure or lid has been made.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention has particular application to packages where the security or integrity of 10 the contents is , of importance to purchasers of packaged goods, for example medicines, cosmetics, food and beverages, for consumption by, or use on, humans or animals. It is desirable that a distributor or stockist prior to distributing or displaying packaged goods for sale, or a purchaser at the time of purchase, or an end user at the time of first use, can be provided with a degree of reassurance by undertaking a simple check of the package, 15 that the package has not previously been opened or tampered with. It is also desirable that this reassurance can be provided without making it difficult to open the package legitimately.

United States of America patent number 5,975,320 describes a container fitted with a 20 cap having a skirt. The circumference of the skirt is completed by a tab which depends below the lower edge of the skirt. The tab is joined to the skirt by at least one frangible section which is fractured to loosen or release the skirt from the neck of the container. After a frangible section has been ruptured a friction fit between an inner plug (depending from the underside of the cap) and the neck of the container can seal and 25 hold the cap in place on the container.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the current invention is to provide a packaging closure that can provide an 30 indication of whether or not an attempt has been made to remove the closure from a 188213-5 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. -1 FEB 2006 RECEIVED 3 container to which the closure is fitted, or to at least provide the public with a useful choice.

In a first aspect the invention may be broadly said to be a closure for releasably closing a 5 container having a mouth, the closure having a closing portion for closing over the mouth of the container, the closure having a skirt which depends from a periphery of the closing portion, and the skirt having first and second skirt portions which extend about respective portions of the periphery of the closing portion and which are frangibly attached to one another, and the closure having a securing portion at an upper edge of 10 the skirt, the securing portion being configured to be engageable with a complementary securing portion on the container to releasably secure the closure over the mouth of the container.

Preferably, the first skirt portion has a distal rim and the second skirt portion is frangibly 15 attached to the rim of the first skirt portion. Each end of the second skirt portion may be frangibly attached to the rim at a respective end of the first skirt portion. The second skirt portion may extend outwardly beyond the distal rim and/or depend beyond the distal rim.

The skirt may have a pair of slits which respectively define opposite ends of the first and second skirt portions.

Preferably, the first skirt portion extends about a major portion of the periphery of the closing portion and the second skirt portion extends about a minor portion of the 25 periphery of the closing portion.

The securing portion of the closure may be a bead on an inner surface of the skirt, where the bead has an upper surface which extends inwardly from the inner surface of the skirt and a lower bevelled surface which extends inwardly and upwardly from the inner 30 surface to meet the upper surface. 188213-5 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. -1 FEB 2006 RECEIVED In a second aspect the invention may be broadly said to be a container and a closure for closing over a mouth of the container; wherein the closure is as defined above as the first aspect of the invention; the closure and container have respective and complementary securing portions which are configured to be engageable with one 5 another to releasably secure the closure over the mouth of the container; the container has an outer peripheral wall and a projection below the container securing portion; the projection extends circumferentially about the periphery of the container and outwardly from an outer surface of the wall; and the container and closure are configured so that the first skirt portion does not extend outwardly beyond the outer extent of the 10 projection when the complementary securing portions are engaged with one another to secure the closure over the mouth of the container. The projection may extend substantially continuously about the full periphery of the container.

Preferably, the securing portion of the closure is a bead on an inner surface of the skirt, 15 the securing portion of the container is a lip which extends outwardly from the outer peripheral wall of the container, and the bead is engageable under the lip. The bead may have an upper surface which extends inwardly from the inner surface of the skirt and a lower bevelled surface which extends inwardly and upwardly from the inner surface of the skirt to meet the upper svirface of the bead, and the lip may have a lower surface 20 which extends outwardly from the outer surface of the container wall and an upper bevelled surface which extends outwardly and downwardly from the outer surface of the container wall to meet the lower surface of the lip.

The container and closure may be configured so that the distal rim of the first skirt 25 portion abuts the projection when the complementary securing portions are engaged with one another to secure the closure over the mouth of the container.

The skirt and the projection may each be substantially circular and of substantially equal outer diameters. 188213-5 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. -1 FEB 2006 received BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a container lid, Figure 2 shows a top plan view of the container lid of Figure 1, Figure 3 shows a side elevation of the container lid of Figures 1 and 2, Figure 4 shows a cross-section of the lid of Figures 1, 2 and 3, taken at lines A-A of Figures 2 and 3, Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a container, Figure 6 shows a top plan view of the container of Figure 5, Figure 7 shows a cross-section of the container of Figures 5 and 6, taken at line B-B of Figure 6, Figure 8 shows a perspective view of the lid of Figures 1 to 4 fitted to the 15 container of Figures 5, 6 and 7, Figure 9 shows a top plan view of the lid of Figures 1 to 4 fitted to the container of Figures 5, 6 and 7, Figure 10 shows a side elevation of the lid of Figures 1 to 4 fitted to the container of Figures 5, 6 and 7, and 20 Figure 11 show a cross-section of the lid of Figures 1 to 4 fitted to the container of Figures 5, 6 and 7, as taken at lines C-C of Figures 9 and 10.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT This invention relates to a package including a container having a mouth, and a closure, or lid, which can be releasably fitted to the container to close over the mouth.

Figures 1 to 4 show a generally circular closure, cover or lid 1 having a relatively planar central portion 2 surrounded by a depending skirt 4. The skirt is divided into a major skirt portion 6 and a minor skirt portion 8 which extend about respective portions of the periphery of the central portion. The major skirt portion 6 terminate&^at^k^bv^^p^^qffice OF N.2. 188213-5 6 with a distal rim 10. The minor skirt portion 8 extends radially outwardly beyond the rim 10 of the major portion 6. A projection or tab 11 depends (i.e. extends downwardly) from the minor skirt portion 8, below the rim 10 of the major portion 6. The extensions of the minor skirt portion outwardly beyond and below the rim may be 5 best appreciated in the side view of Figure 3 and in the cross-sectional view of Figure 4. The tab 11 facilitates the removal of the lid 1 from a container as will be explained further below.

The skirt 4 has a pair of narrow openings or slits 12, which may be best appreciated from Figure 3. Each slit defines respective ends of the minor and major portions of the skirt 4. The slits do not extend to the lower edge of the skirt. The ends of the minor skirt portion 8 are joined to the rim 10 of the major skirt portion 6 by frangible links 14 which are capable of being broken, as will be explained further below.

The closure 1 has a securing portion in the form of an inwardly projecting bead 16 on the inner circumferential surface of the skirt 4 at an upper edge of the skirt, as is shown in the cross-section of Figure 4. The bead is shaped and positioned to be engageable with a complementary securing portion on a container so that the closure can be releasably secured over a mouth of the container, as will be explained further below.

The bead 16 has an upper surface 18 which extends inwardly from the inner surface of the skirt. The upper surface may extend inwardly with a slight but not pronounced downward slope as may be seen in the cross-section of Figure 4. The bead 16 has a bevelled lower surface 20 which extends inwardly and upwardly from the inner surface of the skirt to meet the upper surface.

Figures 5, 6 and 7 show a container 30. The container has a bottom 32 and a side wall 34 that is slightly tapered toward the bottom to facilitate easy release from a mould during manufacture of the container. The upper edge of the wall terminates at an annular flat rim 36 which surround the mouth 38 of the container. An outer wall 40 depends from the outer periphery of the rim and is joined to the side wall 34 by a series of circumferentially spaced apart webs 42, shown in Figure 6 by broken lines. The webs 188213-5 0FN'Z" INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. -1 FEB 2006 RECEIVED are also joined to the underside of the annular flat rim 36. The outer wall 40 has a step forming an annular projection or ledge 44. A skirt 46 depends from the ledge. The outer wall 40, ledge 44 and skirt 46 each extend continuously around the full perimeter or circumference of the container. The rim 36, outer wall 40, webs 42, annular ledge 44 5 and skirt 46 together provide mechanical reinforcement to the upper end of the container and particularly to the mouth of the container.

The spacing between the side wall 34, and the outer wall 40 and depending skirt 46 provides a relatively high thermal resistance, or isolation, between the container inner 10 and the radially-outermost parts of the container. In situations where the contents of the container 30 are heated, the outer wall 40 and depending skirt 46 remain relatively cool while the side wall 34 is hot, because of this thermal resistance or isolation, allowing the container to be handled in safety by grasping the outer wall and depending skirt.

The container 30 has a securing portion in the form of a lip 48 at the outer periphery of the annular rim 36. This lip is shaped and positioned to be engageable by the complementary bead 16 on the lid 1 as described above so that the lid can be releasably secured over the mouth 38 of the container. The lip 48 has a lower surface 50 which extends outwardly from the outer surface of the outer wall 40. The lower surface may 20 extend outwardly with a slight but not pronounced upward slope, as is shown in the cross-section of Figure 7. The lip 48 has a bevelled upper surface 52 which extends outwardly and downwardly from the outer periphery of the rim 36 to meet the upper surface. The bead 16 on the lid 1 and the lip 48 on the container 30 are configured so that the lip can be readily 'snapped' into a secured position in which the lid is releasably 25 retained over the mouth of the container, even after the frangible links 14 have been broken (as will be explained below), such as during a first attempt to release the lid from the container.

Figures 8 to 11 show the lid 1 described above with reference to Figures 1 to 4 fitted to 30 the container 30 described above with reference to Figures 5 to 7. In this fitted configuration, the bead 16 inside the lid skirt engages under the lip 48 around the rim 36 188213-5 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. -1 FEB 2006 RECEIVED 8 of the container to releasably secure the lid to the container. A circular seal, not shown, may be fitted over the mouth 38 of the container and sealed to the container around the flat annular rim 36. The seal may be a plastics or metal foil layer, for example.

The rim 10 of the major portion of the lid skirt 4 abuts the ledge 44 and does not extend radially outwardly beyond the outer extent of the ledge. In the preferred embodiment shown in the figures, the major skirt portion 6, and the ledge 44 of the container and its depending skirt 46, each have equal outer diameters. Therefore, the major portion 6 of the lid skirt does not present an accessible lower edge by which the lid can be engaged 10 to prise the lid from the container. In contrast, the minor portion 8 of the lid skirt extends beyond the ledge to provide an accessible tab 11 that can be readily engaged by the thumb or fingers and levered up to prise the lid from the container. By this levering movement, the minor skirt portion 8 rotates outwardly and upwardly about a virtual hinge line between the upper ends of the two slits 12. The outward movement of the 15 minor skirt portion 8 breaks the frangible links 14 between the minor skirt portion and the rim 10 of the major skirt portion 6, thereby by providing a permanent indication that the lid has been removed from the container, or at least an attempt has been made to remove the lid, or at least the minor skirt portion has been prised outward and away from the major skirt portion. This permanent indication is apparent from a visual or 20 tactile inspection of the package.

An upstand, not shown, may be provided around the perimeter of the ledge 44 of the container 30, and the tab 11 of the minor skirt portion 8 of the lid adapted to fit over the upstand when the lid is fitted to the container. The upstand decreases the accessibility 25 of the rim 10 of the major portion 6 of the lid skirt 4 when the rim abuts the ledge 44, further enhancing the security of the attachment of the lid 1 to the container 30.

The tab 11 described above, in addition to providing the indication (of a previous attempt at removal of the lid) by the condition of the frangible links 14, also provides a 30 readily-engageable lever by which the lid 1 can be repeatedly prised off the container 30 each time that access to the contents or interior of the container is required. The upward 188213-5 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. -1 FEB 2006 RECEIVED 9 and outward levering movement of the tab 11 prises the bead 16 on the inside of the lid skirt 4 away from under the lip 48 around the rim 36 of the container 30, initially in the vicinity of the minor skirt portion 8, and then, as the tab 11 is pulled further upward, progressively around the full perimeter of the container rim 36.

References are made in this description and in the accompanying claims to orientations and positions of the container and lid in a familiar and usual orientation, i.e. with the container 30 oriented with its mouth 38 uppermost and the lid 1 oriented to close over the mouth of the container with the lid skirt 4 projecting downward from the perimeter 10 of the lid in a position to surround an upper part of the side wall 34 of the container 30. It is to be appreciated that these references to this orientation have been used merely for convenience and clarity of the description and definition of the invention. The invention is not limited to this, or any other, orientation.

The invention is also not intended to be limited to the preferred embodiments described. For example, the lid may have a skirt with more than one depending tab portion, or the securing portions by which the lid is to be releasably secured to the container may not be continuous around the full circumference of the skirt or container.

Furthermore, the container and lid can be provided in any shape that is suitable for the purpose and style required by the package, and not necessarily the circular forms or sections described above and shown in the figures. For example, the form or section of the lid and container may have multiple sides and may be triangular, square, rectangular, or polygonal. The sides may be straight or slightly curved, and the junctions between 25 the sides may or may not be provided by rounded corners. The form or section of the lid and container may have a non-circular rounded shape, for example an oval or elliptical shape. 188213-5 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. -1 FEB 2006 RECEIVED LIST OF LABELLED FEATURES SHOWN IN THE FIGURES. lid 1 central lid portion 2 5 skirt 4 major skirt portion 6 minor skirt portion 8 rim 10 tab 11 10 slit 12 frangible link 14 bead 16 upper surface 18 lower surface 20 15 container 30 bottom 32 side wall 34 rim 36 mouth 38 20 outer wall 40 web 42 ledge 44 skirt 46 lip 48 lower surface 50 bevelled upper surface 52 188213-5 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. -1 FEB 2006 RECEIVED

Claims (11)

11 WHAT WE CLAM IS: 1 A closure for releasably closing a container having a mouth, the closure having a closing portion for closing over the mouth of the container, the closure having a skirt 5 which depends from a periphery of the closing portion, and the skirt having first and second skirt portions which extend about respective portions of the periphery of the closing portion and which are frangibly attached to one another, and the closure having a securing portion at an upper edge of the skirt, the securing portion being configured to be engageable with a complementary securing portion on the container to releasably 10 secure the closure over the mouth of the container.

2 A closure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first skirt portion has a distal rim and the second skirt portion is frangibly attached to the rim of the first skirt portion. 15

3 A closure as claimed in claim 2, wherein each end of the second skirt portion is frangibly attached to the rim at a respective end of the first skirt portion.

4 A closure as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the second skirt portion extends outwardly beyond the distal rim. 20

5 A closure as claimed in claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the second skirt portion depends beyond the distal rim.

6 A closure as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the skirt has a 25 pair of slits which respectively define opposite ends of the first and second skirt portions.

7 A closure as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first skirt portion extends about a major portion of the periphery of the closing portion and the 30 second skirt portion extends about a minor portion of the periphery of the closing portion. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE 188213-5 OF N.Z. -1 FEB 2006 RECEIVED 12

8 A closure as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the securing portion of the closure is a bead on an inner surface of the skirt, and the bead has an upper surface which extends inwardly from the inner surface of the skirt and a lower 5 bevelled surface which extends inwardly and upwardly from the inner surface to meet the upper surface.

9 A container and a closure for closing over a mouth of the container; wherein the closure is as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to 7; the closure and container have 10 respective and complementary securing portions which are configured to be engageable with one another to releasably secure the closure over the mouth of the container; the container has an outer peripheral wall and a projection below the container securing portion; the projection extends circumferentially about the periphery of the container and outwardly from an outer surface of the wall; and the container and closure are 15 configured so that the first skirt portion does not extend outwardly beyond the outer extent of the projection when the complementary securing portions are engaged with one another to secure the closure over the mouth of the container.

10 A container and a closure as claimed in claim 9, wherein the projection extends 20 substantially continuously about the full periphery of the container.

11 A container and a closure as claimed in claim 9 or 10, wherein the securing portion of the closure is a bead on an inner surface of the skirt, the securing portion of the container is a lip which extends outwardly from the outer peripheral wall of the 25 container, and the bead is engageable under the lip. 30 12 A container and a closure as claimed in claim 11, wherein the bead has an upper surface which extends inwardly from the inner surface of the skirt and a lower bevelled surface which extends inwardly and upwardly from the inner surface of the skirt to meet the upper surface of the bead, and the lip has a lower surface which extends outwardly from the outer surface of the container wall and an upper bevelled surface which 188213-5 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. -1 FEB 2006 received 13 extends outwardly and downwardly from the outer surface of the container wall to meet the lower svirface of the lip. 13 A container and a closure as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the 5 container and closure are configured so that the distal rim of the first skirt portion abuts the projection when the complementary securing portions are engaged with one another to secure the closure over the mouth of the container. 14 A container and a closure as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein the 10 skirt and the projection are each substantially circular and of substantially equal outer diameters. 15 A closure substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. 15 16 A container and closure substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. 188213-5 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. -1 FEB 2006 RECEIVED