US1712274A - Closure - Google Patents

Description

w. H. KNOWLES May 7, 1929.

CLOSURE Filed Aug. 50 1924 lllllllilllll iNVENTOR vf/ofiznj ATTORNEY Patented May 7, 19291 UNITED STATES;

1,712,274 PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. KNOWLES, OF PORT CHESTER, NEW YORK,

SIGNMENTS, TO GENERAL BOTTLE CAP CORPORATION, 01 PORT CHESTER, NEW

YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CLOSURE.

' Application filed August 30, 1924. Serial No. 735,081.

This invention relates to a receptacle closurefand aims to provide a device of this character particularly .adapted for use in connection with the sealing of receptacles of the milkbottle type.

lit is an object of the invention to provide a closure of improved construction which may readily be applied-to a receptacle by an inexperienced person, and by means of a simple form of tool so "that by the practice of the present invention it becomes unnecessary to utilize a large and expensive outlay of apparatus, thus enabling a relatively small dairyman or other user to readily employ the closure.

A further object of the invention is that ofproviding a device of the character stated,

which, when in applied position, will serve to furnish a positive seal,-thus' preventing the entrance of foreign matter into the receptacle, or the spillage of-any of the contents of the latter.

A. still further object is to be predicated on the furnishing of a closure which will be of: such a nature, and applied in such a manner, that the danger of receptacle breakage is reduced to a minimum.

Another object of the present invention,

embraces the thought of providing a closure 7 which will not accidentally become unsealed, but which, when desired, may readily be opened without injury to the fingers.

Still another object is that of providing an improved closure preferably of such a nature that when the same is once opened it may be readily detached, or, in fact, will.

be practically automatically removed from the receptacle with which it is associated, so that upon the return of the latter for the purpose of cleansing, refilling and rescaling, no time will be lost in the removal 'ofthc previously used seal.

1 An additional object is that of providing a closure which will eiliciently perform the purposes for which it is intended, and which will also be'economically and readily manufactured and assembled.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties, and the relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article herebe had to the following detailed description taken in connection with drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a receptacle neck having applied thereto one form of closure constructed within the terms of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a part of the closure member prior to the application thereof to a cap;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional plan view of the separated ends of one portion of the closure member;

Fig. 4 is a similar view, illustrating these end-portions in joined position;

l igs. 5 and 6 are transverse sectional views taken along the lines 5-5 and 6-6, respecthe accompanying ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE AS- tively, and in the direction of the arrows indicated in Fig. 2; I

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing a slightly different construction which may be resorted to, if desired; and

Figs. 8 and 9 are fragmentary side elevations of closure member portions. Referring primarily to Fig. 1 it will be noted that the invention has been shown as used in connection with a receptacle of the milk bottle type. It will be appreciated, however, that a closure of the nature hereinafter described will lend itself for'use in connection with Widely varying types of receptacles, and for numerous different purposes.

Thus, the reference numeral 10 indicates the neck of a bottle, which is formed with a lip 11 adjacent its month. In order to close this outlet portion of the receptacle a ca of any desirable material may be employed, which includes a' depressed or cup-shaped central portion 12, a body 13 and a skirtportion 14. A cap of this type is, in many respects, particularly advantageous, in that by using the same it is notnecessary to employ an inner sealin addition tothe cap, it being understood that heretofore it has been customary to utilize a supplemental sealing member in the nature of a disk of material.

More particularly it will be found that bv employing a cap of the nature aforedetual practice that where this form of construction is employed an extremely desirable seal-is provided, which possesses all the advantages of the cap commonly used at present, while having none of the disadvantages of the same.

The present invention concerns itself, however, to a great extent with that portion of a closure member which serves as a seal. In the present instance, this member is in the na ture-of a split band having a flat body 16, preferably formed of a somewhat bendable material and curved in shape so that its ends may be readily brought to points adjacent each other. These ends are preferably in the nature of oflset portions Hand 18, respectively, and in the formation'of these portions flanges 19 ma be provided, which extend between the si e edges of the band body and the end-portions thereof, and serve to sufliciently rigidity the parts to thus prevent an accidental unbending of the end-portions.

Now, with the view of connecting these end-portions to ether it will be noted in the present exemplification that the part 17 is formed with an opening 20 of a diameter suflicient to accommodate a collar 21, which forms a part of the end-portion 18. In practice this collar is passed through the opening 20, and is subsequently bent to extend out wardly at portionsadjacent its edge, whereby it is prevented from being retracted through the opening aforenamed.

With the view of providing means serving toprevent a breakage of the receptacle u onone of the closure members being app ied thereto it will be noted, as has been clearly illustrated in Fig. 2, that the body 16 of the band may be formed with one or more series of corrugations 22. These corrugations are obviously formed in the band prior to its application to the cap or other element with which it is associated. Thus, assuming that the closure member is being used in conjunction with a cap of the nature illustrated in Fig. 1, the latter may be ap liedto the mouth of the receptacle, and the and constituting the closure member may be subsequently ap-' plied to the cap skirt-portion, and if by means of a suitable and relatively simple tool the ends 17 .and 18 are now drawn together, it

will be understood, assuming that the diameter ofthe receptacle neck is such that the 4, so that the parts Will-be locked against accidental removal.

In this connection it is to be noted, as a matter of fact it is preferred, that the effective length of the closure member be such as to be inadequate to completely enclose the neck of the receptacle, so that in each instance it will be necessary for the corrugated portions to be stretched in order to seal the closuremember. Infact, it is in most instances desirable to have the effective length of this retaining means sli litly less than the girth of thereceptacle at t e point of application of the former to the latter, it being understood that by this expedient the cap portion of the closure is virtually anchored in position. The amount of the stretching will of course vary, incident to the variations in the size of the individual receptaclcs, but in no instance will this stretching affect the tightness of the seal provided in that, first, the corrugated portionsare relativel stiff, and secondly, the band, being pre erably of a somewhat resilient material, will tend to resume its original effective length, which will necessarily result in an extremely tight.

seal being formed. Furthermore, it has been noted that, incident to providing a band which will accommodate itself to variations in the diameter and contour of a receptacle portion, the latter will at no time become broken during the application of the closure, thus avoiding one of the major objections to closures as heretofore utilized in connection with milk bottles or similar receptacles.

It will be obvious that with the closure member mounted, a previous opening thereof will be immediately apparent in that the retaining member which forms a part of the closure and serves to secure the cap in 1- tion upon the receptacle will have 11 broken. On the other hand, if it is desired to open this closure this may readily be accomplished in a number of desirable manners. For example, assuming that the member embraces the construction disclosed in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, it will be merely necessary to introduce the point of an ice-pick, prong of a fork or other desirable implement thrgpgh the opening or bore of the collar, an to slight y swing this im lement. This action will cause the band encii-x to be twisted, which forcibly retracted from its position withln and beyond the opening 20.

Likewise, a knife or similar instrument may be utilized to open the closure member, in that till tld

an instrument of this nature may be moved to occupy a position atwhich its edge will extend between the opposing faces of the endportions 17 and 18, whereupon, by slightly twisting the implement utilized (in order to obtain a lever action), these parts may be forced apart. In order to simplify this action the end- portions 17 and 18 may be joined in such a manner that a decided space exists between their outer faces at points adjacent their upper ed es, this having been indicated at 23 in Fig. By this expedient the introduction of a properimplement into the space aforementioned is greatly facilitated, and consequently, the operation of opening the closure member in the last described manner is somewhat expedited.

lln certain instances, where it is not desired to utilize an implement in the manner aforedescribed, the opening of the closure member may be effected by incorporating a rupturable point in the band. Thus, in Fig. 8 it will be noted that a pair of opposed ll-shaped notches 2 f have been shown, which notches, although serving to weaken the band at this point, nevertheless do not sufficiently impair the strength of the band so that an accidental loosening of the same would result. Nevertheless, a prong of a fork or a similar imple ment may be placed adjacent the base of one notch and moved so that the strip will readily rupture through to the other notch. Like wise, if desired, as in Fig. 9, the band body may be formed with an opening 25, from one end of which diverging score-lines 26 extend. Thus, by simply gripping and pulling those portions of the band which are between the score-lines the band will again be ruptured.

ltn any event, and regardless of how the band is opened, it will be noted that when once opened the fact of such opening is readily apparent to anyone glancing at the receptacle. Also, it will be impracticable for a person to endeavor to reconnect the parts with out this fact being immediately perceptible, and the closure member will in the natural course of events be detached from the receptacle, so that when the latter is returned for refilling it does not become necessary to remove this member.

From, the foregoing it is obvious that, among others, those ob]ects specifically aforementioned are accomplished, and since certain changes may be made in the above article and difl'erent embodiments of the invention could be made withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limit ing sense.

ft is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which as .a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and Patent is:

1. A closure, including, in combination, a cap having a depending skirt and a split band encircling said skirt and having its body corrugated to provide an expansible ends of said band being adapted towards each other to an extent to be drawn sufiicient to stretch said expansible portion, and means,

forming a part of the band ends whereby they may be interlocked.

2. A closure, including, in combination, a

desire to secure by Letters portion, the

caphaving a depending skirt and a split band band permanently being locked together, said band having its ends destructibly separable in order to open said. closure;

4. A closure, including, in combination, a

cap having a dependin skirt and a split band encircling said skirt, 0 set end-portions forming a part of said band, one of said portions presenting an opening, a collar forming a part of the second end-portion thereof and adapted to be extended through said opening and to have its outer end subsequently deformed to prevent a separation of said ends.

5. A closure, includin in combination, a

cap having a depending s rirt and a split bandencircling said skirt, offset end-portions forming a part of said band, reinforcing flanges extending between the band body and the endportions, and means formlnga part of one of said end-portions and adapted to engage the second end-portion and to be subsequently deformed to normally prevent a detachment of said end-portions.

6. As an article of manufacture, a closure band, including a body adapted to be applied tea receptacle, and a non-resilient, permanently stretchable-- portion forming an integral part of said body.

7. As an article of manufacture, a closure band, including a body adapted to be applied to a receptacle, and corrugated substantially non-resilientportions forming a part of said band and providing means whereby said band may be accommodated to different sizes of receptacle portions.

8. A closure, including a body comprising integral non-resilient permanently stretchable and non-stretchable portions.

9. A closure for receptacles, including, in combination, a cap having a downwardly-extehdingskirt and a locking band disposed to encircle said skirt, the ends of said band extending Substantially at right angles to the.

body thereof, means forming a part of said ends and joining the same, said means presenting a substantially flat face en aging the corresponding face of one of the and ends for locking the same against relative movement. i

'10. A closure for receptacles, including, in

- combination, a cap having a downwardly-ex tending skirt and a locking band disposed to said skirt and being initially of insufficient length to encircle the same said band having a deformed poi'tion where it may be elon- 'gated sufficiently to encirc e the same, and

means forming an integral part of the band ends for directly connecting the same.

12. A closure for receptacles, including a split band to be applied around the skirt of a cap to retain the same. in position upon a re- 1 around said skirt and having portions of its,

ceptacle, the ends of said band being forcibly drawn towards each other, and means forming a part of said ends for non-restorably interlocking the same, said means being operable by deforming the same with the band ends in contact.

13. A milk tiottle closure, including, in-

combination, a cap having a downwardly-extending skirt, said cap to .be applied to the mouth of a bottle with the skirt enclosing the pouring lip thereof, a split band disposed body corrugated, theends of said band extending at an angle to the bodyqthereof and one of said ends being formed with an o ening, a hollow stud extendin outwardly second end of said ban the band being of initially insuflicient lengthto encircle said skirt and being adapted to be extended to have said )stud extend through the opening, said stud beingsubsequently deformed to prevent a de- ,taehment of the band ends. Y

14. A closure, includingia skirted cap, av

split.band encircling the outer face ofthe cap skirt, and means associated with the end portions of saidbarfd for interlocking permanently such end portions by deforming the same, the removal of said band being effected jby a destruction of portions thereof.

15. A closure, including, in combination, a cap having a central expansible cup portion rom the and a depending skirt, a split band encirclin the outer face ofsaid skirt, said band inclu ing a body having a normall constricted portion-and being of a length msufiicient to enclose said skirt, said band ends being drawn into contact with each other, and said constricted portion beingpermanently expanded durin such drawing action, the force reuire for said expanding bein such that t e skirt of said cap is drawn downwardly over the pouring lip of thereceptacle to be sealed and the cup portion of said cap is expanded, and means at the ends of said band for interlocking the same permanently after the completion of such expansion.

16. As an article of manufacture, a'split band adapted for useinsealing bottle caps and the like,comprisinga stri of metal having its ends extending outward y in the same direction at substantial right angles to the face of the band; one of said ends being formed with an opening and the other of said ends being formed with a protrusion adapted to be inserted through said openin and deformed to secure the ends of the ban together.

17 As an article of manufacture, a split band ada ted for use in sealing bottle caps and the li e, comprising a strip of metal having its ends extending outwardly in the same direction a t substantial right angles to the .face'of the band; one of said ends being formed with an opening, and the other of said ends having a protruding collar ada ted to be inserted through said opening an deformed to secure the ends-of the band together.

18. As an article of manufacture, a split band ada ted for use in sealing bottle-caps and the li e, comprising a strip of metal having its ends extending outwardly in-the same direction at substantial right angles to the face of the band, rigidifyin means between the body of said band and't e outwardly-extending ends; one of said ends being formed vwith an opening, and the other of said ends being formed with a protrusion adapted to be inserted through said opening and deformed to secure the ends of the band together.

19. As an article of manufact re, a split band ada ted for use in sealing bottle caps and the li e, comprising a'stri of metal having its ends extending outwar ly in the same direction at substantial right angles to the face of the band; said ban d including transverse corrugations which shorten the effective length thereof; and one of said ends. being formed with an opening and the other being formed with a protrusion adapted to be inserted through said openin and deformed to secure the ends of the ban to ther.

- 20. As an article of manu acture, a split ,band adapted-for use in sealing bottle caps and the like, comprising a stri of metal having 1ts ends extending outwa ly in the same direction atsubstantial right angles to the face of the band; said band being partially ,band adpated for use in sealing bottle caps 19 out adjacent one of its ends whereby subseand the like, comprising a stri of metal; one quent rupture thereof is facilitated; one of of the ends of said strip being ormed with an said ends being formed with an opening, and opening and the other end having a protrud- 5 the other being formed with a protrusion ing collar adapted to be inserted through said adapted to be inserted through said opening opening and deformed to secure the ends of 15 and deformed to secure the ends of the band the band together. together. In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

21. As an article of manufacture, a split WILLIAM H. KNOWLES.

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