US1882995A

US1882995A - Closure cap

Info

Publication number: US1882995A
Application number: US427669A
Authority: US
Inventors: Scofield Edgar
Original assignee: Anchor Cap and Closure Corp
Current assignee: Anchor Cap and Closure Corp
Priority date: 1930-02-12
Filing date: 1930-02-12
Publication date: 1932-10-18
Anticipated expiration: 1949-10-18

Description

0a. 18, 1932. 4 E. SCOFIELD 1,882,995

CLOSURE CAP Filed Feb. 12, 1930 I WWWmumn1nmImamM/I/M/U/fi/W/MWFQ u 9! 9 L m in. mum

INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 18, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- EDGAR SCOFIELD, OF YORK, N. Y., .ASSIGNOR TO ANCHOR CAP & CLOSURE CORPO- RATION, 0F LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK CLOSURE CAP Application filed February 12, 1930. Serial No. 427,669.

The present invention relates to closures and more particularly to a closure cap of the friction type.

In the manufacture of glass containers such as tumblers of the less expensive grades. the sizes usually vary from the exact mold standard and are,to a certain extent, oval or elliptical at the mouth thereof. This deviation is termed permissible variation in size and out-of-round. The tolerated range of such imperfections is about thirty thousandths of an inch. Frequently, also, the container sealing surface is slightly tapered, creating a tendency for the cap to cam itself oil". Such defect is most pronounced adjacent the rim of the container. Since the inspection and crating must be done rap- .idly, it is almost impossible to exclude the containers which exceed this range of tolerance. Closure caps also vary in size and are capable of conforming only to limited variations in size of containers.

It is customary to pack certain products, such as jellies, in containers of the tumbler type. A friction closure cap may be used since a hermetic seal is not necessary to preserve the products. The skirts of these caps are retained resiliently against the upper side wall of the container. Various forms of skirts have been devised to improve the holding ability of the caps to the containers and to take up the necessary variations, but these have been only partially successful.

The difficulty encountered in the use of these caps is due to the fact that a cap of maximum size will not hold snugly upon a container of minimum size. On the other hand, a cap will frequently crush before the skirt can expand over a maxlmum size con-' tainer. Of course, further difficulties are encountered because containers beyond the range of permissible tolerance are not rejected when crated. Thus, imperfect containers are included in the shipment to the packer. The caps will, therefore, fail to fit on the imperfect containers and will sometimes be crushed during the sealing operation and will not be properly sealed. Such misfits often cause the containers to be broken and the contents thereof to be spilled. The failure of caps of this type now on the market is due to the fact that the skirts thereof are not adapted to yield and conform to and hold on to containers varying from a standard size. Certain caps, which have comparatively resilient skirts, are imperfect because they do upon containers of a large range of variations in size.

Another object of the invention is to provide a friction cap having a substantially resilient skirt that will yield and conform to fit and hold upon either a container of maximum or minimum size.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cap having a skirt With two annular corrugated zones adapted to conform to Variations in container sizes and grip the containers tightly when applied.

Another object of the invention is to provide a friction cap which can be readily ap' plied, which forms a tight seal and which can be easily removed Without breaking the container.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Wide sealing contact a substantial distance below the rim of the container to minimize the effect upon the seal of defects at the rim of the container.

A further object of the invention is to eliminate or minimize the breakage of containers and the spilling of the contents thereof during the application of the caps and shipment of the packages.

Other and further objects of the invention Will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described or will be indicated in the appended claims,

and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of the specification, wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a closure cap in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view, on the line 2-2 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the projections on the outside of the skirt of the cap Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the corrugations as they appear on the inner side of the skirt;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a closure cap about to be applied to a container; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a sealed container, illustrating how the projections engage the side walls of a container.

Referring again to the drawing, there is shown a closure cap having a cover portion 1 and a depending skirt 2. The external diameter of the cover portion is substantially larger than the external diameterof the container at the sealing zone. The upper part of skirt of the cap ad acent the cover portion is knurled or corrugated, as shown at 4, and pressed inwardly toward the side wall or sealing zone of a glass container 5. The upper knurled zone 4 .forms an annular space between the rim of the container and the skirt of the cap. This zone merges into a second corrugated zone 6 in the lower part of the skirt.

The second zone 6 is flared outwardly to facilitate the application of the cap to the container. The corrugations in the second zone are slightly wider circumferentially and also deeper to increase the expansibility of the skirt of the cap so that it will accommodate substantial variations in size of containers. The depth of the corrugations lengthwise thereof decreases toward the top thereof; that is, the corrugations are deeper at the bottom than at the top. By reason of this difference in depth at the respective ends, the internal surfaces of the zone of corrugations is substantially cylindrical with a slight flare at the bottom.

The increased depth and size of the cor.- rugations give a greater resilience to the lower portion of the skirt and facilitate the ap plication to a container. After the cap is seated on the container it rights itself, making further application easier, and permits the more rigid part of the skirt to telescope over the container. A rolled edge 7 at the bottom of the skirt provides an additional taken son of the decrease flare and gives a finished appearance to the cap. The angularity of the upper zone of corrugations reinforces the skirt of the cap and prevents it from collapsing under the pressure required to apply the cap. The annular recess formed by the upper zone affords a seat for a sealing disc or liner 8 and prevents it from falling out of the cap during shipment. I

When the cap is telescoped about the mouth of the glass container, the inner projections or surfaces 9 of the lower portion of the skirt grip the side wall of the container. If the container is slightly oversized or outof-round, as shown in Fig. 6, the skirt will expand to conform to the side wall of the container. If the container is undersized, the projections will still engage the container, as they extend inwardly a substantial distance. The increased depth of the corrugations at the bottom of the skirt facilitates the initial telescoping or application and facilitates the further downward movement of the cap upon a container. As the sealing zone of the container continues to pass along the lower corrugations 9, a tighter grip is formed by reain the size of the skirt and decrease in the depth At the junction of the two corrugated zones the greatest grip is obtained. The grip is, therefore, a substantial distance below the rim of the container and is not materially affected by the usual defects at the rim. The outwardly projecting portions at the to and bottom of the skirt facilitate removal by tapping. The skirt of the cap may be tapped with a knife or other instrument to stretch the sealing zone without danger of breaking the container.

In the sealing operation, the caps are usually placed manually upon the containers as they pass along a conveyor to the sealing machine. The lower portion of the skirt grips the containers lightly and prevents the caps from canting, or otherwise becoming disarranged, before the final sealing. When the caps are further applied to the containers, the lower corrugated zone frictionally engages the side walls of the container. There is no danger of this construction being released from the container accidentally.

It will be seen that the present invention provides a friction seal cap which is adapted to accommodate a greater range of variations in size of glass containers than other caps on the market. The shape of the corrugations and the co-ordination of the two rows of corrugations of different resiliency are such that the skirt of the cap is very resilient. The caps present a large surface area of corrugations against the side walls of the container a'substantial distance below the rim of the container, thus increasing the security of the seal. The difficulties heretobefore encountered in applying caps to containers outeof-round also by reason of the of the corrugations.

have been greatly minimized. The per cent of breakage of containers during the sealing operation is reduced, thereby decreasing the cost of the sealed packages. These caps, when sealed upon containers, can withstand the rough usage to which they are subjected without becoming disarranged.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and,;sc'ope of the invention and without sacrificing its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

l laving thus described my invention, I claim:

'1. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap comprising a cover portion and a depending skirt, said skirt being provided with a pair of rows of inwardly extending corrugations about the circumference thereof to per mit the expansion of the skirt, a row of corrugations extending downwardly and flaring inwardly and a row of corrugations extending upwardly and flaring inwardly to provide a zone of minimum diameter substantially above the middle of the skirt.

2. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap comprising a cover portion, a depending skirt and an annular zone of corrugations flared inwardly from the upper portion of said skirt, and a second zone of corrugations flared inwardly from the lower portion of the skirt adapted to engage the side wall of the container, said zones meeting at the minimum diameter of said cap.

3. As an article of manufacture, aclosure cap comprising a cover portion, a depending skirt, and corrugations on the upper and lower portions of said skirt, said corruga tions on the lower portion being pressed further inwardly than the corrugations on the upper portion of said skirt and merging therewith to provide a substantially resilient container engaging rib.

4. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap comprising a cover portion and a depending skirt, upper and lower annular zones of corrugations on said skirt, and a substantially resilient container engaging rib provided by the junction of said corrugated zones at the minimum diameter of said skirt, the corrugations on said lower zones being pressed further inwardly than corrugations on said upper zones to engage the side wall of a container.

5. A closure cap comprising a cover portion and a depending skirt, an annular corrugated zone on the upper portion of said skirt, a second annular corrugated zone in the lower portion of said skirt instruck further and of greater resiliency than said upper zone and adapted to engage and grip the side wall of a container, and an expansible thereby being more resilient than said friction rib extending circumferentially between said zones.

6. A closure cap comprising a cover portion and a depending skirt, an annular zone of narrow vertical corrugations at the upper portion of said skirt, and a second annular zone of corrugations of greater width at the lower portion of said skirt adapted to grip a container, saidupper zone being adapted to engage the container with a tighter grip than said lower zone.

7. A closure cap comprising a cover portion and a depending skirt, an annular zone of narrow vertical corrugations at the upper portion of said skirt, and a second annular zone of corrugations of greater width at the lower portion of said skirt, said lower zone extending further inwardly than said upper corrugations.

8. A closure cap comprising a cover portion and a depending skirt, an annular zone of narrow vertical corrugations at the upper portion of said skirt, a second annular zone of corrugations of greater width at the lower portion of said skirt, and a container gripping rib of minimum diameter extending circumferentially between said zones, said lower zone being adapted to conform to and center the cap upon a container and the upper 95 zone and said rib being adapted to conform to and engage the side wall of the container to provide a tighter grip than said lower zone.

9. A closure'cap comprising a. cover portion and a depending skirt, an annular zone of narrow vertical corrugations at the upper portion of said skirt, a second annular zone of corrugations of greater width and resiliency at the lower portion of said skirt extending further inwardly than said upper corrugations.

10. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap comprising a cover portion and a depending skirt, an annular zone of narrow vertical corrugations at the upper portion of said skirt, a second annular zone of corrugations of greater width and resiliencyat the lower port-ion of said skirt extending further inwardly than said upper corrugations, and a gripping rib at the minimum diameter of said skirt extending between said zones of corrugations, said rib and one of said zones being adapted to rest circumferentially against the side wall of a container.

11. A closure cap comprising a cover portion and a depending skirt, upper and lower annular zones of corrugations on said skirt for engaging the side wall of a container, said lower corrugations being wider and deeper upper corrugations.

12. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap comprising a cover portion and a depending skirt, an inwardly converging corrugated zone at the upper portion of said skirt and an outwardly flared zone at the lower portion of said skirt, said lower zone being provided with instruck corrugations of greater Width and depth and extending further inwardly with respect to said skirt than the corrugations in said upper zone.

EDGAR SCOFIELD.