US20160347512A1

US20160347512A1 - Bio-degradable Compostable Container Closure

Info

Publication number: US20160347512A1
Application number: US15/164,999
Authority: US
Inventors: William Horner
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-05-26
Filing date: 2016-05-26
Publication date: 2016-12-01

Abstract

A bio-degradable compostable container closure is presented. The container closure includes a top surface, a cylindrical side wall extending from the top surface, and a thread on an inner surface of the side wall capable of mating with a thread on the neck of a container and capable of securing the closure to the container. The closure is comprised of a biodegradable and/or compostable plastic resin.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/166,335 filed on May 26, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Composting of plastic articles provides an environmentally friendly method of disposal where the product is made from a compostable plastic. One of the largest volume products being made from conventional plastic at this time is the container closure in various volume configurations. The container closure is typically used on bottles of water, soft drinks, and other fluids. The cap or closure adds a non-compostable material to the mix and prevented composting of the discarded container.

SUMMARY

Conventional mechanisms such as those explained above suffer from a variety of deficiencies. One such deficiency is that conventional container closures intended for this type of use are not both bi-degradable and compostable. As defined herein, a product is biodegradable as long as it will completely break down and return to nature (i.e., decompose into elements found in nature) within a reasonably short period of time after customary disposal. In other words, the item will continue to disintegrate into small pieces until micro-organisms consume it. For an item to be marked compostable, there must be scientific evidence that the materials in the item break down, or become part of, usable compost in a safe manner in an appropriate composting facility or home compost pile.
The main difference between biodegradable and compostable is the latter breaks down into “humus,” which provides valuable nutrients to the soil. Biodegradable products just return to nature, disintegrating or disappearing completely. This disintegration could take a week or years—another difference with compostable. Finally, compostable items must completely break down and not release any metals or toxins into the compost. Biodegradable products can leave metal residue in their return to nature.
Biodegradeable refers to the breakdown of the carbon content of the material in a “reasonable timeframe”. This timeframe is loosely defined. There are four specific criteria for a material to be labeled compostable. First, it must biodegrade—at least 90% carbon content must go away within 90-180 days. Second, it must disintegrate—at least 90% of the material must disintegrate within 84 days. Third, it must not contain heavy metals above concentrations defined by North America or EU restrictions. Fourth, the disintegrated content must support future plant growth as humus. These four conditions are tested per the ASTM D6400 standard.
Embodiments of the invention significantly overcome such deficiencies and provide mechanisms and techniques that provide a container closure with specific geometry and manufacturing method allowing a fully functional product to be produced using compostable and/or bio-degradable plastic resin.
Note that each of the different features, techniques, configurations, etc. discussed in this disclosure can be executed independently or in combination. Accordingly, the present invention can be embodied and viewed in many different ways. Also, note that this summary section herein does not specify every embodiment and/or incrementally novel aspect of the present disclosure or claimed invention. Instead, this summary only provides a preliminary discussion of different embodiments and corresponding points of novelty over conventional techniques. For additional details, elements, and/or possible perspectives (permutations) of the invention, the reader is directed to the Detailed Description section and corresponding figures of the present disclosure as further discussed below. All examples and features mentioned below can be combined in any technically possible way.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1A comprises a top view of a bio-degradable compostable container closure in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1B comprises a side view of a bio-degradable compostable container closure in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1C comprises a cut-away side view of a bio-degradable compostable container closure in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and illustrate the best mode of practicing embodiments of the invention. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the invention and recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.
The preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein; rather, this embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. The terminology used in the detailed description of the particular embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the invention. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements.
The presently described bio-degradable compostable container closure will be described with respect to the bottled water industry; however the invention is not limited to this particular industry.
Referring to FIG. 1A-1C, the biodegradable compostable container closure (e.g., a bottle cap) 10 is shown. The biodegradable compostable container closure is comprised of a biodegradable and/or compostable plastic resin. The resin may contain organic or inorganic filler. The biodegradable compostable container closure 10 includes a top surface 12, a cylindrical side wall 14 extending from the top surface 12, a thread 18 on an inner surface of the side wall 14 capable of mating with a thread on the neck of a container and capable of securing the closure 10 to the container. In some embodiments the sidewall 14 may include a textured surface to make gripping and removal of the closure 10 easier.
The closure 10 further includes a tamper evident portion. The tamper evident portion comprises a ring 16, a plurality of fracturable elements 22 disposed between a bottom surface of the sidewall 14 and the ring 16. When the container closure 10 is initially removed from a container, the fracturable elements 22 are broken and the sidewall 14 is separated from the ring 16, indicating the container has been opened. Once the closure has been removed and separated from the tamper evident portion, the closure may be reinstalled and removed one or more time.
The closure further comprises a plurality of inward facing tabs 20 disposed about a bottom of a surface of the ring 16. The plurality of inward facing tabs 20 are disposed at an angle with respect to said bottom surface of the ring 16. The inward facing tabs 20 maintain the ring 16 to the bottle once the ring 16 is separated from the sidewall 14.
In a particular embodiment the closure 10 has an outside diameter of approximately 30.27 millimeters. The sidewall has a length of approximately 15.88 millimeters and the ring has a length of approximately 4.27 millimeters.
Throughout the entirety of the present disclosure, use of the articles “a” or “an” to modify a noun may be understood to be used for convenience and to include one, or more than one of the modified noun, unless otherwise specifically stated.
Elements, components, modules, and/or parts thereof that are described and/or otherwise portrayed through the figures to communicate with, be associated with, and/or be based on, something else, may be understood to so communicate, be associated with, and or be based on in a direct and/or indirect manner, unless otherwise stipulated herein.
Although the methods and systems have been described relative to a specific embodiment thereof, they are not so limited. Obviously many modifications and variations may become apparent in light of the above teachings. Many additional changes in the details, materials, and arrangement of parts, herein described and illustrated, may be made by those skilled in the art.
Having described preferred embodiments of the invention it will now become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that other embodiments incorporating these concepts may be used. Accordingly, it is submitted that that the invention should not be limited to the described embodiments but rather should be limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A container closure comprising:

a top surface;

a cylindrical side wall extending from said top surface;

a thread on an inner surface of said side wall capable of mating with a thread on the neck of a container and capable of securing said closure to said container; and

wherein said closure is comprised of one of a group consisting of a biodegradable plastic resin; and a compostable plastic resin.

2. The container closure of claim 1 wherein said plastic resin contains organic filler.

3. The container closure of claim 1 wherein said plastic resin contains inorganic filler.

4. The closure of claim 1 further comprising a tamper evident portion.

5. The closure of claim 4 wherein said tamper evident portion comprises:

a ring; and

a plurality of fracturable elements disposed between a bottom surface of said sidewall and said ring.

6. The closure of claim 5 wherein when said container closure is initially removed from a container, said fracturable elements are broken and said sidewall is separated from said ring, indicating the container has been opened.

7. The closure of claim 5 further comprising a plurality of inward facing tabs disposed about a bottom of a surface of said ring.

8. The closure of claim 7 wherein said plurality of inward facing tabs are disposed at an angle with respect to said bottom surface of said ring.

9. The closure of claim 1 wherein said closure has an outside diameter of approximately 30.27 millimeters.

10. The closure of claim 1 wherein said sidewall has a length of approximately 15.88 millimeters.

11. The closure of claim 1 wherein said ring has a length of approximately 4.27 millimeters.

12. The closure of claim 1 wherein an outside surface of said sidewall is textured.