US2144902A

US2144902A - Cap for collapsible tubes

Info

Publication number: US2144902A
Application number: US147849A
Authority: US
Inventors: George W Temple
Original assignee: Victor Metal Products Corp
Current assignee: Victor Metal Products Corp
Priority date: 1937-06-12
Filing date: 1937-06-12
Publication date: 1939-01-24
Anticipated expiration: 1956-01-24

Description

Patented Jan. 24, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAP FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES Application June 12, 1937, Serial No. 147,849

2 Claims.

This invention relates to caps for containers and the like and particularly to the screw caps for collapsible tubes.

Difficulty has been experienced in the past with collapsible tubes for the reason that the usci' is apt to put the cap on the neck of the tube in slightly angular position instead of coaxially with the tube, with the result that on screwing the cap into place, the threads on the s tube neck, or sometimes even the internal threads of the cap are crossed and stripped. Another diiculty has been the accumulation inside of the cap and its threads of excess or unused pasty material exuding from the tube if such material ;f. is not entirely removed before the cap is screwed My invention therefore contemplates the provision of pilot means on the. cap to center and align the cap coaxially with the tube preparatory to the engagement of the screw threads of the cap and neck thereby to insure the proper positioning and engagement of said threads when the cap is rotated and eliminating the danger of the threads being stripped or crossed.

My invention further contemplates the provision of pilot means on the cap which not only automatically centers and aligns the cap on the neck of the tube, but also disposes of any excess pasty material at the end of the tube.

The various objects of the invention will be clear from the description which follows and from the drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a partial elevation and partial vertical section of my new cap as it appears applied to a tube preparatory to screwing it into place to seal the tube.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same showing the cap screwed into its tube-sealing position.

Fig. 3 is a similar view of a modied form of n the cap wherein the pilot means is made hollow.

In the practical embodiment of my invention which I have shown by way of example, the usual collapsible tube I0 is provided, on the reduced neck II of which are cut the external screw threads I 2. Said threads terminate a considerable distance below the top surface I3 of the neck thereby providing a terminal cylindrical unthreaded surface.I4, the diameter of which is the same as that of the base of the threads I2. The sealing cap 30 may be of any desired shape having a top portion and a depending skirt portion I5 and is provided with the annular recess I'I concentric with the skirt portion for the reception of the neck II of the tube. The outer 55 wall of said recess I'I is provided with the usual internal screw threads I6 adapted to lit and engage the threads I2 of the neck.

Intergral with the top part of the cap and concentric with the skirt portion, is the pilot memben I9, the substantially cylindrical wall of which forms the inner wall of the recess I1. The lowermost end part 20 of said pilot member is preferably in the same plane as the lowermost edge 2I of the skirt portion of the cap, and is preferably rounded convexly. The pilot member I 9 preferably tapers slightly to a somewhat greaterdiameter at its upper end to permit the lowermost end thereof to be readily inserted into the neck opening 22 of the tube. Adjacent its uppermost end, that is, Where it joins the remainder of the cap, the pilot member is provided with an upwardly and outwardly tapered conical surface 23 merging with the top portion of the cap and adapted to engage the circumferential edge 24 of the neck opening 22 and to seat thereon when the cap is screwed into place (Fig. 2) and thereby to seal said opening.

To assemble the cap on the neck, the pilot member I9 is initially inserted into the neck opening 22 of the tube and at the same time the cap is moved downwardly to carry said pilot member as far into the neck as it will go. Said member I1 being very nearly of the same diameter as that y of the neck opening, prevents any material tilting of the cap relatively tothe tube. At the same time, the internal threads I6 of the skirt portion of the cap slide over the unthreaded part I4 of the neck until they engage o-r contact with the uppermost of the threads I2. When such Contact or engagement takes place, it must occur in the accurately centered position in which the cap is maintained and set by the pilot member, whereafter rotation of said cap will screw the cap on to the tube in its proper position until the conical portion 23 engages the edge 24. It will be understood that when the pilot member I9 is first freely inserted into the neck opening, any pasty material which lies above or adjacent the top of the neck opening is pushed back into the tube by said member, and is thereby prevented from reaching or passing out of the recess Il.

In that form of the invention shown in Fig. 3, the pilot member 30 is preferably made hollow, being provided with a suitable preferably central recess as 3I. By the provision of said recess, it will be understood that less material is needed to form the cap, while at the same time less resistance is oiered to the initial entrance of the pilot member into the tube opening, since part of the pasty material at the end portion of the tube may enter said recess 3i.

It will be seen that by the provision of pilot means for guiding the cap into its proper initial position in which the threads thereof are ready to engage the corresponding threads of the neck, adequate means are provided for insuring the proper positioning and sealing action of the cap on the tube even though it is attempted to assemble these parts more or less carelessly.

While I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, I do not Wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto, but intend to claim my invention as broadly as may be permitted by the state of the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a one-piece closure cap, a top portion, an internally threaded skirt portion and a pilot member arranged inwardly of the skirt portion, said pilot member being hollow and depending from the top portion and having smooth inner and outer surfaces and terminating at its bottom in substantially the same plane as the bottom of said skirt portion, said pilot member having a top inner surface arranged below said top portion of the cap.

2. In a, one-piece closure cap, a top portion, an internally threaded skirt portion, and a pilot member concentric with and arranged inwardly of the skirt portion, said pilot member being hollow and depending from the top portion and having smooth Unthreaded inner and outer surfaces.

GEORGE W. TEMPLE.