US2659511A

US2659511A - Bottle cap

Info

Publication number: US2659511A
Application number: US168731A
Authority: US
Inventors: Walter A Rice
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1950-06-17
Filing date: 1950-06-17
Publication date: 1953-11-17
Anticipated expiration: 1970-11-17

Description

I INVEN TOR. Via/9104 31229 B Y ATTORNEY Nov. 17, 1953 w. A. RICE BOTTLE CAP Filed June 17, 1950 Patented Nov. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOTTLE CAP Walter A. Rice, Amsterdam, N. Y.

Application June 17, 1950, Serial No. 168,731

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to closures for sealed packages, and, more particularly, relates to improved closures of the type provided with opening devices.

Heretofore it has been proposed to provide closures for receptacles such as bottles, jars and the like which comprised a cap having a skirt formed with fingers spaced by cut-away portions in the skirt, and a ring fitted over the skirt to urge the fingers into engagement with the sealing finish of the receptacle, the ring being manually removable to facilitate removal of the cap without the aid of tools. The difficulty with such closures was that, in order to effectively retain the ring on the cap, the cap and/or the ring required the provision of locking means which complicated the construction and manufacture of the closure and increased the cost thereof to an extent whereby such closures could not be successfully sold in competition with less complicated closures requiring removal from receptacles by means of tools.

Accordingly,an object of the present invention is to provide an improved closure vfor sealed packages which can be removed by hand without the use of tools and can be reapplied by hand to the receptacle to preserve the contents thereof until dispensed.

Another object is to provide such a closure which is simple and economical in construction, and is readily manufactured, assembled, and applied.

Another object is to provide such closures which require a minimum of material and can be rapidly roduced in'large quantities by simple automatic machinery.

A further object is toprovide improved sealed packages utilizing such closures which are capable of storing aerated liquids such as carbonated beverages, beer and the like.

A stillfurther object is to provide such a package having a closure readily removable by hand at will which effectively resists accidental or unintentional removal.

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.

In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects are accomplished by providing a closure for sealed packages which comprises a cap having a crimped skirt formed with corrugations shaped to engage the finish on a receptacle and formed with slits providing sharp edges at the exterior of the skirt, and a fiangeless ring in the form of a cylindrical band adapted to be positioned over the skirt to surround the same and fitting snugly to constrict the skirt and cause the edges to bite into the band.

In a preferred embodiment about to be described, the cap is constructed of sheet metal in the form of a crown cap, and the corrugations consist of alternately arranged inwardly extending projections and outwardly extending substantially vertical flutes which are slitted vertically at the outermost portions thereof to pro- Vide the sharp edges. In this embodiment, the band is constructed of a softer material than the cap to enable the sharp edges to bite into the band and be embedded to securely lock the band on the cap against accidental removal of the closure when applied to the receptacle.

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:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view,

illustrating a portion of a receptacle, and a cap and band in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary enlarged elevational view, partly in section, illustrating the closure, comprising the cap and band, applied to the receptacle to seal the same.

Figure 3 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken along the line 3--3 on Figure 2, illustrating the manner in which the sharp edges of the skirt of the cap are embedded or bite into the band.

Referring to the drawing in detail and more particularly to Figure 1 thereof, the essential elements of a sealed package in accordance with the invention are shown, which elements include a receptacle 10, a cap H, and a band l2, the cap and band serving as the closure for the receptacle.

Only the outlet or mouth portion of the receptacle I0 is illustrated herein, the receptacle, by way of example, being a glass bottle provided with a crown finish M surrounding the mouth. However, it will be understood that the invention can also be practiced in connection with other forms of receptacles such as bottles or jars formed of any other material.

The cap I I, as shown in Figures 1 to 3, is preferably constructed of sheet metal, and generally is in the form of a crown cap comprising a cover portion l5, sealing means such as a disc H5 at the underside of the cover portion, and a crimped depending skirt H.

The skirt is formed with corrugations which consist of alternately arranged inwardly extending zones 19, formed with inwardly extending projections 20 at the inner wall of the skirt for gripping the crown finish M in the usual manner 3 (Figure 2), and relatively narrow, vertical, outwardly extending, concavo-convex, ribs or flutes 2| (Figures 2 and 3).

The flutes 2| are slitted vertically at the outermost portions thereof to form extremely narrow slits 22 which barely are perceptible to the naked eye and do not separate portions of the skirt sufficiently to materially weaken the structure thereof. These slits are formed in a manner to expose raw edges 24 of metal at the exterior of the skirt which are relatively sharp due to their ragged or jagged contour adapted to be seen under a microscope. As shown in Figure 2, the edges 24 flare downwardly and outwardly slightly from the top to the bottom of the skirt for the purpose about to be described.

The band 12, as shown, may be a smooth, relatively thin, flangeless cylindrical ring of a width about equal to the length of the skirt. This band is constructed of a material which is softer than the material of which the cap II is formed, for example, such material as paper or synthetic plastic, and has an inner periphery about equal to the effective outer periphery of the upper portion of the skirt, that is, the contour to which the flutes 2| extend, whereby when the band is forced downwardly over the skirt the edges 24 bite into the inner peripheral wall of the band and are sufliciently embedded therein to lock the band on the cap (Figures 2 and 3). When the band is so positioned to surround the skirt, the projections 29 are urged inwardly to grip the finish I4 in locking engagement to provide a seal at the mouth of the receptacle which can safely confine beer or carbonated beverages and the like. If desired, the band may have indicia or legend printed, molded or embossed thereon instructing the consumer how to remove the closure.

In order to remove the closure, the lower edge of the band is engaged manually at one side of the cap and is pushed upwardly to release the cap therefrom. The band is then removed, and the lower edge of the cap is engaged manually and is pushed upwardly to cause the projections 20 to release the finish l4 whereby the cap is removed to open the receptacle.

Should it be desired to use only a portion of the contents of the receptacle, the remaining contents may be preserved by reapplying the cap on the receptacle and then reseating the band on the cap. These operations are readily accomplished by hand.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides an improved closure for sealed packages, the parts of which are simple and economical in construction and are readily assembled and applied to the receptacle and are easily removed by hand to open the package.

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

I claim:

1. A metallic cap for a receptacle closure comprising a crimped depending skirt formed with corrugations consisting of alternately positioned inwardly extending projections for engaging a crown finish on a receptacle and outwardly extending vertical flutes, said flutes having a V- shaped section extending from the lower edge of said skirt to adjacent the upper end of said skirt 4 and each of said flutes having a vertical slit formed therethrough along substantially its entire length at the apex thereof to provide a pair of contiguous, externally exposed sharp edges on each of said flutes.

2. A metallic cap for a receptacle closure comprising a cover portion, sealing means, and a crimped depending skirt formed with corrugations consisting of alternately positioned inwardly extending projections for engaging a crown finish on a receptacle and outwardly extending relatively narrow vertical flutes, said flutes having a V-shaped section extending from the lower edge of said skirt to adjacent the upper end of said skirt and said flutes having a vertical slit formed therethrough along substantially their entire length at the apex thereof to provide a pair of contiguous, externally exposed sharp edges on said flutes.

3. A receptacle closure comprising a metallic cap including a crimped depending skirt formed with corrugations consisting of alternately positioned inwardly extending projections for engaging a crown finish on a receptacle and outwardly extending vertical flutes, said flutes having a V- shaped section extending from the lower edge of said skirt to adjacent the upper end of said skirt and each of said flutes having a vertical slit formed therethrough substantially along its entire length at the apex thereof to provide a pair of contiguous, externally exposed sharp edges on each of said flutes; and a continuous cylindrical band of a softer material than said cap adapted to be positioned to surround said skirt to constrict said flutes and have said edges bite therein, the width of said band being substantially equal to the length of said skirt.

4. A sealed package comprising a receptacle having a mouth provided with a crown finish; a metallic cap having a corrugated depending skirt consisting of alternately positioned inwardly extending projections for engaging said finish and outwardly extending flutes, said flutes having a V-shaped section extendin from the lower edge of said skirt to adjacent the upper end of said skirt and each of said flutes having a vertical slit formed therethrough substantially along its entire length at the apex thereof to provide a pair of contiguous, externally exposed sharp edges on each of said flutes; and a continuous cylindrical band formed of a softer material than that of which said cap is formed and being removably positioned to surround said skirt to constrict said flutes and cause said edges to bite therein to secure said band on said cap and said cap on said receptacle, the width of said band being substantially equal to the length of said skirt.

WALTER A. RICE.

References Cited in the flle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 468,226 Painter Feb. 2, 1892 1,135,094 Bartlett Apr. 13, 1915 1,433,552 Kalkbrenner Oct. 31, 1922 1,758,696 Graham May 13, 1930 1,985,258 Mauser Dec. 25, 1934 2,398,554 Nyden Apr. 16, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 446,612 Great Britain May 4, 1936