US2673655A - Nonrefillable closure - Google Patents

Description

March 30, 1954 E. GREEN E.

NONREFILLABLE CLOSURE Filed Sept. 29. 1951 I INVENTOR. Eva-swear GRIV Patented Mar. 30, 1954 N ONREFILLABLE CLOSURE Edgeworth Greene, Great Notch, N. J assignor to Inter-Seal Corporation, Spring Lake, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Application September 29, 1951, Serial No. 248,950

1 Claim. (Cl. 21522) This invention relates to bottle closure of the non-refillable type constructed to make diflicult and impractical unauthorized refilling of bottles, to which the closures are applied. More particupossible to form these parts as one in a single molding operation, and the molding can be carried out rapidly, because the construction of the combined cover and guard is such as to expedite larly, the invention is concerned with a novel the distribution of the plastic within the mold non-refillable closure, which is in some respects cavity. The new cover and guard is also intersimilar to that shown in my Patent No. 2,497,599, nally braced and stiffened, so that the rolling granted February 14, 1950, but is modified in conoperations used in applying the closure to the struction, so that it is less costly to produce. bottle and in applying the terminal cap to the Also, the new closure is better adapted than that closure are not likely to damage the closure. of the patent to withstand the operations now For a better understanding of the invention, employed in the application of the closure to a reference may be had to the accompanying drawbottle and the threading of a terminal cap on the ings, in which closure. Fig. 1 is a view in vertical section of a non- The closure of Patent No..2,497,599 includes a refillable closure embodying the invention; casing inserted into the neck ofa bottle and hav- Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the cover ing a flange seated on a gasket engaging the end member of the closure; of the bottle, and a cover having an end telescop- Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through ing over the flange and engaging the gasket. The the closure attached to a bottle inverted for pourcasing has an opening normally closed by a valve, mg; upon which rests a float supporting a ball weight Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the button or lying within the cover. At its upper end, the fly-trap; cover has a section of reduced diameter defining Fig. 5 is a perspective View of one of the ribs a P u i p sage and a movable guard is diswithin the cover detached therefrom; posed within the cover above the ball and has Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-6 of a frusto-conical lower end, the rim of which rests Fig. 2; on top of the casing flange. The upper end of Fig. 7 is a fragmentary top plan view of the the guard extends into the pouring passage and valve; the guard is formed with radial ribs on its outer Fig. 8 is a fragmentary side elevational view of surface. A button or fly-trap of greater diamthe valve, showing the face; and eter than the pouring passage has a stem an- Fig. 9 is a sectional view on the line 9--9 of chore-:1 in an opening in the upper end of the Fig. 8. guard. The outer surface of the top section of The non-refillable closure illustrated in Fig. i. the cover is formed with threads, on which a comprises a casing ID of generally cylindrical pie-formed threaded cap can be screwed, and the form, which is insertable into the neck I I of a botclosure is attached to the bottle by a metal fertle. At its lower end, the casing has an opening I2, rule having its upper end telescoped over and the upper edge I3 of which is rounded oif to form embedded in the wall of th cover and it lower a valve seat surrounding and partly defining the end telescoped and spun over an external bead on opening, and the inner surface of the casing is the bottle neck. 40 formed with guiding projections taking the form The casing, valve, float, cover, guard, and butof spaced ribs I4 extending upwardly from the ten of the patented closure are all made of a seat. At its upper end, the casing has a circumplastic material in separate molding operations ferential flange I5, which seats upon a gasket I6 and each such operation represents an important resting on the end of the bottle neck. A cover item of the manufacturing cost. Also, in the I! rests upon the gasket I6 outside flange I5 and method o application of the n w u e the is held in place by a metal ferrule I8, the upper c p t l p d o the pp nd f the cover edge of which is embedded within the outer wall and the threads are rolled into the skirt of the of the cover. The lower end of the ferrule is teleap. n su n Operatien, e closure is subscoped over the neck of the bottle and is spun iected to nti l pr re nd orque, whi h over a circumferential rib I9 on the outer surface must be withstood by the wall of the cover and of the bottle neck to hold the cover in place. The sometimes results in breakage of the cover. lower end of the cover is telescoped over the eas- The closure of the invention. differs from that ing flange I5 and engages gasket I6 and the cover of the patent mainly in that the cover and guard. has: an internal shoulder engaging the top of are of a modified construction, which makes it flange I5'to hold its against the gasket.

At its upper end, the cover has a section 20 of reduced diameter, having a pouring passage 2i opening through its top end. The section 20 is formed with an external screw thread 22 and a metallic cap 23 containing a liner or gasket 24 is threaded on section 22 to close the pouring passage, when the bottle is not in use.

A plate 25 for guarding against the insertion of a wire into the closure for the purpose of interfering with the normal operation of the parts thereof is mounted within the top section 20 of the cover, and the plate is of slightly less diameter than the pouring passage and lies inward a short distance from the inner end of the passage. The plate is formed integrally with a plurality of radial ribs 26, which are integral with the cover and project. inwardly from the wall of section 20 of the cover and also from the wall of the main part of the cover below section 20. The ribs extend from the inner end of the pouring passage to a point close to the top of the internal shoulder on the cover, which normally rests upon the top of the casing flange l5, and the inner edges of the ribs below the plate extend downwardly and outwardly. Each rib has an imaginary surface 26a, which lies in the plane of the bottom surface of the guard plate 25 and which is actually one of the areas, throughout which the rib and plate are united. The ribs project upwardly above the plate and define openings 21, through which liquid flowing between the ribs may enter the space outwardly beyond the plate. The plate has a central opening 28, and the peripheral surface of the plate is of slightly greater diameter at the top than at the bottom. Also, the inner edges of the ribs above the plate extend outwardly and upwardly.

The outer end of the pouring passage is beveled and a button or fly-trap 29, which is greater in diameter than the major part of the passage, is mounted in the passage, and the button is provided with a plurality of radial ribs 30 formed on its under surface. The button has a central stem 3!, from which the ribs project, and the stem is hollow and extends through the opening 28 in the plate. After the stem has been inserted through the openings, the lower end of the stem is expanded, so that, while the button is free to move outwardly a predetermined distance relative to the plate, when the bottle is inverted, as shown in Fig. 3, the button will not be detachable from the plate.

Flow through opening l2 in the inner end of the casing is controlled by a valve 32. which closes the opening when the bottle is upright. The valve is cup-shaped in section, and it is provided with a central upward extension 33 terminating in a central post 34, from which radiate ribs 35. A ball weight 36 normally rests on top of the post to hold the valve against seat 13, and the top of the post and ribs are slightly dished, so that the travel of the valve away from the seat may be increased without increasing the distance between the valve seat and the guard plate. At its lower end,'the valve has an axial flange 31, which is of smaller diameter than opening l2 and is encircled by a frusto-conical face 38 engaging the seat l3 with an approximately line contact, when the valve is in position to close the opening. One or more passages or channels 39 are formed to extend vertically across the face 38 and, when the valve is seated and the passages are open, theyconnect the 4 interior of the bottle with the space within the closure above the valve.

The casing, cover, button, and valve are all preferably made of a plastic material by molding operations, and the form of the cover is such that the cover with the internal ribs and guard plate formed integrally therewith can be made in the single molding operation by the use of plugs mounted in opposed parting sections of the mold. Such plugs are tapered at about 5, where they overlap one another, in order that wear of the plugs may be taken up by setting the upper plug closer to the lower one longitudinally. This will result in making the guard plate slightly thinner, but the thickness of the plate can be maintained by facing off the bottom of the upper plug. The adjustment of the plugs to take up wear is necessary in order to prevent flashing over of the plastic material, with resultant reduction in the size of openings 21. The provision within the cover of the guard plate and ribs 26 integral with the cover increases the speed of molding, since the ribs form runners in the dies for quicker distribution of the plastic material during the molding operation, when the cover is gated on the guard plate 25.

The ribs 26 and the guard plate formed as an integral part of the cover serve to stiffen and brace the cover internally so that it is fully able to withstand the forces, to which it is subjected, when the closure is applied to a bottle and when the cap 23 is applied to the cover. In the application of the closure as a unit to a bottle, the ferrule I8 with gasket I6 therein is telescoped over the bottle neck and the closure is moved down until the gasket engages the top of the bottle. At this stage, the end of the cover bears upon the top of the gasket and the internal shoulder on the cover is in engagement with the top of the casing flange l5, which also bears upon the top of the gasket. Pressure is then applied to the cover to cause both the cover and casing flange to compress the gasket and, while the parts are held in these positions, the ferrule is spun over the external bead 19 on the bottle neck in a rolling operation. The cap 23 as applied to the cover has a cylindrical skirt and, when the skirt has been telescoped over the cover and liner 24 rests in contact with the top of the cover, pressure is applied to the cap to compress the liner and the skirt is rolled to form a thread conforming to thread 22. Thus, in the usual high speed operations of applying the closure to the bottle and applying the cap to the closure, the cover is subjected to sudden applications of both pressure and torque and, Without the stiffening and bracing afforded by the ribs and guard plate, the cover is likely to be damaged in these operations.

The inner surfaces of the ribs below the plate act as guides along which the ball 36 rolls to move the valve toward its seat, when the bottle is laid on its side or held with its axis at a low pouring angle to the horizontal. When the bottle is inverted to the position shown in Fig. 3, the ball rolls along the ribs and engages the inner end of the stem of the button, forcing the button outwardly, so that its outer end projects beyond the end of the pouring passage and the button does not interfere with pouring. When the bottle is turned back so that its axis approaches the horizontal, the axis ultimately reaches an angle still above the horizontal, at which the ball rollsdown the ribs toward the valve and seats the latter. If an attempt is made to refill the bottle, when it is in the position shown in Fig. 3, or in a position in which the surfaces of those ribs on which the ball rests are horizontal, any liquid entering the closure through the pouring passage will trap air in the hollow interior of the valve, and the buoyancy of the valve will then cause it to move up ribs l4 and seat before any substantial quantity of liquid has entered the bottle.

With the bottle inverted in the position shown in Fig. 3, the contents of the bottle may be freely poured. The liquid passes through opening l2 and around valve 32 between ribs M. It then travels between ribs 26 and around the edge of the guard plate to enter the pouring passage 2| through openings 21. The liquid flows between ribs 30 on the button and out the outer end of the pouring passage 2|.

The development within the bottle, as a result of the drop in temperature, of a partial vacuum, which would be sufiicient to hold the relatively light valve on its seat and interfere with pouring, is prevented by the provision of passages 39. These passages are very small with their greatest width approximately .006" to .008", and they are relatively shallow, having a depth of about .005" or .006". Nevertheless, they permit an equalization of atmospheric pressure on both sides of the valve. If an attempt is made to refill the bottle by filling the closure, while the bottle is erect, in order that liquid may enter the bottle by gravity, only a small amount of liquid, if any, may enter the bottle through the passages, but the rate of admission of the liquid would be so low that refilling in this manner is impractical. Preferably, the casing is made of a relatively hard plastic resistant to deformation, such as polystyrene, while the valve is made of a plastic, which is relatively soft, resilient, deformable, and buoyant, an example of such material being polyethylene. With the parts made of these materials, any attempt to refill the bottle by a method, in which the valve is subjected to substantial pressure urging it toward its seat, causes the valve to become deformed to such an extent as to constrict the passages 39 and thus inhibit flow.

While it is necessary in the new closure that the guard plate be of less diameter, or at least no greater diameter, than the pouring passage above it, in order that the cover, plate, and ribs 26 may be formed integrally by molding, the use of the button of sufiiciently greater diameter than the pouring passage. in conjunction with the cover, prevents the insertion of a wire into the closure for the purpose of unseating the valve in a refilling operation, since there is no direct line through the outer end of the pouring passage to the valve. The closure thus provides substantially the same obstacles to remy filling a bottle on which it is mounted as does the closure of Patent 2,497,599, and the new closure affords advantages over that of the patent, as above pointed out.

I claim:

In a closure for a bottle, the combination of a casing adapted to be secured to the neck of the bottle to close the latter and having an opening surrounded by a valve seat, a cover cooperating with the casing to form a chamber, the cover comprising a main section and a top section of smaller diameter than the main section, the top section being formed to provide a pouring passage opening through the outer end of the top section, a plurality of spaced radial ribs disposed on the inside of and integral with the cover, the ribs extending from the inner end of the passage and through the top and main sections and terminating near the lower end of the cover, a guard plate no greater in diameter than the pouring passage formed integrally with the ribs and lying within the top section a short distance below the upper ends of the ribs, the plate being imperforate except for a central opening and the ribs having inner edges below the plate extending downwardly and outwardly, the inner edges of the ribs above the plate extending upwardly and outwardly, a button normally closing the outer end of the pouring opening and having a stem passing slidably through the opening in the guard plate and ribs radiating from the stem and extending from the under surface of the button to terminate close to the top of the plate, means on the stem cooperating with the plate to limit the outward movement of the stem through the plate, buoyant valve means movable within the chamber away from and toward the valve seat, and a weight within the chamber normally resting upon the valve means and, upon inversion of the bottle, engaging the inner edges of the ribs beneath the plate, said inner edges of the ribs providing sloping surfaces, along which the weight travels to engage and seat the valve means, when the bottle is returned from inverted to horizontal position.

EDGEWORTH GREENE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 809,212 Osgood Jan. 2, 1906 2,115,721 Jackson May 3, 1938 2,298,655 Segerlund Oct. 13, 1942 2,579,460 Archidiacano Dec. 25, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 481,933 France Nov. 7, 1916

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