US2742171A

US2742171A - Bottle closure

Info

Publication number: US2742171A
Application number: US500396A
Authority: US
Inventors: Howard W Meader; Victor V Pedone
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1955-04-11
Filing date: 1955-04-11
Publication date: 1956-04-17
Anticipated expiration: 1973-04-17

Description

April 17, 1956 H. w. MEADER Erm. 2,742,171

BOTTLE cLosuRE med Apr11 11, 1955 INVENTORS v Hou/,4R0 uf. MEADE/P B5mm/s' v. P500/v5 5 We /9 7 j ad ArroR/vsrs 75 v 2,742,171 Patented Apr. 17, 195

t BOTTLETCLOSURE'- f Howard 'Wi Meader and Victor, V; Pedone, San-Francisco, Calif.` alipunmnnpra1119ss, sensitive. 500,596

d Claims. ,A (CL` 2li-42)' This invention relates; to, a t neva4 and innl'lrovedty closure forreceptaclessuchas-, bottles, jars and the; like. More clgsuref-cap; in,l which; ther major component is made of plasticmaterial;andfwhichisadapted to be forcibly tele- Sconedioverfthe beaded-'mouth oftabottle jar or the like iuffluidfseel relationshintherewitln l A-lgpermanennpressffitgtype; bottle` caps ,and :jarclosures Ourthe ruarlcetf.'todayfandof;A which we are aware utilize metalas thefmajorrcomponent material from which the f closurestare made; Conventional:corkgasketed crimped- 'rnetalibottler caps, and;i annularl rubber or` plastic gasketed press-iin lrletal:` jar-tops are-perhaps; the l most` prevalent example onprionfart rnetalfclosures of thel character abovementionedt; s

O ne iapparenureasonitihasnot1been consideredv feasible to manufacture such `closuressolely or primarily; from relatively@ cheap,- commercially: available plastic material -issthai;.nolsatisfactoryrcommerciallyfeasible-way. has been tlllised:102.IJlLOV'iClfi;ausiliinsureJ ant adequately tight and `Jguzsiti.veriluidssealy between the:v plastic,l closureand the mouthofitlaerbottle.orjar.; Thus, inlconventional pressthe Closure-body corrtprisesametal. cover; denin'gf af lid .natationvantit,depending;-sidesf;andlin each instance the metal; sidespfarefpressed or tensionedt, into forcefulI and suturaembraceI around; thel beaded rmouth.. opening. of the bottleaoniar tnrprovide theinecessary leakrprooff press-lit. Itrisxa principalobjectiofrthefpresent:inyentionetofprovideaaa pnsitiuet seal;` presa-fitv closure; for; bottles, jars or thcflilieaonlikezcontainerszwhichzutilizeifa; relativelyrcheap, lllstrfploofg faudfsubstantiallyl lindestructible plastic,` ma- United States Patent Olce which iseittensively utilized to bottle carbonatedl bever- Pafiilllarln the invention relates, to afpressfiit type teriab asnhnmajor;4 component; material of; the. closure:- but whchnalsminsuresf ,attainmentl oraspositive :closing seal lthgqllghwutilizatiom aslspring metal; contraction-band lwhiclnisipartiallysembedded: inane-relatively plastic com- Numetous; resultant, (subsidiary, land incidentalt objects ,andtadvantages ,of :ther present: inventionV will become` apparent uponnreadingithevfollowing :specification-r and= retoathe; accompanyingsdravvings;in.V vvhiclr` similar l `eilditidying thet-,nrventiontshown applied to' the=monthof atliottle;showin fragmentarilv;.

' Zsista `transverseasectionahvievntakens outline 12a-2 igtl 3e'isxaufragmentaxyrlsectional:viewntakenrrontline Y Fig.

:t *Eig` 4" 1st...:n,fragmentany, sectional; View takentt on line l Y Fig 5.-:is aszfragmentary 1. sectional view.- taken on line :fofzf`Fig-,2;f

6 is afragmentaifytsectionalview-similar tolFig: 2

"and,t showing vtlief;unwinclirrgtabpartiallyunwound.

Referringnowmore speciiically-to` the drawings, a` glass 'bever-age bottleotrnore or'less; conventionaliconstruction andl' *sg` indicatedJ fragmentarilyj and-= generallyv at A- and4 abottle cap embodying the inventionshown applied to the bottle mouth is indicated generally atB The bottle A may be considered.as rrepresentative of that type ages; beer, andother types offbeveragesandfliquicl food products. The neck 11 ofV the bottle terminates'in' a beaded mouth portion-112; It is conventional toclose bottles'of the type-illustratedfwith metalcork gasketed bottle caps that are tightly crimped or press-fitted over the mouth of-saidbottles, Thebottle cap structure B embodying the presentinvention is illustrated as comprising an integralplastic body delining alid portion 1?:` and annular depending side walls 14; plastic material of the cap-does not itself constitute a part oftheV present invention, itis appreciated; that the plastic shouldY be selected from a class which is nondeleteriously aiectedA by contact withV the beverage or otheritem bottled; and which-also-possesses the characten istics of being reasonably resiliently deformable so that the plastic canbe forcefully and deforrnably-pressedV over the beadedmouth of -thebottlein the manner -toY b e-explained hereinafter. Polyethylene, for example; comprises one particularly satisfactorytype offrnaterialfor mostI ordinary 1 bottle capping applications. v

A117 annular recessed groove i 16 isformed in the depending sidewalls14^of the plastiebody. The groove isf indicated as being disposed below and adjacent' to'; the lid portion-13 ofthe plastic cap.- The purpose'and function offthegroove 16 will al'sobe` describedhereinaftereimmore detail. v

The present` bottle cap` further incorporatesan annular contraction band; indicated generallyat- 17. This band 17 is shown'asfvcomprisingl a lengthV of" liglit` gauge spring metal corrugated throughout:` its v length to* define al. series of oppositelytfacingnodes18a ancl'lib; In the drawings thel bandis: corrugated to` deiine a series t ofsine curves. This `sinusoidallyV corrugated length of l metal is,I in turn,

formed intoA generally circular pattern" Withf one lendpor- IprojectJ inwardl'yfromthe plastic side walls T142 ofl the cap.` Preferably, ends 1`7u--171bofE the-contractionband overlapI one anotherlbyf-about oneA and lone-half corruga- 'tions'A and:v theseA overlapped corrugatedV ends embedded Within the plastic' functionto= lockt the: bandas aclosed ring and `preventfthe same-'i:`1on1= separating or= splitting opensuponv forceful presstapplication of"` the` capl over the beaded mouth olfa` bottleWhich-the'capis adapted to close.

The tipportion` offfoverlappedL end 17uof the band ex-tends tangentially outwardlyV beyondr the l plane-off the plastic: capbody'a slight distance, and this extended-pon tion'- int-turnisV coatedwithl-the` plastic material to` define a manually engageable unwinding` tab, such` as indicated at 19invlthedrawingv Y l The -overalloperation and function of -thepresent- -cap willi nove be-described:

' In thewmanufacturetoffacapcmbodyingtlie invention the: interiorv diameterrof :the plastic; capfsbody; isfY madje slightlynsmallerthanrthe exterior diameter of ther beaded 'moutlrlaofsthe hottlefvuhichfthefcap is adaptedfto close.

Theftransversesdistance or diameter ofth ecircular corrugated-` contraction r, band,-` (measured. frorn yoppositely; disposed inner. nodes, I Bb) isralsomade substantially vless than the diameter of the beadedmouth, llfandt alsdperceptibly lessathanfy the exeriorl` diameter-, oi that: portion o. the-bottle mouth or neckf 12;;WhiChy the contraction bandit. iS adapted to` `resiliently contractivelyp ern- Although'the specific composition" of :refrain t 3- brace when the cap is press-fitted into position over the beaded bottle mouth. In this regard, the plastic cap body with contraction band 17 partially embedded therein in` the manner above described may beV forcefully'pressed over the mouth 12 of the bottle by any suitable bottle capping means (not shown). Forceful application of the cap over the enlarged beaded mouth 12 will cause the sine curves or nodes 18a-lsb to resiliently deform and flatten `underside of the lid portion 13 of the cap with a suitable gasketing material, such 1at 21. Y

. Once a cap of the present type has been applied to close the mouth of the bottle, the same may be readily removed by the ultimate consumer without having to resort to as cork for example, indicated -conventional bottle openers or other mechanical instruments. In this connection to remove the cap from the bottle a user need only manually pull the tear-olf tab 19 loutwardly and unwind the same to cause the plastic material in which the overlapped ends 17a and 17b are embedded to rupture. Rupturing of the plastic embedding the overlapped band ends operates to convert the contraction band into a split-ring structure whereby spring pressure embrace of the band around` the bottle neck is released and whereby the metal band may readily enlarge to permit the cap to be slipped over and off of the enlarged beaded mouth opening 12 of the bottle. In order to facilitate tearing of the plastic body as the tab 19. is unwound the aforementioned annular groove 16 is formed around the outer circumference of the plastic cap body. The groove leaves only a very thin strip or bridge of plastic, such as indicated in 16a, joining the lid portion -13 of the cap with theside walls 14. It is around this weakened bridging strip 16a that the plastic material easily ruptures and tears to permit the tab 19 to be easily manually unwound.

Although we have described the invention with specie reference toward providing a cap or closure for bottles, itis believed apparent that jar tops and similar receptacle closures Vembodying the invention could also be utilized with equal advantage.

Moreover, although the present invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purpose of clarity of understanding it is understood that certain changes and modifications may bepractised within the spirit of the invention as limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

We claim: p

l. A press-tit closure adapted to be forcibly telescoped over the mouth of a receptacle such as a bottle, or jar, or the like comprising: a cap formed of plastic material defining a lid portion and annular depending side walls; an annular contraction band at least partially embedded in the plastic sides of said cap; the interior diameter of said cap measured in the plane of said contraction band being slightly less than the outer diameter of the mouth of the receptacle over which said closure is adapted to be forcibly telescoped; said contraction band resiliently expansible to permit said cap to be forcibly telescoped over the mouth of said receptacle; said contraction band exerting a resilient contractible force around the receptacle mouth operable to maintain the plastic sides of the cap snugly embraced around said mouth opening and in fluid seal relationship therewith. e

2; The combination of claim l and wherein said contraction band comprises a corrugated length of spring metal defining a series of sine curvesg` said corrugated length of spring metal arranged in circular pattern dening an annulus; the inwardly extending sine curves of said annulus operable to partially resiliently deform and Hatten in spring pressure embrace around the receptacle mouth.

3. The combination of claim l and wherein said contraction band is provided with an appendage defining a manually engageable unwinding tab; and wherein said contraction band is embedded in said plastic as a tear strip operable upon manual unwinding force applied to said tab to cause rupturing of the plastic material and cause release of resilient contraction force exerted by said band around the receptacle mouth.

4. A press-tit closure adapted to be forcibly telescoped over the beaded mouth of areceptacle such'as a bottle or jar comprising: a cap formed of plastic material defining a lid portion and annular depending side walls; an annular contraction band at least partially embedded in the plastic sides of said cap; said annular contraction band comprising a corrugated strip of relatively resilient spring-metal defining a series of sine curves and formed in substantially circular pattern with at least one sine curve adjacent one end of said strip overlapped with a sine curve formed adjacent the second end of saidstrip; said overlapped ends embedded in said plastic to maintain said band as a closed ring; the interior diameter of said cap measured in the plane of said contraction band being less than the outside diameter of the beaded mouth of the receptacle over which said closure is adapted to be forcibly telescoped; said contraction band through resilient flattening of its sine curves being resiliently expansible to permit said cap to be forcibly telescoped over the beaded mouth of said receptacle; the contractural energy exerted by the resiliently flattened sine curves operable` to maintain the plastic sides of the cap snugly embraced around the beaded mouth opening of the receptacle in substantial fluid seal relationship therewith.

5. A press-fit closure adapted to be forcibly telescoped over the beaded mouth of a receptacle such asa bottle or jar, comprising: a cap formed of plastic material de- Vlining a lid portion and annular depending side walls; an

annular contraction band at least partially embedded in the plastic sides of said cap; said annular contraction band comprising a strip of relatively resilient spring .metal formed throughout its length with a series of sine curves and formed in substantially circular pattern with at least one-sine curve adjacent one end of said strip overlapped with a sine curve formed adjacent the second end of said strip; said overlapped ends embedded in said plastic to maintain said band as a closed ring; the interior vdiameter of said cap measured in the plane of said contraction band being less than the outside diameter of the beaded mouth of the receptacle overwhich said closure is adapted to be forcibly telescoped; said contraction band through resilient attening of its sine curves being resiliently expansible to permit said cap to be forcibly telescoped over the beaded mouth ofsaid receptacle; the contractural energy exerted by the resiliently flattened sine curves operable to maintain the plastic sides of the cap snugly embraced around the beaded mouthv opening of .the `receptacle in substantial fluid seal relationship therewith; one overlapped end of said contraction band defining an outwardly extending manually engageable tab; said contraction band embedded in said plastic as a tear 'strip operable upon manual unwinding force applied to said tap to rupture the plastic embedding the overlapped ends of said band and allow said band to operate as asplit-ring in its removal from the beaded receptacle mouth. l

6. The combination of claim 5 and wherein the plastic material defining the sides of the cap is formed with an annular groove disposed above the contraction band and below the lid portion defining a plane of weakness in the plastic to facilitate rupturing of the plastic and unwinding of the said tab.

No references cited.