US2831616A - Bottle caps - Google Patents

Description

April 22, "1958 J. G. GROENDYK ETAL BOTTLE CAPS Filed Aug. 12, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 //7ve/7/0r$ James 6. Groendy/f Attorneys April 1958 J. G. GROENDYK ETAL 2,831,616.

BOTTLE CAPS Filed Aug. 12, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 zllIIIlI/IIIIIIIIII JIIII/IIIIIIIIIT Attorneys United States Patent Tenafly, N. J., assignors to Wilbro Corporation, wood, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 12, 1955, Serial No. 527,982 8 Claims. (Cl. 222394) May- This invention relates to containers having discharge valves whereby the contents of the container, under pressure in the container or through gravity, can be dispensed as-and when desired.

The use of such containers has in recent years greatly increased due to the development of propellant gases which are compatible with many commodities which previously could not be dispensed from pressurized containers. Although the demand for suitable valved containers has greatly increased, such containers are still far more expensive than ordinary cans and bottles with the so-called crown caps and have not therefore been used at all in the beverage field where such dispensing containers would be most acceptable.

The object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing container of the type described which is suitable for all types of beverages, both aerated and plain, and other commodities sufliciently fluid to be discharged through a spout, which costs little if any more than a like container with a crown cap or other form of non-dispensing closure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a valved closure which can be applied to bottles and cans by closure applying mechanisms now in use, thereby providing a dispensing container having a valved discharge comparable in all respects with containers of like character wherein the discharge valve is an inseparable part of the container itself.

A further object of the invention is to provide a closure of the type described wherein the discharge through the valve is sealed when the container is sold in a manner to be opened by the purchaser by a simple cutting operation whereby slow leakage through the valve during storage periods is completely avoided.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following specification and drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a preferred form of my valved container;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the container shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 4 and 5 are diagrammatic views showing the sectional molds used in the manufacture of the closure shown in Figs. l-3 inclusive; and

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are sectional views similar to Figs. 1-3 showing alternate forms of the cap shown in Fig. 3.

Referring; to the drawings, particularly Fig. 3, 1 indicates the receptacle which is a conventional crown can except that the inturned flange 2. at the top of the neck is inclined downwardly instead of being horizontal as is customary when the ordinary crown cap is used as a closure. The downwardly turned flange provides a suitable seat for the ordinary crown cap, as disclosed in Patent No. 2,777,411, granted January 15, 1957. The neck of the conventional crown can is reduced in diameter below the inturned flange to provide an external shoulder beneath which the projections on the rim of the bottle cap are forced when the cap is applied to the can. The metal part 3 of the valved closure as avoid stripping the caps from Patented Apr. 22, 1958 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be of the same shape as the metal part of the ordinary crown cap except that it has a central circular opening of about the same diameter as the opening formed by the edge of the inturned flange 2.

Fitted within the metal cap 3 is a molded rubber valve member 4 which has, formed integrally with it, an outwardly extending flange 5 which serves as the sealing gasket between the metal cap 3 and the flange 2. The valve member 4 consists of a central stem 6 and a lower valve forming flange 7 of somewhat greater diameter than the opening formed by the flange 2, so that the flange 7 when thrust into the neck opening will seat itself against the inner surface of the inwardly and downwardly turned flange 2.

Projecting upwardly from the rubber valve member adjacent the edge of the central opening in the cap 3 is a spout 8 which is closed at its outer end as shown and connects at its base with the space between the sealing flange 5 and the valve forming flange 7. Also projecting upwardly from the member 4, preferably at a point opposite the spout 8' is a pin 9 whose lower end is seated in a hole 10 extending into the central stem at one side.

The valved caps above described are preferably manufactured by the method described in application Serial No. 410,584, filed February 16, 1954, viz., by molding the rubber valves 4 at spaced points against the face of a previously punched sheet 11 of metal of the quality and gauge suitable for making the caps 3. If desired the reverse side of the metal sheet may be printed around the openings or otherwise decorated before the valves 4 are formed and vulcanized against the sheet as described in said pending application. The entire closure may be removed from the can with the ordinary bottle opener if it is desired to empty the can instead of dis charging its contents through the discharge spout 8.

For forming the valves 4 the molds have to be correspondingly modified as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. As here shown the bottom mold block 12 is formed with cavities 13 underlying the holes in the sheet 11 to form the spouts 8 and with pins 14 for forming the holes to receive the pins 9. The mid member of the mold is formed of pairs of strips 16 having facing semicircular notches along their opposite edges of the proper shape to form the gasket portions 5 and the necks 6 of the valves. they may be separated when the mold is opened and before the midportion of the mold is lifted to thereby the metal sheet 11. Overlylng the mid-section of the mold is the upper mold section 17. Cavities of the members 4 are formedin the bottom face in properly spaced relation to be concentric with the openings formed by the notches in the bars 16 when the bars of each pair are brought together. Tapered holes 21 are provided at the center of the cavities for the passage of the rubber from the press into the molds. The press, as disclosed in the above mentioned pending application, consists of a lower member 22 having spaced holes for the passage of the rubber to the molds and a plunger 23 for forcing the rubber through the registering holes into the mold.

After the sheet 11 is laid on the bottom mold 12, the mid-section of the mold is lowered and the pairs of bars 16 which form the mid-section are brought together to form mold cavities for the parts 5 and 6 of the member 4. The upper section 17 and the press are then lowered against the section 16 and the rubber forced into the molds. After the molds are filled the upper section 17 and the press sections are elevated breaking The strips of each pair are mounted so that 2%) for forming the valve sections 7 After the valves 4 are molded in place against. the sheet 11 the sheet is transferred to a cap making machine which cuts out a disk of metal concentric with each valve 4 and simultaneously forms the caps all as described in said application.

hollow out the bottom faces of the cutting and forming dies to receive the spouts 8 which project through the holes in the metal.

The closures as described may be crown cap attaching machines by also shaping the cap feeding members and the cap applying members to accommodate the upstanding pin and spout of the cap. In the standard cap applying machines the caps are fed to the applying heads along spaced supports on which the marginal edges of the caps rest as they move downwardly by gravity to the The same mechanism can be used for guiding the caps of the present application to the applying ing the connecting members between the so as to bridge over the pin and spout. Also of course, the applying plunger must be hollowed out at the end so as not to engage the pin and spout when the rim of the plunger forces the cap onto the container.

In Fig. 6 we have shown a modification of our prethe upper edge of the neck closures are applied. As the contents of the can are discharged through the valve the can need not be opened by the user and a permanent seal such as aiforded by stead there is an upstanding molded rubber to be pressed by the user when the contents of the container are to be discharged. Where the internal pressure in the container is low the valve may be readily opened by mere downward pressure on the button 31 but when the internal pressure is fairly high the pin is desirable as it may be readily tilted outwardly when it is pressed to thereby confine the initial opening of the valve to a small portion at one side. as the valve is partially open the internal pressure is equalized so that further opening is readily accomplished.

Instead of molding the rubber valve to the metal caps the valve and caps may be separately made and successively applied to the containers without added labor cost. The rubber valve without the cap may be fed from one source under an applying plunger and the caps thereafter applied by a second plunger.

In Fig. 8 we have shown a further modification wherein the valve is made entirely of rubber with no overlying metal cap. Instead of the overlying metal cap the gasket portion of the rubber valve is provided at its outer edge with a downwardly extending flange 34 terminating in an internal head 35 which engages under the neck of the can at the same time that the valve is thrust into the neck opening in the manner described. This valve projection or button 31 of without metal attachments provides a suitable closure for the container except where the internal pressure is substantial.

is pushed down over the cap after it is applied to the container.

In the foregoing specificationand accompanying drawings We have disclosed several forms of our improved container and closurestherefor but it will be understood that our invention is not limited tures disclosed may be variouslymodified within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

I. A container having a neck opening with an internal flange and an external shoulder, a closure for said container having a portion underlying said shoulder to hold againstsaid internal flange, ing a discharge opening for the egress of fluid discharged through said valve when said mid portion is depressed to open said valve.

2. The container of claim .1 wherein said discharge opening consists of an upstanding spout integral with said a sealed outer end which is removed for the initial discharge ofthe container contents.

1 wherein said closure conmetal with an enclosed valve portion of molded compressible material with the margin of the cap underlying the flange of the container and with a portion of the compressible material between the metal cap and the neck of the container.

4. The container of claim 3 wherein the mid portion of the closure projects above the surface of the metal cap to facilitate the depression of the mid portion to open the valve.

5. The container. of claim pin is set in the flexible mid portion of the closure at one side of its center to facilitate opening the valve.

6. A closure for containers having a neck with an internal and an external shoulder comprising a metal cap having a marginal portion adapted to be pressed under the external shoulder of the container, a molded rubber valve member enclosed in said cap, said member having a gasket portion coextensive with the inner face of the cap, a valve portion adapted to i 1 wherein an upstanding References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,400,193 Whitaker Dec. 13, 1921 2,376,404 Thorns May 22, 1945 2,662,669 Schmidt Dec. 15, 1953 thereto and that the struc-

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