US2865525A - Bottle closure - Google Patents

Description

W. SATZ BOTTLE CLOSURE Dec. 23, 1958 Filed March 50, 1955 INVEN TOR.

Haired States BQTTLE CLGSURE William Satz, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Harold Kahn, Cleveland, Ohio Application March 30, 1955, erial No. 497,913

6 Claims. (Cl. 215-45) This invention relates to closures for bottles and particularly to closures adapted to be manually. applied: to and removed from a bottle of the type customarily used for holding carbonated. beverages and which has an external bead formed on the end of the bottle neck for use in holding a cap swedged thereon when the bottle is filled at the bottling works.

The closure of the present invention is particularly adapted for use in closing such a bottle afterthe swedged cap has been removed therefrom and when it v is only desired to remove a portion of the contents of the bottle at the time the bottle is first opened. This invention is an improvement on the bottle closure shown in my U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,586,440, issued February 19.1952. The bottle closure shown in said patent included a plastic shell of substantial size which, when the closure Wasapplied to the bottle. in closing relation therewith, was located in axial alignment with the. bottle. Thus theaccidental, sudden application of a considerable force to the cap, as by the bottle falling, or in placing the bottle in or removing it from cold storage, sometimes tended to displace the sealing element of the closure from sealing relation with the bottle or, on some occasions, to break off the beaded extremity of the bottle neck.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a bottle closure of the general type shown insaid patent in which the shell is flexibly related to the bottle while said closure is in closing relation with the latter and in which the flexing of said shell is permitted without destroying the seal between the closure and the bottle and without tending to crack the bead from. the bottle neck.

The sealing gasket of the closure shown in said patent depended upon an adhesive for retaining the same in place on the closure, the failure of this adhesive occasionally permitting the gasket to be lost from the closure.

It is another object of the invention to provide a bottle closure of the type above noted having a sealing gasket which cannot be lost from the closure.

This case is a continuation in part of my co-pending application, Ser. No. 353,337, filed May 6, 1953, for

Bottle Closure.

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing .objects as well as further objects and advantages will be made manifest in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the invention axially aligned with the neck of a bottle in readiness for applying the invention thereto.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the closure of the invention applied to said bottle and with theclosure in axial alignment with said bottle.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on. the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and showing the relationship of the gasket stem with the radial walls surrounding the bore by which .said stem is guided.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the disc and jaw ele- 2,865,525 9atented Dec. 23,1958

:2 ment and the gasket element ofthe sealing deviceof the invention with said elements positioned in alignment prior to assembly.

.Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2 and illustrates the shell of the invention rocked, about a point lyingsubstantially in the plane of the lower extremities of the jaw teeth of the invention, without displacing the sealing deviceor applying force tothe bottle which. might damage the same,

Referring specifically to the drawings, the invention is there shown as embodied in a bottle closure 10-including a shell 11, which is preferably molded of plastic,'and"a sealing device 12. The shell, 11 is rigid, hollow, and open at the lower end. The upper end of said shell is closed and-is, provided with a series of radial internal walls, 13, inner parallel edges 14 of which confinea cylindrical space which will be r-eferredtoher einaft'er. as ahore 15. .Below the lower end .of the bore 15, the space within the shell 11 is bounded by the outerWlall. l 6 there of. and willbe referred to hereinafter asa primary counterbore; 17.. .T he lpwer d 'wu te bor 17 ermin e in a r ace of rotation formed outwardly from the c ounterbore 17. and which will hereinafter bereferred to as'a secondary counterbore18. Extending inwardly fromthe lower open en of t e, he l '11E is an an ular an ,9. which as substantially the. same internal diameter as the .p'rlirnary counterbore 17.

h junct e, betw enthe bore andpr ry unter.- bore l Tprovides arshoulder z ll; and the juncture between the r mar unterb .7:- and seconda youn e b r imavidss' a, shoulde 2,1 h r. a d e 2 .o he ad a Walls ar o med: n a; ra ial. plane. h h. ies t ri h n estt th ax o the. 5 1 .115

The sealing device 1 2 includes. a disc and jaw. filfimtint 25 including a disc 26 formed of sheet metal Spring material, which ispreferably stainlesssteel, and said disc has a, n l ho Surroun d y a r neckl- 2.8 WhlQ x ends pwa dly qmu hete gss o lheh 2 Eormedintegral with 'thedisc 26 andbent downwardly at sharp angles from the periphery thereof isa series. of chucking jaws 29 having spring teeth 30 bent inwardly from extremities of said jaws. T ostitfen said jawsdu'r} ing the performance of their function in the invention, these are provided with flutes 31 embossed: lengthwise thereon. The device 12 also includesa gasket'element 32 which is integrally molded from soft rubber or alike material and includes a circular gasket 33 from which a stem 34 extends centrally upwardly. The diameter of the stem 34 is slightly larger than that of the hole 27 .in the disc 26 and the elements 25 and 32 ar e. assembled by inserting the stem 34 into the hole 27 and pulling this through the hole until the gasket 33 is snugly, held against the lower face of the disc 26. The-disc 2 6 .has a slightly frusto-conical form so that the tension ofethe stern 34 pulling upwardly on the gasket 33 maintains the latter in snug contact with the lower face of the disc 216.

The sealing device 12 is assembled with the shell 11 by merely pushing said device axially intosaid shell until the jaws 29 are sprung inwardly. to where they will pass through the flange 19 and thereupon spring outwardly into the secondary counterbore 18. The jaws 29 thus: come to rest against the shoulder 21 at the lower end of the primary counterbore 17 and position the devicelZ co-axially with the shell 11 and with the stem 34 ex: tending into thebore 15 of the. shell 11 as shown in Fig. 1.

Operation The closure 10 is adapted'for closing a bottle 40, the

neck 41 of which has an external annular bead. 42at its open end forusein attaching sealing caps to-thegbottle by crimping an outer edge of said caps beneath the bead 42. Such caps are applied at the bottling works where the bottles 40 are filled with liquid, and the cap on each 7 bottle is removed by a bottle opener when it is desired to remove the contents from the bottle. The closure 10 is of particular utility for closing a bottle thus opened when it is not desired to remove all the contents from the bottle at that time. Thus the contents remaining in the bottle may be sealed therein and preserved for future use.

The closure 10 is applied to the bottle 40 by positioning the closure aligned axially with the bottle as shown in Fig. 1 and then moving the two together until the beaded end of the bottle neck is placed against the gasket 33 of the device 12 and the latter thus shifted further inwardly into shell 11 from the position in which is thus applied to the bottle shifts the teeth 30 of said jaws under the bottle neck bead 42 in chucking relation therewith at a moment when said head is pressed tightly into the rubber of gasket 33, the device 12 being thereby locked onto the bead 42 to hold said gasket in tigh sealing relation with the bottle neck.

Not only does the present invention provide a closure for the bottle 40 as above described but it is proof against accidental displacement of the device 12 from sealing relation with the bottle or doing accidental damage to the bottle neck. This is because in the present invention the shell 11 is free to rock through a substantial angle without disturbing the seal of the bottle efiected by the sealing device 12 and without applying a pressure to the bead 42 tending to break this from the bottle. This characteristic of the present invention results from the disc 26 having such a loose fit in the primary counterbore 17 that the jaws 29 must incline outwardly and downwardly at substantial angles to engage said primary counterbore to hold the teeth 30 in chucking relation with the bead 42. This provides substantial spaces 50 between upper portions of the jaws 29 and the counterbore 17 which facilitate the rocking of the shell 11 about a point lying substantially in the plane of the lower extremities of the teeth 30, as clearly shown in Fig. 5, without disturbing the sealing of the bottle by the device 12.

This action is also facilitated by the spaces provided between peripheral portions of the disc 26 and the end edges 22 of the radial walls 13. This space in the preferred embodiment results from the frusto-conical character of the disc 26 which causes the central portion thereof to lie at a higher level than its peripheral portion. Thus the central extremities of the edges 22 of the radial Walls 13 engage the central portion of the disc 26 when the closure 10 is pressed axially onto the bottle 40 as shown in Fig. 2. I

The stem 34 of the gasket 33 extends at all times into the bore and acts, when the closure 10 is applied to the bottle 40, to resiliently resist the rocking of the shell 11, as shown in Fig. 5.

The claims are:

1. A manually operable closure for a bottle with an externally beaded neck, said closure comprising a hollow shell having a bore with primary and secondary counterbores, with the latter terminating in an inturned flange at the mouth of said shell, there being shoulders formed in said shell at the points of juncture between said bore and counterbores, a slidable sealing device disposed within said counterbores, said device including a disc disposed with a very loose fit in said primary counterbore and having spring jaws extending radially from the periphery wardly into said secondary counterbore, the extremities of said jaws having inturned teeth which rest against said flange to detain said device in said shell, and a rubber gasket fitting under the lower face of said disc and having means for retaining said gasket in assembled relation with said disc, said closure, when applied to a bottle with an externally beaded neck by being pressed axially thereon, responding by the yielding of said device to the pressure of said beaded neck thercagainst whereby said device, including said jaws, is pressed entirely into said primary counterbore and said jaws flexed inwardly by their engagement with the shoulder at the mouth of said primary counterbore, thereby constricting said jaws to extend said teeth inwardly beneath the bead of said bottle neck while the latter is pressed against said gasket thereby retaining said device in sealing relation with said bottle neck, the loose fit of said disc in said primary counter bore causing said jaws to still be inclined outwardly at substantial angles when said closure is in clos ing relation with said bottle, a central portion of said disc, at this time, engaging a corresponding central portion of the end face of the shoulder between said bore and primary counterbore said disc having a frustoconical convex upper surface causing peripheral portions of said disc and the end face of said shoulder to be axially spaced apart a substantial distance thereby permitting said shell to rock about a center located substantially in the plane of said teeth until said rotation is halted by engagement of said shell with said bottle below said plane, without disturbing the seal between said device and said bottle neck.

2. A manually operable closure for a bottle with an externally beaded neck, said closure comprising a hollow shell having a bore with primary and secondary counterbores, with the latter terminating in an inturned flange at the mouth of said shell, there being shoulders formed in said shell at the points of juncture between said bore and counterbores, a slidable sealing device disposed within said counterbores, said device including a disc disposed with a very loose fit in said primary counterbore and having spring jaws extending radially from the periphery thereof and bent to normally expand outwardly and downwardly into said secondary counterbore, the extremities of said jaws having inturned teeth which rest against said flange to retain said device in said shell, and a rubber gasket fitting under the lower face of said disc and having means for retaining said gasket in assembled relation with said disc, said closure, when applied to a bottle with an externally beaded neck by being pressed axially thereon, responding by the yielding of said device to the pressure of said beaded neck thereagainst whereby said device, including said jaws, is pressed entirely into said primary counterbore and said jaws flexed inwardly by their engagement with the shoulder at the mouth of said primary counterbore, thereby constricting said jaws to extend said teeth inwardly beneath the bead of said bottle neck while the latter is pressed against said gasket thereby retaining said device in sealing relation with said bottle neck, the loose fit of said disc in said primary counterbore causing said jaws to still be inclined outwardly at substantial angles when said closure is in closing relation with said bottle, the free space thus afforded between said shell and said disc permitting said shell to rock about a center located substantially in the plane of said teeth until said rotation is halted by engagement of said shell with said bottle below said plane, without disturbing the seal between said device and said bottle neck, said disc having a hole formed centrally therein and said gasket having a rubber stem molded integrally therewith and extending centrally therefrom through said hole with such a tight fit as to retain said gasket in assembled relation with said disc, said stem also extending into said bore and yieldably resisting said rocking of said shell.

v ,3. A combination as in claim 2 in which said disc is inner section and an outer larger section, the inner section having a shouldered end, a slidable sealing device within said boring comprising a closure disc fitting within said first section of said boring and slidably movable from one section to another section, said closure disc having outwardly flared spring spoked fingers extending from the periphery of said disc and normally biased to engage the walls of said boring, said spoked fingers including inwardly turned portions for engaging the beaded neck of said receptacle when the disc is slid into the inner section, and flaring outwardly when the disc is slid into the larger outer section so as to be released from said neck, said sealing device having a resilient stem extending to one side thereof in the direction opposed to said fingers, said stern being integrally formed with a gasket held by said sealing device and cooperating with guide means within said cap to resist canting of said device when the latter is sliding from one section to another.

5. A closure for a receptacle of the character described having a beaded neck, said closure comprising a hollow hand-grip cap body formed with an open mouth portion by the walls outlining a boring, said walls comprising substantially stepped sections with an inner section and an outer larger section, the inner section having a shouldered end, a slidable sealing device within said boring comprising a closure disc fitting within said first section of said boring and slidably movable from one section to another section, said closure disc having outwardly flared spring spoked fingers extending from the periphery of said disc and normally biased to engage the walls of said boring, said spoked fingers including inwardly turned portions for engaging the beaded neck of said receptacle when the disc is slid into the inner section, and flaring outwardly when the disc is slid into the larger outer section so as to be released from said neck, said sealing device having a stem extending to one side thereof in a direction opposed to said fingers, and guide means for said stem comprising a plurality of ribs radially spaced within said cap and outlining said shouldered end, said stem cooperating with said guide means to resist canting of said device when said device is sliding from one section to another.

6. A closure for a receptacle of the character described having a beaded neck, said closure comprising a hollow hand-grip cap body formed with an open mouth portion by the walls outlining a boring, said walls comprising substantially stepped sections with an inner section and an outer larger section, the inner section having a shouldered end, a slidable sealing device within said boring comprising a closure disc fitting within said first section of said boring and slidably movable from one section to another section, said closure disc having outwardly flared spring spoked fingers extending from the periphery of said disc and normally biased to engage the walls of said boring, said spoked fingers including inwardly turned portions for engaging the beaded neck of said receptacle when the disc is slid into the inner section, and flaring outwardly when the disc is slid into the larger outer section so as to be released from said neck, said sealing device having a stem extending to one side thereof in the direction opposed to said fingers, and cooperating with guide means within said cap to resist canting of said device when the latter is sliding from one section to another, said sealing device also including a gasket which is held in position against said disc by said stem.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,132,775 Casablancas Oct. 11, 1932 2,586,440 Satz Feb. 19, 1952

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