US2904204A

US2904204A - Container closure

Info

Publication number: US2904204A
Application number: US603939A
Authority: US
Inventors: Naphtal Max; Naphtal Irving
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1956-08-14
Filing date: 1956-08-14
Publication date: 1959-09-15
Anticipated expiration: 1976-09-15

Description

p 1959 M. NAPHTAL ETAL 2,904,204

CONTAINER CLOSURE Filed Aug. 14, 1956 AGE/V72 United States Patent 2,904,204 CONTAINER CLOSURE Max Naphtal and Naphtal, LosAngeles, Calif. Application August 14, 1956, Serial No. 603,939

I Claims. (Cl. 215- 41) This invention relates to closures for containers such as bottles,'and relates particularly to a plastic replacement for the well-known crown cap.

As is Well known, carbonated beverages such as carbonated soft drinks, carbonated malt beverages such as beer and ale, and the like are commonly sold in narrow-necked bottles which arecapped by a so-called crown cap, consisting of a disk of metal so shaped as to have a corrugated side which is crimped'around the rim or head of the neck of the bottle, a hermetic seal being provided by a cork, paper or chipboard insert bearing against the top of the bottle and contained within the disk of the metal.

In'spite of the wide usage of the crown cap, it has a number of disadvantages. In the first place, it cannot be reused, as for example might be desired when only part of the contents of a bottle is used and it is desired to maintain carbonation in the remainder, because the act of removing the cap generally deforms the metal so that it no longer can be sealed back on the bottle without the use of special apparatus not available to the general public. In the second place, the crown cap is not completely sanitary, since the corrugations previously described are merely crimped around the bead of the neck and allow more or less free access of fluids and other contaminants to the edge of the sealing disk in the top of the cap, commonly known as the liner. Such contamination may take place when the bottle. of carbonated beverage'is cooled in the ordinary soda pop cooler wherein the bottles are immersed partially or completely in chilled water. The chilling water is seldom changed with sufficient frequency, and is a source of bacterial contamination. 'Furthermore, upon long standing in such an environmenn the cap tends to-rust, and frequently when a bottle of carbonated beverage is opened, a deposit of rust is foundaround the outside of the bottle neck. Anothendisadvantage of the common crown cap is that it has no self-sealing property, the hermetic seal depending entirely" upon compression of the liner, suchcomp-ression being retained by the crimping of the corrugation around the head of the. neck. Should the liner lose resiliency during storage then the seal may be imperfect and the carbon dioxide may escape from the beverage leading to eventual-spoilage. 3

It is. an object of the present invention to provide a wholly sanitary closure for bottles of the type described.

Another object of the invention is to 'provide a closure which is entirely in one piece.

J Another object of the invention is vtoprovide a closure having .self sealing properties against internal pressure caused by the carbonation of the carbonated beverage with which it is used.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bottle closure not susceptible to rusting.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bottle closure for bottles of the type described which can be reused without loss of sealing eflectiveness.

Another object of the invention is to provide a plastic 2 bottle cap embodying unique self-sealing mechanisms so as to insure a long-lasting, perfect seal.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent as the description thereof proceeds.

In the drawing, Fig.l is a side view, partly in section, showing our novel closure in place on a bottle.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the closure of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view in section of another embodiment of our invention.

Fig. 4 is a bottom View of the closure shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a side view in section of another embodiment of our invention.

Fig. 6 is a top view of the closure shown in Fig. 5.

In general, in accordance with our invention, we provide a one piece molded plastic closure, which is characterized, first, by having a thin cylindrical tube-like member extending downwardly just inside the neck of the bottle. The cylindrical portion is made sufficiently thin so that it is relatively flexible, and as will be discussed in greater detail hereinbelow, the closure is made of a plastic material having the characteristic of flexibility in thin sections, namely, polyethylene or apolyethylene-like substance. By the same token this material in thick section is relatively inflexible. The cylindrical portion or tube just referred to is prevented from being dislodged from the neck of the bottle by an annular portion which extends outwardly and downwardly about the head of the bottle, and this annular portion has itself an inner head which engages the head of the bottle. These features may conveniently be seen by reference to Fig. 1, in which 10 is the cylindrical portion just inside the neck of the bottle 11, and the annular portion 12 of the closure bears an inner bead 13 which engages the bead 14 of the bottle. The closure is-completed by a relatively thick portion 15 which closes off the cylindrical portion 10 but is separate therefrom although connected thereto by a relatively thin and relatively flexible septum 16. The central portion 15 of the closure is made relatively thick so as to be relatively inflexible, and may be described generally as a disc. In the enclosure shown in Fig. 1, the lower side of the disc 15 has a conical shape, serving to strengthen the disc 15 still further against flexing.

The operation of the closure made in accordance With our invention may be understood by the following explanation: Gas pressure inside the bottle 11 tends to expand the cylindrical portion 10 of the closure, so that it presses against the inside of the neck of the bottle. This action is aided by the fact that the cylindrical portion 10 is flexible; and it will be readily appreciated that tangential flexibility is the property coming into play here. There is also naturally a tendency for the gas pressure inside the bottle to push the cylindrical portion 10 ofl, but this is prevented by the annular portion 12 which is restrained from upward movement by the engagement of inner head 13 on the bead 14 of the bottle. The gas pressure inside the bottle also tends to push upward on the disc portion 15 of the closure. If this were made relatively flexible, it wouldbow upwardly in a generally dome-shaped configuration and'therebypull the cylindrical portion 10 of the closure out from contact with the inside of the bottle neck. This we avoid by providing the central portion of the closure in relatively thick, relatively inflexible form, and further by attaching it to the rest of the closure, and in fact to the top of the cylindrical portion thereof, by a relatively thin, relatively flexible membrane or septum 16. V

In the closure of Fig. l, we have reinforced the strength of the inner head 13 by an outer head 14, opposite to the inner head 13 and contiguous therewith.

In Fig. 3 there is shown a somewhat diiferent embodiment of our invention. In this particular embodiment, the disc shaped portion 17 of the closure is relatively plane in cross section; we have dispensed with the conical lower portion of the disc as shown in Fig. 1. This is somewhat less economical ofplastic material, but on the other hand results insomewhat of a simplification in mold construction. The cylindrical portion 18 of the closure shown inFig. 3 haslongitudinal ribs 19 molded on the inside wall thereof. It will be readily appreciated that these ribs do not affect the tangential flexibility of the cylindrical portion 18 of theclosure. These ribs serve to prevent any collapse of the cylindrical portion of the closure when it is being capped on to a bottle. The closure has as before a relatively thin, relatively flexible septum 16, and an inner bead 13 and an outer bead 14.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 5, we have moved the central disc upwardly so that it projects in part above the level of the remainder of the closure. In the closure shown in Fig. 5, we have provided the disc shaped portion 20 with a dome-shaped top 21'. It will be apparent that the disc 20 is still connected to the cylindrical portion of the closure by a relatively thin, relatively flexible septum 16.

We construct our improved closure from polyethylene or a plastic having the properties of polyethylene. Polyethylene retains about the same degree of resiliency over a wide range of temperature, is completely non-porous and therefore is not subject to contamination, tends to be water-repellent, and thereby aids in sealing by causing a high liquid contact angle, and is readily obtainable commercially in molded form. However, it is to be understood that other chemical polymers having these same characteristics of polyethylene, viz., resilience, nonporosity, and moldability, may also be used, such as polypropylene. An additional particular advantage of polyethylene is that no plasticizer is used in commercial moldable polyethylene so that it contains no compounds which can leach out and impart a taste to liquids in the container. A type of polyethylene which we particularly prefer is the so-called low-pressure polyethylene, such as is made under the trade name Marlex and others, and is described on pages 1152-1164 of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry for July 1956. Likewise particularly suitable is Ziegler process polyethylene (see Belgian Patent No. 533,362), available under the trade name of Super Dylan. These newer types of polyethylene retain substantial strength at temperatures of 250 F. or more, which makes them especially suitable in case the closures are intended for use with liquids to be pasteurized, such as for example beer.

It will be seen that the invention accomplishes its objects. A closure has been provided which is sanitary, of one-piece construction, which forms an excellent selfmaintaining pressure seal by virtue of its engineered construction, and is reusable indefinitely. It will be observed that the invention is a broad one, and that numerous changes may be made and equivalent materials may be used in carrying out the invention, all within the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims.

Having described the invention, we claim:

1. A closure of a material having the properties of polyethylene for a bottle having a beaded rim, comprising a relatively thin, relatively flexible cylindrical portion, open at the bottom, joined at the top on the outer side thereof by an annular portion extending generally outwardly and downwardly and having an inner head to engage the bead of the bottle, and closed at the top by a relatively thick, relatively inflexible disc of smaller diameter than the inside diameter of said cylindrical portion, disposed coaxially with said cylindrical portion a 4 and connected to said top of said cylindrical portion by a relatively thin, relatively flexible septum.

2. A closure of a material having the properties of polyethylene for a bottle having a beaded rim, comprising a relatively thin, relatively flexible cylindrical portion, open at the bottom, joined at the top on the outer side thereof by an annular portion extending generally outwardly and downwardly and having an inner bead to engage the bead of the bottle, and having an outer bead opposite to and joined to said inner bead, and closed at the top by a relatively thick, relatively inflexible disc of smaller diameter than the inside diameter of said cylindrical portion, disposed coaxially with said cylindrical" portion and connected to said top of said cylindrical portion by a relatively thin, relatively flexible septum.

3. A closure of a material having the properties of polyethylene for a bottle having a beaded rim, comprising a relatively thin, tangentially relatively flexible cylindrical portion, open at the bottom, joined at the top on the outer side thereof by an annular portion extending gen-, erally outwardly and downwardly and having an inner bead to engage the bead of the bottle, and closed at the top by a relatively thick, relatively inflexible disc of smaller diameterthan the inside diameter of said cylindrical portion, disposed coaxially with said cylindrical portion and connected to said top of said cylindrical portion by a relatively thin, relatively flexible septum, the said cylindrical portion bearing a plurality of longitudinal ribs on its inner side.

4. A closure of a material having the properties of polyethylene for a bottle having a beaded rim, comprising a relatively thin, relatively flexible cylindrical portion, open at the bottom, joined at the top on the outer side thereof by an annular portion extending generally outwardly and downwardly and having an inner bead to engage the head of the bottle, and closed at the top by a relatively thick, relatively inflexible disc of smaller diameter than the inside diameter of said cylindrical portion, disposed coaxially with said cylindrical portion and connected to said top of said cylindrical portion by a relatively thin, relatively flexible septum, said disc bearing a downwardly extending conical concentric boss.

5. A closure of a material having the properties of polyethylene for a bottle having a beaded rim, comprising a relatively thin, tangentially relatively flexible cylindrical portion, open at the bottom, joined at the top on the outer side thereof by an annular portion extending generally outwardly and downwardly and having an inner bead to engage the bead of the bottle, and having an outer bead opposite to and joined to said inner bead, and closed at the top by a relatively thick, relatively inflexible disc of smaller diameter than the inside diameter of said cylindrical portion, disposed coaxially with said cylindrical portion and connected to said top of said cylindrical portion by a relatively thin, relatively flexible septum, said disc bearing a downwardly extending c0nical concentric boss.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,038,858 Sacks Apr. 28, 1936 2,772,802 Woydatt et al Dec. 4, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 532,130 Great Britain Ian. 17, 1941 910,037 France Ian. 14, 1946 62.450 France Jan. 19 1955