US3074580A

US3074580A - Closure for bottles

Info

Publication number: US3074580A
Application number: US180998A
Authority: US
Inventors: Golde Erich
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1961-05-18
Filing date: 1962-03-20
Publication date: 1963-01-22
Anticipated expiration: 1980-01-22

Description

Jan. 22, 1963 E. GOLDE CLOSURE FOR BOTTLES Filed March 20, 1962 FIG] FIGS

FIGZ

INVENTOR.

ER/CH 60L DE A TTORNEYJ United States Patent OfiFice 3,74,58@ Patented Jan. 22, 19%3 3,074,580 CLOURE FQR BOTTLES Erich Golde, Tatteukotenerstr. 4, Geretsri-erl, Upper Bavaria, Germany Filed Mar. 20, 1962, Ser. No. 180,998 Claims priority, application Germany May 18, 1961 7 Claims. (Cl. 215-42) The object of this invention relates to a closure for bottles which, after being put'on, cannot be released, and hence the removal of the contents of the bottle can no longer be effected, without destruction of a part of the closure.

There are known cap closures which are provided with a'resilient locking means for the purpose of ensuring the closed position. This locking means is locked under a beaded edge on the container mouth when the cap is put on, and thus the removal of the cap is prevented. There are also caps made of a soft elastic plastic such that it becomes unnecessary to make a special gasket. As the elasticity or flexibility of the locking means permits easy removal of the closure from the top edge of the mouth','this cannot serve as a tight fitting surface or seal. The sealing of the bottle contents must rather be effected inside the top edge of the month by means of a collar, cup or hollow beading which projects from the cap inward adjacent under pressure to the inner mouth Wall. In order to prevent the possibility of the lower edge of the cap being raised bymeans of a small tool such as a penknife, adapted to press outward. the projections of the locking means and thus release the closure, a'special ring-shaped intermediate member of'harder material has been. suggested, which rests on a ledge of the bottleneck, and surrounds and accommodates the lower edge ofthe closure cap. This intermediate member, however, makes the closure cap more expensive and harder to apply.

The construction of the closure cap according to the present invention avoids these disadvantages and at the same time makes possible the use of the closure cap even for a plastic blown bottle whose mouthpiece is elastic.

According to this invention a soft resilient plastic is provided as material for the closure cap in order to make possible the insertion of the inward projecting sealing rim or heading into the bottle mouth while the locking memher which is set in the cap is made of a harder plastic or similar material. Further, the locking member has the form of a hollow truncated cone which has a strong circular bottom or beaded edge constituting about A of the height of the cone and a number of slits or slots extending from the top down approximately over the remaining 4 of the height of the cone. As a result of these slits the locking member can be easily slid over an outer beading provided on the container mouth or neck as the slits allow the cone segments to spring apart. ing must of course have a greater outside diameter than the upper diameter of the truncated cone so as to permit a locking action between the two. However, as soon as the locking member is locked under the above mentioned beading, the locking member and hence the closure cap can no longer be removed upward or lifted off in spite of the fact that the wall thickness of the cap may be only about 0.5 to 1 mm. so as to provide for the necessary resilience, as the hardness or stiliness of the material chosen for the fabrication of the locking member prevents the bending or folding in of the cone sections. The lower edge of the locking member is firmly supported on a circular beading of the skirt of the cap projecting radially inward and desirably has a wall thickness about twice or three times that of the slit part of the truncated cone. Above the said circular heading the skirt of the cap projects inward and abuts close to the wall of the The outer beadtruncated cone for about one quarter of its height. In the circular groove or recess formed on the inside of the cap skirt, the lower beaded ring or edge of the locking member is tightly received, whereby the said upper and lower circular limits of the groove keep the locking member of the cap, and hence the locked cap itself, from being displaced in an axial direction upward or downward. The said groove also prevents the locking member from sliding out of position in the cap while the latter is being locked in place on the bottle.

The invention is described more fully below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

FIGURES 1, 3 and 4sl1ow cross sectional views of different typical embodiments of the novel cap closure emplaced on bottle necks or openings.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the locking member shown in FIGURE 1. p The bottle neck 1 has at or below its mouth an annular outer heading 2, which serves as a support or stop for locking member 3 after mounting of the cap closure on the bottle mouth. The cap closure consists of two cooperating thermoplastic parts, a unitary cap 4 and a separate spring or locking member 3, the latter beingsnappedinto place or otherwise tightly held in the latter. Cap 4 is provided with a depending, downwardly open sealing collar '5 adapted to form a tight seal with the inner wall of the bottle mouth. However, instead of the collar being open at the bottom, it can be in the form of a cup or depression 6 as shown in FIGURE 3, or a hollow heading 7 as shownin FIGURE 4. In order to ensure a good seal a the cap is desirably made of a resilient, flexible thermoplastic resin, for example, polyethylene or the like. The outer cover or skirt 8 of cap 4 has near its lower edge a radially inward projecting annular beading 9, which may be arranged about to 10 mm. below the outer heading 2 of the bottle neck, and serves to support the lower beaded edge of the locking member 3.

Locking member 3 can be suitably made of a harder or stiffer thermoplastic resin, such as so-called low pressure polyethylene (prepared for instance, by the method described in Belgian Patent 533,3 62 of Karl Ziegler) or polystyrene, and has the form of a hollow truncated cone, with an angle of inclination of to From the top down the truncated cone cover is slotted for about A of its total height, and preferably has a lesser wall thick ness (about 0.5 to 1 mm.) in its slotted upper portion than in the solid bottom portion. The slots 14) are shown in FIGURE 2. They can, of course, have difierent forms and widths and be provided in a different number than that shown. The lower, considerably thicker edge 15 of the locking member is firmly and tightly supported. on the aforementioned annular heading 9 in the wall or skirt of the cap. Above annular beading 9 and above the lower edge of the locking member the outer cover 8 slants inward into the cap so that an annular groove or circumferential recess having a conical inside wall is formed on the inside of the cap skirt, which recess thus interfits with the conically shaped outside surface of the beaded ring of the locking member and prevents the locking member from sliding up or down within the cap in an axial direction.

Desirably the locking member 3 is pressed into cap 4 before use of the closure until the lower edge of the locking member is locked in recess 11 on the inside of cover 8 of the cap. When the bottle closure is then placed on the bottle mouth the contents of the bottle cannot be removed until after the closure or a part of it is destroyed. Thus, for example, the cover plate 12 of cap 4 can be punctured, or the tip of the pouring spout 13 shown in FIGURE 4 can be cut off. Still other variations and modifications of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and sealing collar depending from said cover portion and. 1

adapted to form a seal with the inner wall of said bottle mouth, and a skirt depending fromsaid cover portion and spaced radially outward: from said collar, thereby being adapted to skirt over the outer mouth wall of said bottle,.said skirt having a circumferential recess in a lower portion of its inner wall;v and said locking member comprising a thin hollow truncated cone provided with a plurality of slotsextending from thetop down over a major portion: of its height and having a solid bottom beaded edge. of a dimension such that it is adapted to be tightly: received in saidrecessof. the skirt, said truncated cone. being dimensioned such that. it isadapted to slide down over and become locked by its upper edge under said beading of'the bottle.

2'. A bottle closure according to claim: 1 wherein said locking member is made of a stiffer plastic than saidcap, portion and has a. two to three; times thinner wall; thickness in its slotted portion than in its unslotted lower portion, said slotted portion of said locking member having a wall thickness of about 0.5- to 1 mm.

3'. A bottle closure according to claim, 1 wherein an-inwardly projecting beading is provided adjacent, the lower limit of the circumferential recess of, the cap skirt.

4. A bottle closure according to claim 3 wherein, both the side wall of the circular groove of, the capskirt and the outsidesurface of the beaded ring of the locking memher are conical so as to interfit with each. other.

5. A molded plastic bottleclosure of substantially circular cross-section composed of a unitary cap member and a separate resilient locking member firmly held therein and adapted to be locked on a bottle,

said cap member comprising a flexible plastic cover portion adapted to seal the mouth of a bottle, a skirt member depending from said cover portion and adapted to be spaced radially outward over said bottle mouth, theinner wall of said skirt member being provided with a substantially circular groove near the lower edge thereof; and

said locking member comprising a hollow, truncated molded plastic cone having a plurality of slots extending from the top down over a major portion of its height and having a solid closed beaded ring near the base thereof, said cone decreasing in diameter upwardly so that its upper slottededge is; adapted to slidedown over and lock under-a beading provided on the neck of the bottle to be capped and so that said beaded ring on thev cone is. adaptedto; be tightly'recessed in the: groove of said cap skirt, thereby pre venting axial movement; or saidlocking: member in said closure 6a A bottle closure. according to claim 5 wherein said cap. member comprises: a sealing: collar depending from said cover portion and. adapted: to form a seal with the: inner- Wall of said bottle: mouth;

7. A closure: according to claim 5 wherein said groove is formed by a: bead projecting inwardlyfrom said skirt and by an upwardly and inwardly slanting portion of; said" skirt adapted. to abut: said enlarged ring of said lockin member.

References Cited in the file of this patent- UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,059,012 Morin r Oct. 27, L936 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,241,429 France Aug. 8 19

Claims

1. A TAMPERPROOF PLASTIC BOTTLE CLOSURE COMPOSED OF A UNITARY FLEXIBLE PLASTIC CAP MEMBER AND A SEPARATE RESILIENT LOCKING MEMBER TIGHTLY HELD THEREIN AND ADAPTED TO BE LOCKED ON A BOTTLE HAVING A BEADING ON THE NECK THEREOF, SAID FLEXIBLE PLASTIC CAP MEMBER COMPRISING A COVER PORTION ADAPTED TO FIT OVER THE MOUTH OF A BOTTLE, A SEALING COLLAR DEPENDING FROM SAID COVER PORTION AND ADAPTED TO FORM A SEAL WITH THE INNER WALL OF SAID BOTTLE MOUTH, AND A SKIRT DEPENDING FROM SAID COVER PORTION AND SPACED RADIALLY OUTWARD FROM SAID COLLAR, THEREBY BEING ADAPTED TO SKIRT OVER THE OUTER MOUTH WALL OF SAID BOTTLE, SAID SKIRT HAVING A CIRCUMFERENTIAL RECESS IN A LOWER PORTION OF ITS INNER WALL; AND SAID LOCKING MEMBER COMPRISING A THIN HOLLOW TRUNCATED CONE PROVIDED WITH A PLURALITY OF SLOTS EXTENDING FROM THE TOP DOWN OVER A MAJOR PORTION OF ITS HEIGHT AND HAVING A SOLID BOTTOM BEADED EDGE OF A DIMENSION SUCH THAT IT IS ADAPTED TO BE TIGHTLY RECEIVED IN SAID RECESS OF THE SKIRT, SAID TRUNCATED CONE BEING DIMENSIONED SUCH THAT IT IS ADAPTED TO SLIDE DOWN OVER AND BECOME LOCKED BY ITS UPPER EDGE UNDER SAID BEADING OF THE BOTTLE.