US3208617A

US3208617A - Container closure means

Info

Publication number: US3208617A
Application number: US403041A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert R Baron
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1964-10-12
Filing date: 1964-10-12
Publication date: 1965-09-28
Anticipated expiration: 1982-09-28

Description

p 28, 1965 R. R. BARON 3,208,617

CONTAINER CLOSURE MEANS Filed Oct. 12, 1964 Fig.1 27

INVENTOR. ROBERT R BARON BYM M ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,208,617 CONTAINER CLOSURE MEANS Robert R. Baron, Presidential Apts., Philadelphia, Pa. Filed Oct. 12, 1964, Ser. No. 403,041 2 Claims. (Cl. 215-40) This invention relates to a closure means for containers such as bottles, jars, and the like, and it particularly relates to a closure means which is initially held on the mouth of the container by crimping or similar semi-permanent securing means.

The present invention is particularly concerned with crown-type caps, such as are ordinarily used on soda bottles, or the like, and which are provided with skirt portions crimped into frictional engagement with a shoulder or lip around the mouth of the bottle. In order to remove the cap, it is necessary to use a bottle opener as a lever to pry up and distort a portion of the crimped skirt and thereby break the frictional engagement between the skirt and the shoulder or lip of the bottle.

The ordinary type of crown cap is provided with an inner sealing dis-c made of cork or the like, this sealing disc resting on top of the bottle mouth when the cap is in its closed, crimped position. The combination of the crimped cap and the sealing disc is sufiicient to provide a tight sealing engagement between the closure member and the mouth of the bottle so that the contents of the bottle cannot be spilled regardless of how the bottle is tipped. However, when once the cap is distorted and removed from the bottle, it is extremely difiicult to replace the cap in such manner as to obtain the initial sealing effect. Consequently, it has become the practice to discard such crown caps, when once removed, and to either use up all the contents of the container at one time or to use a separate resilient closure member to re-seal the bottle.

There are various disadvantages in the use of separate closure members for re-sealing a bottle once the original crown cap has been removed. One disadvantage is that it is necessary to separately purchase these closure members and to keep them constantly at hand, ready for use. Another disadvantage resides in the fact that these separate closure members are, generally, not sterile since they are usually kept in a kitchen drawer or cabinet between uses and are open to dust and dirt in the atmosphere. A third disadvantage resides in the fact that these separate closure members are of a standard size and shape and will not fit a container which varies in any degree from such standard size or shape. Yet another disadvantage in the use of these separate closure members is that since they are usually kept loose in a drawer or the like, they may become lost or misplaced and, therefore, become unavailable when most needed.

It has heretofore been proposed to overcome the aforesaid disadvantages by utilizing a cap having a resilient stopper, made of plastic or the like, attached to it in such manner that after the cap was initially removed, it could be replaced on the bottle with the stopper being inserted into the mouth of the bottle to form the primary closure. However, the bent and distorted cap had lost its function and was not only unsightly but tended to injure the fingers when it was used as a lever to pull the stopper out of the bottle unless a bottle opener was used. Furthermore, it required the use of various connecting means such as adhesive or detents or other mechanical connecting means which usually required additional machining and distortion of the cap and stopper to permit their assembly into a unitary structure. On the other hand, if the stopper was made separable from the cap, it was diificult to maintain the stopper and cap in firm assembled condition during application thereof to the container at the factory without 3,208,517 Patented Sept. 28, 1965 the use of adhesives or complicated and costly clamping mechanisms.

It is one object of the present invention to overcome the above difiiculties and disadvantages by providing a combination closure cap and resilient stopper assembly wherein the cap may be securely affixed to the container at the factory in such manner as to both seal the container and to protect the stopper portion prior to initial opening of the container and whereby the stopper portion may be easily removed from the cap and separately used for sealing the container after the initial opening.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a combination cap and resilient stopper assembly for containers whereby the stopper is securely held in connection with the cap during initial application of the assembly to the container at the factory, but where the stopper may be easily detached from the cap after the cap is removed by the consumer and then separately used to seal the container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a combination cap and stopper assembly wherein the stopper is held in releasable connection with the cap without the use of any adhesives, detents, crimps, or any other distortions or complex configurations of either the cap or stopper structure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a resilient closure member which is always available to re-seal the container after the initial opening thereof and which is always of the correct size and shape to fit the particular container regardless of any deviation thereof from the standard.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, broken away in section, of a bottle provided with a closure assembly embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the closure assembly of claim 1.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the stopper portion of the closure of FIGS. 1 and 2, in sealing position on the bottle after removal of the cap portion of the closure assembly.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section of a modified form of stopper member to be utilized in the assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawing wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, there is shown in FIG. 1 a bottle 10 supplied with liquid contents (not shown) and sealed by a closure assembly, generally designated 12. This closure assembly 12 comprises a crown cap 14, here shown as constructed of metal, having a skirt 16, portions of which are crimped under the lip 18 of the bottle to secure the cap in place. The cap is optionally provided with a removable label 20, of paper or the like, to carry advertising or other indicia. Alternatively, the indicia may be directly stamped or printed on the top of the cap.

Positioned between the top wall of the cap 14 and the mouth of the bottle is a flexible or resilient, molded stopper member 22, here shown as constructed of polyethylene. It is, however, within the scope of this invention to construct the stopper of any other desirable and feasible material such as natural or synthetic rubber, cork, synthetic resins other than polyethylene, etc.

The stopper includes a central recess 24 defined by an annular wall 26 integral with an upstanding wall 27. The Wan 27 extends p dly beyond the top of the recess 24 to form a plug portion and is defined at its upper end by an annular r1b 28. Integral with the rib 28, but slightly depressed, is provided a radially-outwardly extending horizontal flange 30 which is defined at its outer edge by an annular bead 32. The size of the stopper is such that the bead 32 abut the inner circumfrence of the skirt 16 when the stopper is in the position of FIG. 1.

The space 34 between the rib 28 and bead 32 constitutes an annular groove or pocket which, when the stopper 14 is snapped into place within the cup formed by the skirt portion of the cap 14, forms a vacuum cup. This vacuum cup, together with the frictional engagement between the resilient rib 28 and bead 32 with the top wall of the cap, securely retains the stopper 22 in assembly with the cap 14. This permits the easy application of the entire assembly to the mouth of the bottle, after the bottle has been filled at the factory, either by hand or by automatic capping machines similar to those in standard use.

When the consumer opens the bottle, if he desires to remove only part of the contents and re-seal the bottle to retain the rest, he has only to pull the stopper away from the cap, thereby breaking the suction in the pocket 34 and releasing the stopper. He then applies the stopper as a separate sealing unit (as illustrated in FIG. 3).

It may sometimes be difficult to release the stopper before the suction is broken. In order to overcome this, a modified form of the stopper may be used, such as is illustrated in FIG. 4. The stopper 50 of FIG. 4 is substantially identical to the stopper 22 in that it includes a central recess 52 defined by an annular wall integral with an upstanding wall 54 ending in an upper annular rib 56 spaced from an annular bead 58 by a slightly recessed annular horizontal flange 60. This stopper is constructed of the same material as the stopper 22.

In addition, the stopper 50 is provided with a pair of integral tabs 62, forming finger-hold means, of the same molded material. These tabs 62 hang down within the mouth of the container when the stopper is in position (as in FIGS. 1 and 3). When the consumer initially opens the container by prying up the cap with a bottle opener or the like, he may grasp the two tabs 62 and, by pulling thereon, more easily pull the stopper away from the cap.

Although two tabs 62 are illustrated, one tab or more than two may be used, or any other grasping means such as a shoulder, flange, etc. may be provided within the feasibility limits of the molding process.

The invention has been illustrated in use with a standard metal crown cap which is adapted to be lifted away from the container mouth. It may, however, also be utilized in conjunction with a cap of plastic or other material, or with a cap having a manually-pullable tear-strip, or with a cap which is secured to the container otherwise than by crimping, such as by screw-threads, tie-wires, etc. Furthermore, although one annular suction pocket or recess 34 is illustrated, it is within the scope of the invention to substitute one or more separate suction pockets of any desired shape.

Obviously, many modifications of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

The invention claimed is:

1. A container and container closure assembly, said closure assembly being sealingly positioned on the mouth of said container and comprising a hollow cap having a top wall and a skirt engaging the periphery of the container around the mouth, and a stopper releasably secured within the hollow of said cap, said stopper having an annular top wall surrounding a central plug portion, said annular top wall having at least one recess in its upper surface, and said annular top wall of said stopper being arranged in face-to-face relationship with the top wall of said cap, said stopper being of suflicient rigidity to substantially maintain the shape of the recess when the cap is sealingly engaged on the container, whereby said recess forms a suction pocket between the top wall of said cap and the top wall of the stopper.

2. The container and container closure assembly of claim 1 wherein finger-hold means are provided on said stopper.

References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS 6/63 Great Britain. 6/57 Italy.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE O. RALSTON, Examiner.

Claims

1. A CONTAINER AND CONTAINER CLOSURE ASSEMBLY, SAID CLOSURE ASSEMBLY BEING SEALINGLY POSITIONED ON THE MOUTH OF SAID CONTAINER AND COMPRISING A HOLLOW CAP HAVING A TOP WALL AND A SKIRT ENGAGING THE PERIPHERY OF THE CONTAINER AROUND THE MOUTH, AND A STOPPER RELEASABLY SECURED WITHIN THE HOLLOW OF SAID CAP, SAID STOPPER HAVING AN ANNULAR TOP WALL SURROUNDING A CENTRAL PLUG PORTION, SAID ANNULAR TOP WALL HAVING AT LEAST ONE RECESS IN ITS UPPER SURFACE, AND SAID ANNULAR TOP WALL OF SAID STOPPER BEING ARRANGED IN FACE-TO-FACE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TOP WALL