US3216603A

US3216603A - Container and closure therefor

Info

Publication number: US3216603A
Application number: US256087A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr William J Hannon
Original assignee: MacBick Co
Current assignee: MacBick Co
Priority date: 1963-02-04
Filing date: 1963-02-04
Publication date: 1965-11-09
Anticipated expiration: 1982-11-09
Also published as: GB1004364A

Description

Nov. 9, 1965 w. J. HANNON, JR 3,215,603

CONTAINER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed Feb. 4, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. WILLIAM J. HANNON, JR.

ATTORNEYS Nov. 9, 1965 w. J. HANNON, JR 3, ,603

CONTAINER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed Feb. 4, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 :{Hkillllllllll 96 w 111i 96 Fl G. 6

INVENTOR.

WILLIAM J. HANNON, JR.

ATTORNEYS Nov. 9, 1965 w. J. HANNON, JR 3,216,603

CONTAINER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed Feb. 4, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mama:

INV EN TOR.

H6. 10 WILLIAM J. HANNON,JR.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,216,603 CONTAINER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR William J. Harmon, In, Dorchester, Mass, assignor to The hiacbick Company, Cambridge, Mass., 2 corporation of Massachusetts Filed Feb. 4, 1963, Ser. No. 256,087 21 Claims. (Cl. 215-56) The present invention relates to improvements in the container and closure of the type described in US. Patent No. 2,443,086 for storing, dispensing and handling fluids, especially sterile fluids for medical, surgical, hospital and laboratory use.

The closure described in this patent comprises a resilient bushing and rigid cap.

The resilient bushing is snugly fitted about the neck and beaded rim of the mouth of the container and has an upstanding pouring lip extending upwardly and outwardly at an inclination to vertical from a horizontal shoulder or flange seating over the beaded rim. The outer periphery of the bushing extends outwardly and downwardly from the shoulder at an inclination to vertical to an intermediate, continuous, outwardly protruding annular rib and then vertically downwardly in the form of a skirt. In ternally, the bushing has a single groove below the iiange or shoulder for receiving the beaded rim and the inner wall flares outwardly below the groove and then vertical ly downwardly to form the skirt.

The cap has the shape of an inverted cup and has a top wall and a circumferential side wall with an enlarged basal rim at the bottom thereof for grasping the cap to pull it off the bushing. The side wall depends downwardly and outwardly from the top wall at an inclination to vertical. The cap is placed over the bushing with the inner surface of the top wall resting on top of the upstanding pouring lip and with the outer edge of the intermediate rib in contact with the inclined inner surface of the side wall. During sterilization of the contents of the container with the cap located as set forth above, the pouring lip in contact with the top wall of the cap forms a one way flap valve, permitting the escape of steam. The steam pressure within the container during sterilization forces the resilient pouring lip to bend outwardly about its base, which acts as a resilient hinge, to thereby force the upper edge of the lip out of contact with the top wall of the cap to thereby permit the steam to escape. A vertical vent passage is provided in the side wall of the cap to permit the steam escaping through the flap valve to flow downwardly past the intermediate rib. This is called the sterilizing position of the cap on the bushmg.

When the container is cooled the flap valve formed by the pouring lip and top wall of the cap prevents air from entering the container and consequently a vacuum is built up in the container which pulls the cap downwardly to thereby rotate or bend the pouring lip downwardly about its base as far as it will go against the flange or shoulder of the bushing. The top wall of the cap is pulled downwardly tightly against the bent lip and the lip is squeezed between the top wall of the cap and the bushing flange to form a seal. The cap and bushing are designed so that the end of the bent lip is engaged by the upper portion of the inclined internal surface of the side wall of the cap which compresses it inwardly to thereby increase the sealing effect. The inclinations of the internal surface of the side wall of the cap and of the periphery of the bushing between the bushing shoulder and rib are such that when the cap is pulled downwardly the inclined inner side wall surface thereof compresses the bushing above the rib radially inwardly to form a secondary seal. Also the rib is bent downwardly by the inclined side wall of the "ice cap and forms with the side wall a third seal. This is called the seal position of the cap.

In order to prevent the cap from being blown off the bushing during sterilization, holding lugs are provided on the inner surface of the side wall of the cap. When the cap is placed on the bushing in sterilizing position the lugs are forced downwardly past the rib on the bushing and. snap under the rib to hold the cap in sterilizing position with the top of the cap in contact with the upper edge of the inclined lip to form the one way flap valve referred to above.

Although this closure construction has found wide acceptance it has the following disadvantages:

(1) The cap is removed from the bushing of the sterilized container, i.e., when the cap is in seal position, by the operator placing his hand over the cap with his fingers extending downwardly around the side wall of the cap and under the enlarged basal rim at the bottom of the cap. The enlarged basal rim is provided for this purpose. The cap is then tilted to break the seal after which it is removed. During removal of the cap in this manner,

the unsterilized fingers of the operator protruding under the lower edge of the basal rim many times accidently come into contact with the sterilized pouring li-p which results in contaminatioh of the lip and consequently of the sterilized liquid pouring from the lip;

(2) Also dirt and other foreign matter sometimes enters the space between the enlarged bottom of the cap and the skirt of the bushing and contaminates the inner wall of the cap below the rib. Tilting of the cap during removal is apt to cause this contaminated wall to Contact the pouring lip which contaminates it;

(3) Certain portions of the rubber bushing wear out and lose their resiliency rather quickly, especially the pouring lip and the peripheral rib of the bushing, but also the inclined outer periphery of the bushing above the rib against, which the inclined wall of the cap rubs with considerable force when the cap moves to and from seal position. To a lesser degree wearing of the inner surface of the cap side wall occurs due to rubbing against the parts of the bushing;

(4) The bushing sometimes is forced off the bottle neck when the cap is removed;

(5) The formation of the vent passage in the cap for venting past the rib presents difliculties in molding; and

(6) The greater thickness of the holding lugs compared to the wall thickness of the cap creates molding problems.

All of these disadvantages are eliminated by the closure and container construction of the present invention, whereby the danger of contamination of the pouring lip during cap removal is reduced, Wear of the bushing and cap is substantially reduced to thereby increase their life, molding of the cap is facilitated and a stronger grip is provided between the bottle neck and bushing to prevent the bushing from being pulled oil during cap removal.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, by way of example only, of a preferred embodiment of the invention and the accompanying drawings of such embodiment in which FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a container and do sure embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1 with the cap in sterilizing position;

FIG. 3 is a view like FIG. 2 with cap in seal position;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the cap of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view taken along the line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view taken along the line 66 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a view like FIG. 2 of part of the bushing removed from the bottle;

FIG. 9 is a view in perspective showing the cap being removed the correct way from the bushing of FIG. 1;

FIG. is a view like FIG. 9 showing how, even when the cap of FIG. 1 is removed the wrong way, the danger of contaminating the pouring lip is minimized;

FIG. 11 is a view in perspective of the cap being removed from the bushing of the old closure described in the above mentioned patent and showing how the pouring lip can be easily contaminated by the fingers of the operator during such removal.

In the figures, 2 represents a container in the form of a glass bottle or flask embodying the present invention and 4 represents a closure for the bottle 2 and embodying the present invention. Closure 4 comprises a rubber bushing 6, located around the mouth 8 of bottle 2, and a rigid plastic or metal cup 10 mounted over and around bushing 6.

Bottle 2 has a round body 3 which converges inwardly at 12 into a narrow neck 14 having an outwardly beaded rim 16 defining the mouth 8 of the bottle. The annular bead 18 of rim 16 is rounded, as shown. Spaced downwardly from beaded rim 16 and on the neck 14 of the bottle is a second, relatively square cornered annular bead 20. Actually, in the embodiment shown in the drawings, the upper and lower surfaces of bead 20 are 10 from horizontal so that such surfaces are really conical surfaces and the corners are 100 rather than 90. Bead 20 is smaller in vertical thickness than bead 18, e.g. it may have a thickness of inch compared to a thickness of for bead 18. Both heads have about the same outer diameter, although in the embodiment shown in the drawings the outer diameter of head 20 is slightly greater than that of bead 18. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the diameter of bead 18 is 1.719, the diameter of head 20 is 1.732, the distance between the beads is 0.2 inch, the beads extend radially outwardly from the neck 0.192 inch, the outside diameter of the beads is 1.732 inches and the outer diameter of the neck is 1.540 inches, but these particular dimensions are not critical and may depend on bottle size. Bead 20 is spaced upwardly from the lower end of the neck 14, where it extends into converging portion 12. The outer surface of the neck is vertical. The inside of the beaded rim 16 is slightly recessed at 26. The inside surface 27 of the bottle neck has a slight taper, i.e., it tapers outwardly as it extends upwardly (e.g. 4 from vertical).

The lower portion of the bottle has an annular recess 28 for receiving an annular strapping to support the bottle in inverted position.

Rubber bushing 6 is mounted around and resiliently grips the neck 14, rim 16 and bead 20, as shown, with horizontal shoulder or flange 30 resting on the top surface of the rim 16. Extending upwardly and outwardly from the inner edge of shoulder 30 at an inclination to the vertical axis of the bushing is an annular pouring lip 32, the width of which is increasingly less from the base to the tip. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the inclination from vertical of the inner surface 34 of lip 32 is 37 /2" whereas the inclination from vertical of the outer surface 36 is 30. The lower end of the inner surface 32 of the pouring lip is connected to the lower surface of shoulder or flange 30 by a rounded surface 38 of relatively large radius (e.g. 4: inch) compared to the radius of the juncture of the outer surface 36 of the pouring lip with the top surface of flange 30 (e.g. M inch radius). The juncture between the pouring lip 32 and the flange 30 comprises a resilient hinge about which the lip is adapted to be turned or rotated from the position shown in FIG. 2 to the position shown in FIG. 3, as described in greater detail below.

The juncture of outer surface 36 of the. lip and the upper surface of flange 30 lies approximately above the inner edge of the upper surface of the bottle rim 16 on which the flange 30 rests, whereas the rounded juncture 38 connecting inner surface 34 of the lip and the lower surface of the flange bulges radially inwardly beyond such inner edge.

Extending downwardly and outwardly from the top surface of the flange 30 is an inclined (e.g. 27 from vertical) peripheral surface 40 of the bushing, the lower end of which extends into an outwardly protruding annular rib 42, which is relatively thick at its base compared to the outer edge portion thereof. The inclined peripheral surface 40 is joined to the upper surface of flange 30 by curved surface 39, which in the embodiment shown in the drawings, has a radius of inch. The lower end of inclined surface 40 curves outwardly at 44 (e.g.

radius) to form the base of the rib 42, the outward curve- 44 then being reversed at 46 to form a semicircle 46 (e.g. radius), which forms the outer edge portion of the rib 42. Below the rib 42 the outer periphery of the bushing extends vertically downwardly at 47, the vertical surface 47 being joined to the lower end of semicircle 46 by a curved surface 48 (e.g. inch radius), which is longer (longer segment) than curved surface 44. It is noted that the vertical surface 47 is located below a point on the inclined periphery 40 radially inwardly of the lower end of 40, i.e., before periphery 40 curves into surface 44. The lower end of vertical periphery 47 extends outwardly at an inclination to vertical (e.g. 45 into surface 49 and then downwardly at 50 a short distance to the lower edge 52 of the bushing.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings the overall vertical height of the bushing is 1.44 inches, the vertical height of the pouring lip is 0.31 inch, the vertical height of surface 40 from the upper surface of rib 42 to the upper surface of shoulder 30 is 0.489 inch, the vertical thickness of rib 42 across 46 is the vertical height from the lower surface of rib 42 to the lower edge 52 of the bushing is 0.580 inch, the vertical height of surface 50 is the vertical thickness of flange 30 is 0.175 inch, the outer diameter of rib 42 is 2.252 inches (the same as surface 50) and the outer diameter of surface 47 is 1.99 inches. However, these particular dimensions are not critical and the invention is not limited thereto.

The contour of the inner surface of the bushing will now be described. Directly below the flange 30 is an internal groove 54, the upper wall of which comprises the lower surface of the flange 30 and which snugly receives and resiliently grips the beaded rim 16 of the bottle with the lower surface of flange 30 held tightly against the upper surface of the beaded rim. The normal untensioned diameter (e.g. 1.64 inches) of the groove 54 is slightly less than the outside diameter of the beaded rim 16 (e.g. 1.732 inches) so that the beaded rim is firmly and resiliently gripped by the groove wall. The sides of groove 54 are inclined at 56 and 58 to accommodate the curvature of the bead 18. In the embodiment shown, surface 56 is inclined 41 from horizontal and surface 58 is inclined 10 from horizontal. When the bushing is located over the bottle neck, as shown in FIG. 2, the groove 54 is deformed so that it conforms to the shape of the beaded rim. The vertical height or width of groove 54 is about the same (7 inch) as the vertical height of the beaded rim 16. Spaced below groove 54 is a second internal groove 60 which snugly receives and resiliently grips the bead 20 of the bottle, the diameter of groove 60 (e.g. 1.662 inches) being slightly smaller than the outer diameter of bead 20 so as to grip the bead. The sides of groove 60 are inclined slightly at 62 and 64 by 10 from horizontal to accommodate the slight inclinations of the upper and lower surfaces of bead 20. The width of groove 60 (0.130 inch in the embodiment shown in the drawings) is about the same as the width of bead 20 and smaller than groove 54 since the thickness of the bead which it receives is smaller. The slight inclination of the upper and lower surfaces of head 20 and the sides of groove 60 facilitates ingress and egress of the bead into and out of the groove when the bushing is placed around and removed from the neck of the bottle. The

vertical, inner, annular surface 66 of the bushing, in which the grooves are formed, grips the neck 14 of the bottle between and below the beads, the untensioned diameter (e.g. 1.485 inches) of such surface being slightly smaller than the outer diameter (e.g. 1.54 inches) of such neck. Most of the lower groove 60 is located below the rib 42. However, the upper part of such groove is at the same level as, and opposite, the lower part of the rib. The intimate contact between the surface 66 of the bushing and the neck of the bottle and between the groove walls and the beads provides a seal therebetween. The vertical inner surface 66 of the bushing extends slightly below the lower groove 60 (e.g. /s") to grip the bottle neck as aforesaid and then extends outwardly at 68 (e.g. an inclination of from vertical) away from the neck, and then outwardly at a greater inclination (e.g. about from vertical) into 70 which is parallel with outer surface 49 and forms with the outer surface 49 a skirt, the lower part of which is located outside the converging portion 12 (in the drawings the inclination of this converging portion is 33) of the bottle joining the neck 14 of the bottle with the circular body 3. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the distance from the lower surface of flange 30 of the bushing to the lower end of vertical surface 66 of the bushing, which forms the bottle gripping and sealing portion of the bushing, is /8 inch, the vertical height of surface 68 is 4: inch, the vertical height of surface 70 is A inch, the vertical height of surface 66 below groove is A; inch and the vertical height of surface 66 between the grooves is 0.2 inch. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the opening 72 in flange 30 of the bushing from which the pouring lip 32 extends is 1 inch in diameter, whereas the mouth opening of the bottle is 1%,) inches where the inner surface 27 of the neck intersects the internal groove 26 in the beaded rim. The intersection of surface with surface 52 lies directly below surface 47.

The bushing may be forced downwardly and upwardly over the neck to and from the position shown in FIG. 2 by deformation thereof.

The plastic cap 10 comprises a top horizontal wall 76 located over the top of the bushing, i.e., over the pouring lip 32 and flange 30, and a circumferential side wall 78 which depends downwardly from the top wall around the outside of the bushing, as shown.

The circular, generally disk-shaped, top wall 76 extends radially beyond the side wall 78 to form a flange 80 for removal of the cap from the bushing and bottle with minimum risk of contaminating the pouring lip, as will be described in greater detail below. Thus, the cap has the general shape of an inverted U, the base of which extends radially beyond the circumferential side wall thereof into a flange.

The lower surface of the flange 80 has a slight downward inclination as it extends radially inwardly (e.g. 5 from horizontal). The upper surface of the top wall and flange is coned slightly downwardly from the center to the periphery (e.g. 1).

The upper portion 82 of the outer peripheral surface of side wall 78 adjacent the top wall is inclined radially inwardly (e.g. 23 /2 from vertical) as it extends upwardly into the top wall to form with flange 80 a pocket 83. The lower portion 84 of the outer surface of side wall 78 has a slight inward inclination (e.g. 3" from vertical) as it extends downwardly and the bottom is rounded off to form the lower edge of the side wall, as shown.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the vertical height of 84 to the lower surface of flange 80 is inch, the vertical height of 82 is *2/ inch, the thickness of the periphery of flange 80 is 0.108 inch and the thickness at the center of the top wall is a".

The upper portion 86 of the inner surface of the cap is inclined outwardly as it extends downwardly (e.g. 12 from vertical), the inclination from vertical being less than the opposite outer periphery 82 of the side wall, whereby the side wall increases in thickness as it extends downwardly from the top wall. The inner and lower surface of the top wall within the side wall 78 is horizontal and higher than the lower surface of flange 80, whereby the thickness of the top wall 76 located radially inwardly of the side wall and defining the space Within the cap is less than the thickness of the flange 80.

The lower end of the inclined inner surface 86 of the side wall extends downwardly into a narrow vertical portion 88 (e.g. .085 inch), which in turn extends into an outwardly inclined portion 90, the inclination from horizontal of which (e.g. 45 from horizontal) is substantially less than the inclination of upper portion 86. Although an inclination of 45 is the most preferred inclination for surface 90, a preferred range is from 25 to 65. However the steeper it is from horizontal the greater the wearing effect on the rib and if it approaches too closely to horizontal, sealing effect may be decreased. Portion 90 extends downwardly into a vertical lower portion 92, which extends to the bottom of the cap and which is joined to portion 90 by horizontal shoulder 94. In the embodiment shown in the drawings the vertical height of portion 90 is 0.0775 inch, the vertical height of portion 92 is 0.553 inch; the vertical height of portion 86 is 0.460 inch, the width of shoulder 94 is .0375 inch, the diameter of the juncture of 82 and 84 of the outer periphery is 2 inches and the diameter of inner surface 92 is 2.410 inches. Shoulder 94 is about the same level as the juncture between 82 and 84 of the outer periphery so that 86, 88 and 90 are located opposite the inclined portion 82 of the outer periphery of the cap. The overall height of the cap is 1.3 inches.

The vertical inner surface 92 has integral therewith six equally and circumferentially spaced combined holding lug and spacer protuberances 94 extending radially inwardly therefrom and vertically from one end of surface 92 to the other, i.e., from the shoulder 94 to the bottom edge of the side wall of the cap. The lower part of each protuberance 94 comprises a holding lug 96 and the upper portion comprises a thin spacer strip or plate 98 having a thickness corresponding to the width of shoulder 94 and the upper edge of which is integral with shoulder 94. Lug 96, which is integral with spacer strip 98, has the shape of an inverted U and extends radially inwardly beyond the inner face of the spacer plate. The inner surfaces of the legs 100 of the U are inclined or tapered outwardly as they extend downwardly (e.g. 17 from vertical) to the ends thereof. The top surface 102 of the base 104 of the U is horizontal and is spaced downwardly from the shoulder 94. In the embodiment shown in the drawings the vertical distance between shoulder 94 and the top surface 102 of base 104 is 0.178 inch, as compared to a thickness of 0.0625 inch of the outer edge portion 46 of the rib 42 of the rubber bushing located therebetween in FIG. 2. Also in the embodiment shown in the drawings the diameter between the inner surfaces of the bases 104 is 2.159 inches as compared to an outer diameter of 2.252 inches of the rib, Whereas the diameter between the inner surfaces of the spacers 98 is 2.335 inches. These specific proportions are not critical so long as the outer diameter of the rib of the bushing is substantially greater than the diameter formed by the inner surfaces of the bases 104 of the lugs so that such bases extend under the rib, as shown, when the cap is placed over the bushing to firmly hold the cap in sterilizing position. The diameter between the inner surfaces of the spacers can be the same or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the rib. The spacers 98 space the outer edge of the rib of the bushing between the spacers from the wall 92 of the cap to provide vent spaces 108 between the rib and wall 92. In the embodiment shown in the drawings the thickness of the bases 104 of the lugs, as well as the legs of the U, is inch. The lower surface of the base of the U is joined to the inner surface 92 of the cap by curved surface 106. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the circumferential width of each lug and spacer plate is inch. Note 2 in FIG. 2 that the rib 42 of the bushing is located between the spaces formed by the upper surfaces 102 of the holding lugs and the inclined sealing surface 90 and is spaced downwardly from the sealing surface when the cap is in sterilizing position.

In assembling the closure the bushing is first forced over the bottle neck as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Thereafter, the cap is moved downwardly over the bushing to the position shown in FIG. 2 in which the holding lugs 96 snap under the rubber rib 42 to hold the cap in the position shown with the lower surface of the top wall of the cap against the upper edge of the pouring lip 32 with a slight tension. The taper of the inner surfaces of the legs 100 of the lugs permits them to slide past the rib to the position shown. The horizontal upper surfaces of the lugs hold the cap firmly in place in the sterilizing position shown. Spacers 98 space the portions of the outer edge of the rib 42 located between the spacers, from the inner surface 92 of the cap to provide vent spaces 108 between such portions and inner surface 92 and between adjacent spacers as shown in FIG. 7. Vent spaces 1% provide communication between opposite sides of the rib, i.e., between the annular space 110 above the rib formed by the periphery of the bushing and the inner surface of the cap, and the space 112 below the rib and between the bushing and cap.

The upper edge of the pouring lip forms with the lower surface of the top wall of the cap, a one way flap valve which permits the egress of steam from within the bottle when the bottle and contents are sterilized but prevents the ingress of air into the bottle during cooling after sterilization. During sterilization the steam pressure within the bottle forces the edge of the lip away from the lower surface of the top wall of the cap, i.e., the lip is forced to turn outwardly about its base, to permit the steam to escape to space 110 and thence through vent spaces 108 and space 112, to the atmosphere. However, during cooling, air cannot pass between the lip and lower surface of the cap top wall into the bottle. As a matter of fact the lowering of pressure in the bottle during cooling causes the lip to be forced tightly against the top wall of the cap to form a tight seal. Consequently, a vacuum is built up on the bottle during cooling which automatically pulls the cap downwardly to the seal position shown in FIG. 3. In this position the pouring lip is squeezed tightly between the top wall of the cap and the flange 30 of the bushing, as shown in FIG. 3, to form a primary horizontal seal, the downward movement of the cap causing the lip to turn or rotate outwardly about its base until it comes in contact with the top surface of flange 36, as shown. Actually, the lip and flange are squeezed tightly between the cap and beaded rim of the bottle.

Also, in the seal position, the 45 surface 90 of the cap is brought into intimate contact with the top side of the rib 42 of the bushing to form a secondary seal. The movement of the cap to seal position brings the surface 90 into contact with the top surface of the rib and further movement of the cap deforms the rib to a 45 angle (the same inclination as surface 90), as shown in FIG. 3, to provide an excellent seal therebetween. In seal position, the holding lugs 96 are spaced below the rib. The lower edge of the cap is slightly above or at the same level as the lower edge of the bushing. The lower skirt of the bushing formed by

surfaces

49 and 70 extends downwardly and radially outwardly to the lower edge of the cap to cover or close the space between the lower edge of the cap and the bushing and thereby reduce the danger of contaminants entering such space and contaminating the inner wall of the cap below the rib, which is apt to contact the pouring lip during cap removal. There is a space between the inclined surface 86 of the cap and the inclined peripheral portion 40 of the bushing so that the portion of the bushing defined by 40 is not squeezed radially inwardly and there is no sealing contact between 86 and 40 as in the construction of U.S. Patent No. 2,443,-

086. Furthermore, inclined surface 86 of the cap does not engage the tip of the pouring lip to exert a radially inward force thereon as in the construction of the patent.

The bottle and contents are stored with the closure in seal position.

When it is desired to use the contents of the bottle, the cap is removed from the bushing by grasping the flange of the cap, as shown in FIG. 9, with the fingers under the flange 80 and in the pocket 83 followed by tilting the cap as shown to move one side upwardly until the primary and secondary seals are broken. This breaks the vacuum after which the cap is removed with one hand and the contents poured from the pouring lip by the other hand while the cap is still being held by the cap removing hand. If all of the contents are not used, the cap is placed over the bushing in sterilizing position until it is desired to use the rest of the contents.

The provision of flange 80 on the cap is an important improvement over the construction of U.S. Patent No. 2,443,086 (shown in FIG. 11), the cap of which does not have such a flange but is provided with an enlarged basal rim Ztbfl (FIG. 11) at the bottom of the side wall thereof for grasping by the fingers of the operator for removal of the cap. When such basal rim is grasped to remove the cap, the ends of the fingers protrude beyond the bottom of the cap and inwardly around the bottom edge thereof (the edge of the basal rim) and consequently when the cap is removed they (the end of the fingers) are apt to accidentally come in contact with the tip of the pouring lip to thereby contaminate it and consequently the sterilized contents of the bottle when they are subsequently poured from the lip. By properly grasping the flange on applicants cap, as shown in FIG. 9, the finger tips are located below the flange in the annular pocket 83 provided by the flange and the inclined surface 82, where they are protected from accidental contact with the pouring lip.

The diameter of the top wall 76 including flange 80 is such that even if the cap is grasped incorrectly, as shown in FIG. 10, the ends of the fingers of an average size hand are still not likely protrude below the bottom edge of the cap. This is due to the fact that the relatively large diameter of the flange limits the distance which the fingers can extend downwardly when the cap is grasped to remove the cap with the hand and fingers spanning the daimeter, as shown in FIG. 10. Of course, it is possible to stretch the hand and fingers sufliciently for the fingers to protrude below the bottom edge of the cap but this is not the normal manner in which the cap is grasped and it is diflicult to get a good grip on the cap when this is done. Furthermore, the lower skirt of the bushing adjacent the low er edge of the cap prevents the fingers from being bent around the lower edge of the cap to obtain a good grip for removal, as in the case of U.S. Patent No. 2,443,086, without engaging the bottom of the bushing, which prevents cap removal in this way. Since the vacuum resists cap removal a good grip is necessary to remove the cap and for the above reasons it is diflicult to get a good grip on the cap of the present construction except by grasping the flange in the correct manner, as shown in FIG. 9, which minimizes the risk of the fingers contacting the pouring lip during removal and replacing of the cap. In the embodiment shown in the drawings the outer diameter of the flange, i.e., the diameter of the top wall and flange combined, is 3% inches, but this particular diameter is not critical so long as it is large enough to minimize the danger of normally grasping the cap with the fingers protruding below the bottom edge of the cap and to provide a suflicietntly large pocket 83 for firmly gripping the flange as shown in FIG. 9.

A aforesaid, the inclination of outer surface 82 of the cap provides a pocket 83 with the flange for receiving the fingers to further protect them against accidental contact with the pouring lip. Furthermore, if this surface was not inclined, the flange would have to be wider to provide a good finger hold, which would make the cap unwieldy and difiicult to hold during removal, pouring and replacement on the bushing.

Elimination of the enlarged basal rim of the cap of U.S. Patent No. 2,443,086 not only reduces the danger of contamination but also facilitates molding.

In the closure of the above mentioned patent the inner surface 202 (FIG. 11) of the cap has a continuous inclined surface from the top wall to the basal rim 200, the inclination of which is relatively steep (cg. from vertical) and which cooperates with the inclination 204 of the Outer periphery of the bushing above the rib, which is also quite steep (e.g. 6 from vertical) and which is slightly greater from vertical than, or the same as, the inclination of the inner cap surface, so that when the cap is moved downwardly to seal position the inclined inner sur face 202 of the cap engages the inclined peripheral surface 204 of the bushing throughout most of the length of the latter and compresses the side Wall of the bushing defined by such inclined peripheral surface radially inwardly to provide a seal between such surfaces. This causes deformation of this part of the bushing which, together with rubbing of the cap surface 202 against the bushing surface 204 with considerable force during movement of the cap to and from seal position, causes rapid wearing of the rubber. At the same time a lower part of such steep inclined cap surface 202 deforms the horizontally extending rib 206 downwardly to force it to assume the same steep inclination as the surface 202. This deformation of the rib is excessive and, in combination with rubbing of the surface 202 against the rib with considerable force during movement of the cap to and from seal position, causes rapid wearing of the rib. Further-more, the upper portion of the steeply inclined inner surface 202 of the cap engages the end portion of the pouring lip to exert a radially inwardly directed force thereon (this forms part of the seal). The resulting deformation of the end of the lip, in combination with rubbing of surface 202 against such end of the lip with considerable force during movement of the cap to and from seal position causes rapid wearing of the end of the lip.

All of these wearing effects are eliminated or reduced with the present construction since (1) the inner inclined surface 86 of the cap does not engage the inclined surface 40 of the bushing during movement of the cap to and from seal position and hence there is no rubbing against such inclined bushing surface by the cap and no compression of this part of the bushing, (2) the inner inclined surface of the cap does not engage and hence rub against or deform the end of the pouring lip and (3) the change in inclination of surface 90 of the cap from the steeper inclination (from horizontal) of 86 to a much smaller inclination from horizontal, much closer to the normal horizontal position of the rib, substantially decreases rib deformation and rubbing of the rib with less force during movement of the cap to and from seal position.

This is achieved (1) by substantially decreasing the inclinations of both the inner surface 86 of the cap and the outer periphery 40 of the bushing from horizontal so that they are much less steeply inclined, (2) by making the inclination from horizontal of cap surface 86 substantially greater than the inclination of bushing surface 40 so that surface 86 does not engage or rub against surface 40 or the end of the pouring lip during movement of the cap to and from seal position, and (3) by providing a change in inclination from 86 to 90 (the portion which engages the rib of the bushing) to provide an inclination of 90 from horizontal which is substantially less than the inclination of 86 and much closer to the normal inclination of the rib so that the rib is not excessively deformed and rubbing force is reduced. The vertical portion 88 of the cap surface permits the transition of inclination from that of 86 to that of 90 while at the same time locating surface 90 in the correct position with respect to the rib to ensure correct contact of surface 90 with the rib.

In the closure of the above mentioned patent, the edge of the rib contacts the inner inclined surface of the cap in sterilizing position so that (l) rubbing of such surface against the rib occurs during substantially the entire movement of the cap to and from seal position and (2) it is necessary to cut or mold a vertical vent passage in the side wall of the cap past the rib, which requires a protruding wall 212 (FIG. 11) protruding outwardly from the inclined outer cap surface to define an outer wall for such vent passage. This type of vent arrangement presents molding difficulties.

The simple, vertical, spacer plates 98 together with the shoulder 94 and vertical surface 92 of the cap of the present invention eliminates these problems. Thus, there is no harmful rubbing of the rib and no substantial rib deformation during movement of the rib between the holding lugs 96 and the surface of the cap, which cornprises the major portion of the relative movement between the bushing and the cap in moving to and from seal position. This same construction also provides vent passages between the spacer plates, wall 92 and the edge of the bushing rib without the necessity of a vertical slit in the main cap wall and hence without the necessity of an outwardly protruding portion to define the outer wall thereof. Also there is an advantage in a plurality of vent passages spaced around the circumference of the rib rather than a single passage.

The U shape of the holding lugs has the advantage of avoiding the necessity of relatively large thick parts of the cap wall which are present if the lugs are solid, which presents molding problems and which increase the total amount of plastic required.

In spite of the drastic reduction in deformation and rubbing of the bushing parts, excellent seals are established between the top wall of the cap and the pouring lip and between the cap surface 90 and rib 42 when the cap is in seal position.

With the use of a single bead on the rim of the closure, as in the construction of the above mentioned patent, together with a single cooperating groove in the bushing, the bushing is many times pulled off the bottle with the cap during cap removal. The double bead and groove arrangement of the closure of the present invention eliminates this and a much greater force is required to pull the bushing from the bottle. Also the seal between the bushing and bottle is improved. The generally square corners of the lower bead provide a stronger grip whereas the use of a square corner bead onthe rim is not usually desirable.

Another improvement of the closure of the present invention over that of the patent is the thickened base of the pouring lip provided by increasing the inclination from horizontal of the outer surface 36 thereof to thereby move the intersection of surface 36 with the bushing flange 30 radially outwardly approximately to the inner edge of the top of the beaded rim of the bottle. This decreases the width of the flange and increases the thickness of the lip, which strengthens both the pouring lip and the flange.

Also, the base of the bushing rib is thicker than the rib of the bushing described in the above mentioned patent to strengthen it. This is brought about partially by the decreased inclination from horizontal of the bushing surface 40.

The advantage of the radially outwardly extending skirt at the bottom of the bushing has already been discussed. It is effective to close or cover the opening between the bottom of the cap and the bushing when the closure is in seal position, as shown in FIG. 3, to prevent removing the cap by placing the fingers under the lower edge of the cap. It also protects against dirt and other foreign matter entering between the cap and bushing during storage, which may result in contamination of the inner surface of the cap and outer surface of the bushing below sealing surface 90. This is disadvantageous because the cap is removed by tilting it off the bushing and such tilting may cause the inner surface of the cap below portion 90 to contact the pouring lip.

Whereas the closure of the above mentioned patent includes steeply inclined sealing surfaces with resulting high radially directed sealing forces, the present closure has two sets of sealing surfaces, one of which is horizontal (the top wall of the cap), and the other of which (surface 90) is much closer to horizontal than in the closure of the patent.

Although in the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, the improved flanged cap and improved cooperating peripheral contour of the bushing are used in conjunction with a flask having a double beaded neck, they may also be used with a flask having a beaded rim without the second lower bead (eg. the flask neck shown in the drawings without the lower bead) and with only a single internal groove in the bushing to receive the beaded rim. In such case, the cap is identical to that shown in the drawings and the bushing is identical to that shown in the drawings except for omission of the lower groove and they (the cap and bushing) provide the same advantages provided by the cap and bushing with the double beaded flask.

Also, the advantages achieved by the use of the double bead on the flask neck and cooperating double internal groove in the bushing in the embodiment shown in the drawings, are also achieved with the use of a conventional type cap and bushing having a conventional peripheral contour such as that shown in US. Patent No. 2,443,086 except for the provision in such conventional bushing of the internal contour shown in the drawings.

The present invention is not limit-ed to any of the specific dimensions and inclinations set forth above, such specific dimensions and inclinations being specified only for purposes of illustration of a particular embodiment of the invention.

My invention is not limited to the particular embodiment thereof illustrated and described above but only by the following claims and their equivalents.

I claim:

1. A closure for a container having an open mouth neck with a beaded rim, said closure comprising a resilient bushing internally formed to enclose and grip the container neck and rim, said bushing having a flange located over said rim, an up-flaring resilient pouring lip normally projecting above and from said bushing flange, the periphery of said bushing below said flange being tapered outwardly as it extends downwardly from said flange and terminating in an outwardly extending peripheral sealing rib located intermediate said bushing flange and lower end of said bushing, and a rigid cap having a closed top wall and a circumferential side wall and adapted to be placed over said bushing in sterilizing position with said top wall in contact with and over said lip to form a one way valve permitting egress of gas from said container but preventing ingress of gas into said container and with said side Wall extending downwardly around the periphery of said bushing, said cap being adapted to be moved downwardly with respect to said bushing from said sterilizing position to seal position, said circumferential side wall of said cap having an internal, inclined sealing surface spaced downwardly from said top wall which is moved into sealing contact with said rib to form a secondary seal when said cap is moved downwardly with respect to said bushing from sterilizing position to seal position, said cap side wall having a downwardly diverging inner surface above said sealing surface which is spaced outwardly from said tapered bushing periphery between said rib and bushing flange when the cap is located in seal position and during movement of said cap between sterilizing and seal positions.

2. A closure according to claim 1, said internal inclined sealing surface of said cap extending downwardly into a lower internal vertical surface, which extends to the lower edge of said side wall.

3. A closure according to claim 2, said means for holding said cap comprising a plurality of holding lugs located on, and circumferentially spaced around, said lower vertical internal surface of said cap side wall and spaced downwardly from said inclined sealing surface.

4. A closure according to claim 3, said rib being located between said holding lugs and said sealing surface, said holding lugs extending radially inwardly beyond and under the edge of said rib to hold said cap on said bushing.

5. A closure according to claim 4, including a plurality of spacer plates on, and spaced circumferentially around, said lower vertical internal surface of said cap side wall between said sealing surface and said holding lugs and between said lower internal vertical surface of said cap side wall and the peripheral edge of said rib for spacing said edge of said rib radially inwardly of said lower internal vertical surface of said cap side wall to provide a plurality of circumferentially spaced vent passages between adjacent spacer plates, said internal vertical surface of said cap side wall and said edge of said rib.

6. A closure according to claim 1, said side wall having a vertical inner surface portion between said inclined sealing surface and said diverging surface, said vertical surface being spaced outwardly from said tapered bushing periphery.

7. A closure according to claim 1, the inclination of said inner diverging side wall surface from horizontal being greater than the inclination from horizontal of said sealing surface port-ion and of said tapered bushing periphery.

8. A closure according to claim 1, said downward movement of said cap to seal position flattening said pouring lip between said top wall and said bushing flange to afford a primary seal, the inner surface of said cap side wall being spaced radially outwardly from said flattened lip in seal and sterilizing positions and during movement of said cap between said positions.

9. A closure according to claim 1, said side wall of said cap extending downwardly below said sealing surface and said bushing extending downwardly below said rib, the internal surface of said side wall below and adjacent said sealing surface being spaced outwardly from the external periphery of said bushing below and adjacent said rib.

10. A closure for a container having an open mouth neck with a beaded rim, said closure comprising a resilient bushing internally formed to enclose and grip the container neck and rim, said bushing having a flange located over said rim, an up-flaring resilient pouring lip normally projecting above said bushing flange, the outer Wall of said bushing having a peripheral sealing rib spaced downwardly from said flange, and a rigid cap having a closed top wall and a circumferential side wall and adapted to be placed over said bushing in sterilizing position with said top wall in contact with said lip to form a one- 'way valve permitting egress from said container but preventing ingress and with said side wall extending downwardly around said bushing, said cap having means for cooperating with said rib to hold said cap on said bushing in said sterilizing position, said cap being adapted to be moved downwardly with respect to said bushing from said sterilizing position to seal position, said circumferential wall of said cap having an internal inclined sealing surface spaced downwardly from the top wall of said cap which is moved into sealing contact with said rib to form a secondary seal when said cap is moved downwardly with respect to said bushing from sterilizing position to seal position, said downward movement of said cap to seal position flattening said pouring lip between said top wall and said bushing flange to afford a primary seal, the internal wall of said cap side wall above said sealing surface being spaced radially outwardly of the opposed external periphery of said bushing above said rib when said cap is in seal position, the internal surface of said top wall extending across the top of said pouring lip when said cap is in sterilizing position, said internal surface of said top wall being generally flat, said top wall extending radially outwardly beyond said side wall into a flange for gripping by the fingers with the ends of the fingers located under said flange to remove the cap from the bushing without danger of contacting said lip with the fingers, the outer surface of said side wall adjacent the top wall and flange being inclined inwardly as it extends upwardly to said top wall to form with said flange an external pocket for the ends of the fingers to protect against said fingers coming in contact with the pouring lip when said cap is removed.

11. A closure for a container having an open mouth neck with a beaded rim, said closure comprising a resilient bushing internally formed to enclose and grip the container neck and rim, said bushing having a flange located over said rim, an up-flaring resilient pouring lip normally projecting above said bushing flange, the outer periphery of said bushing having a peripheral rib, and a rigid cap having a closed top Wall and a circumferential side wall and adapted to be placed over said bushing in sterilizing position with said top wall in contact with said lip to form a one way valve permitting egress from said container but preventing ingress and with said side wall extending downwardly around said bushing, the internal surface of the side wall of said cap having a plurality of protuberances extending under said rib to hold said cap on said bushing in said sterilizing position, said cap being adapted to be moved downwardly with respect to said bushing from said sterilizing position to seal position, said circumferential wall of said cap having an internal sealing surface intermediate the ends thereof and above said protuberances which is moved into sealing contact with a cooperative external sealing surface of said bushing spaced below said pouring lip to form a secondary seal when said cap is moved downwardly with respect to said bushing from sterilizing position to seal position, said downward movement of said cap to seal position moving said top wall into sealing relationship with said pouring lip to aiford a primary seal, said top wall of said cap extending radially outwardly beyond said side Wall into a flange for gripping by the fingers with the ends of the fingers located under said flange to remove the cap from the bushing without danger of contacting said lip with the fingers, said internal surface of said cap side wall above said protuberances and below said internal sealing surface having spacer elements located opposite said rib when the cap is in sterilizing position for spacing the periphery of said rib inwardly of said internal surface to thereby provide for venting between adjacent spacer elements.

12. A closure for a container having an open mouth neck with a beaded rim, said closure comprising a resilient bushing internally formed to enclose and grip the container neck and r-im, said bushing having a flange located over said rim, an up-flaring resilient, flexible pouring lip normally projecting upwardly and outwardly above said bushing flange, the outer periphery of said bushing having a flexible peripheral rib, and a rigid cap having a closed top wall and a circumferential side wall and adapted to be placed over said bushing in sterilizing position with said top wall in contact with said lip to form a one way valve permitting egress from said container but preventing ingress and with said side wall extending downward'ly around said bushing, said cap having means for cooperating with said rib to hold said cap on said bushing in said sterilizing position, said cap being adapted to be moved downwardly with respect to said bushing from sterilizing position to seal position, said circumferential wall of said cap having an internal surface intermediate the ends thereof which is moved into sealing contact with a cooperating external sealing surface of said bushing spaced below said pouring lip to form a secondary seal when said cap is moved downwardly with respect to said bushing from sterilizing to seal positions, said downward movement of said cap to seal position moving said top wall into sealing relationship with said pouring lip to afford a primary seal, said top wall of said cap extending radially outwardly beyond said side wall into a flange, the outer surface of said side wall adjacent the top wall and flange converging inwardly as it extends upwardly to said flange to form with said flange an annular pocket of a size suflicient to receive the tips of the fingers when they are curled around the periphery of said flange, the diameter of said flange being small enough to be spanned by the hand with the ends of the fingers curled around the periphery of the flange and received in said pocket and being large enough so that when the cap is so grasped by the fingers to remove it from seal position, spanning of said diameter by the hand reduces the danger of the fingers normally protruding below the lower edge of said cap to thereby reduce danger of contacting the pouring lip with the fingers during cap removal, said cap when in seal position being adapted to be tilted with respect to said bushing by virtue of the yieldability of said bushing to break the seal therebetween, and thereby permit re moval of the cap, in response to pulling upwardly on a side of said flange.

13. A closure according to claim 12, said peripheral rib being spaced below said bushing flange and comprising said external sealing surface of said bushing, said secondary seal being a radial seal provided by said internal sealing surface of said cap being inclined to thereby compress said flexible rib radially to form said secondary seal when said cap is moved to seal position, said cap being spaced upwardly from said flange when said cap is in seal position.

14. A closure cap adapted to be placed over a resilient bushing internally formed to enclose and grip the neck and rim of a container, said cap having the general shape of an inverted cup with a top wall and a circumferential side wall, the top wall extending radially outwardly into a flange, the outer surface of said side wall adjacent the top wall and flange being inclined inwardly to said flange to form with said flange a pocket, the portion of the internal surface of said side wall adjacent the top wall being inclined outwardly as it extends downwardly from said top wall, said inclined internal surface extending into an internal vertical surface and then into an internal inclined sealing surface, the inclination from horizontal of which is substantially less than said first mentioned inclined internal surface, said inclined sealing surface extending downwardly into a lower vertical internal surface which extends downwardly to the lower edge of said cap.

15. A cap according to claim 14, including a horizontal shoulder between said lower vertical internal surface and said internal sealing surface, a plurality of holding lugs spaced circumferen'tially around said lower vertical surface, said lugs being spaced downwardly from said shoulder to form a space between each lug and said inclined sealing surface, the tops of said lugs extending radially inwardly beyond said shoulder.

16. A cap according to claim 15, including a plurality of spacer plates spaced circumferentially around said lower vertical internal surface between the tops of said lugs and said shoulder.

17. A closure according to claim 1 in combination with said container, said neck of said container having a second external bead spaced below said beaded rim, said second bead having abrupt lower and upper surfaces, said bushing having an internal groove for receiving the bead of said beaded rim, the upper side wall of said groove comprising the lower surface of the said bushing flange, said bushing also having a second internal groove spaced below said first groove for receiving said second head, said grooves resiliently and radially gripping their respective beads and the internal portion of said bushing between said grooves resiliently gripping the portion of said neck between said beads.

18. A closure for a container having an open mouth neck with a beaded rim, said closure comprising a resilient bushing internally formed to enclose and grip the container neck and rim, said bushing having a flange located over said rim, an up-flaring resilient pouring lip normally projecting above said bushing flange, the outer periphery of said bushing having a peripheral rib, and a rigid cap having a closed top wall and a circumferential side wall and adapted to be placed over said bushing in sterilizing position with said top wall in contact with said lip to form a one way valve permitting egress from said container but preventing ingress and with said side wall extending downwardly around said bushing, said cap having means for cooperating with said rib to hold said cap on said bushing in said sterilizing position, said cap being adapted to be moved downwardly with respect to said bushing from said sterilizing position to seal position, said circumferential wall of said cap having an internal sealing surface intermediate the ends thereof which is moved into sealing contact with a cooperative external sealing surface of said bushing spaced below said pouring lip to form a secondary seal when said cap is moved downwardly with respect to said bushing from sterilizing position to seal position, said downward movement of said cap to seal position moving said top wall into sealing relationship with said pouring lip to afford a primary seal, said top Wall of said cap extending radially outwardly beyond said side wall into a flange for gripping by the fingers with the ends of the fingers located under said flange to remove the cap from the bushing without danger of contacting said lip with the fingers, at least one of the lower edge portions of said cap and bushing extending toward the other when the cap is in seal position to. prevent removal of the cap from the bushing by insertion of the fingers under the lower edge of said cap and to substantially cover the space between said cap side wall and said bushing.

19. A closure according to claim 18, said bushing having an outwardly inclined skirt at its lower end which extends outwardly toward the lower edge of said cap when said cap is in seal position to prevent the ends of the fingers from being placed under the lower edge of the cap for removal of the cap from the bushing and to substantially cover said space.

20. A closure according to claim 19, the outer surface of said cap side wall adjacent the top wall and flange being inclined inwardly as it extends upwardly to said top wall to form with said flange an external pocket for the ends of the fingers to protect against said fingers coming in contact with the pouring lip when said cap is removed, said external sealing surface of said bushing comprising said nib, said rib being spaced downwardly from said flange, and said internal sealing surface of said cap comprising an inclined internal sealing surface.

21. A closure according to claim 20, the inner surface of said side wall below said inclined sealing surface being spaced outwardly from the periphery of said bushing below said rib when said cap is in seal position to form said space covered by said outwardly inclined skirt.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/55 Jewell 215- 56 2/62 Singiser 215-47