US3303955A

US3303955A - Container closure

Info

Publication number: US3303955A
Application number: US510855A
Authority: US
Inventors: Andrew G Osborne; Edward A Stassin
Original assignee: Aluminum Company of America
Current assignee: Howmet Aerospace Inc
Priority date: 1965-12-01
Filing date: 1965-12-01
Publication date: 1967-02-14
Anticipated expiration: 1984-02-14
Also published as: DK121281C; JPS503713B1; DE1511931A1; GB1104350A; DE1953178U; BE690086A; DK121281B

Description

United States Patent 3,303,955 CONTAINER CLOSURE Andrew G. Osborne and Edward A. Stassin, Richmond, Ind., assignors to Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Dec. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 510,855 4 Claims. (Cl. 215-39) This invention relates to the packaging of materials that develop pressures above atmospheric pressures, and is particularly concerned with a combination of container and closure for bottling liquids under pressure.

In the past, closure caps having crimped edges to be deformed to grip a bead on the bottle and known as crown caps have been used in the sealing of bottles containing charged liquids. These caps have excelled so in holding against pressures up to 120 p.s.i. that their use has been almost exclusive in this field despite the fact that they can be removed only with a prying tool and are deformed thereby so as not to provide an effective reseal. An effective reclosure seal undoubtedly can be made of bulky or expensive materials or in intricate designs not suitable for the bottling industry where package costs must be competitive. The need for an economical package capable of withstanding the pressures of charged liquids and providing an effective reseal has persisted for many years.

We have discovered that a proper answer to this problem is found in a particular combination of cap material, thickness and condition, liner dispositon, and closure and container design.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide for the sealing and recl-osing of charged liquid packages. More particularly, it is concerned with providing an economical package for this purpose. The specific object of the invention is to provide an economical containerclosure combination suitable for modern high speed packaging operations and affording a pressure seal and effective reclosure.

The manner in which our invention contributes to these objectives will be clear from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the closure blank used in the combination;

FIG. 2 is a partial vertical sectional view on a larger scale showing how the closure blank is reformed on a contanier designed for our combination, the form of the marginal portion of the closure and liner prior to deformation being shown in dotted lines; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevation view showing the finished package.

The cap blank 9 is drawn from a sheet 0.008 to 0.0095 inch thick of deformable aluminum base alloy in the extra hard temper designated H19. As used herein the term aluminum base alloy means an alloy containing at least fifty (50) percent by weight of aluminum. Preferably the aluminum base alloy used to make the closure blank contains aluminum and between 0.3 and 1.5 percent manganese, between 0.2 and 0.8 percent magnesium and other metals not to exceed percentages of silicon 0.6, iron 0.7, copper 0.4, chromium 0.25, zinc 0.4, titanium 0.1, and in any other metal 0.05 and the total of other metals 0.15. This alloy is preferred as it is readily deformable and has good strength characteristics in the H19 temper. The drawing operation provides a top panel 10 and a depending cylindrical skirt 11, and the skirt is knurled at 12. Within the cap is a liner 13, preferably of an odorless and tasteless elastomeric material, such as for examle poly vinyl chloride. The liner 13 should be retained in proper position by adhering it to the top panel, and liners made of poly vinyl chloride should be 0.028 inch thick, plus or minus 0.003 inch. The drawings show the liner 13 as a disk, however, a ring type liner would also be satisfactory.

The closure receiving finish of the container 20 includes top sealing surface 21, a reduced annular portion or recess adjacent thereto presenting a side sealing surface 22, a radially outwardly extending shoulder 23 below the side sealing suface and closure retaining means, such as screw threads 24, below the shoulder.

The pressure block 30 used in applying the closure to the container 20 has a recess 31 and a shoulder 32. With this design, the pressure block deforms the marginal portion of the closure and liner from the horizontal plane positions shown in dotted lines to that shown in full lines in FIG. 2, while applying top pressure, to assure sealing contact over the top and

side sealing surfaces

21 and 22.

Cooperating with the pressure block 30, in that it acts while the block retains the closure under pressure, is a thread roller 33 which deforms the skirt 11 into conformity with the threads 24.

The combination is provided with visual detection means generally referred to as t-amperproof means. For this purpose, the closure skirt 11 includes a band 14 connected to the remainder of the skirt by a number of frangible bridges 15, and the container has a downwardly facing, inwardly directed, shoulder 25. The margin of the band 14 is turned under this shoulder by means of a roller 34 acting simultaneously with the thread rolling operation. The band also acts to retain the liner compression and sealing efficiency. With this construction, turning of the closure to disengage the threads 24 fractures the bridges 15, leaving the band engaged with the shoulder 25 to visually indicate that the package has been opened.

Numerous advantages for pressure packaging are attributable to our design.

The known advantage of top and side scaling is increased by reason of the relatively more extensible side seal.

The right angle bending about the top and side sealing surfaces provides a margin without irregularities and so provides uniform length of skirt in the finished closure.

Right angle bending of the closure about the reduced diameter sealing surface causes a relatively greater elongation of the skirt. Consequently, a shallower, rnore economical closure blank may be used for any given finished closure length. The advantage of this for feeding of closure blanks is also an important consideration, particularly when modern high speed sealing machines are employed.

The design provides a reduced top panel diameter after application for any given diameter of thread formation. The effect of this is to reduce bulging of the top panel by internal pressure, because the fulcrum of such bulging is on a line nearer to the center of the top panel. This results in a lesser loss of liner compression that otherwise would be caused by internal pressure.

In the finished closure, the knurled portion 12 of the skirt assumes a slight upward inwardly directed taper. From this, tension in the shoulder 16 formed by the pressure block 30 tends to collapse the unsupported portion of the skirt but this tendency to collapse is resisted by the knurling. It follows that residual tension in the shoulder 16 aids in maintaining liner compression on the top sealing surface 21.

It will be understood that we have shown and described the preferred form of our invention, and that other forms thereof are contemplated within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A container-closure combination for packaging materials which develop pressures substantially above atmospheric pressures comprising,

a container having an upper open end presenting a top sealing surface and an exterior finish including an annular recess extending downwardly from and adjacent to the open end and presenting a side cylindrical sealing surface, an annular outwardly extending shoulder below said side sealing surface, a screw thread formation below said shoulder, and an annular inwardly directed shoulder below said thread formation, and

a closure having a metal thickness between 0.008 and 0.0095 inch composed of an aluminum base alloy in the extra hard temper, said closure including a top panel and depending skirt, the upper portion of the skirt being of lesser diameter than the portion immediately therebelow, a portion of the skirt below the lesser diameter portion conforming to the thread formation on the container and a band integrally connected with the skirt by frangible bridges around the skirt, said band having a crimped margin turned inwardly under said inwardly directed container shoulder, and

a sealing liner of resilient deformable material underlying the top panel of the closure and bearing on the top sealing surface contact with the cylindrical side sealing surface on the container by said lesser diameter portion of the closure skirt,

said lesser diameter portion of the closure skirt and said depending marginal portion of the liner being deformed from horizontal plane positions.

2. A container-closure combination as in claim 1 in which the aluminum base alloy consists essentially of aluminum, between 0.3 and 1.5 percent manganese, between 0.2 and 0.8 percent magnesium and other metals not to exceed percentages of silicon 0.6, ir-on 0.7, copper 0.4, chromium 0.25, zinc 0.4, titanium 0.1, and any other metal 0.05 and the total of other metals 0.15.

3. A container-closure combination as in claim 1 in which said cap has a knurled portion tapering inwardly and upwardly below the lesser diameter portion and above the conforming portion.

4. A container-closure combination as in claim 1 in which the liner is a full width disk and is of an elastomeric material approximately 0.028 inch thick adhered to the JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

D. F. NORTON, Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,303,955 February 14, 1967 Andrew G. Osborne et a1.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 1, line 47, for "contanier" read container line 62, strike out "in"; column 2, line 37, for "extensible" read extensive column 3, line 23, after "surface" insert and a depending marginal portion held in sealing Signed and sealed this 17th day of October 1967.

(SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr. EDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

Claims

1. A CONTAINER-CLOSURE COMBINATION FOR PACKAGING MATERIALS WHICH DEVELOP PRESSURES SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURES COMPRISING, A CONTAINER HAVING AN UPPER OPEN END PRESENTING A TOP SEALING SURFACE AND AN EXTERIOR FINISH INCLUDING AN ANNULAR RECESS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM AND ADJACENT TO THE OPEN END AND PRESENTING A SIDE CYLINDRICAL SEALING SURFACE, AN ANNULAR OUTWARDLY EXTENDING SHOULDER BELOW SAID SIDE SEALING SURFACE, A SCREW THREAD FORMATION BELOW SAID SHOULDER, AND AN ANNULAR INWARDLY DIRECTED SHOULDER BELOW SAID THREAD FORMATION, AND A CLOSURE HAVING A METAL THICKNESS BETWEEN 0.008 AND 0.0095 INCH COMPOSED OF AN ALUMINUM BASE ALLOY IN THE EXTRA HARD TEMPER, SAID CLOSURE INCLUDING A TOP PANEL AND DEPENDING SHIRT, THE UPPER PORTION OF THE SKIRT BEING OF LESSER DIAMETER THAN THE PORTION IMMEDIATELY THEREBELOW, A PORTION OF THE SKIRT BELOW THE LESSER DIAMETER PORTION CONFORMING TO THE THREAD FORMATION ON THE CONTAINER AND A BAND INTEGRALLY CONNECTED WITH THE SKIRT BY FRANGIBLE BRIDGES AROUND THE SKIRT, SAID BAND HAVING A CRIMPED MARGIN TURNED INWARDLY UNDER SAID INWARDLY DIRECTED CONTAINER SHOULDER, AND A SEALING LINER OF RESILIENT DEFORMABLE MATERIAL UNDERLYING THE TOP PANEL OF THE CLOSURE AND BEARING ON THE TOP SEALING SURFACE CONTACT WITH THE CYLINDRICAL SIDE SEALING SURFACE ON THE CONTAINER BY SAID LESSER DIAMETER PORTION OF THE CLOSURE SKIRT, SAID LESSER DIAMETER PORTION OF THE CLOSURE SKIRT AND SAID DEPENDING MARGINAL PORTION OF THE LINER BEING DEFORMED FROM HORIZONTAL PLANE POSITIONS.