US3314565A

US3314565A - Container closure and combination

Info

Publication number: US3314565A
Application number: US344131A
Authority: US
Inventors: Herbert F Wheaton; Stanley J Koll
Original assignee: American Flange and Manufacturing Co Inc
Current assignee: American Flange and Manufacturing Co Inc
Priority date: 1963-11-25
Filing date: 1964-02-11
Publication date: 1967-04-18
Anticipated expiration: 1984-04-18
Also published as: FI47318C; GB1031305A; NL6407868A; DE1432095A1; MY6700061A; DK132427B; NL140799B; DK132427C; BE655539A; US3258149A; FR1416068A; CH434015A; FI47318B; NL7401282A; US3379155A

Description

A ril 18, 1967 F. WHEATON ETAL 3,314,565

CONTAINER CLOSURE AND COMBINATION Filed Feb. 11, 1964 INVENT Rs .S'mwarJ/(a WZQQP ATTORNEY 3,314,565 (IONTAINER CLQSURE AND COMBHNATIUN Herbert F. Wheaten, Summit, and tanley .l. Koll, Keaneburg, Ni, assignors to American Flange dz Manufacturing (10. Inc, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 11, 1964, Ser. No. 344,131 1 Claim. (Cl. 2ll546) This invention relates to closure caps for container openings and is particularly concerned with such caps formed of lightweight metal, which while capable of being fixedly applied for effectively closing and sealing the openings of bottles, jars, cans and the like are nevertheless easily and safely destructible for hand removal without the use of tools.

This application is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 325,817, filed Nov. 25, 1963, now Patent No. 3,258,149, in the names of Herbert F. Wheaton and Stanley J. K011 and entitled, Closure Cap and Method of Manufacture, wherein there is disclosed an invention in closure caps and the method of making the same which caps, though effectively sealing the openings of bottles, jars, cans and the like against considerable pressure, may be readily and safely removed by destroying them by hand action in the manner provided for and without the use of any tools. Large numbers of such caps, embodying that invention, have been manufactured and tested and though the results thereof have been highly satisfactory and the invention has added a substantial step forward in the art, there is nevertheless room for improvement on it. That step is added by the subject of the instant invention.

In the closing and sealing of containers such as hot tles, jars and cans with bottle type finishes, particularly where those containers carry commodities under pressure and are closed by a closure cap made out of lightweight metallic sheet material such as aluminum, a close structure balance must be maintained in the cap in order to provide effective scalability while nevertheless enabling removal and destruction of them through hand gripping and tearing along a tear strip. To be fully effective, the material and the forming and securing of it must be such that the customer can grasp the tearing ear between his fingers and destroy the cap by tearing along the scores without having to be previously educated to follow any particular motion. The scoring and forming of the cap must be such that this hand tearing can be easily commenced and proceeded with in uniform easy manner but the cap must, nevertheless be devoid of fractures in the score formed by cupping the cap from the scored blank or drawing the cap skirt inwardly and forcing it downwardly in the course of applying it to a bottle. Practically all of these characteristics have been introduced into the cap of the aforesaid application Ser. No. 325,817, but experience in the removing of large numbers of them, after they have been fully secured to bottles, has brought out that in certain instances an unexpected resistance has to be overcome to commence the tearing. This might be just enough to discourage some customers who, on having a little difficulty in their first effort to remove the cap, might condemn it forever. On investigation it has been found that in the forming of the cap blank of the aforesaid parent application, the edge notch provided on either side of the tearing ear, though specially provided for assisting in assuring performance of the inconsistent functions of tight securing and ready removal, seems to have imparted a characteristic to the finished cap which, in certain instances, provided a little hindrance to removal.

It is accordingly the province of the instant invention to eliminate such hindrance while, at the same time, retaining the strong securing characteristics of the aforesaid 3,314,565 Patented Apr. 18, 1967 cap. Also a slight unsightliness of appearance introduced by the hindering factor just mentioned has also been removed. Though these improvements have been achieved by incorporating a feature that might at first blush be thought to be a weakening one, it has advantageously been found that no such weakness occurs.

It is accordingly a principal object of the invention to improve upon the rem-oval characteristics of hand actuated destructible capseals.

Another object is to provide such improvement in removability without weakening the securing effect.

A further object is to provide for such removability, with effective securing, while enhancing the appearance of the secured cap.

Further and more detailed objects will in part be obvious and in part be pointed out as the description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing proceeds.

In that drawing:

FIG. 1 is a plan showing of a fiat cap blank notched and scored in accordance with the invention disclosed in parent application Serial No. 328,817.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a cap, formed from the blank of FIG. 1, applied to a container neck.

FIG. 3 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary plan View of the flat cap blank of the invention showing the novel notch configuration embodied therein.

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary section of a scored portion of the finished cap skirt as viewed intoriorly thereof.

FIG. 5 is a part sectional, part elevational view of a cap, in accordance with invention, in place on a container neck but in unsealed condition.

FIG. 6 is an elevational view similar to FIG. 5 of the cap taken after the cap has been sealed in place on the container neck.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 4, but utilizing straight scoring.

Considering first the general aspects of the closure cap of the invention as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the cap generally indicated at 1 comprises a flat disc-like top 2 surrounded by a depending skirt 3 with the juncture of the top and skirt indicated at 4. The skirt 3 terminates in a downwardly facing free edge 5, which edge except for the position where the gripping ear, generally indicated at 6, is located. The ear 6 extends downwardly for a short distance at 7 forming a continuation of the skirt then turns generally radially outwardly away from the cap skirt in a slight outward and downward incline. The ear 6 is provided with side edges 8 and 9 which taper slightly inwardly towards each other throughout their extent from the free edge of the skirt to the rounded end portion 10.

The surface of the cap .1 is provided with a pair of line-like weakened sections, such as formed by either internal or external scores, whichever is desired. These scores extend for a substantial portion of the distance across the cap top and have portions 111 and 12 as seen in FIGS. 3 and 5 which extend across the: juncture 4 of the top and skirt and then, in substantially parallel relationship, down the skirt 3 at 13 and 14. Accordingly a tear strip 15 is formed as a continuation of the ear 6, which strip extends across the cap occupying that space lying between the score lines.

Turning now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a flat cap blank 20 and an applied cap 21 formed therefrom are shown embodying the improvements disclosed in application Ser. No. 325,817. These improvements include providing a fiat cap blank 20 with a pair of score

lines having portions

22 and 23 extending substantially across the cap top area 2'4,

portions

25 and 26 which extend across the line of in 2-7 befw e'dop'area 24 and the surrounding skirt--area-60,-and

portions

28 and 29 extending'across the area 30 to form the cap-skirt portion. In this form of scoring it can be seen that the score portions 25 and 26' aretaligned:tavitheth "sideaedges- -31 iand =32 ot '-"the "ear hen r': they: fdiivergt outwardly away from each- :other .iwit the portions 28.?andI29iter-minatir1ga:short distance, indicated at 34% tand I'SS K respectively, 'ifrom: the: base of the riotcheszii'fizand 37: f2 I 1 In the formin g i-ofz rca out fethezfiat: blank '20, evenulvvithout sthe -step'.o securing i 'n' place on albottle nee-k, the:tmetalecof,lthezskirtftportion -30ui's rather severely worked by progressively reducing.itsr'diameter:trom the linerzZ'Z outcto-theblank periphery as the portion iitl is moved .Jintoalateralspositional? uThe fiare'd' score portions Z SZ-Vaird c19a-arel moved :inwardlyi toward" each other so soizastztq 'flaecomegsubstantially parallel" and in alignment with the

sides

31 and 32 of the ear 3 3. The provision ocfothe notches 36* and 3 '7esrvesl several purposes. -First they)- provideza-rplaceintoiwhich 'the metal'can flow as its diameter'lsis I :reducedi Thisi zeliininates the I reaction of crowding which would otherwise take place withconsequent likelihood of weakening thegrntal'behind:'the sco'resr iterrninating: thegrrotch'es in abrupt pointed metal: -pa'r'ts r: :and .1 39, kit -was :2 intended thatn when the notches closed vtipikiuringthe skir't forming operation, barely: perce'l'ptible alinost' completely"closed slitsww'o'uld be formedpextendingsto the freeiedge of the skirt on either side oftstheagear: JtT-lliSiWDl'kS'iWiillf and the shortunprescoredspontions 34 and 35 are protectedagainstfracttire though being the one zportion-ofthe'metali-left to r pucker they areithus weakenedfi lihey do however protect their scores, against: fracturingfat I their icorrimencement' through accidental movement of the ear while notfintroducingla blookw'ofii-anynsubstance :against intend'ed tearing away of theistriptentendingifrornrltheatearingLear; e l l t I x When however such a lcupziisuapplidnto. a.:bottle,.as seen: iniFIG? 2, ihyfrolling :1 r fspinning the-cap skirt linwardly int-o1;sealingeengagernent withcthezbottle neck, a problem is created. This securing calls 'forturtherzreductionaofitheidiameter' of the' previoiislyzformed skirt Jwhose

notches

36 and 37 have already been fully closed :up. Eurtheminward movement ofathepkir t 30 l'thenonlycserves r, the;:metal onto*the 'tear indicated; at '40 and Min "1 0 vextentwthis overlappingris caused by-, thezpresence zio'f the

pointed parts

38 and 39.

'oveplapping asldanibe readily rseenj from the showingcin-aFlGl r2, a interferes with the *easy commencement of fthel tearin iactionbynmakiug it,;-necessary totfirst pull theizear l33elaterallyiaway;;from-;th'e bottle'a sufi icient-iamount toitreeritlfromtheoverlap before :one can commence tefaringvalorrgnherscorezlines. The lateral .out+ ward pulling 'omthe siearvicauses-.-lthe* metal flaps 40 a'nd 4a to=sticklout and to; present-av possiblegsource ;of injury if the removedncap iskleft lying;around.-,,

To remedy the above described problem, .the cap A1 formed in acfcordancenwithithe inventionsis,provided:with anuew rflhdiiIOVfil notchgeonfiguration as, :shown ;in the flat; lank fillqillustratedjin-1316.14.57; The: blank ;50is ShOWIIE'tifOIiPHITPQSdSOfi illustration as @havin g i the 1' same type of flaredscoring 'mparted thereto as 'employ'edin the eapflofiFrIGSg l iandz =whichgincl'udes SCOIQgliIlBSiQXtllding acr.oss the;.cap.=topoverkthe j-uneturje 4 between the top-randskirnnuti; cross the}, skirt 3min iportions -13 and llutandslte'rminatin -in;.;spaced relationship; indicated attil and '52respectively firom the notches 5 3nan d 54. Of primary importance in thefshowing of FIGJlis the particular:cenfigurationgi; r1 toi-it e' notchesr fifand 'sat. speaifiea lvmthe -notc are; form d r pec e y wi h ndgi inuerl i e p t o 5 esne i e si r esrsrand rt me n it... H r

radiused

portions

61 and 62. More specifically the blend radius of curvature to produce the curves 61-and 62 From the showings of the finished cap the invention in FIGS. 4 and 5, it can be appreciated that durin'gfthe drawing of the skirt; 3 laterally'away from the top 2, the notches, only 'onelof which is? shown in FIG. 4, become slits which remain partially open in the portion 'theieofapprbaching: -the skirt edgeS. 1 Thus the' upper portion of each notchis closed up into 7 a completely closed slit as indicated aeesgrmn, in'the idownward vertical extent of the slit towards-"the. skirt edge-i it'opens 111p in the curve-:64 extending away from the in'ner tear strip side. of the: slit indicatedEatLGSr :Thus "a pair "of downwardly extending outwardly flared openings 66 arid'67 areformed at the lower edge portions of the-skirt, one at either side of the fear 6.' once the capiis so forrned from the blank; the 'manlifacturing ofit is completedby the application: of the lining 'or gaSketin'gas indicated 311.68.3'" I w llFIG. 5 shows the completed cap 1- of the invention seated iii-place on a standard bottletfinish prior-to the securing of {if thereon. are bottle'Yit'lT here shown' is provided, with-a straight upstanding neck'itlteririinating in a dispensing mouth surounded by aan annul'arb'ead '72 having an .upperuface.73, anoutWardly-a-nd downwardly curvediouter face. 74 and an inwardly and downwardly curved .lower facez75. .wFrom this showing it is clearly seen that theica'p skirt 3 .extends down't'ozza position .below. the: lower"; face-'75 of; thelbead: .72 with its lower: edgeportion -eXtending: free 50f the neck "71F and being-completely lunsupportedlthereby. 3f 1;

, 'Withthe cap in'thee-EIG; 5 :position, theisecuringiopera- 7 tion is carried outbybringinglthe bottleiinto positionbein against the bottle; This-fu'rther decreasesth skirt iii ameter, causing an additional ,defor'mationand movement ofi-the skirt metal, As the skirt, without any .ba-ckupsupiport, is moved radially inwardly by :the. individuals: spaced rollers,,: wrink1es or undulations jaretformed therein; These wrinkles: are ultimately ironed out whenrthe rollers reach the limit of their radialztmovement; where'lthey firmly roll the skirt againstathe lowerxbead .face' 75 and necky7lof the bottle; However,- the skirtmateri'al making ppgthese wrinkles must go somewhereig-The still somewhat open slits"66,-,incr easing tov graduatedextent tdrii tm l ;5. a d 60 i merge duetothe curve 64;, providejust the space that isn'eeded; The resulting formation oithesecured cap is as pictured in; HQ, 6 vyv here it can be readily seen 't-hattheufiared openings fifiand 67,present.in the cap beforethesecuring is effected are now completely closed upinto barelyv ipel'tceptible. slits ;-l6; and 17.} There is no overlapping- Ofllfl'le skirt material with'respect to thee-arand'the? whole skirt and alignedpear portion present a -neat' smooth appeara ance. a J e l r.- f." -Going back and summarily considering FIGS. 33,4 and 6,-vit oanbe seen that the particular configuration-imparted to lthC ,notch in the fiat. blank is such that-each increment ofcurvatureof the roundedportions-ll and 62 provi di ng the curve, 64 provides a corresponding increase in the notch ,width as it approaches the periphery at. the blade 1;: Thisrinqrea e lQ,;lQiQhi-. Wid h; imfirsat proportion to the subsequent decrease in skirt diameter and corresponding movement of metal to close up the notch. Thus since the final skirt diameter required to elfectively seal the cap onto a container is only partially reached when the cap is in the form of FIGS. 4 and 5, the slit there shown is only partially closed. When, however, the cap skirt is rolled inwardly about the container neck to its final minimum diameter, the notch is closed up the remaining amount into the hairline slits of FIG. 6.

Consequently none of the objectionable features found in the cap as shown in FIG. 2 remain. Specifically there are no overlapping protrusions or flaps in the cap of the invention shown in FIG. 6 to resist the outward movement of the tear strip portion lying between the closed slits 16 and 17. Also the likelihood of one being injured through handling of the cap after its removal, has been eliminated, for not only have the sharp outwardly projecting flaps caused by the pointed

portions

38 and 39 been eliminated, but those pointed portions have been replaced by

curved portions

61 and 62 which retain some of their original curvature as indicated at 1% and 19 in FIG. 6. Mos-t importantly, however, is the fact that through the teaching of the invention herein disclosed a substantial step forward is made toward increasing the ease with which a metal tear-off cap can be removed from a container without any corresponding decrease in effectiveness or scalability of the closure.

FIG. 7 shows an alternative flat cap blank incorporating the improved notch configuration of the invention. The blank here shown, however, instead of embodying the improved flared scoring of application Ser. No. 315,- 817 is provided with a pair of straight parallel score lines, one of which is shown at 90, extending straight across the skirt portion of the blank all the way into the base of the notch at 91. The cap thus formed, even though lacking the improved scoring arrangement shown in conjunction with the cap blank of FIG. 4, still possesses the advantages offered by the slits 16 and 17 of FIG. 6.

Though, in the foregoing, a particular form of tearoff closure having weakened lines for facilitating that tearing has been shown and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be considered as being limited by the particulars of that showing. Numerous variations such as in the size and shape of the closure or the container to which it is applied would become apparent to those skilled in the art and could be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Also the formation of other score patterns in the metal including either inside or outside scoring: and doing so in other manners would not be considered a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is, of course to be understood that the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing are for illustrative and not for limiting purposes Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In closure cap construction, a fiat substantially circular blank adapted to be formed into a cap having a disclike top portion, a laterally depending skirt depending from and around said top portion, a pair of spaced weakened tearing lines in said top and skirt and a tearing ear extending outwardly away from the lower edge of said skirt formed as an integral extension of that portion of said cap skirt lying between said weakened lines, said blank comprising an annular peripheral cap skirt portion, an inner circular cap top portion, a flat tearing ear having exposed side edges extending radially outwardly from a peripheral edge portion of said blank, a pair of weakened lines extending at least part way across said top portion and continuing outwardly into said skirt portion, said weakened lines terminating radially inwardly of said blank periphery on either side of said ear, and a pair of radially inwardly extending notches formed in the periphery of said blank on either side of said ear, said blank periphery forming a circular line interrupted by said ear and notches, each of said notches having an inner side, an outer side and a concavely curved base connecting said inner and outer sides, the side edges of said ear forming tangent continuations of the curved base of said notches at the inner sides thereof, the outer sides of said notches connected to said circular blank periphery by a smooth convex curve and the radius of said smooth convex curve is at least one-half as great as the radius of curvature of the base of said notch.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,052,382 2/1913 Schrnitt 215-46 2,743,033 4/1956 Andersen 220-54 3,130,056 4/1964 Taylor et a1.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Examiner. J'. B. MARBERT, Assistant Examiner.