US3323672A

US3323672A - Closure cap

Info

Publication number: US3323672A
Application number: US431844A
Authority: US
Inventors: Daniel D Acton
Original assignee: Anchor Hocking Glass Corp
Current assignee: Anchor Hocking Glass Corp
Priority date: 1965-02-11
Filing date: 1965-02-11
Publication date: 1967-06-06
Anticipated expiration: 1984-06-06
Also published as: GB1074769A; DE1486199C3; DE1486199B2; LU49348A1; BE668355A; DE1486199A1; SE315828B; NL6510856A

Description

June 6, 1967 D. o. ACTON 3,323,672

CLOSURE CAP Filad Feb. 11, 1.965

INVENTOR. Dam/a. 0L ficrm wimp/va United States Patent 3,323,672 CLOSURE CAP Daniel D. Acton, Lancaster, Ohio, assignor to Anchor Hocking Glass Corporation, Lancaster, Ohio, :1 corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 11, 1965, Ser. No. 431,844 4 Claims. (Cl. 215--44) The present invention relates to the sealing art and more particularly to an improved closure cap and to a related container finish which cooperates with the cap to provide an improved sealed package.

The closure cap is for sealing threaded or logged conminers and has a series of concealed and inwardly projecting lugs at the lower edge of the cap skirt permitting the cap skirt itself to be relatively straight and smooth. This not only provides an attractive design form but also permits the skirt to be conveniently used for trademark and instructional indicia as Well as for decorative designs. The cap has an improved tightly formed flexible lug which adapts the cap for accepting the tolerance extremes of closure cap, closure liner, and container finish. A preferred container thread finish cooperates with the cap lugs to eliminateabrasion and chippage of the finish thread.

While the lugs and thread finish of the present invention are useful with a variety of gaskets or liners, they are particularly effective for use with safety seal liners. Safety seal liners have sealing membranes lightly adhered to inner cardboard cap liners. When the caps are applied to the containers, the membranes are adhered to the container rims to form an air tight seal. As the caps are removed from the containers, the membranes remain glued to the container rims and the cap strips the cardboard liner from the sealing membrane and lifts it from the sealed package. The cap lug and container finish of this invention cooperate to accommodate for the tolerance extremes in liner thicknesses in such liners and provide a tight seal without lug damage or container thread abrasion or chippage.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved closure cap.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved sealed package.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved closure cap having tightly formed and fleXible concealed lugs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved closure cap having a safety seal liner.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment or" the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view partially in section of a preferred embodiment of the closure cap;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary .sectional view of the closure cap of FIG. 1 applied to a container having a preferred thread finish;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed sectional view showing the preferred embodiments of the lug and thread finish;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the inside of the cap skirt illustrating the shape of the improved lug; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the cap skirt illustrating the shape of the lug.

The closure cap 1 in accordance with the present invention comprises a cover 2 and depending skirt 3. As indicated above, the skirt 3 preferably has a smooth surface to facilitate decoration and also to provide a closure cap 1 with an attractive appearance. The cover 2 also is relatively fiat facilitating decoration, however, as best illustrated in FIG. 2 a stacking panel 4 is provided on the cover by the formation of a circular channel 5 at the outer edge of the cap cover 2 adjacent to the skirt 3. The outer edge of the channel 5 is defined by the top portion of the skirt 3and the inner edge is defined by an inclined wall 6. The channel 5 and the stacking panel 4 are com veniently formed during the drawing step when a fiat disc of the cap forming metal is drawn into a cup-like blank.

The lower edge of the cap skirt 3 has an inwardly rolled head 7 connecting a series of spaced container thread engaging lugs 8. As best illustrated in FIGS. 3 thru 5, each of the lugs 8 includes an inner container thread engaging portion comprising a double thickness of the cap material formed into a tight fold 9. The lug 8 is formed to include an upwardly and inwardly inclined lower portion 10 extending to the thread engaging fold 9 which is positioned about centrally of the depth of the skirt head 7. The lugs 8 are formed as shown in FIG. 4 so that the fold 9 extends generally level or parallel to the lower edge of the skirt 3 and with the level fold 9 comprising a substantial portion of the circumferential length of each lug. As illustrated in FIG. 5 which is a bottom plan view of a lug '8, the lugs 8 are seen to extend radially inwardly for a substantial distance along a major portion of their circumferential length with the fold 9 having a slightly arcuate shape when viewed in this direction.

The logs 8 of the closure cap 1 engage a series of inclined threads 11 on a container 12. A preferred cross section of the threads '11 is illustrated wherein the folds 9 of the lugs 8 engage the lower surfaces 13 of the threads. The lower surfaces 13 in cross section are upwardly and outwardly inclined and are relatively straight intermediate their curved end portions.

The cap 1 of the present invention is particularly useful with caps having paperboard liners and particularly those having safety seal [liners of the well-known type wherein an air-tight membrane 14 is used to seal the container mouth. As seen in FIG. 2, this membrane 14 is preferably initially and lightly attached to a paperboard liner 15 of sufiicient thickness to be relatively stiff. The liners 15 and the attached membranes 14 are placed in the finished closures 1 prior to the sealing operation and the cap lugs -8 retain the liners 15 and sealing membranes 14 in position during the cap handling and sealing operations.

In order to insure a tight initial seal and the retention of the seal during packaging handling and storage, it is desirable that the edge of the stacking panel 4 of the cap top be above at least a portion of the container rim 16 so that it engages the liner 15 during and after the sealing operation as illustrated in FIG. 2. In order to obtain this result, the channel 5 forming the stacking panel 4 is preferably relatively narrow and a preferred channel positions the inner edge 6 of the channel so that it is approximately above the inner edge of the cap lugs 8 as seen in FIG. 2. As described above it is preferable that the sealing membrane 14 and liner 15 extend radially outwardly to a position over lugs 8 to insure the retention of the liners 15 within the caps before and during sealing and also to insure that the cap lugs 8 remove the paperboard liner portions 15 when the closure caps 1 are removed from the sealed containers 12 thus insuring that the paperboard liners 15 are stripped clear of the package sealing membranes 14.

It will be seen that an improved closure cap has been provided combining the advantages of a. tightly formed, flexible, concealed in lug and a smooth, straight skirt. This combination of features provides a cap uniquely suited for packaging products heretofore commonly packaged using caps of the continuous thread type and having irregular skirt surfaces. The cap has a novel lug structure formed by a related novel lug forming process wherein concealed lugs are provided with the ability to accept the extremes of closure, liner, and container finish tolerances. A container finish thread is provided which cooperates with the novel lug to eliminate abrasion and chippage of the container finish thread. The capability of the lug and package to accept extremes of liner thickness tolerances makes the cap particularly suitable for use with paperboard liners including those used with safety seal membranes. Consistently air-tight seals are obtained using such safety seal liners with the improved cap.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a closure cap for sealing a container and having a cover and a depending skirt with an inwardly rolled bead at the lower edge of the skirt and a plurality of circumferentially spaced lugs projecting inwardly therefrom the improvement which comprises an outwardly directed tight fold at the inner edge of each lug extending along a minor portion only of the radial width of the lug, and

the folded edges of the lug lying in a common plane generally parallel to the plane of the cap cover and being spaced upwardly from the lowermost portions of said head.

2. The closure cap as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises a downwardly facing channel at the outer portion of said cap cover forming a stacking panel and having its inner wall positioned above the folded edges of said lugs.

3. The closure cap as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises a cut cap liner extending radially outwardly beyond the inner edges of said lugs.

4. The closure cap as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises a cut cap liner in said cap having an air impervious membrane on its surface opposite to the cap cover for engaging the container.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,684,415 8/1928 Schriver 21544 2,089,954 8/1937 Gibbs 2l544 2,148,169 2/1939 Merolle 21544 3,134,496 5/1964 Kehe 215-40 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE O. RALSTON, Examiner.

R. PESHOCK, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A CLOSURE CAP FOR SEALING A CONTAINER AND HAVING A COVER AND A DEPENDING SKIRT WITH AN INWARDLY ROLLED BEAD AT THE LOWER EDGE OF THE SKIRT AND A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED LUGS PROJECTING INWARDLY THEREFROM THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES AN OUTWARDLY DIRECTED TIGHT FOLD AT THE INNER EDGE OF EACH LUG EXTENDING ALONG A MINOR PORTION ONLY OF THE RADIAL WIDTH OF THE LUG, AND THE FOLDED EDGES OF THE LUG LYING IN A COMMON PLANE GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE PLANE OF THE CAP COVER AND BEING SPACED UPWARDLY FROM THE LOWERMOST PORTIONS OF SAID BEAD.