WO1999003748A1

WO1999003748A1 - Container closure

Info

Publication number: WO1999003748A1
Application number: PCT/GB1998/001925
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paul Davidson
Original assignee: Paul Davidson
Priority date: 1997-07-17
Filing date: 1998-07-17
Publication date: 1999-01-28
Also published as: AU8447698A; GB9714995D0

Abstract

A closure (1) for a container has an opening defined by a neck (9) of the container (11). The neck is provided with an exterior rib (13) spaced from the opening. A first closure element (5) is for fitting over the end of the container and has means (17) for engaging the exterior rib to hinder relative longitudinal movement of said first closure element (7) in a direction away from the container. A second closure element (5) is for fitting over the first closure element to hinder relative transverse movement of the rib engaging means away from said container.

Description

CONTAINER CLOSURE

This invention relates to container closures especially to bottle shaped containers, examples being beer bottles, milk bottles and the like.

Existing bottle closures include bottle corks and screw caps which are expensive and/or not suitable for re-use. There is a need for a bottle closure which can be used repeatedly, each time giving an effective seal, and which is also inexpensive to manufacture.

According to the present invention, there is provided a closure for a container having an opening defined by a neck of the container, said neck being provided with an exterior rib spaced from the opening, the closure comprising a first closure element for fitting over the end of the container and having means for engaging the exterior rib to hinder relative longitudinal movement of said first closure element in a direction away from the container, and a second closure element for fitting over said first closure element to hinder relative transverse movement of the rib engaging means away from said container.

Reference is made above to an exterior rib located on the container. In fact, most bottles are provided with such a rib or lip and this rib is made use of in order to secure the container closure of the element to the bottle.

Preferably the container closure includes a third element which is a sealing element located between the first element and the open end of the container. Ideally the sealing element is composed of rubber.

Preferably the first closure element is provided with castellations, and the castellations are resiliency deformable so as to accommodate movement of the first closure element over said rib. Preferably the first closure element further comprises a central circular upstand which extends into a corresponding circular hole in the second closure element.

Preferably, the second closure element is provided with an inwardly directed flange at its free end, said flange being located beyond the free end of the first closure element.

Preferably, the container is a bottle and it may be that the bottle is provided with a label which is located such that when the closure is removed from the bottle, the label will be damaged.

Ideally the closure for a container is reusable.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of examples only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-

Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention in position over a bottle neck;

Figures 2 to 4 show the three elements of the closure of Figure 1; Figure 5 shows a detail of part of Figure 1 ;

Figure 6 shows a second embodiment of a bottle closure in accordance with the present invention; and

Figures 7 to 9 show the three elements of the bottle closure illustrated in Figure 6.

Referring to Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings, a bottle closure in accordance with the present invention is in the form of a bottle cap 1 having three elements, rubber disc 3, castellated cap member 5 and locking cap member 7.

The bottle cap 1 is for closing the opening in the neck 9 of a bottle 11. Bottle 1 1 may be, for instance, a beer bottle or a milk bottle and is provided with an integral peripheral rib 13 extending about neck 9. As illustrated, rib 13 is of short length longitudinally but, in other types of bottles, it may be considerably longer.

Rubber disc 3 provides a sealing member and is located directly on the radial upper surface of bottle neck 9 of bottle 11 , as illustrated in Figure 1. Castellated cap member 5 is broadly cap shaped but is provided with castellation 15 extending from its free edge about half way towards its circular base. Each castellations 15 turns inwardly, as best illustrated in Figure 5, to provide a hook portion 17. The depth of cap member 5 is such that, when this member is pushed over the end of the bottle neck 9, the hook portions 17 of castellations 15 extend just beyond rib 13 of bottle neck 9, as illustrated in Figure 1.

Locking cap member 7 is of broadly the same shape as cap member 5 but differs therefrom in that its circular wall is of continuous and constant depth and its flat base is provided with a central circular cut out 19. When cap member 7 is pushed over cap member 5 to the position illustrated in Figure 1, it locks the castellated cap member 5 in position. In particular it prevents the castellations 15 from moving transversely away from bottle neck 9. With the castellations 15 held in position adjacent rib 13, it can be seen that the bottle cap 1 cannot be removed easily from the bottle by relative longitudinal movement between the cap and the bottle due to the engagement between hook portions 17 of castellations 15 and rib 13.

If cap 1 is removed from bottle 11, which may be accomplished by, for instance, applying considerable force to cap 7 to remove it from cap 5, and then removing cap 5 and disc 3, it is possible to replace the cap after perhaps some of the contents of the bottle have been consumed.

In a modification of the above-described embodiment the circular wall of locking cap 7 is provided with an inwardly directed flange at its free end, this wall then being of slightly greater length than that shown in Figure 1. When cap 7 is in position over cap 5 the circular wall extends just beyond the bottom of the castellations 15 of cap member 5 and the inwardly directed flange of cap member 7 "locks" into position over the ends of castellations 15, thereby rendering separation between cap members 5 and 7 more difficult.

Disc 3 may be made of any suitable sealing material such as rubber or a rubber like material. Cap member 5 may be made of plastics or metal such that castellations 15 may deform slightly inwardly and outwardly to accommodate movement over rib 13. Locking cap 7 may be made of plastics or metal material and is preferably relatively rigid.

Referring to Figures 6 to 9 of the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a second embodiment of a container closure of the invention, in this case, a bottle closure for a bottle such as a wine bottle.

Wine bottle 51 has a neck 53 which is provided with an outer peripheral rib 55 spaced from the end of neck 53. The bottle closure of the invention has three elements, O ring 57, plug 59 and locking cap 61. Plug 59 includes a central plug portion 63 dimensioned to fit easily within the neck 53 of bottle 1, as illustrated in Figure 6. Plug portion 3 includes a peripheral groove 65 spaced from the end of the plug and located within this groove is the O ring 57.

Extending radially outwardly from plug portion 63 of plug 59 is an integral cap portion 67 which includes circular wall 69 having castellations 71. Each castellation 71 is provided with an integral inwardly directed hook portion 73.

Plug 63 is shown in position on bottle neck 53 in Figure 6. It can be seen that, with plug portion 63 located within the bottle neck, O ring 55 bears against the inner wall of the bottle neck to provide a seal between plug 59 and bottle 51. The cap portion 67 extends around the outside of the bottle neck and the hook portions 73 of castellations 71 are located just below rib 55 of bottle neck 53.

Locking cap 61 fits over plug 59 and is similar to locking cap member 7 of the first above-described embodiment. Accordingly, this second embodiment of the present invention is similar to the first embodiment in the manner in which a locking engagement is provided between the cap and a bottle. It differs from the first embodiment in the manner of sealing of the cap to the bottle and, having a plug portion extending into the bottle neck, resembles a conventional bottle cork in this respect. As with the first described embodiment, the bottle cap may be removed from the bottle, the contents of the bottle partly consumed, and the bottle cap reinstated so as to provide a new and good seal between the inside and the outside of the bottle.

The above described embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various ways. For instance, the inner castellated cap member may be provided with a central circular upstand which extends into the circular hole of the outer cap member, thereby providing a flush upper surface. If a label is provided across the whole of this upper surface then, when the cap is removed from the bottle, necessitating as it does separation of the inner and outer cap members, this label will be broken. With the bottle resealed by use of the cap, it will be clear that the bottle has previously been opened due to the absence of an undamaged label.

Claims

1. A closure for a container having an opening defined by a neck of the container, said neck being provided with an exterior rib spaced from the opening, the closure comprising a first closure element for fitting over the end of the container and having means for engaging the exterior rib to hinder relative longitudinal movement of said first closure element in a direction away from the container, and a second closure element for fitting over said first closure element to hinder relative transverse movement of the rib engaging means away from said container.

2. A closure for a container according to Claim 1 wherein the container closure includes a third element which is a sealing element located between the first element and the open end of the container.

3. A closure for a container according to Claim 2 wherein the sealing element is composed of rubber.

4. A closure for a container according to any preceding claim wherein the first closure element is provided with castellations.

5. A closure for a container according to Claim 4 wherein the castellations are resiliently deformable so as to accommodate movement of the first closure element over said rib.

6. A closure for a container according to any preceding claim wherein the first closure element further comprises a central circular upstand which extends into a corresponding circular hole in the second closure element.

7. A closure for a container according to any preceding claim wherein the second closure element is provided with an inwardly directed flange at its free end, said flange being located beyond the free end of the first closure element.

8. A closure for a container according to any preceding claim wherein said container is a bottle.

9. A closure for a container according to Claim 8 wherein the bottle is provided with a label which is located such that when the closure is removed from the bottle, the label will be damaged.

0. A closure for a container according to any preceding claim wherein said closure is reusable.