WO2002026582A1 - Contour a paroi mince destine a un bouchon - Google Patents

Contour a paroi mince destine a un bouchon Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2002026582A1
WO2002026582A1 PCT/US2001/030586 US0130586W WO0226582A1 WO 2002026582 A1 WO2002026582 A1 WO 2002026582A1 US 0130586 W US0130586 W US 0130586W WO 0226582 A1 WO0226582 A1 WO 0226582A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
skirt
annular wall
container
neck
annular
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2001/030586
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Charles L. Williams
David Jochem
Original Assignee
Berry Plastics Corporation
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Berry Plastics Corporation filed Critical Berry Plastics Corporation
Priority to AU2001293194A priority Critical patent/AU2001293194A1/en
Publication of WO2002026582A1 publication Critical patent/WO2002026582A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D41/00—Caps, e.g. crown caps or crown seals, i.e. members having parts arranged for engagement with the external periphery of a neck or wall defining a pouring opening or discharge aperture; Protective cap-like covers for closure members, e.g. decorative covers of metal foil or paper
    • B65D41/32—Caps or cap-like covers with lines of weakness, tearing-strips, tags, or like opening or removal devices, e.g. to facilitate formation of pouring openings
    • B65D41/34—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt
    • B65D41/3442—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt with rigid bead or projections formed on the tamper element and coacting with bead or projections on the container
    • B65D41/3447—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt with rigid bead or projections formed on the tamper element and coacting with bead or projections on the container the tamper element being integrally connected to the closure by means of bridges

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a novel skirt for a closure or cap for sealing a container, more specifically, to a lightweight cap skirt having a thin annular side-wall.
  • LDPE low-density polyethylene
  • U.S. Patent No. 5,213,224 issued to Luch discloses the use of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) for use in the tear band of a closure. Luch does not disclose the use of HDPE for forming the remainder of a container cap, such as a cap skirt and does not disclose the use of a reduced weight cap made of HDPE.
  • U.S. Patent No. 5, 762,218 discloses a plastic seal for bottle having an inner sealing ring with a plurality of reinforced ribs. The plastic seal may be formed from HDPE.
  • the side walls of the cap disclosed in the '218 patent are believed to be at least .041 inch thick since the sealing cap is designed for use with a carbonated beverage which can be subject to an internal pressure of up to 25 bar.
  • the side wall skirt of the '218 patent has a thick, substantially rigid skirt to prevent deformation due to internal pressure from the carbonated beverage.
  • the cap of the '218 patent is not believed to be capable of providing a "snap-on" function.
  • U.S. Patent No. 5,553,727 issued to Molinaro discloses a "snap-on" cap which, in one embodiment, is disclosed to have been made of HDPE. Both the LDPE and HDPE caps are disclosed and are shown as having the same side wall thickness which is believed to be about .041 of an inch. Thus, the HDPE skirt disclosed in Molinaro would use an undesirably large quantity of plastic resin to form the skirt.
  • the present invention is directed to a cap skirt formed from HDPE which has an annular wall thickness of less than .035 of an inch, and at least one thread for engaging a threaded neck on the container.
  • the thickness of the annular wall is less than .031 of an inch and may range as low as .024 of an inch.
  • the reduction in the thickness of the annular side wall results in a skirt which can be formed with as much as 27% less resin than used to form conventional closure skirts of similar size. This reduction can lead to a significant cost savings for the manufacturer.
  • HDPE resin is typically less expensive than LDPE resin which can result in additional cost savings.
  • the thickness of the annular wall is defined as one half of the difference between the exterior wall dimension and the thread major dimension of the skirt.
  • the cap skirt of the invention may also include seventy-five or fewer gripper ribs located on the exterior surface of the annular side wall of the skirt. Prior cap skirts frequently had as many as 100 gripper ribs to facilitate gripping of the exterior surface of the skirt during twisting on or twisting off a cap. Lightweight skirt caps of one preferred embodiment of the invention having thinner side walls and fewer gripper ribs may be formed with as much as one-third less resin than prior cap designs for use on a similar sized container.
  • a snap-on, twist-off skirt having improved over torque resistance characteristics.
  • Such cap skirts have an annular wall formed from HDPE, a plurality of multi-lead threads, and a torque resistance of at least 10 inch pounds, preferably more than 13 inch pounds, to thread jumping after rotation into sealing position.
  • the skirt of this embodiment of the invention provides the bottler with a substantially greater margin for enor for twist- tightening a cap without fear of over-tightening to the point that the skirt threads jump the threads of the neck.
  • such a skirt also provides improved removal torque characteristics which helps prevent inadvertent loosening of the cap during rough handling.
  • a skirt which includes an annular side wall having a bottom edge, a tamper-evident band extending downwardly from said bottom edge of said annular wall, and a plurality of bridges formed from HDPE joining the band and annular wall.
  • Such bridges are significantly more resistant to breaking or visibly stretching during bottling or handling which may give rise to a "false positive" tamper-evident condition and may cause the otherwise acceptable fluid product to be discarded.
  • the HDPE bridges have sufficient rigidity and strength to resist at least three inch pounds of torque prior to severing when the skirt is removed from a container.
  • FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a cap skirt according to one embodiment of the present invention along with a cap and container.
  • FIGURE 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the cap skirt, cap and container of Figure 1 with the cap removed and tamper-evident band seated on the neck of the container.
  • FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of the skirt and cap of Figure 1.
  • FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the cap of Figure 1.
  • FIGURE 5 is a bottom plan view of the cap of Figure 1 with tamper-evident band removed.
  • FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view of a cap skirt of another embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIGURE 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the cap of Figure 1.
  • FIGURE 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a prior art LDPE cap.
  • FIGURE 9 is a cross-sectional view of the container of Figure 1 taken along lines 9-9.
  • FIGURE 10 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the cap of Figure 4 taken along lines 10—10 with the size of the ribs enlarged for ease of viewing.
  • a container closure or cap 20 having a top 21 and a downwardly extending skirt 22 with a plurality of threads 26 formed in the inner surface 25 of its annular wall 23.
  • a tamper-evident band 28 extends below the annular wall 23 and is connected thereto by frangible bridges 30.
  • cap 20 is designed to seal a container 32 by seating on a container neck 34 with skirt threads 26 engaging neck threads 35.
  • the skirt 22 has a total of four threads 26 having four leads 36 formed in the inner surface 24 of the annular wall 23 of the skirt 22.
  • the multiple threads and multiple thread leads assist in providing a skirt 22 with sufficient flexibility to provide a snap-on/twist-off capability.
  • the multiple threads 26 are preferably sized, angled and pitched so that they can slide over neck threads 35 in response to downward axial pressure applied during bottling.
  • a wide variety of numbers of threads having differing length, height, pitch and angle of opposite faces may be utilized in the skirt of the present invention.
  • the number of threads is between four and eight, the height of the threads is about .027 of an inch and may be between about .025 to about .035 of an inch; the pitch of the threads is preferably .047 of an inch but may vary from about .045 to about .060 of an inch; the angle defined by opposite faces of the threads 26a and 26b of the threads is preferably 30°, but may be from about 25° to about 40°; and, each thread preferably extends about 220° around the inner surface 24 of the annular wall 25, but may extend between 180° and 240°.
  • the skirt 22 is made of high density polyethylene (“HDPE”) material and formed by a conventional injection molding process.
  • HDPE high density polyethylene
  • the use of HDPE material allows the use of a substantially thinner annular wall 23 for the skirt 22 and therefore requires significantly less material to form than the annular wall of conventional LDPE caps.
  • skirts designed in accordance with the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-5 are flexible enough to jump threads during application of downward axial pressure in the course of bottling and have improved resistance to over-torque, "false positive" tamper evidence, as well as deformation during rough handling.
  • the thickness 38 of the annular side wall is defined as one-half of the distance between exterior wall dimension 39 and the thread major 40 dimension See FIG. 3). As illustrated in FIGS.
  • the side-wall skirt of the present invention is preferably about .027 of an inch, but may range from about .024 to about .035 inches. Whereas the prior caps made of an LDPE material had a lower limit of about .037 of an inch for the side-wall thickness.
  • the reduction in thickness of the annular side- wall 23 is illustrated by a comparison of dimension 38a of FIG. 7 with dimension 38b of FIG. 8. This reduction in the thickness of the annular wall 23 results in a cap which may weigh as much as 27% less than a conventional skirt made of LDPE of similar design.
  • HDPE skirt which preferably weighs as little as .73 grams (excluding the weight of the tamper-evident band), but can range between .65 and .80 grams.
  • conventional LDPE cap skirts of similar design typically weighed at least .93 grams.
  • the skirt 22 has a number of ribs 42 formed on the exterior surface 25 of the annular wall 23.
  • the ribs 42 preferably extend about .014 of an inch radially outwardly from the exterior surface 25 of the skirt to a flattened rib outer surface 44.
  • Ribs 42 have angled side surface 46a and 46b which are preferably angled at about 60° from one another.
  • the ribs are preferably slightly drafted about 2° from their base 42a to their upper end 42b to assist in removal from an injection mold.
  • the ribs provide a high-friction surface to assist in gripping the skirt 22 of the cap 20 when it is rotated during bottling or opening/closing by the end user.
  • the skirt 22 of the present invention has a total of 75 ribs on the exterior surface 25 of the annular wall 23, but may have from about 70 to about 100 ribs.
  • Applicant has found that removal of 25 ribs can provide up to an additional 10% decrease in skirt weight while maintaining a suitable high- friction surface on the exterior surface 25 of the skirt 22.
  • applicant has formed HDPE skirts weighing as little as .73 grams (excluding the weight of the tamper-evident band) that exhibit superior torque resistance, resistance to deformation and tamper evidence performance than prior LDPE caps.
  • the frangible bridges 30 include both angled bridges 30a and vertical bridges 30b connecting the annular wall 23 to the tamper- evident band 28.
  • the band 28 included at least eight bridges, including two pairs of angled bridges and two pairs of vertical bridges, although other combinations of bridges may be used.
  • the use of HDPE material provides frangible bridges which are significantly more resistant to inadvertent breaking or stretching which can lead to "false positive" evidence of tampering than bridges of formed from LDPE. This resistance is illustrated in protocol II below.
  • the lower edge 58 of the annular wall 23 is defined by a shelf 61 extending axially outwardly so that it has a slightly greater exterior diameter than the remainder of the annular wall 23.
  • a plurality of spaced apart pads 59 extending down from the lower edge 58 of the shelf 61 of annular wall 23.
  • the outer diameter of the shelf 61 and pads 59 preferably match the outer diameter of the band 28.
  • the pads 59 provide a surface for the upper edge 60 of the band 28 to bear against when downward axial pressure is applied to the cap during bottling and when upward axial pressure is applied to the bottom edge 62 of the band 28 to assist in ejection of the skirt from the injection mold.
  • the exterior and interior diameters of the band 28 are slightly larger than those of the annular wall 23 (other than at the pads 54 and shelf 61) to allow the band 28 to fit over the rim 68 (See FIG. 9) on the neck.
  • the band 28 has a plurality of ridges 48 formed on its interior surface 50.
  • the ridges 48 have an angled lower surface 52 and a bridge severing surface 54 extending transversely from the interior surface 50.
  • the lower surface 52 of the ridges 48 are angled to ease passage of the skirt and band over the rim 68 on neck 34 during the application of downward axial pressure on the cap in the course of bottling.
  • the bridge severing surface 54 of the ridges 48 are designed to engage the rim 68 on the neck 34 of the container 32 when the cap is twisted for removal.
  • the engagement between the bridge severing surface 54 and rim 68 on the neck as the skirt 22 is lifted and rotated breaks the frangible bridges 30 so that the band 28 is retained on the neck 34 of the container 20.
  • bridge severing surface 54 is shown in Figs. 1-10 as being disposed on a series of spaced apart ridges, it is contemplated that a continuous bridge severing surface could be provided by use of a continuous rim extending transversely from the interior surface of the band, rather than spaced apart ridges.
  • HDPE skirts designed in accordance with the present invention show greatly improved over-torque resistance than similar configured LDPE skirts. This point is illustrated by the results of the experimental Protocol A set forth in Tables 1 and 2 below.
  • Two sets of twenty one caps of a design typically used to seal one gallon milk and juice containers were manufactured.
  • the caps had an internal diameter of about 38mm to match the outer neck diameter of the container.
  • the skirts of both sets of caps generally included multiple threads allowing for a"snap on/screw off capability, a tamper evident band joined by frangible bridges to the annular wall similar to that shown in FIG.3, a total of seventy- five gripper ribs, and a resilient plastic liner on the top surface of the cap.
  • the two sets of caps were of identical design with the following exceptions, (a) the LDPE caps were formed from low density polyethylene, while the HDPE caps were formed of high density polyethylene, (b) the skirt of the LDPE cap had a side-wall thickness of about .037 inch, while the HDPE skirt had a side-wall thickness of about .027 inch.
  • a cap skirt 122 is provided which extends downwardly from a top 121 of cap 120.
  • a single thread 126 is formed in the inner surface 124 of the annular side wall of the skirt 122.
  • a tamper-evident band 128 extends below the annular side wall 123 which is connected thereto by frangible bridges 130.
  • the cap 120 is designed to seal a container (not shown) by seating on its neck with the skirt thread 126 engaging a single neck thread (not shown).
  • the skirt 122 is designed to seal a container similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 9 with the exception that the neck of the container has a single thread rather than the multiple threads shown in FIGS. 1 and 9.
  • the annular wall 123 has a single thread 126 with a single lead 136 formed in its inner surface 124.
  • the single thread 126 has a height, length, and pitch which is greater than the multiple threads shown in Figure 3.
  • the thread 126 extends around the inner surface 124 about 800 degrees or about two and one/half revolutions.
  • the skirt 122 is made of as HDPE material by a conventional injection molding process. This results in a skirt with a substantially thinner sidewall than conventional caps LDPE.
  • the thickness 138 of the annular sidewall 123 of the present invention is preferably .027 of an inch but may vary from .024 to about .035.
  • the reduction in thickness results in a cap which typically weighs as much as 27% less than a conventional cap of similar design formed from LDPE.
  • the cap of FIG. 6 lacks ribs on its exterior surface unlike the skirt shown in FIGS. 1-3.
  • the tamper-evident band 128 and bridges 130 are similar to those shown in Figure 3 and described above. More specifically, the pads 159, lower edge 158, band 128, ridges 148, top edge of band 160, bottom edge of band 162, shelf 161 are all similar to the corresponding portions of the skirt 20 shown in FIG. 3.
  • the thin-walled skirt of the present invention may also be used with caps having an annular plug seal descending from the top surface of the cap which is designed to engage and deform an inner lip 70 (FIG. 9) on the container neck.
  • annular plugs typically have an exterior diameter which is dimensioned to be slightly larger than the interior diameter dimension of the opening in the neck of the container.
  • the exterior wall surface of the plug presses radially outwardly against the interior of the lip formed at the opening of the container neck.
  • Applicant has found that the use of HDPE plugs in combination with an HDPE skirt provides superior deformation of the inner edge of the lip of the container opening and thereby a superior seal.
  • the container has some degree of flash present at the parting line of the molded plastic container.
  • the more rigid HDPE plug is combined with HDPE skirt can accommodate a larger amount of flush than conventional LDPE caps in forming an acceptable seal which allows the bottler to increase dimension tolerances and thereby decease costs.
  • skirts 22 and 122 have been shown with a tamper-evident band 28, such a tamper-evident band may be excluded if desired.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Closures For Containers (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un contour (22) de bouchon réalisé en polyéthylène haute densité ayant une épaisseur (38a) de paroi annulaire inférieure à 0,035 pouce et comportant au moins un filetage (26) formé sur la surface intérieure (25) de la paroi annulaire (23) prévu pour s'associer à un bord fileté (34) situé sur le contenant. De préférence, l'épaisseur de la paroi annulaire est inférieure à 0,031 pouce et peut même mesurer 0,024 pouce. La réduction de l'épaisseur de la paroi latérale annulaire produit un contour qui peut être formé avec une quantité de résine significativement réduite par rapport aux contours de fermetures classiques de taille similaire. Cette diminution peut réduire significativement le coût pour le fabricant.
PCT/US2001/030586 2000-09-29 2001-09-28 Contour a paroi mince destine a un bouchon WO2002026582A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2001293194A AU2001293194A1 (en) 2000-09-29 2001-09-28 Thin-walled skirt for cap

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US67551200A 2000-09-29 2000-09-29
US09/675,512 2000-09-29

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2002026582A1 true WO2002026582A1 (fr) 2002-04-04

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PCT/US2001/030586 WO2002026582A1 (fr) 2000-09-29 2001-09-28 Contour a paroi mince destine a un bouchon

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AU (1) AU2001293194A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2002026582A1 (fr)

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2004020307A2 (fr) * 2002-08-27 2004-03-11 Rjr Packaging, Llc Elements d'obturation d'un recipient
BE1015467A5 (fr) * 2003-04-10 2005-04-05 Belgian Diagnostic Company S A Dispositif de bouchage d'un recipient et recipient muni d'un tel dispositif.
ITMO20080201A1 (it) * 2008-07-24 2010-01-25 Sacmi Mezzi a capsula
EP2639184A1 (fr) 2012-03-16 2013-09-18 GFV Verschlusstechnik GmbH & Co. KG Couvercle de protection pour un réservoir d'aérosol ou de flacon-pompe
US20220177199A1 (en) * 2020-12-04 2022-06-09 Niagara Bottling, Llc Multiple asymmetric anchor container closure
US11975891B2 (en) 2020-08-07 2024-05-07 Niagara Bottling, Llc Single anchor closure

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4098419A (en) * 1977-02-18 1978-07-04 Maxcap Inc. Blow molded plastic bottle and antitamper cap
US4206852A (en) * 1979-01-26 1980-06-10 Aluminum Company Of America Linerless closure for pressurized container
US4503985A (en) * 1983-10-20 1985-03-12 Owens-Illinois, Inc. Tamper indicating package with large diameter opening
US4625875A (en) * 1985-02-04 1986-12-02 Carr Joseph J Tamper-evident closure
US5967351A (en) * 1997-07-10 1999-10-19 Phoenix Closures, Inc. Tamper-indicating closure with tapered connectors

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4098419A (en) * 1977-02-18 1978-07-04 Maxcap Inc. Blow molded plastic bottle and antitamper cap
US4206852A (en) * 1979-01-26 1980-06-10 Aluminum Company Of America Linerless closure for pressurized container
US4503985A (en) * 1983-10-20 1985-03-12 Owens-Illinois, Inc. Tamper indicating package with large diameter opening
US4625875A (en) * 1985-02-04 1986-12-02 Carr Joseph J Tamper-evident closure
US5967351A (en) * 1997-07-10 1999-10-19 Phoenix Closures, Inc. Tamper-indicating closure with tapered connectors

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2004020307A2 (fr) * 2002-08-27 2004-03-11 Rjr Packaging, Llc Elements d'obturation d'un recipient
WO2004020307A3 (fr) * 2002-08-27 2004-11-04 Rjr Packaging Llc Elements d'obturation d'un recipient
BE1015467A5 (fr) * 2003-04-10 2005-04-05 Belgian Diagnostic Company S A Dispositif de bouchage d'un recipient et recipient muni d'un tel dispositif.
ITMO20080201A1 (it) * 2008-07-24 2010-01-25 Sacmi Mezzi a capsula
WO2010010528A1 (fr) * 2008-07-24 2010-01-28 Sacmi Cooperativa Meccanici Imola Societa' Cooperativa Capuchon doté d’une bague d’inviolabilité
EP2639184A1 (fr) 2012-03-16 2013-09-18 GFV Verschlusstechnik GmbH & Co. KG Couvercle de protection pour un réservoir d'aérosol ou de flacon-pompe
DE102012204165A1 (de) 2012-03-16 2013-09-19 Gfv Verschlusstechnik Gmbh & Co. Kg Schutzkappe für einen Aerosol- oder Pumpspraybehälter
US11975891B2 (en) 2020-08-07 2024-05-07 Niagara Bottling, Llc Single anchor closure
US20220177199A1 (en) * 2020-12-04 2022-06-09 Niagara Bottling, Llc Multiple asymmetric anchor container closure

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Publication number Publication date
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