Bottles and jars – Closures – Frangible member or portion
Patent
1998-11-24
2000-01-18
Cronin, Stephen K.
Bottles and jars
Closures
Frangible member or portion
215 44, 215307, 215330, 220296, B65D 4136
Patent
active
060150548
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a container neck and closure assembly in which the neck and closure are provided with screw threads for securing the closure on the container neck.
A number of container closure assemblies comprising a container neck and a closure, with threads on the neck and closure for securing the closure on the neck are known in the art. The threads known in the art can be divided broadly into two categories, namely continuous (helical) threads and bayonet threads. Continuous threads comprise at lest one substantially continuous thread portion on either the neck or the closure, the thread portion or portions extending substantially helically around the outside of the container neck or the inside of the closure skirt. At least part of each thread portion usually overlaps (i.e. is axially displaced from, at the same radial position as) at least another part of the thread portion, or part of another thread portion. The spacing between the upper and lower surfaces of the helical thread defines a substantially helical thread path along which a second thread segment on the container closure skirt or the container neck travels when securing or removing the closure from the container neck.
In contrast, bayonet threads have short thread segments spaced around the container neck and the closure skirt. The closure is secured on the container neck by first pushing down the closure with the thread segments on the closure neck and closure skirt out of register, followed by rotating the closure to engage the thread segments on the closure skirt beneath the thread segments on the container neck. The bayonet thread segments usually have little or no pitch.
Bayonet-type threads have the following advantages when compared with continuous threads: (1) a smaller amount of moulding material is required to form the short thread segments of the bayonet thread; (2) less rotation is normally required to secure the closure cap on the container neck, which is advantageous for elderly or arthritic users; (3) the bayonet thread segments themselves are not pitched, or have a very low pitch angle. This means that the closure has less tendency to unscrew spontaneously due to camming of axial force on the closure by pressure from inside the container. This means that the closure is less likely to blow off when the contents of the container are pressurized.
The bayonet-type threads have the following drawbacks when compared with continuous, helical threads: (1) the bayonet threads can make it more difficult to secure the closure on the container neck, because two operations are required to secure the closure on the container neck, namely pressing down on the closure with the threads out of engagement, followed by rotating the closure. In contrast, continuous threads allow the closure to be secured on a container neck in a single, continuous rotation. (2) bayonet-type threads can make it difficult to achieve a pressure-tight seal between the closure and the container neck. Such seals depend on the exertion of a strong axial sealing force between sealing surfaces on the closure and the neck. In a continuous thread arrangement, this force is exerted by camming of the closure torque applied to the closure through the thread pitch. In the case of the bayonet threads, the axial sealing force must be substantially applied by the user in the initial pressing-down step of securing the closure on the container neck; (3) bayonet-type threads are inherently less suitable for use in conjunction with a tamper-evident ring frangibly attached to the closure skirt and retained on the container neck. Reliable separation of a tamper-evident ring from the closure is best achieved with continuous, helical threads since the pitch of the threads converts the unscrewing torque into a lifting force that separates the closure from the tamper-evident ring. In contrast, the bayonet-type thread requires all of the lifting force needed to separate the tamper-evident ring from the closure skirt to be exerted by the user, which may be particularly dif
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Pending Beeson & Sons Patent Application No.: 08/837,434, Inventor: King, Filing Date: Apr. 17, 1997.
King Roger Milner
King Witney Milner
Beeson and Sons Limited
Cronin Stephen K.
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