Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – Filling or refilling of dispensers
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-11
2004-03-23
Huson, Gregory L. (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
Filling or refilling of dispensers
C141S100000, C141S104000, C141S110000, C141S112000, C206S217000, C206S219000, C206S222000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06708735
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lid closures for containers and methods of making and using the lid closures, and more particularly to a molded plastic lid closure having a compartment for holding solid or particulate confections to be dispensed by gravity into the container by a consumer and methods of making and using the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Plastic lid closures for sealing beverage containers, such as containers purchased by consumers at so-called “fast-food” restaurants and “convenience” stores are well known in the art. It has also been heretofore proposed to provide pockets or compartments in molded plastic lid closures that contain solid and liquid materials for use by a consumer to dispense into a container of a beverage to which the lid closure is secured. The solid materials that are dispensed into the container are typically granular materials, such as powdered cream or sugar for a coffee or tea beverage. One such proposed lid closure is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,326,363 to Bennett et at. The lid closure described in the Bennett et al. patent is molded of a polystyrene plastic material with a generally U-shaped annular skirt for engaging the rim of a paper or plastic container. The molded lid is provided with a plurality of pockets containing granular materials that are closed and sealed on the underside of the lid by a circular sealing sheet of a tearable metal foil or plastic film. The lid is further provided with a pair of triangular bottom wall sections that are designed to tear the circular sealing sheet on the underside of the lid when pressure is applied by a consumer to the top of the lid at one of the pockets thereby releasing the granular material into the container.
A number of other dispensing lid closure proposals for beverage containers have been heretofore made, as exemplified by the lid closures disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,813 to Kurland; U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,931 to Weiret al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,276 to Lialin; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,179 to Hanson. Typically, the prior art lid closures of these patents involve the application of pressure by the consumer to a pocket or compartment in the lid to release an ingredient or material into the container to which the lid is attached. In the case of the patents to Weir et al. and Lialin, the lid closures are formed or provided with plungers or piercing devices for rupturing a foil or membrane forming the bottom wall of the compartments in the lid.
Other prior art lid dispensing proposals include containers for dispensing larger solid components, such as tablets, into a beverage or other liquid. Examples of such dispensing lid proposals are described in U.S. Patent No. 3,743,520 to Croner and U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,760 to Mollstam et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,022 to Husted discloses a lid with a built-in dispensing scoop for dry foodstuffs.
None of the aforementioned prior art proposals provides a dispensing lid especially adapted for dispensing confections, such as individual pieces of candy, into a container containing a beverage. In the case of soft or frangible confections, such as the popular Butterfinger® and M&M® brand candies, application of manual pressure to the lid for the purpose of puncturing or rupturing a sealing layer to dispense the confections from lid compartments is particularly undesirable because of the potential to mar or crush the confections and make them difficult to dispense as well as unsightly to the consumer.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a dispensing lid closure for dispensing from a sealed lid compartment any type of solid or liquid material contents, but particularly confections and especially crushable candies, that does not involve the application of manual pressure to the lid or puncturing the lid to dispense the contents of the lid compartment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art dispensing lid closures by providing a simple, two-part molded, thermoformed or vacuum-formed plastic lid closure for a container. The first molded part of the lid closure has a central opening formed by a generally cylindrical sleeve that may be vertical or slightly inwardly tapered from top to bottom. The height of the first molded part may be varied to increase or decrease the dispensable volume of the lid closure. The opening is surrounded by an annular section or compartment with an annular skirt at its outermost periphery for sealingly engaging the rim of a container. A sealing layer is sealingly secured to a narrow annular surface on the bottom of the first molded lid part to form a closed annular compartment adapted to contain the material or confection to be dispensed. The sealing layer is perforated or weakened radially inwardly of the narrow annular surface of the first lid part along a circular perforation or weakened line.
The second molded lid part comprises a twist-off-pull-out, generally cylindrical but slightly tapered cap adapted to removably fit into and mate with the inwardly tapered central sleeve in the first lid part. Preferably, the second lid part is molded with two oppositely disposed semi-cylindrical pockets sized so that a consumer can insert the tips of a thumb and forefinger for a purpose to be described hereinafter. The second lid part is securely affixed at its lowermost end or bottom to the sealing layer radially inwardly of the circular perforation in the sealing layer.
The two lid closure parts are preferably molded or vacuum-formed of a natural polystyrene plastic material of the type conventionally used to manufacture lid closures for beverage containers. A transparent plastic material may also be used so that the consumer may view the confection or material contained in the dispensing lid closure. Moldable or vacuum-formable plastic materials other than polystyrene may also be used to manufacture the lid closure parts, such as polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or expanded polyethylene (EPE). An especially preferred material for making the lid closure parts is a coextruded polystyrene/polyethylene sheet material, which is heat sealable, or any other coextruded combination of a vacuum-formable lid material with a heat sealable exterior layer that is disposed on the underside of the lid closure parts.
Preferably, the sealing layer comprises a metal foil or polymeric layer having a circular shape although other shapes are possible. A preferred material for the sealing layer is aluminum foil that is adhesively affixed to the annular sealing surface on the underside of the first part of the lid closure and is also adhesively affixed to the underside or bottom of the second lid part or twist-off-pull-out cap. The foil may have an adhesive layer applied over the entire area of one of its surfaces or in a pattern only to those areas of the foil that contact the sealing surfaces on the underside of the first and second lid parts. Alternatively, the first and second lid parts may have an adhesive layer applied to their underside surfaces as described hereinafter. The adhesive layer may be any suitable adhesive used in the food packaging industry, such as linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE). Other polymeric materials may also be used for the adhesive layer, such as ethylene acrylic acid (EAA), polyethylene, low density polyethylene (LDPE), Surlyn®, a polymeric resin made by du Pont, ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) or Barex®, an acrylonitrile-methyl acrylate copolymer made by BP Amoco, polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) film, such as Saran® made by Dow Chemical Company, or any other suitable copolymer or homopolymer.
The second lid part is preferably sealingly secured in the central sleeve or opening of the first lid part by an adhesive label or decal. The label or decal covers the top of the second lid part or cup and extends radially beyond the cup so as to seal to an annular sealing surface located on the top of the first lid part surrounding the central sleeve or opening. Alternativ
Blank Rome LLP
Huson Gregory L.
Huynh Khoa
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