Plastic lid with plastic seal

Details Plastic lid with plastic seal Plastic lid with plastic seal

2000-10-16

2002-09-17

Young, Lee (Department: 3727)

Receptacles

Closures

Secondary closure within parameter of primary closure

C220S254200, C220S254800, C220S257100, C220S258200, C220S361000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06450357

ABSTRACT:

The present invention relates to a plastics lid of a container with a plastics closure fitted in an aperture of the lid.
More precisely, the invention relates to a combination of a plastics lid of a container and a closure which consists of a lower closure portion with a closure foot, which can be fitted in an aperture of the lid, and a screw cap which can be screwed onto a pouring spout of the lower closure portion, wherein the edge of the lid aperture is provided with a web going around in an annular manner, facing towards the outside of the lid, which web is engaged with the closure foot fitted into the lid aperture, and the closure foot is U-shaped in cross-section, and grips the web with both arms of the U, wherein a groove surrounding the web is provided in the container lid, in which groove the outer arm of the U-shaped closure foot engages.
Such a combination of a container lid and a closure is known from EP-A-0 620 160. With the combination according to the aforementioned publication, the area of a connector surrounding the aperture is set into the container lid, so between the connector and the surrounding container wall, a groove is formed. This is substantially wider than the portions to be received therein, as they have a bead that expands when they are placed on the connector of the container, which bead engages behind outward facing projections on the connector. Thus, within the relatively wide groove, the lower end of the closure foot, or respectively a ring additionally surrounding the closure foot, still remains easily accessible.
A screw ring for an aluminium container is known from FR-A-2 760 435, which is placed together with an additional outer container on the aluminium container, and in the process grips around the edge of the aluminium container, wherein engaging elements are provided between the outer container and the closure ring, which prevent relative torsion between the screw ring and the outer container.
When filling containers that are sealed with a corresponding combination of a plastics lid and plastics closure, there are various filling techniques, wherein a differentiation is made substantially between so-called “open-head filling” and “closed-head filling”. With open-head filling, the container is firstly filled without a lid, and the lid, together with the closure already fitted into it, is placed on the container. In general this relates to a plastics bucket, the containers can, however, also be of sheet metal or other materials.
With closed-head filling, the lid, without the plastics closure, is firstly placed on the container, or else a container is used which is configured integrally with the lid of with its top, so an aperture for filling must necessarily be left in the lid of the container, into which aperture the plastics closure is fitted after filling. To this extent, the present invention also relates to combinations of a closure with a container or respectively a top of a container, when this is provided with the closure aperture, and is configured integrally with the container. The term “lid”, to the extent to which the subject-matter of the present invention is concerned, is thus also to be understood as including also a top of said container, configured in one piece with the remainder of the container, and provided with the closure aperture.
While in the case of open-head filling it is, for example, possible to weld the closure foot or warranty elements of the closure to the lid before filling the container, so that in this way a secure connection between the closure and the container lid is obtained (see DE 35 28 815-A1 or DE 44 10 790-A1), such welding in the case of a closure that is fitted in a corresponding lid aperture only after filling of a container is generally no longer possible, or possible only with special configuration of the closure foot and web, as appropriate counter pads of welding tools cannot easily be used on the inside of the lid. In the case of so-called closed-head filling, more complex closure constructions are therefore generally selected, in order to be able to connect them as tightly a nd securely as possible to the web of the lid aperture. These more complex constructions are constituted, for example, in that the web has a radially outward facing flange portion, and/or projects sufficiently far from the lid surface to enable welding tools to be connected. In another known example, the web is provided on its outside surface with an external thread onto which there is screwed an external securing ring of the closure. The securing ring thus at the same time has a retaining function for the lower closure portion and, more precisely, for the closure foot of the lower closure portion, wherein the closure foot generally defines that portion of the lower closure portion which comes into engagement with the edge of the aperture or respectively with the web of the lid forming the edge of the aperture. In general this closure foot is L-shaped in cross-section, with an inner L-arm which defines an approximately cylindrical circumferential sealing web, which comes into engagement with the radial, internal portions of the edge of the aperture, and a flange portion which lies on the edge of the container aperture or respectively on the upper edge of the web of the lid and is held tightly thereupon by the securing ring.
Such a closure construction is relatively complex, however, as it requires, on the one hand, that the container lid has an axially relatively long cylindrical web, which is provided with an external thread, and as on the other hand, the closure additionally requires a further securing ring which, although it can initially be manufactured in one piece with the screw cap, must be separated from it in use, so these more complex closures are in the end composed of three portions, namely the lower closure portion, the screw cap (optionally with a ring pull), and the securing ring. A further disadvantage of almost all the container closures described hereinabove is that the web, and thereby also the closure, must project from the container lid relatively far in the axial direction. Such projecting closures are, however, subjected to very great stresses under certain conditions during transportation, which could lead to leaks or require additional expensive measures for ensuring the sealing of the closure, for example, in the form of raised container sides, which effectively form an indentation in the lid, in which the closure can correspondingly be received, appropriately protected.
In the case of other known embodiments, a cylindrical section of the closure foot fitted in a sealed manner in the web is also provided with one or more radially outward facing latching projections, by means of which the closure foot is to be held securely in the lid aperture.
In the case of this variant as well, from which the present invention proceeds (see
FIGS. 6 and 7
of DE 35 42 769 A1), web and closure foot are axially configured relatively long in order to guarantee the necessary sealing capability. Furthermore, in the case of this known combination of lid and closure as well, the web on the edge of the lid aperture projects in the axial direction far above the surrounding surface of the container, so during transportation, in particular when the container falls onto the floor with the closure facing downwards, which is tested by means of appropriate drop tests in order to satisfy requirements laid down nationally or internationally, the closure is subjected to very great stresses which affect the sealing capability of the closure.
Closures have already been known, however, in which the closure foot is configured U-shaped in cross-section and grips around the web of the aperture edge of the container, as has also long been known for metal containers, which are provided, instead of the web, with a flanged aperture edge which is gripped around by the U-shaped closure foot of a plastics closure.
With this closure, however, an outer securing ring is also provided, in a manner analogous to the securing ring already d

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