Dispensing – Slitted resilient diaphragm or nipple
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-10
2002-04-09
Kaufman, Joseph A. (Department: 3754)
Dispensing
Slitted resilient diaphragm or nipple
C222S494000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06367668
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a closure membrane for use with a compressible container (squeezable bottle).
The invention further relates to a closure membrane with a closure head and a retaining border, the closure head being connected to the retaining border via a connecting wall adjoining the outer border, with the entire arrangement being of essentially cup-shaped design, and, furthermore, the closure head preferably being of a thickness which increases outwards from the center.
Such closure membranes have already been disclosed in a large number of configurations. You are referred, for example, to EP-A-545 678, also to EP-B-046 464, EP-A-442 379 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,175,052 and, additionally, to German Patent Application 19613130.8, which is not a prior publication. The disclosure of the last-mentioned patent application is included in full in the disclosure of the present application, also for the purpose of incorporating features of said patent application in claims of the present application.
Such a closure membrane is not yet regarded as optimum in all respects as far as its closure behavior is concerned. This is also put down to the fact that, in particular depending on the specific installation conditions, forces acting on the connecting wall have an undesirable effect on the closure head.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Taking said prior art as a basis, the invention is concerned with the technical problem of specifying an improved closure membrane. This technical problem is solved with the features of claims
1
and
7
, respectively. The dependent claims are directed to preferred embodiments of the present invention.
The closure membrane for a packaging container according to the present invention comprises a closure head wherein at least one head plate ring is formed on the closure head. Preferably the head plate ring is formed around its border. Furthermore, it preferably extends essentially perpendicular with respect to the plane of the closure head. This head plate ring preferably has the function of a strengthening ring. The closure membrane according to the present invention further comprises a retaining border and a connecting wall connecting the closure head and the retaining border wherein the connecting wall comprises a first part and a second part. The first part forms a tubular member whereas the second part forms an annular member. Upon pressure to the inner surface of the closure membrane the tubular member and the annular member are deformed in such a way that the closure head is moved outwardly with respect to the retaining border. Preferably the second part of the connecting wall forms a hinge spring which is preferably designed as a frustoconical washer which will also be named hereunder a cup-spring ring.
In a further embodiment of the invention the connecting wall is attached to the closure head via a connecting web, which projects radially inwards from the connecting wall and is of a lesser thickness than the border region of the closure head. According to the invention, the region where the closure head is connected to the connecting wall tapers, in cross-section, with respect to the (border-side) thickness of the closure head. Nevertheless, the resulting radially inwardly projecting connecting web is closed all the way round, this further maintaining the closed state of the closure membrane. It has advantageously been shown that, as a result, the movement of the closure head is largely isolated from the movements and the forces to which the connecting wall is subjected or which act on the connecting wall.
The connecting web acts as a hinge, with little or no flexural rigidity. Preferably the thickness range is 0.2 mm to 0.35 mm, especially 0.25 mm. The connecting wall is preferably at least 50% thicker than the connecting web. A preferred thickness range is 0.3 mm to 0.6 mm, especially 0.4 mm. This construction has the advantage that hinging occurs preferentially at the connecting web. It further allows easy molding of the closure membrane. In a further configuration, it is also provided that the connecting web adjoins the closure head approximately centrally, as seen in the vertical direction. The connecting web may advantageously adjoin the closure head eccentrically, as seen in the vertical direction. It is also possible for the connecting wall to extend beyond the connecting web such that a peripheral groove is formed with the border edge of the closure head. This may also be advantageous as regards supporting the border edge on a top closure part or a hinge mechanism of the closure head. It is also advantageous if the connecting wall and the connecting web are connected to the closure head so as to produce, in cross-section, two mutually opposite, peripheral grooves, between the connecting wall and the closure head, which are separated by the connecting web. In a further detail, it may also be provided, in relation to a closure into which such a closure membrane is inserted, that, in the non-actuated installed state, the closure membrane has a bottom retaining border and a top, essentially concave closure head, the closure head and the retaining border, furthermore, being connected to one another by said connecting wall. It is also preferred for the installed state of the closure membrane to be achieved by turning the closure membrane inside out after it has been produced by injection molding. This produces favorable force effects. In particular, on the one hand, the concave closure head is advantageously prestressed into its closed state by radially acting forces of the inside-out connecting wall. On the other hand, however, rapid opening, in particular for ventilating purposes, during sucking back, should also be noted. Furthermore, starting from a border-side attachment to the closure head, the connecting wall may preferably continue into a constriction beneath a projection area of the closure head, this observation once again being based on the installed state. As is explained in more detail below, this is achieved, in particular, in that, in the production state (injection-molded state), the connecting wall extends essentially cylindrically, starting from the closure head. Depending on the desired properties of the closure membrane, however, there may also be a variation here in terms of a conical configuration. Continuation into a constriction beneath the projection area of the closure head produces something of a goblet-like configuration of the closure membrane as a whole in this region. Furthermore, there are also applications in which, even in the installed state, the connecting wall adjoins the bottom of the closure head in an essentially cylindrically extending manner, in particular when the above-mentioned operation of turning the closure membrane inside out after production is not carried out.
Specifically, it is advantageous, in particular with respect to the above-described inside-out, installed state, if, as has already been mentioned, the border side of the closure head is of a greater thickness than the boundary wall. The abovedescribed connecting web, in particular, also has an advantageous effect here. The closure head may taper inwards continuously, starting from its border region. The boundary wall is attached to a top region of the border edge, as seen in cross-section, of the closure head of the closure membrane—this observation once again being based on the installed state—and the boundary wall grips over a bottom, free border region of the boundary edge of the closure head. As a result of the above-described, advantageously set compressive forces directed towards a center point of the closure head, this being achieved by a certain enforced widening of the elastic material of the closure membrane, in particular of the connecting wall, a radially inwardly directed force is thus exerted on the border edge of the closure head, essentially over the entire circumference. These forces are also absorbed extremely favorably as a result of the closure head extending in a dome-shaped manner. At the same
Crown Cork & Seal Technologies Corporation
Kaufman Joseph A.
Woodcock & Washburn LLP
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