Snap-on container closure with hinged flap

Details Snap-on container closure with hinged flap Snap-on container closure with hinged flap

2000-04-07

2001-10-09

Kaufman, Joseph A. (Department: 3754)

Dispensing

With plural openings or discharge guides

Hand-manipulable shaker, diverse-type openings

C222S486000, C222S546000, C222S565000, C222S570000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06299033

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to server lids or closures for containers, more particularly, to injection molded plastic closures with hinged reclosable flaps enabling the contents of the container to be dispensed through the closure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One conventional form of product dispenser for spices, condiments and other similar dry particulate materials includes a container with a round server lid screwed onto its neck. The round server lid is often known and referred to as a “closure” by those skilled in the art. In the product dispensing art, round closures include one or more dispensing ports for such purposes as sifting, pouring or spooning spices or other condiments from the container. These closures also include one or more vertically movable flaps that snap close over the dispensing ports to keep the product in the container. In this particular server lid closure art it is conventional that the round closure is screwed onto the neck of a container. One reason for this convention is that a separate plastic or foil seal strip is often applied over the entire open end of the container. The plastic or foil seal strip serves the purpose of maintaining the freshness or shelf-life of the product inside the container. Prior to first use, the closure is removed by unscrewing it, the plastic or foil seal strip is removed, then the closure replaced. An exemplary product dispenser including a closure as described above is generally disclosed in VerWeyst et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,292, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Round closures as disclosed in the '292 patent to VerWeyst et al. work very well and are highly practical for the consuming public. However, as is recognized by the '292 patent to VerWeyst et al., round screw-on closures present certain difficulties from an automated assembly standpoint. In particular, when the closure is screwed on the container, the resilient plastic material in the closure tends to deflect or shift after the closure engages the top lip of the container towards the end of the screwing motion. Occasionally too much torque is applied (a condition known as over-torquing) which results in the hinged flaps undesirably popping open. The '292 patent to VerWeyst et al. discloses an improved locking arrangement to address this problem and better maintain the hinged flaps in the closed position during assembly. Although the locking arrangement taught by VerWeyst et al. reduces the number of open flaps occurring during assembly, an undesirable number of flaps still inevitably open during assembly operations even with this improvement. This specific locking arrangement also reduces the number of design options possible for the port configuration of the dispensing ports of the closure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the general objective of the present invention provide a round closure having hinged flaps for closing dispensing ports in which the flaps more reliably stay closed during assembly operations of the closure to a container.
While achieving this above objective, it is another objective of the present invention to maintain the desired freshness of product inside the container for certain applications.
In accordance with these and other objectives, the present invention is directed towards a novel snap-on closure having hinged flaps, in which the closure is adapted to be snapped on the cylindrical neck of a container during assembly. The closure includes a cylindrical skirt depending vertically downward from a generally horizontal platform. The platform includes at least one dispensing port such as a spoon hole, a pour hole, and/or sift holes. For each dispensing port, a hinged flap is provided that swings between open and closed positions to correspondingly open and close its dispensing port. The cylindrical skirt and the cylindrical neck of the container include cooperating interfitting locking structures which snap together to lock the closure on the container in a substantially non-removable manner. In a preferred embodiment these structures comprise an interlocking projection and recess structure, both of which follow a circular and non-helical path. It is an important advantage that the closure is installed by being pressed into place and without the need for torque, thereby reducing the number of flaps that pop open or otherwise come unsnapped during assembly due to shifts or deflection in the resilient plastic material of the closure. The present invention is also directed towards the combination of the snap-on closure and the container.
It is an aspect of the present invention that the flaps include plugs that fill their dispensing ports and provide a seal against the walls of the dispensing ports. It is another aspect of the present invention that a crush seal is provided between the closure and the neck of the container. It is an advantage that these seals maintain freshness of product in the container by minimizing air transfer between the inside of the container and the external environment. With these seals, a plastic or foil sealing strip over the open end of the container is not necessary for most applications. As such, the snap-on connection can be substantially permanent meaning that the closure is not intended to be removed by the customer.
Other object and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


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