Bottles and jars – Closures – Frangible member or portion
Patent
1997-09-03
2000-07-18
Cronin, Stephen K.
Bottles and jars
Closures
Frangible member or portion
215344, 215307, B65D 4134
Patent
active
060893907
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to closures for containers having an externally screw threaded neck and more particularly to such closures which are formed with a tamper evident band.
BACKGROUND ART
Manufacturers of foodstuffs, beverages, medicaments, dentifrice and the like are concerned to ensure that products they place on the market are not tampered with before being opened by the ultimate consumer of the goods. For this purpose it has become conventional to include in closures for such goods means which will indicate whether the closure has been tampered with before purchase. In the case of containers having an externally screw threaded neck it is common to provide the closure with a tamper evident band which engages behind a retaining flange formed on the neck of the container. The tamper evident band is joined to a depending skirt forming part of the closure by a number of frangible bridges. On application of the closure to the container the band is forced over the retaining flange, however, when the closure is unscrewed from the container the bridges are sheared as the band is trapped behind the retaining flange while the closure moves up the neck of the container.
While such tamper evident bands have been widely accepted there is a delicate balance between the two conflicting requirements. On the one hand, one must be able to apply the closures to containers at very high speed without inadvertently breaking the bridges, or breaking or deforming the band itself, or deleteriously affecting the seal between the closure and the container. On the other hand, the band must be sufficiently tightly secured behind the retaining flange and the bridges and/or the band must be sufficiently easily broken that the closure cannot be removed from the container without rupturing the bridges and/or the band.
Another problem is that an unauthorized person might attempt to remove the closure and tamper evident band, without damaging the band or frangible bridges, in order to contaminate or replace the container contents and then reapply the closure. Such operation might be attempted with the assistance of a thin device, such as a knife blade, wedged up between the tamper evident band and the neck of the container to which the closure has been applied. The devices might then be levered outwardly in order to expand the inner diameter of the band so that it may be passed back over the retaining flange of the container. In such a process the device will be edged around the circumference of the band so as to gradually ease the band over the retaining flange at a continuously lengthening portion of the band circumference.
Closures of the type mentioned above are used around the world in extremely large numbers. To be commercially acceptable such closures must be capable of being produced very rapidly in automated machinery. This itself may produce a conflict with the functionality of the closure and/or its tamper evident band.
The arrangement according to the present invention is designed to provide the public with an alternative form of closure having a tamper evident band.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention in its broadest aspect consists in a closure for a container having an externally screw threaded neck, the closure comprising a top portion and a depending skirt which has on its internal surface a complementary screw thread, a free edge of the depending skirt being joined by a plurality of frangible bridges to a tamper evident band, the band comprising a generally cylindrical body portion and a segmented rib extending inwardly of the body portion and adapted to provide a lip to engage under a retaining flange extending outwardly from the neck of the container below the screw thread thereon, the rib having an upper side facing generally towards the top of the closure and an under side facing generally away from the top, the body portion being provided with projections or other localised areas of thickening to enhance the longitudinal stiffness of the body portion while still
REFERENCES:
patent: 2162711 (1939-06-01), Hamberger
patent: 2162712 (1939-06-01), Hamberger
patent: 2162752 (1939-06-01), Schauer
patent: 2162754 (1939-06-01), Schauer
patent: 2367317 (1945-01-01), Thomas
patent: 2990077 (1961-06-01), Van Baarn
patent: 3032226 (1962-05-01), Terwilliger
patent: 3109547 (1963-11-01), Wood
patent: 3142402 (1964-07-01), Fox
patent: 3145869 (1964-08-01), Ritzenhoff
patent: 3259233 (1966-07-01), Beeman
patent: 3329295 (1967-07-01), Fields
patent: 3335889 (1967-08-01), Brumme
patent: 3438528 (1969-04-01), Fields
patent: 3441161 (1969-04-01), Van Baarn
patent: 3455478 (1969-07-01), Fields et al.
patent: 3463341 (1969-08-01), Fields
patent: 3673761 (1972-07-01), Leitz
patent: 3737064 (1973-06-01), Patel et al.
patent: 3750821 (1973-08-01), Sourbet et al.
patent: 3784041 (1974-01-01), Birch
patent: 3874540 (1975-04-01), Hidding
patent: 3901404 (1975-08-01), Feldman
patent: 3904062 (1975-09-01), Grussen
patent: 3927784 (1975-12-01), Cochrane
patent: 3930588 (1976-01-01), Coursaut
patent: 4033472 (1977-07-01), Aichinger
patent: 4109814 (1978-08-01), Rausing
patent: 4109816 (1978-08-01), Faulstich
patent: 4126240 (1978-11-01), Brach
patent: 4147268 (1979-04-01), Patel et al.
patent: 4165813 (1979-08-01), Babiol
patent: 4196818 (1980-04-01), Brownbill
patent: 4197955 (1980-04-01), Luenser
patent: 4225050 (1980-09-01), Reinhart
patent: 4241842 (1980-12-01), Toeppen
patent: 4278180 (1981-07-01), Willis
patent: 4299328 (1981-11-01), Ochs et al.
patent: 4305516 (1981-12-01), Perne et al.
patent: 4322012 (1982-03-01), Conti
patent: 4343408 (1982-08-01), Csaszar
patent: 4352436 (1982-10-01), Chartier et al.
patent: 4380299 (1983-04-01), Llera
patent: 4394918 (1983-07-01), Grussen
patent: 4432461 (1984-02-01), Mumford et al.
patent: 4436212 (1984-03-01), Llera
patent: 4461390 (1984-07-01), Csaszar
patent: 4479586 (1984-10-01), Csaszar
patent: 4503985 (1985-03-01), Swartzbaugh et al.
patent: 4526282 (1985-07-01), Dutt et al.
patent: 4529096 (1985-07-01), Chartier et al.
patent: 4552328 (1985-11-01), Dutt et al.
patent: 4557393 (1985-12-01), Boik
patent: 4564112 (1986-01-01), Breuer
patent: 4572387 (1986-02-01), Luker et al.
patent: 4598835 (1986-07-01), Brownbill
patent: 4635808 (1987-01-01), Nolan
patent: 4655356 (1987-04-01), Fuchs
patent: 4664279 (1987-05-01), Obrist et al.
patent: 4667838 (1987-05-01), Yeager
patent: 4682700 (1987-07-01), Montgomery et al.
patent: 4753360 (1988-06-01), Baxter
patent: 4770306 (1988-09-01), Szczesniak
patent: 4784280 (1988-11-01), Breuer et al.
patent: 4805792 (1989-02-01), Lecinski, Jr.
patent: 4899898 (1990-02-01), Thompson
patent: 4913300 (1990-04-01), Wiedmer et al.
patent: 4978017 (1990-12-01), McBride
patent: 4997097 (1991-03-01), Krautkramer
patent: 5050753 (1991-09-01), Trump et al.
patent: 5167335 (1992-12-01), McBride et al.
patent: 5215204 (1993-06-01), Beck et al.
patent: 5242068 (1993-09-01), McCandless
patent: 5246125 (1993-09-01), Julian
patent: 5271512 (1993-12-01), Ekkert
patent: 5423444 (1995-06-01), Druitt
Druitt Rodney Malcolm
Tansey Charles Martin
Closures and Packaging Services Limited
Cronin Stephen K.
Newhouse Nathan
LandOfFree
Tamper evident closure does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Tamper evident closure, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Tamper evident closure will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2027068