Receptacles – Closures – With closure opening arrangements for means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-12
2001-07-10
Pollard, Steven (Department: 3727)
Receptacles
Closures
With closure opening arrangements for means
C220S266000, C220S792000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06257435
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to packaging containers, and more particularly to a tamper evident closure member, or lid, for a container.
2. Description of the Related Art
In today's retail market, producers of consumer products package a wide number of items in reclosable containers. In particular, producers use reclosable containers to package almost every conceivable food or perishable product. However, a significant danger from accidental or malicious tampering exists when using reclosable containers for such products. Accordingly, producers have developed a wide number of reclosable containers having tamper indication mechanisms for protecting unknowing consumers from these tamper-related dangers. For example, a typical tamper indication mechanism is a lid having a removably attached ring. If the ring is broken, the consumer will know that the contents of the container may be compromised.
However, using the ring to indicate tampering has a variety of drawbacks. For example, the consumer may have to use multiple steps to remove the ring. An example of this is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,706, issued to DeVore et al. on Jul. 28, 1987, disclosing a lid where the consumer first must circumferentially tear off the ring before removing the lid. Other tamper-evident rings require consumers to independently pull multiple tabs or entire ring sections before they are able to remove the lid. Such machinations reduce the desirability and aesthetics of the reclosable container and may force the producer to have to choose between aesthetic functionality and consumer safety.
Furthermore, tamper-evident lids often should satisfy several other design criteria. For example, typically the lid is made from a single injection mold, thereby requiring straightforwardness in lid design. Also, the producer may package the contents of the container in an assembly-line type setting where a high speed capping machine separates each lid and engages it with a newly filled container. Often, these high-speed capping machines also dictate straightforwardness in lid design.
Accordingly, a need exists for a safe, aesthetically pleasing, tamper-evident, reclosable lid having a design that is straightforward enough to be made from a single injection mold, to be used in a high speed capping system, and to be easily removed from the container.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a tamper evident closure member, or lid, incorporating single motion separation along with the safety feature of tamper indication. In other words, the closure member may be advantageously separated from the container by the single motion of pulling up on a pull-tab. Moreover, according to this aspect, the structure of the tamper evident closure member is of sufficient straightforwardness that it may be manufactured from a single mold injection and used in a high speed capping machine.
According to another aspect, the tamper evident closure member includes an inner engaging wall engaging a rim of the container at an angle of that advantageously increases the interference fit, or attachment, between the container and the closure member, thereby making undiscovered tampering more difficult. According to another aspect, the closure member includes vertical indicators comprising weakened sections near reinforced pull-tabs, thereby advantageously increasing the likelihood of a noticeable tamper-indicating discontinuity.
According to another aspect, the tamper evident closure member includes a frangible web between a skirt and a plurality of breakaway strips. A plurality of reinforced pull-tabs are circumferentially spaced about the lid between the breakaway strips. The frangible web advantageously promotes single motion separation of the lid from the container, preferably during which the breakaway strips automatically separate from the skirt. According to yet another aspect, the pull-tabs also function to reclose or reseal the closure member to container after the breakaway strips are separated.
Therefore, one aspect of the present invention is a closure member comprising a center section configured to cover a container, a skirt surrounding the center section, a plurality of non-continuous breakaway strips, and a frangible web for attaching the skirt to the breakaway strips. The closure member also includes a plurality of pull-tabs formed on the skirt. Each pull-tab is positioned between adjacent breakaway strips. The closure member also includes at least one protruding edge on each of the breakaway strips. The protruding edge is configured to provide single motion separation of the breakaway strips from the skirt when one of the pull-tabs is lifted upwardly.
Another aspect of the present invention is a reclosable container comprising a container having an inverted U-shaped annular rim terminating at a tip, and a lid. The lid has a center section, a skirt formed at the periphery of the center section and configured to engage the rim of the container, and a plurality of strips frangibly attached to the skirt. Each strip includes an inner edge configured to engage the tip of the rim such that a single motion separates the skirt from the strips and the lid from the container.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of packaging goods in a reclosable container. The method comprises filling a container with goods and attaching a closure member having a tamper evidencing mechanism to the container in a manner that provides removal of the closure member from the container along with separation of tamper evidencing mechanism from the closure member in a single motion.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method of separating a lid from a container. This method comprises lifting a tab on the periphery of a lid such that the lid completely disengages from a container in a single motion. Moreover, at least one tamper resistant strip is also separated from the lid and the container in the same single motion.
Another aspect of the present invention is a closure member comprising a cover section configured to cover an open end of a container, and a skirt surrounding the cover section. The skirt has a plurality of pull-tabs circumferentially spaced around the periphery of the skirt. Each pull-tab is of a thicker cross section than that of the skirt and each pull-tab has at least one protrusion configured to engage an edge of an a rim of a container so as to attach the closure member to the container.
Another aspect of the present invention is a reclosable container comprising a first surface on a skirt of a closure member. The skirt has a cross section shaped substantially like an inverted letter U. The reclosable container further includes a second surface on a rim of a container. The rim of the container has a cross section shaped substantially like the skirt. The first surface forms a first angle with a vertical plane and the second surface forms a second angle with the vertical plane. Moreover, the second angle is greater than the first angle.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is a closure member comprising a center section configured to cover an open end of a container. The open end of the container terminates in an outermost tip. The closure member also includes a skirt surrounding the center section and having an inverted U-shaped cross section. The inverted U-shaped cross section has a first wall connected to the center section and a second wall opposite the first wall. The closure member also includes at least one pull-tab attached the second wall and at least one breakaway strip adjacently attached to the pull-tab via vertical indicators and attached to the skirt via a perforated web. The breakaway strip has a first protrusion configured to engage the container at the outermost tip such that the vertical indicators, the perforated web, and the breakaway strips form a tamper evidencing mechanism.
Another aspect of the present invention is a closure member comprising a center section configur
Chedister Matthew O.
Lathrum Larry E.
King Plastics, Inc.
Knobbe Martens Olson and Bear LLP
Pollard Steven
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