Bottles and jars – Closures – Closure pivoted about receptacle opening
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-12
2001-10-23
Shoap, Allan N. (Department: 3727)
Bottles and jars
Closures
Closure pivoted about receptacle opening
C220S258500, C220S259300, C220S837000, C222S556000, C264S255000, C264S328700, C264S328800
Reexamination Certificate
active
06305563
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
Not applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable.
REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX
Not applicable.
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a closure system for dispensing a product from a container and to a method and apparatus for making it. The invention is more particularly related to such a system incorporating two materials: an outer skin material and an inner barrier layer material.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
AND
TECHNICAL PROBLEMS POSED BY THE PRIOR ART
A variety of packages, including dispensing packages or containers, have been developed for personal care products such as shampoo, lotions, etc., as well as for other materials. Such containers typically have a neck defining an open upper end on which is mounted a dispensing closure.
One type of dispensing closure which has been proposed for these kinds of containers has a dispensing spout initially closed with a barrier membrane which can be opened by piercing or puncturing the membrane. The closure has a body which is adapted to be mounted to the container and which includes the spout defining a dispensing orifice. The orifice is initially sealed closed with a tamper-evident, puncturable membrane that is molded unitary with the closure body.
The closure also includes a lid for closing over the closure body, and includes a hinge connecting the lid to the closure body to accommodate movement of the lid between (1) a closed position covering the dispensing spout orifice, and (2) an open position spaced away from the closed position. The membrane can be punctured by pushing down on a flexible, domed portion of the lid so as to force a piercing member on the underside of the lid through the membrane to open the dispensing orifice.
It would be generally desirable to connect the lid to the closure body with a relatively inexpensive, yet effective, unitary hinge having a high cycle life. Such a hinge would preferably include a relatively thin section of material capable of accommodating the opening and closing movement of the lid without damage or failure over the contemplated life of the closure. Such a hinge should preferably accommodate incorporation of a “snap-action” design of the conventional type described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,824.
Such snap-action hinges, or other non-snap-action film hinges, are preferably molded as a unitary structure with the body and lid from a suitable thermoplastic material that will accommodate the hinge flexure without failure over the life of the package or container on which the closure is mounted, and one suitable thermoplastic material which has been found to work well is polypropylene.
In some applications, a polypropylene closure having a molded, pierceable membrane seal across the dispensing orifice may not provide sufficient barrier characteristics prior to the piercing of the membrane. For example, some products are sensitive to oxygen, such as food products or pharmaceutical products that might degrade or suffer deleterious effects when exposed to a sufficient quantity of oxygen for a long enough period of time. Such products may be packaged in containers made from a material or materials that are good barriers to gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide. However, a polypropylene closure with a membrane seal for such a container has a relatively high permeability to oxygen and carbon dioxide compared to some other thermoplastic materials. Thus, a polypropylene closure with a membrane seal may permit the undesirable permeation of ambient oxygen through the unopened closure into the container during the period of time when the container full of product is transported and stored prior to use. This can decrease the shelf life of the product. Similarly, a product gas in the container, such as carbon dioxide, could diffuse through the unopened polypropylene closure over time.
A closure can be molded from a material having a much lower permeability to oxygen and carbon dioxide, such as polyethylene naphthalate or ethylene vinyl alcohol. Such materials, while providing a significant permeation barrier to oxygen ingress, can also provide a significant permeation barrier to carbon dioxide egress (as from a carbonated beverage in a container on which the closure is mounted).
However, polyethylene naphthalate or ethylene vinyl alcohol are more expensive materials than polypropylene. Further, polyethylene naphthalate and ethylene vinyl alcohol are not as flexible as polypropylene. Thus, a closure having a body, hinge, and lid which are molded together as a unitary structure from polyethylene naphthalate or ethylene vinyl alcohol may not function satisfactorily over the contemplated life of the closure because the hinge may prematurely fail.
It would be desirable to provide an improved one-piece closure which could be molded, at least in substantial part, from a less expensive material, such as polypropylene providing sufficient flexibility for the hinge, and which could include a minimal amount of a second material in the closure body that would provide a sufficient oxygen barrier.
It would also be advantageous if an improved process could be provided for molding such a closure in an efficient and economical manner.
It would be especially desirable to combine a co-injection molding process with a bi-injection molding process to produce the closure so as to minimize the overall cost of mold fabrication, operation, and maintenance for a single mold and operating machinery compared to using a separate co-injection mold and a separate bi-injection mold with separate operating machinery.
Further, it would be desirable if such a process, and improved apparatus for effecting the process, could accommodate efficient, high-quality, large-volume manufacturing with a reduced product reject rate.
The present invention provides a one-piece dispensing system or closure, and method and apparatus for making the dispensing system.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a process and apparatus for molding a closure having a unitary construction of components, and an aspect of the invention also includes such a closure molded according to the process of the invention. The closure includes a body, a lid, and a hinge connecting the body to the lid.
At least the closure body includes a skin material which encapsulates, or at least substantially surrounds, a core material. Preferably, the core material provides a permeation barrier to gas from within the container or to gas exterior of the container. At least a portion of the hinge and lid are molded from either the skin material or the core material. However, if the core material is a relatively brittle and/or rigid barrier material, at least a portion of the hinge is preferably molded solely from a more flexible skin material along with the lid.
According to one aspect of the process, the process includes the steps of:
(A) providing a closed, single mold having a cavity that defines the configuration of the closure components with the closure lid open and that has a first region defining the configuration of at least a portion of the body, a second region defining the configuration of the lid and at least a portion of the hinge, and a third region joining the mold cavity first and second regions;
(B) injecting a flowable skin material from a supply of the flowable skin material through a first gate into the mold cavity first region while closing off communication through the mold cavity third region between the mold cavity first and second regions;
(C) during at least a portion of step (B), co-injecting a flowable core material through the first gate along with the skin material to fill the mold cavity first region with the core material substantially surrounded by the skin material;
(D) after step (C), terminating the flow of at least the core material;
(E) establishing communication between the mold cavity first and second regions through the mold cavity third region;
(F) opening a second gate communicating directly between the supply of the flowabl
AptarGroup, Inc
Eloshway Niki M.
Rockey Milnamow & Katz Ltd.
Shoap Allan N.
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