AU718784B2

AU718784B2 - Containers and closures therefor

Info

Publication number: AU718784B2
Application number: AU56460/98A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Donald Terry Goodall
Original assignee: Japeloco Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Japeloco Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1996-04-04
Filing date: 1998-03-04
Publication date: 2000-04-20
Anticipated expiration: 2016-04-04
Also published as: AU5646098A

Description

Our Ref: 678247 P/00/011 Regulation 3:2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT S S

S

Applicant(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: Donald Terry Goodall Beach Street Blakehurst New South Wales 2221

AUSTRALIA

DAVIES COLLISON CAVE Patent Trade Mark Attorneys Level 10, 10 Barrack Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 Containers and closures therefor The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- 5020 P:\WPDOCS\DYS\SPECIE\GOODALLPOA 4/3/98 -1- CONTAINERS AND CLOSURES THEREFOR This invention relates to containers and closures therefor and is particularly suitable for use with containers made from plastics material e.g. polypropylene.

Containers and closures manufactured from material of this type have many minor surface imperfections caused by moulding operations and thermal contraction. These imperfections make it extremely difficult to effect a proper seal unless special precautions are taken and even when this is done the contents of the container sometimes leak which is highly undesirable where the container is used for pressurised fluids e.g. carbonated beverages, autoclaved and volatile fluids or body fluids used for pathological examination purposes.

In order to minimise this problem screw threaded containers and closures and sealing gaskets of various shapes have been used or complementary cone-shaped sealing surfaces for the container and closure with or without machine finish of the interengaging parts. Such sealing arrangements are costly. In some cases the closure requires considerable physical effort to lock it and unlock it from the container and as indicated even with the use of closures and containers of this type the contents of the container sometimes leak.

Containers come in various shape and sizes, some have neck portions and some do not. It is to be understood however that the principles of the invention are applicable to both types of containers and the only qualification is that the container or neck thereof have the features herein referred to. For this reason whenever the word container is referred to hereafter it is to be understood as including the neck of a container.

In International Patent Application No. PCT/AU96/00195 there is disclosed a container and a removable closure therefor. The container includes an outlet with inner and outer surfaces terminating at a free end in a rim. The outlet comprises at least two regions of different cross-sectional areas joined by an inclined surface with the cross-sectional area of the region adjacent the rim being greater than the cross-sectional area of the region P:\WPDOCS\DYS\SPECIE\GOODALL.POA 9/2/00 -2inwardly of the inclined surface. The closure includes an inner and outer skirt connected at an upper end thereof with a disc connecting the inner skirt and thereby forming the closure.

The inner and outer skirts define between them a slot which when the closure is applied to the container receives the container rim. The inner skirt has a sealing zone extending into the slot, the cross-sectional areas of the regions and the size of the sealing zone on the inner skirt being such that when the closure is applied to the container the outer surface of the inner skirt engages the inner surface of the outlet to force the inner surface of the outlet adjacent the rim into sealing engagement with the sealing zone to seal the closure to the container and means may be provided to lock the closure to the container.

In those cases where pressurised fluid is housed within the container it may be desirable to provide a venting arrangement to permit the controlled release of gas as the container is opened. To this end the inner skirt of said closure is stepped inwardly below the sealing zone to form a shoulder thereby providing a secondary sealing zone which when the closure is applied to a container seals against the inclined surface. As the closure is progressively removed from the container the respective sealing zones are progressively ""released thereby permitting a controlled release of gas from the container.

*.O0 The present invention relates to modifications of the arrangement disclosed in the aforementioned application.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a container and a .*removable closure therefor, which can be applied to the container in a sealing position, said container having an outlet with an inner and outer surface terminating at one end in a rim, the inner surface being generally circular in cross section and of generally the same diameter between said one end and the other end of the outlet said closure having an end wall with an inner and outer skirt extending therefrom, said inner and outer skirts defining between them a slot which when the closure is applied to the container and in the sealing position receives the container rim, the inner skirt having a deflecting section in the region of the free end of Lthe inner skirt, and a sealing section spaced from the deflecting section there being a space be een the inner skirt and the outlet inner surface between the deflecting and sealing section, 7 4 0 7 P:\WPDOCS\DYS\SPECIE\GODALL.POA 9/2/00 -3the cross-sectional areas of said deflecting section being greater than the cross-sectional areas of the inner surface of the outlet such that when the closure is applied to said container the deflecting section of the inner skirt engages the inner surface of said outlet and causes a deflection thereof and the sealing section is caused to engage the inner surface and the rim into sealing engagement with said sealing section to seal said closure to said container.

In one preferred embodiment the deflecting section may include a projection on the outer surface of the inner skirt in the region of the free end thereof. In a preferred form the inner and outer skirts are generally straight sided cylinders.

Preferably, the sealing section extends into the slot thereby defining a recessed zone between the sealing section and the deflecting section. There may further be provided a tapered leading edge at the free end of the inner skirt. The tapered leading edge is useful for locating the closure relative to the container during the fitting process.

a According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a container and a closure therefor, the container having an outlet with an inner and outer surface terminating 7ool .at one end in a rim, the closure including an end wall having an opening therein and a hinged S: .cap section in the end wall adapted to be hingedly moved between open and closed positions, wherein in the closed position it closes the opening in the end wall, the end cap having an inner skirt and an outer skirt extending therefrom, the inner and outer skirts defining between them a slot which when the closure is positioned on the container and the cap section is closed receives the container rim, the inner skirt having a sealing section, and a deflecting section in the region of the free end of the inner skirt, the cross-sectional areas of said region and the cross-sectional area of the inner surface of the outlet being such that when the end cap is in the closed position the deflecting section of the inner skirt engages the inner surface of said outlet to force the inner surface of said outlet adjacent the rim into sealing engagement with said sealing zone to seal said closure to said container.

In a similar fashion to that of the first aspect, preferably, the deflecting section comprises a projection on the outer surface of the inner skirt. Preferably, the sealing section extends into the slot thereby defining a recessed zone between the sealing section and the 67 R daeflecting section which effects a progressive release of the end cap from the container to P:\WPDOCS\DYS\SPECIE\GOODALL.POA 4/3/98 -4effect a controlled release of gas from the container. There may further be provided a tapered leading edge at the free end of the inner skirt.

Primary lock means may be provided on the container which co-operate with primary lock means on the closure to lock the closure to the container. In this particular embodiment the primary lock means may include locking beads on the outer surface of the container which are adapted to co-operate with a slot on the internal surface of the outer skirt to lock the two parts together.

10 The closure of the present invention is preferably for non carbonated liquids, pressure release is not a factor with this closure. The recessed zone of the inner skirt outer surface :.forms a narrow sealing band at the upper end of the skirt. The sealing band is preferably made narrow (0.5mm max. for example) to concentrate sealing pressure. The inward deflection of the neck wall is at a small angle that would allow the sealing load to spread along the skirt wall if it were not for this arrangement. The projection applies radial force preferably through a sharp edged which also concentrates sealing pressure.

The closure, among other more general purposes may be used with hot filled PET containers. Fruit juice and isotonic thirst quenchers are often bottled at 83 degrees centigrade to avoid using sterilising agents. The standard cap sealing face bends around the flat sealing face of the container neck rim when hot filled and tensioned, it is only pulled into the intended flat face to face sealing position by vacuum generated during cooling down of the container contents. Until this has finally happened the container is prone to draw in air to start fermentation off. This is a major problem for the fruit juice industry which the closure of the present invention alleviates.

Hot filled containers are sealed immediately upon filling with caps torqued to 20-25 in/pounds. PET threads stretch quickly at sterilising temperature reducing torque and sealing effectiveness to practically zero. Such caps are normally fitted with sealing gaskets which are ineffectual adding considerably to the cost of caps.

P:\WPDOCS\DYS\SPECIE\GOODALL.POA 4/3/98 The closures of the present invention may be of the removable type or the nonremovable type and may, for example, include a threaded section. The closure of the present invention may not for this particular type require any thread tension to seal and is consequently unaffected by softened threads. At sterilising temperature PET neck finishes distort, expand and the contract to a smaller than original diameter. The lower seal beds sharp edge of into the smaller diameter retaining its effectiveness as a seal despite neck bore distortion.

*It is desirable for a container cap to be unscrewed sufficiently to break tamper evident band before the container is open to the atmosphere. The sharp edge of the radial flexible lower seal attached to the thin wall section of the internal skirt allows the seal to adjust to ovality when rotated during opening.

The same sealing system can be applied to large diameters e.g. 20 litre open headed a° plastic pails, 4 litre pain cans, and small jars. The plastic used may be high density, polypropylene or similar plastic.

In another preferred form the primary lock means provided on the container which cooperates with primary lock means on the closure to lock the closure to the container.

Preferably in this form, the primary lock means comprises a threaded section on the inner surface of the outer skirt of said closure which engages a corresponding threaded section on the outer surface of said container.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a closure as described above either in its broad or preferred forms suitable for use with a container as described above.

Example embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which p:\WPDOCS\DYS\SPECIE\GOODALLPOA 4/3/98 -6- Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a closure and container according to one embodiment of the invention before the closure is applied to the container; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the closure and container illustrated in Figure 1 with the closure partly applied to the container; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 with the closure sealed and locked to the container; 10 Figure 4 is a plan view of a container closure according to another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a schematic side elevation of the embodiment of Figure 4; 15 Figure 6 is a similar view of that of Figure 5 with the end cap partially open; Figure 7 is a further plan view of the cap shown in Figure Figure 8 is an end elevation of the cap shown in Figure 7; Figure 9 is a side elevation with the end cap partially open; and Figure 10 is a more detailed side elevation of a further modified form of closure.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings, the container 2 has an outlet formed by a wall 3 with inner and outer surfaces 4 and 5 terminating in a rim 6 at the free end thereof.

The closure has an inner and outer skirt 11 and 12 connected at an upper end thereof with an end wall 13 connecting said inner skirt and forming with said skirts 11 and 12 the closure 1. The inner and outer skirts defining between them a circumferential slot 14 which P:\WPDOCS\DYS\SPECIE\GOODALL-POA 4/3/98 -7when the closure is applied to the container, receives the container outlet. The inner skirt includes a projection 20 at its free end defining a deflecting section which as shown has a relatively sharp engagement edge.

The outer surface of the inner skirt 11 is stepped outwardly adjacent the end wall 13 to provide a sealing section or band 15. The relative diameters of the container, the inner and outer skirts 11 and 12 and the thickness of the container wall in the area 8 is such that when the closure 1 is applied to the container 2 with the inner skirt 11 in contact with the inner wall 4 and the closure 1 seated on the container rim 6, the inner wall 4 of the container adjacent 10 the sealing band 15 is forced inwardly into tight sealing engagement with the wall 4 thereby effectively sealing the closure to the container. The sealing section 15 and deflecting section 20 project from the outer surface of the inner skirt thereby forming a recess 21 therebetween.

The closure may be locked to the container in the manner illustrated in Figures 1 to 15 3. When the closure is first applied to the container, the projection 20 engages the inner surface 4 of container 2, because diameter D 1 is greater than diameter D 2 The projection carries the wall 3 to distort as shown in exaggerated fashion in Figures 2 and 3 so that the free end of wall 3 is urged inwardly.

The inner surface of the outer skirt 12 of the closure 1 has a threaded section 19 which is adapted to mate with the threaded section 18 on the container.

Referring to Figures 4 to 10 of the drawings as is the case with the first embodiment, the container 102 has an outlet formed by a wall 103 with inner and outer surfaces 104 and 105 terminating in a rim 106 at the free end thereof.

The closure 110 has an end wall 113 with a hinged end cap 130 therein, the end cap having imnner and outer skirts 111 and 112 projecting from the end cap 130. The end cap 130 is hinged at 132 for hinged movement between open and closed positions. The inner and outer skirts define between them a circumferential slot 114 which when the closure is applied P:\WPDOCS\DYS\SPECIE\GOODALLPOA 4/3/98 -8to the container and the end cap is closed and receives the container outlet. The inner skirt includes a projection 120 at its free end defining a deflecting section which as shown has a relatively sharp engagement edge.

The outer surface of the inner skirt 111 is stepped outwardly adjacent the end wall 113 to provide a sealing section or band 115. The relative diameters of the container, the inner and outer skirts 111 and 112 and the thickness of the container wall in the area 108 is such that when the closure is applied to the container with the inner skirt 111 in contact with the inner wall 104 and the closure seated on the container rim 106, the inner wall 104 of the o 10 container adjacent the sealing band 115 is forced inwardly into tight sealing engagement with the wall 104 thereby effectively sealing the closure to the container. The sealing section 115 and deflecting section 120 project from the outer surface of the inner skirt thereby forming a recess 121 therebetween.

There closure further includes cheek plates 134 which contour and dimension progressive controls release of pressurised gas during cap opening procedure. They also keep cap open during pouring. On resealing they prevent vertical movement of the cap and sealing skirt, when tamper evidence perforations 136 are broken. In addition they help protect the cap from impact damage. An outer flange 138 is flexible to accommodate bending when the end cap is pivoted about hinge 132 during opening and closing. A lifting lug 140 which is thumb operated is provided to assist in opening the end cap.

There may also be provided a locking bead 141, which co-operates with a recess 142 to fix the closure to the neck. The inner skirt 111 may be fitted with vertical slots or splines 144 to aid gas release when the lid is partially opened the skirt is canted to start releasing gas pressure.

Finally, it is to be understood that various alterations, modifications and/or additions may be incorporated into the various constructions and arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit or ambit of the invention.

Claims

1. A container and a removable closure therefor, which can be applied to the container in a sealing position, said container having an outlet with an inner and outer surface terminating at one end in a rim, the inner surface being generally circular in cross section and of generally the same diameter between said one end and the other end of the outlet said closure having an end wall with an inner and outer skirt extending therefrom, said inner and outer skirts defining between them a slot which when the closure is applied to the container and in the sealing position receives the container rim, the inner skirt having a deflecting section in the region of the free end of the inner skirt, and a sealing section spaced from the deflecting section there being a space between the inner skirt and the outlet inner surface between the deflecting and sealing section, the cross-sectional areas of said deflecting section being greater than the cross-sectional areas of the inner surface of the outlet such that when the closure is applied to said container the deflecting section of the inner skirt engages the inner surface of said outlet and causes a deflection thereof and the sealing section is caused *to engage the inner surface and the rim into sealing engagement with said sealing section to oo seal said closure to said container-

2. A container and removable closure therefor according to claim 1 wherein said deflecting section comprises a projection on the outer surface of the inner skirt. 0 01o

3. A container and removable closure therefor according to claim 2 wherein said sealing *ooo*: section extends into said slot thereby defining a recessed zone between the sealing section and the deflecting section which effects a progressive release of the closure from the container to effect a controlled release of gas from the container.

4. A container and removable closure therefor according to claim 2 or claim 3 including a tapered leading edge at the free end of the inner skirt.

A container and a removable closure therefor according to any preceding claim wherein primary lock means are provided on said container which co-operate with primary P:\WPDOCS\DYS\SPECIE\GOODALL.POA 9/2100 lock means on the closure to lock said closure to said container.

6. A container and a removable closure therefor as claimed in claim 5 wherein said primary lock means comprises a threaded section on the inner surface of the oiger skirt of said closure which engages a corresponding threaded section on the outer surface of said container.

7. A container and removable closure according to claim 6 wherein said end wall of said closure has an opening therein and a hinged cap section in the end wall adapted to be hingedly moved between open and closed positions, wherein in the closed position it closes the opening in the end wall.

8. A container and removable closure according to claim 7 wherein said inner skirt has o slots or spines generally vertically disposed. 1

9. A container and removable closure substantially as hereinbefore described with 0 reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 8 t h day of February, 2000 DONALD TERRY GOODALL By His Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE S: