CA1230313A - Tamper evident closure - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A tamper evident closure for bottles And containers includes a cap and a tamper- indicating lower ring or belt, those two parts are linked together by a weak breakable circumferential area, which will break at opening of the container leaving behind the lower ring. This closure is the result of a simplified manufacturing process that forms the breakable circumferential area by forming misaligned cuts about the circumference of the closure between the upper cap and lower ring. Upon opening, the lower ring moves down on the neck of the container. Upon reclosing, the space between the cap and ring makes the prior opening of the bottle very evident.

Description

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_PFCIFICATION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVE:NTION

The present invention relates to a tamper evldent closure for hottles and containers in general and more par-ticularly to a closure having a cap and a tamper indicating lower ring or belt, these two parts being linked together by a ~eak breakable circumferential area that will break at opening of the container.
In bottling and packaging fovds, drugs, and house-hold products, which are currently sol~ in the market place by the millions of containers, it is ~ecessary to use clo~
sures that are efficient and ecomonical at the same time.
Tamper evident closures satisfying these requirements are needed. These closures must be structurally simple and must make evident the fact that the container was opened.
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~Z303~3 In certain currently availahle tamper evident clo~,ures, there are a number ol: probleos wi~h relation to a w~;lkene~d area that is obtained by means of a linkage between the cap and the lower ring. These closures use a number of vertical bridges that break at the time of opening. I`he bridge~ are separated by circumferentially extending slots.
If made easy to break at removal, these bridges will also easily break at the capping of the container. On the bot~
t]ing or packaging line, this creates problems and stoppages.
Of course, if the bridges are made stronger, the cap becomes hard to remove. To avoid breaking of the bridges during capping, one proposal has been to use, in the weakened area, one or more pushing teeth or ratchet teeth in the shape of saw-teeth . These are oriented in a way that, at the time of applying the closure by screwing it onto the container neck, the tooth or teeth apply turning torque from the cap to the ring. The cap pushes with it the lower ring and without stress on the bridges. See the expired French Patent No. 1,536,459. These closures are not only difficult to manufacture, but they are also very expensive, yiven the complexity of the molds required for their formation.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing problems have been solved by the tamper evident closure according to this invention, having the characteristic that a circumferelltiaL weakened area is made by nonaLigned limited c;rcumferential cuts about the closure between the upper cap and the ring. The cuts can be .

2 5 s7 g ~ ~3~3~3 misaligned by virtue of their beiny on two closely spaced circumferentlal circles~
'f'he nonalignecl cut:s that ~orm the weakeneci area aboLIt the closure do not intersect, but defirle between them S unsevered portions. T~ie cuts are not slots of the nature of the prior closures described above. The ~pper edge of the cut is not spaced from the lower edge so às to leave an open space between. The cuts or slits of the current invention haYe contig-lous upper and lower edges~ Torque applied to the cap in closing is transmitte~ to the ring both by the unsevered portions of the closure in the weakened area and hy frictional engagement of the upper and lower edges of the cuts~
In one preferred embodiment, ratchet~like teeth on lS the inside of the ring engage ratchet-like teeth on the neck of the container. These allow the ring to turn in the direc-tion in which the closure is screwed o~to the container, but prevent turning of the ring in the unscrewing direction.
A lip or boss about the container neck prevents the ring moving upward with the cap when the cap is removed.
When the unsevered portions in the weakened area break, they form camming surfaces that cam the ring portion of the clo-sure down and an inward projection thereon over the lip or boss. A distinctly visible space is defined between the ring and the cap when the cap is screwed back into place on the container. That the container has previously been opened is clearly evident.
Because oE the misalignment of the cuts in the weakened area, an inherent and integral gear tooth type of ;~
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~3~3~3 torque commun:ication exists between cap and rlng. The closure is extremely resistant ~o separating upon tightening the cap into place, and yet the ring breaks away surpr:Lsingly easily whell the cap i9 unscrewed.
Broad.ly speaking, the present invention provides a ta~lper evident closure and container combination including a closure having an upper cap portion, a lower ring port:lon, and an intermediate weakened area, the weakened area being defined by nonaligned cuts separated by unsevered locations, the combi.nation`further comprising interacting means on the ring and container for blocking movement oE the ring in a closure opening direction, the interacting means comprising inwardly projecting means on the ring and outwardly projecting means on the container, the inwardly and outwardly projecting means being axially located to be in abutting relationship when the closure is in place on the container; whereby the ring and cap are separable at the weakened area to leave behind the ring, the cuts and unsevered locations defining cam surfaces upon separation of the cap and ring effective to cam the ring downward until the inwardly projecting means on the ring is below the outwardly projecting means on the container such that the ring is held captive on the container at a lower location than its previous, unseparated position.
The present invention may be also considered as providing a tamper evident closure comprising an upper cap portion, a lower ring portion, and an intermediate weakened circumferential area interconnecting the cap and ring, the LCM:mls B

~L~3~3~3 - 4a -weakened area having nonaligned cuts proceeding generally circ~lmferentially about the closure and defining thc-!rebetween Insevered areas, the cuts and unsevered areas in t~le weakened area deflning cam surfaces upon separation of the cap portion and ring portion effective to cam the ring portion downward away from the cap portion.
The accomplishment of foregoing and further objects and advantages of the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments made with respect to the several figures of the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF TI~E DRl~.WINGS
In the drawings:
Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a closure and container according to the invention and having an upper cap separated from a lower ring by a weakened area.
Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the relationship of cuts in the weakened area in the closure of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a partial sectional view along the lines 3--3 of Figure 1 and illustrates interengaging teeth on the closure and container preventing ring movement in the cap-unscrewing direction.
Figure 4 is a fragmentary exploded view of a closure like that of Figure 1 with the upper cap portion broken away from the retained ring~

LCM:mls - ~23~3~3 Fi~ure S is a frac3mentary elevational view o a f.urth~r embc~iment oE the invent.ion and il.l-lstrates inter-acting meanC; on the container and th~a rin~ portion preve~ntirlg upward movem~nt of the ring~
Figure 6 is an'enlargec3 fragmentary cross-sectional view of a closure like that of F.igure 5 and rnore clearly illustLates the relationship'of the parts retaining the ring on the neck of a container.
Figure 7 is an enlarged, e~ploded fragmentary cross-sectional~view of a closure like tha~ of Figure 5, illustrating the cap portion oE the closure broken away ancl removed and the ring retained on the container.
Fiyure 8 is a plan view of a further embodiment o~
a closure according to the invention in which the cuts that weaken the area between the cap and the ring do not overlap~
Figure ~ is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention in which at one end each cut is closer an adjoining cut than at its other end.
E'igure 10 is a cross-section view along the line 10-10 of Figure 8 and shows a closure and containex neck including another embodiment of the teeth that prevent turning of the ring in the cap--unscrewing,direction.
Fi~ure 11 is fra~mentar~ plan view of a closure like that of Fi9ure 8 illustrating the appearance of the closure upon reapplication of the cap.
Figure 12 is a plan view of yet another embodiment of the invention wherein the cuts in the weakened area are inclined to cause the misalignment.

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~:3~3~L3 DESCI~I.PTI_N ~F PREFERRED }~ODIl`~lENTS

In F`igure 1, tl~e closllre 1 inclu(7e.s an upper cap 3 and a lower rin~3 4. The~ cap 3 has an inncr t:hread 5 with ~J
one or more beginnings OL starts for easy application to a container neck. The threads 5 engage a set of threads 6 on a neck 2 o a container. For ease of removal, the cap 3 has a ribbed area 7~ Inside the upper surface of the cap, a conventional sealing ring 8 engages the container neck ~.
Inside, the ring portion 4 of the clos-lre has a sequence of teeth 9, of a saw-tooth profile, and enqaging corresponding teeth 10 on the.neck 2, as best seen in Ficlure

3. The teeth 9 and 10 are thus oriented such that they will engage at the time of applying the closure 1 to the container neck 2. Thus it can be seen, the interengaging teeth 9 will permit movement of the ring 4 in the direction in which the cap is screwed onto the neck, but will resist movement of the ring in the cap-unscrewing direction.
Between the cap 3 and the ring 4, a weakened area 11 is defined. This is made by circumferential cuts 12 along a circumference 13, as shown in Figure 2, and circumferential cuts 14 along a circumference 15 in that Figure. The cuts 12 and 14 are alternated in the circumferential direction about the weakened area 11. The two circumferences 13 and 15 are close, so that the end of the cuts 12 and 14 are close, ; 25 as well. The distance between the circumferences in the axial direction, and between the cut ends in that direction, is a, about 1 ~m.
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~L2~ 3~3L3 In the example accordirlc3 to Figure l there are two cuts 1.2 dlametrlcally opposed. ~hese 11aVe the length of ~about 15~ each~ ~rhere ~re ~wo cut~s l~l, al~o cl.iametrically opposed, having 'a 1.ength of about 40 e~ach. The cuts 12 and l~ have ends that are partially overlapping. Bri.dges or unsevered portions 16 ~Fig. l) are forrned. between the cuts.
The closure is molded with the cap 3 and ring 4 as one piece preferably b,y injection molding of a plastic, for exampl.e polypropylene, using simple molds with high productivity.
The weakened area' L~ is produced by cutting the cuts o.r slits 12 and.l9 with rotating blades in a subseauent simple ancl e~icient operation.
~ pplyillg the closure l on the neck 2 requires only screwing the thread 5 of the cap onto the corresponding thread 6 of the neck of the container. While screw.ing the cap on, the cap forces w.ith it in rotation the ring 4. In this direction the teeth 9 and lO of Figure 3 slide one o~er the other in the manner of a ratchet. The axial force, that is to say downward force of the cap 3 on the rlng 4 in the weakened area, is a compressive force that does not tend to break the bridges or unsevered portion 16~ It w,ill also be seen that the cuts in the weakened portion define an integral and inherent gear tooth type of arrangement as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure ~. Thus downward axial force in combination with the torque applied in screwing the cap into place causes the inherent and integral gear teeth not to tend to slip apart and tearing of the bridges or unsevered portions does not occur.

f 2~79 ~L~3~3~3 When the container is opened, however, the inter-engaging ratchet teeth 9 and 10 of the rin~ and contailler neck prevent r`eturll rotation of the rin~ The unsevered portions 16 oE the weakene~ area break to cleflne a separate cap and ring as illustrated in Figure 4. Breaking apart of :' the cap and ring defines cam profiles 17 and 18 on the cap and ring, respectively. These act to push down the ring for a distance approxlmatel~ equal to the dlstance a. When the cap 3 is screwed back on the neck 2 of the container, there re~ains a permanent gap quite visible and at least approxi-mately equal to the distance a. This gap clearly indicates that the container has been tampered with or opened.
Referring to Figures 5, 6 and 7, like numerals are applied to like elements, but a circular projection or boss projects inwardly about the interior of the ring 4 in engacJe-ment with a further circular projection or boss projecting outwardly about the neck 2 of the container. As is apparent from Fiyure 6 and 7, the two projections 20 and 21 are formed with a saw-tooth or latching profile. Longer gradually inclined outer surfaces or profiles ~2 and 23 pexmit the projections to pass one another when the ring is driven downward. Shorter, more horizontal surfaces facing downward on the container neck projection and u~ward on the ring pro-jection inhibit movement of the riny upward and off of the container neck. When the closure is applied, the two saw-tooth profile projections overlap by a length _ shorter than the lèngth at for example about 0.75 milimeters. When the closure is opened, the cam surfaces 17 and 18 described above push down the ring 4 a distance a. So it will be seen that . ~

læ~0~3 the inward projection 20 latches under the projection 21, inilibiting upward movement of the rin~ If desired, the latching o~ the projectic~n~ like 20 and 21 to prevent ~pwarcl movem~ t o the ring ~ c~ln be em~)loyec3 to the exclus iOIl of the ratcllet teeth that prevent turning o~ the ring, in which case the unsevered portions in ~he weakened area will be placed in sufficient tension to cause their breakillg when the cap is unscrewed. The ring 4 cannot now be moved verti-cally upward beyond its new position, and for this reason the gap that is defined between the reapplied cap and the so-located ring cannot be closed. Moreover, the neck of the container can be shaped to continue downward at about the same diameter below its projecction 21 before turnirlg outward in a shoulder so that the ring drops to a posltion of rest evell further down on the neck away from the location of the cap. Particularly when the closure and the container are of contrasting colors a container that has been tampered with will stand out quite evidently on the shel among its fellow, untouched containers.
It should be understood with respect to this and the embodiments that are described below that the container neck provisions, e.g. the threads, projections, and teeth, can be provided, as well, on a separate part applied, for example to the neck of a bottle. Such a separate part might be, for example, a pourer or other bottle or container neck feature.
In Figure 8, a further embodiment of the invention is seen wherein cuts or slits 24 and 25 in the weakened area between the ring 4 and the cap 3 do not overlap. In Figure 9, q ~, J_J i ;i ~L2~ 3 cuts 29 and 30 are closer at one end 3.~ therl at the other end 33, so that it is a brid~e or urlsevel-ed portion at the . ends 33 th~t .initially holds the ring 4 and cap 3 together ~ind deternlirles the small torque or tWistillg orce necessary 5. to break the cap ~way from the ring~ In Figure 12, a further . arran~ement of the cuts are seen in which the cuts are mis- -aligned at their adjoining ends by virtue of the cuts 35 being inclined slightly from the horiæontal~
Regardless of the arran~ement of the cuts, the teeth .interacting between the container neck and the rin~
can be as illustlated in Figure 10, wherein at about every 90 around the neck 2 and ring ~, the teeth 37 and 38 occur on the neck and ring respectively. The teeth 38 inwardly projecting from the ring can serve the purpose o the inward projecting boss 22 of Figures 5, 6 and 7, as well. In Figure 11, one of the inwardly projecting teeth 38 can be seen to extend inwardly beneath the boss or circular projec-tion 21 on the container neclc to inhibit movement of the ring 4 upward.
Fiyure 11 also serves to illustrate the previous opening or tamperin~ with the container clearly evident in the gap 40 betweeen the ring 4 and the cap 3.
Whereas pr~ferred embodiments of the invention have been described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain modifications may be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention contained therein, the scope of the invention being as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims (20)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A tamper evident closure and container combination including a closure having an upper cap portion, a lower ring portion, and an intermediate weakened area, the weakened area being defined by nonaligned cuts separated by unsevered locations, the combination further comprising interacting means on the ring and container for blocking movement of the ring in a closure opening direction, the interacting means comprising inwardly projecting means on the ring and outwardly projecting means on the container, the inwardly and outwardly projecting means being axially located to be in abutting relationship when the closure is in place on the container; whereby the ring and cap are separable at the weakened area to leave behind the ring, the cuts and unsevered locations defining cam surfaces upon separation of the cap and ring effective to cam the ring downward until the inwardly projecting means on the ring is below the outwardly projecting means on the container such that the ring is held captive on the container at a lower location than its previous, unseparated position.

2. The combination according to Claim 1 wherein the inwardly and outwardly projecting means cooperate to prevent upward movement of the ring.

3. The combination according to Claim 2 wherein the outwardly projecting means on the container comprises an outwardly projecting boss interfering with upward movement of the ring.

4. The combination according to Claim 1 wherein the cap and container are threaded to screw the closure in place and the interacting means comprises means for preventing rotational movement of the ring in the cap-unscrewing direction.

5. The combination according to Claim 2 wherein the cap and container are threaded to screw the closure in place and the interacting means comprises means for preventing rotational movement in the cap-unscrewing direction; whereby both upward and rotational movement of the ring is blocked when the cap is unscrewed.

6. The combination according to Claim 1 wherein the cuts are defined with engaging upper and lower surfaces and absent spacing between those surfaces.

7. The combination according to Claim 1 wherein the cuts are defined on two axially displaced circumferences.

8. The combination according to Claim 7 wherein each cut is closer to another cut at one of its ends than at the other of its ends.

9. The combination according to Claim 1 wherein the neck of the container below the outwardly projecting means has a diameter allowing the ring to drop further downward on the container away from its previous, unseparated position.

10. A tamper evident closure comprising an upper cap portion, a lower ring portion, and an intermediate weakened circumferential area interconnecting the cap and ring, said weakened area having nonaligned cuts proceeding generally circumferentially about the closure and defining therebetween unsevered areas, the cuts and unsevered areas in the weakened area defining cam surfaces upon separation of the cap portion and ring portion effective to cam the ring portion downward away from the cap portion.

11. The closure according to Claim 10 further comprising removal inhibiting means on the ring.

12. The closure according to Claim 11 wherein the removal inhibiting means on the ring comprises inwardly projecting means within the ring for inhibiting upward movement of the ring upon removal of the cap portion from a container.

13. The closure according to Claim 11 wherein the cap is internally threaded to be screwed in place upon a container, the removal inhibiting means within the ring comprising inwardly projecting means for inhibiting turning of the ring in the cap-unscrewing direction.

14. The closure according to Claim 13 wherein the means for inhibiting turning of the ring in the cap-unscrewing direction comprises inwardly projecting ratchet teeth for permitting turning in the closure-applying direction and prohibiting rotation of the ring in the cap-unscrewing direction.

15, The closure according to Claim 14 wherein the teeth also are dimensioned to protrude inward below an outward protruding container portion to define means inhibiting upward movement of the ring.

16. The closure according to Claim 10 wherein the cuts are defined with engaging upper and lower surfaces and absent space between those surfaces.

17. The closure according to Claim 10 wherein the cuts are defined on two axially displaced circumferences.

18. The closure according to Claim 10 wherein each cut is closer to another cut at one of its ends than at the other of its ends.

19. The closure according to Claim 10 wherein the ends of the cuts are misaligned where they are closest.

20. The closure according to Claim 10 wherein the cuts are inclined from the horizontal to bring their ends out of alignment.