Abstract:
A closure for a container of the kind use to deliver milk and juice. The closure is a two-piece construction comprise of a lid and a base. The closure preferably has overall dimensions that approximate a standard unitary cap use with the same containers, so that the closure can easily be used with standard feeding equipment in a bottling facility. The closure has a hinge that is formed of a post connected by a tab to the lid, and hinge supports extending upwardly from the closure&#39;s base. The hinge supports include a hook and a bridge. The hook allows the tab to slide under the hook during assembly of the lid to the base. Once the tab is positioned between hook and the bridge, the hook bocks disassembly of the lid from the base. The post of the hinge assembly fits within tunnel sections formed by the hook and the bridge, and gripping forces applied by the hook and/or bridge hold the lid in an open position when contents are poured from the container.

Description:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY 
       [0001]    The closures shown and described are for use with containers for beverages, such as milk, other dairy products and juice. Containers that are blow-molded by bottlers of dairy and juice drinks closures have typically been used with simple threaded or push-on closures with flat integral lids. The closures require some form of tamper indicating feature, a popular version of which is the use of a foil liner placed on the interior of the closure. The foil liner is subsequently sealed against and connected to the neck of the container at an induction sealing station after the container is filled and after the closure is installed on the container. 
         [0002]    Closures for bottled water (e.g., 28 mm diameter) have in recent years been supplied with a wide variety of flip top designs in which an easily openable and closeable lid is carried by a threaded closure base, and such flip-top features are popular. Flip top features, however, have not typically been included on larger diameter closures (e.g., 38 mm) of the kind used on blow-molded gallon, half-gallon and quart sized containers, perhaps because of cost concerns and/or the difficulty of designing a flip-top feature that will not cause problems when run through existing feeding equipment that is in place in bottling facilities. Some relatively large closures have been designed with integral hinges, known as a “butterfly” hinge, an example of which is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,546. Such hinges are a form of living hinge, and tend to break easily. 
         [0003]    The closures described herein have a two-piece design that includes a flip top feature, and yet they are compatible with existing feeding equipment used in numerous dairies and other beverage bottling operations. The closures described herein also have the advantage to a closure supplier of allowing a single or standard color base component to be used with lids of different colors. This allows a closure supplier to quickly and efficiently respond to orders for closures, because instead of having to mold closures to fill an order for a particular colored closure, the supplier can simply assembly lids of a particular color lid to a standard base. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]      FIG. 1  is a cross sectional view of a lid of the closure of the present invention; 
           [0005]      FIG. 2  is cross-sectional of the base of the closure of the present invention; 
           [0006]      FIG. 3  is a schematic plan view showing the manner in which the lid of the closure is assembled to the base of the closure; 
           [0007]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged cross-sectional the lid of figure one showing a portion of the change used to connect the lid of  FIG. 1  to the base of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0008]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged partially cross-sectional view a portion of the base showing of the structures by which the lid is joined to the base; 
           [0009]      FIG. 6  is a partial perspective view of the structures of the base that are used to connect the lid to the base. 
           [0010]      FIGS. 7 and 8  show an alternative cap on a bottle with and without a foil liner in place, respectively. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0011]      FIGS. 1  depicts the upper one of a two-component closure, i.e., the lid  14  having a cover  47  and a lid skirt  49 . Extending rearwardly from the cover  47  is a post  48  joined to the lid by tab  50 . A downwardly depending plug  15  extends from the underside of the cover  47 . On the portion of the lid skirt  49 , at a location which is diametrically opposite the location of the post  48 , a small latch bead  60  extends inwardly from the lower end of the lid skirt  49 . 
         [0012]      FIG. 2  shows the base  12 , which together with the lid  14  of  FIG. 1 , forms a closure  10  as described herein. The base  12  includes a skirt  16  having a single internal thread  24  integrally informed on the inside surface of the skirt  16 . A single thread  24  is preferable, because it ensures that the closure, when installed on a container having handle, aligns correctly, such that the lid  14  opens in a direction directly toward the handle. See the discussion of  FIGS. 7 and 8  below. This allows the contents of the container to be dispensed without interfering with the lid  14 . A flange  18  extends inwardly from the upper end of the skirt  16 , and the flange  18  surrounds an opening  28  formed in the central portion of the base  12 . An upwardly extending sealing lip  26  is formed on the inside upper edge of the flange  18 . The lip  26  is intended to engage and sealingly abut the plug  15  formed on the underside of the cover  47  of the lid  14 . 
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a schematic plan view showing the manner by which a lid  14  it is assembled into engagement with a base  12 . As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the base includes support structures for the post  48  in the form of a hook  30  and a bridge  32 . When the lid  14  and base  12  are arranged as shown in  FIG. 3  and moved relative to each other in the direction of arrow  64 , the rounded (and slightly tapered) leading end  52  of the post  48  is inserted into the tunnel section  44  formed by the hook  30 . Upon further movement of the post  48  in the direction of the arrow  64  into the first tunnel section  44  the beveled leading edge  31  ( FIG. 6 ) on the outwardly facing edge of the free distal end  38  of the hook  30  prevents interference between the tab  50  and the hook  30 , and pushing the post  48  of the lid  14  into the tunnel sections  44  and  46  lifts the hook  30  upward. The hook  30  is flexible enough to bend upwardly (even with the additional support afforded by the buttress  34 ). This flexibility allow the tab  50  to slide under the free distal end  38  of the hook  30 . During the sliding assembly depicted in  FIG. 3 , as the tab  50  reaches and abuts the second end  42  of the bridge  32 , and the leading end  52  of the post  48  is inside the second tunnel section  46  under the bridge  32 . When the post  48  is fully inserted in to the tunnel sections  44  and  46  (i.e., the leading end of the post within the hook  32  and the trailing end of the post  54  within the bridge  32  and the center section  56  of the post is disposed between the hook  32  and bridge  30 ), the free distal end  38  of the hook  30  returns to a position whereby its distal free end is again close to the flange  18 . In this position, non-beveled inside lower edge of the free end  38  restricts movement of the tab  50  in a direction that would result in disassembly of the lid  14  and base  12 . The free end  38  the hook blocks the post from movement out of the tunnel sections  44  and  46 . That is, the free end  38  of the hook  30  will abut the tab  50  when the lid is moved in sliding outward direction, i.e., the reverse of the direction shown by the arrow  64 . When assembled, the tab  50  is disposed between the hook  30  and the bridge  32 , and the lid  14  can rotate about the post  48  to open and close the closure  10 . 
         [0014]    When the lid  14  is in its closed position, the plug  15  abuts and seals against the lip  26  of the base  12 , and the opening  28  in the base  12  is closed by the cover  47 . The closure  10  of the present invention is preferably initially (as provided to a bottler) equipped with a foil liner (not shown) that has a heat sealable layer on its underside. The foil liner (when attached by induction heating to a container neck) provides the closure  10  with a tamper evident seal. When a consumer purchases a container having a lid of the present invention, the foil liner prevents access to the contents of the container. When the consumer wants to dispense the contents, the threaded base  12  is unscrewed, the foil liner is removed, the closure  10  is put back onto the container, the lid  14  is opened by disengaging the bead  60  from the bead  62  and rotating the lid  14  about the post  28 , and the desired amount of contents is dispensed. After dispensing, the consumer pushes the lid  14  back into engagement with the base  12 , by pressing down on the lid, forcing the bead  60  to snap past the bead  62 . This snapping engagement is coincident with the plug  15  engages and seals against the lip  26  on the flange  18 . The seal between the plug  15  and the lip  26  help preserve the contents of the container, and limits spillage of the contents from the container. 
         [0015]    The bead  60  on the lower interior end of the portion of the lid skirt  49 , and bead  62  on an upper portion of the base  12  are both disposed opposite the respective hinge structures on the lid  14  and base  14 . The beads are preferably semi-circular in cross-section and preferably have diameter of about 0.032 inches. The beads  60  and  62  are preferably designed to have a center-to-center distance (i.e. the bead  60  passing over and lying below the bead  62  to create such distance), when the lid  14  an base  12  engaged in an uninstalled condition (i.e., not on a container) of about 0.079 inches. It has been found that this extra distance is needed to accommodate the “doming” or upward displacement of the flange  18 , and spreading of the skirt  16  of the base  12 , as the cap is tightened onto a container. When the closure shown herein is tightened onto a container, and the doming and related stretching and displacement of closure components occurs, a bead arrangement as describe above will allow effective and repeatable latching of the lid  14  to base  14 , by the snapping engagement of bead  60  with bead  62 . 
         [0016]    As depicted in  FIG. 4 , a series of splines  58  extend axially along the post  48 , and the splines  58  are space equally about the periphery of the post  48 . The eight splines  58  have a relatively small light (about 0.003 inches). The inside surfaces of the hook  30  and bridge  32  are shaped to grip and engage the splines  58  on the exterior of the post  48 . The purpose of the splines  58  is to provide the hinge formed by the post  48 , hook  30  and bridge  32  accommodate lids  14  of different color. It has been found that different colorants used in plastics, such as low density polyethylene, results in parts having somewhat different shrinkage rates. It is preferable for the post  48  to fit tightly within the tunnel sections  44  and  46  to create friction between the leading end  52  of the post  48  the and the bridge  32  and between the trailing end of the post  54  and the hook  30 , so that the lid  14  will be held in an open position as contents of a container used with the closure  10  are dispensed. 
         [0017]      FIG. 5  shows the hook  30  which, along with the post  48  and the bridge  32  ( FIG. 6 ), forms the hinge about which the lid  14  pivots with respect to the base  12 . The hook  30  has a free distal end  38  and a fixed proximal end  36  integrally formed with the flange  18  of the base  12 . A buttress  34  is disposed adjacent to the fixed proximal end  36  to provide the hook  30  with added support to hold the trailing end  52  of the post  48  in place. A slot  35  is formed in the lid  14  to allow the lid pivot past the buttress  34  allowing the lid  14  to close against the base  12  without interference from the buttress  34 . 
         [0018]      FIG. 4  also shows that the tab  50  has an upper surface that is tangent to the post  48 . The distance between the top surface of the tab  50  (and thus the upper surface of the post  48 ) and the upper surface of the cover  47  of the lid  14  is approximately equal to the thickness of the material that forms the hook  30  and the thickness of the material that forms the bridge  32 . This means that the hook  30  and bridge  32  will not extend a significant distance above the upper surface of the cover  47 . In addition, when the lid  14  is connected to the base  13 , the hinge components (i.e., the post  48 , hook  30  and bridge  32 ) to not project laterally beyond the perimeter of the skirt  16  and do not project above the top of the lid  14  by any appreciable or significant distance. Thus, the hinge of the closure  10  is disposed generally within a space the upper boundary of which is defined by a plane corresponding to the upper surface of the lid  14  and the lateral boundary of which is defined by a cylinder corresponding to the skirt  16 . Flexing of the hook  30  and deformation of the bridge  32  may cause those structures to protrude slightly above the plane defined by the upper surface of the lid  14 , but as long as that protrusion is relatively small (less than the thickness of the post support, which in the embodiment described herein is a two-part post support in the form of a hook  30  and bridge  32 ), the hinge structures will still fall generally within the boundaries describe above and will not interfere with the performance of the closure during the feeding operation. 
         [0019]    The base  12  has knurls  22  formed on the skirt  16 , such that the top of the knurls  22  form a shoulder. The knurls preferably have varying height ( FIG. 6 ) and the lid  14  has a downwardly depending lid skirt  49  that is shaped to fit around an upper knurl-free portion  17  of the skirt  16 . The lid skirt  49  has a outside diameter that is approximately equal to the outside diameter of the knurled section (i.e., the O.D. corresponding to the largest of the knurls), so that the lid skirt  49  is approximately equal in diameter to the diameter of the knurls, and the lower end of the lid skirt  49  lies just above the shoulder  20 , when the lid  14  is in a closed position on the base  12 . With this configuration, the cap has overall shape that approximates the shape of a standard unitary cap. 
         [0020]    These parameters mean that the closure  10  of the present invention will have very similar proportions to standard unitary closures and it will perform well in standard feed systems, such as vibratory feeding bowls and ramp systems of the type that are currently used to feed standard, unitary closures. This means that the closures of the present invention can be used interchangeably with standard caps without any need to replace or otherwise change or modify the closure feeding equipment used in a bottling facility. 
         [0021]    An additional purpose and benefit of the closures describe herein is to allow different colored lids  14  to be used with a single (or standard) colored base  12 . This allows cap manufacturer to supply a bottler (of milk, for example) with closures that have a single standard base  12 , and the cap manufacturer can on very short notice supply caps having a particular color lid  14  (e.g., light blue for skim milk, red for whole milk or yellow for 1%, brown for chocolate etc.) without having actually prepare an injection mold and manufacture a particular cap in response to an order. The manufacturer can simple have a supply of base components on hand and a supply of different colored lids on hand and can quickly assembly the color combinations that a bottler requires. By forming splines  58  on the exterior of the post  48 , a lid  14  can be made to have a sufficient frictional hold between the lid  14  and the base  12 , regardless of color and the associated variability in shrinkage properties resulting from the use of different colorants. This system has the additional advantage that a single lid mold can be used to form lids of all of the colors (blue, red, yellow, brown etc.) that a customer may desire, because the forgiveness afforded the splines will allow lids with different shrinkage properties to perform as needed. The friction between the splines  58  and the inside surfaces of the tunnel sections  44  and  46  (formed by the hook  30  and bridge  32 , respectively) will hold the lid in an open position and resist the tendency for the lid  14  to be pulled to a closed position onto the base  12  by gravity. 
         [0022]      FIG. 7  shows a closure  10   a  installed on a container  66  with a foil liner in place, and  FIG. 8  shows the same closure  10   a  installed on the same container  66  without a foil liner. These two figures are intended to show that in order for lid  14  of the closure  10   a  to align properly with the handle  70  of the container  66  after the foil liner has been removed, the formation of the single threads on the container and the formation of the single thread on the base of the closure must be coordinated. The thickness of a foil liner  68  is typically about 0.007 inches. This means that, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the liner  86  will prevent the cap from being threaded down far enough to have the lid  14  align so that the axis of the hinge will align as it should (as shown in  FIG. 8 ) for proper use and dispensing. It is preferable to have the axis of the hinge (shown by line  72  in  FIGS. 7 and 8 ) be approximately perpendicular to the axis of the handle (shown by line  74 ), when the contents of the container are being dispensed. The presence of the liner  68  causes the angle between the axis  74  of the handle and the axis of the hinge  72  to be larger (i.e., angle A of about 115 to 120 degrees in  FIG. 7 ). However, when the liner  68  is removed, the axis  74  of the handle and the axis of the hinge  72  assume a preferable alignment of about 90 degrees (i.e., angle B in  FIG. 8 ). To achieve the desired alignment, as shown in  FIG. 8 , formation of the single thread of the container and the formation of single thread of the closure need to be coordinated, i.e., each needs to be formed with the other in mind, and that formation must take into consideration the effect of the foil liner being removed, so that the alignment of the axis  74  of the handle  70  is about 90 degrees with respect to the axis  72  of the hinge for the enduser when dispensing is desired. 
         [0023]    It should be noted that while the closure discussed herein is useful on closures used to deliver beverages, the flip-top closure of the present invention can be used in a wide variety of applications, including medicines (both solid, i.e., pills, and liquids, and a wide variety of other liquids and solids, such as syrups and spices, for example. 
         [0024]    The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments have been presented for purposes of illustration. They are only examples and are not intended to a basis for limiting the scope of the inventions claimed below. It will be apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the field of closure design that many modifications, variations and substitutions are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the inventions claimed below and to demonstrate practical application thereof, and to thereby enable others of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the claimed inventions.