Abstract:
Disclosed herein is a closure containing a top deck, an inner skirt and an outer skirt. The inner skirt engages the neck of a bottle via a snap fitting. The closure contains regions of weakness such that once the inner skirt engages the neck of the bottle and the regions of weakness are broken, the closure cannot be removed from the bottle neck without disabling the snap engagement between the closure and neck, thus preventing refilling and reuse of the bottle.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/467,961 entitled “Closure”, filed May 9, 2012, which claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. section 119 to United Kingdom Patent Application Nos. 1107760.9 and 11077758.3, both filed May 10, 2011. This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 61/565,877 and 61/724,773, filed Dec. 1, 2011 and Nov. 9, 2012, respectively, both entitled “Closure.” Each of these disclosures is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     It is well known to provide mechanisms for indicating if a closure associated with a container has been opened at least once. These mechanisms may come in various forms, including, for example, tamper evident bands and tabs. However, there are situations in which what is of more concern is ensuring that the closure has not been completely removed so that an associated container can be filled, for example, with an inferior product. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to one aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a closure including a base that may be attached to a container. The base may include a top deck from which depends an outer and an inner skirt, the inner skirt being engageable with a container neck. The top deck may include a region of weakness between the inner and outer skirts that is deformed and/or broken if removal of the closure from a container is attempted. By providing a region of weakness in the top deck, if removal of the closure is attempted an irreversible change in the structure of the top deck may result so that the closure cannot be properly reapplied and resealed to a container. 
     According to another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a closure for a container, the closure having a base with an outer skirt and an inner skirt. The inner skirt may be engagable with a container neck and may include one or more regions of weakness arranged to break and/or deform if an attempt is made to remove the closure from the container neck following first application, in order to prevent reapplication. 
     One or more aspects of the present disclosure may be present in the same closure. According to a further aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a closure as described herein in combination with a container. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Subject matter is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The foregoing and other features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a partial view of a bottle fitted with a closure formed according to various embodiments; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of an underside of a closure, in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional partial view of the closure of  FIG. 2 , in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional partial view of the closure of  FIGS. 2-3  being lowered onto a container neck, in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional partial view of the closure of  FIGS. 2-4  as it may be engaged with a container neck, in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional partial view of the closure of  FIGS. 2-5  being removed from the container neck, in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 7  is a top view of another closure, in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 8  is another top view of the closure of  FIG. 7 , in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 9  is a top view of the closure of  FIGS. 7 and 8 , in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional side view of the closure shown in  FIGS. 7-9 , in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 11  is a partial view of the underside of the closure shown in  FIGS. 7-10 , in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 12  is a view of an insert that is usable with the closure of  FIGS. 7-11 , in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 13  is a partial view of the underside of the closure shown in  FIGS. 7-11 , with the insert shown in  12  removed, in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 14  is a partial view of another example closure in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 15  depicts a cross-sectional view of another example of a closure in accordance with various embodiments; and 
         FIG. 16  depicts another cross-sectional view of the example closure of  FIG. 15 , in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 17  depicts a cross-sectional view of another example of a closure in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 18  depicts the example disclosure of  FIG. 17 , without a portion of a bottle inserted, in accordance with various embodiment. 
         FIG. 19  depicts a cross-sectional view of another example of a closure in accordance with various embodiments; and 
         FIGS. 20 and 21  are an enlarged view of the annular notch at the juncture of the top deck and inner skirt of the closure of  FIG. 19 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. For ease of description, the components of embodiments of the present disclosure are described in the normal (upright) operating position, and terms such as upper, lower, horizontal, etc., are used with reference to this position. It will be understood, however, that the components of embodiments of the present disclosure may be manufactured, stored, transported, used, and sold in an orientation other than the position described. 
     Figures illustrating the components of embodiments of the present disclosure show some conventional mechanical elements that may be known and that may be recognized by one skilled in the art. The detailed descriptions of such elements that are not necessary to an understanding of the disclosure, and accordingly are herein presented only to the degree necessary to facilitate an understanding of the novel features of the present disclosure. 
     As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “comprising” is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional unrecited elements, compositional components, or method steps. Accordingly, the term “comprising” encompasses the more restrictive terms “consisting essentially of” and “consisting of.” 
     It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Similarly, the use of substantially any plural terms herein may be translated by those having skill in the art from the plural to the singular as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity. 
     In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “an apparatus having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to apparatuses that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.” 
     As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and all purposes, such as in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein can be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art, all language such as “up to,” “at least,” “greater than,” “less than,” and the like include the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will be understood by one skilled in the art, a range includes each individual member. Thus, for example, a group having 1-3 elements refers to groups having 1, 2, or 3 elements. Similarly, a group having 1-5 elements refers to groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 elements, and so forth. 
     Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which embodiments of the present invention pertain. Although a number of methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice of the present invention, the preferred materials and methods are described herein. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a closure generally indicated at  10 . The closure  10  comprises a generally cylindrical body with a base  15  and a lid  20 . The base  15  and lid  20  are connected to each other by a hinge  25 . The closure  10  is affixed to a container  27 , which may in some embodiments be a bottle. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2-6 , the base  15  may include a generally circular-disc shape top deck  60  that may be gently convexly curved in some embodiments. An annular spout  90  may project from the center of the top deck  60  and may define a central dispensing orifice  91  (See  FIG. 3 ). A generally cylindrical outer skirt  65  depends from the periphery of the deck  60 . A cylindrical inner skirt  70  depends from the deck  60  radially inwardly of the outer skirt  65 . A sealing spigot  85  depends from the deck radially inwardly of the inner skirt  70 . 
     The inner skirt  70  may be engageable with a container neck  28  (see  FIGS. 3-6 ). At the open end of the inner skirt  70 , one or more snap members  74  are positioned. Each snap member  74  may include a ramped surface  76  at its bottom to allow a flange  29  of the container neck  28  to snap into the inner skirt  70  above the snap members  74 . The surface of the snap members  74  opposite the ramp may be a flat abutment surface  77 , which may abut the flange  29  to prevent the container neck  28  from being removed from inner skirt  70 . 
     The inner skirt  70  may include a region of weakness adapted to break and/or deform upon an attempt to remove the closure  10  from the container neck  28 , wherein after the break and/or deformation, the closure  10  is no longer engageable with the container neck  28 . Regions of weakness having various configurations may be used. 
     For example, in  FIGS. 2-6 , the inner skirt  70  includes a plurality of apertures  78  separating a plurality of frangible portions  79 . The plurality of frangible portions  79  may be adjacent the snap members  74  so that once a container neck  28  is inserted past the snap members  74 , the flange  29  is flush with the plurality of apertures  78  and frangible portions  79 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , if an attempt is made to forcefully remove the closure  10  from the container neck  28 , the flange  29  pulls on the snap members  74 , thereby causing the plurality of frangible portions  79  to break. In various embodiments, when all or most of the frangible portions  79  are broken, closure  10  may no longer be engageable with container neck  28 . For example, in various embodiments, the snap members  74  may only be positioned on the inner skirt  70  adjacent the plurality of apertures  78  and frangible portions  79 . In such cases, once the frangible portions  79  are broken, the snap members  74  may be only loosely connected to closure  10  and therefore may be unable to snap onto container neck  28 . 
     Referring next to  FIGS. 7 to 13 , there is shown another embodiment of a closure generally indicated  110 . The closure  110  comprises a generally cylindrical body with a base  115  and a lid  120 . The base  115  and lid  120  are connected to each other by a hinge  125 . 
     The lid  120  may include a circular, disc-shape top plate  130  and a generally cylindrical side wall  135  which depends from the periphery of the top plate  130 . An annular spigot  140  depends from the centre of the plate and an annular sealing projection  145  also depends from the top plate  130  radially outwardly of the spigot  140 . Opposite the hinge  125 , the lid side wall  135  includes an arcuate recess  150 . At the centre of the recess  150 , a hook  155  projects from the open end of the side wall  135 . 
     The base  115  includes a generally circular-disc shape top deck  160  that may, in some embodiments, be gently convexly curved. A generally cylindrical outer skirt  165  depends from the periphery of the deck  160 . A cylindrical inner skirt  170  depends from the deck  160  radially inwardly of the outer skirt  165  ( FIGS. 10-12 ). At the open end of the skirt  170  a discontinuous annular snap bead  175  is positioned ( FIGS. 10 and 11 ). A sealing spigot  185  depends from the deck  160  radially inwardly of the skirt  170  ( FIGS. 10 and 11 ). 
     At the centre of the deck  160  an annular spout  190  projects and defines a central dispensing orifice  191 . Within the spout  190  a self-closing valve  192  is carried ( FIG. 11 ). 
     Opposite the hinge  125  an arcuate tamper-evident band  180  is connected to the deck  160  by a plurality of frangible bridges  181  ( FIG. 8 ). At one end of the band  180  is a pull tab  182  that is not directly connected to the top deck  160 . At the centre of the band a notch  183  is provided. 
     In  FIGS. 7 to 13  the closure  110  is shown in an as-molded condition. Following molding the lid  120  is folded over onto the base. In doing so, the projection  145  fits around the spout  190  and the hook  155  passes behind the band  180  and snaps into the notch  183 . 
     In use the lid  120  cannot be lifted away from the base  115  until the band  180  has been removed. To remove the band  180  the tab  182  may be grasped and pulled across the front of the closure, breaking the bridges  181  and allowing removal. Thereafter the lid  120  may be hinged away from the base  115  to expose the spout  190  so that product can be dispensed through the dispensing orifice  191  via the valve  192 . 
     In  FIGS. 11 and 13  the underside of the base  115  is shown. In  FIG. 11 , the inner skirt  170  carries within it an engagement insert  250  that is shown in more detail in  FIG. 12 . The engagement insert  250  has been removed in  FIG. 13 . In some embodiments, the inner skirt  170  may include one or more axial notches  171  ( FIG. 11 ) which define lines of weakness that break if removal of the closure  110  from a neck is attempted. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 12  the engagement insert  250  is shown in more detail. The engagement insert  250  may include a generally annular, collar-like body on the inside of which is provided a screwthread formation  255  for engaging a corresponding screwthread formation (not shown) on an associated container neck. The engagement insert  250  may include a top, engagement portion  260 . A plurality of wedge-like teeth  265  may be provided around the periphery of the portion  260 , each comprising an inclined face  266  and a flat abutment face  267 . In some embodiments, there may be three teeth  265  distributed evenly (e.g., every 120 degrees) or unevenly around the periphery. In other embodiments, there may be other numbers of teeth  256  distributed evenly or unevenly about the periphery. In some embodiments, one or more teeth  265  may be omitted from what would otherwise be a plurality of evenly distributed teeth  265 , e.g., to improve capping performance. A flange  270  may project radially outwardly from the portion  260 . On the other side of the flange  270  a second portion  275  may extend and carry a plurality of notches  280 . 
     In use, an engagement insert  250  of the type described in relation to  FIG. 12  may be inserted into a closure  10 ,  110  of the type described in relation to  FIGS. 1-11 and 13-16 . The engagement insert  250  may be received with the first portion  260  orientated towards the top deck  60 ,  160  and may be push fitted so that the flange  270  engages under the snap members  74  or snap bead  175  so that the insert is firmly retained. With the engagement insert  250  in place the closure can be screwed onto a container neck. When the closure is applied to a container neck and rotated the base  15 ,  115  will rotate relative to the insert until the base lugs  172  contact respective abutment faces  267  of the insert teeth  265 . At this point, continued rotation of the base may cause the insert, and hence the closure, to be screwed onto the container neck. Thereafter, if unscrewing of the closure is attempted, the base  15 ,  115  may rotate relative to the engagement insert  250  and the lugs  172  will pass over, but not engage the inclined faces  266  of the teeth. In other words relative rotation between the base and the insert may be permitted in the direction of unscrewing of the insert so that unscrewing cannot occur. 
       FIG. 14  depicts another embodiment of a closure  310 , similar to those described above. As before, closure  310  includes a base  315  and a lid  320  hingedly attached by a hinge  325 . Closure  310  also includes a top deck (not visible), an outer skirt  365  that depends from the top deck, and an inner skirt  370  that also depends from the top deck. Like the closure  10  shown in  FIGS. 2-6 , closure  310  includes snap members  374 . 
     Inner skirt  370  may include one or more regions of weakness adapted to break and/or deform upon an attempt to remove the closure  310  from the container neck, wherein after the break and/or deformation, the inner skirt  370  is no longer engageable with the container neck. In various embodiments, the regions of weakness may extend generally longitudinally along the inner skirt  370 . In various embodiments, each region of weakness may be an axial notch  371  configured to tear upon the attempt to remove the closure  310  from the container neck. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 15 and 16 , a base  415  formed according to an alternative embodiment is shown. The base  415  is very similar to the bases  15  and  315  shown in  FIGS. 1 to 14  except there is no region of weakness on the inner skirt  470 . Instead, the top deck  460  may include, between the inner skirt  470  and outer skirt  465 , a region of weakness in the form of an annular notch  461  that provides a material thinning. In some embodiments, annular notch  461  may be concentric with one or both of inner skirt  470  and outer skirt  465 . Annular notch  461  may be present to cause deformation and/or breakage of the top deck  460  if an attempt is made to remove the closure following application to a container neck. In some embodiments, such as the one depicted in  FIGS. 15 and 16 , annular notch  461  is offset slightly from inner skirt  470 . 
     If an attempt is made to pull or lever the closure off a container neck because it cannot be unscrewed, one or more of the regions of weakness described in relation to  FIGS. 2-21  may be used to deliberately damage the closure so that it cannot be reapplied. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 17 and 18 , a base  515  formed according to an alternative embodiment is shown. The base  515  may be similar to the bases  15 ,  315  and  415  shown in previous figures except that it includes, on an inner surface of its outer skirt  565 , a plurality of ribs  597 . The ribs  597  may reinforce the outer skirt  565  so that it is less pliable. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 19 , an alternative embodiment of a closure  600  may include a base  615  that may be similar to the bases  15 ,  315 ,  415  and  515  shown in previous figures in many respects. However, a top deck  660  may include a region of weakness in the form of an annular notch  661  that provides a material thinning. Similar to annular notch  461  of  FIGS. 15 and 16 , annular notch  661  may be concentric with one or both of inner skirt  670  and outer skirt  665 , and may be present to cause deformation and/or breakage of the top deck  660  if an attempt is made to remove the closure following application to a container neck. Unlike the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 15 and 16 , however, and as best shown in  FIGS. 20 and 21 , annular notch  661  may be formed at or near a junction between inner skirt  670  and top deck  660 . 
     In various embodiments, such as those shown in  FIGS. 19-21 , one or more gussets  662  may be provided in between inner skirt  670  and outer skirt  665 . Gussets  662  may reduce or eliminate “ovalization” of closure  600  that sometimes may occur during removal of closure  600  from a bottle or other container (not shown), e.g., by functioning as a structure to separate outer skirt  665  from inner skirt  670 . While only a single gusset  662  is visible in  FIG. 19 , in various embodiments, closure  600  may include various numbers of gussets  662 , such as eight, distributed evenly or unevenly about a circumference of base  615 . 
     While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the appended claims.