Cap for oil bottles and the like

Abstract: The cap (1) in accordance with the invention is of the kind that comprises a sort of inverted dome having a skirt (2) joined to the cap body (1) by means of a tear-off strip (3). The novelty of the invention lies in that the skirt (2) has a number of weakened slots (8) originating at the very edge of the skirt (2) and projecting upwards until they disappear into the outer side surface of the skirt, which slots (8) will reveal any manipulation or attempted opening of the cap, for they will break when submitted to a twisting stress. The slots (8) can be joined in pairs by means of upper transverse slots forming sort of frangible battlements.

Description: OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved cap that is particularly useful for bottles designed to contain oil and other similar liquid products. The object of the invention is to provide a cap with means serving as a safety seal forming part of the actual skirt that is usually provided in caps of this kind, making it easier to mount the cap on each bottle and at the same time rendering its manufacture simple and inexpensive. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Caps are known in the field of bottling, particularly of bottling oil, namely, for instance, as described in Spanish patent of invention application 9601289 of the very applicant, to comprise a skirt designed to be duly fixed to the bottle neck, and a stop that is linked to the skirt through a tear-off strip, serving as a seal, the skirt and the stop being kept together when the seal is broken by means of a joint holding both elements as one. This type of seal is designed to serve as a means indicating that the stop and hence the container has been opened. These caps, mainly when used with oil bottles, are provided with an internal body or drop arrester whose inner face is pressed against the neck of the bottle, thereby providing an impervious means between the cap and the container. Caps are also well-known to have a safety seal to expose any kind of tampering designed to altogether remove the entire cap and fill the bottle with a liquid other than that marked by the brand affixed to the relevant container. These seals generally consist of a ring weakly joined to the bottom edge of the skirt of the cap, which ring is torn from the skirt when the bottle is opened, revealing that it has been manipulated. Fitting caps provided with a safety seal on bottles is complex, for the automatic mounting means must be perfectly gauged and be capable of making very precise movements in order, on the one hand, to allow the cap to expand and be coupled onto the bottle neck, and on the other, to prevent such expansion from resulting in the seal being torn off. Furthermore, the provision of a seal, comprising a ring joined to the skirt, renders cap manufacture more complex, and adds to the expense of generally plastic material, which logically raises the price of the cap. Document US-A-5 207 783 is considered to represent the most relevant state of the art, which discloses a safety closure for containers comprising a cap part and a lower perimetric skirt adapted to the outer surface of the neck of the bottle with which it is used. Said skirt is provided with a number of weakened slots extending from the bottom edge of the skirt, which are guided in the direction of the generatrix of the skirt as such, in a vertical or oblique position, defining severing means in an event of an attempt being made at fraudulently opening the cap. Since the weakened slots run all around the skirt, the inner projection is discontinued at those areas, and the skirt loses rigidity and may yield or stretch sufficiently to allow the cap to be removed without the weakened slots breaking. The cap of document US-A-5 207 783 is provided only to betray an attempted removal of the cap by pulling it up. However, the cap of the present invention is provided for that same purpose and moreover to betray lever-like tampering beneath the cap skirt. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The cap disclosed herein has been devised to fully overcome the drawbacks described hereinabove, relying upon a solution that is both simple and effective, for the safety seal system as such consists of axially weakened slots, evenly spaced out on the surface of the lowermost part of the skirt. In other words, these weakened slots originate on the edge of the skirt of the cap and project upwards, approximately extending to halfway up the skirt as such, and then disappearing into the outer side surface of the skirt. These weakened slots will stand as the seal as such, for any attempted manipulation will result in the slots being severed, thus revealing that the cap has been manipulated. This safety seal system included on the actual skirt allows the cap to be more easily fitted on the bottle, and whereas the likelihood of any of the parts conventionally joining the ring that stands as the seal to the body of the cap being severed is diminished, it is absolutely effective as a safety seal, since the cap cannot possibly be removed without tearing off the weakened area. In an alternative embodiment, the said weakened slots are grouped in pairs through their inner end, lying approximately halfway up the skirt, by means of transverse slots that form sort of battlements, which further weaken the area where the skirt is gripped by hand, which means that it is almost impossible for the strength required to detach the same from the bottle to be applied without any of said battlements being severed. The side slots making up each of these battlements can be vertically arranged relative to the generatrix of the skirt referred to above, or otherwise take up a substantially oblique position in either direction. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to provide a fuller description and contribute to the complete understanding of the characteristics of this invention, a set of drawings is attached to the specification which, while purely illustrative and not fully comprehensive, shows the following: Figure 1.- Is a perspective overview of the cap for oil bottles and the like, with the improvement comprising the seal device that constitutes the essential object of the invention, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the weakened slots. Figure 2.- Is a plan view of the underside of the cap shown in the preceding figure, said view being of one of the two halves, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the weakened slots. Figure 3.- Is a sectional view of the cap shown in the preceding figure, showing the weakened slots that constitute the seal device or system subject of the invention, in accordance with a preferred embodiment thereof. Figure 4.- Is a perspective overview of the cap for oil bottles and the like, with the improvement comprising the seal device that constitutes the essential object of the invention, in accordance with a second embodiment of the weakened slots. Figure 5. - Is a plan view of the underside of the cap shown in the preceding figure, said view being of one of the two halves, in accordance with a second embodiment of the weakened slots. Figure 6.- Is a sectional view of the cap shown in the preceding figure, in accordance with a second embodiment of the weakened slots. Figure 7.- Is a perspective overview of the cap of the invention, in accordance with the embodiment in which the slots are grouped in pairs at their inner end, by means of transverse slots, resulting in right-angled weakened battlements. Figure 8.- Is a side elevation and quarter-sectional view of the cap shown in the preceding figure. Figure 9.- Is a schematic side elevation view of the bottom area of the seal skirt included in the cap of figures 7 and 8. Figure 10.- Is a view similar to that of figure 9, of a different embodiment in which the battlements are alternated with simple slots. Figure 11.- Is in turn another view similar to that of figure 9, albeit of a different embodiment in which the battlements are oblique. Figure 12.- Is finally another schematic view similar to that of figure 9, wherein the oblique battlements are alternated with simple and also with oblique slots. PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Although the said figures show a particular type of cap to which the improvements or enhancement of the invention apply, these improvements comprising the seal system or device are clearly applicable to any other type of cap of the kind used for sealing bottles containing liquids such as water, oil, etc. With reference to the particular embodiment shown in figures 1 to 6, the cap of the invention (1) is of the kind including a skirt (2) and a tear-off strip (3) to open the cap as such, such strip being torn off by pulling an outer radial tab (4). The cap (1) has a concentric neck (5) to be adjusted to the contour of the bottle neck, and ridges (6) and an inner annular rib (7) at the skirt (2) as such that will define the means retaining the cap at the bottle neck when the cap is mounted and said rib (7) extends beyond the respective ridge with which the top edge of the bottle is purposely provided. Now then, starting from these characteristics, the novelty of the invention lies in that the skirt (2) of the cap (1) as such is provided with a number of weakened slots (8) that are clearly seen in figures 1 and 3 to originate at the very edge of the skirt (2) and project upwards until they disappear into the outer side surface of the skirt (2) as such, whereby said weakened slots (8) will reveal any manipulation or attempt at opening the cap, for the slots will be severed when submitted to a small twisting stress, which happens when caps of this kind are fraudulently opened. In accordance with a preferred embodiment shown in figures 1 to 3, the weakened slots comprise recessed areas, whereas in another embodiment shown in figures 4 to 6, they comprise simple side notch-like apertures. The weakened slots (8) of the skirt (2) and the inner annular rib (7) for retention against the inner neck of the bottle together stand as a further obstacle to an operation to fraudulently open the cap, for if an attempt is made at manipulating the cap, generally inserting a wedge-like implement under the lowermost edge of the skirt, due to the weakening of the slots and the space there is between the skirt and the bottle neck because of the annular rib (7), the skirt will yield inwardly making the prising effect required to remove the cap even more difficult. Figures 7 to 12 show how the weakening slots (8) of the skirt (2) are grouped in pairs by means of upper transverse slots (9) that form sort of battlements (10), frangible upon a stress being applied to the mouth of the skirt (2), far smaller than what is required for the annular rib (7) of said skirt to become detached from the matching ridge on the bottle. These transverse slots (9) may be provided for all the axial slots (8), as shown in the example of figure 9, or else only part of these, as shown in figure 10, and the battlements (10) may thus be alternated with simple slots (8). These two possibilities shown in figures 9 and 10 each allow for yet another alternative, namely that said slots (8) be obliquely arranged, as shown in figures 11 and 12, where such oblique slots are designated (8'), resulting in similarly oblique battlements (10'), which may stand as the only tear-off elements of the skirt (2), as in figure 11, or may be alternated with simple and likewise oblique slots (8'), as in the case of figure 12.

Claims: A cap for oil bottles and the like, being of the kind having a lower perimetric skirt (2) adapted to the outer surface of the neck of the bottle with which it is used, the skirt (2) extending between an inner annular rib (7) retaining the cap at the bottle neck and a bottom edge, the skirt (2) being provided with a number of weakened slots (8) defining severing means in the event of an attempt being made at fraudulently opening the cap, characterised in that the slots (8) project upwards from the bottom edge of the skirt to approximately halfway up the skirt (2). A cap for oil bottles and the like, as in claim 1, characterised in that the slots (8) are vertically arranged relative to the generatrix of the skirt (2). A cap for oil bottles and the like, as in claim 1, characterised in that the weakened slots (8) are interconnected in pairs by means of transverse slots (9), defining sort of weakened battlements (10). A cap for oil bottles and the like, as in claim 3, characterised in that the weakened slots (8) of the skirt (2) are grouped in pairs and connected by means of respective transverse slots (9), establishing a perimetric alignment of battlements (10) on the skirt (2). A cap for oil bottles and the like, as in claim 3, characterised in that pairs of the weakened slots (8), connected by means of transverse slots (9) forming battlements (10), are alternated with simple slots parallel to the generating line of the skirt (2). A cap for oil bottles and the like, as in claims 3 and 4, characterised in that the parallel slots (8') of each battlement (10') are obliquely arranged relative to the generatrix of the skirt (2). A cap for oil bottles and the like, as in claims 3 and 5, characterised in that both the simple slots (8) and the slots (8') parallel to each battlement, are obliquely arranged relative to the generatrix of the skirt (2).

Inventors: BERROA GARCIA JAVIER, BERROA GARCIA, JAVIER
Applicants: BEPLAST SA, BEPLAST, S.A.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: B65D41
IPC codes: B65D41