Abstract:
A closure for a container is disclosed having an end wall with one or more product dispensing openings therein. The closure has a flip open lid hingedly connected to the outer edge of the end wall and movable between a closed and an open position. The end wall has stiffening shoulders on opposite sides of the hinge and extending proximate the edges of the lid so as to stiffen the end wall against deformation upon application of the closure to the container.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No: 60/672,924, filed Apr. 19, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a closure for consumer containers as may be used to package spices, sugar, powdered drink mixes, salt or other dry, fluent (flowable) materials or products. More specifically, this invention relates to such a closure which may be used with small containers with a flip open lid that exposes one or more product dispensing holes through which the product may be poured, shaken or spooned from the container. 
     In the high-speed packaging of dry, fluent products, a pre-measured quantity (either a pre-determined weight or volume) of the product is discharged into the container. Oftentimes, a tamper-evident, tear-off seal is adhered to the mouth of the container after filling of the container. These containers typically have a screw-on closure which is threaded onto the threaded neck of the container by high-speed capping equipment incorporated in the product filling line. Such capping equipment oftentimes applies more torque to the closure than is necessary to insure that the closure is tightly screwed onto the container. In the past, this excess torque applied to the closure caused the closure to deform as it was screwed tightly to the container, which, in turn, caused a flip open lid formed with the closure to become unseated from the remainder of the closure and to partially open or to open. With the lid in a partially open position, the container could become jammed in the filling line, or the partially open lids would not allow the containers to be packaged in overcartons using automated equipment. In addition, such partially open lids may cause the filled package to be automatically rejected by the filling line or by inspectors. Still further, even if the lid would remain closed during filling and packing in overcartons, the stress imposed on the closure during the capping operation would, on occasion, cause the flip open lids to become unseated during shipping or while the container was on a store shelf prior to being purchased by a consumer. Such partially open lids would cause the container to be seen by the store clerks or the consumer as defective because the clerk or the consumer may believe that the product had been opened or contaminated, even though a taper-evident seal applied to the mouth of the container under the closure remained intact. As will be appreciated, such containers having the above-described tamper-evident seals applied to the mouth of the container must be removed prior to use by unscrewing the closure from the container, removing the seal, and then screwing the closure back onto the container. On occasion, the consumer (customer) may, when using the container, over-tighten the closure thus resulting in a similar deformation such that the flip open lid will not stay in its closed position. This, of course, my result in the spillage of the contents of the container or it may result in the degradation of the contents. 
     There has long been a need for a flip open, screw-on closure that better resisted deformation during the capping operation, particularly if the closure was screwed onto the container with more torque than was necessary. There has also been a need for such a flip-open closure where the lid will remain secured in its closed position during shipping, and while the product is displayed on store shelves and is used by the consumer. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Among the several objects and features of the closure herein described is the provision of a closure having a flip open lid where the closure resists deformation upon being tightly applied (e.g., screwed) onto its container either by automated capping equipment or by hand thereby insuring that its flip open lid remains closed; 
     The provision of such a closure that has a flush upper surface when the flip open lid is in its closed position; and 
     The provision of such a closure which, while resisting deformation caused by over-torquing, is of light-weight construction, which is easy to mold, and which is economical to manufacture. 
     It will be appreciated that some of the above objects and features may be applicable to only some of the claims hereinafter presented and that the closures described in the claims need not include all of the above-noted features or advantages. 
     Other objects and features of the closure herein described will be in part apparent and in part disclosed herein. 
     The closure herein described is intended for use with a container, where the container has a neck and a mouth at the upper end of the neck. The closure has a lower closure body having a downwardly depending skirt for sealable connection to the mouth of the container. A end wall extends across the upper end of the lower closure body for closing the end of the closure and of the container when the closure is applied to the container. The end wall has one or more openings therethrough for the dispensing of a fluent (loose or flowable) product contained within the container. A flip-open lid is hingedly connected to the closure by a hinge for movement of the lid relative to the closure between a closed position in which the lid overlies and closes the opening(s) in the end wall and an open position in which the lid is clear of the openings thereby to permit the dispensing of the product. A snap lock is provided for retaining thelid in its closed position. The closure has a shoulder integrally formed with the upper end wall on opposite sides of the hinge for stiffening the end wall against deformation upon application of the closure to the container. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the closure of the present invention having a lower body portion, and end wall, and a flip-open lid in its open position; 
         FIG. 2  is top plan view of the closure with its flip-open lid in its fully open position; 
         FIG. 3  is a front side elevational view of the closure shown in  FIG. 1  with the flip-open lid in its closed position; 
         FIG. 4  a cross sectional view taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3  with the flip open lid in its open position; and 
         FIG. 5  is a side elevational view of a typical container to which the closure of this invention is threadably applied. 
     
    
    
     Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, one embodiment of the closure of the present invention is indicated in its entirety by reference character  1 . The closure is adapted to be applied, preferably (but not necessarily) threaded, onto a container  3 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , container  3  has a neck  5  with the mouth  7  of the container at the upper end of the neck. As is conventional, a tear away tamper evident seal  9  is adhered to the mouth of the container. External threads  11  are formed on the outer surface of the container neck so that the closure  1  may be screwed onto the neck of the container in the conventional manner. 
     Closure  1  has a lower body portion, as generally indicated at  13 , having a downwardly extending cylindrical skirt  15 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , internal threads  17  are formed on the inner wall of skirt  15  for threadable engagement with threads  11  on the neck of its container  3  so that closure may be sealably secured to the container. While the closure is preferably threadably secured to its container, those skilled in the art will understand that the closure may be secured to the container by other suitable means well-known in the closure field, such as using a push-in closure which is adhered to its container by an adhesive. Such a “push in” skirt is shown in U.S. Pat. No. RE 34,263, which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     Closure  1  has an upper end wall  19  extending across the upper end of lower body portion  13  and closing the closure and the upper end of container  3 . The end wall is provided with one or more product dispensing openings, as indicated at  21 . It will be understood that the number and size of the openings may be varied, depending on the product to be contained in container  3  and the method of dispensing that is desired for the product. As shown, five (5) of such product openings are used where each opening is relatively large. Such openings are preferable when dispensing a flowable or fluent, dry product such as Parmesan cheese or flake spices (e.g., basil or parsley). Those skilled in the art will appreciate that smaller opening may be preferred in dispensing products having a finer granular form, such as popcorn salt or the like.For such fine products, more than five (5) holes may be preferred. For certain products, particularly products used in baking, such as baking powder, where the end-user spoons the product from the container, only a single opening for accommodating a spoon may be preferred. Also, those skilled in the art will understand that for closures of a larger size than is shown in the drawings, a combination of different groups of openings may be used for different dispensing applications. 
     Further, closure  1  has a flip-open lid, as generally indicated at  23 , which is hingedly connected to the upper portion of lower body portion  13  by a hinge  25  integrally molded to skirt  15  and to lid  23 . Preferably, hinge  25  is adjacent the periphery of the closure. While a number of different hinge designs may be used, a so-called “bow tie” hinge design is preferred. Such “bow tie” hinges are well known to those skilled in the closure field. Lid  23  has a distal edge end  27  generally opposite hinge  25  and a snap lock closure  29  carried by the distal edge of the lid opposite the hinge. A variety of snap lock closures for such flip open lids are widely used in the closure field and any of these well known designs would be suitable for use with the closure of the present invention. These snap lock closures typically operate to engage a portion of the lid with a receptacle in the upper edge of the lower body portion  13  when the lid is forced to its fully closed position. In order to open such snap locks, a fingernail groove  30  is provided in the upper edge of the lower body portion  13  of the closure so that an end-user may more readily grip only the lid  23  to force it open. 
     As best shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the underside of lid  23  may optionally be provided with bosses  22  configured to be tightly received in holes  21  when the lid is in its closed position so as to aid in sealing the container when the lid is closed. 
     As generally indicated at  31   a ,  31   b  and as best shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a pair of stiffening shoulders  31   a ,  31   b  is integrally formed or molded with closure  1 , and more specifically molded with the upper edges of lower body portion  13  and with end wall  19 . Each stiffening shoulder  31   a ,  31   b  has a proximate end  33  adjacent hinge  25  and a distal end  35 . As shown and as is preferable, the stiffening shoulders  31   a ,  31   b  are symmetrical with respect to a centerline of the closure  1  passing through hinge  25  such that the stiffening shoulders  31   a ,  31   b  are substantially identical and are symmetrical with respect to the hinge  25 . Each of the stiffening shoulders  31   a ,  31   b  has an inner edge  37   a ,  37   b . Lid  23  has a corresponding side edge  39   a ,  39   b  inboard of shoulders  31   a ,  31   b  so as to be in close proximity to the inner edges  37   a ,  37   b  of the shoulders  31   a ,  31   b . As shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  3  and  4 , shoulders  31   a ,  31   b  extend up above the level of end wall  19  such that the closure  1  is substantially thicker (and thus stiffer) in the areas of the stiffening shoulders  31   a ,  31   b . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the stiffening shoulders  31   a ,  31   b  thus stiffen and resist deformation of the closure  1  as it is forcibly threaded onto container  3 . It will be understood that the stiffening shoulders  31   a ,  31   b  of closure  1  make it less likely for the closure  1  to be deformed when it is screwed onto the container  3  and thus the tendency of flip lid  23  to come open, during filling, shipping, retail display, and during use by the end-user is minimized. 
     As will be appreciated, flip lid  23  has an upper surface  41  (as shown in  FIG. 4 ). When the flip lid is in its closed position, the height of the flip lid corresponds to the height of the stiffening shoulders  31   a ,  31   b  such that the top surfaces of the stiffening shoulders and the top surface of the flip lid are substantially flush with one another (co-planar). That is, with the flip lid closed, the lid does not protrude above the level of the stiffening shoulders, unless some decorative design is molded on the upper surface of the flip lid. 
     Depending on the shape and/or size of closure  1 , other arrangements of the stiffening shoulders  31   a ,  31   b  of this invention may be employed. For example, on larger size closures, each of the stiffening shoulders  31   a ,  3   b  may have two or more segments (not shown) similar to shoulders  31   a ,  31   b  shown in  FIG. 2  with the outermost segment extending from the outer end of the first segment so as to extend around the periphery of the closure  1  toward snap lock  29  thereby to provide additional stiffening distal from the hinge  25  for such larger size closures. 
     While the present invention has been described by reference to specific embodiments, it should be understood that modifications and variations of the invention may be constructed without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the following claims.