Abstract:
A closure structure for a container includes a closure body, a cooperating lid and a surrounding tamper-evident sleeve. The closure body has an end wall having a dispensing orifice, and an annular sidewall depending from the end wall and having internal threads engageable to external threads of the container. The closure lid is movable to cover the dispensing orifice in a closed position and movable away from said closed position to uncover the dispensing orifice. The tamper-evident sleeve surrounds the closure body and has a bead engageable to a retaining element of the container located below the closure body to prevent axial upward displacement of the sleeve with respect to the container The sleeve includes a retention member overlying the lid to prevent opening movement of the lid. The sleeve includes a frangible feature arranged to be torn to remove the sleeve and disengage the retention member from over the lid to allow opening of the lid.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation application of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/696,681, filed Oct. 25, 2000. 
     
    
     
       TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0002]    The invention relates to closures for containers. More particularly, the invention relates to dispensing closures having tamper indicating features which must be broken or torn to initially open the closure.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND TECHNICAL PROBLEMS POSED BY THE PRIOR ART  
         [0003]    A variety of container closures have been developed or proposed wherein an initial opening of a lid or a dispensing spout structure provides visual evidence of such an occurrence—even after the lid or spout has been subsequently closed. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,487,324; 4,941,592; 5,201,440 and 5,875,907 disclose closures which incorporate a locking band or tab that is attached to either the lid or the body of the closure with a plurality of frangible webs so as to initially retain the closure lid to the body in the closed position. To initially open the closure, the user must break the frangible webs by pushing or pulling on a tab or band.  
           [0004]    While the above-mentioned closures can function well for the purposes for which they have been designed, it would be desirable to provide an improved tamper-evident closure which could be readily fabricated to associate with certain types of lids or flow control elements and which, prior to initial opening, could enhance the cosmetic appearance of the closure. It would be desirable if such a tamper-evident closure could be easily installed on a container in its tamper-indicating ready condition for eventual delivery to the consumer.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    The closure structure of the invention provides an effective tamper-indicating feature which evidences unauthorized access or tampering with a contained product. The closure structure is cost effectively molded, assembled and installed on a container.  
           [0006]    A first aspect of the invention comprises a closure structure for a container, the container having a container neck defining a dispensing opening. The structure includes a cap having an end wall for at least partially closing the opening of the container neck, and a surrounding tamper-evident sleeve having an annular wall sized to surround the container neck. The annular wall is engaged to the container neck below the cap. A top retention member extends radially inwardly from the annular wall over the cap end wall. The surrounding sleeve includes at least one frangible feature configured to be separated by a user, separation of the feature allowing at least partial disengagement of the surrounding sleeve from the container neck so as to provide access to the cap.  
           [0007]    The annular wall can be engaged to the container neck by means of a retaining element extending radially outwardly from the container neck, spaced from the container neck dispensing opening, and an engagement member extending radially inwardly from the annular wall of the sleeve to be positioned beneath the retaining element to prohibit axial separation of the sleeve from the container neck. Separation of the frangible feature allows the annular wall to be spread open to disengage the engagement member from the retaining element to axially or radially remove the top retention member from over the cap.  
           [0008]    Another aspect of the invention provides that the cap comprises a closure body and a closure lid. The closure body has an end wall defining a dispensing orifice in fluid communication with the container dispensing opening, and an annular sidewall engageable to the container neck. The closure lid has an occluding portion movable to cover the dispensing orifice in a closed position and movable away from the closed position to uncover the dispensing orifice. The tamper-evident sleeve surrounds the closure body and the lid and is engaged to the container neck below the closure body to prevent axial upward displacement of the sleeve with respect to the container neck. The sleeve includes a retention member overlying the closure lid to prevent movement of the occluding portion to uncover the dispensing orifice. The frangible feature of the sleeve is arranged to be torn to disengage the retention member from over the lid to allow the occluding portion to be moved to uncover the dispensing orifice.  
           [0009]    Another aspect of the invention provides that the tamper-evident sleeve can be separately molded and assembled over the cap, prior to mounting the assembly on the container. To mount the assembly on the container, the cap, carrying the surrounding sleeve, is screwed or otherwise engaged to the container. The sleeve is simultaneously engaged to the container by the engagement member of the sleeve, in the form of a bead, which is snapped over a retaining element of the container neck, in the form of a ring. To facilitate screwing on of the sleeve and cap, the sleeve is provided with interior knurling or ribs which engage exterior knurling or ribs of the cap. The mutual engagement of the interior and exterior knurling or ribs ensures mutual turning of the sleeve and cap. This operation is advantageously performed in rapid fashion by a capping machine.  
           [0010]    The tamper-evident sleeve of the invention prevents unauthorized and undetected removal or opening of a closure lid and/or a closure body from a container. According to the exemplary embodiment, the sleeve prevents undetected opening of the lid from the body and prevents undetected removal of the body from the container neck.  
           [0011]    Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention, from the claims, and from the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    The accompanying drawings form part of the specification, and like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a closure structure of the present invention, including a closure assembly surrounded by a tamper-evident sleeve, mounted or installed on a container;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the closure structure of FIG. 1 with a tamper-indicating tear strip of the tamper-evident sleeve removed;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the tamper-evident sleeve of FIG. 1, separate from the closure assembly;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken generally through line  4 - 4  of FIG. 1; and  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment tamper-evident sleeve, separate from the closure assembly. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]    While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, this specification and the accompanying drawings disclose only some specific forms as examples of the invention. The invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments so described, however. The scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.  
         [0019]    For ease of description, figures illustrating the invention show a dispensing system in the typical orientation that it would have at the top of a container when the container is stored upright on its base, and terms such as upper, lower, horizontal, etc., are used with reference to this position. It will be understood, however, that the dispensing system of this invention may be manufactured, stored, transported, used, and sold in an orientation other than the position described.  
         [0020]    The dispensing system of this invention is suitable for use with a variety of conventional or special containers having various designs, the details of which, although not illustrated or described, would be apparent to those having skill in the art and an understanding of such containers. The container per se described herein forms no part of some aspects of the invention and therefore is not intended to limit the present invention. It will also be understood by those of ordinary skill that novel and non-obvious inventive aspects are embodied in the described exemplary closure systems alone.  
         [0021]    An exemplary embodiment of a closure structure  30  according to the invention is illustrated in FIGS.  1 - 4 . The closure structure  30  is adapted to engage a container neck  32 . The closure structure  30  includes an outer, surrounding tamper-evident sleeve  36  and an inner cap  40 . The sleeve  36  is configured to prevent access to the contents of the container until the sleeve is disengaged from the container neck, preferably by removal of the sleeve from the container neck.  
         [0022]    The tamper-evident sleeve  36  surrounds the cap  40  and the container neck  32 . The sleeve  36  includes an annular sidewall  48 , a top retention member in the form of a partially annular lip  52  extending radially inwardly from the sidewall  48 , and a bottom engagement member in the form of an annular bead  58  (shown in FIG. 4), extending radially inwardly from the sidewall  48 . An external, partially annular flange  53  extends outwardly from a bottom of the annular sidewall  48 . The annular flange  53  increases the hoop rigidity of the annular sidewall  48  to prevent prying off of the sleeve after its initial installation on the cap  40 .  
         [0023]    The annular sidewall  48  includes a first frangible feature in the form of a first line of weakness  62 , and a second frangible feature in the form of a second line of weakness  64 . The first and second lines of weakness define a tear strip  72  therebetween. A pull tab  76  extends perpendicularly (radially) from tear strip  72  into a central region  80  of the sleeve. The pull tab  76  can carry molded or other indicia  81  giving opening instructions or other information.  
         [0024]    The frangible lines  62 ,  64  can be made frangible in a number of ways, including forming the lines with a reduced thickness, forming the lines as a through cut with intermittently arranged bridging webs, forming the lines as a plurality of perforations, etc.  
         [0025]    The lines need not be linear, but can be curved or inflected. The two lines need not be parallel. It is also encompassed by the invention that a single frangible line is used to separate the annular wall.  
         [0026]    For the cap  40  to be initially opened, the sleeve must be removed. The tab  76  is grasped and the tear-off strip is pulled outwardly and downwardly to tear the sleeve along the lines of weakness  62 ,  64 . After the tear off strip  72  is removed the sleeve can be forcibly opened up or spread open to be removed from the container neck. The external, partially annular flange  53  provides rigidity to stabilize the sleeve during tear-removal of the tear-off strip  72 .  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 2 illustrates the tamper-indicating sleeve  36  having been torn to be removed from the container neck  32 . With the tear strip  72  missing, the annular sidewall  48  can be spread sufficiently in the tangential direction  T  to be removed axially, or radially, over a container neck retaining element  86  (described below), from the container neck  32 .  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 3 illustrates the tamper-indicating sleeve  36  in isolation. The sleeve can include knurling or ribs  94  on an outside surface for gripping by capping machinery to screw on the closure structure to a container neck. The sleeve can also include internal knurling or ribs  98  on an inside surface thereof. The internal knurling or ribs  98  engage external knurling or ribs  106  on the cap  40  (shown in FIG. 2), so that the torque applied by the capping machine to the closure structure  30  is transferred through the sleeve  36  to the cap  40  for screwing the closure structure on the container neck  32 .  
         [0029]    As can be seen in FIG. 4, the closure structure  30  is engaged to the container neck  32 . The container neck  32  includes an external thread formation  120  and the retaining element  86 , in the form of a flange or a ring. The container neck  32  also includes a top container finish or annular sealing surface  130 .  
         [0030]    The cap  40  of the closure structure includes a closure body  132  and a lid  138  connected together by a hinge  144 . The closure body  132  includes a deck  146  and a depending, hollow, generally cylindrical skirt  148 . An annular shoulder  154  is defined on the top of the skirt  148 , surrounding the deck  146 . The closure structure also includes a spout  158  extending upwardly from the deck  146 . A compressible seal  162  extends from the bottom surface of the deck. This seal can be a “crab&#39;s claw” seal.  
         [0031]    The interior of the skirt  148  also defines an internal, female thread  166 . The skirt  148  is adapted to receive and threadingly engage the upper end of the container neck  32 . The skirt thread  166  is adapted to matingly engage the thread  120  of the container neck  32 . Full engagement of the threads  120 ,  166  causes the top sealing surface  130  of the container neck to compress the cap body compressible seal  162  to form a seal between the closure structure  30  and the container neck  32 . The top sealing surface  130  is typically flat and interferes with the seal  162 , as shown schematically in FIG. 4 by the overlapping cross sections of these parts in their relaxed states.  
         [0032]    As an alternative to threading, the closure skirt  148  could be provided with some other container connecting means, such as a snap-fit bead or groove (not illustrated) in place of the thread  166  for engaging a container groove or bead (not illustrated), respectively, in the container neck.  
         [0033]    The tamper-evident sleeve of the exemplary embodiment of FIGS.  1 - 4  prevents unauthorized, undetected opening of the lid from the body and/or the unauthorized, undetected removal of the body from the container neck. In an alternate embodiment where tamper-evidency of only the lid alone is necessary, the closure body  132  could be permanently attached to the container by means of induction melting, ultrasonic melting, gluing, or the like, depending on materials used for the closure body  132  and container. The closure body  132  could also be formed as a unitary part, or extension, of the container.  
         [0034]    The closure body skirt  148  may have any suitable configuration. The container could have an upwardly projecting “neck” or other portion for being received within the particular configuration of the closure body  132 , and the main part of the container may have a same or a different cross-sectional shape than the container neck and closure body skirt  148 . In this regard, “neck” only refers to that portion of the container that receives the closure structure, and is not limited to a portion which is more narrow than adjoining portions of the container, or the main body of the container. For example, the term “neck” also encompasses the closure-structure-receiving portion of a tubular container, wherein the neck has the same diameter as the remaining portions of the container.  
         [0035]    The closure structure  30  is adapted to be used with a container having a mouth or other opening to provide access to the container interior and to a product contained therein. The product may be, for example, a comestible product such as a food paste, jelly or jam. However, the closure structure  30  could also be used with many other materials, including, but not limited to, relatively low or high viscosity liquids, particulates, etc. as constituting a food product, a personal care product, an industrial or household cleaning product, or other chemical compositions (e.g., compositions for use in activities involving manufacturing, commercial or household maintenance, construction, agriculture, etc.).  
         [0036]    The container with which the closure structure may be used would typically be a squeezable container having a flexible wall or walls which can be grasped by the user and squeezed or compressed to increase the internal pressure within the container so as to force the product out of the container and through the closure structure  30 . The container wall typically has sufficient, inherent resiliency so that when the squeezing forces are removed, the container wall returns to its normal, unstressed shape. Such a squeezable wall container is preferred in many applications but may not be necessary for preferred in other applications. For example, in some applications it may be desirable to employ a generally rigid container and pressurize the container interior at selected times with a piston or other pressurizing system.  
         [0037]    The lid  138  is preferably hingedly connected to the closure body  132 , with the hinge  144  preferably being a snap-action hinge. Such a hinge is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,824, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference thereto. In an alternate embodiment, the lid  138  need not be connected with a snap-action hinge. A floppy hinge may be used instead. Further, in another embodiment (not illustrated), the hinge  144  may be omitted entirely, and the lid  138  can be completely separate, and completely removable, from the closure body. In some applications, the lid  138  be omitted altogether.  
         [0038]    The lid  138  includes a sidewall or lid skirt  172  (FIG. 4) from which the hinge  144  extends to the body  132 . The lid skirt  172  has a lid seating surface  176 . When the lid  138  is closed, the lid seating surface  176  engages the annular shoulder  154  defined on the closure body  132  at the top of the closure body sidewall  148 . The lid  138  includes a lifting tab  178  extending radially outwardly on a front side of the lid  138 . The lifting tab  178  is used for opening the lid after the sleeve is removed. The lifting tab  178  and the sleeve  36  are sized and shaped to resiliently interfere, as schematically indicated in FIG. 4 by the overlapping cross sections of the two parts in their relaxed state. The interference acts to retain the closure body  132  and lid  138  within the sleeve  36  prior to assembly on the container neck  32 . The interference also acts to ensure that the closure body  132  rotates with the sleeve during installation of the closure structure  30  on the container neck  32 . This is especially important if the interior knurling or ribs  98  (shown in FIG. 3) are not used.  
         [0039]    The lid  138  includes an orifice sealing member or “spud”  180  which extends from a lid end wall  182  and which is adapted to sealingly engage a peripheral surface  186  of the orifice  160  when the lid  138  is pivoted from the open position to a closed position. As will be recognized, the orifice sealing member  180  is of a complementary shape relative to the shape of the dispensing orifice  160 . The lid end wall  182  functions as an occluding portion which is movable to (1) a closed position to cover the dispensing orifice, and (2) an open position away from the closed position to uncover the dispensing orifice.  
         [0040]    In the tamper-indicating ready position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, the retention member  52  overlies the end wall  182  of the closure lid  138  and prevents the lifting thereof. The annular bead  58  underlies the retaining element  86  of the container neck  32  to prevent removal of the sleeve  36  in an upward direction. In this regard, the annular bead  58  includes a gradually sloping leading side  58   a  and a steeply sloping retention side  58   b . The gradually sloping leading side  58   a  allows the annular bead  58  to resiliently pass over the retaining element  86  during initial installation on the container neck. The steeply sloping retention side  58   b  prevents the unauthorized and undetected removal of the sleeve from the container neck.  
         [0041]    For the closure lid to be initially opened, the sleeve  36  must be removed. The tab  76  is grasped and the tear-off strip is pulled outwardly and downwardly to tear the sleeve along the lines of weakness  62 ,  64 . After the tear off strip  72  is removed, the sleeve can be opened up to be removed from the container neck. Thereafter, to dispense material from the container, the lid  138  is pivoted about the hinge  144  until the spud  180  is removed from the orifice  160 .  
         [0042]    The closure structure  30  is advantageously configured to be easily and cost effectively installed onto a container neck  32 . The closure structure  30  as a unit is mounted onto the container neck  32  and turned to advance the closure threads  166  on the container threads  120 . Additionally, as the threads  166  advance, the bead  58  passes over the retaining element  86  to be engaged as shown in FIG. 4. In this manner, the entire closure structure  30 , including the tamper-evident sleeve  36  and cap  40 , can be installed by the capping machine in a single step.  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 5 illustrates an alternate embodiment tamper-evident sleeve  36 ′ which includes a modified tear-off strip  72 ′. The modified tear-off strip  72 ′ is defined between the prior described line of weakness  64  and a modified line of weakness  62 ′. The modified line of weakness  62 ′ stops short of a bottom edge  72   a  of the strip to form an attachment web  62   a  between the edge  72   a  and the line of weakness  62 ′. Thus, by pulling the tab  76  down, the tear-off strip can be completely separated from the sleeve at the line  64  but only partially separated from the sleeve at the line  62 ′. The advantage of this arrangement is that rather than two scrap pieces being formed by the sleeve, only a single scrap piece, including the sleeve with attached strip  72  and tab  76 , is formed.  
         [0044]    It will be readily apparent from the foregoing detailed description of the invention and from the illustrations thereof that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novel concepts or principles of this invention. For example, although the closure assembly of the invention is exemplified by a threaded engagement with the container, the invention contemplates other fastening techniques and implements for securing the closure assembly to the container. Another fastening might incorporate a friction fit facilitated by a closure assembly having a skirt with an inside diameter sized to provide a sliding or telescoping engagement with a smooth, threadless container finish. In such an embodiment, the fitment and closure body would be provided with abutment surfaces, for example, a bayonet type interlock or fastening implement, which permit installation of the closure assembly on the container, but which may be configured, for example, by relative rotation of the closure body and container, to restrict upward movement of the closure body relative to the container.