Abstract:
A method for manufacturing a tamper-indicating closure having a plurality of resilient flexible projections bent upwardly and radially inwardly at a predetermined radius of curvature. The first step in the method includes providing a mold assembly comprising a female mold portion for forming the outer surface of the closure and a male mold portion for forming the closure&#39;s inner surface and its plurality of projections. The male and female mold portions are arranged for relative movement toward and away from each other between a mold open position and a mold closed position. When in the mold closed position, the male and female mold portions define a mold cavity in which the tamper-indicating closure is molded. The next steps in the method are to move the male and female mold portions into the mold closed position; to provide a mold material into the mold cavity; and, to maintained the mold portions in the mold closed position for a predetermined time period until the tamper-indicating closure is formed with its projections disposed at their predetermined radius of curvature. Next, the male mold portion is removed from the molded closure, whereby the projections temporarily bend from their predetermined radius of curvature to a second position. The closure includes a plurality of strain relief recesses corresponding to the number of projections, each strain relief recess being located radially outwardly from each projection. Each recess, in combination with the predetermined radius of curvature, acting to limit the extent of deformation of the corresponding projection during removal of the male mold portion so the projection can elastically return to substantially its “as molded” configuration.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This present invention relates generally to a tamper-indicating closure and a method for manufacturing that closure. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tamper-indicating closure having a plurality of locking projections that are molded to extend from the tamper-indicating ring radially inwardly and upwardly at a predetermined radius of curvature. After molding, during removal of a male core portion from the molded closure, the projections temporarily bend downwardly from their predetermined radius of curvature. A strain relief recess, located radially outwardly from the locking projections, substantially reduces the extent of plastic deformation of the projections during removal of the male core portion. Thus, following removal of the male core portion, the projections elastically return to substantially their predetermined radius of curvature. Because the projections are able to elastically return, secondary heating and physical manipulation steps are eliminated.  
           [0002]    It is important to provide tamper-indicating features on bottles and other containers. Increasingly, consumers have come to expect containers of all types that contain substances for human consumption to be equipped with tamper-indicating features. Although the use of such closures is widespread, the expense involved in producing such tamper-indicating closures has limited their use. If tamper-indicating closures could be manufactured less expensively than under current methods, they would be even more widely used.  
           [0003]    One approach to providing a tamper-indicating closure is to provide an upper cap portion and a lower tamper-indicating ring which is detachably connected to the cap portion by a failure line. Under this approach, typically, constructions employ a plurality of resilient flexible projections or fingers which extend upwardly and radially inwardly from the lower tamper-indicating ring. Once the closure is applied to the container neck, these upwardly and inwardly directed projections move to engage an annular locking ring portion located on the container neck. When the closure is unscrewed from the neck of the container, the tamper-indicating ring becomes detached from the cap portion and remains on the container neck. Thus, when the cap portion is replaced on the container neck, an identifiable gap forms between the cap portion and the tamper-indicating ring which serves as a visual indication that the container has been previously opened.  
           [0004]    Previous molding processes that have been used to manufacture thermoplastic tamper-indicating closures did not mold the projections in their final upward and radially inward positions. This is due to the fact that once the tamper-indicating closure is formed between female and male mold portions, it was necessary to remove the male mold portion from within the formed closure. If the projections were molded in their final upward and radially inward positions beneath the male mold portion, removal of the male mold portion from within the closure would cause these projections to bend severely and break off from the tamper-indicating ring. Instead, under these previous molding processes, closures were molded having projections that point straight down in an unbent fashion. In this manner, bending and breaking off of the projections during removal of the male mold portion was avoided. However, after removal of the male mold portion, post-forming operations became necessary to bend the projections upwardly to their final upward and radially inward positions. Due to the memory nature of thermoplastic materials, it was then necessary for the projections to be heated to re-set them from their straight down unbent configuration to their final upward and radially inward orientation. These post-forming steps increase manufacturing costs and cycle time. Additionally, these post-forming steps introduce unwanted variability into the manufacturing process. As a result, tamper-indicating closures manufactured utilizing these post-forming steps are costly and yield a product that is not sufficiently uniform in configuration.  
           [0005]    Thakor et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,471) discloses a method and apparatus for manufacturing a tamper-indicating closure whereby the tamper-indicating projections are molded in their final position to extend radially inward and upward. Upon removal of the male mold portion from the closure, the plurality of projections must bend downwardly to a degree that is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the apparatus. Such a degree of downward bending subjects the projections to significant deformation which prevents these projections from returning anywhere near their final orientation after removal of the male mold portion. Rather, under Thakor et al., after removal of the male mold portion, the projections bend inwardly to a position that is somewhere intermediate between straight down, unbent and their final molded orientation. Thus, after removal of the male mold portion, in order to return the projections to their final molded orientation, i.e., upward and radially inward, it is necessary to perform a secondary operation whereby the male mold portion is utilized to physically urge the downwardly bent projections to their originally molded position. Apparently, because the projections were molded in their final form rather than pointing straight down, no heating step is necessary to set the projections in their final orientation. Although Thakor et al., appears to be an improvement over the prior art molding processes discussed above because it apparently has eliminated a heating step, there still remains a post forming step which is required to urge the deformed projections to their originally molded orientation  
           [0006]    It is an object of the present invention to overcome these drawbacks and to provide a method for producing a tamper-indicating closure having resilient projections which elastically return substantially to their final position after removal of the male mold portion. The inventive closure requires no post forming operations such as physical manipulation or heating as discussed above.  
         OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to provide a unitary tamper-indicating closure with resilient locking projections that overcomes the disadvantages of prior art.  
           [0008]    It is a more specific object of this invention to provide a unitary tamper-indicating closure with resilient locking projections that has a high durability and long life span.  
           [0009]    It is a more specific object of this invention to provide a unitary tamper-indicating closure with resilient locking projections that eliminates secondary heating and physical manipulation steps during the manufacturing process resulting in less manufacturing costs.  
           [0010]    It is also a specific object of this invention to provide a unitary tamper-indicating closure with resilient locking projections which is simple in construction.  
           [0011]    It is also a specific object of this invention to provide a unitary tamper-indicating closure with resilient locking projections which is reliable in operation and easy to use.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0012]    These and other objects of this invention are achieved by providing a method for manufacturing a tamper-indicating closure having a plurality of resilient flexible projections bent upwardly and radially inwardly at a predetermined radius of curvature. The first step in the method includes providing a mold assembly comprising a female mold portion for forming the outer surface of the closure and a male mold portion for forming the closure&#39;s inner surface and its plurality of projections. The male and female mold portions are arranged for relative movement toward and away from each other between a mold open position and a mold closed position. When in the mold closed position, the male and female mold portions define a mold cavity in which the tamper-indicating closure is molded. The next steps in the method are to move the male and female mold portions into the mold closed position; to provide a mold material into the mold cavity; and, to maintain the mold portions in the mold closed position for a predetermined time period until the tamper-indicating closure is formed with its projections disposed at their predetermined radius of curvature. Next, the male mold portion is removed from the molded closure, whereby the projections temporarily bend from their predetermined radius of curvature to a second position. The closure includes a plurality of strain relief recesses corresponding to the number of projections, each strain relief recess being located radially outwardly from each projection. Each recess, in combination with the radius of curvature, acting to limit the extent of permanent deformation of the corresponding projection during removal of the male mold portion so the projection can elastically return to substantially its “as molded” configuration.  
           [0013]    In a variation of the disclosed embodiment, the male mold portion comprises an inner core member, a skirt member and an outer core member. The resilient flexible projections of the closure are formed between a molding surface disposed on the outer core member and a molding surface disposed on the skirt member. Prior to the step of removing the male mold portion from the molded tamper-indicating closure, the method further includes the step of separating the molding surface disposed on the outer core member from the bottom surface of the closure projections.  
           [0014]    In another variation of the disclosed embodiment, following the step of separating the molding surface of the outer core member from the bottom surface of the closure projections, the method further includes the step of separating the female mold portion from the molded tamper-indicating closure.  
           [0015]    In another variation of the disclosed embodiment, the inner surface of the closure includes an integrally molded internal screw thread arranged for engagement with an external screw thread disposed on the inner core member. The mold assembly includes a stripper ring arranged to be positioned against the closure to resist rotational movement of the closure during removal of the male mold portion. Under this variation, the step of removing the male mold portion from the closure includes the sub-step of rotating the inner core member while utilizing the stripper ring to maintain the closure non-rotational which causes the inner core member to unscrew from the closure.  
           [0016]    In another variation of the disclosed embodiment, the mold assembly additionally comprises a knock-out bar arranged for movement between a retracted position to an extended position. Following the step of removing the male mold portion from the molded tamper-indicating closure, the method comprises the additional step of moving the knock-out bar from the retracted position to the extended position to eject the closure from the stripper ring. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]    Other objects and many attendant features of this invention will become readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the tamper-indicating closure with resilient locking projections of the present invention;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken through line  2 - 2  of FIG. 1;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the tamper-indicating closure of the present invention;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 4A is a sectional view a projection of the tamper-indicating closure, the projection shown in its upward and radially inward orientation after removal of the male mold portion;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIGS. 4B through 4D are three sectional views of a projection of the tamper-indicating closure, the projection being deflected progressively downwardly from its molded position to a vertical downward orientation (illustrated in FIG. 4D) during removal of the male mold portion;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the molding apparatus of the present invention shown in a closed position;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 5A is a detailed view of the area circled and labeled “FIG. 5A” in FIG. 5;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a second movement of the molding apparatus of the present invention wherein the outer core member is separated from the bottom surfaces of the projections of the inventive tamper-indicating closure;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 6A is a detailed view of the area circled and labeled “FIG. 6A” in FIG. 6;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a third movement of the molding apparatus of the present invention wherein the female portion of the mold cavity is removed from the outer surface of the inventive tamper-indicating closure and the inner core member and skirt member are removed from within the tamper-indicating closure;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 7A is a detailed view of the area circled and labeled “FIG. 7A” in FIG. 7;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a fourth movement of the molding apparatus of the present invention wherein a knock-out bar moves upwardly to eject the tamper-indicating closure from the stripper ring; and,  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 8A is a detailed view of the area circled and labeled “FIG. 8A” in FIG. 8. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0031]    Referring now to the various figures of the drawing wherein like reference characters refer to like parts, there is shown at  10  in FIGS. 1 through 3, a tamper-indicating closure having resilient locking projections that has been molded in accordance with the present invention. The closure of the present invention is intended for placement over and securement to a container having an externally threaded neck. The closure  10  includes an internally threaded upper cap portion  12  and a lower tamper-indicating band or ring  14  which is detachably connected to the cap portion  12  by a failure line or area of weakness. The cap portion  12  includes a top wall  16  for extending across the open top of a container and an annular skirt or sidewall  18  integrally joined to the top wall  16  about the periphery of the top wall and having a screw thread  21  (FIG. 2) formed on its inner surface for engagement with a threaded container neck (not shown). Together, the top wall  16  and the side wall  18  form the cap portion  12 . As best shown in FIG. 4A, the tamper-indicating ring  14  is detachably connected to the lower periphery of the sidewall by breakable connector means  20 . The breakable connector means  20  could be further weakened by the inclusion of series of generally rectangular perforations (not shown) cut into the breakable connector means  20  at evenly spaced intervals about the circumference thereof. When the cap portion  12  is unscrewed from the container neck (not shown), the tamper-indicating ring  14  is retained on the container neck by an annular container shoulder (not shown) and breaks away from the cap portion  12 .  
         [0032]    As best shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and  4 A, a tamper-indicating closure  10  is provided with moveable, resilient projections  22  formed of any suitable thermoplastic material which lock against the lower surface of the annular container shoulder (not shown) to retain the tamper-indicating ring  14  on the container neck (not shown) as the cap portion  12  is removed. The preferred projections  22  are integral with the ring  14  and extend radially inward and upward from the generally cylindrical ring  14 . As the cap portion  12  is removed, the upward force on the tamper-indicating ring  14  tends to bow the projections  22  inwardly against the annular container shoulder (not shown) and to stiffen the projections  22  to cause them to engage more tightly and to grip the container neck. The tamper-indicating ring  14  slides a short distance down the neck of the container after being broken away from the cap portion  12  so that after replacement of the cap on the container, there remains a readily discernible visual indication that the container has been opened.  
         [0033]    Turning now to a more detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the closure  10  of the present invention, the cap portion  12  and tamper-indicating ring  14  herein are made of a moldable plastic material, such as polypropylene. As best seen in FIG. 1, the closure skirt or sidewall  18  has a generally cylindrical exterior with a plurality of equally spaced vertical ribs  28  formed to facilitate gripping of the cap.  
         [0034]    As shown in FIG. 2, the tamper-indicating ring  14  is connected to the cap portion  12  by a breakable connector means  20  which is preferably located immediately below the lower end of closure sidewall  18 . The breakable connector means  20  is a weakened area that provides a severing plane normal to the closure  10  central axis at which the tamper-indicating ring  14  will consistently detach from the cap portion  12  when the closure  10  is unscrewed. The breakable connector means  20  may be made in various manners. In other words, the breakable connector means  20 , as illustrated in FIG. 2, could be constructed in a variety of other ways without departing from the scope of this invention. For instance, in accordance with the present invention, the breakable connector means  20  could be further weakened by the addition of a plurality of generally rectangular perforations (not shown) that are cut into the connector means  20  at evenly spaced intervals about the circumference thereof. These perforations could be added in a secondary operation following molding of the inventive closure  10 . The perforations (not shown) could be of any suitable dimension, e.g., 0.125 inches in length, and may be separated from each other by any suitable distance, e.g., a 0.020 inch web disposed therebetween.  
         [0035]    Referring now to FIG. 4A, there is shown therein a cross-sectional view of one of the projections  22  of the tamper-indicating closure  10  of the present invention molded in its final upward and radially inward orientation.  
         [0036]    Turning now to a description of the method of the present invention, the closure  10  of the present invention is formed under the following method. FIGS. 5 through 8 and FIGS. 5A through 8A illustrate cross-sectional views of a molding apparatus  50  of the present invention for manufacturing a tamper-indicating closure  10  that is provided with a plurality of projections  22  extending radially upward and inward from a tamper-indicating ring  14  of the closure  10 . Although for the sake of simplicity the present discussion focuses on the capability of the molding apparatus  50  to manufacture the tamper-indicating closure  10  shown in FIGS. 1 through 3, it is to be understood that the present invention has the ability of being modified to produce other types of tamper-indicating closures having projections that are to be formed in various configurations.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIGS. 5 and 5A illustrate the molding apparatus  50  in the mold closed position, in which the apparatus  50  is configured to receive from an injection port  52  molten plastic material into a mold cavity  54 , As shown in FIGS. 5 and 5A, the mold cavity is shown filled with plastic material forming the closure  10  of the present invention. Referring now to FIG. 5A, the mold cavity  54  is defined as the volume of space existing between the outer surface of a moveable male mold portion  56  and the inside surfaces of a female mold portion  58 . The female mold portion  58  comprises an annular recess  59  (best shown in FIGS. 7 and 7A), the inner surface of which comprises a mold surface for forming the outer surface of the top wall  16 , the outer surface of the annular sidewall  18  and the outer surface of the tamper-indicating ring  14  of the closure  10 .  
         [0038]    Referring again to FIG. 5A, the male mold portion  56  is referred to as moveable because, as shall be explained later, the male mold portion  56  may be moved along a longitudinal axis of the apparatus  50 . The moveable male mold portion  56  comprises an inner core member  60 , a skirt member  62  and an outer core member  64 . The inner core member  60  has an externally threaded outer side surface  66 , for forming the internal screw thread  21  (FIG. 2) formed on the inner surface of the sidewall  18  of the closure  10 .  
         [0039]    The skirt member  62  includes a bottom molding surface  62   a  and the outer core member  64  includes a top molding surface  64   a.  Together, these molding surfaces  62   a  and  64   a  define a portion of the mold cavity  54  therebetween in which the projections  22  of the closure  10  are formed in their final, radially upward and inward position. The angle of inclination of surfaces  62   a  and  64   a  can be configured to any desired inclination, and this angle of inclination corresponds to the degree to which the projections  22  extend radially upward and inward from the tamper-indicating ring  14  of the closure  10 . In addition, the angle of inclination of surfaces  62   a  and  64   a , relative to one another, may be varied to create projections which vary in thickness along their length. As best shown in FIGS. 4A through 4D, the thickness of the projection  22  increases as the projection extends upwardly and radially outwardly.  
         [0040]    As best shown in FIG. 5A, the closure  10  of the present invention is shown disposed within the mold cavity  54  and is comprised of the elements mentioned earlier, i.e., a top wall  16 , an annular sidewall  18 , a tamper-indicating ring  14  and a plurality of projections  22 . The movable male mold portion  56  further includes a central bore that has two open ends and that is substantially axially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the apparatus  50 . This bore receives a knock-out bar  70  that slidably engages the inner surface of the bore. In the mold closed position, the outer surface of the movable male mold portion  56  is maintained at a predetermined distance from the inner surface of the annular recess  59  of the female mold portion  58  so that the space between the outer surface of the movable male mold portion  56  and the surface of the annular recess  59  of the female mold portion  58  forms a large portion of the mold cavity  54 .  
         [0041]    In the mold closed position of the apparatus  50 , the top surface  76  of knock-out bar  70  is aligned to be at the same height as the top surface  74  of the movable male mold portion  56 . When the molding material, usually molten plastic, is injected into the mold cavity  54  from the injection port  52 , the top surface  74  of the movable male mold portion  56 , in cooperation with the top surface  76  of the knock-out bar  70 , forms the top wall  16  of the closure  10 .  
         [0042]    As stated before, movable male mold portion  56  includes an axially aligned bore having two open ends for receiving the knock-out bar  70 . In order to form the closure  10 , the apparatus is set to the mold closed position. Molding material is then introduced into mold cavity  54  by the injection port  52 . When the molding material has hardened sufficiently, a closure  10  having an internally threaded cap portion  12 , a cylindrical tamper-indicating ring  14 , and a plurality of projections  22  extending radially inward and upward from the tamper-indicating ring  14  is formed. As illustrated in FIG. 5A, the projections  22  extend in their final molded position radially inward and upward from the tamper-indicating ring  14 . FIGS. 6 through 8 and FIGS. 6A through 8A illustrate the various operations that the apparatus  50  performs in order to eject the formed closure  10  from the mold cavity  54  while preserving the desired molded configuration of the projections as shown in FIG. 4A.  
         [0043]    Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 6A, after the closure  10  has solidified but not necessarily cooled completely, the outer core member  64  is moved away from the remaining components of the moveable male mold portion  56 . That is, the outer core member  64  is moved away from the skirt member  62  and the inner core member  60 . This operation exposes the lower wall  22   a  (best shown in FIG. 6A) of each of the projections  22 .  
         [0044]    Next, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 7A, the female mold portion  58  is lifted away from the closure  10 . Thus, the annular recess  59  is lifted to expose the outside surfaces of the top wall  16  and annular sidewall  18  of the closure  10 . With the female mold portion  58  lifted away, the next step in the process is to unscrew the inner core member  60  and skirt member  62  from within the closure  10 . FIGS. 7 and 7A illustrate the inner core member  60  and the skirt member  62  after they have been unscrewed and withdrawn vertically downwardly from within the closure  10 . A stripper ring  119 , having a plurality of upwardly extending of fingers (not shown), surrounds the tamper-indicating ring  14  of the closure  10 . The plurality of upwardly standing metal fingers (not shown) disposed on the stripper ring  119  extend into pockets  27  located between the projections (best shown in FIG. 3) on the closure. Because the upwardly projecting fingers (not shown) extend into the pockets  27 , the stripper ring  119  remains affixed to the closure  10  and prevents rotational movement of the closure  10  during the unscrewing of the inner core member  60  and skirt member  62 .  
         [0045]    During removal, the inner core member  60  and the skirt member  62  are rotated and moved downwardly along the longitudinal axis of the apparatus  50 . Since the stripper ring  119  ensures that the closure  10  remains non-rotational, rotation of the inner core member  60  and skirt member  62  causes these members to be unscrewed from the closure  10 . As the inner core member  60  and skirt member  62  move away from the closure  10 , the vertical sidewalls of the inner core member  60  and skirt member  62  urge the projections  22  to temporarily point downwardly in an alignment substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the apparatus  50 . This progressive movement of the projections  22  from their position as molded to pointing vertically downwardly during removal of the inner core member  60  and skirt member  62  is best illustrated in FIGS. 4A through 4D.  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 4A illustrates a projection  22 , as molded, extending radially inwardly and upwardly from the tamper-indicating ring  14  at a predetermined angle of inclination, that angle being indicated at  15  and at a predetermined radius of curvature. The predetermined angle of inclination, indicated at  15 , is measured from the vertical inside wall of the ring  14  and is any suitable angle, e.g., between 20° and 75°. So long as the projection  22  does not extend below the bottom horizontal plane  19  of the closure  10 , after removal of the male mold portion  56 , the closure  10  is acceptable for use. However, the angle of inclination illustrated in FIG. 4A is preferable. The radius of curvature  23  may be any suitable dimension, e.g., 0.030 inches where the overall diameter of the closure is approximately 0.870 inches. As the overall diameter of the closure  10  increases, the radius of curvature  23  may be increased. As explained previously, the projections  22  should point radially upward as well as inward so that the projections can be urged against the lower surface of the annular shoulder of the container when the cap portion is unscrewed from the container. As shown in FIGS. 4A through 4D, the projections  22  may also increase in thickness as they extend from their radius of curvature  23  upwardly and inwardly to occupy more space beneath the lip of the bottle. At the bottom of the radius of curvature  23 , the projection may be of any suitable thickness that provides sufficient strength, flexibility and recoilability, e.g., a thickness between about 0.018 and about 0.019 inches. As opposed to a sharp bend, the radius of curvature  23  is provided to enable the projections  22  to roll out in a gradual manner during removal of the inner core member  60  and the skirt member  62  to minimize the occurrence of any plastic deformation.  
         [0047]    The tamper-indicating ring  14  is also provided with a strain relief recess  25  which acts to reduce plastic deformation of each projection  22  as each is temporarily bent downwardly from its molded orientation through the increasing amounts of deflection as illustrated in FIGS. 4B, 4C and  4 D during removal of the inner core member  60  and skirt member  62 . The strain relief recess  25  may be of any suitable dimensions. As shown in FIG. 4A, the strain relief recess  25  includes an apex  29 . The recess  25  should be formed in any manner such that the thickness of material at the bottom of the radius of curvature  23  is maintained constant as the curvature extends from the bottom of the radius of curvature  23  to the apex  29 . By maintaining the thickness in this area, compression of material is avoided to minimize plastic deformation and substantially reduce the possibility of breakage of the projections during removal of the inner core member  60  and skirt member  62 .  
         [0048]    [0048]FIGS. 4B, 4C and  4 D illustrate the manner in which each projection  22  is temporarily bent downwardly from its molded orientation as the inner core member  60  and skirt member  62  are moved further downwardly along the longitudinal axis of the apparatus  50  from within the closure  10 . In FIG. 4B, the inner core member  60  and skirt member  62  have only been moved downwardly from within the closure  10  by a small amount. Thus, the projection  22  has begun to bend by only a small amount. This amount of downward deflection is within the elastic limit of the projection  22  and does not result in the projection  22  being plastically deformed in a manner that would prevent it from bending back to its “as molded” position. That is, if the extent of bending of the projections  22  were as shown in FIG. 4B, upon removal of the bending force, the projection  22  would return fully to its “as molded” position as shown in FIG. 4A. Referring now to FIG. 4C, as the inner core member  60  and skirt member  62  are removed further downwardly from the closure  10 , the projection  22  is bent an even greater amount to a point which represents the elastic limit of the projection  22 . In other words, if the projection  22  were bent only to the point as shown in FIG. 4C, upon removal of the bending force, the projection  22  would bend back fully to its “as molded” orientation as shown in FIG. 4A because the projection  22  has not lost any of its resiliency due to plastic deformation. Further bending beyond the elastic limit (FIG. 4C) causes the projection  22  to undergo plastic deformation, as shown in FIG. 4D. As shown in FIG. 4D, upon removal from the closure  10 , the sidewalls of the inner core member  60  and skirt member  62  cause the projections  22  to be bent to a position where they are in vertical alignment with the longitudinal axis of the apparatus  50 . In this position, the projections  22  undergo some degree of plastic deformation. However, as explained below, the provision of the strain relief recess  25  enables each projection  22  to retain substantially all of its resiliency so that after removal of the inner core member  60  and skirt member  62 , the projections  22  bends back to substantially its “as molded” position.  
         [0049]    The strain relief recess  25  provides an area into which the thermoplastic material of the projection  22  can flow during deflection to minimize plastic deformation. A comparison of the size and shape of the strain relief recess  25  as illustrated in FIGS. 4B, 4C and  4 D reveals that as the projection  22  is bent further downwardly, its associated strain relief recess  25  grows smaller. The ability of the strain relief recess  25  to take up thermoplastic material as the projection  22  is bent reduces compression of thermoplastic material in the area of the radius of curvature  23  and enables the projection  22  to be bent further before the occurrence of plastic deformation. In this manner, the amount of plastic deformation resulting from bending the projection  22  to the position shown in FIG. 4D is minimized, thus enabling the projection to return substantially to its original “as molded” position as shown in FIG. 4A although the inclination of the projection  22  may differ to a nominal extent due to plastic deformation. Under the prior art methods discussed above that do not provide either a radius of curvature  23  or a strain relief recess  25 , or both, the performance of one or more secondary operations would be necessary to heat and/or physically urge the downwardly bent projections from their position as shown in FIG. 4D to their “as molded” position as shown in FIG. 4A.  
         [0050]    Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 8A, under the final step, the knock-out bar  70  is moved through the bore of the moveable male mold portion  56  to eject the closure  10  out of the stripper ring  119 . With the closure  10  ejected and conveyed out of the apparatus  50  to a receiving bin, the apparatus moves back to the closed position as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 5A to repeat the process detailed above. Thus, the present invention enables the manufacture of a closure  10  having projections  22  that extend radially inward and upward from a tamper-indicating ring  14  of the closure  10  without relying on any secondary steps necessary to bend and set the projections into the desired configuration.  
         [0051]    Those skilled in the art will understand that there are many modifications which may be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the teachings of the invention and these modifications are considered to be within the scope of this invention which is intended to be limited only by the claims appended hereto.