Patent Publication Number: US-2023135726-A1

Title: Flow gate pour closure

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
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     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM 
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     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The disclosure and prior art pertains to sliding closures for containers and more particularly to a flow gate pour closure incorporated to any form of container used to regulate the dispersal of substances from said container. Said substances primarily include, but are not limited to, substances in granular, powder, or sand like forms. Examples include substances used for non-consumable means, such as kitty litter, ice melt/rock salt, and powdered laundry detergent, as well as consumable substances such as protein powders and seasoning for commercial restaurants. 
     (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     Currently most containers or packages that hold powders, sands, or granular substances come in either a large rigid plastic container or a large rigid cardboard box. In either case, substances are often dispensed from said container by removing a torque dependent threaded cap, flipping a lid open via a natural hinge, or by penetrating a hole at the top of container. For large quantity needs, the packages must be lifted upside down to pour the substance to an intended area of use. This is seen with kitty litter being poured into a litter box. Since the majority of these substances have high densities and are supplied in large quantities to fulfill their intended need, a very heavy package is required that is often awkward and challenging to dispense from. Not only is this a physical burden on the consumer, but it also gives consumers a predisposition to incur numerous acute or chronic injuries. To accommodate for the awkward pouring means of such substances, it is not atypical to dispense such material from the container at a height that leads to significant dust or debris during pour. Minimizing the height at which a substance needs to travel to reach an intended area without excessive physical strain, in particular with regulated flow, would be an optimal scenario. This scenario, along with others, is what the present invention will address. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 9,365,333 to Batzel et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 9,919,837 to Batzel, collectively referred to herein as the “Batzel patents”, disclose certain push and slide type safety closures. The containers and closures described in the Batzel patents provide a childproof container closure but are not designed for vertical orientation or to produce a controlled flow of a substance held in the container. There is an ongoing need for improvement and/or application alternative functions for sliding closure designs. The sliding closures described herein address this need. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a closure body configured to seal a principal opening of a container for a flowing content with the principal opening positioned on a vertical wall of the closure body proximal a bottom wall thereof such that the content flows freely from an inside of the container therethrough. The closure body comprises a landing surface, a top collar, and a gate track. The landing surface has a front surface and a back surface with a principal aperture extending from the front surface through the back surface. The principal aperture is aligned with the principal opening of the container to allow for the content to flow therethrough. The top collar perpendicularly extends from a perimeter of the landing surface on the front side. The top collar has an inner face and an outer face with a gate exit aperture extending from the inner face through the outer face. The gate track receives a sliding gate through the gate exit aperture and extends from a top side to a bottom side of the top collar. The gate track is defined by a gliding surface extending from the inner face of the top collar adjacent the gate exit aperture. The gliding surface is in spaced apart opposition to the landing surface. The sliding gate blocks the principal aperture to prevent the content from flowing therethrough. The sliding gate is slidingly translatable through the gate exit aperture within the gate track to expose the principal aperture to partially or completely allow the content to flow therethrough at a variable flow rate. The sliding gate is translatable reciprocally back along the slide track to re-block the principal aperture. The sliding gate itself blocks the principal aperture and is constructed and arranged so that depressing a tab towards the sliding gate enables sliding gate movement through the gate exit aperture and translation back through the gate exit aperture. The tab partially engages the top collar when the sliding gate fully blocks the principal aperture. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG.  1 A  shows an isometric view of a flow gate closure unit in a closed position according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  1 B  shows an isometric view of the flow gate closure unit in a first sprinkle flow position according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  1 C  shows an isometric view of the flow gate closure unit in a second sprinkle flow position according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  1 D  shows an isometric view of the flow gate closure unit in fully open position according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  2 A  shows an isometric view of the closure body of the flow gate closure unit according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  2 B  shows an isometric view of the closure body of the flow gate closure unit according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  2 C  shows a top plan view of the closure body of the flow gate closure unit according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  2 D  shows an isometric view of the closure body of the flow gate closure unit according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  3 A  shows an isometric view of the sliding gate of the flow gate closure unit according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  3 B  shows an isometric view of the sliding gate of the flow gate closure unit according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  4 A  shows an isometric exploded view of the flow gate closure unit and the container according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  4 B  shows an isometric view of the flow gate closure unit and the container according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  5 A  shows an isometric exploded view of the flow gate closure unit and the container according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  5 B  shows an isometric view of the flow gate closure unit and the container according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS.  1  through  5 B  thereof, a new door motion detector embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS.  1  through  5 B , the flow gate pour closure  10  generally comprises a closure body  12  configured to seal a principal opening  14  of a container  16  for a flowing content with the principal opening  14  positioned on a vertical wall  18  of the container proximal a bottom wall  20  thereof such that the content flows freely from an inside of the container therethrough. Said content primarily includes, but is not limited to, substances in granular, powder, or sand like forms. Examples include substances used for non-consumable means, such as kitty litter, ice melt/rock salt, and powdered laundry detergent, as well as consumable substances such as protein powders and seasoning for commercial restaurants. The closure to be described may have other usages for containers of other solids, including discrete or monolithic solids, semisolids and certain gels, and fluids, including Newtonian fluids and non-Newtonian fluids. Examples of such contents include, but are not limited to, pills, tablets, capsules, gelatins and “gummy bear”-like formulations, liquids of any kind, wafers, leaves, sheets of perforated blister container tablets, powders, shampoos, lotions, and nicotine products. 
     The closures described herein may comprise the closure body  12  being integral with the container  16  or may alternatively comprise the closure body being adapted to mate with a separate container. In the case where the closure body is produced separately from the container, the mating may be achieved by an adhesive bonding, thermal bonding, inductive bonding, ultrasonic bonding, or any other method of attachment suitable for use in mating closures to containers in a substantially permanent fashion. Mechanical attachment methods may include threading, a snap-fit element, or a press-fit element on the closure body configured to mate with a complementary element on the container. 
     The closure body  12  comprises a landing surface  22 , a top collar  24 , and a gate track  26 . The landing surface  22  has a principal aperture  28  extending from a front surface  30  through a back surface  32 . The principal aperture  28  is aligned with the principal opening  14  of the container to allow for the content to flow therethrough. The top collar  24  perpendicularly extends from a perimeter of the landing surface on the front side. A top side  34  of the top collar has a gate exit aperture  36  extending from an inner face  38  through an outer face  40 . The gate exit aperture  36  may comprise a gate port  42  port adjacent the landing surface  22  and a tab port  44  extending above the gate port  42 . The tab port  44  may be stepped. 
     The gate track  26  extends from the top side to a bottom side  46  of the top collar to receive a sliding gate  48  through the gate port  42  of the gate exit aperture. The gate track  26  is defined by a gliding surface  50  extending from the inner face  38  of the top collar in spaced apart opposition to the landing surface  22 . The gliding surface  50  may continuously extend from the top side  34  adjacent a left side  52  of the gate exit aperture around the bottom side  46  to the top side  34  adjacent a right side  54  of the gate exit aperture. The gliding surface  50  may also have a wider portion  56  adjacent the top side  34  of the top collar and a lower rim  58  connecting the wider portion  56  adjacent each of the left side  52  and the right side  54 . The wider portion  56  increases contact area with the sliding gate  48  to improve stability and increase pressure while the lower rim  58  has a profile corresponding to the principal aperture  28 . A pair of beam supports  60  may extend from the inner face  38  of the top collar on each side of the gate exit aperture  36  to the gliding surface  50  in order to provide structural integrity to a beam portion  62  of the top collar above the gate exit aperture  36 . 
     The top collar  24  may have an overflow channel  64  for clearing the gate track of debris, particularly when the content is of powdered form. The overflow channel  64  extends from the inner face  38  through the outer face  40  of the bottom side  46  of the top collar. The overflow channel  64  may fully occupy the bottom side  46  of the top collar as seen in  FIGS.  2 A and  2 B , in which case it also removes that portion of the gliding surface  50 , or may alternatively be a slot through the bottom side  46  of the top collar as seen in  FIG.  2 D . Each of the bottom side  46  of the top collar, a bottom edge  66  of the sliding gate, and the lower rim  58  of the gliding surface may be rounded or semi-circular to produce a more controlled flow from the principal aperture and to funnel debris towards the overflow channel. 
     The sliding gate  48  blocks the principal aperture  28  to prevent the content from flowing therethrough. The sliding gate  48  is slidingly translatable through the gate exit aperture  36  within the gate track  26  to partially expose the principal aperture  28  in a plurality of sprinkle flow positions shown in  FIGS.  1 B,  1 C, and  4 B  or completely expose the principal aperture in a fully open position shown in  FIG.  1 D , thus allowing the content to flow therethrough at a variable flow rate. The sliding gate  48  is translatable reciprocally back along the gate track  26  to re-block the principal aperture  28  in a closed position shown in  FIGS.  1 A and  5 B , thus stopping the flow of the content. The sliding gate&#39;s perpendicular path in relation to the substance flow is the optimal method for cutting off the flow of the substance easily and immediately. Along with the natural “guillotine action” of the sliding gate  48  for easy and efficient flow stoppage, the sliding gate  48  may have a channel extension  68  on the bottom edge  66  to eradicate any excess substance and clear the gate track  26  of debris when the sliding gate is moved to the closed position to fully block the principal aperture  28  with the channel extension  68  engaging the overflow channel  64 . The channel extension  68  and the overflow channel  64  can be strategically sized, shaped and positioned depending on the substance being dispensed. The channel extension  68  may be tapered or sharpened to more effectively cut off the flow of substance. 
     The sliding gate  48  comprises a depressible tab  70  that partially engages the beam portion  62  of the top collar when the sliding gate  48  fully blocks the principal aperture  28  and is constructed and arranged so that depressing the tab  70  towards the sliding gate  48  enables sliding gate movement through the gate exit aperture  36  and translation back through the gate exit aperture  36 . The beam portion  62  may be shaped in accordance with the design of the tab  70  to make the tab port  44  stepped. The tab  70  may partially engage a top tier  72  of the tab port  44  and can slide through a second tier  74  of the tab port when depressed. The tab  70  can be depressed by modest pressure (e.g., from a hand, finger(s) or thumb of an adult) and is biased such that it will rebound when the pressure is released. The force required to depress the tab  70  can be adjusted during production for different applications and target users, particularly to increase child resistance or to aid seniors or disabled users. The tab  70  may be of cantilever form with a proximal end  76  fixed on an outer surface  77  of the sliding gate and an unfixed free distal end  78 . The tab  70  is not limited to cantilever form and may alternatively be an array of depressible extensions included a reflexive button. The force is adjusted by adjusting the length of the tab, the thickness of the tab, and/or the amount of contact area at the fulcrum. 
       FIGS.  1 A- 1 D,  3 A,  4 A and  4 B  show that the tab  70  may have a pair of locking notches  80  extending from a front face  82  through a rear face  84  of the tab below a tongue extension  86  at the distal end  78 . The tongue extension  86  extends past the top tier  72  of the tab port and the pair of locking notches  80  engages the top collar  24  when the sliding gate  48  fully blocks the principal aperture  28 . The pair of locking notches  80  thus maintains the sliding gate  48  in the closed position until the tab  70  is depressed by the tongue extension  86  such that it passes through the second tier  74  of the tab port.  FIGS.  3 B,  5 A, and  5 B  show that the tab  70  may alternatively have a body portion  88  extending from the proximal end  76  and a head portion  90  extending from the body portion  88  to the distal end  78 . The head portion  90  is thinner than the body portion  88  to form a pair of shoulders  92 . The head portion  90  extends through the top tier  72  and the pair of shoulders  92  engages the top collar  24  when the sliding gate  48  is in the closed position to prevent the sliding gate  48  from sliding. The tab  70  is depressible by the head portion  90  such that the pair of shoulders  92  and the body portion  88  can slide through the second tier  74  of the tab port. 
       FIGS.  1 A- 1 D,  3 A,  4 A and  4 B  show that the tab may have at least one pair of flow notches  94  extending from the front face  82  towards, but not through, the rear face  84  of the tab. Each of the at least one pair of flow notches  94  has an angled ramp side  96  more proximal the distal end  78  of the tab, an angled lodge side  98  more proximal the proximal side  76  of the tab, and a flat portion  100  between the ramp side  96  and the lodge side  98 . The flat portion  100  engages the beam portion  62  of the top collar to maintain the sliding gate  48  partially lifted in one of the plurality of sprinkle flow positions. The ramp side  96  is angled to allow for disengagement with the beam portion  62  of the top collar by pushing the sliding gate  48  closed without manually depressing the tab  70  to allow for quick stoppage of flow. The lodge side  98  may be angled to allow for disengagement with the top collar  24  without manually depressing the tab  70  by pulling the sliding gate  48  further open, or alternatively may be perpendicular the flat portion  100  to require manual depression of the tab  70  for disengagement with the top collar  24  while pulling the sliding gate  48  further open to prevent an accidental increase in flow rate. There may also be at least one pair of flow ridges  102  fixed on the outer surface  77  of the sliding gate below the tab  70 . Each of the at least one pair of flow ridges  102  partially engages the top collar  24  to require a slight increase in force to move through the gate exit aperture  36  when translating the sliding gate  48  to expose or re-block the principal aperture  28 , securing the sliding gate  48  in sprinkle flow positions between each pair of flow ridges  102  and creating a “ratchet” type movement. Each flow ridge  102  may be rounded or angled. The at least one pair of flow notches  94  and the at least one pair of flow ridges  102  maintain the sprinkle flow positions and allow the content of the container to pour at controlled, calibrated flow rates. 
       FIGS.  3 A and  3 B  show the sliding gate  48  may have a production aperture  104  extending from the outer surface  77  through an inner surface  106 . The production aperture  104  extends from adjacent the proximal end  76  of the tab to beneath the distal end  78  because the tab  70  is formed from the same piece of material as the sliding gate  48  during manufacturing, thus simplifying tooling and accelerating production. There may also be a pull handle  108  coupled to the sliding gate  48  perpendicularly extending from a top edge  111  of the sliding gate. The pull handle  108  provides an area from which a user can lift and depress the sliding gate  48 , particularly while depressing the tab  70 , allowing for one-handed operation. 
     In many cases it is desirable that the sliding gate  48  be retained so that it doesn&#39;t fully exit the gate exit aperture  36 .  FIGS.  1 D,  3 A, and  3 B  show that one way to do this is to employ at least one retaining stop  110  coupled to the outer surface  77  of the sliding gate to contact the top collar  24  when the sliding gate  48  is lifted to fully expose the principal aperture  28 . The at least one retaining stop  110  may be sloped with a taller side  112  oriented towards the gate exit aperture  36 . The taller side  112  is taller than whichever portion of the gate exit aperture  36  the retaining stop  110  may contact to block the sliding gate  48  from further displacement, thus facilitating retention of the sliding gate  48  within the closure body  12  during ordinary usage. The sloped nature of the at least one retaining stop  110  allows for insertion of the sliding gate  48  into the closure body  12  during assembly. 
     A flexible seal may be disposed around or adjacent an inner surface of the sliding gate with a footprint corresponding to the principal aperture  28  of the landing surface to prevent leakage when used with liquid and semi-solid contents. 
       FIGS.  2 B and  4 A  show that the closure body  12  may have a bottom collar  114  to receive a neck  116  of the container. The bottom collar  114  perpendicularly extends from the perimeter of the landing surface on the back surface  32  and may have a joining channel  118  within an inside face  120 . The joining channel  118  is configured to receive a joining bead  122  on the neck of the container to provide one method of attaching the closure body  12  to the container  16 .  FIGS.  2 D,  5 A, and  5 B  show that there may be a flange  124  perpendicularly extending from the top collar  24  coplanar to the landing surface  22 . The flange  124  is configured to provide additional surface area to adhere to the container  16  adjacent the principal opening  14 , particularly when no neck is present.  FIGS.  5 A and  5 B  show the container with the principal opening positioned at a desirable closure location. The principal opening  14  of the container corresponds to the dimensions of the perimeter of the closure body  12  and any element of the sliding gate  48  extending therefrom, such as the pull handle  108 . This will allow functional components of the closure body  12  and the sliding gate  48  to insert through the principal opening  14  from the inside of container to reveal it on the outside. The flange  124  contacts an internal wall  126  of the container and is mated using one of the aforementioned processes. The principal opening  14  can be positioned on any side of the container. However, to achieve optimal dispersal of the content, the principal opening  14  should be positioned as close to a bottom wall  128  of the container as possible to allow for a natural gravitational flow of the content without the need for the user to lift or tip the container  16  in any way. 
     Materials used to form these containers can vary widely and play no limit for the usage and implementation of this described closure to such container material. Examples of such materials used to make/form the container include plastic, cardboard, metal, and other common flexible materials. 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.