Patent Publication Number: US-9409686-B2

Title: Wick to indicate package opening

Description:
The present disclosure is directed to containers and, more particularly, to containers having anti-counterfeit features. 
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Many containers are provided with tamper-resistant devices to resist refilling of contents in the containers. For example, a beverage container can include a fitment that renders the container non-refillable, so as to impede efforts to refill the container with inferior products. U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,811 illustrates a container of this type. 
     A general object of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, is to provide a product including a container and a package opening indicator carried by the container to indicate whether a package has been opened and, thus, provide evidence of efforts to repackage the container with counterfeit product. 
     The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that can be implemented separately from or in combination with each other. 
     A product in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure includes a container having an interior surface, an exterior surface, and a lip between the interior and exterior surfaces, and a wick having a first end disposed inside the container, a second end disposed outside of the container, and an intermediate portion extending across the lip of the container. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a package that includes the aforementioned product, a liquid product carried in the container, and a closure coupled to the container to close the container and pinch the wick between the closure and the container to interrupt flow of the liquid product wicking therethrough. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a package that includes a container having a finish, a closure removably secured to the finish, and a wick extending from within the container over the finish and between the closure and the finish to indicate when the closure has been removed from the finish, the wick being squeezed by the closure against the finish to prevent transfer of liquid along the wick, such that removal of the closure allows liquid to travel along the wick to an observable portion of the wick outside of the container. 
     In accordance with a further aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of producing a package that includes coupling a wick to a container so that a first end of the wick extends into the container, a second end extends out of the container, and an intermediate portion extends over a lip of the container. The method also includes filling the container with a liquid product, and applying a closure to the container to pinch the wick between the closure and the container lip. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The disclosure, together with additional objects, features, advantages and aspects thereof, will be best understood from the following description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a fragmentary, exploded, perspective view of a package in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure, including a container holding a liquid product, a closure for the container, and a wick carried by the container; 
         FIG. 1A  is a fragmentary, cross-sectional view of a portion of a container and a wick according to another illustrative embodiment, and taken along line  1 A of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 2  is a fragmentary, cross-sectional view of the package of  FIG. 1 , illustrating the closure coupled to the container with the wick pinched therebetween; and 
         FIG. 3  is a fragmentary, exploded, perspective view of the package of  FIG. 1 , illustrating the closure removed from the container with an exterior portion of the wick in an activated state to indicate that the package has been opened. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a package  10  in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the disclosure. The package  10  includes a container  12 , a closure  13  for the container  12 , and a liquid product P filling the container  12 . Additionally, the package  10  may include a package opening indicator in the form of a wick  14  carried by the container  12 . As used herein, the phrase “carried by the container” includes carried in the container, carried on the container, coupled to the container, and/or the like. As will be described in further detail below, the wick  14  extends from a location inside the container  12  below a fill line or level of the liquid product P, under the closure  13 , and to a location outside of the container  12 . When the closure  13  is coupled to the container  12 , the closure  13  squeezes or pinches the wick  14  between the closure  13  and the container  12  to interrupt wicking or capillary action of the wick  14  until such time as the closure  13  is removed and wicking resumes. As such, the wick  14  may facilitate evidencing of efforts to tamper with the package  10 , by providing visible evidence that the package  10  has been opened from its original factory sealed condition. As used herein, the term “removal” may include partial or complete removal. 
     The container  12  may be of any suitable shape, and may include a jug, jar, bottle, other food or beverage container, or any other suitable container. The container  12  may include a base  15  on which the container  12  may be supported, a body  16  extending axially from the base  15 , a shoulder  18  extending radially and axially from the body  16 , and a neck  20  extending axially from the shoulder  18 . As used herein, the term axial includes oriented generally along a longitudinal axis of the closure, container, or package and may include but is not limited to a direction that is strictly parallel to a container longitudinal central axis A. The body  16  and the neck  20  may be generally cylindrical, as illustrated, or they may be tapered or of any other suitable shape. The neck  20  may include a finish  22  (a neck finish in a bottle embodiment), which may include a radially interior surface  24 , an axially outward end surface or lip  26 , and a radially exterior surface  28  with one or more closure retention elements  30  projecting from the exterior surface  28 , or the like, for cooperation with corresponding portions of the closure  13 . The elements  30  may include threads or thread segments, bayonet features, snap-fit features, crown closure or crimp beads, or any other suitable closure retention features. As used herein, the term thread segment includes whole, partial, multiple, and/or an interrupted thread, thread segment, and/or lug. 
     The container  12  may be of one-piece integrally formed construction, for example, of glass, plastic, or any other suitable material. (The term “integrally formed construction” does not exclude one-piece integrally molded layered glass constructions of the type disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,401, or one-piece glass bottles to which other structure is added after the bottle-forming operation.) The container  12  may be fabricated in press-and-blow, blow-and-blow, or hand blowing glass container manufacturing operations, or in a plastic injection and/or blow molding operation, or in any other suitable manner. 
     The closure  13  may include a cap, cork, plug, or any other suitable type of closure, and may be composed of plastic, metal, glass, ceramic, or any other suitable material. In any case, the closure  13  may include a base wall  32 , and an annular outer skirt  34  extending from the base wall  32 . The skirt  34  may have one or more internal container retention elements  36  ( FIG. 2 ) projecting from an interior surface thereof for cooperation with corresponding portions of the container  12 . Although not shown, the closure  13  also may include a seal on inside surface of the base wall  32  and/or an annular inner sealing skirt extending from the base wall  32  radially inward of the outer skirt  34 . The elements  36  may include threads or thread segments, or bayonet features, snap-fit features, crimpable features, or any other suitable container retention features. The skirt  34  may be circumferentially continuous or may be circumferentially interrupted. 
     The wick  14  may be carried in any suitable location(s) of the container  12 , both internally and externally of the container  12 . In general, the wick  14  extends from within the container  12  over the finish  22  and between the closure  13  and the finish  22  to indicate when the closure  13  has been removed from the finish  22 , wherein the wick  14  is squeezed by the closure  13  against the finish  22  to prevent transfer of liquid along the wick  14 , such that removal of the closure  13  allows liquid to travel along the wick  14  to an observable portion of the wick  14  outside of the container  13 . More specifically, the wick  14  may include a first end  38  inside the container  12 , a second end  40  outside the container, and an intermediate or closure contact portion  42  between the ends  38 ,  40  and extending across the lip  26  of the container  12 . The wick  14  may extend over or through the closure engagement feature(s)  30 . The wick  14  is illustrated as having an elongated solid string-like shape, but the wick may have a ribbon-like shape, hollow cylindrical shape, or any other suitable shape(s). The wick  14  may be of flaccid or rigid structure, and may be carried by the container  12  in any suitable manner. For example, the wick  14  may be draped over the lip  26  and one or more portions may hang loosely inside and/or outside of the container  12  in one embodiment. In another embodiment, however, the wick  14  may be applied to, or carried directly on or in, one or more surfaces of the container  12 . 
     In fact, one or more portions of the wick  14  may be non-removably secured to the container  12 . The terminology “non-removably secured” includes a manner in which the wick  14  is, by design-intent, not intended to be removed from the container  12  without damaging the container  12 , the wick  14 , and/or any other portion(s) of the package  10 , or otherwise visibly compromising the structural and/or functional integrity of any of the above. The wick  14  and/or the container  12  may include any suitable features to non-removably secure the wick  14  to the container  12 . In one embodiment, the wick  14  may include an adhesive to secure the wick  14  to the container  12 , or a separate adhesive may be applied between the wick  14  and the container  12 . 
     In another embodiment, represented by  FIG. 1A , at least a portion of a wick  14 ′ may be embedded in a wall of a container  12 ′. More specifically, an interior portion  114 ′ of the wick  14 ′ may be disposed in an interior channel  24   a ′ of the container  12 ′ and/or an observable or exterior portion  46 ′ of the wick  14 ′ may be disposed in an exterior channel  28   a ′ of the container  12 ′. Likewise, although not illustrated, an intermediate portion of the wick  14 ′ may extend across an axial lip of a neck finish  22 ′ of the container  12 ′, such that the wick  14 ′ is disposed in a channel in the axial lip. Similarly, a portion of the wick  14 ′ may be disposed in a radial channel in closure engagement feature(s) (not shown) of the container  12 ′. In a further embodiment, the aforementioned embodiments may be combined, such that the wick  14 ′ may be carried in a channel of the container  12 ′ with adhesive, either carried by the wick  14 ′ or applied to the wick  14 ′ and/or the container  12 ′. 
     In any embodiment, with respect to  FIG. 1 , the closure  13  and/or the container  12  may carry any suitable axial and/or radial seals and/or may have any suitable channels in the container  12  to accommodate the thickness of the wick  14  so as to provide good sealing between the closure  13  and the container  12  despite the presence of the wick  14 . 
     The wick  14  may include any suitable materials, components, or the like. For example, the wick  14  may be composed of fiber, fabric, plastic, metal, glass, ceramic, and/or any other suitable material(s) that are sufficiently absorbent, adsorbent, or otherwise facilitate capillary flow. The wick  14  also may include a liquid activated colorant, for example, a dye, dye crystals such as those used in litmus paper, or any other suitable colorant or the like, for example, to visually accentuate the presence of liquid wicking in the wick  14 . 
     In an organic material embodiment, the wick  14  may be constructed and composed of a fibrous cellulose material. In this embodiment, the wick  14  may be relatively pliable, soft, and/or elastic to facilitate being pinched off between the closure  13  and the container  12 . 
     In an inorganic material embodiment, the wick  14  may be constructed and composed of a silica material, for example, a silica gel. The silica gel may be particularly difficult to remove by a counterfeiter, and is especially compatible with glass recycling. The silica gel may be deposited in situ to the container  12 , for example, to bond to the container  12 . Accordingly, the wick  14  may be attached by screen printing, for example, using applied ceramic labeling or any other suitable techniques. In another embodiment, the wick  14  may be attached by brushing wick material on the container  12 , spraying a strip of wick material on the container  12 , or the like. The silica gel may be in the form of a slurry or suspension, and a binder, for example, silane, could be used to help couple the silica gel to the glass surface. Such a wick may require some heat to cure it, for example, less than 200 degrees Celsius. In one embodiment, the wick  14  could be applied to warm containers after they have exited an annealing lehr at the end of a hot end of a glass container manufacturing operation. 
     In another embodiment, it may be desirable to cover or protect a portion of the wick  14  that is on the exterior of the package  10 , for example, to deter tampering therewith. Accordingly, a protective coating (e.g., silica oxide SiO2), a separate shrink sleeve, or a portion of the closure  13  perhaps with a viewing window, could cover the exterior portion of the wick  14  from tampering. 
     Accordingly, as used herein, the term “wick” includes an element of any construction and composition suitable to facilitate capillary action or flow, and may be separate from and/or integral with a container. The wick  14  facilitates verification of authenticity and identification of counterfeit product. 
     In one embodiment, a part of the wick  14  that is disposed exteriorly with respect to the container  12  may be of a certain composition, or may carry or contain the certain composition, to indicate an authentic product by changing color upon contact with the container contents as the contents moves through the wick  14 . For example, the wick  14  may include an alcohol-responsive crystal that responds to the particular formulation of alcohol of the authentic product carried by the container  12 . 
     In another embodiment, the wick  14  may be of a composition and/or construction that facilitates separation of the natural compounds in the authentic product. For example, when black food dye is spilled on a paper towel, the individual colors of the dye separate out as the dye wicks through the paper. In a similar fashion, the compounds present in the authentic product separate as they diffuse through the wick  14 . The authentic product will exhibit a certain type of appearance (pattern, coloration, etc), and a counterfeit product will exhibit an appearance that is different from that exhibited by the authentic product. Any suitable materials may be incorporated in the wick  14 , for example, materials used for thin layer chromatography may be particularly suitable. 
     In a further embodiment, the exterior portion of the wick  14  may be in the form of a design feature, decoration, or decorative pattern that may grow in size as more and more of the authentic product flows therethrough. 
     In production, and according to one embodiment, the product P may be dispensably disposed within the container  12  of the package  10 . For example, a product manufacturer may fill the container  12  with an authentic, genuine, or original flowable product P at a packaging plant or factory. The product P may include a liquid or flowable solid, for example, a beverage, for instance, beer, wine, liquor, soda, or any other suitable beverage or liquid, or a flowable food of any kind. Thereafter, the wick  14  may be coupled to the container  12  so that the first end extends below the level of product P and so that the wick  14  is laid over the lip wherein the second end extends below the lip on the exterior surface of the container. In another embodiment, the wick  14  may be coupled to the container  12  before the product P is flowed into the container  12 . For example, after the wick  14  is placed in a desired position with respect to the container  12 , a fill nozzle may be inserted into the container  12  and product P may be flowed through the fill nozzle until the level of product P is above the first end of the wick  14 . In any case, the product P will begin to flow up the wick  14  via capillary action. 
     But, with reference to  FIG. 2 , before such product flow reaches the container lip  42  via the wick  14 , the closure  13  may be removably secured to the container  12  and, more specifically, the container finish  22 . Securement of the closure  13  to the container  12  may cause the wick  14  to be pinched therebetween. The wick  14  may be pinched between the axial lip  26  ( FIG. 1 ) of the container neck finish  22  ( FIG. 1 ) and a corresponding axial portion of the closure  13 , and/or by corresponding radial portions of the container  12  and the closure  13  (for instance an inner skirt or plug (not shown) of the closure  13 ). In other embodiments, a fitment or other component could be installed in the container neck  20  ( FIG. 1 ) prior to assembly of the closure  13  to pinch the wick  14  between that component and the container  12 . When the closure  13  is removed, that component could be carried off the container  12  by the closure  13  in any suitable manner, so that the component is removed upon opening of the package  10 . In this way, the pinch point on the wick  14  may be inside the container neck  20  ( FIG. 1 ) instead of on the axially facing lip  26  ( FIG. 1 ). In any case, the package  10  leaves the packaging plant in an original factory sealed state or condition, with the exterior portion  46  of the wick  14  unactivated. 
     Thereafter, and with reference to  FIG. 3 , after wholesale distribution or retail sale, for example, the closure  13  may be removed to allow the product P to be dispensed out of the container  12 . When the closure  13  is removed from the container  12 , by being displaced in a direction axially away from the container base  15  ( FIG. 1 ), pressure on the wick  14  is relieved such that the wick  14  becomes unpinched or unsqueezed. Accordingly, liquid product will continue flowing through the wick  14  toward the second end  40  and thereby produce a change in coloration in the exterior portion  46  of the wick  14  that is observable or visible to an observer. Also, as used herein, the term “visible” includes visible to a human eye with or without aid of a special light, for example, an ultraviolet light, or the like. Accordingly, the state change of the coloration may be overt (visible to the human eye in natural daylight) or covert (visible to the human eye in the presence of a special light). The state change will deter a counterfeiter from refilling and/or repackaging the container  12  with counterfeit product. As used herein, the term “coloration” includes color, hue, transparency, and/or any other suitable coloration qualities. 
     According to other embodiments of the present disclosure, there are provided methods of producing and using a package. A method of producing a package may include coupling a wick to a container so that a first end of the wick extends into the container, a second end extends out of the container, and an intermediate portion extends over a lip of the container. The method also includes filling the container with a liquid product, and applying a closure to the container to pinch the wick between the closure and the container lip. A method of using the package produced by the method above may include removing the closure from the container to unpinch the wick so that the liquid product flows though the wick toward the second end to indicate opening of the package. Any suitable sequencing of the aforementioned steps may be used. 
     In a further embodiment, the presently disclosed wick may be used in conjunction with one or more of the embodiments disclosed and shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/832,729 filed Mar. 15, 2013 (entitled PACKAGE OR PRODUCT HAVING A USE INDICATOR), which was filed on the same date as the present application is assigned to the assignee hereof and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     There thus has been disclosed a product, a package, and methods that fully satisfy all of the objects and aims previously set forth. The disclosure has been presented in conjunction with several illustrative embodiments, and additional modifications and variations have been discussed. Other modifications and variations readily will suggest themselves to persons of ordinary skill in the art in view of the foregoing discussion. For example, the subject matter of each of the embodiments is hereby incorporated by reference into each of the other embodiments, for expedience. The disclosure is intended to embrace all such modifications and variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.