Patent Publication Number: US-2009236304-A1

Title: Environmentally Friendly Tamper-Evident Safety Closure

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This patent application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/404,395, filed Apr. 15, 2006, entitled Personally Identifiable Container and Device, which, in turn, claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/671,767 filed on Apr. 15, 2005, the contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     This invention was not federally sponsored. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to the bottled water and beverage industry, and more specifically toward environmental friendly, tamper-evident closures used on beverage containers that can optionally include a customizable means to identify a particular beverage container as belonging to a specific individual. 
     In addition to allowing users of the invention to keep track of their water bottles and other containers, a major goal of the current invention is to prevent the common problems associated with the use of prior art tamper evident closures, specifically the safety hazards discarded caps pose to small children, pets and wildlife, the unsightly litter they generate in our streets, streams, and parks, and the subsequent waste of recyclable materials. A preferred embodiment of the invention is a semi-perforated, tamper evident closure system designed to keep bottle caps loosely attached to bottles during and after use. This embodiment is comprised of a one piece, semi-perforated tamper evident cap and retaining ring where the perforated portion is designed to break when twisted and pulled apart, and an un-perforated tethering section that connects the two separated pieces of the opened closure. The tethering section, while preferably composed of the same material as the remainder of the bottle cap, will stretch without breaking to a length sufficient to remove the cap from the bottle. A means of allowing an individual to customize the bottle cap to his or her preference as a way of identifying the container can also be included. The unique design of the cap allows the consumer to break the tamper evident seal and dispense the contents with the cap still loosely connected to the bottle thus preventing careless consumers from dropping the cap to the ground. The cap is kept conveniently close for resealing purposes and subsequently frees up one of the consumer&#39;s hands. 
     Tamper evident closures have become widely used, especially in the bottled water and beverage industry. These devices allow manufacturers to distribute their products in a relatively safe and economical way to millions of consumers who appreciate the convenience and safety they provide. While tamper evident closures have undergone substantial improvements over the years, some major problems remain unsolved. Prior art tamper evident closures are designed to detach from their host containers. Millions of these detached caps end up on the ground as litter in our streets, streams, and parks. Obviously unsightly, the discarded caps can also cause injury or death when ingested by small children and wildlife. Additionally, thousands if not millions of pounds of recyclable plastic never make it back to the recycler every year as the unattached bottle caps float down storm drains all over the world. 
     Another problem facing manufacturers (and users) of containers, is that when a group of people are all using the same drink container, how does each person keep track of which drink is his or hers? In sports events, very frequently an entire team will be given the same water bottles. In many bars and other “mixer” environments, there are only a limited number of types of beverages sold with a few very popular ones taking up the lion&#39;s share of the orders. In such situations, once a person opens a bottle and sets it down, it is likely that the person will encounter some confusion over which bottle is his/hers, and which belongs to another person. The reasons for wanting to avoid drinking from another person&#39;s drink container are obvious and do not need substantial explanation. Suffice to say that in addition to not wanting to take another&#39;s drink, most people are concerned over picking up germs and diseases from another person&#39;s mouth, and therefore do not wish to unwittingly drink from another person&#39;s container. This invention also helps control waste by eliminating owner confusion and preventing the premature disposal of half-consumed liquid products. Thousands of perfectly good bottles of drinking water get disposed of every day just because people can&#39;t remember which water bottle is theirs. 
     The prior art has proven to be ineffective due to the fact that all these bottle cap designs have shrink-wrap or other tamper evident seals that completely detach and end up on the ground as trash. Further, there is no means for personal identification integrated into these bottle cap designs. 
     Thus there has existed a long-felt need for a tamper evident closure with, optionally, a means for personal identification, that will remain attached to the host container to prevent possible injuries or death of small children, pets and wildlife, reduce the amount of litter in our streets, streams, and parks, and improve plastic recycling overall. The current invention provides such a solution by creating a one piece semi-perforated tamper evident cap and retaining ring that is designed to break when twisted and pulled apart, where there is an un-perforated tethering section that connects the two separated pieces of the opened closure to prevent accidental losses and littering, and where the cap portion can be personally identifiable through a variety of means. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a principal object of the invention to provide a new environmentally friendly tamper-evident safety closure by which a closure manufacturer or consumer can prevent the accidental loss and littering of closures to protect children, pets, wildlife, and the environment which also has a personalization component that allows a user of the invention to make his or her container personally identifiable. 
     It is another object of the invention to prevent the accidental loss and littering of closures and the unfortunate consequences by supplying a failsafe retention method. 
     It is a further object of the invention that the closure will have an un-perforated tethering section that will connect the top of the closure to the retaining ring. 
     It is also an object of the invention that the closure will be easy to open and close while being tamper evident. 
     It is an additional object of the invention to accommodate many different closure shapes and sizes in order to work on various types of containers. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide a device by which a food or beverage manufacturer, container manufacturer, or consumer can allow for a consumer to identify his or her own container from other similar containers. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a container cap with numbers and/or letters on it where the user can scratch or otherwise identify which combination of letters and/or number he or she selects for identification purposes. 
     It is also an object of this invention to provide bottle caps that are suitable, under the constraints and teachings of this application, to be manufactured by the food or beverage manufacturer or a container manufacturer. 
     It is an additional object of this invention to provide a container cap sticker, also referred to as a semi-malleable surface, with numbers and/or letters on it where the user can scratch or otherwise identify which combination of letters and/or numbers he or she selects for identification purposes. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a container cap label with various indicia on it wherein the user can scratch or otherwise select which indicia he or she wants for identification purposes. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a container cap promotional or other label that a user of the invention could selectively tear off or peel off some indicia. 
     It is still yet another object of this invention to provide a container cap label that has a blank, scratchable surface that the user can scratch, peal, or otherwise mark as he or she desires to create a personalized identifier. 
     It is a further object of this invention to provide container cap labels that can be manufactured by the food and beverage manufacturer or a label manufacturer. 
     It is an additional object of the invention to provide a container cap label, which may or may not be peelable, with indicia on it wherein the user can scratch or otherwise identify which indicia he or she selects for identification purposes. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide an enclosed sticker or capsule inside of which are placed small packets of different types of dye in a matrix of water or some other liquid into which the dye is dissolvable, such that a user can selectively burst individual packets to form his or her “unique color combination”, but which he or she can identify his or her own container. 
     It is still another object of this invention to provide glitter packets, dye packets, and other novelty items such that a user can even further customize his or her container or label. 
     It is a further object of this invention to provide a container-identifying device that a user shall not need to use a pen, permanent felt-tipped marker, pencil, jackknife, or other tool to make his or her mark. 
     It is yet another object of this invention that the invention be suitable for mass production and lend itself easily to the concept of sponsorship, whereby companies pay for the right to put the stickers, container caps, or labels onto a food or beverage container. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a method for modifying existing molds to produce a tethered, tamper evident cap for a container. 
     It is a final object of the invention to provide a cost effective solution that is easy to manufacture and use on a container, will conserve water, and promote recycling. 
     Thus, a uniquely designed cap that separates into two sections that remain linked by a tether, thereby increasing the ease with which a user handles the container and decreasing the likelihood that the cap will end up as discarded trash is provided. It can optionally include a means of personal identification to help avoid confusion over beverage container identity. The means of personal identification include various types of indicia including blank surface, color- and number-coded, user-selectable and user-customizable iterations in the forms of production and aftermarket container caps. User-selectable iterations involve letters, numbers, colors or other indicia which the user can mark to identify a container. User-customizable iterations include surface-malleable container caps, labels, and stickers into which a user can scratch or otherwise imprint his/her name and/or specific indicia. Another embodiment allows users to burst dye packets within a container cap or label to mix a custom and identifying color combination. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. The features listed herein and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principals of this invention. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the cap showing its basic components. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of one embodiment of the cap on a container after the cap has been opened, where the tether is manufactured as a contiguous part of the side of the cap. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of one embodiment of the cap where the tether is a contiguous part of the side of the cap. 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of one embodiment of the cap where the tether is a contiguous part of the side of the cap. 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of another embodiment of the invention, where the tether is a separate filament extending outward from the side of the cap, after the cap has been opened. 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of the cap of  FIG. 5  prior to having been opened. 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of the cap of  FIG. 5  prior to having been opened. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
     Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with the references made to the drawings below. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Instead, emphasis is placed upon clearly illustrating the components of the present invention. Moreover, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts through the several views in the drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the cap showing its basic components. This embodiment of the invention, generally referred to by reference number  1 , has a cap portion ( 2 ) and a retaining ring ( 3 ), which are separated by a perforated section ( 4 ) that continues the majority of the way around the circumference of the cap, and a tether ( 5 ) which is, in this figure, a non-perforated section of the side of the cap. The top of the cap portion has a means of rendering a personally identifiable area ( 6 ) so that a user of the invention can keep track of his or her container. The type of personally identifiable symbol possibly used is treated in substantial detail in the parent applications from which this application derives and claims priority. Among the personally identifiable symbols considered are stickers with scratchable indicia, semi-malleable surfaces that can be scratched with initials or other identifying symbols and other means as described more fully in the parent applications. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of one embodiment of the cap on a container ( 10 ) after the cap has been opened, where the tether ( 5 ) is manufactured as a contiguous part of the side of the cap. The perforated section ( 4 ) is designed so that when a user twists the cap, it splits into the cap portion ( 2 ) and the retaining ring portion ( 3 ), with the tether ( 5 ) holding the two portions together. 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  are side and front views of one embodiment of the cap where the tether ( 5 ) is a contiguous part of the side of the cap. This embodiment is easy to manufacture, as the manufacturer has only to add a line of perforations around a majority, but not the entirety, of the circumference of the cap. The tether ( 5 ) is, therefore, merely the unperforated section that connects the cap portion ( 2 ) from the retaining ring ( 3 ). 
     Manufacturing the embodiment of the cap shown in  FIGS. 1-4  requires simple modifications to existing molding systems. If an existing system creates a tamper-evident bottle cap with perforations using split molding techniques, then one or more extending members used to create the perforations can be removed. If an existing system creates a tamper-evident bottle cap without perforations, and then stamps the perforations using a tool with extending members, then one or more of the extending members can be removed. The extending members can be removed by grinding the extending members down to the base of the tool. An alternative method for removing the extending members is to cut them off using a saw or other cutting device. In any case, one or more of the members used to create a perforation is removed, thereby creating a tether between the cap portion and retaining ring. 
       FIG. 5  is a side view of another embodiment of the invention, where the tether ( 5 ) is a separate filament extending outward from the side of the cap, after the cap has been opened. 
       FIGS. 6 and 7  are side and front views of the cap of  FIG. 5  prior to having been opened. In this embodiment, the tether ( 5 ) is a separate piece of plastic that is molded to extend outwardly from the side of the cap. The perforated section ( 4 ) in this embodiment extends the entire circumference of the cap, such that when the cap is twisted, the cap portion ( 2 ) separates entirely from the retaining ring ( 3 ), and the cap portion and retaining ring are held together only by the tether ( 5 ). 
     In a preferred embodiment of the current invention, the tamper-evident bottle cap is made from high density polyethylene (HDPE). The cap portion and the retaining ring are separated by perforations that surround a majority, and preferable all but ⅛ of an inch, of the outer circumference of the tamper-evident bottle cap. The wall thickness of the cap is with the range of 1/64 of an inch to ⅛ of an inch, and preferable 1/32 of an inch. The inner walls of the cap portion include inner threading to mate with and screw on and off of a bottle container. The ring portion, however, is designed to stay secured to the bottle. The bottle cap is tamper-evident as the perforated section between the cap portion and ring portion must break, and cannot be reattached, thereby showing the bottle has been tampered with, or opened, if the perforations between the cap portion and the ring portion have been broken. 
     Using a tamper-evident bottle cap with the aforementioned specifications, a user can rotate the cap portion until the perforations break. By continuing to pull, the tethered section will stretch to allow the cap portion to be removed from the top of the bottle and still be secured to the ring portion. Significant stretching of the tether can occur before breakage. With a ⅛ of an inch wide and 1/32 of an inch thick tether, it has been shown that the tether can stretch at least ⅞ of an inch before breaking. This allows the cap portion to move a sufficient distance from the ring portion to remove the cap from and screw it back onto the bottle. After removing the cap portion, the user can consume an amount of liquid or other substance from the container, and then replace the cap portion onto the bottle. While the user is consuming any liquid from the bottle, the user need not hold the cap, as it is secured to the ring portion and thus the bottle. 
     With respect to the above description it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, including 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 the present invention. Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, but rather to those limitations found in the claims. Accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents fall within the scope of the present invention. 
     The above description, together with the accessories of the invention and the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific advantages attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention. 
     Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers, and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting, as to the scope of the invention in any way.