Patent Publication Number: US-9409680-B2

Title: Tamper evident closure

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is the National Stage of International Application No. PCT/NL2012/050803 filed Nov. 13, 2012, which claims the benefit of Netherlands Application No. NL 2007839, filed Nov. 22, 2011, the contents of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a tamper-evident dispensing closure comprising a body adapted to be attached to a container. The container has a shoulder portion surrounding a dispensing opening. The closure body has a top wall and a peripheral wall which extends from the top wall towards a lower end, such that said lower end of the peripheral wall defines an open end of the body. The open end of the body is in use placed over the shoulder portion of the container. The top wall is provided with a dispensing passage which in use is in line with the dispensing opening of the container. The peripheral wall is provided with tamper-evident means, which cause the peripheral wall to rupture when the closure is removed from the container, thereby indicating tampering with the closure. 
     The invention thus proposes to provide a closure of which the structural integrity is destroyed when the closure is removed from the container, thereby indicating that the container-closure assembly has been tampered with. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the invention the peripheral wall of the closure body has on its inner side one or more protrusions that project inwardly, which protrusions are adapted to be, at least partially, received in corresponding recesses in the shoulder portion of the container, wherein the peripheral wall on the inner side next to at least one of the protrusions is provided with a weakening line. In this embodiment the protrusions on the inner side of the closure body and the recesses cooperate to block the rotation of the closure with respect to the shoulder of the container. If in an attempt to remove the closure from the container a certain rotational force is applied to the closure, the protrusions which are held by the recesses will cause such a tension in the material that the peripheral wall will rupture at the location of the weakening line. Thereby an inerasable indication is left on the closure that an attempt is made to tamper with the container-closure assembly. 
     In a possible embodiment the one or more protrusions are formed as ribs which extend from the open end towards the top wall of the closure body, a lower portion of the ribs being adapted to be received in said corresponding recesses in the shoulder portion of the container. 
     In a further possible embodiment the weakening line is a groove on the inner surface of the peripheral wall, preferably a groove which has substantially a V-shape. In case the protrusion is a rib which extends from the open end towards the top wall of the closure body, the groove preferably extends along at least a substantial part of the length of the rib. 
     In a possible embodiment the ribs have a first portion that is substantially perpendicular with respect to the peripheral wall and a second portion that is bent away from the first portion. Preferably the groove is provided at that side of the rib to which also the second rib portion bends away. Also preferably the ribs have an end edge which forms an abutment surface for abutting against a stop surface at the recess in the shoulder of the container. In this preferred embodiment the attempted rotation of the closure body with respect to the shoulder of the container pushes the abutment surface against a wall of the recess in the shoulder. As the groove is on the same side to which the second portion is bent, the rotational force will open up the groove even more, which eventually causes the peripheral wall at the groove to be torn towards the outer side of the peripheral wall. 
     Preferably, the second portion extends in an angle with respect to the first portion between 90° and 180°, preferably of about 120°. In a further preferred embodiment the peripheral wall is provided with four ribs, consisting of two pairs of diametrically opposite ribs with respect to the central axis of the closure body, the second rib portions of two diametrically opposite ribs being parallel to each other. 
     In a possible embodiment the closure has a pivotable lid connected to the body by means of a hinge, in particular a film hinge, wherein the groove is provided on the side of the closure body where the hinge is. 
     Preferably, the peripheral wall is provided with four ribs, consisting of two pairs of diametrically opposite ribs with respect to the central axis of the closure body. 
     The tamper-evident closure is typically manufactured from plastic material by means of injection moulding. The closure body and the pivotable lid are thus formed in one piece. 
     The invention furthermore relates to an assembly of a container and a tamper-evident closure as described in the above, wherein the container has a shoulder portion and a neck portion which defines a dispensing opening of the container, wherein recesses are provided in the shoulder portion of the container, in which the protrusions, or at least a portion thereof, are received. 
     The invention will be further described in detail with reference to the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a view in perspective from below of a preferred embodiment of a tamper evident closure according to the invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows a view in perspective of a container on which a tamper-evident closure of  FIG. 1  can be fitted; and 
         FIG. 3  shows an elevational view of the container of  FIG. 2 , on which the closure of  FIG. 1  is mounted, which closure is show in a cross sectional view. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In  FIG. 1  is shown a tamper evident closure  1 . In the figure, which shows a view from below, mainly the inner side of the closure  1  is visible. The body  2  has a top wall  21  and a peripheral wall  22  that extends from the top wall  21  downwards. The peripheral wall  22  has a free lower end  23  which defines an open end of the closure body  2 . The body  2  can be placed on top of a container  50  that is shown in  FIG. 2  with this open end of the body  2 . The container  50  may contain a substance, like foodstuffs such as ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard or other sauces, or like cosmetic products such as shampoo, bathing products, skin treatment products, etc. The top wall  21  has a dispensing passage  25 , in this case defined by an upwardly extending collar  26 , through which the substance can be dispensed from the container  50 . In the dispensing passage a self-closing dispensing valve can be mounted, but this is not relevant for the present invention. 
     The closure  1  shown in  FIG. 1  is of the type with a pivotable lid  3  which in a closed position covers the outer surface of the top wall  21 . The pivotable lid  3  is connected with the closure body  2  by means of a film hinge (not shown) in a manner well know in the art. The closure body  2 , the lid  3  and the hinge  4  are manufactured in one piece from plastic by means of injection moulding. 
     In  FIG. 2  is shown the container  50 , which on an upper side comprises a shoulder portion  51  and a neck portion  52  which defines a dispensing passage  53 . On the outer surface of the neck portion a circumferential ring  54  is provided, which has a conical surface  54   a  facing upward (in the drawing) and a radial surface  54   b  facing downward. 
     The closure  1  has on the inside two opposed cylinder segments  27  which are positioned concentrically with the collar  26 . The cylinder segments  27  extend from the top wall  21  downwards. At the lower end of the cylinder segments at the radially seen inner side, a ring segment  28  extends which has a conical surface  28   a  that faces downwards, i.e. towards the open end of the closure and a radial surface that faces upwards, i.e. towards the top wall  21 . 
     On the top wall  21  is furthermore provided an inner cylindrical collar  29  which is concentrical with the cylinder segments  27 . The collar  29  is located radially inward from the cylinder segments  27 . The inner collar  29  extends in the same direction as the cylinder segments  27  but has a smaller length than the cylinder segments  27 . In the collar  29  a sealing ring  70  is arranged. 
     When the closure  1  is placed on the container  50 , the neck portion  52  of the container  50  is inserted into the space between the cylinder segments  27 . The circumferential ring  54  is moved beyond the ring segments  28  on the cylinder segments whereby the a snap action takes place. During the locking movement the conical surfaces  28   a  and  54   a  slide over each other until the ring segments  28  snaps behind the circumferential ring  28  such that the radial surfaces  28   b  and  54   b  engage each other. The closure  1  is now locked on the container  50 . In this state the end surface  52   a  of the container neck  52  abuts the sealing ring  70 . The collar  29  surrounds the upper end portion of the container neck  52 . 
     On the inner side of the peripheral wall  22  of the closure  1  four ribs  80  are provided as can be seen in  FIG. 1 . The ribs  80  have a first portion  81  that extends substantially perpendicular to the inner surface of the peripheral wall  22  as can be clearly seen in  FIG. 3 . The ribs  80  furthermore have a second portion  82  that extends obliquely with respect to the first portion. The angle between the two rib portions  81  and  82  is about 120° in the drawing, but may be between 90° and 180°. With respect to the central axis of the closure the ribs  80  are positioned equally distributed over the circumference of a virtual circle. The latter is however not necessary. 
     The shoulder portion  51  of the container  50  is provided with four recesses  55  formed as indents. Each recess  55  has a wall portion  56  that is substantially parallel with the second portion  82  of the corresponding rib  80 . A wall portion  57  is present which forms a stop surface for the end edge of the second portion  82  of the rib  80 . 
     Next to two of the ribs  80  a V-groove  201  is provided in the peripheral wall  22  of the closure  1 . The groove  201  is provided on the side of the rib  80  to which the second rib portion  82  bends off with respect to the first rib portion  81 . When a rotational force is applied to the closure  1  in attempt to lever the closure  1  from the container  50 , the abutment surface against the wall  57  of the recess  55  in the shoulder  51 . As the groove  201  is on the same side to which the second rib portion  82  is bent, the rotational force will spread open the groove, which eventually causes the peripheral wall  22  at the groove tip to be torn towards the outer side of the peripheral wall  22 . 
     In the embodiment shown there are only provided grooves  201  at the rear side of the closure  1 , i.e. that side where the hinge (not visible) for the pivotable lid  3  is arranged. 
     There are provided two grooves  201  which has the advantage that the peripheral wall  22  will tear regardless of what direction the closure is rotated with respect to the container. Either way, one of the grooves  201  will be spread open and cause a tear in the peripheral wall  22 . 
     In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the closure body and the container have a essentially oval cross sectional shape. This must not be considered limiting as both the container as the closure body, may have another shape, such as for example circular, polygonal, rectangular or square. 
     In the preferred embodiment shown in the figures, the protrusions on the inner side of the peripheral wall are formed as ribs, in particular ribs with two legs. It must be noted however, that the protrusions could have another suitable shape as well. The protrusions could be formed as simple lugs that extend inwardly and do not extend over the entire height of the peripheral wall. Also the protrusions could be formed as ribs with another shape, not necessarily with the shape as shown in the preferred embodiment. 
     Also the weakening line is formed as V-groove in the preferred embodiment. It is however also conceivable to make weakening lines in another way. Actually it is only essential that a predetermined weak spot is created where the material will tear when the tension in the material is above a certain threshold.