Patent Publication Number: US-7900788-B2

Title: Self venting closure

Description:
The present invention relates to a closure for a container wherein the closure will automatically self-vent if the pressure of gas within the container increases beyond a desired level. 
     One such closure is known from European Publication No. 0858416 A1. The known closure comprises a typical shell with a base and downwardly depending skirt defining the outside of the closure. Within the closure, a bore seal downwardly depends from the base. Radially between this bore seal and skirt a stop also downwardly depends from the base. This stop acts to prevent over-tightening of corresponding screw threads located within the shell and on an associated container, and acts against the rim of the container. Between the stop and the bore seal the thickness of the base is thinned. 
     Further, a rib of uniform thickness is provided with a cross-sectional shape being in the form of a right-angled triangle. One of the non-hypotenuse sides lies along the inside of the base and the other non-hypotenuse side lies along the bore seal. The hypotenuse side of the triangle does not lie on any other surface. The side of the rib which lies on the inside of the base extends from the bore seal towards the axial centre of the base. The side which lies on the bore seal does not extend the full height of the bore seal but rather only extends as far as the part of the bore seal which bulges radially outwardly. Thus the portion of the bore seal which has no rib lying against it, is permitted to be more flexible than the portion of the bore seal which is braced by the presence of the rib. 
     As pressure increases in a container, which may be due to any number of reasons such as fermentation, temperature increase etc., a closure, as described above, when screwed onto the container so as to seal the container, will “dome”. This “doming” means that the centre of the base will rise upwards away from the container. 
     This increase in pressure is undesirable for several reasons. For instance, customers may be dissuaded from purchasing a product with a domed closure, and it may cause problems of a sudden release of pressure once the closure is opened, leading to the possibility of injury. 
     In use, as the closure domes, the rib will transmit the doming force from the centre of the closure to the bore seal. This force will pull the bore seal radially inwards. This has the effect that the seal formed between the bore seal and the container is broken allowing gas to exit from the container. 
     As the gas escapes, the pressure reduces in the container, thus causing the doming effect to be diminished and the closure base to return to its normal un-domed state. This moves the bore seal back to its sealing position. 
     During venting, the thinned portion of the base acts as a hinge allowing the portion of the base, including the part which has the bore seal depending from it, to move upwards. 
     One problem associated with this known closure is that because the stop seals against the rim of the container there is no defined route for the gas to escape from the container once the closure self-vents. This can reduce the effect of the self-venting. 
     Further, after moulding, as the closure cools, the rib can cause sink marks on the radially outer surface of the bore seal, due to the relative size of the rib, which can prevent the bore seal from sealing properly against the inside of the rim of the container. This is a major draw-back for aseptic products contained in an associated container since it is imperative that no air reaches the inside of the closure or container. 
     Further still, the bore seal is prevented from flexing sufficiently along its entire axial length to allow the closure to be easily fitted to the container after filling. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a closure which overcomes these problems in particular which allows gas to vent past the stop, and self-venting of the container is possible without effecting either the sealability of the bore seal, or the ability to flex sufficiently to allow correct fitting of the closure to the container. 
     In one aspect, the invention provides a closure for a container, comprising a substantially circular base, a skirt extending from the periphery thereof, a bore seal in the form of an annulus and at least one rib lying on the surface of the base in a substantially radial direction and in contact with the radially inner surface of the bore seal at one end for transferring any movement of the centre of the base, relative to the skirt, to the bore seal such that the bore seal is pulled radially inward to allow venting of excess pressure within the container, wherein the end of the rib in contact with the radially inner surface of the bore seal is thinner, in a plane parallel to the base, than in a region spaced from the end of the rib in contact with the radially inner surface, in particular thinner than the other end of the rib. The end of the rib in contact with the inner surface is preferably substantially thinner, i.e. at least has a thickness of less than 80%, more preferably less than 50% of the thickness of the area spaced from the bore seal 
     Since the end of the rib in contact with the bore seal is relatively thin it thus contacts the radially inner surface of the bore seal over a relatively small area. Accordingly, shrinkage of, and the presence of sink marks on, the bore seal is minimised. Further, by having the end of the rib which is in contact with the bore seal, being relatively thin the flexibility of the bore seal is not reduced. Further still, by having the end of the rib, opposite to the end in contact with the bore seal, being relatively thick the rib may efficiently transmit any force, due to doming, to the bore seal to allow venting. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the rib is asymmetrically arranged with respect to the axis of the closure. In particular one single rib or a plurality of non regularly spaced ribs will enhance the venting performance. By designing the dimension or thickness of the rib in the area where it is in contact with the bore seal, the pressure upon which the closure will start to vent can furthermore be adjusted. According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided such a thinned region in order to adjust a desired venting pressure. 
     Further embodiments are disclosed in the dependent claims attached hereto. 
    
    
     
       Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the following drawings in which; 
         FIG. 1  shows a cross-sectional view of the closure, 
         FIG. 2  shows a plan view of one embodiment of the rib, 
         FIG. 3  shows another cross-sectional view of the closure, 
         FIG. 4  shows a plan view of a second embodiment of the rib, 
         FIG. 4   a  shows an enlarged view of part of  FIG. 4 , and 
         FIG. 5  shows a plan view of part of the base of the closure. 
     
    
    
     In the following description, all orientational terms, such as upper, lower, downwardly, radially and axially, are used in relation to the cross-sectional drawings shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3  and should not be interpreted as limiting on the invention or its connection to a closure. 
     In  FIG. 1 , only approximately half of the closure shell  10  is shown in cross-section since the closure is symmetrical, apart from the rib  70 , about axis ‘X’. 
     In this figure a base  20  may be seen. This base  20  is substantially circular in plan view (not shown). Depending downwardly from its periphery is a skirt  30 . Located on the radially inner surface of this skirt  30  are screw threads  40 . These screw threads co-operate with corresponding screw threads located on the radially outer surface of the neck of a container (not shown). However, although screw threads are shown it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited by this since other means of attachment of the closure to a container are of course possible. Such other means could be snap beads. 
     Also depending downwardly from the base  20  is a bore seal  50 . This extends around the axis X in a complete annulus and provides a seal with the inside of the neck of the container (not shown) in the manner well understood to those skilled in the art. 
     Between the bore seal  50  and the skirt  30  a stop zone  60  is shown. This stop zone acts to limit the progress of the container towards the base  20  by acting on the rim of the container. This stop zone  60  will be described in more detail below. 
     Finally, two possible cross-sectional outlines of a rib  70  are generally indicated by lines  71  and  72 . The outline referenced  71  is substantially triangular in cross-section. However, the outline referenced  72  is substantially rectangular. It would of course also be possibly to have many other shapes. 
     However, there are a few common features between these various possible shapes. One such common feature is that one end of the rib  70  lies against and in connection with the radially inner surface of the bore seal  50 . In the figures, this connection extends over the full axial height of the inner surface of the bore seal  50 . However, this may not always be the case. 
     Another common feature is that although in the figures the rib  70  is shown as extending from the bore seal along a line of radii to the approximate centre X of the closure, it may in fact only extend part of the way along a line of radii towards the centre. 
     In  FIG. 2 , a plan view of part of one embodiment of the closure is shown. The rib  70  extends along a line of radius between the centre X of the base  20  and the inner surface of the bore seal  50 . It contacts the inner surface at a point referenced  95 . Further, it may be seen that the end of the rib  70  which is in contact with the inner surface is relatively thinner than the opposite end. For the purposes of this description the word “end” refers not only to the very end but also to the length immediately preceding the very end. The overall appearance of the rib  70  in plan is substantially triangular. However, other shapes could be possible such as an isosceles trapezium. 
     The narrow end in contact with the surface eliminates the formation of sink marks on the outer surface of the bore seal. It also allows the bore seal to be flexible when the closure is applied to a container. Further, by having the other end relatively thicker, the forces generated by the doming of the cap may be efficiently transferred to the bore seal. If the end nearest the axial centre X of the closure also had a relatively thin dimension, there would be a risk that during doming of the closure the rib  70  would stretch on the side adjacent to the base  20  and compress on the opposite side such that the forces generated during doming would not be transferred to the bore seal and the container would not vent. 
     In  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  5  a second embodiment is shown. In this second embodiment, the rib  70  is comprised of two parts. The first part  80  is substantially triangular in cross-sectional shape. It has a first surface lying in a radial direction on the underside of the base  20 . Although in the figures the first part  80  is shown as extending from the bore seal along a line of radii to the approximate centre X of the closure, it may in fact only extend part of the way along a line of radii towards the centre. The surface  85  which is perpendicular to this first surface depends downwardly from the base  20  of the closure. The hypotenuse surface of the first part  70  is an open face not lying against any other surface. 
     The second part  90  of the rib  70  is approximately rectangular in cross-sectional shape and has one surface lying adjacent to the first part  80  along surface  85 . The surface opposite this lies against the radially inner surface of the bore seal  50 . Another side lies against the underside of the base  20  of the closure  10 . This second part  90  lies in the same radial direction as the first part  80  such that the whole rib  70  lies in a straight line from approximately the centre of the base  20  to the bore seal  50 . 
     In  FIG. 4 , the rib  70  is shown in plan. The first part  80  may be seen to be substantially rectangular and the second part  90  substantially triangular. However, the second part  90  may be rectangular or indeed be in the form of an isosceles trapezium. 
     The first part  80  and second part  90  meet at the junction  85 . However, the widths of the two parts at this junction  85  may be different such that a step is formed between the two. 
     In one embodiment the apex of the triangular second part  90  lies against the radially inner surface of the bore seal  50 . However, as described above, this apex could in fact be the end of a rectangle or an isosceles trapezium. 
     Since the portion of the second part  90  which lies against the bore seal is only relatively thin, it does not create sink marks on the opposite side of the bore seal and thus does not interfere with the bore seal sealing against the neck of the container. This is due to the property of plastic injection moulding in that freshly moulded plastic will shrink slightly on cooling, and that a larger body of plastic will shrink more than a smaller body. Therefore, by keeping the contact area between the bore seal and the rib to a minimum the effect of cooling will minimise any shrinkage of the bore seal and thus substantially eliminate the presence of sink marks thereon. 
     Further, since the second part  90  is relatively thin, it is relatively flexible too. This means that the bore seal may flex in the area of the rib in the same manner as if no rib was present. This means that the closure will be easily fitted to a container, wherein the bore seal will flex slightly, without any trouble. 
     Further still, the second part  90  may extend along the whole of the axial height of the bore seal  50 . In this configuration, the force required to pull the bore seal  50  radially inwards is less than that required in a configuration where the rib  70  only extends partially along the axial height of the bore seal  50 . Accordingly, the sensitivity of the self-venting feature is increased. However, since the second part  90  is relatively thin and therefore flexible the bore seal  50  is not stiffened in this area. 
     Finally, the first part  80  of the rib  70  is made more substantial than the second part  90  so that the doming effect is transferred to the bore seal efficiently as described above with regard to the first embodiment. 
     In  FIG. 4 , it may be seen that the thickness of the bore seal is defined as ‘e’. This is the maximum thickness of the bore seal measured radially. Further, the circumferential width of the side of the second part  90  of rib  70  which adjoins the radially inner side of the bore seal  50  is defined as ‘a’. Finally, the radial length of the second part  90  of rib  70  is defined as ‘d’. 
     To ensure that the rib will permit venting of the container, that the bore seal is not stiffened by the rib&#39;s presence and that the radially outer surface of the bore seal is not effected by the presence of sink marks, it is necessary to determine precisely the dimensions of the rib  70  in relation to the radial thickness of the bore seal  50 . It has been found that by using the following ranges, where ‘a’, ‘d’ and ‘e’ are defined as above, 
     0.4(e)&gt;a&gt;0.3(e), and 1.5(e)&gt;d&gt;e 
     this is achieved. 
     In  FIG. 5 , a portion of a closure  10  according to the invention is shown in plan view. 
     The first and second parts  80 , 90  of the rib  70  are visible, as is the bore seal  50 . 
     Radially outward from the bore seal  50  is the skirt  30 . Between these two  50 , 30  the stop zone  60  is located. This zone has several feet  100  provided therein. These feet  100  depend downwardly from the base  20  to a maximum depth as shown in  FIG. 1  (indicated by reference ‘ 60 ’). 
     The feet lie spaced apart about the circumference of the closure  10 . Occasionally these feet  100  are linked together to form continuous feet  110 . Where no feet  100 , 110  exist the base  20  will be slightly thinner. This is indicated by reference ‘ 120 ’. These sections  120  ensure that when the bore seal is pulled radially inwards, by the doming of the closure acting on the rib  70 , there is a defined route for the gas to escape past between the top of the rim of the container and the underside of the base  20 . 
     Although, the closure  10  has been described as having only one rib  70 , it should be understood that more than one rib  70  could be provided.