Patent Document

[0001]     This is a continuation-in-part application of parent application Ser. No. 10/644,491 filed Aug. 20, 2003. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention relates to closure devices, and in particular, relates to heat attached tamper evidencing bands and injection molded caps for blow molded bottles which hold liquids, such as milk, water or juice, and a system for providing color-coded heat attached tamper evidencing bands and injection molded caps for blow molded bottles.  
         [0003]     Injection molded caps for blow molded bottles (made of HDPE—high density polyethylene) have been used for many years. In addition, shrink wrapping bottle cap and necks has been used for many years. Generally, two types of bottle caps are available, push-on caps and thread-on caps. Push-on caps are installed by aligning the cap with the opening of a bottle and simply applying an axial force to the top of the cap. Thread-on caps generally require that the cap and bottle be aligned and that a rotational force be applied to the cap. In some cases, threaded caps, if carefully designed in conjunction with the bottle to which it is applied, can be made so that the rotational force required to install the cap is minimized or even eliminated. These kinds of injection molded caps are often made with polypropylene (both high and low density). Typically, caps on bottles sold to consumers include an integrally formed (i.e., injection molded) tamper-evident feature such as a an integrally molded ratchet ring on threaded caps, or one-time-use pull-tab on push-on caps.  
         [0004]     A tamper evidencing ratchet ring has internal ratchet teeth that cooperate with matching teeth formed on the exterior of a bottle neck. When the bottle cap is screwed on the bottle neck, the ratchet teeth of the bottle cap ride over the mating ratchet teeth on the bottle neck, thereby enabling the bottle cap to be fully tightened on the bottle neck. However, when a user attempts to unscrew the bottle cap using low-to-medium twisting force, the ratchet teeth of the bottle cap positively engage the mating ratchet teeth of the bottle neck, thereby preventing unthreading and unsealing of the cap, unless the ratchet ring has been separated from the cap with which it was molded. Removal of the ratchet ring may occur when high levels of twisting force are applied to the bottle cap in the direction of unscrewing. The connection between the cap and the ratchet ring may be broken in this way, or by separately prying the ring from the cap. A broken connection between the ring and the cap, or the total absence of the ratchet ring from the bottle cap, serves as visual evidence that the bottle has been opened, and the contents may be contaminated. Furthermore, other tamper-evident and opening devices of bottle caps include a pull-tab that will create a tear in the plastic cap portion that extends over the bottle neck along the circumference of the cap, thus allowing the cap to be removed from the bottle, and in some cases allowing the torn portion to be removed from the cap. In the bottled water industry the pull tab on push-on caps for 5-gallon containers, for example, is not easily removable from the cap, and only partial tearing of the pull tab allows removal of the cap from the bottle.  
         [0005]     While the combination of a bottle cap with a tamper evidencing ring and a bottle neck with ratchet teeth provides for an acceptable tamper-evident connection and seal, this combination does have its limitations. On occasion, these ratchet rings remain engaged by the ratchet teeth on bottle neck when the bottle is opened. When the contents of the bottle are poured into another container, the ratchet ring may become loose and can fall into the separate container receiving the contents of the bottle. Furthermore, on smaller or single serving containers, the ratchet ring can become a nuisance as a consumer takes a sip directly from the bottle. If the ring has remained on the container after it has been opened, the ring may fall into the consumer&#39;s face or mouth as he or she is taking a sip.  
         [0006]     Another way of providing evidence of tampering is to apply a shrink wrapped band at the interface between a cap and a bottle. This technique is commonly used on glass bottles containing liquids, such as juice, or other food product. See AXON® Corporation—Styrotech® of Raleigh, N.C., for an example of such shrink wrapping systems at http://www.axoncorp.com/heatshrink/, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,215, entitled “Machine for Applying Tamper Evident Bands to Container”. Commonly, the shrink band is transparent. This allows the color and decorative features of the closure to be easily seen by consumers.  
         [0007]     In the field of bottling and selling milk, bottlers have traditionally used different colored caps to differentiate one kind of milk from another. For example, red caps may be used to designate whole milk, light blue for skim milk, yellow for 1%, etc. Colored caps are also used to designate different kinds of juices or different flavors of beverages. Coordinating cap color with the contents of the containers, particularly when multiple kinds of beverage are bottled at a single facility or with a single bottling line, is no small task. In milk bottling facilities, a single filling line may be required to fill containers with four different kinds of milk. When changeovers from one kind of milk to another occur, all of the caps of one color in the capping portion of the filling line (e.g., feeder bowls and cap feeding chutes) must be removed and replaced with another color. In some cases the hoppers from which caps are fed are difficult to access and empty. These changeovers can require considerable time and effort to accomplish, and may be required to be done every day, or even multiple times a day.  
         [0008]     Other problems associated with capping facilities using the typical capping system that relies upon cap color to differentiate the kind of milk in a container, include the fact that ample supplies of each color of cap must be kept on hand. This requires significant storage space and lead times in ordering different colored caps for the inventory. Using caps of several different colors complicates transportation and warehousing, and can result in delays in bottling operations.  
         [0009]     Some larger retail grocery stores and large milk producers bottle milk at several sites, and service those sites from distribution centers, primarily from the standpoint of supplying inventory of caps and other supplies need in the bottling process. Capping facilities have for several years used different colored caps to differentiate products (e.g., skim, 1%, 2% and whole milk). This method of differentiation typically requires the bottler and/or the distribution center to store large amounts of colored caps—a 3 to 5 week supply on hand to facilitate change-over from one kind of milk to another on short notice. In such operations, colored caps may be ordered by a distribution center, then stored at the distribution center for later delivery to any one of several bottling facilities serviced by the distribution center. When a retailer decides what the “special” will be for a particular milk sale, i.e., skim, whole milk, 1% or 2%, it must then inform the bottling facility, which then must order the corresponding color caps from the distribution center and have them shipped to the bottling facility. Typically, a bottling/capping facility will order more caps of different colors and store them on site so they do not have to deal, on short notice, with a cap manufacturer in order to get the caps it needs for a particular sale. The storage of caps will often take up large portion of floor space at the bottling facilities, as well as at the distribution center.  
         [0010]     In order to eliminate many of the problems associated with capping systems now in place, the inventions disclosed and claimed herein, in a milk bottling application, allow a bottler to use caps of a single color, e.g., white or pigment-free, for all kind of milk, and then relies upon shrinkable or heat sealable bands of different colors placed over the cap and neck of a bottle to differentiate one kind of milk from another. In one embodiment, the cap and neck of a bottle are configured in such a way as to allow a mechanical interference between the band and both the cap and the bottle neck to help prevent the cap from backing off of a tightened position during shipment. In another embodiment, a band is strapped across the top of the cap and is connected to the top of the bottle cap and at both ends to the bottle neck. The band closely conforms to the shape of the cap, effectively preventing the cap from being removed from the bottle without detaching at least one end of the band from the bottle. As a cap is unscrewed, the threads on the outside of the bottle neck and on the inside of the cap engage in such a manner to force the cap away from the bottle. The band, being attached to the bottle and the cap, and closely conforming to the shape of the cap, restrains such movement of the cap.  
         [0011]     By placing bands of different colors on the bottle neck and by using caps of one standard color, a line change will entail a simple change in the color of ribbon or shrink wrap rather than unloading and loading different colored caps from the feeder bowls and capping apparatus within the bottling line. By using different colored bands, instead of different colored caps, warehouse and storage space is significantly reduced. The bands occupy considerably less space than do caps, and transportation costs (e.g., emergency shipments of colored caps) are diminished as no special transportation requirements for caps of a particular color will be required. A band across the top of the cap may be more preferable than a circumferential band because the “across the top” kind of band may be less likely to cause milk to become trapped between the bottle and the band. Furthermore, using a small band instead of a larger circumferential band would save in material, shipping, storage, and labor costs. The material of the “across the top” kind of band is preferably a polyester (e.g., PET) having a sealing layer made of polyethylene (or a polyethylene based material modified to improve its properties as a heat sealing layer) that is heat-sealable facing the surface of the cap, which is also typically made of polyethylene (either high or low densisty). The material for the “across the top” type of band may be purchased from a packaging material supplier such as the Clear Lam Packaging Corporation of Elk Grove, Ill.  
         [0012]     Using color-coded bands over the cap and neck of a bottle significantly reduces costs associated with storing and disposing of large amounts of different colored caps, eliminates the problem associated with the ratchet ring dropping in milk glasses, reduces inventory space, reduces lead-time on ordering, and the tamper evident factor is clearly visual in a band. The caps are also interchangeable between several bottling facilities that may be serviced by a central distribution center.  
         [0013]     The inventions described and claimed herein also have application in the field of bottled water, such as water that is transported and dispensed from inverted large (e.g., 5-gallon and 3-gallon) containers. Consumers of bottled water have great concern about colorants used to give color to caps on containers of bottled water. Colorants may (or may be perceived to) affect the taste of water, since the plastic of caps for 5-gallon water bottles come into prolonged contact with the water that is stored therein. Yet, since the bottles themselves are reused over and over again the bottles cannot effectively be used for product identification. Instead, bottlers have traditionally used the cap and a label on the cap to provide some (albeit limited) product identification. By using colored, multi-colored or printed bands, instead of colored caps to identify the source of the bottled water, the bottlers can use caps that have no pigments or colorants. Similarly, when a bottler needs to differentiate one container from another (for example a container with a valved cap vs. a container with a standard unvalved cap), the bottler can simply use a band of one color for bottles with valved caps and a band of another color for bottles with standard unvalved caps. In the case of valved caps, which typically have a tamper-evident label covering the valve and at tamper-evident pull tab, the colored band will provide an additional layer of security in the form of a third level of tamper evidence.  
         [0014]     For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an improved tamper resistant bottle cap and bottle neck that limits the ability of a person to tamper with the contents of a bottle and provides a system for sealing the bottle cap and neck with a band. Specifically, there is a need for a tamper resistant bottle cap and bottle neck which will clearly show any tampering and will eliminate the ratchet ring of the previous art.  
         [0015]     It is therefore a primary object of the inventions described and claimed herein to provide an improved tamper resistant bottle cap and bottle neck for use in bottles which hold liquids, such as milk and juice, and to provide a system for providing a band on the bottle neck and cap.  
         [0016]     It is a further object of the inventions described and claimed herein to provide an improved tamper resistant seal between a bottle cap and a bottle neck in bottling operations that use the same kinds of containers to ship different products, such as different kinds of milk in 1-gallon containers.  
         [0017]     It is another object of the inventions described and claimed herein to provide a system for color-coding a cap and bottle neck at a bottling/capping facility.  
         [0018]     It is yet another object of the inventions described and claimed herein to provide a bottle neck with an improved durability sealing mechanism during transport of bottles of milk and juice.  
         [0019]     The inventions described and claimed herein are directed to a tamper resistant bottle cap and bottle neck that satisfy the need for a bottle closure with an improved tamper resistant seal and color-coding system. A bottle closure having the features of the inventions described and claimed herein broadly comprises a bottle cap and a bottle neck.  
         [0020]     The bottle cap of the inventions described and claimed herein includes a circular cover, a wide skirt depending from the periphery of the cover, and a tamper evidencing heat attached band. The skirt of the bottle cap includes an interior surface having threads for retaining the cap to a bottle neck and an outer surface having a series of high and low knurls along its periphery.  
         [0021]     The bottle neck of the inventions described and claimed herein includes an opening at its upper end, a cylindrical exterior surface having threads for retaining a bottle cap, a circumferential bumper roll below the threads, and a circumferential portion below the bumper roll. The circumferential bumper roll has indentations on its underside.  
         [0022]     The threads of the bottle cap and the bottle neck of the inventions described and claimed herein are appropriately dimensioned so as to sealingly engage when the bottle cap is screwed onto the bottle neck. After the bottle cap has been screwed onto the bottle neck, a band is applied to the bottle cap and bottle neck so as to prevent unscrewing or removal of the bottle cap relative to the bottle neck without breaking the sealable connections. The tamper evidencing band of the bottle cap can be color-coded, clear or adapted to receive printing.  
         [0023]     In one embodiment of the present invention, the band is formed by a shrinkable circumferential band. When the bottle cap is fully threaded onto bottle neck, the shrinkable band of the cap completely surrounds the skirt and partial portion of the top of the cap, so that it is very difficult to tamper with. The location of the indentations on the underside of the bumper roll and the knurls on the outside surface of the skirt of the cap provide additional sealing means to the shrinkable band of the combination of the bottle cap and bottle neck of the inventions described and claimed herein.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0024]     These and other features, aspects, objects, and advantages of the inventions described and claimed herein will be become better understood upon consideration of the following detailed description, appended claims and accompanying drawings where:  
         [0025]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a bottle cap and bottle neck made in accordance with the inventions described and claimed herein;  
         [0026]      FIG. 2  is a top view of a bottle cap and bottleneck made in accordance with the inventions described and claimed herein before placement of the circumferential band;  
         [0027]      FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of a bottle cap and bottle neck made in accordance with the inventions described and claimed herein;  
         [0028]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged view taken along line A-A in  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0029]      FIG. 5  is a top view of a bottle neck made in accordance with the inventions described and claimed herein;  
         [0030]      FIG. 6  is a side view of a bottle neck taken along line B-B in  FIG. 5 ;  
         [0031]      FIG. 7  is a side view of a bottle cap and bottle neck with a circumferential band;  
         [0032]      FIG. 7A  is a perspective view of the cap, neck and seal of  FIG. 7 ;  
         [0033]      FIG. 8  is a top view of a bottle cap and bottle neck with a circumferential band;  
         [0034]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the inventions described and claimed herein;  
         [0035]      FIG. 9A  is a top view of the alternative embodiment of the bottle cap and neck in  FIG. 9 ;  
         [0036]      FIG. 9B  is an enlarged view of the alternative embodiment in  FIG. 9  taken along line C-C in  FIG. 9A ;  
         [0037]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a third alternative embodiment of the inventions described and claimed herein;  
         [0038]      FIG. 10A  is a top view of the alternative embodiment of the bottle cap and neck in  FIG. 10 ;  
         [0039]      FIG. 10B  is an enlarged view of the alternative embodiment in  FIG. 10  taken along line D-D in  FIG. 10A ;  
         [0040]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a fourth alternative embodiment of the inventions described and claimed herein;  
         [0041]      FIG. 11A  is a top view of the alternative embodiment of the bottle cap and neck in  FIG. 11 ;  
         [0042]      FIG. 11B  is an enlarged view of the alternative embodiment in  FIG. 11  taken along line E-E in  FIG. 11A ;  
         [0043]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of a fifth alternative embodiment of the inventions described and claimed herein;  
         [0044]      FIG. 12A  is a top view of the alternative embodiment of the bottle cap and neck in  FIG. 12 ;  
         [0045]      FIG. 12B  is an enlarged view of the alternative embodiment in  FIG. 12  taken along line F-F in  FIG. 12A ;  
         [0046]      FIG. 13  is an illustration of a system in accordance with the inventions described and claimed herein;  
         [0047]      FIG. 14  is a side view of a completely unshrunk circumferential band just as it is about to be applied over a bottle cap of the kind used for 5-gallon bottles;  
         [0048]      FIG. 15  is a side view of a bottle cap of the kind used for 5-gallon bottles surrounded by a partially shrunk circumferential band;  
         [0049]      FIG. 16  is a side view of a bottle cap of the kind used for 5-gallon bottles surrounded by a completely shrunk circumferential band;  
         [0050]      FIG. 17  is a perspective view of a bottle cap and bottle neck with an alternative embodiment of the heat attached band; and,  
         [0051]      FIG. 18  is a side view of a bottle cap and neck just prior to application of the alternative embodiment in  FIG. 17 . 
     
    
       [0052]     It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments are sometimes illustrated by graphic symbols, phantom lines, diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the inventions described and claimed herein or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the inventions described herein are not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.  
         [0053]     Like reference numerals will be used to refer to like or similar parts from Figure to Figure in the following description of the drawings.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0054]      FIGS. 1 and 3  generally depict the outside of a bottle cap and bottle neck of the inventions described and claimed herein.  FIG. 1  depicts the cap and neck combination in a perspective view, while  FIG. 2  illustrates a top view of a cap  11  and bottle neck  24  of the inventions described and claimed herein before a tamper evident band is placed on the bottle cap and neck. The cap  11  is comprised of a circular cover  12  and a depending skirt  14  with alternating high and low knurls  15  and  16 , respectively, formed on the outside surface thereof (as shown more clearly in  FIG. 4 ). Four distinct threads  26  are formed on the inside surface of the skirt  14 .  
         [0055]     Referring now to  FIGS. 5 and 6  there is shown a bottle, indicated generally at  21 , upon which the bottle cap  11  of the inventions described and claimed herein may be installed. The bottle  21  includes a body  22  and a cylindrical bottle neck  24  which is integral with the body  22 . The bottle neck  24  has an upper opening  25  and an upper end  23  which terminates in an inwardly directed circumferential sealing lip  28  with an inner edge  29 . The bottle neck  24  also includes four external screw threads  30  which engage threads  26  of bottle cap  11 . The bottle neck  24  also includes a circumferential “bumper roll” or transfer ring  32  located immediately below the external screw threads  30  on the upper end  23  of the neck  24 . In prior bottle neck designs, a bumper roll has been provided on a bottle neck for manufacturing purposes as it facilitates gripping the bottle during the loading of the bottle into a shipping container and is typically placed at a lower end  27  of the bottle neck  24 . However, the bumper roll  32  of the bottle neck  24  of the inventions described and claimed herein may include additional features to provide even further advantages. It can be seen from  FIGS. 3, 4  and  6  that bumper roll  32  includes a substantially flat annular top surface  34  and bottom surface  35 . Preferably the top surface  34  and bottom surface  35  of the bumper roll  32  are parallel to each other and with respect to a plane defined by the opening  25  of the bottle neck  24 . Also, it is preferred that the top surface  34  of the bumper roll  32  is joined to the bottom of the screw threads portion and the bottom surface  35  of the bumper roll  32  is joined to the top of the lower end  27  of the bottle neck  24 .  
         [0056]     Furthermore, in the preferred embodiment to be used with a shrinkable circumferential band  38  of the present invention, the bumper roll  32  includes indentations  36  on its bottom surface  35  along the entire length of its periphery. As seen in  FIG. 4 , the indentations  36  are preferably placed along the bottom surface  35  of the bumper roll  32  every 12° along its circumferential periphery and are approximately 0.100 in. in width. The placement of the indentations  36  on the bottom surface  35  of the bumper roll  32  serves to increase gripping of a shrunk circumferential band  38 .  
         [0057]     The bottle neck  24  also includes a lower end  27  that extends from the bottom surface  35  of bumper roll  32 . As can be seen in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the bumper roll  32  is diametrically larger than the screw threads portion of the neck  24  and the cap  11 . The lower end  27  of bottle neck  24  is only slightly diametrically larger than the cap  11 , but smaller than the bumper roll  32 .  
         [0058]     Specifically, in referring to  FIGS. 7, 7A  and  8 , when bottle cap  11  is fully threaded onto bottle neck  24 , the lower edge of skirt  14  of cap  11  is placed in contact with or closely adjacent to the top surface  34  of bumper roll  32 , and the circumferential band  38  is placed around the bottle cap  11  and bottle neck  24  in its fully threaded position. The circumferential band  38  grabs the high and low knurls  15  and  16 , respectively, on the outside surface of the skirt  14  of the cap  11 , and shrinks to fit in between the alternating high and low knurls,  15  and  16 , respectively, and further grabs the indentations  36  on the bottom surface  35  of the bumper roll  32 , shrinking to fit into the indentations  36 . The indentations  36  and high and low knurls  15  and  16 , respectively, serve to increase resistance and space for the circumferential band  38  to seal the bottle cap  11  and neck  24 . The knurls and indentations  36  also provide a gripping means for the band  38  so that the band  38  does not slip circumferentially around the bottle cap  11  and neck  24 . It also provides gripping means to sealingly engage the bottle cap  11  and neck  24  in such resistance that the combination does not allow for tampering without breaking the band  38  and such that the contents of the bottle  21  will not spill or leak out of the seal.  
         [0059]     An alternative embodiment of the inventions described herein is a band  38   a  that is attached by heat welds  73  and  74  or adhesives at both ends  71  and  72  to the top  34  of the bumper roll  32 , as shown in  FIG. 17 . The band  38   a  can alternatively be adhered to other locations on the bottle neck. To provide additional restraint, the band  38   a  can also be heat welded  82  and  83  or otherwise adhered to the top of the bottled cap  11 . The band  38   a  is strapped across and closely conforms to the shape of the top of the circular cover  12  and depending skirt  14 , effectively preventing the cap  11  from being removed from the bottle neck  24  without first detaching at least one end  71  and  72  from the bumper roll  32 . Depending upon the location of the heat welds  73  and  74 , the band may not closely conform with the depending skirt  14 , but will nonetheless hold the cap tightly in place on the bottle neck  24 .  
         [0060]     The bottle cap  11  of the inventions described and claimed herein is preferably clear or a solid white color. The band  38   a  and circumferential band  38  are color-coded to correspond to the particular color needed to represent the contents of the liquid within in the bottle  21 . For example, the bands  38  and  38   a  can be a light blue color to indicate skim milk, or a light brown color to indicate chocolate milk, or a red color, to indicate a particular juice flavor. If multiple bottling lines are operated in a single facility, all of the beverage lines can use the same closure, and differentiation of the various beverages can be done primarily (or even exclusively) with color coded band material. The color-coding bands  38  or  38   a  are provided in the machinery of the bottling/capping facilities and can be changed simply by changing the reel containing the colored material based on the needs at the time bottling/capping occurs. There is no need to remove caps from the feeder bowls typically used in capping operations when changing over from one beverage to another, since a single kind of cap is all that is needed. Furthermore, the bands  38  and  38   a  are provided in the bottling facilities in the manufacturing process. The bands  38  or  38   a  are placed in a reel that can contain a plurality of different colored bands  38  or  38   a.  The reel is similar to a movie reel and can simply be changed by pulling out one color and feeding another colored band  38  or  38   a  into the reel. An example of such band sealing can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,215.  
         [0061]      FIG. 18  demonstrates how a band  38   a  is applied to a bottle cap  11  and bottle neck  24 . The band  38   a  is conveniently supplied to the applicator  77  which, preferably, heat welds the band  38   a  to the bottle with heat elements  78  and  79  and to the bottle cap with heat elements  84  and  85  while simultaneously cutting the band  38   a  from the roll  76  using knives  80  and  81 .  
         [0062]     One reel of circumferential band  38  material can service as many as 100,000 containers. Each circumferential band  38  needs to be about 25 millimeters in axial length. The bands  38  and  38   a  can be stored in larger quantities than different colored caps because the band material comes ready-to use in boxes that are about 13×13×13 inches with each. The very compact band material can be relied upon to take the place of using different colored caps, which are much more bulky and space-consuming. This allows a bottler to use a single color of (or colorless) cap. In contrast, about 2000 caps having ratchet rings fit into a typical shipping container. Thus about 50 boxes of color coded caps would be required for 100,000 containers, whereas only one 13×13×13 inch box can be used for color coding the same quantity of containers.  
         [0063]     FIGS.  9  to  12  illustrate alternative embodiments of the inventions described and claimed herein.  FIG. 9  illustrates an embodiment with bumps  40  placed along the outside circumferential periphery of the bumper roll  32  instead of the indentations  36  on the bottom surface  35  of the bumper roll  32  of the preferred embodiment to better engage with a circumferential band  38 . The bumps  40  are 0.115 inches in width and spaced with each bump&#39;s center point every 10° apart.  FIG. 10  illustrates bumps  40   a,  similar to those in  FIG. 9 , however, in this alternative embodiment, the bumps  40   a  are placed on the lower end  27  portion of the bottle neck  24  and have a diameter of 0.133 inches. The bumps  40   a  are positioned along the circumferential periphery of the lower end  27  of the bottle neck  24  with each bump&#39;s center point spaced every 10° apart.  FIG. 11  has protrusions  42  extending from the lower end portion  27  of the bottle neck  24  that are located directly below the bumper roll  32  where the bottom surface  35  of the bumper roll  32  meets the top edge  31  of the lower end portion  27  of the bottle neck  24 . The protrusions  42  are 0.100 inches in width and are spaced every 15° apart along the circumferential periphery of the lower end portion  27 .  FIG. 12  illustrates another alternative embodiment that includes thirty-six (i.e. every 10 degrees) vertically oblong indentations  44  on the outermost surface of the bumper roll  32 .  
         [0064]     The advantages of the system of the inventions described and claimed herein in a large milk bottling operation with multiple bottling facilities can be seen in  FIG. 13 . A centrally located distribution center  45  provides transportation and distribution services to a plurality of bottling facilities  46 . Since a single standard cap is used for all grades of milk (i.e., skim, 1%, 2% and whole milk) the bottlers need only have one kind of cap on hand. The distribution center  45  may maintain a backup inventory, but again need only keep inventory of one standard cap (e.g., white or colorless). Since milk is shipped frequently from the bottling facilities to the distribution center  45 , as milk is picked up by a truck for delivery to a distribution center  45 , a supply of standard caps can be dropped off at each bottling facility  46  as part of regular runs. This eliminates the need for any special or costly transportation costs associated with specially colored caps for a particular sale that a retailer wants to have, e.g. a sale on skim milk. The system of the inventions described and claimed herein, eliminates the need for each bottling facility  46  to keep an inventory of several colors of caps, and avoids a similar problem at the distribution center  45 . Indeed, standard shippers containing the standard caps used at all facilities can be ordered on a routine basis using “just-in-time” ordering and delivery, depending only on the overall volume of milk produced at the group of facilities, regardless of the kind or grade of milk produced.  
         [0065]     In some instances, a bottler may rely entirely on the color-coded bands to differentiate the contents of various containers containing different beverages, i.e., it may be possible that no other particularized labeling is necessary. However, even when an additional label descriptive of the particular contents of the container is applied (e.g., to the side of the container), the color coded band, because of its visibility and prominent location allows the color-coded band to be the primary means for indicating to the consumer the kind of beverage in the container.  
         [0066]     An additional benefit to bottlers that comes from the elimination of the ratchet ring on present caps is the fact the number of caps that can be shipped in the same size box is increased by approximately 167%, and there is no danger of a damaged ratchet ring (and consequent loss of tamper evidency), since there is no ratchet ring present in the cap which are part of the system described herein, and indications of tampering come from the band, instead of the ratchet ring.  
         [0067]     The inventions described above with respect to caps used on beverages such as milk are also applicable to other bottle cap and neck configurations. For example, a color-coded band can be applied to 5-gallon containers (and containers other capacities having similar neck profiles) in the bottled water industry. The cap  50  in  FIGS. 14-16  is an example of a valved cap of the kind commonly used on 5-gallon water bottles. Such bottles are typically made of clear polycarbonate or clear PET plastic (by an injection stretch blow-molding process) and are intended to be re-filled and re-used by water bottling companies. The cap  50  has a skirt  54  and an inner cap  62 . A bead  58  provides the cap with an enlarged OD (outside diameter) at one end (the lower end in  FIGS. 14-16 . The bead corresponds to a rounded annular upper portion  70  ( FIG. 16 ) of the bottle  52  to which the cap is applied. While the cap shown in  FIGS. 14-16  is a valved cap with a protective label  60 , the closure and color-coded systems of inventions described herein are also applicable to unvalved (or standard) 5-gallon closures, which do not have an inner cap  62 , but may have a label  60 . Also common on closures of the kind used for 5-gallon and other large capacity bottles is the inclusion of a pull tab (not shown) to facilitate the removal of the cap when it is time to clean and refill the bottle upon return of the bottle to the bottling plant, although some bottlers have automatic cap removing machines or devices which do not rely on a pull tab.  
         [0068]     As shown in  FIGS. 14-16 , a shrinkable circumferential band  56  (about 44 mm in axial length) is applied to a cap  50  in phases. The first phase, shown in  FIG. 14 , entails the initial application of an un-shrunk band  56   a.  In  FIG. 14 , a completely un-shrunk band  56   a  about to be placed over the cap  50  in the direction of the arrow  57 . This may be a step that is performed by a cap manufacturer before the cap is applied to any bottle. If the cap maker applies the shrinkable band in advance of the cap being applied to a bottle, the cap maker will preferably only partially shrink the band such that there will be a gap  59  between the partially shrunk band  56   b  and the skirt  54  of the cap  50 . The gap  59  will allow radially outward flexing of the skirt of the cap as it is forced onto the top of a bottle without splitting the shrink band. However, the partial shrinking of the band will provide sufficient retention of the band  56   b  on the cap  52  so that it may be handled, shipped and fed into a capping apparatus at the bottling facility.  
         [0069]      FIG. 15  shows the partially shrunk band  56   b  and the gap  59  around the skirt of the cap. In  FIG. 15  the retention of the band  56   b  on the cap  52  is provided by engagement of partially shrunk areas  66  and  68  with the bead  58  on the cap  52 .  
         [0070]     If the combination of a partially shrunk band  56   b  and a cap  52 , of the kind shown in  FIG. 15 , is provided to a bottler by a cap maker, the bottler will preferably want to complete the shrinking of the band  56   b.  The step of completing the shrinking of the band to the condition shown in  FIG. 16  will be done by the bottler after the cap has been put onto the container  52 . As can be seen in  FIG. 16 , the fully shrunk band  56   c  grips and is in substantial contact with the exterior of the skirt  54 , and the ends of the band  56   c  cover the peripheral edge of the label  60 .  
         [0071]     As an alternative to the situation where the cap, as shown in  FIG. 15 , comes to the bottler with a shrink band  56   b  pre-applied by the cap maker, the bottler may want to do the installation of the shrink band itself. In that case, the bottler will install a shrink band application line and a heater to perform the shrinking. In this manner, the intermediate step of partially shrinking the band will be eliminated. There may be some additional capital expenditure required by the bottler in this case, but it will afford the bottler with a greater flexibility when it comes to managing inventory, as discussed above in the case of milk bottling. Water is also marketed in various ways which may require differentiation in the same way that skim, 1%, 2% and whole milk require differentiation. For example, a botter may offer some or all of the following kinds of water: spring water, distilled water, fortified water (i.e., with fluoride), Artesian water, mineral water and baby water. Using one standard pigment-free cap for all of the types of water sold in combination with different colored shrink bands will allow the bottler to differentiate its products in a highly visible and colorful way, while also allowing the bottler to use only one kind of cap for all of its water products, thus benefiting from the inventory simplicity described above.  
         [0072]     In the bottled water industry, cleanliness and purity (and the appearance thereof) are important features. In dispensers used to support and allow extraction of water from inverted 5-gallon (and other sized) containers, valved versions of caps are left on the container to allow inversion without worrying about spillage during the process of changing bottles. Thus, valved caps are inserted directly into the unit from which water is eventually dispensed and may come into contact with water that is eventually consumed. It is important, therefore, to keep the exterior of valved cap as clean as possible. The exterior of the cap  50  of  FIG. 16  is substantially covered by the shrink band  56   c  and the removable label  60  cover. This provides an additional level of cleanliness that is of value to bottlers and consumers. Thus, particularly for valved caps, which are inserted directly into dispensing machines and which, as a result, may come into contact with water that is eventually consumed, the additional cleanliness of a shrink band is a valuable improvement.  
         [0073]     The closures  40  of  FIGS. 14-16  has a valve and a one-time-use (or non-reattachable) removable label, like the closure shown and discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,904,259 (which is incorporated herein by reference). When such closures are used with the shrink band as discussed herein the bottler and consumer are afforded a multi-faceted approach to tamper evidency. First the cap cannot be removed from the container without destroying the cap (or pulling the pull tab, not shown in  FIGS. 14-16 ). Secondly, the label which block access to the valve, cannot be removed and replaced because it is free of adhesive. Thirdly, the shrink band provides an additional level of tamper evidency. Thus, the benefits of color coding and inventory simplification are in addition to the safety afforded by the use of a tamper evidencing shrink band as described above.  
         [0074]     Thus, it is seen that an improved tamper resistant bottle cap and neck are provided which satisfy the need for a bottle with an improved tamper resistant seal. The inventions described and claimed herein includes a bottle cap with an improved means for connecting and sealing the cap to a bottle, which limits the ability of a person to defeat the sealing action of the heat attached tamper evident band on the bottle cap and neck and which limits the leakage or spillage from a loose seal during transport.  
         [0075]     Although the inventions described and claimed herein have been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventions described and claimed herein can be practiced by other than the preferred embodiments, which have been presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments contained herein.

Technology Category: 7