Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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1 BACKGROUND OF T~E INVENTION
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The spout, as understood in this industry, is the entire
rotatable part of a two part swivel-spout dispensing closure.
For clarity of description applicant has chosen to define this
spout as comprising a knuckle and a nozzle extending outwardly
therefrom.
Dispensing closures of the type to which the invention
relates generally comprise a pivotal cylindrical knuckle with a
nozzle extending therefrom and a base with which it is associated
for swiveling movement. These are of a resilient, but generally
shape-retaining material, e.g. polyethylene or polypropylene,
which enables the knuckle at the inner end of the nozzle to be
snapped into a substantially matching cavity in the base, the
cavity wall having an arc greater than 18~. In a preferred
form the base is polypropylene and the spout is polyethylene.
In any case, these parts must be so constructed and arranged
that leakage is to be avoided.
Closures of the type herein discussed are molded in
production quantities, and the two parts are assembled by automatic
machinery. The bearing openings in which the knuckle rotates
necessitate re-entrant portions in the base mold so that, when
the core is "pulled" following casting, it is inevitable that
slight departures from established tolerances may be expected.
When this occurs, the manufacturer has what are termed in this
industry as "leakers", by reason of the knuckle not sealing
properly with respect to the base. That is to say, what was
intended to be a reliable fit of the knuckle in its bearing
openings then turns out to be less than perfect, with consequent
rejection at the manufacturing or customer level. Heretofore,
the attainment of this paramount objective left much to be
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desired. Even the provision of a pro,uberant, restricted area,
such as a ring or pad, between the two parts to achieve high
contact pressure per unit area has not resulted in adequate
sealing. If the pads retaining the knuckle should apply too much
force normal to the surfaces in contact in the neighborhood OL
the fluid passages through the base and spout, the resulting
friction renders manipulation difficult and, if too little force,
leakage occurs. This problem is minimal in the case of viscous
fluids but is of considerable significance in the case of volatile
10 fluids such as naphtha.
Prior to the present invention, U.S. Patents 3,111,245
and 3,502,248 disclosed spouts which attem~ted to resolve the
conflict between ease of movement and maintenance of the necessary
seal. Patent No. 3,502,248 relies on several pads to support a
solid cylindrical knuckle. Althouyh the knuckle of Patent
No. 3,502,248 is supported on a plurality of pads, these latter
~! are all tangent to the knuckle and, therefore, in the interest
of conciseness, may be considered jointly as a cylindrical
surface and the surface of the knuckle as a surface com-
20 plementary therewith.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To cure this problem the applicant provides for a hollow,
cylindrical knuckle instead of the solid cylinder of the prior
art. In this way and considering the resilient nature of the
plastic, the knuckle may deform to accommodate itself to those
portions of the base with which it has a rotatable relationship.
No such feature is known in the prior art.
The present invention has for its principal object
increasing the deformability of the knuckle in order that it may
sealingly accornrnodate to the several surfaces of the base with
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1 which it is in contact in its range of movement but maintain
strength in the spout for pivotal movements. Desirably this end
is reached by means of a knuckle of hollow, cyllndrical ~orm
which will not detract from smooth rotation of the spout but will
improve the seal between the two parts together with a
nozzle of hollow, cylindrical form which intersects the walls
of the knuckle thereby strengthening the hollow knuckle. Further,
this modification of the knuckle results in lower material cost.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention is shown in the following drawings
as one illustrative embodiment of the principles underlying
the invention.
Figure l is a combined side elevation and cross-section
of a dispensing closure incorporating a spout in accordance with
the invention;
! Figure 2 is a cross-section on the line 2-2 of Figure ];
Figure 3 is a cross-section on the line 3-3 of Figure l;
Figure 4 is a cross-section on the line 4-4 of Figure l;
and
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the spout standing
alone.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
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~ dverting to the drawing, the closure of the illustrated
embodiment comprises a base lO and a spout ll, both comprising
a resilient, but generally shape-retaining material such as
polyethylene. However, the base is preferably made more rigid
than the spout by the use of a material such as polypropylene.
The base lO may take any well-known form known in the
art in connection with swivel-spout dispensing closures and will
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72918
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include some means to attach the same to the container, e.g.
screw-threads, as shown.
The spout 11 comprises a cylindrical, hollow knuckle lla
and a nozzle llb extending radially outwardly therethrough and
therefrom. The knuckle is received in the base with a snap fit
as previously described. The areas of contact and retention
of the knuckle with respect to the base are indicated typically
as pads 14, 15 and 16. T~e pads 1~ and 15 contact the knuckle
at points which are more than 180 apart measured about the axis
of rotation in order that the spout may be assembled with the
base with a snap fit. The pad 16 surrounds the passage 21 in the
base through which the contents o~ the container pass into the
nozzle llb and thus is designed to preclude leakage.
In the "off" position, the nozzle llb is received in a
branch cavity 23 and the outer surface llc of the nozzle is then
flush with the upper surface lOa of the base. However, this
flush relation, while common in the art, is not essential since
swivel-type dispensing closures are known wherein the nozzle, in
the "off" position, protrudes beyond the adjacent surfaces of the
base.
In general, the pads 14, 15 and 16 are tangent to or are
concentric with a curved plane substantially concentric with
the knuckle 11 and may be regarded as defining a substantially
cylindrical cavity which, for convenience, is referred to as a
principal cavity, and the cavity 23 which branches therefrom
may be termed a subsidiary cavity. However, as mentioned above,
this latter may or may not co-exist with the improved knuckle
of the present invention.
The knuckle lla is restrained against axial shifting by
abutment of the end faces 31-31 thereof with respective surfaces
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1 32 serving as the end walls of the substantially cylindrical
cavity 23.
Referring particularly to the spout, it will be observed
that the nozzle llb is also a hollow cylinder with the bore lld
thereof serving as a passage for exit of the contents of the
container. Further in Figure 2 it will be seen that, in the
"on" position, the bore lld registers with the opening 21 and, in
the "off" position the bore and opening are out of register.
The nozzle 11 intersects the wall of the knuckle lla at
lle and llf. In addition to intersecting the wall of the knuckle
the nozzle passes through the interior of the knuckle thereby
strengthening the knuckle wall in this portion to which the
force necessary to pivot the spout is applied. Additional
strength is provided to the knuckle by forming suitable web-like
fillets 37, Figure 4, between the exterior wall of the nozzle
within the knuckle and the interior wall of the knuckle adjacent
thereto. These fillets should have a thickness which allows them
to deform slightly when the knuckle is snapped into the cavity
and then regain their web-like form after the insertlon. By
so doing, fabrication of the molds is simplified and the hazard
of stress cracking is alleviated.
To provide esthetic, flush relation between the spout
and base the spout may be provided with wings 41-41 adapted to
seat in respective mating recesses 42-42 in flush relation.
The intersection of the wings 41-41 with the knuckle along lines
43 provides additional strength to the knuckle wall. The closed
position of the spout is indicated by broken lines (Figs. 1 and
3), and the distal end of spout overhangs the base, as shown,
to accept a finger or thumb for manipulation of the spout to
open position.
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1 It will be observed that the knuckle lla is hollowed
out to the maximum degree, subject to the intersecting nozzle
llb and to the preservation of ade~uate stiffness of the
knuckle portions on each side of the nozzle. That is to say,
too little lightening of the knuckle may not result in any
appreciable saving of material and reduction of weight, while
too much will render the knuckle subject to deforming forces
from which it may not regain its proper shape to provide sealing.
Bearing in mind that the preferred material for the spout is
polyethylene, which is a resilient material which retains its
shape after deformation, too thin a wall for the nozzle and
the knuckle will allow the cylindrical form of the knuckle to
be deformed readily as the spout 11 is shifted about the pads
14, 15 and 16 between its two positions. Consequently,
relatively effortless shifting is precluded. Moreover, too
thin a wall will result in weaving of the wall of the cylindrical
! shell constituting the knuckle lla. Obviously, suitable
comrpomise ~etween these several factors will be reached more
or less empirically, depending upon the geometry, tolerances and
kind of plastic composition.
It must also be emphasized that, by providing a suitably
thin-walled knuckle, the same may accommodate readily to
irregularities in the base which may interfere with proper
operation, e.g. irregularities in the face 16 of the sealing
ring and yet maintain a seal. Additionally, a sealing snap-fit
assembly of the two parts of the closure, by forcing the knuckle
past the pads 14 and 15, is facilitated, since the wall of the
knuckle will deform to the degree necessary to be pushed past
the pads into the cavity to enable snapping the same into
operative position with less force and then regain its cylindrical
form after the insertion into the cavity.
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1 In a preferred embodiment utilizing a polypropylene
base and a polyethylene spout, dimensions were as follows:
Knuckle, A = 0.480", B = 0.360".
Nozzle, C = 0.300", D = 0.625" approx.
In a modified form provision may be made for two bores
through the spout and corresponding respective openings through
the base to register with these bores. Thus, pouring may be
accomplished through one registering set thereof and venting
through the other set.
In the illustrative embodiment a diametrical longitudinal
plane of the nozzle is coincident with a diametrical longi-
tudinal plane of the knuckle. It will be understood that these
planes may be offset from one another without lessening the
strength imparted to the knuckle by the intersecting nozzle.
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