Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
4~
TITLE: VISPBI~ISING CLOSU~E UrILIZING A SEALING ELEMEI~T
SUPPORTI~D I~Y A WASilER SPRING
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invcntion set forth in this sp~cification
relates to new and improved ~ispensing closures. More
specifically, it relatcs to tl~e constructioll of such
closures so as to minimize the chances of such clasures
lea};ing.
At the present time the term "disl~ensing
closures" is commollly used ~o designata closures which
1~ are collstructed so as to include a caL~ or a part of a
container in effect serving as a cap, an~ a spout movably
maullted upon such a cap or related part so as to be capablo
of beinr, moved between open and clos~ positions. In SUCII
a closed position a portion oE the SpOII~ normally re~erred
2~ to as ~ ase of the spout fits with respect to the
openiJ~ so tllat ~h~ opening is seale~ off a~ains~ lea~a~e.
In such an opell position a passage throu~h the s!30ut is
aligne~ ~ith the opening.
~; 25 Such ~ispensill~ closures are commonly manufac-
turc~ in signi~icallt quantities using ~arts orme~ oÇ
various polyolefill poly~ers such .IS v~rious injectio
mol~a~lc gra~s of polyethylelle 9 poly~ropylelle or ou~ of
various polymers tllat are closely rclate~ to thcse.
O specific ~olymers. ~ispensing closurcs mal~ufac~ured out
of such materials ~re normally constructed so as to
~ utilize a scaling elc~ellt or sealillg means located aroulld
:~ the cap or ca~ e part o such a closure iTI or~er to
prcvellt or millimize lea~age ~etwcen the spout an~ such a
cap or ca~-like part. Sillce vir~ually the advent o
r~
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~ispensin~ closures formed of m~terlals as notcd such
leaka~e has been a significant ~roblcm to the indust~y~
It wo~lld bc possible to encumber this specific.a~ion with
a prolon~ed, detaile~ ~iscussion as to various different
specific st~uctures which haYe bcen developc~ at ~arious
times and which nave been effective to an increasin~ly
greatcr degree in combatting lea~3ge between a cap and a
spout in a (1ispensing closlJrc.
This problem of lea~age in dispensin~ closures
using ~arts manufactured from polyolefins and relate~
r~aterials is considere~l to be comparati~ely complex an~l
~o have many ~if-ferent facets. It is now cons;dere~ to
be well established that ~iffercnt types of flulds have
different propensities to~ards lea~age in such closures.
Such lea~age ;s most commonly miniml~ed by holdin~ the
spout in a dispensin~ closure against a somewhat resilient,
flexi~le sealin~ rin~ locate~ aroun~ the openin~ throu~h
the cap o~ such a closure with sufficient force sv that
such force in combin~tion ~ith tlle inherent flexibility
o~ thc sealing rin~ will for~ an effective seal against
leaka~c o~ most fluids.
.
The f~ct that seals as describe~ in a general
manner in the preceding ~iscussion arc reasonably e~fec-
: tive in dispensin~ closures is amply evidcnced by tlle
`~ fact that millions of such closures arc mallufacturcd and
utilized every month on a wide variety of di~ersc products.
owever, i~ is considered that there still exists a need
. 33 for improrement in the construction of dispensing closures
;~ so as to further reduce or minimize the possibility of such
closures leakin~. It is considered that this need is
especially important in connection with the use of dispcns-
~: ing closures with various flui~s which for one reason or
:~ 35 another at times leak past the sealing structures as they
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are emr)loye~l ln presently ex~ sting dlspens~n~ closures .
SU~1ARY C~F THE INVENTION
A broad object of the Fresent in~ention is to
provide new and improved dispensin~ closures. A re1ated
ob~ ect of the inveI~t~on is to provicle disr~ensing closures
whic11 are constructe~l so as to ~inimize the chances o~
such closures leakirl~. Further ob jectives of the invention
are to provide ~lispensing closures as no~e(l which can bc
easily ~n~ conveniently manufacture(l at a com}~aratively
non~in~l cost which is subst~ntially the s~me as the cost
o~ manufacturing various known and commonly utili~e-l
clispens in~ closures . A further ob~ective of the invention
~ 15 is to provide dispensin~ closures as note~ which are
: especially signi~icant in that they can be satisfactorily
manufactured usinp~ parts o~ various polymers such as
polypropylene which are of somcwh~t limited flexibility.
:~ ~0 In accordancc with this invention a disp~nsing
~ closure l~avin~ a cap is provided with an opening lcading ~ ;
;-~ throu~h the cap between the intorior and the exterior of
the cap, a sealing ~cans ~or formillg a seal with a spout
located on the exterior of the c~p aroun(l and a~acent to
the openin~ and mounting means :Eor holdin~ a s~out so
that it can be mo~e~ relative to the cap, thc dispensing
closure also havin~ a spout provide~l witl~ a basc an~ a
passage extending through the spout from the base, the
spout being hel~ by the mountin~ means so as to bc mo~able
~:~ 30 betwecn a closed pOsitioll in which the sealing m~ans
en~a~jcs the base and seals off the opening and an open
~osition in which the opcnill~ ls aligncd with the p~ssage
an~ in whicll the sealin~ ~eans en~aFcs tlle base aroun~
the passape in which tlle improvement co~prises: the cap
inclu~in~ a resilient~ spFin~-like ~ember supportillg the
. . .
sealing means and extending outwardly therefro~ so as to
have a periphery spaced from the sealing ~eans) ~hc
perip}lery bcing attaclle(l to and sup~orted by the remainder
o~ ~he capt ~he sprin~-like member hol(ling the sealin~
means resiliently against the base of the spout at all
times during the movement of the spout between the open
and closed posi~ion an~ when the spout is in these
~os ie ions.
ln B~IEF ~ESCRIPTION ~F THE DRAWIN~
The inYention is best more fully explained with
re~erence to the accompanying drawin~ in which:
Fig. 1 is an enlarged side elevational view,
lS partially in section, of a presently preferre-l embodi-
~ent or form o~ a dispensin~ closure in accordance with
this invention;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view ta~en at line
2^2 o~ Fi~. l;
~:: 20 Fig. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a
p~rt of ~he cap employed in the closure illustra~ed in
;~: the precedin~ fi~ures, this fi~ure corres~ondin~ to a
cross-sectional view t~ken at line 3-3 o~ Fig. 2 with
thc s~out removed; and
-~ 25 Fîg. 4 is an isometric view of the spout
employed il~ the closure illustrated in Fig~. 1 and 2;
F~e. 5 is a view corresponding to Fl~. 3 o a
cap or a c~ part of a mo~lified form of ~ dispensing
- closllre in accord~nce with this invention; an~l
Fig. 6 is an isometric view of the s~ou~ employed
with the cap or cap p~rt illustrated in Fig. 5.
It is believed that it will be realized from
the ~rec~ing discussion ~h~ ~he invention set forth in
this specification involves certain structural concepts.
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These ar~ set forth and dc~ined in the appended claims.
They are also utilized in ~he ~recise structure illus-
trated in th~ drawin~. Those skillod in the art o~
desi~ni.n~ dispensin~ closures will realize that these
concepts can be utillzed in other somewhat di~ferently
constructe~ and/or somewhat differently appearin~ ~ispens~
ing closures throu~h the use or exercise of routine
engineering skill in the disp~nsing closure field.
DETAILED V~SCRIPTION
In the drawing there is shown a dispensin~
closure 10 which is cons~ructed so as ~o utilize a cap
or cap ~art 12 and a spout 14. Bo~h this cap 12 and the
spout 14 may be conveniently ormed by ~nown injection
molding techniques ol~ o various iniection moldabl~
~ra~les of polyethylene, polypropylene and various other
poly~ers which Are similar to such ~olymers in physical
:~ characteristicsO It is considered particularly si~nifi-
0 can~ that ~he cap 12 employed in the closure 10 may be ~ r
conveniently formed out of a polymer such as polypropylene
. whic11 is relatively "~ icult" to utilize in a convention-
- al or known tyre of (lispensin~ closure because such a
~olymer is not as resilient and flexible as non-linear
~olyethylene. If dcsired, the cap 12 may be forme(l
~: inte~rally with or as a part of a container ~not shown)
such ns a tube.
.~
The particular cap 12 employed is of a ty~e
3~ commonly utilizcd on a threaded bottle neck ~not shown).
This cap 12 inclu~es a top 16 which is inte~ral with a
periphcral skirt 18 provi~e~ wi~h internal threads 20.
A conventional sealin~ flan~e 22 may de~en~ from the
remainder of the cap lZ i~e~iately above the thrca~s
2~. The particular cap 12 em~loyed also has an intern~l
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elon~ated caYity or slo~ 24 havin~ an enlarged end 26.
Known typt~ "pop in" be~ring openings 28 are provided in
the top li; so as to o~en into the. enlar~ed end 26. These
bearin~ o~lenin~s 28 have ali~ned axes ~not shown) and are
pro~ided l~ith tapered, slot-type entrances 30 so that
S ali~ne~ trunnions 32 on the base 34 of the spout 14 may
be forced downwardly into and throu~h ~hese entrances 30
so as to be "popped" in place in the bearin~ openin~s 28.
Preferabl~r both the trunnions 3Z and the bearin~ openlngs
28 are sh~ed as ~rustrums of right circular cones for
reasons which are unrelated ~o the present invention.
; It is considered obvious that other known types of struc-
tures can be utiliied in rotatably mountln~ the spout 14
llT)on the cap 12.
~Yhen ~he spout 14 is rotatably mounted upon
~ tlle cap 12 the basc 34 fits within the end 26. The
; remainder of the SpOllt 14 exten~s within the len~th of
- the cavity 24 when the spout 14 is in a close~ position
~ as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing. In such a
closed position a passa~e 36 extend~np completely through
: the hase 34 an~l the remainder of the spout 14 extends
r substantially horizontally and is spaced from an openîn~
38 leadin~ from the interior (not spearately numbered)
to the exterior (not scp~rately numl)erecl) o~ the cap 12.
In tllis connection it is noted thnt the interior of the
end 26 and:the cavity 24 is regardc~l as for~in~ a part
of the exterior of the cap 12. In an o~en ~osition of
the spout 12 it e~ends vcrtically so that the passage
36 is aligned with tlle openin~ 380
; 30
In a conven~ional d~spensing closure an opening
: correspondin~ ~o the opening 3~ is located in a compara-
- tively ri~id wall which is not inten~ed to flex or move
any noticeable or ap~reciable ex~ent as such a closure
-~' 35 is assemble~ or use(l. The present inventîon re~uires
.; ~,. . .. .
that the opening 38 be located eentrally of a resilient
washer sprln~ 40 havin~ a periphery 42 which is att~ched
to and for~s a part of the to~ 1~ of the c~ 12. This
~eriphery 42 is supporte~ by the top 16 in the closure
1~ so that it is substantially incapable o~ movement
during the assembly ~nd u~e of the closure 10.
This washer spring 40 is sufficlently thin so
as to be capable of flexin~ during such assembly and use
of the closure 10 and is o suc~l dimensions that a seal-
ing surface 44 on the spring 40 extendin~ imme~i~tely
arountl and ad~acent t~ the opening 38 resiliently bears
against the base 34 at all times aftcr the closure 10
is assembled. ~lthou~h the sealin~ surface 44 may merely
lS be a surface of the spring 40 definin~ the o~ening 38,
: it is preferred that this sealin~ surface 44 form a part
of a sli~h~ enlargement 46 in th~ nature of an annular
tead or ring exten~linQ around the opening 38. If desircd
the sealin~ sur~ace 44 or SUCtl an enlar~ement 46 may be
. ~ ~n re~errcd to as a sealin~ eleme~t or sealing~ maans.
, -, ,
~` : When such an enl~rgemcnt 46 is use~ it is
possible to vary the cross-sectional configuration of
such an enlarRe~ent to a consi~erable extent. Thus, the
enlargement 46 can ~e shape~ so as to have an exposed
surface resemblin~ t1~e cross-sectional configuration of
a common, elastomeric "O" ring as shown. ~uch an enlarge-
ment 46 may also be constrllcted so as to have an u~w~rdly
exten~lng V-shaped cross^sectional configuration corres-
~0 ~on~ing to the configuration of flexible sealing rin~s
which are commonly utilized in many known dispensing
closures in order to tend to ~lex to a degree in forming
a seal wit1l the base 34 of the spout 14.
In the particular closur~ lQ illustrated this
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~se 34 ls cons~ructed so as to hav~ a spherlcal confl~ura-
~ion as i.llustrated in Fi~. 4 of the drawing. When ~hc
. hase 34 is constructcd in this manner it i5 p~efcrre~ to
locatc tk~e sealing sur~ace 44 so that lt extends essen-
S tially i~! a flat pl~ne ~not se~arately identified) as will
be appar~nt from Fig. 3 of the dra~ing so ~s ~o obtain a
subs~antially uniform sealin~ pressure along the length
of the surface 44.
In Fi~. 5 of the drawing there i~ shown a cap
or cap part 112 of a modified dispensing closure in
accordanee with this in~ention. In Fig. 6 there is shown
a spout 114 which is utilized with the cap or cap part
112 in such a.modificd dispensing closure. Because such
a~modified dis~ensing closure is closely related to the
previously described dispensin~ closure 10 it is not
considered necessary to illustrate the cap part 112 and
the spout 114 assemble~ toge tller so as to form a complete
modifiecl dispensln~ clos~lre. Because of ~he close
2n relationship of the cap 112 and the spout 114 with the
;-: ca~ part 12 ancl the spout 14 t~reviously described~all
features or aspects of the cap part 112 an~ ~he spout
are not sep~rately ~escribed herein. Instead, as an
~ aid to brevity those parts o~ the cap part 112 and the
: 25 spout 114 are designate~ in the remainder o~ thls speci-
fic~tion and in the drawing by the numerals previously
utilized to designate such parts preceded by the numeral
"1" .
3n ~rom a ~tudy of Figs. 5 and 6 of ~he drswing
:l it will be apparent ~hat ~he cap part 112 dlffers from
the cap part 12 in one essential re~ard: the resilient
w~sher sprin~ 140 differs ~rom the washer sprin~ 40 in
: that it is not sh~ped exactly ~s a uniform surface of
~5 revolution. Instead the spring 140 can be referred to
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as havin~ a modified or somewhat dlstorte~1 conca~o-
convex configuration or conical shape such ~hat the
sealing surface 144 extendin~ imme~iately aroun~ an~
ad~accnt to the opening 138 is shaped so as to lie in a
cylindrical plane (not illustrate~), This openlng 138
is substantially rectangular. Tlle base 134 of thc spout
114 is corres~ondingly mo-lifie~ so as to have a cylindri^
cal shape such that when tllC s~out 114 is assemble~ on
the cap part 112 this base 1~4 will bear against the
sealin~ sur~ace 144 at all points along the len~th of
this surface 144 in the manner indicated in the preceding ;~`
so as to form a seal a~ainst leaka~e.
Preferably the washer spring 140 is of such
sha~e and ~imension as to maintain substantially equal
~ressure between ~he sealing sur~ace 144 an~l the base
134 at all points along the len~th of the surface 144 in
or~er to create an effective seal between thc cap part
112 and the spollt 114. This e~ual pressure can be achieved
2Q by minor vari~tion in the physical shape of the washer
spring L-10 while maintaining a uni~orm wall thickness
`~ within this washer spring 140 or it can be achievc~ by
~- minor variations in the wa11 thiCklless of this WaSIler
sprin~ or by a combina~ion o both of these expedicnts.
It is not necessary that the forces between all portions
of the seallng surface 144 and the base 134 be precisely
uniform so long as ~he ~orces at all points along thc
length of the sealin~ sur~ace 144 exerte~ against the
b~se 134 are adequate to maintain a constan~ seal~
The p~rticular washer spring 40 illustrated is
essentially shaped as a frustrum o~ a ri~ht circular
cona. Sucll a cone is substantially o~ a concavo~convex
configuration. ~ s~ring of such a configuration is
sometimes referred to as a Belle~lle spring. Various
-10-
closely related washer springs such as those having a
curved concavo-convex configuration may be subst;tuted
for the precise washcr s~rin~ 40 illustrated since all
o~ such sprin~s are capable of exer~ing a continuous
~lpwardly biasin~ ~orce which will main~ain a seal
against the base 34 of the spout 14 at all times when
thcrc is contact between a seali~ surface 44 and ~he
b~se 34. ~urthcr, all such s~rings are capable of
maintaining substantially uniform sealing pressures along
the length of a sealing surface such as the surface 44.
In ef~ect, the washer sprin~ 40 is an integral
~art of the cap 12 which servcs to maintain a constan~
or substanti~lly constallt biasing force formin~ a scal
against the base 34 o~ thc spout 14. Such an action is
:" considered to bo inherently di.~ferent from th~ action
achievcd by merely locatin~ a somcwhat flexi~le, (Icform- :
. able sealing ring on an illflexible or relativcly inflexible
i ~ortion of a ca~ so that the sealing ring flexes or deforms
2n and ~av or may not cause a minor amount of deformation of
a relatively inflexible portion of the cap sup~orting
~- such a sealing rin~.
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