Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TAMPER-INDICATING PACKAGE, AND A CLOSURE
AND CONTAINER FOR SUCH A PACKAGE
The present disclosure is directed to a tamper-indicating package, and to a
closure and
container for such a package, in which the closure and container are
constructed such that the
tamper-indicating mechanism is activatedbefore loss of sealing engagement
between the closure and
the container neck finish.
Background and Summary of the Disclosure
Many aseptic-fill packages, such as packages for dairy products, are provided
with
a foil seal over the end of the container neck finish before the closure is
applied to the neck finish.
This foil seal functions both to seal the package during shipment, storage and
handling, and to
provide indication that the package has been opened when the foil seal has
been ruptured or
removed. However, there is a desire to eliminate the cost associated with
provision of this foil seal
and the inconvenience of requiring removal of the foil seal by the consumer.
The present disclosure
is directed to a tamper-indicating package, and to a closure and a container
for such a package, in
which the closure and the container are constructed such that a tamper-
indicating mechanism on the
closure is activated before loss of sealing engagement between the closure and
the container neck
finish.
The present disclosure einbodies a number of aspects that can be implemented
separately from or in combination with each other.
A tamper-indicating package in accordance with one aspect of the present
disclosure
includes a container having a neck finish with an open end, at least one
external tllread segment, and
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first and second sets of angularly spaced ratchet teeth in diametrically
opposed arrays spaced from
the open end of the neck finish. A closure has a base wall with an annular
skirt and at least one
internal thread segment on the slcirt for engagement with the external thread
segment on the
container neck finish to secure the closure to the container. A
circumferential array of angularly
spaced flexible resilient ratchet wings extend counterclockwise from an inner
surface of the tamper
band at an angle to such inner surface. A flexible resilient sealing liner is
provided on the base wall
within the skirt, and has an annular surface that faces radially outwardly
toward the skirt and axially
away from the base wall. The ratchet wings are resiliently flexed by the
ratchet teeth radially
outwardly toward the tainper band during clockwise application of the closure
to the container neck
finish, and abut clockwise-oriented abutment faces on the ratchet teeth to
resist counterclockwise
unthreading of the closure from the neclc finish so that removal of the
closure from the neck finish
frangibly separates the tamper band from the skirt. Resilient engagement of
the liner surface with
the open end of the container neck finish is such that the tainper band is
separated from the skirt
before loss of sealing engagement between the liner and the open end of the
neck finish.
The open end of the neck finish preferably has a radially inwardly extending
trim
flange, which may be flexible, resilient and deformed axially inwardly by
engagement with the liner
surface. Resilient engagement of the liner surface with the trim flange is
such that the tamper band
is separated from the slcirt before loss of sealing engagement between the
liner and the trim flange.
The ratchet wings preferably extend from an inside surface of the tainper band
onto an inside surface
of the closure skirt and frangibly connect the tamper band to the skirt. Each
ratchet tooth of each set
on the container neck finish preferably is diametrically opposed to an
associated ratchet tooth of the
opposing set, such that all ratchet teeth are simultaneously engaged by
ratchet wings on the closure
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skirt. The flexible resilient liner preferably includes barrier material
resistant to migration of gases,
water vapor and/or flavorants through the liner.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The disclosure, together with additional objects, features, advantages and
aspects
thereof, will best be understood from the following description, the appended
claims and the
accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of a tamper-indicating package in
accordance
with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of the container in the package of
FIGS. 1
and 2;
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the container illustrated in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5
in FIG.
4;
FIG. 5A is a fragmentary sectional view of the portion of FIG. 5 within the
area 5A;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the portion of FIG. 4 within the
area 6;
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale of the portion of
FIG. 6
within the area 7;
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the closure in the package of FIGS.
1 and
2;
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view of a closure in accordance with another
exemplary embodiment of the disclosure;
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FIG. 10 is a partially sectioned elevational view of the shell in the closure
of FIG. 8;
FIG. 11 is a bottom plan view of the closure shell in FIG. 10;
FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 12-12 in FIG.
10;
FIGS. 13 and 14 are fragmentary sectional views talcen substantially along the
lines
13-13 and 14-14 in FIG. 11; and
FIG. 15 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line 15-
15 in
FIG. 12.
Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments
The disclosure of U.S. Patent 6,533,136 is incorporated herein by reference.
FIGS. 1-2 illustrate a package 20 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment
of
the present disclosure. Package 20 includes a closure 22 applied to the neck
finish 24 of a container
26. Container 26 is illustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 3-7. Neck finish
24, which typically is
cylindrical, has one or more external thread segments 28. First and second
sets 30,32 of angularly
spaced ratchet teeth 34 are in diametrically opposed arrays on neck finish 24
on a side of thread
segments 28 remote from the open upper end of the neck finish. (Directional
words such as "upper"
and "lower" are employed by way of description and not limitation with respect
to the upright
orientation of the package, container and closure illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3
and10, for example.
Directional words such as "diametric" or "circumferential" are employed by way
of description and
not limitation with respect to the axis of the container neck finish and/or
the closure skirt as
appropriate. The term "thread segment" is employed in its usual broad sense to
include both partial
and full helical threads, and both continuous and interrupted threads.)
Ratchet teeth 34 extend
radially outwardly from an external ledge 33, which preferably extends
entirely around the neck
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finish. Ledge 33 and ratchet teeth 34 may be solid, as shown, or hollow. Each
ratchet tooth 34 has
a counterclockwise-facing cam surface 35 and a clockwise-facing abutment
surface 36. Ratchet teeth
34 may be identical, but preferably are non-identical to facilitate removal of
container neck finish
24 from its forming mold.
Container 26, including neclc finish 24, preferably is formed in an extrusion
blow
molding operation, as described for example in detail in above-referenced U.S.
Patent 6,533,136.
During such container manufacture, a trim flange 3 8 is formed at the open end
of the container neck
finish during a post-mold trimming operation by means of a suitable knife
blade or the like to
separate the container neck finish from an integrally formed moil or another
container. This
trimming operation forms a trimmed surface 40 (FIG. 5A) on which there is no
vestige caused by
mold mismatch or the like during the molding operation. Trimmed surface 40,
which is annular
(FIG. 4) and extends around the open end of the container neck finish, may be
in a plane
perpendicular to the axis of the container neck finish as illustrated in FIG.
5A, or may be a conical
surface that extends either upwardly or downwardly with respect to the
container neck finish,
particularly after the neck finish and trim flange have cooled after the
trimming operation. By way
of example only, trimmed surface 40 may nominally be perpendicular to the axis
of the neck finish
as noted, and undersurface 41 (FIG. 5A) of trim flange 38 may be at a nominal
angle of 45 to the
neck finish axis. Container 26 may be of any suitable material, such as a
polyethylene. Depending
upon the geometry of trim flange 38, the trim flange can be relatively rigid,
or can be flexible and
resilient.
Closure 22 is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 8 and 10-15. Closure 22 includes
a one-
piece shell 42 of compression molded or injection molded plastic construction,
such as
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polypropylene for example. Shell 42 has a base wall 44 and an annular skirt
46. Skirt 46 is
illustrated as extending from the periphery of base wall 44 in the exemplary
embodiment of the
disclosure. However, in other embodiments of the disclosure, there may be an
additional skirt
disposed radially outwardly of skirt 46 to match the sidewall contour of the
container to whicli the
closure will be applied. One or more internal thread segments 48 are provided
on the inside surface
of skirt 46. A tamper band 50 is frangibly connected to skirt 46 of closure
shell 42. In she1142 as
molded (FIGS. 10-15), tamper band 50 preferably forms an integral axial
extension from the end of
skirt 46 remote from base wal144. Tamper band 50 separates from skirt 46, as
will be described,
to indicate that the paclcage has been opened. In the exemplary embodiment of
the disclosure, this
band separation is complete, in that band 50 completely separates from skirt
46. However, tamper
band separation could be partial separation, as described for example in U.S.
Patent 4,432,461,
5,295,600 or 6,053,344, and still be within the scope of the present
disclosure.
A circumferential array of angularly spaced flexible resilient ratchet wings
52 extend
from the inner surface of tamper band 50. Ratchet wings 52 preferably are
nominally flat as molded
and extend counterclockwise at an angle to the inner surface of band 50 as
viewed from above (or
clockwise as viewed from below in FIGS. 11 and 12). Ratchet wings 52
preferably are at equal
angular spacing around the inner surface of tamper band 50. In the illustrated
exemplary
embodiment of the disclosure, there are eighteen ratchet wings 52 at equal
angular spacings of 20
around the inside surface of tamper band 50, and the abutment spaces 36 (FIGS.
4, 6 and 7) of
ratchet teeth 34 preferably are at equal angular spacings of 20 . Each ratchet
wing 52 preferably
extends axially from the inner surface of band 50 onto the inner surface of
skirt 46. As best seen in
FIG. 8, skirt 46 has an internal ledge 53. Ratchet wings integrally extend
along the inside surface
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of band 50 and skirt 46, and are integrally joined to ledge 53. Ratchet wings
52 preferably do not
extend all of the way to the free edge of band 50. Skirt 46 preferably is
scored along the line 54 in
FIGS. 1 and 8, substantially at the location of section line 12-12 in FIG. 10,
following the shell
molding operation. This score extends throughthe integral connection ofband 50
to skirt 46, so that
band 50 is frangibly connected to skirt 46 by the several ratchet wings 52.
Extension of ratchet
wings into slcirt 46 enhances the stability of the ratchet wings, and the use
of the ratchet wings as the
frangible connection to skirt 46 eliminates the need for separately molded
leaders. As an alternative,
band 50 may be separate from skirt 46 and connected to skirt 46 by ratchet
wings 52 as molded.
After molding closure shell 42, and either before or after scoring along the
line 54 as
preferred, a liner 56 is provided on the inside or undersurface of closure
base wall 44. Liner 56 is
of flexible resilient construction, and may be provided on closure base wall
44 in a compression
molding or other suitable liner forming operation. Liner 56 has a sealing
surface 58 that faces
radially outwardly toward skirt 46 and axially away from base wall 44. Surface
58 in the
embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 8 is a conical surface, for example having an angle
of about 62 to the
axis of skirt 46. FIG. 9 illustrates another exemplary embodiment in which the
sealing surface 58a
of liner 56a is at an angle of about 86 to the axis of the closure skirt.
Liner 56 (or 56a) preferably
includes a barrier material resistant to migration of gases, water vapor
and/or flavorants through the
liner. Liner 56 (or 56a) may, for example, be provided in accordance with the
disclosure of U.S.
Patent 6,371,318 or U.S. Patent 6,399,170. Liner 56 or 56a extends along the
entire undersurface
of closure base used 44 within surface 58, and preferably slightly radially
outward from surface 58
as shown.
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Closure 22 is applied to container neck finish 24 by threading the closure
onto the
container neck finish in a clockwise direction as viewed from above. Ratchet
wings 52 on closure
22 engage cam surfaces 35 on ratchet teeth 34, and are resiliently flexed by
the ratchet teeth radially
outwardly toward tamper band 50 and closure skirt 46 during such clockwise
application of the
closure to the neck finish. Whereas ratchet wings 52 preferably are flat as
molded, and preferably
are at substantially identical angles to the inside surface of tamper band 50
as molded, the ratchet
wings may bend to non-flat configurations and/or to non-identical angles to
the tamper band during
application to the container neck finish. The axial spacings and dimensions
between containerthread
segments 28 and ratchet teeth 34, and between closure thread segments 48 and
ratchet wings 52,
preferably are such that the thread segments engage each otlier as the closure
is applied to the
container before the ratchet wings engage the ratchet teeth. This helps
assemble the closure onto the
container in automatic capping equipment. Full application of the closure to
the container neck
finish brings trimmed surface 40 of neck finish trim flange 38 into opposed or
abutting engagement
with sealing surface 58 of liner 56 (or sealing surface 58a of liner 56a in
FIG. 9). The resiliency of
liner 56 is such that trim flange 38 compresses the liner. The trim flange 38
maybe such that the
trim flange is resiliently flexed inwardly (with respect to the container) by
engagement with liner 56
during application of the closure.
When closure 22 thereafter is rotated in the countercloclcwise or removal
direction
with respect to container neck finish 24, ratchet wings 52 are brought into
engagement with abutment
faces 36 of ratchet teeth 34, as illustrated in FIG. 2. A preferred equal
angular spacing of abutment
faces 36 and ratchet wings 52 ensures that all of the abutment faces 36 are
simultaneously engaged
by ratchet wings 52, as shown in FIG. 2. This simultaneous engagement
facilitates rupture or
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frangible separation of tamper band 50 from closure skirt 46. In accordance
with the present
disclosure, the resiliency of liner 56 (or 56a) and/or trim flange 38 is such
that tamper band 50 is
separated from closure skirt 46 before the loss of sealing engagement between
liner 56 (or 56a) and
trim flange 3 8.
There thus have been disclosed a tamper-indicating package, and a closure and
container for such a package, that fully satisfy all of the objects and aims
previously set forth. The
disclosure has been presented in connection with several exemplary
embodiments, and a number of
additional modifications and variations have been discussed. Other
modifications and variations
readily will suggest themselves to persons of ordinary skill in the art in
view of the foregoing
discussion. The disclosure is intended to embrace all such modifications and
variations as fall within
the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.
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