Tamper-evident container closure
First Claim
1. A container closure comprising a top panel piece molded of plastic, a dispensing opening formed through said panel piece, a flap molded integrally with said panel piece along a hinge line and swingable upwardly and downwardly about said hinge line and relative to said panel piece between open and closed positions with respect to said dispensing opening, said flap having a front edge extending generally parallel to said hinge line, an elongated plastic strip piece extending alongside and spaced forwardly from the front edge of said flap and overlying said panel piece when said flap is in said closed position, tearable webs molded integrally with and spaced along said strip piece and the front edge of said flap and extending between the two, upright openings formed through one of said pieces, upright plastic pins molded integrally with the other of said pieces and extending into said openings, and means on said pins for normally holding said strip piece and said flap downwardly against said panel piece but sufficiently weak to tear in response to an upwardly lifting force being applied to one end portion of said strip piece whereby said strip piece may be lifted upwardly from said panel piece and torn away from the front edge of said flap at said webs thereby to enable the flap to be swung upwardly to its open position.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Three hinged flaps of a plastic container closure are molded while in open positions and, during molding of the flaps, an elongated tear-away strip is formed along the front edges of the flaps and is integrally connected to the flaps by tearable webs. After the newly molded flaps have first been closed, the strip is anchored releasably to the top panel of the closure and prevents the flaps from opening during shipment of the container, the strip also serving as a visual indicator that the seal of the closure is intact. The closure is opened by lifting and pulling on the strip to tear the latter completely away from the top panel and the flaps and to free the flaps for swinging to open positions. The absence of the strip or the presence of a partially torn strip indicates that tampering has occurred and that the seal may not be intact.
87 Citations
11 Claims
- 1. A container closure comprising a top panel piece molded of plastic, a dispensing opening formed through said panel piece, a flap molded integrally with said panel piece along a hinge line and swingable upwardly and downwardly about said hinge line and relative to said panel piece between open and closed positions with respect to said dispensing opening, said flap having a front edge extending generally parallel to said hinge line, an elongated plastic strip piece extending alongside and spaced forwardly from the front edge of said flap and overlying said panel piece when said flap is in said closed position, tearable webs molded integrally with and spaced along said strip piece and the front edge of said flap and extending between the two, upright openings formed through one of said pieces, upright plastic pins molded integrally with the other of said pieces and extending into said openings, and means on said pins for normally holding said strip piece and said flap downwardly against said panel piece but sufficiently weak to tear in response to an upwardly lifting force being applied to one end portion of said strip piece whereby said strip piece may be lifted upwardly from said panel piece and torn away from the front edge of said flap at said webs thereby to enable the flap to be swung upwardly to its open position.
- 6. A container closure comprising a top panel molded of plastic, a plurality of dispensing openings formed through said panel and disposed in side-by-side relation, a plurality of side-by-side flaps molded integrally with said panel along a hinge line and independently swingable upwardly and downwardly about said hinge line and relative to said panel between open and closed positions with respect to said dispensing openings, each of said flaps having a front edge extending generally parallel to said hinge line, an elongated plastic strip extending alongside and spaced forwardly from the front edges of said flaps and overlying said panel when said flaps are in said closed positions, tearable web means molded integrally with said strip and the front edges of said flaps and extending between the two, and means acting between said strip and said panel for normally holding said strip and said flaps downwardly against the upper side of said panel but releasable in response to an upward lifting force applied to said strip whereby said strip may be lifted upwardly from said panel and torn away from the front edges of said flaps at said web means thereby to free the flaps for upward swinging to their open positions.
- 10. A container closure comprising a top panel molded of plastic, a plurality of dispensing openings formed through said panel and disposed in side-by-side relation, a plurality of side-by-side flaps molded integrally with said panel along a hinge line and independently swingable upwardly and downwardly about said hinge line and relative to said panel between open and closed positions with respect to said dispensing openings, each of said flaps having a front edge extending generally parallel to said hinge line, an elongated plastic strip extending alongside and spaced forwardly from the front edges of said flaps, said strip being disposed in the plane of said flaps and overlying said panel when said flaps are in said closed positions, tearable webs molded integrally with and spaced along said strip and the front edges of said flaps and extending between the two, vertically extending openings formed through and spaced along said strip, upright plastic pins molded integrally with said panel and projecting upwardly into said vertically extending openings, and means on said pins for normally holding said strip and said flaps downwardly against said panel but sufficiently weak to tear in response to an upward lifting force being applied to one end portion of said strip whereby said strip may be lifted upwardly and torn away from said panel and from the front edges of said flaps at said webs thereby to free the flaps for upward swinging to their open positions.
Specification