Container and closure having means for producing an audible signal when a seal has been established

• US 5,186,344 A
• Filed: 10/02/1990
• Issued: 02/16/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Original Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Inventors: Cook, Charles D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shoap, Allan N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CRONIN, STEPHEN K
• Application Number:
  US07/591,650
• Time in Patent Office: 868 Days
• Field of Search: 215/329, 215/330, 215/331, 215/213, 215/216, 215/217, 215/218, 215/221, 215/232, 215/341, 220/89.1, 220/256, 220/366
• US Class Current: 215/330
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 41/0471 with means for positioning the cap on the container, or for limiting the movement of the cap, or for preventing accidental loosening of the cap
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 51/248 the closure being provided with transient audible or visual signaling means, e.g. for indicating dispensing, or other illuminating or acoustic devices, e.g. whistles B65D55/026, B65D55/028 take precedence; for indicating incorrect storage B65D79/02

Abstract

A package having means for producing an audible signal, such as a "click", which signals the consumer as soon as a predetermined level of engagement between a container and a closure has been achieved. Normally the desired level of engagement establishes some type of seal between the package components which contact one another. In a particularly preferred embodiment, a semi-rigid polymeric container having a discharge orifice, a sealing member preferably comprising a filter support member secured across the discharge orifice of the container and a closure having attachment means capable of forming a substantially gas-tight atmospheric seal between all three components upon initial closing of the package to the atmosphere is provided. The container and closure are further provided with interfering projections, at least one of which is resiliently deformable, which will contact one another only after the sealing member has been removed from the package and discarded and the closure reapplied to the container. These projections are so positioned relative to the sealing surfaces on the closure and container that the projections cannot interfere with one another until after the closure and container have achieved the desired level of engagement with one another. In a particularly preferred embodiment, means to prevent overtorquing of the closure onto the container after the audible signal has been sounded are also provided.

Claims

1. In combination, a container having a discharge orifice defined by an externally threaded finish portion of said container and a removable internally threaded closure including an open end to permit threadedly engaging said closure on said externally threaded finish portion of said container and a closed end for sealing said discharge orifice, at least one of said container and said closure having a first resiliently deformable projection which will interfere with a second substantially non-deformable projection on the other of said container and said closure as it passes by said second substantially non-deformable projection to produce an audible signal, said first and second interfering projections being positioned so that they cannot contact one another as said closure is threadedly advanced onto said container until said discharge orifice in said container has been sealed by said closed end of said closure, said combination also including a sealing member located between said discharge orifice of said container and said closed end of said closure, whereby said discharge orifice forms a seal with a first surface of said sealing member and said closed end of said closure forms a seal with a second surface of said sealing member positioned opposite said first surface, said sealing member also including means for supporting a porous filter element, said combination further including a gas evolving granular product housed within said container and wherein a substantially gas-tight seal to the atmosphere is initially established between said closure, said sealing member and said discharge orifice of said container, whereby said container is pressurized by the gas evolving from said granular product relative to the surrounding atmosphere prior to initial opening, and whereby said porous filter element supported by said sealing member will prevent said granular product from aspirating through said discharge orifice of said container upon initial removal of said closure from said container, said sealing member being removed and discarded after initial opening, whereupon a reseal which will be effective to substantially resist ambient atmospheric pressure changes will be established directly between said closure and said container each time said closure is reapplied and said audible signal sounds.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said sealing member comprises a molded polymeric fitment which supports a centrally located porous filter element.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein said sealing member comprises a thin rupturable or removable membrane which supports a centrally located porous filter element across the discharge orifice of said container.

4. The combination of claim 3, wherein said membrane comprises metallic foil and wherein said membrane is secured across the discharge orifice of said container prior to initially applying said closure.

5. In combination, a molded polymeric container having a discharge orifice defined by an externally threaded finish portion of said container and a removable internally threaded molded polymeric closure including an open end to permit threadedly engaging said closure on said externally threaded finish portion of said container and a closed end for sealing said discharge orifice, at least one of said container and said closure having a first resiliently deformable projection which will interfere with a second substantially non-deformable projection on the other of said container and said closure as it passes by said second substantially non-deformable projection to produce an audible signal, said first and second interfering projections being positioned so that they cannot contact one another as said closure is threadedly advanced onto said container until said discharge orifice in said container has been sealed by said closed end of said closure, said combination further including a third substantially non-deformable projection on said closure and a fourth substantially non-deformable interfering projection on said container, said third and fourth projections being positioned so that they will not contact one another as said closure is threadedly advanced onto said container until after said audible signal has been sounded by said first resiliently deformable projection passing by said second substantially non-deformable projection, whereby said closure is prevented from being overtorqued onto said container by the interference which occurs between said third and fourth projections, said combination also including a sealing member located between said discharge orifice of said container and said closed end of said closure, whereby said discharge orifice forms a seal with a first surface of said sealing member and said closed end of said closure forms a seal with a second surface of said sealing member positioned opposite said first surface, said sealing member also including means for supporting a porous filter element, said combination further including a gas evolving granular product housed within said container and wherein a substantially gas-tight seal to the atmosphere is initially established between said closure, said sealing member and said discharge orifice of said container, whereby said container is pressurized by the gas evolving from said granular product relative to the surrounding atmosphere prior to initial opening, and whereby said porous filter element supported by said sealing member will prevent said granular product from aspirating through said discharge orifice of said container upon initial removal of said closure from said container, said sealing member being removed and discarded after initial opening, whereupon a reseal which will be effective to substantially resist ambient atmospheric pressure changes will be established directly between said closure and said container each time said closure is reapplied and said audible signal sounds.

6. The combination of claim 5, wherein said sealing member comprises a molded polymeric fitment which supports a centrally located porous filter element.

7. The combination of claim 5, wherein said sealing member comprises a thin rupturable or removable membrane which supports a centrally located porous filter element across the discharge orifice of said container.

8. The combination of claim 7, wherein said membrane comprises metallic foil and wherein said membrane is fused across the discharge orifice of said polymeric container prior to initially applying said closure.