Snap-on, screw-off cap and container neck

• US 6,637,611 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2002
• Issued: 10/28/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Portola Packaging Incorporated (Silgan Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Portola Packaging Incorporated (Silgan Holdings Incorporated)
• Inventors: Luch, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Cronin, Stephen K.
• Application Number:
  US10/210,716
• Publication Number:
  US 20020190021A1
• Time in Patent Office: 455 Days
• Field of Search: 215/44, 215/45, 215/252, 215/253, 215/254, 215/256, 215/307, 215/318, 215/320, 215/329, 215/330, 215/341, 215/354, 215/356, 215/357
• US Class Current: 215/256
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 1/023 Neck construction
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2251/0015 of the 41-type
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2251/0093 Membrane
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2401/15 Tearable part of the closure B65D2401/60 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2401/25 Non-metallic tear-off strips
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2401/35 Vertical or axial lines of weakness
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2501/0081 Bottles of non-circular cross-section
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2577/205 integral with the closure
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 41/0421 and combined with integral sealing means contacting other surfaces of a container neck
• 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 41/17 push-on and twist-off
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 41/34 Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 41/3404 with ratchet-and-pawl mechanism between the container and the closure skirt or the tamper element
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 41/3409 the tamper element being integrally connected to the closure by means of bridges

Abstract

A tamper-evident, snap-on, screw-off closure is used with a specially shaped container neck. One neck has double lead external threads and, below the threads, a conical wall having external ratchet teeth. The closure has an upper skirt having internal threads mating with the neck threads. A conical lower skirt is connected to the upper skirt by a plurality of frangible bridges. The lower skirt has internal ratchet teeth to mate with the neck ratchet teeth. The cap skirt threads are double pitch and slightly over 360° in length. When the cap is applied to the neck it snaps on in two stages. The lower skirt has a tear tab which, when pulled, fractures the lower skirt on a vertical line. Continued pulling on the tab sequentially fractures the bridges. Another neck has a neck stretch with multiple neck threads and a locking wall below the neck stretch with a plurality of external teeth. The closure has an upper skirt with multiple closure threads which mate with the neck threads and a tamper-evidencing band with a plurality of internal teeth shaped and positioned to engage the external teeth. The teeth are shaped to guide the teeth into side-by-side interengage during axial application of the cap to the neck.

Claims

1. In combination, a container neck and a container closure,

said neck having an upper opening, a downward extending neck stretch portion below said opening, said neck stretch portion having an exterior, at least one first helical engagement means around said exterior of said neck stretch portion, said at least one first helical engagement means having a lower surface, a locking wall portion below said neck stretch portion, at least one first tooth on said locking wall portion,

said closure having a top, said top having an underside, a plug disposed centrally of said underside of said top dimensioned to fit inside said upper opening, a downward extending upper skirt portion depending from said top, said upper skirt portion having an interior, at least one second helical engagement means around said interior of said upper skirt portion shaped to mate with said at least one first helical engagement means, said at least one second helical engagement means having an upper surface, a lower skirt portion below said upper skirt portion, frangible means joining said upper and lower skirt portions together, at least one second tooth on said lower skirt portion shaped to engage said at least one first tooth to prevent unscrewing of said closure relative to said neck without breaking said frangible means,

said at least one first and second helical engagement means being shaped to slip over each other upon direct axial downward movement of said closure on said neck without relative rotation of said closure and said neck and then to interengage,

said plug having a contact point located on said plug where said plug first engages said neck opening when said closure is applied to said neck,

said contact point and said upper surface of said at least one second helical engagement means being separated by a maximum vertical distance, a top of said neck opening and said lower surface of said at least one first helical engagement means being separated by a minimum vertical distance, said maximum vertical distance between said contact point and said upper surface of said at least one second helical engagement means is greater than said minimum vertical distance between said top of said neck opening and said lower surface of said at least one first helical engagement means, thereby ensuring engagement of said at least one first and second helical engagement means prior to contact between said plug and said neck opening.

2. The combination of claim 1 which further comprises means to remove said lower skirt portion from said closure, said means to remove said lower skirt portion comprising a tear tab connected to said lower skirt portion.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which said lower skirt portion is formed with a line of weakness extending through said lower skirt portion.

4. The combination of claim 3 in which said line of weakness is a vertical scoreline.

5. The combination of claim 1 in which said frangible means comprises a plurality of spaced bridges.

6. The combination of claim 1 in which said at least one first and second helical engagement means are multilead, whereby said closure tends to rest horizontally on said neck prior to said downward movement.

7. In combination, a container neck and a container closure,

said neck having an upper opening, a downward extending neck stretch portion below said opening, said neck stretch portion having an exterior, at least one first helical engagement means around said exterior of said neck stretch portion, a locking wall portion below said neck stretch portion, at least one first tooth on said locking wall portion,

said closure having a top, said top having an underside, a downward extending upper skirt portion depending from said top, said upper skirt portion having an interior, at least one second helical engagement means around said interior of said upper skirt portion shaped to engage with said at least one first helical engagement means, a lower skirt portion below said upper skirt portion, frangible means joining said upper and lower skirt portions together, at least one second tooth on said lower skirt portion shaped to engage said at least one first tooth to prevent unscrewing of said closure relative to said neck without breaking said frangible means,

said at least one first and second helical engagement means being shaped to slip over each other upon direct axial downward movement of said closure on said neck without relative rotation of said closure and said neck and then to interengage,

said closure being formed with an internal shoulder at the intersection of said underside of said top and said interior of said upper skirt portion, said shoulder engaging said neck stretch portion.

8. In combination, a container having a neck and a container closure,

said neck having an upper opening, a lip surrounding said opening, a downward extending neck stretch below said lip, said neck stretch having an exterior, multiple neck helical engagement means on said exterior of said neck stretch, a locking wall below said neck stretch, and a plurality of external teeth on said locking wall,

said closure having a top, a downward extending upper skirt depending from said top adapted to fit over said neck stretch, said upper skirt having an interior, multiple closure helical engagement means on said interior of said upper skirt shaped to engage said neck helical engagement means, a tamper-evidencing band frangibly attached to said upper skirt, a plurality of internal teeth on said tamper-evidencing band interengaging said external teeth to prevent unscrewing of said closure from said neck so long as said tamper-evidencing band is intact,

said neck and closure helical engagement means being shaped and said closure being resilient so that upon application of force to accomplish direct, axial movement of said closure relative to said container without externally imposed relative rotation of said closure and said neck, said neck and closure helical engagement means slip past each other and then interengage and said closure seats on said neck so that said closure cannot be removed from said neck without unscrewing said closure,

said external teeth having a bevel slanted downwardly and outwardly from said locking wall, said bevel guiding said internal teeth and said external teeth into side-by-side interengagement upon contact between at least one of said internal teeth and said bevel of at least one of said external teeth during said direct, axial movement of said closure relative to said neck.

9. In combination, a container and a closure:

said container including a neck having an opening, a neck stretch below said opening, and a first helical engagement structure on said neck stretch;

said closure having a skirt and a second helical engagement structure on said skirt;

said combination being adapted for snap-on application of said closure to said neck;

a plurality of first locking members located on one of said container and said closure;

a second locking member located on the other of said container and said closure; and

alignment structure on one of said container and said closure adapted to direct said second locking member between adjacent ones of said plurality of first locking members upon application of said closure upon said container;

wherein said second locking member is adapted to engage at least one of said adjacent ones of said plurality of first locking members to prevent unscrewing of said closure relative to said neck until said second locking member is disengaged from said at least one first locking member.

10. The combination of claim 9, wherein said first and second helical engagement structures are screw threads.

11. The combination of claim 10, wherein said first and second screw threads each have a linear thread density of at least twelve threads per inch.

12. The combination of claim 11, said first and second screw threads being of sufficient length around an exterior of said container neck and an interior of said skirt, respectively, to provide at least 400°

of thread engagement.

13. The combination of claim 9, wherein said first and second helical engagement structures are multi-lead threads, whereby said closure tends to rest horizontally on said neck prior to said snap-on application of said closure upon said neck.

14. The combination of claim 9, wherein said closure includes a cap top and an internal shoulder vicinal the intersection of cap top and said skirt, said internal shoulder engaging said neck.

15. The combination of claim 9, wherein said first and second helical engagement structures are dimensioned and configured to slip over each other upon direct axial downward movement of said closure on said neck without externally imposed relative rotation of said closure and said neck allowing said snap-on application of said closure to said neck.

16. The combination of claim 9, wherein said first and second helical engagement structures are dimensioned and configured to slip over each other upon direct axial downward movement of said closure on said neck without externally imposed relative rotation of said closure and said container and then interengage each other so that said closure can be removed from said container by unscrewing said closure from said neck.

17. The combination of claim 9, said container further comprising a locking wall below said neck stretch, said plurality of said first locking members being located on said locking wall.

18. The combination of claim 17, said closure further comprising a tamper-evidencing band below said skirt, said second locking member being located on said tamper-evidencing band.

19. The combination of claim 18, said closure further comprising a tear tab connected to said tamper-evidencing band for tearing said tamper-evidencing band from said skirt.

20. The combination of claim 19, wherein said tamper-evidencing band is includes with a line of weakness extending through said tamper-evidencing band vicinal said tear tab for splitting said tamper-evidencing band during removal of said tamper-evidencing band from said skirt.

21. The combination of claim 20, wherein said line of weakness is a vertical scoreline.

22. The combination of claim 18, said closure further comprising a frangible connection joining said skirt and said tamper-evidencing band.

23. The combination of claim 22, wherein said frangible connection comprises a plurality of spaced bridges interconnecting said skirt and said tamper-evidencing band.

24. The combination of claim 22, said closure further comprising a shoulder interconnecting said tamper-evidencing band and said skirt, and at least one substantially vertical fin joined to and upstanding from said should to prevent upward deformation of said tamper-evidencing band without breaking said frangible connection.

25. The combination of claim 22, wherein said second locking member includes an interlocking edge on said tamper-evidencing band and each said first locking members includes an interlocking surface, said interlocking edge being shaped to engage at least one of said interlocking surfaces to prevent removal of said closure from said container until said frangible connection is broken.

26. The combination of claim 25, wherein said first and second helical engagement structures are adapted to pass over each other in a series of at least two snap actions upon downward movement of said closure relative to said container, wherein after the first of said snap actions said interlocking edge of said closure is positioned to at least partially engage said interlocking surface of said container upon rotation of said closure with respect to said container neck.

27. The combination of claim 22, wherein said first locking members include external teeth on said locking wall and said second locking member includes an internal tooth on said tamper-evidencing band, said internal tooth being shaped to engage at least one of said external teeth to prevent removal of said closure from said container until said frangible connection is broken.

28. The combination of claim 27, wherein said closure comprises a plurality of internal teeth on said tamper-evidencing band, said internal teeth shaped to engage said external teeth to prevent removal of said closure from said container until said frangible connection is broken.

29. The combination of claim 28, wherein said external teeth include a working surface engaging one of said internal teeth and a trailing surface joined to said working surface.

30. The combination of claim 28, wherein said internal teeth have an inclined surface for guiding said external teeth into side-by-side interengagement upon contact between said inclined surface of said internal teeth and at least one of said external teeth.

31. The combination of claim 28, wherein said external teeth include a bevel slanted downwardly and outwardly from said locking wall, said bevel guiding said internal teeth and said external teeth into side-by-side interengagement upon contact between at least one of said internal teeth and said bevel of at least one of said external teeth during said direct, axial movement of said closure relative to said neck.

32. The combination of claim 9, wherein said closure includes a cap top and a plug disposed centrally of said cap top, said plug having a contact point located on said plug where said plug first engages an upper end of said container neck when said closure is applied to said neck, said contact point and an upper surface of said second engagement structure being separated by a maximum vertical distance, said upper end of said container neck and a lower surface of said first engagement structure being separated by a minimum vertical distance, said maximum vertical distance being greater than said minimum vertical distance thereby ensuring engagement of said first and second helical engagement structure prior to contact between said plug and said upper end of said container neck.

33. The combination of claim 9, said combination further comprising first orientation structure on said container and second orientation structure on said closure, one of said first and second orientation structures being positioned to be directionally engaged by the other of said first and second external orientation structures to orient said closure relative to said container so that, upon snap-on application of said closure on said neck, said second locking member engages said at least one first locking member to prevent unscrewing of said closure from said neck until said tamper-evidencing band is removed from said closure.