Closure and container system and method for sealing a closure on a container
First Claim
1. A system, comprising:
- a container including a sidewall and a bottom wall, a neck region on the sidewall adjacent to an opening opposite the bottom wall, the container including projections spaced around the neck region, each projection including a cam surface, a lock surface, a ramp, and a clamping surface;
a closure including a closure plane and a circumferentially depending outer skirt extending from the closure plane, a tamper-evident arrangement frangibly connected to an edge of the outer skirt opposite the closure plane, pairs of lugs spaced around an inner sidewall formed by the outer skirt and the tamper-evident arrangement, a lock lug of each pair of lugs arranged on the tamper-evident arrangement and a sealing lug of each pair of lugs arranged on the outer skirt;
wherein each lock lug is adapted to engage the cam surface of a corresponding projection during application of the closure to the container, the lock lug adapted to engage the lock surface of the corresponding projection after application of the closure to the container;
wherein each sealing lug is adapted to engage the ramp of the corresponding projection during application of the closure to the container, the sealing lug adapted to engage the clamping surface of the corresponding projection after application of the closure to the container;
wherein the closure and the container cooperate to provide a tamper-evident closure with the container after the application of the closure to the container, the lock lug configured to engage the lock surface to prevent removal of the closure until the tamper-evident arrangement detaches from the outer skirt, andwherein the sealing lug is configured to engage the clamping surface until after the tamper-evident arrangement detaches completely from the outer skirt.
12 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system includes a container including projections equi-spaced around a neck region. Each of the projections includes a cam surface, a lock surface, a ramp, and a clamping surface. The system also include a closure including a closure plane and a circumferentially depending outer skirt extending from the closure plane, a tamper-evident arrangement frangibly connected to an edge of the outer skirt opposite the closure plane, and pairs of lugs equi-spaced around an inner sidewall formed by the outer skirt and the tamper-evident arrangement. A lock lug of each pair of lugs is arranged on the tamper-evident arrangement and a sealing lug of each pair of lugs is arranged on the outer skirt. In the system, each lock lug is adapted to engage the cam surface of a corresponding projection during an initial application operation. The lock lug is adapted to engage the lock surface of the corresponding projection after the initial application operation. In the system each sealing lug is adapted to engage the ramp of the corresponding projection during the initial application operation. The sealing lug is adapted to engage the clamping surface of the corresponding projection after the initial application operation. A number of pairs of lugs may be equal to a number of projections. A method is provided for sealing a closure on a container in a tamper-evident manner using the system. A method is provided for removing a closure from a container sealed with a tamper-evident device.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A system, comprising:
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a container including a sidewall and a bottom wall, a neck region on the sidewall adjacent to an opening opposite the bottom wall, the container including projections spaced around the neck region, each projection including a cam surface, a lock surface, a ramp, and a clamping surface; a closure including a closure plane and a circumferentially depending outer skirt extending from the closure plane, a tamper-evident arrangement frangibly connected to an edge of the outer skirt opposite the closure plane, pairs of lugs spaced around an inner sidewall formed by the outer skirt and the tamper-evident arrangement, a lock lug of each pair of lugs arranged on the tamper-evident arrangement and a sealing lug of each pair of lugs arranged on the outer skirt; wherein each lock lug is adapted to engage the cam surface of a corresponding projection during application of the closure to the container, the lock lug adapted to engage the lock surface of the corresponding projection after application of the closure to the container; wherein each sealing lug is adapted to engage the ramp of the corresponding projection during application of the closure to the container, the sealing lug adapted to engage the clamping surface of the corresponding projection after application of the closure to the container; wherein the closure and the container cooperate to provide a tamper-evident closure with the container after the application of the closure to the container, the lock lug configured to engage the lock surface to prevent removal of the closure until the tamper-evident arrangement detaches from the outer skirt, and wherein the sealing lug is configured to engage the clamping surface until after the tamper-evident arrangement detaches completely from the outer skirt. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system, comprising:
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a container including a sidewall and a bottom wall, a neck region on the sidewall adjacent to an opening opposite the bottom wall, the container including projections spaced around the neck region, each projection including a cam surface, a lock surface, a ramp, and a clamping surface; a closure including a closure plane and a circumferentially depending outer skirt extending from the closure plane, a tamper-evident arrangement frangibly connected to an edge of the outer skirt opposite the closure plane, pairs of lugs spaced around an inner sidewall formed by the outer skirt and the tamper-evident arrangement, a lock lug of each pair of lugs arranged on the tamper-evident arrangement and a sealing lug of each pair of lugs arranged on the outer skirt; wherein each lock lug is adapted to engage the cam surface of a corresponding projection during application of the closure to the container, the lock lug adapted to engage the lock surface of the corresponding projection after application of the closure to the container; wherein each sealing lug is adapted to engage the ramp of the corresponding projection during application of the closure to the container, the sealing lug adapted to engage the clamping surface of the corresponding projection after application of the closure to the container; wherein the closure and the container cooperate to provide a delay-release mechanism configured to retain the closure in a sealing position relative to the container until after separation of the tamper-evident arrangement from the outer skirt; and wherein the delay-release mechanism includes the sealing lug and the clamping surface.
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8. A method for sealing a closure on a container in a tamper-evident manner, the closure including a lock lug arranged on a tamper-evident arrangement of the closure and a sealing lug arranged on an outer skirt of the closure, comprising:
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(a) rotating the closure with respect to the container in a first direction so that the sealing lug engages a ramp of a corresponding projection arranged on a neck region of the container, the engagement of the sealing lug and the ramp causing the closure and the container to move in an axial direction toward each other; (b) after the rotating step (a), rotating the closure with respect to the container in the first direction so that the lock lug engages a cam surface of the corresponding projection and so that the sealing lug engages a clamping surface of the corresponding projection, the engagement of the sealing lug and the clamping surface preventing movement of the closure and the container in the axial direction away from each other; (c) after the rotating step (b), rotating the closure with respect to the container in the first direction so that the lock lug engages a lock surface of the corresponding projection, the engagement of the lock surface and the lock lug preventing rotation of the closure with respect to the container in a second direction opposite the first direction until the tamper-evident arrangement is frangibly detached from the outer skirt. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification