Continental Plastics, Inc.

Sun Coast Plastics, Inc.

Montreal Milling Cutter and Company, Inc.

Herbert V Dutt

Gary L Mengeu

Paul A Santostasi

Duane H Lewis

Dixie L Weir

Douglas R Ziegler

Frederick P Minkemeyer

Istvan Foldesi

Donald F Yeager

Thomas F Hudak

Arno F Pirkau

Stephen F Royal

Rodney O Skaggs

A cap and dispensing fitment combination for a container. The cap has an end wall and a skirt extending axially from the periphery of the end wall, the cap being adapted to engage the neck of the container. The end wall of the cap has an annular flange that extends axially and radially outwardly therefrom, the annular flange terminating in a free end surface that facilitates securing the dispensing fitment to the cap. The dispensing fitment comprises an end wall having at least one opening therein, the annular flange engaging into the opening. The dispensing fitment has a sidewall extending axially from the periphery of the end wall and is adapted to engage the container when the combination is placed on the container and to retain the dispensing fitment on the container even as the cap is removed from the container.

Cap and dispensing fitment combination wherein the cap has retaining

Improvements in portion dispensing caps in which pre-measured portions of materials, such as particulate matter, can be dispensed from a container. The portion dispensing caps include a closure and a sliding member. The sliding member is biased in a loading position by a resilient arcuate projection. The sliding member can also include a portion which engages into and seals an opening in the closure. The sliding member may have a hingedly connected wall which is unattached when molded by an injection molding process but which is attached to other walls of the sliding member when the sliding member is disposed in the closure.

Portion dispensing caps

A one-piece closure for dispensing product from a container has a cap secured to the container and a lid connected to the cap by a support arm through an integrally molded hinge. The support arm is pivoted by the hinge between a pair of upstanding projections on the end wall of the cap. Ribs projecting laterally from the support arm engage the projections to maintain the lid opened when the container is inverted to dispense product. When the lid is pushed closed, the ribs deform to allow the support arm to pass between the projections. In one embodiment, side edges of the ribs engage upwardly facing cylindrical camming surfaces on the projections. In another embodiment, the outer surfaces of the ribs engage confronting flat surfaces on the two projections. In the closed position of the lid, the ribs in both embodiments are received in recesses in the projections so that they do not become permanently deformed and loose their effectiveness over time.

One-piece container closure with lid held open for dispensing

A squeeze container has a flexible tubular body and a separately molded bottom cover. The bottom cover has an axially facing continuous groove in which the open end of the tubular body seats with the end surface of the tube abutting the bottom surface of the groove. A radially outwardly extending flange spaced axially from the open end of the container has a bottom surface which abuts a top surface on a lip extending radially outward from the groove in the bottom cover. A tubular extension on the bottom cover radially inward of the groove has an outer surface which abuts the inner surface of the tubular body. Sonic energy directors in the form of continuous pointed ribs effect sonic welds between each of the sets of abutting surfaces to hermetically seal the bottom cover to the tubular body.

Squeeze container with sonically welded flexible tubular body and bottom

A linerless closure which provides an effective seal against oxygen penetration and moisture evaporation includes a cap with an inner annular member defining an annular outwardly directed sealing edge which forms a line seal with the inner cylindrical surface of a container wall and an outer annular member defining an annular inwardly directed sealing edge which seals against the outer cylindrical surface of a container wall.

Closure with linerless seal

A tamper evident closure integrally molded in a straight draw mold without slides or cams has a cap skirt, a tamper band radially spaced from the free end of the skirt and extending radially outward, and an anchoring member, spaced radially outward of the tamper band. The tamper band is connected to both the cap skirt and the anchoring member by tearable connections in the form of scored membranes, or preferably, discrete circumferentially spaced radially extending frangible bridges. The tamper band has a circumferentially extending gap and an integral pull tab extending radially outward from one end through a gap in the anchoring member. Preferably, the scored membranes or the frangible bridges between the tamper band and the cap skirt adjacent one end of the tamper band and between the tamper band and the anchoring member at the other end are greater in cross-section than the remainder of the tearable connections so that any attempt to unscrew the closure without tearing out the tamper band results in irreversible distortion and even fracture of the tamper band.

Tamper evident closure

A tamper evident overcap has a tear band which is offset radially from both a ring member sonically welded to a container shoulder and a cap, by generally radially extending frangible bridges. The bridges are severed by applying force to a pull tab extending radially and axially from the tear band in alignment with a gap in the ring member so that there are no undercut faces on the overcap which can consequently be molded in a straight draw mold without cams or slides.

Tamper evident container overcap molded in straight draw mold

A resealable container enclosure includes a fitment with an annular body which snap fits over the mouth of a container, a resilient frusto-conical wall integrally molded with the annular body in a convex configuration to extend outward from the container, and a spout extending outward from frusto-conical wall. The enclosure includes a cap which, as it is screwed onto the container, engages the spout and deforms the resilient frusto-conical wall into the concave configuration producing bending moments which cause the spout to pop-up as the resilient frusto-conical spout returns to the convex configuration upon removal of the cap. A plurality of circumferentially spaced ribs extending axially and radially along the inner surface of the resilient frusto-conical stiffen the frusto-conical wall in the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Container closure with pop-up spout fitment

A closure for a resealable container comprising an annular container engaging member fixedly attached to the edge of the container and a lid having an end wall and an annular skirt, the lid being attached to and separable from the container engaging member at a failure zone. In one embodiment the lid is adapted to reseal the container after it is separated from the container engaging member by turning the lid upside down and positioning it such that the annular skirt engages the container engaging member and the end wall covers at least a portion of the opening of the container. In another embodiment, the lid is also adapted to reseal the container after it is separated from the container engaging member by positioning the lid such that the annular skirt engages the container engaging member and the end wall covers at least a portion of the opening of the container. The invention also includes a stackable container having the closure described above.

Closure for a resealable container

A closure system comprising a container having a neck with external threads thereon and a cap having an end wall, an annular skirt and a dispensing opening extending through the end wall. The skirt has internal threads complimentary to the external threads on the container neck for selectively screwing the cap onto the container neck. Cooperating locking members are provided on the outer surface of the container neck and on the inner surface of the skirt, the locking members preventing rotation of the cap. In one embodiment, a tear out section is provided on the cap skirt which is torn when an attempt is made to unscrew the cap from the container. In another embodiment of the closure system, the locking members are used in association with a non-cylindrical container and a non-cylindrical cap to position the dispensing opening relative to the container in a predetermined position.

Closure system

A tamper evident closure is integrally molded in a straight draw mold with a tear out tab extending laterally outward adjacent a slot in the free edge of the closure skirt and connected to the skirt by flexible, frangible bridges. After the closure is removed from the straight draw mold, the tear out tab is rotated about the flexible, frangible bridges into the slot and is retained therein by bevelled engagement ribs along the side edges of the tear out tab which snap over and engage the side edges of the slot. A radially inwardly directed projection on the tear out tab engages the conventional transfer bead on a container, and remains engaged thereby as the closure is unthreaded, thus, producing an axial force which fractures the bridges. The tear out tab then slides free of engagement with the edges of the slot and separates leaving a visual indication of prior removal of or tampering with the closure. If an attempt is made to reinsert the tear out tab in the slot, the torn ends of the fractured bridges extend laterally outward to provide an indication of the tampering.

Tamper evident closure with tear out tab integrally molded without slides

A thermoplastic closure comprises an annular tamper band connected to the skirt of a cap by frangible bridges. In one embodiment of the closure, axially extending ratchet teeth on the bottom of the tamper band cooperate with axially extending lugs on a container shoulder or transfer bead. As the cap is screwed onto the container, the teeth ratchet over the lugs. When an attempt is made to unscrew the cap, the ratchet teeth engage the lugs to prevent rotation of the tamper band so that continued application of an unscrewing force to the cap results in fracturing of the bridges along the intersection of reduced cross-section between the bridges and the skirt. The axial length of the engaging surfaces of the ratchet teeth and lugs is sufficient that they remain axially aligned through any initial axial separation of the cap and transfer bead until the ratchet teeth and lugs engage. In another embodiment of the closure, axially extending projections on the tamper bead are bent circumferentially by the lugs on the container as the closure is screwed onto the container. The bent projections wedge against the lugs as the cap is unscrewed to prevent rotation of the tamper band with the cap resulting in fracturing of the bridges.

Tamper indicating closure system utilizing axially extending ratchet

A closure system for a container having a closure body with a hingedly connected closure lid. The closure body has an end wall and a cylindrical skirt with internal threads for screwing the closure system onto the container. The closure lid has at least one integrally molded projection extending from its cylindrical skirt. The projection engages the closure body end wall when it is desired to dispense material from the container. This projection is rigid enough to prevent the closure lid from interfering with the dispensing of the materials from the container yet is resilient enough to fold under the closure lid when the closure system is in the closed mode.

Container-closure with fold over projections

A tamper evident closure has frangible bridges detachably connecting a tamper indicating band to the skirt of a cap, and hook-like locking tabs for securing the tamper indicating band to a transfer bead on a container, circumferentially displaced from one another and all aligned with a radially extending annular gap between the tamper indicating band and the cap, such that the closure can be integrally molded from thermoplastic material in a straight draw mold without slides, inserts or post molding operations. The frangible bridges extend along, as well as across, the annular gap and are flexible so that the tamper indicating band can be extended axially relative to the cap to accommodate for variations in dimensions and tolerances in containers to which the closure is applied.

Tamper evident closure with hook-like locking tabs

A closure system includes a container and a closure comprising a cap having a cylindrical skirt with internal threads, an annular tamper band having an inside diameter larger than the outside diameter of the skirt forming an annular gap therebetween, and flexible bridges joining the tamper band to the free end of the cap skirt. The bridges have angularly spaced end segments extending radially outward and radially inwardly from the skirt and tamper band respectively, and an intermediate segment extending arcuately around the gap between the end segments. The closure is integrally molded with the bridges and tamper band extending radially outward in a common plane transverse to the central axis of the cap. The bridges flex to allow axial extension of the tamper band for bonding to a shoulder or transfer bead on the container. Unscrewing of the cap fractures the bridges, preferably at a section of reduced cross-section provided by notches at the intersection of the bridges with the cap skirt. The set of the resilient bridges causes them to spring against the container shoulder or transfer bead upon fracturing to provide a positive visual indication of opening or tampering with the closure.

Growing community of inventors

Sarasota, FL, United States of America

Herbert V Dutt