US3468447A - Unitary cam-off closure - Google Patents

Description

N. J. SMALLEY 3,468,447

UNITARY CAM- OFF CLOSURE Sept. 23, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 30, 1967 FIG.

INVENTOR. NED JSmALLEV BY y! file/wall. Jul-10L ATTOENQS Sept. 23, 1969 N. J. SMALLEY 3,468,447

UNITARY CAM-OFF CLOSURE Filed Jan. :50, 1967 2 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR. ND J. S m ALLEI V ZZMWMMMM QTTO RNEVS United States Patent 3,468,447 UNITARY CAM-OFF CLOSURE Ned J. Smalley, St. Charles, 11]., assignor to Owens- Illinois, Inc., a corporation of Ohio Filed Jan. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 612,717 Int. Cl. B65d 51/08, 55/08 US. Cl. 215-41 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of invention This invention relates to unitary, elastically yieldable closures for bottles and jars; more particularly it relates to closures adapted to be stretched over the container mouth and having a stopper portion which may be sealingly positioned within and be encircled by the container month, said closure and container being provided with interengaging removal means.

As a result of a trend toward greater sophistication in packaging the more traditional packages, for example containers to which removable caps were attached by interengaging threads, are being supplanted by various new closure designs and construction. One of the relatively newer constructions which has found limited commercial acceptance is a closure generally referred to in the arts as a snapcap. The reason for only limited acceptability apparently results from the fact that the current means for removing the cap from the container precludes tight attachment of the cap to the container.

Typically, these caps are provided with a thumb-off tab, whereby the cap is removed from the container by utilizing the thumb as a lever and exerting an upward force on said tab. Since the force required for cap removal is dependent upon the magnitude of the compressive and frictional forces which maintain the cap container attachment, and because of the inherent mechanical inefficiency of using the thumb as a lever the magnitude of these attaching forces has heretofore been moderate in order not to appreciably increase the difficulty of cap removal.

Similarly, closures having stopper sealing characteristics have received only limited acceptance because of the notable lack of suitable means for removing the closure from the container.

Summary In accordance with this invention a novel and advantageous closure and container combination is provided with means which greatly facilitate the ease of closure removal, thereby allowing tighter attachment of the clo' sure to the container.

More particularly, in accordance with this invention, a closure having snap-cap and stopper sealing characteristics, and a container, are respectively provided with Patented Sept. 23, 1969 coacting cam-surfaces, whereby rotation of the attached closure in a plane normal to the container axis causes said cam-surfaces to interengage and cooperate to produce an upward axial closure displacement.

Brief drawing description The foregoing and other advantageous features of this invention will be more readily understood by reference to the drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a central, sectional elevation view of an embodiment of the closure of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom sectioned view of the closure of FIG. 1 taken at the plane 22;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of an embodiment of the container of this invention;

FIG. 4 shows a closure in attaching engagement with a container, portions thereof being cut-away to illustrate embodiments of the sealing means and removal means of this invention;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, sectional elevation view of the cut away portions of the closure and container of FIG. 4.

Description of preferred embodiment(s) In the drawings a glass container 10 is shown having a circumferential wall 74 defining a body 12 and an upwardly extending neck 14 which merges with an annular rim 16, thereby defining an open mouth 18 of the container; the rim 16 generally comprises an annular ledge 22 projecting radially and outwardly of the neck 14 and includes an upper, substantially planar sealing surface 20. The juncture of the neck 14 and container body portion 12 defines a shoulder 22 having cam-members 24- integrally formed therewith, adjacent the neck 14. While any number of cam-members may be provided, two such members being diametrically spaced from each other are preferred; this preference is primarily based upon the desire to minimize the container complexity and yet retain suflicient benefit of the novel cam-off features of this invention. The cam-members 24 generally comprise container wall protuberances having an outer face 28 which extends axially and upwardly from the lower margin of the shoulder 22, and include substantially planar sides 30 merging with the outer face 28, the sides extending outwardly of the shoulder adjacent the neck 14. These protuberance have a generally V-shaped, or upwardly concave upper face which comprises the container camming surface 26. Preferentially, the camming surfaces 26 are defined by merging, substantially planar surfaces 32 which extend downwardly from the sides 30 of the camming protuberances and are integrally formed with the container. Additionally, the inclined surfaces 32'and the sides 30 have a suitable radial thickness such that substantial radial portions of the camming surfaces 26 extend outwardly of the radial ledge 22.

For reasons hereinafter to become apparent, the container closure 34 is preferentially constructed of an elastically yieldable material such as, for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, plasticized vinyls, and copolymers of ethylene and vinyl esters. The outer closure 64 is comprised of an upper panel 36 defined by two downwardly inclined, substantially planar merging surfaces and includes the periphery of the panel an integrally attached, downwardly extending circumferential closure skirt 70. Disposed inwardly of the skirt and integrally formed with the crown 36, is a downwardly disposed snap-cap member comprised of an annular wall or skirt 42 having an inwardly extending annular bead 44 adapted for snapping over the annular container ledge 22 and'holdingly attaching to the under surface thereof. Adjacently upward of the bead 44, the internal surface of the wall 42 may be provided with a modest, inwardly convex surface 46 which compressingly engage the axially oriented surface of the outwardly projecting ledge 22 when said snap-cap member is attached to said container.

Disposed inwardly of the snap-cap member and integrally attached to the crown 36 is a downwardly extending, generally tubular shaped member 50 having stopper sealing characteristics and means for compressingly engaging the upper sealing surface 20 of the container rim 16. In a preferred embodiment this tubular member has a downwardly extending, substantially vertical inner face 52 and a beveled outer face 54. The beveled outer face generally comprises a lower surface portion 56 which extends upwardly and outwardly from the lower terminus of the tubular member and merges with a second surface portion '58 extending upwardly and inwardly, the juncture of these inclined portions forming an outwardly disposed, modestly convex surface 60, the function of which is to provide the unitary closure 34 with stopper type sealing means. Addtiionally, the upwardly and inwardly extending second tubular surface 58 arcuately merges with a pedestal 62 extending radially and outwardly of the convex stopper sealing surface 60, the pedestal including an inner, generally planar face 64 which, in gasket-like fashion, compressingly engages the upper sealing surface 20 of the annular container rim 16 upon closure attachment.

Interposed between the closure skirt 70 and the annular snap-cap wall 42 are a pair of diametrically spaced, downwardly extending lugs 66 integrally formed with the crown 36. Moreover, in addition to being integrally formed with the crown, these lugs for purposes of increasing the rigidity of the closure during its removal from the container, are preferentially integrally attached to skirt 70 and snap-cap wall 42. The lugs 66 comprise the closure cam-members and are preferably provided with a downwardly convex finish 68 at their lower margin thereby being adapted to nest with the upwardly concave container camming surfaces 26.

Attachment of the closure to the container, and its removal therefrom, is best illustrated by reference to FIGURES 4 and 5. To apply the closure 34 to the container the closure is forced axially downward unto the container; during the exertion of this downward force the closure camming lugs 66 must be oriented in vertical registry with the container camming surfaces 26, whereby they nest in close proximity with the lower margin 72 of said surfaces 26. Additionally, the beveled outer face '54 of tubular member 50 is forced axially into the container mouth 18, whereby its integrally formed convex surface 60, because of being placed in a state of compression, sealingly engages the internal surface of the container neck 14 and the inner surface 64 of the pedestal 62 compressingly engages the upper sealing surface of the container. Concurrent with the above engagement, the inwardly disposed bead 44 of the annular wall 42 snaps over and holdingly attaches to the container ledge 22, thereby directing the internal wall surface 46 adjacently upward of the bead into intimate contact with the outer radial surface of the ledge 22.

In order to procure the container contents the closure is firmly grasped and twisted or rotated in a plane substantially normal to the container axis. As the twisting motion is being applied, the closure cam-members 66 engage and ride upon the upward inclined container camming surfaces 32; thus by means of the interacting cam features the closure is forced axially upward and is released from its attaching engagement with the closure.

I claim:

1. An improved article of manufacture, wherein said article is a package comprising in combination: a container having a body and an upwardly extending neck defining a mouth opening of said container'at an upper annular rim thereof, said rim including an upper sealing surface and a radial ledge, the juncture of said neck and said body defining a shoulder having diametrically opposed radial protuberances terminating in upwardly sloping cam surfaces; a unitary, elastically yieldable closure comprising a top panel and a peripheral, integrally attached skirt, said panel including a depending circumferential wall having an interiorly disposed bead adapted to snap over and compressingly engage said radial ledge, thereby holding said closure on the container, and a downwardly depending member having a beveled tubular portion and including an annular pedestal, merging with said tubular portion, the internal surface of said pedestal compressingly engaging said upper rim sealing surface and said beveled tubular portion sealingly engaging the interior container neck surface when said bead engages said radial ledge, thereby closing said container mouth opening, said top panel further including downwardly extending lugs being constructed and arranged at their lower margin to nest with said upwardly sloping cam surfaces and cooperating with said surfaces, whereby rotation of the closure causes an upward axial displacement of said closure.

2. The package of claim 1, wherein said downwardly extending lugs are integrally formed with said closure skirt and said circumferential wall.

3. A a container for use with a closure having an integral snap-cap member and including camming means for releasing said closure from said container, comprising: a body, an upwardly extending neck defining a mouth opening of said container at an upper annular rim thereof, said rim extending radially outward of said neck whereby said snap-cap may be attached to said container, the juncture of said body and said neck defining a shoulder having diametrically opposed radial protuberances terminating in upwardly concave cam surfaces, whereby upon rotating an attached closure said container cam surfaces coact with said closure camming means to axially displace and release said closure.

4. The container as described in claim 3 wherein said upwardly concave cam surfaces are V-shaped.

5. The container as described in claim 4 wherein said V-shaped cam surfaces extend outwardly of said rim.

6. As an article of manufacture, an improved package comprising in combination a container having a body and a joining upwardly extending neck defining a mouth opening of said container at an upper outwardly extending annular rim thereof, radial protuberances generally formed at the juncture of said body and said neck, each of said protuberances having an upper, V-shaped camming face, a portion of which extends outwardly of said container neck and rim, a unitary elastically yieldable closure having a top panel and a peripheral integrally attached skirt, a circumferential wall depending downwardly from said panel having an interiorly disposed bead adapted to snap over and compressingly engage said outwardly extending annular rim, thereby holding said closure on said container, a tapered stopper member having an outwardly extending sealing surface depending downwardly from said panel, said member being positioned within the container mouth opening and said outwardly extending sealing surface compressingly engaging the interior container neck surface upon said engagement of said bead and said annular rim, thereby closing said container mouth opening, lug members depending downwardly from said panel and being integrally formed with said closure skirt and said circumferential wall, said lug members being arranged and constructed at their lower margin to nest within said V-shaped camming faces upon attachment of said closure and container and, upon relative rotation of said container and closure, said lug members counteract with said V-shaped camming faces to cause an upward axial displacement of said closure.

(References on following page) References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Hoffmann 215-46 X Foss et a1. 215-31 X Ruetz 220-60 X Exton 215-41 Bateman 215-46 X Eddy 215-40 3,285,451 11/1966 Golde 215-40 3,339,773 9/1967 Stull 215-40 3,372,834 3/1968 Ayotte et a1. 220-60 5 DONALD F. NORTON, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 215-31, 46

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