US3247992A

US3247992A - Resealable bottle closure

Info

Publication number: US3247992A
Application number: US169036A
Authority: US
Inventors: Norman T Exton
Original assignee: Thatcher Glass Manufacturing Co Inc
Current assignee: THATCHER PLASTIC PACKAGING Inc A CORP OF; Thatcher Glass Manufacturing Co Inc
Priority date: 1962-01-26
Filing date: 1962-01-26
Publication date: 1966-04-26
Anticipated expiration: 1983-04-26

Description

April 26, 1966 N. T. EXTON 3,247,992

RESEALABLE BOTTLE CLOSURE Filed Jan. 26, 1962 FIG. 1

{40 I I I 26 284 i l 1 n u 25 l4 INVENTOR NORMAN T. EXTON ATTO R N EYS United States Patent 3,247,992 RESEALABLE BOTTLE CLOSURE Norman T. Exton, Port Washington, N.Y., assignor to Thatcher Glass Manufacturing Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Jan. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 169,036 2 Claims. (Cl. 215-41) This invention relates to the field of closures and more particularly to a bottle closure of the resealable type.

As is well known, most bottles containing carbonated beverages are sealed by a crown captype of closure which is formed by a metal cap havinga cork or other type insert which serves as a liner. While the crown cap closure is satisfactory for the initial seal of the bottle at the bottling plant, it is deformed to a great extent when the closure is first opened and hence cannot be used again to elfectively reseal the bottle This problem is familiar, for example, with bottles containing soft drinks where the cap is normally opened by some lever type of device which bends the metal portion of the cap from its original shape. Therefore, when the crown cap is used to reseal the unused contents of the bottle, the gas or carbonation leaks out because of the cap deformation and renders the soft drink flat.

There currently are in use a number of types of caps which are designed to reseal the bottle after the original metal crown cap has been removed. These caps .range from complicated devices down to a simple one-piece molded cap of a soft flexible material such as rubber or polyethylene. All of these latter types of caps, however, still allow some degree of gas leakage because they do not provide a completely eflective seal. In any event the consumerstill is confronted with the problem of buying and/or using an extra cap to reseal the bottle.

The present invention is directed to a closure which provides a good seal both when initially used to seal the bottle and also when used to reseal the same. In order to accomplish this the closure is of two-piece construction; having an outer cap and a. liner. The cap is made of a semi-flexible material which returns substantially to its original shape after being deformed when it is forcibly opened, while the'liner is preferably made of a softer material which conforms to the lip surrounding the bottle opening and provides a good seal for the contents of the bottle. This arrangement allows the closure to be used to reseal the bottle effectively. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the liner is in the form of a washer which is snapped over a stud formed on the underside of the cap. Thelip of the bottle is formed with a groove thereon and the liner has a mating ridge or rim which lies in the groove to effect a good seal. Also, the liner is preferably formed with a ring which extends down into the throat of the bottleand a curved portion which fits around the outer edge of the bottle lip. By using this structure the closureprovides an eflective seal for the bottle at three places, i.e., between the throat and the ring, between the groove on the bottle lip and the liner rim, and at the outer edge of the bottle lip.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a two piece closure which is usable to initially seal and then effectively reseal a bottle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bottle closure having a separate liner in the form of a washer which is adapted to seal the bottleopening.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a twopiece' closure for a bottle in which the cap has a down-. Wardly extending stud to hold a washer-like liner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a closure for a bottle in which the lip of the bottle is formed with a groove to receive a mating rim from the liner.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a two-piece bottle closure in which the cap and liner of the closure are made of flexible material, with the material for the cap being harder than the material for the liner.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the following specification and annexed drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional elevational view of the cap;

FIGURE 1A is a bottom plan view of the cap of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional elevational view of one form of liner;

FIGURE 2A is a bottom plan view of the liner of FIG- URE 2;

.FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional elevational view of the closure as mounted on a bottle;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional elevational View of another embodiment of a liner;

FIGURE 5 is. a cross-sectional elevational view of a further embodiment of a liner; and

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional elevational view of a one-piece closure adapted to be used with bottles similar to that shown in FIGURE 3. g Referring first to FIGURE '1, the cap 10 for the twopiece closure is shown having a substantially flat and circular top wall 11 and a downwardly extending skirt wall 12 which surrounds the top wall. The skirt Wall 12 is adapted to be placed over the neck of the bottle to hold the closure thereto and for this purpose the wall 12 is formed with an inwardly extending flange piece 14 for gripping the underside of the bead surrounding the bottle neck. The underside of the top wall 11 is formed with a downwardly extending stud 16 which is undercut at 18v in order to hold the liner. The stud 16 may have a hollow center or a depression therein, if desired, in order to relieve gas pressure within the bottle. Also, it may be of any desired shape such as-round, square, polygonal, etc.

In a preferred form of the invention the cap 10 is of I one-piece molded construction and made of amaterial such as a high impact or'medium impact type polystyrene. This material is considered to be suitable since it has great strength, thereby being able to withstand the high gas pressures the bottle. Also, it possesses a certain amount of elasticity which enables the cap to be fastened over the bead on the neck of the bottle and also to return to substantially its normal shape after having been pried off the top of a bottle by a bottle.

. area.

The liner also has a downwardly extending'ring 24 which surrounds the hole 22. The outer diameter of the ring 24 is made so as to have a tight fit with the inner wall of thethroat of the bottle neck and extend a distance into the same. The outer portion of the ring is curved as shown at 25 where it joins the bottom of the liner so as to cover the inner edge of the bottle lip. The outer edge of the liner has a downwardly curved piece 26 which fits around the outer edge of the bottle. A rim or ridge 28 is also formed on the underside of the liner between the ring 24 and the curved piece 28. This rim extends completely around the underside of the liner for engagement into a corresponding groove in the lip of the bottle.

In a preferred form of the invention, the liner is made of a substantially soft material such as polyethylene which can be deformed to fit over the surfaces of the bottle opening when the cap is fastened to the bottle while at same time being elastic to spring back into substantially its original shape when the cap is removed from the bottle.

FIGURE 3 shows the cap and liner in assembled form as aflixed to the top of the neck 30 of a bottle. The bottle has a substantially flat lip 31 and abead 32 formed around the edge thereof. The flange portion 14 of the cap snaps over the bead to hold the closure to the bottle with the liner pressed between the underside of the cap and the top of the bottle lip. The liner ring 24 fits down into the throat 34 of the bottle against the inner wall thereof forming a seal for the bottle contents there and at'the place where the curved portion 25 engages the lip inner edge. An additional seal is provided by ther im 28 which fits into a groove 38 formed around the lip of the bottle. A further seal is made where the turned down portion 26 is pressed against the outer edge of the bottle lip by the curved undersurface at the edge of the cap top wall. The cap 10 is applied to the top of the bottle with a suitable amount of force and the dimensions of the liner and cap are such that the liner is pressed firmly against the lip of the bottle with the rim 28 seated in the lip groove 38. The downwardly turned portion 26 of the liner conforms to the curved outer edge of the lip as it is pressed down by the cap thereby forming another sealing With'the seal provided between the ring 24 and the throat of the bottle a third sealing area is effected thereby providing a good seal for the liquid and gaseous contents of the bottle.

The material of the cap is flexible enough to be forced,

over the top of the bottle by a suitable amount of pressure preferably applied by a machine during the initial sealing. Also, the flange piece 14 is firmly seated around the bead so that the cap cannot be pried off the battle with normal finger pressure but must be removed by a suitable means such as a bottle opener. The cap material is also strong enough to withstand any pressures which are built up within the bottle.

After the cap has been pried oif the bottle the first time, it deforms slightly thereby enabling it to be resealed over the bottle top by the' pressure of the-hand or by a sudden blow of the hand. The seal is again reformed in the three areas between the bottle throat and liner ring 24, the liner rim28 and groove 38, and the downturned liner portion 26 and the top of the bottle lip so that the gas cannot escape from the bottle. This rescaling arrangement is considerably more eifective than a deformed metal crown cap or a simple plastic or rubber cap. The cap is still affixed to the closure with sufiicient force so that a device such as a bottle opener must normally be used to pry it off the bottle again after resealing. In this manner, the closure can be used several times for resealing the bottle. 1 v

FIGURE 4 shows another embodiment of a liner which may be used with the closure. one shown in FIGURE 2 except that the ring 24 has been shortened so that only a small length 24' is used. In this case, the ring 24' will extend only a short way down into the throat of the bottle. The liner of FIGURE 4 This liner is similar to the In either of the liners shown in FIGURE 3 or 4, when the bottle has no groove to accept the rim 38, the rim is still beneficial as a seal since there is more pressure applied by the cap against the raised rim portion. Therefore, a seal is obtained where the rim is forced against. Of course, in a preferred form; of the invention the bottle is provided with thegroove the flat lip of the bottle.

to accept the rim.

FIGURE 5 shows another form of liner from which the rim 28 has been eliminated and only a short ring 24' pro 6 vided.' Here again, the hole 22 snaps over the cap stud 16.- The liner of FIGURE 5 is useful in cases where .a less effective seal is needed.

FIGURE 6 shows a one-piece closure 40 which has many of the advantages of the closures shown in FIG- URES 1-5. The closure 40 is of one-piece construction and has a downwardly extending ring 24 for engaging the inner wall of the bottle throat. The underside of the top surface is also formed with a rim 28 which is adapted to fit in a corresponding groove on the bottle lip and a curved portion 26 to fit over the outer edge of the bottle lip. The closure of FIGURE 6 is made out of a suitable material which can withstand the pressures within the bottle.

while still being flexible enough to provide a good seal.

Such a material would be the high or medium impact polystyrene referred to previously.

It should also be realized that the closures of FIGURES l and 6 can also be provided with a metal, plastic or cellophane band fastened around the outside thereof only or around the closure and the'bottle to provide a still.

stronger seal when the bottle is initially sealed. The consumer would break the band upon first using the contents and then have the closure available for resealing the bottle as explained before.

As a further modification to the invention the stud 16 may be dispensed with and the liner held to the cap solely bypressure, or by glue or an undercut on the walls of the cap. In this case, the hole 22 on the liner may be eliminated, if desired.

Therefore it can be seen that a closure member has been provided which is useful for initially sealingthe bottle and then effectively rescaling itat a later time. The closure has a liner for sealing and a cap which deforms only slightly when it is pried ofi the bottle. This enables the' closure to be-reused several times before the cap deforms to a point where it cannot hold the liner down-to provide an effective seal.

' While a preferred embodiment of the invention 'has been described above it'w'ill be understood that this embodiment is illustrative only and the invention is to be.

merges inwardly with the wall of the throat and outwardly with a. cap-retaining bead, a resealable closure comprising: a unitary cap formed of a high strength plastic material having semi-resilient properties which tend to restore said cap to its original shape after deformation thereof, said cap having a top wall, a skirt depending from said top wall and an inwardly turned flange engaging the bead on the bottle; a liner within said cap engaging said surface being concave outwardly of said ring and tightly engaging the outer edge of the lip of the bottle, said liner further having a downwardly extending rim between said 5 6 concave portions tightly engaging the top ofthe bottle lip. 2,987,206 6/1961 Grussen 21541 2. A closure member as in claim 1 wherein said top 3,001,658 9/1961 Herter 21540 Wall of said cap is provided with a stud which engages and holds said liner against said top wall. FOREIGN PATENTS 5 References Cited by the Examiner gggg Egg f UNITED STATES PATENTS Swart. Przmary Examiner. 2,748,969 6/1956 Leary 21 EARLE J. DRUMMOND, Examiner.

2,901,140 8/1959 Robinson 215-44 10

Claims

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A BOTTLE HAVING A NECK PORTION DEFINING A THROAT, SAID NECK PORTION TERMINATING IN A CONVEX LIP WHICH HAS A GROOVE IN THE TOP THEREOF AND WHICH MERGES INWARDLY WITH THE WALL OF THE THROAT AND OUTWARDLY WITH A CAP-RETAINING BEAD, A RESEALABLE CLOSURE COMPRISING: A UNITARY CAP FORMED OF A HIGH STRENGTH PLASTRIC MATERIAL HAVING SEMI-RESILIENT PROPERTIES WHICH TEND TO RESTORE SAID CAP TO ITS ORIGINAL SHAPE AFTER DEFORMATION THEREOF, SAID CAP HAVING A TOP WALL, A SKIRT DEPENDING FROM SAID TOP WALL AND AN INWARDLY TURNED FLANGE ENGAGEING THE BEAD ON THE BOTTLE; A LINER WITHIN SAID CAP ENGAGING SAID TOP WALL, SAID LINER BEING FORMED OF A MATERIAL WHICH IS SOFTER AND MORE RESILIENT THAN THE MATERIAL OF SAID CAP, SAID LINER HAVING A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING RING TIGHTLY ENGAGING THE THROAT OF THE BOTTOL, THE LOWER SURFACE OF SAID LINER BEING CONCAVE INWARDLY OF SAID RING AND TIGHTLY ENGAGING THE INNER EDGE OF THELIP OF THE BOTTLE, SAID LOWER SURFACE BEING CONCAVE OUTWARDLY OF SAID RING AND TIGHTLY ENGAGING THE OUTER EDGE OF THE LIP OF THE BOTTLE, SAID LINER FURTHER HAVING A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING RIM BETWEEN SAID CONCAVE PORTIONS TIGHTLY ENGAGING THE TOP OF THE BOTTLE LIP.