AU2012100441B4

AU2012100441B4 - Improved drink bottle cap

Info

Publication number: AU2012100441B4
Application number: AU2012100441A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Larry Etherington
Original assignee: Etherington Elizabeth; Etherington Laurence
Current assignee: Etherington Elizabeth; Etherington Laurence
Priority date: 2012-04-20
Filing date: 2012-04-20
Publication date: 2012-11-29
Anticipated expiration: 2020-04-20
Also published as: AU2012100441A4

Abstract

A drink bottle cap for closing a bottle having a circular threaded neck, said cap including: a bottle-engaging part having an internal thread adapted to engage with said circular threaded neck and incorporating a frangible tamper-evident ring; a mouth-engaging part, attached to said bottle-engaging part, having an aperture through which the contents of said bottle may be accessed; and an enclosing cap adapted to form a sealing engagement with said mouth-engaging part; wherein each of said bottle-engaging part, said mouth-engaging part and said enclosing cap are formed in a unitary manner.

Description

1 IMPROVED DRINK BOTTLE CAP Technical Field [0001] The invention relates to the field of plastic packaging manufacture. In particular, the invention relates to an improved design for a drink bottle cap. Background of the Invention [0002] Recent years have seen a rise in the sale of commercial non-carbonated drinks in bottles that facilitate 'mobile' consumption. That is, in particular, bottles having caps that provide a drinking spout that is intended to be encircled entirely by the drinker's lips, so the drink is 'sucked' as opposed to 'poured' into the mouth. [0003] These caps are often referred to as 'sports caps' or the capped bottles as 'sports drink' bottles, mainly because the cap design enables spill-free drinking while the drinker is walking, jogging, cycling etc. [0004] The caps also usually have a valve or over-cap that allows the bottle to be rapidly and repeatedly sealed, which also makes it more convenient and easier to avoid spilling the drink while it is moved around in e.g. a sports bag. [0005] There are many available designs for drink bottle caps, particularly for disposable 'sports-drink' bottles or the like. The usual requirement for such caps include (among other factors): the ability to be applied by typical bottling capping systems; the presence of a replaceable 'over-cap'; the ability to open and close the cap readily for drinking or storage; and 'tamper-evident' indicators that indicate that the original seal has been broken. [0006] There are a number of standard sizes for the opening of commercial disposable drink bottles. In this case, the inventors are primarily, but not exclusively, concerned with a 38mm opening, and particularly with cap/bottle engagement that allows the cap to be placed on the bottle neck and affixed via downward impact, as opposed to being 'screwed on'. [0007] One shortcoming of existing 'sports cap' designs is there are very few with the ability to be applied to a standard 38mm opening, using the same capping chucks as can be used with a flat cap. Those that have been made for this application seem 2 to be very difficult to handle in standard equipment. In particular, they are difficult to 'unscramble' - the term applied to the process of ensuring that the cap is presented to the capping machine in the correct orientation, i.e. the lower side of the cap oriented to meet the bottle neck. [0008] A further issue with existing sports caps is that they are in many cases of complex, multi-component construction, and that consequently they are relatively expensive to manufacture. [0009] Another shortcoming associated with many prior art sports caps is the design of the 'tamper-evident' device, especially those that indicate the first opening of the drinking spout. In many cases, these are designed to be torn off and discarded. This is undesirable for a number of reasons, including the creation of excess litter and danger to wildlife. Any removable components, including over caps and tamper evident seal components, create a further issue as a possible choking hazard for young children. [0010] Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved 'sports drink' bottle cap which is effective in use and efficient to manufacture. Summary of the Invention [0011] According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a drink bottle cap for closing a bottle having a circular threaded neck, said cap including: a bottle engaging part having an internal thread adapted to engage with said circular threaded neck and incorporating a frangible tamper-evident ring; a mouth-engaging part, attached to said bottle-engaging part, having an aperture through which the contents of said bottle may be accessed; and an enclosing cap adapted to form a sealing engagement with said mouth-engaging part; wherein each of said bottle engaging part, said mouth-engaging part and said enclosing cap are formed in a unitary manner; and wherein the ratio of the external diameter of said enclosing cap to the external diameter of said bottle engaging part is less than 0.7, preferably less than 0.6.. [0012] Caps according to the above description are relatively simple to make, particularly due to the unitary construction. If the ratios defined above are adhered to, these caps will also be relatively easy to unscramble.

3 [0013] According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a drink bottle cap for closing a bottle having a circular threaded neck, said cap including: a bottle-engaging part having an internal thread adapted to engage with said circular threaded neck and incorporating a first frangible tamper-evident ring; a mouth engaging part, attached to said bottle-engaging part, having an aperture through which the contents of said bottle may be accessed; and an enclosing cap adapted to form a sealing engagement with said mouth-engaging part; wherein each of said bottle-engaging part, said mouth-engaging part and said enclosing cap are formed in a unitary manner; and wherein said enclosing cap incorporates a second frangible tamper-evident ring that detaches from said enclosing cap, and is securely retained in engagement with said drink bottle cap, upon opening. [0014] The presence of the second frangible tamper-evident ring allows the cap to provide greater indication of possible tampering, as both the bottle neck and the drinking 'nozzle' are potential access points to the drink inside the bottle. [0015] The unitary construction allows implementations of the present invention to be made relatively inexpensively, and using a single tool, while still providing two tamper evident seals and not requiring wasteful removable components. [0016] Preferably, the mouth-engaging part has an upper profile and a lower profile, said lower profile having a diameter less than the greatest diameter of said upper profile; and wherein said second frangible tamper-evident ring engages with said lower profile both prior to, and is retained in place after, opening of the enclosing cap. This greatly reduces the likelihood that the tamper-evident ring will be removed from the cap and discarded, creating the problems familiar in the prior art. [0017] Advantageously, the enclosing cap is attached to the bottle engaging part via an integrally formed hinge. This further simplifies the design and reduces the risk that the cap will also be discarded, adding to the litter problem known in the prior art. [0018] According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a drink bottle cap for closing a bottle having a circular threaded neck, said cap including: a bottle-engaging part having an internal thread adapted to engage with said circular threaded neck and incorporating a frangible tamper-evident ring; a mouth-engaging part, attached to said bottle-engaging part, having an aperture through which the contents of said bottle may be accessed; and an enclosing cap adapted to form a sealing engagement with said mouth-engaging part; wherein each of said bottle- 4 engaging part, said mouth-engaging part and said enclosing cap are formed in a unitary manner; and wherein the distance from the external surface of said enclosing cap to the edge of the said bottle-engaging part is about 5mm or less. [0019] This embodiment greatly enhances the ability of the cap to be effectively applied to a standard 38mm diameter bottle-mouth. [0020] According to other aspects of the invention, there is provided a drink bottle cap for closing a bottle having a circular threaded neck, having any combination of the features described above. [0021] Now will be described, by way of a specific and non-limiting example, a preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the figures. Brief Description of the Drawings [0022] Figure 1 shows a cross-section of a cap according to the invention, shown with the enclosing cap open prior to sealing. [0023] Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the open cap according to the embodiment of figure 1. Detailed Description of the Invention [0024] A drink bottle cap according to the invention may be embodied as a unitary, injection-moulded item, preferably made from high-density poly-ethylene (HDPE) or low-density poly-ethylene (LDPE), or a combination thereof. [0025] Whilst the present invention will be described with reference to a particular implementation, it will be appreciated that the invention may be applied to a variety of different applications, for example caps of different diameters and using different threads. [0026] Turning to figure 1, there is shown a drink bottle cap according to the invention. In this view, it is shown in an open 'pre-sealed' configuration, which is the configuration in which it is manufactured. [0027] The cap has three main parts: a bottle-engaging main cap 5, a nozzle 10 and an enclosing cap 15.

5 [0028] The main cap 5 is internally threaded 20 to engage an externally threaded bottle neck (not shown). Appended to the main cap 5 is a first tamper-evident ring 25. The ring 25 is attached by frangible tabs 30, and has internally projecting interference tabs 35. [0029] The main cap 5 also features a downwardly projecting sealing ring 40, which enters the neck of the bottle to form a water-tight engagement. [0030] The upper wall of the main cap 5 has an aperture 45 that is open to the lower end of the nozzle 10. The nozzle has two main parts: a lower part 50 that is attached to the main cap 5, and a mouth-engaging part 55. The lower part 50 has a diameter that is slightly narrower than the widest point of the mouth-engaging part 55, forming a protruding lip 70. [0031] The mouth engaging part 55 has a diameter that gradually decreases with height, and has a drinking aperture 60 in its upper wall 65. [0032] The enclosing cap 15 is sized to entirely enclose the nozzle 10. It also has a cylindrical projection 75 extending from its upper wall 80 that is adapted to make a sealing engagement with the drinking aperture 60. It is connected to the main cap 5 via an integral hinged arm 85 that pivots about a relatively narrow connection point 90. [0033] The enclosing cap also has suspended from it, via frangible tabs 95, a second tamper-evident ring 100. The second tamper evident ring 100 also features an internally projecting lip 105. [0034] Turning to Figure 2, the cap of Figure 1 can be seen to include grooved lower part 50 of nozzle 10, and second tamper evident ring 100 on enclosing cap 15. Enclosing cap 15 is designed so that when it is closed onto nozzle 10 during manufacture, second tamper-evident ring 100 is retained within the groove of lower part 50. This is the state in which the cap is likely to be transported, applied to the filled bottle and stored prior to purchase of the drink. At this stage, the cap is closed and sealed, and any attempt to open enclosing cap 15 will sever the tamper evident seal. [0035] It can be seen that once the hinged enclosing cap 15 has been pressed into said sealed position over the nozzle 10, the second ring 100 becomes 'trapped' 6 by the lips 70, 105. It will also be noted that the inner diameter 110 of the second ring 105 is approximately the same as the outer diameter 115 of the lower part of the nozzle 10. [0036] It will also be noted that the drinking aperture 60 is sealed by insertion of the projection 75, when the cap is in the illustrated 'sealed' state. [0037] When the ultimate customer seeks to open the cap, opening the enclosing cap 15 using hinge 85 will sever the tamper evident ring 100, which is then retained in the power part. There is no component which is removed from the cap to create litter. Enclosing cap 15 may be closed to seal the nozzle 10 as required. [0038] The main difference between this configuration and the 'pre-sealed' configuration shown in Figure 1 is that the frangible tabs 95 on the second tamper evident ring 100 have been sheared in the process of the consumer opening the enclosing cap to consume the drink. The ring 100 has remained in place encircling the lower part 50 of the nozzle 10. [0039] It is evident that removal of the ring 100 from this position would involve some effort or difficulty, and would be very unlikely to happen incidentally, greatly reducing the litter issue associated with the prior art. [0040] Figures 1 and 2 also illustrate another aspect of the invention. The diameter A of the widest part of the enclosing cap 15 (envisaged to be approximately 24mm), may be compared with the diameter B of the widest part of the main cap 5 (envisaged to be approximately 40mm). The ratio A:B here is 0.6. It is envisaged that if this ratio was greater than about 0.7, the ability of the cap to be reliably unscrambled would be compromised. [0041] Another important detail in the geometry of the cap according to the invention is that the width of the shoulder 125 of the cap should preferably be no less than about 5mm, in order that the cap can reliably be applied to a 38mm bottle neck by existing bottle capping equipment. The above noted A:B diameter ratio is also relevant to ensuring that there is a sufficient difference in the diameters to provide an adequate shoulder for the capping system. [0042] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the described implementation addresses many of the prior art concerns simultaneously. It allows for 7 a single, unitary construction, without any removable cap components. Removable components, such as over-caps and removable tamper evident seals, produce litter, as well as create choking hazards for small children. It provides a cap which can be fitted using the same capping chuck as conventional flat cap systems, greatly increasing operational efficiency. Further, the shape of the implementation can be readily unscrambled in capping systems. [0043] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the above described example is merely one way on embodying the inventive concept. Other embodiments are conceivable that may differ in some respects, but nevertheless fall within the inventive concept.

Claims

1. A drink bottle cap for closing a bottle having a circular threaded neck, said cap including: a bottle-engaging part having an internal thread adapted to engage with said circular threaded neck and incorporating a first frangible tamper-evident ring; a mouth-engaging part, attached to said bottle-engaging part, having an aperture through which the contents of said bottle may be accessed; and an enclosing cap adapted to form a sealing engagement with said mouth-engaging part; wherein each of said bottle-engaging part, said mouth-engaging part and said enclosing cap are formed in a unitary manner; and wherein said enclosing cap incorporates a second frangible tamper-evident ring that encircles said mouth-engaging part and detaches from said enclosing cap, and is securely retained in the same position of its initial engagement with said drink bottle cap, upon opening.

2. The drink bottle cap of claim 1, wherein said mouth-engaging part has an upper profile and a lower profile, said lower profile having a diameter less than the greatest diameter of said upper profile; and wherein said second frangible tamper-evident ring engages with said lower profile both prior to, and is retained thereafter, opening of the enclosing cap.

3. The drink bottle cap of any preceding claim, wherein the distance from the exteral surface of said enclosing cap to the edge of the said bottle-engaging part is about 5mm or less.

4. The drink bottle cap of any preceding claim, wherein the ratio of the external diameter of said enclosing cap to the external diameter of said bottle engaging part is less than about 0.7.

5. The drink bottle cap of any preceding claim, wherein the enclosing cap is attached to the bottle engaging part via an integrally formed hinge.