Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D41/00—Caps, e.g. crown caps or crown seals, i.e. members having parts arranged for engagement with the external periphery of a neck or wall defining a pouring opening or discharge aperture; Protective cap-like covers for closure members, e.g. decorative covers of metal foil or paper
  • B65D41/32—Caps or cap-like covers with lines of weakness, tearing-strips, tags, or like opening or removal devices, e.g. to facilitate formation of pouring openings
  • B65D41/34—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt
  • B65D41/3423—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt with flexible tabs, or elements rotated from a non-engaging to an engaging position, formed on the tamper element or in the closure skirt
  • B65D41/3428—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt with flexible tabs, or elements rotated from a non-engaging to an engaging position, formed on the tamper element or in the closure skirt the tamper element being integrally connected to the closure by means of bridges
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D55/00—Accessories for container closures not otherwise provided for
  • B65D55/16—Devices preventing loss of removable closure members

Definitions

• This invention relates to a tethered plastic screw stopper.
• the stopper has a tubular shape closed at its top edge by a top wall.
• the stopper comprises a roof attached to a tamper shell through bridges. Bridges are distributed around the circumference of the roof and the tamper shall. The bridges may be made when molding the stopper or after through undergoing a cutting step dining the manufacturing process.
• the bottle neck includes outer fixation feature, such as thread(s) for screw type stopper or annular fixation rings for snap type stopper, to secure the stopper on die bottle neck,
• the tamper shell comprises inner thread($) arranged inside side walls.
• the bottle neck fixation feature may include outer thread(s). Such combination of outer and inner thread($) allows the stopper to be screwed on a bottle neck to seal it and unscrewed for bottle opening.
• a snap type stopper may include an inner annular area and the bottle neck fixation feature may include outer fixation ring, in order to slot in force the stopper on the bottle neck.
• a snap type stepper may include a tamper shell With a movable sealing roof from a closed position to a partial opening position, and reversely. The roof may be Separated upon opening or may be connected to the tamper shell,
• the tamper shell may be secured around the bottle neck through inner shell retaining features or through the retaining features diameter being smaller than a diameter of a tamper shell of the bottle neck.
• the roof may be removable.
• the bridges form a weakness line and may be tom apart from the roof, separating it from the bottle.
• the weakness line may be tom when user unscrews the tamper shell of the stopper or when user lifts the roof by tilting.
• One solution includes linking the roof to the tamper shell secured on the bottle neck, so the reof stays attached to the bottle after bottle opening.
• Such an attached stopper may be called a“tethered stopper.”
• U.S. Patent No, 9,010,555 teaches a plastic screw stopper including a peripheral strip between a tamper shell and a roof.
• Such peripheral ship is linked to the tamper shell through a bottom weakness line and to the roof through a top weakness tine.
• the bottom weakness line and top weakness line are parallel and extend across the periphery' of the stopper in order to incorporate one or two hinges in close proximity to each other.
• the roof becomes immovable and as capable of toggling around the hinges beside of the stopper secured oil the bottle neck.
• U.S. 8,490,805 teaches a plastic screw stopper comprises a helicoidal strip between a tamper shell and a roof. Such helicoidal strip is obtained by cutting the tamper shell around the stopper. The outer wall of the tamper shell is placed against a blade and the stopper is moved in rotation relative to the blade according to an angular stroke greater than an entire turn or more than 360°. During rotation, die stopper is being moved in ah axial movement relative to die blade. The cut line forms a helicoidal weakness line which remains attached at one «id to the tamper shell and at its opposite end to the roof after opening.
• This invention is a tethered plastic screw stopper where its closure shell remains attached to its tamper band after the bottle is opened by use of a strip made into the plastic material of the stopper between the tamper band and the closure shell using a bottom weakness line and a top weakness line.
• Each strip remains connected to the tamper band secured on the bottle neck by a least a bottom hinge managed into the bottom weakness line.
• the opposite ends of each strip are directly linked to the closure shell through a junction point.
• the stopper further comprises a specific top weakness line where the junction point of the strip with the closure shell is located over a bottom bridge located at the nearest from the bottom hinge(s), so called“nearest bottom bridge” on a side of the screwing direction of the closure shell.
• die invention systematically allows the nearest bottom bridge to be broken due to the junction point location where the closure shell and the strip ends are upwardly moved tire farthest from the tamper band during closure shell unscrewing motion. A force is applied on the closest bridge due to the specific position of the junction point of the end of the strip.
• Figure 1 is a diagrammatic lateral view of a tethered stopper in a closed position on a bottle.
• Figure 2 is a diagrammatic lateral view similar to Figure 1 during the opening of the stopper.
• Figure 3 is a diagrammatic horizontal cross section view along the bottom weakness line a tethered stopper.
• Figure 4 is a diagrammatic horizontal cross section view along the top weakness line of die tethered stopper.
• Phrasing such as’configured to* perform a function can include any or all of being sized, shaped, positioned in the arrangement, and comprising material to perform the function.
• This invention relates to a tethered plastic screw stopper 100 for closing a bottle neck 102.
• the stopper 100 is integrally made of one plastic piece by a molding fabrication step. Other parts or elements of the stopper 100 can be further created into the entire plastic piece through a cutting or slitting step.
• the stopper 100 is a screw type and comprises inner fixation features, such as thread(s), designed to cooperate with outer complementary fixation features made on the bottle neck 102.
• the screwing direction of the stopper 100 is typically clockwise and extends from right to left.
• the screwing orientation is represented as a directional arrow in Figures 1 through 4.
• the unscrewing direction of the stopper 100 oppositely extends relative to the screw direction, so counterclockwise from left to right.
• the screwing direction can be designed counterclockwise.
• the stopper 100 comprises a closure shell 104 and underneath a tamper band 106. Hie tamper bard 106 and the closure shell 104 are separably linked together by ⁇ way of a ship 108,
• the stopper 100 includes one ship 108.
• die stopper 100 includes two or more strips 108.
• the stopper 100 includes two Strips 108 positioned on opposite sides of the stopper 100. The two strips 108 can be positioned in a symmetrical or asymmetrical layout.
• the strip 108 is separably connected to the closure shell 104 through a plurality of top bridges 112 that form a top weakness line 110. Similarly, the strip 108 is separably connected to the tamper band 106 through a plurality of bottom bridges 116 that form a bottom weakness line 1 14.
• the bottom weakness line 1 14 comprises at least one hinge 118 configured to connect the strip 108 and the tamper band 106.
• the bottom weakness line 114 comprises two hinges 1 18 where each hinge 1 18 connects a respective strip 108 to the tamper band 106.
• the two hinges 1 18 can be spaced through a hole or a less thick material managed into the tamper band 106 between the two hinges 118.
• the top bridges 112 and bottom bridges 116 are each configured to be Stretched and ultimately broken when unscrewing the closure shell 104.
• the top and bottom bridges 112, 116 are regularly or irregularly positioned around the perimeter of the top and bottom weakness lines 110, 114 respectively. However, at the location of the hinge(sj 118, the top and bottom bridges 1 12, 116 are hot present [0034]
• Each strip 108 comprises an extremity at an end of die top weakness tine
• junction point 120 linking die strip 108 with the closure shell 104 at a junction point 120.
• the top weakness line 110 is configured in order to form an end 122 of the strip 108 positioned above a bottom bridge 116 located at the nearest to the hinge 1 18 on the left side of the hinge considering a clockwise screwing direction of the closure shell 104.
• the junction point of the left strip relative to the hinge 118 is located over the nearest left bottom bridge 116 (denoted with parallel vertical lines in Figure 2).
• the end of the top weakness line loeated on the left of die hinge 118 for a clockwise screwing stopper is angularly located between - 40" to 40° relative to the vertical axis of the bottom bridge 1.16 located at the nearest from the hinge 118.
• the hinge 118 is more particularly located between - 20" to 20" relative to the vertical axis of the bottom bridge 116 located at the nearest from the hinge 118.
• the junction point 120 of the left ship 108 is angularly situated approximately 20" relative to the left nearest bottom bridge 116.
• Such angular variation is shown in the drawings illustrated in dotted lines on Figures 3 and 4.
• the top weakness line 110 is asymmetric relative to the bottom weakness tine 114 which is symmetric relative to a vertical plane crossing the diameter of the stopper 100. So when molding or further slitting the stopper 100, the top weakness tine 110 is angularly switched or turned offset in relation with the position of the hingefs) 118 Of the bottom weakness line 114. Thus, one strip 108 (e.g., die left strip) in a clockwise screwing configuration, is shorter than the opposite strip 108 (e.g., the right strip). In other embodiments, such as show in Figure 3, the bottom weakness tine 114 is symmetric relative to a vertical plane crossing the diameter of the stopper 100 where the plane being shown by a fine continuous tine.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Closures For Containers (AREA)

Priority Applications (6)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Cited By (3)

Citations (2)

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• 2019
  • 2019-11-12 ES ES23171082T patent/ES2956518T1/es active Pending
  • 2019-11-12 EP EP19884687.5A patent/EP3880575B1/en active Active
  • 2019-11-12 US US17/292,784 patent/US20210394970A1/en active Pending
  • 2019-11-12 WO PCT/US2019/060808 patent/WO2020102122A2/en unknown
  • 2019-11-12 EP EP24180692.6A patent/EP4403487A2/en active Pending
  • 2019-11-12 CA CA3111602A patent/CA3111602A1/en active Pending
  • 2019-11-12 EP EP23171082.3A patent/EP4234431A3/en active Pending
  • 2019-11-12 MX MX2021003759A patent/MX2021003759A/es unknown

Patent Citations (2)

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