CN1026309C - Closure with tamper evident band - Google Patents

Abstract

A closure (12), particularly for containers with screw top, such as carbonated beverages, has an opening identification band (1) with an internal ribbed band (2) which engages an external flange on the container when the closure is applied to the container so that the band remains on the container or is visibly damaged when the closure is removed. The inner free surface of the band includes a plurality of longitudinally aligned tear-drop shaped projections (3) which extend radially inwardly from the band to the outer surface of the neck of the container when the container is closed, the thin wall of the band between the projections forming a frangible zone (6). Another zone of weakness (7) is present in the annular portion of the identification band between the rib band and the region in which the protuberance is located.

Description

This invention relates to closures for containers having externally threaded necks, and more particularly to closures provided with a tamper-identifying band.

Manufacturers of food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, toothpaste, etc. are particularly concerned with ensuring that the products they place on the market will not be tampered with before the final consumer of the goods opens them. It has become routine for this purpose to add devices to the closures of these goods which indicate whether the closures have been opened prior to purchase. In the case of containers having an externally threaded neck, a tamper-evident band is usually provided on the closure, which is incorporated under a blocking lip on the container neck. The opening identification band is connected by a number of frangible teeth to an accessory skirt forming part of the closure. When the closure is installed on the container, the identification strip is forced through the blocking flange; and when the closure is unscrewed from the container, the tooth bridge is torn off, and the identification strip is blocked under the flange and the closure is closed. Just move up and away from the neck of the container. While this opening of the discrimination band is widely accepted, there is an intractable balance between two conflicting requirements. On the one hand, it must be possible to apply the closure to the container at high speed without inadvertently tearing off the teeth, or damaging the identification strip itself, or detrimentally affecting the seal between the closure and the container. On the other hand, the identification band must be held firmly enough under the flange, and the tabs and/or identification band must be torn off easily enough to remove the closure from the container without destroying the tabs and/or identification band. remove.

Another problem is that an unauthorized person may attempt to remove the closure and identification band without destroying the identification band or bridges in order to reapply the closure in order to soil or replace the contents of the container. He can be wedged between the identification band and the neck of the container on which the closure is fitted by means of a foil device. The tab device is then flattened outwardly to expand the inner diameter of the identification band so that it can pass through the blocking lip of the container. In this process, the thin film device is usually placed along the periphery of the identification film The edges are wedged, thereby gradually loosening the discriminator band so that a continuous elongation of its perimeter passes over the blocking flange.

The construction of the present invention provides the public with another form of closure provided with a tamper-evident band.

The present invention is to provide a tamper-identifying strip integral with a container closure, which comprises: a substantially cylindrical body portion substantially aligned with the cylindrical skirt of the closure, a plurality of a frangible bridge connecting the body portion to said skirt; a substantially continuous rib extending radially inwardly from said body portion and providing a peripheral edge joined to the lower end of a flange surrounding the neck of the container; a plurality of ribs located on said body The inner periphery extends radially inwardly and has a projection longitudinally aligned with the axis of the cylindrical body portion; a first frangible zone extending around the perimeter of the identification band intermediate the ribbed band and the top of the cover; adjacent to the aforementioned a second area or points of weakness between the protrusions; and a third area of weakness extending along the perimeter of the identification band intermediate said protrusions and said ribbing.

The above-mentioned protrusions prevent the foil device from being easily wedged around the inside of the identification band.

The first area of weakness allows the rib to expand over the flange of the container when the closure is installed.

One effect of the third zone of weakness is that if the lowermost free edge of the identification band is pried away from the container, a buckle will occur around the third zone of weakness rather than failure of the first zone of weakness, so that the ribs will not break away from the container flange. The lower end is pried up.

One effect of the second area of weakness is that if significant external force is applied to the free end of the identification band, the point of weakness between the projections will distort or fail, leaving a prominent visible mark of being pried.

Preferably, the identification band also includes a plurality of reinforcing ribs positioned on the outer surface of the body portion, each reinforcing rib is opposite to a corresponding protrusion and extends along the longitudinal direction of the identification band to the free periphery of the identification band, so as to be useful in the production of identification bands and Capping the whole provides a pushable surface to remove the piece from the mold.

When installing a closure with a tamper-evident strip on a container neck with a blocking flange, as the closure is quickly screwed into the threads of the neck, the ridge may break as the identification strip catches the blocking flange. crack. If this occurs, the container must be removed from the filling line, the damaged closure and identification tape removed, and a new one reinstalled. Such an event can have a devastating effect on a high speed filling line with a production rate of three hundred pieces per minute or more. In conventional closures, the teeth transmit substantially all of the force from the closure to the identification band when the closure is fitted on the container.

The teeth are preferably evenly spaced around the circumference of the closure, but may alternatively be arranged in two groups diametrically opposed. Each group may occupy one quarter to one third of the perimeter of the closure, with each space between the groups occupying one quarter to one sixth of the perimeter. Each set of ridges consists of 4 to 10 ridges equally spaced within the set.

Each tooth bridge in each group may have an axis parallel to the axis of the closure. However, it is preferred that the axis of each ridge is inclined relative to the axis of the cap, particularly preferably so that when viewed from the side, the upper end of the ridge is inclined to the left relative to its lower end. This particularly desirable configuration is based on the fact that most threads tighten in a clockwise direction. This preferred slanted orientation of the trusses allows the trusses to flex as the closure is screwed into the container. The upper end of the identification band then bears against the lower end of the accessory skirt of the cover when the cover is installed. This stabilizes the band and reduces the likelihood of the band or bridge tearing or twisting during installation. Conversely, this preferred direction of inclination of the bridges means that when the cap is unscrewed, the bridges are straightened, which enables the forces tending to tear the bridges to be concentrated on each bridge and the identification band and Attachment point to cover skirt.

The rib band combined with the blocking flange on the container can be continuous or discontinuous on the circumference of the discriminator band.

The closure is preferably provided with means for sealingly engaging the container to prevent leakage thereof. Any of a number of known sealing arrangements can be used with the closure of the present invention. These sealing structures include integral sealing ribs or flanges, packing or flow pads.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are now described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is the lower end view of opening identification band of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the identification band shown in Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is the cross-sectional view along the C-C line of identification zone shown in Fig. 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a side view of a complete closure including the identification band shown in Figures 1-3.

The tamper-identifying band 1 comprises a generally cylindrical main body portion 10, relatively short in the axial direction, connected to the main body of the closure 12 by frangible teeth 11. The cover 12, the frangible tooth bridge 11 and the opening identification belt 1 are made into a whole with polyethylene or polypropylene material by spray molding method. The inside of the closure 12 is usually threaded (threads not shown) for connection to containers usually made of glass or plastic material such as polyethylene terephthalate.

The container to which the closure 12 is attached includes a generally annular continuous flange immediately below the container threads to form a radially outwardly raised portion. The identification band 1 comprises a continuous rib 2 around its inner surface and is dimensioned to provide a radially inward projection which engages the closure 12 below the container flange once it is properly and fully placed on the container.

Below the rib band 2 on the inner surface of the main body part 10, there is a structure with many protrusions 3, each protrusion has a teardrop-shaped radial section, as shown in Figure 3, each protrusion has a major axis approximately Consistent with the cylindrical axis of the identification band 1. The projection 3 extends radially inwardly from the inner surface of the body portion 10 at least sufficiently close to the outer surface of the neck of the container. These projections are primarily intended to prevent wedging a device radially inwardly into the body portion 10 of the identification band 1 and move continuously along the periphery of the identification band 1 in an attempt to pry the ribbed band 2 over the mating container flange.

The frangible teeth 11 form the first frangible zone 5 which allows the rib to expand diametrically over the flange of the container when the closure is fitted on the container.

A second zone or points of weakness 6 are present between each adjacent protrusion. This is achieved by making the body portion 10 very thin in cross-section in these areas. This provides the protrusions with a second effect, that is, if a certain protrusion 3 is levered outwards, it deforms and usually causes at least one adjacent second point of weakness to rupture.

Between the teardrop-shaped protrusion 3 and the continuous rib 2, a third weak zone 7 is formed by making the body part 10 have a thin section. This thin section of the third zone of weakness has such an effect that if one tries to lift the ribs by prying up the many protrusions 3, he can only move the lower part of the discriminator near the third zone of vulnerability, without being able to bend it. To the vicinity of vulnerable zone 5 of tooth bridge 11 .

There are a plurality of ribs 4 along the outer surface of the identification band 1, each rib corresponds to a protrusion 3, and its position is opposite to the corresponding protrusion 3 across the wall of the main body portion 10. Each rib 4 extends from an area axially above the extent of the protrusion 3 to the area of the free end of the identification strip. The ribs 4 allow sufficient axial force to be applied to the free end of the closure to successfully eject the closure 12 from the core of the production mold. Although the rib 4 is sufficient for this purpose, its cross-sectional thickness is still limited so as not to interfere with the above-mentioned third weak zone. At the same time, each reinforcing rib 4 is not connected with adjacent reinforcing ribs 4, so that the above-mentioned second weak zone will not be interfered.

It should be understood that those skilled in the industry can make many changes and/or modifications to the embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims (12)

1. A tamper-evident identification strip (1) as an integral part of the closure (12), the identification strip comprising: a substantially cylindrical body portion (10) substantially aligned with the cylindrical skirt of the closure, a plurality of frangible teeth (11) connecting said body portion (10) to said skirt; a ribbed band (2) extending radially inwardly from said body portion (10) and providing a peripheral edge joined to the lower end of the flange surrounding the container neck; a plurality of protrusions (3) extending radially inwardly around the inner periphery of the above-mentioned body part (10) and having a longitudinal alignment with the axis of the cylindrical body part (10); It is characterized in that the identification belt also includes: a first frangible zone (5) extending along the perimeter of the identification band between said rib band (2) and the cover; A second weak zone (6) or a plurality of weak points (6) between adjacent above-mentioned protrusions (3); A third weak zone (7) extends along the circumference of the identification band (1) between said protrusion (3) and said rib band (2). 2. A tamper-evident strip as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that each of said frangible teeth (11) has a longitudinal axis inclined at the same angle to the longitudinal axis of the closure (12). 3. The opening identification belt according to claim 1, characterized in that it also includes a plurality of reinforcing ribs (4) arranged at equal intervals around the outer surface of the main body (10), and each reinforcing rib (4) is basically It is elongated and has a major axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the above-mentioned cover (12). 4. Tamper identification strip according to claim 3, characterized in that said reinforcing rib (4) extends substantially to the annular free end of said body part (10) remote from the skirt of the closure (12). 5. The opening identification belt according to claim 4, characterized in that each of said reinforcing ribs (4) is approximately radially aligned with a corresponding said protrusion (3). 6. The opening identification belt according to claim 5, characterized in that, as the end of the protrusion closest to the skirt of the cover (12), the uppermost end of each of the above-mentioned protrusions (3) is located in the longitudinal direction of the cover close to the above-mentioned The lowermost end of the continuous rib (2) is the end of the rib (2) away from the cover skirt. 7. The opening identification belt according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that the above-mentioned second weak zone (6) or multiple weak points (6) are in the form of areas between adjacent protrusions (3) The above-mentioned main part (10) is thin-walled. 8. The opening identification belt according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that the above-mentioned first fragile area (5) is formed by the above-mentioned fragile rack (11). 9. The opening identification belt according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that, the cross-section in the radial direction of each of the above-mentioned protrusions (3) is teardrop-shaped. 10. The opening identification belt according to claim 4, characterized in that said reinforcing rib (4) has sufficient rigidity to allow said container closure (12) to be released from the inner mold part of the injection mold after being formed by the molding device. Press out. 11. The tamper-evident belt according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that said protrusion (3) extends radially inwardly from said body portion (10), so that when said container closure is mounted on said container neck At this time, the above-mentioned protrusion contacts or almost touches a cylindrical part of the above-mentioned container neck close to the above-mentioned protrusion (3). 12. The tamper-evident belt according to claim 1, characterized in that said container closure (12) is mounted on the container neck so as to seal the opening of the container in the neck, and said rib (2) surrounds The above-mentioned container neck extends under the flange, and the above-mentioned protrusion (3) extends radially inwardly against the outer surface of the above-mentioned container neck.

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