HK1064078B

HK1064078B - Closure for opening in container

Info

Publication number: HK1064078B
Application number: HK04106937.9A
Authority: HK
Inventors: M. Blomdahl Cori; De Groot Susan
Original assignee: Seaquist Closures Foreign, Inc.
Priority date: 2001-02-22
Filing date: 2001-12-19
Publication date: 2007-04-20

Description

Closure for container opening

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a container closure that can be screwed on and off.

Background of the invention and technical problems of the prior art

Many packages with closures or lids on the containers have been developed for household products, personal care products and other products. One type of package comprises a container that is threaded around the mouth of the container and includes a closure with a skirt (skert) having mating threads thereon to mate with the threads of the container. It would be desirable to provide an improved closure for such a package.

In addition, it would be advantageous if the improved closure could incorporate structure that is easier for the user to grasp with their fingers when opening the closure. In some applications, it may be desirable to provide a closure that includes, in part, such structure: the structure comprises a color, texture or material that is different from the color, texture or material of the remainder of the closure. In some applications, it may be particularly desirable for a portion of the structure of the closure to be made of a softer and/or less slippery material than the remainder of the closure, or to feel different or provide a different texture than the rest of the closure. Preferably in wet conditions, this configuration improves frictional contact with the user's fingers, thereby minimizing the tendency of the fingers to slip off the closure. Preferably, the improved closure should also ideally facilitate the opening or installation of the closure by children and elderly people with impaired or reduced dexterity of their hands.

If the improved closure could also possess, or actually have, such features: it would also be advantageous if the closure could impart a good seal to the container by accommodating imperfections in the opening of the container.

It would also be advantageous if the improved closure had a number of pleasing aesthetic designs suitable for use with a variety of containers.

It would also be advantageous if the improved closure could be readily made from many different materials.

In addition, it would be desirable if the improved closure were designed for efficient, high quality, high volume manufacturing and low product reject rate technology.

Preferably, the improved closure should also be adaptable to high speed manufacturing techniques that produce closures with highly reliable part-to-part consistent operating characteristics.

The present invention provides an improved closure designed to provide the above-mentioned advantages and features.

Summary of The Invention

The present invention provides a closure for an opening in a container, the closure being adapted to move between a closed position in which the opening is closed and an open position spaced from the opening, the closure comprising:

a body for mounting to said container, said body comprising a first generally rigid component moulded from a first material, said body having a top deck portion and a skirt portion depending from about said top deck portion; and

a second member molded of a second material over and bonded to said rigid first member to define a portion of the outer periphery of said closure, said second material being softer than said first material, said second member defining an outer region for contact with at least one finger of a user when gripping the closure, said skirt portion being positioned circumferentially around said body skirt portion adjacent said cap portion, said outer region including a plurality of alternating narrow and wide portions, each said wide portion extending from said cap portion on said skirt portion to a position below said narrow portion to define a finger engagement area divided by an exposed surface area of said first material defining an outwardly projecting rib, upon application of the closure to a container, the ribs are adapted to cooperate with an automatic capping machine.

The closure according to the present invention, wherein the closure is a separate structure without any means to connect the closure to the container, thereby allowing the closure to be completely removed from the container.

A closure according to the invention, wherein

The rigid first member having an outer side and an inner side; and is

The second component further comprises at least one branch portion extending from an outer side to an inner side of the rigid first portion and further comprises an inner portion extending from the branch portion on the inner side to define a seal for the container sealingly engaging around the opening when the closure is in the closed position.

A closure according to the invention, wherein

Said rigid first member being molded from a thermoplastic material; and is

The second component is molded from a rubber-based thermoplastic elastomer.

The closure according to the present invention, wherein the colour of the second member is different from the colour of the rigid first member.

The closure according to the present invention, wherein the skirt portion defines an internal thread for threaded cooperation with a mating external thread of the container.

A closure according to the invention, wherein

The second component is molded from a thermoplastic elastomer;

the cover portion includes an inner surface facing the opening of the container and surrounded by the skirt portion; and is

The closure further includes a third member, typically an annular member, molded of a thermoplastic elastomer, on the inner surface of the rigid first member adjacent the skirt portion for establishing a seal around the opening sealingly engaging a portion of the container.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a closure for an opening of a container. The closure is particularly suitable for use with large or wide mouth containers, including typical household products such as cosmetics, personal care products, washing products, and the like.

The closure is adapted to move between a closed position closing the opening and an open position spaced from the opening. The closure includes a body for mounting to the container. The body includes a first generally rigid component molded from a material. The first component may preferably be moulded from polypropylene, which is generally rigid after moulding.

A second member is molded of a material onto and bonded to the rigid first member to define a portion of the outer periphery of the closure. In a presently preferred embodiment, the second part defining a portion of the outer periphery of the closure is molded from a rubber-based thermoplastic elastomer that feels softer than the material from which the first part is molded. Preferably the second part is of a different colour to the first part.

In a presently contemplated preferred form, the closure of the present invention is not connected to the container by a hinge (hinge), but is adapted to be threadably connected to the container.

Additionally, it is presently believed that the preferred manner of making the dispensing closure (dispensing closure) comprises a two-shot molding technique, although other molding techniques such as two-shot molding, multiple shot molding or over-molding may also be utilized. Typically, the closure is manufactured by injecting a first material, such as polypropylene, into the cavity of an injection molding tool. During the first injection, a portion of the mold cavity is blocked to prevent melt (e.g., hot, flowable polypropylene) from filling a particular region of the mold cavity. The first material is then briefly cooled. The closure member(s) is then removed from the moulding tool to expose the remaining area of the cavity volume. Next, a second shot of thermoplastic material is typically made from a thermoplastic material different from the first material. The second shot of thermoplastic material fills the remaining void area of the mold cavity and bonds with the first shot of substrate material.

The improved closure can be readily designed to improve the outer peripheral surface area gripped by the fingers of a user. The outer peripheral surface area may be softer than the rest of the closure and/or may provide increased friction to prevent slippage between the user's finger and the closure. It is also easy to provide the outer peripheral surface area with a different color, texture or material than the other areas of the closure.

The improved closure can also be readily designed to provide a seal within the closure to seal the container about the container opening, and the seal can be constructed of a material and have a configuration that accommodates imperfections in the container opening to provide a good seal despite the imperfections.

Many other advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention, the claims, and the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which form a part of the specification, and in which like reference numerals are used to designate like parts,

FIG. 1 is a top view of a first embodiment of the closure of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the first embodiment of the closure of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the plane 3-3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the plane 4-4 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane 5-5 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4, but FIG. 6 shows the closure mounted on the container;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, but FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the closure of the present invention mounted on a container; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the plane 8-8 in FIG. 7;

Detailed Description

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, this specification and the accompanying drawings disclose only some specific forms as examples of the invention. The invention is not limited by the described embodiments, but is described by the scope of the appended claims.

For ease of description, the closure of the present invention is described in a typical vertical position and terms such as up, down, horizontal, etc. are used with reference to that position. However, it is to be understood that the closure can be manufactured, stored and used in orientations other than those described.

A first embodiment of the presently preferred closure of the present invention is illustrated in fig. 1-6 and is designated by the numeral 20 in the drawings. The closure 20 is adapted to be mounted on a container 22 (fig. 6). The container 22 may have any suitable configuration. The container 22 may have a lower body portion (not shown in fig. 6) and an upper neck portion 24, the neck portion 24 defining an opening 26 and external threads 28. The neck portion 24 can have a different cross-sectional configuration than the body portion. The cross-section of the neck portion 24 can be smaller or larger than the cross-section of the body portion. The cross-sectional shape and size of the neck portion may also be the same as the cross-sectional shape and size of the body portion, respectively, so that the neck and body portions are indistinguishable from one another except for the threads 28 on the neck portion.

The neck portion 24 need not have threads 28. Other means of attaching the closure 20 of the present invention to the container 22 may be provided, such as, for example, a releasable snap fit, friction fit or other mating system.

The container 22 may be a flexible container, or a substantially rigid container. The detailed design and operation of the container 22 is not part of the present invention, so long as the container 22 has an opening 26 and a structure that accepts a closure to close the opening.

As shown in fig. 1, the closure 20 includes a body portion comprising a first material which, in a preferred configuration, defines at least a portion of a generally horizontal upper wall or deck 30 and at least a portion of a depending skirt 32. The skirt 32 preferably includes a plurality of sets of vertical ribs 34 spaced around the outer periphery of the closure. The ribs 34 may provide an aesthetic design element and/or may be used to increase the rigidity of the skirt 32. Another function of the ribs 34 is to assist the capping machine in applying closures to containers.

As shown in fig. 6, the interior of the skirt defines threads 36 for threadingly engaging the container threads 28. However, it should be understood that the closure skirt 32 need not have threads 36, but may have other means of mating with a particular opening of a container. The other mating means may include a releasable snap-fit bead or groove on the skirt 32 to correspondingly mate with a mating releasable snap-fit groove or bead on the container. Alternatively, a simple friction fit may be provided. In addition, various other ways of releasably mounting the closure 20 to the container 22 may be provided. The particular manner in which the closure 20 is mounted to the container 22 is not part of the present invention.

A portion of the closure body is molded from a material to form a generally rigid first component including the cap layer 30 and skirt portion 32. The rigid component may be molded from a material that is typically substantially rigid after molding, such as a thermoplastic material. A presently preferred thermoplastic material for molding the rigid first part is polypropylene.

A second member is molded of a material onto and bonded to the rigid first member to define a portion of the outer periphery of the closure. In fig. 3, the second member includes an outer peripheral portion 40. As can be seen in fig. 1, the peripheral rim portion 40 has a plurality of alternating narrow and wide portions around the closure 20.

As shown in fig. 3, a third component 50 may be molded into the interior region of the closure. As shown in fig. 6, the third component is preferably molded in the form of an annular seal for engaging and sealing with the upper portion of the container 22.

In the presently preferred embodiment, the second and third components 40 and 50 are molded from a rubber-based thermoplastic elastomer to bond them to the rigid first component.

If members 40 and 50 are molded from a rubber-based thermoplastic elastomer, there is an advantage of softness as compared to the rigid first member that forms the remainder of closure 20. This may provide a pleasing feel to the user of the member 40 and may serve to further provide a greater frictional fit between the periphery of the cover 20 and the user's fingers. It is further advantageous when the closure is mounted to a container holding a product, typically for use in a bathroom, where the user's hands may be wet. Small children and the elderly may find the soft peripheral edge portion 40 convenient for grasping and opening the closure 20, whether or not the closure or their hands are wet.

In a preferred form of the closure 20, at least the second member 40 is a different colour to the colour of the material from which the rigid first member of the closure is formed. This may make it easier to distinguish the gripping portion of the fingers from the rest of the closure and may provide the user with a clear indication as to which portion of the closure is easier to grip to open the closure.

The third member 50 is formed of a soft material, thereby providing some flexibility or deformability, such that the material 50 can easily accommodate imperfections in the container opening as a seal, and when the closure 20 is fully installed on the container 20 as shown in fig. 6, can thereby impart an improved seal,

if desired, the closure may omit the third member 50 in the form of an annular seal and the underside of the cap layer 30 of the rigid first member may seal directly to the upper part of the container.

In a presently preferred form of the closure, the closure is formed by a two-shot, multiple shot or over-molding (over-molding) molding technique. Multi-Material Injection Molding techniques are described in "Multi-Material Injection Saves Time, While Cutting molds," MODERNPLATICS, 3/19 (authors: Peter Mapleston) 1994, "Molding ManyParts Into One", PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT, 12/19 (1995), P16 (authors: Jay Rosenberg) and patent US 5439124. European patent EP0570276 discloses how to reposition the inner mould part 12 to shape the second material into a ring 8 relative to the closure body previously moulded from the first material.

Preferably, a two shot injection molding process is utilized. Specifically, the cover portion, excluding the second and third members 40 and 50, is molded as a first part from a first material, such as polypropylene, in the cavity of the molding assembly or tool. A removable blocking member is used to block a portion of the mould cavity to prevent the flowable hot polypropylene from filling a particular region of the mould cavity which will subsequently become the location of the second and third parts 40, 50. The first material was briefly cooled. The blocking member is then removed to expose the remaining area of the mold cavity. A second material, such as a rubber-based thermoplastic elastomer, is injected into the remaining void area of the mold cavity. Allowing it to cool to bond with the first part of the closure, wherein the weld is defined by the interfacial solidification of the molten portions of the second and/or first material. The finished closure can then be removed from the molded assembly.

Although the cap is moulded by performing a first injection of material followed by a second injection of material which forms both the second and third parts, the materials used for the first and second injections may be the same. However, in general, the member 40 (and the member 50, if utilized) will differ from the rigid first member of the closure 20. Even though the material from which the rigid first part is molded is the same as the material from which the second part 40 (and the third part 50, if utilized), this difference can be achieved by simply giving the part 40a different color. However, it is also an option to provide the difference between the component 40 (and component 50, if utilized) and the rigid first component by utilizing two materials of the same color but differing in surface properties. A second member 40 of various features may be molded onto the outer periphery of the closure 20. Alternatively, component 40 (and component 50, if utilized) may be provided with indicia molded directly into the material, and such indicia may be symbols, words, logos, or the like.

The present invention also contemplates that a multiple injection process may be utilized to mold a third material, or even more, to form a closure containing three or more materials. Alternatively, a single material may be molded using two or three or more separate injections to provide a multiple injection molded closure. When two or more injections utilize the same material, the material used for each different injection may have a different color or characteristic.

If desired, the second member 40 on the outer periphery of the closure 20 may have a heavily knurled or other relatively strong pattern to facilitate gripping of the closure. In addition, a projection such as an upstanding tab (tab) (not shown) may be molded into the upper portion of the closure. The tab projects upwardly from the lid layer 30 to facilitate grasping and rotating the closure 20. The outer surface portion of the gripping tab may be formed of a different material than, for example, the second component 40 and/or the third component 50. Preferably, the additional material on the gripping tab is relatively soft to facilitate gripping.

A second embodiment of the closure of the present invention is shown in fig. 7 and 8 and is generally indicated by the numeral 20A in the drawings. The second embodiment 20A is similar to the first embodiment 20 described above and shown in fig. 1-6. The second embodiment of the closure 20A is adapted to be mounted on the container 22, for example, using a screw-fit, such as the screw-fit described above for the first embodiment of the closure 20.

The closure 20A includes a body having a generally rigid first member including a skirt portion 32A and an upper wall or deck 30A.

The second member is molded from a material onto the rigid first member and includes an outer peripheral portion 40A and an inner portion 50A. The second component includes at least one branch portion 60A extending from the outer side to the inner side of the rigid first component to connect the outer peripheral portion 40A of the second component with the inner portion 50A of the second component. Fig. 8 shows three such branch portions 60A equally spaced around the closure in 120 degree increments.

The outer portion 40A of the second component may serve as a gripping surface and/or as a structure that provides an aesthetic design element. Portion 40A may also include indicia to provide information regarding the operation of the closure or the contents of the container.

Preferably, the inner portion 50A acts as a seal for the upper portion of the container 22. To this end, it is preferred that the second component material be molded from a soft material, such as a thermoplastic elastomer, to form the inner portion 50A and the outer portion 40A.

The second embodiment of the closure 20A is preferably molded using a two-shot molding process similar to the molding process described above for the first embodiment of the closure 20. Since the branched portions 60A of the second embodiment of the closure 20A connect the outer portion 40A and the inner portion 50A of the second component, all portions of the second component (i.e., the inner portion 50A, the outer portion 40A and the connecting branched portions 60A) can be easily molded together in one shot of material after the molding of the rigid first component material is completed.

From the above detailed description and explanation of the invention it can be easily found that: many other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

Claims

1. A closure for an opening in a container, the closure being adapted to move between a closed position closing the opening and an open position spaced from the opening, the closure comprising:

2. A closure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the closure is a separate structure without any means to connect the closure to the container, thereby allowing the closure to be completely removed from the container.

3. The closure of claim 1, wherein

The rigid first member having an outer side and an inner side; and is

4. The closure of claim 1, wherein

Said rigid first member being molded from a thermoplastic material; and is

The second component is molded from a rubber-based thermoplastic elastomer.

5. The closure of claim 1, wherein the second member is a different color than the rigid first member.

6. The closure set forth in claim 1 wherein said skirt portion defines an internal thread for threaded engagement with a mating external thread of the container.

7. The closure of claim 1, wherein

The second component is molded from a thermoplastic elastomer;