BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A fuller understanding of the foregoing may be had by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a prior art closure commonly used with a large container;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of one component, the “primary cap” of a prior art “non-spill” closure commonly used on a large container;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a complimentary component, the “secondary cap”, used in conjunction with the component embodied in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the assembly of the components shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 as applied to the neck of a large container;
FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of the assembly of FIG. 4 after being inverted and mounted on a prior art dispensing apparatus;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of another prior art “non-spill” closure useable on large containers;
FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view showing the closure of FIG. 6 inverted and mounted on a typical probe of a dispensing apparatus;
FIG. 8 is a side elevational view in partial section of an improved frangible valve of a “non-spill” closure according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 9 is an elevational perspective view of the closure of FIG. 8 showing the functional structure taken substantially from the perspective of the encircled region identified as D-D in FIG. 8;
FIGS. 10A through 10E are side elevational views in partial section showing the interaction of the improved frangible valve of FIGS. 8 and 9 with a dispensing probe;
FIG. 11A is a side elevational view in partial section showing an alternative embodiment for the functional structure for a frangible valve constructed in accordance to the teachings of the invention;
FIG. 11B is a top view showing the functional structure taken substantially from the encircled region identified as E-E in FIG. 11A;
FIG. 11C is a side elevational view in partial section showing the interaction of the frangible vale of FIGS. 11A and 11B with a dispensing probe;
FIG. 12A is a side elevational view in partial section showing an alternative embodiment for the functional structure for a frangible valve constructed in accordance to the teachings of the invention that is similar to the embodiment of FIG. 11A; and
FIG. 12B is a top view showing the functional structure taken substantially from the encircled region identified as F-F in FIG. 12A.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The aspects of the instant invention will now be described in detail in conjunction with the descriptive figures. While the invention is susceptible to embodiments in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will be described herein, in detail, the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the spirit or scope of the invention and/or the embodiments illustrated.
Prior art FIGS. 1 and 2 show closures currently used with large containers. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a “flat-roof” closure. This type of closure is removed from the container prior to mounting on the dispensing apparatus. The closure 1 has a roof portion 2 and has a shoulder portion disposed outwardly from the roof portion 2. The shoulder portion includes a rounded corner 3, below which is a downwardly depending side wall 4. Depending from the side wall 4 is a skirt portion 5. The roof portion 2 is in the form of a circular disc. A tension ring, or snap bead 8, is located on the inside of the closure 1. The snap bead 8 is in a position to fit under the snap formation on the neck of a container (not shown in FIG. 1) and to draw the internal surface of the corner 3 towards the snap formation of the neck. The internal surface of the corner 3 is provided with an internal seal bead 9, which engages a lip (not shown) defined by the container to seal against leakage. A release tab 7 extends downwardly from the bottom edge of the skirt portion 5 for removal of the closure 1 from the neck of the container. By pulling upwards on the tab 7, the skirt portion 5 may be torn along score lines 6 so that the skirt portion releases its grip on the container neck. The closure 1 also is shown to have narrow “application ramps” 54 projecting slightly above the internal surface formed by the tension ring 8. These application ramps were first taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,316 which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference. In the '316 patent, such ramps on the tension bead are used to accommodate bottles of varying structural geometries. It was subsequently found that the ramps serve an additional function in facilitating capping of the container. The raised ramps also serve to remove the surface of the tension bead 8 slightly from the surface of the container neck locking bead (not shown in FIG. 1) as the cap 1 is pushed onto the neck. Without the ramps 54 the tension bead and container locking bead may form an airtight seal during expansion of the tension bead 8 over the outwardly directed container locking bead. The airtight seal prevents venting of air still remaining in the head space of the container, creating an internal pressure which can impede facile capping.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a “non-spill” closure 1a. Many of the features of the “non-spill” type closure 1a are similar to those of the “flat roof” closure 1 depicted in FIG. 1. In this specification, similar features among embodiments will be identified by the same numeral plus a letter designation indicative of the particular embodiment. In the FIG. 2 closure 1a, it is seen that the roof portion 2a is in the form of an annular disk, with a central well 60 formed therein. The well 60 has a cylindrical side wall 62 which extends down into the closure 1a to an open end 75. Fitted snugly within the well 60 is a displaceable plug 11, illustrated in FIG. 3. The plug 11 has a bottom 12 and a side wall 13 which when placed in the well 60 of closure 1a closes the open end 75.
The assembly of plug 11 and closure 1a is illustrated in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, the plug 11 has been inserted into the originally open end 75 of well 60 in order to the seal the well 60 and complete the closure system. The completed closure is further shown mounted to a typical neck 14 of a container.
FIG. 5 illustrates the situation which results when the assembly of FIG. 4 is inverted and lowered onto a dispensing apparatus equipped to cooperatively function with the “non-spill” type closures. In FIG. 5, the container has been lowered into receptacle 15 whose dimensions help position the container neck 14 axially over a hollow probe 16. The probe 16 enters the well 60 of the closure 1a as the container is lowered onto the dispensing apparatus. Eventually, complimentary features on the plug 11 and probe 16 interact to result in attachment of the plug 11 to the probe 16. In its final position, the probe 16 has penetrated into the container neck 14 sufficiently to displace the plug 11 and expose ports 17 to the contents of the container. Fluid is then able to enter the inside region of probe 16 through the ports 17 and flow downwardly for dispensing.
A more detailed description of the structural details and function of the closure, container, and dispensing features embodied in FIGS. 2 through 5 are presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,125.
Turning now to FIG. 6, there is shown a prior art closure of the “non-spill” type. Many of the structural features present in the closure embodied in FIG. 6 are similar or identical to those of the closure of FIG. 4. Thus, many like features will be identified with the same numeral followed by a letter to designate the particular embodiment.
A major distinction between the closures of FIGS. 4 and 6 is in the functional aspects of the central well 60 depending from the closure roof. In the FIG. 6 embodiment, the well 60 comprises a short cylindrical portion 62b sized to form a slidable sealing surface with a standard diameter probe 16 of a dispenser. Extending downward from this short cylindrical portion is a lower base portion comprising a generally conical section 80 merging at its lower end with a truncated spherical-like portion 82. At least one frangible line 84 extends downward on the conical section 80, across the spherical portion 82, and continuing back upward on the conical portion 80.
FIG. 7 shows the condition resulting when the closure of FIG. 6, applied to a standard container (not shown), is inverted and placed on a “non-spill” dispensing device. Insertion of the probe 16 into the well 60 causes the initially integral well to split open along the frangible line 84 and open like a “clam shell” as the probe, and its exit ports 17 pass into the container. Obviously, if the well 60 were to comprise multiple score lines, a number of deformable sections would be formed as compared to the “clam-shell” description associated with a single line. When the probe 16 is eventually removed, the “clam shell” arrangement will close somewhat because of the tendency of the plastic material to return to its original molded shape. The functional and structural aspects of the closure depicted in FIG. 6 are taught in much greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,865.
Referring now to FIGS. 8 through 12, there is shown a novel closure which can be categorized as a “frangible valve non-spill” variety that is complimentary to dispensing probes currently existing in the marketplace.
FIG. 8 is a side elevational view in partial section of a 5-gallon type closure including a novel frangible valve 110. The valve 110, encircled as designated D-D in the FIG. 8 embodiment, is shown in additional detail in the perspective view of FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a view of the valve 110 from the bottom. In FIGS. 8 and 9, the valve 110 comprises a dish-like member 112 disposed within the central bore or well 60e of the closure 1e. The dish-like member 112 is positioned at an inclination relative to the axis of the central bore 60e. It is integrally joined to the inner wall of the bore 60e via a frangible line 114. The frangible line 114 extends around a major arcuate portion vicinal the periphery of the dish-like member 112. However, the frangible line does not extend 360 degrees. Rather, a portion 116 of the periphery of dish-like structure 112, preferably a short arcuate region, is included which is much stronger than the frangible line 114. This difference in frangible characteristics can be achieved by either thickening the connection between dish-like member 112 and the wall over the portion 116 or by increasing the width of the connecting material in the portion 116 to increase its resistance to tearing. The strengthened portion 116 also acts as a spring hinge 120 during operation of the closure, as best seen in FIGS. 10A through 10E.
FIGS. 10A through 10E show the action of the frangible valve 110 as it interacts with a dispensing probe 16. In FIG. 10A, the probe 16 is seen entering the bore 60e prior to interaction with the dish-like member 112 of the valve 110. In FIG. 10B, the probe 16 has contacted the dish-like member 112 and has begun the tearing action of the frangible line 114 associated with initial opening of the valve 110 in response to pressure from the probe. In FIG. 10C, the probe 16 has pushed the dish-like member 112 partially open, while in FIG. 10D the probe has penetrated sufficiently to cause the dish-like member 112 to be fully open and pressing itself against the side of the probe. As seen in FIG. 10D, the ports 17 are totally exposed to allow fluid contents to exit the container to a dispensing apparatus. As seen in the side elevational views of FIGS. 10A through 10E, a short extension 118 of the closure bore 60e is provided over the portion 116 corresponding to the spring-like hinge 120. This extension 118 forms a backstop for the dish-like member when fully opened as illustrated in FIG. 10D. The action of the backstop is to hold the dish-like member 112 in an essentially vertical orientation when fully open and to prevent excessive distortion of the spring-like hinge 120 should the probe enter the bore in a highly skewed position.
FIG. 10E illustrates the condition which arises during removal of the probe. The dish-like member 112 now effectively closes off the open end 75 of the bore 60e to prevent excess fluid from leaving the container through the bore 60e. The return of the dish-like member 112 to a sealing position covering the open end of the bore 60e is promoted by three factors. First, any fluid left in the bottle will exert pressure to move the member 112 to its closed position covering the bore 60e. Secondly, one will recognize that the dish-like member 112 has an effective diameter larger than the internal diameter of the bore 60e. This is a result of its original inclined positioning (FIGS. 8 and 9). Thus, as shown in FIG. 10E, when it returns to seal off the open end of the bore 60e, the member 112 is stopped from being pushed back inside the closure bore by contact of the dish-like member 112 with the top edge of the bore 60e. Finally, one notes that the hinge 120 preferably extends over a defined arcuate distance. The fact that the hinge is arcuate, rather than straight, gives the hinge 120 a spring like characteristic tending to drive the hinge back to the closed position shown in FIG. 10E. The spring like feature is a result of tension on opposite ends of the arcuate hinge when the dish-like member 112 is in its fully open position shown in FIG. 10D. The spring-like tension of the arcuate hinge 120 can be adjusted by selective choice of materials in addition to design choices such as the thickness and arcuate length of the hinge.
FIGS. 11A through 11B illustrate another embodiment to achieve a frangible valve complimentary to dispensing probes currently existing in the marketplace. FIG. 11A is a side elevational view in partial section of a closure including a novel frangible valve 130. The valve 130, encircled as designated E-E in FIG. 11A, is shown in additional detail in the top view of FIG. 11B. In FIGS. 11A and 11B, the valve 130 comprises a disk-like member 132 disposed within the central bore or well 60f of the closure if. The disk-like member 132 is integrally joined to the inner wall 134 of the bore 60f at an end junction 136 substantially where the inner wall 134 terminates. A frangible line 138 extends around a major arcuate portion vicinal the periphery of the disk-like member 132 and the inner wall 134. However, the frangible line 138 does not extend 360 degrees. Rather, a portion or gap 140 of the periphery of disk-like structure 132, preferably a short arcuate region, is not frangible and thus stronger than the frangible line 138. This difference in frangible characteristics can also be achieved by either thickening the gap 140. In addition, the placement of the frangible line 138 in relation to the inner wall 134 may be made such that the two are substantially joined as illustrated or slightly away from the inner wall 134 (illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B). Various characteristics during tearing of the frangible line 138 and the ability of the disk-like member 132 to return to a closed position after use may be affected by the placement.
FIG. 11C shows the action of the frangible valve 130 and well 60F as they interact with a dispensing probe 16. As illustrated the probe 16 has torn the frangible line 138 pushed the disk-like member 132 to a fully open position. Since a portion of the disk-like member 132 is attached to the well 60F at gap 140 when the probe 160 is inserted, this portion bends and deforms such that it acts as a spring hinge 142. The spring hinge 142 has a tendency to push and return the disk-like member 132 back to a closed position as illustrated in FIG. 11A. Thus when the probe is removed, the disk-like member 132 will have the tendency to return to the closed position, close the frangible valve 130, and reduce the leaking of fluid within the container.
From the foregoing and as mentioned above, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concept of the invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific methods and apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred.
Patent Application
20070278176
