Patent Application
20100264142
The field of the invention is closures.
Plastic tubular containers closures are ubiquitous (widely known) in consumer goods and products. Unfortunately, because plastics typically have an extremely slow rate of decomposition, such plastics must be either recycled through costly industrial processes, or otherwise left to be tossed into landfills where they will remain for centuries.
In an attempt to provide a more degradable closure, the use of plastics such as polylactic acid polymers (PLA) have become more commonplace. However, such plastics still require specialized processes and facilities for degradation, which requires significant costs for its decomposition. In addition, PLA and similar plastics are visibly indistinguishable from normal plastics. This can be problematic because if the PLA is inadvertently placed within a group of traditional plastics to be recycled, the PLA can taint the entire recycling process.
It is known to use natural materials such as cork to make closures, such as for wine bottles. However, such closures are typically designed as a plug, and are unable to be replaced within the bottle or other container once removed. Similarly, WIPO Publication No. 2007/140538 to Henderson, et al. (publ. Dec. 2007) discusses a biodegradable closure for a container that can take the form of a plug, a membrane, or a seal. However, like the cork for a wine bottle, the Henderson closure can typically not reseal the container once removed. This and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Thus, there is still a need for a biodegradable closure that can be used to reseal a container when the container is not in use.
The inventive subject matter provides apparatus, systems and methods in which a closure for a mouth of a container comprises a stopper. Preferred stoppers include a handle portion and a contoured portion that is sized and dimensioned to seat within the container's mouth. While preferably the handle and contoured portions compose a single contiguous piece, it is also contemplated that the stoppers could include intermediary or other portions.
Preferred stoppers have a contoured portion configured to require a rotation of less than 720 degrees (e.g., two complete rotations), and more preferably less than 360 degrees (e.g., one rotation), to seat the stopper within the mouth of the container. Especially preferred stoppers have a contoured portion configured to require a rotation of less than 120 degrees (e.g., one-third of a rotation) to seat the stopper within the mouth of the container.
Unless the context dictates the contrary, all ranges set forth herein should be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints and open-ended ranges should be interpreted to include only commercially practical values. Similarly, all lists of values should be considered as inclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates the contrary.
Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which like numerals represent like components.
In
Although the stopper 100 can be composed of any commercially suitable material(s), the stopper 100 is preferably composed of paper or other biodegradable materials. As used herein, the term “biodegradable” is defined as a material that will break down and decompose into elements found in nature in a period of time less than six months. Exemplary materials include woods, corks, papers, plant fibers, cellulose, cellophanes, biodegradable adhesives and glazes, and any combinations thereof. This is advantageous as it allows the stopper 100 to be light-weight while retaining durability, and further allows the stopper to be decomposed into naturally occurring elements when no longer needed. Preferably, stopper 100 is water resistant, such as by the addition of a binder and wax, processed cellulose or protein, or other water-resistant material, or through the addition of a commercially suitable substance prior to forming the stopper 100. In addition, the stopper 100 can be resistant to other liquids including, for example, oils and chemicals, such as by the addition of one or more of the materials discussed above, other commercially suitable substance(s) or combination(s) thereof.
The handle portion 120 can have a variable cross-section, and more preferably an enlarged end as best shown in
The contoured portion 130 can be of any commercially suitable size and shape. Preferably, the contoured portion 130 includes a tapered portion and/or contours 140 sized and dimensioned to the internal configuration of the container's mouth (not shown). As used herein, the term “contours” is defined as one or more curves, twists, or spirals about at least part of the circumference of the portion, but specifically excludes a threaded portion such as on a screw. The contours 140 create high and low areas about the surface of the contoured portion 130 that preferably match the contours of the container's mouth. This is advantageous as it allows the stopper 100 to be firmly seated within the container's mouth with limited rotation. As used herein, the term “seat” is defined as the position of the stopper within the mouth of the container, in which the stopper is firmly positioned within the mouth to create a seal that prevents fluids or other substances from escaping from the container. In this instance, and where other upper limits are not expressly stated, the reader should infer a reasonable upper limit. In this instance, for example, a commercially reasonable upper limit is about twenty.
It is preferred that a rotation of less than 720 degrees is required to seat the contoured portion 130 within the container's mouth. Preferably, a rotation of less than 360 degrees, and more preferably, less than 120 degrees, is required. Most preferably, a rotation of less than 50 degrees is required to fully seat the contoured portion 130 of stopper 100 within the container's mouth (as shown in
Each of the handle portion 120 and contoured portion 130 can have substantially flat ends to allow the stopper 100 to remain upright when placed on a flat surface. However, the stopper could alternatively include one or more curved or otherwise non-planar ends.
An alternate embodiment of a stopper 200 is shown in
A container 400 is shown in
It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C . . . and N, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.
This application claims priority and herein incorporates by reference U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/171221, filed Apr. 21, 2009.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61171221 | Apr 2009 | US |
