Patent Application
20070272693
Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
The present inventions now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which some but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
A container 10 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention is shown in
The membrane lid 30 comprises a disk portion 32 and a tab 34. The term “disk portion” as used herein is not limited to circular shapes, but also includes other shapes such as polygonal, elliptical, oval, and the like. The disk portion is sized larger than the aperture defined by the inner edge 26 of the metal ring such that an outer peripheral area of the disk portion overlaps the annular portion 22 of the ring. This outer peripheral area is sealed to the annular portion of the ring to initially seal the contents within the container. To access the contents the first time, the membrane lid is peeled from the metal ring and discarded. A separate plastic overcap 28 (
To aid in peeling off the membrane lid 30, the lid includes the tab 34, which can be grasped and pulled as shown in
In accordance with the invention, to further aid in keeping the tab in the folded-back position during automated sealing, the disk portion 32 of the membrane lid has a localized depression 40 created by deforming the disk portion from its otherwise generally flat configuration. The depression 40 is located beneath the folded-back tab 34 and is sized in length, width, and depth to be able to receive the tab so that the tab is recessed within the depression. Advantageously, in one embodiment, the tab is recessed in the depression 40 so that the tab does not project above the upper surface of the disk portion 32 outside the depression. This substantially reduces the likelihood of the tab being inadvertently lifted from its folded-back position prior to or during automated sealing. Prematurely lifted tabs can get jammed in the automated machinery or can get torn off by the machinery, making it much more difficult for the consumer to peel off the membrane lid, or causing the metal ring and membrane lid assembly to be rejected and have to be scrapped.
The membrane lid comprises a permanently (i.e., plastically) deformable structure. More particularly, in preferred embodiments of the invention, the membrane lid includes a deformable layer of metal such as aluminum or the like. The deformable layer can comprise a metal foil or thin sheet metal. The metal layer in some embodiments of the invention can have a thickness of about 0.045 mm to about 0.120 mm (about 45 to 120 microns), and more preferably about 0.060 to about 0.090 mm (about 60 to 90 microns). The depression 40 is formed by plastically deforming the metal layer with suitable tooling.
The membrane lid 30 includes a sealing material 38 (
The membrane lid 30 can include a protective coating on the upper surface of the metal layer. The protective coating may be useful for preventing the lid from sticking to the automated sealing tooling used for heat-sealing the lid to the metal ring. For example, a polyester coating can be applied to the upper surface of the metal layer.
In one embodiment of the invention, the lid 30 has three layers: the deformable metal layer of aluminum, a polyester coating on the upper surface of the metal layer, and a coating 38 (
The lid 30 can be manufactured from a sheet of the coated metal by die-cutting a blank from the sheet, then deforming the blank to form the depression 40, then folding the tab 34 back into the depression. The blank has the disk portion 32 and the tab 34 projecting radially outwardly from the disk portion, as a one-piece integral structure. The tab can be further processed by suitable tooling to roll the outer edge of the tab and to roll the inner edge of the finger hole 36 so as to form cut-resistant edges that are less likely to cut a consumer's finger. Once the tab is fully formed, it is folded back into the depression 40.
The lid 30 can also include embossments (schematically indicated at 42) such as dimples or a waffle pattern for stiffening the lid. The embossments are formed by suitable tooling after the blank has been die-cut from the metal sheet material. The region of the depression 40 preferably does not have embossments. Furthermore, the outer peripheral area of the lid that is sealed to the metal ring preferably does not include embossments.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
