Patent Application
20080197099
The present invention relates to a tamper-resistant device or a closure assembly adapted to be applied to a mouth of a container, for example, a neck of a bottle. More particularly, the invention particularly, the invention relates to an adhesive closure mechanism wherein the closure may not be removed from a container once it has been applied.
In today's service industries, the possibility exists that proprietors may purchase premium products having distinctive packaging and may refill the contents of that packaging with a less expensive substitute product having characteristics and quality which may be inferior to the premium product while passing off the product as the genuine premium product.
For example, a container, such as a bottle intended to contain a flowable liquid or gel (e.g., condiments, alcoholic beverages, personal products, motor oils) may be re-filled with a replacement quantity of another liquid where the characteristics and quality of which differ from the original contents. While a single-piece molded bottle design may effectively inhibit refilling the bottle with an inferior product, it will likewise inhibit the initial filling by the manufacturer. Therefore, it is desirable to affix a non-removable closure following an initial filling of a bottle.
Attempts to provide closures which make refilling difficult are not always effective against determined tampering. While it is considered advantageous to utilize a tamper-indicating means which provides evidence that the bottle, its cap and/or its contents are in their original conditions, if the bottle is re-sealable with a substitute cap or closure, there may be little to indicate to a purchaser or consumer that the bottle has been tampered with and that the contents may be inferior to the original contents.
Furthermore, there is a need for simple designs of closure assemblies allowing easy and reliable manufacture, assembly and fitting to bottle necks. Such simplicity has been somewhat lacking in previous closure designs. Currently, non-removable closures incorporate mutual ratcheting mechanisms between the closure and the bottle. Such mechanisms require custom closure and bottle tooling which can be expensive.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a non-removable bottle closure mechanism where existing removable bottle closure technology may be adapted to become non-removable.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a non-removable bottle closure, a non-refillable bottle incorporating a non-removable bottle closure and method for manufacturing a non-removable bottle closure.
In an embodiment of the invention, a non-removable bottle closure apparatus may comprise: (a) a first sealant layer; (b) a sealant interface layer; and (c) a second sealant layer.
In a further embodiment of the invention, a non-refillable bottle may comprise: (a) a bottle cap; (b) a first sealant layer; (c) a sealant interface layer; (d) a second sealant layer; and (e) a bottle.
In still a further embodiment of the invention, a method for manufacturing a non-removable bottle closure may comprise the steps: (a) disposing a first sealant layer on a first surface of a sealant interface layer; (b) disposing a second sealant layer on a second surface of the sealant interface layer; (c) adhering the first sealant layer to a bottle cap; and (d) adhering the second sealant layer to a bottle mouth.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the general description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
The numerous objects and advantages of the present invention may be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures in which:
The following discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the present teachings. Various modifications to the illustrated embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the present teachings. Thus, the present teachings are not intended to be limited to embodiments shown, but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. The following detailed description is to be read with reference to the figures, in which like elements in different figures have like reference numerals. The figures, which are not necessarily to scale, depict selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the present teachings. Skilled artisans will recognize the examples provided herein have many useful alternatives and fall within the scope of the present teachings.
Reference will now be made, in detail, to presently preferred embodiments of the invention. Additional details of the invention are provided in the examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The identity of the first sealant layer 101 and the second sealant layer 102 may be specified based upon the composition of the sealant interface layer 102 and the compositions of an associated bottle cap and bottle (not shown). Certain sealant types are conducive to bonding selected materials to one another.
For example, when using a polyethylene bottle cap, interface layer 102 and bottle, polyethylene-type sealant layers 101 and 103 may be used. Such polyethylene-type sealant layers may include common polyethylene, LDPE or HDPE. In further embodiments, the first sealant layer 101 and second sealant layer 103 may have different compositions. For example, if HDPE bottle is utilized in combination with a polypropylene (PP) lid, the first sealant layer 101 could be selected from PE, LDPE, HDPE or other polyethylene analog while the second sealant layer is selected from the polypropylene analogs.
To enhance the sealant characteristics of the non-removable bottle closure 100, surface treatments may be applied to the surfaces of the sealant interface layer. Such surface treatments may include abrading, roughening, acid etching, flame treatments, plasma treatment, thermal treatment, and/or primer applications.
The bottle closure 100 may also comprise a dispensing aperture 104. The dispensing aperture 104 may be formed from free-space voids disposed in the first sealant layer 101, the sealant interface layer 102 and the second sealant layer 103. The dispensing aperture 104 may provide a conduit for the transfer of a pourable liquid out of a bottle which has been sealed by the bottle closure 100. In one embodiment, the dispensing aperture 104 may be located towards the periphery of the bottle closure 100. Referring to
Referring to
The sealant interface layer 202 may be bonded to a bottle mouth 205 via the second sealant layer 203. Similarly, the sealant interface layer 202 may be bonded to a bottle lid 207. The bonding process may include induction sealing methods commonly known in the art. The bonding process serves to conjoin the bottle lid 207, sealant interface layer 202, and bottle mouth 205 so as to create a non-refillable bottle 200.
In order to provide an additional mechanism for securing the bottle lid 207 to the bottle mouth 205, a flange 206 may be disposed about the bottle mouth 205. The flange 206 may cooperate with a recessed groove 208 disposed in the bottle lid 207 to form a snap-lock mechanism further preventing removal of the bottle closure 200. It should be recognized by one skilled in the art that the arrangement of the flange 206 and recessed grove 208 could easily be reversed to provide a flange disposed about the interior of the bottle lid 207 and a recessed grove disposed about the bottle mouth 205.
The bottle lid 207 may further comprise a flip-top closure 209 connected to the bottle lid 207 via hinge mechanism 210. The flip-top closure 209 serves to provide access to the substance contained within the bottle following its closure using the bottle closure 200. The flip-top closure 209 and bottle lid 207 may comprise a projection 211 and aperture 212, respectively, for closing off the flow from the interior of the bottle through aperture 204. In
In still a further embodiment of the invention, the sealant interface layer 202 and second sealant layer 203 are not used. Only the first sealant layer 201 is disposed between the bottle lid 207 and the bottle mouth rim surface 205.
Referring to
Referring to
The sealant interface layer 302 may be bonded to a bottle mouth 305 via the second sealant layer 303. Similarly, the sealant interface layer 302 may be bonded to a bottle lid 307. The bonding process may include induction sealing methods commonly known in the art. The bonding process serves to conjoin the bottle lid 307, sealant interface layer 302, and bottle mouth 305 so as to create a non-refillable bottle 300.
In order to provide an additional mechanism for securing the bottle lid 307 to the bottle mouth 305, threading 306 may be disposed about the bottle mouth 305. The threading 306 may cooperate with a reversed threading 308 disposed in the bottle lid 307 to form a mutual-threading mechanism further preventing removal of the bottle closure 200.
The bottle closure 300 may further comprise a screw-top closure 309 where threading 310 on the interior of the screw-top closure 309 and cooperates with threading 311 on the exterior of the bottle lid 307 to secure the screw-top closure 309 to the bottle closure 300. The screw-top closure 309 serves to provide access to the substance contained within the bottle following its closure using the bottle closure 300. The bottle lid 307 may comprise a lid aperture 312, which permits flow from the interior of the bottle through aperture 304 when the screw-top closure 309 is removed.
In still a further embodiment of the invention, the sealant interface layer 302 and second sealant layer 303 are not used. Only the first sealant layer 301 is disposed between the bottle lid 307 and the bottle mouth 305.
In
In
In further embodiments, the non-removable bottle closures of
In
It is believed that the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages. The form herein before described being merely an explanatory embodiment thereof, it is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes.
