Patent Application
20150302232
The present invention relates generally to an overcap for supporting an electronic tag. More particularly, the present invention relates to an overcap which may be placed upon a rotatively removable bottle cap.
Electronic tags have a wide variety of uses including the tracking of items which contain the tag, inventory control, security and the provision for electronically readable information. These electronic tags take various forms. For example, the tag may include radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, an electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags. Whether for identification, security or other purpose, the tags are typically of one or two types, either dual resonator (DR) tags or radio frequency (RF) tags.
Where product is sold in a container which is closed by a rotatable cap, access to the contents of the container can be achieved by removing the cap prior to purchase and removing all or part of the contents of the container. This would have a tendency to defeat any securing benefits provided by a tag applied to the container. Also, it may be not be readily apparent that the cap has been removed before purchase thereby providing no indication that the container has been tampered with.
Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,804,405 discloses an overcap for use with a pharmaceutical container. The overcap may support an electronic tag of the type described herein and is placed on the cap of the container in such a manner that the overcap is rotatable with respect thereto thereby preventing removal of the container cap until the overcap is removed at the time of purchase. While the cap disclosed in the above-referenced patent serves adequately for intended purpose, the two-piece design shown therein is not as cost effective to manufacture and assemble as may be necessary to meet the needs of the consumer market. It is, therefore, desirable to provide a structure which will secure an electronic tag to a container which is easy to manufacture and assemble.
The present invention provides an overcap which may be placed on the rotatable cap of a product container which prevents the unauthorized removal of the container cap without an indication of such removal and also permits the application of an electronic tag to the container.
The first embodiment of the overcap of the present invention is shown in
As will be described in further detail hereinbelow, an interior 21 of the outer cap is designed to support an electronic tag 24. The distal end of the skirt 23 includes an inwardly directed lip 25 which will also be described hereinbelow. The overcap 20 is designed to be supported over the container cap 14 and be fixedly rotatable therearound while supporting the electronic tag thereto.
As shown in additional detail in
Compartment 34 includes on the underside of the upper surface 21, an extending ledge 31 which accommodates the electronic tag 24 shown in
The extending ears 36 and 38 are attached, respectively, to components 32 and 34 by a thinned portion 45. As will be described in further detail hereinbelow, this thin portion allows the overcap to be removed from the cap 14 once the product is purchased.
The assembly of overcap 20 to cap 14 of container 10 can now be described with reference to
Once the container is purchased by the consumer, the overcap 20 may be removed by cutting the joined ears 36 and 38 at the thinned area 45 with a suitable tool such as scissors. Once the ears are removed, the clamshell overcap can be opened and removed from the cap 14 and discarded. The container may be used in conventional fashion thereafter.
A further embodiment of the present invention is shown with respect to
Component 130 has a projecting latch 140 which is lockingly insertable into a projecting recess 142 on component 132 to lock the overcap in closed condition around cap 114. When closed about the cap 114, both components 130 and 132 of overcap 120 provide a inwardly directed lip 125 which supports the overcap 120 over the cap 114 as shown in
The embodiment shown herein functions substantially similar to the embodiment shown above where the compartment 132 is folded about living hinge 135 to close with compartment 130 around cap 114. Once folded, as shown in
A still further embodiment of the present invention is shown with respect to
In the present embodiment, the overcap 220 may be used in combination with a container 210 which includes a cap 214 which may be screwed threaded onto the extending neck thereof to close the container 210. The overcap 220 is an integral one-piece member, which when assembled around the cap 214, is generally cylindrical having a flat upper surface 221 and a depending annular skirt 223. The overcap 220 of the present embodiment is designed for use on smaller containers where space between the handle 211 of the container and the cap 214 is minimal. Thus, as with the embodiment immediately described above, the overcap 220 is of smaller construction.
Since it is of smaller construction, it is also difficult to provide sufficient dimension on the circular upper surface 221 to accommodate the electronic tag 224. Thus, in the present embodiment, the upper surface of cap 214 includes diametrically opposed extending fingers 227 which extends the diameter of the cylindrical overcap 220. This provides an elongate surface for accommodating the elongate rectangular tag 224.
Also, as shown in
Still further as shown in
Various changes to the foregoing described and shown structures would now be evident to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the particularly disclosed scope of the invention is set forth in the following claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/927,014 filed on Jan. 14, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61927014 | Jan 2014 | US |
