Claims
- 1. A tamper-evident container comprising a container including a neck portion and an annular collar portion below said neck portion, and a closure for application to said container, said closure comprising a one piece closure body including a horizontal end wall and cylindrical side wall, said cylindrical side wall including an upper portion, a depending lower skirt portion, and an intermediate side wall portion therebetween, said depending lower skirt portion including an inwardly projecting bead having an internal diameter no greater than the outer diameter of said container at a predetermined location directly below said annular collar portion so as to provide an interference fit between said inwardly projecting bead and said container at said predetermined location, said intermediate side wall portion of said closure including a frangible portion comprising an area of weakness designed to fracture when said closure is removed from said container so as to leave said depending lower skirt portion on said container after said upper portion has been removed from said container, said container including an inwardly directed non-locking tapered surface at said predetermined location whereby after said fracture of said closure at said area of weakness said depending lower skirt portion is caused to move downwardly along said non-locking tapered surface, away from said annular collar portion, to thereby provide visual evidence of said fracture.
- 2. The tamper-evident container of claim 1 wherein the internal diameter of said inwardly projecting bead is less than the outer diameter of said container at said predetermined location.
- 3. The tamper-evident container of claim 1 wherein said frangible portion divides said intermediate side wall portion into an upper intermediate side wall portion and a lower intermediate side wall portion above and below said frangible portion, respectively, said frangible portion comprising bridge means located circumferentially around said closure, said bridge means being sufficiently thin and flexible so as to be capable of collapsing when said inwardly projecting bead passes over said annular collar portion of said container as said closure is being applied to said container to thereby permit said upper and lower intermediate side wall portions to abut against each other and thereby permit said closure to be applied to said container without fracturing said bridge means.
- 4. The tamper-evident container of claim 1 wherein said neck portion of said container comprises a threaded neck portion, and said upper portion of said cylindrical side wall of said closure comprises an internally threaded upper portion.
- 5. The tamper-evident container of claim 1 wherein said upper and lower intermediate side wall portions are in substantial alignment with each other in the plane of said cylindrical side wall.
- 6. The tamper-evident container of claim 1 wherein said non-locking tapered surface comprises an angle of more than about 8.degree..
- 7. The tamper-evident container of claim 1 wherein said non-locking tapered surface comprises an angle of between about 10.degree. and 20.degree..
- 8. The tamper-evident container of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of said upper and lower intermediate side wall portions include juxtaposed parallel surfaces for providing surfaces for abutment of said upper and lower intermediate side wall portions upon the collapse of said bridge means.
- 9. The tamper-evident container of claim 8 wherein said lower intermediate sidewall portion includes a plurality of stabilizer members.
- 10. The tamper-evident container of claim 9 wherein said upper intermediate side wall portion includes protruding cam means for engagement with said plurality of stabilizer members on said lower intermediate side wall portion so as to insure that said depending lower skirt portion is caused to move downwardly thereby when said closure is reapplied to said container.
- 11. The tamper-evident container of claim 10 wherein said upper intermediate side wall portion includes a plurality of said cam means.
- 12. The tamper-evident container of claim 1 wherein said bridge means comprises a plurality of bridge means located circumferentially around said closure.
- 13. The tamper-evident container of claim 12 including eight of said bridge members located equidistantly about said closure.
- 14. The tamper-evident container of claim 1 wherein said inwardly projecting bead includes an inclined lower surface defining a plane disposed at a first angle with respect to the horizontal, for assisting in the gradual outward bending of said depending skirt portion as it passes over said annular collar portion of said container upon said application of said closure onto said container without fracturing said frangible portion, and an inclined upper portion defining a plane disposed at a second angle with respect to the horizontal for engagement with said annular collar portion of said container when said closure is completely applied to said container, said second angle being greater than said first angle, whereby said depending lower skirt portion cannot gradually bend outward when said closure is removed from said container without causing said fracture to occur.
- 15. The tamper-evident container of claim 1 wherein said bridge members have a thickness of between about 0.003 and 0.015 inches.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 383,705, filed on June 1, 1982, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 142,429, which was filed on Apr. 21, 1980, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,408.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
4343408 |
Csaszar |
Aug 1982 |
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4417666 |
Roberts |
Nov 1983 |
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Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
383705 |
Jun 1982 |
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Parent |
142429 |
Apr 1980 |
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