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US 2003/0071041 A1Published application
Closure for a container
AssigneeGateway Plastics, Inc.
InventorWilliam C. Vogel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A plastic cap has one or more hinged flaps that cover openings in the cap, as well as a stepped sealing ring against which the top of a plastic bottle seals. The sealing ring is stepped, much like the rows of seats in a circular stadium. This stepped arrangement permits the cap to be used with many different bottle rim diameters and automatically corrects any ovality of the bottle rim by forcing it to flex into a more circular shape as it engages the steps of the stepped ring.
Claims19
A circular plastic cap having a longitudinal axis, the cap comprising:
- a. an end cover;
- b. at least one flap integrally formed with the end cover;
- c. a cylindrical skirt integrally coupled to the end cover at one end and having a second open end configured to receive the mouth of a receptacle;
- and
- d. a circular sealing ring disposed inside the skirt and adjacent to the end cover, the sealing ring having a plurality of planar sealing surfaces, axially spaced apart, such that each sealing surface has a greater diameter the closer that sealing ring is to the open end of the skirt.
2 more elements
A container comprising:
- a. a receptacle including a right cylindrical sidewall having an externally threaded upper end and a lower end, a bottom integrally formed with the sidewall and enclosing the lower end of the sidewall, wherein the upper end of the receptacle defines a mouth having a mouth sealing surface;
- and
- b. a circular plastic cap having a longitudinal axis, wherein the cap further comprises,
- i. an end cover;
- ii. at least one flap integrally formed with the end cover;
- iii. a cylindrical skirt integrally coupled to the end cover at one end and having a second open end configured to receive the mouth of a receptacle, and
- iv. a circular sealing ring disposed inside the skirt and adjacent to the end cover, the sealing ring having a plurality of planar sealing surfaces, axially spaced apart, such that each sealing surface has a greater diameter the closer that sealing ring is to the open end of the skirt, wherein one of the plurality of sealing surfaces is engaged with the mouth sealing surface and at least one of the plurality of sealing surfaces is not engaged with the mouth sealing surface.
4 more elements
A method of attaching an sealing a cap to a bottle, wherein the cap comprises an end cover;
- a cylindrical skirt integrally coupled to the end cover at one end and having a second open end configured to receive the mouth of a receptacle, and a circular sealing ring disposed inside the skirt and adjacent to the end cover, the sealing ring having a plurality of planar sealing surfaces, axially spaced apart, such that each sealing surface has a greater diameter the closer that sealing ring is to the open end of the skirt, and wherein the bottle comprises a right cylindrical sidewall having an externally threaded upper end and a lower end, a bottom integrally formed with the sidewall and enclosing the lower end of the sidewall, wherein the upper end of the receptacle defines a mouth having a mouth sealing surface, the method comprising:
- a. gripping the bottle in an automatic capping machine;
- b. gripping the cap in an automatic capping machine;
- c. rotating the cap clockwise with respect to the bottle while advancing the cap toward the bottle;
- d. engaging the external threads on the bottle to the internal threads on the cap;
- e. rotating the cap until the mouth sealing surface engages a first of the plurality of sealing surfaces;
- f. further rotating the cap until the mouth sealing surface engages a second of the plurality of sealing surfaces, wherein the second of the plurality of sealing surfaces has a smaller diameter than the first of the plurality of sealing surfaces;
- and
- g. sealing the container against the second of the plurality of sealing surfaces.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.