Container closure
OwnerFrancis Showeringinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Closure for a container mouth, the closure comprising: a cover portion (18) for covering at least a portion of the container mouth; a fastener portion (20) for engaging the container for fastening the closure to the container; and a peelable bracing portion (22) extending generally in a circumferential direction of or around an axis of the closure, the bracing portion overlapping at least partly the cover portion and the fastener portion, and configured to reinforce the closure by bearing, as shear stress at an interface between the bracing portion and at least one of the cover portion and fastener portion, support force in or between one or both of the cover portion and the fastener portion.
Claims51
A closure for a container mouth, the closure comprising:
- a cover portion for covering at least a portion of the container mouth;
- a fastener portion for engaging the container for fastening the closure to the container;
- and
- a bracing portion extending generally in a circumferential direction of or around an axis of the closure, the bracing portion overlapping at least partly the cover portion and the fastener portion, and configured to reinforce the closure by bearing, as shear stress at an interface between the bracing portion and at least one of the cover portion and fastener portion, support force in or between one or both of the cover portion and the fastener portion.
The closure of any preceding claim, wherein the bracing portion bridges a discontinuity between the cover portion and the fastener portion.
The closure of any preceding claim, wherein the bracing portion bridges a discontinuity in the fastener portion.
The closure of any preceding claim, wherein the bracing portion comprises a discontinuity that is bridged over at least a part of its length by a portion of (i) the cover portion and/or (ii) the fastener portion and/or (iii) a connection between the cover portion and the fastener portion.
The closure of any preceding claim, wherein the bracing portion is configured to anchor the cover portion in a closed condition relative to the fastener portion.
The closure of any preceding claim, wherein the bracing portion is stabilized in the circumferential direction by the cover portion, circumferential stress being at least partly transmitted to the cover portion as shear stress at an interface between the bracing portion and the cover portion.
The closure of any preceding claim, wherein the bracing portion is configured to reinforce the fastener portion in the circumferential direction for maintaining engagement of the closure on a container mouth, and wherein when the circumferential reinforcement of the bracing portion is removed, the fastener portion is manually disengageable from the container mouth.
The closure of any preceding claim, wherein the interface between the bracing portion and the cover portion and/or between the bracing portion and the fastener portion, comprises interfitting surface profiles capable of bearing shear stress at the interface.
The closure of any preceding claim, wherein the cover portion, the fastener portion and the bracing portion are formed by multi-shot plastics moulding.
The closure of any preceding claim, wherein the cover portion and the fastener portion are formed as a first body, and the bracing portion is formed as a second body in intimate contact with the first body.
The closure of any preceding claim, wherein the bracing portion is peelable progressively to (i) permit venting of pressure, and/or (ii) permit opening of the closure.
A closure for a container, the closure optionally according to any preceding claim, the closure comprising a first portion and a second portion, at least one of the portions comprising a non-load-supporting discontinuity, and the other of the portions overlapping at least partly the discontinuity so as to bridge the discontinuity, and to reinforce the discontinuity by bearing support force across the discontinuity as shear stress at at least one interface between the first portion and the second portion.
A moulded plastics closure for a container, the closure optionally according to any preceding claim, the closure comprising a first portion and a second portion reinforcing at least a region of the first portion, wherein at least a portion of the second portion is circumferentially peelable radially outwardly from the first portion, to (i) permit venting of pressure, and/or (ii) permit opening of the closure.
A moulded plastics closure for a container, the closure optionally according to any preceding claim, the closure comprising:
- a cover portion for covering at least a portion of the container mouth;
- a fastener portion for engaging the container for fastening the closure to the container;
- and
- a bracing portion extending generally in a circumferential direction of or around an axis of the closure, the bracing portion overlapping at least partly at least one of the cover portion and the fastener portion, an interface between the overlapping portions comprising male features on at least one of the portions interfitting with female features of another overlapping portion.
A closure for a container, the closure optionally according to any preceding claim, the closure comprising a first portion and a second portion, at least one of the portions comprising a non-load-supporting discontinuity, and the other of the portions overlapping at least partly the discontinuity so as to bridge the discontinuity, and provide reinforcement across the discontinuity, an interface between the overlapping portions comprising male features on at least one of the portions interfitting with female features of another overlapping portion.
A closure for a container, the closure optionally according to any preceding claim, the closure comprising a laminate comprising a first layer and a second layer, at least one of the layers comprising a non-load-supporting discontinuity, and the other of the layers overlapping at least partly the discontinuity so as to bridge the discontinuity, and provide reinforcement across the discontinuity, and wherein at least one of the layers comprises a peelable bracing portion of the closure.
The closure of any preceding claim, configured for fitting a container mouth having a transverse dimension, optionally a diameter, of at least 60 mm.
The closure of any preceding claim, configured for fitting a container for pressurized contents.
A combination of a closure as defined in any preceding claim, and a container to which the closure is fitted.
A method of production of a closure comprising first and second bodies, the method comprising:
- (a) moulding a first body of a closure, the first body including surface profile features for defining an interface able to bear shear stress;
- and
- (b) moulding a second body of the closure on the first body, by using the first body to partly define a mould surface for the second body, the second body being moulded to have complementary surface profile features mating with the first body at the interface;
- wherein one of the bodies comprises a bracing portion configured to support one or more portions of the other body by bearing support force as shear stress at the interface, and wherein the bracing portion is peelable from the interface.
A method of fitting a closure to a container mouth, the method comprising:
- (a) providing a closure comprising a heat-shrink laminate, the laminate comprising a first and second layers at least partly overlapping each other such that a first of the layers braces a second of the layers by bearing support force as shear stress at an interface between the layers, and wherein at least one of the layers comprises a portion peelable from the other layer;
- (b) placing the closure at the mouth of a container;
- and
- (c) heating the closure to cause the laminate to shrink into fastening engagement with the container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.