# US 2019/0168936 A1 · Bottle closure assembly including a polyethylene composition > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0168936 A1 - Document ID: US20190168936A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/208,951 - Filed: 2018-12-04 - Published: 2019-06-06 - Earliest claimed: 2017-12-04 - Assignees: NOVA Chemicals (International) S.A. - Applicants: NOVA Chemicals (International) S.A. - Inventors: XiaoChuan Wang; Ian Gibbons; Eric Vignola; Cliff Baar; Amin Mirzadeh - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190168936A1 ## CPC - B65D 55/16: Devices preventing loss of removable closure members - B65D 47/122: {Threaded caps} - C08L 23/04: Homopolymers or copolymers of ethene - B65D 41/0492: {formed by several elements connected together (B65D41/0478 takes precedence)} - B65D 47/142: {for threaded caps} - C08L 2203/10: used for bottles - C08L 2205/02: containing two or more polymers of the same C08L -group - B65D: CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES - C08L: COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS (compositions based on polymerisable monomers C08F, C08G; artificial filaments or fibres D01F; textile treating compositions D06) ## Abstract The present disclosure describes bottle closure assemblies which are made at least in part with a polyethylene composition having good flow properties and good resistance to environmentally induced stress cracking. The bottle closure assembly includes a cap portion, an elongated tether portion, and a retaining means portion. The retaining means portions engages a bottle neck or an upper portion of a bottle. The elongated tether portion connects at least one point on the cap portion to at least one point on the retaining means portion so as to prevent loss of the cap portion from a bottle. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A bottle closure assembly comprising: a cap portion, a tether portion, and a retaining means portion, the cap portion being molded to reversibly engage and cover a bottle opening, the retaining means portion being molded to irreversibly engage a bottle neck or an upper portion of a bottle, and where the tether portion connects at least one point on the cap portion to at least one point on the retaining means portion, wherein the cap portion, optionally the tether portion, and optionally the retaining means portion are made from a polyethylene composition comprising: (1) 10 to 70 wt. % of a first ethylene copolymer having a melt index I2, of less than 1.0 g/10 min; and a density of from 0.920 to 0.960 g/cm3; and (2) 90 to 30 wt. % of a second ethylene copolymer or an ethylene homopolymer; the second ethylene copolymer or the ethylene homopolymer having a melt index I2, of at least 20 g/10 min; and a density higher than the density of the first ethylene copolymer, but less than 0.970 g/cm3; wherein the ratio (SCB1/SCB2) of the number of short chain branches per thousand carbon atoms in the first ethylene copolymer (SCB1) to the number of short chain branches per thousand carbon atoms in the second ethylene copolymer (SCB2) is greater than 0.5. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The bottle closure assembly of claim 1, wherein the polyethylene composition is bimodal and comprises: (1) 10 to 70 wt. % of a first ethylene copolymer having a melt index I2, of less than 0.4 g/10 min; a molecular weight distribution, Mw/Mn, of less than 3.0; and a density of from 0.920 to 0.955 g/cm3; and (2) 90 to 30 wt. % of a second ethylene copolymer having a melt index I2, of from 100 to 10,000 g/10 min; a molecular weight distribution, Mw/Mn, of less than 3.0; and a density higher than the density of the first ethylene copolymer, but less than 0.967 g/cm3; wherein the density of the second ethylene copolymer is less than 0.037 g/cm3 higher than the density of the first ethylene copolymer; the ratio (SCB1/SCB2) of the number of short chain branches per thousand carbon atoms in the first ethylene copolymer (SCB1) to the number of short chain branches per thousand carbon atoms in the second ethylene copolymer (SCB2) is greater than 0.5; and wherein the polyethylene composition has a molecular weight distribution, Mw/Mn, of from 3 to 11; a density of at least 0.949 g/cm3; a melt index I2, of from 0.4 to 5.0 g/10 min; an Mz of less than 400,000; a stress exponent of less than 1.50; and an ESCR Condition B (10% IGEPAL® CO-630) of at least 20 hrs. ### Claim 3 A bottle closure assembly comprising: a cap portion, an elongated tether portion, and a retaining means portion, the cap portion being molded to reversibly engage and cover a bottle opening, the retaining means portion being molded to irreversibly engage a bottle neck or an upper portion of a bottle, and the elongated tether portion being molded to connect at least one point on the cap portion to at least one point on the retaining means portion, wherein the cap portion, optionally the elongated tether portion, and optionally the retaining means portion are made from a polyethylene composition comprising: (1) 10 to 70 wt. % of a first ethylene copolymer having a melt index I2, of less than 1.0 g/10 min; and a density of from 0.920 to 0.960 g/cm3; and (2) 90 to 30 wt. % of a second ethylene copolymer or an ethylene homopolymer; the second ethylene copolymer or the ethylene homopolymer having a melt index I2, of at least 20 g/10 min; and a density higher than the density of the first ethylene copolymer, but less than 0.970 g/cm3; wherein the ratio (SCB1/SCB2) of the number of short chain branches per thousand carbon atoms in the first ethylene copolymer (SCB1) to the number of short chain branches per thousand carbon atoms in the second ethylene copolymer (SCB2) is greater than 0.5. ### Claim 4 A bottle closure assembly comprising: an integrally molded: cap portion, tether portion, and retaining means portion; the cap portion being molded to reversibly engage and cover a bottle opening, the retaining means portion being molded to irreversibly engage a bottle neck or an upper portion of a bottle, and the tether portion being molded to connect at least one point on the cap portion to at least one point on the retaining means portion; wherein the integrally molded: cap portion, tether portion, and retaining means portion are made from a polyethylene composition comprising: (1) 10 to 70 wt. % of a first ethylene copolymer having a melt index I2, of less than 1.0 g/10 min; and a density of from 0.920 to 0.960 g/cm3; and (2) 90 to 30 wt. % of a second ethylene copolymer or an ethylene homopolymer; the second ethylene copolymer or the ethylene homopolymer having a melt index I2, of at least 20 g/10 min; and a density higher than the density of the first ethylene copolymer, but less than 0.970 g/cm3; wherein the ratio (SCB1/SCB2) of the number of short chain branches per thousand carbon atoms in the first ethylene copolymer (SCB1) to the number of short chain branches per thousand carbon atoms in the second ethylene copolymer (SCB2) is greater than 0.5. ### Claim 5 A bottle closure assembly comprising: an integrally molded: cap portion, elongated tether portion, and retaining means portion; the cap portion being molded to reversibly engage and cover a bottle opening, the retaining means portion being molded to irreversibly engage a bottle neck or an upper portion of a bottle, and the elongated tether portion being molded to connect at least one point on the cap portion to at least one point on the retaining means portion; wherein the integrally molded: cap portion, elongated tether, portion and retaining means portion are made from a polyethylene composition comprising: (1) 10 to 70 wt. % of a first ethylene copolymer having a melt index I2, of less than 1.0 g/10 min; and a density of from 0.920 to 0.960 g/cm3; and (2) 90 to 30 wt. % of a second ethylene copolymer or an ethylene homopolymer; the second ethylene copolymer or the ethylene homopolymer having a melt index I2, of at least 20 g/10 min; and a density higher than the density of the first ethylene copolymer, but less than 0.970 g/cm3; wherein the ratio (SCB1/SCB2) of the number of short chain branches per thousand carbon atoms in the first ethylene copolymer (SCB1) to the number of short chain branches per thousand carbon atoms in the second ethylene copolymer (SCB2) is greater than 0.5. ### Claim 6 A bottle closure assembly comprising: an integrally molded: cap portion, elongated tether portion, and retaining collar portion; the cap portion being molded to reversibly engage and cover a bottle opening, the retaining collar portion being molded to irreversibly engage a bottle neck or an upper portion of a bottle, and the elongated tether portion being molded to connect at least one point on the cap portion to at least one point on the retaining collar portion; wherein the integrally molded: cap portion, elongated tether portion, and retaining collar portion are made from a polyethylene composition comprising: (1) 10 to 70 wt. % of a first ethylene copolymer having a melt index I2, of less than 1.0 g/10 min; and a density of from 0.920 to 0.960 g/cm3; and (2) 90 to 30 wt. % of a second ethylene copolymer or an ethylene homopolymer; the second ethylene copolymer or the ethylene homopolymer having a melt index I2, of at least 20 g/10 min; and a density higher than the density of the first ethylene copolymer, but less than 0.970 g/cm3; wherein the ratio (SCB1/SCB2) of the number of short chain branches per thousand carbon atoms in the first ethylene copolymer (SCB1) to the number of short chain branches per thousand carbon atoms in the second ethylene copolymer (SCB2) is greater than 0.5. ### Claim 7 A bottle closure assembly comprising: a closure portion, an elongated tether portion, and a retaining collar portion, the closure portion being molded to reversibly engage and cover a bottle opening, the elongated tether portion comprising a tether strip which is frangibly connected along a portion of its upper edge to a descending annular edge of the closure portion and which is frangibly connected along a portion of its lower edge to an upper annular edge of the retaining collar portion, the tether strip being integrally formed with and connected at one end to at least one point on the closure portion and integrally formed with and connected at another end to at least one point on the retaining collar portion, the frangible sections being breakable when the closure portion is removed from a bottle opening, but where the closure portion remains connected to the retaining collar portion via the tether strip; wherein the cap portion, the elongated tether portion, and the retaining collar portion are integrally molded from a polyethylene composition comprising: (1) 10 to 70 wt. % of a first ethylene copolymer having a melt index I2, of less than 1.0 g/10 min; and a density of from 0.920 to 0.960 g/cm3; and (2) 90 to 30 wt. % of a second ethylene copolymer or an ethylene homopolymer; the second ethylene copolymer or the ethylene homopolymer having a melt index I2, of at least 20 g/10 min; and a density higher than the density of the first ethylene copolymer, but less than 0.970 g/cm3; wherein the ratio (SCB1/SCB2) of the number of short chain branches per thousand carbon atoms in the first ethylene copolymer (SCB1) to the number of short chain branches per thousand carbon atoms in the second ethylene copolymer (SCB2) is greater than 0.5.