Method of manufacturing a tamper evident closure

Abstract

A tamper-evident closure is provided which includes a threaded cap and tamper-indicating means having upwardly and inwardly folded tabs which lock against the lower surface of an annular shoulder on a container neck to retain the tamper-indicating means on the neck as the cap is removed. The tamper-indicating means includes a ring to which the tabs are integrally connected at their lower outer ends. The tabs are resilient and are flexed by the container finish at the joints where they are joined to the ring. The closure of the present invention may be installed simply by screwing it onto a container neck in a one-step process. The flexible tabs assist in guiding the closure and centering it as it is lowered onto the container neck for installing and do not require the holding of the closure or the container finish to close tolerances in order to be consistently effective. The method of manufacturing the closure of the present invention includes the steps of molding a plastic blank which includes a cap, a ring, and tabs extending vertically downwardly from the ring; bending the tabs radially inward and upward; and heating the folded joints formed where the tabs are bent upward from the ring to set the tabs in their upwardly and inwardly inclined positions.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.