Dispensing closure and method

In a one piece resealable closure of plastic material of the type containing a pivotable spout and a diaphragm moved by said spout mounted on a closure base in which said spout is swivelly mounted to said base for movement about a pivot axis between a dispensing position and a closed position and said diaphragm is swivelly mounted to said base for swiveling movement by said spout, said diaphragm having an edge most distant from said pivot axis, said distant edge defining with said pivot axis a plane;

• said spout having a foot end containing a seal for sealing engagement with a sealing surface of said closure base responsive to said spout being swiveled about said pivot axis into said closed position, the improvement wherein said diaphragm comprises a flexible compound diaphragm of predetermined surface area, said compound diaphragm including a flexible foldable diaphragm and an invertible diaphragm serially connected in the order recited between said spout foot end and said closure base with each said flexible foldable diaphragm and invertible diaphragm comprising a more than insignificant portion of said predetermined surface area;
• and said invertible diaphragm inverting responsive to being swiveled through said plane, and wherein a portion of said foldable diaphragm is folded over in overlying relationship with a remaining portion thereof to create a bend in said foldable diaphragm, responsive to said spout being pivoted from said dispensing position toward said closed position, and then unfolds, responsive to said spout being pivoted further to said closed position, wherein said bend moves along said flexible foldable diaphragm to said juncture of said flexible foldable diaphragm with said foot end of said spout.

A one piece resealable closure of plastic material, comprising:

• a pivotable spout and a diaphragm mounted on a closure base with said spout being swivelly mounted to said base for movement about a pivot axis between a dispensing position and a closed position and said diaphragm being swivelly mounted to said base for swiveling movement by said spout;
• said diaphragm defining a surface area and having an edge most distant from said pivot axis, said most distant edge and said pivot axis defining a plane;
• said spout having a base containing a seal for sealing engagement with a sealing surface of said closure base, responsive to said spout being swiveled into the closed position;
• latch means for releasibly latching said spout in the closed position;
• and wherein said diaphragm comprises:
• a flexible diaphragm and an invertible diaphragm serially connected between said spout base and said closure base, with each comprising a more than insignificant portion of said surface area;
• said invertible diaphragm inverting responsive to being swiveled through said plane and providing an arrangement that pre-loads said spout in the direction of the dispensing position, when said spout is in the dispensing position, and pre-loads said spout in the direction of the sealing position, when said spout is in the sealing position;
• said flexible diaphragm and said invertible diaphragm being angularly inclined relative to one another, when said spout is in the dispensing position, to define a crease therebetween;
• said flexible diaphragm including an upper end connected to said spout base and defining a bend line therewith at said upper end, wherein said flexible diaphragm is bendable relative to said spout at said connection with said spout base;
• said base of said spout being movable in an arcuate path to push said flexible diaphragm during the initial course of travel of said spout from said dispensing position to the closed position and, through said flexible diaphragm, to invert said invertible diaphragm and, during additional movement to the closed position, to place said flexible diaphragm in a position underlying said spout;
• and
• said flexible diaphragm being adapted to swivel about and be pushed and then be pulled by said arcuately moving base of said spout, whereby said flexible diaphragm is temporarily deformed and forms a bend therein that moves toward said spout base, responsive to said spout moving from said dispensing position toward said closed position, and is placed in a position underlying said spout responsive to said spout attaining the closed position.

A diaphragm formed of plastic material for connecting a pivotably mounted member to a base, said diaphragm defining a predetermined surface area, comprising:

• a first diaphragm section defining a flexible diaphragm;
• and
• a second diaphragm section defining an invertible diaphragm;
• said first and second diaphragm sections each comprising a greater than insignificant portion of said predetermined surface area;
• said second diaphragm section being connected integrally to said first diaphragm section for placing said two sections in a mechanical series relationship, wherein movement of said first diaphragm section forces movement of said second diaphragm section;
• said second diaphragm section having a peripheral portion for connection to said base and having the characteristic of elastically inverting when pushed with suitable force by said first diaphragm section when said peripherial portion is held in fixed position;
• and
• said first diaphragm section having a peripheral portion for connection to said pivotably mounted member and having the characteristic of flexurally wrapping over responsive to the application of sufficient torque to said peripheral portion by said pivotal member.

In a one piece resealable closure formed of injection molded plastic material of the type containing a pivotable spout and a diaphragm mounted on a closure base, wherein said spout is swivelly mounted to said base for movement between an upright dispensing position and a closed sealing position and said diaphragm is swively mounted to said base for movement by said spout, said closure base having an upperside surface and an underside surface with said spout providing a passage for flowable material from said underside surface of said closure base to said upperside surface thereof, and latch means for releasibly holding said spout in said closed position, said latch means further comprising a spout bar projection formed on each of the right and left hand sides of said spout laterally outwardly projecting therefrom and a corresponding base bar projection located on each of the right and left hand sides of said closure base and base bar mounting means for mounting said base bar projection to overlie and latchingly engage the corresponding spout bar projection when said spout is in the closed position;

• the improvement therein wherein said base bar mounting means for mounting said base bar projections comprises:
• a first support wall on said base located to the left hand side of said spout for supporting one said base bar projection with one side of said wall being on the upper side surface of said base and the opposed side of said wall being on the underside surface of said base in spaced relation with other portions of said base to define a cavity behind said opposed side of said wall;
• a second support wall on said base located to the right hand side of said spout for supporting the other base bar projection with one side of said wall being on the upper side surface of said base and the opposed side of said wall being on the underside surface of said base in spaced relation with other portions of said base to define a cavity behind said opposed side of said wall, said walls being sufficiently flexible laterally into the respective cavity to permit said spout to move into the sealed position and be latched, responsive to application of a sufficient force applied to said spout, and to permit release of said latch responsive to application of a sufficient force, greater than the closing force, to said spout to move said spout from the closed position toward the dispensing position.