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US 5,472,106 AGranted
Tamper resistant closure cap and a method of operation therefor
AssigneePano Cap (Canada) Limited
InventorKarl H. Nofer
Life of this patent
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AssigneePano Cap (Canada) Limited
InventorKarl H. Nofer
Estimating the term…
A tamper resistant closure and a method of installing and removing that closure relative to a container where the container has a neck with external threads thereon and a ring located beneath the threads. The closure has a central portion with a periphery and a skirt extending from the periphery, a tear strip extending from the skirt, a tamper evident band extending from the tear strip and a movable flange extending from the band. The tear strip is affixed between the skirt and the band by a plurality of severable tabs. The flange is hinged to the tamper evident band and has equally spaced windows in it to make it flexible so that it can be stretched over the ring. When the closure is installed on the container, the flange is forced against an interior of the band and overrides the ring. Once the flange has overridden the ring, a free edge of the flange moves inward to rest against an outer surface of the neck beneath the ring. The closure can then not be removed from the container without first severing the tabs as the flange will not override the ring during removal of the closure. When the tear strip is removed, there is a relatively large gap between the skirt and the band, making it readily apparent that the contents of the container may have been tampered with. Once the tear strip has been removed, the closure functions in a conventional manner for opening and closing the container. The screw thread on the closure is made up of elongated bubbles located end to end.
A tamper resistant closure for use on a container having a neck surrounding an opening, said neck having external threads thereon, said neck having a ring located beneath said threads when the container is in an upright position, said closure comprising a central portion having a periphery with a skirt extending from said periphery, a tear strip extending from said skirt, a tamper evident band affixed to said tear strip and a movable flange extending from said band, said tear strip being affixed to said skirt by severable attachment means, said skirt having an interior surface with threads thereon corresponding to the threads on said container, said flange being connected to said band by hinging means so that said flange extends inwardly relative to said band and a free edge of said flange is movable between an upper position and a lower position, said central portion, skirt, strip, band and flange being sized to fit snugly on said neck so that when the threads of the neck are engaged with the threads of the closure, the closure is in a closed position relative to said container and the free edge of said flange is located above said hinging means and beneath said ring, the flange overriding said ring as the closure is installed on said container, said flange engaging said ring when the closure is attempted to be removed from said container to prevent said flange from overriding said ring, said band and flange being detachable from said skirt by manually severing said attachment means to remove said tear strip.
A method of installing and removing a tamper resistant closure relative to a container, said container having a neck surrounding an opening, said neck having external threads thereon with a ring located beneath said threads when the container is in an upright position, said closure having a central portion with a periphery and a skirt extending from said periphery, a tear strip extending from said skirt, a tamper evident band extending from said tear strip and a movable flange extending from said band, said tear strip being affixed between said skirt and said band by severable attachment means, said skirt having an interior surface with threads thereon corresponding to threads on said container, said flange being connected to said band by hinging means so that said flange extends inwardly relative to said band and a free edge of said flange is movable between an upper position and a lower position, said method comprising installing said closure on said container so that said flange overrides said ring and is located beneath said ring when the closure is in a closed position relative to said container and said free edge of said flange is located above said hinging means and beneath said ring, subsequently, when it is desired to remove said closure from said container, grasping one end of said tear strip and manually pulling it to sever the attachment means and to remove the tear strip from said closure, then removing said closure from said container, the band and flange remaining on said container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.