US3774822A

US3774822A - Dispensing closure with initial breakable disc seal

Info

Publication number: US3774822A
Application number: US00019811A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Hazard
Original assignee: Silgan Dispensing Systems Slatersville LLC
Current assignee: Silgan Dispensing Systems Slatersville LLC
Priority date: 1970-03-16
Filing date: 1970-03-16
Publication date: 1973-11-27
Anticipated expiration: 1990-11-27

Abstract

A severable plug seal is disclosed for use in dispensing closures having a closure body including a dispensing opening leading therethrough and having a spout rotatably mounted on the body so as to be capable of being rotated from an initial closed position in which a passage in the spout is not aligned with the dispensing opening to an open position in which the passage of the spout is aligned with the dispensing opening. In a closure as disclosed, a plug is located within the dispensing opening adjacent to the spout and means are provided on the spout for engaging the plug during the initial movement of the spout from an initial closed position to an open position so as to force the plug from the dispensing opening so that fluid can flow through the dispensing opening and the passage in the spout. The plug may be formed integrally with the closure body.

Description

United States Patent Hazard DISPENSING CLOSURE WITH INITIAL BREAKABLE DISC SEAL Nov. 27, 1973 Primary ExaminerSamuel F. Coleman Assistant ExaminerNorman L. Stack, Jr. Attorney-Edward D. OBrian [5 7 ABSTRACT A severable plug seal is disclosed for use in dispensing A closures having a closure body including a dispensing opening leading therethrough and having a spout rotatably mounted on the body so as to be capable of being rotated from an initial closed position in which a passage in the spout is not aligned with the dispensing opening to an open position in which the passage of the spout is aligned with the dispensing opening. ln a closure as disclosed, a plug is located within the dispensing opening adjacent to the spout and means are provided on the spout for engaging the plug during the initial movement of the spout from an initial closed position to an open position so as to force the plug from the dispensing opening so that fluid can flow through the dispensing opening and the passage in the spout. The plug may be formed integrally with the closure body.

11 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures DISPENSING CLOSURE WITH INITIAL BREAKABLE DISC SEAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As used herein the term dispensing closure is intended to designate closures having a closure body formed so as to include a dispensing opening leading between the sides of the body and having a spout rotatably mounted on the body so as to be capable of being rotated between a closed position in which a passage of the spout is unaligned with the dispensing opening and an open position in which this passage in the spout is aligned with this opening. Such closures are normally constructed so that they can be utilized essentially as bottle caps on existing containers. They may also be constructed so the the closure bodies in them are integral with the appropriate, somewhat resilient material such as various grades of common polyolefins by conventional injection molding techniques at a comparatively nominal cost. Structures of various closures of this type are shown in the U.S. Wilson et al Pat. No. 2,793,795; the U.S. Mart Pat. No. 2,828,895 and other patents.

One of the problems which has been encountered in the field of this type of dispensing closures is the-problem of leakage prior to the use of such closures. In the past this problem has been combatted by forming the closure body of such a closure with an appropriate sealing means which will fit up against the base of the spout in such a manner as to form an effective seal against the spout in all positions of the spout both before and after usage of the closure. In other words, in the past the problem of leakage prior to use has been combattedby utilizing a seal type structure which is just as effective before the use of the structure as after the use of'the closure. A very effective seal structure of this type is shown and claimed in the copending Akers application Ser. No. 715,930 filed Mar. 25, 1968 entitled Sealing Structures." The invention set forth in this document is assigned to the assignee of this Akers application.

For practically all applications, it is considered that it is satisfactory to use a single sealing means which is operative before as well as after the initial use of a dispensing closure of the type indicated. However, on occasion, especially with certain various hard-to-seal materials and/or extremely volatile materials, this single seal type of approach to the problem of initial leakage prior to use is not considered adequate. It is believed that this can be illustrated by referring to a specific type of use.

When a dispensing closure of the type indicated is used so as to seal a container containing a highly volatile fluid and such a container fluid is significantly heated, the tendency towards vaporization of the fluid within a container will build up significant pressures within a container. Common seals are pressure responsive. That is, for example, frequently a valve will adequately seal at one pressure but will not seal at a higher pressure. This type of thing is considered to manifest itself in dispensing closures. It is considered to affect the seals used in such closures detrimentally when, because of various factors, the pressures exerted on such closures are significantly increased.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An objective of the present invention is to provide new and improved dispensing closures having effective initial sealing structures which are separate and apart from the sealing structures normally used in such closures. A further objective of this invention is to provide initial seals in such dispensing closures which are relatively ineffective by an increase in pressure within the interior of a container. Further objectives of this invention are to provide dispensing closures incorporating sealing means as herein indicated which are effective, which may be easily and conveniently used, and which may be easily and conveniently manufactured at a comparatively nominal cost.

In accordance with this invention these and other related objectives are achieved by providing dispensing closures each of which has a closure body including a dispensing opening leading from one side of the body tothe other side of the body and has a spout including a base overlying said opening and a passage extending from the base through the spout. In such a closure such a spout is supplied in an initial closed position in which the passage is unaligned with the dispensing opening and is capable of being rotated to an open position in which the passage is aligned with the opening. In such a closure in accordance with this invention the improvement comprises a disc located within the opening body used should include a flexible, deformable sealing means located around the dispensing opening so as to engage the base of the spout when the spout is in open and closed positions. Also preferably the plug utilized should be formed integrally with the closure body so as to'be connected to it by a comparatively thin, frangible, annular membrane or diaphragm. Such a membrane is intended to be broken by force applied to it by the means for engaging the plug when the spout is initially rotated from a closed to an open position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Further details of this invention, as well as the manners in which the invention achieves the aforegoing and related objectives, will be apparent from a detailed consideration of the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a presently preferred embodiment of a dispensing closure of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken at line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken at line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. '4 is a partial cross-sectional view taken at line "4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view taken at line 5-5 of FIG. 2',

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view taken at line 6--6 of FIG. 2; and

'FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view corresponding -to FIG. 2, illustrating a spout shown in the preceding figures in an open position.

From a consideration of the drawing and of the remainder of this specification, it will be apparent that the basic features set forth in the appended claims may be embodied throug the use or exercise of routine engineering skill within dispensing closures constructed somewhat differently than the precise preferred embodiment of a dispensing closure of this invention illustrated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawing there is shown a dispensing closure constructed so as to utilize the present invention. The principal parts of this closure are as indicated in the Wilson et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,793,795. It includes an integrally formed polyethylene or related closure body 12 having a flat top 14 and an attached, internally threaded skirt 16. Within the interior of the skirt 16 an appropriate sealing means 18 adapted to form a seal with the top and/or interior of the neck of the container is located. This top 14 includes a centrally located cavity 20 on opposite sides of which there are located bearing openings 22 having restricted entrances 24. A slot 26 extends from the cavity 20 across the top 14 to the edge of this top 14.

The closure 10 also includes an integrally formed spout or spout member 28 having a base 30 fitting within the cavity 20. This base 30 carries what may be regarded as a spout extremity 32 which is adapted to fit within the slot 26 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing when the spout member 28 is in a closed position. The base 30 carries aligned trunnions 34 which fit within the bearing openings 22 so that the entire spout member 28 is rotatably mounted on the closure body 12. When the spout member 28 is in place, the base 30 normally resiliently engages a flexible sealing ring 36 located within the body of the cavity 20 surrounding a dispensing opening 38 in the closure body 12. This dispensing opening 38 in effect leads through the closure body 12 from within the interior of it to within the interior of the cavity 20.

The various features of the dispensing closure 10 described in the preceding portions of this detailed description may be regarded as known prior to the present invention. Closures having the various parts indicated are commonly manufactured by high-speed injection molding techniques out of various polyolefins such as polyethylene. The construction of these closures may be varied to a considerable extent. Thus, foe example, while the dispensing closure 10 utilizes trunnions 34 which can be snapped into the bearing openings 22, it is possible to construct a dispensing closure utilizing the principles of this invention in which the base 30 of a spout member 28 is rotatably held in an operative position by contact with the walls of a cavity corresponding to the cavity 20 instead of through the use of bearings and bearing openings. Similarly different types of sealing rings corresponding to the sealing ring 36 may be used. This particular sealing ring 36 illustrated is preferably constructed as indicated in the aforenoted Akers U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 715,930.

In accordance with this invention, the dispensing opening 38 is preferably provided with a conicallyshaped wall 40 which leads from a disc 42. This disc 42 is preferably has an outer conical wall 44, the largest dimension of which substantially corresponds to the smallest dimension of the wall 40 of the dispensing opening 38. The largest dimension of this wall 44 is preferably attached to the wall 40 by a thin, annular frangible membrane or diaphragm 46 capable of being easily broken. The disc 42 also preferably includes a flat top surface 48 for purposes hereinafter described. With this preferred structure the disc 42 and the diaphragm 46 may be conveniently manufactured simultaneously with the remainder of the closure body 12.

From the preceding it will be apparent that in the preferred embodiment illustrated the disc 42 is in effect a part of the closure body 12. As a result of this there is no seal initially formed with this structure between two interior parts as such. However, the disc 42 in effect mates against the wall 40 so as to form a seal even though physically the structure is somewhat different from a stopper in a bottle neck. If desired the disc may be segregated from the closure body 12 and may fit the wall 40 in the same manner in which a stopper fits a bottle neck. This is not normally desired because of assembly problems and the fact that a surface-to-surface seal is not as satisfactory as a continuous internal seal.

With the present invention the base 30 of the spout member 28 is preferably provided with a flat surface 50 which will lie flat opposite and adjacent to the surface 48 of the plug 42 when the spout member 28 is assembled upon the closure body 12 in an initial position as indicated in FIG. 2. In such an initial position the spout member 28 may be regarded as being in a closed position inasmuch as a passage 52 within it leading from the base 30 through the spout extension 32 is unaligned with the dispensing opening 38. Such an initial position of the spout member 28 differs from a normal closed position of the spout member 28 only in that in such an initial position the spout member 28 has not been previously rotated with respect to the closure body 12.

During the initial use of the dispensing closure 10 the spout member 28 is rotated counterclockwise from the position shown in FIG. 2 to a position as indicated in FIG. 7. As this occurs a small cam-like projection 54 on the base 30 of the spout member 28 will move over a portion of the sealing ring 36, causing some temporary flexure of this sealing ring 36 and then will move against the flat surface 48 of the plug 42. Such contact of the projection 54 against the surface 48 will result in pressure against the annular membrane or diaphragm 48, causing the plug 42 to be broken from the remainder of the closure body 12. As this occurs, normally the plug 42 will fall downwardly from the closure body 12 where it will not cause any further difficulty. On occasion, however, the plug 42 will be sufficiently broken so as to hang down loosely, held in place by a small unruptured portion of the diaphragm 46. In either event the plug 42 will be sufficiently removed from an operative location so that fluid can progress through the dispensing opening 38 and the spout member 28.

An important feature of the present invention lies in the fact that the exterior of the base 30, including the projection 54, is formed so as to be of a smooth, continuous character. As a result of this, the sealing ring 36 when properly dimensioned will always fit against the exterior of the base 30 in a resilient manner so as to form an adequate seal against leakage during the use of the dispensing closure 10. Such a seal is particularly important when, after being initially used, the spout member 28 is rotated back to a closed position such as is indicated in FIG. 2 of the drawing.

It will be noted that in an initial as opposed to an inuse closed position that the

flat surfaces

48 and 50 fit heated container of highly-volatile fluid, cannot move the disc 42 without sufficient pressures being developed to remove the spout member 28 from the closure body 12. Such pressures are normally considerably higher than those necessary to rupture the annular diaphragm 46.

As a result of this feature that dispensing closure is capable of providing a completely-fluid-tight seal prior to its being used. Such a seal is extremely effective even when the utilization might cause pressures which would rupture other similar seals or which might cause a breakdown of the seal between two moving parts in contact with one another.

I claim:

I. In a dispensing closure having a closure body, said body including a dispensing opening leading from one side to the other side of said body, and said closure having a spout rotatably mounted on said body, said spout including a base overlying said opening and a passage extending from said base through said spout, said spout being capable of being rotated from an initial closed position in which said passage is unaligned with said opening to an open position in which said passage is aligned with said opening, where the improvement comprises:

a disc located within said opening when said spout is in said initial closed position, saiddisc being located adjacent to said spout;

said base of said spout including means for engaging said disc during rotation of said spout from said initial closed position to said open position so as' to force said disc from its position within said dispensing opening away-from said spout through said opening into the interior of said closure so as to remove saiddisc from within said opening by pushing it through said opening so that thereafter fluid can flow through said dispensing opening and through said passage in said spout when said spout is in said open position. 2. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 1 includmg: l

said means for engaging is a cam on said base of said spout; flexible, resilient sealing ring means located on said projection located closure body around said dispensing opening, said I sealing ring means .engaging said base of said spout so as to form a seal therewith when said spout is in said open and said closed position;

said sealing ring means being spaced from said disc and being incapable of being contacted by said disc during the use of said closure;

a frangible annular membrane surrounding said disc and connecting said disc to the interior of said dispensing opening;

said membrane and said disc said sealing ring; g I

1 flat surfaces on said disc and on said base of said spout, said flat surfaces on said disc and said base being entirely within 6 being located opposite and adjacent to one another when said spout is in said initial closed position. 3. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 1 includmg:

said means for engaging is a cam projection located on said base of said spout. 4. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 1 includmg:

flat surfaces on said disc and on said base of said spout, said flat surfaces on said disc and said base being located opposite and adjacent to one another when said spout is in said initial closed position. 5. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 1 including: v

flexible, resilient sealing ring means located on said closure body around said dispensing opening, said sealing ring means engaging said base of said spout so as to form a seal therewith when said spout is in said open and said closed position; a frangible annular. membrane surrounding said plug and connecting said-plug to the interior of said dispensing opening; said membrane and said said sealing ring. 6. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 1,,includmg:

flexible, resilient sealing ring means located on said closure body around said dispensing opening, said sealing ring means engaging said base of said spout so as to form a seal therewith when said spout is in said open and said closed positions, said sealing ring means being spaced from said disc plug being entirely within and being incapable of being contacted by said disc during the use of said closure. 7 7. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim.6 including:

a frangible annular membrane surrounding said disc and connecting said disc to the interior of said dispensing opening.

8. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 7 including:

flat surfaces on said disc and on said base of said spout, said flat surfaces on said disc and said base being located opposite .and adjacent to one'another whensaid spoutis in said initial closed position. 9. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim lincluding: a frangible annular membrane surrounding said disc and connecting said disc to the interior of said dis- I pensing opening. 10. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 9 including:

spout, said flat surfaces on said disc and said base being located opposite .and adjacent to another on said base of said spout.

flat surfaces on said disc and on said base of said

Claims

1. In a dispensing closure having a closure body, said body including a dispensing opening leading from one side to the other side of said body, and said closure having a spout rotatably mounted on said body, said spout including a base overlying said opening and a passage extending from said base through said spout, said spout being capable of being rotated from an initial closed position in which said passage is unaligned with said opening to an open position in which said passage is aligned with said opening, where the improvement comprises: a disc located within said opening when said spout is in said initial closed position, said disc being located adjacent to said spout; said base of said spout including means for engaging said disc during rotation of said spout from said initial closed position to said open position so as to force said disc from its position within said dispensing opening away-from said spout through said opening into the interior of said closure so as to remove said disc from within said opening by pushing it through said opening so that thereafter fluid can flow through said dispensing opening and through said passage in said spout when said spout is in said open position.

2. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 1 including: said means for engaging is a cam projection located on said base of said spout; flexible, resilient sealing ring means located on said closure body around said dispensing opening, said sealing ring means engaging said base of said spout so as to form a seal therewith when said spout is in said open and said closed position; said sealing ring means being spaced from said disc and being incapable of being contacted by said disc during the use of said closure; a frangible annular membrane surrounding said disc and connecting said disc to the interior of said dispensing opening; said membrane and said disc being entirely within said sealing ring; flat surfaces on said disc and on said base of said spout, said flat surfaces on said disc and said base being located opposite and adjacent to one another when said spout is in said initial closed position.

3. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 1 including: said means for engaging is a cam projection located on said base of said spout.

4. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 1 including: flat surfaces on said disc and on said base of said spout, said flat surfaces on said disc and said base being located opposite and adjacent to one another when said spout is in said initial closed position.

5. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 1 including: flexible, resilient sealing ring means located on said closure body around said dispensing opening, said sealing ring means engaging said base of said spout so as to form a seal therewith when said spout is in said open and said closed position; a frangible annular membrane surrounding said plug and connecting said plug to the interior of said dispensing opening; said membrane and said plug being entirely within said sealing ring.

6. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 1, including: flexible, resilient sealing ring means located on said closure body around said dispensing opening, said sealing ring means engaging said base of said spout so as to form a seal therewith when said spout is in said open and said closed positions, said sealing ring means being spaced from said disc and being incapable of being contacted by said disc during the use of said closure.

7. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 6 including: a frangible annular membrane surrounding said disc and connecting said disc to the interior of said dispensing opening.

8. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 7 including: flat surfaces on said disc and on said base of said spout, said flat surfaces on said disc and said base being located opposite and adjacent to one another when said spout is in said initial closed position.

9. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 1 including: a frangible annular membrane surrounding said disc and connecting said disc to the interior of said dispensing opening.

10. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 9 including: flat surfaces on said disc and on said base of said spout, said flat surfaces on said disc and said base being located opposite and adjacent to another when said spout is in said initial closed position.

11. A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 10 including: said means for engaging is a cam projection located on said base of said spout.