CLOSURE

Abstract

A closure including an upper wall (25) defining an opening (36) and a cylindrical snap on pipe (30) depending from the upper wall. The pipe includes threads (34) designed to mate with external threads on a neck of the bottle. The threads on the pipe and threads on the neck of the bottle pass over each other when the closure is snapped onto the bottle during manufacture. The pipe includes a resistance recess (42) and a guidance recess (70). The resistance recess and the guidance recess accommodate a forcing element (50) on a shoulder (80) of the bottle and permit unscrewing of the closure. The walls (44, 46) of the resistance recess are preferably symmetrical.

Claims

1. A closure (22) comprising a. an upper wall (25) defining an opening (36); b. a cylindrical snap-on pipe (30) depending from the upper wall and extending axially to a bottom end, c. the cylindrical snap-on pipe (30) including at least one resistance recess (42) at the bottom end (43) thereof; d. the cylindrical snap-on pipe (30) further including at least one thread (34); e. the cylindrical snap-on pipe defining opposing first and second walls of the resistance recess; and f. the bottom end of the cylindrical snap-on pipe being shaped to include a guidance recess (70) consistent with lowering the cylindrical snap-on pipe thread (34) relative to a bottle neck, the closure being configured such that the guidance recess (70) includes a first guidance recess wall (72) with an upward gradient and a second guidance recess wall (74) having a downward gradient whereby in a closure opening direction of rotation the first guidance recess wall (72) permits the cylindrical snap-on pipe (30) axially to be lowered toward the bottle neck having a forcing element and the second guidance recess wall (74) being consistent with the closure cylindrical snap-on pipe being raised relative to the bottle, and the thread (34) maintaining its axial position relative to a thread on a bottle neck to which the closure is being applied when the forcing element contacts one of said resistance recess walls at least until the forcing element reaches a position beneath the second guidance recess wall (74), and wherein the first and second resistance recess walls have gradients, and wherein the gradients of the first and second resistance recess walls are essentially the same at any point lying at the same axial height.

2. The closure (22) according to claim 1 further including a closing cover (26) for closing the opening, the closing cover (26) being hingedly attached to a closure base (24) of the closure.

3. The closure (22) according to claim 1, wherein in the direction of rotation to unscrew the closure, after encountering the resistance recess (42) the forcing element is accommodated within the guidance recess (70) and is beneath the first guidance recess wall (72) and then the second guidance recess wall (74).

4. The closure (22) according to claim 1, wherein when the forcing element reaches a position below the first guidance recess wall (72) the cylindrical snap-on pipe thread (34) and the bottle thread maintain their relative axial positions with the bottle thread above the snap on pipe thread (34).

5. (canceled)

6. The closure (22) according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the resistance recess (42) and the guidance recess (70) in the unscrewing direction is at least 2 mm.

7. The closure (22) according to claim 6 wherein the distance between the resistance recess (42) and the guidance recess (70) in the unscrewing direction is from 2 mm up to 5 mm.

8. The closure (22) according to claim 6 wherein the distance between the resistance recess (42) and the guidance recess (70) in the unscrewing direction is from 2 mm up to 4 mm.

9. The closure (22) according to claim 1, wherein the first guidance recess wall (72) has a gradient of from 90 to 135 degrees.

10. The closure (22) according to claim 1, wherein the second guidance recess wall (74) has a gradient of from 0 to 10 degrees.

11. A container comprising a combined closure according to claim 1 and a bottle (20), the bottle having a bottle neck (32), and at least one forcing element (50), the bottle neck having a thread (60), the at least one bottle forcing element (50) being adapted to be at least partly received within the resistance recess (42) of the closure cylindrical snap-on pipe (30), whereby in a closure opening direction of rotation the first guidance recess wall (72) permits the cylindrical snap-on pipe (30) axially to be lowered toward the forcing element (50) and the second guidance recess wall (74) being consistent with the closure cylindrical snap-on pipe (30) being raised relative to the bottle, the snap-on pipe thread (34) and the bottle neck thread (60) maintaining their relative axial positions with the bottle neck thread (60) above the snap on pipe thread (34) when the forcing element (50) contacts the resistance recess wall at least until the forcing element (50) reaches a position beneath the second guidance recess wall (74).

12. The container according to claim 11 further comprising an interruption in one or more of the snap on pipe thread (34) and the bottle thread (60) and wherein after the forcing element (50) reaches a position below the second guidance recess wall (74) the cylindrical snap-on pipe thread (34) passes the bottle thread (60) through the one or more interruptions thereby releasing the closure (22) from the bottle (20).

13. (canceled)

14. The closure according to claim 1, wherein the snap-on thread (34) is on an inner wall thereof.

15. The container according to claim 11, wherein the snap-on thread (34) is on an inner wall thereof and the bottle neck thread (60) is external to the bottle neck (32).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the bottle and closure of the invention with the closure in cross section.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a bottle of the invention with a portion of the neck cut away and showing the closure base above it in cross section with the closing cover removed.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a perspective view from above of a closure according to the invention in the open position.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the closure of FIG. 3.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the package of the invention with the closure partly rotated in the unscrewing/opening/closure removal direction and with portions of the closure broken away to reveal the cylindrical snap-on pipe.

[0025] FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of an upper portion of the container with portions of the closure broken away and with the closure in the fully closed position.

[0026] FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the closure with portions broken away.

[0027] FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of an upper portion of the container with portions of the closure broken away and with the closure in the fully closed position for the embodiment wherein the resistance recess has symmetrical walls.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] Closure 22 sits on bottle 20 (FIGS. 5, 6 and 8). Closure 22 includes closure base 24 connected to closing cover 26 by hinge 28, although other possible arrangements will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. Closure base 24 includes generally cylindrical snap-on pipe 30, best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, depending downwardly from upper wall 25. Cylindrical snap-on pipe 30 is positioned to engage neck 32 of bottle 20. The inner wall of cylindrical snap-on pipe 30 includes one or more internal threads 34, which protrude inwardly.

[0029] Closure base 24 includes a dispensing opening 36 centrally disposed within upper wall 25. Although opening 36 is illustrated and described as being centrally disposed, it may be off-center if desired. Structure may be provided above and/or below opening 36 to assist with pouring or sealing, such as ring 38. When closure base 24 is positioned on bottle 20, opening 36 is in communication with the interior of bottle 20 through the interior of snap-on pipe 30 and exterior closure base wall 23. Closing cover 26 includes plug 40 to assist in sealing the closure and ultimately the bottle.

[0030] Neck 32 of bottle 20 includes external threaded protrusion 60.

[0031] As best seen in FIGS. 5-7, cylindrical snap-on pipe 30 includes resistance recess 42 extending upwardly from bottom end or rim 43. Rim 43 typically extends perpendicularly to the downwardly extending axis of the pipe. A second resistance recess 42a may be present 180° removed from resistance recess 42, as seen in FIG. 1. Resistance recess 42 includes two walls 44, 46 formed in cylindrical snap-on pipe 30. As will be discussed below, in one embodiment the walls of the resistance recess are symmetrical. In another, seen particularly in FIGS. 6 and 7, the walls are asymmetrical. In the latter embodiment, the shape of walls 44, 46 will depend upon the direction which it is desired to have the closure rotate in order to release it from the bottle so that it can be removed.

[0032] Typically, closures are unscrewed/opened/removed by turning counterclockwise, so for the purpose of the present description counterclockwise unscrewing/opening will be assumed. However, it will be apparent that a different direction could be used if desired and the shapes of walls 44, 46, and 104, 106 described below, and the location of guidance recess 70 will be adjusted accordingly.

[0033] As best seen in FIG. 6, when the closure is in the closed position, resistance recess 42 receives at least part of forcing element 50, which is a protrusion permanently associated with bottle shoulder 80.

[0034] The trailing resistance recess wall during unscrewing/opening rotation, illustrated as 44 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, includes at its lower end 45 a gradient which is more gradual than that of the opposite (leading) recess wall 46; the gradient at the lower end of resistance recess wall 46 is more severe or steep. The forcing element 50 also includes two side walls 54, 52 of different gradients.

[0035] In accordance with a preferred embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the walls of the resistance recess can also be symmetrical or essentially symmetrical. Resistance recess 102 includes leading wall 104 and trailing wall 106. These walls are symmetrical, mirror images of each other so that the gradients of the walls are the same at each point lying at the same axial vertical height. Similarly, walls 11 and 112 of forcing element 108 are symmetrical or essentially symmetrical.

[0036] The symmetric recess wall embodiment (FIG. 8) operates in the same way as described for the asymmetric recess wall embodiment, except that neither recess wall 104 nor 106 includes a steep gradient which prevents rotation of the closure. Rather, this embodiment relies primarily on the angles of the threads on the snap-on pipe and the bottle neck to prevent or substantially imped rotation of the closure in the closing direction from the position shown in FIG. 8.

[0037] For the asymmetric embodiment shown in FIG. 6, starting from the initially closed position shown in the figure, if the closure is rotated in the clockwise direction as the consumer turns it, a steep gradient of forcing element side wall 52 faces a steep gradient on resistance recess wall 46 and prevents rotation. On the other hand, upon rotation of the closure in the counterclockwise direction from the initially closed position, side wall 54 of the forcing element having a gentler gradient faces resistance recess wall 44 which has a gentler gradient in its lower half, e.g., at 45, proximate its base. The effect of this contact between walls of gentler gradients is that, instead of prevention of rotation, which occurs with the steeper gradients, the forcing element 50 forces the walls of the resistance recess and the depending cylindrical snap-on pipe 30 slightly upwardly. Rotation of the closure in the opening direction results in an axial upwardly movement resulting from the angles of the bottle neck and snap-on pipe threads.

[0038] For the symmetric embodiment of FIG. 8, similarly, upon rotation of the closure in the counterclockwise direction from the initially closed position, side wall 11 of the forcing element 108 having a gentle gradient faces resistance recess wall 106 which has a gentle gradient at least in its lower half, e.g., at 45, proximate its base. The effect of contact between the walls of gentle gradients is that, instead of prevention of rotation, which occurs with the steeper gradients in the FIG. 6 embodiment, the forcing element 108 forces the walls of the resistance recess and the depending cylindrical snap-on pipe 30 slightly upwardly. Again, here, continued rotation in the opening direction carries with it an axially upward component resulting from the angles of the bottle neck and snap-on pipe threads.

[0039] The smaller, gentler gradient at 45 (FIG. 7) of the resistance recess wall 44, and the gradient of wall 106 are similar or identical to the gradient of corresponding side walls 54, 11 of the forcing element of the container, which face resistance recess walls 44, 106 during unscrewing/opening. The gradient of wall of 44 at section 45 is within the range of between 10 degrees more and 10 degrees less than that of wall 54. The gradient of wall 106 at least where it will contact forcing element 108 is within the range of between 10 degrees more and 10 degrees less than that of wall 11. Thus, if wall 54 is 45 degrees, wall 44 at section 45 is within the range of from 35 degrees to 55 degrees. Thus, if wall 11 is 45 degrees, the gradient of wall 106 where it will contact wall 11 is within the range of from 35 degrees to 55 degrees. Each of walls 44 and 106 and 11, 54 is within the range of between 30 and 85 degrees. The gradient of wall 44 at section 45, and the gradient of wall 106 at the point at which it contacts the forcing element, are measured relative to a horizontal line drawn through rim section 56. The gradient of walls 54, 11 are measured at the point at which they first contact walls 44, 106 respectively upon rotation and is measured with respect to a horizontal line intersecting the point of contact with walls 44, 106, the line being parallel to, or coincident with, bottom rim section 56.

[0040] Further counterclockwise rotation of closure 22 during removal of the closure by the consumer will result in forcing element 50 or 108 clearing resistance recess wall 44 or 106, and the top 58 of the forcing element contacting section 56 of bottom rim 43 of the cylindrical snap-on pipe. Upon still further unscrewing/opening, counterclockwise, rotation of closure 22, top 58 of forcing element 50 or 108 encounters guidance recess 70, seen e.g., in FIGS. 7 and 8. Guidance recess 70 includes an upwardly extending wall 72 at a gradient within the range of 90 and 135 degrees to a horizontal line drawn through section 56 of the bottom rim and then a downwardly extending wall 74 at a less severe gradient of within the range of 0 to 10 degrees, especially 4 to 10 degrees, relative to a horizontal line drawn through the intersection 75 of wall 74 (FIG. 5) and pipe bottom 43. Top wall 58 of forcing elements 50 and 108 preferably do not touch the first and second guidance walls during rotation. Rather, the guidance recess permits free rotation of snap-on pipe 30 consistent with the pitch of the bottle neck and snap-on pipe threads during which forcing element 50 or 108 is accommodated within the space of the guidance recess.

[0041] The distance between resistance recess 42 or 102 and the guidance recess 70 is measured along bottom rim section 56 from the point at which wall 44 or 106 merges with snap-on pipe bottom end or rim 43 to the point at which guidance recess wall 70 begins to ascend at the beginning of wall 72. The distance between the resistance recess and the guidance recess in the unscrewing/opening direction is preferably at least 3 mm. The distance is typically from 2 mm up to 5 mm, especially from 2 mm to 4 mm

[0042] The presence of the guidance recess in addition to the resistance recess also facilitates rotation of the closure in the opposite, closing, direction, which is generally clockwise. When the closure is rotated in the clockwise, closing direction, at point 75 (FIG. 5), forcing element 50 or 108 will be beneath gradually upwardly sloping wall 74 of guidance recess 70, then the steeper, downward slope of wall 72, then will contact rim 43 at section 56 and finally will be disposed between resistance recess walls 44 or 106 and 46 or 104 in the closed position, as seen in FIGS. 6 and 8.

[0043] In operation, during manufacture of the package, closure 22 is snap fit onto neck 32 (e.g., FIG. 2) of bottle 20 by closure 22 being pressed axially downwardly (or bottle 20 being pressed axially upwardly, or both). Since the bottle body and the closure are made of a flexible material and/or because the presence of one or more recesses in the pipe permits the cylindrical snap-on pipe 30 to expand resiliently radially, the internal thread 34 on the cylindrical snap-on pipe passes over the external thread 60 on the container neck and the closure snaps onto the neck. Thus, the closure is securely attached to the container and a substantial amount of effort would be needed for the consumer or other external force to separate them using a strictly vertical or upward axial motion. Alternatively, closure 22 may initially be applied onto container 20 by being rotated on, to engage the threads.

[0044] In normal use, the product is dispensed with cover 26 removed from opening 36. Cover 26 is then closed so that plug 40 seals the opening when the product is not in use.

[0045] When the bottle is substantially empty of the shampoo, body wash, lotion or other product originally contained within, the consumer removes closure 22 from the package to facilitate refilling and reusing it. To initiate removal of the closure, the consumer rotates it, typically in the counterclockwise direction, starting from the position shown in FIG. 6 or FIG. 8 wherein forcing element 50 or 108 is at least partly accommodated within recess 42 or 102. Forcing element 50 or 108 forces closure 22 slightly upwardly upon closure rotation as described above. Cylindrical snap-on pipe thread 34 maintains its position below container neck thread 60 as the closure is rotated at least until the forcing element reaches a position beneath the second guidance recess wall 72, preferably until the forcing element reaches a position beyond the position beneath the second guidance recess wall. That is, the threads maintain their relative axial positions until the forcing element reaches such positions, at which point one or more interruptions in the threads permit them to pass each other and to release the closure from the bottle. During rotation, the angle of the bottle neck and snap-on pipe threads results in an axial upward component to movement of the closure.

[0046] Returning more specifically to the interaction between the forcing element and the snap on pipe, after passing the resistance recess, forcing element 50 or 108 next encounters section 56 of bottom rim 43 of the cylindrical snap-on pipe and then further rotation of the closure/snap-on pipe brings the forcing element below upwardly extending wall 72 of guidance recess 70. The latter permits the cylindrical snap-on pipe axially to lower itself toward the container neck and accommodates the forcing element so that it does not interfere with rotation of the snap-on pipe. Cylindrical snap-on pipe thread 34 remains below bottle thread 60 whereupon the closure is still retained on the bottle and the consumer can continue to use a normal rotation to unscrew the closure from the container neck. FIG. 5 shows forcing element 50 within recess 70. Forcing element 108 would likewise be accommodated within recess 70. Preferably forcing element 50, 108 does not touch first and second guidance recess walls but is accommodated within the recess as the snap-on pipe/closure rotates Alternatively, this unscrewing rotation may optionally be further facilitated by forcing element top 58 contacting downwardly extending wall 74 of guidance recess 70. Optional contact by the top 58 with downwardly extending wall 74 may raise the closure cylindrical snap-on pipe to support the normal unscrewing action of the closure, whereby the closure is easily removed. The pitch of the snap on pipe and bottle neck threads is similar to the gradient of wall 74, namely 0 to 10 degrees, especially 4 to 10 degrees.

[0047] At some point in the opening rotation, preferably after the forcing element is beyond a location beneath the second guidance recess wall, interruptions in one or both of the snap on pipe threads and bottle neck threads will permit the snap on pipe thread to pass the bottle neck thread whereby the closure is released from the bottle. Typically this will happen further into rotation in the opening direction than the position shown for forcing element 50 in FIG. 5, e.g. forcing element 50 will be closer to, preferably beyond, point 75. Removal is also facilitated by the flexible material of which the closure is made.

[0048] With the closure removed, the consumer then refills the bottle with the shampoo or other product. She then applies the closure back onto the bottle either by snapping the closure downwardly over the bottle neck in an axial direction similar to that used in manufacture, or she screws the closure back on to the bottle neck. If she chooses the latter, the clockwise-moving rim 43 of pipe 30 optionally contacts top 58 of the forcing element (50 or 108). When it reaches point 75 (FIG. 5), it is preferably below gradually ascending wall 74 which permits lowering of the pipe relative to the bottle neck consistent with the normal screwing downwardly of a closure. At this point, the threads have engaged.

[0049] The forward and/or top wall of the forcing element is then preferably below wall 72 of guidance recess 70 which accommodates raising of pipe 30 relative to bottle neck 32 and the top 58 of forcing element 50 or 108 then optionally contacts section 56 of rim 43. Upon further rotation of the snap-on pipe, forcing element reaches resistance recess wall 44 or 106 and pipe 30 moves downwardly as forcing element 50 or 108 is accommodated within recess 42. As the consumer rotates the closure closed, internal thread 34 of pipe 30 maintains its position below external thread 60 on bottle neck 32, thereby keeping the closure attached to the bottle.

[0050] In the asymmetric option, as shown e.g., in FIG. 6, when forcing element wall 52 encounters steep wall 46 of resistance recess 42 the closure cannot be rotated any further. In the symmetric option, as shown in FIG. 8, the angle of the threads tends to prevent further rotating once forcing element wall 112 encounters leading resistance recess wall 104. If further protection against rotation in the closing direction is desired when the forcing element 108 reaches this point, additional stopping mechanisms may be provided such as a tooth on the closure which engages a ratchet on the bottle neck or shoulder.

[0051] While the threads, snap on beads and other protuberances are generally illustrated herein as being internal to the snap-on pipe and external to the bottle neck, if desired this can be reversed so that the protuberance(s) will be external to the snap-on pipe and internal to the bottle neck.

[0052] As used herein “threads” encompasses traditional bottle neck-type threads, snap beads and other protuberances which function similarly to threads. Preferably, snap beads will be used for the “threads” of the snap-on pipe and more traditional bottle neck threads will be used for the bottle neck.

[0053] When it is said herein that the gradient of each of the resistance recess walls at each axial height is essentially the same or that the walls are essentially symmetrical, it is meant that at each axial height the angle of the wall with respect to the snap on pipe rim is within 10% of the angle at the same axial height of the opposite resistance recess wall. Preferably the angle of the wall is within 5% of the angle of the opposite recess wall, most especially within 1% more preferably within 0.5% and still preferably the angles are the same at each axial height.

[0054] The exact height and shape of the resistance recess may be influenced by the material of which the closure, especially the snap-on pipe, is made and so may be adjusted after plastic components are tested.

[0055] The closure can be placed on the container neck securely and economically by strictly vertical/axial placement on the bottle during manufacture, whereas by providing the consumer with the ability readily to rotate the closure for removal and to re-apply it to the bottle, refilling of the container is promoted. Closure 22 may be also be applied onto the container during manufacture by being rotated to engage the threads.

[0056] References to upward or downward motion herein assume that container 20 is resting on its base (not shown) at its end opposite the closure.

[0057] The closure may be made from polypropylene or polyethylene or similar polymeric materials, and the bottle can be molded from high-density polyethylene or polypropylene or PET. The closure is designed to be durable, resisting normal wear and tear by opening and closing the closure and even by dropping.

[0058] Personal care products include products for application to the skin, the scalp or the mouth, such as shampoo, body wash, skin lotions, etc.

[0059] It should be understood, of course, that the specific forms of the invention herein illustrated and described are intended to be representative only as certain changes may be made therein without departing from the clear teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following appended claims in determining the full scope of the invention.