Abstract: A closure is formed from a laminate or composite. The laminate is sufficiently flexible to permit it to assume the surface configuration of the rim of a closure without the need for a gasket. The laminate may include an upper layer which is rigid and a lower layer which is softer and has a lower softening temperature than the upper layer. An optional intermediate oxygen-impermeable layer such as ethylene vinyl alcohol can be included between the upper and lower layers. Preferably, the upper layer is a rigid material such as polyethylene terephthalate or polyvinyl chloride and the lower layer is a soft material such as linear low-density polyethylene. The upper layer provides the necessary strength, while the lower layer provides a tight seal on the rim of the container. The intermediate or bottom layer can also include an oxygen indicator which changes color upon exposure to oxygen.

Abstract: Containers of two different capacities can be stacked on a closure which can be used with either container. The closure has a top panel with an inner stacking area contoured to receive and provide stability to a container having a bottom of one diameter, and an outer stacking area contoured to alternatively receive and provide stability to a larger container having a bottom of a different, larger, diameter.

Abstract: Disclosed are vacuum-packed food packages (10) having enlarged head spaces (56) under high vacuum, which enable food products (58) to be retorted after sealing, with resulting improved flavor, color, texture, and/or nutrient retention. Easily removable press-on, pry-off closures (13) having movable insert disks (16) in an outer shell (14) are also disclosed. Pressing the shell upward to remove it from a container (11) first pries a protrusion (28) inside the shell over a snap rib (22) around the container, then moves the shell upward relative to the disk until the snap rib engages the edge of the disk and lifts the disk to break the seal. A tamper evidencing band (22), if included, is broken before the shell is pried off or the disk is lifted. Food packages which automatically open when heated in microwave ovens are also disclosed.

Abstract: A composite closure for a container has an outer ring with a half-toroidal lip which overhangs a bead around the periphery of an insert cover disk. As the closure is tightened on the container the lip bears downwardly on the bead of the disk and urges the disk against the container rim. Reaction force uncoils the lip like a watch spring, and a visible gap develops between the inner edge of the lip and the disk. This gap provides a visible on-line indicator that the lip is exerting sealing force on the disk. In a second aspect of the invention, a tamper-evidencing band on the closure has ratchets which engage angularly spaced groups of ratchets on the container. Unequal torque thereby acts on bridges which connect the tamper evidencing band to the closure, causing the bridges to break sequentially rather than simultaneously. As a result the bridges can be made stronger and premature breaking is reduced.

Abstract: Easily removable press-on, pry-off closures having movable insert disks in an outer shell are disclosed. Pressing the shell upward to remove it from a container first pries a protrusion inside the shell over a snap rib around the container, then moves the shell upward relative to the disk while the later remains seated on the container, until a disk-lifting projection inside the shell engages the edge of the disk and lifts the disk to break the seal. A tamper evidencing band, if included, is broken before either the shell is pried off or the disk is lifted. The invention can be used in both top load and bottom load embodiments. Also disclosed is a closure with a non-movable disk or integral top and a tamper-evidencing band which is broken by pry-off removal of the closure.

Abstract: The invention concerns an apparatus for applying closures to containers. Each closure is carried to a respective container in a chuck of a closure holder mounted on a closure conveyor. The holder has an axially movable spindle which is yieldably moved from a retracted position to an extended position as the closure conveyor moves. The spindle may be selectively rotated while in extended position, by a pulley which is coupled to it by a clutch. The closures are applied to containers moving on a straight run of a container conveyor. The closure conveyor carries the closures along a linear path parallel to the containers while the spindles are sequentially extended to apply the closures.