Patents by Inventor Joseph J. Bullock

Joseph J. Bullock has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 4844268
    Abstract: A plastic cap for a container neck formed with upper and lower external locking beads has a top disk from which depends an upper outer skirt having an upper internal locking bead and a larger diameter lower skirt having a lower internal locking bead. Between the skirt sections is an external outward extending flange which is weakened by a notch cut in its outer corner. The interior of the skirt is formed with an outward extending shoulder at a lower elevation than said external outward extending flange and the lower skirt wall intersects said outward extending shoulder in a circular intersection. A circumferential line of minimum thickness extends downward-inward from said notch to said line of intersection. When the cap is seated on the neck the upper and lower beads interengage, the cap cannot be removed without evidence of tampering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 4, 1989
    Assignee: Cap Snap Co.
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock, III
  • Patent number: 4815620
    Abstract: A plastic cap for a container neck formed with upper and lower external locking beads has a top disk from which depends an upper outer skirt having an upper internal locking bead and a larger diameter lower skirt having a lower internal locking bead. Between the skirt sections is an outward extending flange which is weakened by a notch cut in its outer corner to form a circumferential line of weakness. When the cap is seated on the neck the upper and lower beads inter-engage, the cap cannot be removed without evidence of tampering. To fracture the flange at the line of weakness, in one form of the invention, a tear tab depends from the lower edge of the skirt and a curved score line at the upper end of the tear tab extends up from the lower edge of the skirt to the level of the line of weakness. Pulling the tab tears the skirt at the curved score line and around the line of weakness, removing all or a sufficient portion of the lower skirt and its lower internal locking bead.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 28, 1989
    Assignee: Cap Snap, Inc.
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock, III
  • Patent number: 4798301
    Abstract: A cap of a type having a top disk with depending outer and inner skirts between which the neck of the jar fits is disclosed. The inner surface of the outer skirt and the outside of the neck have cooperating upper and lower locking beads holding the cap in place until the lower portion of the skirt is torn off by tearing along a horizontal score line and thereby removing the lower cap locking bead. The skirt is torn by pulling a tab horizontally. The tab in one form of the invention is defined by cutouts in the lower portion of the outer skirt and is offset outwardly for easy engagement by the finger of the user. In a modification there are two tabs extending in opposite directions, either of which may be pulled to tear off the lower skirt and both tabs being joined by narrow links to a central release lug. The latter is bent upward, thereby breaking the links. The lug has an additional utility in prying off the cap from the neck of the jar after the lower skirt is torn off.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 1987
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1989
    Assignee: Cap Snap Co.
    Inventors: Joseph J. Bullock, Wayne L. Hatch, George Tackles
  • Patent number: 4784296
    Abstract: A wine or beer keg dispenser spout has a curved exterior bead terminating in an outward-downward slanted surface, then a cylindrical surface and a horizontal shoulder below the latter. A cap for the spout is of plastic having a top disk and a depending skirt which fits over and snugly engages the exterior of the spout, the lower edge of the skirt resting on the shoulder. A tab extends below the skirt at an acute angle to the bottom edge. The skirt is weakened in a score line which is an upper extension of the top edge of the tab and continues to a terminus above the bead. Pulling the tab tears the skirt along the score line to permit separation of the cap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1988
    Assignee: Cap Snap Co.
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock
  • Patent number: 4739891
    Abstract: To resist tampering with the contents of containers, a plastic cap is provided with a foil liner. When the cap is seated on the container neck, the foil is caused to be sealed across the neck. To inhibit the foil from coming loose from the cap before closure a circumferential groove is formed in the inside of the skirt wall immediately below the cap top disc. The outer edge of the foil snaps into the groove but does not remain in the groove when the cap is removed for dispensing contents. A tab is formed extending out from the edge of the foil to be gripped by the consumer to remove the foil. This tab is folded over when the tab and cap are intact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 1987
    Date of Patent: April 26, 1988
    Assignee: Velo Bind, Inc.
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock, III
  • Patent number: 4729488
    Abstract: Liquified and compressed gases are sold in cylinders having threaded necks which attach to lanterns, stoves, torches, etc., which use the gas as fuel. A tearable plastic cap fits over the neck and has an internal bead which snaps under a shoulder on the neck. Above the shoulder is a circumferential first score line and a second score line extends to the bottom of the cap. In proximity to the second score line is a pull tab. Before the tab is pulled, the cap prevents surreptitious dispensing of the gas, protects the threads and prevents contamination of the neck and of the valve inside the neck. To remove the cap, the tab is pulled, tearing the cap along the second and then the first score line, thereby removing the lower portion of the cap, including the bead. The upper portion of the cap may be used for reclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 1986
    Date of Patent: March 8, 1988
    Assignee: Bankers Trust Co.
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock, III
  • Patent number: 4699287
    Abstract: A container having a neck formed with external shoulders and grooves below the shoulders is closed by a plastic cap having a depending skirt formed with interrupted internal beads which lock under the neck shoulders and are received in the neck grooves. A circumferential scoreline is formed in the skirt above the lower bead and is connected to a second scoreline which extends down to the lower edge of the skirt. Adjoining the terminus of the second scoreline is a tab which may be gripped and pulled to tear the skirt upward along the second scoreline and then circumferentially around the first scoreline to remove the lower part of the skirt and make it possible to remove the remaining portion of the cap.The improvement consists in making the bead sections in various truncated conical shapes distributed in various patterns. These shapes facilitate application of the cap to the neck without splitting the former or crushing the latter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 1986
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1987
    Assignee: Bankers Trust Co.
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock
  • Patent number: 4691834
    Abstract: A cap for a wide-mouth container has a short inner skirt and a longer outer skirt. The outer skirt has upper and lower internal locking beads which are preferably interrupted with gaps between bead sections. Above the lower locking bead is a circumferential score line. A portion of the outer skirt below the score line is cut away in a horizontal and then an arcuate slit to form a pull tab extending parallel to the score line. The pull tab is joined to the outer skirt by a frangible link. Various locations of said link are disclosed. The container neck is thin walled, having an internal top flange terminating in a first sealing surface which bears against the top of the inner skirt, a groove below the last-mentioned surface and a second sealing surface below the groove which also bears against the inner skirt. The neck also has upper and lower external beads each having shoulders on their lower edges under which the upper and lower internal locking beads of the cap seat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 1986
    Date of Patent: September 8, 1987
    Assignee: Bankers Trust Company
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock, III
  • Patent number: 4678094
    Abstract: A cap for a container neck has a skirt formed with beads on its inner surface which cooperate with matching grooves in the neck to retain the cap in place when the skirt is intact. A circumferential groove is formed in the skirt intermediate the beads joined with a second groove extending to the bottom edge of the skirt. A tab projecting beyond the skirt is gripped and pulled, causing the skirt to tear upward and then circumferentially, thereby removing the lower bead and permitting the top of the cap to be removed and re-closed. A flange is formed on the exterior of the skirt immediately above the level of the first groove. The flange prevents the skirt from tearing upward above the first groove. It also facilitates prying the cap off the neck when the lower part of the skirt has been torn off. Various flange shapes are disclosed, several of which are shaped to defeat attempts to pry off the cap before the skirt is torn.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1986
    Date of Patent: July 7, 1987
    Assignee: Bankers Trust Co.
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock
  • Patent number: 4676389
    Abstract: A tamper-resistant plastic cap and container neck are disclosed, the cap having a skirt with upper and lower internal beads separated by a circumferential first score line connected to a second score line extending to the lower edge of the skirt. The neck has external beads matching the skirt beads to hold the cap on the neck. By pulling upward on a tab depending from said lower edge adjacent said second score line, the lower part of the skirt may be torn away along the second and then the first score line. This leaves a reclosure cap held on the neck by the upper bead means. A thin flange projecting from the periphery of the cap is used to remove the cap in its reclosure mode. However, this flange is shaped with its underside slanting down-inward to merge with the exterior of the skirt. If one attempts to use the flange to pry off the cap in its original sealing mode, sufficient force cannot be applied. Various cap bead shapes are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 1984
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1987
    Assignee: Bankers Trust Company
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock
  • Patent number: 4625876
    Abstract: A cap for a wide-mouth container has a short inner skirt and a longer outer skirt. The outer skirt has upper and lower internal locking beads which are preferably interrupted with gaps between bead sections. Above the lower locking bead is a circumferential score line. A portion of the outer skirt below the score line is cut away to form a pull tab extending parallel to the score line. The cap has a peripheral flange the underside of which slants downward-inward. The container neck is thin walled, having an internal top flange terminating in a first sealing surface which bears against the top of the inner skirt, a groove below the last-mentioned surface and a second sealing surface below the groove which also bears against the inner skirt. The neck also has upper and lower external beads each having shoulders on their lower edges under which the upper and lower internal locking beads of the cap seat. The neck curves outward in a lower shoulder immediately below the bottom edge of the skirt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 1985
    Date of Patent: December 2, 1986
    Assignee: Cap Snap Co., Inc.
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock, III
  • Patent number: 4593830
    Abstract: To prevent tampering with the contents of containers, the neck of the container is formed with external beads with grooves under the lower surfaces of the beads. The cap has an outer skirt formed with internal beads which lock under the shoulders of the neck beads. Preferably, the cap has an inner skirt which seals against the inside of the container neck. To remove the cap, a score-line is formed extending upward from the bottom edge of the skirt and merging with a horizontal scoreline located between the two internal beads, so that one may grip a tab on the lower edge of the skirt, pull upward on the substantially vertically section and thence horizontally around the horizontal scoreline. Unless the skirt is thus torn, it cannot be removed from the neck and tearing of the skirt indicates tampering with the contents of the container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 10, 1986
    Assignee: Bankers Trust Company
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock
  • Patent number: 4506797
    Abstract: A plastic cover fits over the top and partially down the sides of a corked wine bottle. Such a bottle conventionally has an external bead a short distance below the top of the neck. The cover has a skirt formed with a complementary bead which fits tightly over such bead, the plastic material stretching sufficiently for the cover to lock into place so that it cannot be removed with the skirt intact. A tear strip is formed substantially circumferentially around the cap bead by a pair of vertically spaced score-lines. The skirt is grooved to form a tear tab which extends circumferentially along a portion of the bottle bead. By tearing off the tear strip the portion of the cap thereabove can be removed. As a supplemental means of access for removal of the cork, the top disc of the cap may be formed with a circular score-line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 1983
    Date of Patent: March 26, 1985
    Assignee: Three Sisters Ranch Enterprises
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock, III
  • Patent number: 4496066
    Abstract: A neck finish for plastic containers which are closed by plastic caps of the general type having an integral, thin, flexible inward-directed top flange at the lip which initially slants upwardly-inwardly at an angle of about 20.degree.. When the cap is applied, this top flange fits under the top disc of the cap and is depressed to an angle of about 10.degree.. It nests between the outer skirt and the inner skirt. The neck seals against the outer skirt in several locations (as in prior constructions), but the inner edge of the flange seals tightly in the corner where the bottom of the top disc and the outside of the inner skirt intersect. The top flange also augments the sealing effect of the lower edge of the inner skirt and the inside of the neck. Below the cap skirt the container neck has a shoulder to impede any attempt to pry the cap off the container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 1983
    Date of Patent: January 29, 1985
    Assignee: Three Sisters Ranch Enterprises PTRs
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock, III
  • Patent number: 4484687
    Abstract: To prevent tampering with the contents of containers for pharmaceuticals and other products, a plastic cap which is an improvement upon U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,338,446 and 4,166,552. The neck of the container is sealed with a commercially available foil seal; the cap is dimensioned so that the foil seal is inserted inside the cap prior to its being applied to the container. The dimensions of the cap accommodate the foil seal yet the snap-on and the tamper-proof features of the cap are maintained. At intervals, scorelines are formed extending upward from the bottom of the cap skirt; these tear if one attempts to pry the cap off the container and are visible evidence of the tampering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 1983
    Date of Patent: November 27, 1984
    Assignee: Three Sisters Ranch Enterprises Ptnrshp
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock, III
  • Patent number: 4438857
    Abstract: A cap for a wide-mouth container has a short inner skirt and a longer outer skirt. The outer skirt has upper and lower internal locking beads which are preferably interrupted with gaps between bead sections. Above the lower locking bead is a circumferential score line. A portion of the outer skirt below the score line is cut away to form a pull tab extending parallel to the score line. The cap has a peripheral flange the undersigned of which slants downward-inward. The container neck is thin walled, having an internal top flange terminating in a first sealing surface which bears against the top of the inner skirt, a groove below the last-mentioned surface and a second sealing surface below the groove which also bears against the inner skirt. The neck also has upper and lower external beads each having shoulders on their lower edges under which the upper and lower internal locking beads of the cap seat. The neck curves outward in a lower shoulder immediately below the bottom edge of the skirt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 1982
    Date of Patent: March 27, 1984
    Assignee: Three Sisters Ranch Enterprises
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock, III
  • Patent number: 4437593
    Abstract: A container neck has a bead mating with the internal bead on the lower end of the skirt of a sifter fitment. A plastic tamper-proof cap fits over the fitment and has a skirt having two vertically spaced internal beads locking under the shoulders of external beads on the container neck. The cap skirt has a first score line immediately above the lower internal cap bead and a second score line extending from the first score line to the bottom edge of the cap skirt. Preferably both the internal cap beads are interrupted. The cap has a peripheral flange, the underside of which slants downward-inward.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 1982
    Date of Patent: March 20, 1984
    Assignee: Three Sisters Ranch Enterprises
    Inventor: Joseph J. Bullock, III