Two-part closure system and nozzle with groove

Abstract

A closure system for a container comprising a base cap (11) located over a hole in the container and having at least one aperture (17) for passage of fluid therethrough, an overcap (12) locatable over the base cap, having an opening to allow passage of fluid or milk therethrough and moveable between an open position where the fluid can pass through the opening and a closed position where the fluid is substantially prevented from passage through the opening, a nozzle or teat (13) which is coupled to the overcap (12) and having an outlet (41) for passage of fluid therethrough and a passage (30) in the form of a groove that extends from the interior of the overcap (12) to a region above the overcap (12).

Description

The present invention relates to the invention disclosed in co-pending PCT application no. PCT/AU01/01091.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to closure systems for containers such as bottles of liquid. However the invention also relates to containers of all types of fluid such as gases and chemical fluids including hazardous chemicals.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A babies bottle normally has a closure system which consists of a screw-on cap having a teat or nozzle. A baby sucking on the teat is able to withdraw milk inside the bottle.

Unfortunately a baby drinking from a bottle as described above frequently encounters the problem of colic which occurs when milk and air is ingested by the baby at the same time.

The problem with existing babies bottles is that the bottle cap with the teat cannot prevent air passing in through the hole in the teat to the interior of the bottle. Such a flow of air occurs automatically due to the partial vacuum which is created in the nozzle when the baby sucks milk through the hole in the teat.

The present invention preferably provides an alternative type of closure system which when applied to a babies bottle is able to reduce air being sucked through the hole in the teat along with milk.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a closure system for a container comprising a base cap which is adapted to be located over one or more holes in the container and having at least one aperture for passage of fluid therethrough, an overcap locatable over the base cap, having at least one opening to allow passage of fluid therethrough and moveable between an open position where the fluid can pass through the or each opening and a closed position where the fluid is substantially prevented from passage through the opening, a nozzle which is adapted to be coupled to the overcap and having an outlet for passage of fluid therethrough and a passage extending from the interior of the overcap to a region above the overcap.

Preferably the passage comprises a channel or other conduit for air or gas.

Preferably the passage has an exit to the outside environment in a top surface of the overcap.

Alternatively the passage has an exit to the outside environment in an outer surface of the nozzle.

It is preferred that the passage has an exit to the outside environment between the upper surface of the overcap and the outer surface of the nozzle.

It is preferred that the passage comprises a groove formed in the nozzle and/or the overcap.

Preferably the nozzle has a lower flange.

The passage may be formed in an upper surface of the flange.

The passage may have an inlet in a bottom surface of the nozzle.

It is preferred that the passage has an inlet in a bottom surface of the nozzle.

The inlet may be in a bottom edge of the flange.

Preferably the passage extends along a peripheral edge of the nozzle.

It is preferred that the passage includes a spiral portion that spirals around a top portion of the nozzle.

Preferably the passage extends around the centre of the nozzle at least once.

Preferably the passage extends around the centre of the nozzle 720° from the inlet.

The passage may extend upwardly from an inner end of the spiral portion.

Preferably the passage extends upwardly from an inner end of the spiral portion at a location radially inwardly from the inlet.

It is preferred that the passage is formed on an inner lower surface of the top surface of the overcap.

It is preferred that the nozzle includes a collar which is located above the flange.

The nozzle may be flexible.

Preferably the nozzle includes a central body with the flange located at the base of the body.

The exit preferably comprises a groove in an underside of the collar, which groove extends to the peripheral edge of the collar.

The passage may extend upwardly along the outer surface of the central body, from the flange.

The flange may include a peripheral edge comprising a sealing means for sealing the nozzle against the inside surface of the overcap.

The sealing means may comprise a flexible skirt.

The skirt is preferably downwardly extending.

It is preferred that the skirt has an edge which contacts the inner surface of the side wall of the overcap.

Preferably the collar is adapted to rest on the top surface of the overcap.

It is preferred that the top surface of the flange is adapted to abut against the bottom surface of the top wall of the overcap.

The inlet may be located between the peripheral edge of the flange and a corresponding portion of the adjacent internal surface of the side wall of the overcap.

According to an alternative embodiment the passage comprises a groove formed in the bottom surface of the top wall of the overcap.

The exit may comprise a groove in an inner peripheral edge surrounding the opening.

It is preferred that the inlet is located in close proximity to the inner peripheral edge of the flange.

The inlet may comprise a small portal which extends from an inner side edge portion to an outer face of the flange.

It is preferred that the exit extends through a wall of the overcap.

Preferably the portal connects with the groove which extends around the centre of the nozzle.

The portal may exit in a side wall of the overcap.

The base cap and overcap may be configured to permit the overcap to be screwed onto the base cap.

Preferably the overcap has a female thread on its inside surface of the side wall with at least one ridge located across the female thread.

Preferably the overcap includes two ridges.

The base cap may have a male thread on its outer side wall surface with at least one transverse groove.

According to one embodiment the base cap has two transverse grooves to define the open and closed position of the closure system.

According to another embodiment the base cap has two spaced transverse grooves on each of two male threads.

The closure system may include stoppage means for providing a resistance to turning of the overcap when it has been turned to a predetermined distance to open the opening.

The stoppage means may comprise the ridge/transverse groove combination.

The stoppage means may provide a resistance to turning of the overcap when it has been turned to a closed position.

The resistance to turning may be slightly greater than the force required to twist the base cap off of the container.

The words “comprising, having, including” should be interpreted in an inclusive sense, meaning that additional features may also be added.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1a shows a front cross-sectional view of the closure system in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1b shows a close-up view of the closure system shown in FIG. 1a;

FIG. 2a shows a top angled view of a base cap according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2b shows a side view of the base cap shown in FIG. 2a;

FIG. 3a shows a front angled view of an overcap according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3b shows an angled bottom view of the overcap shown in FIG. 3a;

FIG. 4a shows a front view of a teat in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4b shows a cross-sectional view of the teat shown in FIG. 4a;

FIG. 5 shows an angled view of a babies bottle with the closure system of the present invention in an unassembled form and according to a further embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows a top view of an overcap according to the further embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows a side view of the overcap shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 shows a bottom view of the overcap shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 shows a top view of a base cap according to the further embodiment;

FIG. 10 shows a side view of the base cap shown in FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 shows a bottom view of the base cap shown in FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As shown in FIG. 1a the closure system consists of a base cap 11 and overcap 12 and a teat 13.

The base cap shown in FIG. 2a is generally cylindrical in shape and has a side wall 14 and flat circular wall 15 with a central dome 16 surrounded by four equispaced apertures 17. The side wall 14 is provided with a male thread 18 consisting of two thread portions 19, 20, with each thread having vertical grooves 21 spaced apart approximately 90° with respect to a centre line through the base cap 11.

The underside of the base cap (not shown) has an internal thread to allow the base cap to be screwed onto the neck of a bottle. In addition a circular rim extends downwardly from underneath the top surface 15 and encloses the apertures 17 as they appear from the underside of the top surface 15.

The overcap shown in FIG. 3a has a similar shape to the base cap 11 and has external peripheral castellations around its side wall 22 to assist with gripping and turning. The inside surface 23 of the overcap 12 is provided with female threads or grooves which are adapted to engage with the male thread of the base cap 11. In addition vertical ridges 24 are provided across each of the two female threads and these are adapted for engagement with the grooves in the male thread of the base cap 11.

The top surface of top wall 25 of the overcap 12 is generally flat with a circular opening therethrough. The inside surface 26 of the top wall 25 is also generally flat.

The teat 13 shown in FIG. 4a is made of a resilient plastic or rubber material and has a circular thin base 27, a teat body 28 and a small collar 29 spaced slightly above the circular base 27.

As shown in FIG. 4b the base 27 which is in the form of a thin flange, has a passage 30 in the form of a groove which begins at an entry point 31 at a peripheral edge of the base 27 and this groove extends firstly upwardly vertically along the outer edge 32 then radially inwardly a short distance as referenced by item 33 and then around the main teat body 28 in the form of a circular spiral 34 which completes two revolutions of the main teat body 28 before extending radially inwardly (as represented by item 35) a short distance approximately in line with section 33.

The groove then extends vertically upwardly in the outer wall of the main teat body 28 and then radially outwardly at 36 underneath collar 29. The passage 30 ends in an exit 37 to the outside environment.

The base 27 is annular and has a central opening 38 which allows passage of fluid into the main teat body 28.

In use each of the components 11, 12 and 13 are assembled as shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b. Thus the teat is coupled with the overcap 12 so that the main teat body 28 protrudes through the opening in the overcap 12. The upper surface 39 of the base 27 abuts the under surface 26 of the overcap. Thus the groove 30 becomes an enclosed passage.

The collar 29 is pushed through the opening in the overcap and rests on the inner peripheral edge of the overcap 12 which surrounds the opening.

Only the radially outwardly extending groove 36 is located above the level of the top surface 25 while the rest of the groove except for the vertical section above the base 27 is located underneath the top wall 25.

In a first mode of operation when the closure assembly is open the base cap 11 is screwed onto the neck of a bottle (not shown) and the overcap 12 is screwed onto the base cap 11 to a position where the ridges 24 in its female thread rest in the uppermost vertical grooves 21 of the male thread of the base cap 11.

At this point the overcap 12 has its top surface 25 raised clear of the top surface 15 of the base cap 11. Thus as shown in FIG. 1a a space 40 exists between top wall 15 and top wall 25. Therefore the central dome 16 which normally blocks and seals the opening 38 in the base 27 is clear of this opening 38 so that fluid is able to pass into the main teat body 28 and out through the teat outlet 41 when the bottle is inverted.

As fluid is withdrawn through the outlet 41 a partial vacuum is created inside the closure assembly and therefore there is a tendency for air from the outside environment to try and enter through any opening that is available. Normally this would be the outlet 41. However because of the provision of the passage 30 shown in FIG. 1B from the exit 37 to the inlet 31 air is able to be drawn in through the exit 37 around the passage created by grooves 34 down the outside of the peripheral edge of the base 27 and into the chamber 40. Air is then able to pass down any one of the apertures 17 to replace fluid which leaves the bottle and passes out through the outlet 41. Therefore only fluid tends to flow through the outlet 41 and air passes through the passage 30 because this provides a lower path of resistance to its entry than through the outlet 41.

Thus the space between the overcap and the base cap 11 results in the formation of two chambers. One of these chambers being above the overcap 12 and the other being below the overcap 12 and above base cap 11. Thus liquid is able to fill both chambers and the passage 30 maintains the liquid in these passages at neutral pressure. In other words when the bottle is inverted there is no force on the liquid other than gravity, so that liquid can be maintained in these chambers until the outlet 41 is opened to allow the liquid to simply drop therethrough or be sucked therethrough by the likes of a baby.

Because this liquid has no nett pressure applied to it a baby sucking on the nozzle is not sucking against any pressure and therefore has a reduced likelihood of drawing in air.

As liquid leaves the outlet 41 new liquid from the bottle flows into the two chambers to replace that liquid which leaves.

The base 27 is a flexible annular flange with a peripheral downwardly extending skirt 42 which acts as a seal.

When fluid is being withdrawn through the outlet 41 by, for example a sucking action, the skirt 42 is able to move slightly downwardly so that air can more easily enter the chamber 40. However when fluid is not being withdrawn through the outlet 41 the skirt 42 assumes a position in abutting relationship with the adjacent internal surface 43 of the overcap 12.

This provides a seal around the periphery of the base 27 except for the small inlet opening 31.

When it is desired to close the closure assembly the overcap 12 is simply twisted in the opposite direction to that for opening the closure assembly and the bottom surface 43 of the base 27 is forced against the top surface 15 of the base cover 11 so that the dome 16 fits into the opening 38 and seals it off.

As the apertures 17 are covered by the base 27, fluid cannot escape therethrough from the interior of the bottle.

The lowermost vertical grooves 21 in the base cap 11 are adapted to receive a respective one of the ridges 24 of the overcap so as to provide an indication of when the overcap is in a closed position.

The closure assembly described above provides an easy way of opening and closing a babies bottle to allow or prevent passage of fluid from the babies bottle through outlet 41. In addition the passage configuration allows air to enter the chambers formed inside the closure assembly and limit if not prevent air entering through the outlet 41.

The embodiment described above may be modified so that the passage is formed as a converse arrangement of that described but the passage could be formed as a groove in the overcap 12 rather than the teat 13.

FIG. 5 shows a closure assembly according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As with the previous embodiment the closure system consists of a base cap 111, an overcap 121 and a teat 131. In addition a babies bottle 50 is shown having a neck with an external thread. The base cap 111 is screwed onto the neck of the bottle 51 and the closure assembly is operated in a similar fashion to that described in relation to the previous embodiment.

The main differences between this embodiment and the previous embodiment are:

• • i. the design of the teat 131; and
  • ii. the design of the overcap 121.

In the previous embodiment the teat as shown in FIG. 4A is provided with a small collar 29. In addition as shown in FIG. 4B the passage 30 in the form of a groove extends from entry point 31 at the periphery of circular base 27 and spirals around the main teat body 28 up and under the small collar 39 to exit point 37.

In contrast teat 131 in FIG. 5 does not have a passage in the form of a groove formed on the base of the teat 27. Instead the passage is created on the underside of the overcap 121 and is shown most clearly in FIG. 8. Thus the underside of overcap 121 has an entry point 320 for passage 300 located on the inner surface 112 of the top of the overcap 121.

In a similar fashion to the passage for the teat of the previous embodiment, the passage 300 starts at entry point 320, extends part way radially inwardly towards the centre of the overcap 121 and then spirals around the opening 113 of the overcap 121. The passage 300 spirals around the opening 113 two times (720°) and terminates in an exit at the inner peripheral edge of the overcap 121 in line with the entry point 320.

A short external passage or groove may be provided in the external surface of the teat from the exit point 350 vertically upwards on the external surface of the teat and under the collar of the teat 290 in a similar fashion to that provided in the previous embodiment.

By having the passage 300 formed on the overcap, the passage is rigid and avoids problems of passage integrity and manufacturing a suitable passage in the teat.

As previously described the lower peripheral edge of the base of the teat is still provided with a skirt 42 or diaphragm which is thin and resilient enough to flex and allow entry of air when the bottle is inverted for use and likewise is able to act as a seal to prevent exit of fluid through the passage if the bottle is squeezed. Thus squeezing of the bottle actually applies a pressure to the fluid and forces the flap to force a seal with the inner peripheral edge of the overcap and prevent liquid from passing around the diaphragm to the entry point of the passage 320.

It is possible for a separate diaphragm to be located underneath the base of the teat to achieve a similar objective as that described above. Similarly the flap could be provided on some form of shroud placed over the base cap 111, but having holes matching those in the base cap 111 to allow fluid passage therethrough. The flap may also be provided on the inner surface of the overcap 121.

It is noted that by having the spiral path for the passage 30, 300 this allows for surface tension and helps reduce leakage of fluid from the bottle 50.

FIGS. 9 to 11 show various views of the base cap 111. This is substantially the same as that of the previous embodiment.

It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or in any other country.

Claims

1. A closure system for a container comprising a base cap which is adapted to be located over a hole in the container and having at least one aperture for passage of fluid therethrough, an overcap locatable over the base cap, having an opening to allow passage of fluid therethrough and moveable between an open position where the fluid can pass through the opening and a closed position where the fluid is substantially prevented from passage through the opening, a nozzle which is adapted to be coupled to the overcap and having an outlet for passage of fluid therethrough and a passage extending from the interior of the overcap to a region above the overcap.

2. The closure system claimed in claim 1 wherein the passage comprises a channel formed in the nozzle.

3. The closure system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the passage comprises a channel formed in the overcap.

4. The closure system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the passage has an exit to the outside environment in a top surface of the overcap.

5. The closure system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the passage has an exit to the outside environment in an outer surface of the nozzle.

6. The closure system as claimed in claim 4 wherein the passage has an exit to the outside environment between the upper surface of the overcap and the outer surface of the nozzle.

7. The closure system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the nozzle has a lower flange.

8. The closure system as claimed in claim 7 wherein the passage is formed in an upper surface of the flange.

9. The closure as claimed in claim 1 wherein an inlet to the passage is provided at an inner peripheral region of the overcap.

10. The closure system as claimed in claim 9 wherein the inlet is located between the peripheral edge of the flange and a corresponding portion of the adjacent internal surface of the side wall of the overcap.

11. The closure system as claimed in claim 10 wherein the passage extends radially inwardly from the inlet.

12. The closure system as claimed in claim 11 wherein the passage includes a spiral portion which spirals around a top portion of the nozzle.

13. The closure system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the passage spirals around the top portion of the nozzle 720° with respect to the inlet.

14. The closure system as claimed in claim 13 wherein the passage extends upwardly from an inner end of the spiral portion.

15. The closure system as claimed in claim 14 wherein the nozzle includes a collar which is located above the flange.

16. The closure system as claimed in claim 14 wherein the passage is formed in the bottom surface of the top wall of the overcap.

17. The closure assembly as claimed in claim 1 including a sealing means for sealing the inlet to the passage to seal the passage against exit of fluid in the container.

18. The closure system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the sealing means comprises a flexible skirt.

19. The closure system as claimed in claim 18 wherein the flexible skirt comprises a lip which is adapted to contact an opposing surface of the overcap.

20. The closure system as claimed in claim 19 wherein the lip is located at a peripheral edge of the flange.

21. The closure system as claimed in claim 19 wherein the sealing means comprises an annular member with the lip located at a peripheral edge thereof.

22. The closure system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the base comprises a plurality of apertures located around the centre of the base cap.

23. The closure system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the base cap has an external thread on its outer side wall which is adapted to mate with a matching thread on an internal side wall of the overcap.

24. The closure system as claimed in claim 23 wherein the base cap has a male thread on its outer side wall surface with at least two transverse grooves to define open and closed positions of the closure system.

25. The closure system as claimed in claim 24 wherein the overcap is adapted to be rotated to move between open and closed positions.

26. The closure system as claimed in claim 25 wherein the closure system is adapted to provide a first chamber between the overcap and the base cap when the overcap is in the open position and a second chamber between the overcap and the nozzle.

27. The closure system as claimed in claim 26 wherein the overcap includes at least one ridge which is adapted to provide resistance to turning of the overcap.

28. The closure system as claimed in claim 27 including a stoppage means for providing resistance to turning of the overcap when it has been turned to a predetermined distance to open the opening.

29. The closure system as claimed in claim 28 wherein the stoppage means comprises at least one ridge of the overcap and at least one groove of the base cap.

30. The closure system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the passage is configured to provide surface tension which restricts passage of liquid therethrough.