Tamper-revealing nozzle cap with safety fastening ring

Abstract

A flexible plastic belt includes a first ring which is force fit over a cap uncovering a nozzle dispenser of a flowable product container to prevent the cap from being lost or swallowed. The belt includes a second ring which connects the cap to the nozzle until a rotational twist of the cap breaks the connection. The belt is part of the cap as a single unit construction.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

NONE

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Research and development of this invention and Application have not been federally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program.

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

NOT APPLICABLE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a tamper-revealing, safety cap for the nozzle of a container through which its product contents flow.

2. Description of the Related Art

Disposable, flexible plastic pouches containing flowable candy or confectionery product contents are regularly sold in retail stores. Typically, the candy or confection is accessed by tearing off a top corner of the pouch, through which the product content is sipped or sucked out. Alternatively, a nozzle may be built into the top which, when a covering cap is removed, allows the candy/confection to flow into the mouth. As will be understood, tamper resistance of the cap is highly desirable. So, too, is the prevention of the cap coming loose and being swallowed. This is especially needed when the product content is being sipped or sucked by a child.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a new and improved tamper-revealing, safety cap for a container having a nozzle-type dispensing outlet.

It is also an object of the invention to provide such a cap which remains secure to the container nozzle when in use.

It is another object of the invention to provide this cap for the liquid and flowable candy industries where confectionery product contents are sipped or sucked out.

It is a further object of the invention to provide this tamper-revealing, safety cap for use in other industries where a spreading of dispensed product content is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention can be more easily understood by considering the construction of a twin-chambered sealed pouch with each chamber being provided with its own nozzle for dispensing liquid or flowable candy. Such pouch may be provided with its own hard bottom for displaying the pouch vertically, in allowing one such twin-chambered pouch to sit and be displayed on a shelf, next to another. A twin nozzle or spout is inserted at the top, one nozzle being inserted into each chamber of the pouch, where it is heat-sealed. A hard, twin base is inserted at the bottom, one base being inserted into each chamber, which is heat-sealed, as well. This allows the pouch to stand vertically.

In accordance with that construction, more particularly described in my pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/655,170, filed Dec. 24, 2009, and entitled Twin-Chambered Sealed Pouch, now U.S. Pat. No. ______, the two nozzles are spaced sufficiently close to one another to allow them to both, at the same time, fit within a user's mouth. In this manner, a user could sip or suck the product content of either chamber individually, or of both chambers simultaneously, whether the product content of the chambers be the same or different. A spacing of 1¼″ for the nozzles was described as being preferable for this.

Further in accordance with that construction, a screw-on cap with a breakaway ring and a safety ring are utilized. The breakaway ring separates from the cap when the cap is removed for the very first time in breaking the seal, although leaving the breakaway ring attached to the nozzle beneath a nozzle flange. The safety ring is force fit over the cap through a safety belt in keeping the cap secured to the breakaway ring once the cap is removed.

As will be seen from the description below, the screw-on cap of this invention is a single All-in-One unit in which the safety belt is part of the cap construction. In my Twin-Chambered Sealed Pouch case, on the other hand, the belt and cap are two separate parts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the invention will be more clearly understood from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1a and 1b are exploded and assembled views respectively of my aforesaid twin-chambered sealed pouch construction;

FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c are views helpful in an understanding of the bottom part, or twin base, of that twin-chambered pouch;

FIGS. 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d are views helpful in an understanding of the twin nozzle, of that twin-chambered pouch;

FIGS. 4a-4i are illustrations of a pair of safety cap and belt constructions according to that invention for opening and closing off the nozzles in securing the caps to the twin-chambered pouch;

FIGS. 5a-5f are views helpful in an understanding of plugs employed in the filling of the chambers of the pouch with the product contents and with its final step of assembly;

FIGS. 6a and 6b are views helpful in understanding the arrangement of layered laminations in fabricating that pouch construction; and

FIGS. 7a-7e are illustrations helpful in an understanding of the tamper-revealing, All-in-One safety cap of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The component parts of the twin-chambered sealed pouch of my Ser. No. 12/655,170 Application are here repeated in the exploded view of FIG. 1a, arranged as in the assembled view of FIG. 1b:

a. Reference numeral 8 identifies layered film chambers of the pouch 10;

b. Reference numeral 12 represents the twin base of the pouch which is inserted into the chambers' bottom openings 14 where it is heat-sealed to insure a leak-proof seal between the twin base and the bottom of the chambers. The twin base 12 is made of the same plastic material as the inner layer of the chambers 8 in accomplishing this, preferably of polyethylene;

c. Reference numeral 16 identifies the twin nozzle of the pouch, also of the same plastic fabrication as the inner layer of the chambers where it is to seal—preferably again of polyethylene. The twin nozzle is inserted into the chambers' top openings 18, and heat-sealed to ensure a leak-proof seal between the twin nozzle and the top of the chambers.

d. In accordance with that invention, each nozzle has a ring flange 20 which attaches to one ring of a safety belt 22. Screw threads 24 attach a removable cover cap 26;

e. The safety belt 22 employs a pair of front rings 28 which are force fit onto the nozzle's ring flange 20 located just beneath the screw threads 24. Its other rear two rings 30 are used and force fitted to the caps 26;

f. The caps have “break away” rings 32 built into them, with the caps 26 being screwed onto the threads 24 and force fit onto the same flanges 20 as shared by the safety belt 22. These “break away” rings 32 separate from the caps when the caps are removed for the very first time by the end user, and the seals are broken (leaving the breakaway ring 32 attached to the twin nozzle under the flange 20)—as more clearly shown and described with respect to the views of FIG. 4a-4i;

g. Reference numeral 38 identifies a pair of flexible bottom plugs which are pushed to snap into openings 40 of the twin base 12 to seal off each chamber after it is filled with its particular product content. Such container and chamber will be seen to be filled through the openings 40, up and into the bottom of the chamber 8. The plugs 38 are constructed to comply with child safety regulations, and once pushed in, are unable to be opened or removed without the use of tool implementations.

(As will be apparent from the assembled view of FIG. 1b, the shape of the twin base 12 and the shape of the twin nozzle 16 are what dictate the overall shape of the pouch 10.)

The various views of FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c are helpful in understanding the twin base 12 and its assembly with the bottom of the pouch. Specifically, FIG. 2a is a perspective top view of the twin base 12, with FIG. 2b being a perspective bottom view. Reference numeral 42 illustrates a multi-grooved surface on the twin base 12 to ensure that the seal to the bottom of the chamber 8 is leak resistant (FIG. 2c). Reference numerals 44 are bottom openings in the twin base 12 which receive the pushed-in plugs 38 inserted after the product content is introduced to fill the two chambers, either with the same or different flowable candy or confectionery. Reference numeral 46 in FIG. 2a illustrates top ring flanges in the twin base 12 to snap the plugs in position in holding them securely in place. Reference numeral 46 is also shown in FIG. 2c, where reference numeral 48 identifies a support for the standing of the twin-chambered pouch vertically.

In like manner, FIGS. 3a and 3b are perspective top and bottom views of the twin nozzle 16, with FIG. 3c being a sectional view of one nozzle. The nozzle opening for sipping or sucking the product content is shown at 50 and the nozzle flange 20 of FIG. 1a is replicated at 52 in holding both the safety belt 22 and the breakaway ring 32 of FIG. 1b. The screw threads 24 of FIG. 1a are replicated in FIG. 3a at 54—with a second multi-grooved surface 56 to ensure a leak resistant seal to the top of the chamber 8. The view of FIG. 3d shows the twin nozzle 16 sealed into the top openings 18 of the two chambers in forming the twin-chambered pouch. Reference numeral 58 identifies each nozzle being sealed into one chamber, with the nozzles 58 preferably being spaced 1¼″ from one another.

FIGS. 4a, 4b and 4c are helpful in an understanding of the twin safety belt construction, while FIGS. 4d-4i are helpful in an understanding of the nozzle caps and their interconnections with the safety belt. More particularly, FIGS. 4a and 4b respectively illustrate top and bottom views of the safety belt 22 of FIG. 1a. The front rings 28 of the belt 22 snap over the nozzle flanges 20 and are held there by a force fit (FIG. 4c). The rear rings 30 of the belt 22 snap over the caps 26 to force fit to the breakaway rings 32 by rotation in the direction of the arrow (FIG. 4h). FIG. 4i shows a cap 26 removed from a nozzle 16 to allow a sipping or sucking to occur, while the cap 16 is still attached to the safety belt.

FIG. 4d is a sectional view of the cap 26 showing its internal structure, its outer structure being shown by the perspective view of the cap in FIG. 4e. Reference numeral 60 in FIG. 4e indicates a cap flange which holds the rear rings 30 of the safety belt. FIG. 4f, on the other hand, is a bottom view of the cap, showing the bottom structure of the cap flange 60 for the breakaway function when the cap is first unscrewed and removed.

In completing this description, FIGS. 4g and 4h illustrate the cap 26 being screwed to the nozzle 58, and then attached, while at the same time being force fitted over the same flange 20 as the front rings 28 of the safety belt 22. FIG. 4i shows the cap unscrewed with the breakaway ring separated from the rest of the cap although remaining on the nozzle 16 under its flange 20. In this manner, the cap(s) remain secured on the nozzle until twisted off for first usage by the purchaser as a new product, breaking away the seal, and then, thereafter, closing the cap when the product content is completely sipped or sucked out—or when closing off the nozzle after a partial withdrawal. A tamper-revealing is thus provided, as well as a safety-preventing of any cap detachment from the twin-chambered pouch since the cap 26 is fixed to the nozzle 16.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the chambers of the pouch of my Ser. No. 12/655,170 Application are filled with their respective “product contents” through their twin base openings 40. The final assembly step is then to snap the bottom plugs 38 into the openings 40. As will be appreciated, such plugs are also to be designed with child safety in mind. Thus, FIGS. 5a, 5b and 5c respectively illustrate a perspective top view of the plug 38, a perspective bottom view, and a sectional view. As FIG. 5a illustrates, the plug 38 includes a head 70 that is smaller than its tail 72, with both being slightly larger than the opening 40 of the base 12 into which it is inserted (FIG. 5d). The head 70 is forced through the top flange 46 in the twin base opening of FIG. 2a—which being smaller than the head 70, flexes to allow the head's passing, and then snaps back to secure the positioning of the head and the plug fully recessed within the base. FIG. 5e, in this respect, illustrates a sectional view of the plug—and, again, its insertion into the opening 40 of the twin base. The illustration of FIG. 5f then shows the plugs 38 snapped all the way into the twin base 12 with the tail 72 showing. The shading of FIGS. 5d-5f indicates the chambers as being filled with product content.

A perspective view of the twin-chambered sealed pouch of that construction shown in FIG. 6a has a left outer edge seal 75 and a right outer edge seal 77. The pouch 10 has a center seal 79 in forming the double chamber whose bottom openings 14 receive the twin base 12 and whose top openings 18 receive the twin nozzle 16. Each chamber 8 is multi-layered as shown in FIG. 6b, consisting of front and back panels 80, 82 respectively. The front panel 80 consists of transparent polyethylene layers 83 and 85 separated by a nylon film or aluminum foil layer 84. The back panel 82 includes a pair of transparent polyethylene layers 86 and 88 separated by a nylon film or aluminum foil layer 87. The edges of the panels are heat sealed in forming the two chambers, to receive the flowable candy or confectionery product contents therebetween.

In essence, and more generally, the front panel 80 includes an outer layer, a center layer and an inner layer. The back panel 82 similarly is composed of outer, center and inner layers. Laminated together, the inner and outer layers of the front and back panels 80 and 82 are of the same material composition. The center layers of the panels can be of the same material composition as each other, or different in serving as a moisture barrier. With the center layer of nylon film, for example, a user will be able to see the product content inside the chamber either through the chamber's front side or through its back side. With the center layer of aluminum foil or paper, on the other hand, the moisture barrier protection and strength they each provide to the chamber carries the disadvantage of preventing the consumer from seeing exactly what product is inside the chamber. With a nylon center layer in the front panel, and with an aluminum center layer in the back panel, the center layers not only add strength to the chamber, provide it with moisture barrier protection, and extend its shelf life, but they better serve to reflect to a prospective purchaser the color of the product content of the chamber.

With this arrangement of the twin-chambered pouch, sealing each chamber and separating one chamber from the other, both the inner layer of the front panel and the inner layer of the back panel are fabricated of polyethylene so that they are able to seal to one another. While the outer layer of the front panel and the outer layer of the back panel can be fabricated of different plastic compositions, in this preferred arrangement, they are both composed of the same polyethylene composition. Between the front panel and the back panel, the product content of each chamber is added via the twin base 12 through its openings 40 to be then sealed.

With the hard twin base bottom, a retail store seller can better display the pouches vertically on a shelf in catching a customer's eyes and improving its chances of purchase over and beyond any printed advertising that may be accompanying the product itself. With the ability to sip or suck either product content separately or together through the 1¼″ spaced twin nozzle, the pouch becomes more desirable to the consumer. This is even more so with the flexible plastic panels of the chambers, and with the chambers themselves becoming more and more collapsible upon continual squeezing by a user to dispense the product contents within. Thus, and in these manners, the twin-chambered sealed pouch offers benefits both to the retail store seller and to the purchasing customer.

Whereas the preceding description describes the nozzle cap and its belt-and-ring interconnections for use in a twin-chambered pouch where product content is sipped or sucked, it will be understood that its tamper-revealing and safety cap securement would apply equally as well for a single, one-chambered pouch; or to one where the product content is to be spread from the nozzle, rather than being sipped or sucked out.

As will be appreciated from the FIG. 1a exploded view of my twin-chambered pouch, the belts 22 and the caps 26 are two separate parts. The various views of FIGS. 7a-7e, on the other hand, are helpful in understanding the All-in-One alternative construction of the present invention where the belt and cap are together as a single unit.

Thus, in the sectional view of the fully assembled cap of FIG. 7a and in the simplified view of FIG. 7e, the screw threads of the nozzle 90 are shown at 91, and upper and lower flanges 92 and 93 on the nozzle capture the breakaway front ring 94 of the safety belt 95 in an indent area 104 (FIG. 7d). Reference numeral 96 illustrates the cap in each of the FIG. 7 views, with the rear belt safety ring previously identified as 30 in the views of FIG. 4 being shown as 97 in FIG. 7b. Reference numeral 98 identifies an inner seal ring for the cap 96, reference numeral 99 identifies its inner screw threads for securing to the nozzle threads 91, and reference numerals 100 and 101 identify flanges on the cap 96 forming an indent area 102 on the cap for holding the belt safety ring 97.

In this manner, the sectional view of FIG. 7a is helpful in understanding the manner by which the breakaway front ring 94 works with the nozzle flanges 92, 93—however, some degree of clarity can be obtained from the assembled view of FIG. 7b showing the cap 96 assembled to the nozzle 90 with the safety ring 97 being open. By unscrewing the cap 96 from the nozzle 90, an initial grooved join in the nature of a notch-and-tab interconnection 105 between the cap flange 101 and the front ring 94 of the belt 95 is broken—but with the breakaway ring 94 still attached to the nozzle 90 in indent area 104. The cap 96 then separates from the nozzle 90 and the breakaway ring 94. With the safety ring 97 forced down over the flange 100 at the top of the cap 96 into the indent area 102, however, the safety ring 97 and the cap 96 remain connected, connected to the nozzle by the breakaway ring 94 between the flanges 92, 93 (FIG. 7c).

FIG. 7d shows the cap assembled, but not attached to the nozzle to better see the area where the breakaway ring 94 secures with the nozzle. Twisting the cap to remove it, then, severs the connection between the cap and the breakaway ring 94 in providing tamper-revealing of the cap. The safety ring 97 captured with the cap by means of the belt 95, on the other hand, prevents the cap from coming loose and being either lost or swallowed. An “All-in-One Cap” then results.

For purposes of clarity, the view of FIG. 7b illustrates the cap assembled to the nozzle, although in usage, the belt safety ring 97 previously identified in FIG. 4b by the reference numeral 30 would be forced fit over the cap 96 to be captured in the indent area 102 between the flanges 100 and 101 (FIG. 7e). Before unscrewing the cap 96 in this respect, and after unscrewing it, the breakaway ring 94 remains fixed with the nozzle 90 in the indent area 104, while at the same time, the cap 96 remains attached with the belt 95 by means of the safety ring 97. The securing of the flexible belt and its rings with the cap 96 and nozzle 90 to prevent their separation, and the understanding of the replaceability of the cap to close off the dispensing end of the nozzle to retain any residual product content of the pouch container for a later use, will become clear from the following:

a) the flanges 100, 101 of the cap 96 are vertically spaced to encircle the cap 96 in forming the indent area 102;

b) the flanges 92, 93 of the nozzle 90 are vertically spaced to encircle the nozzle 90 in forming the indent area 104;

c) the flange 100 is of a smaller outside diameter than the outside diameter of the flange 101;

d) the flange 92 is of a smaller outside diameter than the outside diameter of the flange 93;

e) the breakaway ring 94 is of an inside diameter slightly less than the outside diameter of the flange 92 but able to be force fit over the flange 92 to the indent area 104;

f) the safety ring 97 is of an inside diameter slightly less than the outside diameter of the flange 100 but able to be force fit over the flange 100 to the indent area 102;

g) the cap 96 is internally threaded at 99; and

h) the nozzle 90 is externally threaded at 91.

Rotating the cap 96 in a first direction then opens the dispensing end of the nozzle 90, while rotating the cap 96 in the opposite direction closes the dispensing end of the nozzle. With both rotations, however, the cap 96 is held secure to the nozzle 90 by the safety belt and its rings, 97.

While there has been described what is considered to be a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the teachings herein. For at least such reason, therefore, resort should be had to the claims appended hereto for a true understanding of the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. In a flowable product container, apparatus comprising:

a nozzle on said container having a dispensing end;

a removable cap for said container adapted to open and close said dispensing end;

a flexible belt having a first ring adapted to encircle said nozzle and a second ring adapted to encircle said cap;

a first indent area on said cap sized to receive said second ring of said belt;

a second indent area on said nozzle sized to receive said first ring of said belt; and

a notch-and-tab interconnection between a top surface of said first ring and a bottom surface of said cap breakable upon a rotational turning of said cap in a first direction from an initial position to open said dispensing end.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said removable cap is internally threaded, and wherein said nozzle is externally threaded to couple therewith in closing said dispensing end of said nozzle upon a rotational turning of said cap in a second, opposite direction.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said removable cap includes first and second vertically spaced circumferentially encircling flanges forming said first indent area.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said nozzle includes first and second vertically spaced circumferentially encircling flanges defining said second indent area.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said removable cap includes first and second vertically spaced circumferentially encircling flanges forming said first indent area, and wherein said nozzle includes first and second vertically spaced circumferentially encircling flanges defining said second indent area.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said first circumferentially encircling flange of said cap is of a smaller outside diameter than the outside diameter of said second circumferentially encircling flange of said cap.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said first circumferentially encircling flange of said nozzle is of a smaller outside diameter than the outside diameter of said second circumferentially encircling flange of said nozzle.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said first circumferentially encircling flange of said cap is of a smaller outside diameter than the outside diameter of said second circumferentially encircling flange of said cap, and wherein said first circumferentially encircling flange of said nozzle is of a smaller outside diameter than the outside diameter of said second circumferentially encircling flange of said nozzle.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said first ring of said flexible belt is of an inside diameter slightly less than said outside diameter of said first circumferentially encircling flange of said nozzle, and of an outer diameter less than said outside diameter of said second circumferentially encircling flange of said nozzle.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said second ring of said flexible belt is of an inside diameter slightly less than an outside diameter of said first circumferentially encircling flange of said cap, and of an outside diameter less than said outside diameter of said second circumferentially encircling flange of said cap.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said first ring of said flexible belt is of an inside diameter slightly less than said outside diameter of said first circumferentially encircling flange of said nozzle and of an outside diameter less than an outside diameter of said second circumferentially encircling flange of said nozzle, and wherein said second ring of said flexible belt is of an inside diameter slightly less than an outside diameter of said first circumferentially encircling flange of said cap, and of an outside diameter less than said outside diameter of said second circumferentially flange of said cap.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said flexible belt is fabricated of a plastic composition, and wherein said second ring of said belt is force fit over said first circumferentially encircling flange of said cap.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said first ring of said belt is force fit over said first circumferentially encircling flange of said nozzle.