Bottle Capping Assembly
A bottle capping assembly including a “C” member having an upper arm, a lower arm, a stem section extending between the upper and lower arms, and having a laterally opening concavity formed by the arms and stem; a ceiling member, the ceiling member incorporating the “C” member's lower arm; and a frangible channel incorporated operatively into the ceiling member, the frangible channel being adapted for, upon an application of an upward force to the “C” member's upper arm, segmenting the ceiling member to form a fluid outlet port; the assembly further including a cylindrical wall fixedly attached to and extending downwardly from the ceiling member.
This invention relates to plastic bottles and bottle cap combinations. More particularly, this invention relates to such bottle and cap combinations in which the cap component and an upper ceiling portion of the cap component are adapted for performing separate bottle opening and closing functions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONConsumer product plastic bottles such as disposable plastic water bottles are known to be equipped with a plastic cap which includes an upper ceiling portion, a cylindrical side wall portion, and internal helical side wall threads for receiving and threadedly engaging external helical threads extending about the bottle's neck. In many instances, a user of such common plastic bottle and plastic cap combination will remove the bottle's cap while intending to totally consume the bottle's liquid contents without any recapping or reclosing of the bottle. In such circumstances, such user understands that the need for the cap's performance of its bottle closing and liquid retaining function has ended. Such circumstances and understanding often lead to the user's immediate disposal of the cap. While the user's subsequent disposal of the plastic bottle typically is properly directed to a recyclable plastics bin, the user's earlier disposal of the bottle's plastic cap is less often directed to recycling, and such caps are often improperly disposed of, becoming ground and water polluting litter.
The instant inventive bottle capping assembly solves or ameliorates the above discussed problems, defects, and deficiencies of common bottle and cap assemblies, while retaining substantially all of those components' normal functionality, by providing a specially configured cap which is capable of symbiotically performing a bottle neck and bottle lip actuated port opening function at the cap's ceiling.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA first structural component of the instant inventive bottle capping assembly comprises a “C” member having an upper arm, a lower arm, a stem section extending between the upper and lower arms, and having a normally laterally opening concavity, such concavity comprising the hollow portion of the “C”. In the preferred embodiment, the invention's “C” member is composed of plastic and is formed wholly with other portions of the cap component of inventive assembly.
A further structural component of the instant inventive bottle capping assembly comprises a ceiling member, such member comprising the “C” member's lower arm.
Further structural components of the instant inventive bottle capping assembly comprise opening means which are connected operatively to the ceiling member. In the preferred embodiment, the opening means are adapted for, upon an application of an upwardly directed force to the “C” member's upper arm, opening and segmenting or porting the ceiling member. The segmenting of the ceiling preferably occurs at and about the “C” member's lower arm. Suitably, such segmenting may alternatively occur at or about the “C” member's stem section, or at or about the upper end of the stem section.
In a preferred embodiment, the assembly's opening means comprises a port or opening lining channel, such channel including or defining a frangible or breakable channel floor. Suitably, the opening means may alternatively comprise a snap channel and snap ridge joint or an adhesively bonded joint.
A further structural component of the instant inventive bottle capping assembly comprises a cylindrical wall which is fixedly attached to or formed wholly with the ceiling member, such wall extending downwardly from the ceiling member's periphery. In a preferred embodiment, the wall is internally helically threaded for threaded engagement with matching external helical threads extending about the neck of a common plastic bottle.
In use of the instant inventive bottle capping assembly, and assuming that the cap component covers a bottle containing a fluid such as water or a soft drink beverage, and further assuming that the opening means comprise the preferred channel and frangible channel floor combination, a user may manually apply an upwardly directed force against a distal end of the “C” member's upper arm, such force causing such arm to segment and open the cap's ceiling at and along the ceiling's frangible channel floor. Preferably, the ceiling is further specially configured and adapted for symbiotically utilizing the neck and lip of the bottle as a readily available levering tool for the exertion of such upwardly directed force.
Upon opening of the cap's ceiling via upward biasing against the assembly's “C” member arm, the user may reattach the cap and may drink from the bottle while the cap remains screwed onto the bottle. Upon completion of drinking, the entire bottle and cap assembly may be disposed of as a single unit. The instant invention advantageously obviates and avoids the user's earlier permanent removal of and potentially improper separate disposal of the cap component.
Accordingly, objects of the instant invention include the provision of a bottle capping assembly which incorporates components, as described above, and which arranges those components in relation to each other in manners described above, for the achievement of the above described objects and benefits.
Other and further objects, benefits, and advantages of the instant invention will become known to those skilled in the art upon review of the Detailed Description which follows, and upon review of the appended drawings.
Referring now to the drawings and in particular to Drawing
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The instant inventive bottle capping assembly preferably further comprises opening means which are connected operatively to the ceiling member 4. Referring to
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The functions described above, along with their facilitating structures, create a symbiotic relationship between the bottle 50 and the cap 2 components of the instant invention, the symbiosis comprising the bottle's service as a cap opening tool and the cap's service as a bottle opening and closing tool. Such symbiotic relationship assures that the channel and frangible channel floor 20,22 opening means may strongly initially close the ceiling (preventing any premature or unintended opening of the cap), and further assures that a tool (i.e., the neck and lip of bottle 50) which is capable of breaking such closure will be readily available to the consumer.
Referring simultaneously to
The holding means 15,17,19, depicted in
Subsequent to a user's utilization of the bottle neck 52 and lip 54 for opening the cap 2, the user may screw the cap 2 back onto the bottle 50, and the user may advantageously drink from the bottle via passage of fluid through the port or opening 11. The instant inventive assembly 1 advantageously configures the bottle 50 and cap 2 as components which are compatible with fluid consumption while the cap is screwed in place. Upon completion of consumption of the fluid within the bottle, both the bottle 50 and the cap 2 may be properly disposed of as a single unit within a plastic waste recycling bin. Accordingly, the instant inventive assembly reduces occurrences of separate disposals of plastic caps, reduces littering disposals of plastic caps, and advantageously promotes recycling of plastic caps.
While the principles of the invention have been made clear in the above illustrative embodiment, those skilled in the art may make modifications in the structure, arrangement, portions and components of the invention without departing from those principles. Accordingly, it is intended that the description and drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in the limiting sense, and that the invention be given a scope commensurate with the appended claims.
Claims
1-6. (canceled)
7. A bottle capping assembly comprising:
- (a) a “C” member having an upper arm, a lower arm, and a stem section extending between the upper and lower arms, said arms and stem defining a laterally opening concavity;
- (b) a ceiling member comprising an upwardly opening concavity and comprising the “C” member's lower arm and a living hinge;
- (c) opening means comprising a channel and frangible channel floor combination, the opening means being connected operatively to the ceiling member, the opening means being adapted for, upon an application of an upward force to the “C” member's upper arm, porting the ceiling member;
- (d) a wall fixedly attached to and extending downwardly from the ceiling member, wherein the living hinge has a pair of ends and wherein the channel and frangible channel floor combination has a pair of ends, said combination's ends being positioned at the hinge's ends, the living hinge being adapted for facilitating movements of the “C” member's upper arm between closed and opened positions, at least a portion of the “C” member overlying the ceiling member's port upon movement of the “C” member's upper arm to the opened position, and the port closing upon movement of the “C” member's upper arm to the closed position; and
- (e) a bottle having a neck, the neck having a circular lip, the wall being circularly fitted for nestingly receiving the circular lip, the ceiling's upwardly opening concavity being circularly fitted for alternatively nestingly receiving a portion of the circular lip, and the “C” member's laterally opening concavity being fitted for further alternatively nestingly receiving the portion of the circular lip, wherein the ceiling member further comprises a transition extending about the upwardly opening concavities' upper end, the transition being adapted for, upon the nesting receipt by the “C” member's laterally opening concavity of the circular lip portion, functioning as a fulcrum for transferring torque from the neck to the circular lip portion and to the “C” member's upper arm.
8. The capping assembly of claim 7 wherein the living hinge is further adapted for facilitating movement of the “C” member's upper arm to an oppositely laterally extending position, and further comprising holding means connected operatively to the ceiling member, the holding means being adapted for, upon the movement of the “C” member's upper arm to the oppositely laterally extending position, resisting movement of the “C” member's upper arm toward the closed position.
9. The capping assembly of claim 8 wherein the holding means comprise a snap ridge and snap channel combination.
10. The capping assembly of claim 7 wherein each member among the ceiling and upper arm members has an upper surface, said surfaces being, upon the movement of the “C” member's upper arm to the closed position, substantially co-planar with each other.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 17, 2012
Publication Date: May 22, 2014
Inventor: Daniel A. Dopps (Wichita, KS)
Application Number: 13/680,032
International Classification: B65D 41/02 (20060101); B65D 23/00 (20060101);