TAMPER EVIDENCE ASSEMBLY TO SEAL CONTENTS WITHIN A CONTAINER

Abstract

A tamper evidence assembly is provided to seal contents within an interior of a container. The tamper evidence assembly includes a closure that threadably engages with a finish to seal contents within the container. A tamper evidence portion is coupled with the closure and the finish to provide a visual indication of loosening of the closure after installation on the finish by a manufacturer. One aspect of the tamper evidence portion comprises a tamper evidence strip that is adhered to the closure and to a bell of the container. The tamper evidence strip tears on both sides of the closure when the closure is twisted on the finish. Another aspect of the tamper evidence portion comprises a tamper evidence shrink-wrap that is collapsed around the closure and the finish of the container. The tamper evidence shrink-wrap includes a perforated strip that is configured to provide an easy-open feature for consumers.

Description

PRIORITY

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Applications No. 62/724,534 filed Aug. 29, 2018, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of plastic bottles and preforms. More specifically, embodiments of the disclosure relate to tamper evidence container caps that provide visible indications of removal of the container caps after installation by a manufacturer.

BACKGROUND

Plastic containers have been used as a replacement for glass or metal containers in the packaging of beverages for several decades. The most common plastic used in making beverage containers today is polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Containers made of PET are transparent, thin walled, and have the ability to maintain their shape by withstanding the force exerted on the walls of the container by their contents. PET resins are also reasonably priced and easy to process. PET bottles are generally made by a process that includes the blow-molding of plastic performs which have been made by injection molding of the PET resin.

Advantages of plastic packaging include lighter weight and decreased breakage as compared to glass, and lower costs overall when taking both production and transportation into account. Although plastic packaging is lighter in weight than glass, there is still great interest in creating the lightest possible plastic packaging so as to maximize the cost savings in both transportation and manufacturing by making and using containers that contain less plastic.

A plastic container for storing liquid contents typically includes a base that extends up to a grip portion suitable for affixing a label, as well as providing a location for grasping the container. The grip portion generally transitions into a shoulder, which connects to a bell. The bell has a diameter that generally decreases as the bell extends upward from the shoulder to a neck and a finish. The finish is adapted to receive a closure, such as a bottle cap, to seal the contents within the interior of the plastic container.

In many instances, the closure includes a tamper evidence band that is disposed around the perimeter of the finish. The tamper evidence band generally remains positioned on the finish when an end-user loosens the closure to access the contents within the container. As such, the tamper evidence band and the finish cooperate to indicate to the end-user whether or not the closure has been previously loosened after being installed by the manufacturer.

A drawback to conventional tamper evidence bands, however, is that in some instances the tamper evidence bands fail to detach from the closure upon being loosened, thereby making it difficult for an end-user to directly observe whether or not the closure has been previously separated from the container. Consequently, the closure may be separated from the tamper evidence band, the container may be refilled, and another closure may be installed onto the container, giving little visual indication to the end-user that the container has been reused.

What is needed, therefore, is a tamper evidence closure that reliably provides a visible indication about whether or not a manufacturer-installed closure has been previously removed from a plastic container.

BACKGROUND

Systems and methods for tamper evidence assemblies configured to seal contents within an interior of a container includes a finish beginning at an opening to the interior of the container and extending to and includes a support ledge, a closure configured to threadably engage with the finish to seal contents within the container, and a tamper evidence portion coupled with the closure and the finish to provide a visual indication of loosening of the closure after installation on the finish by a manufacturer.

In a further embodiment, the tamper evidence portion includes a tamper evidence strip that is adhered to the closure and to a bell of the container.

In another embodiment, the tamper evidence strip is an elongate portion of thick paper that is extended over the closure and adhered at opposite ends to a bell of the container.

In a still further embodiment, the tamper evidence strip is configured to tear on both sides of the closure when the closure is twisted on the finish.

In still another embodiment, the tamper evidence portion includes a tamper evidence shrink-wrap that is collapsed around the closure after the tamper evidence strip has been adhered to the closure and a bell of the container, the tamper evidence shrink-wrap including at least one perforated strip.

In a yet further embodiment, the tamper evidence strip includes a label that includes text and/or diagrams relating to the contents of the container.

In yet another embodiment, the tamper evidence strip includes information or directions pertaining to evidence that the closure has been loosened after being installed by the manufacturer.

In a further embodiment again, the tamper evidence portion includes a tamper evidence shrink-wrap that is collapsed around the closure and the finish of the container.

In another embodiment again, the tamper evidence shrink-wrap is comprised of a film that is collapsible by way of applying heat.

In a further additional embodiment, the tamper evidence shrink-wrap includes a perforated strip that is configured to provide an easy-open feature for consumers.

In another additional embodiment, the perforated strip includes a strip-shaped portion of the tamper evidence shrink-wrap that is bordered on both sides by a series of perforations extending from atop the closure to a neck of the container.

In a still yet further embodiment, the perforated strip is formed after the tamper evidence shrink-wrap is collapsed around the closure and the finish.

In still yet another embodiment, the tamper evidence shrink-wrap includes a single series of perforations extending from atop the closure to the neck of the container, the single series of perforations configured to provide an easy-open feature for consumers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings refer to embodiments of the present disclosure in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of an exemplary container suitable for storing a beverage;

FIG. 2 illustrates an isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of a finish portion of a container configured to rotatably engage with a tamper evidence closure to seal contents within an interior of the container;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a tamper evidence strip that is adhered to a closure that is coupled with a finish of a container, according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a tamper evidence shrink-wrap that is collapsed around a closure that is coupled with a finish of a container; and

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a tamper evidence shrink-wrap that is collapsed around a closure that is coupled with a finish of a container.

While the present disclosure is subject to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. The invention should be understood to not be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art that the invention disclosed herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, specific numeric references such as “first bottle,” may be made. However, the specific numeric reference should not be interpreted as a literal sequential order but rather interpreted that the “first bottle” is different than a “second bottle.” Thus, the specific details set forth are merely exemplary. The specific details may be varied from and still be contemplated to be within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The term “coupled” is defined as meaning connected either directly to the component or indirectly to the component through another component. Further, as used herein, the terms “about,” “approximately,” or “substantially” for any numerical values or ranges indicate a suitable dimensional tolerance that allows the part or collection of components to function for its intended purpose as described herein.

In some instances, conventional tamper evidence bands fail to detach from the closure upon being loosened, thereby making it difficult for an end-user to directly observe whether or not the closure has been previously separated from the container. Consequently, the end-user has little visual indication of whether the container has been reused. Embodiments disclosed herein provide a tamper evidence closure that reliably provides a visible indication about whether or not a manufacturer-installed closure has been previously removed from a plastic container.

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of an exemplary container 100 typically used for storing liquid contents, such as water and juice. The container 100 comprises a base 104 that extends up to a grip portion 108. In some embodiments, the base 104 may be of the petaloid variety, although other configurations of the base may be incorporated into the container 100, without limitation. The grip portion 108 comprises a plurality of grip portion ribs 112 (i.e., sidewall ribs). As illustrated in FIG. 1, the plurality of grip portion ribs 112 generally vary in depth, and swirl or angulate around the grip portion 108. A label portion 116 can be connected to the grip portion 108 and comprises one or more label panel ribs (not shown). The label panel portion 116 transitions into a shoulder 124, which connects to a bell 128. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the bell 128 comprises a plurality of design features. In other embodiments, however, the bell 128 may include various other design features, or may be smooth and generally unornamented. The bell 128 connects to a neck 136, which connects to a finish 140. As shown in FIG. 1, the bell 128 comprises a diameter that generally decreases as the bell 128 extends upward from the shoulder 124 to the neck 136 and the finish 140. The finish 140 can be adapted to receive a closure, such as by way of non-limiting example, a container cap or bottle cap, so as to seal contents within the container 100. The finish 140 generally defines an opening that leads to an interior of the container 100 for containing a beverage, or other contents, such as any of a variety of carbonated soft drinks.

FIG. 2 illustrates an isometric view of an exemplary finish 140 that can be configured to rotatably engage with the closure 164 so as to seal contents within the interior of the container 100. The finish 140 comprises a cylindrical body that begins at an opening 160 to an interior of the container 100 and extends to and includes a support ledge 156. The finish 140 may be further characterized by the presence of one or more threads 172 configured to provide a means to fasten the closure 164 to the container 100. As such, the threads 172 are configured to rotatably engage with similar threads disposed within the closure 164 to provide a way to seal contents within the container 100. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, each of the threads 172 generally extends along a section of the circumference of the finish 140 and approaches the support ledge 156. Thus, when the threads of the closure 164 are engaged with the threads 172, and the closure 164 is rotated in a clockwise direction, the closure advances toward the support ledge 156.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, each of the one or more threads 172 comprises a single thread 172 that begins at a thread start 180 and spirals around a section of the circumference of the finish 140 before terminating at a thread end 184. The thread start 180 can be configured to guide a thread of the closure 164 into a space, or valley 188, between adjacent threads 172 so as to threadably engage the closure 164 with the finish 140. Further, the threads 172 generally are disposed adjacently to one another and are spaced uniformly around the circumference of the finish 140. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, an optional cam 196 is disposed adjacent to the support ledge 156 and below the bottom-most threads 172. The optional cam 196 can be configured to engage with a cam lock disposed in the closure 164 for the purpose of indicating whether or not the closure has been loosened after being installed by a manufacturer. It is contemplated that, in some embodiments, any of various tamper evidence features similar to the optional cam 196 may be incorporated into the finish 140, without deviating beyond the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a tamper evidence strip 192 that can be adhered to a closure 164 that may be coupled with a finish 140 of a container 100, according to the present disclosure. The tamper evidence strip 192 generally can be an elongate portion of thick paper that may be extended over the closure 164 and adhered at opposite ends to the bell 128. Upon an end-user twisting the closure 164, the tamper evidence strip 192 tears on both sides of the closure 164, thereby providing evidence that the closure 164 has been loosened after being installed by a manufacturer. It is contemplated that any of various suitable adhesives may be used to affix the tamper evidence strip 192 to the closure 164 and the bell 128. In some embodiments, the tamper evidence strip 192 comprises a label that includes text and/or diagrams relating to the contents of the container 100. In some embodiments, the tamper evidence strip 192 includes information or directions pertaining to evidence that the closure 164 has been loosened after being installed by the manufacturer.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a tamper evidence shrink-wrap 200 that can be collapsed around a closure 164 that may be coupled with a finish 140 of a container 100. The tamper evidence shrink-wrap 200 may be comprised of any of various films that are collapsible by way of applying heat. In some embodiments, the tamper evidence shrink-wrap 200 may be collapsed around the closure 164 after the tamper evidence strip 192 has been adhered to the closure 164 and the bell 128, as described above. The tamper evidence shrink-wrap 200 includes a perforated strip 204 that generally provides an easy-open feature for consumers. The perforated strip 204 comprises a strip-shaped portion of the tamper evidence shrink-wrap 200 that can be bordered on both sides by a series of perforations, or cuts, extending from atop the closure 164 to the neck 136 of the container 100. The perforated strip 204 may be formed after the tamper evidence shrink-wrap 200 can be collapsed around the closure 164 and the finish 140. The perforations may be formed by way of various blades, or by way of one or more laser coders.

It is contemplated that an end-user desiring access to the contents of the container 100 may tear the perforated strip 204 loose from the tamper evidence shrink-wrap 200 to unwrap the closure 164. Once the tamper evidence shrink-wrap 200 is removed, the end-user may loosen the closure 164 on the finish 140 to gain access to the contents of the container 100. As such, a partially torn or missing tamper evidence shrink-wrap 200 serves to indicate that the closure 164 has been loosened on the finish 140 after being installed by the manufacturer.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a tamper evidence shrink-wrap 208 that can be collapsed around a closure 164 that may be coupled with a finish 140 of a container 100. The tamper evidence shrink-wrap 208 can be similar to the tamper evidence shrink-wrap 204 of FIG. 4, with the exception that the tamper evidence shrink-wrap 208 includes a single series of perforations 212 extending from atop the closure 164 to the neck 136 of the container 100. The contents of the container 100 may be accessed by tearing the tamper evidence shrink-wrap 208 along the series of perforations 212 and then removing the tamper evidence shrink-wrap 208 from the closure 164. The closure 164 may then be twisted loose from the finish 140, as described herein. It is contemplated, therefore, that a partially torn or missing tamper evidence shrink-wrap 208 provides a visual indication that the closure 164 has been loosened after being installed on the finish 140 by the manufacturer.

While the invention has been described in terms of particular variations and illustrative figures, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the variations or figures described. In addition, where methods and steps described above indicate certain events occurring in certain order, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the ordering of certain steps may be modified and that such modifications are in accordance with the variations of the invention. Additionally, certain of the steps may be performed concurrently in a parallel process when possible, as well as performed sequentially as described above. To the extent there are variations of the invention, which are within the spirit of the disclosure or equivalent to the inventions found in the claims, it is the intent that this patent will cover those variations as well. Therefore, the present disclosure is to be understood as not limited by the specific embodiments described herein, but only by scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A tamper evidence assembly configured to seal contents within an interior of a container, the assembly comprising:

a finish beginning at an opening to the interior of the container and extending to and includes a support ledge;

a closure configured to threadably engage with the finish to seal contents within the container; and

a tamper evidence portion coupled with the closure and the finish to provide a visual indication of loosening of the closure after installation on the finish by a manufacturer.

2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the tamper evidence portion comprises a tamper evidence strip that is adhered to the closure and to a bell of the container.

3. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the tamper evidence strip is an elongate portion of thick paper that is extended over the closure and adhered at opposite ends to a bell of the container.

4. The assembly of claim 3, wherein the tamper evidence strip is configured to tear on both sides of the closure when the closure is twisted on the finish.

5. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the tamper evidence portion comprises a tamper evidence shrink-wrap that is collapsed around the closure after the tamper evidence strip has been adhered to the closure and a bell of the container, the tamper evidence shrink-wrap including at least one perforated strip.

6. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the tamper evidence strip comprises a label that includes text and/or diagrams relating to the contents of the container.

7. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the tamper evidence strip includes information or directions pertaining to evidence that the closure 164 has been loosened after being installed by the manufacturer.

8. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the tamper evidence portion comprises a tamper evidence shrink-wrap that is collapsed around the closure and the finish of the container.

9. The assembly of claim 8, wherein the tamper evidence shrink-wrap is comprised of a film that is collapsible by way of applying heat.

10. The assembly of claim 8, wherein the tamper evidence shrink-wrap includes a perforated strip that is configured to provide an easy-open feature for consumers.

11. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the perforated strip comprises a strip-shaped portion of the tamper evidence shrink-wrap that is bordered on both sides by a series of perforations extending from atop the closure to a neck of the container.

12. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the perforated strip is formed after the tamper evidence shrink-wrap is collapsed around the closure and the finish.

13. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the tamper evidence shrink-wrap includes a single series of perforations extending from atop the closure to the neck of the container, the single series of perforations configured to provide an easy-open feature for consumers.