WO1994004427A1

WO1994004427A1 - Tamper-evident snap hinged closure

Info

Publication number: WO1994004427A1
Application number: PCT/GB1993/001697
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alfred Everhard Friedrich Von Schuckmann
Original assignee: Courtaulds Packaging Limited
Priority date: 1992-08-11
Filing date: 1993-08-10
Publication date: 1994-03-03
Also published as: AU4724393A

Abstract

A tamper-evident facility on a moulded container closure (10) is provided by an integrally moulded element (23) linked to a cap (12) of the closure (10) by at least one frangible bridge (22) and secured in a recess (21) by engagement of a hook (24) trapped between a skirt (14) of the body (11) of the closure and a container (35) to which the closure is secured.

Description

TAMPER-EVIDENT SNAP HINGED CLOSURE

Background of the Invention

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to closures for containers and in particular, to a tamper evident feature for such closures. The invention has useful applications for closures for use on containers such as toothpaste tubes or the like, but is not to be considered as being limited thereto.

2. Description of Related Art

The invention can be applied to closures that have snap action caps in which the cap is biased by a snap action device to and from a closed position and an open position in which the cap is well clear of the open top of the container.

There is a need for tamper-evident features for such closures which do not have a deleterious affect on the aesthetic appearance of such closures.

One aim of the present invention is to provide a closure with a tamper-evident feature which is easy to operate and provides a convenient means for opening the closure once the tamper-evident feature has fulfilled its role.

Summary of the Invention According to the invention there is provided a closure for a container which comprises a body, having an outlet opening for attachment to a container, and a cap pivotally connected to the body by way of a hinge means and adapted to close the outlet opening in a closed position thereof relative to the body, said body comprising an end wall having the outlet opening therein and a skirt portion which has means for attaching the body to a container, the cap comprising a top wall and a side wall in which is formed a recess extending in a direction away from the top wall towards a free end of the side wall, wherein there is provided in the recess, a tamper-evident feature in the form of a member which is attached to the cap at or adjacent to a first end by means of at least one frangible bridge, the member being provided at a second end, remote from the top wall, with a retaining hook means which, when the closure is in place on a container, is trapped between the container and the skirt portion, said hook means being shaped and arranged relative to the member, the cap, and the body, so that when the first end of the member is moved away from the cap to break the at least one bridge, the hook means no longer retains the member in the recess and prevents the member being returned to a position simulating an untampered position.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will now be described, by -way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional elevation of a moulded closure constructed in accordance with the present invention, showing the closure in the position in which it is moulded,

Figure 2 shows the closure of Figure 1 in position on the neck of a container, and shows the closure with the cap in the closed position and with the tampe -evident feature secured thereto,

Figure 3 shows the closure of Figure 1 with the tamper- evident feature partially broken away,

Figure 4 shows the closure of Figures 1 to 3 with the tamper-evident feature completely removed from the closure,

Figure 5 shows a view of the closure of Figure 4 with the cap in the fully-open position, and Figure 6 shows the closure of Figures 1 to 5 looking in the direction of arrow A in Figure 2.

Description of the Prefeπ-,--- τ.mbodiment

Referring to the drawings, the closure 10 comprises a single plastics moulding providing a tubular body 11 and a cap 12. The cap 12 is joined to the body 11 by means of an integral film hinge 13 which creates a hinge axis 13a as will be described in greater detail below.

The body 11 comprises a cylindrical skirt 14 of a suitable size and shape, which has a circular bead 15 provided to cooperate with a rib 25a on a neck 25 of a container 35 to enable the body 11 to be snapped on and secured to the neck 25 of the container 35.

The body 11 has an end wall lib which is provided with an annular collar lie which fits around a spout 25b at the free end of the neck 25 of the container 35 (as will be seen better in Figure 2), and has a flexible resilient member 11a extending in a generally axial direction of the cylindrical skirt 14 away from the end wall lib.

The wall of the skirt 14 is of uniform thickness except in the vicinity of the hinge 13. In this region, the skirt is moulded so as to define a recess 16 and a cantilevered arm 17 which has its proximal end connected to the free edge of the skirt 14. The arm 17 is best seen in Figure 6 and has a small cut-out 29 formed at an intermediate position along the hinge axis 13a of the hinge 13.

The cap 12 is generally cylindrical and comprises a top surface 19, with a skirt 19a around the peripheral edge thereof, an internal circular flange 20 which is dimensioned and shaped to fit over the spout 25b of the neck 25 when the cap 12 is in its closed position.

The cap 12 is moulded with an arcuate axially extending recess 21 in the circumferential surface of the skirt 19a diametrically opposite to the hinge 13. Integrally moulded in the recess 21 is a tamper-evident feature 23 which is connected to the skirt 19a by one or more frangible bridges 22 (only one of which is shown) . The tamper-evident feature 23 is curved so that it is concentric with the curvature of the skirt 19a and can thus form a continuum with the outer profile of the cap in its untampered position. At its distal end the feature 23 has a frangible hook 24.

The hook 24 is designed so that when the closure 10 is secured to a container 35, the hook 24 is located in a notch 14a in the skirt 14 and is trapped between the skirt 14 and a region of the container 35 surrounding the neck 25.

The cap 12 is also provided with a member in the form of a tongue 26 which extends radially relative to the hinge axis 13a and which is sized so that its dimension measured radially from the hinge axis is slightly greater than the dimension from the body 11 to the hinge axis 13a. The cut¬ out 29 in the arm 17 is also dimensioned to receive the tongue 26 when the cap 12 is in the closed position. The tongue 26 is positioned relative to the cap so that when the cap is in the closed position the tongue 26 lies flush with the arm 17.

The body 11 is initially mounted on the neck 25 of the container 35 with the lid in the position shown in Figure 2. The closure 10 is snapped into position on the neck of the container 35 with the hook 24 of the tamper-evident feature 23 trapped between the skirt 14 and the upper end of the container 35 in a region which surrounds the neck 25.

To open the closure 10 it is necessary first to break the tamper-evident feature provided by the member 23. This is achieved by pulling the top edge of the feature 23 radially outwards from its recess 21 to break the or all the frangible bridges 22. This action causes the hook 24 to rock about a fulcrum provided by the container 35. The design is preferably such that it is not possible to wedge the feature 23 back into the recess 21 it originally occupied whereby initial displacement of the feature 23 provides irreparable visual evidence that the closure has been tampered with.

Since the hook 24 is trapped behind the skirt 14 (located in the notch 14a shown in Figure 1) any significant turning movement of the arcuate feature 23 following breakage of the bridge(s) 22 will break off the hook causing the arcuate portion of the feature 23 to become completely detached from the closure 10. This reveals the recess 21 into which a user can conveniently press a thumb to lift the cap and open the closure for use of the contents packaged in the container 35. Friction-enhancing ridges 21a can be provided in the recess 21 to facilitate this operation.

The hook 24 illustrated is shaped so that, when the feature 23 is attached to the cap 12 and the cap is secured to a container 35, the hook has a pivot point about which the feature will rock when tampered with,, and a flat region which, when the at least one bridge is broken, holds the feature 23 in a tamper-evident position and prevents the feature being returned to a position which simulates an untampered position.

The cap 12 is opened by rotating it about the hinge axis 13a. This causes the tongue 26 to slide up the member 11a of the body and both flexes the member 11a and pushes the distal end of the arm 17 against its natural resilience outwards to bend the cantilever arm. At a mid-position, where the tongue 26 is normal to the body 11, the cap reaches an unstable position where the stress in the arm 17 is at a maximum. Further movement of the cap past the mid- position causes the cap to snap into the open position, due to the resilience of the arm 17 exerting a force on the tongue 26 and causing the tongue 26 to rotate the cap. The resilience of the ca tilevered arm 17 and the member 11a provides a significant force on the tongue 26 to snap the cap into each of the open and closed positions, but this force is not such as would tear apart the film hinge 13a, located at the distal end of the arm 17. Furthermore, because the hinge 13 is itself mounted on the distal end of, and is thus movable bodily with, the distal end of the arm 17, and the arm 17 is relatively long (and hence can be made relatively thin) , a clean snap action is possible with relatively low forces being exerted on the hinge 13.

It will be appreciated that to close the cap from the open position, the cap is pressed upwards (in the direction of the arrow B shown in Figure 5) and this causes the tongue 26 to slide down the member 11a of the body 11 back into the unstable mid-position where the arm 17 is bent outwards. Once the tongue 26 passes the mid-position, the resilience of the arm 17 and member 11a exerts a force OB- the tongue 26 as the arm returns to its unstressed state. This urges the tongue 26 to rotate the cap anticlockwise in Figure 5 back to the closed position shown in Figure 4.

It is to be understood that the body 11 need not be cylindrical and could be of any shape. Furthermore, it is preferred that the hinge is formed as a film of relatively thin plastics material compared with the rest of the cap. If desired, the hinge could be made with separate parts held together by a hinge pin or any other suitable type of hinge could be used.

It is to be understood that two tongues 26 could be provided, one at each end of the hinge means, in which case the arm 17 would be provided with appropriately positioned cut outs to receive the tongues 26.

The important aspect of this invention is the tamper- evident feature and although it has been described here with reference to a snap action closure of a kind more fully described in our International Patent Application PCT/GB92/01116 it is to be understood that other snap action closures and indeed other closures not having a snap action quality, could be provided with the tamper-evident feature described herein.

Claims

1. A closure for a container, which closure comprises a body, having an outlet opening for attachment to a container, and a cap pivotally connected to the body by way of a hinge means and adapted to close the outlet opening in a closed position thereof relative to the body, said body comprising an end wall having the outlet opening therein and a skirt portion which has means for attaching the body to a container, the cap comprising a top wall and a side wall in which is formed a recess extending in a direction away from the top wall towards a free end of the side wall, wherein there is provided in the recess, a tamper-evident feature in the form of a member which is attached to the cap at or adjacent to a first end by means of at least one frangible bridge, the member being provided at a second end, remote from the top wall, with a retaining hook means which, when the closure is in place on a container, is trapped between the container and the skirt portion, said hook means being shaped and arranged relative to the member, the cap, and the body, so that when the first end of the member is moved away from the cap to break the at least one bridge, the hook means no longer retains the member in the recess and prevents the member being returned to a position simulating an untampered position.

2. A closure according to claim 1, wherein the hook means is frangible.

3. A closure according to claim 2, wherein the hook means is retained in a notch in the skirt portion.

4. A closure according to claim 1, wherein the member is shaped so that it forms a continuum with the outer profile of the cap in its untampered position.

5. A closure according to claim 2, wherein the member is shaped so that it forms a continuum with the outer profile of the cap in its untampered position.

6. A closure according to claim 3, wherein the member is shaped so that it forms a continuum with the outer profile of the cap in its untampered position.

7. A closure according to claim 1, wherein the hook means is shaped so that, when the member is attached to the cap, the hook means has a pivot point about which the member will rock when tampered with, and a flat region which, when the at least one bridge is broken, holds the member in a tamper-evident position and prevents the member being returned to a position which simulates an untampered position.

8. A closure according to any one preceding claim, wherein the hinge means is an integral film hinge.

9. A closure according to any one preceding claim, wherein a snap action facility is provided between the cap and the body.

10. A closure according to claim 9, wherein the snap action facility includes a cantilever arm mounted on the body of the closure engaged by at least one tongue mounted on the cap of the closure.