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EP-4737353-A2 - INTEGRATED CLOSURE AND CONTAINER

EP4737353A2EP 4737353 A2EP4737353 A2EP 4737353A2EP-4737353-A2

Abstract

Disclosed herein are methods for manufacturing an integrated closure (120) for a container (110). The method includes molding a base (130), a lid (150), and a hinge (200) to form the integrated closure, and positioning a film (400) on the integrated closure. The method including applying heat to bond the film (400) to the base (130) and a portion of the lid (150). The method further including forming a tearaway line (500) around the portion of the lid (150) to form a first portion (402) connected to at least a portion (412) of a bottom surface (410) of the base (130), a second portion (404) connected to at least a bottom surface (420) of the lid (150), and a third portion (406) connected to the first portion (402) and releasably connected to the second portion (404). In an alternative method, the integrated closure including a tamper indicator membrane (210), and the method including positioning a film (400) with a perforated shape on the integrated closure prior to applying heat.

Inventors

  • DAVIDSON, RYAN P.
  • MINNETTE, JEFFREY C.

Assignees

  • Jabil Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20200917

Claims (15)

  1. A method for manufacturing an integrated closure (120) for a container (110), comprising: molding a base (130), a lid (150), and a hinge (200) to form the integrated closure (120); positioning a film (400) on the integrated closure; applying heat to bond the film (400) to the base (130) and a portion of the lid (150); and forming a tearaway line (500) around the portion of the lid (150) to form a first portion (402) of the film (400), a second portion (404) of the film (400), and a third portion (406) of the film (400) wherein the first portion (402) is connected to at least a portion (412) of a bottom surface (410) of the base (130), the second portion (404) is connected to at least a bottom surface (420) of the lid (150), and the third portion (406) is connected to the first portion (402) and releasably connected to the second portion (404).
  2. The method of claim 1, wherein when the lid (150) is flipped open from the container (110), the second portion (404) of the film (400) remains bonded to the lid (150) creating an opening (600) relative to the third portion (406) for dispensing material contained in the container (110).
  3. The method of claim 1, wherein the film (400) is extended and molded or welded at an inner radius of the integrated closure (120), or extends to a portion of a sidewall (140), such that the third portion (406) of the film (400) is maintained in a stretched and stiff position when the lid (150) is opened and the second portion (404) is separated from the third portion (406).
  4. The method of claim 1, further comprising molding a tamper indication membrane as part of the integrated closure.
  5. The method of claim 1, further comprising molding a bead as part of the integrated closure, wherein the base (130) and the lid (150) comprise the bead (340) facing the container (110), and wherein the bead (340) is configured to engage a ledge (716) on the container (110) to maintain the lid (150) in a closed position (300) with respect to the container (110).
  6. The method of claim 1, further comprising molding a retention mechanism (330) as part of the integrated closure, wherein the retention mechanism (330) is configured to retain a portion of the lid when the lid (150) is in an open position (320) with respect to the base (130).
  7. The method of claim 6, wherein the retention mechanism (330) is an indentation that is dimensioned to retain a tab (158) of the lid (150) via pressure or a force fit when the lid (150) is in the open position (320).
  8. A method for manufacturing an integrated closure (120) for a container (110), comprising: molding a base (130), a lid (150), and a hinge (200) to form the integrated closure (120), wherein the integrated closure (120) includes a tamper evident membrane (210) that is connects an edge of the lid (150) to a corresponding edge of the base (130), and wherein the tamper evident membrane (210) is molded thinner than the base (130), the lid (150), and the hinge (200); positioning a film (400) on the integrated closure (120), wherein the film (400) includes a perforated shape; and applying heat to bond the film (400) to the base (130) and a portion of the lid (150).
  9. The method of claim 8, wherein the hinge is flexible, movable, or rotatable between a closed position of the lid and an open position of the lid such that the lid is configured to move towards a center of the integrated closure when moving from the closed position to the open position.
  10. The method of claim 8, wherein the integrated closure is molded from one or more of polypropylene, high-density polyethylene, or polyethylene terephthalate.
  11. The method of claim 8, wherein positioning the film includes positioning the film on edge portions of the base proximate to the lid such that the film extends towards and around an inner radius of the integrated closure.
  12. The method of claim 8, wherein positioning the film includes positioning the film on edge portions of the base proximate to the lid such that the film extends towards and around a portion of a sidewall of the integrated closure, the sidewall molded with and extending from the base.
  13. The method of claim 8, wherein applying heat includes heating and applying pressure to the film with a heat pad to bond the film to the base.
  14. The method of claim 8, wherein the perforated shape is configured to remain bonded to the lid when the lid is opened with respect to the base.
  15. The method of claim 14, wherein the film (400) is extended and molded or welded at an inner radius of the integrated closure (120), or extends to a portion of a sidewall (140), such that a portion (406) of the film (400) is maintained in a stretched and stiff position when the lid (150) is opened.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to packaging and in particular, an integrated closure and container. BACKGROUND Containers, such as bottles, use liners and foils to seal and contain a material in the container. These sealing methods have multiple problems. The materials used in the foils are expensive relative to the cost of the container and the closure since the foils generally correspond to the size of the mouth of the container. In addition, placement and attachment of the foil adds complications to manufacturing. Access to the material in the container requires removal of the foil. The removed foils are not environmentally friendly as they are an additional disposable. Conventional closures for containers are disclosed in US 5 090 584 A and WO 2017/100829 A1. SUMMARY Disclosed herein are integrated closures for a container. The present invention is directed to subject matter as defined in the appended set of claims. The description that follows is subjected to this limitation. Any disclosure lying outside the scope of said claims is only intended for illustrative as well as comparative purposes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The disclosure is best understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and are incorporated into and thus constitute a part of this specification. It is emphasized that, according to common practice, the various features of the drawings are not to-scale. On the contrary, the dimensions of the various features are arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity. FIG. 1 is a diagram of an integrated closure and container in a closed position in accordance with some implementations.FIG. 2 is a top view of an integrated closure in accordance with some implementations.FIG. 3A is a perspective diagram an integrated closure in accordance with some implementations.FIG. 3B is an integrated closure in action accordance with some implementations.FIG. 4 is a bottom view of an integrated closure in accordance with some implementations.FIG. 5A is a bottom diagram of an integrated closure in accordance with some implementations.FIG. 5B is a partial bottom diagram of an integrated closure in accordance with some implementations.FIG. 6 is a view of an integrated closure and container in an open position in accordance with some implementations.FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an integrated closure and container in accordance with some implementations.FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an integrated closure and container in accordance with some implementations.FIG. 9 is flowchart for manufacturing an integrated closure and container in accordance with some implementations.FIG. 10 is flowchart for manufacturing an integrated closure and container in accordance with some implementations. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The figures and descriptions provided herein may be simplified to illustrate aspects of the described embodiments that are relevant for a clear understanding of the herein disclosed processes, machines, manufactures, and/or compositions of matter, while eliminating for the purpose of clarity other aspects that may be found in typical similar devices, systems, compositions and methods. Those of ordinary skill may thus recognize that other elements and/or steps may be desirable or necessary to implement the devices, systems, compositions and methods described herein. However, because such elements and steps are well known in the art, and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the disclosed embodiments, a discussion of such elements and steps may not be provided herein. However, the present disclosure is deemed to inherently include all such elements, variations, and modifications to the described aspects that would be known to those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art in light of the discussion herein. Embodiments and implementations are provided throughout so that this disclosure is sufficiently thorough and fully conveys the scope of the disclosed embodiments to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth, such as examples of specific aspects, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. Nevertheless, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain specific disclosed details need not be employed, and that embodiments may be embodied in different forms. As such, the exemplary embodiments set forth should not be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. For example, as used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "comprises," "comprising," "including," and "having," are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or