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EP-4739484-A1 - CLOSURE MANUFACTURING

EP4739484A1EP 4739484 A1EP4739484 A1EP 4739484A1EP-4739484-A1

Abstract

Manufacturing tamper-evident container cap or closure, such as for example, a bottle cap, may involve molding or forming a container cap in such a way that allows for its secure attachment and safe detachment from a container. However, the process of molding container closures with outwardly extending projections or tabs, which can then be folded inwardly to achieve a secure lock, presents significant manufacturing challenges. A container closure described herein is manufactured to comprise tabs, which extend laterally outwardly from a rim of that container closure. This approach allows to further fold the tabs upwardly, medially, and downwardly, to facilitate secure attachment of a bottle cap to a container.

Inventors

  • LARRIVÉE, Denis
  • TÉTREAULT, Rémi
  • EL-TEKLY, Christiane

Assignees

  • M.M.C. Packaging Equipment Ltd

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240703

Claims (18)

  1. 1. A method of manufacturing a container closure for a container having a neck and a closure retaining protrusion on the neck, the method comprising: providing a container closure comprising tabs extending laterally outwardly from a rim of said container closure forming a skirt of said container closure; first folding, wherein said laterally extending tabs of the container closure are folded upward; second folding, wherein the upward extending tabs of said container closure are folded inward allowing them to extend medially from said bottom of the container closure; and scoring said container closure to allow a top portion of the container closure to separate from a bottom portion by breaking an interconnection between said top portion and said bottom portion; wherein said tabs of said container closure, in use, can serve to engage a closure retaining protrusion of a neck of a container so that said bottom portion remains attached to said neck, and so that separation of said top portion from said bottom portion of said container closure provides tamper evidence of a first opening of said container closure on the container.
  2. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising scoring of said container closure to obtain a tether connecting said top portion to said bottom portion.
  3. 3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein said container closure is heated to a temperature to become pliable.
  4. 4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said first folding is performed by forcing the container closure through an opening using at least one of a plurality of mandrels.
  5. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein said forcing the container closure through an opening is performed using a turret machine in which container closures are fed into cavities of a turret having plungers actuated to push the container closures through the cavities.
  6. 6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said first folding is performed by inserting a mandrel into the container closure to cause the container closure to move along and press against a wall and rotate, said wall having a first elongated surface twisted to engage said tabs to cause said first folding.
  7. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said wall further has a second elongated surface for pressing said tabs to cause said second folding.
  8. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein said mandrel has a diameter that is smaller than an aperture of said container closure with said tabs following said second folding, allowing to safely disengage said mandrel from said container closure at the end of said second folding.
  9. 9. The method of claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein said mandrel comprises a plurality of mandrels arranged in a turret machine in which container closures are fed into cavities of a turret, said wall being arcuate.
  10. 10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said second folding is performed by inserting a mandrel into the container closure to cause the container closure to move along and press against a wall and rotate, said wall having a second elongated surface for pressing said tabs to cause said second folding.
  11. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein said mandrel comprises a plurality of mandrels arranged in a turret machine in which container closures are fed into cavities of a turret, said wall being arcuate.
  12. 12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said second folding is performed by pressing a cone-shaped member onto said tabs to bend them medially.
  13. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein said second folding is performed using a turret machine in which container closures are fed into cavities of a turret, said cone-shaped member comprising a number of cone-shaped members actuated to press against said tabs of the container closures in said pockets during rotation of said turret.
  14. 14. The method of any one of claims 1 to 13, further comprising performing a third folding of said tabs to extend in a direction of a top portion of said container closure.
  15. 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising pinching said downward folded container closure tabs in such a way that they engage an interior sidewall surface of said container closure.
  16. 16. The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein said third folding comprises pressing a plunger into said container closure.
  17. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein said third folding is performed using a turret machine in which container closures are fed into pockets of a turret, said plunger comprising a number of plungers actuated to press against said tabs of the container closures in said cavities during rotation of said turret.
  18. 18. A method of manufacturing a filled container product comprising: providing a container having a neck and a closure retaining protrusion on the neck; manufacturing a container closure according to any one of claims 1 to 13; filling the container; applying the container closure to the container by which said tabs of the container closure undergo a third folding to extend in a direction of a top portion of said container closure.

Description

CLOSURE MANUFACTURING [0001] This application claims priority under 35USC§ 119(e) to US provisional patent application 63/511,873 filed July 4, 2023, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Technical Field [0002] The subject matter of the patent application is generally related to the field of manufacturing tamper-evident bottle/container caps or closures. Background [0003] This section is intended to provide a background or context of the invention. The description herein includes concepts that could be pursued but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise specified herein, what is described in this section is not a prior art to the description in this application and is not admitted being prior art by inclusion in this section. [0004] When it comes to the manufacturing of container closures, such as bottle caps, the process called injection molding is a common manufacturing technique. These processes offer high manufacturing precision of even complex structural designs, while also enabling a high-volume production. The injection molding process starts with the design of a mold, which is typically made from steel or aluminium. The molds used for injection molding typically consist of two main parts (i.e., the cavity part defining the exterior surface shape and the core part defining the interior surface shape), allowing to create a hollow space in the desired cap shape. The cavity and core parts of a mold are tightly clamped together by the injection molding machine to prevent their separation during the injection process. During this process, the molten material, such as, for example, thermoplastic provided by a homogeneous molten mass, which has reached a specific temperature and viscosity, is injected into a mold cavity under high pressure, to ensure that it takes the shape of a mold. After that, the molten material cools down and solidifies within the mold. [0005] A technique, such as compression molding, may also be considered when manufacturing a bottle closure. The compression molding process is typically used for manufacturing large moderately curved structures. During this process, for example, a thermoplastic material is placed in between the two parts of a pre-heated mold (i.e. , a cavity mold), which may then press or squeeze that material allowing it to take the shape of that cavity. After, the mold is cooled, allowing the material within it to solidify, and the final structure is ejected from the mold. Comparing to injection molding, compression molding of a thermoplastic material may have a longer cycle time, which should be considered when it comes to manufacturing a high volume of small and intricate parts, such as bottle closures. [0006] In any of the above-mentioned manufacturing processes, an ejected bottle closure may be passed for further examination to detect any structural imperfections, such as, for example, some excess material at the open boundary (i.e., the rim) of a bottle closure. In this case, a bottle closure may undergo additional trimming or polishing process to remove any excess material and achieve a specific shape. [0007] The body of a tamper-evident bottle cap (or closure) typically has a cylindrical or dome shape. It may comprise: the top portion (or a top surface), which user may interact with to open a container; the bottom portion that typically includes a tamper-evident band and a liner for sealing that cap with the bottle neck; for screw- on type caps, feature threads on the inner surface of the bottle closure offering a secure and tight fit of that cap; a skirt that comprises grip -enhancing ridges and constitutes a part of the bottom portion of the bottle cap, offering a secure attachment of that bottle cap to the corresponding bottle neck. A bottle cap may be scored to allow further detachment of the top portion of a bottle closure from the bottom portion, and to obtain a tether, which may constitute a part of the tamper-evident band and allows the top portion of a bottle closure to remain attached to the bottom portion when that bottle is open. [0008] Scoring of the cap is typically done after molding in a slitting machine, and it is widely used in the production of container caps. Such a process is known as die cutting, as it relies on the specializer cutting tools, i.e., a die, allowing accurately and efficiently achieve a desired cut. Some caps may also be manufactured with pre- designed scoring features during the molding process, which, in this case, requires mold to incorporate a scoring pattern. Also, a laser cutting process, where a laser beam is used to create the desired score lines with high precision, may also be used to score container caps. [0009] For many containers, a tamper-evident band of a cap comprises inwardly facing projections or tabs allowing to fasten the bottom portion of a cap to a closure retaining protrusion in the lower part of a bottle neck (for i