RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/858,006, filed July 24, 2013, and U.S. Patent Application No. 14/339,575, filed July 24, 2014, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

[0001] Re-usable bottles, such as milk bottles, traditionally use push-on plastic caps to seal their contents. Closures of this type are still needed because of the large cost it would require to convert the glass bottles to having a threaded top which would allow screw-on caps.

[0002] Current bottle closures have a cap and a single-use latch ring, also referred to as a "tamper- evident cap", allowing for the attachment of the closure and an easily-used visual aid to see if the closure has been tampered with. However, these closures may not adequately seal the contents of the bottles and may allow the contents to leak. Further, once the cap has been detached from the latch ring, a user replacing the cap, for example to store temporarily in a home refrigerator, may find that the cap does not adequately maintain a hold on the bottle, allowing for further leakage. The poor seal may additionally allow the contents of the bottle to interact with an exterior environment, which may facilitate spoilage of the contents.

SUMMARY

[0003] A bottle closure device may be disclosed. The bottle closure device may include a capping portion that has a top, a sidewall, and an inner neck. The inner neck may extend from an interior surface of the top of the capping portion. The inner neck may be substantially cylindrical and may be configured to fit within a bottle neck that is inserted within the top and sidewall of the capping portion. The inner neck portion may further include protrusions projecting outwardly therefrom.

[0004] In another embodiment, the bottle closure device may further include a tear away portion connected to the capping portion by a fragile ring. The tear- aw ay portion may include teeth designed to secure to the outside of a bottle neck. The bottle closure may be configured such that the capping portion separates from the tear-away portion when force is applied.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0005] Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments. The following detailed description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

[0006] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the exterior of a bottle closure

[0007] Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the interior of a bottle closure

[0008] Fig. 3 is a side cut-away view of a bottle closure

[0009] Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a double-latch bottle closure

[0010] Fig. 5 is a side cut-away view of a double-latch bottle closure

[0011] Fig. 6 is a side cut-away view of a double-latch bottle closure showing its placement upon a bottle

DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0012] Aspects of the present invention are disclosed in the following description and related figures directed to specific embodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize that alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention.

[0013] As used herein, the word "exemplary" means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." The embodiments described herein are not limiting, but rather are exemplary only. It should be understood that the described embodiments are not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Moreover, the terms "embodiments of the invention," "embodiments," or "invention" do not require that all embodiments of the invention include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0014] Generally referring to the accompanying figures, a bottle closure may be formed in any of a variety of manners and may be used in a variety of situations. One exemplary embodiment may be to attach a bottle closure to the top of an open bottle, thereby providing a long-term seal for the contents of the bottle. The bottle closure may later be broken into a capping portion and a tear- away portion, allowing access to the contents of the bottle. The capping portion may further provide short-term resealing of the bottle. In some embodiments, the seal may be substantially liquid-tight. The seal may also be substantially air-tight.

[0015] Referring now to exemplary Fig. 1, a bottle closure 100 may include a capping portion 110 and a tear-away portion 120. In alternative exemplary embodiments, bottle closure 100 may not include a tear-away portion 120. Capping portion may have a top 104 and sidewall 106. Tear- away portion 120 may substantially form an extension of the sidewall 106 of capping portion 110. Bottle closure 100 may be sized and shaped to fit the top of a bottle and an exemplary embodiment may be constructed of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), or any other acceptable materials as would be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art. Bottle closure 100 may be constructed in a one-piece mold, or assembled in parts, as desired. Capping portion 110 and tear- away portion 120 may be coupled by way of a fragile ring 111. Fragile ring 111 may be designed to be a breaking point if a separating force is applied between capping portion 110 and tear- away portion 120. The breaking point design may include the material of fragile ring 111 being thinner than that of capping portion 110 and tear-away portion 120. In some exemplary embodiments, fragile ring 111 may also include perforations to facilitate separation. Alternatively, fragile ring 111 may be configured to be torn away from bottle closure 100, separating capping portion 110 and tear-away portion 120. The separating forces may be a variety of forces, including tension, bending, torsion, shearing, or compression. Capping portion 110 may further include one or more grips 112. Grips 112 may protrude from the exterior of capping portion 110 and may assist a user in holding or applying pressure to capping portion 110. Grips 112 may be long, thin protrusions spaced at regular intervals, or in any other shape and spacing, as desired.

[0016] Referring now to exemplary Figs. 2 and 3, capping portion 110 may include an inner neck 114. Inner neck 114 may be substantially cylindrical in shape and may extend from the top of capping portion 110 into the interior of bottle closure 100. In alternative embodiments, inner neck 114 may be sized and shaped to fit the interior a desired bottle, as would be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art. The primary axis describing the cylindrical shape of inner neck 114 may be substantially parallel to the primary axis of bottle closure 100. A bottle neck receiving channel may be created between inner neck 114 and the interior side walls of capping portion 110. Inner neck 114 may further include one or more protrusions 116. Protrusions 116 may extend from inner neck 114 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the primary axis of inner neck 114. In an exemplary embodiment, protrusions 116 may extend outwardly from inner neck 114, into the bottle neck receiving channel. Inner neck 114 may have a diameter sized to fit within the opening of a desired bottle neck, as would be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art. Protrusions 116 may extend so as to contact an interior surface of the bottle neck. Inner neck 114 and protrusions 116 may be sized and shaped to substantially fit inside a bottle's neck while allowing an outer portion of capping portion 110 to fit around the exterior of a bottle's neck, as would be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art. Protrusions 116 may be configured to fit tightly against the bottle neck, establishing a seal. In some embodiments, protrusions 116 may be slightly flexible to provide for improved contact with the surface of a bottle, thereby sealing the bottle's contents. In such embodiments, protrusions 116 may extend such that they have an outer diameter greater than an inner diameter of a desired bottle neck. When inserted in a desired bottle neck, the flexed protrusions 116 may apply pressure on the interior of the bottle neck, creating a strong seal. The flex of protrusions 116 may also increase the contact area between protrusions 116 and the bottle neck, improving the seal. The seal formed between inner neck 114, protrusions 116 and the neck of a bottle may prevent the contents of the bottle from leaking while capping portion 110 is in place. Additionally, the seal may reduce or prevent exposure of the bottle's contents to outside elements, preventing spoilage and prolonging storage life. Capping portion 110 may further include dimple 118. Dimple 118 may be utilized as the liquid plastic injection port, also known as an injection nipple, to manufacture the cap and may be utilized in the manufacturing process.

[0017] Tear-away portion 120 may include a plurality of teeth 122. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, tear-away portion 120 may be formed to include about two teeth, although it is envisioned that any number of teeth may be utilized in this or other exemplary embodiments. In yet further exemplary embodiments, there may be multiple rows of teeth 122. Teeth 122 may be resiliently deformable and may protrude on an angle from tear- away portion 120 toward the interior of bottle closure 100. Teeth 122 may be sized and shaped to catch on a lip on the exterior of a bottle, thereby substantially securing tear away portion 120 in place on the bottle. Teeth 122 may be flexible at a connection point to tear away portion 120, so as to allow installation over the bottle and lip disposed on the exterior of the bottle, as would be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art.

[0018] Referring now to exemplary Figs. 4 and 5, a double-latch bottle closure 200 may include a capping portion 210 and a tear-away portion 220. Capping portion 210 and tear-away portion 220 may be substantially similar to capping portion 110 and tear-away portion 120 of bottle closure 100, as described above and as shown in exemplary Figs. 1-3. Teeth 222 may further be substantially similar to teeth 122. Double-latch bottle closure 200 may further include one or more ridge 230. Ridge 230 may be a continuously disposed ridge forming a ring around an interior wall of capping portion 210. In some embodiments, ridge 230 may be a series of intermittent ridges forming a ring around an interior wall of capping portion 210. Ridges 230 can provide additional strength to teeth 222 and can offer an additional, more secure tamper-proof function than portion 220. Ridges 230 may protrude from the interior of capping portion 210 and may be located, sized and shaped to catch on a notch on the exterior of a bottle, thereby holding capping portion 210 in place on the bottle. Ridges 230 may be part of a one-piece construction for double-latch bottle closure 200 or may be manufactured separately, as desired. Ridges 230 may allow capping portion 210 to be re-used to seal the contents of a bottle once capping portion 210 has been separated from tear- away portion 220 and teeth 222 no longer hold capping portion 210 in place. Ridges 230 may be used in conjunction with protrusions 216 to hold capping portion 210 on a bottle and provide an effective seal.

[0019] Referring now to exemplary Fig. 6, a double-latch bottle closure 200 may be used with a bottle 10. Upon placing double-latch bottle closure 200 upon bottle 10, teeth 222 may functionally engage bottle neck lip 12 and ridges 230 may functionally engage notch 14. Inner neck 214 may extend into bottle neck interior 16, and protrusions 216 may substantially form a seal against the wall of bottle neck interior 16. To access the contents of bottle 10, a user may break fragile ring 211 and disengage ridges 230 from notch 14 to remove capping portion 210 from the top of bottle 10. The user may re-seal bottle 10 with capping portion 210 using ridges 230 and protrusions 216. The existence or lack of existence of fragile ring 211 may therefore also serve to inform a potential user if the contents of bottle 10 have been accessed following the initial placement of double-latch bottle closure 200 upon bottle 10.

[0020] The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate the principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additional variations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

[0021] Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.