TECHNICAL FIELD

10013 This present disclosure relates generally to closures for containers. More specificall , the present disclosure relates to a tethered closure secured to a bottle neck.

BACKGROUND

| 2j In the field of liquid packaging, it is very common to seal the aperture of a container with a stopper, often made from a plastic material. Such a container is usually a plastic botle, but other materials may be used as well.

10031 The stopper has a tubular shape closed at its top edge by a top wall. The stopper comprises a roof attached to a tamper shell through bridges. Bridges are distributed around the circumference of the roof and the tamper shall. The bridges may he made when molding the stopper or after through undergoing a cutting step during themanufacturing process,

j!HMj Usually die bottle neck includes outer fixation feature, such as thread(s) tor screw type stopper or annular fixation rings for snap type stopper, to secure the stopper on the bottle neck.

[005j For scre type stoppers, the tamper shell comprises inner thread(s) arranged inside side walls. The bottle neck fixation feature may include outer thread(s), Such combination of outer and inner thread(s) allows the stopper to be screwed on a bottle neck to seal it and unscrewed for bottle opening, A snap type stopper may include an inner annular area an the bottle neck fixation feature may include outer fixation ring, in order to slot in force the stopper on the bottle neck. A snap type stopper may include a tamper shell with a movable sealing roof from a closed position to a partial opening position, and reversely. The roof may he separated upon opening or may he connected to the tamper shell,

[OOtfj In a bottle sealing position of the stopper, the tamper shell may be secured around the bottle neck through inner shell retaining features or through the retaining features diameter being smaller than a diameter of a tamper shell of the bottle neck.

(QQ7] The roof ma be removable. During bottle opening, the bridges form a weakness line and may be torn apart from the roof, separating it from the bottle. The weakness line may be torn when user unscrews the tamper shell of the stopper or when user Hits the roof by tilting.

1008] There is a recycling risk with separable roof as consumers may not always screw or sna back the roof onto the bottle neck once empty. The stopper may fee thrown away its litter or put into the trash bin, or worse make its way into a landfill, which is not good in view of the environmental considerations.

(009] One solution includes linking the roof to the tamper shell secured on the bottle neck, so the roof stays attached to the bottle after botle opening, Such an attached stopper may be called a 'tethered stopper,’

(00:10] Other known art prior art systems include a tethered stopper comprising a spiral strip, The spiral strip is made during the stoppe molding so there is no cuting or slitting operations. Other known prior art systems Includes tethered stoppers comprising two strips linking the closure shell to the tamper band secured do the botle.

SUMMARY

(00111 This invention provides an improved tethered plastic stopper where the closure shell remains atached by a hinge to the tamper band after the bottle is opened, A stopper with a special band gripping feature in incorporated into the closure shell for improved gripped b a consumer during the bottle opening process, This gripping feature also allows the closure shell to be locked in a closed position. The gripping feature can outwardly extend relative to: the stopper diameter for better gripping by the consumer.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(0012] Tbs figures are not necessaril to scal and some features may be exaggerated or minimized, such as to show details of particular components. Emphasis is placed on illustrating the principles of the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals desi gnate corresponding parts throughoutthe different views,

100131 Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspecti ve view of an angular viewpoint of a tethered stopper secured on a bottle neck when the bottle is closed,

(0 14] Figure 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of an angular viewpoint of a tethered stopper secured on a bottle neck when the bottle is closed,

(0015] Figure 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view of the tethered stopper secured on a bottle neck when the bottle is closed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(0016) As required, detailed embodiments of the present disclosure are disclosed herein. The disclosed embodiments are merely examples that may be embodied hi various and alternative forms, and combi nations thereof. As used herein, for example, exemplary, and similar terms, refer expansively to embodiments that serve as an illustration, specimen, model or pattern

(0617] In some instances, well-known components, systems, materials or methods have not been described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the present disclosure. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein: are not to be interpreted as limiting, hut merely as a basi for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present disclosure.

[6618] Phrasing such as’configured to' perform a function, including in the claims, can include any or all of being sized, shaped, positioned in the arrangement, and comprising material to perform the function.

(6619] Terms indicating quantity, such as ‘firsf or ‘second’ are used for exemplary and explanation purposes and are not intended to dictate the specific ordering of a component with respect to other components. Terms indicating position such as ‘upper’ and lower’ or Tronr an ‘back’ are used to indicate components relation to one another. One of skill in the art would recognize otherconfigurations are possible.

[6626] Various embodiments of the present disclosure are disclosed herein. The described embodiments are merel exemplary si lustration of implementations set for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Variations, modifications, and combinations may be made to the described embodiments without departing from the scope of the claims. All such variations, modifications, and combinations are included herein by the scope of thi s di sclosure and the claims.

j6621j Figure 1 illustrates a tethered plastic stopper 100 for closing a bottle neck 102. The stopper 100 globally has a tubular shape. The stopper 100 is integrally made of one plastic piece by molding fabrication step. Other parts or elements of the stopper 100 can be further created info the entire plastic piece through a cutting or slitting process during the manufacturing process. The stopper 100 can be a screw type or a snap type. The stopper 100 comprises inner fixation features, such as thread(s) or inner annular r gfs), designed to cooperate with outer complementary fixation features made on the bottle oeek 102, like outer thread(s) or outer annular ringfs),

[0022] The stopper 100 is a snap type. The bottle neck 102 comprises an outer annular ring 300 for snapping the stopper 100 on the bottle neck 102. Tile bottle neck also comprises a transport ring 104 under the outer annular ring 300. The stopper 100 comprises a tamper hand 106 and a closure shell 108, The tamper hand 106 and the closure shell 108 may be linked together where the tamper hand 106 is connected on the top and the closure shell 108 is connected around the bottom.

[0023] At its bottom edge, the tamper band 106 can comprises a series of retaining features 302. These retaining features 302 assist in securing the stopper 100 to the bottle neck 102, The retaining features 302 may be made to form a collar. Alter (he collar is inverted inside the tamper band 106, in bottle sealing the collar looks the tamper band 106 and the entire stopper 100 against a tamper evident ring 304 managed outwardly around the bottle neck 102, The retaining features 302 can also be molded directly from the injection/compression molding process resulting in beads that do not need to be inverted like the collar. The tamper evident ring 304 may he situated between the outer annular ring 300 and the transport ring 104,

[0024] The stopper 100 may also have at least one weakness line 1 10 positioned between the closure shell 108 and the tamper band 106, The weakness line 1 10 is shown is formed by bridges. Tire bridges are distributed almost all along the weakness lin 1 10, regularly or irregularly spaced along the weakness line 1 10. The bridges act as to link the closure shell 108 to the tamper band 106. Thus, when opening the closure shell 108, the bridges are tom apart from the closure shell 108 and from the tamper band 106. The closure shell 108 is separable and can be manually removed by the consumer, in order to open and access the contents of the bottle. The weakness line 1 10 ca be made when molding the stopper TOO by performing a cutting or slitting step during the manufacturin process.

[0025] The closure shell 108 may be formed such that if is not easily removable from the stopper 100. The stopper 100 may comprise a hinge 200 that is attached on its top to the closure shell 108 and Is bottom attached to the tamper band 300. The hinge 200 globally vertically extends along the outer surface of the stopper 100, Hence, when opened, the closure shell 108 can stay attached to the tamper and 106 an remain secured on the bottle neck 102 via the hinge 200. |0QM] As shown in Figure 3, the hinge 200 can have a thickness value at a pivot junction less than the thickness value of the closure shell 1 8 or of the tamper band 106. Thus, the closure shell 108 can be angularly moved around the pivot junction from a closed position to an opened position, and reversely to a closed: position. The hinge 200 angularly extends from 5° to 90 ^® in reference- with the periphery of the stopper 100, fM27j The closure shell 108 comprises a sealing feature 306 that allows the closure shell 108 to be watertight on the bottle neck. 102 in a closed position. The sealing feature 306 comprises an annular tubular lip extending beneath the bottom face the closure shell 108. The outer periphery of the lip comprises an embossment which Is compressed against the inner wall of fee bottle neck 102 In the closed position thus allowing sealing of the bottle,

|0h28| The stopper 100 comprises a gripping feature 1 12. The gripping feature

1 12 allows the consumer to easily open the closure shell 108, Therefore, according to the embodiments shown In Figures 1 to 4, the gripping feature 112 can outwardly extends from the closure shell 108. The gripping feature 1 12 exceeds the edge of the closure shell 108, and especially the edge of the stopper 100, allowing the consumer to easily manipulate the gripping feature 1 12. The gripping feature 1 12 may be created when molding the stopper 100. The gripping feature i 12 is created in a low portion of the closure shell 108, at the diametrically opposite location relative to the hinge 200, When pushing up on the bottom of the gripping feature 1 12, the consumer moves the closure shell 108 around the hinge 200, allowing the bottle to open. The gripping feature 1 12 ca have a curved shape section that is hollowed underneath. The gripping feature 1 12 angularly extends between 5° an 180'·’. An Idea! angular extension exists between 20° and 120 fe

|(1029j in other embodiments that are not shown, the gripping feature 1 12 may have other shapes such as geometric shapes, including polygonal shape section^}. The gripping feature 1 12 comprises a locking feature on the inside opposite portion of the closure shell 108. The locking feature in wardly extends relative to the inner face of the closure shell 108,

10030) In Figure 3, the locking feature can further comprise a hook 308 so that the hook 308 exceeds the inner face of the closure shell 108, globally facing the gripping features 1 12. The hook 308 cooperates with the bottom of the outer annular ring 300 of the botle neck 102, The hook 30S retains die closure shell 108 in a secured closed position, preventing opening. The hook 308 may angularly extend between 5° and 180% and ideally may extend between 20 ^': ' and 1.20% When opening through pushing on the gripping feature 1 12 front bottom to top, the plastic wail of the closure shell 108 can deform and outwardly pull the hook 308 thus releasing the blocking of the secured closed position, lienee, the closure shell 108 can he moved to open the bottle neck 102.

fOQ3l] While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and Implementations are possible that are within the scope of this invention.