AU4750302A

AU4750302A - Tamper-evident or resistant containers

Info

Publication number: AU4750302A
Application number: AU47503/02A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Rinaldo Gruber; Peter John Tasker
Original assignee: Carter Holt Harvey Ltd
Current assignee: Carter Holt Harvey Ltd
Priority date: 1996-06-28
Filing date: 2002-06-13
Publication date: 2002-08-08

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: PETER JOHN TASKER RINALDO GRUBER PETER JOHN TASKER RINALDO GRUBER A J PARK, Level 11 Marcus Clarke Street Canberra ACT 2601 Invention Title: TAMPER-EVIDENT

CONTAINERS

OR -RESISTANT The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us la TAMPER-EVIDENT OR -RESISTANT CONTAINERS This invention relates to tamper-evident or -resistant containers and associated closure members therefor.

BACKGROUND

There are many allegedly tamper-evident containers and/or closure members therefor.

The tamper-evident feature is of particular value in the food industry as a means of inhibiting or at least making detectable, the unauthorised removal of contents of the container or, even more importantly, the insertion of contaminating substances such as poisons or unwanted drugs or the loss of sterility of the contents. Additionally, the tamper-evident and/or -resistant feature is of value in the paint and other industries.

However, many of such containers and/or closure members therefor fail to achieve the desired effect.

OBJECT

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved tamper-evident and/or -resistant container and/or associated closure member therefor.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a tamper-evident and/or -resistant container formed with an aperture through a wall thereof, the container being adapted for the aperture to be closed by a closure member having a lip, rib or wall protruding around the edge thereof in a direction generally normal to the plane of the aperture, the container being formed with a groove around and close to the aperture, the groove being a close fit to the outside of the lip, rib or wall, when the container is closed by the closure member.

June 1997/9777AU.697/BS/ms According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided the above mentioned tamper-evident and/or -resistant container and the closure member.

Conveniently the groove is continuous and is formed by inner and outer walls closed at the bottom by a bight.

Preferably the lip is in the form of a continuous wall extending substantially normally to the general plane of the aperture.

Advantageously said outer wall substantially covers the outside surface of the lip, rib or wall when the closure member is fitted to the container.

Conveniently the outer wall is a close fit to the outside surface of the lip, rib or wall.

Furthermore, the inside surface of the lip, rib or wall may be a close fit against the outer surface of the inner wall of the groove.

Preferably, no part of the closure member, in the region of the lip, rib or wall, protrudes outwardly past said outside surface, to prevent a tool or fingernail being able to catch under such part in an attempt to remove the closure member.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a tamper-evident and/or -resistant container formed with an aperture through a wall thereof, the container being adapted for the aperture to be closed by a closure member having a lip, rib or wall protruding around the edge thereof in a direction generally normal to the plane of the aperture, the container being formed with a groove around and close to said aperture, at least part of the inside surface of the groove being a close fit to the outside of the lip, rib or wall, and an outer wall of said groove being formed with a line of weakness extending from an exposed edge of the outer wall and bounding at least one edge of an area of the outer wall overlying the lip, rib or wall, when the closure member is fitted to the container, whereby the line of weakness can be broken to enable said area of wall to be moved away from the lip, rib or wall so that the lip, rib or wall can be prised away from the container.

Preferably, two of said lines of weakness extend from the exposed edge.

June 1997/9777MAU.697/BS/ms Conveniently the line of weakness extends from the exposed edge at least as far as the bottom of the lip, rib or wall then along it and back up to the exposed edge, whereby said area is surrounded by the line of weakness and by the exposed edge, enabling the area to be broken away from the container to expose the lip, rib or wall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various embodiments of the invention are described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 is a front view of a tamper-evident and/or resistant container and associated closure member, according to the invention, Figure 2 is an enlargement of part of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a side view of Figure 1, Figure 4 is an enlargement of part of Figure 3 Figure 5 is a perspective view of the container and closure member shown in Figure 1, Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of the components shown in Figure Figure 7 is a perspective view of a rectangular container and closure member, Figure 8 is a downwards perspective view of Figure 1, Figure 9 is an enlarged section along the line LX IX in Figure 2, Figure 10 is an enlarged section along the line X X in Figure 2, Figure 11 is an enlarged section along the line XI XI in Figure 2, and Figure 12 is an enlarged section along the line XII XII in Figure 2.

June 1997/9777MAU.697/BS/ms

DESCRIPTION

In the drawings, a moulded plastics container 10, typically usable for food, includes a base I I and side wall 12.

The upper edge of the side wall 12 forms an aperture for insertion and removal of the container contents. The aperture is closed by a removable closure member such as a lid 13.

I0 As seen particularly in Figures 9, 10 and 11, a typical lid 13 has a generally flat area 14, and a skirt 18 protruding downwardly adjacent the outer edge of the flat area 14. The lid 13 is bounded by a wall 19 which may have an internal bead 20. The wall 19 may be of any suitable section, such as a lip.

As shown in figure 11, the container 10 is formed with a trough 21 around the aperture.

The trough 21 is shaped and dimensioned to receive and retain the wall 19 of the lid 13, and comprises inner and outer trough walls 22, 23 closed at the bottom by a bight 24.

The outer surface of the inner trough wall 22 is formed with a shoulder 25 under which the internal rib 20 of the lid 13 snaps. Thus the lid 13 is sealed to the container along three circumferential lines or strips. These are, the rib 20 to the shoulder 25, the top of the inner trough wall 22 to the underside of the lid between the skirt 18 and the wall 19, and the bottom edge of the skirt 18 to an inwards shoulder 26 on the container It will be seen, especially from Figure 11, that when the lid 13 is fully fitted to the container 10, the proximity of the top edge of the outer trough wall 23 to the upper surface plane of the flat area 14 leaves little or no part of the lid 13 which can be gripped to pull the lid 13 upwards off the container 10. This is ensured by the radius 33.

Furthermore, the outer trough wall 23 overlaps the wall 19 of the lid 13, so that no tool, fingernail or the like can catch under the wall 19 to prise it upwards.

The fit of the outer trough wall 23 against or close to the lid wall 19 inhibits the insertion of a tool down to the bottom of the wall 19. Thus the lid 13 is very tamper-evident and/or -resistant and not likely to be displaced accidentally during rough handling of the container 10. Inward flexure of the wall 19 is resisted by June 1997/9777MAU.697/BS/ms circumferentially spaced ribs 15 on the inner trough wall 22, as seen in Figure 11.

In order that the lid 13 can be removed, when required, and in a tamper-evident and/or -resistant manner a short length of the outer trough wall 23 is adapted to be broken away to reveal the bottom edge of the lid wall 19. Figures 1 and 2 show the short length of the wall 23 as a tab 27, joined to the remainder of the wall 23 by breakable lines of weakness or stress raisers in the form of notches or groves 28 in the outer or inner surface of the outer trough wall 23.

To remove the tab 27 a thumb or finger nail or the like can be caught against the radially inner surface of the top of the tab 27 which is then thereby pushed outwards and downwards until the notches 28 break to free the sides of the tab 27. To assist this operation, the upper top edge of the tab 27 is preferably locally higher than the rest of the wall 23, as seen by comparing Figures 10 and 11. The upper edge may also be flared or spaced from the lid 13. Thus, the tab 27 is more easily found, as seen in Figure 8. Stiffening ribs 29 on the tab 27 make the above operation easier.

In order that the tab 27 can be broken away completely the notches or grooves 28 are formed as part of a continuous notch or groove 31 which extends from the bottom of both grooves 28 round the bight 24 and up the inner trough wall 22, as seen in Figure 9.

The groove 28 is completed by a horizontal length 30 at the junction of the inner trough wall 22 and the side wall 12, as seen in Figure Figure 12 shows that the groove 28 is asymmetric in section, so that when the tab 27 has been broken away, the adjacent end of the wall 23 is comparatively smooth and free of sharp edges.

It will be apparent that, by use of the construction described above, it is very difficult to remove the lid 13 from above the container 10, at least without making the operation evident. Furthermore, until the tab 27 has been broken along the grooves 28 and preferably broken completely away, the bottom edge of the wall 19 is completely enclosed and is inaccessible, by virtue of the inner and outer walls 22, 23 and the bight 24.

If preferred, all or parts of the inner wall 22 between the grooves 28 may be omitted.

June 1997/9777MAU.697/BS/ms This renders easier the tearing away of the tab 27 but leaves open the possibility of a person dislodging the lid 13 by inserting a blade or the like upwards through the hole or holes through the wall 22.

Security of the lid 13 is enhanced by the deep penetration of the wall 19 between the walls 22, 23.

Stress-raising notches 32 may be provided downwards into the top ends of the grooves 28, so that tearing of the grooves 28 is more easily initiated.

Figure 7 shows that the invention is applicable to containers of rectangular and other shapes, such as oval, polygonal, and having a body of any shape and proportions. The aperture and lid 13 can be on the side or top of the container 10 if preferred.

Furthermore, the lid 13 can be domed or of other shape but preferably is of a shape which cannot be gripped, so that the lid cannot be pulled from the container The closeness of the wall 23 prevents the wall 19 moving outwards as long as the tab 27 is in place. Thus, even a comparatively small bead 20 holds the lid 13 to the container 10. The skirt 18 serves also to stiffen the lid 13, so that the inner wall 22 cannot move inwards, to release the shoulder 25 from the bead Once the tab 27 has been removed, the outer wall 23 is comparatively weak and flexible. The lid wall 19 can then move outwards to allow the bead 20 to ride over the shoulder June 1997/9777MAU.697/BS/ms

Claims

2. A container and closure member according to claim 1 in which the line of weakness extends from the exposed edge at least as far as the bottom of the lip, rib or wall then along it and back up to the exposed edge, whereby said area is surrounded by the line of weakness and by the exposed edge, enabling the area to be broken away from the container to expose the lip, rib or wall.
3. A container and closure member according to any of claims I or 2 in which that side of the line of weakness formed by that part of said wall which is not to be broken away is smoothly curved so that it does not form a sharp or ragged edge when said area has been broken away.
4. A container and closure member according to any of claims 1 to 3 in which the line of weakness at said exposed edge is formed with a notch extending away from the exposed edge, whereby to assist initiation of the breaking away of said area of wall down the line of weakness. A container and closure member according to any of claims 1 to 4 in which the line of weakness includes a row of fine perforations.
6. A tamper-evident and/or -resistant container formed with an aperture through a June 1997/9777MAU.697/BS/ms wall thereof, the container being adapted for the aperture to be closed by a closure member having a lip, rib or wall protruding around the edge thereof in a direction generally normal to the plane of the aperture, the container being formed with a groove around and close to the aperture, the groove being a close fit to the outside of the lip, rib or wall, when the container is closed by the closure member.
7. A container according to claim 6 and said closure member in which the groove is continuous and is formed by inner and outer walls closed at the bottom by a bight.
8. A container and closure member according to claim 7 in which the lip is in the form of a continuous wall extending substantially normally to the general plane of the aperture, and in which said outer wall substantially covers the outside surface of the lip, rib or wall when the closure member is fitted to the container.
9. A container and closure member according to any of claims 6 to 8 in which no part of the closure member, in the region of the lip, rib or wall, protrudes outwardly past said outside surface, to prevent a tool or fingernail being able to catch under such part in an attempt to remove the closure member. A container and closure member according to claim 8 in which a plurality of circumferentially spaced ribs are provided in the groove adjacent the edge of the lip, rib or wall and extending radially, whereby to inhibit unauthorised deflection of the lip, rib or wall inwardly.
11. A tamper-evident and/or resistant container constructed and arranged and adapted to operate substantially as described herein and as shown in the accompanying drawings. DATED this 27th day of June 1997 PETER JOHN TASKER RINALDO GRUBER By their Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO.