Foilless caps
Foilless caps that provide sealing of the container without the use of a foil and are environmentally friendly. The foilless caps may include tamper evident mechanisms to provide evidence of prior or attempted use. The foilless caps may further include tether mechanisms to prevent loss of the cap after opening. The foilless caps may provide sealing and resealing of the container with enough closure to maintain freshness. The foilless caps may provide a non back-off feature which may include audible and tactile indications to the user that the container is closed. The foilless caps may provide mechanisms to hold an opened and tethered cap away from the container opening during use.
1 . A cap for a container, the cap comprising:
a base;
an outer sidewall connected to the base;
a middle sidewall connected to the base;
an inner sidewall connected to the base, wherein the inner sidewall is angled toward the middle sidewall, wherein the middle sidewall includes at least one projection facing the inner sidewall which is configured to diametrically interfere with and frictionally fit with at least one thread on a neck of a container, and wherein the middle sidewall and the inner sidewall form a V-shaped groove which engages the neck to close the container absent a foil seal; and
a tamper evident mechanism having a wall portion that is molded to an inner surface of the outer sidewall and that is located at least partially internal to the cap, wherein the tamper evident mechanism is configured to be positioned between a collar on the neck and a shoulder of the container that is connected to the neck and positioned below the at least one thread such that fingers of the tamper evident mechanism engage the collar, the fingers extending above the wall portion and being connected to the wall portion by tearable elements located therebetween.
2 . The cap of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the tamper evident mechanism remains on the container when the cap is opened from the container.
3 . The cap of claim 2 , wherein the tamper evident mechanism is integrally molded as part of the cap.
4 . The cap of claim 1 , wherein the at least one projection diametrically interferes with and frictionally fits with the at least one thread to provide an audible and tactile indicator to a user that the container is closed.
5 . The cap of claim 1 , wherein the cap provides a tactile indicator to a user that the container is closed based upon interference and friction between the at least one projection and the at least one thread.
6 . The cap of claim 1 , wherein the inner sidewall is configured to fit inside the neck of the container.
7 . The cap of claim 1 , wherein the V-shaped groove is configured to provide a linerless plug seal for the container.
8 . A device comprising:
a container including a shoulder and a neck; and
a foilless cap configured to fit on the container, wherein the foilless cap comprises:
a base, a width of the base dimensioned to accommodate a width of the shoulder;
an outer sidewall connected to the base, a height of the outer sidewall dimensioned to accommodate a height of the neck;
a middle sidewall connected to the base;
an inner sidewall connected to the base, wherein the inner sidewall is angled toward the middle sidewall, wherein the middle sidewall includes at least one projection facing the inner sidewall which is configured to diametrically interfere with and frictionally fit with at least one thread on the neck of the container, and wherein the middle sidewall and the inner sidewall form a V-shaped groove which engages the neck to close the container absent a foil seal; and
a tamper evident mechanism having a wall that is formed with an inner surface of the outer sidewall and that is located at least partially internal to the foilless cap, wherein the tamper evident mechanism is configured to be positioned between a collar on the neck and the shoulder of the container that is connected to the neck and positioned below the at least one thread, and wherein the collar extends outward from the neck toward the outer sidewall and above the wall of the tamper evident mechanism, the collar being located between, and spaced apart from, the at least one thread on the neck and the shoulder of the container.
9 . The device of claim 8 , wherein at least a portion of the tamper evident mechanism remains on the container when the foilless cap is opened from the container.
10 . The device of claim 8 , wherein the foilless cap provides a tactile indicator to a user that the container is closed based upon interference and friction between the at least one projection and the at least one thread.
11 . The device of claim 8 , wherein the tamper evident mechanism is an adapter ring that includes:
fingers configured to engage the collar on the neck of the container, wherein the fingers are connected to the wall by tearable elements that are configured to break during opening of the foilless cap to separate the fingers from the wall.
12 . The device of claim 11 , wherein the fingers are configured to remain connected to the container when the foilless cap is opened.
13 . The device of claim 12 , wherein the fingers extend upward beyond a top edge of the wall.
14 . The device of claim 11 , wherein the fingers extend inward from the wall and are configured to extend inwards towards the neck of the container.
15 . The device of claim 11 , wherein the fingers are spaced apart from the wall and located radially inward of the wall.