Container finish capable of accommodating a variety of different closures

Claim 1

In a container having an elongated upper portion with a finish and a central opening therethrough, an improvement in said finish which enables it to accommodate a variety of different types of closures for sealing and resealing said opening, said improvement comprising: said finish having inner and outer surfaces, with said inner surface circumscribing and defining said opening; said finish including a top surface extending between, and merging arcuately with, said inner and outer surfaces; said outer surface of said finish incorporating groove means extending circumferentially thereabout at a location beneath said top surface; that portion of said outer surface between the top edge of said groove means and said top surface forming a sealing surface and closure-locking lip; said outer surface also including a portion having raised screw threads thereon; said screw thread portion extending downward for a predetermined distance from the bottom edge of said groove means; said screw threads having a pitch which is between two and three times greater than the depth of said threads; said predetermined distance having a length substantially equal to the combined length of said groove means and said lip; said outer surface of said finish also including a raised reinforcing land portion located immediately below said screw thread portion; said reinforcing land having a substantially flat external surface which is substantially parallel to said inner surface of said finish; said external surface of said land having a length substantially equal to the length of said groove means; said external surface being substantially aligned with the outermost portion of said raised screw threads; said finish being adapted to accommodate a crown cap for sealing said opening, with the skirt of said crown cap being crimpable to said lip; said finish also being adapted to accommodate a screw cap for resealing said opening, with the threads of said screw cap being engageable with said screw thread portion and the bottom portion of said screw cap contacting and extending at least partially along said external surface of said reinforcing land; and said finish also being adapted to accommodate a pilfer-proof roll-on closure for sealing and resealing said opening, with said roll-on closure having threads rollable into engagement with said screw thread portion and having a frangible sealing band engageable with said external surface of said reinforcing land.