Shaped caps and containers

Claim 2

In a container having a non-circular container body and a non-circular cap and guide means for ensuring repeatable helical movement of the cap about an axis of rotation and relative to the container body during sealing of an outlet of the container by the cap, the improvement comprising abutment means on the container and stop means on the cap, the abutment means and stop means comprising respective faces repeatably cooperating to define a predetermined orientation of the cap relative to the body of the container at the termination of the said helical sealing movement and said cap being a two-part cap having an inner and an outer part, the inner part engaging with the container by said guide means and the outer part being separate from the inner part, driving means for interengaging the inner and outer parts and for permitting relative slippage between the same, said driving means comprising a first portion on said outer part and a second portion on said inner part, said outer part bearing said stop means and said inner part including sealing means for sealing the outlet.

Claim 3

The improvement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the inner part is made of deformable material and seals the outlet by deformation.

Claim 4

The improvement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the inner part includes a deformable seal element.

Claim 5

The improvement as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the inner part includes an insert for passing into the outlet of the container to seal the said outlet.

Claim 6

The improvement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the face of the abutment means is defined by an end face of an upstanding thickening, extending axially of the said axis, of a shoulder of the container.

Claim 7

A container comprising a container body, a hollow cylindrical neck extending from the body, screw-threading externally of the neck, a cap engaged on the neck by said screw-threading, an outlet from the container at the end of the neck remote from the body, the cap having an inner part and a separate outer part, the cap inner part being internally screw-threaded to cooperate with the said screw-threading of the neck to induce movement of said cap along a helical path about said neck when the cap is rotated and the cap inner part also comprising yieldable means for sealing the outlet, the cap outer part comprising means for drivingly engaging the cap inner part for rotation of the two cap parts together in their helical path and also comprising a stop face projecting radially toward the neck and at an end portion of the cap outer part adjacent the body of the container, and an abutment face projecting radially outwardly from the neck of the container into the helical path of the stop face in a final revolution only of the latter, whereby to block revolution of the cap in a repeatable predetermined orientation of the latter relative to the body of the container when said cap inner part sealing means are sealing the outlet, said means for drivingly engaging comprises axially aligned splines on said inner part and said outer part, which cooperatively interact for rotation of the two cap parts and permit relative slippage between the same.

Claim 8

A container comprising a container body, a hollow cylindrical neck extending from the body, screw-threading externally of the neck, a cap engaged on the neck by said screw-threading, an outlet from the container at the end of the neck remote from the body, the cap having an inner part and a separate outer part, the cap inner part being internally screw-threaded to cooperate with the said screw-threading of the neck to induce movement of said cap along a helical path about said neck when the cap is rotated and the cap inner part also comprising yieldable means for sealing the outlet, the cap outer part comprising means for drivingly engaging the cap inner part for rotation of the two cap parts together in their helical path and also comprising a stop face projecting radially toward the neck and at an end portion of the cap outer part adjacent the body of the container, and an abutment face projecting radially outwardly from the neck of the container into the helical path of the stop face in a final revolution only of the latter, whereby to block revolution of the cap in a repeatable predetermined orientation of the latter relative to the body of the container when said cap inner part sealing means are sealing the outlet, said means for drivingly engaging comprises axially aligned splines on said inner part and said outer part, which cooperatively interact for rotation of the two cap parts and permit relative slippage between the same.

Claim 9

A container according to claim 6 which is a substantially square-section glass bottle, the outer part of the cap has at least one planar side face to be orientated in alignment with a face of the square-section bottle, and the abutment and stop faces extend generally diagonally of the square-section.

Claim 10

A method of capping a container as defined in claim 6 comprising (a) screwing the cap inner part onto the neck of the bottle until sealing is achieved and (b) placing the cap outer part over the inner cap part by an axial movement until the two parts are snap-fitted together to establish driving engagement between them and to establish abutting relationship between the stop and abutment faces.

Claim 11

A method according to claim 8 which includes optionally rotating the cap outer part relative to the cap inner part with slippage of the driving engagement to establish said abutting relationship.