US1226532A - Receptacle-closure. - Google Patents

Description

C. R. KEERAN.

RECEPTACLE CLOSURE.

APPLlcATloN FILED JULY 31, 1916.

1,226,532., Patented May 15, 191?.

UNTER@ STATES ATEN FlHlQlE..

CHARLES R. KEERAN, 0F CHICAGO,-ILLINOIS.

BECEBTACLE-CLOSURE.

Application led July 31, 1916.

To all whom t may concern I Be 1t known that I, CHAuLEs R, KEERAN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Receptacle-Closures, of which the following is a, specification.

This invention relates to a closure intended primarily, although not exclusively, for Mason jars and the like, and is particularly concerned with a gasket guide or holder` which alines the parts in position to effect a vacuum seal.

The present; device may be used advantageously with Mason jars which are formed with a screw-threaded neck arranged to receive thereonV a screw threaded cap. Mason jars, such as are now in use, are

' not uniform in the size, shape and finish of their necks, these variations being due,

among other causes, to imperfections ,inl

glass working machinery. It is especially noticeable that the thickness ofthe glass, as well as the size of the mouths in jars of the Mason type are not of uniform dimensions. Experience shows, however, that the outside diameters of Mason jar necks are substantially uniform, even wheh such jars are the products of different manufacturers, or are produced on different styles of glass blowing machinery. rIhe closure of the present invention, therefore, is designed with particular reference to the exterior of Mason jar necks which are substantially of uniform size, instead of the inner side of such jar necks.

Substantially alll fruit jar caps now in use are constructed according to one of two l broad governing principles: One utilizes a shoulder on the ar exterior just below the neck, upon which shoulder a gasket is placed. A cup-shaped cap screwed over the gasket and fastened upon the jar neck, serves to provide the seal. The other method of construction employs a cap equipped with a depending panel or annular flange which fits within the mouth of the jar, and around this panel or flange a gasket is fitted. To form a seal the cap is placed on the jar with the panel or flange extending downwardly into its mouth, the gasket being seated on the upper edge of thejar neck.

A jar embodying either of these principles of construction will seal readily if the jars be of a proper size to cooperate with Specification of.Letters Patent.

the caps used, but the seals thus formed are found to be very diflicult to break. rlhis is due to the pressure ofair on the jar exterior, which causes the sealing gasket to adhere very firmly to both the jar and the cap. Under this pressure the gasket will flow, become distorted, and find rest between the walls of the cap and jar, thus increasing the amount of surface with which it comes in contact. Such a seal can not be easily broken by a knife or other instrument as it cannot be pushed past the gasket, but can be pushed only into it, so that thecontinuing adhesion of the gasket to the surrounding` parts prevents a breaking of the seal. It is usually necessary under such circumstances to pry off the cap by sheer force, in order to overcome both the air pressure and the adhesion of the gasket to the cap and jar. This prying action often causes the jar or cap or knife to break, and, in case of jars vwhich seal on the upper edge, it is quitecommon for the glass to flake off into the jar, thus spoiling both the jar and its contents.

With the objects in view of producing a seal which will not be subject to the objections noted, I have yprovided a closure for jars of the Mason type, which is simple, inexpensive, and easy to apply; a closure designed with particular reference to the outside of the jar neck as .the standard, to insure a better seal; and a Closure which may be readily removed with little danger of breaking either the jar or the cap. These aud other objects of my invent-ion will more fully hereinafter appear from the specifica.- tion and claims, and from the accompanying drawing, in which :w

Figure l is a longitudinal section through the upper portion of a Mason jar, the closure of the present invention being applied thereon;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section showing the closure upon the jar neck ready to be tightened;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the closure in final position; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the gasket guide or holder.

For purposes of illustration, I have represented in the drawing` a Mason jar 5, the neck 6 of which is threaded as at 7, to receive thereon a screw cap 8 formed with threads 9 which coperate with the jar threads 7. The top face of the screw cap may be cut away as at 10, leaving an annular inturned flange 12, as illustrated.

Between the upper edge 13 of the jar and the screw cap S, I have arranged means for sealing the jar against the passage of air, consisting of a disk 14 and a gasket 15, both of which are retained within a holder or guide 16. This holder may be in the form of a cup, .or may be ring-shaped with its upper edge inturned to provide a ange 17 bearing against the upper face of the disk, and its lower edge outwardly flared as at 1S. The material of which this holder or guide is made may be paper, Celluloid, thin metal, or any other suitable substance, formed or spun to thc shape required. Its purpose is to hold the disk and gasket in alinement with respect to the jar neck prior to, and during, the time that the screw cap 8 is tightened upon the jar. The holder or guide is shown as formed with its lower edge 18 flared outwardly. This construction is preferred, as it facilitates the insertion of the ldisk and gasket therewithin, and also enables the holder to be placed over the jar neck with greater ease. The upper edge. 17, which is inwardly turned, serves merely to retain the disk in place within the holder.

The relation of the parts, both before and after the screw cap is tightened, appearsclearly from Figs. 2 and 3. The vacuum seal is formed in the usual manner, the gasket 15 serving to form a seal between the jar and the disk 14. At the time it is desired to open the jar, the screw cap 8 is removed in the usual manner, after which the holder or guide 16 is removed from olf the disk and gasket. The removal of the guide may be readily accomplished if it be made of some material, such as paper, which can beeasily torn off, if necessary. Thereafter, a knife or other instrument is inserted between the disk and gasket to make an opening for the passage of air into the interior of the jar. In the device of the present invention it will be observed that there is no obstruction whatever to a complete insertion of a knife or other instrument between the disk and gasket as far as may be necessary to break the vacuum seal, so that the cap may be removed.

The holder described herein permits the use of a gasket which extends to the extreme outside edge of the jar neck. Such a gasket provides a more effective seal, due to the fact that it extends over the entire surface of the upper edge of the jar. At the same `time the gasket need not be unduly wide in order to accomplish this end, since the holder accurately alines the gasket upon the jar neck at the time the seal is being formed. As the gasket is well set over the entire npper edge of the neck, there is no tendency for the gasket to slide into the jar because of exterior air pressure. The present closure may, therefore dispense with a depending fiange on the disk extending into the jar mouth, of the kind disclosed in my patent No. 1,180,929.

In use the jar closure may be easily assembled and applied as a unit to form the seal. This is preferably done by inverting the guide 1G, so that its iiared edge 1S is turned upwardly. The disk 1J: is first dropped into place within the guide, and

ing the time that the screw cap is being4 tightened, thus assuring a perfect seal. At the same time the removal of the closure is readily provided for in that the insertion and movement of a knife or similar instrument is permitted between the gasket and the disk without interference,` as far as may be necessary to break the vacuum seal.

I claim:

1. A closure for receptacles having a neck exteriorly screw-threaded, consisting of a cap interiorly screw-threaded to coperate with the corresponding elements on the receptacle neck, whereby rotation of the cap relative tothe receptacle in one direction will effect a tightening between the cap and receptacle increasing as the rotation is continued, and whereby rotation in the other direction will effect a loosening between the cap and receptacle resulting in an ultimate disengagement of the one from the other, and sealing means interposed between the cap and the receptacle mouth, consisting of a disk whose diameter is substantially equal to the outside diameter of the receptacle mouth, the disk being' positioned adjacent the inner side of the cap, a gasket arranged .to fit between the disk and the mouth of the receptacle to establish a seal therebetween, the voutside diameters of the disk and gasket being substantially the same,7and a ringshaped holder arranged to receive the disk and gasket, the holder'being inturned along one edge thereof to form a retaining flange for the disk, the said flange lying between the cap and the disk, the holder being flared at the other edge thereof to guide the holder and parts therewithin into operative position, the diameter of the holder at its widest point being less than the inside diameter of the cap edge lying upon the receptacle neck, whereby the cap when unscrewed from the receptacle may be freely removed from off the holder, substantially as described.

2. In combination with a receptacle, a cap arranged to cover the receptacle mouth and to fasten upon the receptacle neck, there being elements projecting outwardly from the neck beyond the outer edge of the mouth, with which elements the cap may engage and by which the cap is drawn down upon the receptacle when rotated thereupon, the inside diameter of the cap being greater than the outside diameter of the neck to provide a clearance therebetween adjacent the mouth, and means for establishing a seal between the receptacle mouth and the cap consisting of a gasket arranged to seat upon the mouth and having its outside diameter substantially equal to that of the neck, a disk arranged upon the gasket and having its diameter substantially equal to that of the gasket, and a ring-shaped holder embracing the disk and gasket with its lower edge p0- sitioned within the clearance between the neck and cap, substantially as described.

3. In combination with a receptacle, a cap arranged to cover the receptacle mouth and to fasten upon the receptacle neck, there being elements projecting outwardly from the neck beyond the outer edge of the mouth with which the cap may engage, the inside diameter of the cap being greater than the outside diameter of the neck to provide a clearance therebetween adjacent the mouth, means for establishing a seal between the receptacle mouth and the cap consisting of a gasket arranged to seat upon the mouth and having its outside diameter substantially equal to that of the neck, a disk arranged upon the gasket having its diameter substantially equal to that of the gasket, and a holder embracing the disk and gasket provided with a lower edge outwardly flared and disposed within the clearance between the neck and cap, substantially as described.

4. A closure for receptacles of the character described, comprising a circular disk, the diameter of the disk being substantially equal to the diameter of the receptacle neck with which it cooperates, a gasket arranged to fit between the disk and the mouth of the receptacle to establish a seal therebetween, a. holder within which the disk and gasket may be placed, said holder serving also to aline the disk and gasket upon the receptacle, the holder being in the form of a ring,

with its upper edge inturned to form a re-.

taining flange for the disk, and a cap arranged to fasten upon the receptacle neck,

flange for the disk, and being outwardly iared at the other edge thereof to guide the holder and the parts therewithin into operative position, and a cap arranged to fasten upon the receptacle neck, there being a clearance between the cap and the receptacle neck within which the outwardly flared edge of the holder may freely lie, substantially as described.

G. A closure for receptacles of the character described, comprising a disk, a gasket for the receptacle arranged to lie adjacent the disk, a holder within which the disk and gasket may be retained, and by which these elements may be alined with the receptacle neck in proper sealing position, the holder being in the form of a ring with one edge thereof inturned to form a retaining flange for the disk, and with its other edge outwardly flared to guide the holder and the parts therewithin into operative position, and a cap arranged to fasten upon the receptacle neck, there being a clearance between the cap and the receptacle neck within which the outwardly flared edge of the holder may freely lie, substantially as described.

7. A closure for receptacles of the character described, comprising a disk, a gasket, the disk and gasket being of proper size to coperate with each other and the receptacle neck on which they are placed, a holder arranged to receive and guide into sealing position the disk and gasket, and a cap arranged to fasten upon the receptacle neck and .to exert a variable pressure upon the disk and gasket for sealing the receptacle, there being a clearance between the cap and the receptacle neck within which one edge of the holder may freely lie, substantially as described.

CHARLES R. KEERAN.

Vitnesses Errmfxur BANNING, FRAN ons M. FROST.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 2D. C.

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