Closure with Hinged Lid

Abstract

A closure for a container of the kind use to deliver milk and juice. The closure is a two-piece construction comprise of a lid and a base. The closure preferably has overall dimensions that approximate a standard unitary cap use with the same containers, so that the closure can easily be used with standard feeding equipment in a bottling facility. The closure has a hinge that is formed of a post connected by a tab to the lid, and hinge supports extending upwardly from the closure's base. The hinge supports include a hook and a bridge. The hook allows the tab to slide under the hook during assembly of the lid to the base. Once the tab is positioned between hook and the bridge, the hook bocks disassembly of the lid from the base. The post of the hinge assembly fits within tunnel sections formed by the hook and the bridge, and gripping forces applied by the hook and/or bridge hold the lid in an open position when contents are poured from the container.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A closure comprising:
 a base having a skirt and at least one internal thread formed on an inside surface of the skirt, the base having an opening;   a lid having a depending plug shaped to fit at least partially into the opening of the base;   a hinge joining the base and the lid, the hinge comprising:   a post carried by the lid, the post being integrally connected to the lid by a tab;   at least two post supports extending upwardly from the base, one post support being a bridge having a first end and a second end, each of the ends of the bridge being integrally joined to the base, the bridge defining a first tunnel section adapted to receive a first portion of the post, a second post support being a hook with a proximal end being integrally joined to the base and the hook having a free distal end, the hook forming a second tunnel section adapted to receive a second portion of the post, the first and second portions of the post being separated by a middle portion of the post, the middle portion being joined by the tab to the lid.   
     
     
         2 . A closure of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a beveled portion on the free distal end of the hook, whereby during assembly of the lid to the base, the beveled portion will guide the tab under the distal end of the hook. 
 
     
     
         3 . A closure of  claim 1  further comprising: 
       a buttress formed adjacent an intersection of the proximal end of the hook and the base, whereby the buttress provides the hook with improved resistance to bending from upward forces applied to an inner surface of the hook by the second portion of the post. 
     
     
         4 . A closure of  claim 1  further comprising: 
       the at least one thread formed on an inside surface of the skirt being a single helical thread adapted to mate with a single helical thread on a bottle, whereby the closure when installed on a bottle having a handle will generally have a single alignment in which the direction of opening of the lid will correspond to the location of the handle. 
     
     
         5 . A closure of  claim 1  further comprising: 
       a first latch bead on the base and a second latch bead on the lid, the first and second latch beads being positioned to snap past one another and hold the lid in a closed position over the opening in the base. 
     
     
         6 . A closure of  claim 1  further comprising: 
       the post having at least one generally axially extending external rib, the rib being deformable when the post is inserted into at one of the tunnel sections. 
     
     
         7 . A closure of  claim 6  wherein the post has eight generally axially extending external ribs, the ribs being generally equally spaced about the perimeter of a portion of the post and each rib having a height of about 0.003 inches. 
     
     
         8 . A closure of  claim 1  wherein the bridge and the hook have a height that is approximately equal to an elevation of an upper surface of the lid when the lid is attached to the base, and the base includes a platform from which the bridge and hook extend upwardly, the bridge and hook being disposed in plan view within the periphery of the closure, whereby the hinge does not extend either radially from the closure beyond the skirt or axially a substantial distance beyond the lid, when the lid is assembled to the base. 
     
     
         9 . A closure of  claim 1  wherein the skirt has a lower skirt section and an upper skirt section, and axially extending knurls are disposed over a major portion of an exterior surface of the lower skirt section, an upper portion of the skirt section being with knurls, such that the top of the knurls form a shoulder, and the lid having a downwardly depending lid skirt that is shaped to fit around an upper portion of the skirt, the lid skirt having a thickness that is approximately equal to the depth of at least some of the knurls. 
     
     
         10 . A closure of  claim 1  wherein the lid is made of a plastic containing a first colorant, and the base is made of a plastic containing a second colorant, and the first and second colorants are different. 
     
     
         11 . A two-piece closure comprising:
 a base having a skirt a thread formed on an inside surface of the skirt, the base having an opening;   a lid having a depending plug shaped to fit into the opening of the base;   a hinge joining the base and the lid, the hinge comprising:   a post carried by the lid, the post being integrally connected to the lid by a tab;   a post support extending upwardly from the base, the post support being integrally joined to the base and defining a tunnel section adapted to receive a portion of the post, the tab being joined to the lid by a tab;   the hinge being disposed substantially within a space defined by a plane corresponding to the upper surface of the lid, and a cylinder generally corresponding to an outermost portion of the skirt.   
     
     
         12 . A closure of  claim 11  wherein the post support is comprised of two upwardly extending formations, one formation being a hook having a fixed end and a free end, and a second formation being bridge having two fixed ends, each of the hook and bridge defining a tunnel section for receiving portions of the post. 
     
     
         13 . A closure of  claim 12  wherein a beveled portion is formed on the free end of the hook, whereby during assembly of the lid to the base, the beveled portion will guide the tab under the distal end of the hook during a sliding assembly of the lid to the base. 
     
     
         14 . A closure of  claim 13  wherein the tab has a width that is less than a distance that separates the hook and the bridge, such that when the tab slides under the free end of the hook and is disposed between the hook and the bridge, the hook moves in the direction of an original position of the hook and the free end of the hook blocks the tab and restricts disassembly of the lid from the base. 
     
     
         15 . A closure in accordance with  claim 11  wherein the lid includes a colorant that is not present in the base. 
     
     
         16 . A closure in accordance with  claim 11  wherein the base has a single helical internal thread formed on the inside of the skirt. 
     
     
         17 . A closure in accordance with  claim 11  wherein the post has eight generally axially extending external ribs, the ribs being generally equally spaced about the perimeter of a portion of the post and each rib having a height of about 0.003 inches. 
     
     
         18 . A closure comprising:
 a base having a skirt and a single internal thread formed on an inside surface of the skirt, the base having an opening;   a lid having a depending plug shaped to fit at least partially into the opening of the base;   a hinge joining the base and the lid, the hinge comprising:   a post carried by the lid, the post being integrally connected to the lid by a tab;   at least two post supports extending upwardly from the base, one post support being a bridge having a first end and a second end, each of the ends of the bridge being integrally joined to the base, the bridge defining a first tunnel section adapted to receive a first portion of the post, a second post support being a hook with a proximal end being integrally joined to the base and the hook having a free distal end, the hook forming a second tunnel section adapted to receive a second portion of the post, the first and second portions of the post being separated by a middle portion of the post, the middle portion being joined by the tab to the lid;   the hinge being disposed substantially within a space defined by a plane corresponding to the upper surface of the lid, and a cylinder generally corresponding to an outermost portion of the skirt.   
     
     
         19 . A closure in accordance with  claim 18  wherein the lid includes a colorant that is not present in the base. 
     
     
         20 . A closure in accordance with  claim 18  wherein the post has eight generally axially extending external ribs, the ribs being generally equally spaced about the perimeter of a portion of the post and each rib having a height of about 0.003 inches.