Container preform finish with tethered closure

Abstract

An apparatus and methods are provided for container closures that include tethers to keep the closures coupled with plastic containers after the closures have been unsealed to access contents within the containers. A container closure may include a closure portion that engages with a finish portion of the container and a tamper evidence band retained by a tamper evidence ledge of the finish portion. When the container is opened, a tether band between the closure portion and the tamper evidence band extends into a strip that couples the closure portion with the tamper evidence band such that the container closure remains attached to the container. A tether bridge may fixate a first end of the tether band to a bottom of the closure portion, and a second end of the tether band may be fixated to the tamper evidence band by a tamper evidence bridge.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A closure for sealing contents within an interior of a container and remaining coupled with the container after being unsealed from the container, the closure comprising:
 a closure portion configured to threadably engage with a finish portion of the container; and   a tether band configured to disengage and couple the closure portion to the finish portion upon being unthreaded from the finish portion.   
     
     
         2 . The closure of  claim 1 , wherein the tether band is attached to the closure portion by way of a multiplicity of thin connections that are configured to break when the closure portion is untightened from the finish portion. 
     
     
         3 . The closure of  claim 2 , wherein a first end of the tether band is fixated to a tamper evidence ledge of the finish portion and a second end of the tether band is fastened to the closure by way of a tether bridge. 
     
     
         4 . The closure of  claim 3 , wherein the tether bridge is configured to cause the multiplicity of thin connections to break apart such that the tether band separates from the closure portion and assumes the form of a plastic strip coupling the closure portion to the finish portion. 
     
     
         5 . The closure of  claim 1 , further comprising a tamper evidence band configured to be retained by a tamper evidence ledge of the finish portion. 
     
     
         6 . The closure of  claim 5 , wherein the tether band is configured to extend into a plastic strip that couples the closure portion with the tamper evidence band, such that the tether band keeps the closure portion attached to the container after the closure portion is unsealed from the finish portion to access the contents within the container. 
     
     
         7 . The closure of  claim 5 , wherein the tether band is attached to the closure portion by way of a first multiplicity of thin connections; and wherein the tamper evidence band is attached to the tether band by way of a second multiplicity of thin connections. 
     
     
         8 . The closure of  claim 7 , wherein the tamper evidence band is configured to interfere with the tamper evidence ledge so as to break the first multiplicity of thin connections and break the second multiplicity of thin connections so as to allow the tether band to extend into a plastic strip that interconnects the closure portion and the tamper evidence band. 
     
     
         9 . The closure of  claim 5 , wherein a tether bridge fixates a first end of the tether band to a bottom of the closure portion; and wherein a tamper evidence bridge fixates a second end of the tether band to the tamper evidence band. 
     
     
         10 . The closure of  claim 9 , wherein the tether bridge and the tamper evidence bridge comprise relatively thick portions of plastic that are configured to resist breaking during loosening of the closure portion from the finish portion. 
     
     
         11 . The closure of  claim 10 , wherein the tether bridge and the tamper evidence bridge are configured similarly to the tether band and the tamper evidence band. 
     
     
         12 . The closure of  claim 10 , wherein the tether bridge and the tamper evidence bridge are disposed adjacent to one another along the circumference of the closure and share a line of perforations. 
     
     
         13 . The closure of  claim 10 , wherein the line of perforations is configured to facilitate the tether bridge and the tamper evidence bridge tearing apart during loosening of the closure portion from the finish portion. 
     
     
         14 . A method for a closure to seal contents within an interior of a container and remain coupled with the container after being unsealed from the container, the method comprising:
 configurating a closure portion to threadably engage with a finish portion of the container;   forming a tether band that is attached to a bottom circumference of the closure portion by way of a first multiplicity of thin connections;   fixating a first end of the tether band to a tamper evidence ledge of the container;   fastening a second end of the tether band to the closure portion; and   disposing one or more thin connections between the first end and the second end.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein forming the tether band further comprises configuring the first multiplicity of thin connections and the one or more thin connections to break when the closure portion is untightened from the finish portion. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein forming the tether band further comprises configuring the tether band to extend into a plastic strip that couples the closure portion to the container upon the closure portion being unthreaded from the finish portion. 
     
     
         17 . A method for a closure to seal contents within an interior of a container and remain coupled with the container after being unsealed from the container, the method comprising:
 configurating a closure portion to threadably engage with a finish portion of the container;   forming a tether band that is attached to a bottom circumference of the closure portion by way of a first multiplicity of thin connections;   fixating a first end of the tether band to the closure portion;   configuring a tamper evidence band to be retained by a tamper evidence ledge of the finish portion;   attaching the tamper evidence band to a bottom of the tether band by way of a second multiplicity of thin connections; and   fixating a second end of the tether band to the tamper evidence band.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein forming the tether band further comprises configuring the first multiplicity of thin connections to break when the closure portion is untightened from the finish portion. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein attaching the tamper evidence band further comprises configuring the second multiplicity of thin connections to break when the closure portion is untightened from the finish portion. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising configuring the tether band to extend into a plastic strip that couples the closure portion to the tamper evidence band upon the closure portion being unthreaded from the finish portion. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein fixating the first end and fixating the second end respectively comprise joining one end of the plastic strip to the closure portion and joining the other end of the plastic strip to the tamper evidence band such that closure portion remains coupled with the tamper evidence band.