Closure for a container

Abstract

A plastic cap has one or more hinged flaps that cover openings in the cap, as well as a stepped sealing ring against which the top of a plastic bottle seals. The sealing ring is stepped, much like the rows of seats in a circular stadium. This stepped arrangement permits the cap to be used with many different bottle rim diameters and automatically corrects any ovality of the bottle rim by forcing it to flex into a more circular shape as it engages the steps of the stepped ring.

I claim:  
     
         1 . A circular plastic cap having a longitudinal axis, the cap comprising: 
 a. an end cover;    b. at least one flap integrally formed with the end cover;    c. a cylindrical skirt integrally coupled to the end cover at one end and having a second open end configured to receive the mouth of a receptacle; and    d. a circular sealing ring disposed inside the skirt and adjacent to the end cover, the sealing ring having a plurality of planar sealing surfaces, axially spaced apart, such that each sealing surface has a greater diameter the closer that sealing ring is to the open end of the skirt.    
     
     
         2 . The cap of  claim 1 , wherein each sealing surface has an axial width substantially equal to or less than an average thickness of the cap.  
     
     
         3 . The cap of  claim 2 , wherein the sealing ring includes a plurality of substantially right cylindrical surfaces coaxial with the cap disposed between adjacent sealing surfaces.  
     
     
         4 . The cap of  claim 3 , wherein each right cylindrical surface has a greater diameter the preceding right cylindrical surface as one approaches the open end of the skirt.  
     
     
         5 . The cap of  claim 4 , wherein the sealing ring is fixed to the end cover.  
     
     
         6 . The cap of  claim 5 , wherein the sealing ring is not fixed to the skirt.  
     
     
         7 . A container comprising: 
 a. a receptacle including a right cylindrical sidewall having an externally threaded upper end and a lower end, a bottom integrally formed with the sidewall and enclosing the lower end of the sidewall, wherein the upper end of the receptacle defines a mouth having a mouth sealing surface; and    b. a circular plastic cap having a longitudinal axis, wherein the cap further comprises, 
 i. an end cover;  
 ii. at least one flap integrally formed with the end cover;  
 iii. a cylindrical skirt integrally coupled to the end cover at one end and having a second open end configured to receive the mouth of a receptacle, and  
 iv. a circular sealing ring disposed inside the skirt and adjacent to the end cover, the sealing ring having a plurality of planar sealing surfaces, axially spaced apart, such that each sealing surface has a greater diameter the closer that sealing ring is to the open end of the skirt, wherein one of the plurality of sealing surfaces is engaged with the mouth sealing surface and at least one of the plurality of sealing surfaces is not engaged with the mouth sealing surface.  
   
     
     
         8 . The container of  claim 7 , wherein the end cover and the at least one flap are configured to provide the cap with a substantially flat planar end surface.  
     
     
         9 . The container of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one flap is recessed into and flush with the end cover.  
     
     
         10 . The container of  claim 9 , wherein the cap further comprises: 
 a. at least a second flap, wherein the second flap is integrally formed with the end cover.    
     
     
         11 . The container of  claim 10 , wherein the second flap is recessed into and flush with the end cover.  
     
     
         12 . The cap of  claim 11 , wherein each sealing surface has an axial width substantially equal to or less than an average thickness of the cap.  
     
     
         13 . The cap of  claim 12 , wherein the sealing ring includes a plurality of substantially right cylindrical surfaces coaxial with the cap disposed between adjacent sealing surfaces.  
     
     
         14 . The cap of  claim 13 , wherein each right cylindrical surface has a greater diameter the preceding right cylindrical surface as one approaches the open end of the skirt.  
     
     
         15 . The cap of  claim 14 , wherein the sealing ring is fixed to the end cover.  
     
     
         16 . The cap of  claim 15 , wherein the sealing ring is not fixed to the skirt.  
     
     
         17 . A method of attaching an sealing a cap to a bottle, wherein the cap comprises an end cover; a cylindrical skirt integrally coupled to the end cover at one end and having a second open end configured to receive the mouth of a receptacle, and a circular sealing ring disposed inside the skirt and adjacent to the end cover, the sealing ring having a plurality of planar sealing surfaces, axially spaced apart, such that each sealing surface has a greater diameter the closer that sealing ring is to the open end of the skirt, and wherein the bottle comprises a right cylindrical sidewall having an externally threaded upper end and a lower end, a bottom integrally formed with the sidewall and enclosing the lower end of the sidewall, wherein the upper end of the receptacle defines a mouth having a mouth sealing surface, the method comprising: 
 a. gripping the bottle in an automatic capping machine;    b. gripping the cap in an automatic capping machine;    c. rotating the cap clockwise with respect to the bottle while advancing the cap toward the bottle;    d. engaging the external threads on the bottle to the internal threads on the cap;    e. rotating the cap until the mouth sealing surface engages a first of the plurality of sealing surfaces;    f. further rotating the cap until the mouth sealing surface engages a second of the plurality of sealing surfaces, wherein the second of the plurality of sealing surfaces has a smaller diameter than the first of the plurality of sealing surfaces; and    g. sealing the container against the second of the plurality of sealing surfaces.    
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the step of further rotating the cap includes the step of guiding at least a portion of the mouth sealing surface inwardly toward the axis of the cap.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the step of further rotating the cap includes the step of deforming the mouth sealing surface into a more circular shape.