DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[001] The invention relates to a seal for a container, more particularly to a tamper evident seal for a container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] A seal is generally provided on a closure of a container which prevents access to contents of the container unless the seal is compromised. Accordingly, containers having items such as food, medicines, pesticides, chemicals, etc. are invariably provided with a seal for sealing the container thereby preventing any contamination as well as access to the items stored in the containers. While such containers may be sealed at the time of packaging, it should always be ensured that containers are in sealed condition at all the time and have not been opened prior to first use. In this regard, tamper evident seals and security labels are often used to detect tampering of containers and access points. When removed, the tamper evident seal indicates that the seal has been broken.
[003] One such tamper evident seal generally used in the industry is a ring attached to a threaded closure. Plurality of frangible tabs is provided between the ring and skirt of the closure whereby when the closure is unscrewed the tabs are broken separating the ring from the closure. While such seal serves the purpose of sealing the containers, it does not guarantee a visible notification of breakage of the seal. More particularly, when closure is tightly screwed on the container whereby skirt of the closure just touches the ring, it becomes very difficult to ascertain the status of the seal.
[004] In view of above, there is a need in the art to have a tamper evident seal for containers which can easily indicate breakage of seal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[005] The present invention provides a tamper evident seal for a container. The container having a body with a generally cylindrical neck defining mouth of the container, thread formed on the outer peripheral surface of the neck and a screw cap having a depending skirt covering said mouth. The seal has an annular ring having a top surface and a bottom surface, the annular ring configured to snap-fit inside the cap; an annular band having a top surface, a bottom surface and at least a pair of circumferentially spaced apart frangible links provided between the top surface and the bottom surface; and a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart frangible bridges provided between the bottom surface of the ring and the top surface of the band whereby the frangible bridges connect the ring and the band together; wherein each of the frangible links of the band engages with a corresponding lug provided on the container thereby sealing the container.
[006] In an embodiment of the invention, the ring snap-fits inside an undercut formed on interior side of the cap. The ring comprises a plurality of locking cuts provided on outer circumferential edge of the ring, each of the locking cuts receives a corresponding locking means provided in the undercut formed on interior side of the cap. The locking means are in the form of protrusions extending from the undercut formed on interior side of the cap.
[007] In another embodiment of the invention, the locking cuts are formed by removing a part of the ring material from predetermined location and provided between the frangible bridges.
[008] In a further embodiment of the invention, the frangible bridges are small tab of material extending from the bottom surface of the ring or the frangible bridges are small tab of material extending from the top surface of the band.
[009] Yet in another embodiment of the invention, colour of the seal is different from that of the cap and of the container, and the ring and the band are manufactured as a unitary structure by moulding.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[010] Reference will be made to embodiments of the invention, examples of which may be illustrated in accompanying figures. These figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Although the invention is generally described in context of these embodiments, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to these particular embodiments.
Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a closure assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 shows a front view a closure assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the tamper evident seal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a schematic view showing locking of the seal inside the cap in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[011] The present invention is directed to a tamper evident seal for a container. Figures 1 and 2 shows a closure assembly 100 for a container 30 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The closure assembly 100 comprises of a screw cap 10 and a tamper evident seal 20. The container 30 has a body (not shown) with a generally cylindrical neck 32 defining a mouth 34 of the container 30 and an outwardly projecting shoulder 36 formed below the neck 32. The closure assembly 100 is configured to be placed on the neck 34 and fixed to the container 30 thereby sealing the mouth 34 of the container 30.
[012] The cap 10 has a top surface 12 and a depending skirt 14 extending from the top surface 12. The skirt 14 extends between a top end 14A and a bottom end 14B and has an outer surface 13A and an inner surface 13B. Similarly, the neck 32 of the container has an outer surface 32’ and an inner surface 32’’, and extends between a top end 32A and a bottom end 32B. When cap 10 is placed on the neck 32 of the container, the skirt 14 overlaps the neck whereby inner surface 13B of the skirt 14 faces the outer surface 32’ of the neck 32. In this regard, it is apparent that diameter of the cap 10 is more than diameter of the neck 32. Further, the inner surface 13B of the cap 30 or that of the skirt 14 has threads 16 configured to mate with threads 38 provided on outer surface 32’ of the neck 32. Accordingly, the cap 10 can be screwed and unscrewed on the neck 32 of the container 30 to close and open the mouth 34 of the container 30. In a closed condition, the skirt 14 covers the mouth 34.
[013] As shown in Figure 3, the seal 20 comprises of an annular ring 22 and an annular band 24. The annular ring 22 has a top surface 22A and a bottom surface 22B. The annular band 24 has a top surface 24A, a bottom surface 24B and at least a pair of circumferentially spaced apart frangible links 28 provided between the top surface 24A and the bottom surface 24B. In an embodiment of the invention, the frangible links 28 are provided in form of weak links joining the band 24 at predetermined locations thereby dividing the band 24 in two or more regions. It may be noted that number of frangible links 28 will depend on various factors such as material of the band, size of the band, etc.
[014] A plurality of circumferentially spaced apart frangible bridges 26 are provided between the bottom surface 22B of the ring 22 and the top surface 24A of the band 24. The frangible bridges 26 connect the ring 22 and the band 24 together to form a unitary structure. In an embodiment of the invention, the frangible bridges 26 are small tab of material extending from the bottom surface 22B of the ring 22. In another embodiment of the invention, the frangible bridges 26 are small tab of material extending from the top surface 24A of the band 24. It may be noted that material of the frangible bridges 26 will preferably be same as that of the material of the ring 22 and the band 24; however frangible bridges may be of any other material. In this regard, any material such as polymer, aluminum, etc. can be used for the ring 22, the band 24 and the frangible bridges 26. In an embodiment of the invention, the ring 22 and band 24 are manufactured by way of moulding as a single piece.
[015] As shown in Figure 4, the ring 22 is configured to snap-fit inside the cap 10. In this regard, an undercut 18 is formed on the inner surface 13B towards the bottom end 14B of the skirt 14. In an embodiment of the invention, the undercut 18 is separate from the thread 16 provided on the inner surface 13B of the skirt 14 and more preferably, the undercut 18 is provided next to the last thread 16 provided towards bottom end 14B of the skirt 14. Further, locking means in the form of protrusions 19 from the inner surface 13B of the skirt 14 are provided in the undercut 18. In an embodiment of the invention, the protrusions 19 are provided in the form of small tab of material extending from the inner surface 13B of the skirt. The ring 22 has plurality of locking cuts 25 provided on outer circumferential edge 23 of the ring 22. In an embodiment of the invention, the locking cuts 25 are formed by removing a part of the ring 22 material from predetermined locations. In another embodiment of the invention, the locking cuts 25 are provided between the frangible bridges 26. Each of the locking cuts 25 receives a corresponding locking means 19 provided in the undercut 18 thereby snap-fitting the ring 22 and thus the seal 20 inside the cap 10. The lock between the locking means 19 and the locking cuts 25 prevents rotation of the ring 22 thereby of the seal 20 when a rotational force is applied on the cap 10.
[016] Referring to Figures 1 and 2, for each of the frangible links 28 of the band 24, a lug 31 is provided on the container 30 which engages with the frangible link 28. In an embodiment of the invention, the lug 31 is provided at predetermined locations on the neck 32 of the container 30 or adjacent to the neck 32 in vicinity of the shoulder 36 of the container 30. When the cap 10 is placed on the mouth 34 of the container, the frangible links 28 engage with corresponding lug 31 thereby sealing the container 30.
[017] In use when a rotational force is applied on the cap 10, the frangible bridges 26 of the ring 22 experience a torque; however since frangible bridges 28 of the band 24 are engaged with the lugs 31, the band 24 tends to keep the seal in position. At this point, as explained hereinbefore, the engagement between the locking cut 25 and the protrusion 19 provided in the undercut 18 ensures that the seal 20 does not rotate when a rotational force is applied on the cap 10. However, with increase in rotational force the frangible bridges 26 of the ring 22 break apart whereby the band 24 separates from the ring 22. Simultaneously, such increase in rotational force on the cap 10 also causes the frangible tabs 28 of the band 24 to break away thereby disengaging the band 24 from the container 30. It may be noted here that seal 20 of the present invention is self-destructive whereby the ring 22 and the band 24 are completely removed on application of rotational force on the cap 10. Accordingly, once the seal 20 is completely removed from the container 30, such container 30 without a seal 20 can easily be identified and distinguished from a container 30 having a seal 10. Thus, any attempt to tamper the seal will essentially result in self-destruction of the seal thereby making the container different from a container having an unbroken seal.
[018] In another embodiment of the invention, colour of the seal 20 is different from that of the cap 10 and the container 30 thereby making the identification of seal and thus any tampering more evident.
[019] While the present invention has been described with respect to certain embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modification may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

,CLAIMS:We claim:
1. A tamper evident seal for a container having a body with a generally cylindrical neck defining mouth of the container, thread formed on the outer peripheral surface of the neck, a screw cap having a depending skirt covering said mouth, the seal comprising:
an annular ring having a top surface and a bottom surface, the annular ring configured to snap-fit inside the cap;
an annular band having a top surface, a bottom surface and at least a pair of circumferentially spaced apart frangible links provided between the top surface and the bottom surface; and
a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart frangible bridges provided between the bottom surface of the ring and the top surface of the band whereby the frangible bridges connect the ring and the band together;
wherein each of the frangible links of the band engages with a corresponding lug provided on the container thereby sealing the container.

2. The tamper evident seal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ring snap-fits inside an undercut formed on interior side of the cap.

3. The tamper evident seal as claimed in claim 2, wherein the ring comprises a plurality of locking cuts provided on outer circumferential edge of the ring, each of the locking cuts receives a corresponding locking means provided in the undercut formed on interior side of the cap.

4. The tamper evident seal as claimed in claim 3, wherein the locking cuts are formed by removing a part of the ring material from predetermined location.

5. The tamper evident seal as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the locking cuts are provided between the frangible bridges.

6. The tamper evident seal as claimed in claim 3, wherein the locking means comprises protrusions extending from the undercut formed on interior side of the cap.

7. The tamper evident seal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the frangible bridges are small tab of material extending from the bottom surface of the ring.

8. The tamper evident seal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the frangible bridges are small tab of material extending from the top surface of the band.

9. The tamper evident seal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ring and the band are manufactured as a unitary structure by moulding.

10. The tamper evident seal as claimed in claim 1, wherein colour of the seal is different from that of the cap and of the container.