In the manufacture and filling of closure and container packages, the containers and closures typically are shipped separately to a product packager, perhaps by different suppliers. The containers are filled with product by the packager in an automated or manual filling operation, and the closures are then applied to the containers, again either automatically or manually, to complete the package. The closures alternatively may be applied to the containers when the containers and closures are supplied to the packager. This alternative reduces inventory at the packager, but requires the extra step of removing the closure prior to filling the container, followed by re-application of the closure after filling. It is a general object of the present invention to provide a closure and container package in which the closure and container are provided as an assembly to the product packager, the package is filled with product through aligned fill openings in the closure and container—i.e., without removing the closure from the container—and a lid on the closure is then closed over the fill opening on the closure to complete the filled package. Another object of the present invention is to provide a closure and container package that may be prepackaged in shipping cases, and filled and closed while not removed from the shipping cases. This in-case filling feature greatly reduces handling costs at the packager.
A closure and container package in accordance with presently preferred but exemplary disclosed embodiments of the invention includes a container having a finish with a mouth opening through which product is both filled into and dispensed from the container. A closure includes a base mounted on the finish and having an opening aligned with the mouth opening of the container finish. A lid is connected to the closure base by an integrally molded hinge to pivot between an open position in which the lid is spaced from the opening in the base and a closed position in which the lid is adjacent to the base. The lid includes facility for engaging either the mouth opening of the container or the opening in the closure base to close such openings in the closed position of the lid. In particularly preferred embodiments of the invention, a fitment is removably carried by the lid. The fitment has a dispensing opening and a peripheral snap bead for engagement with either the container finish or the closure base to secure the fitment in position, such that the fitment thereafter provides the dispensing opening through which product can be dispensed from the container, and the lid cooperates with the fitment to open and close the dispensing opening.