Securely Closed Containers

Abstract

Containers are provided with ratchet locking mechanisms that prevent loosening of closures from vibration or otherwise but may be easily released when the closure is to be removed.

Description

This invention relates to containers and their associated closures to prevent unwanted loosening of the closure from vibration during transportation, small children and other causes. These containers are to be securely closed even through repeated usage.

OBJECTS

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a container with a body member having a pour opening and associated closure member that are positively locked in fluid engaging relationship by a pawl and ratchet means and by longitudinal restraining engagement means. It is to provide such a container wherein there is a conjunctive relationship between these means that requires the locking means to be continuously engageable while the longitudinal restraining means is disengaged. Further, either the body member or the closure may carry either the pawl or the ratchet, selection of the one determining the other. Other portions of the body member may cooperate with the closure to form a pour surface and/or a security seal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The containers of this invention have a body member with a pour opening and a closure with longitudinal retaining means. There is also a pawl and ratchet locking means with the ratchet annularly disposed about the pour opening. Unless the engaged pawl and ratchet are released, the closure is positively locked to the body member; this pawl and ratchet may be used repeatedly during the course of opening the closure and upon repeated use of the container.

FIG. 1 illustrates the container.

FIG. 2 illustrates the closure having a plug engagement for the pour opening.

FIG. 3 illustrates the closure having multiple pawls.

FIG. 4 illustrates the closure carrying a ratchet.

FIG. 5 illustrates the release member and ratchet of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND DRAWINGS

In FIG. 1, the closure (1) and the body (4) together comprise a container for fluids. When the closure is tightened upon the pour spout, pawl (2) engages each member of the ratchet (5) annularly disposed about the pour opening. As long as the closure is being tightened, the pawl successively engages each ratchet member, this provides positive locking of the closure against loosening. The pawl will be in releasable engagement with the ratchet by means of the release member (3) shown as an upstanding thumb lever. To loosen the closure by disengagement from the pour opening, the pawl-ratchet engagement must simultaneously be released by the release member. Whenever the release member is not so used, the pawl again locks with the ratchet to prevent loosening. By this continuous engageability the closure is positively locked against the body both while closing and loosening. The closure and pour opening are shown adjacent to an edge of the body; the elevated portion (6) of the body forms a liquid retention area so that the pour opening and closure can form a pouring surface over the body edge. Additionally, the body may have a handle (7) to transport the container. In the handle is a security member (8), shown as a hole. A similar security member (3a) may be on the pawl. These may be used for threading tamper proof indicators such as sealed ribbons or wires between the closure and handle.

The ratchet as shown is a full annular section about the pour opening. It may also have the segment of teeth removed that are on the edge of the body in the direct pour path of the pour opening in order to have the edge molded properly and to facilitate pouring. There will be enough remaining adjoining ratchet teeth in the annular section to positively lock the closure to the body.

Both the closure and the body may be made of any suitable material, such as thermoplastic resin, that has sufficient impact strength to pass the four-foot drop test for containers in the interstate shipment of harmful, dangerous or toxic liquids. The invention is particularly suitable for polyethylene containers in which loosening by vibration during transportation is an especially acute problem.

The construction embraces wide mouth containers as well as those having a relatively small pour opening. Tight head containers of 5 to 55 gallon capacity are especially preferred.

In FIG. 2, the closure (11) has a pawl (12) and a release member (13). Instead of having longitudinal restraining means such as an internally threaded cap with pour spout, this closure has a threaded plug (14) to engage an appropriately threaded pour opening. Again, a construction such as the elevated body portion (6) shown in FIG. 1 would act to channel liquid being poured over the edge of the body.

A multiple pawl structure is shown in FIG. 3. The closure (21) may have two or more pawls (22) joined to a common release member (23). These pawls may be spaced from each other a sufficient distance so that one pawl will engage the full ratchet element surface when the other pawl is not so engaged, a distance of at least one half the length of a ratchet element being preferred.

The embodiment of the invention in which the closure is the member carrying a ratchet is shown in FIG. 4. The closure (41) has a ratchet (42) on the release member (43). On the body member, there are one or more pawls corresponding to this ratchet. The release member is slidingly engaged with the fluid retaining portion by the keys (48) and key slots (46). Downward movement is stopped by the mating of the retaining edge (44) with the retaining ring (47). Compressible material (45) together with the keys fill the key slots. By this combination, the closure may be tightened into a pour opening and the ratchet will positively lock the closure in each position against loosening. In order to open the pour opening, the release member and ratchet must be slide free of engagement with the pawls on the body while the closure is loosened.

In more detail, FIG. 5 shows the release member of FIG. 4 in section. Release member (51) has key slots (54) that mate with corresponding keys on the fluid retaining member as shown in FIG. 4. A multiplicity of key slots that extend through the upper surface of the release member facilitates assembly of the closure. These form split rings by which the retaining edges (53) may be flexed enough to be force fitted over the retaining rings of the fluid retaining member so that a molded plastic one-piece release member may be used with the fluid retaining member. If the release member is made in cylindrical sections, these may be assembled about the fluid retaining member by adhesives or thermo welding. Key slots (54) have enough compressible material (55) so that a constant tension will be exerted against the keys to keep the ratchet (52) engaged with its pawls. The slot itself is of a length and width sufficient to allow the ratchet to be disengaged when the release member is slid away from the ratchet.

The advantages of these constructions in the practice of the invention are that the closure will be positively locked to the body. Even if the closure is not fully secured to the body, the locking mechanism will prevent loosening of the closure. Moreover, the conjunctive relationship between the locking mechanism and the longitudinal engaging means requires simultaneous disengagement of these mechanisms to loosen the closures. This prevents accidental openings by small children as well as vibrational loosening. The manipulative technique to perform this simultaneous disengagement may be easily done by one hand with the closure and body combinations set forth above. The pour opening and closure may be located on the top horizontal surface or on a vertical surface or on an oblique surface of the body.

The invention set forth and described above includes not only the embodiments specifically described but also the substantial equivalents of these embodiments.

Claims

I claim:

1. For a hollow container having a body and a closure,

a. a pour opening in said body,

b. a closure adapted to close said pour opening to retain fluid contents in said container,

c. and locking means associated with said body and said closure for repeated, releasable, positive locking of said closure in fluid retaining position in said pour opening,

1. said locking means having a ratchet annularly disposed about said pour opening and carried by one member of said body and said closure,

2. at least one pawl carried by the other member of said body and said closure, operable to engage said ratchet to positively lock said closure to said body against disengagement when said closure is in fluid retaining relationship with said body,

d. and means for causing relative longitudinal restraining engagement between said closure and said pour opening, said locking means and said longitudinal restraining engagement means being in conjunctive relationship so that said locking means is engageable for positive locking while said longitudinal restraining means is disengaged, and

e. said pour opening and said closure being located adjacent to an edge of said body member and an elevated fluid engaging portion of said body member being adjacent to said closure and pour opening and cooperating to form a pouring surface.

2. For a hollow container having a thermoplastic body and closure,

a. a pour opening in said body,

b. a closure adapted to close said pour opening to retain fluid contents in said container,

c. and locking means associated with said body and said closure for repeated releasable positive locking of said closure in fluid retaining position in said pour opening,

1. said locking means having a ratchet annularly disposed about said pour opening and carried by said body,

2. at least two pawls carried by said closure, operable to engage said ratchet to positively lock said closure to said body against disengagement when said closure is in fluid retaining relationship with said body, said pawls being hingedly attached to and extending outwardly from said closure and being disposed in the region of said closure adjacent to said body,

d. and means for causing relative longitudinal restraining engagement between said closure and said pour opening, said locking means and said longitudinal restraining engagement means being in conjunctive relationship so that each pawl of said locking means is engageable for positive locking while said longitudinal restraining means is disengaged, and

e. said pour opening and said closure being located adjacent to an edge of said body member and an elevated fluid engaging portion of said body member being adjacent to said closure and pour opening and cooperating to form a pouring surface.

3. The container of claim 2 wherein said ratchet comprises a semi-circular segment disposed about said pour opening and which segment has its terminal portions adjacent to said pour surface.

4. The container of claim 2 wherein said container body is made of polyethylene and has a capacity of about 5 to 55 gallons.

5. The container of claim 2 wherein the closure and body contain an additional security means to permanently engage the closure with the body.

6. For a hollow container having a thermoplastic body and closure,

a. a pour opening in said body,

b. a one-piece closure adapted to close said pour opening to retain fluid contents in said container, said closure being in the form of a cap with internal threads, and having pawls extending from the surface of said cap,

c. and locking means associated with said body and said closure for repeated, releasable, positive locking of said closure in fluid retaining position in said pour opening,

1. said locking means having a ratchet annularly disposed about said pour opening and carried by said body,

2. at least two pawls carried by said closure, said pawls being disposed in the region of said closure adjacent to said body and said pawls being hingedly attached to and extending outwardly from the surface of said closure, said pawls being operable to engage said ratchet to positively lock said closure to said body against disengagement when said closure is in fluid retaining relationship with said body,

d. and means on said body in the form of an externally threaded spout about said pour opening for causing relative longitudinal restraining engagement between said closure and said pour opening, each pawl of said locking means being in conjunctive relationship with said longitudinal restraining engagement so that said locking means is engageable for positive locking while said longitudinal engagement is disengaged.

7. The container of claim 6 wherein said container body is made of polyethylene and has a capacity of about 5 to 55 gallons.

8. The container of claim 6 wherein said closure and body contain an additional security means to permanently engage the closure with the body.

9. The container of claim 6 wherein said pawls are spaced apart at least one half the length of a ratchet element.