U.S. patent number 3,563,368 [Application Number 04/797,518] was granted by the patent office on 1971-02-16 for closure assembly for containers.
Invention is credited to Wilfred L. MCHugh.
United States Patent |
3,563,368 |
MCHugh |
February 16, 1971 |
CLOSURE ASSEMBLY FOR CONTAINERS
Abstract
The invention provides a closure assembly which is either a
separate part, or an integral part of a container for medicinal or
toxic or nontoxic substances. Before any of the contents can be
dispensed, two separate and independent functions must be
performed. First the closure assembly must be unlocked, and
secondly cap and body portions of the assembly must be manipulated
to bring dispensing openings into alignment. Such manipulation
involves relative movement which is rotational, translational, or
combinations thereof.
Inventors: |
MCHugh; Wilfred L. (Calgary,
Alberta, CA) |
Family
ID: |
4084016 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/797,518 |
Filed: |
February 7, 1969 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/540; 206/1.5;
215/217; 221/154; 222/517; 206/807; 220/253; 220/821 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
50/06 (20130101); Y10S 206/807 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
50/00 (20060101); B65D 50/06 (20060101); B65d
083/04 (); B65d 043/16 () |
Field of
Search: |
;206/1.5,42,(Telescoping) ;215/9 ;220/(Safety locker)/
;220/30.6,33,35,36 ;222/517 ;221/154 ;292/175,254 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Norton; Donald F.
Assistant Examiner: Lipman; Steven E.
Claims
I claim:
1. A closure assembly adapted to be mounted on a container and
being operable selectively to enable access to its contents,
comprising: a body portion having a first dispensing opening
therein; a cap portion having a second dispensing opening therein,
and being mounted on the body portion for relative movement
therewith for enabling said dispensing openings to be aligned;
locking means in said closure assembly for normally disabling said
relative movement, but being actuatable selectively to enable
intentional relative movement of the cap and body portions; and
means for biasing the cap portion to a neutral position in which
the dispensing openings are nonaligned, and in which the locking
means are also biased to prevent said relative movement, whereby
operation of the locking means to enable said relative movement is
effected independently from operation to the cap portion to align
the dispensing openings; the locking means including a cantilevered
element formed integrally with the body portion, said cantilevered
element serving to bias the locking means so as to disable said
relative movement.
2. A closure assembly adapted to be mounted on a container and
being operable selectively to enable access to its contents,
comprising: a body portion having a first dispensing opening
therein; a cap portion having a second dispensing opening therein,
and being mounted on the body portion for relative movement
therewith for enabling said dispensing openings to be aligned;
locking means in said closure assembly for normally disabling said
relative movement, but being actuatable selectively to enable
intentional relative movement of the cap and body portions; and
means for biasing the cap portion to a neutral position in which
the dispensing openings are nonaligned, and in which the locking
means are also biased to prevent said relative movement, whereby
operation of the locking means to enable said relative movement is
effected independently from operation of the cap portion to align
the dispensing openings; the biasing means associated with urging
the cap portion to its neutral position being formed integrally
with said body portion.
3. A closure assembly adapted to be mounted on a container and
being operable selectively to enable access to its contents,
comprising:
a body portion having a first dispensing opening therein, and being
formed with means thereon for connecting the closure assembly to
said container;
a cap portion having a second dispensing opening therein, and being
mounted on the body portion for relative movement therein for
enabling said dispensing openings to be aligned;
locking means carried by one of said portions and being operable
for normally disabling said relative movement, said locking means
including a head section which extends into said dispensing opening
on the other of said portions to effect locking together of the cap
and body portions, but which is actuatable for selectively enabling
intentional relative movement; and
spring means for biasing the cap portion to a neutral position in
which the dispensing openings are nonaligned, and in which said
locking means are also biased to prevent said relative movement,
whereby actuation of the locking means to release the same is
effected separately from manipulation of the cap portion to align
the dispensing openings.
4. A closure assembly adapted to be mounted on a container and
being operable selectively to enable access to its contents,
comprising:
a body portion having a first dispensing opening therein, and being
formed with means thereon for connecting the closure assembly to
said container;
a cap portion having a second dispensing opening therein, and being
mounted on the body portion for relative movement therewith for
enabling said dispensing openings to be aligned;
locking means carried by said body portion and being operable for
normally disabling said relative movement, said locking means
including a head section which extends into said second dispensing
opening to effect locking together of the cap and body portions,
but which is actuatable for selectively enabling intentional
relative movement; and
spring means for biasing the cap portion to a neutral position in
which the dispensing opening are nonaligned, and in which said
locking means are also biased to prevent said relative movement,
whereby actuation of the locking means to release the same is
effected separately from manipulation of the cap portion to align
the dispensing openings.
5. A closure assembly according to claim 4, wherein the locking
means further includes a cantilevered element formed integrally
with the body portion, said cantilevered element serving to bias
the locking means so as to disable said relative movement.
6. A closure assembly according to claim 4, wherein separate
biasing means are provided for biasing the cap portion to its
neutral position, and independently thereof, for biasing the
locking means to its operative position for preventing said
relative movement.
7. A closure assembly according to claim 4, wherein the biasing
means associated with urging the cap portion to its neutral
position is formed integrally with said body portion.
8. A closure assembly according to claim 4, wherein said relative
movement is translational movement axially of the closure
assembly.
9. A closure assembly according to claim 4, wherein the connecting
means on said body portion include sidewalls integrally formed
therewith and being of such height as to constitute the sidewalls
of the container proper, said sidewalls on the body portion also
being adapted to be connected to bottom closure means for forming a
container.
10. A closure assembly according to claim 4, wherein the body
portion is integrally connected to and forms part of a closed
container, said body portion being further provided with means for
enabling refilling of said closed container.
11. A closure assembly according to claim 5, wherein said relative
movement is rotational movement about an axis substantially coaxial
of the closure assembly.
Description
This invention relates to improvements in closure assemblies of the
type which are provided with a dispensing capability. More
particularly, the present invention relates to a closure assembly
which is adapted to be used with a container of the type which may,
for instance, contain pills, powders, medicinal or other toxic or
nontoxic substances. The closure assembly being contemplated herein
is of the general type which must be manipulated, i.e., moved from
a neutral to another position before a dispensing opening becomes
unblocked. Unblocking of such opening then enables the user to
dispense a desired quantity of the contents of the container.
Containers which are currently on the market and which may be used
to hold the above-mentioned medicinal, toxic or nontoxic
substances, afford only a limited amount of protection by having
closures of a "snap-on" nature, threaded tops or caps, and the
like. In recent years it has become increasingly more important to
ensure that medicines or toxic substances, for example, can not be
used accidentally either by children or adults. In particular, it
is highly desirable to eliminate the factor of human error, as far
as this is possible. Human error often manifests itself in improper
replacement of caps on medicine bottles, vials, or the like, or by
the unintentional dispensing of incorrect dosages of medicine, for
instance.
It is, therefore, a broad subject of this invention to provide a
closure assembly in which potential hazards arising from human
error are reduced.
It is another object herein to provide a closure assembly which
requires a number of correlative movements before dispensing may
occur of contents of the container with which it is associated. In
this way the tendency for accidental dispensing of the contents is
reduced substantially.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a closure
assembly which enables only a predetermined amount of medication,
or the like, to be dispensed from the container with which the
closure assembly is being used. In this way, the possibility of
receiving improper or excessive dosages of medication may be
reduced.
In accordance with a broad form of the present invention, there is
provided a closure assembly adapted to be mounted on a container
and being operable selectively to enable access to its contents,
comprising: a body portion having a first dispensing opening
therein; a cap portion having a second dispensing opening therein,
and being mounted on the body portion for relative movement
therewith for enabling said dispensing openings to be aligned;
locking means in said closure assembly for normally disabling said
relative movement, but being actuatable selectively to enable
intentional relative movement of the cap and body portions; and
means for biasing the cap portion to a neutral position in which
the dispensing openings are nonaligned, and in which the locking
means are also biased to prevent said relative movement, whereby
operation of the locking means to enable said relative movement is
effected independently from operation of the cap portion to align
the dispensing openings.
In another and more preferred form of the present invention, there
is provided a closure assembly adapted to be mounted on a container
and being operable selectively to enable access to its contents,
comprising: a body portion having a first dispensing opening
therein, and being formed with means thereon for connecting the
closure assembly to said container; a cap portion having a second
dispensing opening therein, and being mounted on the body portion
for relative movement therewith for enabling said dispensing
openings to be aligned; locking means carried by said body portion
and being operable for normally disabling said relative movement,
said locking means including a head section which extends into said
second dispensing opening to effect locking together of the cap and
body portions, but which is actuatable for selectively enabling
intentional relative movement, and spring means for biasing the cap
portion to a neutral position in which the dispensing openings are
nonaligned, and in which said locking means are also biased to
prevent said relative movement, whereby actuation of the locking
means to release the same is effected separately from manipulation
of the cap portion to align the dispensing openings.
The present invention will now be described with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the present closure assembly
in its neutral, locked position;
FIG. 2 is also a perspective view but showing the present closure
assembly in a position in which the dispensing openings are
unblocked;
FIG. 3 is a sectional elevation view showing the cap portion of the
closure assembly;
FIG. 4 is a sectional elevation view of the body portion of the
present closure assembly;
FIG. 5 is a sectional elevation view of the closure assembly, as
taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is an exploded, perspective view of the closure assembly of
FIGS. 1 and 2, with the closure assembly being in its neutral
locked position;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another embodiment herein;
FIG. 8 is a sectional elevation view taken along line 8-8 of FIG.
7;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view from below, and showing only the cap
portion of the closure assembly of FIGS. 7 and 8;
FIG. 10 is a segmental perspective view showing a cantilevered
locking element as used in the closure assembly of FIGS. 7 and
8;
FIG. 11 is a sectional plan view of still another embodiment of the
present closure assembly;
FIG. 12 is an exploded, perspective view, of the closure assembly
of FIG. 11;
FIGS. 13--15 are elevation views partly in section, to show various
means by which the present closure assembly may be connected to, or
form part of the container with which it is to be used.
Turning now to the drawings, FIGS. 1--6 illustrate one embodiment
of a closure assembly 1 which consists of two parts, the cap
portion 2 and a body portion 4.
As shown particularly in FIG. 3, the cap portion 2 is made up of a
top wall 20 and side walls 22. The side walls 22 are integrally
connected to the top wall 20 along the periphery of the latter, to
form the cap portion 2 which is somewhat cup-shaped in cross
section. The top wall 20 is provided with an aperture which serves
as a dispensing opening 24 to be described more fully later. The
top wall 20 is also formed with a stop lug 26 which extends
substantially perpendicularly into the interior of the cup-shaped
cap portion 2, and whose function will become apparent below. The
top wall 20 is further formed with a retaining element in the form
of a pintle 28 which also extends interiorly of and projects beyond
the cup-shaped cap portion 2. The pintle 28 is provided with a slot
30 which extends generally axially thereof enabling the two
sections 28a and 28b so formed, to come together during assembly of
the closure assembly 1. The split pintle 28 is formed at its free
end with a retaining flange or shoulder 32 which extends generally
transversely and peripherally of the pintle 28. The open end of the
cup-shaped cap portion 2 is defined by a rim 34 which is provided
with an outwardly facing step portion 36 whose purpose will be
described below.
The split pintle 28 on the cap portion 2 enables the latter to be
easily coupled or connected to the body portion 4, which latter is
constructed as follows, (see FIGS. 4 and 6). The body portion 4
includes a top wall 40, and side walls 42. The sidewalls 42 are
integrally connected to the top wall 40 generally along the
periphery thereof. Such a construction forms a body portion 4 which
is generally cup-shaped, but which is also formed at the bottom
thereof with a dispensing cavity 45 and a shoulder portion 43. The
shoulder portion 43 is provided with a borehole 56 which is adapted
to receive and retain the pintle 28 of the cap portion 2. The top
wall 40 of the body portion 4 is formed exteriorly thereof with a
recess 46 to receive a head portion 48 of a locking element 49. In
addition, the recess 46 is provided with a borehole 52 which is
adapted to receive a stem portion 50 of the locking element 49 as
well as to house a compression spring 54 which functions to bias
the locking element 49 to a position in which the cap portion 2 is
locked relative to the body portion 4. In this position the head
portion 48 extends into and is received in the dispensing opening
24. The top wall 40 of the body portion 4 is further provided with
an outwardly facing recess 47 which cooperates with the stop lug 26
on the cap portion 2 to limit the amount of relative rotational
movement of the cap and body portions 2 and 4. The end of the bore
hole 56 which faces outwardly relative to the body portion 4, is
provided with a diametrically enlarged section 56' which serves to
receive and house a torsion spring 60. This torsion spring 60
functions to bias the cap portion 2 urging it always to a neutral
position in which it is locked. The top wall 40 of the body portion
4 is further provided with an aperture forming a dispensing opening
44, a seen in FIG. 6, and which is normally blocked by virtue of
the cap section 2 normally being biased to its neutral, locked
position wherein the dispensing openings 24 and 44 are nonaligned.
Finally, the bore hole 56 is provided at its other end with a
shoulder 58 which faces inwardly of the cup-shaped body portion 4,
and which serves to retain the flange 32 on the pintle 28 upon
assembly together of the cap and body portions 2 and 4. It is to be
noted also, that the outer surface of sidewalls 42 of the body
portion 4 is provided with an outwardly facing shoulder 62 on which
a peripheral bead 64 is formed. The peripheral bead 64 coacts with
the step shoulder 36 on the cap portion 2, to hold the same in
slidable engagement with the body portion 4, as clearly indicated
in FIG. 5. Other possible forms of engagement between the cap and
body portions 2 and 4 may also be used. It is to be recognized, of
course, that such engagement must be able to provide for relative
movement between the cap and body portions 2 and 4. Such relative
movement may be rotational as in the embodiments of FIGS. 1--10,
translational relative movement as in the embodiments of FIGS. 11
and 12, or combinations thereof.
The assembly of the present closure assembly 1 may best be seen
with reference to FIG. 6. Here it may be seen that the torsion and
compression springs 60 and 54, respectively, are first inserted
over the pintle 28 and the stem portion 50 of the locking element
49. Next the locking element 49 and compression spring 54 are
inserted into the borehole 52 to be retained therein. The sections
28a and 28b of the pintle 28 are brought together slightly in order
that the flange 32 on such pintle 28 may be inserted into and
through the borehole 56 of the body portion 4. The distance between
the top wall 20 and the cap section 2 and the flange 32 on the
pintle 28 is such that, upon being assembled, the flange 32 rests
snuggly against the shoulder 58. It should be noted here that
placement of the torsion spring 60 over the pintle 28 and insertion
of the latter into the borehole 56 must be done in a manner so as
to enable one end 61 of the torsion spring to be positioned over
the recess 47 and behind the stop lug 26, as viewed in FIG. 4. With
such an arrangement, the torsion spring 60 is able continuously to
bias the cap portion 2 to its neutral, locked position in which the
dispensing openings 24 and 44 are nonaligned. That is the cap
portion 2 is biased in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in
FIGS. 1 and 2.
Turning now to FIGS. 7 through 10 inclusive, the numeral 100
indicates another embodiment of the present closure assembly. The
closure assembly 100 is constructed basically in the same manner as
the closure assembly 1 of FIGS. 1--6, and comprises a cap portion
102 and a body portion 104. As seen particularly in FIG. 8, the cap
portion 102 has a top wall 102 and side walls 122. The sidewalls
122 are integrally connected to the top wall 120 peripherally
thereof, and are of a very short height. The top wall 120 is
apertured at 124 to provide a dispensing opening to be described
more fully below. In addition, the top wall 120 is provided with a
stop lug 126 which projects generally perpendicularly inwardly
thereof, and with a retaining element in the form of a pintle 128
which also is integrally connected to and projects in the same
direction as stop lug 126, substantially perpendicular to the top
wall 120. The pintle 128 is provided with a slot 130 which extends
generally axially thereof, and only partly therethrough. The slot
130 has a diametrically enlarged inner portion.
As also seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, the body portion 104 consists of a
top wall 140 and sidewalls 142 which are connected to such top wall
integrally and peripherally thereof. If is to be noted that the top
wall 140 of the body portion 104 is provided with a dispensing
opening 144 (see FIG. 7), and an outwardly facing recess 146 which
is adapted to receive the stop lug 126 and thereby facilitate
limiting the relative rotational movement of the cap and body
portions 102 and 104. The top wall 140 of the body portion 104 is
also formed with a cantilevered locking element 147 (see FIG. 10)
which includes a head section 148 biased to lie normally within the
dispensing opening 124 of the cap element 102. In this way, the cap
portion 102 is locked in a neutral position wherein the dispensing
openings 124 and 144 are nonaligned. The body portion 104 is
further provided with a torsion spring 150 which is connected
integrally to the sidewalls 142, and which contains a retaining
bead 152 at the free end thereof. As may be seen from FIGS. 8 and
9, this retaining bead 152 is received by and held within the
enlarged inner portion of the slot 130 of the pintle 128, thereby
locking together the cap and body portions 102 and 104.
As may be seen from FIG. 8, assembly of the closure assembly 100
may easily be accomplished by merely inserting the pintle 128
through the aperture 156 in the top wall 140, while simultaneously
engaging the retaining bead 152 within the slot 130 of the pintle
128. As this is done, the stop lug 126 will be received within the
recess 146, and the head section 148 of the cantilevered locking
element 147 will be received within the dispensing opening 124.
Although FIG. 8 shows the body portion 104 as being provided with a
beaded retaining means 154 at the free edge of the sidewalls 142,
threaded or other types of retaining means may be used equally
well. A "snap-on" type of retaining means is preferred, since it
provides a convenient deterrent to children or other persons who
might otherwise attempt or be able to remove the closure assembly
from the container to which it is attached.
In connection with the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1--6 as
well as FIGS. 7--10, it should be noted that various retaining or
attachment means may be provided on the body portion of the closure
assembly for connecting the same to a container. Such means are
illustrated in FIGS. 13--15. FIG. 13 particularly, illustrates a
form 300 wherein the sidewalls 302 of the body portion 304 are of a
sufficient height to constitute the sidewalls of the container
proper. In such a construction, it is necessary only to provide
some sort of a bottom closure 306, substantially planar, for
example, and serving to close off what, in use, would normally be
the bottom of the container. The sidewalls 308 are shorter in the
FIG. 14 embodiment which is also configured so the bottom of the
container may be snapped into place; the FIG. 15 embodiment is
similar except that the sidewalls 310 are configured to threadably
receive the bottom of the container.
FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate yet another embodiment of the present
invention. Here, a closure assembly 200 is shown as comprising a
sleevelike cap portion 202 which is received closely over a body
portion 204. In this instance, the body 204 also constitutes the
container proper. The cap portion 202 consists of a top wall 220,
four sidewalls 222 and an open bottom 223, which when taken
together forms a generally cup-shaped element. A dispensing opening
224 is provided in one of the sidewalls 222, while an inner
retaining collar 226a is formed in the top wall 220 and projects
inwardly of the cuplike top portion 202. The inner retaining collar
226a is integrally connected to the top wall 220, and is formed
with a retaining element in the form of a split pintle 228, which
latter is provided with an axially extending slot 230. The pintle
228 is also formed at the free end thereof with retaining shoulders
229. Finally, a compression spring 231 is provided, being adapted,
in use, to surround the pintle 228 for biasing the cap portion 202
202 away from the body portion 204. This causes the dispensing
opening 224 to be nonaligned with a corresponding dispensing
opening in the body portion 204.
The body portion 204 made up of a top wall 240, four sidewalls 242
and a bottom wall 243. One of the sidewalls 242 is provided with a
dispensing opening 244 and, of course, the dispensing openings 224
and 244 are on sidewalls 222 and 242 which correspond so that such
dispensing openings may be brought into alignment for dispensing
contents from the container. The sidewall 242 which is provided
with the dispensing opening 244, is further provided with an
aperture to which a lock housing 252 is attached. The lock housing
252 is formed at its inner end with an opening 254, and is adapted
to receive a locking element 249. The locking element 249 comprises
a head section 248 and a stem section 250 integrally connected
thereto. A compression spring 256 is adapted to surround the stem
section 250 of the locking element 249, and, in place, both are
adapted to be received and retainer within the lock housing 252.
This is clearly shown in FIG. 11. The top wall 240 of the body
portion 204 is provided with a receiving opening 246, through which
pills, powder, or the like may be added to the container-forming
body portion 204. The top wall 240 is further provided with an
outer retaining collar 226b which is integrally connected to the
wall, and which is provided at its free end with an opening 258
defined by shoulders 259. From FIG. 11 it may be seen that in an
assembled form, the closure assembly 200, and particularly the top
and body portions 202 and 204 respectively, are retained or held
together by virtue of the engagement of the shoulders 229 or the
pintle 228 with the shoulder 259 associated with the opening
258.
It may be seen from the drawings that in order to operate the
closure assembly as embodied in FIGS. 1--6 and FIGS. 7--10, as well
as that of FIGS. 11 and 12 it is necessary first to depress or push
in the head section of the respective locking elements, and
subsequently to apply a force against the biasing means to move the
cap portion relative to the body portion and thereby bring the
respective dispensing openings into alignment. It may be seen that
before any of the contents of a container may be dispensed from the
closure assemble illustrated herein, two independent and separate
functions must be performed. In other words, it is first necessary
to unlock the cap and body portions of the present closure
assembly, and then subsequently to manipulate such cap and body
portions to bring the dispensing openings in each into alignment.
Such manipulations may involve relative movement which is
rotational, translational, or a combination thereof.
It is to be clearly understood that the size and/or shape of the
dispensing openings, the closure assemblies per se, the exact
geometrical shape of the container-forming body portion and so on
as described above, may be open to the choice of the manufacturer,
or it may be determined by the substance which is to be dispensed
using the present closure assembly. In this respect, the
accompanying drawings are to be considered as being illustrative
only.
The closure assembly described in the foregoing is believed to
represent a considerable improvement over known closure assemblies,
since the former provides: (1) a number of movements so as to
dissuade a child or other person from anything but intentional
opening or access to the contents of a container; (2) dispensing
openings of a predetermined size which may be used to restrict the
amount of medication to be dispensed and thereby prevent or
substantially reduce accidental overdoses of medication or other
contents of the container; (3) dispensing openings through which
medication may be dispensed using only the described procedure; and
(4) a closure assembly which is readily adaptable to most existing
containers and is always biased to a locked position to disable
accidental dispensing of the contents of the container, especially
when it is not in use.
* * * * *