U.S. patent number 3,669,296 [Application Number 05/088,829] was granted by the patent office on 1972-06-13 for safety container.
Invention is credited to Dennis H. Drew, Paul F. Hecht.
United States Patent |
3,669,296 |
Drew , et al. |
June 13, 1972 |
SAFETY CONTAINER
Abstract
A metal aerosol type canister, the top of which is cylindrical
and is provided with three annular grooves forming three annular
ribs, each of which ribs has a narrow gap, all three of which gaps
are aligned axially. A mark is provided on the cannister body which
is aligned with said gaps and low enough to be exposed to view when
a safety cap is applied to cover the canister top. This cap is a
hollow cylinder having an internal lug which must be aligned with
said gaps in order for the cap to be applied to or removed from the
canister. Such alignment is facilitated by an external mark on the
cap which is radially aligned with said lug. Above said lug, the
cap is provided with an annular internal recess for holding a pair
of plastic rings snapped in place in said recess so as to be
trapped therein, in end-to-end relation. Semi-annular slots are
formed in the cap in the area of said recess to accommodate two
finger engaging lugs, one of which extends radially outwardly from
each ring for use in manually rotating said rings independently of
each other. Each ring also has a locking lug extending radially
inwardly therefrom and these lugs must both be axially aligned with
said mark on said cap and the mark on the canister for the cap to
be applied to or removed from the latter. Circumferentially spaced
on said rings and outwardly exposed through said semi-annular slots
are code marks for enabling a person who understands the code
combination to set the rings to properly align the internal ring
lugs for facilitating applying the cap to or removing the same from
the container.
Inventors: |
Drew; Dennis H. (San
Bernardino, CA), Hecht; Paul F. (San Bernardino, CA) |
Family
ID: |
22213753 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/088,829 |
Filed: |
November 12, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/206 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
55/145 (20130101); B65D 83/40 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
83/14 (20060101); B65D 55/14 (20060101); B65D
55/02 (20060101); B65d 055/02 (); A61j
001/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;215/9,95,98 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hall; George T.
Claims
We claim:
1. In combination:
a container having a cylindrical top having a plurality of annular
grooves producing an equal number of annular ribs, each rib having
a gap, said gaps being axially aligned;
a cylindrical cap closely fitting said container top;
a lug formed internally on said cap;
a shallow annular recess being formed internally in said cap above
said cap lug;
a relatively thin ring confined within said recess and rotatable
therein,
a slot being formed in the cap within the area of said recess in a
plane normal to the cap axis, through which slot a substantial
portion of said ring is visible from outside of said cap;
an internal lug formed on said ring, said internal lugs acting to
prevent said cap being applied to or removed from said container
top unless said lugs are axially aligned with said rib gaps, said
lugs being located in circumferential alignment respectively with
certain of said grooves when said cap is so applied;
external marks on said cap and said container which are in axial
alignment when said internal cap lug and said rib gaps are axially
aligned;
a lug formed externally on said ring and extending through said
slot for use in manually rotating said ring in said recess; and
code marks at circumferential intervals on said ring and visible
through said slot, a particular undisclosed one of which code marks
must be brought into axial alignment with said external cap mark
for said internal lugs to be in axial alignment.
2. A combination as recited in claim 1 wherein
three annular ribs and recesses are provided on said container top,
the gaps in said ribs being in axial alignment; and wherein
two rings positioned end-to-end are confined within said annular
recess, each of said rings having internal and external lugs and
externally exposed code marks and wherein
two slots are provided in said cap in the area of said recess, one
for each of said rings, the external lugs of said rings extending
respectively out through said two slots.
Description
The principal object of the invention is to provide a simple,
inexpensive and reliable locking device for a container used for
packaging toxic commodities to prevent unauthorized opening of such
containers, particularly by children.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a vertical elevational view of the preferred embodiment
of the invention including an aerosol canister and a cap applicable
thereto to prevent unauthorized access to the contents thereof with
said cap spaced upwardly from the top of said canister but properly
aligned axially with the latter for application to said
canister.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of two code carrying locking rings
which are a part of the cap of said invention with these rings
axially aligned as they are in the cap shown in FIG. 1 so as to
permit the axial application of said cap to the top of said
canister.
FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of
FIG. 1 ad illustrating the manner in which said locking rings are
installed in said cap so as to be individually and separately
manually operable in using the invention.
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line
4--4 of FIG. 1 and illustrating the invention with the cap thereof
fully applied to the top of the canister of the invention and while
the internal lugs of said cap and said rings are still in axial
alignment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The invention is applicable to any type of container and is
intended primarily for use on containers packaging toxic materials
in order to prevent unauthorized access thereto by children. For
illustrative purposes, the invention is shown and described herein
as embodied in an aerosol canister 10 having a body 11, a bottom 12
and a top 13 which is provided with an aerosol release valve
14.
The top 13 is cylindrical in shape and is secured to the canister
body 11 by a bead 15. Above this bead, the top 13 is provided with
three annular grooves 16 which produce a corresponding number of
annular ribs 17, each of which has a gap 18, these gaps being
axially aligned. Applied to the exterior of the canister body 11 in
alignment with the gaps 18 and a sufficient distance below the bead
15 so as not to be covered when the canister 10 is closed is a mark
19.
The canister 10 also includes a cap 20 which preferably comprises a
thin walled cylindrical plastic shell which when properly applied
fits snugly downwardly over the top 13 as shown in FIG. 4. The cap
20 has a counter bore 25 at its lower end which fits down over the
bead 15 and provides a shoulder 26 resting on said bead and
limiting the downward movement of the cap on the canister top 13.
The cap 20 has a uniform inside diameter above the bead 15
excepting for the formation therein of a shallow annular recess 27
in which a pair of thin plastic locking rings 28 and 29 are
assembled by snapping these outwardly into place in said recess,
these rings however fitting in said recess loosely enough so that
they are readily rotatable therein. Each of said rings has an
internal locking lug 30 and an external manipulating lug 31. The
wall of the cap 20 in the area of the recess 27 is provided with
semicircular slots 32 and 33 which are disposed respectively
opposite central portions of the outer surfaces of the rings 28 and
29 so that external manipulating lugs 31 of said rings extend
outwardly through said slots for engagement with a finger for the
purpose of rotating one of said rings.
It is to be noted in FIG. 2 that the circumferential spacing of the
lugs 30 and 31 on the locking ring 28 is different than this
spacing on the locking ring 29. It is also to be noted in this view
that axial code marks 34 are applied to the outer faces of the
rings 28 and 29 and extending rightward from the manipulating lug
31 of each ring and that the internal locking lug 30 on each of
these rings is disposed opposite a different one of the code marks
34, the reason for this being made clear in the description of the
operation which follows.
Near the mid points of the semi-circular slots 32 and 33, the cap
20 has provided thereon an internal locking lug 40 and, in radial
alignment with this lug and on the outside of the cap, a mark 41
which may be referred to hereinafter as the "cap mark."
OPERATION
The present invention amounts, in substance, to providing a
canister 10 having a cap 20 with a combination lock mechanism
embodied in the canister top and the cap which permits the cap to
be quickly applied to or removed from the canister by any person
having the combination of the lock but which foils anyone else from
gaining access to the can, once the cap has properly been applied
thereto. The drawings all illustrate the invention with the
internal locking lugs 30 and 31 of the locking rings 28 and 29 and
the internal locking lug 40 of the cap 20 in axial alignment as
they must necessarily be whenever it is desired to apply the cap 20
to the top 13 of the canister 10 or to remove said cap from the
canister.
The first step in preparing the cap 20 for application to the
canister is to have reference to the code combination of the lock
embodied in that particular specimen of the invention and then,
guided by this combination and with reference to the code marks 34,
rotate the locking rings 28 and 29 bearing these code marks so that
the proper code mark in each instance is in alignment with the cap
mark 41. If the operator does not know the code and starts with the
cap 20 already separated from the canister 10, he may readily
determine the code for that cap by looking inside the latter and
observing what the code is when he places the internal locking lugs
30 in alignment with the cap mark 41. He can than make a mental
note, or even a written note for future reference, as to what this
code is before he applies the cap to the canister.
After the cap 20 has thus been applied to the canister 10, the
rings 28 and 29 are deliberately rotated by application of a finger
to the external manipulating lugs 31 of said rings so as to shift
the internal locking lugs 30 of these rings into certain of the
grooves 16 and out of axial alignment with the internal locking lug
40 of the cap 20. This locks the cap 20 on the canister 10 and
retains the cap thus locked on the canister until the locking rings
28 and 29 are rotated in the cap 20 so as to bring all the internal
locking lugs into axial alignment with each other and then rotate
the cap 20 on the canister 10 until the canister mark 19 and the
cap mark 41 come into axial alignment which will facilitate
immediate separation axially of the cap from the canister.
* * * * *