U.S. patent number 3,675,804 [Application Number 05/095,300] was granted by the patent office on 1972-07-11 for safety closure assembly.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Leeds and Micallef. Invention is credited to Lewis A. Micalief.
United States Patent |
3,675,804 |
Micalief |
July 11, 1972 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
SAFETY CLOSURE ASSEMBLY
Abstract
A safety closure assembly of a container includes a cap having
internal interrupted threads and a container neck having external
specially arranged guide surfaces. These surfaces define
essentially three zones on the neck. At the neck top is a mating
thread zone for receiving the interrupted threads. A second thread
zone is spaced from the top and cooperates in assuring a
liquid-tight seal across the neck opening by the cap. Intermediate
these threaded zones is a zone which is only traversed by the
cap-thread elements upon the application of deliberate and informed
movement or manipulation of the cap other than the ordinary
unscrewing action. This manipulation may assume the form of either
an application of increased force to urge one of the thread
elements passed a zone of interference or the axial shifting of the
cap through an access zone for the thread elements after a stop is
encountered forbidding further turning of the cap relative to the
neck; or the manipulation may require a combination of these cap
movements.
Inventors: |
Micalief; Lewis A. (New York,
NY) |
Assignee: |
Leeds and Micallef (New York,
NY)
|
Family
ID: |
22251242 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/095,300 |
Filed: |
December 4, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/217 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
50/04 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
50/04 (20060101); B65D 50/00 (20060101); A61j
001/00 (); B65d 055/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;215/9,44 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hall; George T.
Claims
I claim:
1. A safety closure assembly comprising in combination:
a container neck defining an opening through which the container
contents may be dispensed;
a closure cap coupled with the container neck and extending across
the opening and cooperating in confining the contents within the
container until it is desired to remove same therefrom;
the exterior of the neck and the interior of the cap having
cooperating interengaging means for coupling the cap to the neck in
relatively easy fashion and permit the uncoupling of the cap from
the neck only upon informed deliberate manipulation of the cap
relative to the neck:
said cooperating interengaging means comprising an interrupted
thread and guiding surfaces for cooperating in guiding the relative
path of travel of the threads, said guiding surfaces including an
interference zone through which one of the interrupted thread
elements must pass and such passage is only permitted upon informed
deliberate manipulation of the cap relative to the neck.
2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein the cap
includes a cylindrical skirt, the interrupted thread is in the form
of lugs projecting radially inwardly from the skirt.
3. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein the guiding
surfaces are on the exterior of the neck.
4. The invention in accordance with claim 3 wherein the guiding
surfaces include a mating threaded portion on the exterior of the
neck between the opening and the interference zone.
5. The invention in accordance with claim 4 wherein the guiding
surfaces include a second mating threaded portion on the exterior
of the neck with the interference zone being interposed.
6. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein the guiding
surfaces include threaded portions, and the guiding surfaces
defining the interference zone include a stopping surface at a
greater angle relative to the threaded portion in a plane normal to
the axial direction of the container and cap.
7. The invention in accordance with claim 6 wherein the stopping
surface is normal to said plane.
8. The invention in accordance with claim 6 wherein the stopping
surface is provided with a camming surface against which said one
interrupted thread element is adapted to move prior to passing
through said zone.
9. The invention in accordance with claim 8 wherein a second
camming surface is at the other side of said zone whereby the one
interrupted thread element serves as a cam follower when both
placing the cap on the neck and removing it therefrom.
10. The invention in accordance with claim 6 wherein a camming
surface is adjacent the zone and is adapted to be engaged by
another of the interrupted thread elements in guiding the one
thread element through the zone.
11. The invention in accordance with claim 10 wherein the camming
surface is normal to the plane and includes a stop which is adapted
to be engaged by said another of said thread elements to inhibit
the further movement of the cap axially relative to the neck and
permit such further movement upon reverse turning of the cap to
permit said another threaded element to clear the stop.
12. A safety closure assembly comprising in combination:
a container neck defining an opening through which the container
contents may be dispensed;
a closure cap coupled with the container neck and extending across
the opening and cooperating in confining the contents within the
container until it is desired to remove same therefrom;
the exterior of the neck and the interior of the cap having
cooperating interengaging means for coupling the cap to the neck in
relatively easy fashion and permit the uncoupling of the cap from
the neck only upon informed deliberate manipulation of the cap
relative to the neck;
said cooperating interengaging means comprising an interrupted
thread and guiding surfaces for cooperating in guiding the relative
path of travel of the threads, said guiding surfaces including a
zone through which one of the interruptions of the thread must
pass, and means for permitting the one interruption to pass the
zone when the cap and neck are moved in an accentuated axial
direction relative to one another, and a stop against which the one
interruption is adapted to impinge prior to passage through said
zone when said cap is turned in an attempt to unscrew it off the
container neck.
13. In a safety closure assembly for a container having outlet
surfaces defining an opening, capping surfaces extending over the
opening with interrupted threads on one of said surfaces, the
improvement of:
guiding surfaces including an interference zone through which one
of the interrupted thread elements must pass and such passage is
only permitted upon informed deliberate manipulation of the cap
relative to the neck.
14. In a safety closure assembly for a container neck having outlet
surfaces defining an opening, capping surfaces extending over the
opening with interrupted threads on one of said surfaces, the
improvement of:
cooperating interengaging means comprising said interrupted thread
and guiding surfaces for cooperating in guiding the relative path
of travel of the threads, said guiding surfaces including a zone
through which one of the interruptions of the thread must pass, and
means for permitting the one interruption to pass the zone when the
cap and neck are moved in an accentuated axial direction relative
to one another, and a stop against which the one interruption is
adapted to impinge prior to passage through said zone when said cap
is turned in an attempt to unscrew it off the container neck.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Statistics show that many accidents and fatalities occur,
particularly among children, through the accidental or unsuspecting
consumption of drugs, poisons and many household products. Many
packagers of such products have reacted as a result of a strong
social conscience and have adopted safety closures which are
child-deterring by nature or require adult strength to open the
package. However, this discipline and practice is not industry or
nation-wide and potentially dangerous products without safe or
child-proof packaging continues to be marketed.
There has been an impressive decline in child poisoning from drugs
because of the employment of a variety of safety closures and
packaging techniques. Nonetheless, this remains a problem and with
the modern, busy mother, household products are increasingly
resulting in hazards and harm to children.
Consequently, legislation has been proposed and appears to be
imminent for purposes of rectifying the situation by placing the
responsibility of child-resistant products on the packager.
Although this packaging problem on the surface may superficially
appear to be easily solvable, in reality it is complex. Closures
that are simply and effectively safe are scarce, if non-existent,
particularly in the minds of many packagers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has as one of its principal objects a safety
closure assembly that eliminates the stated problems and
advantageously far exceeds the limited attributes of safety caps
heretofore proposed.
Another object is to provide a safety closure assembly that is
comparable in price and cost to existing conventional screw cap
closures.
A further and very important advantage is a safety closure assembly
which is capable of providing a liquid-tight seal and a tight seal
for dry products as well.
Another object is to provide a safety closure assembly which is
adaptable to plastic as well as glass containers.
An additional object is to provide a safety closure assembly and
particularly a cap therefor which may be applied with conventional
capping equipment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a safety closure assembly
of this invention showing a safety cap spaced from the neck of the
container, the latter shown fragmentarily;
FIG. 2a is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the cap
associated with the neck taken along the line 2a -2a of FIG. 1;
FIG. 2b is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2b --2b of FIG.
2a but showing the cap disposed on the neck in the position
depicted by FIG. 5;
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the cap and neck in flattened
planar relationship for purposes of showing the relationship and
operation of the detailed parts of the assembly which in this
figure are in a locked position with the cap in sealing
relationship across the mouth of the bottle neck;
FIG. 4 is a similar view showing the cap in the process of being
unscrewed and approaching the interference zone;
FIG. 5 is a similar view with the lead thread element at the
maximum zone of interference during the removal of the cap;
FIG. 6 shows the cap further removed and the trailing thread
element guiding the cap upwardly as a result of engagement with a
camming surface whereby the interrupted threads of the cap are
guided into mating engagement with the upper threaded portion of
the container neck, the latter mating relationship being shown in
phantom;
FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a safety closure assembly
in accordance with an alternate embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 8--8 of FIG. 7
showing the safety cap in sealing relationship across the mouth of
the container neck;
FIG. 9 is a flattened planar view of the safety closure assembly of
this embodiment showing the relationship of the parts when the cap
is fully threaded on the container neck and in sealing relationship
across the neck mouth;
FIG. 10 shows the cap partially unthreaded from the container neck
and the lead thread in engagement with a stop which requires the
cap to be axially pulled whereupon the lead thread is passed
through a zone which may or may not include an interference fit
requiring adult force to pull this lead thread through this
zone;
FIG. 11 shows the lead thread after it passes through the safety
zone with the trailing thread element encountering a second stop
which, in this instance, requires the cap to be given a reverse
twist and then lifted axially again to clear this stop; and
FIG. 12 shows the trailing thread element clearing the second stop
in order that the interrupted threads may now mate with the upper
threaded portion of the container neck in a fashion shown in
phantom.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Initially, reference is made to the embodiment of safety closure
assembly 20, shown in FIGS. 1-6, in which a cap 22 is adapted to be
coupled with the neck 24 of the container 26. Both the container
and neck may obviously assume any one of a variety of different
configurations. In the illustrated embodiment, the neck 24 is
reduced in diameter and defines an opening or mouth 28 which
provides access to the interior of the container and its
contents.
With the exception of its thread construction and arrangement, the
cap 22, for the most part, is advantageously of conventional
construction including a top wall 30 from which extends a depending
cylindrical skirt 32. A liner 34 may be secured to the inner face
of the top wall 30 for providing a liquid-tight seal across the
mouth 28 of the container neck 24 when the cap 22 is completely
drawn down on the neck 24. Towards this end, the interior of the
skirt 32 is provided with interrupted threads having a plurality of
spaced thread elements 36, lugs or similar projections. Obviously,
the size and shape of the thread 36 may be varied; and for purposes
of the specific embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 6 wherein it is desired to
have lead thread elements 36a cooperate inproviding an interference
zone which will be described in detail shortly, the thread elements
may be shaped as shown in plan in FIG. 2b.
The exterior of the neck 24 is provided with cooperating surfaces
for receiving the interrupted threads 36 in securing the cap 22
across the mouth 28 and permit its removal only after the
child-deterrent position is encountered. In this connection, a
threaded zone 38 including mating threads 40 is located adjacent
the mouth 28.
Threads 40 extend into an interference zone 42 through which the
lead thread element 36a is adapted to pass. This zone is defined by
guide surfaces for the lead thread element 36a which includes a
capping guide or cam surface 44 and an uncapping guide or cam
surface 46. Surface 44 guides the leading edge of thread element
36a downwardly during the capping operation; and surface 46 guides
the trailing edge of thread element 36a upwardly during the
uncapping operation. During uncapping, the lead thread element 36a
and guide surfaces 44 and 46 eventually provide an interference fit
at zone 42 which requires adult strength to overcome thereby
serving as a child deterrent or safety feature. The guiding of the
cap during the uncapping operation and particularly through the
interference zone 42 is further facilitated by the camming surface
48 against which the trailing edge of trailing thread element 36d
is adapted to engage.
As the thread element 36a passes through the interference zone, the
remaining thread elements 36b, 36c and 36d pass through openings
50b, 50c and 50d, respectively, into a second threaded zone 52.
This threaded zone 52 includes thread elements 54a, 54b, 54c and
54d which mate with the cap thread elements 36a, 36b, 36c and 36d,
respectively. When thread elements 36 and 54 engage, the cap 22 is
drawn down tightly to cause the liner 34 to seal across mouth 28 in
a liquid-tight manner. This type of seal is not possible with most
safety caps heretofore proposed. A valve seal in the form of a
downwardly depending concentric lip on the inside of cap top wall
30 could also be provided in lieu of the cap liner to serve the
same purpose and provide an additional advantage. If the depth of
the valve seal is greater than the distance the cap 22 must be
pulled through the interference zone 42, the possibility of
accidental spillage will be minimized. This is especially true on
the safety closure configuration that requires an upward pull as
disclosed in FIGS. 7 to 12.
In operation and assuming that the cap 22 is fully threaded on the
container neck 24 so that the mouth 28 is sealed by the cap liner
34, the cap is twisted or turned from the position shown in FIG. 3
until the lead thread element 36 engages with the camming or guide
surface 46; and this thread element 36a is guided upwardly into the
interference zone 42 at which point the parts are positioned as
shown in FIG. 4. Thereafter, the lead thread element 36a must
traverse this interference zone 42 and in order to accomplish this,
adult force or pressure is required because of the interference fit
which is at a maximum when the parts are disposed as in FIG. 5.
Further twisting of the cap will clear the lead thread element 36a
of the interference zone 42 at which time thread elements 36b, 36c
and 36d will also clear their respective openings 50b, 50c and 50d
provided on the cap neck 24. Eventually the trailing edge of the
trailing thread element 36d will engage with the camming surface
48, as shown in FIG. 6, to direct the cap 22 upwardly and
eventually have the interrupted threads 36 mate with thread 40 at
the upper part of the bottle neck 24, as shown in phantom in FIG.
6. The cap may then be readily removed. The reverse turning or
screwing procedure need only be executed in order to place the cap
22 over the container neck to seal the container contents.
In the embodiment of safety closure assembly 20', illustrated in
FIGS. 7 to 12, parts similar to the parts of the preceding
embodiment will be similarly numbered with an accompanying prime.
Thus, safety closure assembly 20' will include a safety cap 22' and
the neck 24' of the container 26'. The cap will be provided with
the interrupted threads 36' while the cap will include an upper
threaded zone 38' and a lower threaded zone 52' with an interposed
zone 42' which may or may not be of the interference variety as in
the preceding embodiment. Of importance, however, is the
requirement that the cap 22' be turned relative to the neck 24' and
when the leading thread element 36a' approaches the zone 42', axial
displacement of the cap on the neck must be performed. This
compound movement of the cap relative to the neck is designed to
render it extremely difficult for a child to accidentally remove
the cap from the neck. However, the disposition of parts of the cap
and the neck are such that conventional capping equipment may
thread the cap onto the neck as in the previous embodiment.
In operation and assuming that the cap 22' is fully threaded on the
neck 24', as shown in FIG. 8, the parts of the cap and neck will
assume the position shown in FIG. 9. The cap 22' is then turned
until the leading thread element 36a' comes in contact with the
stop 46' preventing further turning of the cap 22' relative to the
neck 24', as shown in FIG. 10. In order for the thread element 36a'
to clear the stop 46' as well as the zone 42', the cap 22' is
required to be axially pulled or lifted. As an added precaution for
child safety, the zone 42' may provide an interference between the
leading thread element 36a' and the opposing surfaces of camming
surface 44' and stop 46'. As shown in FIG. 11, a second stop
against further turning movement of the cap 22' relative to the
neck 24' is provided in the form of the interengagement of the
trailing thread element 36d' and the stop 48'. The projection 56 at
the top of the stop 48' may also be provided and may be cleared by
reverse twisting of the cap 22' accompanied by a slight axial pull.
Thereafter, the thread elements 36' will mate with the upper thread
40' upon further turning of the cap 22, as shown in FIG. 12.
Eventually, cap 22' will be removed from the container neck 24' to
obtain access to the container interior and contents.
In addition to permitting the cap of the preceding embodiments to
be threaded on the container neck by means of conventional or
standard capping equipment, any container or bottle finish or
material may be employed including both plastic and glass. Of
course, the cap may be made of any desired or acceptable material
used for capping the selected bottle and sealing the desired
container contents.
Thus, the several aforenoted objects and advantages are most
effectively attained. Although several somewhat preferred
embodiments have been disclosed or described in detail herein, it
should be understood that this invention is in no sense limited
thereby and its scope is to be determined by that of the appended
claims.
* * * * *