U.S. patent number 3,858,740 [Application Number 05/357,143] was granted by the patent office on 1975-01-07 for locking device for containers.
Invention is credited to Pierre J. Lestaevel.
United States Patent |
3,858,740 |
Lestaevel |
January 7, 1975 |
LOCKING DEVICE FOR CONTAINERS
Abstract
A cap type closure for a container of the type having a
depending cylindrical flange surrounding the neck of the container
is further provided with a locking ring disposed adjacent the lower
edge of the flange which when disposed in smooth external alignment
with the outer surface of the cap will provide an interfering
engagement with a flange on the neck of the container to prevent
axially directed movement of the cap relative to the axis of the
container neck. The locking ring or a portion thereof may be
pivotally connected at one side to the flange whereby the ring may
be eccentrically disposed relative to the cap flange to provide
clearance with respect to the flange on the neck of the bottle to
allow the removal of the cap. Alternatively, the annular ring may
be mounted for transverse sliding movement on the flange of the cap
to allow for shifting the ring from the locking position where it
is aligned with the cap flange to an eccentric unlocked
position.
Inventors: |
Lestaevel; Pierre J.
(Washington, DC) |
Family
ID: |
23404472 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/357,143 |
Filed: |
May 4, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/216; 215/225;
215/221; 215/331 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
55/12 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
55/12 (20060101); B65D 55/02 (20060101); B65d
055/02 (); B65d 085/56 (); A61j 001/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;215/216,217,221,9,224,225,330,331 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hall; George T.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sughrue, Rothwell, Mion, Zinn &
Macpeak
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A container having cover means, said container having a neck
defining an opening into said container, said cover means having a
circumferential flange extending about said neck, complementary
fastening means on said cover means and said neck, locking ring
means, pivot means for pivotally connecting said ring means on said
cover flange for movement transversely relative to said neck and
cover flange, complementary locking means on said neck whereby upon
operative locking engagement of said locking ring means with said
complementary locking means, manipulation of said fastening means
to remove said cover means is prevented.
2. A container as set forth in claim 1, wherein said locking ring
means is comprised of an annular ring having a cylindrical external
surface with the same radius as the radius of said cover flange and
an internal surface disposed eccentrically relative thereto, said
complementary locking means comprising an annular locking rib
formed on said neck whereby when said cover means is secured in
locked position on said neck the external surface of said annular
locking ring will be flush with the external surface of said cover
flange and a portion of the upper surface of said locking ring will
be disposed below said locking rib to prevent axial movement of
said cover means relative to said neck.
3. A container as set forth in claim 1, wherein said locking ring
means is comprised of an annular ring having an external
cylindrical surface with a radius equal to the radius of the cover
flange and having an internal surface eccentrically disposed
relative thereto, an undercut notch being provided in the portion
of said locking ring having the greatest radial dimension to define
a locking tooth, said complementary locking means comprising a
plurality of locking lugs formed on and protruding radially
outwardly from said neck for engagement by said tooth when the
external surface of said locking ring is flush with the external
surface of said cover flange.
4. A container as set forth in claim 1, wherein said cover flange
and said locking ring means are of integral one piece construction
joined by narrow post means acting as a torsional pivot member
normally maintaining said locking ring means and said cover flange
in flush aligned relation.
5. A container as set forth in claim 5, wherein the complementary
engaging faces of said locking tooth and said locking lugs are
formed as arcs of a common circle whose center is concentric with
the axis of said pivot means.
6. A container as set forth in claim 5, wherein the complementary
engaging faces of said locking tooth and said locking lugs are
formed as arcs of circles having the same radius but with the
centers thereof being offset from each other to provide a snap
action interference fit.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a locking device for
containers and more specifically to a locking arrangement for
securing a screw type or snap type cap on a container.
2. Prior Art
It is often desirable to provide some type of locking arrangement
on a container especially if the container is used to hold
medicines, poisons or the like which would be extremely dangerous
to any unauthorized person taking or using the same. Numerous
deaths and serious illnesses are caused every year as a result of
children having access to bottles having medicines, cleaning
liquid, poisons and the like therein. Even adults sometimes take
medicine which has been prescribed for another person or
accidentally grab a bottle containing a substance dangerous to them
instead of the bottle they are looking for. Numerous attempts have
been made in the past to provide locking devices for containers to
prevent unauthorized access to the contents thereof. One type of
prior art locking device involves the provision of an over cover
for the cover which is threaded onto the bottle with the over cover
normally being freely rotatably relative to the regular cover. On
performing a specific manipulative movement of the over cover such
as pushing, pulling or squeezing the over cover relative to the
regular cover, it is possible to grip the regular cover to apply a
turning torque thereto. Such an arrangement is generally effective
to prevent the unauthorized opening of the bottle by a small child
but is generally ineffective to prevent an unauthorized adult from
having access to the contents of the bottle.
Another prior art locking device utilizes a locking member which is
freely mounted on a regular screw type cover and which is normally
disposed in locking engagement with a portion of the container to
prevent turning movement of the cover when the cover is in the
upright position. Upon inverting the container, the locking member
will move to a non-locking position thereby allowing turning
movement of the cover relative to the container. Such an
arrangement however, is unsuitable for containers having liquids
therein since the unscrewing of the cover must take place while the
container is in the inverted position.
Still another prior art locking arrangement involves the use of
combination type rings in combination with a screw cap. With this
type of device it is necessary to rotate the combination rings
through specific relative positions with respect to each other and
the container to allow the cover to be unscrewed from the
container. This type of locking arrangement not only prevents the
unauthorized opening of the container by children but often proves
difficult for authorized adults since it is often difficult to
remember the combination.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a locking ring arrangement
which is suitable for use with a screw type or snap type cover for
a container to prevent the unauthorized removal of the cover from
the container.
The present invention provides a cap for a container wherein the
locking member is completely flush with the cap and the ordinary
manipulation of the cap to remove the same will prove ineffectual.
Since the locking ring is concealed or at least unobtrusive it is
unlikely that a child would manipulate the locking ring and any
accidental manipulation of the locking ring would not necessarily
result in the removal of the cap from the container.
One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a cap of the
type having an annular depending flange surrounding the neck of the
bottle with the fastening means such as a plug, interfitting
flanges or screw threads disposed internally thereof. A locking
ring is disposed adjacent the lower edge of the cap flange and is
connected to the flange at a single point for pivotal movement
thereabout. The internal circumference of the locking ring is
eccentrically disposed relative to the external surface of the
locking ring and in the locked position, the external surface of
the locking ring will be flush with the external surface of the cap
flange. In this position, one side of the internal circumference of
the locking ring will be disposed beneath a circumferential flange
or locking ridge which is formed integrally with the neck of the
bottle. Upon pivotal movement of the locking ring transversely
relative to the cap flange about the point of connection, the
external surface of the locking ring will be disposed eccentrically
with respect to the cap flange and the internal surface of the
locking ring will be disposed concentrically with respect to the
locking rib on the neck of the container with sufficient clearance
to allow axial movement of the locking ring past the locking flange
of a rib. With the locking ring disposed in the unlocking position
the cap can then be removed axially from the bottle by manipulating
the interengaging means between the cap flange and the neck of the
container in the ordinary manner. In the screw threaded type
closures utilizing four discontinuous threaded portions disposed
about the cap and neck of the container, it would be possible to
utilize four equally spaced apart lugs each having an undercut face
disposed in the same direction. A complementary tooth may be formed
on the internal surface of the locking ring which is arranged for
engagement with the undercut surface of a lug when the external
surface of the locking ring is flush with the external surface of
the cap flange. Thus, any attempt to rotate the cap in the thread
disengaging direction will be blocked by the engagement of the
tooth on the locking ring with the lug on the neck of the
container. By pivoting the locking ring, the tooth may be cleared
from the lug to allow threaded disengagement of the cap on the neck
of the container. The under surface of the tooth on the locking
ring may be chamfered so that the ring will snap over the lugs
during a closing operation. Also, instead of utilizing a completely
annular ring, it is possible to pivot a segment of a ring in an
opening in the side of the cap flange and form the locking tooth on
the internal surface on one end of the pivoted segment.
A variation of the foregoing embodiment contemplates the use of an
annular ring which is mounted for a sliding transverse movement
relative to the cap flange. The cap flange is provided with two
diametrically opposed cut-out portions and the annular ring is
provided with opposed flattened circumferential portions to allow
the passage of the locking ring through the opposed openings in the
cap flange. As in the previous embodiment, the internal surface of
the annular ring is eccentrically disposed relative to the external
surface of the ring so that when the external surface of the ring
is flush with the external surface of the cap flange one portion of
the internal surface will be disposed in interfering engagement
with a locking rib formed on the neck of the container. By pushing
the annular ring inwardly through one of the openings in the cap
flange, the opposite surface of the ring will protrude beyond the
circumference of the cap flange and the internal surface of the
locking ring will be disposed concentrically with clearance
relative to the locking rib on the neck of the container to allow
axial movement of the cap relative to the container neck. As in the
foregoing embodiment it would also be possible to substitute four
locking lugs for the locking flange or rib on the neck of the
bottle and form a single locking tooth on the internal
circumference of the locking ring for interengagement with one of
the locking lugs. The present invention also contemplates the use
of a cover flange slidably mounted on the external surface of the
cap flange for axial non-rotative movement relative thereto. By
sliding the cover flange downwardly, the locking ring would be
covered completely and the cover flange would hold the locking ring
in the locked position. Upon sliding the cover flange upwardly, the
locking ring will be exposed for manipulation as indicated above.
Another form of cover flange or ring would be freely rotatable on
the external circumference of the cap flange but constrained for
limited axial movement relative thereto. The cover ring would have
a circular external surface concentric with the cap flange at an
internal surface eccentric thereto. A partial internally extending
rib would be located on the internal circumference of the cover
ring at the narrowest point thereof and the internal surface of the
rib would be concentric with the external surface of the cover
ring. The circumferential extent of the rib is slightly less than
the minimum external diameter of the locking ring so that upon
properly positioning the projecting rib in alignment with the
opening in the cap flange it will be possible to transversely shift
the cover ring so that the projecting rib will extend within the
opening in the cap flange and force the locking ring transversely
to its unlocked position.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the
invention will be apparent from the following more particular
description of preferred embodiments of the invention as
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
IN THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one form of cap and locking
ring on the neck of a container in the locked position.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 showing the locking
ring in the unlocked position.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4--4 in FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5--5 in FIG. 3.
FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 6--6 in
FIG. 4.
FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 7--7 in
FIG. 3.
FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view similar to FIG. 5 but with the
cap and locking ring positioned above the locking rib on the neck
of the container.
FIG. 9 is a modification of the foregoing embodiment and is a
sectional view similar to the section view shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 but showing the ring in the
unlocked position.
FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 11--11 in
FIG. 9.
FIG. 12 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 12--12 in
FIG. 10.
FIG. 13 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 9 showing a slight
variation in the configuration of the locking tooth and lugs.
FIG. 14 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 9 showing the
modification of that embodiment. FIGS. 14a -c show pivot
details.
FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 14 but showing the locking member
in the unlocked position.
FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the cap unlocking ring on the neck
of a bottle according to another embodiment of the present
invention with the locking ring disposed in the locked
position.
FIG. 17 is a view similar to FIG. 16 but showing the locking ring
in the unlocked position.
FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along the line 18--18 in FIG.
16.
FIG. 19 is a sectional view taken along the line 19--19 in FIG.
18.
FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken along the line 20--20 in FIG.
17.
FIG. 21 is a sectional view taken along the line 21--21 in FIG.
20.
FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a modified form of locking
ring.
FIG. 23 is a sectional view similar to the sectional view in FIG.
18 but utilizing the locking ring in FIG. 22.
FIG. 24 is a sectional view taken along the line 24--24 in FIG.
23.
FIG. 25 is a sectional view similar to the sectional view in FIG.
23 but with the locking ring disposed in the unlocked position.
FIG. 26 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 26--26 in
FIG. 25.
FIG. 27 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of a cap
and locking ring according to the present invention.
FIG. 28 is a sectional view taken along the line 28--28 in FIG.
27.
FIG. 29 is a view similar to FIG. 28 but the cover flange disposed
in the raised position and the locking ring disposed in the
unlocked position.
FIG. 30 is a perspective view of a modified form of cover ring.
FIG. 31 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 31--31
in FIG. 34 utilizing the modified cover ring of FIG. 30.
FIG. 32 is a view similar to 31 but with the cover ring rotated
approximately 60.degree..
FIG. 33 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 31 taken along the line
33--33 in FIG. 35.
FIG. 34 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 34--34 in
FIG. 31.
FIG. 35 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 35--35 in
FIG. 33.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
When the cap 40 shown in FIG. 1 is secured in locked condition on
the neck of a bottle or container 42, the locking ring 44 will be
disposed in a smooth, flush relation to the flange 46 of the cap.
The locking ring 44 is pivotally connected by means of a small post
48 which may be of integral one piece construction with the main
portion of the cap and the locking ring. In the formation of the
locking ring it would generall be formed of integral one piece
construction with the flange 46 of the cap and a thin slit 50 would
be made completely around the flange with the exception of the post
48 to free the locking ring 44 from the flange 46. Thus, the
locking ring 44 may be shifted laterally to the flange 46 as shown
in FIGS. 2 and 4. A locking flange or rib 52 is formed integrally
with the neck of the container 42. The upper surface of the locking
rib 52 is beveled downwardly to facilitate the passage of the
locking ring over the rib during a closing operation. The internal
surface 54 of the locking ring 44 is disposed eccentrically
relative to the external surface so that when the external surface
of the locking ring is disposed flush with the external surface of
the flange 46 as shown in FIG. 1, the upper surface of the locking
ring will be disposed in part beneath the lower surface of the
locking rib 52 as shown in FIG. 3. Upon shifting the locking ring
44 to the position shown in FIG. 2, the internal surface 54 of the
locking ring 44 will be aligned concentrically with the locking rib
52 with sufficient clearance for removal as shown in FIG. 4. A
means for securing the cap 40 to the neck of the container 42 are
disposed within the flange 46 of the cap and may be in the form of
continuous screw threads, discontinuous screw threads,
complementary snap flanges on the cap and bottle or merely a
plug-type stopper disposed concentrically relative to the flange 46
for insertion into the neck of the bottle or container. Since the
foregoing closure means are old and well known in the art and can
be readily used interchangably with the locking ring arrangement,
the details of the fastening means have been omitted. FIGS. 5 and 6
show the relationship of the locking ring 44 relative to the
locking rib 52 in the locked and unlocked positions respectively.
FIG. 8 shows the relationships of the locking ring 42 relative to
the locking rib 52 during a closing operation to show that the
locking ring will be readily cammed over the locking rib and the
inherent resiliency of the pivotal connection 48 will automatically
swing the locking ring back into locking position beneath the rib
52.
A variation of the arrangement shown in FIGS. 1-8 inclusive is
shown in FIG. 9 wherein the locking rib has been replaced by four
identical equally spaced lugs 56 on the neck 58 of a container. A
locking ring 60 is connected to the flange 62 of a cap having
conventional fastening means therein by a post 64 similar to the
post 48 in the previous arrangement. The outer circumferential
surface of each of the lugs 56 lie in a common circle and the
internal surface of the locking ring 60 is disposed eccentrically
relative to the external surface thereof. A single tooth 66 is
formed on the inner surface of a locking ring 60. The leading
surface 68 of the tooth is formed substantially along the arc of a
circle whose radius is disposed in the center of the connecting
post 64. The complementary surface of each locking lug 56 is
beveled inwardly so that further counter-clockwise turning movement
of a cap will be prevented by the enegagement of the tooth 66 with
one of the locking lugs 56. This type of arrangement is most
suitable for those containers and caps having four discontinuous
segmental threaded portions disposed equidistant on the
circumference of the neck and the locking lug 56 would be disposed
adjacent each one of these partial threaded portions. In order to
remove the cap 62 it is necessary to apply a counter-clockwise
turning torque as viewed in FIG. 9 and to accomplish this it is
necessary to shift the locking ring 60 from the position shown in
FIG. 9 to the position shown in FIG. 10. Since the interengaging
surfaces of the tooth 66 and the lug 56 are disposed on the arc of
a circle whose center is the center of a pivot point or post 64,
the tooth will readily slide past the locking lug thereby
concentrically aligning the internal surface of the locking ring
with the external circumferential surfaces of the locking lugs 56
and freeing the cap 62 for rotation relative to the neck of the
container 58. The lowermost surface 70 of the tooth 66 is beveled
to facilitate passage of the locking ring over the locking lugs
during a closing operation. FIGS. 11 and 12 show the locked and
unlocked positions of the locking ring 60 relative to the cap 62
respectively.
A further variation similar to the arrangement in FIGS. 9-12
inclusive is shown in FIG. 13. In this variation, the complementary
surfaces of the tooth 66' and the locking lug 56' are formed along
the arc of a circle whose center 72 is offset inwardly from the
center of the pivot post 64'. Thus, when the locking ring 60' is
pivoted about the center of the pivot post 64', the curved surfaces
of the curved surfaces of the tooth 66' and locking lug 56' will
interfere to provide a snap action. Thus, the locking ring is more
positively held in the locked position wherein the external surface
thereof is flush with the external surface of the cap.
A still further variation of this embodiment is shown in FIGS. 14
and 15. Instead of having an annular locking ring pivoted to the
flange of the cap, only a small arcuate locking segment 74 is
provided. The segment 74 is pivoted in a slot 76 formed in the side
of the cap and having an arcuate dimension slightly larger than the
arcuate dimension of the locking piece 74. The pivot pin 78 for the
segment 74 is formed integral at both ends with the flange 80 of
the cap and a complementary groove in the locking segment 74 is
snapped on the pin 78 so that the segment 74 can pivot about the
pin 78. As in the embodiment of FIG. 9, the locking segment 74 may
be pivoted about the pin 78 as shown in FIG. 15 to free the end 75
from the locking lug 56 to allow for a rotational movement of the
cap to remove it from the container 58. The center of curvature of
the complementary faces of the locking segment 74 and locking lug
56 may be located at the center of the pin 78 similar to the
arrangement in FIG. 10 or may be offset therefrom similar to the
arrangement shown in FIG. 13.
As shown in FIGS. 14a-14c the pin 78' may be molded integrally with
the locking segment 74' which is pivoted in a notch formed in the
bottom edge of the cap flange. The pin 78' is provided with a
cylindrical mid-section as seen in FIG. 14c and the end 79' is
formed with a polygon cross-section which is adhesively secured in
a complementary recess in the cap to prevent the rotation of the
end of the pin. It is also contemplated that the pin 78 could be a
separate member secured in complementary holes in the flange 80 and
the locking segment 74. The use of a separate pivot pin or a pivot
pin integral with the locking ring is also adaptable to the
previous embodiments using an annular locking ring.
A further embodiment of the invention utilizes a transversely
slidable locking ring 100 as opposed to the pivoted locking rings
or segments in the previous arrangements. The cap 102 is provided
with a pair of opposed cut-outs 104 and 106 in the flange 108. The
opposed sides of the sliding ring 100 are flattened at 110 and 112
and the internal circumference 114 of the locking ring is
eccentrically disposed with respect to the external surface
thereof. When the locking ring 100 is disposed flush with the
flange 108 of the cap 102 as shown in FIG. 16, the internal
circumference 114 of the locking ring will be disposed as shown in
FIG. 18 and FIG. 19 wherein a portion of the ring will be disposed
beneath a locking rib 116 formed integrally with the neck of the
container 118. When the locking ring is pushed inwardly at one of
the exposed portions, the ring will be shifted to the position
shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 wherein the internal circumference 114 of
the locking ring will be concentrically disposed with clearance
relative to the locking rib 116 to permit the removal of the cap by
ordinary manipulative movements. The uppermost surface of the
locking ring 116 is beveled as in the previous embodiment for
cooperation with the downwardly beveled surface 101 of the locking
ring to facilitate the passage of the locking ring over the locking
rib during a closing operation. As in the previous embodiments, the
connecting means between the neck of the container and the cap
above the locking ring may be of any conventional nature such as
continuous screw threads, interrupted screw threads, interlocking
ribs or an interfitting plug or stopper.
A variation of the foregoing embodiment is shown in FIGS. 22
through 26 which is somewhat analogous to the arrangement
previously discussed with respect to FIGS. 9 through 15. In this
embodiment, the locking rib 120 on the neck of the container 122 is
formed with four equally spaced notches 124. The locking ring 126
is provided with an internal surface which is eccentric relative to
the external surface of the locking ring and above this eccentric
surface 128 a recess with a single inwardly extending tooth 132
which is complementary to the notches 124 formed in the rib on the
neck of the container. The undersurface of the eccentric surface
128 beneath the tooth 132 may be inwardly beveled and the upper
surface of the locking rib 120 may also be beveled to facilitate
the putting on of the cap as in the previous embodiments. When the
external surface of the locking ring 126 is disposed flush with the
external surface of the cap as shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, the tooth
132 will be engaged in a selected notch 124 to prevent
counter-clockwise rotation of the cap to unscrew the cap from the
container. This type arrangement is especially suitable for the
discontinued thread arrangement wherein four equally spaced
complementary thread protions are located about the neck of the
container and the internal surface of the cap flange. Instead of
forming notches 124 in a locking rib 120 it would be equally
possible to have the tooth 132 cooperate directly with the end of
the threaded portion on the neck of the bottle. When the locking
ring is pushed inwardly at one side, it will be shifted to the
position shown in FIGS. 25 and 26 wherein the tooth 132 will be
disengaged from the notch 124 and the internal surface of the
locking ring will be disposed eccentrically with clearance about
the circumference of the locking rib to permit rotary and axial
movement of the cap relative to the neck of the container for
removal of the cap from the container. In both these arrangements,
one of the exposed faces of the locking ring may be provided with
an appropriate legend such as "push" so that the person will know
which end to push in order to move the locking ring to the unlocked
position. On the other hand, as an added safety feature, both
exposed surfaces of the locking ring could be left blank since it
is only possible to push the locking ring in one direction and a
simple trial and error experiment would readily determine which
direction.
An added safety feature relative to this embodiment is provided in
FIGS. 27-29. In this embodiment, the cap 140 is provided with a
plurality of axially extending splines 142 about the entire
circumference of the cap flange 144. A cover flange, or ring 146 is
provided with a plurality of complementary splines 148 adjacent the
upper edge thereof. The splines 142 on the flange of the cap
terminate adjacent the top and bottom edges of the flange so that
the cover ring 146 cannot slide off the cap. The lower portion of
the cap flange 144 is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed
openings 150 and 152 for the reception of a slidable locking ring
similar to the foregoing embodiment. When the locking ring is
disposed in its locking condition the ends of the ring will be
flush with the surface of the cap and the cover ring 146 will be
disposed in its lower position as viewed in FIGS. 27 and 28 to
completely hide the locking ring 154 from view. In order to unlock
the cap for the removal of the same from the neck of a container it
is only necessary to slide the cover ring 146 upwardly as shown in
FIG. 29 to expose the locking ring 154 for the sliding movement
thereof in a mode according to the previous embodiments. The upper
surface of the locking ring and the lower surface of the cover ring
are beveled so that after the cap is resecured on the bottle, a
downward sliding movement of the cover ring 146 will automatically
cam the locking ring 154 into its recessed locking position. The
details of the complementary fastening means between the cap and
the neck of the container as well as the details of the locking
ring have been omitted since they are either conventional or
disclosed previously.
Another form of cover ring is shown in FIGS. 30-35. In this
embodiment, the cover 160 is again provided with a downwardly
depending flange 162 having a pair of diametrically opposed
apertures 164 and 166 for the sliding reception of a locking ring
168 similar to the locking ring disclosed in the foregoing
embodiments. The upper and lower circumferential edges of the
flange 162 of the cap are provided with ribs 170 and 172 to retain
the cover ring 174 in sliding engagement on the external surface of
the cap flange. The cover ring 174 is best seen in FIG. 30 which
clearly shows that the internal surface is oval shaped. In the area
of the cover ring having the narrowest dimension, an internally
projecting rib 180 is provided having a vertical height slightly
less than the vertical height of the apertures 164 and 166. The
portion 176 of the inner surface opposite projection 180 and the
innermost surface of the projection 180 form a substantially
cylindrical surface having the center thereof disposed at the
center of the cap flange 162. The ends 182 and 184 are spaced apart
a straight line distance equal to or slightly less than the width
of the apertures 164 and 166 in the flange of the cap. When the
cover ring 174 is disposed in its lowermost position against the
rib 172 as shown in FIG. 34 and is rotated to a position wherein
the projection 180 is not aligned with the aperture 164, it will be
impossible to move the locking ring 168 to an unlocked position to
permit removal of the cap from the container. In order to unlock
the container it is necessary to rotate and lift axially, the ring
174 to a position where the projection 180 will be exactly aligned
with the aperture 164 as best seen in FIG. 32. A subsequent
transverse shifting movement of the cover ring 174 will force the
projection 180 into the aperture 164 thereby shifting the locking
ring 168 to the unlocked position as shown in FIGS. 33 and 35. Once
again, the details of the complementary means between the cap and
the neck of the container as well as the details of the locking
ring have been omitted for the sake of clarity. It is obvious that
any or all of the features of the locking ring and complementary
locking ribs and notches on the container as shown in FIGS. 18-26
may be utilized in the modifications shown in FIGS. 27- 35.
The cap, locking elements and container as illustrated in the
present application are preferably plastic but other suitable
materials may be used. The stopper type closure of FIGS. 5-8, the
interrupted screw-thread arrangement of FIGS. 11 and 12 as well as
any other type of fastener or closing means may be used with any of
the locking arrangements disclosed. The cover ring of FIGS. 27-29
could also be used in the embodiments of FIGS. 1-13.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with
reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood
by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in
form and details may be made therein without departing from the
spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *