U.S. patent number 3,880,313 [Application Number 04/710,032] was granted by the patent office on 1975-04-29 for safety cap and container.
Invention is credited to Edward G. Akers.
United States Patent |
3,880,313 |
Akers |
April 29, 1975 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Safety cap and container
Abstract
A safety cap and container is disclosed which is resistant to
accidental opening. Such a cap and container include cooperating
ratchet means on the cap and the container which normally hold the
cap against undesired movement with respect to the container. A
tapered internal surface is provided in the container and an
internal resilient dependent member is provided on the cap so as to
engage the tapered surface. Such engagement normally holds the
ratchet means so that the cap cannot be moved with respect to the
container. When, however, pressure is applied to the cap above the
dependent member, this member is deflected by the tapered surface
so as to allow movement of the cap so as to disengage the ratchet
means, permitting the cap to be removed from the container.
Inventors: |
Akers; Edward G. (Dallas,
TX) |
Family
ID: |
24852331 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/710,032 |
Filed: |
March 4, 1968 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/211;
215/222 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
41/065 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
41/06 (20060101); B65D 41/04 (20060101); B65d
055/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;215/9,44,48,56,DIG.1,40,222,211 ;220/42C,40,4S |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Norton; Donald F.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Murphy; Peter J.
Claims
I claim:
1. A safety package comprising:
a container having a mouth portion with an annular rim;
a one-piece cap having a base with a peripheral flange projecting
axially therefrom for receiving said mouth portion;
interengageable locking elements on the outer wall of the mouth of
the container and inner wall of the flange of the cap, the cap
locking elements being spaced peripherally from each other and
engageable with and disengageable from the container locking
elements by combined axial and rotative motion of the cap relative
to the container;
a resilient flexible member formed on the base of the cap having an
inner annular end joined integrally to the base of the cap and
extending axially therefrom and terminating in an outer annular
free end, said inner annular end at the juncture with the base
having a diameter at least as large as that of the outer annular
free end;
said outer annular free end being engageable with the container to
exert a biasing force in an axial direction between the cap and
container when the locking elements are engaged.
2. A safety package as claimed in claim 1 wherein:
said container has an internal sloping surface adjacent to said
mouth portion
and said outer annular free end engages said sloping surface so as
to exert said biasing force when the locking elements are
engaged.
3. A safety package as claimed in claim 1 wherein:
said container has an internal conical surface adjacent to said
mouth portion
and said outer annular end engages said conical surface to exert
said biasing force when the locking elements are engaged.
4. A safety package as claimed in claim 1 wherein:
said container has an internal conical surface adjacent to said
mouth portion,
said outer annular end has a cylindrical shape prior to engagement
with the container,
and said outer annular end engages said conical surface and is
deflected inwardly thereby to exert said biasing force when the
locking elements are engaged.
5. A safety package as claimed in claim 3 wherein:
said resilient flexible member comprises a continuous, imperforate
wall including said outer annular end;
and said outer annular end forms a seal with said conical surface
whereby said cap tightly seals said container against contaminants
when said locking elements are engaged.
6. A safety package as claimed in claim 1 wherein:
said resilient flexible member is a thin-walled, hollow
cylinder.
7. A safety package as claimed in claim 6 wherein:
said container has an internal conical surface adjacent to said
mouth portion;
said hollow cylinder is imperforate, and said annular outer end
forms a seal with said conical surface whereby said cap tightly
seals said container against contaminants when said locking
elements are engaged.
8. A safety package comprising:
a container having a mouth portion with an annular rim, and having
an internal conical surface adjacent to said mouth portion;
a cap having a base with a peripheral flange projecting axially
therefrom for receiving said mouth portion;
interengageable locking elements on the outer wall of the mouth of
the container and inner wall of the flange of the cap, the cap
locking elements being spaced peripherally from each other and
engageable with and disengageable from the container locking
elements by combined axial and rotative motion of the cap relative
to the container;
a resilient flexible member joined to the base of the cap, having a
hollow, imperforate, annular wall extending axially therefrom and
terminating in an outer annular free end; the inner end of said
annular wall at the juncture with the base having a diameter at
least as large as that of the outer annular free end;
said outer annular end being engageable with said conical surface
to exert a biasing force in an axial direction between the cap and
container when the locking elements are engaged;
and said outer annular end engaging said conical surface in sealing
relation when the locking elements are engaged, whereby said cap
defines an effective liquid tight and airtight seal with the mouth
of said container.
9. A safety package as claimed in claim 8 wherein:
said annular wall is dimensioned that said outer annular end is
deflected inwardly by said conical surface, when said locking
elements are engaged, to exert said biasing force and to effect
said sealing.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The problem of children and others inadvertently opening containers
for various items such as various dangerous drugs has often been
discussed. However, comparatively little has been done in providing
safety caps and containers resistant to undesired or accidental
opening.
Such structures as are known for this purpose are considered to be
disadvantageous from a commercial standpoint for any one of a
variety of different reasons. It is considered that such structures
are comparatively difficult to manufacture at a nominal cost using
present relatively high speed inexpensive injection molding
techniques because of their construction. It is also considered
that such structures are disadvantageous because they do not tend
to adequately seal a container and because they normally are
constructed in such a manner that they may trap dirt and other
contaminates. With certain materials, such as some drugs, the
danger of air contact such as might cause contamination or
deterioration must be minimized to the greatest reasonable possible
extent.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to overcome the various problems,
difficulties and limitations encountered with prior related safety
caps and containers such as are indicated briefly in the foregoing
discussion. Another object of this invention is to provide safety
caps and containers which may be manufactured at a comparatively
low cost with only nominal difficulty using present day injection
molding techniques. A further object of this invention is to
provide safety caps and containers which may be constructed so as
to adequately and satisfactorily seal the contents within such a
combined structure against contamination.
A still further object of this invention is to provide safety caps
and containers which have a "clean-cut" appearance and which do not
contain openings or depressions which are apt to gather dirt or
other contamination. Various other related objectives of this
invention will be apparent from a detailed consideration of the
remainder of this specification and the accompanying drawing.
The various objectives of this invention are achieved in a safety
cap and container which is resistant to accidental opening because
of the construction of both the cap and the container. Both the cap
and the container include cooperating ratchet means which normally
prevent the cap and the container from being moved with respect to
one another when the cap is in operative position. The extremity of
the container normally closed by the cap is provided with an
adjacent tapered surface which is adapted to be engaged by a
resilient dependent member. A plurality of such members can be used
although this is considered disadvantageous. Normally this
dependent member resiliently engages the tapered surface on the
container when the cap is in the closed position so as to hold the
cap in such a manner that the ratchet means are engaged. Preferably
such a dependent member will during such holding serve to form a
satisfactory type of seal for most purposes with the container.
The construction of the dependent member and the tapered surface is
such that when pressure is applied to the cap above the dependent
member, this member is deflected by the tapered surface, moving the
cap to a position in which the ratchet means are disengaged and in
which the cap may be turned so as to be removed from the container.
In relocating the cap upon the container the reverse of the various
steps indicated are of course repeated.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING:
The actual details of a safety cap and container of this invention
are best described with reference to the accompanying drawing in
which:
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a presently preferred embodiment or
form of a safety cap and container of this invention;
FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken at line 2--2 of FIG.
1;
FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 2
illustrating the configuration of certain parts during the removal
of the cap from or the placement of the cap on the container in the
illustrated preferred embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view taken at line 4--4 of FIG.
2;
FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view taken at line 5--5 of FIG.
3; and
FIG. 6 is an exploded view showing part of the internal
construction of the cap and part of the external construction of
the container illustrated in the preceding figures.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT:
The safety cap and container 10 illustrated in the drawing includes
a container 12 and a cap 14. Both of these parts (12 and 14) may
conveniently be manufactured out of various commonplace polymers or
plastics such as are commonly used in the manufacture of various
other related containers and closures. It is preferred that the
container 12 be manufactured out of a comparatively rigid material.
If desired, this container 12 can be manufactured of glass or
various other similar materials. It is preferred to manufacture the
cap 14 as an entire unit out of a somewhat resilient material such
as various grades of polyethylene in order to achieve the desired
operation of the complete safety cap and container 10.
In the embodiment shown the container 12 has essentially a glass
tumbler-like shape so that containers 12 can be nested in one
another for shipment, storage and the like. This container 12 has a
top opening 16 and a wall 18 surrounding the top opening. It also
has adjacent to the top opening 16 a tapered internal surface 20
which is tapered so as to have its largest dimension generally away
from the interior of the container 12. In the embodiment
illustrated this surface has the shape of a frustrum of a right
circular cone. The wall 18 carries a plurality of ratchet lugs 22
which are equally spaced around the exterior of the wall 18.
The cap 14 has a disc-like top 24 which carries at its edge a
peripheral generally cylindrical skirt 26. This top 24 also carries
within the skirt 26 on its under surface a resilient dependent
member 28. In the embodiment of the invention shown this dependent
member 28 normally has essentially the shape of a hollow,
continuous and imperforate, cylindrical wall. This is considered to
be important in connection with the cap 14 being such a nature that
it may be easily molded by injection-molding techniques. When, as
in the preferred embodiment, the entire cap 14 is formed as one
piece, the desired resiliency of the dependent member 28 is
achieved by making this member 28 sufficiently thin so that it is
capable of being temporarily deformed inwardly during the operation
of the complete cap and container 10.
The interior of the skirt 26 is provided with a series of equally
spaced ratchet stops 30. It is also provided with a plurality of
vertically extending projections 32 which are spaced adjacent to
each of these ratchet stops 30. In the construction shown there is
one of the ratchet stops 30 and one of the projections 32 for each
of the ratchet lugs 22.
The cap 14 is formed in this manner so that it may be secured to
the container 12 by being located over the top opening 16 so that
the wall 18 is surrounded by the skirt 26. When so located, the
dependent member 28 will engage the tapered surface 20 adjacent to
its largest diameter so as to prevent direct engagement between the
stops 30 and the lugs 22. When these lugs 22 are positioned with
the cap 14 in place over the container 12 so as to be offset with
respect to the stops 30 and the projections 32 pressure may be
applied to the periphery of the cap 14 as by pushing with the
cupped palm of the hand so as to force the cap 14 towards the
container 12.
This will cause internal deflection of the dependent member 28
because of the sloped character of the surface 20 until such time
as this member 28 assumes a position as indicated in FIG. 3 of the
drawing. At this time the cap 14 may be secured to the container 12
by relative rotation between these two parts so as to slide a
sloping surface 34 on each of the ratchet lugs 22 past a
corresponding sloping surface 36 on one of the ratchet stops 30
until such time as each of the lugs 22 is positioned opposite one
of the stops 30 as illustrated in FIG. 5. The slopes on these
surfaces 34 and 36 facilitate this movement in case insufficient
pressure to completely deflect the member 28 may have been applied
to the cap 14. The projections 32 by engagement with the lugs 22
prevent the cap 14 from being turned past a position as indicated
in FIG. 5.
When the cap 14 has been located in position as indicated by FIG.
5, it may be released so as to allow the cap 14 to be located in a
secured position as indicated in FIG. 2. The cap 14 will
automatically tend to assume such a position because of the
spring-like tendency of the dependent member 28 to return to its
initial position, exerting pressure along the tapered surface 20,
this pressure resulting in the cap 14 moving upwardly generally
away from the container 12.
When the cap 14 assumes such a "secured" position as indicated in
FIGS. 2 and 4, the surface 34 on each of the lugs 22 will rest
against another sloping surface 38 in one of the stops 30. In this
position a vertically extending wall 40 in each of the lugs 22 is
engaged with another corresponding wall 42 on a stop 30. In
essence, the walls 38 and 42 on the stops 30 define notches which
hold the lugs 22 when the cap 14 is spaced from the container 12 by
the action of the dependent member 28.
With this construction the cap 14 once secured in place as
described may only be removed by again applying pressure in the
manner indicated so as to cause deformation of the member 28 by
contact with the tapered surface 20. When such deformation has
occurred, the lugs 22 and the stops 30 are spaced as shown in FIG.
5. At this point the cap 14 can only be rotated so that the lugs 22
are moved away from the projections 32 and the stops 30. When such
rotation has occurred the cap 14 may be simply lifted off of the
container 12.
From a careful consideration of the preceding, it will be realized
that the continuous and imperforate member 28 normally engages the
tapered surface 20 so as to effectively form a seal against
contaminants such as dust, air or the like, when the cap 14 is in a
secured position with respect to the container 12. It will also be
realized that the function of the member 28, apart from the sealing
function, can be achieved by making this particular member
discontinuous or in effect making this member 28 so that it is
divided up into a plurality of separate segmental members. It will
be further realized that the particular surface 28 may be located
outside of the wall 18 above the lugs 22. This latter is not
preferred since it tends to make the complete structure
comparatively large and tends to require the use of a longer skirt
than is otherwise needed.
In a similar manner the lugs 22 and stops 30 may be modified in
accordance with routine skill of the art. These two types of parts
employed with the invention function essentially as cooperating
ratchet parts or means preventing undesired movement of the cap 14
with respect to the container 12. Other equivalent ratchet means
can be employed. Such ratchet means are effective in conjunction
with other parts including a tapered surface 20 and a member 28
regardless of whether or not in a particular structure the cap 14
is moved linearly with respect to a container or is rotated with
respect to such container as in the preferred embodiment 10.
From this it will be apparent that the invention herein described
essentially involves the operative elements or parts indicated in
FIGS. 2-5 of the drawing and may be embodied in different types or
different appearing safety caps and containers.
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