U.S. patent number 3,892,326 [Application Number 05/414,448] was granted by the patent office on 1975-07-01 for safety closure for a metal container.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Eyelet Specialty Co., Inc.. Invention is credited to Seth R. Schneible.
United States Patent |
3,892,326 |
Schneible |
July 1, 1975 |
Safety closure for a metal container
Abstract
The invention contemplates a child-resistant safety cap and
container -neck combination wherein the container is formed of
multiple metal parts; the cap has a threaded engagement to the neck
but a releasable ratcheting one-way engagement relation develops
between the container and the neck, in approach to the closed
relation of the parts. The particular feature of the invention
resides in structural formation of the neck part of the container
so as to readily accept assembly of a resilient plastic locking
ring in axially located and angularly keyed relation to the neck
part.
Inventors: |
Schneible; Seth R. (South
Salem, NY) |
Assignee: |
Eyelet Specialty Co., Inc.
(Wallingford, CT)
|
Family
ID: |
23641492 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/414,448 |
Filed: |
November 9, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/221;
222/153.14; 215/216; 220/315 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
50/046 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
50/00 (20060101); B65D 50/04 (20060101); B65d
055/02 (); B65d 085/56 (); A61j 001/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;215/9,216,221 ;222/153
;220/315 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hall; George T.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hopgood, Calimafde, Kalil,
Blaustein & Lieberman
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In combination, a metal container including a threaded neck
part, said part comprising a cylindrical portion having said
threads predominantly near the dispensing end and having means for
attachment to a container-body part at the other end, there being
an intermediate region of axial separation between the region of
said attachment means and the region of said threads, first and
second outwardly projecting bead means at each of two axially
spaced radial planes of said intermediate region between said first
and second bead means, said key means projecting outwardly at least
substantially to the extent of radial projection of that one of
said first and second bead means which is more near said threads, a
plastic locking ring of relatively stiffly yieldable material
having a splined bore engaged to said intermediate region and to
said key means, said locking ring being axially confined by said
first and second bead means, and a closure cap having a threaded
bore coacting with the threaded region of said neck part, said cap
and ring having releasable formations engageable with escaping
ratchet action upon approach to the fully engaged relation of said
threads and cap, said bead which is more near to said attachment
means of greater maximum diameter than the other of said beads,
whereby said greater-diameter bead may act as a stop for assembling
application of said ring over said lesser-diameter bead and into
said keyed engagement.
2. The combination of claim 1, in which the lower end of the bore
of said ring is outwardly tapered for cammed riding over the
lesser-diameter bead upon assembly of said ring to said neck
part.
3. As an article of manufacture, for assembly to a metal container,
a generally cylindrical metal neck part having threads
predominantly near a dispensing end and having means for attachment
to a container-body part at the other end, there being an
intermediate region of axial separation between the region of said
attachment means and the region of said threads, a first outwardly
projecting circumferential bead at a radial plane between said
threaded and intermediate regions, a second and radially larger
outwardly projecting circumferential bead at a second radial plane
between said intermediate region and the region of said attachment
means, and outwardly projecting key means formed in said
intermediate region between said first and second beads.
Description
This invention relates to metal containers adapted to contain
hazardous substances, and more particularly relates to the
construction of such containers so that they may accept safety
closures which render the container child-resistant, i.e.,
resistant to tampering by children.
It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved
container construction, with a child-resistant safety-cap feature,
particularly of the variety having rotary engagement, as by
threads.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new metal container
construction with such a safety feature, such construction being
economical to manufacture and readily lending itself to automatic
production-line facilities for filling and capping the
container.
A still further object is to meet the above objects with a
construction of inherent low cost, involving minimum alteration of
present constructions.
Other objects and various further features of novelty and invention
will be pointed out or will occur to those skilled in the art from
a reading of the following specification in conjuction with the
accompanying drawings. In said drawings, which show, for
illustrative purposes only, preferred forms of the invention:
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a closed metal
container of the invention, with contents sealed by a closure of
the character indicated;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the parts of FIG. 1, the
cap being tilted up for a better showing of detail;
FIG. 3 is a side view, partly broken-away and in longitudinal
section, to show the container-neck part of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the part of FIG. 3;
FIGS. 5 and 6 are enlarged vertical sectional views of portions of
the part of FIGS. 3 and 4, taken respectively at sections 5--5 and
6--6 of FIG. 4; and
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view, partly broken-away and in
longitudinal section, to illustrate a modification.
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6, the invention is shown in application to
a multiple-part metal container having a threaded neck part 11 and
selectively opened and closed by a cap 12 having a threaded bore
13. The container may be one of a variety of styles and
constructions, and is shown as generally rectangularly prismatic,
with an upper-end body part of panel 14 having a short cylindrical
flange 15 struck up from panel 14 at the location of a dispensing
opening therein. Cap 12 may be of any suitable construction, being
typically an injection-molded plastic part.
The neck part 11 non-rotatably carries a locking ring 16 in the
intermediate region 17 between the threaded region 18 and the
base-end or container-attachment portion 19 of said ring part; as
suggested by sectioning in FIG. 6, ring 16 is of suitable plastic,
preferably injection-molded, and is proportioned for relatively
stiffly compliant yieldability, for the deflections and transient
deformations described below. The ring 16 may be of the type more
fully discussed and disclosed in pending Landen application, Ser.
No. 351,266, filed Apr. 16, 1973. Briefly, it suffices here to
indicate that such a ring 16 includes a cylindrical body 20 with a
bore characterized as by spline teeth 21 for anti-rotational
engagement with one or more key formations 22 in the neck part 11;
the spacing between ribs 22 is preferably an integer multiple of
the pitch interval of the spline teeth 21. Peripheral-flange
formations 23 terminate in substantially diametrically opposite
axially compliant tabs 24 which extend radially outward for manual
actuation, by downward depression to release an applied cap 12.
Ratchet lugs 25 on the upper surface of tabs 24 have one-way
ratcheting engagement with ratchet-tooth formations 26 in the bore
13 of cap 12, the relation of these formations being such as to
permit escaping ratchet action as the cap approaches its full
threaded advance on the threaded portion 18 of the neck part
11.
The neck and body parts 11-14 are intentionally patterned closely
on existing practice in the metal container art. For example, the
neck part 11 may be of overall length L and diameter D
corresponding to a conventional neck part; and the attachment
region 19 may be a short cylindrical sleeve for telescoping fit
over the body flange 15, the same being permanently and
circumferentially continuously secured by soldering at the region
of telescopic overlap. In accordance with the invention, the
intermediate region 17 in neck part 11 and the bore of ring 16 are
particularly characterized for simple and accurate assembly, at a
point in time after the soldering operation has assembled the
container parts 11-14.
The neck part 11 is initially a straight cylindrical tube into
which the threads 18 and lip 27 are rolled or otherwise formed.
These operations may remain the same, in practicing the invention,
in that the axial-locating and keying formations may be subsequent
operations on otherwise conventionally formed neck parts; it will
also be understood that all forming operations can be automatically
performed, in a single machine and at the same time, if
desired.
As shown, the axial-locating means comprises an upper
circumferentially continuous bead or outward projection 28 near the
lower end of threaded portion 18, and a lower circumferentially
continuous bead or outward projection 29 near the upper end of
attachment portion 19. The incremental radius or extent
.DELTA.R.sub.1 of outward projection of bead 28 is less than that
(.DELTA.R.sub.2) of bead 29, the relationship of .DELTA.R.sub.2 to
.DELTA.R.sub.1 being preferably in the order of 2:1, as shown, and
the effective axial separation S between beads 28- 29 is
substantially the axial extent of the ring body 20. The keying
formations 22 between beads 28-29 are shown as angularly spaced,
longitudinally extending, outward projections or ribs, the same
being rounded or otherwise formed to engage between spline teeth 21
in the bore of ring 16; preferably, ribs 22 extend outwardly to
substantially the same extent as the lower bead 29, as shown in
FIG. 5.
To coact with the described neck-part formations, the spline teeth
21 are of radial depth substantially that of the lower bead 29, and
the lower ends of teeth 21 are conically truncated or otherwise
tapered, as shown at 30 in FIG. 6. The extent of this taper is such
as to reliably locate on bead 28 in the course of axial assembly,
the taper 30 providing radially outward cam action as ring 16 is
transiently and compliantly deformed in its progress past bead 28.
Once past bead 28, the lower end of ring 16 is axially located by
bead 29 and the upper end snaps into location beneath bead 28. The
splines 21 engage lugs 22 in the course of such assembly, the
location being completed upon the indicated snap-in action.
It will be seen that the described construction lends itself to
low-cost realization of all stated objects, using to the maximum
extent parts and technicques which are current and readily
available. Ring assembly to preassembled container body and neck
parts is a simple automated procedure may if desired be performed
at the same time as automated application of the cap 12 is made. In
other words, rotation and axial advance of a tool which
simultaneously assembles a ring 16 and its cap 12 will assure
against fouling the keyed engagement 21-22, thereby ensuring proper
ring location, followed by complete threaded advance of cap 12 to
its ratchet-locked position.
FIG. 7 illustrates a modification wherein the principle of the
invention is applied to another metal-container construction,
wherein the neck part 11' includes threaded and intermediate
regions 18'-17' as already described, but wherein the attachment
region 19' is characterized by a frusto-conical outward flare to
the diameter of an upwardly open cylindrical body part 32.
Container construction is completed by the usual chime connection
33 between parts 19'-32. Since the base end 19' flares outwardly
from the intermediate region 17', there is no need for a lower bead
29, but the upper bead 28' and keying ribs 22' will be understood
to have the same relationship with splines 21 and ring 16 as
already described, the lower limit of axial retention being
determined by flared portion 19'.
It will be appreciated that the construction of FIG. 7 lends itself
to various methods of assembly, depending upon the nature of the
particular material contents of and filling devices for the
container. For example, cap 12, ring 16, and the neck part 11' may
be a complete preassembly, the same being assembled by chime
connection 33 after the containerbody part 32 has been filled.
Alternatively, parts 11'-32 may be preassembled at chime 33, so
that filling is via the opening in neck 11', the ring 16 and cap 12
being thereafter applied. Still further, alternatively, the
cylindrical body 32 may have an open bottom, to be later closed by
a chimed connection to a bottom-end panel (not shown); in this
event, the cylindrical (open-bottom) body part 32, chime-connected
to neck part 11', and with ring 16 and cap 12 applied, may all be a
subassembly adapted for bottom filling, the container being
completed and sealed by the bottom-chime connection to the bottom
end panel.
While the invention has been described in detail for the preferred
forms shown, it will be understood that modifications may be made
without departure from the claimed invention.
* * * * *