Tamperproof container

• US 3,881,624 A
• Filed: 01/31/1974
• Issued: 05/06/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/1974
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dougherty Brothers Holding Company Incorporated Vineland NJ
• Original Assignee: Frank E. Dougherty Sr
• Inventors: Dougherty, Frank E. Sr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hall, George T.
• Application Number:
  US05/438,327
• Time in Patent Office: 460 Days
• Field of Search: 215/9,217-221 141/24
• US Class Current: 215/221
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 50/046 and such deformation causes the disengagement of locking means, e.g. the release of a pawl-like element from a tooth or abutment, to allow removal of the closure by simultaneous rotation

Abstract

A tamperproof container is provided for products dangerous to children. The container has a safety cap which can only be removed after first squeezing an elliptical portion of the bottle or cap to thereby disengage mating lugs on the bottle and cap. The cap is provided with projections which appear to assist in removing the cap but rather inhibit such removal.

Claims

1. An article of manufacture comprising a container having a neck at one end thereof, said neck having an opening, a cap connected to threads on said neck, an elliptical retainer on one of said cap and neck below said threads, the minor diameter of said retainer being greater than the diameter of said cap, diametrically opposite first lugs on the inner peripheral surface of the minor diameter of the retainer, mating second lugs on one of said cap and neck for preventing the cap from being rotated relative to the neck, each first lug having a side face engageable with a side face of its mating second lug and with a cam surface extending outwardly at an acute angle thereto, the side face of each lug face lying essentially along a radius of the neck, said elliptical retainer being sufficiently flexible so that the retainer may be deformed radially inwardly at its major diameter to disengage said first and second mating lugs and permit rotation of the cap relative to the neck, and at least one rigid projection Extending radially outwardly at the minor diameter on said retainer adjacent one of said first lugs on the retainer, whereby said projection appears to be the means for manipulating a separation of said lugs but is incapable of doing so.

2. An article in accordance with claim 1 wherein said neck has a bead on the outer periphery thereof, said retainer being coupled to said bead, means on said bead and retainer to prevent relative rotation between said bead and retainer, the upper edge of said retainer being above the lower edge of said cap, and the second lugs being on the outer periphery of said cap.

3. An article in accordance with claim 1 wherein said retainer is integral in one piece with the lower periphery of said cap and thinner than the walls of said cap so as to be more flexible than said cap.

4. An article in accordance with claim 1 including a medicine dropper supported by said cap, a flange on said medicine dropper, a bead on said cap engaging one surface of said flange, and the opposite surface of said flange being in contact with the end face of said neck in a zone generally opposite the zone of said bead on said cap so that the flange is clamped therebetween.

5. An article in accordance with claim 1 wherein the thickness of said projection in an axial direction on said cap is less than the thickness of said first lugs in an axial direction on said cap.

6. An article in accordance with claim 1 wherein said retainer has a pair of said projections which are diametrically disposed with each projection being juxtaposed to at least a portion of one retainer lug.

7. An article in accordance with claim 6 wherein said projections are thicker than the wall thickness of said retainer and project outwardly from the retainer for a distance of about one-fourth inch.

8. An article in accordance with claim 1 wherein said cap has an imperforate end wall sealed with respect to the open end of said neck.

9. An article in accordance with claim 6 wherein said cap has a end wall generally perpendicular to the axis of said neck, and a layer of deformable material forming a seal between said cap end wall and said neck adjacent the neck opening.

10. An article is accordance with claim 8 including a medicine dropper supported by said cap end wall, said layer of deformable material being a flange on said medicine dropper.

11. An article in accordance with claim 8 wherein said cap end wall is imperforate.