Child-resistant and elderly friendly closure for containers

• US 5,588,545 A
• Filed: 01/30/1995
• Issued: 12/31/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Beeson and Sons Limited
• Original Assignee: Beeson and Sons Limited
• Inventors: King, Roger M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shoap, Allan N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HYLTON, ROBIN ANNETTE
• Application Number:
  US08/380,201
• Time in Patent Office: 701 Days
• Field of Search: 215/216, 215/217, 215/218, 215/219, 215/220, 215/329, 215/330, 215/331, 215/305, 215/252
• US Class Current: 215/216
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 1/02 Bottles or similar containers with necks or like restricted apertures, designed for pouring contents thermally-insulated containers B65D81/38, A47J41/00; feeding-bottles A61J9/00
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2251/0015 of the 41-type
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2251/0093 Membrane
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2401/15 Tearable part of the closure B65D2401/60 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 25/16 Loose, or loosely-attached, linings
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 41/0414 formed by a plug, collar, flange, rib or the like contacting the internal surface of a container neck
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 41/0428 formed by a collar, flange, rib or the like contacting the top rim or the top edges or the external surface of a container neck B65D41/0421 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 41/0471 with means for positioning the cap on the container, or for limiting the movement of the cap, or for preventing accidental loosening of the cap
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 41/0485 with means specially adapted for facilitating the operation of opening or closing
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 41/3447 the tamper element being integrally connected to the closure by means of bridges
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 41/48 non-metallic, e.g. made of paper or plastics B65D41/47 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 50/041 the closure comprising nested inner and outer caps or an inner cap and an outer coaxial annular member, which can be brought into engagement to enable removal by rotation
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 51/20 Caps, lids, or covers co-operating with an inner closure arranged to be opened by piercing, cutting, or tearing B65D51/185 takes precedence; co-operating with an auxiliary container for additional articles or materials B65D51/28
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 51/242 provided with means for facilitating lifting or suspending of the container
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 55/066 Foil covers combined with outer closures and comprising interacting or interposed tamper indicating means visible through the outer closure, e.g. releasable coloured dyes, changeable patterns, pierceable membranes, visible through a transparent closure or through a window

Abstract

A container neck and child-resistant closure for the neck are disclosed. The closure includes an inner part and an outer part, and castellations on the parts which mate when the outer part is displaced axially, to lock the parts together for rotation. A ratchet mechanism including ratchet ramps and cantilever leaf springs biases the inner and outer parts axially and rotationally apart, and allows relative rotation of the parts in one direction of rotation, when the castellations are not engaged. The angle through which outer part has to be turned to enable the castellations to be engaged may be less than 45° and preferably less than 25°. The closure may be moved between fully opened and closed positions by rotation through less than 360° and preferably about 90°. A tamper-evident ring, and a retaining means for retaining the closure in the closed position, may also be provided.

Claims

1. A child resistant container closure assembly comprising:

a container neck and a container closure;

said container neck carrying a first screw thread and said container neck further carrying a first locking element;

said container closure comprising;

an inner part and an outer part;

said inner part carrying a second screw thread for screw threaded engagement with said first screw thread of said container neck;

co-operating retaining projections on the inner and outer parts for retaining the inner part within the outer part, and for permitting limited axial movement of the inner part within the outer part;

a first set of castellations on the inner part;

a second set of castellations on the outer part arranged to inter-engage the first set of castellations on the inner part when the outer part is moved axially towards the inner part to permit full torque to be applied to the inner part;

a set of resilient blades extending from a first of the inner and outer parts, said resilient blades bearing against said second of said inner and outer parts to urge said outer part axially in a direction away from said inner part such that said first and second sets of castellations are normally held out of inter-engagement;

each of said resilient blades having a remote end and comprising an abutment surface at said remote end;

said second of said inner and outer parts comprising a set of adjacent ratchet projections, each of said ratchet projections comprising a stop surface and a ramp surface, said stop surface being substantially radial and being constructed and arranged to engage the abutment surface of one of said resilient blades when the outer part is rotated in a first direction to apply the closure to said neck, thereby to permit full torque to be applied to said inner part in said first direction of rotation;

each said ramp surface being constructed and arranged to cam one of the resilient blades over said ratchet projections when the outer closure part is rotated in a second direction opposite to said first direction so that said blades can slip relative to the ratchet projections if said outer part is rotated in said second direction without the first and second sets of castellations being in inter-engagement, said resilient blades transmitting only a limited torque to said ratchet projections owing to frictional engagement of said resilient blades slipping over said ramp surfaces of said ratchet projections;

further comprising a second locking element on said inner part for engaging said first locking element of said container neck when said container closure is screwed into a closed position on said neck to hold said container closure in said closed position;

said first and second locking elements are disengaged from one another at said closed position by (1) moving said outer part axially towards the inner part so that said first and second sets of castellations inter-engage one another and (2) then screwing said closure in said second direction, wherein said first and second locking elements are constructed and arranged to resist loosening of said container closure from the closed position until a predetermined release torque is applied to said inner part in said second direction, which predetermined release torque is greater than said limited frictional torque of said resilient blades and said ratchet projections when said outer part is rotated in said second direction without said first and second sets of castellations being inter-engaged.

2. A container closure assembly according to claim 1, wherein said engagement of said first and second screw threads allows said container closure to be movable between said fully closed position and a position at which said container closure is fully disengaged from said container neck by rotation through no more than approximately 90°

.

3. A container closure assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a tamper-evident ring fitted to said container closure.

4. A container closure assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first and second threads comprises fully-engaging thread profiles.

5. A container closure assembly according to claim 4, wherein said first and second threads comprise square section thread profiles.

6. A container closure assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first locking elements comprise stop elements on said container neck, and said second locking elements comprises one or more ribs on said container closure to engage with said stop elements.

7. A container closure assembly according to claim 1, wherein each of said resilient blades has a cross-section which tapers towards said remote end, each resilient blade being joined to said first of said inner and outer parts at an acute angle with a radiused profile at said acute angle.

8. A container closure assembly according to claim 1, further comprising an upstanding diametric handle extending from said closure part.

9. A container closure assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first and second castellations can engage one another only when the outer part is moved axially toward said inner part and said outer part rotates relative to said inner part.

10. A container closure assembly according to claim 9, wherein absent any external forces, said resilient blades interact with said ramp surfaces so that each resilient blade is located at a side of a ramp surface so that said first and second castellations are not aligned with each other so that said first and second castellations cannot engage one another by only moving said outer part axially towards said inner part.

11. A container closure assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first and second locking elements engage one another only at said closed position so as to signal that any contents within the container cannot be removed by a child without applying a torque greater than said predetermined release torque.