US3514003A - Safety bottle cap - Google Patents

Description

y 1970v M. c. FITZGERALD 3,514,003

SAFETY BOTTLE CAP Filed March 11, 19 68 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR L,410 6 672652210 y 1970 M. c. FITZGERALD 3,514,003

SAFETY BOTTLE CAP Filed March 11, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR, Mam/w C F/rzas/aaw United States Patent 3,514,003 SAFETY BOTTLE CAP Millard C. Fitzgerald, Media, Pa. 19063 Filed Mar. 11, 1968, Ser. No. 712,004 Int. Cl. B65d 55/12, 45/32 US. Cl. 215-9 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bottle cap which is readily locked against unauthorized opening, especially by children, operates by virtue of a selectively engageable locking means. When engaged, these locking means prevent rotation, and therefore unscrewing, of the cap. The locking means may be engaged by moving axially along the neck of the bottle or by rotating into the plane of the screw thread on the neck.

Background of the invention Instances of injury to children resulting from their playing with containers of medicines, cleaning supplies or other toxic, corrosive or other noxious materials are unfortunately all too familiar. Often the child learns the manner of operation of an ordinary screw cap, perhaps by watching and imitating an adult, and then opens the container to his detriment.

A considerable number of inventors have addressed themselves to this problem by proposing various bottle cap closures which are intended to baffle the attempts of children to open them. A number of such devices will be found disclosed in patents to Quiring, 2,487,728; Martin, 2,752,060; Hale, 2,710,701; Fields, 2,990,078; and Hailes, 3,308,979.

However, the shortcomings in each of the known devices are such that as yet safety bottle closure devices have not gone into widespread use in packaging the great preponderance of toxic or otherwise dangerous materials sold for household use.

In order to be widely adopted, a safety bottle closure must satisfy a number of requirements. It must be easy to usethat is, unlocking and locking of the cap before and after legitimate use of the contents of the container must be easily accomplished with a minimum effort above and beyond that required to unscrew the cap. Preferably, the manipulation required for such unlockingand locking should be of a subtle nature so that a child observing an adult using the closure will not readily learn the manner of its operation.

Another requirement is that the device be reliable, i.e. not readily unlocked by the chance or random manipulation of a child. The closure device must also be economical so as to add a minimum incremental cost to the cost of the package. This in turn means that it should involve a minimum of extra parts, that all of the parts should be susceptible of inexpensive mass production, that assembly be relatively easy and that it require a minimum of modification in existing container construction.

Finally, it is desirable that a container sealed with such a safety closure have a pleasing appearance, that is that it be free of cumbersome-looking gadgets and elements.

It is an object of this invention to provide a safety closure for a screw-capped container.

Another object of this invention is to provide a screwed safety cap which is simple to operate by one knowing its manner of operation and yet which is not readily opened by one who is not privy to its manner of operation.

A further object of this invention is to provide safety screw closure means which are operated in such a subtle manner that the method of operation is not readily learned by observation.

Still another object of this invention is to provide safety 3,514,003 Patented May 26, 1970 closure means which are simple and economical in construction and which do not adversely affect the appear ance of the container on which used.

The manner in which these and other objects and advantages of the instant invention are achieved will be apparent to those skilled in this art from a consideration of this specification and drawing.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a perspective representation of one embodiment of the safety sealing device of the instant invention in place and locked on the neck of a bottle.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional representation of the closure device shown in FIG. 1 when viewed on plane 22 indicated on FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the three major elements of the same embodiment of the invention, the topmost element being the cap, the middle element being the collar and the lower element being the neck of the container to be sealed.

FIG. 4 is a perspective representation of a slightly modified embodiment of the collar for use in the instant invention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the same three major elements according to a slightly modified embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the same three major elements according to yet another slightly modified embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the two major elements of another embodiment of the invention, the upper element being the cap with sliding locking tab and the lower element being the neck of the vessel to be sealed.

FIG. 8 is a cross-section of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 7, in assembled and locked condition, when viewed on plane 88 indicated on FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is the same embodiment of the invention and viewed from the cross-section as that shown in FIG. 8, but shown in the unlocked condition.

FIG. 10 is an isolated perspective of the locking tab of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 7'9.

FIG. 11 is an exploded view of the two major elements of still another embodiment of the invention, the upper element being the cap with hinged locking tab and the lower element being the neck of the vessel to be sealed.

FIG. 12 is a cross-section of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 11, in assembled and locked condition, when viewed on plane 1212 indicated on FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is the same embodiment of the invention and viewed from the same cross-section as that shown in FIG. 12, but shown in the unlocked condition.

Summary of the invention Screw closure means of the sort to which this invention is directed ordinarily comprise a generally cylindrical cap closed at one of its axial extremities and open at the. other, with a female thread disposed on its internal cylindrical surface. This female thread is adapted to mate with a male thread surrounding the opening of the container to be sealed.

The objects and advantages of this invention may be realized by associating a certain type of selectively engageable locking means with the screw cap. The locking means move through a path of small amplitude relative to the size of the closing means in going from the disengaged to the engaged position; and vice versa.

In one form of the invention, the locking means are engaged and disengaged by movement parallel to the axis of the cap. In another form of the invention the locking means are rotated, as about an axis perpendicular to that of the cap, into and out of the cylindrical surface of the mating threads.

In any form of the invention, however, the locking means permit rotation of the cap when disengaged and prevent it when engaged. The locking means may be a separate element or may be moveably connected to the cap. Rotation may be prevented by means on the container to be sealed which cooperate with the locking means.

Description of some preferred embodiments of the instant invention As may best be seen in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, cap has a generally cylindrical shape with closed axial extremity 11 and open axial extremity terminated by flat shoulder 12. A female screw thread 13 is disposed near the closed axial extremity 11 of the cap 10. The skirt portion 14 of the cap extends beyond the end of screw thread 13 and contains a plurality of teeth 15, each of which presents a pair of bearing surfaces 16, which surfaces are generally parallel to the axis of the screw thread and of the cap. The teeth are disposed in generally circular fashion about the axis of the cap, their crests 17 defim'ng an inner circle and their valleys 18 defining an outer circle. The cap has an outer cylindrical surface 19.

The second element of the closure device of the instant invention is collar 20 having a generally cylindrical inner surface 21, a plurality of teeth 22 on its external surface, each tooth having a pair of shoulder surfaces 23 which surfaces are adapted to mate with surfaces 16 of the teeth of cap 10. A horizontal shoulder surface a is formed at the plane defining the lower end of the teeth 15. Cut into cylindrical surface 21 are a plurality of axially extending slots 24, each containing upper bearing surface 25 and lateral bearing surfaces 26 and 27. Outer cylindrical surface 28 is desirably of the same diameter as outer cylindrical surface 19 of cap 10. Collar 20 may conveniently be axially split as at 29 for ease of assembly with the vessel to be sealed.

The sealing means of this invention cooperate with neck 30 of the container to be sealed. This neck is of generally cylindrical form ending in circular opening 31, adjacent to which male screw thread 32 circumscribes the neck. More remote from opening 31 than male thread 32 are a plurality of protrusions 33 emanating from the neck, each containing lateralbearing surfaces 34 and 35. The upper ends of each of these protrusions 33 is defined by end bearing surface 36.

The manner of assembling and using the instant invention may best be seen by reference to FIG. 2. Collar 20 is dropped down over the neck 30 of the container past male screw threads 32 until upper bearing surface 25 of slots 24 comes to rest on end bearing surfaces 36 of protrusions 33 on the neck 30 of the container. In this position, collar 20 rests lower down on the neck than is actually shown in FIG. 2. Then cap 10 is slipped over opening 31 in neck 30, the teeth 15 thereof readily clearing male screw thread 32 on the neck, inasmuch as the circle formed by the crests 17 of these teeth is of larger diameter than the outer diameter of male screw thread 32. After cap 10 has been screwed all the way down, collar 20 is slid upwardly in an axial direction toward and into cap 10 so that the teeth 22 thereof mesh with the teeth 15 in cap 10 so that shoulder surface 20a is in contact with shoulder surface 12 of the cap. By virtue of this engagement, the cap is now prevented from rotating independently of the collar. Furthermore, the action of protrusions 33 on the neck of the container upon slots 24 of the collar is such as to prevent the collar from rotating, inasmuch as any tendency to rotate will be resisted by the action of surfaces 26 or 27 (depending on direction) upon surfaces 35 or 34, respectively. Thus the closure device is now in a locked position, inasmuch as the screw cap must be rotated to be unscrewed but cannot be rotated independently of collar 20, Collar 20 in turn is prevented from rotating by the said action of protrusions 33 upon slots 25.

To unlock the device it is merely necessary to slide collar 20 axially along said neck 30 in the direction away from said screw cap 10 until teeth 22 thereof are out of engagement with teeth 15 of said screw cap 10. Thereupon cap 10 is free to rotate, permitting it to be unscrewed.

As may best be seen in FIG. 1, if the outer cylindrical surface 19 of cap 10 is of the same diameter as the outer cylindrical surface 28 of collar 20, the fact that the closure device is of a two-part construction is not immediately obvious, especially if the two parts are formed from the same material and have the same color and texture. Also the fact that the two parts have the same general contour makes it unlikely that a child, by random unskilled manipulation, will separate the collar from the cap.

The collar and cap can be readily and cheaply mass produced from any desirable material such as plastic or a sheet metal. It is desirable that a somewhat soft and flexible material be used so that the mating parts of the various elements of the device need not be held to any particularly close tolerances.

In FIG. 4 a slightly modified embodiment of the collar 20 is shown. In this embodiment the teeth 22 are contained in a plurality of bundles 41, each bundle containing a few teeth. Spaces 42 separate these bundles. Again, the collar is split as at 29 to facilitate placing it on neck 30 past threads 32. It is not necessary to have the entire circumference of the collar occupied by teeth in order to get the locking operation of this invention, and the provision of spaces between bundles of teeth make for greater flexibility, thereby making it easier for the teeth of the collar to mesh with the teeth of the cap.

Another modified embodiment of this invention is shown in FIG. 5. Cap 10 is as described heretofore, no modification being required therein. Collar 20 in this embodiment is integral, no axial split as at 29 in the embodiment of FIG. 3 being required in this embodiment. The inner cylindrical surface 21 of the collar in this embodiment, however, has a diameter great enough to clear the male screw thread 32 on neck 30 of the con tainer. Also, in place of axial slots 24, the collar in this embodiment has a plurality of axially extending ridgelike protrusions 24a distributed about the inside of cylindrical surface 21. A plurality of axially extending channels 37, distributed about the neck 30, to correspond to the protrusions 24a of the collar, interrupt the male threads 32 thereon. The protrusions 33a on the neck of the container are aligned to surround the axes of the channels 37 so that the bearing surfaces 34a and 35a on protrusions 33a can act on protrusions 24a on collar 20 to prevent its rotation.

Still another modification is shown in FIG. 6. Neck 30 of the container to be sealed is shown with bearing surfaces 34b and 35b disposed on protruding ring 33b instead of on the individual protrusions 33 and 33a on the heretofore described embodiments. This is an optional variation which may be used with any of these modifications if found preferable, asfor instance from the viewpoint of container manufacture. Collar 20 has an inner cylindrical surface with a diameter greater than the diameter of the screw threads 32 on the container neck. At least one protrusion 24b extends inwardly from this cylindrical surface. Each of these prtrusions is conformed and adapted to fit into screw thread 32 and thereby to permit collar 20 to be screwed down over thread 32 and yet also to prevent the rotation of collar 20 when protrusion 24b is disposed between bearing surfaces 34b and 3512.

Both the modification shown in FIG. 5 and that shown in FIG. 6 are operated analogously to that in FIG. 3. In each case, the collar 20 is mounted on neck 30 of the container, past the male screw thread 32 thereof.

Then cap 10, which can be structured identically in each of these modifications, is screwed on the threads 32 on neck 30. Finally the collar is moved axially so that the teeth 22 thereof engage the teeth 15 of the cap, protrusions 24a or 24b being disposed between bearing surfaces 34a and 35a or 34b and 35b when the teeth are so engaged, thereby preventing rotation of cap 10. This is locked position of the device of the instant invention. To unlock each of these embodiments it is merely necessary to disengage the teeth 22 of the collar from the teeth 15 of the cap, thereby permitting the cap to rotate and unscrew. This is done by moving collar 20 axially away from the cap 10.

A different embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 7-10. In this embodiment the container neck again has an axial opening 41 which is to be sealed by the device of this invention. The opening is surrounded by a generally helical male screw thread 42, one segment 43 of which is omitted. The omitted segment of screw thread is preferably quite short, being generally considerably less than one quarter and for the most part less than one sixteenth the length of a single pitch of the helical thread.

Cap employed in this embodiment has a mating female screw thread 51 on its internal cylindrical surface.

No separate collar is required in this embodiment, its function being performed instead by slideably connected segment 52 with internal protrusion 53 depending from the inside surface thereof. As may be seen in FIG. 10, which shows segment 52 in isolation, tenon member 54 partially surrounds this segment. Mortise groove 55 in cap 50 (see FIG. 7) accommodates tenon member 54 permitting segment 52 to be slideably displaced with relation to cap 50 in an axial direction. This displacement is limited in amplitude, thereby eliminating the possibility of losing segment 52, by the action of surface 56 at the extremity of tenon member 54 coming to rest in the bottom (not shown) of mortise groove 55.

Internal protrusion 53 is conformed to pass between successive flights of male thread 42 and also to fit into the space left by omitted segment 43 thereof so that bearing surfaces 57 and 58 thereon fit between, and may react against bearing surfaces 44 and 45 left exposed by the omitted segment 43 of male thread 42.

To close and seal a container opening with this embodiment of the invention, segment 52 is slid into its most downward position on cap 50, the cap then being screwed down firmly along thread 42 over the neck 40 of the container. This screwing motion is possible because protrusion 53 is aligned to ride in the groove of thread 42 when segment 52 is in the downward position, as may best be seen in FIG. 9. Once the cap 50 is fully screwed on to the neck 40, segment 52 is slid into the upward position. As shown in FIG. 8, when segment 52 is in this upward position, protrusion 53 occupies the omitted segment 43 of thread 42 so that bearing surfaces 57 and 58 on the protrusion interact with bearing surfaces 44 and 45 to prevent rotation of the cap, thus locking it.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 11-13 is similar in operation to the last-described embodiment of the invention, except that the locking segment of the cap is hinged rather than slideably connected thereto. As shown in FIG. 11, the container neck 40 with axial opening 41 surrounded by male thread 42, which again has an omitted segment 43, is identical to that of the last described embodiment.

Cap '60 has-a mating internal helical screw thread 61. and hinged removable segment 62. Locking element 63 on removable segment 62 is again conformed to fit into omitted segment 43 of male thread 42.. A pair of circumferential grooves 64 and 65 surround the outside of cap 60, each of which can accommodate flexible tension element 66 which may be a coil spring or a rubber band.

With tension element 66 disposed in the upper circumferential groove 64 of cap 60, the cap is screwed on to thread 42 on the neck 40 of the container. During this screwing operation, hinged segment 42 stands away from the rest of the cap 60 by virtue of the natural stiffness of the hinged connection, as shown in FIG. 13. Once the cap 60 is screwed on to the neck 40 of the container, it can be locked thereon by pressing the hinged segment 62 against the neck and securing it in place by moving fiexi: ble tension member 66 into lower circumferential groove 65. When this is done, locking element 63 fits into omitted segment 43 of male thread '42 on the neck of container 40, thereby preventing rotation of cap 60.

I claim:

1. Lockable and removable closure means for a container opening comprising:

male screw thread means affixed to said container and surrounding said opening,

a generally cylindrical cap open at one axial extremity thereof and closed at the other with mating female screw thread means disposed on the inside of said cap and a plurality of shoulder surfaces aligned generally axially to said screw thread means, 4 said shoulder surfaces being disposed on a plurality of teeth disposed in said cap, wherein said female screw thread means is disposed adjacent said closed axial extremity of said cap and said plurality of teeth is disposed adjacent said open extremity of said cap, the crests of said teeth forming a circle of greater diameter than the diameter of said male screw thread,

a selectively engageable generally cylindrical locking collar with means thereon to slideably engage and disengage said shoulders on said cap and adapted to prevent the rotation of said cap in said male screw thread independently of said collar when engaged therewith but to permit such rotation when disengaged,

said means thereon comprising a plurality of bearing surfaces disposed on a plurality of teeth on said collar in such fashion that said bearing surfaces contact said shoulder surfaces of said cap when said collar is in engagement with said cap, the engagement and disengagement of said collar and said cap being accomplished by the movement of said collar relative to other elements of said closure means through a path of small amplitude relative to the size of said closure means, and means to prevent the rotation of said collar when said collar is in engagement with said cap comprising a slot on the inside surface of said collar, said slot being engageable by fixed means to prevent the rotation of said collar while permitting the axial movement thereof.

2. lockable and removable closure means for a container opening comprising:

male screw thread means affixed to said container and surrounding said opening,

a generally cylindrical cap open at one axial extremity thereof and closed at the other with mating female screw thread means disposed on the inside of said cap and a plurality of shoulder surfaces aligned generally axially to said screw thread means,

a selectively engageable generally cylindrical locking collar with means thereon to slideably engage and disengage said shoulders on said cap and adapted to prevent the rotation of said cap in said male screw thread independently of said collar when engaged therewith but to permit such rotation when disengaged,

the engagement and disengagement of said collar and said cap being accomplished by the movement of said collar relative to other elements of said closure means through a path of small amplitude relative to the size of said closure means,

at least one generally axially aligned slot interrupting said male screw thread,

a protrusion adapted to pass through said slot depending from the interior surface of said collar, and

means to prevent the rotation of said collar when said collar is in engagement with said cap comprising means affixed to said container adjacent one of said slots aligned to cooperate with the said protrusion depending from the collar.

3. Lockable and removable closure means for a container opening comprising:

male screw thread means aflixed to said container and surrounding said opening,

a generally cylindrical cap open at one axial extremity thereof and closed at the other with mating female screw thread means disposed on the inside of said cap and a plurality of shoulder surfaces aligned generally axially to said screw thread means,

a selectively engageable generally cylindrical locking collar with means thereon to slideably engage and disengage said shoulders on said cap and adapted to prevent the rotation of said cap in said male screw thread independently of said collar when engaged therewith but to permit such rotation when disengaged,

the engagement and disengagement of said collar and said cap being accomplished by the movement of said collar relative to other elements of said closure means through a path of small amplitude relative to the size of said closure means,

a protrusion conformed to pass between successive flights of said male screw threads depending inwardly from the interior surface of said collar, and

means to prevent the rotation of said collar when said collar is in engagement with said cap comprising means afiixed to said container adjacent said male screw thread and presenting at least one bearing surface aligned to cooperate with said protrusion.

4. Screwed closure means for a vessel having an openopening at the end of a cylindrical neck comprising a male screw thread on said neck adjacent said openrng,

cap means containing a female screw thread and further containing shoulder surface means aligned generally parallel to the axis of said screw thread and disposed so as to encircle the inside surface of a skirt portion of said cap, said skirt portion extending beyond said thread portion of said cap,

each of said shoulder surfaces being parallel to the axis of said cap but being aligned to intersect a plane containing said axis of said cap and wherein alternate shoulder surfaces are aligned at different angles, whereby adjacent ones of said surfaces form teeth on the inside surface of said skirt portion,

the crests of said teeth forming a circle of a larger diameter than the diameter of said male screw thread,

axially split collar means containing bearing surface means disposed on a plurality of teeth on the external surface of said collar adapted to mate with the teeth of said cap, and

means to prevent the rotation of said collar means.

'5. Screwed closure means for a vessel having an openopening at the end of a cylindrical neck comprising a male screw thread on said neck adjacent said opencap means containing a female screw thread and shoulder surface means aligned generally parallel to the axis of said screw thread,

collar means containing bearing surface means adapted to mate with said shoulder surface means of said cap, and

means to prevent the rotation of said collar means with a protrusion on said neck cooperating with slot means on the interior surface of said collar means.

6. Lockable and removable closure means for a container opening comprising male screw thread means affixed to said container and surrounding said opening,

a generally cylindrical cap open at one axial extremity thereof and closed at the other,

mating female screw thread means disposed on the inside of said cap,

selectively engageable locking means associated with said closure means and adapted to prevent rotation of said cap in said male screw thread when in engagement but to permit such rotation when disengaged,

at least one generally axially aligned slot interrupting said male screw thread,

a protrusion adapted to pass through said slot depending from the interior surface of said selectively engageable locking means, and

means to prevent the rotation of said selectively engageable locking means when said selectively engageable locking means is in engagement with said cap comprising means affixed to said container adjacent one of said slots and aligned to cooperate with the said protrusion depending from the selectively engageable locking means.

7. Lockable and removable closure means for a container opening comprising male screw thread means afiixed to said container and surrounding said opening,

a generally cylindrical cap open at one axial extremity thereof and closed at the other,

mating female screw thread means disposed on the inside of said cap,

selectively engageable locking means associated with said closure means and adapted to prevent rotation of said cap in said male screw thread when in engagement but to permit such rotation when disengaged,

a protrusion conformed to pass between successive flights of said male screw thead depending inwardly from the interior surface of said selectively engageable locking means, and

means to prevent the rotation of said selectively engageable locking means when said selectively engageable locking means is in engagement with said cap comprising means affixed to said container adjacent said male screw thread and presenting at least one hearing surface aligned to cooperate with said protrusion.

8. Lockable and removable closure means for a container opening comprising (A) male screw thread means affixed to said container and surounding said opening, with at least one flight of said thread means having an omitted segment therein,

(B) a generally cylindrical cap open at one axial extremity thereof and closed at the other with (C) mating female screw thread means disposed on the inside of said cap, and

(D) selectively engageable locking means associated with said closure means,

(B) said locking means (1) being adapted to prevent rotation of said cap in said male screw thread when in engagement but to permit such rotation when disengaged, and

(2) having a segment slideably connected to said cap with a protrusion thereon adapted to cooperate with said male screw thread by movement into and out of register with said omitted segment,

(F) wherein said disengagement is accomplished by axially sliding said segment in one direction along said cap such that said protrusion on said segment passes between successive flights of said male screw thread means on said cap is rotated onto said container and said engagement is accomplished by axially sliding said segment in the other direction such that said protrusion is in register with said omitted segment of said male screw thread means. 9. Lockable and removable closure means for a container opening comprising (A) male screw thread means aflixed to said container and surounding said opening, with at least one flight of said thread means having an omitted segment therein, (B) a generally cylindrical cap open at one axial eX- tremity thereof and closed at the other with (C) mating female screw thread means disposed on the inside of said cap, and (D) selectively engageable locking means associated with said closure means, (E) said locking means (1) being adapted to prevent rotation of said cap in said male screw thread when in engagement but to permit such rotation when disengaged, and (2) having a segment hinged to said cap with a protrusion thereon adapted to cooperate with said male screw thread by movement into and out of register with said omitted segment, and

(3) having means associated therewith to selectively lock said segment in an engaged position,

(F) wherein said segment is disposed away from said cap in said disengaged position and said protrusion on said segment is disposed in register with said omitted segment in said engaged position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS WILLIAM T. DIXSON, JR., Primary Examiner US. 01. X.R. 21s--9s UNITED S'IAIES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 r 514 I 003 D t d May 26, 1.970

Inventor(s) Millard C F tzgerald It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 5, line 2, delete "the" and insert to.

Column 9, line 3, delete "on" and insert -as.

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