US3905509A

US3905509A - Double-acting container safety closure

Info

Publication number: US3905509A
Application number: US292558A
Authority: US
Inventors: Isral J Markowitz
Original assignee: STEM DEV CORP
Current assignee: STEM DEV CORP
Priority date: 1967-11-06
Filing date: 1972-09-27
Publication date: 1975-09-16
Anticipated expiration: 1992-09-16

Abstract

The present invention includes a safety closure for use with a container, wherein a double-acting safety structure prevents the undesired removal of a cap from its associated container. Rotation of the cap in a tightening direction will result in threaded engagement with a safety ring member encircling the container''s neck, while attempts to remove the cap from a tightened position by rotating same in the opposite direction will be fruitless, due to a lack of relative rotary movement between the cap and the ring member.

Description

United States Patent Markowitz 1 Sept. 16, 1975 {54] DOUBLE-ACTING CONTAINER SAFETY 3,486,654 l2/l969 Schellhas 220/39 R 3,567,057 3/l97l Landcn H 215/43 R 3,656,646 6/1970 Taylor 215/9 [75] Inventor: lsral J. Markowitz, Closter, NJ.

I73| Assignee: Stem Development Corporation,

New York, N.Y,

[22] Filed: Sept. 27, I972 [2| 1 Appl. No.: 292,558

Related U.S. Application Data I63] Continuatiomimpart of Ser. No. [41,524, May 10, l97l, Pat. No. 3,768,703, and a continuation-in-part of Ser, Nov 850,897, Aug, 18, [969, Pat, No, 3,595,427, which is a continuation-impart of Ser. No 680,937, Nov. 6, I967, Pat, No 3,462,045, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser, No. 9,228, May [3, l970, Pat No. 3,655,100.

I52| US. Cl. 220/319; 2l5/274; 2l5/330; 2l5/336 [5l Int. Cl. .....,.......,....M...B65D 41/08; B65D 45/30, 865D 55/02;A6l H00 [58] Field of Search 220/39 R, 288, 3l9; 2l5/43 R, 9, 42, 4l, 274, 276, 330, 336

l 56| References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,403,803 l0/l96l'l Markowitz 215/9 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS l,550,450 ll/l968 France 2l5/43 R 1,560,099 2/1969 France r. 2l5/43 R 559,264 8/1957 Belgium i. 2l5/43 R Primary ExaminerGeorge E, Lowrance Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Lilling & Siege] [57] ABSTRACT The present invention includes a safety closure for use with a container, wherein a double-acting safety structure prevents the undesired removal of a cap from its associated container. Rotation of the cap in a tightening direction will result in threaded engagement with a safety ring member encircling the container's neck, while attempts to remove the cap from a tightened position by rotating same in the opposite direction will be fruitless, due to a lack of relative rotary movement between the cap and the ring member,

3 Claims, 17 Drawing Figures DOUBLE-ACTING CONTAINER SAFETY CLOSURE This patent application is a continuation-in-part application of my pending application Ser. No. 141,524 filed May 10, 1971, entitled Safety Cover Cap For An Aerosol Container Or The Like", now U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,703, which, in turn. is a continuation-in-part application of two patented applications, namely: (1 application Ser. No. 850,897 filed Aug. i8, [969, entitled Safety Aerosol Cover Cap," now US. Pat. No. 3,595,427 on July 27. [971, and which. itself. is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 680,937 filed Nov. 6, I967, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,462,045: and (2) application Scr. No. 19,228 filed Mar. 13. 1970 and entitled "Safety Cover Cap For An Aerosol Container." now U.S. Pat. No. 3,655,100 dated Apr. H, 1972.

This invention relates generally to container closures, and more particularly to a safety closure for use with containers.

In virtually every household, an infinite variety of substances ranging from medicinal preparations; tablets and liquids to cleaning and pesticide solutions are maintained in bottle-type containers. A number of children become ill and even die every year as a result of consuming contents of such containers. These substances present a clear and present damper in the hands of children. Despite the attempts of parents to keep such dangerous substances out of the reach of children. their endeavors often fail and children always seem to find the means by which to reach the unreachable."

A great need presently exists for a safety container or safety closure which is simple in design. ecomonical to manufacture. and reliably capable of inhibiting removal attempts by children. My invention provides such a closure. in addition to various safety aspects of this invention. the novel structure described in detail below further provides inherent double self-locking characteristics which are quite valuable during shipping. for example. when containers are subjected to prolonged vibration. It must be further emphasized here that the forms of closure which are the subject of this invention are not restricted to uses in conjunction with containers for substances which are potentially dangerous to children, but may be used in conjunction with containers for other substances as well.

Prior art attempts to solve these needs have resulted in rather complex and relatively expensive structures which are not reliably operative. U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,646 dated Apr. 18, 1972 to C. R. Taylor discloses an example of an unsuccessful attempt to solve such problems. in one embodiment disclosed in this patent, three separate members are utilized with a container to control the relative movement between a closure cap and its associated ring member. The use of a helical spring member in this Taylor device both adds to the cost of the combination. as well as adding to the cost of the assembly of these elements.

in the first embodiment disclosed in the abovemcntioned Taylor patent, special handling is needed to align a ring with the container neck. including visual assistance. only to assemble a device which is highly prone to wear and. thus, is quite unreliable.

My remarks concerning this prior art should in no way be construed as a reflection upon those seeking with me answers and solutions to an industry problem but rather are highlighted here to give the reader a chronological picture of the more recent state of the art.

Accordingly. it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved safety container closure.

Another object of this invention is to provide a safety closure for use with a container in which a double'lock feature prevents undersired opening of the container.

A further object is to provide a safety container closure which utilizes the cooperative interaction between a cap. a ring member, and a containers neck portion only.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a container closure which, in a predetermined manner, controls the removal characteristics of the container cap.

The present invention fulfills the aforementioned objects and overcomes the disadvantages of prior art solutions to problems by providing in a preferred embodiment of my invention, a container such as a plastic tablet bottle, for example, is formed with a neck portion of reduced diameter. A ring member formed on its outer surfaces with helically extending external threads normally encircles or annularly surrounds the neck portion. A cap or cover member formed with internal threads is adapted to engage and threadedly mate with said ring member such that clockwise rotation (for example) or tightening of the cap by the user will further advance the mating engagement between the cap and the ring member, thereby actually closing the contents of the container from the atmosphere. During this tightening movement of the cap, safety means. described in detail below, enables relative movement between the cap and the ring by inhibiting rotary movement of the ring in the same direction.

Opening of a container equipped with a safety closure according to the present invention is another matter. however. A child, for example, who has learned to unscrew containers and possibly many other articles about the house (to its parent's dismay), will normally attempt to open this closure by rotating the closure cap in a counter-clockwise or removing" direction. This will not result in the expected. but instead will merely result in a turning of both cap and ring member without the removal of the cap. The child is thus isolated from what could very well be harmful or poisonous contents of the container.

Of course, it is intended that a person educated with this closure's characteristics. such as by illustrated instructions upon a disposable overall carton, be able to rapidly. simply and reliably gain access to the container contents. This is facilitated by merely holding the ring member relatively stationary during the counterclockwise or removing" rotation of the closure cap. A sufficient number of turns is contemplated for removal of the closure cap to insure against a childs proper relative movement of the closure cap and its associated ring member.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of specific embodiments of the invention together with the accompanying drawings. wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements through out the several views. and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a container equipped with a safety closure according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged. fragmentary perspective view illustrating bottommost portions of a closure cover member or cap, according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view looking along the lines 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view similar to FIG. 3 and illustrating another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional elcvational view similar to FIGS. 3 and 4 and illustrating yet another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an aerosol container and safety closure according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view looking along the lines 707 of FIG. 6',

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevational view looking along the line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view illustrating an alternate embodiment of the present invention in which a double-acting locking structure resides;

FIG. I0 is a sectional plan view looking along the line I0-I0 of FIG. 9-,

FIG. II is a fragmentary sectional elevational view illustrating an embodiment of the present invention for use with an aerosol container;

FIG. I2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation view similar to FIG. II and illustrating an embodiment of the present invention for use with a bottle;

FIG. I3 is a front elevational view showing a safety closure cap of the present invention in association with an aerosol container, parts of which are broken away to illustrate the structure with greater clarity;

FIG. 14 is a partial clevational view showing the lower region of the upper cap element of the cover cap illustrated in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a bottom plan view of the same upper cap element of FIG. I4;

FIG. I6 is a bottom plan view of a lower cap element comprising part of the cover cap assembly of FIG. 13; and

FIG. I7 is a sectional elevational view looking along the line "-17 of FIG. 16.

Referring now in more detail to the drawings. in FIG. I a container assembly I0 is illustrated wherein a bottle II is shown to be formed with a upwardly converging neck portion 12. Atop and covering the open end of neck portion 12, a closure assembly I3 is shown to consist of a cover member or cap 14 which, in turn, threadedly engages and is carried by a ring member or ring l5.

FIGS. 2 and 3 better illustrate the structure makeup of cover member 14 and ring member I5, together with their cooperative interengagcment with each other and with neck portion 12 of the bottle II.

in FIG. 2 the bottommost edges of cover member or cap I4 are shown to consist of a plurality of surfaces I6 which meet one another at similar angle to form what can be generally described as teeth I7. These teeth or serrations I7 extend around substantially the entire base edge portion 18 of cover member I4, and. as can best be seen in FIG. 3, matingly engage and nestle within similar teeth or serrations designating reference character I9 formed in an annular surface of ring mem= ber 15. A plurality of vertically extending ribs or grooves 20 formed in the outer surfaces of cover mcm= ber I4 provide favorable gripping surfaces for the fln= gers of the user when tightening or removing cover member I4 from bottle I I as will be described in more detail below. Similarly, vertical ribs or grooves 21 formed in the outer surfaces of ring member I5 func tion in much the same manner and. when cover membcr I4 and ring member I5 are tightened in a tightened position shown in FIGS. I and 3 of the drawings,

ribs

20 and 21 substantially align themselves to present a unitary and continuous surface to a child. for example. It should also be noted that the mere gripping of the combined ribbed surfaces 20 and 2] during an attempt to remove cover member I4 from bottle II will result in the simultaneous and joint turning of both cover member 14 and ring member 15 counterclockwise, for example. Note. ribs 20, 2] may be discontinuous.

Cover member [4 is formed in a cup-shaped configuration with helically extending internal threads 22 terminating adjacent base edge portion 18. Threads 22 normally engage external threads 23 formed in the outer annular surfaces of ring member IS, thereby enabling cover member 14 and ring member I5 to matingly engage one another. as shown in FIG. 3.

Ring member 15 includes a converging conical inner diameter portion 24 which meets cylindrical inner diameter portion 25. This inner configuration of ring member 15 facilitates its being positioned over and in contact with neck portion I2 of bottle 11. An upper bearing surface 26 of ring member IS, when used with a bottle I I shaped in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 3. will engage and bear against outwardly extend ing lip 27 of the bottle. Also. if desired a suitable nnnu= lar bead (not shown) may be provided about cylindri= cal portion 25 so as to stublize the ring member I5 axi= ally and prevent any cocking of the ring member I5 about the bottle neck. In this way. the contents of bot= tie II are isolated from the atmosphere by a closure which will not be opened by children. for example Note. any suitable sealing means may be provided be tween the lips 27 and the inner top surface of cover member I4.

In operation. with ring member I! situated about neck portion 12 of bottle 11, as shown in FIG. 3, cover member I4 is threaded upon ring member 18 by grip ping ribs 21 with one hand. while simultaneously tight= ening cover member I4 with the other hand in engage ment with ribs 20. During the final stages of tightening of cover member I4 upon ring member il, a frictional yielding of teeth 17 over teeth l9 results in a firm; but removable, locking of cover member I4 with ring member 15. Cover member I4 may be removed from ring member I5 by holding ribs II with one hand fid= tively stationary, and rotating cover member i4 with the other hand engaging ribs 20 During the removal oi cover member 14 from ring member IS there will be an initial purposeful resistance to their separation by means of the intcrcngagemsnt oftseth I7 and 19 which provide a two=way relative movement with respect is one another.

The reader will note that the embodiment described for Flos. i=3 illustrate teeth which are visible (see FIG. I) when viewing container assembly l0= F'lb 4 and 5 illustrate alternate cmbodimcnis of the cenii u= ration illustrated in and already described for Fl 5; i=3 wherein teeth I? and is are hidden from one view: ing container assembly I0= The advantages residing in the embodiments illustrated in FI. 4 and 5 iiiElildE the additional difiicuiity a child will have in csinpre:

hending the manner in which one must act in removing cover member 14 from ring member [Sin order to gain access to the contents of bottle IL In FIG. 6, an aerosol container assembly 28 is shown to include a container proper 29 which is equipped with a closure assembly 30 according to the present invention. It is contemplated that container proper 29 consists of a conventional pressurized can'- made from sheet metal, for example, and having cylindrical side walls 31 which terminate by transition in an upper conical neck portion 32 which, in turn, extends between a lower bead 33 and an upper head 34, respeclively. FIG. 7 best illustrated the disposition of these elements and further illustrates a conventional valveactuating, linger-depressable button 35 extending upwardly from the center of neck portion 32.

Closure assembly 30 consists basically of two cooperative elements, namely a cap or cover member 36 and an associated ring member or ring 37. ln FIG. 7, it is seen that ring member 37 comprises an upper substantially planar portion 38 which is formed with a central opening 39. The edges of upper planar portion 38 defining opening 39 are normally disposed immediately beneath upper bead 34 such that ring member 37 is free to rotate about conical neck portion 32, but cannot be removed from the aerosol can because of the interference between planar portion 38 and upper bead 34.

Substantially vertically extending annular and cylindrical wall 40 of ring member 37 joins upper planar portion 38 at an annular corner 41, and is formed with helically extending external threads 42 which matingly engage internal threads 43 formed in vertical wall 44 of cover member 36.

An upwardly turned annular flange 45 defines a recess between flange 45 and wall 40. A plurality of upstanding teeth 46 extend upwardly from a horizontal portion 47 of ring member 37 joining flange 45 and wall 40. Horizontal portion 47 normally rests upon lower bead 33 of container 29. Reinforcing webs 48 join upper planar portion 38 and wall 40 at preselected points and are preferrably molded integral with the remainded of ring member 37.

Cap or cover member 36, shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, includes the cylindrical vertical wall 44 already mentioned which is closed at its upper end with a substantially planar top portion 49. An inner wall 50 which is also vertical and cylindrical is integrally formed with top portion 49, such as by injection moulding, and extends substantially coaxially with respect to vertical wall 44.

Walls

44 and 50 are joined by reinforcing webs 51 at preselected points there between. In addition to the internal threads 43 formed in wall 44, this wall is further formed at its lowermost edges with downwardly extending teeth 52 which. in turn, are adapted to matingly engage teeth 46.

Teeth

46 and 52 are yieldable such that upon the threaded tightening of cover member 36 upon ring member 37, at the end of the tightening stroke which constitute clockwise rotation of cover member 36, for example,

teeth

46 and 52 will exhibit upon forceful application deformable frictional resistance before interlocking with each other, thereby providing a rather safe, locked closure which isolates the contents of container 29 from a child, for example.

The reader will note that the embodiment described for FIGS. 68 includes a toothed configuration wherein

teeth

46 and 52. and their intercngagcrncnt. are not visible to the viewer of aerosol container assembly 28. This invisibility feature is further desirable when attempting to insure against the undesired or unauthorized opening of closure assembly 30. It is, of course, within the scope of the present invention to utilize closures described for FIGS. 1-8 with containers of types other than those illustrated for purposes of describing the invention.

Turning now to FIGS, 9 and l0, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated wherein further double-lock characteristics are exhibited. A closure assembly 53 is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 consisting of a container 54, shown fragmentarily, which is formed with a upstanding neck portion 55 extending upwardly to a lip 56. Container 54 may be of the type already described in FIG. as container ll. Neck portion 55 of container 54 is formed with a plurality, pref erably four of outwardly extending projections 57, each of which includes a bearing surface 58. Bearing surfaces 58 of adjacent projections 57 lie in planes that are substantially perpendicular with respect to one another, and these projections 57 are relatively stiff.

Encircling neck portion 55 of container 54 is a ring member 59 which, in turn, if formed with an inner cylindrical surface from which rather slender and suitably tapered projections 61 extend to their respective four extremities which, in turn. are in contact with bearing surfaces 58 in the position shown in FIG. 10. While a specific structural shape or configuration of

projections

61 and 57 are shown in FIG. 10 it is contemplated by the present invention to vary the shape of these projections to accomplish the same functions to be described below.

It should be obvious upon viewing FIG. 10 that, assuming neck portion 55 to be stationary, clockwise rotation of ring member 59 is inhibited by the interfer ence of projections 61 with bearing surfaces 58 of projections 57. On the other hand, counter clockwise rotation of ring member 59 will result in spaced and inter' mittent deformable engagement of the incline surfaces of projections 57 by projections 61 such that a retarding snaping action will be experienced upon counter clockwise rotation of ring member 59. The outermost vertical surfaces of ring member 59 are formed with ribs 62 and threads 63 of the type and function already described for ribs 21 and threads 23, respectively, of ring member 15 (FIG. 3). Similarly, ring member 59 is formed with a plurality of upstanding teeth 64 which are similar to teeth 19 of this same ring member 15. P0- sitioned atop ring member 59 is a cover member 14 of the type already described for FlGS. lS and, for convenience, possessing the same reference characters.

In operation, it can best been seen in FIG. 10 that the turning of cover member or cap 14 in a "tightening or. in this case. clockwise direction over ring member 59 will result in ring member 59 remaining substantially stationary with respect to cover member 14 such that internal threads 22 will threadedly engage external threads 63 until cover member 14 is near a completely tightened position. At this point, teeth 17 of cover member 14 will engage upstanding teeth 64 of ring member 59 such that, upon continued tightening of cover member 14,

teeth

17 and 64 will matingly engage one another to provide a firm interlocking. FIG. 10 illustrates cover member l4 completely tightened over ring member 59 such that the contents of bottle or container 54 are isolated from children of the environment.

To open the container or to remove cover member 14 from the container. it is necessary to grip ribs 62 of ring member 59 with one hand while turning cover member 14 in a removing' or counterclockwise direction to forceably separate the two members. In the absence of this predetermined method of removing cover member 14 from ring member 59. the mere turning of cover member 14 in a removing or counterclockwise direction will result only in a free turning of cover member 14 together with ring member 59 in a counter-clockwise or removing" direction with projections 61 deformably passing projections 57 upon their repeated engagement while the entire cover member 14 and ring member 59 combination is turned. Children are prevented from gaining access to the contents of bottle or container 54 with the aid of the com bination of

projections

57 and 61, which act as limit stops. together with the locking action of

teeth

17 and 64, respectively. This double-locking structural action is unknown to the prior art.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are meant to illustrate further embodiments of this invention wherein locking

teeth

65 and 66 are utilized to interlock

ring members

67 and 68. In the case of FIG. 11, this combination is shown with a fragmentary representation of an aerosol can 71 formed with an outwardly turned lip 72, while on the case of FIG. 12, a bottle 73 is fragmentarily shown to include an outwardly turned lip 74. The threaded interengagement of

caps

69 and 70 with their

respective ring members

67 and 68 is similar to that already described for

cover members

14 and 36 with their respective ring members and 37. In the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1], locking teeth 65 are visible, while in FIG. 12, locking teeth 66 are hidden from a person viewing the closure assembly.

Referring now to FIGS. 13l7 of the drawings, wherein details of structures described in my pending application Ser. No. 141,524 are disclosed. FIG. 13 illustrates a safety closure or cap is there generally designated I20. and illustrated in position on a can or aerosol container 121. The container 121 may be conventional, including a generally cylindrical body part 122, and an upwardly tapering portion or conical neck 123. The upper conical neck portion 123 terminates at its upper end in a relatively small, circumferential or annular bead 123. The lower region of the neck portion 123 is formed with an annular of circumferentially extending upwardly facing groove or trough 124, which merges into a relatively large, lower circumferential protrusion or annular bead 125. A discharge valve stem 126 may extend upwardly from the container 121, cen trally within the smaller upper bead 123. and may be provided on its upper end with a finger actuable button 127.

The cover cap or closure 120 includes a lower or inner cap element 130. and separably secured thereto an upper or outer cap element I31. The lower or inner cap element 130 may be integrally formed of suitable material. such as plastic. or otherwise fabricated. as desired. and may include a Cylindrical side wall 132, and a radially inwardly extending annular flange 133 on the upper edge of the side wall I32. That is. the annular flange 133 of the lower cap element l30del'1nes a generally flat. circular. centrally apertured top wall on the cylindrical. lower element side wall 132. The annular llange or inner element top wall 133 defines centrally thereof a through aperture 134; and. a plurality of triangular ribs or gussets 135 are arranged in angularly spaced. radial array. each extending interiorly between the side wall 132 and annular flange 133. The ribs or gusscts 135 thus effectively stiffen and reinforce the annular flange 133.

Extending peripherally about and projecting radially outwardly from the lower edge of the lower cap element 130 is an annular flange 136, which is provided on its radially outer edge with an upturned peripherally extending lip or cylindrical wall 137 coaxial with and spaced outwardly from the cylindrical side wall 132. The radially outstanding lower edge flange 136 may be provided with cutout formations or slots 139 at spaced locations there about. That is. the slots 139 may each extend circumferentially. being arranged in circumferentially spaced relation. Further. a suitable formation. such as a dimple or depression 138 may be formed in the underside of the flange 136, adjacent to and spaced from each slot 139, as best seen in FIG. 13.

The lower annular flange 136 and its upturned lip or wall 137 may be considered together as flange means. providing an effective manual gripping and holding action with respect to the lower cover element 130, as will appear more fully hereinafter. In association with the aerosol can or container 121. the lower cap element 130 has its opening 134 receiving the conical container neck 123, having been snap engaged downwardly past the small upper bead 123 for retention by the latter of the annular flange I33. The lower outstanding flange 136 may extend radially over the upwardly facing container recess or groove I24 and rest on the lower. larger annular container bead 125, see FIG. 13. Thus. the lower cap element 130 is effectively retained against substantial movement longitudinally of the can 121, as well as removal therefrom. while being freely rotatable relative thereto.

The upper cap element or closure member 131 may include a generally cylindrical side wall 140 ofa diameter suitable for closely spaced eircumposition about the exterior of the lower cylindrical side wall 132, and hav ing its lower edge I41 engage-able into and removable from the upwardly facing annular channel 142 defined between the side wall 130, lower flange I36 and up turned lip 137. When the lower edge 141 of upper cap element 131 is engaged in channel 142. the upper or outer cylindrical side wall 140 extends upwardly be yond the valve actuator 127., there being provided with an upper end wall or top 142 extending in closing relation across the upper end of the side wall 140. Additionally. a hollow tube-like member or backing element 143 depends from the underside of the top wall 142 having its lower edge abuttingly engageable with the upper surface of the lower cap element annular flange I33 Carried by lower regions of the upper cap element 131 are a plurality of fastener elements 145 for cooperating interfitting formation with the slots I39 and dimples 138, to define mating fastener elements therewith. More specifically the fastener elements 145 may each be defined by an arm having :1 depending portion 146 depending from the lower edge 14] of the cylindrical side wall 140. Extending from the lower end ofeach depending arm portion 146 is a circumferential arm portion 147, which extends a short distance. generally horizontally or circumferentially of the wall 140, being in spaced parallelism with the lower wall edge l4l. The upper side of each circumferential arm portion [47 may be provided with a detent formation. tit, or protrusion 148 projecting toward the edge 14].

In the assembled condition of Fl(l. 13. each fastener element or arm 145 is engaged downwardly through a respective fastener formation or slot 139 to locate the lower, circumferential arm portion l47 beneath the flange 136, within the recess 124. By manually grasping the flange means 135. 137 with one hand. and rotating the upper cap element 13] with the other hand. the depending arm portions 146 are each shifted in their respective slot 139, and the lower arm portions 147 are reliliently deflected downwardly by engagement of the respective detent 148 with the underside of the flange 136. until each detent snaps into its associated depression 138. This fully assembled condition is shown in FIG. 13. It will there be appreciated that grasping of either the upper, outer cover element 13, or the lower, inner cover element 130 by its flange means 136, 137 will effect simultaneous rotation of both elements freely about the container 121. However. deliberate relative rotation of the elements will permit of their separation. Such separation can only be effected by persons having adequate coordination and information as to the structure and operation of the safety cap.

Assembly of the safety cap 120 with a container 121 is quickly and easily made by mere snap engagement of the lower cap element opening I34 about the bead 123. the backing member 143 serving to reinforce and stiffen the flange 133 for this assembly operation.

The embodiments of the invention particularly disclosed are presented merely as examples of the invention. Other embodiments, forms and modifications of the invention coming within the proper scope of the appended claims will or course readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

l. A child-resistant safety closure for use with a container or the like. comprising, in combination: a container neck portion having a bead or lip member. ring means in the form of a cup-shaped element and formed ofa plastic material with outer thread means and encir cling said neck portion so as to be freely rotatable thereabout and retained thereon by said bead or lip member, a cover member having a skirt and formed with inner thread means which normally contact said outer thread means of said ring means during use as a unit freely rotatable in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions, and concealed teeth means forming a part of both said cover member and said ring means for providing additional frictional interlocking resistance of said cover member to said ring means beyond the resistance of said thread means; said cupshaped element having an outer skirt portion and an upturned flange edge portion forming a channel therebetween; the lower edge of said skirt of said cover member being adapted to be seated within said channel; and the lower edge of said skirt of said cover member and the base of said channel having said concealed teeth means; whereby removal of said cover member from said ring means requires the frictional yielding of said teeth means while one of said ring means or said cover member is held and the other rotated to disengage said threaded means of said safety closure.

2. The child-resistant safety closure according to claim 1, wherein said container is a pressurized container.

3. The child-resistant closure according to claim 1, wherein the bottom or base portion of said channel including an inner bevelled surface and said skirt portion of said cover member having a lower internal bevel surface adapted to seat on the bevelled surface of said ring means, and said bevelled surfaces having said concealed teeth means.

Il l l

Claims

1. A child-resistant safety closure for use with a container or the like, comprising, in combination: a container neck portion having a bead or lip member, ring means in the form of a cupshaped element and formed of a plastic material with outer thread means and encircling said neck portion so as to be freely rotatable thereabout and retained thereon by said bead or lip member, a cover member having a skirt and formed with inner thread means which normally contact said outer thread means of said ring means during use as a unit freely rotatable in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions, and concealed teeth means forming a part of both said cover member and said ring means for providing additional frictional interlocking resistance of said cover member to said ring means beyond the resistance of said thread means; said cup-shaped element having an outer skirt portion and an upturned flange edge portion forming a channel therebetween; the lower edge of said skirt of said cover member being adapted to be seated within said channel; and the lower edge of said skirt of said cover member and the base of said channel having said concealed teeth means; whereby remoVal of said cover member from said ring means requires the frictional yielding of said teeth means while one of said ring means or said cover member is held and the other rotated to disengage said threaded means of said safety closure.