AU2001282304A1 - Spray through cap assembly with actuator locking means - Google Patents

Description

SPRAY THROUGH CAP ASSEMBLY WITH ACTUATOR LOCKING MEANS

This invention relates to an improved spray through cap assembly of

the kind which includes a nozzle arrangement and a nozzle outlet.

A spray through cap assembly is conventionally used to close off the

top of air freshener containers or other containers which contain contents

which are dispensed from a container outlet under pressure. The spray

through cap assembly usually comprises an actuator part which is adapted to

be capable of actuating engagement with the outlet of the container and an

actuator which is operatively linked to the actuator part. When the actuator

of the spray through assembly is actuated by a user, the actuator part

actuates the outlet of the container allowing the contents of the container to

pass under pressure from the container through the nozzle arrangement in

the spray through cap to be discharged through the nozzle outlet. The spray

through cap assembly is usually formed as two separate but connected parts

which can be separated to allow cleaning of an interior of the nozzle

arrangement.

Problems have arisen through the use of spray through caps as

actuators for containers which contain toxic or other harmful substances

since it is possible to actuate the spray through cap by pressing the actuator

accidentally causing discharge of the contents of the container. Thus, for

example, if a child handles the container, accidental discharge can occur.

The discharge of the contents of the container can, if the container is so oriented, be into a person's face which could obviously cause serious injury.

Furthermore simply being able to cause the discharge the contents means if

these products are harmful or toxic, the health of a person could be seriously

at risk.

Accordingly, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a

spray through cap assembly in which it is possible to eliminate the possibility

of accidental discharge of the contents of the container.

Problems have also arisen through the fact that when separating the

parts of the assembly for cleaning, it is also possible to cause accidental

actuation of the actuator which can cause discharge of the contents of a

container into a persons face.

Accordingly, it is a second object of the present invention to provide a

spray through cap assembly in which, separation can occur for cleaning

without accidental discharge of the container contents.

Thus and in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention

therefore there is provided an improved spray through cap assembly

incorporating a nozzle arrangement having a nozzle outlet thereto, said

assembly including an actuator member adapted for actuating engagement

with an outlet of a container containing contents under pressure and an

actuator which upon operation by a user causes said actuation member to

actuate said container outlet to discharge said contents into said nozzle

arrangement and from said nozzle outlet, wherein at least a part of said assembly is moveable between operative and inoperative positions, wherein

in said operative position the actuator member is disposed in a position

whereby actuation of the actuator causes actuating engagement of the

actuator member with a container outlet and in said inoperative position said

actuator member is disposed in such a position that actuation of the actuator

does not cause actuating engagement of said actuator member with said

container outlet.

With this arrangement it is possible to provide a spray through cap

assembly in which accidental discharge can be eliminated.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention therefore

there is provided an improved spray through cap assembly incorporating a

nozzle arrangement having a nozzle outlet thereto, said assembly including an

actuator member adapted for actuating engagement with an outlet of a

container containing contents under pressure and an actuator which upon

operation by a user causes said actuation member to actuate said container

outlet to discharge said contents into said nozzle arrangement and from said

nozzle outlet, wherein said assembly is formed as releasably connected parts

which are movable towards and away from each other, at least one of said

parts comprising said nozzle arrangement and said actuator member and

being formed by at least two interconnected parts which are separable for

cleaning.

With this arrangement it will be appreciated that separation of parts of the nozzle arrangement for cleaning can occur after movement of the

actuator away from the container outlet thereby obviating the chances of

accidental discharge during cleaning.

The invention will now be described further by way of example only

and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of spray through cap

assembly according to the first aspect of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional side view of the cap of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a top view of the cap of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 4 is an underneath plan view of the cap of Fig. 1 ; and

Fig. 5 is a side view of one form of spray through cap assembly

according to the second aspect of the invention.

Referring now to the Figures there is shown in Fig. 1 one form of

spray through cap assembly according to the first aspect of the present

invention.

The spray through cap assembly 10 comprises a base part 1 1 which is

adapted at a bottom 12 thereof for engagement with the top of a canister

(not shown) containing contents under pressure and a cover part 13 which is

attached to the base part 1 1 by way of a resilient hinge 14. The base part

1 1 and cover part 13 are adapted for releasable engagement with each

other. The base part 1 1 and cover part 13 and hinge 14 can be formed

integrally with the assembly or can be attached thereto as separate parts. The spray through cap assembly includes a nozzle arrangement 16 (see Fig.

2) which is formed by a hollow actuator member 17 which extends

downwardly from a top 18 of the base 1 1 into the interior of the base and a

fluid flow channel 19, which is provided in fluid flow connection with the

interior of the actuator member 17, and which terminates in a nozzle outlet

20. In this embodiment the base part 1 1 and cover part 13 have cooperating

recesses thereon which terminate in open ends at a edge of the respective

parts 1 1 and 1 3. When the base 1 1 and cover 13 are releasably engaged

the cooperating recesses define the fluid flow channel 1 9 and the open ends

cooperate to form the nozzle outlet 20. The cover 13 includes a

downwardly projecting nose 21 which is adapted for releasable co-operation

with a lip 22 provided on the base part 1 1 . Alternatively a projecting nose

21 can be provided on the base 1 1 and the lip 22 on the cover part 13. A

top surface of the cover 13 includes protruding ribs 23 over at least a part

thereof which facilitate positive contact during actuation of the spray

through cap assembly.

At least the base 1 1 of the spray through cap is formed from a flexible

material preferably a plastics material such that side walls 24 (Fig. 2) of the

spray through cap assembly can be deformed by applying pressure thereto.

In use, the spray through cap assembly engages the top of a

conventional aerosol can which contains contents under pressure. Once

engaged with the top of the container, the actuator 17 is disposed in close proximity to the outlet of the container.

Referring now to Fig. 2, it can be seen that when the cover 1 3 is

releasably engaged with the base 1 1 , the projecting nose 21 on the cover

can engage under the lip 22 on the base part 1 1 thereby retaining the cover

13 in a closed position. In this position, it is arranged that the actuator

member 17 is disposed in a position such that, if the top of the cover 13 is

depressed by a user, the actuator member 17 engages with the outlet of the

canister to actuate the same and cause the contents of the canister to be

discharged through the interior of the actuator member 17, the fluid flow

channel 19 and the nozzle outlet 20. If the projecting nose 21 is released

from under the lip 22 on the base 1 1 by applying pressure to the side walls

24 of the base 1 1 then it will be appreciated that the projecting nose 21 will

be positioned such that engages on top of the projecting lip 22. In these

circumstances, it will be arranged that with the nose 21 in this position the

actuator member 17 will be positioned so as to be spaced from the outlet of

the container such that if the cover 13, is depressed, movement of the cover

13 is restricted by engagement of the nose 21 on top of the lip 23 and

therefore the actuator will not actuate the outlet of the container and thereby

the discharge of the contents under pressure into the interior of the actuator

17 is prevented. In order to render the spray through cap operable once

again, the side walls 24 of the base 1 1 must have pressure applied thereto

and the projecting nose 21 must be positioned once again under the projecting lip 22 as shown in Fig. 2.

With this arrangement, it will be appreciated that it is possible to

prevent accidental actuation of the container, if the container is supplied with

the projecting nose 21 on the cover 13 resting on top of the projecting lip 22

of the base. In this configuration the spray through cap assembly is

inoperable and therefore if picked up for example by a child or other person

there will be no accidental discharge of the contents of the container.

It will be appreciated that with the arrangement of the present

invention it is possible to provide a spray through cap assembly in which

accidental discharge is eliminated and furthermore, since the operation of

rendering the spray through cap operable is quite a difficult one, this renders

the arrangement childproof.

A spray through cap assembly of the second aspect of the invention is

shown in Fig. 5. In this assembly the cover 13 is formed from two separate

upper and lower cover parts 23, 24 which are releasably engageable with

each other and which can be separated for cleaning purposes.

The upper and lower cover parts 23, 24 have corresponding recesses

therein which terminate in open ends at the edge of the cover part 13,

wherein when the cover parts 23, 24 are releasably engaged, the respective

recesses co-operate to form the fluid flow channel 1 9 and the open ends co¬

operate to form a nozzle outlet 20. The cover parts 23, 24 may be formed

separately or may be interconnected. Furthermore, the cover parts 23, 24 may be formed integrally with the assembly or may be releasably attached

thereto. In a preferred construction, the cover parts 23, 24 are attached to

the base 1 1 by way of respective resilient hinges. The actuating member 17

depends from the lower cover part 23 and when the cover parts 23, 24 are

engaged, the hollow interior of the actuating member 17 is in fluid flow

connection with the fluid flow channel 19 and nozzle outlet 20.

If utilised in this embodiment, which is not essential, the projecting

nose 21 can be provided on the upper cover part 24 or lower cover part 23

and the projecting lip 22 on the base part 1 1 , or vice versa, as in the

previous embodiment. Alternatively any other suitable locking arrangement

to lock said cover parts 23, 24 relation to the base part 1 1 so as to prevent

actuation can be utilised as desired or as appropriate.

It will be appreciated that with this arrangement, the cleaning of the

nozzle arrangement can be effected by separating the two cover parts 23,

24 and cleaning the recesses. Furthermore, as separation of the cover parts

23, 24 can take place after the cover 13 has been moved away from the

base part 1 1 , there is no possibility of accidental actuation of the container.

This is further facilitated by the fact that the cover 13 can be pivoted

through 1 80° by virtue of resilient hinge 14 which means that separation of

the cover parts 23, 24 can take place after such pivoting thereby ensuring

that, upon separation of the cover parts 23, 24 for cleaning, accidental

actuation does not take place. Alternatively, the cover part 13 can be arranged to be removable from the assembly at least partially or completely

whereby separation of cover parts 23, 24 can take place after removal.

As a further alternative, the lower cover part 23 may be releasably

engageable with the base part 1 1 . In these circumstances, one of the nose

21 and lip 22 can be provided respectively on the base 1 1 and upper cover

part 24 respectively whereby the engagement of the nose 21 and lip 22

when in the inoperative positions, can prevent the actuator part on the cover

part 23 being bought into contact with the outlet of the container when the

actuator on the upper cover part 24 is actuated. This means that the upper

part 24 can be separated from the lower part 23 when in the inoperative

positions, for cleaning without the probability of accidental discharge of the

contents of the container.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to be

restricted to the details of the above embodiment which are described by

way of example only.

Claims (9)

1 . An improved spray through cap assembly incorporating a nozzle

arrangement having a nozzle outlet thereto, said assembly including an

actuator member adapted for actuating engagement with an outlet of

a container containing contents under pressure and an actuator which

upon operation by a user causes said actuation member to actuate

said container outlet to discharge said contents into said nozzle

arrangement and from said nozzle outlet, wherein at least a part of

said assembly is moveable between operative and inoperative

positions, wherein in said operative position the actuator member is

disposed in a position whereby actuation of the actuator causes

actuating engagement of the actuator member with a container outlet

and in said inoperative position said actuator member is disposed in

such a position that actuation of the actuator does not cause

actuating engagement of said actuator member with said container

outlet.

2. An assembly according to Claim 1 , wherein said assembly comprises

base and cover parts, said base and cover parts being separable.

3. An assembly according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein said base and

cover parts respectively include retaining formations which are

cooperable in said inoperable position to prevent actuation.

4. An assembly according to Claim 3, wherein said retaining formations comprise respectively a lip on said base part and a nose on said cover

part.

5. An assembly according to any one of Claims 2 to 4, wherein the cover

part is connected to the base part by way of a resilient hinge and is

releasably engageable with the base part.

6. An assembly according to any one of Claims 2 to 5, wherein said

cover part is formed as two separable but connected parts.

7. An assembly according to Claim 6, wherein said parts of said cover

part are connected by a resilient connection whereby the parts can be

separated by pivoting relative to each other.

8. An assembly according to Claim 7, wherein the resilient connection is

such as to allow pivoting of said parts relative to each other through

at least 180°.

9. An improved spray through cap assembly incorporating a nozzle

arrangement having a nozzle outlet thereto, said assembly including an

actuator member adapted for actuating engagement with an outlet of

a container containing contents under pressure and an actuator which

upon operation by a user causes said actuation member to actuate

said container outlet to discharge said contents into said nozzle

arrangement and from said nozzle outlet, wherein said assembly is

formed as releasably connected parts which are movable towards and

away from each other, at least one of said parts comprising said nozzle arrangement and said actuator member and being formed by at

least two interconnected parts which are separable for cleaning.