CA1107244A - Closure assemblies - Google Patents
Closure assembliesInfo
- Publication number
- CA1107244A CA1107244A CA327,438A CA327438A CA1107244A CA 1107244 A CA1107244 A CA 1107244A CA 327438 A CA327438 A CA 327438A CA 1107244 A CA1107244 A CA 1107244A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- cap
- outlet
- closure assembly
- cam surface
- tubular
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Abstract
ABSTRACT
A closure assembly comprising a hollow tubular outlet member and a cap fitting over the outlet member and rotatable relative thereto with the outlet member and cap having co-operating substantially conical end portions each having an aperture which can be select-ively aligned or non-aligned by relative rotation of the cap and outlet member, a tubular portion adjoining with the conical end portion of the cap and located over the hollow tubular outlet member wherein one of such tubular portions has at least one formation directed towards the other tubular portion and co-operating with a cam surface on said other tubular portion said cam surface being shaped such that the conical end portions are urged axially into tighter engagement with each other during at least a part of the allowed rotation of the cap in a direction away ABSTRACT (continued) from that in which the apertures are aligned, the closure assembly being characterised in that the tubular portion having the cam surface therein is provided with one axially extending channel shaped to receive each formation carried by the other tubular portion such that each channel receives said formation when the cap is moved axially onto the outlet and wherein the cam surface communicates with each channel through a catch to inhibit movement of a formation there-past.
A closure assembly comprising a hollow tubular outlet member and a cap fitting over the outlet member and rotatable relative thereto with the outlet member and cap having co-operating substantially conical end portions each having an aperture which can be select-ively aligned or non-aligned by relative rotation of the cap and outlet member, a tubular portion adjoining with the conical end portion of the cap and located over the hollow tubular outlet member wherein one of such tubular portions has at least one formation directed towards the other tubular portion and co-operating with a cam surface on said other tubular portion said cam surface being shaped such that the conical end portions are urged axially into tighter engagement with each other during at least a part of the allowed rotation of the cap in a direction away ABSTRACT (continued) from that in which the apertures are aligned, the closure assembly being characterised in that the tubular portion having the cam surface therein is provided with one axially extending channel shaped to receive each formation carried by the other tubular portion such that each channel receives said formation when the cap is moved axially onto the outlet and wherein the cam surface communicates with each channel through a catch to inhibit movement of a formation there-past.
Description
~1~)7Z44 :~ THIS INVENTION relates to closures which ~ may be used for releasably closing off any type i of outlet as required.
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of particular interest is a closure for a container and of still more particular interest are closures for bottles and flexible tubes such as tooth-~ paste, shampoo and cosmetic containing tubes or .~ bottles. However, the invention is is no way . confined in application to such closures and in-~' ' .
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' . ' ; ~ , cludes within its scope, closures such as those used for bleeding air out of liquid containing systems; dispensing containers for pharmaceutical products in either liquid or unit dosage form;
and adjustible water jets on garden sprinklers or garden hoses.
Ma,!y closure assemblies have been made wherein apertures in two relatively rotatable members, conveniently termed a cap and an outlet member, can be moved between aligned and non-aligned positions to provide an outlet through the closure assembly when required. Some of these proposals provide for co-operating cam surfaces and lugs or other formations on the cap and outlet member. However, ~5 for the most part, manufacture of such assemblies has proved to be difficult and also the subsequent assembly of the two parts together.
It is the object of this invention to provide a closure assembly of the type having co-operating cam surfaces and lugs or other formations which can be easily manufactured and assembled.
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In accordance with one aspect of this invention there is provided a closure assembly comprising a hollow tubular outlet member and a cap fitting over the outlet member and rotatable relative thereto the outlet member and cap having compli-mentary, substantially conical end portions substantially in engagement with each other, an aperture in each conical end portion which can be selectively aligned or non-aligned by relative rotation of the cap and outlet member and wherein the cap has a tubular portion adjoining with the conica.l end portion and located over the hollow tubular outlet member so as to be co-axial therewith, one of such tubular portions having at least one formation directed towards the other.;
tubular portion and co-operating with a cam surface on said other tubular portion whereill said cam surface is shaped such 15 that the conical or truncated conical end portions are urged `: axially into tighter engagement with each other during at least a part of the allowed rotation of the cap in a direction away from that in which the apertures are aligned, the closure assembly being characterized in that the tubular portion having the cam surface therein is provided with one axially extending channel shaped to receive each formation carried by the other tubular portion such that each channel receives said formation when the cap is moved axially onto the outlet and wherein the cam surface communicates with each channel through a zone associated with the inner region of the cha~ el SUC]l that after introduction o~ each form-ation to al.ign with the cam surface, rotation o~ the cap i ~ j .
relative to the outlet forces the formations into co-operation with the cam surface by way of said zone which is formed to act as a catch to inhibit movement of a formation past said zone.
Further features of the invention provide for the cam surface to be defined by one side wall of a channel shaped formation extending circumferentially about said other ;
tubular portion, for there to be either one formation and channel or two symmetrically disposed formations and co-:~` 10 operating channels, for the conlcal end of the outlet to be truncated so as to provide at least a space between its ultimate end surface and the inner end surface of the cap, for the tubular outlet to be of constant diameter along its length and to carry at a positlon removed from the conical end the formations defined above, and for the tubular portion of the cap to be of a truncated conical shape wherein the cone :
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angle is substantially smaller than the cone angle or the end portion.
In order that the invention may be more fully understood two embodiments thereof will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings in which :-.
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a cap assembly taken along I - I in Fig. 2;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the closure assembly taken along line II - II in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is ~a development of the inside surface of the lower portion of the cap showing the channels and cam surface arrangement;
Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing ~ 15 an alternative way of connecting a out-; let member to a container mouth;
Fig. 5 is an elevation of a cap alone;
Fig. 6 is a view simiIar to Fig. 2 but illus-trating the invention where only one formation and channel are providPd;
Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view illustra-ting a sealing insert; and, . ~
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Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view - of a channel having an alternative catch therein.
In the embodiment of the invention illustratea in Figs. 1 to 3 and 5 the closure assembly is adapted to be screwed onto an existing externally screw threaded outlet to a container such as a toothpaste iube or other container for liquid materials or pastes. However, it will be understood that the outlet could equally well be manufactured as an integral portion of such a container.
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In this embodiment the outlet member has a tubular portion 1 of constant diameter and having at its outermost end a truncated conical portion 2 having in this case a cone angle of approximately 70. The tubular portion 1 has an internal screw-thread 3 adapted to be secured onto a toothpaste or like tube having a complementarily screw-threaded spigot (not shown). Thus, in this particular instance the in-ternal diameter of the tubuIar portion of the outletis about 10,7mm. This diameter enables an aperture 4 /...
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to be formed in the conical end portion wherein the aperture has a diameter of about 6,25mm.
A co-operating cap 5 has a tubular portion 6 fitting over the tubular portion 1 of the outlet and a complementary conical end portion 7 co-operating with the conical end portion 2 of the outlet. However, the conical portion 7 of the cap is arranged to provide a small space 8 between the end face of the outlet and the inner adjacent face of the cap thereby allowing for the axial movement of the cap into tighter engagement with - the conical surfac'e of the outlet when the cap is rotated into a position in which the outlet assembly is locked in a closed position.
The tubular portion 6 of the cap is also of truncated conical shape but in this case the cone angle is only about 11 in the preferred form. Thus, the outer surface of the tubular portibn of the outlet diverges from the inner surface of the tubular portion of the cap in a direction away from the conical portions thereof.
The tubular portion of the outlet is provided with an out~ardly extending flange 9 at its end remote from the conical portion and the flange 9 carries a pair of oppositely directed, outwardly extending, lugs 10, which co-operate with a groove 11 in the inner surface of the cap. The side wall 12 of the groove nearer the conical portion of the cap is simply an annular wall formed in one plane. However, the side wall 13 of the groove most remote from the conical portion is formed to define cam surfaces.
This side wall has a portion 14 defining the co-operating wall for the lugs 10 corresponding to various degrees of coincidence of an aperture 15 in the cap (which is of the same diameter as the aperture 4 in the outlet) and the aperture 4 in the outlet member.
Adjoining this section 14 of the side wall of the groo~e is a raised nib 20 which communicates with a raised section 16 of the cam surface. The latter section 16 of the cam surface is adapted to co-operate with the lugs when the apertures in the cap and outlet are in non-coincidence wlth each other and thus corresponds to a closed and locked condition of the cap wherein the -~
cap is urged more tightly onto the outlet.
At the end of the section 16 of the wall 13 defining the cam surface is a raised stop member 17 which ensures that the width of the groove in this S region is somewhat less than the thickness of the lugs 10. This narrowed zone of the groove com-municates directly with a channel 18 formed in tl.e inner surface of the cap to extend to its end remote from the conical portion in a generally axial direction.
~- 10 It will be understood that the above described cam surface and channel arrangement is duplicated so that -the various sections thereof have diametrically opposed counterparts on the opposite side of the cap. Also, at the end of each section 14 of the wall of the groove remote from the associated nib 20 is an end stop member 19 past which the lugs cannot, in use, proceed.
The stop member formation in the wall of the groove defining the cam surfaces is preferably pointed as shown in Fig. 3 so that a lug introduced up the channel 18 can be forced past the stop formation 17 and into the groove proper. The stop formation . . .
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thus acts in the manner of a catch. It will thus be appreciated that the dimensions of the channel 18 are chosen such that they comfortably receive the lugs 10 on the outlet member and thus assembly of the S closure assembly is greatly facilitated since the cap can be introduced axially onto the outlet member with the lugs located in the channels and then the cap can simply be rotated to locate the lugs in the grooves having the cam surfaces associated therewith. Also, by correctly proportioning the depth of the groove and, - of course, the corresponding dimensions of the lugs, the cap portion can be injection moulded in a simple male and female type of injection die assembly and, whilst the material is still fairly plastic the cap can be forced off the male die. Thus, a collapsible die assembly may be avoided with its attendant high cost.
In use, the closure will, for the purposes of transport, storage and vending, be in a condition in which the lugs 10 co-operate with the raised portions 16 of the cam surface to hold the cap tightly onto the outlet. In this condition accidental rotation of ~ ' ' ' ' ~ :'' . . .. , ~-the cap is substantially prevented as the lugs have to snap past the nibs 20 in order to align the apertures 4 and 15. Accidental rotation of the cap in the opposite direction is even more difficult to achieve as the lugs must pass the stops 17.
When desired, the cap can be rotated such that the lugs ride over ~he nibs 20 to a position in which they co-operate with the section 14 of the sidewall 13 defining the cam surface. This section is sufficiently long to enable the cap to be rotated between a fully closed and a fully open position in which the apertures are aligned. With the lugs co-operating with this section of the cam surface the axial force urging the two conical end portions to-gether has been released and the cap can easily berotated, usually by means of a thumb only, between the open and closed positions without axial movement of the cap relative to the outlet. For travelling purposes the cap can again be rotated such that the lugs pass the nibs 20 and co-operate with the raised portions 16 of the cam surface in which position the cap is urged axially onto the outlet member.
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`-` 11~7244 Fig. 4 illustrates an alternative outlet member 21 which, instead of the screw threads therein, has one or more circumferentially extending grooves 22 in its inner surface towards the end remote from the conical end portion thereof. These grooves are arranged to co-operate with complementary ridges 23 on the outer surface of a spigot end 2~ to a container 25.
It will be understood that certain restrictiong exist as to the maximum permissible angular rotation of the cap, once installed, relative to the outlet. As a consequence, the size of aperture relative to the overall size of the cap and outlet is also limited.
In cases where this limitat'ol~ is restrictive fcr t~e desired purpose the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 6 of the accompanying drawings ban be used.
In the case of the embodiment of Fig. 6, only one lug 26 is provided on the flange 27 carried by the outlet member 28. The circumferential length of the lug can be greater than that of the two lug arrangement / . . .
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described above and yet provide for substantially great-er relative rotation of the cap and outlet. In this case only one channel 29 is provided, one stop 30 adjacent the raised portion 31 of the cam surface, S and one nib 32 between the latter and the remainder of the cam surface with which the single lug co-operates for normal rotation between open and closed conditions.
It will be clear that whilst the closure assemblies described above are all intended to be moulded from plastics material, metal closures of this type could be desirable for many applications and, in particular, for the purpose of bleeding liquids or gases from liquid systems such as bleeding air from vehicle hydraulic brake systems.
For the abovementioned application, to metal closure assemblies, it has been found convenient to provide an insert 34 (see Fig. 7) wherein the insert has a tubular part 35 extending out of the aperture 36 in the cap itself and has a flange 37 located inside the / . . .
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"~ 11t)7Z44 cap and between the inner surface of the cap and the outer surface of the co-operating conical portion 38 of the outlet member. This inser~ is preferably made of a deformable or elastomeric material such as a suitable plastics material, for example, poly-propylene, polytetrafluorethylene or polyurethane, and is somewhat compressible to provide a good seal upon urging of the conical portions together axially into the locked position. It will be understood that the flange region 37 of the insert actually defines the seal.
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Also in the case of a metal cap it will not be possible to provide the restricted zone at the position where ;he cam surface comm~nic-es with the 15 channel where such is provided. In such a case, as illustrated in Fig. 8, a leaf spring 39 could be provided at the inner end of the channel 40 so that its free end obstructs the entrance to the groove 41 de-fining the cam surface 42. In order to introduce a lug located on a suitable outlet member (not shown) the lug could simply be forced a~ainst the leaf spring ' ' ~07Z~
to deflect it sufficiently away from the entrance to the groove 41 so that the lug can pass into this groove. Once in the groove the spring de-flects back to its relaxed condition in which it obstructs the entrance to the groove 41 and thereby prevents removal of a lug simply by rotating the cap relative thereto. It will be understood that other catch arrangements could equally well be provided and these could embody helical springs or any other resilient member performing the general function just described.
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It will be understood that many variations may be made to the above described embodiments of the in-vention without departing from the scope hereof.
In particular, the lugs or equivalent formations may be provided on the cap and the cam surface and channels on the outlet member. Also, it will be noted that the outlet member could easily be formed integral with certain types of contaLners.
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of particular interest is a closure for a container and of still more particular interest are closures for bottles and flexible tubes such as tooth-~ paste, shampoo and cosmetic containing tubes or .~ bottles. However, the invention is is no way . confined in application to such closures and in-~' ' .
,~ , . ~'f,'~ I' . .
' . ' ; ~ , cludes within its scope, closures such as those used for bleeding air out of liquid containing systems; dispensing containers for pharmaceutical products in either liquid or unit dosage form;
and adjustible water jets on garden sprinklers or garden hoses.
Ma,!y closure assemblies have been made wherein apertures in two relatively rotatable members, conveniently termed a cap and an outlet member, can be moved between aligned and non-aligned positions to provide an outlet through the closure assembly when required. Some of these proposals provide for co-operating cam surfaces and lugs or other formations on the cap and outlet member. However, ~5 for the most part, manufacture of such assemblies has proved to be difficult and also the subsequent assembly of the two parts together.
It is the object of this invention to provide a closure assembly of the type having co-operating cam surfaces and lugs or other formations which can be easily manufactured and assembled.
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In accordance with one aspect of this invention there is provided a closure assembly comprising a hollow tubular outlet member and a cap fitting over the outlet member and rotatable relative thereto the outlet member and cap having compli-mentary, substantially conical end portions substantially in engagement with each other, an aperture in each conical end portion which can be selectively aligned or non-aligned by relative rotation of the cap and outlet member and wherein the cap has a tubular portion adjoining with the conica.l end portion and located over the hollow tubular outlet member so as to be co-axial therewith, one of such tubular portions having at least one formation directed towards the other.;
tubular portion and co-operating with a cam surface on said other tubular portion whereill said cam surface is shaped such 15 that the conical or truncated conical end portions are urged `: axially into tighter engagement with each other during at least a part of the allowed rotation of the cap in a direction away from that in which the apertures are aligned, the closure assembly being characterized in that the tubular portion having the cam surface therein is provided with one axially extending channel shaped to receive each formation carried by the other tubular portion such that each channel receives said formation when the cap is moved axially onto the outlet and wherein the cam surface communicates with each channel through a zone associated with the inner region of the cha~ el SUC]l that after introduction o~ each form-ation to al.ign with the cam surface, rotation o~ the cap i ~ j .
relative to the outlet forces the formations into co-operation with the cam surface by way of said zone which is formed to act as a catch to inhibit movement of a formation past said zone.
Further features of the invention provide for the cam surface to be defined by one side wall of a channel shaped formation extending circumferentially about said other ;
tubular portion, for there to be either one formation and channel or two symmetrically disposed formations and co-:~` 10 operating channels, for the conlcal end of the outlet to be truncated so as to provide at least a space between its ultimate end surface and the inner end surface of the cap, for the tubular outlet to be of constant diameter along its length and to carry at a positlon removed from the conical end the formations defined above, and for the tubular portion of the cap to be of a truncated conical shape wherein the cone :
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angle is substantially smaller than the cone angle or the end portion.
In order that the invention may be more fully understood two embodiments thereof will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings in which :-.
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a cap assembly taken along I - I in Fig. 2;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the closure assembly taken along line II - II in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is ~a development of the inside surface of the lower portion of the cap showing the channels and cam surface arrangement;
Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing ~ 15 an alternative way of connecting a out-; let member to a container mouth;
Fig. 5 is an elevation of a cap alone;
Fig. 6 is a view simiIar to Fig. 2 but illus-trating the invention where only one formation and channel are providPd;
Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view illustra-ting a sealing insert; and, . ~
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Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view - of a channel having an alternative catch therein.
In the embodiment of the invention illustratea in Figs. 1 to 3 and 5 the closure assembly is adapted to be screwed onto an existing externally screw threaded outlet to a container such as a toothpaste iube or other container for liquid materials or pastes. However, it will be understood that the outlet could equally well be manufactured as an integral portion of such a container.
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In this embodiment the outlet member has a tubular portion 1 of constant diameter and having at its outermost end a truncated conical portion 2 having in this case a cone angle of approximately 70. The tubular portion 1 has an internal screw-thread 3 adapted to be secured onto a toothpaste or like tube having a complementarily screw-threaded spigot (not shown). Thus, in this particular instance the in-ternal diameter of the tubuIar portion of the outletis about 10,7mm. This diameter enables an aperture 4 /...
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to be formed in the conical end portion wherein the aperture has a diameter of about 6,25mm.
A co-operating cap 5 has a tubular portion 6 fitting over the tubular portion 1 of the outlet and a complementary conical end portion 7 co-operating with the conical end portion 2 of the outlet. However, the conical portion 7 of the cap is arranged to provide a small space 8 between the end face of the outlet and the inner adjacent face of the cap thereby allowing for the axial movement of the cap into tighter engagement with - the conical surfac'e of the outlet when the cap is rotated into a position in which the outlet assembly is locked in a closed position.
The tubular portion 6 of the cap is also of truncated conical shape but in this case the cone angle is only about 11 in the preferred form. Thus, the outer surface of the tubular portibn of the outlet diverges from the inner surface of the tubular portion of the cap in a direction away from the conical portions thereof.
The tubular portion of the outlet is provided with an out~ardly extending flange 9 at its end remote from the conical portion and the flange 9 carries a pair of oppositely directed, outwardly extending, lugs 10, which co-operate with a groove 11 in the inner surface of the cap. The side wall 12 of the groove nearer the conical portion of the cap is simply an annular wall formed in one plane. However, the side wall 13 of the groove most remote from the conical portion is formed to define cam surfaces.
This side wall has a portion 14 defining the co-operating wall for the lugs 10 corresponding to various degrees of coincidence of an aperture 15 in the cap (which is of the same diameter as the aperture 4 in the outlet) and the aperture 4 in the outlet member.
Adjoining this section 14 of the side wall of the groo~e is a raised nib 20 which communicates with a raised section 16 of the cam surface. The latter section 16 of the cam surface is adapted to co-operate with the lugs when the apertures in the cap and outlet are in non-coincidence wlth each other and thus corresponds to a closed and locked condition of the cap wherein the -~
cap is urged more tightly onto the outlet.
At the end of the section 16 of the wall 13 defining the cam surface is a raised stop member 17 which ensures that the width of the groove in this S region is somewhat less than the thickness of the lugs 10. This narrowed zone of the groove com-municates directly with a channel 18 formed in tl.e inner surface of the cap to extend to its end remote from the conical portion in a generally axial direction.
~- 10 It will be understood that the above described cam surface and channel arrangement is duplicated so that -the various sections thereof have diametrically opposed counterparts on the opposite side of the cap. Also, at the end of each section 14 of the wall of the groove remote from the associated nib 20 is an end stop member 19 past which the lugs cannot, in use, proceed.
The stop member formation in the wall of the groove defining the cam surfaces is preferably pointed as shown in Fig. 3 so that a lug introduced up the channel 18 can be forced past the stop formation 17 and into the groove proper. The stop formation . . .
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thus acts in the manner of a catch. It will thus be appreciated that the dimensions of the channel 18 are chosen such that they comfortably receive the lugs 10 on the outlet member and thus assembly of the S closure assembly is greatly facilitated since the cap can be introduced axially onto the outlet member with the lugs located in the channels and then the cap can simply be rotated to locate the lugs in the grooves having the cam surfaces associated therewith. Also, by correctly proportioning the depth of the groove and, - of course, the corresponding dimensions of the lugs, the cap portion can be injection moulded in a simple male and female type of injection die assembly and, whilst the material is still fairly plastic the cap can be forced off the male die. Thus, a collapsible die assembly may be avoided with its attendant high cost.
In use, the closure will, for the purposes of transport, storage and vending, be in a condition in which the lugs 10 co-operate with the raised portions 16 of the cam surface to hold the cap tightly onto the outlet. In this condition accidental rotation of ~ ' ' ' ' ~ :'' . . .. , ~-the cap is substantially prevented as the lugs have to snap past the nibs 20 in order to align the apertures 4 and 15. Accidental rotation of the cap in the opposite direction is even more difficult to achieve as the lugs must pass the stops 17.
When desired, the cap can be rotated such that the lugs ride over ~he nibs 20 to a position in which they co-operate with the section 14 of the sidewall 13 defining the cam surface. This section is sufficiently long to enable the cap to be rotated between a fully closed and a fully open position in which the apertures are aligned. With the lugs co-operating with this section of the cam surface the axial force urging the two conical end portions to-gether has been released and the cap can easily berotated, usually by means of a thumb only, between the open and closed positions without axial movement of the cap relative to the outlet. For travelling purposes the cap can again be rotated such that the lugs pass the nibs 20 and co-operate with the raised portions 16 of the cam surface in which position the cap is urged axially onto the outlet member.
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`-` 11~7244 Fig. 4 illustrates an alternative outlet member 21 which, instead of the screw threads therein, has one or more circumferentially extending grooves 22 in its inner surface towards the end remote from the conical end portion thereof. These grooves are arranged to co-operate with complementary ridges 23 on the outer surface of a spigot end 2~ to a container 25.
It will be understood that certain restrictiong exist as to the maximum permissible angular rotation of the cap, once installed, relative to the outlet. As a consequence, the size of aperture relative to the overall size of the cap and outlet is also limited.
In cases where this limitat'ol~ is restrictive fcr t~e desired purpose the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 6 of the accompanying drawings ban be used.
In the case of the embodiment of Fig. 6, only one lug 26 is provided on the flange 27 carried by the outlet member 28. The circumferential length of the lug can be greater than that of the two lug arrangement / . . .
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described above and yet provide for substantially great-er relative rotation of the cap and outlet. In this case only one channel 29 is provided, one stop 30 adjacent the raised portion 31 of the cam surface, S and one nib 32 between the latter and the remainder of the cam surface with which the single lug co-operates for normal rotation between open and closed conditions.
It will be clear that whilst the closure assemblies described above are all intended to be moulded from plastics material, metal closures of this type could be desirable for many applications and, in particular, for the purpose of bleeding liquids or gases from liquid systems such as bleeding air from vehicle hydraulic brake systems.
For the abovementioned application, to metal closure assemblies, it has been found convenient to provide an insert 34 (see Fig. 7) wherein the insert has a tubular part 35 extending out of the aperture 36 in the cap itself and has a flange 37 located inside the / . . .
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"~ 11t)7Z44 cap and between the inner surface of the cap and the outer surface of the co-operating conical portion 38 of the outlet member. This inser~ is preferably made of a deformable or elastomeric material such as a suitable plastics material, for example, poly-propylene, polytetrafluorethylene or polyurethane, and is somewhat compressible to provide a good seal upon urging of the conical portions together axially into the locked position. It will be understood that the flange region 37 of the insert actually defines the seal.
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Also in the case of a metal cap it will not be possible to provide the restricted zone at the position where ;he cam surface comm~nic-es with the 15 channel where such is provided. In such a case, as illustrated in Fig. 8, a leaf spring 39 could be provided at the inner end of the channel 40 so that its free end obstructs the entrance to the groove 41 de-fining the cam surface 42. In order to introduce a lug located on a suitable outlet member (not shown) the lug could simply be forced a~ainst the leaf spring ' ' ~07Z~
to deflect it sufficiently away from the entrance to the groove 41 so that the lug can pass into this groove. Once in the groove the spring de-flects back to its relaxed condition in which it obstructs the entrance to the groove 41 and thereby prevents removal of a lug simply by rotating the cap relative thereto. It will be understood that other catch arrangements could equally well be provided and these could embody helical springs or any other resilient member performing the general function just described.
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It will be understood that many variations may be made to the above described embodiments of the in-vention without departing from the scope hereof.
In particular, the lugs or equivalent formations may be provided on the cap and the cam surface and channels on the outlet member. Also, it will be noted that the outlet member could easily be formed integral with certain types of contaLners.
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Claims (15)
1. A closure assembly comprising a hollow tubular outlet member and a cap fitting over the outlet member and rotatable relative thereto the outlet member and cap having compli-mentary, substantially conical end portions substantially in engagement with each other, an aperture in each conical end portion which can be selectively aligned or non-aligned by relative rotation of the cap and outlet member and wherein the cap has a tubular portion adjoining with the conical end portion and located over the hollow tubular outlet member so as to be co-axial therewith, one of such tubular portions having at least one formation directed towards the other tubular portion and co-operating with a cam surface on said other tubular portion wherein said cam surface is shaped such that the conical or truncated conical end portions are urged axially into tighter engagement with each other during at least a part of the allowed rotation of the cap in a direction away from that in which the apertures are aligned, the closure assembly being characterized in that the tubular portion having the cam surface therein is provided with one axially extending channel shaped to receive each formation carried by the other tubular portion such that each channel receives said formation when the cap is moved axially onto the outlet and wherein the cam surface communicates with each channel through a zone associated with the inner region of the channel such that after introduction of each form-ation to align with the cam surface, rotation of the cap relative to the outlet forces the formations into co-operation with the cam surface by way of said zone which is formed to act as a catch to inhibit movement of a formation past said zone.
2. A closure assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the tubular outlet is integral with at least a shoulder portion of a container.
3. A closure assembly as claimed in claim 2 in which the shoulder portion is, in turn, integral with a body of the container.
4. A closure assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the outlet is provided with a spigot or socket for enabling connection thereof to a complementary socket or spigot.
5. A closure assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the cap and outlet are made from injection moulded plastics material.
6. In combination, a container having an outlet provided with the closure assembly of claim 1 as a closure means for said outlet thereof.
7. A closure assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the conical end portion to the outlet is truncated to provide a space between the end surface and the inner end surface of the co-operating conical end portion of the cap.
8. A closure assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which there is provided a seal interposed between the inner sur-face of the cap and outer surface of the outlet member and wherein the seal surrounds the apertures in the open position.
9. A closure assembly as claimed in claim 8 in which the seal has a tubular extension extending out of the aperture in the cap.
10. A closure assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which a resilient catch is provided at the inner end of each channel to define said zone.
11. A closure assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cam surface is shaped to provide a click stop for arresting rotation of the cap relative to the outlet when the apertures are fully offset and said conical end portions are urged axially into tighter engagement.
12. A closure assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the cam surface is defined by one side wall of a channel shaped formation extending circumferentially about said other tubular portion.
13. A closure assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which there is one formation and co-operating cam surface.
14. A closure assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which there are two symmetrically disposed formations and co-operating cam surfaces.
15. A closure assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the cam surface is shaped to allow rotation of the cap from a position in which the apertures are aligned to a position in which they are unaligned without any axial urging of the cap into tighter engagement with the outlet and to provide said axial urging only upon further rotation of the cap away from the position in which the apertures are aligned.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA327,438A CA1107244A (en) | 1979-05-11 | 1979-05-11 | Closure assemblies |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA327,438A CA1107244A (en) | 1979-05-11 | 1979-05-11 | Closure assemblies |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1107244A true CA1107244A (en) | 1981-08-18 |
Family
ID=4114188
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA327,438A Expired CA1107244A (en) | 1979-05-11 | 1979-05-11 | Closure assemblies |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1107244A (en) |
-
1979
- 1979-05-11 CA CA327,438A patent/CA1107244A/en not_active Expired
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| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |