Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D55/00—Accessories for container closures not otherwise provided for
  • B65D55/02—Locking devices; Means for discouraging or indicating unauthorised opening or removal of closure
  • B65D55/06—Deformable or tearable wires, strings, or strips; Use of seals, e.g. destructible locking pins
  • B65D55/08—Annular elements encircling container necks
  • B65D55/089—Annular tamper band connected to the closure, but not coacting with the container for preventing initial downward motion, e.g. on two-parts child-proof closures
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D50/00—Closures with means for discouraging unauthorised opening or removal thereof, with or without indicating means, e.g. child-proof closures
  • B65D50/02—Closures with means for discouraging unauthorised opening or removal thereof, with or without indicating means, e.g. child-proof closures openable or removable by the combination of plural actions
  • B65D50/04—Closures with means for discouraging unauthorised opening or removal thereof, with or without indicating means, e.g. child-proof closures openable or removable by the combination of plural actions requiring the combination of simultaneous actions, e.g. depressing and turning, lifting and turning, maintaining a part and turning another one
  • B65D50/041—Closures with means for discouraging unauthorised opening or removal thereof, with or without indicating means, e.g. child-proof closures openable or removable by the combination of plural actions requiring the combination of simultaneous actions, e.g. depressing and turning, lifting and turning, maintaining a part and turning another one the closure comprising nested inner and outer caps or an inner cap and an outer coaxial annular member, which can be brought into engagement to enable removal by rotation

Definitions

• This invention relates generally to tamper- evident, child resistant closure devices and in particular, to a tamper-evident child resistant closure device which functions independently of the configuration of the container on which it is used.
• Child resistant closure devices for containers having a threaded neck are known and are described, for example, in U.S. Patents Nos. 3,733,000; 3,809,274; 3,924,770; and 3,946,890 issued to Scuderi on May 15, 1973; May 7, 1974; December 9, 1975; and March 30, 1976, respectively.
• Each of these patents describes a closure device including a screw type cap and a drive member which fits movably over the cap.
• the screw type cap often an inner cap, has a first circle of teeth on the side wall of the cap.
• the drive member often an outer cap that fits over and around the inner cap, has a second circle of teeth adapted to engage the first circle of teeth when the drive member is pressed firmly in the direction of the inner cap. It is, therefore, necessary to simultaneously press and turn the drive member in order to unscrew the cap.
• Such closure devices are considered to be child resistant since it is unlikely that a small child would appreciate the necessity for simultaneously pressing and turning the drive member and, even if this is appreciated, a small child is unlikely to have sufficient strength to perform these functions simultaneously.
• Child resistant closures such as those described in the Scuderi patents are not "tamper- evident 11 , meaning that they do not include means which indicate if the container has been opened after leaving the factory and prior to purchase. This raises the possibility that the contents of the container can be tampered with prior to use by a consumer without the consumer knowing. Since many child resistant caps are used with medications, it is desirable that the cap produce an indication of unauthorized opening of the container.
• U.S. Patent Nos. 3,837,518 issued to Gach on September 24, 1974 shows a child resistant closure with a tamper-evident feature.
• the Gach closure includes an inverted cup-shaped inner cap and an outer overcap.
• a tamper-evident tear strip forms part of the overcap skirt and rests against a shoulder on a bottle. This prevents downward movement of the outer cap, which is required for transmitting bottle opening rotation to the inner cap. Accordingly, co-operating clutch means on the inner and outer caps of a Gach closure cannot be engaged until the tamper-evident tear strip is removed.
• Another object of the invention is to provide a simple tamper-evident child resistant closure device.
• a further object of the invention is to provide a tamper-evident child resistant closure device which can be readily installed on a bottle during a manufacturing process.
• a tamper-evident child resistant closure device includes an inner cap having a first set of teeth, an outer cap which movably fits over the inner cap and has a second set of teeth adapted to operatively engage the first set of teeth to rotate the inner cap in response t_ rotation of the outer cap to effect removal of the closure device and inactivatable means for preventing engagement of the first and second sets of teeth, said inactivatable means not relying in whole or in part on the container construction for its efficiency.
• the inactivatable means must be inactivated before taking the closure off the container for the first time and, when inactivated, provides an indication that the container has previously been opened or tampered with.
• a preferred mode of inactivating said means for preventing engagement of said two sets of teeth is by removing at least a portion of said means.
• FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a tamper-evident child-proof closure device and bottle constructed and arranged in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention
• FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the tamper- evident child-proof closure device of FIG. 1;
• FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the tamper-evident child-proof closure device of FIGS. 1 and 2 taken through section line 3-3 of FIG. 2;
• FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the child-proof closure device of FIGS. 1 - 3 after the tamper- evident tab has been removed;
• FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the child-proof closure device of FIG. 4 taken through section line 5-5 of FIG. 4;
• FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a tamper- evident tab on an outer cap constructed and arranged in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the invention
• FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a closure device including the tamper-evident tab of FIG. 6 in use on a bottle;
• FIG. 8 is an alternate embodiment of a tamper-evident tab on an inner cap constructed and arranged in accordance with a further alternate embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a closure device including the tamper-evident tab of FIG. 8 in use on a bottle;
• FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a tamper- evident child-proof closure device and bottle constructed and arranged in accordance with still another embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the closure device of FIG. 10 taken through section line 11-11 of FIG. 10;
• FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view similar to that of FIG. 11 after a tamper-evident tab has been removed.
• the tamper-evident child resistant closure device includes an inner cap having a first set of teeth, an outer cap which movably fits over the inner cap and has a second set of teeth adapted to operatively engage the first set of teeth to rotate the inner cap in response to rotation of the outer cap for effecting removal of the closure device from a container and inactivatable means for preventing engagement of the first and second sets of teeth prior to inactivation, said inactivatable means being independent of the configuration of the container on which the closure device is used.
• Closure 10 includes an inner cap 12 and an outer cap 14 which is proportioned so that it may move longitudinally and rotationally relative to inner cap 12.
• Both outer cap 14 and inner cap 12 are cylindrical, the inner cap having a cylindrical side wall 31 and a top 24, the outer cap having a cylindrical side wall 37 and a top 52.
• the inner diameter of the side wall of the outer cap is somewhat larger than the outer diameter of the side wall of the inner cap whereby to enable the two caps to move longitudinally relative to one another as previously described.
• the outer cap is disposed upwardly relative to the inner cap, the outer cap is free to rotate relative to the inner cap, the inner cap remaining stationary.
• means are included on the inner and outer caps which are engaged to connect the two when the outer cap is moved longitudinally in a predetermined direction (e.g. up or down) relative to the inner cap whereby to enable the inner cap to be turned when the outer cap is twisted.
• FIGS. 1 to 5 from the mouth of a container, the outer cap must be pressed downwardly of the inner cap and simultaneously rotated, whereby the engaging means will engage upon the downward movement being effected and will then act as a clutch for transmitting the turning motion of the outer cap to the inner cap.
• the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5 could be arranged so that engagement occurs upon upward relative movement rather than downward.
• the form of means for engaging the inner and outer caps so that they will rotate concommitantly include a first circle of angular teeth 34 on the outer surface 32 of the side wall 31 of the inner cap 12, and a second circle of angled teeth 50 on the inner surface 40 of the side wall 37 of the outer cap 14.
• These angled teeth on both the outer and inner cap are preferably angled downward in the direction of rotat ⁇ on required for closing the container 18.
• inactivatable means are included for preventing the outer cap from moving downwardly relative to the inner cap to effect a meshing relationship between the teeth 34 and 50 whereby to prevent transmission of torque from the outer cap to the inner cap in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction in order to turn the lower cap relative to the container.
• engagement preventing means are inactivatable and when inactivated yield an evident indication of tampering and also free the inner and outer caps for relative longitudinal movement to enable the cap to thereafter function as a conventional child resistant closure.
• 1 to 5 is in the form of an arcuate skirt 62, here shown as cylindrical and continuous but which can be discontinuous, that depends from the top 54 of the outer closure 14, which skirt engages the top 52 of the inner cap to hold the two circles of teeth out of engagement with one another and prevents downward longitudinal movement of the outer cap relative to the inner cap which would effect such engagement.
• the outer cap is held longitudinally away from the inner cap so that the circles of teeth cannot mesh. Therefore, rotation of the outer cap in an opening or counter ⁇ clockwise direction will have no effect on the inner cap. It will not turn. It could not thus be used to open the container 18.
• the inactivatable tamper-evident feature or downwardly extending flange 62 is inactivatable by removal of flange 62 from the top of outer cap 14 by tearing the top portion 58 (and the underlying flange 62) from the outer cap 14, as will be described in greater detail subsequently.
• closure device 10 cannot be removed from bottle 18 prior to removal of flange 62.
• outer cap 14 is free to move downwardly relative to inner cap 12 so that second circle of teeth 50 can be moved into engagement with first circle of teeth 34 to transmit rotational motion from outer cap 14 to inner cap 12, thereby permitting closure device 10 to be disengaged from bottle 18.
• bottle 18 is shown as having a shoulder 19, one will readily appreciate that bottle 18 can be cylindrical or any other shape with a threaded neck since the tamper- evident feature is not dependent on the container configuration on which the closure device is used.
• inner cap 12 preferably includes a radial flange 20, a cylindrical skirt 22 adjacent radial flange 20 and extending upwardly therefrom and a cover or top 24 positioned atop skirt 22 so as to cover the area defined thereby.
• this configuration of inner cap 12 is shown by way of example, it is to be understood that any configuration available in the art of child resistant closures can be used.
• a means for transferring closing rotation from the outer cap 14 to the inner cap 12 is preferably included. Such means are included in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5.
• radial flange 20 includes a plurality of notches 30 for operative engagement with outer cap 14.
• Notches 30 are configured in a saw tooth or ratchet fashion so as to grip projections 44 on outer cap 14 when inner cap 12 is rotated counter-clockwise with respect to outer cap 14 and to pass over the projections during clockwise rotation. This permits the inner cap 12 to be rotated in a closing direction and thus be threadedly engaged with a container 18 prior to inactivation of the inactivatable tamper-evident feature and with the teeth 34 and 50 being held out of engagement thereby. Thus the initial closing of the closure can be effected.
• An interior surface 26 of inner cap 12 includes threads 28 for threadedly engaging threaded neck 16 of bottle 18 and securing closure device 10 onto bottle 18.
• An outer surface 32 of inner cap 12 includes a first set of teeth 34 shown in this embodiment as a plurality of slanted notches provided on skirt 22 substantially adjacent top 24 for ratcheting engagement with corresponding projections on the interior surface of outer cap 14.
• teeth 34 shown in this embodiment are angular, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited by the specific arrangement of teeth 34 and 50.
• Ratcheting teeth on child resistant closure devices are well known and available in the art. For example, the teeth need not be angled, but can be provided in a straight up and down configuration. It has also been suggested that teeth having curved as opposed to sharp edges increases the child resistant capacity of the closure by making engagement a bit more difficult.
• Cover or top 24 of inner cap 12 is preferably substantially flat.
• cover 24 includes instructions printed, molded, embossed or impressed thereon for bringing outer cap 14 into engagement with inner cap 12 for opening bottle 18. It is also to be understood that the manner of providing the instructions on the cover or top 24 is not critical and any suitable means for providing such instructions can be used in accordance with the invention. Suitable instructions are shown, for example, in FIG. 4.
• Outer cap or drive member 14 fits movably over inner cap 12 so that inner cap 12 and outer cap 14 can be brought into operative engagement to open and close bottle 18.
• outer cap or drive member 14 includes cylindrical skirt 36 preferably having an inwardly extending flange 38 adjacent the bottom thereof and an outer cap cover 52.
• Inwardly extending flange 38 is preferably provided for maintaining the integrity of closure device 10, that is, for maintaining inner cap 12 within outer cap 14 and it is to be understood that any structure which will perform this function is within the scope of the invention. Integrity can be maintained by providing at least one inwardly extending projection which need not extend around the entire circumference of skirt 36.
• An inner surface 40 of outer cap skirt 36 can, for purposes of explanation only, be subdivided into three sections.
• a lowermost section 42 adjacent inwardly extending flange 38 includes the plurality of projections 44 provided for alignment with the notches 30 in radial flange 20 of inner cap 12. These elements 30 and 44 provide a means for effecting initial closure of a container 18 as previously described.
• a center section 46 of inner surface 40 abuts lower most section 42 and is substantially smooth permitting free rotation of inner cap 12 inside drive member 14.
• An uppermost section 48 abuts center section 46 and includes the second set or circle of teeth 50 shown here as a plurality of slanted radially extending projections 50 which can be brought into alignment with first circle of teeth 34 of inner cap 12 by downward axial displacement of outer cap 14 with respect to inner cap 12 in the absence of a tamper-evident feature. Engagement of second set of teeth 50 with first set of teeth 34 permits rotational motion of outer cap 14 to be transmitted to inner cap 12 to threadedly disengage closure device 10 from container 18.
• Outer cap cover or top 52 preferably extends across the top of cylindrical skirt 36 and covers the area bounded by skirt 36 with a substantially planar surface. However, outer cap cover or top 52 need not be present so long as the inactivatable tamper- evident feature can be inactivated without leaving container 18 perpetually open.
• an outer cap cover 52 is provided and at least a portion of outer cap cover 52 is a removable tamper-evident portion 58 which is frangibly connected to the remainder of outer cap cover 52.
• Removable tamper-evident portion 58 can be frangibly connected to the remainder of outer cap cover 56, for example, by using a plurality of connecting tabs 56. It is readily apparent that at least one connecting tab 56 must be used, but that more, while preferred, are not required.
• Instructions for removing tamper-evident portion 58 are preferably printed, molded, embossed or impressed on the outer cap cover 52.
• removable tamper-evident portion 58 includes the downwardly extending flange 62 which, as already described, maintains second circle of teeth 50 out of engagement with first circle of teeth 34.
• inactivatable tamper- evident feature in this embodiment is shown as a removable tamper-evident portion 58 having a downwardly extending flange thereon, any inactivatable means for maintaining first set of teeth 34 out of engagement with second circle of teeth 50 without dependence on the container configuration is contemplated within the scope of the invention.
• removable tamper-evident features are presently provided in accordance with the preferred embodiments of the invention, tamper- evident features having other inactivation means are also contemplated.
• the top 24 of inner cap 12 can be provided with one or more upstanding protruberances which engage the top 58 of outer cup 14 for preventing longitudinal movement between the inner and outer caps. So long as the upper top 58 has a movable portion in register with the protruberances, when the movable portion is moved it will no longer engage the protruberances and the inner and outer caps will be free to move longitudinally of one another.
• any flange, tab or other construction which will maintain first circle of teeth 34 out of alignment with second circle of teeth 50 without reliance on the bottle configuration is considered to be within the scope of the invention.
• pull- tab 60 on removable tamper-evident portion 58 permits portion 58 to be removed from cap cover 52 by breaking connecting tabs 56. Any such pull tab 60 or other disconnecting means for performing this function can be used.
• FIGS. 1-5 The embodiment of FIGS. 1-5, as shown, is used as follows.
• Inner cap 12 is positioned inside outer cap 14 and is maintained in position by inwardly extending flange 38 on outer cap 14. With notches 30 on radial flange 20 of inner cap 12 in engagement with projections 44 on lowermost section 42 of outer cap 14, the entire assembly is threadedly engaged with threaded neck 16 of bottle 18. Closure device 10 is now secured on bottle 18. At this time, downwardly extending flange 62 maintains second circle of teeth 50 out of engagement with first circle of teeth 34. Since teeth 34 and 50 cannot be engaged, closure device 10 cannot be taken off bottle 18.
• Bottle 18 remains fitted with closure device 10 of a type common in the art of child resistant closure devices which can be opened by displacing outer cap or drive member 14 axially downwardly with respect to the inner cap 12 and by turning the outer cap in the opening (counter-clockwise) direction while pressing down on the outer cap.
• Directions for causing second circle of teeth 50 to engage first circle of teeth 34 to permit closure device 10 to be taken off bottle 18 can be printed on inner cap cover 24.
• a downwardly extending stud 64 replaces downwardly extending flange 62 as the tamper-evident feature provided on removable tamper- evident portion 58 of outer cap 14 in a manner similar to that of flange 62.
• construction of closure device 10 is discussed above.
• a cross-sectional view showing a closure device 70 having downwardly extending tab 64 on outer cap 74 to maintain second circle of teeth 50 out of engagement with first circle of teeth 34 is shown in FIG. 7.
• Tamper-evident portion 58 can be removed from upwardly extending flange 54 of outer cap 14 by pulling on pull-tab 60 in order to break connecting tabs 56. Once tamper-evident portion 58 is removed, an ordinary child-proof closure is provided.
• more than one stud 64 may be used without departing from this invention.
• an upwardly expending stud 66 is provided on cover 24 of inner cap 12.
• removable tamper-evident portion 98 is provided on outer cap 14 but is substantially planar and rests on upwardly extending stud 66 to prevent longitudinal movement. Tamper-evident portion 98 can be removed by pulling on pull tab 90. This leaves upwardly extending stud 90 on inner cap 12. However, since tamper-evident portion 98 has been removed, engagement of second circle of teeth 50 with first circle of teeth 34 is no longer prevented by the stud 66 hitting the tamper-evident removable portion 98.
• closure device 100 includes inner cap 112 and outer cap or drive member 114.
• outer cap 114 is a unitary one-piece construction having no removable portions.
• inner cap skirt 122 includes a removable tab 102 and protection means in the form of a strip 104 along a bottom thereof.
• Removable strip 104 is provided as a circular strip extending around the entire circumference of inner cap skirt 122. In a manner similar to that shown in the previous embodiments, removable strip 104 maintains second circle of teeth 150 out of engagement with first circle of teeth 134 until after the first time that it is removed.
• removable tab 102 breaks off protection means 104 at a weakened area 106 extending around the entire circumference thereof and defined by the inward deflected retaining flange 138 on outer cup 114.
• Directions for removing tab 102 and protection means 104 can be provided on top 108 of outer cap 114, for example, by printing, molding, embossing, impressing and the like.
• outer cap 114 can be moved longitudinally into position so that second circle of teeth 150 can be brought into engagement with first circle of teeth 134 to remove closure device 100 from bottle 118. Accordingly, an ordinary child resistant closure is provided.
• the weakened area 106 is sufficiently weak so that if one attempts to unscrew inner cap 112 from bottle 118, the effort will sheer the inner cap at area 106 whereby to yield an evident indication of tampering.
• closure devices can be formed of any suitable material such as plastics and the like and the invention is not intended to be limited by the material from which the devices are formed. Suitable materials include, but are not limited to, plastics such as polypropylene and the like or metal materials.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Closures For Containers (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=22856578

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (5)

Citations (4)

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• 1989
  • 1989-08-02 EP EP19890909315 patent/EP0387323A4/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1989-08-02 JP JP50881689A patent/JPH03502088A/ja active Pending
  • 1989-08-02 WO PCT/US1989/003343 patent/WO1990001451A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (4)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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