EP0737626A1 - Child proof screw closure - Google Patents

Abstract

The childproof screw cap closure (1) has a twin-wall mantle structure (10) at least at its periphery. The grip sections (3) of the screw cap are at the outer section (12) of the twin-walled mantle of the cap.

Description

The present invention relates to a screw cap with child lock, with a screw cap with an internal thread and a closure part with an externally threaded socket, wherein on the screw cap and on the closure part engaging elements are provided, which come into engagement with each other when the screw cap is screwed on, without the screwing process noticeably to hinder, on the other hand, prevent their unscrewing in the opening direction by their engagement when the screw cap is completely screwed on, but these engagement elements can be disengaged by a relative radial movement.

Thus, opening or unscrewing of the cap firmly screwed onto the lower part of the closure is only possible if, in addition to a substantially tangential force in the opening direction, an additional radial force acts on the screw cap or on the lower part of the closure in the area of the engagement elements, and at least one of the engaged parts Engagement elements moved radially so far that the two engagement elements come out of engagement, so that it is possible to unscrew the cap. Such closures have long been known, e.g. from DE-A-42 09 784 and from GB-A-2,108,095, the latter being regarded as the closest prior art.

In the context of the present application, the term "screwing on" is used to mean the closure of the closure, i.e. the screw cap is screwed onto the lower part of the closure or its threaded connector. For the reverse process, however, the terms "open", "unscrew" or "unscrew" are used essentially synonymously.

The two aforementioned publications each deal with bellows closures, in which the threaded connector of the lower closure part is connected via a bellows that can be inserted and removed with a closure foot attached to the container, and this threaded connector can be pushed into the closure foot together with the screwed-on threaded cap and only with protrudes an upper ring bracket or the like over the level of the closure opening or over the closure foot.

The necessity of the indentation is connected among other things with the fact that in the case of the closest GB 2108095 the screw cap must be ovalized in the area of the engagement elements in order to be able to move the engagement elements on the lower part of the closure and on the inside of the screw cap apart. Since a corresponding deformation in the threaded region of the screw cap is generally not possible, at least not when the screw cap is to be screwed firmly and securely onto the threaded connector, these engagement elements must be axially outside the thread on a corresponding axially elongated section of the screw cap or below the Thread to be provided on the neck of the lower closure part. The screw cap thus has a relatively large axial length or height and would accordingly protrude relatively far above the container surface when used on a closure not provided with a bellows which can be inserted. This applies to an even greater extent to the closure according to DE 42 09 784, which is additionally sufficient below the edge of the screw cap on the lower part of the closure Space is required to compress the lower closure part in this area and thus to be able to disengage the engagement elements. This is practically only possible with a lower part provided with bellows, which due to the bellows is also sufficiently flexible to be able to be compressed accordingly.

For closures or lower closure parts without bellows, other screw caps have therefore been used in the past which do not have such a large axial length or axial size. Rather, the screw caps of the known screw closures with child locks, which are provided for lower closure parts without bellows, are generally formed in two parts, a threaded inner cap being screwed directly onto the threaded connector and this inner cap being surrounded by an outer cap, which is indeed on the inner cap is secured and not removable, but at the same time is freely rotatable relative to the inner cap at least in the opening direction. In this case, engagement elements are provided between the inner cap and the outer cap, which make normal screwing of the inner cap relatively easy and problem-free by transmitting force from the outer cap and over the engagement elements, while at the same time the engagement elements are designed such that they are very light when the outer cap is turned in the opening direction one above the other or slide past one another and can only be held in engagement by targeted axial or radial pressure on the outer cap in order to also rotate the inner cap in the opening direction. In general, it is therefore necessary for screw closures with child safety locks that, in addition to a force to be applied solely in the opening direction and applied tangentially to the screw cap or the outer cap, an additional force must be applied, be it in the axial or radial direction, in order to open the closure, ie to be able to unscrew the cap or inner cap. The two-part screw caps are relatively complex and expensive to manufacture and assemble.

In general, it is assumed with such screw closures that at least toddlers or preschoolers, who could not be injured or poisoned with this content due to ignorance of the dangers that could arise from the contents of a container, are unable to coordinate the various force components, even if they are otherwise able to open simple screw caps.

In summary, the prior art can be described in that the one-piece screw caps with a child lock function require a relatively large amount of axial space have and are therefore necessarily limited to use with bellows closures, while the screw caps with child safety function on closures without bellows that can be inserted are relatively complex and expensive two-part screw caps.

Compared to this state of the art, the present invention is therefore based on the object of providing a screw closure with childproof lock which is simpler and cheaper to produce than the known two-part screw caps, but is nevertheless not restricted to use on bellows closures.

This object is achieved in that the screw cap is double-walled at least along a circumferential section of the cap jacket, the engagement elements provided on the cap being arranged on the outer wall part of the double-walled jacket section of the cap.

This makes it possible to produce the cap in one piece, the additional double-walled section not causing excessive effort in the production and, in particular, in the assembly. At the same time, however, the outer wall section in this double-walled region remains unaffected by the threaded engagement between the cap and the connecting piece of the lower closure part and is therefore readily radially movable in order to disengage the engagement elements on the lower closure part and on this outer wall section. The screw cap can be kept axially relatively short and can therefore also be used for closures whose lower closure part does not have a bellows that can be inserted.

The double-walled design can be limited to a crying peripheral section of the cap jacket and is preferably provided on two diametrically opposite peripheral sections. No more material is required than with the known, one-piece screw caps with child lock, which had a greater axial length. The force that is required to disengage the engaging elements in order to be able to open the closure can be adjusted by selecting the wall thicknesses, regardless of the design and arrangement of the thread on the inner wall of the jacket of the screw cap.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention it is provided that the at least one engagement element which is provided on the cap is arranged on the end face as an axial projection on the outer wall section. It is understood that several such Engagement elements can be provided, in particular if two or more diametrically opposite double wall sections are provided. This axial projection can also be called a cam. A corresponding cam or projection or more generally an engagement element is provided in the preferred embodiment of the invention on a flange part which surrounds the base of the threaded connector on the lower closure part in a ring or ring-like manner. This flange part does not necessarily have to lie in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the lower closure part, but it is sufficient if this flange part has radial surface components and, for example, has the shape of the shell of a truncated cone.

In principle, it would be conceivable to compress the outer wall of a double-walled section of the screw cap from the ends, so as to move the engagement element on the outer wall of the cap radially outward and thus out of engagement with the engagement element of the lower closure part, in particular if the double wall section extends over one extends large angular range or can be ovalized as a completely circumferential outer wall section. However, an embodiment of the invention is preferred in which the outer wall of the double-walled section can be pressed radially inward, with a sufficient internal clearance between the engaging element on the lower part of the closure and the threaded connection of the lower part of the closure in the radial direction so that the inside is pressed The engaging element of the screw cap can pass through this intermediate space and can thus be moved past the engaging element of the lower closure part. Of course, this presupposes that the radial thickness of the engaging element of the closure cap is less than the aforementioned clear distance between the engaging element on the closure bottom part and the threaded connector of the closure bottom part. In addition, the distance between the outer and inner wall section in the double-walled area of the screw cap must be sufficiently large so that the engagement element on the outer wall of the closure cap can be pressed correspondingly radially inwards.

Furthermore, an embodiment of the invention is preferred in which at least one part of the engaging elements, ie either the engaging element or the engaging elements which are provided on the cap or the engaging element or elements which are provided on the closure lower part, is inclined gently towards the circumferential direction Has or have surface on which the engaging engaging elements of the counterpart slide when the cap is screwed on, while the engaging elements at the same time also have a flank which is essentially perpendicular to the circumferential direction and which, when attempting to open the screw cap without moving the engagement elements radially, come into engagement with one another and prevent opening.

Furthermore, an embodiment of the invention is preferred, in which the engaging elements on the lower closure part extend in the circumferential direction, the engaging elements of the cap radially outwardly covering and / or leading webs. These ridges provide a clean guide when the cap is screwed on and support the engagement elements sliding past one another in this direction and at the same time cover the engagement surfaces in the radial direction which come into engagement with one another when the closure is opened without moving part of the engagement elements radially away shall be.

The webs in question can also be designed as a ring-shaped circumferential collar which engages around the lower edge of the screw cap or the end face of the engagement elements protruding from the outer wall of the screw cap.

Of course, the screw cap can also be double-walled overall, i.e. the peripheral portion of the double-walled design of the screw cap is not restricted to small angular ranges. On the other hand, it also has advantages if the jacket is only in sections, e.g. in diametrically opposite sections, which extend over an angular range of e.g. Extend 30 ° to 90 °, is double-walled, in which case the transition from the single-walled to the double-walled area generally forms a step on the circumference of the screw cap, which offers a good approach for gripping and screwing or unscrewing the screw cap. Nevertheless, the outer wall of the double-walled section must be pressed radially inward in the opening direction in order to additionally disengage the engagement elements between the cap and the lower closure part.

The flanks on the engaging elements or cams, which are intended to facilitate sliding of the engaging elements or sliding past one another when screwed on, can either be inclined in the radial direction or in the axial direction, apart from their inclination in the circumferential direction, the projections in the former case being Dodge screwing radially inward and axially dodge in the second case, provided the outer wall section allows a corresponding axial yielding.

Figur 1

einen die Achse des Verschlusses enthaltenden Schnitt, wobei die Lage der Schnittlinie in Figur 2 durch die mit I-I gekennzeichneten Pfeile wiedergegeben ist,

Figur 2

eine Draufsicht auf den in Figur 1 dargestellten Verschluß,

Figur 3

einen horizontalen, senkrecht zur Achse verlaufenden Schnitt durch die Schraubkappe, dessen Lage in Figur 4 mit den Pfeilen III-III gekennzeichnet ist,

Figur 4

eine Seitenansicht des Verschlusses und

Figur 5

einen Ausschnitt aus einem horizontalen, senkrecht zur Achse verlaufenden Schnitt durch den Verschluß am unteren Rand der Schraubkappe, dessen Lage in Figur 4 mit den Pfeilen V-V gekennzeichnet ist.

Further advantages, features and possible uses of the present invention will become clear from the following description of a preferred embodiment and the associated figures. Show it:

Figure 1

3 shows a section containing the axis of the closure, the position of the section line in FIG. 2 being represented by the arrows marked II,

Figure 2

2 shows a top view of the closure shown in FIG. 1,

Figure 3

a horizontal, perpendicular to the axis section through the screw cap, the position of which is indicated by arrows III-III in FIG. 4,

Figure 4

a side view of the closure and

Figure 5

a section of a horizontal, perpendicular to the axis section through the closure at the bottom of the screw cap, the position of which is indicated in Figure 4 with the arrows VV.

4 shows the closure in a side view, which consists of a lower closure part 20 and a cap 1 screwed thereon. In the same position, the closure is also shown in Figure 1, but here in an axial section.

The lower closure part 20 consists of a cross-section approximately U-shaped closure foot 25 with legs 23, 26 of different lengths and an essentially radially extending flange part 4, as well as a threaded connector 21 attached to the closure foot 25 at the radially inner end of the flange part 4 an external thread 22. A screw cap 1 is screwed onto this external thread 22. The screw cap 1 consists of a cap base 13 and the cap jacket 10 with an internal thread 2. It can be seen in FIG. 1 that the jacket 10 is double-walled on the left-hand side and consists of an inner wall part 11 having the thread 2 and an outer wall part 12 , while the cap jacket 10 is single-walled on the right. This corresponds to the position of the cut, which is shown in Figures 2 and 3.

On the left edge of the picture, on the lower edge of the outer cap shell 12, a cam 3 can be seen in section, which serves as an engagement element with a matching counter cam 5, which cannot be seen in FIG. 1 and is arranged on the flange part 4 of the lower closure part 20. However, one can recognize one in this sectional illustration according to FIG outer web 9 of the flange part 4 engaging around or leading the cam 3.

Further parts of the lower closure part 20 which can be seen in FIG. 1 are a guarantee seal 24 with a tear-off clip 17. The inner U-leg 23 of the closure foot 25 is provided on its outside with a locking projection which latches behind a perforated edge of a container opening, with bevels below this projection Make it easier to snap this leg into place. In addition, the leg below this projection is provided with recesses which are intended to facilitate the complete pouring out of liquid from the container in question. The axis of the closure is designated 16.

In Figure 2, a top view of the closure shown in Figures 1 and 4 is shown from above, whereby essentially only the contours of the closure cap and the outer edge of the underlying closure foot 20 can be seen, at the same time the position of the closure shown in Figure 1 is also shown Cut shown. In Figure 3, the closure is shown in the same position as in Figure 2, but in a lower sectional plane in which the double-walled design of the screw cap 1 along two diametrically opposed wall sections can be seen. The outer walls protrude radially outwards in the double-walled areas and are also provided with corrugations, which are intended to improve the grip of the closure cap. As can easily be imagined with reference to FIG. 3, the outer wall sections in the double-walled areas can easily be pressed into the area left between the inner wall section and the outer wall section, even if the screw cap with its internal thread 2 is screwed onto an external thread 22 of a corresponding threaded connector 21.

In addition to the parts that have already been described in connection with FIGS. 1 to 3, the position and engagement of two cams 3 and 5 can be seen in FIG. 4, one of which acts as an axial projection on the outer wall section 12 and the other as axial projection on the flange part 4 of the lower closure part 20 is provided. The contour of the cams 3, 5, which is hidden by lateral webs 9, 9 'in the view according to FIG. 4, is shown in dashed lines.

FIG. 5 again shows a section from a horizontal section through the closure, the section plane being located immediately above the cam 5 arranged on the flange part 4 and through the one at the lower edge of the outer wall 12 Cam 3 runs through. The lateral contour of the cam 5 with the narrow webs 9 and 9 ', which attach to the outer edge, can still be clearly seen in FIG.

The lateral contour of the cam 3 is, as already mentioned, indicated in dashed lines in FIG. In the plan view or in the section according to FIG. 5, it can be seen that the two cams 3, 5 have two parallel engagement surfaces 8 and 8 ′, which are oriented perpendicular to the circumferential direction. In the opening direction of the screw cap, these two surfaces 8, 8 ′ abut one another and thus prevent the screw cap 1 from rotating with respect to the lower closure part 20, with which the cam 5 is connected in one piece, while the cam 3 is connected in one piece with the screw cap 1. If, however, in the double-walled area of the screw cap 1, in the center of which the cam surface 8 is approximately, is pressed radially inward, which can be easily imagined with reference to FIG. 3, the cam 3 with the outer wall section is shown in the view according to FIG 12 radially inwards, ie in the orientation in FIG. 5 moved upwards into the position shown in dashed lines until the two surfaces 8, 8 'come out of engagement and the screw cap 1 can thus be moved in the opening direction in accordance with the arrow A.

When screwing the screw cap 1 onto the lower closure part or its threaded connector 21, the rounded surface 15 and the inclined ramp surface 15 'of the cams 3 and 5 engage with one another and thus press the cam 3 radially inwards without great effort, so that the two Slightly slide cams 3, 5 past one another and the cam 3 only assumes the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 5 when the cam surface 8 has passed the plane of the cam surface 8 '.

Claims (10)

Screw lock with childproof lock, with a screw cap (1) with an internal thread (2), and a lower closure part (20) with a socket (21) provided with an external thread (22), the screw cap (1) and the lower closure part (20) in each case Engagement elements (3, 5) are provided, which come into engagement with each other when the screw cap (1) is screwed on, without significantly impeding the screwing-on process, on the other hand prevent the screw cap (1) from being unscrewed in the opening direction into its engagement position, the engagement elements (3, 5) can be disengaged by a relative radial movement, characterized in that the jacket (10) of the screw cap (1) is double-walled at least along a circumferential section, the engagement elements (3) of the screw cap (1) on the outer Band part (12) of the double-walled jacket section of the cap (1) are arranged. Screw closure according to claim 1, characterized in that the engaging elements (3) are provided as axial projections on the end face of the outer wall section (12). Screw closure according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the engaging elements (3, 5) at least on one of the parts screw cap (1) or lower closure part (20) each with one inclined flat against the circumferential direction (15, 15 ') and one each flank (8, 8 ') which is essentially perpendicular to the circumferential direction. Screw closure according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the engaging elements (5) on the lower closure part (20) are provided on a flange part (4) of the lower closure part (20) which surrounds the base of the threaded connector (21). Screw closure according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the engagement element (s) (5) are provided on the lower closure part (20) at a distance from the threaded connector (21), so that a connection between the threaded connector (21) and the engagement element (5) clear distance remains, which is at least the radial thickness of the Engagement elements (3) of the screw cap (1) corresponds. Screw closure according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the engaging elements (5) of the lower closure part (20) extend in the circumferential direction, the engaging elements (5) of the screw cap (1) radially guiding and / or covering webs (9, 9 ' ) having. Screw closure according to claim 6, characterized in that the webs are designed as an annular circumferential collar. Screw closure according to claim 3, characterized in that the flanks (15, 15 ') are inclined in the radial direction. Screw closure according to claim 3, characterized in that the flanks are inclined in the axial direction. Screw closure according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the engaging elements (3, 5) are provided at least in pairs and in each case diametrically opposite on the screw cap (1) or the lower closure part (20).

Images