US2018033A - Container closure - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 22, 1935. H, c KE 2,018,033

CONTAINER CLOSURE Filed April 2, 1954 IN VENTOR.

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BY 60% 37b ATTORNE Patented Oct. 22, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTAINER CLOSURE Application April 2, 1934, Serial No. 718,673

1 Claim.

This invention relates to easily and selectively openable closure means for material-containing receptacles, and has for its object an improved organization of parts by means of which some such material-containing article as a tube of tooth paste or shaving soap may be effectively closed when not in use against the undesired egress of the contained material, and yet which can be easily and quickly opened when the use of the contained material is desired. While adapted to any form of container, and. one whose contents are either fluid, granular, or pasty, I will, for the sake of clearness, describe my invention as applied to a collapsible tube such as used for tooth paste, shaving soap and the like. The adaptability of the principle involved to other uses will of course be obvious.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective of the top of a tooth paste tube equipped with my preferred form of closure member, the manually eifectible change from open to closed position being indicated in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a side sectional elevational view,

5 showing my improved construction in closed position relatively to the egress aperture in the container wall.

Figure 3 is a similar elevational View showing the parts in open position, both being taken on 30 the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a plan view from above, the aperture closing block being shown in full lines and in open position, while its closed position is indicated in dotted lines. 5 Figure 5 shows a possible modification in the form of the block-confining cage or frame.

Figure 6 illustrates the applicability of my invention to a relatively bulky plug or bottle stopper which is itself individually removable from the 40 container.

A indicates the collapsible side wall of a cylindrical tooth paste container, and B its end wall, which in many forms of containers now in use is crowned by a removable screw cap over a 5 correspondingly threaded vent orifice. The objection to this form is that to effect the quick removal and replacement of the cap the use of the fingers of both hands is necessary, whereas to do this it is generally necessary to temporarily 50 lay down the brush held by one of the users hands.

In the preferred form here illustrated I provide a discharge aperture C in the end wall B of the tube, and positioned spacedly over it a cross-sec- 55 tionally U-shaped frame D whose base flanges D are attached to the end wall B by soldering or other suitable means, the raised central portion of the frame spanning the aperture C in the end wall B being provided in its top web with an aperture E axially in alignment with the end wall 5 aperture 0.

Within this frame, and so held by it that its under surface is in frictional engagement with the end wall B of the tube, is a closure block F, which is not so tightly held but that it can be 10 moved limitedly lengthwise by the pressure of ones thumb or finger while the remaining fingers of ones hand serve to' grip the body of the tube. The limit of possible movement of the block is preferably fixed by the slightly .up-turned flanges 5 or shoulders G at either end of the block. Through the body of the block extends a vent hole H, which, when the block is in the open position shown in Figure 1, is in registry with both of the other apertures C and E, thus per- 20 mitting pressure-induced egress of the paste within the tube through the channel thus provided. When, however, the block is moved to the other limit of its possible path of travel, or even partly theretoward the one bored portion of its body is then placed in blanking position with respect to the aperture C in the end wall B of the tube, as well as to the aperture E in the frame; thus no further paste can escape from the tube.

It is desirable, though not indispensible, that in some cases the frictional action of the lower face of the block over the top surface of the end wall B be increased somewhat by the provision of some such means as a pad J, of cork, felt, or similar material, which, without actually rendering the lengthwise movement of the block under thumb pressure impossible, will retard it to the degree of making its closure of the vent hole C leak-proof. This pad could of course, with equal facility be positionedon the corresponding surface of the end wall B, instead of on the bottom surface of the block F. v

Similarly, also, in place of the cork or felt pad on the bottom of the block F to assure friction of its under face against the apertured end wall B, the block could be made slightly wedge-shaped in the sense of non-parallelism of its top and bottom surfaces, so that as the block is moved lengthwise of itself through the confining frame, the parallel vertical sides being uniformly frictionally engaged bythe corresponding inner surfaces of the frame, the block, because of its increasing height as the far end of the block is forced within the frame, is forced with increasing 55 pressure into closure position over the vent hole in the end wall of the container. 7

And since closure of the vent hole C represents the crux of the function performed by the block F, the registry hole E in the top of the frame D may be made of any desired size, even to the extent of skeletonizing the entire top surface of the frame piece D, whose function is the holding of the block F in slidable relation to the, end wall B. This possible modification is shown in Figure 5. In such a case, so long as the vent aperture C in the end wall B, and the hole or bore H in the block F are in registry, the ejected paste could thus flow out without regard to how large the hole or cut-away portion inthe top of'the frame D was.

The closure means herein disclosed being also adapted for use not only on containers; contain? frame D", is positioned upon the top of a stopper L which is vertically traversed by a bore K for the egress of the contents of the container M when the block F is moved to opening position. What I claim is:

A manually actuable closure piece for a container, comprising, in combination with an apertured wall thereof, a similarly apertured manually-slidable member adapted to have its. aperturedportion moved to position of registry there- 10 with, a correspondingly apertured frame piece, spacedly supported by said container Wall above the aperture therein and adapted to limit the degree and direction of possible movement of said slidable member, and means carried by said 15 frictionally oppose movement of said member 20 fromaposition ofnonregistry to, a position of registry.

HAZELC. RICKERD..

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