US3357607A

US3357607A - Spout closure cap and actuating sleeve therefor

Info

Publication number: US3357607A
Application number: US581890A
Authority: US
Inventors: David H Trott; Gary W Robinson
Original assignee: TROTT
Current assignee: TROTT
Priority date: 1966-09-26
Filing date: 1966-09-26
Publication date: 1967-12-12
Anticipated expiration: 1984-12-12

Description

Dec. 12, 1967 D. H. TROTT ETAL 3,357, 0

SPOUT CLOSURE CAP AND ACTUATING SLEEVE THEREFOR Filed Sept. 26, 1966 I NVENTORS.

3,357,607 Patented Dec. 12, 1967 ice 3,357,607 SPOUT CLOSURE CAP AND ACTUATING SLEEVE THEREFOR David H. Trott, 3351 Stettinius, Cincinnati, Ohio 45208, and Gary W. Robinson, Cincinnati, Ohio;

said Robinson assignor to said Trott Filed Sept. 26, 1966, Ser. No. 581,890 8 Claims. (Cl. 222-507) This invention relates to a dispenser closure combination for containers of fluid material.

This invention is an improvement in the invention which is the subject of copending application Serial. No. 45 8,698 filed May 25, 1965, now Patent No. 3,275,202. The closure of that application is adapted to be mounted on a container such as a squeeze tube, plastic bottle, or the like from which the fluid contents are discharged from time to time. The closure includes a spout which is fixed to the discharge end of the container, a sleeve surrounding the spout and a cap which is adapted to open and close the spout. The sleeve has an opening through which the spout can project and the sleeve is rotatable and axially movable with respect to the spout so asto cause the spout to project through the sleeve opening when the sleeve is rotated. The cap is interconnected between the sleeve and the spout so that it moves over the spout when the sleeve is rotated to bring the spout within the confines of the sleeve and the cap is moved away from the spout to project the spout through the sleeve opening. Further, the interrelationship of the parts is such that when the spout is to be closed, the cap is forced by the spout into snug engagement with the opening in the sleeve, thereby causing the cap to fit snugly over the discharge end of the spout.

The device as disclosed in the copending application involves the cooperation of a number of curved surfaces such as cam slots, gear teeth, and the like to effect the proper movements and dwells of the cap relative to the spout during the rotation of the sleeve. For effective operation, the tolerances on these surfaces are close and, because the most economical material for the device is a plastic, the surface wear and somewhat shorten the life of'the device.

The present invention is an improvement in the device of the copending application, particularly in relation to the interconnection of the cap with respect to the sleeve and spout to minimize the dimensional criticality of the cooperating surfaces. More specifically, the present invention includes a cap and a mounting structure constituted simply by a shaft and a gear in mesh with gear teeth on the spout, the mounting structure having only simple, rotary motion. The mounting structure is connected to the cap by a flexible resilient strap which twists to permit the cap to move between its closed and open positions upon rotation of the mounting gear and shaft. The resilience of the strap combined with the configuration of the surface of the sleeve against which the cap slides determines the path which the cap takes as the mounting structure is moved.

Not only does the improvement provide a surety of the long life of the device by eliminating the need for close tolerances and the like but additionally the assembly of the device is facilitated. In assembling, the simplicity of the structure permits the cap mounting shaft merely to be snapped into a bracket molded in the sleeve and thereafter the sleeve is slid over the spout structure until the gear teeth of the spout mesh with the gear on the cap mount.

These features of the invention will become more readily understood from the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention with portions broken away for clarity,

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the device in four operative positions as determined by the rotation of the sleeve with respect to the spout, and

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2 illustrating the cap mount.

The closure device indicated at 10 has three elements each of which may be molded from a suitable plastic. These elements are the base 11 which includes a spout 12, a sleeve 13, and a cap 14. The base and spout have a longi tudinal bore 15 extending therethrough, the base preferably threaded as at 16 to receive the threaded cap end of a container 17. The lower end of the base may have a surface 18 which is configurated to mate with a container surface for which the closure is specifically designed.

The base has a cam slot 20 which receives a pin 21 fixed to a cylindrical wall 22 of the sleeve 13. The base preferably has a small axially extending groove 24 providing a communication between its upper surface 25 and the slot 20 through which the pin 21 may pass during the assembly of the sleeve 13 to the base 11. The cam slot as best illustrated in FIG. 2 has a spout projection section 30, a cap movement section 31, and a cap clamping section 32 as will be described in more detail below.

The sleeve has the cylindrical wall 22 terminating at its upper end in a frustoconical Wall 34, the inner edge of the wall 34 forming an opening 35 through which the spout can project. The spout has a substantially smaller outside diameter than the opening 35 so that it may easily pass therethrough.

The sleeve 13 carries the cap 14, the cap 14 having a diameter substantially greater than that of the opening 35 and is adapted to be clamped against the internal surface 36 of the frusto conical wall 34 by the spout 12. The cap 14 is mounted by a strap 37 to the flanged upper end 38 of a shaft 39, the lower end of which is integral with a gear 40 having teeth 41. The shaft 39 is snapped into position between the legs 42 of a bifurcated bracket 43 which is fixed to the cylindrical wall 22 of the sleeve 13. The strap is a flexible resilient plastic such as polypropylene and is tough enough to withstand a million cycles of flexure. This strap 37 is preferably eccentrically mounted with respect to the shaft 39 to provide additional leverage in the shifting of the strap between its two positions.

The cap is confined within the sleeve by the frustoconical wall 34 and is cammed or guided in its movements between a closed position overlying the spout and an open position to one side of the spout by the surface 36 of the frustoconical wall 34. v

The gear teeth 41 mesh with longitudinal gear teeth 44 formed in the outside surface of the spout 12. Three of the teeth 44 are extended helically downwardly to provide extensions or splines 46 in which the gear 40 rides during relative axial and rotary movement between the sleeve and the spout to project the spout through the opening 35. The helical extensions prevent rotation of the gear 40 during this portion of the operation.

The upper end of the spout 12 has a beveled surface 48 and the lower surface of the cap 14 is recessed as at 49, the marginal portion of the recess being beveled as at 50 to mate with the beveled surface 48 of the spout. The cooperating beveled surfaces permit the cap to accommodate itself to the spout when the spout moves into engagement with it during the final movement of the sleeve.

The operation can best be understood by reference to FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, the device is shown in stages A-D of its full extending movement and the corresponding positions of the pin 21 in the cam slot 20 are illustrated.

In the fully closed position, at stage A, the pin is at the lowest extremity of the cap closing section 32 of the cam track 20. In moving into that position, a pin has caused the sleeve to draw tightly against the cap 14, clamping it against the end of the spout 12 to seal the spout. As the sleeve is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, the sleeve rises with respect to the spout, thereby releasing the clamping engagement by the sleeve of the cap to the spouLThere is in this movement a few degrees rotation of the gear 41 which twists the strap 37 slightly. However, the resilience and flexibility of the strap permit this twisting without damage to the strap and as the sleeve moves to its uppermost position, at stage B, the cap is free to shift away from the spout.

Between the two extreme positions of the movement of pin 21 in the slot section 31, there is no relative axial movement between the sleeve 13 and the spout 12. However, the gear 41 rotates through an angle of about 90, thereby twisting the strap 37 and forcing the cap 14 at the other end of the strap to slide along the frustoconical surface 36 to a position at one side of the spout 12. This position is illustrated at stage C where it can be observed that the strap 37 has undergone considerable fiexure and the cap is moved out of the way of the opening 35 at the top of the sleeve. As rotation of the sleeve is continued, the sleeve is cammed downwardly with respect to the spout to start the movement of the spout through the opening 35 toward its dispensing position. During the first portion of the movement into slot section 30, the gear 41 will rotate a few degrees to bring it into alignment with the teeth extensions 46 in the surface of the spout. As downward and rotary movement of the sleeve continue, the gear teeth ride in the extensions 46 and have no further rotary movement with respect to the sleeve. Thus, the cap is held stationary in approximately the position of stage C. At the end of the rotary movement, the spout is in its fully extended position ready for discharge of the contents from the container.

In operating the closure to close the container, the sequence of steps is reversed and need not be described in detail. However, it should be noted that as the pin 21 moves in the slot section 32 toward the end of the closing movement, there is relative movement of the spout toward the opening 36 and there is also lateral movement of the cap with respect to the opening. The cooperative beveled surfaces 48 and 50 permit the proper fitting of the spout in the cap recess 50 notwithstanding the slight lateral movement of the cap with respect to the spout. In other words, the beveling eliminates any requirement of precision in timing the introduction of the spout into the recess as the cap moves laterally.

We claim:

1. A closure comprising,

a hollow cylindrical base including an elongated spout,

a sleeve mounted on said base for axial and rotary movement with respect to said base, said sleeve having an opening through which said spout can project,

a gear rotatably mounted on said sleeve and meshing with gear teeth on said base whereby rotation of said sleeve with respect to said base causes rotation of said gear, and

a cap connected by a flexible resilient strap to said gear, said cap being movable between two positions upon rotation of said gear, one lying between said spout and opening and the other to one side of said spout.

2. A closure according to claim 1 further comprising,

a cam track and pin means interconnecting said sleeve and base and causing said spout to move through said opening in said sleeve when said cap is moved to one side of said spout.

3. A closure according to claim 2 in which the gear teeth on said base include splines extending helically along the surface of said base to maintain said gear in mesh without rotation as said spout moves through said opening.

4. A closure according to claim 3 in which said gear teeth and splines are on the surface of the spout portion of said base.

5. A closure according to claim 2 in which said cam track and pin means causes said spout to snugly engage said cap when said cap overlies said spout.

6. A closure according to claim 1 in which said sleeve has an inside diameter substantially larger than the outside diameter of said spout, said sleeve terminating in an inwardly projecting collar which defines said opening, said cap being larger than said opening and underlying said collar.

7. A closure according to claim 6 in which said collar has a frustoconical inside surface which cams said cap away from said opening and down the inside wall of said sleeve as it moves to its position to one side of said spout.

8. A closure according to claim 1 further comprising a resilient bifurcated bracket fixed to the inside wall of said sleeve, said gear having a shaft which is snapped into said bracket and held there by the resilience of said bracket.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,934,016 11/1933 Strehs 222507 1,974,348 9/1934 StI'ehs 222507 ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

K. N. LEIMER, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A CLOSURE COMPRISING, A HOLLOW CYLINDRICAL BASE INCLUDING AN ELONGATED SPOUT, A SLEEVE MOUNTED ON SAID BASE FOR AXIAL AND ROTARY MOVEMENT WITH RESPECT TO SAID BASE, SAID SLEEVE HAVING AN OPENING THROUGH WHICH SAID SPOUT CAN PROJECT, A GEAR ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SLEEVE AND MESHING WITH GEAR TEETH ON SAID BASE WHEREBY ROTATION OF SAID SLEEVE WITH RESPECT TO SAID BASE CAUSE ROTATION OF SAID GEAR, AND A CAP CONNECTED BY A FLEXIBLE RESILIENT STRAP TO SAID GEAR, SAID CAP BEING MOVABLE BETWEEN TWO POSITIONS UPON ROTATION OF SAID GEAR, ONE LYING BETWEEN SAID SPOUT AND OPENING AND THE OTHER TO ONE SIDE OF SAID SPOUT.