US3532249A

US3532249A - Tamperproof replaceable cap

Info

Publication number: US3532249A
Application number: US821236A
Authority: US
Inventors: Peter P Gach
Original assignee: Sunbeam Plastics Corp
Current assignee: Silgan Plastic Food Containers Corp
Priority date: 1969-01-08
Filing date: 1969-05-02
Publication date: 1970-10-06
Anticipated expiration: 1987-10-06

Description

Oct. 6, 1970 P. P. GACH TAMPERPROOF REPLACEABLE CAP Filed May 2, 1969 AT T 7Y5.

INVENTOR. P. EAL'H.

BY w X M PB TER United States Patent O Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 789,734, Jan. 8, 1969. This application May 2, 1969, Ser. No.

Int. Cl. B65d 43/10 US. Cl. 220-60 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tamperproof replaceable cover cap for an aerosol spray can or the like which has a central dispensing valve at one end with an annular collar surrounding the dispensing valve. The cap has an outer inverted cup-shaped portion and an inner concentric skirt. The lower edge of the cup-shaped portion engages the end of the can. The lower edge of the inner skirt has an inwardly turned retaining lip adapted to engage beneath the collar of the can in order to retain the cap in place. The inner edge of the lip is eccentric relative to the skirt and extends inwardly beneath the collar a greater distance on one side of the cap than on the other side. The outer cupshaped portion has a tool access opening formed near its lower edge through which a tool may be inserted into contact with the can and then swung upwardly to force the cap upwardly, disengaging the lip from beneath the can collar. Preferably the retaining lip extends beneath the collar a greater distance at a point opposite the tool access opening.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my co- BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a substantially tamper-proof, replaceable cover cap for an aerosol spray can which is tightly retained on the can, which can be removed by the use of a conventional, easily obtainable tool and which can be replaced on the can for subsequent protection of the spray valve.

Aerosol type dispensing containers have cylindrical bodies in which the contained material and the gas under pressure is packaged and usually have a centrally located dispensing valve at the top of the can. These valves usually are enclosed within cover caps to prevent the inadvertent actuation of the valve. However, when the cans stand on the shelves in stores, such as supermarkets, dishonest patrons may replace the cover cap of a more expensive product with a cover cap of a cheaper product. If this is done, the checkout girl probably will charge the lower price which appears on the cap rather than checking the contents of the container.

In addition, many patrons in self service stores have a tendency to remove the cover cap, if possible and spray some of the content material to determine whether or not they like the fragrance or consistency of the contents. After a few tests of this kind, the quantity of the mixture in the can is of course substantially reduced.

A further problem experienced in aerosol containers having easily removable caps results from the fact that children in the home are curious and often remove the caps, actuating the valves and dispensing the material. This may cause damage to house furnishings or, more importantly, where the material in the container is corrosive or poisonous, such as a lye compound, utilized for cleaning ovens or the like, may even cause injury or death.

It is therefore the primary object of the invention to provide a cover cap for a conventional aerosol can which 3,532,249 Patented Oct. 6, 1970 is tightly held on the can by its internal structure yet which can be removed by the use of a simple tool such as a screwdriver or the like.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a substantially tamperproof cover cap for an aerosol container which, after removal by the use of a tool or the like, can be replaced on the can and again becomes substantially tamperproof.

Suggestions have been made in the past for the utilization of tamperproof caps which must be broken in order to be initially removed from the container. Even if such a cap is replaceable, after the fracture of the cap, it does not resist subsequent removal as strongly as it did initially. Therefore it is a further object of the instant invention to provide a substantially tamperproof replaceable cover cap for an aerosol can which will resist removal a second time with substantially the same efiicacy as in the initial removal.

These and more specific objects and advantages of a cap embodying the invention will be better understood from the following specification and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of a cover cap embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view taken substantially from the position indicated by the line 33 in FIG. 1;

'FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, on a greatly enlarged scale, showing portions of the inner retaining element of the cap, taken along the lines indicated by the numbers 4-4 in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view, substantially identical to FIG. 2, but showing the cover cap embodying the invention in place on an aerosol container and illustrating how a simple tool such as a screwdriver is utilized to remove the cover cap from the aerosol container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention consists of a cover cap for an aerosol spray can or the like which is designed to enclose a central dispensing valve at one end of the can. The cap has an inverted cup shaped body which nests in the conventional annular groove around the rim of such a can and surrounding its breast portion and an inner skirt depending from its top and having an inturned lip which is engageable beneath a conventional curled seam or collaron the can by which the valve mechanism is connected to the end of the breast portion of the can. The engage ment of the retaining lip with the collar of the cap prevents ready removal of the cover cap from the can. The inwardly turned lip on the bottom of the skirt extends beneath the collar on the can a greater distance on one side than it does at the other and the inner skirt is connected to the outer inverted cup-shaped body by several bracing ribs which make the structure stronger thus to resist flexing of the skirt and removal of the cover from the can. An access opening is provided near or at the bottom of the outer cup-shaped member in order that a user may insert a tool, such as a screwdriver, wtih the end of the tool engaging the end of the aerosol can in order to lever upwardly against the cap for removing the same.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A tamperproof replaceable cover cap for'an aersoso'l spray can embodying the invention is generally indicated in the drawings by the reference number 10. The cap 10 has an inverted, generally cup-shaped body 11 which is of such diameter that its lower rim or edge 12 fits into a conventional annular groove 13 formed adjacent the closing seam between a can body 14 and its breast portion 15.

The cap also has an inner concentric skirt 16 and a top 17, the skirt 16 being of such diameter as to enclose a dispensing opening 18 of the can 10. The dispensing opening 18 comprises a valve mechanism (not shown) extending interiorly of the can 14 which is secured on the upper end of the breast portion 15 by a seam forming a collar 19. A dispensing valve nozzle is connected to the valve which is positioned in the opening 18 and, upon manual deflection or depression of the nozzle 20, the contents of the can 14 are dispensed therefrom.

The skirt 16 has an interior diameter such that it closely embraces the valve rim collar 19 and, at the lower most edge of the skirt 16, it has an inturned lip 21 of such size as to engage beneath the edge of the collar 19. A plurality of ribs 22 connect the body 11 to the skirt 16 in order to rigidify the compound structure and to brace the lower end of the skirt 16 thus to hold its lip 21 in engaging position beneath the edge of the collar 19.

Preferably the cap 10 is molded from a relatively stiff but resilient material such as polystyrene resin or the like so that outward flexing of the lower edge of the skirt 16 is possible but not by merely grasping the cap 10' and pulling it upwardly.

At one side of the body 10 and at or near its lower edge 12 there is formed a tool access opening 23 through which a person desiring to remove the cap 10 may thrust a screwdriver 24 or a similar tool. By engaging the inner most end of the tool 24 with the breast portion 15 of the can 10 the user may lever upwardly on the tool 24 (as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 5) exerting force against a reinforced top 25 for the opening 23 and lifting cap 10 with sufficient force to flex the adjacent portion of the skirt 16 outwardly to disengage its lip 21 from beneath the collar 19.

The under cut or inturned lip 21 is eccentric with the skirt 16 so that, as can best be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, that portion of the lip 21 at the side of the cap 10 near the access opening 23, indicated by the reference number 21a in FIG. 4, extends beneath the collar 19 a lesser distance than does that portion of the lip 21 indicated by the reference 21b in FIG. 4 which is located at the opposite side of the cap 10 from the access opening 23.

Preferably the reinforcing or strengthening ribs 22 extend downwardly from the top 17 a considerable proportion of the full length of the skirt 16 and, as can be seen at the right side of FIGS. 2 and 5, for example, one of the ribs indicated by the reference number 22a extends downwardly to the top 25 of the access opening 23 at its outer edge where it is connected to the body 11. By thus extending the rib 22a downwardly, delivery of force from the top 25 of the access opening 23 to the skirt 16 is insured and the outer flexing of the bottom edge of the skirt 16 upon application of the levering force rendered more certain.

In practice, a typical cap 10 embodying the invention has an outer diameter of two inches and a height of one and three eighths inches. The inner skirt 16 has a diameter of 1.35 inches and the inturned lip 21 has a width of .010 inch at 21a and .020 at 21b.

What I claim is:

1. A tamperproof replaceable cap for use on a dispensing container having an upright body including a circular groove adjacent its upper end and an upstanding annular collar surrounding a central dispensing opening, said tamperproof replaceable cap comprising, in combination, a cup-shaped body including a cover and an integral depending outer skirt, said integral depending outer skirt defining a tool access opening adjacent its lower edge, the lower portion of said outer skirt being adapted to extend downwardly into such receiving groove in frictional engagement with such container when said cap is in an initial tamperproof position, an inner circular skirt depending from said cover, said inner skirt having an inturned circular locking lip on the lower edge thereof that is eccentric relative to said inner skirt and that extends inwardly a greater distance at one side of said inner skirt, said locking lip when in the initial tamperproof position being engaged beneath the collar of such container, and at least two generally vertical reinforcing ribs connecting said inner and outer skirts, the first of said ribs being aligned with such access opening and the second of said ribs being disposed oppositely thereto, whereby a tool may be inserted through said access opening and used as a lever against said container to disengage said lip of said inner skirt from the collar of the container.

2. A cap according to claim 1 wherein said locking lip has an interior curvature complementary to the shape of the container collar and wherein the bottom edge of said locking lip is angularly disposed upwardly and inwardly.

3. A cap according to claim 1 wherein said locking lip extends inwardly a lesser distance at the side of said inner skirt adjacent the tool access opening and a greater distance at the opposite side of said inner skirt.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,006,510 10/1961 Sagarin 22218Z 3,022,922 2/1962 Patton 22085 3,322,298 5/ 1967 Gach 220 GEORGE E. LOWRANCE, Primary Examiner US. or. X.R.

Disclaimer 3,532,249.-Pete'r P. Gach, Evansville, Ind. TAMPERPROOF REPLACE- ABLE CAP. Patent dated Oct. 6, 1970. Disclaimer filed Apr. 13, 1970, by the assignee, Sunbeam Plastics Corporation. Hereby disclaims the terminal portion of the term sequent to June 2, 1987.

[Oflicial Gazette January 12,1971] of said patent sub