Rotatable spout closures with latch structures

Claim 2

In a dispensing closure having a closure body and a spout, said closure body having an opening extending therethrough, said spout having a passage extending therethrough and being rotatably mounted on said closure body so as to be capable of being rotated between an open position in which said passage is aligned with said opening and a closed position in which said spout seals off said opening, the improvement which comprises: a latch means and a catch means for latching said spout in said closed position, one of said means being located on said spout and the other of said means being located on said closure body, said means both being integrally formed with the parts of said dispensing closure upon which they are located, said latch means including a tab which is movable with respect to the part of said dispensing closure upon which said latch means is located and a hooked end located on an extremity of said tab, said catch means comprising a groove, said latch means being sufficiently deformable and movable so that contact of said hooked end with the part of said dispensing closure upon which said catch means is located will cause temporary deformation of said latch means so that said hooked end will snap into and engage said groove in such a manner as to prevent rotation of said spout relative to said closure body said latch means being located at the end of said spout so that said tab overlies the end of said spout, said tab being integrally connected to said spout by a hinge section forming a part of said latch means, said hinge section extending across the bottom of the end of said spout, and said hooked end being located in said tab beneath the bottom of said spout and is resiliently biased into engagement with said groove by said hinge section serving as a spring.

Claim 3

A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 1 wherein: said hinge section has a sufficiently small cross-sectional configuration so that it will break upon the movement of said latch means relative to said spout so as to release said hooked end from said groove, enabling said dispensing closure to be thereafter operated without impedement from said latch means and said catch means.

Claim 4

In a dispensing closure having a closure body and a spout, said closure body having an opening extending therethrough and being rotatably mounted on said closure body so as to be capable of being rotated between an open position in which said passage is aligned with said opening and a closed position in which said spout seals off said opening, the improvement which comprises: a latch means and a catch mans for latching said spout in said closed position, one of said means being located on said spout and the other of said means being located on said closure body, said means both being integrally formed with the parts of said dispensing closure upon which they are located, said latch means including a tab which is movable with respect to the part of said dispensing closure upon which said latch means is located and a hooked end located on an extremity of said tab, said catch means comprising a groove, said latch means being sufficiently deformable and movable so that contact of said hooked end with the part of said dispensing closure upon which said catch means is located will cause temporary deformation of said latch means so that said hooked end will snap into and engage said groove in such a manner as to prevent rotation of said spout relative to said closure body, said latch means Being located at the end of said spout so that said tab overlies the end of said spout, said tab being integrally connected to said spout by a hinge section forming a part of said latch means, said hinge section extending across the top of the end of said spout, said hooked end being located on said tab beneath the bottom of said spout and is resiliently biased into engagement with said groove by said hinge section serving as a spring.

Claim 5

In a dispensing closure having a closure body and a spout, said closure body having an opening extending therethrough and being rotatably mounted on said closure body so as to be capable of being rotated between an open position in which said passage is aligned with said opening and a closed position in which said spout seals off said opening, the improvement which comprises: a latch means and a catch mans for latching said spout in said closed position, one of said means being located on said spout and the other of said means being located on said closure body, said means both being integrally formed with the parts of said dispensing closure upon which they are located, said latch means including a tab which is movable with respect to the part of said dispensing closure upon which said latch means is located and a hooked end located on an extremity of said tab, said catch means comprising a groove, said latch means being sufficiently deformable and movable so that contact of said hooked end with the part of said dispensing closure upon which said catch means is located will cause temporary deformation of said latch means so that said hooked end will snap into and engage said groove in such a manner as to prevent rotation of said spout relative to said closure body, said latch means Being located at the end of said spout so that said tab overlies the end of said spout, said tab being integrally connected to said spout by a hinge section forming a part of said latch means, said hinge section extending across the top of the end of said spout, said hooked end being located on said tab beneath the bottom of said spout and is resiliently biased into engagement with said groove by said hinge section serving as a spring.

Claim 6

A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 3 wherein: said hinge section has a sufficiently small cross-sectional configuration so that it will break upon the movement of said latch means relative to said spout so as to release said hooked end from said groove, enabling said dispensing closure to be thereafter operated without impedement from said latch means and said catch means.

Claim 7

In a dispensing closure having a closure body and a spout, said closure body having an opening extending therethrough, said spout having a passage extending therethrough and being rotatably mounted on said closure body so as to be capable of being rotated between an open position in which said passage is aligned with said opening and a closed position in which said spout seals off said opening, the improvement which comprises: a latch means and a catch means for latching said spout in said closed position, one of said means being located on said spout and the other of said means being located on said closure body, said means both being integrally formed with the parts of said dispensing closure upon which they are located, said latch means including a tab which is movable with respect to the part of said dispensing closure upon which said latch means is located and a hooked end located on an extremity of said tab, said catch means comprising a groove, said latch means being sufficiently deformable and movable so that contact of said hooked end with the part of said dispensing closure upon which said catch means is located will cause temporary deformation of said latch means so that said hooked end will snap into and engage said groove in such a manner as to prevent rotation of said spout relative to said closure body, said latch means being located at the end of said spout so as to extend beneath said spout, said tab being integrally connected to said spout at the bottom of said spout by a hinge section forming a part of said latch means, said hinge section serving as a spring to resiliently bias said hooked end into engagement with said groove.

Claim 8

In a dispensing closure having a closure body and a spout, said closure body having an opening extending therethrough, said spout having a passage extending therethrough and being rotatably mounted on said closure body so as to be capable of being rotated between an open position in which said passage is aligned with said opening and a closed position in which said spout seals off said opening, the improvement which comprises: a latch means and a catch means for latching said spout in said closed position, one of said means being located on said spout and the other of said means being located on said closure body, said means both being integrally formed with the parts of said dispensing closure upon which they are located, said latch means including a tab which is movable with respect to the part of said dispensing closure upon which said latch means is located and a hooked end located on an extremity of said tab, said catch means comprising a groove, said latch means being sufficiently deformable and movable so that contact of said hooked end with the part of said dispensing closure upon which said catch means is located will cause temporary deformation of said latch means so that said hooked end will snap into and engage said groove in such a manner as to prevent rotation of said spout relative to said closure body, said latch means being located at the end of said spout so as to extend beneath said spout, said tab being integrally connected to said spout at the bottom of said spout by a hinge section forming a part of said latch means, said hinge section serving as a spring to resiliently bias said hooked end into engagement with said groove.

Claim 9

A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 5, wherein: said hinge section has a sufficiently small cross-sectional configuration so that it will break upon the movement of said latch means relative to said spout so as to release said hooked end from said groove, enabling said dispensing closure to be thereafter operated without impedement from said latch means and said catch means.

Claim 10

In a dispensing closure having a closure body and a spout, said closure body having an opening extending therethrough, said spout having a passage extending therethrough and being rotatably mounted on said closure body so as to be capable of being rotated between an open position in which said passage is aligned with said opening and a closed position in which said spout seals off said opening, the improvement which comprises: a latch means and a catch means for latching said spout in said closed position, one of said means being located on said spout and the other of said means being located on said closure body, said means both being integrally formed with the parts of said dispensing closure upon which they are located, said latch means including a tab and a hinge section connecting said tab with respect to the part of said dispensing closure upon which said latch means is located, said hinge section enabling said tab to be moved with respect to the part of said dispensing closure upon which said latch means is located, Said tab having a hooked end located on an extremity of said tab, said latch means and said hinge section being integral with one another and with the part of said dispensing closure upon which said latch means is located, said catch means comprising a groove, the material within said hinge section being sufficiently resilient so as to serve as a spring resiliently holding said tab so that said hooked end is resiliently held in said groove, said latch means being sufficiently deformable and movable so that contact of said hooked end with the part of said dispensing closure upon which said catch means is located will cause temporary deformation of said latch means so that said hooked end will snap into and engage said groove in such a manner as to prevent rotation of said spout relative to said closure body, said tab having an extremity located so as to be manually accessible from the exterior of said closure, said extremity being capable of being engaged so as to move said tab so that said hooked end is free from said groove so that said spout can be rotated to said open position.

Claim 11

In a dispensing closure having a closure body and a spout, said closure body having an opening extending therethrough, said spout having a passage extending therethrough and being rotatably mounted on said closure body so as to be capable of being rotated between an open position in which said passage is aligned with said opening and a closed position in which said spout seals off said opening, the improvement which comprises: a latch means and a catch means for latching said spout in said closed position, one of said means being located on said spout and the other of said means being located on said closure body, said means both being integrally formed with the parts of said dispensing closure upon which they are located, said latch means including a tab and a hinge section connecting said tab with respect to the part of said dispensing closure upon which said latch means is located, said hinge section enabling said tab to be moved with respect to the part of said dispensing closure upon which said latch means is located, Said tab having a hooked end located on an extremity of said tab, said latch means and said hinge section being integral with one another and with the part of said dispensing closure upon which said latch means is located, said catch means comprising a groove, the material within said hinge section being sufficiently resilient so as to serve as a spring resiliently holding said tab so that said hooked end is resiliently held in said groove, said latch means being sufficiently deformable and movable so that contact of said hooked end with the part of said dispensing closure upon which said catch means is located will cause temporary deformation of said latch means so that said hooked end will snap into and engage said groove in such a manner as to prevent rotation of said spout relative to said closure body, said tab having an extremity located so as to be manually accessible from the exterior of said closure, said extremity being capable of being engaged so as to move said tab so that said hooked end is free from said groove so that said spout can be rotated to said open position.

Claim 12

A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 7 wherein: said hinge section has a sufficiently small cross-sectional configuration so that it will break upon the movement of said latch means relative to the part of said dispensing closure upon which said latch means is located so as to release said latch means from said catch means, enabling said dispensing closure to thereafter be operated without impediment from said latch means and said catch means.

Claim 13

A dispensing closure as claimed in claim 7, wherein: said hinge section has a sufficiently thick cross-sectional configuration so that it will not break upon repeated movement of said latch means so as to release said latch means from said catch means.

Claim 14

A safety closure structure, said closure structure having a closure body adapted to be secured to a container, said closure structure also having a closure member rotatably mounted on said closure body, said closure member being capable of being moved between open and closed positions, said closure body having an opening extending therethrough, said opening being closed when said closure member is in said closed position and being open when said closure member is in said open position, in which the improvement comprises: a latch means for engagement between said closure body and said closure member in order to prevent said closure member from being moved from said closed position to said open position, said latch means extending between said body and said member in order to prevent movement of said member when said member is in said closed position, a portion of said latch means extending to the exterior of said closure structure, said portion being capable of being manually engaged so as to move said latch means to a position in which said closure member can be moved from said closed to said open position, and means for automatically moving said latch member to a position in which it extends between said closure body and said closure member so as to prevent movement of said closure member whenever said closure member is moved from said open to said closed position.

Claim 15

A safety closure structure, said closure structure having a closure body adapted to be secured to a container, said closure structure also having a closure member rotatably mounted on said closure body, said closure member being capable of being moved between open and closed positions, said closure body having an opening extending therethrough, said opening being closed when said closure member is in said closed position and being open when said closure member is in said open position, in which the improvement comprises: a latch means for engagement between said closure body and said closure member in order to prevent said closure member from being moved from said closed position to said open position, said latch means extending between said body and said member in order to prevent movement of said member when said member is in said closed position, a portion of said latch means extending to the exterior of said closure structure, said portion being capable of being manually engaged so as to move said latch means to a position in which said closure member can be moved from said closed to said open position, and means for automatically moving said latch member to a position in which it extends between said closure body and said closure member so as to prevent movement of said closure member whenever said closure member is moved from said open to said closed position.

Claim 16

A safety closure structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein: said means for automatically moving said latch means is a resilient hinge mounting said latch member on said closure structure.

Claim 17

A safety closure structure as claimed in claim 11, wherein: said latch means, said means for automatically moving said latch means and said closure member are integrally formed of a material which is sufficiently resilient to permit said means for automatically moving said latch means to operate as a spring.