Safety mechanism for a liquid-dispensing container

Claim 2

Safety dispensing mechanism for a container having an opening to be closed by said mechanism, comprising a base including means adapted to be permanently secured to the container in peripherally sealed relation at the container opening, said base including a closure wall having an upwardly directed restricted passage therethrough, said base further including nozzle-supporT structure above said wall and offset from the upper end of the passage, nozzle means including a hub and spout with a restricted passage extending through said hub and spout, means pivotally connecting said hub to said support structure such that in a first pivoted nozzle position the nozzle passage communicates with the base passage and in the second pivoted position said hub closes the base passage, resilient latch means movably carried by said base and including an externally accessible manually actuable member, said latch means and said hub having dog means interengageable at said second pivoted position to dog said nozzle means against rotation from said second position, and said latch means being resiliently biased in the direction of dog engagement, whereby to move said nozzle means from said second position to said first position said manually actuable member must first be independently actuated against the resilient bias to free the dog engagement.

Claim 3

Mechanism according to claim 1, in which said hub includes a continuous convex arcuate surface in constant slidable contact with the part of the closure wall surrounding the upper end of the base passage, the latch-engageable region of said hub being angularly offset from said arcuate surface.

Claim 4

Mechanism according to claim 2, in which the latch-engageable region of said hub includes a portion at greater radius than the arc of said surface about the pivot axis, and in which said means is of single injection-molded plastic construction and integrally includes a stop portion located in interfering relation with said greater-radius portion when said nozzle means is in said first position.

Claim 5

Mechanism according to claim 2, in which the dog means of said latch means rides a portion of said surface in the course of movement of said nozzle means between said first and second positions.

Claim 6

Mechanism according to claim 1, in which said latch means comprises a resiliently bendable stem upstanding from said base and integrally including both said manually actuable member and a hub-engageable latch element.

Claim 7

Mechanism according to claim 5, in which said latch means is of single single-piece injection-molded plastic construction and integrally includes a downwardly projecting mounting portion of said stem, said base having an insertion mounting opening in which said mounting portion is secured.

Claim 8

Mechanism according to claim 6, in which said mounting portion and the mounting opening include coacting detent formations securing the mounted assembly of said latch means to said base.

Claim 9

Safety dispensing mechanism for the selective handling of liquids, comprising a container having an upwardly directed restricted liquid-dispensing passage to be closed by said mechanism, said container including nozzle-support structure adjacent to and offset from the outer end of the passage, nozzle means including a base and spout with a restricted passage extending through said base and spout, means movably connecting said base to said support structure such that in a first nozzle position the nozzle passage communicates with the container passage and in a second position said base closes the container passage, resilient latch means including an externally accessible manually actuable member and further including dog means interengaging said container and nozzle means at said second position to dog said nozzle means against displacement from said second position, said latch means being resiliently biased in the direction of dog engagement, whereby to move said nozzle means from said second position to said first position said manually actuable member must first be independently actuated against the resilient bias to free the dog engagement.

Claim 10

Safety dispensing mechanism for the selective handling of liquids, comprising a container having an upwardly directed restricted liquid-dispensing passage to be closed by said mechanism, said container including nozzle-support structure adjacent to and offset from the outer end of the passage, nozzle means including a base and spout with a restricted passage extending through said base and spout, means movably connecting said base to said support structure such that in a first nozzle position the nozzle passage communicates with the container passage and in a second position said base closes the container passage, resilient latch means including an externally accessible manually actuable member and further including dog means interengaging said container and nozzle means at said second position to dog said nozzle means against displacement from said second position, said latch means being resiliently biased in the direction of dog engagement, whereby to move said nozzle means from said second position to said first position said manually actuable member must first be independently actuated against the resilient bias to free the dog engagement.

Claim 11

Safety dispensing mechanism for a container having an opening to be closed by said mechanism, comprising a base including means adapted to be permanently secured to the container in peripherally sealed relation at the container opening, said base including a closure walL having an upwardly directed restricted passage therethrough, said base further including nozzle-support structure above said wall and offset from the upper end of the passage, nozzle means including a hub and spout with a restricted passage extending through said hub and spout, said base including upstanding structure having an upwardly open channel into which said spout enters upon approach to said second position from said first position, means pivotally connecting said hub to said support structure such that in a first pivoted nozzle position the nozzle passage communicates with the base passage and in a second pivoted position said hub closes the base passage, resilient latch means movably carried by said base and including an externally accessible manually actuable member, said latch means and said hub having means interengageable at said second pivoted position to dog said nozzle means against rotation from said second position, whereby to move said nozzle means from said second position to said first position said manually actuable member must first be actuated to free the latched engagement, and means resiliently reacting between said base and spout for incrementally pivotally displacing said spout upwardly to a third position angularly offset from but adjacent to said second position, said interengaging means being locked in dogging relation with both said hub and said latch means when said nozzle means is in said third position.

Claim 12

Safety dispensing mechanism for a container having an opening to be closed by said mechanism, comprising a base including means adapted to be permanently secured to the container in peripherally sealed relation at the container opening, said base including a closure walL having an upwardly directed restricted passage therethrough, said base further including nozzle-support structure above said wall and offset from the upper end of the passage, nozzle means including a hub and spout with a restricted passage extending through said hub and spout, said base including upstanding structure having an upwardly open channel into which said spout enters upon approach to said second position from said first position, means pivotally connecting said hub to said support structure such that in a first pivoted nozzle position the nozzle passage communicates with the base passage and in a second pivoted position said hub closes the base passage, resilient latch means movably carried by said base and including an externally accessible manually actuable member, said latch means and said hub having means interengageable at said second pivoted position to dog said nozzle means against rotation from said second position, whereby to move said nozzle means from said second position to said first position said manually actuable member must first be actuated to free the latched engagement, and means resiliently reacting between said base and spout for incrementally pivotally displacing said spout upwardly to a third position angularly offset from but adjacent to said second position, said interengaging means being locked in dogging relation with both said hub and said latch means when said nozzle means is in said third position.

Claim 13

Mechanism according to claim 9, in which the upstanding structure of said base is relatively stiffly yieldable and said resiliently reacting means is integral with said upstanding structure.

Claim 14

Mechanism according to claim 10, in which said resilient reacting means includes convergent channel walls having greater interference with said spout at said second position than at said third position, at least one of the materials of said spout and base being selected to provide a relatively low-friction sliding engagement of said spout with the channel walls in the region of contact in said second and third positions.

Claim 15

Safety dispensing mechanism for the selective handling of liquids, comprising a container having an upwardly directed restricted liquid-dispensing passage to be closed by said mechanism, said container including nozzle-support means adjacent to and offset from the outer end of the passage, nozzle means including a base and spout with a restricted passage extending through said base and spout, said container including upstanding structure having an upwardly open channel into which said spout enters upon approach to said second position from said first position, means movably connecting said base to said support structure such that in a raised first nozzle position the nozzle passage communicates with the container passage and in a lowered second position said base closes the container passage, resilient latch means including an externally accessible manually actuable member and further including dog means interengaging said container and nozzle means at said second pivoted position to dog said nozzle means against displacement from said second position, said latch means being resiliently biased in the direction of dog engagement, whereby to move said nozzle means from said second position to said first position said manually actuable member must first be independently actuated against the resilient bias to free the dog engagement, and means resiliently reacting between said base and spout for incrementally pivotally displacing said spout upwardly to a third position angularly offset from but adjacent to said second position, said interengaging means being locked in dogging relation with both said base and said latch means when said nozzle means is in said third position.

Claim 16

Safety dispensing mechanism for the selective handling of liquids, comprising a container having an upwardly directed restricted liquid-dispensing passage to be closed by said mechanism, said container including nozzle-support means adjacent to and offset from the outer end of the passage, nozzle means including a base and spout with a restricted passage extending through said base and spout, said container including upstanding structure having an upwardly open channel into which said spout enters upon approach to said second position from said first position, means movably connecting said base to said support structure such that in a raised first nozzle position the nozzle passage communicates with the container passage and in a lowered second position said base closes the container passage, resilient latch means including an externally accessible manually actuable member and further including dog means interengaging said container and nozzle means at said second pivoted position to dog said nozzle means against displacement from said second position, said latch means being resiliently biased in the direction of dog engagement, whereby to move said nozzle means from said second position to said first position said manually actuable member must first be independently actuated against the resilient bias to free the dog engagement, and means resiliently reacting between said base and spout for incrementally pivotally displacing said spout upwardly to a third position angularly offset from but adjacent to said second position, said interengaging means being locked in dogging relation with both said base and said latch means when said nozzle means is in said third position.