US3877597A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Child-resistant closure for liquid containers
Assignee: Silgan Plastic Food Containers Corp
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Filing: 1974-03-06
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Granted: 1975-04-15
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Expires: 1994-03-06
Abstract
Abstract A child-resistant closure for a liquid container having a tubular threaded neck. An inverted cup-shaped cap for the neck has a liner positioned on the underside of its flat top which engages the open end of the container neck when the cap is in closed position. A radially extending locking tab on the lower margin of the cap skirt cooperates with the lug on the container shoulder to prevent retrograde rotation of the cap, thus to provide a child resistant lock which however is resiliently deformable by an adult in order to remove the cap. The cap and neck thread tolerances and the positions of the tab and lug are designed so the cap is turned onto the neck at least to or somewhat beyond the locking position by automatic capping machinery. The container neck is surrounded by an annular shoulder formed on the container. The length of the cap skirt is sufficiently greater than the length of the container neck so that when the cap is screwed onto the container at least to the locking position and then until its lower edge abuts the container neck, the liner is compressed within its elastic limit and is sealed against the end of the container neck. This obviates the possibility that top loading the cap, as in stacking during shipment or storage, will move the cap a distance permitted by the normal manufacturing tolerances of the threads such that it will compress the liner beyond its elastic ability to restore. In such a case, as in a standard liquid container, if a child were then to endeavor to remove the cap and to rotate it in a retrograde direction until the locking tabs are engaged, a leaker would result.
Inventors
- 👤 Gary V Montgomery
- 👤 Randall K Julian
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 23:09
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65D; B65D50/00; B65D50/02; B65D50/04; B65D50/045; B65D50/046; B65D41/00; B65D41/02; B65D41/04; B65D41/0435; B65D41/045
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
223 words
A child resistant closure for liquid materials, said closure consisting of a. a container having a body, a threaded neck and a generally outwardly extending annular shoulder at the base of said neck and connecting said neck to said body, b. a cup-shaped cap having a tubular skirt that has internal threads mating with the threads on said neck and a generally flat top, c. cooperating disengageable lug means at the bottom of said skirt and on said shoulder for preventing removal of said cap by retrograde rotation thereof unless said lug means are disengaged, said lug means automatically engaging when said cap is turned onto said neck to at least an engagement position, d. a resilient liner underlying the top of said cap and adapted to be compressed against the end of said neck when said cap is turned onto said neck at least to such engagement position, e. said skirt and said neck being of such axial lengths that the lower end of said skirt engages said shoulder when said cap is turned onto said neck at least to such engagement position, f. and said liner being of such normal thickness and resiliency that said liner is compressed against said neck when said cap reaches engagement position and is not set beyond resilient restoration when said cap skirt engages said shoulder.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
223 words
A child resistant closure for liquid materials, said closure consisting of a. a container having a body, a threaded neck and a generally outwardly extending annular shoulder at the base of said neck and connecting said neck to said body, b. a cup-shaped cap having a tubular skirt that has internal threads mating with the threads on said neck and a generally flat top, c. cooperating disengageable lug means at the bottom of said skirt and on said shoulder for preventing removal of said cap by retrograde rotation thereof unless said lug means are disengaged, said lug means automatically engaging when said cap is turned onto said neck to at least an engagement position, d. a resilient liner underlying the top of said cap and adapted to be compressed against the end of said neck when said cap is turned onto said neck at least to such engagement position, e. said skirt and said neck being of such axial lengths that the lower end of said skirt engages said shoulder when said cap is turned onto said neck at least to such engagement position, f. and said liner being of such normal thickness and resiliency that said liner is compressed against said neck when said cap reaches engagement position and is not set beyond resilient restoration when said cap skirt engages said shoulder.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
A closure according to claim 1 in which the skirt portion of the cap is flexible.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
44 words
A closure according to claim 2 in which the cooperating lug means are a radially extending tab on the lower margin of the skirt and an abutment on the shoulder of the container, said abutment lying in an axial plane of the container neck.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
20 words
A closure according to claim 3 in which the tab extends radially beyond the underlying portion of the container shoulder.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
209 words
A child-resistant closure for liquid materials, said closure consisting of a. a container having a body, a threaded neck and a radially outwardly extending stop on said body adjacent the base of said neck, b. a cup-shaped cap having a tubular skirt that has internal threads mating with the threads on said neck and a generally flat top, c. cooperating disengageable locking means on said skirt and on said container for preventing removal of said cap by retrograde rotation thereof unless said locking means are disengaged, said locking means automatically engaging when said cap is turned onto said neck to at least an engagement position, d. a resilient liner underlying the top of said cap and adapted to be compressed against the end of said neck when said cap is turned onto said neck at least to such engagement position, e. said skirt and said neck being of such axial lengths that said skirt engages said stop when said cap is turned onto said neck at least to such engagement position, f. and said liner being of such normal thickness and resiliency that said liner is compressed against said neck when said cap reaches engagement position and is not set beyond resilient restoration when said cap engages said stop.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
209 words
A child-resistant closure for liquid materials, said closure consisting of a. a container having a body, a threaded neck and a radially outwardly extending stop on said body adjacent the base of said neck, b. a cup-shaped cap having a tubular skirt that has internal threads mating with the threads on said neck and a generally flat top, c. cooperating disengageable locking means on said skirt and on said container for preventing removal of said cap by retrograde rotation thereof unless said locking means are disengaged, said locking means automatically engaging when said cap is turned onto said neck to at least an engagement position, d. a resilient liner underlying the top of said cap and adapted to be compressed against the end of said neck when said cap is turned onto said neck at least to such engagement position, e. said skirt and said neck being of such axial lengths that said skirt engages said stop when said cap is turned onto said neck at least to such engagement position, f. and said liner being of such normal thickness and resiliency that said liner is compressed against said neck when said cap reaches engagement position and is not set beyond resilient restoration when said cap engages said stop.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
213 words
A child-resistant closure for liquid materials, said closure consisting of a. a container having a body and a threaded neck, b. a cup-shaped cap having a tubular skirt that has internal threads mating with the threads on said neck and a generally flat top, c. cooperating disengageable locking means on said skirt and on said container for preventing removal of said cap by retrograde rotation thereof unless said Locking means are disengaged, said locking means automatically engaging when said cap is turned onto said container to at least an engagement position, d. a resilient liner underlying the top of said cap and adapted to be compressed within its elastic limit against the end of said neck when said cap is turned onto said neck to such engagement position, e. the tolerance in the axial dimensions of said threads both on said neck and on said cap being such as to permit relative axial movement of said cap and said container with resulting compression of said liner beyond its elastic limit, and f. cooperating axial stop means on said cap and said bottle which are engaged when said cap is turned onto said bottle at least to such engagement position, whereby axial movement of said cap by external loading of said cap is prevented.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
213 words
A child-resistant closure for liquid materials, said closure consisting of a. a container having a body and a threaded neck, b. a cup-shaped cap having a tubular skirt that has internal threads mating with the threads on said neck and a generally flat top, c. cooperating disengageable locking means on said skirt and on said container for preventing removal of said cap by retrograde rotation thereof unless said Locking means are disengaged, said locking means automatically engaging when said cap is turned onto said container to at least an engagement position, d. a resilient liner underlying the top of said cap and adapted to be compressed within its elastic limit against the end of said neck when said cap is turned onto said neck to such engagement position, e. the tolerance in the axial dimensions of said threads both on said neck and on said cap being such as to permit relative axial movement of said cap and said container with resulting compression of said liner beyond its elastic limit, and f. cooperating axial stop means on said cap and said bottle which are engaged when said cap is turned onto said bottle at least to such engagement position, whereby axial movement of said cap by external loading of said cap is prevented.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
30 words
A closure according to claim 6 in which the locking means consist of a radially extending lug on the cap skirt and an opposed radially extending abutment on the container.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
36 words
A closure according to claim 7 in which at least the lower portion of the cap skirt is resiliently flexible only to a degree such that a small child has significant difficulty disengaging the locking means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
30 words
A closure according to claim 6 in which the cooperating axial stop means consist of the lowermost portion of the cap skirt and a radially extending surface on the container.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
36 words
A closure according to claim 6 in which the cooperating axial stop means are the lower edge of the cap skirt and an annular shoulder on the container that is adjacent the base of the neck.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-04-14 | 1978-10-14 | 1979-04-15 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-04-14 | 1982-10-14 | 1983-04-15 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-04-14 | 1986-10-14 | 1987-04-15 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |