Safety bottle cap

Claim 1

A safety closure for a bottle, said bottle having an open rim defined by a lip, said lip having an outwardly extending portion, a complementary lip in spaced relation to the outwardly extending portion of the first named lip, said lips defining a groove between them, said first named lip having a reaction surface at the inner side of the bottle, opposite the outwardly extending portion of the first named lip, the closure comprising a cap of a deformable resilient and substantially self-sustaining plastic material including a main closed portion in the form of a dome, an inwardly inclined flange depending therefrom at the periphery thereof, said flange being constructed and arranged to snap over the first named lip to enter the groove to close the bottle, a series of slots in the flange in mutually spaced relation circumferentially of the flange providing for expansion of the flange upon pressure downwardly applied to the dome to a position wherein the flange substantially clears the outwardly extending portion of the first named lip, and a downwardly extending generally circular ridge at the inside portion of said cap, said ridge being spaced inwardly from the flange and forming a fulcrum, said fulcrum normally bearing on said reaction surface and causing the flange to pivot outwardly upon the application of the downward pressure on the dome aforesaid.