US4223799A — Releasable locking means for closure caps

Claim 1

Independent Claim 253 words

Releasable locking means for a hollow circular member open at one end and a cup-shaped closure cap of non-magnetic material complementary in shape to the exterior of said open end of said circular member and coengageable with each other by complementary coengageable securing means operable by rotation of said cap relative to said circular member, in combination with a locking member of ferrous material supported by said cap for axial movement relative thereto, means on said cap engaging said locking member to prevent rotation thereof relative to said cap but permit limited axial movement between operative and inoperative positions relative to said circular member when said cap is secured thereto, said circular member having a fixed locking configuration therein, and said locking member on said cap having securing means thereon movable therewith when moved axially and engageable with said fixed locking configuration in said circular member when said locking member is in said locking position relative to said cap, thereby to prevent rotation of said cap relative to said circular member, said locking member being movable into said operative position by gravity when said circular member is substantially vertical and said cap is secured thereto, and said locking member being movable vertically upward to said inoperative position upon application of a magnet to said cap and thereby move said securing means on said locking member axially toward said cap and disengage the same from said locking configuration in said circular member and thereby permit rotation of said cap relative to said circular member.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 253 words

Releasable locking means for a hollow circular member open at one end and a cup-shaped closure cap of non-magnetic material complementary in shape to the exterior of said open end of said circular member and coengageable with each other by complementary coengageable securing means operable by rotation of said cap relative to said circular member, in combination with a locking member of ferrous material supported by said cap for axial movement relative thereto, means on said cap engaging said locking member to prevent rotation thereof relative to said cap but permit limited axial movement between operative and inoperative positions relative to said circular member when said cap is secured thereto, said circular member having a fixed locking configuration therein, and said locking member on said cap having securing means thereon movable therewith when moved axially and engageable with said fixed locking configuration in said circular member when said locking member is in said locking position relative to said cap, thereby to prevent rotation of said cap relative to said circular member, said locking member being movable into said operative position by gravity when said circular member is substantially vertical and said cap is secured thereto, and said locking member being movable vertically upward to said inoperative position upon application of a magnet to said cap and thereby move said securing means on said locking member axially toward said cap and disengage the same from said locking configuration in said circular member and thereby permit rotation of said cap relative to said circular member.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 76 words

The locking means according to claim 1 in which said cap has an axial socket therein opening downward and within which said locking member is movable axially between said operative and inoperative positions relative to said cap, and means connected to said cap and engageable by said locking member to limit the movement of said locking member axially toward the open end of said socket and thereby establish the locking member in the operative position thereof.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 161 words

The locking means according to claim 1 in which said cap has a socket within which said locking member is slidable non-rotatably and the portion of said cap comprising the bottom of said socket being relatively thin to minimize the strength of the magnet necessary to move said locking member to the inoperative position thereof, and a rib extending perpendicularly upward from the outer surface of said portion of said cap, and said locking means further including a permanent magnet having a transverse slot in one end thereof to define the poles of the magnet and said slot being complementary at least in depth to the height of said rib and adapted to receive the same when the magnet is applied to said cap to move said locking member therein to said inoperative position thereof and thereby enable the ends of the poles of said member to abut the upper surface of said portion of said cap above said socket therein.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 64 words

The locking means according to claim 3 further including additional ribs on the outer surface of said cap parallel to but spaced transversely from said perpendicular rib substantially even distances from opposite sides thereof, the distance between the inner surfaces of said additional ribs being slightly greater than the transverse dimension of said magnet and operable to facilitate positioning said magnet upon said cap.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 79 words

The locking means according to claim 1 in which said cap has a cavity extending axially and opening downward, said locking member being axially slidable therein, and said means in said cap to prevent rotation of said locking member but permit limited axial movement comprises slot-like opening means in said locking member and a transversely positioned member fixed within said socket and extending through said slot-like opening means and thereby prevent said rotation between said cap and locking member.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 46 words

The locking means according to claim 5 in which said locking member is cup-shaped and inverted within said socket in said cap and opening downward and said slot-like opening means in said locking member comprising slots in opposed portions of the sidewalls of said cup-shaped member.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 72 words

The locking means according to claim 6 in which the top portion of said cap which forms the base of the socket therein is thin to minimize the strength of the magnet needed to move said cup-shaped locking member into said socket and thereby disengage the locking member from engagement with said fixed locking configuration in said circular member and permit rotation of said cap relative to said circular member as aforesaid.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 87 words

The locking means according to claim 6 in which said fixed locking configuration on said circular member comprises oppositely extending projections transverse to the axis of said member and forming diametrically-spaced recesses therein, and said securing means on said locking member comprising transverse projections on said locking member operable to be disposed between a transverse pair of said recesses when said locking member is in said operative position thereof within said socket in said cap, thereby to prevent rotation between said cap and circular member as aforesaid.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 63 words

The locking means according to claim 8 in which said projections comprise a pair of ears extending outwardly in opposite directions from the outer end of said cup-shaped locking member and the length of said slots being adequate to permit said ears to move from said recesses between said projections when propelled by a magnet toward the inoperative position of said locking member.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 53 words

The locking means according to claim 9 further characterized by said ears being sufficiently strong to resist attempts to rotate said cap manually relative to said circular member but said ears being yieldable to disengage said locking configuration in said circular member when a wrench is applied to said cap to rotate it.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 44 words

The locking means according to claim 10 in which said cap has a projection extending upwardly therefrom centrally and the transverse cross-sectional shape comprising a polygon to provide opposed faces engageable by a wrench, said projection also containing said cavity for said locking member.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 132 words

The locking means according to claim 5 in which said cap has a tubular projection extending axially away from the top of said cap and slidably received said locking member, said complementary coengageable securing means on said cap and circular member comprising bayonet-type slots in opposite portions of said tubular projection engageable with a bar extending transversely across the interior of said circular member and said slot-like opening means in said locking member comprising a pair of diametrically opposite slots extending upwardly from the open lower end of said locking member which when the same is in the operative position thereof receives said transverse bar in said circular member to prevent rotation of said cap relative to said circular member and thereby secures said cap in locked position upon said circular member.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 71 words

The locking means according to claim 12 in which said slots in said locking member are sufficiently long to receive both said transversely positioned member in said socket of said cap for said locking member and said transverse bar in said circular member, wherein the common engagement of said slots with both said transversely positioned member and said transverse bar prevents said rotation of said cap relative to said circular member.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 70 words

The locking member according to claim 13 in which said transversely positioned member in said socket of said cap comprises a pin of smaller diameter than said transverse bar in said circular member and capable of resisting manual turning movement of said cap relative to said circular member but susceptible to being fractured when a wrench is applied to said cap to rotate it for separation from said circular member.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 41 words

The locking member according to claim 14 in which said cap has a projection which extends upward therefrom which contains said cavity for said locking member and said projection in cross-section comprising a polygon having opposed faces engageable by a wrench.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 210 words

Releasable locking means for a hollow circular member open at one end and a cup-shaped closure cap of non-magnetic material complementary in shape to the exterior of said open end of said circular member and coengageable with each other by complementary coengageable securing means, in combination with a locking member of ferrous material supported by said cap for axial movement relative thereto and having axially-spaced geometric configurations thereon, and locking configurations on said cap and circular member respectively complementary to said spaced configurations on said locking member and extending axially a greater distance than that of the configurations on said locking member when said circular member and closure cap are connected in closed relationship, the complementary configurations on said cap and locking member being axially slidable a limited amount and also being non-rotatable relative to each other, and the complementary configurations on said circular member and locking member being movable into non-rotatable coengagement by gravity and thereby preventing rotation of said cap relative to said circular member, whereby application of a magnet to said cap serves to move said locking member axially toward said cap and disengage said locking member from said locking configuration in said circular member and thereby permit rotation of said cap relative to said circular member.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 210 words

Releasable locking means for a hollow circular member open at one end and a cup-shaped closure cap of non-magnetic material complementary in shape to the exterior of said open end of said circular member and coengageable with each other by complementary coengageable securing means, in combination with a locking member of ferrous material supported by said cap for axial movement relative thereto and having axially-spaced geometric configurations thereon, and locking configurations on said cap and circular member respectively complementary to said spaced configurations on said locking member and extending axially a greater distance than that of the configurations on said locking member when said circular member and closure cap are connected in closed relationship, the complementary configurations on said cap and locking member being axially slidable a limited amount and also being non-rotatable relative to each other, and the complementary configurations on said circular member and locking member being movable into non-rotatable coengagement by gravity and thereby preventing rotation of said cap relative to said circular member, whereby application of a magnet to said cap serves to move said locking member axially toward said cap and disengage said locking member from said locking configuration in said circular member and thereby permit rotation of said cap relative to said circular member.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 24 words

The locking means according to claim 16 in which said axially-spaced geometrical configurations on said locking member respectively are on opposite end portions thereof.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 63 words

The locking means according to claim 16 in which said cap is provided with a socket closed at one end and extending axially therein and opening downward, one end of said locking member being mounted within said socket for axial slidable movement and in cross-section said socket and one end of said locking member having complementary geometric shapes to prevent relative rotation therebetween.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 60 words

The locking means according to claim 18 in which said cap and said one end of said locking member have coengageable means to prevent separation of the same and limit the axial movement to a range adequate to effect engagement and disengagement of the complementary locking configurations respectively on the opposite end of said locking member and said circular member.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 61 words

The locking means according to claim 19 in which the complementary locking configurations on said other end of said locking member and circular member respectively comprise oppositely extending projections transverse to the axis of said locking member and diametrically-spaced recesses within said circular member at a level engaged by said transverse projections only when said locking member is in locking position.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 66 words

The locking means according to claim 19 in which the complementary configurations on said other end of said locking member and circular member respective comprise a slot extending transversely across and into said other end of said locking member and a bar extending diametrically across said circular member at a level at which said slot receives said bar when said locking member is in locking position.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 97 words

The locking means according to claim 16 in combination with a wrench having a head on one end including means arranged to engage said closure cap to effect rotation thereof relative to said circular member, and said wrench including a magnet located in said head immediately opposite the end of said ferrous locking member in said cap when the cap is engaged by said head of said wrench, whereby said magnet is operable to move said locking member axially within said cap a sufficient distance to disengage said member from the locking configuration in said circular member.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 91 words

The locking means according to claim 22 in which said cup-shaped cap is provided further with a projection extending upward from the open end thereof and provided with an interior recess in which one end of said locking member is movable axially, and the head of said wrench having an open-ended socket to receive said projection on said cap, said socket and projection in cross-section having complementary geometrical configurations to prevent relative rotation and said magnet being mounted in the head of said wrench in axial alignment with said socket therein.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 66 words

The locking means according to claim 23 in which said magnet is a permanent magnet and extends through the head of said wrench to expose opposite ends respectively into said cavity in said wrench and the outer exterior surface of said head for contact with a ferrous surface to support said wrench and also secure said cap to said wrench while said wrench is so supported.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 110 words

The locking means according to claim 22 in which said cup-shaped cap is provided with peripheral exterior indentations and said head of said wrench is provided with opposed projections adapted to be received respectively in diametrically positioned indentations in said cap and said magnet is a permanent magnet extending at least partially through said head of said wrench centrally of said head to effect disengagement of said locking member in said cap from the locking configuration in said hollow circular member and also provide magnetic attachment of said wrench to a ferrous surface for support thereby and to secure said cap to said wrench while said wrench is so supported.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 138 words

The locking means according to claim 16 in which said cap is provided with a socket closed at one end and opening downward into the cup-shaped recess of said cap, one end of said locking member being mounted slidably within said socket axially and in cross-section said socket and the outermost portion of said one end of said locking member having complementary geometric shapes to prevent relative rotation, and said locking means further including sealing means positioned on said locking member for abutting engagement with the interior of said cap at the end of said socket to prevent ingress of moisture when said one end of said locking member is axially retracted into said socket to disengage the locking configurations on said other end of said locking member from the complementary configurations therefor on said hollow circular member.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 33 words

The locking means according to claim 26 in which said sealing means is an elastic O-ring and said locking member has a cylindrical intermediate portion around which said O-ring extends for frictional adjustment.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 93 words

The locking means according to claim 26 in which said complementary configurations on said circular member and locking member respectively comprise a transverse frangible bar and circularly-spaced recesses into a diametrical pair of which the opposite ends of said bar are received when said locking member is in locked position relative to said hollow circular member, said frangible bar having sufficient resistance to fracture or bending when manual rotation of said cap is attempted but said bar yielding to permit rotation of said cap by a wrench relative to said hollow circular member.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1983-09-23	1984-03-24	1984-09-23	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1987-09-23	1988-03-24	1988-09-23	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1991-09-23	1992-03-24	1992-09-23	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Releasable locking means for closure caps

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