End Panel for Nested Tab Safety Closure

The present invention pertains to child-resistant safety closures, and more particularly, to child-resistant closures for self-opening cans.

Child-resistant self-opening end closures, of the type wherein the pull tab is nested between end panel protrusions which obstruct access to the tab ring, are known in the art (see co-pending Applications IMPROVED PULL TAB FOR NESTED TAB SAFETY CLOSURE -- Docket No. J-1135 -- and NESTED TAB SAFETY CLOSURE -- Docket No. J-1068). End closures of this type may be subject to damage caused by accidental impact on the protruding, upturned nose portion of the tab. Such impacts could result in distortion of the tab and concomitant difficulties in opening the can, or in permanent displacement of the ring portion of the tab and resultant loss of the child-resistant feature of the closure. It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved nested tab safety closure, wherein the nose portion of the pull tab is configured to minimize the possibility of damage resulting from accidental impact thereon.

It is a further object to provide an improved end panel that requires a minimum of modification to existing end panel tooling.

It is another object to provide an improved end panel which may be employed in conjunction with a simplified pull tab of the tab-nesting type.

It is yet another object to provide a child-resistant self-opening end closure that retains it child-resistant features despite mishandling.

The various features and advantages of the end closure of this invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plane view of the security closure of the present invention, showing the tab in the nested position.

FIG. 2 is a top plane view similar to FIG. 1, showing the pull tab removed.

FIG. 3 is a diametrical cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 1--1 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the tab in the unnested position.

As shown in the drawings, the child-resistant closure of this invention comprises an end panel 1 and a pull tab 2.

The pull tab 2 comprises a nose portion 3, an intermediate portion 4 and a substantially circular finger ring portion 5, said portions being substantially coplanar. An integral piercing member or opener 6 is formed on the nose portion 4 and a recessed, substantially circular rivet well 7 is formed in the intermediate portion 4 and acts as a fulcrum accommodating tilting of the pull tab 2 relative to the end panel 1.

The rivet well 7 comprises a well wall 7a and a substantially flat, horizontal well base 7b, which is substantially parallel to the principal plane of the tab 2. The pull tab 2 is attached to the end panel 1 by an integrally formed rivet 8 which passes through a hole in the well base 7b and holds the base 7b flat against the end panel 1. A horseshoe-shaped slit 9 is formed in the well base 7b concentric with the rivet 8, opening toward the nose portion 3 of the tab 2. The slit 9 permits the pull tab 2 to be lifted without distortion of the end panel 1 in the area adjacent the rivet 8. The well wall 7a slopes outwardly from the well base 7b to provide sufficient clearance between the wall 7a and the head of the rivet 7 during lifting of the tab 2.

The piercing member 6 comprises a panelward curl 6a on the distal edge of the nose portion 3 of the pull tab 2, and a vertical portion 6b extending panelwardly from the free edge of the curl 6a.

Two concentric curved protrusions 12 and 13, formed in the end panel 1, closely conform with and obstruct access to the finger ring portion 5 and prevent grasping and lifting of the pull tab 2. The inner protrusion 12, which is frustoconical in shape, is interior to the finger ring portion 5 and abuts the inner periphery of the portion 5 along its entire circumference. The outer protrusion 13 which comprises substantially flat, sloped sides 13a and a substantially flat, horizontal top 13, is exterior to the finger ring portion 5 and abuts the outer periphery of the portion 5. Both of the protrusions 12 and 13 extend beyond the principal plane of the tab 2 about the finger ring portion 5.

The end panel 1 includes a score line 10 defining an opening flap 11. A tilt-enhancing recess 14 is formed in the end panel 1 beneath the nose portion 3 of the pull tab 2. The recess 14 comprises a sloped base 14a and a sidewall 14b, and is shaped to accommodate the nose portion 3. The slope of the base 14a is downward toward the periphery of the end panel 1. The score line 10 traverses the recess 14, with a segment 10a traversing the recess base 14a directly beneath the piercing member 6 on the nose portion 3.

To open the closure, the nose portion 3 of the pull tab 2 is depressed into the recess 14, causing the tab 2 to tilt about the rivet well 7, thereby producing an upward displacement of the finger ring portion 5 and a flexure of the unslit area 15 of the well base 7b (FIG. 4). The ring 5 may now be grasped and the closure may be opened in the conventional manner.

If the nose portion 3 is released prior to grasping the ring 5, the counter-rotational force exerted on the tab 2 by the unslit area 15 causes the tab 2 to resume its nested position (FIGS. 1 and 3). It is, therefore, necessary that the operations required for opening the closure be performed in the proper sequence. This additional operation, which runs counter to a child's prior experience, and which must be coordinated with the conventional opening operations, renders removal of the closure beyond the capability of a young child.