Child Resistant Closure

Various child resistant closures have been proposed wherein a ratchet-type cap is threadably mounted on the neck of a container, and a ratchet tooth on the container neck is engageable with ratchet teeth on the cap, whereby there is an escaping relationship between the ratchet tooth and cap ratchet teeth during the threading of the cap onto the container, and a locking relationship during unthreading of the cap off of the container.

While these child resistant closures have been satisfactory for their intended purposes, they have been characterized by certain disadvantages, such as the cooperating teeth being visible so that a child can easily see the ratchet teeth locking mechanism, and manipulate it to remove the closure from the container. Another disadvantage is in the manufacture of the closure, some of which require three molds with a subsequent assembly operation, and others not being able to be molded because of molding restrictions.

After considerable research and experimentation, the child resistant closure of the present invention has been devised to overcome the disadvantages experienced with heretofore employed child resistant closures and comprises, essentially, a cylindrical cap having a tap wall and a depending skirt portion having an outwardly flared lower portion terminating in an annular flange portion having continuous inner and outer peripheral wall portions and a bottom wall portion extending radially between the inner and outer peripheral wall portions. A plurality of circumferentially spaced recesses forming ratchet teeth are provided in the bottom wall of the annular flange portion between the inner and outer peripheral wall portions thereof. The cap is adapted to be threaded onto the neck portion of a container having a shoulder portion between the threaded neck portion and body of the container. A ring member is molded integral with the threaded neck portion adjacent the shoulder portion, and a resilient tab member is integral with the ring member and extends substantially tangentially relative thereto. A ratchet tooth is integral with the free end of the tab, extending upwardly therefrom, and receivable into the recesses in an escaping relationship during the threading of the cap onto the container, and in a locking relationship during the unthreading of the cap off of the container. The tab member is adapted to be manually depressed to move the ratchet tooth on the tab out of a respective recess in the cap to thereby unlock the cap for removal from the container. The annular flange portion on the cap is substantially coextensive with the ring member so that the ring member and associated ratchet tooth are positioned between the inner and outer peripheral wall portions of the annular flange portion, whereby the ratchet tooth and associated recesses are hidden from view, while a portion of the tab member is slightly visible by extending beyond the outer periphery of the annular flange portion.

By the construction and arrangement of the child resistant closure of the present invention, the ratchet tooth on the tab member and the ratchet teeth on the cap are hidden from view, to thereby render the closure more child resistant, and which can be more readily manufactured with fewer molding restrictions.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container having the child resistant closure of the present invention mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the container illustrated in FIG. 1 showing the closure removed therefrom;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the closure of the present invention showing the ratchet teeth provided in the bottom wall of the annular flange portion of the cap;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary, sectional view showing the ratchet tooth on the tab member engaging one of the ratchet teeth on the cap; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary, sectional view illustrating the closure in the locked position on the container, and showing the tab members and associated ratchet tooth, in phantom, being moved to the unlocked position .

Referring to the drawings and, more particularly, to FIGS. 1 and 2, the closure of the present invention comprises a cylindrical cap 1 having a top wall 2 and a depending skirt portion 3 having an outwardly flared lower portion 4 terminating in an annular flange portion 5. The cap 1 is adapted to be threaded onto the neck portion 6 of a container 7 having a shoulder portion 8 between the threaded neck portion 6 and the body 9 of the container 7.

A ring 10 is molded integral with the threaded neck portion 6 adjacent the shoulder portion 8. This ring 10 is provided on many pharmaceutical containers to provide an anchor for the customary shrink wrap which encapsulates the cap 1 when originally packaged, and it also functions as a dust cover to prevent dust from entering the bottom of the cap 1 when threaded onto the container 7. The ring 10 is provided with a semi-chordal slot 10a forming a tab member 10b extending substantially tangentially to the ring 10, and having a ratchet tooth 11 on the free end thereof extending upwardly therefrom.

As will be seen in FIG. 3, the annular flange portion 5 has a continuous inner peripheral wall 5a , a continuous outer peripheral wall 5b, and a bottom wall portion 5c extending radially between the inner and outer peripheral wall portions 5a, 5b. A plurality of circumferentially spaced recesses 12 forming ratchet teeth are provided in the bottom wall 5c of the annular flange portion 5 between the inner and outer peripheral wall portion 5a, 5b. When the cap 1 is threaded onto the neck 6 of the container 7, the ratchet tooth 11 is receivable into the recesses 12 in an escaping relationship, and in a locking relationship when the cap 1 is turned in the opposite direction to unthread the cap 1 from the container. To this end, each recess 12 is provided with an inclined wall 12a and a vertical wall 12b which cooperate, respectively, with a corresponding inclined wall 11a and a vertical wall 11b on the tab member 10b so that in the escaping relationship, the inclined walls 11a and 12a slide on and relative to each other, and in the locking relationship the vertical walls 11b and 12b are in abutting relationship, as shown in FIG. 4.

To remove the cap 1 from the container 7, the tab member 10b is depressed or pushed downwardly to move the ratchet tooth 11 out of the recess 12; and while the tab member 10b is depressed, the cap 1 is unthreaded from the neck portion 6 of the container.

As will be seen in FIG. 1, the annular flange portion 5 on the cap 1 is substantially peripherally coextensive with the ring member 10 so that the ring member 10 and associated ratchet tooth 11 are contained within the inner and outer peripheral walls 5a, 5b of the flange portion 5, whereby the ratchet tooth 11 and associated recesses 12 are hidden from view; to thereby render the closure more child resistant.

It is to be understood that the forms of the invention herewith shown and described are to be taken as preferred examples of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from, the spirit of the invention or scope of the subjoined claims.