Child-resistant containers having spinning collar cap assemblies and methods for the manufacture thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10618706-B2
Application number	US-201715727691-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 9, 2017
Priority date	Oct 9, 2017
Publication date	Apr 14, 2020
Grant date	Apr 14, 2020

Abstract

Child-resistant containers or packages having spinning collar cap assemblies are provided, as are methods for manufacturing such containers. In various embodiments, the child-resistant container includes a container body having an inner cavity, an opening to the inner cavity, and a container neck circumscribing the opening. A spinning collar is retained around the container neck and is rotatable relative thereto in at least a first rotational direction. The child-resistant container further includes an overcap, which is sized and shaped to enclose the opening when attached to the spinning collar. Through the provision of a suitable threaded interface the overcap can be (i) detached from the spinning collar by rotation of the overcap relative to the spinning collar in the first rotational direction and (ii) removably attached to the spinning collar by rotation of the overcap relative to the spinning collar in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A child-resistant container, comprising:
a container body having an inner cavity, an opening to the inner cavity, and a container neck circumscribing the opening, the container neck comprising an outer circumferential channel, an outer periphery, and an annular shelf extending around the outer periphery;
a spinning collar comprising an inner peripheral surface and a projection extending inwardly from the inner peripheral surface and received within the outer circumferential channel to thereby be retained around the container neck and simultaneously rotatable, relative to the container neck, through any number of complete revolutions in at least a first rotational direction;
an overcap sized and shaped to enclose the opening and block access to the inner cavity when the overcap is attached to the spinning collar; and
a threaded interface provided between the spinning collar and the overcap, the threaded interface enabling the overcap to be (i) detached from the spinning collar by rotation of the overcap relative to the spinning collar in the first rotational direction and (ii) removably attached to the spinning collar by rotation of the overcap relative to the spinning collar in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction,
wherein the spinning collar comprises:
a manual grip portion having an annular rim, the annular rim disposed between the annular shelf and a lower peripheral edge of the overcap when the overcap is tightened onto the spinning collar, the manual grip physically accessible from an exterior of the child-resistant container when the overcap is attached to the spinning collar, and
a lower peripheral edge from which the annular rim projects in a radially outward direction.

2. The child-resistant container of claim 1 , wherein the spinning collar is rotatable with respect to the container neck in the first rotational direction through a 360 degree range of motion;
wherein the child-resistant container further comprises detents formed on the spinning collar and the overcap; and
wherein the detents engage when the overcap is tightened onto the spinning collar such that the spinning collar co-rotates with the overcap when turned in the first rotational direction, while rotation of the spinning collar is manually undeterred.

3. The child-resistant container of claim 1 , further comprising a tamper evident feature extending from the overcap toward the container body to at least partially cover the spinning collar collar.

4. The child-resistant container of claim 3 , wherein the tamper evident feature comprises a tamper evident tear seal integrally formed with the overcap as a single molded piece.

5. The child-resistant container of claim 1 , wherein the container neck further comprises:
an outer peripheral surface; and
a neck bead bounding an upper portion of the outer circumferential channel and extending at least partially around the outer peripheral surface, as taken about a centerline of the container neck.

6. The child-resistant container of claim 1 , further comprising a unidirectional rotational interface formed between spinning collar and the container neck;
wherein the unidirectional rotational interface is configured to permit rotation of the spinning collar relative to the container neck in the first rotational direction through a 360 degree range of motion, while restricting rotation of the spinning collar relative to the container neck in the second rotational direction to an angular range of motion less than 360 degrees.

7. The child-resistant container of claim 1 , wherein the spinning collar and the container neck comprise first and second ratchet lugs, respectively;
wherein the first ratchet lug slidably passes over the second ratchet lug when the spinning collar is rotated relative to the container neck in the first rotational direction through a 360 degree range of motion; and
wherein the first ratchet lug abuts the second ratchet lug to create a physical impasse when the spinning collar is rotated relative to the container neck in the second rotational direction.

8. The child-resistant container of claim 7 , wherein the container neck comprises an outer circumferential channel in which the second ratchet lug is located.

9. A child-resistant cap assembly, comprising:
an overcap having a threaded inner surface and a lower peripheral edge; and
a spinning collar, comprising:
an annular collar body sized and shaped for installation around a container neck having an outer circumferential channel;
a retention feature projecting from the annular collar body in a radially inward direction, the retention feature configured to engage into the outer circumferential channel to retain the spinning collar around the container neck, while simultaneously permitting rotation of the spinning collar relative to the container neck through any number of complete revolutions in a first rotational direction;
a lower collar rim extending radially outward from the annular collar body, the lower collar rim (i) located adjacent the lower peripheral edge of the overcap when the overcap is attached to the spinning collar and (ii) physically accessible from an exterior of the child-resistant cap assembly when the overcap is attached to the spinning collar; and
a threaded outer surface around the annular collar body, the threaded outer surface and the threaded inner surface cooperating to permit attachment of the overcap to the spinning collar by rotation of the overcap relative to the spinning collar in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction.

10. The child-resistant cap assembly of claim 9 ,
wherein the child-resistant container further comprises detents formed on the spinning collar and the overcap; and
wherein the detents engage when the overcap is tightened onto the spinning collar such that the spinning collar co-rotates with the overcap when turned in the first rotational direction and rotation of the spinning collar is manually undeterred.

11. The child-resistant cap assembly of claim 9 , further comprising a tamper evident tear seal, which is integrally formed with the overcap and which covers at least a portion of the spinning collar.

12. The child-resistant cap assembly of claim 9 , wherein the container neck further comprises a neck bead bounding an upper portion of the outer circumferential channel; and
wherein the child-resistant cap assembly further comprises a snap lug sized and shaped to slide over the neck bead and engage into the outer circumferential channel when the spinning collar is pressed onto the container neck.

13. The child-resistant cap assembly of claim 9 , further comprising a unidirectional rotational interface formed between spinning collar and the container neck when the spinning collar is installed there around; and
wherein the unidirectional rotational interface permits rotation of the spinning collar relative to the container neck in the first rotational direction through a 360 degree range of motion, while preventing rotation of the spinning collar relative to the container neck through a range of motion less than 360 degrees in the second rotational direction.

14. The child-resistant cap assembly of claim 9 , wherein the spinning collar and the container neck comprise first and second ratchet lugs, respectively; and
wherein the first ratchet lug slidably passes over the second ratchet lug when the spinning collar is rotated relative to the container neck in the first rotational direction through a 360 degree range of motion.

Assignees

• Henkel IP & Holding GmbH

Inventors

• Sterling Daniel Peter
• Colacioppo Keith Jon
• Kaye Glenn William

Classifications

• B65D41/34

  Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers {provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt} · CPC title

• B65D2215/02

  requiring the combination of simultaneous actions · CPC title

• B65D2215/00

  Child-proof means · CPC title

• B65D50/04

  requiring the combination of simultaneous actions, e.g. depressing and turning, lifting and turning, maintaining a part and turning another one ({B65D50/061} takes precedence) · CPC title

• B65D41/3447 Primary

  the tamper element being integrally connected to the closure by means of bridges · CPC title