Safety closure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12012261-B2
Application number	US-202117395174-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 5, 2021
Priority date	Aug 4, 2020
Publication date	Jun 18, 2024
Grant date	Jun 18, 2024

Abstract

Described herein are one or more embodiments of closures with a child-resistant safety structure. A cap couples to a container neck, such as via threads. An overcap extends around the cap. A biasing element in the overcap biases the sidewalls of the overcap above the cap so that rotating the overcap does not transfer sufficient torque to the cap to also rotate the cap. When the overcap is pressed towards the container body, the sidewalls of the overcap interface with the cap, thereby providing a sufficient interface with sufficient friction to permit rotation of the overcap to translate into rotation of the cap.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A closure comprising:
a roll-on cap comprising:
a top panel;
a vertical axis around which the top panel is centered;
a cylindrical wall that extends from the top panel, the cylindrical wall defining an inner surface that faces towards the vertical axis and an opposing outer surface that faces away from the vertical axis;
a first interface portion defined by the outer surface; and
a first diameter of the first interface portion with respect to the vertical axis, the first diameter is a maximum diameter of the first interface portion; and

an overcap configured to be placed over the roll-on cap, the overcap comprising:
a top panel;
a cylindrical wall extending from an outer periphery of the top panel, the cylindrical wall defining an inner surface that faces towards the vertical axis;
a second interface portion defined by the inner surface, the second interface portion is configured to selectively interface with the first interface portion;
a second diameter of the second interface portion with respect to the vertical axis, wherein the second diameter is less than the first diameter; and
a biasing element that biases the second interface portion distance from the first interface portion.

2. The closure of claim 1 , wherein the cap is formed from a material that includes aluminum.

3. The closure of claim 1 , the first interface portion of the cap comprising a plurality of protrusions that extend radially away from the vertical axis.

4. The closure of claim 3 , each of the plurality of protrusions extending along a primary longitudinal axis that is parallel to the vertical axis.

5. The closure of claim 4 , the overcap comprising a ledge that extends inwardly towards the vertical axis, the ledge interfacing against a lower end of the plurality of protrusions to secure the overcap to the cap.

6. The closure of claim 1 , the overcap comprising an outer portion and an inner portion coupled to the outer portion, the inner portion of the overcap comprising the second interface portion that interfaces with the first interface portion.

7. The closure of claim 6 , wherein the outer portion and the inner portion are formed from different materials.

8. The closure of claim 7 , the overcap comprising a central portion that interfaces against the top panel of the cap.

9. The closure of claim 6 , wherein the outer portion of the overcap comprises a central portion that the vertical axis extends through.

10. The closure of claim 9 , wherein the inner portion of the overcap comprises a central portion that the vertical axis extends through.

11. A closure combination comprising:
a container comprising:
an internal volume of the container;
a container neck that defines an opening, the opening provides fluid communication between the internal volume of the container and an exterior of the container; and
a vertical axis around which the container neck is centered;

a roll-on cap rolled on to the container neck, the roll-on cap comprising:
a top panel;
a cylindrical wall that extends from the top panel, the cylindrical wall defining an inner surface that faces towards the vertical axis and an opposing outer surface that faces away from the vertical axis;
a first interface portion defined by the outer surface; and
a first diameter of the first interface portion with respect to the vertical axis, the first diameter is a maximum diameter of the first interface portion; and

an overcap configured to be placed over the roll-on cap, the overcap comprising:
a top panel;
a cylindrical wall extending from an outer periphery of the top panel, the cylindrical wall defining an inner surface that faces towards the vertical axis;
a second interface portion defined by the inner surface, the second interface portion is configured to selectively interface with the first interface portion;
a second diameter of the second interface portion, wherein the second diameter is less than the first diameter; and
a biasing element that biases the second interface portion away from the first interface portion.

12. The combination of claim 11 , the first interface portion comprising a plurality of protrusions that extend radially away from the vertical axis and each of the plurality of protrusions extending along a primary longitudinal axis that is parallel to the vertical axis.

13. The combination of claim 12 , the overcap comprising a ledge that extends inwardly towards the vertical axis, the ledge interfacing with a lower end of the plurality of protrusions to secure the overcap to the cap.

14. The combination of claim 11 , the overcap comprising an outer portion and an inner portion coupled to the outer portion, the inner portion of the overcap comprising the second interface portion that interfaces with the first interface portion.

15. The combination of claim 14 , wherein the outer portion of the overcap comprises a circular central portion that the vertical axis extends through, and wherein the inner portion of the overcap comprises a circular central portion that the vertical axis extends through.

16. A closure comprising:
a roll-on cap comprising:
a top panel;
a vertical axis around which the top panel is centered;
a cylindrical wall that extends from the top panel, the cylindrical wall defining an inner surface that faces towards the vertical axis and an opposing outer surface that faces away from the vertical axis; and
a first interface portion; and

an overcap comprising:
a top panel;
a cylindrical wall extending from an outer periphery of the top panel, the cylindrical wall defining an inner surface that faces towards the vertical axis;
a second interface portion, the second interface portion is configured to selectively interface with the first interface portion; and
a biasing element that biases the second interface portion away from the first interface portion, wherein the overcap is configured such that rotation of the overcap only causes rotation of the cap when the second interface portion interfaces with the first interface portion.

17. The closure of claim 16 , wherein the outer surface of the cap comprises the first interface portion.

18. The closure of claim 17 , the first interface portion defining a first diameter that is a maximum diameter of the first interface portion, the second interface portion defining a second diameter that is less than the first diameter.

19. The closure of claim 16 , the first interface portion comprising a plurality of protrusions extending along a primary longitudinal axis that is parallel to the vertical axis.

20. The closure of claim 16 , the overcap comprising an outer portion and an inner portion coupled to the outer portion, the inner portion of the overcap comprising the second interface portion that interfaces with the first interface portion, wherein the outer portion and the inner portion are formed from different materials.

Assignees

• Silgan White Cap LLC

Inventors

• Berge Gary

Classifications

• B65D50/041 Primary

  the closure comprising nested inner and outer caps or an inner cap and an outer coaxial annular member, which can be brought into engagement to enable removal by rotation · CPC title