Claims
- 1. A child-proof screw-cap closure with
- (a) an inner cap which can be screwed onto the dispensing orifice of a container,
- (b) an outer cap which covers the said inner cap and, in the non-actuating position, is rotatably carried thereon without causing it to execute the same movement,
- (c) a coupling member which, when the closure is actuated to open it, produces a positive engagement between the inner cap and the outer cap, and
- (d) a sealing member which can be applied between the orifice rim of the container and the inner wall of the inner cap,
- said inner cap possessing, on its inside, an inner chamber which faces the container, and also possessing a cavity in its upper end face which chamber and cavity are connected with one another by a first passage which at all times freely permits the coupling member to pass; said inner cap having a second ball-circulating channel which connects said cavity with said chamber, said second channel having a window in the outer side wall of the inner cap, between said cavity and said chamber, and said outer cap having, on its inner wall, a projecting zone with at least one niche, which zone projects so far into the interior of the outer cap that, in the non-actuating position, it at least partially covers said window of said ball-circulating channel and thereby prevents passage of the coupling member through the said channel, whilst, when the outer cap is rotated so that said niche faces said window, said coupling member can pass from said cavity into said window, whilst at the same time projecting into said niche, as a result whereof a positive engagement is established between said inner cap and said outer cap, and both said caps can be unscrewed from the mouth of said container.
- 2. A screw-cap closure as described in claim 1, wherein said inner cap has a recess in the side wall thereof which recess extends below said window and is deeper than the lower edge of said niche in the inner wall of said outer cap, and wherein said coupling member, when projecting into said niche, rests against the bottom face of said recess.
- 3. A screw-cap closure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the zone of said window in said outer side wall of said inner cap has a step therein, the reach of said ball-circulating channel between said window and said cavity terminating above said step, and the reach of said channel between said window and said chamber terminating below said step in said side wall of said inner cap and being so staggered relative to an orifice of said first reach of said channel, in the direction in which the closure is rotated to close it, that the coupling member when projecting into the niche of the outer cap is pushed into an opening of said second reach of said channel on turning the outer cap in the closing direction, said coupling member being able to leave said niche, whereby said outer cap and said inner cap become disengaged.
- 4. A screw-cap closure as claimed in claim 3, wherein said second reach of said channel has an entry into said chamber which entry is so designed that the coupling member is prevented from entering said second reach from said chamber.
- 5. A screw-cap closure as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a locking device between said outer cap and said inner cap, by means of which locking device said inner cap is carried with said outer cap when the latter is rotated in the closing direction, whilst said inner cap is released when rotating said outer cap in the opening direction.
- 6. A screw-cap closure as claimed in claim 5, wherein the marginal edge of said niche in said inner wall of said outer cap, which on rotation of the latter in the opening direction is brought into contact with said coupling member projecting into said niche, is so arranged relative to the coupling marginal edge of said window of said inner cap above said step against which said coupling member is pressed on rotating the closure to open it, that, with said coupling member removed from said niche, said edge of said niche does not come into engagement with said coupling marginal edge.
- 7. A screw-cap closure as claimed in claim 6, wherein the annular step adjacent to said window in said outer wall of said inner cap has ramps which rise in the opening direction of rotation, and said inner wall of said outer cap has an annular shoulder comprising lifting faces, said ramps being of sufficient length so as to prevent engagement between said niche edge and said coupling marginal edge by raising said lifting faces, sliding on said ramps.
- 8. A screw-cap closure as claimed in claim 7, wherein said coupling member is a ball of said closure.
- 9. A screw-cap closure as claimed in claim 8, wherein said sealing member is firmly connected to said inner cap so as to seal said inner chamber and prevents said coupling member from dropping out.
- 10. A screw-cap closure as claimed in claim 9, wherein said sealing element has a cavity on its side which faces said inner chamber of said inner cap, in which cavity said coupling member is held securely, to prevent a shift in its position, when said inner cap is in the normal upright position.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
7221/75 |
Jun 1975 |
CH |
|
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 689,124 filed May 24, 1976 now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
2372482 |
Genei |
Mar 1945 |
|
3734330 |
Danner et al. |
May 1973 |
|
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
689124 |
May 1976 |
|