Patent Application
20100122966
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to container caps, and more particularly, to an improved structure of a container cap for sealing the opening of a container for storing pills or various particulate objects.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a container for storing medicine, such as pills, has an opening sealingly closed by a cap and having a relatively large diameter to facilitate the dispensing of pills from the container.
When the cap is turned open, the opening of the container that was sealingly closed by the cap is completely exposed to allow the pills to come out. However, it is difficult to let out the desired number of pills precisely. Chances are a larger number of pills than needed will spill out by accident, so that the person ready to take the medicine must first take the trouble of putting the extra pills back into the container, thus exposing the pills to contamination. It is believed that many people, particularly those unwell, must have the experience that, due to an awkward operation resulting from poor health condition, pills or a container storing the pills drops to the ground unintentionally and, as a result, the pills are scattered all over the places and soiled.
In view of the shortcomings of the aforementioned container cap that, when turned open, directly expose the opening of the container to the fullest, the inventor of the present invention after contemplating ways of improvement and putting years of experience into research and experiments, finally succeeded in producing an improved structural design for a container cap.
The present invention provides a container cap having an improved structural design to prevent pills from spilling out of a container closed with the container cap. The container cap includes a movable cover that is extensible to enable indirect, two-step dispensing of the pills, so that the pills come out of the container at a reduced speed and will not fall out accidentally. The movable cover is also configured to prevent unintentional opening, so that the movable cover can be pulled up to an open state only when it is rotated to a specific position, thereby enabling the two-step dispensing of the pills and keeping the pills from spilling out.
The structure and objectives as well as a preferred mode of use and the spirit of the present invention will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to
The movable cover 10 (shown in more detail in
The outer annular housing 20 (shown in a more detailed way in
The inner cover 30 has a top formed with an annular, toothed surface 301 while an annular notch 302 is provided at an inner periphery of the toothed surface 301. The inner cover 30 also has a through hole 303 formed centrally therein. As shown in
To assemble the container cap, the insertion tube 102 of the movable cover 10 is inserted into the through hole of the outer annular housing 20. While doing so, the slits 102a formed on the insertion tube 102 provide contraction spaces to facilitate insertion of the insertion tube 102 in place, so that the flange 102b and the two protuberances 102c at the bottom of the insertion tube 102 are engaged in the annular recess 202 on the bottom portion of the inner annular surface of the outer annular housing 20. In consequence, the movable cover 10 is prevented from disengagement from the outer annular housing 20 and is capable only of axial rotation. Next, the inner cover 30 is put in place so that the annular, toothed surface 301 and the annular notch 302 of the inner cover 30 are engaged with the annular, toothed surface 101b and the annular projection 101c at the bottom of the top panel 101 of the movable cover 10, respectively. Finally, the annular plate 40 is fixedly installed at the bottom of the outer annular housing 20 to form the container cap 1000, which can be used to sealingly close an opening of a container 50, as shown in
The flange 102b and the two protuberances 102c of the insertion tube 102 of the movable cover 10, when engaged in the annular recess 202 on the bottom portion of the inner annular surface of the outer annular housing 20, cannot be disengaged and is capable only of axial rotation, making it impossible to pull the movable cover 10 up to an open state. In other words, the movable cover 10 is locked. Referring to
To secure the container cap 1000 onto the container 50, the container cap 1000 is placed directly on top of the container 50, and the movable cover 10 is pressed downward to engage the annular, toothed surface 101b thereof with the annular, toothed surface 301 of the inner cover 30. Then, the movable cover 10 is rotated so that the inner cover 30 is driven downward to seal the container 50.
The container 50 serves to store pills or other particulate objects.
In addition, the opening 102d on the front side of the insertion tube 102 of the movable cover 10 may be sized according to practical needs.
In conclusion, the present invention has been demonstrated to serve the intended purposes. In addition, the present invention has not been put to public use and satisfies the requirements of utility and novelty for patent application. Therefore, an application for patent of the present invention is hereby lawfully filed for examination.
