Claims
- 1. A sealable container comprising:
- a tubular member having an open end and an inner wall;
- a closed container having an opening;
- means mounting the tubular member to the opening of the closed container;
- a sealing cap coupled to said tubular member, said sealing cap including a base and a cup-shaped member extending from said base, said cup-shaped member having an open end adjacent said base and a closed end comprising a generally convex wall, said generally convex end wall bulging outwardly in a direction away from said open end of the cup-shaped member and being configured to occlude said tubular member when said cup-shaped member is inserted through the open end of said tubular member; and
- a locking cap coupled to said tubular member, said locking cap having a portion configured for being received within said cup-shaped member and sized to prevent said convex wall from being inverted into a concave configuration when said cup-shaped member is positioned in said tubular member and said portion of said locking cap is positioned within said cup-shaped member.
- 2. The container of claim 1 wherein said generally convex end wall is imperforate.
- 3. The container of claim 2 wherein said cup-shaped member is flexible.
- 4. The container of claim 3 wherein said cup-shaped member includes a tubular section between said base and generally convex end wall, said tubular section having a frustoconical outer wall surface, the diameter of said outer wall surface adjacent said generally convex end wall being greater than the diameter of said outer wall surface adjacent said base.
- 5. The container of claim 4 wherein said cup-shaped member includes an annular outer surface of substantially constant diameter between said generally convex end wall and said frustoconical outer wall surface.
- 6. The container of claim 1 wherein said cup-shaped member includes a tubular section between said base and generally convex end wall, said tubular section having a frustoconical outer wall surface, the diameter of said outer wall surface adjacent said generally convex end wall being greater than the diameter of said outer wall surface adjacent said base.
- 7. The container of claim 6 wherein said cup-shaped member includes an annular outer surface of substantially constant diameter between said generally convex end wall and said frustoconical outer wall surface.
- 8. The container of claim 6 wherein said inner wall of said tubular member includes a groove in the vicinity of said open end of said tubular member, said groove generally corresponding in configuration with said frustoconical outer wall surface for cooperating therewith, the diameter of said groove generally increasing in the direction away from said open end of said tubular member.
- 9. The container of claim 1 wherein said locking cap includes a base and a projection extending from said base, said projection having first and second portions being sized so that when said cup-shaped member is positioned in said tubular member and said locking cap portion is positioned in said cup-shaped member, said first portion extends to a position adjacent said generally convex end wall to prevent said generally convex end wall from being inverted into a concave configuration and said second portion frictionally engages an inner surface of the cup-shaped member to urge the cup-shaped member radially outward in sealing relation towards the tubular member.
- 10. The sealable container according to claim 1 and wherein:
- the means mounting the tubular member to the opening of the closed container includes means for releaseably mounting the tubular member to the opening.
- 11. A sealable device comprising:
- a tubular member having an open end and an inner and outer wall;
- a sealing cap coupled to said tubular member, said sealing cap including a base and a cup-shaped member extending from said base, said cup-shaped member having an open end adjacent said base and a closed end which comprises a generally convex end disposed away from said open end and toward the inner wall and which is configured to seal said tubular member when said cup-shaped member is inserted through the open end of said tubular member;
- a locking cap having a projection configured for being received within said cup-shaped member, said projection having a first portion sized to frictionally engage an inner surface of said cup-shaped member and a second portion sized and arranged to prevent said convex wall from being inverted into a concave configuration when said cup-shaped member is positioned in said tubular member and said projection is positioned within said cup-shaped member; and
- a flexible member having one end coupled to said sealing cap and another end coupled to said locking cap.
- 12. The device of claim 11 wherein said locking cap is hingedly secured to said sealing cap.
- 13. The device of claim 11 wherein said end wall is generally convex and bulges outwardly in a direction away from said open end of the cup-shaped member.
- 14. The device of claim 11 wherein said cup-shaped member includes a tubular section between said base and said end wall, said tubular section having a frustoconical outer wall surface.
- 15. The device of claim 11 wherein said locking cap portion includes a projection sized so that when said cup-shaped member is positioned in said tubular member and said locking cap portion is positioned in said cup-shaped member, said projection extends to a position adjacent said end wall to prevent said end wall from bulging inwardly toward said open end of the cup-shaped member.
- 16. The device of claim 11 wherein said cup-shaped member includes an annular recess and an O-ring positioned in said recess.
- 17. The device of claim 11 wherein said sealing member includes an annular member that surrounds said cup-shaped member, said annular member being sized to fit around said open end of the tubular member.
- 18. The device of claim 17 wherein said outer wall of the tubular member includes threads and said annular member includes threads arranged to cooperate with said threads on the tubular member to secure the sealing cap to the tubular member.
- 19. The device of claim 17 wherein said annular member is configured to form a press fit with the outer wall of the tubular member.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/918,527 filed Jul. 20, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,599 which is hereby incorporated by reference.
US Referenced Citations (29)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
847947 |
Aug 1957 |
GBX |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
918527 |
Jul 1992 |
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