The present invention pertains to containers closed off by a lid or cover and means evidencing tampering of the container closure.
Heretofore efforts have been made to provide containers of the type having removable closures with means evidencing efforts to remove the closures. It is especially desirable to have a tamper-evident means for indicating if a container has been opened in the case where it is filled with food, drugs, medicines, or a material that is toxic or irritating to the skin. Tamper-evident means are also desirable to reduce pilfering, e.g., when the containers are filled with small, expensive electronic semiconductor devices. In some cases the tamper-evident means also may serve to render the closures difficult for children to open. Commonly the tamper evident means is either formed integral with the closure or constitutes a separate component that is engaged with both the closure and the container.
A primary object is to provide a container with novel means for indicating that an effort has been made to remove its cover or lid to gain access to its contents.
A further object is to provide a plastic container with a removable closure characterized by a tamper-evident means formed integral with the container and engaged by the closure.
Another object is to provide containers with reusable covers or lids that are characterized by novel means for evidencing tampering with the sealed closure.
Still another object is to provide a container closure system that includes a tamper-evident means and a child safety lock.
The foregoing objects, and other objects stated in or rendered obvious by the following specification are achieved by providing (1) a container and (2) a closure in the form of a cover or lid that fits over and makes a releasable connection with the open top end of the container, with the container being formed with a tamper evident member that is engaged by and makes an interlocking connection with the cover or lid. The tamper evident member is in the form of a tab that is breakable under pressure so that, once broken, it is disengaged from the cover or lid. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the cover or lid has teeth on its underside that interlock with teeth on the breakable tab. The tab functions as a tamper evident feature, since the fact that it has been broken can be easily discerned from inspection and since the torn tab cannot be restored to its original condition. In the preferred embodiment the cover or lid is attached to the container by a screw connection comprising external threads near the top end of the container and internal threads on the lid. When the lid or cover is screwed onto the container it forms a leak-proof seal with the container. In addition, the lid is provided with latch means that contact catch means on the exterior of the container to securely retain the lid on the container.
Other features and advantages of the invention are stated in or rendered obvious by the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention which is to be considered together with the accompanying drawings.
In the several figures, like numerals designate like components.
Referring to
Container 2 comprises a side wall 8 that preferably is tapered inwardly from top to bottom by several degrees, i.e., the o.d. of the bottom end is smaller than the o.d. of the upper end of the pail, so as to permit a number of containers (without lids) to be stacked one inside the other for storing and shipping purposes. The upper end of side wall 8 has a peripheral outwardly-extending radial flange 10 (
Formed on the outer surface 12 of side wall 8 below flange 10 are four pairs of vertically spaced ribs 14A, 14B that are inclined relative to the plane of flange 10 so as to serve as helical screw threads. In the following text ribs 14A, 14B are referred to as screw thread segments. The four pairs of screw thread segments are uniformly spaced from one another along the circumference of the side wall. Each screw-thread segment extends circumferentially through an angle of about 42°.
The upper end of the container also is rigidized by a circumferentially-extending exterior flange 18 located below the screw thread segments and a skirt 20 that is located below flange 18. Skirt 20 comprises an inclined radially-extending top portion 22 attached to side wall 8 and a depending side portion 24. The latter may extend parallel to the longitudinal center axis of the container, but preferably it is slanted as shown. A plurality of spaced radially-extending strengthening ribs 26 are formed integral with the exterior surface of side wall 8, flange 18 and skirt 20.
At two diametrically opposed areas the container has two outwardly-projecting sections 28A, 28B that are generally U-shaped in cross-section and have an outwardly projecting lip 30 at their bottom edges. Sections 28A, 28B consist of a top wall portion 31 as part of flange 18, two opposite side wall portions 32 and an outer wall portion 33. Sections 28A, 28B are open at their bottom ends and their outer wall portions 33 are spaced from side wall 8 by an amount sufficient to accommodate a person's fingers, whereby sections 28A, 28B can function as handles for lifting the container with or without lid 4 attached thereto. Preferably handle sections 28A, 28B are provided with holes 34 (
Referring to
Referring now to
Grooves 44A, 44B are defined by a vertical side wall and an inclined bottom wall, with the vertical side walls defining the side edges of tab 42. Two of the ribs 26 (26A, 26B), are located in line with grooves 44A, 44B, as shown in
Referring to
Outer wall 56 is formed with four pairs of vertically spaced circumferentially-extending ribs 60A, 60B that are inclined so as to serve as screw thread elements, like the ribs 14A and 14B. Ribs 60A, 60B are spaced apart and have the same pitch as ribs 14A and 14B. The four pairs of screw thread segments 60A, 60B are uniformly spaced from one another along the circumference of the lid. Each screw thread segment extends circumferentially through an angle of about 42°. Additionally the lower edge of outer wall 56 is provided with four depending latch lugs 64 that are uniformly spaced along the circumference of the lid, plus four sets of teeth 66. The latter have a sawtooth configuration and are sized and arranged to mesh with teeth 46 of tab 42. The four sets of teeth 66 occur alternately with catch lugs 64 on lid 4, and lugs 64 are located relative to screw thread segments 60A, 60b so that one of the lugs 64 will be adjacent to and blocked by catch element 36 (as shown in
Preferably, as seen in
The lid is assembled to the pail by engaging its screw threads segments 60A, 60B with the screw thread segments 14A, 14B of the container and rotating the lid clockwise to lock the lid in place with flange 10 at the top of the container in engagement with the underside of rim section 52 between inner and outer walls 54 and 56. If a fluid tight seal is required, an elastomeric sealing ring, e.g., an O-ring (not shown), may be installed in the lid in that upper end of the channel between walls 54 and 56 for engagement by flange 10, with the sealing ring being slightly compressed when the lid is screwed onto the container. Such use of an elastomeric sealing ring is well known, as shown, for example, by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,725,122 and 5,577,632.
The locking of the lid on the container involves two locking mechanisms or actions involving catch element 36 and lips 66 and also teeth 46 and 66. As the lid is being screwed onto the pail, one of the latch lugs 64 will engage the slanted leading edge 40 of catch element 36 and the latter will provide a camming action that will bend the outer wall 56 of the lid inwardly far enough to allow that lug 64 to slip by the catch element. Due to the resiliency of the material of which the lid is molded, the cammed portion of the outer wall 56 will immediately return to its original shape, bringing the lug 64 back into alignment with the catch element, whereupon the catch element will prevent the lid from being unscrewed from the container unless the outer wall 56 is pressed inwardly enough to allow the blocked latch lug 64 to slip by the catch element. This need to press the outer wall 56 inwardly to free the blocked latch lug 64 constitutes a safety lock.
A second locking action is provided by the tamper evident tab 42. As one of the latch lugs 64 is being cammed inwardly by catch element 36, one of the sets of teeth 66 will engage and pass along teeth 46 on tab 42. Engagement of teeth 66 with teeth 46 to achieve the locked state shown in
It should be noted that a common industry practice is to apply a plastic screw-type lid to a container by a downward, non-rotating propulsion of the lid towards the container, i.e., by a press-on action. In this case such press-on action is feasible because the lid and container are made of a resilient material, e.g., polyethylene or polypropylene, and also because the outer wall 56 of the lid's rim is slanted outwardly as shown in FIG. 8. Although the lid and container each have four screw thread segments, it is contemplated that two, three or more than four segments may be used.
Preferably the container has only one catch element 36 as shown, since it has been determined that adequate safety locking is achieved with a single catch element. Nevertheless, for added safety, it is contemplated that the container may have two mutually spaced catch elements positioned so as to cam and block two latch lugs as described when the lid is screwed onto the container. Where two catch means are employed, such as shown in the preferred embodiment of the drawings, it is necessary to free two latch lugs 64 simultaneously from their catch elements 36 in order to permit counter-clockwise unscrewing of the lid. Such simultaneous movement is difficult for to accomplish even for an adult and provides an added measure of safety.
The invention lends itself to modifications. Thus, for example, different forms of screw threads may be used. Also, the container need not have handle sections as shown. Also locking tab 42 may be formed with a smaller thickness where it is joined to side wall 8, thereby permitting it to be torn away from the container. These and still other modifications, including reversal of parts and function, which are obvious to persons skilled in the art may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as herein disclosed.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040200839 A1 | Oct 2004 | US |