Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
This invention relat~s to caps or overcaps for
pressurized containers and more particularly for overcaps
-- having child-resistant and tamper indicating featuxes.
Because so many products commonly used in house-
holds, such as paints, insect sprays, deodorants, room
fresheners, etc., are packaged in pressurized containers
having readily actuatable dispensing va~ves, it is impoxtant
that containers of this type be provided with means for
rendering them child-resistant.
It has been customary for many years to equip
. pressurized containers of this ~ype with what are called
"overcaps" many of them having central finger depressions
which guide a user's finger to a position for depressing the
centrally located valve-actuating and spray directing no~zle
to dischar~e the contents from the can. Therefore, many of
the suggested child-resistant overcaps have generally followed
this same construction with added elements to provide the
child-r~sistant feature.
Most of the child-resistant overcaps, for example,
the cap disclosed in Corba United States Patent No. 4,171,758,
require what Corba calls "O... a conscious action to re~urn
the actuator to a child~sae condi.tion".
A number of other overcaps for containers of this
type have included members which obs-truct access to the valve-
actuating nozzle except by fingers of length or width greater
than those usually possessed by a small child of tender years,
say, five or six. It is apparent, however, that some of these
-1- ~
ac-tuators could not be utilized by even an adult or an older
child who had small hands with short or narrow fingers.
In addition to the child-resistant fea-tures, it
is desirable also to provide a tamper indicatiny feature so
that any attempt to open the container once it has been filled
is indicated by some means which can be observed. Also it
is desirable tha~ the child-resistant features remain operable
for repeated openings and cl~sings whereas the tamper indi~
cating arrangement is required ~o operate only the first
time that the container is opened.
Wi-th respect to such tamper indica-ting means, the
prior art has man~ different arrangements including those
with portions oE the cap that must be removed in order to
complete the opening sequence. In none of these arrangements,
does the removable portion have any utilitarian purposes other
than the indicating operation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide
a child-resistant overcap for pressurized containers in which
tamper indicating means prevent placing the overcap in a con-
2~ dition by which the contents of the container can be dispensed
until the tamper indicating means are removed.
S-till another object of the invention is to provide
an overcap in which the tamper indicating means are positioned
to obstruct the dispensing passages from the container.
Another object of the invention is to provide a
child-resistant and tamper indicating closure in which the
tamper indicating means are moved closer to the dispensing
passage to form a greater obstruction and to more completely
conceal the passage.
--2--
Another object of the instant lnvention is to pro-
vide a child resistant overcap for a pressurize~ container
comprising a valve guard which is movable between valve-
guarding position and valve-actuating position and which in-
cludes resilient means biasing the valve guard toward guarding
position whereby~ after movement to valve-actuating position
by an adult or older child, the valve yuard automatically is
restored to valve-guarding or child-resistant position without
the necessity for a conscious action on the part of the user.
It is yet another object of the instan-t invention to
provide an overcap for a pressurized container having a cen-
trally located and upwardly extending valve nozzle which com-
prises a valve guard that is radially movable between an outer,
valve-guarding or child resistant position and an inner valve-
actuating position~ and an integral resilient means which biases
the valve guard toward the outer valve-guarding or child-
resistant position.
A further object of the instant invention is to pro-
vide such a child-resistant overcap for a pressurized container
with a valve guard, a tamper indicating tab and resilient means,
all of which are integral with the overcap structure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a view in perspec-tive of an overcap
embodying the invention with its parts shown in the position
in which they initially are molded;
Figure 2 is a top plan view of the overcap embodying
the invention as illustrated in Figure 1 and shown on a
smaller scale;
Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along
the line 3-3 of Figure 2;
r;~ l\ M
Figure 4 is a front view in elevation taken from
the position indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 3;
Figure 5 is a view in perspective, with par-ts
broken away, showing an overcap embodying the invention in
position on a pressurized container which is fragmentarily
shown, wi.th its valve guard elements in valve-yuarding
position;
Figure 6 is a view, similar to Figure 5, but showing
the valve guard in its valve-actuating position;
Figure 7 is a diametric, vertical sectional view
of an overcap embodying the invention in place on a pres-
surized container, the overcap and its valve guard being
illustrated in the valve-guarding position as also shown
in Figure 5;
Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 but showing
the overcap of the invention with its valve guard in valve-
actuating position as also i5 shown in Figure 6;
Figure 9 is a view slmilar to Figure 2 showing
another embodiment of the invention incorporating -tamper
indicating features;
~igure 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on line
10-10 in Figure 9,
Figure 11 is a view of the overcap taken g~nerally
on line 11-11 showing the overcap in its assembled condition
ready for application to a container; and
Figure 12 is an enlargement of a portion of Figuxe
11 showing the details of the tamper indicating means.
An overcap embodying the invention, indicated by -the
reference number 10 has a generally cup-shaped body 11, the
body 11 having an inner annular skirt 12 at the maryin of
.4_
which there is an inwardly extending lip 13. The lip 13
is of such size as to snap over a conventional valve assembly
retaining seam 14 (see Figures 5 - 8, inclusive), of a con-
ventional pressurized container 15. ~he overcap body ll has
a central ver-tical bore 16 which is of such size as to fit
around a conventional valve discharge nozzle 17. The over-
cap body ll has a configuration which provides a closed top
18 and inner walls defining a finger depression 19 which
extends diametrically across the overcap lO and intersects
the nozzle bore 16 so that, when -the overcap lO is in posi-
tion on the contai.ner 15, the nozzle 17 protrudes upwardly
in-to the depression l9. The nozzle 17 has a vertical key
way 20 in which a key 21 at the side of the nozzle bore 16
engages to orient the nozzle 17 in the finger depression 19
so that the spray of contents is properly directed as shown
in Figure 8.
An overcap embodying the invention comprises a com-
bination of the foregoing struc-tural elements which are known
in the art with additional elements by which the overcap of
the invention is rendered child-resistant in its normal con-
d.ition, which readily can be actuated by an adul-t or an older
child to provide for actuation of the valve and discharge of
the contents of the container and which automatically res-tores
itself to child-resistant condition immediately upon disengage
ment or release by a user.
The overcap 10 of the invention includes a valve
guard 22 integrally molded with a resilient web 23 and
integrally connected by the web 23 to -the overcap body ll by
a hinge portion 24. The hinge portion 24 extends generally
tangentially to the body ll at a level beneath -that of the
--5--
finyer depression 19. A second hi.nge portion 25 ls also
formed at the time of initial molding a-t the junction between
the guard 22 and the resilient web 23.
Because the entire overcap 10 consisting of the
body 11, guard 22 and web 23 is integral when molded from a
suitable tough resilient material, such as polypropylene
resin, the fact that the web 23 and guard 22 extend horizon-
tally from the body 11 when initially molded results in those
parts wishing to return to that position relative to the body
11. As a resul-t, when the guard 22 and resilient web 23 are
swung upwardly and to the left (in a counter-clockwise direc-
tion) from the position shown in Figure 3, the resilient
web 23 biases the guard 22 to return -to the posi-tion shown
in Figure 3.
However, the guard 22 has a pair of laterally extend-
ing tabs 26 which snap into recessed guide ways 27 formed in
inner walls 28 which define the sides of -the finger depression
19. The engagement of the tab 26 in the guide ways 27 serves
not only to retain the guard in i-ts operating position, as
illustrated in Figures 5 - 8, inclusive, but it also func-
tions to guide the guard in its movement radially between the
valve-guarding position of Figures 5 and 7 and the valve-
actuating positlon of Figures 6 and 8.
The guard 22 has a portion at its free end, indica-
ted by the bracket 29, which is the innermost portion of the
guard 22 after the guard has been swung up and over into its
operative location in the finger depression 19. As best can
be seen in Figure 7, this innermost portion 29 of the guard
22 overlies the valve nozzle 17 when the valve guard is in 1-ts
outer position. In this position of the guard 22, its side
~,2~ 3~
rails 30 slide on a flat portion 31 of -the bottom of the
finger depression 19. As a result, downward move~ent of the
innermost portion 29 of the guard 22 is prevented when the
guard 22 is in the position shown in Figures 5 and 7.
The guard 22 also has a generally semi-circular
depressable portion 32 forming a valve actuator. The valve
actuator 32 is depressable in all positions of the guard 22
and it overlies the top of the nozzle 17 to engage it when
the guard 22 is in valve-actuating position as illustrated
in Figures 6 and 8. A pair of ears 33 are molded on the
underside of the depressable portion 32 so that when the por-
tion 32 is pressed downwardly by the finger of the user, as
shown in Figure 8, the ears 33 engage the top of the nozzle
17 to actuate the valve for the discharge of material.
In order that a user may move the guard 22 from the
position shown in Figures 5 and 7 to the valve-actuating posi-
tion shown in Figures 6 and 8, the guard 22 also has an ele-
ment 34 which extends upwardly when the guard is in opera-ting
position and i9 engageable by the end of a finger of a user
in order that the user may slide the guard from the valve-
guarding position of Figures 5 and 7 to -the valve-actuating
position of Figures 6 and 8.
It will be observed by comparing Figures 5 and 7
with Figures 6 and 8, respectively, that when the guard 22
is moved into valve-actuating position, the resi.lient web 23
is flexed inwardly over a sharp edge 35 of a part of the
bottom of the finger depression 19.
When the user releases the guard 22 by withdrawing
his finger from the position illustrated in Figure 8, the
flexure of the resilient web 23 seeking to return to the posi-
~ 5'~J~
tion illus-trated in Figures 5 and 7 and its "memory" tending
to return it to its ini-tially molded position as shown in
Figures 1 - 3, inclusive, causes the guard ~2 to be immediately
noved outwardly to valve-guarding position thus restoring
the overcap to its child-resistant condition.
Referring now to Figures 9 12, another embodi-
ment of the i.nvention is illustrated in which an overcap 50
incorporates the child-resistant features of the overcap 10
and in addition tamper indicating means designated generally
at 52. Except for the tamper indicating means 52, the over-
cap 50 is identical to the child-resistant overcap 10 illus-
trated in Figures 1 - 8.
The tamper indicating means 52 is in the form of a
tab 54 molded integrally with the end of guard 22 and is
connected thereto through means of frangible hinge elements
56.
The tab element 54 is provided with a pair of
lock portions 60 which in the assembled condition of the
overcap 50, as viewed in Figure 11, are disposed in the pair
~0 of recesses forming the guide ways 27. Disposition of the
lock elements 60 in the guide ways 27 is such that movement
of the guard 24 from its valve-guarding position illustra-ted
in Figure 11 to a valve-actuating position, as seen in Figure
8, is prevented by the interference of the lock elements 60
with the end walls 61 of -the opening forming the guide ways
27. Under these conditions, the tab 54 is bent downwardly at
an angle relative to the remainder of the guard 2~ along a
transverse hinge line indicated at 62 in Figure 9 and passing
through the hinge elements 56~ Any effort to move the guard
22 to the left, as viewed in Figure 11, is resis-ted by the
5~
lock elements 60 which act along a transverse line indica-
ted at 63 in Figure 9 which is spaced from the hinge line
62. The spacing of the lines 62 in which the hinge elements
56 act and the line 63 in which the lock elements 60 act,
causes the tab 54 to deflect further and swing in a counter-
clockwise direction to the broken line position shown in
Figure 12 to move the tab 54 closer to the bore of recess 16
which receives the actuating nozzle 17. The recess 16 extends
generally axially of the overcap 50 and is provided with an
axially extending dispensing passage disposed diametrically
opposite to the key 21. In the condition seen in Figure 11,
the tab 5~ obstructs the dispensing passage and also serves
to conceal the valve actuating nozzle 17 from view.
Any effort to slide the valve guard 22 to the left,
as viewed in Figure 11, is resisted by the lock elements 60
making it necessary to remove the tab 54 prior to placing
the container in a condition in which dispensing of the con-
tainer contents can occur. This is accomplished by folding
the tab 54 upwardly and twisting the frangible hinge elements
56 to separate the tampe~ indicating tab 54 from -the remainder
of the overcap 50. In this manner, the overcap is placed in
a condition making it possible to actuate the nozzle 17 and
dispense contents from the container. At the same -time, an
observer is given evidence -that the container has been placed
in a condition permitting dispensing of the contents. When a
number of containers with overcaps are displayed in retail
outlets, any overcap which has the ta~ 5~ removed is easily
distinguished from the remainder of the containers and is
suspect as having been tampered with and some of its contents
possibly used.
A child-resistant and tamper indicating overcap
for pressurized containers having an axially movable dis-
pensing valve has been provided in which the overcap has a
valve guard movable between a valve-guarding and a valve-
actuating position and is further provided with an indicator
tab which prevents movement of -the valve guard -to the valve-
actuating posi-tion until it is removed. Until such time as
the tab is removed, it not only prevents actuation of the
valve but it also obstruc-ts -the passage from which the con-
tents of -the container are dispensed from the nozzle. ~pon
removal of the tab, -the valve can be actuated and at the
same time there is visible evidence that the overcap has
been placed in a condition permit-ting dispensing of the con-
ten-ts of the container.
10-
