US3558022A - Container safety closure - Google Patents

FIG. 8 is a side elevational fragmented view of the portion of the plug taken along

line

88 of FIG. 6;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown one embodiment of a

safety plug

20 engaged within the

neck

21 ofa

bottle

22. The

plug

20 generally consists of a

body wall

25 surrounding a

cavity

27.

Slits

26 transversing the

body wall

25 are provided at the

lower end

28 of said body wall. The

upper end

29 of

plug

20 includes a

peripheral flange

23 which tests on a

peripheral shoulder

24 provided along the top ridge of the

bot tle neck

21. The

plug

20 may be made of a substantially resilient material such as rubber or a plastic such as polyethylene, polymethyl methacrylate, and polyvinyl chloride, among others, such that the

slits

26 form a-tight seal when in the normally closed position by virtue of the resiliency of the material. The

upper end

29 of

body wall

25 has an external diameter the same or slightly larger than the internal diameter of the

neck

21 such that a tight seal is maintained between the

body wall

25 and the interior of the

bottle neck

21. Access to the contents of the bottle is only achieved by forcing the

slits

26 apart, as by inserting the dropper-dispenser 40 (FIG. 3) through said

slits

26. When the

dropper

40 is removed, the natural resiliency ofthe

body wall

25 draws the

slits

26 into a tight seal thereby preventing any further removal of contents from the bottle regardless of how the bottle is positioned or handled.

The

plug

20 may be molded as a unitary piece or as two or more pieces. In FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, a unitary plug is generally illustrated. In FIG. 3, there is shown a

bottle

30 having-a

neck

31 containing a

plug

32. The

plug

32 is molded as a unitary piece having an

upper body wall

33, an inwardly tapered

portion

34, and a

lower body wall

35. The exterior diameter of the

upper body wall

33 is the same or slightly larger than the interior diameter of

bottle neck

31 such that a fluidtight seal is maintained therebetween. A

peripheral flange

36 is provided which is coextensive with the

upper body wall

33, said flange resting on the

top surface

37 of the

bottle neck

31. The

flange

36 cooperates with the

bottle cap

38 to provide a tight seal when the

cap

38 is threadably mounted on the

neck

31. The

cap

38 is adapted to contain a dropper-

dispenser

40 having a

squeeze bulb

39 at the top portion thereof. In practice, the dropper-

dispenser

40 and the

cap

38 are semipermanently fastened together such that they cooperate as a unitary piece.

The

plug

32 has a cylindrical lower

body wall portion

35 consisting essentially of opposed

body wall portions

41 and 42 at the bottom of the lower

body wall portion

35. Opposed

body wall portions

41 and 42 are formed by a partial cutaway segment of the

lower body wall

35 in a plane oblique to the

horizontal plane

43 of the plug and extending from the

bottom end

44 of the

body wall

35 to an apex 45, as generally shown in FIG. 3A. The result of such a configuration is that

body wall portion

42 constitutes a jaw member hinging about

apex

45 to sealingly engage the

lip

46 formed by the cutaway segment and close off the

cavity

47. The plug may be molded as a uni tary piece as illustrated in FIG. 4, and when so molded, the

jaw member

42 is molded in the closed position, To remove liquid contents from the bottle. the dropper-

dispenser

40 is inserted into the

plug

32 forcing the

jaw

42 to open as illustrated by the phantom lines in FIG. 4. Once liquid has been drawn into the dropper -30, it is removed from the bottle, and the natural resiliency of the body wall material urges the

jaw

42 into sealing engagement with the

lip

46 of the opposing

body wall portion

41.

If desired, and to further improve the efficiency of the plug assembly, the

plug

32 may be equipped with a

spring element

48 to insure a tight seal between the

jaw

42 and the

lip

46. The

spring

48 is attached at its one end to the

jaw member

42 and at its other end to the

body wall portion

35 by appropriate means. In FIG. 3, the

spring

48 is shown to be imbedded in the body wall of the

jaw

42 at its one

end

49 and sandwiched between the

peripheral flange

36 of the

upper body wall

33 and the

top surface

37 of the

bottle neck

31 at its

other end

50. The particular points of attachment of the spring element are unimportant so long as one end of the spring engages the

jaw

42 and the other end engages some other portion of the

plug

32 or the

bottle

30 providing sufficient tension to maintain a tight seal between the

jaw

42 and the

lip

46 of the lower

body wall portion

35. The spring may be composed of any suitable material such as steel, aluminum, or other metal or plastic capable of providing tension between the appropriate elements.

As previously mentioned, the plug assembly may consist of more than a unitary molded piece. In FIGS. 6 and 7, there is il lustrated a

plug

51 having an upper

body wall portion

52, an inwardly tapered

portion

53, a lower

body wall portion

54, and a

peripheral flange

55 coextensive with the

upper body wall

52. The

lower body wall

54 iscut away at the end thereof in a plane 56 oblique to the horizontal plane 56 oblique to the horizontal plane 57 of the

plug

51, as illustrated in FIG. 6A. The

jaw member

58 is a separate piece molded as a flat sheet of plastic or other such suitable material, shaped to the contour of the

lip

59 formed by the cut along the oblique plane 56 in the

lower body wall

54. The

jaw

58 includes an

upstanding rib

60 having a slightly

enlarged head

61 to serve as the attachment means of the

jaw

58 to the

plug

51, as shown in FIG. 7. The

plug

51 includes a

shoulder

62 sloped inwardly along the line of cut of the oblique plane 56 through the

lower body wall

54, said

shoulder

62 having an

aperture

63 adapted to receive the

head

61 of the

upstanding rib

60 in a snap-fitting engagement such that the

jaw

58 is hingedly mounted to the

plug

51 to close off the cavity 64} of the

plug

51. The

jaw

58 is held in a tight liquid seal by a

spring element

65 mounted at its one

end

66 to the

plug body wall

54 and at its

other end

67 to the

jaw

58 such that tension is provided between the

jaw

58 and the

lip

59 of the

lower body wall

54. The

spring

65,

jaw

58, and the body wall 541 assembly is generally shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 illustrates the embodiment of the plug of FIG. 6 as inserted in the

neck

71 of a

bottle

70 and having a cap 72, including a dropper-

dispenser

73 and

squeeze bulb

74 assembly, threadably mounted to the

neck

71. When the

dropperdispenser

73 is inserted through the

plug

51 into the

bottle

70, the

jaw

58 is forced into the open position as shown by the solid lines. When the dispenser is removed, the

spring

65 urges the

jaw

58 into the closed position as illustrated by the

phantom jaw

58 in FIG. 9. The outside diameter of the

upper body wall

52 is the same or slightly larger than the the inside diameter of the

neck

71 such that a tight liquid seal is maintained therebetween. The

peripheral flange

55 rests on the

top surface

75 of the

neck

71 to provide an additional airtight seal when the cap 72 is screwed onto the

bottle

70. Alternatively, the

peripheral flange

55 may rest in a peripheral step 76 provided along the upper periphery of the

neck

71 as shown in FIG. 9A. In this embodiment, the cap 72 when screwed onto the

bottle

70 would rest flush with the

flange

55 and the

top surface

75 of the

neck

71.

FIG. illustrates a modified embodiment of the unitary piece safety plug. The

plug

80 includes an

upper body wall

81,

an inwardly tapered

portion

82, a lower

body wall portion

83, and a

peripheral flange

84 coextensive with the

upper body wall

81. The

jaw

85 is molded as a portion of the

lower body wall

83 as previously described and illustrated in FIGS. 3, 3A, and 4. A

spring member

86 is provided to maintain a liquidtight seal between the

jaw

85 and opposing body wall. A

circumferential groove

87 is provided in the upper

body wall portion

81 to receive and hold the

upper end

88 of the

spring

86, which is in the form of a ring. The

lower end

89 of the

spring

86 is attached to the

jaw

85 preferably by imbedding same in the jaw material. To facilitate the movement of the

jaw

85, a notched

groove

90 is provided to serve as a hinge element. To provide additional support, a series of

ribs

90 is positioned around the upper

body wall portion

81.

Various other embodiments and modifications of this device are possible without departing from the scope of the inventivc concept. In FIG. 11, there is shown one such possible embodiment. A

bottle

91 having a

neck

92 is shown to contain a

safety plug

93. The

plug

93 includes a

body wall

94 and a

peripheral flange

95 coextensive with the

body wall

94 for resting against the top surface 96 of the

neck

92. An arcuately-shaped

jaw member

97 depends from a portion of the

body wall

94 by a

hinge element

98, said hinge element consisting of a constriction in a portion of the

body wall

94. The

jaw member

97 extends across the

open cavity

99 of the

plug

93 and contacts the

interior surface

100 of the

bottle

91 thereby functioning as a closure for the

plug

93. In order to insure a tight liquid seal between

jaw

97 and the

bottle surface

100, a

finger projection

101 is provided depending from the

base

102 of the

jaw member

97 contacting the opposed interior surface 100' of the

bottle

91. A

tension spring

103 is positioned between the

end

104 of the

jaw

97 and the

end

105 of the

finger projection

101. To gain access to the contents of the container, a dropper-dispenser (not shown) is inserted into the

plug cavity

99 until it contacts and forces the

jaw

97 into the open position, as illustrated by

phantom jaw

97. When the dropper is removed, the

tension spring

103 urges the jaw member into the closed position.

FIG. 12 illustrates still another embodiment of the safety plug. In this modification, the bottle neck is provided with an interior

peripheral shoulder

112 near its outlet. The interior of the neck between the shoulder and the bottle outlet comprises a truncated cone, the

tapered wall

114 joining the top edge of the

bottle

116 to the

shoulder edge

118, said shoulder edge having a smaller diameter than the bottle outlet.

Located within the bottle neck is a

safety plug

120 whose tubular wall 121 is positioned within the bottle neck by a series of

ribs

122 parallel to the longitudinal axis of said plug. A

flange

123 surmounts said plug, the diameter of the flange normally being somewhat larger than the

shoulder edge

118 so that when the

flange

123 is seated against the

shoulder

112, the flange is held under compression thus maintaining a very tight seal at the outer edge of the

flange

124. The plug is preferably of a resilient material such as polyethylene, rubber, and the like.

Beneath the

ribs

122 is

circumferential groove

125 about the exterior of the plug body. A

jaw member

126, which may be molded integral with said plug body, is positioned to seal the bottom of said plug.

Pressing the

jaw

126 into a closed position is a

helical spring

130 which has its

upper turn

132 seated in the

groove

125. Other turns of this spring surround the plug body and may be spaced slightly from it. A

final turn

134 of this spring abuts the surface of the

jaw

126 and urges it into a sealing location. This combination provides a convenient method of securing the

spring

130 while at the same time providing a centering action so that the force exerted by the dropper-dispenser in opening the jaw member will not displace the spring from its operative location. The final turn, lying flat against the exterior of the

jaw

126, provides a broad bearing surface for secure engagement of that member which supplies a more reliable response against accidental displacement.