TAMPER-INDICATING AND CHILD RESISTANT CAP AND CONTAINER ASSEMBLIES

Abstract

A tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly, comprising a cap comprising: a cap top wall; a cap skirt having an inner wall which is at least partially threaded, and an outer wall having at least one squeezing location; at least one tamper-indicating band frangibly connected to a free end of the cap and having defined therethrough an opening; at least one tongue extending from the free end of the cap skirt which circumferentially spaced from the at least one squeezing location. The container has an open end and a neck, an outer wall of the neck being at least partially threaded and configured to cooperate with the at least partially threaded inner wall of the cap; and at least one protrusion extending from the outer wall of the container neck and configured to be received in the opening of the at least one tamper-indicating band.

Claims

1. A tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly, comprising: a cap configured to engage with a neck of a container, the cap comprising: a cap top wall; a cap skirt depending from the cap top wall, the cap skirt having an inner wall and an outer wall, the inner wall being at least partially threaded, and the outer wall having at least one squeezing location; at least one tamper-indicating band frangibly connected to a free end of the cap, the at least one tamper-indicating band having defined therethrough an opening; at least one tongue extending from the free end of the cap skirt, the at least one tongue being circumferentially spaced from the at least one squeezing location; the container having an open end and a neck, an outer wall of the neck being at least partially threaded and configured to cooperate with the at least partially threaded inner wall of the cap; at least one protrusion extending from the outer wall of the container neck and configured to be received in the opening of the at least one tamper-indicating band, wherein the at least one tongue and the at least one protrusion are configured such that when the at least one tamper-indicating band is moved away from the at least one protrusion to release the protrusion from the opening, rotation of the cap on the container neck is delimited by abutment of the at least one tongue and the at least one protrusion, and the cap can further rotate on the container neck by squeezing the cap skirt at the at least one squeezing location to translate the at least one tongue away from the at least one protrusion.

2. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one tamper-indicating band comprises a first tamper-indicating band having a first opening and a second tamper-indicating band having a second opening.

3. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 2, wherein the first tamper-indicating band and the second tamper-indicating band are circumferentially spaced from one another.

4. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 3, wherein the at least one tongue comprises a first tongue and a second tongue, the first tongue and the second tongue circumferentially separating the first tamper-indicating band and the second tamper-indicating band.

5. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 2, wherein the first tamper-indicating band and the second tamper-indicating band are fully removable from the cap skirt when the frangible connections are broken.

6. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 2, wherein each of the first tamper-indicating band and the second tamper-indicating band has a pull-tab disposed at one end thereof.

7. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 2, wherein the at least one protrusion comprises a first protrusion and a second protrusion, the first and second protrusions configured to be received in the first and second openings, respectively, of the first and second tamper-indicating bands.

8. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 2, wherein the at least partially threaded portion of the inner wall is at an upper portion of the cap.

9. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least partially threaded portion of the container neck is at an upper portion of the container neck.

10. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 1, further comprising a raised band on the neck from which the protrusion extends.

11. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 1, further comprising a sealing ring extending from the cap top wall and configured to engage with the neck when the cap is screwed on the container.

12. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 1, wherein the neck has a support ledge extending around the neck and spaced further from the open end of the container than the at least one protrusion.

13. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 1, wherein an external diameter of a portion of the neck from which the protrusion extends is larger than an external diameter of a portion of the neck disposed closer to the open end of the container.

14. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 1, wherein when the cap is screwed on the container, the inner wall of the cap is spaced from the outer wall of the container neck at the at least one squeezing location.

15. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one squeezing location is between the at least partially threaded portion of the cap and the free end of the cap skirt.

16. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 1, wherein, when the cap is crewed on the container, the at least one squeezing location of the cap is aligned with a portion of the neck between the at least partially threaded portion of the container neck and the at least one protrusion.

17. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one squeezing location on the cap comprises a first squeezing location and a diametrically opposed second squeezing location.

18. The tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly of claim 1, wherein the outer wall of the cap skirt comprises a plurality of ribs.

19. A cap for a tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly, the cap comprising: a cap top wall; a cap skirt depending from the cap top wall, the cap skirt having an inner wall and an outer wall, the inner wall being at least partially threaded, and the outer wall having at least one squeezing location; at least one tamper-indicating band frangibly connected to a free end of the cap, the at least one tamper-indicating band having defined therethrough an opening; and at least one tongue extending from the free end of the cap skirt, the at least one tongue being circumferentially spaced from the at least one squeezing location.

20. A container for a tamper-indicating and child resistant cap and container assembly, the container comprising: an open end; and a neck having an outer wall, the outer wall being at least partially threaded; at least one protrusion extending from the outer wall of the container neck and configured to be received in an opening of at least one tamper-indicating band of the cap.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0029] Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the description in association with the following in which:

[0030] FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded view of a cap and container assembly, from a side view of the container, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0031] FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of the cap and container assembly of FIG. 1, from a perspective view from the bottom of the cap and the container, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0032] FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded view of the cap and container assembly of FIG. 1, from a perspective view from the top of the cap and the container, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0033] FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the cap and container assembly of FIG. 1, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0034] FIG. 5 illustrates another perspective view of the cap and container assembly of FIG. 1, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0035] FIG. 6 illustrates another perspective view of the cap and container assembly of FIG. 1, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0036] FIG. 7 illustrates a zoomed-in view of the cap and container assembly of FIG. 6, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0037] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view through the line A-A of the cap and container assembly of FIG. 5, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0038] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the cap and container assembly of FIG. 4, with tamper-indicating bands removed, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0039] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the cap of FIG. 9 when squeezed at the squeezing locations, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0040] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the cap of FIG. 1, according to embodiments of the present technology.

[0041] FIG. 12 is a side view of the cap of FIG. 11 showing a squeezing location, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0042] FIG. 13 is a side view of the cap of FIG. 11 showing a pull-tab, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0043] FIG. 14 is a bottom plan view of the cap of FIG. 11, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0044] FIG. 15 is a top plan view of the cap of FIG. 11, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0045] FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the cap of FIG. 11 through the line B-B of FIG. 12, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0046] FIG. 17 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the container of FIG. 1, according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] The present disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The disclosure is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of including, comprising, or having, containing, involving and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter as well as, optionally, additional items. In the following description, the same numerical references refer to similar elements.

[0048] Broadly, referring to FIGS. 1-10, there is provided a container and cap assembly 10, comprising a container 12 and a cap 14, that is tamper-evident and child proof. The container and cap assembly 10 comprises two components: the container 12 and the cap 14. The container and cap assembly 10 does not include an insert for the cap. The tamper-evident aspect of the container and cap assembly 10 is a tamper-evident band, and the child resistant aspect of the container and cap assembly 10 is that is of a squeeze-type, such that the cap 14 must be squeezed in order for its removal from the container 12.

[0049] The cap 14 is configured to engage with a neck 16 of the container 12 to close the container 12. The cap 14 comprises a cap top wall 18 and a cap skirt 20 depending from the cap top wall 18. The cap 14 is substantially cylindrical. The cap skirt 20 has an inner wall 22 and an outer wall 24. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 8, the inner wall 22 comprises threads 26 at an upper portion 28 thereof, proximate the cap top wall 18. The outer wall 24 includes a plurality of ribs 30, which may help a user to grip the cap 14.

[0050] Two squeezing locations 32 are provided on the cap 14, which in the embodiments illustrated herein, are diametrically opposed to one another. The squeezing locations 32 are identified as raised and non-ribbed regions in the otherwise ribbed outer wall 24. The squeezing locations 32 are disposed at a level of the cap 14 which is between the threads 26 at the upper portion 28 of the cap 14 and a free end 34 of the cap 14. In other embodiments, the plurality of the ribs 30 may be omitted. The squeezing locations 32 may be indicated in any other manner, such as by other markings and/or colourings. Referring to the cross-section of FIG. 8, it can be seen that an inner diameter 36 of the cap 14 at the squeezing locations 32 is larger than an inner diameter 38 of the cap 14 at the upper portion 28.

[0051] The cap 14 further includes two tamper-indicating bands 40 which are frangibly connected to the free end 34 of the cap 14 by frangible connections (not shown). In other embodiments, there may be provided a single tamper-indicating band 40 or more than two tamper indicating bands 40. Each tamper-indicating band 40 has defined therethrough an opening 42. The opening 42 comprises a window through the tamper-indicating band 40. Each tamper-indicating band 40 is elongate and substantially rectangular. Each tamper-indicating band 40 terminates in a pull-tab 44 which is configured to be manipulated by a user to grip the tamper-indicating band 40 in order to break the frangible connections and to separate it from the cap 14. Each pull-tab 44, in these embodiments, is a planar projection which extends outwardly from the tamper-indicating band 40. Two pull-tabs 44 are provided which are disposed on a plane extending through the longitudinal axis 52 of the cap 14. In other embodiments, the pull-tab 44 may be disposed at another position along the tamper-indicating band 40 instead of at an end 46 thereof. The tamper-indicating bands 40 are fully removable from the cap skirt 20 when the frangible connections are broken. It will be appreciated that, in other embodiments, the tamper-indicating bands 40 may be configured to remain connected to the cap 14 once the frangible connections are broken.

[0052] The cap 14 further includes two tongues 48 extending from the free end 34 of the cap 14. The two tongues 48 are circumferentially disposed between the squeezing locations 32, and are circumferentially spaced from one another. The tongues 48 separate the tamper-indicating bands 40 from one another. A longitudinal axis 50 of each tongue 48 is parallel to a longitudinal axis 52 of the cap 14 (FIG. 1). The longitudinal axis 50 of each tongue 48 is substantially perpendicular to a plane 54 of the cap top wall 18.

[0053] As best seen in FIG. 8, the cap 14 further comprises a sealing ring 56 extending from the cap top wall 18 and configured to engage with the neck 16 of the container 12 when the cap 14 is screwed on the container 12. This can help to hermetically seal the container 12. The sealing ring 56 may comprise walls that flail outwardly.

[0054] Turning now to the container 12, best seen in FIGS. 1-6, and 11-12, the container 12 comprises the neck 16 and has an open end 58. The neck 16 is substantially cylindrical. An outer wall 60 of the neck 16 comprises threads (i.e. is threaded) at an upper portion 64 thereof. The threads 62 of the neck 16 and the threads 26 of the cap 14 are configured to engage with one another. The cap 14 and the neck 16 may have more or less number of thread turns than as illustrated in the figures.

[0055] At a lower portion 66 of the neck 16, spaced from the threads 62 at the upper portion 64, there are provided two protrusions 68 extending from the outer wall 60. The protrusions 68 are circumferentially spaced from one another, and are oppositely facing. Each protrusion 68 is sized and shaped to be received in the corresponding opening 42 of the tamper-indicating band 40. Each protrusion 68 is wedge-shaped, meaning that it has a height of extension 70 (best seen in FIG. 3) which is variable. A maximum height 70 of the protrusion 68 is more than a depth 72 (FIG. 7) of the opening 42 such that when the protrusion 68 is received in the opening 42 of the tamper-indicating band 40, a portion of the protrusion 68 extends outwardly from the opening 42. The wedge shape of the protrusion 68 may be useful during assembly of the cap 14 onto the container 12 in that it can permit rotation of the cap 14 in one direction for positioning of the protrusion 68 into the opening 42. However, it could also block a counter-rotation of the cap 14 necessary for opening of the cap 14. Other configurations of the protrusion 68 are within the scope of the present technology. For example, the protrusions 68 need not be wedge shaped but may be rectangular. There may be any number of protrusions 68 provided in order to match the number of tamper-indicating bands 40 that are provided.

[0056] The portion of the outer wall 60 of the neck 16 from which the protrusions 68 extend comprises a raised band 74. In other words, an external diameter 76 of a portion of the neck 16 from which the protrusions 68 extend is larger than an external diameter 78 of a portion of the neck 16 disposed closer to the open end 58 of the container 12 (FIG. 8). Together with the feature of the inner diameter 36 of the cap 14 at the squeezing locations 32 being wider than the inner diameter 38 of the cap 14 at the upper portion 28, this helps to define a spacing 80 between the neck 16 and the cap 14 permitting the cap skirt 20 to be squeezed inwardly at the squeezing locations 32. The spacing 80 also permits sufficient deformation of the cap skirt 20 to cause movement of the tongues 48 outwardly, away from each other, when the squeezing locations 32 are squeezed towards each other. The cap skirt 20 may be made of any suitable material permitting such deflections. When the cap 14 is screwed on the container 12, the squeezing location 32 of the cap 14 is aligned with a portion of the neck 16 between the threads of the neck 16 and the protrusions 68.

[0057] The neck 16 has a support ledge 82 extending around the neck 16 and spaced further from the open end 58 of the container 12 than the protrusions 68.

[0058] The container 12 is configured to house any substance in any form such as fluids, powder, granules, tablets, pellets, tablets and may have any suitable size, shape or volume. In the illustrated embodiments, the container 12 has a square base and hence a square cross-sectional profile across its length, transitioning to a circular cross-sectional profile at the neck 16. In certain embodiments, the container has a 30 ml, 60 ml, 75 ml or 100 ml volume. Any other volume is within the scope of the present technology. The container 12 may be made of any suitable material, such as polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene or high density polyethylene, and may have any colour such as black, brown, blue, red or white. The container 12 may be transparent, semi-transparent or opaque. The neck 16, at the open end 58, may have any suitable diameter, such as 32 mm.

[0059] When the cap 14 is disposed on the neck 16 with the tamper-indicating bands 40 intact and the threads 26, 62 of the cap 14 and the neck 16 engaged, the protrusions 68 are received in the opening 42 of the tamper-indicating bands 40. The cap 14 cannot be rotated relative to the neck 16 nor can it be moved parallel to a longitudinal axis 84 of the container 12.

[0060] When the tamper-indicating bands 40 are removed, the cap 14 can be rotated relative to the neck 16. However, the rotation is limited by an abutment of the protrusion 68 of the neck 16 against the tongue 48 of the cap 14. This prevents further rotation of the cap 14 and its removal from the container 12. Further rotation for cap removal, can be effected by squeezing the cap skirt 20 at the squeezing locations 32 which causes the tongues 48 to be moved away from the neck 16 and the protrusions 68, permitting further rotation of the cap 14 and its removal.

[0061] Referring to FIGS. 11-16, there is shown another embodiment of the cap 14. Cap 140 of FIGS. 11-17 differs from the cap 14 of FIGS. 1-10 in that it has two pull-tabs 440 with a different configuration than the pull-tabs 44 of the cap 14. Each pull-tab 440 of the cap 140 has a hook-shaped configuration. Unlike the pull-tabs 44 of the cap 14, the pull-tabs 440 of the cap 140 are not planar. Each pull-tab 44 has a first portion 442 extending from the tamper-indicating band 40. The first portions 442 of the pull-tabs 44 lie on a plane extending through the longitudinal axis 52 of the cap 140. A second portion 444 extends substantially transversely from an end of the first portion 442. The second portion 444 is thus spaced from the tamper-indicating band 40 by a distance defined by the first portion 442. This configuration of the pull-tab 440 can provide ease of manipulation by a user.

[0062] A tongue 480 of the cap 140 is wider than the tongue 48 of the cap 10.

[0063] As best seen in FIG. 16, the cap 140 has a sealing ring 560 which differs from the sealing ring 56 of the cap 10 in that it has walls that do not flail outwardly.

[0064] Turning now to FIG. 17, there is shown another embodiment of the container 12 of FIGS. 1 to 10. Container 120 has a protrusion 680 which differs from the protrusion 68 of the container 12 in that it has a maximum height 700 which is larger than the maximum height 70 of the protrusion 68. The container 120 may be used with the cap 140 or the cap 14, or any other embodiments of the caps 14, 140.

[0065] Variations and modifications will occur to those of skill in the art after reviewing this disclosure. The disclosed features may be implemented, in any combination and subcombinations (including multiple dependent combinations and subcombinations), with one or more other features described herein. The various features described or illustrated above, including any components thereof, may be combined or integrated in other systems. Moreover, certain features may be omitted or not implemented. Examples of changes, substitutions, and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in the art and could be made without departing from the scope of the information disclosed herein.

[0066] It should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described and illustrated herein but includes all modifications and variations falling within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.