Child Resistant Flip Top Cap with Adjustable Viewing Window

Abstract

A new design for a child resistant cap which features a flip open top which opens to reveal a viewing mechanism, which allows magnified viewing of the contents of a container upon which the cap is installed, is presented. The cap allows the content's of a container to be viewed without the necessity of removing the cap from the container. The cap of the present invention includes an outer cap and an inner cap. The outer cap includes a lens concentrically aligned with a viewing window in the inner cap. The outer cap is also equipped with a flip top lid which is operable to cover and uncover the lens and viewing window. The outer and inner caps are equipped with features that make the closure difficult for a child to open.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/624,958, filed on Feb. 1, 2018 and entitled “Child Resistant Cap With Adjustable Viewing Window,” which is incorporated herein by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to child resistant closure devices, and, in particular, to a child resistant closure device which incorporates a viewing window which allows a user to view the contents of a container.

Background Art

Child resistant closure devices or caps for containers having a threaded neck are known in the art. Such closure devices typically include an inner cap having a screw thread for engagement with a container and features that allow the cap to engage and disengage with an outer cap, wherein it is necessary to engage the outer cap with the inner cap to remove to the inner cap from the container. This typically requires simultaneously applying a combination of downwardly directed force and a rotational force to the outer cap. Such closure devices are considered to be child resistant since it is believed to be unlikely that a small child would appreciate the necessity for simultaneously pressing and turning the outer cap to remove the inner cap, and, even if appreciated, a small child is unlikely to have sufficient strength to perform these functions simultaneously.

Though many designs for child resistant caps may be found in the art, there remains room for improvement. In particular, it would be desirable to have a child resistant cap with a flip top or flip open lid that opens to reveal a viewing window that allows a user to view the contents of the container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a new design for a child resistant closure which features a flip top or flip open lid that opens to reveal a viewing window, which allows viewing the contents of a container upon which the cap is installed. The cap allows the contents of a container to be viewed without the necessity of removing the cap from the container.

The child resistant closure of the present invention includes an outer cap and an inner cap. The outer cap has a top and a skirt depending downwardly from the top. The outer cap includes a lens which is centered over a viewing window in the inner cap and which allows for magnified viewing of the contents of a container. The outer cap is also equipped with a flip top lid which is operable to cover and uncover the lens. The outer and inner caps are configured such that the outer cap may move axially, i.e. telescopically, about the inner cap, i.e. up and down, for a predetermined distance. This makes the lens adjustable over the range of the outer cap's axial movement. The effective magnification of the lens may be changed by moving outer cap either further or closer to the contents of the container.

For some types of products, a coverable viewing window is desirable as exposure to light may degrade the products. The skirt of the outer cap also includes a plurality of asymmetric teeth depending downwardly from the top and formed integrally upon an inner wall of the skirt below the viewing window closure installed in the top.

The inner cap also has a top with a central opening for receipt in a recess of a circular window of transparent or translucent material and a skirt depending downwardly from the top. The skirt of the inner cap has internal threads for engaging a neck of the container. The top of the inner cap includes a plurality of asymmetric slots formed upon an upper surface of the top and an exterior surface of the skirt. The teeth of the outer cap are adapted for engagement with the slots of the inner cap. When the outer cap is rotated in a first or closing (typically clockwise) direction, the outer cap teeth engage the slots of the inner cap to cause the inner cap to rotate along with the outer cap in a direction to tighten the inner cap onto a container.

When the outer cap is rotated in a second, opening (typically counterclockwise) direction in combination with the application of a predetermined downwardly directed force, wherein the downwardly directed force causes the teeth of the outer cap to engage the slots of the inner cap, the inner cap rotates in the second direction along with the outer cap so as to loosen the inner cap from the container. The outer cap teeth each have a vertical closing face and an angled opening face. The inner cap slots likewise each have a vertical closing face and an angled opening face. When the outer cap is rotated in the first or closing direction, the teeth of the outer cap drop into the slots of the inner cap and the vertical faces of the teeth of the outer cap engage the vertical faces of the slots of the inner cap. Therefore, when the teeth of the outer cap are engaged with the teeth of the inner cap, during rotation in a first or closing direction, no downwardly directed force need be applied to the outer cap to screw the inner cap onto a container.

By contrast, when the outer cap is rotated a second or loosening direction, the angled faces of the teeth of the outer cap bear against angled faces of the slots of the inner cap. This angled interface requires that a downwardly directed force be applied to the outer cap so as to keep the teeth of the outer cap engaged with the slots of inner cap, during rotation of the outer cap, and consequently the inner cap in the second direction. In the absence of the application of a downward force, the inner cap remains in place, i.e. does not rotate, and the outer cap teeth slide over the inner cap slots causing a clicking or grating sound as the teeth ride in and out of the slots. The combination of being required to simultaneously apply a downwardly directed force and a rotational force to the outer cap in order to loosen and remove the inner cap is considered to be beyond the abilities of a child and thus gives the cap its child resistant properties.

The above and other advantages of the child resistant closure of the present invention will be described in more detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded, perspective view of a child resistant closure with a viewing window in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the child resistant closure of FIG. 1, shown with an outer cap in a retracted position.

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the child resistant closure of FIG. 1, shown with the outer cap in an extended position and with a flip top lid open.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the outer cap of the child resistant closure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the outer cap and a bottom view of the attached flip top lid of the child resistant closure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the outer cap and a top view of the attached flip top lid of the child resistant closure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the outer cap taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an inner cap of the child resistant closure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the inner cap of the child resistant closure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the inner cap taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the lens of the outer cap shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the viewing window of the inner cap shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the viewing window of the child resistant closure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 13 is a side view of an alternative embodiment of the viewing window of the child resistant closure of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Referring to FIGS. 1-12, the child resistant closure of the present invention 10 includes an outer cap 12 and an inner cap 14. The outer cap 12 has a top portion 16 and a skirt portion 18 depending downwardly from the top portion 16. The top portion 16 includes a generally circular opening 22 equipped with a transparent or translucent lens 34, which is centered over a viewing window 24 of the inner cap 14. The outer cap 12 may also be equipped with a flip open lid 20 which is operable to cover and uncover the lens 34 and viewing window 24. The flip open lid 20 may include indicia 26 on an outer surface 28 and may also include indicia 32 on an inner surface 30. The flip open lid 20 further includes a plurality of circular ribs 44A which mate with a plurality of circular ribs 44B formed in the top portion 16 of the outer cap 12. The pluralities of circular ribs 44A and 44B lock the flip top lid 20 to the upper portion 16 of the outer cap 12 and require a predetermined amount of force to effect closure of the flip top lid 20 to the outer cap 12 and likewise to unlock the flip top lid 20 from the outer cap 12. The skirt 18 of the outer cap 12 may also be equipped with a plurality of ribs 80 or like surfaces to improve a user's ability to grip the cap.

The outer cap 12 and inner cap 14 are configured such that the outer cap 12 is telescopically coupled to the inner cap 14, i.e. the outer cap 12 may move axially over the inner cap 14, i.e. up and down a skirt 50 of the inner cap 14, for a predetermined distance. This makes the lens 34 adjustable over the range of the outer cap's axial movement. The effective magnification of the lens 34 may be changed by moving outer cap 12 either further or closer to the contents of a container 36.

In alternative embodiments, the outer cap 12 may be equipped with the viewing window 24 rather than the 34 lens, and the inner cap 14 may be equipped with the lens 34 rather than the viewing window 24. In another alternative embodiment, the outer cap 12 may be equipped with neither the lens 34 nor the viewing window 24 and the inner cap 14 may be equipped with either the lens 34 or the viewing window 24.

For some types of products, a coverable viewing window 24 is desirable as exposure to light may degrade the products. The skirt 18 of the outer cap 12 also includes a plurality of asymmetric teeth 38 depending downwardly from the top portion 16 and formed integrally upon an inner wall 40 of the skirt 18 below the viewing window 22 installed in the top portion 16. The top portion 16 of the outer cap 12 also includes a circular recess 42 for receipt of the lens 34.

The inner cap 14 also has a top portion 44 with and the skirt 50 depending downwardly from the top portion 44. The top portion 44 includes a generally circular central opening 46 and a generally circular side wall 48. Concentric with the generally circular opening 46 is a generally circular recess 43 for receipt of the viewing window 24. The skirt 50 of the inner cap 14 has a plurality of internal threads 52 for engaging a neck 54 of the container 36, wherein the neck 54 has a plurality of external threads 55 which mate with the internal threads 52 of the inner cap 14.

The top portion 44 of the inner cap 14 includes including a plurality of asymmetric slots 56 formed upon an upper surface 58 of the top portion 44 and an exterior surface of the skirt 50. The teeth 38 of the outer cap 12 are adapted for engagement with the slots 56 of the inner cap 14. When the outer cap 12 is rotated in a first or locking direction (typically clockwise), the teeth 38 of the outer cap 12 engage the slots 56 of the inner cap 14 to cause the inner cap to rotate along with the outer cap 12 in the first direction to tighten the inner cap 14 onto the container 36.

When the outer cap 12 is rotated in a second or opening direction (typically counter-clockwise) in combination with the application of a predetermined downwardly directed force which directs the teeth 38 of the outer cap 12 towards the slots 56 of the inner cap 14, the teeth 38 of the outer cap engage the slots 56 of the inner cap 14 to cause the inner cap 14 to rotate in the second direction along with the outer cap 12 as to loosen the inner cap 14 from the container 36.

The teeth 38 of the outer cap 12 each have a vertical closing face 60 and an angled opening face 62. (See FIG. 6.) The angled opening face of the teeth 38 of the outer cap 12 are inclined at an angle within the range of about 30 to 60 degrees from vertical. Similarly, the slots 56 of the inner cap 14 have an angled opening face 66. The angled opening face 66 of the slots 56 of the inner cap 14 are also inclined at an angle within the range of about 30 to 60 degrees from vertical. It is preferred that the opening faces 62 of the teeth 38 and the opening faces 66 of the slots 56 be of the same angle, though this is not a requirement for the child resistant closure 10 to operate.

When the outer cap 12 is rotated in the first or closing direction (typically clockwise), the teeth 38 of the outer cap 12 drop into the slots 56 of the inner cap 14 and the vertical closing faces 60 of the teeth 38 engage vertical closing faces 64 in the slots 56 of the inner cap 14. Therefore, when the teeth 38 of the outer cap 12 are engaged with the slots 56 of the inner cap 14, during rotation in the first or closing direction, the vertical closing faces 60 of the teeth 38 of the outer cap 56 are squarely engaged with the vertical closing faces 64 of the slots 56 and therefore, no downwardly directed force need be applied to the outer cap 12 to screw the inner cap 14 onto the bottle or container 36.

By contrast, when the outer cap 12 is rotated in the second or opening direction, the angled faces 62 of the teeth 38 of the outer cap 12 bear against angled faces 66 of the slots 56 of the inner cap 14. This angled interface requires that a predetermined downwardly directed force be applied to the outer cap 12 to keep the teeth 38 of the outer cap 12 engaged with the slots 56 of inner cap 14, during rotation in the second direction of the outer cap 12 and consequently, the inner cap 14.

In the absence of the application of a downward force, the inner cap 14 remains in place, i.e. does not rotate, and the teeth 38 of the outer cap 12 slide over the slots 56 of the inner cap 14 causing a clicking or grating sound as the teeth 38 ride in and out of the slots 56. The combination of being required to simultaneously apply a predetermined downwardly directed force and a rotational force to the outer cap 12 in order to loosen and remove the inner cap 14 is thought to be beyond the abilities of a child and thus gives the closure 10 its child resistant properties. The degree of predetermined downwardly directed force needed to maintain engagement of the teeth 38 in the slots 56 when rotated in the second or opening direction is a function of the angle of the opening faces 62 and 66 of the teeth 38 and slots 56, respectively. Generally, larger face angles require larger a larger downwardly directed force to maintain tooth and slot engagement during rotation in the second direction.

With reference to FIGS. 2A, 2B, 6 and 9-12, the outer cap 12 is equipped with a recess 44 for receipt of the lens 34. (See FIG. 6.) Similarly, the inner cap 14 is equipped with a recess 43 for receipt of the viewing window 24. The lens 34 and viewing window 24 may be made from either transparent or translucent materials. The recess 44 of the outer cap 12 and an outside diameter 68 of the lens 34 are configured such that the lens 34 is a snap fit or interference fit within the recess 44 of the outer cap 12. Likewise, the recess 43 of the inner cap 14 and an outside diameter 78 of the viewing window 24 are configured such that the viewing window 24 is a snap fit or interference fit within the recess 43 of the inner cap 14. Alternative methods of attaching the lens 34 and viewing window 24 to the outer and inner caps 12 and 14, respectively, include ultrasonic welding, staking and adhesives.

The outer cap 12 and inner cap 14 are configured such that the inner cap 14 is slideably received within the outer cap 12, i.e. that an outside diameter 70 of the generally circular side wall 48 of the inner cap 12 is slidable within an inner diameter 72 of the skirt 18 of the outer cap 12. (See FIGS. 2A and 2B.) Thus, the generally circular opening 22 of the outer cap 12 will be axially aligned with the generally circular opening 46 of the inner cap 14. The outer cap 12 includes a generally bulbous circular ridge 76. During assembly the top portion 44 of the inner cap 14 is pressed into the outer cap 12, past the generally bulbous circular ridge 76, which thereafter keeps the inner cap 14 retained within the outer cap 12. When the child resistant closure 10 is installed on a bottle or container 36, the inner cap 14 is fixed to the bottle 36 via the mating internal threads 52 of the inner cap 12 and external threads 56 of the bottle 36.

The outer cap 12 however is free to move axially or telescopically a predetermined distance with respect to the inner cap 14. The amount of axial movement being established by the interface between the top portion 44 of the inner cap 14 and the generally bulbous circular ridge 76 of the outer cap 12 at one end, and by the interface between the teeth 38 of the outer cap 12 and slots 56 of the inner cap 14 at the other end. When the viewing window 24 is the lens 34, the range of axial movement of the outer cap 12 allows for a range of adjustability of the axial position of the lens 34, and thus its magnification of the contents of the container 36. FIG. 2A shows the outer cap 12 in a fully depressed position with respect to inner cap 14. FIG. 2B shows outer cap 12 in a fully extended position with respect to inner cap 14.

While the present invention has been described with regards to particular embodiments, it is recognized that additional variations of the present invention may be devised without departing from the inventive concept.

Claims

1. A child resistant closure comprising:

an outer cap having a top, a skirt depending downwardly therefrom, and a plurality of teeth, extending downwardly from the top;

an inner cap having a top and a skirt depending downwardly therefrom, the inner cap having a plurality of slots recessed into the top;

wherein the inner cap is removably attachable to a container;

wherein each tooth of the outer cap has a vertical closing face and an angled opening face;

wherein each slot of the inner cap has a vertical closing face and an angled opening face;

wherein, when rotated in a first direction, the vertical closing faces of the teeth of the outer cap engage the vertical closing faces of the slots of the inner cap and cause the inner cap to rotate with the outer cap in the first direction;

wherein, when rotated in a second direction, and upon the application of a predetermined downwardly directed force, the angled opening faces of the teeth of the outer cap engage the angled opening faces of the slots of the inner cap and cause the inner cap to rotate with the outer cap in the second direction;

wherein, when rotated in the second direction, and in the absence of a predetermined downwardly directed force, the angled opening faces of the teeth of the outer cap slide over the angled opening faces of the slots of the inner cap causing the inner cap to remain stationary while the outer cap rotates in the second direction;

wherein the inner cap includes a viewing window;

wherein the outer cap includes a magnifying lens concentric with the viewing window of the inner cap;

wherein the inner cap and the outer cap are configured such that the outer cap is axially adjustable with respect to the inner cap within a predetermined range; and

wherein the outer cap includes a removable cover that covers the magnifying lens.

2. The child resistant closure of claim 1, wherein the removable cover of the outer cap is a flip top cover with a means for locking the cover to the outer cap.

3. The child resistant closure of claim 1, wherein the magnifying lens of the outer cap is transparent or translucent.

4. The child resistant closure of claim 1, wherein the window of the inner cap is transparent or translucent.

5. The child resistant closure of claim 1, wherein the outer cap and inner cap are telescopically coupled.

6. The child resistant closure of claim 1, wherein the skirt of the inner cap includes internal screw threads for engaging a container having external screw threads.

7. The child resistant closure of claim 1, wherein the opening face of the teeth of the outer cap and the opening face of the slots of the inner cap are inclined at an angle within the range of 30 to 60 degrees from vertical.

8. A child resistant closure comprising:

an outer cap having a top, a skirt depending downwardly therefrom, and a plurality of teeth, extending downwardly from the top;

an inner cap having a top and a skirt depending downwardly therefrom, the inner cap having a plurality of slots recessed into the top;

wherein the inner cap is removably attachable to a container;

wherein each tooth of the outer cap has a vertical closing face and an angled opening face;

wherein each slot of the inner cap has a vertical closing face and an angled opening face;

wherein, when rotated in a first direction, the vertical closing faces of the teeth of the outer cap engage the vertical closing faces of the slots of the inner cap and cause the inner cap to rotate with the outer cap in the first direction;

wherein, when rotated in a second direction, and upon the application of a predetermined downwardly directed force, the angled opening faces of the teeth of the outer cap engage the angled opening faces of the slots of the inner cap and cause the inner cap to rotate with the outer cap in the second direction;

wherein, when rotated in the second direction, and in the absence of a predetermined downwardly directed force, the angled opening faces of the teeth of the outer cap slide over the angled opening faces of the slots of the inner cap causing the inner cap to remain stationary while the outer cap rotates in the second direction,

wherein the inner cap includes a circular opening;

wherein the outer cap includes a magnifying lens concentric with the circular opening of the inner cap; and

wherein the lens is axially adjustable with respect to the inner cap.

9. The child resistant closure of claim 8, wherein the outer cap includes a magnifying lens concentrically aligned with a generally circular viewing window in the inner cap and wherein the inner and outer caps are configured such that the outer cap is telescopically adjustable with respect to the inner cap within a predetermined range.

10. The child resistant closure of claim 8, wherein the inner cap includes a lens concentrically aligned with a generally circular opening in the outer cap.

11. The child resistant closure of claim 8, wherein the inner cap includes a viewing window concentrically aligned with a generally circular opening in the outer cap.

12. The child resistant closure of claim 9, wherein the viewing window is translucent.

13. The child resistant closure of claim 11, wherein the viewing window is translucent.

14. A child resistant closure comprising:

an outer cap having a top, a skirt depending downwardly therefrom, and a plurality of asymmetric teeth, extending downwardly from the top;

an inner cap having a top and a skirt depending downwardly therefrom, the inner cap having a plurality of asymmetric slots recessed into the top;

wherein the inner cap is removably attachable to a container;

wherein, when rotated in a first direction, the teeth of the outer cap are configured to engage the slots of the inner cap and cause the inner cap to rotate with the outer cap in the first direction;

wherein, when rotated in a second direction, the teeth of the outer cap and slots of the inner cap are configured such that upon the application of a predetermined downwardly directed force, the teeth of the outer cap engage the slots of the inner cap and cause the inner cap to rotate with the outer cap in the second direction;

wherein, when rotated in the second direction, and in the absence of the predetermined downwardly directed force, the teeth of the outer cap are configured to slide over the slots of the inner cap causing the inner cap to remain stationary while the outer cap rotates in the second direction;

wherein the inner cap includes a viewing window;

wherein the outer cap includes a magnifying lens concentric with the viewing window of the inner cap; and

wherein the inner cap and the outer cap are configured such that the outer cap is telescopically adjustable with respect to the inner cap within a predetermined range.

15. The child resistant closure of claim 14, wherein the upper cap includes a flip top cover with a means for locking the cover to the outer cap.

16. The child resistant closure of claim 14, wherein the magnifying lens of the outer cap is transparent or translucent.

17. The child resistant closure of claim 14, wherein the window of the inner cap is a transparent or translucent.

18. The child resistant closure of claim 14, wherein the asymmetric teeth of the outer cap have vertical faces which engage vertical faces in the asymmetric slots of the inner cap when the outer cap is rotated in a first direction and wherein the asymmetric teeth of the outer cap have angled faces which engage angled faces in the asymmetric slots of the inner cap when the outer cap is rotated in a second direction.

19. The child resistant closure of claim 18, wherein the angled faces of the asymmetric teeth of the outer cap and the angled faces of the asymmetric slots of the inner cap are inclined at an angle within the range of 30 to 60 degrees from vertical.

20. The child resistant closure of claim 14, wherein the skirt of the inner cap includes internal screw threads for engaging a container having external screw threads.