Safety device for use with a container

A safety device for use with a container with a screw cap. The device which preferably is made from plastics material has an annular body portion with an inwardly tapered inner wall. The screw cap is insertable into the body portion which is so dimensioned that the orientation of the cap is substantially maintained. The cap is held captive inside the body portion by means of a deflectable flange at the mouth of the body portion which permits the cap to be placed on, or be removed from, its closure position on the container but the cap and the device are nonetheless rotatable relatively to each other. The device restricts direct manual access to the cap. The device is frictionally engageable with the cap by urging the device towards the container. The device and the cap may then be rotated together to screw the cap on or off the container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a safety device for use with a container. 
Medicines and pharmaceutical preparations which are dispensed by 
pharmacists are very often sold in bottles to which are fitted screw caps. 
The use of medicines is strictly controlled because of harmful side 
effects such as may be caused by overdosing. It is therefore most 
desirable to keep all medicines out of the reach of young children who are 
unable to understand the implications and the dangers of drugs. 
Unfortunately even with the greatest of care accidents do happen for 
children gain possession of tablet filled bottles with alarming regularity 
and with consequences which are often tragic. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a safety device for use 
with a container with a screw cap which makes the removal of the cap more 
difficult particularly for young children. 
The invention provides a safety device for use with a container with a 
screw cap, the device being loosely engageable with the cap and being 
rotatable relatively to the cap and including at least a first formation 
which is frictionally engageable with the cap when forced towards the 
container so that the device and the cap can be rotated relatively to the 
container. 
The device may include an annular body portion into which the cap is 
insertable, and the first formation may comprise one or more projections 
on the inner wall of the body portion which are engageable with the cap. 
Preferably the first formation is formed by inwardly tapering at least a 
section of the inner wall of the body portion. The inner wall may thus be 
frustroconical 
The annular body portion, may, near its mouth, have at least one deformable 
formation which impedes disengagement of the device and the cap. 
Preferably the formation comprises an inwardly directed continuous flange. 
The formation may be deformable by bending or deflecting it, or by 
compressing it. 
In a preferred form of the invention the safety device comprises an annular 
body portion into which a container cap is insertable, with the interior 
of the cap being accessible from externally of the body portion, a 
continuous inwardly directed flange at the mouth of the body portion which 
hinders retraction of the cap from the body portion, and an inwardly 
tapered formation inside the body portion remote from the flange with 
which the cap is frictionally engageable. 
The invention also provides in combination a container with a neck to which 
is fitted a screw cap, and a cover which is engaged with the cap and which 
is rotatable relatively to the cap, the cover preventing or hindering 
direct manual access of the cap, the cover and the cap being frictionally 
engageable when the cover and container are forced together so that the 
cap may be screwed along the neck by rotation of the cover relatively to 
the container.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The drawings illustrate a safety device 10 according to the invention which 
is moulded as an integral unit from a suitable plastics material. The 
device consists of an annular body portion 12 which has a mouth 14, a 
continuous inwardly directed flange 16 which is formed on the inner wall 
of the body portion 12 adjacent the mouth 14, and an inwardly tapered 
inner wall 18 at the end of the body portion 12 opposing the mouth 14. 
The device 10 is intended for use with a container which has a neck 20 to 
which is fitted a screw cap 22. The cap, when screwed on to the neck 20, 
forms a lower shoulder 24. 
The inner diameter of the flange 16 is slightly larger than the outer 
diameter of the neck 20. The flange however is slightly flexible. 
The device is used in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4. When a bottle 
of drugs is dispensed the cap 22 is screwed in the normal manner on to the 
neck 20. The device 10 is then passed over the cap and the neck as shown 
in FIG. 3. To do this the device must be forced over the cap along the 
neck so that the flange is deformed by deflection, until the flange 16 
passes the shoulder 24 of the cap. The flange then returns to its normal 
position, under its inherent resilience. This position is illustrated in 
FIG. 3. 
At the FIG. 3 position the device is able to rotate relatively to the cap, 
without engaging with the cap, and at the same time the device covers the 
cap and prevents direct manual access of the cap. A child or any other 
person is therefore unable to grip the cap directly with the fingers and 
unscrew it from the container. 
The cap may be removed from the container by forcing the device towards the 
container so that the tapered section of the wall 18 of the device is 
brought into frictional contact with the cap 22. The taper of the wall 
should be fairly pronounced so that a wedging action of the taper and the 
cap is avoided, but on the other hand the taper must permit the cap and 
the device to be frictionally interengaged. The plastics material from 
which the device is made should be fairly hard so that it is not 
significantly or permanently deformed by the cap. These features prevent 
the device and the cap from becoming inadvertantly locked to one another. 
Once the device has been moved to the position shown in FIG. 4 it may be 
rotated and, provided the device and the container are continuously forced 
towards each other, the device is maintained in frictional contact with 
the cap and the cap may therefore be unscrewed from the neck 20. When the 
device and captive cap are removed from the container the cap is retained 
substantially in the correct orientation so that it may easily be replaced 
on the rim of the neck 20. To this end the internal dimensions of the 
device, in relation to the dimensions of the cap, are such that the cap 
cannot readily be inverted inside the device and consequently the mouth of 
the cap faces downwardly and is directly accessible through the mouth 14 
of the device. The cap may be screwed on to the neck by frictional 
re-engagement of the device and the cap, in the manner described, and by 
rotation of the device in the appropriate direction.