A child-resistant package that includes a wide mouth blown glass container or blow molded plastic container, and a molded thermoplastic closure that is affixed to the finish portion of such container. The finish portion of the container has a radially outwardly projecting flange at the bottom portion of such finish portion, and this flange has a notch in its outer periphery. The closure has a flexible projection that extends outwardly and downwardly from the skirt of the closure, and a portion of this projection engages the notch in the flange of the finish to prevent the turning of the closure on the finish. The projection of the closure can be manipulated by hand to remove the portion of the projection that engages the notch in the container finish to disengage the closure projection from the container finish notch, to permit the removal of the closure from the container. In one embodiment, the closure is normally retained on the container finish by means of a snap-on bead that projects inwardly from the closure skirt and engages a locking head that projects outwardly from the container finish. In an alternative embodiment, the container finish is provided with an outwardly projecting helical thread, and the closure is provided with an inwardly projecting helical thread that engages the helical thread of a container finish.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. FIELD OF INVENTION 
This invention relates to a package which includes a container and a 
closure that is affixed to the container. The closure requires special 
manipulation for removal from the container to be resistant to removal by 
children and to thereby help to prevent the accidental ingestion of the 
contents of the package. In particular, the invention relates to a 
child-resistant package of the aforesaid type in which the container is of 
wide mouth type. The invention is shown in a version in which the closure 
is of the screw-on type. The container may be formed of glass or plastic 
and the closure is a molded thermoplastic closure. 
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
Various container/closure packages are known in the prior art which are 
resistant to opening by a child to prevent the accidental ingestion of the 
contents of the package. Many of the more popular applications for such 
child-resistant packaging involve containers of the type which have 
relatively small openings, such as small-mouth containers which are used 
in the packaging of liquids, for example, cough syrup, other liquid 
medications, and various liquid cleaning products, and pharmaceutical 
vials for the packaging of various tablets and other dry products. U.S. 
Pat. Nos. 3,795,388 (Swartzbaugh, et al.) 3,857,505 Mumford, et al.) and 
3,926,326 (Grau) illustrate child-resistant packages of this type. 
Various products which are dangerous when ingested, or when ingested in 
excessive amounts, cannot be satisfactorily packaged in a small-mouth 
container, however, and various of the designs of child-resistant closures 
which have proven to be satisfactory for small-mouth containers cannot be 
satisfactorily adapted for use with a wide mouth container. U.S. Pat. No 
4,375,859 (Fillmore) does describe a child-resistant package in which the 
container is of the wide mouth type, but this closure is of the snap-on 
type. In certain packaging applications it is preferable to use a threaded 
or screw-on closure, and in these applications a snap-on child-resistant 
closure of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,859 is 
unsatisfactory, at least in part. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a 
child-resistant container/closure package in which the container may be of 
the wide mouth type, that is, with a container finish diameter, viz., with 
a container "T" dimension (the approximate outside diameter of the 
container thread, in the case of a threaded finish container, or the 
approximate outside diameter of the container locking bead in the case of 
a container that is designed to receive a snap-on closure) of at least 43 
mm. A container to be used in the container/closure package of the present 
invention is provided with a discontinued circumferential locking flange 
that extends radially outwardly from the wall of the finish, a notch being 
formed in the discontinued portion of the locking flange. The closure of 
the container/closure package of the present invention is molded from 
thermoplastic material, such as high density polyethylene or 
polypropylene, and the closure skirt has a resilient projection that 
extends radially outwardly therefrom with a portion that extends 
downwardly to normally fit in the notch of the locking of the container 
finish to prevent the closure from being turned on finish. The downwardly 
extending portion of the resilient projection of closure skirt has 
sufficient flexibility to be lifted out of the notch the finished locking 
bead to permit the closure to be turned on the finish, action which 
inherently is needed to remove a screw-type closure. The snap-on closure 
embodiment of the closure/container package of the present invention also 
requires a turning action, subsequent to the lifting of the projection on 
the closure, to effect the removal of the closure the container as the 
circumferential locking bead of the container is also discontinued to form 
a notch and the closure is provided with inwardly extending tab that lies 
under the locking bead and interferes the removal of the closure, except 
when the tab is aligned with the of the locking bead. The locations of the 
notch in the locking bead of the finish and the tab of the closure such 
that they are not in alignment when the resilient projection and notch in 
the closure flange are in alignment, thus, requiring a turning of the 
closure after the disengagement of the resilient projection of the skirt 
from the flange of the finish. Consequently, in both of the embodiments of 
the invention, at least two manipulative actions required before the 
closure can be removed from the finish of the container, the disengagement 
of the resilient projection on the closure skirt from the notch in the 
flange of the container finish, followed by a turning of the closure. The 
complexity of these manipulations help to prevent the accidental opening 
of the package by a child, therefore, permitting substances to be packaged 
in the container which would be dangerous if accidentally consumed, either 
by virtue of the nature of any such substances and/or by virtue of the 
volume of the substance that is packaged in the container. 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an 
improved child-resistant container/closure package. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a 
child-resistant container/closure package that may utilize a wide mouth 
container. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a 
child-resistant container/closure package in which the container is of the 
wide mouth type and in which the closure may be mass produced relatively 
inexpensively by the molding of a thermoplastic material. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a 
child-resistant container/closure package in which the container is of the 
wide mouth type and is readily formable from glass or plastic by various 
of the known glass container and plastic container manufacturing 
techniques. 
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a child-resistant 
container/closure package in which the container is of the wide mouth 
type, and in which the closure is a molded thermoplastic closure, and 
which may be repeatedly opened and closed without undue degradation of 
performance characteristics through fatigue. 
For a further understanding of the invention and the objects thereof, 
attention is directed to the drawing and the following descriptions 
thereof, to the detailed description thereof, and to the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The child/resistant package according to the present invention is made up 
of a closure, indicated generally by reference numeral 10, and a 
container, shown fragmentarily, and indicated generally by reference 
numeral 50. As is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the closure 10 is made up of the 
closure body 20 and a liner 40. The closure body 20 is preferably molded 
in a single piece, as by injection molding or compression molding, from a 
suitable thermoplastic material, such as high density polyethylene or 
polypropylene. The liner 40 may be formed from pulp or suitable plastic 
material, so long as it will form a suitable seal on the rim of the 
container 50 and will be compatible with the product to be packaged in the 
container 50. The container 50 is a wide mouth container (i.e with a 
container "T" dimension of 43 mm or greater), and may be considered to be 
either a blown glass container or a blow molded thermoplastic container, 
the selection of the material for container 50 normally being based on the 
susceptibility of the contents of the container to attack by oxygen or 
other ingredients of air which may permeate through the wall plastic 
container, or infra-red or ultra-violet radiation which may pass through 
the wall of a glass container, all as is well understood in the art. 
The container 50 has a neck or "finish" portion 51 that defines an upper 
open mouth 53 of the container 50, the finish portion 51 terminating in a 
rim 52. The container 50 also has a body portion 54, and the body portion 
54 is separated from the finish portion 51 by means of a radially 
outwardly projecting flange 55. As is clear from FIG. 3, the radial extent 
of the radially outwardly projecting flange 55 is greater than the radial 
extent of any other portion of the finish 51. 
The container 50 is of the type which is adapted to be closed by means of a 
primary locking bead 56, which is horizontally disposed when container 50 
is in an upright position and is located between the rim 52 of the 
container and the radially outwardly projecting flange 55. The primary 
locking bead 56 is preferably endless in character, and as is clear from 
FIG. 3, it projects radially outwardly beyond an inner wall 57 of the 
finish 51. In the customary container/closure nomenclature, the outside 
diameter of the wall 57 of the finish 51 is known as the "E" dimension of 
the container, and in a container which is adapted to receive a snap-on 
closure, the outside diameter of the primary locking bead 56 of the 
container finish 51 is known as the "T" dimension of the container. As was 
stated above, the present invention is ideally suited for containers whose 
"T" dimension is equal to or greater than 43 mm, a dimension which 
indicates such container is of the "wide-mouth" type. 
As is clear from FIGS. 1 and 2, a peripheral portion of the radially 
outwardly projecting flange 55 is discontinued to define an outwardly 
facing notch 58, and the notch 58 is circumferentially offset with respect 
to a notch 59 in a double-ended secondary locking bead 60 that is located 
between the primary locking bead 56 and the rim 52 of the finish 51. 
The closure body 20 is made up, in general, of a top panel 21 that spans 
the upper open mouth 53 of the container 50, and an annular skirt 22 that 
extends downwardly from the top panel 21 to surround the upper portion of 
the finish 51 of the container, including the secondary locking bead 60 
and the primary locking bead 56. The closure 10 is normally held in place 
on the finish 51 of the container 50 by means of a circumferential series 
of locking lugs 23 which project radially inwardly from the annular skirt 
22, from locations near the bottom thereof, to form an interference fit 
with the underside of the primary locking bead 56 of the container finish 
51 when the closure 10 is affixed to the container 50. The degree of the 
interference between the lock and the lugs 23 and the primary locking bead 
56 of the container 50 is such that the closure 10 can be snapped onto and 
off of the finish 51 of the container 50 by hand, without requiring a 
special tool to assist in the opening and the closing of the container. 
The annular skirt 22 of the closure body 20 is also provided with a 
radially inwardly projecting tab 24 that is adapted to bear on the 
underside of the secondary locking bead 60 in an interference fit 
therewith such that the closure 10 cannot ordinarily be snapped on and off 
of the finish 51 of the container 50 when the tab 24 is in an interference 
fit with the secondary locking bead 60 because of the magnitude of such 
interference. However, once the closure 10 is rotated relative to the 
finish 51 of the container 50 to bring the radially inwardly projecting 
tab 24 into alignment with the notch 59 in the secondary locking bead 60, 
there is no interference between the radially inwardly projecting tab 24 
and the secondary locking bead 60, or at least no interference of a 
magnitude that would interfere with the removal of the closure 10, and in 
a case where there is no interference between the radially inwardly 
projecting tab 24 and the secondary locking bead 60, the only interference 
fit between the closure 10 and the container 50 is that which is provided 
by the locking lugs 23 and the primary locking bead 56 which, as was above 
explained, is insufficient to prevent the removal of the closure 10 from 
the container 50 by hand, or the subsequent reapplication of the closure 
10 to the container 50 by hand. 
The closure 10 is normally maintained in a position with the radially 
inwardly projecting tab 24 out of alignment with the notch 59 in the 
secondary locking bead 60 and, therefore, in a position where it cannot 
normally be removed by hand, by means of a projection 25 which is formed 
intergrally with the closure body 21 and extends radially outwardly from 
the annular skirt 22, and downwardly below the bottom of the annular skirt 
22 to engage the notch 58 in the radially outwardly projecting flange 55. 
As is most clearly shown in FIG. 3, the projection 25 is made up of a 
first portion 25a which extends a radially outwardly from the annular 
skirt 22, and a second portion 25b which extends generally vertically 
upwardly and downwardly from the first portion 25a. The second portion 25b 
of the projection 25 can be pivoted relative to the first portion 25a by 
hand pressure, as is indicated by the phantom line in FIG. 3, to rotate 
the bottom of the second portion 25b outwardly from the notch 58 in the 
radially outwardly projecting flange 55, and when this is done, the 
closure 10 can be rotated on the finish 51 of the container 50 to bring 
the inwardly projecting tab 24 into alignment with the notch 59 in the 
secondary locking bead 60, as is shown in FIG. 7. The projection 25 also 
includes fingers 25c and 25d extending inwardly from the upper end of the 
second portion 25b. When the second portion 25b of the projection 25 is 
pivoted to remove the bottom portion thereof from the notch 58, the 
fingers 25c and 25d will contact the extension of the annular skirt 22 of 
the closure body 21, and will be wedged apart by such contact. Such 
wedging apart of the fingers 25c and 25d will create a biasing force on 
the second portion 25b of the projection 25, which will help to insure a 
return of the second portion 25b into its normal position, in interference 
with the notch 58, upon the removal of hand pressure from the second 
portion 25b of the projection 25 and the re-orientation of the closure 10 
so that the projection 25 is radially aligned with the notch 58 in the 
flange 55. 
FIGS. 8 and 9 depict an alternative embodiment of the child-resistant 
package according to the present invention, such package including a 
closure, indicated generally by reference numeral 10', and a container, 
shown fragmentarily and indicated generally by reference numeral 50'. The 
closure 10' is made up of a closure body 20' and a liner 40'. The closure 
body 20' is preferably molded in a single piece, as by injection molding 
or compression molding, from a suitable thermoplastic material, such as 
high density polyethylene or polypropylene. The liner 40' may be formed 
from or suitable plastic material, so long as it will form a suitable seal 
on the rim of the container 50' and will be compatible with the product to 
be packaged in the container 50'. The container 50' is a wide mouth 
container, for example, either a blown glass container or a blow molded 
thermoplastic container. 
The container 50' has a neck or finish portion 51' that defines an upper 
open mouth 53' of the container 50', the finish portion 51' terminating in 
a rim 52'. The container 50' also has a body portion 54', and the body 
portion 54' is separated from the finish portion 51' by means of a 
radially outwardly projecting flange 55'. As is clear from FIG. 9, the 
radial extent of the radially outwardly projecting flange 55' is greater 
than the radial extent of any other portion of the finish 51'. 
The Container 50' is of the type which is adapted to be closed by a 
threaded closure, and to engage shuch a clousre the finish 51' of the 
container 50' has a helical thread 56' projecting radially outwardly 
therefrom. The helical thread 56' is located between the rim 52' of the 
container 50' and the radially outwardly projecting flange 55'. 
The closure body 20' is made up, in general, of a top panel 21' that spans 
the upper open mouth 53' of the container 50', and an annular skirt 22' 
that extends downwardly from the top panel 21' to surround the upper 
portion of the finish 51' of the container, including the helical thread 
56'. The closure 10' is normally held in place on the finish 51' of the 
container 50, by means of a helical thread 23' which projects radially 
inwardly from the annular skirt 22', to engage the helical thread 56' on 
the finish 51' of the container 50' to form a screw-on and screw-off fit 
between the closure 10'and the container 50'. 
Child-resistant opening characteristics are imparted to the package of 
FIGS. 8 and 9 by providing an outwardly facing notch 58' in the radially 
outwardly projecting flange 55', and providing the closure 10' with a 
projection 25' that is adapted to engage a notch 58' in the radially 
outwardly projecting flange 55' of the container 50' when the closure 10' 
has been fully screwed onto the finish 51' of the container 50'. The 
projection 25' of the closure 10' is made up of a first portion 25a' which 
extends radially outwardly from the annular skirt 22', and a second 
portion 25b' which extends generally vertically upwardly and downwardly 
from the first portion 25a'. The second portion 25b' of the projection 25' 
can be pivoted relative to the first portion 25a' by hand pressure, to 
rotate the bottom of the second portion 25b' outwardly from the notch 58' 
in the radially outwardly projecting flange 55' and, when this is done, 
the closure 10' can be rotated on the finish 51' of the container 50' to 
unscrew the closure 10' from the container 50'. 
The projection 25' also includes a pair of fingers, only one of which, 
25c', is shown in the drawing in FIGS. 8 and 9. The fingers, including the 
finger 25c', extend inwardly from the upper end of the second portion 
25b', and when the second portion 25b' of the projection 25' is pivoted to 
remove the bottom portion thereof from the notch 58', the fingers, 
including the finger 25c', will contact the exterior of the annular skirt 
22' of the closure body 21', and will be wedged apart by such contact. 
Such wedging apart of the fingers, including the finger 25c', will create 
a biasing force on the second portion 25b' of the projection 25', and this 
will help to insure a return of the second portion 25b' into its normal 
position in interference with the notch 58', upon the removal of hand 
pressure of the second portion 25b' of the projection 25' and the 
reorientation of the closure 10' so that the projection 25' is radially 
aligned with the notch 58'. 
Although the best mode contemplated by the inventor for carrying out the 
present invention as of the filing date hereof has been shown and 
described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that 
suitable modifications, variations, and equivalents may be made without 
departing from the scope of the invention, such scope being limited solely 
by the terms of the following claims.