TAMPER-PROOF CLOSURE

Abstract: The invention provides a container (10) comprising a wall (11) defining at least one chamber (14a, 14b) and an opening (16a, 16b) to the or each chamber. A cover member (19) comprising a body portion (20) and a closure member (24) is locatable on the wall so as to extend over the or each opening, and co-operating detent means (17, 28) on the wall and the body portion lock the body portion in position on the wall. The closure member (24) is frangibly attached to the body portion (20) whereby the closure member can only be opened by use of a tool, and is operable to sealingly close the or each opening (16a, 16b) when the closure member is attached to the body portion and to reveal the or each opening when the closure member is broken away from the body portion.

Description: TAMPER-PROOF CLOSURE The present invention relates to a container having a tamper proof closure which cannot be opened by hand alone but requires the use of a tool. Moreover, once opened, the container cannot be securely re-sealed and it is at once obvious that opening has already occurred. According to the present invention, there is provided a container comprising a wall defining at least one chamber and an opening to the or each chamber, a cover member comprising a body portion and a closure member, locatable on the wall so as to extend over the or each opening, and co-operating detent means on the wall and the body portion to lock the body portion in position on the wall, wherein the closure member is frangibly attached to the body portion by means whereby the closure member can only be opened by use of a tool, and is operable to seaiingly close the or each opening when the closure member is attached to the body portion and to reveal the or each opening when the closure member is broken away from the body portion. Preferably, the detent means comprises one or more protrusions formed on the body portion and engageable with one or more corresponding protrusions formed on the wall so as to lock the body portion in position on the wall. Conveniently the or each protrusion on the wall comprises an outwardly projecting ridge and the or each protrusion on the body portion comprises an inwardly projecting lip co-operable therewith. The cover member may comprise a cup having side walls and a base, at least the central part of the base forming the closure member. Preferably, the closure member is frangibly attached to the body portion by at least three frangible webs. The closure member is preferably attached to the body portion solely by the frangible attachment means, whereby when the closure member is broken away from the body portion, the closure member is separated from the body portion. It is also preferable if the closure member further comprises at least one plug member projecting therefrom, the or each plug member corresponding to the or one of said openings and being sized to seaiingly locate within the opening. In a further advantageous embodiment, a hanging member is formed integrally with the body portion and extends therefrom having an aperture therein or formed in a hook shape in order to facilitate hanging of the container for display or storage. Preferably the wall defines two independent chambers each with a respective opening. The invention will now be described in further detail by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings in which: FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a container in accordance with the present invention; FIGURE 2 is a front view of the container of Figure 1; FIGURE 3 is a side view of the container of Figure 1; FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the cover member; FIGURE 5 is an enlarged view of the top of the container without the cover member; FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of the cover member in position on the container; FIGURE 7 is a plan view of the container without the cover member; and FIGURE 8 is an underneath view of the container. The container illustrated in the drawings and described below comprises two independent hollow compartments each with a respective opening. Such containers are intended to be used for products such as adhesives which comprise two components which must not be combined until immediately before use. However, it is to be noted that the invention is equally applicable to a container having a single compartment with an opening thereto or to a multi- compartment container. Referring now to the figures, the container (10) is made from any suitable material εuch as plastic to provide a relatively thin wall (11) formed so as to provide two compartments (12a,12b) joined together by a web (13). Each compartment (12a,12b) defines a hollow chamber (14a,14b) to receive a substance therein. The wall (11) further defines a neck (15a,15b) for each compartment (12a,12b), of narrower cross section than the main part of the compartment, protruding from one end and defining an opening (16a,16b) to its respective chamber (14a, 14b). Conveniently, each neck (15a, 15b) is substantially circular in cross section as seen best in Figure 7. Furthermore, an outwardly protruding ridge (17) is provided on each neck (15a, 15b) which extends at least half way around the outer circumference as seen in Figures 5 and 7. In other embodiments, the ridge (17) may be continuous around the whole circumference of each neck or it may comprise a number of circumferentially spaced ridges. The wall (11) of the container (10) is provided with a shoulder (18) a short distance below the necks (15a,15b) which extends around both compartments (12a, 12b) . A cover member (19) is provided to close the openings (16a, 16b) . As shown in Figures 4 and 6, the cover member (19) is of a cup-like shape which in use is inverted over the necks (15a, 15b) such that the side walls (21) of the cup surround the necks (15a, 15b) and the base (22) of the cup lies across the openings (16a, 16b) of the necks (15a, 15b) . The lower periphery (23) of the cover member (19) is shaped so as to locate against the shoulder (18) to give an overall smooth profile to the container (10). The cover member (19) is moulded as a one piece construction which is made up of a body portion (20) and a closure member (24) [see Figure 1]. The body portion (20) comprises the side walls (21) of the cup and the outer periphery of the base (22) . The central part of the base (22) of the cover member (19) constitutes the closure member (24) . There is a small clearance between the outer perimeter of the closure member (24) and the body portion (20) which is bridged by at least three relatively narrow frangible webs (25a,25b, 25c) which attach the closure member (24) to the body portion (20) . In this case, the closure member (24) is in the form of a substantially rectangular panel with rounded ends so as to extend over both openings (16a, 16b) . Two of the webs (25a,25b) join the closure member (24) to the body portion (20) on one side and the third web (25c) joins the closure member (24) to the body portion (20) on the other side. As seen in Figures 4 and 6 two plug members (26a,26b), each in the form of a solid protrusion or annular wall, project from the inner surface of the closure member (24) . In use each plug member (26a,26b) fits seaiingly into a respective neck (15a, 15b) of the container (10) to close the openings (15a, 16b) to the chambers (14a, 14b) . Leakage of the substances contained in the chambers is thereby prevented. On the inner surface of the base (22) of the body portion (20) surrounding the closure member (24) a wall (27) is provided which projects in the same direction as the plug members (26a, 26b) . The periphery of this wall carries a lip (28) which projects inwardly beneath the plug members (26a,26b). When the chambers (14a,14b) have been filled and it is desired to close the container, the cup-like cover member (19) is inverted and fitted over the necks (15a, 15b). The lip (28) formed on the body portion (20) snap over the ridges (17) which protrude from the necks (I5a,15b) and locates beneath them to retain the cover member (19) on the wall (11) . The co-operating ridges (17) and lip (28) are sized such that once in position the body portion (20) cannot be removed without the aid of a tool because the lip (28) on the body portion (20) cannot be forced back over the ridges (17) on the necks (15a,15b) by hand. Moreover, removal of the body portion (20) with a tool would be likely to visibly deform or damage the body portion (20) . When it is desired to open the container (10) , it is necessary to separate the closure member (24) from the body portion (20) by breaking the webs (25a,25b,25c) . To do this, a relatively thin object such as the tip of a screw driver must be inserted in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1 into the clearance gap between the two adjacent lugs (25a,25b) and underneath the edge of the closure member (24) . Thus, the closure member (24) can be levered off by breaking the first two webs (25a,25b) and then the third web (25c) on the other side. The plug members (26a, 26b) are thereby removed from the necks (15a, 15b) and the openings (16a, 16b) to the chambers (14a, 14b) are revealed. However, the body portion (20) of the cover member (19) remains locked in position. Thus, the closure member (24) cannot be removed without the use of a tool such as a screwdriver, thereby preventing accidental opening or tampering by a child. This is because the clearance gap between the closure member (24) and the body portion (20) is too small for a user's finger to be inserted therebetween and because of the strength of the webs which requires the extra leverage provided by a tool to break them. Furthermore, once the closure member (24) has been broken away from the body portion (20) the container (10) cannot be securely re-sealed and even if the closure member (24) is replaced in position with the plugs (26a,26b) in the necks (15a,15b) the broken lugs (25a,25b,25c) indicate that opening has occurred. In an additional advantageous aspect of the invention, a hanging member in the form of a tab (29) having an aperture (30) may be provided integrally with the body portion (20) of the cover member (19) to provide a means to hang the closed container (10) on a hook for display or storage purposes. Alternatively, the tab (29) may itself be hook shaped to facilitate hanging of the container. Additionally, as shown in Figure 8, the underside of the compartments may be formed with feet in the form of projecting ridges (31) to provide a stable base.

Claims: CLAIMS : 1. A container (10) comprising a wall (11) defining at least one chamber (14a, 14b) and an opening (16a, 16b)to the or each chamber, a cover member (19)comprising a body portion (20) and a closure member (24) locatable on the wall so as to extend over the or each opening, and co-operating detent means (17, 28) on the wall and the body portion to lock the body portion in position on the wall, wherein the closure member (24) is frangibly attached to the body portion (20) whereby the closure member can only be opened by use of a tool, and is operable to seaiingly close the or each opening (16a, 16b) when the closure member is attached to the body portion and to reveal the or each opening when the closure member is broken away from the body portion. 2. A container as claimed in claim 1 wherein the detent means comprises one or more protrusions (28) formed on the body portion (20) and engageable with one or more corresponding protrusions (17) formed on the wall (11) so as to lock the body portion in position. 3. A container as claimed in claim 2 wherein the or each protrusion on the wall (ll) comprises an outwardly extending ridge (17) and the or each protrusion on the body portion (20) comprises an inwardly projecting lip (28) co-operable therewith. 4. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the cover member (19) comprises a cup having side walls (21) and a base (22) , at least the central part of the base forming the closure member (24). 5. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the closure member (24) is frangibly attached to the body portion (20) by at least three frangible webs (25a, 25b, 25c) . 6. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the closure member (24) is attached to the body portion (20) solely by the frangible attachment means (25a, 25b, 25c) , whereby when the closure member is broken away from the body portion, the closure member is separated from the body portion. 7. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the closure member (24) further comprises at least one plug member (26a, 26b) projecting therefrom, the or each plug member corresponding to the or one of said openings (16a, 16b) and being sized to seaiingly locate in the opening. 8. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a hanging member (29) is formed integrally with and extends from the body portion (20) and has an aperture (30) therein or is formed in a hook shape to facilitate hanging of the container. 9. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the wall (11) defines two independent chambers (14a, 14b) each with a respective opening (16a, 16b) .

Inventors: CHARNOCK RONALD SCOTT, DAVIES JON, LUDDINGTON STEPHEN JOHN, PALMER MARTIN, CHARNOCK, RONALD, SCOTT, DAVIES, JON, LUDDINGTON, STEPHEN, JOHN, PALMER, MARTIN
Applicants: CHARNOCK RONALD SCOTT, DAVIES JON, LUDDINGTON STEPHEN JOHN, PALMER MARTIN, POLYCELL PROD LTD, CHARNOCK, RONALD, SCOTT, DAVIES, JON, LUDDINGTON, STEPHEN, JOHN, PALMER, MARTIN, POLYCELL PRODUCTS LIMITED
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B65D55
IPC codes: B65D1, B65D41, B65D51, B65D55