Tamper-evident, child resistant closure

Abstract: It substantially comprises a cylindrical body (1) with a lid (2) coupled by means of a thread at the mouth thereof and which comprises an outside coaxial skirt (4) having projections (5,6) on its inside face. It is characterized in that the package body comprises around the body a seal made up with a strap (7) weakly joined to this body, this strap having on the periphery, at least, one recess (10) into which the corresponding projection of the skirt of the lid is fitted, preventing in this way the unscrewing of the lid. One of ends of the sealing strap comprises a handlelike extension facilitating through pulling, the tearing off and separation of the sealing strap with respect to the package body.

Description: This invention concerns a packing with safety lid and seal. Various systems are already known for closing cans and bottles with safety lids and stoppers, some of them provided with a seal and many of such packings being devised for containing toxic products or which might be detrimental to health and that therefore should be kept out of the way of children before opening or emptying said packages. Among known packages, there are those comprising a body basically cylindrical with a lid coupled by means of a thread at the mouth thereof and which comprises an outside coaxial skirt showing on its inside face projections that meet other projections of the body of the package in order to stand in the way of opening. There is the EP-A-0050490 patent relative to a package and lid assembly, which package is integrally closed, the package neck being provided of a thread and over it with a weakened annular portion, the lid having however a thread corresponding to the package neck and means contacting with the package over said annular portion. The lid has downwardly an annular flap making up a sealing tape which can easily be removed by pulling it and having also inwardly some trigger-teeth matching with the package-bored teeth. It is precisely such kinds of packages that become improved as a result of the present invention, particularly characterized by the fact that the lid offers safety with the seal attached and also after it is removed. For this purpose it is characteristic to have around the body of the package a seal made up of a strap weakly joined to the body and showing on the periphery at least one recess into which will fit the corresponding projection of the skirt of the lid, thus standing in the way of the unscrewing. One of the ends of the sealing strap includes a handlelike extension facilitating through pulling, the tearing off and separation of the sealing strap with respect to the body of thepackage. It is also characteristic the fact that the body of the package has on its periphery an elastic projection incorporating a tooth as a safety means against unscrewing of the lid after the seal is removed, as the said tooth stands in the way of the projections in the skirt of the lid as the latter is being unscrewed, and that tooth is avoided when the elastic projection is pressed down. Such characteristics and others will be better understood from the detailed description below, which is facilitated by two drawing sheets are attached to illustrate a practical embodiment quoted only as a non-limiting example of the scope of the present invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 shows a perspective of the top of the body of the package and the lid, uncoupled, figure 2 shows a partial cut of an elevation of the package, complete and closed, figures 3 and 4 correspond to a cross section of the package along line III-III of figure 2 with and without a seal respectively, and figure 5 is a detailed cut elevation of the safety means which operate after the seal is removed. According to the drawings, the package comprises a body essentially cylindrical 1 and a circular lid 2. The lid shows an inside thread 3 and an outside coaxial skirt 4 which in two diametrically opposed spots has inside corresponding projections 5 and 6. The body 1 of the package shows around it a seal made up of strap 7 weakly joined through an edge 8 to the said body, on which strap have been incorporated diametrically opposed on its periphery two recesses 9 and 10 into which fit projections 5 and 6 respectively of the skirt of the lid, preventing the unscrewing thereof after the lid has been coupled through axial pressure to the mouth of the body 1 of the package avoiding the outside thread 11 of the periphery thereof thanks to the semi-resiliency of the material of which body and lid were manufactured, the slight gap there is between the threads of either, and the slant planes comprising them. One of the ends of the sealing strap 7 is already separated from the body 1 along a short length 12 and comprises an expansion 13 with a rim 14 that facilitates in a handlelike way, by pulling as shown by arrow F, the tearing off and separation of the sealing strap 7 with regard to the body of the package. Sealing strap 7 leaves free a small area of the periphery of body 1, where the latter has a projection 15 forming a resilient bridge bearing a tooth 16 aligned with the sealing strap 7 to serve as the safety medium against unscrewing of the lid after the sealing strap has been removed, since against such tooth 16 there collide the projections 5 and 6 of the skirt of the lid when the latter turns (figure 4). To unscrew the lid, the obstacle of tooth 16 can be avoided by pressing projection 15 as shown by arrow F' in figure 5, whereby the projection bends towards the body 1, thus tooth 16 ceasing to prevent the passage of projections 5 and 6 of the skirt of the lid. To facilitate screwing the lid on the body of the package, the projections 5 and 6 of the skirt of the lid and the tooth 16 presents slanted planes 17 and 18, and opposite to such slanted planes the projections and the tooth comprise respective angular recesses 19 and 20 to establish a fit between each other to ensure blocking of the unscrewing of the lid. To obtain watertight closure of lid 2 on body 1, the former has on the inside periphery of the bottom, the coupling of gasket 21. It is understandable that the sealing strap could have one single recess on the periphery. In such a case, one of the projections of the skirt of the lid would coincide with the said recess, and the other projection would coincide with the tooth of the elastic projection corresponding to the body of the package.

Claims: Package with safety lid and seal, comprising a body (1) substantially cylindrical with lid (2) coupled by means of a thread (3) on the mouth thereof, the lid (2) comprising an outside coaxial skirt (4) showing projections (5 and 6) on the inside face, characterized in that the body (1) of the package has around it a seal made up of a strap (7) joined weakly to said body (1), the strap (7) showing on its periphery at least one recess (9, 10) into which there fits the corresponding projection (5, 6) of the skirt (4) of the lid (2), preventing unscrewing of the lid (2), one of the ends of this sealing strap (7) comprising a handlelike extension (13) to facilitate, by pulling it, the tearing off and separation of the sealing strap (7) with regard to the body (1) of the package. Package according to Claim 1, characterized in that as a medium of safety against unscrewing of the lid (2) after the sealing strap (7) is removed, the body (1) of the package has on its periphery a resilient projection (15) bearing a tooth (16) against which collide the projections (5 and 6) of the skirt (4) of the lid (2) when the latter turns, the tooth (16) being avoided by said projections (5 and 6) when the resilient projection (15) is pressed. Package as per Claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the projections (5 and 6) of the skirt (4) of the lid (2) and the tooth (16) of the projection (15) of the body (1) of the package show respective slanted planes (17 and 18) facilitating the screwing of the lid (2).

Inventors: PUIGGROS ROIG ARMAND, PUIGGROS ROIG, ARMAND, Puiggros Roig, Armand, c/o C.T.X., S.A.
Applicants: C T X S A, C.T.X., S.A.
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B65D50
IPC codes: B65D17, B65D55, B65D50