Abstract:
The present invention is directed to a bottle with a tamper-proof cap with an outlet in the cap for dispensing the liquid from the bottle. The bottle is designed, in particular, for use in an inverted configuration, namely with the outlet lowermost in normal use, in a device for dispensing liquid soap or the like.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a US National Stage of International Application No. PCT/GB2009/002678, filed 16 Nov. 2009, which claims the benefit of GB 0820984.3, filed 17 Nov. 2008, both herein fully incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a bottle with a tamper-proof cap.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Many tamper-proof caps are known in the art which are designed to demonstrate to a user whether or not a cap has previously been removed. The most common tamper-proof cap is a screw-on lid, the lower lip of which is attached to a collar via a frangible element. The collar is prevented from rotating with the cap so that, when the cap is rotated, the frangible elements break to separate the collar from the lid thereby providing a visual indication that the cap has previously been opened.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     The present invention is directed to a bottle with a tamper-proof cap with an outlet in the cap for dispensing the liquid from the bottle. The bottle is designed, in particular, for use in an inverted configuration, namely with the outlet lowermost in normal use, in a device for dispensing liquid soap or the like. The bottle is designed to be a refill which sits above a base which houses a mechanism for selectively dispensing a liquid such as soap from the dispenser, either by a hand operated pump, or by an automated system which detects the proximity of a user&#39;s hands and activates a pump to automatically dispense the liquid. Once the refill is empty, if the user could remove the cap and refill the bottle, there is a danger that they would fill the bottle with a product which was incompatible with the dispensing device, or would fail to replace the cap properly resulting in leakage into the base which would at best be messy and at worst would damage the device.  
         [0005]     According to the present invention, there is provided a bottle with a tamper-proof cap with an outlet therethrough, the bottle having a neck that is attached to the cap, a retaining shoulder adjacent to the end of the neck and facing away from the open end of the neck, the cap comprising at least one retaining member having a retaining shoulder complementary to the shoulder on the bottle, the retaining member being attached to the cap by a frangible member, whereby insertion of the bottle into the cap causes the retaining member to deflect so that the shoulder on the bottle passes the retaining member, whereupon the retaining member is resiliently biased back to its normal position so that its retaining shoulder co-operates with the retaining shoulder on the bottle to hold the bottle and cap together, and whereby pulling the cap from the bottle causes the shoulder on the bottle to bear against the shoulder on the retaining member and distort or break the frangible member thereby moving the retaining member to a position which prevents the cap from being subsequently retained on the bottle.  
         [0006]     Thus, the user is able to use the bottle as normal to dispense liquid from the outlet. Once the bottle is empty, if the user removes the cap, they will distort or break the frangible member so that the retaining member will no longer be effective. This will prevent them from re-securing the lid to the bottle.  
         [0007]     There may be a single arcuate retaining member which may either fully encircle the neck of the bottle, or may extend around a substantial proportion of the neck. However, preferably, there are a plurality of arcuate retaining members spaced around the circumference of the neck. Having a plurality of such members makes it easier for them to deflect as the bottle is inserted into the cap.  
         [0008]     The plurality of retaining members may extend all the way around the cap. However, preferably, the retaining members are spaced intermittently around the cap. If this is the case, a frangible member is preferably attached at each end of the retaining member. Alternatively, there may be a plurality of frangible members connected between the cap and the surface of the retaining member which faces the cap. Between the intermittent retaining members, there may be a plurality of support members to complete the circle.  
         [0009]     Preferably, a tapered surface is provided on at least one of the end of the neck and the retaining member to assist in deflecting the retaining member when the bottle is inserted into the cap. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     A bottle with a tamper-proof cap will now be described with reference to the accompany drawings, in which:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a cross-section through a dispenser;  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a cut-away perspective view of the refill being introduced into the dispenser but not yet being engaged;  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a view similar to  FIG. 2  showing the refill in an intermediate position;  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a view similar to  FIGS. 3 and 4  showing the refill in its fully engaged position;  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the cap assembly prior to assembly;  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the cap assembly after assembly;  
         [0017]      FIG. 7  is a cross-section showing the engagement between the bottle neck and cap assembly;  
         [0018]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the cap with the frangible members intact;  
         [0019]      FIG. 9  is a view similar to  FIG. 7  after the bottle has been removed from the cap;  
         [0020]      FIG. 10  is a view similar to  FIG. 8  after the frangible members have broken off;  
         [0021]      FIG. 11  is an exploded perspective view of a cap of a second refill unit;  
         [0022]      FIG. 12  is a view similar to  FIG. 11  showing the assembled cap;  
         [0023]      FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional view through the pressure relief valve of the second example; and  
         [0024]      FIG. 14  is a view similar to  FIG. 13  showing the pressure relief valve in an open configuration to allow the flow of air. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0025]     The dispenser is a hands-free dispenser which is generally suitable for domestic use. The dispenser is primarily intended to dispense liquid soap, but may also be used to dispense other liquid or semi-liquid products (ideally with a viscosity greater than water), such as hand cream, body lotion, moisturiser, face cream, shampoo, shower gel, foaming hand wash, shaving cream, washing up liquid, toothpaste or a sanitising agent such as alcohol gel.  
         [0026]     The dispenser comprises two main parts, namely a refill  1  and a base unit  2 . The refill  1  provides a reservoir of liquid to be dispensed and is fitted to the base unit  2  as set out below.  
         [0027]     The base has an interface  3  into which liquid is dispensed from the refill unit. The interface  3  is in fluid communication with a dispensing tube  4 . A pump  5  is selectively operable to pump a metered dose of the liquid along dispensing tube  4  and out of dispensing head  6 .  
         [0028]     The base has an infrared transmitter  7 A which transmits an infrared beam through a window  8  to a receiver  7 B to sense the presence of a user&#39;s hands in the vicinity of the dispenser.  
         [0029]     Control circuitry reacts to a signal from the proximity sensor to activate the pump. The illustrated sensor is a break beam sensor, but may also be a reflective sensor. Although an infrared sensor is shown, any known proximity sensor such as a capacitive sensor may be used. The device may be mains powered or battery powered. Alternatively, it may be a manually operated pump device in which a user pushes a lever to displace the product.  
         [0030]     The interface between the refill  1  and base unit  2  will now be described in greater detail with reference to FIGS.  2  to  10 .  
         [0031]     The base unit  2  comprises a cowling  10  which forms a cup-shaped housing surrounding a significant portion of the refill to protect and support it. A spigot  11  projects through the base of the cowling  10  and is sealed to the cowling  10  by an O-ring seal  12 . The spigot has a plurality of castellations  13  in its top surface. A second O-ring seal  14  surrounds the spigot  11  beneath the castellations  13 .  
         [0032]     The refill  1  comprises a bottle  20  to which a cap  21  is fixed. The bottle  20  has a neck  22  which fits over and seals with an annular flange  23  within the cap  21 . The cap  21  has an upwardly depending skirt  24  (when in the inverted orientation shown in the drawings) which forms the outer surface of the cap. Working inwardly from the skirt  24 , the next feature of the cap is an outer annular wall  25  which is generally co-axial with the skirt  24 .  
         [0033]     This is shown in detail in FIGS.  5  to  10 .  
         [0034]     The outer annular wall  25  consists of a pair of retaining members  26  and a pair of support members  27  which alternate with one another and each extend for approximately a quarter of the circle as shown in  FIGS. 5, 6 ,  8  and  10 . The profile of the support members  27  is as shown in  FIG. 2 . These members extend directly up from the lower wall of the cap, are parallel sided and have an inclined upper surface  28 . The profile of the retaining members  26  is shown in  FIGS. 7 and 9 . Unlike the support members  27 , these are not fixed to the wall of the cap. Instead, they are fixed at either end to the support members  27  by frangible members  29  as best shown in  FIGS. 6 and 8 . The retaining members  26  are parallel sided and have an inclined upper surface  35  as shown in  FIGS. 7 and 9 .  
         [0035]     As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 9 , the neck  22  of the bottle has an inclined outer surface  36  which is complimentary to the inclined surfaces  28  and  35  of the annular wall  25 . Behind the inclined outer surface  36  is a shoulder  37  which faces the main body of the bottle  20 . This inclined outer surface  36  and shoulder  37  is only present in the vicinity of the retaining members  26  and not in the vicinity of the support members  27 . Adjacent to the support members  27 , the neck  22  has a parallel sided configuration as shown in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0036]     In order to insert the bottle  20  into the cap  21 , the bottle  20  is pushed down with its neck fitting over the annular flange  23 . The inclined outer surface  36  of the bottle co-operates with the inclined surfaces  28 ,  35  to displace the retaining members  26  radially outwardly until the shoulder  37  snaps into place behind the retaining members  26  as shown in  FIG. 7 . When the bottle  20  is pulled off of the cap  21 , the shoulders  37  bear against the retaining members  26 , thereby breaking frangible members  29  so that the retaining members  26  become detached from the cap  21  as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 . Once this has happened, it is no longer possible to retain the cap on a bottle, thereby preventing subsequent use of the refill  1 .  
         [0037]     It should be noted that it is not necessary for both of the retaining members  26  to become fully detached from the lid. It is possible that only one of these becomes detached, or that one or both are simply displaced to a location at which they can no longer engage with the neck of the bottle.  
         [0038]     Returning now to FIGS.  2  to  4 , the liquid outlet and associated valve will now be described.  
         [0039]     The liquid outlet from the reservoir is provided by an annular wall  30  surrounding a central opening  31 . At the top of the annular wall  30  is an inclined surface  32  (see  FIG. 4 ) which provides a valve seat for outlet valve element  33 . This is shown in the form of a U-shape cup-like member, but may equally be a solid member or a hollow ball-like member. The outlet valve element  33  is biased into its closed position by a plurality of biasing elements  34 . These are attached at their upper end towards the top of the valve element  33  and are attached at their lower ends at a location radially outward of the annular wall  30  and below the top of the annular wall  30 . They are preferably formed integrally with the valve element  33 .  
         [0040]     As shown in FIGS.  2  to  4 , when the refill  1  is lowered into the base unit  2 , the spigot  11  engages with the lower surface of the valve element  33  as shown in  FIG. 3 . Further downward movement of the refill causes the valve element  33  to be lifted from its seat, and also brings the O-ring  14  into sealing engagement with the annular wall  30 . The valve element  33  is lifted to the position shown in  FIG. 4 . In this position, liquid in the bottle  20  can flow around the biasing elements  34 , and enter the spigot via the castellations  13  and hence flow into the base unit  2 . Liquid is prevented from escaping between the spigot  11  and annular wall  30  by the O-ring seal  14 . This arrangement offers a simple and mess-free way for a consumer to insert a refill regardless of the fill level of the refill.  
         [0041]     In order to remove a refill, the consumer lifts it out of the base whereupon the biasing elements  34  cause the valve element  33  to return to the seat  32 . During this movement, the seal between the spigot  11  and annular wall  30  is maintained by the O-ring seal  14 . A spent refill is then replaced by a new one following the above procedure.  
         [0042]     The cap is provided with a pair of pressure relief valves  40 . Each is formed by an annular boss  41  integral with the cap  21 . A pressure relief valve element  42  is seated on the top of the annular boss  41  and is biased in place by a pair of biasing elements  43  (as shown, for example, in  FIG. 5 ). The biasing force is such that, under normal conditions, the pressure relief valve element  42  forms an air tight seal on the boss  41 . However, when the pressure within the bottle  20  drops below a certain level, the pressure differential across the relief valve element  42  is sufficient to overcome the force exerted by biasing elements  43  and to allow air into the bottle  20 . This reduces the pressure differential thereby restoring the air tight seal without leakage of fluid.  
         [0043]     Each pressure relief valve  40  is surrounded by an annular barrier  44  which extends axially to a level axially above the level of the top of the annular wall  30 . Thus, when the valve element  33  is open, any air entering the relief valve  40  will not become entrained in the outgoing liquid stream. In practice, this means that the relief valve can be placed closer to the outlet, thereby resulting in a more compact cap. Although two relief valves are shown, a single valve, or more than two valves could be provided if necessary.  
         [0044]     The manner in which the cap is assembled is illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 .  
         [0045]     The assembly is a three-part structure consisting of the cap  21 , a valve plate  45  and a fixing plate  46 . The cap has a number of moulded features including the annular flange  23 , annular wall  25  and annular bosses  41 . In addition, the cap  21  has a plurality of fixing posts  47 .  
         [0046]     The valve plate  45  is an elastomeric material and is integrally formed with the valve element  33 , biasing elements  34 , relief valve element  42  and biasing elements  43 . The valve plate has a plurality of locating holes  48  which correspond to the fixing posts  47 .  
         [0047]     The fixing plate  46  is made of a rigid plastics material and is integrally formed with the annular barrier  44 . As with the valve plate  45 , the fixing plate  46  is also provided with a plurality of locating holes  49  which correspond to the fixing posts  47 .  
         [0048]     To assemble the cap, the three components are placed on top of one another as shown in  FIG. 6  with the fixing posts entering the locating holes to ensure that the components are correctly aligned. Heat or adhesive is then applied to the top of the fixing posts  47  to secure the fixing posts to the fixing plate  46 . The elastomeric valve plate  45  is thereby sandwiched between the cap  21  and fixing plate  46  which holds the valve elements  33  and  42  in position.  
         [0049]     A second example of a cap for a refill unit will now be described with reference to FIGS.  11  to  14 .  
         [0050]     The structure of the outlet valve element  33  in the second example is essentially the same as the first example, and will not be described again in relation to the second example.  
         [0051]     As can be seen from  FIG. 11 , the cap  21  is integrally molded with a number of features, such as the annular walls  25  and  30  and a conical part  50  of the pressure relief valve which will be described below. A resilient lip  53  (described in more detail below) for the pressure relief valve is provided integrally molded with the valve plate  45 . The fixing plate  46  is also provided with a shield  57  for the relief valve. This is equivalent to the barrier  44  in  FIG. 2 , but only extends around the side of the relief valve facing the outlet valve element  33 . The barrier  44  and shield  57  could be used interchangeably in the two examples.  
         [0052]     The cap assembly is assembled in the same manner as in the first example.  
         [0053]     The pressure relief valve  60  is illustrated in  FIGS. 13 and 14 .  
         [0054]     The valve has the conical part  50  which is an integral part of the cap  21  as mentioned above. At the top of the conical part  50  is a cylindrical post  61 . The resilient lip  53  is effectively a hollow frustoconical extension of the valve plate  52  of resilient material which extends along the conical part  50  from which it diverges slightly and is a tight fit against the post  61 . At least one air inlet  62  (also shown in  FIG. 11 ) passes through the wall of the conical part  50  and is normally covered by the resilient lip  53  as shown in  FIG. 11 . When the pressure in the bottle  20  falls as liquid is emptied the pressure differential across the resilient lip  53  will eventually become sufficient to displace the lip  53  to a sufficient degree to allow air A into the bottle  20  as shown by the arrows in  FIG. 8 . It should be noted that the degree to which the resilient lip  53  lifts from the conical element  50  has been exaggerated in  FIG. 8  and that, in practice, this will be almost imperceptible.  
         [0055]     Instead of sealing against the post, the resilient lip  53  may seal against the conical part  50 . In this case, the lip will not diverge from the conical part as shown. Instead, it would actually have an angle of incline less than the angle of the conical part  50  so as to be naturally biased onto the conical part.