Patent Publication Number: US-2003222103-A1

Title: Sprayer cap guard

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] This invention generally relates to product packaging and, more particularly, to a guard for spray bottles.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART  
       [0002] Traditional spray bottles are composed of two sections: a bottle and a mechanical pump or trigger sprayer mechanism. The bottle stores the product while the mechanical pump or trigger sprayer mechanism expels the product from the bottle as a mist. The mechanical pump or trigger sprayer mechanism usually includes a tube that extends down into the bottle, a pump or trigger, an outlet, and a collar. The pump mechanism is normally attached to the bottle by the collar. One common attachment method is to provide mating screw threads on the inside of the collar and on the outside surface of the top end of the bottle, thereby allowing the user to screw the collar, and with it the entire pump mechanism, on and off the bottle.  
       [0003] Spray bottles of this common design are employed to hold and dispense an immense variety of primarily liquid products, including anything from water to household cleaners. Spray bottles may be used by product manufacturers for product packaging or sold as a separate item, in which case the purchaser may fill the bottle with a substance of their choosing.  
       [0004] In the case of spray bottles being used as product packaging, it is possible that a manufacturer may fill bottles with a product that presents some possibility of harm if it is ingested. Many such substances may only present a risk if a user removes the spray mechanism and drinks the contents directly from the bottle. For example, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (the “CPSC”) has recently identified products that contain significant amounts of petroleum distillates or other similar hydrocarbon solvents as one such substance. These substances may pose a potential hazard to children if they are directly aspirated into the lungs or aspirated during vomiting. Manufacturers of these hydrocarbon containing products may desire to package their products in spray bottles in the future. If so, these manufacturers must meet the requirements of a recently enacted CPSC regulation, 16 C.F.R. 1700.14(a)(31)(i), that requires that the spray mechanism of a spray bottle either be permanently attached to the bottle portion or be attached with a device. The purpose of this requirement is to minimize the chances that a young child may be able to remove the spray mechanism from the bottle and drink the contents.  
       [0005] Providing a device to prevent a young child from removing the spray mechanism, or at the very least, under extreme conditions, minimizing the chances of a young child carrying out such disconnection may be desirable in many circumstances. However, no such suitable device, that is not permanent, has been available to date.  
       [0006] The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007] An aspect of the present invention is to provide a spray bottle having a device for preventing a young child from disconnecting the spray mechanism from the spray bottle, or at the very least, under extreme conditions, minimizing the chances of a young child carrying out such disconnection.  
       [0008] Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus to prevent the refilling of containers having screw top openings.  
       [0009] In accordance with the above aspect of the invention, there is provided a packaging guard for a screw top container that includes a screw cap closing the screw top container and having a collar lip with an outside diameter v extending from a bottom portion of an exterior of the screw cap; a cap guard with an inside diameter s greater than the outside diameter v of the collar lip and having an interior lip with an inside diameter w less than the outside diameter v of the collar lip; and wherein the interior lip of the cap guard engages the collar lip when the cap guard is placed substantially over the screw cap, thereby securing the cap guard in a position over the screw cap in which the exterior of the screw cap is substantially covered.  
       [0010] These aspects are merely an illustrative aspect of the innumerable aspects associated with the present invention and should not be deemed as limiting in any manner. These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the referenced drawings. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0011] Reference is now made more particularly to the drawings, which illustrate the best presently known mode of carrying out the invention and wherein similar reference characters indicate the same parts throughout the views.  
     [0012]FIG. 1 is an exploded front view of a spray bottle incorporating a sprayer cap guard to prevent a young child from unscrewing the sprayer mechanism from the bottle, or at the very least, under extreme conditions, minimizing the chances of a young child carrying out such disconnection according to the present invention;  
     [0013]FIG. 2 is a front view of a spray bottle incorporating a sprayer cap guard according to the present invention;  
     [0014]FIG. 3 is a partial front view of a spray mechanism for a spray bottle;  
     [0015]FIG. 4 is a top view of the spray mechanism shown in FIG. 3;  
     [0016]FIG. 5 is a partial cross-section view of a spray mechanism incorporating a sprayer cap guard according to the present invention; and  
     [0017]FIG. 6 is a cross-section view of a sprayer cap guard according to the present invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
     [0018] In the following detailed description numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. For example, the invention is not limited in scope to the particular type of industry application depicted in the figures. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention.  
     [0019] Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a spray bottle incorporating a sprayer cap guard for preventing a young child from unscrewing a spray mechanism  12  from a bottle portion  10  of the spray bottle, or at the very least, under extreme conditions, minimizing the chances of a young child carrying out such disconnection. The bottle itself comprises the bottle portion  10  and the spray mechanism  12 . The bottle portion  10  includes a tapered end  14  and a base end  16 . The tapered end  14  of the bottle portion  10  includes screw threads  18 . The spray mechanism  12  includes a down tube  20 , a pump  22 , a collar  24 , and a cap  26 .  
     [0020]FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the spray mechanism  12  in greater detail. The collar  24  has an open end  28  from which emanates the bottom of the pump  22  and the down tube  22  and allows the collar  24  to pass over the tapered end  14  of the bottle portion  10 . The outside of the collar  24  is provided with ribs  30  around its periphery to assist the user in rotating the collar  24  when screwing the spray mechanism  12  on to or off of the bottle portion  10 . The interior surface of the collar  24  has screw threads (not shown). The screw threads of the collar  24  are intended to mate with the screw threads  18  of the tapered end  14  of the bottle portion  10  to form the connection between the bottle portion  10  and the spray mechanism  12 . The open end  28  of the collar  24  is provided with a collar lip  32  that possesses a greater diameter v than the remainder of the collar  24 . The collar lip  32  extends completely around the collar  24 .  
     [0021] Once the spray mechanism  12  has been screwed on to the bottle portion  10 , a cap guard  34  slides over the pump  22  and collar  24  and attaches to the collar  24  in a freely rotatable manner. FIG. 6 shows a cross-section of one embodiment of the cap guard  34 . The bottom end  36  of the cap guard  34  is completely open. The top end  38  of the cap guard  24  is provided with a hole  40 . An interior lip  42  extends around the interior surface of the cap guard  34  at the bottom end  36 . In a preferred embodiment of the cap guard  24 , the inner surface of the interior lip  42  is rounded.  
     [0022] The interaction of the collar  24  and the cap guard  34  is shown in detail in FIG. 5. The interior diameter s of the cap guard  34 , except for interior lip  42 , is greater than the outside diameter t of the collar  24 , including the collar lip  32 . The hole  40  is provided with a sufficient diameter to pass over the pump  22 , but not the collar  24 . In a preferred embodiment of the cap guard  34 , the hole  40  is of sufficient diameter to pass over the pump  22  and the cap  26  without being able to pass over the collar  24 . As FIG. 5 illustrates, the interior height x of the cap guard  34 , measured from the interior surface of the top end  38  to the top of the interior lip  42  is greater than the overall exterior height y of the collar  24 , measured from the top surface of the collar  24  to the bottom surface of the collar lip  32 . Further, the inner diameter w defined by the interior lip  42  is less than the outer diameter v of the collar lip  32 . In a particularly advantageous embodiment, one or both of the collar  24  and the cap guard  34  are made of a relatively rigid molded material that allows the parts to be slightly deformed when a force is exerted on the parts and return to their original shape when the force is removed.  
     [0023] The above-described arrangement allows the cap guard  34  to slide over the pump  22  and around the collar  24 . As the cap guard  34  is lowered over the collar  24 , the bottom of the interior lip  42  comes into contact with the top of the collar lip  32 . The interaction of the collar lip  32  and the interior lip  42  forms a locking mechanism. When a sufficient downward directed force is applied to the cap guard  34 , both the cap guard  34  and the collar  24  are deformed sufficiently to permit the interior lip  42  to pass around the collar lip  32 . At this point, the cap guard  34  is effectively locked around the collar  24 , thereby minimizing or preventing any up or down movement of the cap guard  34  relative to the collar  24  without the exertion of a sufficiently large upward force on the cap guard  34  to deform the parts and permit the interior lip  42  to pass back over the collar lip  32 . The material chosen for the manufacture of the cap guard  34  and the collar  24  should be sufficiently rigid to require a force beyond the capacity of young children in order to lift the cap guard  34  off of the collar  24 . In a further embodiment, the outside lateral surfaces of the cap guard  34  are provided with a relatively smooth finish in order to make gripping the cap guard  34 , and thereby removing it from the collar  24 , more difficult.  
     [0024] While the cap guard  34  is in this position, a user cannot directly grip the ribbed surface of the collar  24 . In addition, sufficient clearances between the interior height x of the cap guard  34  and the overall exterior height y of the collar  24  and between the interior diameter s of the cap guard  34  and the outside diameter t of the collar  24  are maintained to allow the cap guard  34  to rotate freely about the collar  24 . This free rotation combined with the user&#39;s inability to directly grip the ribbed surface of the collar  24 , severely limit any user&#39;s ability to turn the collar  24  in an effort to unscrew and separate the spray mechanism  12  from the bottle portion  10 . The rigidity of the collar and  24  and the cap guard  34  require a force beyond the capacity of young children, and some adults, in order to remove the cap guard  34  from the collar  24 .  
     [0025] While the cap guard has been described to this point in connection with spray bottles, it may also be adapted for use with other packaging formats in which a bottle or similar package is closed with a cylindrical screw cap. In such an embodiment, the cap guard does not possess a hole in its top surface. However, the remaining structure of the cap guard remains identical to that described above, including the presence of an interior lip. The cylindrical screw cap is likewise arranged in a similar manner to the collar described above without a pump emanating from the top thereof. Like the collar described above, the cylindrical screw cap is provided with an exterior lip at its bottom. The cap guard and cylindrical screw cap operate identically to the cap guard and collar described above.  
     [0026] In yet another application, the cap guard may be utilized to decrease the likelihood that a consumer will remove the screw cap of a screw top container in order to refill the container. This application is frequently encountered in the food packaging industry where one-time use of product packaging is often desirable. In such an application, the cap guard and collar may be manufactured from a material having a higher level of rigidity, resulting in an increase of the amount of force necessary to remove the cap guard from the collar beyond the capacity of most consumers. Limiting the consumer&#39;s ability to remove the cap guard greatly reduces the chances that a consumer will be able to open and refill the container.  
     [0027] Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, this has been by way of illustration and the invention should not be limited.