Patent ID: 8205761

Claim:
A child-resistant container closure comprising: a base cap having a top and a skirt depending downwardly from the top, the skirt including a plurality of asymmetric teeth recessed below the top, internal threads for engaging a neck of the container, and a bottom end; and a cover cap having a top and a skirt depending downwardly from the top, the top including a plurality of asymmetric downwardly extending teeth adjacent to the skirt, the teeth being adapted for asymmetric engagement with the base cap teeth, the skirt having a plurality of interspersed vertical legs each spaced apart from adjacent legs by vertical openings, the legs being joined by a support ring, the cover cap teeth being formed on an inner surface of the legs; wherein when the cover cap is rotated in a first direction, the cover cap teeth positively engage the base cap teeth to cause the base cap to rotate along with the cover cap in the first direction; wherein when the cover cap is rotated in a second direction in combination with a predetermined downward force urging the cover cap top toward the base cap top, the cover cap teeth positively engage the base cap teeth to cause the base cap to rotate along with the cover cap in the second direction, the base cap teeth each having a sloped sliding face to ensure that one of the cover cap teeth will drop into a notch between adjacent base cap teeth when the cover cap is rotated in the second direction; wherein when the cover cap is rotated in the second direction in the absence of the predetermined downward force, the base cap remains nonrotating and the cover cap teeth slidably engage with the base cap teeth causing an audible clicking sound as pairs of teeth jump from one sliding engagement to another; wherein each of the base cap teeth has an opening face on one side of the sliding face and each of the cover cap teeth has an opening face on one side of the sliding face; and wherein at least one of the base cap teeth opening faces and the cover cap teeth opening faces are sloped from vertical to enable the opening faces of the base cap teeth and cover cap teeth to slide over one another in the absence of the predetermined downward force.