Convertible container closure

Abstract

A convertible closure includes a lid and a lid-mover ring coupled to the lid. The lid is adapted to mate with a filler neck of a container to close an opening into the filler neck. The lid-mover ring can be used to rotate the lid in clockwise and counterclockwise directions to mate and unmate the lid and the filler neck. The convertible closure can be modified by a user to function in a child-resistant (CR) mode or a non-CR mode.

1 . A convertible closure comprising
 a lid including a base adapted to be mounted on a container to close a mouth opening into a storage region formed in the container, first and second torque-receiving lugs coupled to the base and arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to one another, and first and second torque-receiving teeth coupled to the base and arranged to define a flange-receiving channel therebetween, and   a lid-mover ring including a shell arranged to surround the lid and rotate relative to the lid about an axis of rotation extending through the base of the lid, a lid-mover tab coupled to the shell and arranged to mate with the first and second torque-receiving lugs of the lid upon upward movement of the lid along the axis of rotation to a raised position relative to the shell, and a lid-mover flange coupled to the shell and arranged to mate with the first and second torque-receiving teeth of the lid upon downward movement of the lid along the axis of rotation away from the raised position to a lowered position relative to the shell, wherein the shell is formed to include an annular side wall surrounding the lid and a top rim coupled to the annular side wall to overlie a portion of the lid and formed to include a central aperture opening into an interior region of the shell bounded by the top rim and annular side wall to expose the base of the lid, the lid-mover flange is coupled to the annular side wall of the shell and arranged to extend inwardly toward the base of the lid and into the flange-receiving channel to mate with the first and second torque-receiving teeth coupled to the base to impart rotary motion to the lid in response to clockwise and counterclockwise movement of the shell about the axis of rotation only when the lid has been moved to assume the lowered position relative to the shell, and the lid-mover tab is coupled to the top rim of the shell and arranged to extend downwardly toward the base to mate with the first torque-receiving lug coupled to the base to impart clockwise rotary motion to the lid in response to clockwise movement of the shell about the axis of rotation only when the lid has been moved to assume the raised position relative to the shell and to mate with the second torque-receiving lug coupled to the base to impart counterclockwise rotary motion to the lid in response to application of an external push-down force to the shell to move the top rim of the shell downwardly toward the base to deform elastically the lid-mover tab and to place the lid in an elevated position above the raised and lowered positions relative to the shell and counterclockwise movement of the shell about the axis of rotation only when the lid has been moved to assume the elevated position relative to the shell.   
     
     
         2 . The convertible closure of  claim 1 , wherein the top rim has an outer edge, the annular side wall depends from the outer edge of the top rim, the lid is arranged to lie in the interior region of the shell, the lid-mover tab is coupled to an interior wall of the top rim facing into the interior region, and the lid-mover tab is arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the annular side wall of the shell to define a gap therebetween. 
     
     
         3 . The convertible closure of  claim 2 , wherein the top rim has an annular shape, the lid-mover ring further includes a plurality of other lid-mover tabs, the lid-mover tabs are coupled to the interior wall of the top rim and arranged to lie in circumferentially spaced-apart relation to one another and extend downwardly into the interior region of the shell to mate with the lid when the lid has been moved to assume one of the raised and elevated positions relative to the shell, and the lid further includes a plurality of other torque-receiving lugs coupled to the base and arranged to mate with the lid-mover tabs. 
     
     
         4 . The convertible closure of  claim 3 , wherein each lid-mover tab includes an elastic shaft formed to include a lid-installation drive face and a root arranged to interconnect the top rim and the elastic shaft and formed to include a lid-removal drive face, the lid-installation drive face of each elastic shaft is arranged to engage one of the torque-receiving lugs on the base of the lid during clockwise movement of the shell of the lid-mover ring about the axis of rotation when the lid has been moved to assume the raised position relative to the shell, and the lid-removal drive face of the root is arranged to engage one of the torque-receiving lugs on the base of the lid during counterclockwise movement of the shell of the lid-mover ring about the axis of rotation and elastic deformation of the elastic shaft when the lid has been moved to assume the elevated position relative to the shell. 
     
     
         5 . The convertible closure of  claim 2 , wherein the lid-mover tab includes an elastic shaft formed to include a lid-installation drive face and a root arranged to interconnect the top rim and the elastic shaft and formed to include a lid-removal drive face, the lid-installation drive face is arranged to engage the first torque-receiving lug on the base of the lid during clockwise movement of the shell of the lid-mover ring about the axis of rotation when the lid has been moved to assume the raised position relative to the shell, and the lid-removal drive face of the root is arranged to engage the second torque-receiving lug on the base of the lid during counterclockwise movement of the shell of the lid-mover ring about the axis of rotation and elastic deformation of the elastic shaft when the lid has been moved to assume the elevated position relative to the shell. 
     
     
         6 . The convertible closure of  claim 5 , wherein the elastic shaft of the lid-mover tab is arranged to lie at an angle to the interior wall of the top rim when the lid has been moved to assume the raised position relative to the shell and is arranged to lie in about a spaced-apart parallel position to the interior wall of the top rim when the lid has been moved to assume the elevated position relative to the shell owing to elastic deformation of the elastic shaft in a space provided in the interior region of the shell between the top rim of the shell and the base of the lid. 
     
     
         7 . The convertible closure of  claim 5 , wherein the base of the lid includes a ring-shaped platform arranged to lie in spaced-apart confronting relation to the interior wall of the top rim, the first and second torque-receiving lugs are coupled to the ring-shaped platform and arranged to extend upwardly toward the interior wall of the top rim, the elastic shaft of the lid-mover tab is arranged to lie at an angle to the ring-shaped platform of the base of the lid when the lid has been moved to assume the raised position relative to the shell, and the elastic shaft of the lid-mover tab is arranged to mate along a length thereof with the ring-shaped platform of the base when the lid has been moved to assume the elevated position relative to the shell and the lid-removal face of the root is arranged to mate with the second torque-receiving lug owning to elastic deformation of the elastic shaft. 
     
     
         8 . The convertible closure of  claim 7 , wherein the lid-removal drive face is oriented to cooperate with the interior wall of the top rim to define an obtuse included angle therebetween, the first torque-receiving lug includes a substantially vertical torque-transmission face oriented to mate with the lid-installation drive face of the lid-mover tab during clockwise movement of the shell about the axis of rotation when the lid has been moved to assume the raised position, the second torque-receiving lug includes an angled torque-transmission face oriented to mate with the lid-removal drive face of the lid-mover tab during counterclockwise movement of the shell about the axis of rotation when the lid has been moved to assume the elevated position, and the angled torque-transmission face of the second torque-receiving lug is oriented to cooperate with the ring-shaped platform to define an included angel therebetween that is about equal to said obtuse included angle. 
     
     
         9 . The convertible closure of  claim 1 , wherein the annular side wall of the shell is formed to include a direct-drive annular channel and a spin-free annular channel located between the direct-drive annular channel and the top rim, the lid-mover flange is arranged to lie in the direct-drive annular channel and the torque-receiving teeth are arranged to lie in the spin-free annular channel to avoid mating engagement with the lid-mover flange during clockwise and counterclockwise movement of the shell about the axis of rotation relative to the lid when the lid has been moved to assume one of the raised and elevated positions relative to the shell, and the torque-receiving teeth are arranged to lie in the direct-drive annular channel to mate with the lid-mover flange during clockwise and counterclockwise movement of the shell about the axis of rotation relative to the lid when the lid has been moved to assume the lowered position relative to the shell. 
     
     
         10 . The convertible closure of  claim 9 , wherein the shell includes a channel partition coupled to the annular side wall and located between the direct-drive annular channel and the spin-free annular channel and configured to provide means for normally retaining the torque-receiving teeth included in the lid in the spin-free annular channel formed in the annular side wall of the shell until a downward external position-changing force has been applied to the lid to cause the torque-receiving teeth to move relative to the shell to spread portions of the annular side wall of the shell in radially outward directions so that the torque-receiving teeth are moved from the spin-free annular channel past the channel partition and into the direct-drive annular channel. 
     
     
         11 . The convertible closure of  claim 10 , wherein the channel partition is ring-shaped and arranged to extend in a radially inward direction from the annular side wall of the shell into the interior region of the shell. 
     
     
         12 . The convertible closure of  claim 10 , wherein the annular side wall of the shell includes a lid mount formed to include the direct-drive annular channel and the spin-free annular channel and a rim support arranged to interconnect the top rim and the lid mount, the top rim and the rim support cooperate to form a tab-receiving cavity located between the top rim and the spin-free annular channel, and the lid-mover tab is located in the tab-receiving cavity. 
     
     
         13 . The convertible closure of  claim 9 , wherein the shell includes several other lid-mover flanges and the lid-mover flanges are arranged to lie in the direct-drive annular channel in circumferentially spaced-apart relation to one another. 
     
     
         14 . The convertible closure of  claim 1 , wherein the base of the lid includes a ring-shaped platform and an annular side wall depending from an outer perimeter edge of the ring-shaped platform, the first and second torque-receiving lugs are coupled to the ring-shaped platform and arranged to extend upwardly away from the annular side wall of the base and toward the top rim of the shell, and the first and second torque-receiving teeth are coupled to the annular side wall of the lid and arranged to extend radially outwardly toward the annular side wall of the shell. 
     
     
         15 . The convertible closure of  claim 14 , wherein the annular side wall of the lid includes a vertical cylindrical panel and a chamfered panel arranged to interconnect the ring-shaped platform and the vertical cylindrical panel and the first and second teeth are coupled to a lower end of the vertical cylindrical panel and arranged to lie in vertically spaced-apart relation to the chamfered panel. 
     
     
         16 . The convertible closure of  claim 14 , wherein the lid-mover tab includes an elastic shaft formed to include a lid-installation drive face and a root arranged to interconnect the top rim and the elastic shaft and formed to include a lid-removal drive face, the lid-installation drive face is arranged to engage the first torque-receiving lug on the ring-shaped platform of the base of the lid during clockwise movement of the shell of the lid-mover ring about the axis of rotation when the lid has been moved to assume the raised position relative to the shell, and the lid-removal drive face of the root is arranged to engage the second torque-receiving lug on the ring-shaped platform of the base of the lid during counterclockwise movement of the shell of the lid-mover ring about the axis of rotation and elastic deformation of the elastic shaft when the lid has been moved to assume the elevated position relative to the shell, the shell further includes several other lid-mover flanges coupled to the annular side wall of the shell and arranged to lie in circumferentially spaced-apart relation to one another and extend inwardly toward the annular side wall of the lid, and the lid further includes a plurality of other torque-receiving teeth that are coupled to the base and arranged to extend radially outwardly to mate with the lid-mover flanges coupled to the annular side wall of the shell. 
     
     
         17 . The convertible closure of  claim 14 , wherein the base of the lid further includes a dome coupled to an inner perimeter edge of the ring-shaped platform and arranged to extend from the ring-shaped platform in an upward direction away from the annular side wall of the lid, the dome includes a top wall exposed in the central aperture formed in the top rim and a cylinder-shaped wall arranged to extend from an outer perimeter edge of the top wall of the dome to the inner perimeter edge of the ring-shaped platform, and the ring-shaped platform is arranged to surround the dome. 
     
     
         18 . The convertible closure of  claim 14 , wherein the lid includes a helical internal thread coupled to an interior surface of the annular side wall of the lid. 
     
     
         19 . The convertible closure of  claim 17 , wherein the top wall of the dome has an upwardly facing top exterior surface exposed in the central aperture formed in the top rim, the top rim has an upwardly facing top exterior surface, and the upwardly facing top exterior surfaces are arranged to lie in substantially coplanar relation one to another when the lid has been moved to assume the raised position. 
     
     
         20 . A convertible closure comprising
 a lid-mover ring including a shell formed to include an interior region, a lid-mover tab made of an elastic material and coupled to the shell and arranged to extend into the interior region, and a lid-mover flange coupled to the shell and arranged to extend into the interior region, and   a lid mounted for movement in the interior region of the lid-mover ring between a lowered position wherein torque-receiving teeth included in the lid mate with the lid-mover flange to cause the lid to rotate with the lid-mover ring about an axis of rotation in response to rotation of the lid-mover ring about the axis of rotation, an elevated position above the lowered position wherein a lid-removal drive face included in the lid-mover tab is arranged to engage a torque-receiving lid included in the lid during counterclockwise movement of the shell of the lid-mover ring about the axis of rotation, and a raised position located between the lowered and elevated positions wherein a lid-installation drive face included in the lid-mover tab is arranged to engage another torque-receiving lug included in the lid during clockwise movement of the shell of the lid-mover ring about the axis of rotation.   
     
     
         21 . The convertible closure of  claim 20 , wherein the shell of the lid-mover ring includes a top rim and an annular side wall coupled to the top rim to form a boundary of the interior region and the lid-mover tab is arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the annular side wall to form a gap therebetween. 
     
     
         22 . The convertible closure of  claim 21 , wherein the lid-mover tab includes an elastic shaft formed to include the lid-installation drive face and a root arranged to interconnect the top rim and the elastic shaft and formed to include the lid-removal drive face. 
     
     
         23 . The convertible closure of  claim 22 , wherein the lid-installation drive face is arranged to face in a first direction and the lid-removal drive face is arranged to face in an opposing second direction. 
     
     
         24 . The convertible closure of  claim 22 , wherein the elastic shaft of the lid-mover tab is arranged to lie at an angle to the interior wall of the top rim when the lid has been moved to assume the raised position relative to the shell and is arranged to lie in about a spaced-apart parallel position to the interior wall of the top rim when the lid has been moved to assume the elevated position relative to the shell owing to elastic deformation of the elastic shaft in a space provided in the interior region of the shell between the top rim of the shell and the base of the lid. 
     
     
         25 . The convertible closure of  claim 22 , wherein the lid includes a ring-shaped platform arranged to lie in spaced-apart confronting relation to the interior wall of the top rim, the first and second torque-receiving lugs are coupled to the ring-shaped platform and arranged to extend upwardly toward the interior wall of the top rim, the elastic shaft of the lid-mover tab is arranged to lie at an angle to the ring-shaped platform of the lid when the lid has been moved to assume the raised position relative to the shell, and the elastic shaft of the lid-mover tab is arranged to mate along a length thereof with the ring-shaped platform of the lid when the lid has been moved to assume the elevated position relative to the shell and the lid-removal face of the root is arranged to mate with the second torque-receiving lug owning to elastic deformation of the elastic shaft.