Child-Resistant Cap for Liquid Medicaments

Abstract

An improved child-resistant closure for dispensers of liquid medicaments, the closure being of a two-part construction. The closure has an outer cap with a quantity of shoulder lugs and skirt lugs and an inner cap with a quantity of shoulder lugs and flexible beams. The closure has equal quantities of shoulder lugs on the inner and outer caps, equal quantities of skirt lugs and flexible beams, flexible beams having an arcuate underside, shoulder lugs having a depth to prevent hyper-flexion of the flexible beams, and an ideal overlap when the faces of the shoulder lugs are aligned. Additionally, provided are methods for attaching and removing the cap from a pre-existing bottle.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A two-piece, child-resistant closure device for dispensers of liquid medicaments, the closure device comprising:
 an outer cap having
 a top portion, 
 a depending skirt, 
 an internal chamber with
 a shoulder having a quantity of shoulder lugs mounted thereon, each shoulder lug having
 a first end, and 
 a second end, the second end comprising a lug face, wherein the lug faces are oriented in a common rotational direction, and 
 
 an annular ridge having a quantity of skirt lugs mounted thereon, each skirt lug having
 a first end and 
 a second end, the second end comprising 
  a lug face and 
  a bottom surface 
 wherein the lug faces are oriented in a common rotational direction, and 
 
 wherein the rotational direction of the shoulder lug faces is opposite the rotational direction of the skirt lug faces, and 
 
 an assembly retaining bead; and 
   an inner cap having
 a top portion, 
 a shoulder having a quantity of shoulder lugs mounted thereon,
 each shoulder lug having
 a first end, and 
 
 a second end, the second end comprising a lug face, 
 wherein the lug faces are oriented in a rotational direction complementary to the rotational direction of the lug faces of the shoulder lugs of the outer cap, 
 
 a depending skirt having a quantity of flexible beams mounted thereon,
 each flexible beam having
 a beam base, 
 a beam arm comprising an angled ridge terminating in a beam head distal to the beam base, 
  the angled ridge having an underside comprising a radius, 
  the beam head having an upper surface and a beam face, 
 
 wherein the beam faces are oriented in a common rotational direction complementary to the rotational direction of the lug faces of the skirt lugs of the outer cap 
 
 an inner threaded cavity; 
   wherein the quantity of shoulder lugs of the outer cap is equivalent to the quantity of shoulder lugs of the inner cap, and   wherein the quantity of skirt lugs of the outer cap is equivalent to the quantity of flexible beams of the inner cap.   
     
     
         2 . The child-resistant closure device of  claim 1 , wherein when the lug faces of the shoulder lugs of the outer cap are aligned with the lug faces of the shoulder lugs of the inner cap, the skirt lug of the outer cap overlaps the flexible beam of the inner cap by a predetermined horizontal distance. 
     
     
         3 . The child-resistant closure device of  claim 2 , wherein the predetermined horizontal distance is between 0.013 and 0.125 inches. 
     
     
         4 . The child-resistant closure device of  claim 3 , wherein the predetermined horizontal distance is between 0.016 and 0.122 inches. 
     
     
         5 . The child-resistant closure device of  claim 4 , wherein the predetermined distance is 0.019 inches. 
     
     
         6 . The child-resistant closure device of  claim 2 , wherein the top portions of the inner and outer caps are flat and do not extend above the shoulders of the inner and outer caps respectively. 
     
     
         7 . The child-resistant closure device of  claim 2 , wherein the top portions of the inner and outer caps have a shape which extends above the shoulders of the inner and outer caps respectively. 
     
     
         8 . The child-resistant closure device of  claim 7 , wherein the shape of the top portions of the inner and outer cap is complementary to a shape of a dispenser nozzle for liquid medicaments. 
     
     
         9 . A system for providing child-resistant closure of a bottle of liquid medicaments using the device of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible beam is capable of deformation. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the flexible beam has an optimal deformation. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein upon optimal deformation of the flexible beam, the beam head is not oriented below the beam base of an adjacent flexible beam. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the flexible beams exert an upward biasing force on the outer cap. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the assembly retaining bead prevents the upward biasing force of the flexible beams from detaching the outer cap from the inner cap. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the assembly retaining bead is located on the outer cap at a distance from the bottom surface of the skirt lugs of the outer cap such that when the lug faces of the shoulder lugs of the upper cap are aligned with the lug faces of the shoulder lugs of the inner cap, the bottom surface of the skirt lugs of the outer cap remain in contact with the flexible beams of the inner cap. 
     
     
         15 . A method for removing the child-resistant closure of  claim 1  from an outwardly-threaded bottle of liquid medicaments, the method comprising:
 applying a downward force on the outer cap, 
 applying a rotational movement upon the outer cap, 
 continuing to apply the downward force and rotational movement upon the outer cap until the shoulder lugs of the outer cap engage the shoulder lugs of the inner cap, 
 ceasing to apply a downward force to the outer cap, 
 maintaining the rotational movement applied to the upper cap such that the outer cap and inner cap rotate in concert about a central axis, 
 disengaging the closure from the outwardly threaded bottle of liquid medicaments. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the steps of applying a downward force on the upper cap and applying a rotational movement upon the upper cap are performed simultaneously. 
     
     
         17 . A method for affixing the child-resistant closure of  claim 1  to an outwardly-threaded bottle of liquid medicaments, the method comprising:
 applying a rotational movement upon the outer cap until the skirt lugs of the outer cap engage the flexible beams of the inner cap, 
 maintaining the rotational movement applied to the outer cap such that the outer cap and inner cap rotation in concert about a central axis, and 
 allowing the concerted rotation of the outer and inner caps to engage a thread of an outwardly-threaded bottle, and 
 ceasing to apply rotation movement upon the outer cap once the inner cap has fully engaged the thread of the outwardly-threaded bottle.