Child-resistant closure systems for containers

Abstract

A child-resistant closure system for a pump sprayer, in one example, includes a cap having a rim at its lower end and including a pair of legs, a dispensing tip configured to receive the cap thereon, the dispensing tip including a pair of finger-depressing shoulders, each shoulder including a slot therein to receive a corresponding leg of the cap therethrough for locking the cap to the dispensing tip, with a cylindrical collar provided beneath the shoulders and including a pair of buttons thereon configured to be simultaneously actuated to release the legs from interior structure within the dispensing tip, and a cylindrical base having its upper end secured to the collar and its lower end secured to a dispenser bottle which contains fluid.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A child-resistant closure system for a pump sprayer, comprising:
 a cap having a rim at its lower end and including a pair of legs, each leg in opposite relation to one another and extending downward from the rim, each leg tapered and including a rib thereon which extends outward from the side of the leg, with an undercut provided between each rib and the rim of the cap,   a dispensing tip configured to receive the cap thereon, a lower end of the dispensing tip including a pair of finger-depressing shoulders in opposite relation to one another and extending horizontally outward from the dispensing tip, each shoulder including a slot therein that is configured to receive a corresponding leg of the cap therethrough for locking the cap to the dispensing tip, with a cylindrical collar provided beneath the shoulders as the bottom end of the dispensing tip, the collar including a pair of buttons in opposite relation to one another on a vertical facing of the collar, the buttons configured to be simultaneously actuated to release the legs from interior structure within the dispensing tip so as to remove the cap off of the dispensing tip, and   a cylindrical base having its upper end secured to the collar of the dispensing tip and its lower end secured to a dispenser bottle which contains fluid, the dispensing tip and base housing a sprayer pump unit therein which partly extends into the dispenser bottle interior and which is actuated by depressing the shoulders on the dispensing tip to spray the fluid within the dispenser bottle,   wherein, with the cap in place on the dispensing tip, the legs extend downward through the slots in the shoulders to contact the top of the base, with interior structure within the dispensing tip engaged in the undercuts provided between the ribs of the legs and the rim of the cap so as to allow for the sprayer pump unit to be locked out from operation, and   wherein, to release the cap so as to permit actuation of the sprayer pump unit via the shoulders, the buttons on the collar are pressed simultaneously to deflect the legs inward and off of the base, which also deflects the corresponding ribs on the legs away from interior structure within the dispensing tip, so that the cap with its legs is drawn up through the slots in the shoulders and off of the dispensing tip.