US3831797A

US3831797A - Child resistant safety closure

Info

Publication number: US3831797A
Application number: US00293843A
Authority: US
Inventors: P Stevens
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-10-02
Filing date: 1972-10-02
Publication date: 1974-08-27
Anticipated expiration: 1991-08-27
Also published as: AU6090673A; CA1023300A; DE2348496A1; JPS4993188A; JPS5442309B2; CH563921A5; GB1438136A; FR2201227B1; FR2201227A1

Abstract

Child resistant safety closure for containers containing poisonous products found around a home in which the container has latching means and a closure with a skirt portion has latching means cooperable with the latching means on the container. The skirt portion forms an integrally hinged part of the closure and covers the latching means rendering them inaccessible in the latched condition. The hinge connection enables the skirt to be displaced, disengaging the latching means and allowing removal of the closure.

Description

llnited States Patent Stevens, Jr. Aug. 27, 1974 CHILD RESISTANT SAFETY CLOSURE Primary Examiner-George T. Hall [76] Inventor: Peter P. Stevens, Jr., PO. Box 95, Attorney Agent Flrm stanley Blalos Point Reyes, Calif. 94956 [22] Filed: Oct. 2, 11972 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.': 293,843 Child resistant safety closure for containers containing poisonous products found around a home in which the 9 container has latching means and a closure with a skirt S 215/9 g l g portion has latching means cooperable with the latching means on the container. The skirt portion forms an [58] Field of Search 2l5/9, 46 R, 95, 44 integrally hinged part of the closure and covers the latching means rendering them inaccessible in the [56] References (Med latched condition. The hinge connection enables the UNITED STATES PATENTS skirt to be displaced, disengaging the latching means 3,417,893 12/1968 Lieberman 215/9 and allowing removal of the closure. 3,659,735 5/1972 Landen 215/9 11 Claims, 24 Drawing Figures 1 CHILD RESISTANT SAFETY CLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is not uncommon for children to open containers around the home which contain poisonous products, such as insecticides, drugs and ointments, which when taken internally can lead to serious illness if not fatal consequences. A simple and yet inexpensive closure which is difficult if not impossible for children to open, particularly of the age five and under, and which can be easily opened by an adult, has long been sought.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS Summarizing the invention hereof, it overcomes the above problem. For this purpose, a container body, having a more or less conventional formation and a conventional screwthreaded closure which can be opened and closed by turning on the neck of the bottle, is provided withlatching means, desirably spaced-apart abutments on the finish or adjacent the neck of the container. Such latching means is cooperable with latching means, desirably in the form of spaced-apart teeth, on a skirt portion of the closure.

The skirt portion has a conically shaped configuration (advantageously a frustum conically shaped section), and the latching means comprises spaced-apart latching teeth on the underside of the skirt portion which is hingedly connected so that it can be displaced. In the closed position of the closure, the skirt portion covers the latching means rendering it inaccessible, and the closure cannot be turned to open the container because of engagement of the teeth on the skirt portion with the container abutments when the closure is turned in the direction for opening thereof. However, the hinge connection enables the skirt portion to be displaced by inversion thereof, thus disengaging the latching means and allowing removal of the closure from the container in the normal direction for unscrewing the closure.

The material and conic shape of the closure are such that a child cannot invert the same but an adult can exert sufficient force to do so; and in this connection, the rim or lower edge of the skirt portion is so related to the container by the provision of a notch or recess or the like for receiving an implement such as the fingernail to invert or displace the skirt portion. Advantageously, the entire closure is of integrally molded, desirably injection molded, plastic which has built-in hinge properties. Advantageously, the material is polypropylene or a copolymer of polypropylene and ethylene.

As an adjunct to the closure, the edge of the skirt portion may be connected to a removable flange embracing the container and connected to the skirt portion along a line of weakness which can be torn to enable the flange to be removed. Although this does not form part of the latching means, the flange has to be removed to allow the closure to be opened for the first time. Thus, it serves to indicate whether the contents of the container have been tampered with when initially sold to the purchaser.

In the case where the container is in the form of a metal or plastic dispensing squeeze type tube for ointments, salves or the like, wherein the top portion is of relatively small diameter, a special modification is provided wherein the container is provided with abutments on a ledge on the container, and the skirt portion of the closure has a flange on which the latching teeth are provided. By displacing the flange, the closure can be unlatched.

In another embodiment, the closure has its skirt portion hingedly connected to its cap at the top thereof and can be latched and displaced in the manner described.

Some containers have closures of the slip-over type wherein the closure is removed from the container or closed thereon by slipping it in a longitudinal direction relative to the container neck. Turning of the closure by a screwthreaded connection is not required. In such type of container, the same principle is also employed. However, instead of spaced abutments, the container is provided with an outwardly extending flange and the closure has radially spaced-apart teeth engageable with the underside of the flange, thus preventing removal of the closure. However, the closure can be removed by displacing its conically shaped skirt portion by inversion.

From the preceding, it is seen that the invention has as its objects, among others, the provision of an improved safety closure which is of simple and economical construction wherein the closure is latched by cooperable latching means thereon and on the container, and wherein in the latched condition the latching means is completely covered and inaccessible and extremely difficult if not impoosible for a child to unlatch, but which can be readily unlatched by an adult for opening the container by removal of the closure. Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description and accompanying drawings in which:

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a preferred form of closure cap of this invention latched over the neck of a container body with portions broken away and shown in section to illustrate the construction;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the closure illustrating a hinge connection for enabling displacement of a skirt portion of the closure for unlatching the same:

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the closure illustrating a hinge connection for enabling displacement of a skirt portion of the closure for unlatching the same;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. I illustrating the fully displaced position of the skirt portion wherein the closure is unlatched;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view looking at the underside of the closure, illustrating the latching skirt in the position it has when the closure is latched;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 illustrating the skirt in fully displaced position;

FIG. 6 is an isometric top view of the container body illustrating a form of latching abutment thereon for cooperating with latching means on the closure;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary vertical section taken in a plane indicated by line 7-7 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 4 illustrating an advantageous arrangement of four latching teeth on the closure;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the container having four latching abutments cooperable with the four latching teeth on the closure construction of FIG. 8;

FIG. is a fragmentary side elevation of an embodiment, partly broken away and in section to illustrate the construction of the latched closure and container, wherein the skirt portion of the closure is provided with a removable flange embracing the latched container to reveal whether the closure has been tampered with before it is initially opened;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section illustrating a line of weakness connection between the flange of FIG. 10 and the skirt portion of the closure, to enable removal of the flange by tearing it from the closure skirt;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a container in which slots are formed to provide latching abutments;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary side elevation partly in section, illustrating the closure teeth latched in the slots of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is an isometric view of the top portion of a container having modified latching abutments;

FIG. 15 is an isometric view of the top portion of a squeeze-tube container having latching abutments of another form;

FIG. 15a is a fragmentary horizontal section taken in a plane indicated by line 15al5a in FIG. 15;

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary vertical half section of the tube of FIG. 15 in latched condition of the closure thereon;

FIG. 17 is a similar view illustrating the unlatched condition of the closure of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary vertical half sectional view of another embodiment of the invention in latched condition, wherein the skirt portion of the closure is hingedly connected adjacent the top of the closure;

FIG. 19 is a view similar to FIG. 18 illustrating the closure in unlatched condition;

FIG. 19a is a fragmentary isometric view looking at the underside of the closure of FIGS. 18 and 19, illustrating another form of latching teeth; the skirt portion of the closure being illustrated in inverted position;

FIG. 20 is a fragmentary vertical half section of another embodiment of the invention in which the closure is of the slip-over type, illustrating the same in latched condition;

FIG. 22 is an isometric view looking at the underside of the closure in the embodiment of FIGS. 20 and 21; the skirt portion being shown in latched position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIGS. ll through 7, they illustrate an embodiment of the invention, wherein a container body is provided with two diametrically opposite latching abutments and the container closure with two diametrically opposite latching teeth. Although insofar as the principle is concerned, one latching abutment and one latching tooth may be used, such arrangement is not desirable because of substantial free play when the container closure is closed in latched condition. Container 2 is of more or less conventional construction, usually 6 having complementary threads by turning in one direction, usually in a clockwise direction, and removed from the neck by turning the same in a counterclockwise direction. The fully fastened position of the closure is determined when top 8 engages the rim 11 of the neck through the usual gasket 12 seated in the cap.

Integrally connected to the lower edge (all positions referred to hereinafter are with reference to the container standing in an upright position) of the sleeve portion 9 is a skirt portion 13, which is of continuously solid material all the way around such connection being along a circular hinge connection area 14 which is a molded section between the skirt and the cap as can be seen from FIG. 2. By virture of this hinge connection, skirt portion 13 can be displaced by inverting the same from a depending or downward closed position over the frustum conically shaped portion 4 of the container to an open upstanding position, as shown in FIG. 3.

Skirt portion 13 is also advantageously of frustum conical shape of substantially the same angle as the frustum conical portion 4 of the container, and in the closed position it engages such container portion 4 with the lower edge 15 of skirt portion 13 overhanging slightly cylindrical portion 3 of the container to provide a notch at 3. This notch enables engagement of an implement, such as the fingernail, with the overhang to effect inversion of frustum conical section 13 from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG. 3.

At least one latching abutment 21 is provided on the portion 4 of the container, and desirably two of them are provided at diametrically opposite sides of the container. Such abutments 21 are advantageously formed as an integral part of the container, which is usually molded plastic or glass, wherein a recess 22 is formed during the molding thereof, leaving a flat upright abutment face 21. At least one integral substantially flat latching tooth 23 is formed internally of the closure on skirt portion 13 which, in the down position of the skirt portion and after the closure is screwed on tightly, can engage abutment 21. As a result, when attempt is made to turn the closure in the usual counterclockwise direction for opening the same, tooth 23 will engage abutment 21 and thus prevent unscrewing of the closure. It is only when the skirt portion is inverted from the closed position of FIG. 1 to the open position of FIG. 3 that the closure can be unscrewed for removal. It will be noted that in the closed position of the closure, skirt portion 13 completely covers latching means 21, 23, thus rendering them inaccessible.

As noted above, the overhang of skirt portion 13 over cylindrical portion 3 of the container provides a notch around the periphery of the container which enables edge 15 of the closure to be engaged by a fingernail or other implement to invert displaceable skirt portion 13 to disengage the latching means for opening of the closure. Substantial force is required to effect this inversion which a child of five or under, experimenting with the container, does not have; and even if such child should solve how the closure can be removed, which is unlikely, he would not be able to open the same, whereas an adult can readily invert the closure in the manner described. It should be noted that after the closure is removed it can be readily reclosed by screwing the same on the container neck until it is in tightened position with top 8 thereof abutting against rim 11 of the container neck, and then inverting the skirt from the upward position of FIG. 3 to the downward latching position shown in FIG. 1 in which tooth 23 can engage abutment 21. Alternatively, the skirt can be turned down before the closure is placed on the container neck for closing the same. If this is done, the latching teeth 23 which project downwardly can override conical portion 4 of the container until the closure is tight. It is not necessary that the tooth register exactly with the abutment when the closure is initially closed because it will become engaged with the abutment when the closure is turned in the usual counterclockwise direction to open the same.

With only one abutment and one tooth, substantial play may exist before the tooth engages the abutment when the closure is truned for opening it. For this reason, two diametrically opposite latching teeth 23 are provided on skirt portion 13 in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 7, and two diametrically opposed latching abutments 21 on the container. To reduce play to a minimum in the tight position of the closure, four equally spaced teeth 23 may be provided on the closure and four complementary abutments 21 on the container, as shown inFIGS. 8 and 9.

The closure is made entirely of integrally molded material, advantageously polypropylene or a copolymer of polypropylene and ethylene having built-in hinge properties. Suitable plastic material for this purpose can be obtained from Eastman Kodak, known as Tenite polypropylene or Tenite polyallomer, having built-in hinge properties. Preferably, the polyallomer is used having the following properties determined by ASTM test methods indicated: flow rate 2.0 (by test method D1238L); density 0.896 (D1505); softening point C., 125 (D1525); Rockwell hardness R scale, 56 (D785). However, any other suitable material can be employed having such hinge properties.

As a a particula example of an embodiment of the invention, reference is made to FIG. 2, which discloses a closure for a conventional bottle neck having an outside diameter at the hinge connection area 14, indicated by dimension 24, of about 1.2 inches. The height of the hinge connection area, indicated by dimension 26, is about 0.040 inch. The wall thickness of the hinge connection, indicated by dimension 27, is about 0.012 inch, while that of skirt portion 13 is about 0.030 inch so as to have limited flexibility. The wall thickness of the cap is greater, about 0.050 inch so as to be relatively stiff, and top 8 is about 0.050 inch.

In the down position, the interior angle of conical skirt portion 13 is about 45. The diameter at the loweredge 115 of skirt portion 13 is about 1.7 inches, and the width of the skirt about 0.32 inches.

These dimensions are not particularly critical. It is only necessary that the hinge connection 14 be sufficently strong so that it can be repeatedly flexed to allow repeated inversion of the skirt portion from a down position to an upward position and vice versa, and yet be sufficiently stiff to require adult force to invert the conical section. Likewise, the thickness of section 13 and its angle should be such as to require adult force to invert the same.

A suitable dimensional range for the thickness of hinge area 14 is about 0.010 to 0.016 inch, with a height varying from about 0.040 to 0.050 inch. The interior angle of the skirt may also vary, a suitable range being from about 30 to 60", but an angle of about 45 to the vertical has been found to be desirable for offering suitable resistance to inverting the conically shaped section but allowing the same to be inverted by adult force. The greater the interior angle, measured from the vertical, the easier it is to invert the skirt. In this connection, it is usually necessary to push the lower edge 15 upwardly at several spaced-apart locations before the skirt will assume a fully inverted position.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 10 and 11, which disclose the embodiment thus far described with the addition of a downwardly extending circular flange 31 embracing the container for the purpose of revealing to the initial purchaser whether the container has been opened beforehand or tampered with. Flange 31 extends downwardly from the lower end of conical sec tion 13 and is connected thereto along a line of weak ness 32, allowing the flange to be torn from the closure. A pull tab portion 33 can be torn away along an upright line of weakness 34 to separate the flange.

In the initially sealed position, a head 36 on the container engages in a groove 37 in flange 31. This engagement serves as a latch to prevent the skirt portion 13 from being displaced upwardly, to invert the same by pushing flange 31 upwardly and thus effecting unlatching of the closure. It is only when the flange portion 31 is torn away by pulling on a pull tab 33 to separate it along a line of weakness 34, and when tearing off the flange along line of weakness 32, that the skirt portion becomes accessible in the manner described for invert- .ing the same to open the container. A thickness of about 0.005 to 0.007 inch at the lines of weakness, preferably in the lower range, will permit easy tearing away of flange 31.

In the embodiment thus far described there are no openings in the container, thus adapting it for liquid products. In the case of non-liquid products, such as powders, the abutments on the container may be formed by providing spaced-apart slots 37 in the top portion of the container, as shown in FIG. 12, in which teeth 23 on skirt portion 13 of the closure can engage in the closed position of the closure, as shown in FIG. 13. The respective transverse edges of the slots 37 which are engaged by the teeth when effort is made to unscrew the closure for opening it, thus serve as the latching abutments on the container.

FIG. 114 discloses a modified latching abutment formation on the container which is cooperable with the closure of FIG. 8 which has four equally spaced latching teeth about its periphery. The principle is the same as previously described. In molding the container of FIG. 14, it is provided with a peripheral top ledge 41, and with four equally spaced integral projections 42 which have flat surfaces 43 that provide abutment faces for the teeth. The upper edges 46 of faces 43 are at the same angle as the angle of frustum conical section 13 shown in FIG. 8, so that this section is in engagement with such edges in the latched position of the closure. The upper surfaces 47 of the projections 42 are curved and taper substantially to a point at the edge of ledge 41 to provide camming surfaces for the closure teeth when the closure, with its conical section down, is turned to tighten it.

Quite a number of poisonous materials, when taken internally, such as medicants, are packaged in squeeze type tubes made of plastic material, or flexible metal. The tops of these tubes adjacent the neck are some times relatively narrow, and therefore may not accommodate the type of construction previously described because of space limitation. FIGS. 15 through 17 illustrate a safety closure arrangement adapted for such squeeze tubes. The tube body ll is formed of the usual thin walled material, which in the case of tin may be in the order of 0.005 inch thick to enable ready squeezing. The top of such tube, which is integral with the body, is made of heavier gauge, in the order of about 0.030 inch, so that it will maintain its shape and not readily deform.

For the purpose of this invention, such top portion is made with a frustum conically shaped portion 52 ex tending downwardly from the usual threaded neck 53. A cylindrical portion 54, having a plurality of upright radially extending spaced-apart teeth 56, is integrally molded with the frustum conically shaped portion 52; and a ledge 57 is formed below teeth 56. Teeth 56 do not extend to the upper periphery of ledge 57, for a purpose to be described, and they serve as the latching abutments on the container.

The closure for the tube of FIG. comprises cap portion 58 integrally connected by hinge connection 59 to a frustum conically shaped section 60 having at its bottom a hinge connection 6E with a downwardly sloping flange 61a rigid with a circular depending flange 62 having spaced-apart internal latching teeth 63. In the closed position of the closure, as shown in FIG. I6, flange 62 provides a means for grasping by the fingers of a person to displace the conically shaped section 60 upwardly along hinge connection 59, and thus invert the same. In the latched position of the closure, when the closure teeth 63 engage the container abutments 56, as shown in FIG. 16, the closure cannot be removed by mere turning thereof, and the container recess above ledge 57 accommodates flange 62.

It is only when flange 62 is grapsed and moved upwardly to displace the frustum conically shaped section along hinge line 59, as shown in FIG. 17, that the closure teeth 63 become unlatched by being moved upwardly with section 60 so that the closure can be turned to open the tube. As in the preceding embodiments, it will be noted that the conical shape of section 60 in cooperation with hinge connection 59 provide sufficient stiffness to make it very difficult for a child to push flange 62 upwardly for opening of the container.

In this embodiment, although the latching teeth 63 are not directly on the conically shaped section 60 of the closure it is only when such section is displaced or inverted that unlatching occurs, because the construction is such that the latching teeth on the closure, as in the previous modifications, are movable with movement or displacement of the conically shaped section. Thus, the principle of the construction is the same as that previously described and can be used, if desired, on containers other than of the tube type.

FIGS. 18 and I9 illustrate another type of construction adapted for relatively large containers, such as 5- gallon size, where there may be a space limitation as to height. In this construction, the closure comprises cap portion 70, having top 7E, a screw-threaded connection with neck 72 of the container, and frustum conically shaped portion 73. Instead of being hingedly connected to the lower end of cap 70, the conically shaped portion is hingedly connected along the top end of the cap at 74, and it is provided with latching teeth 76, each of which for conservation of space is formed of a diamond shaped indentation, as shown in FIG. 18, having an abutment surface 76a, as seen in FIG. 19a. These abutment faces can engage abutments 77 on the container. A bevel 79 is provided in the periphery of the container to accommodate skirt portion 73, which overlaps the outer faces of abutments 77 in the closed position. As described previously, a notch 81 is formed at the lower edge of skirt 73 to permit insertion of a fingernail or other implement for inverting the skirt to unlatch the closure to the position shown in FIG. 19. The diamond shaped latching teeth have greater rigidity than the flat teeth of the previous embodiments, and if desired, may be employed in all embodiments hereof.

Some types of containers do not have a screwthreaded connection between the cap and the container, but are of the slip-on or slip-over type wherein the closure is pushed downwardly over the container neck. For such type of container, the invertible conically shaped section 9t, as shown in FIGS. 20 through 22, is hingedly connected along hinge connection 92 to a conically shaped downwardly extending flange 93 integral with the top 94 of the cap. Neck 96 of the container has an outwardly extending pheriperal flange 97 which serves as a latching abutment; and in the closed position of the closure, inwardly extending teeth 98 below hinge connection 92 engage the underside of flange 97 to latch the closure. In such closed position, a rim on the underside of top 94 provides a sealing and centering groove in which the container neck engages.

When skirt portion 9ll is inverted, as shown in FIG. 21, latching teeth 98 become disengaged from under flange 97 to permit removal of the closure, and latching can be obtained when the closure is placed on the container neck 96 and the conically shaped section 91 is inverted downwardly from the position shown in FIG. 21 to that in FIG. 20. It will be noted that in the unlatched condition, teeth 98 extend downwardly so that in replacing the closure after it has been removed the teeth can pass by abutment flange 97, whereupon when the closure is fully seated it can be latched by inverting the frustum conical portion to down position. As in the case of other previously described modifications, the lower end 99 of the skirt portion is spaced above a recess Mill adjacent the neck of the container to provide a notch for the purpose described.

In all embodiments, the closure is a one-piece member of an integral molded construction, desirably of suitable plastic material which can be injection molded, thus making for simplicity and economy. In all such embodiments, it is only by inversion or displacement of the frustum conically shaped skirt portion on the container closure that unlatching of the closure can be obtained; and in the latched condition of the closure, the latching means is completely covered by the same and rendered inaccessible. Moreover, the hinge connection of the conically shaped section and the section itself, because of its shape and angle, require a force not possessed by children to manually displace such section for unlatching the closure.

I claim:

I. A container, safety closure construction comrpsing a container having a neck, a shoulder portion adjacent said neck and latching means adjacent said neck, an integral one piece closure comprising a cap portion and a flexible frustum conical skirt portion having a flexible hinge connection area at it upper end with said cap portion, the frustum conical skirt portion having on its underside and integral therewith latching means engageable with the latching means on said container, said frustum conical skirt portion overlying said container shoulder and covering both said latching means and rendering them inaccessible in the latched condition thereof, the flexibility of said skirt portion and said hinge connection enabling the skirt portion to be completely inverted to effect disengagement of the latching means and removal of the closure.

2. The construction of claim 1 wherein the container neck has screw threads and the closure cap has complementary threads to provide for closing and opening of the closure by turning the same on the neck, the latching means on the container comprises at least one abutment, and the latching means on the skirt portion comprises at least one tooth which engages the abutment in the closed condition of the cap to prevent unscrewing of the closure in a direction for opening the same.

3. The construction of claim ll wherein the latching means on the container comprises a plurality of spacedapart abutments integral with the container, and the latching means on the skirt comprises a plurality of spaced-apart teeth integral with the skirt.

4. A container, safety closure construction comprising a container having a cylindrical neck with screw threads, and a shoulder portion below and adjacent the neck provided with at least one latching abutment on the top thereof, a closure of integrally molded plastic material comprising a cylindrical cap with complementary threads to provide for closing and opening of the closure by turning the same on the neck, and also comprising a flexible frustum conical skirt portion having a flexible hinge connection area at its upper edge with said cap, said skirt portion having on its underside at least one latching tooth integral therewith cooperable with the latching abutment on the container shoulder and being invertible along its hinge connection from a downward position in the latched condition of the closure to an upward position in the unlatched condition, the latching abutment on the shoulder portion of the container being completely covered and inaccessible in the latched condition of the closure.

5. The construction of claim 4 wherein said frustum conical section overhangs the shoulder portion of the container having the latching abutment, and the container has a portion adjacent such overhang to provide a notch enabling engagement of an implement against such overhang of said section to effect inversion thereof.

6. The construction of claim 4 wherein the invertible skirt portion extends from the lower end of the cylindrical cap of the closure.

7. The construction of claim 4 wherein the invertible skirt portion extends from the upper end of the cylindrical cap of the closure.

8. A safety closure for a container provided with a neck and latching means cooperable with latching means on the closure, said closure including a cap portion and a flexible frustum conical skirt portion having a flexible hinge connection area at its upper end with said cap portion and which is manually movable from a downward position in the latched condition of the closure to an inverted upward position in the unlatched condition, and at least one latching tooth integral with and extending from the underside of said frustum conical skirt portion and which is engageable with the container latching means in the downward position of the skirt portion and disengageable from the container latching means when said skirt portion is inverted to its upward position, said frustum conical section covering said tooth and said container latching means and rendering them inaccessible in the: latched condition thereof.

9. A container having a neck, a shoulder adjacent the neck and a plurality of latching abutments integral with said shoulder and extending from the top thereof and which are cooperable with a safety closure including an invertible frustum conical section forming a hingedly connected part of the closure and having latching teeth extending from the underside thereof cooperable with said latching abutments on the container, the location of said container abutments on top of said shoulder enabling them to be completely covered by said frustum conical skirt in the latched condition to render them inaccessible.

10. The container of claim 9 having a notch portion adjacent said shoulder enabling engagement of an instrumentality with the lower edge of said frustum conical section to effect inversion thereof.

11. The safety closure of claim 8 which is a one piece member of integrally molded plastic wherein the frustum conical skirt portion is a substantially continuous solid, the wall thickness of the skirt is relatively thin compared to that of the cap so as to have limited flexibility, and the hinge connection area is a molded section between the cap and the skirt.

Claims

1. A container, safety closure construction comrpsing a container having a neck, a shoulder portion adjacent said neck and latching means adjacent said neck, an integral one piece closure comprising a cap portion and a flexible frustum conical skirt portion having a flexible hinge connection area at it upper end with said cap portion, the frustum conical skirt portion having on its underside and integral therewith latching means engageable with the latching means on said container, said frustum conical skirt portion overlying said container shoulder and covering both said latching means and rendering them inaccessible in the latched condition thereof, the flexibility of said skirt portion and said hinge connection enabling the skirt portion to be completely inverted to effect disengagement of the latching means and removal of the closure.

3. The construction of claim 1 wherein the latching means on the container comprises a plurality of spaced-apart abutments integral with the container, and the latching means on the skirt comprises a plurality of spaced-apart teeth integral with the skirt.

8. A safety closure for a container provided with a neck and latching means cooperable with latching means on the closure, said closure including a cap portion and a flexible frustum conical skirt portion having a flexible hinge connection area at its upper end with said cap portion and which is manually movable from a downward position in the latched condition of the closure to an inverted upward position in the unlatched condition, and at least one latching tooth integral with and extending from the underside of said frustum conical skirt portion and which is engageable with the container latching means in the downward position of the skirt portion and disengageable from the container latching means wheN said skirt portion is inverted to its upward position, said frustum conical section covering said tooth and said container latching means and rendering them inaccessible in the latched condition thereof.