CA1107699A - Child-resistant closure caps for spray dispensers - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE: Child-resistant safety closures are provided for closing the outlet of a hand-operated fluid product sprayer dispenser to prevent leaks during periods of non-use and to resist accidental use by children or unwar adults. The closures cannot be moved from an "outlet closed" position to an "outlet open" position without the performance of two separate and definite actions by the user to first disable the lock and then to rotate or linearly move the cap into the "outlet open" position to permit spraying or dis-pensing.

Description

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TITL~: Cl-lII.D-P~ISTA~T CI,OSU~E C~l'S ~OR S~ ' DIS~ NSrr~S
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BACICGROUND OF Tll~ INV~NTIO~I
Field of the Invention The invention is concerned with fluid product dispensers and, in particular, with closures or overcaps for the fluid .
product outlet which, for safety reasons, can be operated . `r only in such a manner as to make its operation difficult hy n~
children or unwary adults. Spray dispensers are frequently l0 used for various household cleaning products which may con-tain lye, ammonia or some other agent which could be harmful to children if operated inadvertently by them.
- Description of the Prior Art Fluid product dispensers, particularly of the type which ~D
15 produce a spray are generally kno~m in the art but all have r the common problem of preventing leakage of fluid during ship-ment and preventing inadvertent operation of the spray mechanism. One a-ttempt at solving this problem is disclosed in the patent 3,650,473 to Carl E. r1alone wherein a cap is 20 provided for the spray outlek in two versions, the first of r ~ which includes a domed cover closing the spray outlet and -~ held in place by a screw cap. ~ seal is effected around the outlet by the action of the screw cap on an annular flange the cover clamping it between the cap and the nose of the 25 sprayer. The sprayer is made operative by cutting off the ~`
dome of the cover with a knife. In the other version shown . ~r in the Malone patent, a permanent cap is provided about the nose portion of the sprayer and a removable cover cap or closure is provided to be pushed on with a tigh-t fit over the 30 permanent cap and has a sealing nub which blocks the spray outlet hole. This cover cap is attached to -the per- ;

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manent cap by an intecJra]ly molded hinge so that the cap is always available.
In another patent 3,973,700 to Idward C. Schmidt et al a sprayer is shown having a combined spray outlet cover and 5 operating trigcJer. The cover-txigger is pivoted so that it can be swuny from an outlet covered or cap position to a trigger operating posi-tion and is intellded to be in the out-le-t coverecl position when the sprayer is not in use. ~ pro-jection on the outer ellcl oF l-ll( tri~cJel- cov~rs i:lle C~lr.
10 outlet wllen -the trigger is in the up position. ~ break-of~
disc is provided -to make i-t impossible to move a tab to adjust the nozzle but the trigger can still be rota-ted downwardly enough to uncover the spray outle-t without break-ing off the disc. Spraying can then be accomplished by 15 squeezing the pumping bellows with the Eingers which would seem to be a likely action for both children and adults.
In another paten-t 3,957,181 to Robert E. ~lazarcl a closure for a non-sprayer dispenser outlet is provided wherein a spout having a through passage is mounted atop 20 the dispenser in such a way that it can rotate through a - 90 degree arc from a transverse position rela-tive to the . outlet with its through passage also transverse and there-fore not in alignment with -the outlet, to a vertical posi-tion with -the through passage aligned with and open to the - 25 outlet. The spout is adapted to rotate to these positions ; with a cylindrical surface sliding on the face of the outle-t.
A locking tab is provided at -the outer end of the spout which ~; can be deflec-ted with a finger before the spout can be lifted and rotated to the open vertical position.
ATIotller non-spray dispenser closure car) is sl-own in patent 4,022,352 wherein an integrally-hinged cap is adapted __ to fold over and close an outlet in -the top of the dispenser by plugging the outle-t. A latch is provided on the opposite side of the cap from -the hinge and which can be pried out-35 wardly with the fingers to release it so -that the cap can be lifted and the outlet opened again.

Another non-spray dispenser closure cap is shown in patent 4,020~981 to Frank S. Nixdorff wherein a screw cap is applied to the top of a simple dispenser for flowable materials and the cap is made difficult to remove unless the cap is rotated a quarter turn and then lifted, or, in another embodiment, rotated another quarter turn back in the opposite direction to open a path to the flowable material.
In another patent 3,927,834 to Tetsurga Tada a member is used to lock the trigger of a pump-type sprayer so that it cannot be operated inadvertently, and, at the same time, a portion of this member plugs the air vent to its liquid container to prevent liquid from flowing from it during periods of non-use.
In addition to the foregoing showings~ it is known in the art to use a simple push-on annular cap or cover over the spray outlet nose piece of a spray dispenser to close it and which is removed ~ simply by prying it off. Such a cap is shown as prior art in `~ Figure 9 of the drawings of the present application. It should be noted that this type of cap serves only to close the outlet of the spray dispenser and must be removed entirely from the nose piece before spraying can be accomplished. Rotation of the cap on the nose piece has no effect on its outlet closure aspects since the - outlet is blocked regardless of this type of movement.
In accordance with the present teachings, a safety closure for a dispenser is provided wherein the dispenser has an end portion in which an outlet is provided, a planar cover for the outlet displaceable from an outlet closed to an outlet open position with the cover and dispenser end portion being in sliding engage-ment. Attachment means is provided attaching the cover to the dis-penser end portion with a lock adap-ted to lock the attachment means to the dispenser to prevent displacement of the cover from the out-let closed position to the outlet open position. Means is provided for unlocking of the lock and actuatable means which is associated with the lock permits manual vertically slidable displacement of the cover from the outlet closed to the outlet open position.
In accordance with a further embodiment, an overcap is provided ~ -3-?7~

for selectively closing and opening the outlet orifice of a liquid dispenser which has a nose bushing in which the orifice is formed.
The overcap is coupled to the nose bushing for vertical sliding movement with respect thereto between a first or orifice closing position and a second or orifice opening position. The overcap includes a first portion that is deflective with respect to the nose bushing and has detent means Eormed thereon with the detent means cooperating in the locking relationship with a surface of the nose bushing to hold the overcap against sliding movement when the overcap is in the first position, deflection of the portion of the overcap being operative to release the detent from locking relationship with the nose bushing whereby the overcap is movable to the second position from the first position.
As will be seen from the description and drawings which follow herein, the present invention differs significantly ,from the above devices in a number of aspects including the , fac-t that two distinct motions not likely to be used by child-ren or unwary adults are necessary in both of applicants' embodiments before the sprayer can be operated.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a side view of a typical spray dispenser with the overcap which comprises the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in place on its nose in the outlet closed position;

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Figure 2 is a verti.cal cross secti.onal side vi.ew show-ing the nose portion o.f the spray dispcnser Wit}l the overcap of Figure 1 in the outlet closed position;.
Fi~ure 3 is a vertical cross sectional view showiny the nose portion of the spray dispenser with ~
the overcap of F~iyure 1 showll in the outlet ~r^
open position;
Figure ~ is a horizontal cross sectional view -taken on line 4-~ in Figure 3 showing the nose portion of the spray dispenser with the overcap of Figure 1 shown i.n the outle-t .
; open position; . - ~
~ Figure 5 is an enlarged front external view showing .~ 15 the overcap of Figure l;
Figure 6 is an enlarged rear view showing the back of . the overcap of Figure l;
Figure 7 is an enlarged front view of the nose piece _~
12 used wi-th the overcap shown in Figures 1 3, ~, 5 and 6; `;
. Figure 8 is a vertical cross sectional side view show-ing the nose portion of the spray clispenser with an overcap which comprises a second embodiment of -the present invention shown in its outlet closed position;
Figure 9 is a front external view of the nose portion of the spray dispenser showing the second ~ ~.
embodlment overcap in its outlet closed ~-posltlon;
Figure 10 is a vertical par-tially cross sectional side view showing the nose portion of -the spray ~
cdispenser with the second embodiment overcap . ~_ in its outlet open posit:ion;
Figure 11 is a front external view of the nose portion of the spray dispenser showing the seconcl em-bodiment overcap in its outlet open position;

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~ .~, Figure 12 is a rear view o~ the overcap shown il~ ~,r Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11;
Figure 13 is a fron-t view of the nose piece 12a usecl with the overcap shown in Figures 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12;
Figure 14 is a vertical partially cross sectional view E#L
showing the nose portion of a typical spray dispenser witl1 a prior. art snap on and snap ~-off type overcap which closes the dispenser's ou-tlet.
DET~ILED DESCRIPTION OF T~l~. INV~NTION '~
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A trigger sprayer or dispenser 10 is shown in -the draw-ings having an end portion, nose piece or nose bushing 12 ~'~-(see Figures 2, 3, 4 and 7), or 32 (see Figures 8, lP and 13) 15 which comprises, substantially, a hollow cylinder closed a-t one end which is, upon assembly, pressed into a corresponding bore lOa in dispenser 10 in fluid pxoduc-t sealing relation-ship thereto and with its closed end outward of the bore lOa, i.e. to the left in Figures 2-4, 8 and 10. The closed end ~r;;
20 includes a spray or dispensing outlet or orifice ll or 35 leading from the interior of the sprayer through nose piece 12 or 32 into the atmosphere. The sprayer is adapted to emit a fluid product, usually a liquid, from a reservoir or con-tainer, such as a bottle, by means of a pump operated by the `-=-25 action of spring-loaded trigger 13 or 13a which is biased by i-its spring to return to its initial or starting position i~`
shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, 8 and 10. ~s pointed out in the discussion earlier-in this specifica-tion, it is desirable, however, to include an overcap or cover for the outle-t to 30 keep the fluid product from leaking from the outlet during periods of non-use and to make it so that a child or unwary adult ordinarily cannot operate the sprayer wi-thout knowledge of the overcap's manner of opera-tion and without taking two distinct actions to operate the overcap.
It is intended that the structure of the various parts 376~

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involved in the present invention shall be macle oE moldccl ~^
plas-tic haviny a very sliyht clegree of r~siliellcy and c~oocl ,~
dimensional stability such as polyethylene, po]yl~ro;?ylene, --an acetal copolymer or ano-ther plastic having at least these 5 qualitles :in addition to other ~ualities that are needed such as sufficient strength, impact resistance and compatibil- ~E
ity Witil the particular fluid product to be sprayed. ~-In a preferred embod.iment of the present invention, ancl with particular reference -to ~igures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, 10 the sprayer 10 is e~uipped with a planar safety closu:re cover or overcap 14 a-ttached or coupled i.n slidiny relationship -to '-.
nose p.iece 12 by guide rails 15, 15' on nose piece 12 and cooperating overlapping elonga-ted lugs or rails 16, 16' on overcap 14 which hold the cap 14 in place but allow linear 15 sliding movemen-t. The cooperating guide rails 15, 15' are parallel to rails 16, 16' and are arranged in a ver-tical ' direction with respec-t -to the sprayer 10 when it is in its normal upri.ght position as in Fi.gure 1 so that the cap 1~
can slide up and down within limits as explained helow. ~n ~:
20 opening or port 17 larger than outlet 11 of the sprayer 10, . .' is provided in cap 14 and is located in such a position tha-t it will come into register with and completely uncover the ,~
outlet 11 when the cap 14 is slid to its "open outlet" - ;.
second position such as is shown in Figures 3 and 4.
25 downward movement-limiting sto~ or shoulder 1~ is provided at the upper end of cap 14 which extends sufficiently in toward the sprayer 10 to interfere with the upper side of -nose piece 12 and thus to prevellt downward motion of cap 1 beyond the distance needed to allow for comple-te coveraqe ~
30 of outlet 11 as shown in Figure 2. ~_ Cap 14 includes a first deflective locking and unlock- ~;
ing portion or member 19 which is formed in inteyral manner with cap 14 and e~tends both downwardly and upwardly in Figures 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. Two slots 20, 21 are located in 35 cap 14 passing clear through it and e~tending from beyond r~

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the upper end of lock 19 downwardly to about its cerlter and leaving narrow bands or pivots 22, 22' of materi.al hetween the outer and cen-~e:r portions o~ the cap 14. These bands 22, 22' are resilient in -torsion because of their relatively 5 sma:ll. cross section and act as a slicJht torsi.on .sprincJ to urge lock 19 to re-turn to its original relaxed posi-tion as in Figure 2. It will be seen in Figure 2, that the upper --:
end of lock 19 is in a position whel^e i.ts detent li~ 23 wi~
interfere with ~he shoulder or lip 2~1 o~ nosc~ l).iece 12 allcl ~~
10 thus prevent upward movement of cap 1~ su:Eficiently to un-cover ou-tlet 11 and, in e:Efect, provides a deten-t means which locks the cap in the "outlet closed" first posi-tion. ~e At the lower end of loc~ 19 in Figures 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 ris shown an actuatable actuating tab or depressor 25 which 15 is laterally co-extensive with the ou-ter edges of slots 20, 21 and extends downwardly suf-ficiently to afford a pushinq surface for the thumb of an operator as will be exylained :~ later in this specification. It will now be seen that the ~-.
lock 19 is rota-table to a smal.l dec~ree in a counter clock- -~
20 wise direction in Figure 2 when tab 25 is depressed~due to the torsional deflection of bands 22, 22' sufficiently for the detent lip or interference tab 23 to clear shoulder 24 of the nose piece 12 and thus to free cap 14 so tha-t it is possible for it to be pushed upward i.n a li.near mo-tion until 25 lip 23 interferes with shoulder 26 of nose piece 12. In addition, a recess 27 is provided in nose piece 12 to accept detent lip 23 which upon release of finger pressure upon -tab 25 enters the recess under the biasing urge of the tor- -sion in bands 22, 22'. This action retains cap 1~ in pl.ace i~
30 when it is in this "outlet open" second position and pre-vents accidental movemen-t of it during operation of the dis- .
penser. The lower edge of the nose piece 12, where it is exposed to the recess 27, is chamfered or formed as a ramp !`
as shown particularly in Figure 3 at number 23. ~lso lip 23 35 has a rounded corner at i-ts lower ri~Jht hand edc3e (in Figure

2) which cooperates with slant or ramp 28 to allow lip 23 to ~ ' ~

ride up and out of recess 27 when a gen-tle but definite --downward push is in-tentional.ly applied to cap 14.
~ n important feature oE the presen-t invention li.es in the provision of a definite sea]. between the interior oE
5 cap 14 and the nose piece structure surrounding the outlet 11... As will be seen in Fig-lres 2, 3, 4 and 7, outlet 11 is ~z surrounded by a boss 29 which projects outwardly toward cap -~
14 and has a f.l.a-t top surface ancl a chamfel-ed or ra~ ecl ~
ward side 29a. The inside upper surface 14a (l~igures 3 and 10 6) of cap ].4 rests against the unprojected portion of nosc piece 12 when cap 14 is in its "outle-t open" second position and thus could be expected -to interfere with the projection of boss 29. Instead, two substantially paralle:l slots 30, ~.-30' are provided in the upper porti.on of cap 14 as shown in 15 Figures 4 and 5, and pass clear through the cap 14. These slots 30, 30' extend downwardly from near the top of cap 14 to just below -the port 17, as shown, and provide a small degree of bending flexibility to that portion of cap 14 which is therebetween and which can be called a second de-20 flective portion of cap 14. The lower edge of the upper inside surface of cap 14 is also chamfered to form a ramp 14b where it will come into contact with the chamfered, ramp-like upper surface 29a o nose piece boss or projection 29 so that as cap 14 is moved downwardly the surfaces 14b .;
25 and 29a will slide upon one another in the manner of a ramp action until surface 14b rides up on top Or boss 29 and the ,.
flat surface on top of the boss and surface 14a come into contact and are urged together by the biasing effect of the bending of the portion of ca.p 14 be-tween slots 30, 30' as it L
30 accommodates itself to the new position. When the cap is re-turned again to the "outlet open" first position, -this por-tion 14a again assumes its substantially fl.at ori~inal posi-tion due to the natural resiliency inherent in -the material from which it is constructed.
~nother embodiment of the present inventi.on is shown in .

' - -Figures-8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, whe:rein a ~lanar safety 4 closure cover or overcap 31 is Mounted on an end portion, nose piece or nose bushing 32 and is held -tightly in place thereon by annular lips 33 which ~re inltially snapped or 5 coupled in place over annular ridge 34 on nose piece 32.
Cap 31 remains in place there permanently but is free to 8E
rotate -thereon within certain limi-ts as later deFined in this specification. Overcap 31 cannot be removed easily by '~
use of the fingers, if at all, once it is in place ~ecause 10 of its tight fit but can be turned in a rotary slidinq manner with rela-tive ease once it is "unlocked" by operation r of its unlockincJ means as will be described hereinafter.
Nose piece 32 includes an outlet or orifice 35 which is : eccentrically located with respec-t -to annular ridge 3~ as 15 shown in Figures 8, 10, 11 and 13 and is adapted to permit spraying of fluid product through i-t as the sprayer's only outlet. A raised boss or outlet projection 36 surrounds outlet 35 as shown and has a substan-tially fla-t surface on its outer end which mates with a similar flat surface on .-20 boss 37 on the interior of cap 31 as shown in Figures 8, 10 ancl 12 to close outlet 35 to prevent spraying and to seal it from leakage during storage or shipping. Just below boss 37 r~
on cap 31 (see Fic~ures 8 and 12) is an opening or port 38 clear through cap 31 and having a deepl~ chamfered rim on its 25 outer side as shown in ~i.gures 8 through 11. This port 38 is laryer than outlet 35 and includes the chamfer on the outer or front side of cap 31 in order to provide for an eas~ and clear ~- , passage for fluid product sprayed from outlet 35 when port 38 .
is moved in-to alignmen-t, i.e. into register Witll it, .in a ~;
30 manner which will be explained below.
In addition, a ramp ~3 is provided on the inner side of ~.
cap 31, as shown in Figure 12, startinq level with port 38 and extending in an arcuate path to boss 37 at the same time rising -to the level of boss 37. This ramp, 43, provicles a 35 path over which outlet projeetion 36 rides until outle-t 35 is ~.
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--10-- ~, covered by the Elat surface of boss 37. I30th the ramp ~3 r"
and boss 37 are so dimensioned with respec-t to outlet pro-jection 36 that when boss 37 is in place covering outlet 35, sufficient force is exerted on ou-tlet projection 36 that a 5 good fluid product tight sea] is effected to prevent leakage even if the trigyer 13a is operated. ~lso, a stop 44 is provided in cap 31, as shown in Figure 12, which is arranged to interfere with stops 45 alld 46 on nOSC! plccc~ 32 (see ~-Figure 13) in order to prevent rotary movement of cap 31 10 beyond the "outlet clos~d" and "outlet open" positions and to insure proper alignment of the boss 37 over projection 36 in the closed position and of`outlet 35 and port 38 in the open position~
Extended below cap 31, but an integral part thereof, is _~
15 tab 39. Thls is generally flat with stiffeniny buttresses ~0 between its outer surface and -the round portion of cap 31 but at its lower extremity (see Figures 8 through 12) it is bent inward (toward the dispenser) to a slight ex-tent starting at ~_ a line about half way down its outer surface. On the under 20 surface of tab 39 (on its dispenser side) and at its extreme end is a detent member or tooth 41 which e~tends toward `
trigger 13a and into slot 42 in it as shown in the drawings, particularly in Figure 3. The slight bend in tab 39 assures that tooth 41 will defini-tely stay in place in slot 42 and 25 thus preven^t rotation of cap 31 until definite action is -taken by -the operator. The slot 42 is slightly longer and wider than tooth 41 so that the tooth will fi-t into it - ' easily but -the depth of tooth 41 is deep enough to in-terfere ~.
witll and to strike agains-t the sides of the slot 42 and thus 30 to prevent rotational movement of the cap 31. While the dep-th of the tooth 41 is sufficient to interfere with the sicles of slot 42 as just described with tile tri~ger 13a in its normal at rest position, it is made short enou~h to E~
c]ear the slo-t 42 sides when the trigger 13a is clepressed.
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OPERATION OF THE INVENTION
With the sprayer container shown in Figure 1 filled with fluid product to be dispensed, the operator normally will pick up the container by its neck and with his fingers pull the trigger back to start -the spraying action. With the present invention, however, the spray cannot emerge from the outlet since it is blocked by the overcap and it be-comes necessary to operate the cap to remove the blockage from the outlet before the liquid can emerge. With refer-ence to the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1through 7, the operator's natural inclination is to try to pry the cap 14 off by pulling the tab 25 away from the dis-penser which action is prevented by the guides 15, 15' and rails 16, 16'. Instead, the tab 25 must be pushed inwardly, and unnaturally, toward the dispenser (first motion) which causes slight counterclockwise rotation of lock piece 19 about its attachment points, i.e. bands 22, 22', and moves lip 23 to the left in Figure 2 until it is clear of shoulder 24. This allows upward motion of cap 14 and it is then pushed upward (second motion) until lip 23 enters recess 27 under the biasing urge of the torsion in bands 22, 22', until lip 23 bears against shoulder 24, and, as cap 14 slides up-wardly, the outlet 11 becomes unblocked and port 17 comes into register (becomes aligned) with it. This is the 7'outlet open" or second position and spraying can then be done in the usual manner. Upon completion of spraying, the cap 14 is simply pushed downwardly with a finger as far as it will go, i.e. until lip 18 on cap 14 bears against the upper edge of nose piece 12. This action again blocks the outlet 11 as previously described herein and moves port 17 out of register with the outlet 11. Also, lip 23 rides up and out of recess 27 and springs back into its initial position with lip 23 under shoulder 24. This is the "outlet closed" position.
With reference to the second embodiment of the invention 35 as shown in Figures 8, through 13, the cap 31 is initially in 76~3~

place as shown in Figure 8 in the "outlet closed" position with its tab 39 extended downwardly and wi-th tooth 41 ex- -~
tended -toward -trigger 13a and ln-to slot 42 where it pre-vents rotary movement of -tab 39.and associated cap 31. In 5 order -to open the outlet of the dispenser, it i.s Eirst .- -~
nect-~ssary for the operator to pull triyger 13a bac]c with the fingers sufficiently for i.t to clear tooth 41 from slo-t 42.
~ second mot.ion is thtn ret.~ui.red wllel^eill tll(? o~t?3~ator IIIUSt move tab 39 in a rotary clirection away from slot ~2 and up-10 ward until tab 39 has reached a position where i-t extends .
straight upward and can be moved no further hecause stop 44 ~-strikes against stop 45. In other words, it is swuntJ, counter- ~-clockwise, when the operator is facing the sprayer, -through an are of approxirnately 1~0 degree~s. This action causes cap 15 31 to rotate on the end of nose piece 32 and causes eccen-trically located boss 37 to swing away Erom outlet 35 to un-cover it. Simultaneously wi-th this action, port 3~ in cap 31 is brought into place in front of outlet 35 to permit fluid _~
product from outlet 35 to pass free]y therethrough. As men- ~-20 tioned previously in this specification, this is the~ "outle~ . ~
open" position. ~.
The fact tha-t cap 31 and its associated tah 39 can only be moved upwardly in a counterclockwise rotary motion rather than in either direction is an added "child-resistan-t" fea-25 ture since a child is believed to be li]cely to try only one y-l, direction rather than to try both directions if one does not ~`
wor]c as would an adult, thus reducing the child's li]celihood -of moving the eover -to the "outlet open" position.
When emission of the fluid product has been completed, 30 tab 39 and its associated cap 31 are again s~.~ng -through a eloekwise are oE approximately 130 degrees until stop .~r~r-44 in eap 31 strikes ayainst s-top 4G on nose pieee 32. This .
is the "outlet elosed" position with the tab 39 extended downwardly and tooth 41 again in slot 42. Trigger 13a mu.st 35 be depressed, i.e. pulled baek, suffieiently to allow the entry of tooth 41 into slot 42 following which action the _;

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tri.gger 13a is released and tooth 41 ayain loeks tclh 39 and ;, eap 31 in the "outlet elosecl" pos:iti.o~ s cap 31 is J'C)tatC'C
ramp 43 eomes into position to afford an ine]ine upon whieh out:Let projeetion 3~ ri.cles Ullti] loss surEaee 37 thorollcJh]y 5 eovers outle-t 35 and presses kightly agaillst it as diseussed ea:rlier in this speei:Eieation. ~
~ 1hile there have been ShOWIl ancl deseribec1 c~nd ~ointed out the funclamental novel Eeat~lre.s oE the ;nven~:ioll .lS
ap~lied to a preferred em~ocliillent, il will l~e unclerstood 10 that various omissions and substitut.ions ancl ehanges in the form and details o the cleviee illustrated and i.n its opera-tion may he made by those ski]lecl in the art, wi-thout de~art-ing from the spirit of the inventi.on. It i.s the intention, therefore -to be limited only as indieated by the seope of 15 the following elaims.

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Claims (22)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A safety closure for a dispenser, said dispenser having an end portion in which an outlet is provided, a planar cover for the outlet displaceable from an outlet closed to an outlet open position, said cover and dispenser end portion being in sliding engagement, attachment means attaching the cover to the dispenser end portion, a lock adapted to lock said attachment means to said dispenser to prevent displacement of the cover from the outlet closed position to the outlet open position, means unlocking of said lock, and actuatable means associated with the lock permitting manual vertically slidable displacement of the cover from the outlet closed to the outlet open position.

2. A safety closure as specified in claim 1 wherein the unlocking of said locking means requires actuation of said actuatable means toward the dispenser.

3. A safety closure as set forth in claim 1 wherein the unlocking of said locking means requires actuation of said actuatable means in a direction away from said locking means.

4. A safety closure as set forth in claim 3 wherein the actuatable means is a trigger hingedly attached to the dispenser.

5. A safety closure as set forth in claim 1 wherein the cover remains in engagement with the dispenser end por-tion in both the outlet open and outlet closed positions of the cover.

6. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein the sliding is linear in nature.

7. An overcap for selectively closing and opening the outlet orifice of a liquid dispenser having a nose bush-ing in which said orifice is formed, said overcap being coupled to said nose bushing for vertical sliding movement with respect thereto between a first or orifice closing position and a second or orifice opening position, said overcap in-cluding a first portion that is deflective with respect to said nose bushing and having detent means formed thereon, said detent means cooperating in a locking relationship with a surface of said nose bushing to hold said overcap against sliding movement when said overcap is in said first position, deflection of said portion of said overcap being operative to release said detent from locking relationship with said nose bushing whereby said overcap is movable to said second position from said first position.

8. An overcap as specified in claim 7 wherein an open-ing provided in said overcap is in register with said orifice when said overcap is in said second position.

9. An overcap as specified in claim 7 wherein said over-cap includes a second deflective portion spaced from said first mentioned deflective portion, said second deflective portion having a ramp surface provided thereon adjacent said nose bushing, said ramp surface cooperating with said nose bushing to produce an interference fit in the engagement of said orifice by said overcap as said overcap is moved from said second position to said first position.

10. An overcap as specified in claim 7 wherein said de-flective portion of said overcap includes pivot means pro-vided at an intermediate position thereof.

11. An overcap as specified in claim 7wherein said coupling means includes stop means to limit the sliding movement of said overcap relatively to said nose bushing whereby said overcap is non-removable from said nose bushing.

12. An overcap as specified in claim 8 wherein an open-ing provided in said overcap is in register with said orifice when said overcap is in said second position, wherein said overcap includes a second deflective portion spaced from said first mentioned deflective portion, said second de-flective portion having a ramp surface provided thereon adjacent said nose bushing, said ramp surface cooperating with said nose bushing to produce an interference fit in the engagement of said orifice by said overcap as said overcap is moved from said second position to said first position, wherein said first mentioned deflective portion of said overcap includes pivot means provided at an inter-mediate position thereof, and wherein said coupling means includes stop means to limit the sliding movement of said overcap relatively to said nose bushing whereby said over-cap is non-removable from said nose bushing.

13. A child-resistant overcap for selectively closing and opening the orifice of a sprayer, said overcap being mounted on the sprayer adjacent the orifice for orifice en-gaging, vertical sliding movement between a first position and a second position, said overcap operating to close the orifice when in said first position and having an opening therein that coincides with and thereby opens the orifice when in said second position, said overcap having a deflective portion, having separate spaced interference and actuating tabs, means on said sprayer cooperating with said inter-ference tab to lock said overcap against movement toward said second position when said overcap is in said first position, said actuating tab operating when pressed toward said sprayer to deflect said flexible portion of said over-cap thereby to deflect and release said interference tab from the locking relationship thereof with said means on said sprayer whereby said overcap is then movable to said second position thereof by actuation of said actuating tab in that direction.

14. For use with a liquid dispenser having a nose bushing in which an orifice is provided, an overcap coupled to the nose bushing for selectively closing and opening said orifice, means coupling said overcap to the nose bushing for orifice engaging, vertical sliding movement between a first position in which said overcap engages the orifice to close the orifice against the flow of liquid therefrom, and a second position in which no portion of said overcap engages the orifice, a portion of said overcap depending from the nose bushing, said depending portion having a first, normally undeflected position, and a second deflected position, said depending overcap portion being provided with an interference tab at one end and an actuating tab at the other end, and locking means on said nose bushing cooperating with said interference tab to lock said overcap against sliding movement toward said second position when said overcap is in said first position and said depending portion of said overcap is undeflected, movement of said depending portion to said second, deflect-ed, position by actuation of said actuating tab operating to release said interference tab from the locking relationship thereof with said locking means whereby said overcap is then movable by actuation of said actuating tab to said second position.

15. Apparatus as specified in claim 14 wherein the direction of deflection of said depending portion of said overcap required to release said interference tab is trans-versely to the direction of the sliding movement of said overcap relatively to said nose bushing.

16. Apparatus as specified in claim15 wherein the direction of deflection of said depending portion of said overcap required to release said interference tab is toward said nose bushing.

17. Apparatus as specified in claim 14including ramp means provided on said overcap, said ramp means cooperating with said nose bushing upon movement of said overcap from said second position to said first position thereof to develop and hold by dimensional interference a closing pres-sure upon said orifice.

18.Apparatus as specified in claim 14 wherein said coupling means comprise tab means on the nose bushing, said tab means retaining said overcap on said nose bushing but allowing sliding movement of said overcap relatively to said nose bushing.

19. Apparatus as specified in claim 14 wherein an open-ing provided in said overcap is in register with the outlet orifice in said nose bushing when said overcap is in said second position thereof.

20. Apparatus as specified in claim 14including a recess on said nose bushing, and detent means on said over-cap cooperating with said recess to provide a stop upon movement of said overcap to said second position and serv-ing to hold said overcap in said second position.

21. For use with a liquid dispenser having a nose bushing in which an outlet orifice is provided, a child-resistant over-cap for selectively closing and opening the outlet orifice, means coupling said overcap on the nose bushing for vertical sliding movement between a first position in which said overcap is effective to close the outlet orifice, and a second position in which the outlet orifice is open, a portion of said over-cap being movable, when said overcap is in said first posi-tion thereof, between normally undeflected position and a deflected position, said overcap portion being provided with detent means, said detent means cooperating with a surface of the nose bushing to lock said overcap against movement toward said second position thereof when said overcap is in said first position thereof and said overcap is in its undeflected position, movement of said overcap to said deflected posi-tion operating to release said detent from the locking re-lationship thereof with the nose bushing whereby said overcap is then movable to the second position thereof.

22. In combination, a sprayer having a nose bushing provided with an outlet orifice therein and an overcap mounted on said nose bushing adjacent the outlet orifice and arranged for vertical sliding movement between a first position and a second position, said overcap being arranged to close the outlet orifice when in said first position, and having an opening therein that is coincident with, and hence, does not impede the flow from the outlet orifice when in said second position, said overcap having a hinged member formed therein, said member having separate and spaced interference and actuating tabs, means on said nose bushing cooperating with said interference tab to lock said overcap when in said first position, against sliding movement toward said second position, said actuating tab operating when actuated by a movement separate and distinct from said sliding movement of said overcap to deflect and thereby release said interference tab from the locking relationship with the said means on said nose bushing whereby said overcap may then be moved to said second position by further actuation of said actuatable tab in that direction.