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US 4,984,698 AGranted
Lockable closure cap
OwnerWilliam C. Stuckeyinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerWilliam C. Stuckeyinventor
Estimating the term…
A lockable closure cap assembly includes a closure cap having a threaded bore for threadable engagement with the threads of a container neck, an annular shell surrounding said closure cap, and a lock/cam/clutch mechanism for selectively engaging and disengaging the closure cap with the annular shell to permit rotation of the closure cap with the annular shell and free rotation of the annular shell with respect to the closure cap, respectively. The mechanism includes at least one projection on the closure cap, a lock assembly mounted in a fluted bore in said annular shell; the lock assembly has one or more key (or combination) operated lock elements projecting laterally of the axes of said lock. The annular shell has a fluted bore in a surface thereof for receiving said lock assembly with one or more lock elements received in a flute in the fluted bore to prevent rotation thereof in the absence of a key, and permit rotation only on the presence of a key, and a clutch device operated only by the presence of a key in said lock assembly to engage and engage said closure cap with said annular shell. The cam/clutch portion of the mechanism has a clutch shoe carrier for clutch shoes which have cam surfaces interacting with a cam element on the lock cylinder to project and retract the clutch shoes to engage and disengage with a clutch projection on the closure cap.
In a lockable closure cap assembly including a closure cap having a threaded bore for threadable engagement with the threads of a container neck, an annular shell surrounding said closure cap, and a mechanism for selectively engaging and disengaging said closure cap with said annular shell to permit rotation of said closure cap with said annular shell and free rotation of said annular shell with respect to said closure cap, respectively, said mechanism including at least one projection on said closure cap, a lock assembly mounted in a bore in said annular shell, said lock assembly having a cam operating member, said closure cap having an upper surface, the improvement comprising a clutch shoe carrier rotatably nested on said upper surface of said closure cap, at least one clutch shoe slidably mounted in said clutch shoe carrier, an arcuate cam surface formed in at least one said clutch shoe and operatively engaged with said cam operating member so that said clutch shoe is moved to and from engagement with said at least one projection on said closure cap solely by rotation of said cam.
In a lockable closure cap assembly including a closure cap having a threaded bore for threadable engagement with the threads of a container neck, an annular shell surrounding said closure cap, and a mechanism for selectively engaging and disengaging said closure cap with said annular shell to permit rotation of said closure cap with said annular shell and free rotation of said annular shell with respect to said closure cap, respectively, at least one projection on said closure cap, the improvement comprising, said annular shell having an upper surface, a fluted bore formed in said upper surface of said annular shell and having at least one channel therein, a lock assembly mounted in said fluted bore, said lock assembly having a rotary axis, one or more key operated lock elements projecting laterally of said rotary axis and receivable in said at least one channel in said fluted bore to prevent rotation thereof in the absence of a key, and permit rotation only on the presence of a key causing retraction of said lock elements from said at least one channel, an axle on the lower end of said lock assembly, a well in the upper surface of said closure cap for receiving said axle, and a clutch device operated only by the presence of a key in said lock assembly and rotation thereof to engage and disengage said closure cap with said annular shell.
In a lockable closure cap assembly including a closure cap having a threaded bore for threadable engagement with the threads of a container neck, an annular shell surrounding said closure cap, and a mechanism for selectively engaging and disengaging said closure cap with said annular shell to permit rotation of said closure cap with said annular shell and free rotation of said annular shell with respect to said closure cap, respectively, said mechanism including at least one projection on said closure cap, a lock assembly mounted in a bore in said annular shell, said lock assembly having a cam operating member, said closure cap having an upper surface, the improvement comprising a clutch shoe carrier rotatably nested on said upper surface of said closure cap, at least one clutch shoe slidably mounted in said clutch shoe carrier, an arcuate cam surface formed in at least one said clutch shoe and operatively engaged with said cam operating member so that said clutch shoe is moved to and from engagement with said at least one projection on said closure cap solely by rotation of said cam and wherein said carrier includes a shaped, non-circular recess in the upper end thereof and coaxial with the rotary axis thereof, and said annular shell including an integrally formed internal member complementarily shaped to and received in said shaped non-circular recess.
A lockable closure cap assembly including a molded plastic closure cap having a threaded bore for threadable engagement with the threads of a container neck, a molded plastic annular shell surrounding said molded plastic closure cap, and a mechanism for selectively engaging and disengaging said molded plastic closure cap with said molded plastic annular shell to permit rotation of said molded plastic closure cap with said molded plastic annular shell and free rotation of said molded plastic annular shell with respect to said closure cap, respectively, means forming a bore hole having channels to constitute a fluted bore formed in said molded plastic annular shell, a metal lock assembly mounted in said fluted bore, said metal lock assembly having a rotary axis and one or more key operated metal lock elements projectable laterally of said rotary axis and receivable in a channel in said fluted bore to prevent rotation of said metal lock assembly relative to said fluted bore in the absence of a key, and permit rotation only on the presence of a proper key, said mechanism including a molded plastic clutch device operated only by the presence of a key in said lock assembly and rotation thereof to engage and disengage said molded plastic closure cap with said molded plastic annular shell.
A lockable closure cap assembly including a molded plastic closure cap having a threaded internal bore for threadable engagement with the external threads of a container neck, a molded plastic annular shell surrounding said molded plastic closure cap and having a top portion and an annular skirt and a mechanism for selectively (1) engaging and (2) disengaging said molded plastic closure cap with said molded plastic annular shell to permit (1) rotation of said molded plastic closure cap with said molded plastic annular shell and (2) free rotation of said molded plastic annular shell with respect to said closure cap, respectively, means forming a bore hole having channels in said top portion of said molded plastic annular shell, a metal lock assembly mounted in said bore hole, said metal lock assembly having a rotary axis parallel to said channels and one or more key operated metal plate elements projectable laterally of said rotary axis and receivable in one of said channels in said borehole to prevent rotation of said metal lock assembly relative to said bore hole in the absence of a key, and permit rotation only on the presence of a proper key in said metal lock assembly, said metal lock cylinder having an axle at the lower end thereof coaxial with said rotary axis and projecting below said cam member, a well formed in the upper surface of said closure for receiving said axle for rotation therein, and a clutch device operated only by the presence of a key in said lock assembly to engage and disengage said molded plastic closure cap with said molded plastic annular shell.
A lockable closure cap assembly including a molded plastic closure cap, a molded plastic annular shell enveloping said molded plastic closure cap, and a clutch mechanism for selectively (1) engaging and (2) disengaging said molded plastic closure cap with said molded plastic annular shell to (1) permit rotation of said molded plastic closure cap with said molded plastic annular shell and (2) free rotation of said molded plastic annular shell with respect to said closure cap, respectively, means forming an axial bore hole having channels in the walls thereof in said molded plastic annular shell, a metal lock assembly mounted in said axial bore, said metal lock assembly having a rotary axis coaxial with said bore hole a plurality of key operated metal plate elements having a shape complementary to the shape of said channels and projectable laterally of said rotary axis and receivable in one of said channels to prevent rotation of said metal lock assembly relative to said vertical bore in the absence of a key, and permit rotation only when a proper key is in said metal lock assembly, a cam stop member on the upper edge of said lock assembly for limiting rotation of said metal lock assembly about said rotary axis and said clutch mechanism being made of molded plastic and operated only by rotation of said proper key in said metal lock assembly to (1) engage and (2) disengage said molded plastic closure cap with said molded plastic annular shell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.