WO1994018013B1

WO1994018013B1 - Container/cap combination useful as adhesive dispenser

Info

Publication number: WO1994018013B1
Application number: PCT/GB1994/000266
Authority: WO
Filing date: 1994-02-10
Publication date: 1994-11-10
Anticipated expiration: 1995-08-13

Abstract

A container/cap combination useful as an adhesive dispenser. The adhesive dispenser features a double wall construction to provide flow control and impermeability to moisture. The dispenser comprises an outer casing (101) integral with a nozzle (102). Within the casing (101) is a cartridge (103) in fluid communication with the nozzle (102). The side walls (104, 105) of the cartridge (103) and casing (101) are resiliently flexible and have defined therebetween a closed chamber (106). Adhesive is dispensed by compressing the casing side wall (105) and hence the cartridge side wall (104). The container/cap combination needs not be an adhesive dispenser and comprises a child resistant cap (107). The cap (107) has a pair of lugs (125) depending from its resilient side wall (129). The lugs (125) engage in recess (113) in a cross wall (111) of the container. The lugs (125) are released from engagement with the recesses (113) by squeezing the side wall (129) of the cap (107). The container/cap combination may comprise an arrangement in which the cap (107) can be released only when in an orientation in which the lugs (125) can be depressed. In this arrangement, stops (138) prevent depression of the lugs (125) when the cap (107) is in alignment with the container. A further inventive feature of the cap resides in an internal sleeve (148) adapted to form a closed chamber (149) about the nozzle (102).

Claims

AMENDED CLAIMS[received by the International Bureau on 14 September 1994 (14.09.94); original claims 1-13 and 16 cancelled; new claims 1-9, 11-20 and 22 added original claims 14 and 15 replaced by new claims 10 and 21; original claims 17-31 renumbered as claims 23-37 (8 pages)]

1. A thermoplastics dispenser for liquid adhesive, comprising

a one-piece cartridge containing liquid adhesive and having a peripheral side wall with a resiliently flexible area, the cartridge being closed at one end and open at the other end, and

a one-piece casing comprising a peripheral side wall free of through holes and having a resiliently flexible area, a nozzle having an outlet for adhesive at one end of the casing, and means to cooperate in a liquid tight manner with the open end of the cartridge,

the cartridge being contained within the side wall of the casing with its open end in liquid-tight cooperation with the casing, the casing side wall being spaced from the cartridge side wall whereby a chamber is defined therebetween and having its resiliently flexible area overlying the resiliently flexible area of the cartridge side wall, which area of the casing side wall is capable of being manually depressed to cause depression of the flexible area of the cartridge side wall and consequent dispensing of adhesive, and the chamber being hermetically closed at the end of the casing remote from the nozzle such that the chamber is hermetically sealed.

2. A dispenser of claim 1 , wherein the closed end of the cartridge is separated from the exterior of the dispenser by a hermetically sealed space.

3. A dispenser of claim 2, wherein the end of the casing remote from the nozzle is hermetically closed by a cross wall or one-piece plug.

4. A dispenser of claim 3, wherein the cross wall or plug is welded to the casing.

5. A dispenser of claim 1, wherein the cartridge is closed at its closed end by a wall which is exposed to the external atmosphere but presents a significant barrier to moisture.

6. A dispenser of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the means to cooperate with the open end of the cartridge comprises a tubular wall portion at a base region of the nozzle, with which wall portion mates the cartridge side wall at the open end of the cartridge.

7. A dispenser of any of claims 1 to 6, which consists exclusively of the one- piece cartridge, the one-piece casing and any one-piece plug closing the end of the casing remote from the nozzle.

8. A dispenser of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cartridge and the casing are injection moulded.

9. A dispenser of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the adhesive is cyanoacrylate.

10. A combination of a dispenser of any of claims 1 to 9 and a cap comprising a thermoplastics moulding provided with a pin to enter and close the nozzle outlet when the cap is on the dispenser.

11. A combination of a dispenser of any of claims 1 to 9 and a cap to be pushed onto the container over the nozzle, the cap having a resiliently flexible area provided with a lug extending in a generally longitudinal direction from the free end of the side wall of the cap and arranged to enter a recess provided on the container when the cap is pushed on the container, the lug being provided with an outwardly extending shoulder arranged to engage with a wall of the recess to prevent the lug's release from the recess and the lug being capable of being depressed inwardly by the application of manual pressure to the resiliently flexible area of the cap such that the shoulder and the wall of the recess disengage.

12. A combination of a container of any of claims 1 to 9 and a push-on cap having a side wall comprising a depressible area, the combination comprising a lug and a recess interengageable therewith to hold the cap on the container, and the lug and the recess when interengaged permitting at least restricted rotation of the cap on the container and being disengageable to permit lifting of the cap from the container by depression of the depressible side wall area when the cap is in a first rotational position but not being so disengageable when it is in a second rotational position.

13. A combination of claim 12, which comprises two lugs in opposed relationship to each other on one of the cap and the container, and one or more recesses to engage the lugs on the other of the cap and the container.

14. A combination of claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the or each recess is an aperture defined in one of the cap and the container and facing the other of the cap and the container and wherein the or each lug is provided with a shoulder to engage the peripheral wall of the or an aperture to resist the lug's release from the aperture unless the depressible side wall area is depressed, the aperture(s) being adapted to allow at least restricted rotational movement about the container of the lug(s) when engaged therein and that one of the cap and the container having the aperture(s) defined therein being adapted to permit disengagement of the lug(s) from the recess(es) when the cap is in the first rotational position but not when it is in the second rotational position.

15. A combination of any of claims 12 to 14, which is adapted to permit disengagement of the lug(s) when the cap is in the first rotational position but not in the second rotational position by provision of stop means on the container to prevent depression of the depressible side wall area when the cap is in the second position.

16. A combination of any of claims 12 to 15, wherein the or each lug depends downwardly from the base of the cap, the shoulder on the or each lug is outwardly extending and the or each aperture is defined in a cross wall extending between the nozzle of the container and its side wall.

17. A combination of claim 16, which comprises stop means on the container to prevent depression of the depressible side wall area when in the second position and the stop means optionally comprises one or more protuberances provided at an outwardly facing portion of the peripheral wall of the or an aperture.

18. A combination of a container of any of claims 1 to 9 and a cap having a side wall which is open at its base to receive the nozzle and is provided at a base region with means engageable with complementary means on the container to fasten the cap thereto, the cap having provided within its side wall a sleeve for the nozzle, the sleeve being adapted to mate with the periphery of the nozzle to form a closed chamber enclosing the tip of the nozzle.

19. A combination of claim 18, wherein the sleeve is adapted to mate with the nozzle periphery at a location spaced significantly from the nozzle tip.

20. A combination of claim 18 or claim 19, which further includes the feamres of a combination of any one or more of claims 10 to 17.

21. A one-piece casing made of thermoplastics material and comprising a peripheral side wall which is free of through holes and has a resiliently flexible area and, at one end of the assembly, a nozzle having an outlet for adhesive, the side wall defining therewithin a chamber with which the nozzle communicates and means being provided to cooperate in a liquid-tight manner with the open end of a cartridge of liquid adhesive to provide a duct for adhesive to flow from the cartridge to the nozzle outlet.

22. A casing of claim 21 , which is injection moulded and made of polyethylene ^

or polypropylene.

5 23. A child resistant container/cap combination, comprising a container having an outlet nozzle and a cap to be pushed onto the container over the nozzle, the cap having a resiliently flexible area provided with a lug extending in a generally longitudinal direction from the free end of the side wall of the cap and arranged to enter a recess provided on the container when the cap is pushed on the

10 container, the lug being provided with an outwardly extending shoulder arranged to engage with a wall of the recess to prevent the lug's release from the recess and the lug being capable of being depressed inwardly by the application of manual pressure to the resiliently flexible area of the cap such that the shoulder and the wall of the recess disengage.

15

24. A container/cap combination, comprising a container having a nozzle and a push-on cap having a side wall comprising a depressible area, the combination comprising a lug and a recess interengageable therewith to hold the cap on the container, and the lug and the recess when interengaged permitting at least

20 restricted rotation of the cap on the container and being disengageable to permit lifting of the cap from the container by depression of the depressible side wall area when the cap is in a first rotational position but not being so disengageable when it is in a second rotational position.

25 25. A combination of claim 24, which comprises two lugs in opposed relationship to each other on one of the cap and the container, and one or more recesses to engage the lugs on the other of the cap and the container.

26. A combination of claim 24 or claim 25, wherein the or each recess is an 30 aperture defined in one of the cap and the container and facing the other of the cap and the container and wherein the or each lug is provided with a shoulder to engage the peripheral wall of the or an aperture to resist the lug's release from the aperture unless the depressible side wall area is depressed, the aperture(s) being adapted to allow at least restricted rotational movement about the container of the lug(s) when engaged therein and that one of the cap and the container having the aperture(s) defined therein being adapted to permit disengagement of the lug(s) from the recess(es) when the cap is in the first rotational position but not when it is in the second rotational position.

27. A combination of any of claims 24 to 26, which is adapted to permit disengagement of the lug(s) when the cap is in the first rotational position but not in the second rotational position by provision of stop means on the container to prevent depression of the depressible side wall area when the cap is in the second position.

28. A combination of any of claims 24 to 27, wherein the or each lug is on the cap.

29. A combination of claim 26, wherein the or each lug depends downwardly from the base of the cap, the shoulder on the or each lug is outwardly extending and the or each aperture is defined in a cross wall extending between the nozzle of the container and its side wall.

30. A combination of claim 29, which comprises stop means on the container to prevent depression of the depressible side wall area when in the second position and the stop means comprises one or more protuberances provided at an outwardly facing portion of the peripheral wall of the or an aperture.

31. A combination of claim 30, wherein there are two opposed apertures, each having a protuberance disposed on its peripheral wall intermediate the ends of its aperture, and two opposed lugs.

32. A container/cap combination, comprising a container having a nozzle, a side wall and a cross wall extending between the side wall and the nozzle, the cross wall having aperture means defined therein at opposed positions; and a push on cap having a side wall and open at its based to receive the nozzle, the side wall being provided at its base with two downwardly depending lugs which are in opposed relationship to each other and which are each provided with an outwardly extending shoulder, the side wall adjacent each lug being resiliently deformable when compressed to depress the lugs inwardly;

the aperture means and the lugs being interengageable in a snap fit to hold the cap on the container and being releasable from engagement by compression of the cap side wall to depress the lugs, the aperture means allowing at least restricted rotational movement therein about the container of the lugs when engaged therein and the container being provided with stop means to prevent depression of the lugs upon application of compressive pressure to the cap side wall adjacent each lug when the cap is in a first rotational position on the container.

33. A combination of claim 32 wherein the stop means is as defined in claim 24 and/or the combination further includes the features of claim 25.

34. A container/cap combination, wherein the container comprises a body from which extends a nozzle having a tip at its end remote from the container body, and the cap has a side wall which is open at its base to receive the nozzle and is provided at a base region with means engageable with complementary means on the container to fasten the cap thereto, the cap having provided within its side wall a sleeve for the nozzle, the sleeve being adapted to mate with the periphery of the nozzle to form a closed chamber enclosing the tip of the nozzle.

35. A combination of claim 34, wherein the sleeve is adapted to mate with the nozzle periphery at a location spaced significantly from the nozzle tip.

36. A combination of claim 34 or claim 35. wherein the means to fasten the cap to the container comprises a screw thread.

37. A combination of claim 34 or claim 35, wherein the cap is a push on cap and the means to fasten the cap on the container comprises a lug and a recess interengageable therewith, the lug and recess being disengageable to permit lifting of the cap from the container by compressing the cap side wall.