FORM - 2


THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 OF 1970)
AND
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10; rule 13)
A CHILD-RESISTANT CAP ASSEMBLY
HITECH PLAST LIMITED
an Indian Company of C/130, Solaris 1, Opp. L & T Gate No.6, Powai, Mumbai 400 072,
Maharashtra, India
THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED


FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a child-resistant cap assembly.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART
A container with a cap or a lid is well known. Typically, a container has a mouth connected to the actual container either directly or with the help of a neck. The mouth is closed with the help of a friction-fitted cap or a cap having internal threads. In the latter case, the cap is coupled to complementary threaded neck of the container by screwing mechanism. The friction-fitted cap or lid offers a very little resistance to opening by a child. The screw type cap is a bit more child-resistant. However, it is commonly seen that older children manage to open even the screw type caps. This may prove dangerous since the contents of the container may be toxic and it is a general tendency of children to put things into their mouth. There is also every possibility of spillage of the contents on the child's body which may burn his skin. Further, in case of other household items, opening of the cap may spoil the contents due to fungal or other microbial contamination on being exposed to moisture. Hence, a certain degree of complexity is required whereby an adult would be able to open the cap with ease but not a child.
Child resistant caps are required to prevent young children from getting access to the contents of the containers on which these caps are fitted, particularly when the containers contain harmful household items like cleaners, medications and other substances which may be toxic or harmful to the children.
A number of child-resistant caps have been developed in the prior art some of which are discussed below:
United States Patent 4,285,437 discloses a push button child-resistant cap for containers. According to this invention, the closure cap for containers of harmful products when rotationally tightened on the threaded container neck becomes freewheeling in the opposite direction of rotation and resistant to opening by a child. Indicator elements on the inner and

outer cap components can be aligned to locate a push button of the outer cap component at a depressable position where a driving element thereof can engage an unscrewing abutment of the inner cap component. The two cap components have initial and final tightening abutments which are sequentially engaged during tightening rotation. The inner cap component has a ramp which coacts with the push button to elevate the push button above all abutment surfaces of the inner cap component during freewheeling of the outer cap component in the child-resistant mode.
United States Patent 4,450,972 describes a child-resistant container which includes a receptacle having an open top and a threaded cap covering the open top. The threads are preferably left-hand threads to help prevent the opening of the container by small children. The outer surfaces of the receptacle and cap define a common groove along their abutting edges. A removable elastic band is mounted within the groove with its inner surface fitting snuggly against the groove surfaces so that relative rotary motion between the cap and receptacle is resisted by the band. When young children try to remove the cap, turning of the cap is resisted by the band; when the cap is let go the cap tends to spring back to its original position. However, an adult can remove the cap by first removing the band from the common groove. The cap can then be removed with very little resistance.
International Application No. PCT/CA1997/000773 discloses a closure cap for sealing a container has an inner skirt shaped and sized to fit externally and to be secured onto the neck of the container. The cap also has an outer skirt projecting from the inner skirt. This outer skirt extends over the inner skirt at a given distance from same, thereby defining a gap therebetween. The outer skirt is made of a material that is resiliency flexible and can be deformed when an external pressure is applied onto its external surface. The cap further has a foldable cover shaped and sized to close the neck of the container. This cover has a peripheral edge attached to the outer skirt by a hinge. A snap having one part integral to the upper portion of the other skirt and another part integral to the cover is provided for releasably locking the cover in a closed position when it is folded down over the neck of the container. The one part of the snap that is integral to the upper portion of the outer skirt is positioned and devised to move and disengage the other part of the snap means and thus

release the cover, when external pressure is applied at a suitable location onto the external surface of the outer skirt.
United States Patent 6,032,811 relates to a child-resistant cap assembly which includes an outer cap member having a top wall and a substantially cylindrical side wall depending therefrom. On the exterior surface of the top wall is a key slot and an alignment aperture. An inner cap member for threadedly engaging a container neck is concentrically received within said outer cap member has a mark and key slot on its top wall. The outer cap member normally rotates independently of the inner cap member. When the outer cap member's alignment aperture registers with the mark on the inner cap member, the key slots are aligned allowing a key member to be inserted therethrough. Accordingly, the inserted key member is then rotated to simultaneously rotate the inner and outer cap. The top wall of the outer cap member also includes means for removably retaining the key thereon.
A child-resistant cap with one-way ratchet and locking channel is disclosed in United States Patent 6,082,565. This invention also discloses a dispenser. It includes a dispensing container, a flange located non-rotatably connected on the container neck with one-way ratchets, located thereon, said flange being non-rotatably connected to said container neck; a ring collar, non-removably and rotatably connected to the container neck with one-way ratchets located thereon, in functional and cooperative contact with the flange ratchets to permit rotation of it about the neck in one direction and so as to prevent rotation in the opposite direction. The ring collar has an outer circular wall, with one of (i) at least one keyway track and, (ii) at least one keyway protrusion, located thereon, the other being located on a cap, adapted to fit onto the said ring collar. There is a spring mechanism located on at least one of the necks, the collar and the cap, to bias the cap upwardly away from the dispensing container when the cap is connected to the ring collar.
United States Patent RE 38,399 discloses a Safety closure and container, wherein a child-resistant cap including relatively thin threads which, when the cap is in a relaxed condition, are spaced from the bottle neck, said spacing permitting the cap to be squeezed inward at points on opposite sides of the cap so that the cap responds to the squeezing by expanding outward at points ninety degrees from the squeezing points so that stops on the cap at the cap

expanding location will miss the stops normally engaged when in a relaxed condition, thereby permitting the cap to be removed from the bottle. The cap may also include a guide ring in the cap interior to guide the cap over the bottle neck to help ensure that the cap is centered on the bottle opening. The cap may include pressure pads on the cap skirt outside near the cap bottom showing the user where to press and stiffening the portion of the cap where pressure is to be applied. And, the cap may include a tamper indicating ring which will separate from the cap the first time the cap is removed from the bottle. Furthermore, in an alternative cap and bottle combination, an imaginary line connecting the cap threads and an imaginary line defined by the bottle neck will intersect at an angle of from one to eight degrees, thereby providing an increasing gap between the cap threads and the bottle neck as one gets further from the cap top, this angle creating non-vertical changes to the cap or the bottle or both.
United States Patent 6,926,161 discloses a reversible child-resistant cap and combination of a container and a reversible child-resistant cap wherein the closure system has two positions, the first being a child-resistant position and the other being a non-child-resistant position. The cap is characterized in that it has a closure plane, a circumferential outer skirt for engaging a container, and a circumferential resilient depending inner member.
United States Patent 7,108,145 relates to a reversible child-resistant cap and a closure system having two positions, the first being a child-resistant position and the other being a non-child-resistant position. The cap is characterized in that it has a closure plane, a circumferential outer skirt for engaging a container, and a circumferential resilient depending inner member.
United States Patent 7,070,063 discloses a reversible child-resistant cap and a closure system having two positions, the first being a child-resistant position and the other being a non-child-resistant position. The cap is characterized in that it has a closure plane, a circumferential outer skirt for engaging a container, and a circumferential resilient depending inner member.
United States Patent 7,193,514 discloses a child-resistant closure cap for preventing the inadvertent consumption of pharmaceutical products, bleaches or other products by children

or other minors. The child-resistant closure cap can be easily removed by adults and elderly persons and uses intrinsic biometric (physical dimension) human attributes to differentiate between adults and children instead of relying on differences in ability. In use, the present invention senses electronically the size of the thumb, forefinger or middle finger, or hand crotch, prior to unlatching the closure cap. The sensors are provided using at least one piezoelectric transducer which performs both functions of detecting the biometric attributes of the user, and by doing so, also generates and stores electrical energy by virtue of the piezoelectric effect.
Indian Application No. 755/CHENP/2008 relates to a child-resistant closure, package and a method of making the same. The closure includes a skirt and internal lugs on the skirt. The skirt has an undulating circumferential contour that includes alternate outwardly convex and outwardly concave portions, with the internal lug being disposed within the outwardly concave portions of the skirt. The skirt preferably is sufficiently flexible to allow the outwardly concave portions of the skirt to assume an outwardly convex geometry as a result of outward pressure on the internal lugs during demolding of the closure. The closure thus may be simply axially stripped from the mold core during the demolding operation without requiring movement of portions of the mold core to clear a path for travel of the lugs. The lugs are shaped as an inverted U that opens toward a free edge of the skirt, further to facilitate demolding of the closure.
The child-resistant caps disclosed in the prior art are very complicated, which adds to the cost of manufacture. Further, most of them pose a problem for a considerable portion of adult population that lack the strength or mental dexterity to operate child-resistant caps. The instant invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art and provides a child-resistant cap assembly which is simple but unique and cost-effective. Moreover, it solves the problem faced by the older people in operating the child-resistant caps.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a child-resistant cap assembly.

It is another object of the present invention to provide child-resistant cap assembly for containers containing harmful household items like cleaner, medication and other substances which may be toxic or harmful to children.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a child-resistant cap assembly which is simple and easy to manufacture.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a child-resistant cap assembly which is cost effective.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a child-resistant cap assembly which can easily be operated by adult population.
It is sill another object of the present invention to provide a combination of a container and a child-resistant cap assembly.
STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention relates to a child-resistant cap assembly for a container having an opening mouth, said cap assembly comprising:
i) an inner cap having threads complementary to threads of the mouth of the
container; ii) an outer cap partially enclosing and permanently engaged to said inner
cap; iii) means to engage said outer cap and said inner cap in a configuration in
which said outer cap cannot be detached from said inner cap but can freely
rotate around it; and iv) a latent exposed region of said inner cap adapted to be gripped for
unscrewing said cap assembly from the mouth of the container.
In accordance with this invention, said inner cap has a knob at its central axis and said outer cap has a sleeve adapted to engage said knob.

In accordance with this invention, said outer cap has a top wall with a circular peripheral edge and a cylindrical side wall having serrations for grip which deludes a child into thinking that said outer cap is the actual cap.
In accordance with this invention, said outer cap is made up of a synthetic polymeric material.
In accordance with this invention, said inner cap is made up of a material selected from a group consisting of synthetic polymeric material, wood and metal.
The present invention also relates to a combination of a container having an externally threaded mouth and said child-resistant cap assembly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described with the help of drawings in which:
Fig. 1 illustrates an assembly of a child-resistant cap and a container;
Fig. 2 illustrates the engagement between the outer cap and the inner cap by means of flanges.
Fig. 3 illustrates the engagement of the sleeve of the outer cap with the knob of the inner cap;
and
Fig. 4 illustrates the outer cap with serration which is a part of the child-resistant cap
assembly and deludes a child into thinking that it is the actual cap.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a child-resistant cap assembly for a container having an opening mouth generally indicated by reference numeral 100.
As shown in Fig. 1, the child-resistant cap assembly 100 comprises:

an inner cap 10 having threads 12 complementary to threads 14 of the mouth 16 of the container 18;
an outer cap 20 partially enclosing and permanently engaged to said inner cap 10;
means to engage said outer cap 20 and said inner cap 10 in a configuration in which said outer cap 20 cannot be detached from said inner cap 10 but can freely rotate around it; and
a latent exposed region 22 of said inner cap 10 adapted to be gripped for unscrewing said cap assembly 100 from the mouth 16 of the container 18.
An external flange 34 is provided on the outer wall 36 of the inner cap 10 and an external flange 38 is provided on the inner wall 40 of the outer cap 20. These two flanges 34 and 38 co-operate with each other to snap fit into each other in the operative configuration. Once the outer cap 20 is press fitted on the inner cap 10, this causes the wall of the outer cap 20 to expand and the flange 38 on the outer cap 20 slides over the flange 34 on the outer wall 36 of the inner cap 10. The resilience of the cap wall causes the flange 38 to snap fit and therefore permanently engage the flange 34 from below. The two flanges 34 and 38 are profiled in such a manner that once they are engaged, it is very difficult to disengage them. A typical detailed profile of this engagement of the flanges is shown in Fig. 2. It is also necessary to profile the flanges 34 and 38 so that they do not physically touch each other. This is enabled by putting a spacer element 42 in the gap between the outer cap 20 and the inner cap 10. This spacer element 42 also acts as an axis on which the outer cap 20 can freely rotate on the inner cap 10 whereas the engaging flanges 34 and 38 ensure that during rotation or otherwise, the outer cap 20 will not disengage from the inner cap 10. The configuration as suggested ensures that even after prolonged use, the outer cap 20 will not stick to the inner cap 10 which will defeat the very purpose of the invention.
The inner cap 10 has a knob 24 at its central axis and said outer cap 20 has a sleeve 26 adapted to engage said knob 24 (as shown in Fig. 3).

The outer cap 20 has a top wall 28 with a circular peripheral edge 30 and a cylindrical side wall 32 having serrations 44 (as shown in Figures. 1 & 4) for grip which deludes a child into thinking that said outer cap 20 is the actual cap.
Typically, the outer cap 20 is made up of a synthetic polymeric material.
Typically, the inner cap 10 is made up of a material selected from a group consisting of synthetic polymeric material, wood and metal.
The present invention also relates to a combination of a container 18 having an externally threaded mouth 16 and said child-resistant cap assembly 100.
Advantages of the present invention:
The instant invention offers several advantages, some of which are as follows:
• The child-resistant cap assembly of this invention is simple and easy to manufacture.
• The child-resistant cap assembly of the present invention is cost effective.
• The child-resistant cap assembly of the present invention ensures complete protection of children against the harmful contents of containers.
• The child-resistant cap assembly disclosed in this invention can easily be operated by adults.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the particular features of this invention, it will be appreciated that various modifications can be made, and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiment without departing from the principles of the invention. These and other modifications in the nature of the invention or the preferred embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation.

We Claim:
1) A child-resistant cap assembly for a container having an opening mouth, said cap assembly comprising:
i) an inner cap having threads complementary to threads of the mouth of the
container; ii) an outer cap partially enclosing and permanently engaged to said inner
cap;
iii) means to engage said outer cap and said inner cap in a configuration in which said outer cap cannot be detached from said inner cap but can freely rotate around it; and
iv) a latent exposed region of said inner cap adapted to be gripped for unscrewing said cap assembly from the mouth of the container.
2) The child-resistant cap assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said inner cap has a knob at its central axis and said outer cap has a sleeve adapted to engage said knob.
3) The child-resistant cap assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said outer cap has a top wall with a circular peripheral edge and a cylindrical side wall having serrations for grip which deludes a child into thinking that said outer cap is the actual cap.
4) The child-resistant cap assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said outer cap is made up of a Synthetic polymeric material.
5) The child-resistant cap assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said inner cap is made up of a material selected from a group consisting of synthetic polymeric material, wood and metal.
6) A combination of a container having an externally threaded mouth and said child-resistant cap assembly of claim 1.

7) The child-resistant cap assembly and the combination as substantially herein described with reference to accompanying drawings.
Dated this 2nd day of January, 2009.