Safety cap and container with safety cap

Abstract

There is provided a safety cap which requires manual dexterity for a cover opening operation and is difficult for an infant or the like to open a cover, in which a safety function can be released, as necessary. In the safety cap configured such that a part of an outer circumferential wall ( 11 ) of a cap main body ( 2 ) is formed on an inward elastically deformable operating plate ( 6 ), a pair of engaging means ( 7 ) and ( 22 ) engageable with each other are provided on a peripheral wall of a cover ( 2 ) connected to the upper portion of the cap main body ( 2 ) via a hinge and at the upper portion of the operating plate ( 6 ), respectively, and the engagement is released by elastically deforming the operating plate inward so as to open the cover, the operating plate ( 6 ) can be fixed to the cap main body ( 2 ) or a neck portion ( 52 ) of the container except for the operating plate by the fixing member ( 14 ) in the inward deformed state.

1 . A safety cap for disposing a container comprising: 
 a cap main body ( 2 ) having a top plate ( 3 ) with an pouring hole ( 4 ), and an outer circumferential wall ( 11 ) and an inner circumferential wall ( 10 ) for attachment to a container neck portion, said outer and inner circumferential walls extending downwardly from the top plate, and a part of the outer circumferential wall ( 11 ) being formed in an inward elastically deformable operating plate ( 6 ), at a peripheral edge of which a separation line is cut except its lower end or vicinity thereof remaining as a connection portion ( 13 );    a cover ( 20 ) connected to an upper portion of the cap main body via a hinge such that the cover is capable of putting thereon and removing therefrom;    wherein a pair of engaging means (7) and (22) engageable with each other are disposed at a peripheral wall of the cover and the operating plate ( 6 ), respectively, and further, the cover can be opened by releasing an engagement between the engaging means ( 7 ) and ( 22 ) by elastically deforming the operating plate inward,    wherein the operating plate ( 6 ) can be fixed to the container neck portion ( 52 ) or the cap main body ( 2 ) except for the operating plate by a fixing member ( 14 ) for fixing the operating plate in an inward deformed state.    
     
     
         2 . A safety cap according to  claim 1 , wherein a lower end of the operating plate ( 6 ) is formed into the connection portion ( 13 ) serving as a fixing end, around which the operating plate can be disposed in a freely inward swingable manner as a whole.  
     
     
         3 . A safety cap according to  claim 2 , wherein the fixing member ( 14 ) includes an engaging piece ( 15 ) disposed at the operating plate ( 6 ), and an engaging piece receiver ( 16 ) disposed at the cap main body ( 2 ) except for the operating plate.  
     
     
         4 . A safety cap according to  claim 3 , wherein the engaging piece serves as an upper end ( 15   a ) of the operating plate, and further, the engaging piece receiver is a projection ( 16   a ) formed at an undersurface of the top plate outward of the inner circumferential wall ( 10 ).  
     
     
         5 . A safety cap according to  claim 3 , wherein the engaging piece serves as an upper end ( 15   a ) of the operating plate, and further, the engaging piece receiver ( 16 ) is disposed in an elastically bending plate ( 32 ) formed at an end of the top plate ( 3 ) near the operating plate in such a manner as to engage with the engaging piece ( 6 ) when the elastically bending plate is bent downward.  
     
     
         6 . A safety cap according to  claim 3 , wherein the engaging piece serves as a tenon ( 15   c ) protruding inward from an upper end of the operating plate ( 6 ) and being wider at its intermediate portion than a base end and a tip end thereof, and further, the engaging piece receiver serves as a tenon groove ( 16   c ) having a shape in conformity with the tenon, cut out at an end of the top plate ( 3 ) near the operating plate.  
     
     
         7 . A safety cap according to  claim 2 , wherein the fixing member ( 14 ) is formed of an engaging projection ( 15   d ), which is longitudinally disposed at either one of an inner surface of the operating plate ( 6 ) and an opposite outer surface of the inner circumferential wall ( 10 ), and an engaging groove ( 16   d ), which is disposed at the other and can engage with the engaging projection ( 15   d ).  
     
     
         8 . A container with a safety cap having the top-opened neck portion ( 52 ) extending upwardly and the safety cap ( 1 ) disposed at the neck portion according to  claim 1 , the safety cap comprising a pair of the connecting portions ( 13 ) and the fixing member ( 14 ), the pair of connecting portions ( 13 ) being disposed at both side edges of the operating plate ( 6 ) near the lower end of the operating plate with a distance from the lower end thereof, the fixing member ( 14 ) being a first and a second projections ( 54 ), ( 18 ), the second projection ( 18 ) being attached to the inner surface of the operating plate under the connecting portion, the first projection ( 54 ) being formed at a base outer surface of the neck portion with a distance from the second projection in a circumferential direction; 
 wherein the second projection rides on the first projection when the cap main body ( 2 ) is rotated about the neck portion ( 52 ), so that the operating plate ( 6 ) is displaced inward against elasticity, so as to release the engagement between the engaging means ( 7 ) and ( 22 ).