TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is related to a clog-resistant toggle disk closure used with resilient bottles for dispensing fluids such as viscous liquid products. The clog resistant feature automatically clears residual product remaining in the closure's discharge orifice when the toggle disk closure is closed after dispensing said products.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Resilient containers are commonly used to package and dispense fluid products. Products packaged in such containers include viscous liquid products such as skin care products, and hair care products. Said resilient containers have closures for prevention of leakage and contamination of said products. The most elementary closures known in the art require their complete removal from the container in order to dispense the product. This makes the containers less convenient to use and increases the chances of spilling and contaminating the product. Captive closures, not requiring removal for dispensing, offer obvious advantages over the remove-to-use closures mentioned above. However, many of the captive closures known in the art require a twisting, pulling, or prying action to open and thus present some difficulty for the user, especially persons who have some manual impairment, e.g., arthritics. Examples of such captive closures include twist-to-open closures disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,240,404, to Porter et al. issued March 15, 1966; push-pull closures disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,227,332, to Gowdy et al., issued September 27, 1993; hinged flip caps disclosed in 4,666,068, to Bush, issued May 19, 1987.

Toggle closures were developed to avoid the problems mentioned above. Such toggle closures feature a simple "push-to-open" and "push-to-close" action. Toggle closures known in the art include those disclosed in U.S. Patents 3,516,581 to Micalleζ issued 06/23/70; 4,487,342 to Shy, issued 12/11/84; 4,776,501 to Ostrowsky, issued 10/11/88; 4,838,460 to Moore et al., issued 06/13/89; and 4,962,869 to Gross et al.,issued 10/16/90 (all hereby incorporated herein by reference). Despite the improvement over the prior closures discussed above, these toggle closures are prone to clogging when residual product inside the closure's

product flow channel and discharge opening thickens or hardens. To avoid the potential for clogging, the user must conscientiously remove the residual product from the discharge opening and flow channel after each use.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide an clog-resistant toggle disk closure for a resilient container. Residual product left in the discharge is automatically removed when said toggle disk closure is moved from the open position to the closed position. Said toggle disk closures of the present invention are reliable and do not sacrifice the actuation advantages toggle closures are known to have.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The clog-resistant toggle disk closure of the present invention comprises a cap element for sealingly engaging the discharge opening of a resilient container, and a toggle element having a clog-resistant means. The cap element comprises a means for sealingly engaging the resilient container, a pivot support, a platform, a port in the platform, and a standpipe projecting upwards from the port forming a discharge channel for the product. The standpipe is preferably at a right angle to the platform. The cap element may additionally comprise features for improving the efficiency in container filling and capping operations.

The toggle element is interfitted and pivotally mounted to the cap element. The toggle element comprises a spout in fluid communication with the standpipe via a discharge orifice in the toggle element. The toggle element also comprises a clog-resistant means comprising a stem attached to the interior surface of the cap element's standpipe. The stem is directed upward from the cap element's platform, preferably parallel to interior surface of the standpipe, extending out of the standpipe and in alignment with the discharge orifice where upon rotating the toggle element about the pivot, the discharge orifice is penetrated by the stem purging the discharge orifice of residual product. In addition to purging the discharge orifice, the stem fits tightly within the discharge orifice to form an liquid-tight seal. The stem may be integrally molded within the standpipe or attached to the interior surface of the standpipe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the present invention, it is believed the present invention will be better understood from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a two piece toggle disk closure of the present invention in the open position;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the toggle disk closure taken along the section line 2-2 in FIG. 1 ; and

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing the toggle element in the closed position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In FIG. 1 there is shown a particularly preferred toggle disk closure 1 of the present invention in the open condition. Toggle disk closure 1 comprises a cap member 10 and a toggle element 20. Recess 11 in cap element 10 provides an opening for tab 21 of toggle element 20 when toggle element 20 is pivoted to the open position. Spout 22 projects above the top surface of toggle element 20 and is generally concentric about discharge orifice 25.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of toggle disk closure 1 of FIG. 1. Cap element 10 comprises helical screw thread 13 for sealingly engaging toggle disk closure 1 to a corresponding helical screw thread of a container (not shown). Alternative means may be employed to sealingly attach toggle disk closure 1 to a container, e.g. a snap ring. Cap element 10 further comprises standpipe 15 which extends upward from platform 14. Port 18 is located in platform 14 and provides an opening for the fluid product in said container to enter standpipe 15. A clog-resistant means comprising stem 17 is attached to the interior surface of said standpipe 15. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, stem 17 is attached to the interior of the standpipe by a plurality of radial arms 16 which extend across the interior of standpipe 15. It is further preferred that stem 17 be located near the center of standpipe 15 and parallel to the walls of said standpipe. Pivot support 19 of the cap element 10 extends upward from platform 14. Pivot socket 26 at the upper end of pivot support 19 engages pivot 16 of toggle element 20. Pivot 16 is preferably positioned on the lower surface of toggle element 20 at about its midpoint. The combination of pivot socket 26 and pivot 16 provide means to pivot toggle element 20 relative to cap element 10. In the open condition, toggle

element 20 is rotated relative to cap element 10 such that spout 22 is disengaged from stem 17, thereby providing an open discharge orifice 25. A seal ring 23 extends downward for the lower surface of toggle element 20 and sealingly engages the upper exterior portion of standpipe 15. With toggle disk closure 1 in its open condition, a flow channel is created from port 18, through standpipe 15, around stem 17, through seal ring 23 and out discharge orifice 25 thus permitting dispensing of fluid product through toggle disk closure 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of toggle disk closure 1 in the closed condition. To close toggle disk closure 1, the user applies force onto the upper surface of toggle element 20 on the side opposite tab 21 thereby rotating toggle element 20 about pivot 16 relative to cap element 10 so that stem 17 projects through discharge orifice 25 of spout 22. Any residual fluid product in discharge orifice 25 will be ejected by stem 17. Seal ring 23 extends downward from toggle element 20 and is generally concentric about the upper exterior portion of the standpipe 15. Plug seal 24 located at the base of discharge orifice 25 of toggle element 20 sealingly engages the upper inner portion of standpipe 15. The combination of plug seal 24 sealingly engaging the upper end of standpipe 15 and stem 17 sealingly engaging the interior of spout 22 provides an fluid-tight shipping and storage seal for toggle disk closure 1 in the closed condition. In the closed condition, detent 27 on the outer surface of ring 28 of toggle element 20 engages lip 12 of recess 11. The interference between detent 27 and lip 12 requires that a slight resilient deformation of ring 28 occur to permit detent 27 to disengage lip 12 in order to pivot toggle element 20 for opening. The combination of detent 27 and lip 12 aid in preventing accidental opening. While a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications that are within the scope of this invention. What is claimed is: