Dispenser unit for aerosol precursor
A unit for mixing and dispensing an aerosol precursor composition, and containers to be dispensed therefrom. The unit includes a plurality of bulk material filling stations, the plurality of bulk material filling stations have at least one first filling station with aerosol former and at least one second filling station with a flavor material for creating the aerosol precursor. The unit also includes a bulk consumable pack staging a plurality of containers configured to receive the aerosol precursor, and a robot configured to retrieve a container from the bulk consumable pack and move the container through at least two dimensions to stop at at least two of the plurality of bulk material filling stations.
1 . A child resistant, tamper evident container, the container comprising:
a bottle having a storage volume for holding liquid contents; and
a cap assembly attached to the bottle in a first assembled state, the cap assembly comprising:
a nozzle at least partially received within the bottle;
an inner cover provided over the nozzle and comprising a tamper evident band, the inner cover threadingly engaged with the bottle; and
an outer cover provided over the inner cover, wherein the outer cover creates a child resistant feature limiting an ability to remove the inner cover from the bottle, wherein, in the first assembled state, the nozzle, inner cover, and outer cover are simultaneously removable from the bottle without triggering the tamper evident band, and in a second assembled state, the nozzle is substantially permanently fixed to the bottle, wherein the bottle comprises a neck and a radial flange and the cap assembly is secured to the bottle via a press-fit between the tamper evident band and the radial flange in the first assembled state.
2 . The container of claim 1 , wherein:
the bottle has a neck comprising external threads;
the nozzle is configured to at least partially fit within the neck, and the nozzle has an aperture for dispensing the liquid contents from the bottle; and
the inner cover further comprises internal threads for engagement with the external threads of the neck, wherein the tamper evident band is positioned within an interior of the inner cover.
3 . The container of claim 2 , wherein,
in the first assembled state, the cap assembly is engaged with the bottle such that the nozzle is inserted into the neck by a first insertion distance I1, and the inner cover is threadingly engaged with the neck by a first thread distance T1;
in the assembled second state, the cap assembly is engaged with the bottle such that the nozzle is inserted into the neck by a second insertion distance I2, I2 being greater than I1, and the inner cover is threadingly engaged with the neck by a second thread distance T2, T2 being greater than T1; and
in a third assembled state, the nozzle is inserted into the neck by the second insertion distance I2, and the inner cover is not threadingly engaged with the neck such that the liquid contents of the bottle can be dispensed through the aperture of the nozzle.
4 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the tamper evident band is activated by being positioned below the radial flange in the second assembled state.
5 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the inner cover is secured to the nozzle in the first assembled state.
6 . The container of claim 5 , wherein the inner cover is secured to the nozzle via a snap-fit in the first assembled state.
7 . The container of claim 1 , wherein the nozzle comprises a detent disposed at least partially about an outer surface of the nozzle and the inner cover comprises a projection at least partially disposed about an inner surface of the inner cover and configured to engage with the detent to prevent separation of the nozzle and the inner cover in the first assembled state.
8 . A method of filling a container with an aerosol precursor, comprising:
retrieving a container comprising a bottle and a pre-attached cap assembly, the cap assembly comprising a nozzle at least partially received within the bottle, an inner cover provided over the nozzle and comprising a tamper evident band, the inner cover threadingly engaged with the bottle, and an outer cover provided over the inner cover;
separating the pre-attached cap assembly from the bottle with a machine without triggering the tamper evident band;
at least partially filling a storage volume of the bottle with the aerosol precursor from a plurality of filling stations, each station comprising a liquid component of the aerosol precursor;
reattaching the cap assembly to the bottle such that the nozzle is substantially permanently fixed to the bottle and the tamper evident band formed with the inner cover is activated below a radial flange extending from a neck of the bottle.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein separating the cap assembly from the bottle comprises simultaneously removing the nozzle, the inner cover, and the outer cover from the bottle.
10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein separating the pre-attached cap assembly from the bottle comprises rotating the cap assembly relative to the bottle.
11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein retrieving the container comprises using a robot to retrieve the container from a bulk consumable pack.