Child-resistant or lockable containers, wherein multiple movements are required to open the container, have many uses. One use for a lockable container is to control the dispensing of medicine and medicaments in the form of pills and tablets. For example, locking caps on medicine bottles are well known. The typical locking cap mechanism requires a coordinated alignment and tipping, or axial pressure, or inward radial squeezing while turning the cap to remove it from its container in order to access the medicaments.
By way of another example, medicines are packaged in convenient flat boxes, which are difficult to secure with child-resistant features. Many medicaments in the form of tablets are sold in blister packs—blisters formed on a sheet sealed by a barrier that is punctured when extracting a tablet from a blister. When a typical cardboard flat box holding one or more blister packs is opened the entire contents of the package is exposed, making all of the tablets immediately available. The dangers posed by children with access to a large quantity of tablets not intended for their consumption is self evident.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present disclosure are disclosed herein. It must be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure that may be embodied in various and alternative forms, and combinations thereof. As used herein, the word “exemplary” is used expansively to refer to embodiments that serve as an illustration, specimen, model or pattern. The figures are not necessarily to scale and some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. In other instances, well-known components, systems, materials or methods have not been described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the present disclosure. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present disclosure.
It is also contemplated that the present disclosure is not limited to the pharmaceutical-related goods referenced with the illustrated embodiments, but is applicable to any goods including small, delicate, sensitive, or portable items. Examples of such items include all manner of consumable products such as candy, food, vitamins, and the like; all manner of personal care products such as contact lens, birth control devices, smoking cessation patches, hearing aid batteries, and the like; and any item and that can fit within a lockable container. Further, the present disclosure is not limited to the blister packs referenced with the illustrated embodiments, but is applicable to any tray, card, rack, pack, pouch, and the like to which an item of any sort may be held, stored, attached, secured or otherwise associated with the item.
Further, the lockable container described herein can be configured to store and dispense items that are not packaged in a blister card but in any primary package that is then attached to a secondary package, such as a slidable platform. In such embodiments, the blister card packaging can be substituted with a tray, card, rack, pack, pouch, or the like. In general, the teaching provided herein are applicable to any structure that holds or stores an item, that provides a basis for attaching or securing an item thereto, or that is otherwise associated with an item. In describing the locking assembly, features and functions are described, though it will be appreciated that the locking assembly may not function as described unless the locking assembly is cooperatively assembled with a sleeve, an outer container, or other package component.
Referring now to the figures, wherein similar elements are designated with similar numbers,
In addition, the illustrated slide card is configured to be releasably received by a lockable outer sleeve, such as those taught in various pending U.S. and foreign patent applications and patents related to the Shellpak™ brand family of products. Also the materials that comprise the substrate of the blank 10 can be selected from among any of the well-known materials or combinations of materials and will not be further taught herein.
Continuing with reference to
The top panel 14 further comprises a blister pack receiving aperture 30. The perimeter of the illustrated receiving aperture 30 is generally the same shape as the perimeter of the top panel 14, being defined by opposing side edges 32a, 32b , an end edge 34, and an insert edge 36. The insert edge 36 begins and terminates at opposing, outwardly turning—with respect to the void that is the receiving aperture 30—radius cuts 38a, 38b. In the illustrated embodiment the perimeter of the receiving aperture 30 is slightly larger than the outside perimeter of the group of gates 40 located on the base panel 12. Here, as illustrated, each gate is defined by perforations and is removed before or in conjunction with removing an item from a respective blister. In other alternatives, the gates are apertures and do not further impede the removal of an item from a blister.
In erecting the illustrated blank 10 to form a slide card, the top panel 14 is connected to the base panel 12. In connecting the respective panels 12, 14 the areas on the top panel 14 between the respective side edges 32a, 32b and score lines 42a, 42b are not connected to the base panel 12, in order to create receiving flanges 44a, 44b as further described with reference to
An exemplary method of folding and erecting the blank 10 to form a secondary package will now be illustrated with reference to
Turning now to
For some applications the constructing and filling process illustrated by
Turning now to
The illustrated secondary package 10 includes blisters 130 arranged in two columns 132. This particular arrangement permits the blisters 130 to avoid certain internal features of the illustrated embodiments when the card 10 is translated inwardly or outwardly. The card 10 is constructed in the matter described above, and includes one or more apertures 22 for engaging internal features of the lockable container 10. The illustrated card 10 has one aperture 22, configured to act as both a detent receiver and a retainer receiver, which cooperatively engages the card 10 and prevents removal of the card 10 from the sleeve 114. In the illustrated embodiments, this aperture 22 is positioned beyond the blisters 130 and cooperates with the detent 129 to prevent movement or translation of the card 10 until the card 10 is intentionally released by pressing or otherwise properly manipulating the release button 20.
Openings 146 in the sleeve top 118 allow the forming of one or more springs 148 that press the card 10 so as to urge the aperture 22 into engagement with the retaining detent 129. The springs can be substituted for, or complimented by, additional biasing mechanisms such as ribs, leaf springs, dagger springs, combinations thereof, or the like, to exert a compressive force on the card 10 to engage or remain engaged with the detent 129. As will be understood, the biasing mechanism 148 does not have to be opposite the detent 129, rather the biasing mechanism 148 and the detent 129 are merely configured to cooperatively engage the detent retainer 22 of the card 10.
As best shown in
With reference now to
The detent 129 includes an engaging edge 176 that engages the aperture 22 when the card 10 is fully inserted within the container 110, and holds the card 10 to prevent outward movement until the release button 120 and rim 125 disengage the aperture 22 from the detent 129. After an item is removed from the container 110, the card 10 can be slid inwardly and returned to a position within the sleeve 114. When reinserting the card 10, the sloping upper face 178 of the detent 129 lifts and urges the aperture 22 to engage the detent 129 as the card 10 is fully reinserted into the container 110. When the card 10 is fully inserted, the aperture 22 substantially surrounds and engages the detent 129.
The foregoing description has described embodiments with a detent 129, and a detent retainer 22. It should be understood that the detent 129 is only an exemplary engaging mechanism. Accordingly, the concepts of this disclosure can include any engaging mechanism, for example, a latch, a lip, a leaf spring, a pin, a notch, a catch, a hook, an adhesive, a VELCRO® fastener, a magnet, a metallic surface, combinations thereof, or the like. Similarly, the detent retainer 22 is only an exemplary receiving mechanism for interacting with the engaging mechanism. Accordingly, the concepts of this disclosure can include any receiving mechanism, for example, an aperture, a catch, a latch, a hook, a lip, an adhesive, a VELCRO® fastener, a magnet, a metallic surface, combinations thereof, or the like.
Turning now to
The law does not require and it is economically prohibitive to illustrate and teach every possible embodiment of the present claims. Hence, the above-described embodiments are merely exemplary illustrations of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Variations, modifications, and combinations may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the claims. All such variations, modifications, and combinations are included herein by the scope of this disclosure and the following claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional application No. 60/041,170, the content of which is incorporated by reference thereto. The present disclosure relates generally to child-resistant and/or lockable containers. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an assembly and method of configuring and providing similar or mixed primary packages within a secondary package that can be stored in a lockable container.