Patent Application
20170166365
This patent application generally relates to plastic packaging, and more specifically, to child resistant packaging.
Plastic containers and packages are a convenient and cost effective way to store and transport various items. For example, food items and medicines are often packaged in plastic containers. It is desirable in many instances, and particularly with medicines, to protect the contents of a package from tampering and to prevent unauthorized access to the contents.
The child resistant storage containers disclosed herein may be better understood by referring to the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate identical or functionally similar elements:
The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the disclosed embodiments. Further, the drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be expanded or reduced to help improve the understanding of the embodiments. Moreover, while the disclosed technology is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail below. The intention, however, is not to unnecessarily limit the embodiments described. On the contrary, the embodiments are intended to cover all suitable modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the technology described herein.
Technology is disclosed for child resistant container assemblies. In a representative embodiment a container assembly includes a container tray and a container lid mateable with the container tray. The container tray includes a base flange, a tray panel, and a corrugated surrounding tray sidewall extending therebetween. The tray panel includes a recessed storage region in which various items (e.g., medicine) can be stored or contained. The container tray and a container lid include cooperative locking features to prevent unauthorized access to the container's contents. For example, a plurality of protrusions extend from the tray sidewall. Each protrusion can include upper and lower tapered surfaces. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the upper surface is substantially flush with the tray panel. The container lid includes a lid panel and a surrounding lid sidewall extending from the lid panel. A plurality of recesses are formed into an interior surface of the lid sidewall. Each recess is configured and positioned to securely engage a corresponding one of the plurality of protrusions when the container lid is mated to the container tray. The engagement between the protrusions and recesses is very difficult for children to separate, thereby making the disclosed storage containers child resistant.
Various examples of the containers introduced above will now be described in further detail. The following description provides specific details for a thorough understanding and enabling description of these examples. One skilled in the relevant art will understand, however, that the techniques discussed herein may be practiced without many of these details. Likewise, one skilled in the relevant art will also understand that the technology can include many other features not described in detail herein. Additionally, some well-known structures or functions may not be shown or described in detail below so as to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description.
The terminology used below is to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of some specific examples of the embodiments. Indeed, some terms may even be emphasized below; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as such in this section.
With reference to
With reference to
A plurality of tray locking features, such as protrusions 5, are each located generally in the area of a corresponding corner of the tray portion 2. Any suitable number of these protrusions 5 can be included on the tray portion 2 and they can be located generally anywhere around the top periphery of the tray portion 2. Generally, the protrusions 5 extend in a direction approximately perpendicular to the sidewalls 6 and/or parallel to the base flange 12 of the tray portion 2. The tray portion 2 also includes a plurality of tabs 7. The tray portion 2 includes four tabs 7 located at each corner of tray portion 2, though any number of tabs in any locations can be provided. The tabs 7 extend in a direction approximately perpendicular to the sidewalls 6 and/or parallel to the tray panel 14 and include a flat surface area. The tabs 7 are generally sized so that when the lid 3 is placed on top of and engaged with the tray 2, the tabs 7 extend well beyond the periphery of the lid 3. In this manner, the tabs 7 are graspable when the lid 3 is on top of and engaged with the tray 2, and can be used by adults to separate the lid 3 from the tray 2.
With reference to
A side view of a protrusion 5 engaged with a recess 10 is shown in
In some embodiments, the protrusions 5 include upper 30 and lower 32 tapered surfaces. In other words, the upper 30 and lower 32 surfaces can be angled with respect to the tray panel 14 (e.g., horizontal). For example, the upper surface 30 can be angled at an angle A1 and lower surface 32 can be angled at an angle A2 with respect to horizontal. In some embodiments, angle A1 and A2 are approximately 15 degrees. In some embodiments, angle A1 is approximately 15 degrees and angle A2 is horizontal (e.g., A2=0). In some embodiments, the values for angles A1 and A2 can be different. Furthermore, in some embodiments, one or both of angles A1 and A2 can be eliminated altogether. It should be appreciated from the figures that, in some embodiments, the protrusions 5 are located flush with the tray panel 14. For example, at least a portion of the upper surface 30 is flush with the tray panel 14. In other embodiments, the upper surface 30 protrudes above the tray panel 14.
In at least one representative embodiment, the container assembly 1 can have overall dimensions of approximately 5.0×3.9×0.5 inches. Correspondingly, the protrusions 5 can have a height D1 of approximately 0.15 inches and a length D3 of approximately 0.17 inches, positioned a distance D2 of approximately 0.35 inches from the base flange 12.
One of skill in the art will appreciate that the dimensions presented here can vary without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the recesses 10 will have interior dimensions substantially matching that of the protrusions 5. For example, in the depicted embodiment, D3 and D4 are substantially the same. However, in other embodiments, the recess dimensions and the protrusion dimensions can be adjusted to adjust the difficulty of separating the lid and tray. For example, differences between the depth D4 of the recess 10 and the length D3 of the protrusion 5 can play a significant role in how tightly the lid 3 and tray 2 stay together (or how difficult it is to separate the two).
Additionally, the material used for the recess 10 and protrusion 5 can also play a role in how tightly the lid 3 and tray 2 stay together. Generally, the lid 3 and tray 2 are made from plastic, such as .020″ thick polyethylene terephthalate (PET), for example and without limitation. However, different types and thicknesses of plastic can be used for the protrusions 5 and recesses 10 to make it harder (or easier) to separate the lid 3 from the tray 2. Different plastics can have different elasticities, and therefore a plastic with a lower elasticity will generally make it harder to separate the lid 3 from the tray 2 by making it harder for the protrusion 5 to come out of the recess 10. The thickness of the plastic can also play a role in adjusting the rigidity of the protrusion 5 and recess 10.
The difficulty in separating the lid 3 from the tray 2 can be adjusted to satisfy a variety of demands from consumers. For example, the various parameters of the protrusions 5 and recesses 10 discussed above can be adjusted to make the lid 3 easier to separate from the tray 2.
The storage container disclosed herein is highly reusable. As known to those of ordinary skill in the art, the strength and elasticity of plastic can change over time, with the elasticity generally increasing and the strength decreasing. However, the design of this storage container minimizes the effect that opening and closing the container has on the strength and elasticity of the plastic used. Accordingly, it is envisioned that the container can be used numerous times without sacrificing its ability to be child resistant.
The above description and drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, in some instances, well-known details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description. Further, various modifications may be made without deviating from the scope of the embodiments.
Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not for other embodiments.
The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinary meanings in the art, within the context of the disclosure, and in the specific context where each term is used. It will be appreciated that the same thing can be said in more than one way. Consequently, alternative language and synonyms may be used for any one or more of the terms discussed herein, and any special significance is not to be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussed herein. Synonyms for some terms are provided. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification, including examples of any term discussed herein, is illustrative only and is not intended to further limit the scope and meaning of the disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given in this specification. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. In the case of conflict, the present document, including definitions, will control.
The present application claims priority to and benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/265,864 titled “Child Resistant Storage Container” filed on Dec. 10, 2015, the entire content of which is herein expressly incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62265864 | Dec 2015 | US |
