Site News  |   Monitor Keywords  |   Monitor Archive  |   Organizer  |   Account Info  |

Container useful for holding multiple articles of manufacture

Container useful for holding multiple articles of manufacture description/claims

The present invention relates generally to containers for holding articles of manufacture, and more particularly to a container designed to prevent inadvertent and unsupervised access by young children to articles of manufacture such as medication contained therein.

A range of containers have been devised in packaging for different articles of manufacture including pharmaceutical products, household products, food products, stationery supplies, fasteners, and the like. Small articles are typically grouped together in one container for reasons of efficiency. Containers also typically provide both a storage function and a dispensing function for the articles of manufacture contained therein. Containers may desirably provide protection against tampering, contamination (aseptic), and physical impact. The design and appearance of a container may also factor in aesthetics as well as utilitarian features to encourage potential consumers to purchase the product.

One group of articles of manufacture that frequently utilizes containers is composed of pharmaceutical products, which are manufactured and distributed in a range of forms depending on the mode of administration. A number of pharmaceutical products are commonly available as solid dosage form products including pills, capsules, tablets, lozenges and the like. Such solid dosage form products are typically packaged in pill case type of containers. These pill cases generally hold a plurality of solid dosage form products, which can be serviced by the user as needed. Depending on the type of pill case, the solid dosage form products may be stored loosely as an agglomeration in a bottle container, or discretely in blister packs.

Blister packs are a type of packaging that are non-reclosable, and generally used to discourage product tampering or to facilitate dispensing of pills to the user. A blister pack typically includes a thin resilient sheet, normally of a polymeric material such as molded polyvinyl chloride (PVC), in which hollows or “blisters” are formed, all facing away from one side of the sheet. The blisters accommodate the solid dosage form products. A frangible foil laminate is hermetically attached to the sheet to enclose the blisters and retain the products therein. The PVC is transparent so the product can be seen and easily examined. The products are removed from the pack either by peeling the foil back or pushing the blister to force product to break the foil. One specialized form of a blister pack is a strip pack. Although blister packs provide ease of dispensing, they lack the child-resistant or child safety features necessary to prevent inadvertent ingestion of the products contained therein by unsupervised children.

It is known that pharmaceutical products can be potentially harmful articles of manufacture especially if administered incorrectly or inadvertently taken by unsupervised children. For this reason, several attempts have been made to design containers that can securely hold pharmaceutical products out of children's reach. Such child safety containers are usually designed to hold the solid dosage form products loosely as an agglomeration. These child safety containers are made to prevent inadvertent access by children, and reduce the risk of ingestion of such products without adult supervision. The child safety containers must also be constructed to provide the intended users prompt access and ease of use including the elderly and physically limited adults. A number of these child safety containers have been especially designed for holding pharmaceutical products. However, current child resistant pill cases are often bulky, unreliable, difficult to operate, or too complicated to fabricate and assemble in a cost effective manner.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to make a container, preferably in the form of a pill case, designed to prevent inadvertent access of articles of manufacture including solid dosage form products such as pills, tablets, capsules, lozenges and the like to young children, while facilitating ready access for intended users. It would be desirable to make a pill case that is operable for users with limited finger dexterity such as elderly or arthritic patients with improved handling. It would further be desirable to make a pill case that may be configured to provide child safety protection for blister packs, and to accommodate and retain them in a more effective and secure manner. It would be especially desirable to provide a pill case that is simple to manufacture and assemble, while providing enhanced security features.

The present invention is generally directed to a container useful for accommodating and dispensing articles of manufacture. Preferably, the container of the present invention is in the form of a pill case, where the articles of manufacture may be selected from pharmaceutical products including solid dosage form products such as pills, lozenges, tablets, capsules, and the like. The pill case of the present invention may be adapted either to hold loose forms of articles of manufacture, or to hold blister packs discretely packaging such articles of manufacture. The present invention is composed of minimal components, and is both simple and cost effective to fabricate and implement.

The pill case of the present invention includes a novel locking mechanism as a safety feature adapted to prevent young children from opening and inadvertently gaining access to the articles of manufacture or the blister packs packaging the same. The locking mechanism of the present invention can be operated with ease to facilitate access to the intended users especially those with limited finger dexterity such as the elderly or arthritic patients. In a preferred form of the present invention, the pill case is configured to accommodate and securely retain blister packs for subsequent dispensing of the packaged articles of manufacture to the intended user, while preventing unsupervised access by children.

The pill case of the present invention may include one or more pill holding trays reversibly attached at one end to move pivotally in a book-like manner. Each pill holding tray may be adapted to receive multiple pills, which may be matched with a particular dosage regimen particularly suited to the user. The use of multiple trays can therefore accommodate long-term prescriptions. The pills can be secured to the tray in a variety of ways including through the use of blister packs. The pills are individually stored in the blister packs each of which can fit within the tray and may be readily removed therefrom.

Each of the trays may further include a novel fastening mechanism as an enhanced feature for securely retaining the blister pack thereto. The fastening mechanism contacts and operatively engages the blister pack to prevent sliding, shifting or misalignment within the tray. In this manner, the contents of the blister packs can be readily dispensed from the trays with less effort and difficulty. The fastening mechanism may be disengaged from the tray to facilitate removing and replacing the blister pack.

Finally, the pill case of the present invention may further include a hand holdable portion formed therefrom, when the pill case is in the open position, to enhance gripping and control by the user during dispensing.

In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container for holding multiple articles of manufacture, the container comprising:

a storage area for holding the multiple articles of manufacture;

a first cover portion operatively associated with a second cover portion; said first and second cover portions reversibly enclosing the storage area therebetween; and

a locking mechanism for releasably securing the first and second cover portions together, said locking mechanism comprising: a first member located on the first cover portion, said first member in reversible locking engagement with a second member located on the second cover portion; and a movable stop abutting against said first member to maintain the locking engagement between the first and second members, said movable stop adapted to move to a non-abutting position to allow the first member to be disengaged from the second member prior to releasing the first cover portion from the second cover portion to gain access to the storage area.

Continue reading about Container useful for holding multiple articles of manufacture...
Full patent description for Container useful for holding multiple articles of manufacture

Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims

Click on the above for other options relating to this Container useful for holding multiple articles of manufacture patent application.
###


How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents
1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored.
3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords.  
Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Container useful for holding multiple articles of manufacture or other areas of interest.
###


Previous Patent Application:
Wood chip soaker
Next Patent Application:
Container for holding food and drinks
Industry Class:
Receptacles

###

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

• What Is a Patent?
• What Is a Trademark or Servicemark?
• What Is a Copyright?
• Patent Laws