Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~282720
TAMPER-RESI5TANT PACKAGE
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to tamper-resistant
packaging and more particularly to means for economically
sealing packages so as to make them resistant to
tampering.
Backaround of the Invention
In recent years it has become a major concern of
manufacturers of products designed for human consumption,
such as pharmaceutical products, foodstuffs and the like,
that the packages be resistant to tampering by indivi-
duals bent on the introduction of deleterious substances
into the packages. For example, over the past several
years there have been several examples of individuals who
opened containers on the merchants shelf and introduced
substances into the containers, i.e. cyanide and other
poisonous substances which ultimately resulted in the
death of persons who purchased and consumed the product
without any warning that the product had been tampered
with. In addition to the unfortunate deaths of the
product users r such tampering, or the threat of tamper-
ing, has resulted in costly product recalls and loss of
consumer confidence in the product and in the manufac-
turer of the product. As a result of these activities
manufacturers and suppliers have been required to adopt
relatively expensive measures to seal the produci con-
tainers and packages in an attempt to protect the product
against tampering. Such measures include the use of
shrink fit materials over the outer packages as well as
over the product containers themselves. Although such
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rneasures do provide some desree of protection against tampering,
there is a substantial expense involved. For example, it has
been estimated that for a bottle of non-prescription pain
reliever the cost of attempting to protect against tampering run
about $0.20-0.40 per bottle.
Accordingly it would be desirable to provide an econom-
ical means for sealing the containers of consumable products,
which means would provide some protection against tampering and a
positive indication that the product container has been opened
thereby warning the user that the product may not be safe to
use.
In accordance with the present invention, there is
provided a tamper-resistant package consisting of a container
having an interior and an opening; a removable closure and seal-
ing means, said sealing means comprising a sealing member
disposed in the interior of said container for sealing the open-
ing, said sealing member including a tear-away section defined by
a score line on said sealing member and a tab affixed to said
sealing member at the tear-away section thereof, said sealing
member normally sealing the interior of said container until said
tear-away section is deliberately removed, thereby providing a
positive indication that the package has been opened and provid-
ing communication between the interior of said container and the
opening; an upwardly extending skirt portion integrally formed
with said sealing member, said skirt portion being received in
the opening of said container and cooperating with the inner
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walls of the container interior for carrying and retaining said
sealing member therein; a pair of spaced annular ribs on the
outer surface of the skirt portion of said sealing means which
define therebetween an annular groove; and a corresponding
cooperating annular rib on the inner surface of the in~erior of
said container which is received in the annular groove of said
sealing means, thereby to carry and retain said sealing means
therein.
In accordance with the present invention, there is
further provided a tamper resistant sealing insert for a
container comprising a cylindrically shaped body closed at one
end to define a sealing member and open at the opposite end to
define an upwardly extending skirt portion which skirt portion is
provided with a pair of spaced annular ribs which define there-
between an annular groove adapted to receive an annular rib
disposed on the interior wall of said container for locking said
insert into said container, said sealing member being scored to
define a tear-away section thereof; and a tab member located on
the tear-away section of said sealing member and extending toward
the open end of said insert whereby removal of said tear-away
section provides a positive indication that the container in
which said insert is placed has been opened.
In accordance with the present invention, there is
further provided a tamper resistant sealing insert for a
container comprising a cylindrically shaped body closed at one
end to define a sealing member and open at the opposite end to
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define an upwardly extending skirt portion, said sealing member
being scored to define a tear-away section thereof: a tabbed
member located on the tear-away section of said sealing member
and extending toward the open end of said insert, whereby removal
of said tear-away section provides a positive indication that the
container in which said insert is placed has been opened; and
means for translating a rocking motion on the top of said tabbed
member to an axial force drawing said tear-away section apart
from said sealing member.
Summary of the Invention
~ he present invention provides means for sealing a
container which includes a sealing member disposed in the opening
of the container and which normally seals the interior of the
container until the product is ready to use. A portion of the
sealing member is scored to define a tear-away section and an
upstanding tab member is disposed on the tear-away section which
when pulled will cause the tear-away section to part from the
remainder of the sealing member to define an opening for the
container. If the tear-away section is partly or co~pletely
2 broken away or removed from the sealing member/ the user of the
product will be aware that the container has been unsealed and
possibly that the contents have been tampered with.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sealing
means comprises an insert adapted to be received within a
container consisting of a sealing member, an upstanding annular
skirt portion, preferably integrally formed with the sealing
member, which is adapted to be
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received in the neck portion of the container and which
acts to retain the sealing member in its position in the
container. Preferably, the inserted sealing member and
the container are comprised of materials which are read-
ily bonded together by automated methods such as ultra-
sonic welding and the like. In another embodiment of the
invention, the sealing insert and the container may be
provided with cooperating locking elements such as an
annular rib and corresponding annular groove which pro-
vide a snap lock action for retaining the insert in its
position in the container.
Brief Description of the Drawings
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a container,
partially broken away for compactness of illustration,
with the sealing member of the present invention disposed
in the co~tainer;
FIG. 2 is a isometric view illustrating one
embodiment of the sealing member of the present invention
prior to insertion in a container;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sealing member of
FIG. l; and
FIGS~ 4a, 4b, and 4c are sectional views of a
portion of the sealing member and container wall illus-
trating various methods for retaining the sealing member
in position.
Description of the Invention
Referring to FIG. 1 there is illustrated a con-
tainer 10 which is provided with tamper resistant sealing
means, shown generally as 12, in accordance with the
invention. The container 10 may be of any type commonly
used for pharmaceutical products, food products and the
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like, such as a container having a defined constricted
neck portion or as illustrated, a straight sided
container having an opening 14, the circumference of
which is substantially the same as the circumference of
the interior of the container. The rim portion of the
container 10 adjacent the opening 14 is provided with
locking elements 16 which cooperate with corresponding
locking elements on a closure (not shown) for securing
the closure on the container. Alternatively, the
container 10 may be provided with threads which cooperate
with matching threads on the closure to secure the
closure on the container.
The sealing means 12 comprises a sealing member
18 which is disposed in the interior of the container
normally adjacent the opening 14 which is retained by
means which will be explained in more detail hereinafter
and which seals the interior of the container 10. The
relative axial position of the sealing member 18 with
respect to the opening 14 of the container 10 is selected
depending upon the nature of the contents of the
container so that the sealing member 18 may also be used
as A packing or securing means for the products within
the container 10, in the same fashion as is served by
cotton or other types of packing material. The sealing
member 18 is provided with a tear-away section 20 which
is defined by score line 21. An upstanding tab memher 22
is secured on the tear-away section 20, preferably at one
end thereof, and extends upwardly towards the opening 14
of the container. The upper end portion 23 of the tab
member 22 may be disposed substantially perpendicularly
to the tab member to aid in gripping the tab member when
removing the tear-away section 20.
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For manufacturing economy the sealing means 12
is preferably formed separately from the container 10.
As illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, where like numbers
designate like parts, the sealing means 10 is formed as
an insert 25 consisting of the sealing member 18, which
includes the tear-away section 20 defined by score line
21 and the tab member 22, and an upwardly extending skirt
portion 27 which is preferably integrally formed with the
sealin~ member 18. The insert 25 therefor defines a
generally cylindrically shaped member which -is closed at
one end by the sealing member 18 and which is dimensioned
so as to be received snugly in the opening 14 of the
container 10. The open end of the insert 25 is provided
with a lip 29 which is equivalent to or slightly larger
than the rim of the container 109 so as to provide a stop
for the insert 25 to accurately position the sealing
member 18 within the container 10. The axial length of
the skirt portion 27 is determined by the desired axial
position of the sealing member 18 in the container.
In the preferred manufacturing practice, the
insert 25 and the container 10 are constructed of the
same or compatible materials which may be fused or bonded
together. For example the insert 25 and the container 10
may both be formed of polypropylene or polyethylene
copolymers which can be bonded together after the insert
is positioned in the opening of the container by conven-
tional means such as ultrasonic welding. In this fashion
the insert is fused to and essentially becomes part of
the container 10. In the alternative bonding materials,
such as epoxy, may be utilized, particularly where the
container is metal or glass so as to secure the insert 25
in the container 10. The use of separate bonding
materials, however, does involve a separate operation
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which adds to the cost manufacture and it is highly
preferred to use materials which can be readily bonded or
fused by automated methods, such as ultrasonic welding.
In the alternative, particularly where the composition of
the insert and the container differ or are not readily
fusible or bondable, mechanical locking means may be
employed to retain the insert in the container.
Referring to FIGS. 4a, 4b and 4c, there is
illustrated several methods for retaining the insert 25
in the container 10. FIG. 4a illustrates a preferred
embodiment wherein the outer surface of the skirt portion
27 is fused to the inner wall surface of the container
lO. In this embodiment the composition of the insert and
the composition of the container 10 are the same or are
compatible materials which can be fused by ultrasonic
welding. FIGS. 4b and 4c illustrate mechanical locking
means for retaining the insert 25 in the container 10.
4 Mechanical means are employed when the insert material
and the container material do not lend themselves to
bonding or fusing, such as for example where the
container is made of glass or metal and the insert is
made of metal or a polymeric material. As illustrated in
FIG. 4b the skirt portion 27 of the insert 25 is provided
with an annular ring 31 which is received in a corres-
ponding groove 33 provided in the inner wall surface of
the container 10. FIG. 4c illustrates yet another embod-
iment of mechanical locking means in which an annular rib
35 is disposed on the wall of the container lO for being
received in a corresponding groove 37 which is formed
between a pair of spaced apart ribs 39a and 39b on the
outer surface of the skirt portion 27 of the insert 25.
To unseal the container lO with the sealing
member 12 in place one simply pulls on the tab member 22
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which by virtue of its attachment to the tear-away sec-
tion 20 pulls the tear-away section away from the sealing
member to define an opening for the container of same
configuration as the tear-away section. As is most
clearly shown in FIG. 3 the lower end of the tab member
at the point of attachment to the tear-away member is
broad and is provided with an extended portion 41 æo that
as the tab member is rocked about a fulcrum defined by
its lower end the extended portion 41 acts as a lever to
initiate tearing of the score line 21 at a point adjacent
the extended portion of the tab. The configuration of
the tear-away section 20 is largely dependent upon the
nature of the product in the container 10. For example,
assuming the contents of the container are pills or
capsules, the opening of the container should be such as
to permit only one, or at most, only a few tablets or
capsules to be removed from the container at one time.
This avoids the annoying problem of having the entire
contents accidentally spill out when the user is attempt-
ing to extract a tablet or capsule.
While a preferred embodiment and modifications
of the invention have been described in the foregoing
description and illustrated in the drawings, it will be
understood that minor changes may be made in the details
of construction as well as in the combination and
arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit
and scope of the invention as claimed.
