Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
217~695
DI8PBN8ER P~G~G~
This invention relates generally to
packaging, and more particularly to plastic dispensing
containers intended for the storage and single
dispensing of tablets and especially medicinal tablets
and the like.
The packaging box or container of the
invention consists of a container with a longitudinal
rib in one side, plus a sealing cap incorporating an
open dispensing chamber, a surface depression, a
barrier protrusion on one side of the surface
depression, and a middle rib or protrusion extending
from the bottom of the surface depression. The
container and the cap are connected by a thin film zone
and are manufactured preferably in a single-injection
molding step.
Typical plastic or metal containers intended
for dispensing of tablets usually consist of two or
more individual pieces which are assembled together.
Within these containers, a separation of the individual
tablets is difficult and frequently several tablets are
inadvertently dispensed at once. The dispensing
package disclosed in the present application eliminates
these deficiencies. The present application teaches a
unitary section container having the two subsections
connected by a thin film-type hinge that can be made or
formed in a single injection molding process and has
the following combined features:
1. The opened dispensing chamber reveals
either a single tablet or several tablets intended or
ready to be dispensed prior to their actually being
dispensed. In other words, prior to their removal from
the dispenser, the tablets are clearly visible and held
in such a way that they cannot fall unintentionally
from the opened dispensing chamber.
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2. The closing cap serves also as a tablet
dispenser.
3. The closing cap centers and locks itself
automatically when it is closed after the initial
filling of the container.
4. The closing cap in its unopened position
may be sealed by means of a perforated label. Such
seal is automatically destroyed during or as a result
of the first opening of the cap.
5. The closing cap automatically locks
itself in the dispensing position during opening in a
way that can be felt by the user and with an audible
click. The closing cap cannot be opened further than
its dispensing position without an intentional use of
additional force or without the use of some tool.
The packaging box or dispenser also has
rounded corners that are ergonomically designed such
that one corner has a large radius of curvature, two
corners have smaller radii of curvature, and one
corner, which serves as the actuating section of the
sealing cap, is provided with a ribbed or otherwise
roughened radius to facilitate opening and closing of
the cap.
Other characteristics and objects of the
invention will be evident from the appended drawings in
conjunction with the following description of an
example of a packaging box or dispenser conforming to
the preferred characteristics and objects of the
invention in which:
Figure 1 is a side view, showing major
internal structures in phantom, of a packaging box or
dispenser in accordance with this invention with the
cap shown in its closed and locked position and with a
single tablet disposed in the dispensing chamber.
Figure 2 is a side view similar to Figure 1
showing the packaging dispenser of this invention with
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the cap shown in its closed position as well as in its
locked-open-and-dispensing position with a single
tablet in the dispensing chamber opening ready to be
dispensed.
Figure 3 is a side view similar to Figures 1
and 2 showing the packaging dispenser with the sealing
cap of the dispenser in its pa~tially-open position but
not locked position before the longitudinal rib of the
container and the barrier protrusion of the cap have
interacted to achieve locking in the half-open
dispensing position.
Figure 4 is a side view similar to Figures 1,
2 and 3 showing the packaging dispenser in accordance
with this invention with the sealing cap in its
full-open position.
Figure 5 is a partially broken-away side view
of the packaging dispenser of the invention with the
cap in fully closed and locked position as in Figure 1,
and showing in subsidiary views, a cross-section A-A of
the cap and dispenser, a front view of the cap and
dispenser in view B and a bottom view C showing the cap
and dispenser.
Figure 6 shows one side of a suitable
adhesive label with a perforated zone for sealing the
cap and the container in accordance with this invention
in the area of a ribbed sealing cap and its side walls.
The package-type dispenser of the invention
comprises a main body injection molded as an elongated
boxlike container with an opening at one of the small
ends plus an integrally molded cap piece having a
flexible plastic connection to the top of the opening
in the main body portion. Such flexible connection
forms an operative hinge between the body section and
the cap piece. The cap piece is molded with a gently
curved extension on the bottom opposite the hinge piece
which extension, when the cap is closed or partially
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closed, contacts or lies closely adjacent to the inside
surface of the container section and in effect guides
the cap piece accurately into the body section as the
cap is swung closed. In one side of the cap there is a
dispensing opening or chamber which, when the cap is
pulled partially open, is open to the exterior and from
which medicinal tablets or the like may be taken or
dropped into the user's hand. On the opposite side of
the cap is a smaller passage or depression having
preferably converging side walls which, when the cap is
closed, bracket a securing and stiffening ridge on the
inside wall of the dispensing container and having
approximately in the center, and preferably spaced
somewhat to the side of the actual center, a protrusion
that during closing or opening of the cap, rides over
the top of the longitudinal stiffening ridge or rib on
the inside wall of the container. When the cap is
partly open or closed, the stiffening rib or ridge on
the inside wall extends between one wall of the smaller
passage and the central protrusion, and when it is
completely closed, the stiffening rib or ridge is
between the other wall of the smaller passage and the
extension or protrusion in the middle. As a
consequence, the cap tends to be retained in these two
positions. In order to pass from the one position to
the other, raised portions of the cap must pass across
the elevated ridge or rib on the inside surface of the
container. Furthermore, in order for the cap to pass
from a completely open, unlocked position to the
half-open, partially-locked position, a raised section
of the cap referred to as the barrier protrusion on one
side of the open section or depression in the cap must
pass over the elevated central ridge or rib in the
container resulting in an audible "click" and a feeling
of a snapping action in the fingers of the user. A
similar "click" and feeling of a snapping action occurs
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as the central protrusion in the central portion of the
depression passes over or past the raised ridge on the
interior of the dispensing container. The present
applicant, therefore, by the use of a simple, easily
molded plastic construction, is enabled to provide a
very effective and efficient arrangement for opening
and closing a tablet-dispensing package having a fully
closed and locked configuration, a fully opened
configuration, and at least one intermediate partially
opened and locked and dispensing configuration which
can be escaped or deviated from only by the application
of additional force with a portion of the user's hand
such as the thumb.
Referring more particularly to the appended
drawings, there is seen in Figure 1, partially in
phantom, a dispensing package for dispensing medicinal
tablets and the like in which a container 1 is provided
with a sealing cap 2 having an integral dispensing
chamber 3. The dispensing chamber may be seen to have
a wider configuration toward the interior of the
dispensing container into which it opens plus a smaller
opposite end blocked by an outer wall of the cap as
well as the inside of a ribbed section 8. Shown in
phantom along one inner side of the container 1 is a
longitudinal rib or ridge 6, that it will be
understood, extends inwardly into the container. See
cross-section A-A in Figure S. Other interior
structures or the limits of structures are shown in
phantom in Figure 1, including a lower, gently curved,
sliding extension lo that forms the lower side of the
dispensing chamber 3 when the cap is partly open and
aids in guiding the lower portion of the cap as it
rotates on its plastic hinge 4 into and out of the
dispensing container 1. Also shown is an engaging or
locking depression 7 which extends from an upper wall
7a of such depression to a lower wall 7b of such
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engaging or locking depression. The rear portion of
the wall 7b is referred to as the barrier protrusion 9.
The ribbed actuating section 8 serves as a
thumb or other digit contacting member by which
movement of the cap can be initiated or maintained.
Also shown is a central protrusion 11 over which the
longitudinal rib 6 rides from a completely closed
position of the cap 2 to a half-open (or half-closed
position) dispensing position. Rib 6 is shown in
Figure 1 between the central protrusion 11 and the
upper wall 7a of the engagement depression.
Figure 2 is a side view, partially in
phantom, similar to Figure 1, showing the cap 2 in full
lines in a half-open position and partially in full
lines and partially in dashed lines, or in phantom, in
a fully-closed position. A medicinal tablet 17 is
shown in the half-open or dispensing position ready to
be dispensed by dropping from the dispensing chamber 3
of the cap 2 into the user's hand.
Figure 3 is a side view, partially in
phantom, showing the cap 2 passing to full-open
position just after the longitudinal rib 6 has passed
over the edge of the barrier protrusion 9 which forms
one side of the engaging depression 7 in the central
portion of which is the central protrusion 11 over
which the longitudinal rib 6 passes in going from the
fully-closed to a half-open position as the cap 2
rotates.
Figure 4 is a side view, partially in phantom
as in Figures 1, 2 and 3, in which the cap 2 has been
rotated into a fully-open position suitable for filling
or charging the container with tablets. Section 15,
clearly shown in Figure 4, constitutes a portion of the
container in which one side of such container extends
farther out than the other side providing a side
section over which the ribbed section 8 may extend with
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an engaging action serving partially to aid in finally
locking the cap 2 in fully closed position. Meanwhile
the cut back portion of the opposite side, the edge of
which is indicated by the dashed line 15a, leaves a
space or position on the side of the closed cap at
which an adhesive label can serve to secure the side of
the cap to the side of the container.
Figure 5, which includes several sub-views,
shows the dispensing container partially broken away to
show the internal structure and includes a transverse
cross section A-A in which it may be seen that the
longitudinal rib 6 preferably has a triangular cross
section slanted on one side to more easily accommodate
movement of the raised portions of the closure cap
toward a closed position. Also included is an end view
B of the capped dispenser showing the disposition of
the ribbed portion 8,`as well as lower view C,
partially in phantom, showing the disposition of the
ribbed portion 8 as seen from the bottom. Both such
views illustrate how such ribbed portion 8 extends over
the sides of the container aiding in maintaining the
container in the fully-closed position and enabling the
thumb or other digit of the user from contacting the
sides of the container when opening or closing the cap.
Figure 6 shows a top view of a suitable label
12 that may be wrapped and adhered over the sides and
bottom of the container 1 to not only advertise and
enumerate the contents of the container, but also seal
the container until the seal is broken by the ultimate
user by forcing open the cap 2 of the container 1 as
shown in the other views at the same time severing the
perforated section 13 of the seal 12 from the rest of
the label. In this way, the ultimate user is assured
that the dispenser has not previously been opened by
someone else.
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The manner of using the dispenser of the
invention is as follows. After the dispensing
container is purchased with the seal and label 12
unbroken, the purchaser or other ultimate user will use
their thumb or other digit to press upon the ribbed
portion 8 whereupon the cap 2 is forced open by
rotating it on thin film hinge 4 as shown in the other
views at the same time severing the perforated section
13 of the seal 12 from the rest of the label. In this
way, the ultimate user is assured that the dispenser
has not previously been opened by someone else.
The cap 2 is rotated on its thin plastic
hinge 4 until the central extension or protrusion 11 is
pushed or forced over the longitudinal rib 6 so such
rib is disposed in the space between the extension 11
and the so-called barrier protrusion 9 or inward edge
of the locking depression 7 in the half open dispensing
position. Tablets which then pass or have passed from
the interior of the container into the outer portion of
the dispensing depression 3 can then be emptied into
the hand of the user. After dispensing of one or more
tablets the cap 2 can then be rerotated to the closed
position until it is again desired to dispense a tablet
or tablets from the dispensing chamber 3. The gently
curved lower extension 10 meanwhile guides the cap into
and out of the end of the dispensing container to keep
the caps aligned with the hinge 4 and prevent rupturing
of such hinge as well as forming the lower side of the
dispensing chamber 3. When it is desired to completely
open the dispensing container to either inspect the
inside or to refill with tablets or the like, the cap 2
is forced farther open until the barrier protrusion 9
or edge of the locking depression 7 is forced over the
longitudinal rib 6 with an audible click whereupon the
longitudinal rib 6 will be essentially in one side of
the dispensing channel or chamber 3 where it no longer
-- 2174695
constricts the movement of the cap which can now be
rotated until it is completely folded back against the
top of the container. The container can then, as
explained, be refilled with tablets, inspected or the
like. When the user desires to reclose the cap it can
be swung downwardly again until the barrier protrusion
or rib 9 along the side of the locking chamber 7 passes
over the longitudinal rib 6 establishing the cap 2 in
partially closed position. Since the longitudinal rib
as shown in Figure 5 Section A-A is preferably
triangular in shape, or inclined on the upper side, the
force required to move the cap from completely open
position to half closed or dispensing position is
significantly less than the force required to force the
cap from half closed position to fully opened position,
thus generally guarding against unintended or
accidental full opening of the cap 2 before all the
tablets are dispensed. Every time the longitudinal rib
6 of the body of the container 1 passes over either the
barrier protrusion 9 along the locking depression or
over the central protrusion 11 a force must be exerted
to force the protrusions 9 or 11 over such rib
structure and an audible click is heard plus a
vibration indicating passage of the rib is detected by
the hand. Not only may the rib 6 be slanted or
inclined on the upper side to allow the cap to be
reclosed with less force than is necessary for opening,
but the central extension 11 may be lower than the
protrusion 9 so that the extension may be more easily
overridden by the longitudinal rib than the barrier
protrusion 9 may be overridden. Consequently, it is
easier to half open the cap to dispensing position than
to open it all the way to fully opened position in
which position all the remaining tablets, if any, might
be spilled out. It is also easier to rotate the
closure cap back toward the half closed or completely
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closed position from the fully opened position than
vice versa.
The dispensing container of the invention as
explained briefly above may be manufactured or made by
an injection molding process as known to those skilled
in the art in which a suitable mold cavity in an outer
mold is partially occluded by a mold core leaving a
space between the wall of the cavity and the core into
which molten plastic is injected to form the walls of
the container. At the same time a pair of mold
sections defining between them the full shape of the
cap on both sides are held together adjacent the top of
the mold and plastic injected into such mold sections
in a known manner with a connection between them and
the mold of the container portion such that the thin
plastic hinge 4 is left between the solidified cap and
the solidified container section.
It will be recognized from the above that the
present invention has provided a very economical yet
efficient tablet packaging and dispenser device which
can not only be economically formed from injection
molded plastic as a unitary plastic container and
closure cap, but which is durable and efficient in
dispensing tablets using only one hand in almost any
environment. The locking arrangement ensures that the
dispenser can be opened and closed at will and the user
is advised of the operation of the device both by feel
and by the sound of the audible clicks as the closure
cap is rotated to its various predetermined positions
in which it automatically locks, requiring additional
force to rotate to another position.
While the present invention has been
described at some length and in some particularity with
respect to several described embodiments, it is not
intended that it should be limited to any such
particular embodiments or any particular embodiment,
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but is to be construed broadly with reference to the
appended claims so as to provide the broadest possible
interpretation of such claims in view the prior art and
therefore to effectively encompass the intended copy of
the invention.
