United States Patent: 3561591

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United States Patent	3,561,591
Henderson	February 9, 1971

SAFETY DISPENSER

Abstract

A safety dispenser for pharmaceutical products, or the like includes a container having an opening normally closed by two gates, one at each end of said opening, said gates being independently slidable longitudinally to bring their free ends into and out of overlapping closing position across the opening. Said gates are individually biased toward closing position by spring means formed integrally therewith. Both gates must be held open at the same time to permit passage of articles through the opening.

Inventors:	Henderson; Edward (New York, NY)
Appl. No.:	04/833,304
Filed:	June 16, 1969

Current U.S. Class: 206/540 ; 206/807; 220/348

Current International Class: B65D 47/04 (20060101); B65D 47/28 (20060101); B65d 083/04 (); B65d 043/20 ()

Field of Search: 206/42 220/41 221/289,298

References Cited [Referenced By]

U.S. Patent Documents


3425578	February 1969	Owens
3343709	September 1967	Henderson

Primary Examiner: Summer; Leonard

Claims

I claim:

1. Safety drug dispenser assembly including a container one all of which has an opening and a slot spaced from each end thereof, two gates each movable independently of the other toward and from closed position in overlapping relation across said opening and each being manually operable through one of said slots to move the gate toward and to hold the same in open position, each of said gates being biased in a direction to extend across and thus to automatically close said opening and normally retain the same in closed condition, and gate guiding means in the container, said assembly being characterized in that a unitary closure element mounted in the container includes a relatively rigid base portion and two arms extending from the base in opposite directions towards said opening, each arm including one of said gates and having a resilient portion integral therewith and with said base whereby the gate is normally biased toward closing position in relation to said opening.

2. Drug dispenser assembly according to claim 1 and wherein each of said gates is the free end portion of one of said arms and the gate-biasing portion thereof is integral with and operatively arranged between the gate and the base.

3. Drug dispenser assembly according to claim 2 and wherein each gate is flexible and mounted to move endwise toward and from said opening in a path determined by said guiding means.

4. Drug dispenser assembly according to claim 3 and wherein the rigid base is mounted in fixed position in the container whereby said gates are retained in operative endwise sliding relation to said guiding means and said opening.

5. Drug dispenser assembly according to claim 1 and 2 wherein a guard member is positioned in opposed spaced relation to and substantially coextensive in length with an intermediate portion of each of said arms whereby contents of the container are maintained out of impeding contact with said arms.

6. Drug dispenser assembly according to claim 1 and wherein the enclosing walls of the container are permanently joined whereby passage of pills, tablets or the like into and out of the container is effected through said opening while the gates are held in open position.

7. Drug dispenser assembly according to claim 1 and wherein releasable gate-locking means are operatively arranged between the container wall and portions of the gate-guiding means whereby said gate-carrying arms are normally retained against endwise displacement from gate-closing position and are releasable to permit such endwise movement toward open position by inwardly directed pressure applied to said arms.

8. Drug dispenser assembly according to claim 7 and wherein the gate-guiding means for each arm include a partition positioned to define a space between said container wall and the partition and a portion of said arm is displaceable into said space to release said gate-locking means.

9. Safety drug dispenser according to claim 1 and wherein said container includes a lateral enclosing wall secured between a top wall and a bottom wall spaced therefrom, said bottom wall having a set of gate-guiding grooves arranged opposite a set of similar guiding grooves in the top wall, portions of said grooves being positioned to extend across said opening, and said gates having edges of their overlapping end positions operatively engaged in said grooves to effectively guide said gates into closing position across said opening and to resist inward displacement of said gates when in closing position.

Description

The present invention constitutes in some respects an improvement on the safety container or dispenser described and claimed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,343,709, issued Sept. 26, 1967.

The medical profession and others have long been concerned over the number of accidental deaths of infants, especially two and three year olds, from poisoning by ingestion of various kinds of substances commonly supplied to the public in prepackaged quantities, as drugs, pills, tablets and the like. In many instances, as with aspirin, the substance is not lethal in usually indicated doses but becomes so where excessive quantities are swallowed.

Efforts have been made, with little success, to supply a package or dispenser of such construction as to defy the ingenuity of small children bent upon releasing the contents. Some known devices having this general purpose are shown in Waterman U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,722,309 and 2,692,698 and Butner U.S. Pat. No. 2,899,047.

Also, a large pharmaceutical concern has marketed certain of its products in containers having some features shown in said Waterman U.S. Pat. No. 2,722,309.

As early as 1955 the Committee on Toxicology of the Council on Pharmacology and Chemistry of the A.M.A. recommended that

"Salicylates should be packaged to make accidental access more difficult, e.g. individual wrapping in metal or plastic foil or type of closure that cannot be removed by a child, preferably a top that automatically closes."

In Sept. 1966, Dr. James L. Goddard, then Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, while a witness before the Congressional Committee in relation to the "Child Welfare Act," replying to the question whether or not a "practical safety closure for drug containers is available," started:

"We are not sure there is one, but the purpose of the law is to encourage development of suitable closures."

My own inspection of dispensers now in use confirms Dr. Goddard's view that no satisfactorily safe and inexpensive drug container is currently available.

Accordingly, an object of the invention has been to provide a package or dispenser of relatively simple construction capable of being produced at economically feasible low cost and therefore available for wide adoption and use and which embodies safety features calculated to materially reduce the likelihood of accidental removal or release of the contents by children.

It is contemplated that the desired favorable results both in safety and cost may be achieved in the use of a package advantageously of plastic or other suitable material and having a minimum of component parts which may include a box or the like provided with an opening normally and automatically closed by a unitary closure element providing two interconnected but independently extendable and retractable spring-biased gates which, to permit passage of the contents through the opening, must be held simultaneously in retracted position. It is believed that this deterrent can effectively resist the efforts of all but the most ingenious children in their attempts to release the container contents.

Such a package or dispenser according to my invention comprises in general a box or container having an opening in one wall, a slot at each end of said opening, two gates slidable endwise to and from overlapping closing position toward which they are normally biased, and guide means for the gates. A unitary closure element including said gates is mounted in the container to operatively position one of said gates at each side of said opening with an outer end portion normally extending across and closing said opening, said end portions of the gates being in overlapping relation to provide in effect a double closure. Each gate has a finger piece or knob extending radially outwardly through one of said slots whereby said gate may be manually retracted to open position against spring resistance independently of the other; and the extent of endwise movement of such gates is conveniently limited by engagement of their knobs with the opposed end walls of said slots. The arrangement and mounting of the gates are such that the opening is normally closed by both gates and is not effectively open unless both gates are held simultaneously in retracted or open position against the spring resistance or biasing force.

Said one-piece or unitary closure element, advantageously of plastic or other suitable material, comprises a relatively rigid base and two arms extending in opposite directions therefrom. Each arm includes a resilient or spring portion, an intermediate portion and a flexible free end portion providing a gate and extending from the outer end of the intermediate portion, said base being secured in fixed operative position in the container and said gates being normally biased toward closing position by said spring portions.

The container also includes guide means for the gates and guard means arranged to prevent tablets or other contents of the container from impeding effective movement of the gates.

Other objects and distinctive features of my invention will appear from the following description and appended claims and by reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of one form of dispenser or container assembly embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the three components of the dispenser shown in FIG. 1 prior to their assembly into a permanently closed package, said components being the cover A, the unitary closure element B and the box C.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view on enlarged scale showing the unitary closure element B assembled with the box C.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view in transverse section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3, showing cover part A in position.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view in transverse section on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3, showing cover part A in position.

In the embodiment shown, the component units A, B and C are advantageously formed from suitable plastic which lends itself to low cost production methods as molding, extrusion, etc. The unitary or integral body part C includes an outer or lateral wall 10, FIG. 3, having an opening at 11, said wall being thickened and rounded at its opposed spaced end portions 12 and 12a to facilitate passage of substances therethrough. Wall 10 also has slots 13, spaced from each end of opening 11 for a purpose to be described.

Control of opening 11 is effected by gates forming the free end portions of the unitary closure element B, FIG. 2. As seen in FIG. 3, said element comprises a relatively rigid base 14 engaged with post 15 of box C and two diverging arm portions 16, 16a which provide at their free ends an outer gate 17 and an inner gate 17a and include resilient or spring portions 18 integral with and connecting said gates with base 14. Each arm includes a gate actuating knob or finger piece 19 extending radially through a slot 13.

Box C is conveniently formed to provide partitions 20 and 20a having portions substantially parallel with and spaced from said wall 10. Their opposed free ends 21,21a are spaced apart and with end portions 12, 12a of wall 10, define said opening 11. With the parts assembled as seen in FIG. 3, said gates 17, 17a are slidable endwise to and from closing position between wall 10 and opposed guide portions of the partitions 20 and 20a thus cooperating with said wall to form, in effect, lateral guideways for the gates.

The end 21a of partition 20a includes an open recess 22 to receive the free end of inner gate 17a, The enlarged end 12a of wall 10 includes an open recess 23 to receive the free end of outer gate 17. As seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, the free end or closure portions of outer gate 17 and inner gate 17a include wider parts defined, in effect, by shoulders 24, 24a and 25, 25a, FIG. 2. These wider portions are mounted with their longitudinal edges slidably engaged in guide grooves 26, 26 provided in cover part A and cooperating guide grooves 27, 27 in box C opposed thereto, which extend across opening 11, to guide the free ends of the gates across said opening and into their respective recesses 22 and 23, thus to ensure effective closing of opening 11 when said gates are moved into overlapping closing position.

As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the partitions 20, 20a include at their inner ends baffle or guard portions 28 which, when B and C are assembled, FIG. 3, are positioned in spaced operative relation to opposed portions 16a of arms 16. The spaces between the inner ends of guards 28 and the adjacent portions of said arms are such that when said arms are retracted to the dotted line positions, FIG. 3, the pill or tablet contents will not be permitted to shift into the spaces X X, or so as to come between said arm portions 16a and said guards and thus impede return movement of said arms to their normal extended full line closing positions.

It is noted that the guide partitions 20, 20a which are conveniently formed as an integral part of the box include enlarged reinforcing parts 29, 29a and 30, 30a which provide holes 31 positioned to receive lugs 32 at the underside of the cover part A. Where the package contents are charged into the box prior to closing, lugs 32 are brought into register with holes 31, and cover A is permanently secured or sealed to box C by any suitable means. Under some circumstances, as where the pills, tablets or the like are to be fed into a finished or permanently closed or sealed container, the gates 17, 17a will be held in open or retracted position while the pills, tablets or the like are fed in through opening 11. The arrangements above described provide a drug dispenser which has no removable cover and hence not only protects the contents from accidental discharge or exposure but also provides added security against release of the contents by children. Said reinforcing parts 29, 29a and 30, 30a are advantageously rounded on their inwardly facing surfaces thus avoiding angularities which could unduly restrict free movement of the contents, as when the gates are opened for receiving or discharging the contents through opening 11.

As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, each arm 16 includes in effect a hinge part which may conveniently be provided by a connecting portion 33 of reduced thickness or of suitable flexibility between the arm parts 16 and 16a, thus tending to minimize friction of the gates between their respective guides and thereby facilitating the endwise reciprocating movement of said arms 16 and more particularly aiding the automatic return thereof and of the gates to normal closing position.

Additional provision for impeding access to contents of box C by children advantageously includes means whereby the gates are, in effect, normally locked against opening movement but are released by inward pressure conveniently applied to knobs 19 in advance of effecting the endwise opening movement of gates 17, 17a as above described. Thus, as seen in FIG. 3, outer wall 10 of box C includes an inwardly exposed shoulder or detent 34 positioned to be operatively engaged by a rib or latch 35 on each arm 16 when the gates are in closed position, FIG. 3. To permit disengagement of latch 35 from detent 34, portions of partitions 20 and 20a generally opposite said detents are positioned to provide space between wall 10 and said partitions whereby, when inward pressure is applied to knobs 19, latches 35 will disengage detents 34, as shown in dot-and-dash lines, FIG. 3, so that arms 16 may be slid to and held in open or discharging position as described. When the moving and retaining force is released, said arms will automatically return to and be latched in closing position by the springs 18.

It is contemplated that the character of the material and the dimensions of the various portions of the closure unit B will impart the necessary rigidity to the base 14; will provide effective springs at 18 for maintaining the gates in extended or closing position; and will provide effective flexibility at 17, 17a and at 33 to facilitate endwise movement thereof to and from closing position.

* * * * *

Current U.S. Class:	206/540 ; 206/807; 220/348
Current International Class:	B65D 47/04 (20060101); B65D 47/28 (20060101); B65d 083/04 (); B65d 043/20 ()
Field of Search:	206/42 220/41 221/289,298