초록 ▼

Easy opening article storing and dispensing containers and method in which puzzle-like locking means secure against access to the container contents by very young children by obscuring the mode of opening it. The cannular container shell has closable dispensing aperture means opening through the she

Easy opening article storing and dispensing containers and method in which puzzle-like locking means secure against access to the container contents by very young children by obscuring the mode of opening it. The cannular container shell has closable dispensing aperture means opening through the shell side wall. Locking means at one or more ends of the shell optionally prevents or permits opening and closing of the container by alignment or offset of release means with respect to a sliding means. Pills or other units may be segregated in separate amounts or dosages within the container and dispensed in predetermined sequence from a plurality of rings of radially openable compartments forming a stack in which rows of compartments around the container axis can be rotated to sequentially register with the aperture means and compartments of each row sequentially opened.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A cannular article storing and dispensing container having means for preventing access to the container contents by very young children through obscuring the mode of opening it comprising: A. an elongated tubular shell having closed opposite ends and aperture means opening through the shell

1. A cannular article storing and dispensing container having means for preventing access to the container contents by very young children through obscuring the mode of opening it comprising: A. an elongated tubular shell having closed opposite ends and aperture means opening through the shell side wall for loading of articles into the container and dispensing them therethrough; B. closure means adapted to cover said aperture means, said closure means comprising slider means slideable axially of said container shell; C. locking means operative at least at one end of said shell for preventing or permitting movement of said slideable means so as to permit the closure means to block the aperture means closed when said slideable means is prevented from sliding or to permit opening of the aperture means when said slideable means is released for sliding action; and D. said locking means comprises flange means turnable circumferentially about the longitudinal axis of said tubular shell around substantially the entire perimeter thereof. 2. The container of claim 1 in which said locking flange means extends very slightly radially of said tubular shell about the full circumference thereof. 3. The container of claim 1 in which said flange means has a portion moveable into and out of the path of said slider means and said flange means has notch means associated therewith adapted to permit said slider means to be moved therethrough whereby circumferential turning of said flange means optionally blocks said slider means in the closed position covering said aperture means or aligns said notch means with an end of the slider means for uncovering the aperture means by movement of the slider means through said notch means. 4. The container of claim 1 in which said flange means are a plurality of flanges each having an associated notch means alignable one with the other whereby notch means associated with one of said flanges when aligned with notch means of another of said flanges permit a container opening movement of said slider means. 5. The container of claim 1 in which said flange means are a plurality of flanges each capable of being turned independently of the other. 6. The container of claim 5 in which one of said flange means substantially obscures the other from view except for an outer edge portion thereof. 7. A cannular article storing and dispensing container having means for preventing access to the container contents by very young children through obscuring the mode of opening it comprising: A. an elongated tubular shell having closed opposite ends and aperture means opening through the shell side wall for loading of articles into the container and dispensing them therethrough; B. closure means adapted to cover said aperture means, said closure means comprising slider means slideable axially of said container shell; and C. locking means comprising at least one disc means operative at least at one end of said shell for preventing or permitting movement of said slideable means so as to permit the closure means to block the aperture means closed when said slideable means is prevented from sliding or to permit opening of the aperture means when said slideable means is released for sliding action. 8. The container of claim 7 in which said disc means has a plurality of radially extending ears positionable into the path of movement of said slideable closure means so as to prevent the sliding thereof. 9. The container of claim 7 in which said disc means is rotatable on the container axis. 10. The container of claim 7 in which said at least one disc means comprises two such disc means. 11. The container of claim 10 in which one of said disc means at least partially obscures the other from view, an outer edge portion of said other disc means remaining visible. 12. The container of claim 7 in which said disc means has passage means positioned in an edge portion thereof for movement therethrough of said slider means to effect opening of said container aperture means. 13. The container of claim 10 in which each said disc means has passage means therein for permitting movement therein of said slider means, each disc being rotatable with respect to the other for placing passage means of one disc into or out of alignment with passage means in the other disc so as to prevent or permit opening of the aperture means by movement of the slider means in said passage means. 14. The container of claim 10 in which said disc means are frictionally associated such that rotation of one of said disc means causes said other disc means to be rotated therewith. 15. A cannular article storing and dispensing container having means for preventing access to the container contents by very yound children through obscuring the mode of opening it comprising: A. an elongated tubular shell having closed opposite ends and aperture means opening through the shell side wall for loading of articles into the container and dispensing them therethrough; B. closure means adapted to cover said aperture means, said closure means comprising slider means slideable axially of said container shell; and C. locking means rotatable on the container axis and operative at least at one end of said shell for preventing or permitting movement of said slideable means so as to permit the closure means to block the aperture means closed when said slideable means is prevented from sliding or to permit opening of the aperture means when said slideable means is released for sliding action. 16. A cannular article storing and dispensing container having means for preventing access to the container contents by very young children through obscuring the mode of opening it comprising: A. an elongated tubular shell having closed opposite ends and aperture means comprising an elongated slot opening through the shell side wall for loading of articles into the container and dispensing them therethrough; B. closure means adapted to cover said aperture means, said closure means comprising slider means slideable axially of said container shell; C. locking means operative at least at one end of said shell for preventing or permitting movement of said slideable means so as to permit the closure means to block the aperture means closed when said slideable means is prevented from sliding or to permit opening of the aperture means when said slideable means is released for sliding action; D. said slider means formed as an elongated strip substantially the length of the container shell and slideable in said slot for opening and closing said dispensing aperture means; E. rotor means forming compartments for rotation in said shell; and F. at least a portion of said locking means operatively connected thereto and adapted to be manipulated to rotate said rotor means within the shell for positioning selected ones of said compartments at said dispensing aperture means. 17. The container of claim 16 in which said compartments are formed by divider means comprising transverse partitions and longitudinal vanes. 18. The container of claim 16 in which said locking means comprises a plurality of radially extending ear means on said rotor manipulating means and moveable into the slide path of said slider means. 19. The container of claim 16 in which said rotor manipulating means comprises dial means positioned at one of said container ends and turnable about the longitudinal axis of said container. 20. The dispensing container of claim 19 in which said dial has notch means in the edge portion thereof for permitting said slider means to pass therethrough. 21. The container of claim 19 in which said dial has indicia for indicating a desired position of said rotor in the container. 22. The container of claim 17 in which catch means comprising cooperative catch elements are provided for releasably holding said closure means at various positions of opening and closure and wherein at least one of said catch elements is positioned in at least one of said transverse partitions. 23. The container of claim 22 in which one of said catch elements is a narrow gap in an outer edge portion of one of said partitions and the other catch element is a detent lug positioned on said slider means. 24. The container of claim 23 in which said narrow gap is defined between a pair of opposed hinge-like flaps in said partition edge. 25. A cannular article storing and dispensing container having means for preventing access to the container contents by very young children through obscuring the mode of opening it comprising: A. an elongated tubular shell having closed opposite ends and aperture means opening through the shell side wall for loading of articles into the container and dispensing them therethrough; B. closure means adapted to cover said aperture means, said closure means comprising slider means slideable axially of said container shell; and C. rotatable locking means operative at least at one end of said shell for preventing or permitting movement of said slideable means so as to permit the closure means to block the aperture means closed when said slideable means is prevented from sliding or to permit opening of the aperture means when said slideable means is released for sliding action; and D. said rotatable locking means has a portion engageable over the end of the slider means for retaining the aperture means closed and having at least one notch portion or passage means through which the slider can move for release thereof so that opening of the aperture means can be effected. 26. A cannular article storing and dispensing container having means for preventing access to the container contents by very young children through obscuring the mode of opening it comprising: A. an elongated tubular shell having closed opposite ends and aperture means opening throuh the shell side wall for loading of articles into the container and dispensing them therethrough; B. closure means adapted to cover said aperture means, said closure means comprising slider means slideable axially of said container shell; and C. rotatable locking means operative at least at one end of said shell for preventing or permitting movement of said slideable means so as to permit the closure means to block the aperture means closed when said slideable means is prevented from sliding or to permit opening of the aperture means when said slideable means is released for sliding action; and D. said locking means comprises at least two generally round disc means, each disc means having at least one passage means for passage therethrough of said slider means and each disc means having at least one flange portion for blocking the passage of said slider means from opening said aperture means, the disc means being moveable independently one with respect to another. 27. The container of claim 26 in which one of said disc means has a greater number of said passages than another of said disc means. 28. A cannular article storing and dispensing container having means for preventing access to the container contents by very young children through obscuring the mode of opening it comprising: A. an elongated tubular shell having closed opposite ends and aperture means opening through the shell side wall for loading of articles into the container and dispensing them therethrough; B. closure means adapted to cover said aperture means, said closure means comprising slider means slideable axially of said container shell; and C. rotatable locking means operative at least at one end of said shell for preventing or permitting movement of said slideable means so as to permit the closure means to block the aperture means closed when said slideable means is prevented from sliding or to permit opening of the aperture means when said slideable means is released for sliding action; and D. said locking means comprises two generally flat plates each mounted at an end of said cylindrical shell for independent rotation about its longitudinal axis, each said plate having a notched edge portion so that a notch in one plate is manually alignable with a notch in the other plate to allow said slideable closure means to be moved in said notches between positions adapted to permit the opening and closing of said dispensing aperture means whereby when said closure means is in the closed position any significant misalignment of the said notches blocks an opening movement of said closure means so as effectively to lock said closure means in its closed position covering said dispensing aperture means. 29. A cannular article storing and dispensing container having means for preventing access to the container contents by very young children through obscuring the mode of opening it comprising: A. an elongated tubular shell having closed opposite ends and aperture means opening through the shell side wall for loading of articles into the container and dispensing them therethrough; B. closure means adapted to cover said aperture means, said closure means comprising slider means slideable axially of said container shell; C. locking means having a portion moveable in a direction along the shell circumference at a position axially beyond and operative at least at one end of said shell for preventing or permitting movement of at least a portion of said slideable means axially beyond an end of the shell so as to permit the closure means to block the aperture means closed when said slideable means is prevented from sliding or to permit opening of the aperture means when said slideable means is released for sliding action; and D. catch means for releaseably holding said closure means at a plurality of progressively open or closed positions with respect to said dispensing aperture means. 30. A cannular article storing and dispensing container having means for preventing access to the container contents by very young children through obscuring the mode of opening it comprising: A. an elongated tubular shell having closed opposite ends and aperture means opening through the shell side wall for loading of articles into the container and dispensing them therethrough; B. closure means adapted to cover said aperture means, said closure means comprising slider means slideable axially of said container shell; C. locking means having a portion moveable in a direction along the shell circumference at a position axially beyond and operative at least at one end of said shell for preventing or permitting movement of at least a portion of said slideable means axially beyond an end of the shell so as to permit the closure means to block the aperture means closed when said slideable means is prevented from sliding or to permit opening of the aperture means when said slideable means is released for sliding action; D. said locking means having passage means therein for permitting said slider means to pass therethrough for opening of said dispensing aperture means. 31. A cannular article storing and dispensing container having means for preventing access to the container contents by very young children through obscuring the mode of opening it comprising: A. an elongated tubular shell having closed opposite ends and aperture means opening through the shell side wall for loading of articles into the container and dispensing them therethrough; B. closure means adapted to cover said aperture means, said closure means comprising slider means slideable axially of said container shell; C. locking means having a portion moveable in a direction along the shell circumference at a position axially beyond and operative at least at one end of said shell for preventing or permitting movement of at least a portion of said slideable means axially beyond an end of the shell so as to permit the closure means to block the aperture means closed when said slideable means is prevented from sliding or to permit opening of the aperture means when said slideable means is released for sliding action; and D. a plurality of article storing compartments provided in the container, and means for positioning selected ones of said compartments adjacent said aperture means for dispensing of articles only from said selected compartments when the aperture means is opened.