초록 ▼

A child-resistant and senior-friendly unit dose package has a hollow container body, an internal divider, and at least first and second separate trays each carrying a plurality of tablets or like items for being dispensed from the container body. The container body has an end with an opening, and ea

A child-resistant and senior-friendly unit dose package has a hollow container body, an internal divider, and at least first and second separate trays each carrying a plurality of tablets or like items for being dispensed from the container body. The container body has an end with an opening, and each tray can be slid to a retracted position in which the tray is located within the container body and a dispensing position in which the tray extends at least partially through the opening of the container body. The package includes a separate cap removably securable to the container body to seal the opening and prevent access to the trays. Multiple simultaneous manipulations are required to remove the cap from the container body thereby providing a child-resistant connection. A method of assembling a package with at least two separate blister cards and a divider is also disclosed.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A package for storing and dispensing tablets and like items, comprising: a hollow plastic container body having opposed front and rear walls and an end with a mouth finish defining an opening, said front and rear walls having flanges extending within said container body

The invention claimed is: 1. A package for storing and dispensing tablets and like items, comprising: a hollow plastic container body having opposed front and rear walls and an end with a mouth finish defining an opening, said front and rear walls having flanges extending within said container body; a divider positioned within said container body extending between and substantially parallel to said opposed front and rear walls and defining separate cavities on either side thereof within said container body, said divider having opposite faces and including flexible, integrally-formed, outwardly-bowed sections that project outwardly from said faces into said cavities; first and second separate trays each carrying a plurality of tablets or like items, said trays being positioned within opposite ones of said cavities on opposite sides of said divider, and each of said trays being slidable relative to said container body such that each of said trays is slidable between a retracted storage position in which said tray is located within said container body and a dispensing position in which at least a part of said tray extends through said opening of said container body, said outwardly-bowed sections of said divider pressing said trays into engagement with said flanges extending from said front and rear walls of said container body to prevent undesired movement of said trays within said container body and to enable said trays to slide in a smooth manner between said storage position and said dispensing position; tray locking mechanisms for preventing distal ends of said trays from being released from said container body; and a separate plastic cap removably securable to said mouth finish of said container body to seal said opening and prevent access to said trays; each of said trays being a blister card and including a plurality of separate blister compartments for securing the tablets or like items to said trays. 2. A package according to claim 1, wherein said cap has an elongate end wall and a skirt depending therefrom, wherein said skirt includes opposed front and rear flaps and opposed side flaps, and wherein said front and rear flaps overlap said mouth finish of said container body when said cap is applied to said container body and said side flaps of said skirt do not overlap said container body. 3. A package according to claim 2, wherein said opposed front and rear flaps of said skirt extend further from said end wall of said cap then said opposed side flaps of said skirt. 4. A package according to claim 3, wherein tips of said front and rear flaps of said skirt include beveled edges. 5. A package according to claim 4, wherein said mouth finish has an inward taper. 6. A package according to claim 1, wherein said cap has an end wall with a spring secured to an underside thereof. 7. A package according to claim 6, wherein said spring is made of plastic and is bowed along its length. 8. A package according to claim 6, wherein one of said container body and cap has a series of lugs and the other has a series of channels in which said lugs are captured when said cap is engaged to said container body. 9. A package according to claim 8, wherein each of said channels is formed in an outer surface of said mouth finish of said container body and has a reversely-turned section and an open section, whereby removing said cap from said container body requires said cap to be pressed toward said container body against the force of said spring and slid laterally so that said lugs are permitted to exit said reversely-turned sections and be released through said open sections. 10. A method of assembling said package for storing and dispensing tablets or like items according to claim 1, comprising the steps of: positioning a one-piece plastic article in an open condition, said article including opposed body sections interconnected at ends thereof; after said positioning step, placing said first blister card in one of said body sections, placing said second separate blister card in the other of said body sections, and placing said separate divider into one of said body sections over one of said first or second blister cards; and folding said one-piece article into a closed condition to form said hollow container body housing said first and section blister cards separated by said divider. 11. A method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of forming said one-piece article in an injection mold. 12. A method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of bonding, welding, or fastening said opposed body sections together after said folding step. 13. A method according to claim 12, wherein said bonding, welding, or fastening step includes sonic welding of said body sections. 14. A method according to claim 12, further comprising the step of applying said cap to said container body. 15. A method according to claim 14, further comprising the step of mounting a spring within said cap. 16. A method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of simultaneously forming said cap and said spring in an injection mold from a plastic material.