GB2374862A

GB2374862A - Child resistant container

Info

Publication number: GB2374862A
Application number: GB0208984A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Tim Rayner
Original assignee: Jaycare Ltd
Current assignee: Jaycare Ltd
Priority date: 2001-04-21
Filing date: 2002-04-19
Publication date: 2002-10-30
Anticipated expiration: 2022-04-19
Also published as: GB2374862B; GB0109896D0; GB0208984D0

Abstract

A container is provided comprising a base (4), a lid (8) and a compartmentalised tray (6) for providing two or more compartments (10) suitable for the location of items therein. The tray (6) is housed between the lid (8) and base (4) when the container is in a shut condition, and accessible therefrom by the physical manipulation of a plurality of engagement means (28,28,32) holding the lid (8) in the shut condition. The items may be tablets (12), possibly covered by a sealing foil (14), and the engagement means (28,28,32) prevent the container from being opened by a child.

Description

Container This invention relates to a container, and particularly but not exclusively to a tamper evident and/or child resistant container for containing pharmaceutical type products therein.

Although the following description refers almost exclusively to a tamper evident container for holding tablets therein, it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the container of the present invention can be used to contain any number of different items.

It is known to provide containers and packaging with means designed to inform a user that the container has previously been tampered with and/or to prevent young children from gaining access to the contents of the container. One example of such a package is a flexible tray having a number of compartments moulded therein for the location of tablets. A foil cover is located over the compartments to maintain the tablets in place.

In use, a user typically depresses the base of a compartment against the foil cover, thereby breaking the foil and releasing the tablet or tablets contained within the compartment therefrom.

The integrity of the foil cover on the tray provides an indication to a user as to whether the tablets have been tampered with since being packaged at the manufacturers.

The above described tablet tray is typically stored and transported in a cardboard cover or box. A problem associated with this type of packaging is that it can easily become damaged during use and transportation, thereby making the packaging look unsightly to the user/customer. In addition, the packaging is easily opened, as is removal of the tablets from the tray, such that damage to the outer packaging may damage the foil cover on the tray. This may result in the tablets falling out of the tray

compartments when they are not required. Alternatively a user may think that the tablets have been tampered with and therefore discard the tablets. In addition, a young child may be able to easily gain access to the tablets and ingest the tablets thinking they are some form of confectionary. This could result in harm to the child.

A further example of a tamper evident/child resistant container is a bottle provided with a lid. The lid can be removed from the bottle by applying pressure to the top of the lid and rotating the lid from the bottle. Alternatively the lid may be required to be compressed at two or more locations and then twisted for removal from the bottle. Both of these types of containers require a reasonable force to be applied to the lid to allow removal and this typically prevents access to the bottle by a young child. A foil lid may be provided over the opening of the bottle to indicate to a user whether the tablets have been tampered with prior to use.

A problem with this type of container is that it is often bulky and contains a large number of tablets. The container is also typically made from glass, which can break. A user may be unable to monitor how many tablets have previously been removed from the container and if a user forgets whether they have taken a tablet previously, may take an incorrect dosage of the tablets. In addition, more than the required tablets may be dispensed from the bottle at any one time and the user is then typically required to handle the tablets in order to place the excess tablets back in the bottle. This is unhygienic and therefore undesirable. Instructions and information relating to the tablets are typically provided on the exterior of the bottle and these can often be rubbed off or damaged during transportation and thus a user of the tablets may be unsure of the correct dosage.

It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide a container which overcomes the abovementioned problems.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a container, said container comprising at least a base portion, a lid portion and dividing means for providing a number of compartments in the container for location of one or more items therein, said dividing means housed between the lid and base portions when the container is in a shut condition and accessible by the physical manipulation of a plurality of engagement means holding the lid and base portions in the shut condition.

Preferably the plurality of engagement means have to be manipulated substantially simultaneously.

In one embodiment the engagement means includes tamper evident means.

Preferably the tamper evident means include one or more frangible members joining the lid portion to the dividing means and/or base portion. The user is required to remove the frangible member (s) to allow the container to be opened and thus allow the user to gain access to the one or more items in the container. The integrity of the frangible member (s) indicates whether the container has been tampered with.

In a further embodiment the engagement means include one or more members which are required to be depressed and/or moved to allow the container to be opened. In a preferred embodiment the members include depression pads. The depression pads can be located on one or both sides of the base portion, lid portion and/or dividing means. The user is required

to depress said depression pads simultaneously to release complementary engagement means between the lid and the base portion and/or dividing means. The pressure required to release the engagement means and the distance the depression pads are spaced apart typically prevent a young child from opening the container.

Preferably a clip or clips are provided which engage the lid portion with the base portion and/or dividing means. The clip (s) is/are required to be moved and/or flexed to open the container.

In a preferred embodiment the engagement means include one or more depression pads and clips, the depression pads being required to be depressed at substantially the same time as appropriate movement/flexing of the clip (s).

Further preferably removable sealing means are provided for sealing the compartments of the dividing means to retain the one or more items located therein.

Preferably the sealing means is a foil cover which is located over the compartments of the dividing means.

In one embodiment frangible portions are provided on the foil cover between one or more of the compartments, thereby allowing the cover to be substantially removed from each compartment independently over any of the other compartments. The integrity of the foil cover indicates to a user whether the items within the compartment (s) have been tampered with.

In one embodiment the base portion comprises a base plate and side walls and the dividing means is located substantially within

the base portion and lid portion. In this embodiment the plurality of engagement means are typically provided between the lid and base portions.

In an alternative embodiment the base portion comprises a base plate and the dividing means is located between the base plate and lid portion. In this embodiment the plurality of engagement means are typically provided between the dividing means and the lid portion.

The base plate can be slidably located with the dividing means and/or engaged by complementary engagement means, such as a channel/protrusion arrangement to allow releasable engagement of the base plate with the dividing means. Alternatively the base plate can be adhered to the dividing means to provide nonreleasable engagement.

In a yet further embodiment the dividing means is integrally formed with the base portion.

Preferably the lid is hinged to the base portion and/or the dividing means.

Preferably the compartments of the dividing means are shaped and dimensioned substantially the same as the items to be located therein.

Preferably the container is provided for the containment of pharmaceutical type products, such as tablets.

Preferably the dividing means is a compartmentalised tray.

The advantage of the container of the present invention is that it provides tamper evident and/or child resistant features on a

container in combination with the advantages associated with compartmentalisation of the container. The container has improved mechanical strength, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the container and the contents within the container.

This provides an improved appearance of the container and items contained therein. A further advantage of the present invention is that the child resistant and tamper evident features are more substantial than many conventional forms of packaging/containers.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures wherein: Figure 1 is an exploded view of a container according to an embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 2 is an exploded view of a container according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

Referring firstly to figure 1, there is illustrated a tablet container 2 comprising a base portion in the form of a base plate 4, a tray portion 6 and a lid 8 which is hinged to the tray portion.

Tray portion 6 is divided into a number of compartments 10 which are of marginally larger dimensions than tablets 12 to be located therein. In this embodiment a single tablet 12 is located in each compartment 10 but it will be understood that a number of tablets can be provided in each compartment, for example, to represent a particular dosage required by the user.

The tray 6 is provided with sealing means in the form of a sealing foil 14 which covers the compartments 10. The foil 14 can be provided with frangible portions 16 between the compartments so that the foil can be removed from each

compartment independently of any other compartment in a conventional manner. This allows one or more tablets to be removed from the compartment (s) whilst maintaining sealing means over the compartments with tablets remaining therein. The foil can also be numbered, dated and/or have identification means on an upper surface to allow a user to monitor the number of tablets that have been taken or the dates/days on which the tablets have been taken.

The integrity of the foil cover indicates whether the tablets have previously been tampered with. The tablets can be removed from the compartments of the tray in a conventional manner.

The tray 6 is clipped onto base plate 4 via grooves (not shown) which frictionally engage with protrusion 18 on the base plate or vice versa. The base plate can also be slidably engaged with the tray.

Gripping portions 20 can be provided on the base plate to allow the plate to be removed from the tray and/or to grip engagement means provided on the tray. Instructions and/or information relating to the tablets can be provided on a leaflet 22 and located between the base plate and the tray, thereby protecting the same from damage. The instructions are prevented from accidentally falling out from between the tray and base plate by the perimeter protrusions on the base plate locating in the perimeter grooves in the tray.

The lid 8 is provided with engagement means in the form of protrusions 24 which are complementary to engagement means in the form of grooves (not shown) provided on the tray 6. The lid is moved between opened and shut positions as shown by arrow 26 and is maintained in the shut position at least in part by the frictional fit of the engagement means.

The container is provided with further engagement means in the form of two depression pads 28. The pads are resiliently biased outwardly and grooves provided thereon engage with the lip 30 of the lid in a shut condition. A user is required to depress the pads simultaneously to release the pads from the lip 30, as shown by arrows 29. A flexible clip 32 is provided on the front of tray 6 and engages with a portion of the lid 8. The clip is required to be extended away from the tray by the user as shown by arrow 34 to release the clip from the lid. The user therefore typically requires two hands to open the container, a first hand to depress pads 28 and a second hand to release the clip 32 from engagement with the lid 8. A young child is unlikely to be able to learn how to open the container without being shown by an adult. In addition, the dimensions of the container are such that a young child's hands are likely to be too small to grip both depression pads simultaneously and release the clip 32.

Referring to figure 2 there is illustrated a further example of a tablet container 102 according to the present invention. The same features referred to in figure 1 are identified using the same reference numerals.

Tablet container 102 comprises a base portion 103 having a base 104 and side walls 106. A lid 8 is hinged to the base portion and a tablet tray 108 is located in the base portion. The tablet tray 108 is provided with a number of compartments 110 for location of tablets 12 therein. A sealing foil 14 can be provided over the compartments 110.

The tablet tray can be removed from the base portion as and when required, or alternatively the tablet tray can be fixed to the base by adhesion, frictionally engaged, integrally formed therewith and/or similar.

The base portion 103 is provided with child resistant engagement means in the form of depression pads 28 and clip 32.

Information leaflet 22 can be provided between the base portion 103 and the tray 108.

The advantage of the tablet container in Figure 2 is that when the tablet tray is empty, the tray can be removed and the container can be re-used. For example, tablet trays can be bought separately and inserted into the container when a previous tray has been emptied.

The depression pads and/or clip can be replaced by frangible portions which need to be snapped off before the lid can be opened. These features can therefore act as tamper evident features, in addition to, or as an alternative, to the sealing foil to indicate whether the container has previously been opened since leaving the manufacturers.

The container is typically made from a substantially rigid material such as plastic or metal. The container protects the tray located in the container and also prevents the container itself from becoming damaged. This provides an improved appearance of the product to the user.

Claims

Claims:

1. A container, said container comprising at least a base portion, a lid portion and dividing means for providing two or more compartments in the container suitable for the location of one or more items therein, said dividing means housed between the lid and base portions when the container is in a shut condition and accessible by the physical manipulation of a plurality of engagement means holding the lid and base portions in the shut condition.

2. A container according to claim 1 wherein the engagement means include tamper evident means.

3. A container according to claim 2 wherein the tamper evident means include one or more frangible members joining the lid portion to the dividing means and/or base portion.

4. A container according to claim 3 wherein the frangible members are removable to allow the container to be opened and access to be gained by a user to the one or more items therein.

5. A container according to claim 1 wherein the engagement means are required to be manipulated substantially simultaneously to allow access to the container.

6. A container according to claim 1 wherein the engagement means include one or more members required to be depressed and/or moved to allow the container to be opened.

7. A container according to claim 6 wherein the members include depression pads located on one or more sides of the base portion, lid portion and/or dividing means, depression of the depression pads releasing complementary engagement means between the base portion, lid portion and/or dividing means.

8. A container according to claim 6 wherein the members include one or more clips which engage the lid portion with the base portion and/or dividing means and which are required to be moved and/or flexed to open the container.

9. A container according to claim 7 and 8 wherein the depression pads are required to be depressed substantially simultaneously to the movement and/or flexing of the one or more clips.

10. A container according to claim 1 wherein removable sealing means are provided for sealing the compartments of the dividing means.

11. A container according to claim 10 wherein the removable sealing means is a foil cover for location over the compartments of the dividing means.

12. A container according to claim 10 wherein frangible portions are provided on the removable sealing means between one or more of the compartments.

13. A container according to claim 1 wherein the base portion comprises a base plate and side walls and the dividing means are located substantially within the base portion and lid portion.

14. A container according to claim 13 wherein the engagement means are provided between the lid portion and base portion.

15. A container according to claim 1 wherein the base portion comprises a base plate and the dividing means is located between the base plate and lid portion.

16. A container according to claim 15 wherein the engagement means are provided between the dividing means and the lid portion.

17. A container according to claim 15 wherein the base plate is joined to the dividing means by any or any combination of sliding location, frictional engagement, adhesive or a complementary channel/protrusions arrangement.

18. A container according to claim 1 wherein the base portion is integrally formed with the dividing means.

19. A container according to claim 15 wherein gripping portions are provided on the base plate.

20. A container according to claim 1 wherein the lid portion is hinged to the base portion and/or dividing means.

21. A container according to claim 1 wherein the compartments of the dividing means are shaped and dimensioned substantially the same as the items to be located therein.

22. A container according to claim 1 wherein the one or more items for location therein are pharmaceutical products.

23. A container according to claim 1 wherein the dividing means is a compartmentalised tray.