U.S. patent number 3,782,584 [Application Number 05/261,403] was granted by the patent office on 1974-01-01 for pill box having safety sliding closure.
Invention is credited to Philip J. Rich, Donald R. Swenson.
United States Patent |
3,782,584 |
Swenson , et al. |
January 1, 1974 |
PILL BOX HAVING SAFETY SLIDING CLOSURE
Abstract
A pill box or similar article includes a body in the form of an
open topped rectangular enclosure and a top cover slidably fitted
to the body. Wing portions disposed on opposite side walls of the
body are resiliently biased outwardly from the side walls to
intercept abutments on the cover and normally block movement of the
cover from its closed position. The box is opened only by
depressing the wing portions into engagement with the side walls of
the body simultaneously with a sliding motion of the cover. Other
features are disclosed.
Inventors: |
Swenson; Donald R. (Rockford,
IL), Rich; Philip J. (Roscoe, IL) |
Family
ID: |
22993155 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/261,403 |
Filed: |
June 9, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/345.3;
206/528; 215/209; 206/232; 206/807; 220/345.4 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
43/12 (20130101); Y10S 206/807 (20130101); B65D
2215/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
43/02 (20060101); B65D 43/12 (20060101); B65d
043/12 () |
Field of
Search: |
;220/41 ;206/42
;215/9 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hall; George T.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hosier; Jerry D.
Claims
We claim:
1. A pill box or similar article comprising:
body means having a bottom wall and four side walls defining a
rectangular enclosure, a first opposed pair of said side walls
having structure for effecting a sliding and interlocking fit with
a top cover and further having respective wing portions disposed
intermediate the ends of said first pair of side walls and normally
extending outwardly therefrom, said wing portions being resiliently
depressable into engagement with respective ones of said first pair
of side walls; and
cover means effecting a sliding and interlocking fit with said body
means for providing a slidable top cover for said body means
movable between open and closed positions and having oppositely
disposed abutments for engaging respective ones of said wing
portions to preclude slidable movement of said cover means from its
closed to its open position unless both of said wings portions are
depressed simultaneously with slidable motion of said cover means
relative to said body means.
2. The pill box of claim 1 in which said body means is formed as an
integral unit and in which said wing portions are of a rectangular
configuration each having one side effecting a hinged connection to
a respective one of said first pair of side walls at locations
adjacent the top of said sidewalls.
3. The pill box of claim 2 in which said cover means includes a
pair of spaced detents for engaging one of the remaining pair of
opposed side walls of said body means for, respectively, yieldably
locking said cover means in said closed position and blocking
movement of said cover means beyond a preselected open position at
which only a first row of said pills is exposed.
4. The pill box of claim 3 in which said first pair of opposed side
walls include respective elongated tongue portions integrally
formed with said side walls adjacent the top of said side walls and
extending parallel to the plane of said bottom wall and in which a
pair of opposed edges of said cover means includes depending edge
portions defining grooves of a contour complementary to said tongue
portions for providing a sliding and interlocking fit between said
cover means and said body means.
5. The pill box of claim 4 in which said wing portions extend a
substantial distance below said tongue portions and in which
segments of said edge portions of said cover means depend below
said tongue portions of said body means to form respective
abutments for engaging said wing portions in movement of said cover
means between said open and enclosed positions unless said wing
portions are depressed into engagement with said side walls to
permit said segments of said edge portions to pass over said wing
portions.
6. The pill box of claim 1 in which said cover means is formed of a
stamped metal sheet and said body means is an integrally molded
plastic structure.
7. The pill box of claim 1 and further including bracket means
formed on the exterior surface of said bottom wall for releasably
securing a folded paper sheet against said bottom wall.
8. The pill box of claim 7 in which said bracket means comprises
four individual bracket members integrally formed with said bottom
wall and arranged at the four corners of a rectangle, each of said
bracket members having an upright portion of a height related to
the thickness of said folded sheet and an inwardly extending
terminal lip portion for overlying and captivating said folded
sheet against said bottom wall.
9. The pill box of claim 8 in which said bottom wall is
sufficiently thin at its points of attachment to said side walls to
permit said bottom wall to flex slightly upward toward said cover
means under moderate pressure to secure the pills between said
cover means and said bottom wall.
10. The pill box of claim 1 in which said wing portions extend a
predetermined distance outwardly of the first pair of side walls
even when depressed inwardly and in which terminal parts of said
depending edge segments are struck inwardly to intercept said wing
portions in their depressed positions and block further removal of
said cover means from said body means.
11. The pill box of claim 1 and further including lock tab means
integrally formed with at least one of said wing portions for
precluding opening of said pill box while said lock tab means is
affixed to said wing portion, the attachment of said lock tab means
to said wing portion being easily severed under modest force to
permit opening of said pill box.
12. The pill box of claim 1 in which said cover means includes
spaced abutments on either side of each of said wing portions for
normally precluding movement of said cover means in either
direction from said closed position, said cover means being
constructed and arranged relative to said body means for permitting
movement of said cover means in either direction from said closed
position upon depressing said wing portions and simultaneously
sliding said cover means relative to said body means.
13. The pill box of claim 12 in which pills are arranged therein in
rows between said first pair of side walls and in which said body
means includes restraining means adjacent the remaining opposed
pair of said side walls for limiting the rows adjacent said
remaining pair of side walls to predetermined different.
14. The pill box of claim 13 in which said wing portions extend a
predetermined distance outwardly of the first pair of side walls
even when depressed inwardly and in which opposed terminal parts of
each of said depending edge segments are struck inwardly to
intercept said wing portions in their depressed positions and limit
movement of said cover means in either direction from its closed
position to a distance corresponding to the width of one row of the
pills thereby to permit selective dispensing of one or two pills
according to the direction of movement of said cover means.
15. The pill box of claim 14 and further including bracket means
formed on the exterior surface of said bottom wall for releasably
securing a folded sheet against said bottom wall.
16. A pill box or similar article comprising:
body means having a bottom wall and four side walls defining a
rectangular enclosure, a first opposed pair of side walls having
structure for effecting a sliding and interlocking fit with a top
cover and further having a wing portion disposed intermediate the
ends of at least one of said first pair of side walls and normally
extending outwardly therefrom, said one wing portion being
resiliently depressable into engagement with its associated one of
said first pair of side walls; and
cover means effecting a sliding and interlocking fit with said body
means for providing a slidable top cover for said body means
movable between open and closed positions and having an abutment
for engaging said one wing portion to preclude slidable movement of
said cover means from its closed to its open position unless said
one wing portion is depressed simultaneously with slidable motion
of said cover means relative to said body means.
17. A pill box or similar article comprising:
body means having a bottom wall and a side wall structure defining
an open topped enclosure, said side wall structure being
constructed for effecting a sliding and interlocking fit with a top
cover and further having at least one wing portion disposed on said
side wall structure and normally extending outwardly therefrom,
said one wing portion being resiliently depressable into engagement
with said side wall structure; and
cover means effecting a sliding and interlocking fit with said body
means for providing a slidable top cover for said body means
movable between open and closed positions and having an abutment
for engaging said wing portion to preclude slidable movement of
said cover means from its closed to its open position unless said
one wing portion is depressed simultaneously with slidable motion
of said cover means relative to said body means.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to small containers of a
type suitable for the carrying of pills such as aspirin tablets or
the like. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a
new and improved pill container or the like that is simply and
easily opened by adults but which is substantially secure against
opening by small children.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is important for obvious reasons that medicinal containers be
secure against opening by small children, and there are being
imposed federal and state regulations to assure that suitable
safety standards are met. Such medicinal containers should not,
however, be so difficult for adults to open as to amount to a
substantial inconvenience or nuisance. Furthermore, the containers
must be susceptible of manufacture by mass production techniques
and, in this regard, critical tolerance limitations should be
avoided which might complicate manufacture and/or render a
percentage of the containers unreliable or unsafe in operation.
The container of the present invention satisfies all of the
requirements outlined above. The manner of opening the container is
not even to an adult readily apparent upon mere inspection.
However, clear and unambiguous instructions for opening may be
written on the container in just a few words. Also, opening of a
container of the invention requires a level of coordination not
often found in small children, for example, those in the three to
five year age group.
The present container is easily opened by an adult without
likelihood of spilling any of the contents as is one of the
difficulties with certain prior art containers. The container is
also constructed to permit selective dispensing of a desired
quantity of items, for example, one, two or three tablets. A
special seal structure may be incorporated as an integrally formed
part of the container body to assure the purchaser that the package
has not been tampered with or opened previously. In addition, the
present container locks in a positive fashion in contrast to the
pressure responsive releasable detents or the equivalent of certain
prior art structures and thus the present container is secure
against opening by jarring or vibration. Furthermore, although the
present container demands an adult's skill and coordination in
opening, the container is closed merely by sliding the cover to the
closed position. In other words, return movement of the cover
demands none of the skill and coordination required for
opening.
In accordance with the present invention, a pill box comprises body
means having a body wall and four side walls defining a rectangular
enclosure. A first opposed pair of side walls is provided with
structure for effecting a sliding and interlocking fit with a top
cover and these side walls are further provided with respective
wing portions disposed intermediate the ends of the side walls and
resiliently biased outwardly therefrom, the wing portions being
depressible into engagement with respective ones of the side walls.
A cover means effects a sliding and interlocking fit with the body
means for providing a slidable top cover for the body means that is
movable between open and closed positions. Oppositely disposed
abutments on the cover means are provided for engaging respective
ones of the wing portions to preclude slidable movement of the
cover means from its closed to its open position unless both of the
wing portions are depressed simultaneously with slidable motion of
the cover means relative to the body means. Other objectives and
features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in
the art upon reading of the following description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The novel features of the present invention are set forth with
particularity in the appended claims. The invention together with
further objects and advantages thereof may best be understood,
however, by reference to the following description taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the several figures
of which like reference numerals identify like elements and in
which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a first
embodiment of a pill box constructed in accordance with the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the top cover of the box of FIG.
1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the body portion of the box of FIG.
1, the top cover having been removed;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 4--4 of FIG.
1;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 5--5 of FIG. 3 and
showing one of the resiliently biased wing portions in its normal
position;
FIG. 5a is a sectional view similar to that of FIG. 5 but showing
the wing portion in a depressed position;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the underside of the container body
shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along section lines 7--7
of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an alternative and preferred
embodiment of the pill box according to the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the body of the pill box with the
top cover removed;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the top cover of the pill box of
FIG. 8;
FIG. 11 is an enlarged detail view of a cover locking mechanism
taken along sectional lines 11--11 of FIG. 10;
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the underside of the container
body of FIG. 9; and
FIG. 13 is an exploded detail view of a seal for the container as
seen along sectional lines 13--13 of FIG. 12.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a container or pill
box according to the present invention and generally designated by
the reference numeral 10. The pill box 10 is of the popular
miniature size, typically carried in the pocket or purse and
suitable for holding about a dozen aspirin tablets or the like. The
box 10 comprises a hollow rectangular body portion 12 to which
there is slidable fitted a generally planar top cover 14.
From FIG. 3, it may be appreciated that the hollow rectangular body
means 12 is formed by a planar bottom wall 16, a first pair of
opposed side walls 18, 19 and a second or remaining pair of opposed
side walls 21 and 22. The first and longer pair of opposed side
walls 18, 19 are each provided with structure for effecting a
sliding and interlocking fit with the top cover 14. Although only
the side wall 19 is fully visible in FIG. 3, it will be appreciated
that the opposite side wall is of an identical construction.
Specifically, the side wall 19 includes a tongue portion 19a
preferably formed as an outwardly curved continuation of the side
wall 19, as may be appreciated most clearly in FIG. 4. The tongue
portion 19a which extends the length of the side wall 19 is
interrupted at its center by a wing portion 19b that preferably is
of rectangular outline with one side integrally formed with the top
of the side wall 19 and with the wing portion 19b normally
extending outwardly therefrom at an angle of approximately
30.degree., as seen most clearly in FIG. 5.
As will also be appreciated from FIG. 5, the wing portion 19b is
compartively thin adjacent its point of attachment to the side wall
19 to provide a flexible hinging of the wing portion that
facilitates its easy depression against the side wall 19, as seen
in FIG. 5a. It is important that the wing portion 19b as well as
the counterpart wing portion 18a on the side wall 18 (partially
visible in FIG. 3) be resiliently coupled to their associated side
walls so as to reliably return to the normal position shown in FIG.
5, even after repeated depression. It is presently preferred to
manufacture body 12 by injection molding of a suitable and
conventional plastic material such as polyethelene, high density
polyethelene or polypropylene.
The cover means 14 for the pill box 10, as illustrated in FIG. 2,
is of a generally planar rectangular outline corresponding in
dimension to the open top of the body 12. A pair of opposed edges
of the cover 14 include depending edge portions defining grooves of
a contour complementary to the tongue portion 18a and 19a of the
side walls 18 and 19 for providing a sliding and interlocking fit
between the cover 14 and the body 12. Although only a portion of
the depending edge portion 26 is visible in the drawing, it will be
understood that it is identical to the edge portion 24 fully
visible in FIG. 2. As seen perhaps most clearly in FIG. 4, the
depending edge portions 24, 26 wrap partially about the tongue
portions 19a and 18a respectively, to prevent the top cover from
being lifted off of the body and limiting motion between the body
and cover to a sliding movement.
As seen in FIG. 2, one end segment of the edge portion 24 depends
considerably below the level of the complementary tongue portion
18a of the body 12 to form a stop abutment 24a. The stop abutment
24a and its counterpart 26a on the opposite side of cover 14 (FIG.
4) are adapted to engage respective ones of the wing portions 19b
and 18b so as to normally preclude sliding movement of the top
cover 14 from its closed position depicted in FIG. 1 to an open
position (not shown). It will be understood that in the open
position of cover 14 a portion of the body 12 is uncovered to
permit access to the contents of the box.
In order to limit sliding of the cover 14 to a direction in which
stop abutments 24a and 26a are moved toward their respective wing
portions, one of the remaining pair of opposed edges of the top
cover 14 is provided with an integral depending tab portion 28. The
tab 28 intercepts the side wall 21 and thus limits sliding movement
of the cover to a single direction in which the tab 28 is moved
away from the side wall 21.
It is also desired both to yieldably lock the top cover in its
closed position even when the wings are depressed and to provide a
positive yet yieldable stop limiting the extent of removal of the
top cover 14 from the body 12. To this end, there is provided a
first pair of locking detents 30 in the planar top surface of the
cover 14 located adjacent respective ones of the edges 24 and 26
and equidistant from the depending end tab 28. A second similar
pair of detents 32 are spaced inwardly of detents 30 by a
predetermined distance. In the present embodiment, the top cover 14
is formed by stamping of a metal sheet and detents 30 and 32 are
formed by making slight surface depressions in the planar top
surface of the cover 14, resulting in corresponding bumps on the
undersurface of the cover. These bumps or detents engage the upper
edge of the end wall 21 to act as stops for sliding movement of the
cover; however, the bumps will ride over the top of the wall 21
with the exercise of moderate force.
Further structural features of the pill box 10 may be appreciated
by reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. The bottom exterior of the body 12
supports bracket means for releasably securing a folded paper sheet
33 or similar article against the bottom wall 16. The sheet 33 may
include advertisements and/or instructions relative to use of the
medicine or other items contained within the box 10. The sheet 33
is secured to the bottom exterior wall 16 of the body 12 by four
L-shaped brackets 34, 36, 38 and 40 that may integrally be formed
with the bottom wall. The L-shaped brackets are disposed at spaced
locations corresponding to each of the four corners of the
rectangular sheet 33. Each of the brackets is of a cross-sectional
configuration as depicted by the cross-sectional view of the
exemplary bracket 40 in FIG. 7. As there seen, the bracket 40
includes an upright portion of a height corresponding to the
approximate thickness of the folded sheet 33 and an inwardly
extending terminal lip portion 40a for overlying and captivating
the folded sheet against the bottom wall 16. The folded sheet 33 is
secured in place by pushing it downwardly against the bracket
members so that it snaps into place under the captivating lips of
each bracket element. The sheet 33 is removed merely by grasping it
with a finger at any one of the four locations intermediate the
individual bracket members or, alternatively, by inserting the
point of a pencil or the like under the sheet at any one of the
aforesaid four locations.
A further feature of the structure of the invention is visible in
FIG. 7. Specifically, as there shown, the point of attachment 16a
of the bottom wall 16 to the side wall 19 is thin relative to the
otherwise uniform thickness of the bottom wall 16. The attachment
of the bottom wall 16 to the remaining side walls 18, 21, and 22 of
the body 12 is similar to that depicted in FIG. 7. With the body 12
being formed of a resilient molded plastic material, the bottom
wall 16 will deflect upwardly toward the top cover 14 as a
substantially unitary platform when moderate pressures are applied
to the bottom wall. Thus, when the boxes 10 are stacked and
packaged for shipment, the bottom walls 16 of the individual boxes
will be deflected upwardly by a sufficient distance to captivate
the enclosed pills between the bottom wall and the top cover of
each box and prevent movement of the pills within the box, and
resultant partial disintegration of the pills during transit.
With the pill box assembled as shown in FIG. 1, the box is opened
by placing the thumb and forefinger of one hand on respective ones
of the opposite wing portions 18b and 19b and by depressing the
wings against their associated side walls simultaneously with
effecting a relative sliding motion of the top cover and bottom
with the thumb and forefinger of the remaining hand. By reason of
the locking detent 30, there is initially some resistance to the
sliding motion even with the wings depressed, but this is overcome
with a moderate force. Once the edge segments defining abutments
24a and 26a have slid over the top of the respective wing portions
19b and 18b, the wings are captivated under the edge segments and
the thumb and forefinger may be removed from the wings. The top
cover 14 slides easily once the detent 30 has cleared the end wall
21 and until the detent 32 intercepts the end wall 21. It will be
recalled that the detent 32 is located so that a desired number of
pills, such as a single row, are exposed and accessible when the
detent 32 is contiguous the side wall 21. The pill box 10 is easily
closed by merely slidably returning the top cover 14 to its closed
position. Thus, the skill and coordination required for opening is
not needed for closing and the user may effect closing with one
hand while holding the pills or reaching for a glass of water with
the other hand. The depending end tab 28 prevents the cover from
being slid beyond its closed position during return movement.
Although not presently preferred, the box 10 may be constructed
with only a single wing portion and lock tab, the other lock tab
being omitted entirely or made in the form of a tear-off and
disposable seal for the container, as will be understood more
clearly upon consideration of the preferred seal described later
herein. Also, the body portion 12 and the top 14 may be fitted to
one another for relative rotational movement instead of the linear
sliding movement described, although again such is not presently
preferred particularly when the container is utilized for carrying
medication.
A preferred embodiment of a pill box according to the invention is
designated generally by the reference number 50 in FIG. 8, while
the top cover and body portions are generally designated by the
reference numerals 52 and 54, respectively. The pill box 50 is
generally similar to the pill box 10 just described except that,
for reasons presently to be explained, it is adapted to be opened
by slidable movement of the top cover 52 in either direction from
its normally closed position. Additionally, the embodiment 50
includes an alternative and preferred form of cover locking
mechanism as well as several other features as will now be
explained. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that
the various structural features described in connection with the
present embodiment may be incorporated into the embodiment
previously described.
The body portion 54 as viewed in FIG. 9 may be identical to its
counterpart 12 in FIG. 3 excepting for the formation of a pair of
restraining means 56 and 58 located adjacent opposite opposed ends
of the body 54. Accordingly, it will be noted that the body portion
54 includes a bottom wall 60, a first pair of opposed sidewalls 62
and 64, and a second pair of opposed side or end walls 66 and 68.
The first pair of side walls 62 and 64 include the previously
described tongue and wing portions, exemplified by the visible
tongue portion 64a and the wing 64b of the side wall 64.
The restraining means 56 is formed as a pair of wall segments
integrally connected to the side walls 62 and 68 to define a small
rectangular enclosure of a dimension to occupy a portion of a first
row of the pills 70. In the present embodiment, the width of the
box 50 between the side walls 62 and 64 corresponds to a row of
three pills and the restraining means 56 occupies the position of
one pill of the row. Similarly, the restraining means 58 is formed
as a pair of wall segments integrally connected to the end walls 64
and 66 and occupies a rectangular space corresponding to two pills
thereby leaving space for a single pill 70 in the row adjacent wall
66. The restraining means 56 and 58 may be of a height less than
the height of the adjacent side walls, it being required only that
the restraining means be of sufficient height and peripheral
dimension to prevent one of the pills 70 from occupying the same
space. The restraining means may also take the form of one or more
vertical pins or posts that block the pills from occupying selected
positions in the row.
The top cover 52 is likewise generally similar to its counterpart
14 of FIG. 2, but there are several important differences.
Specifically, the cover 52 includes in similar fashion to the cover
14 a pair of opposed arcuately curved depending edge portions 72
and 74 forming mating grooves for the tongues 64a and 66a of the
body 54. Each of the edge portions 72, 74 are further provided with
a pair of spaced abutments as exemplified by the abutments 72a and
72b visible in FIG. 10. The abutments 72a and 72b are spaced from
one another by a distance somewhat greater than the width of the
body wing portion 64b and the abutments are located along the
length of the cover 52 such as to lie on opposite sides of the
associated wing portion 64b when the cover is in its closed
position, as seen in FIG. 8. The abutments 72a and 72b as well as
the counterparts on the edge portion 74 (not visible in the
drawing) are positioned to intercept the wing portions and thereby
normally preclude relative movement of the top cover 52 and body
54.
The procedure for opening the pill box 50 is exactly the same as
that previously described in connection with the pill box 10 except
that the box 50 may be opened by sliding the top cover 52 in either
direction since in the present embodiment there is no counterpart
to the depending stop abutment 28 to preclude movement of the cover
in one direction. However, in order to facilitate a controlled
dispensing of the tablets within box 50 it is desired that sliding
movement of the cover in either direction be limited to a distance
corresponding to the width of one row of pills in the box. To this
end, the opposite terminal segments 72c and 72d on the cover edge
portion 72 are struck inwardly toward the box side wall so as to
intercept the wing portion 64b even when the wing is depressed
against the side wall. The edge portion 74 includes similar
terminal segments struck inwardly to intercept the associated wing
portion, one of the segments 74c being visible in the drawing.
Since the cover means to a positive stop at a distance
corresponding to one row of the tablets when slidably moved in
either direction from its closed position, the user can selectively
dispense one or two tablets 70 into his hand depending on the
direction in which the cover 52 is urged. Of course, appropriate
instructions (which may simply be the numerals 1 and 2 in colored
blocks adjacent the respective opposite ends of the cover 52) guide
the user as to the direction to slide the top cover. The present
arrangement precludes spilling of the contents of the box or
inadvertent dispensing of a greater number of tablets than desired.
This embodiment also includes all of the child proof safety
features of the earlier described embodiment.
A further feature of the invention may be appreciated by reference
to FIGS. 12 and 13. As seen in FIG. 12, the underside of the bottom
wall 60 may be provided with bracket means in the form of four
individual bracket elements 76-78 constructed and located in
generally the same manner as their counterparts on the box 10 as
earlier described in connection with FIG. 6, the brackets serving
to secure a folded sheet 81 to the underside of the box.
Accordingly, the bracket structure will not again be described in
detail. There is further illustrated in FIG. 12, a lock tab means
80 integrally formed with the wing portion 64 and arranged for
precluding opening of the pill box 50 while the lock tab 80 is
still affixed to the wing. The lock tab structure 80 is intended to
act as a seal to assure a purchaser that the pill box has not been
tampered with or opened previously. The lock tab structure 80
comprises, as seen in FIG. 13, a circular bridge portion 80a
including diametrically opposed tabs that connect to the side wall
64 and the wing portion 64b respectively, so as to preclude
depression of the wing portion 64b into engagement with side wall
64. The bridge 80a is affixed to both the side wall 64 and the wing
portion 64b, but the points of connection are very thin and may be
broken by a moderate force applied to a stem portion 80b of the
lock tab that is joined to the center of the bridge 80a. The stem
portion 80b is normally bent to lie in a plane parallel to the
bottom wall 60 and a narrowed neck portion effects a snap fit
between the adjacent bracket members 78 and 79 with an enlarged and
flattened head portion 80c of the stem extending beyond the neck.
The adjacent and facing portions of brackets 78 and 79 include
overhanging lip portions for releasably captivating the stem 80b of
member 80.
The seal is broken and the package readied for use by lifting the
flattened head 80c of the lock tab 80 to unsnap the stem 80b from
the bracket 78, 79 and by thereafter pulling on the flattened head
to break the points of contact of the bridge 80a with the members
64 and 64b. The lock tab 80 is then discarded, and the pill box is
ready for use.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been
shown and described, it is apparent that various changes and
modifications may be made, and it is therefore intended in the
following claims to cover all such modifications and changes as may
fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.
* * * * *