LID-LESS, squeeze-to-open, self-closing, pill-box

Abstract

An improved hand held thermoplastic multi-purpose lid-less airtight container, that can be squeezed open by the same hand for dispensing when up-ended, and automatically self-closes upon release of the manual squeeze effort, thus restricting exposure to contaminants, bugs, germs etc. and removal of contents by others; depending upon its ultimate usage, said container may be provided with a suitable tamper evident closure as follows: 1 / for pharmacies when filling prescription pills a child resistant tamper evident protection closure is made simply by overlapping the elongated curved slotted outlet of said lid-less container with the self-adhesive prescription paper label presently used by pharmacies for tear-off by the customer 2 / for other than prescription filling, a simple tack-weld at the closure outlet lips for separation by the customer's initial squeeze to open operation 3 / for purchase by the customer for temporary storage of vitamins, drugs, aspirin, usually kept in pockets or purses for quick withdrawal, of the likes of Bayer aspirin towards possibly warding off heart attacks.

Description

CROSS REFERRENCE TO THE RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application relates to the “Self-Closing Valve With Tamper Evident Lip Seal Tab” Ser. No. 07 / 08 / 88, U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,267, granted Apr. 17, 1990 and a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 033,640.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The purpose of this improved novel apparatus is to provide pharmacies with a less costly child resistant tamper evident closure for faster filling of prescription drugs into a LID-LESS all plastic, squeeze-to-open, self-closing airtight pill-box, which always stays closed, unless re-opened by squeezing, thereby preventing withdrawal ofpills by children or entry of contaminants, moisture, germs, bugs etc. Using the LID-LESS pill-box, not only eliminates seal caps and usual storage and handling problems, but provides a simple and positive way to form a child resistant tamper evident closure by merely overlapping the outlet lips of said lid-less p...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012] Apply vacuum within said pill-box's chamber walls, to cause standard 15 psi external atmospheric air to compress the outer portions of the male and female elongated curved outlet lips into a nested self-closing airtight closure, at 212 F the softening point of LDPE. Vacuum may be obtained by using 5 psi steam, at the final stage of the blow-molding cooling cycle to maintain the 212F softening point temperature of LDPE, and for condensing said steam by heat transfer via the blow-molding cooling water. A compression time of 4 seconds at 212F is required for shaping, and 2 seconds cooling time at ambient temperature for establishing a permanent set or shape for the Lid-less elongated curved outlet, before release from the blow mold housing. External air may be introduced within the blow mold housing via the clamping device normally used to cut-off the paragon. Initially, the usual blow mold compressed air temperature of 350F is used for melting the LDPE plastic resin, at which point 125 psi high pressure steam is injected until the blow mold cooling temperature reaches 212F, at which point the compressed air blowing stream is shut-off and high pressure 125 psi steam pressure is reduced to 5 psi, for maintaining the mold temperature at 212F the softening point of LDPE, while shaping the elongated curved outlet during said 5 psi steam condensation. The advantages doing the above are: a / uses less plastic material b / uses less labor and tools, eliminates the saw cutting and clamping for reshaping the outlet neck portion of the aforementioned plastic flexible bottles, c / the condensed low pressure steam creates a sanitized germ free airtight closure upon release from the mold.

[0014] A / Said novel tamper evident closure eliminates caps and their storage and handling problems, and the integrally molded lip seal tab shown on my my U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,267.

[0020] 3 / LDPE plastic can be tinted using BPI molecular catalytic pink, made by Brain Power, Inc. Additives such as Titanium Dioxide can not be used for coloring, it will negate the plastic's flexibility and “snap-back” needed for self-closing.

[0021] 4 / The {fraction (1 / 32)} inch wall thickness and the {fraction (9 / 32)} inch inside radius of the curved quadrant elongated outlet, normally used for effortless squeezing, can be altered for making it easier to open for arthritics, or more difficult for children, by lengthening the radius and / or thinning the wall for arthritics, and conversely for children. The method of applying prescription adhesive labels as heretofore mentioned and detailed in FIGS. 1F, 1G, 1H, 1I and 1J offers sufficient resistance to make it improbable for opening by children, under 5 years of age in compliance with FDA regulations.

Problems solved by technology

Later on however, repeat orders were limited because of the durability of the self-closing outlet with a life expectancy of 5 to 10 years.

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