Reusable Child-Resistant Unit Dose Container with Slidable Tray
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing unit dose packages for medicine are not effectively child-resistant while being easily accessible to senior users, and they lack the ability to be reused with fresh blister cards.
Innovation Solution
A hollow plastic container with pivotable body sections and a slidable tray that can be locked in a closed position, allowing for easy loading and unloading of blister cards, featuring a cap that prevents unauthorized access by children and allows for repeated use by securing a new tray when the old one is spent.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a unit dose package is designed to be easily opened by senior citizens, then ease of operation is improved, but child-resistant properties deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into two body sections that can pivot relative to each other, creating distinct operational phases: a first phase where the container remains substantially closed (child-resistant) and a second phase where it opens to dispensing position (senior-friendly). This segmentation allows the same structure to provide different levels of access control during different stages of use.
Solution Approach 2:
The container employs dynamic movement through pivoting body sections that transition between closed and open positions. The container can pivot from a closed position to a first open position for dispensing, and further to a second open position for reloading, providing adaptable access control that responds to different user needs while maintaining child resistance when closed.
2Ease of manufacture
If a unit dose package is designed as a single-use container, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but reusability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container is segmented into a reusable body portion and replaceable blister card portions. The body sections and tray remain with the container for repeated use, while spent blister cards are removed and replaced with fresh ones. This segmentation enables the container to be reused multiple times while keeping the manufacturing process relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The design allows for discarding only the spent blister card portion while recovering and retaining the container body and tray for reuse. The blister cards are designed to be removable and replaceable, enabling users to discard exhausted medication containers and reload with new blister cards, thereby extending the lifecycle of the container itself.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a container requires complex locking mechanisms to prevent child access, then child-resistant properties are improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container uses dynamic pivoting motion rather than complex static locking mechanisms. The body sections pivot along a hinge axis, transitioning smoothly from closed to open positions. This dynamic approach provides child resistance through the sealed closed position while enabling easy opening through simple pivoting motion that seniors can perform without complex manipulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The opening function is extracted and simplified to a single pivoting motion around a hinge axis. By removing complex locking mechanisms and relying on the inherent seal of the closed position combined with simple pivotal movement, the container achieves child resistance without compromising ease of operation for seniors.
4Manufacturing precision
If a container is designed to accommodate only one blister card type, then manufacturing precision is improved, but adaptability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container body and tray are designed with universal dimensions and features that can accommodate different types of blister cards. The tray is configured to work with various blister card formats, allowing the same container to be used with multiple medication types and blister card designs, thereby providing versatility while maintaining manufacturing precision through standardized interfaces.
Data Source
AI summary
A child-resistant and senior-friendly unit dose package has a hollow container body containing a separate tray 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 the tray can be slid to a retracted position in which the tray is located within the container body and a dispensing position in which a proximal end part of the tray extends 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. The container body can be positioned in a tray re-loading position that permits a spent tray to be removed from the container body and replaced with a new tray. Thus, the container body is reusable.