Abstract:
A child resistant tablet dispenser is disclosed wherein the dispenser is comprised of a body portion and a release mechanism. The body portion may be hollow and cylindrical and contain therein a plurality of tablets in a tablet magazine. The tablets may be individually dispensed through the release mechanism which has a child resistant dispenser requiring multiple actions before an individual tablet may be dispensed. The multiple actions required on the release mechanism may be in two different planes thereby requiring movement in a horizontal plane and movement in a vertical plane in order to release a slide actuator and then depress a release button for opening of the release mechanism lid. Upon opening of the lid, an individual tablet is forced outward from the cylinder of the body portion and dispensed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention elates to a child resistant tablet dispenser wherein tablets may be individually dispensed after activation of a slide actuator and press button whereby the activation requires a two-step child resistant process thereby resisting child tampering and opening of the package. 
     2. Discussion of the Prior Art 
     Prior art child resistant tablet dispensers typically are comprised of flat horizontal based dispensers wherein childproof packaging or other material is required to be removed from the outer packaging prior to dispensing of the tablets or pills. Such container packaging is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,399 wherein a flat packaging container is shown which requires compression of child resistant tabs in order to separate the upper and lower horizontal package members. 
     Other tamper proof pill dispensing apparatus are known such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,938 wherein individual pills are dispensed through a discharge outlet. Safety latches are also provided in diametrically opposite positions in order to prevent activation by children. 
     Other tablet dispensing receptacles are known such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,683 wherein a cylindrical housing is capped with a spring biased cover which is simply rotatable about a pivot point thereby providing access to the contents of the package. 
     However, none of the prior art package dispensers provide a child resistant tablet dispenser wherein the tablets are retained within a cylindrical body in magazine type formation and wherein the dispenser has a child resistant release mechanism for gaining access to the contents of the package. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a child resistant tablet dispenser wherein the dispenser has a release mechanism which may not be activated by a child or which is at least child resistant. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide a tablet dispenser having a release mechanism wherein the release mechanism is child resistant and which contains a cylindrical body wherein a plurality of tablets may be contained. 
     An additional object of the present invention is to provide a child resistant tablet dispenser wherein the release mechanism is readily activatable preferably by an adult and wherein the release mechanism releases a hinged lid while also individually dispensing the tablets contained within a tablet magazine. 
     An additional object of the present invention is to provide a child resistant tablet dispenser wherein a tablet magazine is spring biased so that, after individual depletion of the tablets from the top end, each of the tablets may be singularly indexed for release upon the next activation of the release mechanism. 
     It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a child resistant tablet dispenser wherein the release mechanism, which preferably prevents a child from activating the mechanism, incorporates use of a slide actuator which must be used in conjunction with a release button, both actions requiring movement and perpendicular planes. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide a tablet dispenser wherein the release mechanism is child resistant and wherein a hinged lid is biased such that upon activation and opening of the lid, individual tablets are dispensed from a cylindrical dispenser body. 
     The above and other objects are accomplished in accordance with the present invention by providing a child resistant tablet dispenser having a release button and slide actuator as a release mechanism, the release button requiring movement in the vertical plane and the slide actuator requiring movement in the horizontal plane in order for the hinged lid to be opened for releasing individual tablets contained within the package body. 
    
    
     All of the above outlined objectives are to be understood as exemplary only and many more objectives of the invention may be gleaned from the disclosure herein. Therefore, no limiting interpretation of the objectives noted are to be understood without further reading of the entire specification and drawings included herewith. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective cutaway view of the child resistant tablet dispenser of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a close-up perspective view of the release mechanism for the tablet dispenser shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a close-up perspective view of the release mechanism for the child resistant tablet dispenser shown in FIG. 1 wherein the release mechanism is activated; 
     FIG. 4 is a side-sectional view of the release mechanism and tablet dispenser shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a side-sectional view of the release mechanism and tablet dispenser of FIG. 1 dispensing a tablet; and, 
     FIG. 6 is a side-sectional view of an alternative embodiment for the child resistant tablet dispenser of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The child resistant tablet dispenser  10  of the present invention is depicted in FIG. 1 with a partial cutaway view shown therein. The dispenser  10  is comprised of a body portion  20  and a release and dispensing mechanism  40  which is attached to the top open end of the body portion. The body portion  20  is constructed of plastic or other similar material and may be cylindrical in design in order to retain therein a plurality of tablets to be dispensed. At the top open end of the body portion  20  is the release mechanism  40  which provides a child resistant dispensing mechanism wherein action is required along both the horizontal plane and the vertical plane. This action is required in the present embodiment by movement of slide actuator  35  in the left or right direction as well as depression of the release button  34  in order for the lid  30  to rotate about hinge  31  thereby releasing a tablet from the open end of the release mechanism  40 . Once dispensed, the lid is re-closed thereby locking the release and dispensing mechanism  40  and requiring re-actuation of the child resistant feature. 
     The body portion  20 , as indicated above, may be constructed of plastic or other similar materials such as aluminum, tin, metal alloy or other similar component. The body portion  20  may be designed as a hollow cylinder or ovoid  25  which retains therein a tablet magazine  21  for individual dispensing of the top most tablet  27 , as is shown in FIG.  2  and FIG.  3 . The tablet magazine  21  rest upon a platform  22  in the interior of the body portion  20  and within the cylinder  25 , the cylinder  25  matching the size and geometry of the tablet magazine  21 . The platform  22  on which the tablet magazine  21  rests is spring biased by spring  23  which is attached to the base  24  of the cylinder. The spring forces the tablet magazine in the upward direction thereby allowing the individual dispensing of tablets within the tablet magazine  21 . As each individual tablet  27  is dispensed from the top most end of the tablet magazine  21 , the spring  23  forces platform  22  upward thereby maintaining upward pressure on the tablet magazine and maintaining direct contact of the top most tablet  27  with release mechanism  40 . 
     The cylinder  25  of the body portion  20  may also have on the interior portion thereof a plurality of channels or ridges for the platform  22  to ride vertically thereon in order that the platform  22  may move in the vertical direction in either the upward or downward direction in ready fashion. Further, multiple springs may be provided to maintain the efficacy of the bias against platform  22  when the tablet magazine is in the near empty condition. 
     As is depicted in the figures, the child resistant tablet dispenser  10  of the present invention additionally has a release mechanism  40  mounted on the top most end of the body portion  20 . The release mechanism  40  is designed to provide a child resistant dispensing feature wherein multiple actions are required in order to prevent dispensing of the tablet from the tablet magazine by a child. The release mechanism  40  of the present invention as depicted in the figures maybe comprised of a release button  34  which requires depression thereof and which must be completed after movement along a horizontal plane of the slide actuator  35 . Slide actuator  35  therefore prevents downward movement of the release button  34  unless the slide actuator  35  is placed in the release open or unlocked position, as is depicted in FIG.  2  and FIG.  3 . When the slide actuator is in the closed or locked position as shown in FIG. 1, the release button may not be depressed or the lid  30  may not be raised. 
     As shown in FIG.  2  and in FIG. 3, the slide actuator has been rotated in a counter-clockwise fashion in order to allow the button  34  to be depressed with a downward force. Once the button  34  is depressed, the lid  30  opens and rotates about hinge  31  allowing the top most tablet  27  to be dispensed through opening  32  of the release mechanism. Continued downward force on the release button  34  causes the top tablet  27  to be slide forward and out of opening  32  thereby allowing a user to pull the tablet  27  from release mechanism  40 . Thus, as can be seen, the child resistant tablet dispenser  10  of the present invention requires that a multiple number of actions are required in order to dispense the tablet from the tablet magazine  21  and through the release mechanism  40 . 
     The present invention is utilized to dispense individual tablets from tablet magazine  21 . These individual tablets may be comprised of pharmaceutical material, ver the counter medications, tobacco products or other material in which restrictions must be placed upon child access. Thus, it is desirable to prevent easy access to the contents of the dispenser  10  of the present invention and a child resistant dispenser is therefore desired. The overall size of the dispenser  10  of the present invention may be such that is readily hand held and actuated by multiple movement of the users thumb. 
     Returning to the figures, as shown in FIG. 4, the release mechanism  40  is depicted therein. The release mechanism  40  is comprised of the release button  34  and the button support bar  33  which extends downward therefrom. The button support bar  33  contacts the upper surface of the slide actuator  35  when the slide actuator is in the closed or locked position as depicted in FIG.  4 . Upward pressure is maintained against the release button  34  by spring  36  which resists downward pressure movement of the release button  34  and which therefore will require, depending upon the strength of spring  36 , significant agility and downward force in order to open the release mechanism  40 . 
     The release mechanism  40  further is comprised of lid  30  which rotates about hinge member  31  once the release button  34  is depressed downward after slide actuator is opened. Lid  30  is hingedly connected to lid mount  39  which, in this embodiment, is fixed between the lid and the release button  34 . As shown in the figures, the inner portion of the lid  30  has welded or integrally formed therein a retaining arm  42  which is a rigid structure allowing translation of the downward force placed upon the release button  34  into upward rotational force placed upon the interior upper surface of the lid  30 . Thus, downward force of release button  34  will cause the lid  30  to rotate about hinge  31 . The retaining arm  42  is also sufficiently rigid enough such that when the release button  34  is in the locked position as is depicted in FIG. 4, upward force on the lid  30  will not cause the lid to open and the retaining arm  42  will maintain the lid  30  in the closed and locked position. However, once the slide actuator  35  is in the open unlock position, the release button  34  may be depressed and retaining arm  42  causes lid  30  to rotate about hinge  31  and lid mount  39 . 
     Also shown in FIG.  4  and FIG. 5 is the slide arm  41  which is an additional semi-rigid or rigid structure which allows upward movement of the lid  30  to be translated to sliding movement in the horizontal plane by the slide hook  44  such that a right to left motion is completed and the top most tablet  27  is dispensed from the release mechanism  40 . Thus, as is shown in FIG. 5, the release button  34  has been depressed, retaining arm  42  has forced lid  30  to rotate about hinge  31 , and the slide arm  41 , working in conjunction with the upward movement of lid  30 , forces tablet  27  to be dispensed from the tablet magazine by the slide hook  44 . 
     As is shown in FIG.  5  and FIG. 4, beveled surface  43  works to allow the top tablet  27  to be removed readily by slide hook  44  by providing a curved or smooth surface for dispensing thereof. Once the top most tablet  27  has been released from the tablet magazine  21 , the lid  30  may be closed thereby forcing the slide arm  41  and slide hook  44  in the closed position as depicted in FIG.  4 . Further, the slide actuator  35  may be biased by another spring in the horizontal plane thereby forcing the slide actuator  35  in the closed and locked position once lid  30  is reclosed after dispensing of a tablet. Thus slide actuator  35  may have formed thereon a retaining notch for maintaining the slide actuator in the open position until the button  34  is depressed thereby causing the slide actuator  35  to work in conjunction with a biasing spring forcing the actuator back in the closed and locked position once the release button  34  returns to its upmost position as caused by the spring  36 . 
     As an alternative to the release button and slide actuator depicted in FIGS. 1-5, FIG. 6 depicts an another embodiment  100  of the release mechanism wherein instead of a release button, upward force is required along thumbpad  133  in order to open lid  130 . Initially however, in order to force the lid  130  in the upward and open position, the slide actuator  35  must again be activated in order to allow the support bar  138  to bypass slide actuator  35 . Thus, in operation, the slide actuator  35  is placed in the open unlocked position as depicted in FIG. 5, and upward force along thumbpad  133  allows the lid  130  to rotate about hinge  131  thereby opening the dispenser. As is shown, the hinge point  131  may be constructed of a hinge bracket  132  which straddles the lid  130  and which allows rotational movement of the lid  130  thereon. A biasing spring  136  may be provided such that the lid  130  is biased to the closed position and therefore, once opened, the lid  130  will attempt to reclose and lock. The hinge bracket  132  may straddle the lid  130  on the exterior surface thereof. However, alternative hinge points may be constructed thereby allowing rotational movement of the lid  130  about any axis defined by hinge  131 . 
     In conjunction with the lid  130  is a similar slide arm  41  which allows the dispensing of individual tablets from the tablet magazine  21  upon upward movement of the lid  130 . Thus, thumbpad  133  provides a frictional contact for the user to rotate the lid  130  about hinge  131  thereby releasing the top tablet from the tablet magazine  21  through the use of slide arm  41  and slide hook  44 . Such a design may be desirable when downward force is not necessarily desired and instead an upward force or sliding action would be preferred while still maintaining the multiple action requirement of a child resistant dispenser. 
     One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments which are presented for purposes of illustration only and not by limitation.