SECURITY CONTAINER WITH LOCKING LID

Abstract: A container of the type requiring more than one operation to open, comprises a hollow body, a lid for the body, and a manually-operable member that is biassed into a first position at which the member engages the closed lid, and moveable against the bias into a second position at which the lid is releasable, wherein the lid is closeable when the member is in the first position.

Description: SECURITY CONTAINER WITH LOCKING LID Field of the Invention This invention relates to containers, and in particular to security containers of the type requiring more than one operation to open them. Such containers include child-resistant containers that hold medicaments. Background of the Invention Containers of pharmaceuticals or medicaments in solid dose form, such as tablets, pills or pellets, should be secure. More specifically, they should be child-proof or child-resistant, i.e. they should be difficult or impossible to open, by a simple operation. One known type of security container has a screw-on lid that must be pressed firmly down before it can be unscrewed. Another type has a lid that must be correctly aligned before it can be prised off. However, a press-down lid may be very difficult for the aged or arthritic to operate, while the most common container requiring alignment (of respective marks on the lid and on the container body) may be too easily opened by an intelligent child. US-A-4535903 describes a security container in which the lid includes a retractable member. When retracted, there is no evident means of opening the lid; manipulation of the member, through a window in the lid, allows it to be pushed out from the lid, only then providing an evident tab, for opening the lid. Although this device should be easy to operate without it being readily evident how it can be opened, it suffers from several practical disadvantages. These disadvantages include ease of opening, e.g. by a child using teeth, or accidental opening, even when the retractable member is retracted, and the difficulty of balancing ease of retraction/opening, e.g. for the infirm or those with large fingers, with desired security. Further, a bulky lid is required, especially if the retractable member is to be adequately durable, with attendant problems of plastic shrinkage, and difficulty in moulding and manufacture, e.g. non-suitability for ultrasonic welding. This also means that the container must be sufficiently large that it will not generally be considered portable. US-A-3901407 discloses a locking cap assembly for a filler neck, e.g. of an automobile gasoline tank. The cap is releasable only after a partially-visible shaft is depressed, and this depression is only possible following correct setting of a combination lock. The numerals on the combination lock are visible at all times. The intention is to make opening of the cap impossible for all but the user who knows a pre-set combination. WO-A-9526307 also discloses a container of the type requiring more than one operation to open. This container comprises a hollow body, a lid for the body, means for realisably engaging the lid such that the body is closed, and a marked member. The marked member is moveable between a first position at which the mark is hidden and said means engages the lid and a second position at which the mark is visible and the lid is releasable. This container is predicated on the non-visibility of marks indicating that there is a means of opening; by contrast, systems utilising a combination lock indicate that such means exist, but may be difficult to use successfully. Summary of the Invention According to the present invention, a security container of the general type described in WO-A-9526307 relies, not on the use of a marked member but on the provision of means for biasing the member into the first position, and the ability to close the lid when the member is in that position. In this way, the container is self- locking. Description of the Invention As described in more detail in WO-A-9526307, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, the manually-operable member is preferably a knurled cylinder, in one or more parts, sitting in a window-like aperture in the side of the container body. It may be rotatable in a plane that is generally parallel to a lid on top of the body. The lid may be slidable, e.g. within rebated grooves, in which case it will generally engage the upper face of the cylinder. Alternatively, the lid may be hingedly attached to the container, in which case it generally includes a lug that engages an under face of the cylinder. It is particularly preferred that the cylinder should include one or more recesses which the lug engages, in which case depression of the lid may be necessary in order to release the cylinder. The biasing means may be provided by one or more flexible protrusions formed as part of the container body and/or on the cylinder. Alternatively, the cylinder may be spring-mounted on its axis; the spring may be integral or independent. Other biasing means will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an exploded view of a container of the invention; Figure 2 is of associated orthogonal sectional views of the top part of a container embodying the present invention, shown in the locked position; Figure 3 shows the embodiment of Fig. 2, in the unlocked position; Figure 4 shows the same embodiment, with the lid opened; Figure 5 is a perspective view that shows the construction of the embodiment of Figs. 2-4, illustrating how the body is formed as a one-piece construction; Figure 6 is a perspective view of part of the same embodiment, in greater detail; Figures 7-8 show views corresponding respectively to those of Figs. 2-3, of an alternative embodiment of the invention; Figure 9 is of associated sectional views of a further container of the invention; Figure 10 is of associated orthogonal cut-away views of the top part of the container of Fig. 9, in the locked and unlocked positions; Figures 11 and 12 are perspective views of parts of alternative embodiments of the invention; Figure 13 is a schematic view of a part of a yet further embodiment of the invention; and Figure 14 is of associated orthogonal schematic views (partially cut-away) of yet another embodiment of the invention. Fig. 1 shows a security container comprising a top part 1 and a lower part 2, a lid 3 and a cylinder 4 that is rotatable in a corresponding recess seen at 5 in the top part 2. The top part is described in greater detail below. Fig. 2 shows the top part only of the security container. This part comprises an external wall 11 and an internal wall 12. The wall 12 is shaped as a funnel, to aid release of the contents. The lid 3 has an integral lug 13 on which is formed a nib 14. A cylindrical member 15 is rotatable within a part of the wall of the container. The container is formed with a flexible protrusion 16 which acts against an extension 17 of the cylindrical member, biasing it into the position shown. Movement of the cylindrical member in the opposite direction is prevented by means of the enlarged portion 18. An underface of the cylindrical member is formed with a recess 19 that engages with the nib 14. This (or a downstand, or bumpstop, by way of example) provides an added locking feature. When the lid is depressed in the direction of the arrow 20 shown in Fig. 3, the nib and recess are disengaged, and the cylinder can be moved into the unlocked position shown in Fig. 3B. The lid can now be opened, as shown in Fig. 4. When no longer operated, the cylinder will automatically return to the locked position shown in Fig. 2. However, the lid can still be closed, since the lug is flexible and can pass over the chamfer on the top surface of the cylindrical member. Once the lid is pressed home, it will automatically be in the closed position. Further details of these various components are shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Fig. 5 shows optional alignment indicators 21 and 22, and a seal 23. This seal serves to prevent air ingress, and provides a resilient surface against which the lid can be depressed, allowing release. The sides of the upper section of the container are locked together by one or more interference joints. Fig. 6 shows in particular a slot 24, through which the lug can pass in the open position. The biasing system means that the cylinder can only be turned in one direction. As the cylinder is turned towards the open position, the lug 17 on the cylinder presses against what is effectively a plastic spring 16, causing tension. Once the lid lug has risen up the vertical slot 24, the cylinder will automatically move back from the open position into a locked position as it is under tension. Figs. 7 and 8 correspond to Figs. 2 and 3 respectively. Instead of the protrusion 16, a recess 25 is provided. Fig. 9 shows a further embodiment of the container, comprising a top part 31 and a lower part 32 which have a latch fit at 33 and 34, providing an air and moisture seal (any similar joint, e.g. a knife-edge joint, or a bead and groove, would also be satisfactory) . A particular embodiment of the cylinder for use in such a container is shown in Fig. 10, where a generally cylindrical member " 35 is formed with a sprung arm 36, a retaining part 37 for the lid lug 38, another arm 39 and a stop member 40. The lid lug 38 is formed with a recess 41 that cooperates with an pin 42 of the arm 39. There is also a detent 43 on the body. The arm 36 is sprung so that, in the unbiased state, it has the configuration shown in Fig. 10B. In this (locked) position, the part 37 retains the lug 38. After depression of the lid, and then after rotation of the member 35 to the position shown in Fig. 10A, against the bias, but not beyond the interaction of stop member 40 and detent 43, the lug is released. In addition, the pin 42 on the arm 39 is adapted to ease past the recess 41, providing a lock in the open position. This is released on opening the lid. Fig. 11 shows an alternative cylinder 50, in various stages of rotation relative to a lug 51. The cylinder includes a slanted groove 52. As the lid is raised, the lug forces the cylinder to turn, and this means that when the lug is fully retracted, the groove 52 is no longer in an open position. If the lid was then closed, the lug would simply follow the route it took to open and the cylinder would rotate back into its original position. To stop the cylinder from returning to its original position, a ratchet mechanism may be incorporated on the upper cylinder bearing. Such a mechanism may also be incorporated on any or all of the bearings. This means that the cylinder can only fully turn in one direction. With the ratchet device, the lug cannot force the cylinder back in the direction it has come, and this in combination with the slanted groove 42 means that the lock is self- locking. As described with reference to Fig. 10, a preferred feature of the invention is that there should be parts on the lid and/or the cylinder, that cooperate to hold the cylinder, at least temporarily, in the open position. This enables the user to "locate" this position readily, by touch. Further embodiments of this feature will now * be described. Fig. 12 shows a cylinder as in Fig. 6, with the additional feature of nodules/dimples 53. They cooperate with corresponding dimples/nodules (not shown) on the lid, in the open position. When the lid is raised, the cooperation is lost and the cylinder returns automatically to the locked position. As alternatives to the nodules/dimples, cooperating pairs of detents, or a bar and detents, that slide past each other may be used. Fig. 13 shows an alternative means of achieving the same end. A cylinder 54 and a lid 55 (each shown in part) are shaped so that they are complementary in the closed position (Fig. 13A) and opposed in the open position (Fig. 13B) . These shapes are provided by the opposed quadrants, relatively high (H) and low (L) on the lower face of the lid (see Fig. 13C) and raised sections on the top of the cylinder (see Fig. 13D) . The embodiments described above utilise a hinged lid. An alternative is a sliding lid. Fig. 14 shows a sliding lid 60 that runs in rebated grooves within the edges 61 of the container. The top 62 of the cylinder 63 comprises an essentially circular flange 64 including a discontinuity 65 which corresponds to a bar 66 on the underside of the lid 60. Fig. 14A shows the container in the open position; at a different angular position of the cylinder, into which it is biassed by a spring (not shown) , the flange prevents the lid from being slid open. However, the chamfered edge 67 of the bar 66 allows the lid to be closed in that position. It will be readily apparent to the skilled reader that variations can be made in the embodiments described above, without departing from the invention. Thus, merely by way of example, individual components may be constructed from more than one part.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A container of the type requiring more than one operation to open, which comprises a hollow body, a lid for the body, and a manually-operable member that is biassed into a first position at which the member engages the closed lid, and moveable against the bias into a second position at which the lid is releasable, wherein the lid is closeable when the member is in the first position. 2. A container according to claim 1, in which the body includes a window-like aperture within which the member is moveable. 3. A container according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the member is a rotatable cylinder. 4. A container according to claim 3, wherein the lid lies across the top of the body, and the cylinder rotates in a plane parallel to the lid. 5. A container according to claim 4, wherein the lid is slidable, and the upper face of the member comprises on at least partially circular flange including a discontinuity corresponding to the second position. 6. A container according to any of claims 1 to 4, in which the lid is hingedly attached to the body and includes a tongue, reaching into the body, with a lug that is engaged by a face of the member opposite to the lid in the first position, the member being cut away so that the tongue can pass in the second position. 7. A container according to claim 6, in which the " lug positively engages with a corresponding recess in the member in the first position, and depression of the lid is required to ensure disengagement. 8. A container according to any preceding claim, in which the bias comprises a flexible protrusion formed as part of the body and/or of the member. 9. A container according to any preceding claim, in which the face of the member that engages the lid is essentially orthogonal to the direction in which the lid opens, and the opposite face is shaped, to allow the lid to ride over it, on closing. 10. A container according to any preceding claim, which comprises parts on the lid and/or on the member, that cooperate to hold the member in the second position.

Inventors: BROWN MALCOLM, GALTON-FENZI MILES DOUGLAS MON, BROWN, MALCOLM, GALTON-FENZI, MILES, DOUGLAS, MONTAGUE
Applicants: BGF HEALTH CARE PRODUCTS LTD, BROWN MALCOLM, GALTON FENZI MILES DOUGLAS MON, BGF HEALTH CARE PRODUCTS LTD., BROWN, MALCOLM, GALTON-FENZI, MILES, DOUGLAS, MONTAGUE
Application year: 1997
Main classification: B65D55
IPC codes: B65D43, B65D50, B65D55