Patent ID: 6874636

Claim:
A lock and release mechanism of a unit dose package having an outer sleeve and a slide card configured to slidably fit within the outer sleeve, the outer sleeve having first, second, and third panels, wherein the second panel is foldable over the first panel and the third panel is foldable over the second panel, and the slide card having first, second, third, and fourth side panels, the first and third side panels are foldable over the second and fourth side panels, respectively, wherein the first side panel has an end flap extending away from a side edge and the second side panel has an end flap extending away from a side edge, the lock and release mechanism comprising: a cut away formed in the second panel of the outer sleeve, the cut away having a pair of legs extending therefrom and defining a node therebetween; a cut line formed in the end flap of the first side panel of the slide card, wherein the cut line bifurcates the end flap of the first side panel to define first and second engaging segments; a throat region formed in the end flap of the second side panel of the slide card, wherein the throat region bifurcates the end flap of the second side panel to define first and second engaging segments, and wherein the first and second engaging segments of the bifurcated end flaps of the first and second side panels engage an engaging surface of the cut away to prevent the slide card from unintentionally sliding within the outer sleeve; and release means for releasing the slide card from a locked state, wherein the release means is formed in the third panel of the outer sleeve, and wherein the first and second engaging segments of the bifurcated end flaps of the first and second side panels are disengaged from the engaging surface of the cut away by depressing the node via the release means.