Child-proof and tamper-evident medication packaging

Abstract

A child-proof and tamper-evident medication dispenser mold assembly includes first and second mold halves configured to be reversibly mated to form a product mold having an interior chamber for receiving an edible compound and a channel extending from the interior chamber to an outside surface of the assembly. The assembly further includes a male hinge component disposed on the first mold half and a female hinge component disposed on the second mold half, wherein each of the male and female hinge components are operable to cooperatively form a hinge assembly for mating the first and said second mold halves in an operable configuration. The male hinge component includes an aperture. The aperture, channel and interior chamber are substantially coaxially aligned.

Claims

1. A medicated product container, comprising: a medicated product mold comprising: a securement member, a first mold portion and a second mold portion, wherein said first mold portion and said second mold portion are configured to be reversibly mated; wherein said first mold portion comprises a first component of a hinge assembly, a first portion of a securement fitting, a first interior recess defined by a first substantially concave wall for forming a first portion of said medicated product mold and a first channel half extending from said first recess to said first component of said hinge assembly; wherein said second mold portion comprises a second component of said hinge assembly, a second portion of said securement fitting, a second interior recess defined by a second substantially concave wall for forming a second portion of said medicated product mold and a second channel half extending from said second recess to said second component of said hinge assembly; wherein said securement fitting is configured for engagement with said securement member when said first mold portion is mated with said second mold portion; and wherein when said first and said second mold portions are mated, said first and said second channel halves cooperatively form a channel leading from said hinge assembly to said first and said second recesses.

2. The medicated product container of claim 1, wherein said securement fitting and said securement member are configured to cooperatively provide child-proofing of said product container.

3. The medicated product container of claim 2, wherein said securement fitting is a collar comprising at least one threaded portion, and said securement member is a cap comprising a complimentary threaded portion configured to require concurrent compression and twisting force to disengage said cap from said collar.

4. The medicated product container of claim 1, wherein said first and said second recesses cooperatively define a product mold for receiving a medication, a medication delivery matrix, or a mixture of a medication and a medication delivery matrix.

5. The medicated product container of claim 4, wherein said product mold is configured for producing a medicated lollipop product.

6. The medicated product container of claim 5, wherein said product mold comprises a design, indicia or marking transferrable to said medicated lollipop product.

7. The medicated product container of claim 4, wherein said first component of said hinge assembly is an L-shaped member having a first aperture therein; wherein said second component of said hinge assembly is a T-shaped member comprising: a shoulder extending perpendicularly to said second channel half, said shoulder comprising a second aperture; and a protrusion extending perpendicularly to said shoulder; and wherein a width of said protrusion is less than a width of said first aperture in said L-shaped member.

8. The medicated product container of claim 4, further comprising: a handle member; wherein at least a portion of said handle member has a cross-sectional shape and size complementary to said second aperture in said shoulder.

9. The medicated product container of claim 8, wherein said handle member prevents disengagement of said first and said second hinge assembly components when advanced through said first and said second apertures.

10. The medicated product container of claim 8, wherein said channel has a shape and size that is complimentary to said at least a portion of said handle member.

11. The medicated product container of claim 4, further comprising a tamper-evidency partition member adjacently disposed to said securement fitting.

12. The medicated product container of claim 11, wherein said partition member comprises an aperture for placing a tamper-evidency seal thereover.

13. The medicated product container of claim 1, wherein said second mold portion comprises at least one locking arm and said first mold portion comprises a number of locking arm apertures equal to the number of locking arms of said second mold portion; wherein said at least one locking arm and said locking arm apertures are configured to cooperatively engage said first mold portion with said second mold portion in a mated configuration.

14. A method for making a medicated lollipop product, comprising: providing a first medicated product mold portion, said first medicated product mold portion comprising: a first cavity portion defined by a first recess in a first wall of said first medicated product mold portion; a first hinge portion of a locking hinge; a first elongate channel half spanning said first cavity portion and said first hinge portion; and a first collar portion of a child-proof capping assembly; providing a second medicated product mold portion, said second product mold portion comprising: a second cavity portion defined by a second recess in a second wall of said second medicated product mold portion; a second hinge portion of said locking hinge; a second elongate channel half spanning said second cavity portion and said second hinge portion; and a second collar portion of said child-proof capping assembly; wherein said first cavity portion and said second cavity portion cooperatively define a lollipop head mold for receiving a medication, a medication delivery matrix, or a mixture of a medication and a medication delivery matrix; and wherein said first and said second elongate channel halves cooperatively form a channel for receiving a handle member that extends through said locking hinge into said first and said second cavity portions of the lollipop head mold portion.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising bringing said first medicated product mold portion and said second medicated product mold portion into a confronting relationship and placing said medication, said medication delivery matrix, or said mixture of said medication and said medication delivery matrix within said medicated product mold.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing a child-proof cap configured to reversibly engage said collar of said child-proof capping assembly; and engaging said cap with said collar.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein said locking hinge comprises an aperture for receiving said handle member therethrough.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising advancing at least a portion of said handle member through said aperture of said locking hinge and into said medicated product mold.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein said first cavity portion is juxtaposed between said first hinge portion and said first collar portion.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) The present embodiments are illustrated by way of the figures of the accompanying drawings, which may not necessarily be to scale, in which like references indicate similar elements, and in which:

(2) FIGS. 1-3 illustrate various perspective views of a child-proof and tamper-evident medication container according to one embodiment;

(3) FIG. 4 illustrates a plurality of serially-connected first mold body halves (frame A) and plurality of serially-connected second mold body halves (frame B) capable of cooperatively forming a plurality of child-proof and tamper-evident medication containers according to one embodiment;

(4) FIG. 5 shows magnified views of first and second halves of a child-proof and tamper-evident medication container according to one embodiment; and

(5) FIG. 6 illustrates a bottom view of a child-proof and tamper-evident medication container mold body half, according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

(6) As used herein the term child-proof is not an absolute term, but one that is meant to define packaging that is significantly difficulty for a small child, e.g., of the age of about 0-7 years old, to open and thereby access the contents of the package. Similarly, the term tamper-proof is non-absolute, instead referring to packaging that readily informs a person, e.g., by visual or tactile cues, if certain security or tamper-evidency packaging elements have been breached or meddled with.

(7) Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, perspective views of a child-proof and tamper-evident medication container (hereinafter container) 100 are shown in an assembled configuration according to one embodiment. In this embodiment, the container 100 is a mold formed from first and second product mold halves 105, 110, respectively. The first and second mold halves 105, 110 are configured such that they can be reversibly mated in an operable configuration to form a mold for making medicated lollipops. The medicated lollipops can serve as a delivery matrix for delivering a medication to a subject. It should be understood that the container 100 can be formed in various sizes and shapes to appeal to children, for marketing, advertising or other considerations and is not limited solely to the embodiments illustrated in the figures.

(8) In this embodiment, an interior reservoir is formed when the first and second mold halves 105, 110 are mated together, where the shape and volume of the interior reservoir is defined in part by the inner surface of exterior wall 150. An upper portion of the reservoir is defined in part by partition 155, the center of which includes aperture 115 which can be used for filling the reservoir with a medicating compound or delivery matrix in liquid form during manufacture of a medicated lollipop as described in greater detail below. Bottom aperture 163 is configured to receive a handle member 140 which, in this embodiment, forms the stick of the medicated lollipop. When placed as illustrated in FIG. 3, handle member 140 fits into bottom aperture 163, thereby forming a plug that substantially prevents leakage of the medicating compound through bottom aperture 163 when forming a medicated lollipop from a solidifiable liquid or semi-liquid compound or mixture.

(9) In this embodiment, container 100 includes a securement fitting and a securement member that cooperatively secures first (105) and second (110) mold halves together in a childproof configuration. In this embodiment, the securement fitting is a circumferential collar 120 extending generally perpendicularly from the perimeter of partition 155. In this embodiment, collar 120 includes one or more threaded portions, e.g., threaded portion 125 that are collectively configured to engage a correspondingly threaded portion of the securement member. In this embodiment, the securement member is a cap member 121 for cooperatively forming a child-proof cap assembly with collar 120. For example, the threaded portion 125 can be configured so that, to remove the cap from the collar, a simultaneous application of a downward-urging force (toward bottom aperture 163) and twisting of the cap 121 can be required, similar to child-proof caps available for certain prescription medication bottles. It should be understood that other alternative combinations of securement fitting and securement member can be used, for example, snap-lock assemblies, post-and-lever assemblies, and other mechanisms for child-proofing.

(10) In this and other embodiments, the combination of collar 120 and a correspondingly-configured child-proof cap can cooperatively prevent the container 100 from being disassembled into its constituent first and second mold halves 105, 110 when the cap is engaged with the collar 120.

(11) In this embodiment, a bottom portion of the container 100 includes a hinge assembly 160 including male and female interlocking components as described in greater detail below. The hinge assembly 160 is configured such that bottom portions of the first and second mold halves 105, 110 can be brought together in a hinged relationship; the container can then be assembled in an operative configuration for receiving a medicated compound by subsequently bringing each of the first and second mold halves 105, 110 together in a confronting relationship, as shown in FIGS. 1-3. Thus, first (105) and second (110) mold halves can be effectively locked into the container configuration shown, e.g., in FIGS. 1-3 by joining male and female interlocking components of the hinge assembly 160, inserting a stick therethrough as described in greater detail below, aligning the first and second mold halves 105, 110 as shown, and applying the child-proof cap 121 to collar 120. In such a configuration, both the top of the container 100 (e.g., near collar 120) and the bottom of the container (e.g., near hinge assembly 160) can be locked in a child-proof and tamper-evident configuration. An adult, however, can remove the cap using a twisting motion to disengage it from collar 120, thereby unlocking the container 100 and allowing access to a medicated lollipop therein.

(12) Referring now to FIG. 4, first (105, frame A) and second (110, frame B) mold halves are shown serially-coupled to a neighboring mold half to illustrate one approach for forming a plurality of containers 100. In FIG. 4, certain components discussed with respect to FIGS. 1-3 are shown halved and referred to by a and b suffixes to the identifiers used in FIGS. 1-3. For example, respective halves of channel 130 are referred to as 130a and 130b on each mold half, respectively. In this embodiment, each mold half component is joined to a neighboring mold half component by arm 170. In one embodiment, the connecting intersection of each arm 170 can include a perforated or thinned section to allow separation between a mold half and its neighbor; it should also be understood that such a perforated section can also allow separation of a container 100 in assembled form (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 1-3). Other approaches providing seperability of containers 100 can be substituted according to preference.

(13) In this embodiment, the first mold half 105 includes a first set of alignment arms 172 that are configured to be inserted into a corresponding set of alignment apertures 174 disposed in the second mold half 110. Similarly, the second mold half 110 includes a plurality of locking arms 176 that are configured to be received and reversibly-lockingly engaged by a correspondingly-disposed plurality of locking arm apertures 178 disposed in the first mold half 105. The alignment arms 172, alignment apertures 174, locking arms 176 and locking arm apertures 178 are configured in such a way as to align the first (105) and second (110) mold halves prior to engagement therebetween for assembling the container 100 in an operative configuration, e.g., as shown in FIGS. 1-3. It should be understood, however, that the alignment mechanisms shown and discussed are one of many possible approaches for proving mold half alignment during assembly of the container 100 and that other approaches may be substituted according to preference.

(14) In this embodiment, the size and shape of a medicated lollipop formed in container 100 can be defined by interior walls 180a, 180b, which together form the interior cavity of the container 100 when surfaces 101 and 102 are brought to a confronting relationship. In this embodiment, the interior walls 180a, 180b are shown as smooth, concave surfaces; however, it should be understood that the interior walls can be formed into any desired shape, e.g., disc-shaped, square-shaped, etc. Furthermore, in one embodiment, one or both of the interior walls 180a, 180b can include molded indicia which will transfer to the exterior surface of a medicated lollipop product when formed. For example, molded indicia can include a name of a medication contained in the lollipop, a medication dosage, manufacturer, trademark, advertising or other indicia that will be present on a medicated lollipop formed within container 100.

(15) Referring now to FIG. 5, first (105) and second (110) halves of container 100 are shown in greater detail to highlight portions of hinge assembly 160 which includes an L-shaped female hinge portion 160a and a T-shaped male hinge portion 160b. In this embodiment, the female hinge portion 160a includes an L-shaped arm member 164 which itself includes an aperture 166, and the male hinge portion 160b includes a shoulder 162 and a protrusive tongue member 161 extending therefrom. Shoulder 162 additionally includes a substantially centrally-disposed aperture 163 having a shape substantially equal to the cross-section of handle 140, so that handle 140 forms a plug when inserted into aperture 163. In this embodiment, recess 166 is configured to receive tongue member 161 as illustrated by the dashed line therebetween in FIG. 5.

(16) In this embodiment, the first and second mold halves 105, 110 are configured such that when tongue 161 is received into recess 166, and each mold half 105, 110 is oriented to bring surfaces 101 and 102 into a confronting relationship during assembly of the container 100, aperture 163 is coaxially aligned with channel 130. In this configuration, handle 140 can serve as a locking member by advancing handle 140 through aperture 163 and into channel 130 to substantially prevent the female and male hinge portions 160a, 160b from decoupling. Such a configuration allows advantageous interlocking of the hinge assembly 160 for child-proofing and tamper evidency, while also allowing handle 140, the lollipop stick, to be inserted through aperture 163 and into channel 130 for forming a medicated lollipop product.

(17) In this embodiment, a medicated lollipop can be formed by assembling the container 100 as shown, e.g., in FIGS. 1-3. Next, a lollipop handle 140 can be inserted through aperture 163 of hinge assembly 160 as described, through channel 130, and at least partially into the interior reservoir defined in part by interior walls 180a, 180b. Next, the reservoir can be filled with, e.g., a solidifiable liquid or semi-liquid delivery matrix, including a medication if desired, through aperture 115. Medications can be any type of medicinal compound, pharmacological agent, drug or similar compound; a delivery matrix can be, e.g., a non-medicinal, ingestible substance, one which preferably has no affinity for chemical interaction with the medicating compound. Non-limiting examples of a delivery matrix include a flavored corn syrup/sugar mixture used in the formation of lollipops and other hard or semi-hard candies.

(18) Next, as an alternative step, a tamper-evident seal can be placed onto partition 155 so as to cover aperture 115. The tamper-evident seal can be placed and configured over aperture 115 such that it will break, tear or otherwise exhibit signs of tampering if the container 100 has been opened or otherwise compromised, e.g., if first and second mold halves 105, 110 have been separated, or any other attempt to access or alter contents within the container 100. Similarly, tamper-evidency seals, tapes or other mechanisms can be placed on other portions of the container 100 to make any attempts to open the container by a person other than the consumer plainly evident.

(19) In this embodiment, when a consumer wishes to access the medicated lollipop, e.g., the parent of a child for whom the medicated lollipop is intended, they can remove cap 121 from collar 120 by defeating the child-proof mechanism present, e.g., by applying concurrent downward and twisting force to the cap. Pull tabs 105a, 110a, each of which are integral with first (105) and second (110) mold halves respectively, can then be pulled apart in opposite directions. This can expose the edible portion of the lollipop; the lollipop, including stick 140 can then be pulled through the hinge assembly 160 and channel 130 to completely disassociate from the container 100. It should be noted that, in this embodiment, partition 155 prevents the lollipop from being advanced upward, out of container 100 until the first (105) and second (110) mold halves are at least partially separated. In a preferred embodiment, aperture 166 has an elongate shape configured to allow the first (105) and second (110) mold halves to be hingedly separated by a desired amount without the male and female portions of the hinge assembly (160a, 160b) pinching the handle member.

(20) Thus, in this embodiment, container 100 provides child-proof protection of a medicated lollipop by virtue of the hinge assembly 160 and engagement between a cap and collar 120 assembly, which both cooperate to substantially prevent first (105) and second (110) mold halves from separating without the strength and dexterity owned by an adult to remove the cap from the collar 120. The container 100 additionally provides tamper evidency of the medicated lollipop product by providing partition 155 which provides a surface to effectively cover aperture 115 with a tamper-evidency seal or other mechanism. Further tamper evidency can be provided by applying additional tamper evidency seals on exterior portions of the container, e.g., along or circumferentially perpendicular to the interface of first (105) and second (110) mold half portions.

(21) A number of illustrative embodiments have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the various embodiments presented herein. For example, while a child-proof cap-and-collar combination has been described for child-proofing the container 100, other alternative mechanisms may be employed to achieve the same or similar benefits. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.