Container with tamper indicator using piped light
First Claim
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1. A packaging system for packaging a product and indicating whether the packaging system has been opened so as to provide evidence of tampering, said system comprising, in combination:
- a container;
a cap, including a top and a skirt, for closing the container;
light guide means for providing said evidence of tampering and including a light collecting surface for collecting ambient light, a light emitting surface for emitting at least a portion of the light transmitted through the guide means, and an intermediate section between said light collecting and emitting surfaces and constructed so as to be in a first condition when said cap is initially secured to said container and in a second condition when said cap is initially removed from said container, and wherein said light guide means is secured within said cap so that the light collecting surface collects light at the top of said cap, and the light emitting surface emits light from the skirt of said cap when said intermediate section is in at least one of said conditions; and
means for permanently modifying said intermediate section so as to change the condition of said intermiate section from said first condition to said second condition when said cap is initially removed from said container so as to alter the light emitted from said light emitting surface.
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Abstract
A tamper evident device is disclosed herein comprising in its most basic form a light guide with finished ends; one of which serves to collect light, the other to emit said light to serve as a light emitting indicator. The invention is attached to closures and containers so that upon opening, the light path is interrupted causing the indicator to go dark, thus signalling a tampered condition.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A packaging system for packaging a product and indicating whether the packaging system has been opened so as to provide evidence of tampering, said system comprising, in combination:
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a container; a cap, including a top and a skirt, for closing the container; light guide means for providing said evidence of tampering and including a light collecting surface for collecting ambient light, a light emitting surface for emitting at least a portion of the light transmitted through the guide means, and an intermediate section between said light collecting and emitting surfaces and constructed so as to be in a first condition when said cap is initially secured to said container and in a second condition when said cap is initially removed from said container, and wherein said light guide means is secured within said cap so that the light collecting surface collects light at the top of said cap, and the light emitting surface emits light from the skirt of said cap when said intermediate section is in at least one of said conditions; and means for permanently modifying said intermediate section so as to change the condition of said intermiate section from said first condition to said second condition when said cap is initially removed from said container so as to alter the light emitted from said light emitting surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A packaging system for packaging a product and indicating whether the packaging system has been opened so as to provide evidence of tampering, said system comprising, in combination:
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a container having a top and bottom as determined by the container when in an upright position; a cap for closing the top of the container; light guide means including a light collecting surface for collecting ambient light, a light emitting surface for emitting at least a portion of the ambient light transmitted through the guide means, and an intermediate section between the light collecting surface and light emitting surface, wherein said light guide means is secured within said cap when the cap intially closes the container so that when the container is in its upright position the light collecting surface faces generally in a vertical direction so as to collect ambient light generally from above the container and cap and the light emitting surface faces generally in a horizontal direction so as to emit light generally in the horizontal direction; and means for permanently modifying said interrupt section when said cap is initially removed from said container so as to modify the light emitted from said light emitting surface. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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Specification