Tamper evident closure container

• US 9,333,289 B1
• Filed: 01/16/2015
• Issued: 05/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Plas-Tech Engineering, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Plas-Tech Engineering, Inc.
• Inventors: Hirschmann, Aaron, Hacker, Robert, Fesus, Robert, Grimes, Christopher J, Talbot Griffith, Hannah M
• Primary Examiner(s): Ackun, Jacob K
• Application Number:
  US14/599,202
• Time in Patent Office: 480 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/002 Packages specially adapted therefor, e.g. for syringes or needles, kits for diabetics needle protection, e.g. caps, A61M5/3202; for sharps A61B50/3001
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/31501 Means for blocking or restricting the movement of the rod or piston A61M5/5013 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/31525 Dosing burettes, pipettes B01L3/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/50 having means for preventing re-use, or for indicating if defective, used, tampered with or unsterile retractable needles or needle protectors with means for preventing re-use A61M5/321
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 55/06 Deformable or tearable wires, strings, or strips containers specially constructed to be opened by tear-strips, strings or the like B65D17/00; caps or cap-like closures with tear-strips B65D41/32; Use of seals , e.g. destructible locking pins B65D55/022 takes precedence

Abstract

A closure container that can house a preset drug applicator in an easily accessible manner with tamper evidencing means. The closure container contains a plurality of dosing ribs and a retainer to retain the syringe in a preset dosage amount and preferably has a window to view the barrel of the syringe. The container is also configured to be removably attached to other closure containers.

Claims

1. A tamper evident closure container comprising:

a first casing member and a second casing member, the second casing member having an inner surface with a plurality of transverse dosing ribs, a bridge, and a retainer projecting therefrom that are configured to cradle a syringe containing a predetermined amount of fluid;

a fastener having a tamper-evident pull-tab, the fastener being connected to one of the first casing member and the second casing member and configured to releasably maintain closure of the container; and

a female stacking structure formed on one of the first casing member and the second casing member and a male stacking structure formed on the other of the first casing member and the second casing member.

2. The tamper evident closure container of claim 1, wherein

the female stacking structure comprises a plurality of holes provided in the one of the first casing member and the second casing member;

and

the male stacking structure comprises a plurality of catches protruding from the other of the first casing member and the second casing member in an orientation and spacing commensurate with the plurality of holes.

3. The tamper evident closure container of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of catches has an arm extending substantially parallel with and spaced from a planar portion of an outer surface of the other of the first casing member and the second casing member.

4. The tamper evident closure container of claim 1, wherein

the female stacking structure comprises a plurality of holes provided in the one of the first casing member and the second casing member;

and

the male stacking structure comprises a plurality of tabs extending substantially perpendicularly from an outer surface of the other of the first casing member and the second casing member, the tabs being arranged in an orientation and spacing commensurate with the plurality of holes.

5. The tamper evident closure container of claim 4, wherein each tab has a protuberance spaced from the outer surface of the other of the first casing member and the second casing member by a distance substantially equivalent to a thickness defined between and including an inner surface and an outer surface of the one of the first casing member and the second casing member.

6. The tamper evident closure container of claim 1, wherein

the fastener depends from the first casing member and comprises a barb;

and

the second casing member comprises a slot in which the barb is receivable.

7. The tamper evident closure container of claim 1, wherein the first casing member further comprises:

an inner surface with a plurality of transverse dosing ribs, a bridge, and a retainer projecting inwardly therefrom and configured to at least partially surround the syringe.

8. The tamper evident closure container of claim 7, wherein the transverse dosing ribs of the first casing member are longitudinally offset from the transverse dosing ribs of the second casing member.

9. The tamper evident closure container of claim 1, wherein each transverse dosing rib is placed to correspond to a different selected predetermined amount of fluid in the syringe.

10. The tamper evident closure container of claim 9, wherein the predetermined amount of fluid is selected from the group of fluid measurements consisting of 0.25 mL, 0.5 mL, 0.75 mL, and 1.0 mL.

11. The tamper evident closure container of claim 1, further comprising:

a window surface formed on one of the first casing member and the second casing member, wherein the window is formed on the first casing member by;

masking a window portion of the first casing member with a mask material;

surface treating at least a portion of each of the first casing member and the second casing member; and

removing the mask material from the window portion.

12. The tamper evident closure container of claim 11, wherein the window surface is positioned on the container to enable visual access to a barrel of a retained syringe.

13. The tamper evident closure container of claim 1, wherein the container is formed as a unitary injection-molded piece, and the first casing member and second casing member are hingedly connected by a living hinge.

14. A system for retaining syringes comprising:

a first closure container according to claim 1; and

a second closure container according to claim 1,

wherein the male stacking structure of the first closure container is mated with the female stacking structure of the second closure container.