Two-Part Mountable Child-Resistant Vial

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/652,778, filed on May 29, 2024, the content of which is incorporated by reference herein.

The present invention relates to child-resistant vials.

Various types of vials are commonly used to dispense prescription medications. One of the simplest types includes a container with a separate cap that is removably mounted to the container, allowing the cap to be detached by simply pulling it off.

Child-resistant vials have been known for some time and exist in various forms. In one type, the container includes a cap that is pivotally mounted to the container and automatically locks into place when closed. These vials generally include a latching mechanism that requires two simultaneous user actions to open, thereby limiting access by children.

A drawback of such child-resistant vials is that they are typically not compatible with automated filling systems. In particular, the cap, when open, may obstruct the container opening or interfere with the filling mechanism during the filling process.

The problem of a pivotable cap of a child-resistant vial being in the way during the automatic filling of such vials is solved by providing a two-part vial assembly, where the cap is permanently attachable to the container after the filling thereof.

According to an illustrative embodiment, there is provided a child-resistant vial comprising:

According to another illustrative embodiment, there is provided a one-piece cap assembly for a child-resistant vial comprising:

According to yet another illustrative embodiment, there is provided a vial comprising:

According to still another illustrative embodiment, there is provided a two-part vial assembly comprising a one-piece container; and a one-piece cap assembly including i) a mounting portion that is permanently attachable to the container, and ii) a cap pivotably mounted to the mounting portion for selectively closing the container in a sealed and lockable manner when the cap assembly is mounted to the container.

It is believed that the meaning of the expression “child-resistant” is well known in the art. It should therefore not be limited herein in any way. The expression “child-resistant” as used herein characterizes an object having a function that cannot be executed by a typical child or by a typical person having limited abilities with their hands, such as arthritics. This includes, without limitation, functions which can only successfully be performed by combining at least two actions.

The expressions ‘permanently attachable’, ‘permanently mounted’, ‘mounted in a permanent fashion/manner’ are to be construed as being attachable or mounted in such a way that it cannot be detached unless it is broken or damaged.

Other objects, advantages and features of embodiments of a child-resistant vial and of a cap assembly therefor will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of illustrative embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description, similar features in the drawings have been given similar reference numerals, and in order not to weigh down the figures, some elements are not referred to in some figures if they were already identified in a precedent figure. Herein, it shall further be noted that, for avoiding unnecessary details obscuring the invention, only device structures and/or processing steps closely relevant to schemes according to the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings while omitting other details less relevant to the invention.

The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term “comprising” in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one”, but it is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more”, “at least one”, and “one or more than one”. Similarly, the word “another” may mean at least a second or more.

As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (and any form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having” (and any form of having, such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and any form of including, such as “include” and “includes”) or “containing” (and any form of containing, such as “contain” and “contains”), are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional un-recited elements.

A two-part mountable child-resistant vial, according to a first illustrative embodiment, will now be described with reference to.

According to the first illustrative embodiment, the child-resistant vialis assembled from only two molded parts (see in): a containerand a cap assembly. Once assembled, the two parts form a child-resistant vial(see for example in), that is equipped with a hinged capthat is closable onto the containerin a child-resistant manner.

The two molded partsandare obtained through a conventional molding process using a polymeric material such as copolymeric polypropylene. Other materials can also be used, which can further be, for example, biodegradable.

With reference more specifically to, the containeris a one-piece body that includes a cylindrical wallclosed by a bottomnear a first longitudinal endthereof.

With reference now more specifically to, the containerfurther includes a first cooperating part in the form of a rimat the second longitudinal endthereof. The rimis formed of by a radially outwardly extending portion, and a flange portionextending downwardly from the portion.

In addition to the cap, the cap assemblycomprises an annular element, which includes a second cooperating partthat is configured to engage with the first cooperating partin a locking manner for fixedly mounting the cap assemblyto the containeron the top peripheral edge thereof in a permanent manner. The capis integral to the annular elementvia a hinge.

As will be described hereinbelow in more detail, the annular elementand the capincludes respective first and second latching elementsand, which can be seen for example in.

With reference more specifically to, the second cooperating partof the first annular elementis in the form of a vertical annular ring, which is provided with a series of equidistant teeth, protruding from the ringtowards the center of the annular element. Each toothincludes, at its bottom edge, a generally vertical beveled hook portion.

The first annular elementfurther includes a skirtwhich extends downwardly from the vertical annular ringand is further radially distanced therefrom by a horizontal annular bridge.

The height of the annular ringgradually increases from the hingeto the second latching element, while the height of the skirtinversely decreases along the same portions, yielding a constant height of the annular element.

The vertical annular ringand the teethare configured and sized to allow annular snap-fit of the ringaround the rim, the hook portionof the teethsliding along the rimuntil they are positioned thereunder, thereby locking the annular ringonto the rimin a permanent fashion.

The mounting of the annular elementof the cap assemblyonto the rimis eased by the beveled configuration of the hook portionof the teethand the inward flexibility of the ringrelative to the skirt, considering their relative attachment via the annular bridge.

According to the first illustrative embodiment, the teethare relatively spaced apart along the annular ring, yielding gapsin the annular ringto save on plastic, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

As can be seen in, the teethare also tapered downwardly to further save on plastic and to meet manufacturing constraints.

According to another illustrative embodiment (not shown), the number and/or configuration of the teethare different than illustrated.

As described hereinabove, and with reference to, the first annular elementfurther comprises the first latching element, in the form of a tab that is attached near its upper edgeto the outer skirtat a position diametrically opposite the hinge.

More specifically, the tabextends from the upper edgeof the annular partvia a bridgeformed by an increase thickness along the upper edge of the tab. A slitis provided within the bridge, therealong, to increase the range of movement of the tabtowards the container.

The tabfurther includes an ergonomic oval thumb-receiving recesson its outward or front sidenear the bottom edge thereof. The bottom portionof the tabis recessed along its width, defining a shoulder.

With now reference more specifically to, the capwill now be described in more detail.

The capis in the form of a disk including concentric inner and outer skirtsand, and a small seal ringtherebetween. The diameters and radial positions of the skirts-and seal ringare such that, when the capis closed onto the annular element, i) the inner skirtis slightly inserted within the containerin a snugly fit manner, ii) the free edgeof the outer skirtrests onto an annular shoulderformed by a radially-recessed portionin the outer skirtof the annular element, and iii) the seal ringabuts onto the upper edge of the annular ring.

The second latching elementis defined on the outer skirta) by a longer portionthereof, which is positioned diametrically opposite the hinge, and b) a trapezoid cuttherein, which is configured for complementary receiving the tabtherethrough. The cutis slightly greater than the tabto allow tilting movements of the tabwithin the cuttowards the peripheral wallof the containerabout the bridge.

The enlarged portionis so configured and sized that a portionthereof that is below the cutrests on the recessed bottom edgeof the tab, when the capis closed.

A lipis provided on the enlarged portionbelow the cut, perpendicularly therefrom, which defines a gripping element on the second latching element, to help a user lifting the capwhile they push the tabto release it from the cut, allowing opening the vial.

Both the inner and outer skirtsandare slightly tapered from the enlarged portionto the hinge, which eases the closing of the capby its pivoting about the hinge.

In operation, after assembly of the two partsand, the vialis closed by pivoting the captowards the containeruntil the cutis moved about the tab, which causes the automatic child-resistant and sealingly locking of the caponto the container. In this position, the triggeris prevented from being accessed from all its side, except from its front face, and can only be pushed towards the container wall. Thereby, only the combined actions of pushing on the taband lifting the capallows releasing the tabfrom the cut-outto open the vial.

A person skilled in the art will appreciate that removing the tabby jiggling or cutting it, when the capis open, allows converting the vialfrom child-resistant to easy to open.

According to some embodiments, the portion of the containerbehind the tabis provided with writing, marks, symbols, or other (not shown) to indicate to the user that a child safety feature of the vial has been removed. Such an indication can be in the form of a symbol, text, etc. and can be molded on the container, engraved, or affixed thereon using a sticker thereto.

According to such an embodiment, the presence of the tabhides such an indication, and its removal reveals it.

The first and second cooperating parts are not limited to the illustrative embodiments. For example, the first cooperating part, on the container, can be in the form of an annular ring (not shown) similar to the ring, provided with teethor with other locking elements, and the second cooperating part, on the annular element of the cap assembly, can be in the form of an annular ring or a skirt.

Also, the first and second latching elements can be reversed, i.e., that the first latching element, on the annular part, is in the form of a portion of a skirt having a cut-out therein (not shown) or, more generally, of a female cooperating part, and the second latching element, on the cap, is in the form of a tab, or of any male cooperating part.

According to still another illustrative embodiment, the vial is not child-resistant, and the latching elements are omitted.

According to still another illustrative embodiment, a seal ring is provided on the annular part of the cap assembly or omitted.

It is to be noted that many modifications could be made to the vialdescribed hereinabove and illustrated in the appended drawings. For example:

Turning now to, a two-part mountable child-resistant vialaccording to a second illustrative embodiment will now be described. Since the vialis similar to the vial, only the differences therebetween will be described herein in more detail for concision purposes.