US3381808A - Dispensing package - Google Patents

Description

May 7, 1968 l. R. MCGRAW u DISPENSING PACKAGE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed oct. 1o, 1966 FMEA DAT

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May 7, 1968 R. MCGRAW u 3,381,808

DISPENS ING PACKAG E Filed Oct. l0, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet z,

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United States Patent O 381,303 DISPENSING PACKAGE Isaac It. McGraw El, Canandaigua, NY., assigner to Wallace & Ternan inc., East Orange, NJ., a corporation of Delaware Filed Unt. 10, 1966, Ser. No. 585,581 Claims. (Cl. 20G- 42) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLSURE A sheet with a row of domes (downwardly facing cavities for articles) is slidably interposed between two larger sheets bonded to each other except at least in an area including a cut-out portion extending from one edge of the upper larger sheet. The domes of the rst sheet are located within that cut-out portion. The bonded sheets may be foldable to cover the domes and the covering one-half of the sheets have an unbonded area from one edge. The cut-out portion may extend to the opposite edge. A fourth sheet may be slidably located between the domed sheet and the bottom larger sheet.

This invention relates to a package that is capable of containing a number of small expendable articles, such as capsules, tablets and the like, and is constructed to permit the easy removal of such articles one at a time from the package. The invention relates more especially to such package in which the articles, contained by the package and removed as described above, are arranged in a row of seven articles for removal one at a time for each day of the week or to such package in which two or more rows of articles are packaged.

It has been customary to package articles, that are to be used one per day or during any other periods of time, in containers, such as glass or plastic vials, used with caps for enclosing the containers. In such a case it is necessary for the person who uses the article, such as a capsule or tablet, to remember during any given day or period of time that one of the articles has been taken from the container and used. Usually these containers are cylindrical in shape. This limits the placing of the package to certain pockets. The package is relatively bulky, Also, as the articles are removed for use, the container has a larger volumetric capacity than occupied by the remaining articles. The remaining articles move around within the container as being carried by the person who will use the articles perhaps at different places. In the case of capsules and tablets such movement can result in damage to these articles.

To avoid the foregoing deficiencies of packaging of articles as capsules and tablets in cylindrical containers, there have been developed a number of packages that are flat. In some cases the top portion of the package can be folded over to cover the lower portion of the package. Most of these at packages rare constructed to provide recesses or cavities, that are open at their top and in which the tablets or capsules are placed. These articles are retained in the capsules by removing an overlying sheet or strip of material. For example, in U.S. Patent No. 1,492,101 the strip of overlying retaining material is pulled back a part of the way to permit removal of a pill. Another flat package for holding and dispensing tablets or the like is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,182,789 in which pills are arranged in contact with one another in a row. The pills are in recesses of and are supported by the bottom panel of the package. The pills are covered with a sheet having a central domed portion. A top panel, integral with the bottom panel, has a central opening through which extends the domed portion when the top panel is overlying the bottom panel of the package.

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Other liat packages have been made in a manner to hold pills or the like in individual cavities with the package having printed indicia that indicate days of a week to correspond to the cavities. One such package is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,143,207. In that package the pills or other articles are held in the cavities in a row by an overlying, adhesive-containing strip that is lifted from one end to a sufficient degree to remove from its cavity the article that is desired. Thereafter the strip is returned to its initial overlying position, unless the last of the articles in a row is removed. Another package is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,225,913. That relatively flat package contains a relatively thick panel containing a number of recesses arranged in rows to receive capsules or tablets. The back of the cavities is closed by 4a hinged panel and the front of the cavities is closed by a similarly hinged cover sheet that is transparent. This capsule package contains a sheet containing rows of numbers positioned behind each cavity or compartment that can contain a capsule or pill. The relatively thick sheet having the cavity contains printed indicia of the month and the year and of the seven days of the week, the latter being above the vertical rows of cavities. To dispense an article from a cavity for a particular indicated day it is necessary to lift the transparent sheet a sufficient amount and then return the hinged sheet to locked position to prevent pills moving out of the cavities in which they are placed when the 4package is carried, e.g., in the pocket or purse.

U.S. Patent No. 3,057,473 describes a package for articles, such as vitamins, that are separately packaged. The individual packages have marginal sealed ilanges of the two enclosing sheets. These individual packages are mounted in rows by inserting these marginal anges or tabs into longitudinal slots of rails mounted horizontally on a backing sheet. On the uppermost rail the days of the week are printed in alignment with vertical rows of such individual packages, To use the pill for a particular day it is removed as an individual package by lifting the marginal flange out of the slots. Then the individual package must be opened to remove the article for its use.

The dispensing package disclosed in U.S. Patent N0. 2,933,182 supports a number of expendable articles in a row within a rectangular cavity of a relatively thick sheet mounted on a base sheet. These articles are retained in the cavity by an overlying sheet that is coated on its bottom surface with an adhesive. When one of the articles is removed by pulling it separately from the cavity, the overlying sheet is then pressed down to engage the base sheet also at the location of the removed article, so that the other articles in the cavity will be firmly held in place by the overlying sheet. Of course, there may be transfer of adhesive from the overlying sheet to some types of articles that are thus packaged.

In another package for tablets a relatively thick sheet containing two staggered rows of cavities in which are placed the tablets is on a base sheet. A at transparent cover sheet is slidably supported by longitudinal channels also embracing the cavity-containing sheet. The tablets can be removed manually one at a time lirst by slidably moving the cover sheet in either direction and then by lifting the tablet that is no longer covered. The slidable sheet has opposite ends shaped to permit this in view of the staggering of the two rows of cavities. The base sheet supports the tablets in the cavities.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a package for small articles, such as tablets and capsules, that is of simple construction and can contain a number of such articles in a row that permits easy removal of such articles by the cooperation of gravity, one at a time, that avoids any contact with adhesive material, and that can be readily assembled with the articles contained in the package.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a package that contains at least one row of seven articlereceiving cavities in which the package contains printed indicia of the days of the week so that a person can readily check on a specific day whether the capsule has already been removed and presumably taken for that day.

These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from the following description of preferred embodiments of the package of the invention when taken in conjunction with the drawings in which like parts are usually designated by the same number and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan of the especially preferred embodiment of the package of'this invention in which the package is shown in opened flat condition;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section of this package taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-section of this package taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is a modified construction of the package shown in FIG. 1 to permit removal of capsules or the like by slidable movement in either of two directions, rather than one, for removal seriatim as described later;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary top plan of one of the sheets forming part of the preferred package of FIG. 1 and showing at one of its ends a cut-out portion to permit easy manual grasping of the sheet, containing the capsules or the like, for slidable movement of the latter sheet;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the package of FIG. 1 showing the package in fully closed position in which form it is placed in a pocket or purse for carrying;

FIG. 7 is a cross-section taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 1;

FIG. S is a fragmentary perspective view of the articleretaining and-moving sheet of the package of the invention for one row of capsules or the like;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary top plan of an alternative embodiment of the package of the invention; and

FIG. 10 is a cross-section taken along the line 10-10 of FIG. 9.

Referring to FIG. 1, the package of the especially preferred embodiment comprises a base sheet generally indicated at 11, an overlying or cover sheet generally indicated at 12 adhered to sheet 11 except for at least one generally rectangular area, and a transparent sheet generally indicated at 13 between sheets 11 and 12 in one such rectangular area and containing a row of domed portions 14 that provide cavities 15 (FIG. 2) in sheet 13 that are open at the side of sheet 13 facing sheet 11. The cavities 15 receive articles 16, such as capsules. The sheet 13 cooperates with a sheet generally indicated at 17 to retain articles 16. The sheet 17 is slidably mounted on sheet 11 and is below sheets 12 and 13.

This package thus contains four sheets of material, viz., sheets 11, 12, 13 and 17. Although it is preferred that sheet 17 be part of the package, it can be dispensed with by a modification of sheet 11 or sheet 13 as described much later.

The package is constructed in this especially preferred embodiment so that sheets 13 and 17 abut each other to close cavities 15 and are slidably mounted between sheets 11 and 12. Either or both of sheets 13 and 17 can be removed completely or partially from between sheets 11 and 12 by a sliding movement. To permit the placement of sheet 13 between sheets 11 and 12, sheet 12 has a cut-out generally rectangular portion 20 extending adjacent one side to the other side. This cut-out portion is necessary because the domed portions 14 extend from the main or central area part of sheet 13 to a height above cover sheet 12.

The sheet 12 had adjacent the open end of cut-out portion 20 of sheet 12 a pair of opposed tabs 21 that extend into portion 20 and are spaced apart less than the maximum length, measured from top to bottom (as viewed in FIG. 1), of domed portions 14 so that tabs 21 can retain sheet 13 in the position shown in FIG. 1 when the package is to be carried. The tabs 21 can be lifted as indicated by phantom lines so that sheet 13 can be moved by sliding to the left (as viewed in FIG. 1). When sheet 13 is moved to the position shown in phantom lines at the left hand end of FIG. 1, domed portion 14 and thus cavity 15 at the left end of sheet 13 is no longer above sheets 17 and 11. As a result capsule 16 in that cavity 15 will fall by gravity out of cavity 15 provided the package shown in FIG. 1 is supported in a horizontal plane or at least tilted rearwardly from the bottom of the package.

In the normal assembly of the foregoing components of the package, the margins of sheets 13 and 17 are between sheets 11 and 12 in an area where sheets 11 and 12 are not aliixed to each other. This area, of course, may be substantially greater than the area defined by the pertinent dimensions of sheets 13 and 17. This area, in which sheets 13 and 17 are introduced between sheets 11 and 12, is in the lower portion of sheets 11 and 12. A similar area, in which sheets 11 and 12 are not secured or adhered to each other, is present in their upper portion.

Similarly sheets 11 and 12 are not secured to each other in a central area, where overlying sheet 12 has a rectangular cut-out portion 22 having its side edges spaced from the side edges of sheet 12 to provide strip portions 23 and 24 of sheet 12 that retain interconnection between Vthe top portion and the bottom portion of sheet 12. The sheets 11 and 12 are joined to each other, such as by glue or other adhesive 25 (FIG. 2), within rectangular areas 26 and 27 at the top and bottom margins of sheet 12, as well as at rectangular areas 28 and 29 that are astride rectangular opening 22.

In the area between portions 27 and Z9 of sheet 12, sheets 13 and 17 can be slidably mounted on sheet 11 and under sheet 12. To insert sheet 13, tabs 21 are lifted. Of course, sheet 17 can be inserted between sheets 11 and 12 between portions 26 and 28 of sheet .12 without lifting tabs 21, but as explained later, sheet 17 is inserted below sheet 12 at the same time that sheet 13 is inserted.

The upper part of sheet 12 between sealed areas 26 and 2S has an area that is not affixed to sheet 11 and at this area a sheet of instructions 30 can be slidably introduced. As indicated, the opposite ends of instruction sheet 30 can contain printed indicia. At one end sheet 30 states it contains instructions and at the other end the printing states the direction of pulling sheet 30 for its removal.

The sheet 11 has a pair of score lines 35 and 36 eX- tending from one side of the package to the other parallel to, between, and spaced from the top and bottom (as viewed in FIG. 1) edges of cut-out portion 22 of sheet 12. In view of score lines and 36 the package has this cutout portion 22 and interconnecting integral strips 23 and 24 of sheet 12 unconnected to sheet 11, so that the top portion of sheets 11 and 12 can be readily folded downwardly at score lines 35 and 36 of sheet 11 to be in front of and cover the bottom portion of sheets 11 and 12 and thus cover sheet 13 to provide a closed package of reduced dimension for carrying in the pocket or purse.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, it is seen that the lefthand end of sheet 17 has its central marginal portion cut out so that only top and bottom tabs 37 and 3S provide the left end extremity of sheet 17. The purpose of this construction of sheet 17 is to provide a space between the central part of the left margin of sheet 13 and sheet 11 to permit easy manual ygrasping of sheet 13 for slidably moving it to the left (as viewed in FIG. 1). This is the preferred construction of sheet 17 because it permits sheet 13 to be flat except in the areas having the domed portions 14. Of course, in a modification the central portion of the left-hand margin of sheet 13 can have a raised construction to permit this manual grasping of sheet 13 for its slidable movement. In such case, sheet 17 need not have this marginal portion cut out. Furthermore, in a simplified version of the package, which is less preferred because of the advantage of using sheet 17 in the assembly of the package with the capsules in cavities 15, sheet 17 is not used and in such case sheet 11 can have a cutout portion in its left hand margin below the left-hand margin of sheet 13. Alternatively, sheet 13 can have a greater length so that its left-hand margin extends beyond the side edge of sheet 11.

Referring to FIG. 4, an alternative modification of the package of FIG. l has a sheet generally indicated at 42 that extends from the top of sheet 11 only to the extent that its bottom margin overlies the top margin of sheets 13 and 17. However, the bottom margin of sheet 42 includes tabs 43 and 44 that extend further toward the bottom margin of sheet 11 so that tabs 43 and 44, when lying iiat, are in alignment with domed portions 14 and thus are abutted by the end domed portions 14 of inserted sheet 13, at least when sheet 13 is slidably moved to the left or right, respectively. In lieu of the bottom portion of sheet 11, the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 uses, with sheet 42, a sheet generally indicated at 45 and having at its top margin tabs 46 and 47 that, when flat against inserted sheet 13, cooperate with tabs 43 and 44 in at position to prevent such slidable movement of sheet 13 to the left or right, respectively. Thus sheets 42 and 45 constitute sheet 12 modified to provide an open area 48 corresponding to cut-out portion 20 of sheet 12 with the main difference being the fact that the open area 48 extends from one side to the other side instead of adjacent to but spaced from the right-hand end to the other side.

In embodiment of the package in FIG. 4 the sheet 17 also has at its right-hand end a central marginal cut-out portion leaving only tabs 50 and 51 to provide a space between sheet 13 and sheet 11 for manual grasping of sheet 13 at its right-hand end to shift sheet 13 to the right. Of course, the modifications mentioned above with respect to FIG. 1 could be made. These would entail, instead lof the cut-out portion at the ends of sheet 17, a raised central marginal portion at the ends of sheet 13 or a cut-out marginal portion along both sides of sheet 11 below the ends of sheet 13. Alternative, sheet 13 can be longer than sheet 11 is wide.

In the embodiment of the package that is shown in FIG. 4, sheet 42 is secured by glue 25 to sheet 11 in three areas corresponding to areas 26, 28 and 29 shown. FIG. l and sheet 45 is secured by glue 25 to sheet 11 in an area corresponding to area 27 shown in FIG. 1.

The packages of FIGS. 1 and 4 show sheet 13 with seven cavities 15 in a row. When sheet 13 is in assembled position with the other components of the package, cavities 15 are disposed in the package above (as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 4) printed abbreviations of the seven days of the week.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and l0, this embodiment of the package of the present invention contains sheets 11 and 12 that ordinarily would have a longer dimension measured from top to bottom that is the case for the package of FIG. 1 or FIG. 4, because the bottom portion of sheet 11 has two cutout portions 20, each with a pair of tabs 21 at the lefthand end. In addition to the four areas in which sheets 11 and 12 are secured by glue 25 in the package of FIG. 1, the Vpackage of FIGS. 9 and 10 contain an area 52, between areas 27 and 29 in which sheets 11 and 12 are secured together by glue 25. Of course, the top portion of sheets 11 and 12 preferably correspond, as in the case of the package of FIGS. 1 and 4, in their overall dimensions with the dimensions of the bottom portion of sheets 11 and 12 to provide a package that, when closed, looks externally like that shown in FIG. 6. Of course, in this case sheet 11 is provided with score lines (not shown in FIGS. 9 and l0) corresponding to, for the purpose explained above, score lines 35 and 36 of sheet 11 as shown in FIG. 6.

The package of FIGS. 9 and 10 has two sheets 13 and two sheets 17 inserted between sheets 11 and 12 in areas where sheets 11 and 12 are not secured together. The domed portions 14 of sheets 13 are within the areas of cut-out portions 20 of sheet 11. With sheets 13 and 17 assembled as shown in FIG. 9, cavities 15 are in vertical alignment with printed abbreviations on sheet 12 of the days of a Week. For convenience only such days are printed in two rows, each being directly below one of cut-out portions 20 of sheet 11. In this construction a weeks supply of capsules or the like in cavities 15 of one of sheets 13 can be removed, one at a time, and for the following week the capsules 15 are removed, one at a time, from the other row of cavities 15 by moving the other sheet 13.

The following description illustrates the assembly of the package shown in FIG. l. Sheets 11 and 12 are secured together in various areas, namely, areas 26 through 29 using glue 25 or by using any other conventional means including staples. The sheets 11 and 12 need not be adhered to each other throughout such areas. Sheets 11, 12 and 17 are semirigid and preferably are cardboard or paperboard material having an illustrative thickness of about 20 mils (0.020 inch).

The sheet 13 is preferably transparent but it may be translucent provided articles 16 in cavities 15 can be seen from the front, i.e., by looking through sheet 13, eg., when articles 16 are of contrasting color relative to sheet 13. In the preferred embodiment, sheet 13 is a thin semirigid sheet of transparent plastic, e.g. a sheet of polyvinyl chloride, such as Vynex extruded sheet NFD-1001 having a thickness of 5 mils, in which cavities 15 are for-med by making domed portions 14, of a shape to provide sufficient rigidity, by vacuum forming in a conventional manner well known in the art.

The sheet 13 is supported so that cavities 15 face upwardly and thus the outer surface of each domed portion 14 faces downwardly. One capsule 16 or the like is placed in each of cavities 15. The sheet 17 is placed over sheet 13, and this assembly is then inverted so that sheet 17 is now below sheet 13 and thus sheet 17 supports capsules 16, that are restrained from lateral movement by domed portions 14 of sheet 13.

This subassembly of sheets 13 and 17 and capsules 16 is inserted between sheets 11 and 12 while tabs 21 are temporarily lifted to permit clearance for domed portions 14. The instruction sheet 30 is inserted between sheets 11 and 12, either before or after inserting the subassembly of sheets 13 and 1'/ and capsules 16. The instruction sheet 30, of course, pertains to the type of capsule 16 that is present.

The top portion of the outer surface of sheet 12 can contain various printed lines on which information, such as the date of filling in the prescription, the doctors name, the name of the patient and the type of medicine, can be written. Finally, the top portion of the assembly is folded down over the bottom portion by bending along the score lines 35 and 36.

In the package of FIG. 4 the subassembly of sheets 13 and 17 and capsules 15 can be inserted from either side of the subassembly of sheets 11 and 12 by raising tabs 43 and 46 or tabs 44 and 47.

In view of the foregoing description of the assembly of the packages of FIGS. 1 and 4, the assembly of the package of FIG. 9 is obvious. Of course, two subassemblies, each containing sheets 13 and 17 and capsules 16, are inserted. Also, obviously the package of FIG. 9 can be modified in the manner that the package of FIG. 4 is a modification of FIG. 1 to permit insertion of such subassemblies from either side of the subassembly of sheets 11, 12 and 27.

When the patient is to start the daily taking of medicine as capsule 15 on a day other than Sunday, the printing on sheet 11 can begin at the left-hand end with the starting day and follow through from left to right with the subsequent days in sequence. Obviously, it is not necr essary that the printing begin with Sunday. Of course,

if the medicine is to be taken for a couple of weeks or more and several packages are supplied, the first package can contain only capsules in the appropriate number of cavities to the right that correspond to the days of the first week that remain.

In the event that the starting day is not Sunday, capsules 16 including that for the actual day can be removed seriatim and all but the one for that day returned to cavities for the other day by inverting the package with sheet 13 still sufliciently beyond sheets 11 and 17. Then sheet 13 is moved to its proper position in the package. Of course, if the actual day is Saturday or near the end of the week, the -package of FlG. 4 would be more appropriate to permit movement of sheet 13 to the right etc.

If instead of daily taking of medicine, certain hours of a day are specified, obviously such hours can be printed on sheet 12 or sheet 45 and such will serve similarly as a memory check for the patient.

Instead of printing on sheet 12 the days of the week or certain hours in which the first day or hour listed, reading from left to right, is the start of the week or the first hour of a day of those hours listed, a part of a printed tape can be affixed to sheet 1'1. The tape would contain repetitively the days of the week or the specific hours of the day. By cutting the tape at two suitable places, there can be obtained a piece of tape that will show at its left-hand end a day or an hour that represents when the first tablet or capsule is to be taken. This permits the full utilization of the package with a complete row of capsules or tablets and the dispensing beginning with the capsule in the cavity at the lefthand end of the package.

To determine whether a capsule 15 has been taken for the indicated present day or indicated period of time within the day, it is only necessary for the patient to lift up the top portion of the package and see whether the capsule is in the cavity aligned with that day or period of time.

From the foregoing description of embodiments of the present invention, it will be apparent that there are many advantages, including a memory check, ease of tablet or capsule removal from the package without damage to the medicine, a relatively fiat package, and one that is of simple construction. The top portion of the package is not absolutely necessary, but it is preferred to reduce pressure against individual domed portions 14 of sheet 13 and thus to reduce the likelihood of damage to articles in cavities 15.

Many modifications of the package of the present invention will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from the foregoing description that has been presented merely for purpose of illustration and not by way of limitation of the invention which is limited only by the claims that follow.

I claim:

1. A dispensing package for a number of articles, such as capsules or tablets of medicine, capable of dispensing one article at a time, which comprises:

( 1) a base sheet of material;

(2) an overlying sheet of material secured to the base sheet at spaced-apart areas to provide a freely overlying area between the sheets extending from one edge toward the opposite edge of the sheets, said overlying sheet having an elongated cut-out portion within said freely overlying area, extending from one of said edges, and spaced from secured areas in the direction of the other edges of the sheet;

(3) a sheet of material having spaced-apart domed portions in a row parallel to the direction of the elongation of said cut-out portion to provide cavi ties for said articles and being slidably interposed between said base sheet and said overlying sheet in said freely overlying area with the domed portions being within said cut-in portion of said overlying sheet and with the open, end of the cavities facing the base sheet, said domed portions having a dimension normal to said direction of elongation less than the dimension of the cut-out portion in the same direction within the area occupied by the domed portions of the interposed sheet and at said one edge; and

(4) a sheet of material slidably interposed between said cavities of said sheet having domed portions and said base sheet, said elongated cut-out portion being in a lower half of the overlying sheet, said base sheet being foldable between its upper half and its lower half to provide a foldable package which, when closed, covers the domed portions of the first interposed sheet by the top half of said base sheet and said overlying sheet, and said overu lying sheet being secured to the base sheet in the upper half at spaced-apart areas to provide another freely overlying area between the base sheet and the overlying sheet extending from one edge toward the opposite edge for slidable interposi ion of a sheet of instructions in said another freely overlying area.

2. The package of claim 1 wherein said base sheet and said overlying sheet are semi-rigid and said sheet therebetween is at least translucent in the domed portions.

3. The package of claim 2 wherein said sheet having domed portions is transparent plastic said domed portions are at least semi-rigid and extend beyond the outer surface of said overlying sheet, and wherein base sheet and said overlying sheet are cardboard.

4. The package of claim 3 wherein the overlying sheet having said elongated cut-out portion adjacent to said one edge from which said cut-out portion extends has a pair of opposed liftable tabs that are in alignment with said domed portions of said interposed sheet.

5. The package of claim 1 wherein there are seven domed portions on said interposed sheet and on the overlying sheet there are printed indicia of the days of a week at positions in alignment with said domed portions when the sheet is interposed.

6. The package of claim 1 wherein said elongated cut-out portion is in a lower half of the overlying sheet, the base sheet is foldable between its upper half and its lower half to provide a foldable package which, when closed, covers the domed portions of said interposed sheet -by the top half of said base sheet and said overlying sheet.

7. A dispensing package for a number of articles, such as capsules or tablets of medicine, capable of dispensing one article at a time, which comprises:

(l) a base sheet of material;

(2) an overlying sheet of material secured to the base sheet at spaced-apart areas to provide a freely overlying area between the sheets extending from one edge toward the opposite edge of the sheets, said overlying sheet having an elongated cut-out portion within said freely overlying area, extending Vfrom one of said edges, and spaced from secured areas in the direction of the other edges of the sheet; and

(3) a sheet of material having spaced-apart domed portions in a row parallel to the direction of the elongation of said cut-out portion to provide cavities for said articles and being slida'bly interposed between said base sheet and said overlying sheet in said freely overlying area with the domed portions being within said cutout portion of said overlying sheet and with the open end of the cavities facing the base sheet, said domed portions having a dimension normal to said direction of elongation less than the dimension of the cut-out portion in the same direction within the area occupied by the domed portions of the interposed sheet and at said one edge, said elongated cut-out portion being in a lower half of the overlying sheet, said base sheet being foldable between its upper hali:` and its lower half to provide a foldable package which, when closed, covers the domed portions of the interposed sheet by the top half of said base sheet and said overlying sheet, and said overlying sheet being secured to the base sheet in the upper half at spacedapart areas to provide another freely overlying area between the base sheet and the overlying sheet extending from one edge toward the opposite edge for slidable interposition of a sheet of instructions in said another freely overlying area.

8. The dispensing package of claim 7 and further including another sheet of material slidably interposed between said cavities of said sheet having domed portions and said base sheet.

9. The package of claim 8 wherein said another sheet has the same peripheral conguration as said interposed sheet having said domed portions except for a central marginal cut-out portion at the end below the open end of the cut-out portion of the overlying sheet.

10. The package of claim 9 wherein said another sheet, said base sheet and said overlying sheet are cardboard and said sheet therebetween is plastic and is at least translucent in the domed portions and wherein the overlying sheet having said elongated cut-out portion adjacent to said one edge from which said cut-out portion extends has a pair of opposed liftable tabs that are in alignment with said domed portions of said interposed sheet.

11. The package of claim 7 wherein the cut-out portion of said overlying sheet extends from said one edge to said opposite edge, whereby said sheet having domed portions is slidably insertable or removable from `between said base sheet and said overlying sheet from either of said edges` '12. A dispensing package for a number of articles, such as capsules or tablets of medicine, capable of dispensing one article at a time, which comprises:

( l) a base sheet of material;

(2) an overlying sheet of material secured to the base sheet at spaced-apart areas to provide a freely overlying area between the sheets extending from one edge toward the opposite edge of the sheets, said overlying sheet having an elongated cut-out portion within said freely overlying area, extending from one of said edges, and spaced from secured areas in the direction of the other edges of the sheet;

(3) a sheet of material having spaced-apart domed portions in a row parallel to the direction of the elongation of said cut-out portion to provide cavities for said articles and being slidably interposed between said base sheet and said overlying sheet in said freely overlying area with the domed portions being within said cut-out portion of said overlying sheet and with the open end of the cavities facing the `base sheet, said domed portions having a dimension normal to said direction of elongation less than the dimension of the cut-out portion in the same direction within the area occupied by the domed portions of the interposed sheet and at said one edge; and

(4) a sheet of material slidably interposed between said cavities of said sheet having domed portions and said base sheet.

13. The package of claim 12 wherein said base sheet, said overlying sheet, and said sheet slidably interposed between the base sheet and the sheet having domed portions is cardboard, wherein said interposed sheet having domed portions is a sheet of plastic, and wherein the overlying sheet having said elongated cut-out portion adjacent to said one edge from which said cut-out portion extends has a pair of opposed liftable tabs that are in alignment with said domed portions of said interposed sheet.

14. The package of claim 13 wherein said sheet interposed between the sheet having domed portions and the base sheet has the same peripheral conguration as said interposed sheet having said domed portions except for a central marginal cut-out portion at the end `below the open end of the cut-out portion of the overlying sheet.

1S. The package of claim 13 wherein the cut-out portion of said overlying sheet extends from said one edge to said opposite edge, whereby said sheet having domed portions is slidably insertable or removable from between said base sheet and said overlying sheet from either of said edges.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,385,400 9/1945 Briggs 206-56 2,558,920 7/1951 Baggs 206-56 2,796,985 6/ 1957 Gorton 2076-78 2,971,638 2/1961 Allison et al. 206-42 3,182,789 5/1965 Sparks 206-42 WILLIAM T. DIXSON, J R., Primary Examiner.

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