Multi-use child protective packaging container with purge and humidity control

Abstract

Disclosed herein are multi-use child resistant packaging containers that are capable of protecting children from accessing the contents inside while also controlling the environment of the storage compartment wherein the contents reside. The containers are capable of being used to package goods, including perishable goods, and include valves and/or seals that facilitate purging of the oxygen and other gas from the container storage compartment after the contents have been sealed within the container by either the packager and/or end-user thereby extending shelf-life and freshness. Humidity control packet inserts housed within the lid and separated by a physical barrier from the storage compartment to mitigate against contamination and/or adulteration of the contents are disclosed. The humidity control inserts may be employed with or without a lid that includes the valves and/or seals that facilitate purging of the storage compartment. The packaging containers are particularly well suited for small and medium batch packaging of bio-degradable material that may be stored for extended periods of time prior to use and then repeatedly accessed over time by an end-user or consumer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A multi-use child resistant container comprising:
 a threaded receptacle defining a storage compartment;   a threaded lid adapted to being screwed onto and sealing said threaded receptacle, said lid comprising an outer cap and an inner seal coupled and housed within said outer cap, said outer cap when in a first position being both rotatable and axially movable relative to the inner seal and when in a second position being fixed and locked in position relative to said inner;   the inner seal including a first one-way purge valve accessible through said outer cap and a second one-way relief valve, the first one-way purge valve adapted to facilitate the flow of pressurized purging gas into the storage compartment when the lid is attached to the receptacle and the second one-way relief valve adapted to facilitate the flow of container gas out of the storage compartment when the lid is attached to the receptacle;   a humidity packet insert comprising a desiccant mounted within a housing defined by the inner seal and configured to come into contact with gas contained in the storage compartment; and   a purge line configured to be inserted into the lid and communicate pressurized purging gas into said storage compartment through said first one-way purge valve when the lid is attached to the receptacle.   
     
     
         2 . The multi-use child resistant container of  claim 1 , wherein the first one-way purge valve is an umbrella type one-way purge valve. 
     
     
         3 . The multi-use child resistant container of  claim 1 , wherein the second one-way relief valve is a duckbill type one-way relief valve. 
     
     
         4 . The multi-use child resistant container of  claim 1 , wherein the humidity packet insert further comprising a permeable layer configured to allow the container gas flow into the desiccant and thereby absorb moisture contained in the container. 
     
     
         5 . The multi-use child resistant container of  claim 1 , wherein the humidity packet insert further comprising a peel-away humidity control packet sealant layer configured to seal the desiccant from external exposure. 
     
     
         6 . The multi-use child resistant container of  claim 1  further comprising a protective sheet positioned between said humidity packet insert and said storage compartment, said protective sheet comprising a plurality of apertures adapted to facilitate gas flow into and out of the storage compartment while providing a physical barrier between said humidity packet insert and said storage compartment. 
     
     
         7 . The multi-use child resistant container of  claim 6 , wherein the lid and humidity packet insert are shipped to a packager in a concealed vacuum-packed bag without a sealant layer and only with the protective sheet to prevent degradation of the life of the desiccant. 
     
     
         8 . The multi-use child resistant container of  claim 1 , wherein the humidity packet insert is included during packaging of the multi-use child resistant container. 
     
     
         9 . The multi-use child resistant container of  claim 1 , wherein the humidity packet insert is provided to an end-user as part of a kit. 
     
     
         10 . The multi-use child resistant container of  claim 1 , wherein the purge line is a needle. 
     
     
         11 . A multi-use child resistant container comprising:
 a threaded receptacle defining a storage compartment;   a threaded lid adapted to being screwed onto and sealing said threaded receptacle, said lid comprising an outer cap and an inner seal coupled and housed within said outer cap, said outer cap when in a first position being both rotatable and axially movable relative to the inner seal and when in a second position being fixed and locked in position relative to said inner;   the inner seal including a first one-way purge valve accessible through said outer cap and a second one-way relief valve, the first one-way purge valve adapted to facilitate the flow of a first pressurized gas composition into the storage compartment when the lid is attached to the receptacle and the second one-way relief valve adapted to facilitate the flow of a second pressurized gas composition out of the storage compartment when the lid is attached to the receptacle; and   a purge line configured to be inserted into the lid and communicate the first pressurized gas composition into said storage compartment through said first one-way purge valve when the lid is attached to the receptacle.   
     
     
         12 . The multi-use child resistant container of  claim 11 , wherein the first one-way purge valve is an umbrella type one-way purge valve. 
     
     
         13 . The multi-use child resistant container of  claim 11 , wherein the second one-way relief valve is a duckbill type one-way relief valve. 
     
     
         14 . The multi-use child resistant container of  claim 11 , wherein the purge line is a needle. 
     
     
         15 . A method of preserving perishable materials inside a multi-use child resistant container comprising:
 providing a storage compartment having a threaded receptacle;   providing a threaded lid adapted to being screwed onto and sealing said threaded receptacle, said lid comprising an outer cap and an inner seal coupled and housed within said outer cap, said outer cap when in a first position being both rotatable and axially movable relative to the inner seal and when in a second position being fixed and locked in position relative to said inner;   providing a first one-way purge valve accessible through said outer cap and a second one-way relief valve in the inner seal, the first one-way purge valve adapted to facilitate the flow of pressurized purging gas into the storage compartment when the lid is attached to the receptacle and the second one-way relief valve adapted to facilitate the flow of container gas out of the storage compartment when the lid is attached to the receptacle;   providing a humidity packet insert comprising a desiccant mounted within a housing defined by the inner seal and configured to come into contact with gas contained in the storage compartment; and   providing a purge line configured to be inserted into the lid and communicate pressurized purging gas into said storage compartment through said first one-way purge valve when the lid is attached to the receptacle.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising:
 opening the humidity packet insert packaged into the lid by an end user. 
 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the opening the humidity packet insert packaged into the lid is by peeling away the sealant layer. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising:
 replacing the humidity packet insert with a new humidity packet insert by the end user. 
 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising:
 inserting the humidity packet insert into the lid by the end user. 
 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  further comprising:
 purging the storage compartment by the end user to effectuate both an oxygen deprived and humidity controlled storage compartment after each use.