What is claimed is:
1. A unitarily molded tray for storage and shipment of a medical implement, said tray comprising:
a bottom wall, a sidewall enclosure extending upwardly from said bottom wall, a planar flange extending outwardly from said sidewall enclosure, first and second gripping towers projecting upwardly from said bottom wall at locations spaced from said sidewall enclosure, each said gripping tower having opposed facing walls spaced from one another a sufficient distance for gripping said medical implement therebetween.
2. The tray of claim 1, wherein the bottom wall is planar, wherein the planar flange is substantially parallel to the bottom wall, and wherein the gripping towers have a top wall substantially in the plane of the planer flange.
3. The tray of claim 1, wherein at least portions of said sidewall enclosure define overhangs and concave recesses between said overhangs and said bottom wall, said concave recesses being configured for engaging tubing of said medical implement and holding said tubing adjacent said bottom wall.
4. The tray of claim 1, further comprising a positioning tower projecting from said bottom wall at a location spaced from said gripping towers, said positioning tower being disposed for positioning a portion of said medical implement in said tray.
5. The tray of claim 1, wherein the tray is unitarily molded from a thermoplastic material.
6. The tray of claim 1, wherein said opposed facing walls of said gripping towers are substantially perpendicular to said bottom wall of said tray.
7. The tray of claim 1, wherein said opposed facing walls of said gripping towers have opposed facing convex surfaces configured for mating with surfaces of said medical implement and resiliently deflecting sufficiently for gripping said medical implement inserted between said gripping towers.
8. The tray of claim 7, wherein each said gripping tower includes a plurality of non-gripping sidewalls, said non-gripping sidewalls converging toward one another at further distances from said bottom wall.
9. A blister package comprising:
medical implement having a portions width and a height; and
a tray unitarily molded from a plastic material and having a bottom wall, a sidewall enclosure extending upwardly from said bottom wall a distance greater than said height of said medical implement, a peripheral flange extending outwardly from portions of said sidewall enclosure remote from said bottom wall, first and second gripping towers projecting upwardly from said bottom wall at locations spaced from said sidewall enclosure, each said gripping tower having a top wall spaced from said bottom wall a distance greater than said height of said medical implement, said gripping towers having opposed facing gripping walls spaced from one another by distances no greater than said width of said medical implement such that said gripping towers grip said medical implement inserted between said gripping towers, said gripping towers being sufficiently high for preventing inadvertent actuation of said actuating button.
10. The blister package of claim 9, wherein the medical implement comprises a spring-driven safety mechanism.
11. A blister package of claim 10, wherein the medical implement is a blood collection set.
12. The blister package of claim 9, further comprising a cover secured to said peripheral flange and covering said medical implement secured between said gripping towers.
13. The blister package of claim 9, wherein the bottom wall is substantially planar.
14. The blister package of claim 13, wherein the peripheral flange is substantially coplanar with the bottom wall, and wherein said top walls of said gripping towers are substantially coplanar with said peripheral flange.
15. A blister package of claim 14, wherein said opposed facing walls of said gripping towers are substantially perpendicular to said bottom wall of said tray.
16. A blister package of claim 9, wherein said opposed facing walls of said gripping towers have opposed facing convex surfaces configured for mating with surfaces of said medical implement and resiliently deflecting sufficiently for gripping said medical implement inserted between said gripping towers.
17. A blister package of claim 16, wherein each said gripping tower includes a plurality of non-gripping sidewalls, said non-gripping sidewalls converging toward one another at further distances from said bottom wall.
18. A blister package of claim 16, wherein a plurality of said sidewalls converged toward one another to define an overhang, said medical implement comprising a length of flexible tubing, said tubing being releasably engaged between said overhang and said bottom wall.
19. A blister package of claim 9, further comprising at least one non-gripping tower projecting from said bottom wall at locations spaced from said sidewalls, said non-gripping tower being disposed for positioning a portion of said medical implement between said non-gripping tower and one of said sidewalls.
20. A blister package of claim 10, wherein the portions of the implement are in proximity to an activating element of the spring-activated safety mechanism.
21. A method for packaging a medical implement, said method comprising:
providing a medical implement with a needle assembly, a length of tubing projecting from said needle assembly and a fitting at an end of said tubing remote from said needle assembly, portions of said needle assembly having a width and a height;
providing a molded plastic tray having a bottom wall, a plurality of interconnected sidewalls extending upwardly from said bottom wall a distance greater than said height of said needle assembly and a peripheral flange extending outwardly from said sidewall, first and second gripping towers having tops disposed above said bottom wall a distance greater than said height of said needle assembly, said gripping towers being spaced from one another a distance no greater than said width of said needle assembly;
placing said blood collection set in said tray such that said portions of said needle assembly are between said gripping towers, with said gripping towers securely positioning said needle assembly between said sidewalls; and
placing a removable cover across said peripheral flanges.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of said sidewalls has a concave recess adjacent said bottom wall, said step of placing said blood collection set in said tray comprising securing said tubing in said concave recess of said sidewall.
23. The method of claim 21, wherein the medical implement comprises a spring-activated safety mechanism, and the portions of the needle assembly are in proximity to an activating element of the spring-activated safety mechanism.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the medical implement is a blood collection set.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. A cosmetic and utility kit comprising, in combination:
a generally rectangular, parallelepiped container having a bottom side, a back side with an upper edge and a lower edge, a front side spaced from the back side, a first end panel, a second end panel spaced from the first end panel, said first and second end panels connected to the back side, bottom side and front side to form a storage enclosure with an open top,
an elongate, flexible bottom extension panel connected to the lower edge of the back side and defining a bottom extension of the back side, said bottom extension panel defining a flap foldable over the bottom side, the front side and the open top of the enclosure, and
an elongate top flap extension panel connected to the upper edge of the back side and foldable over the top side and a part of the bottom extension panel, said top flap extension panel connectable to the bottom extension panel to retain the bottom extension panel folded over the front side and open top.
2. The kit of claim 1 wherein the bottom extension panel includes an inside face and an outside face, and further including a pocket on the inside face positioned to fit in the open top of the enclosure when the bottom extension panel is folded over the open top.
3. The kit of claim 1 wherein the bottom extension panel includes a peripheral fastener for attaching the bottom extension panel over the bottom side, front side and open top.
4. The kit of claim 1 wherein the top extension panel includes an attachment member for supporting the top extension panel from a support member.
5. The kit of claim 1 including a storage pocket fitted over one of the first and second end panels.
6. The kit of claim 1 including a storage pocket fitted over each of the first and second end panels.
7. The kit of claim 1 wherein the bottom extension panel includes an inside face and an outside face, and further including a plurality of storage pockets on the inside face.
8. The kit of claim 1 wherein the top extension panel includes an inside face and an outside face, and further including a storage pocket on the inside face.
9. The kit of claim 1 wherein the front side includes a storage pocket.
10. The kit of claim 1 including a hanger member attached to the upper edge of the back side.