Container Assembly

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a container assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a base sheet for the assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a package for the container assembly of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating use of the cover sheet for placement of a dressing in the container assembly.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a container assembly generally designated 10 having a dressing of known type, a base sheet 14 placed on one side of the dressing 12, and a cover sheet 16 placed on the other side of the dressing 12. The base sheet 14 is constructed from a material which is relatively non-adherent to the dressing 12, such as silicone release paper. The base sheet 14 has a pair of flaps 18a and 18b adjacent opposed sides of the base sheet 14, and a flap 20 adjacent one end of the base sheet 14. As shown, the cover sheet 16 is substantially coextensive with the base sheet 14, and the flaps 18a and b and 20 are folded over the cover sheet 16 in order to retain the cover sheet 16 in place over the dressing 12. In a preferred form, the cover sheet 16 has a pair of segments 22 and 24, with each of the segments 22 and 24 having a lateral strip 26 and 28 located adjacent each other over the dressing 12. The cover sheet 16 is constructed from a material which is relatively adherent to the dressing 12, such as polyethylene.

As shown in FIG. 3, the container assembly 10 is received in a cavity 32 of a package 30. The package 30 is sealed around its periphery in order to maintain the dressing 12 in a sterile condition in the package 30.

According to the present invention, the container assembly 10 may be placed in the package 30, and may be readily removed from the package 30 in preparation for use. Thus, the container assembly 10 is removed from the package 30 while the flaps 18a and b and 20 prevent dislodgement of the cover sheet 16 from the base sheet 14. After removal of the container assembly 10 from the package 30, the cover sheet 16 is removed from the base sheet 14 while the cover sheet 16 retains the dressing 12 due to the adherence of the cover sheet 16 for the dressing 12, while the base sheet 14 permits easy removal of the dressing 12 from the base sheet 14 due to its non-adherence to the dressing 12. With reference to FIG. 4, the cover sheet 16 retaining the dressing 12 is placed over a wound of a patient, and the strips 26 and 28 are peeled from the dressing 12 in order to remove the cover sheet 16 from the dressing 12 with the dressing 12 in place on the wound. In an alternative form, the cover sheet 16 may be constructed from a single sheet of material which is placed in the base sheet 14 over the dressing 12 in a manner as previously described.

The foregoing detailed description is given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.