AU2015100251A4 - Improvements relating to the provision of protection for blister packages - Google Patents

Abstract

(Figure 1 refers) A planar article of manufacture comprises a rectangular card (1) formed with two flaps (2 and 3) separated from one another by hinging portion (4) connected to the flaps by two parallel lines of weakness (5 and 6). The flap (3) is provided with an array of apertures (11) on its underside which is coated with an adhesive layer (16) protected by a manually-removable cover slip (17). To employ the card the adhesive layer (16) is exposed by removal of the cover slip (17) and a blister package (10) to be protected has its blisters (13) pushed upwardly through the apertures (11) until the lands between the blisters contact and adhere to the layer (16). The width of the hinging portion (4) is marginally larger than the heights of the blisters so that the non-apertured flap (2) can be folded over the top of the package to protect the blisters. If required, a third flap of the same outline as the apertured flap (3) may be attached to one of its edges by means of a crease line or a line of perforations enabling the third flap to be folded across the underside of the blister pack so that it is protected on both sides. 6'6

Description

1 IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO THE PROVISION OF PROTECTION FOR BLISTER PACKAGES (001) THIS INVENTION relates to a planar article of manufacture designed to be easily packaged with other similar articles to form a compact stack that can be provided to a pharmacist. The pharmacist can use the article to provide a support for a blister package and a cover to protect blisters of a blister sheet forming party of the package. (002) Blister packages are extensively used to package prescribed doses of medication. A typical package has a rectilinear array of blisters which individually contain one or more prescribed doses of medication. The blister sheet is usually transparent and is made from a material which is sufficiently soft to enable a patient to access the doses of a selected blister by manually depressing it so that its contents are ejected through a friable foil backing strip sealing the cavities of the blister. A sealed blister package having an array of blisters formed from a transparent sheet and having medication doses sealed in the blister cavities by means of a friable foil sealed to the back of the blister sheet will be referred to in this specification as "a blister package of the type described". (003) The blister package of the type described is normally provided to a patient with some form of protection to prevent inadvertent depression of a blister and the premature ejection of its contents. One form of protection takes the form of a folder having two flaps hinged together and capable of being folded so that each flap provides one side of a parallelepiped zone of protection for the blister package. A fillet extending into the zone of protection is provided along the hinge and a strong adhesive is used to attach one marginal edge portion of a blister package to the fillet. The two flaps of the folder protect top and bottom faces of 2 the blister package respectively, and the adhesive on the fillet attached the blister package to the folder. (004) It has been found in practice that the attachment of the blister package to the folder can cause a problem because the weight of the package and its manual manipulation to eject the contents of a selected blister through the foil backing sheet can impose stresses on the adhesive and the fillet which can cause partial or complete separation of the blister package from the folder. (005) One object of the invention is to provide a protective folder for a blister package that is not susceptible to the problem mentioned above. (006) A second object of the invention is to provide a planar article of manufacture capable of being deformed into a protective folder for a blister package. (007) A third object of the invention is to produce the combination of a folder and a blister package protected by the folder. (008) Other objects of the invention are to achieve the advantages set out after the following statements of invention, these advantages being obtained either jointly or individually. (009) In accordance with a first aspect of this invention a planar article of manufacture comprises a strip having first and second spaced flap portions; a hinge portion forming part of the strip and separating the two flap portions from one another while permitting the strip to be folded to bring the two flap portions into a superimposed spaced, parallel, relationship to provide a blister-protection zone between their opposed faces, the first flap portion also providing protection for one side of the blister-protection zone; an array of apertures formed in the second flap portion for receiving respective blisters of a blister sheet of a sealed blister 3 package of the type described which has coplanar lands extending between the blisters; an adhesive layer applied to the face of the second flap portion opposite to that facing the blister-protection zone and by which the coplanar lands of the blister sheet are attachable to the second flap portion; and, a manually removable slip covering the adhesive layer. (0010) The invention also includes the combination of a sealed blister package of the type described, protected by a folded planar article of manufacture. (0011) An advantage of the planar article of manufacture is that it is capable of being stacked with others to provide a compact block which is easily transported, the planar articles being individually removable from the stack by a pharmacist in order to provide protection around a sealed blister package of the type described. (0012) To use the planar article of manufacture, the pharmacist strips off the cover slip to expose the adhesive layer on a second flap, the adhesive layer can then be pressed down onto the blister face of the package so that the blisters individually pass through respective apertures and the coplanar lands of the blister sheet locate between the blisters and adhere to the adhesive layer on the second flap. (0013) An advantage obtained by the invention is that the hinge portion of the article no longer has to carry the weight of the blister package as this weight is now carried by the apertured second flap. (0014) A further advantage of the article of manufacture is that it may be provided with a third flap hinged by a line of weakness to one free edge of the apertured second flap. The third flap is preferably of the same shape as the external outline of the apertured flap so that when a blister package has been attached to the apertured flap, the third flap can be folded over the friable foil backing strip of the blister package to protect it from damage.

4 (0015) A further advantage of the invention is that the first flap presents an uninterrupted blank area on which can be printed a large amount of information relating to the identity of the patient for whom the blister package was intended, and the contents of the medication doses in the cavities of the blisters of the blister package. (0016) The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective view of an article of manufacture; FIGURE 2 shows in vertical section part of a blister package of the type described attached to the article of manufacture which has been folded to protect at least the blisters of the package; and, FIGURE 3 is a plan view of a planar article of manufacture showing in broken outline the three possible positions which may be adopted to attach a third flap to the apertured flap of the article. (0017) The exploded view of the Figure 1 shows an article of manufacture 1 in the form of a rectangular planar card providing similarly-shaped flaps 2, 3 at its opposite end portions. A hinging portion 4 of the article separates the two flaps, 2, 3 and is defined between a pair of spaced parallel lines of weakness 5, 6 which may be formed by crease lines on the card or by perforations. The hinging portion 4 is of sufficient width to enable the flaps 2, 3 to be folded over one another into a 5 spaced parallel relationship so that they provide between them a parallelepiped shaped zone 8 of protection for the blisters of the blister package 10 when it is attached to the second flap 3. (0018) The second flap 3 is provided with a rectilinear array of twenty-eight apertures 11 spaced with respect to one another in a way which creates coplanar lands 14 between them. The apertures 11 are individually matched in position and outline to the blisters of a blister package intended to be used in conjunction with the article of manufacture. This enables each of the apertures 11 to receive a respective blister 13 of the blister package 10. (0019) The apertured flap 3 has its underside coated with a layer 16 of a cold contact adhesive protected by a manually-removable cover slip 17. (0020) To use the planar article of manufacture, the sealed blister package 10 is placed on a flat surface with its blisters exposed and projecting upwardly. The cover slip 17 is removed from the underside of the adhesive layer 16 and the flap 3 is then pressed down on the top face of the package 10 so that each of its blisters passes upwardly through a respective aperture 11 and coplanar lands 9 and edge portions 15 of the blister package contact and adhere firmly to the cold adhesive layer 16. The blister package 10 is thus firmly secured to the article of manufacture. (0021) The planar article of manufacture is then folded as shown in Figure 2 to bring the flap 2 into a spaced parallel and overlying relationship with respect to the apertured flap 3 with the blister package sandwiched between the two flaps. The face of the flap 2 overlying the blisters of the blister package is blank and uninterrupted so that it provides a relatively large clean area on which can be printed data concerning, for example, the identity of the patient for whom the blister package has been prescribed, and the contents of the individual blisters of the package together with any other material which may be important for a 6 pharmacist to know. It should be observed that this printing can take place when the article of manufacture is laid out flat. Encoded information on the blister package and the article of manufacture may also be used to correlate the information printed on the second flap with data in binary form and carried by the blister package. Correct correlation of the blister package to the article of manufacture can then be ensured. (0022) Figures 3 shows how the planar article of manufacture can be provided with a third flap 20 secured by a line of weakness 23, 24 or 25 to a respective edge of the apertured second flap. The line of weakness may be formed by perforations or a crease line. The third flap 20 can be folded across the underside of the flap 3 after the blister package has been attached to it so that the foil backing strip of the blister package is protected during periods that the assembly of the folded card 1 and the sealed blister package 10 is being carried by the patient. (0023) To use the blister package of Figures 3 and 4, the patient folds the flaps 2 and 3 away from the respective sides of the blister package to expose both sides of each of the blisters. The patient can then depress a selected blister so that the doses of medication it contained can be forced through the portion of the friable backing sheet immediately behind a blister cavity.

Claims (4)

1. A planar article of manufacture comprising a strip having first and second spaced flap portions; a hinge portion forming part of the strip and separating the two flap portions from one another while permitting the strip to be folded to bring the two flap portions into a superimposed spaced, parallel, relationship to provide a blister-protection zone between their opposed faces, the first flap portion also providing protection for one side of the blister-protection zone; an array of apertures formed in the second flap portion for receiving respective blisters of a blister sheet of a sealed blister package of the type described which has coplanar lands extending between the blisters; an adhesive layer applied to the face of the second flap portion opposite to that facing the blister-protection zone and by which the coplanar lands of the blister sheet are attachable to the second flap portion; and, a manually removable slip covering the adhesive layer.

2. A planar article of manufacture as claimed in Claim 1, provided with a third flap hinged by a line of weakness to one free edge of the apertured second flap.

3. A planar article of manufacture as claimed in Claim 2, in which the third flap is of the same shape in outline as the apertured flap. 8

4. A planar article of manufacture as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, in combination with a blister package having its blisters protruding upwardly through respective apertures of the second flap and attached thereto by having its lands between the blisters in adhering contact with the adhesive layer after removal of the protecting cover slip. Dated this 20t" day of February 2015 MANREX PTY. LTD. By:.. .................. (Applicants Patent Attorney)