FR2980178A1 - Case for storage and transport of drugs i.e. homeopathic drug tubes, has flap movable between open position and folded back position, where case is obtained by blank having panel with receiving openings for receiving drug tubes - Google Patents

Abstract

The case (1) has a flap (16) movable between an open position and a folded back position, where the case is obtained by folding and assembling of a blank made of paperboard and having multiple panels that are folded to form walls of the case. One of the panels of the blank includes receiving openings (L1-L6) for receiving drug tubes when the blank is folded and assembled. The flap allows display of the drug containers in the open position, and forms a closed housing for storage of drug tubes in the folded back position. An independent claim is also included for a method for manufacturing a case for storage and transport of drugs.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The field of the invention is that of devices intended for the storage and transport of drugs, and in particular homeopathic medicaments. More specifically, the invention relates to a case for storing and transporting drugs, including tubes of homeopathic granules. The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing such a case. 2. Solutions of the Prior Art In recent years, homeopathic medicine has grown considerably, particularly in France. In 2004, 39% of households had used homeopathy. In 2010, they were 53%. Homeopathic medicines are available in the form of granules, dose-cells or drops, for example, which are packaged in different types of packages. For example, the granules are packaged in closed cylindrical tubes (called tubes of granules or pillboxes) on which is affixed a label indicating in particular the name of the homeopathic medicine, the homeopathic dilution in CH (for "centesimal Hahnemian") and the date 20 expiration. A doctor can prescribe a drug treatment to a patient that requires the taking of different types of granules, and therefore the delivery by a pharmacist of several tubes of granules. These tubes and the corresponding medical prescription are generally delivered in bulk by the pharmacist or are surrounded by an elastic, which proves practical. They are then stored by the patient in a box or a drawer for example, or transported in a bag. In these conditions, the search for a tube or prescription, during a drug intake for example, can be complex and be a source of irritation. In addition, there is a risk that the patient will lose a tube and / or the medical prescription, which may have unfortunate consequences. Moreover, since the granules can be stored for a long time, a patient can, several months after drug treatment, no longer have access to the medical prescription and therefore to the dosage of each prescribed homeopathic medicine, and / or not to remember for which pathology (ie for which ailments) granules have been prescribed.

In other words, current solutions for storing and transporting drugs, including homeopathic medicines, are not entirely satisfactory. 3. OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is in particular to overcome these disadvantages of the prior art. More specifically, an object of the invention is to provide a device for storing and transporting drugs, including homeopathic medicines, which is compact, easy to transport and allows easy storage and access to drugs that it contains. Another object of the invention is to provide such a storage device which eliminates, or at least minimizes, any risk of error in taking medication. The invention also aims to provide a storage device that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture. 4. Summary of the Invention These objectives, as well as others which will appear later, are achieved by means of a case for storing and transporting drugs, and in particular homeopathic medicines, said case being obtained by folding and assembling a blank comprising a plurality of panels which once folded the walls 25 of said case. According to the invention, a first of the panels of said blank comprises at least two receiving openings intended to each receive a drug container when said blank is folded and assembled. Thus, the invention relates to a case for storing and transporting medicaments, such as for example homeopathic medicaments, which comprises several openings for receiving a drug container, such as a tube of homeopathic granules, these openings each defining a location. for a container. This case is made by folding and assembling a single sheet (or flat support) in which are formed the openings for receiving each a tube of homeopathic granules, for example. The case obtained allows the patient, once the tubes arranged in the receiving openings (or locations) of the case, to transport all of its medical treatment easily, without risk of confusion or loss. Such a case is relatively simple and economical to manufacture, simple to use, compact and easily transportable. It can be stored flat (reduced storage volume) and folded / assembled in a pharmacy, for example, when delivering medical treatment. Advantageously, the case comprises a flap movable between an open position and a folded position so that the case forms respectively: - a display of drug containers, and - a closed storage container of drug containers.

The opening and closing of the case with a flap is particularly fast and convenient. The drugs presented and stored in the case are easily accessible and are not likely to disperse in a bag when the flap is closed. According to an advantageous aspect of the invention, a second of the panels 20 of said blank comprises at least two holding openings each associated with one of said receiving openings and intended to hold a drug container in the corresponding receiving opening. Thus, to place a tube in the case, it is necessary to insert it into a receiving opening and to place its lower end in the corresponding holding opening, the upper end of the tube being held in the opening of the container. receiving (provided that the height of the tube is greater than the distance between the row of receiving openings and the row of holding openings, once the case assembled). The holding apertures make it possible to hold each tube in position once they have been placed in the corresponding receiving apertures in the case. Thus, the tubes are held individually stably inside the holster. In a particular embodiment of the invention, said flap comprises a storage compartment for a medical prescription. The flap of the case has a receiving housing of a medical prescription, for example, or the like. This accommodation is open on both sides so as to facilitate insertion and withdrawal of the prescription. Because the prescription can be stored in the holster, taking medication and adherence to medication is therefore facilitated. Preferably, at least one edge of said housing is of curvilinear shape so as to facilitate the insertion and withdrawal of the prescription. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the case comprises at least one printing area on at least one face of said blank. Advantageously, the case comprises at least one printing zone on at least one of said panels of said blank, said printing zone being associated with an opening for receiving a drug container. For example, said at least one print area includes identification information of said container (name of the drug) and / or prescription information (the problem to be cured, the dosage and the date of taking) and / or advertising information. Inscriptions in the form of items that the patient can manually complete are printed on the front and / or back of the blank, and therefore on the outer and / or inner sides of the case. These sections allow the patient to specify the name of the drugs in the case, their dosage, the ills treated and the setting dates in particular. This makes it possible to avoid any confusion (risks of forgetfulness or double dosage, tube placed in the wrong opening) in the patient and proves to be simple to implement. Such a case thus offers the possibility of easily carrying out its treatment and respecting the medical prescriptions. This also allows a patient who would have stored this case in a pharmacy box for a period of time to know very quickly for what evils the drugs in the holster were prescribed. Preferably, said blank is made of cardboard. Such a case is therefore relatively inexpensive to manufacture, resistant to wear and recyclable. The cardboard can be GC1 type (all-wood cardboard backing white) in 300 g / m2, but it is possible to use any type of cardboard between 250 and 350g / m2. As regards the quality of the cardboard, it may be a recycled cardboard, coated 1 or 2 sides, pure cellulose, etc. The case of the invention can be adapted to receive tubes or other types of packaging (doses, ampoules, bottles, pods, for example). The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a case as described above for manufacturing a case. According to the invention, such a method comprises the following steps: a step of obtaining a blank formed of several panels delimited by fold lines; a cutting step in one of said panels of at least two receiving openings of a drug container; a step of folding and assembling the blank so as to obtain said case. In a particular embodiment, the method comprises, prior to the folding and assembling step, a step of printing at least one printing area on at least one face of said blank. Such a case is simple to assemble and does not require gluing or stapling of several panels. 5. List of Figures Other features and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description of a preferred embodiment, given as a simple illustrative and non-limiting example, and the accompanying drawings. among which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a holster for homeopathic tubes according to one embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a view of the blank from which is obtained by folding and assembling the case of Figure 1; FIG. 3 illustrates the various steps of manufacturing a case according to the invention. 6. Detailed Description of the Invention FIG. 1 illustrates a case 1 of generally parallelepipedal shape, which has a front wall 10, a rear wall 11 , two side walls 12 and 13, a bottom wall 14, an upper wall 15 and a closure flap 16. In the embodiment shown, the case 1 has a storage wall 17 located between the front wall 10 and the wall rear wall 11 and extending between the side walls 12 and 13. The storage wall 17, the bottom wall 14, the two side walls 12 and 13, the front wall 10 and the rear wall 11 define a housing or receiving cavity of tubes of homeopathic granules. In the storage wall 17 are provided several openings L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6 each for receiving a tube. . These openings L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6 are substantially cylindrical in shape and are dimensioned so as to be able to receive a homeopathic tube of substantially cylindrical section (not shown). Such a case 1 thus has a row of locations (corresponding to the openings L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6) which compactly store (or store) several tubes of homeopathic granules side by side. The height of the tubes is chosen so that once a tube is introduced into a receiving opening L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, its base rests on the bottom wall 14, and its upper end protrudes the receiving aperture L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, which facilitates the gripping of the tube when taking drugs. It is therefore understood that the part situated between the base and the upper end of a tube is housed in the cavity defined by the storage wall 17, the bottom wall 14, the two side walls 12 and 13, the front wall 10 and the rear wall 11. Furthermore, the flap 16 is movable between an open position, illustrated in Figure 1, and a closed position (or folded, in which the flap 16 is pressed against the front wall 10) so that the case 1 form respectively a display of homeopathic tubes (Figure 1), and a storage box of 30 homeopathic tubes. This case can be delivered by a pharmacist and kept by the patient in a purse or a medicine cabinet for example.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, means for securing the flap 16 to the front wall 10 are implemented in the form of a tongue 161 which is intended to cooperate with an opening F formed in the bottom wall 14. .

Other means for closing the case can be envisaged, such as a snap button or a magnet system for example. The case 1 of FIG. 1 is obtained from a single piece, in the form of a sheet of flexible and recyclable material, such as cardboard, which is precut so as to obtain the blank 100 of FIG. (step E1 of FIG. 3).

This cardboard blank 100 is composed of several panels delimited by fold lines and which are, once folded, the walls and the flap of the case 1. It should be noted that during the step E1, fold lines are provided on the starting sheet in order to be able to fold (step E4) the panels on each other and to obtain the shape of case 1 of FIG. 1. Conventionally, step E1 is implemented using tools for cutting and marking folds. Thus, the flap 16 consists of the panels 162 and 163 connected by a fold line P, the panel 162 comprising a portion 161 forming the flap closure tab 16. On one side of the panel 162, which constitutes the inner face of the flap 16 (visible in FIG. 1) are printed rectangular printing zones Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4, Z5 and Z6 each associated with one of the openings L1, L2, L3, L4, L5 and L6 and in which the patient can write (ie provide information) information about the medical treatment, including the "ailment", "dosage" and "dates of taking" of the drug in the corresponding housing. Z7 print areas "name" and "first name" (patient) are also printed on this face. These prints are only visible when the flap 16 is open). On one side of the rectangular panel 163, which is connected to the rectangular upper wall by a fold line P, is printed a logo and / or a name of laboratory, pharmacy or organism having delivered the case 1. This printing (referenced Z8) is placed on the outer face of the flap 16 and is therefore visible when the flap 16 is open or closed.

The upper wall 15 is extended by a first 151 and second 152 side flap, in the form of a quarter circle, via folding lines P. Each of the flaps 151, 152 comprises two portions connected by a fold line P. As is visible in Figure 1, the upper wall 15 and the flaps 151, 152 form hinge and allow to pivot the flap 16 to close or open the case 1. The rear wall 11 comprises a rectangular central panel 111 which is extended by the two rectangular side walls 12 and 13, then by tongues 112, 113 via folding lines P. These tabs 112, 113 allow to assemble and stiffen the case 1 (the tongue 113 is visible in Figure 1) . A printing zone Z9 printed on the side wall 12 allows the patient to provide his last name and first names and ailments treated by all the homeopathic tubes housed in the case 1. This print area Z9 is visible even when the case 1 is closed. This allows, for example, a patient who would have stored the case 1 in a pharmacy box to know very quickly, without opening the holster, for what evils the drugs in the holster were prescribed. The bottom wall 14 comprises a rectangular central panel 141 which is extended by tabs 142, 143, via fold lines P. The front wall 10 comprises a rectangular panel 101 in which is formed a slot F intended to cooperate with the tongue 161 to close the flap 16. Rectangular print areas E1, E2, E3, E4, E5 and E6, each associated with one of the openings L1, L2, L3, L4, L5 and L6 and allowing the patient to fill in the "name" of the tube "(that is to say of the drug) placed in the corresponding housing, are printed on the panel 101.

The storage wall 17 comprises a rectangular panel 171 which is extended by tabs 172, 173, via folding lines P. The panel 171 comprises the openings L1, L2, L3, L4, L5 and L6 for receiving a tube facing the printing areas E1, E2, E3, E4, E5 and E6 of the panel 101. Such openings are obtained during a step E2 by punching for example.

Panels 18 and 19, not visible in Figure 1, are also provided. The panel 19 comprises in particular a rectangular panel 191 in which are cut openings 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 holding a tube corresponding to the openings L2, L3, L4, L5 , L6 for receiving the panel 171. Such openings 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 are also obtained during the step E2 by punching for example. The panel 191 is, once the case 1 assembled, located against the wall 14, in a plane parallel to the panel 171 so that the lower part of a tube introduced into an opening L2, L3, L4, L5, L6 of the panel 171 passes through the opening 2, 3, 4, 5, the corresponding 6 of the panel 191 and rests on the bottom wall 14. The upper and lower parts of a tube are thus locked in the openings L2, L3, L4, L5, L6 and L'2, L'3, L'4, L'5, L'6 respectively of a location of the holster 1. In other words, the openings of the panels 171 and 191 are provided so that they are arranged concentrically once the folding and assembly of the case 1 performed, thus allowing a holding in position of each tube in the corresponding location of the case 1 .

When folding (step E4) of the blank 100, the tabs 112, 113, 142, 143, 172, 173 and the panel 192 can consolidate the assembly of the case 1. The manufacture of the case 1 is particularly easy and economical (few losses). The case obtained allows the patient, once the drugs arranged in the locations of the case, to transport all of his medical treatment easily, without risk of confusion in his medication or loss of one or more tubes. The shape of the openings in receiving panels 171 and 191 is not limited to that illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. They may be dimensioned to receive any form of drug containers, particularly tubes or bottles of circular, square or oblong section. The panel 171 includes an opening L1 whose dimensions are smaller than the other openings L2, L3, L4, L5, L6 of the panel 171. This opening L1 is arranged to place a pod (which is a smaller tube for a single take and usually renewed once a month) of corresponding shape or a pencil.

It should be noted that the printing of the inner and / or outer faces of the walls and the flap of the case 1 can be implemented before or after the step E 1. It is possible to print decorative or advertising motifs, a logo and / or zones allowing the patient to write, for example, information relating to the homeopathic tubes that are stored in the case 1, such as, for example, heal, the name of the granules enclosed in the tube, the dates of taking and the dosage (this information may appear on the label of each tube and the patient can copy them on the case). It is easily understood that the risks of replacing a tube in a location that is not its own are minimized. There is provided on the inner face of the flap a housing in which can be dragged / inserted a prescription for example. For this purpose, the panel 162 or the panel 163 comprises fixing means, in the form of a double-sided adhesive tape, which makes it possible to fix the panels 162 and 163 to one another close to the wall 15 The housing thus formed may be open at its two lateral ends or at only one of its ends. The edges of the housing are curvilinear in this example so as to facilitate the gripping of a sheet located in the housing. In a variant, no printing step is implemented but pre-printed labels are glued to the panels of the blank or the case once it is assembled. In another variant, several rows of openings intended to receive containers of drugs (and therefore of locations) are provided, these openings being associated or not with holding openings.

Claims (12)

REVENDICATIONS1. Case (1) for storing and transporting medicaments, and in particular homeopathic medicaments, said case (1) being obtained by folding and assembling a blank (100) comprising a plurality of panels which once folded the walls of said case (1). ), characterized in that a first (171) panel of said blank (100) comprises at least two receiving openings (L2, L3) for each receiving a drug container when said blank is folded and assembled. 2. Case (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a flap (16) movable between an open position and a folded position so that the case (1) forms respectively: - a display of drug containers, and - a closed storage container of medication containers. 3. Case (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a second (191) panels of said blank (100) comprises at least two holding openings (L'2, L'3) each associated with a said receiving openings (L2, L3) and for holding a drug container in the corresponding receiving opening (L2, L3). 4. Case (1) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that said flap (16) comprises a storage compartment of a medical prescription. 5. Case (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that at least one edge of said housing is of curvilinear shape to facilitate the insertion and withdrawal of the order. 6. Case (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it comprises at least one printing area on at least one side of said blank (100). 7. Case (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises at least one printing zone on at least one of said panels of said blank (100), said zone being associated with a receiving opening (L2, L3 ) a container of 30 drugs. 8. Case (1) according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that said at least one printing area comprises identification information of saidcontenant (name of the drug) and / or prescription information (the harm to treat, dosage and date of taking) and / or advertising information. 9. Case (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that said blank (100) is cardboard. 10. Use of the case (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9 for storing and transporting homeopathic tubes. 11. A method of manufacturing a case (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: - a step (El) for obtaining a blank (100) formed several panels delimited by fold lines; - a step (E2) of cutting in one of said panels of at least two openings (L2, L3) for receiving a drug container; - A step (E4) of folding and assembling the blank (100) so as to obtain said case (1). 12. A method of manufacturing a case (1) according to claim 11, characterized in that it comprises, prior to the step (E4) of folding and assembly, a step (E3) of printing of at least one printing area on at least one side of said blank (100).