GB2324247A - Adhesive article dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

An adhesive article dispensing system comprises a plurality of planar adhesive articles overlying each other to form an aligned stack. Each article comprises a backing layer 11 carrying an adhesive layer 19 and wherein a releasable protective liner 12 covers the surface of the adhesive layer. The individual articles of the stack are secured to the overlying article by a releasable bond 20 formed between aligned edge portions 13. The article may be detached from the edge portion, for example by separating the two parts at line of weakness formed there between. The adhesive articles may be medical dressings.

Description

ADHESIVE ARTICLE The present invention relates to adhesive articles and a method of presentation thereof and is particularly suitable for, but not limited to, adhesive wound dressings.

Adhesive articles which are coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive for adhesion to a substrate are very common. In the field of wound dressings, well-known articles of this type include products sold under the trade marks OPSITE (tom) and HYPAFIX (tom) by Smith & Nephew. Individual such dressings are usually presented with a releasable liner covering the adhesive and packed in a paper pouch. Alternatively dressings can be provided in continuous form, e.g. in the form of a roll or mounted on a reel, from which a suitable size of dressing may be cut when required.

These known methods of providing adhesive wound dressings all require the user to use both hands in unwrapping or cutting the dressing, removing the releasable adhesive liner and applying the dressing to the skin. In certain situations this may be inconvenient, e.g. when a primary dressing must be held in place whilst a secondary adhesive dressing of the type discussed above is placed over the primary dressing to hold it in place.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved form of presentation for adhesive articles such as wound dressings.

According to the invention an adhesive article dispensing system comprises a plurality of planar adhesive articles each comprising a layer of a backing material coated on one surface thereof with a layer of a pressure-sensitive adhesive, each said adhesive article having a releasable liner adhered over the surface of said pressure sensitive adhesive layer, wherein each releasable liner comprises an edge portion extending along at least one edge thereof and wherein said plurality of adhesive articles are placed together in alignment such that all are orientated in the same manner and each one overlies another one with the exception of the lower-most article in said pile and wherein said edge portions of said release liners are bound together to secure said articles in a stack.

The adhesive articles preferably comprise adhesive wound dressings. Preferably each wound dressing comprises a backing, or substrate, layer having an upper, non-adhesive surface and a lower su4ece to which a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive has been applied.

The backing layer or substrate comprises any material known to be useful in the manufacture of wound dressings. Such materials are well known in the art of dressing manufacture and include woven or non-woven fabrics and films of natural or synthetic materials. Particularly preferred materials are non-woven fabrics and synthetic polymer films such as polyurethanes, polyesters, polyethers and blends and co-polymers thereof. The backing layer of a dressing may comprise more than one layer. For example it may comprise an absorbent or cushioning layer of e.g. a non-woven or foam material and a liquid water impermeable, breathable polymer film layer adhered or laminated to a surface thereof, the pressure-sensitive adhesive being provided on the surface of the absorbent layer which is opposed to the impermeable film, or on portions of the film which surround the absorbent material.

The pressure-sensitive adhesive may comprise any such adhesive known to be of use with the particular type of adhesive article. When the adhesive articles are wound dressings, the pressure-sensitive adhesive will comprise any such adhesive which is approved for use on skin and in contact with open wounds. Such adhesives are well-known in the art of wound dressings and may comprise synthetic polymers containing acrylate groups or polyether copolymers, for example. The adhesive may be spread as a continuous or a discontinuous layer, e.g. it may comprise a pattern of adhesive dots or lines of adhesive over the surface of the backing layer. It may be particularly advantageous to use a pattern-spread adhesive layer to control the moisture-vapour permeability of the dressing if the adhesive used is relatively moisture-vapour impermeable compared with the backing layer.

The release liner preferably comprises any known material which is useful in such an application. Preferred materials include paper, coated paper (e.g. polyolefin-coated paper) or polymeric films. The surface of the release liner may be treated to render it releasable from the pressure-sensitive adhesive, for example by coating it with a silicone-based release compound.

The edge portions of the release liners of each adhesive article may not be covered by the adhesive articles i.e. the release liner may extend beyond the adhesive article to form the edge portion. The edge portion may be located along one edge of each liner or it may be located along more than one edge. Preferably at least one entire edge is free of the adhesive article.

Alternatively the edge portion of the release liner may include a portion of the material of the adhesive article. For example, the adhesive article and release liner combination may be formed by making an article comprising a release liner layer and an adhesive article which covers one whole surface of the release liner. The adhesive article for the dispensing system of the invention may then be formed by cutting through the backing and adhesive layers to form an edge portion and an adhesive article portion. The edge portion may remain secured to the edge portion of the release liner and bound together with corresponding portions of other adhesive articles. The edge portion of the adhesive-coated backing may be separated from the adhesive article portion by a line of incision or a wider strip of adhesive portion may be removed to leave a corresponding strip of uncovered release liner between the edge portion and the adhesive article. This alternative form of the adhesive articles may be easier to manufacture than the form in which only the liner layer forms the edge portion because the thickness of the edge portions in the alternative form is similar to the thickness of the remainder of the article. The width of the edge portion is preferably at least 5mm, more preferably at least 1 Omm.

Preferably substantially the entire adhesive surface of the adhesive article is covered by the release liner. A portion of the adhesive article may form a tab or handle which can be gripped by the user to assist in removal from the release liner. The tab or handle portion of the adhesive article may be adhesive coated or it may be non-adhesive. If it is adhesive coated then a separate release liner portion may be present to cover and protect the adhesive of that part of the article. In a preferred form a separate release liner portion which covers the adhesive of the tab portion comprises a folded V-shaped piece of liner material.

The release liner may comprise two or more separate parts. A preferred form of release liner comprises two parts which are coplanar and adjacent, preferably arranged such that adjacent edges of the respective parts are very close together or touching one another along the length of the adjacent edges. Preferably the two parts are separated along a line which extends roughly parallel with the bound edges of the dressing system. The multi-part release liner may be formed by cutting the release liner e.g. by diecutting. When the release liner comprises more than one part, the adhesive article may be removed from the stack of articles with one or more parts of the release liner remaining adhered over a portion of the adhesive surface. This remaining part of liner may support the adhesive article, especially when the article is not stiff enough to support itself e.g. when it is a thin film. In one preferred form therefore an adhesive article dispensing system comprises a plurality of adhesive articles which are stacked in alignment and bound together along one edge; each said article comprising a conformable backing layer having an adhesive layer covering one surface thereof and a release liner over said adhesive layer, said release liner comprising a first and second portion arranged side by side and separated along a line which extends substantially parallel to said bound edge. The release liner preferably comprises two parts, one of which includes the edge region which is bound to corresponding parts of other adhesive articles. Each part preferably comprises 20-80% of the total area of release liner.

The edge portions of the release liners are bound together to secure the articles in a stack or pad. They may be bound by means of adhesive, e.g. a hot melt adhesive system; by heat-sealing, sewing, stapling or by other means, e.g. by providing a hole or holes in the edge portions of the liners through which metal or plastic rings may be threaded. The rings may be secured to a support structure such as a binder or base-plate. It is preferred that the bound stack of articles is provided with means to secure the stack to a base of some kind to hold the stack of articles securely whilst the user removes an adhesive article from the top of the stack. The base may be relatively heavy, but movable or it may comprise means to secure it to a wall, table, or trolley for example.

The adhesive articles which form the dispensing system of the invention may be of the same size and shape or different shapes and sizes to provide a selection of different articles within the system. For example a set of different dressings may be provided together to provide a selection of dressings each of which may have a different function or cover a different size of wound.

The release liners may include a means by which they may be removed from the stack. Such means may include a line of weakness such as a perforated line across the liner e.g. in a position which separates the edge portion of the liner from that portion which carries an adhesive article. If such a means is provided it is preferred to ensure that the force applied to each liner during removal of an adhesive article from the liner is less than the force required to remove the liner from the stack by such removal means as described above. This may be achieved by experimenting with release surfaces, and removal means such as perforated arrangements in the liner until the correct balance is achieved. Removal of a used liner from the stack would expose the underlying adhesive article and make that next article accessible to the user. The removed liner may be discarded.

A method of manufacturing an adhesive article dispensing system according to the invention comprises the steps of forming a plurality of adhesive articles which each comprise a substrate layer coated on one surface with a pressure-sensitive adhesive material, each being adhered over substantially the whole of their adhesive surface to a releasable liner which extends beyond the adhesive article at at least one edge thereof to form an edge portion of the liner; stacking said plurality of adhesive articles and liners together in alignment such that said edge portions are aligned one on top of the other and then securing said liners together in the region of said edge portions.

The adhesive articlelliner combinations may be formed by making an adhesive article and liner combination in which the adhesive article covers the entire surface of the liner, by methods which are well-known in the art1 and then removing a part of the adhesive article which is adjacent to an edge of the liner layer by edge trimming or die cutting for example.

The invention will now be further described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings which are: Fig 1, a plan view of one form of adhesive article and liner, Fig 2, a cross-section through an adhesive article dispensing system according to the invention.

Fig 3, a plan view through a second embodiment of the invention and Fig 4, a cross sectional view through a further embodiment of the invention.

Fig 5, a cross sectional view through a further embodiment of the invention.

The wound dressing 10 of Fig 1 comprises a backing layer or substrate 11 coated with adhesive on its lower surface. The adhesive is covered by releasable liner 12. A portion 13 of liner 12 extends beyond the backing layer at one edge to form an edge portion of the liner.

Fig 2 shows a stack of the dressings shown in fig 1 glued together with glue 20 in the region of the edge portions 13 of the liner layers.

Fig 3 shows a similar dressing to which has a line of perforations 15 across the edge 13 of the liner. When these dressings are secured in a stack as in fig 2, the used liners may be torn away along the perforations to expose the dressing beneath.

Fig 4 shows a cross-section through an alternative stack of dressings. The liners 12 are secured together by ring 16 which passes through holes 21 in the liners. The rings 16 are secured to a baseboard 17. Each dressing includes a strip of releasable liner paper 18 adhered to the adhesive layer along the edge adjacent the edge portion of the liner. This part of the dressing therefore does not adhere to the liner 12 and so it is convenient for the user to grasp the dressing here and pull it away from liner 12. Liner strip 18 may be removed when the dressing has been adhered to the patient.

Fig 5 shows a further embodiment in which the adhesive articles are modified to include a cut line 23 extending across the width of the release liner 12 to form two portions 12a and 12b.

When the dressing is peeled away from the stack, liner part 12a remains adhered to the dressing. Liner part 1 2b includes the edge portion 13 which is bound to other dressings of the stack and thus remains on the stack when the dressing is removed. This part may then be used to handle the dressing without touching the adhesive and also to support the adhesive and backing layer in a flat and wrinkle-free condition. The drawing also shows the use of a vshaped liner portion 22 to assist the user in grasping a dressing to pull from the stack.

Example A roll of adhesive dressing material was manufactured using the known techniques of laminating together a continuous length of an acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive, which had been solvent cast onto a length of liner paper, to a length of a non-woven polyester material of the type known for use in dressings. The laminated nonwoven-adhesive-liner paper combination was slit to form a roll 1 10mum wide. This material was then edge-trimmed along one edge, removing a 1 Omm width of the non-woven + adhesive to leave a 100mm wide dressing on a 1 10mum wide liner. The roll was cut to 1 00mm lengths across the width of the roll to form units of liner paper measuring 11 Omm x 100mm each having a non-woven adhesive dressing adhered over all of the surface except for a 1 Omm strip along one edge. This 1 Omm strip forms the edge portion of the liner.

Twenty of the 110 x 1 00mum unit dressings were assembled into a pile with the free edge portions being aligned one above another. The edge portions were then glued together using a hot melt adhesive.

The dressings are used by securing the assembled pad of dressings to a firm base and then the user simply peels away the top dressing of the stack from its fixed liner paper and applies it to the patient. The liner paper, being secured to the remaining stack of dressings need not be heid down and so the dressing may be removed using one hand. The used liner paper may then be torn away to expose the next dressing of the stack.

Claims (7)

1. An adhesive article dispensing system comprising a plurality of planar adhesive articles overlying each other to form an aligned stack, each article comprising a backing layer carrying an adhesive layer and wherein a releasable protective liner covers the surface of the adhesive layer, and in which the individual articles are secured to the overlying article by a releasable bond formed between aligned edge portion.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1 in which the individual articles are secured to the overlying article by a releasable bond formed between aligned edge portions of the liners of adjacent articles.

3. A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the edge portion of said liner extends said adhesive carrying backing layer.

4. A system as claimed in claim 1 in which the individual articles are secured to the overlying article by a releasable bond formed between aligned edge portions of the backing layer of an underlying article and release liner of the overlying article.

5. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the releasable bonded edge portions are separated from the remainder of at least the liner by a line of weakness, thereby to permit the article to be detached from the edge portion.

6. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the article is a medical dressing.

7. A medical dressing pack comprising a system as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims and contained in an enclosure.