GB2388836A

GB2388836A - A dispensing device

Info

Publication number: GB2388836A
Application number: GB0127443A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Robert Fry; Richard Iain Simpson; Christopher John Hurlstone; Andrew Gordon Pocock; Paul Greenhalgh; Matthew Egerton Young; Reuben Wu
Original assignee: Team Holdings Ltd
Current assignee: Team Holdings Ltd
Priority date: 2001-11-15
Filing date: 2001-11-15
Publication date: 2003-11-26
Also published as: DE60209138D1; WO2003042066A1; EP1446335A1; EP1446335B1; GB0127443D0; US20050082194A1; ATE317356T1

Abstract

A dispensing device for removing the contents of a blister pack comprises a housing for accommodating the blister pack, the housing comprises a first wall 10 having a plurality of apertures 11 and a second wall 12 having a plurality of buttons 13. Both the apertures 11 and the buttons 13 are arranged to align with the blisters of the blister pack. The housing also has a manually operable locking mechanism for enabling or disabling depression of the buttons 13, which is preferably a movable stop member 14. The movable step member 14 is preferably movable between a first position which enables the buttons 11 to be depressed and a second position which prevents depression of the buttons 11. The movable stop member 14 is preferably biassed towards the second position so that the buttons 13 can only be depressed as the movable stop member 14 is urged towards the first position.

Description

Blister Pack Dispensing Device The invention relates to a blister pack

dispensing device and to a method of manufacturing such a device.

There is a requirement for devices to allow safe and s simple dispensing of tablets to prevent as far as possible young children obtaining access but to allow access by older and less dextrous persons, for example those suffering from conditions such as arthritis or whose grip is weak.

lo Medicines are often packaged in blister packs which comprise a plastic sheet having plurality of moulded receptacles (or blisters) in which one or more tablets are placed covered by a foil which is pierced or burst to obtain access to the contents of the blister. Such blister packs are known in two forms, a standard form with a burstable foil which can be easily popped' and a child resistant form which has a thicker non- burstable foil.

The non-burstable foil is normally peeled off to expose a standard burstable foil. This peeling process may be so difficult for persons suffering from arthritis or having a weak grip so cutting tools have been provided to pierce the foil. A more dangerous alternative is to use a pair of scissors.

US-A-51504793 discloses a device for inhibiting removal of GE an article from a blister-type container having at least one blister. The device includes a housing surrounding at least a portion of the container sized to permit movement of the container between the first and second positions.

The housing has a base positioned facing the blister-type 30 container with at least one base opening in registry with the blister when the container is in the first position.

( - 2 - The base opening is sized to permit passage of the article therethrough. The device also includes a biasing member for biasing the container toward the second position.

When the container is in the second position, the base of s the housing is positioned to inhibit removal of the article from the container. When the container is moved by an individual against the bias of the biasing member to the first position, the blister is in registry with the base opening to permit removal of the article by applying lo pressure to the outside surface of the blister to force the article to rupture the container and pass through the base opening.

US-A-5244081 discloses a device for inhibiting removal of a first article from a first blister-type container having 15 at least one blister. The device includes a first member or second blister-type container positioned facing the first blister-type container with at least one opening in the second container in registry with the blister when the second container in the first position. The first to container likewise may include an opening in registry with a second blister of the second container when the second container is in the first position. The openings in the first and second containers are sized to permit passage of the respective articles therethrough. When the second is container is in the second position, the second container is positioned to inhibit removal of a first article from the first container and the first container is positioned to inhibit removal of a second article from the second container. The device may also include a first member for So permitting movement of the second container between the first and second positions and a second member for maintaining the second container proximate the container and permitting movement of the second container between the first and second positions. A locking member may be

( provided for locking the containers in the second position. The invention provides a blister pack dispensing device comprising a housing for accommodating the blister pack, 5 the housing comprising a first wall provided with plurality of apertures arranged to correspond to blisters on the blister pack, a second opposing wall carrying a plurality of buttons aligned with said apertures, and a manually operable locking mechanism for enabling or lo disabling depression of the buttons.

By providing a locking mechanism, which will be released by a manual operation by a user, the release of the contents of a blister by pressing one of the buttons can be inhibited unless two separate operations are carried 15 out, that is release of the locking mechanism and depression of one of the buttons.

The locking mechanism may comprise a movable stop member associated with each button, the stop member being movable between a first and a second position such that in the 20 first position the button is enabled to be sufficiently depressed to dispense the contents of a blister though an aperture and in the second position the button is prevented from being sufficiently depressed to dispense the contents of the blister.

25 The movable stop member may comprise a frame which surrounds at least some of the blisters of the blister pack. In this case, the blister pack can remain stationary within the housing while the frame in the first position so allows the buttons to be fully depressed to eject the

( contents from the blister through the corresponding aperture in the housing while in the second position the frame prevents the buttons being sufficiently depressed to eject the contents of the blister.

5 In an alternative embodiment the blister pack itself can constitute the locking mechanism.

The movable stop member may be provided with a plurality of openings each corresponding to a button, the buttons being provided with projections projecting in the lo direction of depression of the button) wherein in the first position the openings are aligned with the projections on the button to allow the projections to pass through the movable member and the buttons to be fully depressed while in the second position the projections 15 engage the movable member to prevent the buttons from being fully depressed.

This construction gives the advantage that the projections and openings in the frame can be of smaller area than the buttons and consequently the distance between the two so positions can be relatively small. This enables the spacing between the blisters to be minimised.

Alternatively the movable stop member may be provided with a plurality of projections each corresponding to a button, the buttons being provided with openings for accommodating is the projections, wherein in the first position the projections are aligned with the openings in the buttons to allow the buttons to pass over the projections and fully depress while in the second position the projections engage the buttons to prevent them from being fully so depressed.

! In a further alternative embodiment the movable stop member is provided with a plurality of projections each corresponding to a button, wherein in the first position the projections are misaligned with the buttons to allow s the buttons to fully depress while in the second position the projections engage the buttons to prevent them from being fully depressed.

Cutters, which may be integrally moulded with the first wall, may be provided around the apertures on the interior lo of the first wall, the cutters being effective to pierce the foil covering a blister when the corresponding button is depressed.

The provision of cutters in the dispensing pack enables convenient dispensing of the contents of child resistant 1E blister packs, that is those packs which have a strong foil over the blister which needs a cutting tool to pierce it. In addition it also enables the dispensing of blister contents which may be damaged by the pressure required to pierce the foil when transferred through the contents.

to The apertures may be provided with frangible covers which are displaced by the act of dispensing the contents of a blister. This reduces the possibility of the contents of a blister being accessed through an aperture by piercing the foil Is and allowing the contents to drop through the aperture.

Thus the use of child resistant blister packs is not required when using such a dispensing device.

The invention further provides a method of manufacturing a blister pack dispensing device comprising the steps of:

( - 6 - producing a one piece thermoplastic moulding comprising a first wall of a housing having a plurality of apertures spaced to correspond with the spacing of a blister pack to be contained within the dispenser and a second wall of the 5 housing having a plurality of buttons spaced to align with the apertures when the dispenser is assembled, the first and second walls being joined by a flexible web portion; folding the first and second walls about the flexible web to enclose a blister pack; and joining the two walls lo together to form the housing.

The method may comprise the further step of inserting a movable frame between the first and second walls. The method may further comprise the further step of moulding the movable frame integrally with the first and second walls and connecting the movable frame to the opposite end of one of the first and second walls by a second flexible web. The second web may be joined to a spring means on the frame and when the dispensing device is assembled the so spring means may act as a biassing means for the movable frame. The first and second walls may be joined by a snap fit mechanism.

These features lead to a small number of steps being required to manufacture a dispensing device maximising the :5 convenience and minimizing the cost of manufacture.

The above and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description,

by way of example, of embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: so Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a dispensing device according to the invention;

( - 7 - Figure 2 shows in unassembled form a first embodiment of a dispensing device according to the invention; Figure 3 shows in unassembled form a second embodiment of a dispensing device according to the s invention; Figure 4 shows in unassembled form a third embodiment of a dispensing device according to the invention; Figure 5 shows a crosssectional view of part of a fourth embodiment of a dispensing device according to the lo invention; and Figure 6 shows plan and crosssectional views of frangible covers.

Figure l is a perspective drawing of a blister pack dispensing device according to the invention which comprises a housing 1 for containing a blister pack, the housing 1 having an array of buttons 2 which corresponds to the array of blisters on the blister pack for which the device is designed. The housing 1 has an aperture 3 through which a button 4 projects, the button 4 forming so part of an inhibit frame whose function is to lock the buttons 2 unless the button 4 is depressed, when the buttons 2 are unlocked and may be depressed to dispense the contents of the blisters through apertures on the underside of the housing 1. Thus, in order to dispense 25 the contents of a blister pack contained within the housing 1 it is necessary to perform two operations simultaneously, that is depression of the button 4 to unlock the buttons 2 and depression of one of the buttons 2 to push the contents of a blister through an aperture in JO the underside of the housing 1.

Figure 2 shows in unassembled form a first embodiment of a blister pack dispensing device according to the invention, Figure 2a showing the device in plan view, Figure 2b

( showing the device in an elevational view, and Figure 2c showing the device in perspective view. As shown in Figure 2 the dispensing device comprises a first wall 10 having an array of apertures 11 formed therein. A second s wall 12 is formed with a corresponding array of buttons 13, which are arranged so that when the device is assembled the buttons 13 are aligned with the apertures 11. A movable frame 14 has a plurality of apertures 15 which correspond to the buttons 13 in the second wall 12.

10 The movable frame 14 is connected to the first wall 10 by means of a flexible web 16 and a portion 17 that, in operation, forms a biassing means for the frame 14, while the first wall 10 is connected to the second wall 12 by a further flexible web 18.

:5 The movable frame 14 is provided with a projecting button 19 that, when the device is assembled, projects through an aperture 20, the button l9 corresponding to the button 4 in the device of Figure 1. In addition, in this particular embodiment, the apertures ll are covered by so frangible covers (or trapdoors) 21 and each button in the array of buttons 13 is provided with a projection 22.

In order to assemble the dispensing device shown in Figure 2 a blister pack 23 is placed over the frame 14 as shown in Figure 2b and the frame 14 is folded about the web 16 2s to lie against the wall 10 of the housing. It will be apparent that the blister pack 23 is sandwiched between the frame 14 and the wall 10 of the housing with the foil side of the blister pack facing the wall 10 and the blisters projecting through the inhibit frame 14. The So wall 12 is then folded about the web 18 and a latching projection 24 snap fits over the end of the wall 10 to hold the device closed. Other means for holding the device together may be used, for example heat sealing the

( - 9 - two outer walls 10 and 12 or using an adhesive, but the illustrated method allows re-use of the device by enabling the housing to be opened allowing the insertion of another blister pack when the contents of the first blister pack s have been dispensed. If the dispensing devices are to be re-used it is advantageous to provide covers 21 which are also re-usable or to dispense with the covers.

Once the device of Figure 2 has been assembled it has the appearance of the device shown in Figure 1 and in 10 operation the frame 14 is biassed by the spring 17 to a position where the apertures 15 are misaligned with the projections 22 on the buttons 13 to prevent the buttons from being sufficiently depressed to eject the contents of the blisters. In order to dispense the contents of a 15 blister the user presses the button l9 against the spring 17 to align the apertures 15 in the frame 14 with the projections 22 on the buttons 13. As a result the projections 22 can pass through the apertures 15 allowing the buttons 13 to be fully depressed (as can be seen more to clearly from Figure 5). Where frangible covers 21 are provided over the apertures 11 the projection 22 on the button 13 presses on the cover 21 to break the frangible coupling between the cover and the wall 10 and allow the contents of the blister to be dispensed through the 25 aperture by further depression of the button 13.

As will be apparent from the above description the

dispensing device shown in Figure 2 is formed from a single plastic moulding and has the advantage of requiring only a small number of manufacturing steps in order to So assemble it. The only components are the blister pack and the single moulding which merely requires folding operations, once the blister pack has been placed in position, to form the completed device.

( - 10 Figure 3 shows in unassembled form, a second embodiment of a dispensing device according to the invention, Figure 3a showing the device in plan view, Figure 3b showing the device in an elevational view, and Figure 3c showing the s device in perspective view. In Figure 3 those elements having the same form and function as corresponding elements in the embodiment of Figure 2 have been given the same reference numerals. The following description will

highlight the differences between the embodiments of lo Figure 2 and 3 rather than repeating the description of

the common elements. The significant difference is that the frame 14 is moulded as a separate component from the walls 10 and 12 of the housing. While this embodiment requires more parts and further assembly steps it has the is advantage that the housing walls 10 and 12 can be moulded from a different plastics material from that of the frame 14. This enables the most suitable material to be chosen for each part, for example the spring 17 and frame 14 may be moulded from Delrin while the walls 10 and 12 may be so moulded from polypropylene. It will also be apparent from the Figures that the blister pack 23 is positioned on the opposite side of the frame 14 but this is an inessential difference as in both embodiments it is possible to place the blister pack 23 on either side of the frame 14.

Is Figure 4 shows in unassembled form, a third embodiment of a dispensing device according to the invention, Figure 4a showing the device in plan view, Figure 4b showing the device in an elevational view, and Figure 4c showing the device in perspective view. In Figure 4 those elements so having the same form and function as those shown in Figure 2 have been given the same reference numerals. The following description will highlight the differences

between this embodiment and that shown in Figure 2 and not repeat a description of the common elements. The

( embodiment of Figure 4 is designed to be able to dispense the contents of child resistant or other blister packs which have a relatively strong foil which cannot be broken merely by applying pressure to the blister which is 5 transferred to the foil by the contents of the blister.

Such blister packs need a cutting tool to remove the foil and while resistant to opening by young children cause difficulty to those whose manual dexterity is limited, for example due to arthritis. The embodiment may also be 10 useful where the contents of the blister are fragile and likely to be damaged by the force necessary to burst the foil. In the embodiment of Figure 4 the apertures 11 are surrounded by cutters 25 rather than being provided with 5 frangible covers. In addition the buttons 13 are not provided with projections as these are not required to break the frangible covers. The frame 14 is provided with apertures 26 through which the blisters on the blister pack project when the device is assembled. With this so particular embodiment the blister pack 23 moves as the frame 23 moves so that in a first position the blisters are not aligned with the apertures 11 and a second position where they are aligned with the apertures 11.

Thus when a button 13 is depressed the blister contents :5 can only be dispensed when a blister is located above the cutters 25 around the aperture 11. Otherwise the blister pack 23 is positioned such that the button 13 will not engage with the blisters.

As a modification of the embodiment shown in Figure 4 the So buttons may be provided with projections 22 and the frame 14 with additional apertures 15 which cooperate with the projections 22 to provide a locking mechanism for the buttons 13 in the same manner as described with reference

( - 12 to Figures 2 and 3. In addition the frame 14 may be of the skeletal form shown in Figures 2 and 3. This enables the blister pack to be located in a stationary manner with respect to the apertures 11, the frame 14 sliding across s the blister pack. The frame 14 shown in Figure 4 may have the advantage of holding the blister pack 23 more firmly against the cutters 25 when dispensing the contents but will cause the blister pack 23 to slide with respect to the apertures 11 and cutters 25. In order to prevent the lo cutters 25 from damaging the foil on the blister pack when it slides between the misaligned and aligned positions the interior of the wall 10 is provided with a rib 27 which spaces the blister pack from the wall, and hence the cutters 25, except when a button 13 is depressed above a IS blister when the blister pack deforms to allow the cutter to pierce the foil. The under surface of the button 13 may be profiled to extend around the blister when depressed to hold the pack firmly against the cutters 25.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view on line x-x of Figure 1 to showing the assembled embodiment of Figure 2. Figure 5a shows the frame 14 in its inhibit position where it prevents the button 13 from being depressed as the projection 22 on the button 13 engages with the surface of the frame 14. Figure 5b shows the situation where a user :s has moved the frame 14 against the biassing spring 17 to a position where the projection 22 on the button 13 is aligned with the aperture IS in the frame 14. Figure 5c shows the button 13 being depressed to dispense the contents of a blister of the blister pack 23. As shown in JO Figure 5c the projection 22 passes through the aperture 15 and engages with the frangible cover 21 to cause it to break away. The button 13 then presses on the blister causing the contents to break though the foil and be dispensed through the aperture 11.

( - 13 Devices having frangible covers over the dispensing apertures will generally be single use, since once the frangible covers have been broken there will no longer be any means to prevent access to the blister contents s through the apertures 11. Consequently it would not be desirable to refill the device with a new blister pack.

An alternative might be to provide the covers 21 with a hinge at one point and to provide a latching mechanism at a diametrically opposite side. Thus the projection 22 lo could operate the latching mechanism to allow the cover 21 to hinge outwardly while once the contents of the blister have been dispensed it is possible to replace the cover in the closed position. This could be achieved in a manner similar to battery compartment covers on portable 15 electrical equipment.

In the embodiment of Figures 2 and 3 the provision of projections 22 on the buttons and apertures 15 on the frame 14 could be reversed, that is the frame 14 could be provided with projections while the buttons 13 are so provided with apertures. In this embodiment, however, the projections could not then be used to open the frangible covers shown in Figures 2 and 3. An additional modification would be to provide the frame 14 with projections which in the second position engage with the Is lower surface of the buttons 13 and in the first position are outside the profile of the button 13. Although in the embodiment shown the apertures 15 are circular in form, they could be replaced by apertures of any other shape which would cooperate with the projections 22, or by slots So which are not necessarily wholly enclosed within the frame 14. In the further modification of the embodiment shown with reference to Figures 2 and 3 the frame 14 may be dispensed

with. In this case the blister pack 23 forms the manually operable locking mechanism, the blister pack being provided with apertures 15 corresponding to the apertures 15 in the frame 14. The projections 22 will then either pass through the blister pack to enable the buttons 13 to be fully depressed and eject the contents from the blister and open the trap door if the frangible covers are provided. Again as an alternative the blister pack could be provided with the projections as previously discussed lo with respect to the frame 14.

Figure 6 shows in plan and cross-sectional view three possible constructions for the frangible covers 21. As shown in Figure 5a the cover 21 is only connected to the wall 10 by a hinge section 51 and a small, typically 15 spherical, bridging member 52. The remainder of the periphery of the cover 21 is separated from the wall 10 by a small gap 53 around its perimeter. In operation the projection 22 on the push button 13 presses on a portion 53 of the cover 21 causing the bridging section 52 to 20 break and the cover 21 to open about the hinge 51. Figure 5b shows a construction where instead of a gap 53 being left around the periphery of the cover 21 a frangible boundary is formed that is a boundary where the cross-

section is reduced. Again the pressure of the projection 25 22 against the portion 53 of the frangible cover will cause the frangible boundary to split and the cover to hinge about the hinge 51. In this construction it would not be essential to have the hinge 51. As an alternative the cover could be allowed to completely fall out of the so dispensing device along with the contents of the blister.

This does suffer from the disadvantage, however, that the cover has to be separated from the content of the blister before they can be used. Figure 5c shows a further alternative where instead of covering the whole of the

( IS aperture ll a strap is provided across the aperture.

Where the contents of the blister are relatively large compared with the size of the aperture it is not necessary to fully cover the aperture to prevent the contents from 5 being released by breaking the foil through the aperture.

Thus a relatively simple strap across the aperture will perform the same function as the cover shown in Figure 5a and will operate in the same manner. It should be noted that these covers are merely examples of those that could be implemented and are not intended to limit any embodiment of the invention to using one of these three illustrated covers. In particular the term frangible in respect of covers is intended to encompass any construction where internal pressure on the cover will cause it to displace sufficiently to provide space for the contents of a blister to be dispensed. Thus any sort of latching mechanism which holds the cover in place, whether reusable or not will provide a cover which is frangible in the sense that this term is used in the present 2c application. While the locking mechanism for the buttons 13 has been shown in the embodiments as a sliding member having apertures or projections for engaging or disengaging the buttons the invention is not limited to such a 25 construction. Any manually operated locking mechanism which efficiently prevents the buttons from being fully depressed unless operated could be used. Preferably it should require the user to operate it at the same time as depressing the buttons but a sequential operation of the So locking mechanism and the depression of the buttons could be used. One possible alternative locking mechanism could involve a rotatable member which lies across the buttons in one positions to prevent their depression and swivels away from the buttons to release them in a second

( - 16 position. Other mechanisms could be devised to perform this function.

Claims

( CLAIMS

l A blister pack dispensing device comprising a housing for accommodating the blister pack, the housing comprising a first wall provided with a plurality of s apertures arranged to correspond to blisters on the blister pack, a second opposing wall carrying a plurality of buttons aligned with said apertures, and a manually operable locking mechanism for enabling or disabling depression of the buttons.

lo
2. A device as claimed in Claiml in which the locking

mechanism comprises a movable stop member associated with each button, the stop member being movable between a first and a second position such that in the first position the button is enabled to be sufficiently depressed to dispense 5 the contents of a blister through an aperture and in the second position the button is prevented from being depressed sufficiently to dispense the contents of the blister.
3. A device as claimed in Claim 2 in which the 20 movable stop member comprises a frame which surrounds the blister pack.
4. A device as claimed in Claim 2 in which the movable stop member comprises the blister pack.
5. A device as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 4 in 2s which the movable stop member is provided with a plurality of openings each corresponding to a button and the buttons are provided with projections projecting in the direction of depression of the button wherein in the first position the openings are aligned with the projections on the 30 button to allow the projections to pass through the

( - 18 movable member and the buttons to be fully depressed while in the second position the projections engage the movable member to prevent the buttons from being fully depressed..
6. A device as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 4 in s which the movable stop member is provided with a plurality of projections each corresponding to a button and the buttons are provided with openings for accommodating the projections, wherein in the first position the projections are aligned with the openings in the buttons to allow the lo buttons to pass over the projections and fully depress while in the second position the projections engage the buttons to prevent them from being fully depressed.
7. A device as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 4 in which the movable stop member is provided with a plurality of projections each corresponding to a button, wherein in the first position the projections are misaligned with the buttons to allow the buttons to fully depress while in the second position the projections engage the buttons to prevent them from being fully depressed.

so
8. A device as claimed in any preceding claim in which the movable stop member is biassed towards the second position.
9. A device as claimed in any preceding claim in which the button can only be depressed while the movable 25 member is urged into the first position.
10. A device as claimed in any preceding claim in which cutters are provided around the apertures on the interior of the first wall, the cutters being effective to pierce the foil on a blister when the corresponding button lo is fully depressed.

- 19
11. A device as claimed in Claim 10 in which the cutters are moulded integrally with the wall.
12 A device as claimed in any preceding claim in which the apertures are provided with frangible covers 5 which are displaced by the act of dispensing the contents of a blister.
13 A device as claimed in Claim 12 in which the frangible covers only partially cover the apertures.
14. A device as claimed in Claim 12 or claim 13 when lo dependent on Claim 4 in which when a button is depressed the corresponding projection engages with the frangible cover after passing through the opening to displace the frangible cover.
15. A blister pack dispensing device substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.
16. A method of manufacturing a blister pack dispensing device comprising the steps of: producing a one piece thermoplastic moulding 20 comprising a first wall of a housing having a plurality of apertures spaced to correspond with the spacing of a blister pack to be contained within the dispenser and a second wall of the housing having a plurality of buttons spaced to align with the apertures when the dispenser is 5 assembled, the first and second walls being joined by a flexible web portion; folding the first and second walls about the flexible web to enclose a blister pack; and joining the two walls together to form the housing.

- 20
17. A method as claimed in Claim 16 comprising the further step of inserting a movable frame between the first and second walls.
Is. A method as claimed in Claim 17 further 5 comprising the step of moulding the movable frame integrally with the first and second walls such that it is connected to the opposite end of one of the first and second walls by a second flexible web.
19. A method as claimed in Claim is in which the lo second web is joined to a spring means on the frame and when the dispensing device is assembled the spring means acts as a biassing means for the movable frame.
20. A method as claimed in any of Claims 16 to l9 in which the first and second walls are joined by a snap fit 15 mechanism.
21. A method as claimed in any of claims 16 to 19 in which the first and second walls are joined by heat sealing or an adhesive.
22. A method of manufacturing a blister pack to dispensing device substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.