US2652149A

US2652149A - Package memo pad

Info

Publication number: US2652149A
Application number: US266830A
Authority: US
Inventors: John R O'meara
Original assignee: Ivers Lee Co
Current assignee: Ivers Lee Co
Priority date: 1952-01-17
Filing date: 1952-01-17
Publication date: 1953-09-15
Anticipated expiration: 1970-09-15

Description

Sept. 15, 1953 Q'MEARA 2,652,149

PACKAGE MEMO PAD Filed Jan. 1'7, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l 7 1mm ROMEHRG Sept. 15, 1953 O' 2,652,149

PACKAGE MEMO PAD Filed Jan. 17, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 N. i ezz 'ff G JOHN ROMERRH,

BY M

Patented Sept. 15, 1953 PACKAGE MEMO PAD John R. OMeara, Scotch Plains, N. J., assignor to Ivers-Lee Company, Newark, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Application January 1'7, 1952, Serial No. 266,830

2 Glaims.

This invention relates generally to a device for holding and protecting against damage, such as crushing, small articles such as medicinal tablets, capsules and the like, and into and from which the articles can be easily inserted. and removed, respectively.

One known type of package comprises one piece of heavy cardboard of a thickness greater than the articles and having holes or cells in which the articles are individually disposed, the articles being held in the cells by layers of material overlying the articles in the cells, for example, a tubular cover into and out of which the layer of cardboard is slidable. This type of package is relatively stiff and the cardboard can be cracked or broken during transit, for example, in the mails, so that the package at least in part may be destroyed and some or all of the articles may be damaged or released from the package.

Packages of this type are frequently used in L conjunction with pharmaceutical preparations, particularly tablets and capsules and the tablets are dispensed by a doctor to his patient with directions which frequently are written on separate sheets of paper to guide the patient in taking the medicine.

One object of the present invention is to provide a container or package which shall be flexible and thereby reduce the possibility of cracking or damage to the package and the articles during transit, and a portion of which shall be capable of receiving written or printed indicia of the nature of the articles, memos, notes, or directions of the physician and can be removed or detached from the package and handed to the patient with one or more of the tablets or capsules.

Another object is to provide such a package which shall comprise a plurality of superposed flexible leaves, sheets or pages of paper or other suitable material having one or more holes leaves or sheets intermediate the thickness of the pad or assembly of leaves or sheets with the articles in register with said holes, and the assembly of leaves or sheets being relatively slidably associated with a tubular cover which normally is in position to hold the leaves or sheets against such separation as to permit displacement of said envelope but which can be slid on the assembly or pad to release said envelope for removal of the articles.

Other objects are to provide a package of this nature wherein the leaves shall be scored, perforated or otherwise weakened to permit separation of the second-mentioned portions of the leaves or sheets from the article-holding portions; to provide a novel and improved combination of the pad or assembly of leaves or sheets and the slidable cover such that one edge of the cover may serve as a cutting or guiding edge for the removal of the indiciaor memo-receiving portions of the leaves or sheets; and other objects, advantages and results of the invention will be brought out by the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a package memo pad embodying the invention and illustrating one manner of removing the indicia-receiving portion of one of the sheets;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the package from the plane of the line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the cover slid into the position to release the sheets for removal of the articles;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view from the plane of the line 4- of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a composite sectional top plan view approximately on the plane of the line 5--5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an enlarged top plan view similar to Figure 3 showing the manner of separating the leaves for removal of the articles;

Figure '7 is a greatly enlarged sectional view approximately on the plane of the line of Figure 6;

Figue 8 is a composite top plan view of the assembly or pad of leaves or sheets, the slidable cover and the article-containing envelope in separated relation to each other;

Figure 9 is a top plan view of a modified form of the package;

Figure 10 is a bottom plan view of the package shown in Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a top plan view of another modiflcation of the package with portions broken away;

Figure 12 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing a further modification of the package;

' Figure 13 is a top plan view of another form of a package embodying the invention with portions broken away.

Specifically describing the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 8 inclusive, the package memo pad includes a body portion A composed of a pile, pad or assembly of loosely superposed thin flexible sheets or leaves I of suitable material, for example, paper, which preferably although not necessarily are mounted on a relatively stiifer backing sheet 2, formed of, for xample, thin cardboard. Preferably the sheets I are secured together and to the backing sheet 2 along one or more edges in any suitable manner so that the sheets can be turned or lifted from the pad at at least one edge and individually separated from the pad. As shown in Figures 1 to 8 inclusive, the sheets are secured together along one longitudinal edge by adhesive and threads extending transversely of the edges of the sheets as indicated at 3.

The aggregate thickness of the sheets I and 2 is preferabl slightly greater than the thickness of the articles such as tablets 4 that are to be packaged, and holes 5 of a diameter greater than the diameter of said articles are punched in the assembled sheets or pad to provide cells or pockets for the articles. A plurality of holes have been shown in a certain zone 9 that is, one end zone, of the pad of leaves or sheets, and the size and number of holes may be varied, one 01' more being provided as desired, and of a size to accommodate the particular article.

The articles 4 are shown as sealed in a flanged envelope B that comprises two opposed layers 6 and l of flexible material such as cellophane or Pliofilm, and said envelope is inserted between two adjacent sheets, about centrally of the thickness of the pad with the articles 4 in register or alignment with the respective openings 5, and with the marginal flanges 8 of the envelope extending beyond the openings 5 and between the adjacent sheets as best shown in Figures 6 and '7, the articles being thereby protected against damage, such as crushing.

With this construction it will be observed that the envelope containing the articles can be inserted between and removed from the sheets by simply turning back the sheets at one corner as best shown in Figure 6. The articles are preferably disposed in individual compartments in the envelope and said compartments are easily separable from. each other by tearing the material of which the envelope is formed, in a manner well known in the art.

The portions or zones It of the leaves I at their ends opposite the zones 9 in which the holes 5 are formed, are capable of receiving printed or written inclicia pertaining to the articles, for ex ample, directions as to the use of the articles, or notes, memoranda or advertising matter. Where the articles constitute medicinal tablets or capsules, a physician might remove one or more of the tablets from the envelope, write directions for taking the tablets on the zone I of the uppermost sheet I and hand the tablet and written directions to a patient.

The assembly of leaves or pad is relatively telescopically slidably associated with a tubular cover C which includes two opposed top and bottom walls H and I2 and end walls I3, the cover thus being ore-formed and rectangular shaped in transverse cross-section. The top and bottom walls I! and I2 preferably, but not necessarily, are of a width to overlie all of the holes and when the cover overlies the zone I0 the cover holds the leaves I against such lifting or separation as would permit displacement of the envelope from between the leaves as shown in Figures 1, 4 and 5; but the cover can be slid to the right in Figures 1 and 5 and to the position shown in Figures 3 and 6 or completely 01f the pad as preferred, so as to permit the leaves to be separated for removal of the envelope as shown in Figure 6. When the cover is in overlying relation to zones or portions 9 of the sheets, the portions I0 can be easily removed by simply tearing the sheets along the edge of the top wall of the cover as shown in Figure 1, although, of course, if desired the sheets could be perforated, scored or weakened as indicated at I4 in Figures 12 and 9 to facilitate individual removal thereof as shown in Figure 12, and also to permit removal of the portions it of all of the sheets at one time, if desired, as shown in Figure 9.

The cover may have openings I5 in its front and rear walls to register with the holes 5 for displaying the articles, or only the front wall may have openings in the cover as shown at D in Figures 9 and 10, or the openings may be entirely omitted from the cover as shown at E and F in Figures 11 and 13.

Also the cover may be formed of any suitable, preferably flexible material such as thin cardboard as shown in Figures 1 to 10 inclusive, or may comprise a plastic composition which may be transparent as indicated at E in Figure 11.

Moreover, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the sheets of the pad may be divided into different sections, for example, into sections I6 and I"! in Figure 11 by scored lines IS.

The package of the invention may be further modified to accommodate a larger number of articles or articles of two different kinds, for example, as shown in Figure 12. Here the pad G has one group of article-receiving openings I8 at one end zone and another group of articlereceiving openings I9 in the other end zone and each sheet of the pad has a zone 20 between the two groups of openings to receive indicia of any desired nature, said zones 20 being separable from the pad along the scored lines I 4. Covers H and I for the openings I8 and I9, respectively, are slidable on the pad or entirely off the pad in the same manner as are the other covers hereinbefore described. With this arrangement, a larger number of one type of article may be packaged or the package may contain one type of articles in the openings I8 and another type of articles in the openings I9. The indicia-receiving zones 20 may be utilized for indicia relating to either or both types of articles, the zone of one sheet being usable for one type of article and the zone of another sheet being adapted for use with articles of the other type.

In all forms of the invention it will be observed that the pad can be easily and quickly made and the openings or article-receiving cells can be formed by a simple punching operation. The envelope B can be inserted between the sheets I before or after application of the cover C to the pad, and after the cover has been applied to the pad over the zone that contains the article-receiving cells, the sheets will be held against separation so that accidental displacement of the envelope is prevented. The Whole package is flexible so that it can easily bend during transit, for example, in the mails, Without damage to either the pad, cover or the articles. The indicia-receiving portions of the pad sheets are always handy for use when the articles are dispensed, or if desired said indiciareceiving portions can be entirely removed from the package and used as a separate memo pad as shown in Figure 9. In all forms of the invention it will be observed that the memo-reeeiving portions of the pad serve as guide-supports for the covers when the latter are slid off the zones of the pads in which the articles are packaged.

The flanged envelope prevents displacement of the articles through the openings of the pad and provides for easy and quick insertion and removal of a plurality of articles into and from the package.

While the sheets of the pad have been shown as glued together along one longitudinal edge, obviously, the sheets may be glued along one or more edges so as to provide the desired relationship between the article-containing portion of the pad, the cover and the indicia-receiving portion of the pad.

Other modifications and changes in the construction and use of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art as within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. A package comprising an envelope formed of superposed layers of thin flexible sheet material sealed together and having at least one article sealed between said layers, a plurality of loosely superposed thin flexible sheets forming a body of a thickness greater than that of said article, said sheets having openings cooperating in corresponding zones of the sheets to provide a pocket for said article and said sheets being secured together along at least one edge to provide for lifting and separating of said sheets individually from an edge thereof, said envelope being removably inserted between two of said sheets intermediate the thickness of said body, and a tubular cover telescopically slidably associated with said body, said cover serving to hold said sheets against separation and prevent displacement of said envelope from said body when said cover is in encompassing relation to the body at the zones of said sheets in which said pocket is disposed and said cover releasing said sheets for separation and for insertion or removal of said envelope when the cover is withdrawn from said encompassing relation to the body, said flexible sheets having other zones extending from the first-mentioned zones capable of receiving indicia and eoacting with each other to provide a support on the body for said cover, said cover being pre-formed and rectangular shaped in transverse cross section, said cover also being of a length to substantially cover the portion of the body in which said pocket is disposed and at the same time leave the other portions of the body uncovered to provide for the sliding withdrawal of the tubular cover along the body from the first-mentioned portion thereof onto the second-mentioned portion, said sheets being of tearable material to provide for severability of the sheets between said first-mentioned and said secondmentioned zones to permit individual detachment of the second-mentioned zones from the respective sheets.

2. A package as defined in claim 1 wherein said flexible sheets are rectangular in plan, said first-mentioned and second-mentioned zones are at opposite end portions of the sheets, and one edge of said cover provides a tearing guide for severing the second-mentioned zones of said sheets from the first-mentioned zones.

JOHN R. OMEARA.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,359,750 Schrank Nov. 23, 1920 1,492,101 Mordecai Apr. 29, 1924 1,984,351 Johnson Dec. 11, 1934 2,050,270 Burnham Aug. 11, 1936 2,057,180 Berg Oct. 13, 1936 2,199,476 Berg May 7, 1940