US3721339A

US3721339A - Blister card package

Info

Publication number: US3721339A
Application number: US00158841A
Authority: US
Inventors: A Seyer
Original assignee: Warner Lambert Pharmaceutical Co
Current assignee: Warner Lambert Co LLC
Priority date: 1969-10-24
Filing date: 1971-07-01
Publication date: 1973-03-20
Anticipated expiration: 1990-03-20

Abstract

A blister-type card package designed for display on a peg rack, which package is characterized by a flat base-forming card member having an aperture in which a product is positioned, the product being enclosed between a pair of tray-like transparent blisterforming members which have peripheral flanges sealed in overlying relation to portions of the base-forming card which extend about the aperture, the one blister member being seated in the aperture so that a portion of the product projects beyond the back face of the card and the other blister member covering a portion of the product which projects beyond the front face of the card. The packages are supplied for mounting on a peg rack with the product accommodating apertures in alternate packages being offset so that the projecting front and back portions of the product in adjacent packages are in non-aligned relation when hung on a peg, enabling a degree of nesting which results in a greater number of packages being accommodated on a peg, and also enabling a plurality of the packages to be packed in nested relation in a shipping container with provision for opening the container so that the packages may be readily placed as a group on the peg rack.

Description

United States Patent [191 Seyer ]March 20, 1973 1 BLISTER CARD PACKAGE [75] Inventor: Anthony W. Seyer, New Canaan,

Conn.

[73] Assignees Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical Company, Morris Plains, NJ.

[22] Filed: July 1, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 158,841

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 869,012, Oct. 2, 1969, Pat. No.

[52] US. Cl. ..206/65 R, 206/65 K, 229/51 DB [51] Int. Cl ..B65d 5/54, B65d 77/04 [58] Field of Search ..206/65 R; 229/51 DB [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,307,693 3/1967 Bittner....' ..206/78 B 3,407,928 10/1968 Watts, .Ir.. .....206/78 B 3,187,889 6/1965 Sinclair ..206/65 R 1,772,625 8/1930 Caulfield ..229/5l DB X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,183,269 1/1959 France ..229/51 DB Primary Examiner-Leonard Summer Att0rneyJames F. Powers, Jr. et a1.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A blister-type card package designed for display on a peg rack, which package is'characterized by a flat base-forming card vmember having an aperture in which a product is positioned, the product being enclosed between a pair of tray-like transparent blisterforming members which have peripheral flanges sealed in overlying relation to portions of the baseforming card which extend about the aperture, the one blister member being seated in the aperture so that a portion of the product projects beyond the back face of the card and the other blister member covering a portion of the product which projects beyond the front face of the card. The packages are supplied for mounting on a peg rack with the product accommodating apertures in alternate packages being offset so that the projecting front and back' portions of the product in adjacent packages are in non-aligned relation when hung on a peg, enabling a degree of nesting which results in a greater number of packages being accommodated on a peg, and also enabling a plurality of the packages to be packed in nested relation in a shipping container with provision for opening the container so that the packages may be readily placed as a group on the peg rack.

3 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDmzoms 3,7 1,339

INVENTOR ANTHONY W SE YER BLISTER CARD PACKAGE This application is a division of application Ser. No. 869,012, filed Oct. 24, 1969, now US. Pat. No.

This invention relates to packaging and is more particularly concerned with improvements in a blister-type package which is especially adapted for display on a peg rack or similar support.

In the marketing of a number of products, generally of relatively small size, which it is desired to display on a counter or the like, one form of package which has been widely used is the so-called blister card package which comprises a backing card having mounted thereon a tray-like cover member, or blister, usually formed from a transparent film, which encloses the product or cooperates with a portion of the card in enclosing the product in a pocket'and holds iton the card. The cover member or blister generally has a peripheral flange which is sealed to the front face of the card and the card is provided with one or more apertures for mounting on one or more supporting pegs. Also the card is usually larger than the blister so that there is some space for accommodating advertising copy, or the like. In the use of this type package, the number of identical packages which may be accommodated on a peg rack is, of course, limited by the maximum thickness of the package in the area of the blister since adjacent packages when supported on a peg will have the blisters aligned. When the maximum thickness of the package is substantial, the result is that frequent replenishment of the supply of packages is necessary and when the blister is positioned near the bottom edge which is usually the case, the cards tend to curl, as a result of crowding on the peg support, which detracts from the appearance of the packages and is undesirable. It is a general object of the invention, therefore, to provide a blister-type card package of improved construction, which is better adapted for marketing, as a display item on a peg rack, than the packages of this type which have been provided heretofore.

- A more specific object of the invention is to provide improvements in a blister card type package which, among other advantages enables a larger number of the packages to be attractively displayed at one time on a supporting hook or on a single peg of a peg rack and thereby eliminates the need for too frequent replenishment of the supply thereof.

back faces thereof enabling a plurality of the cards to be positioned on a peg with the projecting portions of the product on adjacent cards in side by' side nonaligned relation, so that a larger number of packages are accommodated on the peg and less frequent replenishment of the supply thereof is required.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a blister-type package which is adapted to be formed with the blister in two different locations so that packages may be grouped in alternate relation on a peg rackor in a shipping container with adjacent packages having the blister portions nested and a plurality of the I blister-type package in which the base-forming card faces of the card and substantially all sides of the product are visible for inspection.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a blister-type package in which the supporting card is apertured to receive the product which is enclosed in a blister formed by two tray-like members having peripheral flanges of different widths with the blister member having the smaller flange seated in the aperture so as to extend beyond the opposite or back face of the card and the blister member with the larger flange being arranged on the front face of the card with the flange overlying the narrower flange of the cooperating blister member and sealed to the face of the card so as to trap the narrower flange and hold the two blister members in position on the card.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the blister card package and the use thereof which is shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view showing the front face of a blister card package which embodies the principal features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the package of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. I, to an enlarged scale, the view showing portions of two adjacent blister card packages as they appear when supported on a peg rack;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the separate elements which constitute one form of the blister card package;

'FIG. 5 is a side elevation showing a plurality of packages arranged on a peg rack, with alternate packages having the blisters located in offset relation;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the arrangement of an assembly of the packages on a peg support so as to accommodate a maximum number of packages on the peg;

FIG. 7 is a perspective of a shipping container in which a plurality of the packages are enclosed in nested relation;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the manner in which the shipping container is opened to enable the nested packages to be slid onto a peg rack while they are supported in the tray portion of the shipping container; and

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a group of the packages in nested relation on the peg rack with the tray portion of the shipping container slid out from under the packages.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4 of the drawings, there is illustrated a package 10 incorporating the principal features of the invention which is particularly adapted for the packaging of razor blades, razors and similar products so as to enable a plurality of the packaged products to be attractively displayed on a peg rack or similar support where they are available, for example, as a self-service item on a counter or other display area. The invention is, of course, not limited to the marketing of razors and associated products but may be advantageously employed in the marketing of various other products which it is desirable to display in an attractive manner and make readily available to the store clerk or customer.

The package 10 comprises, in the form shown in FIGS. l-4, a backing board 12 which is in the form of a rectangular sheet of cardboard or other suitable sheet material of appropriate size for the product being packaged and having an aperture 14 in which the product 16 is positioned with the product being enclosed in a blister 18. The blister comprises two

traylike members

20 and 22, which are preformed of a suitable transparent plastic material to provide pocket receiving

recesses

24 and 26 with

marginal flanges

28 and 30, the flange 28 of the one blister member 20 being of larger width than the flange 30 of the other blister member 22. The

blister members

20 and 22 are adapted to be placed about the product 16 in face-toface relation with the

flanges

28 and 30 overlying each other. The assembly is located in the recess or aperture 14 in the backing card 12 with the one blister member 22 seated in the aperture 14 so that the tray portion thereof projects from the back face 32 of the backing board 12. The flange 28 of larger width is sealed against the front face 34 of the backing board 12, as indicated at 36, so as to trap the flange 30 of the blister member 22 and secure the assembly 18 in the aperture 14. The aperture 14 is located in the top portion of the backing board 12 and the board 12 is of sufficient size to provide a margin about the blister assembly 18 for sealing the

flanges

28 and 30 and a space of substantial dimensions for receiving advertising, as indicated at 38. Holes 40 are provided in the upper margin of the backing board for receiving pegs 42 (FIGS. and 6) of a peg rack or the like.

In the form of the package 10, which is shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the blister assembly 18 is set in an aperture 14 which is located in the top portion of the backing board 12, the board having top and

bottom edges

44 and 46, respectively, with the the peg receiving holes 40 being aligned transversely of the board and spaced to receive a center peg (not shown) or a pair of spaced pegs 42 as shown in FIG. 6. Another form of the package, indicated at in FIGS. 5 to 10, has the same construction as the package 10 except for the location of the aperture 14 relative to the top and

bottom edges

44 and 46. The blister receiving aperture 14' is located in the lower portion of the backing board 12' with the top portion of the backing board accommodating advertising material which may be of the same character as indicated at 38 in FIG. 1. The apertures 40' for receiving the supporting pegs 42 are arranged along the top margin of the board 12 in the same manner as the apertures 40 in FIG. 1. Other features of the package which are the same as in the package 10 are indicated by the same numerals primed.

The blister receiving apertures 14 and 14' are located on the

respective backing boards

12 and 12 relative to the top and

bottom edges

44, 46 and 44', 46 so that when

packages

10 and 10 are arranged in alternate suspended relation on pegs 42, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the portions of the blister assemblies 18 and 18' which project from the confronting front and back faces respectively of adjacent backing boards 12 and 12' will be in side-by-side, or nested relation. This enables approximately twice the number of packages to be accommodated on the same length of peg support as can be accommodated when the blisters project from one side only of the board.'Also the alternate nesting arrangement eliminates any crowding of the packages on the peg support at the top of the backing boards which, in the package arrangements heretofore provided, results in undesirable curling or bending of the backing boards.

The arrangement of the packages 10 and 10' in altemate, nested relation also enables the packing of a supply of the packages in nested relation in a shipping container so that the latter may be opened and the packages slid onto a peg support, in a group, for removal from the shipping container. As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 the shipping or storage container 50 is constructed so as to serve not only as a shipping container but also as a supporting tray for holding the packages in the proper nested relation for loading onto a peg rack in a quick and convenient manner. The container 50 which may be, for example, a paperboard carton, is of rectangular cross section and of a size sufficient to receive a stack of the

packages

10, 10 which are arranged in alternate, nested relation, as shown, with the peg receiving apertures 40, 40' at the top. The container 50 is provided with a tear strip or tape 52 which extends about a middle portion of three sides of the container 50, down along the end corners at 54 and across the bottom end corner so that by removal of the

tear strip

52, 54 the container 50 is divided into a top cover portion 56 and a bottom tray portion 58, the latter having an open back end 60 as shown in FIG. 9. The entire back wall 62 of the container remains on the top cover portion 56 leaving the back of the bottom tray portion 58 open at 60 so as to enable the packages to be slid onto the peg support 42 while they are still in a group in the tray portion 58 after which the tray portion 58 may be removed or withdrawn in a forward direction without disturbing anything which may be displayed immediately below the peg support on which the packages are being placed. The container 50 may, of course, be modified, for example, by dividing the end wall 62 in the same manner as the other three side walls and providing for breaking out or tearing out the portion remaining on the bottom 58 so as to free the packages 10, 10' for removal by sliding the same from the end of the tray portion 58 in the same manner as shown in FIG. 9.

What is claimed is:

1. A package assembly comprising a stack of packages which are each characterized by a relatively stiff, generally planar structure and an article enclosed in a blister member mounted on said structure with portions thereof extending on opposite sides of the plane of said structure, said package each having one or more peg receiving apertures which apertures are in aligned relation, alternate packages in said stack having the blister members disposed in offset relation on the respective structures so that the portions of the blister members on confronting faces of adjacent packages are disposed in nested relation in the space between the structures thereof and said packages having their botsaid open side.

2. A package assembly as set forth in claim 1 and the container which encloses the stack of packages being of rectangular cross section, and said tear strip means extending intermediate the top and bottom edges along three side walls, down along the ends of oppositely disposed side walls at one end of the container and across the bottom wall at said one end whereby removal of said tear strip means divides the container into top and bottom sections.

3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the planar structure is a card member forming a backing board.

Claims

1. A package assembly comprising a stack of packages which are each characterized by a relatively stiff, generally planar structure and an article enclosed in a blister member mounted on said structure with portions thereof extending on opposite sides of the plane of said structure, said package each having one or more peg receiving apertures which apertures are in aligned relation, alternate packages in said stack having the blister members disposed in offset relation on the respective structures so that the portions of the blister members on confronting faces of adjacent packages are disposed in nested relation in the space between the structures thereof and said packages having their bottom edges substantially in a common plane, and a container enclosing said stack of packages, said container having continuous tear strip means for dividing the same into top and bottom sections with the resultant bottom section being in the form of a tray having a surface on which the bottom edges of the packages rest and having at least one side thereof removed to enable the packages to be placed on a peglike support member in a group and thereafter slid out of the tray through saiD open side.