WO1999032369A1

WO1999032369A1 - Package with several individual sealed spaces with a thick grating between the spaces

Info

Publication number: WO1999032369A1
Application number: PCT/SE1998/002343
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ragnar Winberg
Original assignee: Ragnar Winberg
Priority date: 1997-12-23
Filing date: 1998-12-17
Publication date: 1999-07-01
Also published as: SE511302C2; SE9704852D0; SE9704852L

Abstract

The purpose of the invention is to achieve an inexpensive pack in which many individually-enclosed tablets or the like can be accommodated in a small space and still be easily and safely taken out. This is achieved by making a pack which is primarily characterised by consisting of a thick and rigid grid (9) with narrow grid walls, by attaching to the outer side of this a thin, easily flexible first layer (7, 17) with blisters (8), where each blister contains a tablet, and where the blisters pass right through the openings in the grid. A flat covering layer (1) is attached on the outside of the first layer and has fracture lines (2) outside the area where the covering layer is attached to the first layer or the grid. Individual packs may be inserted into a carton in a known manner.

Description

PACKAGE WITH SEVERAL INDIVIDUAL SEALED SPACES WITH A THICK GRAΗNG BETWEEN THE SPACES

Tablets especially pharmaceuticals, are often packaged for hygienic reasons in blister packs in which each tablet is individually enclosed. Another reason for this pack is that the tablets cannot stick to each other. A further reason is that they cannot rub against each other or damage each other. A further reason is that it is easy to see how many tablets have been taken or how many are left.

One inconvenience of these packs is that the blister bubble itself may be difficult to press out so that the tablet is released. The blister bubble and/or the burstable layer covering the bubble must have a certain minimum strength so that tablets cannot be pressed out unintentionally. A further inconvenience is that no major area of text can be applied to the pack since the smooth layer becomes more and more broken up as the pack is emptied of its contents. For the above reasons, blister packs are usually packaged in protective external packaging in the form of cardboard cartons on which there is associated text, logotype, etc. !t is inconvenient to remove the blister pack from an outer packaging in order to take out a tablet. The appearance of the blister pack becomes increasingly unattractive and the number of torn-open spaces with projecting torn flaps increases.

Among the inconveniences of a common tablet carton, eg for throat pastilles, is that the tablets may stick together and that, especially when then, only a few left, they may damage each other. It may be difficult to get giip on only one tablet and when a tablet is offered to someone else, it nay be perceived as unhygienic if they have to insert the fingers into the carton. In addition it is difficult to see how many tablets are left.

The present invention relates to a pack for tablets and the like in which the above inconveniences have been eliminated. The pack is intended mainiy For pharmaceutical tablets and ordinary throat pastilles, but may also oe used fo,- other small bodies.

The invention has the characteristics states in the patent claims.

Some embodiments of the invention will be described in greater detail below with the aid of illustrations. For the sake of clarity, some dimensions are exaggerated, especially as regards the thickness of material in Figure 1 1 and 16.

Figure ' shows a covering layer with an opened flap seen from the side.

Figu'e 2 shows the covering layer of Figure 1 seen from above.

Figure 3 shows a pressed-out plastic film seen from the side.

Figure 4 shows the plastic film of Figure 3 seen from above.

Figu^re i shows a grid seen in section A-A as per Figure 6.

Figu^re 6 shows a grid seen from above.

Figure 7 shows an open carton with a part pulled out.

Figu^re U shows a complete withdrawable part containing 12 tablets, seen frcm below.

Figure 9 shows the part in Figure 8 seen in section B-B.

Figure " 0 shows another design of a complete withdrawable part seen from below.

Figure 1 1 shows another design of a grid seen from below. Figure 12 shows the grid of Figure 11 seen in section C-C.

Figure 13 shows a third design of a grid seen from below.

Figure 14 shows the grid of Figure 13 seen in section£)-D.

Figui e 15 shows a fourth design of a grid seen from below.

Figure 16 shows the grid of Figure 15 seen in section E-E.

Figures 1 and 2 show a covering layer 1 consisting of paper with a thin layer of brown thermoplastic on the underside. The thermoplastic has fracture lines 2 for each tablet, in this case 12 tablets. The fracture line may consist of the paper being cut but not the underlying thermoplastic layer. The fracture ϋne may also consist of cutting-through of the entire plastic layer in short sections separated by shor sections that are not cut through, ie like an ordinary perforation. For each tablet there is a fracture line on three sides, whilst the fourth side has no fracture line and forms a fold line 3 which, in Figure 2, is shown chain-dotted. This line may be creased or untreated. A flap 4 has been formed by breaking along the fracture line. It is clear that, for each tablet, the fracture line is clcser to the short sides of the covering layer than the corresponding fold line. 5 designates a grip part for each side of the covering layer. The grip parts are intended to be folded along the fold lines 6.

Figures 3 and 4 show a thin, soft plastic film 7, which has been shaped so tr at 12 blisters 8 have been formed, each forming a space for one tablot. The plastic film may, for instance, be of polyethylene, polyprooylene, or polystyrene and may be 0.03 mm thick. The blisters may be produced in a known manner by using pressure and/or vacuum. As a result of being pressed out, the actual blisters become thinner .hat the original film.

Figure i. and 6 show a grid 9. It is thick, eg 2 millimetres, and the materiai between the openings is small, eg 2 millimetres. Here the openings are shown square with rounded corners. The openings can of course be round or of anotner shape. Because of the great thickness of the grid, it becomes rigid and because the distance between the openings is small the outside dimensions of the grid become small. The grid can also be produced by casting or pressing so that it obtains the grid shape directly. The material may be cardboard, plastic or something else.

Figure 7 shows a view of a carton where a withdrawable part, generally designated 11 , has been pulled up a bit from the carton and a tablet has been pressed out. The lid 13 of the carton is in accordance with ordinary tablet cartons. Half of a carton seal is designated 14. The grip part was folded 90° along the chain-dotted line 6 when the withdrawable part was in the closed carton

Figures 8 and 9 show a complete withdrawable part containing 12 tablets 15 seen respectively from the underside and in section B-B. The withdrawable part consists of a grid 9 in accordance with Figures 5 and 6, on th'3 top of which a transparent plastic film is attached in accordance with Figures 3 and 4 so that the blisters project through the openings in the grid. In the spaces formed by the blisters in the plastic film are the tablets 15. On top of the flat surface of the plastic film there is a covering layer of plasticised paper in accordance with Figures 1 and 2, welded to the plastic film. The covering layer has two grips 5.

Figure 10 shows another design of a withdrawal part containing 12 tablets 16 seen from below. Here, instead of a plastic film in accordance with Figures 3 and 4, there are three paper tapes 17, which are attached to the top of the grid so thac they pass through every opening in the grid. Above the tablets there is a covering layer in accordεnce with Figures 1 and 2.

Figures 1 1 and 12 show another design of a grid. Figure 12 shows the grid in Figure 11 in a section C-C. Here the grid is in the form of a thick, rigid. 0.5 mm thick thermoplastic film. After heating, 12 closed blisters have bean formed by means of pressure and/or vacuum in the known manner. After this, the bottoms of the blisters have been removed, forming 12 through openings. Each opening is here surrounded by a rigid round collar 18, which gives the grid the intended rigidity. The flat surface of the grid is surrounded by an outer edge 19 standing against the collεr.

Figures 13 and 14 show a grid of cardboard. This has been produced by first folding for e <ample three-metre-long and 65-millimetre-wide strips of 0.5-millimetre-thick cardboard into square-section tubes 20. Twelve such tubes are bonded together, after which a border 21 of likewise 0.5 mm cardboard is bonded around the bonded-together tubes. The long tube packs are then sawn into three-millimetre-thick slice:; and sawdust is removed. A sawn slice forms a grid.

Figures 15 and 1 show a grid in which 12 long cardboard tubes 22 have been bonded together around the bonded-together tubes. The finished tube packs are then sawn into thrae-millimetre-thick slices, each forming a grid.

When producing grids by stamping out openings in a sheet of cardboard, there is great wastage of material, which has no value. To achieve sufficient s^tiffness of the grid, the distance between the openings must be great and the cardboard must be thick. Thick cardboard has a tendency to deiaminate, which weakens it.

When producing grids in accordance with Figures 13 to 16, there is only insignificant wastage of material, which mainly originates from sawing into slices. The design may be such that the distances between the openings are very small. Sufficient thickness is achieved by the great thickness.

If the grid is made of cardboard, wood or other similar entirely renewable material arid for environmental reasons it is not considered appropriate to use plastic film, even if it is only a small quantity, the alterπati /e with paper strips (17) may be usable. The paper strips may be waxed.

When a tablet is to be taken, one may proceed as follows. First the cartcn is opened as with a conventional tablet carton. While one holds the two sides of th carton with the left hand, on-3 grasps with the right hanc a grip tab (5) and pulls up one of the withd awable parts (1 1 ) to at most slightly more than half its length. The pulled-out part is held by friction in the pulled-out position when released. One can now conveniently place the index finger and the middle finger horizontally outside the tablet (12) to be taken and with the thumb press the blister of the plastic film. The covering layer then breaks at its fracture line and a flap is formed around the fold line (3). The tablet is now free but remεins on the opened flap. One moves the thumb over and can grip the tablet with the thumb on one side and the index finger and possibly the middle finger on the other side. After this, the withdrawable part (1 1 ) is pushed down into the carton. The pressed-out projecting flap, which has its foid line at the bottom, is moved in by the edge of the carton towards the grid, and thus does not prevent the withdrawable part (1 1 ) from being pushed down into the carton.

If the carton can be opened on both its short sides, it is convenient to first lake tablets on one half of the withdrawable parts through one short end of the carton, and when these have been taken, to break any seal and open the other short end of the carton and afterwards take the remaining tablets from this short end by pulling out the withdrawable parts through this short end slightly more than halfway. This can be done b) the flaps on the wi-hdrawable parts being opened in different directions, which means that when the tablets are taken they stay in the flaps. When the withdrawable parts are pushed back into the carton, they are closed by the edge of the carton.

In the above-mentioned procedure there is no need to remove any part from the carton. If a part must be removed from the carton, the carton must be placed somewhere while a tablet is taken from a withdrawn part using both hands.

Text can easily be arranged on the covering layer. The flaps can easily be closed so that a text or image need only be disturbed insignificantly by the breaking- through of the covering layer.

There can of course be mere than two withdrawable parts (1 1 ) in a carton, tor example if each withdrawable part contains three by three tablets. A withdrawable part can of course be removed from the carton and used separately. If the carton cannot be opened at both ends, or if one does not wish to open the other short end, the withdrawable parts, when the tablets in the upper part of them have been taken, be turned around and inserted into the carton in the reversed position. The remaining tablets are taken as before and have the fold lines of the flaps at the bottom of the flaps.

The commonly occurring blister packs for tablets and the like have a rigid plastic film in which blisters are made. The actual blister thus has relatively rigid sides which contribute to the necessary stiffness of the pack but the rigid sides also make it difficult to press out the tablets.

According to the invention, the tablets are pressed out through a soft plastic film or an easily-bent strip of paper, whilst the stiffness of the pack is arranged by a special grid.

Claims

1 A pack containing a number of individually sealed spaces, each containing a tablet or the like, characterised in that

it consists of a thick, stiff grid (9) which has, on at least one side, a flat surface between the openings (10) and where the distance between the through openings is so small that the openings occupy a larger area of the pack than the actual walls of the grid.

a thin, easily flexible first layer (7, 17), which is shaped so that it forms spaces in the form of blisters (8) where each blister goes entirely through an opening in the grid, is non-removably attached to the flat outer face of the grid around each blister.

there is, directly on the flat surface of the first layer, a covering layer (1 ) through which the tablets are taken by breaking out, and which covering layer is attached to the flat surface of the first layer and

that the covering layer is provided with Fracture lines (2) so positioned that they fall outside the area where the covering layer is attached to the grid (9) or the first layer (7, 17).

2 Pack according to Claim 1 , characterised in that the first layer consists of a thin plastic film (7) in which blisters have been created and where the plastic film is attached to the grid and the covering layer is attached to the plastic film.

3 Pack according to Claim 1 , characterised in that the first layer consists of paper strips (17).

4 Pack according to any of the above claims, characterised in that the grid is made of cardboard folded into rectangular tubes (20) where the tubes are bonded together, surrounded by a cardboard border (21 ) and then sliced at right angles to their length axis into grids.

Pack according to any of the above claims, characterised in that the grid is made of round cardboard tubes (22), , surrounded by a border (23) and then sliced at right angles to their length axis into grids.

Pack according to any of the above claims, characterised in that the grid is made from a thermoplastic film which has been shaped on heating so that blisters with stiff sides (18) are formed from the flat surface, after which the bottoms of the blisters are removed.

Pack according to Claim 6, characterised in that the flat surface or^' the grid is surrounded by an other edge (19) standing against it.