U.S. patent application number 10/260039 was filed with the patent office on 2003-06-05 for package, method of manufacturing the package and packet of the package.
This patent application is currently assigned to Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Hayashi, Masaho, Inoue, Isao, Oguchi, Kiyoshi, Saiki, Atushi.
Application Number | 20030102247 10/260039 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27527805 |
Filed Date | 2003-06-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030102247 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Inoue, Isao ; et
al. |
June 5, 2003 |
Package, method of manufacturing the package and packet of the
package
Abstract
A package (10) has blisters (11) each having an embossed hollow
(12) with an open end, for containing a tablet (15), and a flange
(13) extending around the open end of the embossed hollow (12). The
flanges (13) of the blisters (11) are bonded to a covering sheet
20. The blisters (11) are formed separately, and the flange (13) of
each blister (11) has a circular shape.
Inventors: |
Inoue, Isao; (Shinjuku-Ku,
JP) ; Oguchi, Kiyoshi; (Shinjuku-Ku, JP) ;
Hayashi, Masaho; (Shinjuku-Ku, JP) ; Saiki,
Atushi; (Shinjuku-Ku, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PARKHURST & WENDEL, L.L.P.
1421 PRINCE STREET
SUITE 210
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314-2805
US
|
Assignee: |
Dai Nippon Printing Co.,
Ltd.
|
Family ID: |
27527805 |
Appl. No.: |
10/260039 |
Filed: |
May 24, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10260039 |
May 24, 2002 |
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09675054 |
Sep 29, 2000 |
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09675054 |
Sep 29, 2000 |
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08809718 |
Mar 28, 1997 |
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6244442 |
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08809718 |
Mar 28, 1997 |
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PCT/JP96/02569 |
Sep 10, 1996 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
206/532 ;
206/538 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 75/327 20130101;
B65D 75/367 20130101; B65D 2585/56 20130101; A61J 7/0076 20130101;
B65D 83/0472 20130101; A61J 1/035 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/532 ;
206/538 |
International
Class: |
B65D 083/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 13, 1995 |
JP |
235755/1995 |
Dec 25, 1995 |
JP |
337372/1995 |
Dec 25, 1995 |
JP |
337385/1995 |
Jun 10, 1996 |
JP |
147659/1996 |
Jun 10, 1996 |
JP |
168681/1996 |
Claims
1. A package comprising: a plurality of blisters each having an
embossed hollow with an open end, for containing an article, and a
flange extending around the open end of the embossed hollow; and a
covering sheet bonded to the flanges; wherein the blisters are
formed separately, and the covering sheet is bonded to the flanges
of the blisters.
2. The package according to claim 1, wherein the flange of each
blister has a circumferential edge defined by straight lines,
curved lines or a combination of straight lines and curved
lines.
3. The package according to claim 1, wherein the covering sheet is
made of a composition containing a polyolefine resin and an
inorganic filler, and the inorganic filler content of the
composition is in the range of 30 to 60% by weight.
4. The package according to claim 1, wherein the covering sheet is
a film containing an oriented polyethylene-2,6-naphthalate as a
principal component to make the film easily tearable in a specific
direction.
5. The package according to claim 1, wherein the covering sheet is
a uniaxial oriented polypropylene film irradiated with an ionizing
radiation to make the uniaxial oriented polypropylene resin film
easily tearable in a specific direction.
6. The package according to claim 1, wherein at least the covering
sheet or the blisters have a cut layer cut with a laser beam and a
layer not cut with the laser beam.
7. The package according to claim 1, wherein at least the covering
sheet or the blisters have a plastic film having cuts.
8. The package according to claim 1, wherein the blisters are
arranged close to each other so as to form breaking regions
therebetween in the covering sheet.
9. The package according to claim 1, wherein each of the blisters
has a plurality of embossed hollows, and the embossed hollows are
connected to each other by a flange.
10. A package capable of being wound in a roll, comprising: a soft
blister having a plurality of embossed hollows with open ends, for
containing articles, and flanges extending around the open ends of
the embossed hollows and interconnecting the embossed hollows; and
a soft covering sheet bonded to the flanges; wherein a ring having
a through hole corresponding to the open end of the embossed hollow
is mounted on the soft blister or the soft covering sheet.
11. The package according to claim 10, wherein the ring is disposed
on the surface of the flange opposite to the covering sheet so that
the embossed hollow is fitted in the through hole of the ring.
12. The package according to claim 10, wherein the ring is disposed
on the surface of the covering sheet opposite to the flange of the
blister so that the through hole thereof coincides with the open
end of the embossed hollow.
13. The package according to claim 10, wherein the ring is disposed
between the covering sheet and the flange so that the through hole
thereof coincides with the open end of the embossed hollow.
14. The package according to claim 10, wherein the ring is made of
a shape memory material which shrinks at temperatures in the range
of 30 to 40.degree. C.
15. The package according to claim 10, wherein the ring is made of
a water-soluble material.
16. The package according to claim 10, wherein the ring is harder
as compared with the blister and the covering sheet.
17. A package capable of being wound in a roll, comprising: a soft
blister having a plurality of embossed hollows with open ends, for
containing articles therein, and flanges extending around the open
ends of the embossed hollows and interconnecting the embossed
hollows; and a soft covering sheet bonded to the flanges; wherein a
reinforcing paper sheet provided with through holes corresponding
to the open ends of the embossed hollows is attached to the soft
blisters or the soft covering sheet.
18. The package according to claim 17, wherein the reinforcing
paper sheet is disposed on the surface of the flanges opposite to
the covering sheet so that the embossed hollows are fitted in the
through holes of the reinforcing paper.
19. The package according to claim 17, wherein the reinforcing
paper sheet is disposed on the surface of the covering sheet
opposite to the flanges of the blisters so that the through holes
thereof coincided with the open ends of the embossed hollows.
20. The package according to claim 17, wherein the reinforcing
paper sheet is made of a paper which softens by absorbing
water.
21. The package according to claim 17, wherein the reinforcing
paper sheet is harder as compared with the blisters and the
covering sheet.
22. A package capable of being wound in a roll, comprising: a
plurality of soft blisters each having an embossed hollow with an
open end, for containing an article, and a flange extending around
the open end of the embossed hollow; and a soft covering sheet
bonded to the flanges of the blisters; wherein a ring having a
through hole corresponding to the open end of the embossed hollow
is mounted on the soft blisters or on the soft covering sheet.
23. The package according to claim 22, wherein the ring is disposed
on the surface of the flange opposite to the covering sheet so that
the embossed hollow is fitted in the through hole thereof.
24. The package according to claim 22, wherein the ring is disposed
on the surface of the covering sheet opposite to the flange so that
the through hole thereof coincides with the open end of the
embossed hollow.
25. The package according to claim 22, wherein the ring is disposed
between the covering sheet and the flanges so that the through hole
thereof coincides with the open end of the embossed hollow.
26. The package according to claim 22, wherein the ring is made of
a shape memory material which shrinks at temperatures in the range
of 30 to 40.degree. C.
27. The package according to claim 22, wherein the ring is made of
a water-soluble material.
28. The package according to claim 22, wherein the ring is harder
as compared with the blisters and the covering sheet.
29. The package according to claim 22, wherein the soft blisters
are arranged closely so as to form breaking regions therebetween in
the covering sheet.
30. The package according to claim 22, wherein each of the blisters
has a plurality of embossed hollows, and the embossed hollows are
connected to each other by a flange.
31. A method of manufacturing a package, comprising the steps of:
forming an embossed sheet having a plurality of embossed hollows by
embossing a blister forming sheet between a male die and a female
die; cutting the embossed sheet held on a lower die having cavities
for receiving the embossed hollows to form blisters each having the
embossed hollow and a flange extending around the embossed hollow,
and winding up a scrap produced by cutting out the blisters from
the embossed sheet; placing articles into the embossed hollows of
the blisters held on the lower die, respectively; and bonding a
covering sheet to the flanges of the blisters held on the lower
die.
32. A method of manufacturing a package according to claim 31,
wherein the embossed sheet is cut so that each of the flanges has a
circumferential edge defined by straight lines, curved lines or a
combination of straight lines and curved lines.
33. A package packet comprising: a package capable of being wound
in a roll, comprising a plurality of soft blisters each having an
embossed hollow with an open end, for containing an article, and a
flange extending around the open end of the embossed hollow, a soft
covering sheet bonded to the flanges of the blisters, and a ring
having a through hole corresponding to the open end of the embossed
hollow and mounted on the soft blister or the soft covering sheet;
and a container containing the rolled package.
34. The package packet according to claim 33, wherein the plurality
of blisters of the package are formed separately.
35. The package packet according to claim 34, wherein the ring is
disposed on the surface of the flange opposite to the covering
sheet so that the embossed hollow is fitted in the through holes
thereof.
36. The package packet according to claim 34, wherein the rig is
disposed on the surface of the covering sheet opposite to the
flange so that the through hole thereof coincides with the open end
of the embossed hollows.
37. The package packet according to claim 34, wherein the ring is
disposed between the covering sheet and the flange so that the
through holes thereof coincides with the open end of the embossed
hollows.
38. The package packet according to claim 33, wherein the each of
the blisters of the package has a plurality of embossed hollows,
and a flange extending around the plurality of embossed hollows and
interconnecting the embossed hollows.
39. The package packet according to claim 38, wherein the ring is
disposed on the surface of the flanges opposite to the covering
sheet so that the embossed hollow is fitted in the through hole
thereof.
40. The package packet according to claim 38, wherein the ring is
disposed on the surface of the covering sheet opposite to the
flange so that the through hole thereof coincides with the open end
of the embossed hollow.
41. The package packet according to claim 38, wherein the ring is
disposed between the covering sheet and the flange so that the
through hole thereof coincides with the open end of the embossed
hollows.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a package containing
articles, such as tablets, and capable of being safely used, a
method of manufacturing the package, and a packet of the
package.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] A conventional tablet package has a base sheet provided with
a plurality of blisters and flanges extending around the blisters,
and contains tablets in the blisters. Tablets are put in the
blisters and the blisters are sealed by attaching a covering sheet
by heat-sealing to the flanges of the base sheet.
[0003] Tablets are put in the blisters formed in the base sheet,
and then the covering sheet is bonded to the flanges of the
blisters formed in the base sheet by heat-sealing to obtain a
package (PTP package). The base sheet and the covering sheet of the
package are perforated to divide the package into a plurality of
unit blister packages each having the blister containing the tablet
and covered with a section of the covering sheet. The package can
be torn along the perforations to separate each unit blister
package from the package.
[0004] The base sheet is made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or the
like and is relatively thick to hold the tablets securely, and the
covering sheet is relatively thin as compared with the base
sheet.
[0005] The unit blister package is separated from the package by
tearing the base sheet and the covering sheet along the
perforations, and then the section of the covering sheet is torn
off to take out the tablet from the blister.
[0006] Incidentally, it sometimes occurs that a user swallows the
unit blister package containing the tablet without taking out the
tablet from the blister. If the unit blister package is swallowed,
the edges of the flange made of the relatively thick base sheet may
possibly injure the internal organs of the user and bring about
very dangerous circumstances.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention has been made in view of such a
problem and it is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a package having unit blister packages which will not
injure the internal organs even if the same is swallowed by
mistake, a method of manufacturing the package, and a packet of the
package.
[0008] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a
package comprises a plurality of blisters each having an embossed
hollow with an open end, for containing an article, and a flange
extending around the open end, and a covering sheet bonded to the
flanges. The blisters are separate from each other, and the flanges
of the separate blisters are bonded to the covering sheet.
[0009] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a
package capable of being rolled comprises a soft blister having a
plurality of embossed hollows with open ends, for containing an
article, and flanges extending around the open upper ends, and a
soft covering sheet bonded to the flanges of the soft blister.
Rings each having an opening corresponding to the open end of the
blister are mounted on the soft blisters or the soft covering
sheet.
[0010] According to a third aspect of the present invention, a
package capable of being rolled comprises a soft blister having a
plurality of embossed hollows with open ends, for containing
articles and flanges extending around the open end, and a soft
covering sheet bonded to the flanges of the soft blister. A
reinforcing paper sheet having through holes corresponding to the
open ends of the blister is attached to the soft blister or the
soft covering sheet.
[0011] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a
package capable of being wound in a roll comprises a plurality of
soft blisters each having an embossed hollow with an open end, for
containing an article, and a flange extending around the open end
of the embossed hollow, and a soft covering sheet bonded to the
flanges of the soft blisters. A ring having an opening
corresponding to the open end of the embossed hollow is mounted to
the soft blisters or the soft covering sheet.
[0012] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a
package manufacturing method comprises the steps of embossing a
blister forming sheet between a male die and a female die to form
an embossed sheet having a plurality of embossed hollows, cutting
the embossed sheet held on a lower die having cavities for
receiving the embossed hollows to form blisters each having the
embossed hollow and a flange extending around the embossed hollow,
and winding up a scrap produced by cutting out the blisters from
the embossed sheet, placing articles into the embossed hollows of
the blisters held on the lower die respectively, and bonding a
covering sheet to the flanges of the blisters held on the lower
die.
[0013] According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a
packet comprises, a package capable of being wound in a roll
comprising a plurality of soft blisters each having an embossed
hollow with an open end, for containing an article, and a flange
extending around the open end of the embossed hollow, a soft
covering sheet bonded to the flanges of the blisters, and a ring
having an opening corresponding to the open end of the blister and
mounted on the soft blisters or the soft covering sheet; and a
container containing the rolled package.
[0014] The present invention provides a safe package from which
packaged articles can easily be taken out, a method of
manufacturing the package, and a packet of the package.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of a package in a first
embodiment according to the present invention;
[0016] FIGS. 2 is a schematic sectional view of assistance in
explaining a method of manufacturing the package in the first
embodiment;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a plan view of a package, in which a covering
sheet is supposed to be transparent for convenience;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of a covering sheet having a
cutting layer provided with cutting grooves, to be employed in a
package in a second embodiment according to the present
invention;
[0019] FIG. 5 is a sectional side view of a covering sheet having a
cutting layer provided with cutting grooves, to be employed in the
package in the second embodiment;
[0020] FIG. 6 is a sectional side view of a package in a third
embodiment according to the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of assistance in
explaining a method of manufacturing the package in the third
embodiment;
[0022] FIG. 8 is a plan view of the package in the third
embodiment, in which a covering sheet is supposed to be transparent
for convenience;
[0023] FIG. 9 is a sectional side view of a modification of the
package in the third embodiment;
[0024] FIG. 10 is a sectional side view of another modification of
the package in the third embodiment;
[0025] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the package in the third
embodiment in a mode of practical application;
[0026] FIG. 12 is a sectional side view of the package of FIG. 11
in a mode of practical application;
[0027] FIG. 13 is a sectional side view of a package in a fourth
embodiment according to the present invention;
[0028] FIG. 14 is a sectional side view of a modification of the
package in the fourth embodiment;
[0029] FIG. 15 is a sectional side view of another modification of
the package in the fourth embodiment;
[0030] FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the package in the fourth
embodiment in a mode of practical application;
[0031] FIG. 17 is a sectional side view of the package of FIG. 16
in a mode of practical application;
[0032] FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a package in another mode
of practical application;
[0033] FIG. 19 is a sectional side view of a package in a fifth
embodiment according to the present invention;
[0034] FIG. 20 is a sectional side view of a modification of the
package in the fifth embodiment;
[0035] FIG. 21 is a bottom view of the package of FIG. 19;
[0036] FIG. 22 is a plan view of a package in a sixth embodiment
according to the present invention;
[0037] FIG. 23 is a sectional side view of the package of FIG.
22;
[0038] FIG. 24 is a sectional side view of a modification of the
package;
[0039] FIG. 25 is a plan view of a package in a seventh embodiment
according to the present invention;
[0040] FIG. 26 is a sectional side view of the package of FIG.
25;
[0041] FIG. 27 is a plan view of a modification of the package;
and
[0042] FIG. 28 is a sectional side view of the package of FIG.
27.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0043] First Embodiment
[0044] A first embodiment of the present invention will be
described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrates the first embodiment of the present
invention.
[0045] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a package 10 has a plurality of
blisters 11 each having an embossed hollow 12 with an open end,
containing an article, such as a tablet 15, and a flange 13
extending around the open end of the embossed hollow 12.
[0046] The blisters 11 are formed separately and define the
embossed hollows 12 containing the tablets 15, respectively. The
flange 13 of the blister 11 is bonded to a covering sheet 20 by
heat-sealing.
[0047] As shown in FIG. 3, the flanges 13 of the blisters 11 have a
circular shape, and the embossed hollows 12 containing the tablets
15 have a circular shape accordingly. The circumference of the
flanges 13 may have an elliptic shape instead of the circular shape
or may have a polygonal shape having rounded corners.
[0048] Thus, the circumference of the flange 13 is formed by
straight lines, curves or a combination of straight lines and
curves in a safe shape which will not injure the internal organs
even if the blister 11 containing the tablet 15 is swallowed.
[0049] The covering sheet 20 is provided with tearing incisions 20a
along which the covering sheet 20 is torn into sections to separate
the blisters 11 from the package. The covering sheet 20 may be
provided with perforations instead of the tearing incisions.
[0050] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the package 10, in which the
covering sheet 20 is supposed to be transparent for
convenience.
[0051] The materials of the components of the package 10 will be
explained hereinafter. The blisters 11 of the package 10 are formed
by embossing a relatively thick sheet suitable for containing the
tablets 15. The blisters 11 may be formed by embossing a 200 to 350
.mu.m thick sheet of PVC, cyclic polyolefine, PP or PET.
[0052] The covering sheet 20 is a relatively thin sheet, such as a
10 to 25 .mu.m thick laminated sheet consisting of OP layer, an
aluminum layer and a heat-sealing layer.
[0053] The heat-sealing layer may be made of a thermoplastic resin,
such as a vinyl acetate resin, a PVA resin, a polyvinyl butyral
resin, a polyvinyl chloride resin, a polyamide resin, a polyester
resin, a polyolefine resin, a polyacrylic resin, a cellulose ester
resin or a polyethylene resin, a copolymer of some of those resins
or a mixture of some of those resins.
[0054] A method of manufacturing the package will be described with
reference to FIG. 2(a)-(d). Referring to FIGS. 2(a)-(d), a sheet,
for example, a PVC sheet, is placed between a female die (lower
die) 25 and a male die (upper die) 26, and then the PVC sheet is
subjected to pressure forming (embossing) between the female die 25
and the male die 26 to obtain an embossed sheet 30 provided with
the plurality of embossed hollows 12 (FIG. 2(a)).
[0055] The female die 25 holding the embossed sheet 30 is
transported to a cutting machine 27, and the cutting machine 27
cuts the embossed sheet 30 along lines around the embossed hollows
12 to form the blisters 11 each having the embossed hollow 12 and
the flange 13. The embossed hollows 12 of the blisters 11 are
received in cavities 25a of the female die 25, respectively, and a
scrap 30a produced by cutting the embossed sheet 30 is taken up by
a winding machine, not shown (FIG. 2(b)).
[0056] The female die 25 holding the blisters 11 is transported to
a tablet dispensing machine 28, and then the tablet dispensing
machine puts the tablets 15 in the embossed hollows 12 of the
blisters 11 held on the female die 25.
[0057] Then, the female die 25 holding the blisters 11 is
transported to a heat-sealing machine 29, and then the heat-sealing
machine 29 bonds a covering sheet 20 consisting of, for example, an
OP layer, an aluminum layer and a heat-sealing layer to the flanges
13 of the blisters 11 by heat-sealing to seal the embossed hollows
12 of the blisters 11. Then, the tearing incisions 20a are formed
in the covering sheet 20 to complete the package 10 shown in FIGS.
1 and 3.
[0058] When using the tablet 15, the covering sheet 20 is torn
along the tearing incisions 20a to separate the blister 11 from the
package 10. Then, the embossed hollow 12 of the blister 11 is
pressed, so that a section of the covering sheet 20 covering the
embossed hollow 12 is broken and the tablet 15 is taken out from
the embossed hollow 12 of the blister 11.
[0059] It is possible that the tablet 15 is not taken out from the
embossed hollow 12 of the blister 11, and the blister 11 containing
the tablet 15 and the section of the covering sheet 20 covering the
embossed hollow 12 are swallowed by mistake. In this case, however,
since the blister 11 made of a relatively hard, thick material is
separated from each other, and the covering sheet 20 is bonded to
the flange 13 of the blister 11, the circumferential edge of the
flange 13 is not exposed. Furthermore, since the circumferential
edge of the flange 13 has a circular shape, the flange 13 will not
injure the internal organs even if the circumferential edge of the
flange 13 is exposed.
[0060] Although the section of the covering sheet 20 covering the
embossed hollow 12 has a rectangular shape, the same section of the
covering sheet 20 will not injure the fingers or the like because
the covering sheet 20 is soft and thin.
[0061] In this embodiment, the female die 25 holding the embossed
sheet 30 having the blisters 11 is transported from a position
corresponding to the male die 26 through the cutting machine 27 and
the tablet dispensing machine 28 to the heat-sealing machine 29.
The embossed sheet 30 having the blisters 11 may be held on a lower
die other than the female die 25, and the lower die may be
transported from a position corresponding to the male die 26
through the cutting machine 27 and the tablet dispensing machine 28
to the heat-sealing machine 29.
[0062] Thus, according to the present invention, the blisters are
formed individually and separately, and the flanges of the blisters
are bonded to the covering sheet. Therefore, the circumferential
edge of the flange is not exposed when the blister is separated
from the package by tearing the covering sheet. Accordingly, the
fingers will no be injured by the circumferential edge of the
flange of the hard blister when handling the package, and the
internal organs will not be injured by the circumferential edge of
the flange even if the unit blister package consisting of the
blister, the tablet and a section of the covering sheet is
swallowed.
[0063] Second Embodiment
[0064] A second embodiment will be described with reference to
FIGS. 4 and 5, in which parts like or corresponding to those of the
first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by the same
reference characters and the description thereof will be omitted. A
package 10 in the second embodiment is substantially the same in
construction as the package 10 in the first embodiment shown in
FIGS. 1 to 3, except that the package 10 in the second embodiment
is provided with a covering sheet 20 which is different from that
of the first embodiment.
[0065] The package 10 has a plurality of blisters 11 each having an
embossed hollow 12 with an open end, for containing an article,
such as a tablets 15, and a flange 13 (FIGS. 1 to 3).
[0066] The blisters 11 having the embossed hollows 12 containing
the tablets 15, respectively, are formed separately, and the
flanges 13 of the blisters 11 are bonded to the covering sheet 20
by heat-sealing.
[0067] As shown in FIG. 3, the flanges 13 of the blisters 11 have a
circular shape, and the embossed hollows 12 containing the tablets
15 have a circular shape accordingly. The circumference of the
flanges 13 may have an elliptic shape instead of the circular shape
or may have a polygonal shape having rounded corners.
[0068] Thus, the circumference of the flange 13 is formed by
straight lines, curves or a combination of straight lines and
curves in a safe shape which will not injure the internal organs
even if the blister 11 containing the tablet 15 is swallowed.
[0069] The covering sheet 20 is provided with tearing incisions 20a
along which the covering sheet 20 is torn to separate the blister
11 from the package. The covering sheet 20 may be provided with
perforations instead of the tearing incisions. FIG. 3 is a plan
view of the package 10, in which the covering sheet 20 is supposed
to be transparent for convenience.
[0070] The materials of the components of the package 10 will be
explained hereinafter. The blisters 11 of the package 10 are formed
by embossing a relatively thick sheet suitable for containing the
tablets 15. The blisters 11 may be formed by embossing a 200 to 350
.mu.m thick sheet of PVC, cyclic polyolefine, PP or PET.
[0071] The covering sheet 20 is a relatively thin sheet of a
thickness in the range of 15 to 25 .mu.m. Possible materials for
forming the covering sheet 20 are described in the following items
(1) to (5).
[0072] (1) Composite Material of a Polyolefine Resin and an
Inorganic Filler
[0073] The covering sheet 20 is made of a composite material
containing a PP resin and an inorganic filler, with the content of
the inorganic filler being in the range of 30 to 60% by weight.
[0074] The PP resin may be a homopolymer, a copolymer (block,
random) or a mixture of a homopolymer and a copolymer. Preferably,
the PP resin has a melt index (MI) of 20 g per 10 min (JIS K6758)
or below. If the covering sheet 20 and the blisters 11 are made of
the same PP resin, it is convenient to recycle the covering sheet
20 and the blisters 11, and problems attributable to curling can be
solved.
[0075] If the covering sheet 20 is made of only a PP resin, a
problem arises in the press-through property of the covering sheet
20. The inorganic filler improves the press-through property of the
covering sheet 20. The press-through property of the covering sheet
20 is unsatisfactory if the inorganic filler content of the
covering sheet 20 is 30% by weight or below, and the covering sheet
20 is excessively tearable if the inorganic filler content is 60%
by weight or above.
[0076] The covering sheet 20 made of a composite material
containing a PP resin and an inorganic filler, with the content of
the inorganic filler being in the range of 30 to 60% by weight has
a moderate strength and is properly tearable.
[0077] The inorganic filler may be, for example, calcium carbonate,
talc, alumina, titanium oxide, diatomaceous earth, clay, kaolin or
a mixture of some of those inorganic fillers. The mean particle
size of the inorganic filler is, for example, in the range of 0.1
to 50 .mu.m. When necessary, the covering sheet 20 may contain, in
addition to a PP resin and an inorganic filler, a coloring matter,
an antistatic agent and such.
[0078] The covering sheet 20 made of a composite material of a PP
resin and an inorganic filler may be provided with a heat-sealing
layer and a printed layer. The composite material of a PP resin and
an inorganic filler is processed to form a 30 to 100 .mu.m thick
film by a T-die method, an inflation method or the like.
[0079] (2) Oriented Film Containing Polyethylene-2,6 Naphthalate as
a Principal Component
[0080] The covering sheet 20 may be a 5 to 150 .mu.m thick oriented
polyethylene-2,6 naphthalate film containing a polyethylene-2,6
naphthalate resin as a principal component and having a limiting
viscosity number .eta. in the range of 0.3 to 0.53 and a draw ratio
in the range of 3 to 6.
[0081] The covering sheet 20 may be a laminated film of an oriented
polyethylene-2,6 naphthalate film, a steam barrier film and/or an
oxygen barrier film.
[0082] The covering sheet 20 may be provided with a protective
layer of an olefine resin film, a heat-sealing layer or an adhesive
layer.
[0083] The covering sheet 20 may be provided with a printed layer
of a printing ink.
[0084] The 5 to 150 .mu.m thick oriented polyethylene-2,6
naphthalate film is produced by preparing a polyethylene-2,6
naphthalate resin having a limiting viscosity number .eta. in the
range of 0.3 to 0.53, drawing a film of the polyethylene-2,6
naphthalate resin at a draw ratio in the range of 3 to 6 by a
drawing process, and heat-setting the drawn polyethylene-2,6
naphthalate resin film at a temperature in the range of 170 to
260.degree. C. for a time in the range of 1 sec to 30 min by a
heat-setting process.
[0085] In the drawing process, the resin film is drawing at draw
ratios in the range of 3 to 6 and in the range of 1 to 1.8 in
substantially perpendicular directions, respectively, at a
temperature in the range of 120 to 170.degree. C.
[0086] The 5 to 150 .mu.m thick oriented polyethylene-2,6
naphthalate film may be produced by drawing and heat-setting a
composite film consisting of a polyethylene-2,6 naphthalate resin
film and an olefine resin film produced by the coextrusion of a
polyethylene-2,6 naphthalate resin having a limiting viscosity
number .eta. in the range of 0.3 to 0.53 and an olefine resin by
the foregoing drawing process and heat-setting process, and then
removing the olefine resin film from the composite film.
[0087] The covering sheet 20 containing the oriented
polyethylene-2,6 naphthalate as a principal component is easily
tearable in a specific direction.
[0088] (3) Uniaxial Oriented Polypropylene Film Irradiated with
Ionizing Radiation
[0089] The covering sheet 20 is produced by irradiating a uniaxial
oriented polypropylene film with ionizing radiation, such as
.gamma. rays radiated by cobalt or electron beams in an absorbed
dose in the range of 10 to 100 kGy. The uniaxial oriented
polypropylene film may be drawn along either the longitudinal axis
or the lateral axis. The uniaxial propylene film serving as the
covering sheet 20 may be provided with a heat-sealing layer and a
printed layer.
[0090] The covering sheet 20 produced by irradiating a uniaxial
propylene film with .gamma. rays radiated by cobalt or electron
beams can easily be torn in the drawing direction.
[0091] (4) Film with Cut Layers
[0092] FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional views of covering sheets 20
provided with cut layers. As shown in FIG. 4, the covering sheet 20
is a multilayer sheet consisting of a transparent polymeric film
31, an ink layer 32, a transparent polymeric film 31 and a layer 35
not processed with a laser beam. When the multilayer sheet is
irradiated with a laser beam of a wavelength in the range of 0.4 to
1.2 .mu.m, the transparent polymeric film 31 transmits the laser
beam and the ink layer 32 generates heat. Portions of the
transparent polymeric films 31 on the opposite sides of the ink
layer 32 are melted and cutting grooves 34 are formed. In the
multilayer sheet shown in FIG. 4, the transparent polymeric films
31 and the ink layer 32 in which the cutting groove 34 is formed
are cut layers.
[0093] Since the covering sheet 20 is provided with the cutting
grooves 34 formed in the transparent polymeric films 31 and the ink
layer 32, the covering sheet 20 can easily be cut along the cutting
grooves 34. The cutting grooves 34 formed in the transparent
polymeric films 31 and the ink layer 32 may be formed in a pattern
of straight lines, curved lines, circles or crossing lines.
[0094] FIG. 5 shows another example of a multilayer sheet suitable
for use as the covering sheet 20. As shown in FIG. 5, the covering
sheet 20 is a multilayer sheet of a laser beam transmitting layer
36 which transmits a laser beam and is not processed by the laser
beam, a transparent polymeric film 31, an ink layer 32, a
transparent polymeric layer 31 and a layer 35 which is not
processed by the laser beam. The laser beam transmitting layer 36
transmits a laser beam and is not processed by the laser beam. When
the covering sheet 20 is irradiated with a laser beam of a
wavelength in the range of 0.4 to 1.2 .mu.m from the side of the
laser beam transmitting layer 36 which transmits the laser beam and
is not processed by the laser beam, the laser beam travels through
the laser beam transmitting layer 36 which is not processed by the
laser beam and the transparent polymeric film 31 and generates heat
in the ink layer 32. Portions of the transparent polymeric films 31
on the opposite sides of the ink layer 32 are melted by the heat
generated in the ink layer 32 and cutting grooves 34 are formed. In
the multilayer film shown in FIG. 4, the transparent polymeric
films 31 and the ink layer 32 in which the cutting grooves 34 are
formed are cut layers.
[0095] The ink layers 32 of the covering sheets 20 shown in FIGS. 4
and 5 which absorb a visible near infrared laser beam of a
wavelength in the range of 0.4 to 1.2 .mu.m and generate heat may
be formed of a pigment, a dye or a polymer which absorbs such a
laser beam. Although there is no particular restriction on the
material of the ink layers 32, a printing ink is a desirable
material of the ink layers 32. Generally, the ink layer 32 of the
covering sheet 20 is formed by printing on the back surface of the
transparent polymeric film 31. When the covering sheet 20 is
provided with the ink layer 32 which absorbs a visible near
infrared laser beam of a wavelength in the range of 0.4 to 1.2
.mu.m, the covering sheet 20 need not be provided with any special
absorptive layer and hence can be formed in a simple structure. The
type of the printing ink may selectively be determined taking into
consideration the wavelength of the laser beam in the range of 0.4
to 1.2 .mu.m. There is not particular restriction on the method of
forming the ink layer 32; the ink layer 32 may be formed by a known
printing method, such as a gravure printing method, an offset
printing method or a silk screen printing method. The ink layer 32
may be formed over the entire surface of the transparent polymeric
film 31 or only portions of the surface of the transparent
polymeric film 31 to be irradiated with the laser beam. The layer
35 which is not processed by the laser beam and the laser beam
transmitting layer 36 which transmits the laser bean and is not
processed by the laser beam may be a film of a polyester resin, a
polyamide resin, a polypropylene resin or the like, and a
heat-sealing film of a polypropylene resin, an
ethylene-vinyl-acetate copolymer or the like, respectively.
[0096] The laser beam to be used for producing the covering sheets
20 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 may be a visible near infrared laser beam
of a wavelength in the range of 0.4 to 1.2 .mu.m. A laser beam
emitted by an argon laser, a semiconductor laser a YAG laser or the
like is particularly preferable. The laser beam may be either a
pulse laser beam or a continuous laser beam. The output capacity
per unit area of the laser may selectively be determined taking
into consideration the speed of processing the covering sheet 20.
The sheet for forming the covering sheet 20 may be irradiated with
the laser beam by fixing the laser beam and moving the sheet for
forming the covering sheet 20 to form straight cutting grooves or
the sheet for forming the covering sheet 20 is scanned with the
laser beam to form the cutting grooves in a desired pattern. The
cutting grooves may be formed in a pattern of straight lines,
curved lines, continuous lines or intermittent lines, such as
dotted lines.
[0097] A 12 .mu.m thick oriented polyethylene terephthalate film
(OPET film) is used for forming the covering sheet 20 provided with
the cut layers. The oriented polyethylene terephthalate film is
coated with a polyester anchor coating agent (AC) in 1 g/m.sup.2,
and a 13 .mu.m thick PE layer is formed by extruding a polyethylene
resin (PE resin) to produce a laminated film consisting of a 12
.mu.m thick OPET layer, a 1 .mu.m thick AC layer and a 13 .mu.m
thick PE layer. The laminated film is irradiated with a CO.sub.2
laser beam having a wavelength of 10.6 .mu.m (943 cm.sup.2) so that
portions of the OPET layer (cut layer) are evaporated in a pattern
of circular rings of 9 mm in inside diameter, 0.3 mm in width and
12 .mu.m in depth to form circular cutting grooves. After the
cutting grooves have been formed, the PE layer is coated with a
heat-sealing layer to complete the covering sheet 20.
[0098] The covering sheet 20 may be produced by coating a 12 .mu.m
thick oriented polyethylene terephthalate film (OPET film) with a
polyethylene anchor coating agent (AC) in 1 g/m.sup.2, laminating a
15 .mu.m thick polypropylene film (PP film) to the OPET film by
dray lamination to form a laminated film of a 12 .mu.m thick OPET
layer, a 1 .mu.m thick AC layer and a 15 .mu.m thick PP layer, and
irradiating the laminated film with a CO.sub.2 laser beam.
[0099] (5) Porous Plastic Film
[0100] {circle over (1)} The covering sheet 20 is produced by
forming many cuts, such as minute pores, in a plastic film, and
coating the plastic film by extruding a molten resin over the
plastic film so as to cover the minute pores.
[0101] This covering sheet 20 is produced by forming many minute
pores in a plastic film and covering the minute pores with the
molten resin. Therefore, the covering sheet 20 can easily be torn
along lines connecting the minute pores.
[0102] The plastic film is a polyethylene terephthalate film or a
polypropylene film. An oriented plastic film is preferable, and
biaxial oriented film is most preferable.
[0103] A minute pore forming method passes a plastic film through a
nip between a metal roller having a circumference finished by sand
blasting in a morphology like the surface of sandpaper, and a
rubber roller. Another pore forming method forms minute pores in a
plastic film with hot needles.
[0104] The plastic film is coated with a resin by extruding the
molten resin after the minute pores have been formed therein. An
olefine resin, such as a polyethylene resin or a polypropylene
resin, is suitable for coating the porous plastic film.
[0105] The covering sheet 20 may be provided with a heat-sealing
layer.
[0106] The heat-sealing layer is a generally used heat-sealing
layer, such as an olefine resin layer, for example, a layer of a
polyethylene resin or a polypropylene resin, a polyester resin
layer or an urethane-modified polyester resin layer.
[0107] The covering sheet 20 may further be provided with a gas
barrier layer impermeable to gases, such as a plastic layer of a
polyvinyl vinylidene resin or an ethylene-vinyl-alcohol copolymer,
or an inorganic evaporated layer, such as a silica layer deposited
by evaporation.
[0108] The covering sheet 20 may further be provided with a printed
layer formed by printing an printing ink. The printed layer forms
marks and characters expressing a trade name, a manufacturer's
name, a name of sales company and instructions for the contents of
the package. The printed layer may be formed in any portion that
does not touch the contents. The printed layer may be formed, for
example, between the porous plastic film provided with many minute
pores, and the coating layer formed by extruding a molten resin
over the porous plastic film.
[0109] {circle over (2)} The covering sheet 20 may be a laminated
plastic structure having a layer of a plastic film provided with
cuts formed by a metallic cutting edge.
[0110] The covering sheet 20 is torn along the cutting grooves 20a
to separate each blister 11 from the package. Then, the embossed
hollow 12 is crushed to push the tablet 15 so that the section of
the covering sheet 20 is torn by the tablet 15, and the tablet 15
is taken out from the embossed hollow 12. Since the covering sheet
20 is made of an easily tearable material, the section of the
covering sheet 20 can easily be torn and the tablet 15 can easily
be taken out of the embossed hollow 12.
[0111] It occurs sometimes that the tablet 15 is not taken out from
the embossed hollow 12 of the blister 11, and the blister 11 and
the section of the covering sheet 20 packaging the tablet 15 are
swallowed. Since the flanges 13 of the separate blisters 11 formed
by embossing the hard, relatively thick sheet are bonded to the
covering sheet, and a section of the covering sheet 20 covering
each blister 11 and having a size greater than that of the flange
13 is torn off the covering sheet 20 to separate the blister 11
from the package, the circumferential edge of the flange 13 is not
exposed. When the flange 13 is formed in a circular shape, the
flange 13 is not injure the internal organs even if the edge of the
flange 13 is exposed. Although the section of the covering sheet 20
has a rectangular shape, the section of the covering sheet 20 will
not injure the internal organs and the fingers because the covering
sheet is soft and thin.
[0112] Although the blisters 11 of the package in this embodiment
are formed by processing a sheet of a PVC resin, the blisters 11
may be formed by processing a sheet of the same material as that of
the covering sheet 20 specified in (4) or (5).
[0113] The blisters 11 may be formed by processing the laminated
sheet shown in FIG. 4 consisting of the transparent polymeric film
31, the ink layer 32, the transparent polymeric film 31 and the
layer 35 which is not processed by a laser beam.
[0114] The blisters 11 may be formed by processing the laminated
sheet shown in FIG. 5 consisting of the layer 36 which transmits a
laser beam and is not processed by the laser beam, the transparent
polymeric film 31, the ink layer 32, the transparent polymeric film
31 and the layer 35 which is not processed by the laser beam.
[0115] The blisters 11 may be formed by processing a porous plastic
film formed by forming many minute pores in a plastic film and
coating the plastic film provided with many minute pores with a
molten resin so as to cover the minute pores.
[0116] When the blisters 11 are formed by processing a sheet of the
material specified in (4) forming the covering sheets shown in
FIGS. 4 and 5, or the porous plastic sheet coated with the molten
resin so as to cover the minute pores for forming the covering
sheet 20 specified in (5), the blister 11 or the section of the
covering sheet 20 may be broken to take out the tablet 15. The
covering sheet 20 may be a sheet which cannot be torn, and the
blister 11 may be broken to take out the tablet 15.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
[0117] A material forming a covering sheet 20 of Example 1
corresponds to the composite material specified in (1) consisting
of a polyolefine resin and inorganic fillers. The covering sheet 20
is a sheet of a composite material containing 54% by weight PP
resin (E409TS available from Tonen Kagaku), 45% by weight talc
having a mean particle size of 15 .mu.m, and 1.0% by weight
titanium oxide having a mean particle size of 0.4 .mu.m.
[0118] A 65 .mu.m thick film was formed by extruding this composite
material by a T-die extrusion process, and the film was used as the
covering sheet 20. The covering sheet 20 was bonded to the flanges
13 of the blisters 11 containing tablets 15 by a heat-sealing
process at a heat-sealing temperature in the range of 145 to
150.degree. C. to produce a package 10.
[0119] The package 10 was not curled and had a satisfactory
appearance. When the embossed hollow 12 is crushed by the tip of a
finger to push the table 15, the section of the covering sheet 20
bonded to the flange 13 of the blister 11 was torn in the
substantially middle portion thereof and the tablet 15 was taken
out easily. If the blister 11 and the covering sheet 20 are made of
the same PP resin, no problem arises in the disposal and the
recycling of the package because the material of the blisters 11
does not contain any special material, such as an aluminum
foil.
Example 2
[0120] A material forming a covering sheet 20 of Example 2
corresponds to the film provided with cuts specified in (5). The
covering sheet 20 was formed by the following method. A 12 .mu.m
thick biaxial oriented polyethylene terephthalate film was passed
through a nip between a metal roller having a circumference
finished by sand blasting in a morphology like the surface of
sandpaper, and a rubber roller to form many minute pores in the
biaxial oriented polyethylene terephthalate film.
[0121] Then, the biaxial oriented polyethylene terephthalate film
provided with the minute pores was coated with a molten
polyethylene resin by extrusion so as to cover the minute pores.
The water vapor permeability of the porous film thus produced was 4
g/m.sup.2/day.
[0122] Subsequently, the polyester heat-sealing layer was laminated
to the biaxial oriented polyethylene terephthalate film to obtain
the covering sheet 20.
[0123] The tablet 15 can easily be taken out from one of the
blister 11 of a package 10 formed by bonding the covering sheet 20
to the flanges 13 of the blisters 11 containing tablets 15 by
crushing the blister 11 to push the tablet 15 against the section
of the covering sheet 20 so that the section of the covering sheet
is torn.
[0124] Since the covering sheet 20 is formed by forming the many
minute pores in the plastic film and coating the plastic film by
extruding a molten resin so as to cover the minute pores, the
strength of the plastic film is reduced by the minute pores.
[0125] Accordingly, the covering sheet 20 can easily be torn simply
by pressing the tablet 15 against the covering sheet 20.
[0126] Since the many minute pores formed in the plastic film are
covered by extruding the molten resin so as to coat the plastic
film, the many minute pores do not affect adversely to the barrier
function of the covering sheet 20, at all.
[0127] Since there is no possibility that pinholes, which are
liable to be formed in aluminum foils, are formed in the covering
sheet 20, the covering sheet 20 has highly reliable moisture-proof
property which improves the shelf life of the contents.
[0128] The highly transparent covering sheet 20 enables the
automatic optical detection of the contents.
[0129] The covering sheet 20 can be incinerated without producing
any residue and can easily be disposed of or can be recycled, which
is advantageous in view of resources conservation.
Example 3
[0130] A material forming a covering sheet 20 of Example 3
corresponds to the film provided with cuts specified in (5).
[0131] The covering sheet 20 is produced by the following method. A
laminated film of an oriented polyethylene terephthalate (OPET)
film, a polyester anchor coating agent (AC) and an extruded
polyethylene (PE) film was prepared, and the surface of the OPET
film was coated with a polyester anchor coating agent (AC) in 1
g/m.sup.2, and a high-impact type polystyrene (HIPS) sheet was
laminated to the laminated sheet by dry lamination to obtain a
laminated sheet of a 100 .mu.m thick HIPS layer, a 1 .mu.m thick C
layer, a 12 .mu.m thick OPET layer, a 1 .mu.m thick AC layer and a
13 .mu.m thick PE layer.
[0132] Circular cuts of 9 mm in diameter and 110 .mu.m in depth
were formed in the surface of the laminated sheet on the side of
the HIPS layer with a metal edge of 9 mm in diameter, and the
surface of the laminated sheet on the side of the PE layer was
coated with a PVA heat-sealing agent in 4 g/m.sup.2 by a gravure
coating method to obtain the covering sheet 20.
[0133] The covering sheet or the blister in accordance with the
present invention is easily tearable, the contents can easily be
taken out of the blister. Since the blisters are formed separately
and the flanges of the blisters are bonded to the covering sheet,
the circumferential edge of the flange of the hard blister is not
exposed when the blister is separated from the package by tearing
the covering sheet. Therefore, the fingers will not be injured by
the circumferential edges of the flanges of the hard blister when
handling the package, and the internal organs will not be injured
by the circumferential edge of the flange even if the unit package
consisting of the blister, the tablet and the section of the
covering sheet is swallowed by mistake.
[0134] Third Embodiment
[0135] A third embodiment of the present invention will be
described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 12, in which parts like or
corresponding to those of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to
3 are designated by the same reference characters and the
description thereof will be omitted.
[0136] Referring to FIGS. 6 to 8, a package 10 in accordance with
the present invention comprises a blister 11 having a plurality of
embossed hollows 12 with open upper ends, for containing tablets
15, and flanges 13 extending around the open ends of the embossed
hollows 12, and a covering sheet 20 bonded to the upper surfaces of
the flanges 13 of the blister 11. A ring 16 having a center hole
(through hole) 17 is bonded to the lower surface of each flange 13,
i.e., a surface opposite the surface to which the covering sheet 20
is bonded. Each embossed hollow 12 of the embossed blister 11 is
fitted in the center hole 17 of the ring 16 so that the center hole
17 of the ring 16 corresponds to the upper open end of the embossed
hollow 12.
[0137] As mentioned previously, the blister 11 has the embossed
hollows 12 containing the tablets 15 and the flanges 13 extending
around the open ends of the embossed hollows 12, and the flanges 13
of the blister 11 are bonded to the covering sheet 20 by
heat-sealing.
[0138] For example, the blister 11 has the twenty-four embossed
hollows 12 which are arranged in four rows as shown in FIG. 8, and
tablets 15 are contained in the embossed hollows 12, respectively.
In FIG. 8, the covering sheet 20 is supposed to be transparent for
convenience.
[0139] Tearing incisions 13a and 20a are formed in the flanges 13
of the blister 11 and the covering sheet 20, respectively, to
facilitate the separation of each unit blister package from the
package. The flanges 13 of the blister 11 and the covering sheet 20
may be provided with perforations instead of the tearing incisions
13a and 201.
[0140] The materials of the components of the package 10 will be
described hereinafter. The blister 11 is formed by embossing a
sheet of a thermoplastic elastomer or a soft resin. The blister 11
is also soft.
[0141] The covering sheet 20 may be a relatively thin laminated
sheet, such as a 10 to 25 .mu.m thick laminated sheet having an OP
layer, an aluminum layer and a heat-sealing layer.
[0142] The heat sealing layer may be formed of, for example, a
thermoplastic resin, such as a vinyl acetate resin, a PVA resin, a
polyvinyl butyral resin, a polyvinyl chloride resin, a polyamide
resin, a polyester resin, a polyolefine resin, a polyacrylic resin,
a cellulose ester resin or a polyethylene resin, a copolymer of
those resins, a mixture of those resins or an acid modified
resin.
[0143] The covering sheet 20 is relatively tin and relatively
soft.
[0144] The relatively soft blister 11 and the relatively soft
covering sheet 20 are those which have a certain degree of
plasticity and can be wound around a bobbin of a predetermined
diameter.
[0145] The rings 16 are harder than the blister 11 and the covering
sheet 20, are made of a macromolecular compound or a shape memory
metal, and have a transition temperature in the range of 30 to
40.degree. C. When the ring 16 is heated at the transition
temperature in the range of 30 to 40.degree. C., the ring 16
shrinks. Possible shape memory metals are, for example, a Ti--Ni
alloy (Nityl), a Cu--Zn--Al allow (Petalloy), an In--Ti alloy, a
Ni--Al alloy and a Mn--Cu alloy. Possible macromolecular compounds
are a polyurethane resin (Dialy available from Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries Ltd.) and a polynorbolnen resin (Nosolex available from
Nippon Zeon).
[0146] The ring 16 may be made of a water-soluble material, such as
a PVA resin (polyvinyl alcohol resin), a polyacrylic acid resin,
hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, a polyethylene
glycol resin, a poly-N-vinyl acetoamide resin, and Paogen (Daiichi
Kogyo Seiyaku). If the ring 16 is made of a water-soluble material,
the ring 16 dissolves if the ring 16 is swallowed by mistake.
[0147] A method of manufacturing the package 10 will be described
with reference to FIG. 7(a)-(c). Referring to FIG. 7(a)-(c), a
sheet, for example, a soft thermoplastic sheet, is placed between a
female die (lower die) 25 and a male die (upper die) 26, and then
the a plug assist vacuum forming between the female die 25 and the
male die 26 to obtain an embossed sheet provided with the plurality
of embossed hollows 12 and having flanges 13 connecting the
embossed hollows 12 (FIG. 7(a)).
[0148] The female die 25 holding the hollows 12 is transported to a
tablet dispensing machine 28, and then the tablet dispensing
machine puts the tablets 15 in the embossed hollows 12 held on the
female die 25.
[0149] Then, the female die 25 holding the blister 11 is
transported to a heat-sealing machine 29, and then the heat-sealing
machine 29 bonds the covering sheet 20 consisting of, for example,
an OP layer, an aluminum layer and a heat-sealing layer to the
flanges 13 of the blister 11 by heat-sealing to seal the embossed
hollows 12 of the blisters 11 (FIG. 7(c)). At the same time, the
tearing incisions 13a and 20a are formed in the flanges 13 and the
covering sheet 20, respectively. Subsequently, the circular rings
16 are bonded to the lower surfaces of the flanges 13 to complete
the package 10 shown in FIGS. 6 to 8. The rings 16 may be bonded to
the lower surfaces of the flanges 13 before putting the tablets 15
in the embossed hollows 12 of the blister 11.
[0150] When using the tablet 15, the blister 11 and a section of
the covering sheet 20 are torn along the tearing incisions 13a and
20a to separate a unit blister package having the embossed hollow
12 from the package 10. Then, the embossed hollow 12 is crushed by
the tip of a finger to push the tablet 15 against the section of
the covering sheet 20, so that the section of the covering sheet 20
covering the embossed hollow 12 is broken and the tablet 15 is
taken out from the embossed hollow 12 of the blister 11. Although
the blister 11 and the covering sheet 20 are made of soft
materials, the force exerted on the blister 11 by the tip of a
finger works effectively because the hard ring 16 is bonded to the
flange 13 of the blister 11 and hence the section of the covering
sheet 20 can easily be broken by the tablet 15. If the ring 16 is
omitted and the unit blister package is formed only of the soft
blister 11 and the section of the soft covering sheet 20, the
blister 11 and the section of the covering sheet 20 are only bent
when the pressure is applied to the blister 11 defining the
embossed hollow 12 and it is difficult to break the section of the
covering sheet 20 by the tablet 15.
[0151] The ring 16 of the present invention enables the tablet 15
to break the section of the covering sheet 20 easily.
[0152] Incidentally, it is possible that the tablet 15 is not taken
out from the embossed hollow 12 of the blister 11, and the blister
11 containing the tablet 15 and the ring 16 are swallowed. Although
the flange 13 of the blister 11 and the section of the covering
sheet 20 cut along the tearing incisions 13a and 20a are
rectangular, the internal organs will not be injured by the blister
11 and the section of the covering sheet 20 because the same are
made of soft materials. Furthermore, the blister 11 and the section
of the covering sheet 20 will not injure the fingers.
[0153] When the ring 16 is made of a shape memory material having a
transition temperature in the range of 30 to 40.degree. C., the
ring 16 is heated to the transition temperature in the user's body
and shrinks. When the ring 16 is made of a shape memory metal, the
ring 16 can easily be located by X-ray inspection when swallowed
into the user's body.
[0154] When the ring 16 is made of a water-soluble material, the
ring 16 dissolves in the user's body and is not injure the internal
organs.
[0155] A modification of the foregoing embodiment of the present
invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. In
the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the ring 16 is attached to
the lower surface of the flange of the blister 11. The ring 16 may
be attached to the outer surface of the covering sheet 20, i.e.,
the surface opposite the surface bonded to the flange 13, as shown
in FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 9, the through hole 17 of the ring 167
corresponds to the open end of the embossed hollow 12. The rings 16
are bonded to the covering sheet 20 after bonding the covering
sheet 20 to the blister 11 by heat-sealing. The rings 16 may be
bonded to the covering sheet 20 before bonding the covering sheet
20 to the blister 11.
[0156] The rings 16 may be bonded to the upper surfaces of the
flanges 13 of the blister 11 as shown in FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, the
through hole 17 of the ring 16 corresponds to the open end of the
embossed hollow 12 of the blister 11. The rings 16 are bonded to
the flanges 13 of the blister 11, and then the covering sheet 20 is
bonded to the embossed blister 11 by heat-sealing. The rings 16 may
be bonded to the inner surface of the covering sheet 20 in advance,
and then the covering sheet 20 may be bonded to the flanges 13 of
the blister 11 by heat-sealing.
[0157] A practical example of the present invention will be
described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. A practical example
shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 is a package packet produced by winding a
package 10 similar to that of FIG. 6; comprising a blister 11
having embossed hollows 12 arranged in a single row in a roll and a
covering sheet 20, and packing the roll of the package 10 in a
container 1. As mentioned above, the package 10 has the blister 11
of a soft material and the covering sheet 20 of a soft material.
Therefore, the package 10 can easily be wound in a roll.
[0158] As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the container 1 has a boxed
shape and is provided with an opening 2 in an upper portion of a
side wall 4 thereof. The package 10 is pulled out through the
opening 2. A cutting edge 3 is fixed to the upper edge of the
opening 2 of the container 1. Although the container 1 shown in
FIGS. 11 and 12 is fixedly provided with the cutting edge 3, the
cutting edge 3 is not necessarily indispensable; the container 1
may be provided with the cutting edge 3 when necessary.
[0159] When using the package 10, a portion of the package 10 is
pulled out through the opening 2 from the container 1, the blister
11 having the embossed hollow 12, and the section of the covering
sheet 20 of one unit blister package are cut off the package 10
along the tearing incisions 13a and 20a with the cutting edge 3.
Then, the blister 11 is crushed by the tip of a finger to push the
tablet 15. The force exerted on the blister 11 is sustained by the
ring 16 so that the section of the covering sheet 20 sealing the
embossed hollow 12 is torn, and the tablet 15 is taken out from the
embossed hollow 12 of the blister 11.
[0160] In this packet, the package 10 having the blister 11 and the
covering sheet 20 is wound in a compact roll, and the roll of the
package 10 can compactly be contained in the container 1.
[0161] As is apparent from the foregoing description, the package
of the present invention is safe and, even if the unit blister
package of the package is swallowed, the internal organs will not
be injured by the edges of the blister. Since the hard ring
sustains the force exerted on the blister by the tip of a finger,
the section of the covering sheet can easily be broken by the
article contained in the blister and the article contained in the
blister can easily be taken out.
[0162] Fourth Embodiment
[0163] A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be
described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 18, in which parts like or
corresponding to those of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to
3 are designated by the same reference characters and the
description thereof will be omitted.
[0164] Referring to FIG. 13, a package 10 of the present invention
comprises a plurality of blisters 11 having embossed hollows 12 and
flanges 13 extending around the open upper ends of the embossed
hollows 12, and a covering sheet 20 bonded to the upper surface of
the flanges 13 of the blisters 11 by heat-sealing. A ring 16 having
a through hole 17 is bonded to the lower surface of each flange 13,
i.e., the surface opposite the surface bonded to the covering sheet
20. The blister 11 having the embossed hollow 12 is fitted in the
through hole 17 of the ring 16 so that the upper open end of the
embossed hollow 12 corresponds to the through hole 17 of the ring
16.
[0165] The blisters 11 defining the embossed hollows 12 containing
tablets 15 are formed separately. The flanges 13 of the blisters 11
are bonded to the covering sheet 20 by heat-sealing.
[0166] The flange 13 of each blister 11 has a circular edge and
hence the embossed hollow 12 containing the tablet 15 has a
circular shape accordingly (FIG. 3). The edge of the flange 13 may
be formed in an elliptic shape or a polygonal shape having rounded
corners.
[0167] The circumferential edge of the flange is formed in a safe
shape by straight lines, curves or a combination of straight lines
and curves, so that the internal organs will not be injured by the
flange 13 even if the blister 11 is swallowed together with the
tablet 15.
[0168] Tearing incisions 20a are formed in the covering sheet 20 to
tear the covering sheet 20 into sections respectively corresponding
to the blisters 11. The covering sheet 20 may be provided with
perforations instead of the tearing incisions 20a.
[0169] The materials of the components of the package 10 will be
described. The blisters 11 of the package 10 are made of a soft,
thermoplastic elastomeric resin, and the blisters 11 are relatively
soft.
[0170] The covering sheet 20 is, for example, a relatively thin
laminated sheet of a thickness in the range of 10 to 25 .mu.m
consisting of an OP layer, an aluminum layer and a heat-sealing
layer.
[0171] The heat-sealing layer may be formed of a thermoplastic
resin, such as a polyvinyl acetate resin, a PVA resin, a polyvinyl
butyral resin, a polyvinyl chloride resin, a polyamide resin, a
polyester resin, a polyolefine resin, a polyacrylic resin, a
cellulose ester or a polyethylene resin, a copolymers of those
resins, a mixture of those resins or an acid modified resin.
[0172] The covering sheet 20 is relatively soft because the same is
relatively thin.
[0173] The relatively soft blisters 11 and the relatively soft
covering sheet 20 are those which have a certain degree of
plasticity and can be wound around a bobbin of a predetermined
diameter.
[0174] The rings 16 are harder than the blisters 11 and the
covering sheet 20, are made of a macromolecular compound or a shape
memory metal, and have a transition temperature in the range of 30
to 40.degree. C. When the ring 16 is heated at the transition
temperature in the range of 30 to 40.degree. C., the ring 16
shrinks. Possible shape memory metals are, for example, a Ti--Ni
alloy (Nityl), a Cu--Zn--Al allow (Petalloy), an In--Ti alloy, a
Ni--Al alloy and a Mn--Cu alloy. Possible macromolecular compounds
are a polyurethane resin (Dialy available from Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries Ltd.) and a polynorbolnen resin (Nosolex available from
Nippon Zeon).
[0175] The ring 16 may be made of a water-soluble material, such as
a PVA resin (polyvinyl alcohol resin), a polyacrylic acid resin,
hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, a polyethylene
glycol resin, a poly-N-vinyl acetoamide resin, and Paogen (Daiichi
Kogyo Seiyaku). In the case the ring 16 is made of a water-soluble
material, the ring 16 dissolves when the ring 16 is swallowed by
mistake.
[0176] When using the tablet 15, the blister 11 and a section of
the covering sheet 20 are torn along the tearing incisions 13a and
20a to separate a unit blister package having the blister 11 from
the package 10. Then, the blister 11 having the embossed hollow 12
is crushed by the tip of a finger to push the tablet 15 against the
section of the covering sheet 20, so that the section of the
covering sheet 20 covering the embossed hollow 12 is broken and the
tablet 15 is taken out from the embossed hollow 12 of the blister
11. Although the blister 11 and the covering sheet 20 are made of
soft materials, the force exerted on the blister 11 by the tip of a
finger works effectively because the hard ring 16 is bonded to the
flange 13 of the blister 11 and hence the section of the covering
sheet 20 can easily be broken by the tablet 15. If the ring 16 is
omitted and the unit blister package is formed only of the soft
blister 11 and the section of the soft covering sheet 20, the
embossed blister 11 and the section of the covering sheet 20 are
only bent when the pressure is exerted on the blister 11 defining
the embossed hollow 12 and it is difficult to break the section of
the covering sheet 20 by the tablet 15.
[0177] The ring 16 of the present invention enables the tablet 15
to break the section of the covering sheet 20 easily.
[0178] Incidentally, it is possible that the tablet 15 is not taken
out from the embossed hollow 12 of the blister 11, and the blister
11 containing the tablet 15 and the ring 16 are swallowed. Since
the blister 11 of the soft material is formed separately and the
flange 13 is bonded to the covering sheet 20, the circumferential
edge of the flange is not exposed. Since the circumferential edge
of the flange 13 has a circular shape, the flange 13 will not
injure the internal organs even if the circumferential edge of the
flange 13 is exposed. Although the section of the covering sheet 20
cut along the tearing incisions 20a is rectangular, the internal
organs will not be injured by the section of the covering sheet 20
because the same is made of a soft material. Furthermore, the
section of the covering sheet 20 will not injure the fingers.
[0179] When the ring 16 is made of a shape memory material having a
transition temperature in the range of 30 to 40.degree. C., the
ring 16 is heated to the transition temperature in the user's body
and shrinks. When the ring 16 is made of a shape memory metal, the
ring 16 can easily be located by X-rain inspection when swallowed
into the user's body.
[0180] When the ring 16 is made of a water-soluble material, the
ring 16 dissolves in the user's body and will not injure the
internal organs.
[0181] Modifications of the foregoing embodiment of the present
invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. In
the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the ring 16 is bonded to the lower
surface of the flange 13 of the blister 11. The ring 16 may be
bonded to the outer surface of the covering sheet 20, i.e., the
surface opposite the surface bonded to the flange 13, as shown in
FIG. 14. In FIG. 14, the through hole 17 of the ring 16 corresponds
to the open end of the embossed hollow 12. The rings 16 may be
bonded to the covering sheet 20 after bonding the covering sheet 20
to the blisters 11 or may be bonded to the covering sheet 20 before
bonding the covering sheet 20 to the blisters 11 by
heat-sealing.
[0182] A practical example of the present invention will be
described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17. A practical example
shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 is a package packet produced by winding a
package 10 similar to that of FIG. 13 comprising blisters 11
arranged in a single row in a roll, and packing the roll of the
package 10 in a container 1. As mentioned above, the package 10 has
the separate blisters 11 of a soft material and the covering sheet
20 of a soft material. Therefore, the package 10 can easily be
wound in a roll.
[0183] As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the container 1 has the boxed
shape and is provided with an opening 2 in an upper portion of a
side wall 4 thereof. The package 10 is pulled out through the
opening 2. A cutting edge 3 is fixed to the upper edge of the
opening 2 of the container 1. Although the container 1 shown in
FIGS. 16 and 17 is fixedly provided with the cutting edge 3, the
cutting edge 3 is not necessarily indispensable; the container 1
may be provided with the cutting edge 3 when necessary.
[0184] When using the package 10, a portion of the package 10 is
pulled out through the opening 2 from the container 1, the blister
11 is separated from the package 10 by cutting the covering sheet
20 along the tearing incision 20a with the cutting edge 3. Then,
the blister 11 is crushed by the tip of a finger to push the tablet
15. The force exerted on the blister 11 is sustained by the ring 16
so that the section of the covering sheet 20 sealing the embossed
hollow 12 is torn, and the tablet 15 is taken out from the embossed
hollow 12 of the blister 11.
[0185] In this package packet, the package 10 having the blisters
11 and the covering sheet 20 is wound in a compact roll, and
therefore the roll of the package 10 can compactly be contained in
the container 1.
[0186] Another practical example of the present invention will be
described with reference to FIG. 18. As shown in FIG. 18, a package
10 has blisters 11 arranged in two rows, and a covering sheet 20
bonded to the blisters 11. The package 10 is wound in a roll so
that the blisters 11 containing tablets 15 are on the outer surface
of the roll, and then the roll of the package 10 is packed in a
container 1.
[0187] As is apparent from the foregoing description, the package
of the present invention is safe and, even if the unit blister
package of the package is swallowed, the internal organs will not
be injured by the edges of the blister. Since the hard ring
sustains the force exerted on the blister by the tip of a finger,
the section of the covering sheet can easily be broken by the
article contained in the blister and the article contained in the
blister can easily be taken out.
[0188] Fifth Embodiment
[0189] A fifth embodiment according to the present invention will
be described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 21, in which parts like
or corresponding to those of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1
to 3 are designated by the same reference characters and the
description thereof will be omitted.
[0190] Referring to FIG. 19, a package 10 comprises a soft blister
11 having a plurality of embossed hollows 12 with open ends 12a,
for containing articles, such as tablets 15, and flanges 13
extending around the open ends 12a of the embossed hollows 12, and
a soft covering sheet 20 bonded to the upper surfaces of the
flanges 13 by heat-sealing so as to cover the open ends 12a of the
embossed hollows 12 of the blister 11.
[0191] A reinforcing paper sheet 46 having through holes 47 is
placed on the lower surfaces of the flanges 13, i.e., the surfaces
opposite the surfaces to which the covering sheet 20 is bonded. The
embossed hollows 12 are fitted in the through holes 47 of the
reinforcing paper sheet 46 so that the lower surfaces of the
flanges 13 are seated on the reinforcing paper sheet 46. Therefore,
the through holes 47 correspond to the upper open ends 12a of the
embossed hollows 12, respectively.
[0192] Tearing incisions 19a are formed in the flanges 13 extending
around the embossed hollows 12 and the covering sheet 20, and
tearing incisions 19b are formed in the reinforcing paper sheet 46.
The flanges 13 and the covering sheet 20 are torn along the tearing
incisions 19a and the reinforcing paper sheet 46 is torn along the
tearing incisions 19b to separate the embossed hollows 12
individually. Both the tearing incisions 19a and 19b need not
necessarily be formed; only the tearing incisions 19a or 19b may be
formed or perforations may be formed instead of the tearing
incisions 19a and 19b.
[0193] Referring to FIG. 20, a package 10 comprises a soft blister
11 having embossed hollows 12 with open ends 12a, for containing
articles, such as tablets 15, and flanges 13 extending around the
open ends 12a of the embossed hollows 12, and a soft covering sheet
20 bonded to the upper surfaces of the flanges 13 by heat-sealing
so as to cover the open ends 12a of the embossed hollows 12 of the
blister 11.
[0194] A reinforcing paper sheet 46 having through holes 47
respectively corresponding to the open ends 12a of the embossed
hollows 12 is placed on the upper surface of the covering sheet 20
i.e., the surface opposite the surface to which the flanges 13 are
bonded, so that the through holes 47 of the reinforcing paper sheet
46 correspond to the open ends 12a of the embossed hollows 12,
respectively.
[0195] The package 10 shown in FIG. 20 is provided with tearing
incisions 19a and 19b similar to those of the package 10 shown in
FIG. 19.
[0196] FIG. 21 is a bottom view of the package 10 of FIG. 19. The
package 10 has the twelve embossed hollows 12 respectively
containing the tablets 15 arranged in two rows each of the six
embossed hollows 12.
[0197] The adjacent embossed recesses 12 are demarcated by the
tearing incisions 19b to enable a necessary number of the embossed
recesses 12 to be torn off from the package 10.
[0198] There is no particular restriction on the arrangement of the
embossed recesses 12 in the package 10; the embossed recesses 12
may be arranged in a desired number of rows each of a desired
number of the embossed recesses 12.
[0199] Materials of the components of the package 10 and a method
of manufacturing the package 10 will be described hereinafter.
[0200] The blister 11 of the package 10 must be relatively soft.
Materials suitable for making the blister 11 are, for example, a
relatively soft resin film, such as an unoriented polypropylene
(CPP) film or a laminated film of an unoriented polypropylene (CPP)
film and a polyethylene (PE) film, a thermoplastic elastomer
film.
[0201] For example, a CPP film of a thickness in the range of 30 to
150 .mu.m is preferable, and a CPP film of a thickness in the range
of 60 to 120 .mu.m is more preferable.
[0202] A CPP/PE laminated film of a CPP film of a thickness in the
range of 20 to 100 .mu.m and a PE film of a thickness in the range
of 20 to 100 .mu.m is preferable. A CPP/PE laminated film of a CPP
film of a thickness in the range of 30 to 100 .mu.m and a PE film
of a thickness in the range of 20 to 80 .mu.m is more preferable.
If the thickness of each of those films is less than the lower
limit of the foregoing thickness range, the embossed hollows cannot
satisfactorily be formed and the strength of the same is
insufficient. If the thickness of each of those films is greater
than the upper limit of the foregoing thickness range, the embossed
hollows are excessively hard.
[0203] The covering sheet 20 must be soft, easily tearable and
moisture-proof. For example, the covering sheet 20 is a laminated
sheet formed by laminating a protective film to the outer surface
of an aluminum foil of a thickness in the range of 15 to 25 .mu.m,
and laminating a heat-sealing film to the inner surface of the
aluminum foil.
[0204] If it is desirable that the covering sheet 20 does not have
any aluminum layer in view of disposal of the covering sheet 20,
the covering sheet 20 may be, for example, a uniaxial oriented
polypropylene film, a uniaxial oriented polyethylene terephthalate
film or a uniaxial oriented polyethylene naphthalate film. The
thickness of the covering sheet 20 is, preferably, in the range of
10 to 70 .mu.m, more preferably, in the range of 15 to 60
.mu.m.
[0205] The covering sheet 20 may be a polypropylene film containing
talc and having a thickness, preferably, in the range of 30 to 120
.mu.m, more preferably, in the range of 50 to 90 .mu.m.
[0206] If the covering sheet 20 is any one of the foregoing plastic
films and the covering sheet 20 cannot satisfactorily bonded to the
flanges 13 of the blister 11 by heat-sealing, the covering sheet 20
may be provided with an innermost layer having a heat-sealing
property.
[0207] The reinforcing paper sheet 46 placed on the surfaces of the
flanges 13 opposite the surface of the same to which the covering
sheet 20 is bonded or on the outer surface of the covering sheet 20
opposite the surface of the same bonded to the flanges 13 is formed
by processing a paper sheet. The reinforcing paper sheet 46
enhances the rigidity of portions of the package 10 corresponding
to the flanges 13 to enable the covering sheet 20 to be torn easily
when taking out the tablet 15 from the blister 11, and absorbs
water and saliva and softens so as not to be caught in or not to
injure internal organs even if a unit blister package swallowed by
mistake.
[0208] Accordingly, the reinforcing paper sheet 46 may be an
ordinary cardboard or paperboard capable of softening in water and
having an appropriate thickness (or basis weight), because such a
cardboard or paperboard has a relatively high rigidity as compared
with the blister 11 and the covering sheet 20.
[0209] It is desirable that the reinforcing paper sheet is sanitary
and does not contain or contains the least unavoidable amount of
harmful substances to further enhance the safety of the unit
blister package in case the unit blister package is swallowed by
mistake. Therefore, it is preferable that the reinforcing paper
sheet is made of only virgin pulp, does not contain any reused
pulp, contains a natural water-soluble binder, such as starch, and
does not contain any sizing agent and any fluorescent brightener.
The reinforcing paper sheet need not necessarily be provided with
any coating layer. Although paper sheets meeting such requirements
are not available on the market, such paper sheets can easily be
made by a special papermaking process.
[0210] Ivory boards for forming cartons for the direct packing of
foodstuffs among paperboards available on the market meet the
foregoing requirements to some acceptable extent and are
satisfactory.
[0211] Water-soluble paper sheets formed by binding pulp with a
water-soluble binder and dissolvable in water may be employed as
the reinforcing paper sheet 46.
[0212] The reinforcing paper sheet 46 needs to have a thickness
necessary to secure an appropriate rigidity. A paper sheet having a
basis weight of about 100 g/m.sup.2 or above is suitable for use as
the reinforcing paper sheet 46. A paper sheet having a basis weight
in the range of 100 to 500 g/m.sup.2 is desirable as the
reinforcing paper sheet 46 and a paper sheet having a basis weight
in the range of 120 to 350 g/m.sup.2 is preferable.
[0213] The reinforcing paper sheet 46 may be bonded to the covering
sheet 20 or the flanges 13 of the blister 11 with an adhesive or
the reinforcing paper sheet 46 may be coated with a thin film of
the same adhesive resin as that forming the covering sheet 20 or
the flanges 13 of the blister 11 by extrusion coating method and
the reinforcing paper sheet 46 may be bonded to the covering sheet
20 or the flanges 13 of the blisters 11 by thermocompresion
bonding.
[0214] The reinforcing paper sheet 46 has a rigidity necessary to
sustain a force exerted on the blister 11 in order that the
covering sheet 20 can easily be torn. The reinforcing paper sheet
46 does not injure internal organs even if the same is swallowed by
mistake because the reinforcing paper sheet 46 absorbs water and
softens. The reinforcing paper sheet 46 has further advantages that
{fraction (1)} the possibility that the unit blister package is
swallowed by mistake is reduced because the reinforcing paper sheet
46, differing from a transparent plastic sheet, is opaque and can
be identified as paper at a glance and is not mistaken for a
capsule or a wrapping wafer, and {circle over (2)} the edges of the
package 10 provided with the reinforcing paper sheet 46 will not
injure hands because the edges of the reinforcing paper sheet 46,
which are not as sharp as the edges of the blister 11 which are
often made of a hard polyvinyl chloride sheet and liable to injure
hands when handling the package 10 in dispensaries, constitute the
edges of the package 10.
[0215] A method of manufacturing the package of the present
invention having the components made of the foregoing materials
will be described hereinafter.
[0216] The package 10 of the present invention differs much from
the conventional PTP package in that the covering sheet 20 is made
of a soft material, the blister 11 is made of a soft sheet, such as
a relatively soft, thin thermoplastic resin sheet, and the
reinforcing paper sheet 46 is bonded to the flanges 13 to make up
for the lack of rigidity of the flanges.
[0217] Therefore, basic processes for forming a plurality of
embossed hollows 12 in a sheet for forming the blister 11, putting
articles, such as tablets 15, in the embossed hollows 12, and
bonding the covering sheet 20 to the flanges 13 of the blister 11
by heat-sealing can be accomplished by the conventional forming,
packaging and sealing apparatuses only by adjusting process
conditions including the forming temperature in some degree.
[0218] A soft sheet for forming the blister 11 heated by a heating
apparatus of the preceding process is fed between a female die
(lower die) and a male die (upper die), and the soft sheet is
formed between the female die and the male die by plug assist air
slip vacuum forming or simple vacuum forming to form the blister 11
having the plurality of embossed hollows 12 and having flanges 13
extending around the embossed hollows 12 (FIG. 7).
[0219] Subsequently, the blister 11 is fed by feed rollers to an
article dispensing machine, and the article dispensing machine puts
articles, such as tablets 15, in the embossed hollows 12 of the
blister 11.
[0220] Then, the blister 11 containing the articles in the embossed
hollows 12 is transported to a heat-sealing machine, and the
heat-sealing machine bonds the covering sheet 20 to the flanges 13
of the blister 11 by heat-sealing so as to seal the embossed
hollows 12.
[0221] The package 10 of the present invention is further provided
with the reinforcing paper sheet 46 provided with the through holes
47. The reinforcing paper sheet 46 is bonded to the upper surface
of the covering sheet 20 or the lower surfaces of the flanges 13 of
the blister 11 so that the through holes 47 thereof coincide with
the open ends 12a of the embossed hollows 12 of the blister 11,
respectively, the tearing incisions 19a are formed in the flanges
13 and the covering sheet 20, and tearing incisions 19b are formed
in the reinforcing paper sheet 46 to provide a package sheet.
[0222] Then, the package sheet is cut into packages 10 each
comprising a blister 11 having a desired number of hollows, such as
ten, twelve, twenty or twenty-four hollows 12 (FIGS. 19, 20,
21).
[0223] If the reinforcing paper sheet 46 is bonded to the upper
surface of the covering sheet 20 (FIG. 20), the reinforcing paper
sheet 46 provided with the through holes 47 may be bonded to the
upper surface of the covering sheet 20, and then the covering sheet
20 may be bonded to the flanges 13 of the blister 11 by
heat-sealing to seal the embossed hollows 12.
[0224] If the reinforcing paper sheet 46 is bonded to the lower
surfaces of the flanges 13 of the blister 11 (FIG. 19), the
embossed hollows 12 of the blister 11 may be fitted in the through
holes 47 of the reinforcing paper sheet 46 so that the lower
surfaces of the flanges 13 of the blister 11 are seated on the
reinforcing paper sheet 46, and the reinforcing paper sheet 46 may
be bonded to the flanges 13 by heat adhesion simultaneously with
the bonding of the covering sheet 20 to the upper surfaces of the
flanges by heat-sealing, which, however needs the modification of
the conventional forming, dispensing and sealing apparatuses.
[0225] When the reinforcing paper sheet 46 is thus bonded to the
flanges 13 of the blister 11, the tearing incisions 19a and 19b may
be formed and the package sheet may be cut into packages 10
immediately after bonding the covering sheet 20 to the flanges 13
of the blisters 11 by heat-sealing to seal the embossed hollows
12.
[0226] When using the package 10, unit blister packages each having
the blister 11, and a section of the covering sheet 20 sealing the
embossed hollow 12 are separated easily by tearing the package 10
along the tearing incisions 19a and 19b.
[0227] After tearing off a unit blister package having the embossed
hollow 12 from the package 10, the blister 11 having the embossed
hollow 12 is crushed by the tip of a finger to press the tablet 15
against the section of the covering sheet 20, so that that the
section of the covering sheet 20 is torn and the tablet 15 is taken
out from the embossed hollow 12.
[0228] Although the blister 11 and the covering sheet 20 are made
of soft materials, the force exerted on the blister 11 by the
finger is sustained by the reinforcing paper sheet 46 bonded to the
upper or the lower surface of the flange 13 of the blister, so that
the section of the covering sheet can easily be torn by the tablet
15.
[0229] If the package 10 is not provided with the reinforcing paper
sheet 46 and consists of only the soft blisters 11 and the soft
covering sheet 20, the blister 11 and the section of the covering
sheet 20 are curved and hence it is difficult to break the section
of the covering sheet by crushing the blister 11 defining the
embossed hollow 12 by the tip of a finger to press the tablet
against the section of the covering sheet 20.
[0230] Since the edges of the reinforcing paper sheet 46 are not as
sharp as the edges of a hard polyvinyl chloride resin sheet or the
like, and hence there is the less danger of injuring fingers or the
like by the edges of the reinforcing paper sheet 46.
[0231] It sometimes happens that the user swallows the tablet 15
together with the blister 11, the section of the covering sheet 20
and the reinforcing paper sheet 46 without taking out the same from
the embossed hollow 12 defined by the blister 11.
[0232] However, although the edges of the blister 11, the section
of the covering sheet 20 and the reinforcing paper sheet 46 formed
by cutting the package 10 along the tearing incisions 19a and 19b
are rectangular, the blister 11, the section of the covering sheet
20 and the reinforcing paper sheet 46 are not caught in or do not
injure the internal organs of the user because the blister 11 and
the covering sheet 20 are made of soft materials, and the
reinforcing paper sheet 46 absorbs water and softens.
[0233] As is apparent from the foregoing description, the force
exerted on the blister by the tip of a finger is sustained by the
reinforcing paper sheet 46 bonded to the outer surface of the
flange of the blister of the package even if the blister and the
covering sheet are made of soft materials, so that the section of
the covering sheet can easily be broken by the article, such as a
tablet, contained in the blister and the article can easily be
taken out of the blister. Even if the user swallows the unit
blister package by mistake, the user's internal organs are not
injured by the unit blister package because the unit blister
package softens as the reinforcing paper sheet absorbs water and
softens. Thus the package is safe and easy to use.
[0234] Sixth Embodiment
[0235] A sixth embodiment of the present invention will be
described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 22 to 24, in which
parts like or corresponding to those shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are
designated by the same reference characters and the description
thereof will be omitted.
[0236] Referring to FIGS. 22 and 23, a package 10 comprises a
plurality of blisters 11 each having an embossed hollow 12 with an
open end 12a, for containing a tablet 15, and a flange 13 extending
around the open end 12a of the embossed hollow 12, and a covering
sheet 20 bonded to the flanges 13 of the blisters 11 by
heat-sealing. In FIG. 22 showing the package 10 in a plan view, the
covering sheet 20 is supposed to be transparent for
convenience.
[0237] The blisters 11 are formed separately and each blister 11
has the embossed hollow 12 containing the tablet 15. The blisters
11 are disposed close to each other so as to form tearing regions
50 in the covering sheet 20 between the adjacent blisters 11.
[0238] Each blister 11 is a relatively thick sheet suitable for
holding the tablet 15, such as a 200 to 350 .mu.m thick sheet of a
PVC resin, a cyclic polyolefine resin, a PP resin or a PET resin.
The covering sheet 20 is a relatively thin sheet, such as a 10 to
20 .mu.m thick laminated sheet of, for example, an OP layer, an
aluminum layer and a heat-sealing layer.
[0239] As mentioned above, the blisters 11 are arranged closely for
as to form the tearing regions 50 between the adjacent blisters 11,
the blisters 11 are made of a relatively thick sheet and the
covering sheet 20 is a relatively thin sheet. Therefore, the soft
covering sheet 20 can easily be torn along the tearing regions 50
between the adjacent rigid blisters 11. Although tearing incisions
need not be formed in the tearing regions 50, the covering sheet 20
may more easily be torn if tearing incisions are formed in the
tearing regions 50.
[0240] Referring to FIGS. 24(a) and (b), a package 10 comprises a
plurality of blisters 11 each having an embossed hollow 12 with an
open end 12a and containing a tablet 15, and a flange 13 extending
around the open end 12a of the embossed hollow 12, and a covering
sheet 20 bonded to the flanges 13 of the blisters 11 by
heat-sealing. The blisters 11 are made of a thermoplastic elastomer
or a soft resin, and are relatively soft. The covering sheet 20 is
a soft laminated sheet.
[0241] As shown in FIG. 24(a), A reinforcing ring 16 having a
through hole 17 corresponding to the open end 12a of the embossed
hollow 12 is attached to the lower surface of the flange 13 of each
blister 11 so that the embossed hollow 12 is fitted in the through
hole 17 of the reinforcing ring 16. As shown in FIG. 24(b), the
reinforcing ring 16 may be attached to the upper surface of the
covering sheet 20 so that the through hole 17 coincides with the
open end 12a of the embossed hollow 12.
[0242] Seventh Embodiment
[0243] A seventh embodiment of the present invention will be
described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 25 to 28, in which
parts like or corresponding to those shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are
designated by the same reference characters and the description
thereof will be omitted.
[0244] Referring to FIGS. 25 and 26, a package 10 comprises a
plurality of blisters 11 having embossed hollows 12 with open ends
12a, for containing tablets 15, and flanges 13 extending around the
open ends 12a of the embossed hollows 12, and a covering sheet 20
bonded to the flanges 13 of the blisters 11 by heat-sealing. In
FIG. 25 showing the package 10 in a plan view, the covering sheet
20 is supposed to be transparent for convenience.
[0245] The blisters 11 are formed separately and each blister 11
has, for example, two embossed hollows 12 connected by the flange
13. The number of the embossed hollows 12 of each blister 11 is
equal to the number of tablets for one dose.
[0246] The blister 11 is formed of a relatively thick sheet
suitable for holding the tablet 15, such as a 250 to 350 .mu.m
thick sheet of a PVC resin, a cyclic polyolefine resin, a PP resin
or a PET resin. The covering sheet 20 is a relatively thin sheet,
such as a 20 to 30 .mu.m thick laminated sheet of, for example, an
OP layer, an aluminum layer and a heat-sealing layer.
[0247] Since the number of the embossed hollows 12 of each blister
11 is equal to the number of tablets 15 for one dose, the covering
sheet 20 is torn along a tearing incisions 20a to separate each
blister 11 from the package 10, and the tablets 15 for one dose can
surely be taken out from the embossed hollows 12 of the blister
11.
[0248] A package 10 in a modification of the package 10 shown in
FIGS. 25 and 26 will be described with reference to FIGS. 27 and
28. The package 10 in the modification is substantially similar to
that shown in FIGS. 25 and 26, except that the package 10 shown in
FIGS. 27 and 28 has blisters formed of a soft material and is
provided with reinforcing rings attached to the blisters.
[0249] Referring to FIGS. 27 and 28, the package 10 has a plurality
of separate blisters 11 each having two embossed hollows 12
containing tablets and a flange 13 extending around the two
embossed hollows 12, and a covering sheet 20 bonded to the flanges
13 of the blisters 11 by heat-sealing.
[0250] Each blister 11 is formed of a relatively soft 100 to 200
.mu.m thick sheet of a thermoplastic elastomer or a soft resin. The
covering sheet 20 is a soft laminated sheet. As shown in FIGS. 27
and 28, hard reinforcing rings 16 having through holes 17
corresponding to the open ends 12a of the embossed hollows 12 are
attached to the lower surface of the flange 13 of each blister 11
so that the embossed hollows 12 of the blister 11 are fitted in the
through holes 17 of the reinforcing rings 16.
* * * * *