U.S. patent application number 10/588416 was filed with the patent office on 2007-12-06 for casing for a blister package.
Invention is credited to Lionel Jeannin, Patrick Roche, Christian Saclier.
Application Number | 20070278124 10/588416 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34833574 |
Filed Date | 2007-12-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070278124 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Saclier; Christian ; et
al. |
December 6, 2007 |
Casing For A Blister Package
Abstract
A casing (4) for a blister package having cavities has a bottom
part (2) having a bottom (25) with openings (26) therein and
comprising positioning means (21). The positioning means (21) are
shaped and arranged to act on at least one cavity of the blister
package in order to position each cavity of the blister package
centered with an opening (26).
Inventors: |
Saclier; Christian;
(Ambilly, FR) ; Jeannin; Lionel; (Choisy, FR)
; Roche; Patrick; (Annecy, FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
NOVARTIS;CORPORATE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
ONE HEALTH PLAZA 104/3
EAST HANOVER
NJ
07936-1080
US
|
Family ID: |
34833574 |
Appl. No.: |
10/588416 |
Filed: |
February 4, 2005 |
PCT Filed: |
February 4, 2005 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP05/01170 |
371 Date: |
June 15, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/528 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 43/18 20130101;
B65D 83/0463 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/528 |
International
Class: |
B65D 83/04 20060101
B65D083/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 6, 2004 |
EP |
04002615.5 |
Claims
1. Casing for a blister package having cavities, which casing has a
bottom part having a bottom with openings therein and comprising
positioning means, the positioning means being shaped and arranged
to act on at least one cavity of the blister package in order to
position each cavity of the blister package centered with an
opening.
2. A casing according to claim 1, wherein the positioning means are
arranged at a longitudinal end of the bottom part, comprise at
least one abutment extending up to the opening nearest to the
abutment in order to abut against a cavity of the blister package,
and further comprise a recess formed to accommodate an end region
of the blister package extending between the first cavity and the
end of the blister package.
3. A casing according to claim 1, wherein the bottom part comprises
retaining and guiding means for holding the blister package down on
the bottom and for properly arranging the blister package on the
bottom with regard to its lateral position.
4. A casing according to claim 1, further comprising a cover for
closing the bottom part, such that a blister package properly
arranged on the bottom part cannot be removed from the casing in
the closed state.
5. A casing according to claim 4, wherein the cover is pivotally
attached to the bottom part, such that the cover can be pivoted in
a plane parallel to the bottom part.
6. A casing according to claim 5, comprising an axle for pivotal
attachment of the cover to the bottom part.
7. A casing according to claim 1, wherein the bottom part has
stepped engaging means for supporting a blister package after being
properly arranged on the bottom part, the stepped engaging means
being arranged at that end of the bottom part opposite the
positioning means.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a casing for a blister
package according to the preamble of claim 1.
[0002] Pills, tablets of drugs, chewing gum and the like are
frequently provided in so-called blister packages. Blister packages
usually comprise formed cavities holding the product, in particular
they can be made of a clear plastic material. Usually the cavities
are arranged in a plurality of rows. Between the outer cavities and
each longitudinal end of the blister package there is an end
region, which is frequently used to display information, e.g. the
product name, the brand label, the expiry date or the batch number
etc. Since the information is typically displayed only on one end
region, the end regions at both ends of the blister packages are
often of varying width thus resulting in an asymmetric shape of the
blister package.
[0003] The cavities are of a shape, e.g. cylindrical, cubic or
ball-shaped, which is optimized to hold one piece of the product.
On one side--the bottom side--the cavities of the plastic material
layer are open. This bottom side is usually covered by a foil (e.g.
aluminum foil). In order to remove a piece of the product from its
cavity the user pushes on the cavity of said piece to cause the
piece to perforate the foil and to get removed.
[0004] To protect the blister packages from being damaged (e.g. by
inadvertently opening a cavity) while being carried around in a
pocket, and to make removal of the product more convenient (e.g. by
preventing removal of several pieces of the product with one push),
various casings have been suggested.
[0005] A typical embodiment of such a casing is described in DE 198
13 350 A1. The casing described there comprises a bottom having
essentially the same shape as an appropriate blister package. The
bottom has openings formed and arranged like the cavities of the
blister package, such that if the blister package is properly
arranged on the bottom each cavity is arranged centered with an
opening. At both lateral ends of the bottom the casing comprises
guiding means while at one longitudinal end it comprises an
abutment bar.
[0006] To arrange the blister package properly in the casing, the
blister package is inserted into the casing at the open
longitudinal end (opposite to the abutment bar) and pushed towards
the abutment bar while being guided by the guiding means, until the
front end of the blister package contacts the abutment bar. In this
state each cavity of the blister package lies centered with an
opening of the bottom, and the blister package is held down on the
bottom by the guiding means.
[0007] If the blister package to be arranged in the casing is of
asymmetric shape, as described above, it has to be inserted into
the casing in exactly one proper orientation. Otherwise, the
cavities of the improperly arranged blister package are not
arranged centered with the openings of the bottom and the product
can not be removed by the user. Rather, he has to remove the
blister package, turn it and insert it again with its other end
first. To avoid this inconvenience the user always has to pay
attention which end of the blister package to insert first into the
casing.
[0008] An object of the invention is to provide a casing for a
blister package, which overcomes the disadvantages of the
above-described casings.
[0009] This object is achieved by a casing for a blister package
according to the invention as it is defined by the features of the
independent claim. Preferred embodiments can be gathered from the
dependent claims.
[0010] In particular, the casing according to the invention
comprises a bottom part having a bottom with openings therein and
comprising positioning means. The positioning means are shaped and
arranged to act on at least one cavity of the blister package in
order to position each cavity of the blister package centered with
an opening. Because the positioning means act directly on a cavity,
the blister package can be arranged in a proper position
irrespective of the shape of the end region of the blister package,
such that the cavities are arranged centered with the openings in
the bottom. This allows a user to insert a blister package of
asymmetric shape, as described above, in both possible ways into
the casing.
[0011] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the positioning
means are arranged at a longitudinal end of the bottom part,
comprise at least one abutment extending up to the opening nearest
to the abutment in order to abut against a cavity of the blister
package, and further comprise a recess formed to accommodate an end
region of the blister package extending between the first cavity
and the end of the blister package. This embodiment of the
positioning means can be manufactured with comparatively low
expense. Additionally, the shape of the recess (e.g. it may be
bevelled) may allow a user-friendly easy insertion of the blister
package.
[0012] The bottom part may comprise retaining and guiding means for
holding the blister package down on the bottom and for properly
arranging the blister package on the bottom with regard to its
lateral position. They prevent the blister package arranged in
proper position from leaving that position. Furthermore, they may
simplify the introduction of the blister package into the
casing.
[0013] In a preferred embodiment the casing further comprises a
cover for closing the bottom part, such that a blister package
properly arranged on the bottom part cannot be removed or get lost
from the casing in the closed state. Also the cover serves as an
additional protection against damage.
[0014] The cover can be pivotally attached to the bottom part such,
that the cover can be pivoted in a plane parallel to the bottom
part. This embodiment allows the casing to be opened without
completely removing the cover from the bottom part. Therefore, the
risk of loosing the cover is significantly reduced.
[0015] Further, the casing can comprise an axle for pivotal
attachment of the cover to the bottom part. Such an axle allows an
easy construction of a pivotally attached cover.
[0016] In a preferred embodiment the bottom part has stepped
engaging means for supporting the blister package after being
properly arranged on the bottom part. The stepped engaging means
are arranged at that end of the bottom part opposite the
positioning means. They allow the blister package to be engaged
after being properly positioned on the bottom part thus
additionally retaining the blister package. To allow a blister
package of asymmetric shape to be engaged on both ends regardless
of which end of the blister package has been inserted first the
engaging means are stepped.
[0017] The casing for a blister package according to the invention
is described in more detail hereinbelow by way of exemplary
embodiments and with reference to the attached drawings, in
which:
[0018] FIG. 1--shows a top view of a typical embodiment of a
blister package of asymmetric shape;
[0019] FIG. 2--shows a top view of the blister package of FIG. 1
together with schematic positioning means of a casing according to
the invention;
[0020] FIG. 3--shows a perspective view of a bottom part of an
embodiment of a casing according to the invention;
[0021] FIG. 4--shows a perspective view of a casing comprising the
bottom part of FIG. 3 and a cover;
[0022] FIG. 5--shows a top view of the casing of FIG. 4 in open
state; and
[0023] FIG. 6--shows an enlarged view of the rear portion of the
bottom part of FIG. 3.
[0024] FIG. 1 shows a blister package 1 of asymmetric shape. The
blister package 1 comprises an upper side 13 with round cavities 12
formed to provide a product, e.g. pills, tablets of drugs, chewing
gum or the like. The upper side 13 can be made of a plastic
material (at least in the region of the cavities), in particular a
clear plastic material, such that the product is visible. On the
underside of the blister package 1 (not visible in FIG. 1) a foil
is attached to the plastic material covering and closing the
cavities 12. Between the longitudinal ends 15 and the outer rows 14
of cavities 12 the blister package 1 comprises two end regions of
different width, a wide end region 10 and a narrow end region 11.
The wide end region 10 typically is provided with information, e.g.
the product name or the brand label (not shown in FIG. 1).
[0025] The following applies to the rest of this description. If,
in order to clarify the drawings, a figure contains reference signs
not explained in the directly associated part of the description,
then it is referred to previous description parts.
[0026] In FIG. 2 there is shown schematic positioning means 21A
acting on the cavities 12 of one of the outer rows 14 of the
blister package 1 of FIG. 1. The cavities 12 of the blister package
1 are in a well-defined position while the positioning means 21A
abut the blister package 1. It doesn't matter if the cavities 12 of
the outer row 14 near the narrow end region 11 or the cavities 12
of the outer row 14 near the wide end region 10 (indicated by the
dashed line in FIG. 2) are abutting against the positioning means
21A. The position of the cavities 12 is the same in both
arrangements of the blister package 1.
[0027] FIG. 3 shows a bottom part 2 of an embodiment of a casing 4
(see FIGS. 4 and 5) according to the invention. Bottom part 2
comprises a bottom 25 with ten openings 26. At the lateral ends of
bottom 25 retaining and guiding means 22 are arranged comprising a
guide bar 220 and two projections 221. Spaced to the two openings
26 forming one outer row of openings 26, a transverse bar 27 is
arranged in transverse direction. Between transverse bar 27 and
each of the said two openings 26 bottom part 2 comprises
positioning means 21 extending in longitudinal direction. Each of
them has a recess 211 and a abutment 210 heading towards openings
26. On the other side of transverse bar 27 a cylindrical axle 23 is
arranged right-angled to bottom 25.
[0028] In FIG. 4 the whole casing 4 is shown including a cover 3 in
a closed state. In this state the interior of casing 4 is not
accessible and a blister package 1 arranged in casing 4 is
protected of damage and loss.
[0029] FIG. 5 shows casing 4 with cover 3 in an open state. Cover 3
is mounted on axle 23 (see FIG. 3) of bottom part 2, such that
casing 4 can be opened by pivoting cover 3 around axle 23.
[0030] For inserting a blister package 1 into casing 4 a user
pushes the blister package 1 between the guiding bars 220 and
beneath projections 221 towards positioning means 21. Arriving at
the positioning means 21 the front end region of blister package 1
is accommodated by the recesses 211, whatever end region is the
front end region (the wide end region 10 or the narrow end region
11). The user pushes blister package 1 further until cavities 12 of
the first row 14 hit the front of the abutments 210. In this
position each cavity 12 is arranged centered with a respective
opening 26 and the blister package 1 as a whole is hold down on the
bottom 25 by the projections 221.
[0031] FIG. 5 further shows that the bottom part 2 comprises two
ribs 24 (which are shown in more detail in FIG. 6) as engaging
means at the end opposite to the positioning means 21. Each of them
has two steps 240, such that the blister package 1 arranged on the
bottom part 2 as described above can engage one of the steps 240.
If the blister package 1 is inserted with its wide end region 10 as
the front end region in the bottom part 2, the end following the
narrow end region 11 engages the according outer steps 240 of the
ribs 24 and vice versa.
* * * * *