Childproof package

Abstract

A laminate having high resistance to tearing is sealed to a substrate having a rigid blister cavity in a manner so as to provide a non-sealed zone adjacent one end thereof. The substrate is slit at the non-sealed zone to define a removable tab. After removal of the tab, the substrate may be peeled back to attain access to the contents of said cavity.

Parent Case Text

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No. 270,877 filed July 12, 1972 and entitled Tamperproof Package, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,995, Sept. 14, 1975.

Description

The invention is directed to a childproof package which renders it difficult for a child to attain access to the contents of a single dosage package. Packages of this nature are adapted to contain one or more pharmaceuticals, poisons, catalysts, while at the same time the packages comply with the rigorous standards set forth in the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970, Part 295. Such standards apply to a wide variety of products including conventional pharmaceutical products such as aspirin.

The present invention has been tested and proven to be in compliance with said Act. In accordance with the provisions of said Act, at least 85 percent of the children should not attain access to the product and at least 85 percent of the adults should attain access to the product.

In a specific embodiment of the present invention, a carrier layer or substrate made from a transparent polymeric plastic material such as polyvinylchloride is provided with a pocket or cavity for receiving the product such as a pharmaceutical pill. The carrier layer or substrate has a substantial thickness such as 0.0075-0.020 inches so that the blister pocket or cavity is rigid and it is difficult to attain access to the product by biting into the pocket or cavity.

The carrier layer or substrate is heat-sealed or otherwise joined opposite the open end of the pocket or cavity to a laminate with a non-sealed zone adjacent one end thereof. The laminate has high resistance to tearing whereby access to the product in the pocket or cavity cannot be attained by tearing or biting into the laminate. The carrier layer or substrate has a slit defining a removable tab at the non-sealed zone.

When the tear off tab is separated from the carrier layer or substrate, it is then possible to peel the laminate back off the carrier layer or substrate and thereby attain access to the product in the pocket or cavity. Thus, an adult may attain access to the product with little trouble whereas a child will have difficulty in sequentially deciphering the steps which must be followed sequentially in order to attain access to the product in the pocket or cavity.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a childproof package.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a single dosage package which is acceptable to the trade, simultaneously complies with rigorous standards recently adopted in connection with packaging a wide variety of products, and which is constructed in a manner which facilitates mass production.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings a form which is presently preferred; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a plurality of single dosage packages in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2--2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3--3 in FIG. 2.

FIGS. 4-6 illustrate the present invention in various stages of manipulation to attain access to the product packaged therein.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a multiplicity of packages in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein like numerals indicate like elements, there is shown in FIG. 1 a plurality of single dosage packages in accordance with the present invention designated generally as 10, 12 and 16. The packages 10 and 12 are joined together by a perforation line 14. The packages 12 and 16 are joined together by a perforation line 18. The packages 10, 12 and 16 are identical. Hence, only package 12 will be described in detail.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the package 12 includes a carrier layer or substrate 20 having a rigid pocket or cavity 22 spaced from the edges thereof. Layer 20 is preferably made from a transparent polymeric plastic material such as polyvinylchloride having a substantial thickness such as 0.0075-0.020 inches so that it is difficult to bite into the pocket 22 to attain access to the contents thereof, namely article 24. Also, the rigidity of pocket 22 prevents one from pushing article 24 by collapsing the pocket by finger pressure. Article 24 may be, for example, a pharmaceutical pill.

A laminate is bonded to the layer 20 across the open end of the pocket 22 such as by the heat seal 28 and the heat seal 28'. The heat seal 28' is narrow and spaced from the heat seal 28 by a non-sealed zone 34.

The laminate includes a plurality of layers heat sealed or otherwise bonded together and has a thickness of 0.003-0.007 inches. The laminate includes a lowermost layer 32 of paper such as 30 pound paper or number 7 point paperboard. By making the layer 32 of paper, it is possible to type or otherwise print thereon data with respect to the article 24. The next layer above the paper layer 32 is a layer 30 of material having high tear resistance such as polyethylene terephthalate which is a polymeric plastic sold commercially under the brand name MYLAR or reinforced acetal resin sold commercially under the brand name DELRIN. Due to layer 32, it is difficult to bite through the laminate to attain access to article 24. By application of heat and/or pressure, layers 30 and 32 are bonded together.

The next layer of the laminate above layer 30 is a layer of material such as aluminum foil 26 joined to the layer or substrate 20 by the heat seals 28 and 28'. The upper surface of the layer 26 is provided with a coating to facilitate the formation of heat seals 28 and 28'. Layers 26 and 30 are heat sealed or otherwise bonded together.

In the non-sealed zone 34 the layer 20 is provided with a slit 36 defining a tab 38 which is narrower than the width of the layer 20. The tab 38 is generally semicircular. The free ends of the slit 36 are spaced from the edge 39 by a distance of about 0.010-0.030 inches. The tab 38 remains integral with the layer 20 by the short uncut portions 37 described above and constituting the distance from edge 39 to the ends of the slit 36. In addition, the extreme edge portion of the tab 38 is heat sealed to the layer 26 by the narrow strip of heat seal 28' having a width of about 0.010-0.030 inches.

Access to the article 24 is attained in a manner diagrammatically illustrated in FIGS. 4-6. The end portion of the package 12 at end 39 is manipulated as shown in FIG. 4 whereby the majority of the tab 38 may be grasped between the fingers and physically removed by tearing portions 37 as shown in FIG. 5. Thereafter, the package 12 may be turned upside down as shown in FIG. 6 and the laminate peeled back to expose the article 24 in the pocket or cavity 22.

The packages of the present invention may be mass produced in the manner shown in FIG. 7 wherein packages 10, 12 and 16 are joined to packages 40, 42 and 44 respectively by the longitudinally extending perforation line 46. Thus, package 10 may be separated from the strip by tearing along perforation lines 46 and 14.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.

Claims

It is claimed:

1. A package comprising a carrier layer of polymeric plastic having a rigid pocket formed therein and spaced from the edges thereof, said carrier layer being sealed opposite the open end of said pocket to a laminate except for an unsealed zone adjacent one end of said carrier layer, said carrier layer being slit at said zone to define a tab only on said carrier layer with the ends of the slit being adjacent to but spaced from said one end of the carrier layer by unslit portions, said tab having a width which is narrower than the width of said carrier layer, said laminate including a layer of material having high resistance to tearing, said unsealed zone being between first and second heat seals between the laminate and the carrier layer, said second heat seal being at said one end and narrower than the width of the unsealed zone while having a width corresponding generally to the width of said unslit portions, access to said pocket being attained by removal of the tab to expose the part of the laminate therebelow and then peeling the laminate with respect to said carrier layer to expose said pocket.

2. A package in accordance with claim 1 wherein said slit is generally semicircular.

3. A package in accordance with claim 1 wherein said carrier layer is a clear polymeric plastic which is thicker than the laminate, said laminate layer having high resistance to tearing being sandwiched between a paper layer and a foil layer.

4. A package in accordance with claim 1 wherein the ends of said slit are closer to said one end than intermediate portions of said slit.

5. A package comprising a carrier layer of polymeric plastic having a rigid pocket formed therein and spaced from the edges thereof, said carrier layer being sealed opposite the open end of said pocket to a laminate except for an unsealed zone, said unsealed zone being spaced from said pocket and one end of said carrier layer but being adjacent to said one end of said carrier layer, said unsealed zone extending across the width of said carrier layer and laminate, only said carrier layer being slit at said zone to define a tab only on said carrier layer with the ends of the slit being adjacent to and spaced from said one end of the carrier layer by unslit portions of said carrier layer, said tab having a width which is narrower than the width of said carrier layer and being generally semicircular with the ends of the slit being closer to said one end of said carrier layer than intermediate portions of said slit, said laminate including means providing said laminate with high resistance to tearing so that access to the pocket is attained by tearing said unslit portions to facilitate removal of the tab to expose the part of the laminate therebelow and then peeling the laminate with respect to said carrier layer to expose an article in said pocket.

6. A package in accordance with claim 5 wherein said carrier layer is thicker than said laminate, said means being a layer of polymeric plastic material having high resistance to tearing disposed between a paper layer and a foil layer of said laminate.

7. A package in accordance with claim 5 wherein said carrier layer and laminate are sealed together by first and second heat seals spaced from one another by said unsealed zone.