U.S. patent number RE29,705 [Application Number 05/683,091] was granted by the patent office on 1978-07-18 for rupturable blister pill package with safety backing.
Invention is credited to Newton L. Compere.
United States Patent |
RE29,705 |
Compere |
July 18, 1978 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Rupturable blister pill package with safety backing
Abstract
A rupturable press-through blister type medicament or pill
package is "childproofed" by securing a strong flexible polymeric
backing sheet, such as polyethylene terephthalate, over the
rupturable sheet in such a manner that the pill cannot be forced
through the package unless the backing sheet is first peeled
off.
Inventors: |
Compere; Newton L. (Lake Bluff,
IL) |
Family
ID: |
23140990 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/683,091 |
Filed: |
May 4, 1976 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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Reissue of: |
296192 |
Oct 10, 1972 |
03809221 |
May 7, 1974 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
206/531; 206/469;
206/471; 206/484.2; 206/532; 206/538 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
75/327 (20130101); B65D 75/26 (20130101); B65D
2215/04 (20130101); B65D 2575/3236 (20130101); B65D
2575/3245 (20130101); B65D 2585/56 (20130101); Y10S
206/82 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
75/28 (20060101); B65D 75/34 (20060101); B65D
75/26 (20060101); B65D 083/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;206/530,531,532,538,539,443,461,467,469,471,484,498 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lowrance; George E.
Assistant Examiner: Bernstein; Bruce H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Anderson; Richard H.
Claims
What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent
of the United States is:
1. A protective childproof package comprising:
a first sheet having at least one flexible blister which forms a
compartment, said at least one blister being adapted to receive a
.Iadd.solid .Iaddend.medicament; said first sheet having a line of
weakening along one edge;
a second sheet of rupturable material .Iadd.coextensive with said
first sheet having no perforations above said compartment, and
.Iaddend.secured .Iadd.along its entire surface, except below said
blister, .Iaddend.to the first sheet, closing and sealing said
compartment formed by the blister in the first sheet; and having a
line of weakening along one edge so that when secured to the first
sheet, the line of weakening in said first and second sheets are on
the same edge of the package; and
a third imperforate sheet .Iadd.coextensive with said second sheet
and .Iaddend.sealably secured .Iadd.along its entire surface
.Iaddend.to the second sheet which third sheet has sufficient
strength so that it can neither be ruptured nor forced out of
engagement with the second sheet when force is applied to the
medicament from the blister side of the package.
2. A protective childproof package as defined in claim 1 wherein
the second sheet is a metal foil.
3. A protective childproof package as defined in claim 1 wherein
the second sheet is paper.
4. A protective childproof package as defined in claim 1 wherein
the first sheet is polystyrene.
5. A protective childproof package as defined in claim 1 wherein
the first sheet is polyvinyl chloride.
6. A protective childproof package as defined in claim 1 wherein
the third sheet is polyethylene terephthalate.
7. A protective childproof package as defined in claim 1 wherein
the line of weakening in the first and second sheets are a line of
intermittent perforations in said sheets.
8. A protective childproof package as defined in claim 1 wherein
the line of weakening in the first and second sheets are a line of
thinness in both the first and second sheets.
9. A protective childproof package as defined in claim 1 wherein
the third sheet is secured to the second sheet by heat-sealing.
10. A protective childproof package as defined in claim 7 wherein
the third sheet can be peeled from the second sheet after severing
the first and second sheets along the line of weakening. .Iadd. 11.
A protective childproof package comprising:
a first sheet having at least one flexible blister which forms a
compartment, said at least one blister being adapted to receive a
solid medicament;
a second sheet comprising a rupturable material, secured to the
first sheet and having no perforations above said compartment,
closing and sealing said compartment formed by the blister in the
first sheet; .Iaddend.
a third sheet coextensive with said second sheet and sealably
secured along its entire surface to the second sheet, which third
sheet has sufficient strength so that it can neither be ruptured
nor forced out of engagement with the second sheet when force is
applied to said medicament from the blister side of the package;
and
means for removing said third sheet so that the medicament can be
removed from the package. .Iadd. 12. A protective childproof
package as defined in claim 11 further including
a line of weakening in said first sheet such that when said first
sheet is severed along said line of weakening, said third sheet can
be grasped separately from said first sheet for removal of said
third sheet. .Iaddend..Iadd. 13. A protective childproof package as
defined in claim 12 further including a line of weakening in said
second sheet. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 14. A protective childproof package
comprising:
a first sheet having at least one flexible blister which forms a
compartment, said at least one blister being adapted to receive a
solid medicament; said first sheet having a line of weakening along
one edge;
a second sheet of rupturable material, coextensive with said first
sheet and having no perforations above said compartment, and
secured along its entire surface, except below said blister, to the
first sheet, closing and sealing said compartment formed by the
blister in the first sheet; and having a line of weakening along
one edge so that when secured to the first sheet, the line of
weakening in said first and second sheets are on the same edge of
the package; and
a third sheet coextensive with said second sheet and sealably
secured along its entire surface to the second sheet which third
sheet has sufficient strength so that it can neither be ruptured
nor forced out of engagement with the second sheet when force is
applied to said medicament from the blister side of the package.
.Iaddend..Iadd. 15. A protective childproof package comprising:
a first sheet having at least one flexible blister which forms a
compartment, said at least one blister being adapted to receive a
solid medicament;
a second sheet comprising a rupturable material, coextensive with
said first sheet and having no perforations above said compartment,
and secured to the first sheet, closing and sealing said
compartment formed by the blister in the first sheet;
a third sheet coextensive with said second sheet and sealably
secured along its entire surface to the second sheet, which third
sheet has sufficient strength so that it can neither be ruptured
nor forced out of engagement with the second sheet when force is
applied to said medicament from the blister side of the package;
and
means for obtaining access to said third sheet such that said third
sheet can be grasped separately from said first sheet for removal
of said third sheet from the package. .Iaddend.
Description
The present invention relates to a safety blister-type package for
enclosing medication or pills. One of the problems which faces
today's parents is in keeping medication or pills beyond the reach
of their children. Children do not have the ability to recognize
the risk involved in consuming unprescribed medication. Because of
this fact, there is an urgent need for a package from which pills
are readily accessible to the adult, but not accessible to the
child.
One object of the present invention is to provide a "childproof"
pill package which can be easily opened by one who has been given
instructions on how to do so, but cannot be opened by the
uninstructed child.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pill
package which, when opened, makes only one dosage of pills
accessible to the user, which dosage, of course, is less than a
lethal dosage.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pill
package in which any desired number of pills can be made accessible
upon opening.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pill or
medication dispensing package in which each pill or dosage of
medication is almost entirely visible to the user.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pill
package in which one pill or one dosage of pills can be removed
from the package while the remaining pills are maintained in an
air-tight enclosure.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pill
package in which the use of cumbersome bottles is not required.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pill
package in which each individual pill can be separately packaged so
that the desired dosage can be carried by the user without the
necessity of carrying excess pills.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pill
package which requires additional package opening to remove each
additional pill.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a safety pill
package which the child cannot open without the aid of tools.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pill
package in which opening of the package makes accessible a less
than dangerous number of units of medication. The number of units
exposed upon each opening of the package can be varied depending
upon the toxicity of the packaged medication.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Press-through packs or blister packs are commonly used today to
package units of medication or pills for oral ingestion. The
press-through package is made up of a first sheet, typically a
clear, preformed polyvinyl chloride or polystyrene with flexible
bubbles which form separate compartments for one or more pills; and
a second rupturable sheet material, like an aluminum, foil or paper
sheet, which has been attached to the first sheet. The metal foil
is attached by heat-sealing, solvent welding, gluing, or otherwise
adhering the foil sheet to the blister sheet. The tablet is removed
from the blister compartments by pressing on the flexible blister
which in turn presses the tablet against the foil, rupturing the
foil, and ejecting the tablet.
It is sometimes desirable in making such a press-through package to
include between the first and second sheets a rigid tray in which
there are holes which coincide with the blisters in said first
sheet. The rigid tray is used to protect the pills from
contamination and mechanical damage and may contain printed
instructions as to the type of pill or the time a particular dosage
is to be taken and with an indication of the dosage that has
already been taken.
The recent trend in the packaging of medication has been to provide
packages which will be safe, even if found by children. Most
developments in the "childproofing" line have been directed to the
improvement in pill bottles. In this regard, safety caps have been
devised which require a certain series of pushes and turns in order
to open the bottle. However, there has been little development in
the area of "childproofed" press-type blister packages with which
this invention is concerned.
PRIOR ART
Prior art packages which have used more than one backing layer on a
press-through blister-type package have not used a layer of backing
material which cannot be ruptured. The prior art backing layers
which have been used to cover the rupturable layer have been made
from paper or foil and may have been scored or weakened so that all
backing layers can be ruptured prior to pressing a pill through the
package. These additional prior art backing layers have been used
for the purpose of providing printed information on the back of the
pill package and for additional sealing engagement to protect the
pills from the environment. For example, see the following patents:
Nagy-U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,493; Osborn-U.S. Pat. No. 3,621,992;
Sorensen-U.S. Pat. No. 2,317,860; and Heller-U.S. Pat. No.
3,387,699. In each of these patents the multiple backing layers
used on the blister or press-through type pill package can be
easily ruptured or peeled away and are not strong enough to provide
"childproofing".
One attempt at "childproofing", a blister-type pill package, can be
seen in the Helstrom U.S. Pat. No. 3,472,368. In this patent, there
is no second backing member which is peeled away to expose the
rupturable layer as will be disclosed in describing the present
invention. This package is supposedly "childproofed" simply by
providing a rupturable sheet which is very difficultly ruptured.
The Helstrom patent, therefore, relies on the child's weakness as
the necessary element to prevent him from opening the package.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was developed with the idea of providing a
pill package which requires knowledge of the package opening
procedure rather than a minimum amount of strength for opening said
package. The person who is likely to be taking pills is not
generally in a very strong physical condition. Quite often, the
strength of a child is greater than the strength of the person who
is ill and most likely to be taking pills. Because of this fact,
this invention was developed to provide a pill package which can be
opened by the instructed adult who may have no more strength than
the average child. The child who is uninstructed on the opening of
the herein disclosed package will not be able to reach the package
contents. The present invention, therefore, relies on the superior
knowledge of the adult rather than his superior strength in order
to make a package which is easily opened by the adult but cannot be
opened by the child.
The present invention is concerned with a safety press-type blister
package which is similar to the common blister package, but which
has a sheet or film of a strong flexible polymer which covers the
rupturable sheet. The strong flexible polymeric backing sheet is
secured to the back of the package over the rupturable sheet in
such a manner that when secured, the backing sheet is not pushed
away from the foil when pressure is put on the blister-side of the
pill package in an attempt to push the pill through the package. In
other words, for the user to be able to push a pill through the
rupturable sheet, the strong plastic backing sheet must first be
removed. So long as the required adherence is obtained, the strong
backing sheet can be secured to the rupturable sheet side of the
blister packet by heat sealing, solvent welding, gluing or
otherwise adhering the two sheets together. A preferred method is
by heat-sealing.
In heat-sealing, the strong plastic backing sheet can be secured to
the rupturable sheet at the same time as the first or blister sheet
is heat sealed thereto. After securing the three sheets together,
the plastic backing sheet cannot be forced to disengage the
rupturable sheet by applying pressure on the pill from the
blisterside of the packet. However, the strong plastic backing
sheet can readily be peeled from the back of the package so that
the rupturable sheet is exposed. Once the rupturable sheet is
exposed, the user can easily gain access to the package contents by
putting pressure on the pill from the blister side of the package
and thereby forcing the pill through the rupturable sheet. The
plastic backing sheet, therefore, cannot be sealed to the
rupturable sheet in such a manner that the average user will not be
able to peel it from the back of the package. Further, the seal
must be strong enough so that when pressure is applied to the
blister, the flexible polymeric backing sheet remains in contact
with the rupturable sheet. Further, the polymeric backing sheet
must be strong enough so that with the polymeric backing sheet
engaged, a pill cannot be forced through the package by putting
pressure on the pill from the blister side of said package.
A strong plastic which has been found particularly effective when
heat-sealed to the back of a common press-through pill package is
polyethylene terephthalate. However, any plastic with strength
sufficient to prevent a pill from being hand-forced therethrough
can be used for this purpose.
A weakened severance line is provided across any edge of the
package (top, bottom or either side). The weakened severance line
is made in both the blister sheet and the rupturable sheet but does
not affect the backing sheet.
The weakened severance line is provided by making a perforated
score line, thinner portion, or the like, which extends across any
edge of the package. This weakened severance line extends through
both the blister sheet and rupturable sheet so that when the
package is angulated or flexed (FIG. 2) at the line of weakening,
the forces cause the blister sheet and rupturable sheet to be
severed at the line of weakening. The line of weakening in both the
blister sheet and the rupturable sheet are preferably aligned so
that severance of each sheet occurs by angulating the package along
only one line. The severed blister and rupturable sheets, however,
are still bonded to the backing sheet and together with said
backing sheet, act as a tab (see FIG. 3, number 18) for peeling the
backing sheet from the package.
The weakened severance line is preferably positioned along a
shorter edge of the package so that when the backing sheet is
peeled, the rupturable sheet is exposed at the back of only one
blister at a time (see FIG. 3). Taking into account the persistence
and endurance of a child who has made up his mind to open the
package, the weakened severance lines can be made severable only by
a series of angular back-and-forth flexing at said severance lines.
In this regard, only a few short perforations need be made to
create severability for the instructed adult. Further, rather than
a line of intermittent perforations, only a crushing force need be
applied to create a line of weakening in that the blister sheet and
rupturable sheet will be made thinner along the line of crushing.
The crushing force will cause a decrease in strength of the blister
and rupturable strength so that severance will occur with
back-and-forth angular flexing at said severance line. Of course,
the smaller the weakening effect along the severance line, the
safer the package and the more difficult the package will be for
the adult to open. It is within the skill of the art to create a
severance line in accordance with the above disclosure which makes
the package prohibitively difficult for the uninstructed child to
open, but is not unduly burdensome for the adult to open.
Given instructions on how to peel off the backing sheet, the user
can then flex or bend the top edge of the package along the line of
weakening so that the blister sheet and rupturable sheet becomes
severed along the weakened severance line. By grasping this
separated tab or edge of the package and tearing downward parallel
to the back-side of the package, the user can peel off the strong
flexible polymeric backing sheet and thereby expose the rupturable
sheet. The rupturable sheet can then be penetrated by applying
force to the blister side of the package, and forcing the pill
therethrough.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 describes the finished pill package arranged with three
individual tear off packets each containing four pills. Of course,
any arrangement can be made containing the desired number of pills,
or each pill can be individually packaged. Each blister 1 can be
shaped to conform to the shape of the particular medicament or pill
which is placed therein. The severance lines 2 between each pill
packet 3, are easily torn and are provided for convenience, for
example, to provide packets containing a daily requirement of four
pills. Each packet has a weakened severance line 4 in both a
blister sheet 5 and a rupturable sheet 6 but not in a backing sheet
7.
FIG. 2 describes the blister pill packet of FIG. 1 which has been
torn from the overall package. The edge of the packet having the
line of weakening has been angulated or flexed to sever the blister
sheet 15 and the rupturable sheet 16 along the line of severance to
create a tab 18 which is used to peel the backing sheet 17 from the
packet and expose the rupturable sheet 16. Once the rupturable
sheet has been exposed by peeling the backing sheet away from the
package, the medicament or pill contained within the blister can be
forced through rupturable sheet 16 by applying pressure to the top
of the flexible blister 11.
FIG. 3 describes a pill packet in which the safety backing sheet 17
is being peeled from the package in accordance with directions
furnished to the adult. Tab 18 which results from severance of the
blister sheet 15 and rupturable sheet 16 along the line of
weakening 14 is composed of all three sheets 15, 16, and 17 sealed
together. This tab 18 is convenient for getting a good grip on
safety backing sheet 17 for peeling sheet 17 from the back of the
package.
FIG. 4 shows a cross-section of the package shown at FIG. 1 cut
across reference line 4--4 through the blister 11 of one of the
packets 13 showing the backing sheet 17, the rupturable sheet 16,
and the blister sheet 15 sealed together. In this figure, the line
of weakening 14 can be readily seen. As shown, the line of
weakening does not completely penetrate the blister sheet, but as
mentioned, a line of intermittant cuts can be provided through both
the blister sheet 15 and the rupturable sheet 16. This is usually
done after the rupturable sheet and blister sheet have been
partially sealed together and before the backing sheet is put on
and the entire package completely sealed.
The package as described herein complies with standards of the
Poison Prevention Packaging Act, 21, CFR 295.1, which describes the
test procedures in which the packages are given to children for a
given period of time to determine accessibility of the packaging
contents.
It should be understood that it is also possible to provide
printing on the foil or backing sheet which contains any desired
information such as a description of the item contained within the
blister, and numbers or dates for sequential dosages. In this
regard, the package can be calendarized as commonly seen in oral
contraceptive packages and in fact can be used to package oral
contraceptives. Of course, the package need not be in a rectangular
form as shown in the drawings. The package can be circular having
severance lines between individual pill packets which extend from
the center of the circular package forming pie-shaped individual
packets containing as many items as desired. In this manner, any
desired shape can be used with severance lines between individual
packets placed to give individual packets containing as many items
as desired.
While the present invention has been described with reference to a
medicament or pill, it can also be used to make a child-resistant
package for capsules, tablets, troches, suppositories, etc.
* * * * *