Patent Application
20090301924
The application relates generally to blister packaging and more particularly to a child resistant blister package
Blister packages such as push-through blister cards are a predominant form of packaging for pharmaceutical products such as tablets, capsules and pills. The contents of such blister packages can be dispensed relatively easily, sometimes even by children, by ejecting the contents through the sealing film of the blisters, or, removing the sealing film by peeling or tearing depending on the type of blister card. The danger of unsupervised consumption of drugs is undisputed. Small children are particularly exposed to this risk especially when drugs are left lying around or are otherwise accessible to them. Further, the bright colors often used for the contents of such blister cards can be attractive to children and make the contents of the blister cards have a candy appearance.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide an improved blister package with increased child resistance.
In one aspect, there is provided a child resistant blister package comprising: a blister card having a plurality of blisters; and a housing for containing the blister card, the housing having an opening through which at least a portion of the blister card can be exposed to dispense contents from the blisters, the blister card and the housing comprising a releasable restraining mechanism having a plurality of locking positions corresponding to incremental level of withdrawal of the blister card from the housing, movement of the blister card from one locking position to a next locking position providing for sequential access to the blisters.
In a second aspect, there is provided a child resistant package for progressively dispensing content, the package comprising: a blister card having a plurality of blisters; and a housing for shielding the blisters on the blister card, the blister card and the housing being progressively movable relative to each other between a series of interlocking positions via a releasable restraining mechanism to sequentially position at least one blister of the blister card in a dispensing position.
In a third aspect, there is provided A method for sequentially dispensing contents from a child resistant package, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing a blister card having at least one portion that is shielded by and releasably restrained in a housing for sequential movement between a series of locking positions; b) releasing the blister card from a first locking position; c) displacing the blister card relative to the housing from the first locking position to a next locking position in which a portion of the blister card is exposed; and d) ejecting content from the exposed portion of the blister card.
Reference is now made to the accompanying figures, in which:
Referring now to
The blister card 12 is of conventional construction and comprises a plurality of blisters or containers which are illustrated schematically at 18. The contents of blisters 18 on blister cards 12 are typically used for packaging pharmaceutical products such as tablets, capsules, pills, ampoules but may also be used to for packaging other products such as candy, chewing gum, lozenges or other relatively small items which are not shown.
Referring to
During assembly of the blister package 10, the blister card 12 is simply inserted into the housing 14 by sliding the blister card 12 into the opening 16.
Once the blister card 12 has been fully inserted into the housing 14 as shown in
In order to dispense the contents of the blister card 12, the restraining mechanism must be released. The release mechanism is designed such as to provide access to only one blister 18 at a time, the blister position relative to the sleeve being locked each time a medicament or product is dispensed. Each bypass flap 28A-28J serves as a release mechanism associated to one particular blister 18 and comprises a frangible portion of the outer layer 22 of the top wall. The bypass flaps 28A-28J are outlined in the outer layer 22 of the top wall by tear lines which serve to weaken the outer layer 22 and facilitate piercing. The release mechanism is activated by sequentially depressing the bypass flaps 28A-28J to partially detach the bypass flaps 28A-28J from the outer layer 22 along the tear lines and thereby bending the bypass flaps 28A-28J into the housing 14. The process of depressing the bypass flaps 28A-28J is illustrated in
In order to initiate the progressive/sequential dispensing of the contents of the blister card 12, both bypass flaps 28A must first be depressed. This allows the blister card 12 to be partially pulled out of the housing opening 16 by one increment so as to expose the first blister 18 as shown in
The recesses 24A-24J are staggered along the sliding direction in order to serve as sequential stops at which the locking tabs 26 become engaged in order to restrict the exposure of the blister card 12. The blisters 18 of the blister card 12 are similarly axially staggered so that sliding of the blister card 12 in the housing 14 from one recess 24 to the next provides sequential access to one blister 18 at a time. Additional blisters 18 are progressively positioned in a dispensing position by sequentially depressing bypass flaps 28B-28J. Each bypass flap providing sequential access to a corresponding blister 18.
The restraining mechanism increases the child resistance of the blister package 10 by requiring an additional step for dispensing the contents of the blister card 12. Essentially, the blister package 10 is configured such that its dispensing requires a combination of sequential steps or procedures which must be understood and require coordination. The additional step of depressing the bypass flaps 28A-28J in sequential order for progressively dispensing the contents of each blister 18 may not be apparent or intuitive to a young child. The blister package 10 is therefore more child-resistant while remaining relatively easy to dispense by the elderly for example.
As shown in
It is apparent to one skilled in the art that the blister package 10 can be manufactured using conventional processes and suitable materials. For example, a blister card 12 of conventional construction can be used and the housing 14 can be made of a suitable paperboard such as those typically used for packaging such blister cards 12.
The above description is meant to be exemplary only, and one skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made to the embodiments described without departing from the scope of the invention disclosed. Even though two locking tabs are shown, it is apparent that the number of locking tabs 26 could be altered depending on the specific arrangement of the blisters 18 on the blister card 12 and the spacing between the stops. For example, a single locking tab 26 could be used for blister cards 12 having only one row of blisters. The spacing between recesses 24A-24J can be selected based on the desired amount of blister card 12 that is to be exposed between each stop. It is also apparent that the blister card 12 and the housing 14 could have a circular configuration wherein the blister card 12 and housing 14 would be mounted on a common axis of rotation, and, the recesses 24A-24J and associated bypass flaps 28A-28J would be circumferentially distributed about the axis of rotation. Still other modifications which fall within the scope of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, in light of a review of this disclosure, and such modifications are intended to fall within the appended claims.
