Patent Application
20170081101
Blister packaging for electronic consumer products is known in the art. Since electronic components are often small but expensive items, larger packaging for hanging from a peg or displayed in a similarly visible and accessible manner is used for advertising and sale, and to prevent easy theft (e.g., customers putting the items in their pockets or purse and leaving the store without paying for the items). Blister packaging typically involves vacuum forming a thermoplastic material, and placing the form inside a two-sheet paper or cardboard housing, such that the form extends through a display portal in one sheet, while a flat lip of thermoplastic material around the form remains trapped between the two sheets. The sheets are often made from one blank of material, which is folded over to have matching edges, and the edges glued or otherwise sealed to prevent access to the interior of the package. Often, the edges are compressed as well to add rigidity to the periphery of the package.
Such traditional blister packaging is less secure from tampering for several reasons. The lip of the thermoplastic material around the vacuum formed portion typically extends only slightly inward from the display portal, and pulling the form away from the display portal can result in the form dislodging from the package, releasing its contents. If a person bends the edge of the housing sufficiently to cause the edge of the cardboard to fray and separate, the housing can be opened to reach the contents of the package. Additionally, because the blister is open to the interior of the package, the sheet of cardboard opposite the display portal may be compromised, allowing direct access to the contents of the package.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a blister-type package that resists access to an electronic item or other asset contained therein. Another object of the invention is to provide a blister-type packaging that prevents the blister from dislodging through the display portal of the package. Another object of the invention, is to provide a blister-type package wherein the housing is reinforced to prevent bending the package. Another object of the invention is to provide blister-type package having soft and stretchable, but resilient and cut resistant characteristics to prevent unauthorized cutting into the edges or surfaces of the package. These and other objects of the invention are more fully disclosed in the following description and drawings.
A display package for securing an electronic consumer product includes a plastic blister for housing and displaying the electronic consumer product. The plastic blister is formed in a blister sheet. In addition to the plastic blister, the blister sheet has raised ridges at least partially surrounding the plastic blister. The package also includes a cut resistant sheet for overlapping the blister sheet and covering the back of the plastic blister and a housing for encasing the blister sheet and cut resistant sheet. The housing has an aperture through which the plastic blister protrudes and includes a peripheral edge for adhesively sealing the package. In one embodiment, the peripheral edge of the housing is compressed to remove air and impart tear resistance at least partially around the housing.
The plastic blister is preferably made from a transparent thermo-formable plastic, and the raised ridges may be contoured around the plastic blister. Preferably the raised ridges are disposed inward of a first peripheral area of the blister sheet, allowing it to remain flat. The cut resistant sheet includes a second peripheral area overlapping the first peripheral area of the blister sheet, and is made of a material with tear-resistant properties such as vinyl and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The housing is preferably made of corrugated cardboard.
The housing preferably also includes a fold line separating a first half and a complimentary second half which are glued together. In one alternative embodiment, the cut resistant sheet is glued to the peripheral edge of the housing. In another alternative embodiment, the blister sheet is glued to the peripheral edge of the housing. The assembled display package may also include a peg hole for suspending it on a display peg. In such an embodiment, the peg hole preferably extends through the blister sheet and the cut-resistant sheet to impart tamper resistance.
A method of manufacturing the secure blister package for an electronic consumer product includes providing a thermo-formable blister sheet, forming in the blister sheet a plastic blister suitable for housing the electronic consumer product, and forming raised ridges in the blister sheet at least partially surrounding the plastic blister. The cut resistant sheet is provided, sized for overlapping the blister sheet, and the housing is provided, including the first half, complimentary second half and aperture.
The blister sheet is placed on the first half, and the cut resistant sheet is placed on the second half. The plastic blister may be formed prior to, or during these assembly steps. The housing is then folded along the fold line to encase the cut resistant sheet and the blister sheet within the housing with the plastic blister protruding through the aperture. Preferably during this process, the first half and the complimentary second half are glued together.
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In addition to the housing 14 and blister sheet 22 in which the blister 12 is formed, the package 10 includes a cut resistant sheet 28. A second peripheral area 29 is located on the cut resistant sheet 28. The first peripheral area 23 of the blister sheet 22 and the second peripheral area 29 of the cut resistant sheet 28 may be located inward of the peripheral edge 36 of the housing 14 to enable clean glued sealing at the peripheral edge 36. In another preferred embodiment, the first peripheral area 23 of the blister sheet 22 and the second peripheral area 29 of the cut resistant sheet 28 may extend substantially up to the peripheral edge 26 of the housing 14. In yet another embodiment the blister sheet 22 may be slightly smaller than the cut resistant sheet to permit sealing the peripheral edge 26 of the housing 14 to the cut resistant sheet 28 while facilitating easy removal of the blister sheet 22 from the housing 14 for recycling. The peg hole 16 may extend through the blister sheet 22 and cut resistant sheet 28 in addition to the first half 17 and second half 19 of the housing 14.
The cut resistant sheet 28 is preferably a soft plastic stretchable and sealable material, such as vinyl or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) that makes cutting the cardboard of the housing 14 difficult, and prevents persons from peeling away a portion of the peripheral edge 26 of the housing 14 to open the package 10. In the embodiment wherein the peripheral edge 26 of the housing 14 is glued onto the cut resistant sheet 28, it may be also compressed to make the peripheral edge 26 rigid and enable to package 10 to be stacked in open-topped flats (not shown). When gluing and sealing the peripheral edge 26 of the package, an adhesive compatible with the cut resistant sheet 28 is preferably used. Compression at the peripheral edge also removes air and imparts tear resistance to the package 10.
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The cut resistant sheet 28 may be oriented to overlay the blister sheet 22 when the housing 14 is sealed, thereby providing a backing to the open side 30 of the blister 12 in addition to adding resilience to the peripheral edge. By extending across the blister sheet 22 and over the open side 30, the cut resistant sheet 28 prevents tampering from cutting into the side of the package10 at the peripheral edge 26, and also prevents puncturing the housing 14 on the side of the package 10 opposite the plastic blister 12 to reach the item held therein.
In order to construct the secure blister package 10, the thermo-formable blister sheet 22 is provided and formed to include the plastic blister 12 and raised ridges 24. The plastic blister 12 is preferably sized for housing the electronic consumer product, and the raised ridges 24 preferably at least partially surround the plastic blister 12. The cut resistant sheet 28 is also provided and may be sized for overlapping the blister sheet 22. The housing 14 having the first half 17, complimentary second half 19 and aperture 20 is also provided, with the fold line 15 between the first half 17 and complimentary second half 19.
The housing 14 is initially unfolded, with the blister sheet 22 placed on the first half 17, and the cut resistant sheet 28 placed on the complimentary second half 19. The plastic blister 12 and raised ridges 24 may be formed in the blister sheet 22 prior to, or during these assembly steps. The housing 14 is then folded along the fold line 15 to encase the cut resistant sheet 28 and the blister sheet 22 within the housing 14 with the plastic blister 12 protruding through the aperture 20. The first half 17 and the complimentary second half 19 are adhered together to seal the package 10. In various embodiments, the first peripheral area 23 of the blister sheet 22 and the second peripheral area 29 of the cut resistant sheet 28 may be glued to the housing 14 near the peripheral edge 26.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the Invention is sufficient in detail to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention. It is understood, however, that the detail of the preferred embodiment presented is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, in as much as equivalents thereof and other modifications which come within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this specification.
This application claims the benefit of the filing date of provisional application No. 62/221,532, filed on Sep. 21, 2015.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62221532 | Sep 2015 | US |
