BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a conventional blister tray for use in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows, in cross section, one blister of a blister tray including a consumable product supported therein and a closure sheet placed thereover.
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the blister package assembly of the present invention showing variations of perforations through the blister sheet overlying the blister tray.
FIG. 4 is a further embodiment of the blister tray assembly of the present invention.
FIGS. 5-10 are schematic representations of various patterns which can be employed to provide rupturable locations in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention provides a blister package assembly for supporting a plurality of consumable products in sealed accommodation. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional blister tray 1 is shown. Blister tray 1 is a generally planar member formed of resilient plastic material such as PVC having an upper surface 2 and a plurality of depending blister compartments 3. Each blister compartment has an open end 4 and a cavity 5 extending therefrom for accommodating a wide variety of consumable products. In the present illustrative embodiment, the blister tray is preferably used in combination with confectionery products such as gum pieces 6.
The blister compartments may be arranged in any desirable array along the blister tray. The blister compartments are depressible and deformable so that pressure placed on the blister compartment will dispense the gum piece 6 through the open upper end 4.
In conventional fashion, a blister sheet 8 is placed over planar surface 2 to mutually enclose the open upper ends of the blister compartments. The prior art techniques for sealing blister trays includes the use of metal foil, such as aluminum foil, to seal the open upper end of the blisters. Foil sheet 8 provides the desired environmental protection to the gum pieces 6 supported within the blister compartments 3. In addition to providing the desired environmental seal, the aluminum foil sheet 8 is readily puncturable to dispense the gum piece 6 from the blister compartment 3.
While foil sheets serve adequately for their intended purpose, it has been found that certain disadvantages are inherent with the use of foil. For example, foil sheets are expensive to manufacture and apply to the blister tray. Also, rupturing the foil sheet can be noisy.
Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the present invention provides an improved blister package assembly wherein the foil sheet is replaced by a plastic film. The plastic film is more economical to manufacture and apply to the blister tray and eliminates the noise problem associated with rupturing the aluminum sheets. However, as plastic film is resilient and stretches, it is difficult to puncture and thereby dispense a gum piece therefrom.
It is contemplated that the plastic blister film may be formed from a wide variety of materials, such as polyester or polyethylene. The blister film may be a single layer or a composite layer of various materials.
FIG. 3 shows a blister package assembly 10 the present invention. Blister package assembly 10 includes a blister tray 12 and a resilient plastic blister sheet 14. Blister tray 12 may be conventional construction formed of plastic materials such as PVC. Blister tray 12 includes a planar upper blister surface 16 and a plurality of open ended depending blister compartments 18 arranged in a array therealong. A blister sheet 14 overlies the planar surface 16 of blister tray 12 to enclose and environmentally seal the contents (not shown) in the blister compartments 18. While one particular arrangement of the blister compartments is shown, it may be appreciated that other arrangements are possible. The contents (for example, gum pieces or pellets, see FIG. 2) may be arranged with one piece in each compartment 18. Also, multiple pieces may be placed in each compartment. Further, the pieces may be arranged in various orientations within the compartment.
As above noted the plastic blister sheet 14 is stretchable and thereby resists puncturing to dispense the product therethrough. Therefore, the present invention provides rupturable locations in registry with the open ends of the blister compartments 18. These rupturable locations 20 may be placed partially through the plastic blister sheet so as to weaken the sheet, thereby resulting in puncturing of the sheet thereat upon attempts to push the product therethrough.
With specific reference to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rupturable location 20 may be formed by a wide variety of techniques. Each of these techniques are designed to weaken the plastic film over the open ended compartments so that it punches rather than stretches when the product is pushed therethrough. For example, the rupturable locations 20 may be formed by placing perforations partially through the plastic blister sheet 14. In the alternative, the rupturable locations 14 may be formed by a laser cut placed partially through the blister sheet. Similarly, any type of scoring by mechanical means may be employed to form the rupturable locations partially through the plastic blister sheet. The rupturable locations formed by such techniques are placed only partially through the sheet so as to maintain the environmental and sealing capabilities of the blister sheet 14 placed over the blister tray 12. These rupturable locations are sufficiently deep so as to allow rupturable puncturing of the sheet upon pushing the product therethrough. While it is preferred that the rupturable locations extend only partially through the sheet, in certain instances where environmental sealing may not be necessary, the rupturable locations may extend fully therethrough.
As shown in FIG. 3, one technique for providing the rupturable locations 20 is to place score lines or perforations directly in overlying registry with the open ended blister compartments 18. If perforations are provided, it is preferred that the perforations extend only partially through the blister sheet. As shown in FIG. 3, the rupturable locations may take various form. For example, a pattern such as a X pattern 21 may be provided. Of course, other shaped patterns may also be employed. A score line or perforation line 22 may also be used. Similarly, a plurality of parallel or nonparallel lines 23 may be placed in the blister sheet. Other forms of the rupturable location may include rupturable dots or other shapes 23 randomly placed in overlying registry with the open end of the blister compartments 18.
As shown in FIG. 5, a variety of patterns for the rupturable locations may be employed. Also, these rupturable locations may be placed at various locations in overlying registry with the open ended compartments 18. These different locations may be oriented to make the product to be dispensed at a particular location, such as the center of the compartment, to reduce the chance of dropping during dispensing. Also, different patterns and locations of the rupturable locations may be placed in the same blister package.
It is within the contemplation of present invention to provide a rupturable location over the open ends of the blister compartments 18 which weakens the plastic film thereat. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to any particular shape or configuration of the rupturable locations. Moreover, the precise location may also vary.
Turning now to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the entire sheet 14 can be manufactured either prior to placement on the blister tray or after placement thereon with specifically aligned or randomly positioned rupturable locations 20. These rupturable locations preferably take the form of elongate score, cut or perforation lines 25 extending either transversely or longitudinally across the sheet 14 so as to overlie the open ended portions of the blister compartments 18.
In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the lines 25 extend over portions of the sheet not overlying the open ended blister compartments 18. This technique may be more cost effective from a manufacturing standpoint.
Still further patterns for placement of the rupturable locations on the blister sheet 14 is shown in FIGS. 5-10.
FIGS. 5 and 6 show various configurations for the rupturable locations 20. Each of these variations may be used uniformly for the entire set of blisters on one tray or may be varied within the same tray.
FIGS. 7-10 show various patterns for longitudinal lines of rupturable locations 20 on sheet 14. The lines run longitudinally along the length of the tray.
FIG. 10 shows a further variation where the lines of rupturable locations 20 extend diagonally across the sheet 14.
Various changes to the foregoing described and shown structures would now be evident to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the particularly disclosed scope of the invention is set forth in the following claims.
Patent Application
20080073240
