EP3322647B1 - Blister packaging and method for removing a product from the blister packaging - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a blister pack with a blister hood and a blister card, wherein the blister hood and the blister card enclose a product chamber for receiving a product. In addition, the invention relates to a method for removing a product from the blister pack.

For example, is from the EP 0 903 405 A2 discloses such a blister pack for multiple products in the form of dishwashing tablets. For each dishwasher tablet, a product chamber is provided. The blister hood of a product chamber has an edge which rests on the blister card.

The edge of the blister cap and the blister card are sealed together to separate the product chamber from the environment. The blister pack thus has a protective function to protect the product from environmental influences or the environment from the product. At the same time, however, it must also be ensured that a consumer of the product simply allows the blister packaging to be opened.

A blister pack is known, in which the blister card is formed from a cardboard which is provided on one side with a sealable coating. The carton is usually, but not necessarily, the supporting element of the blister pack. After filling the product chamber with the product, the edge of the blister cap is sealed with the coated carton to close the product chamber. The subsequent opening of the product chamber can be done by tearing off the blister hood. Another possibility is to press the product against the blister card by pressing on the blister cap until it tears. In order to simplify or facilitate tearing, it is known to provide the blister card in the region of the product chamber with a weakening line, for example in the form of a perforation. The disadvantage here is that the barrier effect of the blister card is greatly reduced by the perforation. For example, water vapor and oxygen can enter the product chamber. Even with a blister pack in which the perforation delimits a finger hole in the area of the product chamber which is to be pushed in order to remove the product, the same problems arise due to the perforation.

Instead of the carton can be used for the blister card and a sealing film, which is deducted for the removal of the product of the edge of the blister cap. The barrier effect of the sealing film is greatly improved compared to the solution of the perforated cardboard, but there is a risk that in a blister pack with several adjacent blister hoods when removing the sealing film to open a product chamber an adjacent Instead of the carton can be used for the blister card and a sealing film, which is deducted for the removal of the product of the edge of the blister cap. The barrier effect of the sealing film is greatly improved compared to the solution of the perforated cardboard, but there is a risk that in a blister pack with several adjacent blister covers when removing the sealing film to open a product chamber an adjacent product chamber is accidentally mitöfföff. In addition, a considerable amount of force is sometimes necessary to separate the sealing film from the blister hood.

In the pharmaceutical field, a blister pack with several product compartments and an aluminum-based sealing foil is very widespread, which has very good barrier properties and very low resistance to breakage or tearing. By pressing on the blister hood and thus the product, the sealing film is torn. The product must have a certain dimensional stability, as it must transfer the pressure from the blister cap on the sealing film. Aluminum-based films are comparatively expensive and controversial for various environmental aspects.

The invention is therefore based on the object to provide a blister, which can be produced in a resource-friendly, the protective effect of the product is high and can be opened easily.

The object underlying the invention is achieved with the feature combination according to claim 1. Preferred embodiments may be taken from the subclaims to claim 1.

According to the invention it is provided that the edge of the blister cap rests with an inner support surface and with an outer support surface on the blister card, wherein the line of weakness between the inner support surface and the outer support surface is arranged. Alternatively, the weakening line can also be arranged below the inner support surface. The inventive arrangement of the weakening line does not provide a direct connection or a direct proximity to the product chamber, as is the case in the prior art. Due to the inner bearing surface, the weakening line is at least spatially separated from the product chamber. As a result, the barrier effect is not or only slightly affected by the line of weakness.

The blister card is a substantially flat element, the dimensions of which extend in one plane being significantly greater than a thickness of the blister card, that is to say substantially larger than an extent perpendicular to said plane. The blister card does not necessarily have to be stiff or rigid. Also, the blister card may extend in a curved plane.

From the US3942640A shows a fast-opening blister packaging, which consists of a base member and a circumferentially mounted on the base element, blistered containment element. The base member is substantially frangible along a plane contained therein, and first and second rows of scribe lines extending at least partially around the periphery of the blister are cut into the base member substantially to the depth of the fragility plane. The blister is attached to the base part in the area defined by the row of scribe lines.

The US5325968A shows a sheet with depressions capable of holding at least one tablet, each well comprising a well and having a perimeter. A lid seals the sheet around the periphery of each recess and is divided by perforations into discrete subdivisions so that each subdivision contains one of the indentations and has a predetermined width and length. An adhesive layer bonds the film to the cover around the perimeter of each of the recesses where the cover completely seals the recesses.

From the US4294361A discloses a blister strip package having two coextensive sheets of heat-sealable material provided with a first row of single cavities to receive a product to be dispensed in one of the sheets. The first row of cavities is aligned laterally with a corresponding, opposite row of equal numbers of second cavities in the same sheet, the cavity-carrying sheet being heat-sealed to the other sheet except in the areas defined by the cavities, also in areas remote from the cavities second cavities are spaced and adjacent to weakened lines to interrupt the cover.

The blister pack according to the invention is a blister pack, in which the product can be removed by manually pressing the blister hood and pushing through the blister card.

For the sake of simplicity, the information on top, bottom, side and resulting information (such as top side, underside) is referred to below in the blister packaging. The blister card should extend in a horizontal plane. The blister cap rests with its edge on an upper side of the blister card. The product chamber is thus located above the blister card and is bounded from above by the blister hood.

The arrangement or sequence according to the invention in the first variant (inner bearing surface, weakening line and then the outer bearing surface) refers to the lateral direction. In the other variant, the weakening line lies correspondingly below the inner bearing surface. The terms "inner" and "outer" bearing surface refer to the product chamber. Thus, the inner bearing surface is always closer to the product chamber than the outer bearing surface.

For example, the blister card may be rectangular (which should basically include rounded corners of the rectangle). A length of the blister card and a width of the blister card are in one embodiment at least a factor of 20 or 40 greater than the material thickness of the blister card. For example, the thickness or material thickness of the blister card is less than 2.5 mm, preferably less than 0.7 mm.

In one exemplary embodiment, sealing means and / or holding means (in the following summarized for simplicity: sealing means), by means of which the edge of the blister cap is connected to the blister card, are provided exclusively on the outer bearing surface. The support of the inner support surface on the blister card is thus free of sealants. The sealants may be, for example, an adhesive strip (adhesive bead) which is applied to the blister card. The adhesive strip is then in finished blister pack between the blister card and the outer bearing surface of the edge of the blister hood. In this case, the outer bearing surface would not rest directly but indirectly over the adhesive strip on the blister card.

The sealants need not necessarily comprise an additional material (such as the adhesive strip in the above example). It is also possible that the sealants are produced by heat or pressure from the materials of the blister card (including any coatings such as sealing wax) and blister cap. An example of this is the thermal sealing of the blister hood with the blister card without additional material input.

The fact that the inner bearing surface rests without sealant on the blister card, no direct holding force between the support surface and blister card must be overcome to separate the blister card from the edge of the blister hood. A separation of blister card and blister hood, one sees from the connection between the outer support surface and blister card once and refers only to the inner support surface, can be done with significantly reduced effort, since the force required to remove the product (pushing the product) completely in the deformation of the blister cap and in the breaking of the line of weakness can flow.

The outer bearing surface and the inner bearing surface of the edge of the blister hood can lie in different planes. For example, such a small height difference can be compensated, which is due to the provision of the adhesive strip, to glue the outer bearing surface with the blister card. Thus, the plane in which the outer bearing surface is located may be slightly further away from the plane of the blister card than the plane of the inner bearing surface. The outer bearing surface is thus slightly increased relative to the inner bearing surface. It is preferred that the blister card is substantially flat. Also provided, but less preferred, is that, like the plane of the blister card, the planes of the support surfaces may also be curved or curved and conform to the blister card accordingly.

In one embodiment, a bias is given which presses the inner bearing surface against the blister card. Thus, there is a pressure between the inner support surface and the blister card. Said bias or said pressure can be generated, for example, that the height difference of the inner support surface and outer support surface is dimensioned so that the inner contact surface is more or less pressed into the material of the blister card in the fixed connection of blister card and outer support surface. This creates a good barrier between the product chamber and the weakening line. Assuming the inner bearing surface of a line or an elongated strip, the bias can be 1 to 10 N (2 to 8 N) per cm in the longitudinal direction. In addition, the pressing is facilitated, since the force is better transmitted to the blister on the (non-adhesive) inner bearing surface on the blister card when printing on the blister.

The inner bearing surface and the outer bearing surface may be spaced apart from each other, so that there is a cavity between the bearing surfaces. The cavity is thus bounded laterally by the support surfaces, down through the blister card and up through the blister hood, the edge does not rest on the blister card in the area between the inner and outer bearing surface. But it is also possible that the inner bearing surface and the outer bearing surface are located directly next to each other without a gap. Thus, the outer bearing surface could be considered as the region of the edge of the blister cap sealed to the blister card, for example. The unsealed area of the rim of the blister card Blister cap then corresponds to the inner bearing surface, then according to a variant of the invention, the weakening line would be arranged under this inner bearing surface.

In one embodiment, the inner support surface runs completely around the product chamber. If, for example, the product chamber has a circular cross-section in plan view, the inner bearing surface forms a preferably concentric circle whose diameter is greater than the diameter of the circular product chamber. Also, the outer bearing surface can completely rotate around the product chamber, so as to completely close the product chamber with the sealing means to be provided. The circle of the outer bearing surface is larger in diameter than the circle of the inner bearing surface.

In a further embodiment, the inner support surface is not completely free of sealants. The sealants are only selectively or partially provided. Although this results in a certain holding force between inner bearing surface and blister card to be overcome when removing the product, the barrier effect between the inner bearing surface and blister card can be adjusted by this measure.

Depending on the shape of the blister hood or the product chamber, the inner bearing surface can have any shape (rectangular, with rounded edges to be encompassed, polygonal, elliptical, etc.). The width of the inner support surface transversely to the longitudinal extent of the support surface may vary in the longitudinal direction. The outer bearing surface can be designed accordingly.

The weakening line may be a circumferential line, for example a circle, polygonal or an ellipse. But it can also be just a straight line, an arc with start and end point, or an angle, which consists of two lines that form a common corner.

For example, the weakening line may be formed as a perforation line. The perforation line may have material recesses which extend over only a part of the material thickness of the blister card. For example, it is possible that the material recesses extend from an underside of the blister card up to about the middle of the blister card. Alternatively or additionally, it is possible that the material recesses attach from the top of the blister card and then extend down into the material of the blister card. The material recesses can thus cover 100% of the material thickness of the blister card or, for example, only 20 to 80% or 30 to 70%. Additionally or alternatively, the material may be punched or scratched, whereby no recess, but a weakening arises (thin spot).

The blister card can comprise a fibrous carrier material which can be provided with a sealing medium on a side (upper side) facing the blister hood. The sealing medium For example, it may be a sealing wax or a plastic film laminated to the fibrous material such as paperboard.

The blister pack may have a single product chamber or a plurality of product chambers arranged side by side. In the multi-chamber solution, one edge of the blister hood of a first product chamber can merge integrally into the edge of the blister hood of a second, adjacent to the first product chamber. In this embodiment, the composite blister hoods can also assume a supporting function. In one embodiment, the blister hoods adjacent product chambers are separated from each other.

Another object of the invention, the provision of a simple method for removing a product from a blister pack according to the above, is achieved by the feature combination according to claim 10. According to the invention, when using a blister pack according to the above description, at least part of a compressive force acting on the blister hood is directed substantially perpendicular to the blister card and causes the blister card to tear at the line of weakness over the inner contact surface on the blister card Blister card is headed. Thus, pressure is applied to the blister card via the inner support surface in an area that is located on the side of the product chamber relative to the line of weakness. Thus, the proportion of the compressive force acting on the product from the blister cap, which then presses against the blister card, formed correspondingly smaller. This opens up the possibility of making the product, which is preferably a washing machine tablet or dishwashing tablet, more versatile, since it has to withstand less pressure.

For example, such a dishwasher tablet could be used, which consists of only loosely compressed granules. Such a tablet, when removed from a conventional blister pack in which the tearing of the blister card requires the pressure on the blister cap to be completely transferred from the tablet, would possibly crumble. It would also be possible to use multicomponent products in the blister packaging according to the invention in which at least one component is pressure-sensitive. For example, a component is a gel.

In one embodiment, at least a third or half of the compressive force is directed to the blister card via the inner support surface. In the latter case, this means that the product in the product chamber is relieved by at least 50% in the removal from the case in which the pressure force on the blister cap is completely transferred from the product to the blister card.

Figur 1

eine Blisterverpackung mit einem Produkt in der Draufsicht; und

Figur 2

die Blisterverpackung der Figur 1 im Schnitt entlang der Linie A-A in der Figur 1; und

Figur 3

die Blisterverpackung in der Darstellung gemäß Figur 2 mit einem Kraftfluss bei der Entnahme

Reference to the embodiment shown in the drawing, the invention is explained in detail. Show it:

FIG. 1

a blister pack with a product in plan view; and

FIG. 2

the blister of the FIG. 1 in section along the line AA in the FIG. 1 ; and

FIG. 3

the blister pack in the illustration according to FIG. 2 with a power flow during the removal

The Figures 1 and 2 show a blister pack, which is designated in its entirety by 1. The blister pack 1 comprises a flat blister card 10 and a blister hood 20. The blister card 10 and the blister hood 20 enclose or form a product chamber 2 for a product 3, here in the form of a cuboid tablet. In the embodiment shown here, the dimensions of the tablet should be 3 to 5 cm (length) x 2 to 4 cm (width) x 1 to 3 cm (height).

The blister card 10 has a rectangular, provided with rounded corners line of weakness 11 in the form of a perforation line. The weakening line 11 lies below an edge 21 of the blister cap 20 (see in particular FIG FIG. 2 ). The edge 21 rests on the blister card 10 with an inner bearing surface 22 and an outer bearing surface 23. Between the outer bearing surface 23 and the blister card 10 sealing means and / or holding means 4 (hereinafter: sealant) are provided. That is, the outer support surface 23 rests only indirectly on the blister card 10. The sealing means have the task, on the one hand to provide a firm connection between blister cap 20 and blister card 10 and on the other hand to protect the product chamber 2 with the product 3 therein against environmental influences such as moisture.

Again FIG. 2 can be seen, is in the illustrated embodiment, the outer edge 23 in a plane that is slightly spaced from the plane of the blister card 10. A small cavity 5 remains above the weakening line or the perforation line 11 between the sealing means 4 and the inner bearing surface 22. It can be seen that a spatial separation between the cavity 5 and the product chamber 2 is given by the support of the inner bearing surface 22 on the blister card 10 , As a result, although the inner bearing surface 22 is free of sealing means, the barrier effect of the blister card 10 is little or not affected by the weakening line 11. A gas or moisture entering the cavity 5 through the perforation line 11 does not or does not readily enter the product chamber 2. This differs from the prior art where the line of weakness 11 in the blister card 10 is direct located below product chamber 2. Compared to the prior art, the weakening of the barrier effect can thus be avoided or reduced by providing the weakening line 11.

Again FIG. 1 can be removed, run the sealing means 4 with the outer bearing surface in the form of a rectangle with a closed circumference around the product chamber 2 around. This applies mutatis mutandis to the weakening line 11 and the inner bearing surface 22nd

FIG. 3 which on FIG. 2 touches, is to show schematically the forces acting on the blister pack 1, if by a vertical pressure force F on the blister 20 from above the product 3 is to be pressed out of the product chamber 2. It is assumed that the blister cap 20 is a comparatively rigid component. In this case, the pressure force F is passed over the hood cover 24 completely on the side walls 25 of the blister cap 20. Correspondingly, the compressive force F divides in half on a left section 22 _{l of} the inner bearing surface and a right section 22 _{r of} the bearing surface 22 (disregarding the vertical sections of the bearing surface 22, which remain in FIG FIG. 3 not shown).

It is appreciated that the leads at the respective portions 22 _l, 22 _r forces F / 2 in conjunction with corresponding counter-forces F ^l / 2 to a shear stress at the line of weakness. 11 The weakening line 11 breaks accordingly when the pressing force F is sufficiently high. Thereafter, the product 3 can be removed through the then resulting opening in the blister card 10. In the example described here, the product 3 remains practically completely free from compressive stresses or other voltage peaks. It should also be noted that when removing the product 3 no holding forces must be overcome in order to separate the connection between the inner support surface 22 and blister card 10 (it is a mere edition without any sealant).

If it is assumed that the blister cap 20 has only a certain rigidity and the hood cover 24 yields when pressurized, a certain proportion of the pressure force F is passed over the product 3 on the blister card 10, which then also leads to heavy stresses in the line of weakness 11. But even here, the product 3 does not have to absorb the entire compressive force, because - depending on the hood lid 25 and side walls 25 - at least a small proportion of the pressure force flows through the structure of the blister cover 20.

Finally, the case is also sketched that the blister cap 20, at least in the region of the hood cover 24 and the side walls 25, has only a very small rigidity. In this case, almost the entire pressure force is passed over the product 3 on the blister card 10. With regard to the pressure load for the product, this would mean no disadvantage compared with the prior art, since here too the entire pressure force F must be absorbed by the product 3 to open the product chamber 3. But there remains the advantage that the barrier effect of the blister card 10 is substantially less or not affected by the inventive arrangement of the weakening line 11 (separate from the product chamber 3, separated by the inner support surface 22).

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

blister

2

product chamber

3

product

4

Sealants and / or holding agents (sealants)

5

cavity

10

blister

11

Weakening line, perforation line

20

blister

21

edge

22

inner bearing surface 22 _l , 22 _r portions of the inner bearing surface 22nd

23

outer bearing surface

24

Haubendeckel

25

Side wall

Claims (11)

1. A blister pack (1) having a blister cover (20) and a blister card (10), the blister cover (20) and the blister card (10) enclosing a product chamber for accommodating a product (3), the blister cover (20) having an edge (21) which is in contact with the blister card (10) and is connected to the blister card (10), a weakening line (11) being provided in the blister card (10) in order to make it easier to remove the product (3) from the product chamber (2), the edge (4) of the blister cover (20) being in contact with the blister card (10) by means of an inner contact surface (22) and an outer contact surface (23) and the weakening line (11) being arranged between the inner contact surface (22) and the outer contact surface (23) or under the inner contact surface (22), characterized in that the contact of the inner contact surface (22) with the blister card (10) is free of sealing means and/or holding means.
2. The blister pack (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer contact surface (23) and the inner contact surface (22) of the edge (4) are in different planes.
3. The blister pack (1) according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that a preload is produced which presses the inner contact surface (22) against the blister card (10).
4. The blister pack (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the inner contact surface (22) and the outer contact surface (23), the blister cover (20) and the blister card (10) enclose a cavity (5).
5. The blister pack (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the inner contact surface (22) and the outer contact surface (23) extend around the entire periphery of the product chamber (3).
6. The blister pack (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the weakening line (11) is a peripheral line.
7. The blister pack (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the weakening line (11) is designed as a perforation line, punched line and/or score line.
8. The blister pack (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that the perforation line has material recesses which extend only over part of the material thickness of the blister card (10).
9. The blister pack (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the blister card (10) is a substrate made of fibrous material which is provided with a sealing medium on a side facing the blister cover (20).
10. A method for removing a product (3) from a blister pack (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that at least part of a compressive force which acts on the blister cover (20), is oriented substantially perpendicularly with respect to the blister card (10) and causes the blister card (10) to tear at the weakening line (11) is transmitted to the blister card (10) via the inner contact surface (22) and leads to shear stress at the weakening line.
11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that at least half of the compressive force is transmitted to the blister card (10) via the inner contact surface (22).

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