Childproof, senior-friendly blister pack

• US 7,387,206 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2003
• Issued: 06/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Colbert Packaging Corporation
• Original Assignee: Colbert Packaging Corporation
• Inventors: Grosskopf, Glenn A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bui; Luan K
• Application Number:
  US10/651,831
• Publication Number:
  US 20040040881A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,755 Days
• Field of Search: 206/528, 206/534, 206530-532, 206/534.1, 206/534.2, 206/538, 206/539, 206/461, 206/467, 206/468, 206/471
• US Class Current: 206/531
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/035 Blister-type containers blisters in general B65D75/36
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2215/04 requiring the combination of different actions in succession
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/0445 all the articles being stored in individual compartments

Abstract

A blister pack for dispensing pills that is childproof yet senior-friendly. The blister pack includes a substantially tear-resistant housing that encloses one or more blisters contained on a blister sheet and surrounded by criss-cross grain material to provide cut or tear resistance in multiple directions. In one embodiment, the cavities of the blisters are positioned such that the pills are aligned at an angle with respect to the corresponding dispensing slots on the housing in their normal position. The blisters are detachably attached to a zipper strip on the blister sheet to prevent undesired rotation of the blisters. Upon removal of the zipper strip, the blisters may be twisted until their pills are substantially aligned with their respective dispensing slot. The blisters may then be depressed to remove the pills from the cavities of the blisters by pushing the pills through the foil sheet that covers the slots. In another embodiment, the blisters must be released and slid within a channel to align the pill with the dispensing slot to be released.

Claims

1. A childproof and senior-friendly blister pack for dispensing objects wherein the blister pack comprises:

one or more blisters, wherein each blister includes a cavity for housing one or more of said objects and wherein each cavity has a longitudinal axis;

a card comprising a first face and a second face;

at least one blister being movably retained by said card about said first face, so as to enable movement of the blister from a storage position to a dispensing position;

said second face having a dispensing opening formed therein;

said longitudinal axis of the cavity being substantially aligned with said dispensing opening when said blister is moved to said dispensing position, so as to enable dispensing of said object through the dispensing opening;

said longitudinal axis of the cavity in the storage position being in a different direction than the longitudinal axis in the dispensing position;

retaining means having first and second positions;

said retaining means operably associated with said blister for preventing movement of said blister when said retaining means is in the first position; and

said retaining means enabling movement of said blister when said retaining means is in the second position.

3. The blister pack according to claim 1 wherein said object comprises a substantially pill-shaped object.

4. The blister pack according to claim 1 wherein said dispensing opening comprises a substantially slot-shaped opening, sized to enable said object to pass therethrough when said blister is in said dispensing position.

5. The blister pack of claim 1 which further comprises means for covering the dispensing opening.

6. The blister pack of claim 1 wherein the blisters further include means to facilitate the turning of the blisters.

7. The blister pack of claim 1 wherein the card further includes a cover operably associated therewith.

8. The blister pack of claim 1 wherein the card is made from a single sheet.

9. The blister pack of claim 1 wherein the card is made from at least two sheets.

10. The blister pack of claim 5 wherein the covering means is a foil sheet.

2. A childproof and senior-friendly blister pack for dispensing objects wherein the blister pack comprises:

one or more blisters, wherein each blister includes a cavity for housing one or more of said objects and wherein each cavity has a longitudinal axis;

a card comprising a first face and a second face;

at least one blister being movably retained by said card about said first face, so as to enable movement of the blister from a storage position to a dispensing position;

said second face having a dispensing opening formed therein;

said longitudinal axis of the cavity in the storage position being in a different direction than the longitudinal axis in the dispensing position;

said longitudinal axis of the cavity being substantially aligned with said dispensing opening when said blister is moved to said dispensing position, so as to enable dispensing of said object through the dispensing opening; and

retaining means having first and second positions and being operably associated with said at least one blister so as to prevent movement of said blister to said dispensing position when said retaining means is in the first position.

11. A childproof and senior-friendly blister pack for dispensing objects wherein the blister pack comprises:

one or more blisters, wherein each blister includes a cavity for housing one or more of said objects and wherein each cavity has a longitudinal axis;

a card comprising a first face and a second face;

at least one blister being movably retained by said card about said first face, so as to enable movement of the blister from a storage position to a dispensing position;

said second face having a dispensing opening formed therein; and

said longitudinal axis of the cavity being substantially aligned with said dispensing opening when said blister is moved to said dispensing position, so as to enable dispensing of said one or more of said objects through the dispensing opening, wherein the longitudinal axis of the cavity in the storage position is approximately at about a 90-degree angle from the longitudinal axis at the dispensing position.

12. A childproof and senior-friendly blister pack for dispensing objects wherein the blister pack comprises:

one or more blisters, wherein each blister includes a cavity for housing one or more of said objects and wherein each cavity has a longitudinal axis;

a card comprising a first face and a second face;

at least one blister being movably retained by said card about said first face, so as to enable movement of the blister from a storage position to a dispensing position;

said second face having a dispensing opening formed therein;

said longitudinal axis of the cavity being substantially aligned with said dispensing opening when said blister is moved to said dispensing position, so as to enable dispensing of said object through the dispensing opening;

retaining means having first and second positions;

said retaining means operably associated with said blister for preventing movement of said blister when said retaining means is in the first position;

said retaining means enabling movement of said blister when said retaining means is in the second position; and

wherein the retaining means is a zipper strip operably affixed to said blister in said storage position and separated from said blister in said dispensing position.

13. The blister pack of claim 12 wherein the blister sheet comprises at least three blisters aligned in at least one row, wherein adjacent blisters are attached to one of the zipper strips, the first of said blisters is attached to one zipper strip and each of the other blisters of the at least three blisters is attached to two zipper strips such that removal of one of the zipper strips only releases one blister.

14. A childproof and senior-friendly blister pack for dispensing pills wherein the blister pack comprises:

one or more blisters, wherein each blister includes a cavity for housing one or more of said pills and wherein each cavity has a longitudinal axis;

a card comprising a first face and a second face;

at least one blister being movably retained by said card about said first face, so as to enable movement of the blister from a storage position to a dispensing position;

said second face having a dispensing opening formed therein; and

said longitudinal axis of the cavity being substantially aligned with said dispensing opening when said blister is moved to said dispensing position, so as to enable dispensing of said one or more pills through the dispensing opening, the card further comprises a plurality of symbols surrounding said blister, wherein the longitudinal axis of the cavity of the blister is initially aligned with one or more symbols to indicate information regarding the one or more of said pills.

15. The blister pack of claim 14 wherein the symbols comprise a clock face having a plurality of numbers surrounding the blister, and wherein the cavity of the blister is initially aligned with a number on the clock face to indicate when to take the one or more of said pills.

16. The blister pack of claim 14 wherein the symbols comprise a clock face having a plurality of numbers surrounding the blister, and wherein the dispensing slot is initially aligned with a number on the clock face to indicate when to take the one or more of said pills.

17. A childproof and senior-friendly blister pack for dispensing objects wherein the blister pack comprises:

one or more blisters, wherein each blister includes a cavity for housing one or more of said objects and wherein each cavity has a longitudinal axis;

a card comprising a first face and a second face;

at least one blister being movably retained by said card about said first face, so as to enable movement of the blister from a storage position to a dispensing position;

said second face having a dispensing opening formed therein; and

said longitudinal axis of the cavity being substantially aligned with said dispensing opening when said blister is moved to said dispensing position, so as to enable dispensing of said one or more of said objects through the dispensing opening, first face comprises a substantially tear-resistant material having grains aligned in a first direction and the second face comprises a substantially tear-resistant material having grains aligned in a second direction substantially contrary to the grains of the first face so as to result in a substantially crossing pattern of grains to provide resistance to tearing in multiple directions.

18. The blister pack of claim 17 wherein the substantially tear-resistant material comprises a SBS board coated with a polyurethane material.

19. A childproof and senior-friendly blister pack for dispensing pills, wherein the blister pack comprises:

a blister sheet having one or more blisters, wherein each blister includes a cavity for housing a pill, and wherein each cavity has a longitudinal axis;

a retaining member extending adjacent to the blisters, wherein the retaining member is removably attached to the blisters to prevent the blisters from being turned;

a housing encompassing the blister sheet and having one or more dispensing slots therein, wherein each of the dispensing slots has a longitudinal axis, and wherein the longitudinal axis of each of the dispensing slots is not initially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the corresponding cavity of the blister; and

whereby the retaining member is at least partially removable so as to release at least one of the one or more blisters to allow the blister to be rotated or turned until the longitudinal axis of the cavity of the blister substantially aligns with the longitudinal axis of the dispensing slot to allow for the pill to be dispensed through the dispensing slot.

20. A childproof and senior-friendly blister pack for dispensing pills, wherein the blister pack comprises:

a blister sheet having one or more blisters, wherein each blister includes a cavity for housing a pill;

a retaining member extending adjacent to said blisters, wherein the retaining member is removably attached to the blisters to prevent the blisters from being moved; and

a housing encompassing the blister sheet and having one or more dispensing slots therein wherein each of the dispensing slots is not aligned with the pill within the blister;

whereby the retaining member is at least partially removed to release at least one of the one or more blisters to allow the blister to be moved until the pill within the blister substantially aligns with the dispensing slot to allow for the pill to be dispensed through the dispensing slot.

21. The blister pack of claim 20 which further comprises means for covering the one or more dispensing slots.

22. The blister pack of claim 21 wherein the means for covering the one or more dispensing slot is a foil sheet.

23. The blister pack of claim 20 wherein the housing comprises a top half made from a substantially tear-resistant material having grains aligned in one direction and a bottom half made from a substantially tear-resistant material having grains aligned in a direction contrary to the grains of the top half to result in a substantially criss-cross pattern of grains to provide resistance to tearing in multiple directions.

24. The blister pack of claim 23 wherein the substantially tear-resistant material comprises a SBS board coated with a polyurethane material.

25. The blister pack of claim 20 wherein the housing includes a series of channels, and wherein each of the blisters is initially retained at one end of one of the series of channels and the respective dispensing slot is located distal from the blister.

26. A package for dispensing objects comprising:

at least one blister;

the at least one blister having a cavity for housing one or more objects, wherein the cavity has a longitudinal axis;

a first wall;

the at least one blister being movably retained on the first wall to enable movement of the blister from a storage position to a dispensing position;

said longitudinal axis of the cavity in the storage position being in a different direction than the longitudinal axis in the dispensing position; and

retaining means having first and second positions operably associated with the blister to retain the blister in the storage position when the retaining means is in the first position.

27. A package for dispensing objects comprising:

at least one blister;

the at least one blister having a cavity for housing one or more objects, wherein the cavity has a longitudinal axis;

a first wall;

the at least one blister being movably retained on the first wall to enable movement of the blister from a storage position to a dispensing position; and

retaining means having first and second positions operably associated with the blister to retain the blister in the storage position when the retaining means is in the first position; and

wherein the longitudinal axis of the cavity in the storage position is not parallel with the longitudinal axis of the cavity in the dispensing position.

28. A childproof and senior-friendly blister pack for dispensing objects wherein the blister pack comprises:

one or more blisters, wherein each blister includes a cavity for housing one or more of said objects and wherein each cavity has a longitudinal axis;

a card comprising a first face and a second face;

at least one blister being movably retained by said card about said first face, so as to enable movement of the blister from a storage position to a dispensing position;

said second face having a dispensing opening formed therein;

said longitudinal axis of the cavity being substantially aligned with said dispensing opening when said blister is moved to said dispensing position, so as to enable dispensing of said object through the dispensing opening; and

retaining means having first and second positions and being operably associated with said at least one blister so as to prevent movement of said blister to said dispensing position when said retaining means is in the first position;

wherein the longitudinal axis of the cavity in the storage position is not parallel with the longitudinal axis at the dispensing position