Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
-
--"- lZ~65~
- 2 -
H0 83/ F 257
So^called blister packs in which ~he tablets or
capsules lie individually in depressions in a foil, the
depressions are covered with another foil and the tablets
- or caosules can be removed individually by being forced
5 through the seal foil have found acceptance for solid
medicament formulations.
Di~isible tablets in wh;ch the do~age of the
medicament can be reduced in a controlled manner by means
of a groove or the like have furthermore met with approval.
1U If such divisible tablets are accommodated in blister
packs, there is the problem of ~here the remainders of
tablets are to be safely stored if only a part dose is
, . . .
` taken. It is unsatisfactory to place the re~ainder of
the tablet back in the depression of the packag;ng foil,
since the medicament is not protected from falling out
or from impurities~ Although sealing with an adhesive
strip ;s possible, this is quite inconven;ent, since the
fo;l through which the table~ was forced must first be
spread over the depression again in order to prevent con~
tact w;th the adhesive as far as poss;ble. Th;s procedure
;s not Dract;cable for elderly or d;sabled patients.
The inven~ion relates to a blister pack for
d;visible tablets, in wtlich an open depression can be
sealed with a cover. Pr~ferred embodiments of this
invention are illustrated ;n more detail belo~.
~ In one embodiment of the invention, the cover
; taPers conically or in a wedge-shapPd manner, so that it
adheres irmly by friction and/or shaping to the depres-
sion to be sealed. Alternatively or additionaily, one
or both of the surfaces ~hich come into contact during
sealing can improve the sealing by being roughened or by
hav;ng knobs, wavy lines or the like. In a particularly
advantageous embodiment of the invention, the cover and
depression are connected by the groove and tongue prin-
ciPle~ in which case, thus, for example, a double row of
.
3~Z~51D:~
- 3 -
beading is arranged around the depress;on, resulting in
- the groove~ ;nto which 3 single row of beading on the
cover engages, as the tongue. These connecting elements
of groove and tongue can be applied, and stuck or welded,
as separate elements to the blister strip and cover.
However, they are particularly advantageousLy worked from
~he striP and cover naterial itself~ for example by
embossing or, especially advan~ageously, by deep-drawing.
The connecting elemen~s between th~ ~over and
depression are advantageously designed to surround the
entire dePression, since an air-tight and water-tight
closure is thereby ensuredO As in the co~ponents of a snap-
. fastener, the sealing elements connecting the groove
and tongue can have a bulge . on the outside and a
corresponding depression tgroove) inside.
^ In another preferred embod;ment of the invention,
the cover is firmly connected to the blister strip. This
avoids the cover being lost. The connection between the
blister strip and the cover can be produced by one or
more bands or strips, the blister strip, cover and
connecting element advantageously being in one piece,
that is to say, for example, segments being stamped out
bet~een the blister strip and cover so that a strip (or
several strips) of greater or lesser width is left as the
connect;ng eLement. In another advantageous embodiment
of the invention, the cover ;s connected to the blister
striP ;n a hinged manner, for exa~ple by 3 ridge-fold, so
that when the cover is rotated around this hinge or in
~he r;dge~fold, it rests over the depress;on to be sealed
-and can eas;ly be f;xed by pressing.
In a further preferred embo~iment of the inven-
tion, the cover has a tab, which facilitates opening~
This tab can also serve to fix the cover, for example by
the possibility of being drawn through a loop or by bein~
attached to the str;p by the groove and tongue or snap-
fastene~ pr;nc;ple.
The depress;on to be sealed can be filled with a
tablet; however, an ind;vidual depression can also be
65~
.
provided, as a store for tablet remainders. In this case, for
example, a strip with 11 depressions would be filled with
only 10 tablets, and at the end of the blister strip there
would advantageously be a free depression, to which the cover
is adjacent.
In the embodiment according to the invention with a
tab on the cover on the one hand and an individual depression
(as a store for tablet remainders) on the other hand, this
depression - or also advantageously only its seal, that is to
say, preferably, the groove and tongue - can also be such
that the longitudinal side facing away from the hinge or
ridge-fold runs to a greater or lesser degree to a point. The
"point" accordingly points in the direction of the tab on the
cover. This embodiment has the advantage that when the tab is
pulled the sealed store or its seal is easier to open -
initally at the "polnt", which means that jerky opening can
more easily be avoided.
The blister packs according to the invention are
particularly preferred for multi-divisible tablets, in par-
ticular for multi-divisible oblong tablets. In a preferred
embodiment of the invention, the depressions in the blister
strip are such that these oblong tablets stand on their edge.
In order that the invention may be more clearly
understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying
drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the in-
vention by way of example, and in which,
Fig. 1 is a plan view of part of a blister pack
according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; and,
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view cor-
responding to Fig. 1.
The blister pack shown in the drawings comprises a
foil blister strip 1 formed with a series of depressions,
an end one of which 2 i5 initially open (unsealed) while the
- s
other depressions 3 are initially sealed by a cover foil
4 . In the drawings, tablets 10 are shown in place in the
depressions 3 and the foil 4 is shown partially drawn
back to permit removal of the tablet from the endmost one of
the depressions 3 .
Strip l is continued beyond the initially open de-
pression 2 to form a cover 7 which adjoins the remainder
of the strip at a ridge-fold 8 . Depression 2 is surround-
ed by circular beads 5 and the cover 7 carries a cor-
responding bead (6) dimension to fit between the beads S
when cover 7 is rotated about fold 8 . In other words, the
double beads 5 and bead 6 form a tongue and groove type
of coupling which permits the cover 7 to be folded over
depression 2 and used to close the depression by engaging
the bead 6 between the beads 5 .
Beyond bead 6 , the blister strip l is shaped to
form a tab 9 which can be manually grasped to lift the co-
ver and open the sealed tablet store represented by depres-
sion 2 .
Tablets lO are multi-divisible tablets having
grooves 11 .
Reference numeral 12 denotes perforation lines for
facilitating removal of the cover foil 4 in strips, for ex-
ample, if a depression originally filled with a tablet is to
be used as a store for tablet remainders. In this way, re-
maining portions of the cover foil 4 which would impede
sealing with the cover 7 , are avoided.
The perforation lines 12 can also pass through
both foils, that is to say the base foil and cover foil 4
(not shown in the figures), and then allows separation of
single pac~aged tablets or capsules.
It should of course be noted that the preceeding
description relates to a particular preferred embodiment of
~65(~
-- 6 --
: the invention only and that many modifications are possible
within the broad scope of the claims. It should also be noted
that the term "foil" as used herein is to be interpreted
: broadly as simply denoting a thin sheet-form material, which
is not necessarily metal.
