Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02498920 2005-03-01
PILL FILL TRAY AND PACKAGING SYSTEM
Background of the Invention
Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to packaging products and
systems, and more specifically relates to pill fill trays and pill packaging
systems
and methods.
Related Art
Pill packaging is an important aspect of patient care that is typically
handled by a pharmacist or pharmaceutical company. Individualized pill
packaging
for a particular patient can be very helpful to ensure proper administration
of the
pills to the patient. Pills can be packaged in containers or other storage
devices that
have individual compartments for storage of pills that are to be taken on a
particular
day or at a particular time of the day. The compartments are typically labeled
to
promote proper administration of the pills.
Packaging systems and methods for such individualized pill
packaging are known in the art and may include a pill filling apparatus that
is
configured to fill a pill container with an individualized pill regime. Proper
alignment and positioning of the pill container relative to the pill filling
apparatus to
ensure correct filling of the pill container is an important consideration.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention is generally directed to pill fill trays and pill
packaging systems and methods that provide proper alignment of a pill tray, a
pill
container or blister pack, and a pill card when assembling the blister pack
and pill
card. One aspect of the invention relates to a pill packaging card that
includes first
and second opposed primary surfaces, first and second ends, first and second
sides,
graphics applied to the first primary surface, a pill aperture formed between
the first
and second opposed primary surfaces, and at least one indexing aperture. The
pill
aperture is sized for a pill to pass there through. The indexing aperture is
formed in
at least one of the first end, the second end, the first side, and the second
side.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a pill packaging system that
includes a pill fill tray, a blister pack, and a pill card. The pill fill tray
includes a
1
CA 02498920 2005-03-01
plurality of tray apertures defined in a primary surface thereof and having at
least
one indexing member protruding from the primary surface. The blister pack
includes a plurality of blister apertures, a separate blister container
aligned with each
of the plurality of blister apertures, and at least one indexing aperture
formed
therein. The pill card includes a plurality of pill apertures formed through a
primary
surface of the pill card, and at least one indexing aperture formed therein.
The
primary surface of the pill fill tray is configured to support the blister
pack, the
blister pack is configured to support the pill card, and the at least one
indexing
member is configured to engage the at least one indexing aperture of each of
the
blister pack and the pill card to provide alignment of the tray apertures, the
blister
apertures, and the pill apertures.
A further aspect of the invention relates to a method of using a pill
packaging system. The pill packaging system includes a pill fill tray having a
plurality of tray apertures formed in a primary surface thereof and at least
one
indexing member exposed at the primary surface, a pill card having at least
one
indexing aperture and at least one pill aperture formed therein, a sealing
member,
and a blister pack having a plurality of blister apertures and a separate
blister
container aligned with each of the plurality of blister apertures and at least
one
indexing aperture formed in the blister pack. The method includes positioning
the
blister pack on the tray primary surface with the at least one tray indexing
member
engaging the blister pack at the blister indexing aperture, filling at least
some of the
blister containers with pills, and positioning the pill card on the blister
pack with the
at least one card indexing aperture engaging the tray indexing member. The
method
also includes positioning the sealing member between the pill aperture and the
blister aperture and securing the pill card to the blister pack to seal the
pills between
the pill card and the blister pack.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The invention may be more completely understood in consideration
of the following detailed description of various embodiments of the invention
in
connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an example pill fill tray according to
principles of the invention;
2
CA 02498920 2005-03-01
Figure 2 is a front view of the pill fill tray shown in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a side view of the pill fill tray shown in Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a top view of the pill fill tray shown in Figure 1;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of a further example pill fill tray
according to principles of the invention;
Figure 6 is a front view of the pill fill tray shown in Figure 5;
Figure 7 is a front view of the pill fill tray shown in Figure 5;
Figure 8 front view of the pill fill tray shown in Figure 5;
Figure 9 is a perspective view of a yet further example pill fill tray
according to principles of the invention;
Figure 10 is a front view of a still further example pill fill tray
according to principles of the invention;
Figure 11 is a side view of the pill fill tray shown in Figure 10;
Figure 12 is a top view of the pill fill tray shown in Figure 10;
Figure 13 is a perspective view of the pill fill tray shown in Figure 1
with a bubble card mounted to the pill fill tray; and
Figure 14 is a partial top view of the bubble card shown in Figure 13.
Figure 15 is a close-up view of an indexing aperture according to
principles of the present invention;
Figure 16 is a perspective view of the blister pack being mounted to a
pill fill tray;
Figure 17 is a perspective view of pills being inserted into the blister
pack;
Figure 18 is a perspective view showing a removable liner being
removed from a pill card and sealing member;
Figure 19 is a perspective view showing the pill card and sealing
member being aligned with the blister pack;
Figure 20 is a perspective view showing the pill card and sealing
member being secured to the blister pack; and
Figure 21 is a perspective view showing labels being secured to the
blister pack.
3
CA 02498920 2005-03-01
While the invention is amenable to various modifications and
alternate forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example and the
drawings, and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however,
that the
intention is not to limit the invention to the particular embodiments
described. On
the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and
alternatives
falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment
The present invention is generally directed to pill fill trays and pill
packaging systems and methods that provide proper alignment of a pill tray and
a
pill container (or blister pack) when filling the pill container. One example
embodiment is directed to a pill fill tray that includes an indexing member
that
extends from a surface of the pill fill tray that supports a blister pack and
pill card.
The blister pack and pill card include a notch or indexing aperture that
aligns with
and engages the indexing member thereby properly aligning the blister pack and
pill
card relative to the pill fill tray.
Referring now to Figures 1-4, an example pill fill tray 10 is shown
and described. Tray 10 includes a base portion 12, first and second alignment
walls
14, 16, a handle recess 18, and first, second and third indexing members 20,
22, 24.
The base portion 12 includes first and second ends 26, 28, first and second
sides 30,
32, top and bottom primary surfaces 34, 36, and a plurality of pill apertures
38
extending through the top primary surface 34. The first alignment wall 14
extends
along the second side 32, and the second alignment wall 16 extends across the
second end 28. The handle recess 18 is formed at the first end 26 and extends
into
the top primary surface 34.
The indexing members 20, 22, 24 are positioned along the second
alignment wall 16. The members 20,22, 24 include a height 40, a width 42, and
a
length 44 (see Figures 2 and 3). The height 40 is preferably great enough to
provide
engagement with a blister pack having notches in an end of the blister pack
(see for
example, the blister pack 60 shown in Figures 13 and 14 and described in
further
detail below) engage the indexing members 20, 22, 24 when assembling the
blister
pack with the pill fill tray 10. The height 20 may vary depending on such
considerations as, for example, the thickness of the blister pack and the size
or shape
4
CA 02498920 2005-03-01
of the pill compartments (e.g., feature 72 in Figure 13) of the blister pack.
The
width and length 42, 44 may also vary depending on considerations such as
features
of the blister pack. Also, there may be minimum and maximum dimensions of the
indexing members 20, 22, 24 depending on the particular forming technique used
for
forming the assembly 10 such as, for example, molding, stamping, or other
forming
techniques.
The thirty-two aperture arrangement of pill apertures 38 may be well
suited for a one-month pill schedule when using 1 pill aperture per day. The
four
columns of eight apertures shown in Figures 1 and 2 may also be well suited
for an
8-day period of time in which a set of 4 pill apertures in each column
corresponds to
morning, midday, afternoon, and bedtime regime of pills.
Referring now to Figures 5-8, another example pill fill tray 100 is
shown. Tray 100 includes a base portion 112, first and second alignment walls
114,
116, a handle recess 118, and first, second, and third indexing members 120,
122,
124. The base portion 112 includes first and second ends 126, 128, first and
second
sides 130, 132, top and bottom primary surfaces 134, 136, and a plurality of
pill
apertures 138. Base portion 12 includes sixty-two pill apertures 138, which
number
of apertures may be well suited for any continuous 2-month period of time when
using one of the pill apertures 138 per day.
Referring now to Figure 9, another example pill fill tray 200 is shown
and described. Pill fill tray 200 includes a base portion 212, first and
second
alignment walls 214, 216, a handle recess 218, and first, second and third
indexing
members 220, 222, 224. Base portion 212 includes first and second ends 226,
228,
first and second sides 230, 232, top and bottom primary surfaces 234, 236, and
a
plurality of pill apertures 238. The arrangement of ninety pill apertures 238
may be
well suited for a 3-month pill regime wherein each of the pill apertures
corresponds
to a single day.
Referring now to Figures 10-12, another example pill fill tray 300 is
shown and described. Pill fill tray 300 includes a base portion 312, first and
second
alignment walls 314, 316, a handle recess 318, first, second and third
indexing
members 320, 322, 324 positioned along the second alignment wall 316, and
fourth,
fifth and sixth indexing members 350, 352, 354 positioned along the first
alignment
wall 314.
5
CA 02498920 2005-03-01
The base portion includes first and second ends 326, 328, first and
second sides 330, 332, top and bottom primary surfaces 334, 336, and a
plurality of
pill apertures 338. The fourth, fifth and sixth indexing members 350, 352, 354
may
be used in addition to or in place of the indexing members 320, 322, 324.
Using two
sets of indexing members may provide additional assurance of aligning the
corresponding pill container (or blister pack) along the top surface 334.
Using two
sets of indexing members may require that the card notches be fit down
vertically
over the top of the indexing members rather than sliding in horizontally in a
plane of
the surface 334 as may be possible with fill trays 10, 100, 200 described
above.
Referring now to Figures 13 and 14, an example blister pack 60 is
shown with the pill fill tray 10, a pill card 80, and a sealing member 90. The
blister
pack 60 includes first and second ends 62, 64, first and second sides 66, 68,
a
plurality of blister apertures 70, a plurality of blister housings or
compartments 72,
and first, second and third notches 74, 76, 78 formed along the second end 64.
The
layout of the apertures 70 substantially matches the layout of the apertures
38 of pill
fill tray 10. The dimensions of notches 74, 76, 78 are also substantially
equivalent
to the width and length of the first, second, and third indexing members 20,
22, 24 of
the fill tray 10.
The pill card 80 includes first and second ends 82, 83, first and
second sides 85, 87, a plurality of apertures 81, and first, second and third
notches
84, 86, 88 formed along the second end 83. The layout of the apertures 81
substantially matches the layout of the apertures 38 of pill fill tray 10 and
blister
apertures 70. The dimensions of notches 84, 86, 88 are also substantially
equivalent
to the width and length of the first, second, and third indexing members 20,
22, 24 of
the fill tray 10 and the notches 74, 76, 78.
The sealing member 90 includes first and second ends 92, 93, first
and second sides 95, 97, and first, second and third notches 94, 96, 98 formed
along
the second end 93. The sealing member 90 is sized and positioned to cover the
apertures 70, 81 thereby sealing closed the blister compartments 72 when the
blister
pack 60, pill card 80, and sealing member 90 are coupled together with the
blister
apertures 70 and pill apertures 81 aligned.
In some embodiments, the sealing member 90 may be secured to the
pill card 80 in a preliminary step before securing the pill card 80 to the
blister pack
6
CA 02498920 2005-03-01
60 using the pill tray 10. In one embodiment (not shown), the sealing member
is
embedded between two layers of the pill card. In another example embodiment,
the
sealing member is secured to the pill card with an adhesive. In some
embodiments,
the sealing member includes a plurality of pieces configured to cover
primarily the
card apertures and does not extend over an entire primary surface of the pill
card as
is shown in the embodiment of Figures 13 and 14.
An adhesive layer may be applied to the sealing member 90 on a
surface of the sealing member facing the bubble pack 60. This adhesive layer
(not
shown) may be covered with a removable liner (see Figure 18) that protects the
adhesive layer until the time that the sealing member 90 and pill card 80 are
coupled
to the blister pack 60. This adhesive layer and removable liner may be coupled
to
the sealing member 90 and pill card 80 in a preliminary step before assembly
of the
pill card 80 with the blister pack 60 according to the method steps discussed
below
with reference to Figures 16-21.
The blister pack 60, pill card 80, and sealing member 90 may
comprise different materials that are advantageous for each member. For
example,
the blister pack may comprise a transparent or translucent material such as a
polymer based material that provides viewing of the contents of the blister
compartment. In some embodiments, the blister pack comprises a material that
can
be torn or punctured with relative easy to provide access to the blister
compartment
contents without puncturing or tearing the pill card and/or sealing member. In
such
an embodiment, the sealing member may not be required. In other embodiments,
the blister pack may be a relatively stiff material that provides structure
and support
for the blister compartment contents, the pill card and the sealing member. In
other
embodiments, the pill card may comprise a relatively stiff material that
provides the
support necessary of the blister compartment contents.
The pill card may comprise any desired material that is
transparent/translucent like the blister pack, or may be an opaque material
such as a
colored polymer based material or a paper based material such as cardboard.
The
sealing member comprises a material that maintains an airtight seal while
being
configured for puncturing with relative ease to gain access to the contents of
the
blister compartments. One example material for the sealing member is a metal
foil
such as aluminum foil.
7
CA 02498920 2005-03-01
In some embodiments, the blister pack, pill card and sealing member
may include descriptive text and graphics related to the content of the
blister
compartments. The graphics may also relate to, for example in the case of pill
being
held in the blister compartments, the days of the week or time of the day in
which
the pills should be taken by a patient. The text may be oriented around the
rows and
columns of apertures 70, 81 or any other position on any of the blister pack,
sealing
member, and pill card.
Referring now to Figure 15, an example notch 474 is shown in
greater detail. Notch 74 is merely exemplary of any of the notches 74, 76, 78,
84,
86, 88, 94, 96, 98 discussed above, or other notches provided for features
that are
used with pill fill trays according to principles of the present invention.
Notch 474
includes an incoming radius RI, a lower end radius, R2, and a sidewall angle
p. The
specifications of the radiuses RI, R2, and sidewall angle p may provide
certain
advantages for both manufacturing of the notch as well as improving engagement
between the notch 74 and a corresponding indexing member on the pill fill
tray. In
one example, the angle (3 may be between about 0 and 30 degrees. The radius
values
RI, R2, may vary depending on, for example, the size of the corresponding
indexing
member to which it engages, material properties of the bubble sheet, pill card
and
sealing member, the method of forming the notch (e.g., stamping versus
molding),
and other relevant considerations.
In one embodiment, the blister pack, pill card, and sealing member
may include more notches than the number of indexing members on a
corresponding
pill fill tray. In still further embodiments, the bubble card may include
several
different notch sizes. Different notch sizes may be useful if corresponding
indexing
members also have varying sizes, or may be useful to improve the ease of
alignment
of the notches with the indexing members.
The embodiments shown in Figures 1-21 include indexing features
provided in sets of three. Other embodiments may include only a single
indexing
member on the tray along one of the alignment walls. In still other
embodiments,
the indexing member may be positioned along one of the first end or the first
side
end of the tray and configured so as to extend vertically above the top
primary
surface of the tray for engagement with indexing features of the blister pack
and pill
card resting on top of the top primary surface of the pill fill tray. In yet
further
8
CA 02498920 2005-03-01
embodiments, the blister pack and pill card may include flanges or other bent
structure that wrap around from a top surface to a side surface of the pill
fill tray
along at least one of the sides or ends of the pill fill tray. These flanges
or bent
edges may include notches formed therein that engage an indexing member
positioned along the first end or first side of the tray. This type of
configuration may
eliminate the need to position the indexing member in a position protruding
vertically above the top primary surface of the tray.
Referring now to Figures 16-21, an example method of assembling a
pill package using an example pill fill tray 10 is described. In a first step
(see Figure
16), a blister pack 60 is mounted to the pill tray 10 so that the pill
compartments 72
fit within the apertures 38 on the tray 10. The indexing members 20, 22, 24 of
the
tray 10 (see Figure 18) engage the indexing apertures 72, 74, 76 of the
blister pack
60 (see Figure 18) to properly align the blister pack 60 on the tray 10.
In a second step (see Figure 17), at least some of the blister
compartments 72 of the blister pack 60 are filled with pills 100. Filling the
compartments 72 with pills may be at least partially completed prior to the
blister
pack 60 being mounted to the pill tray 10 as shown in Figures 16 and 17.
In a third step (see Figure 18), a liner 102 is removed from the sealing
member 90 to expose an adhesive positioned on the sealing member 90. The
sealing
member 90 may be coupled to the pill card 80 in a separate or preliminary
step.
With the liner 102 removed, the combination pill card 80 and sealing member 90
is
prepared for coupling to the blister pack 60. A plurality of graphics 104 are
applied
to the sealing member 90 to provide information related to the blister
compartments
72 and the contents of those compartments.
In a fourth step (see Figure 19), the combination pill card 80 and
sealing member 90 is aligned with respect to the blister pack 60 by engaging
the
indexing members 20, 22, 24 of the tray 10 with the indexing apertures 84, 86,
88,
94, 96, 98. In a fifth step (see Figure 20), the combination pill card 80 and
sealing
member 90 secured to the blister pack 60 by engaging the exposed adhesive
against
the blister pack 60 and pressing the members 60, 80, 90 together to create a
pill
package.
In a sixth step (see Figure 21), a plurality of labels 106 are applied to
the sealing member 90. The labels 106 may provide further information about
the
9
CA 02498920 2005-03-01
blister compartment contents, such as the type of pill, a pill regime, a
patient's
identification information, etc. The labels 106 may be applied to the pill
card 80 or
to the blister pack 60. The labels 106 or other labels may be added between
any of
the steps described with reference to Figures 16-21.
Various other configurations and embodiments may fall within the
spirit and scope of the present invention. Such alternative embodiments may
include
some type of protrusion or recess that engages a respective notch or
protrusion of the
pill container or blister pack that is to be filled to align features of the
container/card
with features of the fill tray. Alignment of the pill compartment of the
container/card with apertures of the pill fill tray may be particularly
important. In
one embodiment in which the pill fill tray includes more apertures than the
number
of pill compartments of the container/card, proper alignment using the
indexing
features described herein may be especially useful.
The present invention should not be considered limited to the
particular examples or materials described above, but rather should be
understood to
cover all aspects of the invention as fairly set out in the attached claims.
Various
modifications, equivalent processes, as well as numerous structures to which
the
present invention may be applicable will be readily apparent to those of skill
in the
art to which the present invention is directed upon review of the instant
specification.
