Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A blister pack for a container
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a blister pack, particularly for use with food and
beverage containers.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
Sealing methods for food and beverage containers are well known and varied,
the most common being a cap or lid. Drinks which include another component or
second component, such as a tablet or powder which is added to the liquid are
growing in popularity. Usually this includes a blister pack contained in the
lid which
is adapted to store material separately from the liquid in the container.
It is preferable for the second component to be added immediately prior to
consumption, especially when ingredients to be added are UV sensitive or do
not
have a long shelf life when mixed. Adding ingredients at the point of
consumption
also simplifies the production and filling of the beverages.
It is therefore known for a container to include a cap and powder or tablet
holder, or blister pack, so that when pressure is exerted on the blister pack
it allows
the tablet to be mixed with the liquid in the container.
However, there are various disadvantages in the known prior art, for example,
wherein the blister pack is completely broken by the initial force to release
the
material, and therefore does not remain sealed whilst the two components are
being mixed. Furthermore, the container cannot be resealed once the tablet
holder
is broken and therefore the container cannot be reused. In many designs, the
remains of the tablet holder, once broken, cannot be easily removed from the
container, which may affect the drinking of the beverage and its reusability.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome these disadvantages or at
least provide the public with a useful alternative.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore in one form of the invention there is proposed a blister pack for
use
with a container having a body and an opening, said blister pack characterised
by a
rupturable base and a cover of formable material, said base and cover defining
at
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least one pocket which accommodates an element to be added to an existing
contents of said container body, said blister pack being further adapted to
seal said
container opening.
Preferably said opening is associated with a neck portion of said container,
said base extending across the opening such that an outer perimeter thereof is
fixed to the neck and acts as an anti-tamper seal.
Preferably said base ruptures when a minimum amount of force is applied on
said cover, causing said element to fall into the container body.
In preference the seal between the outer perimeter of the base and the
container neck is such that rupture of said base to allow for said element to
be
added does not cause said seal to break.
In preference said seal is such that the blister pack can be manually detached
from the neck of the container.
In preference said blister pack includes tabs which, when pulled, break said
seal.
Preferably said container further includes a lid that is removably attachable
from said neck such that when the lid is attached it envelops said blister
pack.
Preferably said lid includes a means of sealing said opening when the blister
pack has been removed.
Preferably said base is of a lower burst strength than said cover.
In preference the cover is of thermoformable or coldformable plastic.
Preferably the base is of aluminum.
In preference said existing content is a liquid and said element to be added
is
a liquid soluble material.
Alternatively said existing content is a liquid and said element to be added
is a
liquid soluble powder.
Alternatively said existing content is a liquid and said element to be added
is a
second liquid.
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Preferably the rupturable base is porous and adapted to diffuse oxygen
through said blister pack.
In a further form of the invention there is proposed a container including a
blister pack as defined above.
In a still further form of the invention there is proposed a container
including:
a body portion carrying a liquid, said body portion including a neck having
associated therewith an opening;
at least one blister pack including a base and a formable cover defining a
pocket
therebetween, said pocket adapted to accommodate an element to be added to
said liquid, said base extending across the opening and including an outer
perimeter that forms a seal between the blister pack and the neck portion of
the
container, said base further being rupturable such that when sufficient force
is
applied to the formable cover and element in a direction against said base,
the
base ruptures and said element is added to the liquid, said seal being such
that the
container remains sealed after force has been applied and said base portion
ruptured.
Preferably said seal is achieved using an adhesive between the neck of the
container and the outer perimeter of the blister pack base.
In preference said container further includes a removably attachable lid, said
lid including a means of sealing said opening after the blister pack has been
completely removed.
It should be noted that any one of the aspects mentioned above may include
any of the features of any of the other aspects mentioned above and may
include
any of the features of any of the embodiments described below as appropriate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of
this specification, illustrate various implementations of the invention and,
together
with the description, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the
invention. In the drawings:
Figure 1 is a plan view of the upper portion of a beverage container,
blister pack
and tablet according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
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Figure 2 is a plan view of the blister pack;
Figure 3 is a plan view of the upper portion of a beverage container with
the cap
removed;
Figure 4 is a plan view of the upper portion of a beverage container and the
blister pack with force being exerted;
Figure 5 is a plan view of the upper portion of a beverage container as
the tablet
has been forced through the blister pack;
Figure 6 is a plan view of the upper portion of a beverage container with
the
tablet dissolving in the liquid; and
Figure 7 is a plan view of the upper portion of a beverage container with
the
blister pack removed.
LIST OF COMPONENTS
10 Beverage container
12 Container lid
14 Blister pack
16 Tablet
18 Cover
Base
22 Container neck
20 24 Adhesive seal
26 Pulp
28 Beverage
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying
drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used
throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same and
like
parts. Dimensions of certain parts shown in the drawings may have been
modified
and/or exaggerated for the purposes of clarity or illustration.
Turning now to the drawings, there is illustrated in Figure 1 a beverage
container 10 comprising of a lid 12 and a blister pack 14.
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The blister pack 14 includes a tablet or powder material 16 within a cover 18
made from formable materials such as thermoformable, coldformable plastic or
aluminum and a rupturable base 20 made from, but not limited to paper,
paperboard, plastic, or aluminum. The outer edges of the cover 18 and the base
5 20 are sealed together to form a pocket which contains the tablet, powder
or liquid
additive 16. It is to be understood that powder, tablets, liquids or any other
materials can reside in the blister pack, depending on the desired beverage
and
component combination.
The outer edges of the cover 18 and base 20 are sealed to the neck 22 of the
container 10 so that the blister pack 14 stretches across and covers the neck
22,
forming an effective anti-tamper barrier. The blister pack 14 also creates a
hermetic seal of the beverage, and is also a sterile seal for the dry powder
or tablet
material 16.
Figure 2 illustrates the blister pack 14 separate from the container 10. To
seal
the blister pack 14 to the neck 22 of the container 10, an adhesive 24 is to
be
applied to the outer edges of the base 20. Where induction sealing is
employed, an
insulating pulp layer 26 is to be applied to the top surface of cover 18. This
insulating pulp layer 26 will prevent the screw top lid from bonding with the
thermoformable cover during the inductive heating of the foil. Other solutions
to
prevent fusion between the screw top lid 12 and the blister pack 14 may also
be
employed during the induction sealing process to the neck 22 of the container
10.
The blister pack 14 preserves freshness, authenticates product integrity,
provides leak prevention, ensures consumer confidence, prevents product
contamination throughout the supply chain and provides tamper evidence. It is
conveniently positioned atop the beverage container 10 and facilitates simple
addition of the powder or tablet ingredients 16 to the beverage 28.
The lid 12 of the beverage container 10 may be screwed onto the container
concealing the blister pack 14 beneath the lid 12. This will prevent the
blister
package 14 from being dispensed into the beverage 28 prior to point of sale.
The
lid 12 will be similar in appearance to lids presently used in capping
beverage
containers, however may require a taller height to facilitate the height of
the tablet
16 enclosed beneath.
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As illustrated in Figure 3, the user unscrews the lid 12 from the beverage
container 10, which may have a typical tamper evident sealing ring on the lid
(not
shown). With the lid 12 removed, the user is presented with the blister pack
14,
which may be translucent or opaque. The blister pack 14 (if translucent) may
show
the tablet or powder ingredients 16 beneath, and may have instructions printed
on
the cover 18 instructing the consumer to press the tablet or powder 16 into
the
beverage 28.
When force is exerted onto the cover 18, preferably by a thumb or some other
manual means, it pushes against the tablet 16, forcing the rupturable base 20
to
break as illustrated in Figure 4. Once sufficient force is exerted to push the
table
16 completely through the base 20, the tablet 16 falls into the container 10
as
illustrated in Figure 5.
The cover 18 is therefore indented into the neck of the container, however
because of the durability of the material and the seal to the container neck
22 the
cover 18 does not rupture or come away from the container 10, but remains
sealed. This allows the user to twist or shake the container 10 to mix the
beverage
28 with the tablet 16 without having to be cautious that the liquid may spill
and
allows the tablet 16 to be completely dissolved into the beverage 28 before
consumption.
While it is a preferred embodiment of the invention that the blister pack 14
consist
of one pocket, it is to be understood that multiple pockets or compartments
may be
arranged on the common blister pack to the container, or on separate blister
packs
attached together to the container. Multiple pockets enable the consumer a
choice
of ingredients to add to the beverage or choice in strength of flavors added
to the
beverage.
The cover 18 may also have pre-weakened areas that allow the use of straws,
for
example, to allow a straw to penetrate through the pre-weakened area of the
cover
18 and allow access to the beverage 24 while maintaining the seal.
An example of a container utilizing the blister pack seal would be a container
of water and a soluble aspirin, whereby the aspirin is in the blister pack and
is
forced into the water, where it dissolves ready for the user to drink.
Another example would be a container of milk and the blister pack containing
powered flavours, whereby the user can prepare flavoured milk. This is a
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circumstance where multiple blister packs could be useful, so that the user
could
control the quantity of flavoured powder that they wished to add to the milk,
or
possibly add in different flavours according to taste.
The blister pack 14 also has a tab or tabs (not shown) on the perimeter of the
pack. This tab facilitates the easy peeling of the blister pack from the neck
of the
container. The consumer can grip one of the tabs between their fingers and
peel
the blister pack seal from the container, removing it entirely without leaving
any
residue and discarding it as illustrated in Figure 6 and 7. The blister pack
14 is
also of a strength required to enable clean peeling off the neck 22 of the
container
10.
The lid of the beverage container may then be re-screwed back onto the
container after the blister pack seal has been removed, creating a water tight
seal
and allowing the container to be reused.
While it is a preferred embodiment of the invention that the container 10 be a
PET bottle, it is to be understood that the invention can be applied to
containers of
all materials, including glass.
A further feature of the invention is the design of a porous blister pack 14
to
absorb gasses such as oxygen from the headspace of the container 10. The base
would be adapted to diffuse oxygen through the blister pack 14, but not
liquids,
20 therefore reducing the oxidation of beverages such as wine but not
allowing the
liquid itself to break through the seal created by the blister pack 14.
Another possible embodiment of the invention is a lidless container, with the
blister pack acts as the sealing means. This would be useful with food
products or
yoghurt tubs, where there is a solid food element such as fruit or nuts can be
added to the yoghurt at the time of consumption and there is no need to reuse
the
container.
Yet another embodiment of the invention is an inverted blister pack, whereby
the blister pack resides inside the neck of the container instead of across
the
opening. This therefore allows a regular lid to be employed with the
container,
rather than a taller lid in order to facilitate the height of the blister
pack.
The blister pack 14 for the beverage container 10 can be applied to the
beverage container using numerous methods and adhesion techniques. The
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common adhesion techniques to seal the blister pack 14 to the beverage
container
are either solvent or water based adhesive, pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA),
or heat sealing. Heat sealing can be accomplished using either conductive heat
transfer, or induction.
5 Solvent or water based adhesion requires application of the solvent which
has
potential to be a messy process and the adhesive requires drying time.
Pressure
sensitive adhesion is pre dried, however requires a backing to be removed
which
has potential to be wasteful. In addition pressure sensitive adhesion requires
a
machine to press the blister pack 14 onto the beverage container 10 creating
the
10 pressure upon the PSA to create the desired bond. A uniform pressure is
required
to be applied around the circumference of the beverage container neck 22 to
achieve uniform adhesion. This demands tight manufacturing tolerances on the
beverage container 10 as slight deviation in height around the neck 22 of the
container will result in deviations in pressure applied to the adhesive by the
lidding
machine.
Heat sealing is the preferred method of adhesion of the blister pack 14 to the
beverage container 10 for this invention. In this process, a thermoplastic is
welded
to the beverage container surface in order to produce a seal of sufficient
strength.
When the polymer surface is in the molten condition and brought into intimate
contact with another substrate a strong bond is achieved. The heat can be
produced by either conduction, or induction.
Conductive heating machines require time to heat the pressing element which
prolongs start up conditions of the packaging line. Conductive sealing, like
PSA
sealing, also requires tight manufacturing tolerances in the beverage
container
height to ensure uniform pressure is applied for the molten thermoplastic to
be
adhered to the beverage container 10.
Induction sealing is the preferred adhesion method. Induction can be used to
heat the aluminum foil which conducts heat into the thermoplastic causing this
to
melt. Induction heating is contactless on the production line, and only heats
metallic elements (the foil covering). In this manner induction can be used to
heat
seal the blister pack 14 onto the container 10 after the lid 12 has been
screwed
onto the container. In this manner, the blister pack 14 can be supplied
already
inserted into the container lids 12. After the container 10 has been filled on
the
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production line, the lid 12 (with blister pack 14 and dry tablet ingredients
16 within
it) is screwed onto the container 10.
The lid 12 has a mating surface to seal against the upper neck 22 of the
container 10. The outer circumference of the blister pack 14 is sandwiched
between the lid 12 and the neck 22 of the container. The interaction between
the lid
12 and the container neck 22 generates the required pressure between the
thermoplastic adhesive layer and the container. With the lid 12 screwed onto
the
container 10, the lid 12 , container 10 and blister pack 14 are passed beneath
an
induction heater on the production line heating the aluminium foil which in
turn
melts the thermoplastic adhesive layer creating a strong bond.
The blister pack 14 may require a pulp backing to the surface under pressure
against the lid 12. The pulp backing is intended to insulate the surface
mating with
the lid 12 and prevent undesirable bonding between the lid 12 and the blister
pack
14.
Tab(s) hold the blister pack 14 in position within the lid 12 as described
above.
They may also facilitate holding the tablet 16 and blister pack 14 within the
lid 12 of
the container 10 prior to applying the lid 12 to the container 10 in the
filling line
process. The tablet 16 and blister pack 14 can be pushed into the lid 12 prior
to
applying the lid 12 to the container 10. The outside diameter of the blister
pack 14
will be a clearance fit within the lid 12 of the container 14, the tabs
however will
create a diameter larger than the internal diameter of the lid 12, thus
aninterference
fit of the tabs only. When the tablet 16 and blister pack 14 are pushed into
the lid
12, the tabs will fold downward as it interacts with lid 12. With the tabs
folded
downward, this may act as a ratchet against the internal threads of the lid
12. This
ratchet action will be sufficiently strong to hold the blister pack 14 and
tablet 16
contents in place within the lid 12 prior to applying the lid on the filling
line.
Induction heating can also be applied to the blister pack 14 before the lid is
screwed on. This method does however require a mechanical means to create the
required pressure between molten thermoplastic and the beverage container 10.
The suggested method of filling the containers in a production line would be
to
contract the manufacture of powder or tablet ingredients 16, along with
packaging
these into the abovementioned blister packaging to a third party
pharmaceutical
company. These blister packages 14 could be supplied to the manufacturer of
the
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lids 12 for the beverage containers. At completion of the injection molding
process
of the lids 12, the blister packs 14 could be stamped to the required shape,
and
pressed into the lids 12.
Inserting the blister pack 14 within the lids 12 at manufacture, rather than
later,
5 is advantageous in that the lids 12 are already arranged and grasped by
the
molding machine. Inserting the lids 12 at a later stage can also be
accomplished
however the lids 14 need to be sorted, arranged in the correct orientation
grasped
and have the blister pack 14 pushed in.
The lids 12 can be supplied to the bottling line with the blister packs 14
within
10 the lid 12. This is presently undertaken with existing foil seals for
beverage
containers. In this manner, the lid 12 is screwed onto the container 10 after
filling in
a normal manner, and is then passed through an induction heater.
It may also be possible to press the blister packs 14 into the lid 12 (within
the
bottling line facility) immediately prior to screwing the lid 12 onto the
container 10.
This may provide fewer Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) for the bottling line
however
requires additional infrastructure for the bottling company over having the
lids
supplied with the blister pack 14 already within the lid 12.
Further advantages and improvements may very well be made to the present
invention without deviating from its scope. Although the invention has been
shown
and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred
embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the
scope and spirit of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details
disclosed
herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any
and
all equivalent devices and apparatus. Any discussion of the prior art
throughout the
specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior
art is
widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in this field.
In the summary of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise
due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprising" is
used in
the sense of "including", i.e. the features specified may be associated with
further
features in various embodiments of the invention.
