Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE
Blister Assembly for the Storage and Distribution of Pills
BACKGROUND
[0001] The present disclosure relates to pills management.
[0002] More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a blister
assembly for the storage and distribution of pills.
[0003] It is known in the art of pills management and distribution to
use container-defining sheets also called blister sheets. Such sheets include
cavities, arranged in line and columns, that are associated with moments in a
day and which can be filled with prescription pills for subsequent ordered
distribution to a user. The blister sheet is then sealed by a sheet that is
inscribed with information pertaining to the pills in each cavity. The sealed
blister sheet is such that, during distribution of the pills, each cavity can
be
conveniently detached.
[0004] Examples of a conventional blister sheet assembly is
described in Canadian Patent No. 2,207,045, issued to Dispill Inc. in June
1st,
2009 and titled "Kit and Process for the Manufacture of a Set of Individual
Pill
Containers".
[0005] A drawback of such a conventional blister sheet is that it is
difficult for some disabled or weak user to detach a single blister from the
rest,
even when tearing lines are provided. Also, once that a single blister is
detached, it is relatively difficult to open. Indeed, the sealing sheet
portion is
shaped and sized to precisely cover the top of the blister and there is no
free
portion of the sheet that a user can easily grip. The user has therefore no
other
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choice that to tear the sealing sheet using a sharp object or by applying a
strong enough force thereon.
[0006] The Canadian Patent No. 2,538,623, issued on January 5,
2010, naming Bouthiette as the inventor and titled "Sealing Sheet for Used to
Close a Container-Defining Sheet" aims at solving some of the above-
mentioned drawbacks. According to this patent, the flange around each
container of a container-defining sheet includes a recess, and a bottom layer
of
the sealing sheet assembly includes a small tab that is positioned within the
recess when the container-defining sheet is sealed by the sealing sheet
assembly. The tab is provided to ease peeling of the sealing sheet assembly
from the container.
[0007] A first drawback of the assembly from Bouthiette is that the
recess and tab are only provided on one side of the container. This forces a
user to having first to found the tab before opening the container.
[0008] Also, the blister sheet assembly from Bouthiette shares the
same drawback than the blister sheet assembly from Dispill Inc. with regards
to
the difficulty in detaching a particular blister from the remaining assembly.
SUMMARY
10009] An object of illustrated embodiments of a blister assembly is
to provide means to facilitate the detachment of an individual blister from a
sealed blister sheet.
[0010] Another object is to provide means to facilitate the opening of
a detached blister.
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[0011] More
specifically, the separation and opening of a single
blister from a blister sheet assembly according to illustrated embodiments is
facilitated by providing a notch at each corner of the flange of the blisters.
[0012] In accordance
with an illustrative embodiment, there is
provided a blister sheet comprising:
[0013] a plurality of
spaced-apart cavities, each surrounded by a
flange on an open side of each cavity; the flanges together defining a top
surface of the blister sheet; two adjacent cavities being removably attached
by
adjacent sides of their respective flanges; each of the adjacent sides having
two longitudinal ends, each having a notch;
[0014] whereby, in
operation, when a sealing sheet is secured onto
the top surface, the notches define unattached portions of the sealing sheet
that can be used to grip onto the sealing sheet for its detachment from the
top
surface.
[0015] According to
another aspect a blister sheet assembly results
from removably attaching a sealing sheet onto the top surface of the blister
sheet for closing the cavities.
[0016] According to
another embodiment, there is provided a blister
comprising:
[0017] a cavity
surrounded by a flange on an open side thereof; the
flange defining a top surface of the blister; the flange having a plurality of
sides,
each having two longitudinal ends; at least one of the longitudinal ends
having
a notch;
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[0018] whereby, in operation, when a cover sheet portion is secured
onto the flange, each notch defining unattached portions of the cover sheet
portion that can be used to grip onto the cover sheet portion for its
detachment
from the top surface.
[0019] According to still another embodiment, there is provided a
sheet including at least one detachable portion that is joined to a remaining
portion of the sheet by at least one tearing line, the improvement wherein the
at
least one tearing line being weaker at at least one longitudinal end thereof
than
near a center of the at least one tearing line.
[0020] According to a further embodiment, there is provided a blister
sheet comprising a plurality of containers, each having a surrounding flange;
adjacent containers being attached together by their flanges via a tearing
line
that is weaker at its two longitudinal ends; intersections of two tearing
lines
being provided with a hole that yields unattached portions for each cover
pieces that is secured to a respective flange.
[0021] The use of the word "a" or "an" when used in conjunction with
the term "comprising" in the claims and/or the specification may mean "one",
but it is also consistent with the meaning of "one or more", "at least one",
and
"one or more than one". Similarly, the word "another" may mean at least a
second or more.
[0022] As used in this specification and claim(s), the words
"comprising" (and any form of comprising, such as "comprise" and
"comprises"), "having" (and any form of having, such as "have" and "has"),
"including" (and any form of including, such as "include" and "includes") or
"containing" (and any form of containing, such as "contain" and "contains"),
are
inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements.
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[0023] The expression "blister sheet" is to be construed in the
description and in the claims as to include a plurality of small containers
assembled into a sheet, without restriction as to the material of the sheet or
of
the containers or how such a sheet is intended to be sealed or closed. The
"blisters" should be construed herein as the containers included on the
blister
sheet.
[0024] The expression "cavity" is to be construed in the description
and in the claims to include a device, etching, engraving or groove portions
of
an object, or else, that is capable of receiving and holding one or more small
objects, such as without restrictions medication pills.
[0025] The expression "sealing sheet" is to be construed in the
description and in the claims as including any thin member or assembly that
cooperates with the blister sheet so as to close the cavities thereof and so
as to
prevent spillage of its content, which is not intended to be in liquid-form.
[0026] In the description and in the claims, the expression 'ties'
refers to small attachments between two portions of a sheet and that form a
tearing line between said two portions. Such ties can be formed, without
limitations, by providing, along a line, perforations or dots as it is
conventionally
known.
[0027] Other objects, advantages and features will become more
apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of
illustrative
embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] In the appended drawings:
[0029] Figure 1 is a top perspective view of a blister sheet according
to an illustrated embodiment;
[0030] Figure 2 is a top plan view of the blister sheet from Figure 1;
[0031] Figure 3 is a front elevation of the blister sheet from Figure
1;
[0032] Figure 4 is a perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of
sheet assembly used for sealing the blister sheet from Figure 1;
[0033] Figure 5 is a top perspective of the blister sheet from
Figure 1, shown in a sheet holder during the sealing of the blister sheet
using
the sheet assembly from Figure 4;
[0034] Figure 6 is a perspective view of the sheet assembly from
Figure 4 attached onto the blister sheet from Figure 1 so as to form an
illustrative embodiment of a blister sheet assembly;
[0035] Figure 7 is a partial top perspective view of the blister sheet
assembly from Figure 6, showing one of the blister detached from the
assembly;
[0036] Figures 8A to 8C are perspective views of the detached
blister from Figure 7, illustrating the peeling of the cover portion to open
the
blister; and
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[0037] Figures 9A and 9B are perspective views of the detached
blister from Figure 7, illustrating the piercing of the sheet assembly portion
to
open the blister.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0038] A blister sheet 10 according to a first illustrative embodiment
will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. According to the
illustrated
embodiment, the blister sheet 10 is dimensioned for receiving and distributing
prescription pills (not shown).
[0039] The blister sheet 10 comprises a plurality of spaced-apart
cavities 12 and 14 arranged in seven (7) rows, one for each day of the week,
and four (4) column, each for a different moment in day, such as morning,
lunch, dinner and night. The blister sheet 10 further includes a tab 16 above
the
top row.
[0040] According to the first illustrated embodiment, the cavities 12
from the first and last columns are made bigger that the other cavities 14 so
as
to accommodate bigger pills and/or a greater number of pills. Indeed, as is
often the case for an elder, the morning and night prescriptions, which are
associated to the aforementioned cavities 12, usually include a greater number
of pills 14 or bigger pills compared to other moments of the day.
[0041] As will become more apparent upon reading the following
description, the blister sheet 10 is not limited to having the illustrated
configuration. A blister sheet according to another embodiment (not shown)
includes a different number of rows and/or columns that seven and four
respectively. According to still another embodiment (not shown), the cavities
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are interconnected according to another arrangement than by rows and
columns.
[0042] According to the first illustrated embodiment, the blister
sheet 10 is a one-piece body made of a transparent, semi-transparent or
opaque polymeric material, such as without limitations polypropylene,
including
homo polypropylene, copolymer, high or low density polyethylene, polyvinyl
chloride (PVC), or polyethylene terephtalate.
[0043] According to a more specific embodiment, the blister
sheet 10 is made of a biodegradable polymeric material.
[0044] According to still another embodiment, the blister sheet 10
results from a molding process. Since such a molding process is believed to be
well known in the art, it will not be described herein in more detail for
concision
purposes.
[0045] Since the cavities 12 and 14 differ only by their size, only one
of the cavity 12 from one of the external columns will be described herein in
more detail. It is to be noted that, in the present description, the indicia
prime (')
following a reference numeral is used to indicate a same part or a portion but
of
a different size than a part or a portion referenced by the same un-primed
numeral.
[0046] Each cavity 12 has a generally oval-shaped cross-section
that decreases from the opening 18 to the bottom 20 thereof. The cavity 12 is
surrounded by a flange 22 that is levelled with the opening 18. The flange 22
is
generally rectangular in shape that is defined by four sides. Together a
cavity12-14 with its surrounding flange 22 defines an individual blister 24-
24'.
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[0047] The opening sides of the cavities 12 and 14 are levelled and
the flanges thereof together define a top surface of the blister sheet 10.
[0048] Each adjacent cavities 12 and 14 are attached by adjacent
sides of their respective flanges 22-22'. Examples of such adjacent sides is
the
pair of sides 23-25. The attachment is in the form of a narrow bridge 26 or
26'
including small holes therein so as to yield a dotted tearing line. The
tearing
lines 26-26' are centred relative to the length of the adjacent sides. The
lengths
of the tearing lines 26-26' are such that they do not extend along the full
length
of both adjacent sides. This yields unattached portions 28-28' on both sides
of
the tearing lines 26-26'.
[0049] The intersection of two adjacent sides of a flange 22-22',
such as sides 25 and 27, is cut so as to define a notch 30. The notches 30
increases the surface of the unattached portions 28-28' on the top surface of
the blister sheet 10.
[0050] As will be described hereinbelow in more detail with
reference to Figures 8A-8C, when a sealing cover 52 is secured onto the flange
22 or 22' of a blister 24 or 24', each notch 30 defines an unattached portion
of
the cover 52 onto the blister 24 or 24' that can gripped for easy detachment
thereof.
[0051] Regarding the unattached portions 28-28', they have been
found to ease the detachment of each individual blister 24-24'.
[0052] More generally, it has been found that a tearing line that has
less dense ties and/or narrower ties at both its longitudinal ends than near
its
center, or no tie at both its longitudinal ends, is easier to tear than a
tearing line
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that has identical ties along its full length and than a tearing line that has
its
weaker ties differently positioned than at its longitudinal ends.
[0053] Indeed, considering that a user usually grips a sheet portion
for its detachment near one of the longitudinal ends of the tearing line, the
force
applied onto said tearing line in a direction which is not perpendicular to
the
tearing line increases with the distance of the hand therefrom. When the sheet
is made of paper or of any tearable material, this often causes the
detrimental
tearing of the sheet along a direction transverse to the intended tearing
line.
This is in addition to the excess force that needs to be applied in such a
case to
start the tearing.
[0054] The tab 16 extends along the width of the sheet 10 and
includes hook-like portions 34 that extend beyond the width of the sheet 10 at
both longitudinal ends of the tab 16.
[0055] The tab 16 further includes two tenons 36 to be received in
guiding holes 40 of the sealing sheet assembly 32. The tenons 36 and holes 40
cooperates to force the alignment of the sealing sheet assembly 32 with the
blister sheet 10 as will be described hereinbelow in more details.
[0056] It is to be noted that other elements than the tenons 36 and
holes 40 can be provided for aligning the sheets 10 and 32. According to other
embodiments (not shown), such aligning elements, the hooks 34 and/or the
tab16 are omitted.
[0057] An illustrated embodiment of the sheet assembly 32 will now
be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. It is hereby reminded that a
blister sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention can be
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sealed by single-layer or multi-layer sheets having other configurations and
shapes than the sheet assembly 32. Also, even though the assembly 32 is
made of paper, a blister sheet according to an embodiment of the present
invention can be sealed by a sheet made of a polymeric material, a
combination of paper and polymer, or else.
[0058] The sheet assembly 32 includes a cover layer 42 having a
first side 44 suitable to receive information thereon and a second side 46
that
includes an adhesive. The sheet assembly 32 further includes a peelable
bottom layer 48 removably adhered to the cover layer 42. According to the
illustrated embodiment, the peelable layer 48 extends from the cover layer 42
from both lateral side thereof so as to ease its removal therefrom. According
to
another embodiment (not shown), the peelable layer is similarly dimensioned
than the cover layer.
[0059] The cover layer 42 includes first dotted tearing lines 50 that
delineates cover pieces 52 and 52'. Each of the cover pieces 52 and 52' is
configured and sized so as to cover blisters 24 and 24' respectively.
[0060] The cover layer 42 also includes a tab portion 54 that
includes the afore-mentioned holes 40 and that is delineated by second dotted
tearing lines 56. The tab portion 54 is configured and sized to be conformed
with the tab 16 of the blister sheet 10.
[0061] The cover layer 42 further includes a top margin that allows
the writing or printing of patient and/or prescription-related information.
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[0062] The cover layer 42 further includes oval dotted tearing lines
58-58', each generally centered within the cover pieces 52 and 52'
respectively.
The oval dotted tearing lines 58-58' define piercing areas therewithin.
[0063] The peelable bottom layer 48 includes tearing lines similar to
those of the cover layer 42 and that are aligned with the tearing lines 50, 56
and 58-58' of the cover layer 42.
[0064] In addition, the bottom layer 48 includes continuous oval-
shaped tearing lines 60-60' that are so configured and positioned as to
surround one of the dotted oval-shaped tearing lines 58 and 58' therein. The
tearing lines 60-60' define oval-shaped patches 62-62'.
[0065] Since the lines 60 and 60' are continuous, the patches 62-62'
remain on the cover layer 42 when the bottom layer 48 is peeled therefrom.
These patches 62-62' allows preventing pills in the blisters 24-24' from
adhering onto the cover layer's 42 adhesive.
[0066] The sealing operation of the blister sheet 10, so as to yield a
blister sheet assembly 64, will now be described in more detail with reference
to Figure 5.
[0067] After the cavities 12 are filled with selected prescription pills
(not shown), the blister sheet 10 is first inserted in a support frame 66 that
is
configured to receive the blister sheet 10 therein in a snugly-fit manner so
that
movement of the blister sheet 10 relative to the frame are prevented or
limited.
It is to be noted that the support frame is not limited to the illustrated
embodiment.
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[0068] It is also to be noted that the blister sheet can be sealed
without having recourse to a support frame, as the aligning means are provided
on the blister and sealing sheets 10 and 32. When the blister sheet 10 is
intended to be used without a support frame 66, the table can be provided with
legs or support elements to maintain the tab 16 in a parallel relationship
with
the flanges 22 and 22' when a downward force is applied thereon.
[0069] The tab portion of the peelable layer 48 is then removed and
the two-layer sheet assembly 32 is positioned onto the blister sheet 10 and is
aligned therewith by inserting the tenons 36 into the holes 40. The user then
presses the tab portion 54 of the sheet assembly 32 onto the tab 16 of the
blister sheet 12 so as to ensure a good adherence therebetween.
[0070] While the alignment of both sheets 10 and 32 is maintained
by the above-described adherence between the tabs 16 and 54, the portion of
the sheet assembly 32 that overlays the blisters 24-24' is raised (see arrow
68)
and the bottom layer 48 is peeled from the cover layer 42 (see arrow 70). As
described hereinabove, the patches 62-62' then remain on the cover layer 42.
The portion of the sheet assembly 32 that overlays the blisters 24-24' is then
lowered (see arrow 68) and the user presses onto the sheet assembly 32 to
improve the adherence of the sheet 32 onto the blister sheet 10 which is then
sealed. The resulting blister sheet assembly 64 is shown in Figure 6.
[0071] The blister sheet assembly 64 can then be handled and
stored without the risk of losing pills or any other content of the cavities
12. For
example the blister sheet assembly 64 can be hanged by the hooks 34 for
vertical storage before distribution of the content thereof.
[0072] The blister sheet 10 can be sealed by other sealing sheet or
sealing sheet assembly than the illustrated cover sheet 42. Also, the blister
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sheet 10 can be sealed by a cover sheet that is secured thereto by adhesive
strips (not shown).
[0073] As can be seen
in Figure 7, an individual sealed blister 24
can be detached from the blister sheet assembly 64 by tearing along lines 26
and 26'. Since the cover sheet 42 is also provided with tearing lines 50 that
are
registered with the tearing lines 26-26', the cover pieces 52 or 52' is
detached
in unison with the corresponding blister 24-24', yielding a detached sealed
blister 24 or 24'. As described hereinabove, the separation of a blister 24 or
24'
is facilitated by the dotted tearing lines 26, 26' being only at the center
between two adjacent blister 24, 24' with unattached portions 28-28' on both
sides of the tearing lines 26-26'.
[0074] The
configuration of the blister sheet assembly 64 allows two
different opening methods of an individual blister 24 or 24' as will now be
described with reference to Figures 8A-8B and to Figures 9A-9B.
[0075] As shown in
Figures 8A-8C, a sealed blister 24 can be
opened so as to access its content by peeling the cover piece 52 attached
thereto. This is achieved by the gripping of one of the four corners 72 of the
cover piece 52 by a user that then only has to lift it while holding the
blister 24
(see arrow 74). It is reminded that the four corners 72 are caused to be free
by
the notch 30. The person opening the blister 24 or 24' is not require to hold
it in
any particular orientation since a notch 30, and therefore an unattached
portion
of the cover piece 52, are provided at each corner 72.
[0076] As can be seen
in Figure 9A-9B, a blister 24 or 24' can be
opened by piercing the cover piece 52 using the tip of a finger 76 or any
moderately sharp object. Piercing of the cover piece is facilitated by the
tearing
line 58 or 58'.
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[0077] It is to be noted that the receptacles are not limited to the
illustrated oval shape. They can be round, rectangular, teardrop shaped,
irregular, etc.
[0078] The notches provided at the corner of the flanges 22 and 22'
are not limited to being straight and can have other forms. For example, the
flange can be oval or circular in shape, which would yield arcuate notches.
[0079] The blister sheet is not limited to receiving pills therein.
More
generally, it can be used for receiving any small, particulate or granular
objects
or matter.
[0080] The blister sheet is not limited to be in the form of a one-
piece body and the cavities can be in the form of containers interconnected by
their flanges. According to such an embodiment, the flanges of the cavities
are
provided with complimentary attaching elements that allow assembling a blister
sheet having a given number of cavities. For example, such a blister sheet
having two (2) columns and (7) rows is assembled for a patient whose
prescription includes pills only for the morning and night.
[0081] It is to be understood that the blister sheet and blister sheet
assembly are not limited in their application to the details of construction
and
parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described hereinabove. The
blister sheet and blister sheet assembly are capable of other embodiments and
of being practiced in various ways. It is also to be understood that the
phraseology or terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and
not limitation.
