EP0725015A1 - Package for tablets contained in a blister pack - Google Patents

Abstract

In this blister pack for tablets, the blister section connects to a one piece packing blank, which locks into the side of the blister, when folded together. To remove the tablet from the blister it is pressed through the backing layer of the blister sheet, through a penetration of the packing section. The structure is novel in having ≥ 3 folds, defining rectangular carrier surfaces forming the packing section. One is the base of the blister. The other two (8, 9) form a double layer over the blister section, one (9) with a cut-out (6) in its side edge. Between them (8, 9) is an interspace for a packing inlay (27). The surface taking the blister section (11) has a further cut-out, showing the user e.g. a printed expiry date.

Description

The invention relates to a packaging of tablets or the like accommodated in a blister section according to the preamble of claim 1.

It is customary in the pharmaceutical industry today to weld solid medicaments in the form of tablets, dragees, capsules, pellets or the like in airtight blister strips, the tablets, capsules or dragees being individually packaged. A blister strip can e.g. B. 1 to 20 or more tablets, coated tablets or capsules. The actual packaging can contain 1 to 10 or more of the blister strips mentioned. The use of the term tablets hereinafter includes any type of solid drug, such as. B. also capsules, coated tablets, pellets and others. In addition to medicinal products in the narrower sense, tablets in the aforementioned sense can also contain food, nutritional supplements and tonics, vitamins, minerals, personal care products, etc.

Pharmaceuticals requiring pharmacies also require a package insert or a "leaflet" prescribed by the German Medicines Act, which contains information and instructions on the use and the profile of the drug in question in terms of consumer protection.

According to the German pharmaceutical law (which, in terms of packaging of tablets, corresponds to the pharmaceutical law of all EU countries in essential points), pharmaceuticals must be packed securely. This is ensured on the one hand by applying a so-called "tamper-evident seal" and on the other hand by "child-safe" precautions. By breaking the tamper-evident seal, the user is made aware that the packaging is no longer in its original condition.

Long-term stability, hygiene and manageability of tablets in blister strips are compared to other packaging in bottles or in loose form in boxes has been improved, but this has created new problems.

Used blister strips require special disposal because they often contain heavy metals and / or chlorine-containing plastics. However, since there is no special waste regulation for used blister strips, there is a considerable environmental impact from used drug blister strips.

Because of the sensitivity of blister strips, it is necessary that they be pushed back into their outer packaging after a tablet has been removed. As a rule, the package insert also accommodates in the package, so that the user often takes this package insert out of the package and often throws it away when a blister strip is first removed. The consumer misses the information contained in the package insert for the time until the medication is used up. This can also result in a health risk for the consumer.

For this reason, among other things, the Medicinal Products Act prescribes that the package insert must be of a certain size, design and legibility. The medicinal product manufacturer is obliged to ensure that the package leaflet can be kept intact in the packaging and is visible inside the packaging whenever the package is opened.

Because of the laborious process of pushing the blister strips into and out of packaging, consumers often keep the blister strips without their packaging. This creates the risk that if a blister strip is stored loose, for example in a handbag, the top layer covering the tablets is damaged and the sterility of the pack is thereby imperceptibly violated.

From GB-OS 2 266 880 a blister pack is known in which a blister strip is glued to a folding pack in such a way that the individual tablets of the blister strip overlap with cutouts of the folding pack and thus the Allow tablets to be removed while the blister strip remains attached to the folding pack.

This packaging is a blister packaging for tablets exclusively for the clinical testing of drugs, e.g. B. in clinics and hospitals. The packaging is only intended to help the user to differentiate the medicament (verum) actually to be tested from the apparent tablet, the so-called "placebo". As described there, it is a "blister card" as such, on which an instruction ("instructions") - not to be confused with a "package insert" - is printed.

The blister card described in GB-OS-2 266 880 is not suitable for placing medicinal products on the market under pharmaceutical law.

A similar packaging is known from US Pat. No. 4,340,141, in which a multi-ply folding carton is folded in such a way that a receiving pocket is also formed for receiving "product information". Similar to GB-OS 2 266 880, this is a packaging for the controlled storage of drugs - i.e. intoxicants and narcotics in closed institutions. It is not marketable in the sense of (German) pharmaceutical law. The "product information" in the bag does not have the character of a package insert. The entire facility is designed to "protect against misuse of drugs".

The invention has for its object to provide a package for receiving tablets in a blister section, which is environmentally friendly, enables improved handling, ensures safe storage of tablets and package insert and is inexpensive.

This object is achieved by the invention specified in claim 1. Advantageous developments of the invention are specified in the subclaims.

According to the invention, a generic packaging is essentially characterized in that the blister section is inserted into a one-piece packaging blank, which in the folded state, the die Includes tablets containing side of the blister section and at the same time contains a receiving space for a package insert.

The invention ensures that the entire packaging is formed as a single piece, a part of which receives the blister section, which is usually inseparable from the rest of the packaging blank. The fact that the tablets are inside the folded packaging means that they cannot be accidentally pressed out of the packaging or damaged. This also ensures "child safety".

The blister section is preferably formed as part of a folded-out blank from rectangular carrier surfaces that can be closed at the open end by an adhesive strip. This ensures easy opening and reclosing of the packaging. It is not necessary to push a blister section into or out of separate packaging. This saves packaging cutting, the packaging remains secure and handling is significantly improved. The special design of the packaging also allows the package insert to be inserted into a pocket of the package, where it is always available and the information in the package insert can be read at any time if required.

An environmentally friendly effect is achieved in that after the tablets of a blister strip have been used up, the empty blister strip can be removed and disposed of. The user can insert new blister strips into the receiving pocket of the packaging according to the invention from a storage container which contains several blister strips of the same medicament. For this reason, the packaging according to the invention, which generally carries a 10-pack blister strip, can be offered in combination with a large pack which contains larger quantities of the same medication in 10-pack blister strips. The blister strips are then dimensioned such that they fit seamlessly into the above-mentioned receiving pocket of the packaging according to the invention. Thus, the packaging according to the invention can also be used as a reusable bag for holding Serve blister strips. The user therefore always has smaller and smaller amounts of his medication at hand.

The packaging according to the invention can also be designed in such a way that the blister section is designed as an extension of a side wall of the packaging, the blister section being able to be inserted into the interior of the packaging by folding, so that packaging results in the folded state in which the blister section is enclosed on both sides by outer walls. In its protective shadow, such a packaging corresponds entirely to a conventional packaging in which blister strips are loosely accommodated. In the subject matter of the invention, however, the blister section can be part of the packaging blank, so that there is no need to slide a loose blister section out or in.

As with conventional packaging, it is also possible with the packaging according to the invention to use a plurality of blister sections which, however, are connected to one another and form part of the overall packaging blank. If there are more than two blister sections, these are folded, for example, in a zigzag fashion. It can be provided that the fold edges are perforated between individual blister sections in order to be able to prematurely separate an empty blister section from the rest of the packaging blank.

To simplify the manufacture of a packaging according to the invention, it can be provided that the packaging blank contains cutouts through which the raised foil areas of already finished blister sections can be carried out, the blister sections being glued to the rest of the packaging blank, for example, or being held by a cover surface.

A packaging according to the invention generally has sufficient free space on the inside of the packaging in order to be able to hold further information there, which was previously usually printed on a package insert, so that the package insert can be reduced in size.

Another advantage of packaging is that it addresses a common problem with expiration date handling. Since the blister strips of conventional packaging are often lost after being removed from the packaging, it has previously been necessary for the expiry date to be printed on both the blister strips and on the packaging. In the case of the packaging according to the invention, the expiry date cannot be printed on the packaging, since the printing on the blister strip is sufficient. For this reason, it is preferred that the blister strip in the present packaging is designed in such a way that the expiry date always appears when it is pushed into the blister bag as intended. This saves one work step in the manufacture of the packaging and at the same time ensures compliance with the drug regulations on the expiry date.

Fig. 1

eine Verpackung, bestehend aus zusammengefalteten rechteckförmigen Abschnitten,

Fig. 2

eine rechteckförmige Verpackung mit Verschluß durch Klebestreifen,

Fig. 3

eine Schnittansicht durch eine Ausführungsform,

Fig. 4

eine Schnittansicht durch eine andere Ausführungsform,

Fig. 5

eine rechteckförmige Verpackung mit doppeltem Blisterabschnitt,

Fig. 6

eine andere Ausbildung einer rechteckförmigen Verpackung mit doppeltem Blisterabschnitt,

Fig. 7

einen Packungszuschnitt einer Verpackung nach Fig. 6,

Fig. 8

einen vereinfachten Verpackungsausschnitt vergleichbar mit Fig. 1, und

Fig. 9

eine fertige Verpackung nach Fig. 8.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment. Show it:

Fig. 1

a package consisting of folded rectangular sections,

Fig. 2

rectangular packaging with adhesive tape closure,

Fig. 3

2 shows a sectional view through an embodiment,

Fig. 4

2 shows a sectional view through another embodiment,

Fig. 5

rectangular packaging with a double blister section,

Fig. 6

another embodiment of a rectangular package with a double blister section,

Fig. 7

6 shows a package blank of a package according to FIG. 6,

Fig. 8

a simplified packaging cutout comparable to Fig. 1, and

Fig. 9

a finished packaging according to FIG. 8.

Fig. 1 shows a packaging in the simplest form. The packaging consists of two rectangular halves, one half being formed by the front side 1 and the other half by the rear side 2. The halves are connected to one another via the underside 7. At their open edges they can be releasably attached to one another by an adhesive strip, which also forms the tamper-evident seal.

Inside the front 1 and back 2 there is a tablet 3, enclosed between the back 2 and a transparent film 15, which forms the top of the blister strip. Environmentally friendly, transparent natural or plastic materials can be used for this. Transparent, solid strips of honey, gelatin, protein, starch and paper come into consideration as natural substances. Polyethylene, propylant, polypropylene (PP) and similar substances can be used as plastics.

The back of the blister strip can be formed by water-repellent, tearable material. For this, z. B. aluminum coated paper.

Fig. 2 shows a rectangular packaging in which the front and back sides are separated only by a crease line 5. The remaining structure of the packaging corresponds to that of Fig. 1. The closure can also be formed by an adhesive strip 4 in this case.

In FIG. 1, the rear side 2 can directly form the rear cover layer of the blister section which is applied to a carrier board 14. A corresponding sectional view of the rear side 2 is shown in FIG. 3. A transparent film 15 is applied to the cover layer 16, which also forms the outside, the tablet 3 being located between the transparent film 15 and the cover layer 16. The transparent film 15 is covered on the upper side by the carrier layer 14 provided with cutouts, which is part of the packaging blank.

The cover layer 16 consists in particular of an aluminum-paper connection, which on the one hand provides a sterile seal for the tablet receiving space guaranteed, on the other hand, however, it can be broken open from the inside onto a tablet by sufficient pressure.

FIG. 4 shows a cutout view of a packaging as it is preferably used in the embodiments according to FIGS. 1 and 2. There, the back layer 17 provided with openings, which is part of the packaging blank, forms the back of the packaging to which a blister section with the cover layer 16 and a transparent film 15 is applied. The blister section can, but need not, also be accommodated in an additional carrier layer 14.

Fig. 5 shows a package in which the base is folded back inside the package so that there are two sub-bases 18, 19 inside the package, which are placed back to back. As a result, two blister sections with tablets 3 and 20 can be accommodated simultaneously.

Instead of arranging the blister sections diagonally in the packaging, it can also be provided according to FIG. 6 that the partial base areas 18 and 19 are arranged parallel to the side walls 1 and 2. This is brought about by the edge section designed as a carrier tab 21. Here, too, the blister sections are placed back to back.

Although it is possible that the end faces of the packaging can remain open in all of the aforementioned embodiments, it can also be provided that the end faces are closed by side and folding tabs 24 and 25, as shown in a plan view of a package cutout according to FIG. 7 are. The partial base areas 18 and 19 of the one-piece packaging blank are provided with cutouts 23 and form the carrier layer 14 for receiving the blister sections, the transparent films of which protrude through the cutouts 23.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, there is sufficient space on the inside of the packaging blank to print out certain information from the information previously printed on "package inserts".

In order to accommodate the actual package insert, the packaging blank has two carrier surfaces 8 and 9 connected to one another on the edge, of which the surface 9 has a lateral arcuate cutout 6. Since the carrier surfaces are connected to one another only on the edge side, in particular on the long sides, a pocket for accommodating the package insert, in which the latter is loosely accommodated, results after the carrier surfaces 8 and 9 are folded.

A similar design without side flaps is shown in FIG. 8. It is also shown there that the base area contains a cutout 10 in which the embossed expiry date of the blister section can be seen.

To fasten the blister section, a cover surface 13 is provided which has a rectangular window 12 in order to be able to receive the tablets and which is glued to the base on three sides in order to form a receiving pocket for the blister section in this way.

When the blister strip is inserted into the pocket thus formed, the tablets can be pushed out through the back of the blister and through the openings in the base. After removing the last tablet, the blister strip can be removed and replaced with a new one from a storage box so that the amount of waste can be reduced.

FIG. 9 shows a finished packaging according to FIG. 8 with 10 tablets in a blister section 28. One or two tamper-evident closures 22 and 26, which are designed as adhesive strips, are also shown. In the pocket of the carrier surface 9 there is the package insert 27, which can be removed if required, but which, unlike a conventional box, can remain in the packaging without any disruptive influence.

Reference list

1

front

2nd

back

3rd

tablet

4th

Adhesive strips

5

Crease line

6

Neckline

7

bottom

8th

Carrier surface

9

Carrier surface

10th

Neckline

11

Floor space

12th

window

13

Cover area

14

Carrier layer

15

Transparent film

16

Top layer

17th

Backing

18th

Partial base areas

19th

Partial base areas

20th

tablet

21

Carrier tab

22

Tamper-evident closure

23

Cutouts

24th

Side tab

25th

Folding tab

26

Tamper-evident closure

27

Package insert

28

Blister strips

Claims (6)

Packaging for accommodating tablets (3) or the like accommodated in a blister section, in which the blister section is connected to a one-piece packaging blank which, when folded, encloses the side of the blister section containing the tablet (3), a tablet (3) for removal from the blister section by pressing on a film (15) covering a cover layer (16) of the blister section through the cover layer (16) and an opening (17) of the packaging blank, characterized in that the packaging blank from at least three by folding lines against each other demarcated rectangular support surfaces is formed, one support surface (11) forming the base for receiving the blister section and the two other adjoining interconnected support surfaces (8, 9) forming a double-layered cover surface for covering the blister section, the folded in State inner support surface (9) has an edge-side cutout (6) so that a receiving space for receiving a package insert (27) is formed between the support surfaces (8, 9) forming the cover surface, and that the base surface (blister section (28)) 11) has a cutout (10) at a point at which the blister section inserted into the packaging bears information to be made accessible to the user, in particular the expiry date. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that the blister section is part of a folded blank of rectangular support surfaces which can be closed at the open end by an adhesive strip (4). Packaging according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the base is formed (11) consists of two folded in the package base areas (18, 19) to receive opposite two blister sections. Packaging according to Claim 1, characterized in that the base area (11) and the blister section are covered by a cover area (13) which is connected laterally to the base area via a fold line and has one or more cutouts, base area (11) and cover area (13) , which are connected to each other at three side edges, form a pocket into which the blister section can be inserted laterally. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that after the tablets contained in a blister strip have been used up, the blister strip can be removed from the packaging and replaced by a new blister strip. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that a tamper-evident closure (22, 26) closing the packaging is provided.

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