Device for selectively dispensing solid products from a blister strip retained in the device

Abstract

Device for safeguarding a blister strip and enabling a tablet or the like to be dispensed from a respective housing on the blister strip, which is retained and protected within the device. This latter is formed from a single sheet of cardboard folded about the blister strip, the blisters of which extend through holes provided in a part of the sheet, in the other part of which there being provided breakable knurlings defining removable discs which are aligned with said holes to enable said discs to break with consequent detachment of said discs and expulsion of said tablets when the individual blisters of the blister strip are pressed with the finger of one hand.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device able to retain and protect a blister strip having a plurality of separate seats containing solid products, the device being such as to enable the solid product enclosed in each housing of the blister strip to be selectively expelled when the blister of a housing is pressed with the finger of one hand.

2. Discussion of the Background

Many solid products (for example pharmaceutical products in the form of pills, tablets, capsules, sugar-coated pills and the like) are known to be often packaged in blister strips consisting of an easily breakable air-impermeable sheet of aluminium (or other material) thermobonded to a sheet of transparent plastic material shaped to form cavities or projections which, together with the aluminium sheet, define housings in which said tablets or the like are positioned and protected. At these housings the blister strip presents blisters or the like which can be individually squeezed or pressed with the finger of one hand to break the opposing portion of the aluminium sheet and hence expel the respective tablet from the blister strip.

Blister strips are widely distributed and are sold contained in boxes which are mostly formed of cardboard. The boxes—which often contain illustrative leaflets, obligatory if the products to be dispensed are pharmaceutical products—are rather bulky and the user often retains only the blister strip and disposes of the box. It follows that as the aluminium sheet of the blister strip can be involuntarily broken at undesired points, either when used to expel a single tablet or the like, or while simply retained in a box or handbag, there is the drawback that one or more tablets or the like can be accidentally expelled from their respective housings on the blister strip, or that the aluminium sheet under a tablet can simply be partially broken, hence leaving the tablet exposed to the outside environment.

In seeking to limit these drawbacks, the thickness of the aluminium sheet can be increased (so increasing costs and the difficulty encountered in expelling the tablet from the blister strip), or rigid devices of moulded plastic or metal construction can be used in the form of a box in which to contain the blister strip, this box presenting opposing holes such that the blisters of the blister strip project from a series of holes provided in a wall of the box, to enable each individual tablet to be expelled through a hole provided in the opposing wall of the box; this presents serious drawbacks, one of which is its cost, another being that the person who acquires and wishes to use a blister strip must remember to also purchase or carry the box for containing the blister strip, a further drawback being that there is no protection against involuntary expulsion of a tablet each time one or more blisters are involuntarily squeezed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the present invention is provide a device for housing and protecting a blister strip and for enabling an individual tablet to be dispensed only when the user wishes, and without the danger of causing simultaneous expulsion of other tablets or of damaging the aluminium sheet or the like defining the housing, the device being of extremely low cost and housable in the interior of each box housing blister strips, or be formed in one piece with the cardboard forming the box housing the blister strip.

These and further objects are attained by a device characterised by being formed from a single sheet of cardboard in which a folding line is provided dividing the cardboard sheet into a first part and a second part which are rotatable about said folding line and superposable one on the other, in the first part there being provided a plurality of holes through which the blisters of a blister strip positioned between the two parts of the folded cardboard sheet can pass, in the second part there being provided knurlings defining a plurality of breakable discs which are aligned with the respective holes of the first part when the cardboard sheet is folded about said folding line, the discs of said second part of the cardboard sheet having dimensions at least equal to those of the solid products enclosed within the blister strip, which are expelled from the blister strip and from the device by pressing with the finger of one hand on a blister of the blister strip and by the consequent detachment of the disc below said blister.

Preferably at those two ends of the first and second cardboard sheet distant from said folding line there are provided cuts and respective recesses which mutually engage when the cardboard sheet is folded on itself.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a clearer understanding of the structure and characteristics of the device according to the invention, a preferred embodiment thereof is described hereinafter by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cardboard sheet usable to form the device,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cardboard sheet of FIG. 1 partly folded on itself and shown opposite a blister strip for tablets,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the device at the moment of its use, and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section through the device of FIG. 3 taken on the line 4-4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As can be seen from the drawings, the device is formed from a single punched cardboard sheet divided into a first part 1 and a second part 2 (substantially identical) by a folding line 3 formed by creasing the cardboard sheet: notches are preferably provided along the folding line 3 to facilitate folding of the cardboard sheet and to reduce the elastic force which the cardboard sheet develops during its folding.

In the part 1 of the cardboard sheet, holes 4 are provided in an arrangement, shape and cross-section such as to enable passage of the blisters 5 projecting from the surface of the blister strip (FIGS. 2-4) which the device is intended to house and protect.

In the part 2 of the cardboard sheet the are provided a plurality of annular knurlings (not numbered for simplicity), each defining a disc 6 which is removable (by breaking its associated knurling). When the cardboard sheet is folded on itself about the folding line 3, the holes 4 of the part 1 become each aligned with and superposed on a respective disc 6.

At those two ends of the parts 1 and 2 of the cardboard sheet distant from the folding line 3 there are provided recesses 7 and respective cuts 8, the purpose of which is to mutually engage and enable the cardboard sheet folded on itself to remain folded, i.e. unable to open: it can be seen that the recesses 7 define between them an appendix 9 and that the cuts 8 each define a thin elongate appendix 10.

It will be assumed that the aforedefined device when in its rest position (FIG. 1), in which it lies immediately after being produced by a cardboard article manufacturer, is intended to house a blister strip (of known type such as that indicated by the letter B in FIG. 2) having blisters 5 projecting from one part thereof to define housings each enclosing a tablet 11 (the tablet could instead be a capsule, a pill, etc.), whose escape from the respective housing is prevented by a thin sheet of aluminium (or other material) in known manner.

The blisters 5 of the blister strip B are made to penetrate into the holes 4 of the part 1 of the cardboard sheet, which is then folded about the folding line 3 until the blister strip 5 is locked between the parts 1 and 2 of the cardboard sheet, as is apparent on viewing FIGS. 2 and 3 in succession. At this point the two elongate appendices 10 of the part 2 of the cardboard sheet are folded and passed through the recesses 7 of the part 1 until superposed on the appendix 9 of the part 1, to hence lock the device in its folded and engaged state shown in FIG. 3.

Under these conditions the blister strip is securely retained and protected between the two parts 1 and 2 of the cardboard sheet: when a tablet is to be expelled from the device, one of the blisters 5 is pressed with a finger (in the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIGS. 3 and 4) until the underlying disc 6 of the part 2 of the cardboard sheet is detached and the aluminium sheet under the pressed blister broken in correspondence of the blister 5, so that the relative tablet 11 falls or escapes.

It can be seen that during the expulsion of the tablet 11, the other tablets remain in their respective housings because the blister strip is securely retained and protected between the two parts 1 and 2 of the cardboard sheet.

It is important to note that the described device is extremely economical and easy to produce so that a device of this type can be provided inside each box containing a blister strip.

Indeed, the cardboard sheet of FIG. 1 can very easily be produced together with the box, to which it can be connected by a simple breakable knurled line: in that case the device can be automatically inserted into the box at its make-up.

Claims

1. A device for selectively dispensing solid products from a blister strip retained in the device, wherein the device is formed from a single sheet of cardboard in which a folding line is provided dividing the cardboard sheet into a first part and a second part which are rotatable about said folding line and superposable one on the other, in the first part there being provided a plurality of holes through which the blisters of a blister strip positioned between the two parts of the folded cardboard sheet can pass, in the second part there being provided knurlings defining a plurality of breakable discs which are aligned with the respective holes of the first part when the cardboard sheet is folded about said folding line, the discs of said second part of the cardboard sheet having dimensions at least equal to those of the solid products enclosed within the blister strip, which are expelled from the blister strip and from the device by pressing with the finger of one hand on a blister of the blister strip and by the consequent detachment of the disc below said blister.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein at those two ends of the first and second cardboard sheet distant from said folding line there are provided cuts and respective recesses which mutually engage when the cardboard sheet is folded on itself.