BLISTER CARD WITH OPENING FOR TOOL HANDLE
A sandwich-type blister card is provided to contain a tool such as a pliers or scissors with a handle extending outside the blister.
This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/006,309 filed on Jun. 2, 2014 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUNDThe present application is directed to blister cards, and more particularly, to sandwich-type blister cards where the blister contains an item such as a tool with a part such as a handle extending outside the blister.
Merchandise items are often packaged on blister-type display cards. Such display cards may include a plastic blister to hold the product, and a printed paperboard card describing the product. The blister may be attached to the card, or may enclose the card. When tools are packaged in such display cards, it may be desired to have a portion of the tool exposed. This may be especially true with tools such as pliers, scissors, and the like where a handle may be left outside the blister so that a prospective purchaser may move the handle and observe the action of the tool. U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,805 to Fethke discloses a scissors housed in a blister attached to the front of a single card, with one of the scissors handles outside the blister. U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,551 to Theros discloses a clamshell blister that wraps around a card and pliers, with the handles of the pliers extending outside the clamshell blister at the bottom of the package. U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,417 to Seaton discloses a clamshell blister that wraps around a pair of gardening shears, with one handle extending sideways outside of the blister.
The present invention involves a blister whose perimeter flange is sandwiched between two cards, with one or more openings in the blister through which part or parts of the product (such as handles) may extend.
SUMMARYIn one aspect a blister card is disclosed for holding a content item, the blister card including a front panel with a window therein created by at least partly separating a cutaway portion from the front panel; a back panel attached to the front panel; a blister comprising a blister cavity and a peripheral flange, the blister cavity protruding through the window and the peripheral flange received between the front and back panels; wherein the cutaway portion is positioned between the blister and the back panel; and wherein an opening is formed in the blister cavity through which a portion of the content item may protrude.
In another aspect, a method is disclosed for making a blister card holding a content item, the method including providing a front panel with a window therein defined by a cutline, and a back panel hingedly attached to a lower edge of the front panel; separating the cutaway portion from the front panel leaving a window in the front panel, and placing the cutaway portion onto the back panel in mirror registry with the window; placing into the window a blister having a cavity sized to receive at least part of the content item, the blister having a peripheral flange and a side wall, the side wall having a first opening and a second opening; inserting a content item into the blister card by threading a first portion of the content item through the first opening, with a second portion of the content item being received in the blister cavity and a third portion of the content items extending through the second opening; folding the back panel over upon the front panel, with the peripheral flange between the panels; sealing together the front and back panels around their periphery; sealing together the front and back panels just outside the cutaway portion; and sealing together the back panel and the cutaway portion where the cutaway portion extends beyond the blister.
Other aspects of the disclosed packaging structures will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.
The attached Figures show blister cards including a blister sandwiched between a pair of cards.
As various embodiments of the blister card are described, reference will be made to the attached Figures. Certain parts of the blister cards are denoted by reference numerals. Where there is more than one of the same feature, sometimes only one will be denoted by a reference numeral. If different blister cards have a common feature, it may only be described one time For different embodiments, similar elements may be given the same reference number, incremented by 100, 200, etc.
Where assembly steps are described, these steps are exemplary and are not to be limiting as to the sequence of operations used to arrive at the final blister card. Also, directions such as up, down, top, bottom, front, back, etc. are used for convenience in describing the structure and are not meant to be limiting. In most cases the blister cards described here are made from one or several blanks (that is, the cut sheet parts from which the blister cards are made by folding and other steps). However, it should be understood that certain unitary blanks may be provided instead as more than one part, and certain blanks may be combined into single blanks, while still arriving at the same finished package.
As shown in
The panel material along cut lines 112 (between cutaway 114 and the remainder of front panel 110) is preferably well attached to back panel 120, otherwise they are a pick point at which the blister card may be torn. If glue or liquid adhesive is used behind cutaway 114, care must be taken so that the glue extends up to the cut line 112 but does not ooze past the cut line 112 and create unsightly appearance or stickiness. Preferably the cutaway area 114 as well as the remainder of the front panel 110 is heat-sealed to back panel 120. This is possible if the inner surface of the panels is coated with a heat-sealable coating. Then, once the blister card is loaded with the tool as in
A comparison of
The size, position, and shape of the window, the blister, and the blister opening or openings for the handle(s) may be set according to manufacturing preference.
Blister 130 may be made with common thermoform plastics such as PVC or APET but may also include a recycled material such as RRET or a biodegradable material such as PLA. However other materials including other plastics or paperboard may also be used. Besides thermoforming, the case or blister may be formed by injection molding or other manufacturing methods.
With the blister card 100 of
As shown in
As best seen in
The panel material along cut lines 212 (between cutaway 214 and the remainder of front panel 210) is preferably well attached to back panel 220, otherwise the cut lines 212 represent pick points at which the blister card may be torn. If glue or liquid adhesive is used behind cutaway 214, care must be taken so that the glue extends up to the cut line 212 (for good attachment) but does not ooze past the cut line 212 (which would create unsightly appearance or stickiness). Preferably the cutaway area 214 as well as the remainder of the front panel 210 is heat-sealed to back panel 220. This is possible if the inner surface of the panels is coated with a heat-sealable coating. Then, once the blister card is loaded with the tool as in
A comparison of
Where more than one blank is used, the blanks may be assembled in various stages, including assembling a unitary blank into a package, assembling separate blanks and then joining them to form a package, and joining two or more blanks together, for example by heat sealing, gluing, mechanical fastening, or otherwise and then forming the combined blanks into the package.
The packages described herein may be assembled in stages at various locations, for example partially constructing the package, moving or shipping it to one or more other locations, and completing the assembly of the package. For example, a package may be formed into a flattened or collapsible structure, then moved or shipped to another location for final forming, filling, and closure.
Portions of the blister cards may be made of one, two, or more layers of material. It is to be understood that additional layers of material may be used based on manufacturing preferences. Portions of certain panels may be folded over or around the portions of other panels, creating multiple layers of material.
Claims
1. A blister card for holding a content item, the blister card comprising:
- a front panel with a window therein created by at least partly separating a cutaway portion from the front panel;
- a back panel attached to the front panel;
- a blister comprising a blister cavity and a peripheral flange, the blister cavity protruding through the window and the peripheral flange received between the front and back panels;
- wherein the cutaway portion is positioned between the blister and the back panel; and
- wherein an opening is formed in the blister cavity through which a portion of the content item may protrude.
2. The blister card of claim 1, wherein the cutaway portion is in register with the window.
3. The blister card of claim 1, wherein the front panel and back panel are fastened together by adhesive.
4. The blister card of claim 1, wherein the front panel and back panel are fastened together by heat sealing.
5. The blister card of claim 5, wherein the back panel is heat sealed to either the front panel or the cutaway portion around substantially the entire perimeter of the content item.
6. The blister card of claim 5, wherein the cutaway portion is heat sealed to the back panel along the perimeter of the cutaway portion excepting where the cutaway portion is between the blister and the back panel.
7. The blister card of claim 1, wherein the front panel and back panel are hingedly joined along a lower edge of the panels.
8. The blister card of claim 7, wherein the blister cavity receives an upper portion of the content item. while a lower portion or portions of the content item extend below the blister card.
9. The blister card of claim 8, wherein a first portion of the content item extends downward through the opening in the blister cavity.
10. The blister card of claim 9, further comprising a second opening in the blister cavity, wherein a second portion of the content item extends through the second opening.
11. The blister card of claim 1, wherein the front panel and back panel are hingedly joined along a side edge of the panels.
12. The blister card of claim 11, wherein the cutaway portion is hingedly joined to the back panel along the side edge of the back panel.
13. The blister card of claim 11, wherein the blister cavity extends the full length of the content item.
14. The blister card of claim 13, wherein at least a lower portion of the content item is not enclosed by the blister cavity.
15. The blister card of claim 14, wherein the content item lower portion not enclosed by the blister cavity extends through the opening.
16. A method for making a blister card holding a content item, the method comprising:
- providing a front panel with a window therein defined by a cutline, and a back panel hingedly attached to a lower edge of the front panel;
- separating the cutaway portion from the front panel leaving a window in the front panel, and placing the cutaway portion onto the back panel in mirror registry with the window;
- placing into the window a blister having a cavity sized to receive at least part of the content item, the blister having a peripheral flange and a side wall, the side wall having a first opening and a second opening;
- inserting a content item into the blister card by threading a first portion of the content item through the first opening, with a second portion of the content item being received in the blister cavity and a third portion of the content items extending through the second opening;
- folding the back panel over upon the front panel, with the peripheral flange between the panels;
- sealing together the front and back panels around their periphery;
- sealing together the front and back panels just outsole the cutaway portion; and
- sealing together the back panel and the cutaway portion where the cutaway portion extends beyond the blister.
Type: Application
Filed: May 14, 2015
Publication Date: Dec 3, 2015
Inventor: Matthew E. ZACHERLE (Chesterfield, VA)
Application Number: 14/712,058