Abstract:
A package ( 200, 201 ) includes a pair of finger tabs ( 210, 212 ) formed on sheets ( 202, 204 ) that are used to enclose a sterile bandage ( 206 ) and that can be easily gripped by fingers and then pulled apart to expose the sterile bandage ( 206 ). Each finger tab ( 210, 212 ) and sheet ( 202, 204 ) is substantially identical in size and shape to provide uniformity and ease of manufacture. Finger tabs ( 210, 212 ) are positioned off-center at the end of sheets ( 202, 204 ) so that a complementary finger tab and sheet can be positioned facedown with the single finger tab positioned adjacent to the complementary finger tab, yet the finger tab is exposed without interference of the complementary finger tab to provide for ease of opening of the package. Both finger tabs may be located at the same end of the package ( 200, 201 ).

Description:
PRIORITY  
       [0001]     The present invention claims priority under 35 USC section 119 based on a provisional application which was filed on May 31, 2005 and has a Ser. No. 60/685,597. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates generally to packaging and dispensing elements such as a bandage package and the like and more particularly to an easily openable package for a bandage.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Wound dressings are commonly supplied inside a package separate from the dressing, the package serving primarily to maintain sterility of the dressing prior to application on the skin wound. With such dressings, the adhesive side of the dressing is protected by a liner which is removed at the time of application. One such package is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,293. Previous attempts have been made to provide a more efficient dressing system by including the package as part of a system. U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,449 discloses an adhesive bandage and package in which the package serves as a means of applying the bandage to the wound. In this system, the adhesive bandage includes a backing layer with a pressure sensitive adhesive layer and central pad on one surface which is partially covered with a first cover sheet such that the pad is covered and one side of the adhesive surface is releasably attached to the sheet. The partially covered bandage is placed between a pair of second cover sheets slightly larger than the bandage which are releasably sealed around the periphery to provide a sealed package with peel tabs at the end of the bandage adjacent to the partially covered portion of the bandage. To use the bandage, the peel tabs are first pulled back to beyond the partially covered portion. The first cover sheet is then lifted from the package at its end adjacent to the pad and the first cover sheet and a portion of the package on the side of the cover sheet acts as a means for applying the bandage to a skin area. This type of package for the bandage has a disadvantage in that the package is difficult to open because of the complexity involved.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     The package of the present invention includes a finger tab formed on a sheet that is used to cover the bandage and that can be easily gripped by fingers and then pulled apart to expose a sterile bandage. Each finger tab and sheet is substantially identical in size and shape to provide uniformity and ease of manufacture. The finger tab may be positioned off-center from the sheet so that a complementary finger tab and sheet can be positioned facedown so that a single finger tab is positioned adjacent to the complementary finger tab, yet the finger tab is exposed without interference of the complementary finger tab to provide for ease of opening of the package. Both finger tabs may be located at the same end of the package.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the bandage package partially open;  
         [0006]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the unopened package;  
         [0007]      FIG. 3  is the side view of the lower and upper sheets of the package;  
         [0008]      FIG. 4  is the top view of an alternative unopened package;  
         [0009]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a substantially square package; and  
         [0010]      FIG. 6  is a side view of a package of one-piece construction.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0011]      FIG. 1  shows an individual package  200  for enclosing a sterile element such as an adhesive bandage  206  which has been sealed between two facing sheets  202 ,  204  which are slightly larger than the bandage  206 . Each facing sheet  202 ,  204  is substantially identical in size and shape as shown in  FIG. 1  with a finger tab  212  at one end of the facing sheet  202  that is positioned off-center with respect to the longitudinal center axis of the facing sheet  202  and is to one side of one end of the facing sheet  202 . The package  200  for the bandage  206  as shown in  FIG. 1  is assembled with finger tabs  210 ,  212  at the same end of each facing sheet. Since the facing sheets  202 ,  204  are substantially identical, the finger tabs  210 ,  212  are located at the same end of each facing sheet by having one facing sheet  202  facing up and the other facing sheet  204  facing down, and each facing sheet being releasable sealed to the other. Alternatively, the substantially same structure for the package  200  could be achieved by forming a complementary facing sheet with the finger tab positioned at the same end of the facing sheet but having the finger tab located on the other side of the longitudinal center axis of the facing sheet. As shown in  FIG. 6 , another alternative would be to replace the two facing sheets with a single sheet being twice the length and having the finger tabs at opposite ends of the single sheet. The finger tabs could be positioned off-center to oppose each other so that when half of the sheet is folded over onto the other half, the two tabs are at the same end but are positioned side by side. The bandage  206  is enclosed within the folded sheet and sealed therein to ensure that the bandage remains sterile with a line of the releasable adhesive applied to the inner perimeter of the folded sheets. The sealing of the facing sheets may be achieved by applying a small amount of releasable adhesive which could be a line of adhesive applied to the outer perimeter of the inner surface of one or both facing sheets to maintain the bandage in a sterile condition. The finger tabs  210 , 212  are positioned outside of or external to the line  208  of adhesive so that the finger tabs  210 , 212  are free to be grasped at by the user. The facing sheets  202 , 204  could be constructed of different colors to provide a contrast between the facing sheets  202 , 204 , aiding in identifying the function of the finger tabs  210 , 212 . The user grasps both of the finger tabs  210 , 212  and pulls the finger tabs  210 , 212  apart which separates the facing sheets  202 , 204  exposing the inner bandage  206 , eliminating the need to search for a tiny flaps or strings which are difficult to grasp even when they can be located.  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of the package  200  for the bandage  206  including an upper facing sheet  202  of the package  200  and a lower facing sheet  204  of the package  200 . The bandage  206  is positioned between the upper facing sheet  202  and the lower facing sheet  204  to preserve the sterile of the bandage  206 . The bandage  206  may be formed of a backing layer which may be any thin, flexible sheet material suitable for covering a skin wound. The backing layer may be transparent or translucent plastic film which may be resistance to water and breathable for example impermeable to liquids and microbiological contamination but permeable to water vapor and oxygen. The backing layer may include an adhesive for attaching to the skin having similar transparency and permeability characteristics. Attached to the backing layer may be a dressing to be placed over the wound.  
         [0013]     The package  200  as discussed above is constructed of material suitable for enclosing and protecting the bandage  206  including paper, wax paper or other materials commonly used to enclose the bandage  206  today. The upper facing  202  and the lower facing  204  of the package  200  seals the bandage  206  with a line of the adhesive  208  which is applied to the inner parameter of one or both of the facing sheets  202 ,  204  of the package  200 .  FIG. 1  additionally shows that both the upper facing sheet  202  and the lower facing sheet  204  includes a finger tab  212  and finger tab  210  respectively having a width which is approximately one half the width of the facing sheets  202 , 204 . The finger tab  212  includes a radius  216  that allows the finger tab  212  to control the entire width of upper facing sheet  202 . A similar finger tab  210  with a radius  214  on the lower facing sheet  204  has approximately the same dimensions and serves the same function for the lower facing sheet  204 . Other shapes and widths for the finger tabs  210  and  212  are within the scope of the present invention. Lower facing sheet  204  is substantially identical to upper facing sheet  202  but positioned face down so that the finger tab  210  is adjacent to and side-by-side and on the same end of package  200  when the package is unopened. This arrangement of finger tab  210  and finger tab  212  allows the package  200  to be opened by grasping each finger tab  210 ,  212  and peeling the upper facing sheet  202  from the lower facing sheet  204 , exposing and allowing the bandage  206  to be removed from the package  200 . Either side of the upper facing sheet  202  and/or the lower facing sheet  204  may include information to be read either labeled or printed with instructions shown as element P in  FIG. 1  such as push, pull, hold or other suitable indicia.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  illustrates a top view of the package  200  being unopened, and the finger tabs  210 ,  212  are positioned side-by-side at one end of the package  200 . Although not necessary, each of the finger tabs  210 ,  212  could be a different color.  
         [0015]     The upper facing sheet  202  and lower facing sheet  204  including the finger tabs  210 ,  212  could be formed by die cutting, laser cutting or other means of forming the facing sheets. These methods are appropriate for forming the finger tabs  210 ,  212  integrally with the upper facing sheet  202  and the lower facing sheet  204 .  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  shows an alternate structure and method of the invention that incorporates finger tabs  210 ,  212  that have been attached for example with adhesive to upper facing sheet  202  and lower facing sheet  204 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  illustrates a perspective view of the package  200  which is substantially square in contrast to the rectangular package of  FIG. 1 . Other shapes for the package  200  are within the scope of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  illustrates a side view of the package  201  with a one-piece construction as discussed above. Instead of using two facing sheets to form the package  200 , a single sheet having approximately twice the width or twice the length of the facing sheet shown in  FIG. 1  is used to form the package  201 . A single sheet which has a dimension of approximately twice the width includes a fold line along the longitudinal direction approximately in the center of the single sheet  201 . The single sheet which has a dimension of approximately twice the length has a fold line in the center of the single sheet transverse to the longitudinal direction. After assembly, the package  201  should appear as seen in  FIG. 2  when viewed from above. 
        Although embodiments of the invention have been described in the foregoing detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, and particularly to bandage applications, but is capable of rearrangements, modifications, and substitution of parts and elements as well as use in numerous devices requiring a package. The present invention is therefore intended to encompass such rearrangements, modifications and substitutions of parts and elements as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.