A container, in particular for drugs, and a method for manufacturing the same

Abstract: A container, in particular for packings of drugs and similar products, of the type consisting in a single die-cut piece of cardboard, folded and sticked, has one of the sides of said die-cut piece provided with at least one flap foldable externally to the container itself and, said container being provided with detachable bonding means capable of holding said foldable flap or flaps substantially adhering to the wall or walls of the shaped container and allow its unfolding when needed.

Description: The present invention concerns a container, or packing, in particular for drugs, cosmetics and the like, and more in general for all those products which require an accompanying leaflet. As it is known, all pharmaceutical products require an illustrative leaflet in which a series of information and warnings are reported which comprise composition of the drug, dosage and administration, contraindications and the like. Said information require a certain minimum room to be printed in a readable way and therefore, considering the reduced size of said containers and similar packings, said information must be printed on a separate sheet, known as "internal leaflet". It is evident that this affects the packing cost particularly in that each leaflet must be handled separately and then introduced into the formed box during the packaging operation. Of course similar problems arise also for other kinds of products which require the presence of an illustrative leaflet, such as for instance cosmetics, parapharmaceutical products and the like. GB-A-2104048 discloses a carton container for food and similar products wherein a flap forming additional panel is provided with e.g. a promotional item. This panel overlies a wall forming panel of the carton and is temporarily secured thereto by means of a peelable adhesive in the form of two bands and can be removed from the carton without spoiling it. In many cases the above disclosed embodiment cannot be used satisfactorily, in that the flap can be opened and closed again many times without any warning of the container having been opened. This is the case of medicinal products and of boxes that should not be opened until after it has been purchased, as e.g. when the purchase of the container man result in winning a prize, depending of what is printed on or under the flap. There is therefore the need of providing a container, case or similar packing capable of solving the aforementioned problems, avoiding separate handling of internal leaflets and providing proof of the container opening. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to of provide a container, case or similar packing including said leaflet in one piece. A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing said containers. Said objects are achieved by the present invention, which relates to a container comprising the internal leaflet, and a method for the manufacture thereof. More particularly, the present invention concerns a container, specially for packages of medicinal products and the like, of the type consisting of a single die-cut piece, folded and sticked, characterized according to claim 1. Furthermore the invention concerns a method for manufacturing a container of the aforementioned type, characterized according to claim 9. The invention will be now further described with reference to the accompanying drawings given by way of non limiting example and wherein: figure 1 is a top view of a die-cut piece of card board or the like according to the invention; figure 2 is a top view of the die-cut piece of fig. 1 partially folded; and figure 3 is a magnified perspective view of the partially formed container. First of all, it is here pointed out that the word "die-cut piece" is meant to indicate not only all element obtained by die-cutting a cardboard sheet or suitable plastic material, but also a similar element obtained by other ways, such as for instance by molding without die-cutting. Figures 1-3 show a preferential embodiment in which the die-cut piece 1 is drawn from the type of die-cut cardboard material generally used to obtain a container for packing for instance tablets in blister, and which comprises two longitudinal walls 3 and 4 and three transverse walls 2, 5, 6. The verso of wall 2 is sticked onto the recto of wall 6 to form the desired container or case. In all figures, the areas for adhesive application have been highlighted by hatching. The container closure is ensured in a known way by foldable tongues 7, 7', 8, 8'. According to the invention, at least one of the sides of the "traditional" die-cut piece, namely at least one of the sides of walls 2-6, is provided with at least one flap adapted to be folded externally to the container itself and fixable in a detachable way to one of the container walls, so as to be able to substantially adhere to said wall and to be removed from it when desired. The terms "detachable fixing" and "detachable fixing means" as used herein mean a fixing mode and means of said foldable flap(s) to the corresponding container wall(s) in such a manner that not only a detachment is allowed, but in case further detachment and attachment operations can be carried out in succession of said flap(s) to said wall(s). In the preferred embodiment of figures 1-3, the foldable flap is formed by three portions 9, 10 and 11, integral to each other an to the side 12 of wall 6, and provided with creasings allowing their easy folding. In particular, portions 9 and 11 have a substantially equal area as that of walls 3 or 4, while portion 10 has an area corresponding to that of walls 5 or 6. In the formed or shaped container the recto of portions 9, 10 and 11 is placed in contact with the verso of walls 3, 5 and 4, respectively, so that the portions are superimposed to the respective walls. It is obviously possible that the area these portions is smaller than that of the corresponding walls so that the portions 9-11 overlap said walls only in part. In order to maintain said portions adhering to the corresponding walls and in any case allow them to be unfolded when desired, means are provided for detachably bonding the same in correspondence with the edge 13 of portion 11. Said means can be formed by any known device in the art, such as for instance strips of pressure adhesive of the repositionable type, for instance a non permanent adhesive of the type as used for self-adhesive repositionable tickets. In the preferred embodiment of figures 1-3, said means comprise one or more sticking points permanently bonding the end edge 13 of portion 11 to the corresponding area 14 of wall 4. The area of portion 11 which is thus fixed to the underlying wall 4 is defined with reference to the remaining part of portion 11 by means of a pre-set breaking line 13 which allows, when broken, to unfold the portions 9-11. To make said breaking easier, the wall 4 is provided with a notch 16. If an embodiment is wanted wherein it is possible to bond again the portion 11 to the wall 4 of the container after breaking along the line 15, the container bears detachable bonding means of the foldable flap to the container wall 4. The detachable bonding means can be for example in the form of pressure adhesive or, as shown in figs 1 and 3, in the form of a slot 16 cut in the wall 4 and in which a zone of the new edge of portion 11, as obtained after its detachment from the permanently sticked part to wall 4, is housed. The recto of portions 9, 10 and 11 and the verso of wall 3 define an area large enough for printing information thereon and can therefore represent a valid alternative to the free internal leaflet. According to a further embodiment, the foldable flap carries bonding means allowing its full detachment and withdrawal from the container body, said means (not shown) being advantageously formed by a pre-set breaking line. During the manufacturing operations of the aforedescribed container, a die-cut piece 1 is obtained provided along its side with a foldable, 9-11, so as to be external and superimposed to at least part of one or more corresponding walls of the formed box, and said information is printed, before or after the die-cutting operation, on the area corresponding to the recto of flaps 9-11 and to the verso of wall 3 of the die-cut piece (when the container is formed, this area corresponds to the internal side of the flap and to the external side of the wall, in a way that the information is not readable without breaking the flap 11 along its line 15). The die-cut piece 1 is then fed to a folding and sizing machine, of a known type, with the foldable flap that in this case is positioned perpendicularly to the feeding direction. Then the walls 2 and 3 are overlaid to the walls 5 and 4, driving the wall 2 adjacent to the wall 6. A bonding agent is then applied in correspondence with at least one of said walls and of the flap outer edge, i.e. of the edge 13 of the more external flap portion 11; a second folding is performed by superimposing the wall 3 to flap 9, sticking to one another the walls 2 and 6 and forming the container body. A third folding and sticking operation is carried out on the edge 13 onto the corresponding wall 4, resulting in a complete shaping of the container according to the invention, which is kept open and flat up to its final packaging by means of a retractor, according to the known technique. It is evident that the container according to the invention makes this operation much easier, avoiding a free internal leaflet handling.

Claims: A container, in particular for packages of drugs and similar products, of the type consisting of a single die-cut piece (1) folded and glued, and wherein at least one of the sides of said die-cut piece is provided with at least one flap (9, 10, 11) foldable externally to the container itself and with detachable bonding means (15, 6a) to keep said foldable flap or flaps (9, 10, 11) substantially adhering to one or more corresponding walls (3, 5, 4) of the formed container and allow their unfolding when desired, and wherein on at least part of said flap(s) (9, 10, 11) and/or said corresponding wall(s) (3, 5, 4), information, warnings or similar messages are printed, characterized in that said detachable bonding means comprise one or more bonding points (6a) positioned between the end edge (13) of said foldable flap (11) and the underlying container wall, to permanently bond said edge (13) to said wall (4), the bonded edge area being defined with respect to the remaining portion of said flap (11) by a pre-set breaking line (15) that enables to detach said remaining portion of said flap (11) from corresponding the container wall (4) and the end edge (13). A container according to claim 1, further comprising means (15, 16) to fix in a reversible way said remaining portion of the flap (11) to the corresponding container wall (4). A container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said foldable flap is formed by three portions (9, 10, 11) integral to each other and to said side of the die-cut piece (1), said portions being superimposed to as many corresponding walls (3, 5, 4) of the container. A container according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that said reversible fixing means are in the form of one or more areas provided with re-positionable adhesive. A container according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that said reversible fixing means are in the form of at least a slot (16) provided in said wall (4), in correspondence with said breaking line (15) of said foldable flap (11). A container according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said foldable flap (9, 10, 11) further comprises means for fully detaching the same from the container body. A die-cut piece for forming a container according to one of claims 1 to 7, comprising at least one flap extending from the side of at least one of the container walls (4), said flap (9-11) being foldable on corresponding container walls (3, 5, 4) once the container is formed, characterized in that the end edge area of said foldable flap (11) is defined with respect to the remaining part of said flap (11) by means of a pre-set breaking line (15) to provide a receiving area for one or more bonding points to permanently bond said end edge area (13) to a corresponding container wall (4) once the container is formed. A die-cut piece according to claim 7, wherein said breaking line (15) is provided with a protruding portion and a slot (16) is correspondingly located on the corresponding container wall (4). A method for manufacturing a container according to one of claims 1 to 7, comprising the steps of: obtaining a die-cut piece (1) provided, along at least one of its sides (12), with at least a foldable flap (9-11), in a way it results to be external and able to be superimposed to it least part of one or more corresponding walls (3, 5, 4) of the formed container; printing, before or after the manufacture of said die-cut piece, a text and/or information required on said wall or walls (9, 10, 11) and/or on the internal side of said foldable flap(s) (3, 5, 4); folding and sticking to each other the die-cut walls (2, 6) to form the container body; and folding said flap(s) (9-11) and fixing it (them) in a detachable way onto the corresponding wall(s) (3, 5, 4) of the container, characterized in that a pre-set breaking line (15) is die-cut at the end edge (13) of said foldable flap (11) to define said end edge area (13) from the remaining portion of said flap (11), and in that said end edge (13) is permanently bonded to the corresponding area (14) of the corresponding container wall (4) upon forming of the container. A method according to claim 9, to manufacture a container according to claim 3, characterized by the further steps of: feeding said die-cut pieces (1) to a folding and sizing machine with said foldable flap (9-11) perpendicular to the feeding direction; performing a first folding by driving adjacent to one another the two container walls (2, 6) to be bonded; applying a bonding agent in correspondence with at least one of said walls (2, 6) and the end edge area (13) of said flap (9-11); performing a second folding by sticking to each other said walls (2, 6) and superimposing a first wall (3) of the container to the more internal part (9) of said foldable flap (9-11); and performing a third folding by superimposing two subsequent walls of the container (5, 4) to the remaining two edges (10, 11) of said foldable flap (9-11) and fixing said end edge (13) of the foldable flap to the corresponding wall (4) of the box, provided with said slot (16).

Inventors: DE FIORI GIACINTO, RESTA ALESSANDRO, DE FIORI, GIACINTO, RESTA, ALESSANDRO
Applicants: EIKON GRAFICHE SRL, GRAFICHE EIKON S.R.L.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: B65D5
IPC codes: B65D5