BLISTER OR SKIN PACKAGE

Abstract: A blister or skin pack (10) adapted to contain at least one article (16) is formed of a board (11) and a skin (17) of a substantially transparent film mounting the article (16) on the board (11) and bonded to the board (11) by means of an adhesive (14). The adhesive (14) is water based, heat activated and is operable, on peeling the skin (17) from the board (11) to release an article (16), to separate the skin (17) from the board (11) with substantially no mutual contamination, thereby aiding re-cycling of the board (11) and film (17) materials. To form a skin pack (10), the board (11) is air permeable, preferably having apertures (15) uniformly distributed over its surface (12), so that suction (19) applied to the rear face (18) draws the skin (17) to the shape of the article (16). The board (11) has a carton printing ink coating (13) with a high oil or wax content applied to the surface (12) on which the article (16) is retained.

Description: BLISTER OR SKIN PACKAGE This invention relates to packaging products, and in particular to packaging for articles, which package and display those articles at the point of sale to the public. It is known to package articles so that the articles are visible to the buying public prior to purchase. One form of such packaging is known as a blister pack, in which one or more articles is mounted on a card or paper board, hereinafter referred to as a board, with the article or articles and at least the edges of the board encompassed by a blister of a transparent relatively rigid plastics material. After purchase, the article or articles can be removed from the blister pack and the board and blister material discarded. However, when the board and blister material are separated they cannot readily be recycled since particles of the board adhere to the blister material. Furthermore, the production of the blister, which is often formed to encompass the particular article or articles concerned closely and is therefore product specific, requires costly moulding machinery. In addition, it is generally quite difficult to open the pack by hand without the use of scissors, a knife or the like. This leads to accidents. Having regard to the above, an alternative packaging arrangement has been used in a form known as a skin pack. In this case the article is, or articles are, mounted on the board by means of a malleable film which forms to the shape of the article or articles. The film is bonded to the board by means of an adhesive of a strength sufficient to maintain the integrity of the pack during transportation and when displayed in the retail outlet, and to render the pack adequately tamper-proof. This provides a less costly package, but on separation of the board and film material it is found that the film material is contaminated by particles of board material still adhering to it. This results in it being very difficult to recycle the film material, and, as with the blister pack, this is not environmentally acceptable. One product has been proposed to overcome this problem, but without sufficient integrity to contain heavy articles. In addition, the board of this product is formed with slits in the location of the article to facilitate the vacuum forming of the skin around the article and the bonding of the film to the board. Such a pack may be product specific and may also be unsuitable for certain small or heavier articles. It is the object of the present invention to provide a package suitable for large or small articles, which is more readily re-cyclable and therefore more environmentally acceptable than the known packaging products, but at a cost comparable with the currently used skin packs. The invention provides a package product adapted to contain at least one article, comprising a board and a skin of a substantially transparent film mounting the article on the board and bonded to the board by means of an adhesive, whereby the adhesive is heat activated and is operable, on peeling the skin from the board to release an article, to separate the skin from the board with substantially no mutual contamination The adhesive may be a water based adhesive, and may have a water content of between 15% and 70%, preferably between 25% and 50% The adhesive may be a heat seal water based EVA-copolymer resin A coating may be applied to a front face of the board to be contacted by an article The coating may contain an oil or wax The coating may contain a printing ink, or may be a printing ink The printing ink may be a carton ink, preferably with a high oil or wax content The board may have at least 85% of re-cycled fibre therein, and preferably is a substantially 96% re-cycled white-line paper chipboard The board may be made from chlorine free bleached pulp containing 60% woodfree white clippings from a paper converter The board may be an air permeable board, and may have at least one perforation therein The board may have perforations therein that are substantially uniformly distributed over the whole surface of the board The skin may be pre-formed to the shape of the article prior to being bonded to the board Alternatively the skin may be a malleable film The skin may be a thermoplastic polymer film The board and the skin may have an aperture therethrough by means of which the package may be suspended for display purposes Preferably such aperture is disposed at a location at which the skin is bonded to the board The invention also provides a method of packaging an article, comprising mounting the article on a board between the board and a skin of a substantially transparent film, bonding the skin to the board by means of an adhesive, and activating the adhesive by heat to bond the skin to the board, whereby the adhesive is operable on peeling the skin from the board to release the article to separate the skin from the board with substantially no mutual contamination The method may comprise applying the adhesive to the board prior to mounting the article thereon The method may also comprise applying a coating to the board prior to applying the adhesive thereto The board may be printed prior to or together with applying the coating to the board The skin may be pre-formed to the shape of the article prior to being bonded to the board In this case, the method may comprise bringing the skin and the board with the article thereon into contact and activating the adhesive by heating to bond the skin to the board Alternatively, the method may comprise heating the skin to render it malleable, bringing the skin and the board with the article thereon into contact and activating the adhesive by further heating to bond the skin to the board In this case the method may comprise applying suction to the board at that side thereof remote from the article to form the skin to the shape of the article The method may also comprise providing an aperture through the assembled board and skin by means of which the package may be suspended for display purposes Preferably such aperture is provided at a location at which the skin is bonded to the board The method may also comprise packaging a plurality of articles comprising mounting the articles mutually spaced on a board between the board and a skin of a substantially transparent film, bonding the skin to the board by means of an adhesive, applying suction to the board at that side thereof remote from the articles, and activating the adhesive by heat to bond the skin to the board, whereby the adhesive is operable on peeling the skin from the board to release the article to separate the skin from the board with substantially no mutual contamination The skin may be pre-formed to the shape of the articles prior to being bonded to the board Alternatively, the skin may be pre-heated to render it malleable, the skin and the board with the article thereon brought into contact and the adhesive activated by further heating to bond the skin to the board In this case, suction may be applied to the board at that side thereof remote from the articles to form the skin to the shape of the articles The method may comprise separating the articles by cutting the assembled board and skin between the articles The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a packaged article, and Fig 2 is an illustration of several articles in a pack Referring now to Fig 1 , there is shown diagrammatically a skin or blister pack 10 comprising a board 11 to the front face 12 of which a coating 13 is applied To the coated board 11 a water based adhesive 14 is applied In forming a skin pack 10, the board 11 as shown in the Figure, is air permeable, in this case such permeability being achieved by having perforations 15 uniformly distributed over the surface 12 An article 16 is placed on a central part of the front face 12 of the board 11 and a transparent film forming a skin 17, pre-heated to render it malleable, is placed over the article 16 and brought into contact with the front face 12 of the board 11 Suction is applied to the rear face 18 of the board 11 by suction means 19, thereby withdrawing air from between the board 11 and the skin 17 and forming the skin 17 to the shape of the article 16 At the same time a heater 20 applies further heat to the adhesive 14 to activate it and bond the skin 17 to the board 11 surrounding the article 16 The amount of further heating, time and temperature, is dependent on the thickness of the skin 17, and the heat sensitivity and the dimensions of the product 16 A hanging aperture 21 is stamped out of the board 1 1 and skin 17 at a location at which they are bonded together, in order to facilitate suspension of the thus formed skin pack 10 for display purposes As an alternative, in forming a blister pack 10, the skin 17 is pre-formed to the shape of the article 16 and the above described pre-heating and application of suction are not required The board 11 comprises at least 85% of re-cycled fibre, and preferably is a substantially 96% re-cycled white-line paper chipboard The board is made from chlorine free bleached pulp containing 60% woodfree white clippings from a paper converter The coating 13 has a high oil or wax content The coating 13 may comprise or contain a printing ink, preferably a carton ink, for example Lasersafe Pantone ink (Pantone is a Registered Trade Mark), whereby advertising, details of the article 16 to be mounted on the board 11 and/or instructions for its use may be printed on the board 11 Alternatively, a coating of oil or wax may be applied on top of the printing The adhesive 14 is a water based adhesive, whereby it is operable, on peeling the skin 17 from the board 11 to release the article 16, to separate the skin 17 from the board 11 with substantially no mutual contamination The adhesive 14 is a heat seal water based EVA-copolymer resin, for example Adcote 37 R 929 adhesive As an alternative to the method described above, the adhesive 14 may be applied to the film prior to its application to the board 11 to form the skin 17 The film is a thermoplastic polymer film In the case of a skin pack 10, the film is preferably an lonomer resin of partial zinc or sodium salts of ethylene- methacryhc acid copolymers and terpolymers, for example SURLYN film (SURLYN is a Registered Trade Mark) In Fig 2, there is shown a skin or blister pack 22 which is formed in the same manner as pack 10 of Fig 1 , except that in this case several articles 16 are packaged each in a respective shaped portion of the skin 17 on the board 11 The articles 16 may be the same as or may be different from each other, as appropriate in the particular circumstances After the pack 22 is produced, the packaged articles 16 may be separated by cutting the assembled pack 22 between the articles 16, thereby forming individual packs 10 of the type shown in Fig 1 If required, and as shown, a respective hanging aperture 21 for each article 16 may be provided at appropriate locations of the pack 22, but these are preferably cut simultaneously with the separating cutting step By means of the invention there is provided a skin or blister pack suitable for large or small articles, which is environmentally acceptable by virtue of the non-contamination of the board and film materials by the other to facilitate separate re-cycling of those materials, but can be produced at a cost comparable with the currently used skin or blister packs. Alternative arrangements may be apparent to persons skilled in the art. For example, instead of the uniformly distributed perforations shown in the figures, a board 11 and coating 13 may be used that is air permeable to a sufficient extent and the suction then applied to a sufficient strength that the skin 17 is drawn to the shape of the or each article 16. Alternatively, a single aperture, e.g. a slit may be provided, located behind the article or each article, through which the suction can withdraw the air to form the skin 17 to the shape of the or each article 16.

Claims: WHAT WE CLAIM IS 1. A package product containing at least one article, comprising a board and a skin of a substantially transparent film mounting the article on the board and bonded to the board by means of an adhesive, whereby the adhesive is heat activated and is operable, on peeling the film from the board to release the article, to separate the film from the board with substantially no mutual contamination. 2. A package product according to claim 1 , wherein the adhesive is a water based adhesive. 3. A package product according to claim 2, wherein the adhesive has a water content of between 15% and 70%. 4. A package product according to claim 3, wherein the adhesive has a water content of between 25% and 50%. 5. A package product according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the adhesive is a heat seal water based EVA-copolymer resin. 6. A package product according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a coating is applied to a front face of the board to be contacted by an article. 7. A package product according to claim 6, wherein the coating contains an oil or wax. 8. A package product according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the coating contains a printing ink 9. A package product according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the coating comprises a printing ink. 10. A package product according to claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the printing ink is a carton ink. 11. A package product according to claim 10, wherein the carton ink has a high oil or wax content. 12 A package product according to any one of claims 1 to 11 , wherein the board has at least 85% of re-cycled fibre therein 13 A package product according to claim 12, wherein the board is a substantially 96% recycled white-line paper chipboard 14 A package product according to claim 13, wherein the board is made from chlorine free bleached pulp containing 60% woodfree white clippings from a paper converter 15 A package product according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the board is an air permeable board 16 A package product according to claim 15, wherein the board has at least one perforation therein 17 A package product according to claim 16, wherein the board has perforations therein that are substantially uniformly distributed over the whole surface of the board 18 A package product according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the skin is preformed to the shape of the article prior to being bonded to the board 19 A package product according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the skin is a malleable film 20 A package product according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the skin is a thermoplastic polymer film 21 A package product according to any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the board and the skin have an aperture therethrough by means of which the package may be suspended for display purposes 22 A package product according to claim 21 , wherein the aperture is disposed at a location at which the skin is bonded to the board 23 A method of packaging an article, comprising mounting the article on a board between the board and a skin of a substantially transparent film bonding the skin to the board by means of an adhesive, and activating the adhesive by heat to bond the skin to the board whereby the adhesive is operable on peeling the skin from the board to release the article to separate the skin from the board with substantially no mutual contamination 24 A method according to claim 23, comprising applying the adhesive to the board prior to mounting the article thereon 25 A method according to claim 24, comprising applying a coating to the board prior to applying the adhesive thereto 26 A method according to claim 25, comprising printing the board prior to or together with applying the coating to the board 27 A method according to any one of claims 23 to 26, comprising pre-forming the skin to the shape of the article prior to it being bonded to the board 28 A method according to claim 27, comprising bringing the skin and the board with the article thereon into contact and activating the adhesive by heating to bond the skin to the board 29 A method according to any one of claims 23 to 26, comprising pre-heating the skin to render it malleable, bringing the skin and the board with the article thereon into contact and activating the adhesive by further heating to bond the skin to the board 30 A method according to claim 29, comprising applying suction to the board at that side thereof remote from the article to form the skin to the shape of the article 31 A method according to any one of claims 23 to 30, comprising providing an aperture through the assembled board and skin by means of which the package may be suspended for display purposes 32 A method according to claim 31 , comprising providing the aperture at a location at which the skin is bonded to the board 33 A method of packaging a plurality of articles comprising mounting the articles mutually spaced on a board between the board and a skin of a substantially transparent film, bonding the skin to the board by means of an adhesive and activating the adhesive by heat to bond the skin to the board, whereby the adhesive is operable on peeling the skin from the board to release the article to separate the skin from the board with substantially no mutual contamination. 34. A method according to claim 33, comprising pre-forming the skin to the shapes of the articles prior to bonding the skin to the board. 35. A method according to claim 33, comprising pre-heating the skin to render it malleable, bringing the skin and the board with the articles thereon into contact, activating the adhesive by further heating to bond the skin to the board, and applying suction to the board at that side thereof remote from the articles to form the skin to the shapes of the articles. 36. A method according to any one of claims 33 to 35, comprising separating the articles by cutting the assembled board and skin between the articles. 37. A package product substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Fig. 1 or Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings. 38. A method of packaging at least one article substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: BANN TREVOR, BANN, TREVOR
Applicants: ARTHUR W CLOWES LTD, BANN TREVOR, ARTHUR W. CLOWES LIMITED, BANN, TREVOR
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B65D75
IPC codes: B65D75