Abstract:
The package supports a plurality of consumable products. The package is a blister package having a plurality of consumable products housed in a blister tray and covered with a rupturable sheet. The sheet overlies the open surfaces of the blister tray and includes rupturable locations formed thereon for permitting passage of the product therethrough.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of and which claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 11/800,058, filed May 3, 2007 which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/847,263, filed Sep. 26, 2006, each of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to a package for supporting a plurality of consumable products. More particularly, the present invention relates to a blister package having a plurality of consumable products housed in a blister tray and covered with a rupturable blister sheet. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    It has long been known to use blister packages to house and support a plurality of consumable products such as candy, gum, mints, as well as pharmaceutical products such as capsules, tablets and the like. Blister package assemblies of this type include a blister tray having a plurality of upwardly opening compartments which support therein the consumable products. A blister sheet encloses the open upper end of the compartments to sealably cover the products contained therein. 
         [0004]    In certain blister tray assemblies, the blister sheet may be peeled back to expose the compartments allowing for dispensing of one of the products contained therein. 
         [0005]    In other types of blister packaging, a blister sheet is formed of rupturable material such as foil. The product may be dispensed by pushing the product from the compartment through the foil sheet rupturing the sheet thereat and allowing the product to be dispensed therefrom. 
         [0006]    While rupturable blister sheets of this type have served adequately for their intended purpose, it has been found that certain disadvantages are inherent with foil backed blister trays. For example, rupturing the foil sheet can be noisy. This is especially a problem where it is desirable to dispense the product in a discrete manner. The foil blister sheets are also difficult and costly to manufacture and apply to the blister tray. 
         [0007]    Heretofore, the use of plastic films as a blister sheet have not proven to be a suitable alternative. Plastic sheets by their nature stretch when force is applied thereto. Therefore, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to puncture the sheet to dispense the product therethrough. 
         [0008]    It is, therefore, desirable to provide a blister tray assembly which overcomes these disadvantages. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The present invention provides a blister package assembly for consumable products. The blister package assembly includes a blister tray having a plurality of open ended blister compartments opening to a common planar surface. The blister compartments support a consumable product therein. A rupture resistant blister sheet overlies the planar surface of the blister tray and closes the open ends of the compartments. The blister sheet includes rupturable locations thereon in overlying registry with the open ends of the blister compartments. This permits the consumable product to be pushed through the blister sheets thereby dispensing the product. 
         [0010]    In a preferred embodiment, the rupturable locations may be formed by perforations placed partially through the blister sheet. The rupturable locations may also be formed by laser cuts. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a top plan view of a conventional blister tray for use in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  shows, in cross section, one blister of a blister tray including a consumable product supported therein and a closure sheet placed thereover. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the blister package assembly of the present invention showing variations of perforations through the blister sheet overlying the blister tray. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a further embodiment of the blister tray assembly of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIGS. 5-10  are schematic representations of various patterns which can be employed to provide rupturable locations in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 11  is a schematic representative of further scoring patterns forming rupturable locations. 
           [0017]      FIGS. 12-14  are a cross-sectional showings of partial scoring techniques and arrangements used to form ruptured locations. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0018]    The present invention provides a planar sheet or substrate which may be used to cover a product container for supporting a consumable product. In a preferred embodiment shown herein, the present invention provides a blister package assembly for supporting a plurality of consumable products in sealed accommodation. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional blister tray  1  is shown. Blister tray  1  is a generally planar member formed of resilient plastic material such as PVC having an upper surface  2  and a plurality of depending blister compartments  3 . Each blister compartment has an open end  4  and a cavity  5  extending therefrom for accommodating a wide variety of consumable products. in the present illustrative embodiment, the blister tray is preferably used in combination with confectionery products such as gum pieces  6 . 
         [0019]    The blister compartments may be arranged in any desirable array along the blister tray. The blister compartments are depressible and deformable so that pressure placed on the blister compartment will dispense the gum piece  6  through the open upper end  4 . 
         [0020]    In conventional fashion, a blister sheet  8  is placed over planar surface  2  to mutually enclose the open upper ends of the blister compartments. The prior art techniques for sealing blister trays includes the use of metal foil, such as aluminum foil, to seal the open upper end of the blisters. Foil sheet  8  provides the desired environmental protection to the gum pieces  6  supported within the blister compartments  3 . In addition to providing the desired environmental seal, the aluminum foil sheet  8  is readily puncturable to dispense the gum piece  6  from the blister compartment  3 . 
         [0021]    While foil sheets serve adequately for their intended purpose, it has been found that certain disadvantages are inherent with the use of foil. For example, foil sheets are expensive to manufacture and apply to the blister tray. Also, rupturing the foil sheet can be noisy. 
         [0022]    Referring now to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the present invention provides an improved blister package assembly wherein the foil sheet is replaced by a plastic film. The plastic film is more economical to manufacture and apply to the blister tray and eliminates the noise problem associated with rupturing the aluminum sheets. However, as plastic film is resilient and stretches, it is difficult to puncture and thereby dispense a gum piece therefrom. While a sheet or film formed of resilient plastic is shown, the present invention contemplates employing a sheet of film formed of any material which is generally not readily rupturable, i.e., rupture-resistant, and rendering it rupturable as described hereinbelow. 
         [0023]    The present invention is preferably directed to a plastic film which is generally not readily rupturable and may be formed from a wide variety of materials, such as polyester or polyethylene. The film may be formed of a single layer or a composite layer of various materials. Where the film is a composite, it may be laminated together or may employ an adhesive. 
         [0024]      FIG. 3  shows a blister package assembly  10  the present invention. Blister package assembly  10  includes a blister tray  12  and a resilient plastic blister sheet  14 . Blister tray  12  may be conventional construction formed of plastic materials such as PVC. Blister tray  12  includes a planar upper blister surface  16  and a plurality of open ended depending blister compartments  18  arranged in a array therealong. A blister sheet  14  overlies the planar surface  16  of blister tray  12  to enclose and environmentally seal the contents (not shown) in the blister compartments  18 . While one particular arrangement of the blister compartments is shown, it may be appreciated that other arrangements are possible. The contents (for example, gum pieces or pellets, see  FIG. 2 ) may be arranged with one piece in each compartment  18 . Also, multiple pieces may be placed in each compartment. Further, the pieces may he arranged in various orientations within the compartment. 
         [0025]    As above noted the plastic blister sheet  14  is stretchable and thereby resists puncturing to dispense the product therethrough. Therefore, the present invention provides rupturable locations in registry with the open ends of the blister compartments  18 . These rupturable locations  20  may be placed partially through the plastic blister sheet so as to weaken the sheet, thereby resulting in puncturing of the sheet thereat upon attempts to push the product therethrough. 
         [0026]    With specific reference to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the rupturable location  20  may be formed by a wide variety of techniques. Each of these techniques are designed to weaken the plastic film over the open ended compartments so that it punches rather than stretches when the product is pushed therethrough. For example, the rupturable locations  20  may he formed by placing perforations partially through the plastic blister sheet  14 . In the alternative, the rupturable locations  14  may be formed by a laser cut placed partially through the blister sheet. Similarly, any type of scoring by mechanical means may be employed to form the rupturable locations partially through the plastic blister sheet. The rupturable locations formed by such techniques are placed only partially through the sheet so as to maintain the environmental and sealing capabilities of the blister sheet  14  placed over the blister tray  12 . These rupturable locations are sufficiently deep so as to allow rupturable puncturing of the sheet upon pushing the product therethrough. The depth of the rupturable location may be selected so as to regulate the amount of force necessary to puncture the sheet. While it is preferred that the rupturable locations extend only partially through the sheet, in certain instances where environmental sealing may not be necessary, the rupturable locations may extend fully therethrough. 
         [0027]    The scoring used to form the rupturable location may extend from one or both sides of the sheet. Where the rupturable location extends from both sides, they may be aligned or staggered in a spaced apart manner. The depth of the score from both sides may he selected so that the score depth overlaps. Still further, the scoring is preferably achieved in a direction perpendicular to the sheet. However, the scoring may also be formed at an oblique angle to the sheet. 
         [0028]    One known technique for scoring which may be useful in the present invention is shown in  FIG. 12 . The scoring used to form the rupturable locations may extend from both sides of a multi-laminate sheet at spaced apart locations. The multiple laminate or sheets  14   a ,  14   b  are secured by an adhesive layer  17 . Such a scoring arrangement results in the separation of the laminated sheets at the spaced apart score lines in a manner depicted in  FIG. 13 . In this embodiment, the lower sheet  14   a  is separated from upper sheet  14   b  at two spaced apart scored locations  15   a  and  15   b.    
         [0029]    Also as shown in  FIG. 14 , this technique may be used with multiple plies of materials  14   a ′,  14   b ′ on each side of an adhesive layer  17 . The spaced apart score lines  15   a ′ and  15   b ′ extend from both sides of the sheet. 
         [0030]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , one technique for providing the rupturable locations  20  is to place score lines or perforations directly in overlying registry with the open ended blister compartments  18 . If perforations are provided, it is preferred that the perforations extend only partially through the blister sheet. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the rupturable locations may take various form. For example, a pattern such as a X pattern  21  may be provided. Of course, other shaped patterns may also be employed. A score line or perforation line  22  may also be used. Similarly, a plurality of parallel or nonparallel lines  23  may be placed in the blister sheet. Other forms of the rupturable location may include rupturable dots or other shapes  23  randomly placed in overlying registry with the open end of the blister compartments  18 . 
         [0031]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , a variety of patterns for the rupturable locations may be employed. Also, these rupturable locations may be placed at various locations in overlying registry with the open ended compartments  18 . These different locations may be oriented to make the product to be dispensed at a particular location, such as the center of the compartment, to reduce the chance of dropping during dispensing. Also, different patterns and locations of the rupturable locations may be placed in the same blister package. 
         [0032]    It is within the contemplation of present invention to provide a rupturable location over the open ends of the blister compartments  18  which weakens the plastic film thereat. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to any particular shape or configuration of the rupturable locations. Moreover, the precise location may also vary. 
         [0033]    Turning now to  FIG. 4 , it can be seen that the entire sheet  14  can be manufactured either prior to placement on the blister tray or after placement thereon with specifically aligned or randomly positioned rupturable locations  20 . These rupturable locations preferably take the form of elongate score, cut or perforation lines  25  extending either transversely or longitudinally across the sheet  14  so as to overlie the open ended portions of the blister compartments  18 . 
         [0034]    In the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , the lines  25  extend over portions of the sheet not overlying the open ended blister compartments  18 . This technique may be more cost effective from a manufacturing standpoint. 
         [0035]    Still further patterns for placement of the rupturable locations on the blister sheet  14  is shown in  FIGS. 5-10 . 
         [0036]      FIGS. 5 and 6  show various configurations for the rupturable locations  20 . Each of these variations may be used uniformly for the entire set of blisters on one tray or may be varied within the same tray. 
         [0037]      FIGS. 7-10  show various patterns for longitudinal lines of rupturable locations  20  on sheet  14 . The lines run longitudinally along the length of the tray. 
         [0038]      FIG. 10  shows a further variation where the lines of rupturable locations  20  extend diagonally across the sheet  14 . 
         [0039]    While linear perforations are shown in  FIGS. 7-10 , with the linear perforations being formed by linear dashes, other configurations of perforations may be provided. For example, the longitudinal extent of the perforation line may be curved, wavy, or angular. Moreover, the individual segments of the perforation, while shown as dashes, may be different shapes and/or configurations such as, but not limited to, curves, smile shapes, dots, horizontal lines, x-shapes and the like, examples of which are shown in  FIG. 11 . These configurations may be provided as a manufacturing expediency or to provide a perforation which renders the sheet more easily rupturable. 
         [0040]    In that regard, the art is replete with examples of different configurations, styles and arrangements to perforations which facilitate puncturing, tearing or ripping of various substrates. Reference is made to the following patents and publications, all of which are incorporated by reference herein for all purposes: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,583,558; 5,041,317; 5,496,605; 5,616,387; 6,105,776; 6,213,132; 6,277,459; 6,983,857; 7,011,226; 7,138,169; 7,311,649; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0156018; WO 2008/089309; WO 2008/115693; and WO 2008/116177. 
         [0041]    As may be seen by the above-referenced patents and publications, the configuration, arrangement and location of perforations may be selected for enhancing the ability of the sheet to rupture or rip or may be selected based on aesthetic or manufacturing requirements. 
         [0042]    Various changes to the foregoing described and shown structures would now be evident to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the particularly disclosed scope of the invention is set forth in the following claims.