Patent Publication Number: US-6669020-B1

Title: Resealable blister breath strip case

Description:
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Research and development of this invention and Application have not been federally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program. 
    
    
     CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     NONE 
     REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     NOT APPLICABLE 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to oral breath strips, in general, and to a resealable case for the easy carrying about of such breath strips, in particular. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     As is well known and understood, the use of oral breath strips as mouth fresheners is gaining wider acceptance through advertising and through word-of-mouth recommendations. Commonly made available for sale in 24 or 30 strip packages, a need has been determined to exist to make their carrying case easy to handle and store in one&#39;s pocket or purse in allowing for retail sale at reasonable cost. Besides advantageously having a feature of “tamper-proof” construction in affording a degree of security in use, cases of these types also would benefit from an ability to allow removal of individual strips in a sanitary fashion—all in an easy and simple manner. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     As will become clear from the description that follows, such a breath strip case according to the invention includes a clear blister compartment, a plurality of oral breath strips within the compartment and a rear flap having an opening for accessing the compartment to individually remove the breath strips one by one; an adhesive surface is then provided on the rear flap for closing the opening upon the folding over of the flap. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the adhesive surface is selected of a composition to expose the opening upon the unfolding of the rear flap, in allowing the blister case to be resealable in usage. 
     In one construction of the invention, the adhesive surface is arranged to form an outline about the opening for securing the rear flap in place. This outline may be of a curvature substantially similar to a reverse curvature included on the rear flap—such as a downward curvature of the outline, as compared to an upward curvature on the rear flap. In providing for a pleasing appearance, moreover, the rear flap which closes the blister compartment is selected of a length to provide an overlap thereof—and for ease of use, the rear flap includes a foil barrier of pliable material. To provide for “tamper-proof” operation, a peel-off sheet is included secured to the adhesive surface—so as to close the access opening before any initial removal of the individual oral breath strips. Only by peeling away the sheet will access be allowed, in affording a degree of security that the breath strip case has not previously been opened—while, at the same time, allows for an arrangement of an attractive presentation for retail sale of the breath strip case in an on-counter or similar store display. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and other features of the invention will be more clearly understood from a consideration of the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is front view of the resealable blister breath strip case of the invention as it might be displayed for retail sale; 
     FIG. 2 is a rear view of the breath strip case with its flap open, helpful in an understanding of the invention; and 
     FIG. 3 is a rear view of the resealable blister breath strip case with its flap closed, ready for carrying about in one&#39;s pocket or purse. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the Drawings, the case  10  of the invention includes a clear blister compartment  12  enclosed at its front  11  and sides  13  in housing a plurality of oral breath strips  14 . The back  15  of the blister compartment  12  is closed off by a rear flap  16  having an opening  18  for accessing the front compartment  12  to individually remove from the compartment individual ones of the breath strips  14 , one-by-one. An adhesive surface on the flap  16  is provided for closing the opening  18  upon the folding over of the flap in the direction of the arrow A. Such adhesive surface, shown at  20 , is selected of a composition to expose the opening  18  upon the unfolding of the flap  16 , in the direction of the arrow B. 
     As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the adhesive surface  20  forms an outline about the opening  18  of a curvature which is substantially similar to a reverse curvature included on the rear flap  16 . Such curvature of the adhesive surface  20 , in a preferred embodiment of the invention, is of a downward curvature, essentially U-shaped, as at  21 , to correspond with an upward curvature of the flap  16 , shown as  23 . When thus folded over, the rear flap  16  closes off the opening  18  in sealing the case  10 , in providing the appearance of FIG.  3 . Unfolding the flap  16  provides the appearances shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein the opening  18  is exposed in allowing access to be had to the oral breath strips  14  within the compartment  12 . As will be appreciated, in accomplishing this, the rear flap  16  closes off the opening  18  in a length providing an overlap beyond such opening. To facilitate this, the flap  16  includes a foil barrier of a pliable material. 
     To prevent tampering with the resealable blister breath strip case of the invention, and so as to provide an indication to a consumer whether the case  10  has previously been opened prior to purchase, a peel-off sheet  30  is provided, secured to the adhesive surface  20  in initially closing the opening  18  at the outset, at the point of sale. Such sheet  30  may include a legend at a corner  32 , instructing one to “peel off here”, for example, in allowing access to the opening  18  once removal of the sheet  30  is made. Absence of the sheet  30 , initially, then conveys the advice in well known manner that there may well have been prior tampering with the oral breath strips  14  within the compartment  12 . At the same time, such peel-off sheet  30  allows retail store sales counter display of the breath strip case when arranged as in FIG. 1 in a box or upon cash register pegboard presentations. Essentially, the sheet  30  allows a sales presentation of the form of FIG. 1, instead of with the rear flap  16  folded downwardly in sealing off the strips of the case from removal. 
     While there have been described what are considered to be preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the teachings herein. For at least such reason, therefore, resort should be had to the claims appended hereto for a true understanding of the scope of the invention.