JPH0924971A - Packaging container for contact lens - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To store package contact lenses of a limited number or a sample number with simple packaging by receiving an array of packaging containers in an upper section of a carton for receiving a plurality of disposable contact lenses, having a partition for forming upper and lower sections. SOLUTION: An array of blister packages for receiving an array of a plurality of packaging containers 30 for sealing containers of hydrophilic contact lenses are packaged by a rectangular carton 10. The blister package includes a substrate element 34 having an end wall 38 with a whole body hanging at an end, and a recess 40 for receiving the contact lenses is formed in a flange 36 being shifted toward a rim of the flange 36. In addition a flexible cover sheet 44 equipment with weakened lines between the adjacent substrates 34 is placed over the substrates 34 of the blister package array. The blister package array is received in an upper section 60 partitioned by a partition member 50 in the carton 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a packaging container for holding at least one hydrophilic contact lens in a sterilized aqueous solution. In particular, the present invention relates to a plurality of disposable hydrophilic contact lenses, which are held in a specific number of packaging containers collectively housed in a box-shaped container or carton, and consumed for a relatively short period of time. Of a fixed quantity, or a trial quantity, that provides a sample or free sample of contact lens that is essentially measured in quantity to enable sampling and evaluation of the product packaged therein. It relates to a packaging container.

[0002] In particular, in the present invention, a box-like container or carton is made to fit a small amount of contact lenses, while the container, carton or wrapping equipment usually does not need to be resized or sized externally, but rather much larger. Designed and sized to store and store your contact lenses. In essence, a carton designed in this way is used to package such small quantities of contact lenses, and is the distribution, or distribution, of so-called sample or "test" quantities, which is practical, potential or prospective. Applies to the distribution of free packaging containing a limited amount of contact lenses for a consumer.

The packaging of hydrophilic contact lenses in sterile aqueous solutions is well known in the contact lens manufacturing art. In particular, such packaging containers are generally made up of so-called blister packages (packages having a hemispherical shape; henceforth the name of blister packages), which blister packages are used by doctors to make hydrophilic contacts. Used to store and distribute lenses to consumers who want to wear contact lenses. Generally, such hydrophilic contact lenses are discarded after a one-time or short period of time and are made from a suitable hydrophilic polymeric material. These materials contain from about 20% to 90% depending on the polymer composition.
It is a copolymer of hydroxyethyl methacrylate containing water or more water. Generally, such contact lenses are stored in sterile aqueous solution, usually isotonic saline solution, to prevent dehydration and to keep the lens ready for wear.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, contact lens manufacturers have been
As a container for storage and shipping of individual contact lenses, stoppered glass bottles containing a sterile saline solution soaked with hydrophilic contact lenses were used. Each vial was sealed with a suitable silicone stopper, in the form of a top lid, with a metal lid attached as a safety closure. When a patient attempts to remove a contact lens from a bottle for use, it is necessary to first peel off the metal lid safety closure from the bottle, then remove the stopper and remove the appropriate plastic tweezers. The contact lens will be taken out of the bottle, depending on whether it is used or the contents are poured out. This involves performing extremely complex procedures. The reason is that, due to the transparent nature of the contact lens, which is practically invisible to the human eye, it was difficult to grasp and remove the contact lens from the saline solution in the bottle.

More recently, methods of packaging in the form of blister packages have been developed for hydrophilic contact lenses. The method is to store and ship the hydrophilic contact lenses in a simple, cheap and suitable manner, such as by placing them in a second package, preferably made of cardboard cartons or the like. At the same time, it has become easier for doctors and patients to conveniently and easily remove contact lenses. By a method of immersing the lens in a sterile aqueous solution, such as an isotonic saline solution, to create a sterile sealed storage environment for disposable or single-use hydrophilic contact lenses, for example,
The blister package is Martin
etz) in U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,820. This patent is assigned to the common assignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

[0006] Thus, in the above-referenced US patent, a blister package for storing and dispensing hydrophilic contact lenses is described in which an injection-molded or thermoformed plastic base (where molded recesses are made). A base) portion, the shaped recess being surrounded by a flat flange projecting around the edge of the recess. A flexible cover sheet is attached to the surface of the flange to enclose the recess in a leaktight manner with conventional liquid sealing means. In the depression of the base part, one hydrophilic contact lens, such as isotonic saline solution,
Soaked in sterile aqueous solution. A portion of the side wall of this recess is sloped, forming a slope extending upwards from the bottom of the recess toward the flange, so that the cover sheet is stripped from the flange, exposing the recess and the sloped side wall, The lens can then be easily removed by hand by sliding it up the recess along the sloped slope of the recess.

The blister package having another shape is obtained by changing the shape of the substrate or the base portion by providing a rectangular recess having a sloped bottom slope portion. It has a semi-circular recess that fits the contact lens housed in. A blister package of this kind is disclosed, for example, in co-pending US patent application Ser. No. 08 / 257,796, in which a plurality of base parts are interconnected in a row and a weakening provided between the base parts. One with a line
Individual blister packages can be selectively separated and removed, each covered with a flexible cover sheet, each containing one contact lens.

[0008] Such an improved, more recent blister package construction, wherein the contact lens packaging is hemispherical shaped to closely support a contact lens soaked in an aqueous solution, is easy to remove, It also facilitates the inspection process. Moreover, the above-described structures primarily contemplate the use of such blister packages for dispensing individual contact lenses, which are usually separated or single. One package can be bulk packed in a rigid cardboard used for retailing of lenses, a cardboard carton, or other container such as a suitable container of other rigid construction.

Various other shapes and structures of the blister package, both in its individual state and in its interconnected and aligned state, are commonly assigned to the common assignee of the present application, which is hereby incorporated by reference. It can be easily confirmed from No. 08 / 414,515 and No. 08 / 414,514. The disclosure content of that application is provided for reference in the present invention.

Multi-row blister packages are usually
It is typically stored and packaged in a second package consisting of a rectangular carton structure. The second package can be sold in a predetermined quantity to suit various systems such as retail and distribution according to the needs of a specific user,
It is also possible to wrap it in a plastic shrink film.
The ability to provide a user of such disposable hydrophilic contact lenses with a specific supply of contact lenses is an important aspect. Disposable contact lenses are usually worn for only one day, essentially 8-24 hours, usually 24 hours, and then discarded. This allows the contact lens to be packaged and supplied to the user for a fixed period of time, for example a period of 30 days, or even a shorter period, then preferably for example several weeks and for example 60 days or 90 days (3 months The contact lens can be stored for a long period of time such as several months or more (for example, supply of minutes), and a guideline for replenishment can be given.

Therefore, the present invention has an object to provide a limited number of packaging containers for such hydrophilic contact lenses. According to the present invention, these packaging containers are placed in a carton, and the number of hydrophilic contact lenses stored in the packaging container can be quickly and accurately determined.
Also, such packaging exhibits the compact nature of providing complete protection for hydrophilic contact lenses. In particular, samples of such products, or preliminary test quantities, for advertising or for the purpose of marketing a particular product to a particular potential market, are available to the consumer or user at a low price, or
Free distribution as a free sample can sometimes be commercially convenient. In connection with the foregoing, the product is packaged in a limited number of blister packages containing contact lenses or a second container having a row of blister packages, such as a carton or a rigid container, which the potential consumer may then package. A limited or preliminary test period can be used to determine whether contact lenses are actually comfortable, satisfying, and in line with consumer expectations, thereby deciding whether to buy in large quantities over a long period of time. It is preferable.

However, for example, the currently used second packages and cartons can each provide thirty blister packages, ie, one month's worth of supply for each month. A contact lens is housed, each having five rows of blister packages stacked on top of each other and sandwiched to form multiple layers in a substantially protected state within the carton. This is commonly assigned US patent application Ser. No. 08/25
No. 7,796. Such a small sample or such as the development of a small pre- or test size carton containing 10 contact lenses in 2 rows of packages each containing 5 contact lenses, or 1 row of 5 packages. In order to keep the mass production package cost to a minimum, for example contact lens 30 rather than development requiring the installation of new package production lines and carton making machines for trial size carton packages.
A carton that can store 10 contact lenses more than the usual 30 contact lenses while maintaining the external dimensions of the second package such as the same size carton used for the package of contact lenses for one month supply. It is economically desirable to improve the internal structure and thereby avoid the need to significantly improve the packaging line of the equipment used for the second package of spare contact lens rows. This considerably reduces the cost of the second package, making the overall operating cost of the second package economically feasible and preferred.

[0013]

The problem to be solved by the invention is therefore that of a new carton or a second carton for packaging a sample or a preliminary pilot quantity of contact lenses.
Is to provide a packaging container (package). A more specific problem to be solved by the present invention is to partition the inside of the carton to create a "raised bottom", and it is not necessary to change the outer size and shape of the carton. It is to provide a carton or a second packaging container of the above type that can be stored.

[0014]

In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, a generally rigid container for packaging at least one row of packaging containers containing hydrophilic contact lenses in a sterile aqueous solution. And said at least 1
A row of packaging containers comprises a plurality of injection-molded or thermoformed plastic substrates each having a recess containing a contact lens soaked in the aqueous solution, each substrate having a flange extending outside the perimeter of the recess. The recess is formed of a concave recess in the substrate, and the rigid container has a shape in which a contact lens to be put therein is easily placed, and the plurality of substrates are overlapped with each other, and the surface of each of the flanges is overlapped. A flexible cover sheet sized to be releasably sealed to, wherein the cover sheet extends in a hermetically sealed manner around the recess and has an unsealed end to expose the recess. The cover sheet can be peeled from the flange to create a picking means that facilitates external access to the contact lens. Bar sheet and partition means within the container forming first and second compartments, wherein the at least one row of packaging containers is enclosed within one compartment and supported therein. A composite packaging container having is provided.

That is, according to the present invention, in order to meet the above-mentioned requirements, the co-pending US patent application Ser. No. 08/257,
While basic carton constructions or secondary packages are used, as disclosed in US Pat. No. 796, which constructions can essentially be left unchanged in their outer dimensions. In the area of the carton, a partition or spacer structure forming a so-called "raised bottom" is incorporated. The "raised bottom" supports one row of five blister packages, or multiple rows of stacked ones each, with a carton partition supported by a "raised bottom" structure formed thereby in a narrow or confined space. Was there. This partition or spacer structure has suitable contact lens row support characteristics inside the upper part of the carton, while at the same time, it is not necessary to change the outer dimensions of the carton at all, and a large amount of contact lenses are usually used. A basic packaging or a second packaging device or machinery, which can be kept for use and is therefore unchanged, of the same or the same size, containing a large or multi-row blister package. Easy to use for carton.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a packaging container for contact lenses having a structure according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Referring in detail to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, a generally rectangular carton 10 is shown.
Is intended to house a planar row of packaging lenses for contact lenses, and in particular, for the closure of disposable hydrophilic contact lenses, as described in detail below. It is also disclosed in application 08 / 257,796. The rectangular carton 10 is preferably made of cardboard material, although many other materials such as pressure cardboard, plastics, etc. may be used, and flat top wall panels due to the adhesive construction known in the carton forming art. 12 and a bottom wall panel 14, a front wall panel 16 and a rear wall panel 18 which are made of a carton material and are folded along a suitable folding line so as to be closed, and an end wall panel 20 (only one of which is shown) facing each other. Have The upper wall panel 12 is rotated upward about the rear hinge line, as shown in phantom,
It is adapted to open the carton 10 and has side flaps 12a, 12b below the end wall panel 20 that can be pushed into the boundaries of the carton 10.
The front wall panel 16 has a lower portion 16 that is adhesively attached to the end wall panel 20 by end flaps (not shown).
a. The upper wall panel 12 has a front flap 22 that hangs downwards.
Has on its lower edge a latching tap 24 which is pushed into a cooperating latching slit 26 formed in the center of the lower front wall panel 16 and is shown in FIG. So it makes it easy to close the carton again.

The rear hinge of the top wall panel 12 is adapted to be attached to the carton by perforations. This gives the physician the option of easily removing the carton's top wall panel 12 by breaking along the rear hinge line and then using the carton as a dispensing tray. As is known in the art, the carton 10 can have a decorative glossy or semi-gloss exterior surface that is suitable for displaying the product contained therein. Can be imprinted or embossed in single or multiple colors and is relevant to the origin or logo associated with the company making or selling the product and the use of the product packaged in the carton You can check the instructions and other appropriate origins, decorative markings, etc. The blister package can also be stored in a durable plastic container with a lid or cover that can be opened and closed by a so-called integral hinge structure. Within the carton 10 are a pair of inverted packaging container rows interleaved, one of which is specifically shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings, each row consisting essentially of five rows. It consists of a blister package, each containing one hydrophilic contact lens immersed in a sterile aqueous solution.

As shown in FIG. 3, each blister package row is represented by co-pending US patent application Ser. No. 08 / 257,7.
As described in detail in No. 96, it has five blister packages interconnected by a flexible cover sheet. In essence, FIG. 3 is illustrated as a row of packaging containers 30 is made up of a plurality of blister packages 32 interconnected with each other, each blister package 32 having a pendant end at one end. It comprises a substrate element 34 consisting of an essentially rectangular planar flange 36 with a part wall 38. The recess 40 is offset toward the edge 39 of the flange 36 and is formed in the flange. The recess 40 is stored in a hermetically sealed manner while having an essentially hemispherical shape that generally conforms to the curved shape of a contact lens (not shown) immersed in a suitable sterile aqueous solution. However, other depression shapes such as hemispheres, ellipses, etc. are readily compatible with the invention. The height of the end wall 38 depending from the flat flange 36 is
It somewhat approximates the height, or depth, of the depression 40 containing the contact lens. Hanging end wall 38
The edge of the flange 36 opposite to the edge having the edge is also provided with a protruding portion 43 that hangs down.
Serve for positioning within the carton 10, as described in detail below.

The substrate 34 of each so-called blister package is preferably constructed from an injection molded or thermoformed plastic material such as polypropylene. A plurality of, in this case, 5 rows of blister packages, a continuous flexible cover sheet 44 over the substrate 34.
Is placed on this continuous flexible cover sheet 4
4 has a series of parallel weakening lines 46 arranged at intervals such as perforations and discontinuous slits provided between each of the substrates 34 arranged adjacent to each other, which is required by the user. Accordingly, it is possible to remove it from a row of individual or single blister packages 32, each containing one contact lens. The flexible cover sheet 44 includes heat sealing, ultrasonic sealing,
At least surrounding each indentation 40 containing a contact lens soaked in a sterile aqueous solution, adhered to the appropriate area of the surface of the flange 36 facing the cover sheet 44 by an adhesive or other possible method. And provides a sealing container for each contact lens in its respective depression 40. Other sealing locations may also be provided at any desired location between the surface of the flexible coversheet 44 facing the surface of the flange 36 and the flange 3
6, while providing suitable areas for gluing with these components, flange 36 and flexible coversheet 4
4 to leave the various edge portions between and to leave the cut cover sheet 44 portion affixed to the fingertips to separate it from the removed substrate 34, and the contacts contained in the adaptable recess 40. The lens can be accessed.

The flexible cover sheet 44 is preferably
Laminated foils or other suitable material configurations having, for example, a propylene film or a PET film on at least one outer surface of the cover sheet 44 that contacts the opposing surface of the flange 36, as described above. ,
Adhesive sealing and heat sealing with the flange 36 are possible. The flexible coversheet 44 can also be provided with a silicon dioxide layer as a barrier material. The laminated foil forming the flexible cover sheet 44 is, for example,
As disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 106,386, multi-layer constructions with suitable double-sided stamping thereon are possible. In essence, the flexible coversheet 44 acts as a barrier material, and the laminate structure of the flexible coversheet 44 could include foil material (AL), SiO2 or other barrier material. Carton
It is also possible to wrap it in a plastic shrink wrap film.

As described above, the carton 10 was initially designed to accommodate six rows of blister packages 30 that were inverted and stacked inside it, with the blister package 30 filling the carton interior and stacking the boxes. Since the above structure has been formed, it is necessary to provide a carton internal partition structure forming the blister package row indicating means in order to package a reduced number of blister packages in a carton of the same or the same size.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a test or sample size for sale containing 5 or 10 contact lenses in 1 or 2 rows of 5 blister packages each. To form the carton internal structure, an inner partition member 50, which is flush between the top wall and the bottom wall, extends in the center of the carton. The partition 50, which may be flat cardboard or other rigid material, has a depending flange 52 at one end closest to the interior of the carton wall 22 and another depending flange 54 at the other end extending into the carton wall 22. The interior of the carton 10 to the upper compartment 6
0 and the lower compartment 62, resulting in the bottom of the upper compartment 60, the so-called "raised bottom" of the carton 10. The upper compartment 60 of the carton 10 is adapted to each receive two rows 30 of contact lens blister packages, each such row having five packages, as shown in detail in FIG. And leaving the lower compartment 62 empty to provide the bottom support surface for the row of blister packages stored in the carton structure.

This construction, in fact the partitioning member 50 and the protective action of the flanges 52 and 54 depending on the underside of the carton with the associated row 30, positions the associated row 30 within the upper compartment 60 of the carton area, Protect and support. Remove the flap 22 from the front wall 16 to remove the upper wall 12
When the carton is raised and the carton is opened, the row 30 above the contact lens is exposed and cut along the weakening line or perforation formed in the cover sheet of that row to allow the consumer or user to use the individual contacts. The lens can be taken out. Also, if the blister package is separated from the partition member 50 in the upper compartment 60 or arranged in bulk, it can easily be individually taken out from the opened carton, if necessary.

FIG. 4 shows an alternative type of blister package 70 with a tapered flat flange 72, in which a flange 72 near the wide end is formed with a lens receiving recess 74. ing.
Contact lens (not shown) housed in this recess
Are sealed by overlapping flexible seal covers, as described above. As noted above, many types and shapes of blister packages may be separably coupled to each other or may be stored in the upper compartment 60 in loose rows. This is described in the co-pending application cited above. As described above, according to the above-described configuration, the carton is divided into two separate compartments 60 and 62, and the upper compartment 60 of the carton is filled with one or two rows of blister packages, respectively, to form the inner partition 50. The simple provision allows for easy modification of the carton without having to change or reduce the outer dimensions of the carton to reduce the number of rows. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a new second or carton package, only a little effort to insert the central partition, the so-called "raised bottom" 50.

From the above description, the present invention provides a simple packaging of a predetermined small or sample quantity of blister packages provided in a packaging container for compact storage within the carton, while the carton It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that there is no need to change the basic size or change the packaging machine. While one preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown, it is understood, of course, that improvements and modifications in form or detail may be readily made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not limited to the precise forms and details described herein, nor is it limited to concepts that are below the overall scope of the invention recited in the claims.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention are as follows. (1) The composite packaging container according to claim 1, wherein the partition means has a flat dividing member extending over the area of the carton,
A composite packaging container that defines an upper compartment and a lower compartment. (2) The composite packaging container according to embodiment (1) above, wherein at least one row of packaging containers is arranged in the upper compartment and the dividing member forms a bottom support surface for the at least one row. Packaging container. (3) The composite packaging container according to the above embodiment (2), wherein the dividing member has a wall portion extending along one end and hanging down.
A composite packaging container having other walls extending along opposite ends, the walls being in contact with the bottom surface of the container and confining the row within the upper compartment. (4) The composite packaging container according to the above-mentioned embodiment (3), wherein the hanging wall portions of the dividing members extend in close contact with the inner surfaces of the opposite side walls of the container. (5) The composite packaging container according to claim 1, wherein the dividing member is generally made of a rigid material. (6) The composite packaging container according to claim 1, wherein the container is
Front and rear wall panels, top and bottom wall panels connected to the front and rear wall panels, end wall panels, fastened to each other and to the front, rear, top and bottom wall panels, respectively, for sealing A front wall panel and a rear wall panel that can be opened so that the carton can be opened, and one another to re-latches the carton in a sealed condition. Composite packaging with cooperating latch structure. (7) The composite packaging container according to the above embodiment (6), wherein the upper wall panel is removably connected to the rear wall panel along a perforated hinge line to form the upper wall panel. Can be removed and the carton
A composite packaging container that can be used as an open tray for dispensing packaging containers. (8) The composite packaging container according to claim 1, wherein the container is generally rectangular. (9) The composite packaging container according to the above-mentioned embodiment (8), wherein the dividing member has a peripheral area substantially equal to the horizontal internal width of the rectangular container. (10) A composite packaging container as described in embodiment (6) above, wherein the vertical spacing between the upper surface of the dividing member and the upper wall panel of the container generally corresponds to the overall height of at least one row. Composite packaging container.

(11) The composite packaging container according to claim 1, wherein the container is made of a rigid material. (12) The composite packaging container according to claim 1, wherein the container is wrapped with a plastic shrink wrapping film material. (13) The composite packaging container according to claim 1, wherein at least one origin of the mark and the content confirmation is printed on the outer surface of the container. (14) The composite packaging container according to claim 1, wherein a row of a pair of packaging containers is superposed and arranged in the compartment. (15) The composite packaging container according to the above embodiment (14), wherein the rows are reversed and inserted into each other.

[0028]

As described above, according to the composite packaging container of the present invention, it is possible to store the carton compactly without changing the basic size of the carton and changing the packaging machine. In addition, it is possible to provide a simple packaging of a predetermined small quantity or a sample quantity of the blister package provided in the packaging container.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a perspective view of a rectangular carton for packaging a limited or sample quantity containing contact lenses.

2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG.

3 is a perspective view of an example of a blister package array that is releasably coupled to each other for placement in the carton of FIG.

4 shows another example of a blister package structure adapted to be placed in the carton of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 carton 12 top wall panel 14 bottom wall panel 16 front wall panel 18 rear wall panel 20 end wall panel 22 front flap 24 latch tab 26 latch slit 30 packaging container 32,70 blister package 34 substrate 36,72 flat Flange 38 Wall 39 Edge 40,74 Recess 44 Flexible cover sheet 46 Weakening line 50 Partition 52 Flange 60 Upper section 62 Lower section

Front Page Continuation (72) Inventor Richard Wine Abrams United States, 32223 Florida, Jacksonville, Haversham Forest Drive 3889 (72) Inventor Victor Last United States, 32257 Florida, Jacksonville, Scott Mill・ Estates Drive 2808

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A generally rigid container for packaging at least one row of packaging containers containing hydrophilic contact lenses in a sterile aqueous solution, said at least one row of packaging containers each comprising said aqueous solution. A plurality of injection-molded or thermoformed plastic substrates having indentations with contact lenses immersed therein, each of said substrates having a flange extending outwardly of the perimeter of said indentations, said indentations being within said substrate The rigid container, which is formed of a concave depression and has a shape in which a contact lens to be put therein is easily placed, and a size which overlaps the plurality of substrates and is peelably sealed on each surface of the flange. A flexible cover sheet, the cover sheet extending in a hermetically sealed manner around the recess and having an unsealed end, Forming a first and second compartment with the flexible cover sheet that allows the cover sheet to be peeled away from the flange to expose the contact lens to create a pinching means for facilitating external access to the contact lens. A composite packaging container having partitioning means within the container, wherein the at least one row of packaging containers is enclosed in one of the compartments and is supported therein.