Apparatus for packaging small items and method for manufacturing a blister tube containing a plurality of blister bags

Abstract

The present invention relates to a packaging device for small items, its use, and a method for manufacturing blister tubes. Known packaging devices do not provide packaging with information that is perceptible to the visually impaired. To address this issue, the packaging device of the present invention includes a packaging material guide (10) for providing a packaging material web with a shape suitable for receiving small items, a longitudinal joining device (20) disposed downstream of the packaging material guide (10), and a transverse joining device (100) disposed downstream of the packaging material guide (10) for joining a shaped packaging material web (43) at predetermined intervals to form transverse joining regions (42). The transverse joining device (100) has a plurality of embossing means (112) that can be individually moved to the transverse joining regions during a continuous packaging operation, and embossing stops that cooperate to form tactile protuberances in the transverse joining regions by the embossing means (112).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a packaging machine for small items, in particular pharmaceutical and dietary supplement parts, the use of the packaging machine, and a method for manufacturing a blister tube containing a plurality of blister bags. [Background technology]

[0002] Apparatuses for blister-packing drug portions, also known as blister machines, are known, for example, from US Pat. No. 5,399,366. Depending on the stage of expansion, the apparatus comprises several hundred supply and dispensing stations, in which a number of drug portions of a particular type of drug are stored in each. On demand, the individual drug portions can be dispensed from the supply and dispensing stations and fed via a guide device to a packaging device, where the drug portions are packaged or blister-packed. Packaging devices for use with the abovementioned blister machines are known, for example, from US Pat. No. 5,399,366 and US Pat. No. 5,499,386.

[0003] In the case of packaging devices used in blister machines, blister tubes containing a number of blister pouches are usually produced. To produce blister pouches or blister tubes, a packaging material web is shaped so that one or more drug portions can be fed to a receiving portion. After the drug portions to be blister-packed have been fed to the receiving portion, the individual blister pouches of the blister tube are completed by joining the packaging material web in place, so that the blister pouches extend like a chain on the blister tube.

[0004] Each blister bag contains a patient-specific drug portion and / or dietary supplement portion. A patient is usually provided with a number of blister bags or portions of blister tubes, and the patient must ascertain from the intake information printed on the blister bag if the pharmaceutical composition contained in the blister bag should be taken, for example, in the morning, midday or evening. In known packaging devices, the intake information for the patient is printed on the packaging material web before the blister bags are joined. Due to the small size of the blister bag itself, the printed patient intake information also remains relatively small, which may make it difficult or impossible for a visually impaired patient to grasp, i.e., read, the information without the use of certain assistive devices. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] WO2013 / 034504A1 [Patent Document 2] WO2016 / 113291A1 [Patent Document 3] WO2018 / 184795A1 Summary of the Invention

[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide a packaging machine for small items, capable of producing blister bags, the intake information of which can be perceived by visually impaired patients, and a further object of the present invention to provide a method for producing such blister bags.

[0007] This object is achieved on the one hand by a packaging device for small items according to claim 1. Within the scope of the present invention, the term "small items" is intended to include in particular pharmaceutical parts and dietary supplement parts, for example in tablet form. However, the packaging device can also be used for packaging other small items, such as screws.

[0008] A packaging device for small items according to the invention, in which blister pouches can be manufactured with intake information recognizable by visually impaired people, comprises a packaging material guide for receiving an elongated packaging material web, which is configured to shape the elongated packaging material web so as to be suitable for receiving drug portions (i.e. to have a receiving area for a small item) and to maintain its moving direction. How the elongated packaging material web entering the packaging material guide is shaped to receive the small items depends, for example, on how the small items to be packaged are fed, what the moving direction of the formed packaging material web will be, and whether the packaging material web is already pre-formed or not. For example, it is envisaged that the packaging material is fed already folded in the longitudinal or moving direction.

[0009] For example, as described in US Pat. No. 5,999,136, when the packaging material web moves vertically downward after forming, the packaging material web is formed into a tube, and the lower end of the tube-shaped part is formed in the area of ​​dividing the preceding, already formed blister bag. In such a case, the drug portion (i.e., small item) is fed directly from above into the receiving part formed by the folding and guiding device. Alternatively, as described in US Pat. No. 5,999,136, when the moving direction is oblique, the packaging material web is formed into a kind of tetrahedron with an open top, which forms the receiving part for the drug portion. The exact structural design of the packaging material guiding device is not essential to the present invention, as long as the above functions are fulfilled by it.

[0010] The packaging device according to the invention further comprises a longitudinal splicing device downstream of the packaging material guiding device, which splices the packaging material web in the moving direction of the packaging material in an overlap region of the packaging material, which can be predetermined by a special structural design of the packaging material guiding device.

[0011] A transverse seaming device is also arranged downstream of the packaging material guiding device and seams the packaging material web at predetermined intervals (in the longitudinal axis or in the direction of travel) transversely to the direction of travel, forming a transverse seaming area. The transverse seaming device comprises two seaming means, at least one of which can be moved transversely to the direction of travel. This transverse seaming area corresponds to the upper separation between two blister bags. This is the case (as is usual) when the blister tube is manufactured in such a way that a transverse seaming area is assigned to two consecutive blister bags, between which, for example, perforations are provided in the transverse seaming area to separate the individual blister bags. Alternatively, the blister tube can also be manufactured in such a way that two "separate" transverse seaming areas are assigned to each blister bag. The longitudinal seaming device and the transverse seaming device can be arranged one behind the other in the direction of travel as separate components (the transverse seaming device is usually arranged downstream of the longitudinal seaming device), but it is also conceivable that the two seaming devices are arranged in a common seaming component.

[0012] According to the invention, the packaging apparatus also comprises a plurality of embossing means which can be moved individually transversely relative to the longitudinal direction during successive packaging operations, and embossing means stops, the embossing means and the embossing means stops cooperating such that tactile ridges are formed by the embossing means in the transverse joining areas.

[0013] By forming tactile ridges in the lateral joint areas, it is also possible for visually impaired patients to distinguish between multiple blister bags. For example, if three blister bags are provided to a patient per day, when marking the three blister bags with patterns using two embossed pins, it is possible for the patient to clearly assign them to a given intake time. Thus, the packaging device according to the invention makes it possible to provide blister bags that can also be clearly assigned to a given intake time by visually impaired patients.

[0014] How the embossing means are realized in the packaging device is not essential for the invention, as long as it is ensured that the tactile ridges are added to the transverse joint areas. For example, it is conceivable to provide a further device downstream of the joining device, which device comprises an embossing means, by which the tactile ridges are added to the transverse joint areas. However, in order to avoid using a separate device to guide the embossing means, in a preferred embodiment of the packaging device according to the invention, the embossing means is configured so that it can extend and retract on one of the joining means, and the other joining means has a joining surface configured elastically in at least one contact area or a receptacle for a number of embossing means that are individually movable in a transverse direction to the direction of movement. In this preferred embodiment, the tactile ridges are generated simultaneously with the generation of the transverse joint areas, whereby it is not necessary to add the tactile ridges in a separate device after the transverse joint areas have been created, which allows the complexity and the overall length (in the direction of movement) of the packaging device to be reduced or to remain small.

[0015] Even with two embossing means, it is possible to clearly identify the blister bags so that the patient can distinguish between four different blister bags, and it is possible for visually impaired patients to distinguish between blister bags that are needed on a daily basis without assistance. In order to clearly distinguish a large number of blister bags from one another and to simplify the determination of the information provided by the protuberances, in a preferred embodiment of the packaging device according to the invention, the embossing means is formed from at least one 2x3 matrix (horizontal, vertical) of embossing pins, by which dot patterns in the shape of Braille characters can be generated for each matrix. Even with only one matrix, 64 different patterns can be displayed, in which case the blister bags can be clearly distinguished from one another, for example, over a week. Thus, when larger and / or multiple matrices are used, it is possible to emboss a large number of data in the lateral joint area.

[0016] The blister pouches can be bonded from an elongated web of packaging material in a variety of ways, for example, adhesive can be applied to certain areas prior to bonding, however, in a preferred embodiment, at least one bonding surface of the bonding means is heated so that bonding is effected as a fusion bond of the packaging material.

[0017] As already indicated, depending on the overall structure of the packaging device, the packaging material guiding device can be realized in different ways. In a preferred embodiment, the packaging material guiding device comprises a central through-opening, which is configured so that the elongated packaging material web is fed to the through-opening, which is realized so that the elongated packaging material web is formed in its moving direction into a tubular packaging material web with an overlapping region of the packaging material web defined by the through-opening, the guide part of the guiding device for the drug portions extending into a part of the tubular packaging material web that ends in the delivery region of the tubular packaging material web. In order to ensure that the lateral joining of the tubular packaging material web by the lateral joining device without overlapping of the packaging material web is performed without errors in the lateral joining region, in this preferred embodiment a plurality of expansion means are arranged in the lower region of the guide part for expanding the tubular packaging material web for joining by the lateral joining device in accordance with the alignment of the joining means. In other words, the expansion means ensures that the tubular packaging material web is aligned with the joining means before it is joined, i.e. that it can be transformed from a circular shape to an elongated shape so that it can be well joined by the lateral joining device.

[0018] The present application also relates to the use of a packaging device according to the invention for producing a blister tube containing a plurality of blister bags.

[0019] The object of the invention is further achieved by a method according to claim 7. In the method according to the invention for producing a blister tube containing a plurality of blister bags, firstly an elongated packaging material web is provided, which is then shaped by a packaging material guide device into a receiving section for receiving the drug portions. How this shaping is carried out depends on the exact configuration of the packaging material guide device, the moving direction of the packaging material web and the configuration of the packaging material (see above). After shaping of the receiving section for receiving small objects, small objects are fed to said receiving section and the packaging material web is joined to form a tubular packaging material web by a longitudinal seaming device in a packaging material overlap region in the moving direction of the packaging material web. Here, the joining and the feeding of the small objects can be carried out simultaneously or in the reverse order. The tubular packaging material web is joined by a transverse seaming device in the moving direction or longitudinal axis of the packaging material web at predetermined intervals in transverse seaming regions, which can also be carried out simultaneously with the longitudinal seaming. According to the invention, the tactile pattern is embossed in the transverse bond areas by a plurality of embossing means which can be moved transversely to the direction of movement during the continuous production of the blister bags.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the embossing means is configured as at least one 2x3 matrix of embossing pins, whereby Braille character-shaped dot patterns can be embossed matrix by matrix into the lateral joint areas by the embossing pins. In this way, a large amount of information can be incorporated by tactile characters that are known to many visually impaired patients.

[0021] In order to support the joining of the preformed packaging material web by the lateral joining device and to reduce the possibility of joining errors, in a preferred embodiment of the method, the tubular packaging material web is expanded by a plurality of expansion means before joining. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0022] Preferred embodiments of the packaging device according to the invention and the method according to the invention are explained below with reference to the drawings. [Figure 1a] FIG. 1a shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment, in which the packaging material web is omitted. [Figure 1b] FIG. 1b shows a perspective view of the preferred embodiment. [Figure 2a] FIG. 2a shows a detailed view of the longitudinal and transverse joining devices. [Figure 2b] FIG. 2b shows a detailed view of the longitudinal and transverse seaming device, the packaging material web being omitted in FIG. 2b. [Figure 3a] FIG. 3a shows a detailed view of the folding and joining device. [Figure 3b] FIG. 3b shows a detailed view of the folding and sealing device, the packaging material web being omitted in FIG. 3b. [Figure 4a] FIG. 4a shows a detailed view of the lateral joint device. [Figure 4b] FIG. 4b shows a detailed view of the lateral joint device. [Figure 5a] FIG. 5a shows a cross-sectional view of a transverse joining device. [Figure 5b] FIG. 5b shows a cross-sectional view of the transverse joining device. [Figure 6a] FIG. 6a shows a detailed view of the joining means. [Figure 6b] FIG. 6b shows a detailed view of the joining means. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 shows a flow chart of a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] In the embodiments described below, a specially configured packaging material guiding device is described that is suitable for packaging material webs that are not preformed (prefolded). In the detailed description below, a pharmaceutical part is given as a small item. Figures 1a and 1b show a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a packaging device 1 according to the invention, the packaging material web 40 extending through the packaging device being omitted in Figure 1a to show the underlying components. In the preferred embodiment of the packaging device described below, a blister tube is produced in which two consecutive blister bags "share" a lateral joint area. This means that the embossing means is configured accordingly to create a pattern in only a part of the lateral joint area and to assign said part to a blister bag. Alternatively, the embossing means can be configured to emboss a pattern in both parts of the lateral joint area and to assign said pattern to each blister bag.

[0024] The packaging device of this embodiment comprises a packaging material supply 30, by which an elongated packaging material web 40 is fed via a number of rollers to a packaging material guide 10, the path of which is only partially shown in FIG. 1b. Above the packaging material guide 10, which will be explained in more detail in the following figures, a guide 60 is arranged, by which the provided drug portions are fed to the receiving portions formed by the formed portions of the packaging material web. In the preferred embodiment of the packaging device, as can be seen in more detail in the following figures, the formed packaging material web is guided vertically downwards from the packaging material guide 10. Due to the vertical guidance of the packaging material web, its moving direction is "downwards". In the case of different structures of the guide and packaging material guide, the moving direction may also be different, for example oblique, in which case the receiving portions of the drug portions will have a different shape (for details, see also US Pat. No. 5,399,433 and US Pat. No. 5,499,433).

[0025] Downstream of the packaging material guiding device 10 is arranged a longitudinal joining device 20, in which overlapping areas 41 of a formed packaging material web 43 extending in the moving direction are joined together, as will be explained in more detail with reference to the following figures.

[0026] Downstream of this longitudinal seaming device 20 is arranged a transverse seaming device 100 with two seaming means 110, 120 which in this embodiment can move transversely or perpendicularly to the moving direction of the packaging material web, as already shown in FIG. 1b, the two seaming means 110, 120 butting together to generate a transverse seam area 42 of the packaging material web 40. The above-mentioned device of the packaging device according to the invention comprises a number of drives, as can be partially seen in FIGS. 1a and 1b. However, their mode of operation and their arrangement in the packaging device are not essential to the invention. These are usually rotary motors, whose mode of operation does not need to be explained in more detail here.

[0027] 2a and 2b show a detailed view of the first embodiment, in particular the guiding device 60, the packaging material guiding device 10, the longitudinal seaming device 20 and the transverse seaming device 100. The guiding device 60, arranged on the packaging material guiding device 10, is only shown in Figs. 2A and 2B and comprises a funnel-shaped receiver 61 for receiving the drug portion. The receiver 61 guides the drug portion to a guide portion 62, whereby the drug portion is guided to a receiver portion 45 of the formed packaging material web 43, as will be explained in more detail with reference to Figs. 3A and 3B. The longitudinal seaming device 20 is arranged downstream (with respect to the moving direction of the packaging material web) of the packaging material guiding device 10. It essentially comprises two assemblies, namely a connection assembly with two welding jaws 24a, 24b and an operating assembly arranged downstream of this connection assembly, which moves the overlapping area joined by the welding jaws "downwards" in the moving direction by means of belt drives 21, 23. In an alternative embodiment, instead of the welding jaws 24a, 24b, it is conceivable that the overlapping areas are not thermally welded, for example by using an adhesive before being joined and then pressing these areas together. Downstream of the longitudinal seaming device 20, a transverse seaming device 100 is arranged, by which the packaging material web already welded in the longitudinal direction is seamed in the transverse direction, resulting in a transverse seam area 42 (shown here in an exaggerated form).

[0028] 3a and 3b show further details, with the guiding device 60 partially omitted and the longitudinal seaming device 20 entirely omitted. Also, in fig. 3b the packaging material web has been omitted. In particular in fig. 3a one can see the movement and shaping of the packaging material web in the packaging device according to the invention. From a packaging material feed (not shown) the elongated packaging material web reaches a receiving section 11 (seen in fig. 3b) of the packaging material guiding device 10 with a central through opening 12, in which the packaging material web is shaped. For this purpose the packaging material guiding device 10 in this embodiment is configured in a shoulder-like or collar-like manner with a central through opening. By means of a proper configuration of the packaging material guiding device 10 the elongated packaging material web can be shaped on the shoulder-like receiving section 11 to form a tubular packaging material web 43 with a packaging material overlap region 41. In fig. 3a it can be seen that the packaging material web is guided onto the receiving section 11 and shaped accordingly (reference number 44 indicates the packaging material web resting on the receiving section 11).

[0029] The overlapping region 41 of the packaging material is first welded by the welding jaws 24a, 24b shown in Figures 2A and 2B. It is then moved further in the moving direction (i.e. downwards in this embodiment) by the conveying means 21, 23. In order that the packaging material guiding device with the central through-opening 12 maintains the predetermined shape of the packaging material web, i.e. the tubular shape, the guide part 62 of the guiding device guides it to maintain the shape of this region. The configuration of this guide part 62 itself can be seen in Figure 3b. By comparing Figures 3A and 3B, it can also be seen that the packaging material web in the region of the packaging material guiding device extends through the gap between the guide part 62 and the wall of the through-opening 12. The tubular packaging material web is then guided further outside the guide part 62.

[0030] As shown in Figures 3a and 3b, the tubular packaging material web is expanded by an expansion means 64 fixed in the lower region of the guide part 62 into the receiving part 45. The medicament parts to be blister-packed reach this receiving part 45. Due to the already threaded lateral seam area of ​​the preceding blister bag, the receiving part 45 is also closed at the bottom. The use of the expansion means 64 is not essential, but it ensures a visually pleasing seam with no errors in the lateral seam 42.

[0031] With regard to the packaging material guiding device and possible configurations of the guiding device and the longitudinal seaming device, reference is also made to US Pat. No. 5,399,633, the relevant disclosure of which is incorporated into the present application with respect to said device.

[0032] Figures 4a and 4b show detailed views of a transverse seaming device 100 with two seaming means 110 and 120. In Figure 4a it is shown that in a preferred embodiment of the packaging device according to the invention shown here, the embossing means 112 is arranged in the seaming means 110 and is configured in particular so that the embossing means, configured as an embossing pin, can move in and out of the surface 111 of the seaming means 110. In the embodiment shown here, the seaming means 120 can move more horizontally, i.e. transversely or perpendicularly to the moving direction of the packaging material web, for which reason in this embodiment a horizontal movement device 128 is provided, the more precise mode of operation of which is not relevant here and which is merely shown.

[0033] In order for the retractable embossing pins 112 to impart a tactile pattern to the lateral joint areas, they must cooperate with resiliently configured stops formed in the joint means 120. However, this is not visually discernible from the figure.

[0034] Figures 5a and 5b show detailed views of the joining means 110 arranged in the joining means housing 115 or in a bracket 116 (shown in Figure 6a) in the joining means housing 115. In particular, as can be seen in Figure 5b, in this embodiment the embossing means 112 are arranged as twelve 2x3 matrices 117, whereby twelve braille characters can be added to the lateral joining area with the joining means 110. To facilitate the separation of the individual blister bags, a separation means 130 is provided below the joining means 120, which moves horizontally, i.e. transversely or perpendicularly to the moving direction of the packaging material strip, and can add perforations to the lateral joining area or separate it completely.

[0035] Figures 6a and 6b show a detailed view of the joining means 110, in which it can be seen to some extent that the individual embossing means 112 configured as embossing pins can be moved in and out individually. Figures 6a and 6b show the same position of the embossing pins, where two 2x3 matrices are highlighted by a detailed image, where the lower embossing pin of the first row and the upper embossing pin of the second row of the highlighted left matrix are stretched, while in the remaining matrices only the middle embossing pin of the second row is stretched. How the individual embossing pins are moved in the correct manner is not essential to the invention and is known to the skilled person, for example from conventional devices for writing in Braille.

[0036] Figure 7 shows a flow chart of a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention. In a preferred embodiment of the packaging machine described below, blister tubes are produced in which two consecutive blister bags "share" the lateral seam area. This means that the embossing means is configured accordingly to create a pattern only in the part of the lateral seam area which corresponds to one of the blister bags and to assign this part to that blister bag. Alternatively, the embossing means can be configured to emboss a pattern in both parts of the lateral seam area and to assign each of the patterns to a blister bag.

[0037] First, in step 200, a packaging material web 40 is provided, and in step 210, the material web is formed into a receiving portion 45 for receiving the drug portions. This is done, for example, by the packaging material guide device 10 described in the previous figures. After the receiving portion 45 is formed, the drug portions to be blister-packaged are fed to the receiving portion in step 220. In step 230, the formed packaging material web 43 is joined (e.g. welded) by the longitudinal joining device 20 in the overlapping regions 41 of the packaging material in the moving direction of the packaging material web to form a tubular packaging material web 43. In a next step 240, the tubular packaging material web 43 is joined at predetermined intervals by the transverse joining device 100 arranged downstream of the longitudinal joining device 20 to form the transverse joining regions 42. Viewed from the direction of movement, this transverse seam area is the end of the just processed blister bag and at the same time the "lower" end of the new subsequent blister bag, the transverse seam area forming part of the receiving part of the subsequent blister bag. According to the invention, the tangible pattern is embossed in the transverse seam area 42 in step 250 by a plurality of embossing means 112 which can be moved in a direction transverse to the direction of movement, the arrangement in the transverse seam area being such that the pattern is assigned to one or both of the blister bags. In the embodiment of the device and method described herein, the pattern is assigned to only one blister bag, and when using seam means with more complex embossing means, the patterns of both blister bags can also be embossed in the transverse seam areas "sharing" the transverse seam area (regularly separated by perforations made by the separating means 130 as the upper or lower end of the blister bag).

Claims

1. A packaging device (1) for small objects, comprising: A packaging material guide (10) for receiving an elongated packaging material web (40), the elongated packaging material web (40) being shaped to be suitable for receiving small items, the packaging material guide (10) being configured to maintain a moving direction of the elongated packaging material web; a longitudinal joining device (20) arranged downstream of the packaging material guiding device (10) and joining the formed packaging material web (43) at an overlapping region (41) of the packaging material in the moving direction of the packaging material web; a transverse joining device (100) arranged downstream of the packaging material guiding device (10) and joining the formed packaging material web (43) at predetermined intervals in a direction transverse to the moving direction to form transverse joining areas (42), the transverse joining device (100) including two joining means (110, 120), at least one of the two joining means being movable in a direction transverse to the moving direction; A packaging device (1) for small items, comprising a plurality of embossing means (112) independently movable transversely to the direction of movement during successive packaging operations, and stops for the embossing means, the embossing means and the stops cooperating such that tactile ridges are formed in the lateral joint areas by the embossing means.

2. The packaging device (1) for small items according to claim 1, characterized in that the embossing means (112) is configured so as to be able to extend and retract at one of the joining means (110) and the other joining means (120) has a joining surface (121) configured elastically at at least one contact area or a receptacle for a plurality of embossing means which are individually movable in a direction transverse to the direction of movement.

3. The packaging device (1) for small items according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the embossing means (112) is configured as at least one 2x3 matrix (117) of embossing pins, by means of which dot patterns in the shape of Braille characters can be generated matrix by matrix.

4. 4. The device (1) for packaging small items according to claim 1, wherein at least one joining surface (111, 121) of said joining means (110, 120) is heated.

5. the packaging material guiding device (10) includes a central through opening (12) and is configured such that an elongated packaging material web (40) is fed into the through opening (12) so that the elongated packaging material web (40) is shaped in its moving direction to form a tubular packaging material web (43) defined by the through opening (12) and having an overlap region (41) of the packaging material web; The guide portion (62) extends within a portion of the tubular packaging material web (43); A packaging device (1) for small items as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a plurality of expansion means (64) are arranged in the lower region (63) of the guide portion (62) and expand the tubular packaging material web (43) to form a receiving portion (45) for a drug portion and to prepare for joining by the lateral joining device (100) in accordance with the alignment of the joining means (110, 120).

6. Use of a packaging device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 for producing a blister tube containing a plurality of blister bags.

7. 1. A method for manufacturing a blister tube containing a plurality of blister bags, comprising: An elongated web of packaging material (40) is provided; The packaging material web (40) is formed into a receiving portion (45) for receiving a drug portion; A longitudinal seaming device (20) seams the formed packaging material web (40) in a packaging material overlap region (41) in the moving direction of said packaging material web to form a tubular packaging material web (43), the seaming can be performed during or before the feeding of the small items; said tubular packaging material web (43) being joined at transverse joining areas (42) at predetermined intervals in its moving direction by a transverse joining device (100); 1. A method for producing a blister tube containing a plurality of blister bags, characterized in that a tactile pattern is embossed in the transverse bonding areas (42) during continuous production of the blister bags by a plurality of embossing means (112) which are individually movable in a direction transverse to said direction of movement.

8. 8. The method for manufacturing a blister tube containing a plurality of blister bags according to claim 7, characterized in that the embossing means (112) is configured as at least one 2x3 matrix (117) of embossing pins, and a Braille character-shaped dot pattern is embossed in the lateral bond area by the embossing pins for each of the matrix.

9. 9. The method for manufacturing a blister tube comprising a plurality of blister bags according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the tubular packaging material web (43) is expanded by a plurality of expansion means (64) before being joined by the transverse joining device (100).

Images