Cup-Shaped Inserts for Blister Pack Medicament Dispensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medicament containers with blister packs face challenges in efficiently dispensing dry powder medicaments due to complex unpeeling mechanisms and design restrictions, which increase manufacturing complexity and cost, while also limiting the spacing and precision of dose delivery.
Innovation Solution
A medicament container with cup-shaped inserts within blister pack pockets, where the insert is pushed from underneath to rupture the lidding sheet outwardly, allowing complete removal of powder without compressing or agglomerating the medicament, and a method of manufacturing using a carrier and moulding process to form these inserts, reducing complexity and cost.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a conventional blister pack with deep drawn pockets is used, then the structure is simple to manufacture, but the compartments cannot be fully opened and the medicament cannot be completely removed
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the blister pack structure into three separate components: a base with pockets, a lidding foil, and cup-shaped inserts. The cup-shaped inserts are separate from both the base and lidding foil, allowing them to be pushed through the lidding foil to completely access the medicament while the base structure remains simple for manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The cup-shaped inserts act as intermediary elements that bridge the base and lidding foil. These inserts are pushed from underneath the lidding foil, causing it to rupture outwardly, thereby enabling complete access to the medicament without requiring complex unpeeling mechanisms while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
2Ease of operation
If a complex unpeeling mechanism is used to peel the lidding foil away, then the compartment can be opened, but the device complexity increases and the spacing between compartments must be increased
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of peeling the lidding foil away from the base to open the compartment, the invention inverts the approach by pushing cup-shaped inserts upward from underneath the lidding foil. This causes the lidding foil to rupture outwardly, opening the compartment without requiring any unpeeling mechanism.
3Ease of operation
If pressure is applied from the underside to rupture the lidding sheet, then the compartment can be opened, but the medicament may be compressed or agglomerated
Solution Approach 1:
The cup-shaped inserts serve as intermediary elements that concentrate the opening force at their edges rather than distributing pressure across the entire medicament. As the inserts are pushed through the lidding foil, their peripheral walls rupture the foil outwardly without applying compressive force to the medicament, thereby maintaining medicament integrity while enabling compartment opening.
4Ease of operation
If cup-shaped inserts are provided in each pocket of the blister pack, then the lidding sheet can be ruptured outwardly for complete medicament removal, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the cup-shaped inserts as separate components that can be independently manufactured and then integrated into the blister pack. This allows for specialized production of the inserts using processes like injection molding, while the base and lidding foil can be manufactured using conventional, simpler processes, thereby balancing manufacturing complexity with operational effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
A medicament container and a method of manufacturing the container housing at least one individual dose of medicament using a carrier having first and second opposing faces and through walls defining a through hole extending between the first and second opposing faces, the method including inserting the carrier into a mould having an element for protrusion into the through hole from the first face so as to define with the through walls a generally cup-shaped space, filling the generally cup-shaped space with a mould material so as to form a generally cup-shaped insert in the through hole, removing the carrier and insert from the mould, depositing an individual dose of medicament in the generally cup-shaped insert, and sealing the medicament and insert in the through hole by sealing first and second sheets respectively with the first and second faces.