초록 ▼

The invention is an easy to open package, in particular a package of the kind comprising two blanks of a sheet material (101) joined along the edges, thereby constituting one or more enclosed compartments (102) e.g. for a medical utensil, such as a urinary catheter. The edge joint comprises at least

The invention is an easy to open package, in particular a package of the kind comprising two blanks of a sheet material (101) joined along the edges, thereby constituting one or more enclosed compartments (102) e.g. for a medical utensil, such as a urinary catheter. The edge joint comprises at least one peeling zone (18) permitting separation of the two foil walls and at least one foil sheet comprises or defines gripping means to enable a firm grip, such as a tear-open flap (12), a gripping string (499) or a flap with a finger-size hole (11). The package may further comprise means for one-hand opening, e.g. an adhesive element (2299) for bonding the package to exterior objects.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A package comprising a first foil, a second foil, and a gripping element, said first and second foils being joined to each other by an edge-joint extending along side edges of the foils so as to form a compartment for storage of an object inside the edge-joint, each foi

The invention claimed is: 1. A package comprising a first foil, a second foil, and a gripping element, said first and second foils being joined to each other by an edge-joint extending along side edges of the foils so as to form a compartment for storage of an object inside the edge-joint, each foil defining an inner surface towards the other foil and an outer surface towards the ambient atmosphere, the edge-joint having at least one peeling zone permitting separation of the two foil inner surfaces, each of said foils having a portion that extends outside said edge-joint to define a tear-open flap having a free end by which each of the foils may be gripped individually for tearing the package open, said gripping element having a first portion that is fixedly attached to the tear-open flap of said first foil with an adhesive and a gripping portion that is fixedly coupled with the first portion and separate from the foil and having a gripping ring with a hole disposed therethrough which can be lifted from the flap to which the gripping element is attached, said gripping portion configured to facilitate separation of said two foil inner surfaces along said at least one peeling zone for opening of said package, said first portion being nearest the free end of the flap and said gripping portion extending away from said free end so that, before said gripping portion is lifted from the flap, the gripping element lies generally flat against said first foil. 2. The package according to claim 1, wherein the gripping element is shaped so as to enable a firm grip without changing the position of the foils' inner surfaces relatively to each other. 3. The package according to claim 1, wherein an inner surface of said tear-open flaps is accessible without peeling. 4. The package according to claim 1, further comprising an adhesive zone having an exposable adhesive on the outer surface of the second foil for selectively adhering the package to an exterior object during opening. 5. The package according to claim 1, wherein the compartment is essentially rectangular, defining two opposite end zones and an oblong body zone to accommodate at least one catheter in an elongate condition. 6. The package according to claim 1, wherein an inner surface structure of the first foil is different from an inner surface structure of the second foil. 7. The package according to claim 1, wherein the adhering part and the gripping portion form a single element joined by a middle piece. 8. The package according to claim 7, wherein the middle piece is formed by at least two cut-lines extending from the gripping portion in the vicinity of the edge-joint into the adhering part and towards the free end of the flap, said cut-lines terminating in stop-positions defined outside the edge-joint. 9. The package according to claim 7, wherein the gripping element is adhesively bonded to the outer surface of the flap outside of the edge-joint and is not bonded to the outer surface of the first foil located in the compartment side of the edge-joint. 10. The package according to claim 7, wherein the adhering part of the gripping element is fixedly bonded to the outer surface of the flap outside of the edge-joint, and the gripping portion is detachably bonded to the outer surface of the first foil on the compartment side of the edge-joint, so as to allow the detachably bonded gripping portion to be peeled off from the foil. 11. The package according to claim 8, wherein the cut-lines terminate in semicircular stop-portions. 12. The package according to claim 11, wherein said semicircular stop-portions have a radius of curvature of between about 0.1 mm to about 10 mm. 13. The package according to claim 11, wherein said semicircular stop-portions have a radius of curvature of between about 1 mm to about 5 mm. 14. The package according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the foils includes a bulge on the inner surface of the tear-open flap for keeping the extending parts of the foils separated from each other. 15. The package according to claim 1, wherein said gripping element has a width of between about 10 mm to about 100 mm. 16. The package according to claim 1, wherein said gripping element has a width of between about 20 mm to about 35 mm. 17. A package comprising a first foil, a second foil and a separate gripping element, said first and second foils joined to each other by an edge-joint extending along side edges of the foils so as to form a compartment for storage of an object inside the edge-joint, each foil defining an inner surface towards the other foil and an outer surface towards the ambient atmosphere, the edge-joint having at least one peeling zone permitting separation of the two foil inner surfaces for opening of said package, at least said first foil having a portion that extends outside said edge-joint to define a tear-open flap with a free edge by which said extending foil may be gripped individually for separating the foils to thereby open the package, said gripping element formed from a material that is more rigid than the foil and including a pulling element having a pulling part including a ring portion with a hole disposed therethrough and an adhering part, said adhering part fixedly attached to said first foil tear-open flap and said pulling part having a through-passing hole sized to allow a finger-grip through said hole for pulling said foils apart, said pulling part and said adhering part being joined to one another by a middle piece formed by at least two cut-lines extending from the pulling part in the vicinity of the edge-joint into the adhering part and towards the free end of the flap, said cut-lines terminating in stop-positions defined outside the edge-joint. 18. The package according to claim 17, further comprising an adhesive label on an outer surface of the second foil, said adhesive label configured to secure said second foil to an available surface without releasing as the first foil is separated from said second foil by pulling on the pulling element. 19. The package according to claim 17, wherein said stop portions are semi-circular and have a radius of curvature of between about 0.1 mm to about 10 mm. 20. The package according to claim 17, wherein said stop portions are semi-circular and have a radius of curvature of between about 1 mm to about 5 mm. 21. The package according to claim 17, wherein said adhering part is nearest the free end of the flap and said pulling part extends away from said free end so that, before said pulling part is lifted from the flap, the gripping element lies generally flat against said first foil and does not extend beyond the first foil side edges or the flap free end. 22. A method of opening a package containing a catheter, the package having a first foil, a second foil, and a gripping element, said first and second foils being joined to each other by an edge-joint extending along side edges of the foils so as to form a compartment for storage of said catheter inside the edge-joint, each foil defining an inner surface towards the other foil and an outer surface towards the ambient atmosphere, the edge-joint having at least one peeling zone permitting separation of the two foil inner surfaces, each of said foils having a portion that extends outside said edge-joint to define first and second tear-open flaps having free ends, said gripping element including a pulling part and an adhering part, said adhering part being fixedly attached to the first tear-open flap of said first foil outside said edge-joint and said pulling part being detachably adhered to said first foil on the compartment side of the edge-joint, the second foil including an adhesive on or adjacent said second tear-open flap and on an outer surface thereof, said adhesive being covered by a protective member, said method comprising the steps of: removing said protective member to expose said adhesive; adhering said package to an available surface; grasping the pulling part of the gripping element and detaching said pulling part from said first foil; pulling said pulling part in a direction away from said free ends, causing said first tear-open flap to fold over the compartment such that said pulling part folds over said adhering part and exerts force in a plane of said adhering part; and separating said two foil inner surfaces along said at least one peeling zone to open said package while said second foil remains adhered to said surface; said steps of grasping, pulling and separating being performable by a user using only one hand. 23. The method as set forth in claim 22 wherein all of the steps are performed using only one hand. 24. The method as set forth in claim 23 wherein said available surface is substantially horizontal with an edge, said step of adhering said package including placing said adhesive label on said horizontal surface so that a length of the package distal from said tear-open flaps hangs substantially vertical over said edge. 25. The method as set forth in claim 24 wherein said gripping element has a hole therethrough of a size allowing a finger-grip through said hole, said method including the step of inserting one's finger into the hole and pulling the gripping element with a finger grip. 26. The method as set forth in claim 25, wherein said step of inserting one's finger is performed by inserting the finger upwardly through the hole from a lower side of said hole, said step of pulling on said first foil including pulling said gripping element at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to vertical.