FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention generally relates to a package and more particularly to a package for an air freshener composition and the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are numerous air fresheners, which may be intended primarily for use in automobiles, homes and rest rooms. Longevity of storage is paramount for such air freshener compositions. Their packaging must not only be air tight to protect the contents from moisture and gases but also chemically and mechanically strong enough to withstand the reactivity and weight of the product respectively.
Currently, air-freshener compositions are wrapped in heat sealed metalized poly ethylene terephthalate laminates so as to prevent product loss on storage and placed in a carton. Another type of packaging that is becoming increasingly popular with manufacturers is a blister pack.
A blister pack is a term for several types of pre-formed plastic packaging used for small consumer goods, foods, and for pharmaceuticals. A blister pack consists of a cavity or pocket made from a formable web, usually a thermoformed plastic. This usually has a backing of paperboard or a lidding seal of aluminium foil or plastic.
Though pouches, sachets, and bottle packaging are all common, a blister packaging offers numerous benefits that help make it more reliable, and in turn, more popular than others. Blister packs protect products from moisture and gas, to ensure a long shelf life, both in stores and homes. Further, blister packaging is cost effective and easy to produce in high volume, making a great choice for manufacturers. They are also helpful to customers as they provide a clean space for instructions to be written out and easy-to-follow. Additionally, blister packs are easy to use. Generally, all a consumer needs to do is push a product out of the package or remove the product by cutting the package with a pair of scissors. Also, for extra convenience, there are senior-friendly solutions and increased safety with child proof features. Still further, there is a wide range of colors and finishes that blister packaging can be constructed to feature, which manufacturers can use to make their products stand out on shelves. Moreover, opaque blisters also protect light sensitive products against ultra-violet rays. Carded blister packaging options are also great for marketing because they allow either the manufacturers or retailers themselves to include promotional materials or advertisements to help build a brand and increase customer loyalty.
Tamper evidence is another advantage of blister packaging. The products are individually sealed in constructions of plastic, foil, and/or paper. The package is designed so that one must tear the compartment to get at the product, and it’s not possible to separate the backing materials from the blister without leaving evidence, so, any form of tampering with a blister package is immediately visible.
Currently, for using an air freshener composition, a consumer has to remove the wrapped composition from the laminate and again place it inside the carton to deliver the fragrance. In doing so, the hands of the consumer inadvertently come in contact with the contents of the air freshener composition. In order to avoid such exposure, a consumer has to wear chemical resistant gloves.
Despite its numerous benefits, a blister pack may sometimes be tough to cut open even with a pair of scissors. Moreover, an opened blister pack has to be discarded and cannot be used as a means for dispensing the air-freshener composition. After an air freshener pack is opened, there is uncertainty as to the time for which one may actually want to use the product. The consumer may wish to re-seal the air freshener composition for future use. Although, an opened blister pack may be re-sealed with a suitable material coated with an adhesive, the corrosive ingredients present in the air-freshener composition may adversely affect the adhesive, which in turn affects its sealing properties.
In order to address the aforementioned issues, the inventors of the present invention have designed a package for an air freshener composition that can not only be opened easily but also serves as a means for dispensing the composition. The particular form, shape and size of the air freshener composition are not an essential part of the present invention and any fragrance emitting substrate could be utilized in the air freshener package.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is broadly related to an air freshener package 10, comprising an air freshener composition 20.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, there is provided an air freshener package 10, comprising:
(a) an air freshener composition 20;
(b) a first sheet 70 having a blister which forms a compartment 71 and an opening 30, the blister being adapted to receive the air freshener composition 20 and the opening 30 releasing the air freshener composition 20 to the external environment;
(c) a card 90 closing and sealing the compartment 71 formed by the first sheet 70 and being secured by a suitable seal to the first sheet 70 around the periphery of said compartment 71;
(d) a peel away 40 with an adhesive surface 50 for closing the opening 30;
(e) a backsheet 80 within the compartment 71 between the card 90 and the air freshener composition 20 to form a barrier between the card 90 and the air freshener composition 20; and
(f) optionally comprising a flap 60 completely covering the opening 30, wherein the flap 60 is adheared to the peel away 40 and is removed along with the peel away 40 for exposing the air freshener composition 20 through the opening 30 to the external environment;
and wherein the adhesive of the adhesive surface 50 is resistant to reacting with the components of the air freshener composition 20.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the suitable seal is made using heat sealing, ultrasonic sealing, induction sealing and more preferably using heat sealing.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention the adhesive surface 50 forms an outline about the opening 30 for securing the peel away 40 to the first sheet 70.
In accordance with still another embodiment of the invention the flap 60 is adheared to the peel away 40 by the adhesive surface 50. The adhesive used in the adhesive surface 50 is resistant to the components of the air freshener composition 20. The air freshener composition 20 may comprise para-dichlorobenzene or any other reactive volatile/sublimable substance.
The air freshener package 10 and the opening 30 is of any suitable shape and size.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the flap 60 is a section of the first sheet 70, defined by weakened points or perforations, and wherein the flap 60 is removable along with the peel away 40 to create an opening 30 in the first sheet 70.
The peel-away 40 of the air freshener package 10 comprises a tab 41, wherein the tab 41 is without the adhesive surface 50.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention the air freshener package 10 is manufactured by a process, comprising the steps of:
(a) inserting a first sheet 70 having a blister into a mold;
(b) inserting the air fresher composition 20 into the blister;
(c) placing the back sheet 80 on top of the air freshener composition 20 and the first sheet 70;
(d) placing the card 90 on top of the back sheet 80;
(e) sealing the first sheet 70 to the card 90 along the periphery of the compartment 71 to enclose the air freshener composition 20 and the backsheet 80; and
(f) applying a peel away 40 over the opening 30 on the first sheet 70.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Figure 1. is a perspective view of an air freshener package 10 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, prior to removal of the peel-away.
Figure 2. is a perspective view of an air freshener package 10 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, after partial removal of the peel-away.
Figure 3. is a perspective view of an air freshener package 10 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, after complete removal of the peel-away.
Figure 4. is an exploded view of an air freshener package 10.
The drawings are illustrative and not intended to be limiting, but are examples of embodiments, simplified for explanatory purposes, and not drawn to scale.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
PDCB or para-dichlorobenzene is a white to colourless crystalline solid with a mothball-like odour, commonly used as base or carrier material in the manufacture of air freshener compositions along with a volatile active component. PDCB undergoes sublimation, thereby releasing the embedded volatile active component. While designing a package for an air freshener composition 20 comprising PDCB, the inventors of the present invention found that most of the adhesives commonly used in packaging applications lose their adhesive property on reacting with PDCB vapours emanating from said air freshener composition 20. In order to remedy the drawback, the inventors have designed an air freshener package 10 for the air freshener composition 20, comprising PDCB or any other reactive substance, using an adhesive that is resistant to reacting with PDCB or any other reactive substance.
The present invention is an air-freshener package 10, for an air freshener composition 20, comprising: a carrier or base material impregnated with a volatile active component. The carrier or base material may be PDCB or any other sublimable material, whereas the volatile active material may be any reactive substance. The air freshener composition 20 impregnated with the volatile active component can be used for many purposes in numerous places where evaporation will cause the volatile active component to be released from the air freshener composition 20 to the environment. In the following description, the air freshener package 10 will be described in reference to a preferred embodiment. This embodiment is merely illustrative, and is not meant to be limiting.
As shown in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 the air freshener package 10 of the present invention comprises:
(a) an air-freshener composition 20;
(b) a first sheet 70 having a blister which forms a compartment 71 and an opening 30, the blister being adapted to receive the air freshener composition 20, and the opening 30 releasing the air freshener composition to the external environment;
(c) a card 90 closing and sealing the compartment 71 formed by the first sheet 70 and being secured by a suitable seal to the first sheet 70 around the periphery of said compartment 71;
(d) a peel away 40 with an adhesive surface 50 for closing the opening 30;
(e) a backsheet 80 within the compartment 71 between the card 90 and the air freshener composition 20 to form a barrier between the card 90 and the air freshener composition 20; and
(f) optionally comprising a flap 60 completely covering the opening 30, wherein the flap 60 is adheared to the peel away 40 and is removed along with the peel away 40 for exposing the air freshener composition 20 through the opening 30 to the external environment;
and wherein the adhesive of the adhesive surface 50 is resistant to reacting with the components of the air freshener composition 20.
The air freshener composition 20 of the present invention comprises a sublimable base or carrier material and a volatile active component. The sublimable base or carrier material may be PDCB or any other sublimable substance. The volatile active component may be selected from the group consisting of perfumes, insecticides, essential oils, bio-active fragrances that also destroy micro-organisms or repel insects, fragrances that mask odour or remove odour, reactive substances and combinations thereof.
Further, the air freshener package 10 comprises a first sheet 70 having a blister which forms a compartment 71 being adapted to receive the air freshener composition 20. The first sheet 70 is made of a material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), transparent polyethylene terephthalate Glycol/ Amorphous/ Glycol (PET GAG), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coated with polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC). In a preferred embodiment, the first sheet 70 is made from transparent polyethylene terephthalate Glycol/ Amorphous/ Glycol (PET GAG).
The first sheet 70 has an opening 30 for releasing the air freshener composition 20 to the external environment. The opening 30 shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4 is oval in shape, however, the same may be of any suitable shape, such as geometric shapes, objects, numbers, letters, animals and so forth. A peel away 40 with an adhesive surface 50 removably seals the opening and isolates the air freshener composition 20 from the external environment. The peel away 40 is adheared to the first sheet 70 through the adhesive surface 50. The adhesive used in the adhesive surface 50 is non-reactive or resistant to reacting with PDCB or any other sublimable material, the volatile active component, any other reactive substance i.e., it does not lose its adhesive property on coming in contact with vapours of reactive substances. Non-limiting examples of the adhesives that can be used for the adhesive layer 50 include Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), polyolefin’s, starches, styrenic block copolymers (SBC), natural rubber, polybutylene, acrylics, polyurethanes, epoxies, polyesters, polyamides, silicones; a hot-melt adhesive including EVA, SBC, or amorphous poly-alpha-olefins (APAO); a synthetic adhesive such as an emulsion based formula (e.g., poly vinyl acetate (PVAc), EVA, and rubber including styrene-butadiene rubber and neoprene) or a solution-based formula (e.g. Kymene polyamideepichlorohydrin (PAE) resin available from Hercules, and poly-ethylene oxide); a water-based adhesive including either or both natural or synthetic ingredients including polymers, thickeners, fillers, tackifiers, humectants, and wetting enhancers; a natural adhesive including starches such as corn, tapioca, and wheat and such things as dextrin and animal glue; an adhesive binder including acrylic, ethylene ethyl, acrylate, PVAc, EVA, cellulose acetate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, or poly vinyl chloride (PVC); and so forth, each of which can be used individually or in combination and is chemically resistant to PDCB, any other sublimable material, the volatile active component, and any other reactive substance, i.e. its adhesive property is not affected by the vapours of PDCB, any other sublimable material, the volatile active component and any other reactive substance. In other aspects of the present invention, the adhesive may be any other adhesive suitable for removably attaching the peel away 40 to the first sheet 70 and resistant to PDCB, any other sublimable material, the volatile active component and any other reactive substance.
Non-limiting examples of materials that can be used to make the peel away 40 include paper, poly-coated paper, metalized polyethylene terephthalate (MET PET), Super Calandered Kraft paper, Clay Coated Kraft paper, Machine Finished Kraft, Machine Glazed paper, polyester film, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Bi-Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP), poly propylene (PP) plastic resins, high density poly ethylene (HDPE) film substrates, and so forth. In a preferred embodiment the peel away 40 is made from metalized polyethylene terephthalate (MET PET).
The adhesive surface 50 forms an outline about the opening 30 for securing the peel away 40 to the first sheet 70. The peel away 40 is generally sized and shaped to match the shape of the first sheet 70. However, as shown in figures 1, 2, and 4 the peel away may extend beyond the edge of the compartment 71, in the form of a tab 41, to facilitate opening of the air freshener package 10 prior to use. The tab 41 portion of the peel-away 40 lacks the adhesive layer 50.
A back sheet 80 within the compartment 71 between the card 90 and the air freshener composition 20 forms a barrier between the card 90 and the air freshener composition 20. The back sheet 80 is made of a material selected from the group consisting of transparent polyethylene terephthalate Glycol/ Amorphous/ Glycol (PET GAG), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coated with polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC). In a preferred embodiment, the back sheet 80 is made from transparent polyethylene terephthalate Glycol/ Amorphous/ Glycol (PET GAG). The suitable seal may be made by heat sealing, ultrasonic sealing or induction sealing. In a preferred embodiment the seal is made by heat sealing.
A card 90, coated with Polyethylene terephthalate heat sealable (PET HSL), is secured by the suitable seal to the first sheet 70 along the periphery of the compartment 71. The suitable seal is made using heat sealing, ultrasonic sealing or induction sealing and preferably using heat sealing.
The air freshener package 10 of the present invention optionally comprises a flap 60 completely covering the opening 30, wherein the flap 60 is removably adheared to the peel away 40, through its adhesive surface 50, and is removed along with the peel away 40 for exposing the air freshener composition 20, through the opening 30, to the external environment. The flap 60 is made of a material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), transparent polyethylene terephthalate Glycol/ Amorphous/ Glycol (PET GAG), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coated with polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC).
In an embodiment, the flap 60 is a section of the first sheet 70, defined by weakened points or perforations, and wherein the flap 60 is removable, along with the peel away 40, along the weakened points or perforations, to create an opening 30 in the first sheet 70. Such an arrangement affords an additional barrier between the adhesive layer 50, and the vapours or components of the air freshener composition 20, thereby preventing the vapours or components of the air freshener composition 20 from reacting with the adhesive layer 50.
The air freshener package of the present invention 10 may be used in any enclosed space such as a bathroom, a toilet, a shower cabin, a locker, a kitchen, a celler, a closet, a boat, an indoor swimming pool, and a room.
Process for manufacturing the air freshener package
The first sheet 70, made from transparent PET GAG, is inserted into a mold. After that an air freshener composition 20, comprising PDCB and an active component, is placed inside the compartment 71 formed in the first sheet 70. Thereafter, place a back sheet 80, made from transparent PET GAG on top of the air freshener composition 20 and the first sheet 70. A card 90 coated with Polyethylene terephthalate (PET HSL) is placed on top of the back sheet 80. After that, the first sheet 70 is secured to the card 90 by heat sealing along the periphery of the compartment 71, to enclose the air freshener composition 20 and the backsheet 80. Finally, the opening 30, on the first sheet 70 is closed by applying the adhesive surface 50 of the peel away 40 over it.

CLAIMS:
We claim:
1. An air freshener package 10, comprising:
(a) an air freshener composition 20;
(b) a first sheet 70 having a blister, which forms a compartment 71 and an opening 30, the blister being adapted to receive the air freshener composition 20, and the opening 30 releasing the air freshener composition 20 to the external environment;
(c) a card 90 closing and sealing the compartment 71 formed by the first sheet 70 and being secured by a suitable seal to the first sheet 70 around the periphery of said compartment 71;
(d) a peel away 40 with an adhesive surface 50 for closing the opening 30;
(e) a backsheet 80 within the compartment 71 between the card 90 and the air freshener composition 20 to form a barrier between the card 90 and the air freshener composition 20; and
(f) optionally comprising a flap 60 completely covering the opening 30, wherein the flap 60 is adheared to the peel away 40 and is removed along with the peel away 40 for exposing the air freshener composition 20 through the opening 30 to the external environment;
wherein the adhesive of the adhesive surface 50 is resistant to reacting with the components of the air freshener composition 20.
2. The air freshener package 10, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the suitable seal is made using heat sealing, ultrasonic sealing, or induction sealing and more preferably using heat sealing.
3. The air freshener package 10, as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein the adhesive surface 50 forms an outline about the opening 30 for securing the peel-away 40 to the first sheet 70.
4. The air freshener package 10, as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 3, wherein the flap 60 is adheared to the peel away 40 by an adhesive surface 50.
5. The air freshener package 10, as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 4, wherein the air freshener composition 20 comprises para-dichlorobenzene or any other reactive volatile / sublimable substance.
6. The air freshener package 10, as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 5 wherein the package is of any suitable shape and size.
7. The air freshener package 10, as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 6, wherein the opening 30 is of any suitable shape and size.
8. The air freshener package 10, as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 7, wherein the flap 60 is a section of the first sheet 70, defined by weakened points or perforations, and wherein the flap 60 is removable along with the peel away 40 to create an opening 30 in the first sheet 70.
9. The air freshener package 10, as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 8, wherein the peel-away comprises a tab 41, wherein the tab 41 is without the adhesive surface 50.
10. A method for preparing the air freshener package 10, as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 9, comprising the steps of:
(a) inserting a first sheet 70 having a blister into a mold;
(b) inserting the air fresher composition 20 into the blister;
(c) placing the back sheet 80 on top of the air freshener composition 20 and the first sheet 70;
(d) placing the card 90 on top of the back sheet 80;
(e) sealing the first sheet 70 and the card 90 along the periphery of the compartment 71 to enclose the air freshener composition 20 and the backsheet 80; and
(f) applying a peel away 40 over the opening 30 on the first sheet 70.