PACKAGED PRODUCT AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING PACKAGED PRODUCT

Abstract

 Provided is a sort of packaged products which are packaged in package-boxes and supplied to a market through plural kinds of supply channels with different labels, wherein the packaging-boxes can be standardized so that manufacturing or management of the sort of packaged products can be efficiently and easily performed, also provided is a method for manufacturing the sort of packaged products. In order to enable standardization of package-boxes (14) with different labels for each of plural kinds of supply channels, and to enable efficient and easy manufacturing or management of the sort of packaged products, the following are combined and used: the package-boxes (14) with plural kinds of labels co-printed according to the plural kinds of supply channels; and packaging films hiding unnecessary ones among the plural kinds of labels depending on each of the plural kinds of supply channels.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a sort of packaged products contained in package-boxes and supplied to the market through plural kinds of channels, and a method for manufacturing thereof.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Conventionally, in supplying goods to the market, there have been many packaged goods contained in a package-box for the purpose of protecting the goods and making room for labels including instructions for use thereof.

[0003] In recent years, with increasing diversification and globalization of product distribution channels, there have been quite a few occasions where substantially the same goods are supplied to the market through plural kinds of distribution channels. In those cases, it is often necessary to deal with the difference of distribution channels and destinations by differentiating the labeling of the package-box corresponding to each distribution channel.

[0004] For example, when there are both a distribution channel for in-store retail sales and a distribution channel for members who subscribe for a fee to receive goods periodically by door-to-door courier services and so forth, it is required to provide different labels (including trademark, design and signage differences) on the product package-boxes for each distribution channel based on the necessity of merchandise management of each distribution channel. Also, when there are some sales channels across plural countries, such as domestic and international channels, it becomes necessary to differentiate labels (including necessary information due to language and statutory requirements) of the package-box for each destination (country).

[0005] However, if different package-boxes were used in response to such differences in the distribution channels and destinations, plural kinds of package-boxes had to be prepared and each kind thereof had to be managed even for the same single goods, and for that reason, there was a problem of being too labor intensive and cumbersome in working on the production and management of the packaged goods.

[0006] In particular, the number of necessary packaged goods is not the same for different distribution channels or destinations. Therefore, the manufacturing and management of the packaged goods become more cumbersome requiring preparation and management of as many different package-boxes as necessary for each of the plural kinds of distribution channels and destinations. Furthermore, when there are plural kinds of goods to be supplied via a single distribution channel or to a single destination, there would be so many kinds of package-boxes to be prepared depending on the number of combinations between the kind of distribution channel or destination and the kinds of goods, resulting in the generation of a very small amount of package-boxes. That caused a problem of a further increase in the product costs and complication of management for all packaged goods.

[0007] One way to deal with such a problem is to provide more than one labels needed for plural distribution channels and destinations on a single package-box. However, putting plural labels together for a specific distribution channel or destination not only makes it less visually identifiable but also requires smaller labels due to limited space, which leads to an unavoidable result of further deterioration of the visibility.

[0008] Also, as described in Publication of Japanese Patent Application No. JP-A-10-297640 (Patent Document 1), it is conceivable to standardize the package-box by means of providing a space for replaceable labels on part of the package-box and changing only the labels depending on the distribution channel or destination. However, there is a risk of having no labeling on the package-box if the label is removed. Especially in case of medical supplies such as contact lenses, it is not realistic to have no label on the package-box for safety and regulatory reasons.

BACKGROUND ART DOCUMENTS

PATENT DOCUMENTS

[0009] 

Patent Document 1: JP-A-10-297640

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

PROBLEM THE INVENTION ATTEMPTS TO SOLVE

[0010] The present invention has been developed in view of such a situation, and the object of the invention is to provide a sort of packaged products with a novel structure to be packaged in package-boxes and supplied to the market through plural kinds of supply channels that allows standardization of the package-boxes required to differentiate the label for each supply channel and more efficient and easier manufacturing and management of the sort of packaged products, and to provide a method of manufacturing the sort of packaged products with the novel structure.

MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM

[0011] A first mode of the present invention provides a sort of packaged products, which are packaged in respective exterior packaging bodies and supplied to a market through plural kinds of supply channels with different labels on the exterior packaging bodies, being characterized in that: the exterior packaging bodies include respective package-boxes each containing products and respective transparent packaging films each wrapping up the package-boxes; the package-boxes are made common for the plural kinds of supply channels by co-printing plural kinds of labels according to the plural kinds of supply channels on the package-boxes; the packaging films are made different for the plural kinds of supply channels, the packaging films being provided with a partially opaque cover area at different locations for each of the plural kinds of supply channels; and unnecessary ones among the plural kinds of labels that are co-printed on the package-boxes are hidden behind the cover area according to the plural kinds of supply channels with additional information labeled on the cover area.

[0012] In the sort of packaged products according to the present mode, the labels on the exterior packaging body of the each packaged product can be attached separately as appropriate, some on the package-box constituting the exterior packaging body and the others on the packaging film that wraps it. By differentiating the label attached to the packaging film according to plural supply channels, the labels on the package-boxes can be standardized so that the same single package-boxes can be shared among plural supply channels.

[0013] In addition, since unnecessary labels are hidden behind the cover area of the packaging film, although plural kinds of labels are co-printed on the package-box according to plural supply channels, there is no problem of difficulties in identifying necessary labels that could arise due to the visibility of unnecessary labels from outside.

[0014] Furthermore, since additional information is labeled as needed according to the supply channel in the cover area over unnecessary labels on the package-boxes depending on said supply channel, reduction in the labeling space or the label size caused by the co-printing of plural kinds of labels on the package-box according to the plural supply channels can be avoided, and thus the visibility of the labels can be more favorably secured.

[0015] In the present invention, the following second to twelfth modes can be more favorably adopted in combination as appropriate with the above first mode:

[0016] In other words, a second mode of the present invention is the sort of packaged products according to the first mode, wherein each of the package-boxes is a polyhedron and each of the packaging films is positioned by plural vertices thereof relative to each of the package-boxes.

[0017] The sort of packaged products according to the present mode make it possible to mutually align each labeling position of the package-box and packaging film with high precision taking advantage of the shape of the package-box. Therefore, problems of poor visibility of the package-box labels and the like caused by the position gap between the package-box and packaging film can easily be prevented without any need for fixation of the package-box and packaging film and so forth.

[0018] A third mode of the present invention provides the sort of packaged products according to the first or second mode, wherein a planned cutting line with a treatment to facilitate cutting is provided to each of the packaging films at a position corresponding to an opening of each of the package-boxes so that a portion covering the opening of each of the package-boxes is removed along the planned cutting line to leave the cover area in a state of hiding each of the package-boxes.

[0019] The sort of packaged products according to the present mode allow the cover area of the packaging film left hiding the package-box when it is opened to use the product. Therefore, when a package-box contains product batches to be used several times that are taken out for use one after another in sequence, the effects of hiding unnecessary labels on the package-box and labeling additional information can be maintained over the cover area of the packaging film.

[0020] Also, a fourth mode of the present invention provides the sort of packaged products according to any one of the first to third modes, wherein the products packaged in the exterior packaging bodies are medical supplies.

[0021] In other words, much of the labeled information on the exterior packaging body of medical supplies is governed particularly by statutory regulations and self-imposed restrictions of the industry and so forth. Therefore, in supplying medical supplies to the market via plural supply channels, it is now feasible, by adopting the present invention, to efficiently secure the labeling space through proper combinations of package-boxes and packaging films while avoiding problems of having the exterior packaging body too big in order to secure the labeling space and of deteriorated visibility due to reduced label sizes, thus enabling to standardize package-boxes by co-printing the labels required for each of the plural supply channels.

[0022] Also, a fifth mode of the present invention provides the sort of packaged products according to any one of the first to fourth modes, wherein an area for postscript is provided on each of the package-boxes where a postscript label is individually added by laser irradiation.

[0023] Using the sort of packaged products according to the present mode, it is now possible to add individual labels to the packaged products by processing the postscript while adopting the common package-box for different types of supply channels. Therefore, even if production lot numbers have to be labeled on the package-boxes to be shared, it can be done by putting lot numbers thereon as a postscript while using the common package-boxes among those marked with different production lot numbers. The postscript treatment using laser irradiation can be performed by a known method, for example, by sublimating the dye only where the irradiation is applied on the surface pre-printed with solid ink so as to white out the characters or by degeneration and discoloring of the surface by laser irradiation.

[0024] Also, a sixth mode of the present invention provides the sort of packaged products according to the fifth mode, wherein the postscript label includes production lot numbers of the products packaged in each of the exterior packaging bodies.

[0025] Also, a seventh mode of the present invention provides the sort of packaged products according to any one of first to sixth modes, wherein the products contained in the exterior packaging bodies are respectively provided with plural kinds of features set in place for each of the plural kinds of supply channels, and are respectively packaged in the exterior packaging bodies with different labels for each of the plural kinds of features.

[0026] To show a more specific example, in case of commercially dealing with contact lenses as one of medical supplies, one type of product called "disposable soft contact lenses that last for two weeks" actually includes different types of lenses with various characteristics of "refractive power (lens diopter)" and "DIA (lens's outer diameter)" and the like. If these different characteristic have to be labeled on the exterior packaging body, it is possible to differentiate the exterior packaging body per each characteristic value, that is, to adopt the present invention by preparing a different package-box or packaging film per each characteristic value.

[0027] In that case, however, labeling the characteristic value by printing it on the packaging film, for example, would make it possible to use the common package-box (even if the characteristic values are different). Or, if the characteristic value is labeled by laser irradiation as a postscript according to the above third mode of the present invention, it would be made possible to label characteristic values different from each other on said package-boxes while adopting the common package-box (even with different characteristic values). This allows the effect of the present invention to be achieved more effectively when there are several types of goods with different characteristic values to be supplied via the same supply channel.

[0028] Also, an eighth mode of the present invention provides the sort of packaged products according to any one of the first to seventh modes, wherein the plural kinds of supply channels comprise domestic and international supply channels.

[0029] As a particularly favorable form of the present mode, a ninth mode described below can be adopted whereby standardization of package-boxes for products headed for domestic and international destinations can be achieved by co-printing information on the package-box in various languages depending on the destination.

[0030] In other words, a ninth mode of the present invention provides the sort of packaged products according to the eighth mode, wherein the plural kinds of labels co-printed on the package-boxes describe at least one of a generic name, a quantity and a manufacturer of the products packaged in the exterior packaging bodies in plural languages, and the additional information on the packaging films contains contact information related to the products.

[0031] Also, a tenth mode of the present invention provides the sort of packaged products according to any one of the first to ninth modes, wherein the plural kinds of supply channels include a supply channel for members who subscribe to the products to be delivered periodically contingent upon paying a membership fee and a supply channel for product sales that deal with items under a condition of payment for individual prices.

[0032] Also, an eleventh mode of the present invention provides the sort of packaged products according to any one of the first to tenth modes, wherein the plural kinds of supply channels include sales channels that require monetary payments and delivery channels that do not require them.

[0033] The sort of packaged products according to the tenth or eleventh mode do not require individual preparation of package-boxes making it possible, for example, to specifically attach labels to the packaging film identifying the goods for each supply channel by means of attaching a label (including design) that distinguishes a supply channel for membership sales from that for product sales, or a label (including design) that distinguishes a sales channel from a delivery channel and so forth.

[0034] Also, a twelfth mode of the present invention is the sort of packaged products according to any one of the first to eleventh modes, wherein a blank area with no labeling is provided on each of the package-boxes, while a product name is labeled at a location that covers the blank area on each of the packaging films in a unique form for each of the plural kinds of supply channels.

[0035] The sort of packaged products according to the present mode make it possible to display a product name on the packaging film with increased degree of freedom by taking advantage of the blank area on the package-box. More specifically, it is also possible to use the background color of the blank area by displaying the product name on the packaging film at a location different from the cover area and by displaying it including the transparent film portion, and to prevent the defect of transparent visibility of printing on the package-box within the labeling area of the product name on the packaging film, which increases the degree of freedom in coloring adoptable within the labeling area of the product name on the packaging film, and thus increasing the degree of design freedom.

[0036] Furthermore, what the present invention related to a method of manufacturing a sort of packaged products provides a method of manufacturing a sort of packaged products which are packaged in respective exterior packaging bodies and supplied to a market through plural kinds of supply channels with different labels on the exterior packaging bodies, the method being characterized by comprising the steps of: adopting respective package-boxes each containing products and respective transparent packaging films each wrapping up the package-boxes as for the exterior packaging bodies; preparing the package-boxes common for the plural kinds of supply channels by co-printing plural kinds of labels according to the plural kinds of supply channels on the package-boxes; packaging the products in the package-boxes to produce intermediate products; preparing the packaging films different per each of the plural kinds of supply channels by providing a partially opaque cover area on the packaging films at different locations per each of the plural kinds of supply channels while attaching additional information within the cover area corresponding to each of the plural kinds of supply channels; and covering the package-boxes of the intermediate products by the packaging films to hide unnecessary ones with the cover area among the plural kinds of labels co-printed on the package-boxes, while making visible the additional information attached to the cover area corresponding to each of the plural kinds of supply channels.

[0037] According to such method of the present invention, it is possible to standardize the package-boxes to be adopted in manufacturing a sort of packaged products supplied to the market via plural kinds of supply channels, which can reduce labor for manufacturing and managing the package-boxes different from each other. In addition, while the package-boxes are standardized, plural kinds of packaged products can be produced with labels different from each other using combinations of the package-boxes and packaging films, which enable to efficiently deal with the manufacturing of a sort of packaged products that require labels different per each of the plural kinds of supply channels.

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION

[0038] According to the present invention, it is now possible to standardize the package-boxes that require a unique label for each supply channel by adopting the combination of package-boxes with plural kinds of labels co-printed according to their supply channels and packaging films that hide unnecessary ones among the labels co-printed on said package-boxes depending on the supply channel and are given additional information labeled according to the supply channels, which makes it possible to manufacture and manage the sort of packaged products more efficiently and easily.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] 

FIGS. 1A-1E are a front view, a rear view, side views, and an edge view of a contact lens package, as a one packaged product of a sort of packaged products, according to one embodiment of the present invention, being supplied to the market via a supply channel for domestic product sales.

FIGS. 2A-2E are a front view, a rear view, side views, and an edge view of a contact lens package, as a one packaged product of a sort of packaged products, according to one embodiment of the present invention, being supplied to the market via a supply channel for domestic members.

FIG. 3 is a developed plan view of a specific example of a package-box to be used commonly for each contact lens package shown in FIGS. 1A-1E, 2A-2E, 8A-8E, 10A-10E, 12A-12E, 14A-14E, 16A-16E and 17A-17E.

FIG. 4 is a developed plan view of a packaging film to be used for the contact lens package shown in FIGS. 1A-1E.

FIG. 5 is a developed plan view of a packaging film to be used for the contact lens package shown in FIGS. 2A-2E.

FIG. 6 is a developed plan view of a specific example of a package-box shown in FIG. 3 that is labeled with a postscript by laser irradiation.

FIG. 7 is a developed plan view of a packaging film to be used for a contact lens package shown in FIGS. 8A-8E.

FIGS. 8A-8E are a front view, a rear view, side views, and an edge view of a contact lens package, as a one packaged product of a sort of packaged products, according to one embodiment of the present invention, being supplied to the market via a supply channel for international product sales.

FIG. 9 is a developed plan view of a packaging film to be used for a contact lens package shown in FIGS. 10A-10E.

FIGS. 10A-10E are a front view, a rear view, side views, and an edge view of a contact lens package, as a one packaged product of a sort of packaged products, according to one embodiment of the present invention, being supplied to the market via a supply channel for other international product sales.

FIG. 11 is a developed plan view of a packaging film to be used for a contact lens package shown in FIGS. 12A-12E.

FIGS. 12A-12E is a front view, a rear view, side views, and an edge view of a contact lens package, as a one packaged product of a sort of packaged products, according to one embodiment of the present invention, having characteristics different from those shown in FIGS. 1A-1E, which is supplied to the market via a supply channel for domestic product sales.

FIG. 13 is a developed plan view of a packaging film to be used for a contact lens package shown in FIGS. 14A-14E.

FIGS. 14A-14E are a front view, a rear view, side views, and an edge view of a contact lens package, as a one packaged product of a sort of packaged products, according to one embodiment of the present invention, having characteristics different from those shown in FIGS. 2A-2E, which is supplied to the market via a supply channel for domestic members.

FIG. 15 is a developed plan view of a packaging film to be used for a contact lens package shown in FIGS. 16A-16E.

FIGS. 16A-16E are a front view, a rear view, side views, and an edge view of a contact lens package, as a one packaged product of a sort of packaged products, according to one embodiment of the present invention, having characteristics different from those shown in FIGS. 8A-8E, which is supplied to the market via a supply channel for international product sales.

FIGS. 17A-17E are a front view, a rear view, side views, and an edge view of a contact lens package, as a one packaged product of a sort of packaged products, according to one embodiment of the present invention, being supplied to the market via supply channels that require no monetary payment domestically.

FIG. 18 is a developed plan view showing another specific example of a package-box commonly used for each contact lens package shown in FIGS. 1A-1E, 2A-2E, 8A-8E and 10A-10E.

EMBODIMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0040] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in reference to the drawings. First, FIGS. 1A-1E and 2A-2E show a contact lens package, as a one packaged product of a sort of packaged products, according to one embodiment of the present invention, to be supplied to the market via different kinds of supply channels from each other.

[0041] The contact lens package 10 shown in FIGS. 1A-1E is to be supplied to the market via Japanese domestic supply channels, and to be supplied to supply channels for individual product sales as necessary to users who wish to purchase the product over the counter at a store dealing with contact lenses under the condition of payment for the price, or through a mail order and the like. Meanwhile, the contact lens package 12 shown in FIGS. 2A-2E is supplied to the market via Japanese domestic supply channels in a similar way, which is to be supplied to member users who entered into a membership contract under the condition of paying a membership fee such as the one supplied to the supply channel for members as described, for example, in Publication of Japanese Patent Application No.2003-228623.

[0042] These contact lens packages 10 and 12 are each provided with many labels that can be visually identified from outside in an unopened state as shown by the front view in FIGS. 1A and 2A, rear view in FIGS. 1B and 2B, side views in FIGS. 1C, 1D, 2C and 2D, and both edge views in FIGS. 1E and 2E. Especially, contact lenses, being medical supplies such as pharmaceutical drugs and medical treatment devices, are required to post many labels in a way of being visually identifiable from outside in an unopened state such as the names of the manufacturer and the distributor, their contact information, the product's generic name and brand name, materials, characteristics, intended use and so forth in order to comply with the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and self-imposed restrictions of the industry.

[0043] More specifically, such contact lens packages 10 and 12 are each equipped with a package-box 14 consisting of a flat rectangular void box, within which an appropriate number of contact lenses are contained to be sold individually. In addition, the package-box 14 is entirely covered with thin packaging films 16 and 17. In summary, in the present embodiment, an exterior packaging body 18 made as a product unit to be supplied to the market is composed of having these package-box 14 and packaging films 16, 17 contain and package plural contact lenses as individual products. The contact lenses as individual goods contained therein are packaged individually in a sealed state in each package container as described, for example, in Publication of Japanese Patent No.4579254 and the like, which is in turn to be contained in the package-box 14.

[0044] Such a package-box 14 is formed with a material with high strength that can protect the contained goods during the distribution channel, preferably with paper having prescribed thickness, synthetic resin and the like. In the present embodiment, a paper material 20 cut out in a developed shape as shown in FIG. 3 is used, which is bent and glued at the margins so as to make a package-box 14 in a shape of a flat rectangular void box.

[0045] On such paper material 20, a planned cutting line 24 weakened by perforation for easy cutting is provided in order to form an opening 22 at one end of the package-box 14 in the longitudinal direction. The planned cutting line 24 runs across a rear board 26 of the package-box 14 and pass through side boards 28 and 29 to reach a front board 30, where a line connecting both ends of the planned cutting lines 24 is intended for a planned bending portion 32. In other words, the package-box 14 that has been glued and sealed after being stuffed with an appropriate number of individually packaged contact lenses can be opened from a lid portion 36 including an edge board 34 on one side of the package-box 14 in the longitudinal direction by means of pressing the center of the planned cutting line 24 on the rear board 26 with a finger to make a cut so as to break the box along said planned cutting line 24.

[0046] Then, the lid portion 36 is made to be repeatedly operable in a selective way between the closed position where the opening 22 of the package-box 14 is closed and the opened position where said opening 22 is opened to the outside by undergoing flexural displacement generally at the planned bending portion 32. Also the paper material 20 is provided with an inner board 38 that is partially overlapped from inside over the rear board 26 of the package-box 14. This inner board 38 is provided with a concave cutout 40 and an incision 42 for latching at the location to be overlapped approximately over the planned cutting line 24 of the rear board 26. And the lid portion 36 formed by the breakage along the planned cutting line 24 described above is made to stay at the closed position after the opening of the package-box 14 by having a latching piece 44 in a lingual shape protruding out at the center of the rear board 26 inserted into and engaged with the incision 42 on the inner board 38.

[0047] Meanwhile, the packaging films 16 and 17 have enough strength to protect the package-box 14 against dirt and dust during the distribution channels and the like by covering the entire package-box 14, being formed with a material that makes the package-box 14 visually identifiable from outside by transmitting visible light. For example, as the packaging films 16 and 17, transparent thin films (including colorless and tinted ones) made of synthetic resin, such as polypropylene are preferably adopted. In the present embodiment, a film material 46 cut out in a developed shape as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 is used, being formed in a shape of covering the surface of the package-box 14 in substantially close contact therewith by wrapping up the entire package-box 14 as if to cover it all through welding or adhesion at the margins.

[0048] Such a film material 46 is provided with a front cover portion 48, a rear cover portion 50, side cover portions 51, 52, 52, and edge cover portions 54, 54 to be overlapped over the front board 30, rear board 26, side boards 28, 29, and edge boards 34, 34, respectively, of the package-box 14 with each corresponding planar shape and size. In addition, the film material 46 of the present embodiment is made in a cylindrical film shape covering the periphery of the package-box 14 by having the side cover portions 52, 52 overlapped with each other and fixed by welding or adhesion, while both edge cover portions 54, 54 are folded like caramel wrapping to be fixed by welding or adhesion, whereby the entire package-box 14 is wrapped up to make a sealed structure.

[0049] Also, in opening the contact lens packages 10, 12 to take out the contact lenses for use, it is necessary to break the packaging films 16, 17 and break open the lid portion 36 of the package-box 14 along the planned cutting line 24. In that case, it is desirable to provide a planned film cutting line 56 on the packaging films 16, 17 at a position corresponding to the opening 22 of the package-box 14 to be able to easily cut the package-box 14 along the planned cutting line 24 to open the lid portion 36 and to easily separate only the end side of the package-box 14 where the lid portion 36 is provided. The planned film cutting line 56 can be materialized, for example, by forming a weaker line by means of providing a line of perforation on the film material 46, or by having a structure wherein the packaging film 16 can be broken apart in the circumferential direction by pulling an end 60 of a pull tape 58 which is pasted on the rear surface of the packaging film 16 for breaking the film as illustrated in FIG. 4.

[0050] Especially, under the condition where the package-box 14 is opened to take out contact lenses one by one for use by removing only the opening of the lid portion 36 of the package-box 14, only one side 62 (removable side covering the lid portion 36) of the planned film cutting line 56 is removed from the packaging films 16, 17, and the other side 64 of the planned film cutting line 56 can be left covering most of the package-box 14.

[0051] Furthermore, the contact lens packages 10, 12, which are the sort of packaged products contained in the exterior packaging body 18 comprising the above package-box 14 and packaging films 16, 17, as shown in FIGS. 1A-1E and 2A-2E, respectively, are marked with many labels in an unopened state visible from outside.

[0052] More specifically, the front surface of the contact lens package 10 for product sales shown in FIGS. 1A-1E is displayed with the product name "AAA" in a large font at the center together with the name of the corporation that manufactures the product "○○○○○○○," its trademark "⊚" and the product's generic name "two week disposable soft contact lenses." In addition, in the present embodiment, a water-surface-inspired design is applied to nearly the entire front surface of the package.

[0053] Also, on the rear surface of the package shown in FIG. 1B, a first labeling area 66 on the upper center is marked with the words "containing six" (product quantity) and "attached document enclosed" as a description of contents 68, the words "ΔΔΔΔ two-week □□□□" as a brand name 70, and the words "Δ ΔΔΔ Co., Ltd." and "○-○-○ Aoi, Naka-ku, Nagoya" as a manufacturer's business name 72 and a business address 73. The first labeling area 66 on the upper center of the rear surface of the package is also displayed with words of a generic name 74 and product categories 75, 76 of the included products that comply with applicable laws and regulations as well as phrases "two-week disposable soft contact lenses for all day use," "specially controlled medical device" and "reusable tinted contact lenses for vision correction" in addition to prescribed material codes and a disinfection mark as descriptions of each product material 78 and so forth on the individual packaging medium (container) and the package main body (outer box).

[0054] Furthermore, a second labeling area 80 as a cover area at the bottom of the rear surface of the package is filled with a background color, on which notes 82, as additional information, are displayed that read "Use this product properly after reading the attached document," "Have a periodic medical check-up," and "See an ophthalmologist when any abnormality is found," together with checkboxes 84 (blank squares) to be checked to specify the right or left eye for each user to wear the packaged contact lens, "telephone number" and "home page address" of the manufacturer as contact information 86 for directing questions or complaints about the product, and material descriptions 88 of the packaging films 16, 17.

[0055] In addition, a third labeling area 90 in the upper left corner of the rear surface of the package is displayed with a production lot number 92 of the contact lenses included in the package, a product code 94, and a DIA 96 (outer diameter of the lens). The product code 94 that identifies the country of manufacture, the names of the manufacturer and the product can be displayed as product identification numbers such as the JAN code and EAN code as part of one-dimensional or two-dimensional barcoding just like lot numbers. Also each value of these production lot numbers 92, product code 94 and DIA 96 generally meets the labeling requirements of the laws and regulations and standards and the like, and when additional information is needed, information on values, barcodes, micro QR codes (registered trademark) and so forth can be added.

[0056] Furthermore, a planned opening area 98 to the right of the rear surface of the package is displayed with a word "Open" indicating the opening, together with instructions to better described the operation of opening the package and closing the lid after the opening by engaging the latching piece 44 with the incision 42.

[0057] Moreover, a side surface 100 of the package shown in FIG. 1C is displayed with characters of "2099-12" indicating the expiration date for use and "TEST 634001" indicating the production lot number, while a base curve (BC) value "8.6" and the spherical lens power (P) "- 3.00" are displayed thereon as optical properties of the contact lens included in the package. Another entry field 101 for the characters "CYL" (cylindrical lens power) and "AXIS" (cylindrical axis angle) indicating optical properties of the contact lens and another entry field 102 for the values of CYL and AXIS are provided, although if the contact lens is a spherical lens without cylindrical lens power, these entry fields are left blank as shown in FIG. 1C.

[0058] Also, the other side surface 103 of the package shown in FIG. 1D is displayed with "STERILE," "i," "Paper (outer box)," "Plastic (container) PP," "CE" and so forth as various domestic and international standard marks.

[0059] Furthermore, edge surfaces 104 on both sides of the package shown in FIG. 1E are each marked with the abbreviated name, emblem and trademark and the like of the corporation that manufactures and sells the products.

[0060] On the other hand, in case of the contact lens package 12 for members shown in FIGS. 2A-2E, most of the labels are made to be the same as those of contact lens package 10 for product sales shown in FIGS. 1A-1E described above, but the difference is that the upper right corner on the front surface FIG. 2A of the package and the rightmost area on the side surface FIG. 2C are displayed distinctively with a phrase of "members only" in a large font representing a type of supply channel. That is, the labeling of "members only" distinguishes the difference in the supply channel type between the contact lens package 10 shown in FIGS. 1A-1E and the contact lens package 12 shown in FIGS. 2A-2E.

[0061] Meanwhile, for these contact lens package 10 shown in FIGS. 1A-1E and contact lens package 12 shown in FIGS. 2A-2E, the same package-box 14 is used. More specifically, the paper material 20 shown in FIG. 3 is used for all the package-boxes 14, and as shown in FIG. 3, this same type is shared including the labeling by printing.

[0062] More specifically, the common package-box 14 consisting of the paper material 20 is made to be a blank area 106 on the front surface over a background color (white with no printing or no color in the present embodiment) covering the entire front surface. Also, the rear surface of the package-box 14 is printed with words "containing six" (product quantity) and "attached document enclosed" as the description of contents 68 on the above first labeling area 66, as well as words "ΔΔ ΔΔ two-week □□□□" as the brand name 70, and the words "ΔΔΔΔ Co., Ltd." and "○-○-○ Aoi, Naka-ku, Nagoya" as the manufacturer's business name 72 and business address 73 of the manufacturer, and the area on the upper center of the rear surface of the package is printed with words of the generic name 74 and product categories 75, 76 of the included products that comply with applicable laws and regulations, "two-week disposable soft contact lenses for all day use," "specially controlled medical device," "reusable tinted contact lenses for vision correction" as well as prescribed material codes and a disinfection mark as each material 78 and the like of each packaging material (container) and package main body (outer box).

[0063] Furthermore, a third labeling area 108 in the upper left corner of the rear surface is made to be an area with one solid dark color, where words "LOT" and "PRODUCT CODE" indicating the areas for a production lot number and a product code of the contact lenses included in the box are printed but no specific production lot number or product code is printed thereon. In the present embodiment, a word "DIA" and a specific value "14.0" thereof are printed regarding the contact lenses included in the box, but this value (14.0), like the production lot number and product code, can be unprinted on the package-box 14 to be used as a common package-box 14.

[0064] Also, a planned opening area 110 to the right on the rear surface is printed with a word "Open" and illustrative diagrams for closing the lid.

[0065] Meanwhile, a second labeling area 112 at the bottom of the rear surface is printed one after another in seven lines, with the number of contained products, name (generic name), materials, conditions under which the products are contained and so forth in seven languages in total including English, German and French. In addition, the area above there is printed with words "Made in Japan" indicating the country of manufacture, "○○○○○○○ Co., Ltd." and "Nagoya, 460-0006, Japan" indicating the name and address of the corporation that manufactures the product as well as some international standard marks "CE," "i" and "STERILE" and so forth all in the foreign language English. The specific language used and the contents included in the second labeling area 112 can be changed as appropriate depending on the product's delivery destination, the laws and regulations and the like.

[0066] Also, the one side board 28 of the commonly used package-box 14 made of the paper material 20 is printed with the expiration date and production lot number of the contact lenses contained in the box as well as the characters "EXP," "LOT," "BC" and "P" indicating each entry field of various optical properties. However, each of these entry fields is made to be an area with one solid dark color where none of the values such as dates and numbers are printed. In addition, the entry fields 101 and 102 have no characters "CYL" and "AXIS" indicating optical properties and their values printed. The entry field 101 is filled with a single solid pale color, while the entry field 102 is filled with a single solid dark color.

[0067] Meanwhile, the other side board 29 of the package-box 14 is printed with "STERILE," "i," "Paper (outer box)," "Plastic (container) PP" and "CE" and so forth as various domestic and international standard marks.

[0068] Furthermore, both of the edge boards 34, 34 of the package-box 14 are marked with the abbreviated name, emblem and trademark and the like of the corporation that manufactures and sells the products.

[0069] Moreover, both of the edge surfaces 104 of the package shown in FIG. 1E are printed with the abbreviated name, emblem and trademark and the like of the corporation that manufactures and sells the products.

[0070] As evident from the above description, labeling of the package-box 14 commonly used between the contact lens package 10 and contact lens package 12 is different from that of the products as packaged products (contact lens packages 10 and 12) in the front surface and second labeling area on the rear surface. In other words, the front surface of the package-box 14 does not have any label of the product name or the provider name shown on the goods, nor does it have a label "members only" representing a type of supply channel for the contact lens package 12. Also, the second labeling area 112 on the rear surface of the package-box 14 has no Japanese notation of the notes 82, checkboxes 84 or contact information 86 and the like as additional information shown on the goods, but instead, a description of the contents is displayed in plural languages side by side together with English notation of the international standards and the manufacturer's name.

[0071] Such package-box 14 for common use has no labeling of the production lot number and individual specific values and the like of optical properties of the contact lens that are attached to the contact lens packages 10, 12 as packaged products, but is provided only with the areas for displaying them. In summary, each of these areas including the entry fields 101 and 102 is made to be an area for postscript 114 that can be added individually as a postscript depending on the type of contact lenses to be contained. The process of adding as a postscript the expiration date for use, production lot number, product code and various optical properties of the contact lens in the area for postscript 114 can be performed using pigment or dye of a pen, for example, but is rather preferably performed by laser irradiation through partially discoloring the solid background color of the area, whereby the postscript process can be automated to some extent.

[0072] Then, such package-box 14 for common use is to be covered by the packaging films 16, 17 that are applied thereto, and either one of the packaging film 16 for product sales shown in FIG. 4 or the packaging film 17 for members only shown in FIG. 5 is selected and adopted as such packaging film 16.

[0073] Such packaging film 16 for product sales is tinted with a color in a water-surface-inspired design nearly over the entire area to be overlapped with the front surface of the package-box 14, and the labels of the product name "AAA," the product provider name and company logo (mark), and the generic name of the goods "two week disposable soft contact lens" are printed in large fonts at the center.

[0074] Also, the packaging film 16 for product sales is printed with opaque background color that does not transmit visible light over the entire surface of the second labeling area 80 as a cover area to be overlapped with the second labeling area 112 at the bottom of the rear surface of the package-box 14, and over such background color, the notes 82, as additional information, are printed such as the one that reads "Use this product properly after reading the attached document," checkboxes 84 (blank squares) to be checked as a postscript with a pen or else to specify the right or left eye to wear the packaged contact lens, "telephone number" and the like as contact information 86 regarding the goods, and the material descriptions 88 of the packaging film.

[0075] Meanwhile, the packaging film 17 for members only has almost the same labels as those of the packaging film 16 for product sales described above, but the difference is that the front surface is printed with the phrase "members only" representing a type of supply channel. In order to make the packaged products more distinguishable between those for product sales and for members only, it is effective, for example, to differentiate the design (water-surface inspired in the present embodiment) rendered over each entire front surface of the packaging films 16, 17, or to apply different colors even with the same design.

[0076] Then, by having either of such packaging films 16, 17 selected and applied to cover the surface of the package-box 14 described above, the contact lens packages 10, 12, as obtained packaged products, are labeled with the design and product name printed on the packaging films 16, 17 within the blank area 106 on the front surface of the package-box 14, and especially the contact lens package 12 for members can be distinguished clearly from the contact lens package 10 for product sales by having the phrase "members only" marked in a large font on the front surface.

[0077] Also, on the rear surface of the package-box 14, descriptions of the contents printed one after another on the package-box 14 in seven lines in seven languages in total including English, German and French, and descriptions of the country of manufacture and the name and address of the corporation that manufactures the goods in the foreign language English printed above that, and the labels such as international standard marks "CE," "i" and "STERILE" that are not used in domestic supply channels are all covered to turn to blank by having nearly the entire surface of the second labeling area 112 covered by the second labeling area 80 of the packaging films 16, 17, whereas on top of all these, information such as the notes 82, checkboxes 84, contact information 86, and material descriptions 88 are to be displayed in Japanese instead of in a foreign language. It is now possible to take advantage of the second labeling area 112 of the paper material 20 which becomes unnecessary for domestic product sufferings so as to efficiently secure the labeling space for necessary information in Japanese, thus enabling to display many pieces of information on the surface of the packaged products in a visually identifiable way without excessively reducing the font size of each letter.

[0078] In sticking the packaging films 16, 17 to the surface of the package-box 14 in an overlapped wrapping way, a color design is applied to the area that covers the entire front board 30 of the package-box 14 to make the periphery of said colored area visually identifiable so that the packaging film 16 can be easily and accurately positioned against the package-box 14 by, for example, aiming at aligning the periphery of the colored area of the packaging films 16, 17 with the periphery of the front surface of the package-box 14.

[0079] Also, the package-box 14 is made in a shape of a hexahedron, one of the polyhedrons, after being wrapped by the packaging films 16, 17, so that each corner (vertex) and each side of the package-box 14 is positioned against each corner (vertex) and each side of the packaging films 16, 17. Especially, misalignment of the package-box 14 and the packaging films 16, 17 to each other is reliably prevented by mutual positioning at eight corners in total. This allows each printing area of the packaging films 16, 17 to be positioned correctly against the targeted portion on the package-box 14 so as to show the printed labels of the packaging films 16, 17 at relevant locations.

[0080] Prior to the wrapping of the package-box 14 with the packaging films 16, 17, an intermediate product is produced in the package-box 14 by containing therein an appropriate number of contact lenses (six in the present embodiment) separately manufactured and contained in individual packages. Here, prior to the wrapping with the packaging films 16, 17, the production lot number and each value of optical properties and the like as information specific to the relevant contact lens are marked in figures and barcodes on the package-box 14 in the third labeling area 108 of the rear surface or the area for postscript 114 on the side board 28 of the package-box 14 according to the contact lenses contained therein. In addition, at the right end of the area for postscript 114 on the side board 28 of the package-box 14 used for the contact lens package 12 for members, the phrase "members only" are marked representing a type of supply channel. Marking of various values and the like in the area for postscript 114 can be done either before or after the containment of the contact lens in the package-box 14, or can be done on the paper material 20, for example, under the developed state before the assembly of a cube as shown in FIG. 6.

[0081] Then, information specific to the relevant contact lens (various values of optical properties and production lot number etc.) is marked on the package-box 14 that contains the contact lenses to produce the intermediate product, which turns into intended contact lens packages 10, 12 after the wrapping with the packaging films 16, 17.

[0082] As to these contact lens packages 10, 12 thus produced, different labels per supply channel can be displayed on the product surface in a visually identifiable way by adopting different packaging films 16, 17 per supply channel while the common package-box 14 is used. That renders it unnecessary to manufacture and manage the package-box 14 per supply channel, thus significantly reducing the effort required. Especially since the intermediate product that contains contact lenses in the package-box can be standardized across plural supply channels, it would be made possible to make ultimate contact lens packages corresponding to each supply channel just by properly allocating the numbers of the intermediate products manufactured and prepared without regard to supply channels according to the required number of goods for each supply channel and wrapping them with the packaging films 16, 17 corresponding to relevant supply channels.

[0083] Furthermore, although the contact lens packages 10, 12 as the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A-1E and 2A-2E were each supposed to be a sort of packaged products supplied to the market via domestic supply channels, it is also possible to manufacture packaged products to be supplied to the market via international supply channels using the common package-box 14 because descriptions of contents and manufacturers and so forth in a foreign language as well as international standard marks are printed in the second labeling area 112 on the rear surface of the package-box 14 according to such embodiment.

[0084] More specifically, it is possible to manufacture a contact lens package 134 for country "a" (e.g. France) as shown in FIGS. 8A-8E by adopting a packaging film 132 for a foreign country (country "a"), for example, as shown in FIG. 7 and covering the above standardized package-box 14 with said packaging film 132.

[0085] In other words, unlike the packaging films 16, 17 for domestic sales, such packaging film 132 is printed, over the entire surface of a first labeling area 144, with an opaque background color that does not transmit visible light as a cover area to be overlapped on a first labeling area 136 on the rear surface of the package-box 14, on which a generic name 138 of the product as additional information, checkboxes 139 (blank squares) to be checked as a postscript with a pen or else to specify the right or left eye to wear the packaged contact lens, a brand name 140, and the name, location and home page address of the vendor as contact information 143 regarding the product are each printed.

[0086] In summary, in the first labeling area 144 of such packaging film 132, approximately the same information as given in the area of the packaging films 16, 17 for domestic use shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 to be overlapped with the second labeling area 112 on the rear surface of the package-box 14 is displayed in the language of the destination country "a." Meanwhile, unlike the packaging films 16, 17 for domestic use, no opaque background color is applied to an area 146 to be overlapped with the second labeling area 112 of the package-box 14, which is kept transparent.

[0087] As shown in FIGS.8A-8E, as to the contact lens package 134 obtained by having the packaging film 132 adhered to the above common package-box 14 for wrapping, information described in Japanese in the first labeling area 136 of the package-box 14 is hidden by the first labeling area 144, which is an opaque color area of the packaging film 132, where information described on said packaging film 132 in the language of country "a" is displayed in a visually identifiable way. This allows the space for information display to be efficiently secured by covering the information in Japanese in the first labeling area 136 to turn to blank which becomes unnecessary for the supply channel for country "a," on which necessary information in a foreign language (of country "a") is added.

[0088] Furthermore, although the contact lens packages 10, 12 and 134 shown in FIGS. 1A-1E, 2A-2E and 8A-8E were marked with the same trademark (product name) "AAA" despite the difference in supply channels, such a trademark is not attached to the package-box 14 but to the packaging films 16, 17 and 132 only, and therefore, it is possible to manufacture packaged products to be supplied to the market with different trademarks attached using the common package-box 14.

[0089] For example, a contact lens package 152 marked with a trademark "BBBB" as shown in FIGS. 10A-10E can be manufactured by adopting a packaging film 150 marked with the trademark "BBBB" and covering the above standardized package-box 14 with the packaging film 150 as shown in FIG. 9 instead of the packaging film 132 of FIG. 7 marked with the above trademark "AAA." Thus, since changing the trademark and/or brand name using the common package-box 14 is rather easy, it becomes efficiently feasible with minimum effort to manufacture packaged products for various countries with different trademarks and/or brand names that comply with the language and custom requirements thereof in supplying the same product to plural countries having different languages. FIG. 9 shows a brand name 153 different from that of FIG. 7.

[0090] Also, since any of the contact lens packages 10, 12 and 134 shown in FIGS. 1A-1E, 2A-2E and 8A-8E has the entry fields 101, 102 left blank intended for the words indicating optical properties "CYL" and "AXIS" and values thereof to be displayed on one side of the package-box 14, it is now possible to share such package-box 14 in introducing contact lenses with cylindrical lens power for correction of astigmatism.

[0091] For example, by adopting a packaging film 154 for toric contact lenses for correction of astigmatism shown in FIG. 11 and covering the above common package-box 14 with the packaging film 154, it is now possible to manufacture a contact lens package 156 that contains toric contact lenses to be supplied to the market as shown in FIGS. 12A-12E.

[0092] In other words, unlike the packaging film 16 of the contact lens provided only with the spherical lens power as shown in FIGS. 1A-1E, such packaging film 154 displays the words "for astigmatism" and "toric" at a noticeable location near the center in an area to be overlapped with the front board 30 of the package-box 14. The package-box 14 is marked with words "CYL" and "AXIS" indicating optical properties of the cylindrical lens and values thereof as a postscript by laser irradiation on one side under a state of intermediate product before being covered by the packaging film 154.

[0093] Thus, while the product is supplied to the market via the supply channel for domestic product sales as is the contact lens package 10 shown in FIGS. 1A-1E, it is also possible for the contact lens package 156 shown in FIGS. 12A-12E that introduces other products with (optical) properties different from those of the contact lenses included in the contact lens package 10 shown in FIGS. 1A-1E to share the package-box 14 to further reduce the production cost and labor.

[0094] Also, as to the contact lens package 12 to be supplied to the market via supply channels for members shown in FIGS. 2A-2E, a contact lens package 160 with a different property (with or without cylindrical lens power as an optical property) can be manufactured in a similar way as shown in FIGS.14A-14E sharing the package-box 14 by means of adopting a packaging film 158 shown in FIG. 13. Furthermore, as to the contact lens package 134 to be supplied to the market via supply channels for international sales shown in FIGS. 8A-8E, a contact lens package 164 with a different property can be manufactured in a similar way as shown in FIGS. 16A-16E sharing the package-box 14 by means of adopting a packaging film 162 shown in FIG. 15. In FIGS. 16A-16E, a brand name 165 is given indicating that the product is a different type from the one in FIGS. 8A-8E with a different property.

[0095] In summary, it would be made possible to efficiently manufacture a contact lens package labeled differently for each property by attaching labels to the packaging film indicating that the (optical) properties are different so that plural kinds of properties (spherical lens power or cylindrical lens power) are set up for each of the plural kinds of supply channels (for domestic product sales, for members only, and for international product sales).

[0096] Embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but those are just examples and the present invention is not to be interpreted in a limited way by those specific descriptions.

[0097] For example, in each of the above embodiments, the property values of the contact lenses contained in the exterior packaging body 18 are added as a postscript by laser irradiation on the area for postscript 114 of the package-box 14, but in lieu of this, the property values can be displayed by covering the package-box with a packaging film printed with those property values.

[0098] For example, as plural kinds of supply channels in the above embodiments, supply channels for product sales and membership sales as well as those for domestic and international sales are each exemplified, but they are not limited to those particular ones. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 17A-17E, as to the contact lens package 12 supplied to the market via the supply channels for members shown in FIGS. 2A-2E, the packaging film 17 (see FIG. 5) can be replaced by a packaging film 166 with the word "sample" printed thereon instead of "members only." Also, as to the contact lens package 168 for sampling, the words "members only" representing a type of supply channel that is added as a postscript on the side board 28 of the package-box 14 used for the contact lens package 12 for members is replaced by the word "sample" added as a postscript. This makes it possible to newly manufacture the contact lens package 168 to be supplied to the market via supply channels that require no monetary payment while sharing the contents provided during the course of such sales channels and the package-box 14, whereas the above various packaged products (contact lens packages) supplied to the market via various supply channels are all supplied to the market via sales channels that require monetary payment. The words "members only" and "sample" on the side board 28 of the package-box 14 are not necessarily required.

[0099] Also, a bifocal contact lens package (for presbyopia correction), not shown in the drawings, can be manufactured by means of, for example, adding as a postscript the word "ADD" indicating an optical property of a multifocal lens in the entry field 101 and an add-on lens power in the entry field 102 by laser irradiation, in addition to the spherical lens power (P) and base curve (BC) on the side board 28 of the package-box 14, and further covering the outer surface thereof by a packaging film marked with the description of "bifocal (for presbyopia correction)."

[0100] Moreover, the package-box 14 to be used for a package of astigmatism correction and bifocal (presbyopia correction) contact lenses, not shown in the drawings, can be manufactured by means of adding as a postscript the words "CYL," "AXIS" and "ADD" as well as each value of cylindrical lens power, cylindrical axis angle, and add-on lens power in the entry fields 101 and 102 on the side board 28 of the package-box, in addition to the postscript for spherical lenses. The entry fields 101 and 102 shown in FIG. 3 can be provided at plural areas so that each of the optical properties will be described separately.

[0101] Also, the package-box 14 adopted in each of the above embodiments is provided, as shown in FIG. 3, with entry fields 101 and 102 to enter optical properties of cylindrical lenses (CYL, AXIS) on the one side board 28, whereby the package-box 14 could be shared by not only contact lenses with the optical property of only spherical lens power but also by those for astigmatism correction, but in case, for example, of sharing the package-box for a sort of packaged products solely supplying contact lenses with the optical property of only spherical lens power or intraocular lenses and the like, there is no need for providing an entry field for optical properties of the above cylindrical lenses (CYL, AXIS). In summary, descriptions on package-boxes and packaging films can be set up as appropriate in light of the type of goods to which the exterior packaging body is applied. FIG. 18 shows one example of the package-box to be shared among a sort of packaged products only of contact lenses with optical properties of spherical lenses.

KEYS TO SYMBOLS

[0102] 

10, 12, 134, 152, 156, 160, 164, 168: Contact lens package (packaged products)

14: Package-box

16, 17, 132, 150, 154, 158, 162, 166: Packaging film

18: Exterior packaging body

22: Opening

56: Planned film cutting line

74: Generic name

92: Production lot number

106: Blank area

114: Area for postscript

86, 143: Contact information

Claims

1. A sort of packaged products, which are packaged in respective exterior packaging bodies and supplied to a market through plural kinds of supply channels with different labels on the exterior packaging bodies, being characterized in that:

the exterior packaging bodies include respective package-boxes each containing products and respective transparent packaging films each wrapping up the package-boxes;

the package-boxes are made common for the plural kinds of supply channels by co-printing plural kinds of labels according to the plural kinds of supply channels on the package-boxes;

the packaging films are made different for the plural kinds of supply channels, the packaging films being provided with a partially opaque cover area at different locations for each of the plural kinds of supply channels; and

unnecessary ones among the plural kinds of labels that are co-printed on the package-boxes are hidden behind the cover area according to the plural kinds of supply channels with additional information labeled on the cover area.

2. The sort of packaged products according to claim 1, wherein each of the package-boxes is a polyhedron and each of the packaging films is positioned by plural vertices thereof relative to each of the package-boxes.

3. The sort of packaged products according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a planned cutting line with a treatment to facilitate cutting is provided to each of the packaging films at a position corresponding to an opening of each of the package-boxes so that a portion covering the opening of each of the package-boxes is removed along the planned cutting line to leave the cover area in a state of hiding each of the package-boxes.

4. The sort of packaged products according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the products packaged in the exterior packaging bodies are medical supplies.

5. The sort of packaged products according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein an area for postscript is provided on each of the package-boxes where a postscript label is individually added by laser irradiation.

6. The sort of packaged products according to claim 5, wherein the postscript label includes production lot numbers of the products packaged in each of the exterior packaging bodies.

7. The sort of packaged products according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the products contained in the exterior packaging bodies are respectively provided with plural kinds of features set in place for each of the plural kinds of supply channels, and are respectively packaged in the exterior packaging bodies with different labels for each of the plural kinds of features.

8. The sort of packaged products according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein the plural kinds of supply channels comprise domestic and international supply channels.

9. The sort of packaged products according to claim 8, wherein the plural kinds of labels co-printed on the package-boxes describe at least one of a generic name, a quantity and a manufacturer of the products packaged in the exterior packaging bodies in plural languages, and the additional information on the packaging films contains contact information related to the products.

10. The sort of packaged products according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein the plural kinds of supply channels include a supply channel for members who subscribe to the products to be delivered periodically contingent upon paying a membership fee and a supply channel for product sales that deal with items under a condition of payment for individual prices.

11. The sort of packaged products according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein the plural kinds of supply channels include sales channels that require monetary payments and delivery channels that do not require them.

12. The sort of packaged products according to any one of claims 1-11, wherein a blank area with no labeling is provided on each of the package-boxes, while a product name is labeled at a location that covers the blank area on each of the packaging films in a unique form for each of the plural kinds of supply channels.

13. A method of manufacturing a sort of packaged products which are packaged in respective exterior packaging bodies and supplied to a market through plural kinds of supply channels with different labels on the exterior packaging bodies, the method being characterized by comprising the steps of:

adopting respective package-boxes each containing products and respective transparent packaging films each wrapping up the package-boxes as for the exterior packaging bodies;

preparing the package-boxes common for the plural kinds of supply channels by co-printing plural kinds of labels according to the plural kinds of supply channels on the package-boxes;

packaging the products in the package-boxes to produce intermediate products;

preparing the packaging films different per each of the plural kinds of supply channels by providing a partially opaque cover area on the packaging films at different locations per each of the plural kinds of supply channels while attaching additional information within the cover area corresponding to each of the plural kinds of supply channels; and

covering the package-boxes of the intermediate products by the packaging films to hide unnecessary ones with the cover area among the plural kinds of labels co-printed on the package-boxes, while making visible the additional information attached to the cover area corresponding to each of the plural kinds of supply channels.

Drawing