Compact syringe and catheter package

DETAILED DESCRIPTION A package for a plurality of identical elongate articles each having a longitudinal axis and each with a head at one end and a tail at the other with a center therebetween wherein the package has a pair of film members with abutting parts of their major surfaces positioned along a common plane.
There are pockets formed in the film members defining nonabutting portions thereof positioned across from one another to define a plurality of article receiving spaces within said film members generally centered about the common plane.
Each article receiving space has a head space and a tail space with a center space therebetween for aligning the axis of each article substantially within the common plane and for positioning an article within each article receiving space with its head, center and tail in the respective spaces of each pocket when the film members are attached to one another along the abutting parts.
The pockets may have the article receiving spaces being disposed within the film members in parallel relation relative to one another so the axes of the articles received therein are substantially parallel to one another.
The article receiving spaces are preferably located in the film members in closely spaced side by side relation adjacent to one another for minimizing the abutting major surfaces between adjacent article receiving spaces.
The closely spaced side by side adjacent article receiving spaces defined by the pockets are most preferably set in head to tail relation relative to one another so the head space for one article is positioned near the tail space of at least one adjacent article.
The article receiving spaces formed across from one another in the pair of abutting film members may be mirror images of each other and a part of the abutting film members along edges thereof generally normal to the axis of the article might be unattached for use in separating the abutting film members.
The pair of film members are in the preferred package made of a polymeric material and the pockets are formed in the polymeric material by heating and then stretching under pressure