JP2002516917A - Desiccant blended with thermoplastic material - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract The present invention relates to a package or container (01) having drying capability. The package or container (01) has an insert (200) in the form of a plug, a film, a sheet or a pellet having drying capability, which insert is contained in the package or container (01). Also, the insert (200) is molded into the body (12) of the package or container. The insert (200) is formed by blending a desiccant and a thermoplastic material.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a package having drying capability. In particular, the present invention relates to thermoplastic materials blended with desiccants.

There are many articles that are preferably stored, transported, or used in an environment that is as dry as possible. Accordingly, it has been recognized that a container or package capable of absorbing excess moisture trapped therein is desirable. One application in which a moisture absorbing container is desired is in the transport and storage of drugs whose efficacy is reduced by moisture. Normally, the initial placement of the drug in a sealed container protected from moisture is controllable. Further, a medicinal container having low moisture permeability is selected. Thus, the drug is usually protected from moisture until it reaches the end user's hand. However, once the drug is received by the consumer, the container must be repeatedly opened and closed to access the drug. Each time the container is opened and the sealed state is released, air containing moisture is guided into the container, and when closed, the air is sealed inside the container. Unless such moisture is removed from the atmosphere or headspace within the container, the moisture will be harmfully absorbed by the drug. For this reason, it is a well-known practice to place a desiccant in a container with the drug.

[0003] In another example, moisture may be released from the articles contained in the container, or the moisture may be sealed in packing wraps for transportation and storage. A main example of such an article that releases moisture during transportation or storage is food. In the case of a container that is substantially impervious to moisture because of being sealed, the released moisture remains in the container.
Such released moisture, if not removed, will have an adverse effect on the very article that released the moisture. It has been found that some food products release significant amounts of moisture within 48 hours of being manufactured and packaged. The water thus released remains until it is removed. If the water is not removed immediately after being released, the quality of the food is reduced to a state where it cannot be sold or used. In such a case, the desiccant is contained together with the contained article or articles, and the released moisture is continuously absorbed until the product is opened. Thus, the environment around the stored articles is maintained in a relatively dry environment.

[0004] The need to remove moisture from within sealed containers has long been recognized. Early measures to achieve this goal included providing the desiccant in a fabric or similar bag that would be packed with the goods to be transported or stored in the container and mixed. However, there is a consumer-related problem when the desiccant is not consolidated and mixes with the consumer. Unless handled carefully and carefully when opening, the desiccant will not separate from the consumer product and can be harmful to humans if consumed unknowingly.

[0005] Another known method of providing a desiccant in a container is to coat the interior surface of the container with a desiccant-bearing material. It is also known to provide a container with a drying capability by using a multilayered structure that "sandwiches" the desiccant between moisture permeable materials to enclose the desiccant. These multi-layer structures are often in the form of flexible sheets formed in bag-type containers containing articles requiring a low moisture environment.

Some of the known means for constructing a desiccant holding container require many steps, resulting in a multilayer structure that is more complex than desired. Moreover, it is not always sufficient to provide a desiccant capsule with the articles contained in the container.
As described above, it is not desirable to mix the desiccant with the food or medicine from the viewpoint of consumers, who inadvertently ingest the desiccant. Also, the desiccant is removed early even though the desiccant must be integrated into the container, or at least when it is not attached to the container, it is necessary to continuously remove moisture from inside the container. There is. There is a recognized need for containers that contain a desiccant as an integral component of the container body or package. It is desirable to increase the moisture absorption capacity of desiccants in containers, both in terms of speed and volume. It is further desired to reduce the steps required to produce a dry container in the entire production process and to simplify the resulting structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One embodiment of the present invention provides a container that satisfies the need for a more effective dry storage and shipping container, and a method of manufacturing the container. The container of the present invention provides high drying capacity while having structural integrity and allows the container to be manufactured efficiently to maintain that integrity. Further, the invention provides a means for forming a container having a substantially integral continuous body. In another embodiment, the invention forms an integral or non-integral insert for the container or package in the form of an article having a certain shape, such as a sheet, film or pellet, at the base or bottom of the container. , Used to prevent the contents of the container from being included by itself.

[0008] Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, with respect to the disclosed benefits and improvements. The drawings constitute a part of this specification, include exemplary embodiments, and illustrate various objects and features.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The detailed embodiments necessary for the present invention are disclosed herein, but the disclosed embodiments are merely examples of the present invention that can take various forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale and some figures may be exaggerated to illustrate details of particular components.
Therefore, specific structural or functional details disclosed herein are not to be construed as limiting, but merely as the scope of the appended claims and the present invention may be embodied in various forms. It should serve as a representative base for teaching those skilled in the art.

[0010] The invention disclosed herein includes similar containers and is applicable to the manufacture of such similar containers. However, the container 01 disclosed here is not limited to a medicine bottle. Container 01 constructed in accordance with the present invention may be larger or smaller than 4,783, 056 or a vial of variable shape. Further cap 14
Is formed integrally with the main body 12 of the container 01 or manufactured as a separate unit. Further, the present invention is exclusively implemented in the main body 12 of the container 01 or the cap 14 for the container 01.

The materials used in the manufacture of these containers 01 typically provide a barrier between the space 201 inside and outside 202 of the container 01 and are substantially impervious to moisture,
Often it is a thermoplastic material. Although any thermoplastic material may be used, polypropylene is preferred for the manufacture of the body 12 of the container 01. Polypropylene is desirable from the standpoint of its durability, rigidity, and breakage resistance after being molded into the shape of the container 01. Examples of suitable thermoplastic materials are the following groups: polyolefin, polyethylene, polycarbonate, polyamide, ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, ethylene methacrylic acid copolymer, polyvinyl chloride,
It is selected from the group consisting of polystyrene, polyester, polyesteramide, polyacrylester, and polyvinylidene chloride, acrylic acid, polyurethane, polyacetal, and polycarbonate. These thermoplastic materials and other thermoplastic materials may be used alone or in combination.

The present invention involves the manufacture of a container 01 such that the majority of the container body 12 is made from a base thermoplastic material, for example, polypropylene, for reasons of durability and damage resistance. In order to establish the drying capacity of the molding container 01 and to increase the drying capacity of the molding container 01, an insert 200 made of a thermoplastic material containing a desiccant is integrally formed on the main body of the container 01. The thermoformed inserts of the present invention consist essentially of a desiccant-containing thermoplastic material. In this application, the term "essentially ~
"Naru" is used to indicate that the molded insert may contain other materials as long as the material does not provide the moisture removal properties of the insert. For example, a hot molded insert may be made of carbon black or other colorants. To provide the insert with color and other aesthetic properties.

[0013] The concentration of desiccant contained (eg, mixed or blended) within insert 200 is greater than 75 weight percent (75 weight percent) but not greater than 80 weight percent (weight). 80% by weight), that is, from about 75% by weight (75% by weight) to 80% by weight.
Percentage (80% by weight). However, typically, the concentration of the desiccant relative to the thermoplastic material in the insert 200 ranges from 40 weight percent to 75 weight percent (40 weight percent to 75 weight percent). . This concentration appears to be a high concentration for most thermoplastic materials. The maximum concentration of desiccant that can be included varies for different types of thermoplastic materials due to various properties. For example, in the case of polyethylene or polypropylene, the maximum desiccant concentration is about 75 weight percent (75 weight percent). As the desiccant concentration in the thermoplastic material increases, the material properties degrade to unacceptable levels. Approximately 40 for low levels of desiccant
The percent (40%) can be reduced to 30 percent (30%), where the viable product limit is reached.

In one embodiment, insert 200 is located at the base or bottom 20 of container body 12.
3 and is exposed in the internal space 201 of the container 01. The configuration of the present invention is the same as that of the sample vial. If the amount of the desiccant is in a large range, the durability and resistance to breakage decrease, so the structure of the container body 12 formed around the insert 200 except for the surface exposed to the internal space 201 of the container 01 It is good to use polypropylene. The container 01 in this configuration provides the desired structural integrity, and also provides a large drying capacity of the highly desiccant-containing insert 200 exposed directly to the interior space 201 of the container 01. Also insert 200
May be included in the structure of the container cap 14. In this case, since the insert is formed integrally with the cap 14, the outer surface of the insert 200 is exposed to the internal space 201 of the container 01 when installed.

As another example, the localization of the insert 200 may be reduced so as to extend significantly over most of the inner surface 204 of the container body 12. In this case, the desiccant-bearing thermoplastic material forms a large liner 205 on the inner surface 204 of the container 01. The liner 205 completely covers the inner surface 204 of the container 01 to provide maximum drying capacity, and optionally, but not necessarily, the container 01 when closed.
May be included inside the cap 14.

One possible method for manufacturing the container 01 is to use the preformed insert 20
0 and injection molding the rest of the thermoplastic material of the body of the container 01 around it. In this process, it is important to secure the insert 200 to or within the body of the container 01. This is achieved simply by molding the body 12 around the insert 200 and mechanically connecting the two components together. This mechanical connection is made with the insert 2 with respect to the rest of the body 01.
It takes the form of a retaining lip 206 formed by the container body 12 around the insert 200 to effectively secure the 00.

As shown in various embodiments of the present invention, the insert of the present invention is formed by thermoforming the desiccant-containing thermoplastic material of the present invention. For example, the insert is thermoformed utilizing conventional techniques such as coextrusion, extrusion blow molding, injection blow molding, reaction injection molding, or extrusion.

It is also conceivable that a “shrink fit” is achieved by the body 12 forming the thermoplastic material around the insert 200. A particular example of this shrink fit method is a desiccant loading insert 200 made from a polyethylene base thermoplastic material and a container body 1 molded around the insert from a polypropylene base thermoplastic material.
2). Polyethylene shrinks less than polypropylene under similar circumstances when cooled after injection molding. That is, when the polypropylene body is injection-molded around the polyethylene insert 200 formed as described above or injection-molded simultaneously with the container body 12, the polypropylene container body 12 contracts around the polyethylene insert 200. Such shrink-fitting method determines whether the insert 200 is relatively small and exists locally with respect to the container body 12, or whether the insert 200 is relatively small and exists locally with respect to the container body 12. No, or whether the insert 200 takes the form of the configuration of the liner 205 described above. In any case, if the thermoplastic material forming the insert 200 and the container body 12 is properly selected, the outer formed container body 12 shrinks around the insert 200. The use of the retaining lip 206 and the use of a shrink fit method of attaching the insert 200 or liner 205 to the container body 12 is primarily utilized when the materials from which the insert 200 and the container body 12 are manufactured cannot be matched. If the two components do not automatically adhere to each other as a result of the manufacturing process, the components will not be in harmony.

When the main body 12 is disposed around the insert, the insert 200 may be manufactured from a material that adheres to the main body 12 of the container 01. Accordingly, one method for manufacturing container 01 with insert 200 of the present invention is co-molding (
co-molding). That is, the main body 12 of the container 01 is molded and the desiccant insert 200 is also molded. These two parts are referred to as co-molded because they are injection molded simultaneously or sequentially in one process. The co-molding process results in an integrated container body 12 in which the insert 200 is seamlessly combined with the body 12. In many cases, the insert 200 and the container body 12 will adhere to each other as a result of bonding the respective constituent base thermoplastic materials together at the interface therebetween. This coupling action occurs when the insert 200 and the container body 12 are each injection molded into the mold 10 in close enough proximity in terms of time, each being at least semi-molten and in contact with each other. Also, the heat from the thermoplastic material of the body 12 injected around the insert 200 may cause the contact portion of the insert 200 to slightly melt and bond to the thermoplastic material of the body 12 adjacent to the insert 200. In each case, there is a phase between the desiccant concentrate insert 200 and the container body 12, where the two components are somewhat blended to form a seamless boundary, and thus two An integral container 01 is formed from the components.

In any case, the thermoplastic material containing the desiccant is placed in the inner space 20 of the container 01.
Moisture from one is transferred to the desiccant and is permeable to the extent that it is stored in the desiccant. The thermoplastic material from which the insert 200 is manufactured may have a higher moisture permeability than the material comprising the rest of the body 12 of the container 01. In this case, the insert 200 is accommodated in the container 01 by the low moisture permeable thermoplastic material of the container body 12. According to this, moisture does not easily migrate from the outside of the container 01 to the inside. The two components 200, 12 are composed of two different materials that are potentially unmatched in terms of being able to provide the desired difference between the moisture permeability of the insert 200 and the moisture permeability of the container body 12. It is possible that.

The process of the present invention for co-molding the insert 200 into the main body 12 of the container 01 may vary. In a first embodiment of the molding process, it is conceivable to move the mold 10 between two injection stations. Reference number 96
The injection assembly, generally indicated at, is mounted on the mold frame 24 and pulled out of the mold frame 24. At one station, typically the first station, the insert 200 is injection molded. A ring-shaped barrier is provided having an outer periphery substantially matching the outer periphery of the lower end of the core 48 for molding the insert 200. The thickness of the insert 200 is about 3.18 mm (= 1 /
8 inches), so the thickness or height of the barrier ring is also 3.18
Desirably millimeters (= 1/8 inch). The barrier ring is a leading component because the injection assembly 96 is mounted within the mold frame 24. The ring contacts the lower surface of core 48 and forms a barrier for injecting the thermoplastic material. The highly concentrated desiccant thermoplastic material is then injected into the interior space of the ring, thereby forming the insert 200. The highly concentrated desiccant thermoplastic material of the insert 200 is injected at a temperature lower than the temperature at which the thermoplastic material of the container body 12 is injected. A low temperature is required so as not to deteriorate the quality of the desiccant contained therein.
The use of various desiccants and / or high quality desiccants that do not suffer from degradation in the normal temperature range of the injection process eliminates the need for such low temperatures.

The absorption speed of the insert 200 is controlled by the surface area of the insert 200 exposed to the internal space 201 of the container 01. If a high absorption rate is desired, a large surface area of the insert 200 may be exposed. If it is desired to achieve a longer absorption process, a smaller surface area may be exposed.
Further, it is conceivable to control the absorption speed of the insert 200 by surrounding the insert 200. Container 01 if it is desired to reduce the absorption rate
The insert 200 may be surrounded to a large extent by a low moisture permeable thermoplastic material forming the body 12 of the insert. Different types of thermoplastic materials having different moisture transmission rates can be utilized to control the rate of absorption. Unless otherwise specified, the moisture transmission rate of the thermoplastic material of the present invention is measured according to ASTM test method F1249-90.
"A standard method for testing the rate of water vapor transmission through plastic films and sheets using a modulated infrared sensor." ASTM test method F1
Using 249-90, a thermoplastic material suitable for the present invention is about 30 grams / mm /
It has a water vapor transmission rate of less than 645 square centimeters (= 100 square inches) / 24 hours.

For example, polyethylene typically has a water vapor transmission rate of about 3 grams / mm / 645 square centimeters (= 100 square inches) / 24 hours to about 5 grams / mm / 645 square centimeters (= 100 square inches) / 24 hours. Have. In one example, a polyethylene suitable for the present invention is manufactured by Dow Chemical Company and is branded as polyethylene 4012. In another example, a polyethylene homopolymer typically comprises 10 grams / millimeter / 645 square centimeters (= 1
(00 square inches) / 24 hours or less. Also, in one example, a polypropylene suitable for the present invention is manufactured by Exxon Chemical, Inc.
oreena Polypropylene-PP3505G. In yet another example, a low density polyethylene butene copolymer typically has a weight of about 1 gram / mm / 645 square centimeters (= 100 square inches).
/ 24 hours to about 2 grams / mm / 645 square centimeters (= 100 square inches) / 24 hours. Also, in one example, a low density polyethylene butene copolymer suitable for the present invention is manufactured by Union Carbide,
The trade name is GRSN-1539.

The amount of water that can be absorbed by the insert 200 can be controlled in several ways. It is conceivable to realize the amount of water that can be absorbed by the insert 200 by changing the concentration of the desiccant within the allowable range. Here, the higher the concentration, the larger the amount of water that can be captured.

In another example, the thermoplastic material for making body 12 also contains and includes a desiccant, but at a lower concentration than insert 200. It has been found that the desiccant concentration in the thermoplastic material affects the performance characteristics of the molded container 01.
For example, it has been found that desirable properties, such as durability and resistance to breakage, decrease with higher concentrations of desiccant when the plastics material has a relatively high percentage of desiccant. It has also been found that the plastic material can be combined with a low concentration of a desiccant without significantly reducing the performance of the thermoplastic material in the molded solid state. In a typical example, the desiccant has a relatively low concentration in the proportion of 5 to 15 weight percent (5 to 15 weight percent) relative to the thermoplastic material, where the preferred concentration is about 7%. 0.5 percent (7.5%). Further, for the purposes of this disclosure, a desiccant-free thermoplastic material is also considered a low concentration thermoplastic material. In another example, the low desiccant thermoplastic material is molded with the high desiccant thermoplastic material. That is, the main body 12 of the container 01 is molded and the desiccant insert 200 is also molded. The two parts are said to be co-molded. This process results in an integral containment body 12.

Various concentrations of the desiccant-containing thermoplastic material are commercially available in the form of pellets. Custom densities can be achieved by dry blending the high-concentration desiccant pellets with the low-concentration desiccant pellets or the desiccant-free pellets thermoplastic material. When blended in the proper proportions, a desiccant concentration lower than that of the concentrated desiccant pellets is achieved. After the dry blending process, the resulting mixture of pellets is injection molded in a typical manner.

[0027] Desiccants of the type suitable for use in the present invention obtain a water adsorption capacity by physical adsorption. The adsorption process is achieved because of the microcapillary morphology of the desiccant particles that attract moisture. Capillary pore size and capillary density determine the desiccant absorption properties. Examples of such physical adsorption desiccants are molecular sieves, silica gels, clays, and starches. In some examples suitable for use in the present invention, the pore size of the molecular sieve is about 3
Between １５15 Å, about 3-5 Å, about 5-8 Å, 3 Å, 4 Å, 5 Å, 8 Å, and 10 Å. In one example, the pore size of the silica gel is about 24 angstroms. These types of physical adsorption desiccants are preferred for many applications because they are inert and water-insoluble. For another reason, these harmless properties are particularly compatible with drugs such as foods and medicines, and equipment formed from or containing at least a desiccant-containing polymer exposed container. . However, as described above, any of the three types can be employed in the polymer base of the present invention for the purpose of producing a desiccant-containing polymer. Suitable desiccants of the present invention are natural clay compounds, including silica gel, molecular sieves, and montmorillonite clay.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a suitable desiccant for use in the present invention is zinc chloride. This type absorbs water or moisture and forms stable salt crystals.

One of the many advantages of the present invention is that the molding insert can be manufactured by mixing the components, heating and molding the mixture. The mixing state is selected so that the desiccant is sufficiently contained by blending the thermoplastic material substantially uniformly. For example, the ingredients are, for example, Hensehel Mix
er) using a conventional mixer. The present invention also provides for further stretching (e.g., uniaxial or biaxial) or expansion (e.g., stretching at high speed and then exposing the material to its crystalline melting point) to produce a porous material. No action is required.

The present invention is particularly suitable for applications where the efficacy of a product (eg, a drug or device) is reduced by a moisture threshold. If moisture above this moisture threshold is not removed within a certain period of time, this moisture will adversely affect the product. The present invention solves this problem by removing this excess water within a desired time period. This means (
an insert having a) a thermoplastic material having certain water vapor transmission properties, (b) a certain type of desiccant, and (c) a certain minimum (by weight) or maximum (by weight)% of desiccant. And (d) 10% relative humidity ("Rh") without stretching or expansion
This is achieved with the thermoformed inserts of the present invention having a combination with an insert having minimal moisture absorption after 8 hours. As a result, the novel insert has an unattainable moisture sorption in the packaging application as described above. Unless otherwise specified,% Rh is measured at 22.2 ° C (= 72 ° F) by the test method described in Example 1.

[0031] The desiccant-containing plastic structures and their components have been described. Although a detailed example of the present invention is disclosed herein as described above, the disclosed example is merely an example of the present invention implemented in various forms. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the teachings, spirit, and intended scope of the invention, and the intended scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. Clearly within.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be illustrated in detail by specific examples described later. These examples are given for the purpose of illustration, and are not meant to limit the disclosure and claims. For example, the following examples have been tested at 10% Rh and 55% Rh at 22.2 ° C. (= 72 ° F.), but the inserts of the present invention are suitable for other Rh conditions. Unless otherwise specified, all percentages in the examples are by weight, as elsewhere herein.

Example 1 This example demonstrates a thermoplastic material of essentially polypropylene (Exxon Chemical
als brand name Escornea Polypropylene 3505G
) And molecular sieves (Siliporiteam trade name of Elf Atochaem)
2 shows a desiccant blended in a thermoplastic material consisting of a molecular sieves, NK10). The weight of the desiccant and the weight of the thermoplastic were adjusted to give the respective weight (weight) percentages shown in the table. The desiccant and the thermoplastic were then mixed in a Henschel FM-200 high impact mixer. The material is then subjected to rusting at temperatures of about 13.6 kilograms (= 30 pounds) / hour at about 400 rpm and about 93.3 ° C. (= 200 ° F.) to 160 ° C. (= 320 ° F.) in ten regions. It was fed to a Leistritz twin screw extruder to produce approximately 3.18 millimeter (= 1/8 inch) diameter pellet-type material. The pellet-type material was fed directly to a hot roll press. A film of the desired thickness (0.254 millimeters (= 10 mils)) was formed.

The following test method was then used: (a) the environment chamber was preset to 22.2 ° C. (= 72 ° F.) and the desired relative humidity (“Rh”); And (c) then weigh the scale, remove the weight of the pan from the balance, (e) then weigh the material, record the weight, and (f) load the sample. Place the weighing pan in the environmental chamber, (g) leave the sample in the environmental chamber for the desired period of time, and (h) remove the weighing pan with the sample after reaching the desired period and weigh it again. , Record its weight and (i) calculate the percentage of moisture absorbed per gram of the material from (final weight-initial weight) / initial weight x 100 using the method of The films were evaluated.

Table 1 shows the results. Table 1 10% Rh 55% Rh per% total water absorption% Desiccant 8 hours 24 hours 8 hours 24 hours 10 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.6 20 20 0.7 1.0 0.7 1 3.3 30 0.7 1.0 1.5 1.9 60 1.5 2.6 3 4.5 70 4 6 8 11.5

Example 2 This example is essentially a low density polyethylene butene copolymer (Union Car
and a molecular sieve (Elf Atocha).
em's trade name Siliporetea molecular sieves, N
K10) shows a desiccant blended into a thermoplastic material consisting of a desiccant. A desiccant and a thermoplastic were prepared in a manner similar to that described in Example 1 to produce pellets. The pellets were then formed into films using a platen press. The pellets were placed between two sheets of mylar film on a press. Pressed at 218 ° C. (= 425 ° F.) at 25 tons for about 15-20 seconds.
The desired thickness was obtained by placing the shim in the press.
The film was removed and allowed to cool for about 15-20 seconds, then placed in a vacuum sealed brown bag. The film was evaluated in the same manner as described in Example 1. Table 2 shows the results.

Table 2 Gross Weight Film Thickness Per Moisture Absorption (mm) 10% Rh 55% Rh Desiccant% 8 hours 24 hours 8 hours 24 hours 50 0.0889 3 5.5 4.5 7 50 0.254 1.5 3 3 5 60 0.127 2.5 4.5 3.5 6.5 60 60 0.254 2 3.5 3 5 70 0.4318 1 2 2 3 70 0.762 1 2 1.5 3 70 1.3462 24 3.5 6.5 80 0.508 12 22 1.5 3 80 1.1176 1.5 32 24 80 2.286 23 2.54

The above example describes the following parameters: (a) the type of thermoplastic material, (b
And (c) adjusting the type of desiccant to show that inserts can be produced within the scope of the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a drying container with an insert molded in the form of a disk therein.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a drying container with an insert molded therein in the form of a liner.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a container main body showing a lip retainer.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of a mold mounted on a turntable for transport between injection stations, showing the container and the insert molded therein.

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the mold showing the container and the insert molded therein in a single station configuration with two injection ports.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for integrally molding a container.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A thermoformed insert consisting essentially of a desiccant contained within a thermoplastic material, wherein the thermoplastic material comprises:
Having a water vapor transmission rate of less than about 30 grams per 5 square centimeters and 0.0254 millimeters thickness, (b) the desiccant is selected from the group consisting of molecular sieves, silica gels, clays, zinc chloride, and (c) The insert has a desiccant of the molded insert and between about 40% and about 75% by weight of the content weight of the thermoplastic material, and (d) the molded insert has a 10% An insert capable of adsorbing at least 1% by weight of water of the total weight after 8 hours at relative humidity. 2. The thermoformed insert according to claim 1, wherein the molded insert is capable of adsorbing at least 2.5% by weight of the total weight of water after 8 hours at 55% relative humidity without stretching or expansion. 3. The desiccant molding according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic material is selected from the group consisting of polyolefins, polycarbonates, and polyamides. 4. The desiccant molding according to claim 2, wherein the thermoplastic material is selected from the group consisting of polyolefins, polycarbonates, and polyamides.