EP1834623B1

EP1834623B1 - Multi-chamber container

Info

Publication number: EP1834623B1
Application number: EP20070004952
Authority: EP
Inventors: Toshiya Okahisa
Original assignee: Baylor College of Medicine
Current assignee: Baylor College of Medicine
Priority date: 2006-03-13
Filing date: 2007-03-09
Publication date: 2012-04-18
Anticipated expiration: 2027-03-09
Also published as: HK1102541A1; JP5361138B2; EP1834623A3; AU2007200955A1; AU2007200955B2; JP2007244864A; US20070209951A1; EP1834623A2

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a multi-chamber container, and more particularly, to a multi-chamber container which accommodates two or more solutions to enable the solutions to be mixed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventionally, in the case of mixing two or more solutions, in order to prevent the solutions from deteriorating with time due to the interaction, the solutions have been mixed and adjusted immediately before administration in medical fields. However, such mixing of solutions immediately before administration has defects such as contamination with microorganisms and/or intrusion of a foreign substance, malpractice mixing, inability of prompt administration and the like. Therefore, such a multi-chamber container is currently being developed that the container is provided with barrier which separates the solutions, such as a seal which can be peeled by application of pressure, and that each of a plurality of chambers partitioned by the barrier is filled with a respective unmixed solution. In this multi-chamber container, the barrier is released immediately before administration to mix the solutions.
As a method of releasing the barrier to mix solutions in such a multi-chamber container, there are a method of pressing a filling chamber by hand or the like to decrease the volume of the chamber, and thereby releasing the barrier by pressure of the solution inside the chamber to mix the solutions, another method of providing an injection plug extending from a filling chamber to another filling chamber through the barrier, and opening the injection plug to mix the solutions, and the like.
In such mixing methods, opening operation (pressing or opening of the plug) is necessary independently of mounting operation in mounting the container to a predetermined device to administer. A possibility thereby arises that solutions are administered without performing the opening operation. Further, it is difficult to confirm that the barrier is released and the solutions are mixed, making it difficult to find that the opening operation is not performed. Furthermore, in a type of opening a plug to mix solutions, the opened plug is left in the chamber, resulting in a problem of intrusion of the foreign substance.
The EP 0 513 364 A1 discloses a multi-chamber vessel used in the medical field, in which the flexible plastic vessel is divided into a plurality of chambers with partitioning means permitting communication as required At least one of a plurality of chambers composing the vessel is not provided with a cover whereas at least one other chamber is provided with a cover which covers this chamber through a sealed space and is composed of a flexible film having water- and gas-barrier functions, and at least any of desiccant and deoxidizer is contained in said sealed space, whereby the vessel is low in price, excellent in quality and performance, and, further, easy to discard.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-chamber container that prevents an occurrence of forgetting to mix solutions while enabling intrusion of a foreign substance to be prevented.
A multi-chamber container of the invention is a multi-chamber container according to claim 1, which accommodates a plurality of solutions, is divided into a plurality of filling chambers by an opening preventing portion, and has a container body with the filling chambers filled with the solutions respectively, and a covering member that covers at least one of the filling chambers of the container body, where the covering member has a pair of rigid members that sandwich the opening preventing portion from the outside, and seal portions provided to close the pair of rigid members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG.1 is a front view showing a multi-chamber container according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG.2 is a side view of the multi-chamber container shown in FIG.1;
FIG.3 is an enlarged view showing a cover attaching portion of the multi-chamber container shown in FIG.1;
FIGs.4A to 4C are views showing an aspect where a cover is attached to the multi-chamber container according to the embodiment of the invention;
FIG.5 is a front view showing another example of the multi-chamber container according to the embodiment of the invention; and
FIG.6 is a front view showing still another example of the multi-chamber container according to the embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention will specifically be described below with reference to accompanying drawings.
FIG.1 is a front view showing a multi-chamber container according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.2 is a side view of the multi-chamber container shown in FIG.1. FIG.3 is an enlarged view of a cover attaching portion of the multi-chamber container shown in FIG.1.
The multi-chamber container as shown in FIG.1 has a container body 1. The container body 1 has a plurality of (two in this embodiment) filling chambers 11, 12. A seal portion 13 is provided between the filling chambers 11, 12 to prevent opening of communication of solutions respectively filled in the filling chambers 11, 12. Accordingly, the container body 1 is divided into two filling chambers 11, 12 by the seal portion 13.
The seal portion 13 has sufficient pressure resistance to a pressure in the normal direction (direction of the arrow A) to the sheet. In other words, the pressure from the direction of the arrow A is dispersed over the entire container body 1, and the seal portion 13 is thereby not peeled. Meanwhile, the seal portion 13 has a property of easily peeling against the force in the vertical direction (direction of the arrow B) of the sheet. By using such a seal portion 13 as an opening preventing portion, when the pressure in the direction of the arrow B is applied to the seal portion 13 by applying the pressure to at least one of the filling chambers 11, 12, the seal portion 13 is peeled to open the communication between the filling chambers 11, 12, and the solutions filled into the chambers 11, 12 are mixed.
The container body 1 has a hole 14 to be hanged in a stand during administration of the solutions at its one end (upper position in the figure). Further, the container body 1 has a cock 15 at the other end (lower position in the figure) . The cock 15 is sealed by a rubber stopper until a hollow needle is inserted.
In addition, generally used materials may be used as a material for the container body 1.
The multi-chamber container as shown in FIG.1 has a cover 2 that covers at least one of the filling chambers 11, 12 (the chamber 12 in FIG.1). The cover 2 is only required to cover at least an end portion (for example, the cock 15 or hole 14). The cover 2 includes a pair of rigid members 21 that sandwich the seal portion 13 from the outside, and seal portions 22 provided to close the pair of rigid members 21. As the cover 2, a film, sheet and the like may be used which are formed of paper, plastic or the like.
The rigid members 21 have sufficient ridigity to hold the seal portion 13 from the outside to enable the cover 2 to be attached to the container body 1. As the rigid members 21, plates and the like may be used which can pinch the seal portion 13 (thin portion of the container body 1) along the seal portion 13. It is preferable that the rigid members 21 are light in weight as possible. Accordingly, as a material for the rigid members, for example, paper, plastic and the like may be used. The rigid members 21 are attached to the internal side of the cover 2 by adhesive or the like to come into contact with the seal portion 13. Further, as in an aspect as shown in FIG.1, since the cover 2 is closed by the seal portions 22, the length L of the rigid member 21 is set shorter than the width D of the cover 2.
The seal portions 22 are provided in regions outside the rigid members 21 in the cover 2. The seal portions 22 have adhesion of the extent to which the seal portions 22 peel by an increase in thickness of the seal portion 13 when the seal portion 13 peels to cause the filling chambers 11, 12 to be opened in therebetween and increases its thickness. In other words, the adhesion and shape of the seal portions 22, and positions of the seal portions 22 in the cover 2 are set so as to hold the cover when the filling chambers 11, 12 are not opened in therebetween, while causing the cover 2 to easily drop when the filling chambers 11, 12 are opened in therebetween and the thickness of the seal portion 13 increases.
The seal portions 22 may be formed of a double-faced tape, the cover 2 may be melted to form the seal portions 22, or engaging portions may be provided at contact portions (end portions) of the cover 2 and engaged to form the seal portions 22.
In the case of attaching the cover 2 to the container body 1, prepared first is the cover 2 (for example, film or sheet) as shown in FIG.4A. Rigid members 21 (for example, plates) are respectively attached to both end portions on one surface of the cover 2. Then, as shown in FIG.4B, the cover 2 is bent so that the rigid members 21 are opposed to each other. In this state, the bent cover 2 is put on the container body 1 so as to cover one (the chamber 12) of the filling chambers of the container body 1 so that positions of the rigid members 21 are in accordance with the position of the seal portion 13. Next, as shown in FIG.4C, regions outside the rigid members 21 are sealed to form the seal portions 22.
Thus, the aforementioned multi-chamber container is configured so that the filling chamber 12 is covered with the cover 2 when the filling chambers 11, 12 are not opened in therebetween, and that the cover 2 drops when the filling chambers 11, 12 are opened in therebetween and the seal portion 13 increases its thickness. Therefore, when the filling chambers 11, 12 are not opened in therebetween, the cock 15 of the container body 1 is covered with the cover 2. Hence, in this state, since the cock 15 is covered with the cover 2, it is logically not possible to inject a hollow needle into the cock 15 to use the container. In other words, the container cannot be used with the filling chambers 11, 12 not opened in therebetween. It is thus possible to reliably avoid an occurrence of forgetting to mix the solutions. Further, according to this configuration, it is possible to prevent intrusion of a foreign substance.
In an aspect as shown in FIG. 1, the case is described that side portions of the cover 2 are opened as shown in FIG.4C. However, in the present invention, the cover 2 may be configured so that the side portions of the cover 2 are closed by perforations to be torn off, and the perforations are torn to cause the cover 2 to drop when the thickness of the seal portion 13 increases with the filling chambers 11, 12 opened in therebetween. In this case, the seal portions 22 may be provided or not provided.
FIG.5 is a front view showing another example of the multi-chamber container according to this embodiment of the present invention. In the multi-chamber container as shown in FIG.5, the filling chamber 11 is covered with the cover 2. A configuration of the cover 2 is the same as that in the multi-chamber container as shown in FIG.1.
The multi-chamber container as shown in FIG.5 is configured so that the filling chamber 11 is covered with the cover 2 when the filling chambers 11, 12 are not opened in therebetween, and that the cover 2 drops when the filling chambers 11, 12 are opened in therebetween and the seal portion 13 increases its thickness. Therefore, when the filling chambers 11, 12 are not opened in therebetween, the hole 14 of the container body 1 is covered with the cover 2. Hence, in this state, since the hole 14 is covered with the cover 2, the container cannot be hung in a stand logically nor cannot be used. In other words, the container cannot be used with the filling chambers 11, 12 not opened in therebetween. It is thus possible to reliably avoid an occurrence of forgetting to mix the solutions. Further, according to this configuration, it is possible to prevent intrusion of a foreign substance.
FIG.6 is a front view showing still another example of the multi-chamber container according to this embodiment of the present invention.
In the multi-chamber containers as shown in FIG.1 and FIG.5, the cover 2 is sealed to form the seal portions 22. In the multi-chamber container as shown in FIG.6, the rigid members 21 are sealed to form the seal portions 22. Accordingly, in an aspect as shown in FIG.6, since the cover 2 is closed by the rigid members 21, the length L of the rigid members 21 is set longer than the width D of the cover 2. In addition, the rigid members 21 are the same as those in the multi-chamber containers as shown in FIG.1 and FIG.5.
The multi-chamber container as shown in FIG.6 is configured so that the filling chamber 12 is covered with the cover 2 when the filling chambers 11, 12 are not opened in therebetween, and that the cover 2 drops when the filling chambers 11, 12 are opened in therebetween and the seal portion 13 increases its thickness. Therefore, when the filling chambers 11, 12 are not opened in therebetween, the cock 15 of the container body 1 is covered with the cover 2. Hence, in this state, since the cock 15 is covered with the cover 2, it is logically not possible to inject a hollow needle into the cock 15 to use the container. In other words, the container cannot be used with the filling chambers 11, 12 not opened in therebetween. It is thus possible to reliably avoid an occurrence of forgetting to mix the solutions. Further, according to this configuration, it is possible to prevent intrusion of a foreign substance.
In the multi-chamber container as shown in FIG.6, the filling chamber 12 is covered with the cover 2. However, the filling chamber 11 may be covered with the cover 2 as in the multi-chamber container as shown in FIG.5, using the same cover 2 as shown in FIG.6.
The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and is capable of being carried into practice with various modifications thereof. For example, although the above-mentioned embodiment describes the case of two filling chambers, the present invention is applicable to cases of three or more filling chambers. Further, although the above-mentioned embodiment describes the case of filling solutions into filling chambers, the present invention is applicable to cases of filling powdery substances into filling chambers. Further, materials, sizes, shapes and the like in the above-mentioned embodiment are of examples, and the invention is not limited thereto. Moreover, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be carried into practice with various modifications thereof without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims

A multi-chamber container which accommodates a plurality of solutions and is divided into a plurality of filling chambers (11, 12) by an opening preventing portion (13), comprising:
a container body (1) with the chambers (11, 12) filled with the solutions respectively;
characterized by a covering member (2) that covers at least one of the filling chambers (11, 12) of the container body (1),
wherein the covering member (2) has a pair of rigid members (21) that sandwich the opening preventing portion (13) from the outside, and seal portions (22) provided to close the pair of rigid members (21) and
wherein one of the filling chambers (11, 12) is covered with the covering member (2) when the filling chambers (11, 12) are not opened in therebetween, and the covering member (2) drops when the filling chambers (11, 12) are opened in therebetween and a thickness of the opening preventing portion (13) increases.
The multi-chamber container according to claim 1, wherein the pair of rigid members (21) are plates.
The multi-chamber container according to claim 1, wherein the container body (1) has a cock (15) at its one end, and a hole (14) at the other end to hang the container body.
The multi-chamber container according to claim 3, wherein the covering member (2) covers at least the one end.
The multi-chamber container according to claim 3, wherein the covering member (2) covers at least the other end.
The multi-chamber container according to claim 1, wherein lengths of the rigid members (21) are shorter than a width of the covering member (2).
The multi-chamber container according to claim 1, wherein lengths of the rigid members (21) are longer than a width of the covering member (2).