EP1838580A1 - Emballage de recipients steriles equipes d'un distributeur de gouttes et moyens d'actionnement - Google Patents

Emballage de recipients steriles equipes d'un distributeur de gouttes et moyens d'actionnement

Info

Publication number
EP1838580A1
EP1838580A1 EP05709179A EP05709179A EP1838580A1 EP 1838580 A1 EP1838580 A1 EP 1838580A1 EP 05709179 A EP05709179 A EP 05709179A EP 05709179 A EP05709179 A EP 05709179A EP 1838580 A1 EP1838580 A1 EP 1838580A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
drop
dispenser
cap
flagon
stage
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP05709179A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Emilio Morini
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Bormioli Rocco SpA
Original Assignee
Bormioli Rocco and Figlio SpA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Bormioli Rocco and Figlio SpA filed Critical Bormioli Rocco and Figlio SpA
Publication of EP1838580A1 publication Critical patent/EP1838580A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D41/00—Caps, e.g. crown caps or crown seals, i.e. members having parts arranged for engagement with the external periphery of a neck or wall defining a pouring opening or discharge aperture; Protective cap-like covers for closure members, e.g. decorative covers of metal foil or paper
    • B65D41/32—Caps or cap-like covers with lines of weakness, tearing-strips, tags, or like opening or removal devices, e.g. to facilitate formation of pouring openings
    • B65D41/34—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt
    • B65D41/3423—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt with flexible tabs, or elements rotated from a non-engaging to an engaging position, formed on the tamper element or in the closure skirt
    • B65D41/3428—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt with flexible tabs, or elements rotated from a non-engaging to an engaging position, formed on the tamper element or in the closure skirt the tamper element being integrally connected to the closure by means of bridges
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B55/00—Preserving, protecting or purifying packages or package contents in association with packaging
    • B65B55/02—Sterilising, e.g. of complete packages
    • B65B55/04—Sterilising wrappers or receptacles prior to, or during, packaging
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B55/00—Preserving, protecting or purifying packages or package contents in association with packaging
    • B65B55/02—Sterilising, e.g. of complete packages
    • B65B55/04—Sterilising wrappers or receptacles prior to, or during, packaging
    • B65B55/08—Sterilising wrappers or receptacles prior to, or during, packaging by irradiation
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D47/00—Closures with filling and discharging, or with discharging, devices
    • B65D47/04—Closures with discharging devices other than pumps
    • B65D47/06—Closures with discharging devices other than pumps with pouring spouts or tubes; with discharge nozzles or passages
    • B65D47/18—Closures with discharging devices other than pumps with pouring spouts or tubes; with discharge nozzles or passages for discharging drops; Droppers

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a process for sterile packing of containers with drop dispensers and means for actuating the process.
  • the prior art teaches containers with drop-counting dispensers closed by caps, often having a security strip, which containers must be packaged in sterile surroundings given the nature of their contents.
  • These containers are used, for example, in the pharmaceutical field, and in particular in the field of ophthalmology, for containing eye-drops, for sterile cleaning liquids, and the like.
  • these containers comprise a flagon, made of glass or a plastic material, which is provided with a drop dispenser and closed by a cap made of plastic.
  • the invention relates in particular to the latter type of container, with drop-dispenser and plastic cap.
  • the packaging companies which are generally pharmaceutical industries, receive the various pieces making up the container in closed packages containing a high number of units; in particular, packages containing the flagons, the drop- dispensers and the caps are separately delivered.
  • the packages arrive at the pharmaceutical packagers with their internal parts already sterile, or they can be sterilised after arriving; the sterilisation thereof is done, with the packages closed, by gamma ray bombardment which sterilises the insides of the packages without any need to open them.
  • these packages are introduced into a sterile environment and are opened while there, so that the sterility thereof is not compromised.
  • the various sterile parts which exit are sent on to machines, located in the sterile environment, which position and predispose the various pieces for the filling and closing stages of the containers.
  • the flagon is filled with the product in a work station; in a following work station, the drop- dispenser is inserted on the flagon by press-fit; and in a further work station the flagon-drop dispenser assembly is completed by screwing on the cap, at which point the container exits the sterile environment and is ready to be put up for sale.
  • This packaging process involves considerable expense, primarily for sterilisation of the parts of the container; gamma ray sterilisation includes costs that are calculated in terms of "occupied volume", i.e.
  • the number of objects to be sterilised which, in the described process, is a very high number even though the volume consists mostly of empty space, being the inside of the containers, the drop-dispensers and the closure caps which are hollow elements.
  • the high costs are due to the presence, internally of the sterile machines where the packaging takes place, of a high number of infeeding lines of the single components and a large number of work stations, which, apart from the cost of these specific lines and stations, lead to the need to keep a fairly large space under sterile conditions.
  • a further drawback in the known processes is the difficulty of regulating the torque in the cap-dispenser coupling.
  • the main aim of the present invention is to provide a process for sterile packaging of containers having drop-dispensing mechanisms, and the means for realising the process, which process and means reduce the drawbacks in the prior art, and in particular reduce the costs and wastage during the packaging process.
  • An advantage of the invention is that container packaging times are reduced.
  • a further advantage of the invention is that containers are obtained which are safer and easier for a consumer to use.
  • the sterile packaging process is applied on containers used in particular in the pharmaceutical field for containing products such as medicinal drops, sterile cleaning liquids and the like, which containers comprise a flagon 1, made preferably of a plastic material, on which after filling with the product they are destined to contain, a drop-dispenser 2 and a closure cap 3 are to be fitted, the cap 3 closing the package but which can be removed to enable use of the product, and replaced to close the flagon before further use; both the drop-dispenser 2 and the cap 3 are made of a plastic material, and preferably by injection moulding.
  • the process includes, as with known processes, a sterilisation stage of the flagon, the drop-dispenser and the closure cap.
  • the process of the invention includes a preparation stage of removably anchoring the closure cap on the drop-dispenser; this anchoring stage is done under conditions of perfect cleanliness but not necessarily sterility, generally by the manufacturer of the drop-dispenser and the cap; during this stage the cap and the drop-dispenser are solidly constrained to one another and a pre-assembled group is obtained, which is already configured to be directly connected to the flagon.
  • This anchoring stage produces a connection between the drop-dispenser and the cap which can be resolved at moment of use of the package; for this purpose the anchoring stage of the cap on the drop-dispenser is achieved by a threaded coupling between an outside of the drop-dispenser and an inside of the cap, which easily enables, at moment of use, the anchored state between the drop-dispenser and the cap to be removed and replaced, i.e. the container can easily be opened and closed.
  • the drop-dispenser-cap groups are packed in a packaging, which contains a considerable number of units, which is sent on to a successive stage of sterilisation of the pre-assembled groups; this sterilisation stage is performed, with the packagings closed, by bombardment of gamma rays which, in a known process, sterilise the inside of the packaging and the contents thereof with no need for opening the packaging.
  • this stage of sterilisation the economic cost of which depends on the volume of the packaging, is much less expensive because the volume occupied by the drop-dispenser-cap groups is much smaller (with the drop-dispenser-cap groups proposed for actuating the process of the invention, as shall be seen herein below, the volume is about half) than the totality of the volumes occupied by the drop-dispenser and cap when considered separately; in other words, with the sterilisation of the volume represented, in known processes, by the packaging containing the caps, sterilisation can be performed of both the cap and the drop-dispenser.
  • This stage of sterilisation can be performed by the packaging company or, as frequently occurs, by an external company, which sends the packaging company the packages containing the drop-dispenser-cap groups already sterilised.
  • the drop-dispenser-cap groups are then placed in an aseptic environment represented by the plant performing the filling and closing of the packages; the flagons are also placed in the aseptic environment.
  • the flagons are then filled in this aseptic environment, following known processes.
  • the pre-assembled drop-dispenser-cap group is inserted, so that in a single operation at a single work-station the package is provided with the drop-dispenser and the cap destined to close the container.
  • the insertion stage of the pre-assembled drop-dispenser-cap group is performed by a simple pressure-insertion of the drop-dispenser-cap group on the neck of the flagon. This stage is much simpler and more reliable than known processes, which include a pressure insertion of the drop-dispenser on the flagon followed by the screwing-on of the cap on the neck of the flagon.
  • the screwing-on of the cap is indeed rather a delicate operation and must be done most carefully in order not to subject the cap to erroneous torques which might lead to an imperfect insertion of the cap, or even a breakage of the cap.
  • the screw-on stage which is generally done after the realisation of the drop dispenser and the cap, is made especially easy because the screw-coupling is effected partly on the cap and partly on the drop-dispenser, which are both obtainable by injection moulding and thus with a very high forming precision: also, the assembly of the drop-dispenser-cap group is performed in much easier conditions, as although the realisation and manipulation of the various components is always done in perfectly clean conditions (hygienic ambience) the assembly thereof does not necessarily have to be done in a sterile environment.
  • a container which in turn comprises a flagon 1, of which only the upper part is shown in the figure of the drawing, which flagon 1 is destined to contain the product to be packaged; an annular end 2a of a drop-dispenser 2 is press-fitted on the mouth Ia of the flagon 1, the drop-dispenser 2 being superiorly provided with an appendix 2b which doses the contents and which projects externally of the flagon 1 when the drop-dispenser is inserted in the mouth Ia.
  • the drop-dispenser comprises a skirt 2c which is arranged externally of and concentrically to the annular end 2a.
  • annular cavity is defined between the skirt 2c and the end 2a, in which cavity the mouth Ia of the flagon is jointed when the drop-dispenser 2 is press-inserted on the flagon 1.
  • annular relief 2d internally on the skirt 2c, which lodges in a corresponding annular cavity Ib on the mouth of the flagon 1.
  • the means for realising the process further comprise a closure cap 3 having the function of closing the container and enabling it to be re-opened, so that the product in the container can be dosed by the drop-dispenser, and then closed.
  • the cap 3 comprises a bell-shaped zone 3 a which covers the skirt 2c of the drop- dispenser 2, and imitates the shape thereof, when the cap 3 is placed on the container to close it.
  • the cap 3 also comprises a security strip arranged inferiorly of the cap and connected thereto, in a known way, by easy-break ribs. The strip is to evidence when a container has been opened.
  • means for fastening which enable the cap 3 to be fastened removably to the drop- dispenser 2.
  • the means for fastening comprise a screw-coupling 4 which is partly made on the external surface of the skirt 2c of the drop-dispenser 2 and partly on the internal surface of the bell 3 a of the cap 3.
  • the screw-coupling 4 enables an easy and efficacious coupling between the drop- dispenser and the cap, usable for realising the previously-described process; also, thanks to the conformation of the drop-dispenser and the cap, and by means of the said coupling, a drop-dispenser-cap group is obtained which exhibits a volume equal to that of the cap alone, inasmuch as once the coupling is achieved the drop-dispenser is entirely contained inside the cap.
  • the appendix 2b for dosing on the drop-dispenser comprises, on an external surface thereof, one or two (as shown in the figure) annular cavities 5, in each of which, when the cap 3 is connected to the drop-dispenser 2, an annular relief 6 is inserted which annular relief 6 is made on the internal surface of the cap 3.
  • the flagon 1, the drop-dispenser and the cap described define together means for actuating the process of the invention in a way which is easy and rapid.

Abstract

L'invention concerne l'emballage de récipients stériles comprenant un étage de stérilisation de flacon composé d'un flacon, d'un distributeur de gouttes et d'un bouchon de fermeture de récipient, précédé d'un étage dans lequel le bouchon et le distributeur de gouttes sont ancrés ensemble de manière amovible. Dans un étage suivant, le flacon et le groupe distributeur de gouttes-bouchon sont placés dans un environnement aseptique, et le flacon est rempli avant que le distributeur de gouttes-bouchon ne soit introduit dans ledit flacon. Les moyens d'actionnement précités comprennent un flacon (1), un distributeur de gouttes (2) qui est introduit sous pression dans le flacon (1) et un bouchon de fermeture (3) qui est vissé sur le distributeur de gouttes avant que celui-ci (2) ne soit introduit dans le flacon (1).
EP05709179A 2005-01-13 2005-01-13 Emballage de recipients steriles equipes d'un distributeur de gouttes et moyens d'actionnement Withdrawn EP1838580A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/IT2005/000012 WO2006075342A1 (fr) 2005-01-13 2005-01-13 Emballage de recipients steriles equipes d'un distributeur de gouttes et moyens d'actionnement

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1838580A1 true EP1838580A1 (fr) 2007-10-03

Family

ID=34960442

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP05709179A Withdrawn EP1838580A1 (fr) 2005-01-13 2005-01-13 Emballage de recipients steriles equipes d'un distributeur de gouttes et moyens d'actionnement

Country Status (6)

Country Link
US (1) US20080209857A1 (fr)
EP (1) EP1838580A1 (fr)
AU (1) AU2005324723A1 (fr)
BR (1) BRPI0505681A (fr)
CA (1) CA2529141A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2006075342A1 (fr)

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FR2909362B1 (fr) * 2006-12-04 2009-02-20 Procap Luxembourg Sa Bouchon de fermeture et bidon associe pourvu d'un dispositif anti refoulement
EA201301162A1 (ru) * 2011-04-14 2014-02-28 Проумед Рисерч Сентер Закрывающий колпачок бутылочной емкости
CN105339270A (zh) * 2013-06-25 2016-02-17 利乐拉瓦尔集团及财务有限公司 用于对封装材料消毒的方法和设备
KR101554189B1 (ko) * 2013-12-10 2015-09-21 (주)연우 액상 내용물을 방울 형태로 배출시키는 튜브형 화장품 용기
JP6150131B2 (ja) * 2014-01-31 2017-06-21 株式会社吉野工業所 内容物噴出防止容器
DE102015102273B3 (de) * 2015-02-18 2016-03-10 Louvrette Gmbh Design & Packaging Tropfenspender
US9650188B1 (en) 2016-04-14 2017-05-16 Healthstar, Inc. Delayed pierce, sealed container
KR101969461B1 (ko) * 2017-11-30 2019-04-16 (주)연우 액상 내용물 토출 용기
KR102297557B1 (ko) * 2019-08-31 2021-09-02 김재경 분리 가능한 점적기
KR102332817B1 (ko) 2020-03-16 2021-11-30 (주)연우 이중 용기

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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
BRPI0505681A (pt) 2006-10-24
CA2529141A1 (fr) 2006-07-13
US20080209857A1 (en) 2008-09-04
AU2005324723A1 (en) 2006-07-20
WO2006075342A1 (fr) 2006-07-20

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