EP2731878A1

EP2731878A1 - Vial for the dispensing of fluid products, particularly for medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic products or the like

Info

Publication number: EP2731878A1
Application number: EP12738181.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Antonio Fontana
Original assignee: Lameplast SRL
Current assignee: Lameplast SRL
Priority date: 2011-07-13
Filing date: 2012-07-05
Publication date: 2014-05-21
Also published as: ITMO20110172A1; WO2013008068A1

Abstract

The vial (1) for the dispensing of fluid products, particularly for medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic products or the like, comprises: a hollow body (2) for containing a fluid product, having a neck (4) from which protrudes a pin (5) which can be removed by tearing it off, the tearing off of the pin (5) being suitable for defining a dispensing mouth (6) of the fluid product, a cap (8) which can be fitted on the neck (4) and having a through hole (9) which can be crossed from side to side by the pin (5) in a fitting configuration wherein the pin (5) appears on the outer surface; anti-rotation means (16, 17) placed between the pin (5) and the through hole (9) and suitable for preventing their rotation, the placing in rotation of the cap (8) with respect to the hollow body (2) being suitable for dragging in rotation the pin (5) to remove it by tearing it off; at least a longitudinal interlocking system (19) which is suitable for preventing the longitudinal removal of the pin (5) from the through hole (9) and which comprises a pad which is obtained at the free extremity of the pin (5) and having: a guiding profile (21) which is suitable for crossing the through hole (9) and appearing on the outer surface of the cap (8), and a supporting surface (22) suitable for resting onto an outer edge (23) of the through hole (9).

Description

VIAL FOR THE DISPENSING OF FLUID PRODUCTS, PARTICULARLY FOR MEDICAL, PHARMACEUTICAL, COSMETIC PRODUCTS OR THE LIKE

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a vial for the dispensing of fluid products, particularly for medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic products or the like.

Background Art

The use is known of vials and containers made of polymer material for packaging one or more doses of fluid products, whether these are in paste, gel or liquid form; depending on the number of doses present, the known containers can be of the single-use type or of the re-closable and multi-dose type.

A particular type of known container of the single-dose and non re-closable type is illustrated in the patent document GB 2 039 267.

This document shows a container comprising a flexible body designed to contain a predetermined dose of product and having a substantially tubular shape.

Such containment body has one extremity with opening suitable for the introduction of the fluid product, which is closed after filling by means of sealing.

The opposite extremity of the containment body, on the other hand, has a neck at the top of which is defined a pin removable by tearing off to form a product dispensing mouth.

On the neck and on the pin a cap is fitted which is internally equipped with a blind seat having a shape complementary to the pin.

At the time of use, the user rotates the cap around the neck of the flexible body, dragging with it the pin which thereby tears off from the flexible body and forms the dispensing mouth.

The container illustrated in patent GB 20 39 267, nevertheless has a number of drawbacks including the fact that the cap fitted on the neck and on the pin does not remain stably attached to the flexible body and is able to come off this.

The cap, in fact, though having transversal dimensions slightly narrower than the neck, which enable its reciprocal forced coupling, can in any case be subject to an involuntary and/or undesired separation from the flexible body, e.g. due to knocks during packaging or transport, or due to incorrect use by the user.

To overcome this drawback, vials have been developed wherein the cap, instead of a blind seat, has a through hole crossing the cap from one side to the other. The pin has a length greater than the through hole and, once fitted inside this, projects out from the opposite side.

The extremity of the pin which projects beyond the hole undergoes a beating operation and is deformed so as to define a widened head no longer able to cross the through hole.

The pin beaten this way remains stably blocked inside the through hole and the cap cannot be removed from the neck of the vial without also removing the pin. This type of known vial also has a number of drawbacks however.

In this respect, the fact is underlined that the need to beat the head of the pin fitted in the through hole represents an inconvenient additional operation requiring considerable time and working costs, with consequent increase in packaging expenses which, inevitably, affect the retail price, with the risk of making the products less appealing for customers.

To this must be added the fact that, to allow beating the head of the pin, this must project in a very evident way from the cap, with the consequence that, at the end of assembly, the beaten head is located in a very exposed position.

Such location determines two further drawbacks.

On the one hand, in fact, the beaten head is exposed to possible contact with sharp bodies and risks undergoing knocks during vial transport which could well affect its integrity with the risk of making the previous beating operations pointless and ineffective, with the chance of the cap inconveniently coming off the flexible body.

On the other hand, instead, the presence of a beaten head located in an exposed and clearly-visible position is usually rather unpleasant from an aesthetic viewpoint and not appreciated by end users.

Description of the Invention

The main aim of the present invention is to provide a vial for the dispensing of fluid products, particularly for medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic products or the like, in which the cap can be fitted onto the corresponding pin in a practical, easy and functional way, without any particular problem of stability and additional inconvenient operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vial for the dispensing of fluid products, particularly for medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic products or the like which can be manufactured and assembled with very limited production costs and time.

Not the last object of the present invention is to provide a vial for the dispensing of fluid products, particularly for medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic products or the like, which is not only easy and effective to use but also particularly appealing from an aesthetic point of view.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vial for the dispensing of fluid products, particularly for medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic products or the like which allows to overcome the mentioned drawbacks of the state of the art within the ambit of a simple, rational as well as low cost solution.

The above objects are achieved by the present vial for the dispensing of fluid products, particularly for medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic products or the like, comprising:

at least a hollow body for containing at least a fluid product, having at least a neck from which protrudes a pin which can be removed by tearing it off, the tearing off of said pin being suitable for defining a dispensing mouth of said fluid product,

at least a cap which can be fitted on said neck and having at least a through hole which can be crossed from side to side by said pin in a fitting configuration wherein said pin appears on the outer surface;

- _. anti-rotation means placed between said pin and said through hole and suitable for preventing their rotation, the placing in rotation of said cap with respect to said hollow body being suitable for dragging in rotation said pin to remove it by tearing it off;

- at least a longitudinal interlocking system suitable for preventing the longitudinal removal of said pin from said through hole;

characterised by the fact that said longitudinal interlocking system comprises at least a pad which is obtained at the free extremity of said pin and having:

a guiding profile which is suitable for crossing said through hole and appearing on the outer surface of said cap, and

a supporting surface suitable for resting onto an outer edge of said through hole.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more evident from the description of a preferred, but not sole, embodiment of a vial for the dispensing of fluid products, particularly for medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic products or the like, illustrated purely as an example but not limited to the annexed drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an exploded, partially broken view of the vial according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a section view, on enlarged scale, along the plane II - II of figure 1 ; Figure 3 is a section view, on enlarged scale, along the plane III - III of figure l;

Figure 4 is an exploded, partially broken view of a detail, on enlarged scale, of the vial according to the invention;

Figure 5 is an axonometric, partially broken view of the detail of Figure 4 in a fitting configuration;

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section view, on enlarged scale, of a portion of the vial according to the invention in a fitting configuration;

Figure 7 is a longitudinal section view, on enlarged scale, of the portion of figure 6 in an opening configuration.

Embodiments of the Invention

With particular reference to such figures, globally indicated by 1 is a vial for the dispensing of fluid products, particularly for medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic products or the like.

In this respect, it is specified that in the present treatise by the term fluid products is not meant only liquid products but also viscous products, e.g., in the form of paste or gel, and powdered products, especially very fine powders having great flowability. The vial 1 is of the single-dose and non re-closable type and comprises a hollow body 2 suitable for containing a fluid product.

The hollow body 2 has a substantially tubular and elongated shape along a longitudinal direction.

In this respect, the fact is underlined that in the present treatise, the terms "longitudinal" and "transversal" are used with reference to the direction of extension of the hollow body 2.

In correspondence to an extremity of the hollow body 2 an opening 3 is defined for introducing the fluid product; the closing of the opening 3 (e.g., by sealing the lips of the opening itself) is done after the product has been introduced.

At the extremity of the hollow body 2 opposite the opening 3 a neck 4 is defined.

The neck 4 has a substantially axial-symmetric shape with round cross section and smaller diameter compared to the rest of the hollow body 2.

The shape of the neck 4, in particular, is substantially cylindrical with constant section, with coaxial alignment with respect to the hollow body 2; alternative embodiments cannot however be ruled out wherein the walls of the neck 4 have a conical shape and/or are not coaxial with the hollow body 2.

From the neck 4 protrudes outwards, i.e., on the opposite side with respect to the opening 3, a pin 5 removable by tearing off.

The removal by tearing off of the pin 5 is suitable for defining on the neck 4 a dispensing mouth 6 for allowing the fluid product to come out.

For this purpose, the pin 5 is associated with the neck 4 along a segment with weakened section 7, suitable for making its removal easier by tearing it off. The pin 5 extends along the longitudinal direction and, in particular, it is coaxial with the neck 4.

On the neck 4 a cap 8 can be fitted having a through hole 9 which can be crossed from one side to the other by the pin 5 in a fitting configuration wherein the pin 5 protrudes on the outside.

In particular, the cap 8 comprises an outer wall 10 with a substantially tubular shape and with such shape and dimensions as to enable it to be fitted on the neck 4. The outer wall 10 has a first open extremity 1 1 , which can be fitted on the neck 4, and a second open extremity 12, opposite the first open extremity 1 1.

Inside the outer wall 10, in the proximity of the second open extremity 12, is associated an inner body 13 having the through hole 9.

The inner body 13 divides the volume inside the outer wall 10 into a first compartment 14, which extends from the first open extremity 11 to the inner body 13, and into a second compartment 15, which extends from the second open extremity 12 to the inner body 13.

Between the pin 5 and the through hole 9 anti-rotation means 16, 17 are positioned able to prevent their relative rotation.

The anti-rotation means 16, 17 are defined by a side outer shape 16 obtained on a portion of the pin 5 and by a side inner shape 17 obtained in the through hole 9.

The side shapes 16, 17 are defined substantially longitudinal and at least in part complementary to allow the longitudinal sliding of the pin 5 inside the through hole 9 and to prevent the relative rotation only.

In particular, the side outer shape 16 and the side inner shape 17 are defined by a series of recesses and reliefs extending longitudinally, even though slightly tapered to facilitate fitting the pin 5 in the through hole 9.

The cross sections of the side shapes 16, 17 are shown in the figures 2 and 3 and are star- shaped.

When the pin 5 is arranged in fitting configuration, the placing in rotation of the cap 8 with respect to the hollow body 2 is suitable, by means of the anti-rotation means 16, 17, for also dragging in rotation the pin 5 to remove it by tearing it off from the hollow body 2.

For this purpose, it is underlined that the round cross-section axial-symmetric shape of the neck 4 allows the cap 8 to be placed in rotation around the central axis of the neck 4.

In this operation, to make it easier for the user to grip the cap 8, the outer surface of the outer wall 10 is at least partially grooved.

More in detail, such outer surface comprises a plurality of grooves 18 extending longitudinally and parallel to the pin 5; it should be noticed that this arrangement of the grooves 18 is the best possible for the purpose of making it easier to grip the cap 8 and place it in rotation around the neck 4.

The vial 1 also comprises a longitudinal interlocking system 19 suitable for preventing the longitudinal removal of the pin 5 from the through hole 9.

The longitudinal interlocking system 19 is defined by a pad which is obtained at the free extremity of the pin 5, i.e., that opposite the neck 4.

In particular, the pin 5 comprises a supporting section 20 which sustains the pad 19.

The supporting section 20 extends between the pad 19 and the portion of the pin 5 on which the side outer shape 16 is obtained.

The supporting section 20 has transversal dimensions substantially smaller than the pad 19.

The pad 19 has:

a guiding profile 21, suitable for crossing the through hole 9 and appearing on the outer surface, and

a supporting surface 22, suitable for resting on an outer edge 23 of the through hole 9.

The outer edge 23 consists in the terminal part of the through hole 9 and is shaped to define a narrowing 24 suitable for housing substantially to measure the supporting section 20.

The guiding profile 21 has a truncated-cone shape.

The guiding profile 21, in particular, is meant to be forced inside the narrowing 24 to allow the pad 19 to exit beyond it.

Usefully, in the fitting configuration, the pad 19 remains inside the second open extremity 12 of the cap 8, i.e., it remains inside the second compartment 15 and does not emerge beyond the second open extremity 12.

The hollow body 2, the pin 5, the supporting section 20 and the pad 19 are made in a single body, e.g., by means of forming methods such as injection moulding, using polymer materials of the polyethylene or polypropylene type.

In the same way, the cap 8 is also obtainable using the same forming methods inside a separate mould.

The hollow body 2 and the cap 8 are therefore initially separate, as shown in the figures from 1 to 4, and the vial 1 is assembled subsequently by making the outer wall 10 fit over the neck 4 with simultaneous and contemporaneous interlocking of the pin 5 in the through hole 9 (figures 5 and 6).

In the fitting configuration, the side shapes 16, 17 of the pin 5 and of the through hole 9 are coupled together and the pad 19 is arranged beyond the narrowing 24, with the supporting surface 22 arranged against the outer edge 23 of the through hole 9 to prevent the pin 5 moving away from the cap 8.

At the time of first use, the cap 8 is placed in rotation on the neck 4 and drags with it the pin 5, determining the breakage of the segment with weakened section 7 and the opening of the dispensing mouth 6 (opening configuration in figure 7).

The cap 8 can then be removed from the neck 4 to allow the dispensing of the fluid product, with the pin 5 which remains jammed in the cap 8 with a function of "tamper-evident" to show the opening has occurred of the vial 1.

It has in practice been ascertained how the described invention achieves the proposed objects.

In this respect, the fact is underlined that the particular solution of providing a specially-shaped pad to longitudinally interlock the pin in the cap allows eliminating the need to have the vial undergo inconvenient additional operations as in the case of traditional vials.

Furthermore, this makes the production process of the vials according to the invention considerably easier and quicker, with consequent cutting of manufacturing and packaging costs and expenses.

The fact is further underlined that in the fitting configuration, the pad remains inside the second compartment of the cap and, by means of this simple and practical solution, the vial has a compact outer form, without protrusions and with an appealing aesthetic appearance.

Claims

1) Vial (1) for the dispensing of fluid products, particularly for medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic products or the like, comprising:

at least a hollow body (2) for containing at least a fluid product, having at least a neck (4) from which protrudes a pin (5) which can be removed by tearing it off, the tearing off of said pin (5) being suitable for defining a dispensing mouth (6) of said fluid product,

at least a cap (8) which can be fitted on said neck (4) and having at least a through hole (9) which can be crossed from side to side by said pin (5) in a fitting configuration wherein said pin (5) appears on the outer surface;

anti-rotation means (16, 17) placed between said pin (5) and said through hole (9) and suitable for preventing their rotation, the placing in rotation of said cap (8) with respect to said hollow body (2) being suitable for dragging in rotation said pin (5) to remove it by tearing it off;

- at least a longitudinal interlocking system (19) suitable for preventing the longitudinal removal of said pin (5) from said through hole (9);

characterised by the fact that said longitudinal interlocking system (19) comprises at least a pad which is obtained at the free extremity of said pin (5) and having:

- a guiding profile (21) which is suitable for crossing said through hole (9) and appearing on the outer surface of said cap (8), and

a supporting surface (22) suitable for resting onto an outer edge (23) of said through hole (9).

2) Vial (1) according to the claim 1, characterised by the fact that said cap (8) comprises a substantially tubular outer wall (10) and at least an inner body (13) associated with the inside of said outer wall (10) and having said through hole (9)·

3) Vial (1) according to the claim 2, characterised by the fact that said outer wall (10) comprises a first open extremity (11) which can be fitted on said neck (4) and a second open extremity (12) opposite said first open extremity (11).

4) Vial (1) according to the claim 3, characterised by the fact that said inner body (13) divides the volume inside said outer wall (10) into a first compartment (14), which extends from said first open extremity (11) to said inner body (13), and into a second compartment (15), which extends from said second open extremity (12) to said inner body (13).

5) Vial (1) according to the claim 4, characterised by the fact that in said fitting configuration said pad (19) remains inside said second compartment (15).

6) Vial (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that the outer surface of said cap (8) is at least partially grooved and suitable for making its grip easier by a user.

7) Vial (1) according to the claim 6, characterised by the fact that said at least partially grooved outer surface comprises a plurality of grooves (18) which extend parallel to said pin (5) and are suitable for making easier the placing in rotation of said cap (8) around said neck (4).

8) Vial (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that said pin (5) comprises a supporting section (20) of said pad (19) that has transversal dimensions substantially smaller than said pad (19).

9) Vial (1) according to the claim 8, characterised by the fact that said outer edge (23) of the through hole (9) is shaped to define a narrowing for housing said supporting section (20).

10) Vial (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that said guiding profile (21) has a truncated-cone shape.

11) Vial (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that said anti-rotation means (16, 17) comprise at least a side outer shape (16) obtained on said pin (5) and at least a side inner shape (17) obtained in said through hole (9), said side shapes (16, 17) being substantially longitudinal and at least in part complementary to allow the longitudinal sliding of said pin (5).

12) Vial (1) according to the claim 11, characterised by the fact that the cross section of said side outer shape (16) and of said side inner shape (17) is substantially star-shaped.

13) Vial (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that said pin (5) is associated with said neck (4) along a segment with weakened section (7) suitable for making its removal easier by tearing it off.