GB2230520A

GB2230520A - Blow-fill-seal bottles

Info

Publication number: GB2230520A
Application number: GB9008375A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Howard Rose; Ian Gardner Cameron Mcaffer
Original assignee: Waverley Pharmaceutical Ltd
Current assignee: Waverley Pharmaceutical Ltd
Priority date: 1989-04-12
Filing date: 1990-04-12
Publication date: 1990-10-24
Also published as: GB8908256D0; GB9008375D0

Abstract

To overcome the problem of piercing through a mould seam in a blow-fill-seal type bottle 10, having a site 30 intended for puncture to allow dispensing of the contents of the bottle and the site being located in the general line of a mould seam 60, the mould seam is diverted as at 70 around the site 30. <IMAGE>

Description

Improved Blow-Fill-Seal Bottles The present invention relates to puncturable blow-fill-seal plastics bottles.

Blow-fill-seal bottles have been developed as a convenient alternative to glass bottles. They are unlikely to rupture under most circumstances, and will not cause damage even if they do. They are cheaper to make, and can be filled and sealed in one operation, thus significantly reducing manufacturing costs and the requirement for sterile surroundings.

Generally speaking, there are two ways in which the contents of a blow-fill-seal bottle can be dispensed.

The bottle can either be designed so as to have a removable portion, such as a cap attached by a frangible membrane, or else some suitable portion of the bottle can be pierced, for example by a needle, in order to extract the contents. These two options are not mutually exclusive, and may be combined in the present invention, for example.

In one particular embodiment, the prior art provides a blow-fill-seal bottle which has a sealed neck onto which a cap can be screwed. The cap is equipped with a needle, the base of which protrudes inside the cap and is adapted to pierce the sealed neck when the cap is screwed down. The contents of the bottle can then be dispensed by simply squeezing the bottle. This embodiment is shown as Figure A in the drawings.

Forcing a narrow tube into the bottle without guidance is haphazard, undesirable and potentially dangerous.

The embodiment described above was developed so that the tube piercing the bottle is provided in some variety of cap, to guide the piercing end of the tube. However, this system is not perfect, as the seam line left by the two halves of the mould leads to the creation of local thickening in the very area intended to be punctured.

Thus, when a blow-fill-seal bottle is punctured in the area of the seam, it is quite likely that the puncturing needle will be forced off-centre, which is inconvenient, or worse the bottle will split, or a hollow needle will core' the puncture site so that a core of plastic blocks the needle.

Blow-fill-seal bottles are generally manufactured by blowing a bubble of molten plastic which is formed by a mould having two halves. Gas, such as air and preferably sterile, is then forced into the bottle, while air is sucked out of the mould to ensure proper forming. Then, while the neck is still open, liquid is injected into the bottle, and the head is then sealed and formed by a head mould after withdrawal of the injection apparatus. The head mould consists of two halves which are clamped over the open neck. The neck is thus sealed and formed into a head by forming a vacuum in the head mould.

This problem may be overcome by diverting the mould seam around the puncture site.

Thus, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a blow-fill-seal bottle having a site intended for puncture to allow dispensing of the contents of the bottle, the site being located in the general line of a mould seam, said mould seam being diverted around said site.

In an alternative aspect, the invention also provides a blow-fill-seal bottle having a puncture site preferably adapted for puncturing by a duct member operatively located within a cap member, the puncture site being located substantially in the plane of a mould seam but generally normal thereto, preferably on a male portion suitable to cooperate with the cap member, characterised in that the mould seam is formed out-of-plane at the puncture site.

It will generally be the case that the relevant seam is created by the action of the head mould, although not necessarily always. Thus, it is preferably the head mould which should have the relevant portions adjusted to take account of the puncture site. As will be appreciated, the head mould will generally come in two more-or-less identical halves. It will not be practical, generally speaking, to alter this arrangement as, if one part is more and one less than half, the head, for example, cannot be formed.

The puncture means will generally take the form of a needle or cannula, preferably mounted in a cap fitting over a head portion of the bottle in which the puncture site is located. It is possible for the puncture means not to be mounted in anything, but it is preferable for it to be mounted in a cap as the cap can at least serve as a guide. More preferably, the cap has a screw thread adapted to mate with a corresponding screw thread on the head of the bottle. Accordingly, the needle or cannula is forced into the bottle by a screwing action. Thus, the puncture site is preferably axially located, with the puncture means adapted for axial penetration and the mould seam being essentially central.

In order to assist further with the operation of puncturing the bottle, it may be advantageous to provide an indent in the region of the puncture site, so as to weaken and/or guide the puncture means. This is especially useful where the puncture means is not located in a cap, for example.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for the manufacture of a blow-fill-seal bottle having a region adapted for puncturing located substantially in the plane of the mould seam, but generally normal thereto, and particularly on a male portion, comprising blowing, filling and sealing the bottle, characterised in that the cooperating mould faces in the region of the mould adapted to form the puncturable portion are formed.

out-of-plane so as to form the seam away from the puncture site.

In a yet further aspect, there is provided a mould, especially a head mould, for use in accordance with the present invention.

The blow-fill-seal method of the invention necessarily involves the use of a mould in two parts for at least a part of the bottle. While it is generally feasible to use a method other than the general blow-fill-seal method described above, it is preferred to apply the present invention to the standard method. Other methods may include, for example, forming the body in a single mould, or even with no mould at all, but such methods tend to give unsatisfactory results and would not usually be used by one skilled in the art.

For reasons of practical application, the puncture site will normally be located on the head of the bottle.

This may be formed in the body, with the 'head' mould serving only to seal the bottle, but will generally be formed by the head mould. Also, especially if the puncture site is adapted to be pierced by a needle in a cap, it will be located centrally in the top of the head, for preference. Thus, in the most preferred embodiment of the invention, the two cooperating faces at the top of the head mould in a standard blow-fill-seal technique are formed to detour the seam away from the puncture site.

Suitable formations of the cooperating faces of the mould-halves include a tongue and groove arrangement and a blade and guide arrangement. Tongue and groove arrangements will generally involve a recess in one mould half and a corresponding projection on the other mould half. It is preferred that the interface is semi-circular, but any other suitable conformation may be used, such as generally triangular.

The blade and guide arrangement may comprise simply a blade on one half of the mould adapted to slide under the corresponding other half of the mould. However, this tends not to be satisfactory. Although the blade is necessarily definitive of at least that part of the puncture surface about which the seam detours, it may cooperate with a corresponding shallow recess in the other half of the mould. Suitable conformations for these arrangements are as for the tongue and groove arrangements above. In general, the tongue and groove arrangements are preferable to the blade and guide arrangements.

It will be appreciated that the seam does not necessarily need to be formed substantially out-of-plane, only enough to avoid any or all of the problems described above in relation to puncturing through mould seams.

The puncture site will generally be located directly on the head of the bottle, or on a projection on the head.

It is preferable that the out-of-plane seam detours in such a way as to follow the contours of the puncture site. This is not essential, but it is both aesthetically pleasing and easier to arrange.

To organise a suitable indent, this will generally be easiest to arrange by bringing a former into contact with the bottle head (if this is where the site is) before the plastic has entirely cooled. Such a former may be a simple sharp instrument. Alternatively, the indent may be made after cooling, in which case it may be bored out by a suitable implement.

As used herein the term 'bottle' includes any suitable blow-fill-seal-type receptacle, such as undines and ampoules.

The invention also encompasses such receptacles such as undines and ampoules when manufactured with a specific puncture site which may be intended for direct piercing by a needle without the assistance of a guiding cap.

Such receptacles may, if necessary, may be provided with suitable finger guards, either moulded in or provided separately, to prevent injury.

The bottles of the invention will usually be used in cooperation with a cap fitted with a duct adapted to pierce the puncture site. The duct may simply be in the form of a needle whose base is so located within the cap as to pierce the puncture site when the cap is forced on to, or screwed on to, the head of the bottle. The base of the needle may be square cut, but is preferably cut at an angle to further prevent coring. Such needles will generally be made of metal but, with larger bottles, it may be preferable to use plastics ducts.

With such ducts, it is usually necessary to provide a substantially pointed base to pierce the puncture site in order to assist puncturing and to avoid rupturing the bottle.

It will generally be the case that duct members are in the form of tubes, such as needles, but a simple spout may be adequate and the duct may have an open 'V' cross-section, although this can give rise to dispensing difficulties. Thus, it is generally preferable to have at least the piercing portion of the duct closed.

The present invention also provides combinations of bottles with suitable caps as described. In one combination, the bottle is provided with two caps, one to prevent contamination before use (during packaging, storing etc. ) and the other provided with a needle or other such duct, for actually piercing the bottle.

The bottles of the invention are further illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. A shows a bottle known in the art; and Fig. 1 shows a bottle according to the invention.

The bottles of the drawings are similar in many respects.

In both instances, a side elevation of the bottle is shown which is essentially identical to the other. A bottle 10 has a head 20 on which is situated a puncture site 30. A cap 40 screws onto head 20, forcing piercing member 50 through puncture site 30. Piercing member 50 may be solid, so the cap 40 must be removed before the bottle' 8 contents can be accessed, or it may be hollow.

In Fig. A, view A corresponds to A-A without cap 40. It is apparent that mould seam 60 passes directly through the centre of puncture site 30, impeding piercing member 50.

View B of Fig. 1 corresponds to A of Fig. A, but it can be seen that mould seam 60, whilst being substantially in the same plane, bypasses site 30 along line 70.

Thus, interference with puncturing is avoided and improved dispensing is achieved. Also, as is illustrated, the detour line 70 need not necessarily be co-planar or adjacent to the puncture site, but is generally positioned according to the manufacturer' 5 convenience, the only operating parameter being to avoid the actual piercing point.

Claims

1. A blow-fill-seal bottle having a site intended for puncture to allow dispensing of the contents of the bottle, the site being located in the general line of a mould seam, said mould seam being diverted around said site.

2. A blow-fill-seal bottle having a puncture site located substantially in the plane of a mould seam but generally normal thereto, the mould seam being formed out-of-plane at the puncture site.

3. A bottle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the puncture site is adapted for puncturing by a duct member operatively located within a cap member.

4. A bottle according to any preceding claim, wherein the puncture site is located on a head of the bottle.

5. A bottle according to claim 4, wherein the head is adapted to cooperate with a cap member comprising a puncture means for the puncture site.

6. A bottle according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the cap and head comprise mateable screw threads.

7. A bottle according to any preceding claim, wherein the puncture site is protected by a cap-before use.

8. A bottle according to claim 7, wherein the cap further comprises puncture means and a safeguard to prevent unintentional puncturing.

9. A bottle according to any preceding claim, wherein the puncture site is axially located.

10. A bottle according to any preceding claim, wherein the puncture site is defined by an indent.

11. A bottle according to any preceding claim, wherein the puncture means is a needle or cannula.

12. A blow-fill-seal bottle having a puncture site around which a mould seam is diverted, substantially as described hereinbefore, with particular reference to accompanying Figure 1.

13. A method for the manufacture of a blow-fill-seal bottle having a region adapted for puncturing substantially in the plane of the mould seam, comprising blowing, filling and sealing the bottle, the cooperating mould faces for forming the puncturable portion being adapted to divert the seam around the puncture site.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the parts of the mould adapted to form the puncture site are parts of the head mould.

15. A method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein a bottle according to any of claims 1 to 11 is formed.

16. A mould for use in accordance with any of claims 13 to 15.