GB2248442A

GB2248442A - Closure for a receptacle

Info

Publication number: GB2248442A
Application number: GB9021538A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jean Tournaire
Original assignee: Tournaire SA
Current assignee: Tournaire SA
Priority date: 1989-04-28
Filing date: 1990-10-03
Publication date: 1992-04-08
Also published as: FR2646404B1; IT1231176B; DE4033965A1; FR2646404A1; DE4033965B4; IT8921279A0; GB9021538D0

Abstract

A tight closure for a receptacle (1) comprises a pot-shaped flexible member (4) of which the side wall (5) corresponds in shape to the mouth (2) of the receptacle (1); an annular bushing (7) extending inside the member (4), along its side wall; two elements (8, 9) which can be accommodated in the member (4), on the two sides of its annular bushing (7), and of which the mutually facing edges (8a, 9a) correspond in shape to the sides of the said bushing (7); and means (10) for tightening the said elements (8, 9) towards each other from outside the receptacle (1). The closure is preferably for receptacles containing pharmaceutical products. <IMAGE>

Description

1 CLOSURE FOR A RECEPTACLE

The present invention relates to a tight closure for receptacles or containers, whatever their shape and contents. A particularly advantageous field of application is the stopping of receptacles containing liquid pulverous and granulated pharmaceutical products, such as antibiotics, which have to be kept sterile.

The closures at present known generally consist of a simple stopper made of a plastics or elastomer material of the so-called "pharmaceutical" quality which can be covered with a safety cap, this latter being in most cases made of aluminium, tightly fitted to the edges of the receptacle and provided with a tear-off tab.

In this case the tight sealing effect is obtained by the intrinsic elasticity of the plastics material of the stopper causing its lateral surface to fit tightly against the interior of the mouth of the receptacle. In many cases, however, it is found insufficient, the main purpose of the present invention being to provide a far tighter closure than the devices known hitherto.

According to the invention, this object and others which will emerge in due course, such as the provision of a closure easy to attach and remove, relatively inexpensive and capable of being re-used almost indefinitely, are achieved by means of a closure characterized by the fact that it comprises a flexible pot-shaped cap of which the side fits against at least part of the interior of the mouth of a receptacle, an annular bushing extending inside the cap along the side wall of the latter and on a level with the mouth of the receptacle; two cheeks which can be accommodated in the cap on each side of its annular bushing, their mutally facing edges corresponding in shape to the sides of this latter; and means by which, operating from the outside, the aforementioned two cheeks can be tightened towards each other to expand the bushing.

It will be clear that these cheeks form a kind of 2 vice open radially towards the outside of the cap and enclosing the twin sides of the annular bushing situated inside it. The action of tightening these jaws against each other thus causes the material of the bushing concerned to be thrust mainly outwards, firmly pressing the side wall of the cap against the inside of the mouth of the receptacle and thus producing the tightness desired.

If, in accordance with one advantageous version, the aforementioned annular bushing consists of a rib shaped onto the inside wall of the cap and is thus integral with the latter, the gripping action which forces the material outwards, as described in the foregoing remains exactly the same, as does also the result thereby obtained.

In this case, however, the material of the stopper must be sufficiently elastic to ensure that the annular bushing, then an integral part thereof will give passage to a cheek to be pulled by hand towards the base of the cap, the external diameter of the said cheek being by definition greater than the internal diameter of the annular bushing on the slanting side of which it must be possible for the said cheek to rest.

It should also be noted that the term "annular bushing" hitherto adopted refers in actual fact to a toric ring in the geometrical sense of the term, -the torus thereby formed having any desired generating surface, which may, for example, be circular. In one advantageous version of the present invention, however, this generating surface is a trapezium of which the minor base faces towards the inside of the cap.

The cheeks of the closure to which the invention relates may be tightened against each other, resulting in the compression of the annular bushing or rib specified in the foregoing, by any suitable means. These may with advantage comprise a lever actuated by a carr. or bolt which passes through the two cheeks, e.g. in their centre, and of which the head rests on the outer surface of one of the said cheeks 3 while its nut rests on the outer surface of the other.

The head or nut of this bolt is necessarily positioned between the lower cheek of the closure device and the base of its cap and is thus inaccessible from the outside.

It would be possible to place the _nut in this position, make it integral with the corresponding cheek and provide the head of the bolt with means enabling the screw of the bolt to be easily screwed into its nut from outside, which means may consist simply of a slit in the head of the screw and the use of a screw driver. Preference is nevertheless given to the opposite solution in whidh the head of the bolt is integral with the lower cheek and a nut is screwed from the outside onto the threaded shank of the bolt, which projects outwards.

The aforementioned nut may with advantage be surmounted by a knurled knob, leaving a certain amount of play, so that the knob can be removed, the operations of screwing up and unscrewing the nut thus being facilitated.

To make it easier for the clousre device covered by the invention to be placed in position and prevent it from falling into the receptacle, the bottom of the mouth of the latter is preferably provided with an internal shoulder, which may or may not be continuous.

In one advantageous version the side wall of the aforementioned cap may be made to the height required to enable it to project above the mouth of the receptacle when in position so that its projecting portion can be folded back the said mouth in order, for example, to over the outside oJL preserve a dust-free atmosphere on the outer periphery of the said mouth.

The closure according to the invention can be completed by a safety cap of the known type, which is firmly affixed to the mouth of the receptacle and which may comprise a tear-off tab.

The cap according to the invention may also include a 4 guard ring on the inner face of its side wall, above the aforementioned annular bushing, in order to prevent the lower cheek from exerting a pressure on the said annular bushing, thus jamming the device, when the closure is dismantled.

Finally, in order to facilitate the removal of the cap according to the invention, the said cap can likewise include a gripping tongue near the free end of its side wall.

The following description, without any limitative effect, will make it clear how the present invention can be carried out. It must therefore be studied by reference to the accompanying drawing, of which the single diagram shows an axial section through a closure in accordance with the invention, illustrated on the left-hand side of the drawing as seen when being placed in position and on the right-hand side of the drawing as seen after being so placed.

This closure serves to seal a receptacle of which only the upper part, marked 1 as a whole, is shown in the drawing, and it will be assumed that its mouth 2 is rotationally symmetrical about an axis X-X. It is nevertheless clear that the following details, subject to the obviously necessary modifications, could also apply to a receptacle or container with a mouth of a different shape.

Let us also assume that the axis X-X of the recipient is vertical, as shown in the drawing, so that expressions like "upper", "lower", "lateral" or horizontal" will have their exact meaning.

The closure according to the inventin is marked 3 as a whole and consists, in essence, of a flexible cap 4, made of a plastics material or of an elastomer of pharmaceutical quality, such as a butyl halide, and having the shape of a thin-walled pot with a flat base 4b. Its lateral surface 5 corresponds in shape to the interior of the mouth 2 practically free of clearance and extends above the said mouth by a neck 4a for reasons to be explained farther on. Its lower edge is interrupted at the bottom by an annular shoulder 6 provided at the base of the mouth 2 and directed towards the interior of this latter.

The cap 4 is provided on the inside of its lateral surface 5 with a wide annular rib 7 which extends in the vertical direction over almost the entire height of the mouth 2 and, when cut along a plane passing through the axis X-X, is substantially of the shape of a trapezium of which the minor base faces towards the interior of the cap 4.

Two horizontal disc-shaped tightening cheeks 8 and 9 symmetrically grip the slanting sides of the trapezoidal annular rib 7 between their edges, the upper edge 8a of the lower cheek 8 and the lower edge 9a of the upper cheek 9 corresponding in shape to the slanting lower and slanting upper side respectively of the said rib. In other words, the edges 8a and 9a of the cheeks 8 and 9 form a vice with slanting jaws which is open towards the lateral surface of the cap 4.

A screw threaded shank of a bolt 10 passes through the cheeks 8 and 9 from top to bottom along the axis X-X, transversing a central hole in each of them, and the bolt includes a head 11 which is made integral, e.g. by welding, with the outer surface of the lower cheek 8, and a nut 12 which can be screwed over the upper cheek 9.

The nut 12 can be surmounted by a knurled knob 13 of comparatively ampale diameter. This know 13 enables the nut 12 to be tightened up and released more easily, besides which, being detachable, it need not permanently accompany the receptacle 1 when the latter is closed, thus reducing the weight of the device and also the number of knurled knobs having to be provided. The assembly formed by the nut 12 and the knurled knob 13 could nevertheless equally well form one single piece. Conversely, the knob 13 could be eliminated and replaced by a simple spanner or wing-nut.

This closure operates as follows:

The lower cheek 8, fitted with the bolt 10, is first of all placed in the cap 4, between its base 4 and the annular rib 7, its slanting edge 8a facing the lower slanting 6 side of the said rib, as stated farther back. Although the external diameter of the cheek 8 is greater than the internal diameter of the rib 7, since otherwide the edge 8a of the cheek 8 could not rest on the rib 7, this operation is nevertheless rendered possible thanks to the elasticity of the material of the cap 4 to which the rib 7 belongs. While the cheek 8 is thus being positioned in the cap 4 the head 11 slightly deforms the base 4 of this latter as a result of the elasticity and as shown in the drawing.

The cheek 9 is then placed by its lower slanting edge 9a onto the upper slanting side of the annular rib 7, the bolt 10 passing through its central hole, after-which the cap, thus equipped, is inserted in the mouth 2 of the receptacle until it encounters the shoulder 6.

It is then suf f icient to screw up the nut 12, e.g. by means of the knurled knob 13, in order to tighten the two cheeks 8 and 9 together, the bolt being fixed, since its head tegral with the lower cheek 8, this latter being in its is int turn secured by friction in the cap 4.

The cheeks 8 and 9 compress the annular rib 7 vertically between their edges 8a and 9a and by reason of the slant in the jaws forming these latter exert a radially - on the material of the rib 7, which forces the outward thrust latera'L surface 5 of the cap 4 towards the mouth 2 of the receptacle 1, thus ensuring an excellent degree of hermeticity in this position. In tests performed with an external or internal vacuum, therefore, a closure of this kind is found to stand up to a pressure difference of -above 1000 millibar, the normal value obtained with conventional elastomer stoppers being of the order of 400 millibar.

To complete the closure the upper part 4a of the cap 4, which projects above the receptacle 1 can be rolled over onto the outside of the mouth 2, as shown at 4a' in the drawing. This operation makes it possible, in particular, to preserve a dust-free atmosphere on the external periphery of the mouth 2 of the receptacle 1.

1 1 7 A safety cap 14 can also be firmly fitted over the mouth 2 having the closure described above. This safety cap is made, for example, of aluminium, and its upper part can be equipped with a tear-off tab which, once removed, gives access to the nut 12.

When this nut 12 is unscrewed this nullifies the axial pressure exerted by the annular rib 7 of the cap 4 on the inner wall of the mouth 2 of the receptacle 1, thus making it easy to remove the cap 4 with the cheeks 8 and 9.

During the removal, however, the inclined portion 8a of the lower cheek 8 might exert a pressure on the lower side of the annular bushing 7 and cause the side wall of the cap to come to rest against the interior of the mouth 2 of the receptacle. In order to prevent this the cap 4 is advantageously fitted with an internal guard ring 15 forming one piece with it and positioned immediately above the annular bushing 7. It is to this guard ring 15 that the vertical traction is transferred during the removal of the cap 4.

In order to simplify this operation of removing the cap a gripping tongue 16 is provided on the upper edge of the cap 4 and is directed towards the interior before the upper part 4a of the latter has been bent over onto the outside of the mouth 2 of the receptacle 1, as may be seen in the left hand portion of the drawing. Needless to say, it moves to the outside of the closure device after the operation consisting of bending over the upper part 4a onto the exterior of the mouth 2, as may be seen in the right-hand portion of the drawing.

In the example illustrated the trapezoidal annular rib 7 forms an integral part of the cap 4, the two being manufactured in one single piece. It could nevertheless take the form of independent toric joint, the side wall 5 of the cap 4 then being a smooth cylindrical surface. In other respects the mechanism of the closure would remain exactly the same as that described in the foregoing.

8 As has already been indicated, the shape of the cross section of the rib 7 could differ from the trapezoidal shape described and illustrated. Furthermore, the annular shoulder 6 provided inside the mouth 2 of the receptacle 1 could be replaced by a multiplicity of non-continuous stops.

i 9

Claims

1. A tight closure for a receptacle, comprising a flexible pot-shaped cap having a side shaped and dimensioned to fit against at least part of the interior of the mouth of a receptacle, an annular bushing extending inside the cap along the side wall of the latter to be on a level with the mouth of the receptacle, the cross section of the annular bushing having the shape of a trapezium of which the minor base faces towards the interior of the cap; two cheeks which can be accommodated in the cap on opposite sides of the annular bushing, their mutually facing edges substantially corresponding in shape, on their peripheries, to the sides of the bushing; and means by which, operating from outside the receptacle, the said two cheeks can be tightened towards each other.

2. A closure in accordance with Claim 1, in which the annular bushing is made in one piece with the cap in the form of a rib provided on its internal wall.

3. A closure in accordance with Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the means for tightening the cheeks towards each other from outside the receptacle comprise at least one lever acutated by a cam.

4. A closure in accordance with Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the means for tightening the cheeks towards each other from outside the receptacle comprise at least one bolt and nut.

5. A closure in accordance with Claim 4, in which the means for tightening the said cheeks towards each other from outside the receptacle comprise a central bolt which passes through the said cheeks and of which the head is integral with the outer surface of the lower cheek while its nut is screwed from the outside onto the threaded shank of the bolt, which extends towards the outside.

6. A closure in accordance with Claim 5 in which the nut is surmounted, with a slight clearance by a knurled knob.

7. A closure in accordance with Claim 5, in which the nut is integral with a knurled knob.

8. A closure in accordance with any one of Claims 1 to 7 fitted to a receptacle and in which the receptacle is provided at the base of its mouth with at least one internal shoulder.

9. A closure in accordance with any one of Claims 1 to 8 fitted to a receptacle and in which the height of the side wall of the said cap is such that it extends above the mouth of the said receptacle when the said cap is in position and that it can be folded over onto the outside of the said mouth.

10. A closure in accordance with any one of Claims 1 to 9, fitted to a receptacle and including a safety cap tightly fitted onto the mouth of the receptacle over the cap and comprising a tear-off tab.

11. A closure in accordance with any one of Claims 1 to 10, in which by the cap includes a guard ring on the internal face of its side wall, between the said annular bushing and its free end.

12. A closure in accordance with any one of Claims 1 to 11 in which the cap is equipped with a gripping tongue in the vicinity of the free end of its side wall.

13. A closure for a receptacle substantially as described herein with reference to or as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.