IL23027A - Pressurized dispenser - Google Patents

Description

COHEN ZEDBK & SPISBAC REGD. PATENT ATTORNEYS 24, Levontin Str., P.O.BOX 1169, TEL AVIV ORDINANCE 12963/65 SPECIFICATION PRESSURIZED DISPENSER SHLOMO COHEN ZEDE , an Israeli citizen, of 24, Levontin Street, Tel Aviv, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by SCHERICO LTD., a Swiss Company, of 56, Winkelriedstrasse, Luzern, Switzerland, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement : - - - 1965-FEB-9 323-FTE-l FA-us This invention relates to a pressurized dispenser for viscous materials , especially adapted for (but not limited to) sterilized viscous materials such as sterilized creams, lotions, ointments, salves, and other medicaments having emollient, protective, soothing, healing and/or skin hydrating action, and for other such materials, like certain foods (e.g. creams), that must be packaged and remain sterile until use, and where the propellent must be kept separated from the product .

The term "viscous materials" as used herein refers to materials having a specific viscosity greater than 1.

Pressurized dispensers for viscous materials of the type in which the viscous material is squeezed from a collapsible inner casing by means of a gas or liquid propellent confined within an outer casing surrounding a collapsible inner casing are known. However, all known dispensers of this type are either unsuitable or unsatisfactory for the packaging and dispensing of sterilized viscous material as it is either impossible to completely sterilize known dispensers of this type, particularly the inner casing, due to its necessary flexible and collapsible properties, or in those dispensers where sterilizable and collapsible inner casings are employed, it is difficult if not impossible to even approach the complete evacuation of the collapsible inner casing. Further, previous packages have permitted diffusion of the propellent through the inner casing to contaminate the product .

More particularly, collapsible inner casings have been formed of laminated fabrics, plastic, rubber, and synthetic materials, in order to provide an easily deformable container for the viscous material to be dispensed. However, these materials have not proven satisfactory for the packaging of sterile 1965-PEB-9 323-PTE-2 FA-us ointments and other medicaments because these materials have not been able to withstand the necessary sterilizing temperature or treatment. Also these materials are subject to imperfections, perforations, pinholes, abrasions or characteristic diffusion and other defects and thus permeable to the gas or liquid propellent confined within the dispenser. This results in contamination of the viscous material within the collapsible casing as well as a loss of propellent and the inefficient evacuation of the inner casing In those instances, on the other hand, where the collapsible inner casing has been formed of material capable of withstanding the sterilization treatment and which maintain the material within the inner casing completely sterile and free of contamination by the propellent, it has been found impossible to completely dispense substantially all of the material within the collapsible casing. As a matter of fact, a large amount of the viscous material remains entrapped within the inner casing, resulting in excessive costs to the user. This is particularly true in the case of expensive viscous materials such as certain ointments, dressings, and other medicaments or cosmetics. Contamination of these products, and of others such as foods, lubricants or paints, with propellent is highly undesirable.

Although many designs and arrangements have been proposed in an attempt to provide a pressurized package and dispenser for sterile products, so far as known no pressurized dispenser is presently available that overcomes the noted objections. Furthermore, even those presently available pressurized dispensers that are reasonably satisfactory are of poor design and difficult to manufacture while at the same time maintaining an absolutely sterile and propellent-free packaged product. For instance, many pressurized dispensers employ a diptube which has been found inefficient 1965-FEB-9 323-FTE-3 FA-us in operation (diptube restricts position of operation of dispenser), as well as cumbersome in the packaging of this type of produc .

In other arrangements, although a sterilizable collapsible inner casing has been employed there is a tendency for the inner casing to collapse over the valve, entrapping a large percentage of the viscous material therein. To overcome this disadvantage it has been proposed to internally support the inner casing by means of a frame or gauze or the like.

However, these arrangements have likewise not proven satisfactory and introduce even further difficulties in maintaining the packaged product absolutely sterile as well as increase the cost of manufacture.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a pressurized dispenser for viscous materials such as certain foods, ointments, dressings, and the like, comprising a minimum of individually sterilizable elements that can be quickly easily and economically assembled to form a completely sterile package. Another object of this invention is to provide a pressurized dispenser of the gaseous- or liquid-propellent type, capable of dispensing or propelling 95 percent or more of viscous material from a collapsible inner casing. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a pressurized dispenser of the gaseous- or liquid-propellent type, comprising an outer casing and a collapsible inner casing, and including cooperating means formed on said outer and inner casings insuring the nearly complete dispensing of the packaged material. Still another object of this invention is to provide a package that is self-venting, preventing contamination by air which is normally encountered in a 1965-FEB-9 323-PTE- FA-us conventional package as quantities of the product are dispensed While the pressurized dispenser according to the invention is of particular importance for dispensing materials such as those set forth hereinabove, it is not limited to such use. Its use for dispensing other materials, and in particular cosmetics, adhesives, cleaners, lubricants, caulking compounds, paints and the like is also possible, and deemed to be within the inventive concept.

These and many other objects are obtained by our invention which in general comprises a flanged open-mouthed outer casing; and a flanged semi-rigid open-mouthed inner casing formed of a collapsible material impermeable for the material to be dispensed and for the propellent used, and concentrically mounted within said outer casing; the flange of said inner casing engaging, and of the same width as, the flange of said outer casing. The collapsible inner casing is filled with the material to be dispensed and provided with a rigid, preferably circular base, which may be concave, convex or flat and is of slightly smaller area than that of the base of the outer casing. Valve means, which may include an inner sealing gasket, are double-seamed over the flanges of the *For instance, it is impossible for one to withdraw a dose of parenteral drug from a parenteral vial without first injecting non-sterile air into the container. The package as described herein does not suffer from this drawback. 1965-FEB-9 323-FTE-5 FA-us outer and inner casings, forming a chamber between the inner and outer casings which is filled with a measured amount of a preferably liquefied or solidi ied propellent, such as a fluorinated hydrocarbon (e.g. Freon 12) or solid carbon dioxide (preferably in powdered or chipped form). As the flange of the inner casing is of the same width as that of the outer casing, it is seamed completely over the outer casing flange, assuring a positive seal by maintaining a large sealing surface area between the two respective flanges.

The propellent exerts a substantially constant and uniform pressure at any given temperature upon the base and the side walls of the inner casing, whereby the material to be dispensed is propelled or dispensed from the inner casing when the valve means are opened . As the said material is dispensed, the inner casing collapses causing its rigid base to rise within the outer casing. As the area of said rigid base is only slightly less than that of the base of the outer casing and remains constant, it has a tendency to engage the inner surface of the outer casing upon but slight sidewise movement, causing said rigid base to remain in a substantially parallel position relative to the base of the outer casing. This causes the said rigid base to act as a guide, preventing the collapsible inner casing from twisting and its base from tilting, thus preventing isolated formations of the material to be dispensed within the inner casing as the latter collapses, and assuring a substantially complete evacuation of said inner casing. Further, the semi-rigidity of the inner casing precludes the sealing-off of areas containing the material to be dispensed; that is, channels remain open for continued flow of said material. 1965-JAN-21 323-PTE-6 PA-us To enhance this cooperation between the rigid base of the inner casing and the outer casing, and thus to assure a complete discharge or dispensing of the material to be dispensed from the collapsible inner casing, the said rigid base may be provided with at least one projecting shoulder and the inner side-wall of the outer casing provided with at least one vertical recess or keyway for freely receiving said projecting shoulder.

These and many other advantages of our invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, when read in view of the accompanying drawings, wherein: Pig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the manner in which a collapsible inner casing is concentrically received within an outer casing, said inner and outer casings being sealingly closed by valve means double-seamed thereover; and Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 which includes a projecting shoulder on the inner casing and a vertical recess formed in the outer casing for freely receiving said projecting shoulder.

Referring now to the preferred embodiment of Fig. 1, this includes an open-mouthed cylindrical outer casing 11 having a convex base 11a and an annular flange 12 formed thereon, and semi-rigid collapsible open-mouthed cylindrical inner casing 13 having an annular flange 14 formed thereon, the inner casing 13 being shorter in length than the outer casing 11 and concentrically mounted within said outer casing 11. 1965-JAN-21 323-FTE-7 FA-us The diameter of the inner casing 13 is enlarged at its mouth or open end, to form a neck portion 15 that is substantially of the same outer diameter as the inner diameter of the outer casing 11, When inserted into the outer casing 11, the neck portion 15 of the inner casing 13 engages the outer casing, holding the inner casing 13 in place. The flanges 12 and 1 are of the respective width, so there is a substantially full overlap of said two flanges, providing a maximum sealing surface area where these flanges are seamed together.

The inner casing 13 is filled with a viscous material such as a sterilized ointment or dressing, and both the outer and inner casings 11 and 13 are sealed by a conventional can end valve assembly 16 (including a spout 17) double-seamed over the flanges 12 and 1 . The valve assembly 16 may be provided with a conventional twist-to-open-and-close type top l8 and the spout 17 with a suitable cap or cover 20.

An inner sealing gasket 19 may also be employed to assure a positive seal. A sealed chamber 21 formed between the outer and inner casings 11 and 13 is filled with a measured amount of liquefiable propellent such as Freon 12.

In practice, both the outer and inner casings 11 and 13 may be extruded or drawn blind end tubes, formed of any light gage metal having the necessary properties. Aluminium, lead and tin are particularly suitable materials, and amongst these, aluminium is especially preferred. Although the outer and inner casings 11 and 13 may be formed of a number of different materials in a variety of ways, we have found that extruded or drawn blind end aluminium tubes are preferred.

Particularly where drawn aluminium casings are employed, the outer casing 11 is preferably of a heavier gage so as to provide sufficient rigidity and wall strength to permit 1965-JAN-21 323-PTE-8 FA-us packaging and handling of the dispenser without undue deformation. Suitable labels, .trade names and other information may be applied directly to the outer casing.

The semi-rigid collapsible inner casing 1 may also be formed of extruded or drawn aluminium of a light gage such as 0.15 to 0. 0 mm and may be provided with a flat rigid circular base 22 of constant diameter. (The base 22 may also be concave or convex if desired.) The choice of materials for the semi-rigid collapsible inner casing 13 is critical as the inner casing must be impervious to gas or liquids, able to withstand sterilizing temperatures of 121°C. or more, and have substantially uniform wall strength permitting uniform collapse and contraction without twisting about its longitudinal axis. Drawn or extruded aluminium fulfills these requirements, although other materials, e.g. metals such as lead and tin, may also be employed.

As shown in Fig. 1, the inner casing 13 is slightly smaller in diameter and shorter in length than the outer casing 11. In an embodiment of our dispenser which is preferred in the practice, and although the physical dimensions of the dispenser are subject to variation as determined by the capacity of the dispenser desired, the outer casing 11 is of aluminium and about 111 mm long and has an about 3 «2 mm wide flange and an internal diameter of about 5^ mm« The inner casing 13 of said embodiment is also of aluminium and about 102 mm long wi h a 3 «2 mm wide flange and an initial external diameter of about 52 mm. It is important to note that in said embodiment the diameter of the rigid base 22 is also about mm and remains constant, and that the flanges 12 and 1 are of the same width, the importance of which will become apparent. 1965-FEB-9 323-FTE-9 FA-us Prior to assembly, the components of our dispenser may be individually sterilized and the sterilized inner casing 13 filled aseptically with the pre-sterilized viscous material to be dispensed. Before top loading the inner casing 13 in the outer casing 11 , a measured amount of propellent is placed in the outer casing 11 at a suitable temperature (e.g. 5 grams of Freon 12 at approximately -50°C). Upon loading the inner casing 1 in the outer casing 11 , the valve assembly 16 including the spout 17 (such as an Oil Equipment Laboratory 202 can end valve and an Oil Equipment Laboratory C-559 spout, both of which are commercially available and manufactured by Oil Equipment Laboratories, Inc., Elizabeth, New Jersey) is double-seamed over the flanges 12 and 14 to sealingly close the inner casing 13 and the propellent chamber 21 formed between the outer and inner casings 11 and 13 · The sealing gasket 19 may also be employed. In double-seaming the valve assembly 16 over the flanges 12 and 14, it is observed that the widths of the flanges 12 and 14 are equal, and because of the neck portion on which the flange 14 is formed there is a substantially complete overlap of the flanges 12 and 14, therefore assuring a maximum sealing surface area between the flanges when the flange 14 is crimped over the flange 12 by the valve assembly 16.

With this easily assembled pressurized dispenser we provide -when using the dimensions of the next to the preceding paragraph - an about 140 g. package of sterile ointment, dressing or other viscous material under approximately 5 atm. pressure at 21°C. Because of the properties of and the tolerances between the outer and inner casings 11 and 13, the inner casing 13 is subjected to a substantially uniform and constant pressure.

Of course, liquids, creams, grease, lotions, food products, frostings, cosmetics, and the like may be similarly packaged. 1965-JAN-21 323-FTE-10 FA-us In operation, it is merely necessary to actuate the valve assembly 16 with the dispenser in any position, so as to dispense the desired quantity of the packaged sterilized product from the spout . Upon opening the valve assembly 16, the viscous material within the inner casing 13 is dispensed through the spout 17 at a substantially constant flow rate. The neck 15 and the outer casing 11 cooperate to securely support the inner casing 1J>, and as the semi-rigid, collapsible inner casing 13 collapses it contracts along its longitudinal axis, the relatively closely fitting rigid circular base 22 remaining substantially parallel with the end of the outer casing 11. The uniform contraction of the securely supported inner casing 13 eliminates twisting thereof along and about its longitudinal axis, thus greatly reducing isolated formations of the viscous material within, and prevents the inner casing 13 from collapsing over the valve opening.

Tests performed with the aforedescribed dispenser show that 96.5 percent or more of the viscous material packaged within the inner casing 13 is uniformly dispensed. In the packaging of costly medicated ointments, dressings and other medicaments, this is an extremely important and essential requisite of all such dispensers.

A special embodiment of our invention for enhancing the uniform contraction and the elimination of twisting of the inner casing 13 along and about its longitudinal axis is shown in Fig. 2. In this arrangement the flat, circular rigid base 22 is provided with a flat, relatively narrow projecting shoulder 23 having its end curved substantially corresponding to the curvature of the side-wall of the outer casing 11. The projecting shoulder 23 which acts as a key, is freely received within a slight vertical recess or indentation 2 which forms a keyway within the side-wall of the outer 1965-JAN-21 323-FTE-ll FA-us casing 11, thus aiding to prevent any twisting of the inner casing 13 during its collapse and contraction as the viscous material is dispensed.

Although certain specific embodiments of our invention have been shown and described, it will, of course, be understood that various and other modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention and, therefore, the invention is not limited by that which is shown in the drawings and described in the specification.

Claims (8)

196 -FEB-9 HAVIHG 10W particularly described and 323-FTE-I2 ascertained the nature of ay said invention FA-us and in what Ba ner the same is to be perforeefi, I declare that what I claim i© :

1. A pressurized dispenser especially adapted for sterilized viscous materials , comprising an open-mouthed outer casing having a flange thereon; a semi-rigid collapsible open-mouthed inner casing filled with the material to be dispensed., mounted concentrically within said outer casing, and having a rigid base of slightly smaller area than that of the base of said outer casing, and an enlarged neck portion adjacent its open mouth, said enlarged neck portion being of substantially the same outer diameter as the inner diameter of said outer casing and frictionally engaging said outer casing and spacedly supporting said inner casing within said outer casing, said inner casing being of shorter length than said outer casing and having a flange surrounding its open mouth engaging said flange on said outer casing; valve means double-seamed over said flanges of said outer and inner casings sealingly closing said inner casing and forming a sealed chamber between said outer and inner casings; said chamber being filled with a measured amount of a preferably liquefied or solidified propellent, whereby a uniform gas pressure is e;:erted on the side-walls of said semi-rigid collapsible inner casing; said inner casing consisting of a material impermeable for the material to be dispensed and for the propellent, and withstanding the usual sterilizing conditions.

2. , A pressurized dispenser as defined in claim 1, wherein said inner and outer casings are cylindrically shaped, the flanges thereof are annular, and said rigid base of said inner casing is circular, having a slightly smaller diameter than said outer casing.

3. · A pressurized dispenser as defined in either of claims and 2, wherein said flanges on said outer and inner casings 1965-JAN-21 323-FTE-13 FA-us are of substantially the same width, said flange on said inner casing substantially completely overlapping said flange on said outer casing, thereby providing a maximum sealing surface area between said respective flanges when said valve means is double-seamed thereover.

4. . A pressurized dispenser as defined in any of claims 1 to 3J wherein said rigid base is provided with at least one key and said outer casing is provided with at least one keyway in the side-wall thereof, said key fitting in said keyway .

5. . A pressurized dispenser as defined in claim , wherein said key is a shoulder and said keyway is a longitudinal recess whereby said shoulder is freely received within said recess .

6. A pressurized dispenser as defined in any of claims 1 to >, wherein said gas pressure exerted on the side walls of said inner casing is a substantially constant pressure of about 5 atmospheres at 20°C .

7. . A pressurized dispenser as defined in any of claims 1 to 6, wherein said liquefied propellent is Freon 12 .

8. . A pressurized dispenser as defined in any of claims 1 to 6, wherein said solidified propellent is solid carbon dioxide. DATED THIS 21st day of Feb