JP2005219788A - Light shielding container for storing visible light-sensitive material - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a light shielding container visually and simply distinguishing a content in the light shielding container storing a visible light-sensitive material such as a visible light-curable adhesive. <P>SOLUTION: A container the whole or a part of which has a part exhibiting a different color tone depending on a difference in temperature by a resin, a coating material and a seal in which a reversible thermochromic coloring matter is kneaded, is used. A part brought into contact with the content and the other part being brought into no contact with the content generate a difference in temperature rising (or dropping) speeds caused by a difference in heat capacities of the content and an empty part in the container. For example, when the container which has been stored in a refrigerator is taken out and is left at room temperature, the part being brought into no contact with the content in the container becomes discolored the first, and the amount of the content is determined from the region of the discoloration. When, as the reversible thermochromic coloring matter, one whose discoloration temperature is in a refrigerator temperature or higher, and in body temperature or lower, is used, it becomes especially convenient. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a container for storing a material sensitive to visible light. More specifically, the present invention relates to a container that can easily determine the amount of a material that is sensitive to visible light and exists in a container that is difficult to directly check with the naked eye.

  Various materials that are sensitive to visible light are used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, dental materials, photoresist materials, and the like. For example, in a dental material, an adhesive or a filling restoration material that is polymerized and cured by irradiation with visible light is widely used.

  Such a material sensitive to visible light (hereinafter, visible light sensitive material) needs to be stored in a light-shielding container so as not to be exposed to light, and an opaque material is used for the container.

  Usually, in the case of a material that is used by being taken out from a container little by little, it is necessary to replenish with a new one when the remaining amount in the container is reduced to some extent. In particular, it is highly necessary to replenish dental materials used for dental treatment before their contents are completely lost. However, as mentioned above, visible light sensitive materials such as visible light curable adhesives are stored in opaque containers with a light shielding property, so the content (remaining amount) cannot be determined from the appearance. was there.

  When visible light sensitive materials are used in industrial applications, it is relatively easy to work in the dark, use a device that can measure light in the dark, or determine the content by weight including the container. It is.

  However, in a dental material, the main use place is in a dental clinic, and it is practically impossible to work in the dark place as described above or to employ a device that can measure light in the dark.

  In addition, the method of measuring the weight of each container to determine the internal volume is not only time-consuming, but it is also necessary to measure and record the weight of the container separately before filling the contents. In addition, it takes time and effort to calculate the content from the measured weight.

  Therefore, in the end, the method using the naked eye is the simplest for determining the content. For this reason, in order to distinguish the internal volume with the naked eye from the appearance, studies have been made to make only a very small part of the container transparent so that the internal volume can be seen, or to make the container slightly transparent. .

  However, in the method in which only a very small portion is made transparent so that the inner volume can be seen, or the container is made slightly transparent, the light shielding property tends to decrease as the visibility increases, and sufficient light shielding properties are obtained. And easy discrimination of the internal capacity were insufficient. Therefore, there is a demand for a visible light-sensitive substance container that has a reliable light-shielding property and can easily discriminate the content from the appearance.

  The present inventors have intensively studied to solve the above problems. In the course of the study, if there is any content in the container, the heat capacity of the content is usually greater than air (= void), and even if heat is applied to the entire container, the contents and the container It was noted that there was a difference in the manner of temperature rise between the part in contact with the contents and the other part of the container. Further investigations have been made, and it has been found that if the temperature difference can be visually recognized, the internal capacity can be easily determined, while a reliable light-shielding property can be obtained, and the present invention has been completed.

  That is, the present invention is a light-shielding container for storing a substance sensitive to visible light, provided with a portion exhibiting a different color tone depending on a temperature difference.

  As a container for storing the visible light sensitive material, by using a container having a part that exhibits a different color tone depending on a temperature difference in a part of the container, heat is given to the container (or heat is taken away), In the process of temperature increase (or decrease), a temperature difference is temporarily generated between a portion in contact with the contents of the container and another portion. Using the difference in color tone due to this temperature difference, the content can be determined at a glance. On the other hand, since it is not necessary to visually check the contents for grasping the internal volume, there is no problem even if the container has excellent light-shielding properties, and thus reliable light-shielding properties can be obtained during storage.

  The container of the present invention is a light-shielding container for storing a visible light sensitive material. The visible light sensitive material is particularly limited as long as the material (or a component contained in the material) undergoes a photochemical reaction or the like when exposed to light, thereby causing a change such as curing, discoloration, or alteration. It is not a thing. The effect of exposure to visible light is particularly great. On the other hand, the container of the present invention is made of a visible light curable dental material because it is difficult to easily grasp the content by a method other than the present invention. Suitable for storage. Specific examples include a visible light curable adhesive, a filling restorative material, a denture base material, and a denture base lining material. Among these, in order to obtain good curability, the sensitivity to visible light is often high, and when the container of the present invention is used for a visible light curable adhesive, the effect of the present invention is remarkably achieved. can get. In the present invention, being sensitive to visible light does not require that it is sensitive to light of any wavelength in the visible range (about 380 to 780 nm). It only needs to be in the visible range.

  The container of the present invention must be light-shielding. The light-shielding property may be at a level that does not cause the content to change such as curing during the required period when the container is stored in an indoor environment. It does not require that light is not transmitted. Generally, the transmittance of light having a sensitive wavelength in light having the intensity of about room illumination light may be substantially 0%. In other words, the container may be formed with a light-shielding property that does not allow the opposite side to be seen through under room lighting.

  Although the material which comprises such a container is not specifically limited, It has the softness | flexibility which deform | transforms only by pushing with a finger at the point which is easy to take out only the required quantity, without exposing the whole to visible light. It is preferably made of resin, specifically, polyethylene, polypropylene, vinyl chloride, PET, polycarbonate, urea resin, styrene, ABS acrylonitrile / budadiene / styrene resin, cellulose acetate resin, epoxy resin, polyamide resin, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate. , Polyurethane, vinyl acetate resin, polyvinyl alcohol (Poval), silicon-based resin (silicone), and the like. Moreover, the container formed with the same or different material, for example, formed in the multilayer may be sufficient. The method for imparting light-shielding properties to the containers made of these materials is not particularly limited, and may be in accordance with the methods used for known light-shielding containers. A typical example is a method of kneading a pigment or dye such as carbon black or titanium white into the resin.

  The container of the present invention is characterized in that a portion (hereinafter also referred to as a colored portion) that exhibits a different color tone depending on a difference in temperature is provided.

  As described above, when there is any content in the container, the heat capacity of the content is usually greater than air. Therefore, even if heat is applied to (or taken away from) the entire container, the temperature of the contents and the part of the container that is in contact with the contents and the other parts of the container are increased (or decreased). Due to the difference, the temperature of these parts temporarily becomes different in the process where the entire system becomes a uniform temperature.

  Therefore, the container is made of a material that exhibits a different color tone depending on the temperature difference, or the container is in contact with the contents of the container by providing a part made of such a material in a part of the container. The portion and the other portion of the container will have a different color tone. Since the difference in color tone can be determined with the naked eye, the internal volume can be easily determined from the appearance. At this time, even if the entire container is not a colored portion, the contents are present in the lower part of the container due to the influence of gravity, so the portion that is in contact with the contents and the portion that is not in contact with If necessary, the container can be placed vertically so that there is a colored portion at the boundary, or divided into a plurality of upper and lower parts so that it can be seen only when the content is more than a specific amount (or less). The location and shape of the colored portion may be set as appropriate in consideration of the placement and shape. A more specific configuration method in the case where the colored portion is provided in only a part of the container will be described later with reference to the drawings.

  In the container of the present invention, any method may be used for providing the colored portion in the container. Typically, a method of forming all or part of a container with a resin containing a compound having reversible thermochromic properties (hereinafter also simply referred to as a thermochromic dye), ordinary resin, glass or other materials For example, a coating material or a coating material containing a reversible thermochromic dye is applied to the outer layer of the light-shielding container, or a seal is attached.

  Such a reversible thermochromic dye is not particularly limited, as long as it has reversible thermochromism characteristics, the discoloration temperature, color, temperature range, etc. are not particularly limited, and inorganic type Various metal complexes are exemplified as the above-mentioned substances, while various substances such as condensed aromatic ring-substituted ethylene derivatives are known as organic substances. Such thermochromic dyes are not limited to a single compound, but also include those that exhibit thermochromic properties by a combination of a plurality of compounds, such as metamocolor.

  Specific examples of reversible thermochromic dyes include tetrahalogenocopper (II) complexes, tetrahalogenonickel (II) complexes, tetraiodomercury (II) complexes, C-substituted ethylenediamines nickel (II ) Complex, N, N-diethylethylenediamine complex, dinitrodiammine copper (II) complex, dichloronickel (II) complex, 1,4-diazacyclooctane complex, hexamethylenetetramine complex, ethylenediamine nickel (II) complex, etc. Examples of the condensed aromatic ring-substituted ethylene derivative include bianthrone, dixanthylene, xanthiridianthanthrone, and the like.

  Among these, when the container of the present invention is used for storage of visible light curable dental material, the discoloration temperature is between about 10 to 35 ° C. (higher than the temperature in a general refrigerator, The temperature is preferably lower than the body temperature. That is, in general, many visible light curable dental materials are also subject to thermal denaturation, and therefore many are refrigerated in a refrigerator when not in use. If the color change temperature of the reversible thermochromic dye is below room temperature and above the refrigeration temperature, remove the container from the refrigerator and place it under room temperature (about 18-28 ° C). The portion that is not in contact with the contents first has a higher temperature, and therefore the color changes faster than the portion that is in contact with the contents on the inside. Therefore, after taking out from the refrigerator, after a while, the colored portion includes a portion having the same color as that at the time of refrigeration and a portion having a different color tone. And since it becomes clear that the contents are inside the portion where the color has not changed, the content can be easily determined. Moreover, even when a thermochromic dye having a color change temperature higher than room temperature is used, if the color change temperature is lower than the body temperature, a state where the temperature is partially higher than the room temperature can be obtained by grasping with a hand. Is possible. Of course, the temperature change of the container may be promoted by other methods such as using cold water or hot water.

  Hereinafter, representative embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a cross section of a typical container for storing a visible light sensitive material. As shown in this figure, the visible light sensitive substance 3 is stored in a container composed of a container body 1 and a lid 2 made of a light-shielding material.

  When the container body 1 of this container is formed of a resin kneaded with a reversible thermochromic dye having a color change temperature of about 10 to 25 ° C., the appearance is as shown in FIG. As shown, the whole exhibits the color tone of the reversible thermochromic dye at the color change temperature or lower. When this is taken out from refrigerated storage and placed at room temperature (above the above discoloration temperature), it will eventually rise to room temperature including the contents (visible light sensitive material), as shown as c in FIG. The container body 1 as a whole exhibits a color tone that is shown above the discoloration temperature of the reversible thermochromic dye. During this temperature rise process, the portion containing the contents takes heat away from the container body for a while. Therefore, the temperature of the portion not in contact with the contents first rises, and as shown in FIG. 2b, a state of exhibiting a color tone different from that of the portion in contact with the contents elapses. Therefore, it can be seen at a glance that the contents are below the portion where the color tone has not changed.

  In this figure, the lid 2 uses the same color tone as the color tone of the reversible thermochromic dye kneaded in the container main body below the color change temperature. Any other color may be used. Further, the lid 2 may exhibit a different color tone due to a temperature change as necessary.

  When the visible light sensitive material is to be refrigerated, it can be easily discriminated by taking it out of the refrigerator as described above and leaving it at room temperature for a while. On the other hand, when the material is stored at about room temperature, it is formed from a resin kneaded with a reversible thermochromic dye having a color change temperature not lower than room temperature and not higher than about 35 ° C. You just have to put it in a hot water bath.

  At this time, depending on the discoloration temperature and heating temperature of the reversible thermochromic dye, the state of b in FIG. 2 as described above may not be confirmed, but may change to the state of c in FIG. Even in such a case, if it is left at room temperature for a while after that, the same discoloration occurs and the content can be determined. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, even when the room temperature state (d in FIG. 3) is changed to the state e in FIG. 3 by heating, the contents as shown in FIG. The amount of objects can be discriminated by the difference in color. Here, when the entire content including the visible light sensitive substance as the contents is heated to a temperature higher than the discoloration temperature of the reversible thermochromic dye, it returns to room temperature through the upper path of FIG. In the process, the part that is not in contact with the contents first becomes the original color tone (color tone below the discoloration temperature of the reversible thermochromic dye), and on the other hand, only the container surface has become a high temperature In FIG. 3, the portion in contact with the contents changes to the original color first by the downward path. In any of these cases, the state finally returns to the state of FIG. 3d, and the container exhibits a color tone when stored at room temperature.

  Moreover, in the above example, an example using a resin kneaded with a reversible thermochromic dye in the entire container body has been described, but as shown in a schematic cross-sectional view in FIG. Only the material constituting the outermost layer 4 may contain a reversible thermochromic dye. Adopting such a method is preferable because a material having better light shielding and airtightness can be used as the material for the inner layer 5. Similarly, part or all of the container body may be coated with a coating material containing a reversible thermochromic dye.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, a method in which a label 6 that exhibits temperature display property is attached to the container main body 1 by impregnating with a reversible thermochromic dye can be suitably employed.

  In addition, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a colored portion may be provided in only a small part of the container. For example, in FIG. 6, a long colored portion is provided in the vertical (vertical direction during storage) direction, so that the content can be determined even if the colored portion is small. FIG. 7 shows an example in which colored portions are separately provided at two upper and lower positions. If a certain amount of content that needs to be replenished with a new one is set in advance, and the colored portion provided on the lower side is provided slightly above the position where it will be, a sufficient amount of content If there is, the upper and lower colored parts change colors at different speeds as described above. On the other hand, if the content is smaller than the set value, the contents will not be affected, and the upper and lower colored parts will change color at the same speed. Can be replenished (for ordering).

  In each of the above drawings, the illustrated container has a bottle shape, but other shapes may be used if necessary. The same applies to the size of the container and the seal.

The cross-sectional schematic diagram of the container which put the visible light sensitive material. The 1st example (for refrigeration preservation) of the process of the appearance color change of the container of the present invention. The 2nd example (for room temperature preservation | save) of the process of the external color change of the container of this invention. The cross-sectional schematic diagram of the example which formed the container main body in two layers. The schematic diagram at the time of sticking a colored part as a label. An example of an embodiment of a container of the present invention. An example of an embodiment of a container of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1: Container body 2: Lid 3: Visible light sensitive material 4: Outer layer kneaded with thermochromic dye 5: Inner layer excellent in light shielding property 6: Thermosensitive label

Claims (1)

A light-shielding container for storing a material sensitive to visible light, provided with a portion exhibiting a different color tone depending on a difference in temperature.

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