SK282896B6 - Container for storing tablets - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a container for pills comprising a container part (1) and a lid (8, 9) where closure is effected by screwing on the lid (8, 9). To facilitate screwing the lid off and on for persons with reduced fine motor function, according to the invention the threads (3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12) are designed with a small angle of wrap corresponding to 270° +/- 45°, and to ensure sealing despite the short thread length, the outer edge (27) of the container part (1) is arranged to be in contact with the lid (8, 9) along three circular sealing lines (A, B, C).

Description

Technical field

The present invention relates to a tablet storage case of the type described in the preamble of claim 1.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Such capsules or containers are well known and have long been used to store pills or tablets, especially pills for medical purposes. In many cases, persons taking a drug have reduced mobility, particularly a fine motor function, as a result of illness or old age, and it is therefore desirable to be able to open or close such capsules without unnecessarily complicated rotational manipulations. Thus, the circumference of the screw threads on the lid and the cartridge parts must be as short as possible. At the same time, it is important that the cap sufficiently seals the housing to protect its contents from the ambient air. This sealing function is mainly achieved by co-operating threads and in order to achieve a satisfactory seal, it is important that the circumference (sheath) of the threads is as large as possible, often requiring a sheath or sheath of several turns. This requirement contradicts the need stated in the introduction that the housing should be capable of opening with as little rotation angle as possible. Conventional closures either contain a compromise between the two requirements or aim to satisfy only one of them and ignore the other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the present invention is to solve this problem and to provide a housing that is both easy to open and satisfy the requirement of good sealing.

This has been achieved according to the present invention by a housing of the type described in the preamble of claim 1 and having special properties as defined in the characterizing portion of the claim.

Thanks to the main sealing function, which is located on the outer edge of the cartridge part in cooperation with the surfaces at the bottom of the lid, and the contact between them is along the three circular sealing lines, a perfectly satisfactory sealing function is achieved without having to consider the sealing effect of the threads into each other. Since the sealing aspect for the threads in the sleeve of the present invention may be completely neglected, the threads may have a minimum length corresponding to such a length as is necessary to adequately ensure that the cap does not remain on the cartridge portion and cannot accidentally be unscrewed. It would thus be possible to produce them with an extension of about 270 ° or less.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bottom or bottom of the lid is provided with a circular groove for receiving the cartridge part, the sealing members being disposed adjacent the groove. It is advantageous to make one of the side walls of the plate cylindrical and the other conical and to provide a corresponding ridge at the bottom of the groove. Effective sealing elements are thus achieved in a simple manner.

According to another preferred embodiment, the housing is provided with a plurality of threads, preferably three in each part, which further simplifies handling, especially when screwing onto the cap.

In particular, the invention is intended for use with capsules made of plastics. This further enhances the sealing function because, due to the relatively high deformability of the material, the sealing members will be slightly elongated (stretched) in the transverse direction and thus practically form the sealing surfaces in a ribbon shape.

The invention is particularly suitable for use in safety caps where an axial force is required to push the cap against the cartridge portion to allow the cap to be unscrewed.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the lid is provided with an easy to apply strip or ring providing an indication of whether the cartridge is open or not.

Said and other preferred embodiments of the invention are defined in the accompanying claims.

Translation of drawings

The invention will be explained in more detail in the following description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section through a cartridge part according to the invention, FIG. 2 is a treasure for the cartridge portion of FIG. 1 in a top view, FIG. Fig. 3 shows a partial longitudinal section of the housing cap according to the invention in a first position; 4 shows a corresponding section through the lid of FIG. 3 in a second position, FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the cap in a section equivalent to that shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 6 is a view of the cap (s) of FIG. 6 seen from above, FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial cross-section of FIG. Third

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The cartridge portion 1 of FIG. 1 is a tablet container and is made of HD polytene. It has an upper cylindrical portion equipped with three turns 3, 4, 5, each with a winding angle of 270 ° and an inclination of approximately 1: 10. In the shown embodiment, the lower housing part in which the tablets are stored is also cylindrical but could be any shape. Between the cylindrical portion 2 provided with the threads 3, 4, 5 and the lower part of the cartridge 1 is a cylindrical cervical (sealing) portion 6, which is provided with four protrusions or bosses 7. 2 and their function will be described later.

Fig. 3 shows the lid 8, 9 of the cartridge part 1 shown in FIG. 1 and 2. The lid consists of an inner part 8 and an outer part 9 and is made of polypropylene. The inner part 8 is provided with three windings 10, 11, 12 on its cylindrical part, each having a winding and pitch angle corresponding to the threads on the cartridge part 1 so that they can be screwed into each other. The lid is of a safety type and is designed so that its parts 8, 9 have to be pressed together axially so that the inner part 8 accompanies the outer part 9 when it is open in the opening direction. Fig. 3 shows the cap in this depressed position.

If the portions of the cap 8, 9 are not compressed, they assume the position shown in FIG. 4. In this position, the outer part will only rotate the inner part 8 in the closing direction, while the outer part 9 will rotate freely around the inner part if it is rotated in the opening direction. The link members 13 and 14 on these two portions only allow rotation to open when the lid portions are depressed.

The side of the inner part 8 facing the cartridge part is provided with a strip or ring 15 secured by a row of lips 17. These tongues are thin and can be broken by a relatively small force. On the inner side of the ring are provided four projections or bosses 16. If the cap 8, 9 is screwed onto the cartridge part 1, the ring is positioned around the tapered part 6 on the cartridge part 1. The projections on the ring 15 and the projections 7 on the tapered part so that they are hooked into each other when the cap rotates in the opening direction. If the rotation continues beyond this position where the ring or ring 15 is held by the cooperating projections 7 and 16, the tongues break off so that the ring 15 is separated from the inner part 8 of the cap and assumes a position resting around the tapered part 6 of the cartridge part. This tearing of the ring 15 from the inner part 8 occurs for the first time when the cap 8, 9 is removed from the cartridge part. Thus, the fact that the ring is detached from the cap functions as a function indicating that the cap has been opened.

As can be seen in FIG. 4 and 5, the cylindrical outer surface of the outer portion 9 is wave-shaped with peaks 18 and seats 19 in the circumferential direction to facilitate rotation.

In the embodiment of FIG. 6 and 7, the lid outer part 9 is provided on its upper side with clamping means 20 which, for some people, provides an alternative for facilitating rotation. The clamping device 20jc in the form of a ring standing out of the lid and having completely opposite slits 21. The lid can be opened by means of it by pressing the sleeve against the edge of the plate-like object, e.g. against the table edge. When the edge of the table is inserted into the slots 21, the housing is easily opened by rotating the cartridge part 1, while this edge of the table prevents rotation of the lid.

As seen in FIG. 3, the inner lid part 8 is provided with an annular holder at the bottom to which a container 22 with desiccant material 23 can be applied.

The lid inner part 8 is also provided with an annular flange 25 and an annular groove 26. When the lid 8, 9 is screwed onto the cartridge part 1, the inner edge 27 of the cylindrical portion 2 of the cartridge part extends into the annular groove 26 and from there sealing against adjacent surfaces.

Figure 7, which is an enlarged sectional view of the portion around the flange 25 and groove 26, shows how the outer edge 27 of the cartridge portion cooperates in sealing with the inner cap

8th

The annular groove 26 is limited in a radial direction on its inner side by the outer cylindrical surface of the flange 25 and on its outer side by a conical surface 29 whose half apex angle is approximately 25 °. The groove bottom 30 is substantially flat and is provided with a substantially centrally annular ridge 31 having a triangular cross-section. The groove depth is approximately 5 mm and its width is approximately the same. The ring is approximately 0.3 mm high and the apex angle is approximately 60 °.

If the cap 8 is fully screwed onto the cylindrical part 2 of the cartridge part, the active sealing takes place along three active sealing lines (links) A, B, C extending annularly between the cap of the part 8 and the outer edge 27 of the cylindrical part 2. is not stopped by the contact between these articles. The groove is dimensioned so that the contact extends substantially simultaneously along the links A and B. The contact force at the link A provides an effective seal against the corresponding corner of the edge 27, which is so slightly deformed. Due to the conical shape of the surface 27, the contact force on A acquires a radial component that presses the outer end of the annular portion 2 inwards to abut the inner surface 28 of the flange 25 so that an effective sealing member with appropriate contact force is formed in area C. 27 will be pressed against the ridge 31 and its tip will be slightly deformed, while an effective sealing member is also obtained in the region B.

Thanks to these three contact elements A, B, C, where the respective contact runs under pressure along all three, an effective seal is obtained which eliminates the need for the screw threads to have any sealing function. The figure also shows a fourth sealing member D between a conical surface 29 and a corner of a portion of the cylindrical portion 2 having a slightly smaller diameter than at its outer edge. However, the seal along this section D is less effective and seems passive, since the actual contact force in the axial direction acts along the sections A and B, preventing this further penetration of the cylindrical part 2 into the groove 26. Any contact extending along the section D must therefore quite light.

The described embodiments are intended to be exemplary only and are not intended to be limiting. The invention may be modified in various ways and is limited only by the object or purpose defined in the main claim. In particular, it should be emphasized that it is not limited to use with a safety-type cap, but can also be used for simple screw-on caps.

Claims (12)

PATENT CLAIMS A capsule for storing pills or tablets comprising a container part (1) with an opening and a lid (8, 9) therefor, said opening being surrounded by a cylindrical part (2) of the container part (1), said part (2) being provided externally with at least one screw thread (3, 4, 5) and said cap (8, 9) has a cylindrical portion provided internally with at least one thread (10, 11, 12) arranged to cooperate with the threads (3, 4, 5) which are on the cylindrical part (2) of said container part (1) so as to allow the cap (8, 9) to be screwed and unscrewed from the container part (1), said cap (8, 9) having an inner bottom with a circular groove (26) into which the outer part of the cylindrical part (2) of the cartridge part (1) is inserted axially when the cap (8, 9) is fully screwed in to seal in contact with the cap (8, 9) along at least three circular sealing lines or Art (A, B, C), characterized in that said sealing members (A, B, C) are located next to said groove (26) and by said groove (26) being a substantially flat bottom (30), one conical side wall (29) and one cylindrical side wall (28), said bottom being provided with a ridge (31). Case according to claim 1, characterized in that said ridge (31) has a triangular cross-section, with one apex facing the container part (1). Housing according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the three sealing members or lines (A, B, C) are arranged such that the first member (A) extends along said conical side wall (29), a second (B) along a portion of said ridge (31) facing the container portion and a third along said cylindrical wall (28). Housing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said overlap angle is 270 ° ± 30 °. The housing of claim 4, wherein said overlap angle is approximately 270 °. Housing according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said cylindrical part (2) of the cartridge part (1) and said cylindrical part of the lid (8, 9) are each provided with a plurality of threads (3, 4, 5; 10, 11, 12). The housing of claim 6, wherein the number of turns on each cylindrical portion is three. Case according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the material in the container part (1) and / or the lid (8, 9) is a plastic. Housing according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the cylindrical part of the cap (8, 9) is provided with uneven parts (18, 19). Case according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the cap (8, 9) comprises an outer part (9) and an inner part (8), the threads (10, 11, 12) being provided on the interior of the cylindrical part. said inner part (8), and the lid part (8, 9) are connected to each other that when the inner part (9) is rotated in a direction corresponding to the unscrewing of the lid (8, 9), then the force that axially compresses the lid part 9), it is necessary to allow the inner part (8) to rotate, while the lack of such force causes the lid parts (8, 9) to rotate freely relative to each other in said direction. Case according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the cap (8, 9) comprises a ring (15) disposed at the end of the cap (8, 9) facing the container part, said ring (15) being mounted on the cap (8, 9) so easily that the relatively slight separating force between the cap (8, 9) and the ring (15) will result in their separation from each other. Case according to claim 1, characterized in that said ring (15) is internally provided with protrusions (16) arranged to cooperate with protrusions (7) on the outside of the cartridge part (1), wherein the engagement of said cooperating protrusions (7, 16) defines the relative rotation angle between the ring (15) and the cartridge portion (1).