US2349962A - Container - Google Patents

Description

May 30, 1944. w. s. HARRIS CONTAINER Filed Jan. 14, 1943 NNNNNNN WM ja wni'ar may 517m, Hwrris QMM SEMQBMLM Patented May 30, 1944 CONTAINER Walter Sim Harris, Wilmslow, England, assignor of one-half to E. Grifliths Hughes Limited, Adelphl, Salford, Lancashire, England Application January 14, 1943, Serial No. 472,394

In Great Britain February 12, 1942 1 Claim.

This invention elates to containers for liquids, semi-liquids and so forth, including containers for sterile liquids, creams, and so forth intended for use in medical or first aid, antiseptic and the like treatment.

A container for liquids, semi-liquids and so forth in accordance with my invention is composed of an elastic material such as rubber, and has at the front end an integral extension of reduced external size provided with a blind passage communicating with the interior of the'container, the rear end of the container being sealed, for example by collapsing it together at the rear end and amalgamating the collapsed parts by the aid of heat, after the container has been filled from the rear end, and the said extension being adapted to be readily cut through crosswise to expose the passage for emptying the container through the said passage.

The container is preferably composed of an elastic material which does not change on subjecticn to a normal sterilizing temperature, such as latex rubber, the wall of the body of the container being of sufficient thickness to resistmaterial stretching by the contents whilst being readily yieldahle elastically to finger pressure employed to extrude the contents of the container through the passage after exposure, and the thickness of the extension being such that the wall surrounding the passage resists closure of the passage by slight accidental nipping or bending pressure and the remaining part of the extension resists slight accidental bending pressure.

The extension is preferably elongated so that after a portion has .been severed therefrom to expose the passage, there still remains a considerable portion to act as a nozzle adapted to direct the contents as it is squeezed from the container.

Externally the extension may be of uniform size along its length, or it may vary in size along the said length.

If desired the extension may have an enlarged end.

The passage in the extension may be of uniform cross-section for the major portion of its length. It may have a trumpet-shaped orifice where it communicates with the interior of the container.

The material may be transparent, translucent,

The passage is preferably provided in a part composed of a preformed tube surrounded by a mass of elastic material incorporated in and forming an integral part of the extension.

Preferably a part of the extension projects rearwardly into the container where the blind passage communicates with the interior of the container.

A container for liquids, semi-liquids and so forth in accordance with my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing,

Figure '1 is a side view in section of a container before it has been filled and closed.

Figure 2 is a side view in section of the said container after it has been filled and closed.

Figure 8 is a plan view of the said container after filling and closure.

Figure a is a sideview in section and Figure 5 a fragmentary side view in section illustrating another construction, Figure 4 illustrating a preformed part before incorporation in the production of the container illustrated in Figure 5.

Referring to the drawing, in the construction shown in Figures 1 to 3, as applied by wa of example to a, container for a sterile liquid solution for washing out eyes or irrigating wounds, or for an antiseptic liquid, lotion or cream, or for an anaesthetic, or the like, I produce from rubber latex by means of a suitable core and a dipping process a one-piece container comprising a hollow cylindrical part i which is open at the rear end and terminates at the front end in an externally cylindrical projection 2 of substantially less external diameter than the hollow cylindrical part i and of considerable length and connected to thehollow cylindrical part i by a. domelike end 3 on the said hollow cylindrical part. The projection 2 has a longitudinal, cylindrical, blind hole ii the orifice of which is trumpetshaped and is situated in the said dome-like end and-therefore communicates with the interior of the hollow cylindrical part i The hole 4 is preferably of capillary diameter and extends nearly to the front end of the projection 2, the last named end being advantageously Of rounded form.

After filling of the container by disposing it with the open, rear end of the hollow cylindrical part I uppermost and introducing the liquid or the like through the said open end, the open end is squeezed together from opposite sides until it is closed as shown in Figures 2 and 3, and the end is secured and sealed in its closed state by amalgamating together the abutting surfaces 5 and 6 by the aid of heat. After filling, closure and sealing, the container is placed in a sterilizer and kept there for the requisite length of time. When the sterilizing operation is complete, the container hermetically contains the liquid or the like in a completely sterile condition, ready for immediate use.

To use the liquid or the like, the projection 2 i severed cross-wise, by means of scissors or the like, preferably at some distance from its root for example at a place corresponding with the dot-:and-dash line I of Figure 2. The piece severed therefrom and therefore falling away contains a part of the hole 4 and therefore leaves the other part of the hole 4 open at the end of the remaining part of the projection 2. By

squeezing the hollow cylindrical part I, which due to the elasticity and high degree of flexibility of the rubber can be done sensitively and with little effort, the contents are extruded through the said other part of the hole 4 in drops or in a slow or fast stream as desired, it being possible to produce these various forms of flows by variation of the squeezing pressure. If the diameter of the hole 4 is suificiently small, the contents of the container can be projected in a very fine jet with considerable force and thereby be made to act to douche a wound, eye and so forth. The projection 2 acts as a nozzle which accurately directs the stream or jet of liquid.

The thickness of the 'Wall of the hollow cylindrical part I is maintained relatively thin so as not to require much effort to squeeze the said part empty, but not so thin as to cause the weight of the contents of the said part to make the said part stretch or bulge or be deformed. The external diameter of the projection 2 relative to the diameter of the hole 4 forming a passage therein is so chosen that the wall surrounding the passage is relatively thick and therefore prevents the passage from being collapsed by light pressure on 01' bending of the projection.

The said projection 2, although relatively still, is sufliciently soft and yielding to prevent it from injuring the eye or other part of the body with which it may come into contact.

Du to the elastic nature of the material of which the container is composed, there may'arise, in the case of holes of capillary diameter, the danger that, the end of the hole nearest the cylindrical part may become blocked or shrink on withdrawal of the former and, as such a blockage would be diflicult to discover until the projection had been severed and it was desired to remove the contents, it might have serious consequences.

To avoid all possibility of the existence of a blockage in the passage of the container when made, I prefer to build up the container into an integral whole as follows:

First I produce an 'india rubber tube 8, Figure 4, having an internal diameter of the necessary capillary dimension. The tube may be produced by dipping a mandrel or in any other suitable way. It can be readily inspected after production in order to make sure that no blockage exists therein. The tube whilst on a mandrel is then dipped to produce around it and at its end a mass 9. Figure 5 of rubber, whereupon the tube 8 and mass 9 can, if desired, be removed from the mandrel for another inspection, in order to ensure that the orifice of the hole in the tube has remained unblocked. The tube 8 and mass 9, whilst on a mandrel of suitable form can then be dipped to produce the cylindrical portion I 0 and dome-like portion II, the latter being extended along the peripheral surface and over the front end of the mass 9 to form a skin I 2 over them. It will be noted that the tube 8 and mass 9 project rearwards slightly into the domelike portion ll, whereby the possibility of rubber arriving in close proximity to the orifice of the hole during the production of the cylindrical portion, dome-like portion and skin I 2 and therefore being liable to block the said orifice is re duced if not entirely eliminated.

In the production of the container, the materials of the tube 8, mass 9 and skin l2 become so fully amalgamated, fused or united together that the extension of reduced diameter is integra1 with the body of the container in the completely made container.

I claim:

A container for liquids, semi-liquids and so forth, comprising in combination, a hollow, containing body, an integral neck-dike extension on the containing body, an integral permanently closed end on the said extension, a soft elastic, readily cutable mass of material integral with and situated inside the said extension, one end of the said mass being imperforate and situated in the said closed end of the said extension and the other end of the said mass projecting into the containing body, and a soft elastic, readily cutable, open ended capillary tube integral with and situated in the said mass, one end of the said tube being situated in the imperforate end of the said mass and the other end of the said tube projecting together with the other end of the said mass into the container body.

WALTER. SIM HARRIS.

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