Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D17/00—Rigid or semi-rigid containers specially constructed to be opened by cutting or piercing, or by tearing of frangible members or portions
  • B65D17/06—Integral, or permanently secured, end or side closures
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D51/00—Closures not otherwise provided for
  • B65D51/18—Arrangements of closures with protective outer cap-like covers or of two or more co-operating closures
  • B65D51/20—Caps, lids, or covers co-operating with an inner closure arranged to be opened by piercing, cutting, or tearing
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D2251/00—Details relating to container closures
  • B65D2251/0003—Two or more closures
  • B65D2251/0006—Upper closure
  • B65D2251/0015—Upper closure of the 41-type
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D2251/00—Details relating to container closures
  • B65D2251/0003—Two or more closures
  • B65D2251/0068—Lower closure
  • B65D2251/0071—Lower closure of the 17-type

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a device in a container of thermo ⁇ plastics material, where the container is intended for sterile stor ⁇ age of e.g. liquid,powder, paste or similar materials.
• the container includes a container body, a neck and an orifice portion enclosing an orifice aperture.
• the neck is disposed with a retention device for an interaction with a protective cap.
• the contain ⁇ er includes a closure device for closing the orifice aperture, whereby the closure device has a circumferential attachment sec ⁇ tion and a removable section delimited from the attachment section by means of a weakening zone.
• the need to maintain the sterility of the product during its storage in the container implies that the container after fill ⁇ ing and closure shall form a closed and sealed space, and that in those cases where the container is composed of several sec ⁇ tions, there shall be a reliable and tight connection between these sections.
• the container after fill ⁇ ing and closure shall form a closed and sealed space, and that in those cases where the container is composed of several sec ⁇ tions, there shall be a reliable and tight connection between these sections.
• the in ⁇ terior of the container be kept sterile during the entire per ⁇ iod from the manufacture of the container up to and including the operations of filling and closing.
• the emptying area of the container In order to avoid contamination of the product when the contents of the container are emptied, it is necessary that the emptying area of the container be as clean as possible, which requires that once the container has been filled with the product, the emp ⁇ tying area be protected against contamination during the closing, storage, transportation and opening of the container. In order to ensure the cleanliness of the emptying area, it is also required that the container is easy to open and that no contamination of the emptying area occurs e.g. through contact with the fingers in conjuction with opening. In certain applications it is also desir- able that the container can be opened by mechanical means.
• the purpose of the present invention is to achieve a container which fulfils the aforementioned requirments.
• a container in ac ⁇ cordance with the invention makes possible the long-term sterile -. storage of products such as liquids, powders, pastes, pills, etc. and in conjunction with removal of the contents of the container minimises the risk of contamination of the product.
• the container has an original seal which after the container is filled is pro ⁇ tected from external action so that it is kept intact, it has a weakening zone which is protected from contamination, in addition to which the container is so disposed that until filling it is able to be stored empty in a sealed, sterile state, and after filling can be closed (and in certain applications also autoclave-sterilised) so that its sterility is maintained until it is opened (the seal of the container is broken).
• Maintained sterility here refers both to the stored contents and to that section of the container which forms its weakening zone.
• the container body is closed by a closure device that is joined to the container body in a per a- nently tight join, whereby the closure device is disposed with an attachment section in which the affixing to the orifice section of the container body takes place.
• the end of the closure device that faces away from the attachment section contains a removable section, as a rule longitudinal in shape, whereby the removable section is delimited from the attachment section by means of a weakening zone.
• the removable section is in a preferred embodiment additionally disposed in order to form through the removable of an exterior portion a temporary filling aperture for the supplying of the con ⁇ tents with which the continer is to be filled. A permanent and tight closure of the temporary filling aperture then takes place.
• the closure device is enclosed in the case of the sealed container by a protective cap which includes one or more sealing-lip devices disposed in order to act within the region of the attachment sec ⁇ tion for the realisation of a seal between the attachment section and the protective cap, whereby the sealing-lip devices are acti ⁇ vated when the protective cap is placed around the neck of the container.
• the weakening zone is disposed behind the attachment sec ⁇ tion.
• the originally sealed container is disposed to be opened at
• the container pre ⁇ ferably also includes devices disposed to form a seal between the protective cap and the neck portion of the container.
• the protective cap comprises a device for the displace ⁇ ment of the removable section, and thus for the breaking open of the closure device in the weakening zone for the opening of an ori ⁇ ginally sealed filled container.
• figs. 1 a and b show the upper section of a container in accord ⁇ ance with an embodiment of the invention provided with a thread, whereby one half of the container is shown in cross-section,
• fig. 2 shows the upper section of a container in accord ⁇ ance with an embodiment of the invention with a snap-on function, whereby one half of the contain ⁇ er is shown in cross-section,
• figs. 3 a-d show in cross-section details of embodiments of the container in the region for the affixing of a closure device forming part of the closure device
• fig. 5 shows the upper section of a container in an embo ⁇ diment, where the protective cap forms a de ⁇ vice for the displacement of the removable section during the opening of the container, where one half of the container is shown in cross-section.
• Figs. 1 a and b show an embodiment of the invention where a con ⁇ tainer with a container body 1 is disposed with a protective cap 25 (shown only in fig. 1b).
• the protective cap is disposed with internal threads 27 which interact with external threads 5 formed on a portion 3 of a neck 2 of.the container body 1.
• the top of the neck is disposed with an orifice portion 5 which encloses the ori ⁇ fice aperture 7 of the container body.
• the orifice portion 6 has an inner surface 8 and a circumferential flange 9 projecting there ⁇ from which forms an upper primarily flat circumferential surface 10 adjoining the inner surface .8.
• the latter and the flat surface 10 thus form in the embodiment shown a primarily right angle with one another.
• the orifice portion 6 is dis ⁇ posed closer to the axis of the container than the threaded portion 3 of the neck and is also axially displaced therefrom in a direc- tion away from the container body 1.
• the container body which in certain embodiments consists of rigid and in other, of flexible thermoplastics material, is designed in order to provide a possibility of keeping the interior sterile un ⁇ til the time of filling and for subsequent sterile storage of the products mentioned in the introduction.
• the container is for this purpose provided with a closure device 11 composed of a removable, preferably longitudinal section 12 which is located above the ori ⁇ fice portion 6 of the container, and of an outer, in relation to the removable section, circumferential attachment section 13 for tight attachment of the closure device to the container neck 2.
• the attachment section 13 and the removable section 12 are formed in one piece and are united by means of a circumferential weaken ⁇ ing zone 14 which in the embodiment shown is formed by a circum ⁇ ferential groove 15 on the inside of the closure device 11.
• the weakening zone 14 is in the embodiment shown disposed in the vi ⁇ cinity of the orifice portion 6 of the container neck 2. In the embodiment shown the weakening zone is preferably disposed closer to the axis of the container than the orifice portion 6.
• the attachment section 13 of the closure device has in the embodi ⁇ ment shown in figs. 1 a and b a downwards-facing device 16 match ⁇ ing the shape of the inner surface 8 for guiding the closure device into a correct position relative to the orifice portion 6 of the container body in conjunction with the affixing of the closure de ⁇ vice to the container body. Compare fig.
• the attachment section is moreover disposed with an outwards-facing flange 17 which is lo ⁇ cated beyond the weakening zone 14 and disposed to be tightly affix ⁇ ed to the circumferential surface 10 of the flange 9 of the orifice portion.
• the attachment section 13 has a lower surface 35 facing the upper surface 10 of the flange 9, where the attachment section is affixed to the container.
• the embodiment shown in fig* 1a is adapted for affixing by means of ultrasonic welding, whereby the lower surface 35 Of the attach ⁇ ment section is disposed with a weld notch 36 which initiates the formation of a welded joint 18 when the surfaces are brough together under pressure at the same time as ultrasound is conveyed to the area.
• a weld notch can be employed, and that the weld notch(es) " are located alternatively on the upper surface 10 of the outwards-facing flange of the orifice portion.
• the container body 1 and the closure device 11 are united by means of a joint which is achieved e.g. by hot welding, glue ⁇ ing, ("hot melt”) etc.
• the flange 17 of the attachment section 13 and the flange 9 of the orifice edge portion 6 are joined to the said surfaces 10,35 by means of the circumferential endless joint 18 which provides a fixed, i.e permanent, tight join which is not broken open when the container is opened. As long as the weakening zone 14 is intact, the container body and the closure device thus constitute a tight original seal which ensures that the contents of the con ⁇ tainer remain sterile.
• the figure shows moreover an embodiment in which the outwards-facing flange 17 of the attachment section 13 is extended outwards and upwards in order to for an obliquely outwards-and upwards-facing collar 19 which forms a drip edge 20, whereby the collar delimits between itself and the removable sec ⁇ tion 12 a circumferential channel 21.
• the downwards-facing device 16 and the out ⁇ wards facing flange 17 of the attachment section 13 pass into one another, in addition to which they adjoin the orifice portion 6 at its inner surface 8 and the upper surface 10 of the flange.
• the container neck 2 is provided on its outside immediately below the threaded portion 3 with a circumferential groove 22 in which an elastic sealing ring 23 is disposed.
• the container is.designed in order to make it possible to keep the interior of the container sterile until the time of filling. Its sterility is preserved by means of the aforementioned closure of the container body by the special closure device 11. Closure is thus performed sterilely at a time of manufacture which in the matter of time and place may differ and usually differs from the time of filling.
• an upper piece i.e. an outer portion of the removable section 12 of the closure device is removed, .e.g. by a horizontal cut or break at an upper weakening in the removable section of the closure device, after which the container is filled with the required product via the temporary filling aperture thus formed at the top of the removable section of the closure device.
• the closure device is sealed in that the walls are brought together at said filling aperture and joined to form a permanent tight joint 24 by preferably welding between welding jaws.
• the protective cap 25 is then placed on the tightly and permanently closed container body and the finished container with its contents are subjected in certain embodiments to autoclave treatment in order to attain complete sterility, whereby the pro ⁇ tective cap ensures that the closure device and its weakening zone are not contaminated in subsequent handling of the container.
• the protective cap 25 encloses the closure device 1 of the con ⁇ tainer and neck 2 and thus has a lower portion 26 with internal threads 27, which are disposed to form a screw engagement with the threads 5 of the container neck.
• the protective cap 25 has a cylin- drical section 28 which is disposed below the threaded portion 26 for sealing interaction with the sealing ring 3 on the container neck 2 in order to form a first, outer seal between the protective cap and the container body.
• the protective cap is formed with an outwards-facing ledge 29 which delimits an inner pocket 30 for reception of the attachment section 13 of the closure device 11.
• the ledge 29 has an inner, circumfer ⁇ ential, primarily flat surface 31 which with the protective cap in position on the container is located at a predetermined distance from and above the flange 17 of the attachment section 13.
• the ledge is formed with an inner, elastic circumferential sealing lip 32 which protrudes from said surface 31 of the ledge a predetermined distance in order to interact sealingly with a bottom surface 33 of the channel 21 of the attachment section 13 during the formation of a second, inner seal between the protective cap and the closure device 11 affixed to the container body.
• the sealing lip 32 already faces obliquely inwards before it is brought to abutment against the closure device and, when the protective cap is screwed on, will thereby achieve the required seal in that the sealing lip is de- formed (bent to one side) during abutment against the bottom sur ⁇ face 33 of the channel 21 of the attachment section 13.
• the func ⁇ tional exterior of the sealing lip thereby has suitably a convex shape in order to further facilate the inwards guiding of the
• the said inner seal effectively prevents infection of the closure device around the weakening zone 14 and additionally ensures that the contents, e.g. a liquid, in the case of an already opened and subsequently re-sealed container do not run out into the space between the protective cap and the neck 2 of the con ⁇ tainer body, e.g. if the container is overturned.
• the embodiment shown in fig. 2 is adapted for retention of the protective cap 25a to the container body 1a by means of a snap action.
• the protective cap is for this purpose disposed in its lower section with a snap device (bead) 37 facing the centre axis of the cap, which snaps into a corresponding groove 39 in the neck 2a of the container.
• Above the groove the neck is disposed with a downwards-outwards-facing limitation surface 44 which the snap device abuts and against which it expands during the stage just before its snapping into the groove 39.
• the bead 37 has where it joins the lower edge surface 40 of the protective cap an inwards-facing circumferential oblique surface 38 in order to guide the bead 37 of the protective cap outwards when the protective cap is placed on the container body.
• Above the oblique surface 38 the bead is provided with a limitation surface (sealing surface) 43 facing the axis of the cap.
• the closure device 11a is in this example shown in an embodiment with an outer downwards-facing guide device 16a which joins the upwards-facing collar 19, whose upper limitation edge forms the drip edge 20.
• the guide device interacts with an outer limitation surface 45 of the outwards-facing circumferential flange 9a of the orifice portion, in order to direct the closure device to the correct posi ⁇ tion for its affixing to the container body.
• the flange 9a has in this embodiment of the invention a somewhat bent upper surface 10a to which the interacting circumferetial attachment section 13a of the attachment device is affixed.
• the upper surface 33a of the attachment section has a shape corres-
• the attachment section 13a which remains attached to the flange 9a comprises a dimension-stabilising reinforcement of the flange, and it is especially the design of the guide device 16a and the collar 19 which contributes towards making the orifice aperture stable once the removable section 12 has been removed.
• the protective cap 25a is, in the region between the outwards- facing ledge 29 and the snap device 37, disposed with a downwards- outwards-facing inner surface 41 which interacts with a similarly located outer abutment surface 42 of the neck 2a of the container body.
• the distance between and shape of the downwards-outwards- facing surface 41 and the snap device 37 of the protective cap are matched to the distance between and shape .of the aforementioned abut ⁇ ment surface 42 and the groove " 39 in the neck 2a, so that the pro ⁇ tective cap once it has been snapped on assumes a fixed axial posi- tion relative to the container body.
• the protec ⁇ tive cap after mounting realises an inwardly exerted force on the sealing ring 23, whereby the force deforms the sealing ring for sealing delimitation of the space between the protective cap 25a and the orifice portion 6 of the container body.
• the inwards-facing limitation surface 43 of the snap device is located further from the axis of the container than any part of the outer surface of the neck section 2a in the region between the circumferential flange 9a of the orifice portion and the downwards-outwards-facing limitation sur ⁇ face 44 immediately above the snap-in groove 39. This means en ⁇ suring thatthe sealing ring 23 is not displaced out of the groove 22 when the protective cap 25a is mounted.
• Embodiments of the invention where the protective cap is snapped onto the container body possess great freedom of adaptation of the shape and size of the cross-section through the neck of the con- tainer and its orifice section as well as through the closure de ⁇ vice to the requirements made by the product stored.
• This cross ⁇ section must have a round shape only in a threaded protective cap.
• Figs.3 a and b show an alternative embodiment of the invention where the circumferential projecting flange 9b of the orifice portion is provided with the weld notch 36a. Furthermore,- the cir ⁇ cumferential groove 15 and thus the weakening zone 14 of the clo ⁇ sure device 11b are disposed between the weld notch 36a (the welded joint 18) and the guide device 16.
• the removed removable section 12 also comprises after the opening of the ori- ginally sealed container a device for temporary re-sealing of the container, especially in those embodiments where the guide device 16 abuts the inner surface 8 of the orifice portion. The dimensions of the removable part prevent it from being able to be displaced to the interior of the container after the container is opened.
• Figs.3 c and d show an embodiment where the weakening zone 14 of the enclosure device 11c is formed in that the groove 15 is dis ⁇ posed on the outside of the closure devjce.
• the figures show fur ⁇ thermore the possibility of disposing the closure device without any guide device.
• Figs.4 a-b show alternative embodiments of the sealing device 32. In fig.4a this is disposed as an outwards-downwards-facing lip 32b, and in fig.4b as a downwards-facing pointed bulge 32c.
• Fig. 5 shows an example of an embodiment of the invention where the protective cap 25d is disposed in order to achieve the breaking open of the weakening zone 14 through actuation of the removable
• the attachment section 13d is disposed with an upwards-facing circumferential portion 46 which by means of the weaking zone 14 joins the removable section 12d.
• the weakening zone is thus disposed at a distance from the axis of the container pri ⁇ marily exceeding the corresponding minimum distance of the empty ⁇ ing aperture 34 which is formed when the removable section 12d is removed.
• the removable section is moreover disposed with a circum ⁇ ferential wall portion 47 primarily at right angles to the axis of the container, and which is joined to the weakening zone 14.
• this connection comprises a wall 49 orientated primari ⁇ ly in the axial direction.
• the weakening zone 14 is directly joined to the aforementioned circum ⁇ ferential portion 47 of the removable section 12d.
• the weakening zone has moreover a position such that its distance from the axis of the container primarily exceeds the corresponding minimum dis- tance of the emptying aperture 34 which is formed when the removable section 12 is removed.
• the protective cap 25d has its outwards-facing ledge 29d shaped as a step.
• the section of the ledge located closest to axis of the container forms a circum ⁇ ferential portion 48 which with the protective cap placed on the container assumes a position relative to the circumferential por ⁇ tion 47 of the removable section 12d, implying that the two cir- cumferential portions 47,48 are axially displaced relative to one another in order to be located at some distance from one another.
• Other reference designations used in the figure and details shown have their equivalents in figures previously described.
• the weakening zone 14 is made as a weakening zone where the material in the wall has less strength than the surrounding material, e.g. through a material di ⁇ lution, a special molecular orientation or crystallisation.
• the outwards-facing collar 19 (cf fig. 2) is also disposed as a sealing device which abuts the inner circumferential surface of the ledge 29 of the protective cap. In certain applications the collar 19 constitutes the only sealing device in the region of the attachment section 13.
• the protec ⁇ tive cap is first removed, after which the container body is opened by ripping open the weakening zone 14. An emptying aperture 34 is thus formed which is enclosed by the remaining attachment section 13.
• Evacuation of liquid products from the container takes place in a controlled manner in that the drip edge 20 or the upwards- facing circumferential portion 46 prevent the liquid from running along the outside of the container body.
• the drip edge 20 or the portion 46 respec- tively, serves as a guide edge for a thread or other implement that cuts off the line of paste so that paste does not flow or fall down along the outside of the container.
• the container body can be re-sealed by means of the protective cap if a part of the contents is to be saved briefly until a later oc- casion, whereby the outer and inner seals 23,32,19 provide a satis ⁇ factory closure.
• the container is opened most simply in that the removable section 12 is pressed laterally until its weakening zone breaks, after which the remaining parts of the weakening zone are ripped open. Opening may be done.either by the protective cap being unscrewed and removed, after which the removable section is broken off, or in that the protective cap is unscrewed so far that it sits re ⁇ latively loosely attached to the orifice section of the contain- er, after which it is moved to the side and thus achieves that action on the removable section which is required for opening the container.
• the container is opened by dis ⁇ placing the protective cap 25d downwards towards the bottom of the container by screwing the protective cap downwards.
• the circumfer ⁇ ential portion 48 of the protective cap is thus first brought to abutment against the corresponding circumferential portion 47 of the removable section 12d, after which during the continued down ⁇ wards screwing of the protective cap the circumferential portion 47 of the removable section breaks the connection in the weaken ⁇ ing zone 14 during continued downwards-directed displacement. Since the distance of the weakening zone from the axis of the container primarily exceeds the corresponding minimum distance of the empty ⁇ ing aperture 34 which is formed, there is no risk of the removed section falling into the interior of the container. In a re-sealed container the seal 32 abuts the upper limitation surface of the attachment section.
• the invention also offers the advantage that the container can be opened with a mechanical device which e.g. may have a hole which corresponds to and receives the removable section in order to enable a breaking and possibly also a rotary action. By means of such a device the removable section is removed without having been in contact with the fingers.
• the enclosure device is preferably dimensioned in order to form a relatively large emptying aperture of the order of magnitude of around 25 mm in the case of a circular cross-section, when the re ⁇ movable section is removed.
• a relatively large emptying aperture of the order of magnitude of around 25 mm in the case of a circular cross-section, when the re ⁇ movable section is removed.
• the aperture is generally chosen to be even larger in order to facili ⁇ tate removal of powder from the container.
• smaller dimensions are generally selected for the aperture in order to adapt it to the product stored in the container.
• the container is usu ⁇ ally made compressible in order to feed out the paste.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Closures For Containers (AREA)
• Medical Preparation Storing Or Oral Administration Devices (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=20350261

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Cited By (2)

Families Citing this family (1)

Citations (4)

• 1983
  • 1983-03-04 SE SE8301193A patent/SE8301193D0/xx unknown
• 1984
  • 1984-02-29 GB GB08427659A patent/GB2146613B/en not_active Expired
  • 1984-02-29 WO PCT/SE1984/000070 patent/WO1984003436A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1984-02-29 EP EP19840901114 patent/EP0137824A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1984-11-02 DK DK522084A patent/DK150726C/da not_active IP Right Cessation

Patent Citations (4)

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