US20110132928A1

US20110132928A1 - Container for fluid products, particularly pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, foodstuffs or the like

Info

Publication number: US20110132928A1
Application number: US13/055,988
Authority: US
Inventors: Antonio Fontana
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Lameplast SRL
Priority date: 2008-07-30
Filing date: 2009-07-21
Publication date: 2011-06-09
Also published as: EP2313320B1; CN102105362B; EP2313320A1; ES2398771T3; CN102105362A; IT1391448B1; ITMO20080206A1; WO2010013106A1; JP2011529424A

Abstract

The container for fluid products, particularly pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, or foodstuffs, comprising a hollow body for containing at least a fluid product, a neck which extends from the body and which has at least a dispensing mouth for dispensing the product, and closing means with a handle which integrally supports at least a shutter element for shutting or sealing the dispensing mouth. The closing means comprises an annular collar which is joined to the handle along at least a pre-established breaking area and which is associable with the neck. The container further comprises a partition defined inside the body for subdividing the inner volume of the body into two compartments suitable for containing two fluid products. The neck has at least two dispensing mouths which are closable by at least two shutter elements respectively.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of PCT International Patent Application No. PCT/IB2009/006293, filed Jul. 21, 2009, and Italian Patent Application No. MO2008A000206, filed Jul. 30, 2008, in the Italian Patent Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container for fluid products, particularly suitable for containing products used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, medical or dental field, but also in foodstuffs or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use is known of containers made of polymer material for packaging one or more doses of fluid products, whether pastes, gel or liquids; depending on the number of doses present, the known containers can be of the single-use or reclosable and pluridose type.
Generally, they comprise a containment body containing a predetermined dose of product, with a substantially tubular and elongated shape, that has an extremity provided with a neck, at the top of which is defined a product dispensing mouth.
The opposite extremity of the containment body has an opening suitable for introducing the product, which is closed after filling, for example by welding.
Closing means, associable in a removable way with the container at the neck, allow the dispensing mouth to be closed.
The containment body and the closing means can be made separately, using forming methods such as injection moulding, and afterwards be assembled together or, alternatively, they can be made in a single piece and then separated before being used by a user.
The containment body, furthermore, has a pair of fins suitable for making it easier for a user to grip the container and which extend, diametrically opposite one another, from the outer side surface of the containment body itself.
The known containers can be produced in single units or associated the one with the other in series (strips); in this latter case, the fins of the containment bodies of two successive containers are temporarily associated the one with the other at predefined pre-breaking lines.
With particular reference to the closing means and to their shape according to the different ways of using and manufacture, different types of containers are known.
A first type of known container envisages for example the use of a cap having a portion fixed to the neck, during the moulding phase and along pre-established breaking areas, to close the dispensing mouth.
The cap also comprises a cavity suitable for housing the neck of the container, having a shutter element for occluding the dispensing mouth, and initially turned towards the outside, in the opposite direction with respect to the portion initially fixed to the neck.
The container is opened for the first time by detaching the cap from the dispensing mouth at the breaking areas and, after the product has been used, the container is closed again by turning the cap upside down and fitting the neck in the cavity, with the positioning of the shutter element inside the dispensing mouth.
The particular shape of the cap however results in the possible exposure of the cavity and of the shutter element to external polluting agents before the first use of the container, and does not therefore guarantee the integrity of the product during subsequent uses.
To restrict the possibility of product contamination, a second type of reclosable container is known, made in a single body, which comprise closing means having a shutter element, of the type of a pin or the like, fitted sealed inside the dispensing mouth, and deformable or breakable elements connecting, without interruption, the closing means to the container body.
Such deformable or breakable elements are suitable for indicating to the user the possible presence of product contaminations due to any tampering and/or accidental opening of the product, thus performing a safety-seal function.
A third type of container is also known from WO 01/96186, in which the closing means and the containment body are made in separate pieces, subsequently assembled together.
The closing means of such containers generally comprise a handle having a shutter element, of the type of a pin or the like, that can be seal-fitted inside the dispensing mouth, and an annular collar fixable coaxially, by means of interlocking, welding or gluing, at the neck of the containment body.
The handle is associable in a removable way at the outer surface of the collar by means of an opportune weakened area, composed, e.g., of pre-breaking lines, of tearable bridges, of reduced cross sections, etc.
The handle, the collar and the pin are therefore made in a single piece, separately from the containment body, and the collar is subsequently fixed to the neck by interlocking, welding or gluing, with the dispensing mouth being closed by means of the pin.
These known containers are however susceptible to further upgrading.
In this respect, the fact is underlined that for some particular applications, the products contained in the containers have to be mixed together before use.
For this purpose, two different containers have to be opened and the contents of each poured into a container able to receive them before the mix, thus obtained, is used.
The dual operation of opening and pouring obviously represents a disadvantageous additional operation of little practicality and requires execution times that are not negligible, without considering that in these cases, it is necessary to have two or more separate containers, with consequent increase in overall dimensions.
Other kinds of containers are known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,799,699 and from U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,120.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the present invention is to provide a container for fluid products, particularly pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, foodstuffs or the like, that can be used in a practical, easy, functional and rapid way and, at the same time, has particularly compact and reduced overall dimensions.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a container for fluid products, particularly pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, foodstuffs or the like that allows to overcome the mentioned drawbacks of the background art in the ambit of a simple, rational, easy, effective to use and low cost solution.
The above-described objects are achieved by the present container for fluid products, particularly pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, foodstuffs or the like, according to claim 1.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more evident from the description of a preferred, but not sole, embodiment of a container for fluid products, particularly pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, foodstuffs or the like, illustrated purely as an example but not limited to the annexed drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an axonometric view of a strip of containers according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a container according to the invention before the assembly;

FIG. 3 is an axonometric view, from another angle, of the container according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is an axonometric view of the container according to the invention after the opening of the dispensing mouths before use;

FIG. 5 is a cross section view along the V-V track plane of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

With particular reference to such figures, by 1 is globally indicated a container for fluid products, particularly pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, foodstuffs or the like.
In this respect, it must be specified that in this treatise by the term fluid products is not only meant liquid products but also viscous products, e.g., in the paste or the gel state, and powdered products, in particular very fine powders having great flowability.
The container 1 comprises a hollow body 2 that is intended to contain at least a fluid product.
The body 2 has a substantially tubular and elongated shape on the outer surface of which are defined a pair of gripping fins 3 associable in a removable way with the gripping fins 3 of one or more adjacent containers 1, so as to form a strip S of containers 1 (FIG. 1).
From one extremity of the body 2 a neck 4 extends having at least a dispensing mouth 5, 6 for the fluid product to come out.
The neck 4 is substantially cylindrical, with a diameter smaller than that of the rest of the body 2, and is aligned coaxially with respect to it.
At the extremity of the body 2 opposite the neck 4 is defined an opening 7 for the introduction of the fluid product; the closing of the opening 7 (e.g., by welding the lips of the opening itself) is done once the product has been introduced.
The closing of the dispensing mouths 5, 6, on the other hand, is done by means of specific closing means 8 having a handle 9 that supports integral at least a shutter element 10, 11 fittable in the dispensing mouths 5, 6.
The handle 9 has a substantially plate shape and has side edges which in the strip layout (FIG. 1) are associable with the handles 9 of one or more adjacent containers 1.
The closing means 8, furthermore, comprise an annular-shaped collar 12, which is associated with the handle 9 along a series of pre-established breaking areas 13.
The pre-established breaking areas 13 are composed, e.g., of a pair of tearable bridges which connect the handle 9 to the outer surface of the collar 12 and which are arranged on diametrically opposite parts of the collar 12.
The collar 12 can be fitted around the neck 4 and is made integral with it.
In the particular embodiment of the invention shown in the figures, e.g., between the neck 4 and the collar 12 are placed interlocking coupling means 14, 15 which comprise a protrusion 14 defined on the inner surface of the collar 12 and a series of protruding teeth 15 obtained on the outer surface of the neck 4 and that can be coupled with the protrusion 14.
Alternative embodiments of the present invention are, however, possible in which the collar 12 is made integral with the neck 4 by welding, e.g. of the ultrasonic type or by gluing.
Usefully, inside the body 2 is defined a partition 16 suitable for subdividing the inner volume of the body 2 into two or more compartments 17, 18 intended to contain an equal number of fluid products distinct the one from the other.
In the particular embodiment of the invention shown in the illustrations, the partition 16 subdivides the body 2 exactly into a first compartment 17 and into a second compartment 18 and, to allow the two fluid products contained in it to come out, the neck 4 has a first dispensing mouth 5 and a second dispensing mouth 6 distinct the one from the other, for the closing of which are therefore provided two shutter elements 10, 11 associated with the handle 9.
Alternative embodiments of the present invention cannot however be ruled out in which two or more partitions 16 are present to define three or more compartments 17, 18 for containing three or more fluid products; obviously in this case the neck 4 has three or more dispensing mouths 5, 6 reclosable with an equal number of shutter elements 10, 11.
More in detail, the shutter elements 10, 11 are defined by respective pins insertable to misure inside the dispensing mouths 5, 6 and substantially parallel with each other and with the longitudinal direction of the body 2.
It is further specified that the shutter elements 10, 11, the handle 9 and the collar 12 are made in a single body, e.g., by means of forming methods such as injection moulding, using polymer materials of the polyethylene or polypropylene type.
Similarly, the body 2 and the partition 16 are also made in a single monolithic body, which is obtainable by means of the same forming methods as the closing means 8 inside a separate mould.
The body 2 and the partition 16 are therefore initially separated by the closing means 8, as shown in the FIG. 2, and the container 1 is assembled subsequently by interlocking the collar 12 on the neck 4 while at the same time fitting the pins 10, 11 in the dispensing mouths 5, 6.
Advantageously, the partition 16 extends along the entire length of the body 2, from the neck 4 as far as the opening 7.
By means of the partition 16, the tubular walls of the body 2 are subdivided into a first substantially curved wall 19, which together with the partition 16 delimits the first compartment 17, and a second substantially curved wall 20, which together with the partition 16 delimits the second compartment 18; the first and the second walls 19, 20 are clearly shown in FIG. 3.
Moreover, the partition 16 is at least in part bent on itself.
More in detail, by sectioning the body 2 along a transversal plane, the partition 16 is shaped substantially corrugated and its extension in length is substantially equal to the length of the walls 19, 20 of the body 2.
This particular layout of the partition 16 means that when the body 2 is squeezed, the walls 19, 20 and the partition 16 can be locally stretched along a direction transversal to the body 2 and the walls 19, 20 can be moved into contact substantially coinciding with the partition 16.
This, in particular, is very useful during the closing phase of the opening 7 (FIGS. 4 and 5), as it allows squeezing the lips of the opening 7 on the partition 16 without forming ruffles that could negatively affect the welding and jeopardise the seal and the preservation of the fluid products inside the container 1.
Alternative embodiments of the present invention, however, cannot be excluded in which the partition 16 is shaped substantially plate-shaped and parallel to the longitudinal direction of the body 2.
It has in practice been shown how the described invention achieves the intended objects.
In this respect, the fact is underlined that, similarly to traditional phials, the container according to the invention can be opened without any problem and, if need be, be closed again.
Furthermore, to this must be added that the particular solution of providing a partition inside the containment body permits obtaining a container that is able to contain two or more fluid products that can be dispensed at the same time in a practical, easy and functional way by the simple and immediate squeezing of the containment body.

Claims

1. A container for fluid products, particularly pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, foodstuffs or the like, comprising at least a hollow body for containing at least a fluid product, a neck which extends from said body and which has at least a reclosable dispensing mouth for dispensing said product, and closing means with a handle which integrally supports at least a shutter element for sealing said dispensing mouth, which can be opened and be closed again, said closing means comprising at least an annular collar which is associated with said handle along pre-established breaking area and which is associable with said neck, wherein said handle, said shutter elements and said collar are made in a single body piece, wherein said container comprises a partition defined inside said body for subdividing the inner volume of said body into at least two compartments suitable for containing at least two of said fluid products, said neck having at least two of said dispensing mouths which are closable by at least two of said shutter elements respectively, and wherein said body and said partition are made in a single body piece and are initially separated by the closing means.

2. The container according to claim 1, wherein said partition substantially extends for the entire length of said body.

3. The container according to claim 1, wherein the length of the cross section of said partition is substantially the same as the length of the cross section of the walls of said body, the squeezing of said body being suitable for moving said walls into contact substantially coinciding with said partition.

4. The container according to claim 1, wherein said partition is at least partially bent on itself.

5. The container according to claim 1, wherein said partition is substantially corrugated in shape.

6. The container according to claim 1, wherein said partition is substantially plate-shaped.

7. The container according to claim 1, wherein said container comprises interlocking coupling means for coupling said collar with said neck.

8. The container according to claim 7, wherein said interlocking coupling means comprise at least a protrusion defined on at least one between said collar and said neck and at least a protruding tooth obtained on the other between said collar and said neck and that can be coupled with said protrusion.

9. The container according to claim 1, wherein said collar is joined to said neck by welding.

10. The container according to claim 1, wherein said collar is joined to said neck by gluing.

11. The container according to claim 1, wherein said pre-established breaking area comprises at least a tearable bridge which connects said handle to the outer surface of said collar.

12. The container according to claim 1, wherein said shutter elements are defined by respective pins tightly insertable into said dispensing mouths and substantially parallel to each other.

13. The container according to claim 12, wherein said pins are arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of said body.

14-15. (canceled)

16. The container according to claim 1, wherein said handle is associable with the handle of an adjacent container to form a strip of said containers.

17. The container according to claim 1, wherein said body comprises at least a gripping fin associable in a removable way with the gripping fin of an adjacent container to form a strip of said containers.