AU2005203105A1 - Drinking container closure - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicant Invention Leokadia Enterprises Pty Ltd A.C.N. 070 193 627 Title: DRINKING CONTAINER CLOSURE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 2 DRINKING CONTAINER CLOSURE Field of the Invention 5 This invention relates to a closure for a drinking container. In particular, the drinking container and Vclosure enables the selected mixing of a solid component O with a drinkable liquid within the container.

C1 0 Background of the Invention Certain medicinal preparations, dietary supplements C and the like are manufactured so as to be mixed or dissolved in liquid before being administered. For example, dissolvable analgesics such as aspirin and dissolvable vitamin and energy supplements are manufactured to be dissolved in water and then administered by drinking the resulting liquid. This has several benefits including ease of use for people who have difficulty swallowing tablets or capsules, and improved uptake of the drug or dietary supplement within the body.

Providing analgesics and supplements in tablet or capsule form conveniently allows the product to be bought, stored then used at the desired moment.

It is desired with the present invention to provide a convenient means for readily accessing and using a dissolvable additive.

Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a means by which a solid component such as a dissolvable medication or dietary supplement may be delivered to be dissolved in a liquid.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a drinking container closure comprising a lower member adapted to be fastened to the mouth of a drinking 3 container and an upper member interlocked with the lower member, wherein an aperture extends through the upper and Zlower members; and a sealed blister pack containing a dissolvable substance having a circumferential flange that is clamped between the interlocked upper and lower members to secure Vthe blister pack across the aperture such that a force applied to an upper surface of the blister pack pushes the substance through a bottom surface of the blister pack and CI 10 into a drinking container.

SIn accordance with another aspect of the invention p there is provided a drinking container closure comprising an internally threaded cap with a central aperture and a disposable substance located in the aperture and supported therein by a frangible seal fixed to the cap across the aperture; and a cover overlying the dissolvable substance and sealing the substance against the seal, whereby a force on the cover pushes the additive through the seal and into the drinking container.

Preferably the container closure or lid is formed from a plastics material and is attached to the mouth of the container body to enable the closure or lid to be removed from the container body to allow a user to drink liquid from within the container body through the mouth thereof. The lower member of the closure or lid is preferably arranged to be adjacent or surrounded by the container body mouth when in place.

Brief Description of the Drawings The invention is described in greater detail hereinafter, by way of example only, with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a container closure according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; 4 Figure 2 is an underside view of the container C closure of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the container closure of Figure 1; Figure 4 is an elevational view of a liquid container with a closure of the embodiment of Figure 1 fitted; V)Figure 5a is a side elevational view of a closure according to another embodiment of a container closure; Figure 5b is a side sectional view of the embodiment C 10 of Figure 5a also illustrating the top of a container; Figure 5c is an exploded view of Figure SFigure 5d is a side elevational view of the closure in the embodiment of Figure Figure 5e illustrates a top view of a blister pack of an embodiment of the invention; Figure 5f is a sectional view of the blister pack of Figure Figure 6 is a sectional elevation of a container and closure according to yet another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 is a sectional elevation of the closure shown in Figure 6; Figures 8a and 8b are a sectional elevation view and a corresponding plan view of the closure of Figure 7 illustrating one form of a scored membrane; Figures 9a and 9b are a sectional elevation view and a corresponding plan view of the closure of Figure 7 illustrating another form of scored membrane; and Figures 10a to 10c schematically illustrate the three stages of opening of the closure of the embodiment of Figure 6.

Description of Preferred Embodiment A plastics drink bottle closure 10 is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The closure is designed to close a bottle container 2 and has a sealed compartment or 5 package containing an additive such as a solid phase Sdissolvable substance which is dropped into the container 2 to create a mixed drink having medicinal, dietary supplemental, or other properties. The sealed compartment is typically a blister pack having a top surface and a weaker bottom surface whereby the additive can be pushed V) from the top surface through the bottom surface and into the interior of the container.

SOne embodiment of the container and closure is CI 10 illustrated in Figures 1 to 4. The liquid container 2 has a container body 4 for holding a drinking liquid such as water. The bottom of the container body has a base 5 upon which it can stand, and the top the container body has a mouth portion defining an opening which is used to fill the container with liquid and is available to drain the liquid contents of the container during use. A closure is fitted at the mouth of the container body to seal in the liquid contents of the container body for storage and transport.

The container body and closure are preferably constructed from plastics materials of conventional form, and sealably attached together to confine and seal in the container contents. The container body and closure may be attached and sealed together by any suitable conventional means, such as by way of threaded screw closure or other interengagable formation on the container body and closure which allow removal of the closure when desired. It is preferred that the sealing of the closure to the container body also include some form of tamper evident frangible sealing structure (not shown), such as a sealing ring which is broken or detached during removal of the closure from the container body to provide for tamper resistance of the container contents.

The closure 10 is of generally conventional shape, having a disc shaped upper member 12 with an annular rim 14 depending from the edge thereof. The rim 14 typically contains an internal thread that, in use, screws onto the 6 mouth of the container body and secures the closure thereto, with the disc shaped upper member extending across the container opening defined by the mouth. Thus, the upper member of the closure has an internal surface 16 and an external surface 18, and with the closure fitted to the container body the internal surface 16 faces the V container body opening and container liquid contents. The closure upper member is formed with a central bulge which Sextends outward of the container with the closure fitted, Cl 10 whereby the internal surface 16 has a central concavity 22 Sand the external surface a corresponding convex formation In one embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the solid phase component is preferably a medicinal preparation or dietary supplement in the form of a tablet of the like which is dissolvable in water. The tablet seen best in the closure cross-sectional view in Figure 3, is positioned centrally adjacent in the internal surface of the closure at least partially within the concavity.

The contents of the tablet may be of conventional form, such as a dissolvable analgesic of the type sold under the trade mark Disprin T m or a dissolvable vitamin supplement of the type sold under the trade mark Berocca Tm Both of these tablets are formulated to dissolve easily in water without requiring stirring or the like, for greater ease of use.

The tablet 25 is held against the closure internal surface by means of a portion of sheet material 30. The sheet material portion 30 is impervious to water, and sealed around its edges 32 to the closure internal surface to prevent contact between the liquid contents of the container and the tablet 25. The sheet material 30 may be of a metallic foil or alloy foil construction, for example, or may be constructed from a plastic sheet or foil/plastic laminate. The sheet material portion may be sealed to the closure internal surface using an adhesive 7 or may, for example, be heat sealed around its edges to the closure surface.

Where an adhesive is used it is of course desirable that the adhesive be non-toxic to avoid any contamination of the drinkable container contents or tablet.

The sheet material portion 30 is frangible or Vreleasable to allow the seal to the tablet 25 to be breached to thereby allow mixing and dissolving of the tablet formulation in the container liquid. Preferably, C 10 when the seal is broken the tablet 25 is completely released from the closure and allowed to drop into the container body through the mouth. The seal to the tablet may be broken by a tearing of the sheet material portion such as along the frangible zone, for example, or alternatively the sheet material portion may be partially releasable from the lid internal surface.

The release of the tablet from its sealed configuration to dissolve in the container liquid can also be achieved without removing the closure from the container. In particular, the convex formation 20 on the closure external surface may be sufficiently flexible to be pressed inwardly of the container in order to release the tablet. Pressing on the convex formation transmits a downward force through the tablet which causes the sheet material portion to rupture or release from the closure allowing the tablet to enter and dissolve in the liquid inside the container.

It is advantageous if the binding strength of the materials forming the tablet be considered in determining the force necessary to rupture or release the sealed sheet material portion so that the tablet can be more effectively released from the closure without crumbling or the like. It will be recognised by those skilled in the art that the solid phase component, whether it be a medication, supplement, flavouring or otherwise, need not necessarily be in the form of a tablet as used in the example used herein for the purposes of explanation.

8 Indeed, the component may be in the form of a powder which is released from between the closure and sheet material portion by manipulation of the closure external surface such as pressing on the convex formation 20. It will also be appreciated by those in the art that in the event of a powder solid phase component it may also be advantageous to provide a means for piercing the sheet material to release the powder, in order to compensate for forces from the closure being less effectively transmitted through the CI 10 powder to the sheet material. Accordingly, a spike or Sother protrusion (not shown in the drawings) may be formed p on the closure internal surface to break the seal of the sheet material portion when manipulated through the closure.

Once the solid phase component has been released from its seal and dissolved in the liquid, the closure is then removed from the container to allow the contents to be consumed by the user. Since the solid phase component remains sealed under the closure of the container until immediately before consumption, the pharmaceuticals or vitamins, etc. are subject to minimal likelihood of perishing or degradation of quality which can occur through exposure to light, for example.

Figures 5a to 5f illustrate a second embodiment of the invention where the closure 35 comprises an upper closure member 40 attached to a lower closure member 42.

The upper and lower parts 40, 42 are attached together by conventional means. In this particular example the parts are clipped together in an unreleasable self-locking engagement and specifically flexible rim 41 depending from the upper member 40 clips together with corresponding flexible upward rim 43 or lower member 42. An internal thread 45 in a central aperture 46 of the lower member 42 allows the closure 35 to be screwed onto the mouth 48 of a container (not shown).

In this embodiment the tablet 25 is wholly contained in a sealed blister pack 50 comprising upper and lower 9 foil layers 51 and 53 respectfully that are sealed together after encapsulation of the tablet 25. Figures and 5f illustrate the blister pack 50 more closely.

SOnce the dissolvable substance is placed between the upper and bottom layers of blister pack 50 the layers are sealed together by heat sealing, gum sealing or other V)appropriate means. Blister pack 50 is placed between the upper and lower closure members 40, 42 of the closure and held therebetween in a locked position such that the CI 10 blister pack cannot be easily removed thereby avoiding tampering of the blister pack.

C An annular disc 52 can be located on the lower member 42 to provide support for the sealed edges of the blister pack 50. The edges of the blister pack 50 are clamped between the annular disc 52 and an inward annular rib 54 in the upper member 40. Annular rib 54 defines an aperture 55 through which the tablet filled blister pack sits.

The upper member 40 of closure 35 also has a hinged lid 57 that in the closed position overlies the sealed tablet 25 protecting it from knocks and other interferences that may damage or break the blister pack and expose its contents. The lid 57 is opened with respect to the upper member 40 by pressing on finger tab 58. Figure 5d illustrates the lid 57 in an opened position where the tablet filled central portion of the blister pack is exposed.

The closure has a central through-passage defined by aperture 55 of upper closure member 40, annular disc 52 and threaded aperture 46 of the lower member 42. With the lid 57 hinged open, the content filled blister pack 50 is the only obstruction in the passage. When the blister pack is ruptured its tablet contents are released and fall through the passage down through the mouth 48 and into the container where it dissolves in the container contents.

The blister pack contents, in this case the tablet are released by opening protective lid 57 and manually 10 pushing downwards on the central bulge portion of the blister pack In another embodiment the dissolvable tablet is Spushed through into the container interior by a mechanism connected to the hinged lid. This avoids a user having to manually push the tablet through. Such a mechanism can be Sconnected to the underside of the lid in a manner to provide a downward force on the central bulge of the blister pack 50 as the lid is opened. The lid and CI 10 mechanism could act as a lever system against the blister pack to automate release of the substance upon opening the lid. Figures 6 to 10c illustrate an example of such a mechanism which is described below.

The bottom layer 53 of blister pack 50 is weaker than the upper layer 51 such that a downward force on the upper layer 51 will cause the tablet 25 to push through and rupture the weaker bottom layer 53 to release the contents. The bottom layer 53 may be made weak by incorporating a frangible zone, for example, a circle of perforations. Alternatively, the foil of the bottom layer may be made of a thinner material than the upper layer that is more susceptible to tearing. A combination of thinner foil and perforations is also plausible.

The upper layer 51 of blister pack 50 is deformable but remains intact without tearing and therefore provides an adequate seal against the escape of liquids from the container.

Once the contents of the blister pack have dissolved in the container liquid, the closure is removed from the container to allow a user to drink the contents.

The closure containing a blister pack may be sold as a separate unit. The closure is configured in its structure to stack well with other identical closures affording greater ease and efficiency of transportation and storage.

To discourage tampering and to alert potential users of tampering, an adhesive tamper proof plastic seal is applied, by shrink wrapping or other conventional means, 11 about the circumference of the closure and extending to cover both the upper and lower members of the closure thereby protecting the blister pack.

A further seal may be provided about the lid of the closure.

Referring now to Figures 6 to 10c of the drawings, a V)third embodiment of the invention is illustrated. This embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, with the Sexception that the closure 60 has a protective lid 61, C 10 formed with a lifting tab 62, which covers an actuating diaphragm 63 of the closure to preserve the integrity of the closure before purchase. The lid 61 is attached to the closure body by means of a moulded plastics hinge 64, which allows the lid 61 to be pivoted to the open position, as illustrated in Figures 10b and 10c to expose the activating diaphragm 63 of the closure for the application of an opening force to the diaphragm which ruptures a frangible membrane 65 to release the tablet into the liquid contained within the container body 4. As in the earlier embodiments, the frangible membrane holds the dissolvable tablet 25 captive until the diaphragm 63 is manually actuated to rupture the membrane to release the tablet 25 as described.

As illustrated in Figure 7, the activating diaphragm 63 can include a pressing cylinder 67 to ensure that the tablet 25 is able to rupture the membrane In a preferred embodiment, the lid 61 and the closure body 60 have co-operating detent means (not shown) which serve to hold the lid in the closed position as illustrated in Figures 6 and 7. To further protect the integrity of the closure, a known tamper evident means such as discussed earlier may be formed over and around the lid.

Rupturing of the membrane 65 may be assisted by the incorporation of a piercing protrusion 69 as illustrated in Figure 6, and/or by the provision of scores 71 of the 12 type illustrated in Figures 8b and 9b which are formed by c lines extending radially from an origin or form a circle.

It will be appreciated that the design of the closure may be varied to modify the shape and function of the closure in any desired manner.

Since other modifications within the spirit and scope Sof the invention may be readily effected by persons skilled in the art, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment CI 10 described, by way of example, hereinabove.

In the claims which follow and in the preceding Sdescription of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Claims (14)

1. 2. The drinking container closure claimed in claim i, wherein the bottom surface of the blister pack is weaker than the top surface.
2. 3. The drinking container closure claimed in claim 2, wherein the bottom surface contains a frangible means.
3. 4. The drinking container closure claimed in claim 3, wherein the frangible means are perforations or a line of weakness. The drinking container closure claimed in claim 4, wherein the perforations or line of weakness are arranged in a circle or in lines extending radially from an origin.
4. 6. The drinking container closure claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the blister pack top surface is made of an alloy foil and the bottom surface is made of a thinner foil. 14
5. 7. The drinking container closure claimed in claim 6, wherein the top surface remains intact once substance has been dispensed through the bottom surface.
6. 8. The drinking container closure claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the upper and lower members Vinterlock by way of clips on one of the upper or lower member interlocking with a flexible rim on the other of the upper or lower member. CK
7. 9. The drinking container closure claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flange of the blister pack is supported on an annular disk located on the lower member. The drinking container closure claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a lid is hinged to the upper member to cover the upper surface of the blister pack.
8. 11. The drinking container closure claimed in claim wherein the underside of the lid is provided with a mechanism for pushing on the upper surface of the blister pack as the lid is opened to thereby push the dissolvable substance through the bottom surface of the blister pack.
9. 12. The drinking container closure claimed in claim 11, wherein the mechanism is a diaphragm.
10. 13. The drinking container closure claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the upper and lower members are formed from a plastics material.
11. 14. The drinking container closure claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a tamper evidence seal is provided over the upper and lower members. 15 A drinking container closure comprising an internally c threaded cap with a central aperture and a disposable substance located in the aperture and supported therein by a frangible seal fixed to the cap across the aperture; and a cover overlying the dissolvable substance and sealing the substance against the seal, whereby a force on the V)cover pushes the additive through the seal and into the drinking container. C 10 16. The drinking container closure claimed in claim wherein the cover is a flexible hinged lid.
12. 17. The drinking container closure claimed in claim wherein the cover is a flexible convex membrane and a lid overlying the cover is hinged to the cap.
13. 18. The drinking container closure claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the dissolvable substance is an analgesic, vitamin supplement or an energy supplement.
14. 19. A drinking container comprising a container body having a base at a lower end and a mouth at an upper end for dispensing liquid; and a closure sealingly engageable with the mouth wherein the closure is defined by any one of the preceding claims. A drinking container closure substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 15th day of July 2005 LEOKADIA ENTERPRISES PTY LTD By their Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK Fellows Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia