HK1024900B - Closed container containing device for withdrawing a liquid - Google Patents

Description

Closed container equipped with means for extracting a liquid

The present invention relates to a device for extracting a liquid from a closed container. The container has a suction connection through which the liquid can be drawn off from the container for further use. If the container is part of a mobile device, its spatial position may vary.

The object of the invention is to enable a closed container to be used in any spatial position in order to extract liquid from the container, so that the liquid extracted from the container can be used as intended and without problems.

It is known to drain liquids from a rigid container down through a drain fitting or to draw them up or sideways by means of a rigid tube or hose projecting into the container. As long as the liquid is able to completely cover the discharge nipple or the end of the tube is completely immersed in the liquid, the discharged liquid flow will not contain bubbles and will not be interrupted. These conditions are easily achieved when the container is in a fixed spatial position. The liquid in the container can be almost completely extracted.

The rigid liquid container may be located in any spatial position when the container is on a mobile device. Bubble-free and uninterrupted liquid flow can also be extracted from containers whose position is varied in space, provided that one of the conditions can be met for a container having a fixed spatial position. It is impossible to completely draw the liquid from the container.

It is also known to place a foil pouch in a rigid container which holds the liquid and which is collapsible to the point that the liquid is extracted from the foil pouch (squeezable pouch). Experience has shown that once its foil is pressed against the end of the discharge nipple or of a hard tube or hose, no liquid can be withdrawn anymore. Experience has shown that this may occur before the foil bag is evacuated.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a device by means of which the liquid can be withdrawn almost completely in a trouble-free manner from a closed container which is provided with a withdrawal nipple and which contains the liquid and whose spatial position can be varied.

The object of the invention is to provide a closed container for receiving liquids, the spatial position of which can be varied and which is equipped with a device for extracting the liquid, which container is equipped with an extraction nozzle which is a rigid or flexible tube and projects into the container, the container interior having a storage medium containing capillaries, which storage medium is designed as a porous, one-piece structure in the form of open holes in the container interior and which, at least in the region of the end of the extraction nozzle, is arranged outside the extraction nozzle and which at least at times comes into contact with the liquid.

Preferably, the extraction nozzle is located above the liquid level in the container. The storage medium surrounds the extraction nozzle projecting into the container in the container at least over at least a part of its length. The storage medium touches the inner wall of the container.

A cavity may expediently be provided in the storage medium in the region of the end of the extraction nozzle. The cavity is configured such that the end of the extraction nozzle is not in contact with the storage medium.

The storage medium may be a stable shaped object made of sintered powder or filler blocks, a mass of wool, a knitted or woven fabric of fibers or an open porous object such as a sponge. It may also be unsintered powder, completely filled in a part of the volume of the container, in which case the part filled with powder is separated from the rest of the volume of the container by a liquid-permeable wall.

The powder or fiber used to form the storage medium may comprise plastic, ceramic, glass, metal, or a natural substance.

For example, polyolefins and polyester powders are suitable as plastic powders. For example made of Al₂O₃、SiO₂、TiO₂And a ceramic or glass powder made of sodium aluminosilicate or the like is suitable. The metal powder includes Ni, Al high-quality steel or bronze. The size of the particles is 0.5 to 500. mu.m.

Suitable fibres are made of plastic materials such as polyolefins or polyesters, glass or metals or metal alloys such as steel. The diameter of these fibers is 5 to 100. mu.m.

The extraction nozzle can be a rigid tube or a flexible tube. Instead of through the lid or through the bottom, the extraction nozzle can also penetrate through the wall of the container into the interior thereof at any point. The end of the withdrawal nozzle may terminate flush with the inner wall surface of the container. In this case, the storage medium is fixed to the container wall in front of the end of the extraction nozzle.

If the container is rigid, and if there is no significant pressure drop within the container, a vent valve may be provided on the container which may operate automatically.

The storage medium may be saturated with liquid by capillary action as a pre-storage means for the liquid. It can continuously hold a certain amount of liquid near the end of the withdrawal nozzle, even if the end of the withdrawal nozzle itself is located above the liquid level in the container. When the container is in such a spatial position, liquid can be withdrawn from the storage medium. The container can be saturated again with liquid as long as its spatial position can be changed to bring the storage medium into contact with the liquid again.

The storage medium preferably occupies a portion of the volume of the container.

In summary, compared with the prior art, the device of the present invention has the following advantages:

as long as the maximum possible volume flow in the extraction nozzle is less than the maximum possible volume flow of the liquid in the storage medium, the extraction nozzle can be supplied with liquid, regardless of its position.

The liquid can be extracted without bubbles, while the storage medium acts as a barrier to bubbles,

the liquid can also be extracted almost completely from the foil pouch without trouble,

a filter in which the storage medium can be a liquid, and

the liquid can be almost completely withdrawn from the container by means of the storage medium which rests on the inner wall section of the container.

The device of the present invention is a particularly attractive solution for storing pharmaceuticals dissolved in a solvent for use in generating an inhalation mist. Suitable solvents are, for example, water or ethanol or mixtures thereof. Corresponding pharmaceuticals are, for example, Berotec, Atrovent, Berodual, Salbutamol, Combivent, Oxivent, Ba679, BEA2108 and the like.

The device of the invention may be used as a spray in an embodiment particularly useful for storing biologically active substances, as disclosed in PCT patent application WO91/14468 or PCT/EP 96/04351. The device of the invention ensures that the solution can be extracted without bubbles from a storage medium of volume typically between 2 and 6 ml, even when small amounts of liquid in the range of 10 to 40 microliters are extracted.

The apparatus of the present invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is an axial cross-section of a cylindrical container 1 with a flat bottom, which is closed by a lid 2. A vent valve 3 is provided in the cap 2. The withdrawal nipple 4 is a rigid tube which is fixed to the lid and projects into the container. Over its entire length within the container, the extraction nozzle is surrounded by a storage medium 5, which is a cylinder, contacting the bottom of the container. A cavity 6 is provided in the storage medium around the end of the extraction nozzle.

Fig. 2 shows a further embodiment of the device according to the invention. The extraction nozzle of which is arranged on the bottom of the container. The storage medium 8 is fixed on the bottom of the container in front of the end of the extraction nipple which does not project into the container.

Fig. 3 shows an embodiment in which the rigid extraction nozzle 9 extends almost to the bottom of the container. The extraction nozzle terminates in a powdered storage medium 10, on which a liquid-permeable wire 11 is placed, the edge of which is connected to the container wall. An iron wire net is also arranged in front of the suction end of the drawing-in connection 9. These wires can fix the storage medium in powder form in a partial volume provided for this purpose in the container.

Fig. 4 shows another embodiment. In this case, however, the storage medium 12 does not touch the bottom of the container.

Fig. 5a shows a longitudinal axial section through a cylindrical container 1, while fig. 5b shows a section perpendicular to the section shown in fig. 5a and to the container axis. The extraction nozzle 13 is flexible. A single-piece storage medium 14 is arranged at the end of the extraction nipple extending into the container. The storage medium touches the cylindrical inner wall and the bottom of the container; which has a rod-like structure, is located on the axis of the container and extends all the way to the lid of the container, and which surrounds the end of the withdrawal nipple.

Fig. 6a shows a longitudinal axial section through a cylindrical container 1, while fig. 6b shows a section perpendicular to the section shown in fig. 6a and to the container axis. In this example, the one-piece storage medium 16 is composed of four arms in cross section. The end of the extraction nozzle 17 arranged at the bottom of the container is surrounded by the storage medium. The branches of the storage medium touch the inner wall and the bottom of the cylindrical container.

Fig. 7a shows a longitudinal axial section through a cylindrical container 1, while fig. 7b shows a section perpendicular to the section shown in fig. 7a and to the container axis. The device according to the invention has a similar design as shown in fig. 5a and 5 b. The single-piece storage medium 18 consists of four bars 19a, 19b, 19c and 19d, which all touch the inner wall of the container and extend from the cover to the bottom. At the bottom of the container, the rods transition into four-armed stars 20, from which a cylindrical rod 21 projects at a central point. This cylindrical rod 21 extends as far as the lid of the container and surrounds the end of the extraction nipple.

Fig. 8 shows the oval container 22 in longitudinal section, with a flexible extraction spout 23 projecting into it, the storage medium 24 being located at the end of the spout. Regardless of the position of the container, the storage medium can continuously touch the inner wall of the container in the area with liquid.

Fig. 9 shows a longitudinal section through the cylindrical container 1, into which an extraction nipple 25 projects. The storage medium 26 arranged at the end of the extraction nozzle can touch the bottom of the container and fill the end of the extraction nozzle.

Fig. 10 shows a longitudinal section through the container 27, the container bottom 28 being curved. Disposed within the container is a foil bag 29 which is filled with a liquid. The extraction nipple 30 projects through the cover into the container and is surrounded at its end by a cylindrical storage medium 31. At the end of the extraction nozzle, a cavity 32 is provided in the storage medium.

Example 1: device for producing aerosol

An aerosol may be generated by passing a liquid under high pressure through a nozzle and atomizing it outside the nozzle. The high pressure required for this purpose is only achieved if the liquid is extracted from the container in a bubble-free state.

The aerosol generator is provided with the device shown in figure 1. The storage medium comprises sintered polyethylene. Commercially available polyethylene powder (manufacturer: Hoechst AG, model GUR4120) had an average particle size of 120 μm. In this case, the device of the present invention is used as a bubble barrier and a pre-reservoir for the liquid.

Example 2: device for extracting liquid under protective gas

A deformable foil bag is filled with liquid to about 80% of its volume, the liquid being exposed to a protective gas and being withdrawn from the bag in the form of droplets. At its discharge end, the suction connection has a non-return valve. A storage medium in the form of a hair bulb made of polyester fibers with a diameter of 18 μm is fixed to the end of the suction nozzle projecting into the bag.

When the bag is squeezed by hand, the liquid is expelled from the withdrawal spout in the form of droplets. The bag is squeezed to such an extent that liquid is drawn therefrom. A check valve provided at the discharge end of the withdrawal nipple prevents air from penetrating into the foil pouch. After each use of the device, the hair bulb provided at the suction end of the suction nozzle is filled again with liquid. The hair bulb serves as a pre-reservoir for the liquid and as a barrier to the protective gas. In use of the device, the hair bulb may contain more liquid than is drawn therefrom.

The hair bulb enables the liquid in the bag to be practically completely pumped out of the bag. Which prevents the suction end of the suction nozzle from being closed by the foil situated in front of it. The protective gas is only discharged through the extraction nozzle after the liquid has been practically completely extracted from the foil pouch.

Claims (9)

1. A closed container (1) for containing a liquid, the spatial position of which can be varied and which is equipped with a device for extracting the liquid, which container is equipped with an extraction nozzle (4), which is a rigid or flexible tube and which projects into the container, the container interior having a storage medium (5) containing capillaries, which storage medium is designed as a porous, one-piece structure in the form of open pores located in the interior of the container (1) and which is at least in the region of the end of the extraction nozzle (4), characterized in that the storage medium is arranged outside the extraction nozzle and which is at least at times in contact with the liquid.

2. A container according to claim 1, wherein the withdrawal nozzle is located above the liquid level in the container.

3. Container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the storage medium (5) surrounds the extraction nozzle (4) projecting into the container (1) in the container (1) at least over at least a part of the length of the extraction nozzle (4)

4. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the storage medium (26) touches the inner wall of the container.

5. Container according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the cavity (6, 32) is arranged in the storage medium in the end region of the extraction nozzle (4, 30).

6. Container according to claim 5, wherein the cavity is configured such that the end of the extraction nozzle (4, 30) is not in contact with the storage medium.

7. Container according to any of claims 1-6, characterized in that the storage medium is an object with a stable shape formed of sintered powder, or non-sintered powder is used as storage medium, which completely fills a part of the volume of the container, wherein the part of the volume filled with powder is separated from the rest of the volume inside the container by a liquid-permeable wall, or the storage medium is a woven part, a knitted part, a fluff cake or a wad cake made of fibres.

8. A container according to claim 7, wherein the powder or fibres comprising the storage medium comprise a plastics material, ceramic, glass, metal or a natural substance.

9. Container according to any of claims 1-7, wherein a foil bag (29) is arranged inside the container (1).