HK1105140B - Double-chamber ampoule - Google Patents

Description

Double-chamber ampoule

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a container made of resiliently flexible plastic.

Background

DE-PS 3244403 discloses a generic container made of a resilient plastic material, which has a tubular dosing chamber in which a body medium is located, which dosing chamber is designed in such a way that the body medium remains in the dosing chamber independently of the position of the container, and which has a compressible container part filled with a gaseous medium, the volume of which is greater than the volume of the dosing chamber, wherein the body medium located in the dosing chamber can be discharged from the dosing chamber through a discharge opening arranged in the dosing chamber when the container part is compressed.

This known container solution is used to discharge a medium of a substance having a pasty consistency at ambient temperature, which is only added to the dosing chamber during the manufacture of the container. This pasty consistency of the substance medium at ambient temperature prevents the medium from being discharged from the tubular dosing chamber, which may also be tapered towards its free end. In the known container part, only gaseous medium is present as propellant medium, so that the substance medium alone located in the dosing chamber is substantially discharged from the dosing chamber when the container is compressed, leaving almost no residue in the container. The known solution is limited in that, when a transfer medium of a lower viscosity than the paste is present in the dosing chamber, the transfer medium enters the container part from the dosing chamber via an extension as a connection and mixes with the propellant medium, so that this container solution cannot be used in this respect.

To overcome this disadvantage, DE 4420594C 2 proposes a plastic container for the metered delivery of flowable substances, which container has a discharge opening at one end and a chamber connected at the other open end, which chamber is open only to the interior of the container, the volume of which chamber can be reduced by manual deformation and which chamber is formed integrally with the container, wherein the container is formed as a cylinder and the interior of the cylinder containing the flowable substance is separated from the interior of the chamber by a separating piston which can be moved manually in the longitudinal direction within the cylinder, wherein air is stored in the chamber and the separating piston is pushed by hand towards the discharge opening of the container. In the known solutions, the separation of the delivery medium in the dosing chamber from the substance of the propellant medium in the container part is achieved by means of a separating piston, so that no mixing occurs unintentionally, which would make this container solution unusable. With the known container solutions, it is possible to discharge a transport medium of very low viscosity, but there is also the disadvantage that the separating piston in the known solutions makes the production more expensive and is constructed too large in the axial direction, in particular in the transport direction.

Disclosure of Invention

Starting from the prior art described above, the object of the invention is to create a container which is inexpensive and small in size and which can discharge substances of low consistency and/or aerosol as a transport medium without great structural expenditure.

According to the invention, the container made of elastically flexible plastic comprises a dosing chamber in which a transport medium is present, wherein one end of the dosing chamber has a discharge opening and the opposite end is connected to a compressible container part via a connection, wherein a propellant medium, in particular a gaseous propellant medium, is present in the container part, wherein the propellant medium at least partially expels the transport medium from the dosing chamber via the discharge opening when the container part is compressed, wherein the connection between the dosing chamber and the container part is formed by a constriction which is designed in such a way that a capillary action is produced which, independently of the spatial position of the container, prevents the transport medium from escaping from the dosing chamber into the container part containing the propellant medium, and wherein the constriction which is vulnerable is reinforced by a bearing device which has at least two bridge-shaped bearing arms, the support arm encloses the container member, the constriction and at least a portion of the dispensing chamber. It is thereby ensured that the conveying medium cannot unintentionally flow from the dosing chamber towards the receptacle part containing the propellant medium, even without the dividing piston member. In any case, therefore, a functional reliability independent of the spatial position of the container is ensured, and it is surprising to the average person skilled in the art of manufacturing such containers that he can even deliver a sprayable aerosol or the like as a delivery medium. The latter form of substance is becoming increasingly important in the medical field, since in this way the sprayable aerosol is brought into contact with the nasal mucosa in order to ensure rapid absorption of the ingredient, something which cannot be guaranteed with the other form of absorption.

In a preferred embodiment of the container according to the invention, the constriction is designed as a capillary. It is also preferred that the vulnerable constriction is reinforced by a support means. The support means ensures that the constriction is not inadvertently damaged or crushed, which could impair its function.

In a preferred embodiment of the container according to the invention, the support device has at least two bridge-shaped (stegartige) support arms which enclose the container part, the constriction and at least a portion of the dispensing material chamber. Preferably, the two support arms extend along and at least partially cover a dividing plane along which the parts of the container are docked in half with each other. In addition to the already mentioned reinforcement of the entire container, this also improves the tightness of the container with respect to the surroundings, so that the sterility of the interior of the container is also ensured over a long period of time.

In a further preferred embodiment of the container according to the invention, the two support arms on the extension of the container part on its side facing away from the dosing chamber transition into a coded connection sign. By means of said coding, a description can be obtained, in particular with regard to the contents of the container.

In a further preferred embodiment of the container according to the invention, the dosing chamber is formed in the shape of a tube with the constriction, and the container part is formed substantially as a cuboid.

In a further preferred embodiment of the container according to the invention, the cuboid-shaped container part protrudes at least in one direction over the top of the dosing chamber.

In another preferred embodiment of the container according to the invention, the volume ratio between the container part and the dosing chamber is at least 2: 1.

In a further preferred embodiment of the container according to the invention, the discharge opening is closed by a twist cap before the discharge of the transport medium.

In a further particularly preferred embodiment of the container according to the invention, the dosing chamber tapers at least stepwise in the direction of the discharge opening. When the container is compressed, the selected degree of conical constriction serves the purpose of increasing the speed of the stored medium, which is advantageous for increasing efficiency. An enhanced spraying effect can be obtained especially during transport.

Drawings

The container according to the invention is described in detail below with the aid of an embodiment shown in the drawings. The drawing is merely schematic and is not to scale. Wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the container of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the container of FIG. 1; and

fig. 3 shows a group of several separable containers of the design according to fig. 1 and 2.

Detailed Description

The container shown in the figures consists of a transparent, elastically flexible plastic material, which can be manufactured, filled and sealed aseptically by means of a blow moulding machine, alone (see fig. 1 and 2) or together with other containers (see fig. 3). The container has a tubular dosing chamber 10, the lower end of which is closed by a twist cap (twist closure)12 having a constricted tear seam 14 and a handle 16 for unscrewing the twist cap 12 to release a discharge opening 18 at the lower end of the dosing chamber 10. In the dosing chamber 10, a delivery medium, for example a medium of pasty consistency such as eye ointment, is present; the transport medium preferably also comprises a medium of low viscosity, even an aerosol, which can be discharged from the container through the discharge opening 18 by the dosing chamber 10 during the spraying process. The tubular configuration of the ingredient cavity 10 facilitates insertion into a body orifice such as a nostril or the like.

The opposite end of the dosing chamber 10 is connectable via a connection 20 to a compressible container part 22, in which a particularly gaseous propellant medium, for example air, is located. When the container part 22 is compressed, preferably by hand, the propellant medium pushes at least part of the transfer medium out of the dosing chamber 10 through the discharge opening 18 for the outward-facing application process. The connection 20 between the dosing chamber 10 and the receptacle part 22 is formed by a constriction as shown in the drawing, wherein the constriction is designed such that a capillary action is produced, which, independently of the spatial position of the receptacle, prevents the transport medium from escaping from the dosing chamber into the receptacle part 22 containing the propellant medium. Without the compression of the container part 22, the propellant medium cannot be discharged unintentionally through the connection 20 in the direction of the dosing chamber 10. This constriction is formed in particular by a capillary, which is arranged in the form of a constriction in the transition region between the dosing chamber 10 and the receptacle part 22. The axial length of the capillary along the interface surface 24 of the container is always smaller than the free passage cross section for the transfer medium.

The drawing also shows that the vulnerable constriction is reinforced by a support device, which is designated as a whole by 26. As shown in particular in fig. 1, the bearing device 26 has two bridge-shaped supporting arms 28, 30 which enclose the container part 22, the connecting part 20 and at least the lower third of the dosing chamber 10. As shown in particular in fig. 2, in the above-described construction the two support arms 28, 30 extend along the so-called interface 24 and at least partially cover it with the frame, so that an additional sealing is achieved in this region by the support device 26, along which the individual parts of the container lie half-on one another during the production process. At the lower end, as seen in the direction of view of fig. 1, the two supporting arms 28, 30 integrally transition into the dosing chamber 10 via a conical end section.

In the extension of the container part 22, in the upward direction in fig. 1 and 2, the two supporting arms 28, 30 terminate in a flat, rectangular connecting tag 32. In addition to improving the handling of the container, the connection tag 32 may be provided with a code 34 for identifying the container and its contents. The height of the connecting label 32 is selected such that, as shown in fig. 2, the connecting label projects beyond the support device 26 and the separating plane 24 by an edge-side projection. If necessary, the connecting tab 32 can also be separated from the container part 22 by a further breaking seam 36. In contrast to the tubular dosing chamber 10 and the connection 20 in the form of a constriction, the receptacle part 22 is of substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and, as shown in fig. 2, has two contact surfaces 38 on opposite sides, which allow the receptacle 22 to be compressed with the hand of an operator, for example with the thumb and forefinger. Furthermore, the contact surface 38 also extends parallel to the separating surface 24. In particular, the contact surface 38 is clear over the top of the dosing chamber 10 in both directions. Furthermore, the volume ratio of the container part 22 to the dosing chamber 10 is approximately 2: 1, so that in this way it is possible to ensure that the medium is completely discharged through the discharge opening 18.

As shown in fig. 3, a plurality of containers are connected to one another in succession on their mutually facing sides, and such containers produced in series by a blow molding machine can be separated from one another on their mutually adjoining end sides. In this way, the user can individually separate and use containers combined into groups, preferably in a weekly dose. This combination makes it possible to save packaging material.

By means of the container solution according to the invention, it is possible to increase the application possibilities for the transfer of media to a patient.

Claims (10)

1. A container made of a resiliently flexible plastic material, comprising a dosing chamber (10) in which a transport medium is present, wherein the dosing chamber (10) has a discharge opening (18) at one end and is connected at the opposite end via a connecting portion (20) to a compressible container part (22) in which a propellant medium is present, wherein the propellant medium at least partially expels the transport medium from the dosing chamber (10) via the discharge opening (18) when the container part (22) is compressed, characterized in that the connecting portion (20) between the dosing chamber (10) and the container part (22) is formed by a constriction which is designed such that a capillary action is produced which, independently of the spatial position of the container, prevents the transport medium from escaping from the dosing chamber (10) into the container part (22) containing the propellant medium, and the vulnerable constriction is reinforced by a support device (26), which support device (26) has at least two bridge-shaped support arms (28, 30) which enclose the container part (22), the constriction and at least a part of the dispensing chamber (10).

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the constriction is formed by a capillary tube.

3. The vessel in accordance with claim 1 wherein said propellant medium is gaseous.

4. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that the two support arms (28, 30) extend along and at least partially cover a dividing plane (24) along which the parts of the container are butted against each other in half.

5. Container according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that in the extension of the container part (22) on its side facing away from the dosing chamber (10), the two supporting arms (28, 30) merge into a connecting tag (32) provided with a coding (34).

6. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the dosing chamber (10) is formed in the shape of a tube with the constriction, and the container part (22) is formed substantially as a cuboid.

7. Container according to claim 6, characterized in that the cuboid container part (22) protrudes at least in one direction over the top of the dosing chamber (10).

8. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the volume ratio between the container member (22) and the dosing chamber (10) is at least 2: 1.

9. Container according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the discharge opening (18) is closed by a twist cap (12) before the discharge of the conveying medium.

10. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the ingredient compartment (10) tapers conically at least stepwise in the direction of the discharge opening (18).