The present invention relates to a structure for forming a suspender fixed to an article for suspending the article and to a medication container having the suspender-forming structure.
It is well known that a suspender is attached to various articles for suspending the articles. Typically these suspenders are in the form of a cord or a strip having a length required for suspending the article. They are attached at their one end or both ends to the article to be suspended.
However, it may be difficult to directly attach the suspender, generally a cord type suspender, to an article although depending on the type of the article. For example, in the case of a single-use camera, usually a suspender cord or the like is not attached to a single-use camera because the camera is packaged with a plastics film before use and because of increased costs. Thus, it is inconvenient to carry such single-use camera without a suspender cord. A case cover having a suspender cord was proposed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 6-269311.
Containers, for example, PET bottles, steel cans or aluminum cans containing health beverages, refreshing drinks, tea or the like need not always use a suspender. Thus, various types of suspenders to be attached to the containers in need have been proposed as in Japanese Utility Model Registrations Nos. 3041654; 3054989; and 3065786.
For example, a medication container for medical use having a certain kind of structure involves a difficulty in fixing a suspender to the container. This problem will be described with reference to drawings.
Medication containers having various structures are available. For example, Japanese Utility Model Publication Hei 4-No.22745 discloses a medication container having a double-ended needle for mixing and injecting a medication in intravenous drip of injection drugs mainly such as antibiotics as shown in
A medication container 1′ of this kind has a container main body 2′ made of plastic and deformable under compression. The container main body 2′ has an opening 3a at an upper position. The opening 3a has a seal 4a sealed with an elastic material. The seal 4a is provided with a cylindrical support ring 5 upwardly extending to lie erect and removably fitted therein.
The support ring 5 supports a double-ended needle 6 with a pair of needle points 6a, 6b formed at upper and lower ends and communicating with each other. The needle 6 is slidable upward and downward and is supported such that when the needle is moved downward, the lower needle point 6b pierces the seal 4a of the opening 3.
The support ring 5 is covered with a protective cap 7. The support ring 5 and the protective cap 7 can be suitably removed by a screwed portion 7a. A joint between the support ring 5 and the protective cap 7 is covered with a shrink film 8 to guarantee that the cap is not opened yet. At the joint between the support ring 5 and the protective cap 7, a perforation (not shown) is formed. The view may be seen as if the shrink film 8 were separated from the support ring 5 and the protective cap 7, but actually it is closely contacted with them.
When in use, the protective cap 7 under the shrink film 8 is held, and unscrewed in an unscrewing direction, the shrink film 8 is cut off at the perforation so that an upper portion of the film 8 above the perforation is removed along with the protective cap 7. (
Then the upper needle point 6a is inserted into a sealed opening B1 of the vial B and the double-ended needle 6 is slided downward along the support ring 5 so that the lower needle point 6b is made to successively pierce the seal portion 4a, and a seal film 9a of an intermediate plug 9 to cause the vial B to internally communicate with the container main body 2′. Then, the contents of the vial B and the container main body 2′ are mingled together and the mixture is returned to the container main body 2′ (
The medication container 1′ containing the mixture of the medication and the solution is suspended from a stand (not shown) for suspension using a suspension aperture 10 (
However, the above-mentioned conventional medication container having the double-ended needle necessitates removal of the vial from the container before carrying out intravenous drip and takes time in the preparation for intravenous drip.
To do without removal of the vial B, an outlet for taking out the medication is provided below the main body 2′ in a way that intravenous drip can be performed with the vial attached to the container. In this case, the suspension aperture 10 is to be eliminated, and a problem remains on what suspender is used.
An example of such suspender may be a U-shaped handle 11 formed of a rigid plastic as shown in
However, there are single-use cameras of different sizes. When a camera is suspended with a conventional camera case having a suspension cord, it is necessary to use camera cases of different sizes corresponding to the sizes of cameras. Consequently a suspender would be conveniently usable if it is used without hindering the packaging film for the camera, and if it is inexpensive and can be attached to the camera in advance.
Conventional suspenders for suspension of a PET bottle or like containers are detached from the containers so that they easily become lost. Thus the suspender is often missing in case of need. A suspender attached to a container is convenient to use, but the suspender may become a nuisance if the suspender is not used or is placed on display in a store. Moreover, it incurs an additional cost.
Furthermore it would become difficult to package an article with a shrink film 8 for guarantee of non-opening if the foregoing conventional handle 11 is attached to the support ring 5 of the medication container having a double-ended needle as shown in
A first object of the invention is to provide a novel suspender-forming structure which is absolutely unparalleled. The present invention provides a structure for forming a suspender to be attached to an article. A second object of the invention is to provide a medication container having the suspender-forming structure of the invention which allows intravenous drip with a vial attached to a container.
The above-described first object of the invention can be achieved by a structure for forming a suspender which is at least partly attached to an article to be suspended and which is composed of a strip of plastics film and having properties of being stretchable in a length direction and stretched in use.
In a strip made of plastics film, an elongation at break is preferably in the range of 500% or more in a tensile test by radioautography using a dumbbell specimen measuring 3 mm in width×3 cm in length.
In the strip suspender made of plastics, an extension elastic modulus is preferably 10% or less.
In the strip made of plastics film, an initial strength required for elongation is preferably in the range of 5 to 70 N. The initial strength corresponds to the tensile force at yield point wherein the strip begins to elongate.
In the strip made of plastics film, preferably a rate of 100% tensile stress to 50% tensile stress is in the range from 1 to 1.5.
The strip of plastics film useful as the suspender 12 preferably has a thickness of 50 to 500 μm.
The strip of plastics film useful as the suspender 12 has preferably a rib for keeping the shape, the rib extending in a length direction.
Preferably the suspender of the invention is fixed to an article to be suspended by fixing a fixing portion to the article, such that a non-fixing portion is substantially not loosened along the article.
Preferably the suspender is colored.
The second object of the invention can be achieved by a medication container which is characterized by the foregoing suspender-forming structure at an upper portion of the container main body with an outlet for taking out the contents at a lower position, the outlet being sealed with an elastic material.
The container main body has an opening in an upper position for mixing and injecting the medication, the opening being sealed with an elastic material. At a seal portion of the opening, a cylindrical support ring is extending upwardly and removably fitted. A double-ended needle which is slidable upwardly and downwardly is fitted in the support ring. The needle having a pair of upper and lower needle points and a through-hole extending vertically therethrough is so supported that when sliding downward, the lower needle point is made to pierce the seal portion of the opening in the main body. The support ring is covered with a protective cap. The two ends of the suspender (which constitute the suspender-forming structure) are preferably fixed to an outer periphery of the support ring.
At least a joint between the support ring and the protective cap is preferably covered with a shrink film together with the fixing portion of the suspender.
It is desirable that a part of the suspender is removably attached to the top surface of the protective cap.
An example of the suspender-forming structure of the invention which is applied to a single-use camera will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
A suspender 12 which is a strip made of plastics film as shown in
In the strip made of plastics film as the suspender 12, an elongation at break is in the range of 500% or more in a tensile test by radioautography using a dumbbell specimen measuring 3 mm in width and 3 cm in length, preferably about 500 to about 2000%, more preferably about 600 to about 2000%. The elongation at break can be measured according to the method prescribed in JIS Z1702.
Examples of plastic materials for such polymer films are polyethylene, polypropylene and like polyolefins. Among them, linear low-density polyolefins are more preferable because they mostly exhibit satisfactory ductility or elongation at break in the above-mentioned ranges when used alone. In particular, polyethylene prepared using metallocene as a catalyst is more suitable since its elongation at break, extension elastic modulus, initial strength, and rate of 100% tensile stress to 50% tensile stress can be easily adjusted to a suitable range, by adjusting its thickness etc. in independent use or by adjusting its thickness in multi-layer use or a mixing rate when using together with other resins.
Even a plastic film having a elongation at break of less than 500% (such as films made of polypropylene) and formed of one species of plastics may be given the foregoing range of elongation at break by incorporating or depositing a thermoplastic elastomer such as SEBS in a suitable amount (5 to 50 wt. %).
The film made of plastics for use as the suspender 12 may has a single layer structure or a multi-layer structure when so required. When a material for the film to be deposited is polypropylene, a multi-layer film (a layer of polyethylene and a layer of polypropylene) is suitable. More specifically such multi-layer film may be formed by depositing polypropylene on both sides of the polyethylene layer so as to impart the ductility and elongation at break in said desired range to the multi-layer film.
In the foregoing embodiment of the multi-layer film, the ductility and elongation at break of the multi-layer film can be adjusted to said desired range by changing the density of polyethylene in an intermediate layer or by using a random polymer or a homopolymer as polypropylene in two outer layers.
The plastics film useful as the suspender 12 is made of a material having properties of scarcely shrinking after elongation. Preferred materials are those having an extension elastic modulus of 10% or less. The extension elastic modulus can be measured according to the method prescribed in JIS L1013.
The plastics film useful as the suspender 12 has suitably an initial strength required for elongation in the range of about 5 to about 70 N, preferably about 10 to about 50 N. If the initial strength is too high, a great burden is imposed on the physical strength, namely the film is inferior in handleability.
The plastics film useful as the suspender 12 has preferably a rate of 100% tensile stress to 50% tensile stress in the ranging from 1 to 1.5. In this range, the film can be elongated with a substantially uniform force. The term “50% tensile stress” refers to stress required for elongating the length of the film to 1.5 times, and “100% tensile stress” refers to stress required for elongating the length of the film to 2 times. These values can be measured according to the method defined in JIS K7311.
The plastics film useful as the suspender 12 can be formed by conventional molding methods such as inflation molding methods, T die molding methods or the like. The suspender 12 can be easily elongated if the film is cut at a right angle to a direction of resin flow (to the extrusion direction). Hence this method is preferable.
The plastics film useful as the suspender 12 can be easily elongated by partly reducing the width of the film, or can be more firmly fixed by extending the width of the fixing portion. The width of the suspender 12 can be suitably determined depending on the materials to be used, thickness, articles to which the film is fixed, etc. Generally the width thereof is 5 to 20 mm.
The suspender 12 as described above can be easily attached to a camera by being merely fixed and is not bulky since it is a thin film. The suspender 12 requires no hole or no hook for its attachment to the camera main body. The suspender 12 can be used without modifying a mold for making the camera main body. The plastics film useful as the suspender 12 can be made at low costs and the cost can be lower.
In the example of
The stretchable suspenders 12, 12′ as described above can be used for containers such as PET bottles, aluminum cans, steel cans or the like containing refreshing drinks, tea, health beverages or the like.
In the illustrated example, the stretchable suspender 12p is fixed to both sides above the trunk of the PET bottle 16 via a fixing portion 14. The suspender 12p extends, before stretch, from an upper portion of one side of the bottle trunk to a bottom of the bottle along the side of the bottle trunk to run across the bottom and further extends upward from the bottom of the bottle along the other side to an upper portion of the bottle trunk. The suspender 12p arranged as described above does not cause a nuisance even when not used.
In use of the suspender 12p, the suspender 12p is stretched as in the case of the foregoing single-use camera (see
An example of the stretchable suspender of the invention as described above which is applied to a medication container having a double-ended needle will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 15. Like reference numerals in the following description as well as in the prior art were used for like constituent members.
A medication container 1 has a pair of openings 3a, 3b above and below a container main body 2 formed of plastics or the like, deformable under compression and accommodating a solution. The openings 3a, 3b have seal portions 4a, 4b made of an elastic material as shown in
A cylindrical support ring 5 upwardly extends around the seal portion 4a of the upper opening 3a and is removably fitted therein as shown in
The support ring 5 is covered with a protective cap 7. The support ring 5 is suitably detachably connected to the protective cap 7 via a fitting portion 7a. Fixed to the external periphery of the support ring 5 are both ends of the suspender 12 composed of a stretchable strip of the film made of plastics. The plastics film used as the suspender 12 is the same as described in respect of the foregoing embodiment of the suspender for the single-use camera.
If the suspender 12 is fixed as scarcely loosed along the protective cap 7 as shown in the figure such that the protective cap 7 can not be easily removed without stretching the suspender 12, it would additionally provide a guarantee for non-opening of the protective cap 7. Hence, this structure is preferable. The suspender 12 is stretchable to a length sufficient to allow suspension even after insertion of the vial B (see
A maximum gap of about 0.5 to about 3 mm between the top surface of the protective cap 7 and the suspender 12 may be formed to provide an opening for inserting the finger therein in stretching the suspender 12. Or as shown in
The support ring 5 and the protective cap 7 as well as the fixing portion of the suspender 12 are covered with a shrink film 8 as shown in a magnified view of
The shrink film 8 is depicted as an opaque film in
The opening 3b formed at the underside of the container main body 2 is used as an outlet for taking out the medication as shown in
A method of using the medication container of such structure with the double-ended needle will be described with reference to
When the protective cap 7 under the shrink film 8 is held and is turned in a direction of separation and removal, the perforation 8a of the shrink film 8 is cut. An upper half of the shrink film 8 cut off by the perforation 8a is pulled off from the protective cap 7.
Then the protective cap 7 is unscrewed from the screwed portion 7a with the support ring 5. Then, it is pulled off from the support ring 5. In pulling off, the plastic film constituting the suspender 12 is pulled and stretched to a required length while holding the plastic film together with the protective cap 7 or holding the plastic film alone.
Thereafter the upper needle point 6a is made to pierce a sealed opening (reference numeral B1 of
In this way, the medication container 1 having the double-ended needle and accommodating the mixture of the medication and the solution is used in drip administration by suspending the suspender 12 from the stand S for suspension as shown in
Without limitation to the above-mentioned embodiment, the suspender 12 is a part of the shrink film 8 as shown in
The strip of plastics film useful as the suspender 12 may be provided with a rib 18 which extends in a length direction of the strip of plastics film to keep the shape as shown in
When the suspender 12 is applied to the medication container as described above, the protective cap 7 is removed after stretching the suspender 12, and the vial is inserted. When the protective cap 7 is taken off, the suspender 12 becomes loose and may be placed on the double-ended needle 6 and on the support ring 5 in which case the suspender 12 is to be displaced. However, the suspender 12 having the rib for keeping the shape is prevented from causing the foregoing incident because of the shape-keeping ability after elongation of the suspender 12. Thus the insertion of the vial can be quickly done.
In the case of this application, the shape-keeping rib 18 has a width size corresponding to about 20 to about 60% of the entire width of the strip of plastics film and may have a thickness of 50 to 300 μm. The rib need not be formed over the overall length of the suspender 12. For example, as shown in
In the foregoing example, the medication container having the double-ended needle was described. However, the stretchable suspender of the invention can be further applied to a medication container having an outlet for taking out a solution of the medication alone, or a medication container of the type which is provided with an upper opening for mixing and injecting a medication and a lower opening for taking out a solution of the medication, but which is not provided with a double-ended needle.
The suspender of the invention can be applied to various articles as well as to the above-mentioned examples.
As apparent from the foregoing description, the suspender of the present invention is fixed to various articles in advance and is used as stretched in use so that it can be compactly accommodated before use. Further, the suspender of the invention which comprises a plastics film can be provided at low costs.
Even if the medication container of the invention is of the type having a double-ended needle wherein a shrink film covers a support ring and a protective cap on the ring for guaranteeing non-opening of the protective cap, the suspender has a structure wherein the suspender composed of a strip of plastics film stretchable in a length direction is fixed to the support ring and the shrink film covers the same, whereby the suspender does not hamper the shrink film and intravenous drip can be done with a vial combined therewith.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2002-294589 | Oct 2002 | JP | national |
2003-106169 | Apr 2003 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/JP03/12200 | 9/25/2003 | WO | 4/7/2005 |