The object of the invention is a membrane packaging for sterile medical objects.
Unsterile membrane packaging has become known in a variety of embodiments. For example, reference is made to CH 630 313 A5, wherein two membranes opposite each other are present, between which the object to be protected is accepted.
For the pretensioning of the two membranes, two membrane clamping rings with negligibly deviating diameters are used, which, coaxially inserted into each other, pretension the two membranes against one another.
Such a membrane packaging is used primarily for packaging clock parts, such as small-part screws, crowns, hands, housing and more.
The disadvantage of such packaging is, however, that only relatively lightweight objects can be packaged, regardless of the tightness of the packaging surrounding the membrane. It would therefore not be possible to provide a packaging for the sterile protection of medical objects with such a packaging. In particular, no sterile implants could be stored in such a known packaging, because the peripheral sealing of the membranes in the surrounding packaging is not relevant.
The same criticism also applies to the object of U.S. Pat. No. 2,681,142, where a relatively lightweight object to be held is clamped between two pretensioned membranes, and the packaging container consists of a top part and a lower part, wherein the two parts are connected to each other with the help of a clamping edge.
Here, no value is placed on the tightness of the surrounding packaging in which the two membranes are clamped.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,827 A1, two membranes are used, between which the object to be held is accepted, wherein, in order to improve the holding, the object is fixed in a container part against slots that open upwards, whereby an improved pretensioning and holding is possible even for heavy objects.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,487,921 describes a packaging for the holding of heavy objects, however no precautions are taken to additionally support the heavy object to be held in the interior of the surrounding packaging.
DE 34 40 169 A1 describes a folding packaging, wherein membranes opposite one another in both the cover as well as the lower part are provided, between which the object to be held can be clamped.
DE 603 13 690 T2 discloses a container for the floating packaging of a product. According to
According to
In JP 2004-75 072 A, the object to be packaged is arranged between two foils. However, no heavy objects can be held due to the elasticity of the two foils.
The invention is therefore based upon the task of further developing a packaging of the type specified above such that a position-safe holding of sterile items is achieved within the packaging.
In order to achieve this task, the invention relates to a container with a membrane packaging for medical objects. The container comprises at least one cover which is connectable to a lower part, wherein a clamping membrane is circumferentially and peripherally attached to at least one container part, and an additional pretensioning is applicable to the clamping membrane upon closing of the container, in that the object to be protected pushes the clamping membrane into the interior of the container part. Further, a fixed fixing device for holding the object is arranged on a container part, wherein the clamping membrane of the fixed fixing device is opposite the other container part.
Thus, the invention differs from the prior art through the preferred feature that only a single clamping membrane is present, which lies opposite to a fixed holding slot for holding the object on the other container part, and an additional pretensioning can be applied to the clamping membrane upon closing of the container.
A preferred feature of the invention is therefore that only a single membrane is present, which is present in a peripherally sealed manner either in the cover or in the lower part, so that the object to be held is initially held on a—lying opposite to a membrane—solid holding surface on the one foldable container part, while the membrane is arranged on the other container part.
Another preferred feature provides that the membrane is now designed as a clamping membrane, and a pretensioning peripheral to the container is applied to the clamping membrane upon closing of the surrounding packaging.
The container part, which accepts the clamping membrane in a circumferentially sealed manner, thus forms a clamping edge, which, through the interlocking of the two container parts upon closing of the container parts, leads to a circumferential, peripheral pretensioning of the clamping membrane on all sides.
For the sake of simplifying the description, it is assumed in the following description that the clamping membrane according to the invention is arranged on the cover and that the fixed holding surface for holding the object to be held is arranged on the lower part.
However, the invention is not limited to this. It remains completely open which part of a two-part container is designated as a lower part or as a cover. The two terms are therefore interchangeable. Purely for the sake of simplifying the description, it is assumed in the following description that the clamping membrane is arranged in the cover at the cover's open upper side running all the way around it, and the fixed holding surface for the object to be protected is arranged on the lower part.
All embodiments of the invention have in common that either [sic] the container is pivotable as at least a two-part container in a horizontal pivotal axis and thus the cover is fastened on the lower part in a horizontal pivotal axis. However, the invention is not limited to this.
In another embodiment, it can be provided that the two container parts can be completely separated from one another. In this case, it is preferred that the cover can be circumferentially latched or plugged onto the lower part. For this purpose, special latch or plug connections will be described later. With this plug-in or plug-latch connection, the sealing of the container is enabled, and, at the same time, the clamping membrane is held under pretensioning.
Accordingly, it is advantageous that for the first time medical objects can be held in that the clamping membrane—preferably arranged in the cover—is now additionally pretensioned by attaching or unfolding the cover, and with the additional pretensioning, simultaneously circumferential sealing surfaces can be created on the container edge side, which ensure an absolute sealing of the object arranged in the container against the atmosphere.
It is preferred that an additional holding effect is achieved for the object to be held by means of an additional deformation of the clamping membrane in that the clamping membrane covers an interior of the cover that is sealed against the atmosphere.
If the lower part with the object to be held is pivoted or plugged onto the clamping membrane (lowered), the object that is located on one side of the clamping membrane pushes the clamping membrane like a piston into in the air-filled interior of the cover, resulting in a compression of the air contained therein, said compression air now additionally ensuring a further pretensioning and deformation of the clamping membrane. Thus, the clamping membrane not only attaches to the external perimeter of the object to be protected due to its mechanical clamping force, but it also forms a bulge-like, convex deformation due to the counter-pressure of the compression air, which forms an additional attaching area on the external perimeter of the object to be held and additionally fixes the object.
Later, it will be also described that—in the case of transparent packaging parts—the bulge-like deformation that is visible from the outside is a readily visually inspectable indicator for the tightness of a sterile packaging.
Another significant effect due to the pretensioning of the clamping membrane is that, due to the tensile movement on the clamping membrane, the peripheral surfaces of the clamping membrane are now also pretensioned, and, according to the invention, it is provided that in these peripherally circumferential areas where the clamping membrane is connected to the cover, one or more effective sealing surfaces are arranged.
It is advantageous when, due to the increase of the pretensioning of the clamping membrane by pivoting or slipping the cover, the sealing effect in the peripheral areas of the cover is now increased by arrangement of a container-side clamping edge. For this purpose, it is provided that the clamping membrane is circumferentially permanently fixed on the container edge at a weld seam, and a clamping groove extends radially inwards from the weld seam, which is freely covered by the membrane, and a ring clamping edge of the opposite lower part can be driven into this clamping groove, whereby the membrane is additionally pretensioned. A special form of a container-side clamping edge is thus described.
A first sealing surface is thereby created between a ring clamping edge of the lower part and the assigned opposite clamping groove in the area of the cover, wherein the ring clamping edge forms a first sealing finger, seen in profile.
Preferably, a second sealing surface is also formed, such that the clamping groove, which is arranged in the cover, has a circumferential second ring clamping edge running radially inwards, which also comes into contact with the membrane and additionally pretensions the membrane. This second ring clamping edge also forms a sealing finger seen in profile.
There is thus a double pretensioning by two ring clamping edges (sealing fingers) which point in opposite directions and interlock with one another, of which one is arranged in the cover and the other is arranged in the lower part.
As a result, two radially spaced sealing points are created, which ensure an absolute tightness of the hermetically sealed container.
Thus, it is possible for the first time to store sterile objects in such a container, because, by introducing the object into the container, the ring clamping edges that interlock with one another and run past one another with negligible clearance, also called sealing fingers, for the first time ensure a double sealing in the interior of the container due to the membrane and thus form two circumferential sealing edges that are radially distanced from one another.
Thus, it is possible for the first time to store sterile objects in such a container for a long period of time, because, due to the tensioning, the tensioning effect of the clamping membrane is increased upon interlocking or swiveling from the cover to the lower part, and thus the sealing effect in the area of the two radially spaced sealing edges is simultaneously increased.
In a preferred embodiment, it is provided that the clamping membrane according to the invention consists of a high-elastomer material, such as a sealable or weldable plastic material. It is preferably a polymer plastic which is highly elastic.
In a preferred embodiment, it is provided that, due to the presence of a single membrane, appropriate fixed fixing devices are arranged on the one container part, which are also able to hold relatively heavy objects. Such a fixing device can be, for example, a plug-in device, a clamping device, a screw-on device, or the like. The type and formation of the fixing device depends on the type and formation of the object to be held.
For example, if the object to be held has a screw thread, it can be screwed, slipped, or clamped onto an assigned holding surface on the one container.
Likewise, it is possible to use fixed clamping slots or the like on a container part.
It is advantageous for the invention that, due to the presence of a single membrane—omitting an opposite membrane—now relatively heavy objects can be held on a fixed holding surface on the one container part, and the single membrane only serves to fix the object and simultaneously provide an improved clamping sealing effect upon closing of the packaging, whereby on the one hand the holding force on the object to be held is increased and, on the other hand, the sealing effect is increased in the sealing edges of the container parts opposite one another.
The object of the present invention results not only from the object of the individual claims, but also from the combination of individual claims.
All information and features disclosed in the documents, including the abstract, in particular the spatial configuration shown in the drawings, could be claimed as essential to the invention, insofar as they are individually or in combination novel with respect to the state of the art. The use of the terms “essential” or “according to the invention” or “essential to the invention” is subjective and does not imply that the thusly labeled features must necessarily be a component of one or more claims.
The invention is explained in more detail in the following on the basis of drawings, showing only one possible design. Further essential features and advantages of the invention will emerge from the drawings and their description.
The figures show:
In the exemplary embodiment according to
The object 2 to be held is accepted on a holding surface 52 on the inside of the lower part 4 and fixed there.
Upon pivoting the cover 3 opposite to the direction of the arrow 7, the object 2 to be held is thus clamped between the holding surface 52 on the inside of the lower part 4 and the clamping membrane 8, which covers the interior 9 of the cover 3 in a fully sealed fashion.
Here, it is provided that the clamping membrane 8 is sealed on a circumferential sealing edge 15 and a sealing surface 16 arranged there.
Such a sealing surface 16 can be provided, for example, by an ultrasound welding, through a laser welding, or through other measures or other welding methods, i.e. the clamping membrane 8 can be sealed all the way around on the assigned edge 12 of the cover 3 and sealed or welded on in a high-load fashion.
In
In addition to the improvement of the holding effect of the object 2 by pivoting the lower part 4 into the cover 3, there is another advantage, which is illustrated in
In a preferred embodiment according to
Accordingly, the clamping membrane 8 is sealed with the aid of the aforementioned sealing or welding 15, 16 on the holder end 22, which protrudes flatly to the outside, and attached under a high load.
In the exemplary embodiment shown, the object 2 to be held has a holding slot 5, which can be plugged in a clamping fashion onto an allocated holding edge 24 on the inside of the lower part 4.
Instead of such a plug-in connection, other fixing options can of course also be used. It is preferably preferred if a fixing device 23 is present between the object to be maintained 2 and the inside of the sub-part 4, which can also be configured as a screw connection, terminal connection, wedge connection or bayonet rotating connection.
The lower part 4 comprises a sealing finger 25, which protrudes radially inside into the cover 3 and extends radially out into a ring groove 27, which in turn connects radially outwards to latching edge 28, on whose free end an inward-facing hook edge 29 is formed.
If the cover 3 is pushed onto the lower part 4, as shown in
Thus, two radially spaced sealing edges 31, 32 are simultaneously created, which ensure a reliable seal between the cover and the lower part 4 and form a double sterile barrier.
In a preferred exemplary embodiment, a locking between the cover 3 and the lower part 4 is provided in such a way that the ring edge 26 protruding horizontally to the outside engages with the assigned ring groove 27 on the bottom part 4 and the hook edge 29 snaps onto the ring edge 26 of the cover 3, resulting in a high-load latch connection.
According to a preferred feature, the formation of the membrane bulge 8′ is also a sign of the presence of the sealing effect of the two radially spaced sealing edges 31, 32. Even if such a medical sterile packaging is stored over a long period of time, it can be checked through visual inspection of the (preferably transparent) container as to whether the membrane bulge 8′ is still present. If it is present, the tightness of container 1 is guaranteed. If it has disappeared, then a slackening of the clamping membrane 8 or even a leakage of the container 1 must be assumed. Thus, the specified container 1 is preferably suitable for long-term holding of highly sterile objects while maintaining its sealing effect due to the two spaced sealing wells 31, 32.
It is further shown that the outside of the cover 4 has a recessed floor area 34, in whose area a label, instructions for use, or a booklet can be inserted.
This is a tamper-proof seal, which is formed by the pull tab 35.
First, in
Accordingly, if the cover 3 is pushed down against the lower part 4 in the direction of the arrow 30, then the latching edge 28 moves outwardly, as shown in the direction of the arrow 33.
When producing a complete latching effect, it snaps back in the direction of the arrow 33′ (see
If the pull tab 35 is now pulled up in the direction of the arrow 38, then the latching edge 28 is thus pulled out to the outside in the direction of the arrow 33 due to an existing target breaking ring groove 37 and detaches from the ring flange 36 of the lower part 4.
The latching connection between the cover 3 and the lower part 4 is thus lifted and also cannot be produced again, because the cover-side latching edge 28 has been separated.
According to
A further securing of this locking connection—which can be closed in the direction of the arrow 41—occurs in that a recess 47 is present on the inside of the respective recess 42, which is latchable to an assigned knob 46 on the circumferential edge of the cover 3.
It is self-evident that, in a kinematic inversion, the knobs 44 and 46 shown here can be replaced by recesses, and the recesses 45 and 47 shown here can be configured as knobs.
The entire arrangement is covered by the cover 3 in the circumferentially sealed clamping membrane 8, wherein, even in such a complex fastening case, membrane bulges 8′ are formed around the respective objects 50, 51 to be held, thereby allowing additional verification of the tightness of the entire container even in the case of long-term storage.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102018130686.5 | Dec 2018 | DE | national |