The present invention relates to a vial for fluid products, particularly adapted to contain products used in the medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food sector or the like.
With particular reference to pharmaceutical and/or cosmetic industry the use is known of vials made of polymer material for the packaging of one or more doses of fluid, liquid or pasty products.
The known vials may be of the resealable or disposable type and generally comprise a containment body for containing a predetermined dose of product, with a substantially tubular and elongated shape, which has an extremity provided with a neck, on top of which is defined a dispensing mouth for the product.
The opposite extremity of the containment body has an opening adapted to the introduction of the product, which is closed after filling, e.g., by sealing. Closing means, which are associable in a removable manner with the vials in correspondence to their neck, allow to clog the dispensing mouth.
The containment body and the closing means can be made separately, using forming techniques such as injection molding, and subsequently assembled together, or, alternatively, they can be made in a single body piece and subsequently separated by a user before use.
The containment body also has a pair of fins which are adapted to facilitate the grip of the vial by a user, and which extend, diametrically opposite one another, from the outer lateral surface of the containment body itself.
The known vials can be produced in single units or can be associated with one another in series to form a so-called “strip”; in the latter case, the fins of the containment bodies of two successive vials are temporarily associated with one another in correspondence to easily tearable connection lines with weakened section, allowing the separation of one vial from the other.
With particular reference to the closing means and their conformation, different types of vial are known according to different modes of use and realization.
A first type of known vials provides, e.g., the use of a closing element that, during molding, is made with a portion fixed to the vial neck along predetermined breaking areas, to clog the dispensing mouth.
In other words, the containment body and the closing element are made in a single body piece so that the dispensing mouth of the vial is initially closed and may be opened by tearing off the closing element from the containment body.
Eventually, the closing element may also comprise a cap seat, which is arranged opposite the portion initially fixed to the neck and which has a clogging body suitably sized to be introduced in the dispensing mouth.
In this case the vial is opened for the first time by detaching the closing element from the dispensing mouth in correspondence to the breaking areas and, after using the product, the vial may be reclosed by turning the closing element upside down and by fitting the cap seat on the neck, then positioning the clogging body within the dispensing mouth.
Vials of this type are shown in the patent document EP 0326529 B1.
A second type of resealable vials made in a single body piece comprises closing means having a clogging element, of the cap type or the like, fitted sealed within the dispensing mouth, and deformable or breakable elements that connect, without interruption, the closing means to the vial body.
Such deformable or breakable elements are adapted to signal to the user any possible product contamination due to any tampering and/or accidental opening of the product, thereby acting as a guarantee seal.
Vials of this type are shown in the patent document EP 2139659 B1.
Furthermore, a third type of vials is known, wherein the closing means and the containment body are made in separate pieces, subsequently assembled together. The closing means of such vials generally comprise a handle having a clogging element, of the cap type or the like, which may be fitted sealed within the dispensing mouth, and an annular collar fixable coaxially and interlocking in correspondence to the neck of the containment body.
The handle is associated in a removable manner in correspondence to the outer surface of the collar by means of a suitable weakened area, made up, e.g., of pre-breaking lines, of tearable bridges, of reduced cross-sections or the like.
The handle, the collar and the cap are therefore made in a single body piece, separately from the containment body, and the collar is subsequently fixed to the neck by interlocking, with the cap closing the dispensing mouth.
Vials of this type are shown in the patent document EP 1289842 B 1.
These known vials are however susceptible of further improvements.
In particular, due to European and U.S. standards being increasingly restrictive and stringent, the presence of product-related information is mandatory on each individual vial (instead of on the whole strip and in addition to those commonly indicated on the packaging and/or on additional leaflets).
This need is even greater in the case of strips composed of vials containing different products, wherein the comprehensiveness and clarity of information included in correspondence to each vial is essential.
The information, which may comprise e.g. information on the product dosage, the packaging and/or expiry date, or the like, is generally printed in correspondence to the gripping fins of the vials, by printing or application of labels or the like.
The increasing need to add as much information as possible, in a clearly legible manner, contrasts, on the other hand, to the presence of small surface portions that can be used in correspondence to the gripping fins.
In addition, the remaining portions of the vials are not generally useful for the inclusion of such information, due to the presence of special reliefs, shaping or edging.
To this is added that the law standards of some countries are even more restrictive for particular types of fluid product, such as those intended for oral administration, and require in these cases the information not being printed directly on the containment body of the product, to avoid that the ink may pass through the vial walls and pollute the fluid product, thus reducing even more the available surfaces. To rule out at least in part these drawbacks the patent document WO 2007/107825 A2 and WO2007/107826 A2 teach to make vials having a substantially plate-shaped closing element on which an adhesive label is applied bearing the information required.
In this embodiment, however, the opening of the vial involves the removal of the closing element from the containment body and of the relative label applied on it, thus completely negating its utility.
In some circumstances, however, it is necessary that the information on the vials remains always visible and identifiable by the user even after opening.
The main aim of the present invention is to provide a vial for fluid products, particularly for medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food products or the like, on which it is possible to include all the product-related information required, in a clear and legible manner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a vial for fluid products wherein the product-related information is not missed after opening the vial and still remains at the user's disposal.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a vial for fluid products, particularly for medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food products or the like that allows to overcome the mentioned drawbacks of the prior art in the ambit of a simple, rational, easy and effective to use as well as low cost solution.
The above mentioned objects are achieved by the present vial for fluid products, particularly for medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food products or the like, according to claim 1.
Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more evident from the description of several preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of a vial for fluid products, particularly for medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food products or the like, illustrated as an indicative but not limitative example in the accompanying drawings in which:
With particular reference to the first embodiment shown in the
In this respect, it is specified that in the present treatise the term “fluid products” does not only mean liquid products but also viscous products, e.g. in the state of paste and gel, and powder products, particularly very fine powders with great smoothness.
The vial 1 comprises at least a hollow body 2 for the containment of a fluid product. The hollow body 2 has a lateral surface on which is defined a pair of substantially protruding spacing fins 3, which are associated in a removable manner along a first weakened area 8 with the spacing fins 3 of one or more adjacent vials 1, to form a strip S of vials 1 (
In correspondence to one extremity of the hollow body 2 is defined an introduction mouth 4 of the fluid product; the closing of the mouth 4 (e.g. by sealing of the lips of the opening itself) is made after introducing the fluid product, before entering the vial 1 on the market.
In all the illustrations shown in the accompanying drawings, the mouth 4 and its use to fill the hollow body 2 with the fluid product are never represented in detail; for the sake of simplicity of representation all vials 1 illustrated in the figures are meant as already filled with the fluid product and ready to be opened to allow dispensing.
On the substantially opposite side with respect to the mouth 4, the vial 1 has a closing cap 5.
In an initial configuration, the closing cap 5 is associated integral with the hollow body 2 along a pre-established breaking line 6 able to allow the separation of the closing cap 5 from the hollow body 2 in an opening configuration wherein on the hollow body 2, in correspondence to the pre-established breaking line 6, is obtained an outflow opening 7 through which the fluid product can be dispensed.
The closing cap 5 is associated along second weakened areas 9 with the closing cap 5 of one or more adjacent vials 1, helping to form the strip S.
The closing cap 5 comprises a substantially sheet-shaped portion 10 that supports information, data or logos 20.
The substantially sheet-shaped portion 10 consists, e.g., in a plate of such a thickness to make it quite stiff and non-deformable.
The information 20, which may comprise, e.g., information on the dosage of the product, the packaging and/or expiry date, or the like, is indicated on an adhesive label 11 but alternative embodiments cannot be ruled out wherein it is supported by the plate 10 in a different way.
The hollow body 2 has a longitudinal axis L in correspondence to which are arranged the pre-established breaking line 6 in the initial configuration and the outflow opening 7 in the opening configuration.
The hollow body 2 has an elongated shape, i.e. it extends mainly along the longitudinal axis L; in this respect it is noted that in the present treatise the terms “longitudinal” and “transversal” are used with reference to the direction of greater extension of the hollow body 2.
In the proximity of the closing cap 5, the hollow body 2 ends up into a neck 12 which extends along the longitudinal axis L and has the pre-established breaking line 6 in the initial configuration and the outflow opening 7 in the opening configuration.
The neck 12 has a substantially axial-symmetrical conformation with circular section, with a diameter less than the rest of the hollow body 2.
The shape of the neck 12, in particular, is substantially frusto-conical and ends up into a cylindrical portion with constant section, with coaxial alignment with respect to the hollow body 2; alternative embodiments cannot however be ruled out wherein the walls of the neck 12 have a different shape and, e.g., are not coaxial to the hollow body 2.
The vial 1 also comprises at least a steady connection brace 13, which has one extremity associated with the hollow body 2 and an opposite extremity associated with the closing cap 5.
In the opening configuration the steady connection brace 13 is deformable without breakage and is able to avoid the reciprocal moving away between the closing cap 5 and the hollow body 2 beyond a pre-established distance.
This way, the information, data or logos 20 supported by the substantially sheet-shaped portion 10 remain always available and consultable by the user U even when the 1 vial is opened.
In the embodiment shown in
Each steady connection brace 13 has one extremity associated with the neck 12 and the opposite extremity associated with the substantially sheet-shaped portion 10. In the initial configuration the steady connection braces 13 are substantially curvilinear, so as to allow them to bend and straighten out during the opening of the vial 1, as will be better described below.
The hollow body 2, the closing cap 5 and the steady connection braces 13 are made integral in a single body piece in the initial configuration, e.g. by forming techniques such as injection molding, using polymer materials, of the polyethylene or polypropylene type.
The operation of this first embodiment of the vial 1 is shown in
Starting from the initial configuration (
At this point the user U folds the steady connection braces 13 on themselves (
In the embodiment shown in
In
Even in the embodiment of
The operation of the second embodiment of vial 1 does not change compared to that of the previous embodiment, the detailed description of which is provided integrally.
Beyond some differences in shape compared to the previous embodiments, also in this embodiment the vial 1 comprises a hollow body 2 for the containment of the fluid product, having a longitudinal axis L, a neck 12 and spacing fins 3 connected to the spacing fins 3 of the adjacent vials 1.
Moreover, the vial 1 still comprises a closing cap 5 supporting information, data or logos 20 and connected to the adjacent closing caps 5.
In the initial configuration, the closing cap 5 continues to be integrally associated with the hollow body 2 along a pre-established breaking line 6 adapted to allow the separation of the closing cap 5 from the hollow body 2 in an opening configuration wherein on the hollow body 2, in correspondence to the pre-established breaking line 6, is defined an outflow opening 7 through which the fluid product can be dispensed.
Unlike what happened in the preceding embodiments, the closing cap 5 comprises at least a clogging element 14, the type of a pin or the like, which can be inserted in the outflow opening 7 to reclose the vial 1.
In the initial configuration, the clogging element 14 is associated integral with the hollow body 2 along the pre-established breaking line 6, the clogging element 14 being removable by tearing it off from the hollow body 2 to define the outflow opening 7.
The vial 1 still comprises two steady connection braces 13 which extend between the neck 12 of the hollow body 2 and the closing cap 5 and which are arranged on opposite sides with respect to the longitudinal axis L.
In the initial configuration the steady connection braces 13 still have a substantially curvilinear conformation allowing them to bend and straighten out during the opening of the vial 1.
The hollow body 2, the closing cap 5 and the steady connection braces 13 still are made integral in a single body piece in the initial configuration.
The operation of this third embodiment of vial 1 is shown in
Starting from the initial configuration (
At this point the user U folds the steady connection braces 13 on themselves (
In the embodiment shown in
For this purpose, the steady connection braces 13 can be folded again on themselves (
In
The embodiment of
Also in this embodiment the vial 1 comprises a hollow body 2, a closing cap 5 and two steady connection braces 13 made integral in a single body piece in the initial configuration.
The hollow body 2 for the containment of the fluid product still has a longitudinal axis L, a neck 12 and spacing fins 3 connected to the spacing fins 3 of the adjacent vials 1.
The closing cap 5 still supports information, data or logos 20 and is connected to the adjacent closing caps 5.
In the initial configuration, the closing cap 5 is still integrally associated with the hollow body 2 along a pre-established breaking line 6 adapted to allow the separation of the closing cap 5 from the hollow body 2 in the opening configuration, wherein on the hollow body 2, in correspondence to the pre-established breaking line 6, is defined the outflow opening 7 through which the fluid product can be dispensed.
Even in this case the closing cap 5 comprises a clogging element 14 which is associated with the substantially sheet-shaped portion 10 and can be inserted in the outflow opening 7 to reclose the vial 1 once this has been opened.
Unlike what happened in the embodiments of
More in detail, in the initial configuration the clogging element 14 is associated with the substantially sheet-shaped portion 10 on opposite side with respect to the pre-established breaking line 6 and, in other words, lies on the longitudinal axis L but is turned in the opposite direction with respect to the hollow body 2.
Furthermore, in the opening configuration the steady connection braces 13 are deformable so as to allow the rotation of the substantially sheet-shaped portion 10 by about 180° around a rotation axis R to obtain, as mentioned, the alignment of the clogging element 14 with the outflow opening 7.
The rotation axis R is substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis L and is defined by the particular shape of the steady connection braces 13.
The steady connection braces 13, in fact, extend between the hollow body 2 and the closing cap 5 on opposite sides with respect to the longitudinal axis L and comprise:
The operation of this fifth embodiment of vial 1 is shown in
Starting from the initial configuration (
At this point the user U folds the first lengths 15 of the steady connection braces 13 on themselves (
In the embodiment shown in
For this purpose, the first lengths 15 of the steady connection braces 13 are folded on themselves (
The embodiment of
Usefully, the cylindrical wall 19 is substantially coaxial to the clogging element 14 and can be fitted around the neck 12 when the clogging element 14 is inserted in the outflow opening 7 to reclose the vial 1.
The cylindrical wall 19 fitted on the neck 12 better stabilizes the closing cap 5 in closing position and improves the tight sealing of the outflow opening 7 by means of the clogging element 14.
It is easy to understand, finally, that the presence of the cylindrical wall 19 does not change in any way the modes of use of vial 1 which are substantially identical to those shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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MO2013A000243 | Sep 2013 | IT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2014/063698 | 8/5/2014 | WO | 00 |