U.S. patent application number 10/413904 was filed with the patent office on 2003-11-13 for flip top piercing tip cap.
Invention is credited to Jadallah, Awni I., Joshi, Abhay.
Application Number | 20030209570 10/413904 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25441059 |
Filed Date | 2003-11-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030209570 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Joshi, Abhay ; et
al. |
November 13, 2003 |
Flip top piercing tip cap
Abstract
A medicament-disposing container includes a bottle having a
large diameter for storage of a medicament and an initially sealed
narrow nozzle. A cap is threadably engaged on the nozzle and
includes a piercer for penetrating a nozzle upon rotation of a cap
on the nozzle. The piercer as a tapered end and a lumen
therethrough including communication with a port in a piercer
circumference. Upon penetration of the nozzle, the port is disposed
proximate an internal surface of the nozzle in order to provide a
restricted passage for throttling medicament therepast in order to
enable dropwise dispensing of the medicament through the piercer
lumen.
Inventors: |
Joshi, Abhay; (Irvine,
CA) ; Jadallah, Awni I.; (Irvine, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Walter A. Hackler, Ph.D.
2372 S.E. Bristol, Suite B
Newport Beach
CA
92660-0755
US
|
Family ID: |
25441059 |
Appl. No.: |
10/413904 |
Filed: |
April 14, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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10413904 |
Apr 14, 2003 |
|
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09918847 |
Jul 31, 2001 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
222/420 ;
222/543; 222/83.5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 2251/0096 20130101;
B65D 47/18 20130101; B65D 51/225 20130101; B65D 2401/00 20200501;
B65D 2251/0025 20130101; B65D 47/14 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
222/420 ;
222/83.5; 222/543 |
International
Class: |
B65D 047/18 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A medicament dispensing container comprising: a bottle having a
large diameter for storage of medicament and an initially sealed
narrow nozzle tip; a cap for threadably engaging the nozzle, said
cap having a flat top; a piercer, having a lumen extending through
said cap, for penetrating the nozzle upon closing rotation of said
cap on the nozzle, said piercer a portion protruding from said flat
top for enhancing droplet formation and preventing contamination of
said flat top with medicament during dispensing thereof and a
depending portion extending into the nozzle tip; a port, disposed
in said piercer proximate an internal surface of the nozzle tip; a
passageway, defined between the internal surface and the depending
portion for throttling medicament therepast in order to enable
dropwise dispensing of said medicament through the piercer lumen;
and a flip top stopper for sealing the piercer lumen.
2. The container according to claim 1 wherein said passageway
narrows in a direction of medicament flow toward said port.
3. The container according to claim 2 wherein the piercer lumen,
port and passageway are sized for producing dropwise dispensing of
the medicament, the medicament having a viscosity of between about
1 cps and about 1000 cps.
4. The container according to claim 3 wherein the piercer depending
portion extends into the nozzle tip a distance of about 0.15
inches.
5. The container according to claim 4 wherein the piercer lumen has
a diameter of about 0.05 inches, the port has a diameter of less
than about 0.050 inches and the passageway tapers from about 0.40
inches to about 0.30 inches.
6. The container according to claim 2 wherein a nozzle tip end has
a diameter smaller than bottle diameter for providing a mechanical
advantage upon threaded engagement with said cup to insure sealing
between the nozzle tip end and an area surrounding the piercer.
7. The container according to claim 6 wherein said piercer includes
a portion protruding from the cap flat top for enhancer droplet
separation from the cap flat top.
Description
[0001] This present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S.
Ser. No. 09/918,847 filed Jul. 31, 2001, now abandoned.
[0002] The present invention generally relates to dispensing
containers and is more particularly related to plastic bottles blow
molded having a dispensing cap which includes a piercer for opening
the sealed bottle. Plastic bottles are of common usage and are
often filled with a medicament and include a neck with an outer
thread onto which a threaded cap is provided for sealing the
container after piercing a top thereof.
[0003] In some instances, the cap includes a piercer for
penetrating a top of a container and thereafter is used as the
sealing cap. In other instances, the cap includes a piercer having
a lumen therethrough for the dispensing of medicament therethrough
and a separate stopper, or secondary cap, is utilized to seal the
cap lumen.
[0004] Many attempts have been made to provide a piercing cap and
bottle combination in which consistent dropwise dispensing of
medicament can be achieved. This is particularly important in the
case of ocular medication, such as eye drops. These problems are
recognized in U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,275 which includes a cap designed
as a dispenser in the form of a dropper. Such caps include long
channels which are tapered for controlling dispensing of a
medicament, however, are difficult and expensive to
manufacture.
[0005] Other patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,711,453 and 6,076,704
include a cap with a dispensing nozzle and a separate spike within
the cap for piercing a membrane of the bottle when the cap is
threaded onto the neck portion of the bottle to provide access to
the medicament contained therein. The spike includes a passageway
includes in fluid communication with the dispensing nozzle on the
cap for enabling dispensing of the medicament.
[0006] The spike may be separate or unitarily molded within the
cap. In either case, considerable molding expense is required which
results in an expensive container. In addition, poor fluid
dispensing control, especially for dropwise dispensing of a
medicament, is provided since there is no internal control of fluid
flow to and through the spike.
[0007] Other patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,592 provide for a
spout and sealing cap which includes a hollow piercing and
dispensing element with sharp edges designed to pierce the lid.
Such arrangements however, do not lend themselves to use for the
accurate, metering, or throttling of a medicament from a bottle in
dropwise manner as is necessary for medicaments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] A medicament-dispensing container in accordance with the
present invention generally includes a bottle having a large
diameter for storage of a medicament and an initially sealed narrow
nozzle. A cap threadably engages the nozzle and includes a piercer
for penetrating the nozzle upon closing rotation of the cap on the
nozzle. The piercer has a tapered end and a lumen therethrough in
fluid communication with a port. This offset port prevents the
lumen from being clogged with material from the bottle wall during
penetration thereof.
[0009] Upon penetration of the nozzle, the port is disposed
proximate an internal surface of the nozzle in order to provide a
restricted passageway for throttling medicament therepast, thus
enabling dropwise dispensing of the medicament through the piercer
lumen. The cap remains on the bottle nozzle and a sealing stopper
is provided for sealing the piercer lumen. More specifically, the
pierced lumen, port and passages are sized for producing dropwise
dispensing of medicament having a viscosity of between about 1 cps
and 1000 cps. It must be appreciated that the structural features
of the present invention cannot encompass or apply to medicaments
of any viscosity but entail a unique mating of structure with the
medicament viscosity. In that regard, the piercer lumen has a
diameter of about 0.05 inches, the port has a diameter of less than
about 0.05 inches and the passageway tapers from about 0.40 inches
to about 0.30 inches.
[0010] More particularly, the nozzle includes a flat piercable end
having a small diameter compared to a diameter of the external
threads disposed on the nozzle. This structural arrangement
provides mechanical advantage upon closing rotation of the cap for
applying sealing pressure between the nozzle and a surface
surrounding the piercer.
[0011] Accordingly, the small diameter of the nozzle end enhances a
sealing arrangement between the nozzle and the cap, and further
provides a tapered or narrowing passageway for enabling the
throttling of fluid for enhanced dropwise dispensing of medicament
from the bottle.
[0012] The cap preferably includes a flat top having a thickness
comparable to a wall thickness of a cap and the piercer protrudes
from the flat top less than the flat top thickness in order to
enhance droplet formation and prevent contamination of the flat top
with medicament during dispensing thereof. In addition, this
structure facilitates easy mold manufacture and an inexpensive
unit.
[0013] Preferably, the container further includes a temporary stop
to prevent inadvertent rotation of the cap and penetration of the
piercer into the nozzle. This features is important in retail
situations where the bottles may be stored on shelves and need to
remain sealed until initial use by a consumer.
[0014] In that regard, the temporary stop may include a tear away
strip or a crushable ring in order to provide tamper proof evidence
of bottle and cap integrity. To provide a unitary container, the
stop may include a flip top attached to the cap.
[0015] In order to control a droplet size, the piercer may be
provided with a plurality of ports in the piercer circumference
each of which are disposed approximate the internal surface of the
nozzle in order to provide a restricted passage for throttling a
medicament to their past.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The present invention will be better understood when taken
in conjunction with the following drawings in which:
[0017] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a
medicament-dispensing container in accordance with the present
invention generally showing a bottle, a cap, for threadably
engaging a nozzle on the bottle and a flip top-sealing stopper for
sealing a piercing lumen protruding from a cap.
[0018] FIG. 2 is a cross-section of the nozzle portion of the
bottle shown in FIG. 1 and cap showing a piercer in position for
penetrating the nozzle upon closing rotation of the cap on nozzle
threads; and
[0019] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2 showing
the piercer penetrating a nozzle cap and establishing a restricted
passage between a piercer port and an inside diameter of the nozzle
for throttling medicament therepast in order to enable dropwise
dispensing of the medicament through the piercer lumen.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown a medicament
dispensing container 10 generally including a bottle 12 having a
lower portion 14 with a relatively large diameter for storage of a
medicament and an initially sealed narrow nozzle 16. The bottle 10
may be blow molded from any suitable material for containing a
particular medicament.
[0021] Threads 20 on the nozzle 16 enable a cap 24 to threadably
engage the nozzle 16 has will be hereinafter described in greater
detail. A piercer 30 penetrates a flat piercable end 32 in the
nozzle 16 upon closing rotation of the cap 24 as indicated by the
arrow 34. The cap and nozzle are molded unitarily from any suitable
material in order to provide a piercer 30 with sufficient strength
to penetrate the end 32. Suitable materials are high impact
polystyrene, ABS, hard propylene and high-density polypropylene as
examples.
[0022] To prevent inadvertent rotation of the cap 24 and premature
penetration of the nozzle end 32, a temporary stop 38 may be
provided which also serves as a tamper proof evidence that the
non-experience tampering before use by the consumer. The temporary
stop may include a tab 40 for enabling the temporary stop 38 to be
removed by the consumer or perforations 44 may be provided in the
temporary stop for enabling it to act as a crushable ring.
[0023] After rotation of the cap and penetration of the nozzle end
32 by the piercer 30, a piercer lumen 46 may be sealed by a flip
top cap 48 tethered to the cap 24 by a bendable strip 50. With
reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the piercer 30 includes a tapered end
54 for penetrating the nozzle end 32 and a port 56 in a piercer
depending portion 58 is in fluid communication with the lumen
46.
[0024] The offset relationship of the port 56 with the tapered end
of 54 inhibits the entrance of material from the nozzle end 32 from
entering lumen 46 upon penetration as shown in FIG. 3.
[0025] The cross-section shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrates one
port 56, however, other ports (not shown) which may be utilized,
are not visible in the cross-sections shown.
[0026] A nozzle tip 62 subtending the end 32 has a narrowing
diameter and upon penetration of the piercer 30 through the end 32,
the port 56 is disposed proximate an internal surface 64 which
provides for a restricted passageway, as indicated by the arrow 68
for throttling medicament therepast in order to enable dropwise
dispending of the medicament through the piercer lumen 46.
[0027] It has been found that the passageway, defined between the
internal surface 64 and the depending portion 58 enhances drop
formation of the medication when the depending portion 58 is
tapered, or narrows in a direction of medicament flow toward the
port 56.
[0028] Specifically, the piercer lumen 46, port 56 and passageway
68 are sized for producing dropwise dispensing of the medicament.
The narrowing passageway provided by the present invention has
heretofore not been recognized as a factor in drop dispensing of
medication. Earlier concerns were directed only to lumen and port
dimensions.
[0029] As a specific example in accordance with the present
invention for a medicament having a viscosity of between about 1
cps and about 1000 cps, the passageway should narrow from about
0.50 inches (d.sub.1) to about 0.20 inches (d.sub.2) and preferably
narrow from about 0.40 inches to about 0.30 inches.
[0030] With this size passageway, a lumen 46 diameter (d.sub.3) of
between about 0.03 inches and 0.06 inches, preferably about 0.05
inches and a port 56 diameter of less than about 0.050 inches,
squeezing of the bottle 12 will only dispense drops of
medicament.
[0031] The dispending portion 58 should extend between about 0.010
inches and about 0.25 inches, (d.sub.4) into the nozzle tip 62.
This is achieved without a long channel as taught by U.S. Pat. No.
5,427,275. Because the metering passageway 68 is established by the
spacing of two exponent, namely the depending portion 58 and the
internal surface 64 the component themselves do not require strict
manufacturing tolerance as required by the structure of U.S. Pat.
No. 5,427,275 which necessitates forming of a long tapered channel
within a nozzle.
[0032] In addition, the narrowing nozzle tip 62, and importantly,
flat small nozzle end 32 in combination with the large diameter, D,
of the threads 20 provide a mechanical advantage to the end 32,
having a small diameter, d, so that increased pressure for sealing
is provided between the nozzle end 32 and an area 72 surrounding
the piercer 30. This insures a fluid tight seal which is not
obtainable in prior art devices having a large membrane for
piercing.
[0033] The cap may be molded economically as hereinabove noted
utilizing relatively uniform wall thickness with a flat top having
a thickness comparable to the wall thickness of the cap 24. As
shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 the piercer 32 protrude from the flat top 76
less than a flat top thickness in order to enhance droplet
separation and prevent contamination of the flat top 76 with
medicament during dispensing thereof.
[0034] Although there has been hereinabove described a
medicament-dispensing container in accordance with the present
invention for the purpose of illustrating the manner in which the
invention may be used to advantage it will be appreciated that the
invention is not limited thereto. Accordingly, any and all
modifications, variations, or equivalent arrangements which may
occur to those skilled in the art, should be considered to be
within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended
claims.
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