U.S. patent number 3,826,221 [Application Number 05/262,369] was granted by the patent office on 1974-07-30 for closures for containers.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Evans Medical Limited. Invention is credited to Charles Forbes Ross.
United States Patent |
3,826,221 |
Ross |
July 30, 1974 |
CLOSURES FOR CONTAINERS
Abstract
A closure cap for a container has an aperture normally covered
by a seal which is capable of being peeled off the cap to expose
the aperture. At least part of the seal is arranged to change
colour when the cap is exposed to heat.
Inventors: |
Ross; Charles Forbes (Wallasey,
EN) |
Assignee: |
Evans Medical Limited (Speke,
Liverpool, EN)
|
Family
ID: |
10267694 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/262,369 |
Filed: |
June 13, 1972 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Jun 15, 1971 [GB] |
|
|
27938/71 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
116/216; 215/230;
374/141; 116/207 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
79/02 (20130101); B65D 51/24 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
51/24 (20060101); B65D 79/00 (20060101); B65D
79/02 (20060101); G01d 021/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;116/114,114V,114AM,114.5 ;215/46R ;220/53
;73/356,351,343R,358,362.6 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Capozi; Louis J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Liberman; William R.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An infusion liquid container, an opening thereinto and a closure
cap over the opening, the cap being apertured to communicate with
the container interior, a seal for the closure cap, the seal having
a component extending beyond the marginal edge of the cap to
provide an easily manipulable pull-tab to facilitate the removal of
the seal and allow removal of the container contents, the underside
of the seal in that portion thereof which overlies the margin of
the cap aperture being provided with adhesive material, the
underside of the pull-tab being free of adhesive material, and a
portion of the upper surface of the seal overlying the cap aperture
being provided with a temperature responsive, color-changing
indicator to signal the readiness for use of the container contents
upon appropriate heat treatment thereof.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to closures for containers and particularly,
but not exclusively, to closures for bottles or other containers
used for administering parenteral solutions.
It is commonplace to supply solutions for human administration by
intravenous infusion in bottles which are sealed by rubber plugs
covered by aluminium caps. These caps have centre portions which
are removable to permit cannulas of giving sets to be inserted into
the bottles through the rubber plugs. A disadvantage of such
closures is that sharp instruments are necessary to remove the
portions of the aluminium caps and the removal of these portions of
the caps leaves sharp raw edges which may cut the fingers of nurses
or others administering the infusion.
An object of the present invention is to provide a way of avoiding
this disadvantage.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a closure according to the invention,
and
FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, a closure cap for a
container for an infusion liquid is made of aluminium or other
suitable metal. The cap has a cylindrical skirt 1 which is arranged
to fit round the upper portion of the neck of the container and an
annular flange 2 arranged to retain a rubber plug fitted in the
neck. The annular flange defines a central aperture through which a
cannula of a giving set can be applied to the rubber plug and
inserted through the plug into the container so that the contents
of the container can be withdrawn.
An outer seal or label 3 of paper or other suitable material is
secured to the annular flange by a pressure sensitive adhesive.
This seal completely covers the annular flange. When the cap is
fitted on a container the area of pressure sensitive adhesive
defined by the flange will contact the rubber plug and adhere to
it. This outer seal has a tongue 4 projecting beyond a portion of
the periphery of the cap, this projecting portion not being coated
with adhesive. An area 5 of the outer surface of the outer seal has
an area printed with an ink which is sensitive to heat in such a
way that the area will change colour when a container to which the
cap is fitted is heat treated in an autoclave. Thus, it is possible
to see at a glance whether or not the container has been heat
treated so that risk of containers which have not been heat treated
being inadvertently used is minimised.
Information or symbols indicating the contents of the container can
also be printed on the outer seal.
When it is desired to administer to a patient the liquid in the
container, the outer seal or label 3 can be peeled off the cap by
pulling the tongue 4 so that the aperture in the cap is exposed to
permit a cannula to be inserted through the aperture into the
rubber plug. When the outer seal is partly or completely peeled off
the cap the ink on the outer seal will smudge. This minimises the
risk of use of the containers which have been tampered with.
The outer seal completely excludes dust from the rubber cap.
Furthermore, the surface of the plug exposed by removal of the
outer seal will be sterile, after heat treatment of the
container.
* * * * *