EP1996471B1

EP1996471B1 - Upgraded disposable bottle for fluid products, particularly pharmaceuticals, medicines or cosmetics

Info

Publication number: EP1996471B1
Application number: EP07705691A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Antonio Fontana
Original assignee: Lameplast SRL
Current assignee: Lameplast SRL
Priority date: 2006-03-17
Filing date: 2007-03-13
Publication date: 2012-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 2027-03-13
Also published as: WO2007107826A3; ES2398774T3; EP1996471A2; WO2007107826A2; ITMO20060086A1

Description

This invention relates to a disposable bottle for fluid products according to the preamble of claim 1, particularly suitable for containing products of the pharmaceutical, medicinal or cosmetic type, as disclosed in US 5 908 124 .

Background art

With particular reference to the pharmaceutical and/or cosmetic industries, the use is known of bottles made of polymeric material for packaging one or more doses of fluid, liquid or pasty products.
The known bottles can be of the re-closable or disposable type and generally comprise a containment body of a predetermined dose of product, substantially tubular and extended in shape, with one end having a neck, at the top of which a product dispensing mouth is defined.
The opposite end of the containment body has an opening for introducing the product, which is closed after filling, e.g. by soldering.
Closing means, associated with the bottle in a removable way on the neck, permit closing the dispensing mouth.
The containment body and the closing means can be made separately, by means of shaping methods such as the injection moulding, and can then be assembled together or, alternatively, they can be made in a single body piece and then separated before being used by a user.
The containment body also has a pair of fins that make it easier for the user to hold the bottle, and which extend, in a totally opposite direction, from the outer side surface of the containment body.
The known bottles can be produced in single units or associated in series (strips); in this latter case, the fins of the containment bodies of two subsequent bottles are temporarily associated along predefined pre-breaking lines.
In particular, disposable bottles are known that, generally, comprise closing means having a shutter element which is associated, in a removable way, with the neck of the containment body, at the dispensing mouth, and along a pre-established pre-breaking area.
The containment body and the closing means are composed of a single body piece, by means of a single mold. The shutter element and the dispensing mouth are connected together along the pre-breaking area (with the airtight closing of the dispensing mouth), which allows the detachment of the closing means from the containment body the first time the bottle is opened.
A disposable container of known type is disclosed by US 5908124 .
More particularly, US 5908124 discloses a container comprising a squeezing tube provided with integral closing means. The closing means are removable from the bottle neck along a line of weakness and comprises a tab that is connected to the bottle neck by means of an integral thin membrane. The tab is suitable to be gripped by the user in order to rotate it for removing the closure means and opening the tube.
These known bottles are however susceptible to upgrading, in particular in order to provide high safety requirements, restricting the possibilities of product contamination or, in any case, indicating the possible contamination of the product itself.
The known bottles can in fact be subject to tampering or accidental damage due, e.g., to knocks during the manufacturing, handling and transport phases, with consequent opening of the dispensing mouth and contamination of the product by external agents.
Moreover the bottles can be upgraded in order to satisfy the requirement, established by increasingly more restrictive European standards, to insert information relating to the product on each single bottle (instead of on the entire strip and in addition to those commonly indicated on the pack and/or on additional printed leaflets).
Such information, which can include, for example, information on product dosage, on the packaging and/or expiry date, etc., is generally stamped on the bottle gripping fins by printing or the application of labels or the like.
By contrast to the increasing need to include as much information as possible, inserted in a clearly legible way, is however the presence of the reduced portions of usable surface on the gripping fins.
Moreover, the remaining portions of the bottles are not generally suitable for inserting such information, because of the presence of particular elevations, shapes or edges.

Object of the invention

The main aim of this invention is to provide a disposable bottle for fluid products, particularly pharmaceuticals, medicines or cosmetics, that allows achieving the above upgrading.
Within the sphere of this technical aim, another object of this invention is to cater for the above aims with a simple structure, of relatively practical implementation, safe to use and with effective operation, as well as having a relatively low cost.
The above objects are all achieved by this upgraded disposable bottle for fluid products, particularly pharmaceuticals, medicines or cosmetics, according to the invention, that has the features set forth in claim 1.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of this invention will appear even more evident from the detailed description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of an upgraded disposable bottle for fluid products, particularly pharmaceuticals, medicines or cosmetics, illustrated indicatively by way of non limiting example, in the attached drawings wherein:

figure 1 shows a front view of a plurality of bottles associated together and
arranged in series, according to the invention;
figure 2 shows a section view along the section plane II-II of figure 1;
figure 3 is an axonometric view of the plurality of bottles according to the invention.

Embodiments of the Invention

With special reference to such figures, an upgraded disposable bottle for fluid products, with specific use for pharmaceutical, medicinal or cosmetic products has been globally designated by reference number 1.
The bottle 1 is normally made using polymeric materials, of the polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) type, and using shaping methods such as the injection moulding.
The bottle 1 comprises a hollow containment body 2 for containing the product, substantially tubular and extended in shape, which extends at one end in a neck 3, at the top of which a dispensing mouth 4 is defined.
The neck 3 is substantially cylindrical, coaxial with the hollow body 2, and has a segment with cross-section substantially decreasing, towards the dispensing mouth 4.
At the end of the hollow body 2 opposite the end having the neck 3 an opening 5 is defined for introducing the product; the closing of the opening 5 (e.g., by soldering of the lips of the opening itself) is done once the product has been introduced.
The bottle 1 comprises closing means 6 having a shutter element 7 of the dispensing mouth 4, which is associated in a removable way with the neck 3, at the dispensing mouth 4, and along a pre-established pre-breaking area P.
The hollow body 2 and the closing means 6 therefore are made in a single body piece, without interruption, inside the same mould; the shutter element the dispensing mouth 4 are connected together along the pre-breaking area P, which permits the detachment of the closing means 6 from the hollow body 2 for the first opening of the bottle 1.
In particular, the closing means 6 comprise a grip 8 which, at a lower portion 8a, integrally supports the shutter element 7.
It is pointed out that by the expression "lower" reference is made, in this description and in a non-exclusive way, to the standard vertical arrangement of the bottle 1 with the grip 8 turned upwards.
The shutter element 7 is substantially shaped like an overturned truncated cone, with the minor cross-section portion associated in a removable way with the dispensing mouth 4, by interposition of the above-mentioned pre-breaking area P, and the opposite end associated with the lower portion 8a.
Advantageously, the bottle 1 comprises tearable elements, composed of a pair of deformable braces 9 suitable for connecting, without interruption, the grip 8 to the neck 3 of the hollow body 4.
In particular, the braces 9 are arranged on opposite sides with respect to the longitudinal axis of the neck 4 (and of the shutter element 7), and have an end associated with the lower portion 8a, and the opposite end having a weakened section, which comprises, e.g., predefined breaking lines, and which is associated with the outer surface of the neck 3.
Different shapes of the braces 9 cannot however be ruled out, with connection at different portions of the grip 8 and of the hollow body 2, and with different number and arrangement of the above-mentioned weakened section. Advantageously, the grip 8 has a substantially plate-shaped upper portion 8b for supporting information, data or logos, of the type of information about the product dosage, illustrations on how to use the product, information about the product type or the expiry date of the product, etc.
In particular, the above indications are printed on a label 10, and the upper portion 8b of the grip 8 is shaped to define a substantially rectangular plane, (for example square) suitable for accommodating the label 10 itself with interposition of a layer of glue.
Advantageously, the label 10 is of the self-adhesive label type.
Alternatively, the information, the data and the logos can be impressed by printing directly on the upper portion 8b of the grip 8.
Usefully, as shown in the figures 1 and 3, the bottles 1 can be produced in series to create subsequently packed and distributed strips.
In this case, each of the bottles 1 has a pair of gripping fins 11 defined as protruding and diametrically opposite to each other on the outer side surface of the hollow body 4.
Inside the strip, the bottles 1 arranged successively are associated in a first predefined weakened area 12, composed of a pre-breaking line defined between the two adjacent grips 8, and along a second weakened area 13, composed of a pre-breaking line (of a lower cross-section, etc.) defined between the two adjacent gripping fins 11.
Advantageously, in the case of packaging in strips, single labels 10 can be applied on the upper portions of each of the grips 8 of the bottles 1.
Alternatively, the label 10 can extend over the entire surface defined by the respective upper portions 8b of all the grips 8 of the strip. In this case, the label 10 can comprise a breaking section, of the cut type, of an opportune shape, etc., defined at the cutting line that represents the first weakened area 12 between one grip 8 and the next.
Moreover, in an initial phase (after packaging) the label 10 can comprise a plurality of pages folded over one another with interposition of respective breaking sections. During use, the label 10 is laid and applied (e.g., by interposition of glue) on the upper portions 8b of the adjacent grips 8, with arrangement of the breaking sections at respective first weakened areas 12.
It has in actual fact been found how the described invention achieves the proposed objects, and in particular the fact is underlined that the presence of the pair of braces satisfies more stringent safety requirements compared to currently known disposable bottles.
The presence of tampering or damage to the bottle in fact is visible and clearly shown by the breakage of one or both braces.
The presence of the pair of braces also ensures the greater strength of the bottles and the greater rigidity of the strips during the manufacturing, handling or transport stages, further restricting the possibilities of product contamination as a result of damage.
A further advantage is offered by the particular shape of the upper portion of the grip which makes it easier to insert all the requested information (of different type and with different objects), in a readable way directly on the bottle, alternatively or in addition to the information commonly inserted on the gripping fins, on the pack or on separate printed leaflets.
The fact is also underscored that, with special reference to strips of bottles containing different products, the large usable surface at the grip permits inserting all the information required to describe the single products.
The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which falling within the scope of the claims
In practice, the materials used, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to requirements without moving outside the protection of the following claims.

Claims

Upgraded disposable bottle (1) for fluid products, particularly pharmaceuticals, medicines or cosmetics, comprising a hollow containment body (2) for containing a fluid product, a neck (3) that extends from an end of said hollow body (2) and which has at least one dispensing mouth (4) for dispensing said product, closing means (6) comprising a grip (8) which, at a lower portion (8a), integrally supports at least one shutter element (7) of said dispensing mouth (4) and associated in a removable way with said neck (3) along a pre-established pre-breaking area (P), and tearable elements distinct from said grip (8), characterized in that said tearable elements comprise at least two deformable braces arranged on opposite sides with respect to the longitudinal axis of said neck and suitable for connecting said grip (8) with said neck (3), where at least one of said braces (9) has an end associated with said grip (8) and an opposite end having a weakened section associated with said neck (3), said weakened section being breakable for revealing the presence of tampering.
Bottle (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said weakened section comprises predefined breaking lines.
Bottle (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is produced in a series of said bottles (1) to create a subsequently packed and distributed strip.
Bottle (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that it comprises a pair of gripping fins (11) defined as protruding and diametrically opposite to each other on the outer side surface of said hollow body (2), inside said strip the bottles (1) arranged successively being associated in a first predefined weakened area (12), composed of a pre-breaking line defined between the two adjacent grips (8), and along a second weakened area (13), composed of a pre-breaking line defined between the two adjacent gripping fins (11).
Bottle (1) according to one or more of claims 2-4, characterized in that said breaking line comprises a cut or an opportune shape.