Container with a sealed insert, and pump for opening said sealing

Abstract

The invention relates to a container with a tightly fitting insert and a pump for opening the insert. The insert (3) has a bottom (5) which is closed in the initial state and is opened by the housing part (23) of the pump (6) connected with its end section to the insert (3) before the pump (6) is actuated by screwing it forward in the axial direction of the container (1). Between the bottom (5) of the insert (3) and the pump (6) there is a receiving chamber (15) for an active substance which mixes with the liquid in the container (1) after the bottom (5) is opened. Thus, after a long storage period, a liquid medicine whose active substance does not have long-term stability can be discharged by means of a vacuum pump; the outer wall of the suction chamber (9) of the pump (6) is in a tight fit with the peripheral wall (27) of the insert (3). à

Description

The invention relates to a container with a tightly fitting insert and a pump for opening the insert, which discharges the liquid content of the container, for example a liquid medicine. The container is preferably in the form of a small bottle and has a neck on which a spray pump or vacuum pump is mounted. When the upper part of the pump is pressed down towards the neck of the bottle, the pump sucks a predetermined amount of the liquid content of the container into the pump chamber, and then during the next stroke of the pump it drives this amount out of the thin channels of the upper part of the pump, so that the liquid exits at an outlet nozzle in a fine atomized state. However, the liquid can also be discharged in the form of drops. Such pumps are widely used, for example, for spraying liquid medicine into a tin. The containers according to the invention are preferably produced by a co-extrusion blow molding process. These containers consist of a rigid outer container and a soft inner bag. Their materials do not form a welded joint with each other. In the preferred containers, the inner bag, which is closed by pinching off the tubular molten mass in the blow mold, is clamped into the protruding lower ridge of the outer container. The outer ridge is also closed by a weld seam. This is formed in such a way that the weld seam of the inner bag is pulled back from the separation point by the accumulation effect in the pressing section forming the lower seam of the outer container. The wall of the outer container has pressure equalizing openings, which can be formed, for example, by welded shoulder seams of the outer container or which can be created by cutting off a piece of the outer container at a right angle on a convex section. In this case, the inner bag is not damaged when the knife hits it, but is pressed inward.When the liquid storage container is gradually emptied, the inner bag increasingly contracts, and ambient air enters the space formed between the outer container and the inner bag through the pressure equalization openings to equalize the pressure. However, the invention is not limited to the use of such a container, but the container may be, for example, a conventional small glass or plastic bottle, which is provided with a filter for filtering the air flowing into the bottle for pressure equalization. The container does not necessarily have to be shaped like a bottle with a neck. The container of the invention is intended to contain a liquid medicament and will be described by way of example in the following. It should be noted, however, that it is also suitable for containing and discharging other liquids if it consists of two components, namely a solvent initially contained in the container and an active ingredient initially stored separately in a second chamber of the container and preferably present in a solid state. Some pharmaceutical active ingredients, such as hormones, do not have long-term stability when dissolved in a liquid. This is especially the case if preservatives cannot be added to them. It is known that in order to eliminate this disadvantage, these active ingredients are stored in a lyophilized state and, before use, are introduced into a solvent with which the active ingredient forms a liquid drug in dissolved state, which can be administered, for example, by means of a pipette or syringe. The container described in European Patent Document EP 0679443 Al has a tubular insert in the neck. The bottom of the insert is closed by two elastomeric lips which are biased to lie on top of each other. The bottom of the insert is opened by pushing the front suction part of a pump into the container. When the container is stored, the opening of the container can be closed with a film which is removed immediately before using the pump. The object of our invention is to provide a container equipped with a pump, which is suitable for receiving and discharging a liquid containing an active ingredient that does not have long-term stability. According to the invention, a pump is provided in the opening of the container for discharging the liquid contents of the container; a substantially tubular insert is fitted tightly against the inner wall of the neck forming the opening of the container and has a bottom which is closed in its initial state and is opened when the pump is put into operation by advancing the front part of the pump in the insert. Below the bottom of the insert is a receiving chamber for an active substance which is separated from the liquid contents of the container before the bottom is opened and enters it after the opening; the outer wall of the suction chamber of the pump is fitted in a sliding connection with the peripheral wall of the insert so that when the operation is started, when the front part of the pump opens the previously closed opening, the front part of the pump pushes the active substance completely from the receiving chamber into the space of the container containing the liquid, thereby mixing the totality of the active substance and the liquid in the container. According to the invention, therefore, a substantially tubular insert is arranged in the opening of the container, preferably - if any - in the neck of the container, which fits tightly against the edge of the opening, and has a bottom. The bottom is closed in the first state of the arrangement and is opened by force before the first discharge of the liquid contents of the container. The front end section of a pump, preferably an airtight pump, is connected to the insert. The peripheral wall of this front end section or suction section fits tightly against the wall of the insert, and the peripheral wall can be moved relative to the insert in the axial direction of the container under the action of a suitable force. A receiving chamber is provided between the bottom of the insert and the end of the pump. This chamber can accommodate a substance which, when the bottom is closed, is separated from a second substance in the remaining inner chamber of the container.However, if the bottom of the cartridge is opened or torn open by the advancement of the pump, the material within the cartridge exits the cartridge and can be mixed with the material in the container. The cartridge preferably initially contains a lyophilized active ingredient of a drug separated from a solvent in the container, such as sterile water, which is then mixed with the liquid in question after the bottom is opened. However, as mentioned above, the invention is not limited to the latter feature. HU 223 435 Bl The substantially tubular insert is preferably cylindrical in shape, provided that the neck of the vessel and the front housing of the pump have a cylindrical shape corresponding to it, albeit of a larger or smaller diameter. In the bottom of the insert, preferably inside it, a groove is formed which either completely or partially surrounds the entire circumference. The cross-section of the groove is approximately V-shaped and forms a weakened seam, in which the bottom is torn open by force. It is particularly advantageous here that a tubular extension of the pump, which extends beyond the front end part with the ball valve, is in line with the groove of the bottom, and its free end is cut off obliquely, so that when the pump is pushed forward into the container, the extension only enters the groove with its tip, thus tearing the seam with a large pressing force. An increasing circumferential part further tears the weakened seam. In the meantime, the forward movement continues, so that finally the bottom bends down into the position of use and the contents of the insert are completely emptied. The projection is preferably designed such that the front suction part of the pump extends beyond the valve part. The insert preferably lies with an annular shoulder on the upper side of the vessel or - if the vessel has a neck - on the upper edge of the neck. A solution close to the invention is known from US patent document 4,821,923. Similarly to the invention, here too - there is a pump-mounted container that contains liquid solvent and can be emptied by the pump; - there is a second container part containing active ingredient and separated from the former container before operation by a sealing rim sized to be torn; - when operated, the pump causes the sealing lip to break and the space containing the chemical and the space containing the liquid solvent open up; the two substances mix and the pump delivers this mixture when operating. Up to the above, the known spraying device is comparable to the solution according to the invention. However, it has significant disadvantages compared to the invention due to the following: - after opening the container containing the chemical and solvent, according to the cited patent, the mixing of the two media is only caused by the effect of gravity; moreover, it is advisable to improve the imperfect mixing by shaking (description column 6, lines 48-55). It is often necessary to wait a significant time for the operation to start, for example if the chemical also contains particulate parts, which increases the mixing time. - the invention achieves complete mixing of the two media and a reduction in the required mixing time - as will be clearly apparent from the detailed description that follows - by simultaneously opening the container storing the two types of media, the opening mechanism transfers the chemical from the space containing the chemical to the space containing the solvent in its entirety, by the force of the operation. It is very advantageous, in addition to the above, if there is an additional peripheral wall on the outside of the container, which is partially encompassed by the pump housing part, which is movable in the axial direction. The additional peripheral wall is preferably part of an outer cap, which surrounds at least the lower part of the container. The outer cap can here also extend to the upper edge of the container. The outer cap has a thickened portion on its upper edge, which has an outwardly directed annular shoulder. The pump housing part has a thickened portion on its lower edge, which has an inwardly directed annular shoulder. Thus, the thickened portion of the outer cap is opposed to the inner wall of the housing part, while the thickened portion of the housing part is opposed to the outer wall of the outer cap. In the adjacent position of the two annular shoulders, the pump is in a retracted initial position, in which the bottom of the insert is closed and the material in the insert is separated from the rest of the interior of the vessel. According to the invention, in order for the housing part to embrace the outer cap or its thickened part with its annular shoulder, the two annular shoulders are provided with slopes or inclined parts on the outside, which collide with each other when the thickened part of the pump housing part moves forward in the direction of the outer cap. As a result, the area of ​​the thickened part of the pump housing part expands radially, while the housing part slides with its thickened part on the thickened part of the outer cap. As a result, these two parts can be easily assembled. According to the invention, the thickened part of the outer cap or the thickened part of the housing part has a small radial oversize, which is designed so that the thickened part in question rests on the corresponding wall of the other part under preload. In the other wall, at an axial distance from the thickened part, a circumferential groove is formed in which the radially oversized thickened part is locked in place. This groove defines the position of the pump in which the bottom of the insert is torn open, bent out, and in this position the arrangement is in a state in which the contents of the container can be emptied by the pump. Accordingly, the pump has two axial positions relative to the vessel defined by its external engagement with the pump housing part. One position is the retracted initial position by means of the contact of the annular shoulders, and the other position is the ready-to-use position extending into the vessel, in which one of the thickened parts is locked in place in the associated groove. In one particularly preferred embodiment, the container is housed in an outer cap which may extend to the upper edge of the neck of the container. The outer cap is provided with a thread on its upper edge. This thread is preferably on the outside of the outer cap. The internal thread of the pump housing part is connected to this thread. The rotation of the housing pushes the pump - with the suction part at the front - into the container until the pump reaches another position. The annular shoulder of the housing part Β1 of HU 223 435 does not hit the container. This determines the operating position of the pump. In this position, the front end of the pump has torn the bottom of the insert, opening it and unfolding it, so that the active ingredient can enter the container. The suction part of the pump can be pushed forward continuously and smoothly into the container by twisting. This reliably prevents the suction part from getting stuck in the insert. Thanks to the twisting effect, even an unskilled person can exert the force required to tear open the bottom without any problems. It is very advantageous to use a sawtooth thread as the thread. The threaded sections are preferably so short that in the advanced end position the thread of the housing part is screwed beyond the pump housing part, so that the pump housing part cannot be screwed back in. The pump is reliably prevented from being moved out of the operating position by the self-locking of the thread, which can also be implemented in other ways. Our invention is described in connection with its exemplary embodiments with the help of our drawings, of which the Figure 1 is a vertical section of a first embodiment of a vessel equipped with a pump in the initial state, the Figure 2 is a vertical section of the arrangement according to Figure 1 in the state in which the contents of the container can be emptied, the Figure 3 is a vertical section of the second embodiment of a vessel equipped with a pump in the initial state, the Figure 4 is a vertical section of the arrangement according to Figure 3 in the state in which the contents of the container have escaped from the insert. The figures show a bottle-shaped container 1 having a neck 2. In the neck 2 there is an insert 3 which lies with its outwardly facing annular shoulder 4 on the upper edge of the neck 2 of the container. The insert 3 is cylindrical in shape and lies tightly against the inner wall of the neck 2 of the container. The container 3 has a bottom 5 which is closed in the initial state of the arrangement shown in Figure 1. A circumferential V-shaped groove 30 forming a predetermined tear seam is formed on the inner wall of the bottom 5. The front end of the pump 6, i.e. the suction section 31, is connected to the insert 3. The pump is provided with a ball valve 8 at the suction opening 7, as usual, which closes the suction opening 7 when overpressure occurs and rises from the valve when negative pressure occurs, so that the front suction chamber 9 can be filled with liquid sucked from the chamber 11 of the container by the stroke of the upper pump part under the force of the coil spring 10. The next stroke of the pump empties the liquid from the thin channels 12 of the upper part of the pump and from the atomizing nozzle 13. The cap 14 shown in the figures must of course be removed beforehand. A detailed description of the known components of the pump can be omitted here. A second receiving chamber 15 is arranged between the lower suction end of the pump 6 and the bottom 5 of the insert 3, in which, for example, an active ingredient can be stored in a lyophilized state until the drug is administered, which does not have long-term stability in the dissolved state and forms part of a liquid drug in the emptied state. The lower part of the small container 1 (here a bottle) is received by a cup-shaped outer cap 16, which fits tightly against the outer wall of the small bottle. At the upper end of the outer cap 16 is a thickened part 17 extending outwardly, with a slope 19 on its upper side. The thickened part 17 has an annular shoulder 18 at the bottom. The outwardly extending annular shoulder 20 of a pump part 21 is embraced by the inwardly extending annular flange 22 of the housing part 23 of the pump 6. The cylindrical outer wall 24 of the housing part 23 partially extends beyond the cylindrical outer wall of the outer cap 16. The outer wall (housing part) 24 also has a circumferential thickened portion 25 at the lower end, which has an annular shoulder 25a at its top and a slope 26 below it. In the initial position of the arrangement shown in Figure 1, the thickened part 25 (annular shoulder) of the housing part 23 rests on the annular shoulder 18 of the outer cap. This defines the initial position of the pump 6 retracted from the small container 1. The annular thickened portion of the housing part 23 is slightly oversized in the radial direction inwards, so that the thickened portion lies with a certain preload on the outer wall of the outer cap 16. In the outer wall of the outer cap 16, at a predetermined distance from the thickened portion of the outer cap 17, there is a circumferential annular groove 27a, into which the thickened portion of the housing part 23 snaps when the pump is inserted into the small container 1 in the liquid discharge position according to FIG. 2. The discharge position of the pump is thereby fixed. The outer wall of the suction chamber of the pump 6 is in sliding engagement with the peripheral wall 27 of the insert 3 so that the peripheral wall 27 surrounds the suction chamber 9. The peripheral wall 27 continues in a tubular extension 28 (downwards in the figures). The tubular extension 28 is cut off at an angle at its end, and as this As shown in Figure 2, it extends beyond the suction opening 7 of the pump 6. When the pump is inserted into the small container 1 in the end position shown in Figure 2, the tubular projection 28 with its axially forward tip 29 (on the left in the figure) first strikes the bottom 5, more precisely the V-shaped groove 30. As a result, the predetermined tear seam is torn and the bottom 5 bends downwards, as shown in Figure 2. In this state, the active substance in the chamber 15 is completely pressed into the container 1 by the advance of the pump so that the two media, i.e. the chemical and the solvent, are mixed in the chamber 11 of the small container 1. In the second embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 3 and 4, the outer cap 31a, in which the container 1 is placed, extends to the upper edge of the neck of the container. The container 1 is fitted with radial play in the outer cap 31a and is connected therewith in a rotational manner so that the ridge 32 protruding from the bottom of the outer cap 31a extends into the correspondingly shaped lower groove of the container 1. The upper end portion of the outer cap 31a has an axially short threaded portion 33 which is connected to the pump housing 35 4 . It is connected to a short axial threaded part 34 inside part Β1 of HU 223 435. Here, the use of a sawtooth thread is advantageous. The bottom 5 of the insert 3 is torn open by twisting the housing part 35 in an anti-clockwise direction 5 and sliding it into the annular extension 39 of another housing part 40 of the pump until the front edge of a housing part 37 does not hit the shoulder part 38 of the container 1. In this final position, the bottom 5 of the insert 3 is torn open, as shown in Figure 4. In this position, the threaded portion 34 of the housing part 35 is no longer engaged with the threaded portion 33 of the outer cap 31, so that the user cannot screw the housing part 35 back into the starting position.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS 1. A container with a tightly fitting insert and a pump for opening the insert, wherein the opening of the container has a pump for discharging the liquid contents of the container; a substantially tubular insert lies tightly against the inner wall of the neck forming the opening of the container and has a bottom which is closed in the initial state and is opened when the pump is put into operation by advancing the front part of the pump in the insert, and wherein above the insert there is a receiving chamber for an active ingredient which is separated from the liquid contents of the container before the bottom is opened and enters it after the opening, characterized in that the peripheral wall (27) of the suction chamber (9) of the pump (6) fits tightly with the inner wall of the insert (3) in a sliding connection.

2. A container according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom (5) of the insert (3) has a circumferential groove (30).

3. A container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the peripheral wall (27) of the end section of the pump (6) has a tubular projection (28) which is aligned with the groove (30) of the bottom (5) and is cut off obliquely.

4. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the container (1) has a further peripheral wall on the outside, which forms part of an outer cap (16), and this outer cap (16) encloses at least the lower part of the container (1), and that the housing part (23) of the pump (6) is connected to this peripheral wall in an axially displaceable manner.

5. A container according to claim 4, characterized in that the outer cap (16) has an outwardly projecting annular shoulder (18) on its upper edge and the housing part (23) has an inwardly projecting annular shoulder (25a) on its lower edge.

6. A container according to claim 5, characterized in that the annular shoulder (17) of the outer cap (16) or the annular shoulder (25) of the housing part (23) is slightly oversized in the radial direction, so that under preload it rests on the wall of the housing part (23) or the outer cap (16), and the latter is provided with a groove (27a) extending axially spaced from the annular shoulder, which locks the other annular shoulder in place.

7. A container according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that the container (1) is placed in an outer cap (31a) which is provided with a threaded portion (34) and to which the housing portion (35) of the pump (6) is threadedly connected.

8. Container according to claim 7, characterized in that the outer cap (31a) and the threaded part (33, 34, respectively) of the housing part (35) are self-closing in the forwardly screwed end position.

9. A container according to claim 8, characterized in that the container (1) is co-rotatably mounted in the outer cap (31a).