Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D47/00—Closures with filling and discharging, or with discharging, devices
  • B65D47/04—Closures with discharging devices other than pumps
  • B65D47/20—Closures with discharging devices other than pumps comprising hand-operated members for controlling discharge
  • B65D47/2018—Closures with discharging devices other than pumps comprising hand-operated members for controlling discharge comprising a valve or like element which is opened or closed by deformation of the container or closure
  • B65D47/2056—Closures with discharging devices other than pumps comprising hand-operated members for controlling discharge comprising a valve or like element which is opened or closed by deformation of the container or closure lift valve type
  • B65D47/2081—Closures with discharging devices other than pumps comprising hand-operated members for controlling discharge comprising a valve or like element which is opened or closed by deformation of the container or closure lift valve type in which the deformation raises or lowers the valve port
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
  • B65D81/24—Adaptations for preventing deterioration or decay of contents; Applications to the container or packaging material of food preservatives, fungicides, pesticides or animal repellants

Definitions

• the invention relates to a one-way valve for dispensing a flowable material from a preferably volume-reducing container, with a cap which sits on the container neck and has an outlet opening for the material.
• the volume-reducing container can be, for example, a rigid outer container with an inner container or inner bag consisting of a soft material, which contracts accordingly after a part of the flowable material has been dispensed, pressure equalization openings in for pressure equalization between the rigid outer container and the inner container the outer container are provided.
• the container can also be single-walled and, for example, have the shape of a tube which is gradually compressed to release the material. Bellows containers, which gradually collapse in accordance with the discharge of the flowable material, and syringes, the volume of which can be reduced by advancing a syringe plunger, may be mentioned as further examples of a volume-reducing container. It is understood that the above list is only an example.
• the container does not have to be volume-reducing.
• the compensation can also be achieved by inflowing air that flows through a filter (sterile filter).
• the flowable material can be liquid or a cream, a gel, an ointment or another substance with a possibly high viscosity.
• the one-way valve of the type under consideration is intended to dispense the flowable container contents in individual partial quantities or cans, the metered dispensing of the flowable contents being able to take place over a longer period of time, depending on the application.
• the material remaining in the container is not affected by the ingress of foreign particles, whether microorganisms or inorganic or organic contaminants. This is especially true for pharmaceutical, but also e.g. determining the quality of cosmetic flowable materials, but also applies, for example, to substances attributable to food. For this reason, the volume of material discharged from the container must not be compensated for by the entry of air into the container if it is to be prevented that bacteria, dust, moisture etc. should come into contact with the remaining container contents, which is why - as mentioned above - In the case of the container considered here, the volume is reduced in accordance with the quantity of material dispensed. Above all, it must be ensured that no microorganisms penetrate through the container opening and contaminate the remaining container contents.
• the present invention has for its object to provide a one-way valve of the type under consideration, in which the sterility of the flowable material remaining in the container remains largely guaranteed.
• the one-way valve according to the invention contains a valve seat, which consists of a rigid plastic such as PE / PP and is arranged in the neck of the container. For example, if the container has a continuous tube shape, the valve seat is inserted into the end portion of the container.
• the valve seat contains a base body which bears against the inner wall of the container neck and contains at least one passage opening which - when released
• the valve seat also has a projection which is connected to the base body and extends in the axial direction of the container neck to the outlet opening of the container.
• the one-way valve according to the invention also contains an elastic seal which has a ring section which covers the at least one through opening and a sleeve-shaped section which is formed in one piece therewith and which forms the
• - preferably arranged centrally in the container neck - surrounds the projection with a radial spacing, with the exception of the end section of the sleeve-shaped part, which preferably bears against the end section of the projection within the outlet opening of the container when the valve is closed.
• the ring section of the elastic seal is pressed radially outside the at least one through opening of the valve seat on the valve seat.
• the one-way valve preferably contains a sterilization device, which is arranged in the space between the projection of the valve seat and the sleeve-shaped section of the elastic seal and has a germicidal effect on any bacteria which may have penetrated, etc.
• the sterilization device can be a preferably spiral-shaped sterilization element which surrounds the projection, or it can be formed by coating at least parts of the valve seat and / or the seal with oligodynamically active metals or bactericidal substances.
• the valve seat closes the container neck except for its at least one through opening or, if one is not designed, the cross section of the container lying in front of the outlet opening.
• the elastic seal rests firmly on the base body of the valve seat, since it is preferably held with its annular outer area in contact with the valve seat, preferably pressed against the valve seat by an annular projection of the cap of the container.
• the elastic seal lying flat on the base body of the valve seat thus closes the at least one through opening of the valve seat.
• the elastic seal also lies with the end portion of its sleeve-shaped portion close to the head end of the preferably pin-shaped projection, namely within the outlet opening of the container in such a way that this outlet opening is tightly closed when the valve is closed. Because of the tight contact with the pin or peg-shaped projection of the valve seat, this also ensures that no contamination from the outside can occur between the projection and the sleeve-shaped section of the seal.
• the sterilization element arranged there would effectively prevent harmful multiplication of microorganisms, so that the sterility of the container contents is ensured. This applies both to the flowable material remaining between the seal and the valve seat and to the container content remaining below the one-way valve.
• the flowable material can be released not only by exerting a pressure on the contents of the container, but also in a corresponding manner by applying a negative pressure from outside to the elastic seal - and after opening it - on the contents of the container.
• the base body of the valve seat contain a plurality of through bores radially outside the projection, which should be evenly distributed over the circumference.
• the through openings can have, for example, the shape of circular-arc-shaped slots.
• the base body of the valve seat has a flat base plate, through which the at least one passage opening leads, and a peripheral wall which bears against the inner wall of the container neck and which rests on the peripheral edge of the container neck with an outer circumferential annular shoulder.
• the peripheral wall like the container neck, generally has a circular cylindrical shape.
• the cap of the container rests on the upper edge of the peripheral wall of the valve seat, as a result of which the valve seat is fixed.
• the cap can be a screw cap. However, the cap can also be snapped onto the container neck, for example.
• the projection which is preferably attached centrally to the flat base plate of the valve seat, generally has a pin or peg shape and can be designed in such a way that it has the shape of a circular cylinder with a preferably tapered end section.
• the projection in longitudinal section can have an arcuate contour, other shapes also being possible, as long as the end section of the projection offers a suitable sealing surface for the sleeve-shaped section of the elastic seal.
• the upper edge of the projection of the valve seat is arranged within the container opening, it preferably being flush with the upper side of the cap. It goes without saying that the diameter of the end section of the projection is smaller than the diameter of the container opening, since the end section of the sleeve-shaped section of the elastic seal is arranged in the annular space.
• the ring section of the elastic seal also preferably has a flat shape and is held in the region of its peripheral edge in contact with the flat base plate of the valve seat. It is preferably provided that the closure cap of the container has an annular projection which presses the elastic seal against the valve seat in the range specified above.
• the ring section of the seal can, however, also be held on the valve seat by other means, for example glued on.
• the sleeve-shaped section adjoining the ring section of the seal which is also integrally formed in the middle, can first be circular cylindrical and then conical in longitudinal section, starting from the ring section his.
• An alternative form is that the sleeve-shaped section has an arcuate contour in longitudinal section.
• the end section of the sleeve-shaped part of the elastic seal has an inner contour which matches the peripheral surface of the head section of the projection and lies against the wall of the container opening with the outer surface, the wall cross section of the end section of the sleeve-shaped part being substantially wedge-shaped.
• a tight seal can also be additionally ensured that the end portion of the sleeve-shaped part of the seal is pushed back by hand if the seal does not automatically return to the completely closed state, which may be the case with highly viscous materials. may be the case.
• the sterilization element arranged in the intermediate space (dead volume) between the seal and the valve seat preferably surrounds the projection of the valve seat in a spiral shape.
• the dimensions are expediently such that the sterilization element, which may have the form of a helical spring, is in contact with both the latter and the sleeve-shaped section of the seal at the upper end region of the projection, so that any that may enter the outlet opening of the container Microorganisms inevitably come into contact with the sterilization element when they migrate downwards. This reliably prevents microbial contamination.
• the sterilization element consists of silver or contains a silver coating, which has a germicidal effect. Instead of silver, other oligodynamically active metals or bactericidal substances can also be used.
• Figure 1 is an exploded view of the components of an embodiment of the one-way valve according to the invention with associated container neck and container cap;
• FIG. 2A and 2B show a side view and top view of the valve body according to FIG. 1;
• FIGS. 3A and 3B show a side view and a top view of the valve seat according to FIG. 1;
• FIGS. 4 A and 4 B show a side view and a top view of the container cap according to FIGS. 4 A and 4 B
• Figures 5 A and 5 B are longitudinal sections through the one-way valve attached to the container neck according to Figure 1 in the closed and in the open state.
• the main components of the sterile valve according to the invention are a valve seat 1, an elastic sealing body 2 and - preferably - a sterilization element 3, which are arranged in the neck 4 of a container 5 in a manner described below.
• a specially designed container cap 6 interacts with the components of the sterile valve.
• the valve seat 1 consists of a flat base plate 7 with an adjoining cylindrical peripheral wall 8 which, in the installed position, lies tight against the inner wall of the container neck 4 and ends in an outwardly pointing annular collar 9 which rests on the upper edge of the container neck 4.
• the base plate 7 contains four circular through openings 10, which are evenly distributed in the circumferential direction.
• a peg-shaped projection 1 1 is formed, which projects at a right angle from the base plate 7 and has a circular cylindrical shape which merges into a frustoconical end section 1 2 which projects beyond the annular shoulder 9.
• the sealing element 2 which consists of an elastic plastic such as ..., as well as the valve seat 1 is made in one piece and contains a flat ring portion 13 which merges at its radially inner peripheral edge into a sleeve-shaped portion 1 4, the central longitudinal axis of which is perpendicular to the plane of the Ring section 13 runs.
• the sleeve-shaped section 14 consists of a first circular-cylindrical section 15, a central section 16 which then tapers conically upwards and an end section 17 7 which in turn is cylindrical on its outer contour.
• the end section 17 has one that is free End continuously increasing wall thickness, since its inner contour is aligned conical with that of section 1 6.
• the upper edge of the sleeve-shaped section is designated by the reference number 1 8, while the upper edge of the projection 1 1 is provided by the reference number 1 9.
• the closure cap 6 of the container 5 contains an upper end wall 20 and an essentially circular-cylindrical peripheral wall 21.
• a flat indentation 22 is formed, which ends at a radially inwardly facing annular collar 23, which forms the upper side of a circumferential nose 24 pointing obliquely inwards.
• This nose 24 engages under a circumferential outer projection 25 on the outside of the container neck 4 when the cap 6 is snapped onto the container neck 4.
• annular projection 25 is formed on the underside of the upper end wall 20 of the cap 6, which has an extension such that, in the installed position of the sterile valve and the cap 6, it fixes the ring section 1 3 of the sealing body 2 against the base plate 7 of the valve seat 1 presses.
• the outlet opening 27 In the middle of the upper end wall 20 of the cap 6 there is a circular outlet opening 27 for the flowable material accommodated in the container.
• the outlet opening 27 initially narrows a little from the top 28 of the cap 6, in order to then become increasingly wider after a cross-section rounding 29.
• the edge contour of the outlet opening 27, viewed from the top 28 of the cap 6, initially runs in an arc shape inwards and outwards again, which is followed by a section pointing obliquely outwards. In the area of the narrowest point, the outlet opening 27 is smoothly rounded.
• FIGS. 5A and 5B show that the sterilization element 3, which is provided with a silver coating and has the shape of a spiral screw or spiral spring, surrounds the projection 11 of the valve seat 1 with a small distance.
• the top side 1 9 of the projection 1 1 is flush with the top side 28 of the cap 6. This also applies to the top side 1 8 of the sleeve-shaped section 14 when the sterile valve is closed, ie when the ring section 1 3 is flat rests on the base plate 7.
• the upper end section 17 fills the sleeve-shaped section 14 of the Sealing element 2 completely from the annular gap between the head end 12 of the projection 1 1 and the peripheral wall of the outlet opening 27.
• the sealing element 2 When no more pressure is exerted on the container contents, the sealing element 2 automatically returns to the starting position due to the elasticity of its material, the restoring force being able to be determined by selecting a suitable elastic material and suitable dimensions, in particular the wall thickness of the ring section 13.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Food Science & Technology (AREA)
• Closures For Containers (AREA)
• Multiple-Way Valves (AREA)
• Feeding And Controlling Fuel (AREA)
• Coating Apparatus (AREA)
• Apparatus For Disinfection Or Sterilisation (AREA)
• Lift Valve (AREA)
• Containers And Packaging Bodies Having A Special Means To Remove Contents (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

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ID=28798619

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (13)

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Family Cites Families (24)

• 2002
  • 2002-04-19 DE DE10217655A patent/DE10217655B4/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2003
  • 2003-04-04 RU RU2004133809/11A patent/RU2326795C2/ru not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2003-04-04 AU AU2003232591A patent/AU2003232591A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-04-04 DK DK03746804T patent/DK1499538T3/da active
  • 2003-04-04 ES ES03746804T patent/ES2298541T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2003-04-04 WO PCT/DE2003/001108 patent/WO2003089325A2/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 2003-04-04 US US10/511,928 patent/US8322578B2/en active Active
  • 2003-04-04 PT PT03746804T patent/PT1499538E/pt unknown
  • 2003-04-04 BR BRPI0309423-5A patent/BR0309423B1/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2003-04-04 EP EP03746804A patent/EP1499538B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2003-04-04 AT AT03746804T patent/ATE381498T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2003-04-04 MX MXPA04010304A patent/MXPA04010304A/es active IP Right Grant
  • 2003-04-04 DE DE50308847T patent/DE50308847D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2003-04-04 CN CNB038087456A patent/CN100379653C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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