A BOTTLE FOR GENERIC MEDICINAL PRODUCTS, IN PARTICULAR SYRUPS

Abstract: A bottle (1) for syrups, which affords precise dosages of a syrup in an accurate and hygienically satisfactory manner, comprises a container (2) in bottle form which extends between a bottle bottom (3) and a bottle neck (4), a cap-type stopper (8) removably associated with the bottle neck (4), a syringe device (12) having a respective cylinder (13) associated with the bottle neck (4) and defining a chamber (15) having a set volume equal to a single dose, which chamber (15) is in fluid communication with said bottle bottom (3) through a conduit (16), and a respective plunger (14) associated with the cap-type stopper (8) and being movable within said cylinder (13) on removal of the cap (8) to such up a dose from the bottle bottom (3).

Description: This invention relates to a bottle for containing generic medicinal products, and more specifically syrups, comprising a container in bottle form extending between a bottle bottom and a bottle neck, a cap-type stopper removably associated with the bottle neck, a syringe device having a respective cylinder associated with the bottle neck and defining a chamber with a set volume equal to a single dose, said chamber being in fluid communication with said bottle bottom through a conduit, and a respective plunger associated with the bottle cap and being movable within said cylinder on removing the cap to suck up a dose. This type of bottle is known in the art and examples may be appreciated in DE-A- 2 107 074 and in DE-A- 2 827 585. With particular reference to DE-A-2 107 074, it should be noted that the cylinder, which fits tigthly inside the bottle neck, is provided with only one aperture located in its bottom connected to the conduit which extends inside the container to reach a corner of the container bottom. The operation of the device relies on an air cushion which is first pumped into the container when the plunger is first introduced into the cylinder. This cushion rises to the bottom of the container when the plunger is removed and the dose is poured out, so that no additional fluid is discharged. This is due to the fact that the end of the conduit is in the air cushion. However this may not always happen since, if the bottle is not inverted fully, the end of the conduit may remain in the fluid and more than the measured dose will be discharged. Moreover, since the known device requires the pressurisation of the air in the container to function, if the pressure in the container is lost while the container is on a shelf waiting for being sold, when one tries to remove the cap, a resistance would be felt as the plunger tries to establish a partial vacuum inside the container. This partial vacuum would be formed as the liquid is siphoned up the conduit into the cylinder. Once the cap is removed, the top of the cylinder is exposed to atmospheric pressure which is higher than the partial vacuum inside the container. This would cause the fluid to be sucked back into the container from the cylinder through the conduit and, even if the fluid is only partially drawn into the container, the accurate dosage sought is no longer possible. As a consequence, even if a bottle with a metering device according to the prior art looks like to be simple in construction by avoiding the use of any valves, it not free from serious drawbacks. The problem which underlies the present invention is to provide a bottle of the specified type having such constructional and operational features to overcome the drawbacks noted in connection with the prior art. This problem is solved by a bottle of the specified type characterized according to the appended claim 1. Further features and the advantages of the bottle according to this invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, to be taken by way of example and not of limitation with reference to the accompanying drawings, where: Figure 1 is an elevation view of a bottle according to the invention; Figure 2 is an elevation view, in cross-section and to an enlarged scale, of a detail of the bottle shown in Figure 1; and Figures 3, 4 and 5 are sectional views of the bottle of Figure 1, shown at different stages of its operation. With reference to the drawing views, the numeral 1 designates generally a bottle for containing a syrup or the like medicinal product, which comprises a container 2 of bottle form having an X-X axis. The container 2 extends between a bottle bottom 3 and bottle neck 4. Being formed from glass or a suitable rigid plastics, the container 2 may have, for example, a capacity of 100 cm³. A coarse outside screw thread formation 5 having, for example, a 12 mm long pitch is provided along a major section of the bottle neck 4. The neck 4 has an annular rim 6 at its free end which is formed externally with an annular groove 7. Indicated at 8 is a cap-type stopper removably associated with the neck 4. It is formed from a suitable plastics, such as polypropylene, and has a flat top 9 and a cylindrical skirt 10 having a set height dimension A. Internally of the cylindrical skirt 10, there are formed inside screw threads 11 mating with the screw threads 5 and adapted to be threadably engaged therewith. The bottle 1 of this invention further comprises a syringe device, generally indicated at 12, which is effective to dispense single syrup doses. The syringe device 12 includes a respective cylinder or barrel 13 associated with the neck 4 of the container 2, and a respective plunger 14 associated with the cap 8 and being movable within said cylinder 13. The cylinder 13 defines a chamber 15 having an inside diameter D and a height H selected to have the chamber volume equal to a desired syrup dose, e.g. of 5 cm³. The cylinder 13 is in fluid communication with the container 2 through a tubular conduit 16 dipped into the container 2 to a location level with its bottom 3. The cylinder 13 is provided at the top with an annular flange 17 which juts outwards and fits over the rim 6. In particular, the flange 17 has a first portion 18 fitting into the neck 4 in a guided manner, with an interspace 19 being defined between the neck 4 and the cylinder 13, a second portion 20 abutting the rim 6 of the neck 4 and being provided at the top with an annular lip seal 21 adapted to be engaged by the top 9 of the cap 8, and a third portion 22 extending externally of the rim 6 and being provided internally with an annular projection 23 adapted to engage in the groove 7 by snap action to retain the cylinder 13 positively to the neck 4. At the portion 18 of the flange 17, there is formed an annular channel 24 whose bottom has holes 25 formed therein which open into the interspace 19, which holes constitute vent holes for the container 2. The holes 25 are capillary holes, thereby letting air through them but inhibiting in practice the passage of syrup. To shut off the holes 25, the cap 8 is provided with a tubular lug 26 depending from its top 9, which would sealingly engage with said channel 24 endwise as a shutter for the holes 25. The tubular conduit 16 is embodied by a small plastics tube 27, e.g. made of polyethylene, carrying at its upper end a wall-pass end fitting 28 formed from a plastic material such as an elastomer. The end fitting 28 is snap fitted into a bore 28a provided at the bottom of the cylinder 13. The plunger 14 of the syringe device 12 consists of a disk-shaped element 29 of plastics, e.g. of polyethylene, which is provided peripherally with an annular lip seal 30 in tight sealed relationship with the cylinder 13, and a tubular centre portion 31 snugly inserted plug-fashion into a tubular lug 32 depending from the top 9 of the cap 8. It should be noted that the tubular lug 32 has a set height dimension B, smaller than the height A, thereby the plunger will not stand proud of the cap but remain instead in a position fully within it. Advantageously, the syringe device 12 of the inventive bottle comprises a valve means 33 formed on the tubular conduit 16 to admit syrup into the chamber 15 but prevent it from flowing out. The valve means 33 includes a check valve 34 of the duckbill type, whose bills 34a are formed integrally with the end fitting 28. Also advantageously, the syringe device 12 of the inventive bottle includes an additional valve means, indicated at 35, formed in the cylinder bottom 13 to prevent air from passing to the chamber 15 from the container, and to permit air and syrup to pass from the chamber 15 to the container on a set pressure level being exceeded. This valve means consists of a check valve 36 of the flap type having plural holes 36a formed in the cylinder 13 bottom and an elastically deformable flap 36b of set rigidity which is held in pressure contact from below with the cylinder 13 across said holes 36a. The elastic flap 36b is advantageously formed integrally with the end fitting 28. To have a single dose of the syrup dispensed from this bottle, it will be sufficient to screw the cap 8 out of the neck 4. As the cap 8 is being screwed out, the plunger 14 associated therewith will be displaced within the cylinder 13, in an outward direction therefrom, thus causing syrup to be drawn out of the container 2, through the conduit 16 into the chamber 15, as the check valve 34 is opened (see Figure 3). At this stage, the check valve 36 would be left closed. As the cap unscrewing is continued, the plunger 14 will come out of the cylinder 13 and leave the chamber 15 filled with an amount of the syrup which is exactly equal to its volume and, hence, to the target dose. On completion of the cap unscrewing, the cap 8 would be removed to let the dose accessible (see Figure 4). The administration of the latter takes place by either drinking it directly off the bottle neck or pouring the dose into a drinking glass or another preferred container. At this moment, the cap 8 would screwed back onto the neck 4 by application of an appropriate force. Thus, the plunger 14 is driven back into the cylinder 13 by an inward movement. During the inward movement of the plunger 14, the lip seal 30 will scrape the cylinder 13 wall and remove therefrom any syrup residue. Air and syrup residue will be pushed out of the chamber 15 into the container 2 via the check valve 36, which is now opened on its set opening pressure being reached. It should be noted that during the insertion of the plunger 14 into the cylinder 13, the duckbill check valve 34 is held closed. As a result, the conduit 16 is kept in a filled state, which enhances the constant dosage feature. With the cap tightened down, the starting condition is restored and the bottle is ready to dispense a fresh dose, according to necessity. It should be noted that during the plunger displacement through the cylinder, whether in the outward or inward direction, the vent holes 25 will maintain atmospheric pressure within the container 2. With the cap tightened down, the vent holes 25 are shut off by the shutter 26, and any incidental transfer of syrup from the container 2 into the chamber 15 will be prevented on a long-term basis. The main advantage of the bottle according to the invention is that it enables syrup to be metered out with hitherto unachievable accuracy. The dose is formed, in fact, automatically on screwing the cap out, leaving no margin for error. The bottle of this invention lends therefore itself for use by the child and the elderly as well; the low degree of dexterity that characterizes such users cannot impair the accuracy of the dose formed. A further advantage of the inventive bottle is that its operation is also fully satisfactory from the sanitary standpoint. In fact, the dose is formed within the bottle neck, inside the chamber of a cylinder which would be protected normally by the bottle cap. Also hygienically satisfactory is the way the cap is handled, since irrespective of how it is laid down, it cannot cause the plunger to become contaminated. Still another advantage of the bottle according to this invention is that it can be made to accommodate a range of different dosages by merely providing a number of cylinders, each with a different value of the height H. As an example, one half the height dimension of the cylinder 13 would provide a bottle for syrups to be administered to children, in 2.5 cm³ doses. Note should also be taken of that the inventive bottle is simple construction-wise and formed of parts which can be manufactured on a mass-production basis, a better than negligible advantage with a disposable article after use. It stands to reason that a skilled person in the art may, in order to meet specific and contingent requirements, apply numerous modifications and alterations to the bottle disclosed hereinabove, without departing thereby from the protection scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims: A bottle (1) for containing generic medicinal products, more specifically syrups, comprising a container (2) in bottle form extending between a bottle bottom (3) and a bottle neck (4), a cap-type stopper (8) removably associated with the bottle neck (4), a syringe device (12) having a respective cylinder (13) associated with the bottle neck (4) and defining a chamber (15) with a set volume equal to a single dose, said chamber (15) being in fluid communication with the inside of the container (2) through a conduit (16) extending to the bottle bottom (3), and a respective plunger (14) associated with the bottle cap (8) and being movable within said cylinder (13) on removing the cap (8) to suck up a dose, characterized in that it includes a check valve (34) on said conduit (16) and an additional check valve (36) between said chamber (15) and the inside of the container (2). A bottle according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises at least one vent hole (25) for said container (2) formed in said cylinder (13). A bottle according to Claim 2, characterized in that it comprises a shutter (26) for said at least one vent hole (25), formed in the cap-type stopper (8). A bottle according to Claim 1, characterized in that said plunger (14) is accommodated at a location fully within the cap-type stopper (8).

Inventors: BATTEGAZZORE, PIERO
Applicants: GUALA S.P.A.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: B65D47
IPC codes: G01F11