Abstract:
A flexible elongated sealed container with a self-contained opening means fully enclosed within the container to release the substance sealed within the container is disclosed. The enclosed opening means is operated by bending the flexible elongated sealed container at or near the enclosed opening means to release the substance sealed within the flexible elongated sealed container for application. There are no loose parts that may be lost and all components are completely sealed within the container.

Description:
[0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of the prior nonprovisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/670,961, filed on Sep. 25, 2003, entitled Sealed Container with Enclosed Opening Means. This application is also a continuation-in-part of the prior nonprovisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/728,701, filed on Dec. 5, 2003, entitled Enclosed Opening Means. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates generally to eye droppers. More specifically, the present invention is an eye dropper with an adjustable angle applicator tip to allow convenient application of its content to the eye.  
         [0004]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0005]     Conventional eye droppers are generally in the form of a small squeezable plastic container with a restricted opening formed as an applicator tip covered with a protective cover such as a screw-on cap. The medication is contained in the small squeezable plastic container. After the protective cover is removed, the eye dropper is maneuvered to position the applicator tip immediately above the eye to be applied. The plastic container is then squeezed to force a few drops of the medication out of the small squeezable plastic container and applied to the eye through the applicator tip.  
         [0006]     An eye is a relatively small area to apply medication to. This difficulty is compounded when one is applying the medication to one&#39;s own eyes. The conventional eye dropper is difficult to aim at the eyes and requires the hand and arm to be extended and bent at an awkward position to accurately apply the medication to an eye. For a user with joint or muscular disabilities, this can be virtually impossible to perform. In addition, an elderly user who may not be as steady with his or her hands and coordination may find the application of medication to the eye with conventional eye dropper a difficult and frustrating process.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The present invention is an adjustable angle eye dropper with a self-contained opening means fully enclosed within the container to release the substance sealed within the container. The enclosed opening means is operated by bending the flexible elongated sealed container at or near the enclosed opening means. Once the enclosed opening means is opened, the substance sealed within the flexible elongated sealed container may be released for application. When the flexible elongated sealed container has a small cross-section such that the substance within it cannot be released due to its surface tension, a guiding member may be utilized to increase the capillary action and to overcome the surface tension of the substance to release the substance from the flexible elongated sealed container. There are no loose parts that may be lost and all components are completely sealed within the container. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  shows the preferred embodiment of the adjustable angle eye dropper.  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  shows another embodiment of the adjustable angle eye dropper.  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  shows another embodiment of the adjustable angle eye dropper.  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  shows another embodiment of the adjustable angle eye dropper.  
         [0012]      FIG. 5  shows another embodiment of the adjustable angle eye dropper.  
         [0013]      FIG. 6  shows one embodiment of the opening means in the closed condition.  
         [0014]      FIG. 7  shows the opening means of  FIG. 6  in the open position to release the liquids in the sealed container to be released.  
         [0015]      FIG. 8  shows one embodiment of the opening means in the closed condition.  
         [0016]      FIG. 9  shows the opening means of  FIG. 8  in the open position to release the liquids in the sealed container to be released.  
         [0017]      FIG. 10  shows one embodiment of the opening means in the closed condition.  
         [0018]      FIG. 11  shows the opening means of  FIG. 10  in the open position to release the liquids in the sealed container to be released.  
         [0019]      FIG. 12  shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the adjustable angle eye dropper.  
         [0020]      FIG. 13  shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the adjustable angle eye dropper.  
         [0021]      FIG. 14  shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the adjustable angle eye dropper.  
         [0022]      FIG. 15  shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the adjustable angle eye dropper.  
         [0023]      FIG. 16  shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the adjustable angle eye dropper.  
         [0024]      FIG. 17  shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the adjustable angle eye dropper. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0025]     The following description and figures are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting. Other embodiments of this invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of this description.  
         [0026]      FIG. 1  shows the preferred embodiment of the adjustable angle eye dropper. In the preferred embodiment, the adjustable angle eye dropper comprises of a flexible elongated tubular housing  1  with a sealed end  2  and an open end  3 . A substance  4  is enclosed within the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  near the sealed end  2 . An enclosed opening means  5  is disposed inside the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  sealing the substance  4  within the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 . The enclosed opening means  5  is operated by bending the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  at or near the enclosed opening means  5 . The adjustable angle eye dropper will simultaneously bent and open at the position of the enclosed opening means  5  means  5  without fracturing the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 . With the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  made of an elastic plastic material such as polypropylene, after it is bent at the enclosed opening means  5 , the flexible elongated housing  1  will retain its bent shape due to the stretching and deformation of the flexible elongated housing  1  during the bending and opening of the enclosed opening means  5 . This will allow the applicator end  3  to be positioned at virtually any desired angle for application of the substance  4 . The applicator end  3  may also be provided with an applicator tip such as a smooth soft rounded tip without any jagged edge. The applicator tip may be made of silicone rubber or plastic.  
         [0027]     When the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  has a small cross-section such that the substance  4  within it cannot be released simply by opening the enclosed opening means  5  due to its surface tension, a guiding member  6 ,  7  may be utilized to increase the capillary action and to overcome the surface tension of the substance  4  to release the substance  4  from the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  as shown in  FIGS. 2, 4 , and  5 .  
         [0028]     One embodiment of the enclosed opening means  5  is shown in  FIG. 3  wherein the enclosed opening means  5  comprises of a cylinder  8  with an outside diameter approximately that of the inside diameter of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  defining a small fluid path from the open end  3  of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  to the substance  4 . The end near the substance  4  has an elongated protrusion  9  that is smaller in diameter than the cylindrical body  8  of the enclosed opening means  5  and is separable from the cylindrical body  8  of the enclosed opening means  5 . The elongated protrusion  9  seals the small fluid path in the cylinder  8  and prevents the substance  4  in the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  from being released through the enclosed opening means  5 . When the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  is bent near the junction between the elongated protrusion  9  and the cylindrical body  8  of the enclosed opening means  5 , the elongated protrusion  9  will be separated from the cylindrical body  8  and the small fluid path is exposed for the substance  4  to be released from the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  through the opening means  5 .  
         [0029]      FIG. 4  shows another embodiment of the adjustable angle eye dropper. In this embodiment, the adjustable angle eye dropper comprises of a flexible elongated tubular housing  1  with a small cross-section and with a sealed end  2  and an open end  3 . A substance  4  is enclosed within the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  near the sealed end  2 . An enclosed opening means  5  is disposed inside the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  sealing the substance  4  within the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 .  
         [0030]     The enclosed opening means  5  comprises of a hollow cylindrical body  10  with an open end  11  toward the substance  4  and a sealed end with an elongated member  12  extending away from the hollow cylindrical body  10  towards the open end  3  of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  and terminating near the open end  3  of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 . A frangible section  13 , which may be formed by a score line on the outer surface of the hollow cylindrical body  10 , is formed on the hollow cylindrical body  10  near the sealed end of the hollow cylindrical body  10 .  
         [0031]     When the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  is bent at or near the frangible section  13  of the hollow cylindrical body  10  of the opening means  5 , the sealed end of the hollow cylindrical body  10  will separate from the open end  11  of the hollow cylindrical body  10  which results in a through fluid path from the substance  4  to the open end  3  of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 . Due to the small cross-section of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 , the substance  4  will not flow freely out of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  due to surface tension of the substance  4 . The substance  4  may be selectively released from the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  by squeezing the portion of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  containing the substance  4  to force the substance  4  toward the elongated member  12 . Once the substance  4  reaches the elongated member  12 , the elongated member  12  will increase the capillary action of the substance  4  to overcome the surface tension of the substance  4  within the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  to allow it to freely flow out of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 .  
         [0032]     If immediate release of the substance  4  upon opening of the opening means  5  is desired, a second elongated member  14  may be affixed to the sealed end  2  of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  and extending to near the open end  11  of the cylindrical body  10  as shown in  FIG. 5  to increase the capillary action of the substance  4  to overcome the surface tension of the substance  4  to allow the substance  4  to be immediately released from the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  upon opening of the opening means  5  without being squeezed.  
         [0033]      FIG. 6  shows another embodiment of the enclosed opening means  5 . In this embodiment, the enclosed opening means  5  comprises of a plug  16  that is fracturable into two parts at a fracture surface  17  when it is bent. The plug  16  has one or more holes  18  extending from each end of the plug  16  pass the fracture surface  17  without passing through the other end of the plug  16 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , upon bending of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  at or near the plug  16 , the plug  16  will separate into two sections at the fracture surface  17  and one or more fluid flow paths are formed leading from the substance  4  to the open end  3  of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 .  
         [0034]      FIG. 8  shows another embodiment of the enclosed opening means  5  wherein the enclosed opening means  5  comprises of two circular discs  24 ,  25  with approximately the same cross-section as the inside diameter of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  and with sufficient thickness to prevent them from flipping inside the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 . Each circular disc  24 ,  25  has one or more holes  26 ,  27  through it positioned such that when the two circular discs  24 ,  25  are placed next to each other in the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 , the holes  26 ,  27  in each circular disc will be covered by the other disc therefore all the holes  26 ,  27  in both circular discs  24 ,  25  are sealed by the other circular disc. When the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  is bent at or near the two circular discs  24 ,  25 , the deformation of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  will cause the two circular discs  24 ,  25  to separate from each other and a fluid flow path will result from the substance  4  to the open end  3  of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  as shown in  FIG. 9 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 10  shows another embodiment of the enclosed opening means  5  wherein the enclosed opening means  5  comprises of an elongated cup  36  with a diameter approximately that of the inside diameter of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  and a length that is longer than the diameter. The closed end  37  of the elongated cup  36  is formed in an elongated protrusion with a fracture line  38  formed around the elongated protrusion positioned along the elongated cup  36  at a point where when the elongated protrusion is fractured, an opening will be formed at the closed end  37  of the elongated cup  36 . The elongated cup  36  is inserted into the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  to seal the substance  4  within the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 . As shown in  FIG. 11 , upon bending the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  near the closed end  37  of the elongated cup  36 , the elongated protrusion will fracture from the elongated cup  36  at the fracture line  38  and a fluid flow path is exposed to allow the substance  4  to be released from the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 .  
         [0036]     As shown in  FIG. 12 , the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  may be provided with a reduced opening at its open end  3  to capture the fractured sealed end  37  of the enclosed opening means  5 . The reduced opening is provided with a profile that will maintain a fluid flow path even if the fractured sealed end  37  of the enclosed opening means  5  is lodged against it. This may be accomplished by forming the reduced opening in an elliptical shape or in any other shape that is different than the shape of the fractured sealed end  37  of the enclosed opening means  5 .  
         [0037]     When the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  has a small cross-section such that the substance  4  within it cannot be reliably released simply by opening the opening means  5  due to its surface tension, a guiding member  39  may be utilized to increase the capillary action and to overcome the surface tension of the substance  4  to release the substance  4  from the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  as shown in  FIG. 12 . The guiding member  39  may be affixed to the sealed end  2  of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  and extends to near or slightly inside the open end of the opening means  5 .  
         [0038]      FIG. 13  shows another embodiment of the enclosed opening means. In this embodiment, the sealed end  40  of the enclosed opening means  5  has a circumference that provides one or more fluid flow path around the sealed end  40 . The sealed end  40  may be formed in the shape of a geometric shape that is not a circle such as a triangle, a square, or a star shape such that when it is inserted into another tube  41  it will not seal off the tube  41  but would leave one or more fluid flow path between the sealed end  40  and the tube  41 . The enclosed opening means  5  is used in a flexible elongated tubular housing  1  with a sealed end  2  and an open end  3 . A substance  4  is enclosed within the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  near the sealed end  2 . The enclosed opening means  5  is disposed inside the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  sealing the substance  4  within the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 . Another tube  41  with two open ends is inserted into the open end  3  of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  with one open end toward the sealed end  40  of the enclosed opening means  5  overlapping the sealed end  40  of the enclosed opening means  5 .  
         [0039]      FIG. 14  shows another embodiment of the enclosed opening means. In this embodiment, the enclosed opening means  5  is used in a flexible elongated tubular housing  1  with a sealed end  2  and an open end  3 . A substance  4  is enclosed within the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  near the sealed end  2 . An enclosed opening means  5  is disposed inside the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  sealing the substance  4  within the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 . Another tube  42  with two open ends is inserted into the open end  3  of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  with one open end disposed toward the sealed end  37  of the enclosed opening means  5 .  
         [0040]      FIG. 15  shows another embodiment of the enclosed opening means comprising a tubular section  43  with two open ends  44 ,  45  and a seal  46  separating the two open ends  44 ,  45  disposed within the tubular section  43  between the two open ends  44 ,  45 . The outside diameter of the tubular section  43  near the seal  46  is smaller than the outside diameter of the tubular section  43  near the two open ends  44 ,  45 . A fracture line  47  is formed on one side of the seal  46  disposed at the section with the reduced outside diameter. An opening  48  such as a hole is formed on the other side of the seal  46  disposed at the section with the reduced outside diameter. The enclosed opening means  43  is inserted into a flexible elongated tubular housing  1  with a sealed end  2  and an open end  3  enclosing a substance  4  disposed near the sealed end  2 . In the preferred embodiment, the enclosed opening means  43  is inserted such that the open end  44  with the fracture line  47  is disposed towards the substance  4  and the open end  45  with the opening  48  is disposed toward the open end  3  of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 . When the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  is bent at or near the fracture line  47  on the enclosed opening means  43  a fluid flow path is exposed leading from the substance  4  to the open end  3  of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 . The substance  4  will flow through the resulting opening from the fracture of the fracture line  47  into the area between the reduced outside diameter of the enclosed opening means  43  and the inside wall of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  and then into the opening  48  on the other side of the seal  46  in the enclosed opening means  43  and out of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 .  
         [0041]      FIG. 16  shows another embodiment of the enclosed opening means wherein a hollow tube  49  is inserted through the open end  3  of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  and into the open end  45  of the enclosed opening means  43  shown in  FIG. 15 . In this embodiment, a more rigid hollow tube  49  may be used to increase the rigidity of the body of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  near the open end  3 .  
         [0042]      FIG. 17  shows another embodiment of the enclosed opening means previously shown in  FIG. 15  comprising a tubular section  50  with two open ends  51 ,  52  and a seal  53  separating the two open ends  51 ,  52  disposed within the tubular section  50  between the two open ends  51 ,  52 . The outside diameter of the tubular section  50  near the seal  53  is smaller than the outside diameter of the tubular section  50  near the two open ends  51 ,  52 . A fracture line  54  is formed on one side of the seal  53  disposed at the section with the reduced outside diameter. An opening  55  such as a hole is formed on the other side of the seal  53  disposed at the section with the reduced outside diameter. The enclosed opening means  50  is inserted into a flexible elongated tubular housing  1  with a sealed end  2  and an open end  3  enclosing a substance  4  disposed near the sealed end  2 . In the preferred embodiment, the enclosed opening means  50  is inserted such that the open end  51  with the fracture line  54  is disposed towards the substance  4  and the open end  52  with the opening  55  is disposed toward the open end  3  of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  wherein the open end  52  of the enclosed opening means  50  extends out of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 . When the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  is bent at or near the fracture line  54  on the enclosed opening means  50  a fluid flow path is exposed leading from the substance  4  to the open end  52  of the enclosed opening means  50 . The substance  4  will flow through the resulting opening from the fracture of the fracture line  54  into the area between the reduced outside diameter of the enclosed opening means  50  and the inside wall of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1  and then into the opening  55  on the other side of the seal  53  in the enclosed opening means  50  and out of the open end  3  of the flexible elongated tubular housing  1 .  
         [0043]     Although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments and applications, one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of this teaching, can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of or exceeding the scope of the claimed invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the drawings and descriptions herein are proffered by way of example to facilitate comprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof.