Patent Publication Number: US-6712246-B2

Title: Phial for distributing products, with an improved applicability

Description:
The present invention relates to a phial for distributing products, with an improved applicability. Phials for distributing products, such as lubricants, glues, shoe-creams and, in particular, medicinal products, such as, for example, anti-hemorrhoidal ointments and/or solutions for vaginal irrigations, currently comprise a distributing element (cannula, sponge or spout), which can be normally orientated, in order to facilitate application, above all when the user applies the product on himself. This possibility of orientation is obtained thanks to the possible inclusion, in correspondence with the top of the phial, of a bellows portion situated, in particular, between the body of the phial and distribution mouthpiece; this solution, however, does not allow the distributing element to stably adopt any inclined position, with respect to the longitudinal axis, once orientated, and the user must therefore maintain this position manually. 
     This is particularly uncomfortable and harmful, as the force exerted by the user to keep the bellows folded can cause an undesirable pressure on the distributing element which, when pressed on the user&#39;s body, can make application difficult; furthermore, when the distributor is used for anti-hemorrhoidal applications or vaginal irrigations, this problem is even more serious as the parts with which the distributor comes into contact are particularly sensitive and delicate. 
     Alternatively, distributor phials are used, in which the distributing element can be orientated and can take on stable inclined positions, with respect to the vertical axis; these phials comprise the use of a sphere, which rotates inside a suitably-shaped housing, to which the base of a distributing cannula is attached, allowing the cannula to rotate freely in the various positions and maintain the position reached, without having to resort to a manual intervention on the part of the user. 
     The use of a sphere joint, however, for maintaining an inclined position of the distributing element also has various disadvantages, of which the first drawback relates to the high production and assembly costs. 
     Furthermore, as the production of this type of phial comprises the assembly of a certain number of elements, it is extremely complicated to guarantee the hermetic sealing of the phial in correspondence with the joint, due to the traditional work tolerances; in this respect, it is therefore necessary to use a further external containment element to protect from any possible product deformation, which obviously influences the total production costs. 
     An objective of the present invention is consequently to overcome the disadvantages mentioned above and, in particular, to produce a phial for distributing products, which simplifies the application operations of the product for the user, at the same time guaranteeing extremely limited overall production costs, with respect to the known art. 
     Another objective of the invention is to indicate a phial for distributing products, in particular lubricants, creams, glues or medicinal products, which maintains an excellent seal, without external deformation of the product. 
     A further objective of the present invention is to produce a phial for distributing medicinal products, in particular for the application of anti-hemorrhoidal ointments or for vaginal irrigations. 
     These and other objectives, according to the present invention, are achieved by the production of a phial for distributing products, with an improved applicability, according to claim  1 . 
     According to the invention, it is advantageously possible to considerably simplify the application of medical or other products, making their use particularly safe and further reducing the overall production costs. 
    
    
     Other characteristics and advantages of a phial for distributing products with an improved applicability, according to the present invention, can be more clearly understood from the following illustrative and non-limiting description, referring to the enclosed schematic drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of a phial for distributing products with an improved applicability, according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a blow-up of a removal phase of a closing cap of the phial according to FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 illustrates an at least partial extraction phase from the phial of the distributing cannula, according to FIG. 2, and subsequent inclination of the above cannula for the application of the product; 
     FIG. 4 is a partial, enlarged section of the phial of FIG. 1, in rest position; 
     FIG. 5 is a partial, enlarged section of the phial of FIG. 1, in a position according to which the cannula is inclined to allow application of the product, in accordance with the invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a partial, enlarged section of the phial of FIG. 1, in a position according to which the mouthpiece of the phial envelops the collar, in order to allow further applications. 
    
    
     With reference to the above figures,  10  generically indicates a phial for distributing products, according to the present invention, comprising a container body  11  of the product to be distributed, a base  12 , a bellows portion  13 , a mouthpiece  14 , a collar  15 , a diameter reducing element  16  and a covering and protective cap  17  of a distributing element. 
     It should be explained once and for all that, depending on the specific applications, the phial  10  can have different configurations and geometrical forms and can comprise various distributing elements, as it may also include different sealing devices between the distributing element and the mouthpiece  14 . 
     In particular, in illustrative and preferred but non-limiting embodiments of the invention, the bellows portion  13  may also be omitted and the body  11  of the phial  10  can be round-shaped and without edges, to allow easier handling during application. 
     Furthermore, the hermetic seal between the distributing element and mouthpiece  14  may also be obtained by means of a capsule having a U-shaped section and comprising a circular portion with a pre-established fracture, to allow access to the base  12 . 
     Alternatively, as can be seen, for example, in FIGS. 4-6, the hermetic seal between the distributing element and mouthpiece  14  is obtained by means of the reducing element  16 , which frontally rests on the mouthpiece  14  forming a double seal, specifically between the distributor and reducer  16  and between the reducer  16  and mouthpiece  14 . 
     Finally, the distributing element may also have different configurations, depending on the use; it may in fact consist, even if not exclusively, of a cannula  20 , as in the case represented in FIGS. 2 and 3 (relating to applications of medicinal products, such as ointments, solutions for vaginal irrigations, creams, etc.), a spout (in the case of the distribution of glues) or a sponge (in the case of the distribution of shoe-creams). 
     When a cannula  20  is used as distributing element, it is equipped, in correspondence with its lower end, with a non-return stopper-valve, which allows its hermetic sealing until the first moment of use; the stopper valve is, in fact, automatically opened, with its first use, due to the interference between the stopper-valve and sealing devices situated in correspondence with the mouthpiece  14 . 
     A truncated-conical annular wall  18 , having a lesser thickness with respect to both the wall of the collar  15  and the wall of the mouthpiece  14 , and preferably shaped so as to be convergent towards the longitudinal axis of symmetry  19  of the phial  10 , is connected to the collar  15  of the phial  10 . 
     The distributing cannula  20  can be inserted on the phial  10 , at the mouthpiece  14 , or, alternatively, it can be extracted from inside the body  11  (as shown in FIGS.  2  and  3 ); if the cannula  20  is contained inside the body  11  of the phial  10 , in order to obtain access, it may be necessary to remove a cap  17  (as shown in FIG.  2 ), having a circumferential edge  21  with a pre-established fracture. 
     In practice, the use of the distributing phial  10 , according to the invention, is achieved by inserting the cannula  20  or extracting it from the body  11  and orientating it in the desired directions, as illustrated in detail in the portion marked by the full line in FIG. 3; the inclination of the cannula  20  is particularly advantageous when particularly delicate and sensitive areas of the human body must be reached for application, or areas which are difficult to reach with the distributing element positioned vertically (portion marked by the dashed line of FIG.  3 ). 
     The mouthpiece  14  and cannula  20  have a stable inclined position in the various desired directions, thanks to the consistency and configuration of the truncated-conical wall  18 , whose height and thickness parameters are appropriately designed, with respect to the analogous parameters of the collar  15  and mouthpiece  14 , so as to obtain the right compromise between the deformability of the material and its consistency, in order to obtain stable positions and avoid frequent and rapid breakage of the phial  10  during the application phase. 
     In this respect, it is firstly necessary for the internal diameter of the mouthpiece  14 , indicated with D in FIG. 4, to be in any case greater than the external diameter D 1  of the collar  15 . 
     In this way, as is shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, the truncated-conical wall  18  is partially deformed during the inclination of the distributing element, due to the difference in thickness between the above wall  18  and the walls of the mouthpiece  14  and collar  15 , and allows a stable orientation of the mouthpiece itself  14 . 
     In particular, in correspondence with the direction and inclination orientation of the distributing element, the truncated-conical wall  18  allows the inclination of the distributor, as the conformation of this wall enables it to at least partially fold downwards onto the wall of the collar  15 , whereas the opposite wall with respect to the inclination direction, indicated with  18 A in FIG. 5, is deformed and takes on a substantially vertical position. 
     At the end of the application, it is possible to bring the mouthpiece  14  back into rest position (the upright position of FIG.  4 ), by overcoming an initial resistance and subsequently making it spring spontaneously back into the previous aligned rest position. 
     In preferred but non-limiting embodiments of the invention, the whole mouthpiece  14  can be completely folded back onto the collar  15 , as illustrated in detail in FIG. 6; this positioning is obtained by causing the complete deformation of the truncated-conical wall  18 , which subsides in correspondence with both of the portions  18 A and  18 B. 
     This possible folding back of the distributing element can be particularly useful during applications of the medical type, such as vaginal irrigations or anti-hemorrhoidal treatment, as the application is much more controllable and the pressure exerted by the distributing element on the sensitive areas to be treated is greatly reduced, in particular when the product is to be used on the user himself. 
     The characteristics of the phial for distributing products, object of the present invention, are clearly outlined in the description provided, as are also the advantages. 
     In particular, they consist of: 
     the possibility of orienting and inclining the distributing element as desired to reach the most difficult areas to be treated and/or the most sensitive and delicate areas of the human body; 
     the possibility of completely folding back the mouthpiece onto the collar of the phial, thus favouring medical application and avoiding particularly painful pathologies, in the case of specific treatment, such as vaginal irrigations or anti-hemorrhoidal treatment; 
     ideal preservation of hygienic conditions; 
     complete airtightness of the phial; 
     reduced overall production costs, with respect to distributing phials of the traditional type. 
     Finally, numerous variations can obviously be applied to the distributing phial in question, without excluding any of the novelty principles which characterize the inventive idea illustrated, and it is also evident that, in the embodiment of the invention, the materials, forms and dimensions of the details illustrated can vary according to the demands and can be substituted with other technically equivalent alternatives.