Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US20080003049?ie=ISO-8859-1
Timestamp: 2015-01-27 11:46:06
Document Index: 1877188

Matched Legal Cases: ['art.\n49', 'art.\n50', 'art.\n59', 'art.\n63', 'art 161', 'art 161', 'art 161', 'art 161', 'art 163', 'art 161', 'art 163', 'art 161']

Patent US20080003049 - Device for storing and dispensing a flowable substance - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsThe present invention relates to a device for storing and dispensing a flowable substance. The device comprises a container comprising a base member and a cover member being sealingly connected with each other along the circumference of the container, a compartment for receiving the substance, and an...http://www.google.com/patents/US20080003049?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US20080003049 - Device for storing and dispensing a flowable substanceAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS20080003049 A1Publication typeApplicationApplication numberUS 10/576,910PCT numberPCT/EP2004/011876Publication dateJan 3, 2008Filing dateOct 20, 2004Priority dateOct 24, 2003Also published asCA2543422A1, CN1871165A, DE602004019246D1, EP1526092A1, EP1699711A1, EP1699711B1, US7607534, WO2005040008A1Publication number10576910, 576910, PCT/2004/11876, PCT/EP/2004/011876, PCT/EP/2004/11876, PCT/EP/4/011876, PCT/EP/4/11876, PCT/EP2004/011876, PCT/EP2004/11876, PCT/EP2004011876, PCT/EP200411876, PCT/EP4/011876, PCT/EP4/11876, PCT/EP4011876, PCT/EP411876, US 2008/0003049 A1, US 2008/003049 A1, US 20080003049 A1, US 20080003049A1, US 2008003049 A1, US 2008003049A1, US-A1-20080003049, US-A1-2008003049, US2008/0003049A1, US2008/003049A1, US20080003049 A1, US20080003049A1, US2008003049 A1, US2008003049A1InventorsMarc PeukerOriginal AssigneeMarc PeukerExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManClassifications (20), Legal Events (5) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetDevice for storing and dispensing a flowable substanceUS 20080003049 A1Abstract The present invention relates to a device for storing and dispensing a flowable substance. The device comprises a container comprising a base member and a cover member being sealingly connected with each other along the circumference of the container, a compartment for receiving the substance, and an open ended pocket area into which the substance is transferable from the compartment, and a cannula having an internal passageway being in fluid communication with the pocket for dispensing the substance.
38. A device for storing and dispensing a flowable substance, comprising:
a base member and a cover member being sealingly connected with each other along the circumference of the container,
a cannula having an internal passageway being in a fluid communication with said pocket for dispensing said substance, wherein said cannula is a separate component having a first end and a second end, said first end being adapted for insertion into said open end of said pocket area. 39. The device of claim 38, wherein said first end comprises an extension part having a portion with an increased cross-section.
40. The device of claim 39, said extension part having a cross-sectional shape comprising sharp edges in the plane between the base member and the cover member, and preferably comprises a rhombic or fin-like cross-sectional shape.
41. The device of claim 38, wherein said extension part comprises at least one portion having an increased diameter.
42. The device of claim 38, wherein said extension part comprises a portion being tapered along the length thereof, with the thickness of the tapered portion decreasing towards said first end.
43. The device of claim 42, wherein said tapered portion comprises an U-shaped sealing area on each of the opposing surfaces of said tapered portion, the legs of said U-shaped sealing areas extending towards said first end and being connected at the edge of said first end.
44. The device of any of claims 38 to 43, wherein said first end is attached to said open ended pocket area by a heat seal, a press fit, and/or an adhesive.
45. The device of claim 38, wherein said first end comprises an extension part adapted for being attached to the outer surface of said container.
46. The device of claim 45, wherein said extension part is attachable to said cover member.
47. The device of claim 45, wherein said extension part comprises a first portion and a second portion being inclined relative to said first portion.
48. The device of claim 45, 46, or 47, wherein said cannula is inclined relative to said extension part.
49. The device of any of claims 45 to 47, wherein said internal passageway of said cannula extends through said extension part.
50. The device of claim 49, wherein said extension part comprises a recess in the surface that is attachable to said container, said recess being adjacent to and surrounding said passageway opening.
51. The device of claim 50, wherein said recess is ring shaped.
52. The device of claim 50, wherein said extension part comprises a raised portion adjacent to and surrounding said passageway opening, said recess surrounding said raised area.
53. The device of claim 38, said separate cannula being attached to said cover member, whereby said fluid communication with said pocket is established through said cover member.
54. The device of claim 53, wherein said cannula comprises a dosing system having a variable volume, preferably a bellow.
55. The device of claim 54, wherein said cannula further comprises an applicator at said second end for applying said substance to a treatment area.
56. The device of claim 55, wherein said applicator comprises bristles being integrally formed with said second end of said cannula, or comprises a foamed material, a non-woven material, or a plurality of fibres incorporated into said second end of said cannula.
57. The device of claim 56, wherein said internal passageway of said cannula further comprises flow resistors, preferably formed by structured surfaces, constricted portions, and/or orifices.
58. The device of any of claims 39 to 43, said extension part further comprising stiffening elements extending away from said extension part.
59. The device of claim 38, said base member being formed as a sheet.
60. The device of claim 59, said base member sheet being a deep-drawn sheet formed of a polypropylene layer, an aluminium layer, and a polyethylene layer.
61. The device of claim 38, said cover member being formed as a sheet, preferably being formed of a polyethylene terephthalate layer, an aluminium layer, and a polyethylene layer.
62. The device of claim 38, said cover member being formed as a plastic part, preferably as an injection moulded part.
63. The device of claim 38, further comprising a portion separating said compartment from said pocket, said separating portion comprising a passage area adapted to be selectively opened by pressure effective on said passage area for placing said compartment in communication with said pocket.
64. The device of claim 38, comprising two or more compartments for holding different substances, and a passage area adapted to be selectively opened for placing said compartments in communication with each other prior to dispensing the mixed final substance.
65. The device of claim 38, said cannula further comprising a mixer.
66. The device of claim 65, said mixer comprising mixing helixes or elements providing flow resistance.
67. The device of claim 38, further comprising a handle.
68. The device of claim 38, wherein the container is pre-filled.
69. Set comprising a device according to claim 38 and a separate applicator.
70. Set comprising a plurality of juxtaposed devices according to claim 38.
71. Set according to claim 70, further comprising a separate applicator.
72. Set according to claim 70 or 71, wherein at least one device is filled with a different substance than the other devices.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION For storing and applying a small quantity of a liquid, a commercially available device includes a container in the form of a so-called �blister package�. Two separate recesses are formed in a deep-drawn part of the package which is closed by a removable sheet. Upon removal of the sheet, the two container recesses are exposed so that a brush can be taken out and used to apply the liquid to the treatment site. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,761 discloses a device for storing and dispensing quantities, particularly small quantities, of one or more flowable substances. The device comprises a pocket which is formed so as to receive an application instrument. The application instrument, which is stored in a pocket of the container or is inserted into the same by the user, may be contacted with the flowable substance without opening the container as a whole. It is only necessary to withdraw the application instrument, after it has taken up the substance, from the pocket of the container and move it to the treatment site.
Such devices have already proven in the market as a cheap and reliable delivery system for storing, mixing, and applying of flowable liquid materials using, for example, such a brush applicator. For indications requiring a higher volume of liquid for the treatment a brush may be, however, disadvantageous because the amount of liquid which can be transferred from the package to the location of treatment is limited to the absorbability of the brush. Furthermore, once a brush is wetted with liquid, the absorbability decreases tremendously, thus becoming nearly useless for transferring further liquid.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved and simplified device for storing and dispensing a desired amount of a flowable substance. This object is achieved with the features of the claims.
Preferably, the first end comprises an extension part having a portion with an increased cross-section (compared to the cross-section of the other part of the cannula). A preferred solution is thus to, for example, injection mould a cannula with a tip at one end and an extension part at the opposite end. The extension part is used for attaching the cannula tightly to the container. Preferably, the cannula is inserted into said pocket of said container in order to establish said fluid communication between said pocket and said cannula.
It is preferred in all alternative embodiments that the first end of the cannula is attached to said open ended pocket by means of a heat seal, a press fit, and/or an adhesive.
Preferably, the extension part is attached to the container by means of an adhesive or glue, respectively, which is, for example, is provided in the form of a ring at a certain distance around the passageway opening at the first end. Preferably, the ring of glue is applied on the surface of the (e.g. disk-shaped) extension part. Alternatively, the extension part comprises a recess, preferably ring-shaped, in the surface that is to be attached to the container; the recess receives the adhesive. The latter alternative is advantageous in that it prevents closing of the passageway by the glue. This can be further enhanced in that the part of the extension part surrounding the passageway outlet is somewhat raised relative to the rest of the surface of the extension part, and the recess surrounds the raised part.
It is preferred that the cannula is inclined with regard to the extension part. That means, for example in case of a disk-shaped extension part, the cannula does not perpendicularly extend from the surface of the extension part but is slightly inclined relative to the plane of the extension part. More preferably, the extension part comprises a bend so that it comprises two portions that are inclined relative to each other. Most preferably, the bend is provided such that the entire assembly of cannula and extension part comprises a zig-zag-configuration. Such a zig-zag-configuration facilitates manufacturing of the dispenser part by injection molding. Furthermore, it allows the entire device to be built as non-angled device which can be handled by a user like a pen when a liquid is to be dispensed.
In case the extension part is attached to the cover member of the container, fluid communication is established, for example, by puncturing the cover member, for example by a small needle. It sis preferred that the size of the hole in the cover member is smaller than the passageway of the cannula because then a controlled dispensing of the substance is achievable. Furthermore, unintended all at once emptying of the container is prevented.
As an option for all aspects of the present invention, the cannula comprises a dosing means, preferably having a variable or flexible volume, like are bellow, to squeeze the substance out of the cannula. The dosing means is preferably attached to the cover member, and a passageway between the dosing means and the pocket area is established prior to use, for example, by means of a punching member. Alternatively, a cartridge with a piston is provided.
In all aspects of the present invention, it is preferred that the base member is formed as a sheet. Preferably, the base member sheet is a deep-drawn sheet formed of a polypropylene layer, an aluminium layer, and a polyethylene layer. It is also preferred that the cover member is formed as a sheet, and is preferably formed of a polyethylene terephthalate layer, an aluminium layer, and a polyethylene layer. In both sheets, a polyethylene terephthalate layer may be provided between the aluminium layer and polyethylene layers. The sheets used are such that they act as a diffusion barrier with respect to the substance to the received in the compartment. Both of the sheets are preferably flexible, which is useful in that the container, being made of just two flexible sheets, is inexpensive in terms of material and manufacture. Using suitable sheets will safely avoid any diffusion of the compartment content. Thus, the sheet package may be used without any further envelope as a primary package which allows clear marking due to its flat and relatively large-area shape. The separation between the compartment containing the flowable substance and the pocket receiving the cannula is preferably achieved by mutual adherence of the two sheets. The adherence may be created simultaneously with the sealing of the compartment upon filling.
The cover member is alternatively formed as a plastic part, preferably as an injection moulded part that has the same shape like the punching contour of the base member in order to achieve an improved stiffness, and to improve the entire handling of the device. If in this case a two- or multi-component base member is used, the plastic part forming the cover member needs to be foldable between the two compartments, for example by a line of weakness forming a hinge. It is preferred that additional locking means (for example brackets or clips) are provided that prevent that the folded plastic part is unfolded again after mixing and dispensing of the substance. In order to reduce the tendency to fold back, the used material preferably comprises wax components.
Such locking means are also preferred for the other embodiments in case materials are used for the base member and cover member having a certain inherent return movement tendency.
In accordance with a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cannula comprises mixing means. In a first alternative, the mixing means are mixing elements that provide a static mixer, for example mixing helixes or elements providing flow resistance; these cause a mixing of the substances by swirl or turbulence. The elements providing flow resistance are preferably formed in the form of protrusions or indentations on the inner surface of the cannula (i.e., in the flow channel). These are preferably formed by embossing, coating, cutting or the like. According to a further alternative, the flow passage through the cannily is meandering, i.e., the direction of flow changes along the length of the cannula.
FIG. 10 shows a preferred embodiment of the device according to the present invention comprising a dosing means;
FIG. 12 shows a preferred embodiment of the device according to the present invention, wherein the extension part of the cannula comprises stiffening means;
As an option, cannula 113 is provided with a separate dosing means 124′ (see FIG. 10). The dosing means 124′ preferably comprises a flexible volume to squeeze out the substance, or may even be provided in the form of a cartridge with a piston.
Preferably, the extension part 161 is attached to the container 10 by means of an adhesive or glue, respectively, which is, for example, is provided in the form of a ring at a certain distance around the passageway opening 13 b at the first end. This is shown in FIGS. 18 and 19. Preferably, the ring 170 of glue is applied on the surface of the (e.g. disk-shaped) extension part 161. Alternatively, see FIG. 20, the extension part 161 comprises a recess 162, preferably ring-shaped, in the surface of that part 161 a that is to be attached to the container 10; the recess 162 is adapted to receive the adhesive. The latter alternative is advantageous in that it prevents closing of the passageway by the glue. This can be further enhanced in that the part 163 of the extension part 161 a surrounding the passageway outlet 13 b is somewhat raised relative to the rest of the surface of the extension part, and the recess 162 surrounds the raised part 163 (see FIG. 21).
It is preferred that the cannula 13 is inclined with regard to the extension part 161, as clearly shown in FIGS. 16 to 21. That means, for example in case of a disk-shaped extension part, the cannula 13 does not perpendicularly extend from the surface of the extension part but is slightly inclined relative to the plane of the extension part. More preferably, the extension part comprises a bend 161 c so that it comprises two portions 161 a and 161 b that are inclined relative to each other. Most preferably, the bend 161 c is provided such that the entire assembly of cannula and extension part comprises a zig-zag-configuration. Such a zig-zag-configuration facilitates manufacturing of the dispenser part by injection moulding. Furthermore, it allows the entire device to be built as non-angled device which can be handled by a user like a pen when a liquid is to be dispensed.
In general, the shape of the compartment 14 may be circular as shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 or may have any other geometric form. The pocket 15 for receiving the cannula 13 is formed as a blind whole, which, in the storing condition, is closed to the compartment 14. Compartment 14 and the pocket 15 are arranged with respect to each other preferably such that the axis defined by the pocket 16 and cannula 13 points to the centre of the compartment 14.
The separation between the compartment 14 and the pocket 15 is designed with respect to spacing and strength of adherence between the base member 11 and cover member 12 so that a pre-defined break zone is created. With a view to minimum manufacture expenditure, the sheets forming the base member and the cover member are interconnected in the pre-defined break zone by the same means as in the outer areas, e.g., by hot sealing or gluing. In case of sealing, the pre-defined break zone may be produced by using a different, specifically a lower temperature than in the outer connecting regions.
The device described above is particularly suitable for storing and dispensing small liquid quantities, such as dental substances which are required for a single application in amounts of few tenths of a millilitre. In such a case, the compartment 14 has a diameter of 10 to 15 mm in the embodiment shown, and the cannula 13 has a diameter of, e.g., >2 mm at the fixed end and approximately 0.8 mm at the second end.
According to a further preferred embodiment, locking means, e.g., brackets or clips, are provided that prevent that the one compartment being folded on the other compartment moves back to its original position. In other words, the locking means keeps the compartments close to each other at or after dispensing of the substance.
Classifications U.S. Classification401/183, 401/125International ClassificationA61C5/06, B43M11/06, B65D81/32, A46B11/00, A61C19/00, B65D75/58, B65D83/00Cooperative ClassificationA61C19/005, A61C5/06, A61C5/068, A61C5/062, B65D75/5883, B65D2575/583, B65D81/3266, A61C5/064European ClassificationA61C5/06A2, B65D81/32H1, B65D75/58G3CLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionMar 7, 2013FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Feb 27, 2012ASAssignmentFree format text: MERGER;ASSIGNOR:3M ESPE AG;REEL/FRAME:027762/0754Owner name: 3M DEUTSCHLAND GMBH, GERMANYEffective date: 20111223Oct 19, 2010CCCertificate of correctionOct 12, 2010CCCertificate of correctionMar 16, 2007ASAssignmentOwner name: 3M ESPE AG, GERMANYFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:PEUKER, MARC;HOHMANN, ARNO;POSCHMANN, DIETER;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:019101/0932;SIGNING DATES FROM 20070306 TO 20070308Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:PEUKER, MARC;HOHMANN, ARNO;POSCHMANN, DIETER;AND OTHERS;SIGNING DATES FROM 20070306 TO 20070308;REEL/FRAME:019101/0932RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services