Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – Filling or refilling of dispensers – By operation of means causing or controlling dispensing
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-26
2002-09-17
Douglas, Steven O. (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
Filling or refilling of dispensers
By operation of means causing or controlling dispensing
C141S067000, C141S329000, C604S203000, C604S415000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06450216
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a closure and/or filling device for closing and/or filling a reservoir, and to a dispenser device for dispensing a fluid, which dispenser device includes such a reservoir. The present invention is particularly well suited to being used in a spray device for spraying a liquid, in particular in the pharmaceuticals field.
In medication sprays, and in particular in devices in which the pump is pre-filled during packaging of the device, as applies in particular to certain single-dose or two-dose devices, certain problems need to be solved.
A first problem relates to the stability of the fluid and to contamination thereof. While it is stored, a liquid tends to evaporate and/or can be contaminated by external agents such as bacteria, or can even be oxidized by oxygen. To avoid any evaporation, it is necessary to close the reservoirs in airtight manner and to use impermeable materials for the component parts of the reservoirs To avoid any contamination, it is important to keep the number of different materials in contact with the fluid to as small a number as possible, and said materials should be inert relative to the fluid. Suitable materials for satisfying those two requirements are, for example, glass for the reservoir, and special rubbers that do not interact with the liquid for the sealing device(s).
Another problem relates to filling. The pharmaceuticals industry generally requires devices that are easy to fill and that are, if possible, capable of being assembled completely before they are filled with medication. Clearly, the handling of the medication is the most critical step as regards problems that can arise due to the surroundings, and in particular the risk of the fluid being contaminated. It is therefore important to have not only a suitable filling machine, but, above all, to protect the entire filling and assembly process effectively, which can be very complex and therefore also very costly. In addition, the possibility of having a device that is completely pre-assembled before it is filled is going to become increasingly important, in particular for the single-dose or two-dose sprays that are to serve in future use with influenza vaccines. In such a case, the fluid, e.g. the vaccine will be available only a few months (2 to 3 months) before it is used,-and millions of devices will need to be filled within a very short time. In that case, it would be very advantageous for it to be necessary merely to fill the reservoir of a device that has already been completely assembled, it being possible for such assembly to be performed at any time without it being necessary to work to such a short time constraint.
Another problem that arises relates to precompression. When sprays are used, the quality of the spray and the size of the particles depends on the pressure delivered to the liquid as it is being expelled. In order to make such devices less dependent on the actuating force delivered by the user, it is preferred to provide a system capable of delivering sufficient precompression to the liquid before it is expelled.
Currently-available technology does not make it possible to solve all of the problems, or to satisfy all of the requirements mentioned above, and only partial and complex solutions are available in the state of the art.
Thus, devices have been proposed in which a membrane of any shape, material, or type is fixed over the opening of the reservoir, said membrane being designed to be broken or torn by a suitable device when the spray is actuated. That solution makes it possible to solve the problem of the stability of the fluid contained in the receptacle, but it suffers from the drawbacks of being relatively costly because the operation of assembling the membrane onto the reservoir is quite complex. In addition, filling is necessarily performed before the reservoir is assembled in the device, and fixing the membrane requires substances, such as plastics materials, to bond or glue the membrane, and such substances can cause problems related to contaminating the fluid. In addition, no precompression is provided by that type of closure system.
In another solution disclosed by Document FR-2 684 304, when the device is actuated, a rubber stopper which also serves as a pump piston is pierced by a hollow needle which is connected to the spray nozzle of the device. That solution makes it possible to solve the problem of the stability and of the contamination of the fluid contained in the reservoir because it uses only glass and rubber, but it does not make it possible to overcome the problem related to filling the reservoir after it has been assembled. The reservoir must be filled separately before final assembly of the reservoir. Furthermore, no precompression is provided by that system because the rubber offers very little resistance to penetration by the needle. In addition, in some cases, the piercing provided by the needle can remove small particles of rubber that can obstruct the spray or that can be ejected into the user's nasal cavity. Moreover, although the device is relatively simple to close, it is complex to open, it requires a plurality of components, and is difficult to handle, in particular because of the presence of a needle.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,329 discloses a syringe provided with a stopper suitable for forming the dispensing piston when the syringe is actuated. That piston-cum-stopper is provided with a slit that opens when the syringe is actuated. No precompression is provided since the slit acts merely as a valve.
An object of the present invention is to provide a closure and/or filling system for a reservoir, in particular serving to be used in a spray device, which system does not suffer from the above-mentioned drawbacks.
Thus, an object of the invention is to provide a reservoir that has a simple and effective closure system which is opened by the pressure that is generated inside the reservoir when it is actuated, without needing a complex opening system that removes or pierces or withdraws portions of components.
An object of the present invention is also to provide such a reservoir that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and to assemble.
An object of the present invention is also to provide a closure and/or filling system that makes it possible to use as few materials as possible in contact with the fluid contained in the reservoir, and in particular glass for the reservoir, for the closure element, rubber characterized by being inert relative to the fluid.
An object of the present invention is also to provide a closure and filling system for a reservoir, which system can be used as a liquid inlet for easy and fast filling, it being possible, in particular, for filling to be performed prior to complete final assembly of the fluid dispenser device that incorporates the reservoir.
An object of the present invention is also to provide a closure and/or filling system that opens to enable the liquid to be expelled only if a predetermined and sufficiently high pressure is generated when actuating a reservoir, so that the liquid is expelled with a certain amount of precompression. This is particularly advantageous for a spray system.
An object of the present invention is also to provide a reservoir provided with a closure and filling device and that satisfies all of the above requirements simultaneously, i.e. it guarantees the stability of the fluid contained in the reservoir, it prevents the fluid from being contaminated by chemical interaction, it enables the reservoir to be filled quickly and simply, in particular after final assembly of the device, and it guarantees that the fluid is expelled with precompression that can be predetermined.
The present invention thus provides a reservoir for a fluid spray, said reservoir containing a fluid to be dispensed, and provided with a closure and/or filling device for closing and/or filling said reservoir, said device comprising at least one closure element acting as a leaktight closure stopper when at rest, said at least one closure element comprising:
Douglas Steven O.
Valois S.A.
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