Container consisting of plastic material, and method for producing a container of this type

Abstract

A container of plastic material is produced using the blow, fill and seal method, with the filler material, enclosed by a container wall (15, 20) that can be autoclaved. At least one shape (19, 21, 23, 25, 29, 33) is provided in the container wall (15, 20) that ensures, despite a low relative air volume in the container, that when administering the filler material by infusion, the container wall (15, 20) collapses at least partially reducing the volume, without aeration of the container.

Claims

1. A container, comprising: a container body being manufactured using a blow molding, filling and sealing method of plastic material and being autoclavable; opposite first and second container walls and opposite third and fourth container walls of the container body having shapes being capable of ensuring collapsing of the container body to reduce a volume of the container body when contents of the container body are delivered by infusion without ventilation of the container body despite a high filling level of the contents in the container body, the first and second container walls forming a rectangular shape of the container body and having end edges abutting a base end of a bottom of the container body, the third and fourth container walls protruding outwardly from the rectangular shape on two opposite sides of the first and second container walls, wall parts of each of the third and fourth container walls being inclined at an inclination angle towards one another in pairs and enclosing the inclination angle of less than 120 degrees, each of the third and fourth container walls having triangular side shoulder faces sloping obliquely towards one another from opposite end faces of the container body; and a sloping depression extending in each of the first and second container walls along a center line parallel to a longitudinal axis of the container body, ending at a distance from one of the end faces of the container body, having a base line extending along the end edge a respective one of the first and second container walls and dividing into a pair of end lines of the depression, the pair of end lines enclosing an end angle of 60 to 130 degrees at a transition to the center line and forming a triangular surface.

2. A container according to claim 1 wherein the plastic material is resistant to heat of autoclaving.

3. A container according to claim 1 wherein the plastic material is polypropylene.

4. A container according to claim 1 wherein the container body is formed in one piece with a hermetically sealed top part being arranged on the end face of the container body opposite the bottom and being capable of serving as an extraction opening for the contents of the container body.

5. A container according to claim 4 wherein a hanging tag is on the base end of the container body and opposite the end face with the top part.

6. A container according to claim 1 wherein the inclination angle does not exceed 110 degrees.

7. A container according to claim 1 wherein each triangular side shoulder face has equal sides.

8. A container according to claim 7 wherein each of the triangular side shoulder faces slopes obliquely downwardly at a slope angle of 30 to 60 degrees.

9. A container according to claim 8 wherein the slope angle is 45 degrees.

10. A container according to claim 7 wherein the plastic material is rigid polypropylene having an average thickness of 0.3 mm to 0.7 mm.

11. A container according to claim 10 wherein the average thickness is 0.4 mm to 0.5 mm.

12. A container according to claim 1 wherein the first and second container walls of the container body each has a first width; and the third and fourth container walls of the container body each has a second width with the first width being 0.7 to 1.2 times the second width when viewed from above the container body.

13. A container according to claim 12 wherein the first width is of 0.8 to 1.2 times the second width.

14. A container according to claim 1 wherein the end angle is 90 degrees.

15. A container according to claim 1 wherein each of the sloping depressions is planar between the end lines and base line thereof, with the end lines lying in the plane of the respective one of the first and second container walls.

16. A method for manufacturing a container, the method comprising the steps of: forming a container including a container body being manufactured using a blow, molding, filling and sealing method of plastic material and being autoclavable, including opposite first and second container walls and opposite third and fourth container walls of the container body having shapes being capable of ensuring collapsing of the container body to reduce a volume of the container body when contents of the container body are delivered by infusion without ventilation of the container body despite a high filling level of the contents in the container body with the first and second container walls forming a rectangular shape of the container body and having end edges abutting a base end of a bottom of the container body and with the third and fourth container walls protruding outwardly from the rectangular shape on two opposite sides of the first and second container walls, including wall parts of each of the third and fourth container walls being inclined at an inclination angle towards one another in pairs and enclosing the inclination angle of less than 120 degrees with each of the third and fourth container walls having triangular side shoulder faces sloping obliquely towards one another from opposite end faces of the container body, and including a sloping depression extending in each of the first and second container walls along a center line parallel to a longitudinal axis of the container body, ending at a distance from one of the end faces of the container body, having a base line extending along the end edge of a respective one of the first and second container walls and dividing into a pair of end lines of the depression with the pair of end lines enclosing an end angle of 60 to 130 degrees at a transition to the center line and forming a triangular surface; pre-collapsing the container body to reduce an air volume in the container body before sealing closed of the container body inside of a mold of the blow molding, filling and sealing method; and autoclaving the container body after molding, filling and sealing the container body and after removal from the mold.

17. A method according to claim 16 wherein the autoclaving takes place at a minimum temperature of 121° C. for a time period of at least 20 minutes.

18. A method according to claim 16 wherein each of the sloping depressions is planar between the end lines and base line thereof, with the end lines lying in the plane of the respective one of the first and second container walls.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Referring to the drawings that form a part of this disclosure:

(2) FIG. 1 is a side view of a container according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, drawn 1.3 times larger than normal size and designed for a filling capacity of approx. 100 ml;

(3) FIGS. 2 and 3 are a front view and a top view of the head end, respectively, of the container of FIG. 1,

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of the container;

(5) FIG. 5 is a highly simplified, side view in section of a blow mold used for producing a container in accordance with the invention, which enables a pre-collapsing of the container; and

(6) FIGS. 6 and 7 are highly simplified side views in section of work steps of the filled container depicted during the pre-collapsing and sealing, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) FIGS. 1 through 4 show an exemplary embodiment of a finished container 1 in accordance with the invention that is designed for a filling capacity of ca. 100 ml. The container 1 in these figures is drawn ca. 1.3 times its natural size. The container 1 is formed from polypropylene having an average wall thickness of 0.4 mm, filled, and sealed using the BFS method, wherein a membrane 5 is formed as a top closure element on the head part 3. During use, this membrane serves as an area that can be pierced by a cannula, an injection needle, or an infusion device. The mold separation line 7 extending over the membrane 5, which is formed during the process of removing the container 1 produced by the BFS method from the blow mold, reinforces the membrane 5 against inversion during the piercing.

(8) The round head part 3 transitions via a radially projecting flat collar 10 and a neck 9 into the shoulder 11 forming the top end face of the container 1, which end face is rectangular in outline. In each case a container main wall 15 that extends to the bottom 17 and adjoins the two opposing side edges 13 of the sides of the rectangular outline of the shoulder 11. At the other two side edges of the shoulder 11, in each case a recessed, optional shoulder notch 19 is formed, adjoined by the side shoulders 21, which, together with other wall parts, form container wall sides 20 projecting from the rectangular basic shape. These side shoulders 21 have, adjacent to the associated optional shoulder notch 19, a side shoulder surface 23 having an approximately triangular outline, which surfaces are delimited on the outside by shoulder folds 25. These folds 25 mutually form a cone angle ifa of 110°. As can be discerned in the figures and most clearly in FIG. 2, the planes of the triangular side shoulder surfaces 23 slope downward from the optional shoulder notch 19. The angle of inclination is about 45°. In analogous fashion to the side shoulder surfaces 23 facing the viewer in FIGS. 3 and 4, starting from the bottom container end face, lower triangular side shoulder surfaces 27 are formed between the shoulder folds 25. A side fold 29 extending between the cone tips of the top side shoulder surface 23 and the bottom side shoulder surface 27 forms the end edge of the projecting container wall side 20. Longer side folds 33, each running parallel to the shorter side folds 29, are located between the relevant projecting container wall side 20 and each of the other container wall sides 31 adjoining the sides thereof, which form the container main walls 15.

(9) In FIG. 3, the dimensions of two opposing sides of the rectangular basic shape, more precisely the width of the container wall side 31, are designated with Q, and the dimension of the other sides of the rectangular basic shape, in other words the width of the projecting container wall side 20, is designated with B. In the case of the invention, this inner rectangle side ratio irsv=QB is in the range of 0.7 to 1.2, preferably in the range of 0.8 to 1.2. In the exemplary embodiment depicted in the drawing, the value of irsv is approximately 1.1. As can be discerned most clearly in FIGS. 2 and 4, the container wall sides 31 forming the non-projecting or planar main walls 15 have end edges 15a at abutting a base end of the bottom 17 and slight recesses or sloping depressions 15b that are planar. Starting from the longer side folds 33, each slight recess slopes down to a center line 35 that extends along the longitudinal axis of the top side edge 13 concerned to an end point 37. At end point 31, the center line 35 splits into end lines 39 that mutually form an angle Awi of 90° and extend to the end edges 15a at the base end of the bottom part 17. End lines 39 are in the plane of the respective planar main walls 15. The hypotenuse or base line of each sloping depression 15b extends along the end edge of the respective main wall 15, with each sloping depression 15b being planar and forming a right triangular surface between the end lines 39 and its base line. An optional hanging tab 43 is formed thereon.

(10) The shaping of the container in accordance with the invention effects the collapsing of the container 1 during infusion processes performed without aeration in spite of a more rigid container material, such as polypropylene, and makes it possible to provide the container 1 in accordance with the invention with a very high filling ratio. In the production of the container 1 using the BFS method, in accordance with the invention, it is then also possible to proceed in a supporting manner such that after the filling and prior to the sealing of the container 1, a pre-collapsing is performed that results in a reduction of the air volume remaining in the container 1. In the form of a schematic diagram, FIGS. 5 through 7 show the corresponding process steps during the manufacturing process. As shown, the pre-collapsing takes places in such a way that at least one and preferably two movable dies 47 are arranged in the blow mold 45. Only one movable die 47 is shown in the simplified illustrations. The dies 47 are moved into the mold and press on at least one of the deformable walls 15, 20, 31 and/or the side folds 29 of the container 1. During this movement, as indicated by the arrow 49 in FIG. 6, the fill ratio 51 rises, while air escapes via the remaining, still open hose attachment 55, with the head jaws 53 still open. FIG. 7 shows the finished state after the closure of the head jaws 53, and the container 1 is sealed and can be removed from the mold 45 after retraction of the dies 47 (see arrow 57). The previously inward-pressed container wall elastically springs back, partially reverting to its initial shape.

(11) As known per se for plastic containers from document DE 103 47 908 A1, the container in accordance with the invention can also consist of several layers of different polymers. Instead of the shown single access with the membrane on the circular cylindrical head part 3, the container can also be equipped with several accesses, preferably on the bottom and in the head area. Furthermore, a pierceable elastomer element can be inserted prior to sealing the container 1, which can be a single- or multi-component element. In addition, the heat part 3 can be equipped with a welded-on infusion cap, as known per se from DE 10 2013 012 809 A1, for example.

(12) As described in the following, discharge tests were performed in order to compare the discharge behavior of the container 1 in accordance with the invention to the discharge behavior of typical standard containers without the shaping means in accordance with the invention.

(13) A bp 364 Bottel-Pack® system (rommelag, Waiblingen, Germany) was used to manufacture water-filled and sealed single-piece infusion containers in accordance with the invention and standard containers having three different rated volumes (100 ml, 250 ml, 500 ml) and with an average wall thickness of 0.35-0.52 mm from different polypropylene materials (LyondellBasell RP 270G; Borealis SB 815 MO, Flint Hills Rexene 23M2A) using the blow, fill and seal method. Before sealing, some of the containers were pre-collapsed by an 8 mm travel distance of the die (47) and an infusion cap in accordance with ISO 15759 was then welded on as described above. The containers were subsequently sterilized by autoclaving at 121° C. for 20 minutes, and then the discharge behavior was measured and the maximum filling ratio was determined.

(14) For measuring the discharge behavior, the containers were pierced using a non-aerated infusion device in accordance with DIN EN ISO 8536-4:2011-01, and the mass of the outflowing fluid was monitored over time on an analytical balance. The discharge took place via an 0.6 mm×30 mm injection cannula in accordance with ISO 13097. The measurements were taken at an ambient temperature of 21° C. The height of the fluid column (discharge height) was 775 mm.

(15) In order to compare bottles of different volume classes to each other, the maximum filling ratio of the container, in other words the ratio of the experimentally determined total volume to the maximum filling volume, at which the container still drains, was chosen as a quality criterion for the evaluation. Unavoidably remaining quantities of fluid, for example quantities located in the head space below the opening of the puncturing mandrel of the infusion device, were not considered.

(16) An increase of the maximum filling ratio means that a considerably smaller volume of air is needed in comparison to the standard containers, which has very advantageous consequences in terms of reduced pack sizes, packaging and transport costs, storage and disposal costs, etc.

(17) The three materials used, as well as their moduli of elasticity (tensile modulus at 50 mm/min in accordance with ISO 527 and optionally bending modulus at 50 mm/min in accordance with ISO 178) and their densities in accordance with ISO 1183 at 23° C., are listed in the following table.

(18) TABLE-US-00001 Tensile modulus Bending modulus of elasticity of elasticity Density Make/Material MPa MPa g/cm.sup.3 Borealis SB815MO 475 425 0.900 Lyondell Basel 950 850 0.900 I RP270C Flint Hills 1100 1000 0.902 Rexene 23M2A

(19) The results for standard containers (tests 1 and 2) and for the containers in accordance with the invention (tests 3-14) are summarized in the following table.

(20) TABLE-US-00002 Max. Max Total filling Min. filling Pre- ifa angle volume volume air volume ratio Test no. Bottle type Material collapsing irsv Degrees in ml in ml in ml % 1 Standard RP270G no 205 139 66 68% 2 Standard SB815MO no 220 161 59 73% 3 EE-200-sb SB815MO no 1 110 220 180 40 82% 4 EE-200-sb SB815MO yes 1 110 215 181 34 84% 5 EE-201-sb SB815MO no 0.8 120 226 176 50 78% 6 EE-201-sb SB815MO yes 0.8 120 215 176 39 82% 7 EE-201-rex Rexene no 0.8 120 211 158 53 75% 23M2A 8 EE-201-rex Rexene yes 0.8 120 200 156 44 78% 23M2A 9 EE-S00-sb SB815MO no 1.1 115 640 563 77 88% 10 EE-500-rex Rexene no 1.1 115 590 478 112 81% 23M2A 11 EE-500-sb SB815MO yes 1.1 115 630 573 57 91% 12 EE-501-rp RP270G no 0.9 105 585 474 in 81% 13 EE-100-sb SB815MO no 0.9 110 135 101 34 75% 14 EE-101-rp RP270G no 0.9 105 125 86 39 69%

(21) As can be discerned from the table of test results, in comparison to the standard containers a substantially higher maximum filling ratio is achievable with the invention, wherein it can also be discerned that particularly high filling ratios of up to 91% are achievable if pre-collapsing is performed (see test no. 11).

(22) While one embodiment has been chosen to illustrate the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.