Container for receiving moisture sensitive goods

Abstract

A container for receiving moisture sensitive goods includes a container body (15) and a cap (26) shaped to establish a leak-proof seal between the container body and the cap. The container body has a base and a sidewall with an insert element present inside the container body having a bottom and an insert sidewall, wherein an outer circumferential surface of the insert sidewall is in contact with an inner circumferential surface of the sidewall of the container body. The bottom of the insert element is permeable to moisture and the insert sidewall and the sidewall of the container body are designed to attach the insert element inside the container body. In addition, the container has a desiccant chamber between the bottom of the insert element and the base of the container body for receiving desiccant material.

Claims

1. A container for receiving moisture sensitive goods comprising: a container body and a cap; wherein the cap and the container body are shaped to establish, in a closed state, a leak-proof seal between the container body and the cap; wherein the container body comprises a base and a sidewall extending upwards from the base; an insert element comprising a bottom and an insert sidewall, wherein the insert element is contained within an interior of the container body, such that an outer circumferential surface of the insert sidewall is in abutting contact with an inner circumferential surface of the sidewall of the container body; wherein the bottom of the insert element is permeable to moisture; wherein the insert sidewall and the sidewall of the container body are designed to attach the insert element inside the container body; wherein in an area in a lower portion and in an upper portion of the sidewall of the insert element, the insert element has an outer diameter which is larger than the inner diameter of a sidewall of the container opposite from the outer most diameter of the sidewall of the insert element and accordingly the lower portion and upper portion of the insert element and/or the sidewall of the container are deformed when the insert element is introduced into the container thereby establishing a press-fit connection with the sidewall of the container body at an upper and lower section of the sidewall of the insert element; wherein a free volume is formed between the container body and the sidewall of the insert element, which is located between the press-fit connections at the upper and lower sections of the sidewall; and wherein the container further comprises a desiccant chamber between the bottom of the insert element and the base of the container body for receiving a predetermined amount of desiccant material.

2. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that the insert element is comprised of a desiccant polymer.

3. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom of the insert element comprises multiple openings.

4. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom of the insert element comprises a membrane or a permeable film.

5. The container according to claim 4, characterized in that a moisture vapour transmission rate (MVTR) of the bottom of the insert element is at least 1.5 times, as high as a moisture vapour transmission rate of the sidewall of the insert element.

6. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that the insert sidewall and the sidewall of the container body are provided with a locking geometry element to attach the insert element inside the container body in a predetermined position.

7. The container according to claim 6, characterized in that the locking geometry element comprises an annular recess in the inner circumferential surface of the sidewall of the container body for receiving the insert sidewall.

8. The container according to claim 1 characterized in that the cap is connected via a hinge to the container body; wherein the hinge comprises a mechanical hinge comprising a pivot element of the container body to which the cap is rotatably attached.

9. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that the cap is integrally formed with the container body, and a hinge is formed by a bendable section with a cross-sectional area between the container body and the cap.

10. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that the seal between the container body and the cap comprises a sealing skirt depending from a top of the cap, which, in the closed state of the cap, sealingly engages with an opening of the container body.

11. The container of claim 5 characterized in that the moisture vapour transmission rate of the bottom of the insert element is at least 2 times as high as the moisture vapour transmission rate of the sidewall of the insert element.

12. The container of claim 5 characterized in that the moisture vapour transmission rate of the bottom of the insert element is at least 3 times as high as the moisture vapour transmission rate of the sidewall of the insert element.

13. The container of claim 1, wherein the sidewall of the insert element is shaped and dimensioned to establish a press-fit connection with the side wall of the container body only at an upper and lower section of the sidewall of the insert element.

14. The container of claim 1, further comprising a geometric locking system present between the sidewall of the container body and the sidewall of the insert which securely fits the insert into the container body in a fixed position.

15. A container for receiving moisture sensitive goods comprising: a container body and a cap; wherein the cap and the container body are shaped to establish, in a closed state, a leak-proof seal between the container body and the cap; wherein the container body comprises a base and a sidewall extending upwards from the base; an insert element comprising a bottom and an insert sidewall, wherein the insert element is contained within an interior of the container body, such that an outer circumferential surface of the insert sidewall is in abutting contact with an inner circumferential surface of the sidewall of the container body; wherein the bottom of the insert element is permeable to moisture; wherein the insert element sidewall and the sidewall of the container body are designed to secure the insert element inside the container body; wherein the outer surface of the sidewall of the insert element includes upper and lower outward extension elements which extend to an inner surface of the sidewall of the container and wherein thereby the lower portion and upper portion of the insert element and/or the sidewall of the container are deformed when the insert element is introduced into the container thereby establishing a press-fit connection at an upper and lower section of the sidewall of the insert; wherein a free volume is formed between the container body and the sidewall of the insert element, which is located between the press-fit connections at the upper and lower sections of the sidewall; and wherein the container further comprises a desiccant chamber between the bottom of the insert element and the base of the container body for receiving a predetermined amount of desiccant material.

16. The container according to claim 15, characterized in that the insert element is comprised of a desiccant polymer.

17. The container according to claim 15, Characterized in that the bottom of the insert element comprises multiple openings.

18. The container according to claim 15, characterized in that the bottom of the insert element comprises a membrane or a permeable film.

19. The container according to claim 15, characterized in that the cap is integrally formed with the container body, and a hinge is formed by a bendable section with a cross-sectional area between the container body and the cap.

20. A container for receiving moisture sensitive goods comprising: a container body and a cap; wherein the cap and the container body are shaped to establish, in a closed state, a leak-proof seal between the container body and the cap; wherein the container body comprises a base and a sidewall extending upwards from the base; an insert element comprising a bottom and an insert sidewall, wherein the insert element is contained within an interior of the container body, such that an outer circumferential surface of the insert sidewall is in abutting contact with an inner circumferential surface of the sidewall of the container body; wherein the bottom of the insert element is permeable to moisture; wherein the insert sidewall and the sidewall of the container body are designed to attach the insert element inside the container body; wherein in an area in a lower portion and in an upper portion of the sidewall of the insert element, the insert element has an outer diameter which is larger than the inner diameter of a sidewall of the container opposite from the outer most diameter of the sidewall of the insert element and accordingly the lower portion and upper portion of the insert element and/or the sidewall of the container are deformed when the insert element is introduced into the container thereby establishing a press-fit connection with the sidewall of the container body at an upper and lower section of the sidewall of the insert element and an airtight annular seal between the insert element and the container body; and wherein the container further comprises a desiccant chamber between the bottom of the insert element and the base of the container body for receiving a predetermined amount of desiccant material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the following, embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which

(2) FIG. 1 schematically summarizes the key aspects of the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 gives a cross-sectional shape of a container according to the invention;

(4) FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of detail A as given in FIG. 2;

(5) FIG. 4 is a view in the direction F-F as shown in FIG. 2;

(6) FIGS. 5 and 6 are two alternatives of the hinge structure indicated with the box B in FIG. 2;

(7) FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the inventive container according to a further embodiment including enlarged details;

(8) FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the inventive container including enlarged details;

(9) FIG. 9 is a view in the direction D-D as sown in FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(10) In the figures as discussed herein, the same elements will be denoted with the same reference numerals. References to bottom or top or side refer to a container standing upright on a horizontal surface with the cap on top. However, it should be understood that during shipment, storage and use, the container can take all possible orientations.

(11) The container, generally referenced by reference numeral 10, houses moisture sensitive goods which are exemplified by a stack of tablets 12. These goods are stored in a storage compartment 28. The container 10 comprises a container body 15 and an insert element 14 arranged inside the container body. Further, there is a desiccant chamber 16 formed between the bottom 18 of the insert element and the base 20 of the container body 15. Preferably, the desiccant chamber 16 is filled with desiccant particles 17.

(12) The container body 15 has a sidewall 22 which extends upwardly from the base 20. At the upper end of the sidewall 22, there is an opening 25 which is closed by a cap 26 hingedly attached to the container body 15.

(13) The insert element 14 has a sidewall 24 and a bottom 18. The bottom 18 is provided with openings or regions with increased permeability to moisture. The sidewall 24 of the insert element extending upwardly from the bottom 18 of the insert element 14 is shaped so as to snugly fit into the container body. The outer circumferential surface of the sidewall 24 of the insert element abuts against the inner circumferential surface of the sidewall 22 of the container body 15.

(14) As is indicated in FIG. 1, moisture can enter the container 10 via path M1 through the cap 26 or, in use, when opening the cap. Further, vapour loaded air can penetrate the sidewall of the container via path M2. Further, there is an exchange of vapour from the storage compartment 28 of container 10 to the desiccant chamber 16. This exchange through the bottom 18 of insert is supported by the high permeability of the bottom 18 as is symbolized by symbol C in FIG. 1. The cap 26 is provided as a single-walled structure which already provides a relatively high resistance to the permeation of water vapour. This is symbolized by symbol D in FIG. 1. Due to the double wall structure along most of the sidewall of the storage compartment 28, the permeability of the sidewalls is even smaller than that through the cap 26 as symbolized by symbol E in FIG. 1. In this way, the ingress of moisture is generally reduced and, if it should arrive in the storage compartment 28, the high permeability of the bottom 18 of the insert to the desiccant chamber 16 filled with particulate desiccant material 17 makes sure that the moisture contents in the air within the storage compartment is quickly reduced again to the desired low humidity conditions.

(15) FIG. 2 schematically shows a cross-sectional view of the container 10 as was schematically given in FIG. 1. As can be seen in FIG. 2, cap 26 is provided with an opening tab 30 which can be either gripped or pressed by the thumb of a user to more easily open the cap of the container. In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 2, the cap 26 is attached to the container body via a hinge 32 which is formed as a mechanical hinge and is shown in more detail in FIG. 6. When the cap 26 is in the closed state as shown in FIG. 2, an annular sealing skirt depending from the base 27 of cap 26 sealingly engages the upper end of the sidewall 22 of the container body. In addition to this, an outer surrounding rim of the cap 26 can be provided which, as schematically shown in FIG. 2, can form a form-lock closure 38 with the upper rim of the sidewall 22 of the container body 15.

(16) The insert element 14 is secured to the container body 15 in a suitable way. In the specific embodiment as shown in FIG. 2, there is a locking geometry 34 formed between insert element 14 and container body 15. An enlarged view of the locking geometry 34 can be taken from FIG. 3. As can be seen in FIG. 3, there is an annular recess 40 formed in the sidewall 22 of container body 15. The sidewall 24 of insert element 14 has a corresponding geometry which projects into the recess 40 so that a snap-in connection can be formed between insert element 14 and container body 15.

(17) An alternative fixation of the insert element inside the container body could be an annular protrusion around the inside of the sidewall 22 of container body 15 onto which the bottom 18 of the insert is placed. However, the fixation as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 has the advantage that, depending on the product to be packaged or depending on the climatic environment, differently shaped insert elements could be secured to the container body. Such differently shaped insert elements could provide for a larger or smaller desiccant chamber 16 so that, depending on the specific needs, a different amount of desiccant material could be placed in the container 10.

(18) An alternative for increasing the desiccant capacity is the choice of material of the insert element. The insert element could be made of desiccant polymer which further increases the overall capacity of the desiccant material inside the container. However, the different kinetics of adsorption into a desiccant chamber and into an insert element made of desiccant polymer should be considered.

(19) In this embodiment, the external surface area of the insert, i.e. the overall surface area of the double-walled structure formed by the insert element inside the container body should be at least 30% of the whole surface area of the container, preferably more than 40%.

(20) FIG. 4 shows the view in direction F-F in FIG. 2. It shows the annular sidewall 22 of the container body and the sidewall 24 of the insert element which are in contact with each other leading to a double-walled overall structure of the container 10 in this region. Further, the bottom 18 of insert is shown which is provided with a plurality of holes 44 covered with a membrane or film. In order to stabilize the bottom 18 of the insert element 14, radially arranged supporting ribs 42 are provided. However, the provision of such supporting ribs 42 and their specific number and arrangement are given by way of example only and any configuration or even the omission of a specific supporting structure is possible as long as the bottom 18 of the insert element 14 has a sufficient stability for carrying the goods to be packaged inside the container 10.

(21) The holes covered with a membrane or film could also be provided without a membrane or film element. These holes 44 ease the gas exchange. In contrast thereto, the sidewall 24 of the insert element could be made of a humidity barrier polymer. This leads to a moisture vapour transmission rate (MVTR) of the bottom 18 of insert which is at least 1.5 times, preferably 2 times or even 3 times as high as the sidewall 24 of the insert element 14.

(22) FIGS. 5 and 6 show two alternatives how the hinge of the container could be provided. Further, the specific sealing geometry between the sealing skirt 36 and the upper end region of sidewall 22 of the container body 15 is shown. In the example as shown in FIG. 5, a so-called living hinge is provided in which the hinge 46 consists a section of plastic material which has a relatively thin cross-section and can be easily bent. Such living hinges between a container body and a cap are known in the art of desiccant containers. Likewise, the provision of a mechanical hinge is also known. In the example as shown in FIG. 6, a pivot element 48 is carried by a supporting structure 50 of the container body. The cap is provided with a fulcrum 52 which allows a snap fit connection between the fulcrum 52 of the cap and the pivot element 48 of the container body. Once connected, the cap can be pivoted around the pivot element 48.

(23) FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the inventive container which differs from that as shown in the previous embodiment in two respects. Firstly, the side wall 24 of the insert element is fixed to the annular side wall of the container body in two distinct regions. As demonstrated with the upper and lower boxes also given in enlarged detail views in FIG. 7, side wall 24 of the insert element is fixed to side wall 22 of the container body at an upper region and a lower region of the insert element. In both regions as shown in the enlarged detail views in FIG. 7, the side wall 24 of the insert element is shaped and dimensioned so as to establish a press-fit connection to the side wall of the container body. Such annular press-fit is advantageous in that, despite of certain manufacturing tolerances, an airtight annular seal between the insert element and the container body is established. However, it is also possible to combine a press-fit connection as shown in FIG. 7 to a form fit connection as shown in the above FIG. 2. Such combination could be useful when the press fit generates high friction forces to be overcome when introducing the insert element and/or when it is desired to indicate the proper positioning of the insert element by providing an audible feedback when the snap-fit-connection has been properly established.

(24) FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the invention which, as regards the shape of the container body is very similar to that as shown in FIG. 7. The major difference between the previous embodiments and that as shown in FIG. 8 is the geometry of the insert element which has a rectangular cross-section with slightly rounded side walls. This can be best seen from FIG. 9 which is a view in the direction of arrows D-D in FIG. 8. The insert element according to FIG. 8 has an inner shape which could be used for storing certain products e.g. test strips or the like which can be kept in a desired order by providing a rectangular inner geometry of the insert element.

(25) In the embodiment according to FIG. 8, there is also established a tight connection between the side wall 24 of the insert element and the annular side wall 22 of the container body. To this end, the side wall 24 of the insert element is provided with an upper flange 54 which has a round circumference which is seated in an annular recess 40 formed in the side wall 22 of the container body 15. This geometry can also be used to provide a snap-in connection which can be formed between the insert element 14 and the container body 15.

(26) In the lower section of the insert 14, there is provided a second flange 56 which has a circular circumference and can be best seen in FIG. 9 which demonstrates the four sections of the second flange 56 and its circular circumference corresponding to the inner circumference of the side wall 22 of the container body. The second flange 56 continues in a downward direction in a circular side wall 58 of the insert element which closely follows the inner circumference of the annular side wall 22 of the container body. The wall 58 is provided with a circumferential nose 60 which is shaped and dimensioned so as to form a press fit to the inner circumference of the annular side wall 22 of the container body.

(27) The button 18 of the insert according to this embodiment is not the lowest part of the insert but has the same function as described in the above embodiments. It delimits the storage compartment 28 and is provided with a high permeability to allow easy communication of moisture to adjacent desiccant chamber 16 filled with particular desiccant material 17.

(28) Due to the abutting contact between the insert element and the annular side wall 22 of the container body in two distinct positions, namely the upper region and the lower region of the insert element, moisture penetrating the side wall 22 of the container and entering the free volumes 62 between the container body and the insert element, can not enter the desiccant chamber but has to pass through the wall of the insert element as a further barrier. Such further barrier could be either the flange 54 to enter the storage compartment 28 and into the desiccant chamber 16, or the second flange 56, or the side wall 24 of the insert element entering the storage compartment which has easy access to the desiccant chamber. Thus, the embodiment according to FIG. 8 also provides a double barrier.

(29) The material of the container and of the insert element can be selected according to the specific requirements of container 10. It is possible to select the material of the insert such that the barrier properties explained with reference to FIG. 1 are increased. When the insert is provided as a desiccant entrained polymer, moisture penetrating the sidewall 22 of container body 15 becomes trapped inside the sidewall 24 of insert element and does not diffuse into the storage compartment 28. Alternatively, the material of the insert could be selected from an oxygen barrier material such as polyamide or EVOH which leads to a passive protection against moisture and oxygen. Other suitable materials are PP, HDPE or LDPE all acting as a barrier to moisture.

(30) In view of the finding that the penetration of moisture into a desiccant container during its shelf-life has not received sufficient attention so far, the present container combines an increased barrier against the permeation of moisture through the sidewalls into the container and an improved kinetics when removing moisture inside the container resulting in a reduction of the exposure to moisture of products inside the container.