Cap for a container

Abstract

A cap for a container comprising a ferrule to be fixedly attached to the neck of the container, the ferrule comprising an upper wall and a tubular skirt extending downwardly from the upper wall; a tamper evidence mechanism connected with the ferrule; an overseal button removably arranged on top of the upper wall of the ferrule so as to at least fully cover the tamper evidence mechanism, the overseal button being connected to the tamper evidence mechanism such that upon first removal of the overseal button the tamper evidence mechanism is irreversibly damaged. The overseal button comprises at least one translucent portion arranged to extend over the at least one portion of the tamper evidence mechanism which is irreversibly damaged upon first removal of the overseal button.

Claims

1. A cap for a container containing a pharmaceutical product, the cap comprising: a ferrule to be fixedly attached to a neck of the container containing a pharmaceutical product, the ferrule comprising an upper wall and a tubular skirt extending downwardly from the upper wall; a tamper evidence mechanism connected with the ferrule; and an overseal button removably arranged on top of the upper wall of the ferrule in a manner so as to at least fully cover the tamper evidence mechanism, the overseal button being connected to the tamper evidence mechanism such that upon first removal of the overseal button from the ferrule at least a portion of the tamper evidence mechanism is irreversibly damaged, wherein the overseal button comprises at least one translucent portion arranged to extend over the at least one portion of the tamper evidence mechanism which is irreversibly damaged upon first removal of the overseal button from the ferrule, wherein the overseal button further comprises an identification portion which is different from the at least one translucent portion in at least one property, the at least one property being selected such that it allows for visual differentiation of the identification portion and the at least one translucent portion, wherein the overseal button comprises an opaque colored outer ring and the at least one translucent portion is surrounded by the opaque colored outer ring, and wherein the overseal button comprises a centrally arranged opaque colored hub and the at least one translucent portion of the overseal button is arranged between the centrally arranged opaque colored hub and the opaque colored outer ring.

2. The cap according to claim 1, wherein the at least one property of the identification portion allowing for differentiation of the identification portion and the at least one translucent portion is selected from opacity, color, surface roughness, or combinations thereof.

3. The cap according to claim 1, wherein the tamper evidence mechanism comprises a hub and wherein the upper wall of the ferrule comprises an outer portion which is connected to the skirt and surrounds the hub of the tamper evidence mechanism, wherein the hub of the tamper evidence mechanism is connected to the outer portion of the ferrule through a breakable connection, wherein the overseal button comprises a clamping member and wherein the hub comprises a through-opening which is centrally arranged in the hub, with the clamping member of the overseal button extending through the centrally arranged through-opening of the hub and clamping the overseal button to the hub of the tamper evidence mechanism.

4. The cap according to claim 3, wherein the outer portion of the upper wall of the ferrule is an annular portion, wherein the hub of the tamper evidence mechanism is a centrally arranged circular disc comprising the centrally arranged through-opening, and wherein the centrally arranged through-opening has a circular shape.

5. The cap according to claim 4, wherein the breakable connection comprises one or more bridging webs which are connected to the hub of the tamper evidence mechanism as well as to the outer portion of the upper wall of the ferrule, each individual bridging web being arranged at an individual angular position when viewed in circumferential direction, with the individual angular positions of the individual bridging webs being different from one another.

6. The cap according to claim 5, wherein the breakable connection comprises at least four individual bridging webs, in particular at least six individual bridging webs, with the individual bridging webs being arranged at equally spaced individual angular positions, and wherein the at least one translucent portion of the overseal button is arranged to extend over at least one of the bridging webs.

7. The cap according to claim 3, wherein the breakable connection comprises a scoring line connecting the centrally arranged hub of the tamper evidence mechanism to the outer portion of the upper wall of the ferrule, and wherein the translucent portion of the overseal button is arranged to extend at least partly over the scoring line.

8. The cap according to claim 1, wherein the centrally arranged opaque colored hub is connected to the opaque colored outer ring through at least one opaque colored web.

9. The cap according to claim 8, wherein the at least one opaque colored web comprises a plurality of individual opaque spokes arranged to extend from the opaque colored hub to the opaque colored outer ring in a star-like manner.

10. The cap according to claim 9, wherein the at least one opaque colored web comprises a single opaque conical web with the narrow end of the opaque conical web being connected to the opaque colored hub and the wide end of the conical web being connected to the opaque colored outer ring.

11. The cap according to claim 1, wherein the overseal button is a two-component injection molded piece.

12. The cap according to claim 1, wherein the identification portion identifies at least one of a type of the pharmaceutical product, a concentration of the pharmaceutical product, and a manufacturer of the pharmaceutical product.

13. A container containing a pharmaceutical product, the container comprising a neck having an opening for allowing access to the interior of the container, a sealing stopper being arranged in the opening in the neck, and a cap, wherein the cap comprises: a ferrule comprising an upper wall and a tubular skirt extending downwardly from the upper wall, a tamper evidence mechanism connected with the ferrule; and an overseal button removably arranged on top of the upper wall of the ferrule in a manner so as to at least fully cover the tamper evidence mechanism, the overseal button being connected to the tamper evidence mechanism such that upon first removal of the overseal button from the ferrule at least a portion of the tamper evidence mechanism is irreversibly damaged, wherein the overseal button comprises at least one translucent portion arranged to extend over the at least one portion of the tamper evidence mechanism which is irreversibly damaged upon first removal of the overseal button from the ferrule, wherein the overseal button further comprises an identification portion which is different from the at least one translucent portion in at least one property, the at least one property being selected such that it allows for visual differentiation of the identification portion and the at least one translucent portion, wherein the cap is arranged to cover the sealing stopper with the lower end of the skirt of the cap engaging a rim on an outer wall of the neck of the container containing a pharmaceutical product, wherein the overseal button comprises an opaque colored outer ring, the at least one translucent portion being surrounded by the opaque colored outer ring, and wherein the overseal button comprises a centrally arranged opaque colored hub and the at least one translucent portion of the overseal button is arranged between the centrally arranged opaque colored hub and the opaque colored outer ring.

14. The container according to claim 13, wherein the at least one property is selected from opacity, color, surface roughness, and combinations thereof.

15. The container according to claim 13, wherein the tamper evidence mechanism comprises a hub, the upper wall of the ferrule comprising an outer portion that is connected to the skirt and surrounds the hub, the hub being connected to the outer portion of the ferrule through a breakable connection, the overseal button comprising a clamping member, the hub comprising a through-opening that is centrally arranged in the hub, the clamping member of the overseal button extending through the centrally arranged through-opening of the hub and clamping the overseal button to the hub.

16. The container according to claim 15, wherein the outer portion of the upper wall is an annular portion, the hub of the tamper evidence mechanism being a centrally arranged circular disc comprising the centrally arranged through-opening, the centrally arranged through-opening having a circular shape.

17. The container according to claim 16, wherein the breakable connection comprises one or more bridging webs which are connected to the hub and to the outer portion of the upper wall, each individual bridging web being arranged at an individual angular position when viewed in circumferential direction, with the individual angular positions of the individual bridging webs being different from one another.

18. The container according to claim 17, wherein the breakable connection comprises at least four individual bridging webs, in particular at least six individual bridging webs, with the individual bridging webs being arranged at equally spaced individual angular positions, and wherein the at least one translucent portion of the overseal button is arranged to extend over at least one of the bridging webs.

19. The container according to claim 15, wherein the breakable connection comprises a scoring line connecting the centrally arranged hub of the tamper evidence mechanism to the outer portion of the upper wall of the ferrule, the translucent portion of the overseal button being arranged to extend at least partly over the scoring line.

20. The container according to claim 13, wherein the centrally arranged opaque colored hub is connected to the opaque colored outer ring through at least one opaque colored web.

21. The container according to claim 20, wherein the at least one opaque colored web comprises a plurality of individual opaque spokes arranged to extend from the opaque colored hub to the opaque colored outer ring in a star-like manner.

22. The container according to claim 21, wherein the at least one opaque colored web comprises a single opaque conical web with the narrow end of the opaque conical web being connected to the opaque colored hub and the wide end of the conical web being connected to the opaque colored outer ring.

23. The container according to claim 13, wherein the overseal button is a two-component injection molded piece.

24. The container according to claim 13, wherein the container is a vial configured to store and administer the pharmaceutical product.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further advantageous aspects of the invention become apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention with the aid of the drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 an exploded view of an embodiment of a container comprising a sealing stopper and a first embodiment of the cap according to the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 a sectional view of the embodiment of the container of FIG. 1, with the components of the exploded view of FIG. 1 being shown in an assembled state;

(4) FIG. 3 a top view of the container of FIG. 2 with the first embodiment of the invention;

(5) FIG. 4 a top view of a second embodiment of the cap according to the invention (smaller diameter of the opaque hub of the overseal button);

(6) FIG. 5 a top view of a third embodiment of the cap according to the invention (transparent segment of the overseal button extends only over an angular portion);

(7) FIG. 6 a top view of a fourth embodiment of the cap according to the invention (overseal button with central opaque hub and star-like opaque spokes);

(8) FIG. 7 a top view of a fifth embodiment of the cap according to the invention (overseal button with central opaque hub and conical opaque web);

(9) FIG. 8 a sectional view of a container similar to that of FIG. 2, with a sixth embodiment of the cap according to the invention (scoring line as tamper evidence mechanism, and

(10) FIG. 9 a top view of the container shown in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(11) The embodiment of the container shown in FIG. 1 (exploded view) FIG. 2 (sectional view, assembled) and FIG. 3 (top view) comprises a vial 10 having a neck 11. The vial may be made of glass or any other suitable inert and mechanically stable material. On the outer wall of the neck 11 there is provided a rim 12. At its top end the neck 11 has an opening 13 for allowing access to the interior 14 of the container. For example, a pharmaceutical product such as a liquid drug to be administered to a patient can be stored in the interior 14 of such container.

(12) The container further comprises a sealing stopper 2 which may be made of rubber or any other material suitable for gas-tight and liquid-tight sealing of the interior 14 of the container from the ambient environment. The container also comprises a first embodiment of a cap according to the invention. The cap comprises a ferrule 3, a tamper evidence mechanism 4 which is connected to the ferrule in a manner to be described in more detail below, and an overseal button 5.

(13) The ferrule 3 comprises an upper wall 30 comprising an outer annular portion 300 and a tubular skirt 31 extending downwardly from the upper wall 30, or from the outer annular portion 300 respectively. The annular outer portion 300 is connected to the tubular skirt 31. Ferrule 3 is typically made of a deformable metal such as aluminum.

(14) The tamper evidence mechanism 4 comprises a hub 40 in form of a circular disc which has a centrally arranged through-opening 400. The hub 40 is connected to the annular outer portion 300 of the upper wall of the ferrule 3 through a breakable connection. The breakable connection in this embodiment comprises six bridging webs 401 which are arranged at individual equally spaced angular positions (i.e. adjacently arranged bridging webs are angularly displaced relative to one another by an angle of 60?). Between the bridging webs 401 curved slots 402 are arranged spacing the bridging webs 401 angularly apart from one another.

(15) The overseal button 5 is removably arranged on top of the upper wall 30 of the ferrule 3. In the embodiments shown, the overseal button 5 covers both the tamper evidence mechanism 4 to be described in more detail as well as the upper wall 30 of the ferrule 3. In the embodiment shown, the overseal button 5 comprises an opaque colored outer ring 51 and a centrally arranged opaque colored hub 50. Between the opaque colored outer ring 51 and the centrally arranged opaque colored hub 50 the overseal button 5 comprises an annular colorless and polished translucent portion 52 (no hatches being shown to emphasize that portion 52 is translucent). The overseal button 5 further comprises a centrally arranged clamping portion, which may comprise in its original non-deformed state a tubular skirt 500 extending downwardly from the opaque colored hub 50 (see FIG. 1). The colors of the opaque colored hub 50 and of the opaque colored outer ring 51 may be representative of a specific concentration of a substance contained in the container, or may be representative of the type of substance (e.g. for a specific type of drug), or of the specific manufacturer of the product.

(16) For assembly of the cap comprising the ferrule 3, the tamper evidence mechanism 4 and the overseal button 5, first of all the overseal button 5 is placed on top of the tamper evidence mechanism 4 such that the tubular skirt 500 extends through the centrally arranged through-opening 400 of the hub 40 of the tamper evidence mechanism 4. Thereafter, the plastic material of the tubular skirt 500 can be heated and deformed such that it extends radially outwardly so that the hub 40 is clamped by the deformed skirt 500 (see FIG. 2).

(17) To assemble the container, after the pharmaceutical product has been filled into the interior 14 of the vial 10 the sealing stopper 2 is pressed through the opening 13 into the neck 11 of the vial 10 until a radially extending flange 20 of the sealing stopper abuts against the upper surface of the rim 12. Thereafter, the cap is placed onto the sealing stopper 2 with the tubular skirt 31 of the ferrule 3 circumferentially enclosing the rim 12 provided on the outer wall of the neck 11. The cap is then pushed downwardly towards the sealing stopper 2 until the annular outer portion 300 of the ferrule 3 abuts against the corresponding portion of the upper surface of the sealing stopper 2. The lower portion of the skirt 31 of the ferrule 3 is then crimped inwardly such that the lower portion of the skirt 31 engages the lower surface of the rim 12 from beneath. Thereafter, the cap is securely mounted to the vial 10, as this is shown in FIG. 2.

(18) As the overseal button 5 is removed for the first time in order to expose the central portion of the sealing stopper 2 not covered by the annular portion 300 of the upper wall 30 of the ferrule 3 (for example in order to allow the needle of a syringe to be pierced through the sealing stopper 2), at least some of the webs 401 connecting the hub 40 of the tamper evidence mechanism 4 to the annular portion 300 break. In case somebody now tries to reassemble the overseal button with the container for whatever reason, for example in order to pretend that the container is in its original state and has not been opened before, or in order to pretend that the particular container comes from a specific manufacturer, this can be easily determined by the consume. The translucent portion of the overseal button allows the consumer to visibly determine whether or not the tamper evidence mechanism is damaged. In the first embodiment described above, the consumer can visibly determine whether or not one or more of the webs 401 are already broken.

(19) A second embodiment of the cap according to the invention is shown in the top view of FIG. 4. In essence, the components are very similar to those of the first embodiment already described above. The essential difference of the second embodiment of the cap when compared with the first embodiment is, that the opaque colored hub 50a of the overseal button 5a of the second embodiment has a diameter which is smaller than that of the first embodiment. The opaque colored outer ring 51a has the same dimensions as in the first embodiment. As a consequence, the annular translucent portion 52a of the overseal button 5a of the second embodiment extends radially over a larger area than the annular translucent portion 52 of the overseal button 5 of the first embodiment. The tamper evidence mechanism of the second embodiment is identical with that of the first embodiment.

(20) A third embodiment of the cap according to the invention is shown in the top view of FIG. 5. Again, the components are very similar to those of the afore-described embodiments. However, the essential difference of the third embodiment compared to the afore-described embodiments is that the overseal button 5b only comprises a circumferentially running translucent angular segment 52b (rather than an entire translucent ring) through which a portion of the tamper evidence mechanism is visible while the rest of the overseal button 5b is made of an opaque colored material. In the embodiment shown, the angular segment extends over an angle of about 120?, however, this angle is by way of example only.

(21) A fourth embodiment of the cap according to the invention is shown in the top view of FIG. 6. Again, the components are very similar to those of afore-described embodiments. The essential difference of the fourth embodiment compared to the afore-described embodiments is, that the overseal button 5c of the fourth embodiment comprises a plurality of opaque colored spokes 53c which are arranged to extend from the opaque colored hub 50c to the opaque colored outer ring 51c in a star-like manner. The tamper evidence mechanism is visible through the translucent annular segments 52c extending in circumferential direction between the opaque colored hub 50c, the opaque colored outer ring 51c, and the opaque colored spokes 53c.

(22) A fifth embodiment of the cap according to the invention is shown in the top view of FIG. 7. Again the components are very similar to those of the afore-described embodiments. However, the essential difference of the fifth embodiment when compared to the afore-described embodiments is that there is only one single opaque conical web 53d extending between the opaque colored hub 50d and the opaque colored outer ring 51d. The annular translucent portion 52d is a ring which is interrupted in circumferential direction only by the opaque colored web 53d.

(23) A further embodiment of the container with a sixth embodiment of the cap according to the invention is shown in a sectional view in FIG. 8 and in a top view in FIG. 9. This embodiment differs from the afore-described embodiments in that the tamper evidence mechanism does not comprise any webs connecting the hub 40e with the annular outer portion 300 of the upper wall 30 of the ferrule 3. Rather, there is a circumferentially running scoring line 401e instead. This scoring line 401e is arranged between the hub 40e and the annular outer portion 300 of the upper wall of the ferrule 3 and is a weakened portion that breaks as the overseal button 5e is removed for the first time. In case this scored line 401e has been broken, this is visible to the consumer through the annular translucent portion 52e which is arranged between the opaque colored hub 50e and the opaque colored outer ring 51e of the overseal button 5e.

(24) While specific embodiments and combinations of the tamper evidence mechanism and the overseal button have been described with the aid of the drawings, it can be easily understood that the described tamper evidence mechanisms and the overseal buttons can be combined in different manners, as long as it is possible to visibly determine through the translucent portion of the overseal button whether or not a portion of the tamper evidence mechanism is irreversibly damaged. Also, the invention is not limited to any specific type of tamper evidence mechanism. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described with the aid of the drawings, but various changes and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined by the appended claims.