Abstract
A nozzle (10) for a container for the intranasal administration of a liquid formulation comprises a nozzle body (12) with an upper end (18) and a lower end (16), a channel (40) traversing the nozzle body (12) and ending with an orifice (17) in the upper end (18), and a nozzle cover (14) covering an area of the outer surface of the nozzle body (12) which is designed to be introduced into a user's nostril, wherein the nozzle body (12) is made out of a first material and the nozzle cover (14) is made out of a second material, said first material being a rigid plastic material, and said second material being an elastic plastic material, and wherein the nozzle cover (14) is not in contact with the orifice (17). A packaging for a liquid formulation for intranasal administration comprises a container and such nozzle (10). A product comprises such a packaging and a liquid formulation in said packaging.
Claims
1. A nozzle (10) for a container for intranasal administration of a liquid formulation, comprising a nozzle body (12) with an upper (18) end and a lower end (16), a channel (40) traversing the nozzle body (12) and ending with an orifice (17) in the upper end (18), and a nozzle cover (14) covering an area of the outer surface of the nozzle body (12) which is designed to be introduced into a user's nostril, wherein the nozzle body (12) is made out of a first material, and the nozzle cover (14) is made out of a second material, said first material being a rigid plastic material, and said second material being an elastic plastic material, and wherein the nozzle cover (14) is not in contact with the orifice (17).
2. A nozzle (10) according to claim 1 wherein the nozzle (10) is produced by bi-injection moulding.
3. A nozzle (10) according to claim 1 claim 1 or 2 wherein the first material is a thermoplastic material.
4. A nozzle (10) according to claim 1 wherein the first material is a polyolefin.
5. A nozzle (10) according to claim 1 claims wherein the first material is a low-density polyethylene.
6. A nozzle (10) according to claim 1 wherein the first material has a Shore A hardness of 80-100.
7. A nozzle (10) according to claim 1 wherein the second material is an elastomer, a thermoplastic elastomer or a thermoplastic rubber.
8. A nozzle (10) according to claim 7 wherein the second material is a thermoplastic elastomer.
9. A nozzle (10) according to claim 1 wherein the second material has a Shore A hardness of 20-40.
10. A nozzle (10) according to claim 1 wherein the outer surface of the nozzle body (12) and the nozzle cover (14) have an approximately semi-spherical shape.
11. A nozzle (10) according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle (10), when introduced into a nostril, seals the nostril.
12. A nozzle (10) according to claim 1 any of the preceding claims wherein the nozzle cover (14) has an orifice (19) which flushes with the upper end (18) of the nozzle body (12).
13. A nozzle (10) according to claim 1 wherein the nozzle cover (14) has a flat rim (48) surrounding an orifice of the nozzle cover (19) and the flat rim (48) flushes with the upper end (18) of the nozzle body (12).
14. A nozzle (10) according to claim 1 wherein a flow channel for the liquid formulation is formed in the nozzle, and wherein the flow channel is lined by the first material only.
15. A nozzle (10) according to claim 1 wherein an orifice of the nozzle cover (19) is aligned with the orifice of the nozzle body (17), and wherein the orifice of the nozzle cover (19) has a larger diameter than the orifice of the nozzle body (17).
16. A nozzle (10) according to claim 1 wherein the nozzle is designed such that the liquid formulation is not in contact with the second material when dispensed from the nozzle (10).
17. A packaging for a liquid formulation for intranasal administration comprising a container and a nozzle (10) according to claim 1 .
18. A packaging according to claim 17 wherein the container is a squeeze bottle (20).
19. A product comprising a packaging according to claim 17 and a liquid formulation in said packaging.
20. A product according to claim 19 wherein the liquid formulation is a nasal wash formulation.
21. A product according to claim 19 wherein the liquid formulation is a nasal spray formulation.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0038] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a packaging according to the invention comprising a bi-injection nozzle of the present invention and a squeeze bottle.
[0039] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged perspective individual view of the bi-injection nozzle of FIG. 1.
[0040] FIG. 3 shows a cross-section of the bi-injection nozzle of FIG. 2.
[0041] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the bi-injection nozzle of FIG. 2 with the nozzle cover omitted.
[0042] FIG. 5 shows a perspective individual view of the nozzle cover of the bi-injection nozzle of FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
[0043] Referring to FIG. 1, a packaging for liquid formulations for intranasal administration comprises a squeeze bottle 20, made from a low-density polyethylene and typically housing a volume of 10-150 ml of a liquid formulation. The squeeze bottle 20 has an oval cross-section with a flat bottom 22 on which the bottle can stand, and, when looking at it from the bottom to the top, tapers towards a waist 24 from which it expands again to a shoulder 26. This shape of the squeeze bottle 20 is an ergonomic design that improves grip and reduces the pressure that has to be applied to the squeeze bottle 20 to expel a liquid formulation. From the shoulder 26 arises a bottle neck 28 that comprises a cap shoulder 30 and a thread 32. A cap (not shown in the figures) can be screwed onto the bottle neck 28, with the cap shoulder 30 forming a stopper for such a cap. A nozzle 10 is mounted onto the bottle neck 28 by means of a press fit connection. The nozzle 10 consists of two components which have been moulded together in a bi-injection moulding process, namely a nozzle body 12 and a nozzle cover 14, and will be described more in detail below referring to FIG. 2.
[0044] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged perspective individual view of the bi-injection nozzle 10 of FIG. 1. The nozzle 10 is rotationally symmetric around an axis of symmetry X. The nozzle body 12 ends at its lower end 16 in a cylindrical press fit plug 11 that provides for a tight sealing between the nozzle body 12 and the bottle neck 28 of the squeeze bottle 20 when fitted into the equally cylindrical bottle neck 28. From the press fit plug 11 protrudes a base 13 of the nozzle body 12 which will sit on a rim 29 of the bottle neck 28 when the nozzle is mounted on the squeeze bottle 20. The base 13 is the widest part of the nozzle body 12 which is tapered towards an upper end 18 and ends in an approximately semi-spherical shape that is suitable to be introduced into a user's nostril. The tapered shape is suitable to hinder the nozzle 10 from being introduced too far into the user's nostril, and to form a tight seal between the nozzle 10 and the nostril when introduced. A channel 40, visible in the cross-section of FIG. 3 and further described below, traverses the nozzle body 12 and ends in an orifice 17 in the upper end 18. Through the channel 40 the liquid formulation can be expelled out of the orifice 17 of the nozzle body 12. A portion of the outer surface of the nozzle body 12 comprises facets 15 for an increased user appeal and a more pleasant surface touch. A top portion of the outer surface of the nozzle body 12 is covered by a nozzle cover 14. The nozzle cover 14 reproduces the shape of the nozzle body 12, i.e. it has an approximately semi-spherical shape, and is dimensioned such that it can be entirely introduced into a user's nostril when introducing the nozzle 10. It provides a soft surface feel to the nostril skin, the intranasal skin and the intranasal mucosa. The nozzle cover 14 has an orifice 19 that is aligned with the orifice 17 of the nozzle body 12 and has a larger diameter than the orifice 17 of the nozzle body 12. The orifice 19 of the nozzle cover 14 having a larger diameter than the orifice 17 of the nozzle body 12 ensures that the nozzle cover 14 is not in contact with the orifice 17 of the nozzle body 12. It therefore assures that the liquid formulation that is dispensed from orifice 17 of the nozzle body 12 will not be in contact with the nozzle cover 14 but only with the nozzle body 12. The nozzle body 12 is made from an injection-moulding grade of low-density polyethylene. The nozzle cover 14 is made from an injection-moulding grade of thermoplastic elastomer, for example Medalist MD-12130, available from Teknor Apex Company, Mijnweg 1, 6167, AC Geleen, Netherlands, www.teknorapex.com. This thermoplastic elastomer has a Shore A hardness of 32 after one second and a Shore A hardness of 30 after 5 seconds when measured on a Shore A durometer applying the ASTM D2240 standard.
[0045] These plastic materials are preferred as they offer suitable Shore A hardness and allow efficient manufacture by bi-injection moulding.
[0046] FIG. 3 shows a cross-section of the bi-injection nozzle 10 of FIG. 2. It shows a channel 40 extending vertically through the axis of symmetry X of the nozzle body 12 and ending in the orifice 17 of the nozzle body 12 in the upper end 18 of the nozzle body 12. The orifice 19 of the nozzle cover 14 is aligned with the orifice 17 of the nozzle body 12 and has a larger diameter than the orifice 17 of the nozzle body 12, so that the nozzle cover 14 is not in contact with the orifice 17 of the nozzle body 12. The nozzle cover 14 covers an outer surface of the nozzle body 12 and extends from the upper end 18 of the nozzle body 12 to a circular rim 44 which is foreseen on the nozzle body 12. When moulded together in a bi-injection moulding process, the second material of the nozzle cover 14 fills the space above the circular rim 44 of the nozzle body 12 so as to form a circular borderline 46 of the first material of the nozzle body 12 and the second material of the nozzle cover 14. The rim 44 ensures an interface between the first and the second material big enough to provide adhesion and to prevent stripping of the two materials.
[0047] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of bi-injection nozzle 10 of FIG. 2 with the nozzle cover 14 omitted. The upper end 18 of the nozzle body 12 comprises ribs 42 that protrude from the outer surface and the circular rim 44 of the nozzle body 12 that improve the adhesion between the nozzle body 12 and the nozzle cover 14 additionally to the inherent bonding obtained by bi-injection moulding.
[0048] FIG. 5 shows a perspective individual view of the nozzle cover 14 of the bi-injection nozzle 10 of FIG. 2. It shows that the orifice 19 of the nozzle cover 14 has a larger diameter than the orifice 17 of the nozzle body 12 as shown in FIG. 4. The nozzle cover 14 reproduces the shape of the nozzle body 12, i.e. it is rotationally symmetric around an axis of symmetry X and tapers in an approximately semi-spherical shape. A flat rim 48 borders the orifice 19 of the nozzle cover 14. This flat rim 48 provides an advantageous broad surface of adhesion for the second material of the nozzle cover 14 on the upper end 18 of the nozzle body 12 and prevents stripping of the two layers.
