HK1237687A1 - Tube with application tip - Google Patents

Description

Tube with coated tip

The present invention relates to a tube with a coated tip for liquid or paste-like materials, in particular active agent formulations, and to a method for producing and filling a tube with a coated tip. This type of tube preferably contains a single dose of an active agent formulation, such as a drug. The coated tip is used to introduce an active agent into a hard-to-reach area of a human or animal body, such as the skin in a body opening or a hair-dense area.

US 2011/0160677 a1 has disclosed a container for applying a single dose of a liquid medicament to the oral cavity of a patient. The container has a chamber for receiving a liquid drug and a squeezable area for expelling the drug. The container is sealed by a screw-off cap, thereby preventing premature discharge of the medicament. Furthermore, the container has an elongated small dispensing tube having a length of 1-12cm and being in fluid connection with the chamber. To open the container, the user grasps the container with one hand. The user grasps the cap with the thumb and forefinger of the other hand and applies a rotational force on the cap. Thereby breaking the seal at a predetermined point of failure and allowing the lid to be torn off the container. In addition to a single dose of liquid medicament, an inert gas is also located within the container in order to prevent the liquid medicament from exiting the container due to the pressure exerted on the container by the user.

US 2007/0138215 a1 discloses a container of a type design and operation. Here, too, the user grasps the container with one hand. On the outside of the chamber special means in the form of grooves and channels are provided for the unforced firm holding and pressing of the chamber with the liquid. When the user desires to open and unscrew the screw-off lid, the user naturally grasps the chamber in the region of the groove and the channel. Unlike the container in US 2011/0160677 a1, this patent application does not disclose any measures as to how the liquid can be prevented from escaping due to the pressure on the liquid-filled chamber during opening of the lid.

DE 4420594 a1 discloses another container for flowable materials. The container of DE 4420594 a1 consists of a housing made of plastic, a head with a discharge opening and an open chamber next to the open end. Containers of this type are used to receive a fill product. The contents may be removed from the container by manual pressure. The container is closed by a lid which can be torn off along a predetermined breaking point by tilting or twisting the lid relative to the container body. During opening of the container described according to DE 4420594 a1, the container body has to be held firmly with a corresponding pressure. A disadvantage here is that the liquid can escape due to the pressure during opening of the lid.

The invention is based on the following objectives: a tube with a coated tip is provided, the cap of which can be opened without having to hold the tube body firmly in the process and thus without having to exert pressure on the tube body.

In the following text, tube means all types of squeezable containers. According to the invention, this object is achieved by a tube with a coated tip according to claim 1 and a production method according to claim 22.

The tube with a coating tip for liquid or pasty materials, in particular drugs, according to the invention has a tube body with an end that can be closed or already closed and with an outlet end. The outlet end of the tube has a neck with an outlet opening. Furthermore, the tube according to the invention has an application tip which is elongated in the longitudinal direction of the tube, which is connected to the outlet opening of the tube and has an internal channel which connects the inlet opening and the application opening. A cap closing the coating opening is molded over the coating opening of the coating tip. The coating tip has a gripping means.

In one embodiment of the invention, the applicator tip is moulded onto the neck of the tube, whereby the outlet opening of the tube and the inlet opening of the channel are connected to each other in a liquid manner.

The gripping means is used to provide a gripping point during opening of the tube. The region of the gripping means is preferably of slightly thicker construction in material, for example, formed by corresponding reinforcements which do not yield when stressed.

The applicator tip has a gripping device over its entire length or over a part of its length. The grasping means can be configured as an outer section of the coating tip and optionally a widened portion (in one dimension) of the inner section relative to the outer section or the inner section in the region of the other portion of the coating tip. The application tip preferably has a gripping device in the region of the inlet opening. The gripping means may be configured as a recessed handle, preferably with grooves and ribs.

The coating tip can be moulded onto the neck of the tube in a positive-locking manner by welding.

Both the tube body and the coated tip are produced from plastic, Preferably Polypropylene (PP). However, in other embodiments they may also be produced from Polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or Polyamide (PA). In one embodiment of the invention, the coating tip has a wall thickness greater than the wall thickness of the tube body. The wall thickness of the tube body may be in the range from 0.2mm to 0.6mm, while the wall thickness of the coating tip may be in the range from 0.3mm to 1.2 mm. The wall thickness of the coating tip may be greater in the region of the gripping device than in the region of the remaining part of the coating tip. The wall thickness in the region of the gripping device can be greater than the wall thickness in the region of the remaining portion of the coating tip. It may lie in the range from 0.4 to 1.4 mm.

The length of the coating tip without the cap should be at least 20%, preferably at least 50%, and especially preferably greater than or equal to the length of the tube body. The length of the coating tip without the cap is preferably in the range from 15mm to 70mm, while the length of the tube body is in the range from 15mm to 70 mm.

In another embodiment of the invention, the material coating the tip is transparent. The material of the tube body is preferably not transparent.

The end of the tube body which may be closed or which has been closed may be closed by a transverse seal.

The cap may be attached to the applicator tip through one or more predetermined failure points. Preferably the cap can be broken from the coating tip by bending or by twisting.

In one embodiment, the tube with the coated tip contains a single dose of the drug formulation.

The passage in the coating tip preferably has a diameter in the range from 0.5-0.8 mm.

Another subject of the invention is a method for producing a filling tube with a coated tip, comprising the following steps:

a. forming a tube body with an open end and an outlet end having a neck with an outlet opening;

b. forming an applicator tip with an internal passage connecting an inlet opening and an applicator opening, and a cap closing the applicator tip;

c. molding the coating tip onto the neck of the tube in an area surrounding the inlet opening of the coating tip;

d. filling the tube body with a liquid or pasty material through the open end;

e. the open end is sealed laterally.

Figures and examples

An exemplary embodiment of the invention will be explained with reference to the drawings in which:

figure 1 shows a perspective view of a tube with a coated tip,

FIG. 2 shows a side view of a tube with a coated tip;

FIG. 3 shows a front view of a tube with a coated tip;

FIG. 4 shows a bottom view of a tube with a coated tip; and

figure 4 shows a top view of a tube with a coated tip.

The coated tip tube 10 depicted in fig. 1-5 is comprised of a tube body 2 positioned within a coated tip 20.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the tube body 2 is closed at its end 3 by a transverse sealing seam 6. In order to enable simple opening and coating, the tube body 2 is provided with a long coating tip 20 with a cap 24, the cap 24 easily opening and closing the coating opening 30. The cover 24 may be broken by twisting or by bending. The cap is connected to the wall of the application tip 20 by two extension pieces 32 and two predetermined breaking points 26 on opposite sides at the ends of the extension pieces, said extension pieces 32 protruding beyond the application opening 30 in the direction of the tube body. Even in the case of hard-to-touch areas, such as in animal fur or in body openings, the long coating tip 20 can coat the contents of the tube without problems. The coating tip 20 may be of transparent design so that the discharge of the filling material can be seen. The outlet end 4 of the tube with coating tip 10 has a tube neck 5 with an outlet opening (not visible here). Only the obscured visible neck portion 5 is indicated by lines through the transparent coating tip 20. The applicator tip 20 is moulded onto the neck 5 in a positive locking manner. In the region of the inlet opening, which is also molded onto the neck 5, the applicator tip 20 has a recessed shank 22 with transverse ribs 28, which recessed shank 22 extends beyond the neck 5.

Claims (25)

1. A tube with a coated tip for liquid or pasty materials, in particular active agent formulations, having:

a. a tube body with an end which can be closed or has been closed and with an outlet end having a neck with an outlet opening;

b. an applicator tip that is elongated along a longitudinal direction of the tube, the applicator tip being connected to the outlet end of the tube and having an internal passage connecting an inlet opening and an applicator opening; and

c. a cap molded onto and closing the applicator opening of the applicator tip;

characterized in that the coating tip has a gripping means.

2. A tube with an applicator tip according to claim 1, characterized in that the applicator tip is moulded to the tube neck, whereby the outlet opening of the tube and the inlet opening of the channel are connected to each other in a liquid-tight manner.

3. Tube with a coating tip according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the coating tip has the gripping means over its entire length or over a partial region of its length.

4. A tube with a coating tip according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the grasping means extend over a partial area of the length of the coating tip and are configured as a widening (in one dimension) of the outer cross-section of the coating tip relative to the outer cross-section in other partial areas of the coating tip.

5. A tube with a coating tip according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the grasping means extend over a partial area of the length of the coating tip and are configured as widened portions (in one dimension) of the outer and inner cross-section of the coating tip relative to the outer and inner cross-section in other partial areas of the coating tip.

6. Tube with a coating tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coating tip has the gripping means in the region of the inlet opening.

7. Tube with an application tip as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the gripping means are configured as a recessed shank, preferably with grooves and ribs.

8. Tube with a coating tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coating tip is moulded onto the tube neck in a positive-locking manner by welding.

9. Tube with a coated tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tube body and the coated tip are each produced from polypropylene (PP).

10. Tube with a coated tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tube body and the coated tip are each produced from Polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or Polyamide (PA).

11. Tube with a coating tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wall thickness of the coating tip is greater than the wall thickness of the tube body.

12. Tube with a coated tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wall thickness of the tube body lies in the range from 0.2mm to 0.6 mm.

13. Tube with a coating tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wall thickness of the coating tip lies in the range from 0.3mm to 1.2 mm.

14. Tube with a coating tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coating tip has a wall thickness in the region of the recessed shank which is greater than the wall thickness in the region of the remaining part of the coating tip and lies in the range from 0.4mm to 1.4 mm.

15. Tube with an application tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the length of the application tip without a cover is at least 20%, preferably at least 50% of the length of the tube body, and particularly preferably greater than or equal to the length of the tube body.

16. Tube with a coating tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the length of the coating tip without a cover lies in the range from 15mm to 70 mm.

17. Tube with a coated tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the length of the tube body lies in the range from 15mm to 70 mm.

18. Tube with a coating tip according to one or more of the previous claims, characterized in that the material of the coating tip is transparent.

19. Tube with a coated tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the material of the tube body is not transparent.

20. Tube with a coating tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the end of the tube body which can be closed or has been closed can be closed by transverse sealing or is closed by transverse sealing.

21. Tube with an application tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cap is connected to the application tip by one or more predetermined breaking points.

22. Tube with a coated tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cover can be broken by bending or by twisting.

23. The coated tip tube according to one or more of the preceding claims, comprising a single dose of a pharmaceutical formulation.

24. Tube with a coated tip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the passage has a diameter in the range from 0.5mm to 0.8 mm.

25. A method for producing a filled tube with a coated tip, comprising the steps of:

a. forming a tube body with an open end and an outlet end having a neck with an outlet opening;

b. forming an applicator tip with an internal passage connecting an inlet opening and an applicator opening, and a cap closing the applicator tip;

c. molding an applicator tip onto the neck of the tube in an area surrounding an inlet opening of the applicator tip;

d. filling the tube body with a liquid or pasty material through the open end;

e. the open end is sealed laterally.