JPS6147364A - Extensible surface body used for liquid distributor - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to dispensers, and more particularly to devices such as those commonly used for dispensing liquids such as eye drops or nasal sprays.

Description of the Prior Art In the past, distributors have been undesirable for a number of reasons. Most dispensers consist of a flexible container and a nozzle, sometimes with a tube connecting the nozzle to the contents of the container. Upon pressing or squeezing the container, perhaps upon inverting the container and then pressing, an indeterminate amount of the liquid contents will flow out of the container. When the contents are pharmaceutical ingredients, it is undesirable to dispense more than or less than a predetermined dose.

It is known to provide a capillary structure inside a distributor. This structure ``pumps'' the volume of liquid to be dispensed when the dispenser is inverted. However, the known capillary structures, for example consisting of pieces of bamboo stalks of irregular nature, are well suited for use in the mass production of a large number of dispensers, each capable of dispensing a predetermined amount of liquid. Compatible. Droplets of unreliable size may also stick to the bamboo and be dispensed as they are added to the predetermined dispenser. This affects the accuracy of such distributors.

Another known distributor consists of a pressurized container equipped with a valve,
The liquid is atomized by the propellant through the valve. The use of such dispensers poses a risk in that propellants such as Freon can enter the human body. Furthermore, such distributors require containers that can withstand high pressures and complex valves. These features increase the price of the distributor.

Object and Arrangement of the Invention The object of the invention is to overcome or at least improve upon the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art.

In its general form, the invention comprises an extended surface adapted to be housed within a container for dispensing a liquid, the extended surface coupled to a nozzle assembly fitted to the container. , comprising elements spaced apart in rows in one or more rows, and communication means coupling the rows of elements to the nozzle assembly, wherein the elements are arranged in one or more rows after contact with the liquid.
It is adapted to hold a predetermined dose of liquid using intermolecular attraction between the liquid and the element.

In a preferred embodiment, the elongated surface is made of plastic material and the container is also made of flexible plastic.

The container may also be constructed from a number of other resilient materials.

In another embodiment, the spaced apart element imparts a swirling motion to the liquid as it passes from the element to the outlet of the nozzle via the communication means while dispensing the dispensed dose of liquid. can be arranged in a shape that produces

Being able to establish the exact dose of liquid to be dispensed
This is an advantage of the present invention over the conventional capillary structures described above. The invention has the advantage that it does not rely on capillary action, so liquid can be filled from many directions and contact can be made with the entire liquid. Therefore, air is easily displaced and replaced by liquid.

In capillary structures, sticky surface tension creates a resistance force to air and liquid flow that is large enough to result in the liquid not being completely extruded.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Please refer to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4. The nozzle assembly 1 has a peripheral 7 flange 2 adapted to fit airtightly within the neck portion of a dispensing container. Such containers are well known and are generally made from flexible plastic materials.

However, these can for example be configured as pressurized containers.

The nozzle assembly 1 also has a blind bore 3 with a plurality of slots 4 . The blind hole 3 terminates in a wall 5 in which a spout 6 is bored.

The extension surface 7 has a first end 9 adapted to fit inside the blind hole 3 and a second end provided with an enlarged skirt 10. A plurality of elements 11 are fixedly attached to the lower side of the skirt 10 and project downwardly therefrom when the distributor is in the upright position.

The elements 11 are arranged in a ring as shown in FIG.

Some of the elements 11 may be longer than others and may vary in width. The arrangement of elements 11 establishes a central passageway 12. The passageway 12 is substantially concentric with the communication means.

Alternatively, elements such as those shown in FIG. 3 can be shaped and arranged at the origin of the distribution such that a vortex is created when the liquid passes through the communication means.

This swirling action is created by radially positioning the respective elements together in a manner that creates a swirl in the liquid as it passes from the element into the central passageway 12.

The nozzle extension 13 is fixed in a resilient manner with the nozzle assembly 3 and can be removed from the nozzle assembly for cleaning.

In use, the container is partially filled with the liquid to be dispensed, such as a pharmaceutical product.

The extended surface 7 of the invention must be immersed in a liquid such that the element is immersed in the liquid. This is done, for example, by inverting the distributor so that the liquid moves towards the nozzle of the distributor under the action of gravity. Immersion of the extended surface elements is also accomplished by vibrating the distributor to an extent that overcomes the inertia of the liquid.

When a liquid comes into contact with the extended surface of the invention and in particular with the element 11 of the extended surface, an attractive force between the solid-liquid molecules occurs;
A predetermined dose of liquid is retained on and between the elements.

The entire surface of the element is in almost instantaneous contact with the liquid, thus eliminating the need for reliance on capillary action to achieve the desired results.

The volume of liquid retained by intermolecular attraction depends on the size, wall thickness and number of elements 11 arranged in a row. The volume depends on the liquid-related surface properties of the material used to form the element, as well as on the spacing and contact surface area between the liquid and the element.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, retention of liquid by the element is based on intermolecular attraction between the skirt and the liquid and is also aided by the skirt 10.

Dispensing begins when the container is pressed and the pressure within the container increases as a result. This increase in pressure spreads evenly throughout the interior of the container, forcing air across the element to retain the medicinal product and then via the communication means 8 to the ejection nozzle 6.
From 111rtOi! t. At the same time, air from inside the container is forced to pass through the groove 4, mixes with the medicine pushed out from the communication means 8, and becomes an aerosol ejected from the ejection nozzle 6.

The amount of medicament to be ejected is based on, for example, the dimensions of the elements, the number of elements arranged in a row, or the wall thickness of each element;
You can also change it by changing these.

Element 11 is shaped as shown in Figure 2 to remove excess droplets, which would otherwise stick to the bottom of the element. The long elements projecting beyond the short elements effectively provide areas of reduced intermolecular attraction due to the reduced number of elements and/or increased element spacing and reduced element size. If a droplet of drug that is too large adheres to the element, the excess amount will fall off due to the aforementioned low adhesion forces at the lower end of the extended surface of the element, thus proving a significant advantage over conventional capillary structures. .

Please refer to FIG. An extended surface similar to that of FIG. 2 is shown, but here the element 11 supports a substantially horizontally extending disk 14, and below it there are a number of elements 11m.
is hanging.

The purpose of disc 14 and element 111 is to provide a device that can repeatedly hold a fixed amount of medication. If the amount is too large, a portion of it will overhang the disc 14 and contact one of the lower elements 11m, thus separating it from the medicament to be ejected. Element 11m and element 11 may differ in number.

Please refer to FIG. A villa-like nozzle assembly 15 and a villa-like extension surface 16 are shown.

The extended surface 16 functions in the same manner as previously described, but without the element 11a and also without the grooves to provide an aerosol effect.

FIG. 7 shows a villa-like extension surface 17 similar to that shown in FIG. 6, but which blocks the communication means 19 at position 20 when the dispenser is inverted, allowing the medicinal product to pass through the dispenser. It has a ball 18 that prevents it from leaking out.

The dispenser described so far dispenses nasal spray medication. Please understand that it is suitable for this purpose.

However, the nozzle assembly 24 shown in FIG. 8 is adapted for dispensing inhalants, for example. The distributor with nozzle assembly 24 is used as described above. The extension surface 7 in FIG. 8 is identical to that shown in FIG.

Figures 9 and 10 also show alternative nozzle assemblies and extended surfaces suitable for dispensing pharmaceutical products into other containers.

The extension surface here comprises an inverted tip-shaped lug 9g 27 with a plurality of slots as indicated at 28 and accommodates radially arranged elements 29. Communication means 3
0 is centered with respect to element 29 inside element 27 at one end. The other end of the communication means 3a projects from the distributor.

FIG. 11 shows a distributor similar in many respects to that described above, but adapted for use in an inverted position.

The extended surface 31 extends over the container 32 when the container is placed in an upright position.
is immersed in a medicinal product stored in When the dispenser is inverted, the extended surface 31 emerges from the medication and retains the amount of medication that is ejected when the dispenser is squeezed.

See Figures 12.13 and 14. Further nozzle assemblies are shown and consist of an array of elements 33 positioned adjacent to a liquid conduit 34. Air conduit 3
5 connects to a liquid conduit 54 at location 36 and opens into an inlet hole 37 within the nozzle assembly for creating an aerosol.

A pad element 38 surrounds both element 35 and hole 37. These elements are adapted to draw excess droplets of medicament from the elements and passageways, so that when the dispenser is squeezed, only the medicament adhering to the elements is ejected from the nozzle.

Although the invention has been described above based on embodiments, it should be remembered that many modifications may be made within the invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of the nozzle and extended surface of a distributor according to the invention; #! 2 is a side view of the extension surface shown in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 3 shows the shape of an element according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the extended surface of FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a side view of an extended surface with additional droplet plates. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a nozzle and an extended surface according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of an extended surface body according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a villa-like side cross-sectional view of the nozzle and extension surface shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 9 is a side cross-sectional view of the villa-like nozzle and extension surface of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 9 taken along line 10-10. FIG. 11 is a side sectional view of the villa-like distributor of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a side cross-sectional view of the villa-like nozzle and extension surface of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a sectional view of FIG. 12 taken along line 13-13. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 12 taken along line 14-14g. The names of the main parts in the diagram are as follows. 3: Nozzle assembly 6: Spout port A: Extension surface body 8: Communication means 9: First end 10: Expansion skirt 11: Element 12: Passage 15: Engraving of nozzle extension body drawing (no change in content) ) ″6°3F/6.4 Fee, 75 F/Cy, I4-Procedural amendment (method) % formula % Display of case 1985 Patent application No. 122875 Title of invention Extended surface body used in liquid distributor Power of attorney to be amended by the person making the amendment and its translation (1 copy each) Drawings
Contents of one amendment: Engraving of drawings as attached (no change in content)

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. an extended surface adapted to be received within a container for dispensing liquid, the extended surface coupled to a nozzle assembly fitted to the container; and a column of spaced elements and communication means coupling the elements to the nozzle assembly, the elements acting between the liquid and the elements after the elements contact the liquid. An elongated surface adapted to retain a predetermined dose of liquid using intermolecular attraction. 2. The elongated surface body according to claim 1, wherein the elements spaced apart on the circumference are arranged in an annular manner. 3. the element is coupled to the nozzle assembly by means of communication;
3. An elongated surface as claimed in claim 2, which opens at one end into a central passage defined by an annular array of elements. 4. An extension surface according to claim 3, wherein the element is fixed to an expanding skirt projecting from the communication means. 5. The extension surface body according to claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the elements are formed by inserting a plurality of long elements between short elements. 6. A disk according to claim 2, 3, 4 or 5, comprising a radially extending disk supported by the elements, from which a further array of elements extends. Extended surface body. 7. An elongated surface according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the elements are arranged radially and curvilinearly, thereby creating a swirling motion as the liquid passes along the communication means. 8. An elongated surface according to claims 2 to 7, wherein the elements are tapered. 9. An extended surface as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 8, including a gravity sealed check valve for controlling flow along the communication means. 10. The extension surface of claim 9, wherein the check valve comprises a ball captured by the element and adapted to seal one end of the communication means. 11. The elongated surface of claim 1 housed in a nozzle assembly. 12. The elongated surface of claim 11 including an absorbent pad disposed adjacent to the elements of the array. 13. An elongated surface as claimed in claim 11 or 12, including an air conduit through which air from inside the container passes to mix with the dose of liquid prior to ejection from the container. 14. The extended surface of claim 13, wherein another absorbent pad is located within the distributor adjacent the opening of the air conduit. 15. an inverted tip, a plurality of slots arranged in a radial row surrounding the tip, and annularly spaced elements disposed inside the tip and supported by the tip; The extended surface body according to claim 1, comprising a tip having a tip. 16. A communicating means having a first end disposed within the passage formed by the annular array of elements and a second end coupled to the nozzle assembly. extension surface body.