EP4051601B1 - Safety overcap for a container - Google Patents

Description

Technical field

The present invention relates to a safety cap for covering the neck of a container already equipped with a closing device sealing its opening.

It also concerns a container equipped with such a safety cap.

Previous technique

It is known to administer treatments (curative, preventive, nutritional, etc.) to livestock, in particular drugs aimed at preventing a large number of diseases, which can otherwise prove very disabling or even fatal.

However, for the safety and efficacy of such drugs to be optimal, it is essential that they are administered and stored under appropriate conditions.

It is therefore recommended to use single-use syringes, the injection needles of these syringes must be systematically disinfected.

However, as the size of farms increases, particularly with the development of intensive farming, injection guns are also known to carry out these batch treatments of live animals in a minimum of time.

Again, during each injection, the injection needle of the gun must be disinfected.

Drug packaging devices are generally glass bottles that allow these drugs to be stored in refrigerated spaces and protected from light.

For practical and economic considerations, these bottles contain a large number of doses of active product, particularly when they are intended to be used with injection guns.

To maintain the asepsis of the vial contents, a self-sealing closure element usually closes the opening of the vial neck to maintain the seal of the vial after removal of the injection needle.

Such a self-sealing closure element, also called a self-sealing seal, in fact makes it possible to automatically close the orifice left by the withdrawal of an injection needle. Examples of the state of the art showing such means of sealing vials are set out in the documents WO2007063218A1 And WO2015193810A1 , showing multi-part devices ensuring the sealing and inviolability of the self-sealing element, or document US5931828A , showing a solution comprising a cover and a metal flange.

A metal capsule set on the neck of the bottle completes this closing element by covering its peripheral edge in order to keep the latter in place.
This capsule can also receive a sealing veil to protect the closing element before the bottle is used for the first time.

This assembly consisting of the metal capsule and the self-sealing closure element thus determines a needle penetration zone into which the operator can introduce an injection needle or a trocar, to access the contents of the vial in order to withdraw part or all of its contents.

Although giving good results, it is nevertheless observed that this set of bottle sealing can be improved.

Indeed, it is observed that the repetitive introduction of a piercing element such as a needle or a trocar, into a self-sealing closure element leads to a deterioration in its capacity to reliably reseal an orifice caused by the withdrawal of a needle.

It is thus noted that the seal necessary for the preservation of the injectable composition contained in the corresponding vial is no longer ensured after a certain number of samples.

The efficacy, or even the safety, of this injectable composition may therefore be affected, particularly when this vial is stored again for a subsequent injection, its entire contents not having been used during a first treatment operation on a batch of animals.

However, compliance with animal welfare standards is a major issue today.

There is therefore a pressing need for a device for overcapping a container, the original design of which makes it possible to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art set out above.

Subject of the invention

The present invention thus aims to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art by proposing an overcapping device, simple in its design and in its operating mode, making it possible to reinforce the safety of a faulty cap or of a cap whose capacity to ensure the watertight sealing of an opening is likely to deteriorate over time or due to the conditions of its use.

Another object of the present invention is such an economical and particularly reliable overcapping device.

The present invention also relates to a container equipped with such an overcapping device.

The present invention also aims at an adaptation assembly on an injection gun comprising such a container, this assembly being particularly easy to implement and reliable.

Disclosure of the invention

For this purpose, the invention relates to a device for overcapping a container comprising a neck, the opening of which is closed by a closing device comprising an area to be secured, in accordance with the statement of claim 1.

• un corps principal destiné à être fixé sur le col du récipient, ce corps principal comprenant une paroi supérieure comportant une ouverture destinée à être placée en regard de cette zone à sécuriser lorsque le corps principal est fixé sur le col de ce récipient de manière à laisser libre accès à cette zone à sécuriser,
• un couvercle comprenant une face interne et une jupe intérieure s'étendant à partir de cette face interne, la face interne étant fermée au droit de cette jupe intérieure, cette jupe intérieure étant dimensionnée pour traverser l'ouverture de la paroi supérieure du corps principal et entourer la zone à sécuriser lorsque le couvercle est en position de fermeture,
• des moyens de maintien pour bloquer le couvercle en position de fermeture et autoriser son déblocage pour son passage en position ouverte, ces moyens de maintien étant configurés pour plaquer l'extrémité libre de la jupe intérieure contre le dispositif de fermeture en position de fermeture du couvercle de manière à former une barrière étanche entourant la zone à sécuriser afin de limiter les échanges de cette zone à sécuriser avec le seul volume intérieur de la jupe intérieure.

According to the invention, this overcapping device comprises:

• a main body intended to be fixed to the neck of the container, this main body comprising an upper wall comprising an opening intended to be placed opposite this area to be secured when the main body is fixed to the neck of this container so as to allow free access to this area to be secured,
• a cover comprising an inner face and an inner skirt extending from this inner face, the inner face being closed at right angles to this inner skirt, this inner skirt being dimensioned to pass through the opening in the upper wall of the main body and surround the area to be secured when the cover is in the closed position,
• holding means for blocking the cover in the closed position and allowing it to be released for passage into the open position, these holding means being configured to press the free end of the inner skirt against the closing device in the closed position of the cover so as to form a sealed barrier surrounding the area to be secured in order to limit exchanges of this area to be secured with only the interior volume of the inner skirt.

This overcapping device is preferably implemented to complete and secure the capping of a container. Of course, it could also replace a stopper to seal the opening of the neck of a container alone.
Thus, this overcapping device is preferably used with a stopper intended to seal the opening of the neck of a container. This stopper determines an area to be secured, the latter being capable of providing access to the contents of the container. This area to be secured may be defined in advance by the user as a preventive measure or exist, for example, because it would result from premature aging of a stopper, from an attempt to open a stopper that has been abandoned, leaving an orifice unclosed, or in the particular case of a self-sealing closure element, be a predefined area of penetration of a piercing element such as an injection needle or a trocar, or even of a tubular element such as a tube, which should be reinforced to protect the contents of the container equipped with it.

By "the internal face of the cover is closed at the level of this internal skirt" we mean that at least this part of the internal face of the cover which forms a bottom of the internal skirt, is full or not open to ensure the sealing of the interior volume delimited by the interior skirt and this bottom.

Advantageously, this main body is cylindrical. The cover can be completely solid.

According to a particular embodiment of this overcapping device, this cover is connected to the main body by one or more hinges so that it is articulated around an axis.

This overcapping device is formed from a single piece and made of plastic. For purely illustrative purposes, it is made of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polycarbonate (PC) or any other suitable plastic material.

According to another embodiment of this overcapping device, the lid being made of a material that is more rigid than the material constituting the closing device, this inner skirt has a longitudinal axis and a longitudinal dimension ensuring compression of the closing device by the free end of the inner skirt, in the closing position of the lid, to create said watertight barrier.
Alternatively, the inner skirt of the cover comprises at its free end a sealing device configured to crush when it is pressed against the closing device in order to ensure sealing between this inner skirt and this closing device and capable of returning to its initial shape, or substantially its initial shape, when the cover is in the open position.
This sealing device may be an annular sealing element comprising a membrane inside which is placed a gel or a fluid such as an inert gas.

According to yet another embodiment of this overcapping device, the interior volume of the skirt defines a housing receiving a support soaked with at least one antiseptic agent, an air filtration element, a dehydrating agent, an RFID tag or a combination of these elements.

According to yet another embodiment of this overcapping device, the main body comprises an inner wall extending from the upper wall and an annular retaining projection extending radially from this inner wall, which is intended to snap onto the neck of the container.
The neck of this container then includes an annular groove to receive this annular projection.
Alternatively, the neck of the container may comprise an external thread, the main body then comprising an inner wall extending from the upper wall, this inner wall comprising an internal thread for screwing the main body onto this external thread of the neck of the container.

According to yet another embodiment of this overcapping device, it comprises a tear-off tab for locking the lid on the main body in the closed position, this tear-off tab being connected to the main body and/or to the lid by a line of lesser mechanical resistance so as to ensure the release of the lid during the first use.

According to yet another embodiment of this overcapping device, the holding means comprise members for clipping the cover onto the main body of the cap, the latter being arranged to ensure the plating of the free end of the inner skirt of the cover against the closing device in the closed position of this cover.

The present invention also relates to a container comprising a neck. According to the invention, this neck is capped with an overcapping device as described above, in accordance with claim 10.

This container can be a flask, a vial, a bottle, a jar, a can or even a barrel.

Preferably, this container is made of plastic but it could be made of glass.

Advantageously, the neck of this container comprising an opening closed by a closing device having an area to be secured, this closing device is a self-sealing seal comprising a penetration area for a piercing element.

This penetration zone therefore forms the zone of the closing element to be secured. It is advantageously marked to facilitate the introduction of a piercing element such as a needle, or a tube.
For purely illustrative purposes, this penetration zone may be spatially delimited on the closure element by a lip projecting from the rest of the external surface of the closure element, this lip being for example annular.

The container may include an element indicating the temperature of its contents, such as a label with thermochromic ink or a thermochromatic dye included in the mass of the overcapping device.

The present invention also relates to the use of the overcapping device, as described above, for capping a container, in accordance with claim 12. This overcapping device can advantageously be implemented alone to clog the orifice of the neck of a container and ensure the necessary seal.
Preferably, however, it is implemented to complete a stopper already closing the opening of the neck of the container.

The present invention further relates to an assembly comprising a vial as described above and a vial adapter having a connecting interface, an opening for accessing the contents of the vial and a body portion for receiving and supporting the upper portion of the vial, in accordance with claim 13.
According to the invention, this body part comprises at least one foldable tab formed in one piece with this body part, said at least one foldable tab comprising a so-called proximal end movable between at least one rest position and a release position reached by folding or pivoting the tab around an axis, said at least one tab being intended to return to its initial position when it is released, the proximal end of said at least one tab comprising a locking member to come to bear behind the main body of the overcapping device in the rest position of this tab so as to lock this bottle in position.

Preferably, the connecting interface is configured to be assembled to a connector of an injection gun.

Advantageously, this body part of the adapter has a flared shape, the upper end of cylindrical shape of which has a diameter equal or substantially equal to the diameter of the body of the bottle to limit the lateral movement of the bottle relative to the body part of the adapter.

Brief description of the drawings

• Fig. 1
  [Fig. 1] est une vue en perspective et de dessus d'un dispositif de surbouchage selon un mode de réalisation particulier de la présente invention ;
• Fig. 2
  [Fig. 2] est une autre vue en perspective du dispositif de surbouchage de la Fig. 1 ;
• Fig. 3
  [Fig. 3] est une représentation schématique en coupe du dispositif de surbouchage de la Fig. 1;
• Fig. 4
  [Fig. 4] est une vue en perspective d'un flacon équipé d'un bouchon auto-obturateur et d'un dispositif de surbouchage tel qu'illustré à la Fig.1, lesquels sont assemblés ;
• Fig. 5
  [Fig. 5] est une représentation schématique et en perspective d'un adaptateur pour pistolet d'injection selon un mode de réalisation de l'invention;
• Fig. 6
  [Fig. 6] est une vue en coupe et de face de l'adaptateur de la Fig. 5 ;

Other advantages, aims and particular characteristics of the present invention will emerge from the description which follows, given, for explanatory and in no way limiting purposes, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

• Fig. 1
  [ Fig. 1 ] is a perspective and top view of an overcapping device according to a particular embodiment of the present invention;
• Fig. 2
  [ Fig. 2 ] is another perspective view of the overcapping device of the Fig. 1 ;
• Fig. 3
  [ Fig. 3 ] is a schematic cross-sectional representation of the overcapping device of the Fig. 1 ;
• Fig. 4
  [ Fig. 4 ] is a perspective view of a bottle equipped with a self-sealing stopper and an overcapping device as illustrated in Fig.1 , which are assembled;
• Fig. 5
  [ Fig. 5 ] is a schematic and perspective representation of an adapter for an injection gun according to one embodiment of the invention;
• Fig. 6
  [ Fig. 6 ] is a sectional and front view of the adapter of the Fig. 5 ;

Description of the embodiments

The drawings and the description below contain, for the most part, elements of a certain character. They may therefore not only serve to better understand the present invention, but also contribute to its definition, if necessary.

First, note that the figures are not to scale.

THE Figures 1 to 4 schematically illustrate an overcapping device according to a particular embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in the Fig. 4 , this overcapping device 10 is here implemented to secure the contents of a bottle 11 comprising a neck whose opening is closed by a self-sealing stopper 12. This bottle 11 is made of plastic but could be made of glass.

In a known manner, this self-sealing plug 12 comprises a penetration zone 13 for the introduction of a needle or a trocar (not shown).

This overcapping device 10 therefore aims here to secure this penetration zone 13 so as to protect the contents of the bottle 11 in the event of failure of the self-sealing stopper 12.

This overcapping device 10 is made from a single piece of plastic, here polypropylene, and has a thickness ensuring its rigidity and its solidarity with the bottle.

It comprises a main body 14 of cylindrical shape, to which a cover 16 is connected by a hinge 15. This cover 16 is therefore articulated around an axis of rotation between a closed position and an opening position. On the Fig. 1 to 4 , the latter is shown in the open position.

In order to preserve the integrity of the contents of the bottle 11 and the self-sealing cap 12 until the bottle 11 is used, a tear-off tab 17 connects the main body 14 to the cover 16 in the closed position. The operator only has to tear off this tab 17 to release the cover 16 so that it can be placed in the open position.

This main body 14 comprises an upper wall 18 open at its center and a first skirt 19 of cylindrical shape extending from this upper wall 18. The inner wall 20 of this skirt which has a substantially smooth surface, comprises at its lower end a retaining projection 21 extending radially from the inner wall of this first skirt 19. This retaining projection 21 is intended to cooperate with the neck of the bottle 11 to ensure by snap-fastening the fixing of the overcapping device 10 on the neck of the bottle 11. This main body 14 is therefore forced onto the neck of the bottle to ensure its assembly.

As illustrated in the Figure 4 , the upper wall 18 of the main body has an opening which is placed opposite the penetration zone 13 to be secured when the main body 14 is fixed to the neck of the bottle 11. This opening therefore gives free access to this penetration zone 13 to allow the passage of the body of the needle or the trocar.

The upper wall 18 thus constitutes a hollow annular wall in its center, which covers the peripheral edge of the self-sealing stopper 12 to ensure that it is held in position on the neck of the bottle 11.

The cover 16 which is solid, comprises an internal face 22 and an internal skirt 23 of cylindrical shape extending from this internal face 22.

This inner skirt 23 which has a longitudinal axis XX', has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the opening of the upper wall 18 of the main body to pass through this opening when the cover 16 is moved from its open position to its closed position. The diameter of this inner skirt 23 is however greater than or equal to the diameter of the penetration zone 13 so that the free end of this skirt surrounds this penetration zone 13 when the cover 12 is in the closed position.

Means for holding the cover 16 in the closed position are arranged to ensure the plating of the free end of the skirt. inner surface 23 against the outer surface of the self-sealing cap 12 in the closed position of the cover 16.

This self-sealing stopper being made of a malleable material, the free end of the inner skirt 23 compresses the surface of this self-sealing stopper 12 in the closed position of the cover to form a sealed barrier surrounding the penetration zone 13. This penetration zone 13 can therefore only have exchanges with the sole interior volume of the inner skirt 23. If this penetration zone 13 becomes faulty, it is thus advantageously ensured that the contents of the bottle 11 cannot be contaminated by external elements when the cover 16 is in the closed position.

THE Figures 5 and 6 schematically represent an adapter 30 for an injection gun according to one embodiment of the invention.
Such an adapter 30 makes it possible to connect a bottle 11 and its overcapping device 10 as shown in the Fig. 4 on an injection gun (not shown).

The lower part of this adapter 30 comprises a connecting interface 31, here a thread, allowing it to be screwed onto a receiving thread placed on the body of the gun so as to ensure the assembly of the adapter 30 on the body of the gun.

The lower end of this adapter 30 also has an opening 32 to allow the passage of a trocar mounted on the body of the injection gun in order to access the contents of the vial 11.

The adapter 30 also includes a body portion 33 extending from the connecting interface 31 toward its upper end for receiving and supporting the upper portion of the bottle 11.
This body part 33 comprises a flared part, the upper portion of which, the widest, is extended by a cylindrical portion to accommodate the main body of the bottle and the lower portion has a narrowing to accommodate the neck of the bottle, a shouldered portion joins the upper portion and the lower portion.

This body part 33 here comprises two foldable legs 34, 35 formed in one piece with the body part.

Each folding leg 34, 35 comprises a so-called proximal end 36 movable between at least one rest position and a release position reached by folding or pivoting the leg around an axis.

Each folding leg 34, 35 is intended to return to its initial position when it is released, the proximal end 36 of each leg 34, 35 comprising a locking member to come into support behind the main body of the overcapping device 10 in the rest position of this tab so as to block the bottle in position

Claims (15)

1. Outer cap device for a container having a neck, the opening of which is closed off by a closure device comprising a region (13) to be secured, this device being made of a single piece of plastic and comprising:

   - a main body (14) intended to be attached to the neck of the container, this main body (14) comprising an upper wall (18) having an opening which is intended to be placed facing this region (13) to be secured when the main body (14) is attached to the neck of this container so as to leave this region (13) to be secured freely accessible,

   - a cover (16) comprising an internal face (22) and an inner skirt (23) extending from this internal face (22), the internal face (22) being closed in line with this inner skirt (23), this inner skirt (23) being dimensioned to pass through the opening of the upper wall (18) of the main body (14) and surround the region (13) to be secured when the cover (16) is in the closed position,

   - holding means for locking the cover (16) in the closed position and allowing it to be unlocked in order to move into the open position, these holding means being configured to press the free end of the inner skirt (23) against the closure device when the cover (16) is in the closed position, so as to form a sealed barrier surrounding the region (13) to be secured in order to limit the exchanges between this region (13) to be secured and the single interior volume of the inner skirt (23).
2. Outer cap device according to claim 1, characterized in that this cover (16) is connected to the main body (14) by one or more hinges (15) so that it is articulated about an axis.
3. Outer cap device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cover (16) is made of a material which is more rigid than the material constituting the closure device, and this inner skirt (23) has a longitudinal axis and a longitudinal dimension ensuring compression of the closure device by the free end of the inner skirt (23), in the closed position of the cover (16), in order to create said sealed barrier.
4. Outer cap device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the inner skirt (23) of the cover (16) comprises, at its free end, a sealing device which is configured to collapse when pressed against said closure device in order to ensure sealing between this inner skirt (23) and this closure device and to return to its original shape, or substantially its original shape, when the cover (16) is in the open position.
5. Outer cap device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the interior volume of the skirt (23) defines a housing receiving a support soaked with at least one antiseptic agent, an air filtration element, a dehydrating agent, an RFID tag or a combination of these elements.
6. Outer cap device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
   characterized in that the main body (14) comprises an inner wall (20) extending from the top wall (18) and in that an annular retaining projection (21) extends radially from this inner wall (20).
7. Outer cap device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
   characterized in that the container neck comprises an external thread, and the main body (14) comprises an inner wall (20) extending from the upper wall (18), this inner wall comprising an internal thread for screwing the main body (14) onto this external thread of the container neck.
8. Outer cap device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a removable tab (17) for locking the cover (16) on the main body (14) in the closed position, this removable tab (17) being connected to the main body (14) and/or to the cover (16) by a line of least mechanical resistance so that the cover (16) can be released.
9. Outer cap device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said holding means comprise members for clipping the cover (16) onto the main body (14) of the cap, the members being arranged to ensure that the free end of the inner skirt (23) is pressed against the closure device when the cover (16) is in the closed position.
10. Container comprising a neck, characterized in that this neck is covered with an outer cap device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.
11. Container according to claim 10, characterized in that the neck of this container comprises an opening which is closed by a closure device having a region (13) to be secured, and this closure device is a self-sealing seal comprising a penetration region.
12. Use of the outer cap device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 to cap a container.
13. Assembly comprising a bottle according to claim 10 or 11 and a bottle adapter (30) having a connection interface (31), an opening (32) and a body portion (33) for receiving and supporting the upper portion of the bottle, characterized in that the body portion (33) has at least one foldable lug (34, 35) formed integrally with this body portion, said at least one foldable lug (34, 35) comprising a so-called proximal end (36) which is movable between at least a rest position and a release position reached by folding or pivoting the lug about an axis, said at least one lug (34, 35) being intended to return to its original position when released, the proximal end (36) of said at least one lug comprising a locking member for bearing behind the main body (14) of the outer cap device in the rest position of this lug so as to lock this bottle in position.
14. Assembly according to claim 13, characterized in that the connection interface (31) is configured to be joined to a connector of an injector gun.
15. Assembly according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that this body portion (33) of the adapter (30) has a flared shape, the cylindrical upper end of which has a diameter equal to or substantially equal to the diameter of the body of the bottle (11) in order to limit the lateral displacement of the bottle (11) relative to the body portion of the adapter.

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