Plug and Outer Cap for Closing a Container

In French Pat. No. 85 06351 published under No. 2,581,036 there has been described a plug for closing containers such as tubes or flasks, and particularly containers for pharmaceutical products, this plug being made of two elements providing both a protection against ambient atmosphere and a burglar-proof character for the container.

The plug thus defined includes a lower tubular element penetrating into the tubular portion of the container and being prolongated, at its upper portion, by a plane horizontal wall forming a lid, this plane horizontal wall having on its peripheral outer edge a flared out portion or a ring cooperating with recesses or bulges arranged on the inner portion of the cap or of the skirt of the outer cap placed on the container and providing for the burglar-proof character.

Now, it has been found that such plugs met perfectly the standards in force for the closing of containers containing pharmaceutical products when presented in the shape of small spheres as homeopathic pharmaceuticals, so that these homeopathic pharmaceuticals could be taken from inside the container without being touched in order to retain all their efficiency.

However, the patient finds it very difficult to place, in the lower tubular element forming a plug, the exact prescribed number of granules, for example two or three granules, and, therefore, the patient is led to handle several times the lower tubular element and risks to loose a part of the granules contained therein.

An object of the present invention is to remedy these disadvantages by providing an inner tubular element of the plug, with the upper face formed with three pockets or cells while the lower face is formed with two cells, thereby allowing maintaining temporarily the number of granules necessary since, even if the patient has taken out more than two or three granules, he can easily reintroduce the granules in excess in the container, so that the two or three necessary granules remain in the bottom of the plug inner tubular element by being maintained by the cells.

According to the invention, a plug which provides for the closing of containers such as tubes and flasks, particularly containers for pharmaceutical granules, is made of two portions providing respectively for a protection against ambient atmosphere and a burglar-proof character of the container, includes a lower tubular element penetrating into the upper portion of the container and an upper element provided for being covered by an outer cap and formed on its peripheral outer edge with a flared out portion or ring cooperating with recesses beads or bulges placed on an inner portion of the cap, and wherein a bottom of the tubular element is formed with cells, and a top of the upper element is formed with an upper circular recess having cells, the cells being provided for temporarily retaining pharmaceutical granules in order to facilitate an intake of drugs in a shape of small spheres and particularly homeopathic drugs.

Various other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description.

Embodiments of the invention are shown by way of non limiting examples in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diametrical cross-sectional elevation view of a first embodiment of the outer cap for a plug according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view, partly in cross-section, of a plug used with the cap of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diametrical cross-sectional elevation view of a second embodiment of the outer cap;

FIG. 4 is an elevation view partly in cross-section of a second embodiment of the plug;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the plug;

FIG. 6 is a view of the plug from underneath.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a diametrical sectional view of an outer cap 1 which is composed of a tubular element closed at its upper portion by a top 2 having in the present case an outer circular edge 3 thus defining in the middle of top 2, a space 4 which can receive for example a circular label with an indication of the product contained in the container, which can be a flask or a tube.

The container, once filled and sometimes subjected to a treatment drying up the atmosphere of the tube or flask, is closed by a plug 5 (FIG. 2) made of a horizontal plane surface 6 prolongated at its lower portion by a skirt 7 of a slightly frustoconical outer shape which facilitates its engagement inside the tube or neck of the flask.

The plane surface 6 is prolongated by an overthickness 6a with flared out peripheral edges 6b coming to rest on the top of the tube or of the neck of the flask, thereby ensuring tightness of the container with respect to the outer atmosphere.

Moreover, the flared out peripheral edge 6b of the plug 5 cooperates with inner recesses or beads 8 placed in the present case at 90.degree. with respect to each other and formed in the inner wall of the upper cap. The recesses or beads 8 are formed by molding when the cap is made of a moldable plastic material. When the plug 5 is in position on the container and by engaging the outer cap 1 on the upper portion of the container, the flared out peripheral edge 6b, by a slight deformation thereof, is positioned between the bottom of the top 2 and the upper portion of the inner recesses or beads 8.

There is thus obtained a perfectly tight closing of the container which contains for example a homeopathic drug.

The validity period of the drug is thus lengthened since the container walls are opaque and form a barrier against noxious radiations.

For opening the container, one pulls the outer cap 1, leaving the plug 5 in position since the peripheral edge 6b gets disengaged from the inner recesses or beads 8. Actually, the maintenance force of the skirt 7 of the plug 5 inside the container is higher than the resistance of the edge 6b with respect to the inner recesses or beads 8 of the cap 1.

Once the cap 1 has been removed, the plug 5 is manually taken away by hand. The reverse operation is made for closing the flask.

In FIG. 3, the cylindrical shaped cap 10 is formed with a horizontal top 11 with a periphery bounded by a skirt 12 as in the previous case; the top 11 includes also a circular edge 13 defining a space 14.

Inside, the skirt 12 is formed, in its upper portion, with bulges 15 disposed in the present case at 90.degree. with respect to one another in order to encompass the plug 17 having a lower tubular portion 17a (FIG. 4) for penetrating into the neck of the flask or into the top of the tube. The bulges 15 (as well as the recesses or beads 8 of FIG. 1) can be disposed at will at 90.degree., 120.degree. or 180.degree. with respect to one another.

As in the preceding case, the plug 17 is supplied by being rigidly connected to the cap 10 so that the plug 17 and cap 10 can be put in position on the container in a single operation, thereby saving a lot of time and allowing also to realize a closing of the container with an automated machine.

The operation of this closure is identical to that described for the previous case of FIGS. 1 and 2.

In both cases, when opening the container and due to the fit between the flared out edge 6b(plug 5) and the inner recesses or beads 8 of the cap 1, or between the ring or rings 19 and the bulges 15 (cap 10, plug 17), each cap 1 or 10 is disconnected from the container before the plug 5 or 17 (which is imparted with a higher disengagement resistance) is extracted from the tube or flask, and there is therefore no risk of inadvertently spilling the products contained in the tube or flask.

The caps and plugs hereabove described are made of any convenient material, compatible with the container and the product to be protected, but in general they are made of natural or synthetic plastic materials by molding so as to obtain products of a very good quality.

Also and according to the invention, the base of the lower tubular portions 7, 17a of the plugs 5, 17 of the preceding figures is recessed at 30 and is formed with cells 31, 32 as best shown in FIG. 6.

The upper portions 7b, 17b of the same plugs are also formed with an upper circular recess 34 (FIG. 5) containing three cells 35, 36, 37.

In FIG. 4, a periphery of the upper portion of the plug 17 includes one or several rings 19 for cooperating with the outer skirt 12.

For ensuring a better tightness of the plug 17 in the flask neck or on the tube upper portion, it is also possible to provide rings of triangular section 38.

Moreover, it is possible to make, around the cells 31, 32, 35, 36 and 37, an edge or rim 38' (FIG. 6) for retaining the small spheres forming each one an element of the intake of a drug in consideration.

The present invention is, of course, in no way restricted to the specific disclosure of the specification and drawing, but also encompasses any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.