Bottle with Sealing Insert
A hazardous materials containment bottle provides greater sealing against the environment by the combination of a funnel-like cone-shaped insert with a lid which includes a downward projecting stopper that mates with an aperture in the center of the insert. A second sealing point is provided by a circular rim at the top of the insert which is compressed between a ledge along the top of the bottle sidewall and the underside of the lid. A third sealing point is provided by a gasket between the outer circumference of the lid and a flange around the mouth of the bottle.
The present invention relates to containers for pharmaceutical products which require the greatest degree of isolation from the environment. More specifically it relates to a lid-mounted stopper which cooperates with a sealing insert that includes a central pour aperture.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONSome containment bottles used in the pharmaceutical industry are manufactured from heavy stainless steel to provide a near indestructible containment of fluids that may be hazardous to the environment or personnel. The closures require the tightest seal possible to prevent any leakage of the bottle contents. To this end, flanged end caps are secured by strong clamps to provide a high force for joining the end caps to the mouth of the bottles. An elastomeric ring seal is typically provided around the periphery of the mouth of the bottle and the inside face of the end cap. Such a container is disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,138 issued to Lin.
However, despite the high lid clamp force provided by bottles of this type, there still exists the possibility of leakage between the end cap and the seal ring gasket, or the gasket and the mouth of the bottle, or both. Furthermore, once the end cap has been removed, there is no restriction against the free flow of liquid out of the bottle should there be a spill condition in which a bottle is accidentally tipped over.
It is known that containers utilize inserts for controlling the admission or discharge of fluids from a bottle by use of a cone-shaped insert. In some cases, the insert is used as a funnel for introducing fluids which also provides spill prevention. In other cases, inserts are used as wipers for implements introduced into the bottle such as stirrers or brushes. Examples of these inserts are shown in the preceding U.S. patents. However, there is no known use of a scaling insert that cooperates with a lid-mounted stopper.
Therefore, there still exists in the art a need for a hazardous material containment bottle which provides superior sealing against the surrounding environment and which provides a degree of accidental spill prevention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn order to meet the needs of the art, the present invention has been devised which provides a triple seal containment system that prevents leakage of hazardous materials into the environment. Greater sealing is provided by the combination of a funnel-like cone-shaped insert that has a central aperture which cooperates with a stopper that projects downward from the inside of the end cap so that the aperture of the insert is closed when the lid is closed. This arrangement provides a preliminary seal ahead of the lid ring gasket. Yet another sealing point is provided by a circular rim at the top of the insert which is compressed between a ledge along the top of the bottle sidewall and the underside of the lid. These two additional sealing points together with the lid gasket provides a triple seal against any possible leakage.
More specifically the Applicant has invented a bottle comprising a body having a central containment space and an open circular mouth at the top encircled by a radially extending flange. An insert is tightly fitted along the mouth of the bottle with sides that extend from the internal sidewall of the bottle convergently downward to a central aperture of the insert. The lid has an underside which includes a downward projecting stopper in the center. The outside circumference of the tip of the stopper mates with the edge of the insert aperture to close the containment space off when the lid is closed.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
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A key feature of the invention is insert 14 that includes a rim 25 which will be described in more detail with regard to
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It should be understood by those skilled in the art from the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment that the invention provides many advantages including greater sealing and leak prevention over the prior art. Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A bottle, comprising:
- a body having an internal containment space and an open mouth at the top;
- an insert tightly fitted within the mouth of the bottle along an internal sidewall of the body and extending from a circumferential top edge convergently downward to a central aperture; and
- a lid having an underside including a downward projecting stopper in the center, a fingertip of said stopper being in seating relation with said insert aperture along an outside circumference of said fingertip whereby said containment space is closed thereby when the lid is in a closed position over the mouth of the bottle.
2. The bottle of claim 1 wherein said mouth is encircled by a radially outwardly extending flange of said body.
3. The bottle of claim 2 further including a clamp substantially encircling said flange and longitudinally compressing said lid against said body.
4. The bottle of claim 3 further including a rim extending upwardly from the top edge of said insert, said rim being compressed between an annular ledge along the inside wall of said containment space and the underside of said lid.
5. The bottle of claim 1 wherein the dimension of said insert aperture is selected such that the surface tension of a fluid within said containment space forms a bubble over the aperture when said bottle is inverted preventing the escape of said fluid through said insert aperture.
6. The bottle of claim 1 wherein said bottle is composed of stainless steel.
7. The bottle of claim 1 wherein said insert is composed of silicon.
8. The bottle of claim 1 wherein said insert is substantially cone-shaped in its free state that is dimensioned such that the sides of the insert bulge outwardly by the fitment of said insert within an annular recess along the internal side wall of said containment space.
9. The bottle of claim 1 wherein said stopper is unitary with said lid.
10. A bottle, comprising:
- a body having an internal containment space and an open mouth at the top;
- a substantially conical insert tightly fitted within the mouth of the bottle and extending from internal sidewalls of the body convergently downward to a spreadable slit at the bottom of the insert; and
- a lid having an underside including a downward projecting stopper in the center, a fingertip of said stopper being in seating relation with said insert slit along an outside circumference of said fingertip whereby said containment space is closed thereby when the lid is in a closed position on the bottle.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 24, 2008
Publication Date: May 27, 2010
Inventor: Joseph T. Cero, JR. (Telford, PA)
Application Number: 12/276,825