REDUCER FOR A SYRINGE

Technical field

The present invention relates to a reducer applicable to an opening of a container.

Such reducer defines a concavity adapted to house a portion of a syringe doser. Typically a syringe doser is used to facilitate the administration of pharmaceutical products by mouth to a child. On the bottom of the concavity there is a hole so as to allow the product placed in the container to be collected through the syringe doser. The syringe doser comprises a piston and a hollow body that acts as a guide for the piston and that houses the product collected.

Once the product has been collected, the syringe doser is removed from the concavity and partially introduced into the child's mouth.

Background art

A drawback of this construction solution is connected with the fact that during the collection of the product a depression is generated in the container. This attracts external air into the hollow body of the syringe doser through an annular seal between a piston and an internal cylindrical wall of the hollow body along which the piston moves; therefore the air enters not from the head end of the hollow body (where there is a hole for collecting the product) but from the opposite end of the hollow body. This means that inside the syringe doser, together with the collected product, there is an undesired excess of air.

Disclosure of the invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a reducer that allows the excess air inside the syringe doser to be removed.

The defined technical task and the specified aims are substantially achieved by a reducer comprising the technical characteristics set forth in one or more of the appended claims.

Brief description of drawings Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following indicative and therefore non- limiting description of a reducer as illustrated in the appended drawings, in which:

-figure 1 shows a perspective view of a reducer according to the present invention;

-figure 2 shows a partially sectional view of the reducer of figure 1 ;

-figure 3 shows the reducer according to the present invention connected to a syringe doser;

-figure 4 shows a sectional view of an alternative solution of a reducer according to the present invention.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention

In the accompanying figures, reference number 1 denotes a reducer applicable to an opening of a container.

Typically such container contains a liquid or viscous product, preferably for pharmaceutical applications. In fact, the reducer 1 is advantageously associated with containers of products intended for children, for example syrups. On this point, the reducer 1 comprises a perimeter annular groove 6 for coupling with a mouth of the container. Such groove 6 is typically circular.

The reducer 1 identifies a seat 2. The seat 2 comprises a bottom 21 and a lateral flank 22 (preferably cylindrical). They define a concavity 20 intended to house a portion of a syringe doser. The bottom 21 has an opening 210 adapted to allow the passage (or rather the collection through the syringe doser) of a fluid present in the container. In fact, the opening 210 allows the inlet of the fluid to be dispensed into the seat 2 for collection by the syringe doser.

The reducer 1 further comprises an annular fluid dynamic sealing structure placed on the bottom 21 and surrounding the opening 210. In particular, the annular structure is in a single body with the remaining parts of the bottom 21 . Appropriately the reducer 1 is a single monolithic body. Appropriately, the annular groove 6 surrounds the concavity 20. It is preferably coaxial with the concavity 20.

The reducer 1 comprises a passage 3 intended to allow the inlet of air into the container. This enables compensation for the depressurisation induced in the container by the aspiration of fluid by the syringe doser.

The passage 3 is outside the concavity 20. The passage 3 allows the reducer 1 to be crossed for placing the inside and the outside of the container in fluid communication. Therefore, the passage 3 does not contribute to defining the seat 2. As can be seen from the drawings, the fluid communication between the passage 3 and the seat 2 is only possible by passing outside the reducer 1 .

The passage 3 comprises an inlet section 31 for the entry of air into said passage 3 and an outlet section 32 for the exit of air from said passage 3. The outlet section 32 for the exit of air from said passage 3 is intended to terminate in the container. In other words, the reducer 1 has opposite ends along the axial development thereof; at one of such ends intended to be placed inside the container, the outlet section 32 is located for the exit of the air from the passage 3. Appropriately, the outlet section 32 is closer to an end of the reducer intended to be placed inside the container with respect to an inlet of a channel for the extraction of the product from the container that terminates in the seat 2.

The seat 2 defines an axial insertion/extraction direction 24 of the syringe doser with respect to the concavity 20. A first and a second imaginary plane 41 , 42 are defined, orthogonal to said axial direction 24 and passing through a mouth 23 to insert the syringe doser into the concavity 20 and through the outlet section 32 of said passage 3, respectively. The mouth 23 for the insertion of the syringe doser is opposite the bottom 21 . The bottom 21 is interposed between the first and the second imaginary plane 41 , 42. Appropriately, a cylindrical axis of symmetry 240 of the seat 2 can be identified. The bottom 21 is interposed between the orthogonal projection of the outlet section 32 along the axis 240 and the mouth 23 for inserting the syringe doser.

In other words, when the reducer 1 is mounted on a mouth of the container facing upwards, the outlet section 32 of the passage 3 is further down than the bottom 21 (as in figure 2 or 4). In this way, the air that enters into the container through the outlet section 32 is further down than the bottom 21 . By overturning the container to bring the fluid to the opening 210 and extract it through the doser, the section 32 is higher up than the bottom 21 . The air that enters through the section 32 tends to move upwards, away from the underlying opening 210. In this way, there is no risk of air entering the syringe doser.

The reducer 1 comprises a first and a second annular surface 43, 44 that are opposite one another (facing opposite sides) and between which the reducer 1 extends axially.

As exemplified at least in figures 1 and 2, the inlet section 31 of the passage 3 is obtained in the first annular surface 43 and the outlet section 32 of said passage is obtained in the second annular surface 44.

In figures 1 and 2 the passage 3 is a conduit.

As is instead exemplified in figure 4, the reducer 1 appropriately comprises a recess 5 outside the seat 2. The passage 3 traverses the thickness of a base 50 of said recess 5. In figure 4 the passage 3 is a hole. In that case the inlet and outlet sections 31 and 32 may also be much closer together, or even coinciding.

Preferably, at least one portion of the orthogonal section of said passage 3 has a surface area of less than 2 mm ² . In this way, sufficiently dense fluids cannot exit the container, even if the same is overturned. In other words, the density of the fluid and the reduced section of the passage 3 prevent the passage of fluid through the passage 3 under the action of the force of gravity.

Appropriately, the passage 3 comprises a narrowing 30. The aim of this is to minimise the risk of fluid exiting the container through the passage 3. In fact, it is to be noted that the exit of fluid is envisaged through the opening 210 located on the bottom 21 .

Appropriately, the passage section of the opening 210 has a surface area that is 4 times the surface area of the minimum crossing section of the passage 3.

The reducer 1 (solution not illustrated) may comprise a valve located along the passage 3. Such valve is movable between an open configuration and a closed configuration. Such valve is normally closed and opens upon the application of a depression greater than a predetermined threshold inside the container. Advantageously, the valve is in a single body with the parts surrounding the reducer 1 . As exemplified in the appended figures, the opening 210 cannot, on the other hand, be closed by a valve.

The object of the present invention is also a system comprising:

-a container 10 containing the fluid;

-a reducer 1 having one or more of the characteristics described above. The passage 3 places in fluid communication the inside and the outside of the container 10 by traversing said reducer 1 . As indicated above, this allows the depressurisation of the container 10 to be prevented during the dispensing of the fluid contained in the container 10. In fact, the dispensing of the fluid in the container 10 is accompanied by the entry of air through the passage 3.

The subject matter of the present invention is also a kit comprising:

i) a reducer 1 having one or more of the characteristics described above; ii) a syringe doser 1 1 .

The a syringe doser 1 1 comprises a piston 12 and a hollow body 13 for guiding said piston 12 intended to house the product collected by the syringe doser 1 1 . The hollow body 13 in turn comprises:

- a lateral wall 131 ;

- a head end 132 equipped with a hole 133 for collecting the product.

In an operating configuration (for dispensing the fluid contained in the container by means of the doser 1 1 ) the lateral wall 131 is in contact with the lateral flank 22 while the head end 132 is abutted by said bottom 21 . The method for dispensing the fluid from said container is advantageously as follows:

-overturning the container 10 positioning the reducer 1 connected thereto downwards (relative to the container 10);

-extracting the piston 12 from the hollow body 13 aspirating the fluid from the container 10 to the hollow body 13 through the opening 210;

-recalling air from the outside of the container 10 to the inside thereof by said passage 3.

Appropriately, the step of recalling air occurs at the same time as the step of extracting the piston 12.

Following the step of recalling air, the air bubbles are directed upwards, away from the reducer 1 . In this way, the risk of the air bubbles aspired into the container 10 being aspired into the syringe doser 1 1 is minimised. The present invention provides important advantages.

Above all, it allows the presence of air in the syringe to be minimised after collecting the product from the container to which the reducer is applied. In fact, the precautions adopted allow the depression generated by the piston to attract air into the container through the passage 3.

This prevents the depression generated causing the inlet of air through the fluid dynamic seal between the piston and the hollow body.

The invention as it is conceived is susceptible to numerous modifications and variants, all falling within the scope of the inventive concept characterising it. Further, all the details can be replaced with other technically-equivalent elements. In practice, all the materials used, as well as the dimensions, can be any according to requirements.