CLOSURE FOR CONTAINER FOR HOLDING BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES

• US 20090273121A1
• Filed: 07/09/2009
• Published: 11/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Abbott Molecular Incorporated (Abbott Laboratories)
• Original Assignee: Abbott Laboratories
• Inventors: Haapala, Keith A., Pavlovic, Erin Kim, Welk, Joseph F.
• Granted Patent: US 8,034,272 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 264/334
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/12 Specific details about manufacturing devices
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/044 pierceable, e.g. films, membranes
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/50825 Closing or opening means, corks, bungs closures for containers B65D; means for removing stoppers B67B7/02
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 45/14024 and punching or cutting a portion from the endless articles during mould closing
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 45/1671 with an insert
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/565 for containers
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 51/002 Closures to be pierced by an extracting-device for the contents and fixed on the container by separate retaining means
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/1079 with means for piercing stoppers or septums

Abstract

A closure for a container, e.g., a tube, for a sample, e.g., a biological sample. The closure comprises a cap having a first opening and a second opening, the first opening capable of communicating with the mouth of a container, the second opening sealed by an exterior seal, and intermediate the first opening and the exterior seal, an interior seal. The invention also provides an assembly comprising the closure of this invention and a container. The invention also provides a method for preparing the closure.

Claims

1. A method for preparing a closure, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing an apparatus having a mold zone, the mold zone comprising a molding unit, said molding unit comprising (1) at least one cavity half and at least one core half, the at least one cavity half comprising a mold cavity, and the at least one core half comprising a mold core, (2) a punch, and (3) a die;

(b) providing a web comprising a material for preparing the interior seal of the closure;

(c) indexing a portion of the web to the mold zone, so that the punch and the die are aligned with the portion of the web in the molding unit;

(d) closing the molding unit, thereby enabling the punch and the die to cut the material of the web for forming the interior seal of the closure;

(e) allowing the cut material of the web to be maintained on the mold core until the termination of a first molding cycle;

(f) introducing polymeric material into the closed molding unit, so as to allow the cut material of the web to adhere to the polymeric material introduced into the closed molding unit;

(g) opening the molding unit while allowing the assembly of the cap and the interior seal of the closure to remain on the mold core;

(h) positioning the mold core to enable introduction of polymeric material into the molding unit so as to form the exterior seal of the closure in a second molding cycle;

(i) closing the molding unit;

(j) introducing polymeric material into the closed molding unit; and

(k) opening the molding unit and removing the closure from the mold core.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said molding unit comprises a plurality of core halves and a plurality of cavity halves.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said molding unit comprises a first cavity half, a second cavity half, a first core half, and a second core half, and said first core half and said second core half switch positions after the first molding cycle and before the second molding cycle.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said polymeric materials are introduced into said molding unit by injection.