Flexible multi-compartment container with peelable seals and method for making same
First Claim
1. A flexible container comprising:
- a flexible front sheet;
a flexible rear sheet sealed to the front sheet along a common peripheral edge;
a first peelable seal extending between two sides of the common peripheral edge and separably joining the front and rear sheets to form a first compartment;
a second peelable seal extending between the two sides of the common peripheral edge and separably joining the front and rear sheets to form thereby a second compartment and a third compartment, said second compartment is intermediate the first and third compartments, wherein the peelable seals are rupturable by hydraulic pressure against the seal caused by manipulation of the container;
an opaque high-barrier protective film separably sealed to the front sheet, the covering sized to extend over one of the compartments, whereby the opaque high-barrier protective film contacts only a portion of the surface of the associated compartment, the strength of attachment of the high-barrier protective film being directly proportional to the area of surface contact;
a locking tab integrally formed and extending from an edge of the container; and
a mating receptacle integrally formed with an extending from the same edge of the container as said locking tab, wherein the container is folded-over adjacent the first peelable seal thereby moving the locking tab into position for engagement with the mating receptacle for securing the container in a folded-over condition.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A flexible container is provided for the storage and administration of medical solutions. The container incorporates a transparent front sheet made from a planar layer of a polymer and an opposing rear sheet. The rear sheet is made from a planar laminate layer. The front and rear sheets are sealed together along a common peripheral edge to form a volume enclosure. The volume enclosure is constructed of materials having high oxygen and moisture barrier properties which allows the container thermoplastic to be stored for extended periods of time without degrading the contents. The volume enclosure is then inflated with a pressurized gas to permanently stretch the front and rear sheets outwardly and to thereby increase the volume capacity of the container. An alternative embodiment of the container incorporates multiple compartments, separated by peelable seals, for containing a diluent and a medicament. The seals are ruptured by manipulation of the container to thereby mix the contents together for delivery through standard IV arrangement to a patient.
201 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A flexible container comprising:
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a flexible front sheet;
a flexible rear sheet sealed to the front sheet along a common peripheral edge;
a first peelable seal extending between two sides of the common peripheral edge and separably joining the front and rear sheets to form a first compartment;
a second peelable seal extending between the two sides of the common peripheral edge and separably joining the front and rear sheets to form thereby a second compartment and a third compartment, said second compartment is intermediate the first and third compartments, wherein the peelable seals are rupturable by hydraulic pressure against the seal caused by manipulation of the container;
an opaque high-barrier protective film separably sealed to the front sheet, the covering sized to extend over one of the compartments, whereby the opaque high-barrier protective film contacts only a portion of the surface of the associated compartment, the strength of attachment of the high-barrier protective film being directly proportional to the area of surface contact;
a locking tab integrally formed and extending from an edge of the container; and
a mating receptacle integrally formed with an extending from the same edge of the container as said locking tab, wherein the container is folded-over adjacent the first peelable seal thereby moving the locking tab into position for engagement with the mating receptacle for securing the container in a folded-over condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A flexible container for combined storage and administration, the container comprising:
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a flexible front sheet;
a flexible rear sheet sealed to the front sheet at a common peripheral edge;
a first peelable seal extending between two sides of the common peripheral edge and separably joining the front and rear sheets to form a first compartment; and
a second peelable seal extending between the two sides of the common peripheral edge and separably joining the front and rear sheets to form thereby a second compartment and a third compartment, the second compartment being intermediate the first compartment and the third compartment, wherein the peelable seals are constructed to provide a uniform resistance characteristic to hydraulic pressure against the seal caused by manipulation of the container, the uniform resistance characteristic causing the seal to peel at an applied pressure in the range of from about 3 to about 5 lbs per square inch. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A flexible container for combined storage and administration, the container comprising:
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a flexible rear sheet;
a flexible front sheet sealed to the rear sheet along a common peripheral edge;
a first peelable seal extending between two sides of the common peripheral edge and separably joining the front and rear sheets to form a first compartment;
a second peelable seal extending between the two sides of the common peripheral edge and separably joining the front and rear sheets to form thereby a second compartment and a third compartment, said second compartment is intermediate the first compartment and the third compartment; and
a third peelable seal extending between the two sides of the common peripheral edge and separably joining, the front and rear sheets to form thereby a sacrificial moisture vapor barrier compartment which is intermediate the first compartment and the second compartment. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A flexible container for separately storing and mixing multiple products, the container comprising:
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a multi-layer laminate rear sheet including an inner layer of a polypropylene-polyethylene co-polymer blended with a styrene ethylene-butylene styrene elastomer, an opaque high-barrier intermediate layer, and an outer high temperature resistant mold release layer;
a flexible front sheet constructed of a single layer film of a polypropylene-polyethylene co-polymer blended with styrene ethylene-butylene styrene elastomer in an about 80%/20% wt/wt ratio interfacing with the rear sheet, the front sheet sealed to the rear sheet along a common peripheral edge;
at least two peelable seals extending between two parallel sides of the common peripheral edge and separably joining the front and rear sheets to define at least three compartments in the container including a first compartment containing a first product and a second compartment containing a second product; and
an opaque high-barrier protective film separately sealed to a clear high-barrier laminate film, the opaque film sized to extend over the high-barrier laminate film and the high-barrier laminate film sized to extend over the second compartment. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A flexible container for combined storage and administration of multiple products, the flexible container comprising:
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a final configuration comprising;
a flexible rear sheet;
a flexible front sheet sealed to the rear sheet along at least a portion of a common peripheral edge;
a first peelable seal extending between two sides of the common peripheral edge and separably joining the front and rear sheets to form a first compartment containing a first product, the first peelable seal being peelable to separate the joined front and rear sheets at the first peelable seal;
a second peelable seal extending between the two sides of the common peripheral edge and separably joining the front and rear sheets to form thereby an outlet compartment and a second compartment containing a second product;
the second compartment being intermediate the outlet compartment and the first compartment and the second peelable seal being peelable to separate the joined front and rear sheets at the second peelable seal;
an opaque high-barrier protective film peelably affixed to the front sheet and sized to extend over at least a portion of the second compartment; and
a first configuration comprising;
a first sacrificial port attached to the flexible front sheet and flexible rear sheet and in fluid communication along a first fluid path with the first compartment for filling the first compartment with the first product; and
a second sacrificial port attached to the flexible front sheet and flexible rear sheet and in fluid communication along a second fluid path with the second compartment for filling the second compartment with the second product; and
wherein at least a portion of the first sacrificial port and at least a portion of the second sacrificial port are separated from the flexible front sheet and flexible rear sheet and the first fluid path and the second fluid path are sealed to produce the final configuration. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification