<div class="application article clearfix" id="description">
<p class="printTableText" lang="en">New Zealand No 292191 International No PCT/FR95/01166 <br><br>
TO BE ENTERED AFTER ACCEPTANCE AND PUBLICATION <br><br>
Priority dates 12 09 1994, <br><br>
Complete Specification Filed 12 091995 <br><br>
Classification (6) A61F6/00 <br><br>
Publication date 29 April 1999 <br><br>
Journal No 1439 <br><br>
NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953 <br><br>
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION <br><br>
Title of Invention Condom packaging case <br><br>
Name, address and nationality of applicant(s) as in international application form <br><br>
PISTRILOOK, 143 rue de Saussure, F-75017 Paris, France <br><br>
2921 <br><br>
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PACKAGING CASE FOR CONDOMS \ - *" B-226 ;The present invention relates to a tight, tamper-5 resistant and non-reusable packaging case for condoms. ;Known in the field of unit condom packaging are primarily bags consisting of two composite foils facing one another, both of which generally have an aluminum base 10 ami plastic material and are heat-sealed around each condom, preferably along rectilinear weld lines perpendicular to each other. ;All of these unit packaging bags have one or more of 15 the following drawbacks : ;- their tightness depends on the pressure exerted against their wall by any sharp object ; ;20 - maintenance of the integrity of the latex of which the condom consists depends also on the proximity of any sharp object, but above all on the precautions taken m tearing open the composite foils and extracting the condom m such a way that the latter does not come in contact 25 with the aluminum or metal foils ; ;- in the case of bags, which is by far the most common form of packaging, the condom is removed in an arbitrary fashion, either in the "good" direction which ;30 makes it possible to take hold of it by the reservoir --hereinafter referred to as "cap" --in order to expel the air directly, or in the reverse direction, which involves an additional tedious manipulation as well as errors of usage, causing stains on the outer surface of the 35 condoms ; ;2921 9 ;2 ;- also, in the case of bags, current production methods do not permit centering the trade name on the heat-sealed product, nor even put the legally required ;5 labelling on the material ; ;- the cost price of certain packagmgs is very high ;The object of the present invention is to remedy the 10 aforementioned drawbacks by providing a condom packaging case whose tightness and strength guarantee perfect preservation of the condom under all circumstances , which, when opened, releases the condom m the "good" direction so that one can take hold of it by expelling the 15 air through simple pressure of the thumb and index finger and without any risk of deterioration of the latex • which makes it possible to center any imprint on its two faces ; and the cost of which remains low. ;20 In accordance with the invention, the case is of the tight, tamper-resistant and non-reusable type. ;According to an essential characteristic feature of the invention, the case comprises a body and a cover 25 connected by a lateral joint, consisting of a plastic material and integrally molded together, said body comprising an annular recess having a base, an outer wall of slight taper and an inner wall of high taper terminated by a central stiffening bossing, said annular recess being 30 designed for housing the torus of the condom, and the inner wall of high taper being designed to support the inner surface of the condom, connecting the torus of the condom with the latter's terminal cap, said cap being accommodated between the bossing and the cover when the 35 case is in the closed position. ;2921 ;According to another characteristic feature of the invention, the body comprises an outwardly projecting peripheral edge and a peripheral lip projecting above the 5 annular recess and surrounding the latter, the cover comprising an outwardly projecting peripheral edge and a peripheral groove of the same diameter as the lip and designed to cooperate with the latter to form a fine tight peripheral weld line during the closing operation of the 10 case, said peripheral edges being separated by a short distance when the case is m the closed position. ;According to yet another characteristic feature of the invention, the body comprises a cylindrical basin 15 delimited by the lower face of the central bossing and the inner surface of the inner wall of the annular recess and comprises a lid designed to close the basin, and a second lateral joint connecting the lid and the body and integrally molded with the latter. The lid preferably has 20 a peripheral lip projecting perpendicularly to the local surface of the lid and having a slight undercut on its outer face, while the inner peripheral face of the basin is perpendicular to the local surface of the bossing and also has a slight undercut, said two undercuts cooperating 25 m order that the closing of the basin by the lid be effected with firm interlocking to form a tight complementary reservoir. ;According to a preferred embodiment, the closed case 30 has the appearance of a circular disk having plane and parallel faces connected by a rounded outer surface of the tone type. ;Other characteristics and advantages of the invention 35 will be better visualized on the basis of the following ;2921 ;4 ;description of several possible erabodiments, presented m connection with the appended drawings in which : ;Fig. 1 is a plain view of a preferred embodiment of 5 the case according to the invention, integrally molded ; ;Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view along the plane of symmetry X-X of the case shown m Fig. 1 ; ;10 Fig. 3 shows, on an enlarged scale, a cross-sectional view along the same axis of the closed case and containing a condom represented schematically • ;Fig.4 is a front view of the closed case shown in 15 Fig. 3, and ;Fig. 5 is a rear view of the closed case shown in Fig. 3. ;20 In these figures, the same reference numbers denote the same elements ;Referring to all these figures together, the condom packaging case according to the invention is of the tight, 25 tamper-resistant and non-reusable type. ;According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the case comprises, in particular, a body 1 and a cover 2 connected by a lateral joint 3, these three components 30 consisting of a plastic material, preferably a polypropylene- or polyethylene-based plastic, and being integrally molded together. ;The body 1 comprises an annular recess 4 having a 35 base 5, an outer wall 6 of slight taper, and an inner wall ;2921 ;5 ;7 which is mc] ined or has a high taper and is terminated by a central stiffening bossing 8. The annular recess 4 is designed to accommodate the torus 9 of a condom 10, as will be explained in detail below ;5 ;According to an essential feature of the invention, the inner conical wall 7 of nigh taper is designed to support the inner surface 11 of the condom, which connects the torus 9 with the terminal cap 12 of said condom, the 10 cap 12 being situated between the bossing 8 and the cover 2 when the case is in the closed position. ;Actually, the indication of the inner wall 7 and the dimensions of the annular recess 4 are designed in such a 15 way that said wall 7 freely supports the torus 9 of the condom via its inner surface 11, said torus thus being floatmgly suspended in the annular recess 4. ;Under these conditions, when the cover 2 is abruptly 20 lowered onto the body 1 during one of the production-line operations, the air contained in the cap 12 is violently expelled around the central bossing 8 and its peripheral flow can take place freely, first between the inner surface 11 of the condom and the inner wall 7, then 25 between the floating torus 9 and the base 5, as well as the outer wall 6 of the annular recess 4, without thereby resulting any lateral displacement of said torus 9 with respect to said annular recess 4. ;30 In accordance with another feature of the invention, ;the body 1 comprises an outwardmg projecting peripheral edge 13 in the prolongation of said body 1 and a peripheral lip 14 projecting above the annular recess 4 and surrounding the latter, while the cover 2 comprises a 35 peripheral edge 15 projecting outwardly in the ;292 1 ;6 ;prolongation ot said cover 2 and a peripheral groove 16 of the same diameter as the lip 14 of the body 1 It is obvious that the lip 14 and the associated groove 16 may be linked m a tight manner by any heating or adhesive 5 means, and the groove may even be replaced by a second projecting lip exactly opposite the lip 14 to form the tight and tamper-resistant receptacle designed for the condom. ;10 However, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the grcove 16 of the cover 2 is designed to cooperate with lip 14 of the body 1 to form a thin and tight peripheral weld line 17 during the operation of closing the case, so as to make the latter not only tight 15 but also tamper-resistant, as indicated above. ;According to a preferred method of operation, the cover 2 is subjected to the vibrations produced by an ultrasonic head while the body 1 remains fixed, which 20 causes a highly localized temperature rise and the formation of the aformentioned weld seam 17 without any risk of deterioration of the latex of the torus 9 situated near-by, as might be the case with other modes of welding. ;25 In the present case, it may be considered that the ultrasonic welding is of the spot-reverse spot type, the groove 16 being capable of presenting a re-entrant angle of about 90° and the lip 14 a saliant angle of about 60°, the opening of the angle of groove 16 permitting a better 30 flow of the fusing material. However, studies which led to this invention have shown that it was equally desirable to consider on the tip of lip 14 a small outwardly proj'ectmg lateral part (not shown) and play upon the flexibility of the lip in order to obtain a better weld seam. ;35 ;2921 9 ;7 ;It should be noted that when the case is welded as indicated above, the peripheral edges 13 and 15 remain separated by a short distance 18 Preferably, each of the two outwardly projecting edges has an integrally molded 5 part that is undercut toward the interior, the undercut parts 19 and 2 0 of the two edges 13 and 15, respectively, being arranged essentially opposite the lateral joint 3, at the same distance from the axis of symmetry 21 of the case passing through said joint 3, and symmetrically with lO respect to this axis 21 ;As a result, the non-undercut parts situated opposite the undercut parts 19 and 20 form two separate miters 22 and 2 3 symmetrical with respect to the axis 21. These 15 miters constitute a possible means of opening the case by permitting to tear the weld seam 17 and separate the cover 2 from the body 1 against the resistance of said weld seam i7, thereby making the case non-reusable In effect, if it contains a condom and is not welded or closed m a manner 20 other than indicated, the case can no longer close in a normal fashion due to the fact that the latex of the terminal cap 12 and the air present in the latter offer an elastic resistance to any closing pressure and cause the separation of the cover 2 from the body 1 as soon as this 25 pressure is no longer applied. ;According to another feature of the invention, the fact of separating the cover 2 from the body 1 during the first opening of the case by tearing the adhesive strip or 30 tight welding seam 17, makes the terminal cap 12 rise up, thereby making it possible to immediately take hold of said cap 12 in the "good" direction in order to expel the air from it before use. Moreover, the outer part of the terminal cap 12 is normally lubricated before the ;29219 ;8 ;operations of closing and welding the case , the lubricant may be, e.g., one based on alimentary silicone ;According to yet another essential feature of the 5 invention, the body 1 comprises a cylindrical basin 24 delimited by the lower face 2 5 of the central bossing 8 and the inner face 2 6 of the inner wall 7 of the annular recess 4, and comprises a lid 27 designed to close the basin 24, as well as a second lateral joint 28 connecting 10 the lid 27 with the body 1 and integrally molded with the latter. ;The lid 27 comprises a peripheral lip 29 projecting perpendicularly to the local surface of the lid 27 and 15 having a slight undercut on its outer surface 30, while the inner peripheral surface 26 of the basin 24 is perpendicular to the local surface of the bossing 8 and also has a slight undercut, these two undercuts cooperating m order that the closing of the basin 24 by 20 the lid 27 takes place with firm interlocking m order to form a tight complementary reservoir. ;This reservoir may contain, e.g., either a thin folded hygienic bag designed to receive the condom after 25 use, or a complementary lubricating gel which may or not be aromatized or may or may not be colored. ;Moreover, the lid 27 preferably comprises a thin peripheral edge 31 projecting outwardly in the 30 prolongation of said lid and whose part opposite the second joint 28, at least, is bevelled and cooperates with a small concave zone 32 arranged on the edge of the basin 24 to form a miter 33 of separation of the lid 27 from the basin 24. Obviously, other means of opening the 35 complementary reservoir may be considered. ;2921 9 ;9 ;When closed, the case advantageously has an ellipsoid or hyperboloid-of-revolution shape xn which the bossing 8 may be plane, convex or concave ;5 ;However, according to a preferred embodiment, the closed case simply has the general shape of a circular disk of plane and parallel faces connected by a rounded external surface of the tone type. Likewise, by 10 preference, the peripheral edges 13 and 15 of the body 1 and the cover 2, which are separated by a short distance 18, are generally plane ;Moreover, the bossing 8 is preferably plane, so that 15 the basin 24 forms, with the lid 27, a right cylindrical reservoir. ;According to another characteristic of the invention, the lid 27 does not project from the surface of the body 20 1, and, consequently, a label indicating tamper-resistance of the reservoir may be stuck both on said surface and on the lid This label will preferably include the complete directions for use with all the legally required indications. ;25 ;By contrast, the lid 2 of the case may be used as an advertising medium for a stuck-on label or for a presentation obtained by stamping or otherwise. Apart from its obvious commercial interest, such advertising will 30 lead the user to open the case in the "good" direction, i.e., with the advertisement and hence cover 2 above and with the directions-for-use label and, hence, lid 27 and the complementary reservoir below. Under these conditions, the user will have no difficulty in taking hold of the ;2921 ;10 ;condom 10 by its cerminal cap 12 to expel the air from it before use. ;Moreover, o number of cases according to the 5 invention may be molded on a mass scale in a known manner, then separated from each other by elimination of the sprues and other external elements. Furthermore, each of the three basic members connected by the two joints 3 and 28, i.e. the cover 2, the body 1 and the lid 27, may have 10 a face situated in a plane (not shown) common to these three members. ;It should be understood that the present invention has been described and represented only for explanatory 15 purposes and by no means m a limitative sense, and any usefx*; edification may be brought to it, particularly in the area of equivalent techniques, without departing from its scope. <br><br>
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