Sterile container having a closure system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11504204-B2
Application number	US-201816495016-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 16, 2018
Priority date	Apr 20, 2017
Publication date	Nov 22, 2022
Grant date	Nov 22, 2022

Abstract

A medical or surgical sterile container includes a first container part, a second container part, and at least one closure system arranged on the second container part which is pivotable between a closed position, in which the first container part and the second container part are locked to each other by the closure system, and an open position, in which the first container part and the second container part are unlocked. The first container part has an integrally formed edge portion on which the closure system is immediately supported in the closed position, for transferring a closing force of the first container part to the second container part.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A medical or surgical sterile container comprising a first container part that is a container trough and a second container part that is a container lid, and having at least one closure system comprising a toggle lever arranged on the second container part which is pivotable between a closed position, in which the first container part and the second container part are locked to each other by the at least one closure system, and an open position, in which the first container part and the second container part are unlocked, wherein the first container part has an edge portion that is integrally formed in one piece of material with the first container part on which the at least one closure system is immediately supported in the closed position, for transferring a closing force of the first container part to the second container part, and wherein the at least one closure system is designed such that one arm of the toggle lever is adapted to be pivoted beyond a bottom dead center of an elastic prestress against a side wall of the first container part, thus enabling the closure system to lock itself.

2. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 1 , wherein the edge portion forms a container-contour portion which defines an undercut, and the at least one closure system has a closure-contour portion which is formed to be complementary to the undercut of the container-contour portion in order to flatly abut on the container-contour portion in the area of the undercut and to engage in a form-fitting manner and to securely lock the first and the second container part together in the closed position.

3. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one closure system is attached to the second container part by a closure base, and the closure base has formed therein a first pivot joint with a first pivot axis, to which a closure flap is pivotably attached, and the closure flap comprises a second pivot joint with a second pivot axis, to which a closure lever is pivotably connected, and the closure lever is at an end region supported on the edge portion of the first container part, in order to receive a closing force of the at least one closure system in the closed position and to securely lock the first container part and the second container part together.

4. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 3 , wherein the first pivot joint and/or the second pivot joint of the at least one closure system is formed by an elastic portion.

5. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 3 , wherein the first pivot joint and/or the second pivot joint of the at least one closure system is formed by a hinge.

6. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 3 , wherein the at least one closure system is prepared to accommodate a seal which fixes the closure flap with the closure lever rigidly together when sealing in the closed position in order to secure the at least one closure system against accidental opening in this way.

7. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 6 , wherein the seal only engages the closure flap and the closure lever without requiring a connection to the first container part or the second container part.

8. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 3 , wherein a pivoting movement of the closure flap relative to the closure base and/or a pivoting movement of the closure lever relative to the closure flap is limited by a stop to allow simple and efficient locking.

9. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 3 , wherein a spring element is provided between the closure lever and the closure-contour portion, wherein the spring element in the closed position pre-stresses the at least one closure system against the first container part in order to secure the at least one closure system against unintentional opening, to implement an integrated valve function against an inadmissible internal pressure of the medical or surgical sterile container, and to ensure tolerance compensation.

10. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 3 , wherein the closure flap and the closure lever in the closed position is mainly parallel to a side wall of the first container part.

11. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 3 , wherein the closure flap is designed as a bent metal sheet having a U-shaped bending at an end portion facing away from the first pivot joint, so that a free end portion of the closure flap lies closer to the side wall of the first container part in a closed position and is covered radially by a portion of the closure flap, thereby forming a simple handle.

12. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 3 , wherein the first pivot joint lies, seen in a vertical direction, in an extension of a circumferential outer side of the second container part, so that the first pivot joint allows in the closed position a direct force transmission of the closing force of the first container part and the second container part perpendicular to a plane of an opening of the first container part.

13. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 2 , wherein the edge portion is a completely circumferential edge.

14. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 2 , wherein the edge portion is deep-drawn.

15. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 2 , wherein the closure-contour portion is directly resting on a sidewall of the first container part.

16. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 1 , wherein the edge portion of the first container part is made of a metallic material.

17. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one closure system is adapted to accommodate a seal which secures the at least one closure system against accidental opening when sealing in the closed position.

18. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 1 , wherein the closure system comprises a spring-loaded closure-contour portion.

19. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 1 , wherein the closure system comprises a first arm and a second arm, the first arm and the second arm being in plate form and coupled to each other in a hinge manner, of which the first arm is hinged to an edge region of the second container part and the second arm has at its free end as a closure-contour-portion a support foot that engages in the edge portion on the first container part that is in the form of an undercut, thereby, when the first arm is folded down towards the first container part while the support foot is already supported on the undercut, the support foot is pressed against the undercut as a toggle-lever mechanism and thus pulls the second container part against the first container part.

20. The medical or surgical sterile container according to claim 1 , wherein a closing force runs obliquely from radially further inwards on the first container part, which is arranged further down relative to the second container part, towards radially further outwards on the second container part that results in self-locking or pre-stressing of the closure system in the closed position.

Assignees

• Aesculap Ag

Inventors

• Wissmann Helmar

Classifications

• A61B50/00 Primary

  Containers, covers, furniture or holders specially adapted for surgical or diagnostic appliances or instruments, e.g. sterile covers (drapes specially adapted for instruments A61B46/10) · CPC title

• A61L2202/121

  Sealings, e.g. doors, covers, valves, sluices · CPC title

• A61B50/30

  Containers specially adapted for packaging, protecting, dispensing, collecting or disposing of surgical or diagnostic appliances or instruments (for wound clamps A61B17/10; for ligaturing clips A61B17/122; packages or dispensers for surgical gloves or finger-stalls A61B42/40) · CPC title

• A61L2202/182

  Rigid packaging means · CPC title

• A61L2/26 Primary

  Accessories · CPC title