Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
214~28
~0 94/07764 PCr/A~193/00494
OONTAINERS FOR POTENTIALLYEI~ZARDOUS SUBSTANOES
The present invention relates to containers for potentially hazardous
substances such as pathological samples, di~gnostic products, or infectious
5 sllhst~nces (hereinafter referred to as "pathological samples") and more
particularly to c~nt~iners for the transport of pathological samples by post or
by road, rail, air or sea
Convention~lly, pathological samples such as blood specimens are
10 stored in a closed bottle or tube for transportation to a pathology or research
laboratory for analysis. When the container needs to be sent by post, road,
rail, air or sea ~ spoll to the laboratory, the co~t~iner is placed within outerp~.k~ging the primary purpose of which is to protect the container against
damage if the package is dropped, crushed or is otherwise subjected to mis-
15 treatment during h~nt1ling Generally, prior methods of p~ck~ging thec~nt~iners have not been entirely satisfactory and breakage of the container
and/or leakage have occurred, resulting in cont~min~tion of the outer p~.king
A particular problem with air-freighting is the container may be subject to
s~1bst~nti~l temperature and pressure variations, particularly in an
20 unpressurised hold, and this can give rise to leakage.
Accordi~g to the present invention, there is provided a package for the
transport of p~tholclgical or other substances, comprising an outer tubular
co~t~iner having at one end closure means for sealing the outer container
25 against leakage, and an inner tubular container supported within the outer
tubular container and having, at one end, closure means to prevent leakage of
fluid from the inner container, the inner container being ~u~po~ led within the
outer container such that the tubular wall of the inner cont~iner is spaced fromthe tubular wall of the outer container and the opposite ends of the inner
30 container are spaced from the opposite ends of the outer cont~iner.
Preferably, the inner container inchldes an external annular ~ange on
Wo 94/07764 Pcr/Aus3/oo49~ ~
2 ~ - 2 -
its tubular body which is supported from a zone of re~ cing cross-sectional
area within the interior of the outer container or from a step within the
interior of the outer container. ,
S Preferably, the inner and outer containers each consist of a preform for
a plastics bottle.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by wa~ of
f-Y~mple only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the sole~figure of
10 which shows, srhem~tically, a longit~-(lin~l section through a trans~llation
package in accordance with the present invention.
As shown in the accoln~allying drawings a package for the
transportation of p~thological s~mples or other potentially hazardous material
15 colllplises an inner elongate tubular Co.~ f ~ 2 for storing the s~mple~, thecontainer 2 being SU~PO1 led within an outer tubular container 4 which protects
the inner container 2 against damage but which is able to contain leakage if
the integrity of the inner container 2 is damaged. The inner container 2 is
closed at its lower end and is open at its upper end, the upper end being
20 threaded to receive a threaded closure cap 6. The cap 6 incl~ es an internal
seal in order to prevent leakage of fluid from the inner container 2. The cap 6
may also incl~lde a ~amper-resict~nt element 6a to provide a visual indication
of ln~llthorised removal of the cap. An ~nn~ r flange 8 is formed integrally
with the body of the container 2 beyond the threaded zone at which the cap 6
25 is fitted and serves to support the inner contail~r 2 within the outer container
4 with the longit~l~lin~l axes of the two containers being ~llbst~nti~lly
coin~ide.nt The outer container 4 is also of tubular form closed at its lower
end and open at its upper end and is externally threaded at that end to receive
a threaded closure cap 10 which in~ es an internal seal in order to prevent
30 leakage of fluid from within the-outer container. The cap 10 for the outer
container may also include a tamper-resislant element lOa to indicate
n~ horised removal of the cap.
~O 94/07764 21 ~ 5 5 2 8 pcr/Au93/oo4s4
The wall thickness of the outer container 4 increases from the upper
end portion to a larger thickness ~en~ling along a sl-kst~nti~l portion of the
length of the container, the portion of lesser thickness being connected to the
portion of greater thickness by a portion of progres~iv~ly increasing thickness
S which defines within the interior of the container a zone 12 of progressively
red~ing cross se~l;oI-~l size. The diarneter of the flange 8 on the inner
c~nt~iner 2 is such that the flange 8 is able to SUPPO1 ~ the inner container 2
within the outer container 4 by wedging within the zone 12; as shown the
support is at the cornrnencement of the zone 12. The two cont~inrrs 2, 4 are
10 so sized that when the flange 8 on the inner container 2 is wedged within thezone 12, the wall of the inner container 2 is spaced from the wall of the outer
cont~iner 4 and the closed end of the inner container 2 lies short of the closedend of the outer conta,ller 4. If required, when the sample has been
intro~ cecl into the inner container 2 and the dosure cap 6 for the inner
15 ~nt~iner 2 has been applied, resilient p~rkin~ material, for r Y~mrle a resilient
foam plug, can be inserted into the open end of the outer container 4 to
cushion the inner container 2 against possible displ~cem~nt Lc,w~S the cap 10
of the outer c~ntailler 4 due to shock loading. Preferably, a stop 14 is
provided at the bottom of the outer container 4 to limit ~essive disrl~cement
20 of the inner container 2 towards the bottom of the outer container 4 and which
might result in the flange 8 becoming jammed within the zone 12 ~vhereby
subsequent removal of the inner container 2 might be impossible. The stop 14
can be a separate component inserted into the container 4 after manufacture
of the container 4, or the cQnt~iner 4 can be integrally formed with a suitable
2~ stop for ~x~ ple in the form of a peg llrst~n-linE from the bottom wall.
Preferably, the outer cont~intor 4 inrllldes, for rY~mrle at its bottom portion,absorbent material such as crystals or a so-called super absorbent for absorbingthe whole of the contents of the inner container in case the latter leaks.
In an alternative embodiment the flange 8 on the inner container can
be supported on a step formed on the inner surface of the outer container.
WO 94/0776~ 2 ~ 2 8 PCl/AU93/00~9~ 1
- 4 -
The inner and outer containers 2, 4 are preferably constructed from a
non-brittle, flexible, plastics material such as PET, PETG, polycarbonate, or
PVC. The caps 6, 10 for the inner and outer containers 2, 4 are also
preferably constructed from a non-brittle p~stics material such as high density
S polyethylene, PET, PETG, polycarbonate, or b~ktolite. The internal seals
within the caps 6, 10 may, for example, be of low density polyethylene, EVA,
or PVC.
The package con.cictin~ of the inner and outer containers is placed
10 within a suitable box or other outer wrapping for carrying address information
and other data. The box may, for example, consist of foamed polystyrene or
other foamed plastics material having a compartment shaped to securely house
the package and particularly to protect the cap of the outer container which is
likely to represent the weakest part of the package unless a high strength
15 plastics is used for the cap. The box may have several individual
co~ lments so that several packages can be transported within the same
box.
The combination of the two containers described provide a package
20 which is not liable to leakage even with gross mis-h~n~lling including dlop~illg
and crushing. The package can contain such pressure differentials as may be
encountered during air-freight even under the pressures and temperatures
likely to be encountered within an unpressurised hold of an aircraft. The
package when within a foamed plastics outer box as discussed above can also
25 withct~n~l irnpact tests and drop tests æ currently prescribed by aviation
authorities.
Although the inner and outer containers 2, 4 may be fabricated
specifically for the purpose described, we have determined that a suitable inner30 container and outer container are each independently available as pre-forrns of
different size for subsequent fabrication into plactics bottles, for exarnple for
soft drinks, by expanding the pre-form by blowing within a mould. Such
~ 21~528
~o 94/0776-1 Pcr/Aus3/oo494
eÇo~ s will have the supporting flange required for the inner container and
the varying wall thickness required for the outer container to provide the
required co-operation with the flange. As such, the containers can be
purchased at relatively low cost.
The embodiment has been described by way of example only with
reference to the ~companying drawings and modifications are possible within
the scope of the invention.
