IP Library Granted Patent US 8,459,312
Granted Patent B2
US 8,459,312 · App. 12/825,786 · Granted Jun 11, 2013

Press in bottle adapter

Inventors: David A. Manera (Buena, NJ); Victoria Moore O'Brien (Sewell, NJ); Brian Myers (Williamstown, NJ); Daniel R. Hoffman (Mantua, NJ); John D. Buehler (Bridgeton, NJ)
Assignee: Comar, Inc.
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,459,312
App. No.
12/825,786
Granted
Jun 11, 2013
Kind
B2
Abstract

An adapter to be pressed into the neck of a bottle to receive a syringe for accessing the bottle contents by a syringe. The adapter has a distal end that extends into the bottle and a normally closed valve located at that distal end to prevent the contents from leaking out of the bottle if the bottle is inverted. An upper flange of the adapter seats against the top of the bottle and is recessed into the top of the bottle to prevent easy access to pry the adapter out of the bottle. A cap is also disclosed that is adapted to be pressed into the neck of a bottle. The cap has an upper lid that is hinged to a lower body to allow the upper hinge to move between a closed position sealing the bottle and an open position where the bottle is accessible by a syringe.

Claims (30)

1. A system for removing the contents of a bottle, the system comprising:

an adapter configured to be interfitted into the bottle and having a seal for application against an internal surface of the bottle, the adapter having a central opening extending therethrough and a distal end configured for extending into the neck of the bottle;

a normally closed valve located proximate the distal end of the adapter closing the central opening, the normally closed valve comprising leaflets movably joined at a parting line slit; and

a dispenser including a barrel portion and a narrowed tip portion at a distal end, the narrowed tip portion adapted to be inserted into the central opening of the adapter and dimensioned so as to penetrate no further than a predetermined distance into the an interior cavity of the normally closed valve to open the normally closed valve and thereby the central opening for removal of the contents of the bottle,

wherein, when penetrating to the predetermined distance, the narrowed tip portion enters the interior cavity of the normally closed valve to interferingly and laterally expand sidewalls of the normally closed valve to open the valve without contacting any portion of the parting line slit.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a keying system that selectively prevents the narrowed tip portion of the dispenser from penetrating as much as the predetermined distance into the interior cavity of the normally closed valve.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the keying system prevents the narrowed tip portion from penetrating as much as the predetermined distance into the bottle unless the dispenser is in a predetermined radial orientation with respect to the adapter.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the keying system comprises a key formed on the narrowed tip portion of the dispenser and a keyway formed in the adapter and wherein the key must align and enter into the keyway to allow the dispenser to penetrate as much as the predetermined distance into the bottle.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the adapter includes a cap that can selectively open and close the central opening.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the cap is comprised of a lower body and an upper lid that is hingedly affixed to the lower body and the upper lid moves between a closed position where the upper lid closes the central opening and an open position where the central opening is open.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising the bottle having a neck forming the internal surface.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the internal surface of the neck has at least one annular recess and the adapter has an external surface having at least one annular bump adapted to interfit into the at least one annular recess.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the normally closed valve is integrally molded into the adapter.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the normally closed valve is affixed to the distal end of the adapter.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the normally closed valve is a duck billed valve.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the adapter includes a cap comprised of a lower body and an upper lid that is hingedly affixed to the lower body and the upper lid moves between a closed position where the upper lid closes the central opening and an open position where the central opening is open.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the upper lid is hingedly affixed to the lower body by means of a living hinge.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the cap has a locking mechanism to retain the upper lid positively in its closed position.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein the cap has an upper latch formed on the upper lid and a lower latch formed on the lower body that latch together when the upper lid is in its closed position and wherein the lower latch or upper latch is manually movable to unlatch the upper and lower latch to allow the upper lid to move to its open position.

16. The system of claim 7 wherein the neck has a proximal rim and the adapter has a top surface that is recessed within the proximal rim to be level with the proximal rim of the neck.

17. A method of removing the contents of a bottle comprising the steps of:

providing a bottle having a neck forming an internal surface, the bottle having an adapter interfitted into the bottle and sealed against the internal surface, the adapter having a central opening extending therethrough and a distal end extending into the neck, a normally closed valve located proximate the distal end of the adapter for selectively opening and closing the central opening, and the adapter having a keyway formed therein,

providing a dispenser having a barrel portion, a narrowed tip portion and a key formed on the narrowed tip portion;

aligning the key on the narrowed tip portion with the keyway formed on the adapter; and

inserting the dispenser into the bottle with the key entering the keyway,

wherein the normally closed valve comprises leaflets movably joined at a parting line slit for opening and closing the valve, and

wherein the key and keyway are configured so that the narrowed tip portion of the dispenser may penetrate no further than a predetermined distance into an interior cavity of the normally closed valve, and the narrowed tip portion and normally closed valve are configured so that the inserting step causes the narrowed tip portion to interferingly and laterally expand sidewalls of the normally closed valve to open the valve without contacting any portion of the parting line slit of the normally closed valve,

and dimensioned so as to penetrate no further than a predetermined distance into the an interior cavity of the normally closed valve to open the normally closed valve and thereby said central opening for removal of the contents of the bottle,

wherein, when penetrating to the predetermined distance, the narrowed tip portion enters the interior cavity of the normally closed valve to interferingly and laterally expand sidewalls of the normally closed valve to open the valve without contacting any portion of the parting line slit.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the step of aligning comprises rotating the dispenser radially to align the key with the keyway.

Assignments (7)
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Oct 31, 2025
From: COMAR, LLC
To: ARES CAPITAL CORPORATION, AS THE COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 072748/0898 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Oct 31, 2025
From: VARAGON CAPITAL PARTNERS AGENT, LLC
To: COMAR, LLC; WEST BEND PACKAGING, LLC; PARADIGM PACKAGING, INC.
Reel/Frame 072753/0361 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 13, 2018
From: BANK OF MONTREAL
To: COMAR, LLC
Reel/Frame 046343/0253 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 18, 2018
From: COMAR, LLC; WEST BEND PACKAGING, LLC; PARADIGM PACKAGING, INC.
To: VARAGON CAPITAL PARTNERS AGENT, LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 046121/0918 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 30, 2013
From: COMAR, INC.
To: COMAR, LLC
Reel/Frame 031513/0744 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Oct 29, 2013
From: COMAR, LLC
To: BANK OF MONTREAL, AS AGENT
Reel/Frame 031508/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 11, 2013
From: MANERA, DAVID A.; O'BRIEN, VICTORIA MOORE; MYERS, BRIAN; HOFFMAN, DANIEL R.; BUEHLER, JOHN D.
To: COMAR INC.
Reel/Frame 029789/0479 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 61221728 · Jun 30, 2009
Related Publication 20100327010A1 · Dec 30, 2010