Packaging system with spring-loaded removal
Inventors
Allard, Randall • Morton, Jason • Allard, Polly • McLeer, Tom
Interested in licensing this patent?
MTEC can help explore whether this patent might be available for licensing for your application.
Assignees
Member
Prospect Life SciencesProspect Life Sciences is a medical device development and manufacturing partner offering integrated, end-to-end solutions from concept through global market fulfillment. The company provides comprehensive capabilities in research and design, product development, manufacturing transfer, scalable production, and regulatory compliance, leveraging ISO 13485:2016-certified and FDA-registered quality management systems. With facilities in the USA and Costa Rica, the company serves as a strategic partner for both early-stage and established organizations, enabling efficient, compliant, and scalable innovation in the medical device sector.
Prospect Life Sciences is a medical device development and manufacturing partner offering integrated, end-to-end solutions from concept through global market fulfillment. The company provides comprehensive capabilities in research and design, product development, manufacturing transfer, scalable production, and regulatory compliance, leveraging ISO 13485:2016-certified and FDA-registered quality management systems. With facilities in the USA and Costa Rica, the company serves as a strategic partner for both early-stage and established organizations, enabling efficient, compliant, and scalable innovation in the medical device sector.
Publication Number
US-11505382-B2
Publication Date
2022-11-22
Expiration Date
Abstract
A multi-unit packing system includes a packaging tray assembly supporting a medical device or product. The packaging tray assembly includes a tray that holds the medical product within a spring-loaded card. The spring-loaded card being disposed within the inner container of the tray. The spring-loaded card including a one or more openings that are positioned to maintain the medical product in a defined orientation while preventing the inadvertent movement of the medical product. The spring-loaded card comprises elastic properties to allow it to be elastically compressed when the barrier is sealed to the tray, and uncompressed when the barrier is peeled away from the tray, allowing a portion of the spring-loaded card to extend beyond a surface of the tray to provide easier access, removal and transfer of the sterile medical product within the sterile field.
Core Innovation
The invention is a sterile packaging tray assembly that uses a spring-loaded card disposed within the tray inner container and sealed by a barrier to store potential energy. When the barrier is peeled the card uncompresses and a leading tab extends beyond the flange to provide easier access, removal, and transfer of medical products. The card includes openings to receive and orient product portions and body geometries to restrict translation and tune spring force.
The background identifies the need for easier access to medical products from sterile packaging and reliable product retention and orientation within trays. The invention addresses these needs by compressing the spring-loaded card with the sealed barrier to store potential energy and releasing that energy upon barrier peeling so the card extends beyond the flange. The patent also specifies that the card spring force be less than the barrier seal strength to prevent premature seal failures.
Claims Coverage
This coverage summarizes eight inventive features drawn from three independent claims describing a tray and barrier, a spring-loaded card with product-orienting openings and leading tab, and a method of compressing and releasing the card to enable easier access to medical products.
Tray with inner container and flange
A tray comprising an inner container and a surrounding flange having a top surface that defines the tray structure for receiving the spring-loaded card and being the surface to which a barrier is coupled.
Barrier coupled to the flange top surface
A barrier that is sealed to the top surface of the flange and is peeled away in a peel direction to trigger uncompression of the spring-loaded card.
Spring-loaded card sized for the inner container
A spring-loaded card sized and configured to be disposed within the inner container of the tray and characterized by a spring force and a material.
Openings sized to receive and orient product portions
A first opening and a second opening in the spring-loaded card that are sized and configured to receive portions of a medical product and are spaced apart to create an orientation for the medical product.
Compressed-to-uncompressed card movement to extend beyond flange
At least a portion of the spring-loaded card is movable from a compressed state when the barrier is coupled to the flange top surface to an uncompressed state after the barrier is peeled, enabling stored potential energy to be released and allowing the card to extend beyond the flange.
Spring-loaded card with a leading tab
A spring-loaded card comprising a body and a leading tab that extends away from the body, where the leading tab extends beyond the flange when the card uncompresses after barrier peeling.
Card compression and release governed by peel direction
The card is compressed when the barrier is sealed to the flange and uncompresses when the barrier is peeled in a peel direction, with the leading tab and card movement oriented relative to that peel direction.
Method of easier access via sealing to compress and peeling to release
A method comprising providing the tray and spring-loaded card, disposing a medical product portion in the card, compressing the card by sealing the barrier to store potential energy, and peeling the barrier to release the energy so the card returns to its original configuration and extends beyond the flange for easier access.
The independent claims disclose a sterile packaging system that combines a tray and barrier with a spring-loaded card sized to fit within the inner container, card openings to hold and orient medical product portions, a leading tab that extends beyond the flange upon barrier peeling, and a method of compressing and releasing the card to provide easier access to the medical product.
Stated Advantages
Provides easier access, removal, and transfer of medical products by allowing the spring-loaded card to extend beyond the tray flange after the barrier is peeled.
Prevents premature seal failures by specifying that the spring-loaded card spring force is less than the barrier seal strength.
Documented Applications
Sterile packaging of medical products, for example screws, where the spring-loaded card retains and orients product portions within a tray.
Multi-unit compartment carriers or arrays of tray assemblies for packaging multiple units.
Interested in licensing this patent?