Ampoule with protective sleeve for contamination prevention
OwnerChris Cindrich, Robert D. Christenseninventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus includes and ampoule and a protective sleeve. The ampoule includes a body portion and an openable end portion. The body portion defines an internal cavity for containment of a substance. The openable end portion is configured to be opened by removal of a distal section, which upon removal creates an opening into the internal cavity of the body portion for liberation of the substance from the internal cavity. The protective sleeve is disposed over at least a portion of the openable end portion. The protective sleeve provides a contamination barrier to prevent contamination of an outer surface of the openable end portion covered by the protective sleeve.
Claims20
An apparatus comprising:
- an ampoule comprising:
- a body portion which defines an internal cavity for containment of a substance;
- and
- an openable end portion coupled to the body portion, wherein the openable end portion is configured to be opened by removal of a distal section, which upon removal creates an opening into the internal cavity of the body portion for liberation of the substance from the internal cavity;
- and
- a protective sleeve disposed over at least a portion of the openable end portion, wherein the protective sleeve provides a contamination barrier to prevent contamination of an outer surface of the openable end portion covered by the protective sleeve.
A method of using an ampoule comprising:
- grasping the ampoule at approximately a body portion of the ampoule;
- grasping an openable end portion of the ampoule at approximately a distal section, the openable end portion at least partially covered by a protective sleeve to prevent contamination of an outer surface of the openable end portion of the ampoule;
- breaking a weakness in the openable end portion of the ampoule to separate the distal section from the ampoule;
- and
- removing the distal section of the ampoule, wherein removal of the distal section of the ampoule removes substantially all of the protective sleeve from the ampoule.
A method comprising:
- forming an ampoule, the ampoule comprising:
- a body portion which defines an internal cavity for containment of a substance;
- and
- an openable end portion coupled to the body portion, wherein the openable end portion is configured to be opened to create an opening into the internal cavity of the body portion for liberation of the substance from the internal cavity;
- and
- disposing a protective sleeve over at least a portion of the openable end portion, wherein the protective sleeve provides a contamination barrier to prevent contamination of an outer surface of the openable end portion covered by the protective sleeve.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.