Stackable moulded container for a medical / pharmaceutical preparation, which moulded container is made of a thermoplastic material

Abstract

A molded container is configured for containing a medical and/or pharmaceutical preparation and for vertical stacking during transport and/or storage. The container has a bottom portion at one end of a trunk section and a shoulder portion at an opposite end of the trunk section. The shoulder portion includes a container neck that can be closed by a cap. A hollow is recessed in a bottom surface of the bottom portion. The hollow is form-fitted or configured to contactlessly accommodate a container neck of another container. The bottom surface outside the hollow is molded as a relief-like bottom contour surface with at least one axially recessed bottom recess molded segment and with bottom load contact molded segments adjacent to the bottom recess molded segment and axially protruding from it, so that the at least one bottom recess molded segment is exempted from a base area of the molded container.

1 .- 16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . A molded container for containing a medical and/or pharmaceutical preparation and for vertical stacking during transport and/or storage, the molded container defining a container interior and comprising:
 a bottom portion at a first end of a trunk section; and   a shoulder portion at a second end of the trunk section that is axially opposite the first end of the trunk section,   the shoulder portion having an axial extension and comprising a container neck in the axial extension;   the bottom portion comprising a bottom hollow axially recessed in an endface-side bottom surface of the bottom portion, the bottom hollow being axially recessed into the container interior,   the bottom hollow being form-fitted or configured to contactlessly accommodate a second container neck of a second molded container for stacking the molded container and the second molded container,   the endface-side bottom surface being molded as a relief-like bottom contour surface outside the bottom hollow,   the relief-like bottom contour surface comprising at least one bottom recess molded segment that is axially recessed,   the relief-like bottom contour surface further comprising bottom load contact segments adjacent to the at least one bottom recess molded segment and axially protruding from the at least one bottom recess molded segment so that the at least one bottom recess molded segment is exempted from a base area of the molded container.   
     
     
         18 . The molded container according to  claim 17 , wherein the at least one bottom recess molded segment is, for stacking the molded container and the second molded container, form-fitted or configured to be contactlessly spaced from a second shoulder portion of the second molded container by a gap dimension so that the bottom load contact segments form a load contact area exclusively at the second shoulder portion. 
     
     
         19 . The molded container according to  claim 18 , wherein, at the load contact area within at least one of the bottom load contact segments:
 bottom-side, a bottom form structure element is molded which is respectively contoured, in direction of an axial axis, in a concave manner or, respectively, into the container interior or electively convex contoured; and   shoulder-side, a shoulder form structure element is molded which is respectively contoured vice versa to the bottom form structure element.   
     
     
         20 . The molded container according to  claim 18 , further comprising:
 a molded handle that is dimensionally stable and attached to the container neck, wherein a distal molded handle grab section of the molded handle extends substantially radially from the container neck; and   at least one bottom recess molded segment that is, for stackability of the molded container and the second molded container, form-fitted or, respectively, configured to be contactlessly spaced from the second shoulder portion by at least a minimum gap dimension, wherein the minimum gap dimension exceeds a maximum axial molded handle outer dimension of the distal molded handle grab section.   
     
     
         21 . The molded container according to  claim 17 , wherein:
 the at least one bottom recess molded segment extends radially; and/or   the container neck is arranged in a radially inner shoulder inner region of the shoulder portion around an axial axis.   
     
     
         22 . The molded container according to  claim 21 , wherein:
 the shoulder portion is convexly molded outside of the container neck with at least one shoulder elevation molded segment between shoulder load contact segments,   the at least one shoulder elevation molded segment is, for stackability of the molded container and the second molded container, form-fitted or configured to face in a contactlessly spaced manner, respectively complementary to a second bottom recess molded segment of the second molded container so that a load contact area is divided shoulder-side between the shoulder load contact segments.   
     
     
         23 . The molded container according to  claim 22 , wherein the load contact area is, shoulder-side in the shoulder load contact segments, formed flat in a cross-sectional plane of the shoulder portion perpendicular to the axial axis. 
     
     
         24 . The molded container according to  claim 22 , wherein the at least one shoulder elevation molded segment is, for stackability of the molded container and the second molded container, form-fitted or configured to engage in at least one second bottom recess molded segment in a form-locking manner. 
     
     
         25 . The molded container according to  claim 17 , wherein:
 the bottom portion is molded polyhedral with a plurality of corners in a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to an axial axis, and   wherein some or all of the corners comprise the bottom load contact segments.   
     
     
         26 . The molded container according to  claim 17 , wherein the bottom hollow tapers in a direction of the container interior from an opening-side first bottom hollow diameter to a base-side second bottom hollow diameter of the inner bottom hollow ground across a bottom hollow depth. 
     
     
         27 . The molded container according to  claim 17 , wherein the molded container comprises at least one rib extending at least in portions around the trunk section. 
     
     
         28 . The molded container according to  claim 17 , further comprising a handhold handle with two opposing handhold handle ends tangentially adjacent to two connection points of two opposing outer lateral surfaces of the molded container to form a handhold handle middle section extending in a round arch-shape between the two opposing handhold handle ends and axially beyond the shoulder portion. 
     
     
         29 . The molded container according to  claim 28 , wherein the handhold handle:
 is attached eccentrically with respect to the two connection points; and/or   is slanted in the two connection points respectively obliquely to an axial axis.   
     
     
         30 . A stacking arrangement comprising at least two molded containers according to  claim 17 ,
 the at least two molded containers being stacked vertically or, respectively, along an axial axis.   
     
     
         31 . A method for manufacturing the molded container according to  claim 17 , the method comprising the steps of:
 thermoplastically forming or, respectively, molding of a thermoplastic plastic that is suitable and/or inert with respect to the medical and/or pharmaceutical preparation, in a thermoplastic flow state within a divisible molding tool formed and configured complementarily to the molded container; and   cooling the molded container for removal in a solidified state.   
     
     
         32 . The method according to  claim 31 , further comprising at least one of the following steps:
 filling of the molded container with the medical and/or pharmaceutical preparation; and   closing of the molded container in a molding machine operating the divisible molding tool.