West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.
EXPANDABLE AND AUTOMATICALLY RETRACTABLE COLLAR AND METHOD OF USE THEREOF

Abstract:

A flexible collar including a rigid body having a cylindrical outer surface and a cylindrical inner surface concentrically aligned with respect to a common longitudinal axis, a top surface, and a bottom surface, the inner surface defining a bore from the top surface to the bottom surface, and each of the top and bottom surfaces having an endless pathway confined to a respective plane and circumscribing a respective edge of the inner surface. The flexible collar further includes at least one accordion region having a plurality of pivots, at least two of the pivots being radially spaced apart from the longitudinal axis at different distances, and the accordion region being configured to radially deform.