CA1218340A

CA1218340A - Product dispensing system

Info

Publication number: CA1218340A
Application number: CA000442894A
Authority: CA
Inventors: George Carscallen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1983-12-08
Filing date: 1983-12-08
Publication date: 1987-02-24

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present invention relates to a product dispensing system and a collapsible container for use in that product dispensing system. The system includes a clamp at one end for clamping the container in position, a product discharge at the other end of the system and a pressure applicator progressively squeezing the container to dispense the product therefrom. The container has a rigid tailpiece for fitting within the clamp, a soft thin plastic body portion for holding the product and a mouth portion for fitting with the product discharge. The mouth portion of the container is hermetically sealed by a rupturable membrane with the product discharge being provided with a piercing member for rupturing the membrane when the mouth portion is coupled to the product discharge.

Description

83~0 1 FIELD 0~ THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a product dispensing system including a container having a rearward end and a forward end from which product is dispensed in controlled amounts by means of progressively applying pressure from the rearward to the forward end of the container.
BACKGRûUND OF THE INVENTION
In the past there have been different types of product dispensing arrangements which typically use collapsible metallic tubes as the product container. For example, United States Patent 4226336 issued October 7th, 1982, Harold A. Young, describes an arrangement for dispensing the contents of a tube of toothpaste. In this as well as other similar prior arrangements, pressure is applied along the tube to force the toothpaste out through the mouth of the tube.
Conventionally, toothpaste tubes and the like have a standard construction comprising a metallic tube closed by means of a threaded cap. Such metallic tubes can be awkward to work with in that they tend to crimp as they are pinched to create pockets in which the toothpaste is trapped against dispensing from the tube. In addition, the contents within these conventional tubes are subject to contamination, particularly at the mouth of the tube where the contents of the tube are covered only by means of the threaded cap which may, for example, be removed to inspect the contents of the tube and then put back into position by anyone having access to the tube. Again~ by 3~

1 way of example, it is ~ery easy for anyone to open a standard tube of toothpaste while it is on the store shelF and to then replace the cap without actually purchasing the product.
As a result of this standard constructicn in which the tube is opened by simply removing the cap, the product tube dispensers referred to above are adapted to do nothing more than couple to the mouth of the tube to allow dispensing of the product.
SUMMARY OF ~IE PRE5ENT IN~ENTION

The present invention provides a collapsible container for use in a product dispensing system having clamping means at one end for clamping the container in position, product discharge means at the other end and means for progressively squeezing the container from the one end to the other. The container itself comprises a soft thin plastic body portion having a tailpiece with a hardened bead for fitting in the clamping means and a mouth portion for fitting with the discharge means. The

2~ mouth portion itself is hermetically sealed by a rupturable membrane and is adapted for removably coupling with the discharge means which is in turn provided with a piercing member for rupturing the sealing membrane.
The unique soft plastic construction of the bag with its hardened tailpiece makes the bag extremely easy to work with while allowing substantially all of the product to be dispensed from the bag. Furthermore, the plastic construction of the bag is particularly suited for sterilization while the hermetic sealing of the mouth ~L834~
1 prevents contamlnation of the contents of the bag making it particularly useful in the food industry. To this end and to further protect the contents of the bag, a removable cap may be prDvided over the mouth portion to protect the rupturable membrane until the bag is actually fitted within the dispensing system.

The above as well as other advantages and features of the present invention will be described in greater detail according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container or bag for use in a food dispensing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the bag shown in Figure l;
Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the mouth portion of the bag shown in Figure 2;

Figures 4 through 9 are side views of a bag and dispensing system in various different stages of operation according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and Figures 10 and 11 are enlarged sectional views of the bag mouth and the discharge end of the arrangements shown in Figures 4 through 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION ACCORDING_TO THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Figure 1 shows a container which is in the form of a bag 1 to be used in a product dispensing system such as that shown in Figures 4 through 9. Bag 1 is one which is ~Z~L834~

1 particularly suitable for use in the food industry to carry large quantities of different types of relatively soft foods which can be discharged by applying pressure to the bag. The bag is of a size to handle bulk quantities of foods such as mustard, ketchup, etc., making the bag extremely beneficial to be used in fast food chains and the like.
The bag itself has a unique construction including a main product receiving body portion 3 with a tailpiece 5 having a bead 7 at one end and a mouth arrangement generally indicated at 9 at the other end of the bag.
The main body portion of the bag is made From a soft film of plastic material while bead 7 is on the other hand thickened and stiffened relative to the body of the bag.
The mouth arrangement of the bag is made from a thick rigid plastic separately of the bag body. This mouth arrangement comprises a mouth opening 11 shown in Figure 2, a saddle portion 15, a collar 13 between the saddle portion and the mouth opening and a closure cap 17 for closing the mouth opening.
Figure 3 shows the mouth arrangement in greater detail. There will be seen that the mouth opening, collar and saddle are all one integral piece that is made separately from the soft body of the bag and then sealed to the bag. The construction of the bag is well shown in Figure 2 where the soft body is provided at its forward end with an opening 18. The hard plastic mouth arrangement is fit over and aligned with opening 18 and ~Z183~
l the U~shaped saddle portion 15 is secured for example by heat sealing to the opposing sides of the bag.
For purposes of adapting the bag to the food industry, the soft body or pillow portion of the bag is internally sterilized. It should be noted that plastics material is particularly easily sterilized which can be accomplished for example by the use of ethylene oxide or radiation interiorly of the bag. After sterilization, the bag is then filled with a relatively soft product using an aseptic filler to maintain the product free of contamination. Typical products which can be contained within the bag include mustards, relish, ketchup or any other type of product which can be squeezed from the bag.
To further protect the food product within the bag, mouth opening 11 is aseptically sealed with cap 17 which is threaded onto the mouth opening. The cap carries an internal foil seal which is located in a sealing position as the cap is threaded onto the mouth. Once in position, the foil seal is sonically welded to the mouth without ~O having to remove the threaded cap. Once the foil seal is locked in the sealing position, the cap can then be removed while the foil remains hermetically sealed to the mouth opening. This allows the cap to be removed and replaced without risking contamination of the bag contents.
Referring now to Figures 4 through 9, bag 1 is used in a dispensing system generally indicated at 19. This dispensing system includes a clamp 21, a pair of squeeze rollers 23a and 23b and a discharge arrangement 25 ~Z1~33~
1 connected with a discharge tube 27 for directing the product dispensed from the bag to different locations.
As shown in Figure 4, due to the soft body portion of the bag, it is easily deformed for fltting it within the disperlsing system. It should be noted that the soft thin plastic film in the main body portion of the bag, unlike metal containers, will not permanently crimp to form small pockets of trapped food material, allowing substantially complete dispensing of the product from the bag. It should also be noted that the soft body of the bag is provided with shoulders or wings 19 to enable the bag to be readily gripped and located in position within the dispensing system.
During the initial fitting of the bag in the system, upper roller 23, which is adjustable in height, is moved to an elevated position and clamping jaw 21 is opened to receive the bead of the bag which is made of adequate thickness and stiffness to ensure a positive locking action within the clamps.

As shown in Figure 5, roller 23a is then dropped down into a position such that the two rollers are in a squeeze position to either side of the bag. Here it will be seen that the tailpiece provides an open reyion between the bead and the body of the bag to allow the two pressure or squeeze rollers to be moved to the Figure 5 position without forcing product from the bag.
The bag mouth is coupled to the discharge end of the dispensing system by first removing closure cap 17 and then threading the bag mouth into the-discharge ~Z~3;3~11D

l arrangement which is best shown in Figures lO and ll.
This discharge arrangement CoMpriSeS a coupling member 29 which threads to the mouth poxtion ll of the bag and a discharge member 31 having a piercing member 37 on which coupling member 29 is slideably mounted. The discharge member further includes annular flange 33 for securing the discharge member to the dispensing system and a tube coupler 35 for connecting with the discharge or dispensing tube 25.
Coupling member 29 is freely rotatable to allow coupling with the mouth portion of the bag. Du~iny the initial coupling stage, the coupling member moves to the Figure lO position where it is threaded over mouth portion ll without rupturing the foil seal which is shown at 12 in Figures lO and ll. After the coupling has been completed, the coupling member with the mouth of the bag secured in position is slid forward as shown in Figure 5 of the drawings, whereby piercing member 37 ruptures the foil seal and opens the mouth of the bag to now allow dispensing of the bag contents.
The dispensing system further includes a valve gun 38 with a trigger 39 for controlled dispensing action. The valve gun directs the food to a specific location with trigger 39 controlling the opening and closing of the valve gun. The trigger is additionally an on~off control switch through a solenoid valve 41 or the like for operating the rollers 23a and 23b. When trigger switch 39 is in air off position where the valve gun is closed the rollers ~Z~L834~
1 are stationary. By pulling the trigger switch to the on position, rollers 23a and 23b roll forwardly along the bag and squeeze the food product out through the open valve gun 38 Rollers 23a and 23b will continue to move forward as long as switch 39 is in the on position until the rollers run into the rigid collar 13 of the forward assembly of the bag. This rigid collar prevents any further forward rotation of the rollers and, therefore, acts as a stop guide in determining when the bag has been emptied.
After the dispensing has been completed, roller 23a is again elevated to the Figure 8 position and the clamping jaws 21 are opened as shown in Figures 8 and 9 following which the emptied bag is removed from the discharge end of the dispensing system to allow insertion of a new bag.
It will now be seen that the system of the present invention is extremely simple yet efficient in operation. Furthermore, the bag which is used in the system of the present invention is one which is easily and effectively sealed against contamination, is arranged for easy placement within the sytem, allows substantially complete dispensing from the container and which includes its own stop member for indicating when the container has been completely emptied.
As an additional advantage, the plastic container described above is one which can be cleaned out and re-used for further dispensing operations particularly in view of the fact that the plastic body is not permanently 83~
1 distorted during the dispensing operation unlike metallic tubes.
Although various preferred embodiments of the invention have been described herein in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the arts that variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A collapsible container for use in a product dispensing system having container clamping means at one end, product discharge means at the other end of the system and compressing means for progressively squeezing the container therebetween, said container comprising a soft thin plastic product receiving body portion having a tailpiece with a bead for fitting in the clamping means, said tailpiece spacing said body portion from said bead, and a mouth portion for fitting with the discharge means, said mouth portion being hermetically sealed by a rupturable membrane and being adapted for removably coupling with the discharge means.

2. A collapsible container as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said mouth portion comprises a thickened plastic material for positive coupling with the discharge means and wherein said container is provided with a rigid collar rearwardly of said mouth portion.

3. A collapsible container as claimed in Claim 2 including a saddle portion integral with said mouth portion, said saddle portion being secured to said body portion of said container.

4. A collapsible container as claimed in Claim 3 wherein said saddle portion is heat sealed to opposing sides of said body portion.

5. A collapsible container as claimed in Claim 2 wherein said mouth portion is hermetically sealed with a foil seal.

6. A collapsible container as claimed in Claim 5 wherein said foil seal is sonic welded to said mouth portion.

7. A collapsible container as claimed in Claim 2 wherein said rigid collar is intermediate and integral with said mouth portion and said saddle portion.

8. A collapsible container as claimed in Claim 2 including a protective cap removably secured to said mouth portion.

9. A collapsible container as claimed in Claim 8 wherein said mouth portion is threaded for threadably receiving said protective cap over said pierceable material.

10. A collapsible container as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said container is of an enlarged size and wherein said body portion includes a pair of shoulder wings for carrying of the bag.

11. A product dispensing system for dispensing product from a collapsible bag comprising a soft plastic body portion having a tailpiece with a bead at one end and a mouth portion hermetically sealed by a rupturable membrane at the other end thereof, said product dispensing system comprising clamping means for clamping on the bead of the tailpiece of the collapsible bag, compressing means for progressively collapsing the soft body portion of the bag from the one end to the other to force dispensing of the product through the mouth portion of the bag while held by said clamping means and discharge means for coupling with the mouth portion, said discharge means comprising a coupling member and a piercing member interiorly thereof for rupturing the membrane with the coupling member fitted to the mouth of the bag.

12. A product dispensing system as claimed in Claim 11 wherein said piercing member is slideable relative to said coupling member to enable coupling without initial rupturing of the membrane and to thereafter slide the piercing member through the membrane for discharge of the product.

13. A product dispensing system as claimed in Claim 11 including a hand operated valve member for controlled dispensing of the product, said valve member being moveable by manual pressure to a dispensing position and being biased to move to a non-dispensing position upon release of such pressure.

14. A product dispensing system as claimed in Claim 11 wherein said compressing means comprises a pair of rollers to opposite sides of the bag, said rollers being moveable to a spread position to allow insertion in and removal of the bag from the dispensing system and being moveable to a squeeze position for rolling along and compressing the bag to squeeze the product therefrom.

15. A product dispensing system as claimed in Claim 11 wherein said clamping means comprises a pair of clamping jaws which are opened for receiving the bead of the bag tailpiece and which are closed to clamp thereon.

16. A product dispensing system as claimed in Claim 14 including stop means for stopping roller movement when the product has been dispensed from the bag.