Patent ID: 6609542
Filing Date: 2003-08-26
Classification: B65B,B65D,B67B,B67D

Abstract:
A method of sterilising an impervious rupturable membrane attached to a tote bin spigot on a liner and subsequently filling or emptying said liner, said impervious rupturable membrane closing a passage which connects the exterior of said liner to the interior of said liner, said method comprising the steps of:attaching a valve having a flow passage therethrough and a valve closure member mounted within the passage moveable between open and closed positions, the valve closure member being spaced away from the membrane; passing a sterilising medium into at least the space between said membrane and the valve closure member to sterilise the outside surface of said membrane and that part of the internal flow passage within said valve between said membrane and the valve closure member; piercing said membrane with a cutter which passes along the flow passage past the valve closure member when the valve closure member is in the open position.