DISPENSER, IN PARTICULAR FOR MILK OR THE LIKE

Abstract: A dispenser for dose-wise dispensing a liquid, in particular milk or the like, comprising two sheets of foil material, each provided with a bulge (2) and being sealed for forming a filling space (4), joined by a passage (7) opening into said space (4), in which a solid or hollow rod (8) is inserted, the sealed lateral rim (3) being widened at least at one side of said passage (7) to a flat portion (10) to be gripped by the fingers and being provided with a weakened edge part (11, 12) so as to allow to tear said portion in the direction of said passage (7), said solid or hollow rod being fixed in the portion either to be torn off or not to be torn off respectively, so as to allow to liberate a dispensing aperture. In particular the bulges (2) have such a cross-section that when laying down the dispenser the passage (7) is directed at an upward angle.

Description: Dispenser, in particular for milk or the like. In public houses or the like it is usual to provide coffee milk in a unitary package hawing the shape of a cup made of metal foil or plastics and closed by means of a closing foil provided with a pulling tab, he volume being adapted to the largest amount of milk which is usually requested for a cup of coffee. These current packages have disadvantages. When pulling away the closing foil a pouring aperture is forrpeα which is, ho ever, generally too large for dosage of a smaller amount, i.a. because of the absence of a pouring spout. More¬ over it often occ rs that, when tearing open, milk splashes out because of the shock, and lands on the clothes of the user or on the table. This is particularly onerous in aero¬ planes, trains and the like, where the users often ha e little space, and in aeroplanes, if the air prpssure therein is lower than normal, milk will be pressed outwards when oDening by the—higher pressure of the air cushion present in the package. Moreover, if not completely pmptying, a rest remains in the package which ran flow out through the aporture when the package is overturned, which will lead to soiling of ash- rays, service trays, tables ptr. .. il! ano her draw-bark of thin ype of package is that it s not suited for being mechanicall packed in a meal packaqe as used in aeroplanes. The invention provides a dispenser for milk or the 5 like not showing these disadvantages, and being p rticularly suitable for dpst'- ι_t. dispensin smallpr doses of milk, oa i d ispenser is, h ever, also suitable for dispensing other and particularly more is ous r.ui.stances such as glue or the like-. Tn that end the ciispenser of the invention is D characterised in that it comprises two sheets of foil material each being pro ided ith a bulge and being sealed together around said bulges for forming a spare filled or to be filled with the desired amount of liquid, said bulges each being continued by a narrow gut er-shaped extension, said extensions forming together a narrow passage opening into said inner space, in which passage a fibre or thin needle closing said passage is inserted, the lateral rim being, at least at one sidQ. of said passage, being widened to a flat portion adapted to be gripped by the fingers and being provided with a weakened edge part so as to allow to tear said flat portion in the direction of said passage. In particular said bulges converge in a sharply pointed manner at thp side joining said passage, s as to obtain a gradual junction towards said passage, and, moreover, a eakening can be provided in ^i flat portion or facili¬ tating tearing said portion. Said flat portion is adopted to be gripped at both sides of the tear line to be formed by the thumbs and four fingers of both Lands, so that by means of opposite rotation¬ al or tearing movements he terminal portion can be torn loose, and the widened flat po tions provide a sufficiently large gripping surface for allowing to exer the required force. The fit.re or needle e sures that, until being pulled out, the passage cannot be flattened, and also obstruction by fat particle.. or the like ill be avoided hereby. _ The fibre or needle inserted into said passage is, generally, solid, and is, t n, ixed in the terminal por ion so as to be pul led away when t aring loose the latter, thus liberating said pas arje, and, therea er, the contents can he dispensed at vi \ il l n n d....ed -"nnrer through rr.i._ pnar.n e b> r essing inwards the wπ 11 •. o -. id IJUIΠP.., ...id pτε_.-ge Deing sufficien 1\ narrow r or pre ent, in unin en ional emp ying but, on the other hand, beinα sufficiently wide for allowing to dis ense he ilk as a narrow jet, and p e en ing ob¬ struction by cream separated from the milk. Surh a di penser eonsis s of plastics or plastics- coated alumi-.ium foil. When tearing, burrs can be formed at the remaining lastics edge, said burrs acting a jet breakers hich may give rise to an undesired widening of the jet and/or dripping. Therefore it can be advisable to give a non-circular and in particular o al cross-section to said fibre or needle, this in such a manner that, hen rotating the latter, the hole is reamed and/or its edge is s oothened. RIGINAL- - 3 - From DE-C 2 649 316 dispensers for small medicament doses, e.g. eye drops, are known per se, said dispensers having a tear tab and a fibre connected thereto which is pulled out whea tearing off said tab. This fibre is, in view of the desired dripping effect, very thin, (+ 0,3 mm), which, when fixing by pinching said fibre to said tab, may lead to attachment difficulties, so that often the fibre is not pulled out. Moreover tearing off said tab is difficult because of the fact that a good gripping surface is not present on the dispenser proper. The dispenser of the invention has large gripping surfaces, and the fibre has a large thickness, so that it can be readily pinched and/or sealed. In practice, for di ¬ pensing mil , fib es with a thickness of up to 1,5 mm will be used. In the case of ore viscous liquids thicker fibres or fle- dies will , of course, be used. in tead of a solid fibre also a hollo fibre or needle with a suitai. !r inner diame er can be which is, then, fixed not in th ortion to De t orn off bu m the dispenser proper so that , then, dispen ing the milk ill tnk CT place through the hir thereof. _. It in, f urtho rmn ■ e . favourable tu qiv>- to said bulge portion a substa tially t i ngula cross-sect ion in suc _ manner that the ispens r notains t o major . ide walls div erq i nq towards the ex remi y joining said p;.s age . hen 1.e dispenser i ut down, it i l l bear on one of ".ai sid wails, thus ensuring that the air cushion W LI I always be situated near he aperture to be formed/' so that, even in the case of pressure ifferences or untimely squeezing the walls, the air cushion will be expelled first. In or er to llow to take up possibly occurring pressure differences, it may be favourable to provide at least one la eral surface of such a dispenser wi h an undulation, thus allowing a ressure qualisation. The invention will be elucidated bei ow by reference to a drawing of ar embodiment shown by way of example, showing in : Fig. 1 a lateral iew nf a dLsperiser acrording t o the invention; and GINAL I Figs. 2 and 3 two transversal cross-sections along the lines II - II and III - III resp. of Fig. 1. The dispenser shown consists of two sheets la and lb of foil material, in particular plastics-coated aluminium 5 foil or single plastics foil, and the plastics should be compatible with the filling. A portion of said foil sheets is bulged as shown at 2a and 2b, and the sheets are sealed together in an air¬ tight manner in the marginal portions 3 outside s id bulges. 0 Thus an inner pace 4 is obtained hich can be filled with a liquid such as milk. For manufacturing such dispensers use can be made of punches or vacuum dies by means of which the bulges in the foil sheets can be formed. 5 The bulges 2 converge at one extremity 5 in a pointed manner, and, there, each join a relatively narrow gutter 6a and 6b resp., the marginal portion 3 of both foil sheets being sealed in an air-tight anner also around this portion so that a narrow passage 7 i obtained. Into this G passage 7 a pi -istics fibre 8 is in er ed hich, at 9, is fixed to the . arqinai portion 3. This fibre closes, in this rnar er, the assaqe 7, the di ensions of said passage and fibre being so that, an outflow opening of a suitable magni¬ tude is obtained. Ti.e diameter of the fibre can, for instance, 5 be 1 ,4 m . Th,e ....i ,ι i na ' port'fin 3 is, nt -j ' ■ ■e ;- iri" r. f t n_• passage 7. w irieπed n t 7. and bevond the extrem i ty b of th bulges a notch 11 is formed in the edg j and between the latter and the passa 7 a pa t of the marginal material is cut away 0 as shown at 12. In use the portion 10 nt bot sides nf che notch 11 is gripped by the thumbs and four fingers of both hands so th&t this portion can be torn apart by performing opposite rotational movements, said tearing being facilitated by the 5 incision 1.2. The porti-n in' tn which the fibre 8 remains attached can be pulled away then in order to remove the fibre 8 from the pas age 7. Then the contents of the space 11 can be expelled by squeezing the bulges. If only a part of the contents is used, the marginal D ORlGtNAk - - portion remaining at the extremity 5 can be folded back so that, then, the dispensing opening will be closed. Preferably the bulges la and lb are, as hown, provided with a major lateral surface 14, this in such a manner 5 that, hen putting down the dispenser, the passage 7 is slight¬ ly inclined upwards. The air cushion present in the inner space 4 will, then, alw ys be situated near said passage so that, when pulling at the fibre, the air will escape fi rst, hich will be particularly favourable if said air ill have 0 a higher pressure than the ambien* " air. Also when putting down an only partly emp ied dispen er liquid dripoing out will be avoided . When t aring through the marginal portion 10 at the notch 11 and the incision 12, the plastics coating around 5 the passage 7 ma become omewhat burred which ay give rise to jet-breaking effect." when expelling the contents. lt can, therefore, be favourable to use, as hown sch at ically in Fig. 3, a fibre with a no. -circular cross-section, hich, when tearing lunse, performs a rotational movement of about 0 a quarter of a turn and, tnus, smoo hens the edge of the openi g. _ 1 nst _ ■ a-1 o r" a so ! i d f ibre i, n ] ">e a ..e I J _.w Fibre ha ing a suita le inner dinπeter can be used which, hen, is o be fi ed in the extre mi ty . "ri wh_ch i r.υϊ tiken a long wh-n 5 r mo. inq ' lie eu t inn Lu ' . In ..Ti!.-' " t : '.' ι.:ιl i '-■ f pc; • -'.'. ' ''- ■ j r f ^ • '.'..re !ι t feren..c . between the i terior of the dιsp r n .er and the su: round l ngy , it. can be esirabl to K P he wall por»tion:i of the bulg s somewh t undu 1 11 i ■ ■ .g . 30 Moreover it is possible to pro ide the broadening shown at 10 ami 10' al e at the other side nf the passage 7. It will be clear that such a dispenser can also be u ed for oth r l iquids then milk, and then the cross- section of the passage 7 is to be adapted to the viscosity }~ df the liquid, and, if desired, instead of a fibre also a needle can be used which can be re-inserted into the passage when the latter is to be closed again. This can, for instance, be desirable if the dispenser is used for dispensing glue. If a so-called two-component glue is to be dispensed, the B AD O IGINAL - 6 - dispenser can be provided with two spaces 4, and then the passage 7 will comprise a branching connecting with said two spaces as shown in DE-C 2649316.

Claims: - 7 - C l a i m s 1. A dispenser for dose-wise dispensing a liquid, in «__ particular milk or the like, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that it comprises two sheets of foil material (la, lb), each provided with a bulge (2a, 2b) and being sealed (3) around 5 said bulges in an air-tight manner for forming a space (4) filled or to be filed with the desired amount of liquid, a narrow gutter-shaped extension (6a, 6b) joining said bulges (2a, 2b), said extensions forming toqether a narrow passage (7) opening into the inner space (4), in which passage a 10 fib e or needle {8} closing said assage ( 7 is i serted, the lateral rim (3) being idened at least at one ide of said passage to a flat portion (10, 10' ) to be gripped by the fingers and being provided with a weakened edge part (11) so as to allo o tear said flat portion in the direction l5 of said passage (7). 2. The ispenser of claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said bulges (2a, 2b) conve ge in a sharply pointed manner at the side (5) joining said assage. ~ * 3. The dispenser of claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r - 20 i s e d in th t said flat portion (10, 10' ) an additional eakening (12) is provided. 4. The dispenser of any one of claims 1..3, c h a - r a c t e r i s e d in that the fibre or needle (8; is solid, and is fixed in the ter inal part beyonq^ said weakening (10, 25 12 . 5. The dispenser of claim 4, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the fibre or needle (8) has a non-circular and i par icular oval cross-section. 6. The 'ji''p. ιi!.cι of claim 4, c h a r a c t e r i s e d 30 in that the fibre or nι ; dle (8) is hollow, and is fixed in the portion not to be o n off. 7. The dispenser of any one of claims 1..6, c h a - r a c t e r i s a d in that the bulged portions (2a, 2b) have a substantially triangular longitudinal cross-section, 35 the dispenser thus obtaining two major lateral surfaces (14a, 14b) diver ing to ards the extremity (5) joining the passage 7. - 8 - 8. The dispenser of any one of claims 1..7, c h a ¬ r a c t e r i s e d in that at least one lateral surface thereof is provided with an undulation.

Inventors: HEIJENGA BEREND, HEIJENGA, BEREND
Applicants: HSM
Application year: 1986
Main classification: B65D75
IPC codes: B65D75