Device for dispensing liquids from bag-in-boxes

Abstract: A device for dispensing liquids from bag-in-boxes (2) provided with a tap (3) with built-in check valve (4), which comprises a base (5, 16) for accommodating and supporting at least one bag-in-box (2), retention means (6) which are meant to detachably engage a portion of the tap (3) of the, or of each, bag-in-box (2) in order to rigidly couple the bag-in-box (2) to the seating and supporting base (5, 16), and actuator means (12) meant to open the check valve (4) in the tap (3) of the, or of each, bag-in-box (2).

Description: The present invention relates to a device for dispensing liquids from bag-in-box containers and particularly for pouring beverages packaged in bag-in-boxes. An unpleasant drawback the user of bag-in-boxes for liquids provided with a tap protruding from the lower part of the bag-in-box meets with is due to the fact that pouring requires one to arrange the bag-in-box at an edge of a support, so that the tap cantilevers out beyond the edge of the support, whereby it is possible to arrange below the tap a vessel for collecting the liquid dispensed through the tap. In any case, it is necessary to work with both hands: the operator holds a glass or other collection vessel with one hand and operates with the other hand the tap, provided with a check valve of the membrane or needle type for dispensing liquid. After dispensing or pouring liquid it is almost always necessary to store the bag-in-box in another suitable place in order to avoid occupying space; the bag-in-box must then be taken from said place again and repositioned for subsequent pouring. By proceeding in this way liquid often drips or seeps, for example onto the floor if the bag-in-box is placed at the edge of a table, and this is highly undesirable because this entails supplemental cleaning work. WO-A-91/10616 discloses a wine chiller apparatus as defined in the preamble of claim 1. EP-A-0 434 126 discloses a device for dosed pumping of viscous products wherein the product container is rested upon a supporting base and blocked by retention means which however are not equipped with integral lever means adapted to dispense the product. DE-U-90 06 469 discloses a dispensing device provided with a tray arranged at a lower position with respect to the product container. The aim of the present invention is to provide a device for dispensing liquids from bag-in-box packages provided with a tap with built-in check valve, which is capable of eliminating the above-mentioned drawbacks. An object of the present invention is to provide a device for dispensing liquids from a bag-in-box which is easy to use even with one hand for the user, is highly reliable and efficient and has a low manufacturing cost. This aim, this object and others which will become apparent hereinafter are achieved by a device for dispensing liquids from bag-in-boxes, as defined in claim 1. Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of some currently preferred embodiments thereof, given merely by way of non-limitative example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a front elevation view of a device for dispensing liquids which is about to accommodate a bag-in-box containing a liquid; Figure 2 is a view, similar to Figure 1, with the bag-in-box fixed in position on the dispensing device; Figure 3 is a side view of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the liquid dispensing device of Figures 1 to 3; Figure 5 is a partial front elevation view, similar to Figure 1 but related to another embodiment of the retention means in the open position; Figure 6 is a partial and slightly elevated perspective view of a bolt-type locking system of the retention means; Figure 7 is a partial front elevation view of the retention means of Figures 4 to 6, locked in closed position by a bolt; Figure 8 is a partial front elevation view of another embodiment of detachable retention means in the open position; Figure 9 is a slightly elevated reduced-scale perspective view of a detail of Figure 8; Figure 10 is a view which is similar to Figure 8 but shows the retention means in closed position. Identical or similar parts or components have been designated by the same reference numerals in the accompanying drawings. Initially with reference to Figures 1 to 3, it can be observed that a device 1 for dispensing liquids from bag-in-boxes 2 provided with a tap 3 with built-in check valve 4, for example of a type with spring-loaded membrane, is constituted by a seating and supporting base 5 for a bag-in-box 2 and by a lever 6 constituting a removable retention means which is meant to engage the tap 3 of a bag-in-box. The lever 6 is advantageously yoke-shaped and has an end which is articulated to the front of the base 5 at a pivot 7, so that it can be moved angularly between a raised or open position and a lowered or closed position; its other end is provided with a tooth 8 shaped like an inclined plane and can automatically engage, with a snap action, a raised portion or block 9 provided on the front of the base 5 and be disengaged by means of an easy manual action for spacing the tooth 8 from the raised portion 9. The lever 6 has, at its centerline and in a downward region, an inward recess 10 which is meant to delimit, in the lowered position of the lever, together with a corresponding notch 11 provided at the top of a front wall 5a of the base 5, a seat for accommodating the stem of the tap 3 of a bag-in-box 2, while in an upward region it supports an elbow-shaped lever 12 which is pivoted on a pivot 13 whose axis is perpendicular to the pivot 7 and is supported by two lugs 14 which are rigidly coupled to the lever 6. The elbow-shaped lever 12 constitutes an actuator means which allows, by pressing on the membrane valve 4, to open said valve to pour or dispense the liquid contained in the bag-in-box 2. In the illustrated example, the base 5 is formed monolithically by molding suitable plastic materials, for example PVC or ABS, and has a rectangular plan shape with four legs 15 which support a supporting surface 16 for a bag-in-box 2. Advantageously, walls are provided on at least three sides of the supporting surface 16: namely, a front wall 5a and two side walls 5b. At the front of the base a drip tray 17 is provided which is rigidly coupled to the lower part of the two front feet 15 and protrudes beyond the footprint of the base 5 in order to act as a support for a liquid collection vessel, such as a glass, and to collect any overflow seepages or drops from the tap after the closure of the valve 3. Starting from the condition shown in Figure 1, i.e., with the lever 6 in the raised position, a bag-in-box 2 is placed on the supporting and seating surface 16 of the base 5, so that the tap 3 is arranged in the notch 11 and cantilevers out of the base 5. Then the lever 6 is lowered so that its recess 10 rests on the tap 3, causing the automatic snap locking of its end tooth 8 against the block 9. At the same time, the elbow-shaped lever is arranged as shown in Figure 3, so that it is sufficient to lower it with one finger to dispense the liquid contained in the bag-in-box 2, while said bag-in-box is stably supported by the base 5 and therefore cannot tip forward, also thanks to the presence of the drip tray 17. In the embodiment shown in Figures 5 to 7, the retention means are again constituted by a lever 6 which has, instead of the end tooth 8, a protrusion 20 whereon a bolt 21 can abut; said bolt has a polygonal cross-section and is slidingly mounted in a bushing 22 which is provided with an equally polygonal passage and is fixed to, or monolithic with, the front wall 5a of the base 5. Figures 8 to 10 are views of another embodiment, wherein the retention means are formed by a fork-like element 25 provided with two end teeth 26, each of which is flanked by an inclined-plane surface 27 for snap insertion in respective slots 28 formed in an expansion 29 on the upper edge of the front wall 5a of the base 5, which also follows the contour of the semicircular notch 11. In order to disengage the prongs of the fork, the user merely has to manually move the ends of said prongs mutually closer in order to disengage the respective tooth 26 from the slots 28 and allow the spacing of the fork-like element 25 without any difficulty. The invention described above is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations within the protective scope defined by the content of the claims. Thus, for example, the base 5 can be given such dimension as to accommodate a plurality of bag-in-boxes 2, in which case the front wall 5a has a corresponding number of notches 11, while the lever 6 can be either provided with a corresponding number of recesses 10 and lugs or flaps 14 or it is possible to provide as many levers 6 as there are notches 11. The same applies to the fork-like element 25. The materials and the dimensions may be various according to requirements. Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims: A device for dispensing liquids from bag-in-boxes provided with a tap (3) with built-in check valve (4), comprising a base (5, 16) for accommodating and supporting at least one bag-in-box (2), retention means (6, 8, 9, 20, 21, 22) which are meant to detachably engage a portion of the tap (3) of the, or of each, bag-in-box (2) in order to rigidly couple the bag-in-box to the seating and supporting base (5, 16), and actuator means (12) which are meant to open the check valve (4) in the tap (3) of the, or of each, bag-in-box (2), characterized in that said retention means comprise a lever-type engagement element (6) which is meant to engage said tap (3) of the, or of each, bag-in-box (2), said lever element (6) being articulated, at one end, to said base (5) so that it can be moved angularly between a raised or open position and a lowered or closed position in engagement with said tap (3), said lever element (6) being provided, in a downward region, with a recess (10) for each bag-in-box (2) to be engaged, which is suitable to delimit, in the lowered position of said lever element (6), at least part of a seating and engagement seat for the tap (3) of the, or of each respective, bag-in-box (2), while in an upward region being provided with two flaps or lugs (14), an elbow-shaped lever (12) which is pivoted on a pivot (13) being supported by said lugs (14) but whose axis is perpendicular to the articulation axis (7) of the lever element (6), said elbow-shaped lever (12) constituting said actuator means for the manual actuation of said check valve (4). The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the other end of said lever element (6) is provided with a tooth (8) which has a surface shaped like an inclined plane, and a block (9) which is provided on said base (5) and is meant to engage, with a snap action, the tooth (8) on said other end of said lever element (6), wherefrom it can be disengaged by manual elastic deformation of said other end of said lever element (6). The device according to claim 1, characterized in that said base (5) has at least one top notch (11) which is suitable to delimit at least part of the seat for a portion of said tap (3) of a respective bag-in-box (2) in the lowered position of said lever element (6). The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the other end of said lever is provided with a protrusion (20), said retention means further comprising a bolt element (21) which is slidingly mounted on said base (5) and is suitable to engage said protrusion (20) at said other end of said lever element (6). The device according to any one of the preceding claims 2 to 4, characterized in that said retention means comprise at least one fork-like element (25) which has two end teeth (26), each of which is flanked by an inclined-plane surface (27), and a number of slots (28), which is equal to the number of the prongs of the, or of each, fork-like element (25); the slots (28) being adapted for snap insertion of the teeth (26) therein, whereby a removable snap engagement of the respective tooth (26) of a fork-like element (25) in said slots (28) is provided. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said base (5) is formed monolithically by molding suitable plastic materials and has a rectangular plan shape with at least three legs (15) which support a supporting surface (16) for the, or for each, bag-in-box (2). The device according to claim 6, characterized in that said base (5) comprises a wall (5a, 5b) on at least three sides of said supporting surface (16). The device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that said base (5) comprises a drip tray (17), said supporting surface being spaced with respect to said tray.

Inventors: MARTINI BRUNO, MARTINI, BRUNO
Applicants: MARTINI BRUNO, MARTINI, BRUNO
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B67D3
IPC codes: B67D3