Patent Publication Number: US-7584870-B2

Title: Connecting device

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a connecting device for connecting discharge devices to packages with liquid products, preferably foodstuff products, for discharging said products from the packages, wherein the packages have walls of synthetic material. The connecting device includes two connecting members which can be connected to each other, namely a first connecting member which is located on a wall of the package and a second connecting member which can be connected to said first connecting member for connecting the discharge device to the package. The first connecting member has a hole or a notch for a hole, said hole being closed by means of a closing member, and the second connecting member has a tubular member by means of which the closing member can be penetrated for opening the first connecting member. The tubular member can be inserted into the hole and pressed onto edge portions of the hole such that the tubular member adheres to said edge portions and the connecting members thereby adhere close to each other. The hole in the first connecting member has four, five or six corners and edge portions which extend between said corners and the tubular member of the second connecting member has a corresponding number of corners and edge portions extending therebetween. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is known at connecting devices with connecting members having holes and tubular connecting members fitting thereto, to design the holes and the tubular members with four, five or six corners. The purpose of designing the holes and the tubular members respectively, in this way is that connection of a tubular member to a hole shall be possible only if the shapes thereof correspond exactly with each other. 
     However, it has been found that one by means of polygonal tubular members and holes can not entirely exclude misconnections since one by using force during connection can deform the members in which the holes are provided and/or the tubular members such that one thereby obtains an acceptable fit between said members. 
     Thus, it is possible to closely connect cylindrical connecting members, i.e. tubular members of ordinary shape, to connecting members having holes, wherein the holes are polygonal, so that one moves the cylindrical connecting member into the hole with such a force that the edges thereof are deformed and bent inwards until the hole gets a circular shape into which the tubular member fits. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to eliminate this problem and this is arrived at by providing the initially defined connecting device with the characterizing features of primarily subsequent claim  1 . 
     Since the first connecting member of the connecting device has holes and the second connecting member a tubular member, the edges of which are concave and arcuate and connect to each other, it is in practice impossible to deform the edges e.g. by means of cylindrical connecting members, which means that cylindrical connecting members are not connected to the connecting member with a hole. By designing the edges of the hole and the tubular member respectively, in said manner, it is further achieved that the members with holes and the tubular members will fit firmly together but still be easily releaseable from each other by relative rotation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic side view showing a package and a connecting device according to the invention provided thereon; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a first connecting member of the connecting device according to  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a second connecting member of the connecting device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates with a plan view an inner shape of a hole in the first connecting member according to  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 5  is a plan view of an outer shape of a tubular member of the second connecting member according to  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS 
     The connecting devices  1  illustrated in the drawings  5  are adapted for connection of discharge devices  2  to packages  3  with liquid products  4 , e.g. foodstuff products, for discharging said products  4  from the packages  3 . 
     The discharge devices  2  may be of different types. They may e.g. consist of or include a hose  5  or similar with a tap  6  and by opening the tap  6  the product  4  can flow out of the package  3  and out through the hose  5  by self-flow. The discharge devices  2  may in another embodiment include a pump P for pumping the product  4  out of the package  3  by generating a negative pressure therein. 
     The package  3  has walls  8  of synthetic material and it consists preferably completely of synthetic material. The material is preferably flexible and the package  3  may be designed as a plastic bag. The package  3  can preferably be placed in a container  7 . 
     The connecting device  1  has two connecting members  9  and  10  which can be connected to each other, namely a first connecting member  9  which is provided on a first wall portion  8   a  of a wall  8  of the package  3  and a second connecting member  10  which can be connected to the first connecting member  9  for connecting the discharge device  2  to the package  3 . 
     The first connecting member  9  has a hole  11  or a notch for a hole  11 . The hole  11  is closed by means of a closing member  13 . By means of a tubular member  14  of the second connecting member  10 , said closing member  13  can be penetrated and then, said tubular member  14  is insertable into the hole  11  until the connecting members  9 ,  10  are closely attached to each other. 
     In the embodiment shown, the hole  11  has six corners  15 , but it may alternatively have four or five corners  15 . The hole  11  has edge portions  16  which extend between adjacent corners (see  FIG. 4 ). In order to fit into such a hole  11  with six corners  15 , the tubular member  14  also has six corners  17  (or four or five corners if the hole  11  has this number of holes) and edge portions  18  between these corners  17  (see  FIG. 5 ). 
     The edge portions  16  of the hole  11  are inwardly directed and/or include members or portions which are directed inwards towards the centre C 1  of the hole  11  relative to straight geometric lines L 16  which connect adjacent corners  15  between the edge portions  16  to each other. The edge portions  18  of the tubular member  14  are in a corresponding manner directed inwards and/or include members or portions directed inwards towards the centre C 2  of the tubular member  14  relative to straight geometric lines L 18  which connect adjacent corners  17  between the edge portions  18  to each other. 
     In the embodiment shown, the edge portions  16  and  18  respectively, of the hole  11  and the tubular member  14  respectively, define concave arcs relative to the centre C 1  and C 2  respectively, of said hole  11  and said tubular member  14  respectively, and all these arcs may be uniform. 
     The inwardly directed edge portions  16 ,  18  may however be designed in other ways than concave arcs and they need not be uniform between all corners. 
     The first connecting member  9  may be provided in such a definite way on the package  3  that the edge portion  16  of its hole  11  get a predetermined orientation relative to the package  3 . 
     In the embodiment of the connecting device  1  illustrated in  FIGS. 1-3 , the first connecting member  9  is located inside the package  3 . A member or portion  9   a  of the first connecting member  9 , provided with the hole  11 , is located, preferably welded to the inside of a first wall portion  8   a  of the wall  8 . An unbroken part of said wall portion  8   a  define the closing member  13  closing the hole  11 . 
     The first connecting member  9  illustrated in  FIGS. 1-3  further includes a spacer  19  which is provided to hold such wall portions of the walls  8  of the package  3 , e.g. second wall portions  8   b  located right opposite to the wall portions  8   a , at a distance from the hole  11  such that these wall portions can not be located so close to the hole  11  that they when emptying the package  3  can prevent or obstruct the product  4  from flowing to the hole  11  and out therethrough. The spacer  19  may have one or more lateral openings  20  and an end opening  21  in an inner part  22  thereof. 
     It should be mentioned that connecting members  9  of said type and their functions have been known for a long time—see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,793, FIGS. 3 and 4. 
     The tubular member  14  may have an end edge  36  which is inclined relative to the geometric axial centre line of the tubular member  14 . This inclined end edge  36  forms a tip or point  37  which is eccentric relative to the centre line. 
     The first connecting member  9  may instead of the hole  11  have notches therefor and the closing member  13  may in such an embodiment be provided to fill the space between said notches and it may be penetrated by means of the tubular member  14 . In such an embodiment, the first connecting member  9  and the closing member  13  may be designed as a unit or the closing member  13  may be attached to the first connecting member  9  and cover the notch. 
     The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but may vary within the scope of the following claims. It should e.g. be mentioned that the package  3  may contain other liquid or semi-liquid products than foodstuff, such as e.g. pharmaceutical products or glue products.