Patent Publication Number: US-8528783-B2

Title: Sterile dispensing package with coupling insert for receipt of piercing member and method of using the same

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to valves and more particularly to flexible packages and more particularly to aseptic (sterile) flexible packages for dispensing flowable materials. 
     Several U.S. patents disclose flexible packages, i.e., packages including a flexible wall, adapted for holding a flowable, e.g., liquid or semi-liquid, product. Those packages include an inner coupling device that is located within the interior of the package adjacent an unopened portion of the package&#39;s flexible wall. An outer coupling device, typically in the form of a piercing device, is provided and arranged to be connected to the inner coupling device with a portion of the wall of the package interposed therebetween so that it can be pierced to provide access to the interior of the package. In particular, when the two coupling devices are connected together a piercing portion of the outer coupling device pierces through an interposed unopened portion of the wall of the package, whereupon the flowable material can be dispensed from the package. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,793 (Stern) discloses a flexible package wherein the perforation of the package&#39;s flexible wall is carried out simultaneously with the interconnection of the inner and outer coupling devices. Owing to the construction of that device, leakage may occur in some instances during the connection/perforating step. U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,845 (Stern) attempts to address the leakage problem of the device of the &#39;793 Stern patent. To that end the &#39;845 Stern patent discloses a package including an inner coupling device located within the package and an outer coupling device or perforator. Unlike the device of the &#39;793 Stern patent the outer coupling device of the &#39;845 Stern patent does not make the hole in the wall of the package when the two coupling devices are interconnected, but makes that hole after the interconnection of the inner and outer coupling devices. U.S. Pat. No. 6,082,584 (Stern) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,410 (Stern) disclose other flexible packages wherein the piercing of the flexible package is effected after the inner and outer coupling devices are interconnected. 
     Other patents disclosing flexible packages including inner and outer coupling devices for effecting the perforation of the wall of the package to provide access to the package&#39;s interior are: U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,488 (Gurzan); U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,099 (Heucke et al.); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,732 (Drennow). 
     While the aforementioned devices may be generally suitable for their intended purposes they nevertheless leave something to be desired from one or more various standpoints, simplicity of construction, ease of use, and resistance to leakage. The subject invention addresses those needs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One aspect of this invention entails a package for enabling the dispensing a flowable material therefrom. The package basically comprising a piercing member, an interior chamber, and a coupling insert located within the chamber. The chamber is arranged for receipt of a flowable material and comprises a wall formed of a flexible sheet material. The piercing member comprises a piercing tip, a conduit in fluid communication with the piercing tip and a sealing skirt. The coupling insert has a wall-engaging surface and an opening contiguous with the wall-engaging surface that is in communication with the interior chamber. The piercing member and the coupling insert are arranged to be moved with respect to each other to cause the piecing tip to engage the wall of the package and pass therethrough as the sealing skirt engages a portion of the wall of said package around the piercing tip. The piercing member and the coupling insert are snap-connectable to each other after the piercing tip has pierced the wall of the package, whereupon the piercing member and the coupling insert are secured together, with the conduit of the piercing member in fluid communication with the interior chamber. 
     In accordance with another aspect of this invention a method of dispensing a flowable material from a flexible package is provided. That method entails providing a dispensing package having a wall formed of a flexible material, an interior chamber contiguous with the wall of the package and a coupling insert disposed within the chamber. The dispensing package has a flowable material in its interior chamber. The coupling insert comprises a wall-engaging surface and an opening in the wall-engaging surface that is in communication with the interior chamber. A piercing member is provided and comprises a piercing tip, a conduit in fluid communication with the piercing tip and a sealing skirt. The dispensing package and the piercing member are moved with respect to each other to cause the piercing tip to penetrate the wall of the package to enter into the opening in the wall-engaging surface of the coupling insert as the sealing skirt engages a portion of the wall of the package between it and said wall-engaging surface of the coupling insert. After that has occurred the piercing member and the coupling insert are snap-fit together with the conduit of said piercing member in fluid communication with the interior chamber. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view, partially in section, of one exemplary embodiment of a flexible dispensing package including a piercing member and a coupling insert constructed in accordance with this invention shown at a preliminary step in the assembly of the package to enable the package to dispense its contents; 
         FIG. 2  is a top plan view taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1  showing the piercing end of the piercing member; 
         FIG. 3  is a top plan view taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1  showing one end of the coupling insert; 
         FIG. 4  is a partial sectional view showing the package of  FIG. 1  after it has been assembled, i.e., the piercing member connected to the coupling member with a portion of the wall of the package interposed therebetween; 
         FIG. 5  is a reduced isometric view the package of  FIG. 1  with the coupling insert located therein, but shown before the connection of the piercing member thereto; 
         FIG. 6  is view similar to  FIG. 1 , but showing an alternative embodiment of a package constructed in accordance with this invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a top plan view taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6  showing the piercing end of the piercing member; 
         FIG. 8  is a top plan view taken along line  8 - 8  of  FIG. 6  showing one end of the coupling insert; and 
         FIG. 9  is a partial sectional view showing the package of  FIG. 6  after it has been assembled, i.e., the piercing member connected to the coupling member with a portion of the wall of the package interposed therebetween. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the various figures of the drawing wherein like reference characters refer to like parts, there is shown at  20  in  FIG. 1  and at  20 ′ in  FIG. 6  respective exemplary embodiments of flexible packages constructed in accordance with this invention. Each package is arranged to be pierced by a piercing member forming a portion of the package to provide access to the interior of the package so that flowable material located within the interior of the package can be dispensed. The actual dispensing of the flowable material from the package is typically accomplished by use of a dispensing apparatus (not shown) into which the package is inserted. Thus, as can be seen in  FIGS. 1 ,  5  and  6  each of the packages of this invention basically comprise a hollow body  22  ( FIG. 5 ), an internally located coupling insert  24 A ( FIGS. 1 ,  3 ,  4  and  5 ) and  24 B ( FIGS. 6 ,  8  and  9 ) and a piercing member  26 A ( FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  4 ) and  26 B ( FIGS. 6 ,  7  and  9 ). The piercing member is adapted to pierce a portion of the wall of the package between it and the internally located coupling insert to provide access to the interior of the package. Moreover the piercing member and the coupling are arranged to be snap-connected together after the package&#39;s wall has been pierced to hold the components together so that the flowable contents of the package can be withdrawn or dispensed through the piercing member. 
     It should be pointed out at this juncture that this invention contemplates a variety of types of packages, e.g., “pillow” type pouches (rectangular or otherwise shaped) like that shown in  FIG. 5 , stand-up pouches (i.e., pouches having a bottom gusset to produce a self-standing geometry), parallelepiped (e.g., “brick-shaped”) gusseted packages, etc. Irrespective of the shape of the package, the body of each package comprises plural walls  28  formed of a flexible sheet material and which bound an interior chamber  30  in which a flowable product is located. 
     The packages of this invention are particularly suited for holding flowable foodstuffs, e.g., liquids, pasty materials, etc., or other products which need to be maintained under aseptic conditions until they are ready to be dispensed. To that end, the material(s) making up the package&#39;s walls  28  can be either a single ply or multiple plies of any conventional flexible packaging material suitable for that purpose. 
     As best seen in  FIGS. 1 and 5 , and as mentioned above, the coupling insert  24 A is located within the package&#39;s hollow interior (chamber)  30 . In accordance with one preferred aspect of this invention the coupling insert  24 A is freely movable within the chamber  30 , but may, if desired be affixed to the inner surface of any desired portion of a wall  28  of the package bounding the chamber. With the coupling insert being freely movable within the package, the user can position it to any desired position in the package to serve as a backstop for the piercing member, i.e., to enable the package to be pierced by the piercing member at that particular desired position. This enables the packages of this invention to be used with a wide variety of conventional apparatus or machines for dispensing the contents of the packages. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 ,  3  and  4  the details of the coupling insert  24 A will now be described. The coupling insert is arranged to act as a backstop against which the piercing member can be pressed to effect the piercing of the wall of the package. As can be seen the coupling insert  24 A basically comprises a pair of circular disk-like plates  32 A and  34 A which are disposed parallel to each other by four equidistantly spaced struts  36 A. The central portion of each of the disk-like plates is inwardly offset to form an undercut circularly shaped recess  38 A, i.e., the annular surface  40 A surrounding the recess  38 A is undercut. The undercut recess  38 A is arranged to be snap-connected to an interrupted annular wall (to be described later) forming a portion of the piercing member  26  to connect the piercing member to the internally located coupling insert after the wall of the package has been pierced to thereby hold those components together (as will be described later). A circular opening or hole  42 A extends through the center of the recess  36 A to receive a piercing tip (to be described later) of the piercing member. In accordance with a preferred aspect of this invention the coupling insert  24 A (as well as the coupling insert  24 B to be described later) is an integral or unitary member and can be formed in any way, e.g., molded of a plastic or any other material suitable for contact with the product to be held within the package&#39;s chamber  30 . 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  4  the details of the piercing member  26 A will now be described. As can be seen that member basically comprises a cup-shaped body  44 A having a planar lower end wall  46 A. An annular skirt  48 A projects outward from the periphery of the end wall  46 A. The skirt is somewhat flexible to form a seal with a portion of the wall of the package (as will be described later) to prevent the leakage of the flowable material from the package as the piercing operation occurs and before the piercing member and the coupling insert are snap-connected together. The free edge of the skirt  48 A is flared and arranged to receive the peripheral edge of either of the circular plates  32 A or  34 A of the coupling insert  24 A with a portion of the wall  28  of the package interposed therebetween (as will also be described later). This flaring configuration serves to guide or center the piercing member with respect to the coupling insert to facilitate the piercing of the package. 
     The piercing of the package is accomplished specifically by means of a piercing tip  50 A. The piercing tip  50 A is a tubular member that projects outward from the center of the end wall  46 A and has a central passageway  52 A extending through it. The free end of the tubular piercing tip is in the form of a sharp angularly extending cutting edge. The tubular piercing tip  50 A is arranged to be received within the central opening or hole  42 A in the coupling insert when the package is to be pierced. To that end, the internal diameter of the hole  42 A is approximately the same size or slightly larger than the external diameter of the piercing tip. 
     The piercing of the wall of the package is accomplished as follows. The coupling insert is moved to the desired position within the sealed package so that the outer surface of either of its plates  32 A or  34 A engages the inner surface of the wall of the package at the desired location for the penetration. The piercing member is then moved toward the package&#39;s body  22  as shown in  FIG. 1  until the free sharpened end of the piercing tip engages the portion of the wall of the package disposed directly over the hole  42 A in the coupling insert. At the time that this occurs the sealing skirt makes contact with the wall of the package to prevent leakage of the flowable material (as will be described later). Continued movement of the piercing member toward the coupling member causes the piercing tip to cut and pass through the wall of the package until the piercing tip and the coupling insert are snap-fit together as shown in  FIG. 4 . This action creates a hole in the wall of the package, e.g., a portion of the wall of the package will be cut away to form a flap extending into the interior of the package, through which the piercing tube extends. The hollow interior passageway  52 A of the piercing tip now extends through the hole  42 A in the coupling insert and is in fluid communication with the interior (chamber  30 ) of the package, i.e., the flowable material within the chamber. 
     As mentioned earlier, the piercing member  26 A is arranged to be snap-connected to the coupling insert  24 A after the piercing of the package has occurred. That connection action is accomplished by means of an interrupted annular wall  54 A. That wall projects from the piercing member&#39;s end wall  46 A and extends about the piercing tip  50 A. The interrupted annular wall  54 A is arranged to be snap-fit within the circular recess  38 A in either of the plates  32 A or  34 A of the coupling insert  24 A as shown in  FIG. 4 . To that end, the outer surface of the interrupted annular wall  54 A is of a complementary shape to the under cut surface  40 A of the recess  38 A. The height of the interrupted annular wall  54 A is significantly shorter than the length of the piercing tip  50 A to ensure that the piercing of the interposed wall  28  of the package  20  by the piercing tip occurs before the interrupted annular wall  54 A snap-connects into the undercut recess  38 A. 
     Since the wall  28  of the package will be pierced before the piercing member and the coupling insert are connected together, the annular skirt  48 A is dimensioned to engage a portion of the wall of the package as soon as the piercing tip engages the wall of the package. The periphery of the annular skirt thus forms a seal preventing leakage of the flowable product from the package. To that end, the free edge of the sealing skirt is at least coplanar with the free end of the piercing tip, and can even extend slightly therebeyond (in which case the sealing skirt will engage the wall of the package before piercing begins). 
     As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, since the sealing skirt  48 A is somewhat flexible and its free edge is flared, the skirt will flex outward as it engages the wall  28  of the package so that it rides over the periphery of either of the plates  32 A or  34 A of the coupling insert and then snaps back to trap the wall of the package between it and the associated plate  32 A or  34 A. At substantially the same time the interrupted annular wall  54 A will have snap-fit into the recess  38 A in that associated plate as shown in  FIG. 4 . Accordingly, the piercing member  26 A will be secured to the coupling insert  24 A by the snap-connection of its interrupted annular wall  54 A in the recess  38 A as well as the snap-fitting of the sealing skirt  48 A about the periphery of the associated plate  32 A or  34 A. The tight interposition of the package&#39;s wall  28  between those members ensures that the flowable contents of the package cannot leak out of the connection. 
     The flowable material within the package is arranged to be withdrawn or dispensed from the package via the passageway  52 A in tubular piercing tip  50 A. To that end, another tubular member  56 A extends from the end wall  46 A opposite to the piercing tip  50 A. The central passageway  52 A of the tubular piercing tip extends through the tubular member  56 A. A flexible dispensing tube  58 A is arranged to be secured to the tubular member  56 A, i.e., the tubular member is frictionally fit within an end of the dispensing tube  58 A. The free end (not shown) of the flexible dispensing tube is closed, e.g., sealed, so that the contents of the package can not flow out of that tube until such action is desired. The opening of that tube can be accomplished by cutting off the sealed portion when the package is ready to be inserted into the dispensing apparatus. As mentioned above, the piercing device includes a cup-shaped body  44 A. As can be seen in  FIGS. 1 and 4  that body includes a plurality of externally located annular rings or flanges, which may be utilized to mount or dispose the package  20  within the dispensing apparatus. 
     The positioning of the coupling insert at a desired position within the package to enable the piercing member to pierce the package at that position can be facilitated in various ways. For example, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the package may include one or more target indicia  60  printed on the package and serving as the desired location for the penetration of the package. All that is required of the user of the package is to move the coupling insert to those indicia. Since the walls of the package are flexible one can readily determine the location of the coupling member by feel. Moreover, if desired the package may be formed of a transparent or translucent material to enable the visualization of the internally located coupling insert so that it can be readily moved to its desired position. As mentioned above, if desired, the coupling insert can be fixedly secured to the inner surface of the package at a desired location so that the package can be pierced at only that location. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 6-9 , there is shown a second embodiment of a package  20 ′ constructed in accordance with this invention. The package  20 ′ makes use of the heretofore coupling insert  24 B and the heretofore identified piercing member  26 B. It should be pointed out at this juncture that packages other than those specifically shown and described herein are contemplated. Various features of the package  20 ′ shown in  FIGS. 6-9  are identical to those of the package  20  of  FIGS. 1-5 . In the interest of brevity those components that are common to both of the packages will be given the same reference numbers and a description of their construction and operation will not be reiterated. Thus, as can be seen the coupling insert  24 B basically comprises a pair of circular disk-like plates  32 B and  34 B which are disposed parallel to each other by four equidistantly spaced struts  36 A. The central portion of each of the disk-like plates is in the form of a raised circular mesa  38 B. A circular opening or hole  42 A extends through the center of the mesa  38 B to receive the piercing tip of the piercing member  26 B. 
     The piercing member  26 B basically comprises the cup-shaped body  44 A having a planar lower end wall  46 A. An annular skirt  48 B projects outward from the end wall  46 A and extends around the piercing tip  50 A. The skirt is somewhat flexible to form a seal with a portion of the wall of the package (as will be described later) to prevent the leakage of the flowable material from the package as the piercing operation occurs and before the piercing member and the coupling insert are snap-connected together. The free edge of the skirt  48 B is flared and arranged to receive the periphery of the circular mesa  38 B of either of the circular plates  32 B or  34 B of the coupling insert  24 B with a portion of the wall  28  of the package interposed therebetween (as will also be described later). This flaring configuration serves to guide or center the piercing member with respect to the coupling insert to facilitate the piercing of the package. 
     The piercing of the package is accomplished by means of the piercing tip  50 A which is arranged to be received within the central opening or hole  42 A in the coupling insert  24 B when the package  20 ′ is to be pierced. To that end, the internal diameter of the hole  42 A is approximately the same size or slightly larger than the external diameter of the piercing tip  50 A. 
     The piercing of the wall  28  of the package  20 ′ is accomplished as follows. The coupling insert  24 B is moved to the desired position within the sealed package so that the outer surface of either of its plates  32 B or  34 B engages the inner surface of the wall of the package at the desired location for the penetration. The piercing member is then moved toward the package&#39;s body  22  as shown in  FIG. 6  until the free sharpened end of the piercing tip  50 A engages the wall of the package disposed directly over the hole  42 A in the coupling insert. At the time that this occurs the sealing skirt  48 B makes contact with the wall of the package to prevent leakage of the flowable material (as will be described later). Continued movement of the piercing member toward the coupling member causes the sealing skirt to flex outward while still engaging the wall of the package to maintain the seal and also the piercing tip to cut through the wall of the package at the opening until the piercing tip and the coupling insert are snap-fit together as shown in  FIG. 9 . This action creates a hole in the wall of the package, e.g., a portion of the wall of the package will be cut away to form a flap extending into the interior of the package, through which the piercing tube extends. The hollow interior passageway  52 A of the piercing tip will now extend through the hole  42 A in the coupling insert and will be in fluid communication with the interior of the package, i.e., the flowable material within the chamber  30 . 
     Since the wall  28  of the package will be pierced before the piercing member and the coupling insert are connected together, the annular skirt  48 B is dimensioned to engage a portion of the wall of the package as soon as the piercing tip engages the wall of the package to form a seal preventing leakage of the flowable product from the package. Thus, the free edge of the sealing skirt is at least coplanar with the free end of the piercing tip, and can even extend slightly therebeyond (in which case the sealing skirt will engage the wall of the package before piercing begins). 
     As mentioned earlier, the piercing member  26 B is arranged to be snap-connected to the coupling insert  24 B after the piercing of the package has occurred. That connection action is accomplished specifically by means of an annular wall  54 B. That wall projects from the periphery of the piercing member&#39;s end wall  46 A. The annular wall  54 B is somewhat flexible and includes a slightly inwardly directed flange at its free end. The annular wall is arranged to be snap-fit around the periphery of either of the plates  32 B or  34 B of the coupling insert  24 B as shown in  FIG. 9 . 
     As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, since the annular wall  54 B is somewhat flexible it will flex outward as it engages the wall  28  of the package so that it rides over the periphery of either of the plates  32 B or  34 B of the coupling insert and then snaps back to trap the wall of the package between it and the associated plate  32 B or  34 B. Accordingly, the piercing member  26 B will be secured to the coupling insert  24 B by the snap-fitting of the annular wall  54 B about the periphery of the associated plate  32 B or  34 B. The tight interposition of the package&#39;s wall between those members ensures that the flowable contents of the package cannot leak out of the connection. 
     The flowable material within the package is arranged to be withdrawn or dispensed from the package via the passageway  52 A which is coupled to the flexible dispensing tube  58 A via the tubular member  56 A. 
     Like usage of the package  20 , the coupling insert  24 B of the package  20 ′ can be fixedly secured to the inner surface of the package  20 ′ at a desired location so that the package can be pierced at only that location. 
     Without further elaboration the foregoing will so fully illustrate my invention that others may, by applying current or future knowledge, adopt the same for use under various conditions of service.