Abstract:
A dispensing system, a flexible bag or pouch for use therewith, and methods for filling a dispensing bottle with a flowable product and dispensing the same are disclosed. The system includes a flexible bag and a dispensing bottle. The flowable product is located in the bag. The bag includes a first end and a second end. The bottle includes an interior chamber, a squeezable sidewall surrounding the chamber and a bottom cap including a dispensing valve. The bag is disposed in the chamber with the second end opened to form an open mouth, whereupon the flowable product is in communication with the dispensing valve. Squeezing of the bottle&#39;s sidewall applies pressure to the flowable product to cause it to be dispensed out of the bottle through dispensing valve.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from provisional application: Ser. No. 62/346,640, filed on Jun. 7, 2016, entitled Dispensing System For Dispensing Flowable Materials And Methods of Dispensing Flowable Materials, whose disclosure is specifically incorporated in its entirety by reference herein and which application is assigned to the same assignee as this invention. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    “Not Applicable” 
       INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISK 
       [0003]    “Not Applicable” 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    This invention relates to dispensing systems and more particularly to squeeze bottles for dispensing flowable materials, such as sauces, condiments, etc., and methods of dispensing flowable materials from such bottles 
         [0005]    Squeeze bottles for dispensing a variety of sauces and condiments are commonly used in food service operations. These bottles are sometimes purchased pre-filled and are disposed of when empty. This is expensive and wasteful since these bottles are made from heavy plastic materials. Simple refillable bottles are also in use. These allow the food service company to purchase products in bulk and refill the dispensing bottle as needed. The downside to this is the need to clean these bottles for reuse. In addition, the bottles may just be topped off with new product leaving residual old product in the bottom which could be a health hazard. A dispensing device sold under the trademark FIFO BOTTLE™ by Fifo Innovations, #107-2999 Underhill Ave., Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 3C2 and as shown on the website www.fifobottle.com is the form of a squeezable hollow bottle adapted to have a flowable material introduced into it through a removable cap at the top of the bottle. The bottle includes a one-way silicone valve at the bottom of the bottle through which the flowable product is dispensed when the bottle is squeezed. The cap includes a one way valve that allows outside air to enter the bottle. In use, the bottle is squeezed, which creates pressure on the product, whereupon the product is forced out of the bottom valve. When the bottle is released air enters the bottle through the top valve to replace the volume of product that has exited the bottle. This arrangement allows the user to fill the FIFO BOTTLE™ from bulk into the top and then dispense product from the bottom and hence appears to be an improvement over the standard refillable bottle. 
         [0006]    While that bottle and other fill/bottom dispense systems are generally suitable for their intended purposes they nevertheless leave much to be desired. In particular, complaints about the top fill/bottom dispense system center around product losses. In particular, the valve system in these bottles requires cleaning. This can result in some product loss. The larger issue is product loss from some residual product being left in the bulk container. In this regard, a large amount of product may cling to the bulk container, thus increasing the time to empty the bulk container completely. The busy food service operator may throw away this bulk container before it is empty to save time. Another issue is product spoilage in the bulk container once the container is opened. Some sensitive products may spoil in the bulk container before it can be used. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 8,960,502 (Stehli, Jr. et al.) (hereinafter the “&#39;502 Patent”) discloses a dispenser system that includes a squeezable dispenser bottle and a container holding a flowable product for location within the bottle and which presumable is designed to overcome some of the disadvantages of top fill/bottom dispense systems. The bottle of the &#39;502 Patent has a cap with a one-way dispensing valve at the bottom of the bottle and cap with a one-way air inlet valve at the top of the bottle. The container includes a flexible walled top portion, a more rigid walled bottom portion. The bottom of the container is openable, e.g., in one embodiment includes a removable cover, to provide access to the flowable product when the bottom is opened, e.g., the cover is removed. The flexible walled top portion forms an inversion tube. The container is located in the bottle with the openable end of the container located adjacent the dispensing valve such that the flowable product is in fluid communication with the dispensing valve when the bottom of the container is opened. Squeezing of the bottle squeezes the container, thereby causing the flowable product in the container to be ejected through the dispensing valve. During dispensing the inversion tube portion of the container inverts into the more rigid walled portion of the container as the flowable product is dispensed. Upon release of the bottle, air enters through the one-way valve to fill the bottle with air to replace the forced-out flowable contents and neutralize the pressure in the space between the container and the bottle. 
         [0008]    While the system of the &#39;502 Patent appears suitable for its intended purposes, it nevertheless leaves much to be desired from the standpoint of simplicity of construction, ease of use, ability to be readily cleaned. 
         [0009]    Thus, a need exists for dispensing system including a bottle that is easy to fill with a flowable product and which facilitates dispensing of that product without wastage and requires minimal cleaning, if any, after use. The subject invention addresses that need by providing a dispensing system including a bottle and a flexible bag filled with a flowable product, which is simple in construction, easy to use, and effective to dispense the product from the bag through a dispensing valve in the bottle without wastage and which requires minimal cleaning, if any, of the bottle after use. Thus, the subject invention should improve food safety and reduce food waste by elimination open bulk containers and enable bottle cleaning to be simpler and faster in the event that the bottle&#39;s dispensing valve become fouled. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    One aspect of this invention is a system for dispensing a flowable material from a bottle. The system comprises the flexible bag or pouch, and a dispensing bottle. The flexible bag or pouch comprises a body formed of a flexible material and bounding an interior space in which a flowable product is located. The flexible bag or pouch includes a first (e.g., top sealed) end and a second (e,g., bottom sealed) end. The bottle comprises a hollow container having a top end portion, a bottom end portion and a sidewall interposed therebetween and bounding an interior chamber. The bottom end portion of the bottle comprises a bottom cap releasably securable to the sidewall of the bottle and including a dispensing valve. The flexible bag or pouch is located in the interior chamber with the first end being opened to form an open mouth of the bag or pouch, such that the flowable product is in communication with the dispensing valve, whereupon squeezing of the sidewall of the bottle applies pressure to the flowable product within the flexible bag or pouch to cause it to be dispensed through the dispensing valve. 
         [0011]    In accordance with one preferred aspect of the system of this invention the flexible bag or pouch comprises a peelable seal configured to be peeled open to form the mouth. 
         [0012]    In accordance with another preferred aspect of the system of this invention portions of the bag or pouch contiguous with the open mouth are configured to be interposed and held between the bottom cap and the sidewall of the bottle. 
         [0013]    In accordance with another preferred aspect of the system of this invention the dispensing valve comprises a one-way valve. 
         [0014]    In accordance with another preferred aspect of the system of this invention the top end portion includes a one-way top valve configured to enable ambient air to enter through the one-way top valve to the interior chamber when the squeezing of the bottle is released to thereby fill the space within the interior chamber created by the dispensing of the flowable product from the bottle. 
         [0015]    Another aspect of this invention is a flexible bag or pouch which is configured to be used in a dispensing system, like that set forth above. 
         [0016]    Still another aspect of this invention is a method of filling a dispensing bottle with a flowable material. The method entails providing a flexible bag or pouch comprising a body formed of a flexible material and bounding an interior space in which a flowable product is located. The flexible bag or pouch has a first (e.g., top sealed) end and a second (e.g., bottom sealed) end. The dispensing bottle comprises a hollow container having a top end portion, a bottom end portion, and a sidewall interposed therebetween and bounding an interior chamber. The bottom end portion of the bottle comprises a bottom cap releasably securable to the sidewall of the bottle. The bottom cap includes a dispensing valve. The flexible bag or pouch is introduced into the interior chamber through the bottom end portion of the bottle whereupon the first end of the flexible bag or pouch is located adjacent the top portion of the bottle and the second end of the flexible bag or pouch is located adjacent the bottom portion of the bottle. The second end of the flexible bag or pouch is opened to form a mouth of the flexible bag or pouch. A bottom cap having a bottom valve is releasably secured to the sidewall of the bottle such that the flowable product in the flexible pouch is in communication with the bottom valve via the mouth of the flexible bag or pouch and with portions of the mouth of the bag or pouch tightly sandwiched between the bottom cap and the sidewall of the bottle. 
         [0017]    In accordance with another aspect of this invention after the bottle is filled as set forth above, the sidewall of the bottle can then be squeezed to apply pressure to the flowable material within the flexible bag or pouch to cause the flowable material be dispensed through the dispensing valve. 
         [0018]    In accordance with still another aspect of the method of this invention the bottom cap is removed from the bottle after the flowable product has been dispensed from the bottle. The mouth of the flexible bag or pouch can then be grasped and pulled to remove the flexible bag or pouch from the interior chamber of the bottle. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of one exemplary dispensing system constructed in accordance with this invention, that system basically comprising a dispensing bottle and a flexible bag or pouch holding a flowable product for disposition within the dispensing bottle so that the flowable material can be dispensed from the bag or pouch by squeezing the bottle; 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a slightly enlarged top plan view of the flexible bag or pouch forming a portion of the system shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged sectional view taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the dispensing bottle taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a vertical sectional view, like that of  FIG. 4 , but showing the dispensing bottle after the flexible bag or pouch has be disposed therein such that the system is ready to dispense the flowable product from the flexible bag or pouch; 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is a vertical sectional view, like that of  FIG. 5 , but showing the dispensing system during the process of dispensing the flowable product by squeezing the bottle to force the flowable product in the pouch through a dispensing valve forming a portion of the bottle; and 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  is a vertical sectional view, like that of  FIG. 6 , but showing the dispensing system after the bottle has been released, e.g., un-squeezed, so that air can enter into the bottle via another one-way air valve to replace the volume of product dispensed. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0026]    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  one exemplary embodiment of a top fill/bottom dispense system constructed in accordance with this invention. The system  20  basically comprises a bottle  22  and a flexible bag or pouch  24 . The bag or pouch  24  contains a flowable product P, such as a condiment, sauce, etc. 
         [0027]    The bag or pouch is best seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3  and is a thin, light-weight member formed from a sheet of flexible material. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the sheet of flexible material is rectangular in shape and comprises a front panel  24 A and a back panel  24 B. Each panel has a bottom edge  24 C, a top edge  24 D, a left side edge  24 E and a right side edge  24 F. The panels  24 A and  24 B are secured together along their edges  24 C,  24 D,  24 E and  24 F, to form hollow body in which the flowable product P is located. The sealing of the edges can be accomplished via various conventional means, e.g., thermal bonding, ultrasonic bonding, adhesive securement, etc. The bottom end, i.e., the portion of the panels  24 A and  24 B contiguous with the bottom edge  24 C, forms an openable mouth of the bag or pouch. To that end, the material making up the mouth of the bag or pouch is in the form of a peelable seal, which can be formed by any suitable technique. For example, as best seen in  FIG. 3 , the inner surface of the sheet material or film making up the panels  24 A and  24 B may include a peelable coating  24 G and  24 H, respectively, thereon, or may include a composition that enables the mouth to be welded closed, but which can be peeled apart to open the mouth by simple hand manipulation. Irrespective how the openable mouth is formed, it is configured so that when the portions of the bottom end  24 C of the bag or pouch are pulled apart to break the peelable seal that action opens the mouth to provide access to the interior of the bag or pouch and hence to the flowable product P located therein. 
         [0028]    In accordance with one exemplary aspect of this invention the bag or pouch is formed by folding a sheet of any suitable flexible material in half bringing the left and right edges together to form a tube, with the back of the sheet forming the inside of the tube. Energy is then applied to the left and right edges to weld them together. Once that has been accomplished energy is applied to a first end of the tube, thereby welding the edges at that first end together to form a tube with a closed end. The tube is then oriented so that the closed end is facing downward, whereupon the flowable product P is filled into the tube through the opposite end of the tube which is open at that time. After the tube is filled that open end is releasably, e.g., peelably, sealed to complete the formation of the bag or pouch  24 , with the end of the bag or pouch which had been releasably sealed forming the heretofore described openable, e.g., peelable, mouth of the bag or pouch. 
         [0029]    The bottle  22  is best seen in  FIGS. 1 and 4  is in the form of an elongated tubular body having a cylindrical sidewall  22 A that constitutes a body of revolution surrounding the central longitudinal axis of the bottle. The sidewall is formed of any suitable material, e.g., a plastic or some other material that is somewhat flexible, so that it can be flexed inward and collapsed somewhat by a user squeezing the sidewall, as will be described later. The sidewall bounds a hollow internal cavity  22 B. The bottom end of the sidewall is in the form of a neck  22 C that includes external threads  28  thereon. The top end of the bottle is in the form of a neck  22 D that includes external threads  30  thereon. The bottle also includes a bottom cap  32  and a top cap  34 . The bottom cap  32  serves as the dispensing cap for the bottle and includes a one-way, dispensing valve  36  located at the center of a circular end wall  38  of the cap. A peripheral sidewall  40  extends about the periphery of the end wall  38 . The sidewall  40  includes internal threads  42  configured for threaded releasable securement to the external threads  28  at the neck at the bottom end  22 C of the sidewall  22 A. The end wall  38  includes three downwardly projecting feet  44 A,  44 B and  44   c C. The feet serve to support the bottle in the upright state, i.e., with the top end portion  22 C extending upward, when the bottle is stored. 
         [0030]    As will be described in detail later when the bottle is loaded with the flexible bag or pouch  24  and the mouth of the flexible bag or pouch is opened, the flowable product will be located at the bottom of the interior  24 B of the bottle and in communication with one-way dispensing valve  36 . 
         [0031]    The one-way dispensing valve  36  is constructed to enable the flowable product P to be ejected through it from the bag or pouch when the bag or pouch is located within the interior  22 B of bottle and the sidewall  22 A of the bottle is squeezed. The valve  36  can be of any suitable construction. In the exemplary embodiment shown it is in the form of an X-valve formed of a resilient material, e.g., silicone, rubber, etc., having a central hub from which a pair of circular flanges  36 A and  36 B project outward. The hub is rod-like and located within a central hole  28 A in the circular end wall  38  of the bottom cap  32 , with the flange  36 A tightly engaging the outer surface of the wall  38  contiguous with the opening  38 A, and with the flange  36 B tightly engaging the inner surface of the wall  38  contiguous with the opening  38 A. The valve  36  includes an X-shaped slit  36 C ( FIG. 1 ) extending through the hub from the outer surface of the flange  36 A to the outer surface of the flange  36 B. The outer diameter of the hub of the valve  36  is smaller than the inner diameter of the opening  38 A so that when pressure is applied to the sidewall A of the bottle during the dispensing operation the X-shaped slit  36 C will open and the hub of the valve will expand outward in the opening  38 A, like shown in  FIG. 6 , whereupon the flowable product P will be ejected or dispensed out of the bottle. It should be noted that the one-way dispensing valve, need not be an X-valve, like just described, but can be of any suitable type, e.g., a duck-bill valve, etc. 
         [0032]    The top cap  34  includes a circular end wall  48  about which a peripheral sidewall  50  extends. The sidewall  50  includes internal threads  52  configured for threaded releasable securement to the external threads  30  at the neck at the top end  22 D of the sidewall  22 A. The end wall  48  includes a one-way air-inlet check valve  46  located at the center of the end wall  48 . In the exemplary embodiment shown the valve  46  is of the “umbrella” type. In particular the valve  46  is formed of a resilient material, e.g., silicone, rubber, etc., having a central hub  46 A from which an umbrella-shaped (dome-shaped) flange  46 B projects outward. The central hub  46  is disposed within a central hole  48 A in the circular end wall  48  of the top cap  34  so that the outer peripheral edge of the dome-shaped flange  46 B engages the undersurface of the end wall  48 , as shown in  FIGS. 4-6 . The end wall  48  of the cap includes plural apertures or vent holes  48 B located radially outward from the central hole  48 A, but within the perimeter of the outer periphery of the flange  46 B. Thus, when the valve is in the state shown in  FIGS. 4-6 , i.e., its closed state, the vent holes  48 B are isolated from the interior  22 B of the bottle by the engagement of the peripheral edge of the flange  46 B with the undersurface of the end wall  48 . 
         [0033]    The one-way valve  46  enables the contents of the bag or pouch to be in a vacuum state during the squeezing of the bottle so that the flowable product P is ejected or dispensed through the one-way valve  36  located in the lower cap  32  due to the internal pressure within the bag or pouch. When the bottle is released, i.e., the user stops squeezing its sidewall  22 A, the internal pressure ceases so that no further flowable material is dispensed through the valve  36 . In addition, the release of pressure on the sidewall of the bottle enables the air to enter the bottle via the one-way valve  46 . That action neutralizes, i.e., fills, the space between the flexible bag or pouch  24  and the interior of the bottle as shown in  FIG. 7 . In addition, to providing that functionality, the one-way valve  46  acts as a check valve to prevents outside contaminates from entering the interior of the bottle during storage of the bottle. 
         [0034]    It should be noted, that while the preferred embodiment of the valve  46  is an umbrella valve, that is merely exemplary. Thus, any other type of one-way valve can be used, e.g., a butterfly valve, a duck-bill valve, etc. It should also be pointed out that while the one-way valve  46  is preferably located in the top cap  34 , that arrangement is not mandatory. Thus, the one-way valve  46  may be located at a suitable position on the sidewall of the bottle, where it is not likely to be obstructed. In fact the top end of the bottle need not include a releasably securable cap, but rather may include an end wall that is fixedly secured to the sidewall. 
         [0035]    Use of the dispenser system  20  is as follows. The bottom cap  32  is removed from the bottle by unscrewing it and the bottle is inverted so that the neck at the now opened bottom end is facing upward. The bag or pouch is then introduced into the interior  22 B of the bottle through the neck at the open end  22 C so that the mouth  24 C of the bag or pouch is located adjacent the open end  22 C with the opposite end of the bag or pouch located adjacent the cap  34 . The peelable mouth of the bag or pouch is then peeled open by hand by the user and the portions of the bag or pouch contiguous with the mouth are folded back (turned inside-out) over the outer surface of the neck at the now open end  22 C of the bottle. The cap  32  is then screwed tightly in place onto the threads  40  at that neck of the bottle, with the portions of the mouth of the bag interposed between the cap and the neck of the bottle as shown in  FIG. 5 . The bottle with the bag or pouch in it is then inverted so that the dispensing valve  36  is facing downward and whereupon the flowable product will be in fluid communication with that valve. The system is now ready for use to dispense the flowable product P. In particular, when the sidewall of the bottle is squeezed, pressure is applied to the bag or pouch which in turn applies pressure to the product thus forcing it out through the valve  36  in the bottom cap. When pressure on the sidewall of the bottle is released, outside air enters the bottle via the valve  46  into the space between the bottle and the bag or pouch to refill the space with air making up for the volume of product that was dispensed. When the bag or pouch is empty, i.e., its entire contents P have been dispensed, the bottom cap is removed and the empty bag or pouch is removed from the bottle. The bottle and bottom cap remain clean as they have only contacted the bag or pouch and not the flowable product P. The bottom cap and its valve can then be cleaned and a new bag or pouch  24  inserted into the bottle  22  in the same manner as described above. 
         [0036]    It must be pointed out at this juncture that the exemplary flexible bag or pouch as described above is merely one of various types of flexible packages that can be used in the system of this invention. Thus, other flexible packages, can be used so long as they include some openable mouth that can be folded back or turned inside out to fit between the bottle and a dispensing cap having some one-way valve, whereupon the flowable contents of the package are in fluid communication with the one way valve. Moreover, as stated earlier the bottle need not make use of a removable cap at the opposite end of the dispensing cap. Further still, the dispensing cap need not be threadedly releasably securable to the bottle, but can be securable by other releasable means, e.g., a bayonet fitting, some clamp mechanism, etc. Other changes and modifications to the structure and arrangement of the components making up the system of this invention and the method of dispensing a flowable product in accordance with this invention are also contemplated. 
         [0037]    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.