Resilient closure for pressure driven dispensing container

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10232994-B2
Application number	US-201113809128-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 4, 2011
Priority date	Jul 8, 2010
Publication date	Mar 19, 2019
Grant date	Mar 19, 2019

Abstract

The invention is a closure for the aperture of a pressure driven dispensing container. The closure includes (a) an outer shell having a planar base including an outer first main surface and an inner second main surface. The base includes a dispensing aperture fluidly connecting the outer surface to the inner surface and receives a dispensing tube. An outer peripheral skirt juts out of the inner surface and seals the closure to the aperture of the container. The closure also includes (b) a flexible valve in contact with the inner surface located within the outer peripheral skirt and defining an interior passageway having a first opening at one end adjacent to and in fluid communication with the first dispensing aperture and having a second opening at the other end of the passageway, wherein the flexible valve is resiliently biased so that it naturally shuts and seals the second opening.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A closure for closing an aperture of a pressure driven dispensing container, said closure comprising:
(a) an outer shell comprising:
(i) a substantially planar base, having a thickness, comprising an outer first main surface, and an inner second main surface, said inner second main surface has a periphery and is separated from the outer first main surface by said thickness of the base, said base further comprising a first dispensing aperture fluidly connecting the outer first main surface to the inner second main surface and suitable for receiving a dispensing tube;
(ii) an outer peripheral skirt projecting down from the periphery of the inner second main surface in a direction opposite the outer first main surface and suitable for sealingly fixing a closure to an aperture of said pressure driven dispensing container;
(iii) an inner skirt projecting down from the inner second main surface in a direction opposite the outer first main surface, and circumscribed within the outer skirt and enclosing the dispensing aperture; and

(b) a flexible valve including an upper periphery valve flange, said valve flange in contact with the inner second main surface, said flexible valve located within the inner skirt, and defining an interior passageway having a first opening at one end adjacent to and in fluid communication with the first dispensing aperture and having a second opening at the other end of the passageway, wherein the internal passageway has a funnel shaped geometry, with the first opening located on a wide end of said funnel and being of size matching the size of the closure's first aperture, and the second opening is located on an opposite, narrow end, and
wherein the flexible valve is resiliently biased by means of an external resilient foam material disposed completely within the inner skirt and substantially filling a volume defined between the inner second main surface, an inner wall of the inner skirt, and an outer surface of the flexible valve,
whereby the external resilient foam material applies a compressive force onto the flexible valve to press shut and seal the second opening and such that said sealed second opening is reversibly openable by pressing a tip of the hollow dispensing tube through the first aperture down said interior passageway and out of said second opening,
wherein the valve second opening comprises one or more pairs of lips extending down from the valve flange, said one or more pairs of lips are naturally pressed one against the other by said resilient bias, and which are reversibly separated from one another by introduction there between of the tip of the dispensing tube.

2. The closure according to claim 1 , wherein the lips and resilient material are made of a different cellular material, and a density of the lips is higher than a density of the resilient material.

3. The closure according to claim 2 , wherein the resilient foam material is a member selected from the group consisting of a thermal conductor, electrical conductor, and mixtures thereof.

4. The closure according to claim 3 , wherein the interior passageway of the valve is a funnel-shaped opening on the lips at the narrow end of the funnel.

5. The closure according to claim 4 , wherein the resilient bias of the valve is locally higher on one side of the valve than on the other side of the valve, so that the free end of the valve bends over towards the other end and further restricts the passageway and enhances the tightness of the valve.

6. The closure according to claim 5 , wherein a membrane seals the first dispensing aperture, said membrane being either easily breakable by pressing thereto the tip of a dispensing tube or easily removable.

7. The closure according to claim 1 , comprising a second gas aperture fluidly connecting the outer first main surface to the inner second main surface, located between the inner skirt and the peripheral skirt, and suitable for receiving a hollow gas tube.

8. The closure according to claim 7 , wherein the second gas aperture comprises a closure that (a) is opened by pressing therethrough the tip of a hollow pressurized gas tube and (b) is resiliently and sealingly closed as the tip of the gas tube is retrieved.

9. The closure according to claim 8 suitable for closing a bag-in-container with a sealer separating the gas aperture from the dispensing aperture.

10. A pressure driven dispensing container comprising a mouth for dispensing a liquid and including a closure according to claim 1 , sealingly inserted in the mouth, with an inner surface of the peripheral skirt contacting an outer surface of the container and with an outer surface of the inner skirt contacting an inner surface of the container.

11. The pressure driven dispensing container according to claim 10 , which is a bag-in-container.

12. The closure according to claim 1 , wherein the resilient bias of the flexible valve is obtained by an external resilient material arranged such as to apply a compressive force to press shut and seal the second opening, said resilient material is a foam.

13. The closure according to claim 1 , wherein the lips and resilient material are made of a same cellular material, and a density of the lips is higher than a density of the resilient material.

14. The closure according to claim 1 , wherein the resilient material is a member selected from the group consisting of a thermal conductor, electrical conductor, and mixtures thereof.

15. The closure according to claim 7 suitable for closing a bag-in-container with a sealer separating the gas aperture from the dispensing aperture.

16. The closure according to claim 1 , wherein each pair of lips comprises a slit at the joining points of the lips.

Assignees

• Peirsman Daniel
• Valles Vanessa
• Anheuser Busch Inbev Sa

Inventors

• Peirsman Daniel
• Valles Vanessa

Classifications

• Y10T29/49826

  Assembling or joining · CPC title

• B65D51/243 Primary

  combined with an opening device (B65D51/22 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F16K15/147 Primary

  the closure elements having specially formed slits or being of an elongated easily collapsible form · CPC title

• B67D1/0835 Primary

  with one valve · CPC title

• B67D1/0832

  with two valves disposed concentrically · CPC title