Dispensing device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12110222-B2
Application number	US-202017786231-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 17, 2020
Priority date	Dec 19, 2019
Publication date	Oct 8, 2024
Grant date	Oct 8, 2024

Abstract

Disclosed is a manual pouring device or belonging, suitable for piercing and emptying a granular material contained in a vacuum-sealed package, including: a tubular body, having a duct for the flow of the material, extending from an inlet opening positioned at a first end of the tubular body to an outlet opening for the granular material, positioned at a second end of the tubular body; and a hollow piercing tool having a distal end ending in a pointed tip, and a widened base at the proximal end thereof, rigidly connected to the body. The device further includes a shoulder serving as a stop, configured to come into contact with the wall of the package to stop the pouring device when the wall is pierced by the piercing tool.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A manual pouring device suitable for piercing and emptying a granular material contained in a vacuum-sealed package, comprising:
a tubular body, having a duct for the flow of the material, extending from an inlet opening positioned at a first end of the tubular body to an outlet opening for the granular material, positioned at a second end of the tubular body,
a hollow piercing tool having a distal end ending in a pointed tip and a widened base at the proximal end thereof, rigidly connected to the tubular body at the first end of the tubular body, the piercing tool having at least one lateral opening along the length of the piercing tool, said lateral opening extending along the length of the piercing tool from the widened base of the piercing tool, said lateral opening being configured to allow the material to be poured from the outside to the inside of the hollow portion of the piercing tool, the hollow portion of the widened base of the piercing tool being in communication with the inlet opening of the tubular body,
a shoulder serving as a peripheral stop, formed by the first end of the tubular body arranged around the widened base of the piercing tool, said shoulder serving as a stop being configured to come into contact with the wall of the package directly or indirectly to stop the pouring device when said wall is pierced by the piercing tool in a position in which said lateral opening extends to the inside of the package and wherein said pouring device is configured to ensure the continuous emptying of the contents of the vacuum-sealed package when the pouring device is oriented vertically, the pointed tip pointing upward, the granular material flowing by gravity through said lateral opening via the inlet opening and to the outlet opening by gravity in the opposite direction of air entering the package,
wherein the tubular body has dimensions configured to form a grip handle for a hand,
the pouring device having a wrist strap rigidly connected to the grip handle, through which the user's hand is intended to pass when the hand grips the grip handle.

2. The manual pouring device according to claim 1 wherein the piercing tool has a longitudinal axis, said shoulder has a flat surface substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal axis, configured to serve as a bonding surface with an adhesive on the outside wall of the package.

3. The manual pouring device according to claim 2 , wherein the flat surface serving as a bonding surface has a surface area usable for bonding of between 3 cm 2 and 50 cm 2 .

4. The manual pouring device according to claim 3 , wherein the surface area usable for bonding has an annular shape, defined between an outer radius and an inner radius.

5. The manual pouring device according to claim 4 , wherein the difference in radius AR between the outer radius and the inner radius is between 2 mm and 20 mm.

6. The manual pouring device according to claim 2 , wherein the widened base of the piercing tool has, in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis thereof, a longer dimension in a first direction and, in a substantially perpendicular second direction a shorter dimension, and wherein the surface area usable for bonding extends along the trajectory of an oval consisting of a closed curve elongated in the first direction and narrow in the second direction.

7. The manual pouring device according to claim 2 , wherein the tubular body has a longitudinal axis that is substantially the same as the longitudinal axis of the piercing tool.

8. The manual pouring device according to claim 1 , wherein the useful length of the tubular body serving as a handle is between 8 cm and 15 cm.

9. The manual pouring device according to claim 1 , wherein the outside diameter of the useful surface forming a grip handle is between 2 cm and 5 cm.

10. The manual pouring device according to claim 1 , essentially consisting of a single integral part made of plastic material forming the piercing tool and the tubular body, including the shoulder.

11. A method to transfer dry brewer's yeast into a fermentation tank, comprising providing the pouring device of claim 1 , and applying the pouring device to pierce and empty the vacuum-sealed package containing the dry brewer's yeast.

12. Method for cleaning and disinfecting inside surfaces of a piercing tool and of a duct of a tubular body, and outside surfaces of the piercing tool of a pouring device of an equipment item, the pouring device as well as a cover of the pouring device suitable for piercing and emptying a granular material contained in a vacuum-sealed package, the pouring device comprising a tubular body, having a duct for the flow of the material, extending from an inlet opening positioned at a first end of the tubular body to an outlet opening for the granular material, positioned at a second end of the tubular body, a hollow piercing tool having a distal end ending in a pointed tip and a widened base at the proximal end thereof, rigidly connected to the tubular body at the first end of the tubular body, the piercing tool having at least one lateral opening along the length of the piercing tool, said lateral opening extending along the length of the piercing tool from the widened base of the piercing tool, said lateral opening being configured to allow the material to be poured from the outside to the inside of the hollow portion of the piercing tool, the hollow portion of the widened base of the piercing tool being in communication with the inlet opening of the tubular body, a shoulder serving as a peripheral stop, formed by the first end of the tubular body arranged around the widened base of the piercing tool, said shoulder serving as a stop being configured to come into contact with the wall of the package directly or indirectly to stop the pouring device when said wall is pierced by the piercing tool in a position in which said lateral opening extends to the inside of the package and wherein said pouring device is configured to ensure the continuous emptying of the contents of the vacuum-sealed package when the pouring device is oriented vertically, the pointed tip pointing upward, the granular material flowing by gravity through said lateral opening via the inlet opening and to the outlet opening by gravity in the opposite direction of an air entering the package and wherein the cover is sealingly cooperating with the first end of the tubular body, covering the piercing tool while forming a sealed chamber for a fluid, said chamber being defined between the cover, on the one hand, and the piercing tool and the shoulder, on the other hand, said sealed chamber communicating with the duct of the tubular body via said at least one lateral opening, the method comprising:
putting the cover in place covering the piercing tool and said shoulder, thereby forming a sealed chamber for a fluid, said chamber being defined between the cover, on the one hand, and the piercing tool and said shoulder, on the other hand, said sealed chamber communicating with the duct of the tubular body via said at least one lateral opening, and
injecting a disinfectant fluid through the outlet opening so that the disinfectant fluid flows, on the one hand, into the duct and the hollow portion of the piercing tool and comes into contact with the inside walls of the duct and of the hollow portion of the piercing tool, and flows, on the other hand, into the sealed chamber while coming into contact with the outside walls of the piercing tool and of the shoulder.

13. The method according to claim 12 , implemented in an equipment item comprising a pouring device of a production unit comprising an enclosure and the pou

Assignees

• Lesaffre & Cie

Inventors

• Gatti Adrien
• Gosselin Yves

Classifications

• B65D81/2023

  in a flexible container (B65D81/2038 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B65D25/48 Primary

  Separable nozzles or spouts · CPC title

• B26F1/32

  Hand-held perforating or punching apparatus, e.g. awls · CPC title

• B08B2209/032

  by the mechanical action of a moving fluid · CPC title

• B08B9/0321

  using pressurised, pulsating or purging fluid (E04F17/126 takes precedence) · CPC title