FR2837183A1 - Method for filling water carboy comprises introducing water into flexible liner, introduced in carboy, having rim which overlaps carboy opening - Google Patents

Abstract

The liquid is introduced into a supple liner (12) introduced into the carboy (10). At the end of filling the liner is applied against the carboy internal walls. The liner has a rim (16) which overlaps the carboy opening. After filling the carboy is closed with a stopper (20). Independent claims are included for a carboy and its fittings.

Description

at 22.

  ACCESSORIES FOR CONTAINERS OF FOOD LIQUIDS,

ESPECIALLY WATER

  The invention relates to a fountain for dispensing liquid food, in particular water, and to accessories for such a fountain. Wile generally relates to a reservoir for liquid food and accessories for such a reservoir. Water dispenser type fountains

  wind more and more widespread in public or private places.

  Such fountains have the advantage of not requiring distribution piping and the quality of the water distributed is the same as that of the water sold in

single use bottle.

  The cylinders are, in general, semi-rigid and of large capacity. Thus, for cost reasons, they are not disposable like water bottles, but reusable, that is to say refillable several times. Each bottle generally has a cap closed by a security disc. To install the cylinder in such a fountain, you must therefore remove the tablet and pass a water distribution pipe through the cap.

being part of the fountain.

  When the bottles are defective they are cleaned

then filled again.

  It was noted that despite the devastation of the cylinders, this one did not guarantee a total quality of this operation and that an accidental residual pollution remained possible. The risks are elsewhere, such as the authorities

sanitary worries.

  The object of the invention is to guarantee a water distribution fountain and, more generally, containers for food liquids such as fruit juices, against

  all risks of accidental pollution.

  The invention thus relates, according to a first of its aspects, a reservoir for a fountain for dispensing liquid food which comprises, on the one hand, a cylinder with a substantially rigid wall and, on the other hand, a flexible pocket, preferably expandable by filling with liquid, and for single use, this pocket being such that it can be applied against the internal walls of the cylinder when the reservoir is

filled with liquid.

  Thus the liquid food to be distributed is contained in a disposable pocket, which offers the same guarantees of food safety as for the distribution in bottle to

Disposable.

  In addition, the pocket being flexible, unlike a rigid tank, it does not include a restarted volume available for air intake when it is defective. Thus, unlike the fountains currently used, the outside air does not enter the pocket and is not in contact with the liquid, which eliminates the risks of pollution of the liquid.

restart to distribute.

  The flexible pocket of the fountain according to the invention can be used with conventional bottles, currently in use. Under these conditions, the invention does not require

significant investments.

  The flexible bag does not strictly follow the internal walls of the container, the air being between the pocket and the internal walls of the container provides insulation and

  guarantees better frost resistance.

  Given that with the flexible pocket of the fountain according to the invention there is practically no longer any risk of contamination by a defect in the ravaging of the cylinder, the health constraints imposed on this ravage can be relaxed. In addition, it is possible to no longer limit the number of uses of each cylinder as is the case today. In other words, the life of the cylinders can be increased, which presents, on the one hand, an economic interest and, on the other hand, limits the amount of waste

  caused by the disposal of cylinders.

  In a preferred embodiment, the pocket is made of elastic material. In this case, the elasticity facilitates the distribution of the liquid because, when this pocket is filled, it exerts a

slight pressure on the liquid.

  When the flexible bag is being filled, the volume of the space separating the bag from the internal wall of the cylinder decreases. If air is present in this volume it is necessary to evacuate it to allow the bag to come

against the wall of the cylinder.

  To this end, according to one embodiment, the cylinder has an opening or air exhaust event. This realization has the advantage of preventing the use of

cylinders without protective pouch.

  In a variant, the opening of the pocket is integral with a ring or a closure cap for the

  cylinder which has at least one air exhaust opening.

  The invention thus relates to a method of filling with liquid food from a cylinder intended to be installed in a dispensing fountain of such a liquid, in which the liquid is introduced into a flexible, single-use pocket, introduced into the cylinder, the flexible pouch being such that at the end of filling it is applied against the internal walls of

the cylinder.

  Preferably, during filling, the internal part of the cylinder which is outside the bag is maintained at atmospheric pressure. The invention also relates to a method of dispensing liquid food using a cylinder filled in accordance with the method defined above, in which, during the distribution, the internal part of the cylinder which is outside the pocket is held at a pressure

  atmospheric or at a higher pressure.

  The invention also relates to a disposable bag for the application of the filling process defined above. This pocket is. for example, in elastic material, its initial volume, before filling, being substantially

  lower than the interior volume of the cylinder.

  The pocket includes, in one embodiment, a rim

  intended to straddle the bottle neck.

  The invention also relates to a bag and bottle cap assembly in which the opening of the bag is integral with the cap, the diameter of the opening of the bag being less than the inside diameter of the neck of the bottle and the cap having the minus a hole to put in communication with the atmosphere inside space of the

  bottle which is outside the pocket.

  According to one embodiment, this assembly is such that the plug has a central opening for the introduction and evacuation of liquid, and this central opening is bordered by a cylindrical inner wall of which is integral

the opening of the pocket.

  The plug may further include, to plug its central opening, a central plug cooperating by snap-fastening with the cylindrical inner wall. According to one embodiment, the central plug has a central cylindrical part closed by an inner end plug which is separable from the central plug during installation of the

  cylinder in a liquid dispensing fountain.

  The invention also relates to a pocket and ring assembly secured to the opening of the pocket, this ring having at least one channel for putting the interior space of the cylinder which is outside into communication with the atmosphere.

in your pocket.

  The invention also relates to a cylinder for the application of the filling method defined above which comprises at least one hole for relating the external atmosphere and the internal space of the cylinder which is external.

in your pocket.

  Other characteristics and advantages of the invention

  will appear with the description of some of its modes of

  realization, this description being made with reference

  in the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a reservoir according to the invention before filling, Figure 2 shows a tank according to the invention after filling, Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the filling part of the reservoir represented in FIGS. 1 and 2, FIGS. 4 and 4a show a fountain according to the invention, FIG. 5 is a diagram of a pocket and a stopper according to the invention for another embodiment of the reservoir according to the invention, FIG. 6 is a detailed diagram on a larger scale for a variant of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and FIGS. 7 and 8 show diagrams of parts of a

  reservoir for yet another embodiment of the invention.

  In the embodiment of the invention which is shown in Figures 1 and 2, for the distribution of water in a stand-alone fountain, that is to say not connected to a pipe of a distribution network, we provides a cylinder 10 made of substantially rigid plastic material, for example transparent and, to guarantee the cleanliness of the water distributed, it is contained in a pocket 12 of elastomer material which, before filling (FIG. 1), has a volume

  significantly lower than that of the cylinder 10.

  For example, as can be seen in FIG. 1, before filling, the length of the bag 12 is approximately equal to half the height of the bottle 10 and its diameter is substantially smaller than that of the neck 14 of the bottle ( figure 2). Generally, the diameter and length of the stretchy or elastic pocket will be determined by the viscosity

liquid food.

  After filling with water, the pocket 12 follows the wall

internal of the cylinder.

  In this example, the pocket 12 has an opening bordered by a rim 16 straddling the neck 14 (Figures 1 and 3). To allow the application of the bag 12 against the internal wall of the cylinder 10 (Figure 2) it is necessary that during the filling of water in the bag 12 the air in the cylinder 10 can be evacuated. For this purpose, in this embodiment, the cylinder 10 has at least one hole

  (not shown) at any location.

  After filling the bottle is closed by a

  plug 20 (FIG. 3) of known type.

  This known plug 20 includes a skirt 22 retained by snap-fastening by the upper part 24 of the neck, the wall of which

  outer is covered by the rim 16 of the pocket 12.

  The stopper 20 has a central opening 26 bordered by a cylindrical part 28 plunging inside the cylinder and the inner end of this cylindrical part 28 is closed by an internal stopper 30 which itself has two flanges 32 and 34. The rim 32 is applied against the internal wall of the cylindrical wall 28 while the rim 34 is applied against the external wall of the cylindrical wall 28. The internal plug 30 is held at the end of the wall 28 thanks to edge snap 34

  on an external bead 36 of this wall 28.

  The central opening 26 is closed by a patch 40. The glue applying the patch 40 against the external wall of the plug 20 is such that when the patch 40 is peeled off it can no longer be removed. Thus, a cylinder without tablet 40 should not be used because it does not include the tablet constitute a guarantee against unauthorized access.

  authorized inside the cylinder.

  In a manner also known per se, the opening 26, the wall 28 and the wind stopper 30 intended to cooperate with a distribution tube 42 of the fountain. Thus, when the bottle is installed in the fountain, the neck is turned towards the teas (that is to say in the opposite direction to that shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) and the distribution tube 42 is made to penetrate. in the opening 26. The end of this tube 42 which enters the carboy is closed. Wile pushes back the internal plug which remains, in principle, snapped at the end of the pipe 42 as shown in broken lines in FIG. 3. This 2 5 conduit 42 presents, inside the carboy, openings 44 through which the water from the bottle can drain. The duct 42 is connected to an outside tap (not shown). When the cylinder is extracted from the fountain, the stopper 30 in principle comes back to its place at the end of the cylindrical wall 28, which guarantees the tightness of the

  after its separation from the fountain.

  Then the bottle is sent to a cleaning and filling center. In this center, the cap 20 and the pocket 12 blown away, the bottle is cleaned and a new pocket 12 and a new cap are installed before or after filling depending on the variant used, which guarantees the

tank cleanliness.

  Thus, the fountain equipped with a pocket 12 bottle has the same guarantees of hygiene as the water distributed in

single use bottles.

  Figures 4 and 4a show a fountain 50 equipped with a cylinder 10 and an inner pocket 12 according to the invention. In FIG. 4, it can be seen that the bag is full, whereas in FIG. 4a, the water fills only about a quarter of the volume of the cylinder 10. During the distribution of water, the bag being flexible, it does not outside air does not rise through the liquid because the pocket tends to return to its initial low volume. Thus, the water does not come into contact with the outside air, which constitutes a guarantee

  additional quality of bottled liquid.

  The water contained in the bag 12 is distributed only by gravity. However, in the case where the pocket 12 is made of elastic material, the elasticity exerts a slight

  pressure which improves the regularity of water distribution.

  Thus, it can be seen that, with the invention, it is possible to continue to use the conventional bottles and plugs and that it is not necessary to modify the water distribution fountains, while considerably reducing the risks. water contamination. In fact, during filling, residues which may remain in the cylinder after devastation will have no contaminating effect and the air surrounding the

  water distribution fountain does not pass through the water.

  The presence of the pocket 12 also limits the

  risks for the water distribution tank being filled

  wise. In fact, with the conventional filling process, it is planned to return the overflow of water coming back from the filled cylinders to the distribution tank. Thus, with the current system, a contaminated cylinder can contaminate the entire distribution tank, which cannot be the case with

  the use of a disposable pocket.

  In the embodiment of the invention described above

  above the only modifications made to conventional fountains are, on the one hand, a piercing of the cylinder according to the variant chosen and, on the other hand, pockets

flexible at a low price.

  In the embodiment of the invention which is shown in Figure 5 the pocket 60 is secured to a cap 62 intended to close the cylinder (not shown on the

figure 5).

  This stopper 62 thus comprises an upper wall 64 with a central opening 66, bordered by a cylindrical wall 68 projecting towards the inside of the pocket 60. The stopper also comprises an outer rim 70 similar to the rim 22

  in the embodiment represented in FIG. 3, that is to say

  say intended to click on the top of the bottle neck. The edges of the opening of the pocket 60 are secured, for example by gluing or heat-bonding, to the interior face of the wall 64, between the cylindrical wall 68 and the

outer rim 70.

  A central plug 72 is intended to close the central opening 66 after filling of the pocket 60, the plug 62

  being installed on the neck of the cylinder.

  The upper wall 64 comprises at least one hole 74 for evacuating air which is located between its external periphery and the pocket 60. This hole 74 makes it possible to evacuate the air located between the pocket 60 and the internal wall of the cylinder when the bag 60 is filled. This hole 74 also makes it possible to bring air into the cylinder outside the pocket 60, when the latter becomes defective during use, that is to say

  when installed on the fountain.

  Figure 6 corresponds to an alternative embodiment of Figure 5. In this example the upper edge of the pocket is biased from the inner cylludrlque floor 68. The central plug 72 has an outer cyllndrlque edge 76 intended for

  cooperate by snap-fitting with the internal cylindrical wall 68.

  In this example the edge 76 of the central plug 72 has a slend 80 intended to cooperate with a rib 82 on the face

lnternal of parol 68.

  The central plug 72 has a central opening 84 bordered by an internal cyllndrlque part 86 intended to allow the passage of the water distribution tube from the font (as described in relation to FIG. 3). The conduit 86 is closed by an internal cap 88 similar to the cap 30 represented on the flqure 3 and having the same role as this cap 30. This cap 88, like the cap 30, is desolldarlse from the cyllndrlque conduit 86 when the cylinder is installed in the fontalne and appear to close this conduit when the cylinder is removed from the fontalne. It can however happen that during the operation of extracting the cylinder from the fountain, the stopper plug 88 (like the inner plug 30 in FIG. 3) does not come back to block the duct 86 and remains in the pocket. 60 to throw away. But this malfunction does not constitute

  not a lnconvenlent that bag 60 should be discarded.

  We are now going to describe in relation to FIGS. 7 and 8 a mode of reallsatlon of the invention which makes it possible to use a bottle cap of the conventional type, that is to say a cap similar to the cap 20 decrlt in relation to the Figure 3, without however having to pierce the cylinder to allow the evacuation of alr during filling as well as

  the alutroductlon of al during the distribution of water.

  To this end, the opening of the pocket 90 (flqure 7) is biased by a ring 92, the lower face of which is intended to bear on the upper edge 94 of the cylinder 96 and this lower face of the ring 92 has at least one groove 98 which opens, on one side, inside 100 of the cylinder, between the pocket 90 and the internal wall of this cylinder, and

  the other side, outside the carboy.

  In the example we foresee a plurality of such

grooves 981, 982, etc. (figure 8).

  The closure plug is not installed during filling of the bag 90 with water. On the other hand, as described in connection with FIG. 3, during the water distribution the plug (not shown in FIG. 7) is installed . This plug partially opposes the entry of air into the space between the pocket 90 and the cylinder. However, the plug does not ensure complete airtightness and therefore allows the introduction of air into the space between the pocket 90 and the cylinder 96. This flow rate

  air is less important than when filling.

  But this difference between the flows is not a drawback because the water distribution is much more

  slowly than filling with water.

  Whatever the embodiment, in a variant, to facilitate the distribution of water in the fountain,

  an overpressure is applied around the pocket in the bottle.

Claims (12)

REVENDI QTIONS   1. Method for filling with liquid food from a canister intended to be installed in a dispensing fountain for such a liquid, characterized in that the liquid is introduced into a flexible pocket (12; 60; 90), for single use, introduced in the cylinder, the flexible pocket being such that after the end of filling it is applied against the walls internal of the cylinder.   2. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that, during filling, the internal part of the cylinder which is outside the bag is maintained at atmospheric pressure. 3. Method for dispensing liquid food using a bottle filled in accordance with the method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, during the distribution, the internal part of the bottle which is outside the pocket is held at a pressure   atmospheric or at a higher pressure.   4. Disposable bag for the application of the method   according to one of claims 1 to 3.   5. Bag according to claim 4 characterized in that it is made of elastic material, its initial volume, before filling, being substantially less than the interior volume of the cylinder.   6. Bag according to claim 4 or 5 comprising a   rim (16) intended to overlap the neck of the cylinder.   7. Pocket assembly according to claim 4 or 5 and bottle cap in which the opening of the pocket is integral with the cap (62), the diameter of the opening of the pocket being less than the inside diameter of the neck of the bottle. and the plug having at least one hole (74) for communicating with the atmosphere the interior space of   the bottle which is outside the pocket.   8. The assembly of claim 7 in which the plug has a central opening for the introduction and evacuation of liquid, this central opening being bordered by a cylindrical inner wall (68) which is integral the opening of the pocket (60).   9. The assembly of claim 8, wherein the plug further comprises, for closing its central opening, a central plug (72) cooperating by snap-fastening with the floor cylindrical interleure.   10. The assembly of claim 8 or 9 wherein the central plug has a central cylindrical portion (86) closed by an inner end plug (88) which is separable from the central plug during installation of the   cylinder in a liquid dispensing fountain.   11. pocket assembly (90) according to claim 4 or 5 and ring (92) integral with the opening of the pocket, this ring having at least one channel (98) for placing in communication with the atmosphere the interior space (100) of the cylinder which is outside the pocket.   12. Bottle for the application of the method according to one   of claims 1 to 3 comprising at least one hole for placing   in relation the external atmosphere and the internal space of the