US3688399A - Apparatus for piercing a container - Google Patents

Apparatus for piercing a container Download PDF

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Publication number
US3688399A
US3688399A US120017A US3688399DA US3688399A US 3688399 A US3688399 A US 3688399A US 120017 A US120017 A US 120017A US 3688399D A US3688399D A US 3688399DA US 3688399 A US3688399 A US 3688399A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
container
piercing member
hollow
supporting
piercing
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US120017A
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English (en)
Inventor
Lloyd A Mengel
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Eastman Kodak Co
Original Assignee
Eastman Kodak Co
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Eastman Kodak Co filed Critical Eastman Kodak Co
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3688399A publication Critical patent/US3688399A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67B—APPLYING CLOSURE MEMBERS TO BOTTLES JARS, OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; OPENING CLOSED CONTAINERS
    • B67B7/00—Hand- or power-operated devices for opening closed containers
    • B67B7/24—Hole-piercing devices
    • B67B7/26—Hole-piercing devices combined with spouts
    • B67B7/28—Hole-piercing devices combined with spouts and associated with receptacle hodlers

Definitions

  • the cup and the piercing member are sup ported for movement of one relative to the other so that the last-mentioned member can be admitted through the inner opening of the cup in a direction enabling engagement of the piercing member tip with a container received in the cup.
  • Support of the piercing member and the cup for movement along a path transverse to the foregoing direction is provided so that the piercing member tip can be centered with respect to a predetermined location on the container as the container is received in the cup.
  • the piercing member For conveying fluid from or to a pierced container, the piercing member includes a chamber and a pair of spaced openings which communicate with such chamber.
  • the present invention relates to apparatus for piercing a container, and more particularly to containerpiercing apparatus which provides for the entrance and exit of fluid from a container pierced by such apparatus.
  • Apparatus for piercing a sealed container and for either conveying fluid from a container so pierced or introducing fluid into the same, wherein a cup-like receptacle is provided with a centrally located opening in the innermost region thereof for admitting a needleshaped probe into the cup is generally known in the art relating to such apparatus.
  • apparatus of this kind is operated by securely seating the neck of a container within the cup and then incrementally passing the probe through the inner opening of the cup in a direction such that the probe tip will engage and puncture the seated container. Once punctured, a fluid can be conveyed from the container or introduced therein via the probe which is adapted to function as a fluid conduit.
  • the cup-like receptacle of container-piercing apparatus heretofore suggested generally includes an interior surface which is shaped and dimensioned to exteriorly embrace a container neck having a predetermined diameter. Accordingly, a single location on the free end or face of such a container neck when exteriorly embraced by the cup will be aligned with the inner opening of the cup; whereby, the probe tip will be positioned to pierce the container at such location. Should the operator wish to pierce, in the same manner, a container whose neck is of a diameter less than the predetermined diameter then the operator must manually align the single location on the face of the container neck with the inner opening of the cup so that the probe tip will again be positioned to pierce the container at such location. Moreover, should a container neck have a diameter which is greater than the predetermined diameter, piercing of the container by the probe tip may be impossible as such neck will generally be too wide to be seated within the cup.
  • Another important object of the present invention is to provide an improved container-piercing apparatus which is adapted for use with containers which respectively differ in size.
  • Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved container-piercing apparatus wherein a container-piercing member is self-centering relative to a predetermined location on any one of several containers which respectively differ in size.
  • a device for piercing a container and for either conveying fluid from a container so pierced or introducing fluid into the same comprises an inwardly tapered hollow defining member which is provided with an opening into the innermost region thereof for admitting a piercing member into the hollow.
  • the hollow defining member and the piercing member are supported for movement of one relative to the other so that the last-mentioned member can be admitted through the inner opening of the hollow in a direction enabling engagement of the piercing member tip with a container received in the hollow.
  • the piercing member For conveying fluid from or to a pierced container, the piercing member includes a chamber and a pair of spaced openings which communicate with such chamber.
  • the chamber opening most remotely spaced from the piercing member tip can be connected to a conduit, such as flexible tubing, which in turn can be connected to a reservoir, for example.
  • a sealing element is provided for sealing the chamber opening closest to the piercing member tip so as to prevent undesired leakage or evaporation of residual fluid which may remain in the member chamber after the container is separated from the piercing member.
  • FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container-piercing device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing a portion of the device cut away to illustrate the interior thereof;
  • FIGS. 2 and 3 are typical cross section views of the container-piercing device depicted in FIG. 1 and a fluid-supporting container, sequentially showing the manner in which a container-piercing member of the device is centered relative to a predetermined location on such container.
  • FIG. 1 a container-piercing device generally indicated by the reference numeral 1.
  • a stand 2 is provided with an annular opening 3 through which extends an exteriorly threaded cylindrical member 4 of a disc-like element 5.
  • An exteriorly threaded collar 6 is coupled in the illustrated manner to the cylindrical member 4 so as to interlock the disc 5 and the stand 2.
  • the diameter of the stand opening 3 is larger than the diameter of the cylindrical member 4,
  • the last-mentioned member is movable both horizontally and vertically (as viewed in FIG. 2) within such opening for purposes which will become significant hereinafter.
  • a barrel housing 7 is secured to the collar 6 by suitable means, such as a fastener 8 for example.
  • a cup-like member 10 which is shaped to include a substantially conical surface 12 which, in turn, defines an inwardly tapered hollow or cavity 11.
  • a helical compression spring 13 which is disposed to urge the cup outwardly through the housing entranceway 9.
  • the housing 7 and the cup are respectively provided with annular shoulder portions 15 and 14 which abut when the housing and the cup are positioned with respect to each other in the manner shown by FIG. 1.
  • the cup-like member 10 is also provided with a centrally located opening 16 in the innermost region of the tapered hollow 11 for admitting a needle-like probe or piercing member 17 into such hollow upon sliding movement of the cup further into the housing 7, see FIGS. 2 and 3.
  • a tubular extension 18 of the cup 10 which supports the probe 17 for entry into the hollow 11.
  • FIGS. 2 and 3 the container-piercing device 1, as presented so far, is secured to a table 19.
  • a sealed container 20 constructed of puncturable material, such as a suitable artificial rubber, is moved along the table 19 in the direction generally indicated by the arrow 21 until a neck portion 22 of the container abuts the conical surface 12 of the cup-like member 10.
  • the container 20 may be manually moved by an operator of the device 1 or may be automatically moved by suitable mechanical means therefor (not shown).
  • the cup 10 Upon continued movement of the container 20 in the direction generally indicated by the arrow 21, the cup 10 will be pushed inwardly of the housing entranceway 9 against the outward urging of the spring 13 so as to be further moved into the housing 7. Since the probe 17 is fixed to the disc-like element 5, the probe will upon such inward movement of the cup 10 be incrementally received through the cup extension 18 and into the hollow ll, see FIG. 3. Moreover, since the conical surface 12 is inwardly tapered such surface operates as a cam to shift the container-piercing device 1, with the exception of the stand 2 and the table 19, in a direction which is transverse to the direction generally indicated by the arrow 2]. In the illustrated embodiment, this transverse direction is vertically upward as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 3.
  • Such camming movement of the device 1 as shown by a comparison of F IGS. 2 and 3, operates to raise and thereby center a pointed free end 23 of the probe 17 relative to a predetermined location on a face 24 of the container neck 22, and occurs while the container neck is further pushed into the hollow I1 and the probe is correspondingly received outwardly through the cup opening 16. Accordingly, the free end 23 of the probe 17 will engage and pierce the container 20 when the container abuts the housing 7 in the manner illustrated by FIG. 3.
  • the container 20 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 as including a collapsible bladder 25 in which is stored a fluid 26. Therefore, upon piercing of the container 20 by the free end 23 of the probe 17 in the manner previously described, the fluid 26 can be conveyed through a chamber 27 within the probe by first entering a chamber opening 28 disposed adjacent the probe end 23 and by then exiting from the chamber via another chamber opening 29 disposed adjacent a probe end 30 which is opposite to the probe end 23.
  • a predetermined length of flexible tubing 31 is preferably connected to a tubular extension 32 of the disc-like element 5.
  • the container-piercing device 1 is adapted to operate as a fluid conduit; however, it will be appreciated that the device 1 while providing for the conveyance of fluid from the container 20 can similarly be used to provide for the introduction of fluid into the container.
  • the container When the fluid 26 has been completely drained from the container 20 or when it is no longer desired to convey any fluid from the container, the container should be moved in the direction generally indicated by the arrow 33 shown in FIG. 3. Whereupon, the container 20 will be disengaged from the probe 17, and the container-piercing device 1 will be returned to an idle position as shown in FIG. 2 because of the simultaneous urging of the spring 13 and the helical tension spring 34 which interconnects the stand 2 and the housing 7. Since the flexible tubing 31 remains connected to the disc extension 32, some of the conveyed fluid may remain in the probe chamber 27 after removal of the container 20.
  • the tubular extension 18 of the cup-like member 10 is provided with a spaced pair of interiorly located annular cavities 35 and 36 in which are respectively disposed O-ring sealing elements 37 and 38 of resilient material, such as a suitable artificial rubber.
  • the O-rings 37 and 38 exteriorly embrace the probe 17 and are spaced on either side of the chamber opening 28 (when the container-piercing device 1 is disposed in the idle position) to thereby effectively seal such chamber opening from ambient conditions.
  • the spring 13 and the shoulder portions 14 and 15 of the cup 10 and the housing 7 cooperate with each other to yieldably retain the probe end 23 at a location adjacent the cup opening 16 and to yieldably retain the chamber opening 28 located between the O-rings 37 and 38.
  • container-piercing apparatus which, according to a particular novel aspect of the present invention, is self-centerin g relative to a predetermined location on any one of a plurality of containers which respectively differ in size.
  • container-piercing device 1 whose neck portion is of a diameter greater or less than the diameter of the container neck portion 22, there is no impediment to such use as in the case of the prior art described hereinbefore.
  • the probe 17 has been described as being supported on the table 19 in stationary relation to the container 20 which is moved into engagement with the probe; it will also be appreciated that the container-piercing device 1 could be modified (not shown) so that the container is secured to the table and the device, with the exception of the table, is supported for movement along the table toward such a secured container.
  • Apparatus for piercing a container at a predetermined location comprising:
  • a piercing member including a longitudinal axis
  • said centering means including:
  • first means for supporting said piercing member and said cam surface defining means for movement of one relative to the other along a first path substantially parallel to said longitudinal axis and so that said cam surface is inclined with respect to said axis;
  • cam surface defining means includes:
  • Container-piercing apparatus for piercing a container at a predetermined location on the same, said apparatus comprising:
  • a piercing member including a longitudinal axis
  • said centering means including:
  • Container-piercing apparatus as recited in claim 5, further comprising:
  • a piercing member including a pointed free end; means defining an inwardly tapered hollow for receiving at least a portion of a container and including an innermost region means defining an opening into said innermost region for admitting said piercing member into said hollow; first means for supporting said piercing member and said hollow defining means for movement of one relative to the other along a first path so that said region opening receives said piercing member in a direction enabling said pointed free end of said member to engage a container portion located within said hollow; and second means for supporting said piercing member and said hollow defining means for movement as a unit along a second path transverse to said first path.
  • said hollow defining means includes a substantially conical surface disposed to seat a container portion received in said hollow; and said first supporting means includes means for supporting said conical surface substantially axially in alignment with said first path.
  • an elongate piercing member including a pointed free end; means defining an inwardly tapered hollow for receiving at least a portion of a container and including an innermost region; means defining a centrally located opening into said innermost region for longitudinally admitting said piercing member into said hollow; first means for supporting said piercing member in stationary relation to said hollow defining means; second means for supporting said hollow defining means for movement along said piercing member so that said region opening longitudinally receives said piercing member in a direction enabling said pointed free end of said member to engage a container portion located within said hollow;
  • third means for supporting said piercing member and said hollow defining means includes a substantially said hollow defining means fOl' movement as a unit conical surface disposed to eat a container po along a path transverse to said direction; and i received in i hollow; and
  • gulde means for Supporting a ,comainer for said first supporting means includes means for supmerit along a path substantially parallel to said direction to facilitate receipt of a container porpqmng saidponiqal j substantially axially in tion in said hollow alignment with said piercing member.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Infusion, Injection, And Reservoir Apparatuses (AREA)
  • Filling Of Jars Or Cans And Processes For Cleaning And Sealing Jars (AREA)
  • Automatic Analysis And Handling Materials Therefor (AREA)
US120017A 1971-03-01 1971-03-01 Apparatus for piercing a container Expired - Lifetime US3688399A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US12001771A 1971-03-01 1971-03-01

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3688399A true US3688399A (en) 1972-09-05

Family

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US120017A Expired - Lifetime US3688399A (en) 1971-03-01 1971-03-01 Apparatus for piercing a container

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US (1) US3688399A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE7207462U (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
FR (1) FR2128446B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1374535A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2354201A1 (fr) * 1976-06-07 1978-01-06 Silonics Imprimante a jets d'encre
US4156244A (en) * 1977-09-06 1979-05-22 Bell & Howell Company Ink jet printer ink cartridge
US4183031A (en) * 1976-06-07 1980-01-08 Silonics, Inc. Ink supply system
US6971589B2 (en) * 1999-12-01 2005-12-06 The Procter & Gamble Company Reclosable fitment for connecting a reservoir to a dispensing appliance
DE102009044539A1 (de) * 2009-11-16 2011-05-19 Miele & Cie. Kg System zur Befüllung einer Dosiereinrichtung einer Spülmaschine
USD1024709S1 (en) * 2022-01-21 2024-04-30 Louis G Bottone, III Drink container piercing device

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US497698A (en) * 1893-05-16 Can-opener
US755789A (en) * 1903-06-09 1904-03-29 Robert Putnam Morton Can-opener.
US1498301A (en) * 1923-04-09 1924-06-17 Saari Leonard Can punch
US1789729A (en) * 1926-10-13 1931-01-20 Continental Can Co Can-end-cutting device
US2913821A (en) * 1959-05-15 1959-11-24 Charles B Anderson Electric can piercer with free stripping punch

Family Cites Families (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR1494158A (fr) * 1966-07-06 1967-09-08 Dms Distrib De Marques Selecti Dispositif et procédé d'extraction de bouchons ou obturateurs fermant des récipients
FR1594399A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) * 1968-12-12 1970-06-01

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US497698A (en) * 1893-05-16 Can-opener
US755789A (en) * 1903-06-09 1904-03-29 Robert Putnam Morton Can-opener.
US1498301A (en) * 1923-04-09 1924-06-17 Saari Leonard Can punch
US1789729A (en) * 1926-10-13 1931-01-20 Continental Can Co Can-end-cutting device
US2913821A (en) * 1959-05-15 1959-11-24 Charles B Anderson Electric can piercer with free stripping punch

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2354201A1 (fr) * 1976-06-07 1978-01-06 Silonics Imprimante a jets d'encre
US4183031A (en) * 1976-06-07 1980-01-08 Silonics, Inc. Ink supply system
US4156244A (en) * 1977-09-06 1979-05-22 Bell & Howell Company Ink jet printer ink cartridge
US6971589B2 (en) * 1999-12-01 2005-12-06 The Procter & Gamble Company Reclosable fitment for connecting a reservoir to a dispensing appliance
DE102009044539A1 (de) * 2009-11-16 2011-05-19 Miele & Cie. Kg System zur Befüllung einer Dosiereinrichtung einer Spülmaschine
EP2324752A3 (de) * 2009-11-16 2014-12-31 Miele & Cie. KG System zur Befüllung einer Dosiereinrichtung einer Spülmaschine
USD1024709S1 (en) * 2022-01-21 2024-04-30 Louis G Bottone, III Drink container piercing device

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE7207462U (de) 1972-05-31
GB1374535A (en) 1974-11-20
FR2128446A1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1972-10-20
FR2128446B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1974-08-02

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