US3927803A

US3927803A - Piercing spout

Info

Publication number: US3927803A
Application number: US498074A
Authority: US
Inventors: Alwin Weber
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-02-10
Filing date: 1974-08-16
Publication date: 1975-12-23
Anticipated expiration: 1992-12-23

Abstract

Disclosed is a piercing spout having a threaded collar and intersecting piercing blades connected to the collar. Surface portions of the free rim of the collar in the areas between respective blades are recessed and inclined in the counterdirection to the lead of the first thread.

Description

United States Patent Weber Dec. 23, 1975 PIERCING SPOUT [56} References Cited [76] inventor: Alwin Weber, Uetlibergstrasse 178, UNITED STATES PATENTS 3003 Zurich, Switzerland 1,016,135 1/1912 Foans .1 222/90 [22] Filed: g 16, 1974 3,549,049 12/1970 Weber 222/91 PP 498,074 Primary Examiner-Robert B. Reeves Rdated Application Data Assistant Examiner-John P. Shannon [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 329,215, Feb. 2, 1973, Atmmey Agem Marmorek abandoned.

[57] ABSTRACT [30] Fore'gn Apphcatw'on Pnomy Data Disclosed is a piercing spout having a threaded collar b- 1972 Switzerland 1948/72 and intersecting piercing blades connected to the collar. Surface portions of the free rim of the collar in the [52] US. Cl. 222/91 areas between respective blades are recessed and in- [51] Int. Cl. B67B 7/26 dined in the counterdirection t0 the lead Of the fiI'St [58] Field of Search 222/89, 90, 91', 30/55, th i 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures FIG] PIERCING SPOUT This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 329,215, filed Feb. 2, 1973, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to punch cutting spouts operable for piercing bags, sacks, hulls of juicy fruits or thin walled containers of paper, cartons, plastics and the like, and subsequently to be sealingly held on the wall of such container to pour out a loose material or a liquid contained therein.

Such piercing spouts have been already known from prior art and conventionally are provided with a cup having open top and a bottom associated with a contact flange which abuts against the wall of the container and which is provided with a discharge opening usually of smaller diameter than that of the cup. The opposite side of the contact flange is connected to a collar having a cutting thread on its exterior and extending into a tapering or pointed piercing member defining apertures communicating with the discharge opening.

To make the tapering piercing member in the form of a plurality of intersecting thin walled blades converging from the collar to a common piercing point and intersecting so as to have a cross-like or bar-like cross-section, has been also known.

In placing the piercing spout into its working position, its inner or punch cutting part, that is the pointed piercing member, is first driven through the container wall whereby the piercing member makes a crossshaped cut in the container wall. Subsequently, the threaded collar is screwed into the cross-shaped hole. During the rotary movement, the wall segments of the container, resulting between the cuts are bent inwardly by the tapering blades and the hole attains a cuircular shape by engaging the thread on the collar until the contact flange abuts against the outer surface of the container.

Such prior art piercing spouts have the disadvantage, however, resulting from the fact that the wall segments exert a considerable resistance especially at the begining of the rotary movement when screwing-in the collar into the container wall. The resistance increases with the increase in the size of the piercing spout and with the increase of the thickness of the container wall, or when the container is made of an unyieIdabIe-material; as a result, the operator has to overcome considerable forces and the manipulation is difficult.

An object of this invention, is to remove the abovementioned disadvantages by providing a spout which can be easily manipulated even in connection with relatively unyieldable walls of a container.

Another object of this invention is to provide a spout which has an increased passage for discharging the liquid or loose material from a container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above objects are attained by providing the threaded collar between the flange of the spout cut and the pointed piercing member, in the region adjacent the piercing member, with recesses defining between individual ribs or blades of the piercing member and the first or lead-in thread substantially triangularly shaped portions of the side wall of the collar; the inclined diagonal rim surface of those triangular wall portions slopes downwardly in the counterdirection to the lead of the thread, from the intersection between a blade with the rim of the collar, and the intersection of the preceding blade with the first thread. The blades define apertures which communicate interiorly with the opening in the flange, the apertures having edges establishing the boundaries of the inclined side wall portions of the collar.

In contrast to piercing spouts of conventional design, where the blades or ribs at the beginning of the rotary screw-in movement act against the punched wall segments of the container at a substantially right angle in order to fold them inwardly, the inclined and recessed rim portions of the collar in the piercing spout of this invention exert pressure against the segments on an inclined path; due to the fact that the recessed rim portions slope downwardly in the counterdirection to the lead of the thread, they are introduced against the pierced wall segments of the container diagonally, first from a base defined by a part of the adjacent first thread, and then upwardly towards the rim of the collar. As a result, the pierced segments of the container wall are subject to an additional pressure in the direction of bending. Consequently, the resistance of the container material becomes substantially reduced and the formed hole is more easily accommodated to the shape of the collar or of the spout.

To make the bending of the container wall segments still easier, the inclined recessed portions of the rim are slightly curved and the outer edges of those portions are either cut-off or rounded. By this measure, the resistance of material during the bending of the container wall segments is easily overcome.

The discharging aperture in the ribs, according to another feature of this invention. is increased by directing the inner boundaries of the apertures upwardly to form a triangular cut-off aperture tapering toward the axis of the spout; within the region of the collar, the inner boundaries are tapering toward the intersection of the collar with the discharge opening in the flange of the cup. In this manner, the flow-through resistance is reduced and the cross-sectional area of the entire passage is increased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING For a better understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. I is a side view of the piercing spout according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the container of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plane view of the container of FIG. I with the lid removed; and

FIG. 4 is a side view of the piercing spout of this invention in its working position in connection with the container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the figures, the piercing spout I according to this invention includes a spout cup 3 preferably provided with a hinged lid or cover 2 for covering the open top of the cup. The bottom of the cup 3 is provided with a flange 4. The cup 3, cover 2 and the flange 4 form an outer part of the spout.

The inner part of the spout is formed by a piercing member 5 connected to the opposite side of the flange 4 and defining therewith a discharging opening. The

piercing member includes a collar 7 supporting an external thread 6 having a sharp angled cross-section and leading from the free rim of the collar 7 as far as to the stop flange 4. The free rim of the collar 7 is connected with a tapering pointed member 8 which is assembled of a plurality of intersecting ribs or blades 9 having sharp outer cutting edges 10. The blades 9 thus have a star-like or cross-like cross-section. The first thread includes a lead-in portion which starts at the beginning of the rim of the collar 7, near the intersection of a rib or blade 9 with the rim.

According to one feature of this invention, the collar 7 in the area between respective blades 9 and the first thread 6 has inclined recesses 21 which are cut in the side wall of the rim portion of collar 7; the recesses 21 define inclined rim surfaces 11 sloping downwardly from a rib in counterdirection to the lead of the thread 6 and their lower parts run adjacent the first thread toward the intersection of the first thread with a preceding rib or blade 9. As a result, the inclined rim surfaces 11 extend from the first thread 6 to the base of the tapered pointed member 8 and terminate near the intersection of the cutting edge 10 of each blade 9 with the free rim of the collar 7. The diagonally directed rim surfaces 11 are preferably slightly curved so as to facili tate the displacement and bending of the pierced wall segments of the container when the spout l is rotated and the thread is screwed into the wall. Furthermore, the outer edges of the rim surfaces 11 are rounded or inclined toward the axis of the spout.

Another feature of this invention resides in the in creased discharge apertures 16 provided between the discharge opening of the annular stop flange 4 and the intersection blades 9 in the region of the collar 7. As seen in the drawing, each blade 9 is connected to the inner wall 17 of the collar 7 and the apertures 16 define inner edges tapering approximately towards the pointed tip of the pointed member. The resulting triangular blade sections are connected substantially at a right angle with the portions of the recessed side wall of the collar 7 which therefore reinforce the base of the pointed tapering member. The inner edges of apertures 16, approximately on the level of the rim of the collar 7, are inclined towards the axis of the spout at a sharper angle to converge approximately near the central area of the blades 9. The apertures 16 together with the recesses 21 form in this manner an increased discharging passage of the spout.

Flange 4 further supports a pivot socket 12 for supporting trunnions 13, each projecting from a tongue 14 on the cover 2. The snap-latching of the cover 2 is accomplished by a snap tongue 20 resiliently projecting from the tip of the cover 2 to snap engage a lip 19 on the spout cup 3.

The operation of the piercing spout of this invention is as follows:

When the pointed blades 9 form in the wall of a container a cross-shaped cut and as soon as the spout is rotated to the right to screw the thread 6 into the container wall, the diagonally directed rim surfaces 11 engage the container wall segments surrounding the crossshaped cut and bend the segments inwardly on an inclined path. The inclined outer edges of the rim surfaces 11 additionally facilitate this bending movement of the wall segments and render the manipulation of the entire spout less difficult. Moreover, due to the combination of apertures 16 with the recesses 21 in the side wall of the collar 7, the discharge passage of the spout is also increased. The resulting hole in the con tainer wall has smooth fringes and accommodates itself easier to the collar.

If the piercing spout is to be employed primarily for a powdery material, the step on the sealing stop flange 4 exceeding the outer diameter of the collar 7 is unnecessary. In the case of liquid, however, the flange 4 is advantageous for making a sealing contact surface.

To minimize manufacturing costs of the piercing spout 1, the entire spout with the exception of the cover 2, is made as a single piece by molding thermoplastic for example.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to be secured by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. In a piercing spout, for use in connection with thin walled containers, said spout including a cup that is open on top, a flange connected at its upper side to the bottom of said cup for defining a discharge opening, a piercing member including an axially elongated collar having one end thereof connected to the underside of the flange, a tapered, pointed member secured to the other end of the collar and an external threading on said collar extending from a first thread near said pointed member towards said flange including a plurality of intersecting blades having cutting edges, the blades converging from the collar towards a common piercing point, said blades having end edges which, in combination with said collar, define apertures, said apertures communicating interiorly with said discharge opening, a plurality of free rims formed on the end of the collar opposite the flange, each said free rim comprising an inner wall surface and a corresponding outer wall surface, the improvement comprising, each free rim defining a recessed edge portion between said wall surfaces in the areas between adjacent blades and the first thread, each recessed edge portion being inclined in a direction counter to the incline of the thread.

2. A piercing spout according to claim I, said first thread comprising a lead-in portion starting near each free rim of said collar.

3. A piercing spout according to claim 2, wherein one blade of said tapered pointed member is located near said lead-in thread portion.

4. The improvement according to claim I wherein each said inclined recess portion of said rim defines a substantially triangular wall portion in the collar.

5. The improvement according to claim 1 wherein each said recessed portion extends from the intersection of a blade with the first thread towards the intersection of a preceding blade with said free rim.

6. The improvement according to claim 1 wherein said inclined recessed portion is slightly curved.

7. [n a piercing spout, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising said inner wall surface extending beyond the corresponding outer wall surface providing for a bevel on said recessed edge portion, whereby the resistance of the container wall to bending, is easily overcome.

Claims

2. A piercing spout according to claim 1, said first thread comprising a lead-in portion starting near each free rim of said collar.

4. The improvement according to claim 1 wherein each said inclined recess portion of said rim defines a substantially triangular wall portion in the collar.

7. In a piercing spout, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising said inner wall surface extending beyond the corresponding outer wall surface providing for a bevel on said recessed edge portion, whereby the resistance of the container wall to bending, is easily overcome.