WO1987000819A1

WO1987000819A1 - Dispenser, in particular for milk or the like

Info

Publication number: WO1987000819A1
Application number: PCT/NL1986/000021
Authority: WO
Inventors: Berend Heijenga
Original assignee: H.S.M.
Priority date: 1985-07-29
Filing date: 1986-07-29
Publication date: 1987-02-12
Also published as: NL8502154A; EP0231253A1; AU6191086A

Abstract

A dispenser for dose-wise dispensing a liquid, in particular milk or the like, comprising two sheets of foil material, each provided with a bulge (2) and being sealed for forming a filling space (4), joined by a passage (7) opening into said space (4), in which a solid or hollow rod (8) is inserted, the sealed lateral rim (3) being widened at least at one side of said passage (7) to a flat portion (10) to be gripped by the fingers and being provided with a weakened edge part (11, 12) so as to allow to tear said portion in the direction of said passage (7), said solid or hollow rod being fixed in the portion either to be torn off or not to be torn off respectively, so as to allow to liberate a dispensing aperture. In particular the bulges (2) have such a cross-section that when laying down the dispenser the passage (7) is directed at an upward angle.

Description

Dispenser, in particular for milk or the like.

In public houses or the like it is usual to provide coffee milk in a unitary package hawing the shape of a cup made of metal foil or plastics and closed by means of a closing foil provided with a pulling tab, the volume being adapted to the largest amount of milk which is usually requested for a cup of coffee.

These current packages have disadvantages. When pulling away the closing foil a pouring aperture is formed which is, however, generally too large for dosage of a smaller amount, i.a. because of the absence of a pouring spout. Moreover it often occurs that, when tearing open, milk splashes out because of the shock, and lands on the clothes of the user or on the table. This is particularly onerous in aeroplanes, trains and the like, where the users often have little space, and in aeroplanes, if the air prpssure therein is lower than normal, milk will be pressed outwards when opening by the higher pressure of the air cushion present in the package. Moreover, if not completely pmptying, a rest remains in the package which can flow out through the aperture when the package is overturned, which will lead to soiling of ash-trays, service trays, tables etc. Still another draw-bark of thin type of package is that it is not suited for being mechanically packed in a meal packaqe as used in aeroplanes.

The invention provides a dispenser for milk or the like not showing these disadvantages, and being particularly suitable for dose-wise dispensing smaller doses of milk. Said dispenser is, however, also suitable for dispensing other and particularly more viscous substances such as glue or the like. To that end the dispenser of the invention is characterised in that it comprises two sheets of foil material each being provided with a bulge and being sealed together around said bulges for forming a spare filled or to be filled with the desired amount of liquid, said bulges each being continued by a narrow gutter-shaped extension, said extensions forming together a narrow passage opening into said inner space, in which passage a fibre or thin needle closing said passage is inserted, the lateral rim being, at least at one side of said passage, being widened to a flat portion adapted to be gripped by the fingers and being provided with a weakened edge part so as to allow to tear said flat portion in the direction of said passage.

In particular said bulges converge in a sharply pointed manner at thp side joining said passage, so as to obtain a gradual junction towards said passage, and, moreover, a weakening can be provided in said flat portion for facilitating tearing said portion.

Said flat portion is adopted to be gripped at both sides of the tear line to be formed by the thumbs and four fingers of both Lands, so that by means of opposite rotational or tearing movements the terminal portion can be torn loose, and the widened flat portions provide a sufficiently large gripping surface for allowing to exert the required force.

The fibre or needle ensures that, until being pulled out, the passage cannot be flattened, and also obstruction by fat particles or the like will be avoided thereby. The fibre or needle inserted into said passage is, generally, solid, and is, then, fixed in the terminal portion so as to be pulled away when tearing loose the latter, thus liberating said passage, and, thereafter, the contents can be dispensed at w ill in a dused manner through sa id passage by pressing inwards the walls of s aid b ulges , said passege Deing sufficiently narrow for preventing unintentional emptying but, on the other hand, being sufficiently wide for allowing to dispense the milk as a narrow jet, and preventing obstruction by cream separated from the milk.

Surh a dispenser eonsists of plastics or plasticscoated aluminium foil. When tearing, burrs can be formed at the remaining plastics edge, said burrs acting as jet breakers which may give rise to an undesired widening of the jet and/or dripping. There fore it can be advisable to give a non-circular and in particular oval cross-section to said fibre or needle, this in such a manner that, when rotating the latter, the hole is reamed and/or its edge is smoothened. From DE-C 2 649 316 dispensers for small medicament doses, e.g. eye drops, are known per se, said dispensers having a tear tab and a fibre connected thereto which is pulled out when tearing off said tab. This fibre is, in view of the desired dripping effect, very thin, (± 0,3 mm), which, when fixing by pinching said fibre to said tab, may lead to attachment difficulties, so that often the fibre is not pulled out. Moreover tearing off said tab is difficult because of the fact that a good gripping surface is not present on the dispenser proper.

The dispenser of the invention has large gripping surfaces, and the fibre has a large thickness, so that it can be readily pinched and /or sealed. In practice, for dispensing milk, fibres with a thickness of up to 1,5 mm will be used. In the case of more viscous liquids thicker fibres or needles will, of course, be used. instead of a solid fibre also a hollow fibre or needle with a suitab le inner diameter can be used which is, then, fixed not in the portion to b e torn off but in the dispenser proper so that , then, dispensing the milk will take place through the bore thereof.

_ It is, furthermore. favourable to give to said bulged portions a substantially triangular cross- section in such a manner that the dispenser obtains two major side walls diverging towards the extremity joining said pa ssage. When the dispenser is put down, it will bear on one of s aid side wails, thus ensuring that the air cushion WiII always be situated near the aperture to be formed/' so that, even in the case of pressure differences or untimely squeezing the walls, the air cushion will be expelled first.

In order to allow to take up possibly occurring pressure differences, it may be favourable to provide at least one lateral surface of such a dispenser with an undulation, thus allowing a pressure equalisation. The invention will be elucidated below by reference to a drawing of an embodiment shown by way of example, showing in:

Fig. 1 a lateral view of a dispenser acrording to the invention; and Figs. 2 and 3 two transversal cross-sections along the lines II - II and III - III resp. of Fig. 1.

The dispenser shown consists of two sheets 1a and 1b of foil material, in particular plastics-coated aluminium foil or single plastics foil, and the plastics should be compatible with the filling.

A portion of said foil sheets is bulged as shown at 2a and 2b, and the sheets are sealed together in an airtight manner in the marginal portions 3 outside said bulges. Thus an inner space 4 is obtained which can be filled with a liquid such as milk.

For manufacturing such dispensers use can be made of punches or vacuum dies by means of which the bulges in the foil sheets can be formed. The bulges 2 converge at one extremity 5 in a pointed manner, and, there, each join a relatively narrow gutter 6a and 6b resp., the marginal portion 3 of both foil sheets being sealed in an air-tight manner also around this portion so that a narrow passage 7 is obtained. Into this passage 7 a plastics fibre 8 is inserted which, at 9, is fixed to the Marqinal portion 3. This fibre closes, in this rnanner, the passage 7, the dimensions of said passage and fibre being so that, an outflow opening of a suitable magnitude is obtained. The diameter of the fibre can, for instance, be 1,4 mm.

The marginal portion 3 is, at one side of the passage 7. widened at 7. and bevond the extremity 5 of the bulges a notch 11 is formed in the edge and between the latter and the passage 7 a part of the marginal material is cut away as shown at 12.

In use the portion 10 at both sides of the notch 11 is gripped by the thumbs and four fingers of both hands so that this portion can be torn apart by performing opposite rotational movements, said tearing being facilitated by the incision 12. The portion 10 ' to which the fibre 8 remains attached can be pulled away then in order to remove the fibre 8 from the passage 7. Then the contents of the space 11 can be expelled by squeezing the bulges.

If only a part of the contents is used, the marginal portion remaining at the extremity 5 can be folded back so that, then, the dispensing opening will be closed.

Preferably the bulges la and lb are, as shown, provided with a major lateral surface 14, this in such a manner that, when putting down the dispenser, the passage 7 is slightly inclined upwards. The air cushion present in the inner space 4 will, then, always be situated near said passage so that, when pulling at the fibre, the air will escape first, which will be particularly favourable if said air will have a higher pressure than the ambient air. Also when putting down an only partly emptied dispenser liquid dripoing out will be avoided.

When tearing through the marginal portion 10 at the notch 11 and the incision 12, the plastics coating around the passage 7 may become somewhat burred which may give rise to jet-breaking effects when expelling the contents . l t can, therefore, be favourable to use, as shown schematically in Fig. 3, a fibre with a non -circular cross-section, which, when tearing lunse, performs a rotational movement of about a quarter of a turn and, thus, smoothens the edge of the opening.

_ Instead of a solid fibre 8 also a hollow Fibre having a suitable inner dinmeter can be used which, then, is to be fixed in the extre mity 5. a nd which is n ot taken a long when removing th e port ion Lu' .

In .

between the interior of the dιspon ser and the surroundings, it. can be desirable to make the wall portions of the bulges somewhat undul at in g. Moreover it is possible to provide the broadening shown at 10 and 10' also at the other side of the passage 7.

It will be clear that such a dispenser can also be used for other liquids then milk, and then the crosssection of the passage 7 is to be adapted to the viscosity of the liquid, and, if desired, instead of a fibre also a needle can be used which can be re-inserted into the passage when the latter is to be closed again. This can, for instance, be desirable if the dispenser is used for dispensing glue. If a so-called two-component glue is to be dispensed, the dispenser can be provided with two spaces 4, and then the passage 7 will comprise a branching connecting with said two spaces as shown in DE-C 2649316.

Claims

C l a i m s

1. A dispenser for dose-wise dispensing a liquid, in particular milk or the like, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that it comprises two sheets of foil material (1a, 1b), each provided with a bulge (2a, 2b) and being sealed (3) around said bulges in an air-tight manner for forming a space (4) filled or to be filed with the desired amount of liquid, a narrow gutter-shaped extension (6a, 6b) joining said bulges (2a, 2b), said extensions forming toqether a narrow passage (7) opening into the inner space (4), in which passage a fibre or needle (8) closing said passage (7) is inserted, the lateral rim (3) being widened at least at one side of said passage to a flat portion (10, 10') to be gripped by the fingers and being provided with a weakened edge part (11) so as to allow to tear said flat portion in the directionof said passage (7).

2. The dispenser of claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said bulges (2a, 2b) converge in a sharply pointed manner at the side (5) joining said passage.

- 3. The dispenser of claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said flat portion (10, 10') an additional weakening (12) is provided.

4. The dispenser of any one of claims 1..3, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the fibre or needle (8) is solid, and is fixed in the terminal part beyond said weakening (10, 12).

5. The dispenser of claim 4, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the fibre or needle (8) has a non-circular and in particular oval cross-section.

6. The dispenser of claim 4, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the fibre or needle (8) is hollow, and is fixed in the portion not to be torn off.

7. The dispenser of any one of claims 1..6, c h a r a c t e r i s a d in that the bulged portions (2a, 2b) have a substantially triangular longitudinal cross-section, the dispenser thus obtaining two major lateral surfaces (14a, 14b) diverding towards the extremity (5) joining the passage 7.

8. The dispenser of any one of claims 1..7, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that at least one lateral surface thereof is provided with an undulation.