WO1988005760A1

WO1988005760A1 - Dispenser closure

Info

Publication number: WO1988005760A1
Application number: PCT/AU1988/000021
Authority: WO
Inventors: William Charles Welsh
Original assignee: William Charles Welsh
Priority date: 1987-01-30
Filing date: 1988-01-29
Publication date: 1988-08-11
Also published as: ZA88615B

Abstract

A dispenser closure suitable for bag-in-box packaging comprises a valve body (11) formed with a downwardly directed opening (21) defining a valve seat (22). A valve member (24) is biased to seal against the seat (22) by a diaphragmatic wall (25), however lifting of tab (28) allows opening of the valve. The valve member (24) is tubular with a recessed end wall (27). The valve sealing surfaces of seat (22) and valve member (24) may be conically convergent or of modified shape for dispensing viscous liquids. The external face of the valve seat and the internal face of the tubular valve member (24) converge down to a thin lower edge to prevent external drops of dispensed liquid remaining at the outlet to contaminate subsequent discharges.

Description

DISPENSER CLOSURE THIS INVENTION relates to dispenser closures.

One particular application of the invention relates to dispenser closures used with bag-in-the-box type packaging.

In one form the invention resides in a dispenser closure comprising a valve body formed with a downwardly directed opening which defines a valve seat, the valve body being formed with a diaphragmatic wall, a valve member supported within the valve body and connected to the diaphragmatic wall, said valve member being movable by movement of the diaphragmatic wall to be disengaged from said valve seat to allow fluid flow therebetween, wherein the external face of said valve seat defines a downwardly directed substantially circular edge having a convergent cross- sectional configuration to define a thin lower edge.

The invention will be more fully understood in the light of the following description of two specific embodiments. The description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional side elevation of a dispenser closure according to a first embodiment in the closed position;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional side elevation of the dispenser closure according to the first embodiment in the open position; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional side elevation of the dispenser closure according to the second embodiment in the closed position; and Figure 4 is a cross-sectional side elevation of the dispenser closure according to the second embodiment in the open position.

The embodiment is directed to a dispenser closure for use with bag-in-the-box type packaging. Many such dispenser closures currently in use have the feature that on the closing several drops of liquid are retained within the external flow cavities. Such retained liquid has the potential to contaminate the subsequent discharges of liquid from the closure. This undesirable feature has been generally accepted in the past because it usually did not cause any adverse problems, provided the contents of the packaging with which the closures were used were consumed quickly and the externally retained drops usually remained in position at the outlet and were not visible to the eye of the user. In addition it is necessary to maintain the cost of such closures at a minimum since they are essentially a throw-away item.

The principal user of such closures has in the past been the wine industry however such packaging and dispenser closures were only used in respect of medium and low quality wines. The packagers of premium wines have been critical of such closures principally because of their external liquid retaining properties.

The dispenser closure which is the subject of International Application No. PCT/AU83/00057 (publication no. WO 83/04082) provided improvements over previous dispenser closures in that it utilised a downwardly directed outlet which formed a valve seat and was associated with a valve member which was engagable with the inner face of the valve seat and was movable inwardly with respect to the valve body. The valve member had a lower end of conical configuration which extended from the valve seat when in the closed position to prevent the retention of any drops. The difficulty with such a valve however arose from the fact that while the valve seat and valve member served as an effective flow concentrator when the valve was open, the lower end of the valve member became wet during usage and remained wet after the valve had closed.

The embodiments are intended to avoid the retention of any drops of liquid at the outlet of a dispenser closure in order that the closure is substantially dry in the region of the valve seat and valve member when closed and that there is little likelihood of any fluid retention at the outlet in the region of the valve seat and valve member which will be contacted by the fluid stream of a subsequent flow of fluid from the outlet.

The embodiment shown in the drawings comprises a valve body 11 having an inlet 12 surrounded by a substantially radial flange 13 which is to be bonded to a flexible bag. The lower portion of the flange 13a is provided with a transverse hinge 14 whereby the lower portion of the flange 13a may be bent through 90° to enable the inlet 12 to the valve to be located at the lowermost portion of a box 16 which accommodates a bag 15. The valve body 11 is formed with a tubular portion 17 which extends from the inlet 12 and which is formed with a second rectangular flange 18 spaced from the flange 13 at the inlet whereby the space between the flanges 13 and 18 accommodates the walls of the box 16. In addition the lower portion 18a of the second flange 18 is of a greater width than the upper portion whereby on the valve body being withdrawn from within the box 16 and locked in place in the conventional manner, the lower portion 18a of the second flange 18 extends below the lower wall of the box 16 to provide an abutment which will bear against the edge of supporting surface for the box 16 (as shown in Figure 2) .

The outermost end of the tubular portion 17 of the valve body 11 opens into a downwardly extending discharge outlet 19 which is of a substantially circular configuration and is defined by a downwardly depending skirt 20 concentric with and spaced outwardly from an opening 21 which is defined by a valve seat 22. The valve seat has a frusto- conical external profile and the wall of the valve seat has a substantially convergent cross-sectional configuration to provide a sharp edge at its lowermost edge. In addition, the lowermost edge of the valve seat 22 is located intermediate the lowermost edge of the skirt 20 and the junction between the valve seat and the skirt 20. A plurality of radially extending vanes 23 are provided within the valve body 11 adjacent the inner face of the valve seat 22.

Closure of the valve seat 22 is effected through a tubular valve member 24 which has a lower external face complementary to the inner face of the valve seat 22. The wall of the valve member has a lower edge which is of a convergent cross-section to provide a sharp lower edge whereby on the valve member 24 being sealingly engaged with the valve seat 22 the combined wall defined thereby is of a convergent cross-section to provide a sharp lower edge.

The valve member 24 is supported in the valve body 11 by a resiliently flexible diaphragmatic wall 25 which has a substantially convex inward configuration and serves to bias the valve member 24 into sealing engagement with the valve seat 22. The valve member 24 is formed substantially integrally with the diaphragmatic wall 25 and manipulation tab or toggle 26 which is also of substantially tubular configuration is formed on the opposite face of the diaphragm opposite the valve member. The interior of the tubular valve member 24 is closed by an intermediate septum 27 across the interior of the valve member adjacent the portion of the valve member 24 which sealingly engages with the valve seat 22. The septum 27 also serves to provide for reinforcement of the valve member.

In use when the dispenser closure of the embodiment is closed as is shown at Figure 1, the lower end of the valve member 24 is in sealing engagement with the valve seat 22 and defines an annular surface having a cross-section which is of convergent cross-section to define a sharp lower edge which due to its configuration will tend not to retain any drops of liquid. To open the dispenser closure the valve member is pulled upwardly and away from the valve seat by manipulation of the tap 26 (see Figure 2) . During this upward movement the radial vanes 23 serve in supporting and centralising the valve member. On the opening of the dispenser closure by upward movement of the valve member 24 fluid will be caused to flow past the radial vanes 23 and the valve seat 22. The presence of the radial vanes 23 serves to prevent any rotary force which would otherwise be induced in the fluid flow as a result of Coriolis forces. In addition the tubular configuration of the lower end of the valve member 24 serves to cause the liquid flowing through the valve seat to be concentrated centrally away from the skirt 20 into a uniform stream which has little lateral dispersion. In the event that fluid is caused to splash back to wet the exterior conical face of the valve seat or the interior of the skirt such fluid is unlikely to be contacted by the fluid stream of a subsequent discharge.

If it is desired to have the dispenser closure open for a substantial period of time it is possible to move the valve member to a position at which it will be retained open and allow for substantially uninhibited flow of liquid from outlet 19. This is effected by raising the valve member 24 to its uppermost position in relation to the valve body 11 whereby the diaphragmatic wall 25 is distorted to a substantially stable upwardly directed configuration to retain the valve member in the raised position. To close the dispenser closure when the valve member is in its uppermost position it is merely necessary to apply a relatively small downward force to the tab 26.

The second embodiment of Figures 3 and 4 is very similar to the first embodiment and the same reference numerals have been used in the drawings. The difference between the first and second embodiments resides in sealing configuration of the valve seat 22 and the valve member 24. The first embodiment has a valve seat having an extended inclined surface which is sealingly engaged by a similarly extended complementary conical surface. The sealing pressure between the valve member and valve seat which is applied by the diaphragm 25 is distributed over the extended sealing surface of the valve seat and valve member. This is satisfactory when the closure is used with low viscosity liquids such as wine and beverages but is not fully satisfactory for use with high viscosity liquids such as paints and syrups .

The sealing surface of the valve seat of the second embodiment is formed by an innermost portion 22a which is of a conical configuration but which is limited in its extent. The outermost portion 22b of the sealing surface beyond the innermost portion is substantially parallel sided. The sealing surface of the valve member has a complementary configuration to the valve seat. The restricted area of the conical configuration of the innermost portion of the sealing area of the valve seat and valve member increases the sealing pressure therebetween which is induced by the diaphragm while the substantially parallel sided outermost portion of the valve member has a wiping like action over the corresponding surface of the valve seat to clear any residual liquid from those surfaces on the valve member moving into closing engagement with the valve seat. As a result the sealing pressure between the valve seat and valve member is increased and the retention of any liquid between the sealing surface is minimised. Furthermore the disengagement of the valve member from the valve seat from the closed position produces a slheer force on any film of liquid retained between the valve seat and valve member to facilitate the breaking of any binding forces created by the film.

According to an example of the second embodiment the inner most portion 22a of the valve seat defines an angle of 16° with the central axis of the valve seat while the outermost portion 22b defines an angle of 1°.

The second embodiment of Figures 3 and 4 also differs from the first embodiment by the configuration of the upper portion of the radial vanes 23. The upper edges of the radial vanes 23 are formed with outwardly divergent upper surfaces to prevent the valve member becoming lockingly engaged with the upper end of the radial vanes when at the outer limits of its movement. The dispenser closure of each of the embodiments provides means for filling bags to which the dispenser closure is mounted without the need to disassemble the dispenser closure and/or assemble the dispenser closure subsequent to the filling operation. Filling of bags having the dispenser closure of the embodiment mounted thereto is facilitated by applying the discharge outlet 19 to a filling head to provide an air tight seal therewith. In addition the filling head is capable of both engaging the intermediate septum 27 within the valve member 24 to raise the valve member from engagement with the valve seat 22, and of plugging the tubular valve member 24 while liquid is introduced into the valve body 11 and bag through the space defined between the valve member 24 and valve seat 22.

It should be appreciated that the scope of the present invention need not be limited to the particular scope of the embodiments described above.

Claims

1. A dispenser closure comprising a valve body formed with a downwardly directed opening which defines a valve seat, the valve body being formed with a diaphragmatic wall, a valve member supported within the valve body and connected to the diaphragmatic wall said valve member being movable to be disengaged from the valve seat to allow fluid flow therebetween wherein the external face of said valve seat defines a downwardly directed substantially circular edge having a convergent cross- sectional configuration to define a thin lower edge.

2. A dispenser closure as claimed at claim 1 wherein the valve seat is formed with a sealing surface having a convergent configuration of substantially constant inclination.

3. A dispenser closure as claimed at claim 1 wherein the valve seat has a sealing surface having a first portion of convergent configuration and a second portion having a substantially cylindrical configuration and the valve member has a sealing surface of corresponding configuration.

4. A dispenser closure as claimed at claim 3 wherein the second portion of the sealing surface has a slight degree of convergence.

5. A dispenser closure as claimed at any one of the preceding claims wherein the tubular valve member is closed at a point spaced inwardly from the lower edge.

6. A dispenser closure as claimed at any one of the preceding claims wherein a plurality of radial vanes are mounted to the interior of the valve body adjacent the valve seat .

7. A dispenser closure as claimed at claim 5 wherein the radially innermost edges of the radial vanes define a guide for the valve member on its movement towards and away from the valve seat.

8. A dispenser closure as claimed at any one of the preceding claims wherein a downwardly depending skirt is provided on the valve body, such skirt being spaced from and surrounding the downwardly directed opening and extending downwardly beyond the lowermost extent of the valve seat and valve member.

9. A dispenser closure as claimed at any one of the preceding claims wherein the diaphragmatic wall is located substantially opposite the valve seat and the valve member is supported from the diaphragmatic-wall.

10. A dispenser closure substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.