WO2016034239A1

WO2016034239A1 - Liquid dispensing device for use with a flexible bag

Info

Publication number: WO2016034239A1
Application number: PCT/EP2014/068856
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fedde Van Der Weij; Ruud WENSINK
Original assignee: Apds Originals B.V.
Priority date: 2014-09-04
Filing date: 2014-09-04
Publication date: 2016-03-10

Abstract

Liquid dispensing device for a flexible bag 1 containing said liquid and having a spigot (2) connected thereto. The bag is received in a housing (3) having in its upper part receiving means for receiving the spigot. The housing has a support member (5) for the bag, which support member is movable between a lowermost position remote from the receiving means for supporting a full bag and an uppermost position near to the receiving means for supporting a substantially emptied bag. The support member has an upper support surface (8) sloping down to the side of the receiving means. The support member at its side facing a valve assembly (4) comprises a section (9) with a steeper downward slope defining, in the uppermost position of the support member, between said section and the inner end of the valve assembly a receiving space for part of a substantially emptied bag.

Description

LIQUID DISPENSING DEVICE FOR USE WITH A FLEXIBLE BAG

The invention relates to a liquid dispensing de^¬ vice for use with a flexible bag containing said liquid and having a spigot connected thereto, which device comprises a housing for receiving the bag, which housing in its upper part is provided with a receiving means for receiving the spigot and wherein the housing further is provided with a support member for the flexible bag, which support member firstly is movable between a lowermost position remote from the receiving means for supporting a full bag and an upper- most position near to the receiving means for supporting a substantially emptied bag and secondly has an inclined upper support surface sloping down to the side of the receiving means .

Liquid dispensing devices of the type referred to above belong are applied in the field of so-called bag in box packagings for beverages like wine, water and juices, of which the use has grown steadily during the last decades, especially for wine. The reason for this success lies in the advantages for all parties involved in the distribution chain, such as less packaging weight, less packaging cost, large beverage volume per packaging, efficient rectangular shape, easy to carry, long holding time, material and energy saving. Such dispensing devices are capable of pouring one portion at a time from a larger packaging unit (the flexible bag) . Larger packaging units means more product (liquid such as beverage) per packaging, hence less packaging weight per unit of product .

The use of the bag in box packaging, however, has a number of drawbacks which contribute to a perception of low user-friendliness. The extraction valve (spigot) that comes with the packaging is positioned near the lower edge of the (carton) box, which makes it necessary to put the box on a stand or place it near the edge of a table (or other support) in order to have the possibility to pour the bever^¬ age into a glass. Further, the first glass comes out with much more pressure than the last glass, and the pressure drops from 'too high' to zero during the emptying cycle of the bag. When the pressure drops below a certain level it is possible that air is taken in through the valve during dis^¬ pensing the beverage. This causes a more rapid deterioration of the contents of the bag, especially for air sensitive products like wine. Another problem is that the content of the flexible bag does not come out completely or easily, and for the last three or four glasses the box has to be lifted and tilted while keeping the valve opened over a glass.

It is noted, that within the context of the pre^¬ sent invention the indication "spigot" not only refers to a liquid outlet with some kind of operable valve member, but also may encompass a simple spout without such a valve mem^¬ ber .

A state of the art liquid dispensing device of the type the invention relates to, is known from

WO2012/051185A1. This device provides as movable support member a lifting plate of which the top includes a slope that causes the liquid to flow to the discharge opening (spigot) by gravity. The receiving means for the spigot is formed by an opening in the housing through which the spigot projects outwardly for a manual operation. In the housing a so-called pool chamber is defined near the spigot holding position intended to prevent that the outflow of liquid is blocked by the lifting plate. This allows the extraction of most of the contents of the bag. Although this known device at least partly offers a solution for some of the drawbacks mentioned before, there still is a need for an improved liq^¬ uid dispensing device that can add value to the use of bag in box packagings which become increasingly available for many types of liquids, especially beverages. In view of the above, the present invention pro^¬ vides a liquid dispensing device which is characterized in that the upper support surface of the support member at its side facing the valve assembly comprises a section with a steeper downward slope for, in the uppermost position of the support member, defining between said section and the inner end of the valve assembly a receiving space for part of a substantially emptied bag.

Such a receiving space may offer a solution for the problem that a bag cannot be emptied completely because in the last part of the upward movement (stroke) of the sup^¬ port member, most of the remaining space above the support member is taken in by the crinkled bag, locking the remaining liquid between the crinkles. The receiving space now de- fines a place where such crinkles may gather without block^¬ ing the outflow of the liquid through the valve assembly. A further result of such a design is that a bigger distance is achieved between the front of the dispenser and the liquid outlet of the spigot (or of another dispensing part to which the spigot is connected) by placing the valve more inclined with respect to the vertical (due to the section with steep^¬ er downward slope) , making it easier to position a glass in a right position below the spigot (or dispensing part) .

In one embodiment of the device according to the present invention, the housing has an inner wall provided with inwardly protruding guide ribs extending substantially vertically along said inner wall.

Such an embodiment may offer a solution for another problem encountered with the state of the art device in which the pressure on the bag, created by the lifting plate, causes the bag to expand in all directions resulting in friction between the bag and inner wall of the housing. This friction is an important factor for determining the necessary lifting force for moving the lifting plate. It perhaps would be possible to reduce the friction by creating a cavi- ty within the housing with a horizontal section area that is larger in all directions than the horizontal section area of the flexible bag under pressure, but this would result in a rather large and bulky shape that is incompatible with an attractive design and a small footprint of the device. The use of the guide ribs allows to maintain a desired compact design of the housing while reducing the friction by reducing the area of contact between the flexible bag and the in^¬ ner wall of the housing.

In yet another embodiment, the housing is provided with a movable lid, and wherein a locking member is provided for engaging the support member in its lowermost position, and wherein the locking member and lid are operatively con^¬ nected in such a manner that the locking member is moved to a position for disengaging the support member when the lid moves to a position for closing the housing.

As long as the lid is in an open position the locking member engages the support member which is kept in its lowermost position and thus is protected against an un- intentional upward movement.

It further is possible that the support member is upwardly loaded by a biasing member and is engaged by a damping means. The biasing means (for example a compression spring providing substantially a spring force which decreas- es in correspondence with a decreasing weight of a bag dur^¬ ing the upward movement of the support member for an even outflow of the liquid irrespective the amount of liquid still present in the bag) causes the upward movement of the support member when liquid is dispensed from the flexible bag. The damping means (for example a pneumatic or hydraulic damper) is meant to slow down the upward movement of the support member in the event that it does not carry a bag.

For increasing the ease of use and/or applicabil^¬ ity of the device according to the present invention the following options may be provided, alone or in combination: the provision of a cooling mechanism for cooling a bag (for example for improving the taste of a beverage and increasing its life span once the bag has been opened) ; an indicator may be provided for the position of the support member (and thus providing an indication of the amount of liquid still present in the bag) ; an outer surface of the housing may be provided with an indicator about the type of bag (and the liquid present in the bag) , for example

comprising a receptacle for receiving an information carri- er, such as a strip provided with any combination of symbols or words .

Hereinafter the invention will be elucidated while referring to the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical cross-section through an embodiment of the device according to the present invention, housing a full flexible bag containing a liquid;

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-section in accordance with figure 1 in which the device houses a nearly empty flexible bag;

Figure 3 shows a cross-section according to III-

III in figure 1;

Figure 4 in a perspective view illustrates a flex^¬ ible bag attached to a valve assembly;

Figure 5 shows a perspective frontal view of an embodiment of the device according to the present invention, and

Figure 6 shows a perspective rear view of the em^¬ bodiment of the device according to figure 5.

The liquid dispensing device according to the pre- sent invention is intended for use with a flexible bag 1 (best illustrated in figure 4) containing said liquid and having a spigot 2 connected thereto. The spigot 2 is of the type comprising a valve member to be operated manually which in the illustrated embodiment is received in an adapter part 12 for connection to a part 13 of the valve assembly 4. The device basically comprises a housing 3 for receiving the bag 1. The housing 3 in its upper part is provided with said valve assembly 4 for receiving the spigot 2.

The housing further is provided with a support member 5 for the flexible bag 1 which is movable between a lowermost position (as represented in figure 1) remote from the valve assembly 4 for supporting a full bag 1, and an up^¬ permost position (as represented in figure 2) near to the valve assembly 4 for supporting a substantially emptied bag 1. For achieving its upward movement, the support member 5 is upwardly loaded by a biasing member, such as a compres^¬ sion spring 6, whereas further a damping means 7 (for example a pneumatic or hydraulic damper) is provided for slowing down the upward movement of the support member 5 in the event that no bag is present.

The compression spring 6 preferably provides a spring force which decreases in correspondence with a de^¬ creasing weight of a bag 1 (as a result of a part of the liquid being dispensed through the valve assembly 4) during the upward movement of the support member 5.

The support member 5 (which may be configured as a plate) has an inclined upper support surface 8 sloping down (with a first slope) to the side of the valve assembly 4, as is clearly visible in figures 1 and 2. This upper support surface 8 comprises, at its side facing the valve assembly 4, a section 9 (best seen in figure 1) with a steeper downward slope for, in the uppermost position of the support member 5 (see figure 2), defining between said section 9 and the inner end of the valve assembly 4 a receiving space for part of a substantially emptied bag 1 (in figure 2 indicated schematically by crinkles 10) . As a result the outflow of liquid through the valve assembly 4 will not be blocked by the bag 1 in such a situation.

As clearly visible in figure 2, the valve assembly 4 in the illustrated embodiment defines there through a liq- uid channel 11 which has an inner end defined in adapter part 12 which is connected to the remainder 13 of the valve assembly 4 in a removable manner. Thus the adapter part 12 may be replaced by another adapter part, if needed. Previous to use, the adapter part 12 firstly with one end is connect^¬ ed to the remainder 13 of the valve assembly and next with the opposite end is connected to the spigot 2 (which then will be opened automatically) . Finally, the bag 1 together with the valve assembly thus assembled, is placed into the device (which has a receiving chamber 27 for receiving the valve assembly 4) .

The adapter part 12 is adapted for, in a liquid- tight manner, receiving the spigot 2 of the flexible bag 1. Further, the adapter part 12 is provided with a member for keeping the spigot 2 in a permanent open position when the spigot is received in the adapter part. The position and construction of such a member will depend from the type of spigot 2.

The remainder 13 of the valve assembly defines a valve which cooperates with a part of the liquid channel 11 closer to its outer end (compared with the above mentioned inner end that cooperates with a spigot 2) and which is mov^¬ able between a closed position for preventing a flow of the liquid and an open position for dispensing the liquid. The manner in which such a valve is devised and is operated, may vary in many ways and is not essential for understanding the present invention. With respect to the present invention it is only noted that the valve may be devised for in its open position mixing the liquid in the liquid channel 11 with am- bient air, for achieving a so-called aeration of the liquid.

As seen best in figure 1, the device may comprise a lever 14 which allows a manual operation of the valve of the valve assembly 4 by a user. Whereas such a lever 14 gen^¬ erally requires a rotating movement, another possible embod- iment utilises a push-button. However, also other operation mechanisms for the valve are conceivable. Such mechanisms also may be used to operate, in combination, other parts of the device, such as for example a lid 15 which will be elu^¬ cidated below.

Referring to figure 3, the housing 3 has an inner wall 16 provided with inwardly protruding guide ribs 17 ex^¬ tending substantially vertically along said inner wall.

These guide ribs 17 will engage a bag 1 and will prevent it from sticking to the housing 3 (or inner wall 16 thereof) when pressurised by the support member 5 moving up.

As shortly indicated before, the housing 3 is pro^¬ vided with a movable lid 15. In an open position the lid 15 offers access to the interior space of the housing 3 for supplying a new full bag 1 or removing an empty one (or for replacing one bag for another containing a different beverage) . The housing further is provided with a locking member 21 for engaging the support member 5 (or a pin 23 mounted thereon) in its lowermost position (figure 1) . Said locking member 21 and lid 15 are operatively connected (for example by a rod 22, see figure 2) in such a manner that the locking member 21 is moved to a position for disengaging the support member 5 when the lid 15 moves to a position for closing the housing 3. In the open position of the lid 15 the support member 5 may be pushed down manually until the locking mem- ber 21 engages the support member 5 (pin 23) and keeps it in the lowermost position until the lid 15 is closed again.

The device further may be provided with a cooling mechanism 24 for cooling a bag 1. A temperature control unit 25 (see figure 5) for controlling the cooling mechanism and for setting the temperature, may be provided too, as well as a temperature indicator.

The device also may be provided with an indicator 28 (see figure 5) for the position of the support member 5, and thus for the amount of liquid (beverage) still present in the flexible bag 1. For example such an indicator 28 com- prises an elongate transparent window behind which a movable strip (connected to the support member 5) is positioned for showing the position of the support member 5.

An outer surface of the housing 3 may be provided with an indicator about the type of bag 1 present in the de^¬ vice, such as for example a receptacle for receiving an in^¬ formation carrier, such as a strip provided with any combination of symbols or words.

Finally, the device comprises a tray 26 (see fig- ure 6) onto which a cup may be positioned for receiving the dispended beverage.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described before which may be varied widely within the scope of the invention as defined by the appending claims.

Claims

1. Liquid dispensing device for use with a flexi^¬ ble bag containing said liquid and having a spigot connected thereto, which device comprises a housing for receiving the bag, which housing in its upper part is provided with a re- ceiving means for receiving the spigot and wherein the hous^¬ ing further is provided with a support member for the flexi^¬ ble bag, which support member firstly is movable between a lowermost position remote from the receiving means for sup^¬ porting a full bag and an uppermost position near to the re- ceiving means for supporting a substantially emptied bag and secondly has an inclined upper support surface sloping down to the side of the receiving means, characterized in that the support member at its side facing the valve assembly comprises a section with a steeper downward slope for, in the uppermost position of the support member, defining be^¬ tween said section and the inner end of the valve assembly a receiving space for part of a substantially emptied bag.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the housing has an inner wall provided with inwardly protruding guide ribs extending substantially vertically along said in^¬ ner wall .

3. Device according to any of the previous claims, wherein the housing is provided with a movable lid and wherein a locking member is provided for engaging the sup- port member in its lowermost position, and wherein the locking member and lid are operatively connected in such a man^¬ ner that the locking member is moved to a position for disengaging the support member when the lid moves to a position for closing the housing.

4. Device according to any of the previous claims, wherein the support member is upwardly loaded by a biasing member and is engaged by a damping means.

5. Device according to claim 4, wherein the biasing means comprises a compression spring providing substantially a spring force which decreases in correspondence with a decreasing weight of a bag during the upward movement of the support member .

6. Device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the damping means comprises a pneumatic or hydraulic damper.

7. Device according to any of the previous claims, and further provided with a cooling mechanism for cooling a bag.

8. Device according to any of the previous claims and provided with an indicator for the position of the support member .

9. Device according to claim 8, wherein said indi- cator comprises a movable strip connected to the support member and a window in the housing for showing the position of said movable strip.

10. Device according to any of the previous claims, wherein an outer surface of the housing is provided with an indicator about the type of bag.

11. Device according to claim 10, wherein the indicator comprises a receptacle for receiving an information carrier, such as a strip provided with any combination of symbols or words.

12. Device according to any of the previous claims and comprising a temperature indicator for the temperature of the bag.