WO2019222792A1

WO2019222792A1 - Liquid container

Info

Publication number: WO2019222792A1
Application number: PCT/AU2019/000064
Authority: WO
Inventors: Daniel Fuentes
Original assignee: Icon Plastics Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2018-05-25
Filing date: 2019-05-27
Publication date: 2019-11-28

Abstract

A disposable, collapsible container (1) for limited re-use, see container (1) comprising a main flexible body (2) adapted to expand outwardly to receive fluid and be capable of being flattened for storage when substantially empty of fluid, said container comprising: an upper large inlet (20) comprising an aperture capable of receiving liquid (3), said large inlet (20) adapted to be sealed when a pre-determined amount of the liquid (3) is received in the container (1); and an outlet (40), smaller in transverse area than that of the inlet (20), said outlet (40) comprising a pouring nozzle or spout located on a side of the main body (2) and adapted to be sealed during filling of the container (1) through the inlet (20) and having an opening zone (42) adapted to allow the outlet (40) to be opened for pouring the liquid (3) from the container (1), wherein the inlet (20) comprises a first reusable seal (22) and a second and permanent single use seal (24), the outer second seal (24), when closed, protecting an inner space (4) of the container (1) until the container (1) is ready to be filled with the liquid (3), and the second seal (24), once opened, not being resealable.

Description

LIQUID CONTAINER

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a liquid container. More particularly, this invention relates to a liquid container, particularly a liquid container for receiving liquid from a first liquid source and having a separate outlet for dispensing the liquid from the container.

BACKGROUND ART

The following references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the following prior art discussion should not be assumed to relate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but to assist in the inventive process undertaken by the inventor(s) and in the understanding of the invention.

Liquid containers for storing perishable liquids, such as milk, have been described. However, domestic liquid storage containers typically have a single orifice operating as both an inlet and an outlet, which is not suitable for storing a perishable liquid.

Containers having dual inlet/outlet or orifices have been described. For example, fuel containers, such as jerrycans, may have a pair of spaced inlets/outlets. This may be to balance fluid pressures within the container with atmospheric pressure by providing an air inlet during liquid dispensement.

An object of the present invention is to ameliorate the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative thereto.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION

The invention according to one or more aspects is as defined in the independent claims. Some optional and/or preferred features of the invention are defined in the dependent claims.

Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention there is provided:

a disposable, collapsible container for limited re-use, said container comprising a main flexible body adapted to expand outwardly to receive fluid and be capable of being flattened for storage when substantially empty of fluid, said container comprising: an upper large aperture capable of receiving liquid, said large inlet adapted to be sealed when a pre-determined amount of the liquid is received in the container; and a pouring nozzle located on a side of the main body and adapted to be sealed during filling of the container through the inlet and having an opening zone adapted to allow the outlet to be opened for pouring the liquid from the container,

wherein:

the inlet comprises a first reusable seal and a second and permanent single use seal closer to the upper edge of the container than the first seal;

the second seal in a closed state is adapted to protect an inner space of the container until the container is ready to be filled with the liquid; and

the second seal is adapted to not be resealable once opened.

LIQUID

Advantageously, the container is adapted to receive, store and dispense liquids that are food-grade. More preferably, the liquid is of the type that is perishable. Most preferably, the liquid is milk, a milk-based product, a milk product or a milk- containing product. Still more preferably, the liquid is human or breast milk. The milk may be supplied domestically. The milk may be for private or domestic use.

CONTAINER

The container may be made from a variety of food-grade materials, including wax or polymer-lined paper-based, cellulosic and/or polymer materials. The container may be made from composite materials, including cellulosic or foil-lined materials. Preferably, the container is made from a blank sheet comprising multiple layers. Preferably, the layers include a cellulosic-base material and wax and/or foil inner and/or outer skins. Still more preferably, the sealant layer can be made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and an MSEVAS sealant layer. The thickness of the PET layer may be of the order of 10 - 15 pm, and most particularly about 12pm. The thickness of the MSEVAS sealant layer may be 40 - 80 pm, and most preferably about 60 mhi. Lamination is an option. If laminated, the layer may include low density polyethylene (LDPE) with laminations, pure LDPE, or LDPE outer layers with PET inner layers. The sealant layer may be described as a medium barrier laminate incorporating polyester (PET) and a high performance three layer co-extruded polyethylene (PE) sealant. The sealant may be compatible with most PE based materials. The sealant layer should be suitable for food contact in accordance with Australian Standards, EEC and/or FDA regulations.

The container is preferably flexible. The container is preferably collapsible and storable in a substantially flat form. The container may have a base that is expandable to provide a stable base for the container. The container, whether empty or at least partially filled with liquid, is preferably adapted to stand independently upright. The base may be substantially oval-shaped or rectangular. The container may have a wide front and back panel. The container may have side walls that are foldable and collapsible. The side walls may collapse inwardly to minimise the lateral dimensions of the collapsed container. Preferably, the front and rear panels join at their respective edges to form a permanent side seam.

The front panel may include a space for indicia. The front panel may have a zone for entry of user information specific to a particular use of the container. The user information may include name, date of filling and a description of the liquid. The front or rear panel may include indicia for measuring the amount of liquid stored in the container. The front or rear panel may have a corresponding transparent or translucent window whereby the liquid and the level thereof can be viewed through the window. Alternatively, the container may be made from a substantially transparent or translucent material, so that the liquid contents can be generally viewed in the container from a front or rear perspective.

The inlet may extend across the top of the container. The inlet may extend substantially the full breadth of the container at its top end. The top end of the container may be narrower than the lower main body of the container. The second seal may be outlying and uppermost in the container. The second seal may be a permanent and non-reusable (single use) seal. The second seal may include a weakened portion. The weakened portion may extend under the weld line. The second seal may, alternatively, include indicia indicating where to cut or tear the container to breach the first seal. A scoreline may guide a user in breaking the second seal.

The first seal of the inlet may be openable and resealable. This first seal may include a zip or zip lock arrangement. The first seal may include a food-grade adhesive strip. Preferably, the first seal is capable of releasably securing the container against the passage of air or other fluids through the inlet when sealed.

OUTLET

The outlet may comprise a pouring device, including a pouring spout or nozzle. The pouring device may be located at the upper end of the main container body. The outlet may be located below the second seal. The pouring device may be located below the top end. The outlet may include a seal zone. The seal zone of the outlet may comprise a weakened line or zone. The seal zone may include a scoreline. The seal zone may include indicia to indicate where a user may cut, peel or tear the container material to form the outlet to form a pouring spout. Upon filling and sealing the container, the container should be stored in a cold place such as a fridge or freezer to preserve the milk. Preferably, the outlet is adapted for a single dispersing event as re-storing the milk after heating for use may lead to contamination. The inlet is preferably releasable to allow the container to be closed once the liquid has been poured into the container for storage. The outlet spout does not necessarily have a re sealable feature as the primary purpose of the container may be as a single-use or disposable container. The inlet may be re-sealable to allow the inlet to be closed for storage, once liquid can been poured into the container in the first instance. However, in some applications, the re-sealability of the outlet will be advantageous and this is within the scope of the invention.

The container when stored is adapted to substantially flatten by collapsing the foldable side walls. The base is preferably adapted to expand in the front and rear directions relative to the container whereby the base is substantially wider in the front and rear directions compared to the upper end of the container. When expanded for filling mode, the container, when viewed from the side, preferably assumes a substantially trapezoidal or triangular shape. The container when viewed from the side is narrow at the inlet at the top end of the container and is progressively wider towards the lower end of the container at the base.

The container preferably has a peripheral weld line extending along each of its sides. The weld line is spaced inwardly from the side edges of the container and from the upper end of the container to define a peripheral weld zone for effective sealing of the container along its sides and base. The front and rear panels internal to the weld line are not attached to or otherwise adhered to. The inner surfaces of the front and back panels are adapted to be kept aseptic to food-grade standard prior to either the inlet or outlet seals being broken.

The weld line at the containers’ upper end may extend above the uppermost second seal. The weld line in the vicinity of the outlet may be outward lying compared to the outlet seal. Therefore, opening the second seal (assuming that the front first seal is open) exposes the inner space and surfaces of the container to outside contamination. On breaking the outlet seal, the inner space may also be exposed. Therefore, the second seal or the outlet seal should only be broken immediately prior to intended use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of preferred embodiments, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a container according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the container according to the first embodiment shown in Figure 1 in use;

Figure 3 is a side view of the container according to the first embodiment in a collapsed storage mode; and

Figure 4 is a side view of the container according to the first embodiment in an expanded state.

DETA1FED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred features of the present invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the features illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings are not to be construed as limiting on the scope of the invention.

Turning to Fig. 1, there is shown a disposable, collapsible container 1 for limited re use, see container 1 comprising a main flexible body 2 adapted to expand outwardly to receive fluid and be capable of being flattened for storage when substantially empty of fluid, said container comprising: an upper large inlet 20 comprising an aperture capable of receiving liquid 3, said large inlet 20 adapted to be sealed when a pre-determined amount of the liquid 3 is received in the container 1 ; and an outlet 40, smaller in transverse area than that of the inlet 20, said outlet 40 comprising a pouring nozzle or spout located on a side of the main body 2 and adapted to be sealed during filling of the container 1 through the inlet 20 and having an opening zone 42 adapted to allow the outlet 40 to be opened for pouring the liquid 3 from the container 1, wherein the inlet 20 comprises a first reusable seal 22 and a second and permanent single use seal 24, the outer second seal 24, when closed, protecting an inner space 4 of the container 1 until the container 1 is ready to be filled with the liquid 3, and the second seal 24, once opened, not being resealable.

The second outer seal 24 forms part of a weld line 60 extending around the periphery 5 of the container. The weld line 60 is marginally spaced from the outer peripheral edge 6 of the container 1, so that there is a narrow margin 7 between the weld line 60 and the peripheral edge 6. The margin 7 comprises a margin zone in which a pair of opposed front 8 and rear 9 panels are joined about the container’s peripheral edge 5.

The margin zone 7 may join the front and rear panels 8, 9. This may be achieved by adhesive or cold or hot press welding to ensure an airtight peripheral seal. The narrow margin 7 may be between 2mm - lOmm, and preferably between 3mm - 6mm.

The sides 2a, b and a top end 10 of the container 1 meet face to face to seal the upper and side portions of the container 1 whilst the second seal 24 and opening zone 42 remain sealed. The bottom of the container 1 includes a base 12 having, when fully extended, a substantially oval shape. The container 1 in expanded form is shown in Fig. 4. The base 12 is interposed between the respective front and rear panels 8, 9 and enables the base 12 to provide a stable platform to enable the remainder of the container 1 to stand independently upright. This is advantageous in the filling mode in which the inlet 20 is open and adapted to receive the liquid 3 without the user U having to hold the container 1 upright. The weld line 60 at the bottom of the container 1, including along the front and rear of the container 1, follows the oval-shaped peripheral edge of the base 12 and allows the container 1 to assume a natural, wide- based form.

In the folded state in which the container 1 assumes a flat form, such as that shown in Fig. 3, the base 12 is adapted to fold upwardly into the space defined between the front and rear panel 8, 9 in the direction 13 depicted in Fig. 4.

In the vicinity of the outlet 40, the weld line 60 crosses a scoreline 43 corresponding to the opening zone 42 at junctures 44 that define the upper and lower ends of the pouring nozzle 41. Accordingly, once the opening zone 42 is cut away, or otherwise removed, the outlet 40, and in particular the pouring nozzle 41, is formed ready for pouring.

Accordingly, the weld line 64 performs both as a general seal for the side and bottom peripheries of the container 1, indeed to form the container 1 itself, but also to provide a seal effective to keep the outlet 40 and inlet 20 closed until the container 1 is ready for use.

To prepare the container 1 for use, the score or cutting line 28 may be cut or torn along the line 28 to remove the uppermost seal 27 formed by the upper position of the weld line 66 and upper marginal zone 27. Where the first seal 22 is open, this exposes the inner lining 14 and inner surfaces 16 to the external environment through the inlet 20. However, in manufacture and storage of the container 1, the first seal 22 may be closed to achieve a flatter, more compact and storable object, whereupon the first seal 22 must be actively opened by the user U to expose the inner space 4 to the immediate surrounds of the inlet 20. However, the first seal 22 may be advantageously manufactured and stored in open state (with the second seal 24 sealing the container 1 until use), so that the user U, for example, does not need to use her fingers to initially open the first seal 22 at the commencement of use. This may be effective to reduce the prospect of contamination of the fluid 3. This may be seen as a trade-off in that the container 1 may be slightly less compact for storage but still acceptably compact.

Accordingly, the upper portion 66 of the weld line 60 forms the second seal 24, as well as protecting the first seal 22 from contamination until use.

The front panel 8 includes a narrow vertical window 15 that has, along its length, associated indicia 17 to allow visible measurement of the volume of the liquid 3 contents.

The front 8 or back panel 9 may include a panel section 18 for a user to insert, by hand, information about the contents, such as name, date and amount.

The first seal 22 is a resealable zip lock device 26 that the user U can easily pull apart or close together in the customary way.

The container 1 walls, including the base 12 and the front and rear panels 8, 9 have a sealant layer. The sealant layer is a medium barrier laminate incorporating polyester (PET) and a high performance three layer co-extruded polyethylene (PE) sealant. The sealant is be compatible with most PE based materials. The sealant layer should be suitable for food contact in accordance with Australian Standards, EEC and/or FDA regulations.

Throughout the specification and claims the word“comprise” and its derivatives are intended to have an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. That is, the word“comprise” and its derivatives will be taken to indicate the inclusion of not only the listed components, steps or features that it directly references, but also other components, steps or features not specifically listed, unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise.

In the present specification, terms such as “apparatus”, “means”, “device” and “member” may refer to singular or plural items and are terms intended to refer to a set of properties, functions or characteristics performed by one or more items or components having one or more parts. It is envisaged that where an“apparatus”, “means”,“device” or“member” or similar term is described as being a unitary object, then a functionally equivalent object having multiple components is considered to fall within the scope of the term, and similarly, where an“apparatus”, “assembly”, “means”, “device” or“member” is described as having multiple components, a functionally equivalent but unitary object is also considered to fall within the scope of the term, unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. Orientational terms used in the specification and claims such as vertical, horizontal, top, bottom, upper and lower are to be interpreted as relational and are based on the premise that the component, item, article, apparatus, device or instrument will usually be considered in a particular orientation, typically with the top end 10 uppermost.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations may be made to the methods of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

*WO 2019/222792 PCT/AU2019/000064 The Claims:

1. A disposable, collapsible container 1 for limited re-use, said container 1 comprising a main flexible body 2 adapted to expand outwardly to receive fluid and be capable of being flattened for storage when substantially empty of fluid, said container comprising:

an upper large inlet 20 capable of receiving liquid, said large inlet 20 adapted to be sealed when a pre-determined amount of the liquid is received in the container 1; and

a pouring outlet 40 located on a side of the main body 2 and adapted to be sealed during filling of the container 1 through the inlet 20 and having an opening zone 42 adapted to allow the outlet 40 to be opened for pouring the liquid from the container 1,

wherein:

the inlet 20 comprises a first reusable seal 22 and a second and permanent single use seal 24 closer to the upper edge 27 of the container 1 than the first seal 22;

the second seal 24 is adapted to be closed to protect an inner space 4 of the container 1 until the container 1 is ready to be filled with the liquid; and

the second seal 24 is adapted to not be resealable once opened.

2. The container as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the second outer seal 24 forms part of a weld line 60 extending around the periphery 5 of the container 1.

3. The container as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the weld line 60 is marginally spaced from the outer peripheral edge 6 of the container 1 so that there is a narrow margin forming a margin zone 7 between the weld line 60 and the peripheral edge 6.

4. The container as defined in Claim 3, wherein the margin zone 7 comprises pair of opposed front 8 and rear 9 panels that are joined about a peripheral edge 5 of the container 1. *

WO 2019/222792 PCT/AU2019/000064

5. The container as claimed in Claim 1, wherein a pair of sides 2a, b of the container 1 meet face to face to seal side portions of the container 1.

6. The container as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the second seal 24 at a top end 10 of the container is adapted to seal closed an opening zone 42.

7. The container as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein a bottom of the container 1 includes a base 12 adapted to fully extend into a substantially oval shape.

8. The container as claimed in Claim 7 when dependent on Claim 4, wherein the base 12 is interposed between the respective front and rear panels 8, 9 and enables the base 12 to provide a stable platform to enable the remainder of the container 1 to stand independently upright.

9. The container as claimed in Claim 7 or 8, when dependent on Claims 2 - 4, wherein the weld line 60 at the bottom of the container 1, including along the front and rear of the container 1 , follows the oval-shaped peripheral edge of the base 12.

10. The container as claimed in any one of Claims 7 - 9, wherein the container 1 is adapted to assume in the folded state a flat form and the base 12 is adapted to fold upwardly into the space defined between the front and rear panel 8, 9.

11. The container as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the weld line 60 crosses a scoreline 43 corresponding to the opening zone 42 at junctures 44 near the outlet 40 that define the upper and lower ends of the pouring nozzle 41.

12. The container as claimed Claim 11, wherein the opening zone 42 is adapted to be cut away, or otherwise removed, to form an inclined pouring nozzle 41.

13. The container as claimed in Claim 2 - 4 and Claims 9 - 12, wherein the weld line 64 performs as a general seal for the side and bottom peripheries of the container 1 to form the container 1 and is adapted to provide a seal effective to keep the outlet 40 and the inlet 20 closed until the container 1 is ready for use.

14. The container 1 as claimed in any one of Claims 11 - 13, wherein, adjacent the upper edge 27, the weld line 60 includes an uppermost weld line 66, the weld line 60 extends across the first seal 22, and interposed between the weld line 66 and the first x

WO 2019/222792 PCT/AU2019/000064 seal 22 is a scoreline 28 adapted to be cut or torn along the scoreline 28 to remove the upper edge 27.

15. The container as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the upper portion 66 of the weld line 60 forms the second seal 24, and is adapted to protect the first seal 22 from contamination until use.