Dispensing appliance provided with means for positioning a container

Abstract

A pressure dispensing container containing a liquid and closed by a closure having a first aperture offset with respect to the centroid of the closure's base is disclosed. The container is mounted on a dispensing appliance including a first tube to be inserted into the corresponding first, offset aperture of the closure. The closure further having a crenellation in its lower rim mating a crenellation in a structure for receiving the closure of the container. A closure holding structure is located in the holding portion of the appliance and is suitable for receiving in mating relationship the closure of the container such that the first offset aperture of the closure is in direct engaging relationship with the first tube of the appliance.

Claims

1. A dispensing assembly comprising: (a) a pressure driven dispensing container extending along an axial direction and comprising a body and an aperture closed by a closure, said closure comprising an outer shell comprising: (i) a substantially planar base comprising a first outer main surface and a second inner main surface separated from the outer surface by the thickness of the base, said base further comprising a first aperture fluidly connecting the outer surface to the inner surface and being offset with respect to a centroid of the base, and (ii) an outer peripheral skirt jutting out of the periphery of the inner surface and forming a lower rim, said peripheral skirt being suitable for enclosing and for sealingly fixing the closure to the aperture of said pressure driven dispensing container; wherein the lower rim of the closure comprises a crenellation comprising at least one crenel; and (b) a dispensing appliance comprising: (i) a holding portion comprising: means for holding the body of said container, and means for receiving the closure of the container and comprising a crenellation comprising at least one merlon mating the crenellation of the closure, and (ii) a dispensing portion comprising a first tube suitable for engaging into said first offset opening of the closure, in fluid communication with the interior of the container, said dispensing portion being movingly connected to the holding portion to move from a first, loading position, allowing the loading of the container onto the appliance, and a second, dispensing position, allowing the dispensing of the liquid contained in the container, wherein, when the crenellation of the closure is engaged with the mating crenellation of the holding portion, the angular orientation of the container about its axial direction with respect to the dispensing appliance is such that the first tube faces said first offset opening of the closure and penetrates into the first offset opening upon moving said dispensing portion from the first, loading position, to the second, dispensing position.

2. The dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the crenellation of the lower rim of the closure comprises at least two crenels separated by at least one merlon and the mating crenellation of the receiving portion comprises at least two protruding merlons separated by a recessed crenel.

3. The dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the at least one merlon is provided with a bar code or any other means of information, comprising information related to the container and/or the liquid contained therein.

4. The dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the closure further comprises sealing means and fixing means for sealingly fixing the closure to a pressure driven dispensing container.

5. The dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the end of the first tube is sufficiently hard and sharp to penetrate into the first opening of the closure of a container when mounted onto the appliance with the crenellation of the closure engaged in the mating crenellation of the holding portion, upon moving the dispensing portion of the appliance into its second, dispensing position.

6. The dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the container contains a beverage selected from wine, beer, soda, or another carbonated beverage.

7. The dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the closure further comprises a second opening, and said dispensing portion further comprises a second tube suitable for engaging into said second opening of the closure, and wherein as the crenellation of the closure is engaged in the mating crenellation of the holding portion, the angular orientation of the container is such that said second tube faces said second opening and penetrates into the second opening upon moving said dispensing portion from the first, loading position, to the second, dispensing position bringing the interior of the container in fluid communication with ambient, whilst the first, offset tube is suitable for connecting the interior of the container to a source of pressurized gas.

8. The dispensing assembly according to claim 7, wherein in the dispensing position, the second tube brings the interior of the container in fluid communication with ambient, whilst the first, offset tube fluidly connects the interior of the container to a source of pressurized gas.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention, reference is made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1: shows two embodiments of a closure according to the present invention.

(3) FIG. 2: shows (a) a container, and (b) top, (c) bottom, and (d) side views of a dispenser according to the present invention in a first, loading position.

(4) FIG. 3: shows (a) a container, and (b) top, (c) bottom, and (d) side views of a dispenser according to the present invention in a second, dispensing position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(5) The angular orientation, , in the radial direction of the container upon mounting onto a dispensing appliance becomes critical as soon as there is at least one aperture (15B) which is offset with respect to the centroid of the base of the closure (8). Said offset aperture (15B) is not even necessarily located on the base of the closure, since it could be located on the skirt (111) thereof and thus be offset with respect to said centroid. The closure (8) may comprise one or more additional apertures (10B) which location is not limited. The embodiment of the closure (8) depicted in FIGS. 1 to 3 and discussed in continuation comprises two openings (10B, 15B). As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the first aperture (15B) is offset with respect to the centre of the circular base (110) of the closure and is suitable for being connected to a source of pressurized gas (29) through a gas tube (15A). The second aperture (10B) is centred with respect to the circular base (110) of the closure and is suitable for being connected to a dispensing tube (10A).

(6) The closure depicted in FIG. 1 comprises an outer shell comprising a substantially planar base (110) comprising a first outer main surface (110out) and a second inner main surface (110in) separated from the outer surface by the thickness of the base, and an outer peripheral skirt (111) jutting out of the periphery of the inner surface (110in) and forming a lower rim (17), said peripheral skirt (111) being suitable for enclosing and for sealingly fixing the closure (8) to the aperture (5) of said pressure driven dispensing container. The closure illustrated in FIG. 1 further comprises a first, dispensing aperture (10B) fluidly connecting the outer surface (110out) to the inner surface (110in), and being suitable for receiving a dispensing tube (10A), and a second gas aperture (15B) fluidly connecting the outer surface (110out) to the inner surface (110in), and being suitable for receiving a gas tube (15A);

(7) This type of closures is suitable for being mounted on pressure dispensing containers, which are herein defined as containers which dispensing is driven by creating a higher pressure in the interior of the container compared with the pressure in the exterior thereof. This can be done by injecting a pressurized gas into the container through the first aperture (15B), and the liquid contained therein is thus forced to flow out through the dispensing tube (10A). An alternative way is to create a vacuum in the dispensing tube which drives the flow of liquid out of the container, the first aperture (15B) being in fluid communication with ambient, to compensate the vacuum created in the container by the dispensing of the liquid. Although the closure of the present invention may be used in this latter embodiment, it is preferred to apply it to a pressure dispensing container driven by injection of a pressurized gas. In order to resist the inner pressure within the container, the closure is preferably coupled to the container with snap fitting means (114). The pressurized gas may be injected into the same volume that contains the liquid. The dispensing tube must then comprise a dispensing stem extending deep into the interior of the container (not shown in the Figures). The closure may comprise a sealing member (not shown in the Figures) enclosing both apertures (10B, 15B). Alternatively, the liquid may be contained in a flexible and collapsible bag (1B), and the pressurized gas is then injected into the interfacial space (1C) between the outer layer (1A) of the container and the flexible bag (1B). This solution, called bag-in-container and illustrated in FIGS. 2(a) and 3(a), has the advantage that the gas never contacts the liquid. Furthermore, no dispensing stem extending into the interior of the container is required for driving the liquid out through the dispensing tube (10A). As reviewed in the introductory section, in bladder-in-containers the liquid may be contained in an outer layer (1A), and gas is injected into a flexible bladder (1B). In the present invention, bag-in-containers are preferred to bladder-in-containers. For both bag-in-containers and bladder-in-containers, the closure may comprise two sealing members, a first sealing member enclosing one aperture, and the second sealing member enclosing both apertures (10B, 15B). The first and/or second aperture (15B, 10B) are preferably tapered in the direction of the skirt (111) (as shown in FIG. 1(b)) over at least part of the base thickness, in order to facilitate the introduction from the outside of a gas tube (15A) and/or a dispensing tube (10A), respectively.

(8) With a first opening (15B) offset with respect to the centroid of the base of the closure, the closure cannot be axisymmetric. In particular for bag-in-containers, wherein the gas is injected trough a vent communicating with the interface (1C) between inner (1B) and outer (1A) layers of the bag-in-container and located at the edge of the container mouth (5), the gas opening (15B) of the closure is therefore often off-centred, whilst the dispensing opening may be centred. This geometry corresponds to the preferred embodiment represented in FIG. 1 but, as discussed above, other geometries are possible within the scope of the present invention. The problem with non-axisymmetric closures requiring a connection to at least one tube (15A) is that the angular orientation, a, about the axis of revolution of the container must be such that the position of the first, offset opening (15B) matches the position of the gas tube (15A) of the dispenser the container must be mounted on to function. Of course, as reviewed in the introductory section, the tubes may be connected one by one to the closure and the whole system mounted on a dispenser, but today's consumers' expectations go much beyond such lengthy and meticulous work and require a user friendly, fool proof, and simple system, requiring as little manipulation as possible and with a high degree of reliability and reproducibility. For this reason, the lower rim (17) of the closure according to the present invention is provided with a crenellation comprising at least one crenel (22B) as illustrated in FIG. 1(a). In a preferred embodiment, the crenellation of the lower rim (17) of the closure comprises at least two crenels (22B) separated by a merlon (18B).

(9) The crenellation of the closure according to the present invention mates a crenellation provided in supporting means (22) of a dispensing appliance designed to receive and support the closure (8) of the container. In FIGS. 2 and 3 the closure receiving means (22) are represented as a substantially half cylindrical cradle (22), but any geometry allowing the interconnection of the crenellations of the closure (8) and the holding means (22) is possible. In its simplest form, a crenellation protruding out of a small flat surface is sufficient, provided the angular orientation, , of the container (1) can be set by the two crenellations engaging in one another. By providing a mating set of crenellations in the closure (8) and the closure supporting means (22), the container (1) is necessarily mounted onto the dispensing appliance (2) with the correct angular orientation, a, for the dispensing tube (10A) and the gas tube (15A) of the appliance (2) to engage directly into the corresponding dispensing (10B) and gas (15B) apertures of the closure (8). The crenellation of the closure (8) represented in FIG. 1(a) comprises a single crenel (22B) and the one illustrated in FIG. 1(b) consists of one merlon (18B) separating two crenels (22B). It can be seen that the crenellation is obtained by simply cutting off sections of the lower rim (17) of the closure's skirt (111) to form crenels (22B), optionally separated by merlons (18B). In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1(b), the merlon (18B) and crenels (22B) have substantially same height and width in the circumferential direction, but it is clear that they may have different dimensions.

(10) Whether of same or different dimensions, the crenellation may have a maximum height comprised between 1 and 20 mm, preferably between 1.5 and 10 mm, more preferably between 2 and 4 mm. The at least one crenel (22B) may have a width in the circumferential direction comprised between 1.5 and 20 mm, preferably between 3 and 10 mm, more preferably between 4 and 8 mm and any merlon (18B), if any, has width comprised between 3 and 15 mm, preferably between 5 and 10 mm. The upper rim of the crenels may be straight as illustrated in FIG. 1, or may be curved, forming e.g., a rounded arch or an ogive.

(11) A crenellated key system between the mouth of a container and the corresponding appliance is often found in the field of ink jet printers. Examples of such systems can be found in EP395197, EP1122078, and EP523915. In such systems, the outer wall of the neck section of an ink container is provided with a pattern of ribs and grooves matching the pattern in a receiving hole of the appliance. These key systems are meant for preventing an ink cartridge to be mounted onto a printer at a wrong position, corresponding to a colour different than the one contained in the cartridge, and are not at all meant for fixing the angular orientation in the axial direction of a container. Furthermore, the ink cartridges must be pressed into the mating opening to break open the sealed aperture, which is quite easy with a cartridge weighing a few hundreds of grams but is quite unthinkable with a 5 l container full of beer. The closure according to the present invention clearly differs from inkjet cartridge key systems in that the lower rim only of the closure is provided with a crenellation extending parallel to the skirt (111) of the closure, as it is to be laid onto a mating crenellation provided on the closure supporting means (22) of the dispensing appliance. The mouth of inkjet cartridges, on the other hand, must comprise a crenellation extending normal to the neck section of the container as it must be inserted and fit into substantially circular openings comprising a mating crenellation. The objective is also quite different, since the closure of the present invention serves to ensure that a pressure dispensing container is laid onto a dispensing appliance with the correct angular orientation, a, to fit a tube (15A) of the appliance (2) into a corresponding gas apertures (15B), which is offset with respect to the centroid of the closure base (110). The key portion in inkjet cartridges discussed above, on the other hand, are meant to prevent mounting a cartridge with the wrong colour into the printer.

(12) The closure (8) of the present invention is mounted on a pressure dispensing container. As discussed above, pressure dispensing containers are not meant to dispense their liquid content by tilting the container until the mouth gets lower than the level of liquid contained therein. In other terms, the driving force for the flow is not gravity and dispensing is not dependent on the orientation of the container and may occur even with the container standing upright in a vertical position with its mouth at the highest position. The container (1) represented in FIGS. 2(a) and 3(a) is lying horizontally, which can be advantageous in case it is to be mounted on a dispensing appliance which is then placed into a cupboard or into conventional fridge. For technical reasons, the container must often be axisymmetrical, so that the angular orientation thereof when mounted onto an appliance must rely entirely on the crenellations of the closure (8) and the closure supporting means (22) of the appliance. If a non axisymmetric container can be used, than it could assist the crenellation system to further ease the correct angular positioning of the container into the appliance. For instance, the container may have a flat surface on the side of the closure crenellation. This embodiment, however, requires a careful orientation of the closure with respect to the container, which is not necessarily practical.

(13) The container is preferably a bag-in-container comprising a flexible, collapsible inner bag (1B) contained in an outer container (1A), with an interface or gap (1C) between the two layers. Examples of bag-in-containers particularly suitable for the present invention are disclosed in EP2146832, EP2148770, EP2165968, EP2152494, EP2152486, EP2148771. The pressurized gas is to be injected through at least one vent communicating with the interface between inner and outer layers (1B, 1A), said vent being located adjacent to the mouth of the container and parallel to the axis of the container and is in fluid communication with the gas opening (15B) of the closure, which must therefore be located on the outer edge of the closure as illustrated in FIG. 1. A dispensing stem extending into the interior of the container is not necessary, since the collapse of the inner bag (1B) ensures that liquid is permanently in contact with the dispensing opening (10B) of the closure, regardless of the container orientation.

(14) Traditional pressure dispensing containers wherein a pressurized gas is injected directly into the volume containing the liquid can also be provided with a closure according to the present invention. Such containers require a dispensing stem in fluid communication with the dispensing opening (10B) and extending into the interior of the container such that the opening of the stem located at the bottom of the container is permanently immersed in the liquid, to ensure proper dispensing even when the container is almost empty. The dispensing stem may be already provided in the closure, so that the same appliance as illustrated in FIG. 2 for bag-in-containers may be used. Alternatively, the dispensing stem must be inserted by the end user, which is less preferred as such operation is not straightforward. Regardless of the type of pressure dispensing container used, the liquid to be dispensed is preferably a beverage, in particular a carbonated beverage, preferably a soda or a beer.

(15) In a preferred embodiment, the neck is provided with a ledge extending radially over part or the whole circumference of the neck, such that the lower rim (17) of the closure rests adjacent to, or even contacts, said ledge when the closure is in position on the container mouth. When the closure is in place, the ledge closes the open side of any crenel (22B) of the closure, thus defining a blind hole having a perimeter defined on one side by the ledge and for the rest of the perimeter by the geometry of the crenel, and its depth extends until the wall of the neck portion of the container. With such geometry, the accuracy of the engagement of the container in its proper angular orientation is further enhanced.

(16) An embodiment of an appliance according to the present invention and suitable for receiving a container provided with a closure as discussed above is illustrated schematically in FIGS. 2&3. The side views in FIGS. 2(d) and 3(d) are represented with the container (1) mounted on the appliance. An appliance according to the present invention comprises (a) a holding portion (201) comprising means (21) for holding the body of said container, and means (22) suitable for receiving the closure (8) of the container (1), and (b) a dispensing portion (202) comprising a first tube (15A) suitable for engaging into said first offset opening (15B) of the closure (8), in fluid communication with the interior of the container.

(17) Said dispensing portion (202) is movingly connected to the holding portion (201) to move from a first, loading position, allowing the loading of the container (1) onto the appliance (2), and a second, dispensing position, allowing the dispensing of the liquid contained in the container. The closure supporting means (22) comprise a crenellation comprising at least one merlon (22A) mating the crenellation of the closure (8).

(18) In the embodiment represented in FIGS. 2 and 3, the dispensing portion (202) comprises two tubes (10A, 15A) as follows; a gas tube (15A) suitable for engaging into said first offset opening (15B) of the closure (8), to bring in fluid communication the interior of the container with a source of pressurized gas (29), and a dispensing tube (10A) suitable for engaging into a second opening (10B) of the closure (8), to bring in fluid communication the volume containing the liquid with ambient

(19) It is clear that the dispensing portion (202) may comprise more than two tubes to be connected to more than two apertures of the closure (8), as long as the closure is not axisymmetric.

(20) The dispensing portion (202) is movingly connected to the holding portion (201) to move from a first, loading position, allowing the loading of the container (1) onto the appliance (2), and a second, dispensing position, allowing the dispensing of the liquid contained in the container. The embodiment depicted in FIGS. 2&3 comprises rails for linearly moving the dispensing portion (202) from the first, loading position (cf. FIG. 2) to the second, dispensing position (cf. FIG. 3). Alternative embodiments are possible and the present invention is not restricted to any in particular. For instance, the dispensing portion (202) may be mounted on hinges permitting it to move from the first to the second position by rotation thereof about the hinges. Care must be taken in this embodiment to ensure that the trajectory of the dispensing tube (10A) and gas tube (15A) allows proper engagement thereof into the corresponding dispensing (10B) and gas (15B) openings of the closure (8).

(21) The closure supporting means (22) of the appliance of the present invention comprise a crenellation comprising at least one merlon (22A) mating the at least one crenel (22B) of the closure (cf. FIG. 1(a)). The closure supporting means (22) illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 comprise two merlons (22A) and one crenel (18A) mating the at least one merlon (18B) and two crenels (22B) of the crenellation of the closure (8) illustrated in FIG. 1(b). More merlons (22A) and crenels (18A) may be provided in the closure supporting means as long as they mate the crenellation of the closure (8). Preferably, the edges of the crenellation of the appliance are chamfered such as to facilitate insertion of the merlons (22A, 18B) into the corresponding crenels (18A, 22B). The two crenellations need not necessarily comprise a mating merlon for each crenel, as long as at least one merlon mates a corresponding crenel to ensure that a single angular orientation is possible. For example, the absence of a merlon to mate an existing crenel does not jeopardize the constraint imposed by a mating merlon-crenel couple. It is, however, preferred that each crenel of one crenellation finds its mating merlon on the other crenellation.

(22) The gas tube (15A) is connected to a source of pressurized gas (29) which can be a pump as illustrated in FIGS. 2&3, or any other means known in the art for pressurizing a gas or for storing a pressurized gas in a confined space, such as in a pressurized container or adsorbed on a support. The end of the gas tube (15A) must be sufficiently hard and sharp to perforate the gas opening (15B) which may be sealed in plant for hygienic reasons, by driving the dispensing (202) and support (201) portions of the appliance together into the second dispensing position. The dispensing tube (10A) is open to ambient at one end, with a valve (35) to control the flow of liquid out of the container. The other end of the dispensing tube must also be sufficiently hard and sharp to open the sealed dispensing opening (10B) when moving the dispensing portion from the first loading position to the second dispensing position (compare FIGS. 2&3).

(23) The holding portion (201) comprises supporting means (22) for receiving and supporting the closure (8) of the container (1) and any other means (21) for holding the container firmly into position. In FIGS. 2&3, said means (21) are represented as a substantially half cylindrical cradle for holding the body of the container, but any other design can be applied and is not critical for the present invention. The holding portion (201) may be separatable in different parts to facilitate insertion of the container, or may be made of one piece, with an opening sufficiently large for allowing the introduction of the container onto the supporting means (21, 22). Whether the holding portion is separatable or not, and whether the two sections of the holding portion are fully separatable or connected by hinges or any other means is not critical and all these embodiments can be part of the present invention.

(24) In the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, wherein the crenellation of the closure supporting means (22) of the appliance comprises at least one crenel (18A) surrounded by the at least two merlons (22A), a press button (23) may be provided at the bottom of the crenel (18A) and connected to a switch controlling the electrical circuit (28) of the appliance, for feeding e.g., a pump (29). Upon positioning the container with the correct angular position corresponding to the closure, with merlon (18B) snugly fitting in the crenel (18A) of the closure supporting means (22), the closure merlon (18B) presses the button (23) which closes the electrical circuit of the appliance and allows its activation. With this embodiment, it is not possible to activate the appliance if the container is not positioned with the correct angular orientation, a, as illustrated in FIGS. 2(c) and 3(c). Power may be supplied by the net, a battery or any other source of energy known to the person skilled in the art, such as a solar cell or a generator.

(25) In another embodiment, the merlon (18B) of the closure may be provided with a bar code (112B), or any other identification system (112), and the crenel (18A) of the closure supporting means (22) may be provided with means for reading the information applied on the closure's merlon (18B), and a display in the front of the appliance may be provided to clearly identify the type of container and liquid contained therein which is mounted in the appliance. For example, it may identify the mark of a beer, nutritional information such as the alcohol content, sugar content, the year of fabrication, the date of consumption, and the like. Alternatively, the bar code (112B) can be provided at any fixed position on the closure's skirt (111) with respect to the at least one crenel (22B), which ensures that, when the container is properly loaded in the appliance, the bar code (112B) necessarily faces a bar code reader.