Outlet stopper for pouch-type fluid containers

• US 5,549,389 A
• Filed: 03/02/1994
• Issued: 08/27/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Bakelite Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Bakelite Company Limited
• Inventors: Chigusa, Kisaku, Takagaki, Tadao
• Primary Examiner(s): Shoap, Allan N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HYLTON, ROBIN ANNETTE
• Application Number:
  US08/205,608
• Time in Patent Office: 909 Days
• Field of Search: 215/217, 215/254, 215/255, 220/306, 220/265, 220/270, 222/83, 222/83.5, 383/202, 383/80
• US Class Current: 383/202
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 75/5877 connected to a planar surface of the package wall
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 77/067 combined with a valve, a tap or a piercer

Abstract

An outlet stopper includes a cap part made of a resin and having a cylinder which has a screw thread on a side face thereof, and an outlet part made of a resin and having a disk flange which has a bottom face thereof coated with an adhesive. The disk flange has a hole at a center portion thereof. The outlet part has another cylinder which is placed on top of the disk flange and has a screw thread on a side face thereof which fits the screw thread on the cylinder in the cap part. An opening blade is fixed to the inside of the cap part, and a stopping ring which has a protrusion projected outward therefrom has a break therein for opening the ring and for stopping the insertion of the cap part and the outlet part into each other before reaching a fully screwed-in position. The outlet stopper can be easily attached with the adhesive to a package commercially available in a pouch form. By attaching the outlet stopper, packages made of soft plastic bags can be handled in the same manner as rigid packages having an outlet stopper, such as hard bottles. Thus, a major drawback of packages of a pouch form can be eliminated.

Claims

1. An outlet stopper for providing an outlet opening at any position on a soft-sided pouch-type container, comprising:

a cap part made of a resin and having a cap part cylinder which is closed with a roof fixed to the cap part cylinder at a top portion of the cap part cylinder, the cap part cylinder having a cap part screw thread on an inner side face thereof;

an outlet part made of a resin and having a disk flange which is coated with an adhesive on a bottom face thereof, said disk flange having a hole at a center portion thereof, said outlet part having an outlet part cylinder on top of said disk flange, said outlet part cylinder having on an outer side face thereof an outlet part screw thread, the cap part screw thread on the inner side face of the cap part cylinder being screwable onto the outlet part screw thread;

opening blade means made of a resin and which is fixed to the roof of the cap part so as to project in a downward direction at a center portion of an inner face of the roof of the cap part, said opening blade means having blade tips that are projected below a bottom face of the disk flange when the cap part is in a fully screwed-in position on the outlet part, said opening blade means being rotatable with the cap part when the cap part is screwed onto the outlet part, for opening a pouch-like container when the adhesive on the disk flange is adhered to the pouch-like container and when said cap part is rotated to the fully screwed-in position on said outlet part; and

a stopping ring which is wound around an outer face of the outlet part cylinder of the outlet part, said stopping ring being positioned between a lower end of the cap part and a top face of the disk flange, said stopping ring spacing the blade tips apart from the bottom face of the disk flange by stopping an insertion of the cap part onto the outlet part before the cap part reaches the fully screwed-in position, and wherein;

the stopping ring comprises a protrusion that is projected in an outward direction from the stopping ring, the stopping ring further having a gap therein for enabling removing of the stopping ring from the outlet part cylinder to permit the cap part to reach the fully screwed-in position on the outlet part to thereby open the pouch-like container; and

the stopping ring and the cap part cylinder are integrally molded so as to form a one piece molded resin structure, and the stopping ring and a lower end portion of the cap part cylinder are connected to each other by at least one connecting point which is breakable for removal of the stopping ring.

2. The outlet stopper according to claim 1, wherein when said disk flange is attached to a pouch-like container by use of the adhesive thereon, the adhesive holds a film portion of the pouch-like container around the hole in the center of said disk flange to said disk flange, said opening blade moves into said hole in said disk flange and cuts the film portion of the pouch-like container as the cap part and the outlet part are moved to the fully screwed-in position after removal of said stopping ring.

3. The outlet stopper according to claim 1, wherein the outlet stopper is positioned at a non-sealed position of the pouch-type container.

4. An outlet stopper for opening a soft-sided pouch-type container at any position of the container, comprising:

a cap part made of a resin and having a cap part cylinder which is closed with a roof fixed to the cap part cylinder, the cap part cylinder having a cap part screw thread on an outer side face thereof;

an outlet part made of a resin and having a disk flange which is coated with an adhesive on a bottom face thereof, said disk flange having a hole at a center portion thereof, said outlet part having an outlet part cylinder on top of said disk flange, said outlet part cylinder having on an inside side face thereof an outlet part screw thread, the cap part screw thread on the outer side face of the cap part cylinder being screwable into the outlet part screw thread;

opening blade means made of a resin and which is fixed to the roof of the cap part so as to project in a downward direction at a center portion of an inner face of the roof of the cap part, said opening blade means having blade tips that are projected below a bottom face of the disk flange when the cap part is in a fully screwed-in position in the outlet part, said opening blade means being rotatable with the cap part when the cap part is screwed onto the outlet part, for opening a pouch-like container when the adhesive on said disk flange is adhered to the pouch-like container and when said cap part is rotated to the fully screwed-in position in the outlet part; and

a stopping ring which is wound around an outer face of the outlet part cylinder of the outlet part, said stopping ring being positioned between the cap part and a top face of the disk flange, said stopping ring spacing the blade tips apart from the bottom face of the disk flange by stopping an insertion of the cap part in the outlet part before the cap part reaches the fully screwed-in position, and wherein;

the stopping ring comprises a protrusion that is projected in an outward direction from the stopping ring, the stopping ring further having a gap therein for enabling removing of the stopping ring from the outlet part cylinder to permit the cap part to reach the fully screwed-in position on the outlet part to thereby open the pouch-like container; and

the stopping ring and the cap part cylinder are integrally molded so as to form a one piece molded resin structure, and the stopping ring and the cap part cylinder are connected to each other by at least one connecting point which is breakable for removal of the stopping ring.

5. The outlet stopper according to claim 4, wherein said roof is at a top portion of said cap part.

6. The outlet stopper according to claim 4, wherein the outlet stopper is positioned at a non-sealed position of the pouch-type container.

7. An outlet stopper as claimed in claim 4, wherein said opening blade is made of a resin and is fixed at a lower end portion of the cap part cylinder.

8. The outlet stopper according to claim 4, wherein when said disk flange is attached to a pouch-like container by use of the adhesive thereon, the adhesive holds a film portion of the pouch-like container around the hole in the center of said disk-flange to said disk flange, said opening blade moves into said hole in said disk flange and cuts the film portion of the pouch-like container as the cap part and the outlet part are moved to the fully screwed-in position.