Replaceable fluid-containing bag and nozzle for high viscosity fluid dispenser

• US 5,826,751 A
• Filed: 10/17/1997
• Issued: 10/27/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Original Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Inventors: Gruenbacher, Dana P., Stahley, Robert E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bomberg, Kenneth
• Application Number:
  US08/953,524
• Time in Patent Office: 375 Days
• Field of Search: 222/92, 222/95, 222/107, 222/105, 222/325, 222/326, 222/386, 222/386.5, 222/387, 222/389
• US Class Current: 222/92
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/0072 the contents of a flexible bag being expelled by a piston or a movable bottom or partition provided in the container or the package

Abstract

A dispenser comprises an upper portion having an annular member depending therefrom and a bottom portion having a base and an upright post connected to the base. It also includes a flexible bag capable of containing fluid suspended from the upper portion and located inside the annular member. The flexible bag has a nozzle connected to it such that the flexible bag is closed except at the nozzle. The nozzle has a discharge orifice in fluid communication with the flexible bag. The upper portion telescopingly engages the bottom portion such that the upright post is located substantially aligned with the flexible bag. The upright post is sized to cause the flexible bag to invert when the upper portion and the bottom portion are pressed together. An openable closure closes the discharge orifice so that a fluid-containing flexible bag may be easily handled for replacement of the emptied flexible bag in the dispenser. A removable rigid cover connected to the upper portion provides a surface against which a user may conveniently press the upper portion downward with a palm of the hand. The rigid cover is removable from the upper portion to enable the flexible bag to be replaced.

Claims

1. A reclosable flexible bag cartridge for containing a fluid comprising:

a) a nozzle having a substantially flat top surface and a continuous outer portion adjacent said top surface, said nozzle also having an orifice extending therethrough, said orifice having an orifice axis, an outermost end, and a reclosable closure located at said outermost end;

b) a thermoformed bag having an inside, a sidewall, a bottom, and a flanged end, said bag being open at said flanged end, said flanged end having a flange extending substantially radially outward from said sidewall, said flange being continuous and in a plane except at a nozzle-fitting portion whereat said flange is shaped to wrap around said continuous outer portion of said nozzle, said flange at said nozzle-fitting portion being bonded to said continuous outer portion of said nozzle such that said top surface of said nozzle resides substantially within said plane of said flange; and

c) a substantially flat piece of film bonded to said flange and to said top surface of said nozzle such that said cartridge is sealed closed by said piece of film, said orifice in said nozzle providing exclusive fluid communication with said inside of said bag.

2. The flexible bag cartridge of claim 1 wherein said orifice axis is substantially parallel to said plane of said flange.

3. The flexible bag cartridge of claim 1 wherein said sidewall of said bag is thin enough and large enough in diameter that said bag is emptied by inverting said bag.

4. The flexible bag cartridge of claim 1 wherein said bag is made of a laminated structure capable of providing barrier properties to said bag.

5. The flexible bag cartridge of claim 1 wherein said bag is handled by grasping said nozzle.

6. The flexible bag cartridge of claim 1 wherein said reclosable closure is a flip-top cap.

7. The flexible bag cartridge of claim 1 wherein a fluid is placed into said bag, said fluid having a level just below said plane of said flange.

8. The flexible bag cartridge of claim 1 wherein said thermoformed bag is filled prior to bonding said flat piece of film to said flange of said bag.

9. The flexible bag cartridge of claim 1 wherein said bag is filled through an opening different than said orifice in said nozzle.