Product-dispensing container with pressurizable and collapsible product-storage bag

• US 8,579,158 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2011
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Berry Plastics Corporation (Berry Global Group Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Berry Plastics Corporation (Berry Global Group Inc.)
• Inventors: Rice, Chad E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Durand, Paul R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shaw, Benjamin R
• Application Number:
  US13/081,371
• Publication Number:
  US 20110259915A1
• Time in Patent Office: 951 Days
• Field of Search: 222/95, 222/105, 222/183, 222/209, 222/386.5, 222/389, 215/11.3
• US Class Current: 222/95
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/0055 Containers or packages provided with a flexible bag or a deformable membrane or diaphragm for expelling the contents
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/62 by membrane, bag, or the like containers in which the content is delivered by the contracting forces inherent in the bag B65D83/0061

Abstract

A container includes a bottle formed to include an interior region and a collapsible bag in the interior region. The collapsible bag is formed to include a chamber for holding a dispensable product. A dispenser is coupled to the bottle and arranged to communicate with dispensable product held in the collapsible bag. The dispenser is operable by a consumer to discharge the dispensable product from the collapsible bag.

Claims

1. A container comprising

a bottle formed to include an interior region and a mouth opening into the interior region,

a product-storage canister arranged to extend from the mouth into the interior region of the bottle and formed to include an interior product-storage chamber and an inlet communicating with the product-storage chamber and lying near the mouth of the bottle, and

a dispenser coupled to the bottle to extend through the inlet formed in the product-storage canister and communicate with any dispensable product present in the interior product-storage chamber and configured to dispense such dispensable product from the bottle at the option of a consumer,

wherein the product-storage canister includes a collapsible bag located in the interior region of the bottle and formed to include the interior product-storage chamber and a bag-inversion limiter arranged to extend into the interior product-storage chamber formed in the collapsible bag and configured to provide a dispenser passageway arranged to communicate with the inlet and through which the dispenser extends to reach any dispensable product stored in the product-storage chamber formed in the collapsible bag and

wherein the collapsible bag includes an upper portion of the side wall coupled to the bottle, a lower portion of the side wall arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the mouth of the bottle and formed to include a bottom, and a middle portion arranged to lie between the mouth of the bottle and the bottom of the lower portion,

wherein the bag-inversion limiter is configured to provide means for engaging an interior surface of only the middle portion of the collapsible bag to limit inward collapse of the collapsible bag so that a majority of the dispensable product stored in the product-storage chamber can be dispensed via the dispenser to surroundings outside of the bottle without being trapped in an undispensable location in a portion of the collapsible bag away from the dispenser following exposure of an exterior surface of the collapsible bag to pressurized gas contained in a sealed region located in the interior region of the bottle and outside of the product-storage chamber of the collapsible bag.

11. The container of claim 1, wherein the collapsible bag includes a bottom and a side wall arranged to extend upwardly from the bottom toward the mouth of the bottle and the bag-inversion limiter includes a sleeve arranged to engage an interior surface of the side wall of collapsible bag and lie in spaced-apart relation to the bottom of the collapsible bag and the sleeve is made of a substantially rigid material to block radially inward movement of a middle portion of the side wall of the collapsible bag toward a central vertical axis extending through the mouth of the bottle during exposure of the exterior surface of the collapsible bag to pressurized gas in the sealed region yet allow inward deformation of a lower portion of the side wall of the collapsible bag located between the bottom and the middle portion of the side wall of the collapsible bag as the pressurized gas acts on the exterior surface when the dispenser is activated by a consumer to discharge dispensable material from the product-storage chamber via the dispenser.

12. The container of claim 11, wherein the bag-inversion limiter further includes a top wall formed to include an aperture opening into the dispenser passageway and the product-storage chamber and arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the bottom of the collapsible bag to define the product-storage chamber therebetween.

13. The container of claim 12, wherein the top wall mates with the sleeve to form a bag-receiving chamber opening toward the bottom of the collapsible bag and providing means for receiving portions of the bottom and the lower portion of the side wall of the collapsible bag therein during discharge of dispensable product from the product-storage chamber during activation of the dispenser by a consumer and exposure of the exterior surface of the bottom and the lower portion of the side wall of the collapsible bag to pressurized gas in the sealed region without allowing movement of the middle portion of the side wall of the collapsible bag into the bag-receiving chamber so as to limit inversion of the collapsible bag relative to the dispenser.

14. The container of claim 12, wherein the bag-inversion limiter further includes an outer tube coupled to the top wall and arranged to extend upwardly away from the sleeve toward the mouth of the bottle and to surround the dispenser passageway.

15. The container of claim 11, wherein the side wall of the collapsible bag further includes an upper portion located in close proximity to the mouth of the bottle and in spaced-apart relation to the lower portion to locate the middle portion therebetween, the collapsible bag further includes an annular flange arranged to extend outwardly away from the side wall to mate with the bottle near the mouth of the bottle, and the upper portion of the side wall is arranged to extend between the sleeve and the annular flange.

16. The container of claim 15, wherein the product-storage canister further includes a dispenser mount coupled to the bottle and arranged to engage an upwardly facing surface of the annular flange of the collapsible bag to trap the annular flange between the dispenser mount and the bottle to establish a sealed connection between the dispenser mount, annular flange, and bottle, and wherein the dispenser mount is formed to include the dispenser passageway and is arranged to extend into the collapsible bag to place the dispenser passageway in fluid communication with the product-storage chamber formed in the collapsible bag.

2. A container comprising

a bottle formed to include an interior region and a mouth opening into the interior region,

a product-storage canister arranged to extend from the mouth into the interior region of the bottle and formed to include an interior product-storage chamber and an inlet communicating with the product-storage chamber and lying near the mouth of the bottle, and

a dispenser coupled to the bottle to extend through the inlet formed in the product-storage canister and communicate with any dispensable product present in the interior product-storage chamber and configured to dispense such dispensable product from the bottle at the option of a consumer,

wherein the product-storage canister includes a collapsible bag located in the interior region of the bottle and formed to include the interior product-storage chamber and a bag-inversion limiter arranged to extend into the interior product-storage chamber formed in the collapsible bag and configured to provide a dispenser passageway arranged to communicate with the inlet and through which the dispenser extends to reach any dispensable product stored in the product-storage chamber formed in the collapsible bag and

wherein the bag-inversion limiter is configured to provide means for engaging an interior surface of the collapsible bag to limit inward collapse of the collapsible bag so that a majority of the dispensable product stored in the product-storage chamber can be dispensed via the dispenser to surroundings outside of the bottle without being trapped in an undispensable location in a portion of the collapsible bag away from the dispenser following exposure of an exterior surface of the collapsible bag to pressurized gas contained in a sealed region located in the interior region of the bottle and outside of the product-storage chamber of the collapsible bag, wherein the bag-inversion limiter includes a bottle-top anchor coupled to the bottle, a bag spreader arranged to engage a portion of the interior surface of the collapsible bag to limit inward collapse of the collapsible bag, and a dispenser conduit aligned with the inlet and arranged to lie in the collapsible bag to interconnect the bottle-top anchor and the bag spreader and formed to provide the dispenser passageway and wherein the dispenser conduit is surrounded by and arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the interior surface of the collapsible bag.

3. The container of claim 2, wherein the collapsible bag includes a bottom and a side wall extending upwardly from the bottom, the bag-inversion limiter further includes a spreader mount retained in a fixed position in the interior region of the bottle and coupled to the bag spreader to suspend the bag spreader in the product-storage chamber of the collapsible bag away from the bottom of the collapsible bag to cause an exterior surface of the bag spreader to engage an interior surface of the side wall of the collapsible bag, and the spreader mount includes the bottle-top anchor and the dispenser conduit.

6. The container of claim 2, wherein the bag spreader includes a downwardly extending sleeve having an exterior surface engaging an interior surface of the collapsible bag and an interior surface bounding a portion of the product-storage chamber and the bag spreader further includes a horizontally extending top wall coupled to the downwardly extending sleeve and to the dispenser conduit and the horizontally extending top wall is formed to include an aperture opening into the dispenser passageway.

7. The container of claim 6, wherein each of the sleeve and the horizontally extending top wall is ring-shaped.

8. The container of claim 6, wherein the collapsible bag includes a bottom and a side wall extending upwardly from the bottom, a lower end of the downwardly extending sleeve is arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the bottom of the collapsible bag when the collapsible bag is filled with dispensable product, and an upper end of the downwardly extending sleeve is coupled to the horizontally extending top wall and positioned to lie between the mouth of the bottle and the lower end of the downwardly extending sleeve, and the horizontally extending top wall is positioned to lie between the mouth of the bottle and the lower end of the downwardly extending sleeve.

4. A container comprising

a bottle formed to include an interior region and a mouth opening into the interior region,

a product-storage canister arranged to extend from the mouth into the interior region of the bottle and formed to include an interior product-storage chamber and an inlet communicating with the product-storage chamber and lying near the mouth of the bottle, and

a dispenser coupled to the bottle to extend through the inlet formed in the product-storage canister and communicate with any dispensable product present in the interior product-storage chamber and configured to dispense such dispensable product from the bottle at the option of a consumer,

wherein the product-storage canister includes a collapsible bag located in the interior region of the bottle and formed to include the interior product-storage chamber and a bag-inversion limiter arranged to extend into the interior product-storage chamber formed in the collapsible bag and configured to provide a dispenser passageway arranged to communicate with the inlet and through which the dispenser extends to reach any dispensable product stored in the product-storage chamber formed in the collapsible bag

wherein the bag-inversion limiter is configured to provide means for engaging an interior surface of the collapsible bag to limit inward collapse of the collapsible bag so that a majority of the dispensable product stored in the product-storage chamber can be dispensed via the dispenser to surroundings outside of the bottle without being trapped in an undispensable location in a portion of the collapsible bag away from the dispenser following exposure of an exterior surface of the collapsible bag to pressurized gas contained in a sealed region located in the interior region of the bottle and outside of the product-storage chamber of the collapsible bag,

wherein the bag-inversion limiter includes a bottle-top anchor coupled to the bottle, a bag spreader arranged to engage a portion of the interior surface of the collapsible bag to limit inward collapse of the collapsible bag, and a dispenser conduit aligned with the inlet and arranged to lie in the collapsible bag to interconnect the bottle anchor and the bag spreader and formed to provide the dispenser passageway,

wherein the collapsible bag includes a bottom and a side wall extending upwardly from the bottom, the bag-inversion limiter further includes a spreader mount retained in a fixed position in the interior region of the bottle and coupled to the bag spreader to suspend the bag spreader in the product-storage chamber of the collapsible bag away from the bottom of the collapsible bag to cause an exterior surface of the bag spreader to engage an interior surface of the side wall of the collapsible bag, and the spreader mount includes the bottle-top anchor and the dispenser conduit, and

wherein the spreader mount includes an outer tube included in the dispenser conduit, the outer tube formed to include a tube-receiving passageway and an outer tube-support fixture coupled to an upper end of the outer tube and to the interior surface of the side wall of the collapsible bag and the spreader mount further includes an inner tube formed to include the dispenser passageway and an inner tube-support fixture configured to include the bottle-top anchor and to support the inner tube in the tube-receiving passageway formed in the outer tube.

5. The container of claim 4, wherein the collapsible bag further includes an annular flange, a radially outer portion of the annular flange is trapped between the bottle-top anchor of the spreader mount and a neck included in the bottle and formed to include the mouth of the bottle, and a radially inner portion of the annular flange is coupled to an upper portion of the side wall of the collapsible bag.

9. A container comprising

a bottle formed to include an interior region and a mouth opening into the interior region,

a product-storage canister arranged to extend from the mouth into the interior region of the bottle and formed to include an interior product-storage chamber and an inlet communicating with the product-storage chamber and lying near the mouth of the bottle, and

a dispenser coupled to the bottle to extend through the inlet formed in the product-storage canister and communicate with any dispensable product present in the interior product-storage chamber and configured to dispense such dispensable product from the bottle at the option of a consumer,

wherein the product-storage canister includes a collapsible bag located in the interior region of the bottle and formed to include the interior product-storage chamber and a bag-inversion limiter arranged to extend into the interior product-storage chamber formed in the collapsible bag and configured to provide a dispenser passageway arranged to communicate with the inlet and through which the dispenser extends to reach any dispensable product stored in the product-storage chamber formed in the collapsible bag,

wherein the bag-inversion limiter is configured to provide means for engaging an interior surface of the collapsible bag to limit inward collapse of the collapsible bag so that a majority of the dispensable product stored in the product-storage chamber can be dispensed via the dispenser to surroundings outside of the bottle without being trapped in an undispensable location in a portion of the collapsible bag away from the dispenser following exposure of an exterior surface of the collapsible bag to pressurized gas contained in a sealed region located in the interior region of the bottle and outside of the product-storage chamber of the collapsible bag,

wherein the bag-inversion limiter includes a bottle-top anchor coupled to the bottle, a bag spreader arranged to engage a portion of the interior surface of the collapsible bag to limit inward collapse of the collapsible bag, and a dispenser conduit aligned with the inlet and arranged to lie in the collapsible bag to interconnect the bottle anchor and the bag spreader and formed to provide the dispenser passageway, and

wherein the bag-inversion limiter includes a dispenser mount and a bag-support framework coupled to the dispenser mount, the dispenser mount includes the bottle-top anchor and an inner tube included in the dispenser conduit and arranged to extend downwardly from the bottle-top anchor and from the dispenser passageway, and the bag-support framework includes an outer tube included in the dispenser conduit and formed to include a tube-receiving passageway through which the inner tube is arranged to extend, and the bag spreader is coupled to a lower end of the outer tube.

10. The container of claim 9, wherein the collapsible bag includes an annular flange coupled to the bottle in close proximity to the mouth of the bottle, a bottom arranged to lie below and in spaced-apart relation to the annular flange, and a side wall arranged to interconnect the annular flange and the bottom, the side wall includes an upper portion associated with the annular flange and arranged to surround the outer tube of the dispenser conduit, a lower portion associated with the bottom, and a middle portion located between the upper and lower portions and arranged to mate with an exterior surface of the bag spreader.

17. A container comprising

a bottle,

a collapsible bag in an interior region of the bottle,

a dispenser coupled to the bottle to communicate with dispensable product stored in the collapsible bag and configured to dispense product from the collapsible bag, and

a bag-inversion limiter retained in the interior region of the bottle in a fixed position relative to the bottle, the bag-inversion limiter including a bag spreader arranged to extend into an interior product-storage chamber formed in the collapsible bag and press against an interior surface of a side wall of the collapsible bag to keep the bag from collapsing inwardly before substantially all of the dispensable product has been dispensed from the product-storage chamber via the dispenser, the bag inversion-limiter also includes a spreader mount retained in a fixed position relative to the bottle to suspend the bag spreader so that it lies in the product-storage chamber formed in the collapsible bag to maintain an open passageway between dispensable product in the collapsible bag and the dispenser during operation of the dispenser by a consumer to discharge dispensable product from the bottle, wherein the bag spreader is configured to provide means for spreading only a middle portion of the collapsible bag radially outwardly relative to a central vertical axis extending through the mouth of the bottle to limit upward travel of the bottom of the collapsible bag toward the mouth of the bottle so that inversion of the bag in the interior region of the bottle is limited during activation of the dispenser by a consumer to cause most of the dispensable product stored in the internal product-storage chamber to be discharged to the surroundings via the dispenser without being trapped in an undispensable location in a portion of the collapsible bag away from a product-intake opening formed in the dispense dispenser and located in the interior product-storage chamber.