초록 ▼

A special spring construction is particularly adopted for a dispensing system for fluent materials from a plastic or equivalent thin film bag rolled up inside a coiling spiral formed from a strip sheet constant force spring material to squeeze out the bag contents completely and to produce dispensin

A special spring construction is particularly adopted for a dispensing system for fluent materials from a plastic or equivalent thin film bag rolled up inside a coiling spiral formed from a strip sheet constant force spring material to squeeze out the bag contents completely and to produce dispensing force during storage periods for bulk quantities. The coil spring strip may be of a metal, plastic, elastomer or fibrous materials and may form a wall of the bag so that the container may be made at very low cost for storage of bulk fluids for dispensing therefrom one serving at a time. Thus, a package array for fluent materials comprises a thin flexible-walled container or bag having a common area with an uncoiled spiral constant force spring strip and positioned to coil up by rolling up a container bag tail inside the coil spring spiral as constants are discharged. The bag is placed in a container confining the fluid bag contents to occupy a position with a height corresponding to that of the constant force coil spring spiral diameter thereby to exert by the spiral a substantially constant force aiding the discharge of the contents over the entire bag capacity. Various embodiments include mixing of separate stored ingredients at the time of dispensing, the unrefrigerated storage of milk for days, the dispensing of multiple carbonated beverage servings without decomposition, and the aseptic storage and dispensing of fluent materials made possible by preventing entry of air into materials stored in bulk when servings are made to dispense portions thereof.

대표청구항 ▼

A dispensing system for dispensing fluent material from a bulk storage bag having an outlet member thereon with the capability of dispensing a plurality of servings from time to time over an extended storage period, by use of the force provided by a coiled, constant-force sheet spring that bears aga

A dispensing system for dispensing fluent material from a bulk storage bag having an outlet member thereon with the capability of dispensing a plurality of servings from time to time over an extended storage period, by use of the force provided by a coiled, constant-force sheet spring that bears against the storage bag to maintain pressure on the bag contents to prevent the entry of air into the bag while simultaneously dispensing the material, comprising in combination, a thin walled, flexible film bag for bulk quantities of a fluent material, the bag being in the general form of a rectangular parallepiped having an inner longitudinal end and having an outer longitudinal end including an outlet member, the outlet member including an enlarged portion spaced from the outer longitudinal end of the film bag, a supporting surface for supporting the bag, a single sheet, constant force spring member having a predetermined force and an unsupported inner end and having an outer end secured to the supporting surface with the sheet biased to coil up around its inner end into a coil of predetermined final diameter from an uncoiled, sheetlike position along the supporting surface and so constructed as to coil up convolutely with the bulk storage bag so that the bag is coiled up between spring coils from the inner end to the outer end thereof as the fluent material is being dispensed, thereby producing a constant force of the spring member against fluent material contained within the bag, bag retention means cooperatively disposed adjacent the inner end of the spring member for gripping and retaining the inner end of the bag, the spring overlying the supporting surface with the outlet member of the bag near the outer end of the spring member and for disposing a coiled portion of the bag about the inner end of the spring to bear against a surface of the bag and therefore the fluent material therein so that the coiled portion of the bag and the spring bear against a surface area of the bag substantially across its width and along a portion of its length, thereby to exert a pressure against fluent material disposed within the bag at all times during storage and dispensing to prevent the entry of air into the bag through the outlet member and permitting coiling up of the bag between spring coils during dispensing in response to opening of the outlet member to permit flow of the fluent material therefrom, bag stop means carried on the supporting surface for retaining the outer end of the bag in place relative to the supporting surface, the bag means including a fixed stop extending substantially perpendicularly from the supporting surface for engaging the outer longitudinal end of the bag in contacting relationship and at a position on the supporting surface for permitting substantially the entire bag to be coiled up toward the bag stop means and within the spring member coils, thereby to discharge its fluent contents through the outlet member, the fixed stop further including a substantially U-shaped opening for slidably receiving and retaining the bag outlet member with the enlarged portion of the outlet member abutting the fixed stop and extending laterally outwardly beyond the U-shaped opening for securely supporting the bag outlet member at a lower portion of the U-shaped opening, and bag engaging means carried by the bag stop means and spaced from the supporting surface, the bag engaging means extending over and contacting at least a part of an uppermost surface of the bag for confining and supporting the outer end of the bag relative to the supporting surface to prevent longitudinal and upward bulging of the outer end of the bag as the inner end of the spring approaches the bag stop means, the bag engaging means including slot means communication with the U-shaped opening in the fixed slot for permitting assembly of the outlet member and enlarged portion to the fixed stop, wherein the spring member when uncoiled is restrained against coiling by a restraining force provided by counter pressure of the fluent material within the bag bearing against the spring member coil.