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WO1996003319A1 - Sac aseptique - Google Patents

Sac aseptique Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1996003319A1
WO1996003319A1 PCT/US1995/009333 US9509333W WO9603319A1 WO 1996003319 A1 WO1996003319 A1 WO 1996003319A1 US 9509333 W US9509333 W US 9509333W WO 9603319 A1 WO9603319 A1 WO 9603319A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
bag
passageway
fill tube
bag assembly
fitment
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/US1995/009333
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Stewart Graves
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Liqui Box Corp
Original Assignee
Liqui Box Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Liqui Box Corp filed Critical Liqui Box Corp
Priority to AU32345/95A priority Critical patent/AU3234595A/en
Publication of WO1996003319A1 publication Critical patent/WO1996003319A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D75/00—Packages comprising articles or materials partially or wholly enclosed in strips, sheets, blanks, tubes or webs of flexible sheet material, e.g. in folded wrappers
    • B65D75/52—Details
    • B65D75/58—Opening or contents-removing devices added or incorporated during package manufacture
    • B65D75/5861—Spouts
    • B65D75/5872—Non-integral spouts
    • B65D75/5877—Non-integral spouts connected to a planar surface of the package wall
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D77/00—Packages formed by enclosing articles or materials in preformed containers, e.g. boxes, cartons, sacks or bags
    • B65D77/04—Articles or materials enclosed in two or more containers disposed one within another
    • B65D77/06—Liquids or semi-liquids or other materials or articles enclosed in flexible containers disposed within rigid containers
    • B65D77/062—Flexible containers disposed within polygonal containers formed by folding a carton blank
    • B65D77/065—Spouts, pouring necks or discharging tubes fixed to or integral with the flexible container

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a collapsible bag assembly for receiving and containing flowable food products, and for use with aseptic filling apparatus having a fill tube mechanism with a longitudinally movable plunger device.
  • Collapsible bag assemblies are well known for receiving and containing flowable food products. These collapsible bag assemblies are designed to mate or connect with a fill tube mechanism of an aseptic filling apparatus, which delivers juice, pulp, paste or other food products into the bag. Examples of such collapsible bag assembly and aseptic filling apparatus are disclosed in U.S. Patent 4,445,550 and U.S. Patent No. 4,731,978 to Martensson.
  • Oxygen may reach the product in several ways.
  • the oxygen may be entrained in the product and not removed during processing and filling.
  • the oxygen may permeate through the aseptic bag assembly during storage and distribution or the oxygen may be trapped in the bag.
  • Processors of oxygen sensitive products take great care to remove nearly all of the oxygen within the products. This is done by deaeration or by flash cooling. Materials for collapsible bag assemblies used with oxygen sensitive products are carefully selected to provide the best initial oxygen barrier and to maintain that barrier through storage and distribution life of the food product filled bag assembly.
  • Oxygen may be trapped between the material layers when the bag assemblies are made and this oxygen may be removed by various methods.
  • Another source of oxygen may be trapped oxygen in the fitment or spout used with the bag assembly for filling and dispensing of the flowable food products.
  • a frangible membrane across the interior passageway of the hollow fitment to seal the interior of the bag structure from ingress of oxygen and other harmful gases.
  • This membrane is fractured by a longitudinally movable plunger device in the fill tube mechanism of the aseptic filling apparatus after the fill tube has been coupled and sealed with the fitment member so that the flowable food products from the aseptic filling apparatus may flow through the fitment member and into the bag assembly for filling of the bag assembly.
  • An additional difficulty with such a frangible membrane is that the membrane material seldom fractures the same way twice, and often tears into fragments or particles which contaminate the food product flowing into the bag.
  • 4,445,550 closes in for filling, latch (55) slide across onto portion (68) , to lock into place for the filling operation, the void in the area of (20, 24) being used up to hold the bag steady. There must consequently be a clear entry for the latch plate to come across and mate cleanly. However, if the flange (20) or other near parts are warped as described, the steel edge of the latch plate can cut a hole in the relatively soft material of the flange.
  • the fill tube may be intended to form a seal with the spout into which it enters, but making sure that the concentric dimensions appropriately match may be difficult, so that a consistent entry seal may not be guaranteed. Any back pressure in the bag eliminates a true pressure seal, and food product may ooze in uncontrolled fashion, forcing a shutdown of the filling equipment for re-sterilization. Not only that, but if the fill tube enters the spout inclined at an angle in a fitment such as that of U.S. Patent No.
  • the edge of the fill tube which may be stainless steel, can shear or gouge the interior surface of the spout, causing peelings or "stringers” which can detach and also contaminate the food product, and lessen the seal.
  • oxygen is also often trapped in the void space in the internal passageway of the fitment below the frangible membrane.
  • a device such as that illustrated in U.S. Patent No. 4,445,550 typically represents a receptacle of limited size.
  • a standard 2" fitment which receives a fill tube of a certain volume capacity, for instance in fruit product processing.
  • a fill tube of too narrow a size may contribute to a back pressure which can cause upstream equipment to break down.
  • fitments used in food processing must fulfill hygienic criteria, including to withstand temperature and pressure measures for sterility. For a 2" fitment, this translates to withstanding 40 p.s.i. of steam at 270 degrees for 5 seconds, about 200 pounds of force.
  • the spout is aligned with a mating anterior closing plug (8 et al) , affixed to the back inside wall of the bag.
  • a mating anterior closing plug (8 et al) affixed to the back inside wall of the bag.
  • Such a bag receives food product through an inlet member or spout (6 et al) through a fill tube.
  • the closing plug is re-connected after the filling operation so the bag is closed, the closing plug (8) must at all times be carefully connected to and controlled by a rod member (13) , since closing plug (8) must return to engage the spout.
  • the rod member (13) is a simple push-pull device, and does not fill food product into the bag.
  • the rear wall of the bag is interrupted for attachment of the closing plug, that is, bag membrane (2) is not continuous at the back portion, which can make the bag susceptible to breaks and tears at that juncture.
  • Manufacture of such a back wall structure is practically done by cutting out a disc section, by hand, after the bag is made.
  • a collapsible bag assembly for receiving and containing flowable food products and for use with aseptic filling apparatus and wherein the bag assembly comprises the following.
  • An enclosed flexible and expandable bag structure having upper and lower gas impermeable walls.
  • a hollow rigid fitment member passes through and is secured to the upper of the walls of the bag structure and is adapted to mate and seal with the filling tube mechanism of the filling apparatus and defines an inside passageway for the flow of the food products into the bag assembly from the fill tube mechanism.
  • a plug means is movably positioned in the inside passageway of the fitment member at a bottom area for sealing the passageway. The plug means is pushed out of the passageway and into the bag structure by the fill tube mechanism to open the passageway for the flow of food products into the bag structure from the filling apparatus.
  • the plug means further includes means bonding the plug means to an interior surface of the lower wall of the bag structure so that when the plug means is pushed out of the passageway of the fitment member it will be held by the wall of the bag structure out of the path of flow of the food products into the bag structure and will not be released with the food product when dispensed from the bag assembly.
  • Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an aseptic b ⁇ assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention and snown in collapsed form prior to being filled with flowable food products ⁇
  • Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a fit « «?nt - sr ic iiag assembly of Figure 1 and taken generally along the -irn 2 of Figure 1;
  • Fig. 3 is a sectional view, like Figure 2, illustrating a fill tube of an aseptic filling apparatus in mating condition with the fitment member and in process of filling the bag assembly with flowable food products.
  • FIG. 1 a collapsible bag assembly, generally indicated at 10, constructed in accordance with the present invention for receiving and containing flowable food products and for use with aseptic filling apparatus, generally indicated at 30, having a fill tube mechanism 31 with a longitudinally movable plunger device 32 .
  • the bag assembly includes an enclosed flexible expandable bag structure 11 having gas impermeable walls 12, 13.
  • These walls 12, 13 may be of any suitable gas impermeable material or multiple layers of material having a barrier layer, etc.
  • the walls 12, 13 may be formed integral or may be secured together around their periphery, as shown in Figure 1, by any suitable means, but as a consequence of the design do not have to be interrupted around the area of the back or lower wall to which is attached plug means 27.
  • Particular types of bag structures and materials are well known to those with ordinary skill in the art, and a detailed explanation of the construction thereof is not necessary for purposes of the present invention.
  • the bag assembly 10 further includes a hollow rigid fitment member 20 passing through one of the walls 12 of the bag structure 11.
  • the fitment member 20 incites a hollow longitudinally extending tube-like body portion 21 and a bottom transversely extending flange member 22.
  • the flange member 22 extends within the bag structure 11 and on the underside of the upper wall 12 and may be secured to this underside or interior surface of the upper wall 12 by any suitable bonding means 23.
  • the flange member as illustrated in highlight 22' in Figure 2, may be provided at an inclined angle, preferably about 10 degrees, to enable better guidance for mating with latch plate structures during engagement with fill tube assemblies. This helps to avoid punctures, large or small, from mating assemblies that can lead to oxygen, bacteriological, or other contamination.
  • inclined flange portion member 22' causes less stress to the attachment juncture between the bag wall 12 and the flange 22*, reducing the chance of poor sealing.
  • the fitment member 20 includes a conventional construction for receiving, mating and sealing with the fill tube mechanism 31 of the filling apparatus 30, as shown in part in Figure 3.
  • the fitment member may be constructed of any suitable rigid and gas impermeable material.
  • the fitment member 20 further defines an inside passageway 25 for the flow of food products into the bag structure 11 of the bag assembly 10 from the fill tube mechanism 31 of the filling apparatus 30.
  • the inside passageway may include one or more guiding rings 33, which tend to receive and guide entering fill tube members by contacting their edges, avoiding shearing of the interior surface of the passageway 25 and contaminating "stringers". If further details of mating engagement and of the filling apparatus are desired, reference may be had to the above mentioned U.S. Patent 4,445,550.
  • the bag assembly 10 further includes a plug means 27 which is movably positioned in the inside passageway 25 of the fitment member 20 at a bottom area thereof for sealing the passageway 25 from ingress and egress of oxygen or other contaminating gases.
  • the plug means 27 may be constructed of any suitable gas impermeable material and has a depth sufficient to eliminate any void space in the bottom of the inside passageway 25 of the fitment member 20. The plug means 27 is pushed out of the passageway 25 and into the bag structure 11 by movement of the plunger device of the fill tube mechanism 31, as shown in Figure 3.
  • plug means 27 may be made of injection molded material of cooperating dimensions with passageway 25, and plunger device 32 may be made similarly, relatively close tolerances can be achieved adequate to ensure a consistent seal upon entry of the fill tube mechanism 31, again enhancing protection against oxygen or other contamination. Because the closer tolerances lead to an improved seal, the possibility of product leakage between passageway 25 and fill tube mechanism 31 due to back pressure is reduced.
  • Plunger device 32 of the fill tube mechanism 31 may be a valve which opens the flow of food products material from the filling apparatus 30 through the fill tube mechanism 31 and into the bag assembly 10 through the fitment member 20 and into the bag structure 11.
  • plunger device 32 drives the plug means out of passageway 25, there is no need to re-engage plug means with fitment member 20, eliminating the need for maintaining control over plug means 27 throughout the remainder of the filling process and associated equipment for doing so, as for instance required in the assembly shown in U.S. Patent No. 4,731,978. Moreover, since plug means 27 is not re ⁇ engaged with fitment 20, the possibility of contamination by viscous residue around the plug means in the spout is eliminated.
  • the plug means 27 is preferably bonded by any suitable means 28 to the interior surface of the lower or bottom wall 13 of the bag structure 11 so that when the plug means 27 is pushed out of the passageway 25 of the fitment member 20 it will be held by the lower wall 13 of the bag structure 11 out of the path of flow of the food products into the bag structure from the filled tube mechanism 31 and out of the bag structure when dispensed.
  • Plug means 27 does not require that the lower wall 13 of the bag structure 11 be interrupted to be fixed to that wall, eliminating another potential weak spot in the bag structure and enhancing integrity, unlike other systems.
  • the aseptic bag assembly of the invention is that because of the streamlined nature of the interface of the plug means and fitment 20, the diameter of the fitment 20 can be scaled to any desired size without difficulty, unlike membrane-based and other systems, making 3" and lager size fitments a straightforward practical possibility.
  • the aseptic bag assembly of this invention is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and maintain, meaning among other things that it can be applied in a cost- effective manner to overall bag assemblies of a variety of sizes, unlike assemblies perhaps such as that of U.S. Patent No. 4,731,978 which may require larger assemblies for economical application.
  • the aseptic bag assembly of the invention can be used with standard filling tube assemblies, such as those intended for systems like that shown in U.S. Patent No. 4,445,550, with little modification.
  • the aseptic bag assembly 10 of this invention has eliminated the problems discussed above with respect to prior bag assembly constructions and, specifically, trapped oxygen in the fitment member of the bag assembly. While this invention has been described above in specific terms, they are used in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. The scope of the invention is defined in the following claims.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Bag Frames (AREA)
  • Basic Packing Technique (AREA)
  • Packages (AREA)

Abstract

Sac rétractable (10) destiné à recevoir et contenir des produits alimentaires fluides distribués par un appareil aseptique (30) de remplissage. La structure dilatable du sac comporte une paroi supérieure (12) et une paroi inférieure (13) imperméables aux gaz et un élément creux et rigide de remplissage traversant la paroi supérieure (12) et lui étant fixé, et pouvant s'accoupler de façon étanche à un mécanisme pourvu d'un tube de remplissage (30) permettant de déverser le flux de produit alimentaire dans le sac (11) en passant par un passage intérieur (25) pratiqué dans l'élément de remplissage.(20), ledit passage (25) comportant des anneaux de guidage (33) du tube de remplissage (31). Un bouchon (27) mobile placé à la base du passage (25) peut être repoussé à l'intérieur du sac (11) par le mécanisme à tube de remplissage (31). Le flasque (22) entourant l'élément de remplissage (20) peut être incliné d'un certain angle (22') pour favoriser la manipulation, l'adaptation aux plaques de verrouillage, et une meilleure fixation du sac (11).
PCT/US1995/009333 1994-07-26 1995-07-26 Sac aseptique Ceased WO1996003319A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU32345/95A AU3234595A (en) 1994-07-26 1995-07-26 Aseptic bag assembly

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US28065194A 1994-07-26 1994-07-26
US08/280,651 1994-07-26

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1996003319A1 true WO1996003319A1 (fr) 1996-02-08

Family

ID=23074018

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US1995/009333 Ceased WO1996003319A1 (fr) 1994-07-26 1995-07-26 Sac aseptique

Country Status (3)

Country Link
AU (1) AU3234595A (fr)
CA (1) CA2196176A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO1996003319A1 (fr)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2006081677A1 (fr) * 2005-02-03 2006-08-10 Liqui-Box Canada Inc. Accessoire integre pour conditionnement aseptique
IT202100021890A1 (it) * 2021-08-13 2023-02-13 Gaetano Giancarlo De Confezione flessibile per un liquido detersivo o detergente e relativo metodo di formatura e confezionamento.

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3097677A (en) * 1960-08-11 1963-07-16 Union Carbide Corp Collapsible containers
US4146069A (en) * 1977-07-29 1979-03-27 Signode Corporation Apparatus for rapidly inflating and pressurizing a dunnage bag
US4731978A (en) * 1985-07-08 1988-03-22 Alfa-Laval Food & Dairy Engineering Ab Closable bag and method and arrangement for aseptic filling thereof

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3097677A (en) * 1960-08-11 1963-07-16 Union Carbide Corp Collapsible containers
US4146069A (en) * 1977-07-29 1979-03-27 Signode Corporation Apparatus for rapidly inflating and pressurizing a dunnage bag
US4731978A (en) * 1985-07-08 1988-03-22 Alfa-Laval Food & Dairy Engineering Ab Closable bag and method and arrangement for aseptic filling thereof

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2006081677A1 (fr) * 2005-02-03 2006-08-10 Liqui-Box Canada Inc. Accessoire integre pour conditionnement aseptique
US7798379B2 (en) 2005-02-03 2010-09-21 Liqui-Box Corporation Integrated fitment for aseptic packaging
US8235259B2 (en) 2005-02-03 2012-08-07 Liqui-Box Corporation Integrated fitment for aseptic packaging
IT202100021890A1 (it) * 2021-08-13 2023-02-13 Gaetano Giancarlo De Confezione flessibile per un liquido detersivo o detergente e relativo metodo di formatura e confezionamento.
EP4134327A1 (fr) * 2021-08-13 2023-02-15 Giancarlo de Gaetano Emballage flexible pour un détergent ou un liquide de nettoyage et procédé de formation et d'emballage correspondant

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU3234595A (en) 1996-02-22
CA2196176A1 (fr) 1996-02-08

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