WO2008085053A1

WO2008085053A1 - Container for dispensing drink from flexible packaging

Info

Publication number: WO2008085053A1
Application number: PCT/NL2008/050023
Authority: WO
Inventors: Vanessa Beijl; Sandra Petronella Johanna Rijnen; Arnoldus Willem Zweekhorst
Original assignee: Vacu Vin Innovations Ltd
Current assignee: Vacu Vin Innovations Ltd
Priority date: 2007-01-11
Filing date: 2008-01-11
Publication date: 2008-07-17
Anticipated expiration: 2009-07-11
Also published as: NL2000428C2

Abstract

The present invention relates to an assembly (1) consisting of flexible packaging (24) containing therein a drink, comprising a flange (25) which is formed from relatively rigid material and has an outflow opening, and of a container (2) comprising a chamber (15), provided with a base (6) and with a circumferential wall (5), which chamber (15) has an upper part for receiving the packaging (24), wherein the circumferential wall (5) is provided with a substantially vertical gap (7) extending in the direction of the base (6) from an upper edge (8) of the circumferential wall (5), which gap (7) is configured for guiding and/or receiving the flange (25) and supporting the flange (25) in a dispensing position.

Description

CONTAINER FOR DISPENSING DRINK FROM FLEXIBLE PACKAGING

The application relates to a container for receiving flexible packaging containing therein a drink, in particular to a container in which flexible packaging containing drink can be received in a cooled manner in a use position.

GB 2 179 526 discloses a container made of a rigid material in which a cardboard box containing therein a flexible bag containing wine (bag in a container) can be received. The flexible bag is provided with a tap which opens into the bag through the wall of the cardboard box in proximity to the underside. The container comprises two parts which are joined together in a hinging manner and has in each part a recess which engages around the tap, so the tap extends outside the closed container and the tap is supported by the opening in the container.

A drawback of the known container is that it has to be used in combination with a bag in a container and that a bag in a container is not suitable for use together with flexible packaging without a surrounding cardboard box. Furthermore, positioning of the packaging in the container is relatively awkward in view of the fact that the container must first be placed on its side before the packaging can be attached in the container. Care must be taken when placing the tap in the cavity in the side wall of the container in view of the fact that misplacement will prevent the parts of the container from being hinged towards one another.

Furthermore, it is not possible to attach a cooling element in the known container, for cooling the packaging such as is known, for example, from US patent number 4,812,054, in view of the limited space between the cardboard outer container of the packaging containing drink and the wall of the container. Furthermore, when dispensing drink via the tap, the container has to be placed on an elevation or on the edge of a table or worktop in order to be able to place a glass underneath the tap.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a container for dispensing drink from a flexible bag, which can easily be attached in the container in a use position. It is a further object of the invention to provide a container for dispensing drink wherein cooling elements are easy to attach in the container and wherein effective cooling is obtained in a simple manner.

It is also an object to provide a container from which a glass can easily be filled with drink and wherein a user can easily establish the content of the bag.

For this purpose, a container according to the invention is provided with a chamber comprising a circumferential wall, which chamber has an upper part for guiding and/or receiving the packaging, the circumferential wall being provided with a substantially vertical gap extending in the direction of the base from an upper edge of the circumferential wall for receiving a flange of the packaging and for supporting the flange in a dispensing position.

A flexible bag can easily be placed in the open container in such a way that the flange is located in the gap. If the bag is lowered into the container, the flange will be brought through the side walls of the gap to the lowest position of the gap at a defined use position. This self-guiding effect of the gap allows the bag to be lowered into the container, after initial positioning of the flange, without further positioning by the user, the flange being automatically brought in each case to a predetermined position.

In one embodiment, the circumferential wall has a smaller diameter in proximity to the base than in proximity to an upper edge and the gap width is larger in proximity to the upper edge than in proximity to the base. This allows the user in the first instance to place the bag as a whole above the container and a self-seeking effect is obtained allowing the flexible bag to be guided to the correct position during lowering through the walls of the container and the edges of the gap. Preferably, the bag is held in place in a clamping manner,

As a result of the fact that the wall of the flexible bag matches, under the influence of gravity, the shape of the container wall and rests tightly against it, the container according to the invention is particularly suitable for use together with a cooling element extending along an inside of the wall in such a way that the gap is not covered by the cooling element. The flexible bag ensures effective transfer of heat as a result of the tight abutment against the cooling element, so the content of the bag is cooled effectively.

Preferably, the cooling member comprises at least two foils between which there are formed two chambers which are located substantially in the direction of the gap and comprise coolant, which chambers are joined together by a flexible foil part. The vertical chambers provide a cooling member which is flexible in the circumferential direction of the chamber and matches the contour of the chamber, while the cooling member is self-supporting in the vertical direction and can be supported on the base of the cooling chamber. For correct positioning and fastening of the cooling member in proximity to the edges of the gap, the container can be provided with a fastening element such as, for example, a clamp or a resilient lip. A particularly suitable cooling member is formed from three foils, thus forming an outer chamber which is filled with an insulating foam and an inner chamber which is filled with a coolant, as described in US patent number US 5,269,368 in the name of the Applicant.

Even the flange of the flexible bag can, in one embodiment, be fastened to the wall of the container by a fastening means on the flange which acts on a fastening member on the circumferential wall for positioning the flange.

To obtain a good insulating effect of the container, said container can be provided with a Hd comprising an upper closing part and a gap closing part which is located transversely to the upper closing part and covers the gap when the lid moves into a closed position. Covering both the upper side of the container and the gap prevents heat from being supplied to the cooled bag via these parts.

In a preferred embodiment, there is provided a support foot which comprises a chamber having a circumferential wall containing therein a substantially vertical gap extending in the direction of a base from an edge of the circumferential wall, wherein the container can be received in the support foot in such a way that the gaps in the container and the support foot are located at least for the most part one above the other. The support foot according to the invention performs two functions. Firstly, if the support foot is placed on its upper edge with the base directed upward, it can act as a foot on which the container containing therein the flexible bag can be placed. This provides space to hold a glass underneath the tap of the bag.

If the support foot is not being used and is placed on its base, the container can be embedded in the support foot in such a way that the flange or the tap fastened thereto protrudes outward through the gap in the support foot. This provides a double-walled container having a high insulating effect. This is particularly advantageous if the container and the bag are placed in a warm environment, such as outside on a terrace on a summer's day, if the bag has to be cooled for a relatively long time, or if a warm bag is placed in the container in order first to cool down before being used.

In order easily to be able to move the container comprising a bag, the circumferential wall of the container and/or of the support foot are provided in proximity to the upper edge with a hand grip. The hand grips on the container and the support foot are configured in such a way that, after the embedding of the container in the support foot, there is formed a single hand grip with which the embedded container and support foot can be lifted.

In a further embodiment of a container according to the invention, the bag is supplied in cardboard transportation packaging from which the bag can be removed in order to be placed in the container. This transportation packaging comprises a box made of cardboard containing therein a weakening line of a detachable label. The container is provided with fastening means for receiving the label in a clamping manner. This allows the user to see what content is being dispensed from the usually unmarked bag. In an alternative embodiment, the supplier can label the drink or use can be made of blank labels on which the user himself writes the content of the container.

In an alternative embodiment, the bag is made of a transparent material, so it is possible to tell via the gap how much drink the bag still contains. It is also possible to make parts of the wall of the lid of the container from transparent plastics material in order to obtain a visual indication of the volume of drink remaining in the bag. Various embodiments of a container and support foot according to the invention will be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of a container comprising a lid, cooling element and foot of a dispenser according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a flexible bag comprising a tap at the moment of placement in the container, Fig. 3 shows a detail of the positioning of a flange comprising a tap of the flexible bag through the side edges of a gap in the container;

Fig. 4 is a cross section through the flange and the flexible bag;

Fig. 5 shows the placement of the container on the foot;

Fig. 6 shows the placement of the container in a position embedded in the foot; Fig. 7 is a plan view of a container containing therein a fastening member for a single flexible cooling element;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a container comprising a fastening member for two flexible cooling elements;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of fastening means on the lid for fastening a cardboard label;

Fig. 10 illustrates schematically the removal of a label from cardboard packaging and the securing thereof to the container; and

Fig. 11 and 12 show a detail of a hand grip formed on the upper side of the container.

Figure 1 shows an assembly 1 consisting of a container 2 and a support foot 3. The container 2 is provided with a circumferential wall 5, a base 6 and a gap 7. The gap 7 extends from an upper edge 8 in the direction of the base 6 and runs from a relatively wide gap part 9 in proximity to the upper edge, which is provided with rounded corners, conically downward. The container 2 is placed on a base 12 of the support foot, which support foot is placed upside down on an upper edge 13 of the circumferential wall 14 of the support foot. The base 12 of the support foot 3 has an upright edge 16 which acts on the circumferential wall 5 of the container 2, when placed on the support foot. In the container 2, there is formed a chamber 15 in which a cooling element 20 can be placed. A lid 17 comprising an upper closing part 21 and a gap closing part 22 covers an opening 23 in the container 5 on an upper side and also covers the gap 7. The lid 17 has on its circumference a slot, the width of which corresponds to a wall thickness of the circumferential wall 5, in which gap the upper edge 8 of the container and the longitudinal edges 18, 19 of the gap 7 are received.

Fig. 2 shows the container 5 at the moment of introduction of a flexible bag 24 containing therein a drink such as, for example, wine. The bag, which for example comprises a laminate made of aluminium and polyethylene, is provided with a plastics material flange 25 which is connected to the bag by an adhesive or by welding. A tap 26 is fastened to the flange 25 for dispensing the content of the bag 24. The flange 25 has a diameter smaller than the distance between the longitudinal edges 18, 19 of the gap 7 in proximity to the upper edge 8 of the container 5. The flange 25 can be provided with two circumferential edges 29, 30 which are set apart from each other by an axial distance W which can correspond to a wall thickness of the circumferential wall 5, so the longitudinal edges IS, 19 are guided in the gap formed between the edges 29, 30.

When the bag 24 is lowered into the container 5, the flange 25 is positioned in the correct manner through the narrowing gap 7, as is shown in Fig. 3. A central part 32 of the flange acts in the dispensing position in a clamping manner on the edges 18, 19 of the gap 7. It is also possible to increase the width of the gap in proximity to the underside, thus enabling the flange 25 to reach the lowest part of the gap in order to rest in the curved part 33. Depending on the dimensions of the flange 25, said flange will be clamped higher or lower in the gap and the position of the tap 26 will be located closer to or further away from the base 6 of the container 2.

Fig. 4 is a side view of the flange 25 comprising the tap 26, which is fluidically connected to the interior of the bag via an inflow tube 36 which reaches through the wall 35 of the bag 24 to inside the bag. The flange 25 is connected to the wall 35 of the bag via an annular weld 37. Fig. 5 shows the position in which the support foot 3 is placed "upside down" on its upper edge 13. The base 6 of the container 5 which is placed on the support foot 3 falls within the upright edge 16, thus preventing the container 5 from moving. Placing the container on top of the support foot 3 creates sufficient distance between the tap 26 and the work surface on which the support foot is placed. This allows a user easily to place a glass or cup, for example a wine glass, underneath the tap 26 and the liquid to be dispensed to the glass without making a mess.

Fig. 6 shows the position in which the support foot 3 is placed "the right way up" in a receiving stand, the base 12 of the support foot 3 being directed downward on the upright edge 16 and the upper edge 13 of the chamber 9 of the support foot being directed upward. The container 5 can be embedded in the chamber 9 of the support foot 3 in such a way that the gap 7 in the container at least partially coincides with a similar gap 40 in the circumferential wall 14 of the support foot 3 in such a way that the flange 25 and the tap 26 can fit through the gap 40 in the support foot 3 and can be brought to a lowest position of the gap 40 during the embedding of the container 5 and the support foot 3.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the container 2 containing, received therein, a cooling element 20 comprising a first foil 45 and a second foil 46. Formed between the foils 45, 46 are a number of compartments 47 and 48 in which a coolant is received. The compartments are joined together via flexible foil parts 43, 44, so the cooling element 20 is able to follow the contours of the container 5 closely. Fastened along the edges 18, 19 of the gap 7 are clamping members 41, 42 which act on end edges of the cooling element 20, so this cooling element is positioned in the correct manner and secured and extends along the circumferential wall 5 of the container. A suitable cooling member 20 can be obtained under the commercial name RAPID ICE from VacuVin based in Delft, The Netherlands.

Fig. 8 shows the container 2 which is configured to receive two separate cooling members 50, 51. For this purpose, the circumferential wall 5 is provided on the inside with clips or lips 41, 42 which are located in proximity to the longitudinal edges 18, 19 of the gap 7. Attached to a rear side of the circumferential wall are clips 52, 54 which act on a longitudinal edge of the cooling elements 50, 51. The separate cooling members 50, 51 are easy to attach, while they are secured in the correct position by the clips 41, 42; 52, 54.

Fig. 9 shows the container 2 comprising the lid 17 which is provided with a clamping edge 55 for acting in a clamping manner on a cardboard label. Fig. 10 shows how a box 56 containing therein one or more bags 24 is provided with a weakening line 57 forming a label showing the name and/or the origin, or other data, of the drink in the bags 24. Once the label 58 has been removed along the weakening line 57, it can be clamped to the lid 17. Instead of a weakening line, it is also possible to fasten the label to the transportation box 56 via a detachable adhesive and then to stick this label on the lid 17 or on another surface, suitable for this purpose, of the container 2.

Fig. 11 shows a rear side of the container 2 and the support foot 3 which are each provided with a hand grip 60, 61. In the embedded state shown in Fig. 12, the hand grips 60, 61 are aligned with each other, thus enabling the user to lift the embedded container 2 and support foot 3 on the rear side using one hand.

Claims

1. Assembly (1) consisting of flexible packaging (24) containing therein a drink, comprising a flange (25) which is formed from relatively rigid material and has an outflow opening, and of a container (2) comprising a chamber (15), provided with a base (6) and with a circumferential wall (5), which chamber (15) has an upper part for receiving the packaging (24), wherein the circumferential wall (5) has a smaller diameter in proximity to the base (6) than in proximity to the upper edge (8), the circumferential wall (5) being provided with a substantially vertical gap (71) extending in the direction of the base (6) from an upper edge (8) of the circumferential wall (5), a gap width being larger hi proximity to the upper edge (8) than in proximity to the base (6), which gap (7) is configured for guiding and receiving the flange (25) and supporting the flange in a dispensing position.

2. Assembly (1) according to Claim 1, wherein the gap width decreases substantially uniformly in the direction of the base (6).

3. Assembly (1) according to either Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein a fastening element (41, 42, 52, 54) for a cooling member (20, 50, 51) is received in the container, which cooling member extends from close to a first edge (18) of the gap (7) along an inside of the chamber (15) to a second edge (19) of the gap (7).

4. Assembly (1) consisting of flexible packaging (24) containing therein a drink, comprising a flange (25) which is formed from relatively rigid material and has an outflow opening, and of a container (2) comprising a chamber (15), provided with a base (6) and with a circumferential wall (5), which chamber (15) has an upper part for receiving the packaging (24), wherein the circumferential wall (5) is provided with a substantially vertical gap (71) extending in the direction of the base (6) from an upper edge (8) of the circumferential wall (5), which gap (7) is configured for guiding and/or receiving the flange (25) and supporting the flange in a dispensing position, a fastening element (41, 42, 52, 54) for a cooling member (20, 50, 51) being received in the container, which cooling member extends from close to a first edge (18) of the gap (7) along an inside of the chamber (15) to a second edge (19) of the gap (7).

5. Assembly (1) according to Claim 4, wherein the circumferential wall (5) has a smaller diameter in proximity to the base (6) than in proximity to the upper edge (8) and wherein a gap width is larger in proximity to the upper edge (8) than in proximity to the base (6).

6. Assembly (1) according to Claim 5, wherein the gap width decreases substantially uniformly in the direction of the base (6).

7. Assembly (1) according to Claim 3, 4, 5 or 6, wherein the cooling member comprises two foils (43, 44) between which there are formed two or more compartments (47, 48) which are located substantially in the direction of the gap and comprise coolant, which compartments (47, 48) are joined together by a flexible foil part (43, 44).

8. Assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flange comprises a fastening means which acts on a fastening member on the circumferential wall for positioning the flange.

9. Assembly (1) according to Claim 8, wherein the flange (25) is connected to a tap (26).

10. Assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container (2) is provided with a lid (17) comprising an upper closing part (21) and a gap closing part (22) which is located transversely to the upper closing part and covers the gap (17) when the lid moves into a closed position.

11. Assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there is provided a support foot (3) which comprises a chamber (9) having a circumferential wall (14) containing therein a substantially vertical gap (40) extending in the direction of a base (12) from an upper edge (16) of the circumferential wall (14), wherein the container (2) can be received in the support foot (3) in such a way that the gaps (7, 40) in the container and the support foot are located at least for the most part one above the other.

12. Assembly (1) consisting of a container (2) provided with a chamber (15) comprising a base (6) and comprising a circumferential wall (5), which chamber has an upper part for receiving flexible packaging (24) containing drink, wherein the circumferential wall (5) is provided with a substantially vertical gap (71) extending in the direction of the base (6) from an upper edge (8) of the circumferential wall (5), and of a support foot (3) which comprises a chamber (9) having a circumferential wall (14) containing therein a substantially vertical gap (4) extending in the direction of the base (12) from an upper edge (13) of the circumferential wall (14), wherein the container can be received in the chamber (9) of the support foot in such a way that the gaps (7, 40) in the container (2) and the support foot (3) are located at least for the most part one above the other.

13. Assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the circumferential wall (5, 14) of the container (2) and/or of the support foot (3) are provided in proximity to their upper edge (8, 16) with a hand grip (60, 61).

14. Assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a box (5, 6) made of cardboard containing therein a weakening line (57) of a detachable label (58), wherein the container (2) is provided with fastening means (55) for receiving the label in a clamping manner.

15. Container (2) provided with a chamber (15) comprising a base (6) and comprising a circumferential wall (5), which chamber has an upper part for receiving flexible packaging (24) containing drink, wherein the circumferential wall (5) has a smaller diameter in proximity to the base (6) than in proximity to the upper edge (8), the circumferential wall (5) being provided with a substantially vertical gap (71) extending in the direction of the base (6) from an upper edge (8) of the circumferential wall (5), a gap width being larger in proximity to the upper edge (8) than in proximity to the base (6), for receiving a flange (25) of the packaging and supporting the flange in a dispensing position during use.

16. Container (2) according to Claim 15, wherein the gap width decreases substantially uniformly in the direction of the base (6).

17. Container (2) according to either Claim 15 or Claim 16, wherein a fastening element (41, 42) is received in the container in proximity to each edge (18, 19) of the gap (7) for acting in a clamping manner on a flexible cooling member (20, 50, 51).

18. Container (2) provided with a chamber (15) comprising a base (6) and comprising a circumferential wall (5), which chamber has an upper part for receiving flexible packaging (24) containing drink, wherein the circumferential wall is provided with a substantially vertical gap (7) extending in the direction of the base (6) from an upper edge (8) of the circumferential wall (5), for receiving a flange (25) of the packaging and supporting the flange in a dispensing position during use, a fastening element (41, 42) being received in the container in proximity to each edge (18, 19) of the gap (7) for acting in a clamping manner on a flexible cooling member (20, 50, 51).

19. Container (2) according to Claim 18, wherein the circumferential wall (5) has a smaller diameter in proximity to the base (6) than in proximity to the upper edge (8) and wherein a gap width in proximity to the upper edge (8) is larger than in proximity to the base (6).

20. Container (2) according to Claim 19, wherein the gap width decreases substantially uniformly in the direction of the base (6).

21. Container (2) according to any one of the preceding Claims 15-20, wherein the container is provided with a lid (17) comprising an upper closing part (21) and a gap closing part (22) which is located transversely to the upper closing part and covers the gap (7) when the lid moves into a closed position.

22. Container (2) according to any one of the preceding Claims 14-20, provided with an upper face (17) comprising fastening means (55) for receiving in a clamping manner a label (56) made of paper or cardboard.

23. Assembly (11) consisting of a container according to any one of Claims 14-21 and a support foot (3) which comprises a chamber (9) having a circumferential wall (14) containing therein a substantially vertical gap (4) extending in the direction of the base (12) from an upper edge (13) of the circumferential wall (14), wherein the container can be received in the chamber (9) of the support foot in such a way that the gaps (7, 40) in the container (2) and the support foot (3) are located at least for the most part one above the other.

24. Assembly according to Claim 22, wherein the circumferential wall (5, 14) of the container (2) and/or of the support foot (3) are provided in proximity to their upper edge (8, 13) with a hand grip (60, 61).

25. Assembly consisting of a container (2) according to Claim 21 and a box (56) made of plastics material and/or cardboard containing therein a weakening line (57) of a detachable label (50), wherein the container (2) is provided with an upper face (17) comprising fastening means (56) for receiving the label in a clamping manner.