Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
LIQUID CONTAINER AND MOUTH THEREOF
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a liquid container and its
mouth, and more particularly to a liquid container of bag-in-
box type in which a flexible bag for containing a liquid
having a high viscosity is accommodated in an outer hard box
and a mouth fixed to the liquid container for filling and
taking the liquid into and out of the liquid container
therethrough. There has appeared a bag-in-box in which a
flexible inner bag for containing a liquid such as juice,
syrup, beer or ink is accommodated in an outer box made of
hard material such as cardboard, plastic and the like. A
pump is connected to a mouth of the bag-in-box to take
liquid contents out of the flexible inner bag.
However, when the liquid contents are sucked out, the
inner flexible bag is deformed to be apt to close the mouth
thereof thereby make impossible taking out of liquid
contents any more. In the case of liquid having a high
viscosity such as ink ar adhesive, this phenomenon occurs
prominently.
Further, such a bag-in-box is normally set upside down,
that is, with the. mouth directed downwardly. i~hen the pump
is connected to the mouth to suck the liquid contents out of
the inner bag, a cap fixed to the mouth is disconnected
therefrom to expose an inner plug with a membrane for
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CA 02040283 1999-07-30
closing the liquid path of the mouth. A connector on the side
of the pump is connected to the mouth, and a projection formed
in the connector breaks the membrane to open the path for the
liquid contents. The structure of the mouth increases its cost
because the inner plug and the projection for breaking the
membrane of the inner plug are necessary.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide a liquid
container from which liquid contents can be taken out
sufficiently with a small amount of the remaining liquid
contents therein.
It is another obj ect of this invention to provide a
mouth for permitting liquid contents with a high viscosity to
flow slowly therethrough.
The present invention may be considered as meeting the
above objects by providing a liquid container for containing a
liquid therein which comprises: a) an outer box having at least
one flat wall; b) a flexible inner bag accommodated in the outer
box; c ) a mouth f fixed to the inner bag so as to be proj ected
outwardly of the flat wall of the outer box; and d) a path
forming member provided on a flat wall of the inner bag,
provided along the flat wall of the outer box in the inner bag
so as to cover the mouth therewith for ensuring liquid paths
between the flat wall of the inner bag and a deformed portion of
the inner bag, wherein: the path forming member comprises (1) a
path forming plate having substantially the same area as the
flat wall of the inner bag, the path forming plate having liquid
openings for communicating the liquid paths with an upper space
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CA 02040283 1999-07-30
over the path forming plate in the inner bag and (2) a number of
projections formed on the path forming plate at predetermined
intervals and directed toward the flat wall of the inner bag so
as to permit the liquid in a lower space under the path forming
plate to flow into the mouth.
Furthermore, the present invention may be considered
as providing a liquid container for containing a liquid therein
which comprises: a) a flexible bag for containing the liquid
therein; b) a mount fixed to the bag so as to be projected
outwardly of the bag; and c) a path forming member provided in
the bag so as to cover the mouth therewith for ensuring liquid
paths between a portion of the bag near the mouth and a deformed
portion of the bag which is deformed when the liquid is sucked
out, wherein: the path forming member comprises (1) a flat base
portion having substantially the same area as a flat wall of the
bag, the flat base portion having liquid openings for
communicating the liquid paths with an upper space over the flat
base portion in the bag and (2) a number of projections formed
on the flat base portion in one direction from the flat base
portion to form liquid paths therebetween so as to permit the
liquid in a lower space under the flat base portion to flow into
the mouth.
Further objects, features and other aspects of this
invention will be understood from the following detailed
description of the preferred embodiment of this invention with
reference to the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
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~~a~~~
FIG. 1 is a longitudinally sectional view of a bag-in-
box according to this invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the bag-in-box shown
in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bag-in-box shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a path farming plate
accommodated in an inner bag of the bag-in-box;
FIG. 5 is a plan view of a path forming plate showing
another embodiment thereof;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the path forming plate
shown in FIG. 5;
FIG. T is a perspective view of a center portion of the
path forming plate shown in FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a longitudinally sectional view of a bag-in-
box showing another embodiment thereof;
FIG. 9 is a longitudinally sectional view of a mouth
fixed to the bag-in-box;
FIG. 10 is a plan view of the mouth shown in FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is a longitudinally sectional view of the mouth
showing a state wherein a connector is connected to the
mouth; and
FIG. 12 is a longitudinally sectional view of a
conventional bag-in-box.
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DETAILED DESCRTPTION OF THE INVENTION
As conductive to a :Full understanding of the nature and
utility of the present invention, a brief consideration of a
typical liquid container will be first presented below with
reference to FIG. 12.
FIG. 12 shows a so-called bag-in-box 100 for containing
liquid such as juice, syrup, ink, adhesive or the like. The
box 100 comprises an outer hard box 101 formed of paper,
cardboard, plastic or the~like and a flexible inner bag 10?.
accommodated in the outer box 101 and formed of plastic film
or 'the like. A mouth 103 is fixed to a part of the inner
bag 102 so as to be projected outwardly from the outer box
101. The mouth 103 is connected to a connector 104 when the
liquid contents are taken out of the inner bag 102 by a pump
(not shown). As the liquid contents are taken out
therefrom, the inner bag 102 is deformed so that the volume
of the inner bag 102 is decreased.
However, when the liquid contents are simply sucked from
the inner bag 102 by the pump, the liquid contents are
partially sucked to be apt to form wrinkles on the inner bag
102. Further, a part of the inner bag 102 is tightly
adhered to the battom of the inner bag 102 before the liquid
contents are not totally taken out thereby to leave a part
of the liquid contents in the inner bag 102. Especially, in
the case of a liquid having a high viscosity such as ink,
and adhesive, this problem often occurs.
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That is, in such a case, the liquid such as ink does not
flow smoothly in the inner bag 102 not to reach the mouth 13
easily when the ink is sucked out of the inner bag 102.
Therefore, the ink near the mouth 103 is mainly sucked, the
upper portion of the flexible inner bag 102 is deformed as
indicated by a dotted line Q1, resulting in closing the
mouth 103 in a state wherein a large amount of ink is left
in the inner bag 102 ar resulting in that 'the bottom and the
upper portion of the inner bag 102 contact partially near
the mouth 103 together with each other to obstruct the flow
of the remaining ink.
In addition, the bag-in-box 100 is normally used in an
upside down manner. When the connector 104 is connected to
the lower end of the mouth 103, a cap 10b is disconnected
from the mouth 103. An inner plug 106 is inserted into the
mouth 103 to prevent the liquid such as ink from flowing out
when the cap 106 is disconnected therefrom. The inner plug
106 has a membrane 10~ which is broken by a projection 108
formed in the connector 104 when the connector 104 is
connected to the mouth 103.
This invention is made to provide a liquid container
vahose liquid contents can be almost completely taken out
'therefrom and which has an inexpensive mouth with a
relatively simple structure to enable liquid contents to
flow out through the mouth.
A preferred embodiment of this invention will now be
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explained.
In FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a liquid container 10 for
containing a liquid 24 having a high viscosity such as ink,
adhesive or other viscous liquids comprises a rectangular
outer box 11 made of hard material and an inner flexible bag
12 accommodated in the outer box 11. A mouth 13 is fixed to
the inner bag 12, and the lower end of the mouth 13 is
closed by a cap 14. The mouth 13 is also fixed to the outer
box 11 so as to be projected from its flat bottom surface
11a. The inner bag 12 has a lower portion 12a and an upper
portion 12b. The lower portion 12a to which the mouth 13 is
fixed is held by a proper adhesive means, e.g., a both-face-
tape 15 whose front and back surfaces have adhesive, to the
bottom flat surface 11a of the outer box 11 and the side
flat surface 11b thereof whereby a flat bottom surface 12c
of the inner bag 12 is formed along the flat bottom surface
11a of the outer box 11. Instead of the both-face-tape, an
adhesive such as hot-melt may be used. The upper portion
12b of the inner bag 12 is freely accommodated in the outer
box 11. In this manner, if the lower portion 12a of the
inner bag 12 is fixed to the inner wall of the outer box 11,
the upper portion 12b of the inner bag 12 is only deformed
in a state wherein the joint portion between the lower and
upper portions 12a, 12b is held on the inner intermediate
surface of the outer box 11 when ink is filled into and
taken from the inner bag 12. Therefore, -the stable
deformation of the inner bag 12 is ensured and the remaining
amount of ink accommodated in each bag-in-bax manufactured
becomes even.
The outer box 11 and the inner bag 12 may be made of
known various materials. For example, as the outer box 11,
paper, corrugated cardboard, plastic, metal and the like may
be used, and, as the inner bag 12, a single layer film, a
laminated film formed of the same material or a laminated
film formed of combination of plastic and paper, or
combination of plastic, paper, metallic film and 'the like
may be used. Moreover, the mouth 13 may be a plastic
molding product.
In the inner bag 12 is accommodated a path forming plate
1'1 for maintaining a path of ink especially when the ink is
taken out of the inner bag 12 in such a manner that the
opening of the mouth 13 is covered therewith. 'fhe path
forming plate 12 is disposed along the bottom walls 11a, 12c
of the outer box 11 and the inner bag 12, and fixed, at a
plurality of positions, to the bottom flat wall 12c of the
inner bag 12.
The largeness of the path forming plate 1'1 is not
limited, and, however, an area slightly less than 'that of
the flat bottom wall 12c of the inner bag 12 is preferable
as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The path forming plate 1Z is
also disposed so as to form an ink path 18 between the
periphery of the plate 1Z and -the bottom corners of the
_ g _
inner bag 12.
As shown enlargedly in FIG. ~, the path forming plate 1?
comprises a flat base 1?a and a number of projections 19
formed at predetermined intervals, which are projected in
one direction from the flat base 1?a. The plate 1? is, as
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, disposed in the inner bag 12 so that
the projections 19 are directed downwardly to ride on the
flange 13a of the mouth 13 and the bottom wall 12c of the
inner bag 22, and some projections 19 are adhered to the
inner bag 12. In this embodiment, the plate 1? is adhered
by heat to the inner bag 12 at four corners thereof and at
two positions of the center portion thereof in a spot-like
manner.
At a position of the plate 1?, corresponding to the
mouth 13 is provided a flat portion 1?a without the
projections 19 to facilitate passing of ink through the
mouth 13. In this manner, a lattice-like path 20 for
permitting ink to pass therethrough is formed between the
plate 1? and the bottom wall 12c of the inner bag 12. The
ink path 20 permits ink to pass therethrough toward the
mouth 13 when the ink in the inner bag 12 is sacked out. In
order to take ink out of 'the inner bag 12 as much as
possible, a large ink path is preferable. However, in order
to decrease amount of the remaining ink in the inner bag 12
as much as possible, a small ink path is preferable because
a certain amount of ink is always left in the ink path 20
_ g _
after the ink is sucked from the inner bag 12. In view of
these points, the size of the ink path 20 is determined.
For example, the height and width of the ink path 20 are
determined at 2 to 3 mm arid 3 to 5 mm, respectively.
The path forming plate 1~ has, as shown in FIG. 4, a
main liquid opening 21 formed at a position corresponding to
the mouth 23, and a plurality of supplementary small liquid
openings 22 formed at positions corresponding to the lattice-
like ink path 20. The material and manufacturing method of
the plate 1T are not limited, and it is preferable to
manufacture the plate 1Z through plastic-molding. Tn F'IG.
4 , a number of recesses 23 are formed, corresponding to the
projections 19, on the upper surface of the plate 13.
However, as the remaining ink is stagnant in the recesses 23
after the sucking of ink, it is desirable to close the
recesses 23 with film, sheet or the like, a plurality of
holes 23a may be formed on the side walls of the recesses 23
to communicate the recesses 23 with_the ink path 20. An ink
path forming plate with a flat base without recesses may be
formed through injection molding.
The operation of the container 10 wall now tae explained.
As shown in FTGS. 1 and 2, when the inner bag 12 is
filled with ink,. the upper portion 12b is expanded as
indicated by a solid line to accommodate ink sufficiently.
When the ink in the inner bag 12 is taken out therefrom, the
ink mainly passes through the large main liquid opening 21
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of the base portion 1'Ia to enter the mouth 13. In addition
to the large liquid opening 21, the ink passes through -the
ink path 18 at the periphery of the plate 1Z and the small
supplementary openings 22 to enter the ink path 20 then to
reach the opening of the mouth 13. Therefore, the ink is
taken out through a large region in -the inner bag 12. When
-the ink is sucked, the upper portion 12b is deformed
downwardly with its upper surface being kept almost
horizontally as indicated by a dotted line J13. The ink can
be thus almost completely sucked out from the inner bag 12.
Tn addition, even if the upper portion 12b of the inner
bag 12 is deformed distartedly in such a manner that a part
of the upper portion 12b is lowered partially to close the
large main liquid opening 21 of the plate 1Z, the ink in the
inner bag 12 can be sucked out through the ink path 20
between the plate 1Z and the bottom wall 12c of the inner
bag 12 because the opening 13b of the mouth 13 is not closed
lay the lowered part of the upper portion 12b. Accordingly.
until most of the upper portion 12b tightly contacts the
upper surface of the plate 1Z, the ink can be sucked out
thereby to enable almost all of ink to be taken out of the
inner bag 12.
Tn this embodiment, the ink is sucked out through a wide
region in the inner bag 12, and the inner bag 12 is
accommodated so that its lower portion 12a is fixed to the
inner wall of the outer box 11 and that its upper portion
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~~~~"~~
12b can be only deformed. Therefore, the upper portion 12b
can be deformed stably to enable the ink of every bag--in-box
manufactured to be taken out with a small amount of the
remaining ink.
FIGS. 5 and 6 show another embodiment of a path forming
plate 30. The plate 30 has, as a whole, a rectangular
shape, and a flat base portion 30a and a number of square
projections 31 disposed at predetermined intervals on the
flat base portion 30a. At the center of the base portion
30a is provided a large main liquid opening 32 for
permitting the ink in the inner bag 12 to pass therethrough,
and around the large main liquid opening 32 is provided a
circular recessed path 33 from which liquid path 34 is
extended in the four directions. Further, the plate 30 has
a lattice-like liquid path 35 on the almost whole surfaces
of the plate 30 except the center portion 30b of the base
portion 30a. The circular recessed path 33 is defined by
four deformed projections 36 separated from each other, each
of which has an arched wall 36a surrounding the large
opening 32. Further, a number of supplementary liquid
openings 3? are formed at a plurality of crossing points of
the lattice-like liquid patki 35 on the almost whole surface
of the base portion 30a except the center portion 30b
thereof. The supplementary openings 3T comprise a number of
cross-shaped openings 3~a, a number of three-branch-shaped
openings 3Zb provided along the periphery of the plate 30,
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and four L-shaped openings 3?c provided at the four corners
of the plate 30. The formation of the supplementary
openings 3T ensures that the ink in the inner bag 12 can be
sucked evenly from the whole area of the path forming plate
30. The projections 31, 36 may be closed in the same manner
as those of 'the plate 1~ to prevent the ink from being
stagnant therein. The plate 30, shown in FIG. 5, has the
Large main opening 32 at the center thereof, and the mouth
13 is, as shown in FIG. 8, projected outward from the center
positions of the inner bag 12 and the outer box 11. If the
large main opening 32 is formed at the center of the plate
30, the ink can be taken out uniformedly or evenly from the
whole region in the inner bag 12. Further, the plate 30
occupies most of the bottom surface of the inner bag 12 and,
therefore, most of ink in the inner bag 12 can be taken out.
In the above embodiment, the bag-in-box 10 is disposed
upside down so as to direct the mouth 13 downwardly, and
however, the bag-in-box 10 is not necessarily disposed
upside down. That is, the bag-in-boat 10 may be disposed
laterally and uprightly. Even in these cases, the ink in
the inner bag 12 can be sucked out because of a sucking
force of the pump. The plates 12, 30 have a number of
openings 22, 3Z at positions corresponding to the ink paths
20, 35, respectively. However, those openings 22, 3~ are
not necessarily provided, and the ink may be sucked from the
peripheral space of the plates W , 30 into the respective
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~3~9 ~~~~~~~k
ink paths 20, 35. In contrast, the plates 1Z, 30 may have a
size to completely cover the bottom wall of the inner bag 12
so as not to flow the ink from the peripheral space into
their respective ink paths 20, 35 in a state wherein only
the openings 22, 3Z permit the ink to pass therethrough.
The flow of ink can be controlled by determination of
the positions and number of the openings 22, 3Z to form a
desirable flow pattern of ink. In addition, the lower
portion 12a of the inner bag 12. is not necessarily adhered
to the inner wall of the outer box 11, and the inner bag 12
may be simply accommodated in the outer box 11. The shape
of the outer box 11 can be arbitrarily selected. For
example, a cylindrical shape may be selected.
The type of the inner bag 12 i.s not limited to a pouch
with four sides sealed as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and ~8, and a
stand pack or a gazette type bag may be used.
The above embodiments can be adapted for a liquid
container for containing other liquids in addition to ink.
The mouth of the bag-in-box may be formed in the
following manner. The following mouth is suitable for
taking out therethrough a liquid with a relatively high
viscosity such as ink, adhesive, enrichment juice,
enrichment syrup and the like.
In FIGS. 9 and 10, a mouth 40 comprises a main body 41
formed in a step manner, an engaging ring 42 screw-engaged
with a root portion of the main body 41, and a cap 43 scx~ew-
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engaged with the distal end of the main body 41. The main
body 41 comprises a flange 41a adhered to the inner bag 12,
a large diameter portion 41b having a male screw far
engaging with the engaging ring 32 at its outer
circumferential surface, a small diameter portion 41c having
a male screw for engaging with the cap 43 at its
circumferential surface and a plurality of tongue pieces 44
extended inwardly from the step portion 41d formed between
the large and small diameter portions 41b, 41c so as to form
a restricted path 45. Each. tongue piece 44 is thinly formed
to be elastically deformed, and it has, e.g., a thickness of
0.4 mm. The area of the path 45 is so determined that a
liquid having a high viscosity does not instantly flow out
of the path 45 when the mouth 40 is directed downwardly.
That is, as shown in FIO. 11, when the mouth 40 is directed
downwardly, the liquid contents in the inner bag 12 flow
down while forming a liquid drip 50 to come out of the mouth
40. The area of the path 45 is so determined that it takes
2 or 3 seconds until the drop 50 comes out of the mouth 40.
For example, in the case of ink having a viscosity of 50 to
400 poises, it is preferable that the diameter d of a center
path defined by the distal ends of the 'tongue pieces 44 is 1
to 4 mm, and the width of a plurality of spaces extended
radially from the center path is 0.1 to 2 mm. The main body
41 of the mouth 40 is integrally manufactured by injection
molding of resin such as polyethylene.
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~~'~~~~s~
The bag 12 is adhered to the flange 41a of the main body
41 by heat sealing or the like. However, the flange 41a may
be inserted so that the inner surface of the inner bag 12 is
adhered to the front surface of the flange 41a.
The engaging ring 42 has a flange 42a abutting against
the outer surface of the outer box 11, an operating portion
42b formed separately from the flange 42a and held by
fingers when the ring 42 is fastened or released, and a
reinforcing rib 42c for reinforcing the operating portion
42b. The main body 41 of the mouth 40 is reliably fixed to
the outer box 11 in such a manner that the .ring 42 is screw-
engaged with the male screw of the main body 41 to put the
outer box 11 between the flange 41a of the main body 41 and
the flange 42a of the ring 42. The ring 42 and the cap 43
are also manufactured by injection molding of z~esin.
The operation of the mouth 40 will now be explained.
First, the flange 41a of the main body 41 is adhered to
the inner bag 11 so as to project the main body 41 outwardly
from the inside of the outer box 11, and the ring 42 is
screw-engaged with the male screw of the main body 41
thereby to fix the mouth 40 to the outer box 11. A liquid
is poured into the inner bag 12 through the mowth 40. At
this time, the liquid flows into the inner bag through the
restricted path 45 provided by the tongue pieces 44 while
deforming them elastically by liquid pressure to expand the
restricted path 45. This enables prompt filling of the
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v~~~t~~~a~
liquid. Further, a filling nozzle for filling the liquid
into the inner bag 12 may be formed so that a part of the
filling nozzle pushes the tongue pieces to expand the
restricted path 45 when the nozzle is engaged with the mouth
40. After the liquid is filled into the inner bag 12, the
mouth 40 is covered with 'the cap 43. With this state, the
bag-in-box 10 is transported and stored.
when the liquid is taken out of the bag--in-box 10, the
cap 43 is disconnected from the mouth 40, and a connector 60
connected to a pump is connected to the mouth 40. Thus, the
liquid is sucked out by the operation of the pump. When the
mouth 40 is connected to the connector 60, the bag-in-box 10
is placed upside down to connect the mouth 40 with the
connector 60 from the above. At this time, if the mouth 40
is directed downwardly in a state wherein the cap 43 is
disconnected therefrom, the liquid in the innex~ bag az is
going to flow out through the restricted path 45. however,
as the area of the path 45 is small, the liquid flows
downwardly while forming the liquid drop 50. Therefore, the
liquid does not flow out of the mouth 40 for a relatively
short time until the mouth 40 is connected with the
connector 60. After the connector 60 is connected to the
mouth 40, the liquid is sucked out by the pump. At -this
time, each tongue piece 44 is curved downwardly by the
suction force to expand the restricted path 45.
The connector 60 may be formed so as to have a long
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~~~i~~~
projection 61a so that the long projections 61a pushes
upwardly the tongue pieces 44 to expand the restricted path
45 when the connector 60 is engaged with the mouth 40.
In the above embodiment, the restricted path 45 is
formed of a plurality of elastically deformed tongue pieces
44, and, however, a circular path, an elliptic path, groove-
like path and the like may be simply formed. If the path 45
is formed of the elastic tongue pieces, the pass resistance
of the liquid is decreased because of the expansion of the
path 45 by the elastic deformation of the tongue pieces.
The engaging ring 42 is not necessarily provided, and the
mouth 45 may be simply projected from the outer bax 11. The
above mouth can be adapted for other boxes in addition to
the bag-in-box 10.
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