Dispensing stand-up pouch

Abstract

The stand-up fluid dispensing device (10, 100) includes a container (42) with an outer surface, opening, interior fluid storage region (44) therein and an exterior outer region. A support structure (60) is affixed to the container (42) to maintain the container (42) in an upright condition at all times. Throughout the life of the product and regardless of amount of media (12) in the device (10, 100), it will remain standing upright to better display the package at all times. The support structure (60) is preferably a jacket filled with a gas, such as air. The jacket (60) can include a plurality of pockets (62), such as tubes filled with air. The stand-up fluid dispensing device (10, 100) may also include a metering pump (64) that can include a leakage control mechanism to control the dispensing of media (12) from the device (10, 100).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority from prior U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 869,420 filed on Dec. 11, 2006.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates generally to dispensing devices and packages for various types of materials. More specifically, the present invention relates to devices that can dispense media, such as fluids and gels and other materials, from a source of such media.[0003]Various types of fluid material and media are employed for different purposes through commerce and industry. For example, there are various products in the personal care, home care, air care, transportation care, and food industries that require some type of dispensing of media, such as a fluid material, from a source of such media. When this material is sold in commerce, it must be contained and stored in some type of container. When that product is used, it must be dispensed from its storage container to a location for use.[0004]In...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]The present invention preserves the advantages of prior art dispensing devices that are capable of dispensing various types of media, such as, liquids, gels and solids. The present invention is capable of dispensing in a metered fashion any type of such media, including beverages, lotions and powders. The SUP dispenser of the present invention stays upright regardless of the amount of media product remaining in the dispenser. In addition, it provides new advantages not found in currently available devices and overcomes many disadvantages of such currently available devices.

[0016]It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a SUP dispensing device that can remain standing at all times regardless of the amount of media present in the dispenser.

[0017]Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluid dispensing device that can deliver a substantially equal volume of fluid material from each dispensing operation of the SUP.

[0018]A further object of the present invention is to provide a fluid dispensing device that is easy and inexpensive to manufacture.

[0019]An additional object of the present invention is to provide a fluid dispensing device that includes a support structure to keep the SUP upright at all times that is easily incorporated into existing SUP configurations.

Problems solved by technology

However, this yields erratic results where more or less fluid material is delivered on each successive squeeze of the container body.

While these gusseted packages are common, they can sometimes be difficult to manufacture and are limited in shape due to the requirements of the gusseting to ensure that the package can stand upright when not in use.

Also, there are problems with known SUP dispensing devices in that they are very expensive to manufacture.

It is difficult to dispense the media in an accurate and controlled manner.

Also, they cannot be sufficiently compressed to assist in removal of all of the media contained therein.

However, as the media is emptied from the SUP, it typically tends to collapse and / or tip over because the media therein is no longer present to help maintain the SUP in a stand-up condition.

When this happens, the SUP no longer positioned upright and the product's appearance suffers as a result.

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