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WO-2026094086-A1 - TAP, CAP AND CONTAINER SPOUT WITH MUTUAL IRREVERSIBLE ANTI-TAMPERING CONNECTION FEATURES

WO2026094086A1WO 2026094086 A1WO2026094086 A1WO 2026094086A1WO-2026094086-A1

Abstract

Dispensing tap (1) comprising: a main body (4) equipped with a rupture membrane (6) located on a first side thereof; a universal dispensing tap (2) configured to be operatively connected to the main body (4) on its first side; and a protective tamper evident cap (5) located above the main body (4) on a second side of the main body (4) opposite the first side, the upper tamper evident cap (5) protecting the tap (1) during hot steam sterilization or pressurized chemical sterilization; wherein the universal dispensing tap (2) is designed to be irremovably connected to the main body (4) once the universal dispensing tap (2) is fully inserted into the dispensing tap (1) after having ruptured the rupture membrane (6). The universal dispensing tap (2) comprises: holes (AO, BO) which are located on a pointed end to break the rupture membrane (6), the holes (AO, BO); a retaining disk (2.4), under which a cylinder is positioned, on which a first upper sealing diameter (2.6) is shaped and under which a lower insertion and sealing cylinder (2.5) is located; below the lower insertion and sealing cylinder (2.5), a taper (2.3) to facilitate entry and attachment of the geometries found on the main body (4); below the taper (2.3), a third sealing area of the universal dispensing tap (2), and therebelow a step (2.2) configured to cooperate with a flexible lip (4.3) of the main body, obtaining a seal and an irreversible coupling.

Inventors

  • NINI, DIEGO

Assignees

  • VITOP MOULDING S.R.L.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20250627
Priority Date
20241030

Claims (5)

  1. 1. A dispensing tap (1) comprising: a main body (4) equipped with a rupture membrane (6) located on a first side thereof; - a universal dispensing tap (2) configured to be operatively connected to the main body (4) on its first side; and - a protective upper tamper evident cap (5) located above the main body (4) on a second side of the main body (4) opposite to the first side, the upper tamper evident cap (5) also being designed to protect the tap (1) during hot steam sterilization or pressurized chemical sterilization steps; wherein the universal dispensing tap (2) is designed to be irremovably connected to the main body (4) once the universal dispensing tap (2) is fully inserted into the dispensing tap (1) after having ruptured the rupture membrane (6) ; characterised in that the universal dispensing tap (2) comprises: holes (AO, BO) which are located on a pointed end designed to break the rupture membrane (6) , the holes (AO, BO) being shaped in different widths depending on a flow of liquid to be obtained during dispensing; a height-retaining disk (2.4) , under which a cylinder is positioned, on which a first upper sealing diameter (2.6) is shaped and under which a lower insertion and sealing cylinder (2.5) is located; below the lower insertion and sealing cylinder (2.5) , a chamfer (2.3) to facilitate entry and attachment of the geometries found on the main body (4) ; below the entry chamfer (2.3) , a third sealing area of the universal dispensing tap (2) , and below it a sharp-edged area (2.2) which, when operationally coupled with a geometry of the main body with a flexible lip (4.3) , generates its operational seal and the relative irreversibility of mechanical coupling.
  2. 2. Dispensing tap (1) comprising: a main body (4) equipped with a rupture membrane (6) located on its first side; a dispensing probe (3) configured to be operationally connected to the main body (4) on its first side; and - a protective upper tamper evident cap (5) placed above the main body (4) on a second side of the main body (4) opposite to the first side, the upper tamper evident cap (5) also being designed to protect the tap (1) during hot steam sterilization or pressurized chemical sterilization phases; wherein the dispensing probe (3) is designed to be irremovably connected to the dispensing tap (1) once the dispensing probe (3) is fully inserted into the dispensing tap (1) after breaking the rupture membrane ( 6 ) ; characterised in that the dispensing probe (3) comprises: holes (AO, BO) which are located on a pointed end designed to break the rupture membrane (6) , the holes (AO, BO) being shaped in different widths depending on a flow of liquid to be obtained during dispensing; a height-retaining disk (3.4) under which a cylinder is positioned on which the first upper sealing diameter (3.6) is shaped, and under which a lower insertion and sealing cylinder (3.5) is located; below the lower sealing diameter (3.5) , a chamfer (3.3) to facilitate entry and attachment of the geometries which are located on the main body (4) ; below the inlet chamfer (3.3) , a third sealing area of the dispensing probe (3) , and below a sharp-edged area (3.2) which, when it is in operational coupling with the geometry of the main body with flexible lip (4.3) , generates the operational seal and the relative irreversibility of the mechanical coupling, thus avoiding and preventing that the dispensing probe (3) can detach from the tap (1) once operationally connected.
  3. 3. Dispensing tap (1) according to claim 1, wherein the main body (4) is equipped with: a central circular communication channel with a circular surface (4.1) enabling the connection of the universal dispensing tap (2) or of the dispensing probe (3) ; an internal circular operating sealing surface (4.4) ; a flexible shaped geometry (4.9) ; concentric protruding ring geometries (4.7) designed for an external connection hook; a protruding ring (4.6) for a manipulation of the tap (1) ; and an undercut geometry (4.5) to stably hook the upper tamper evident cap (5) .
  4. 4. Dispensing tap (1) according to claim 3, wherein the protruding ring (4.6) is interrupted at points (4.10) , so as to create two free zones useful for facilitating the grip with the fingers and the opening of the upper tamper evident cap (5) .
  5. 5. Dispensing tap (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the upper tamper evident cap (5) comprises: a protruding circular geometry (5.1) designed to stably couple with a groove (4.5) of the main body (4) , and to guarantee perfect sealing to liquids as well as external contamination; a conical geometry (5.3) placed under the protruding circular geometry (5.1) and designed to cooperate with an internal discharge geometry (5.7) to provide flexibility; an internal geometry (5.4) designed to seal the tap (1) by mating with a plane (4.11) obtained on the main body (4) ; two semicircular connecting sectors (5.6) of straps (5.2) , which in turn are connected by one or more breaking bridges (5.5) , designed to break and allow the straps (5.2) to bend, maintaining the straps (5.2) as the rotation fulcrum for each of the two, and thus giving evidence of the first opening.

Description

DISPENSING TAP EQUIPPED WITH ANTI -COUNTERFEITING AND PROTECTING SYSTEMS FOR STERILIZATION CYCLES WITH SUPERHEATED STEAM UNDER PRESSURE The present invention relates to a tap for dispensing liquids from containers , in particular containers of the so-called "Bag- In-Box" (hereinafter referred to as BIB ) type , mainly but not limited to being able to hermetically seal a container, preferably BIB, which before , and sometimes also after, filling are subj ected to sterili zation processes with superheated steam delivered under pressure or a chemical sterili zation also delivered under pressure . The use of BIB containers for shipping and distributing liquid food products , preferably but not limited to dairy and liquid egg, has increased signi ficantly in recent years . One of the most common procedures when filling flexible containers , preferably but not limited to BIB, with (preferably but not limited to ) food products that are sensitive to micro-bacteriological contamination ( such as the dairy and liquid egg market) is pressurized superheated steam sterilization or pressurized chemical sterilization. These procedures minimize potential contamination and maximize the shelf life of the products inside the containers. While sterilization of containers for high acid products is easily achieved due to the inherent characteristics of the liquids themselves which are acidic, there have been serious problems associated with low acid applications. This is because high acid products have an inherent advantage, that is, microbes and microorganisms have difficulty surviving and reproducing in highly acidic materials. The same is not true for low acid materials. In particular, microbes and microorganisms can thrive in a low-acid environment. For this reason, sterilization procedures for containers used in low-acid environments are substantially more stringent than those for high- acid environments. In a low-acid filling process, for example, before but sometimes also after filling, the tap assembly is exposed to superheated steam for a predetermined period of time. It can be appreciated that if chemicals (chemical sterili zation) are added for sterili zation obj ects , the required steam temperatures may be lower . Providing an inventive tap that can withstand sterili zation treatments has proven to be very dif ficult . These sterili zation treatments have been shown to be highly destructive for taps . And so sometimes the end result is that , after the sterili zation treatment (with superheated steam or chemical ) , the material contained inside the flexible container, preferably BIB, is compromised, as the taps lose their hermetic protection properties for the product contained inside the container : therefore , a microbiological contamination occurs that requires the entire packaging to be discarded with the deteriorated content inside , causing serious economic damage , but above all a potential damage to the health of the consumer . Since , as mentioned, the sterili zation process is highly destructive for dispensing caps , the accessories necessary for dispensing the product are often supplied separately, which are fixed on the dispensing cap by the end customer and which will be described later . There are known in the prior art some tap configurations that use technology consisting of self-closing and self-sealing silicone valves for liquids . Currently, there are four manufacturers of closures on the market that contain flexible silicone valves: 1. SCHOOL IPN: W02010/047814 2. RAPAK: WO2016051276 3. VITOP MOULDING (the Applicant) 4. LIQUI-BOX: WO2013033135. Specifically, the Applicant has filed these three patents relating to ideal closures, also for use in the dairy and liquid egg sector, which use, preferably but not limited to, flexible valves, preferably in silicone, inside them, namely: 1. WO2019111285A1; 2. W 02023058072 A 1 ; 3. WO2013175515A1. The three patents listed above specifically study systems equipped with valves made of flexible material, preferably silicone, which have the main function of being able to close automatically once disconnected from the dispensers or devices currently on the market. The Applicant has also already filed in the past (WO2013175515A1 ) a very valid technical solution that allows obtaining special closures to be able to supply the market without any problem : this solution involves the extreme treatment of pressuri zed steam ( or chemical ) under pressure , i . e . the market that concerns dairy products and liquid eggs , without necessarily having to use a silicone valve inside it, but rather using a frangible membrane system that is "broken" due to the insertion of a special device in the cap . However, the dairy and liquid egg market requires "one way" systems that can be connected in a stable and immovable manner, so that crosscontamination cannot occur between one BIB and another . The solutions above allow removing and reusing the dispenser accessory