[1]Patented Feb. 17, 1953 2 628@911 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,628,911 METHODS AND DEVICES FOP. ME.RCHANDISING AND DIRECTLY DISPENGING LIQUID INFANT FOOD John J. Horan, Detroit, Mich. Application Septeniber 511941, Scirial No. 172,237 19 Claims. This invention relates to methods for dispensing liquid inf-ant foods and to single service disPensers, with which the methods may be ernployed. @It wag formerly necessary for persons, who wished to feed infants under sterile conditions, to @purchase raw milk or canned milk powders, liquids,@ or@ pastes, tb niix these with other ingredients, : to sterilize water and apparatus and y sometimes even to boil milk to insure its purit thus, destroying part of its t@ood value. This was a 'burdensome Ghore and in inexpert hands produced food of uncertain quality. Packages in arcordance with this invention are of the si-ngle service type, adaptable for production cheaply and in la-rge quantities. They can be manufactured in or@ adjacent to f<)od plants, such as canneries or dairies, and looded and sealed, thence to be delivered by such chan4els@ as are, now used for transportation of bottled 2 or canned nii1k. These containers thereupon may then be: used for dispensing the milk, directly to: inf ants. This package includes an outer protective cover.ing, a blown or molded plastie- flask, 9, nipple, preferably of rubber @ or other plastic mg,- terials,: an provides thereby a vehicle lilto which @d liquid. infant food in toncentration and quantity suitable for a single direct feeding may be loaded by a, processing plant, and without transferring, be fed to, an@ infant@, The parent needs only to open the outer protective covering, remove the, outer closure and insert the nipple iri the infant's mouth. After feeding, the discarded parts,. or at least 35 their adhesive q@ialities,,, having been damaged by t e removal process, and the container being incapable of further disassembly without impairing the adhesive quality of other disjoined surfaces,. the parts are thrown away. 40 An obiect of this invention is to PrQvide a very lig@it, inexpensive, disposable, si4@gle service, nippie bearing i)lastic shipping container as part of a package for one tfine machine fil[ling wi th liquid infant food,. sealable afte r loading at the 4rprocessing plant, adapted to he used as a dir I ee 0 t dispenser;@ to an infant, and not reseaiable by ha,nd,after use without special tools or material. An@ object of thi@ iliventlbn- i@ to provide, a, corltainer which - will eliminate haphazard home 50 compounding of infant food and, by virtue of itsiow@ cost and adaptability to quantity produetion and loading, will permit large procegsing@. plants to engage ini the manufacture of liquid Infant @food in large quantities and i@n tht load- 55 (Cl. 99-171) 2 ing,of this food in quorititios oiid cotieetitrotions suitable for single direct.feedihgs irito contitiner@ iii turn lbaded into packagos from whieh they can be readily romoved and directISr adtninister-ad. my iiivention melkes use of recenti developments iii plastics which render. theconstruction@ of this novel container entirely feasible. Farther objects and novel, fegttires will become apparent in the balance of the specifica@ tion,@ in the claims@ appended and in the following description of the drawings in which - Fig. I is a view in partial secti(in,of a package in accord@nce with this invention, Fig. 2 is an end view partly cut away @of the package illustrated in Mg. 1 -1 Fig. 3 is a sectional. view of another forit of packagein.-accordance with this@ invention-, Fig. 4 is an end viciw p4rtly cut @ away of the packageillustrated in Mg. 3; Fig. 5 is a sectional. view of a third forin of package in aaeordance with this invention,, Fig. 6 is a partial view in section of the container shown in Mg., 5 when removed from the outer covering; Mg. 7 is, a fragmentary sectional view of a coiitainer s ila p 0 I im r, exce t as sh wn , th that iuus@ trated in Mgs. 5 and 6,. Referring now specifica.Uy to Figs. I and 2i the container body 21 is closed at the base by 0, disc' 24 having a cupped edge 25 which is secured in the crimped over rini 26 of the body 2 1, before th container is fiued, being t e hereto bonded by cement or heat sealed in a manner which causes: the mating. surfaces to soften and flow together. One end of a tab 36 i,% cemented to the body 2-1 adiqcent the riM. 20, the@ tab 36 having a Pierced hole, in it& fr-ee end to permit suspension from a hMk. The oliter Pro@tective coveri-ng 21 wheh dosigned to eiielose a single containor rndy be df waterproofed paper or of "Pli6:ftliii" or other Plastic. It is not by itself a complete covering, but acts in e(njulictl(5n with the outer el I sure 30 0 to encIO86 the coiitaihe entiiely.. Th6 . r pontainer body 21 is preferably rGI.1ablY eawrapped in the covering 27, the surp.lits covering material, ex-; tending boyond the base@ rim 26 of th container. body, beirig prefeiabi Y left open un@til after the assembly has been ralle(f, and the small amount 6f overhanging, material 29 e endin xt g beyond- the@ body shouldet 3'1 is merely folded inwardl Y. Th6cup@shapedouterelosure3o'isthensli ed. . pp. 6ver the oven end ZO of the covering and the
[2]3 shoulder 31 as far:as it will go, and is then preferably heat sealed in such a manner that a temporary bond is created between the mating surfaces of the rim 32 of the outer closure 30, and ,the protective covering 27, 29 on one side and the shoulder 3 i on the other side. Optionally, of course, cementing of the individual surfaces may be resorted to. The outer closure 30 has a projecting tear off tab 33 extending from its rim 32. The shoulder 31 has a vent orifice 34, which remains blocked until the outer closure 30, 32 and the outer covering 27, 29 are removed. The nipple 22 is shown integral with the body 21 and shoulder 31 in the embodiment. The nearly completed assembly is then preferably inverted and filled with liquid infant food 20 through the centrally located hole in the disc 24 which is then closed by a drop of low melting point material 35, after which the surplus covering material is folded over and heat sealed to form the closure 28. The package represents in many respects a depa,rture from commercial food packaging practice as heretofore kno@vn. Howev-er, it is, now within the capacity of the plastics industry to produce the components and the completed container and even to provide the necessary molding machinery for producing the packages cheaply and in large quantities entirely within the plant of the formula processor, thereby economizing on shipping costs. The shape of the coiitainer body 2 1, a hexagon tapering to a cylinder, is not essential to the design, but is easy to manufacture by molding or blowing and is pleasing in appearance. Graduations 37, applicable when the container material is transparent or translucent, permit observation of the quantity remaining in the container at any time during the feeding. The outer closure 30 and the outer protective covering 27 may be stripped off quickly when the tab 33 is pulled, the container and contents being warmed for feeding either before or after the removal of the outer Protective covering 27. Referring now to Figs. 3 -and 4, there is illustrated an alternative form of package having a single container 51 generally similar in appearance to that shown previously, except that the base 50 is@ integrally blown or molded with the body portion, and having a separate nipple 52 whose flange 55 is secured to the rim 54 of the container. The container holds a supply of liquid infant food 20. A reentrant cap type closure 53 is provided for exterior protection of the niPPle 52 from contamination. The design portrayed is such that the nipple 52 and cap 53 may be preassei-nbled as a unit and the unit pressed down over the inw,ardly turned rim 54, which, being of material relatively rigid as coinpared with the soft nipple 52, buries itself into the flange 55 of the nipple 52. The application of heat at this point, prefer-a;bly dielectric heat, together with slight pres8ure, causes the softer material of the nipple flange 55 to flow slightly -and to grip the nm 54 upon cooling so that there are created an ekeellent bond betwebn the nipple flange 55 and the rim 54, and also a bond between the flange 55 and the cap 53, both bonds resisting the possibility of contamination from outside. The inside surface of the, cap 53 MaY be coated, with 2,628,911 4 a@tion of a too effective bond witb the nipple flange 55. The container is preferably filled as with the previous form through a closable filling hole in the base. Like the previous form it may be filled with a syringe which distends the nipple orifi-ce 57, proiided that the cap 53 and nipple 52 are assembled separately. Another method for filling this container is of course to do so from 10 the open end before assembly of the nipple 52 and cap 53. I have, in the drawing, deliberately eliminated the base filhng opening to emphasize the possibility of using other means of filling. 15 A suspension tab 36, as in the previous form, may be cemented to the body 51 adjacent the base 50. The vent orifice 56 is located in the nipple skirt and, like the feeding orifice 57, is pre20 vented from premature functioning by the presence of the cap 53. The last operation is the -application of the outer protective covering 27 which as shown is similar to that used with the previous form of 25 package, although it need not necessarily be similar. The operation differs from the one previously described only in that the overhanging materi@al 29 is cemented or heat sealed to the external surface of the cap 53 instead of being ?,('sandwiched between the cap and shoulder. The person desiring to feed an infant strips off the outer coverin.a 27, 28, 29 and the cap 53, the latter by means of the tab 58, freeing the orifices 56, 57, warms the container, and if nec-@5 essary squeezes or shakps it to force the nipple 52 outward into the use position. Referring now to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, there is illustrated a package for merchandising and dispensing liquid infant food 20, comprising gener4.1 ally a flexible inner envelope or bag 70 or 71 constructed of rubber or soft plastic in a manner resembling in some respects that adapted to the manufacture of inflatable baloons, and an exterior protective covering or jacket 72. Both 45 bags shown have an integral nipple molded at one end. Two constructions are most feasible, one 71 being filled through the nipple brifice 79, the other 70 having a filling opening 74 at the opposite end or base of the b-ag 70. 5o Referring specifically to the former as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, the nipple 73 corresponds to the mouth of a balloon and has considerably thicker walls than the rest of the bag 7 1. After manufacture of the bag 71 a trimming or snip55 ping operation is sometimes necessary at the orifice, leaving the free form of the orifice 79 appearing as illustrated in Fig. 6. The filling of the bag with liquid infant food 20 is done bY means of a syringe or syrette type fitting which 60 temporarily distends the orifice 79. The orifice 79 is then plugged with a removable pin 78, and the loaded bag 71 is inverted into the jacket 72, after which the closure disc 80 is pressed into Place and engaged at its cupped periphery 81 65 under the crimped rim 02 of the jacket 72 in which Position the periphery 81 may be crimped or heat sealed to the rim 82. Referring to the latter form as illustrated in Fig. 7, the filling orifice 74 corresponds to the 70 Mouth of a balloon and the edge 75 is preferably rolled around a small band 76 which, when released contracts and closes the opening 74. Filling is preferably by means of a syringe or aii.inhibitor to prevent the Possibility of ere- 75 syrette type fitting which temporarily distends
