System for dispensing controlled amounts of flowable material from a flexible container

A system for dispensing controlled amounts of flowable material stored in a first flexible-walled container, said system comprising:

• a second container configured to hold the first container, said second container having a complementary cross-sectional shape as taken generally normal to a stroke axis of the system, to that of the first container;
• a piston having a face sized and configured to generally match the cross-sectional shape of the second container;
• an actuator connected to the piston to drive the piston along the stroke axis through a preset travel range, said actuator including a position controlled motor to move the piston between a plurality of discrete positions within said travel range;
• and
• a temperature-controlled cabinet, the second container being positionable within said cabinet.

An enfitment for providing an opening in an elastic wall of a container comprising:

• a hollow tube having inner and outer surfaces and first and second open ends;
• a piercing member formed at one end of the hollow tube, said piercing member having a sharpened tip to penetrate the elastic wall of the container, said piercing member being positioned on one end of said hollow tube, the piercing member including a transition surface spaced circumferentially from the sharpened tip so as to trail the sharpened tip when penetrating the elastic wall of the container;
• and
• a sealing device, said piercing member and said sealing device configured to interact with the wall of the container to form an opening in the container through which material from the container can pass through the hollow tube, and to stretch the opening around the outer surface of the hollow tube, the sealing device comprising an annular conical surface at least partially positioned beneath a retaining flange that extends outwardly from a longitudinal axis of the hollow tube, and the retaining flange including a recess positioned circumferentially so as to generally coincide with the position of the transition surface of the piercing member, the transition surface extending from the recess in a direction away from the retaining flange.

An enfitment for providing an opening in an elastic wall of a container comprising:

• a hollow tube having inner and outer surfaces and first and second open ends;
• a piercing member formed at one end of the hollow tube, said piercing member having a sharpened tip to penetrate the elastic wall of the container, said piercing member being positioned on one end of said hollow tube;
• and
• a sealing device, said piercing member and said sealing device configured to interact with the wall of the container to form an opening in the container through which material from the container can pass through the hollow tube, and to stretch the opening around the outer surface of the hollow tube;
• wherein said sealing device comprises an annular conical surface at least partially positioned beneath a retaining flange that extends outwardly from a longitudinal axis of the hollow tube;
• and
• wherein said piercing member comprises a leading edge portion and a trailing edge portion, the sharpened end being positioned at the juncture of the leading edge portion and the trailing edge portion, at least a portion of said leading edge portion being positioned inward and upward from said retaining flange and at least a portion of said trailing edge portion being positioned upward from said retaining flange.

An enfitment for providing an opening in an elastic wall of a container comprising:

• a hollow tube having inner and outer surfaces and first and second open ends;
• a piercing member formed at one end of the hollow tube, said piercing member having a sharpened tip to penetrate the elastic wall of the container, said piercing member being positioned on one end of said hollow tube;
• a sealing device, said piercing member and said sealing device configured to interact with the wall of the container to form an opening in the container through which material from the container can pass through the hollow tube, and to stretch the opening around the outer surface of the hollow tube;
• and
• an unsealing device configured to guide the wall of the first container upward from a conical surface of the enfitment, said unsealing device comprising a recess which cuts into a retaining flange of the enfitment to form a smooth transition with a sloped surface of the conical section.

A system for dispensing controlled amounts of flowable materials stored in a first flexible-walled container comprising:

• a second container configured to hold the first flexible-walled container;
• an enfitment extending through a wall of said second container, said enfitment having a piercing member to puncture the flexible wall of the first container and sealing mechanism which interacts with said first container as said enfitment is rotated about a rotational axis generally normal to the wall of the second container;
• and
• a piston positionable within said second container above the first container to apply pressure to at least a wall of the first flexible-walled container so as to compress the first flexible-walled container between said piston and said second container;
• and
• an actuating mechanism drivingly coupled to the enfitment, said actuating mechanism including a motor to rotate the enfitment relative to the first container about the rotational axis.

A method for dispensing a controlled amount of flowable material from a flexible-walled first container comprising:

• placing the flexible-walled first container in a second container;
• contacting the first container with a piston to compress the first container within the second container;
• actuating the piston through a series of sequential dispensation steps;
• moving the piston by a predetermined stroke length toward the first container during each dispensation step to dispense a desired amount of material from the first container, wherein the predetermined stroke length of the piston for each dispensation step differs between at least two of the dispensation steps within said series of sequential dispensation steps so as to dispense a generally constant amount of material each dispensation step.

A method for dispensing a controlled amount of flowable material from a flexible-walled container comprising:

• determining the quantity of flowable material in the flexible-walled container;
• ascertaining an amount of piston travel for compressing the flexible-walled container within an ingredient hopper which is required to dispense a desired amount of material from the flexible-walled container based on the determined quantity of flowable material in the flexible-walled container;
• and
• controlling a displacement of a piston to move the piston by the ascertained distance to dispense, a predetermined amount of material.

A method for dispensing controlled amounts of flowable materials stored in a flexible-walled container, comprising:

• positioning the container adjacent to an enfitment having a hollow body with two open ends, the first end having a sharpened penetrating member attached thereto and a second end for dispensing the flowable material;
• rotating the enfitment about a rotational axis so that the sharpened end penetrates the wall of the first container to open an aperture in the wall of the container;
• further rotating the enfitment to stretch the aperture in the wall of the first container between leading and trailing edge portions of the first end, the leading edge portion of the enfitment being disposed closer to said rotational axis than the trailing edge portion;
• and
• forcing the flowable material through the aperture for dispensation through the enfitment.

A method of dispensing controlled amounts of flowable material stored in a first flexible-walled, sealed container comprising:

• providing a base;
• positioning the first flexible-walled sealed container in a second container, said second container being supported by said base;
• mounting a hollow enfitment through at least one wall of said second container for opening said first flexible-walled, sealed container and dispensing said flowable material therethrough;
• rotating said enfitment by a motor-driven actuator so that said first flexible-walled, sealed container is opened by and sealed with said enfitment;
• providing a piston positionable within the second container to apply force to at least one wall of said first flexible-walled container so as to compress said first flexible-walled container between said piston and said enfitment;
• and
• driving said piston toward said base along a stroke axis to compress said first flexible-walled container against said second container to dispense the flowable material through said enfitment.

A method of dispensing controlled amounts of flowable materials stored in a flexible-walled, sealed container, comprising:

• opening an aperture in a flexible wall section of said flexible container;
• stretching the aperture in the flexible wall section to increase the size of the aperture;
• disposing a hollow member against the flexible wall section of the container such that a portion of the hollow member, which is adjacent to the flexible wall, lies generally normal to said flexible wall section of the container;
• inserting at least a portion of the hollow member with the aperture;
• forming a seal between the flexible wall section of the container and a retaining flange of the hollow member;
• and
• unsealing the hollow member from the flexible member by guiding the flexible wall section of the container through a recess formed in the retaining flange.