FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to filling stations, more particularly, to a pouch filling station or a food pouch filling station.

BACKGROUND

Since the advent of the reusable and disposable food pouch, consumers are now able to prepare and fill their own fresh recipes they make or by simply buying a large jar of apple sauce and pouring the food into each pouch. Food pouches are easy for on the go and are air tight and safe for refrigerator and freezer storage. Food pouches also act as a storage bag for puree and other liquid foods similar to resealable bags, resealable plastic ware, glass jars, and other container formats. Reusable pouches provide unique qualities such as low plastic weight, flexible, and the food can be squeezed out of various size and shape spouts. Pouches come in different sizes that typically range from 3 ounces to 8 ounces. Pouches can be designed for even larger sizes and may be used in other applications like laundry detergent, condiments, cooking sauces, hair shampoo. The uses may be endless and may carry into various markets globally.

Generally, the spouts used on reusable and disposable food pouches are standardized and there are only a few variations. There is one common spout diameter and two common spout track designs. Some spouts in Europe and other countries are larger in diameter and in some examples, the spout is a shorter than the standard design used on reusable pouches. Disposable food pouches at the grocery store also use the same standard spout shapes as noted above. These spouts were originally designed for retort packaging at the factory production packing level which is the reason for the channel tracks below the threads on the spouts.

Filling reusable or disposable food pouches has been traditionally completed by two methods. The first method is to fill through a zipper opening of the reusable pouches by pouring from a container or by placing a funnel in the zipper opening to minimize any overfill and spills on the zipper. Usually this this first method results in you having to wash the pouch from overfilling after closing the zipper and then cleaning out the food between the pouch material past the zipper end. There is about 10 mm of space from edge to zipper where food can lay and needs to be cleaned. This process is not efficient.

The second method of filling a pouch is through the spout of the food pouch. If the pouch has no zipper, then the pouch needs to be filled through the spout. There is one popular method today of using a plunger and canister to push the food into the spout. Some example canisters may use large diameter canisters that hold roughly 24 ounces of food. The second popular canister and plunger method fills smaller canisters for individual pouch filling. For these smaller canisters, there are three or four canister filling stations to plunger food into each pouch. In another example, there are reusable pouches with a large syringe to push the food through the food pouch spout.

Generally, it is ideal to fill through the spout because of speed and the elimination of overfilling the pouch from the zipper and eliminating the pouch cleanup time. It is ideal to create a proper seal around the spout surface either on the inside or outside circumference. It is best to seal on the outer diameter (OD) surface so that you do not reduce the diameter and food flow as in some of the prior art designs. For prior art designs, the pouch slides into a track and then squeezed for the food so the pouch is installed first and with a face-to-face gap with no contact because there is vertical flow down into the spout. The canister is loaded into canister, filled with food, and screwed down into the plastic station. The multiple mini-canisters and plungers create added cleaning time and more potential for spills and an efficient process.

It is difficult to control the vertical downward movement of the existing plunger and canister designs. The plunger is not affixed at the top like a french press plunger which has a lid and hole with a collar underneath the lid that provides vertical and concentric alignment to the canister for a smooth up and down motion. Without this feature, the plunger tips and will lose its seal about the canister and food can then float on top of the plunger. The process requires the operator to carefully push straight down. The seals on these plungers are also not well designed and due to the draft angle associated with the canister from the molding process, a well-designed lip seal and supporting plastic structure similar to a piston prevents tipping and ensures smooth and consistent force required.

SUMMARY

The present invention generally provides a system that includes a table top appliance that can rapidly fill a pouch through some mechanical actuation and ultimately be automated by inserting the pouch and the machine will fill the pouch.

According to one embodiment, a pouch filling station may comprise: a base that is sized and shaped to sit on a flat surface; a canister including a vessel that connects to the base; a lid that fits on a top of the canister; a valve located on the side wall of the canister; and an air pump system included with the lid and located on the top of the canister. The canister may have a bottom, side walls extending from the bottom, and a canister spout located adjacent to the bottom, the canister holding contents to be dispensed into a pouch. The valve may be configured to attach to the canister spout and a pouch spout of the pouch, the valve controlling a flow of the contents of the canister to fill the pouch. The air pump system may include a pump housing, one or more check valve seals located at the bottom of the pump housing, and a pump to pressurize the pump housing and the canister through the one or more check valve seals. The one or more check valve seals may allow air to flow from the pump housing to the canister and prevent air from escaping from the canister when the pump pressurizes the pump housing. When the pump housing and the canister are pressurized with the pump, the pouch spout is connected to the valve, and the valve is opened, the air pressure from the canister pushes the contents of the canister through the canister spout and the valve into the pouch.

Additionally, the bottom of the canister may be slanted towards the canister spout and the bottom of the canister may include a trough to feed the contents of the canister to the canister spout. The valve may be one of the following: a ball valve, a pinch valve, a dial-clamp valve, or a cone valve seal. The lid may include a top plate and a flange extending downward from the top plate, wherein the flange is sized and shaped to cooperate with the side walls of the canister to secure the lid to the canister, wherein the top plate stabilizes a pump shaft from the pump. The pump may include a pump shaft with a handle located at one end and a pump flange located at the opposite end of the pump shaft. The pump housing may include a spring so that the pump and handle retract automatically after the pump is pressed downward. The lid may include a seal on the pump housing. The air pump system may include a plunger disk seal located within an internal diameter of the canister to ensure an even distribution of air pressure on the contents of the canister. The plunger disk seal may include a rigid body disk and one or more radius-lobed flexible seals extending around the circumference of the rigid body disk, wherein the one or more radius-lobed flexible seals seal the internal diameter of the canister. The air pump system may include an automatic pump with a pump motor that electronically generates a pressure and a volume of air in the pump housing in a specified amount of time, wherein when the valve is opened and a pouch is filled, the automatic pump automatically turns on and pressurizes the pump housing and the canister to maintain a preset pressure. The air pump system may include a pressure sensor that stops filling at a certain pressure and maintains a specific pressure within in the canister. The air pump system may include an electric pump that fits on the lid and mates with the canister to generate a pressure and a volume of air in the pump housing in a specified amount of time. The electric pump may include controls that maintain a specified air pressure to fill a certain amount of fluid ounces based on a pouch size.

According to another embodiment, a pouch filling station may comprise: a base that is sized and shaped to sit on a flat surface; a canister including a vessel that connects to the base; a lid that fits on a top of the canister; valve located on the side wall of the canister; and an air pump system included with the lid and located on the top of the canister. The canister may have a bottom, side walls extending from the bottom, and a canister spout located adjacent to the bottom, the canister holding contents to be dispensed into a pouch. The bottom of the canister may be slanted towards the canister spout to feed the contents of the canister to the canister spout. The bottom of the canister may include a trough to feed the contents of the canister to the canister spout. The lid may include a top plate and a flange extending downward from the top plate, wherein the flange is sized and shaped to cooperate with the side walls of the canister to secure the lid to the canister. The valve may be configured to attach to the canister spout and a pouch spout of the pouch, the valve controlling a flow of the contents of the canister to fill the pouch. The air pump system may include a pump housing, one or more check valve seals located at the bottom of the pump housing, and a pump to pressurize the pump housing and the canister through the one or more check valve seals. The one or more check valve seals may allow air to flow from the pump housing to the canister and prevent air from escaping from the canister when the pump pressurizes the pump housing. The air pump system may further include a plunger disk seal located within an internal diameter of the canister to ensure an even distribution of air pressure on the contents of the canister. The pump may include a pump shaft with a handle located at one end and a pump flange located at the opposite end of the pump shaft, the top plate stabilizes the pump shaft. The pump housing may include a spring so that the pump and handle retract automatically after the pump is pressed downward. When the pump housing and the canister are pressurized with the pump, the pouch spout is connected to the valve, and the valve is opened, the air pressure from the canister pushes the contents of the canister through the canister spout and the valve into the pouch.

In yet a further embodiment of the invention, a pouch filling station may comprise: a base that is sized and shaped to sit on a flat surface; a canister including a vessel that connects to the base; a lid that fits on a top of the canister; a valve located on the side wall of the canister; and an air pump system included with the lid and located on the top of the canister. The canister may have a bottom, side walls extending from the bottom, and a canister spout located adjacent to the bottom. The canister may hold contents to be dispensed into a pouch. The bottom of the canister may be slanted towards the canister spout to feed the contents of the canister to the canister spout. The bottom of the canister may include a trough to feed the contents of the canister to the canister spout. The valve may be configured to attach to the canister spout and a pouch spout of the pouch, the valve controlling a flow of the contents of the canister to fill the pouch. The air pump system may include a pump housing, one or more check valve seals located at the bottom of the pump housing, and a pump to pressurize the pump housing and the canister through the one or more check valve seals. The one or more check valve seals may allow air to flow from the pump housing to the canister and prevent air from escaping from the canister when the pump pressurizes the pump housing. The air pump system may further include a plunger disk seal located within an internal diameter of the canister to ensure an even distribution of air pressure on the contents of the canister. The plunger disk seal may include a rigid body disk and one or more radius-lobed flexible seals extending around the circumference of the rigid body disk, wherein the one or more radius-lobed flexible seals seal the internal diameter of the canister. The air pump system may include an automatic pump with a pump motor that electronically generates a pressure and a volume of air in the pump housing in a specified amount of time. When the valve is opened and a pouch is filled, the automatic pump automatically turns on and pressurizes the pump housing and the canister to maintain a preset pressure. When the pump housing and the canister are pressurized with the pump, the pouch spout is connected to the valve, and the valve is opened, the air pressure from the canister pushes the contents of the canister through the canister spout and the valve into the pouch.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the following drawings.

