Packaging for dip tubes
View Patent ↗A packaging pouch for storing and/or transporting one or more dip tube assemblies is provided. The pouch includes a front side sealably and fixedly attached to a back side along a first sealed edge, a second sealed edge, and a sealed end. The front side and back side define an opening at an end opposite the sealed end. A plurality of welds extend over at least a portion of the length of the pouch from the sealed end towards the opening, wherein generally adjacent welds define cavities for dip tube storage. Individual dip tubes are held separated and out of contact with each other within individual cavities, reducing or preventing generation of particulates or other contaminants. The packaging pouch is sealed to provide additional protection. Related packaging systems and methods are also disclosed.
1. A dip tube assembly packaging system, comprising:
a plurality of dip tube assemblies, each dip tube assembly comprising a tube and a coupler attached to the tube, the coupler being wider than the tube;
a package comprising at least one flexible sheet of polymeric material, the package defining sealed edges and a sealed end extending between the sealed edges, the package further comprising:
a plurality of seals defining a plurality of separated internal cavities, each cavity configured to receive the tube of a dip tube assembly in an interference fit arrangement, each cavity having a closed end and an open end opposite the closed end, the tube of each dip tube assembly being received through the open end of a respective cavity and disposed in a respective cavity in an interference fit arrangement;
at least one pocket defined at an end of the package opposite the sealed end, the open end of each of the plurality of separated internal cavities opening into the pocket, the couplers of the dip tube assemblies being disposed within the pocket in a spaced apart arrangement from one another;
wherein the sealed edges are thicker below the pocket thereby defining a shoulder;
wherein the package maintains the dip tube assemblies out of contact with each other.
2. The dip tube assembly packaging system of claim 1 , wherein the package further defines a compartment divider that divides the package into two compartments and wherein the at least one pocket comprises a plurality of pockets, each compartment containing a plurality of the separated internal cavities and each compartment including a respective pocket of the plurality of pockets; wherein the tubes of a first group of the dip tube assemblies are disposed in the cavities of the first compartment and wherein the tubes of a second group of the dip tube assemblies are disposed in the cavities of the second compartment.
3. The dip tube assembly packaging system of claim 2 , further comprising a seal extending across the package to seal the first compartment from the second compartment and to seal the first and second compartments from the outside of the package.
4. The dip tube assembly packaging system of claim 3 , further comprising a tear notch disposed on a side of the package, the tear notch adapted to create a tear strip across the first compartment from the side of the package to the compartment divider, to open the first compartment and allow removal of the dip tube assemblies from the first compartment while the second compartment remains sealed.
5. The dip tube assembly packaging system of claim 4 , wherein the tear notch is a first tear notch on a first side of the package and adapted to create a first tear strip, and the package further comprises a second tear notch disposed on a second side of the package opposite to the first side, the second tear notch adapted to create a second tear strip across the second compartment from the second side of the package to the compartment divider, to open the second compartment and allow removal of the dip tube assemblies from the second compartment.
6. The dip tube assembly packaging system of claim 1 , wherein the package is at least twice as long as each dip tube assembly.
7. The dip tube assembly packaging system of claim 1 , wherein the package is one-piece and formed of a single sheet of polymeric material, the plurality of separated internal cavities being defined by at least one seal extending along a length of the package.
8. The dip tube assembly packaging system of claim 1 , wherein the package comprises two sheets of polymeric material sealed together along the edges and the end.