CONTAMINANT-RESISTANT PACKAGING
Contaminant-resistant packaging, conduits, and methods of the present disclosure are generally directed to reducing the likelihood of contaminant infiltration into packaging used to store and ultimately dispense material. More specifically, a conduit that is used to dispense the material from the packaging may include a contaminant barrier that, together with respective contaminant barriers along other portions of the packaging, significantly reduces the likelihood of contaminant (e.g., oxygen and/or moisture) permeation into the material in the contaminant-resistant packaging.
1 . A conduit for contaminant-resistant packaging, the conduit comprising:
a body having a first end portion and a second end portion, the body defining a lumen, and the second end portion defining an orifice; and
a head integral with the first end portion of the body and radially spanning the lumen, the head defining two or more apertures in fluid communication with the orifice via the lumen, the body and the head each including a skin material and a core material, the skin material having a first oxygen permeability, the core material having a second oxygen permeability less than the first oxygen permeability, and the skin material enveloping the core material.
2 . The conduit of claim 1 , wherein the skin material is in contact with the core material along the head and the body.
3 . The conduit of claim 1 , wherein the lumen defines a center axis, and the center axis of the lumen intersects the skin material and the core material of the head.
4 . The conduit of claim 3 , wherein the head includes a gate location, the two or more apertures are disposed about the gate location, and the center axis of the lumen intersects the gate location of the head.
5 . The conduit of claim 4 , wherein the head is disposed along first end portion of the body with the gate location of the head recessed longitudinally, along the center axis, relative to the first end portion of the body.
6 . The conduit of claim 3 , wherein the body and the head are each symmetric about any plane containing the center axis of the lumen.
7 . The conduit of claim 3 , wherein the center axis of the lumen intersects a center of the orifice defined by the second end portion of the body.
8 . The conduit of claim 3 , wherein the head has a first minimum thickness parallel to the center axis, the body has a second minimum thickness perpendicular to the center axis, and the first minimum thickness of the head is less than the second minimum thickness of the body.
9 . The conduit of claim 1 , wherein the skin material includes a first polymer, and the core material includes a second polymer different from the first polymer.
10 . The conduit of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the first polymer or the second polymer is a thermoplastic material.
11 . The conduit of claim 1 , wherein the second oxygen permeability of the core material is greater than 0 and less than about 1 cc·mm/m 2 ·day·atm at a relative humidity of 20 percent and a temperature of 23° C.
12 . The conduit of claim 11 , wherein the core material is hygroscopic.
13 . The conduit of claim 12 , wherein the core material includes ethylene-vinyl alcohol (EVOH) copolymer, nylon, or a combination thereof.
14 . The conduit of claim 1 , wherein the core material includes an oxygen scavenger.
15 . The conduit of claim 1 , wherein the skin material includes polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene, high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, or a combination thereof.
16 . The conduit of claim 1 , wherein the body includes an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface defines the lumen and is opposite the outer surface, and the inner surface and the outer surface of the body are formed of the skin material.
17 . The conduit of claim 16 , wherein, along the body, the core material circumscribes the skin material of the inner surface of the body and the skin material of the outer surface of the body circumscribes the core material.
18 . A method of fabricating a conduit for contaminant-resistant packaging, the method comprising:
forming cavity;
co-injecting, through a runner, a molten form of each of a skin material and a core material into the cavity;
in the cavity, cooling the skin material and the core material into a part having a head integral with a body, the body defining a lumen and an orifice, the head radially spanning the lumen and defining at least two apertures in fluid communication with the orifice via the lumen, and the skin material enveloping the core material of the part; and
separating the part from the runner along the head of the part.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the lumen of the part defines a center axis extending through a gate location of the head corresponding to a position of co-injection of the molten form of each of the skin material and the core material into the cavity.
20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the runner is a cold runner, and separating the part from the runner along the head of the part includes shearing the part from the cold runner.