Separation and/or closure wall for a container and methods for assembling containers using such a wall

Abstract

A separation and/or closure wall designed in the first place, to cover the opening of at least a container to retain a substance contained therein for conservation before use, and subsequently to be torn to reveal said opening and release the substance outside said container for use. The separation and/or closure wall has a deformable membrane arranged on the periphery of the opening of the container to cover the same, with a tension which enables its being burst under the effect of a perforation and/or tear, to be retracted over the periphery and completely reveal said opening. The invention also concerns methods for assembling two containers each containing a substance portioned with respect to the other with such a separation and/or closure wall. The invention is applicable to food, pharmaceutical, and dietetic products.

1 - 18  (cancelled)  
     
     
         19 . A separation wall for a packaging having at least two compartments, intended, firstly, to cover the opening of at least one said compartment to hold a substance introduced therein for the purpose of conservation before utilization, and, secondly, to be torn to uncover the said opening and to release the substance from said compartment into the second compartment for the purposes of utilization, 
 wherein said separation wall consists of a deformable membrane, arranged under tension on the periphery of the opening of said compartment to cover the latter, which permits it to be burst under the effect of perforation or tearing, to be retracted onto the periphery of the said opening and to uncover said opening entirely, as the membrane of a balloon, which, when it is blown up with a gaseous fluid, increases in volume and accepts flexing when it is compressed with a hand or blunt object, while it bursts when it encounters the thorn of a rosebush or other piercing or cutting object.    
     
     
         20 . The separation wall according to  claim 19 , wherein said deformable membrane of the separation wall is arranged tightly on the periphery of the opening of the said compartments.  
     
     
         21 . The separation wall according to  claim 19 , wherein said deformable membrane of the separation wall is made of a pliable material.  
     
     
         22 . The separation wall according to  claim 19 , wherein said deformable membrane of the separation wall is made of an elastic and/or plastic material.  
     
     
         23 . The separation wall according to  claim 19 , wherein said deformable membrane of the separation wall is made of a single material.  
     
     
         24 . The separation wall according to  claim 19 , wherein said deformable membrane of the separation wall is made of a composite material.  
     
     
         25 . The separation wall according to  claim 19 , wherein said deformable membrane of the separation wall is made of a monolamellar or multilamellar material.  
     
     
         26 . The separation wall according to  claim 19 , wherein said deformable membrane of the separation wall is made of a material containing an insulating substance.  
     
     
         27 . The separation wall according to  claim 19 , wherein said deformable membrane of the separation wall is made of a material which has a selectivity to gases.  
     
     
         28 . The separation wall according to  claim 19 , wherein said deformable membrane of the separation wall is tensioned directly on the periphery of the opening of the compartments.  
     
     
         29 . The separation wall according to  claim 19 , wherein said deformable membrane of the separation wall is tensioned on a support mounted on the periphery of the opening of the compartments.  
     
     
         30 . The separation wall according to  claim 19 , wherein said deformable membrane of the separation wall is arranged under tension between at least two volumes of substances, in order to form, firstly, a physical barrier between the volumes of the said two volumes of substances delimited by the said membrane in at least one compartment for the purpose of isolated storage of the substances, and, secondly, by tearing and bursting of the tensioned membrane with a perforating and/or cutting object or by pinching under the effect of torsion of the latter, a means of placing in communication the said volumes to assure the mixing of the said two substances.  
     
     
         31 . A method of assembling at least two compartments, each containing a substance, wherein said substances are partitioned from one another by a separation wall according to  claim 30 , said method comprising: 
 tensioning said deformable membrane of the separation wall on the periphery of the opening of a first compartment,    filling the first compartment with a first substance and closing the first compartment,    filling a second compartment with a second substance via a filling opening, and    assembling the two compartments by sealing, clipping or screwing of the first compartment onto the second compartment by bonding the peripheries of the openings of the two compartments, so that the two compartments are separated with their openings facing one another via the closure wall formed by the aforesaid separation membrane.    
     
     
         32 . A method of assembling at least two compartments, each containing a substance partitioned from one another by a separation wall according to  claim 30 , said method comprising: 
 filling a first compartment with a first substance via a filling opening,    closing the filling opening of the first compartment by tensioning the deformable membrane of the separation wall on the periphery of the filling opening,    filling a second compartment with a second substance via a filling opening, and    and assembling the two compartments by sealing, clipping or screwing of the first compartment onto the second compartment by bonding together the peripheries of the two filling openings of the two compartments in such a way that the two compartments are separated with their openings facing one another, via the separation wall formed by the aforesaid closure membrane.    
     
     
         33 . A method of assembling at least two compartments, each containing a substance partitioned from one another by a separation wall according to  claim 30 , said method comprising: 
 tensioning the aforesaid deformable membrane of the separation wall on the periphery of the opening of a first compartment,    filling a second compartment with a second substance via a filling opening,    assembling the two compartments by hermetic engagement of the first compartment in the inlet opening of the second compartment by prearranging the membrane in the inside of the second compartment so that the two compartments are only separated by the aforesaid closure membrane,    filling the first compartment with a first substance, and    closing the two compartments.    
     
     
         34 . A method of assembling at least two compartments, each containing a substance, partitioned from one another by a separation wall according to  claim 30 , said method comprising: 
 filling a first compartment with a first substance via a filling opening,    closing the filling opening of the first compartment by tensioning the deformable membrane of the separation wall on the periphery of the opening,    filling a second compartment with a second substance via a filling opening, and    assembling the two compartments by hermetic engagement of the first compartment in the filling opening of the second compartment by prearranging the membrane inside of the second compartment in such a way that the two compartments are separated only by the aforesaid closure membrane.    
     
     
         35 . A method of assembling a compartment having a single filling opening with at least two substances partitioned from one another by a separation wall according to  claim 30 , said method comprising: 
 tensioning the deformable membrane of the separation wall on a support,    filling a first compartment of the compartment with a first substance via the filling opening,    positioning the support with the membrane tensioned on the contours of an internal shoulder of the compartment, via the aforesaid filling opening,    filling a second compartment located on the other side of the membrane of the compartment, with a second substance via the filling opening, and    closing the filling opening of the compartment.    
     
     
         36 . A method of assembling a compartment having two opposite filling openings with at least two substances partitioned from one another by a separation wall according to  claim 30 , said method comprising: 
 tensioning the deformable membrane of the separation wall on a support,    positioning the support with the tensioned membrane on the contours of an internal shoulder of the compartment,    filling a first compartment of the compartment with a first substance via a first filling opening,    filling a second compartment located on the other side of the membrane of the compartment with a second substance via a second filling opening, and    closing the two filling openings of the first and second compartments of the aforesaid compartment.