Claims for Patent: 9,049,885

Summary for Patent: 9,049,885

Title:	Resealable spout for selectively accessing coconut water within a coconut
Abstract:	A resealable spigot for a coconut that provides easy access by consumers to the sterile coconut water within a coconut includes a valve seat positioned within a coconut aperture and a plunger sleeve positioned within the valve seat. The plunger sleeve has a based positioned membrane that seals the coconut aperture, A plunger-stopper is tethered to the plunger sleeve for shipping and storage and is used by the consumer to pierce the plunger sleeve membrane to gain access to the coconut water. The plunger sleeve is also used to reseal the coconut aperture to preserve any remaining coconut water for future consumption. Further provided is an additional embodiment for a spigot comprising a conduit having a spike-tip on one end and a spout on the other with a through bore therebetween. The coconut having a partially inserted spigot is provided to the consumer whereby the consumer gains access to the sterile coconut water by pushing the partially inserted spigot to its seated position with a grommet provided as an insertion stop for the spigot. An optional air vent is provided to aid in fluid flow from the spigot.
Inventor(s):	dePoo; Paul (Key West, FL)
Assignee:
Application Number:	13/839,516
Patent Claims:	1. A resealable spout for accessing and removing the sterile water within a coconut, comprising: a valve plug having a valve plug bore positioned within a tooled coconut aperture, wherein said valve plug further provides a valve plug collar and spaced apart valve plug flange having an external wall extending therebetween, where said valve plug collar when positioned within the coconut aperture substantially engages the coconut aperture exterior periphery, where said valve plug flange engages the coconut aperture interior periphery thereby preventing lateral movement of said valve seat within said coconut aperture; a plunger sleeve having a plunger sleeve bore with a base positioned membrane forming a hermetic seal within said bore, wherein said plunger sleeve further provides a plunger sleeve collar and spaced apart plunger sleeve flange having an external wall extending therebetween, where said plunger sleeve collar substantially engages the valve plug collar when positioned within said valve plug bore, where said plunger sleeve flange substantially engages the valve plug flange when positioned within said valve plug bore thereby preventing lateral movement of said plunger sleeve within said valve plug bore; and a plunger-stopper that is used to provide access to the coconut water through the plunger sleeve bore and to seal the plunger sleeve bore to preserve any remaining coconut water within said coconut, thereby sealing the coconut aperture to protect the coconut water within said coconut from contamination, wherein said plunger-stopper is tethered to said plunger sleeve during shipping and storage. 2. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the sterile water within a coconut as recited in claim 1, wherein said plunger-stopper has a plunger-stopper lance and plunger-stopper tip that when positioned within said plunger sleeve bore with pressure applied to the plunger-stopper will rupture the plunger sleeve membrane providing access to the coconut water. 3. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the sterile water within a coconut as recited in claim 2, wherein said plunger-stopper has a plunger-stopper collar having similar diameter to said plunger sleeve bore. 4. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the sterile water within a coconut as recited in claim 3, wherein said plunger-stopper when positioned within said plunger sleeve bore reseals the bore preserving any remaining coconut water within said coconut for future use. 5. A resealable spout for accessing and removing the fresh sterile water within an unopened coconut having a layer of coconut meat on the inside surface of the coconut shell, comprising: a grommet member being positioned on the exterior shell of the coconut around a coconut aperture that has been tooled into the coconut shell so as to pass through the coconut shell but that does not extend entirely through the layer of coconut meat inside of the shell, thereby preserving the sterility of the coconut water within the coconut, the grommet member having a valve bore aligned with the coconut aperture, and a collar positioned around the coconut aperture to substantially engage the coconut aperture exterior periphery; the grommet member further including structure that engages with the coconut such that the sterility of the coconut water within the coconut shell is preserved; and a plunger member that is used to provide access to the coconut water through the grommet member bore, said plunger member comprising an elongated shaft portion that is designed to be inserted into and slide within the grommet member valve bore, and, at its distal end, a piercing section configured to pierce through the layer of coconut meat inside of the coconut shell, said shaft portion having a length sufficient to enable the piercing portion to pass completely through the layer of coconut meat, wherein said plunger member is coupled with the coconut and its applied grommet member during shipping and storage, wherein the apertured coconut is sufficiently sealed to protect the coconut water within said coconut from contamination. 6. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the fresh sterile water within an unopened coconut as recited in claim 5, wherein said grommet member has an elongated portion that extends inwardly from said grommet collar, and wherein said structure comprises said elongated portion of the grommet member having a length which terminates very close to the inside surface of the coconut shell and thereby does not substantially intrude into the layer of coconut meat. 7. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the fresh sterile water within an unopened coconut as recited in claim 5, wherein said structure comprises a portion of said plunger member inserted partly but not all the way through the layer of coconut meat inside of the coconut. 8. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the fresh sterile water within an unopened coconut as recited in claim 5, wherein said structure comprises a membrane spanning said grommet member valve bore, said plunger member and said piercing section being positioned and arranged such that said piercing member is extendable to pierce said membrane. 9. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the fresh sterile water within an unopened coconut as recited in claim 6, wherein said grommet member comprises a plurality of separate parts, comprising: a valve plug having a valve plug bore positioned within the tooled coconut aperture, and having a valve plug collar and spaced apart valve plug flange having an external wall extending therebetween; and a plunger sleeve having a plunger sleeve bore that forms said grommet member valve bore, and wherein said plunger sleeve further provides a plunger sleeve collar and spaced apart plunger sleeve flange having an external wall extending therebetween, where said plunger sleeve collar substantially engages the valve plug collar when positioned within said valve plug bore. 10. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the fresh sterile water within an unopened coconut as recited in claim 6, wherein said coupling of the plunger member and the coconut with its applied grommet member comprises said plunger member being tethered to said grommet member. 11. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the fresh sterile water within an unopened coconut as recited in claim 6, wherein said coupling of the plunger member and the coconut with its applied grommet member comprises said plunger member being inserted into said grommet member valve bore. 12. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the fresh sterile water within an unopened coconut as recited in claim 6, wherein said structure comprises a portion of said plunger member inserted partly but not all the way through the layer of coconut meat inside of the coconut. 13. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the fresh sterile water within an unopened coconut as recited in claim 6, wherein said structure comprises a membrane spanning said grommet member valve bore, said plunger member and said piercing section being positioned and arranged such that said piercing member is extendable to pierce said membrane. 14. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the fresh sterile water within an unopened coconut as recited in claim 7, wherein said structure comprises a membrane spanning said grommet member valve bore, said plunger member and said piercing section being positioned and arranged such that said piercing member is extendable to pierce said membrane. 15. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the fresh sterile water within an unopened coconut as recited in claim 7, wherein said grommet member comprises a plurality of separate parts, comprising: a valve plug having a valve plug bore positioned within the tooled coconut aperture, and having a valve plug collar and spaced apart valve plug flange having an external wall extending therebetween; and a plunger sleeve having a plunger sleeve bore that forms said grommet member valve bore, and wherein said plunger sleeve further provides a plunger sleeve collar and spaced apart plunger sleeve flange having an external wall extending therebetween, where said plunger sleeve collar substantially engages the valve plug collar when positioned within said valve plug bore. 16. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the fresh sterile water within an unopened coconut as recited in claim 7, wherein said coupling of the plunger member and the coconut with its applied grommet member comprises said plunger member being tethered to said grommet member. 17. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the fresh sterile water within an unopened coconut as recited in claim 7, wherein said coupling of the plunger member and the coconut with its applied grommet member comprises said plunger member being inserted into said grommet member valve bore. 18. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the fresh sterile water within an unopened coconut as recited in claim 7, wherein said structure comprises a portion of said plunger member inserted partly but not all the way through the layer of coconut meat inside of the coconut. 19. The resealable spout for accessing and removing the fresh sterile water within an unopened coconut as recited in claim 7, wherein said structure comprises a membrane spanning said grommet member valve bore, said plunger member and said piercing section being positioned and arranged such that said piercing member is extendable to pierce said membrane.

Details for Patent 9,049,885

Applicant	Tradename	Biologic Ingredient	Dosage Form	BLA	Approval Date	Patent No.	Expiredate
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.	ZOSTAVAX	zoster vaccine live	For Injection	125123	05/25/2006		2030-06-03