United States Patent 5,752,363: Scope, Claims, and US Patent Landscape for Ultrasonically Welded Unfoamed-Laminate Porous Covers on Breakable Glass Ampules

United States Patent 5,752,363 claims methods and apparatus for manufacturing a liquid dispenser that combines a breakable glass ampule, a body pocket, and a porous element that includes an unfoamed laminate. Core process steps center on placing ampules, covering pockets with porous material, securing via ultrasonic welding of the unfoamed laminate to the body, and singulating porous elements using heated wires (cross-cuts) in production.

This patent’s enforceable scope is concentrated in two technical pillars: 1) Material/process: “unfoamed laminate” porous element and ultrasonically welding it to the body while preserving ampule integrity.
2) Manufacturing architecture: strip/web handling, strip securing to rows, and heated-wire cutting to form individual porous elements.

What is claimed in US 5,752,363 (claim-by-claim scope)?

Claim 1: Base method using ultrasonic welding of an unfoamed laminate

Claim 1 defines a manufacturing method for a dispenser with:

A body having a pocket
A glass ampule received in the pocket and containing liquid
A porous element covering the pocket
The porous element has an “unfoamed laminate”
The ampule is breakable to release liquid through the porous element

Method steps (essential):

Place a glass ampule in the pocket.
Place the porous element over the pocket enclosing the ampule.
Secure the porous element over the pocket by ultrasonically welding the unfoamed laminate of the porous element to the body.

Enforceability center: the securing step must be ultrasonic welding and must weld the unfoamed laminate portion to the body. The claim is method-limited, tied to the manufacturing sequence.

Claim 2: Row/strip manufacture with ultrasonic welding then singulation

Claim 2 depends on claim 1 and adds batch processing:

Arrange plurality of bodies on a tray in a row with pockets facing upward
Place an ampule in each pocket
Align a strip of porous material over the pockets (strip transverse to row length)
Secure the strip to bodies by ultrasonically welding the unfoamed laminate to the bodies
Thereafter cut the strip into individual porous elements

Enforceability center: the “strip” format plus the “thereafter cutting” step. Cutting occurs after ultrasonic securing.

Claim 3: Production line timing by intermittently advancing trays

Claim 3 depends on claim 2:

Securing and cutting steps occur on separate longitudinally spaced trays
Use intermittent advancement after completion so operations proceed sequentially across trays.

Enforceability center: line choreography that enables securing and cutting at separated stations.

Claim 4: Ultrasonic welding with pressing horn/contact

Claim 4 depends on claim 1:

The securing step includes pressing an ultrasonic welding head against the porous element and the body during welding.

Enforceability center: defines the ultrasonic welding implementation as a pressing contact process (horn to porous element/body).

Claim 5: Heated wire cutting through strip at intermediate positions

Claim 5 depends on claim 2:

Cutting includes pressing a laterally extending heated wire through the strip at a position intermediate each pair of adjacent bodies to obtain cross-cut through the strip.

Enforceability center: the cutting mechanism is a heated wire pressed laterally through the porous strip, with cross cuts between adjacent bodies.

Claim 6: Alternative manufacturing flow using heated wire and webs

Claim 6 is a separate independent method (not a direct continuation from claim 1 but contains parallel technical structure) for manufacturing a dispenser with:

body pocket, breakable glass ampule, porous element with unfoamed laminate
The method includes: 1) Arrange plural bodies in a row on a tray (pockets up) 2) Place ampule in each pocket 3) Place a strip of porous material over pockets to enclose ampules 4) Secure strip to bodies 5) Cut strip into individual porous elements by pressing a heated wire through the strip at intermediate positions

Notable difference vs claim 2: claim 6’s sequence is framed as “secure” and “cut” without explicitly restating ultrasonic welding to the body in the method portion shown, though the overall patent context and the later dependent claims and apparatus language indicate ultrasonic securing is the intended securing method. The enforceable reading of claim 6 still requires the dispenser outcome and porous-unfoamed-laminate feature, but the snippet provided does not explicitly state “ultrasonically welding” in claim 6’s method steps as written by the user.

Enforceability center: combines strip covering with heated-wire singulation; ultrasonic welding may be implied by the patent’s technology focus, but claim scope depends on the exact statutory text.

Claim 7: Same line timing concept applied to claim 6

Claim 7 depends on claim 6:

Securing and cutting on separate longitudinally spaced trays
Intermittently advance trays.

Claim 8: Conveyor/web feeding, split webs, longitudinal strips

Claim 8 is another independent method emphasizing higher-throughput handling:

Arrange bodies in rows on a conveyor/tray arrangement (implied)
Place glass ampules in pockets
Feed a web of porous material past a heated wire extending through the web that splits the web into side-by-side longitudinal strips
Align strips over pockets with strips parallel to length of conveyor
Secure strips over pockets
Cut strips secured to bodies into individual porous elements

Enforceability center: prior segmentation at the web stage using a heated wire, then alignment, securing, and final cutting into individual porous elements. This claim expands scope beyond cross-cutting a strip after placement.

Claim 9: Web made of open-celled foam

Claim 9 depends on claim 8:

Web feeding includes using web of open-celled foam material.

Enforceability center: constrains web composition/type.

What is the apparatus claim scope (claims 10–13)?

Claim 10: Apparatus for manufacturing with ultrasonic welder and cross-cutter

Claim 10 is an apparatus claim for manufacturing the liquid dispenser with unfoamed laminate porous element and breakable glass ampules, comprising:

Tray for supporting multiple bodies in a row, pockets facing upward
Means for placing ampule in each pocket
Means for positioning a strip porous material over pockets in the row
Ultrasonic welder for welding unfoamed laminate of porous strip to bodies
Cross-cutting means for cutting welded strips into individual porous elements

Enforceability center: physical elements in a system. The ultrasonic welder and cross-cutting means are required.

Claim 11: Horn-based ultrasonic welding with ultrasound transmitting means

Claim 11 depends on claim 10:

Ultrasonic welder includes:
- a horn
- means for moving horn in and out of pressing contact
- ultrasound generating means transmitting ultrasound through horn to secure strips to bodies without breaking glass ampoules

Enforceability center: horn pressing and anti-ampoule-break concept is tied to operation but still functions as a claim-limiting description of the welding method.

Claim 12: Heated-wire cross-cutting using multiple longitudinally spaced wires

Claim 12 depends on claim 10:

Cross-cutting means includes:
- plurality of longitudinally spaced, laterally extending heated wires
- means for pressing wires through strip at positions intermediate adjacent bodies

Enforceability center: multiple heated wires in spaced arrangement that press laterally through porous strip to form intermediate cross cuts.

Claim 13: Indexing advancing tray between operations

Claim 13 depends on claim 10:

Includes indexing means advancing tray after each operation of securing and cross-cutting so the strip is secured and then cross-cut into individual porous elements.

Enforceability center: machine indexing sequence.

What is the functional “core” the claims protect?

Across the set, the protection coheres around this manufacturing system:

1) Dispenser architecture (product form tied to method)

Body pocket holds a glass ampule
Porous element covers pocket and includes an unfoamed laminate
Ampule is breakable to release liquid through the porous element

This product architecture narrows the universe of “porous covered ampule dispensers” to those with an unfoamed laminate porous element and breakable ampule release through it.

2) Securing porous element using ultrasonic welding to the body

The securing step’s defining limitation is ultrasonically welding the unfoamed laminate to the body (explicit in claim 1 and claim 2 via “unfoamed laminate” wording).

The claims capture the manufacturing choice: ultrasonic attachment rather than adhesives, heat seals, or mechanical crimping, at least for the unfoamed laminate to the body.

3) Singulation via heated wire cross-cutting

Claims 5, 6, and 8 use a heated wire pressed through porous material:
- claim 5: laterally extending heated wire pressed through strip at positions between adjacent bodies
- claim 8: heated wire splits a web into longitudinal strips before alignment, then further cutting

4) Production line handling: tray rows, indexing, intermittent advancement, and multi-station sequencing

Claims 3 and 7 specify separate longitudinally spaced trays and intermittent advancement
Claims 13 supports sequencing by indexing means

This yields a narrow but practical claim strategy: protect both process steps and the machinery enabling them.

Where does the claim scope likely be weakest (design-around pressure points)?

Design-around opportunities follow directly from claim limiting words:

A) Remove “unfoamed laminate”

If porous elements use a foamed laminate, a non-laminated porous sheet, a different layer structure, or a porous composite that is not an “unfoamed laminate,” then claims keyed to that specific material feature weaken. Claim 1 and claim 2 explicitly require “unfoamed laminate.”

B) Avoid ultrasonic welding of the porous laminate to the body

Claims are explicit that the securing is by ultrasonic welding (claims 1 and 2). Substituting:

adhesive lamination,
thermal sealing that does not use ultrasonic welding,
mechanical retention, could fall outside the literal step requirement (depending on whether any independent claim not explicitly stating ultrasonic securing truly omits it, as noted for claim 6 based on the user-provided text).

C) Replace heated-wire cutting

Claims 5 and 6 and claim 8 depend on heated wire pressing. Using laser cutting, water-jet cutting, mechanical punching, or cold-knife cutting might avoid those limitations.

D) Replace the specific segmentation geometry

The claims specify positions “intermediate each pair of adjacent bodies” and web splitting into longitudinal strips with a heated wire. Cutting at different relative locations or segmenting by other methods may avoid literal alignment.

US patent landscape (what this patent most likely overlaps and how to map it for FTO/investment decisions)

The dataset provided includes only the claims of US 5,752,363. A full landscape normally requires pulling:

the patent’s cited references,
later citing patents,
related family members,
continuation/improvement patents. No such bibliographic/citation data is present here, so only landscape mapping tied to claim structure can be stated without fabricating documents.

1) Likely infringement adjacency: porous-covered ampule dispensers

US 5,752,363 sits at the intersection of:

breakable ampule liquid dispensers,
porous distribution elements over ampules,
manufacturing assembly methods for those devices.

Any competitor making a dispenser with:

pocketed body,
breakable glass ampule,
porous cover,
porous built from an unfoamed laminate, and
porous secured ultrasonically to the body, would be the highest-risk adjacency.

2) Manufacturing-process adjacency: ultrasonic welding of porous laminates

Even if product form differs, the strongest overlap in the landscape typically comes from suppliers using ultrasonic welding for polymeric laminates to housings. Your risk rises when:

the welded interface is porous laminate (not just polymer film),
the porous laminate is unfoamed,
glass ampules are present and protected during welding.

3) Production engineering adjacency: web/strip handling and heated-wire singulation

The claims also map to industrial packaging-like converting lines:

web-fed material splitting,
alignment onto pockets,
heated-wire cutting and cross-cuts,
indexing/intermittent station sequencing.

Companies with converting platforms that produce “strip-covered pocket units” are likely to be cross-licensing or to carry competing IP. This patent’s specificity is on the combination of heated-wire cutting and ultrasonic securement plus unfoamed laminate.

4) Portfolio behavior expectations for this domain

Patents in this area often come in clustered families covering:

dispenser structure (body pocket, breakable ampule, porous elements),
manufacturing methods (welding, sealing, cutting),
equipment (horn welder, indexing fixtures, heated wire cutters).

US 5,752,363 already claims both methods and apparatus, which often means successors focus on:

different porous materials (composition, foaming, laminate structure),
alternative securing methods (thermal or adhesive),
different cutting technologies (laser, mechanical),
different packaging throughput mechanisms (continuous motion rather than intermittent trays).

What is the practical claim coverage for a manufacturing plant?

Coverage map: method steps to line station hardware

The patent can be translated into an assembly-line checklist:

Process function	Claim anchor(s)	Typical equipment implication
Load glass ampules into body pockets	Claim 1, 2, 8, 10	Ampule placement station with pick-and-place or manual feed
Cover pockets with porous unfoamed laminate	Claim 1, 2, 10	Porous element/strip positioning mechanism
Ultrasonically weld unfoamed laminate to body	Claim 1, 2, 4, 10–11	Ultrasonic welder with horn pressed to porous and body
Cross-cut/singulate porous elements	Claim 5, 6, 8, 12	Heated wire press through strip/web at intermediate positions
Line sequencing/indexing	Claim 3, 7, 13	Intermittent advancement and indexing conveyors/trays

If a line uses the same feature set, risk concentrates on:

ultrasonic welding of the porous interface,
heated-wire cutting geometry,
unfoamed laminate material definition.

Key Takeaways

US 5,752,363 protects a manufacturing system for a liquid dispenser with breakable glass ampules, body pockets, and a porous element with an unfoamed laminate.
The primary limiting step is securing the porous element by ultrasonic welding (explicit in claims 1 and 2) while preserving ampule integrity.
The manufacturing throughput concept includes strip/web handling, heated-wire cutting, and indexing/intermittent station sequencing (claims 3, 5, 8, 13).
Design-arounds most directly target: (i) porous material not meeting “unfoamed laminate,” (ii) replacing ultrasonic welding with another securing method, and (iii) replacing heated-wire cutting and/or the claimed cut geometry.

FAQs

1) Does US 5,752,363 claim the dispenser product itself or only manufacturing?

The provided claims are method and apparatus claims focused on manufacturing and equipment for assembling a dispenser with the specified pocket, breakable glass ampule, and porous unfoamed-laminate element.

2) What single limitation most strongly differentiates claim 1 from generic assembly methods?

The requirement that the porous element includes an unfoamed laminate and that the porous element is secured by ultrasonically welding the unfoamed laminate of the porous element to the body.

3) Can a process that uses ultrasonic welding but different cutting technology avoid claim 5?

Claim 5 specifically recites a laterally extending heated wire pressed through the strip for cross cuts. Cutting that does not use that heated-wire mechanism would not meet that limitation.

4) Is there protection for production-line sequencing across multiple stations?

Yes. Claims 3 and 7 cover separate longitudinally spaced trays and intermittently advancing trays. Claim 13 covers indexing means advancing the tray between securing and cross-cutting.

5) Which claims broaden scope by moving from strip-based handling to web-based segmentation?

Claims 8 and 9 broaden the manufacturing concept by using a web and a heated wire to split the web into longitudinal strips, then aligning and securing those strips before final cutting.

References

[1] United States Patent 5,752,363, “Method and apparatus for manufacturing liquid dispensers.” Claims 1–13 (as provided in user prompt).

Summary for Patent: 5,752,363