US2316516A - Dispensing device - Google Patents

Description

Apnl 1943' A. HAMMERSTEIN' DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Aug. '29, 1940 INVENTOR.

14 TTOR/VL Y Patented Apr. 13, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT oar-10E 2,316,516 DISPENSING DEVICE Arthur Hammerstein, Great Neck, N. Y. Application August 29, 1940, Serial No. 354,660 2 Claims. (Cl. 221-62) The invention relates to dispensing devices and more particularly to devices for dispensing comminuted materials such as sugar, salt, pepper, and the like, from containers, and has for its object to provide a novel device whereby the comminuted contents may be dispensed in an accurately controlled manner and with maximum efiiciency. The invention contemplates the provision of a novel dispensing device which constitutes a closure for the container with which it is combined and whereby the contents of said container normally are hermetically sealed against the effects of atmospheric changes. A further object of the invention is to provide a novel dispensing device which in operation .develops crushing or expelling forces on the comminuted material whereby dispensing of said material is facilitated and clogging of the dispensing opening tending to interfere with and destroy the hermetic sealing action of the device is avoided. Other objects will appear from the description hereinafter and the features of novelty will be pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates examples of the invention without defining its limits, Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the novel dispensing device in operation; Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of a container equipped with the novel dispensing device; Fig. -3 is an enlarged sectional view of the dispensing device on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a similar view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an external elevation of the novel dispensing device; Fig. 6 is a detail view illustrating the dispensing device in operation, and Fig. 7 is a detail view, partly in section, showing another form of the novel dispensing device.

The novel dispensing device, in all of its forms is in the nature of a resilient. hollow .cap generally constructed in a manner to provide the desired resiliency as by being made of an inherently resilient material such as rubber, said cap being arranged for attachment to a suitable container for the comminuted material to be dispensed.

As shown in the drawing, the device comprises a hollow body in having its upper end closed and provided with an annular bevel H and a sloping section 12 extending upwardly and inwardly as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5. The section I2 is provided at an intermediate point with a slit l3 which is normally closed with its opposed surfaces in engagement with each other and in the operation of the device is converted into a discharge opening as will appear more fully hereinafter; in the preferred arrangement the slit it! extends through the section l2 in a direction to locate the opposite surfaces of said slit l3 in bevelled relation to said section l2 and substantially parallel to the major axis of the body ID as shown in Fig. 3. In the illustrated examples the section i2 is formed with a raised annular bead H which surrounds and encloses the slit l3 as illustrated. in Figs. 2,. 6 and 7, and serves to prevent the letter from being torn in the operation of the device; if this protection is not required the bead M may be omitted. At diametrically opposite points the body I0 is provided with fiat pressure surfaces or sections l5 which converge upwardly toward each other as shown in Fig. 4, and are each preferably of upwardly flaring or diverging form as illustrated in Fig. 5. In the preferred construction whenthe device is made of rubber or other resilient material, the body It) is transversely thicker or heavier in registry with the pressure surfaces or sections l5 than it is at points between the same as indicated at a and b in Figs. 4 and 3 respectively. With this arrangement the body Id at the pressure surfaces or sections 15 is of maximum efiiciency in operation as will appear more fully hereinafter, and at points between said surfaces or sections I5 is of relatively greater flexibility.

In practice the novel dispensing device is de- Signed forcombination with a container for the comminuted material, in a hammer to constitute a closure for the open end thereof and preferably so as to be readily removed from said container and replaced thereon at will. Any convenient means may be utilized for combining the device with the the receptacle which itself may be of any conventional type, although in order to secure the most eflicient results it is preferred to construct thec ispensing device and container as shown in Figs. 2 and 7.

In each of the illustrated examples the device is provided with an annular flange l6 located at the open end of the body It! and with a second annular flange ll located on said body Ill in spaced parallel relation to the flange I6 as shown in the drawing; the second flange I1 is preferably curved in cross-section or otherwise shaped in a corresponding way.

In the arrangement of Fig. 2 the dispensing device is combined with a. container l8 which has its lower end closed by means of a removable cap IS in screw-threaded connection with said container [8 as shown. At its upper end the latter is provided with an inwardly directed annular flange To combine the dispensing device with the' end with the thumb empty container IS, the cap I! is removed and the dispensing device'is inserted through the resulting open end and lengthwise of the container i8 and projected through the opening defined by the flange 20 at the opposite end of said container i8. At the point in this operation at which the flange i1 comes into contact with the inside surface of the flange 20, an outward push is exerted on the device sufllcient to force the flange I! out of the container i8 beyond said flange 20. This brings the flange l6 into engagement with the inside surface of the flange 20 andat the same time causes the flange i"! to engage the outside surface of said flange 20 as shown in Fig. 2. Because of the somewhat greater axial width of the flange 20, the portion 0 of the device is axially stretched by the aforesaid operation and is placed under a tension whereby the flanges Hi and I! are flrmly drawn against the opposite surfaces of the flange 20 to fix the dispensing device against relative rotation thereon. As a result of this developed tension in thebody portion 6 the device is securely flxed in place on the container i8, and at the same time the co-operative action of the flanges l6, l1 and 20 provide an absolutely airtight connection between the dispensing device and th container l8. As the slit i3 in its normal closed condition in which its opposed bevelled surfaces are in firm engagement with each other also is air-tight the dispensing end of the container is hermetically sealed when the device is in place on said container i 8. The opposite end of the latter is correspondingly sealed by the cap I 9 when the latter is in its operative position.

In the form shown in Fig. 7 the device is correspondingly combined with an internally threaded sleeve 2| arranged for threaded connection with the externally threaded neck i8 with which the container i8 is provided; in this form the bottom end of the latter may be permanently closed by means of an integral bottom in the conventional manner. The sleeve 2| is provided with an inwardly directed flange 2|] corresponding to the previously described flange 20 and likewise having an axial width somewhat in excess of the normal distance between the flanges i6 and ii of the dis-' pensing device. The latter is combined with the sleeve 2| by forcing the flange l1 through the opening thereof from the inside to bring the flanges i6 and i! into engagement respectively with the inside and outside surfaces of the flange 20 and to place the portion c under axial tension in the same way as set forth hereinbefore to thereby flx the device against relative rotation on said sleeve 2 To combine the dispensing device with the container i8 in the form under discussion, the sleeve 2| is screwed upon the threaded neck I8 to bring the flange into flrm engagement with the end face of said neck H! as illustrated in Fig. 7. When thus combined with the container neck i8 the dispensing device also is securely fixed in place on the container l8 and position shown in Fig. l,

.nately press upon the surfaces at the same time hermetically seals the same as in the form flrst described.

The comminuted material may be introduced into the container l8 by removing the cap i9 and without disturbing the dispensing device, while in the form shown in Fig. 7 it is necessary to remove the dispensing device by unscrewing the sleeve 2| from the neck l8 to enable the comminuted material to be introduced into the container I8 In use the container i8 or i8 is grasped in the hand and tilted downwardly toward its dispensing and foreflnger in engagement withthe opposite pressing surfaces or sections it as shown in Fig. 1. When the container i8 or i8 occupies the inverted angular dispensing the interior normally sloping surface of the sloping section I! occupies a substantially horizontal position and constitutes a collecting surface for the comminuted contents of the container I8 or l8. In other words, in this dispensing position the comminuted material in the container body It and rest upon the interior surface of the normally sloping section l2 in easy accessibility to the slit l3 as will be apparent. when it is desired to expel the comminuted material, pressure is exerted by the thumb and forefinger upon the opposite surfaces or sections l5 to force the same toward each other. This pressing action of the thumb and forefinger of the device spreads the opposite bevelled surfaces of the slit i3 apart and converts said slit i3 into a discharge opening as illustrated in Fig. 6. This permits the comminuted material to escape through the open slit i3 as shown at d in Fig. 1, this dispensing of the comminuted material continuing as long as the pressure of the thumb and forefinger upon the surfaces or sections l5 continues. By manipulating the thumb and forefinger in a manner to alteror sections i5 and to relieve said surfaces from such pressure, the comminuted material within the body III is subjected to an intermittent crushing or expelling force tending to expel said comminuted material outwardlythrough the open slit l3; in this way the amount of comminuted material whichisdispensed may be accurrately controlled as to its amount. When the pressure of the thumb and forefinger upon the surfaces or sections i5 is discontinued, the slit l3 automatically returns to its closed position. Because of the bevelled form of the opposed surfaces of said slit, any grains of comminuted material remaining in the slit i3 at the termination of the dispensing operation will automatically be forced from said slit l3 so that a complete closing of the latter is at all times automatically attained. As a result of this arrangement the container is always hermetically sealed when not in use to thereby protect the comminuted contents against any atmospheric changes which may take place so that said contents are always in condition for easy dispensing. The device is accordingly always of maximum efficiency in the dispensing of comminuted material such as sugar, salt, and the like, regardless of the atmospheric conditions which may exist at the time. The relatively greater thickness of the portion a of the device facilitates the camming action of said device in forcing the comminuted material outwardly through the open slit l3 while the relatively thinner portion b provides an inherent elasticity or resilience in said device which increases its operative efiiciency. The annular bead i4, which may be omitted if not required, serves to prevent the material in the sloping sec- |8 will pass into the interior of the tion l2 from being torn as a result of the forces developed when the normally closed slit- I3 is converted into a discharge opening.

The device is simple in construction and may be readily combined with the container for which it is designed, it being understood that the form shown in Fig. '7 is utilized in the same way as described with respect to the the drawing.

While the device is particularly effective for dispensing sugar, salt, pepper, and the like, it may be used with equal efficiency for dispensing other types of comminuted materials.

As previously stated herein it is preferred to construct the dispensing device of rubber or other inherently resilient material; it is to be understood however that this is not to be construed as precluding the use of other materials in its construction in combination with means for providing the desired resiliency.

Various changes in the specific forms shown and described may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a dispenser for comminuted materials, the combination of a rigid container having an open end and adapted to contain a supply of the comminutedmaterial to be dispensed therefrom, a dispensing device connected with said container and projecting beyond the open end of said container to normally constitute a seal and closure for the open end thereof, said dispensing device other form shown in comprising a hollow resilient body in unobstructed interior communication with said container and freely accessible for compression beyond the open end thereof and having an interior flattened end surface, and a normally sloping section constituting part of said dispensing device and comprising an interior sloping surface leading to said flattened end surface and an approximately parallel outer sloping surface, said sloping section having a normally closed slit extending transversely therethrough from said outer sloping surface to said interior sloping surface in substantial parallelism with the major axis of said dispensing device, said interior sloping surface being substantially horizo'ntal in an inverted angular dispensing position of said container to provide a collecting surface for the comminuted contents thereof, and said slit being convertible into a substantially vertical discharge opening in said angular dispensing position of said container, by inward compression of said resilient body to force the comminuted I material against said interior flattened end surface and outward through said discharge open- 2. In a dispenser for comminuted materials, the combination of a rigid container having an open end and adapted to contain a supply of the comminuted material to be dispensed therefrom, a dispensing device connected with said container and projecting beyond the open end of said container to normally constitute a seal and closure for the open end thereof, said dispensing device comprising a hollow resilient body in unobstructed interior communication with said container and freely accessible for compression beyond the open end thereof and having an interior flattened end surface, a normally sloping section constituting part of said dispensing device and comprising an interior sloping surface leading to said flattened end surface and an approximately parallel outer sloping surface, said sloping section having a normally closed slitextending transversely therethrough from said outer sloping surface to said interior sloping surface in substantial parallelism with the major axis of said dispensing device, said interior sloping surface being substantially horizontalgin an inverted angular dispensing position of said container to provide a collecting surface for the comminuted contents thereof, and said slit being convertible into a substantially vertical discharge opening in said angular dispensing position of said container, by inward compression of said resilient body to force the comminuted material against said interior flattened end surface and outward through said discharge opening, and an annular raised bead on the outer sloping surface of the sloping section enclosing said slit to prevent lengthwise tearing thereof as said body is compressed inwardly.

ARTHUR HAMMEESTEIN.

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