AU6948696A

AU6948696A - A dispenser for sweets

Info

Publication number: AU6948696A
Application number: AU69486/96A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Erik Strid
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-09-06
Filing date: 1996-09-03
Publication date: 1997-03-27
Also published as: PL325283A1; SE9503063D0; EP0957731A1; SE9503063L; CA2230989A1; NO980893L; EE9800058A; NO980893D0; CN1195271A; JPH11513260A; WO1997008977A1; NO303924B1; NZ318100A; BR9610405A; RU2138188C1; IL123380A0; SE507981C2

Description

A DISPENSER FOR SWEETS

Technical Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a dispenser for sweets com- prising a container, which is defined by an outer front wall, two outer side walls and a rear wall, and which, at the top, has an opening for filling sweets which can be covered by a lid and which, at the bottom, presents a part protruding from a front of the container for receiving limited amounts of sweets through a bottom opening in the lower part of the container, a coarse threaded screw being arranged in connection with the opening and having an operating device within reach from the outside, at the front of the container, by means of which the screw is, when necessary, manually rotatable so as to feed out sweets from the container, the screw, in an immovable state, closing said bottom opening.

Prior Art

The drastically increasing sales of pick'n mix in recent years is often taking place by means of particular dispensers from which the customer may manually pick the desired assort¬ ment. An important task for dispensers for sweets is to clearly expose the contents at the same time as they, on one hand, should be able to be filled in an easy and smooth way, and, on the other hand, admit convenient reach to the articles of sweets for the buyer. Therefore, a usually occurring type of dispenser for sweets is made of acrylic plastic which is well transparent. More precisely, the container of the dispenser is composed of plane, mutually parallel side walls between which a trough-shaped bottom part extends which protrudes a bit for¬ wards from the proper container. Therefore, articles of sweets which are filled in the proper container will successively sink down in a limited quantity to the front part of the trough part in which they will be exposed and easy to reach for the buyer. In order not to soil the articles of sweets, the frontal, up¬ wardly opening portion of the trough part can be covered by means of a foldable lid which, together with the covering lid of the filling opening, enclose the articles of sweets. The advantages of such dispensers for sweets are that the contents becomes well visible to the consumer at the same time as the dispensers, thanks to the plane-parallel side walls, may be put up side by side close to each other, e.g. on a shelf or in a stand. This means that many dispensers for sweets may be housed in a held-together arrangement which does not take up an annoy- ingly large space in a shop.

However, a disadvantage of these known dispensers for sweets is that the foldable lid over the protruding trough part does not prevent inappropriate reach to the interior of the container. Thus, in practice, it happens that the lid remains open, dust and other dirt freely falling down in the mass of sweets. It also happens that people taste articles of sweets and put back the same in the container in case the taste does not do. Further, the articles of sweets may be dropped on the floor and then be put back in the dispenser. The possibilities of not only picking out sweets from the dispensers but also putting the soiled sweets as well as other objects back in the same means that the hygiene becomes inferior.

A dispenser is previously known by GB 2 202 211 which theoretically should be able to be used for feeding out arti¬ cles of sweets in portions. Said dispenser includes a supply container having a lower bottom opening in connection to which a coarse threaded screw is arranged which has, at a front of the dispenser, an operating device possible to reach from the outside by means of which the screw is, when necessary, manu¬ ally rotatable so as to feed out articles from the container, the screw, in an immovable state, closing the feeding-out open¬ ing. The feed screw extends from the bottom opening of the proper container together with a surrounding pipe part either horizontally or obliquely downwards to a vertical depth in which a spring-loaded flap is arranged. The spring-load upon this flap is so weak that the flap is held closed only as long as no articles abut against the same. By the fact that the feed screw is placed horizontally or even leaning obliquely down- wards to the feeding-out depth, there is an obvious risk that the storage articles, in particular if the same are small, tend to pass or run out of the screw even after the finished rota¬ tion thereof. This means that the feeding operation is not dis¬ tinct inasmuch that a smaller quantity of articles may uninten- tionally be emptied from the dispenser after that the user has discontinued the rotation of the screw.

Objects and Features of the Invention The present invention aims at removing the above-men¬ tioned disadvantages of previously known dispensers for sweets and at creating an improved dispenser. Thus, a primary object of the invention is to create a dispenser for sweets which ad¬ mits storing and feeding-out of articles of sweets of a highly varied nature, in particular in respect of the dimensions of the individual articles of sweets. In other words, the dis¬ penser should be able to be used for a distinct out-feed of everything from very small articles to very large articles of the pick'n mix nature. Furthermore, the dispenser should - like known dispensers - be of such a shape that they can be put up close to each other without using unnecessary space.

According to the invention, at least the primary object is attained by the features defined in the characterising clause of claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are furthermore defined in the dependent claims .

Further Elucidation of the prior Art

A dispenser is previously known by CH 683145 comprising a container fillable via an upper opening, in the lower part of which container an ou -feeding device is arranged by means of which articles in the container may be fed out one by one on a sliding plane protruding from the container. However, in this case, the out-feeding device consists of a rotatable cylinder which presents, in the envelope surface thereof, a number of elongated slits or grooves and which presents a twist grip at an end protruding from one side wall of the container by means of which twist grip the cylinder may be manually rotated. How¬ ever, this dispenser can not be used for storing and feeding of articles of highly varied dimensions. Neither can several dis- penser units be arranged close to each other in that the twist grip protrudes from one side wall of the container.

A dispenser for sweets is known by AU 598968 the out- feeding device of which consists of a turnably mounted scoop by means of which pick'n mix may be lifted over from an out-feed- ing stacker to a sliding plane. However, this scoop is diffi¬ cult to handle, and the out-feeding opening of the container in connection with the sliding plane being open, meaning that inappropriate throwing-in of e.g. soiled sweets or other ob- jects is possible.

In EP 464005 a dispenser for sweets is known in the form of a funnel applied in the bottom of a storing container in which funnel a shaft is arranged having a number of scoops by means of which sweets may be fed out in portions by turning the shaft. However, in this case the articles of sweets fall verti¬ cally down from the funnel in an uncontrolled way, in addition to which it being difficult to decide the quantity of fed-out sweets in an exact way.

Furthermore, in US 3 387 743 a dispenser is known inten- ded to feed out ice cubes which dispenser includes a relatively short feed screw which, at a rear end, is connected to an electric driving motor and which, at a front end, is associated with a falling shaft directed obliquely downwards from a stor¬ ing container. By the fact that the screw is horizontal, not only ice cubes but also melted ice may pass the screw in an uncontrolled way and fall or drip down in the shaft .

Finally, it should be mentioned that GB 2 218 410 dis¬ closes a dispenser having a horizontal transportation screw arranged in a bottom of a storing container which screw is motor driven at one end thereof and connected to a vertical falling shaft at the opposite end thereof. However, this screw is not able to hinder small articles from uncontrollably fal¬ ling down through the feeding shaft .

Brief Description of the Appended Drawing In the drawing: Fig 1 is a partly transparent perspective view of a dispenser for sweets according to the invention, Fig 2 is an enlarged, vertical section through the dispenser according to fig 1, and

Fig 3 is a detailed cross section in fig 2. Detailed Description of a Preferred Embodiment of the Invention

The dispenser for sweets shown in the drawing comprises a container in its entirety designated 1 which besides a bottom 2 is defined by four walls, viz . a front wall 3, a rear wall 4 and two side walls 5, 5' . All said walls form outer walls and are plane and vertically orientated when the bottom wall 2 is horizontally orientated, the front wall 3 being parallel to the rear wall 4 as the two side walls 5, 5' are mutually parallel. The horizontal front wall 3 transforms at the bottom into a weakly oblique portion 3 ' . The container 1 presents in the top an opening 6 which normally is covered by a lid 7. In accor¬ dance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, said lid 7 includes a locking device 8 by means of which the lid may be locked on the container for the purpose of making inappropriate reach to the interior of the container impossible. In che exam¬ ple, the locking device 8 is arranged in connection with the front of the container, the rear end of the lid 7 being perma¬ nently connected to the rear wall 4 of the container via a butt hinge 9. The locking device 8 may, in the usual way, be opened and locked by means of a key or the like.

There are four bottom-forming inner walls in the inte¬ rior of the container. A first inner wall 10 extends obliquely backwards/downwards from the front wall 3, more precisely from the area of the transformation thereof into the lower oblique portion 3 ' . A second inner wall 11 extends obliquely forwards/ downwards from the inside of the rear wall 4 of the container. In an analogue way, two additional inner walls 12, 12' extend downwards and inwards towards the centre of the container from the inside of the two outer side walls 5, 5' . All inner walls are wedge-shapedly tapering and interconnected via meeting edges. A bottom opening designated 13 is defined between the rear, second inner wall 11 and the lower, free edge of the first inner wall 10. As may be most clearly seen in fig 3, said opening is situated in the rear half of the container, more precisely about in-between the rear wall 4 and an imagined ver¬ tical plane through the centre of the container.

Individual articles of sweets 14 stored in the container are schematically illustrated in the form of balls. However, it should be understood that the individual articles of sweets may be of varying form as well as varying size.

A screw in its entirety designated 15 is arranged in connection with the bottom opening 13. In the shown, preferred embodiment, the screw 15 comprises a central shaft part 16 and, protruding from the envelope surface thereof, a thin-walled thread part or wing 17 the diameter of which is at least twice as large as the diameter of the shaft part 16. In practice, the outer diameter of the thread part 17 should be 150-300, suita- bly 200-250% larger than the diameter of the shaft part. In this way, it is guaranteed that also relatively large articles of sweets may be fed out by means of the screw.

As may be clearly seen in fig 2, the rear or inner end of the shaft part 16 is mounted in a hole in the inner wall 11. The front or outer end of the shaft part is, in a corresponding way, mounted in a hole in the lower, oblique front wall portion 3 ' , a protruding end of the shaf part presenting an operating device 18 in the form of a turning knob. The shaft part or the screw is oblique in relation to the horizontal plane by being mounted substantially perpendicularly relative to the two oblique and mutually parallel walls 3', 11. A chute 19 is arranged under the screw, parallel thereto, the cross-section of which chute is evident from fig 3. More precisely, the chute 19 comprises a plane bottom 20 from which two oblique side flanges 21, 21' emanate which together form a V-shaped configu¬ ration. The bottom 20 of the chute extends from the lower edge of the rear inner wall 11 and transforms at a highest point 22 to a bent portion 23. It should be noted that the transforma¬ tion at the point 22 is situated at a marked distance from the bottom opening 13. The point 22 is also situated at a consider¬ able distance inside the lower edge of the oblique front wall portion 3', and at least at the same level as said edge.

An oblique wall 24 forming a receiver part and which, in the example, serves as a sliding plane for the fed-out articles is arranged under the chute 19. In other words, the fed-out articles of sweets will slide down along the oblique wall 24 so as to be caught in e.g. a bag. However, it is also conceivable to use a trough-shaped part in the form of a horizontal bottom with a protruding border instead of a sliding plane. In the last-mentioned case, the articles of sweets are caught in the trough part so as to be pick up by hand.

The described dispenser operates in the following way. When the container has been filled with articles of sweets via the filling opening 6, the lid 7 is closed and locked, whereby inappropriate reach to the contents via the upper part of the container is made impossible. Furthermore, the contents is pro¬ tected in a safe way against soiling, e.g. as a consequence of dust falling down. As long as the screw 15 is immobile, the bottom opening 13 is reliably closed. This means, on one hand, that the articles of sweets - irrespective of size - are reli¬ ably kept in the interior of the container and, on the other hand, that dirty articles of sweets or other objects may not be malevolently inserted to the interior of the container. Fur- thermore, the screw is placed inside the lower front wall por¬ tion 3' at least at the same level as the edge thereof, in a way making it difficult to reach the screw. Furthermore, the space between the wall portion 3 ' and the detail 23 is narrow and inaccessible. When a consumer has decided to buy sweets from the dis¬ penser, he sets the screw in rotation by turning the conven¬ iently accessible operating device 18. Such a rotation of the screw results in that the threaded part of the screw brings in¬ dividual or smaller quantities of articles of sweets from the mass of sweets which is positioned in the lower part of the container. The articles are then forced to first move upwards along the chute 19 so as to fall down by their own weight when they reach the highest point 22. After having passed the oblique bottom wall portion 23, they finally fall down on the sliding plane 24 and furthermore down in a bag in association with the free end of the sliding plane.

The advantages of the invention are obvious . By the fact that the screw together with the chute are oblique upwards/- outwards from the bottom opening of the container to the high- est point of the chute, it is guaranteed that large as well as small articles of sweets are reliably retained in the dispenser as soon as the user interrupts the rotation, in that each arti¬ cle which after such an interruption is in the vicinity of the highest point of the chute always tend to slide back along the chute in the opposite direction towards the ou -feeding direc¬ tion rather than falling out past the highest point of the chute. Furthermore, the dispenser for sweets is smooth and easy to handle in connection with the desired out-feeding in that the screw may be rotated easily and has the operating device thereof conveniently accessible in association with the front of the container. The location of the operating device in asso¬ ciation with the front of the container also means that the side walls of the container may be kept free from protruding details, involving that several dispensers for sweets may be put up side by side close to each other.

Claims

1. Dispenser for sweets comprising a container (1) , which is defined by an outer front wall (3) , two outer side walls (5, 5') and a rear wall (4) , and which, at the top, has an opening (6) for filling sweets which can be covered by a lid (7) and which, at the bottom, presents a part (24) protruding from a front (3, 3') of the container for receiving limited amounts of sweets through a bottom opening (13) in the lower part of the container, a coarse threaded screw (15) being arranged in con¬ nection with the bottom opening (13) and having an operating device (18) within reach from the outside, at the front of the container, by means of which the screw is, when necessary, manually rotatable so as to feed out sweets (14) from the con- tainer (1) , the screw (15) , in an immovable state, closing said bottom opening, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the bottom opening (13) is situated close to the rear wall (4) of the con¬ tainer, and that the screw extends obliquely outwards/upwards from the opening together with a chute (19) arranged under the screw on which sweets fed-out from the bottom opening is forced to move upwards to a highest point (22) at a distance from the bottom opening before they finally, via a free end of the chute, fall down on the receiver part (24) .

2. Dispenser for sweets according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e ¬ r i z e d in that the bottom opening (13) is defined between four bottom-forming inner walls, viz . two side walls (12, 12') extending obliquely downwards and inwards from the outer side walls (5, 5') towards the centre of the container, one inner front wall (10) extending obliquely backwards/downwards from the outer front wall (3) and an inner rear wall (11) extending from the rear wall (4) obliquely forwards/downwards in relation to which an inner end of the screw (15) is rotatably mounted .

3. Dispenser for sweets according to any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the outer side walls (12, 12') of the container are, in a known way per se, plane and mutually parallel and lack protruding components.

4. Dispenser for sweets according to any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that a locking device (8) co-operates with the covering lid (7) by means of which locking device the lid may be locked on the filling opening (6) of the container with the purpose of making inappropriate reach to the interior of the container via the filling opening impossible.