EP0165276B1 - Doser dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

PCT No. PCT/EP84/00377 Sec. 371 Date Aug. 1, 1985 Sec. 102(e) Date Aug. 1, 1985 PCT Filed Nov. 30, 1984 PCT Pub. No. WO85/02598 PCT Pub. Date Jun. 20, 1985.With a metering dispenser (1) for compactates with a compactate store (3) and a metering disk (4) arranged pivotably around an axis (A) with respect to the store, containing several chambers (27) for accommodating individual compactates, in order to perform dispensing with sufficient reliability in the quantitative dispensing of the individual components in the household sector, given an essentially cylindrical design as well as relative rotatability of the store (3) and the metering disk (4) around the cylinder axis (A) the combination is provided with a metering cup (2) for liquid or free-flowing product. The metering dispenser (1) can be formed as a closure for a storage container accommodating one of the components, so that a multi-component package is present.

Description

The invention is directed to a dosing dispenser for compactates, such as tablets, pills, capsules and granules, for placing on conventional storage containers such as bottles, tubes or the like, with a closable storage space, with compactate dispensing device and a coupling attachment.

Such a dispenser is known from FR-A-1 423 404. However, this metering dispenser has the disadvantage that it does not store compactates in an orderly manner and must be fed individually to the compactate dispensing device. When the known device is moved, the compactates contained therein are moved indiscriminately against one another and it is not ensured that only the desired number of compactate pieces leaves the dispensing opening in the dispensing position.

Furthermore, from DE-A-2 052 051 the principle of a metering dispenser consisting of two parts which can be moved relative to one another is known, product receiving compartments being formed in one part and the other part having an ejection chute. However, since the dosing dispenser according to DE-A-2 052 051 is designed for free-flowing, powdery to granular solids, this also has the disadvantage that it is not possible to store stacked compacts in it.

Finally, DE-A-3 143 953 describes a dosing dispenser for tablet-shaped products. This has a storage container serving as a refill unit or storage and a locking adapter assigned to the storage container as well as a slide bearing comprising a component with a moveable metering slide. The device accordingly consists of a tablet storage container in different cross-sectional shapes, a so-called metering slide and a base element integrated with it, with slide rail and locking adapter. Although the known device is universal and can also be used in the household sector, special precautions for a proportionally proportioned multicomponent metering are not provided.

There are multi-component products, some of whose components are incompatible with one another or lose their effectiveness if they are stored together. Furthermore, certain active ingredients of such multicomponent products can be produced and stored more economically and more effectively in tablet, pill or capsule form, while other product components are cheaper and in free-flowing or liquid form.

The invention has for its object to provide a metering dispenser for two or more components of a multi-component product to be stored separately from one another and having different spatial shapes and / or physical states, which has sufficient security when metering the individual components, an orderly supply of in the metering dispenser stacked compact and easy to use, especially in the household.

The object is achieved according to the invention in the case of a metering dispenser of the type mentioned at the outset in that the essentially cylindrical storage space encompassed by a cylinder wall is closed on the coupling shoulder side by a molded-on wall which has compact receiving compartments, and in the storage space there is a cylindrical wall on the inside of the storage space wall as well as a compact storage device that can be rotated relative to the storage space and has an integrally formed head plate, the head plate sufficiently having at least one compact storage chute and an ejection shaft provided with an opening in the head plate, the wall end faces of the compact storage and ejection chutes being delimited just above those by annular webs Compact receiving compartments end in such a way that with a corresponding rotational position there is a continuous connection between the chute and a compact receiving compartment and / or between at least a storage chute and a compact storage compartment.

Due to the design according to the invention, it is possible to use the metering dispenser as a replacement for conventional tube or bottle closures. In addition, in the metering dispenser according to the invention, compacted items are to be stored in a stacked position, this stacked sheet being retained until the desired compactate (s) is ejected.

In an embodiment, the invention further provides that the at least one storage shaft is tubular with an inner diameter that is slightly larger than the outer diameter, the ejection shaft is tubular with an inner diameter that is significantly larger than the outer diameter, and the compact receiving compartments are flat cylinders with an outer diameter compactates to be picked up slightly larger inside diameter and a compactate to be picked up compared to the thickness, in particular one compactate each, slightly larger height.

These design features ensure a trouble-free ejection of the desired compactate quantity, the supply of the respectively desired compactate quantity to the ejection chute and the preservation or maintenance of the stack position in the storage chutes.

Further configurations and advantages result from the further subclaims.

The dosing dispenser according to the invention can be placed as a separate dosing device or as a dosing attachment instead of the usual closure on the storage container containing one of the components to be dosed. The connection can, for example, by a screw thread, a snap lock or the like, in common cher way are formed. A dosing cup is expediently provided for dosing the substance contained in the storage container. This can be molded onto the dispenser so that it enters the opening when it is placed on the storage container. Alternatively, however, it is also favorable to design a dosing cup as a slip lid, in particular a screw cap, of the dosing dispenser or its storage. In the latter case, the metering disc and the memory of the metering dispenser should be a - for. B. coaxial to the cylinder axis - through opening as an outlet channel for the component contained in the reservoir. Through this channel, the product to be dosed can be filled from the storage container into the dosing cup.

Dosing dispensers or dosing attachments according to the invention can be produced with relatively little effort because they consist of only two to three individual parts which are put together after filling with the respective product and - possibly inseparably - remain connected to one another. If the dosing dispenser is designed as a closure of a storage container containing the component, a multi-component packaging is created after the coupling of the closure and storage container.

In contrast to the metering dispenser according to DE-A-3 143 953, the axis of rotation of the metering disk according to the invention coincides with the cylinder axis of the associated compact storage device. The compacting compartments of the metering disc should therefore be distributed on a circular path with the cylinder axis as the center. For dosing, the storage device has a compact ejection opening which is assigned to a swivel position of the dosing disk and is open towards the corresponding compact compartment, in particular as an ejection chute. So if a compact comes to the bottom of the discharge opening by turning the metering disc further, the product can be fed to the intended place of use by tilting or at the head of the metering dispenser. It is noteworthy that touching the dosed object by hand is not necessary.

The externally essentially cylindrical storage space can contain, in addition to the ejection chute or the like, one or more supply chutes for receiving compactates, such that the bottom of the respective supply chute is covered with at least one swiveled position of the metering disc with one of its compactate receiving compartments. For example, the ejection chute and three supply chutes can be distributed at 90 ° to one another on a circular path that overlaps the circular path of the compact compartments. In addition to the cylindrical structure and the relative rotatability of the accumulator and the metering disc about the cylinder axis, the subject of the invention is preferably characterized by the combination with a metering cup for liquid or free-flowing product.

The memory is expediently designed in accordance with the shape of the compactates to be metered. For example, cylindrical compactates can be better fed to the associated compactate receiving compartments of the metering disc if these tablets are already supplied in an orderly manner in compactate shafts.

The discharge chute should have at least such a cross-section that the respective compact can easily fall out, even when it is tilted. The respective compact compartment in the metering disc should have approximately the same cross-section as the ejection opening or ejection chute.

For the handling of the metering dispenser, it is also advantageous if the memory has on its upper edge facing away from the metering disk an edge that extends over the adjacent upper edge of a cylinder molded onto the metering disk, in particular with a snap-in coupling. In this way, a closed container for the compactates in the storage is created, which can be tilted into the overhead position and back for dosing.

The rotation of the metering disc required for the introduction of compactates into the ejection opening of the storage device is simplified if the relative positions of the metering disk and the storage device, in which a compact receiving compartment is aligned with an ejection opening, are identified by noticeable and / or audible engagement when rotating relative. To achieve this, transverse grooves and steps can be provided on the adjacent edges of the accumulator and metering disc at the corresponding angular intervals.

• Fig. 1 einen Längsschnitt, teilweise in der Ansicht, eines Dosierspenders;
• Fig. 2 einen Schnitt längs der Linie 11-11 von Fig. 1;
• Fig. 3 einen vergrössert gezeichneten Schnitt durch den oberen Rand eines Dosierspenders;
• Fig. 4 eine vergrössert gezeichnete Seitenansicht von Fig. 3, teilweise geschnitten;
• Fig. 5 einen Längsschnitt, teilweise in der Ansicht, eines weiteren Ausführungsbeispiels eines Dosierspenders;

Details of the invention are explained on the basis of the schematic representation of exemplary embodiments. Show it:

• 1 shows a longitudinal section, partly in view, of a metering dispenser.
• Fig. 2 is a section along the line 11-11 of Fig. 1;
• 3 shows an enlarged section through the upper edge of a dosing dispenser;
• FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view of FIG. 3, partly in section;
• 5 shows a longitudinal section, partly in view, of a further exemplary embodiment of a metering dispenser;

1 to 4 consist of a lower part 2 containing a dosing cup and an upper part 3 designed as a compact storage device. The longitudinal or cylinder axes A of lower part 2 and compact storage device 3 are identical.

The lower part 2 is divided by a wall 4 designed as a metering disc for compactates into two cylindrical chambers which are open towards the opposite ends, namely into a lower chamber 5 forming the metering cup and into an upper chamber forming a storage space 6. The cylinder wall 7 of the storage space 6 extends circumferentially beyond the wall 4 at a distance around the cylinder wall of the subchamber 5 through a cylindrical extension 8 with an internal thread 9, which is used to fasten the dispenser 1 on the neck or other opening of a storage container, not shown. Any other type of coupling between metering dispenser 1 and storage container can also be provided.

When the metering dispenser 1 is screwed onto a storage container as provided in the exemplary embodiment, the cylindrical lower chamber 5, which is open at the bottom, is immersed in the container opening. The container is sealed by the peripheral end face 10 in the throat between the cylindrical extension 8 and the cylinder wall of the lower chamber 5. The dispenser 1 detached from the container according to FIG. 1 is turned upside down when used as a metering vessel of the substance contained in the product container compared to the depicted illustration, so that the sub-chamber 5 directly forms the metering cup. It is therefore expedient to provide the lower chamber 5, in particular the inner wall thereof, with a metering mark 11.

At the bottom of the cylindrical storage space 6 of the lower part 2, i.e. on the wall 4, four ring-shaped webs 12 offset by 90 ° are formed. The inside diameter of the webs 12 should be slightly larger than the outside diameter of the compact to be introduced; the height of the webs 12 should slightly exceed the thickness of the compact.

The compact storage (upper part 3) of the metering dispenser 1 has a cylindrical wall 13 with a top plate 14 and a circumferential edge 15 which extends over the cylinder wall 7 of the bottom part 2. Three cylindrical compact storage chutes 16 for receiving tablets are attached to the top plate 14 and the cylinder wall 13 or the like and an ejection chute 17 are formed.

The inside diameter of the tubular storage shafts 16 is specified to be slightly larger than the outside diameter of the tablets. The inside diameter of the ejection chute 17 is made so large that even a tilted tablet can pass through the tubular chute 17 in the overhead position without jamming. An opening 18 corresponding to the inside diameter of the discharge shaft 17 is assigned to the discharge shaft 17 in the top plate 14. The lower wall end faces 19 of the shafts 16 and 17 end when the lower part 2 and upper part 3 are joined together just above the annular webs 12 of the lower part 2, while the cylinder wall 13 overlaps the annular webs 12.

Details of the functioning of the device described are explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. After the storage shafts 16 have been filled, the lower part 2 is placed over the compact storage 3 or inserted into the area between the cylindrical wall 13 and the peripheral edge 15. For example, a ring snaps: bulges 20 on the outside of the cylinder wall 7 into an annular groove 21 on the inside of the rim 15. On the circumferential end face or upper edge 22 of the cylinder wall 7 of the lower part 2, advantageously offset at 90 °, the number of shafts 16 and 17 is provided with four roof-shaped cams 23, while in the upper edge 24 or the circumferential throat or end face of the upper part 3 between the cylinder wall 13 and edge strips 15, four roof-shaped grooves 25 corresponding to the cams 23 are arranged in the plane spanned by the cylinder axis and the respective shaft axis and offset by 90 ° with respect to one another. If more or fewer than four shafts 16 and 17 are provided, the angle by which the cams or grooves 23 and 25 are to be offset against one another on the cylinder circumference of course changes.

When the lower part 2 and the compact storage device 3 rotate relative to the cylinder or longitudinal axis A, the cams and grooves 23, 25 engage noticeably or audibly. The required relative shift in the direction of the cylinder axis A of the compact storage 3 and the lower part 2 is made possible by a matched clearance 26 between the annular bead 20 and the annular groove 21. At the positions at which the upper part 3 and the lower part 2 engage relative to each other in the cams and grooves 23, 25, the center lines of the shafts 16 and 17 of the compact storage are exactly above the centers of the compact receiving compartments or formed by the annular webs 12. Wells 27 (see FIG. 1).

After screwing the dosing dispenser 1 onto a container, a tablet falls out of each tablet shaft 16 into the compact compartment 27 underneath due to its own weight. In the exemplary embodiment, by rotating the compact storage 3 relative to the lower part 2 by 90 °, a tablet is swiveled under the ejection shaft 17 and can be turned upside down of the dispenser 1 are dumped.

An alternative embodiment of the metering dispenser 1 according to FIG. 1 is shown schematically in FIG. 5. The version of the function unchanged with regard to tablet receiving and dispensing has, instead of the sub-chamber 5, a measuring cup closure 28 to be placed on top, which is screwed onto a channel 29 designed as a centrally arranged pouring tube. In the exemplary embodiment, the channel 29 protrudes through the intermediate wall 4 of the lower part 2 and through the entire upper part or the compact storage 3 up to the area above the supply and ejection chutes 16 and 17.

The embodiment of the metering dispenser 1 according to FIG. 5, after unscrewing the measuring cup closure 28 serving as the metering cap, can possibly even simultaneously meter both liquid components and tablet components or the like into the metering cap without having to unscrew the metering dispenser.

Claims (8)

1. Metering dispenser (1) for compacted articles, such as tablets, pills, capsules and granulates, for placing onto usual stock containers, such as bottles, tubes or the like, with a closable storage space (6), with compacted article delivery equipment (17, 27) and a coupling attachment (8, 9), characterised thereby, that the storage space (6) is constructed to be substantially cylindrical, encompassed by a cylindrical wall (7) and closed at the coupling attachment end by a shaped-on wall (4) displaying compacted article receiving compartments (27) and a compacted article store (3), which rests by its cylindrical wall (13) against the inward side of the storage space wall (7) as well as is rotatable relative to the storage space (6), with shaped-on head plate (14) is arranged in the storage space (6), wherein the head plate (14) reaching into the storage space (6) displays at least one compacted article stock shaft (16) and an ejector shaft (17) provided with a passage (18) in the head plate (14), wherein the wall end faces (19) of the compacted article stock shaft (16) and the ejector shaft (17) end shortly above the compacted article receiving compartments (27), which are bounded by annular webs (12), in such a manner that for a corresponding rotary setting, a continuous connection exists between the ejector shaft (17) and one compacted article receiving compartment (27) and/or between at least one stock shaft (16) and one compacted article receiving compartment (27).

2. Metering dispenser according to claim 1, characterised thereby, that the at least one stock shaft (16) is tubularly constructed with an internal diameter slightly greater than the external diameter of compacted articles kept in stock therein, the ejecter shaft (17) is tubularly constructed with an internal diameter clearly greater than the external diameter of compacted articles to be ejected and the compacted article receiving compartments (27) are constructed as flat cylinders with an internal diameter slightly greater than the external diameter of compacted articles to be received as well as with a height slightly greater than the thickness of compacted articles to be received, in particular a respective one compacted article.

3. Metering dispenser according to claim 1 or 2, characterised thereby, that the compacted article receiving compartments (27) of the wall (4) are arranged distributed over a circular path with the cylinder axis (A) as centre and the ejector shaft (17) and the at least one stock shaft (16) of the head plate (14) are arranged on a corresponding circular path.

4. Metering dispenser according to claim 3, characterised thereby, that the ejector shaft (17) and three stock shafts (16) are distributed, one displaced through 90° relative to the other, around the cylinder axis (A) over a circular path defined by the compacted article receiving compartments (27).

5. Metering dispenser according to one of the preceding claims, characterised thereby, that the compacted article store (3) at its upper edge (24) remote from the wall (4) displays a rim (15), in particular with detent coupling (20, 21), engaging over the adjoining upper edge (22) of the cylinder wall (7) shaped onto the wall (4).

6. Metering dispenser according to one of the preceding claims, characterised thereby, that roof-shaped dogs (23) in correspondence with the number of the shafts (16, 17) are arranged at the encircling upper edge (22) of the cylindrical wall (7) and - in correspondence therewith - converse roof-shaped grooves (25) are arranged in the encircling upper edge (24) of the head plate (14), which on relative rotation indicate the reaching of relative settings of wall (4) and store (3), in which a compacted article receiving compartment (27) is in alignment with an ejector shaft (17) or in a given case with a stock shaft (16).

7. Metering dispenser according to one of the preceding claims, characterised thereby, that wall (4) and store (3) possess a channel (29) passing through co-axially with the cylinder axis (A) as pouring tube for liquid or pourable product from the stock container.

8. Metering dispenser according to one of the preceding claims, characterised thereby, that shaped onto or mountable at the wall (4) or the channel (29), there is a metering beaker (5, 28), which in case of arrangement at the wall (4) reaches into the opening of the stock container closed by the metering dispenser (1) and which in case of mounting at the channel (29) is constructed as turned-over lid (28) closing this channel (29) and in a given case encompassing the storage space (6).

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