EP0218619A1

EP0218619A1 - Granule dispensing apparatus, particularly for a tube of homoeopathic drugs, and method for the utilization thereof

Info

Publication number: EP0218619A1
Application number: EP86901908A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jean-Claude Jeandaud
Original assignee: LABORATOIRES DE PHARMACOLOGIE HOMEOPATHIQUE DOLISOS - LABORATOIRE JEAN TETAU
Current assignee: LABORATOIRES DE PHARMACOLOGIE HOMEOPATHIQUE DOLISO
Priority date: 1985-03-22
Filing date: 1986-03-24
Publication date: 1987-04-22
Also published as: FR2579180B1; FR2579180A1; US4848593A; WO1986005465A1

Abstract

Distributeur pour les pilules ou bonbons (4) contenus dans un tube (3) que referme un couvercle (5). Au repos, la cheminée (3) empêche les pilules (4) de tomber hors de la trémie (9). Quand on enfonce le couvercle (5), le bossage (6) ramène vers le centre la cheminée (11). Les pilules (4) y tombent jusqu'à la butée fixe (17). Le retour du couvercle (5) ramène latéralement la cheminée (11) et ses pilules (4), qui tombent sur le fond (7), car la butée (17) est alors à nouveau éclipsée. Application: choix d'un nombre précis de pilules, notamment homéopathiques, délivrées sans risque de contamination par contact avec les doigts.Dispenser for pills or candies (4) contained in a tube (3) which closes with a lid (5). When at rest, the chimney (3) prevents the pills (4) from falling out of the hopper (9). When the cover (5) is pressed, the boss (6) brings the chimney (11) towards the center. The pills (4) fall there until the fixed stop (17). The return of the cover (5) brings back the chimney (11) and its pills (4) laterally, which fall onto the bottom (7), because the stop (17) is then eclipsed again. Application: choice of a precise number of pills, notably homeopathic, delivered without risk of contamination by contact with the fingers.

Description

"PELLET DISPENSING APPARATUS, PARTICULARLY FOR A TUBE OF

HOMEOPATHIC MEDICINES, AND METHOD FOR ITS USE "The present invention relates to a dispensing device intended to equip a tube or a case containing granulated products such as pills, candies or the like. In particular, although not exclusively, it relates to tubes containing medicines, and in particular homeopathic medicines. We know that homeopathic products are mostly in the form of spherical pills called "granules" for a diameter of the order of 4 to 5mm, or "globules" for a diameter of These spherical pills are contained in a cylindrical tube. Each use, the operator opens the tube and must take a precise number of pills. The operation is particularly delicate in the case of homeopathy because the pills not taken must remain in the tube without coming into contact with the user's fingers, which would contaminate them. we see that by tilting the tube, the user drops too many pills, and he puts the excess back into the tube after having contaminated it.

The object of the invention is to avoid these drawbacks by providing a simple and inexpensive device capable of delivering exactly the desired number of pills, granules or globules. It also relates to the process for using this dispenser. A dispenser according to the invention, intended to be housed in the mouth of a tube containing pills or the like substantially spherical, is characterized in that it comprises a fixed rear mouth in front of which a longitudinal tubular chimney movable transversely by compared to a fixed transverse stop which stops the pills falling by gravity in the chimney when this one is in position of alignment with the mouth, then this stop is retracted out of the chimney queand this one is moved transversely, means being finally provided to return the chimney to the lateral rest position out of alignment with the mouth. According to another characteristic of the invention, means are provided inside the cover of the tube, to spread the chimney by transverse movement out of its rest position. According to another characteristic of the invention, the triggering means consist of a substantially conical boss projecting inwardly at the center of the bottom of the cover, while the rear mouth is centered on the geometric axis of the tube, while 'finally in its rest position, the chimney is offset transversely in the tube, its internal space however facing the tip of the conical boss of the cover.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the internal diameter of the chimney is substantially equal to the diameter of the pills to be dispensed, while the length defined between the rear of the chimney and the fixed stop is equal to a multiple of this diameter.

According to another characteristic of the invention, means are provided for adjusting the position of the transverse stop in the longitudinal direction, which makes it possible to choose the number of pills to be poured at one time.

According to another characteristic of the invention, return means constituted by an elastically deformable blade equip the chimney to return it to its rest position when the actuation of the boss of the cover ceases.

The appended drawing, given by way of nonlimiting example, will allow a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention. Figure 1 is an exploded view in longitudinal section showing a dispenser according to the invention located in a pill tube of known type.

Figures 2 and 3 are similar views for successive phases of operation. Figures 4, 5, and 6 are views of drawings

(arrow IV) corresponding respectively to Figures 1, 2 and 3. Figure 7 is a view along arrowVII (Figure 1). Figure 8 illustrates the operation of the ring to adjust the position of the fixed stopper to choose the number of pills to drop. . Figure 9 shows an alternative embodiment for the distributor body.

Figures 10 and 11 are sectional and plan views. Figures 12 to 15 illustrate a variant of the system for adjusting the position of the fixed stop.

Figures 16 to 23 show another variant. The dispenser 1 according to the invention is intended to fit into the mouth 2 of a tube 3 containing for example homeopathic piIules 4. The assembly is closed by the cover 5 of the tube. However, this cover 5 has a substantially conical boss 6 which projects inwards at the center of its bottom 7.

The body 8 of the dispenser 1 defines a rear hopper 9 in which, when it is turned over, the pills 4 contained in the tube come to fall. The body 8 ends towards the front by a cylindrical skirt 10 which, for clarity du deses sin, has been deleted in Figures 1 to 3.

Inside the skirt 10 is a cylindrical longitudinal chimney 11 which is movable transversely under the discharge opening 12 of the hopper 9.

The chimney 11 is preferably cut laterally along a generatrix, to define a longitudinal slot 13 provided with regularly spaced transverse notches 14. The center distance 15 of two consecutive notches 14 is substantially equal to the diameter 16 of the ipilules 4. Similar cutting of the chimney 11. A transverse lug 17 forming an adjustable fixed stop, passes through the slot 13 or one of the notches 14 to exceed the inside the chimney 11 when the latter is in the active position illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5, aligned with the opening 12. The rear of the lug 17 is secured to an outer ring 18 sliding around the skirt 10.

The inside diameter of the chimney 11 is substantially equal, apart from the clearances, to the diameter 16 of the pills 4. An elastic return blade 19 equips the chimney 11 and rests on the inside of the skirt 10 to bring the chimney 11 back to its rest position where it is retracted laterally, its wall then obstructing the section, of the opening 12 (fig. 1 and 4) whose pills 4 can then no longer fall. The operation is as follows: The user holds the tube 3 which contains in bulk of the pills 4. The mouth 2 is equipped with the dispenser 1 that covers the cover 5. The assembly can thus be stored or transported. It will be noted that in this case: - the cover 5 is not fully inserted on the outside of the mouth 2, so that by pushing it in the direction of the arrow VII (Figure 1) it can still be slide on tube 3;

a free interior interval 20 remains between the bottom 7 and the front of the skirt 10.

To collect pills 4, the user begins by orienting the assembly 1, 3, 5 as illustrated in Figures 1 and 4, the cover 5 downwards. your pills 4 then fall into the hopper 9 until they stop against the rear edge of the chimney 11 which obstructs the passage through the opening 12. The chimney 11 indeed occupies its rest position, offset laterally in the tube 3. Then, the user pushes the cover 5 fully onto the tube 3, which has the effect of driving the boss 6 into the front of the chimney 11. The conical shape of the boss 6 functions in the same way as a cam, which returns the chimney 11 substantially on the geometric axis 21, common to the tube 3, to the opening 12, and to the boss 6. The pills 4 then fall into the chimney 11, until contact with the lug stop 17 which stops them since at this position of the chimney 11, it protrudes towards the inside thereof. This transverse movement of the chimney 11 is carried out by compressing the elastic blade 19.

The operator then removes the tube 3 slightly upwards (Figures 3 and 6, arrow 22) relative to the cover 5, which has the effect of: - releasing the boss 6 from the chimney 11 to reconstitute the free space 20;

- Let the chimney 11 move transversely under the action of the blade 19 which returns it elastically to its rest position closing the outlet opening 12; - thus to release, outside of the fixed stop 17, the interior space of the chimney 11 from which the pills 4 which it contains fall into the free space 20 of the cover 5.

The operator then just has to lift the tube 5 and its distributor 1 out of the covers 5, to now have the cover 5 containing the desired number of pills 4. will notice that:

- the pills 4 taken are exactly as desired; - the operation was carried out without ever risking having to contaminate the pills 4 by contact with the fingers;

- the operation is a simple realization, without any risk of false operation.

Of course, the number of pills 4 taken can be adjusted at will. For this, it suffices to choose the position of the fixed stop 17 in the fixed skirt 10. This choice is made by acting on the ring 18 to move the stop 17 in the slot 13 towards one or the other of the notches. transverse 14 where it is immobilized. We see that at the position of the stop 17 shown in Figure 2, two pills 4 will be taken at each operation by the chimney 11. If the fixed stop 17 is placed in the notch 14 immediately below (Figure 8), c is three pills 4 that would be taken each time. With for example four notches 14 (Figure 8), the user can thus choose to take the pills 4 one by one, or two by two, or three by three, or four by four.

In the variant illustrated in FIGS. 9 to 11, the skirt 10 has at its top, a curved recess 23 intended to receive the corresponding end of the elastic blade 19. This blade 19 is made in one piece with the chimney 11, for example plastic. For assembly, it suffices then to engage the chimney 11 in the skirt 10 and to clip the elastic blade 19 slightly by force into the recess 23. We see that in any case the blade 19 has a double function:

- On the one hand it constantly positions the chimney 11 in the axial direction;

- on the other hand, on the other hand, it lets it debate transversely inside the skirt 10 (arrow 24) by exerting an elastic return effect towards the position illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11.

The variant of Figures 12 to 15 relates to another possible embodiment for adjusting the position of the fixed stop 17. In this case, the stop finger 17 is made in one piece with: - A transverse bar 25 capable of fitting into one or the other of the notches 14;

- An external control key 26 with a convex profile, which can be elastically deformed by pressing it (Figure 15, arrow 27) against a longitudinal flat 28 provided on the skirt 10 around the slot and the notches

14.

Once the notch 14 has been chosen corresponding to the desired number of pills 4, the key 26 (Figure 14) is returned to keep the bar 25 and the abutment lug 17 in the desired position.

In the variant illustrated in Figures 16 to 23, the chimney 11, still provided with a longitudinal slot 28. The latter does not this time have any more notches. The elastic blade 19 connects the rear of the chimney 11 to a skirt 29 extending the body 30. However, the skirt 29 here has a regular polygonal shape, for example square. The same goes for the cover 32 which fits on the skirt 29. A mark 31 is provided on the outside of the tube 3, while on the outside of the cover 30, marks 33, 34, 35 are provided. , etc which can be placed one or the other face to the mark 31 by adapting the cover 32 on the skirt 29 (arrow 36, Fig. 21). We can thus choose whether we want to receive one, two, three or four pills for a single depression of the cover 32 on the skirt 29.

As before, the internal face of the bottom 7 of the cover 32 has a boss 38 in relief. However, here the boss 6 has the shape of a half truncated cone, limited laterally by a diametrical plane 37. Furthermore reliefs 39, 40 , etc ... are distributed around the boss 6, one for each (minus one) of the faces of the polygonal cover 32. If it is square as in the drawings, we therefore provide three connections 39, 40, 41, and we leave free the face located opposite the diametrical plane 37. Finally, it will be noted that the reliefs 39 to 41 have heights 42, 43 (Fig. 20) all different from each other, equal to multiples of the diameter 16 of each pill 4.

The operation is as follows:

Suppose that the total height 44 of the chimney 11 is equal to three times the diameter 16 of the pills 4. If the user pushes the cover 32 on the skirt 29 so that the slot 28 is facing the relief 40 having a height 43 equal to the diameter 16 of a pill 4. Under these conditions, when the bottom of the chimney 11 meets the boss 38, the chimney 11 is deflected laterally towards the relief 40 which enters it through the slot 28. Thus, the chimney 11 comes into coincidence with the eccentric outlet opening 44 of the hopper 12 (FIG. 22) and pills 4 fall there until it comes to rest on the top of the relief 40. In this case, only two pills will be received in the chimney 11 (Fig. 22) and then recovered in the cover 32 (Fig. 23), since the height of the third pill was occupied by the relief 40.

We understand that if we had pressed the cover 32 with another mark 33, 34, 35 facing the mark 31, it is a relief 39 or 41 of a different height which would have entered the chimney 11. We would then have received in the cover 32 another number of pills 4, for example one or three.

Of course, if the chimney 11 is facing the diametrical plane 37 of the boss 38 (case of Fig. 19), the depression of the cover 32 does not produce any deviation from the chimney 11. This is the transport position from the case, for which no pill 4 falls into the cover 32.

In practice, the presence of the flat face 37 is important. Indeed, thanks to) it, during all the storage operations, the chimney 11 remains in the rest position (FIG. 19). In other words, the flexible tongue 19 remains in the rest position, without bending stress, during all the long periods of storage. It therefore does not risk acquiring any permanent deformation and can be made of an inexpensive plastic material.

Claims

1 - Distributor intended to be housed in the mouth (2) of a tube (3) containing pills (4) or the like, substantially spherical, characterized in that it comprises a fixed rear hopper (9) in front of the opening (12) of which a longitudinal tubular chimney (11), movable transversely relative to a fixed transverse stop which stops the pills (4) falling by gravity into the chimney (11), when the latter is in alignment position with the opening (12), while this stop is retracted out of the chimney (11) when it is moved transversely, means being finally provided for bringing the chimney (11) back to the lateral rest position out of alignment with the opening (12).

2 - Distributor according to claim 1, characterized in that means are provided inside the cover (5) of the tube (3), to spread the chimney (11) by transverse movement out of its rest position.

3 -Distributor according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the triggering means consist of a boss (6) substantially conical projecting inwardly in the center of the bottom (7) of the cover (5), while the opening (12) of the rear hopper (9) is centered on the geometric axis of the tube (3) while finally, in its rest position, the chimney (11) is offset transversely in the tube (3) , the front of its internal space however facing the tip of the conical boss (6) of the cover (7), while its = rear wall obstructs the section of the opening (12).

4 - Distributor according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the internal diameter of the chimney is substantially equal to the diameter (16) of the pills (4) to be dispensed, while the length defined between the rear of the chimney (11) and the fixed stop is equal to a multiple of this diameter (16).

5 - Distributor according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that means are provided for adjusting in the longitudinal direction the position of the transverse stop, which makes it possible to choose the number of pills (4) to be spilled at one time.

6 - Distributor according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that return means constituted by a blade (19) elastically deformable, equip the chimney (11) to return it to its rest position, when we stop activate it by means of the boss (6) of the cover (7).

7 - Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adjustable fixed stop is constituted by a diametral lug (17) integral with the internal wall of a ring (18) surrounding the skirt (10) of the body ( 8) on which it can turn and slide, the end of this lug (17) passing through: - the skirt (10) which has a longitudinal slot (13) provided with equidistant lateral notches (14); - The wall of the chimney (11), also cut for this purpose.

8 -Distributor according to claim 6, characterized in that the blade (19) is made of plastic in one piece with the chimney (11), to be snapped elastically into the skirt (10) during assembly.

9 - Distributor according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and 8, characterized in that the adjustable fixed stop is constituted by a transverse lug (17) passing through the skirt (10) and the chimney (11) cut for this purpose , the rear of this lug (17) being integral with: - a transverse bar (25), nestable in the selected locking notch (14); - Then an external button (26) with a convex profile which can be elastically deformed by pressing it against the outside of the fixed skirt (10).

10 - A dispenser according to claim 9, characterized in that at the notches (14), the skirt (10) has an outer longitudinal flat (28) against which the key (26) is deformed when pressed. strength.

11 - Distributor according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the skirt (29) has a regular polygonal shape, es which allows to choose the orienta tion of the cover (32) on the skirt (29).

12 - Device according to claim 11, characterized in that the cover (32) and the skirt (29) have a square cross section, so that one can choose if one wants to receive one, two, three or four pills for a single depression of the cover (32) on the skirt (29).

13 - Dispenser according to claim 11, characterized in that the internal face of the bottom ((7) of the cover (32) has in relief a boss (38) having the shape of a half truncated cone, limited laterally by a plane diametral (37), while reliefs (39), (40), (41) are distributed around the boss (6), one for each (minus one) of the faces of the polygonal cover (32), while leaving free the face located opposite the diametrical plane (37), the reliefs (39) (41) having heights (42), (43) (Fig. 20) all different from each other, equal to multiples of the diameter (16) of each pill (4).