GB2108086A

GB2108086A - Tablet dispenser

Info

Publication number: GB2108086A
Application number: GB08230854A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Willy Lorscheidt; Jurgen Kloebbe
Original assignee: Wischerath And Co KG Jose GmbH; Josef Wischerath GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Wischerath And Co KG Jose GmbH; Josef Wischerath GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 1981-10-30
Filing date: 1982-10-28
Publication date: 1983-05-11
Also published as: NL8204020A; LU84442A1; IT1193102B; BE894827A; FR2515617A1; IT8285628A0; DE3143197A1

Abstract

A tablet dispenser comprises at the lower end of its storage container a positioning passage (5), of which the outlet opening can be closed by means of a slider (3). The positioning passage (5) is so dimensioned that there is only sufficient space for tablets to lie upright on their peripheral edge, being only slightly wider than one tablet. A pocket (4) open towards the passage (5) is formed in the lower end of the slider (5). A tablet located in the pocket 4 is dispensed from the tablet dispenser when the slider (3) is moved from its closed position. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Tablet dispenser The containers in which tablets, particularly sweetening tablets, are initially packaged, are frequently not suitable for enabling the contained tablets to be removed one after the other without effort. Thus, it is frequently the case that the quantity of tablets provided in the original packaging container is far too large in order for example to be carried in a small handbag. In addition, it is frequently found to be unpleasant to have to repeatedly lift the lid of the original packaging container, and to have to touch not only one tablet but a plurality of tablets with the fingers.

A further drawback of the conventional original packaging container for tablets is that a frequently opened lid tends to become unintentionally loosened from the tablet container, so that the container tablets can spill out.

The object of the invention is thus to provide a tablet dispenser which can be used either as the original packaging container, or as a small container to be filled from the original packaging container, and which enables tablets to be repeatedly removed in a simple, reliable and hygenically trouble-free manner.This object is attained according to the invention by a tablet storage container comprising a positioning shaft which is so dimensioned that tablets can be contained therein only by lying upright on their peripheral edge, and by a hand-operable slider which closes an outlet opening in the positioning shaft and is slidable in the region of the outlet opening, and which at that end associated with the delivery shaft comprises a pocket facing the interior of the positioning shaft in order to remove a tablet from the positioning shaft, and which is mobile from its closed position into a delivery position which releases the removed tablet from the pocket.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the pocket is bounded by an upper edge and a lower edge, the lower edge projecting beyond the front edge in the direction of the positioning shaft, and being associated with the lower end of the positioning shaft when the slider is in its closed position, this lower end, when measured perpendicular to the direction of movement of the slider, being offset relative to the upper edge of the pocket by a distance, this distance being so chosen that the tablet which next enters the pocket is held back by the tablet which is present in the pocket and projects beyond the upper edge in the direction of the positioning shaft, until the slider portion extending above the upper edge comes into tangential contact with the next tablet when the slider is moved in the direction of its delivery position.

In order to enable the number of delivered tablets to be controlled and to ensure that the tablets are delivered into the required position, for example into a cup, the tablet removed from the positioning shaft can be received into a delivery channel which penetrates the outer wall of the container in the region of its lower end portion.

In order to prevent any danger to children from the tablets contained in the tablet dispenser, according to a preferred embodiment, a child protection device is provided in the form of a locking device fixed to the slider.

Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in patent claims 5 to 12.

The technical progress attainable with the aid of the invention is primarily represented by the fact that the tablets present in the tablet dispenser can be dispensed into the free surroundings one after the other with the aid of the pocket formed in the slider, with the positioning shaft taking care of the need for the tablets to reach the pocket in a suitable position.

Any unintentional emptying of the tablet storage is practically impossible, as is any damage to the tablets during the dispensing operation.

Some embodiments of the invention are described in detail hereinafter with reference to the drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a vertical section through the tablet dispenser, Figure 2 is a horizontal section through the tablet dispenser on the line A-B of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a vertical section through the tablet dispenser on the line C-D of Figure 1, Figure 4 is a horizontal section through the tablet dispenser on the line E-F of Figure 3, Figure 5 is a detail of Figure 1 to an enlarged scale, Figure 6 is a second embodiment of the tablet dispenser, and Figure 7 is a diagrammatic illustration of the operation of the child protection device.

As can be best seen from Figures 1 and 3, the first embodiment of the tablet dispenser consists of a cylindrical or square-shaped container 1, a lid 2 which closes the upper end of the container, and a slider 3 mobile to-and-fro along the centre line of the container in the illustrated example, and comprising a slider pocket 4 at its lower end.

In the lower part of the container 1 in the region of the slider pocket, there is provided a positioning shaft 5 in the form of a depression in the floor of the container, and as shown in Figure 2 having a width which is only slightly greater than the thickness of one tablet. A plurality of tablets can be contained in the positioning shaft 5 by lying upright on their peripheral edges, as illustrated in Figure 1 by three tablets 6. It is obvious that provided the tablet supply in the container 1 is sufficient, then a plurality of further tablets can rest on the three shown in Figure 1, in an analogous orientation.

The width of the positioning shaft 5 is in all cases determined such that there is not sufficient space to enable two tablets to lie abreast of each other. When in its closed position, the slider 3 closes the outlet opening of the positioning shaft.

As shown in Figures 1 and 5, the slider pocket 4 formed in the lower end of the slider 3 opens in the direction of the positioning shaft 5.

Consequently, the tablet arrives in the pocket by rolling down on the inclined floor 5' of the positioning shaft, as shown in Figures 1 and 5. If the slider 3 is moved downwards out of its closed position shown in Figures 1 and 5 by being pressed on its upper end 14, then the tablet 6A which is contained in the slider pocket 4 (Figure 5) is dispensed downwards out of the lower end of the positioning shaft 5. When the slider 3 returns to its initial position, the next tablet 6B (Figure 5) arrives in the slider pocket 4, which is associated with the interior of the positioning shaft 5.

As can be best seen from Figure 2, the lower portion of the slider 3 which comprises the pocket 4 is guided on three sides in an end portion of the wall 5B which forms the positioning shaft 5. As shown in Figure 2, the end portion of the positioning shaft wall 5B which serves as the guide for the pocket 4 is wider than the wall portion forming the positioning shaft 5 for containing the tablets 6. That side of the lower portion of the slider 3 which comprises the pocket 4 forms a mobile wall located on a narrow side of the positioning shaft 5.

A spring device 7 can be provided for the automatic return of the slider 3 into its rest position, and in the embodiment shown in Figures 3 and 4 consists of two resilient strips, the inner ends of which are fixed to the slider 3 or its pocket portion 4, and the outer ends of which rest against the interior of the container 1. As shown in Figure 3, the outer ends of the resilient strips 7 rest against stiffening struts 1 5 provided in the interior of the container.

As shown in detail in Figure 5, the pocket 4 of the slider 3 is bounded by an upper edge K and a lower edge L. The lower edge L projects beyond the front edge K in the direction of the positioning shaft 5. The lower edge L cooperates with a lower end portion 5A of the positioning shaft 5, with the lower end of the wall portion 5A and the lower ends of the walls 5B defining the delivery opening of the tablet dispenser.Seen in the direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the slider, the lower end 5A' of the positioning shaft is offset to the lower edge K of the pocket 4 by a distance A, this distance A being so determined that the next tablet 6B entering the pocket 4 is held back by the table 6A already present in the pocket and projecting beyond the upper edge K in the direction of the positioning shaft 5, until the slider portion extending above the upper slider K comes into tangential contact with the next tablet 6B when the slider 3 is moved downwards from a delivery position shown in Figures 1 and 5. The movement of the tablets 6A and 6B when the slider 3 is moved downwards is showed by dashed lines in Figure 5.

The aforesaid dimensioning of the slider pocket 4 together with its cooperation with the lower wall portion 5A of the positioning shaft 5 ensures that the next tablet 6B does not become damaged by the upper pocket edge K during the downward movement of the slide. The fact that the pocket 4 has the hook shape shown on the drawing ensures that the tablet 6A contained in the pocket is unable to escape sideways out of the pocket during the downward movement of the slider.

In the aforesaid first embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 5, the dispensed tablet 6 emerges in the region of the centre line of the container 1. In the second embodiment shown in Figure 6, additionally to the first embodiment there is provided a lower container end portion 12 in the form of an extension to the container 1. This additional container portion 12 contains an inclined delivery channel 13, of which the upper end is connected to the outlet end of the positioning shaft 5, and the lower end passes through the outer wall of the end portion 12 in the region of its lower end.

In this second embodiment of the invention, the dispensed tablet emerges from the side wall of the container in the region of the container lower end, i.e. in the region of the lower edge of the container. This allows exact control of the number of tablets delivered, and allows the tablets to be delivered into the required position, for example into a water tumbler or coffee cup. The delivery channel 1 3 is so dimensioned that the tablets provided by the slider and lying upright on their peripheral edge are able to roll down on the lower wall of the channel, which forms an inclined surface 13'.The arrangement is such that when the slider 3 is in its lower end position (delivery position), it lies so that the tablets 6A which are to be dispensed, and which rest on an inclined surface of the delivery pocket 4 (see Figures 1 and 5), travel from this inclined surface of the pocket on to the inclined surface 13' of the delivery channel 13 without hindrance.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a child protection device 8 is provided, comprising a locking device which locks the slider 3 in its rest position. As shown in Figure 2, one embodiment of the child protection device 8 comprises two unlocking buttons 9, 9' held opposite each other in the wall of the container 1. Between these unlocking buttons there extend resilient linkages which are in the form of locking element supports 10, 10', each comprising a locking element 11, 1 1', which when in the locking position shown in Figure 2 engage in the slider 3, so that this latter is unable to move into its delivery position, as can also be seen in Figure 3.

The operation of the child protection device 8 is shown diagrammatically in Figure 7. If a force is exerted on the two unlocking buttons 9, 9' in the direction of the illustrated arrow, the resilient locking element supports 10, 10' move from their locking position shown by full lines in Figure 7, into their unlocking position shown by dashed lines in Figure 7. As shown in Figure 7 by the points B and B', the resilient locking element supports 10, 10' move outwards in the direction of the arrow when the unlocking buttons 9, 9' are subjected to force, so that the locking elements 11, 11' formed in the locking element supports are moved out of engagement with the slider 3.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the slider 3 moves between the two locking element supports 10, 10', which lie in a common plane, and the locking elements 11, 11' are formed on those sides of the locking element supports which face the slider 3.

In order to operate the tablet dispenser which comprises a child protection device 8, it is necessary to use three fingers simultaneously, two fingers being necessary in order to push the unlocking buttons 9, 9', and a third finger being required to press the upper end 14 of the slider 3 downwards. Such a coordinated use of three fingers cannot usually be expected in the case of children, so that it is impossible for children to use the tablet dispenser.

Claims

1. A tablet dispenser, characterised by a tablet storage container (1) comprising a positioning shaft (5) which is so dimensioned that tablets (6) can be contained therein only by lying upright on their peripheral edge, and by a hand-operable slider (3) which closes an outlet opening in the positioning shaft and is slidable in the region of the outlet opening, and which at that end associated with the delivery shaft comprises a pocket (4) facing the interior of the positioning shaft in order to remove a tablet (6A) from the positioning shaft, and which is mobile from its closed position into a delivery position which releases the removed tablet from the pocket.

2. A tablet dispenser as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the pocket (4) is bounded by an upper edge (K) and a lower edge (L), the lower edge projecting beyond the front edge in the direction of the positioning shaft (5), and being associated with the lower end (5A') of the positioning shaft when the slider (3) is in its closed position, this lower end, when measured perpendicular to the direction of movement of the slider, being offset relative to the upper edge (K) of the pocket (4) by a distance (A), this distance (A) being so chosen that the tablet (6B) which next enters the pocket is held back by the tablet (6A) which is present in the pocket and projects beyond the upper edge (K) in the direction of the positioning shaft, until the slider portion (3A) extending above the upper edge (K) comes into tangential contact with the next tablet (6B) when the slider is moved in the direction of its delivery position.

3. A tablet dispenser as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the tablet (6A) removed from the positioning shaft (5) can be received into a delivery channel (13) which penetrates the outer wall of the container (1) in the region of its lower end portion (12).

4. A tablet dispenser as claimed in one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that a child protection device (8) is provided in the form of a locking device (9, 9'; 10, 10'; 11, 1 fixed to the slider (3).

5. A tablet dispenser as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that the child protection device (8) comprises two unlocking buttons (9, 9') provided in opposite sides of the container (1).

6. A tablet dispenser as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that the unlocking buttons (9, 9') are accommodated in the wall of the container (1) and are connected together by means of at least one resilient locking element support (10, 10') which comprises on that side thereof facing the slider (3) a locking element (11, 11') which cooperates with the slider.

7. A tablet dispenser as claimed in claim 6, characterised in that the locking element (11, 11') is in the form of a pin which engages in the slider (3).

8. A tablet dispenser as claimed in at least one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that a spring device (7) is provided which returns the slider (3) from its delivery position to its rest position.

9. A tablet dispenser as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that the spring device (7) is in the form of appendices on the slider (3) which rest against the interior of the container (1).

1 0. A tablet dispenser as claimed in at least one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the slider (3) is disposed on the centre line of the container (1), and together with its end which faces the pocket (4) forms a mobile wall of the positioning chamber (5).

11. A tablet dispenser as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that the delivery channel (13) comprises an inclined surface (13') on which the tablets (6) are able to roll downwards.

12. A tablet dispenser as claimed in one of claims 1 to 1 characterised in that the pocket (4) of the slider (3) is of hook shape.

1 3. A tablet dispenser comprising a container for tablets, a delivery portion of the container being dimensioned to receive tablets in one orientation, a reciprocal slide defining therein a single-tablet-receiving recess which is movable between said delivery portion and the exterior of the container on operation of the slide.

14. A tablet dispenser substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 and 7 or Figure 6.