GB2122171A

GB2122171A - Dispensing closure for tablet container

Info

Publication number: GB2122171A
Application number: GB08213321A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alfred Halliday
Original assignee: Manuplastics Ltd
Current assignee: Manuplastics Ltd
Priority date: 1982-05-07
Filing date: 1982-05-07
Publication date: 1984-01-11

Abstract

A dispensing container for tablets comprises a container body and a dispensing closure, the closure comprising a chamber (9) for receiving a supply of tablets from the container body through at least one passageway, and slidable means (2) for dispensing a predetermined number of tablets at each operation thereof. Tablets entering the chamber (9) are guided by surfaces of a fixed top portion (3) of a closure body (4) to enter a groove in the dispensing means (2) in a retracted position, whereupon the means (2) may be pushed against resilient bias to project the tablet (5) through an aperture in the closure for discharge. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Dispensing closure for tablet container The present invention relates to a dispensing closure for a container for tablets and to containers inciuding such a dispensing closure.

Dispensers are known which provide a means of dispensing one, or a small predetermined number, of tablets from a supply in the container automatically when the mechanism of the dispenser is actuated.

Many tablets are however supplied in containers which are not specially designed but are for instance simply tubes having either a removable cap or a cap which can be opened partially to enable tablets to be removed. For instance sweetening tablets are frequently supplied in small plastics tubes having a snap-on cap which comprises two members, one of which is rotatable relative to the other and which members have each a small aperture. The apertures can be aligned by rotation of the rotatable part of the cap so that tablets can be shaken from the container.

It would be desirable to be able to fit to a container body of ordinary design a cap or closure providing the automatic dispensing function which has previously been embodied in specially designed containers.

One of the problems in doing this is that it is desirable that the dispensing apparatus operate with the container body the right way up so that the dispensing cap is at the top of the container.

Dispensing mechanisms generally rely on a gravity feed of tablets to a dispensing location and this will not generally be possible if the dispenser is at the top of the container.

In one aspect therefore, the present invention now provides a dispensing container for tablets comprising a container body and a dispensing closure, the closure comprising a chamber for receiving a supply of tablets from the container body and at least one passageway for tablets connecting the chamber and the interior of the container body, and manually operable means for dispensing a predetermined number of tablets from the said supply at each operation thereof.

The invention naturally includes the dispensing closure of the kind described above for use in combination with a container body.

The present applicants have however also provided an efficacious mechanism for dispensing tablets either one at a time or in a small predetermined number at a time from a supply and the present invention therefore also provides a dispensing container for tablets comprising a container body and a dispensing closure, the closure comprising a housing having a first and second aperture therein, means in the housing defining a channel for receiving a row of tablets, a member moveable between loading and dispensing positions and having a first portion which extends through the first aperture and is manually engageable for movement thereof, and having a second portion which in the loading position defines part of the channel and in the dispensing position is protruded through the second aperture to dispense any tablet located therein.

The invention includes a dispensing closure of this kind for use with a container body.

The dispensing closure utilised in the first recited aspect of the invention may advantageously be of the kind just described. In respect of the first aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the means for dispensing tablets lie intermediate the container body and the chamber.

The chamber preferably has a base which is inclined relative to a plane containing the container top. When the container is set upright, tablets will tend to slide down this inclined base of the chamber to the dispensing mechanism which is intermediate the chamber and the container body.

In the preferred dispensing mechanism of the invention, it is advantageous that the moveable member be biased towards the loading position.

By this means, the moveable member will normally rest in the loading position. When displaced from the loading position to the dispensing position, e.g. by finger pressure, it will return to the loading position when released.

The moveable member preferably extends transversely across the housing, e.g. if the housing is of circular cross-section for fitting a tubular container, the moveable member may extend along a diameter of the housing.

Preferably, the housing comprises a top and a skirt wall depending from the top having a pair of diametrically opposed apertures in its lower region constituting the first and second apertures mentioned above.

The housing may then contain a plug member occupying the lower portion thereof leaving a chamber in the upper portion thereof, the plug having cut-away portions and thereby cooperating with the housing wall to form a passageway from the chamber to the open end of the housing and to form the channel for a row of tablets, which channel slopes downwardly in the housing from the chamber to the second portion of the moveable member.

The invention will be illustrated by the following description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a dispensing container according to the invention along the line AB of figure 3 and showing the moveable member of the dispensing closure in both loading and dispensing positions (dispensing on the left).

Fig. 2 is a section through the same dispensing container as is shown in figure 1 but on the line CD of figure 3, Fig. 3 is a top view of the dispensing closure sectioned in figures 1 and 2, Figures 4A, B and C are side, front and top views of the housing of the closure shown in figure 1, Figures 5A, B and C are front, side and top views of the moveable member of the closure of figure 7.

Figures 6A, B, C and D are cross-sectional side, side, top and bottom views of the top portion of the body or plug member of the closure shown in figure 1, and Figures 7A, B, C and D are cross-sectional side, front, top and bottom views respectively of the bottom portion of the body or plug member of the closure shown in figure 1.

Figures 1, 2 and 3 show views of a closure member according to the invention applied to a tubular tablet container 5. The dispenser closure comprises a housing or cover member 1, a discharge button 2 constituting the moveable member required, and a body top and a body bottom portion 3 and 4 respectively which together constitute the plug member described previously.

Body bottom portion 4 comprises a short tubular portion 10 which is a snap fit in the upper part of the tubular member 5. Tubular portion 10 has an annular recess 11 which cooperates with an annular bead 12 on the body portion 5 to produce the snap fit. Body bottom 4 further comprises an annular flange 13 which locates upon the upper rim of the tubular body portion of the container 5. Body bottom portion 4 further comprises a top plate 14 which is pierced by two apertures. Aperture 15 adjacent an edge of the top plate 14 is a small square aperture for receiving tongue 11 5 of the moveable member. A wall 16 is provided depending from the front edge of aperture 1 5 in plate 14. A pair of opposed side walls 17, 1 8 are provided each adjacent wall 1 6.

Walls 1 6, 17, 18 and the adjacent portion of the tubular skirt 10 form an enclosed square section tube of narrowing cross-section into which the tongue 1 15 is received.

The second aperture in top plate 1 4 is aperture 1 9 which is located adjacent one edge of the top plate and is of a generally elliptical shape. Via this aperture 19, the contents of the container body may pass up into the dispensing cap.

On the opposite side of the top plate 14 from aperture 19 is an upstanding wall 20 which is curved to act as a continuation of the adjacent part of the tubular skirt 10. Wall 20 is higher at that end adjacent aperture 1 5 than at its opposite end so that the top of the wall forms a smoothly descending ramp leading from the back to the front of the dispensing closure.

Upper body top portion 3 comprises a pair of upstanding walls 31 and 32 extending generally parallel to one another and linked across their top portions by a bridge 33. Wall 32 lies adjacent and conforms to the inner surface of wall 20.

Wall 31 is arranged as a continuation of wall 20. Wall 31 is arranged as a continuation of the inner boundary of aperture 1 9 and extends higher than wall 32. Bridge portion 33 extends between the two walls 32 and 33 to define with these walls and with the top plate 14 a tunnel extending diametrically through the plug portion over the aperture 1 5. The tunnel accommodates the moveable member 2 and has a small frontal opening and a larder rear opening. By virtue of the wall 31 extending higher than the wall 32, the top surface of the bridge 33 forms an inclined plane sloping down towards the upstanding wall 20.

Housing or cover 1 is fitted over the plug member (comprised of body top and body bottom portions 3 and 4). A space between the top 14 of the housing and the top surface of the bridge 33 provides a chamber constituting a reservoir for tablets 9. The outer surface of wall 31 together with the adjacent part of the depending wall 41 of the housing forms a passageway through which tablets may pass from aperture 1 9 up into chamber 9 when the container is inverted. The exterior of wall 32 in cooperation with the adjacent part of the wall of the housing forms a slot through which tablets may fall from the inclined plane of bridge 33 onto the ramp provided by the upstanding wall 20.At the front of the container, the bridge 33 is shaped at its front edge to touch and conform with the wall of the housing 41 so that there is formed between the top of wall 20, the wall of the housing, wall 31 and the bridge 33 a rectangular cross-section channel extending into the tunnel wherein is received moveable member 2. The moveable member or discharge button 2 comprises a button portion 50 which can be seen from figure 5 to be of parallelepipedal shape having extending from a front face thereof a tongue 51 which has a slot 52 extending therethrough from side to side towards its forward end. The base of the slot 52 can be seen in figure 5A to slope downwardly from one side to the other. The slot also can be seen from figure 5C to be directed slightly from rear to front of the tongue.Extending from the base of the button portion 50 is a spring member 115. In the assembled closure, spring member 11 5 extends down into aperture 1 5 of the body bottom member whilst the button portion 50 and the tongue 51 extend through the tunnel provided beneath bridge 33 with the button portion 50 extending out of the larger end of the tunnel and the tongue 51 lying in the smaller end of the tunnel in such a way that the slot 52 constitutes an extension of the passageway for tablets. Spring member 11 5 biases the moveable member to a position in which the slot 52 lies as part of the passageway but pressure on the button portion 50 can push the moveable member through the tunnel for a short distance against the action of the spring to protrude part of the tongue 50 containing the slot 52 outside the confines of the housing. The housing 40 has a generally circular cross-section except for an indented portion 42 which extends from the top to the bottom of the housing and through which the button portion 50 extends. The various parts of the closure are preferably bonded to one another by ultrasonic welding or by the use of adhesive.

In use, the closure is fitted to the body portion of the container as a snap fit into the open top of the container and upon inversion, tablets will fall through aperture 1 9 into the chamber 9 as shown in figure 2 and passing over and sliding down the top of bridge 33. A row of tablets will collect on the top of wall 20 and roll down the channel until one of them comes to rest in the slot 52 in the tongue 51. When the button member 52 is depressed, the tongue 51 will be protruded through the corresponding aperture in the housing 40 and the tablet which is in the tongue will roll off the inclined base of the slot and thus be dispensed.When finger pressure is released from the button member, the spring member 11 5 will force the button member and its tongue back into the housing and the slot 52 will once again become part of the channel. The next tablet in line in the channel will roll into the slot 52 ready to be dispensed. It is an advantage of the dispenser closure or cap illustrated in the drawings that it will fit onto the type of tube in which sweetener tablets are conventionally sold. However, the dispenser may of course be used for tablets of other materials. By altering the width of the slot 52, it would be possible to make the slot accept more than one tablet at a time so that a number of tablets would be dispensed at each operation of the device.

The housing is preferably made of a transparent plastics material such as transparent polystyrene so that the working of the device can be observed.

The plug which consists of body top and body bottom 3 and 4 is preferably made of a nontransparent polystyrene. The moveable member 2 is preferably formed of a plastics material providing sufficient strength and resilience in the spring member 11 5 such as a polyacetal.

Instead of being a snap fit to the container body, the closure may be attached by adhesive, by welding or, by screw threads provided on the closure and the container, or by other conventional means.

Claims

1. A dispensing container for tablets comprising a container body and a dispensing closure, the closure comprising a chamber for receiving a supply of tablets from the container body, at least one passageway for tablets connecting the chamber and the interior of the container body, and means for dispensing a predetermined number of tablets from the said supply at each operation thereof.

2. A dispensing container as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the means for dispensing tablets lies intermediate the container body and the chamber.

3. A dispensing container as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the container body has a top lying in a first plane and the chamber has a base which is inclined relative to the said first plane.

4. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the closure comprises a housing enclosing the said chamber and having a first and a second aperture therein, means in the housing defining a channel for receiving a row of tablets, a member moveable between loading and dispensing positions and having a first portion which extends through the first aperture and is manually engageable for movement thereof, and having a second portion which in the loading position defines a part of the channel and in the dispensing position is protruded through the second aperture to dispense any tablet located therein.

5. A dispensing container for tablets comprising a container body and a dispensing closure, the closure comprising a housing having a first and a second aperture therein, means in the housing defining a channel for receiving a row of tablets, a member moveable between loading and dispensing positions and having a first portion which extends through the first aperture and is manually engageable for movement thereof, and having a second portion which in the loading position defines a part of the channel and in the dispensing position is protruded through the second aperture to dispense any tablet located therein.

6. A dispensing container as claimed in Claim 4 or Claim 5 wherein the moveable member is biased toward the loading position.

7. A dispensing container as claimed in any one of Claims 5 and 6 wherein the moveable member extends transversely across the housing.

8. A dispensing container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

9. A dispensing closure for a container for tablets which closure comprises a housing having a first and a second aperture therein, means in the housing defining a channel for receiving a row of tablets, a member moveable between loading and dispensing positions and having a first portion which extends through the first aperture and is manually engageable for movement thereof, and having a second portion which in the loading position defines a part of the channel and in the dispensing position is protruded through the second aperture to dispense any tablet located therein.

10. A closure as claimed in Claim 9 wherein the moveable member is biased to lie in the loading position.

11. A closure as claimed in Claim 9 or Claim 10 wherein the housing encloses a chamber and the closure comprises a passageway for tablets communicating the chamber with the exterior of the closure at a location where in use it opens into a container to which the closure is applied.

12. A closure as claimed in Claim 11 wherein the housing comprises a top and a skirt wall depending from the top having a pair of diametrically opposed apertures in its lower region constituting the said first and second apertures.

13. A closure as claimed in Claim 12 wherein the housing contains a plug member occupying the lower portion thereof leaving a chamber in the upper portion thereof, the plug having cut away portions and thereby cooperating with the housing wall to form a passageway from the chamber to the open end of the housing and to form the channel for a row of tablets, which channel slopes downwardly in the housing from the chamber to the second portion of the moveable member.

14. A closure substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

15. A dispenser as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 8 containing tablets.

1 6. A dispenser as claimed in Claim 1 5 wherein the tablets are sweetener tablets.