ITAN20130122A1 - ANTI-POLLUTION SYSTEM WITH VIBRATING MOTOR FOR FOOD DISPENSER SUPPLY - Google Patents

Description

Technical field of the invention

2 The present invention refers to an anti-jamming system to be combined with a gravity dispenser for the easy dispensing of any type of loose food product, particularly those which, due to their size, specific weight and consistency, encounter difficulties in being dispensed. from traditional dispensers.

6 Basic Technique Summary

Not all food products have physical and chemical characteristics such as to make their flow 8 optimal without the addition of devices / accessories for both the dispenser and the hoppers. The problem of product dispensing is a topic that has been extensively 10 addressed both in scientific papers (Freeman 2000, Cain 2002, Behera et Al. 2002) because it involves a multitude of industrial processes (all industrial processes involving 12 of powders or granular elements such as for the production of medicines, emptying of silos etc. etc.), therefore the problems of sliding and flow 14 (flow) are many and of various nature.

Traditional gravity dispensers can have dispensing problems with some types of 16 products;

The problems encountered during the dispensing phase are typically of two types:

18 - problems due to the formation of solid mass arches during unloading (mechanical interlocking) leading to an intermittent flow or non-flow scenario; the 20 difficulty in dispensing the product is directly proportional to the increase in the diameter of the product itself and, with the same diameter, the greater the 22 the specific weight of the product to be dispensed is.

Theoretically, to have an optimal flow, the ratio between the smaller diameter of the outlet 24 and the diameter of the dispensed product must be greater than twelve.

In the case of products with a higher specific weight, in which the influence of the force of gravity becomes significant 2, there can be a continuous flow even with a diameter ratio of the dispenser mouth / product of about six.

4 There are some intermediate cases in which optimal dispensing is obtained with a ratio of the dispenser / product diameter in a range between 6 and 12.

6 However, dispensing problems cannot always be solved by increasing the diameter of the dispenser mouth since the bulk products to be dispensed can have diameters of even 2-4 centimeters, which would imply dispenser dimensions that are not always compatible with the spaces available in the stores.

10 - problems of increasing the strength of cohesion between the elements (chemical phenomenon due for example to the formation of liquid bridges between neighboring particles) which cause 12 an anomalous flow or non-flow condition.

In general, dispenser manufacturers prefer, in order to market products 14 that are not too bulky, to reduce the size of the dispensing mouths to the detriment of the functionality of the device itself.

16 To obviate the above problems, it is sufficient to introduce a mechanical vibration which acts on the random mechanical joints and the cohesive particles, making the product 18 ready for dispensing.

The anti-jamming system that represents the invention of the present patent must be applied to 20 bulk food dispensers, in particular to those with the design and characteristics specified in the Italian industrial design and industrial invention applications number 22 AN2012A000091 whose protection has been extended to community with filing numbers 001283709-0001, 001283709-0002, 001283709-0003, 001283709-0004.

2 The aforementioned industrial invention describes an ergonomic dispenser with a dispensing system such as to allow the fluid discharge of products which, due to their shape or weight, would not have been dispensable otherwise.

This dispenser consists of two shells, one internal and one external. The inner shell is provided with a hole 6, while the outer one is equipped with a union. By rotating the outer shell, the hole in the filler neck is aligned with the hole in the inner shell, and therefore the products contained inside the tank are allowed to escape.

The problem of this dispenser is that with some types of product it can present situations 10 of interrupted or intermittent dispensing flow; The introduction of vibrations, which in turn act on the random mechanical joints 12 that are formed, was evaluated as a solution to the problem. The vibrations break up the mechanical joints, eliminating the need to increase the size of the dispensing spouts to obtain a fluid dispensing 14.

An anti-jamming system has provided for the introduction of a lever integral with the mobile shell 16; this lever being in fact integral with the outer shell, when this is set in motion, it moves inside the tank, shaking the product.

18 With the basic dispenser you have the optimal delivery of products such as:

1. Legumes (chickpeas, lentils, beans)

20 2. rice

3.pills

22 4. confetti

5.pistaches

6.pinols

7. seeds

2 8. pretzels

9. coffee

4 As the exit diameter of the hole is 7 cm and the aforementioned products have a maximum diameter of

1.5 cm.

6 The dispenser equipped with levers allows optimal dispensing even of products such as

example:

8 1. biscuits

2.short pasta

10 3. walnuts

4.pet food (croquettes)

12 However, there are products for which not even leverage is effective, such as:

1. large pasta (paccheri, farfalle)

14 2. Peanuts in their shells

3. wrapped candies

16 4. gummy candies

For these products, the addition of the mechanical lever is not enough to allow dispensing

18 fluid of the products themselves, from tests carried out in the laboratory it was deduced that a

continuous vibration system during dispensing.

20 The invention which is the subject of this document is a system for solving the dispensing of such products.

State of the art

22 Currently there are motorized dispenser systems, but the fields of application and the

techniques implemented are different with respect to the invention of the present patent.

In particular, these are dispensers for dispensing animal feed or devices 2 for the automatic distribution of wrapped snacks and drinks. Brief descriptions of some of the patents which have constituted the state of the art of the present invention follow.

4 In particular, patent US4688520 (A) presents a feeding system for feeding farm animals. The system is equipped with a timer that activates a lever and 6 allows the dispensing of the product that slides through a downward channel.

Patent US7059270 (Bl) presents a motorized system for the programmed delivery 8 of the feed to feed the fish in the aquariums.

Patent MX2012004605 (A) presents an integrated device for dispensing drinks and IO snacks controlled by buttons pressed by the user.

In the specific sector of large-scale distribution, there are currently no motorized devices 12 for the distribution of any type of bulk food.

Summary of the invention

The invention which is the subject of this document is a motorized mechanical system for dispensing loose goods in order to guarantee anti-jamming and therefore an optimal flow of any type of product and simplify the experience of purchasing bulk products for consumers.

The system is complementary to the invention described in industrial invention application 18 AN2012A000091.

The object of this industrial invention is the innovative motorized system to prevent the formation of the "cap" inside the gravity dispensers with all types of dispensable products.

This system is necessary for all gravity dispensers as for some 22 products of large size, low specific weight and / or particular consistency, dispensing is difficult even by adding a mechanical lever that transmits 2 vibrations inside. of the tank when this is set in motion.

Without the addition of a vibration system, the only solution to obtain the continuous 4 discharge of the products would be to have a large enough outlet to guarantee the right ratio between the diameter of the hole and the diameter of the product, a solution that 6 could require dimensions too high of the filler and therefore problems for the installation of the dispensers in the points of sale.

8 An industrial embodiment of the invention presented here is composed of a vibrating micromotor with power supply equal to 1.5V with a length of about 20 mm and a diameter of about 10 mm, 10 batteries for the 1.5V power supply housed inside a battery holder in material plastic, connection cables between motor, battery and microswitch for switching the device on and off.

The vibrating micromotor is placed together with the batteries in a plastic casing 14 (figure 2 number 10) of dimensions approximately 40x20x20 mm.

The micromotor-microswitch system is inserted inside a casing of plastic material 16. The fixing of the motor inside the casing is guaranteed by screws. This integrated in turn is made integral with the external shell of the dispenser by means of a joint. To turn the device on and off from the outside of the plastic casing, a microswitch has been inserted which in turn is connected to the micromotor and, if pressed, activates the motor itself.

20 To allow the dispensing of the product from this particular type of dispenser, a rotation is applied to the mobile mouth of the dispenser; a particular constructive solution for the present invention provides for the activation of the microswitch and therefore the operation of the vibrating motor in concomitance with the rotation of the dispenser.

When the anti-jamming system of the present invention, positioned integrally with the external shell of the dispenser, is activated, the vibrations produced are transmitted to the product contained inside the dispenser, making it move, allowing the disintegration of any mechanical interlocking that had come to to form.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become evident from the following detailed description of a practical embodiment thereof, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1:

Figure 1 shows the system for producing the mechanical vibration. This system consists of a vibrating micromotor (6) connected by wires (3) to the battery (1) which is placed in a battery holder (2). A microswitch (4) is connected to the motor to activate or shut down the motor itself.

The components presented in the drawing are:

l) Rechargeable batteries

2) Battery holder

3) Electrical connection of the microswitch to the power supply

4) Microswitch

5) Nut and washer

6) 1.5V vibrating micromotor

2 7) Clamp

8) Screws

4 9) Fixing screws

The components presented in drawing lb are:

6 10) Rechargeable batteries

11) Battery holder

8 12) Electrical connection of the microswitch to the power supply

13) Microswitch

10 14) Electrical connection of the vibrating micromotor to the microswitch

15) Vibrating micromotor

12 16) Clamp

17) Screws

14 18) Electrical connection of the vibrating micromotor to the power supply

Figure la and figure lb: different perspectives.

16 Figure 2:

Figure 2 shows the vibration production system (19) presented in Figure 1 18 located inside a plastic casing (20) for securing and fixing the device to the dispenser.

20 The components presented in drawing 2 are:

19) Vibration production system

20) Plastic casing

2 Figure 3:

Figure 3 shows the dispenser (24) complete with the system for producing the vibration 4 (23) and joined to it by means of a suitable joint (21).

The components presented in drawing 3 are:

6 23) Vibration production system

24) Joint that joins the dispenser to the system for the production of the vibration. Report of an industrial realization of the invention

The anti-jamming system which represents the invention of the present patent must be applied to the bulk food dispenser of the Italian industrial design and industrial invention applications identified with number AN2012 A000091.

A plastic casing (20 fig. 2, 23 fig. 3) with dimensions of approximately 40x20x30 mm is applied to the basic dispenser according to patent AN2012A000091 by means of a joint (21 fig. 3).

The vibrating motor (6 fig. La, 15 fig. Lb) 1.5V (6 fig. 1) with a length of about 20mm and a diameter of about 10 mm is located inside the plastic casing. The vibrating motor is connected via a wire (18 fig. Lb) to the power supply consisting of 1.5V batteries (1 fig. La, 10 fig lb) positioned in a special battery holder (2 fig. La, 11 fig. 1b). The switching on and off of the device is allowed thanks to the connection with appropriate cables (12 and 14 fig. 1b) to a commercial microswitch (4 figla, 13 fig.lb, 22 fig3). The microswitch is connected to the dispenser structure (24 fig. 3) in such a way that it goes into ON mode when the dispenser neck is turned (i.e. when the dispenser is in the dispensing phase) The vibrating motor (6 fig. La, 15 fig. 1b) is fixed to the plastic casing (20 fig. 2, 23 fig. 3) by means of screws (8 fig. La, 17 fig. Lb) and fixing screws (9 fig. La).

The plastic casing (20 fig. 2, 23 fig. 3) is fixed to the dispenser (24 fig. 3) by means of a dedicated attachment (21 fig. 3) mounted on the dispenser itself.

Claims (1)

CLAIMS 2 It is claimed: 1. Innovative motorized accessory for dispenser of bulk products aimed at behaving as a 4 anti-jamming system to guarantee a continuous and optimal dispensing flow, consisting of a plastic casing, a vibrating micromotor, a battery and a microswitch; 6 characterized by the possibility of allocation on any type of dispenser and by the connection of the microswitch with the dispensing union for the automatic activation of the anti-jamming system 8 when the dispenser is in dispensing mode.