US1996044A - Dispenser for powdered coffee - Google Patents

Description

March 26, 1935. B, GREEN 4 1,996,044

DISPENSER FOR POWDERED COFFEE Original Filed Feb. 25, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fnvenfor':

ZIQe B. Ghee/7 6 44 W Afiiorrzgy March 26; 1935. L. B. GREEN 1,996,044

' DISPENSER FOR POWDERED COFFEE Original File-:1 Feb. 23, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 50 57 l /iZ 44 52 w v 59 71H 19 I25 51 44 Inventor:

Lee B. Gr ee Patented Mar. 26, 1935 p 1,996,044 DISPENSER FOR POWDERED' COFFEE.

Lee B. Green, Lakewood, Ohio, assignor 1 :o The Globe Machine. & Stamping Company, Cleveland',f0hio, a corporation ofOhi-o I e Refile ofiapplication Serial No. 594,624,:February 23, I932. This application March 7, 1934,;Serial 7 Claims. *(01. 221- 106) I trance of air to avoid a deteriorationof the ma'-- terial either by the oxygen of the air or by mois- ;turein the air. Y A v Many food ingredients are readily affecte'dby exposure. to air and consequently are packed in cans provided with such tightly fitting coversithat the contents; of the cans are not altered so. long as the covers have not been removed. However,

with some materials, even the short time periods during which the covermust be detached frame.

can for access to the material is sufiicient for permitting admitted air to influence the contents of thecan.

quantity of such. a material infla household term; such as a teaspoon in proportion to .a given quantity of a liquid or other material, the amount. .measuredcut by different usersvaries greatly. because of commercial variations in the sizes: of.

teaspoons and also because of the different'heights towhich the material in the spoon. may'extenda above the level of its mouth edge.

O I 0 actually measured out quantity make quitea substantial difference in the tasteof the resulting;

w I rather loosely on the can, so as to avoid the use of requiring a tool to pry it off again. In itsv general objects, my invention .aims to overcomeboth the deteriorating and the, irregular measuring of a comminuted product by providing.

an inexpensive, durableand easily manipulated I appliance for'dispensing the material directly fremthe can without the use ofa spoon andwithout depending on the judgment of the user for the measured quantity, and Which will effectively agitate the material so as to prevent any possible Moreover, when a recipe callsjforameasuredv the dispenser during theactuation of the And with a prepared product of such sensitive caking or' lumping of the material from interfering with the accuracy of the measured quail tity. Furthermore, my invention aims toprovide a dispenser which will permit almost thecntirecontents of the can to bedispensed withoutadf;

mitting air to the-mteriorof the can except dur ing the quiteshort time required-for attaching thepp ance to the can-after the cover has initially been pried .oiT. i

' To accomplish these' pu'rposesl I provide dispenser with these features:' V I (l) inlet designed for speedy attachmentto sealed reiaiu'on tothis can. I a y (2) A supplemental sealing'cover attached to the inlet end of the dispenser for housing the can the mouth of the can containing the material, in

and enhancing the exclusion of air from the' can.

(3) A reciprocating dispensing member designed and arranged forsegregating ahighly n'nifor m measuredquantity of the material at each actuation of this member. 7 I

. (4:) A disposition of this dispensing mer'nberso that its measuringpocketis momentarily scaledf from" both the inlet and the discharge spout; of

pensing member, so asto preventair .from' pelss-p inggfrom the discharge spout throughthis pocketto the supply of material both-during the dispens 1 ing movement of that To food connoisseurs, such variations. inthe member and during its return movement; I

(5) Ajournaling of I i v ber which will permit an extremely close fitting:

. l3oa'rotatingjdispenser mem of. this member in parts adjacent to it, withoutv having that member bind or stick. I

(B) An agitator disposed within the starter;

and automatically moved during both the initial and the final portions ,of--- each reciprocationof .1 the dispensing member, for insuringthe fineness} I of thematerial inthe measuring. pocket.

(7) An. agitator also arranged for reaching? into-the can, so asto insure a ready feeding. of the materialfrom the can.

(8) A sealing of the discharge: (or spout-)- end oi the dispenser whenever thez dispensing'mem direction ,of the discharge of material .froin-fthe? measuring pocket, to prevent the dischargedterial from being scattered beyond the mouth'ot? 55 portion 4 (Fig. 5,),f'c1osing one-end of the cross a glassor other receptacle positioned under the spout.

h with this mechanism, for informing the user that member and the agitator another. I

' (11) A simple mechanism for manually actuating the dispensing member, the spout'sealing in timed relation to one (14)An effective housing-for the lesseasily cleaned parts of the mechanism, andan arrangement permitting aunitary manual detachment of this housing and of the parts enclosed byit for acoess to the dispensing member. l .T I

(15) A mounting of the dispensing member which enables thistobe manually removed when the mechanism housing has been detached, so as to permit, a complete cleaning ofthe passage portions through which the material moves.

:Illustrativeof a dispenser including all of these features, the accompanying drawingsshow an embodiment ofmy. invention designedfor householduse the dispensing of powdered coffee direct from the can' in which the coffee is sold,-, which embodimentalso includes a stand supporting the dispenser proper. In these drawings, Fig 1 is ,a front elevation of this dispenser and of a material receptacle of a customary can type 1 5 of Fig; 1.

' attached to it, partially in central vertical sectiona w 7 Fig. 2 is afragmentary rear, elevation of the 1m '3 3'or Fig. 1 and looking downwards.

,v-Fig, G -isa vertical sectionalong the line 6-5 of Fig 5, taken when the actuating member has been moved ment. 1

the endf'of thedispnsin'gmovement e ne actu amngmember.

. 'Infth'e. illustrated my dispenser includes abody which has an upright bore and which also has a'ho riz ontal cylindrical crossbore 1 (Fig. 6) ex'tending'acrossthe axis of this bore to c'on'nectth hereof the lower portion of the body (in the form of a spout 2) with an upwardly. flaring hopper"'3,"the' body having a front wall bore 1. Extending .la'terally from .the flaring hopper 3is an arm'5 through which a riser stem fionia'stand base '7 extends, this stem being clamped'to thej' arm bya thumb+screwf8 at a suitable height abovethe'stand base '7 to permit a.- tumbler9 (or othermaterial-receiving receptacle) .to be slid under the spout 2with suflicient clearance to permit a spout closing gate 3 to swing freely abovesthe tumbler.

The upper endof the; hopper 3 leads (to a top portion ofrthe. body which includes an inner and upright tubularzportion 10 formed for tightly fitting into the usual cylindrical flange 11in the 9 invertedwith respect to the dispenser- This o 5 2A: f a ma e a ic v n the c n body, top portion also includes an annular-stop shoulder 13 for engagementby the' adjacent portion of the top 12 "of this .can when the can i ji [assess rs ev t islq a i a i add ti n the hopper.

. the pinion shaft 22 in alining these ..Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken through the r linechanism housing along the line 4--4 of Fig. 3.

" Rig-5 is a. vertical section taken along the line m me name of its dispensing move: w l m The ear28isfastened'(asb the in 29 ofFi s. Fi '1 is a section similar tb Fig; 6 but taken at g y p g cap-like metalcover 15. I

Thus arranged, the .standsa'nd body assembly can be bodily inverted so as toinsert the hopper mouth flange tightly in thetop flange 11,

after which the resulting assemblage is turned upright so that" material from the caniiows into per top to afford a'supplemental seal for exclud-- Then thecover 15 is slipped loosely f over the can tightly upon the riser 14 of the hop- .ing air both frornthe can and from the hopper.

Disposed within the'cross-bore 1 and rotatably ripheral surfaoe interrupted by a normally upwardly facing pocket 17 of a capacity corresponding to the amountofmaterial'which is tofbe screw 19fwhich is threadedfinto thecross-boreclosing'hopper member portion .4. In the rearwardhub' 20 the bore includes a portion, 21 of square (or. other non-circular section)- fitting the inner end of a pinion shaft '22 which is'journaled in backs 23 and 24 of both .of two shallow cap.- like parts of amechanismhousing. These two fitting the portions of this cross-bore-between the spout 2and the hopper 3 isa generally cylindricaldispensing member lfiwhich has its pcdially inner portion formed to afford a hub having housing parts "have their mouth ends abutting against each" other (as shown in Figs. 3 and .5) v o and'are fastened to each other by a screw 25 horizontal section taken along the (Figs. 3 and 4);, which screw also cooperates with with each other. i I T T.

, Disposed within this two-part mechanismhousing and fast upon the pinion} shaft 22 is a pinion 2'! meshing withasegmental gear 28 which is here shown (Fig. 4)-as hollow so that the screw mouth ends 25 connecting the two partsof the mechanism housing .canextend freely, through this gear.

Fig. 3.

' The rear 30A of this gear shaftnonfrotatably fitsa cross-bore in one end of an'actuat ing lever 31 which 'is'clamped to thegear'shaft' by a'screw 32. Fastened totheforwardly-projecting portion of the gearshaft30 adjacent to; the .forwa'rd 'cap-like part 23 of the mechanism housing (as by a' pin-.33) is the inner end of a mechanism-retracting spring 34 whioh is spiraled r aroundthis shaft and interlocked at its ,other'end' with a pin: 35 socketedlin the forward housing part 23, this. spring beinghoused by aspring cover 38 fitting a portion of the housing part 23.

' The forward end portion 30B of the gear shaft likewise non-'rotatably fits into across-bore in one endof a gate-actuating arm 36 which'is clamped against the end of the gear shaft by a screw 37..- The arm 36 has at its other end aforwardly projecting pin 39 which moves in-a' slot Sformed in an upright web 44 forming a fpart 'of a gate 40'whichispivoted on a pin 41 projecting forwardly (andparallel to ,the axis of the gear shaft 22) from the hopper member,

the uprigh'tbore of the body'.

The lower or discharge endsof the spout2 is andwhi'ch gate normally, closes thelower end of.

preferably oblique to the axis-ofthespout and disposed so that the spout is uite short at the side 2A adjacent to the gate pivoting pin 41 but considerablylonger at the diametrically opposite side 2A, the axis of the pin 4ldesirably being slightly higher than the shortestportion 2A of the The gate-moving pin 39 which projects from the gate-actuating arm- 36 is spaced from the gear shaft 22 by a considerablygreater distance thanthe spacing of this shaft from the pin 41 on which the gate is pivoted, so; that a relatively thermore,-I arrange the operative connection b6".

that-the gate will be swung entirely outoi alinetween the gate-actuating arm .36 and the gate so ment, with the bore of the spout before the dispensing member even begins todischarge material into the spout. I I

To securesuch a timed movement of the-gate, I make the slot in the gate web 44,on1y. slightly wider than the diameter of the arm pin 39 which extends into this slot, and form this slot (which is generally designated asS) of such an S-shaped 'pitchline and of such a length that its'wall por-.

tions transmit the following operative, effects from the pin 39 on the gate-actuating arm tothe gate:

When the dispenser is idle, as in Fig. 1, the pin 39 is within the upper portion S of the. slot and the retracting spring 34 tendsto rotate the gears'haft (on which the gate-actuating arm v36 is fast) in a directionwhich is. counter-clockwise.

in Fig. l, therebyalsotendingto swing the arm 36 in the same direction and hence pressing the pin 39 against the right-hand .wall of. this upper slot portion so as to holdthefgatein its spoutclosing position. By making this upper slot portion sufficiently long so that the .pin 39 isstill spaced from the upper end of the slot when the gate is closed, I employ the engagementof the gate with the lower end ofthe spout as cam,

means for halting the movement of the entire mechanism in the spring-retracted direction. This clearance between the pin and theupper. slot end also allows'for, a possible compression of a gate-facing43 which may be of ,soft' rubber. I

During th'e downward movementof the op- ,erating arm' 31, bothgthisarmlandthe gate-actuating arm 36swing ina clockwise direction in Fig. 1, and the pressure of the pin 39. against the left-hand wall of the upper slot portion rocks the gate also in the same direction. However, the upper slot portion S is vrelatively short so that this. pin soon enters the middle slot portion S which is oblique to the upper slot portion so that the pin engages the Wall of this middle slot portion which was at the bottom in Fig. 1, thereby rapidly swinging the gate entirely out of alinement with the bore of the spout. a

I By suitably proportioning the obliquity between the upper andmiddle slot parts I cause the gate to be moved to this extent by the time'the operating arm 31 reaches the middle of its stroke, as shown in Fig. 6. Then Idispose the lowerslot portion S so that a further movement of, the gateactuating arm in the gate ope'ning direction causesv the pin 39 to enter this lower slot portion and to engage the extremelower end of the slot (as shown in Fig. .7), so that this, engagement of thepin with a slot end halts the dispensing movement of the entire. mechanism in a positioninwhich the measuring, pocket is downwardlydi:

'rected and opens entirely into the spout.

, Moreover, I preferably make the arcuatewidth L (Fig. '7) of each of the two opposed side portions ,ofthe cross-bore .1 of the dispenser body. (which arepartscf a cylindrical surface corresponding closely to-the cylindrical surface of the dispensing member 16) at least equal to the arcuate width of. the measuring pocket 17.

With these parts thus proportioned, a.,-rotation ofthe dispensing member from its normal position of Fig. 1 to its rnid- -strolre positionof Fig.

6 not only; measures out and segregates anzexact quantity of the material fed to that member-by the hopper 3 but also seals this segregated por tion'of the material both from the hopper. 3 and from the spout 2. Consequently, air canno-tpass upward from the spout through the measured material to the hopper during the dispensing. operation;

When thedispensinggmember is then rotatedfurther; in the same direction, namely from the position of Fig. 6 to ,that of Fig. 7, the direction of rotation is such that themeasuringpocket 17 first opens intothe spout atthe shorter sided edge of the vlatter. However, in the ordinary, manipulation of the dispenser; the rotation of the dispensing member is sofast (particularly-whenthe pini0n'27 is of much smaller'radius than-the.

segmented-gear28) thatthe momentum, due to this rotational movement will throw the discharged material toward the longer side ofthe spout.- Consequently, I readilyprevent a scat-v tering of the dispensed material beyond-.thef mouth of the tumbler or other; receptacle into which itis-to be discharged,'-while still provid-gf I ing suflicient clearance below thespoutsotha I To avoid' havingpossible lumps of the rnaterial interfere with the exactnessof the measur s ing of the dispensed quantity, I-al'so' desirablyfp. provide an agitator, and I arrangethis agitator the gate will freely cleargthetumbler."

so that it will be operated in automatic response to the oscillating movement of *the dispensing member without complicating thev mechanism;

For this purpose,I form another cross-boreiin .thehopper member aboveand parallel to the cross-bore 1 in which the dispensingmernber rotates, thereby forming two lateral and alined bores 45in opposite wall portions ofthe hopper. 1m 4 one of these bores I firmly socket a stationary bearing 46, and through the other I thread a bearing screw 4'7. The inner ends of the bearing 46'.

andthe 'sc'rew'47 each have a conical recess, for respectively receiving the pointed ends of; the shaft 48 which has agitator arms 49 extending from it, these arms being spaced along theshaft and desirably extending at. right angles to the latter at varying and generallyupward directions.

Fastened to and extending downwardly from the agitatorshaft 48 isaweight arm 50 having] a weight 51 fastened to'its lower end; the length vof the arm 50 being such that the weight .51 will extend into the measuring pocket 17 whenthis pocket faces upwardly,,and also such as to per 1 V mit the weight to be swung out of this pocket when 1 the dispensing member is rotated. Moreover, the f disposition of the agitator arms withres'pect to theweight arm 50 ispreferably such that the center of gravity-ofpthe total-agitator: arms is,o fiset.,

from the axis of theweight arm-in the lateral'ifdij rection in. which the mouth of" the measuring pocket initially. moves during the. operation of;

the dispenser, thereby causing the weight t6 bear against the other side wall of the dispensing pocket (as shown in (Fig. I) when the dispenser is idle.

With the agitator thus arranged, 'a rotation of the dispensing member causes 'the weight-engaging wall 17A of the measuring pocket to swing the actuator in adirection which is clockwise in 1 *Fig. 1; and as'the weight 51 approaches the op-' 'posite side of the connection of the' hopper to the cross-bore in which the'dispensingmember rotates, the weight is swung'out of the pocket to a position in whichit thereafter rides on the cyv I lind rical exterior of'the dispensing member, as

- erates during both the initial and the..final por-' tions ofeach reciprocation of the operating memshownin Figsifi'and 7. During the return movement of t-he dispensing movement, the weight swings back into the dispensing pocket as soon as that movement is somewhat beyond theposition I "shown'in Fig. 6, afterwhich gravity will cause the weight to bear against the then rotationally forward side wall of the measuring pocket so as to return the agitator to the position of Fig. 1.

' Thus arranged, theagitator automaticallyop ber 3l. In practice-some of. the agitator arms 49 (which may b e-thin and lightwires) desirably extend upwardly beyond the hopper memberinto thecan fromwhich the material is being dis:

pensed, so that they will also loosen the material within thecan, as shown in the drawings; By providing the conically recessed bearings 46'and 47 for respectively receiving'the two pointed ends of the shaft 48 and threading one of these (47) into the hopper wall so that it can be adjusted-as to its distance from-the other bearing, I obtain i Za'sensitive,iiournaling of the shaft-and also-per- Y mit the entire agitator to be inserted as a I into the hopper. 40

With my dispenser thus constructed, it'will be noted from Figs.'2 and 3 that the gear andpinion areenclosed by. the housing which. also has thepinionshaft and the gear shaft journaled i-rQit, and: that the operating a'rm" 3l as well as the gateeactuating armis fast on this gear shaft. Consequently, the major portionsot the operating mechanism can speedily be detached as a unit from the hopper member by removing the, two screws 52 which fasten this mechanism-hous-g ing to the hopper member;

'During the detaching of this unit the'gate moving pin 39 slides outiof. the'gate slot S, so that thegate can then depend freely by gravity; and the pinion shaft 22 a'lso'slides out of the adjacent hub 20 of the dispensing member, so that the lat;v

, ter, member can be slidout b'y grasping this hub,v

thereby permitting the user to examineand clean the entire bore of. the hopper member and also to clean the measuring pocket. Moreover, a, parthe agitator memberv tobe detached alsoifjthis should be desired, so that my-entiredispenser can easily and speedily be cleaned, in addit ion to being easily assembled.

" 7 Since the dispenser body, the dispensing mem-i ber, the two-part mechanism-housing, the'seg-V; mentalgear, operating arm, gate-actuating arm, andthe'unitary pinion and pinion shaft :all can be accurately madeI as'die' castingspmy entire dispenser requires very little machining 'in-the manufacture of its'parts. Consequently}, it can be built at a relatively low cost-.whilestill affordinga highly uniform dispenser. And, since-these die castings may be of light alloys, thedispenser or from the appended claims. limited to the conjoint .us e of allnovel features also can readily be of s such small total weight as to be easily inverted for'the needed attaching to a material container; 7 I Moreover, it will be noted from the drawings that my dispensercanreadily be builtin a'quite compactform and with the parts proportioned so as to require only a short depressing movementof the operating member even' when this member I is considerably longer'than the radius of the segmental gear so as to afford added leverage. Consequently, only a rather' light touch is:i'required for the dispensing operation, andtheposi tive halting of the -movement eliminates'all'de curacy of the-dispensing; 1 v With the dispensing member f'of my appliance designedfor rotatably fitting the cross bore of the body, this in itself might suffice for journaling pendence on the ,users judgment 1 forithe I the dispensing memberj butl preferably employs .the auxiliary "stub-shafts (namely the screw'l9' and a part of the pinion shaft 22) for this pur pose so that the periphery "of the dispensing member can-be of a diameter exceedingly close to that ofgthe cross-bore in the dispenser body withj out having that member bindin tl 1e;bore. V a ,7 However, while I have heretoforedescribed an embodiment of my invention including numerous desirable details of "construction and ,arrange-,

ment, I do not wish to be limited-in'these respects, since many changes might be made without deiparting either from the spirit of my invention Nor do I wish to be of my. invention; L

I claimas my inventionz' a 1. Afdispenser including a'tubular body having.

its lower portion formed. to Qafford a discharge spout, a dispensing member housed by the body and intercepting the borejof' the body, the said member being'irnovable for dispensing a ,meas

ured quantity of material i'nflthe spout; a gate movably supported by the body and normally closing theoutlet end of the said. spout, and a,

mechanism for conj'ointly moving the dispensing memberand the gate, the gate having'a cam slot in a part thereof and the said, mechanism ineluding a swinging arm and apinprojecting from the said arm into the slot, the pin'being di'sposed for engagingthe longitudinal walls of the slot'jto move the gate; the slot having ans-shaped pitch linefand beingi so disposed with-reference to the outlet end of thespoutthat an actuation of the mechanism movesthe gate at a higher'rate ofspeed during the maid; partgof the opening:

movement of the gate than during the finalportion' of this movement.

2. A dispenser as per'claim 1, in the slot portion in which. the pin: is disposed whe'n the spout end is closed by the gatepresents a slot end thenfreely spaced fromthe pin, so'a's to allow. for wearonthe spout-closing face of the gate.

3. In a dispensena hopper, a dispensing mem 4 her movable-with respect to the hopper and having a pocket normally facing the hopperQarid an agitator including a shaft journaled' the hopper and extending horizontally acro's'sthebore of the hopper above the; dispensing member and pocket of the dispensing member moves when-disat right angles to the direction in which the pensing material from the hopper, a rigid arm fast upon and normally depending from theshaft' into the said pocket and adapted to be moved by engagement with-a wall'of 'thepocket so as 'to move the said shaft "rotationally, and rigid agitator fingers spaced longitudinally of and fast with respect to the said shaft and extending in generally upward directions from the'said shaft.

4. In a dispenser, a hopper, dispensing member andagitator assembly as per claim 3, in which the shaft is fast with respeotto the said arm, including two relatively adjustable bearings respectively mounted in oppositefside portions of the hopper, the shaft having its opposite ends respectively journaled in' the said bearings.

5. A dispenser for co-mminuted materials com- I inwardly from the opposite side of the body 00- axial with the cross-bore and having one end of the dispensing member journ'aled thereomand also including a second housing detachably fastened to the body; and amechanism includinga shaft journaled in the second housing and coaxial with the cross-bore, the last named shaftbeing interlocked with the other end of the dispensing member, and the said shafts cooperatmg to journal the dispensing member independently of the rotatable interfitting of the dispensing member with the cross-bore. v

6. A dispense'r for co'mminuted material, comprising an upright tubular body for direct attachment in sealing relation to the mouth of an inverted material eontainer which has an end opening bordered by an annular end portion and also by an inwardly directed tubular flange, the

body having a cross-bore intercepting the bore of its tubular formation a dispensing member disposed within the said cross-bore and movable for transferring a measured quantity of material from the upper portion of the body to a, lower portion thereof; and a cover for housing the'container; the upper end of the body including a tubular portion snugly fitting the said flange of the container, and a relativelylower and larger diametered upright tubular portion upon the upper end of which the annular end portion of the container seats and which tubular portion fits slidably into the mouth of the cover.

7. A dispenser for comminuted materials, comprising a body member having a normally upright bore intercepted by a cross-bore, a dispensing member rotatably fitting the cross-bore and having a normally upwardly facing pocket'therew in, a gate member pivoted to the body and nor--, mally closing the lower end of the upright bore,

an oscillatable actuator, anda'mechanism connecting the actuator with both' of the said members'wherebya movement of the actuator in one direction simultaneously rotates the dispensing member to a position in which the said pocket faces downwardly, and swings the gateto a position in which no part of the gate underhangs the lower end of the upright bore; the part of the said upright bore below the dispensing member having its lowerend oblique to thenaxis of that bore, and the mechanism being arranged for mo'ving the dispensing member in such a direction during the dispensing operation that the pocket of this member opens first into the lastnamedbore portion at the same side of that bore portion with the said highest portion [of the lower end,

whereby the mcmentum'impartedto the materialin the said pocket by a rapid rotation of thedispensing member will discharge the contents of the pockettoward the highest side of'the said lowerend of the upright bore. 1 j

LEE B. GREEN.

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