US2302186A

US2302186A - Dispenser for condiments or the like

Info

Publication number: US2302186A
Application number: US278826A
Authority: US
Inventors: Caretto Louis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1939-06-13
Filing date: 1939-06-13
Publication date: 1942-11-17
Anticipated expiration: 1959-11-17

Description

Nov. 17, 1942. 1 CARETTO 2,302,186

DISPENSER FOR CONDIMENTS OR THE LIKE Filed June 13, 1939 J 390/ 28 24 245 4 J 1 I 22 ,2 I [Z5 1 3 19 INVENTOR W W;

BY mflg ATTORNEY within.

Patented Nov. 17, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

9 Claims.

This invention relates to dispensers for condiments or the like of the character adapted for holding a plurality of different condiments effectively isolated from each other within the device, and relates, more particularly to such deviceswhich comprise-a plurality of separate containers whichmay be removed, and either replenished or replaced by other similar containers.

An important object of the invention is the provision, in such a device, of improved means whereby any selected container may readily be removed therefrom and replaced while other cc-ntainers remain within the device.

Another object is the provision of improved means for holding a plurality of containers within the device in such manner as to prevent in-- termingling of the contents thereof, and also to effectually seal the contents of the several said containers against communication with the, outside air when the device is not in use.

Another object is the provision of improved selective means for controlling the discharge ofthe contents from the several containers.

A further object is the provision, in such a device,- of a container having improved means for facilitating its manipulation in inserting it into and removing it'from the device.

Other objects will be. apparent upon considerationof the-following specification and the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is aside elevation of a dispenser accordln'g'to theipresent invention.

is asubstantially central vertical sectidnal view of the device, substantially on the the device on the line-5 of Fig. 2.-

. F g. 6 is a vertical sectionaldetail of the bottom-of the device taken at a right angle to the view thereof shown in Fig. 2.

A plurality of elongated segmental containers Hare provided'fo'r holding various condiments, such for'example, as cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, curry powder, celery salt, etc.,. and. are preferablyradiallyarranged, as best se'en in' Fig. .5, within-asuitable-holder which is-preferably circularj 'in cross-section and "of such sizeas to snugly accommodate the said containers there- The said holder includes'a base i 2 upon which maybeint'egrally formed ashell IS, the side wall of which is cut away to form vertical openings [4 rendering the containers visible and permitting the said containers to be manipulated for inserting them into and removing them from the device, as will be hereinafter explained. The sides of the openings M are defined by intervening ribs l5 behind which the several containers abut, as best seen in Fig. 5; A vertical flange I6 is welded, soldered or otherwise fixedly secured upon the inner side of one of the ribs l5 and extends inwardly between two adjacent containers it so that when the device is assembled and operated the said containers are effectively prevented from rotating about the axis of the holder.

The shell l3 may be provided with a flat top H, which, if the device is formed of thin sheet metal such as tin, may be held firmly in place by means of an inturned bead l8. The top I! preferably has a soft gasket l9 cemented or should preferably be formed of a fairly rigid,

yet somewhat resilient material, such for example, as cork, thus affording a suitable surface -upon which a rotatable discharge controlling a plan'view of-the under side of the devi e. I I

' gagement with the cork gasket 20.

device or shutter 2| may turn.

The shutter 25 is preferably provided with a flat surface 22 on its under side, in intimate en- The top I! and the gaskets l9 and 20 have openings 23 cut or otherwise formed therein and arranged to register with the several containers H, to form discharge ports for the latter and: uncut portions 2! between and partly defining said openings. The shutter 2|, as best seen in-Fig. 4, is provided with. a plurality of upwardly-extending radial finger grips 24 which enable said shutter to be. gripped in practically any position. by the user to rotate the shutter. I

'One or more apertures are provided within a restricted area upon said shutter, which area an uncut portion 21 of the shell top. The said apertures in the shutter preferably comprise a.

large aperture 25 and a plurality of radially arranged small apertures 26 disposed alongside the aperture 25. With the severaliparts proportioned and arranged in this manner. either orboth, the" large aperture 25 and the small apertures 26 may be opened by being brought into register with any selected one of the openings 23 by rotating the shutter 2|. When one or more of said

apertures

25 and 26 are open, any of such apertures, not in register with the openings 23, overlie an adjacent uncut portion 21, and hence, are closed. Thus, by suitably rotating the top, the user may readily discharge a large amount, such as a teaspoonful, of a selected condiment, from the device through the aperture 25, or may sift the condiment from the device through the apertures 2B, or he may completely close the device by causing all

apertures

25 and 26 to overlie one of the uncut portions 21.

It is important in a device of this character, that the containers be readily removable and replaceable -to permit replenishment of the contents thereof. Likewise, it is important that the upper open ends of the containers ll firmly and completely engage the under side of the gasket l9 whereby to precent leakage and intermingling of the contents of the several containers and that the shutter 2i seat firmly upon the fiat top H of the shell.

These important attributes, just mentioned, are achieved, according to the present invention, by the provision of an axially-extending rod 28 which passes centrally through the shutter 2!, the fiat top H, and the gaskets l9 and 20 associated therewith, and extends downwardly to a point below the bottoms of the containers H. The upper end of the rod 28 may be enlarged or may have a ball or nut 28a screwed onto or otherwise firmly fixed thereto to engage the top of the shutter 2!, as best seen in Fig. 2, whereby to limit the upward movement of the latter relatively to said rod. The lower end of the rod 28 extends downwardly through a substantially circular fiat plate 29 (hereinafter referred to as a keeper) and into an inverted channel 30 soldered to or otherwise firmly fixed to or formed integrally with the keeper 29. A centrally-apertured leaf-spring 3| is disposed on the rod 28 within said channel and is arranged to exert tension upwardly against the keeper 29 and downwardly upon a cotter pin 32 extending through an aperture at the lower end of the rod 28.

Under this arrangement the single spring 3i serves through the medium of the rod 28, to urge and maintain the shutter 2| in intimate slidable engagement with the gasket 20, and through the medium of the keeper 29 said spring serves to urge the containers ll upwardly and hold them securely in position against the under side of the gasket I9.

As best seen in Fig. 3, the keeper 29 has a segmental portion cut away as at 33 to an extent slightly greater than the cross-sectional area of a container l i. The channel 36 serves as a finger grip by which the keeper 29 may be rotated either to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 wherein the said keeper engages all of the containers in the device whereby to securely hold them in place, or the said keeper may be rotated to the position shown in broken lines in said figure so that a container H, registering with the cut-away portion 33, may be slid downwardly out of the device in the manner indicated in broken lines in Fig. 2. The edges of the cutaway portion 33 are flanged downwardly slightly as at 33a, 33a, to facilitate movement of the keeper over the under sides of the containers.

The containers, as hereinbefore explained, preferably fit snugly together, and to facilitate removal of a container in the manner just described, a horizontal groove 34 is provided in the outer side of each container and said grooves. being accessible through the vertical openings I 4, may be engaged by the thumb nail of the user and hence afi'ord a positive means either for forcing the containers downwardly when removing them, or for urging the containers up- .wardly when inserting them in the device.

The containers l I, as indicated in the drawing, may preferably be formed of transparent material, and as they are visible through the vertical openings M, the user may readily see when the contents require replenishing.

The containers II are adaptable for use as refills in marketing such products and, hence, if distributors of condiments or the like should adopt them for that purpose it would only be necessary to remove the closure or top from such a refill and insert it in the device.

.In view of the fact that only one embodiment has been employed herein for describing the invention, various modifications are hereinafter mentioned, without, however, attempting to explain all the possible modifications in which the invention may be embodied. For example, the shutter 2| could be rounded so that it substantially conforms to the palm of the users hand and thus could easily b turned; or, instead of having a substantial number of finger grips 24 as illustrated, a lesser number of such grips could be employed, or finger recesses could be employed in the shutter, if desired. The device could be polygonal instead of circular as illustrated, and it could be made of any suitable material. The shell could be molded of suitable material, and when so formed, or even when the device is formed of sheet metal, the gaskets l9 and 20 could possibly be dispensed with. The spring 3!, of course, need not necessarily be a leaf-spring.

It will thus be understood that the single embodiment illustrated in the drawing and described in this specification has been employed merely for the purpose of illustration, and that the details of construction may be varied in many ways without, however, departing from the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a dispenser for condiments or the like, comprising a plurality of removable containers, a frame for holding said containers in fixed positions in the dispenser, and means for discharging the contents of said containers, a rotatable member secured upon said frame, said member being adapted in one position to engage and hold all said containers against removal and having an opening adapted, through rotation of said member to register with any selected one of said containers, the said opening being sufficiently large to permit withdrawal of said selected container from the dispenser through said opening, the said member meanwhile being in engagement with all other containers in the dispenser, whereby to securely hold the latter containers in place.

2. In a dispenser for condiments or the like, comprising a plurality of radially arranged removable containers, a frame for holding said containers in such radial arrangement, and means for discharging the contents of said containers, a rotatable keeper secured upon said frame, said keeper being adapted in one position to engage and hold all said containers against removal and having an eccentric opening adapted through rotation of said keeper to register with any selected one of said containers, the said opening being sufficiently large to permit withdrawal of said selected container from the dispenser through said eccentric opening.

3. In a dispenser for condiments or the like, comprising a plurality of removable containers, a frame for holding said containers in fixed positions in the dispenser, and means for discharging the contents of said containers, a rotatable member secured upon said frame, said member being adapted in one position to engage and hold all said containers against removal and having a recess adapted, through rotation of said member, to register with any selected one of said containers, the said recess being sufliciently large to permit withdrawal of said selected container from the dispenser through said recess.

4. In a dispenser for condiments or the like, comprising'a plurality of circularly-arranged removable containers, a frame for holding said containers in such circular arrangement, and means for discharging the contents of said containers, a rotatable keeper secured upon said frame, said keeper being adapted in one position to engage and hold all said containers against removal and having a peripheral recess adapted, through rotation of said keeper, to register with any selected one of said containers, the said recess being sufficiently large to permit withdrawal of said selected container from the dispenser through said recess.

5. In a dispenser for condiments or the like, comprising a plurality of radially-arranged removable containers, a frame for holding said containers in such radial arrangement, and means for discharging the contents of said containers, a rotatable keeper secured upon said frame, said keeper being adapted in one position to engage and hold all said containers against removal and having an eccentric cut-away portion larger than and substantially conforming to a cross-section of one of said containers, and means for holding said keeper in intimate engagement with said containers, the said portion being arranged to register, by rotation of the keeper, with any selected container whereby to permit withdrawal of the latter from within the dispenser through said cut-away portion.

6. A dispenser for condiments or the like, comprising a plurality of radially arranged containers, 9. frame having openings communicating with the interior of each of said containers, a rotatable shutter member having an aperture adapted to register with any one of said openings whereby to permit discharge of the contents of a container communicating with such opening, a retatable keeper member adapted to retain all said containers within said frame and having an eccentric cut-away portion adapted to register with any selected one of said containers whereby to permit withdrawal of such selected container from within the said frame.

7. A dispenser according to claim 6, further characterized in that the said rotatable shutter and keeper members are interconnected and in including a spring coacting with one of said rotatable members whereby to yieldably hold the said shutter member in intimate engagement with the said frame and the said keeper member in intimate engagement with the said containers.

8. A dispenser for condiments or the like, comprising a plurality of radially arranged containers all open at one end thereof, a cylindrical holder for said containers, said holder being open at one end and having at its opposite end a circular plate having openings coinciding with the open ends of such containers, a substantially circular rotatable keeper member in engagement with said containers at the open end of the said holder, a substantially circular rotatable shutter member in engagement with said circular plate and adapted to permit discharge of the contents of any selected one of said containers, and a coaxial connecting member extending longitudinally of said holder and connecting together said shutter and keeper members.

9. A dispenser for condiments or the like, comprising a plurality of radially-arranged containers, a fixed top having a plurality of similar radially-arranged openings each adapted to serve as a discharge port for a different one of said containers, a plurality of similar intervening portions of said top of substantially the same size as said openings, and a rotatable shutter adapted to intimately engage said top, the said shutter having a single set of apertures formed within an area corresponding to one of said openings and the said set of apertures comprising a relatively large radially-extending aperture and a radiallyextending row of smaller apertures, whereby said apertures may be moved to positions affording control of the discharge of the contents of a single container while said shutter prevents discharge of the contents of any other container.

LOUIS CARETTO.