US2645336A - Dispensing container - Google Patents

Description

y 14, 1953 D. WABER ETAL 2,64 36 DISPENSING CONTAINER Filed May 26, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l V1 6 If INV 0R5.

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y 14, 1953 D. WABER ETAL 2,645,336

DISPENSING CONTAINER 4 Filed May 26, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 14, 1953 DISPENSING ooNTi i En p DonaldWaber and Raymond Braunstein, J r., Philadelphia, Pa. i i

Application Mayzs, 1951, seria Nb. 228,414

Ourinvention relates to anew and useful dis pensing container which, is neat in appearance and of small size so that it maybe conveniently carried in a pocket of an article of wearingapparel, purse or the like.

One object of the present invention is to supp'lement and improve the structure, disclosed in our copending application, Serial No, 190,478, filed October 17, 1950, to adapt it for holding and dispensing items in such forms as medical tablets, confectionery drops or lozenges, capsules or other elongated articles. A l

Another object of our invention is to produce a package which is sufficiently well sealed, during the non-dispensing'periods, to prevent contamination of the contents from outsidesources.

Another object of the invention is to construct the dispensing container in a'manner to provide a substantially central exit,..re1ative,to the sides of the container,gradualljdimihishing laterally towards the mouth, and having a movable ejector to propel an article ahead of it and progressively restrict the exit perpendicularlyto the bottom to function asfa barrier to articles to the rear of said ejector. p

I Another object of the invention is to provide an agitator for stirring,.moving orshifting the contents of the container subsequent to each dispensing operation. 7

Another object of the invention is to produce a dispensing container including a box-like or receptacle body having an opening at the top and one end with baffles inside of said body adjacent the open end thereof and partially or wholly oblique to the side walls andconvergently extending to or towards said open end to provide a gradually diminishing exit or outlet, and a closure slidably mounted in an inclined plane sloping downwardly from the closed rear end of the body towards the front open end thereof and including a top and front for normally closing the respective top and front openings of the body and further provided with an ejector and-an agitator. Such a construction is highly advantageous for the purposes for-which it is intended because the dispensed articles are delivered, one.

at a time, from the approximate, longitudinal center at one end of the container so that it can be readily employed by either right or left hand ed persons and the ejecting means gradually restricting the exit to prevent accidental displacement of other contents of the containerwhich does not have to be inverted for. dispensing purposes, and the agitator will lthepositions of the remaining contents to break any blocks at 9 Claims. (01. 205 42 2 th exit which may be causedby'the wedgi'ng actionpfitems remaining in the container.

A further object of this invention is to divide the interior of the body into two parallel compartments by a longitudinal partition, particu larly adapting the device for dispensing capsules and; similar shapeditems, and to so locate. theagltator and said partition relative to each other that said agitator functions as a gate under certainiconditions to prevent passage of items from one compartmentto the other and from a certain compartment to the exit until the'other of said compartments is empty.

With the above and other objects in view this invention consists of the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and thendesignated by the claims. In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand'how to make and use the same we will describe its construction in detail referring by numerals .to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, in which: r Fig. I is a perspective view of a dispensing container constructed in accordance with the invention and shown in a closed condition with dispensible articles therein.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional viewon the line 2--2' of Fig. 1 and in a partially open or dis pensmg condition.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing one way in which theclosure may beslidably. mounted on the con- 7 tainer body,

i Fig. 4 is a similar view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 showing a-,clasp structure to normally maintain the closure in a closed position. a

Fig. 5 is asimilar View on the line 5-5 of Fig. l

showing a type of Joint that can be used between elements of the body and closure.

Fig. dis a transverse sectional view of the gmpty dispensing container on the line 6-6 of Fig. '57 is a perspective view :of a slightly modifiediorm of the dispensing container with the closure in an open position.

Plig..-8 is a similar view closed with dispensible articles shown therein in dotted lines.

Fig. 9 [also is a similar view with the closure structure in .a position during the initial movements of .the dispensing operation.

Fig. 1.0 is a similar view at the end of the dispensing .operation.

Fig. .11 isan en-largedifragmentary sectional view on the line |l-,l| of Fig. 7.

Fig. 12 is a similar view on the line |2-l2'of Fig. 8.

Fig. 13 also is a similar view on the line I3-l3 of Fig. 8.

In describing our invention as herein embodied reference will be made first to the showing in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, wherein l5 and I6 represent, respectively, a box-like body and a closure produced from any suitable material having sufficient stiffness or rigidity to retain the shapes desired, such material may be opaque, translucent or transparent, according to therequirements or I demands of the trade, and the material should have some inherent resiliency for certain purposes to be fully set forth below. v

The box-like body [5 comprises a bottom I! from which projects the upwardly extending perpendicular side walls 18' and rear wall l9 so that the top and front of the body are normally open. The upper edges of the side walls are, by preference, inclinedin a downwardly sloping direction from the rear wall l9 towards and to the front open end.

Track grooves or runways 20' are shown as providing means for slidably mounting the closure IS on the box-like body l5 and said runways,for the purposes of illustration, are depicted as formed in the inner faces of both side walls longitudinallythereof and inclined in a downwardly sloping direction from their rear to their forward portions or from the rear wall to the open front end of the body. When the upper 1 edges of the side walls are similarly inclined the runways are parallel to said side wall upper edges and, preferably, contiguous thereto.

Within the body I5 are located, stationary bafiles 2| which extend from a location a short distance to the rear of the open front end of said body, at the side walls thereof, to said open front end and the construction of said baffles may be anything appropriate, such as strips of pendant front wall 24 all substantially fitting within the confines of the body, to close the normally opentop and front end thereof, including the exit or mouth. Along the side edges'of the top wall 23 of said closure are formed tongues or tracks 25, Fig. 3, which are slidably fitted into .the runways 20 to permit the closure to slide longitudinally of the body. The tracks should snugly fit'the runways to frictionallyretain the parts against accidental relative movements although the closure can be held in a closed position by a suitable holding means.

For purposes of illustration, a holding means is shown as comprising a projection 26, Fig, 4, formed with and extending from the inner face of a side wall l8 of the body ill for registration with a socket 2! in a side edge of the closure front :wall 24. It is believed obvious that the 10- cations of the projection and socket can be reversed and also that the holding means may be provided in multiple, one at each side of the body and closure. Again, it is believed apparent that one element of the holding means might be on the bottom wall of the body and the other element on the lower edge of the front wall of the I closure.

The lower edge of the front wall of the closure and the forward edge of the bottom wall of the body are provided with companion rabbet joint "formations 28, Fig. 5, and similar rabbet joint formations 29, Fig. 2, are formed on the rear edge of the closure top wall and the upper edge of the body back wall toprovide dirt proof joints when the container is closed.

An ejector 30, such as a transverse rib, depends from the underneath face of the closure top wall 23 adjacent to but spaced from the front wall 24 of said closure and the spacing is such that the distance between the ejector and said front wall is slightly greater than the diameter of the, articles 3| to be dispensed, the articles herein shown only forv purposes of illustration being medicinal or confectionery tablets. Also, the lower edge of said ejector is spaced a slightly greater distance from the bottom wall of the body, when the closure is in the closed position, than the thickness or, height of the articles 'inthe container. This allows an article rest-' ing on the bottom wall of the body, when the latter is tilted, to barely slide under the ejector and enter the trap 22 and as the closure is moved forwardly in its sloping plane relative to the body bottom wall and decrease the space between them sufficiently to prevent a following article from passing to the front of the ejector. The descent of the ejector towards the body bottom wall,as

it is moved forwardly with the closure, will cause said ejector to engage the rear edge of the article in. the trap and propel said article forwardly. At the same time said ejector assumes a position in front of the next succeeding article to prevent it and any other articles to the rear'of the ejector from passing entirely through the trap.

An agitator 32, such as a substantially longitudinal rib, also depends from the underneath face of the top wall of the closure in a plane parallel or at a slight angle to the sides of the container. This agitator preferably extends from the front wall 24 to a location adjacent to and, by preference, slightly in front of the ejector and said agitator is of a depth to project below the tops of articles in the container within the trap or a short distance to the rear thereof. The lower edge of the agitator is spaced from the bottom wall of the body a sufficient distance to prevent interference with the forward sliding movement of the closure. The agitator is situated to one side of the trap adjacent one of the baffles 2| whereby said agitator cooperates with.

the other baffle to reduce the width of the inner end or entrance of the trap 22. e

Should any of the articles 3| in the container become wedged in the trap at the entrance thereto after the ejection of one article, the agitator 32 will engage one of the articles and push it rearwardly, as the closure is retracted or moved rearwardly to its closed position, to loosen any jammed articles.

So that the closure may be readily slid to and 'fro'by pressure of'a persons thumb on the Zclosuretop wall a roughened area 33 may be provided on the exterior surface of said top wall. The forward or ejecting movement of the closurelis limited by suitable stop (means herein 7 shown, for. purposes of illustration only, as co-' operating lugs 34 and 35. One of the stop lugs, as 34, is stationary and for convenience of illustration is shownas projecting from the interior face of one of thebody side walls while article therethroug-h just prior to the outward or forward movement of the closure being arrested by engagementof the movable lug with the stationary lug to prevent accidental disengagement of the closure from the container body. The upper edge of the lug 34 from its forward face and the-lower edge of the lug 35 from its rear face are arcuately beveledto cause the lug 35 to ride over the lug 34 when the closure is initially assembled on the container ibody.

v The riding of one lug over the other is possible because of inherent resiliency or flexibility of e the elements of the container or the material used in the constructionthereof,

All exposed corners of the body and closure that do not have to be square, for operational purposes, are preferably rounded to reduce to a minimum the likelihoodof the device catching in a persons clothing or on partsof a pocket,

purse or other objects.

When it is desired to dispense the articles packaged in the container, the closure -l6 projected forwardly with sufficient initial force torelease the holding means 26-21 and thereafter with the necessary moderate force to simul-. taneously move the front end wall 24 away from and the ejector and agitator towards and to the exit 2211. As the ejector travels forwardly it will engage the rear of an article in the trap 22 and slide said article through and from the trap to and through the exit and beyondthe forward edge of the body bottom wall where it may drop into a persons hand or mouth or into any receptacle or onto any surface directly beneath the forward end of the container. During .the above described operation the ejector .30 continually descends towards or approaches the body bottom wall to gradually decrease the space between them and. reduce theeeffective passageway perpendicularly relative to said body bottom wall to prevent the passage of thenext succeeding or other article through the'exit until the next forward stroke of the closure occurs.

During the dispensing operations, the container is generally held in an inclined position with the forward end thereof below the rear 'end to cause the articles therein to slide forwardly by gravity. As the closure is retracted or moved rearwardly the agitator 32 will contact one of the remaining articles which maybe in line therewith to break any jam caused by wedging of the articles against oneanotherand the baffles and assist in causing one of said articles to enter the trap. When the closure has reached its fully retracted position the ejector has' been elevated to such an extent that a forwardly sliding article may pass beneath the ejector without interference andinto the trap for "future dispensation when the closure is again projected "forwardly.

Referring now to the modification illustrated in Figs. '7 to 1-3, especially adapted for use with elongated articles, such as capsules, (5a and, 16a represent, respectively, the box-like body and closure of any appropriate material having some inherent resiliency and constructed xinwa :mfln nertoprovide limitedfiexibility. i i

"The box-like body, similar to that previously described, comprises a bottom Ila from-which project the upwardly extending perpendicular side walls 18a and a rear wall 19a 'so thatt e sloping direction from the rear wall to theopen frontend of the body. 1 p

Within the body are located opposed longand short baffles 2 la and 2lb, respectively, which extend from a location a short distanceto the rear of the open end of said body, at .the side walls thereof, forwardly towards said open end and in a generally oblique direction relative to said side walls. The longer baffle 2la extends all the way to the open end of the body and, preferably, has two different angular portions lengthwise thereof, the outer portion being slightly oblique or even substantially parallel to the body side walls while the inner end ,is more acutely pitchedto provide part of a flaring entrance to a trap to be presently described.

- The shorter .baffle Zlb terminates short of the open end of the body and in cooperation with the longer baffle formsa part of the trap 22b. The interior of the body 15a is divided into two longitudinal rather narrow compartments 3.6 and 31 by a longitudinal partition 38 extending from the rear wall to a location adjacent a vertical transverse plane at the inner ends of the baffies and the forward end of said partition is beveled on the .side facing the longer baffle to assist in guiding articles from the compartment 36 into the trap. V f i The closure 1611 includes the top wall 23a and pendant front wall 28a with tongues or tracks 2511 along the longitudinal or side edges of said of the device the structure is provided with aholding means-represented by the projection 2s and socket'fl, and the rabbet joints 2:; nare:

The ejector 30a, such asa transverse rib, depends from the underneath face of the closure top wall 23a adjacent tofbut spaced from the front wall 24a of the closure and the'spacing is such that the distance between said ejector and front wall is slightly greater than the length of one of the articles 3m. to be dispensed which articles 3la are shown as capsules for purposes of illustration only. Also, the lower edge of said ejector is spaced a slightly greater distance from the bottom wall of the body, when the closure is in closed position, than the thickness or height of the articles in the container so that an article resting on the bottom of the body, when the latter is tilted, may slide under said ejector.

An agitator 32a, such as asubstantially straight longitudinal rib, also depends from the underneath face of the top wall of the closure and extends from the front wall 24a to a location amazes longer bafile 2 la. This agitator, when theclosure Ilia is substantially or completely closed; forms the complete trap 22b having an exit at the forward open end of the device and functions as a gate for the outlet end of the compartment 31. When the closure is partly open, the beveled end of said agitator cooperates with .the shorter baflle 21b to act as a guide from the compartment 3'! to the trap between said agitator and the longer baffle 2 Ia.--

A roughened area 330. is provided on the exte-. rio-r surface of the closure top wallto assist in securing a proper grip on the closure to slide the latter longitudinally. The forward or ejecting movement of the closure is limited by a stop means which, for purposes of illustration, is shown as comprised of the lugs 34 and 35 identical in construction and operation as previously set forth in connection with the form of the dev1ce first described.

When dispensing articles packaged in-the type of container illustrated inFigs. '7 to'13, said container is tilted forwardly so that the foremost article in the compartment36 will slide into the trap 22b between the longer bafi le 21a and the agitator 32a, or one of said articles may already be in said trap. As the closure lfia is projected v forwardly, the inclined travel thereof will cause the ejector 30a to gradually move closer to the bottom of the container and engage the rear end of the article in the trap for sliding said article forwardly to and through the exit from which location it may drop onto any surface below the container, such as the palm of a persons hand.

Thedescent of the ejector towards the bottom of the container also decreases the space between the lower edge of said ejector and said bottom will be forced backward until said ejector is elevated above the bottom of the container to permit passage of the ejector over the article or the latter under said ejector.

The position of the agitator 3211 when the closure is retracted prevents the articles in the compartment 3.! from entering the trap and so ill long as there are any articles from the compartment 36 wholly or partially in the trap they bar the articles in said compartment 37 from entering said trap. Even if one of the articles in the compartment 31 has its forward end sticking into the entrance of the trap, such article will become wedged against one of the articles lying between the compartment 36 and said trap and will be held against further forward travel. Under such a condition the agitator will engage the article sticking out of the compartment 3'! and push it back therein, as the closure is retracted, to free the article projecting from the compartment 36 and permit thelast mentioned article to slide into the trap for subsequent dispensing. These operations are repeated until the articles in compartment 36 have been removed.

After all of the articles have been dispensed from the compartment 36, or the last one from said compartment is in the trap, the next for-- y might result in fspilling of the articles.

8 oblique'surface of the shorter baflle 2111' thereby opening a passageway from the compartment 37 to the trap. Theforemost article from the compartment 3'1-partia11y enters thetrap and as the closure is retracted the agitator will engage one side of said foremost article and push it trans verselytowards the opposite side whereby it will be linedupwi'th the trap for unobstructed complete entrance thereinto. At about the same time said agitator will engage the forward end of the next succeeding article in the compartment 3! and push it rearwardly and form a barrier to its entrance into the trap until the article then in the trap is being dispensed. Thereafter the operations are repeated until all of the articles in the compartment 31 have been dispensed at which time the container will be empty.

In actual practice, the container is filled with articles prior to the closure being assembled'on the body. After the articles are placed in the constop lugs contact and limit the ejecting movement of said closure to prevent accidental displacement thereof or an excessive stroke that Each time an article is dispensed and the closure re tracted the articles remaining in the container willbe dislodged or stirred about by the agitator to condition them for free sliding movements towards the exit to be subsequently positively forced from the container by the ejector.

r, Particular attention is called to the fact that the exit is in the longitudinal center of thecontainer thereby eliminating the necessity of tilting the same sidewise or shaking it about. Also the articles drop from the container exit by gravity in a natural manner thus overcoming the requirement of inverting the container prevalent in many dispensing containers. These features are exceedingly'valuable in an instance where a person has only one hand in condition for use, either right or left, and desires to drop an article directly into the mouth. It should be apparent that this'type of dispensing container is highly efficient because of its easy manipulation by either right or left handed persons and by one forward and rearward stroke which can be accomplished by the use of one finger or thumb of one hand.

Of course we do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described as .these may be variedwithin the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of our invention.

. Having described our invention what we claim center of said body at the front end thereof when said front end is tilted downwardly and forming a restricted exit, a closure for the top and front end slidably attached to the top of said body and including top and front end walls, pendant means on the underneath side of said top Wall in spaced i remaining adjacent relation to said front wall and to the bottom wall of the body, said pendant means gradually descending towards said bottom wall as the closure is moved forwardly to positively engage an article ahead of it and progressively decrease the space between said pendant means and the bottom wall of the body, and agitating means on the closure to engage any of the articles in the container in the path of rearward travel of said agitating means as the closure is retracted to shift the remaining articles about within the container.

2. The dispensing container according to claim 1 wherein the space between the pendant means and the front end wall of the closure is slightly greater than one of the dimensions of each of the articles to be dispensed.

3. The dispensing container according to claim 1 wherein the space between the pendant means and the bottom wall of the body, when the closure is in its retracted position, is slightly greater than the height of the articles to be dispensed as they rest on said bottom wall.

4. The dispensing container according to claim 1, in combination with cooperating means on the body and closure to limit the forward sliding movements of said closure, and other cooperating means on the body and closure to temporarily hold the latter in its retracted position.

5. The dispensing container according to claim 1, in combination with a partition extending upwardly from and in the longitudinal center of the bottom of the body providing two parallel compartments, the agitating means being in alignment with only one of said compartments.

6. A dispensing container comprising a box-like body having a normally open top and front end and adapted to hold a plurality of articles to be individually dispensed therefrom, the top of said body sloping downwardly and forwardly, a pair of bafiles on the inside of the body extending obliquely from the sides towards the open front end and forming a trap gradually diminishing in lateral dimensions to provide a restricted exit over the front edge of the bottom of the body, a unitary closure for the top and front end of and slidably attached to the top of said body, said closure including top and front end walls, an ejector depending from the underneath side of said top wall in spaced adjacent relation to said wall from the front wall to a location adjacent.

the transverse plane of the forward face of the ejector and wholly to one side of the trap adjacent one of the baffles, said ejector adapted to propel an article through and from the trap to drop off of the forward edge of the bottom wall as the closure is projected and said agitator adapted to shift any articles within the container to the rear of the trap in the path of rearward travel of said agitator as the closure is retracted.

7. The dispensing container according to claim 6, in combination with a stop lug projecting from a side of the body within the same, and a companion stop lug projecting from the underneath side of the closure for cooperation with the first 10 mentioned stop lug to limit the forward movement of said closure.

8. The structure according to claim '7 wherein the lug on the side of the bodyis arcuately beveled on the upper edge from the front face and the lug on the closure is arcuately beveled on the lower edge from the rear face whereby said lugs may be readily forced past each other during the assembly of the container body and closure.

9. A dispensing container comprising a boxlike body having a normally open top and front end, the top of said body sloping downwardly and forwardly, a longitudinal central partition extending from the rear closed end and terminating an appreciable distance short of the open front end, said partition providing parallel compartments to hold rows of articles to be individually dispensed, all of the articles being removed from one compartment prior to any being removed from the other compartment, the side of the forward end of the partition facing the compartment from which the articles are to be first removed being beveled to assist in guiding articles towards an exist, a long generally oblique bafile extending from the body side wall forming a part of the compartment from which the articles are first removed to the open end of said body, a short oblique bafile extending from the other body side wall towards but terminating short of said open front, the rear ends of both bafiles meeting in a transverse plane forward of the front end of the partition, a closure for the top and front end slidably attached to the top of said body and including top and front end walls,

an elongated agitator depending from the closure top wall in line with the approximate longitudinal center of the compartment from which the articles are to be last removed and extending from the front end wall to a location adjacent a transverse plane meeting the forward end of the partition when the closure is retracted and lying close to the forward end of the short baffle, the side of said agitator facing the longer baffle being beveled on approximately the same angle as that in which the short baflie is positioned, said baflles and agitator providing a gradually decreasing trap leading to a restricted exit over the front edge of the bottom of the body at the open end to guide articles towards the exit when the front end of the container is tilted downwardly, and a pendant ejector on the underneath side of said top Wall in spaced adjacent relation to said front wall approximately equal to the length of a single dispensible article and also spaced from the bottom wall of the body, when the closure is retracted, a: distance slightly greater than the height of a dispensible article, said ejector gradually approaching said bottom wall as the closure is projected forwardly to engage an article ahead of it and progressively decrease the space between the ejector and said bottom wall to hold a succeeding article to the rear of said ejector.

DONALD WABER. RAYMOND BRAUNS'IEIN, JR.

No references cited.

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