US2903159A

US2903159A - Dispensing container

Info

Publication number: US2903159A
Application number: US569119A
Authority: US
Inventors: William E Fillmore
Original assignee: Owens Illinois Glass Co
Current assignee: OI Glass Inc
Priority date: 1956-03-02
Filing date: 1956-03-02
Publication date: 1959-09-08
Anticipated expiration: 1976-09-08

Description

Sept. 8, 1959 w. E, 'l-lLLMoRE DISPENSING CONTAINER Filed March 2, 1956 INVENTOR HEIHLLHoXE ATTORN 3 Z .MHMV .l? W a x a a). .1 5 z I; 2/ o l 4 mm 7% m y F 3 1 United States Patent DISPENSING CONTAINER William E. Fillmore, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to pwens- Illinois Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio Application March 2, 1956, Serial No. 569,119 2 Claims. (Cl. 221264) The present invention is a dispensing container, an important object of which is to provide simple and effective means for housing a supply of pills or the like items and reliable means by which such items may be dispensed one at a time.

A further object is the provision of a container of this type composed of three elements or parts which may be manufactured at a comparatively low cost and qu te rapidly assembled without requiring any unusual skill.

A further object of my invention is a provision of a novel dispensing feature in which a simple selector element is operable to receive pills or such items one at a time from the main supply source and, as a consequence of a slight shifting in the position of the selector, discharge the pill through an outlet opening.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view with parts in section showing a container incorporating my invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the selector.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the separable connection between the two housing elements.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the container.

In the preferred form of my invention, as illustrated, the container is formed of molded plastic material which may be transparent polystyrene or the like material. This container is composed of two parts, a base portion and a cover 11, said base portion including an upstanding generally annular Wall 12, which for the greater part of its extent is spaced inwardly a short distance from the margin of the base portion 10 so as to form a shelf or stop engageable with the lower end of a wall 13 or flange which depends from the margin of the cover portion 11. As is obvious, the base end cover portions may be of any preferred configuration, that is, in the form of fiat or perhaps concave-convex disks. If preferred, in lieu of frictional engagement between the

walls

12 and 13, interlocking ribs 14 may be formed on adjacent surfaces as illustrated in Fig. 3.

Dispensing of pills, or such items, as may be housed in the container, is provided for by the following means. A radial discharge aperture 15 is provided in the wall 12 (Fig. l), and through this aperture such items fall by gravity one at a time after having been brought to a position at the inner end of said aperture by a reciprocable selector 16. This selector 16 is confined in an arcuate track 17, such track being defined by the inner surface 18 of the wall 12 and a wall section 19 and the outer surface of an arcuate baffle 20. This bafiie 20 is set radially inward a substantial distance from the margin of the base and at one end is connected to the wall 12 by means of a radial wall 21. The other end of this baflie 20 freely terminates at a point a short distance circumferentially beyond the discharge aperture 15. Preferably, the flange 12 of the base portion includes radial extensions 22 which may snugly engage the end walls 23 of a cutout portion of the wall 13 on the cover portion. The aforementioned wall section 19 (Figs. 1 and 4) is spaced circumferentially from that wall 23 in proximity to the radial wall 21 which connects the bafile to the wall 12, so as to provide a short circumferential slot 24 accommodating a portion of the selector 16. The end walls of this slot 24 provide stops to limit the reciprocating motion of the selector for a purpose which will be apparent presently.

The selector 16 may well be formed of polyethylene and, as shown, includes a transverse opening 25 intermediate the ends thereof and a radial finger piece 26 at one end which projects into the aforementioned slot 24. The transverse opening 25 is so positioned in relation to the finger piece 26 and the discharge opening 15, as well as the free end of the baflie 20, that in one extreme position (Fig. l), a single pill or such item may readily find its way into the opening 25 and incident to shifting the selector to its other extreme position said transverse opening or chamber 25 is brought into register with the discharge aperture 15.

Modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A dispensing container comprising a housing providing a reservoir for pills or such articles, said housing including opposed disk-like bottom and cover portions spaced apart in axial alignment, inwardly directed interlocking annular walls carried by marginal portions of the bottom and cover portions and telescoped one over the other, said walls having a radial discharge aperture therein and a circumferential slot spaced a short distance circumferentially from the discharge aperture, an arcuate bafiie spaced radially inward from both the slot and discharge aperture and connected at one end to the wall on the bottom portion and defining one longitudinal wall of an arcuate guideway for a selector, a selector of arcuate form mounted for reciprocation in and being of substantially the radial dimensions of the guideway, said selector being held in operative position and at least in part guided in its movement by said baffie and a finger-piece at one end of the selector projecting radially outward through said slot, said selector formed with a transverse radial opening so spaced from the finger-piece that when the selector is at one end of its path of reciprocation a single article can enter the opening from the reservoir and when said selector is at the other end of its path of reciprocation the radial opening registers with the aforementioned discharge aperture and has one end closed by said baflie.

2. A dispensing container as defined in claim 1 and radial extensions projecting outwardly from the annular wall of the base portion and engaging those end walls of the discharge aperture and slot circumferentially most remote from each other to thereby secure the bottom and cover portions against relative rotation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,189,954 Huesing Feb. 13, 1940 2,204,821 Priddy June 18, 1940 2,302,641 Baron Nov. 17, 1942 2,434,222 Olivier Jan. 6, 1948