US2981450A - Dispensing spout - Google Patents

Description

April 25, 1961 J. w. ANDERSON DISPENSING SPOUT Filed July 24, 1957 INVENTOR. JOHN W. ANDERSON ATTORNEYS United States Patent DISPENSING SPOUT john W. Anderson, 578 Broadway, Gary, Ind.

Filed July 24, 1957, Ser. Ni 673,976 ,r

4 Claims. (Cl. 222564) This invention relates to dispensing apparatus and more particularly to a novel flow control spout for dispensing containers.

Heretofore, nozzles or spouts have been either formed integrally with a container or detachably secured thereto for use in directing a limited flow of material from the container into a preselected area. Since the spouts, when in the dispensing position, are usually in close proximity to a source of moisture, dampness accumulates in the inner confines of the spout which causes the material to stick around the opening and ultimately prevent flow from the container. In order to overcome this, some designers have made the spout opening relatively large which will admittedly prevent clogging of the opening but will likewise permit such a rapid and large flow of material that material is wasted and the supply in the container is soon exhausted. i

Many attempts have been made to design a dispensing spout that is capable of emitting a reasonable flow of material that will not be exposed to the disadvantage of easily becoming clogged due to an accumulation of moisture in the opening of the spout. Many complex devices have been designed that include traps, chambers and reciprocable balls for restricting the flow in one position and knocking the accumulated material loose in a dispensing or shifted position. These and other similar devices have not solved the problem completely and, in addition, have added considerable cost to the finished device.

It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to overcome the above-noted disadvantages of the prior art and to provide an improved spout that will emit a limited flow of material without being easily clogged by moisture.

It is another important object of this invention to provide a spout wherein the material in the container acts as a restraint to an excessive rate of flow.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a spout that can either be formed integrally with a container or be made detachable from the container without affecting the eflicient operation of the spout.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a spout that can, when used with certain coarse granulated material, act as a measuring apparatus as well as a spout.

And a further object of this invention is to provide a spout that can be applied to a container in an expeditious manner that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and extremely efficient in operation, use,

and service.

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and specifically pointed out in the appended claims. In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container and spout in separated position and showing the invention;

Figure 2 is a-partial cross-sectional view of the spout of Figure 1 with the spout disposed within the container in stored position, such as for shipment;

Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the container with the dispensing spout in assembled position;

Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the dispensing container in inverted position with the material being dispensed; and

Figure 5 is a modified form of Figure 4 showing larger granulars of material.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 10 indicates a container having a top or end wall 12 formed of relatively stiff sheet metal such as tin,

plastic, or the like. The wall 12 has an upwardly projecting bead 14 formed around a peripheral edge portion thereof which is adapted to be engaged with and to be secured to the upper edge of the container side wall 16. The height of the bead 14 provides a means for establishing a spacing between the plane of the top surface of the wall 12 and a plane lying tangent to the upper edge of the head for a purpose to be described hereinafter.

A spout 18 which forms the basis of this invention is adapted to be affixed to the wall 12 and for this pur-' pose the wall 12 is formed with a recessed or depressed portion 19 which is circular in shape and positioned substantially centrally of said top wall 12. The specific attaching means does not form a part of this invention. However, it is illustrated in the same way as the attaching means disclosed in detail in my copending application, Serial No. 632,684 filed January 7, 1957.

In brief, the attaching means includes a plurality of notches 21 formed in the recessed ledges 22 of the container 10 which ledges coact with offset segments 24 formed in the flanged end 25 of the dispensing spout 18. The spout is attached to the container by inserting the segments 24 through the notches 21 in the recessed portion 22 whereupon turning the spout 18 relative to the container 10 will interengage the segments with the recessed portion.

The spout is stored within the container (see Figure 2) by inserting the dispensing end of the spout 18 through the aperture 27 in the recesseed portion and positioning the flange of the spout on the recessed portion whereby the underface of the flange of the spout lies substantially flush with the plane of the top wall of the container. A sealing disc 22, see'Figure 2, can be secured to the top of the container for holding the spout 18 in its stored position.

The spout 18 is constructed in a novel way to accomplish the desired results and comprises a cylindricallyshaped portion 29 extending axially a short distance from, and formed integrally with, the outwardly flared flange or attaching portion 25. The axial length of the cylindrically shaped portion 29, just referred to as a short distance, as clearly shown throughout the drawings, is less than its diameter. An intermediate portion 30 is formed integrally with the cylindrical portion 29 and is gradually tapered or curved inwardly from the point of connection with the cylindrical portion 29 toward the dispensing end of the spout. Integrally formed with the smaller end of the intermediate tapered portion 30 is a radially inwardly formed lip portion 32 which terminates in an opening 34 forming the dispensing outlet 35 for the spout. As clearly shown in Figures 2, 3, and 5, the diameter of orifice 34 is approximately one-third the diameter of the cylindrically shaped portion 29, thus providing -an ample ledge upon which the granular Pafented Apr. 25, 1961 material may collect, as best shown in Figures 4 and 5, for the purpose herein described. It is contemplated that the outer surface of the lip portion 32 may lie in a single plane or may reverse direction such that the inner edge thereof forming the opening 34 for the spout will lie in a plane axially spaced inwardly, with respect to the contents of the container as viewed in Figure 3', from the plane lying tangent to the outer extremity of the spout.

With the spout 18 attached in dispensing position on a container of granulated material, such as salt, sugar or certain powdered soaps, and the assembled device tilted into dispensing position, a portion of the material will strike the inner side of lip 32 and will stack up therein to form a wall 37, see Figure 4, about the opening 34 extending back or inwardly from the lip toward the center of the container which wall 37 will define a passageway through the spout. The passageway, being composed of relatively coarse granular material will present a relatively rough surface past which the granulated material will fiow as it is dispensed. The rough surface of the passageway will ofier a resistance to the flow of material which will not only slow down or retard the rate of discharge of material but, in combination with the size of opening 34, will restrict the amount being discharged. Some materials have been found to form an orifice within the spout of a diameter smaller than the diameter of the opening 34 at the end of the spout. The restricted orifice further reduces the rate and quantity of flow. Upon turning the container to the upright position, the stacked material forming wall 37 within the spout will fall back into the container leaving a clean inner surface to the spout. When the container is once again turned to the dispensing position, a short time delay will be experienced as the material'returns to the spout and re-establishes a retarded flow of material.

Since the exposed inner portion of the spout will be shielded by the lip 32 around the opening 34 thereof, the ingress of moisture into the container will be substantially reduced. Furthermore, what moisture does enter through the opening 34 will be picked up by the material immediately surrounding the spout which will drop back into the container and be mixed with the other material where it can dry without causing the wetted material to be deposited on the walls of the spout so that buildup of material around the inner surface of the spout will be avoided. In this Way, the opening in the spout can be made of any suitable size without an excess of material being emitted from the inverted container while at the same time eliminating the possibility of clogging of the spout due to moisture and material collecting around the inside of the spout.

It is contemplated, as shown in the modification of Figure 5, that when granular material of large size, such as coarse granulated soaps, is used in the container, the size of the opening 34 can be selected such that the material will build up on the inner side of the lip 32 and intermediate portion 30 until the material completely bridges over the outlet opening in the spout. An amount of material, approximately equal to the size of the cavity produced while the bridging efiect is accomplished, is dispensed through the opening 34. It has been found that the bridging of the material will occur at substantially the same point in the flow of material from the container every time, such that the amount of material dispensed each time will be substantially the same. Thus,

' proved means whereby in any event the rate of flow of material dispensed from a container will be retarded, while all possibility of clogging due to moisture entering the end of the nozzle is eliminated. My improved means is relatively simple in structure, requiring no difficult manufacturing operations to produce it. The resulting device is neat in appearance, efficient in operation, and inexpensive to produce. Various modifications of the structure can, of course, be made without departing from the spirit of my invention as pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim:

1, A dispensing spout for attachment to a container for granulated material comprising a cylindrical tubular body', one end of said body being provided with means for interlocking engagement with cooperative means associated with the edges of an opening in said container, the discharge end of said body having a portion curved inwardly and terminating in an inwardly directed lip defining an orifice coaxial with said body, said lip and said curved portion defining a ledge upon which the maerial within the container stacks up for resisting flow of material from the container.

2. A dispensing device for granular materials, comprising a container having attaching means at one end thereof for detachably connecting a spout to the edge of an opening of the container, said spout including a tu bular cylindrical portion connected at one end to said attaching means, an inwardly curved portion connected to the discharge end of the cylindrical portion and extending inwardly toward the axis of said cylindrical portion, and a substantially planar ledge portion joined with said curved portion and having a discharge aperture sub stantially centrally disposed therewith, said curved portion and said ledge portion suspending a quantity of the contents of the container past which the discharging materials must pass.

3. A dispensing spout for attachment to an opening in a container for granular materials, said spout including a cylindrical tubular portion having a substantially smooth cylindrical interior, one end of said portion being provided with means for detachably securing the same to the opening in the container, the other end of said portion being integral with an inwardly curved intermediate portion, said intermediate portion terminating in a continuous inwardly extending flange defining a centrally disposed discharge orifice.

4. A dispensing spout as claimed in claim 1, wherein the diameter of said cylindrical tubular body is greater than the length of the spout.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 898,821 Beatty Sept, 15, 1908 1,600,350 Mensik Sept. 21, 1926 2,649,227 Vaughn Aug. 18, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 148,592 Great Britain Feb. 17, 1919 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CRRECTION Patent Nos, 2 98l l5O d April 25 1961 John W Anderson It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patentrequiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 2 line 46 for "rece-sseed read Km recessed line 54 for "cylindrically-=" read cm cylindrically =5 a same column 2 line 68 beginning with "As clearly shown strike out all to and including "purpose herein described." in line 2 column 38 Signed and sealed this 13th day of March 1962,

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER DAVID L. LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

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