US3079051A

US3079051A - Tablet dispenser

Info

Publication number: US3079051A
Application number: US737589A
Authority: US
Inventors: Roland R Clark; Jr Herman D Kaiscr
Original assignee: Medical Supply Co
Current assignee: Medical Supply Co
Priority date: 1958-05-26
Filing date: 1958-05-26
Publication date: 1963-02-26
Anticipated expiration: 1980-02-26

Description

Feb. 26, 1963 R. CLARK ETAL. 3,079,051 TABLET DISPENSER Filed May 26, 1958 7? /)'2 Va 233))? hind 72 r HermcI/z EKG/59rd).

ilnited tates 3,79,5l Patented Feb. 26, I963 Fice 3,79,tl51 TABLET DEPENSER Roland R. Clark, Rockford, and Herman D. Kaiser, In, Belvidere, ilk, assignors to Medical Supply Cempany, Rockford, Ill, a corporation or Eliineis Filed May 26, 195$, der. No. 737,589 7 Claims. (Cl. 222-637) The present invention relates to dispensers and more specifically one for delivering tablet-like articles, such as aspirin or salt tablets.

While tablet dispensers are well known and used in large numbers, they have long been subject to several serious objections. For example, tablets stored in the dispensing container or magazine are usually too much exposed to the atmosphere continually, thereby allowing moisture and impurities to enter, causing the stored tablets to adhere together and to distintegrate and deteriorate generally. Furthermore, in all dispensers the tablet capacity was invariably fixed and no thought was ever given evidently to getting around that objection.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a tablet or capsule dispenser so designed and constructed to keep the tablet container sealed against outside contamination, even during the tablet dispensing operation.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a dispensing device wherein the capacity of the tablet container may be readily and conveniently increased by building up on the outer end of an existing one, without spoiling its appearance.

Still another object is to provide an improved tablet dispensing apparatus designed for dispensing tablets in a rapid and efiicient manner and which is of simple and economical molded plastic construction throughout, so economical, in fact, that the dispenser is intended to be sold as part of a package deal with the onequantity of tablets and discarded and replaced with another full dispenser when the last tablet has been dispensed.

Another object is to provide a dispenser for dispensing tablets that is certain of always dispensing only one at a time and without any danger of crushing tablets, regardless of the amount of tablets in the dispenser.

More specifically stated, the dispenser comprises a tablet-storing container or magazine preferably molded of a thermosplastic material, and adapted to be enlarged by adding an extension heat-sealed onto the outer end from which the end wall has been punched out, the outer end portion of the containers being annularly shouldered to provide a seat for wedging heat-sealed engagement thereon of the extension.

Disposed below the table-t container and connected thereto is a dispensing mechanism of improved design operable to dispense tablets from the container one at a time. This dispensing mechanism comprises a ported stator plate, an upper ported rotor plate providing an air-tight seal on top of the stator, and a lower ported rotor plate providing an air-tight seal on the bottom of the stator. These three plates, which are all of molded plastic construction, in addition to forming the tablet dispensing mechanism, form an air-tight slide valve mechanism which effectively seals oil communication between the inside of the tablet container and the atmosphere, even during the dispensing of tablets. The stator and two rotors are hollowed out for greater economy of manufacture, but also for these additional reasons:

(1) the rotor parts are thereby provided with narrow, circumferentially extending, fla-t seating surfaces for better sealing engagement on the stator;

(2) the stator is of two-piece construction, consisting of a hollow disk set in a circular recess provided therefor in the supporting bracket, and thus a flat seat is provided on top of the inserted disk for the upper rotor, and another flat seat is defined on the bottom of the bracket under the depression for the lower rotor, and experience has shown that with this construction really flat seats are obtainable, which is so important for a good sealing action;

(3) the hollowness of the upper rotor makes it possible to depress the top thereof at the center hub so that'the stem on the lower rotor, which enters the hub and is fastened thereto by a headed pin, cemented in place in an axial hole in the end of the stem, is drawn upwardly to seat the lower rotor more tightly on the lower seat while the upper rotor is held down on the upper seat with the same yielding pressure to give a much more dependable sealing action, without adding any complications to the construction, the resilience or spring action obtained being inherent in the plastic material, and

(4) the stator disk, which also is hollowed out on its under side, like the upper rotor, is pressed firmly against the bottom of its supporting recess in the bracket by the downward pressure of the upper rotor thereon, so that there is no air leakage through the bottom of the dispenser, despite the use of two parts instead of one in the stator.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view, half in vertical section, of a tablet dispenser made in accordance with our invention, showing, in phantom, how the thermoplastic tablet container is adapted to be built-up to a larger capacity;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the dispenser;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the upper rotor taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the lower rotor taken on line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the stator taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the recessed central portion of the supporting bracket, with stator disk removed, taken also on line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a section on line 77 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a section on line 88 of FIG. 4;

'FIG. 9 is a sectional detail of the heat-sealed joint between the lower and upper sections of a tablet container enlarged in capacity as herein contemplated;

FIG. 10 is a detail on line 1tl-ltl of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 11 is an isolated side view of the tablet deflecting blade shown in top plan in FIG. 10.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

The tablet container or magazine indicated at 1% is adapted to receive tablets such as aspirin or salt tablets. It is often necessary to supply dispensers with different capacity containers or magazines. Therefore, this container 10 is especially designed to facilitate enlargement thereof by building onto the outer end of an existing container. Thus, the tapered cup-shaped container 10, which is rectangular in cross-section, has a recessed annular shoulder portion 11 on its upper end 12. A second tapered cup-shaped rectangular container 13 is provided having the open end 14 thereof of dimensions fitting snugly around the recessed shoulder portion 11 of container 16 thereby presenting a nearly flush surface to the two tablet containers 0 and 13 in interfitted relationship when viewed from the exterior. The

containers

10 and 13 are preferably both molded of nylon or other thermoplastic material and is preferably, although not necessarily, transparent. When-two containersare to be utilized in stacked relationship, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 8, the top 12 of container 10 :is punched out and the two containers 1% and :13 are heat-sealed together into one unitary construction, as seen at 15 in FIG. 9. It is thus apparent that either container 10 alone may be utilized in conjunction with the dispenser 16 or the two-in-one container 10-43 may be utilized, therebyproviding a larger capacity container. Additionally, container 13 may have a recessed shoulder ,portion '17 on its upper end 18 for the possible addition of a third container, if so desired.

Containers

10 and 13 are substantially rectangular in horizontal section, and the upwardly projecting rim 19 on the dispenser 16 is also of rectangular form and has an antnular shoulder 20 thereon on which the container 10 is suitably wedgingly engaged and cemented for an airtight connection.

Dispenser 16 comprises a molded plastic supporting bracket 21 having a depending vertical back flange 22. The latter has vertical slots 22 for the insertion of screws 'or bolts so that this dispenser may be secured to any suitable support or to a wall (not illustrated). Bracket 21 is dished and in the dished center is defined a circular recess 23 with a vertical rib 23 on one side thereof for close reception of a circular stator disk :24, having a flat smooth top surface in parallel relation to the smooth fiat bottom surface on the bracket, the downwardly inclined marginal portion 25 in the top of the bracket forming a :sort of tunnel to direct the salt or aspirin tablets 'tobe dispensed toward the top ofthe upper ro'tor disk26. A small notch .24 in 'one side of the stator disk 24 receives rib 23 to hold the disk against turning. v The rotor 26 has a'flat bottom surface 27 which seats with an air-tight fit on the flat top of stator 24, and has a D-hole 28 in the center, and a circular tablet hole 29 in radially spaced relation "thereto. Tablet agitator projections 26' are provided on the top of rotor 26. A lower rotor plate 38, which has a fiat top surface 31 seating with an air-tight fit on fiat bottom of bracket 21 under stator 24, has an a'xial cylindrical stem or shaft 32 which fits closely in a center hole 33 in the recessed portion 23 of bracket 21 and registering center hole 33' in stator 24 and includes a D-section upper end portion 34 having a close fit in the correspondingly D-shaped center hole 28 provided in upper rotor plate 26. A hole 35 is also provided in lower rotor plate in radially spaced relation -to the axial "stem 32 for register with "a port 36 in the recessed portion 23 of bracket 21 and registering port 36' in stator 24 so as to allow dropping a tablet previously deposited in port 36 when the handle portion 37' defined by the vert'cal ribbed flange on the periphery of lower rotor plate 30 is turned to a position bringing hole 35 in register with said port. Hole 29 in the upper rotor plate 26 is disposed in the same radially spaced relationship to stem 32'to register with port 36, but is in diametrically opposed relation to hole 35,,as seen in FIG. 2, so that the inside of the dispenser is never'open to the outside atmosphere, regardless of which of said openings '29 and 35 is in register with port-36 at any given time. The stator port 36 is preferably slightly larger indiameter than the tablets-to be dispensed, and hole .35 in the lower rotor plate 30 is a trifle larger than that. Arcuate

ramps

37 and 38 may be provided on opposite sides of port 36' in stator disk 2.4

to guide a conventional circular aspirin or salt tablet into the stator port 36 from the hole 29 in the upper rotor plate in the turning thereof in either direction. The

arcuate ramps

37 and 38 are relatively smooth and oppositely inclined downwardly toward

ports

36 and 36. To make for flexibility and reduce frictional resistance to turning of

rotor plates

26 and 30, they are both recessed on their seating faces, as best appears in FIGS. 3, 4, 7 and 8, only the flat bottom 27 of a narrow circular peripheral flange 39 on rotor 26 contacting the flat top surface of stator 24, and only the flat top 31 of a narrow circular peripheral rim 40 on rotor 30 contacting the flat bottom surface of bracket 21. A circular neck 41 is cast integral with rotor 26 and flange 39 to define hole 29, and the lower end of this neck is in coplanar relation with the bottom edge 27 of flange 39. Likewise, a shorter circular neck 42 is cast integral with rotor 36 and rim 49 to define hole 35 and the upper end of this neck is in coplanar relation with the upper edge 31 of rim 40. The recessing of the upper face of rotor 30 is so slight that there is no danger of a salt or aspirin tablet in port 36 being damaged by riding up out of the shallow recess over the edge of neck 42.

Stator disk 24 and

rotors

26 and 30 are (like bracket 21) all molded of nylon or other similarly suitable plastic material. The stem 32, which has an axial hole 43 pro-1 vided in its upper end, is a little short in relation to the dimension from the flat bottom of bracket 21 to the center of the dome-shaped top of rotor 26, so that the top wall of the latter has to be depressed to bring it flush with the flat top of the stem 32. Hence, when the parts are secured together by means of a headed pin 44 with cement on its shank, the pin being pressed home in hole 43, the head of the pin 44 holds the depressed top wall of the .rotor 26 in its depressed condition and the

rotors

26 and 30 are urged resiliently toward one another under light spring pressure, for a good seating action and stator disk 24 is also held in place in its supporting recess 23 in bracket 21 under the same pressure to prevent air leakage.

A relatively resilient flexible baflile blade 45, which is also molded of nylon or the like, is provided disposed horizontally above and in closely spaced relationship to the top rotor 26, keyed securely to the bracket 21 and located immediately overlying the stator ports 36-36'. Blade 45 has an upwardly bent normally arched attaching portion 46, and a T-shaped slot 47 is provided in one side of the recessed top portion of bracket 21 in which portion '46 is pressed with a close friction fit and suitably cemented in place.

The operation of the dispenser is as follows:

The container 10 is filled with the salt or aspirin tablets or capsules to be dispensed and then applied over the dispensing mechanism 16 and secured thereto by wedging engagement on flange 19 and cemented permanently in place, inasmuch as the dispenser is discarded when emptied. It is understood that any articles comparable with an tasprintablet may be dispensed by this dispenser, provided they are of substantially uniform size and shape. When it is desired to dispense a tablet, the lower rotor 30 is turned by hand, using handle portion 37', thereby turning the upper rotor 26 by means of connecting stem 32. As the upper rotor 26 turns, the upper hole 29, into which a tablet has found its way, willregister with stator ports 3636. Accordingly, the tablet will be deposited by gravity in stator port 36. Either one of the

ramps

37 or 38 leading into statorport 36 will help in the smooth transfer of the tabletfrom hole 29 to port'36, depending on the direction the handle 37' is turned, but the tablet cannot be'dispensed because lower rotor 30 closes the bottom of port 36. It is only when hole 35 is moved into register with port 36 that the tabletis dropped. The flexible blade 45 overlying the stator port 36 will yield a trifle in the event a'tablet'happensto lie askewin upper hole 29 at the point of registering with stator port '36, thereby insuring smoother operation and reducing likelihood of tablet breakage, besides blocking hole 29 against entry of another tablet until the rotor 26 is turned enough to bring hole 29 out of register with port 36. For each tablet dispensed, the handle 37 is usually turned a half-turn one way to deposit the tablet in port 36, and then turned a half-turn the opposite way to drop the tablet. Of course, a full turn in one direction will accomplish the same results. While we have not shown it, we prefer to provide an index mark on the bracket and a corresponding index mark on rotor 30, which, when in register with the first mark will serve to indicate to the operator the point in the turning of handle 37 where hole 35 registers with port 36 36' for droppage of a tablet.

It is apparent, therefore, that the upper and

lower rotors

26 and 30 act as slide valves. The upper rotor 26 opens the stator port 36 to the inside of the dispenser when the hole 35 in lower rotor 30 is 180 away, and then port 36 is opened to the atmosphere only when it is definitely closed to the inside of the dispenser by upper rotor 26 having its hole 29 180 away. The projections 26 agitate the tablets above the upper rotor 26 enough to reduce likelihood of the dispenser being ever operated without dispensing a tablet. These projections 26' are located so as to clear the baffle 45.

The advantages of the dispenser will be obvious from the foregoing description. The lower rotor 30 may be rotated by handle 37' in either direction to dispense a tablet. This is important in that one is just as apt to turn it one way as the other. The ease with which a dispenser may be changed in capacity should also be evident from the foregoing description.

It should be apparent that the new dispenser is efficient in operation and attractive in appearance. The container or magazine 10, if not cemented in place, can be removed for refilling and replaced without the use of any tools and without in any way defacing the dispenser. Also, while the present dispenser dispenses tablets free, it should, of course, be obvious that a coin slide mechanism could be added, so that the dispenser could not be operated for droppage of a tablet without payment of a predetermined amount first. Also, while we have disclosed a nonrefillable dispenser intended to be discarded when emptied, it will, of course, be understood that our invention is not limited to that specific kind.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of our invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

We claim:

1. In a tablet dispenser, the combination of a ported horizontal stator, upper and lower horizontal rotors seated on the top and bottom of the stator, respectively, and having ports which in certain positions of the rotors register with a port in the stator, the top rotor being hollow and having a yieldable resilient top wall with a peripheral edge portion projecting therefrom and slidably engaging the upper surface of the stator, and a shaft fixed with respect to and extending upwardly from the center of the lower rotor through a hole provided in the stator and into a center hole provided in the top wall of the upper rotor and vertically immovably secured to the latter with the central portion of said top wall depressed so as to urge the peripheral edge portion of sa d upper rotor downwardly toward the lower rotor resiliently into close sealing contact with the stator.

2. A tablet dispenser as set forth in claim 1, wherein said stator includes a ported body part with a circular recess provided therein, and a ported circular stator disk fitting closely and nonrotatably in said recess with the ports of these two stator parts in register, the upper rotor having its peripheral edge portion slidably seating on the top surface of said disk, the depression of the central portion of the top wall of said upper rotor causing said disk also to be held seated resiliently in said recess due to the rotors being urged resiliently toward one another.

3. A tablet dispenser as set forth in claim 1, wherein the peripheral edge portion of the upper rotor has a narrow flat bottom surface disposed in sealing slidable engagement on the top surface of said stator, and the lower rotor has the top thereof recessed shallowly to define also a narrow fiat top surface peripherally thereof disposed in sealing slidable engagement on the bottom surface of said stator.

4. A dispensing device for aspirin or salt tablets or the like comprising a vertical open-bottom magazine for the tablets, a horizontal bracket below and supporting and closing said magazine having a fiat top surface in which an intermediate discharge port of slightly greater than tablet diameter and axial dimension is provided at a predetermined radius from the center thereof having inclined ramp surfaces on said radius extending circumferentially from opposite sides thereof on which to guide a tablet into the port from either side, an upper rotary disk above and a lower rotary disk below the center of said bracket in concentric relation, each of said disks having a port provided therein of the same diameter as said intermediate port and adapted to register therewith separately whereby tablets may be conducted by gravity from said magazine through the port in said upper disk to said intermediate port and then from said intermediate port out through the port in said lower disk, and means vertically immovably connecting the central portions of said disks positively preventing turning of one disk relative to the other, the upper disk being hollowed out on its bottom to define a yieldable resilient top wall and a downwardly projecting peripheral edge portion slidably engaging the fiat top surface on said bracket, the central portion of said top wall being depressed and immovably connected with the central portion of the lower disk in that condition to insure a good seal at said peripheral edge portion, and the lower disk being enlarged in thickness to serve as an operating handle for manual rotation of the upper and lower disks.

5. A tablet dispenser as set forth in claim 4, wherein the means connecting said disks to turn together includes an axial stern on one of said disks of enlarged diameter rotatable in an axial bearing in the center of said bracket and having a flat side surface provided on the outer end thereof engaging a flat surface provided in one side of the center hole provided in the other of said disks whereby positively to prevent turning of said disks relative to one another, said means also including means attached to the outer end of the stem engaging the central portion of the last mentioned disk drawing said disks axially toward each other into tight sealing engagement with the top and bottom surfaces on said bracket to seal the space in said magazine from the atmosphere regardless of which of the ports in said disks is in register with said intermediate port.

6. A tablet dispenser as set forth in claim 4, wherein the means connecting said disks comprises a cylindrical axial stem of enlarged diameter on the lower disk extending upwardly through a bearing provided therefor in the center of said bracket, and wherein the upper disk is of molded plastic material hollowed out on the bottom nearly the full diameter defining an upwardly arched thin top wall which is adapted to be connected centrally with the upper end of said stern and which in so being connected is flexed downwardly and, being resilient, causes the lower disk to be pressed upwardly resiliently against the bottom surface of said bracket, and the upper disk to be pressed downwardly resiliently against the top surface of said bracket, whereby to seal the space in said magazine from the atmosphere regardless of which of the ports in said disks is in register with said intermediate port.

7. In a tablet dispenser, the combination of a ported horizontal stator, upper and lower horizontal rotors seated on the top and bottom of the stator, respectively, and having ports which in certain positions of the rotors register with a port in the stator, both of said rotors being hollow on the side toward the stator so as to provide on each a yieldable resilient end wall with a peripheral edge 7 portion projecting therefrom and slidably engaging the stator, and a shaft extending through a hole provided in the stator and vertically immovably connected at its opposite ends with the central portions of said end Walls with the central portions of said walls depressed toward the stator so as to urge the peripheral edge portion of said rotors resiliently into close sealing eontaet with the stator.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 928,052 Hirsch July 13, 1909 8 Morrison Feb. 15, 1922 Elliott May 27, 19.41 Bennett Oct, 14, 1941 Bailey Sept. 25, 1945 Gits Apr. 23, 1946 Campbell Mar. 11, 1952 Topfer July 14, 1953 Lewis et al. Aug. 25, 1953 Weir Mar. 17, 1959 'Worth Sept. 15, 1959

Claims

1. IN A TABLET DISPENSER, THE COMBINATION OF A PORTED HORIZONTAL STATOR, UPPER AND LOWER HORIZONTAL ROTORS SEATED ON THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE STATOR, RESPECTIVELY, AND HAVING PORTS WHICH IN CERTAIN POSITIONS OF THE ROTORS REGISTER WITH A PORT IN THE STATOR, THE TOP ROTOR BEING HOLLOW AND HAVING A YIELDABLE RESILIENT TOP WALL WITH A PERIPHERAL EDGE PORTION PROJECTING THEREFROM AND SLIDABLY ENGAGING THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE STATOR, AND A SHAFT FIXED WITH RESPECT TO AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE CENTER OF THE LOWER ROTOR THROUGH A HOLE PROVIDED IN THE STATOR AND INTO A CENTER HOLE PROVIDED IN THE TOP WALL OF THE UPPER ROTOR AND VERTICALLY IMMOVABLY SECURED TO THE LATTER WITH THE CENTRAL PORTION OF SAID TOP WALL DEPRESSED SO AS TO URGE THE PERIPHERAL EDGE PORTION OF SAID UPPER ROTOR DOWNWARDLY TOWARD THE LOWER ROTOR RESILIENTLY INTO CLOSE SEALING CONTACT WITH THE STATOR.