WO1994004438A1

WO1994004438A1 - Sifter

Info

Publication number: WO1994004438A1
Application number: PCT/FI1993/000331
Authority: WO
Inventors: Seppo Katjo
Original assignee: Seppo Katjo
Priority date: 1992-08-24
Filing date: 1993-08-23
Publication date: 1994-03-03
Also published as: FI923789A0; AU4960393A

Abstract

A sprinkler for sprinkling granular, pulverous, flaky or powdery material. The sprinkler comprises a container (1) and on the end thereof a voiding aperture (3) with a closing member (4) which presents a conical surface (6) abutting on the margins (5) of said voiding aperture, for closing the voiding aperture. The closing member (4) comprises threads (7), and in the vicinity of the voiding aperture (3) belongs a mating thread (8), whereby the closing member can be adjusted by rotating it, to be positioned at desired distance from the margins of the voiding aperture, for sprinkling the material uniformly past the conical surface, out of the container.

Description

SIFTER .

The present invention concerns a sprinkler for strewing granular, pulverous, flaky or powdery sub- stance.

Uniform strewing of granular, pulverous, flaky or powdery substance is invariably problematic, no mat¬ ter whether the substance is gravelling sand or gravel, any kind of soil amelioration agent such as fertili- zers, limes and equivalent, seeds of various shapes and sizes, or the strewing of various spices onto food.

In the case of small areas, e.g. on stairs, in courtyards and on pavements, it is usual practice to convey the sand to the spot to be sanded, using a suit- able implement or container, and to spread the sand therefrom manually, with a ladle or with a spade, and hereby the result of spreading is often non-uniform. In a similar way the spreading of fertilizers and other soil improving agents on small areas also usually takes place by spattering the substance unevenly.

The object of the invention is to eliminate the drawbacks mentioned. Specifically, the object of the invention is to disclose a novel sprinkler which may serve as storage container for the material going to be spread, by means of which the material going to be spread can be transported to the site where this shall be accomplished, and by the aid of which the spreading of the material will take place uniformly and controlledly on an accurately defined area. Regarding the circumstances characterizing the invention, reference is made to the Claims section.

The sprinkler of the invention comprises a container and, in its continuation, a voiding aperture with a closing member presenting a conical surface resting against the margins of said voiding aperture in order to close the voiding aperture. As taught by the invention, the closing member provided with a conical surface comprises a thread, and a mating thread belongs in the vicinity of the voiding aperture. This enables the closing member to be adjusted, by rotation, to be spaced by any desired distance from the margins of the voiding aperture, and the gap which is defined between the rim of the voiding aperture and said conical sur¬ face will then allow the substance to flow out from the container uniformly past the conical surface when the container has been upended so that the voiding aperture points downward.

Advantageously, the container has as its ex¬ tension, particularly in the case of bigger containers, a conical portion which makes the container tapering toward the mouth aperture and the closing member. In an embodiment of the invention, on the con¬ ical surface has been provided a packing groove corres¬ ponding to the rim of the voiding aperture, into which the rim of the voiding aperture is urged and becomes sealed when the closing member is screwed shut. It is also conceivable that a separate packing made of suit¬ able material is used between the conical surface and the rim of the voiding aperture.

In an embodiment of the invention, on the sprinkler is provided a suitable limit stop which in- hibits any movements of the closing member, i.e., dis¬ tancing of the conical surface farther away from the rim of the voiding aperture than a given distance. The position of this limit stop may be so determined that the closing member can always be opened up to the limit stop, the position of the limit stop being fixed in a suitable location consistent with a certain material to be sprinkled. For limit stop one may use various stops known in themselves in the art, holding members on the threads or elsewhere on the closing member or in the vicinity of the voiding aperture. A further possibility is to arrange the threads on the closing member or those around the voiding aperture to be such that they cannot be rotated relative to each other past a given limit.

The closing member may comprise a sleeve-like part provided with an inside thread, which is screwed on the cylindrical part of the container, provided with an outside thread. It is equally possible that the closing member comprises a threaded, pin-like part which can be screwed into a mating sleeve-like part provided with a thread and being held by the container. When the sprinkler of the invention is used in road sanding and other equivalent applications, its capacity may be e.g. 2 to 10 litres, and in such cases at least one handle is comprised in the sprinkler. The handle is advantageously fixed on the container on the side opposite to the voiding aperture, and the voiding aperture will then point downward when the sprinkler is carried by the handle. Hereby the operation of sprink¬ ling the substance is conveniently accomplished merely by opening the closing member and holding the sprinkler aloft by its handle. It is also conceivable, particu¬ larly in the case of bigger sprinklers, that the sprin¬ kler also comprises a second handle, e.g. on the lower part of the container; this makes shaking the container easier particularly in those instances in which powdery or pulverous substances tending to vaulting are sprink¬ led.

In an embodiment of the invention, the sprink¬ ler has been made comparatively small of its size, and it is used as a spice cellar. In that case the space between the conical surface and the rim of the voiding aperture may be employed for crushing the spice sub¬ stance, this being accomplished by rotating the conical surface against the rim. The breadth of the rim is advantageously somewhat increased in this case and the conical surface and/or the rim may present a suitable configuration so that spice particles will be suitably impacted between the conical surface and the rim, to be crushed there.

In the sprinkler of the invention, the con¬ tainer may consist of a rigid shell, e.g. of a plastic jug, but the container may equally well consist of a bag-like package having a conical part on its lower end and on the tip thereof a closing member as taught by the invention.

The advantage of the sprinkler of. the inven¬ tion, compared with the state of the art, is easy-to- perform strewing of the substance and a uniform result of sprinkling, as well as simple and facile handling of the sprinkler. Owing, for instance, to low space re¬ quirement and weight it can be carried along with ease as an emergency sanding package always kept in the car, which can be taken into use when needed. Another advan¬ tage derives from the versatile potential uses of the invention, since one and the same sprinkler construc¬ tion can be employed in spreading sand, gravel, fertil¬ izers and various soil improving agents, as well as in sowing various kinds of seeds accurately and evenly. The sprinkler may furthermore be used in sprinkling spices and equivalent, and in distributing food to aquarium fish.

In the following the invention is described in detail, referring to the attached drawings, wherein:- Fig. 1 presents, partly sectioned, a sprinkler accord¬ ing to the invention.

Fig. 2 presents, partly sectioned, part of another sprinkler according to the invention, Fig. 3 presents, partly sectioned, part of a third sprinkler according to the invention, and Fig. 4 presents, partly sectioned, part of a fourth sprinkler according to the invention.

For the sake of simplicity and clarity, the same reference numeral is used in all four embodiments shown for identical or similar components. The sprinkler of Fig. 1 consists of a cylindrical con- tainer 1, e.g. of hard plastic, having on one end a tapering, conical part 2. On the end of the conical part is a cylindrical shell 11 with a voiding aperture 3 on its end. The cylindrical shell holds a closing member 4, with which the voiding aperture can be closed and opened as needed.

The closing member 4 comprises a closing body having a conical surface 6, and a sleeve 10 connected thereto by braces 12 and having a thread 7 on its in- side surface. The outer surface of the cylindrical shell 11 carries a mating thread 8, and the sleeve 10 is thus screwable upon the cylindrical shell 11 so that the conical surface 6 is urged against the margins 5 of the voiding aperture 3. When screwed on in this way, the conical surface 10 will be urged against the void¬ ing aperture, and partly into it, thereby closing the voiding aperture with a tight seal.

At the top end of the sprinkler in its operat¬ ing position depicted in Fig. 1, i.e., at the end op- posite to the voiding aperture 3, a handle 15 is pro¬ vided on the sprinkler, by which it can be carried and held aloft when sprinkling the substance. In the pres¬ ent embodiment another handle 18 has been provided on the sprinkler, located on the lower end of the sprink- ler, in the vicinity of the voiding aperture. This en¬ ables the sprinkler to be held with both hands when it is being used.

In Fig. 2 is depicted another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment the closing member 4 consists of substantially identical components with those in the embodiment of Fig. 1, while on the conical surface 6 has additionally been provided a circular packing groove 9, in which the margins 5 of the voiding aperture 3 enter when the closing member is screwed all the way up to the voiding aperture. In this way extra sealing of the container can be gained. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a border or flange acting as limit stop 16 has been provided on the outer periphery of the margins 5, this flange preventing any opening of the closing member 4 past a given limit. Hereby, when the location of the limit stop has been fixed to be appro- priate, the closing member can be opened up to a given limit when sprinkling a given substance, and the sprinkling will then take place in the best possible manner.

In Fig. 3 is depicted a third embodiment of the invention, in which to the tip of the conical sur¬ face 6 has been attached a holding member 13 carrying threads 7 on its outside. In this instance the voiding aperture 3 need not be made on a cylindrical shell as in Figs 1 and 3: the counterholder 14, provided with mating threads 8, may be secured, using appropriate fixing flanges 17, directly to the inner surface of the container's cylindrical part 2.

When the closing member 4 has been screwed fast, i.e., when the conical surface 6 is being urged against the margins 5 of the voiding aperture 5, the sprinkler of the invention can be transported to the site where it is going to be used, with ease and in any position. The procedure on the site of use is that, advantageously with the voiding aperture upward, or at least sideward, the conical surface 6 of the closing member is unscrewed so that a gap of suitable width is formed between the conical surface and the margins 5 of the voiding aperture. The sprinkler is then inverted to make its voiding aperture point downward, as a conse- quence of which the substance in the container 1 begins to flow out evenly through the voiding aperture and past the conical surface 6. Hereby, when the container is moved over the desired area, the substance can be uniformly and exactly distributed over a given area. Fig. 4 illustrates the application of the in¬ vention as a spice cellar. In this case there is a mating thread 8 on the lower part of the outer shell of the container 1, a sleeve 10 with threads 7 being screwed thereon. The sleeve 10 constitutes an integral entity together with the closing member 4 closing the voiding aperture 3 in the container bottom 1. The clos- ing member 4 comprises a conical surface 6 which abuts with its marginal parts on the margin 5 of the voiding aperture, closing the container. When the sleeve 10 is partially unscrewed, a gap forms between the conical surface 6 and the rim 5, in which the spice substance can first be crushed and from which the spice substance can flow out through holes 21 between the sleeve 10 and the closing member 4, in controlled manner.

Moreover, the sprinkler comprises a limit stop 19 held in conjunction with the closing member 4 and provided with appropriate prongs or projections which at a given stage of opening will come to rest against abutment surfaces 20 belonging on the inner surface of the container. In this way the limit stop will inhibit any excessive opening and too liberal dispensing of spice.

In the foregoing the invention has been de¬ scribed by way of example with the aid of the drawings, while different embodiments of the invention are feasi¬ ble within the scope of the inventive idea delimited by the claims.

Claims

1. A sprinkler for sprinkling granular, pul¬ verous, flaky or powdery material, said sprinkler com- prising a container (1) and on the end of said contain¬ er a voiding aperture (3) with a closing member (4) which presents a conical surface (6) abutting on the margins (5) of said voiding aperture for closing the voiding aperture, characterized in that the closing member(4) provided with a conical surface (6) comprises threads (7) and in the vicinity of the voiding aperture (3) belongs a mating thread (8), whereby the closing member can be adjusted by rotating it, to be positioned at desired distance from the margins (5) of the voiding aperture, for sprinkling the material uniformly past the conical surface, out of the container.

2. Sprinkler according to claim 1, character¬ ized in that the container (1) comprises a conical part (2) which makes the container (1) tapering towards the voiding aperture (3).

3. Sprinkler according to claim 1 or 2, char¬ acterized in that to the conical surface (6) belongs a packing groove (9) mating with the rim (5) of the void¬ ing aperture (3) .

4. Sprinkler according to any one of claims

1-3, characterized in that between the conical surface and the rim of the voiding aperture belongs a packing.

5. Sprinkler according to any one of claims

1-4, characterized in that the sprinkler comprises a limit stop (16,19) for delimiting the movement of the closing member (4), i.e., for fixing the width of the gap between the conical surface (6) and the rim (5) of the voiding aperture (3) in the open position of the closing member (4).

6. Sprinkler according to any one of claims

1-5, characterized in that the closing member (4) com¬ prises a sleeve (10) provided with an inner thread, and a mating thread around the voiding aperture on the cyl¬ indrical shell (11).

7. Sprinkler according to claim 7, character¬ ized in that the sleeve (10) and the conical surface (6) are interconnected by braces (12) between which slits are provided for sprinkling material along the conical surface and out through said slits.

8. Sprinkler according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that the closing member (4) com- prises a holding member (13) extending from the tip of the conical surface (6) to the voiding aperture (3) and provided with threads, and in the voiding aperture a counterholder (14) provided with mating threads (8).

9. Sprinkler according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that the sprinkler comprises at least one handle (15), e.g. on the container (1) on the opposite side from the voiding aperture (3), for hold¬ ing the sprinkler aloft while sprinkling is being done.

10. Sprinkler according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that the sprinkler is a sander or a fertilizer or salt spreader.

11. Sprinkler according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that the sprinkler is a food dis¬ penser for aquarium fish.

12. Sprinkler according to any one of claims

1-8, characterized in that the sprinkler is a spice cellar, the interspace between the conical surface and the voiding aperture being usable as a crusher in com¬ minuting spices.