WO2005026669A1

WO2005026669A1 - Container including a dispensing device

Info

Publication number: WO2005026669A1
Application number: PCT/DK2004/000628
Authority: WO
Inventors: Keld Krogh Nielsen; Svend Erik Lund Nielsen
Original assignee: Logidos Aps
Priority date: 2003-09-18
Filing date: 2004-09-17
Publication date: 2005-03-24
Also published as: EP1671085A1

Abstract

A hand-held container (21’) manually rotable between an upright and an inverted position, including a dispensing device for batch dispensing granular material defining a passage extending in a material flow direction from a material inlet (30’) for allowing granular material to enter the passage from the container (21’) to a material outlet (23’), a barrier chamber (33’) being defined between the material inlet and the material outlet by an inlet and an outlet barrier walls (29’, 31’), extending transversaly to the material flow direction, the inlet wall (29’) defining an inlet aperture (30’) to allow material to flow into the chamber (33’) in the flow direction when the container is inverted and to hinder the material in flowing out of the chamber (33’) opposite the flow direction when the container is upright, ant the outlet wall (31’) defining an outlet barrier aperture (32’) to allow material flow out of the chamber (33’) when the container is upright and to hinder the material in flowing out of the barrier chamber (33’) when the container is inverted.

Description

CONTAINER INCLUDING A DISPENSING DEVICE

The present invention relates to a container for containing granular material such as ground coffee, freeze-dried instant coffee or tea, sugar, detergent powder and the like and including a dispensing device for dispensing the granular product.

Many combinations of a storage container and a dispensing device are known in the art, but all such known combinations are complicated as regards use and/or constructive elements.

In connection with dispensing of instant coffee powder, ground coffee, detergent powder and the like, the normal procedure is to open a container thereof and remove a batch either with a spoon or by pouring. This is an imprecise and often messy procedure. Furthermore, the repeated opening of the storage container in connection with each dispensing operation gives rise to deterioration of those granular products that lose aroma or are oxidized by contact with the oxygen in the atmosphere.

Therefore, there is a need for a simple and inexpensive storage container including a dispensing device for granular product that may be operated by any person and protects the contents of the container against deterioration by loss of aroma or oxidation by limiting the contact with the atmosphere. The batchwise dispensing should also be relatively precise and uniform so that it is ensured that the desired total amount of product dispensed is achieved without having to resort to further measuring actions.

According to the invention, the above objectives are obtained by a hand-held container including a dispensing device for batch dispensing granular material such as ground coffee, freeze-dried instant coffee or tea, sugar, detergent powder and the like from the container, the container having a top portion and a bottom portion, the container being manually rotatable from an upright position with said top portion located above said bottom portion and an inverted position with said top portion located below said bottom portion, the dispensing device being integrated into the container or adjacent said top portion of said container, the device and said container together defining a passage extending in a material flow direction from a material inlet for allowing granular material to enter said passage from said container to a material outlet for allowing granular material to exit from said passage, an overflow or barrier chamber being defined in said passage between said material inlet and said material outlet by means of an inlet barrier wall and an outlet barrier wall extending transversely to said material flow direction, said inlet barrier wall defining an inlet barrier aperture configured and located so as to allow material to flow into said barrier chamber in said flow direction when said container is in said inverted position and to hinder said material in flowing out of said barrier chamber opposite said flow direction when said container is in said upright position, and said outlet barrier wall defining an outlet barrier aperture configured and located so as to allow material to flow out of said barrier chamber in said flow direction when said container is in said upright position and to hinder said material in flowing out of said barrier chamber in said flow direction when said container is in said inverted position .

Hereby, an intuitively easily understandable and easily implementable pouring motion will entail dispensing of relatively uniformly sized batches of the granular material without having to access the interior of the container and without any substantial risk of spilling material.

In the currently preferred embodiment of a hand-held container including a dispensing device according to the invention, said passage extends in said material flow direction between and along two opposed side walls, a top wall and a bottom wall past said inlet and outlet barrier wall extending transversely to said flow direction from one side wall to the other side wall, said inlet barrier wall extending from said bottom wall part way across said passage towards said top wall such that said inlet barrier aperture is defined between the free edge of said inlet barrier wall and said top wall, and said outlet barrier wall extending from said top wall part way across said passage towards said bottom wall such that said outlet barrier aperture is defined between the free edge of said outlet barrier wall and said bottom wall.

In one embodiment of the hand-held container including the dispensing device according to the invention, a closure means is provided for closing said material outlet and said closure means is provided with sealing means for cooperating with corresponding sealing means of said material outlet for hermetically sealing said material outlet. Hereby, it is further ensured that no atmospheric air containing moisture may enter into the container past this closure and no aroma is lost when dispensing is not taking place and the aperture is closed.

Preferably, said material outlet has an oval or elliptical shape, and said closure means is a flap hingedly connected to said container.

In a second embodiment of the hand-held container according to the invention, the container and the dispensing device are made of cardboard material or the like.

Preferably, the container and the dispensing device are provided from a plane cardboard blank.

The present invention also relates to a plane cardboard blank having plane surface parts integrally connected through weakening lines constituting hinge connections for folding said blank into the container according to the present invention.

In the following, the invention will be explained more in detail in connection with different embodiments of the combination and the dispensing device according to the invention shown, solely by way of example, in the accompanying drawings where:

Fig. 1 is a schematic top perspective view of a first embodiment of a dispensing device, Fig. 2 is a schematic bottom perspective view of the device in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a schematic top view of the device in Fig. 1 ,

Figs. 4 and 5 are schematic sectional views of the device in Fig 3 taken along lines A-A and B-B, respectively,

Fig. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a box shaped container and a second embodiment of a dispensing device for use with the container,

Fig. 7 is a cut-away view corresponding to Fig. 6 with the dispensing device assembled with the container,

Fig. 8 is an enlarged scale cut-away sectional view taken along line C-C in Fig. 7,

Figs. 9-12 are two schematic cross sectional views, a schematic top view and a schematic perspective view, respectively, of a currently preferred combination of a container and dispensing device, the cross sectional views of Figs. 9 and 10 being taken along lines A-A and B-B, respectively, in Fig. 11 , and

Figs. 13-14 are schematic perspective views seen in mutually substantially opposite directions of a dispensing device suitable for, inter alia, being incorporated in the combination shown in Figs. 9-12,

Fig. 15 is a schematic frontal, elevation view of the dispensing device of Figs. 13-14,

Figs. 16-17 are schematic perspective views seen in mutually substantially opposite directions of a dispensing device suitable for, inter alia, being incorporated in the combination shown in Fig. 19, Fig. 18 is a schematic top view of the device in Figs. 16-17 viewed towards the uppermost wall of the device in Fig. 1 6,

Fig. 19 is schematic, broken away, partly sectional view of a combination of a box and the device of Figs. 16-18, and

Fig. 20 is a schematic frontal, elevation view of the device of Figs. 16-19 seen in the direction of arrow R1.

Fig. 21 is a plane, schematic view of a blank for the assembling of a first embodiment of a hand-held container including a dispensing device according to the present invention,

Fig. 22 is a view similar to the view of Fig. 21 illustrating a first step of an assembly procedure for converting the blank into the assembled hand-held container including the dispensing device,

Fig. 23 is a view similar to the views of Figs. 21 and 22 illustrating a further step of the assembling procedure,

Fig. 24a is a view similar to the view of Figs. 21-23 illustrating a still further step of the assembling procedure,

Fig. 24b is a sectional view along the line D-D of Fig. 24a,

Figs. 25 and 26 are views similar to the views of Figs. 21-23 and 24a of still further steps of the process of assembling the hand-held container including the dispensing device from the blank,

Fig. 27a is a plane end view of the blank shown in Fig. 26,

Fig. 27b is a further plane end view of the blank shown in Fig. 27a, Fig. 27c is a perspective and schematic view of the blank shown in Fig. 26,

Figs. 28a and 28b are perspective and schematic views of the assembled hand-held container including the dispensing device,

Fig. 29a is a schematic view similar to the view of Fig. 27b illustrating the blank during the process of assembling the blank into the hand-held container,

Fig. 29b is a schematic, perspective and partly cut-away view illustrating the step of raising wall components constituting the dispensing device within the container during the process of assembling the container from the blank shown in Fig. 21,

Fig. 29c is a view similar to the view of Fig. 29b illustrating a further step of providing the integral dispensing device within the container,

Fig. 30 is a plane view similar to the view of Fig. 21 illustrating a second embodiment from which a container including a dispensing device according to the present invention may be assembled,

Fig. 31 is a view similar to the view of Fig. 30 illustrating a first step of an assembly procedure for converting the blank into the assembled hand-held container including the dispensing device,

Fig. 32a is a view similar to the view of Figs. 30-31 illustrating a still further step of the assembling procedure,

Fig. 32b is a sectional view along the line E-E of Fig. 32a,

Figs. 33 and 34 are views similar to the views of Figs. 30-31 and 32a of still further steps of the process of assembling the hand-held container including the dispensing device from the blank, Fig. 35a is a plane end view of the blan k shown in Fig. 34,

Fig. 35b is a further plane end view of the blank shown in Fig. 35a,

Fig. 35c is a perspective and schematic view of the blank shown in Fig. 34,

Fig. 36a is a schematic, perspective and partly cut-away view illustrating the step of raising wall components constituting the dispensing device within the container during the process of assembling the container from the blank shown in Fig. 30,

Fig. 36b is a view similar to the view of Fig. 36a illustrating a further step of providing the integral dispensing device within the container,

It is to be realised that the combination of a container and a dispenser to be described with reference to Figs. 1-20 are not considered part of the invention as defined in the appending claims, still the description of these embodiments are included for the purpose of describing and illustrating the dispensing technique according to the present invention.

Referring now to Figs. 1-5, a dispensing device 1 intended for being screwed on to the neck of a not shown jar containing granular material such as, for Instance, instant coffee or instant tea, has a bottom portion 2 for receiving said neck with projections 3 engaging a screw thread on the outer surface of said neck such that the dispensing device 1 functions as a closure of the jar by obstructing the open mouth thereof.

A lid 5 pivotably connected by a hinge 6 to a top portion 7 of the device 1 is provided with a resilient oval sealing gasket or ridge 8 for sealingly engaging an edge or rim 9 of an oval dispensing aperture 10 such that the gasket 8 totally prevents air from entering the jar when the lid 5 closes the aperture 10. An annular sealing shoulder 4 is provided for abutment of an annular sealing gasket (not shown) to be pressed between said shoulder 4 and the rim of the jar mouth so as to seal the jar mouth from the surrounding atmosphere in a well known manner. An interrupted annular shoulder 11 is provided to retain the annular gasket in place between shoul er 11 and shoulder 4.

The annular sealing shoulder 4 forms part of a bottom wall 12 dividing the device 1 into bottom portion 2 and top portion 7. An aperture 13 in said bottom wall 12 communicates the interior of the bottom portion 2 and thereby the interior of the jar with the interior of the top portion 7.

A sloping inlet barrier wall 14 extends from the bottom wall 12 into the interior of top portion 7 and defines an inlet chamber 16 between the wall 14 and the outer wall of the top portion 7. An outlet barrier wall 15 projects into the interior of the top portion 7 from the top wall 17 of the device 1 and together with inlet barrier wall 14 defines a barrier or overflow chamber 18, and outlet barrier wall 15 defines an outlet chamber! 9 together with exterior wall of top portion 7.

An inlet barrier aperture between inlet chamber 16 and barrier chamberlδ is defined between the free edge of the inlet barrier wall 14 and the top wall 17, and an outlet barrier aperture between barrier chamber 18 and outlet chamber 19 is defined between the free edge of outlet barrier wall 15 and the bottom wall 12.

In use, when dispensing granular material from the interior of the jar, the jar is inverted so that the mouth of the jar and the top wall 17 of the device 1 face generally downwards. In this inverted position of the jar, granular material will flow through the aperture 13 into the chamber 16 and further into the barrier chamber 18 via said inlet barrier aperture until being stopped by the outlet barrier wall 15.

The jar is then rotated so that the mouth of the jar and the top wall 17 are facing generally upwards. Hereby, part of the granular material in the chamber 16 will flow back through the aperture 13 into the jar and the other part will be prevented from doing so by inlet barrier wall 14 and this other part will flow into the barrier chamber 18 and the outlet chamber 19.

When the jar thereafter is inverted once again, most of the material in chamber 18 and practically all the material in chamber 19 flows out through the dispensing aperture 10 while a new portion of material enters chamber 16 and overflows into chamberlδ through said inlet aperture.

The granular material in the jar will thus be dispensed in substantially uniform portions for each time the jar is returned to a generally upright position and thereafter inverted to a generally upside down position.

Some granular materials such as instant coffee are hygroscopic and therefore such granular material in the jar should be prevented from contact with the surrounding atmospheric air containing moisture whenever dispensing is not taking place.

It is therefore important that the sealing gaskets between the dispensing device 1 and the jar and between the lid 5 and the dispensing aperture edge 9 are hermetically tight when the dispensing device 1 is screwed tightly on the neck of the jar and the lid 5 closes the dispensing aperture 10 with the gasket 8 sealingly engaging the aperture edge 9.

For manufacturing reasons, the bottom wall 12 with the aperture 13 and the sloping wall 14 may be configured as a separate element. Said element may be made of a resilient foam-like plastic material such that the wall 12 may be inserted against a not shown internal annular shoulder of the device such that the circumferential edge or periphery of the wall 12 may function as a sealing gasket between the jar mouth rim and the dispensing device 1. Referring now to Figs. 6-8, there is shown a dispensing device 20 for use for dispensing granular material such as detergent powder or an antibiotic in powder form from a box 21 of cardboard, plastic or the like.

The box 21 is provided with an aperture 22 for receiving the dispensing device as shown in Fig. 7. The dispensing device 20 may alternatively be built into the box 21 during the manufacturing process of the box. A dispensing outlet 23 with a closure lid or flap 24 therefore is provided at a corner edge of the box 21.

The dispensing means 20 is provided with side walls 25 and 26, an end wall 27 and a bottom wall 28. An inlet barrier wall 29 defines an inlet barrier opening 30 for communicating the interior of the device 20 with the interior of the box 21 when the dispensing device 20 is inserted in the box 21 as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. An outlet barrier wall 31 is attached to the side walls 25 and 26 and defines an outlet barrier aperture 32 between a barrier chamber 33 and an outlet chamber 34. The dispensing aperture 23 communicates the outlet chamber 34 with the exterior surroundings of the box 21 , and the barrier chamber 33 communicates with the interior of the box 21 and with the outlet chamber 34.

In use, when dispensing granular material from the interior of the box 21 , the box 21 is inverted so that the outlet aperture 23 of the box faces downwards. In this inverted position of the box, granular material will flow through the inlet barrier aperture 30 defined between the free edge of the inlet barrier wall 29 and the top wall 21 a of the box 21 and into the barrier chamber 33 until being stopped by the outlet barrier wall 31.

The box 21 is then rotated so that the outlet aperture 23 and the top wall 21a are facing upwards. Hereby, the granular material in the chamber 33 will flow through the outlet barrier aperture 32 defined between the free edge of the outlet barrier wall 31 and the bottom wall 28 and into the outlet chamber 34. When the box 21 thereafter is inverted once again, practically all the material in chamber 34 and some of the material in chamber 33 flows out through the dispensing aperture 23 while a new portion of material enters barrier chamber 33 through inlet barrier aperture 30.

The granular material in the box 21 will thus be dispensed in substantially uniform portions for each time the box is returned to a generally upright position and thereafter inverted.

The dispensing device 20 may be made of cardboard or of any other suitable plate or sheet material such as a plastic material and the like. The closure of the dispensing opening 23 may be carried out in a hermetically sealed manner, for instance as described in connection with the embodiment of Figs. 1-5.

The device 20 may have a top wall covering chambers 33 and 34 (instead of wall 21a of the box) such that the device may entirely replace a top corner of the box 21 instead of being inserted in an aperture as in Fig. 6.

A device similar to the device in Figs. 1-5 may be attached to the box 21 either exteriorly or interiorly.

The box 21 may be substituted by a flexible bag of flexible sheet material or a rigid jar or bottle of stiff material such as glass or metal.

Referring now to Figs 9-14, a dispensing device 1¹ according to the invention very similar to the dispensing device 1 in Figs. 1-5 is adapted for being inserted inside the neck 35 of a container 36 for storing and dispensing of, for instance, particles of freeze-dried coffee or freeze-dried tea. Thus, by placing the dispensing device V inside the neck 35 of said container 36 a currently preferred combination of a container with a neck and a dispensing device according to the invention is provided where a normal closure cap can ensure isolation of the particles from the at osphere when no dispensing of granular material is taking place. The closure cap (not shown) may be screwed on to not shown external threads on the neck 35 or it may fit tightly and resiliently over the neck 35.

The dispensing device 1' is held removably in place inside the neck 35 by knobs or projections 37 that are dimensioned and located to engage the top portion of the shoulder 38 of the container or jar 36 (see Fig. 10) while an oblique edge 39 of bottom wall 12' rests on the rim 40 of the neck such that the top surface of the top wall 17' of the device is flush with or slightly below the rim 40 such that a not shown metal foil may be adhered to the rim for protecting the contents of the jar from contact with the atmosphere during storage of the jar prior to being opened for dispensing the first dose of material from the jar 35 in a manner well known in this type of container.

The device 1' may alternatively be made of a resilient material with good friction properties relative to the interior surface of the neck 35. If the neck 35 is of glass the material of the device 1' may be a mixture of approx. 80% PP and approx. 20% SEBS. In such case the knobs 37 may be eliminated. This frictional engagement between the device 1' and the inner surface of the neck 35 allows the 70p wall to be placed 1-2 mm below the rim 40 without having the oblique edge 39.

A sloping inlet barrier wall 14' extends from the bottom wall 12', and an inlet chamber is defined between the walls 14' and the inner surface of the neck 35. An outlet barrier wall 15' projects from the top wall 17' of the device 1' and together with inlet barrier wall 14' defines a barrier or overflow chamber, and outlet barrier wall 15' and bottom wall 12' define an outlet chamber together with interior surface of the neck 35.

An inlet barrier aperture between the inlet chamber and the barrier chamber is defined between the free edge of the inlet barrier wall 14' and the top wall 17', and an outlet barrier aperture between the barrier chamber and the outlet chamber is defined between the free edge of outlet barrier wall 15' and the bottom wall 12'. The free edge of the outlet barrier wall 15' is provided with a shallow indentation, depression or recess 41 increasing the size of the outlet barrier aperture in the region of the indentation 41.

In use, when dispensing granular material from the interior of the jar 36, the jar is inverted so that the mouth of the jar and the top wall 17' of the device 1 ' face generally downwards. In this inverted position of the jar, granular material will flow into the inlet chamber and further into t e barrier chamber via said inlet barrier aperture until being stopped by the outlet barrier wall 15'.

The jar 36 is then rotated so that the mouth of the jar and the top wall 17' are facing generally upwards. Hereby, part of the granular material in the inlet chamber will flow back through the inlet aperture into the jar, and the other part will be prevented from doing so by inlet barrier wall 14'. This other part will flow into the barrier chamber and the outlet chamber.

When the jar 36 thereafter is inverted once again, most of the material in the barrier chamber and practically all the material in the outlet chamber will flow out through the dispensing aperture 9' while a new portion of material enters the inlet chamber and overflows into the barrier chamber through said inlet aperture.

The granular material in the jar 36 will thus be dispensed in substantially uniform portions for each time the jar is returned to a generally upright position and thereafter inverted to a generally upside down position.

The horizontal axis around which the jar 36 is inverted and righted should be generally parallel to the plane of the outlet barrier wall 15'.

If an additional portion of granular material smaller than a full portion is desired, the jar 36 may be held in a halfway inverted position and rotated 45 degrees around a vertical axis with respect to the usual inverting orientation whereby granulate material may flow past the outlet barrier wall 15' through the indentation 41.

Referring now to Figs.16-20, the dispensing device 20' is very similar to the dispensing device of Figs. 6-8 and is designed for being arranged at a corner of a box 21' having a dispensing aperture 23'.

The dispensing device 20' is provided with side walls 25' and 26', a bottom wall 28' and a top wall 50. An inlet barrier wall 29' defines an inlet barrier opening 30' for communicating the interior of the d evice 20' with the interior of the box 21' when the dispensing device 20' is inserted in the box 21' as shown in Fig. 19. An outlet barrier wall 31' is attached to the side walls 25 and 26 and defines an outlet barrier aperture 32' between a barrier chamber 33' and an outlet chamber 34'. The dispensing aperture 23' communicates the outlet chamber 34' with the exterior surroundings, and the barrier chamber 33' communicates with the interior of the box 21' and with the outlet chamber 34'.

In use, when dispensing granular material from the interior of the box 21', the box 21' is inverted so that the outlet aperture 23' of the box faces downwards. In this inverted position of the box, granular material will flow through the inlet barrier aperture 30' defined between the free edge 29a' of the inlet barrier wall 29' and the wall 50 and into the barrier chamber 33' until being stopped by the outlet barrier wall 31'.

The box 21' is then rotated so that the outlet aperture 23' and the top wall 50 are facing upwards. Hereby, some of the granular material in the chamber 33' will flow through the outlet barrier aperture 32' defined between the free edge of the outlet barrier wall 31' and the bottom wall 28' and into the outlet chamber 34'.

When the box 21' thereafter is inverted once again, practically all the material in chamber 34' and some of the material in chamber 33' flows out through the dispensing aperture 23' while a new portion of material enters barrier chamber 33' through inlet barrier aperture 30'.

The granular material in the box 21' will thus be dispensed in substantially uniform portions for each time the box is returned to a generally upright position and thereafter inverted.

The free edge of the outlet barrier wall 31' is provided with a shallow indentation, depression or recess 53 increasing the size of the outlet barrier aperture in the region of the indentation 53 in a manner very similar to indentation 41 in Fig. 15.

If an additional portion of granular material smaller than a full portion is desired, the jar box 21' may be held in a halfway inverted position and rotated 45 degrees around a vertical axis with respect to the usual inverting orientation whereby granulate material may flow past the outlet barrier wall 15' through the indentation 53.

The dispensing devices 20 and 20' may be made of cardboard or of any other suitable plate or sheet material such as a plastic material and the like. The closure of the dispensing openings 23 and 23', respectively may be carried out in a hermetically sealed manner, for instance as described in connection with the embodiment of Figs. 1-5.

In the foregoing top and bottom portions of the containers have been used for reference indicating that the container is to be inverted and righted with the top portion below and above, respectively, the bottom portion. It should be understood that top portion and bottom portion may indicate portions of the container relatively remote from each other and not necessarily portions which are top and bottom when the container is in its natural or normal storage position. In Figs. 21 -29c, a blank made of cardboard or similar material is shown designated the reference numeral 50 in its entirety. The blank 50 is to be used in an assembling process for the assembling of a hand-held container integrally including a dispensing device for batch-dispensing granulate material, such as ground coffee, freeze-dried instant coffee or tea, sugar, detergent powder or the like. In the specification, the reference numeral 50 is used synonymously for the blank shown in Fig. 21 and the final product, i.e. the hand-held container including the dispensing device and also the partly assembled or raised blank during the process of producing the hand-held container from the blank.

The blank 50 comprises two major surface parts 52 and 54 constituting the major surfaces of the final container and two minor surface parts 53 and 55. The surface part 52 is provided with an aperture 58, which is covered by a transparent foil for providing a window for allowing the user to monitor the dispensing of the granulate material and to determine the remaining amount of granulate material within the container.

The surface parts 52, 53, 54 and 55 are linked together through hinge connections in the order of increasing integer. The surface part 52 is at its side opposite to the surface part 53 provided with a flange 56 to be adhered or glued to the surface part 55 after the raising of the container from the blank.

At opposite ends, each of the surface parts 52, 53, 54 and 55 are provided with and connected to a bottom flange part designated the same integer as the surface part, however added the letter b (for bottom) and at the opposite end connected to top surface flanges designated the same integer, however added the letter t (for top).

As is evident from Fig. 21 , the top flanges 52t and 54t are provided with incisions 52i and 55i, respectively, serving the purpose of providing an outlet aperture from the final hand-held container. Whereas the bottom flanges 52b, 53b, 54b and 55b and also the top flange 53t are all of rectangular configuration serving the purpose of providing a support flange for the assembling of the container, the top flange 55t is of a somewhat elaborated structure as will be described below serving the purpose of providing the integral dispensing device of the assembly structure. The blank 21 is further provided with a flange 57, which is composed of a triangular section 57t and a rectangular section 57r separated by a weakening line 57s. The flange 57 is, as is evident from Fig. 21 , connected to the surface part 55 opposite to the surface part 54.

The rectangular flange 57r is provided with an incision 57i of a configuration similar to an incision 55i of the flange 55t. The incision 55i of the flange 55t constitutes a through-cut of the flange 55t and along a weakening line extending transversely through the flange 55t, the flange 55t is separated into two parts, the one part constituting the outer part being designated the reference numeral 55u and the inner part being designated the reference numeral 55a. The inner part 55a of the flange 55t is also provided with an incision 55ii for co-operating with the incisions 52i and 55i in the final assembled container. The flange part 55a is further divided into two parts by a weakening line 55s, which serves as a folding line for folding the flange part 55t as will be described in greater details.

In Fig. 22, a first step of assembling the blank into the hand-held container integrally including a dispensing device is shown, in which step, the flange 57 is bent on to the surface part 55 including the flange 55t, as is indicated by an arrow. In the bending of the flange 57 on to the surface part 55, the incision 57i of the flange 57 is positioned in registration with the incision 55i of the flange 55d, and the rectangular flange 57r is adhered to the surface part 58 through a glue connection indicated in dotted line Fig. 22.

In a second step of raising the blank 52 into the assembled container, the rectangular flange part 57r of the flange 57 is bent along a line of weakening on to the triangular flange part 57ts illustrated in Fig. 23. The folding of the rectangular flange part 57r on to the triangular flange part 57t is illustrated by an arrow. In Fig. 24a, the flange part 55t is folded along the line of separation 55 and raised for positioning the outer flange part 55u behind the rectangular flange part 57r of the flange 57. Thereupon, as is illustrated in Fig. 24b, the rectangular flange part 57r is positioned in contact with the outer flange part 55u, and adhered to the flange part 57 or by means of a glue connection shown in solid line in Fig. 24a.

After the assembling of the integral dispensing device constituted by the flange part 55t and the flange 57 as is described above, the surface part 55 is in its entirety, as is illustrated in Fig. 25, folded on to the surface part 54. Thereupon, the bottom flanges 52b-65b are bent into the interior space of the partly assembled container as is illustrated in Fig. 26> and at the same time the surface part 52 is bent on to the surface part 53. In this step, the flange 56 is further adhered to the surface part 55 by means of an adhesive or glue. The partly assembled blank shown in Fig. 26 constitutes, as will be understood, a collapsed cylindrical body, in which the bottom flanges 52b, 53b, 54b and 55b are turned in to the interior of the collapsed body. The collapsed body shown in Fig. 26 is a subassembly of the final structure, which subassembly is preferably produced at the factory in which the blank 50 is initially cut and delivered from the factory as the subassembly to the production plant at which the granular material is filled into the container after the raising of the collapsed subassembly as is illustrated in Figs. 27a-27c.

In Fig. 27a, a first step of raising the collapsed body constituting the subassembly shown in Fig. 26 is illustrated, as the plane collapsed subassembly is raised into a tubular structure. After the conversion of the collapsed subassembly into the tubular structure, the integral dispensing device provided by the flanges 55t and 57 is turned into its proper position as shown in Fig. 27b, and thereupon, as is shown in Fig. 27c, the bottom flanges and the top flanges, except for the top flange 55c, are positioned in their intentional position providing the closed product. In Fig. 27c, the bottom flanges are opened for allowing the introduction of the granular material into the interior of the container from the bottom end, alternatively, the bottom end may be closed before the introduction of the granular material into the interior of the container, as the granular material may be introduced through the top part of the container.

In Figs. 28a and 28b, the raised and assembled container 50 is shown after the bottom flanges 52b-55b have been glued together and the top flanges 52t-54t have been glued together.

Fig. 29a is a top view similar to the view of Fig. 27b illustrating the position of the integral dispensing device of the container and Figs. 29b and 29c illustrates the steps of raising the integral dispensing device provided by the flange parts 55t and 57 as is described above with reference to Figs. 22-24b.

A particular feature of the container shown in Figs. 21 -29c relates to the position of the incisions 55i, 55ii and 57i relative to the aperture 52i, 54i of the container, as the incisions and the openings are positioned asymmetrically relative to the plane of symmetry of the container. By the asymmetrical positioning of the dispensing aperture 52i, 54i and also the incisions 55i, 55ii and 57i, the user is urged to slightly tilt the container while dispensing the material from the container for positioning the dispensing opening 52i, 54i at the lowermost position. In doing so, the shifting of granulate material through the two dispensing chambers within the dispensing device and also the dispensing of the complete charge from the container is ensured as no residual material is kept in the two charging or dispensing chambers defined within the container by the dispensing devices composed of the flanges 57 and 55t as described above.

It is to be realised that the blank 50 shown in Fig. 21 may be manufactured and produced as a blank made from cardboard of any appropriate size such as the size corresponding to the size shown in Fig. 21 or a size somewhat larger than the DIN A4 format of Fig. 21. The cardboard material may be of conventional thickness used for packaging granulate material such as foodstuff or detergents and may be provided with inner and/or outer coatings such as plastic coatings, printings etc. It is further to be realised that the cardboard may be prepared for the assembling of the container integrally including the dispensing device by the application of adhesive material to the relevant part such as the flange 56, the bottom flanges 52b, 53b, 54b and/or 55b and similarly the dispensing device generating flanges 55t and 57. Still further, as is described above, the blank 50 may be pre-folded into a collapsed sub assembly in which the dispensing device is integrally included and being of the configuration of a collapsed rectangular tube which is simply raised from the collapsed state into the rectangular tube and thereupon converted into the container by the simple adhering of a bottom flanges 52b-55b together and by sealing the top part. The step of raising the collapsed container is schematically illustrated in Fig. 27a 27c.

In Fig. 30, a second embodiment of a blank is shown from which blank a handheld container including a dispensing device may be raised. The second embodiment is in its entirety designated the reference numeral 50', and throughout the Figures 30-36b illustrating the second embodiment, components similar to components described above with reference to Figs. 21-29 and serving the same purpose as the previously described component, however, differing from the geometrical shape of the corresponding component of the first embodiment is designated the same reference numeral as the previously described component, however added a marking for identifying the geometrical difference.

In the first embodiment of the blank 50 shown in Fig. 21 , the surface parts 52- 54 are connected together side-by-side as the walls from which the container is composed in the final structure are joint together along hinge connections constituting side connections of the final container. As distinct from the side-by- side connection of the surface parts 52-54 shown in Fig. 21 , the surface parts 52'-55' are connected together in an endwise arrangement, as the surface 55' constitutes in the final product the top wall of the container, whereas the surface part 53' constitutes the bottom wall of the final container. The overall technique of assembling the blank into the final container is, however, by no means influenced by the shifting of the arrangement of the surface part from a side-by-side arrangement into an endwise arrangement as will be evident form the below detailed description.

The second embodiment of the blank 50' further differs from the above- described first embodiment 50 described above with reference to Figs. 21-29 in that the surface parts from which the outer walls of the final container are produced have a curved outer boundary configuration as distinct from the rectangular surface parts 52-54 and further in that the two flange components 55t and 57 described above have their positions switched, as is evident from Fig. 30.

In Fig. 30, the end flange 57' is shown comprising an inner part 57a' similar to the inner part 55a of the flange 55t described above and an outer part 57'u similar to the part 55u of the flange 55t described above. The flange 57' is further provided with a weakening line constituting a folding line 57's similar to the folding line 55s described above and is in its outer flange part 57'u provided with an incision 57'i identical to the incision 55i described above. Similarly, the flange 55't constituting an extension of the surface part 55' is divided into two sections separated by a weakening line 55's, the inner section being designated the reference numeral 55V and the outer section serving the same purpose as the rectangular flange 57r described above with reference to Fig. 21 being designated the reference numeral 55'r.

In Fig. 31 , a first step of folding the blank 50' into the raised hand-held container integrally including the dispensing device is shown, in which step the outer end flange 57' is folded on to the surface part 55'. Thereupon, as is illustrated in Fig. 32a, the outer flange part 55'a is folded on to the inwardly folded flange part 57' for the production of the integral dispensing device shown in a sectional view in Fig. 32b. After the assembling of the dispensing device, as is shown in Fig. 32a and 32b, the dispensing device together with the surface part 55' is folded on to the surface part 54' as is shown in Fig. 33, whereupon the surface part 52', as is illustrated in Fig. 34, is folded on to the surface part 55' and the flange 56' is glued to the flange 55'. The drawing's Figs. 35a, 35b and 35c represent illustrations similar to the views of Figs. 27a, 27b and 27c, respectively, illustrating the assembled hand-held container.

In Figs. 36a and 36b, views similar to the views 29b and 29c, respectively, are presented for illustrating the step of raising the integral dispensing device from the flange components 57' and 55't as discussed and described above with reference to Figs. 31 , 32a and 32b.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to two specific embodiments of the blank from which the hand-held container integrally including the dispensing device may be produced, the invention is by no means limited to the above described embodiments, as the geometrical configuration of the blanks may be modified and also combined with the technical solutions described above with reference to the introducing Figs. 1- 20. These modifications together with numerous other modifications, which will be evident to a person having ordinary skill in the art are to be considered part of the present invention as defined in the appending claims.

Claims

1. A hand-held container including a dispensing device for batch dispensing granular material such as ground coffee, freeze-dried instant coffee or tea, sugar, detergent powder and the like from the container, the container having a top portion and a bottom portion, the container being manually rotatable from an upright position with said top portion located above said bottom portion and an inverted position with said top portion located below said bottom portion, the dispensing device being integrated into the container or adjacent said top portion of said container, the device and said container together defining a passage extending in a material flow direction from a material inlet for allowing granular material to enter said passage from said container to a material outlet for allowing granular material to exit from said passage, an overflow or barrier chamber being defined in said passage between said material inlet and said material outlet by means of an inlet barrier wall and an outlet barrier wall extending transversely to said material flow direction, said inlet barrier wall defining an inlet barrier aperture configured and located so as to allow material to flow into said barrier chamber in said flow direction when said container is in said inverted position and to hinder said material in flowing out of said barrier chamber opposite said flow direction when said container is in said upright position, and said outlet barrier wall defining an outlet barrier aperture configured and located so as to allow material to flow out of said barrier chamber in said flow direction when said container is in said upright position and to hinder said material in flowing out of said barrier chamber in said flow direction when said container is in said inverted position.

2. The hand-held container according to claim 1, wherein said passage extends in said material flow direction between and along two opposed side walls, a top wall and a bottom wall past said inlet and outlet barrier wall extending transversely to said flow direction from one side wall to the other side wall, said inlet barrier wall extending from said bottom wall part way across said passage towards said top wall such that said inlet barrier aperture is defined between the free edge of said inlet barrier wall and said top wall, and said outlet barrier wall extending from said top wall part way across said passage towards said bottom wall such that said outlet barrier aperture is defined between the free edge of said outlet barrier wall and said bottom wall.

3. The hand-held container according to claim 2, wherein said inlet barrier wall and/or said outlet barrier wall is/are provided with an indentation.

4. The hand-held container according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a closure means is provided for closing said material outlet.

5. The hand-held container according to claim 4, wherein said closure means is provided with sealing means for cooperating with corresponding sealing means of said material outlet for hermetically sealing said material outlet.

6. The hand-held container according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said material outlet has an oval or elliptical shape.

7. The hand-held container according to any of the claims 4-6, wherein said closure means is a flap hingedly connected to said container.

8. The hand-held container according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said container and the dispensing device are made of cardboard material or the like.

9. The hand-held container according to claim 8, wherein said container and said dispensing device are provided from a plane cardboard blank.

10. A plane cardboard blank having plane surface parts integrally connected through weakening lines constituting hinged connections for folding said blank into the container according to any of the claims 1-9.