Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01F—MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME
  • G01F11/00—Apparatus requiring external operation adapted at each repeated and identical operation to measure and separate a predetermined volume of fluid or fluent solid material from a supply or container, without regard to weight, and to deliver it
  • G01F11/10—Apparatus requiring external operation adapted at each repeated and identical operation to measure and separate a predetermined volume of fluid or fluent solid material from a supply or container, without regard to weight, and to deliver it with measuring chambers moved during operation
  • G01F11/26—Apparatus requiring external operation adapted at each repeated and identical operation to measure and separate a predetermined volume of fluid or fluent solid material from a supply or container, without regard to weight, and to deliver it with measuring chambers moved during operation wherein the measuring chamber is filled and emptied by tilting or inverting the supply vessel, e.g. bottle-emptying apparatus
  • G01F11/261—Apparatus requiring external operation adapted at each repeated and identical operation to measure and separate a predetermined volume of fluid or fluent solid material from a supply or container, without regard to weight, and to deliver it with measuring chambers moved during operation wherein the measuring chamber is filled and emptied by tilting or inverting the supply vessel, e.g. bottle-emptying apparatus for fluent solid material
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D5/00—Rigid or semi-rigid containers of polygonal cross-section, e.g. boxes, cartons or trays, formed by folding or erecting one or more blanks made of paper
  • B65D5/42—Details of containers or of foldable or erectable container blanks
  • B65D5/72—Contents-dispensing means
  • B65D5/76—Contents-dispensing means for discharging metered quantities

Definitions

• This invention relates to a container for delivering doses of predetermined volume of a particulate product, e.g. a powdered or granular product such as laundry powder.
• a particulate product e.g. a powdered or granular product such as laundry powder.
• the invention was devised to provide a means for dispensing doses, each of a predetermined volume, of laundry powder from an enclosure such as a box containing a supply of the powder, but the invention has general application to the dispensing or delivering of constant-volume doses, samples or charges of powdered or granular products which are flowable including, e.g. granulated sugar, chocolate powder etc.
• a container for delivering doses of a particulate product comprising an enclosure for holding the product, a first internal wall extending upwardly from a base of the enclosure so as to define, with a confronting wall of the enclosure, a chamber having a volume corresponding to a predetermined volumetric dose of the particulate product, a second internal wall extending downwardly from the top of the enclosure into the chamber and defining, with the confronting wall, a duct for dispensing each dose from the chamber, the enclosure having, in the region of the upper end of the duct, a formation for providing an outlet at the upper end of the duct, in use the container being tipped from a normal upright position to dispense, from the chamber and through the duct, a dose of predetermined volume of the particulate product, subsequent reinstatement of the container to the normal upright position causing the chamber to be refilled with particulate product ready for the dispensing of the subsequent dose.
• the first wall terminates at an upper edge and
• the enclosure may be a box of cuboid shape, for example made of cardboard or plastics, with the first wall and the second wall being parallel to one another and to the confronting wall defining one side of the box, the second wall being closer to the confronting wall than the first wall.
• the enclosure may be made from a blank which is cut to the required shape, creased, folded and glued, in a manner suitable for mass production.
• the volume of the chamber and hence the size of the dose may be regulated so that a container may be produced to deliver a dose of any desired size.
• a typical dose size is usually in the range 7Og to 12Og.
• the formation comprises a tab which is rupturable to provide the duct outlet.
• the tab may be disposed at or adjacent to the top of the confronting side wall of the box, and the perimeter of the tab may be defined partially by a line of weakening and partially by a hinge line, the line of weakening being ruptured and the tab being pushed into the upper end of the duct, with attendant folding about the hinge line, to form the outlet.
• the tab may be dimensioned so that when it is pushed inwardly into the duct to open the outlet the tab engages the second wall, this engagement holding the tab in a position which maintains the outlet open.
• the formation defining the outlet may be provided with a closure which is capable of closing the outlet between the delivery of successive doses.
• the invention provides package with an automatic dosing system, characterised in that it consists of a container of basically rectangular shape wherein there is configured, in the thickness sense and adjacent to one of its sides, a flattened duct extending from the surface of the package to a reservoir or chamber defined at the bottom of the package, broader than the said duct and having an upper opening, the mouth whereof having a slightly inclined rim; and in that an outlet for the dosed product, located in the side of the package extending throughout its thickness, in communication with the flattened duct in its upper part, is initially sealed by a cap or tab delimited by an upper crease and lateral and lower perforations, such that it may be detached along the perforations and folded by means of the crease inside the flattened duct; and in that the height of the cap exceeds the thickness of the flattened duct, such that, when the said cap is folded inside the flattened duct, it is pressed against the wall of the latter, being automatically held in this position.
• Figures 1 and 2 are isometric views of a container forming a preferred embodiment of the invention
• Figure 3 is a further isometric view showing a tab in a position in which an outlet of the container is open
• Figures 4 and 5 are side views of the container with the tab in the closed and open positions respectively
• Figures 6 and 7 are fragmentary sectional views, to an enlarged scale, showing the portions of the container indicated at A and B in Figures 4 and 5 respectively, and
• FIGS. 8 to 10 illustrate how a particulate product such as laundry powder is dispensed from the container. Detailed description of the drawings
• the container comprises a cardboard box 1 of cuboid shape having a height of 255 mm, a width of 170 mm and a depth of 60 mm.
• a first vertical internal wall 10, 70 mm high extends upwardly from a base of the box into the internal volume thereof. This wall 10 is parallel to a vertical confronting side wall 12 of the box, being spaced 50 mm therefrom, spans the vertical front and back walls of the box and terminates in an upper edge spaced above the base of the box by a distance of about one third of the overall height of the box.
• This second internal wall 13 is parallel both to the adjacent confronting vertical side wall 12 of the box and to the first vertical wall 10.
• the second internal wall 13 is closer to the confronting side wall 12 than is the first internal wall 10 and the second vertical wall 13 terminates in a horizontal lower edge which is slightly lower (5 mm) than the upper edge of the first wall 10.
• the space between the first internal wall 10 and the confronting surface of the side wall 12 defines a chamber 3.
• the entrance 4 to the chamber 3 is inclined as a result of the lower edge of the wall 13 projecting into the chamber 3 and being at a lower level than the upper edge of the first wall 10.
• the vertically elongated space between the second wall 13 and the confronting side wall 12 defines a duct 2 the lower end of which communicates with the chamber 3.
• the side wall 12 has a rectangular tab 6 the rectangular perimeter of which is defined by a horizontal crease or fold 7 along the upper horizontal side of the rectangle and three perforated lines 8 of weakness along the three remaining sides of the rectangle.
• the box 1 is formed from a cardboard blank by folding, creasing and the adhesion of tabs in a known manner.
• the tab 6 is intact ( Figure 6) and the container holds a supply of laundry powder 9 ( Figure 8).
• the user ruptures the three lines of weakening 8 and pushes the tab 6 inwardly, the tab pivoting about the horizontal crease line 7.
• the tab is dimensioned so that when it is pushed into the duct, its horizontal edge engages the second internal wall 13 so as to retain the tab 6 in 5 the position shown in Figure 7, where the rectangular opening now formed in the side wall defines an outlet for the duct 2.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Cartons (AREA)
• Packages (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=36648321

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Cited By (5)

Citations (4)

• 2005
  • 2005-05-20 BR BRPI0502029 patent/BRPI0502029A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
• 2006
  • 2006-05-18 WO PCT/IB2006/001303 patent/WO2006123228A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (4)

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