US2329431A - Dispensing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 1943. H. c. BOWMAN DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 12, 1940 /NVEN7'OR: @W WW I I HIS ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 14,1943 1 M I 22,329,431 v me -mm =AP1 sBATUs, I f filaroidfl Bowman, nbckyiit vegohioi l i f iterates September 12, lil lls erial No, 356,437:

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Thisinvention .relatesv to dispensing devices, containers/which have different types. of cloand is particularly adapted to the dispensing of sures. 1 I spowdered or finelydivided solidmaterials; Asshown in: the drawing, the fcontainer itself,

AnH object of the invention is to provide an is a cylindrical can or box I, having'ata one end improved dispensing device which will effectively ;-5 'a closure or hea'd'2 ,-and at the opposite end a dispense finely divided,materials,yincluding those head 3.which' is centrally perforated, the perioinwhich'the particles have somctend'ency to ration normally, in transit or '1 storage; being pack or stick together. closed by a-i sheet metal cap, such for instance, Another object of ,the mve'ntion is to provide as :used on ordinary paint cans and onmany an improved dispensing device whichmay be other'types' of packages. I

used to dispense finely dividedmaterials from Thegperforated hea'd 3 of the. container is a container in which they maybe shipped or iri'ctionally engaged by a centraliiangefl-foimed sold., I K I V with a main'horizontal portion 5 of theiframe'i- Another object ofitheiinventio'n is to provide work-Foffithezdisp'enser; The upper end of this an improved dispensing device which will be neat flange, as. indicatedat 6, is tapered inwardly to and attractive in appearance. a a permit the-easy insertion of the flange within Another object is to provide an improved dis: thehe'adi ofthecontainer.' I

pensingdevice which may be economically man- T The supporting frame is'formed with an'inufactured. I te'graidepending lug orflange 'L'shown as slight- Another object is to provide an impr'oveddisly 'curvedtandfhaving downwardly-tapering sides pensing device whichwill be composed of .few which may be inserted :within" the channeland simple parts. I I I I Another object is to provide an improvedldis- These fianges as shown clearly from Figure 1,

pensing device which will eliminate spaces in are inclined so that they converge in a downwhich finely divided material; may lodg e itself, 35 wardly direction at the" same angle as "do the Another object is toprovideanimproveddissidesof flange 1, so'thatthe latter may beztight pensing device which maybe simply operated. 1y wve'd'ge'cl into places within the supporting I Other objects ,will hereinafter appear; I bracket. p i t ,The invention will be better understood'from The bracket is; periorated'for the passage; of the description of one practical embodiments screws" l0 and II" by which it may "be secured thereof, illustrated in the accompanying drawto a wall W as indicated, 'A' perforation through ing which shows a type of dispenser particularly the depending lug 1 makes itpossi'bl'e to pass the intended for the dispensing of powdered soap, screw ll through both this lug and the bracket and in which: i p i pl'ate 'il; t'o' preventreadyremoval'of the dispens- Figure 1 is a front elevational view, of a dising device from the wall.

shaped flanges "8 of a supporting bracket 9.

penser and an associated container, parts being If, 'how'evr, it is' desire'd' that the dispenser broken away and shown in section;' be readily removable without taking out the Figure 2 is a partially elevational, parscrew, this screwma'ybe inserted before the i lly ectionaiview taken, in the line II- I I' dispenser 1s placed i over the bracket, its head of Figure 1; 40 then being as indicated in dot-and-dash lines Figure 3is a horizontal sectional view taken at, l a p v on the 1ine.I IIIII of Figure 2; "Itwill'benoted thatthe curved shape of lug 1 I Figure 4 is a fragmentary bottom Plan view permitsfthe heads of the screws) and II to be of parts appearing in I the preceding figures, positioned betweenthis' plate and the fiat bracket showing their position while discharging mateplate 9,while holding the flanges Gtightlyagainst rial; i M h I thewall. i

Figure fi is a fragmentary cross-sectionalview A disk I3 is used to close the bottom of the taken on the line V of Figure i'j and opening inthe vframe surrounded'by the flange Figure Gisa fragmentary sectional view taken 4, and may, for convenience in fastening, be

on the line of Figure As' above indicated,'the' dispenser illustrated be telescopically receivedwithinthe'flange 4; in the drawing" is intended for use wi'tha ship The disk l3 may be secured 'to the frame by ping" or. sales container; audit is further in welding, brazing, soldering, or the likepeither tended thatsthe dispenser may. be used'with a' 7 between the disk proper or between its flange l4 piurality'of containers of varying sizes, andwith' 55 and that 4 ofthe frame. 1 j v provided with a marginal flange" ll which may Disk I3 is provided with a perforation or outlet opening I5 through which material may pass to the measuring part of the dispenser.

and at the other end a lug2I'I having a projecting boss 2| struck therefrom.

This boss is in horizontal alignment with -a similar boss 22 struck from lug I; and between I the two bosses is positioned a helical compression spring23.

The plunger is supported by a channel-shaped stirrup consisting of a horizontal web 24 and side flanges 25. At the upper edge of these flanges are lugs 26 which pass through slots in disk I3 and are bent over to retain support in place. The plunger carries an agitating member for stirring up the contents of the container, should these attempt to pack itogethenwhlch is shown as a loop 21 of Wire, or similarmaterial, which extends horizontally above disk I3, and has two downwardly bent ends 28 which pass through perforations in the top of webIB of the plunger immediately at the outer edge of the depending flange I8.

These ends have struck therefrom small projecting lugs 29;. such as produced :by. a blow of a cold chisel. 'l'he'lugs 29 are arranged to be held beneath the end of the fiat-leaf spring secured, asby spot Welding, to. the undersideiof web I6.

It will be .apparent thatthe agitator may be simply inserted by passing its ends through the holes in web 16 and pressing them, downwardly, so that theilug's 29 snap under the endof the spring 30, after. whichuthe agitator is held firmly in place by the pressure of this spring forcing the ends 28 against'flange I8.

Notches 3I may beformed inheadl3 to permit any desired length of travel'of theagitator, and consequently, the plunger.

Similarly, a notch 32 may be formed in the web 24 to permitthe contents of the recess or space within flange. I8'to drop after any desired length of travel of the plunger. Y r Steps 33'are formed on'-'sideflanges I1 adjacent the outer end of the plunger to. limit itsinward motion by contact with the edge. of web 24, while its outward motion is limited-by ends 28 of the agitator striking disk I 3.-

The operation of thedevice will be readily ap-.

parent from the above description and the drawing. I

The user has merely to pressthe flange I9't01 ward the wall, material having previously fallen through opening .I'5-int01j the recess defined by flange I8, and as the plungeris moved; this flange is carried out over notch-32, at which point the material may drop freely from the device under the influence of gravity.

The material is aildelivered at oneplacawithout the necessity for any discharge hopper, funnel or the like. a 1 1' r As the plunger is moved. 'apperture I5 is closed by the passage of web, I6 thereacross; as indicated in Figures; arid 5. I l

the stirrup, or plunger During this motion the loop 2-! of the agitator stirs the material within the container, and this stirring is continued on the return of the plunger to its outermost position, so that the material can drop freely into the space within flange I8.

The reciprocating action of the agitator moves the material within the container to the discharge opening I5, so that substantially all ofv this material may be dispensed, and only a thin layer of it will remainupon the top of disk I3. Thus it liminates the necessity for any inclined baflles or hopper-like oonstructlons tocause the material to flow obliquely to the discharge opening.

- Instead of the specific type of container illustrated, it will be apparent that any can or box consisting of a cylindrical tube and having a removable cap, or the like, might be used, and that the cylindrical'tube itself might directly engage the surface of flange 4. Thus it will'be apparent i that this flange may be used with container of substantially different diameters, provided only that the openingstothe same are of the same diameter.- f 1 The containe'r, of course, may be of any desired material such as cardboard, :sheet.;metal,.or the like. P

All parts-of the device may be easily fabricated from sheet metal, with the: exceptionof. the spring 23 and agitator ZI'and' 28, both of which may simply be made of wire. 1 I

The parts may be assembled with only one, or atthe most two, welding, soldering, or brazing operations. a

The entire space within the bottom of the plunger is opento permit any partlclesof material which may find their way" into the same to drop at one end or the other of the supporting stirrup, and similarly, there is no-part so situated that=it may'retaln' material in position'toreach the spring and obstruct its operation. r 7 The dispenser may be easily removed from th wall bracket and inserted'in the opened upper end of the container, andthe assembledcontainer and dispenser then inverted'and' returned to the wall bracket, without affording the material any opportunity to spill.

While I have described the illustrated embodiment of this invention in some particularity,-obviously many modifications and-variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art to which it appertains, and I do not, therefore, limit myself to the precise details shown and described, but claim as my invention all embodiments, modifications, and'variations coming within the scope of the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. In a dispenser, a sheet metal plunger of generally channel-shaped cross-section having a perforation formed therethrough and being formed about said perforation into a depending peripheral flange, an agitator carried by the plunger comprising a loop of wire having two downwardly extendingends passing through the web of, the plunger and bearing against the exterior of the peripheral flange, and a retaining spring pressing said ends against said flange andsccured within the hollow of the plunger.

2. In a dispenser, a sheet metal plunger oi generally channel-shaped cross-sectionhavinga perforation formed therethrough and being formed about said perforation. into a dependin peripheral flange,, an agitator carried by the plunger comprising a loop of wire having, two downwardly extending ends passing through the web of the plunger andbearing againstthe exterior of the on each of said depending wire ends, the projections engaging the retaining spring.

3. A dispenser comprising a sheet metal frame consisting of a generally horizontal plane top and a substantially vertical supporting lug, the top being centrally perforated and formed at the periphery of the perforation into an upstanding peripheral attaching flange, a disk spanning the perforation with its undersurface in substantially the plane of the undersurface of the horizontal portion of the frame securing means holding said disk to the frame. I

4. A dispenser comprising a sheet metal frame consisting of a generally horizontal plane top and a substantially vertical supporting lug. the top being centrally perforated and formed about the perforation into an upstanding marginal flange having a contracted upper edge, a disk spanning the perforation, a discharge opening formed through the disk, a sheet metal plunger underlying the framework and the disk and having a material receiving recess adapted to be brought into alignment with the discharge opening, resilient means holding said plunger with its recess underlying the opening and a channel-shaped stirrup supporting the plunger and secured to the disk, the plunger covering the bottom of the recess when the latter is inv alignment with the opening. HAROLD C. BOWMAN.

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