WO1998055214A1 - Device for dosing at least two powder or liquid products to be mixed - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (1) for dosing of at least two powder or liquid products to be mixed into a mixing and/or collecting receptacle. The invention aims to provide a device by which the dosing of at least two components can be carried out in such a way that the persons concerned do not come into contact with product components and that the desired time sequence during mixing is complied with. To this end, a bridge part (2) having discharge openings (4) pointing towards the receptacle, an electronic switching unit and a device for opening at least one of the discharge openings in accordance with a presettable time sequence can be placed onto the mixing and/or collecting receptacle.

Description

"Device for dosing at least two powdered or liquid products to be mixed"

The invention is directed to a device for dosing at least two powdered or liquid products to be mixed into a mixing and / or removal container.

There are plenty of applications in which different products have to be mixed together. A particular problem is represented by components to be mixed which, when viewed individually, have handling problems for people, for example that they are toxic or corrosive or otherwise cause damage.

Another problem with mixtures can be that, depending on the intended use, one of the components is to be added to the other component with a time delay, for example in order to reinforce a desired work result, as can be the case, for example, in methods for instrument disinfection in the medical field. DE 196 51 415, for example, describes a method which is particularly suitable for this purpose. a method for disinfecting medical instruments by treating the instruments with a microbicidal aqueous preparation is described, which is characterized in that the following two steps A and B are carried out in the production of this preparation:

A: Reacting hydrogen peroxide or peroxidic compounds, which in Water form hydrogen peroxide in an aqueous alkaline medium with N-acyl compounds which are able to acylate hydrogen peroxide under these conditions.

B: Lowering the pH of the preparation contained in step A and, if necessary, dilution, so that there is a pH between 7 and 9 in the preparation used for disinfection.

In such a method, it is particularly expedient if the lowering of the pH takes place with a time delay.

In the case of such dosing processes, the aim is to prevent human contact with the corresponding products or product components as far as possible or to make them unnecessary and to make the incremental addition of the individual components into the removal container as precise as possible.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a device which carries out the metering of at least two components in such a way that the persons concerned do not come into contact with product components while at the same time ensuring the time steps desired during mixing.

With a device of the type described in the introduction, this object is achieved according to the invention by a bridge body which can be placed on the mixing and / or removal container and has discharge openings facing the container, switching electronics and a device for opening at least one of the discharge openings in a predetermined time sequence.

With the device according to the invention it is possible, for. B. two different Components one after the other to feed a mixing container, the z. B. is already filled with the necessary amount of water, as already described in the above-mentioned literature.

Expedient embodiments of the invention result from the subclaims, it being particularly expedient if at least one storage space for one of the components is provided in the bridge element, with switchable release of the outlet opening with a time delay after the first component has been entered.

For example, if an element is first used to disinfect medical devices, the corresponding component can be introduced into the water of the mixing container. B. a timer electronics is activated that after a predetermined time, for example a quarter of an hour, the second component in the vessel, for example, as described in the prior art, to lower the pH and thus to increase the disinfection result.

One possible design consists of accommodating the first component in a funnel element, for example a powder, wherein this funnel element can be inserted into the first discharge opening. According to the invention, a switching element for activating the time delay circuit for opening the second discharge opening is provided in the discharge opening, for example.

If, for example, the funnel element with a powder to be sprinkled into the water is inserted into the first discharge opening, this powder is dispensed at the same time the switching element is activated in order to release the second discharge opening and thus the second component after a time delay.

It can also be provided that the funnel element with a bottom closure flap and an actuating element, for. B. a slide cam, is equipped to open the flap when inserting the funnel element in the first discharge opening.

A possible mechanical coupling between the bottom closure flap of the funnel element on the one hand and an actuating cam on the other hand, which pulls the flap into the open position when the funnel element is used, ensures that, for. B. the powder in the funnel element is only released into the liquid underneath in the mixing container when this is desired by the person using the device.

At this point it should be noted that the mechanical clutch can also be replaced by an electronic clutch, for example that not only the time relay circuit is activated by the activation of a microswitch, but also e.g. B. an electro / mechanical opening mechanism.

It may be useful to z. B. to accommodate in cartridges or the like, which can be inserted into recesses of the bridge element, with separating elements are provided in the region of the insertion openings for opening the cartridges.

Such separating elements can, for example, automatically cut films on the receiving cartridges of the second component when inserted, and an opening device, for example by means of spikes, can also be provided timer-controlled shortly before the predetermined time of delivery of the second component sticks the cartridges or the like.

With the invention it is possible in a simple manner to also provide at least one stirring device on the bridge element which acts on the mixing container with a stirrer or whisk, for example to trigger stirring which improves the mixture when the first component is sprinkled in or when the second component or other components are added .

Further details, features and advantages of the invention result from the following description and from the drawing. This shows in:

Fig. 1 shows a simplified spatial representation of the device according to the invention and in

Fig. 2 shows the device according to the invention on a Dosierbzw. Removal container also in a simplified perspective view.

The device, generally designated 1, in the example shown consists of a bridge body 2, which can be placed on a mixing and removal container 3. The mixing and removal container 3 is a disinfectant pan. In the embodiment shown, the bridge body 2 is provided with a discharge opening 4 facing the container 3, e.g. B. for a powder 5, which the user 6 previously poured into a funnel element 7, which is indicated in Figure 1.

The powder for z. B. two, four, six or eight liters of water, according to the indicated calibration lines, filled funnel 7 is inserted into the discharge opening 4, a flap closing the funnel element 7 being opened by abutment against an actuating shoulder 9 via a slide cam 8, which is only indicated in the figure. At the same time, a switching edge 10 sits on the funnel element 7 on a microswitch 11 which, when the funnel element 7 is inserted, actuates switching electronics 12, which is accommodated in the bridge body 2 and is only indicated by dashed lines, the function of which is described in more detail below.

In addition to the discharge opening 4, a receptacle 14 provided with four insertion slots 13 is provided in the example shown for inserting product cartridges 15, which contain, for example, a second component, for example an activator.

It is not shown in more detail that, for example, when the cartridges 15 are inserted into the receiving slots 13, the cartridges are automatically perforated or cut open or treated in some other way in such a way that their contents can be emptied into a receiving space (not shown) below the slots 13.

If a delayed delivery of this activator is desired, the electronics 12 is set via the microswitch 11 so that, for example after five, ten or fifteen minutes, it releases the second discharge opening (not shown in more detail), around the activator into the basin of the mixing container 3 below to deliver. Optical and / or acoustic displays can be provided, as indicated on the bridge element in FIG. 1.

At the same time, a stirring element 16, indicated in a very simplified manner in FIG. 2, can be activated, for example when the funnel element 7 is inserted and the microswitch 11 is switched on, or only after a corresponding time delay with or after opening the second discharge opening for the component from the cartridges 15.

It can be seen that the device 1 according to the invention prevents the hand 6 of a person from coming into contact with the individual components, and an appropriate electronic circuit also ensures that the second component is delivered to the mixing and, if appropriate, treatment container in exactly the desired time becomes.

Of course, the described embodiment of the invention can be modified in many ways without departing from the basic idea. For example, the funnel element 7 can be an integral part of the bridge element, it can be filled with the corresponding powder and activated at the push of a button, the time delay then being switched at the same time. As already mentioned above, more than two components can also be metered in in this way. The bridge element 2 itself can have a different design than the one shown here, it can also be designed, for example, as a round cover that tightly seals with a mixing container. The size of the cartridges 15 is expediently dimensioned so that a unit e.g. sufficient for two liters of disinfectant liquid, the bridge element is located on an eight-liter tank, four cartridges can be used, and the like.

Claims

Patent claims 1. Device (1) for dosing at least two powdery or liquid products to be mixed into a mixing and / or removal container (3), characterized by a bridge body (2) which can be placed on the mixing and / or removal container (3) discharge openings (4) facing the container, switching electronics and a device for opening at least one of the discharge openings in a predeterminable time sequence. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that in the bridge element (2) at least one storage space is provided for one of the components, with switchable release of the outlet opening with time preference after entry of the first component. 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first component can be accommodated in a funnel element (7) which can be inserted into the first discharge opening (4), in the latter a switching element, such as. B. a microswitch (11) is provided to activate the time delay circuit for opening the second discharge opening. 4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that the funnel element (7) with a bottom closure flap and a Actuator, e.g. B. a slide cam (8) is equipped to Open the flap when inserting the funnel element (7) into the first discharge opening (4). 5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second component is accommodated in cartridges (15) or the like, which can be inserted into recesses (13) of the bridge element (2), with separating elements in the region of the insertion openings (13) are provided for opening the cartridges (15). 6. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that on the bridge element (2) in the mixing container projecting stirring device (16) is provided for optional activation upon entry of the first and / or the subsequent components.