Gravity feed dispenser
11051636 · 2021-07-06
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
International classification
Abstract
A container for holding and dispensing product has an upper inlet opening, a lower outlet opening and walls. Side walls and a downwardly sloping bottom wall defining an interior space for product. An outlet valve member is connected to a handle and arranged at the outlet opening for selectively allowing outward flow of the product through the outlet opening by manual operation of the handle. A body of the container has two mutually opposing first sidewalls, a second sidewall forming a rear wall and a forwardly sloping bottom wall. A front piece of the body forms a third side wall and is releasably fixed to a front portion of the body. The outlet valve member is connected to the handle by at least one cylindrical shaft received between a first semi circular recess arranged in the body and a second semi circular recess arranged in the front piece.
Claims
1. A gravity feed dispenser for bulk products comprising; a container (10) arranged for holding the bulk product and comprising an upper inlet opening (12), a lower outlet opening (14) and a plurality of walls comprising side walls (21, 22, 23) and a downwardly sloping bottom wall (24), said walls defining an interior space (16) for receiving the bulk product; and a pivotal outlet valve member (42), which is connected to a pivotal handle (46) and arranged at the outlet opening for selectively allowing and preventing outward flow of the bulk product through the outlet opening by manual pivotal operation of the handle, wherein the container (10) comprises a body (20) and a front piece (30), which body comprises two mutually opposing first sidewalls, (21, 22) a second sidewall forming a rear wall (23) and a forwardly sloping bottom wall (24) and wherein the front piece (30) forms a third side wall and is arranged releasably fixed to a front portion of the body (20) and the outlet valve member (42) is connected to the handle (46) by at least one cylindrical shaft (47) characterized in that the at least one cylindrical shaft (47) is pivotally received between a first semi circular recess (27) arranged in the body (20) and a second semi circular recess (37) arranged in the front piece (30).
2. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the outlet valve member (42) is connected to the handle by two cylindrical shafts (47), each shaft being pivotally received between pairs of first (27) and second (37) semi circular recesses arranged in the body (20) and front piece (30) respectively.
3. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 2, wherein the two cylindrical shafts (47) are arranged at opposing lateral ends of the outlet valve member (42).
4. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the at least one cylindrical shaft defines the pivotal axis for the pivotal outlet member (42) and the pivotal handle.
5. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the pivotal outlet valve member (42) and the pivotal handle (46) are formed in one single integral piece forming a valve shutter (50).
6. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the first semi circular recess or recesses (27) is/are arranged in a front edge of a first side wall (21, 22) of the body (20).
7. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the second semi circular recess or recesses (37) is/are arranged in a rear edge of a first side wall portion (31, 32) of the front piece (30).
8. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the body (20) exhibits an open front (26) extending between front edges of the first side walls (21, 22).
9. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 8, wherein the open front extends over essentially the entire vertical length of the front edges of the first side walls (21, 22).
10. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the body (20) is formed in one single integral piece of material.
11. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 1, further comprising an intermediate wall piece (90) which is releasably fixed to the body (20) and arranged to divide the interior space (16) into a rear compartment and a front compartment.
12. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 11, wherein the intermediate wall piece (90) exhibits a wall portion (91), a lower through opening (92) and a hatch (93) which is pivotally attached to the wall portion (91).
13. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 1, comprising snap-fit means (21a, 22a, 31a, 32a) for releasably fixing the front piece (30) to the body (20).
14. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 13, wherein the snap-fit means (21a, 22a, 31a, 32a) are arranged at an upper front portion of the first side walls (21, 22) and at an upper rear portion of the front piece (30).
15. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 1, wherein each of the body (20) and the front piece (30) comprises cooperating chute portions (25, 35), which together from an outlet chute arranged downstream of the outlet opening (14).
16. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 15, wherein the chute portions (25, 35) comprise female (35b) and male (25a) engagement means for form locking a lower portion of the front piece (30) to the body (20).
17. A gravity feed dispenser according to claim 1, comprising a lid (60) which is hingedly and removably fixed to an upper portion of the body (20) for selectively closing and opening the inlet opening (12).
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) The invention is now described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(12) The invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.
(13) The gravity feed dispenser shown in
(14) At a not shown alternative embodiment, the body may comprise two or more separate pieces which are attached together when assembling the container. It may for example comprise two mirror symmetrical half pieces which are mutually snap-fitted or interconnected by other means for forming the body.
(15) The body 20 comprises two first vertical sidewalls 21, 22 which are arranged mutually in parallel. A second vertical sidewall 23 forms a rear wall and extends between upper rear edge portions of the first sidewalls. A bottom wall 24 extends between the lower edge of the rear wall 23 and the lower edges of the two first sidewalls 21, 22. The bottom wall 24 slopes downwards in the forward direction from the rear wall 23 such that the bulk product received in the container 10 is urged by gravity toward the lower front portion of the container, where the outlet opening 14 is arranged. In front of the outlet opening 14, respective portions of the first sidewalls 21, 22 and the bottom wall 24 are arranged to form a downwardly directed first chute portion 25 having a generally U-shaped cross section. By this means the body 20 exhibits a completely open front 26 which extends over the entire height of the body 20. A number of mounting protrusions 21b are arranged laterally protruding at the rear portion of each first side wall 21, 22. These protrusions are arranged for mounting the gravity feed dispenser to a rack or stand (not shown) in a manner which is known per se. Normally the stand is arranged for receiving a plurality of gravity feed dispensers side by side in rows and columns.
(16) The front piece 30 comprises a front wall 33 which constitutes a third side wall of the container 10 when the front piece has been mounted to the body 20. A first side wall portion 31, 32 extends rearwardly from respective lateral edges of the front wall 33. The rear edges of the first side wall portions 31, 32 are essentially equally long, in the vertical direction, as the front edges of the first side walls 21, 22 and provided with rearwardly open grooves (not shown) which receives respective front edges of the first side walls 21, 23 for secure mounting of the front piece 30 to the body 20. At the lower portion of the front piece 30 the front wall 33 and the two first side wall portions 31, 32 form a downwardly directed second chute portion 35 having a generally U-shaped cross section which corresponds to the cross section of the first chute portions. When the front piece 30 is mounted to the body 20, the first 25 and second 35 chute potions together define a tubular chute which is arranged to guide the dispensed bulk product from the outlet opening 14 to an exit port 18 of the container. A label holder 36 may be snap-fitted onto the front wall 33 of the front piece for holding a label (not shown) with information about the bulk product.
(17) The gravity feed dispenser further comprises a valve arrangement 40 for selectively allowing and preventing flow of the bulk product from the interior space 16 through the outlet opening 14 to the outlet port 18. The valve arrangement 40 comprises a valve seat member 41, a pivotal valve member 42 and a flexible sealing 43. The valve seat member 41 exhibits a valve opening 44 and a partition wall 45 which is arranged at the outlet opening 14 of the container 10, such that the effective outflow area is reduced to the dimensions of the valve opening 44. The valve seat member 41 is attached to the body 20 by snap-fit means 28, 48 arranged at the first side walls 21, 22 and the lateral sides of the valve seat member 41.
(18) In the shown example, the valve seat member 41 is formed by injection moulding a plastic material and the sealing is formed by injection moulding of a resilient material, such as a rubber material. Other methods and materials may be used as long as the sealing is formed of flexible and resilient material which remains in sealing contact with the pivotal valve member 42 during its pivotal movement. The sealing 43 comprises a base (not denoted) exhibiting a fixation channel 43 and two sealing lips 43b which extend in parallel from the base at the side being opposite to the fixation channel 43a. As best seen in
(19) The pivotal valve member 42 exhibits an arced valve wall 42a, with which the flexible sealing lips 43b makes sealing contact. A valve bracket 42b connects each lateral side of the valve wall 42a to a respective cylindrical shaft 47, which shafts are axially aligned and define the pivotal axis for the pivotal valve member 42 and the valve wall 42a. The shafts 47 are in turn fixed to an operating handle 46 by means of which the valve member 42 and the valve wall 42a may be manually pivoted about its pivotal axis.
(20) When mounted to the container 10, each shaft 47 is received in respective semi circular recesses 27, 37 formed in the opposing and engaging edges of the first side walls 21, 22 and the first side wall portions 31, 32. By this means the valve member 42 and the handle 46 are together pivotally journaled to the container when the front piece 30 is mounted to the body 20. The valve member 42, the shafts 47 and the handle 46 together form a valve shutter 50 which may be mounted to and dismounted from the container 10 as a single component. In the preferred embodiment shown, the valve shutter 50 is formed as a single integral piece of material, e.g. by injection moulding of a plastic material. However, other methods and materials for forming the valve shutter 50 are also possible.
(21) The sealing 43 comprises two sealing lips that resiliently follows the surface of the valve member 42 during its pivotal movement. By this means also fine particles, such as powder and dust are also prevented from exiting the container when the valve member is in its closed position, as illustrated in
(22) The valve arrangement 40 also comprises a biasing means for urging the valve member 42 and the handle 46 to its closed position when no opening force is applied to the handle. These means comprises an elastic string 49 arranged at each lateral side of the valve shutter 50. Both ends of each rubber string 49 exhibits a fixation aperture 49a, 49b and a grip 49c, 49d. One end of each string 49 is fixed to the valve shutter 50 by engaging a protruding peg 46a arranged at the distal end of a respective handle shank 46b into the fixation aperture 49a. The pegs 49a are positioned relative to the pivotal axis of the valve shutter 50, such that a tensile force in the elastic string generates a torque on the valve shutter, in the closing direction. The other end of each elastic string 49 is fixed relative to the front piece 30. This is accomplished by engaging a corresponding fixation aperture 49b onto a respective stud 31a which protrudes laterally at each lateral side of the front piece 30. In
(23) The valve arrangement 40 further comprises means for adjusting its effective maximum opening area. These means comprises a rod 80 which extends laterally through the front piece 30. Each first side wall portion 31, 32 is provided with an elongate through opening 39 which exhibits a number of adjustment slots arranged one after the other along the longitudinal direction of the elongate through opening 39. The rod 80 may be inserted into the elongate through openings 39 and its end portions may be positioned into a desired pair of adjustments slots. The rod 80 may thereafter be fixed in the adjustment slots by fixing a securing sleeve 81 onto each end of the rod 80. The valve shutter 50 exhibits a number of adjustment notches 42c formed in an edge of the valve member's 42 brackets 42b, one after the other in the pivotal direction of the valve shutter 50. Depending on the adjustment position chosen for the rod 80 in the elongate through openings 39, only one notch 42c at each bracket 42b will make contact with the rod 60 when the valve shutter 50 is pivoted in its opening direction. This contact between a notch 42c and the rod 80 blocks the valve shutter from further pivoting in the opening direction and thereby defines the selected fully opening area of the valve opening 44. In
(24) Such easily accomplished adjustment of the maximum valve opening area is very useful when the gravity feed dispenser is to be used for bulk products having different particle sizes and density, and where it is necessary to adjust the dispensing flow rate.
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(26) The body 20 further comprises laterally protruding first snap-fit means comprising bulges 21a, 22a arranged at the upper front edges of side walls 21, 22. The front piece 30 comprises corresponding second snap-fit means 31a, 32a arranged at the upper rear edges of first side wall portions 31, 32. In the shown example these second snap fit means each comprise a tongue which is insertable inside a respective bulge 21a, 22a and a resilient hollow tab which is arranged to receive a respective bulge 21a, 22a by snap-fitting around the bulge.
(27) As best seen in
(28) The gravity feed dispenser further comprises an openable lid 60 which is arranged to close the upper inlet opening 12 of the container 10. At a preferred embodiment illustrated in
(29) The gravity feed dispenser may very easily be completely disassembled simply by lifting of the lid 60, releasing the hollow tabs from the bulges 21a, 22a, pivoting the upper portion of the front piece away from the body 20 and thereafter releasing the hook 25a from the through hole 35. When the front piece 30 has been detached, the shutter valve 50 may be released by grabbing the grip portions 49c, 49d of the elastic strings 49 and releasing the strings 49 from the studs 31a and the pegs 46a. Correspondingly the valve seat member may easily be removed by disengaging snap means 28, 48, pulling out the valve seat member 41 from the body 20 and thereafter removing the seal 43 from the valve seat member 41. If needed the rod 80 may be easily be removed by releasing one fixation sleeve 81 and withdrawing the rod 80 from the opposite end.
(30) Thus, by only a very few and simple manual operations, the entire gravity feed dispenser may be completely disassembled into its constituent parts whereby washing, flushing and other maintenance is greatly facilitated. Additionally, by simply removing the lid 60, the front piece 30 and the valve seat member 41 from the body 20, the body becomes completely open in the forward and upward direction whereby all interior walls of the body are easily accessible for washing and flushing. The low number of constituent part also allows for that the assembled gravity feed dispenser exhibits only a low number of component joints, thereby reducing the risk of fine particles and dust to be caught and collected in such joints.
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(32) The intermediate wall piece 90 comprises a generally flat wall portion 91 with a lower through opening 92 and a pivotal hatch 93. As indicated in
(33) The hatch 93 is, at its upper edge provided with laterally extending pins which engage corresponding recesses arranged at the inner edges of the lower though opening 92 such that the hatch may pivot about an upper horizontal and laterally extending pivot axis. At the lower edge of the through opening, stop lugs 92a are provided for making contact and hindering the hatch when it pivots passed the fully closed vertical position.
(34) When the intermediate wall piece 90 and the front piece 30 have been fixed to the body 20 as described above, the intermediate wall piece 90 divides the interior space of the container into a main rear compartment arranged behind the intermediate front piece 90 and a smaller front compartment arranged between the intermediate wall piece 90 and the front piece.
(35) For allowing full and clear display of e.g. which type, size and colour of bulk product that is stored in the gravity feed dispenser a major amount of bulk material may be filled into the rear compartment. There after, a limited amount of the bulk product may be filed into the front compartment. Both compartments may be filled through the inlet opening 12 which extends essentially over the entire horizontal depth of the container 10. Just as at the previous described embodiment the front piece is formed of a transparent material such that the bulk product received in the front compartment is clearly visible through the front piece 30.
(36) If the hatch 93, when filling the rear compartment is arranged such that its lower edge is arranged behind the stop lugs 92 the hatch is allowed to open rearwardly for allowing the bulk product in the front compartment to exit the front compartment into the rear compartment. However. as long as the rear compartment is filled with the bulk product up to level with the lower edge of the hatch 93, the pressure from behind exercised by the bulk product in the rear compartment on the hatch 93 will prevent the hatch from opening. Thereby the front compartment will be kept filled with clearly visible bulk product until the rear compartment is about to run out of product and the product level decreases below the bottom edge of the hatch 93. When this level is reached in the rear compartment, additional dispensing through the outlet valve will allow also the product from the front compartment to flow into the rear compartment and thereafter to be dispensed through the outlet valve. At this mode of operation, also the bulk product stored in the front compartment for display purposes may be dispensed and sold to customers.
(37) At another mode of operation the hatch 93 is positioned such that its lower edge is arranged in front of the stop lugs 92a when the rear and front compartments are filled. At this mode of operation the hatch will be kept closed also when the level of bulk product is lower than the lower edge of the hatch 93 and also when the rear compartment is completely empty. This mode of operation may be preferred when it is desired that the front compartment always should communicate that the gravity feed dispenser is completely full also when the rear compartment is empty or almost empty. For emptying the front compartment an operator reaches by hand into the main compartment and opens the hatch 93 by grabbing a grip (not shown) arranged at the rear side of the hatch.
(38) The easily mountable and dismountable intermediate wall piece 90 provided at this embodiment thus allows for that the user freely may chose whether or not the gravity feed dispenser should be used with or without a so called false front.
(39) The invention has mainly been described above with reference to a few embodiments. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilled in the art, other embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended patent claims.