Dispenser

Details Dispenser Dispenser

1997-10-11

1998-12-15

Tran, Hien

Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting, deodorizing, preser

Physical type apparatus

Means separating or dissolving a material constituent

422261, 422263, 422266, 134 6, 134 7, 134 93, 134198, 222181, 222185, 22215308, 383 52, 383 55, 383206, A47L 1544, D06F 3902, B01D 1102

Patent

active

058492534

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a dispenser for powder, tablet, briquette, granular, or pelletized material, for example caustic dishwashing granules which are dissolved in water and dispensed into a dishwashing machine.


BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A dispenser for this purpose is described in the applicant's European Patent 0300819 and its corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,615. In this dispenser, an inverted rigid container of granular, pellet or powder material is mounted on a dispenser head which includes spray means to inject a spray of water preferably in a generally horizontal direction. The spray dissolves the granular material falling out of the container and washes it into the washing machine.
A disadvantage of this system is that the containers are relatively expensive and so involve a waste of resources if they are not reused. Furthermore, the empty containers are bulky and inconvenient to handle.
In a system sold by the company Henkel in Germany, it is known to place a bag of the powder or granular chemical material in a hopper above a dispenser. The dispenser includes a wire which is moved to cut open the bag. The bag is then shaken to fill the hopper and empty the bag, which is then removed.
A disadvantage of this system is that in shaking and removing the bag, the powder or granular material tends to get split. This can be a health hazard to the user by inhalation or contact with the powder and, as well, as an inconvenience.
Other types of containerized dispensers for detergents and other forms of powdered or granular chemicals are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,416,897 and 5,078,301. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,897, the chemicals to be dispensed are housed in a charge unit cartridge which has a rigid top and bottom and sidewalls of fabric mesh. The fabric mesh allows liquids to contact the chemicals within the cartridge, dissolve same and form a concentrated solution thereof for dispensing. The charge unit cartridge is supported within a dispensing device by the rigid top being supported on a shelf projection or like in the dispenser, and the rigid bottom of the charge unit cartridge rests on a suitable pedestal. The dispenser unit is filled with water to at least the level of the overflow dispensing pipe where the water within the dispenser dissolves. The chemicals from the charge unit by the water freely moving through the mesh sides of the cartridge. When dispensing of the chemicals is complete, the cartridge may be removed and replaced. However as with the bag system provided by Henkel, as noted hereinabove, the meshed sidewalls of the cartridge can expose the operator to the chemicals particularly in the dry condition when installing the cartridge within the dispenser.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,301 discloses a dispenser system which uses water soluble film to contain the powders. The water soluble film may be made from polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium carboxymethyl hydroxyethyl cellose, polyvinylpyrrolidone, poly(alkyl)oxozolene and film forming derivatives of polyethylene glycol. The water soluble film, which contains the powder to be dispensed, may be shipped in a tougher water impervious bag or the like which is removed before the dispenser bag is placed in the dispensing unit. When water is introduced to the dispensing unit, the water soluble film dissolves, releasing the powder to the water spray to provide a concentrated solution of the composition contained in the bag for cleaning or sanitizing use. The bag is simply dropped to within the dispenser and, by virtue of the water solubility of the film, the dispenser then primarily contains the powdered detergent. However, the undissolved residue of such bag tends to clog the dispenser. Furthermore, the requirement of an outer or exterior over-wrap adds to additional manufacturing costs and possible end use problems because the operator may forget to remove the over-wrap before placing the bag in the dispenser.
An object of the invention is to prov

REFERENCES:
patent: 1993923 (1935-03-01), Eccardt
patent: 2072976 (1937-03-01), Andrus
patent: 2527074 (1950-10-01), Port
patent: 3301687 (1967-01-01), Davy
patent: 5147615 (1992-09-01), Bird et al.

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