Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – With testing or weighing receiver content
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-02
2001-12-04
Jacyna, J. Casimer (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
With testing or weighing receiver content
C141S094000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06325113
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a dispenser assembly for solid materials and, in particular, to an attachment for dispensing a specific dose of a solid material from a bulk supply container.
II. Description of the Prior Art
In a variety of applications, the dispensing of specific amounts of material from a bulk source can be critical. Liquid products are relatively simple to dispense in specific volumes. However, because powder materials can vary in size and density, the preferred means for dispensing dosages of powders is by product weight rather than volume. Such dosage dispensing can be critical in environmentally sensitive materials which require special handling and disposal.
The agricultural chemical industry has a potential environmental liability with disposal of empty liquid packaging which can contain trace remainders of the chemical product. The trend in the chemical industry is to convert to powdered chemicals packaged in water-soluble bags. These bulk packages contain quantities for treating a specific area. However, it becomes necessary to treat areas which require only a fraction of the bulk material. Simply dispensing such partial quantities can result in inaccurate measurements while also raising storage problems for the remaining material and the dispensing mechanism.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior known dispensing methods by providing an attachment capable of dispensing a specific dosage of a dry solid material, for example a powder or granular material, based upon the weight of the material, directly from the packaging to the application device.
The dispenser of the present invention attaches the bulk container containing material to be dispensed and the receiving reservoir with a dispensing mechanism. According to the invention, the dispensing mechanism allows a metered dosage, by weight, of material from the bulk container to be dispensed into the receiving reservoir without exposing the operator to the material and without any material falling to the ground.
The dispensing mechanism generally comprises a trigger attached to a linear valve, a balance beam attached at one end to a tension spring and attached at the other end to the receiving reservoir, the balance beam being free to pivot about a fulcrum point, and indicia means to indicate the weight of the material dispensed from the bulk container. As the trigger is activated, the valve opens to allow the material to flow from the bulk container to the reservoir. As the material is dispensed, the weight of the reservoir increases, pushing the reservoir downward against the force of the spring. This downward movement of the reservoir depresses reservoir end of the balance beam and moves an indicator which displays the increase in weight of the reservoir on a scale mounted within a viewing window or by some other means. When the desired amount of material is dispensed, as indicated by the weight of the material, the trigger is released. The receiving reservoir, containing the required amount of material, may then be detached from the dispensing mechanism. As described, the operator avoids all contact with the material inside the bulk container.
The dispenser can be constructed according to specific dosage requirements by altering the biasing force of the spring and incorporating quantitative indicia on the housing.
Because of the potential for handling toxic or corrosive solid materials, the invention may be constructed in a sealed configuration by employing a flexible bellows, preferably an expandable flexible tube, about the funnel and the reservoir. The bellows prevents spillage of the material being dispensed, as well as allows excess material to be returned to the bulk container, simply by inverting the dispenser.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.
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Beaver Jeffrey L.
Hathaway John E.
Adusei-Poku Kwadjo
Dorigan Lloyd D.
Jacyna J. Casimer
Masco Corporation of Indiana
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