WO2002048003A1

WO2002048003A1 - Powder dispenser

Info

Publication number: WO2002048003A1
Application number: PCT/KR2001/002138
Authority: WO
Inventors: So-Ha Lee
Original assignee: So-Ha Lee
Priority date: 2000-12-12
Filing date: 2001-12-11
Publication date: 2002-06-20
Also published as: AU2002222741A1

Abstract

Disclosed is a powder dispenser (20) comprising a main part (30) removably combined to an opening (106) of a powder container (10) containing powder (P); a powder dispensing part (40) communicated with the main part (30), having a tubular shape bent at a part thereof, and forming a powder outlet (40b) at the end part thereof for discharging a predetermined amount of the powder (P1); and a value unit (50) provided in the powder dispensing part (40) and selectively opening/closing the powder dispensing (40). With this configuaration, the present invention provides a powder dispenser which can measure out the amount of a powder and dispense it.

Description

POWDER DISPENSER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a powder dispenser, and more particularly, to a powder dispenser improved in a measuring structure of the amount of powder. BACKGROUND ART

In order to feed an infant with powdered food such as powdered milk by dissolving it in water, the amount of the powdered milk should be measured out according to the age of the infant. Thus, the amount of the powdered milk is typically measured by a measuring spoon.

However, it is troublesome to measure out the amount of the powdered milk by means of the measuring spoon. To solve the above problem, there have been provided various measuring devices, but most of them merely store a predetermined amount of powdered milk which is previously measured out by means of the measuring spoon.

Therefore, if there is provided a powder dispenser installed to a powdered milk container directly so as to measure out the amount of the powdered milk without the measuring spoon and to dispense it, then the above problem will be removed.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above-described shortcoming and user's need, and an object of the present invention is to provide a powder dispenser which can measure out the amount of powdered milk and dispense it. This and other objects of the present invention may be accomplished by providing a powder dispenser comprising a main part removably combined to an opening of a powder container containing powder; a powder dispensing part communicated with the main part, having a tubular shape bent at a part thereof, and forming a powder outlet at the end part thereof for discharging a predetermined amount of the powder; and a valve unit provided in the powder dispensing part and selectively opening/closing the powder dispensing part . Preferably, the powder container is provided with a groove formed along the outer circumference of the end part of the powder container adjacent to the opening thereof, and the main part is provided with a projection projected from an inner wall thereof, and engaged with the groove. Preferably, the powder dispensing part comprises a first part communicated with the main part and receiving the powder from the powder container when the powder container is turned upside down; and a second part extended downwardly from the end part of the first part and retaining therein a predetermined amount of the powder from the first part therein when the powder container is returned to the original position.

Preferably, the valve is adjacent to the powder outlet. Preferably, the valve comprises a damper provided inside the powder dispensing part and opening/closing the powder dispensing part; and a damper adjusting bar coupled to the damper and having at least one part exposed to the outside of the powder dispensing part so as to rotate the damper inside the powder dispensing part. Preferably, the damper adjusting bar has opposite ends each exposed to the outside, one end thereof being provided with a grip part for gripping the damper adjusting bar and the other end being provided with a stopper for preventing the damper adjusting bar from separating from the powder dispensing part .

Preferably, the powder dispenser further comprises a rotation holding means for preventing the damper adjusting bar from voluntary rotation

Preferably, the rotation holding means is comprised of a movable part coupled to the exposed part of the damper adjusting bar and movable along the longitudinal direction of the damper adjusting bar; and a projection part protruded from the outer wall of the powder dispensing part adjacent to the movable part and holding a side of the movable part so as to prevent the damper adjusting bar from voluntary rotation.

Preferably, the powder dispenser further comprises a lid removably combined to the powder outlet. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The present invention will be better understood and its various objects and advantages will be more fully appreciated from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a powder dispenser according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the powder dispenser of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of Fig. 1 taken along line IV-IV; and Figs. 4 through 7 illustrates the states of using the powder dispenser in order.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinbelow, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a powder dispenser 20 according to the present invention is removably combined to an opening 10b of a powder container 10 containing a predetermined powder P" . Herein, the powder "P" may include powdered milk, and the powder container 10 may include a powdered milk can. Additionally, the powder "P" may include powdered coffee, powdered cream, powdered sugar, etc. which need not to be precisely measured.

The powder dispenser 20 comprises a main part 30 removably combined to the opening 10b of the powder container 10, a powder dispensing part 40 communicated with the main part 30, having a tubular shape bent at a predetermined part, and forming a powder discharging channel 40a (see Fig. 3) , and a valve unit 50 provided in the powder dispensing part 40 and selectively opening/closing the powder discharging channel 40a.

The main part 30 has a cylindrical shape opened at one side thereof so as to be combined to the opening 10b of the powder container 10 and cover the opening 10b. Herein, besides the power container 10 and main part 30 illustrated in Figs., if the powder container has a rectangular solid shape, the main part can be made for having a rectangular solid shape in correspondence with the rectangular solid shape of the powder container.

The powder container 10 is provided with a groove 10a (see Fig. 3) grooved along the outer circumference of the end part of the opening 10b thereof. In correspondence with the groove 10a, the main part 30 is provided with a projection 30a (see Fig. 3) projected from an inner wall thereof, and engaged with the groove 10a. By this, the main part 30 is removably combined to the opening 10b of the powder container 10, and the powder contained in the powder container 10 is prevented from leaking out to the outside when the main part 30 is combined to the opening 10b of the powder container 10. The powder dispensing part 40 is comprised of a first part 42 disposed horizontally to the upper surface of the main part 30, and a second part 44 extended downwardly from the end part of the first part 42. The first part 42 receives a predetermined amount of the powder "Pi" from the powder container 10 when the powder container 10 is turned upside down, and then sends it to the second part 44.

Then, when the powder container 10 is returned to the original position, the second part 44 retains a predetermined amount of the powder "Pi" filled in the first part 42 therein without returning it to the powder container 10. Herein, besides the shapes of the first and second parts 42 and 44, the first and second parts may have various shapes. The second part 44 is provided with a powder outlet 40b at the end part thereof, and to the powder outlet 40b is removably combined a lid 44.

Therefore, when the valve unit 50 (to be described later) is opened with the lid 44 off, a predetermined amount of the powder "P_x" retained between the part of the first part 42 and second part 44 is fallen from the powder outlet 40b, thereby being dispensed to a predetermined container "C" (see Fig. 7) . Herein, the first and second parts 42 and 44 may be made for having length and capacity according to the amount of the powder "P" a user wants to measure . The powder dispensing part 40 is provided with the valve unit 50 selectively opening/closing the powder discharging channel 40a. Herein, it is preferable that the valve unit 50 is installed in the second part 44 near to the powder outlet 40b. The valve unit 50 is comprised of a damper 51 provided inside the powder dispensing part 40 and opening/closing the powder discharging channel 40a, and a damper adjusting bar 53 coupled to the damper 51 and having opposite ends exposed to the outside of the powder dispensing part 40 so as to rotate the damper 51 inside the powder dispensing part 40.

The damper 51 is made of a thin plate having a diameter approximately equal to the inside diameter of the powder dispensing part 40. The damper 51 is disposed horizontally and vertically according to adjustment of the damper adjusting bar 53, thereby closing and opening the powder discharging channel 40a, respectively.

The opposite ends of the damper adjusting bar 53 are exposed to the outside through through holes 40c formed on the powder dispensing part 40. One end between them is provided with a grip part 54 for gripping the damper adjusting bar 53, and the other end is provided with a stopper 54 coupled to a screw part 53a of the damper adjusting bar 53 and preventing the damper adjusting bar 53 from separating from the powder dispensing part 40. Herein, the grip part 54 and the stopper 54 have a diameter larger than a diameter of the damper adjusting bar 53, so that the damper adjusting bar 53 is prevented from separating from the through holes 40c formed on the powder dispensing part 40.

The damper adjusting bar 53 is provided with first and second noncircular parts "Hi" and "H" . The first noncircular part "Hi" is mated with a first through hole 51a of the damper 51, and the second noncircular part "H₂" is mated with a second through hole 61a of a movable part 61 (to be described later) . Therefore, the damper 51 and the movable part 61 are rotated without idling, engaging with the damper adjusting part 53.

Further, the damper adjusting bar 53 is provided with a rotation holding means 60 for preventing the damper adjusting bar 53 from voluntary rotation. The rotation holding means 60 prevents the powder discharging channel 40a of the powder dispensing part 40 from being voluntarily opened by rotation of the damper 51 due to external force such as a shock. The rotation holding means 60 is comprised of the movable part 61 coupled to the exposed part of the damper adjusting bar 53 and movable along the longitudinal direction of the damper adjusting bar 53, and a projection part 62 protruded from the outer wall of the powder dispensing part 40 and holding the side of the movable part 61 selectively.

The movable part 61 is provided with the second through hole 61a having a noncircular shape. As described above, the second through hole 61a of the movable part 61 is mated with the second noncircular part "H₂" provided in the exposed part of the damper adjusting bar 53. Therefore, the movable part 61 coupled to the damper adjusting bar 53 moves in the second noncircular part "H₂" along the longitudinal direction of the damper adjusting bar 53 without rotating on the axis of the damper adjusting bar 53.

The projection part 62 is protruded from the outer wall of the powder dispensing part 40 near to the movable par 61 so as to hold the movable part 61 selectively. Therefore, in the state that the movable part 61 is disposed right under the projection part 62, a user cannot rotate the damper adjusting bar 53 because the projection part 62 holds the movable part 61 engaged with the damper adjusting bar 53, thereby preventing the damper 51 from voluntary rotation. Thus, in order to rotate the damper 51 inside the powder dispensing part 40 by adjusting the damper adjusting part 53, the movable part 61 should be previously moved toward the grip part 54 of the damper adjusting bar 53 until the movable part 61 is released from the projection part 62.

With this configuration, the process of using the powder dispenser 20 will be described referring to Figs. 3 through 7, hereinbelow. First, as shown in Fig. 3, the powder dispenser 20 according to the present invention is combined to the opening 10b of the powder container 10. That is, the main part 30 is combined to the opening 10b of the powder container 10b, engaging the projection 30a thereof with the groove 10a provided in the opening 10b of the powder container 10. At this time, the damper 51 provided inside the powder dispensing part 40 must be horizontally disposed and close the powder discharging channel 40a of the powder dispensing part 40. Then, as shown in Fig. 4, the powder container 10 combined with the powder dispenser 20 is turned upside down, and then the first and second parts 42 and 44 of the powder dispensing part 40 are filled with the powder "P" . Then, as shown in Fig. 5, the powder container 10 is returned to the original position, the predetermined measured amount of the powder "Pi" is filled between the part of the first part 42 and second part 44 and retained without being returned to the powder container 10. In this state, the valve unit 50 is opened. That is, as shown in Fig. 6a, the movable part 61 coupled to the damper adjusting bar 53 is moved in a direction of an arrow "A" and released from the projection part 62. Then, as shown in Fig. 6b, a user grips the grip part 54 and rotates it so as to rotate the damper adjusting bar 53 in a direction of an arrow "B" .

Then, the damper 51 engaged with the damper adjusting bar 53 is rotated and vertically disposed, so that the powder discharging channel 40a of the powder dispensing part 40 is opened. At this time, the movable part 61 is also rotated together with the damper adjusting bar 53.

Thus, according as adjustment of the damper adjusting bar 53, when the damper 51 opens the powder discharging channel 40a of the powder dispensing part 40, a predetermined amount of the powder "Pi" retained in the powder dispensing part 40 is fallen from the powder outlet 40b and dispensed to a predetermined container "C" (see Fig. 7) . Thus, a user can conveniently measure the amount of the powder "Pi" .

If a user wants to measure the powder "P" many times, the above process is repeated many times. Further, in the state that the damper 51 closes the powder discharging channel 40a of the powder dispensing part 40 after dispensing a predetermined amount of the powder "Pi", if the powder dispensing part 40 is previously filled with the powder "P" so as to prepare for dispensing it and the lid 44 is combined to the powder outlet 40b, thereby facilitating the next time using.

When the powder "P" of the powder container 10 is completely consumed, the powder dispenser 20 can be removed from the powder container 10 and combined to a new one.

As described above, the powder dispenser 20 according to the present invention measures the amount of the powder "Pi" and dispenses it. Further, the powder dispenser 20 according to the present invention is used semipermanently because the powder dispenser 20 is possible to be combined to another powder container.

In the above embodiment, the powder container is provided with the groove, so that the projection provided in the main part of the powder dispenser is combined thereto. However, if the powder container is provided with a screw in the outer wall around the opening thereof, the main part of the powder dispenser may be provided with a screw in an inner wall thereof.

Further, if the main part is made of elastic material, the main part may be forcibly combined to the opening of the powder container without a projection.

In addition, the powder dispensing part may be removably combined to the main part. In this case, the main part may be provided with a pair of rails spaced from each other, and the powder dispensing part may be provided with flanges in the outer surface of the first part thereof, so that the flanges of the powder dispensing part may be slidingly combined to and released from the rails of the main part. At this time, there are provided various powder dispensing parts different in capacity to each other, thereby facilitating measurement of the manifold amount of the powder.

As described above, the present invention provides a powder dispenser which can measure out the amount of a powder and dispense it .

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purpose, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A powder dispenser comprising: a main part removably combined to an opening of a powder container containing powder; a powder dispensing part communicated with the main part, having a tubular shape bent at a part thereof, and forming a powder outlet at the end part thereof for discharging a predetermined amount of the powder; and a valve unit provided in the powder dispensing part and selectively opening/closing the powder dispensing part.

2. The powder dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the powder container is provided with a groove formed along the outer circumference of the end part of the powder container adjacent to the opening thereof, and the main part is provided with a projection projected from an inner wall thereof, and engaged with the groove.

3. The powder dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the powder dispensing part comprises: a first part communicated with the main part and receiving the powder from the powder container when the powder container is turned upside down; and a second part extended downwardly from the end part of the first part and retaining therein a predetermined amount of the powder from the first part therein when the powder container is returned to the original position.

4. The powder dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the valve is adjacent to the powder outlet.

5. The powder dispenser according to claim 4 , wherein the valve comprises : a damper provided inside the powder dispensing part and opening/closing the powder dispensing part; and a damper adjusting bar coupled to the damper and having at least one part exposed to the outside of the powder dispensing part so as to rotate the damper inside the powder dispensing part.

6. The powder dispenser according to claim 5, wherein the damper adjusting bar has opposite ends each exposed to the outside, one end thereof being provided with a grip part for gripping the damper adjusting bar and the other end being provided with a stopper for preventing the damper adjusting bar from separating from the powder dispensing part .

7. The powder dispenser according to claim 5, further comprising a rotation holding means for preventing the damper adjusting bar from voluntary rotation

8. The powder dispenser according to claim 7, wherein the rotation holding means is comprised of: a movable part coupled to the exposed part of the damper adjusting bar and movable along the longitudinal direction of the damper adjusting bar; and a projection part protruded from the outer wall of the powder dispensing part adjacent to the movable part and holding a side of the movable part so as to prevent the damper adjusting bar from voluntary rotation.

9. The powder dispenser according to claim 1, further comprising a lid removably combined to the powder outlet.