Shaker

Abstract

The invention relates to a shaker comprising a reservoir (12) which is used to receive a product which is to be distributed, and a shaker opening (3) which is used to distribute the product which is to be distributed. The shaker opening (3) is defined by an at least partially surrounding shaker edge (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35) and is covered by a distribution aid (4). The shaker opening (3) is non-circular in shape and has a contour provided with at least one first area, which forms a longitudinal shaker edge (30, 31, 32), and at least one second area, which forms a short shaker edge (33, 34, 35). The inventive shaker is economical to produce and enables, not only a specific dosing but also as a generous distribution of the goods which are to be distributed.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The invention relates to a shaker according to the preamble of patent claim 1. The invention relates, in particular, to a baking shaker for sprinkling flour or other sizeable quantities of powdery sprinkle products which are used in the domestic domain.

PRIOR ART

[0002] Such shakers are already known. They are used for the storage and sprinkling of powdery spices. These shakers are usually configured in the shape of a circular cylinder. In one known embodiment, the whole of the round opening serves as the sprinkle opening.

[0003] In other embodiments, said opening is covered with a distribution aid, for example in the form of a perforated plate. In yet other embodiments, a disk is mounted on the cylinder opening of the shaker, which disk is of substantially closed configuration and only in a marginal region gives freedom to a sprinkle opening. This cylinder opening can be of triangular configuration, only one of these sides being usable as a sprinkle edge. The cylinder opening can be fully closed off by means of a rotatable cap. The cap here has a first opening region, which has substantially the same dimensions as the sprinkle opening and whose side congruent with the sprinkle edge is of beveled configuration for easier dosing. It further possesses a second opening region, comprising a plurality of small, circular openings. By turning the cap, it is possible to choose whether a sizeable quantity of spice is to be sprinkled out through the large opening or whether more specific dosing is to be realized through the smaller openings.

[0004] Although these shakers are suitable for spices, they are unsuitable, because of their limited internal diameter, for sprinkling larger quantities of powdery sprinkle product. They have the drawback, furthermore, that they comprise a plurality of moving parts, which adds to the manufacturing costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a shaker which is particularly suitable for sprinkling flour or other sizeable quantities of powdery sprinkle product, which is inexpensive to make and which nevertheless allows as specific a dosing as possible and a generous sprinkling of the sprinkle product.

[0006] This object is achieved by a shaker having the features of patent claim 1.

[0007] The shaker according to the invention has a reservoir for receiving a sprinkle product and a sprinkle opening for sprinkling the sprinkle product, the sprinkle opening being limited by an at least partially circumferential sprinkle edge and being covered with a distribution aid. According to the invention, the sprinkle opening is of non-circular configuration and has a contour having at least one first region, forming a long sprinkle edge, and having at least one second region, forming a short sprinkle edge. Suitable rotation of the shaker allows the sprinkle opening to be brought into the appropriate position which is respectively desired for the sprinkling.

[0008] Preferably, the sprinkle opening is of triangular configuration, at least two of its sides, preferably all three sides and also the corner regions, serving as sprinkle edges.

[0009] If the distribution aid is identically configured over the whole of the region of the sprinkle opening and is fixedly connected to the latter, then manufacturing costs can be minimized. It is also possible, however, to arrange the distribution aid such that it is positionally fixed relative to the sprinkle opening, while at the same time providing it with differently shaped regions, or to arrange the distribution aid such that it is detachable.

[0010] Further advantageous embodiments emerge from the dependent patent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The subject of the invention is described with reference to a preferred illustrative embodiment represented in the appended drawings, in which:

[0012] FIG. 1 shows a perspective representation of a shaker according to the invention;

[0013] FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal section through the shaker according to FIG. 1;

[0014] FIG. 3 shows an enlarged representation of the part A according to FIG. 2;

[0015] FIG. 4 shows an enlarged representation of the part B according to FIG. 2;

[0016] FIG. 5 shows a top view of the shaker according to FIG. 1;

[0017] FIG. 6 shows a perspective representation of a shaker top part;

[0018] FIG. 7 shows a perspective representation of a cap.

EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0019] In FIGS. 1 and 2, a preferred example of a shaker according to the invention is represented. It has a shaker bottom part 1 and a shaker top part 2. The shaker top part 2 has a sprinkle opening 3 with a distribution aid 4 covering the opening. The sprinkle opening 3 can be closed off with a cap 5, which can be slipped over it.

[0020] The shaker bottom part 1 is of cylindrical configuration with a triangular base area, the sides of the triangle being preferably arched outward and the corners being of rounded configuration. The base 10 of the shaker bottom part is configured such that the shaker can stand independently. Its cavity forms a reservoir 12 for a sprinkle product, for example for a foodstuff, e.g. for flour, ground nuts or a spice. To ensure that the shaker lies in a slip-proof manner in the hand, its casing 11 is preferably provided with ribs 15. The casing 11 has in an upper region an inwardly directed step 16, as can be seen in FIG. 3. In the adjoining tapered region of the casing 11, a latch-in opening 13 is recessed. The upper end face 14 of the casing 11 is flatly configured.

[0021] The shaker top part 2 and the cap 5 likewise have a triangular basic shape with outwardly arched sides and rounded corners. This can be seen, in particular, in FIGS. 6 and 7.

[0022] The shaker top part 2 can be placed according to FIG. 2 into the shaker bottom part 1, whereupon it abuts with a lower end face 20 to the step 16 and engages with a latch boss 21 in the latch-in opening 13. For filling the reservoir 12, the shaker top part 2 is removed. The cap 5 embraces the shaker top part 2 and abuts the upper end face 14 of the shaker bottom part 1.

[0023] The shaker top part 2, the shaker bottom part 1 and the cap 5 are preferably made of a plastic or metal.

[0024] A grid, e.g. of metal, is provided as distribution aid 4. The distribution aid is preferably held in a positionally fixed manner in the shaker top part 2 and is preferably flat. One possible arrangement is represented in FIG. 4. In this example, the grid 4 is fused into the plastics top part 2. In this case, the shaker top part 2 protrudes with a rounded rim 22 over the grid 4.

[0025] In another embodiment (not represented here), the distribution aid 4 is detachably connected to the shaker. In this case, the shaker can be configured in one piece, since the sprinkle product can be poured into the reservoir 12 by removal of the distribution aid.

[0026] The sprinkle opening 3 is, according to the invention, of non-circular configuration and has a contour having at least one first region, forming a long sprinkle edge, and having at least one second region, forming a short sprinkle edge. As can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the sprinkle opening is preferably of triangular configuration. The sides of the triangle can, but do not necessarily have to be, configured equal in length. In the example which is represented here, the triangle is equilateral, i.e. the three sides 30, 31, 32 are configured equal in length. The three corners 33, 34, 35 of the sprinkle opening 3 are preferably of rounded configuration, in which case they can have the same radius of curvature or different ones. In this example, the sides 30, 31, 32 thus form the long sprinkle edges and the corners 33, 34, 35 the short sprinkle edges. The whole of the contour of the sprinkle opening 3 here forms the sprinkle edges.

[0027] It is also possible to use only a sub-region or several sub-regions of the contour length as sprinkle edges. It is further possible to configure the sprinkle opening in other non-circular shapes. For example, short and long sprinkle edges can be formed by long or short straight sides. Similarly it is possible, for example, to configure the contour of the sprinkle opening in the shape of a rosette with different-sized radii of curvature.

[0028] The aforementioned rim 22 surrounds the whole of the sprinkle opening 3 and has outwardly substantially the same shape as the sprinkle opening 3. In order to facilitate the sprinkling, it is configured such that it is bent at least over a part, preferably over the whole of the length of the sprinkle opening contour.

[0029] As can likewise be seen in the Figures, the distribution aid 4 is preferably uniform over the whole of the area of the sprinkle opening 3, i.e. the grid has equal-size distribution openings over the whole of the area. It is also possible, however, to use a distribution aid which is divided into individual regions, the individual regions differing in terms of size, shape and/or number of distribution openings.

[0030] The shaker according to the invention is inexpensive to make and nevertheless allows as specific a dosing as possible and a generous sprinkling of the sprinkle product.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0031] 1 shaker bottom part [0032] 10 base [0033] 11 casing [0034] 12 reservoir [0035] 13 latch-in opening [0036] 14 upper end face [0037] 15 rib [0038] 16 step [0039] 2 shaker top part [0040] 20 lower end face [0041] 21 latch boss [0042] 22 rim [0043] 3 sprinkle opening [0044] 30 first side [0045] 31 second side [0046] 32 third side [0047] 33 first corner [0048] 34 second corner [0049] 35 third corner [0050] 4 distribution aid [0051] 5 lid

Claims

1. A shaker comprising: a reservoir (12) for receiving a sprinkle product; and a sprinkle opening (3) for sprinkling the sprinkle product, the sprinkle opening (3) being limited by an at least partially circumferential sprinkle edge (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35) and being covered with a distribution aid (4), wherein the sprinkle opening (3) is of non-circular configuration and has a contour having at least one first region, forming a long sprinkle edge (30, 31, 32), and having at least one second region, forming a short sprinkle edge (33, 34, 35).

2. The shaker as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sprinkle opening (3) is of triangular configuration.

3. The shaker as claimed in one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the sprinkle opening (3) has corners (33, 34, 35) which are of rounded configuration.

4. The shaker as claimed in one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the sprinkle opening (3) is surrounded by an outer rim (22) which has outwardly substantially the same shape as the sprinkle opening (3).

5. The shaker as claimed in claim 4, wherein the outer rim (22), at least in a sub-region, is curved toward the sprinkle opening (3).

6. The shaker as claimed in one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the distribution aid (4) is uniform over the whole of the area of the sprinkle opening (3).

7. The shaker as claimed in one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the distribution aid (4) is a grid.

8. The shaker as claimed in one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the distribution aid (4) is arranged such that it is positionally fixed relative to the sprinkle opening (3) and is flat and covers the whole of the sprinkle opening (3).

9. The shaker as claimed in one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the shaker has a cap (5), which can be slipped over the sprinkle opening (3).

10. The shaker as claimed in one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the shaker is of cylindrical configuration and has a triangular base area.