U.S. patent application number 12/932491 was filed with the patent office on 2012-04-05 for hand-held food product dispenser.
Invention is credited to Peter Jug.
Application Number | 20120080455 12/932491 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45888931 |
Filed Date | 2012-04-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120080455 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Jug; Peter |
April 5, 2012 |
Hand-held food product dispenser
Abstract
A hand-held dispenser is provided for use with a container
having a body defining a hollow cavity to store flowable material
under pressure. The container also includes a nozzle in
communication with the hollow cavity, which opens when deflected so
as to dispense the flowable material. A contactor carried by the
housing moves between an extended position deflecting the nozzle
and a retracted position in which the nozzle is not deflected. A
manually operable trigger carried by the housing is coupled by
linkage to the contactor. The linkage includes a paddlewheel with
paddles engaging the contactor to move the contactor to the
extended position for a predetermined amount of time as the paddle
is rotated past the contactor.
Inventors: |
Jug; Peter; (Chicago,
IL) |
Family ID: |
45888931 |
Appl. No.: |
12/932491 |
Filed: |
February 28, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61404472 |
Oct 1, 2010 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
222/402.15 ;
222/473 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 83/36 20130101;
B65D 83/202 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
222/402.15 ;
222/473 |
International
Class: |
B65D 83/00 20060101
B65D083/00; B65D 83/16 20060101 B65D083/16 |
Claims
1. A hand-held dispenser for a container with a body defining a
hollow cavity to store flowable material under pressure and a
nozzle in communication with the hollow cavity, which opens when
deflected so as to dispense the flowable material, the dispenser
comprising: a housing for receiving the container; a contactor
carried by the housing adjacent the nozzle and movable between an
extended position deflecting the nozzle and a retracted position in
which the nozzle is not deflected; a manually operable trigger
carried by the housing so as to be movable between on and off
positions; linkage coupling the trigger to the contactor and
operable, when the trigger is moved to the on position, to move the
contactor from the retracted position to the extended position and
to maintain the contactor in the extended position for a
predetermined duration; a contactor spring biasing the contactor
toward the retracted position; and the linkage operable, when the
trigger is moved to the off position, to allow the contractor
spring to move the contactor from the extended position to the
retracted position; whereby, with the trigger moved to the on
position, the contactor is moved to the extended position for a
predetermined duration so as to dispense a predetermined amount of
flowable material.
2. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the trigger
comprises a thumb piece for engagement by the thumb of a user to
operate the linkage.
3. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the nozzle
has a longitudinal axis and deflection is perpendicular to the
axis.
4. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the
contactor has opposed nozzle-contacting and cam surfaces and
includes an upstanding fin with a cam extension surface extending
from the cam surface.
5. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 4 wherein the cam
extension surface is concave.
6. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the linkage
includes a rotatable paddlewheel having a plurality of paddles with
free ends for engaging the contactor so as to move the contactor to
the extended position.
7. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 6 wherein the paddle
wheel has a set of paddlewheel teeth and the linkage further
includes a gear wheel having a set of gear wheel teeth meshing with
the paddlewheel teeth so as to rotate the paddlewheel to move the
paddle free ends into and out of engagement with the contactor.
8. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the linkage
includes a unidirectional clutch operable to move the contactor to
the extended position when the trigger is moved to the on
position.
9. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the linkage
includes a clutch arrangement that is operable in a first direction
to move the contactor and in a second direction to allow the
contactor to be moved by the contactor spring to the retracted
position.
10. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the
product is a whippable material that undergoes whipping when
discharged through the nozzle.
11. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the nozzle
is adapted to dispense a whippable milk product.
12. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the nozzle
is adapted to dispense a dairy cream.
13. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the
linkage includes a rotatable paddlewheel having a central hub with
a plurality of paddles extending radially outwardly from the hub,
with free ends for engaging the contactor so as to move the
contactor to the extended position.
14. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 13 wherein the
paddlewheel is made of plastic and the free ends are rounded to
form camming lobes.
15. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the
paddlewheel has a set of paddlewheel teeth arranged in a circle
about the hub and the linkage further includes a gear wheel having
opposed major surfaces and a set of gear wheel teeth arranged in a
circle about one of the major surfaces, for meshing with the
paddlewheel teeth so as to rotate the paddlewheel to move the
paddle free ends into and out of engagement with the contactor.
16. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the
paddlewheel teeth each have opposed ends, with one end beveled to
slip over the gear wheel teeth.
17. The hand-held dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the gear
wheel teeth each have opposed ends, with one end beveled to slip
over the paddlewheel teeth.
18. A method of hand-held dispensing from a container with a body
defining a hollow cavity to store flowable material under pressure
and a nozzle in communication with the hollow cavity, which opens
when deflected so as to dispense the flowable material, the method
comprising: receiving the container at a fixed position within a
housing; mounting a contactor in the housing for reciprocation
between an extended position deflecting the nozzle and a retracted
position in which the nozzle is not deflected; mounting a trigger
to the housing so as to be movable between on and off positions;
coupling the trigger to the contactor with linkage operable, when
the trigger is moved to the on position to move the contactor from
the retracted position to the extended position and to maintain the
contactor in the extended position for a predetermined duration;
biasing the contactor with a contactor spring toward the retracted
position; and moving the contactor from the extended position to
the retracted position while connected to the linkage, when the
trigger is moved to the off position; whereby, by moving the
trigger to the on position, the contactor is moved to the extended
position so as to dispense a predetermined amount of flowable
material.
19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the step of coupling
the trigger to the contactor comprises the step of coupling the
trigger to a gear wheel, coupling the gear wheel to a paddlewheel
having a plurality of outwardly extending paddles for engaging the
contactor.
20. The method according to claim 18, wherein the step of coupling
the trigger to the contactor further comprises providing the gear
wheel and the paddlewheel with a circular series of inter-meshing
teeth.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This patent application is related to Provisional
Application Ser. No. 61/404,472, filed Oct. 1, 2010.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to a dispensing
device and, in particular, to a hand-held device for dispensing
predetermined amounts of a food substance from a pressurized can.
More specifically, the present invention relates to the dispensing
of flowable materials such as whippable food products packaged
under pressure in a canister or other vessel that undergo whipping
when dispensed.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] There has been interest in the food service industry to
provide a simple and effective vehicle for dispensing flowable food
products, including whippable milk products, such as diary cream
and whippable emulsions of dairy cream, for example, in which milk
fat is replaced partly or wholly by other fats. Particular
attention has been paid to those food products having a prolonged
storage life which, upon dispensing, cause the product to undergo
whipping so as to impart to the product a structure comparable with
whipped dairy cream.
[0004] Portion control is an important consideration from a cost
standpoint in the food industry. For example, a fast food
establishment can experience significant gain (or loss) if the
proper quantity of a particular food substance is used (or not
used) on a repetitive basis. Portion control is also an important
factor in providing a consistent, quality food product.
[0005] In a commercial setting, care must be taken to control
inputs allocated for a particular process. For example, in the food
service industry, it is important that serving portions be
carefully regulated to control costs associated with producing a
food serving. While portion control is usually a relatively simple
task, there are instances where this presents a challenge to
personnel chosen for the task based on an otherwise appropriate
level of training and equipped with simple, low-cost serving
equipment.
[0006] Devices are available for achieving portion control of food
substances as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,854 to McDermott et al.
for Liquid Dispenser; U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,916 to Groh et al. for
Hand-Held Product Dispensers Having Pressurized Delivery and U.S.
Pat. No. 6,173,870 to Taylor for Operating Handle Device for a
Pressurized Cheese Dispensing Container. However, these devices do
not offer a dispenser of economical construction that provides the
benefits desired in commercial and other applications.
[0007] Despite advances, relatively simple, durable devices are
needed for dispensing predetermined amounts of flowable food
substances from a pressurized can. The food substances can
comprise, for example, dairy products such as a natural or
artificial whipped cream or cheese product. The device being sought
is preferably hand-held, compact and relatively simple to use and
easy to clean.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Restaurants and other food preparation businesses must
control portion size in order to control costs. Portion control for
flowable food materials typically involves pouring a food product
into a container of known size during food preparation. However,
not all food products can be accommodated in this manner. For
example, whippable food products, while being flowable to some
extent, cannot be economically dispensed into an intermediate
container of known size, due to the difficulty in extracting the
food product for further food preparation. In such instances, it is
preferable to dispense the food product directly onto a food
serving, for example.
[0009] Popular among whippable food products, today, is a variety
of so-called whipped cream products. As originally conceived, such
products were made from dairy cream, which today is prohibitively
costly for many commercial food service operations. In their place,
various emulsions of dairy products are readily available at a
reduced cost and with prolonged shelf life. One popular technique
for providing such products in a whippable form is to package the
products under pressure in a canister having a dispensing nozzle
that whips the products upon exiting the nozzle. Such containers
are well known and have been readily accepted in a wide variety of
food service applications. One problem that has arisen is that of
portion control, particularly when these types of products are to
be dispensed by wait staff who are largely untrained in commercial
food preparation techniques.
[0010] The present invention minimizes the disadvantages associated
with prior art methods and apparatus and provides advantages in the
mode of operation and use of hand-held dispensers, particularly
those adapted for dispensing a flowable material such as a whipped
cream product. For example, in one instance, dispensers according
to principles of the present invention provide an economical
automatic metering of the flowable products without requiring
special training, tools or equipment.
[0011] The present invention provides a novel and improved method
and apparatus for dispensing whippable food products stored under
pressure. One embodiment of such dispensing equipment comprises a
hand-held dispenser for a container with a body defining a hollow
cavity to store flowable material under pressure and a nozzle in
communication with the hollow cavity. The nozzle opens when
deflected so as to dispense the flowable material. The hand-held
dispenser includes a housing for receiving the container, and a
contactor carried by the housing adjacent the nozzle and movable
between an extended position deflecting the nozzle and a retracted
position in which the nozzle is not deflected.
[0012] A manually operable trigger is carried by the housing so as
to be movable between on and off positions, and a linkage couples
the trigger to the contactor and is operable, when the trigger is
moved to the on position, to move the contactor from the retracted
position to the extended position and to maintain the contactor in
the extended position for a predetermined duration. A contactor
spring biases the contactor toward the retracted position. The
linkage is operable, when the trigger is moved to the off position,
to allow the contractor spring to move the contactor from the
extended position to the retracted position. With the trigger moved
to the on position, the contactor is moved to the extended position
so as to dispense a predetermined amount of flowable
material--preferably, for example, 5 grams.
[0013] In another embodiment, a method of hand-held dispensing is
provided for dispensing a flowable material from a container having
a body defining a hollow cavity to store the flowable material
under pressure and a nozzle in communication with the hollow
cavity. The nozzle opens when deflected so as to dispense the
flowable material. The method includes the steps of receiving the
container at a fixed position within a housing and mounting a
contactor in the housing for reciprocation between an extended
position deflecting the nozzle and a retracted position in which
the nozzle is not deflected. Also included are the steps of
mounting a trigger to the housing so as to be movable between on
and off positions, and coupling the trigger to the contactor with
linkage that is operable when the trigger is moved to the on
position to move the contactor from the retracted position to the
extended position and to maintain the contactor in the extended
position for a predetermined duration. The method also includes the
steps of biasing the contactor with a contactor spring toward the
retracted position and moving the contactor from the extended
position to the retracted position while connected to the linkage,
when the trigger is moved to the off position. By moving the
trigger to the on position, the contactor is moved to the extended
position so as to dispense a predetermined amount of flowable
material.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] In the drawings:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic elevational view of a hand-held
dispenser according to principles of the present invention;
[0016] FIGS. 2a and 2b show the dispenser in different operating
positions;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view thereof, shown
on an enlarged scale;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view
thereof;
[0019] FIGS. 5a and 5b show side elevational and front elevational
fragmentary views thereof, in a first operational position;
[0020] FIGS. 6a and 6b show side elevational and front elevational
fragmentary views thereof, in a second operational position;
[0021] FIGS. 7a and 7b show side elevational and front elevational
fragmentary views thereof, in a third operational position; and
[0022] FIGS. 8a and 8b show side elevational and front elevational
fragmentary views thereof, in a fourth operational position;
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] The invention disclosed herein is, of course, susceptible of
embodiment in many forms. Shown in the drawings, and described
herein in detail are preferred embodiments of the invention. It is
understood, however, that the present disclosure is an
exemplification of the principles of the invention and does not
limit the invention to the illustrated embodiments.
[0024] For ease of description, a hand-held device embodying the
present invention provides dispensing for predetermined amounts of
a food substance from a pressurized can. The device is described
herein in its usual assembled position as shown in the accompanying
drawings and terms such as upstream, downstream, inner, outer,
upper, lower, horizontal, longitudinal, etc., may be used herein
with reference to this usual position. However, the device may be
manufactured, transported, sold or used in orientations other than
that described and shown herein.
[0025] Referring now to the drawings, and initially to FIG. 1, a
hand-held dispenser is generally indicated at 10. Dispenser 10
dispenses predetermined amounts of flowable material. The material
is stored under pressure within a hollow cavity defined by a body
12 of a container 14. The flowable material may comprise a food
product, for example, a whippable cheese or a whippable dairy
product such as a whippable milk product or a dairy cream.
Container 14 includes a nozzle 16 that is in communication with the
hollow cavity and which opens when laterally deflected to an "on"
position so as to dispense the flowable material. Preferably,
container 14 is of a conventional design, with flowable material
being dispensed continuously as long as nozzle 16 is laterally
deflected from its rest position indicated in FIG. 1. As shown,
container 14 preferably comprises a pressurized canister that is
elongated along a central longitudinal axis 130. Nozzle 16 is shown
in FIG. 1 in a rest or "off" position, with the nozzle having a
longitudinal axis aligned along axis 130.
[0026] Container 14 is shown inserted in an inverted position
within a housing 18 of dispenser 10. The housing includes a pair of
hinged clamshell portions 20 with locking tabs 21 secured to a pair
of longitudinally spaced-apart cylindrical collar portions 22 which
firmly engage spaced-apart portions of canister 14. Resilient tangs
24 of the collar portions 22 hold container 14 such that nozzle 16
is held in a fixed position relative to the lower end of dispenser
10.
[0027] Referring now to FIGS. 2a and 2b, a manually operable
trigger 26 is mounted to a handle 28 at the upper end of dispenser
10, as will be described in greater detail below, operates a
linkage generally indicated at 30 to move nozzle 16 in a lateral
direction indicated by arrow 34 (see FIG. 2b). Several components
of linkage 30 are rotationally mounted along an axis 32.
[0028] With reference to FIG. 4, linkage 30 includes an elongated
push plate 36 having a gear rack 38 with teeth 40 at its lower end.
As can be seen in FIG. 4, teeth 40 have upper beveled surfaces and
lower generally normal surfaces for engaging outer teeth 44 of a
gear wheel generally indicated at 46. Gear wheel 46 further
includes a circular series of gear wheel teeth 50 disposed about a
major side surface of gear wheel 46. As can be seen in FIG. 4, gear
wheel teeth 50 have normal driving surfaces 52 and opposed beveled
camming surfaces 54.
[0029] With continued reference to FIG. 4, linkage 30 further
includes a paddlewheel 60 that is preferably made of molded
plastic, or a like material. Paddlewheel 60 includes a central hub
with a plurality of paddlewheel teeth having normal driving
surfaces 64 and opposed beveled camming surfaces 66. A thrust
spring 68 biases gear wheel 46 into engagement with paddlewheel 60
so as to maintain meshing engagement between the teeth of the gear
wheel and paddlewheel. Paddlewheel 60 further includes a plurality
of paddles 70 with lobes 72 at their rounded free ends for engaging
cam surface 82 of a contactor 80 (see FIG. 3). As can be seen in
FIGS. 3 and 4, contactor 80 includes a forward-facing
nozzle-engaging surface 84. A contactor spring 94 is received
within a downwardly opening cavity 96 formed in contactor 80. The
contactor spring 94 biases contactor 80 for movement in a rearward
direction, toward paddles 70. Side wings 86 of contactor 80 (see
FIG. 4) slide within channels formed in housing 18 to guide the
sliding motion of the contactor.
[0030] With reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, contactor 80 includes an
upstanding fin 90 adjacent the rear cam surface 82 of the
contactor. Fin 90 has a cam extension surface 100 that is
preferably formed as a continuous extension of contactor cam
surface 82 (see FIG. 6a). The top plan view of FIG. 5b shows thrust
spring 68 pushing gear wheel 46 into engagement with the opposing
side of paddlewheel 60. This maintains the teeth 50 of gear wheel
46 in meshing engagement with the teeth 62 of paddlewheel 60. The
corresponding side plan view FIG. 5a shows linkage 30 in a rest
position, with contactor spring 94 urging contactor 82 to a
retracted, rest position. Preferably, in this rest position, the
nozzle contacting surface 84 of contactor 80 is located immediately
adjacent to, or lightly touching, nozzle 16 as shown in the rest or
"off" position depicted in FIG. 1.
[0031] Referring now to FIG. 2a, trigger 26 is shown in a rest
position, with trigger return spring 106 urging trigger 26 in an
upward direction. The forward end 108 of trigger 26 includes a
limit stop 109 engaging the housing 18 to maintain the trigger in
engagement with the housing. Forward end 108 of the trigger holds
an upper end 110 of push plate 36 in captive, pivoting engagement.
With reference to FIG. 2b, as trigger 26 is depressed in a downward
direction, trigger return spring 106 is compressed, storing energy
to return the trigger to its rest position.
[0032] As trigger 26 is depressed, push plate 36 is moved in a
downward direction, as indicated in FIGS. 2b, 6a, and 6b. Referring
to FIG. 6a, due to the meshing engagement of the teeth carried at
the lower end of push plate 36 with the outer teeth 44 of gear
wheel 46, gear wheel 46 is rotated in the clockwise direction
indicated in FIG. 6a. This action is indicated in the top plan view
of FIG. 6b. With the meshing engagement of the gear wheel teeth and
paddlewheel teeth, paddlewheel 60 is rotated in the same clockwise
direction as indicated by arrow 120 in FIG. 6a.
[0033] With continued reference to FIG. 6a, the lobed free end 72
of one of the paddles 70 is brought into contact with cam surface
82 of contactor 80 and, with continued clockwise motion of
paddlewheel 60, the paddle free end is subsequently brought into
wiping engagement with cam extension surface 100 of fin 90. This
urges contactor 82 to an extended position as indicated by arrow
122. As a result, a lateral deflection force, acts on nozzle 16 to
move the nozzle to move to an extended "on" position as indicated
for example by arrow 36 in FIG. 1. In this position, nozzle 16 is
deflected away from the longitudinal axis 130, as shown in FIG. 1.
Preferably, the cam surface 82 of contactor 80 and the cam
extension surface 100 (which can be concave) of fin 90 form a
continuous camming surface that is smoothly and continuously wiped
by the lobed free ends 72 of paddles 70. As will be appreciated,
each extension of contactor 80 results from contact with a single
paddle.
[0034] With reference to FIGS. 7a and 7b, with continued clockwise
rotation of paddlewheel 60, the free end 72 of the indicated paddle
70 clears the cam extension surface of fin 90. Contactor 80 is now
free to retract under the force of contactor spring 94, in the
direction of arrow 126. As a result, lateral deflection forces
acting on nozzle 16 are relaxed, allowing the nozzle to move to a
rest position with the nozzle closed or "off" as indicated, for
example, in FIG. 1. Preferably, the linkage 30 assumes the position
indicated in FIGS. 7a and 7b when the trigger 26 is fully depressed
and push plate 36 is moved to its lowermost position (as shown, for
example, in FIG. 2b).
[0035] Referring now to FIGS. 8a and 8b, when pressure on trigger
26 is relaxed, trigger return spring 106 urges trigger 26 to rise
to its rest position indicated, for example, in FIG. 2a. As
mentioned, the upper end of push plate 36 is held captive by
trigger 26, and thus is raised along with the trigger, as indicated
by arrow 132 in FIG. 8a. As a result of the meshing engagement of
the teeth of push plate 36 with the outer teeth of gear wheel 46,
gear wheel 46 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction of arrow
136 of FIG. 8a. Because of the beveled faces of gear wheel teeth 50
and the beveled surfaces of the teeth of paddlewheel 60, gear wheel
46 is free to slip relative to paddlewheel 60. During this
slippage, the teeth of gear wheel 46 and paddlewheel 60 are
maintained in inter-meshing engagement by thrust spring 68 which is
compressed during the slippage as one set of teeth cams over the
other. The interaction of paddlewheel teeth and gear wheel teeth
provides a unidirectional clutch function, allowing the paddlewheel
to be driven in one rotational direction while allowing the
contactor to be moved by the contactor spring in an opposite
rotational direction. As shown in FIG. 8a, the indicated paddle 70
is fixed against counterclockwise rotation by engagement with the
upper end of fin 90 in the event that any counterclockwise force is
applied to paddlewheel 60. At the conclusion of the action
indicated in FIGS. 8a and 8b, trigger 26 is returned to its upper,
rest position, with push plate 36 also being returned to its upper,
rest position, as indicated in FIG. 2a.
[0036] As mentioned above with reference to FIGS. 6a and 6b, the
lobed free end 72 of one paddle 70 continuously and preferably
smoothly wipes across the continuous camming surface formed by the
continuous combination of cam surface 82 and the cam extension
surface 100. During this wiping or camming action, the paddle 70
engaging contactor 80, moves the contactor to its extended position
so as to laterally deflect nozzle 16, moving it to an "on"
position, with the nozzle being open for a controlled time duration
so as to limit discharge of the container contents to a repeatable,
measured amount. In one embodiment, the dispenser is made to
repeatably dispense about 5 grams of whipped cream or cheese food
product with each full trigger activation or the amount of food
product dispensed can relate to its caloric content--for example,
15 calories. Preferably, nozzle 16 is conventionally constructed
such that discharge occurs continuously as long as the nozzle is
deflected from its rest position.
[0037] As will be appreciated, the wiping motion of the engaging
paddle across contactor 80 occurs during a carefully controlled
predetermined "dwell" time. During this "dwell" time, nozzle 16 is
held open at its "on" position. Immediately before, and immediately
after the "dwell" time, nozzle 16 is allowed to return it to its
closed or "off" position. Thus, with each cycling of trigger 26,
the linkage 30 causes a single cyclic operation of contactor 80,
and the amount of discharge of flowable material through nozzle 16
is reliably and repeatedly measured.
[0038] Preferably, the amount of "dwell" time is determined by the
rotational speed of paddlewheel 60 and the combined length of cam
surface 82 (i.e., the height of the contactor 80) and cam extension
surface 100 (i.e., the height of fin 90). Thus, as is preferred,
"dwell" time can be readily and economically modified by changing
the height of fin 90. Although the arrangement of inter-meshing
teeth of the gear wheel and paddlewheel and the rotational speed of
the paddlewheel can, to some extent, affect "dwell" time, it is
generally preferred that these effects be minimized so that the
setting of "dwell" time be primarily determined by dimensioning the
height of the contactor body and the height of the upstanding
fin.
[0039] If desired, electronic systems can be employed to control
the duration that the contactor is extended in a dispensing cycle.
Operation of the electronic system would be initiated by operation
of the trigger and would extend the contactor by operation of a
solenoid, for example. The time duration of contactor extension
would be controlled by a conventional timing circuit. If desired, a
user could be provided the ability to alter the time duration in a
known manner, for example, by adjusting a potentiometer
setting.
[0040] It is generally preferred that the parts of hand dispenser
10 (except for the springs) be economically formed from molded
plastic. This allows the inter-engaging parts to work smoothly
throughout their respective ranges of motion. With suitable molding
techniques, canister 14 (and hence the nozzle 16) can be held in a
desired fixed position relative to contactor 80, thus ensuring
desired operation, as indicated above, throughout the range of
motion of the contactor. As can be seen for example in FIG. 1,
housing 18 includes a pair of longitudinally spaced-apart
cylindrical collar portions firmly engaging spaced-apart portions
of canister 14. Known plastic molding techniques can be employed to
assure that the canister is firmly engaged by housing 18, while
allowing a spent canister to be readily replaced without requiring
special tools or techniques. As will be appreciated, the hand-held
dispenser and method according to principles of the present
invention can be employed to satisfy the practical requirements of
a wide range of practical requirements.
[0041] The foregoing description and the accompanying drawings are
illustrative of the present invention. Still other variations and
arrangements are possible without departing from the spirit and
scope of this invention. For example, the single piece contactor
shown in the drawings can be replaced by a contactor assembly made
from several components that cooperate to function in a similar
manner as that shown and described above. In one example, the
contactor can be replaced by first and second laterally adjacent,
interconnected swinging plates suspended from above on a common
mounting shaft. As in the arrangement shown and described above,
the paddles carried on the paddlewheel cam against the first plate
to swing the first plate about the mounting shaft. A lateral
connecting bar extends between the first and the second plates such
that, when the first plate is made to swing by the paddle, the
second plate swings in the same direction. The second plate
includes a protrusion that contacts and deflects the nozzle. In
this alternative arrangement, rotation of the paddlewheel causes
the protrusion of the second plate to undergo an excursion in a
manner similar to that shown and described above for the
nozzle-contacting end of the contactor.
[0042] Although the dispenser and method according to the
principles of the present invention have been explained above with
regard to a particular commercial application, it will be readily
appreciated that the present dispenser and method can be
advantageously employed to provide improved measured dispensing of
a variety of materials.
* * * * *