EP0761563A1 - Dispenser for tablets - Google Patents

Abstract

The tablet dispenser has a casing (1) in which a cover (3) can be fitted and a bottom part (20). A slide (10) can move axially through the casing. The slide has an operating rod (11) in its upper region, which can be clipped into a connecting element on the cover. The cover has bulge (4) of soft elastic plastics material to act as a spring return element. The slide has an allocator (15) in the lower region which can receive one tablet (41) and pass through an aperture (21) in the bottom part. The bottom part has a turning lock (30) which can move between a locking position and a position in which the aperture is open.

Description

The invention relates to a tablet dispenser with a housing with a lid and base part which can be inserted therein and with a slide which passes axially through the housing.

Preparations of active ingredients in a homogeneous mixture with carrier and filling materials in the form of solid tablets for single dosing are known and widely used in the state of health care, combating diseases, strengthening the constitution and the like.

Such tablets are either individually packaged as so-called film tablets on one-sided transparent carrier cards (blister packs), or they can be poured in bulk into a tubular or bottle-shaped storage container that can be closed with a removable lid. This form of storage and performance has a number of disadvantages.

Because the removable closure should close as gas and moisture-tight as possible, it can often only be removed from the storage container or put back on with great effort.

Then there is the further disadvantage that to remove from the open container - because its opening is too small to reach in with your fingers and take out a tablet - this must be held with the opening at an angle downwards and a tablet shaken out. Usually several tablets fall out, which are then already contaminated or even contaminated by touching a held hand and / or the environment. In most cases, this is unsanitary and undesirable. The excess tablets are then returned to the container and the container is closed with the use of force, a proper closure not being guaranteed under any circumstances because of the stiffness of the closure element.

The invention has for its object to provide a tablet dispenser of the type mentioned in the preamble of claim 1, which is so far improved that it avoids the aforementioned disadvantages and difficulties, and to a certain extent only one by pressing a button from a pile of tablets Tablet donates, avoids the opening of a closure and can be hermetically sealed again without effort after the removal of the individual tablet without contamination of further tablets, whereby this tablet dispenser is furthermore to be suitable for a very economical production and problem-free disposal.

The problem is solved in a tablet dispenser of the type mentioned with the invention by the training features mentioned in the characterizing part of claim 1.

The design according to the invention results in a surprisingly uncomplicated manner in a novel tablet dispenser which, with a finger pressure, preferably thumb pressure, dispenses a tablet onto the resilient lid member through the base part in each case, without the housing needing to be opened and without the rest being left tablets present in the dispenser can be contacted and contaminated by the person taking them or with the environment, and the removal of a single tablet can be carried out easily and without effort.

The tablet dispenser is designed according to its training according to the invention so that it is extremely economical to manufacture, assemble and assemble. For example, the slide designed as a donor organ can be clipped into a connecting element of the cover in the upper region by means of an actuating rod connected to it, and furthermore the cover itself and also the base part can each be clipped into the preferably rotationally symmetrical housing. This training is therefore particularly suitable for a fully automatic assembly of the individual parts forming the tablet dispenser, e.g. B. by means of a mechanical-automatic device and this is thus extremely inexpensive to manufacture, assemble and assemble.

It is of great advantage that the cover is designed as a resilient return element with an upward concave curvature made of soft-elastic plastic. The solution found here is not only practical, but also saves money, is elegant and enables it to be operated without opening the container.

A hermetic dispensing of the tablets contained in the container is further made possible with great advantage that the slide in the lower area has one tablet each and an adequate through-opening in the bottom part which is designed so as to be penetrable, the bottom part having an between-through position formed with the through-opening with opening of the passage opening and a blocking position with closure of the passage opening arranged rotary lock.

The invention is shown below with reference to an exemplary embodiment in drawings, further advantageous features of the subject matter of the invention being evident from the drawings and the description.

Fig. 1

eine Außenansicht des Spenders,

Fig. 2

einen Schnitt des Spenders entlang einer durch dessen Mittelachse verlaufenen Schnittebene,

Fig. 3

in vergrößertem Maßstab eine Ansicht des Bodenteils mit Drehverschluß und Durchtrittsöffnung, von unten gesehen,

Fig. 4

den Tablettenspender im Schnitt einer gegenüber der Schnittebene von Fig. 2 um 90° geschwenkten Schnittebene.

Show it:

Fig. 1

an outside view of the donor,

Fig. 2

a section of the dispenser along a cutting plane running through its central axis,

Fig. 3

in an enlarged scale a view of the bottom part with rotary lock and passage opening, seen from below,

Fig. 4

the tablet dispenser in section of a section plane pivoted by 90 ° with respect to the section plane of FIG. 2.

The tablet dispenser shown in FIG. 1 has a housing (1) and a cover (3) which can be inserted therein, and a base part (20). Advantageously, the housing (1) has an externally smooth, preferably cylindrical, three-dimensional form in terms of production technology and is advantageously made of plastic.

From the synopsis of Figures 1 to 4 it can be seen that the housing has an axially movable slider (10), when actuated one tablet (41) through the passage opening (21) in the bottom part (20) with the aid of the arranged at the slider end Allotment organ (15) is conveyed out.

The slide (10) has an actuating rod (11) which can be clipped into a connecting element (5) of the cover (3) at the upper end. With this, the slide is connected to the cover (3) in a non-positive and positive manner, the cover (3) being designed as a resilient return element with an upwardly concave curvature (4) made of soft-elastic plastic. The slide (10) has a tablet (41) in the lower area and an adequate through-opening (21) in the bottom part (20) which is designed to be penetrable, and the bottom part (20) has one with a through-opening (21 ) trained, adjustable between a passage position by opening the passage opening (21) and a blocking position by closing the passage opening (30).

This twist lock (30) can be conveniently handled via the outer diameter of the housing (1) with a non-slip knurling (31) and its angle of rotation can be limited by stoppers. However, these are not shown in the interest of a better overview and can be implemented by the person skilled in the art in any manner known per se.

As can be clearly seen from FIGS. 2 and 4, the slide (10) at the lower end of the actuating rod (11) slopes obliquely into an approximately semicircular shape that can be extended along the inner wall of the housing at a short distance and defines an upper storage space (22) in the housing (1) - Downward inclined intermediate floor (23), which continues with a vertical apron (24) against the floor part (20) and in cooperation with a vertical guide (25) arranged at a distance from the housing inner wall, as best shown in FIG. 4, a funnel-shaped chute (28) which can be delimited by lateral guide webs (26) or (27) is formed, one of the webs (26) on the guide (25) and the other web (27) with the formation of the allotment member ( 15) is arranged on the apron (24).

As can be seen from the summary of FIGS. 2 and 4, the apron (24) is formed on both vertical sides and the intermediate floor (23) on its upper semicircular boundary with little clearance from the inner wall of the housing. Furthermore, the apron (24) has recesses in the area of the metering member (15), forming shoulders on both sides (16) or (17) next to a central sliding piece (18), the shoulders (16, 17) serving as stop stops for limiting the vertical axial movement of the slide (10) relative to the outlet opening (21) are formed. From Fig. 2 it can also be seen that the metering member (15) has the shape of a spoon in a vertical orientation.

Figure 3 shows a bottom view and an enlarged view of the bottom part (20) within the inner wall of the housing (1). As can be seen from Fig. 4, the bottom part (20) is clipped into the housing (1). It is designed as a twist lock (30) and has the passage opening (21). It has the basic shape of a rectangle with a chamfered outer edge and continues to the other side in a slot (19). These serve for the passage of the apron (24) with the dispensing element (15) arranged thereon.

By turning the twist lock (30) by actuating the knurl (31), two positions of the twist lock are reached, namely the position shown on the left in FIG. 3, in which the passage opening (21) corresponds to the arrangement of the apron (24) and Allocation member (15) is brought so that these parts pass through when the slide (10) is moved vertically when pressure is exerted on the cover (3), a tablet (41) contained in the allocation member (15) then passing through after the entry member (15) has passed through the opening (21) falls out individually. When snapping back due to the restoring force of the cover (3), another tablet (41) slips into the initially empty returning feeder (15) and the process can be repeated as described.

Due to an expedient structure of the dispenser according to the invention in a preferably rotationally symmetrical design, the bottom part (20) could be designed as a twist lock (30) in the lower housing area. As a result, the dispenser is secured in the delivery state in that the rotary lock (30) is set so that the opening is rotated to the position of the slide (10) and is therefore closed. This is at the same time the slide (10) is locked in its vertical movement possibility. For a dosing process, the screw cap (30) must now be turned back as far as it will go, so that the opening (21a, Fig. 3) comes into the outlet area of the metering element (15) of the slide (10) and the dispensing process can take place. After completion, if desired, the rotary lock (30) can be turned back again and thus the slide (10) can be locked in its mobility and the passage opening (21) can be closed.

The rotary lock (30) prevents a dosing process when the cover (3) - which is only installed after the dispenser has been filled - is pressed because the slide (10) due to the clip (11) being clipped into the connecting element (5) of the cover ( 3) seeks to deflect the necessary force downwards, which would result in actuation in the sense of a dosing process. This is prevented when the twist lock is installed in the locked position. In addition, the twist lock (30) also forms a transport lock when the dispenser is delivered filled, without outer packaging. An unwanted donation process cannot be triggered by a stack in the box.

Figure 4 shows a close distance above the rotary lock (30) a cover plate (32) which ensures that the passage opening (21) in the closed position (21a, Fig. 3) is completely covered from the inside, so that there is a hermetic Closure of the bottom part (20) results. By turning away the passage opening (21) below the metering element (15) there is a closure preventing the ingress of dirt particles or splash water.

There is also the possibility that the passage opening (21) provided as the dispenser opening is kept airtight by a removable security label until the tablet dispenser is used for the first time.

The design of the cover (3) for the dispenser as a flexible spring is particularly expedient, the slide (10) being withdrawn again after being pushed through due to the restoring force of the material, and the next dispensing process can be carried out. Due to this flexible cover (3), no additional spring needs to be attached in the slide area of the dispenser. This makes it possible to manufacture the entire device uniformly from plastic, which significantly improves the disposal and recycling of the empty dispenser. Furthermore, with the flexible cover (3) there is the possibility of sealing the upper housing area cleanly over the entire period of use and thus preventing the ingress of dust or splash water and / or preventing the tablets from absorbing moisture.

The tablet dispenser is expedient, uncomplicated to manufacture and assemble and is therefore suitable for inexpensive, occasionally fully automated mass production. In this respect, the invention optimally achieves the task set out above.

Claims (8)

Tablet dispenser with a housing (1) with a cover (3) and base part (20) which can be inserted therein, and with a slide (10) which penetrates the housing (1) in an axially movable manner,
characterized, - That the slide (10) in the upper region has an operating rod (11) which can be clipped into a connecting element (5) of the cover (3), - That the cover (3) with an upward concave curvature (4) made of flexible plastic is designed as a resilient return element, - That the slide (10) has a tablet (41) in the lower area and an adequate passage opening (21) in the bottom part (20) of a penetrating feeder member (15), and - That the bottom part (20) has a with the passage opening (21), between a passage position with release of the passage opening (21) and a blocking position with closure of the passage opening adjustable rotary closure (30). Tablet dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that the slide (10) at the lower end of the actuating rod (11) into an obliquely downward direction, defining an upper storage space (22) in the housing (1) in an approximately semicircular manner along the inner wall of the housing at a short distance inclined Intermediate floor (23) merges, which continues with a vertical apron (24) against the base part (20) and, in cooperation with a vertical guide (25) arranged at a distance from the inner wall of the housing, one of lateral guide webs (26) or (27 ) forms a funnel-shaped chute (28) which can be delimited, one of the webs (26) being arranged on the guide (25) and the other web (27) being formed on the apron (24) with the formation of the allocating member (15). Tablet dispenser according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the apron (24) is formed on both vertical sides with little clearance from the inner wall of the housing. Tablet dispenser according to one or more of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the apron (24) in the area of the dispensing member (15) with recesses on both sides shoulders (16) or (17) has recesses in addition to a central sliding piece (18) and the Shoulders (16) and (17) are designed as stop stops for limiting the axial movement of the slide (10). Tablet dispenser according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the dispensing device (15) has the shape of a spoon in a vertical orientation. Tablet dispenser according to one or more of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the rotary lock (30) above the outer diameter of the housing (1) is formed with a non-slip knurling (31) and the angle of rotation of which can be limited by stoppers. Tablet dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that the rotary lock (30) is at the same time designed as an actuation safety device. Tablet dispenser according to one or more of the preceding claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the cover (3) and the base part (20) are designed such that they can be clipped into the housing (1).

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