DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a dosing apparatus for dosing a liquid. The invention particularly relates to a dosing apparatus intended for dispensing a unit dose of a liquid. The present invention furthermore relates to a method by which the dosing apparatus operates and delivers the unit dose of a liquid. Such a dispensing apparatus, for example, can be used in the medical industry or food industry, chemical industry, for domestic or household use, personal or oral care applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In industries such as food and pharmaceuticals, in particular, precise dispensing of materials is of high importance. Various types of dosing apparatus have been proposed for the purpose in the art. Liquids are often kept in bottles which are sufficiently flexible to be squeezed by a user with either simple or valve-controlled spouts, to enable straightforward dispensing of their contents. One of the limitations of the classic bottle design, is the difficulty in in-situ measurement of exact amount of a liquid within a container so as to dispense the desired volume of a liquid. As a result, several systems have been developed which produce exact metered out doses of the liquid content each and every time the bottle is squeezed. These systems often use a plurality of chambers functionally connected so that during the pouring process, one of the chambers fills to the desired volume which is then transferred to the dispensing chamber and then finally be dispensed to the user. The limitation of such systems is the requirement for multiple chambers of a size suitable for housing the desired dosing volume. This makes the dosing equipment bulkier in size and complex to produce. A second limitation of such designs is that they often require multiple inversions of the bottle to effectively fill the measuring chamber, before the fluid can be dispensed. This slows and further complicates the dispensing process.

In the art, squeeze bottles for dispensing a liquid under metered conditions are known. WO2000037179A1 discloses a squeeze bottle for dispensing a liquid, in particular a liquid medicament in a metered and substantially germ-free manner. The liquid is dispensed by applying pressure to the storage chamber by squeezing the wall of the squeeze bottle, wherein an increased pressure is exerted on the metering chamber. This increased pressure reduces the volume of the metering chamber. As a result of the reduction in volume of the metering chamber, the valve will be opened at the location of the outlet and the contents of the metering chamber will be dispensed, while feed from the storage chamber as well as dispensing to the storage chamber, is substantially blocked. This invention however discloses the use of a valve wherein there are chances of the liquid getting trapped and resulting in clogging.

WO2005049477A3 discloses a liquid dosing device having a dump valve arrangement provided at the back of the control chamber to allow rapid escape of liquid from the control chamber behind the obturator after a dose has been dispensed, and to allow speed return of the obturator to its rearward (starting) position. The dump valve is operable to close during dispensing under gravity and/or forward fluid pressure so that liquid enters the control chamber only through the control opening(s). The dump valve opens after dispensing under gravity and/or reverse fluid pressure so that liquid can escape more rapidly than if the only escape route were through the control opening(s).

More recent advances have utilised a single chamber design to eliminate these limitations.

WO2013158732A1 discloses a design with a single dosing chamber with integral inlet openings to allow the liquid to enter the chamber. A ball type of valve is provided at the base of the chamber, and when a force is applied to the inverted container, the container experiences buckling and concurrently generates a pressure within said container which causes the valve to close the discharge opening. The liquid is consequently forced to flow into the dosing chamber via the timer apertures and the inlet openings. The part of the liquid that flows through the timer apertures pushes the piston towards the entry tube, whilst the part of the liquid that flows through the inlet openings is directly expelled from the container through the entry tube and out of the nozzle. Once the piston reaches the entry tube, liquid flow is stopped and the dosing is completed. Releasing the force from the inverted container causes the resilient spring-back of the container surfaces and allows the vacuum formed during squeezing and buckling of the container, to open the valve and effectively drain the dosing chamber while the piston returns to its starting position. This design has multiple components and is very difficult to assemble them. Secondly, assembling the components will incur extra equipment. This ultimately involves high manufacturing cost. Moreover, with the increased number of components, it is highly likely that during or after dispensing a unit dose, the liquid might get trapped and result in the clogging of the nozzle.

Another recent advance is a single chamber design that eliminates the aforementioned limitations. WO2017093707A1 discloses a dosing apparatus suitable for dispensing a dose of liquid from a resilient squeezable container. The dosing apparatus comprises a dosing chamber attached to a cap and a pressure chamber located underneath the dosing chamber; a valve provided at the end of the pressure chamber distal to the dosing chamber, and a valve being moveable from an open position to a blocking position, allowing the liquid to flow through one or more discharge openings. This invention further discloses the use of an additional pressure chamber and a valve mechanism. This design also has more number of components and is difficult to assemble and has high manufacturing cost. Moreover, with the increased number of components, it is highly likely that during or after dispensing a unit dose, the liquid might get trapped and result in clogging.

These designs, however, have their own inherent limitations which the current invention seeks to overcome.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a new dosing apparatus comprising of a container, a dosing cylinder, a valve and a top cap.

The other object of the present invention is to provide the novel method by which the apparatus provides the unit dosing of liquid contained in the container.

It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a dosing apparatus that allows more precise dosing of the liquid wherein, the liquid has physical properties such as viscosity, flow rate, density and the like.

Another object of the invention is to propose a dosing apparatus that allows better transfer of the liquid into the dosing cylinder of the dosing apparatus, through the designed apertures of dosing cylinder.

Still another object of the invention is to customise the volume of the unit doses, which is ultimately based on the size of the container, diameter and specifications of the components used in the container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention proposes a dosing apparatus (1) comprising of a container (2); a cap (3) operably connected to the said container (2); wherein the said cap (3) further comprises an expulsion orifice (4) for expelling the liquid (12) out of the said container (2); a dosing cylinder (5) operably connected to the said cap (3), wherein the said dosing cylinder (5) comprises a base (6) having at least two discharge openings (7) therein, and the said dosing cylinder (5) further comprises sidewalls (8) extending upwardly along the perimeter of the said base (6) and at least two inlet openings (9) located proximal to said sidewalls (8); a valve (10) provided in the said dosing cylinder (5) which is moveable relative to the said dosing cylinder (5) so as to advance upon tilting of the said container (2). The container (2) comprises sidewall portions (19), an interior cavity (20), a neck portion (21) extending from the sidewall portions (19), and a base (22) on which the container (2) rests. Furthermore, the said dosing cylinder (5) is of a unitary moulded structure which upon downward tilting of the said container (2) enables filling of the dosing cylinder (5), wherein the liquid (12) passes through the inlet openings (9) and through the base openings (7), which ultimately allows the valve (10) to move towards the expulsion orifice (4) for expelling the liquid (12) out of the container (2). Further, as soon as the container (2) positioned back to an upward top position, the valve (10) returns to its original position so as to close the base openings (7).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The particular features and advantages of the invention as well as other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the dosing apparatus (1) according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a diagrammatical view of the cap (3) of the dosing apparatus (1) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3a is a bottom view of the dosing cylinder (5) of the dosing apparatus (1) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3b is an isometric view of the dosing cylinder (5) of the dosing apparatus (1) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4a is an isometric view of the valve (10) of the dosing apparatus (1) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4b is an isometric view of the valve (11) having one side of the extensions (18) of the dosing apparatus (1) according to another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a front view of the valve (10) of the dosing apparatus (1) resting in the dosing cylinder (5) while in the upright position, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a front view of the valve (10) of the dosing apparatus (1) resting in the dosing cylinder (5) when the cap (3) is in the open position according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7a is a front view of the mechanism by which the said valve (10) of the dosing apparatus (1) moves in the dosing cylinder (5) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7b is a front view of the mechanism by which the said valve (10) of the dosing apparatus (1) is at a blocking position in the dosing cylinder (5) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 8 is a top and an isometric view of the different base openings (7), which may be present in the said dosing cylinder (5) of the dosing apparatus (1) according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments will now be described to provide an overall understanding of the principles of the structure, function, manufacture, and use of the apparatus and methods disclosed herein. One or more examples of these embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that features described or illustrated in connection with one example embodiment can be combined with the features of other example embodiments without generalization from the present disclosure.

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate the embodiments of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

The term "dose" as used herein is defined as the measured amount of liquid to be delivered by the apparatus. The dose begins when the liquid first exits the expulsion and ends once the flow of said liquid stops. The volume of liquid dosed for each tilting of the container is typically from 1 ml to 100 ml.

The invention is directed to an apparatus (1) for repetitively dosing a quantity of a liquid (12) by tilting the container (2) in a top-down positon. FIG. 1 represents an apparatus (1) comprising of a container (2) comprising a liquid (12) therein; a cap (3) operably connected to the said container (2); a dosing cylinder (5) operably connected to the said cap (3); and a valve (10) provided in the said dosing cylinder (5) which is movable relative to the said dosing cylinder (5) so as to advance upon inverting the said container (2) top-down, up to a blocking position. The apparatus (1) may have a longitudinal axis (YY) extending along/or substantially parallel to, the centreline of the apparatus (1). The said longitudinal axis (YY) may also be parallel to the direction of a portion of the fluid flow during dispensing.

The container (2) may be made of any suitable material. However, preferably said material is selected from the group consisting of polymers such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate or blends thereof.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cap (3) for the container (2) of the dosing apparatus (1). The said cap (3) may be designed to fit on the mouth of the container (2) to permit dispensing of the liquid (12) content from the said container (2) when the said cap (3) is in an open position. According to one embodiment, as illustrated in the figure, the said cap (3) comprises an expulsion orifice (4) extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis (YY). The said cap (3) may further comprise a top lid (13) connected at a hinge (14) and is capable of engaging with the said expulsion orifice (4) to provide a closing and sealing means. Preferably, the inner side of the top lid (13) may comprise a projection (15) to close the expulsion orifice (4) while the container is not in use, so as to avoid any leakage. A person skilled in the art would understand that other closing features or cap constructions such as twist, pull, push, snap-fitted, screw or other caps known in the art could also be envisaged in combination with the present invention. According to a furthermore embodiment, the cap (3) may comprise any type of closing means for the expulsion orifice (4), so as to avoid the usage of top lid (13).

Referring to FIG. 3a and 3b, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the dosing cylinder (5) comprises sidewalls (8) extending vertically upwardly along the perimeter of a base (6) of the dosing cylinder (5) and parallel to the longitudinal axis (YY), and further comprising at least two tabs (16) extending vertically upwardly from the apex of said sidewalls (8) in a direction opposite to the said base (6). The tabs (16) may be spaced apart so as to form a castellation on the upper portion of the dosing cylinder (5). Such tabs (16) may define inlet openings (9) formed by the open space between the said tabs (16). Preferably, the perimeter of the said base (6) may be substantially circular. However, it is understood by a person skilled in the art that other shapes such as oval, squared, triangular and so on, may also be suitable. More preferably, the dosing cylinder (5) comprises multiple tabs (16) forming multiple inlet openings (9). The said base (6) further comprises atleast two base openings (7) located therein. Preferably, the base openings (7) are located at the centre of the said base (6) so as to allow the liquid accumulated below the valve (10) in the dosing cylinder (5), to be quickly flushed back into the container (2) upon completion of the tilting action. The base (6) of the dosing cylinder (5) may be chamfered to form an inclined surface extending from the sidewalls (8) to the said base openings (7). Preferably, the said inclined surface extends substantially linearly from the said sidewalls (8) to the said base openings (7). Such a configuration allows the liquid to drain from the dosing cylinder (5) in an effective manner without leaving any residue, which would otherwise cause jamming of the valve (10) upon drying.

Referring to FIG. 4a, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the said valve (10) functions like a piston and is moveable relative to the said dosing cylinder (5) so as to advance when the container (2) is held in a top-down positon. The said valve (10) moves from a starting position which is located at the base (6) of the dosing cylinder (5) to a blocking position which is located below the expulsion orifice (4). It should be understood that the said valve (10) may comprise extensions (17) on one side or either sides in an upward direction from the circumference of the said valve (10) which snugly fit with the expulsion orifice (4) and thus block the said expulsion orifice (4). Moreover, a two-sided valve (10) is preferable as there is less friction between the flat surface of the valve (10) and the base openings (7) of the dosing cylinder (5). Preferably, the motion of the valve (10) is linear and parallel to the longitudinal axis (YY).

According to yet another embodiment, the cap (3) may also comprise a projection (15) to close the expulsion orifice (4) from inside, so as to completely block the expulsion orifice (4). However, it is understood that any other kind of motion such as rotation, and combination of rotation and translation, may be equally suitable for generating a dose.

In an alternative embodiment, according to FIG. 5, the said dosing cylinder (5) comprises base openings (7) at the said base (6). The number of the said base openings (7) can be at least two, preferably four, more preferably eight. The base openings (7) may be of any suitable shape and configuration as shown in FIG. 8. The shape of the said base openings (7) is preferably but not limited to triangular, circular, rectangular, square, and diamond shapes.

The said dosing cylinder (5) is of a unitary moulded construction. This allows reducing the number of components required and contributes towards offering benefits such as reduced manufacturing cost, and ease of assembly.

The valve (10) may have a substantially flat surface, and may comprise extensions (17) extending upwardly along the circumference of the said valve (10) and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis (YY). Preferably, the said extensions (17) extend from either side in an upward direction from the circumference of the said valve (10). The said extensions (17) may be spaced apart so as to minimize material usage during manufacture and any friction with the sidewalls (8) of the dosing cylinder (5). The diameter of the said valve (10) may be smaller than the diameter of the said dosing cylinder (5) to further reduce effects due to any friction between the surfaces thereof. Without being bound by theory, it is believed that an advantage of the flat configuration of the piston is that the pressure differential is minimized between the liquid flowing through the inlet openings (9) and the liquid (12) flowing through the base openings (7) which ultimately renders overriding of the valve (10). The rate of overriding of the valve (10) and consequently the dosage is dependant primarily on the ratio of the surface area covered by the base openings (7) and the viscosity of the liquid (12). Furthermore, it also depends upon the surface area covered by the inlet openings (9) and the diameter of the expulsion orifice (4).

In an alternative embodiment, referring to FIG. 4b, the said valve (11) may comprise extensions (18) that extend in an upward direction from the circumference of the said valve (11) and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis (YY). Preferably, one end of the said valve (11) can be of closed configuration. Preferably, the root of the said extensions (18) may be located along the circumference of the said valve (11) in only one direction.

According to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, when the said container (2) is inverted and without any application of force the said container (2) experiences buckling and concurrently generates a pressure within the said container (2). The liquid (12) is consequently forced to flow directly into the said dosing cylinder (5) via the said inlet openings (9). The flow path of the liquid (12) is shown by arrows A and B in FIG. 7a and FIG. 7b. A portion of the liquid (12) that flows from the said base openings (7) as shown by arrows C and D, pushes the said valve (10) towards the said expulsion orifice (4) thus allowing the liquid (12) present in the dosing apparatus (1) to come out of the expulsion orifice (4). This is calibrated as a unit dose. Once the said valve (10) reaches the said expulsion orifice (4), the liquid flow is stopped and the dosing is completed. Returning the said container (2) to an upright position effectively drains the left-over liquid present within the dosing cylinder (5) while the said valve (10) returns to its starting position. At this point, a new dose may be dispensed by simply tilting the said container (2) again in top-down position.

According to the present embodiment, the liquid (12) flows as it is with no external force being applied on the container (2).

Table 1 details the displacement and flow rate of the liquid (12) in the container (2). According to the aforementioned embodiments, the container (2) was positioned in a top-down position and the time was noted down. The liquid (12) flowed through the expulsion orifice (4) and stopped flowing after sometime, and this time was also noted down. After the liquid (12) stopped flowing, the container (2) was repositioned in the upright position. This cycle was repeated multiple times and the displacement (g) and flow rate (g/sec) were measured.

Table 1. Displacement, and flow rate of the liquid content of the container
S. No. Displacement (g) Duration (Sec) Flow Rate (g/sec)
1 12 2.1 5.7
2 13.5 3.2 4.2
3 13.5 2.83 4.8
4 13 2.96 4.4
5 12.5 2.46 5.1
6 12.5 2.4 5.2
7 12 2.78 4.3
8 12.5 2.9 4.3
9 13 2.56 5.1
10 13 2.89 4.5
11 13.5 2.43 5.6
12 13.5 2.76 4.9
13 14 3.2 4.4
14 12.5 2.9 4.3
15 13.5 3 4.5
16 13.5 2.9 4.7
17 12.5 2.98 4.2
18 13 2.74 4.7
19 12.5 2.98 4.2
20 13 2.93 4.4

According to yet another embodiment, the aforementioned mechanism may also work with application of force on the container (2).

An advantage of the present invention is that a constant dosage during use is achieved whilst providing optimal ergonomics for the end user who can dispense a desired dose of liquid. Also, according to the proposed invention the dosing apparatus (1) allows better transfer of the liquid (12) into the dosing cylinder (5) of the dosing apparatus (1), through the designed apertures of the said dosing cylinder (5).

In a preferred embodiment, the dose of the liquid (12) being expelled through the said expulsion orifice (4) has a flow rate of less than 40g/s, preferably less than 38g/s, more preferably less than or equal to 35g/s, even more preferably less than or equal to 30g/s, still more preferably less than or equal to 25g/s, further more preferably less than or equal to 18g/s, and still furthermore preferably less than or equal to 5g/s, typically measured for the first 10 dispenses starting from a full container. By "full container", it is herein intended that the container (2) of the dosing apparatus (1) is filled with a liquid (12) as much as is normal in the field of application.

It is to be understood, however, that the present invention would not be limited by any means to the parts, arrangements and materials that are not specifically described, and any change to the materials, variations, sizes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope described in the present invention.
,CLAIMS:We claim:
1. A dosing apparatus (1) for dispensing a liquid (12) comprising of:
i) a container (2);
ii) a cap (3);
wherein, the cap (3) further comprises an expulsion orifice (4);
iii) a dosing cylinder (5);
wherein, the dosing cylinder (5) further comprises:
a base (6),
wherein the base (6) further comprises atleast two base openings (7), sidewalls (8), atleast two inlet openings (9) located proximal to the said sidewalls (8); and
iv) a valve (10) which is movable relative to said dosing cylinder (5).

2. The said dosing apparatus (1) of claim 1, wherein the said container (2) comprises sidewall portions (19), an interior cavity (20), a neck portion (21) extending from the said sidewall portions (19), and a base (22) on which the container (2) rests.

3. The said dosing apparatus (1) of claim 1, wherein the said cap (3) comprises an expulsion orifice (4), and may further comprise a top lid (13) capable of engaging with the said expulsion orifice (4) to provide a closing and sealing means.

4. The said dosing apparatus (1) of claim 3, wherein the inner side of the top lid (13) may comprise a projection (15) to close the expulsion orifice (4).

5. The said dosing apparatus (1) of claim 1, wherein the said dosing cylinder (5) comprises at least two tabs (16) extending vertically upwardly from the apex of said sidewalls (8) in a direction opposite to the said base (6) and are spaced apart to define inlet openings (9), and the said base (6) comprises atleast two base openings (7) located therein and are preferably located at the centre of the said base (6).

6. The said dosing apparatus (1) of claim 1, wherein the valve (10) comprises extensions (17) extending upwardly along the circumference of the said valve (10) and is movable relative to said dosing cylinder (5).

7. The said dosing apparatus (1) of claim 7, wherein the said extensions (17) extend from either side or in an upward direction from the circumference of the said valve (10).

8. The said dosing apparatus (1) of claim 1, wherein the said dosing cylinder (5) is operably connected to the cap (3) on the interior side and to the container (2) at the neck portion (21) on the interior side, and the valve (10) is removably placed inside the said dosing cylinder (5).

9. A method of dispensing a liquid (12) with the said dosing apparatus (1) comprising the steps of:
orienting the said dosing apparatus (1) in a top-down position;
holding the dosing apparatus (1) in the top-down position until a desired volume of the liquid (12) enters into the dosing cylinder (5);
allowing the flow of the liquid (12) from the container (2) towards the dosing cylinder (5) through the inlet openings (9);
a portion of the liquid (12) that flows from the said base openings (7) pushes the said valve (10) towards the said expulsion orifice (4) allowing the said liquid (12) present in the dosing apparatus (1) to dispense from the expulsion orifice (4); and
returning the said container (2) to an upright position effectively drains the left-over liquid (12) present within the dosing cylinder (5) while the said valve (10) returns to its starting position.

10. The said dosing apparatus (1) of claim 1, wherein the said dosing cylinder (5) has a flow rate of less than 40g/s.