DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION:
The present invention relates to a dispenser for dispensing semi-solids and more particularly to delivering metered dose of gel/paste based products like pharmaceutical products/foods/cosmetics etc.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:
It is well known in the art that many pharmaceutical products, food or cosmetics are provided in semisolid form for topical or oral application to the consumer. Examples include petroleum jelly, ointments, creams, balm, gels etc. The most commonly available semi-solids are packed and sold in laminated tubes, plastic tubes or aluminum tubes and are administered by a user manually. When it comes to dispensing a metered quantity of the semi-solids from tubes, common examples are metering pump and valve system or airless pump system which are attached to the tubes to deliver metered dose. These systems are pneumatic in nature and can deliver the lesser dose quantity e.g. maximum of 500 micro litres (i.e. 0.5 ml).

Accordingly, the aforesaid pumps greatly suffer from a limitation of dispensing semi-solids of more than 500 micro litres (0.5ml). Besides, such pumps are only configured to deal with semi-solids of or below a particular viscosity (e.g. gels) and are accordingly non-operable towards dispensing substantially viscous semi-solids like toothpaste, cold creams, petroleum jelly etc.

Another limitation associated with the oral gels (e.g. medicated gel) packed in tubes is observed during administration. Especially, during the course of administration, the patient or the attendant needs to take out gel in a separate measuring device e.g. measuring spoon or cup, thereby causing difficulty in administration and posing difficulty to the patient or the attendant.

Moreover, during the process of withdrawal of the packed gels, very often more than requisite quantity gets extracted from the tube due to inadvertent squeezing. In such a scenario, it may be extremely difficult to restore the over-drawn gels back into the tube. Even if the over-drawn gel is restored back, the quality of the contents of the tube gets substantially compromised.

In addition, the aforesaid pump based dispensing system are complex spring-loaded or compressed gas based systems, thereby being substantially expensive and complex in nature.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION:

Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dispenser for various liquid or semi-solid substances irrespective of their viscosity.

Yet another object of the present invention is to dispense a user-defined quantity of the substance.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing mechanism incorporating substantially simpler components and sub-components.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present invention provides an apparatus to enable metered dispensing of a viscous substance. The apparatus comprises a first receptacle defining a first path, a second receptacle enclosing said first receptacle and defining a second path. The second receptacle is adapted to move away from the first receptacle to define a collection area for collection of a metered quantity of viscous substance and move towards the first receptacle for dispensing of the metered quantity of viscous substance. An actuator is connected to said first and second receptacles to control said first path and said second path, such that in a natural state of the actuator, the first path is open and the second path is closed to allow flow of viscous substance to the collection area and in an actuated state, the first path is closed and the second path is open to allow dispensing of the viscous substance via the second path.

The preset invention also provides a dispenser for metered dispensing of a viscous substance. The dispenser comprises a container for accommodating said substance, and a first receptacle connected to said container, wherein said first receptacle defines a first path. A second receptacle encloses said first receptacle and defines a second path. The second receptacle is adapted to move away from the first receptacle to define a collection area for collection of a metered quantity of said viscous substance and move towards the first receptacle for dispensing of the metered quantity of viscous substance. An actuator connected to said first and second receptacles controls said first path and said second path, such that in a natural state of the actuator, the first path is open and the second path is closed to allow flow of viscous substance from the container to the collection area and in an actuated state, the first path is closed and the second path is open to allow dispensing of the viscous substance via the second path.

To further clarify advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
Figure. 1a is an isometric view of a dispensing apparatus, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure. 1b is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of Fig. 1a.
Figure. 2 illustrates an exploded view of a dispenser incorporating the dispensing apparatus of Fig. 1, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
Figure. 3 (a-d) illustrates different isometric views of the dispensing apparatus of Fig.1 in upright and inverted positions.
Figure. 4 (a-d) illustrates various stages of operating the dispenser of Fig. 2, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have been necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the present invention. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof.

Reference throughout this specification to “an aspect”, “another aspect” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment”, “in another embodiment” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process or method. Similarly, one or more devices or sub-systems or elements or structures or components proceeded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other devices or other sub-systems or other elements or other structures or other components or additional devices or additional sub-systems or additional elements or additional structures or additional components.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Now referring to Figure 1 and 1b, it can be seen that the present invention describes an apparatus 100 to enable metered dispensing of a viscous substance, said apparatus comprising:
a first receptacle 5 defining a first path 6a (shown in Fig. 3b) ;
a second receptacle 3 enclosing said first receptacle 5 and defining a second path 8; said second receptacle 3 being adapted to move away from the first receptacle 5 to define a collection area for collection of a metered quantity of viscous substance and move towards the first receptacle 5 for dispensing of the metered quantity of viscous substance;
an actuator 2 connected to said first 5 and second receptacles 3 to control said first path 6a and said second path 8, such that in a natural state of the actuator 2, the first path 6a is open and the second path 8 is closed to allow flow of viscous substance to the collection area and in an actuated state, the first path 6a is closed and the second path 8 is open to allow dispensing of the viscous substance via the second path 8.

In an embodiment, wherein the first receptacle 5 is a hollow cylinder having a hollow cylindrical disk as its base.

In another embodiment, wherein said cylindrical disk is snap fitted to an external source of said substance, while said hollow cylinder houses a valve 6 to open and shut said first path 6a.

In another embodiment, wherein said second receptacle 3 is movable away from the first receptacle 5 due to said flow of viscous substance and thereafter depressible to move towards the first receptacle 3 for dispensing of the metered quantity of viscous substance.

In another embodiment, wherein said second receptacle 3 is a transparent hollow cup 3 defining said collection area and comprises on outer curved surface at least one of:
a plurality of graduations to depict said metered quantity of said viscous substance collected within said hollow cup 3; and
an aperture 8 denoting said second path 8.

In yet another embodiment, wherein the transparent hollow cup 3 encloses said first receptacle 5 through a gasket 4 provided there-between.

In another embodiment, wherein said actuator 2 comprises:
a rotatable and vertically movable handle disposed atop the second receptacle 3 to block or unblock said second path; and
a rod originating from said handle and passing through said first 5 and second receptacle 3 and connected to the valve 6 within the first receptacle 5 for opening or closing said first path 6a.

In another embodiment, wherein said actuator 2 within the actuated state undergoes rotation in a pre-determined direction to shut the first path 6a and simultaneously open the second path 8, and is further depressible to push the second receptacle 3 towards the first receptacle 5 to cause dispensing of the viscous substance via the second path 8.

In another embodiment, the present invention further comprises a removable cover 1 to enclose together said first receptacle 5, said second receptacle 3 and said actuator 2 to perform at least one of:
preventing movability of said second receptacle 3; and
preventing said actuator 2 from receiving the actuation.

Referring to Figure 2, the present invention also provides a dispenser 200 for metered dispensing of a viscous substance, said dispenser 200 comprising:
a container 7 for accommodating said substance;
a first receptacle 5 connected to said container 7, said first receptacle 5 defining a first path 6a (shown in Fig. 3b);
a second receptacle 3 enclosing said first receptacle 5 and defining a second path 8; said second receptacle 3 being adapted to move away from the first receptacle 5 to define a collection area for collection of a metered quantity of said viscous substance and move towards the first receptacle 5 for dispensing of the metered quantity of viscous substance; and
an actuator 2 connected to said first 5 and second receptacles 3 to control said first path 6a and said second path 8, such that in a natural state of the actuator 2, the first path 6a is open and the second path 8 is closed to allow flow of viscous substance from the container 7 to the collection area and in an actuated state, the first path 6a is closed and the second path 8 is open to allow dispensing of the viscous substance via the second path 8.

In another embodiment, wherein said container 7 is a deformable or compressible container 7 storing said substance and an action of deforming or compressing the container 7 generates flow of the viscous substance from the container 7 to the collection area.

Figure. 3 (a-d) illustrates different isometric views of the dispensing apparatus 100 of Fig.1 in upright and inverted positions. While Fig. 3a and Fig 3d depict isometric views of the apparatus 100 in the upright positions, Fig. 3b and Fig. 3c depict the isometric views in inverted positions. As shown in the figure, both Fig. 3a and Fig. 3b describe an ‘open first path’ and a ‘closed second path’ position, thereby corresponding to a default position of the dispensing apparatus 100. The open first path has been represented by the numeral 6a at Fig. 3b. On the other hand, both Fig.3c and Fig. 3d describe a ‘closed first path’ position and an “open second path’ position, thereby corresponding to an actuated position of the dispensing apparatus 100.

As elaborated in the preceding figures, the actuated state is achieved by rotating the actuator 2. In an example, the actuator 2 may be rotated in a clockwise direction as shown in Fig. 3d, when seen from the top of the dispensing apparatus 100. Accordingly, the valve 6 connected to the actuator 2 also gets displaced from its default position, as shown in Fig. 3c and appears to have been rotated in an anti-clockwise direction, when seen from the bottom of the apparatus 100. Accordingly, the first path 6a gets blocked by the valve 6, while the second path 8 is unblocked. Accordingly, the second path 8 or the aperture 8 is visible as shown in Fig. 3d. In addition, as a result of the closure of the first path 6a, the quantity of substance collected in the second receptacle 3 is prevented from reverse-flowing into the container 7 through the first receptacle 5. Also, due to such closure of the first path 6a, the second receptacle 3 is completely evacuated through the second path 8.

In addition, the role of the second receptacle 3 to provide and maintain the collection area, inspite of the second receptacle 3 moving away from the first receptacle 5, is further assisted by the gasket 4 acting as a fool-proof sealing mechanism between the first 5 and the second receptacle 3. Moreover, the movability of the second receptacle 3 with respect to the first receptacle 5 is restricted by a limit, for example, by formation of a knuckle joint between the first 5 and the second receptacle 3 at a particular raised position of the second receptacle 3 with respect to the first receptacle 5. Such joint also assists firmly holding the second receptacle 3 at the highest raised position. Accordingly, a hypothetical and unwanted scenario of the second receptacle 3 getting dislodged from the first receptacle 5 is rendered impossible.

In an implementation, the actuator 2 may be connected to the valve 6 through a telescopic arrangement, thereby facilitating a longitudinal motion of the actuator 2 with respect to the valve 6 that is although rotatable but stationary.

Figure 4 (a-d) illustrates various steps of operating the dispenser 200 of Fig. 2, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Without limiting the scope of the present invention, entire operation has been classified as comprising at least four steps (1-4). However, the depicted steps shall be construed to cover various other analogous steps as well as additional steps that may be ancillary to the currently depicted steps.

In the Step 1 of the figure, the removable cap 1, which is removably fixed at the first receptacle 5 with a screw-thread mechanism or through any other removable joining mechanism, is removed from the first receptacle 5. Accordingly, the second receptacle 3 and the first receptacle 5 enclosed by the second receptacle 3 are now exposed and become accessible by a user.

In Step 2, the container 7 of the dispenser 200, which in the current example is a deformable or compressible tube 7, is actuated by a user performed action such as squeezing, compressing, deforming etc, so as to generate an outward flow of the viscous substance (i.e. semi-solid) from the tube 7 towards the first receptacle 5. The first receptacle 5 receives the flow and directs the flow through the first path 6a as depicted in Fig. 3c. The directed flow accordingly reaches the second receptacle 3, and pushes the second receptacle 3 away from the first receptacle 5, thereby creating a collection area bounded by the first 5 and the second receptacle 3. Accordingly, the flow starts getting collected within the second receptacle 3.

The container or tube 7 is squeezed further till the viscous substance collection within the second receptacle 3 corresponds to a required level of weight, say 3 grams. Such evaluation or measurement is assisted by the graduations provided at the outer surface of the second receptacle 3. In other example, the graduations may also correspond to other units corresponding to volume (milliliter), pressure (psia, psig, psi) etc. As and when squeezing of the tube 7 or actuation of the container 7 is stopped, the flow of the semi-solid from the container 7 to the second receptacle 3 also gets stopped, and a final quantity of the substance collected in the second receptacle 3 is observable in terms of units like milligrams, milliliter or psi.

As shown in Step 3, when the required dose has been obtained, the actuator 2 is actuated, for example by rotating in the exemplary direction as depicted under Fig. 4c to expose the second path 8 or the aperture 8 provided within the second receptacle 3 so as to later facilitate dispensing of the semisolid from the second receptacle 3. At the same time, the valve 6 within the first receptacle 5 rotates to close the first path 6a (Refer Fig. 3c) so as to prevent the reverse movement of semisolid from first receptacle 5 to the container 7 and to also assist a complete dispensing from the second receptacle 3. However, other type of actuations like linearly pushing or pulling the actuator 2 are also conceivable, for example by employing a linear actuator, to perform the aforesaid shutting and closing of paths.

Further in step 4, the second receptacle 3 is depressed vertically for evacuating it completely. As a result, an entire quantity of substance collected within the second receptacle 3 oozes outside, through the second path 8 or the aperture 8. Further, as the second path 8 acts as the only opening within the second receptacle 3 and owing to an already shut first path 6a, the second receptacle 3 is evacuated completely and the user is able to retrieve an entire measured quantity. In other example, and also shown in Fig. 4d, the actuator 2 located atop the second receptacle 3 may be instead depressed to facilitate the depression of the second receptacle 3.

Accordingly, the present dispenser 100 is configured to dispense accurately and substantially greater metered amounts of semi-solids, when compared with the conventional dispensing systems for viscous substances. In an example, the present dispenser 100 is configured to dispense amounts ranging from 1 gm till 5 gm or 1 milliliter to 5 milliliters accurately.

In addition, through simple and light weight components like the manually driven valve 6, a simple knob or handle acting as the actuator 2, the first receptacle 5, the second receptacle 3 etc, the present invention is able to collect a metered quantity of the substance and thereafter dispense it without employment of any energy generation/conservation means such as spring, coil, electricity-generated mechanical force, or propellants such as compressed gas or aerosol. Instead the present invention employs a human hand driven force, akin to pressing of a control button, to retrieve the metered substance out of the dispenser 200. Moreover, absence of any energy conservation or generation means within the dispenser 200 imparts it a simple architecture.

The kinetic flow of viscous substance required by the present invention to enable collection of the viscous substance within the collection area is simply attainable by a compression or deformation of the container 7. A manually generated compression such a squeezing of the deformable container 7 (that may be in an example is a plastic or, an aluminum or laminated tube) is enough to meet the kinetic flow requirements of the present invention.

Last but not the least, the present invention is able to dispense the semisolid or liquids irrespective of the viscosity of the substance. Accordingly, almost any non-gaseous and non-solid substance that falls under the category of a viscous substance is operable by the present invention.

While specific language has been used to describe the disclosure, any limitations arising on account of the same are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein.

The drawings and the forgoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. The scope of embodiments is at least as broad as given by the following claims.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any component(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or component of any or all the claims.
,CLAIMS:We claim:

1. An apparatus (100) to enable metered dispensing of a viscous substance, said apparatus comprising:
a first receptacle (5) defining a first path (6a);
a second receptacle (3) enclosing said first receptacle (5) and defining a second path (8); said second receptacle (3) being adapted to move away from the first receptacle (5) to define a collection area for collection of a metered quantity of viscous substance and move towards the first receptacle (5) for dispensing of the metered quantity of viscous substance;
an actuator (2) connected to said first (5) and second (3) receptacles to control said first path (6a) and said second path (8), such that in a natural state of the actuator, the first path (6a) is open and the second path (8) is closed to allow flow of viscous substance to the collection area and in an actuated state, the first path (6a) is closed and the second path (8) is open to allow dispensing of the viscous substance via the second path (8).

2. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first receptacle (5) is a hollow cylinder having a hollow cylindrical disk as its base.

3. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein said cylindrical disk is snap fitted to an external source of said substance, while said hollow cylinder houses a valve (6) to open and shut said first path (6a).

4. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second receptacle (3) is movable away from the first receptacle (5) due to said flow of viscous substance and thereafter depressible to move towards the first receptacle (5) for dispensing of the metered quantity of viscous substance.

5. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second receptacle (3) is a transparent hollow cup (3) defining said collection area and comprises on outer curved surface at least one of:
a plurality of graduations to depict said metered quantity of said viscous substance collected within said hollow cup (3); and
an aperture (8) denoting said second path (8).

6. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the transparent hollow cup (3) encloses said first receptacle (5) through a gasket (4) provided there-between.

7. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said actuator (2) comprises:
a rotatable and vertically movable handle disposed atop the second receptacle (3) to block or unblock said second path (8); and
a rod originating from said handle and passing through said first (5) and second (3) receptacle and connected to a valve (6) within the first receptacle (5) for opening or closing said first path (6a).

8. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said actuator (2) within the actuated state undergoes rotation in a pre-determined direction to shut the first path (6a) and simultaneously open the second path (8), and is further depressible to push the second receptacle (3) towards the first receptacle (5) to cause dispensing of the viscous substance via the second path (8).

9. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
a removable cover (1) to enclose together said first receptacle (5), said second receptacle (3) and said actuator (2) to perform at least one of:
preventing movability of said second receptacle (3); and
preventing said actuator (2) from receiving the actuation.

10. A dispenser (200) for metered dispensing of a viscous substance, said dispenser (200) comprising:
a container (7) for accommodating of said substance;
a first receptacle (5) connected to said container (7), said first receptacle (5) defining a first path (6a);
a second receptacle (3) enclosing said first receptacle (5) and defining a second path (8); said second receptacle (3) being adapted to move away from the first receptacle (5) to define a collection area for collection of a metered quantity of said viscous substance and move towards the first receptacle (5) for dispensing of the metered quantity of viscous substance; and
an actuator (2) connected to said first (5) and second (3) receptacles to control said first path (6a) and said second path (8), such that in a natural state of the actuator (2), the first path (6a) is open and the second path (8) is closed to allow flow of viscous substance from the container (7) to the collection area and in an actuated state, the first path (6a) is closed and the second path (8) is open to allow dispensing of the viscous substance via the second path (8).

11. The dispenser (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said container (7) is a deformable or compressible container storing said substance and an action of deforming or compressing the container (7) generates flow of the viscous substance from the container (7) to the collection area.