Abstract:
A collecting container for discharging material in piece form in pieces including a device for sealing the discharge opening and for discharging the material in the form of a rotating body in which through openings are provided. The device is disposed inside the collecting container. The through openings of the rotating body can be covered by the discharge opening by rotating the rotating body, thereby allowing the pieces of material to be discharged.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION:  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of copending International Application No. PCT/EP01/13466, filed Nov. 20, 2001, which designated the United States and was not published in English. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The invention relates to a collecting container for piece-form products having a device for discharging the piece-form products individually.  
           [0003]    It is generally a priority in the case of such collecting containers, during the operation of discharging one or more piece-form products, to keep the rest of the contents of the collecting container well sealed.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a collecting container for piece-form products that overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and that makes possible the configuration for discharging piece-form products individually with modest measures and that protects the rest of the contents of the collecting container against external influences.  
           [0005]    With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a collecting container for piece-form products, including a collecting container housing having a wall defining a discharge opening, a device for individually discharging the piece-form products, and a rotatable body disposed inside the housing and spaced apart from the discharge opening at a given distance, the rotatable body having an axis of rotation and at least one through-passage opening disposed adjacent the axis of rotation and having a movement path running in front of the discharge opening to temporarily dispose in front of the discharge opening one of the at least one through-passage opening and a section of the rotatable body not having the at least one through-passage opening during rotation of the rotatable body.  
           [0006]    Using a body of rotation as discharge configuration makes it possible for the mounting used to be a straightforward rotary bearing and for the drive used to be a rotary drive that can be realized cost-effectively. A robust construction can, thus, be achieved in a cost-effective manner. The piece-form products are discharged whenever the through-passage opening in the body of rotation coincides with the discharge opening in the wall of the collecting container.  
           [0007]    The through-passage opening in the body of rotation is, advantageously, assigned a carry-along element that can convey the piece-form product from a bottom region of the collecting container, in particular, the base thereof, to a discharge opening disposed in the top of the wall of the collecting container. The carry-along element may be set up here such that only a single piece-form product is carried along upward by it in each case.  
           [0008]    In accordance with another feature of the invention, the discharge opening is located above the lowermost section. Preferably, the movement path of the at least one through-passage opening has a highest section and the discharge opening is located adjacent the highest section.  
           [0009]    The configuration of the collecting container according to the invention can be used particularly advantageously for storing pieces of ice, the wall of the collecting container, advantageously, having thermal insulation. In addition, it is, likewise, possible for the body of rotation to have thermal insulation, at least in the region that, during rotation of the body of rotation, moves in front of the discharge opening in the wall of the collecting container. To ensure that the contents of the collecting container are stored at a constantly cool temperature, a cooling configuration may be provided within the collecting container. Provision may also be made here to dispose within the collecting container, on the wall of the collecting container, an, in particular, large-surface-area part that is a good conductor of heat and is connected in a thermally conductive manner to a cooling device disposed outside the collecting container.  
           [0010]    The operation of discharging the piece-form products is, advantageously, controlled such that, upon actuation, at least a single piece-form product is conveyed to the discharge opening, and discharged there, and the body of rotation is, then, moved further into a position in which it closes the discharge opening. A switch for controlling the body of rotation is, advantageously, located in the region of the discharge opening. As a result, for discharging pieces of ice, an operator can actuate this switch even by way of the glass or the container into which the pieces of ice are to be discharged.  
           [0011]    If the collecting container tapers downward and the body of rotation extends substantially as far as the base of the collecting container, it is possible to achieve the situation where no piece-form products that cannot be discharged are left over in the collecting container.  
           [0012]    In the simplest case, the body of rotation may be a flat disk that is mounted in a rotatable manner on a corresponding flat inner side of the collecting container. The body of rotation is, advantageously, inclined in the forward direction and the discharge opening is disposed at the top. As a result, the piece-form products drop or slide through the discharge opening of their own accord, on account of their weight, as soon as they are moved to the discharge opening by the body of rotation.  
           [0013]    In a development, it is possible for that inner side of the collecting container that is directed toward the body of rotation to be of a convex configuration and, if appropriate, in addition, for that side of the body of rotation that is directed toward the inner wall of the collecting container to be of a concave configuration. It is, thus, possible by way of the niche in the top region of the outer wall of the collecting container, the discharge opening advantageously being disposed in this region, to achieve a relatively shallow and, in particular, with the collecting-container wall inclined, more or less horizontal orientation. As a result, piece-form products can drop more or less directly downward through the discharge opening. In addition, a niche for a vessel into which the piece-form products are to be discharged is created beneath the discharge opening on account of the concave outer curvature of the collecting-container wall.  
           [0014]    In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the at least one through-passage opening is a plurality of through-passage openings each located on the movement path.  
           [0015]    In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the housing has an interior and a heating/cooling configuration for at least one of heating and cooling the interior of the housing is disposed at the housing.  
           [0016]    In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the housing has an outside and an actuating element is connected to the rotatable body for controlling rotation of the rotatable body and is disposed on the outside in a region of the discharge opening.  
           [0017]    In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, there is provided a control device controlling a rotation of the rotatable body to place the at least one through-passage opening over the discharge opening for a given period of time and, then, further rotating the rotatable body into a position in which the discharge opening is closed by a region of the rotatable body not having the at least one through-passage opening.  
           [0018]    In accordance with yet a further feature of the invention, there is provided a control device controlling a rotation of the rotatable body to place a next one of the through-passage openings, as seen in a direction of rotation of the rotatable body, over the discharge opening for a given period of time and, then, to rotate the rotatable body further into a position in which the discharge opening is closed by a region of the rotatable body not having one of the through-passage openings.  
           [0019]    In accordance with yet an added feature of the invention, the housing has an outside and a chute on the outside beneath the discharge opening for discharged piece-form products.  
           [0020]    In accordance with yet an additional feature of the invention, the rotatable body has a side directed toward the wall and the side is planar and the housing has an inner side opposite the side of the rotatable body and the inner side is planar.  
           [0021]    In accordance with again another feature of the invention, the rotatable body has a side directed toward the wall, the housing has an inner side opposite the side of the rotatable body, and the inner side and the side are planar.  
           [0022]    With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a collecting container for piece-form products, including a collecting container housing having a wall defining a discharge opening, a device for discharging the piece-form products, and a rotatable body being at least partially disposed inside the housing and at least partially disposed at the discharge opening, the rotatable body having an axis of rotation and at least one through-passage opening disposed on the rotatable body to have a movement path of the at least one through-passage opening running in front of the discharge opening and, during rotation of the rotatable body, temporarily disposing, in front of the discharge opening, one of the at least one through-passage opening and a section of the rotatable body not having the at least one through-passage opening.  
           [0023]    Other features that are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.  
           [0024]    Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a collecting container for piece-form products, it is, nevertheless, not intended to be limited to the details shown because various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.  
           [0025]    The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0026]    [0026]FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a configuration for producing and storing pieces of ice according to the invention with a collecting container;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the configuration of FIG. 1 in an operating state where a piece of ice is being discharged and a piece of ice produced is being conveyed into the collecting container;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, elevational view from the interior of the collecting container of FIG. 1 of the rotating body in a discharging position; and  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, elevational view from the interior of the collecting container of FIG. 1 of the rotating body of FIG. 3 in a parked position.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0030]    Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown the production and storage configuration having a cooling device  2  in the form of a Peltier element and also a freezing container  3  for accommodating a liquid from which at least one piece of ice is to be formed. Projecting into the freezing container  3  is a liquid-supply device  4  that, following the supply of the liquid into the freezing container  3 , is in contact with the liquid in the freezing container  3 . The liquid-supply device  4  includes a tube that is connected at its top end, through a non-illustrated line, to a non-illustrated liquid-metering device. By the liquid-supply device  4 , the liquid that is to be frozen is metered by the metering device in a quantity that corresponds to the volume of the freezing container  3 .  
         [0031]    The liquid-supply device  4  is fastened on a carriage  14  that is mounted such that it can be displaced on a rail  15 . The carriage  14 , furthermore, has an internal thread in which a spindle  16  driven by a motor  17  engages. The spindle  16  runs parallel to the rail  15 . As a result, the carriage  14  can be displaced along the rail  15  by virtue of a rotation of the spindle  16 .  
         [0032]    The liquid-supply device  4 , furthermore, has a stripping device  6 , by which the ice adhering to the liquid-supply device  4  or at least one adhering piece of ice  1  is stripped, mechanically and/or by the supply of heat, from the liquid-supply device  4 . The stripping device  6  may be fitted to be heated. The stripping device  6 , thus, allows easy detachment of ice.  
         [0033]    The freezing container  3  is thermally connected to one thermal element of the Peltier element  2 , which has its other thermal end thermally connected to a further cooling device  9 . The further cooling device  9  is kept at a certain temperature by virtue of the cooling liquid, for example water, being conducted through it. For the purpose of cooling the freezing container  3 , a flow of current is passed through the Peltier element  2  such that the thermal end that is connected to the freezing container  3  is cooled and the thermal end that is connected to the further cooling device  9  is heated. Heat energy is, thus, withdrawn from the freezing container  3  and supplied at a higher temperature to the further cooling device  9 , in which the heat energy is finally absorbed by the cooling liquid and is dissipated. Furthermore, simply by reversing the current flowing through the Peltier element  2 , it is, conversely, possible for the freezing container  3  to be heated, in which case heat is withdrawn from the cooling liquid flowing through the further cooling device  9 .  
         [0034]    The freezing container  3  is disposed alongside a collecting container  5  for pieces of ice  1  that have been formed. The collecting container  5  is closed from above by a pivotably mounted cover  8 . The cover  8  and the wall  18  of the collecting container  5  are provided with thermal insulation for keeping cool the pieces of ice  1  that have been formed. Furthermore, a thermally conductive plate  10  is provided on the inner side of the collecting container  5 , this plate  10  being in thermal contact with the freezing container  3 . Such a configuration allows the interior of the collecting container  5  to be cooled by the Peltier element  2  that is provided in any case to make possible storage of the pieces of ice  1  located in the collecting container  5  over a long period of time.  
         [0035]    To make possible the conveyance of pieces of ice  1  that have been formed into the collecting container  5 , a chute  7  is also provided, this being mounted in a pivotable manner at its top end. The chute  7  is connected to two control rods  11  and  12 , by which the movements of the chute  7 , of the cover  8  of the collecting container  5 , and of the liquid-supply device  4  can be brought into operative connection with one another.  
         [0036]    An actuating protrusion  13  is fastened on the carriage  14  for such a purpose, the protrusion, during an upward movement of the carriage  14 , tilting the control rod  12  to the right (in the view of FIG. 1) into a vertical position. This tilting movement causes the chute  7  and the control rod  11 , which are both disposed beneath the point of rotation, to be moved to the left. In such a case, the control rod  11  presses against a cover protrusion  20 , the cover protrusion  20  being connected to the cover  8  of the collecting container  5 , and, thus, opens the cover  8 . During such movement, the chute  7  is moved into a position in which part is located beneath the stripping device  6  and the bottom end of the chute  7  pivots beyond the freezing container  3  and is moved into the vicinity of the open access opening of the collecting container  5  beneath the cover  8 .  
         [0037]    For the purpose of forming pieces of ice, the carriage  14  and the control protrusion  13  fastened thereon are moved into their bottom position. In such a position, the bottom end of the liquid-supply device  4  is located within the freezing container  3 . Furthermore, in such a position, the control rod  12  has been tilted to the left and the chute  7  and the control rod  11  have been tilted to the right. The chute  7  is, thus, located alongside the freezing container  3  and the space located thereabove. In such a position, the cover  8  is, also, closed.  
         [0038]    Then, in this position, a certain quantity of the liquid that is to be frozen is metered into the freezing container  3  by the metering device, by way of the liquid-supply device  4 . For the purpose of forming a piece of ice, the current is passed through the Peltier element  2  such that the freezing container  3  is cooled, the resulting heat being absorbed by the cooling liquid in the further cooling device  9 . Once the liquid in the freezing container  3  has been frozen and/or the piece of ice  1  has been formed, in the first instance, the Peltier element  2  is operated, by a non-illustrated control device, with current flowing in the opposite direction. As a result, the freezing container  3  is heated for a short period of time and the piece of ice  1  that has been formed therein briefly begins to melt at the surface of contact with the freezing container  3 . At the same time, the motor  17  is activated, which moves the carriage  14  upward by virtue of a rotation of the spindle  16 . The liquid-supply device  4 , to which the piece of ice  1  that has been formed adheres or is frozen on, also moves upward as a result. In addition, in this movement, the control protrusion  13  causes the control rod  12  to be tilted to the right, as a result of which, on one hand, the control rod  11  tilts to the left and, by the cover protrusion  20 , raises the cover  8  counter to the force of gravity, and, on the other hand, the chute  7  pivots beneath the stripping device  6 .  
         [0039]    As soon as the piece of ice  1  that has been formed has reached the stripping device  6 , as is illustrated in position A of FIG. 2, it is stripped from the liquid-supply device  4  by the stripping device  6  and drops downward. There, it strikes against the chute  7  and slides, as is illustrated in position B of FIG. 2, beneath the raised cover  8  and into the collecting container  5 .  
         [0040]    Thereafter, the carriage  14  is moved downward again. As a result, the chute  7  tilts in the rearward direction again, the cover  8  closes again, and the bottom end of the liquid-supply device  4  is disposed within the freezing container  3  again.  
         [0041]    For the piece of ice  1  that has been formed to be stripped by the supply of heat, heating of the stripping device  6  may be provided, with the heat being passed on to the liquid-supply device  4 .  
         [0042]    That wall of the collecting container  5  that is illustrated on the left in FIGS. 1 and 2 is inclined obliquely in the forward direction and has a discharge opening  19  in a top section. A rotating body  21  in the form of a flat disk is mounted in a rotatable manner on the inner side of this wall. The rotating body  21  is driven in rotation by a torque motor  22 , which is disposed outside the collecting container  5  and is connected to the rotating body  21  through a non-illustrated pivot pin. Disposed on the outside of the collecting container  5 , beneath the discharge opening  19 , is a chute  25 , on which the pieces of ice discharged slide forward. A vessel into which the pieces of ice are to be discharged may, thus, conveniently be held beneath the end of the chute.  
         [0043]    As is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rotating body  21  has two through-passage openings  24 , which are located opposite and on a common circulatory path around the axis of rotation of the rotating body  21 . Disposed around the through-passage openings  24  in each case are crosspieces that each form a carry-along element  23  for pieces of ice  1  that are to be discharged. The carry-along elements  23  are substantially semicircular and are open in the direction of rotation of the rotating body  21 . As such, it is possible for the carry-along elements  23  to receive pieces of ice  1 , and carry them along upward, during rotation of the body of rotation  21 .  
         [0044]    [0044]FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the rotating body  21  in a position in which the carry-along element  23  disposed at the bottom receives a piece of ice  1  and the through-passage opening  24  disposed at the top is located over the discharge opening  19 . As a result, the piece of ice  1  raised by the top carry-along element  23  slides outward through the discharge opening  19 , as is illustrated in position C in FIG. 2.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIGS. 1 and 4 illustrate the rotating body  21  in a position in which the piece of ice previously received by the bottom carry-along element  23  has already been raised to some extent and the top through-passage opening  24  is located alongside the discharge opening  19 . The rotating body  21  can be parked in such a position until the next operation for discharging a piece of ice  1  to allow the discharge opening  19  of the collecting container  5  to be closed. This is done by a section of the region of the rotating body  21  that is located between the through-passage openings  24 . The rotating body  21  is, advantageously, also provided with heat insulation. As a result, as little heat as possible can penetrate through the discharge opening  19  and the section of the rotating body  21  located behind the same so that the pieces of ice  1  within the collecting container  5  remain cool and so that the cooling configuration  2  only has to use up a small amount of cooling power for the purpose of cooling the interior of the collecting container  5 .  
         [0046]    In a development of the invention, it is, likewise, conceivable for that wall of the collecting container  5  in which the discharge opening  19  is formed to be curved in the direction of the interior of the collecting container  5 , with the result that the outer surface of the collecting container  5  with the discharge opening  19  is concave, the entire outer surface being inclined. This makes it possible to create, in the front side of the appliance, a niche in relation to which the top section of the front wall of the collecting container  5  forms a canopy, the discharge opening  19  being formed in the top section. The pieces of ice  1  may, thus, be discharged such that they can drop downward without being obstructed, thus, providing sufficient space in which to place a vessel therebeneath. In such a case, a chute may be eliminated.