Abstract:
A device facilitates the transfer of a substance from a container into a receptacle. The container has an opening sealed by a breachable seal. The device includes a connector for connection to the opening and a severing component. Either the connector or the severing component is movable with respect to the other to enable the severing component to breach the seal.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention broadly relates to a device for facilitating transfer of a substance from a container into a receptacle. In particular, the invention relates to a device enabling the substance to be transferred from the container into the receptacle in an enclosed environment. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is generally desirable in the chemical, pharmaceutical and water processing industry to provide a device capable of facilitating transfer of a toxic or poisonous substance from a sealed container to a receptacle for further processing without exposing the user to the toxic or poisonous substance. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a device which may facilitate transfer of the substance from the sealed container into the receptacle in an enclosed environment or which will at least provide a safe way of transferring the substance. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for facilitating transfer of a substance from a container into a receptacle, the container having an opening sealed by a breachable seal, the device including: 
     a connector for connection to the opening; and 
     a severing means; 
     wherein one of the connector and the severing means being movable with respect to the other in order to enable the severing means to breach the seal. 
     The substance contained in the container may be toxic or poisonous and may be in the form of particulate such as particles or powder or in the form of a liquid or solution, or may be non-toxic. 
     The container is preferably in the shape of a cylindrical or rectangular bottle having an externally threaded neck, the opening of the container being sealed by a thermoplastic film. Alternatively, the container may be sealed by a tin or aluminium foil or other suitable breachable material. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the receptacle is a tank or reservoir. The tank or reservoir may contain a solvent in which the substance dissolves. 
     In this embodiment, it is preferred that the connector moves rather than the severing means. The severing means is preferably fixed at a predetermined position. 
     It is preferred that the connector is annular having a flanged portion and an anchoring portion. The flanged portion is preferred to be threaded on its internal bore so that in use it threadably engages a complementary thread on the neck of the container. Preferably, the anchoring portion is threaded on its external surface. The flanged portion is also preferred to include a handle whereby the connector may be manually rotated. Conveniently, rotation of the connector in a predetermined direction with respect to the coupler (and hence the fixed severing means) forces the seal of the container against the severing means thereby causing the severing means to breach the seal. 
     Preferably, the device also includes a coupler adapted to cooperate with the connector. The coupler is preferred to be a tubular sleeve including a flanged portion and a root portion. The flanged portion is threaded on its internal bore so as to in use threadably engage the anchoring portion of the connector. The flanged portion may be configured such that it can be mounted or connected to the receptacle. The flanged portion is preferred to include an impeding means adapted to abut the handle of the flanged portion of the connector so as to restrict the rotation of the connector with respect to the coupler. 
     Preferably, the impeding means in this embodiment is positioned such that rotation of the connector to a full extent causes the severing means to the breach part of the seal only. As such, the breached seal may still be partially attached to the opening without falling into the receptacle. 
     The flanged portion in this embodiment is also preferred to include a removable stopper adapted in use to lock the connector in place with respect to the coupler so as to allow engagement and disengagement of the container to the connector. The removable stopper may be linked to the coupler by a tether such as a wire. The flanged portion is preferred to include an inlet adapted to be connected to a water supply. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the root portion of the coupler includes a circumferential cavity being open at one end and having one or more outlets at another end. Preferably, the cavity is in communication with the inlet of the flanged portion. The outlets are configured and located such that the water supplied through the inlet is discharged towards an interior of the container for rinsing purposes. 
     The device may include a retainer adapted to be fitted onto the root portion of the coupler to close off the open end of the cavity. The open end of the cavity may include an enlarged portion for accommodating a sealing means for preventing leakage. The sealing means is preferred to be an O-ring. 
     Preferably, the severing means is in the form of a blade. More preferably, the severing means is affixed to the coupler via a bracket. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the container threadably engages the connector with the container in an inverted position. This causes the substance within the container to automatically fall out of the container into the receptacle under gravity. It is however anticipated that the container may engage the connector in other orientations. 
     It is intended that the device of the present invention may be used to enable the transfer of the substance to be conducted in an enclosed environment without exposing a user to the substance which may be toxic, poisonous or hazardous to health. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of a preferred embodiment, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a cross sectional view of a device in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention being connected to a container. 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view from above of a connector of the device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of the connector of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the handle which in use is joined to the connector of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  is a plan view from top of the device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a plan view from below of a coupler of the device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  is a cross sectional view of the coupler taken from line B-B of  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is a side elevation of a stopper which in use cooperates with the coupler of  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 9  is a end view from below of a bracket which in use is connected to the coupler of  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 10  is a plan view of the bracket of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is a side view of the bracket of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 12  is a plan view from below of the device of and  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 13  is a cross sectional view of a retainer being a component of the device of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a device  10  for facilitating transfer of a substance (not shown) from a container  2  into a receptacle  8  includes a connector  12  and a coupler  14 . It is anticipated that the substance contained in the container is typically toxic or poisonous in the form of particulate, particle or powder which can be air borne. The container  2  typically is in the shape of a cylindrical or rectangular bottle having an externally threaded neck defining an opening  6 . For health and safety reasons, the opening  6  is sealed by a breachable seal  4  which is made of a customised thermoplastic film. 
     The connector  12  is screwed onto the coupler  14  in the assembly of the device  10 . The connector  12  also serves the purpose of connecting the container to the opening  6 . The device also includes a severing means in the form of a blade  16  for breaching the seal. The blade  16  will be discussed further below. 
     As best shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the connector  12  is annular in shape having a flanged portion  18  and anchoring portion  20 . The flanged portion  18  is threaded on its internal bore so that it threadably engages a complementary thread  19  on the neck of the container. The anchoring portion  20  is threaded on its external surface  22 . The flanged portion  18  also includes a handle  24  as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4  for allowing the connector  12  to be rotated manually. Referring to  FIG. 4 , the handle  24  has a tapering section  28  joining an end  26  and a base  30 . 
     Turning to  FIGS. 5 to 7 , the coupler  14  is designed to cooperate with the connector  12  providing a closed environment. The coupler  14  has a tubular sleeve  32  including a flanged portion  34  and a root portion  36 . The flanged portion  34  is threaded on its internal bore  38  so as to threadably engage the anchoring portion  20  of the connector  12 . The flanged portion  34  is configured such that it can be mounted onto the receptacle by fixing means. As best shown in  FIG. 6 , the flanged portion  20  has holes  39  for receiving fixing means such as bolts or screws to secure the coupler  14  onto the receptacle. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 5 , the flanged portion  34  has two apertures  40  and  42 . The aperture  42  is provided to receive the bottom part of a vertically disposed impeding means  44 . When the connector  12  is rotated to where the impeding means  44  is located, the connector  12  abuts the exposed part of the impeding means  44  thereby restricting the rotation of the connector  12  with respect to the coupler  14 . 
     The flanged portion  34  is also connected to a removable stopper  46  (see  FIG. 8 ) via a wire (not shown). The stopper  46  has a knob  48  connected to a tapering shaft  50  which ends with a projecting rim  52 . The stopper  46  also includes a downwardly extending section  54  which in use is received within the aperture  40 . In order to engage or disengage the container from the flanged portion  18  of the connector  12 , the stopper  46  is inserted into the aperture  40  after the handle  24  is rotated to a position where it abuts the impeding means  44 . This means that the handle  24  is sandwiched between the impeding means  44  and the stopper  46 , resulting in the connector being locked in position. The container can then be engaged with or disengaged from the flanged portion  18  by rotational movement. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the stopper  46  is linked to the coupler  14  by a tether in the form of a wire  43 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 1 , the coupler  14  includes a bracket  56  adapted to hold the blade  16 . As shown in  FIGS. 9 to 11 , the bracket  56  is L-shaped having a sleeve  60  and a base plate  58 . The base plate  58  is kidney-shaped and affixed to the underside of the coupler  14 , as shown in  FIG. 12 . The sleeve  60  extends upwardly (see  FIG. 1 ) and includes a rivet  62  for securing the blade  16  in position. The blade  16  is partially embedded in the sleeve  60 . The exposed part of the blade  16  is located such that when the connector  12  rotates downwardly in an anticlockwise direction engaging the coupler  14 , the seal of the container is brought into contact and forced against the blade  16  thereby effecting breach of the seal. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , it can be seen that there is a gap indicated by C-C between the blade  16  and the impeding means  44 . The blade  16  has a cutting edge  62 . This configuration and arrangement means that rotation of the connector  12  to a full extent in an anticlockwise direction causes the blade  16  to breach only about three-quarter of the seal, as the impeding means  44  prevents the handle  24  from rotating further. This is advantageous in that the breached seal is still attached to the opening of the container without falling into the receptacle. The size of the gap (C-C) is adjustable by moving the bracket  56  carrying the blade  16 , as desired by the user. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the flanged portion  34  has an inlet  64  which is connected to a water supply. Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 5 , the root portion  36  of the coupler  14  includes a circumferential cavity  66  which is open at one end  72  and joined at the another end to three outlets  68  at three different locations  68 . The cavity  66  is in communication with the inlet  64  of the flanged portion  34 . The outlets  68  are configured and located such that the water supplied through the inlet  64  is discharged towards the interior of the container for rinsing purposes. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 13 , the device  10  also includes a retainer  70  which is fitted onto the root portion  36  of the coupler  14  for closing off the open end  72  of the cavity  66 . As best shown in  FIG. 1 , the open end  72  of the cavity  66  includes an enlarged portion  74  for accommodating a sealing means in the form of an O-ring  76  for preventing water leakage. 
     The operation of the device is as follows. The container is inverted so that the opening faces down. The threaded neck of the container is then brought into engagement with the connector  12  by rotational movement. The stopper  46  is removed from the aperture  40  so as to allow the handle  24  to be moved freely. The connector  12  is rotated by moving the handle  24  in an anticlockwise direction (as indicated by the arrow D in  FIG. 5 ) to a full extent such that the handle ends up abutting an opposing side of the stopper  46 . Rotation of the connector  12  effectively causes the blade  16  to breach the majority of the seal along the circumferential edge of the opening of the container. As a result, the substance within the container automatically falls out of the container into the receptacle under gravity. 
     Once the container has been emptied, water (or any other chosen rinsing liquid or solution) is jetted through the inlet  64  into the interior of the container for rinsing purposes. To remove the container, the above steps simply have to be reversed. 
     Now that a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in some detail, it will be apparent to a skilled person in the art that the device of the present invention may offer at least the following advantages:
         1. it enables the transfer of the substance to be conducted in a closed environment without exposing a user to the substance which may be toxic, poisonous or hazardous to health;   2. it is easy to install and operate; and   3. it is applicable to many different industries which involve handling or manipulating of particulate or powder-like substance.       

     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. For instance, it is contemplated that the present invention may be used for containers containing any particulate or powder-like chemicals such as washing powder. Also, the device may be designed such that breaching of the seal may be effected by having the connector remain in the same position while the blade rotates as the coupler moves. Furthermore, the coupler and connector may be disposed horizontally or at an angle to one another to suit a different substance transferring mechanism. The containers may have a seal made in a tin or aluminium foil or other suitable breachable or frangible materials. Also, the substance may also include a liquid or solution. All such variations and modifications are to be considered within the scope and spirit of the present invention the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description.