Abstract:
A dispenser for food or medicine is provided to store contents such as food or medicine inside and discharging one or a certain amount of food or medicine at a time and improves productivity of components and convenience for assembly by improving a cover which has an elastic piece and a button and a rod formed in one body and improving a coupling structure of a blocking member, a base plate, and a cylindrical main body to a protrusion and a groove type coupling.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a dispenser for food or medicine which is capable of storing food, such as gum and candies, or medicine inside and discharging one or a certain amount of food or medicine at a time, and more particularly, to an improved dispenser for food or medicine which is capable of reducing manufacturing costs through productivity of components and convenience in assembly and capable of conveniently discharging contents of food or medicine of a capsule type or a solid type stored inside whenever a button is pressed. 
         [0002]    As conventional dispensers for food or medicine, there are Korean Utility Model Registration Nos. 531604, 328700 and 354242 and Korean Patent Laid-open No. 10-2005-0101583 which the inventor of the present invention had invented or devised. 
         [0003]    The above-mentioned dispensers have a disadvantage in that they have less sealing effect because an outlet is always open. Moreover, in the case that the outlet is opened and closed by a cover additionally mounted, the dispensers have another disadvantage in that they are inconvenient in use because a user must open and close the cover besides pressing a button in order to discharge food or medicine. 
         [0004]    In order to solve the problems of the conventional dispensers, the inventor invented a dispenser which includes: discharging means, which is mounted at an outlet of a base and is capable of slidably opening and closing the outlet; and a retaining piece formed on an inner face of the discharging means and having elasticity, whereby when the user slides the discharging means by fingers to open the outlet, the retaining piece is caught to a retaining member of a rotor so as to rotate the rotor at a certain angle, and the invention has Korean Patent No. 578035. 
         [0005]    However, in Korean Patent No. 578035, the dispenser which has the cover slidably opened and closed has several problems in that the outlet is not perfectly sealed because edges of the cover and the outlet are not in elastic contact with each other and in that the dispenser is somewhat inconvenient in use because it discharges the contents by an action that the user pushes the cover aside to open and close the cover. 
         [0006]    Therefore, the inventor invented another dispenser which is capable of storing contents such as food or medicine inside and discharging one or a certain amount of food or medicine at a time by simply pressing a button without the action to open and close the cover of the outlet, and which is capable of providing an excellent sealing effect while the contents are not discharged out, and the invention has Korean Patent No. 998,864. 
         [0007]    Referring to  FIG. 7  showing the structure of the dispenser with Korean Patent No. 998,864, when the user presses the button  700 , the rotor  200  which is fit and joined to a central shaft  106  to the inside of a base  100  is rotated at a certain angle so as to discharge food or medicine, which is inserted into an insertion hole  202  formed in the circumference of the rotor  200 , to the outlet  102  formed at one side of the base  100 . In a state where retaining protrusions  704  formed at right and left of the button  700  is slidably joined to elongated holes  606  of the cover  600  which has a shaft  602  laterally protruding at the right and left upper sides and operating bars  604  upwardly protruding at right and left sides of the top and having the elongated holes  606 , the shaft  602  of the cover  600  is rotatably joined to a shaft hole  110  formed at the right and left of the top of the outlet  102 , so that when the cover  600  is rotated on the shaft  602  and the outlet  102  is opened when the user presses the button  700 . 
         [0008]    That is, when the user presses the button  700 , the rotor  200  rotates at a certain angle, and at the same time, the retaining protrusion  704  formed on the button  700  slides inside the elongated holes  606  of the operating bars  604  formed at the upper portion of the cover  600  so as to push back the operating bars  604 , the cover  600  rotates on the shaft  602  so as to open the outlet  102 . When the outlet  102  is opened, the contents inserted into the insertion hole  202  of the rotor  200  moving toward the outlet  102  are discharged to the outlet  102 . On the contrary, when the user releases the button  700 , the button  700  returns to its original state by a coil spring  714 , so that the cover  600  seals the outlet. 
         [0009]    Furthermore, when the user presses the button  700 , a push rod  702  joined to the button  700  is guided and moved by a guide  310  of a blocking member  300  so as to operate a ratchet  206  formed on the upper part of the rotor  200 , and at this moment, the contents inserted into the insertion hole  202  of the rotor  200  are moved toward the outlet  102 . 
         [0010]    The dispenser in Korean Patent No. 998864 has several effects in that it discharges one or a certain amount of the contents stored inside at a time by the simply pressing action of the button  700  and in that the cover joined to the outlet is opened by the pressing action of the button  700  without any action to open and close the cover joined to the outlet and is closed so as to perfectly seal the outlet when the user releases the button  700 . 
         [0011]    However, the dispenser in Korean Patent No. 998864 has several problems in that it needs a coil spring  714  for returning the button  700  and the cover, in that it is inconvenient in fitting the button  700  into a button hole  104  because the button  700  has the retaining protrusions  704 , and in that it is very difficult to fit and join the elongated holes  606  of the operating bars  604  of the cover  600  to the retaining protrusions  704  so as to excessively increase assembling expenses because the retaining protrusions  704  of the button  700  inserted into the button hole  104  are located inside the base  100  and the blocking member  300 . 
         [0012]    That is, the dispenser in Korean Patent No. 998864 is very complicated and inconvenient in assembling the operating bars  604 , the coil spring  714 , the button  700  and the cover  600 . 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior arts, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a dispenser for food or medicine which is capable of storing contents such as food or medicine inside and discharging one or a certain amount of food or medicine at a time by an action to simply press a button, which provides a sealing effect while the dispenser does not discharge the contents, and which improves productivity of components and convenience in assembly by improving a cover having an elastic piece and an integrated button and push rod and improving a joining structure of a blocking member, a base plate and a cylindrical main body. 
         [0014]    To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a dispenser for food or medicine, which includes: a cylindrical main body for receiving contents such as food or medicine; a base plate for closing a lower end of the cylindrical main body; a rotor rotatably joined to the base plate; a blocking member arranged above the base plate and the rotor for guiding introduction of the contents into insertion recesses of the rotor and providing an outlet and an operation space for a button, a push rod and a cover; and the button, so that when a user presses the button, the contents inserted into the insertion recesses formed in the circumference of the rotor are discharged to outlets formed at sides of the cylindrical main body, the base plate and the blocking member while the rotor joined to the inside of the cylindrical main body rotates at a previously set angle, wherein the button and the push rod are formed integrally, an operation hole is formed in the upper part of the operation space of the blocking member so that the push rod slides horizontally to operate the rotor after being inserted into the operation hole, the blocking member is formed in a cylindrical shape, a plurality of ribs are formed in a vertical direction, a shaft hole to which a shaft of the cover is rotatably inserted is formed in the rib located at the outlet, and the cover has a space formed at the center in order to insert the push rod into the space and an arc-shaped elastic piece formed integrally with the front side of the cover, whereby the button, the push rod and the cover are returned to their original states by elasticity of the elastic piece and the cover is rotated to open the outlets when a user presses the button. 
         [0015]    The dispenser for food or medicine according to the present invention can discharge the contents stored inside one by one or consecutively because the cover joined to the outlet is opened by the simply pressing action of the button without any action to open and close the cover joined to the outlet and can prevent oxidation or pollution of the contents because the cover is closed to perfectly seal the outlet when the user releases the button. Moreover, the dispenser improves productivity of the components and convenience in assembly by reducing the number of the components because the button and the push rod are formed integrally and the elastic piece is integrated to the cover. Furthermore, the dispenser increases convenience in assembly because the blocking member, the base plate and the main body are joined together through a protrusion-groove structure. 
         [0016]    Additionally, the dispenser according to the present invention can improve the sealing effect of the outlet in the case that a distortion spring is added to the cover. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a dispenser for food or medicine according to the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view showing a combining process of the dispenser for food or medicine according to the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is a vertically sectional view showing a combined state of the dispenser for food or medicine according to the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  are sectional views showing an operation state of the dispenser for food or medicine according to the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view showing a cylindrical main body of the dispenser for food or medicine according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing a dispenser for food or medicine according to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention that a torsional spring is joined. 
           [0023]      FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective view of a dispenser for food or medicine according to a prior art. 
       
    
    
       [0024]      
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 &lt;Explanation of essential reference numerals in drawings&gt; 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                  1: cylindrical main body 
                  2: base plate 
               
               
                   
                  3: rotor 
                  4: blocking member 
               
               
                   
                  5: button 
                  6: push rod 
               
               
                   
                  7: cover 
                  8: torsional spring 
               
               
                   
                 11: cut portion 
                  12: circular groove 
               
               
                   
                 13: vertical groove 
                  14: lid 
               
               
                   
                 15: container 
                  16 Retaining jaw 
               
               
                   
                 21: outlet 
                  22: circular protrusion 
               
               
                   
                 23: vertical protrusion 
                  24: ratchet 
               
               
                   
                 31: insertion recess 
                  32: ratchet 
               
               
                   
                 33: elastic piece 
                  41: operation hole 
               
               
                   
                 44: shaft hole 
                  45: rib 
               
               
                   
                 46: recess 
                 451: vertical protrusion 
               
               
                   
                 71: shaft 
                  72: elastic piece 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0025]    Reference will be now made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings. 
         [0026]      FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a dispenser for food or medicine according to the present invention, and  FIG. 3  is a vertically sectional view showing a combined state of the dispenser. The reference numeral  1  designates a cylindrical main body,  2  designates a base plate,  3  designates a rotor,  4  designates a blocking member,  5  designates a button,  6  designates a push rod, and  7  designates a cover, and they are essential components of the dispenser. 
         [0027]    Out of the components of the dispenser, the button  5  and the push rod  6  are integrated, and an elastic piece  72  for providing a restoring force to return the integrated button  5  and push rod  6  to their original state is formed integrally to the cover  7 . A joining structure among the blocking member  4  for supporting the rotor  3  and guiding the contents into an insertion hole  31  of the rotor  3 , the base plate  2 , and the cylindrical main body  1  is simply improved so as to provide convenience in assembly. 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the cylindrical main body  1  for receiving the contents of food or medicine has a cut portion  11  formed at a lower portion for operating the cover  7 , is opened at the lower part, and has a lid  14  joined to the upper part thereof so that the main body  1  is refilled with the contents through the lid  14 . Moreover, the cylindrical main body  1  is not restricted to the form that the main body  1  is refilled with the contents through the lid  14 , but may adopt a structure that the cylindrical main body  1  is divided in such a way as to be screw-coupled as shown in  FIG. 5 , so that a separately provided container  15  can be directly joined. 
         [0029]    In addition, the cylindrical main body  1  has a circular groove  12  and a plurality of vertical grooves  13  formed at the lower part of the inner face so that the blocking member  4  in which the button  5 , the push rod  6  and the cover  7  are joined together and the base plate  2  to which the rotor  3  is joined can be assembled conveniently. 
         [0030]    Next, the base plate  2  has an outlet  21  formed at one side in order to discharge the contents dropping out, a ratchet  24  formed at the center and protruding upward, and a circular protrusion  22  and a vertical protrusion  23  formed on the circumference. The circular protrusion  22  and the vertical protrusions  23  are respectively fit and fixed to the circular groove  12  and the vertical grooves of the cylindrical main body  1 . 
         [0031]    Next, the rotor  3  rotatably joined to the base plate  2  has a plurality of insertion recesses  31  formed on the circumference at regular intervals, a ratchet  32  formed at the center of the upper part, and an elastic piece  33  formed on the inner face of the lower part. The elastic piece  33  is in contact with the ratchet  24  of the base plate  2  in order to prevent a reverse rotation, and the ratchet  32  rotates the whole rotor  3  at a previously set angle in order to discharge the contents at the time of the operation of the push rod  6 . 
         [0032]    Next, the blocking member  4  is arranged above the base plate  2  and the rotor  3  to guide introduction of the contents into the insertion recesses  31  of the rotor  3 , and has an operation space  41  for the button  5 , the push rod  6  and the cover  7 , an outlet  42 , and an operation hole  43  opened at the lower side and formed at the upper part of the operation space  41  for actuating the ratchet  32  of the rotor  3  by horizontally sliding after the push rod  6  is inserted. That is, when the push rod  6  is forcedly fit to the opened lower side of the operation space  41 , the push rod  6  moves horizontally in back and forth directions without being separated. Moreover, the blocking member  4  has a cylindrical circumference, and includes a plurality of ribs  45  formed vertically, a shaft hole  44  formed at the rib  45  located at the outlet  42 , so that a shaft  71  of the cover  7  is rotatably inserted into the shaft hole  44 . The ribs  45  respectively have vertical protrusions  451  which are respectively fit and fixed into the vertical grooves  13  of the cylindrical main body  1 . 
         [0033]    Furthermore, as shown in  FIG. 4   a , the cylindrical main body  1  may further include a retaining jaw  16  formed on the inner circumferential surface so as to be fixed more stably when the vertical protrusions  451  of the blocking member  4  are fit and fixed into the vertical grooves  13  of the cylindrical main body  1 . 
         [0034]    In the meantime, the button  5  and the push rod  6  are formed integrally, and the cover  7  has a space formed at the center of the top for fitting the push rod  6  therein and an arc-shaped elastic piece  72  formed integrally at the front, so that they serve as a coil spring. 
         [0035]    Therefore, elasticity of the elastic piece  72  operates to return the button  5 , the push rod  6  and the cover  7  to their original states, and when the button  75  is pressed, the cover  7  rotates on the shaft  71  to open the outlets  21  and  42 , whereby the contents are discharged out. 
         [0036]    Moreover, as another preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 6 , a torsional spring  8  for providing elasticity is mounted on the shaft  71  of the cover  7 , and recesses  46  are formed below the shaft hole  44  of the blocking member  4  for allowing the operation of the torsional spring  8  so as to improve the restoring force and sealing effect. 
         [0037]    Next, assembling and operation processes of the dispenser for food or medicine according to the present invention having the above structure will be described. 
         [0038]    In a disassembled state of the components, as shown in  FIG. 2 , first, a user forcedly pushes the push rod  6  into the opened lower part of the operation hole  43  of the blocking member  4  so as to assemble the push rod  6  to the operation hole  43 . After that, in a state where the cut portion of the elastic piece  72  of the cover  7  coincides with the push rod  6 , the shaft  71  is pushed and joined into the shaft hole  44  of the blocking member  4 , and then, the elastic piece  72  of the cover  7  is arranged between the front ends of the button  5  and the operation hole  43 . 
         [0039]    As described above, in the state where the button  5 , the push rod  6  and the cover  7  are simply assembled to the blocking member  4 , the vertical protrusions  451  formed on the ribs  45  of the blocking member  4  are respectively pushed into the vertical grooves  13  formed on the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical main body  1  while being coincided with the vertical grooves  13 , whereby an assembling position of the blocking member  4  is determined by joining between the vertical protrusions  451  and the vertical grooves  13 . In the case that the retaining jaw  16  is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical main body  1 , the top of the blocking member  4  gets in contact with the retaining jaw  16 , so that the blocking member  4  is fixed more stably. 
         [0040]    Next, after the rotor  3  is put on and joined to the base plate  2  in such a manner that the elastic piece  33  of the rotor  3  gets in contact with the ratchet  24  of the base plate  2 , the vertical protrusions  23  of the base plate  2  are respectively pushed into the vertical grooves  13  of the cylindrical main body  1  while being coincided with the vertical grooves  13 , and then, the circular protrusion  22  of the base plate  2  is seated on the circular groove  12  of the cylindrical main body  1 , so that the rotor  3  is fixed to the base plate  2  stably without any movement. 
         [0041]    As described above, the button  5  and the push rod  6  are formed integrally, and the cover  7  to which the elastic piece  72  is formed integrally can be simply assembled to the blocking member  4 . Furthermore, the cylindrical main body  1 , the base plate  2  and the blocking member  4  are determined conveniently in their assembling positions by the vertical grooves  13 , the vertical protrusions  23  and  451  and the circular protrusion  22  and can be fixed stably without any movement after being assembled. 
         [0042]    The dispenser has the assembled state through the above process as shown in  FIG. 4   a . In order to discharge the contents, when the user pushes the button  5  in the arrow direction of  FIG. 4   b , the front end of the push rod  6  pushes the ratchet  32  so as to rotate the rotor  3 . The contents contained in the insertion recess  31  are moved toward the outlet  42  by the rotation of the rotor  3 , and at the same time, are discharged to the outlet  42  of the rotor  3  and the outlet  21  of the base plate  2 . In this instance, the elastic piece  33  of the rotor  3  gets in contact with the ratchet  32  of the fixed base plate  2  so as to prevent the reverse rotation of the rotor. 
         [0043]    When the button  5  is moved in order to discharge the contents, because the elastic piece  72  of the cover  7  is in a compressed state and rotates on the shaft  71  so that the outlet is opened by the lower end portion of the cover  7 , the contents can be discharged out smoothly. 
         [0044]    As described above, after the contents are discharged out completely, when the power applied to the button  5  is removed, the push rod  6 , the button  5  and the cover  7  are returned to their original states by the restoring force of the elastic piece  72  of the cover  7 , so that the outlet  42  is closed to thereby seal the inside of the dispenser. 
         [0045]    Additionally, in order to increase convenience in use, as shown in  FIG. 4   a , the lid  14  may be mounted on the top of the cylindrical main body  1  so as to refill the contents, or alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the cylindrical main body  1  may be partitioned and the container  15  is screw-coupled to the cylindrical main body  1  so as to discharge the contents. 
         [0046]    In addition, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the torsional spring  8  may be added to the cover  7  in order to increase the restoring force and the contact force of the outlet  42 , so that the dispenser can prevent oxidation and deterioration of the contents. 
         [0047]    Therefore, the dispenser for food or medicine according to the present invention can remarkably improve productivity and assemblability of the components because the button  5  and the push rod  6  are formed integrally, the elastic piece  72  in lieu of the conventional coil spring is formed integrally with the cover  7 , and the blocking member  4 , the base plate  2  and the cylindrical main body  1  are joined together through the protrusion-groove structure. 
         [0048]    While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention is not limited to the attached drawings and structures and actions described in the preferred embodiments. Therefore, it will be also understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes, modifications and equivalents may be made therein without departing from the technical idea and scope of the present invention.