Patent ID: 7665633

Claim:
An apparatus for dispensing small quantities of particles, the apparatus comprising a hopper provided with a sieve at a bottom portion thereof, the hopper defining a powder-containing zone above the sieve which in use contains powder to be dispensed therefrom through the sieve, a support for the hopper, the support holding a portion of the hopper so that the hopper can in use be held above a container into which the dispensed powder is to be received, at least one actuator for delivering impact energy to the hopper for causing an amount of the powder to be dispensed through the sieve when the hopper receives the impact energy, and a deagglomeration device disposed in the powder-containing zone, wherein the deagglomeration device comprises at least one stirring device which is adapted to be movable when the impact energy from the at least one actuator is delivered to the hopper and wherein the stirring device comprises a bridge piece which is located on an upper peripheral rim of the hopper and a plurality of downwardly depending stirring elements, each stirring element having an upper end fixed to the bridge piece and a lower end located in the powder-containing zone.