Patent ID: 8042581

Claim:
A powder dispensing apparatus, comprising: a. a container for holding the powder, said container having an opening in a lower end thereof; b. a receptacle for receiving the powder, said receptacle having a flange; c. a valve assembly comprising a pair of opposing pivotable flow control arms biased towards each other, a pair of opposing pivotable activation arms biased towards each other, and means for connecting said flow control arms to said activation arms for concomitant movement; and d. a housing for said valve assembly, wherein said housing comprises an upper opening for receiving said lower end of said container and a slot for receiving said flange of said receptacle, wherein said activation arms of said valve assembly extend into said slot; e. wherein said flange is operable to engage said activation arms to pivot said activation arms away from each other and thereby pivot said flow control arms away from each other so that the powder is allowed to flow though said valve assembly into said receptacle when said flange is inserted into said slot.