DISPENSER

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a 371 National Phase of International Application No. PCT/EP2023/084074, filed Dec. 4, 2023, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 2022232504168, filed Dec. 2, 2022, both of which are incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a dispenser, in particular to a dispenser that is intended to be easy to dismantle and clean.

BACKGROUND ART

On the market at present, the dispensing efficiency of dispensers depends to a large extent on the electric motor rotation speed and the speed at which the food passes the separator plate. If the separator plate is blocked, it will be difficult to increase the dispensing efficiency; if the separator plate is too loose or ineffective at blocking food, food dispensing at a uniform speed will be difficult to achieve, resulting in a sudden influx of a large amount of food, which will cause electric motor jamming or electric motor damage. The interior of the dispenser will have the problem of food easily being left behind, and rotting of food that has been left behind will cause contamination of the dispenser interior. Furthermore, dispensers often have an excessively large volume and cannot be dismantled, with components that cannot be separately cleaned, and consequently, the sanitary condition of the dispenser interior is grim, and the safety issue of food hygiene cannot be solved.

SUMMARY

The purpose of the present invention is to solve, at least to a certain extent, the problems of reduced dispensing efficiency of dispensers during dispensing and the difficulty of separately cleaning dispenser components in some scenarios.

The present invention provides a dispenser having one or more of the features disclosed herein. Beneficial effects of the present invention: dispenser feeding efficiency and cleaning efficiency are increased, existing structural features are improved, the overall service life of machines is extended, and operating efficiency is improved.

The dispenser includes a dispensing box 110, a front end and a rear end of the dispensing box 110 respectively having round holes of equal diameter; a roller 120, the roller 120 being coaxially mounted on the round holes 111 of equal diameter at the front end and rear end of the dispensing box 110, and the diameter of the roller being no larger than the diameter of the round holes 111 at the front end and rear end of the dispensing box; a storage tower 130, the storage tower 130 being directly above the dispensing box 110, and the storage tower 130 and the dispensing box 110 being connected to each other by means of an interlock device; and separator plates 140, the separator plates 140 being disposed by connection above a left side and above a right side of the dispensing box 110. A front-end upper edge and a rear-end upper edge of the dispensing box 110 are provided with handles 112, and raised slots 131 are provided on the storage tower 130, the handles interlocking with the raised slots 131 and thereby forming the interlock device. A side face of the roller 120 is provided with a first protrusion set 121 and a second protrusion set 122. The first protrusion set 121 and the second protrusion set 122 are both distributed in an array circumferentially along the axis of the roller 120. The length of each single protrusion of the first protrusion set 121 and the second protrusion set 122 is more than half the longitudinal length of the roller 120, and less than the longitudinal length of the roller 120. The separator plate 140 is detachable, and the separator plate 140 is of flexible material. There is a break 141 in a middle section of the separator plate 140. The bottom of the dispensing box 110 is provided with a dispensing port 150, an opening area of the dispensing port 150 being smaller than a projected area of the dispensing box 110. Four side faces of the dispensing box 110 are all chamfered at the bottom of the dispensing box 110. The separator plates 140 disposed at two sides of the dispensing box 110 are both inclined inwards.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

More advantages, features and design possibilities of the apparatus can be seen from the following descriptions of embodiments based on the drawings, and these descriptions should be understood as being non-limiting.

FIG. 1 is a 3D view of a dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention in an exploded state.

FIG. 2 is a 3D schematic drawing of a dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention in an assembled state.

FIG. 3 is a 3D schematic drawing of a dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention in an exploded state.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention in an assembled state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the description of the present invention, it must be understood that the orientational or positional relationships indicated by descriptions pertaining to orientation, such as top, bottom, front, rear, left, right, etc., are based on the orientational or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are merely intended to facilitate and simplify the description of the present invention, without indicating or implying that the apparatus or element referred to must have a specific orientation or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, the meaning of “a number of” is one or multiple, and the meaning of “multiple” is two or more; “greater than”, “less than”, “more than”, etc. shall be understood to exclude the number concerned; and “or more”, “or less”, “within”, etc. shall be understood to include the number concerned. If a description mentions “first” and “second”, these are merely intended to distinguish technical features, and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of the indicated technical features or implicitly specifying the sequential relationship of the indicated technical features.

In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise explicitly defined, words such as “disposed”, “mounted” and “connected” should be understood in a broad sense, and those skilled in the art can rationally determine the specific meanings of these words in the present invention with reference to the specific content of the technical solution.

Embodiments of the dispenser of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, according to an embodiment of the present application, a dispenser 100 comprises:

• • a dispensing box 110, a front end and a rear end of the dispensing box 110 respectively having round holes of equal diameter;
  • a roller 120, the roller 120 being coaxially mounted on the round holes 111 of equal diameter at the front end and rear end of the dispensing box 110, and the diameter of the roller being no larger than the diameter of the round holes 111 at the front end and rear end of the dispensing box;
  • a storage tower 130, the storage tower 130 being directly above the dispensing box 110, and the storage tower 130 and the dispensing box 110 being connected to each other by means of an interlock device;
  • separator plates 140, the separator plates 140 being disposed by connection above a left side and above a right side of the dispensing box 110.

A front-end upper edge and a rear-end upper edge of the dispensing box 110 are provided with handles 112, and raised slots 131 are provided on the storage tower 130, the handles interlocking with the raised slots 131 and thereby forming the interlock device.

A side face of the roller 120 is provided with a first protrusion set 121 and a second protrusion set 122. The first protrusion set 121 and the second protrusion set 122 are both distributed in an array circumferentially along the axis of the roller 120.

The length of each single protrusion of the first protrusion set 121 and the second protrusion set 122 is more than half the longitudinal length of the roller 120, and less than the longitudinal length of the roller 120.

The separator plate 140 is detachable, and the separator plate 140 is of flexible material. There is a break 141 in a middle section of the separator plate 140. The bottom of the dispensing box 110 is provided with a dispensing port 150, an opening area of the dispensing port 150 being smaller than a projected area of the dispensing box 110. Four side faces of the dispensing box 110 are all chamfered at the bottom of the dispensing box 110. The separator plates 140 disposed at two sides of the dispensing box 110 are both inclined inwards.

A projected area of the feed port 160 is greater than a bottom area of the storage tower, the bottom of the storage tower being connected to the dispensing box 110 by means of the interlock device. The interlock device consists of the handles 112 provided at the front-end upper edge and rear-end upper edge of the dispensing box 110, and the raised slots 131 provided on the storage tower 130, the handles interlocking with the raised slots 131. Food enters through the feed port 160, passes through the storage tower under the action of gravity, and enters the dispensing box 110. The roller 120 rotates at uniform speed in the dispensing box 110. The axis of the roller 120 is collinear with the axis of the round holes 111 at the front end and rear end of the dispensing box 110, such that the roller 120 is coaxially mounted on the round holes 111 at the front end and rear end of the dispensing box 110, thus ensuring the stability of mounting of the roller 120, and also better ensuring uniformity of roller rotation and as little rotational inertia as possible.

The first protrusion set 121 and second protrusion set 122 are provided on the roller 120. The first protrusion set 121 is located at the front end of the roller 120, and the second protrusion set 122 is located at the rear end of the roller 120. The length of each single protrusion is more than half the longitudinal length of the roller 120, but the length of each single protrusion is less than the longitudinal length of the roller 120. The first protrusion set 121 is distributed uniformly in an array around the roller 120; the second protrusion set 122 is distributed uniformly in an array around the roller 120, the first protrusion set 121 and second protrusion set 122 forming an offset distribution. Food passes the separator plates 140 under the driving action of the roller 120. Because the first protrusion set 121 and second protrusion set 122 are distributed in an offset manner, the two protrusion sets cannot touch the separator plate 140 at the same time, so the middle section of the separator plate 140 is provided with the break 141, such that a left side and a right side of the separator plate 140 can swing at different times, thus reducing internal tension in the separator plate 140 caused by the offset between the protrusion sets, and extending the service life of the separator plate 140 more effectively. The material of the separator plate 140 is a flexible material, such that the effective contact area of the separator plate in the process of contacting each protrusion is larger, and less noise is produced in decibels, and at the same time there is less likelihood of mutual wear due to the hard protrusion striking a hard object, so the roller 120 and the protrusion sets on the roller 120 are better protected. The separator plates 140 are respectively disposed at two sides of the dispensing box, and the separator plates 140 at the two sides are inclined inwards; even if feeding proceeds until the end, and even if the feed material is about to be exhausted, the feed material can still be concentrated above the roller, fully guaranteeing that each strip of food can be carried past the separator plates 140 by the roller set.

Food is carried past the separator plates 140 by the roller 120, and is carried out of the dispensing box 110 through the dispensing port 150. There are chamfers at four sides of the dispensing port, such that the cross-sectional area of the dispensing port 150 is smaller than the projected area of the dispensing box 110 in the direction of gravity, so that even if feeding proceeds until the end, and even if the feed material is about to be exhausted, food can still slide out of the dispensing port 150 under the action of gravity, with no food left behind. The food utilization rate is further increased, ensuring that the dispensing box 110 will not be contaminated due to food being left behind and rotting, and ensuring that the dispensing box 110 is in a good sanitary condition.

The roller is rotated by means of an electric motor; the rotation speed of the roller 140 can be controlled by controlling the rotation speed of the electric motor, and the roller can be rotated clockwise or anticlockwise by means of commands. When an excessive amount of food is accumulated in the dispensing box 110, and the roller 120 is jammed by food, the jam can be cleared by changing the rotation direction of the roller 120. Changing the rotation direction of the roller further protects the associated rotating electric motor and roller, extending the service life of the machine.

The front-end upper edge and rear-end upper edge of the dispensing box 110 are provided with the handles 112, and the raised slots 131 are provided on the storage tower 130, the handles interlocking with the raised slots 131 and thereby forming the interlock device. When it is necessary to connect the storage tower 130 and the dispensing box 110, the interlock device is locked; when it is necessary to separate the storage tower 130 and the dispensing box 110, the handles 112 are held down and the interlock device is unlocked. The storage tower 130 and the dispensing box 110 can be separated by unlocking the interlock device, greatly increasing the cleaning efficiency of the storage tower 130 and the dispensing box 110.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, there is a left-side component at the left side and a right-side component at the right side, the left-side component consisting of a storage tower 130 and a dispensing box 110, and the right-side component consisting of another form of storage tower 1301 and a dispensing box 110; there is a storage rack 170 above the other form of storage tower 1301, for storing materials. FIG. 4 is an embodiment in which two dispensers are used in combination.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 4, there is a left-side component at the left side and a right-side component at the right side, the left-side component being a large storage tower component consisting of a storage tower 130 and a dispensing box 110, and the right-side component being a small storage tower component consisting of another form of storage tower 1301 and a dispensing box 110; the large storage tower component is generally loaded with food that is used at a higher frequency; the small storage tower component is generally loaded with food that is used at a lower frequency. The large storage tower component and small storage tower component are arranged side by side and are connectable in an interlocking manner, are permitted to swap positions with each other, and are still interlocked after swapping positions, so as to easily adapt to various forms of storage tower component combinations. The large storage tower component stores commonly used food, and its larger volume extends the period at which food material is added, reducing the number of cycles of food addition, and making it easier for the user to add material. There is a storage means such as shelving in a space above the small storage tower component, facilitating the provision of packaging for products.

The embodiments above are intended to explain rather than restrict. Supplementary embodiments are in the claims. Furthermore, although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will realize that changes can be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Any combination by citing the document above is limited, and consequently, no subject matter is included that is contrary to the explicit disclosure herein.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS USED IN THE DRAWINGS

• • 100—dispenser;
  • 110—dispensing box;
  • 111—round hole;
  • 112—handle;
  • 120—roller;
  • 121—first protrusion set;
  • 122—second protrusion set;
  • 130—storage tower;
  • 1301—another form of storage tower;
  • 131—raised slot;
  • 140—separator plate;
  • 141—break;
  • 150—dispensing port;
  • 160—feed port;
  • 170—storage rack.