PORTABLE APPARATUS FOR MEASURING VARIABLY QUANTITY OF POWDER AND FOR SEPARATING THE MEASURED QUANTITY OF POWDER THEREFROM

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a portable measuring container, and more particularly to an apparatus for measuring variably quantity of powder and grain, etc. with small or fine sizes (hereinafter referred to as "powder") which is contained therein and for separating the measured quantity of the powder therefrom. The present invention is effectively applicable to the quantity measurement of the powder which is frequently used with any constant or variable quantity.

Generally, the quantity of the powder is measured, for example, by measuring cups or spoons in the daily life. The measured quantity is directly used in accordance with desired purposes or is temporarily stored in the containers for the following use.

For the better understanding of the apparatus according to the present invention, dry milk is taken as an example of the powder. Bottle-fed babies eat the dry milk several times every day during a considerable term after the birth. At this time, the adequate and exact quantity of the dry milk must be fed to the babies in accordance with their growth period and growth speed to promote the growth of the babies and to keep their health. Therefore, the mothers of the babies

must always pay especial attention to feeding quantity as well as feeding interval.

The dry milk is mixed with water at the predetermined ratios and the feeding quantity of the dry milk is mainly determined according to baby's growth period. The dry milk is taken out of a dry milk can by a measuring spoon to pour directly the dry milk into a nursing bottle with water therein or to store temporarily the dry milk in the containers for the following use. At this time, the quantity of the dry milk which is fed to the baby at one time is four spoons or more. On the other hand, when the mothers go out of doors and set out on a trip together with their babies, the mothers have to prepare a dry milk can and a spoon or a plurality of containers with dry milk therein.

However, the aforedescribed known prior measuring method has the severe drawbacks and problems that the repeated measurement of the feeding quantity using a spoon is troublesome work and particularly, the mothers are always careful without forgetting to measure exactly the quantity of the dry milk which corresponds to the measuring times of the spoon. Also, there has the disadvantage that the mothers carry a dry milk can and a spoon or a plurality of containers with dry milk therein in case of a trip or going out.

Although the above-mentioned description is limited to the case of the dry milk, any other measurement of the powder has generally the above-mentioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to overcome the drawbacks and problems as set forth above.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a measuring apparatus which can exactly and promptly measure desired quantity of the powder contained therein.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a measuring apparatus which is easily operable and can variably measure the quantity of the powder.

It is further object of the present invention to provide a measuring apparatus which can be directly installed to a storage tank to continuously measure the desired quantity of the powder.

According to the present invention, these objects are achieved. As a first feature, there is provided an apparatus for measuring variably quantity of powder which is contained therein and for separating the measured quantity of the powder therefrom, comprising a reservoir with an aperture provided at an upper side thereof to be contained with the power; a cover plate provided on said reservoir to partially close the aperture of said reservoir; a rotatable cap for covering said reservoir on the upper side of said reservoir and having an outwardly extending part with a discharge opening: a stopper detachably fitted with the extending part of said cap to shut the discharge opening; an adjusting plate rotatably contacting with of an inner surface of said cap and having a shaft part contacting with an upper surface of said cover plate wherein the shaft part is rotatably fitted with said cap, and wherein said cap,

said cover plate, and said adjusting plate cooperatively form an enclosed chamber to enable the enclosed chamber to be filled up with the powder therein; and means for rotating said adjusting plate to vary volume of the enclosed chamber.

As a second feature, there is provided an apparatus for measuring variably quantity of powder which is contained therein and for separating the measured quantity of the powder therefrom, comprising a reservoir with an aperture provided at an upper side thereof to be contained with the power; a cover plate provided on said reservoir to partially close the aperture of said reservoir; a rotatable cap for covering said reservoir on the upper side of said reservoir and having an outwardly extending part with a discharge opening; a stopper detachably fitted with the extending part of said cap to shut the discharge opening; an adjusting plate rotatably contacting with of an inner surface of said cap and having a shaft part contacting with an upper surface of said cover plate wherein the shaft part is rotatably fitted with said cap, and wherein said cap, said cover plate, and said adjusting plate cooperatively form an enclosed chamber to enable the enclosed chamber to be filled up with the powder therein; and wherein said cap has recesses oppositely formed at both sides adjacent to the edge thereof and both shafts extending from the shaft part of said adjusting plate are fitted with the recesses.

As a third feature, there is provided an apparatus for measuring variably quantity of powder which is contained in a storage can and for separating the measured quantity of the powder from the storage can,

comprising a cover plate for keeping the storing can covered and having an aperture formed adjacent to an edge thereof; a cap for closing the aperture of said cover plate and being rotatably provided on said cover plate; a stopper detachably fitted with the extending part of said cap to shut the discharge opening; an adjusting plate rotatably contacting with of an inner surface of said cap and having a shaft part contacting with an upper surface of said cover plate wherein the shaft part is rotatably fitted with said cap, and wherein said cap, said cover plate, and said adjusting plate cooperatively form an enclosed chamber to enable the enclosed chamber to be filled up with the powder therein; and wherein said cap has recesses oppositely formed at both sides adjacent to the edge thereof and both shafts extending from the shaft part of said adjusting plate are fitted with the recesses.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which the preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG.l is an exploded perspective view illustrating one embodiment

of an apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG.2 is a front view of one embodiment of FIG.l;

FIG.3 is a sectional view of one embodiment of FIG.l;

FIG.4 is a sectional view showing one rotating structure of the adjusting plate according to one embodiment of FIG.l;

FIG.5 is a partially cutaway view of the inverted state to explain the operation of the apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG.6 is a sectional view showing another combination structure between the cover plate and the reservoir;

FIG.7 is a sectional view showing another rotating structure of the adjusting plate according to one embodiment of FIG.l;

FIG.8 is a sectional view illustrating another embodiment of an apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG.9A and FIG.9B are a partially sectional view of the cap and the adjusting plate and a front view of the adjusting plate illustrating a modified embodiment of the embodiment according to FIG.8; and

FIG.10A and FIG.10B are an exploded perspective view and a sectional view illustrating a third embodiment of an apparatus according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

This invention will be described in further detail by way of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG.l to FIG.4 show an embodiment of the present invention. First,

referring to FIG.l, the apparatus according to the present invention comprises a reservoir 10 with an aperture 11 provided at the upper side thereof to be contained with powder, a cover plate 20 provided on the reservoir 10 to close substantially half area of the aperture 11 of the reservoir 10, a rotatable cap 30 for covering the reservoir 10 on the upper side of the reservoir 10 and having an outwardly extending part 31 with a discharge opening 32 formed adjacent to an edge thereof, a stopper 60 detachably fitted with the extending part 31 of the cap 30 to shut the discharge opening 32, an adjusting plate 40 rotatably contacting with the inner surface of the cap 30 and contacting with the upper surface of the cover plate 20, and a rotating member 50 for changing the positions of the adjusting plate 40.

The reservoir 10 has a cylindrical shape and has a stepped part 12 with a plurality of protrusions 14 to place an edge 22 of the cover plate 20 thereon. The stepped part 12 is formed by a half portion of the upper end of the reservoir 10. And, the reservoir 10 has a threaded part 16 at the outer and upper surface thereof to enable the cap 30 to be rotatably fitted with the reservoir 10. The cover plate 20 has a substantially half-circle shape and has a plurality of grooves 24 formed at the edge 22 to be fitted with the protrusions 14 of the stepped part 12. As can be seen in FIG.3, the cover plate 20 has a slightly extended sectional length z L. That is, the cover plate 20 has a slightly bigger area than the area of a half-circle to smoothly rotate the adjusting plate 40 on the cover plate 20 and to protect the powder from leaking from the contact portion between the cover plate 20 and the adjusting plate

40. On the other hand, though FIG.l shows the reservoir 10 and the cover plate 20 which are detachably assembled as independent members, the cover plate 20 may be formed integral with the reservoir 10.

Preferably, the cap 30 has a hemispherical shape. The cap 30 has a threaded part 33 at the lower end of the inner surface thereof which is fitted with the threaded part 16 of the reservoir 10 and has an elongatedly extended projecting part 34 formed at the inner surface adjacent to the threaded part 34 to press the edge 22 of the cover plate 20 and to protect the cover plate 20 from falling off the reservoir 10. Referring to FIG.2 and FIG.3, the cap 30 has a plurality protrusions 35 which are spaced out a regular interval apart along a central line of the outer surface thereof to indicate volume sizes V of an enclosed chamber 38, which will be described below, and to fix the rotating member 50. And, the cap 30 has holes 37 oppositely formed at both sides adjacent to the edge thereof. Preferably, the cap 30 is made of a transparent material to enable the filling up of the enclosed chamber 38 and the operation of the adjusting plate 40 to be seen. On the other hand, as mentioned above, the stopper 60 is detachably fitted with the extending part 31 by means of a threaded-fitting.

The adjusting plate 40 includes a shaft part 41 and a blade 43. The shaft part 41 rotatably comes in contact with the cover plate 20 at the portion adjacent to the right end of the cover plate 20 as shown in FIG.3. The blade 43 sealably and rotatably comes in contact with the inner surface of the cap 30. Accordingly, the upper surface of the cover plate 20, the inner surface of the cap 30, and the blade 43 of the

adjusting plate 40 cooperatively form the enclosed chamber 38 as mentioned above to enable the powder to be filled up therein. And, the shaft part 41 has both extended shafts 41a with a groove 41b at both sides thereof. Each of the extended shafts 41a has a noncircular section as shown in FIG.l to prevent the shaft 41a from being freely rotated and is fitted with each of the holes 37 of the cap 30 to protrude both ends of the extended shaft 41a to the outside of the cap 30 as shown in FIG.4. Preferably, the blade 43 serves as an indicator since the blade 43 has a sharp-pointed end as shown in FIG.2.

The rotating member 50 includes a pair of fixtures 52 and a band 54 connecting between the fixtures 52. As shown in FIG.4, each of the fixtures 52 is fixedly fitted with the extended shaft 41a and the groove 41b to change the position of the adjusting plate 40 by rotating the shaft part 41. Turning to FIG.2, the band 54 has a substantially hemispherical shape with a magnifying function to easily recognize the characters which are written on the outer surface of the cap 30 to indicate the volume V of the enclosed volume 38. A recess 54a is formed at the center portion of the band 54 to be fitted with one of the protrusions 35. On the other hand, the band 54 is spaced apart from the outer surface of the cap 30 with a predetermined clearance C to enable the band 54 to be smoothly rotated as shown in FIG.4.

FIG.6A shows another combination structure between the reservoir 10 of the above-described embodiment and a new cover plate 120. The cover plate 120 is detachably fitted with the reservoir 10 by a threaded part 128 of the cover plate 120 and a threaded part 18 of the reservoir 10.

The cover plate 120 has a closed part 124 and an opening part 126 which are integrally formed. The closed part 124 is similar to the cover plate 20 shown in FIG.l and has a substantially half area of the overall area of the cover plate 124. Also, the cover plate 120 has a protrusion part 129 along the periphery of the upper end thereof to be detachably fitted with a protrusion 38 along the periphery of the lower end of the cap 30.

FIG.7 shows another rotating structure of the adjusting plate 30. As shown in FIG.7, the extended shaft 41a of the above-described embodiment may be changed to a serrated shaft 41c. The serrated shaft 41c is fitted with the hole 37 of the cap 30 to protrude the end of the serrated shaft 41c to the outside of the cap 30 and is engaged with a rotating knob 47

FIG.8 illustrates another embodiment of an apparatus according to the present invention. According to this embodiment, an adjusting plate 140 is fixed to the inner surface of the cap 30. The cap 30 has a plurality of protrusions 39a which are spaced out a regular interval apart along a central line of the inner surface thereof to indicate volume sizes V of the enclosed chamber 38 and also to fix the adjusting plate 140. The adjusting plate 140 includes a blade 143 with a groove 143a formed at an upper end of a center portion of the blade 143. The groove 143a is fitted with the one of the protrusions 39a. On the other hand, the adjusting plate 140 includes a contact part 141 with both extended pins 141a at both the ends thereof. The pins 141a are fitted with both recesses(not shown)oppositely formed at both sides adjacent to

the edge of the cap 30.

Further, the reservoir 10 has a plurality of protrusions 19b which are fitted with a plurality of grooves 29b to support the cover plate 20. The reservoir 10 has a groove 19a formed along the outer surface of the upper end thereof and the cap 30 has an extended projection 39b which is rotatably fitted with the groove 19a. In this embodiment, the reservoir 10 may also have the stepped part 12 as shown in FIG.l to stably support the cover plate 20, and the cover plate 20 may have the closed part 124 and the opening part 126 as shown in FIG.6 and may be suitably inserted into the reservoir 10.

FIG.9A and FIG.9B illustrate a modified embodiment of the embodiment according to FIG.8. The cap 30 has an elongatedly extended projecting part 39c formed along a central line of the inner surface thereof and the adjusting plate 140 has a groove 143b fitted with the projecting part 39c at the upper end of the center of the blade 143 to vary the volume of the enclosed chamber 38.

FIG.10A and FIG.10B illustrates a third embodiment of an apparatus according to the present invention. The apparatus according to this embodiment may be applied to various storage cans, for example a dry milk can 70 which has a considerably big diameter. To employ the apparatus according to this embodiment, the original cover(not shown) of the dry milk can must be uncovered from the can 70 and the apparatus must be covered on the can 70. The apparatus includes a cover 80, an adjusting plate 40, a stopper 60, and a cap 130. The cover 80 has an aperture 82 formed adjacent to the edge thereof and a circumferential

groove 84 which encircles the aperture 82. The groove 84 has a threaded part on the inner side thereof. The cap 130 is fitted with the groove 84 and has a threaded part engaged with the threaded part of the groove 84 at the inner surface thereof. On the other hand, the detailed explanations of the rest of the cap 130, the adjusting plate 40 and the stopper 60 are omitted in here since the explanations are very similar to those of the above-mentioned embodiments.

From now on, the operation of the apparatus according to the present invention will be described to assist understanding of the present invention with reference to FIG.3 and FIG.5.

First, an enclosed chamber 38 with a desired volume V is set by the cover plate 20, the cap 30, and the adjusting plate 40 as shown in FIG.3. Then, the apparatus is turned upside down as shown in FIG.5. Thereafter, the cap 30 is rotated in relation to the reservoir 10 to open the enclosed chamber 38. FIG.5 illustrates the state that the cap 30 or the adjusting plate 40 is rotated by 90 ^° in relation to the reservoir 10. At this time, the adjusting plate 40 intersects the cover plate 20. Therefore, the powder P which is contained in the reservoir 10 falls down into the inside of the cap 30. Subsequently, the user holds the reservoir 10 and slightly swings the reservoir 10 from side to side to completely fill the powder up in the cap 30. The user easily recognizes the filling up of the powder since the cap is made of a transparent material.

Then, the cap 30 is rotated by 90° to its original position. Therefore, the blade 43 of the adjusting plate 40 is rotated together with the cap

30 while the blade 43 pushes the powder which is filled up in the cap 30. As a result, when the cap 30 has been rotated to its original position, the enclosed chamber 38 is filled up with the powder by the desired volume V. Thereafter, the apparatus is turned to the original state as shown in FIG.3. Then, the powder with the desired volume may be obtained by opening the stopper 60 and completely pouring the powder from the enclosed chamber 38 of the cap 30 through the extended part 31 into a nursing bottle, etc. In the above-mentioned, though the rotating degree of the cap 30 is 90° , the rotating degree of the cap 30 is not limited to 90° and it does not matter about the rotating degree of the cap 30 with 90° or more.

On the other hand, when it is necessary to change the volume of the enclosed chamber 38 from V to V as shown in FIG.3, first, the fitting between the recess 54a of the band 54 and the protrusion 35 of the cap 30 has to be removed. To disengage the recess 54 a of the band 54 from the protrusion 35 of the cap 30, both the portions of the band 54 adjacent to the fixtures 52 are pressed in the inner direction. Then, the center portion of the band 54 moves upwardly, and then which results in the disengagement of the band 54. Thereafter, if the user rotates the fixtures 52 or the band 54, the blade 43 of the adjusting plate 40 is rotated about the shaft part 41. When the blade 43 reaches the position as indicated by alternate long and two short dashes line in FIG.3, the user releases the pressing force applied to the band 54. Accordingly, the recess 54 a of the band 54 is again fitted with the protrusion 35 of the cap 30 to fix the adjusting plate 40 and to form a new volume V of the

enclosed chamber 38.

In the embodiment of FIG. 8, first, the cap 30 is separated from the reservoir 10. The groove 143a of the blade 143 may be fitted with a new protrusion 39a of the cap 30 to change the volume of the enclosed chamber 38.

Also, the apparatus according to the present invention, particularly the apparatus of FIG.IOA can be directly applied to powder tanks and containers, etc by taking adequate combination constitutions. Since the combination constitutions will be obvious to ordinally skilled persons, the detailed explanations are omitted in here.

The invention is in no way limited to the embodiments described hereinabove. Various modifications of disclosed embodiments as well as other embodiments of the invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. It is therefore contemplate that the appended claims will cover any such modifications or embodiments as fall within the true scope of the invention.