Patent Application
20090007985
The present invention relates to an apparatus for discharging flowable bulk material from a first container with wide container rim and for feeding the bulk material into a second container with narrow filling opening, wherein the bulk material, as a result of the first container being tilted, flows over the container rim thereof into the second container.
When liquids, liquid-solid mixtures or flowable solid or dispersible substances are drawn off from a container, e.g. a saucepan, into vessels having a restricted opening, the known problem exists that the pouring jet cannot adequately be focused, becomes heavily dispersed or, by capillary action, runs down the outer wall of the pan. In the preservation of jam, for example, it is virtually impossible to pour the draw-off product consisting of crushed fruits and juices directly from the pan into glasses, without bulk material missing the target or running down the outer wall of the pan. This is due to the fact that the volume flow of the pouring jet and the jet direction fluctuate strongly, or the liquid adheres to or runs down the outer wall as a result of capillary action.
In order to prevent this, a ladle, for example, can be used for the drawing off. The ladling is laborious, however. Moreover, ladles are inclined, for their part, to produce unwelcome dripping of the filling material, so that, apart from the loss of filling material, a squandering of the material is accompanied by dirtying of the work surface.
Another filling aid is the use of a filling funnel, which is held by hand over the filling vessel or is placed thereon. Both are very impractical and, when the funnel is removed from the vessel, lead to the after-dripping of the bulk material, which adheres to the wall of the funnel and detaches itself slowly.
In addition, a saucepan is known having a spout which is force-fitted during the manufacturing process at a point on the circular rim of the pan. Such a pan is generally provided with a handle. The drawback of the spout consists in the fact that the pan, in other cooking operations, cannot be closed tight with a lid.
Starting from the prior art, the object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the type stated in the introduction, with which the drawbacks attached to the filling aids according to the prior art are avoided.
Leading to the inventive achievement of the object is a pour-out part mountable onto the rim of the first container, comprising a run-off surface, which is shaped in the style of a spoon into a run-off channel with a run-off direction and at one end forms an outflow mouth and at the other end is delimited by a bead-like elevation extending in a circular arc shape, comprising a web bordering the bead-like elevation and clamping parts reaching over the bead-like elevation and the web, wherein the bead-like elevation, which extends in a circular arc shape, and the adjacent web can be fitted to the curvature of the container rim and to the outer side of the container wall in a substantially positive-locking manner, and the clamping parts can be fitted to the inner side of the container wall in a substantially non-positive-locking manner.
Advantageous refinements of the invention are the subject of dependent claims.
The run-off surface and the web generally form an angle from 100° to 150°, preferably from 110° to 130°, in particular from 115° to 125°.
The outflow mouth is preferably configured in the shape of a half-tube and the run-off channel has side walls of a height preferably corresponding at least to the diameter of the outflow mouth.
The transition from the run-off surface to the bead-like elevation expediently forms a gully as backflow protection.
The bead-like elevation can be coated at least partially with an elastic sealing material.
The bead-like elevation, and the web adjoining thereto, preferably have a length corresponding to roughly one-sixth of the circumference of the circle.
The clamping parts can be leaf springs, made of spring steel, fixed to the pour-out part.
Preferably, the pour-out part and the clamping parts are produced in one piece from a blank by forming and bending operations.
The pour-out part is preferably produced from a blank made of metal plate, preferably of stainless steel plate.
The apparatus according to the invention is especially suitable for transferring jam from a saucepan into vessels having a restricted opening.
Further advantages, features and details of the invention emerge from the following description of illustrative embodiments, as well as on the basis of the drawing, wherein, in schematic representation:
A filling or transferring aid for flowable bulk materials, which is represented in
The bead-like elevation 22 and the web 23 adjoining thereto have a circular arc shaped path having a radius RS of, for example, 100 mm and a length of 100 mm, corresponding to roughly one-sixth of the circumference of the circle. This corresponds to a width B of the attachable spoon 10 on the mounting side of likewise about 100 mm. The bead-like elevation 22 serves as a backflow protection, which is described in greater detail further below.
The bead-like elevation 22 and the web 23 protruding therefrom are reached over at their two ends by a respective strip-shaped clamping part 26, 28, with the creation of a gap 30, 32 formed between the bead-like elevation 22 with adjoining web 23 and the strip-shaped clamping part 26, 28. The clamping parts 26, 28 are here integral parts of a one-piece blank, from which the attachable spoon 10 is made by forming and bending operations (
In
As shown in
In order to prevent the creation of a gap and thus the run-off of leakage between the saucepan 34 and the attachable spoon 10, the radius RS of the web 23 extending in a circular arc shape should approximately conform to the radius RK of the cylindrical pan wall 38. Ideally, the radius RS of the web 23 extending in a circular arc shape corresponds to the radius RK of the cylindrical pan wall 38. In this case, the web 23 of the outer side of the saucepan 34 bears tightly against the pan wall 38 in a positive-locking manner (
Standard domestic saucepans 34 have a radius RK of 9 to 12 cm. To prevent the need for a suitably fitting attachable spoon 10 with radius RS=RK for each saucepan with a specific radius RK, differences in the radii RS and RK can be compensated for by a sealing compound 44, made of an elastic material, disposed between the bead-like elevation 22 and the curvature 42 of the pan rim 40 (
From
The angle α between the run-off surface 12 and the web 23 is preferably between 110° and 130°. This angle allows, on the one hand, a safe run-off of the bulk material at the start of the pouring when the saucepan 34 is full, without bulk material on the attachable spoon 10 overflowing, and, on the other hand, sufficient guidance of the pouring jet when the saucepan 34 is virtually emptied and is tilted by 90° to 110°.
The secure guidance of the pouring jet is ensured by a depression of the outflow mouth 20 of the attachable spoon 10 as well as of its concave shaping. The depression has the form of a half-tube or of a known ladle. On the sides of the attachable spoon 10, the wall 14, 16 is sharply raised to prevent the bulk material from overflowing over the side of the attachable spoon 10 should it pile up on the attachable spoon 10 due to slow-flowing solids.
The attachable spoon 10 preferably consists of stainless steel of approximately 0.5 to 1 mm thickness and is shaped on a die stamping press.
In the manufacture and in the drawing-off of jam, for example, the attachable spoon 10 remains mounted on the saucepan 34 throughout the preservation process involving multiple cooking and filling cycles, so that no handling whatsoever is here given rise to. Following completion of the preservation process, the attachable spoon 10 is simply removed and washed down.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 369/06 | Mar 2006 | CH | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CH2007/000118 | 3/6/2007 | WO | 00 | 8/12/2008 |
