Patent Application
20140352839
Conventional systems for pouring may be difficult to use, or costly or complicated to manufacture, or difficult to keep clean.
For example, traditional scoops for powdered drinks may be found in bulk containers for powdered drinks. These scoops may be convenient for adding a measured amount of powdered drink mix to a container with an opening that is significantly larger than the mouth of the scoop, such as a mug or cup. However, for other containers with smaller openings, such as a water bottle, the traditional scoop may be too large to accurately pour drink mix through the container opening, resulting in messiness and wasted drink mixture.
Other conventional devices may be inconveniently shaped, or may dispose moving parts next to or within a container opening, which may increase cleaning difficulty.
Accordingly, improvements may be made with respect to conventional pouring and/or measuring systems.
Disclosed are a device, method, and article of manufacture for household scooping and pouring. Although the present embodiments have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of particular example embodiments.
Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.
Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of structures, openings, protrusions, surfaces, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.
The storage section 102 may be configured to function as a scoop, and may be sized to accommodate a measured amount of a powder or liquid. The storage section 102 may be rectangular, and include four walls: a first storage wall 104, a second storage wall 106, a third storage wall 108, and a fourth storage wall 110. In other embodiments, the storage section 102 may include additional or fewer walls. Each of the walls of the storage section 102 may extend along the central axis 50 (e.g., parallel to the Z-axis) of the input unit 101, and the walls of the storage section 102 may collectively surround the central axis 50. The storage section 102 may include a fill opening 114 that receives powder being scooped by the device, and an output opening 115 that mates with an upper opening 164 of the guide section 152. The four walls of the storage section 102 may define a storage cavity 112 that extends between the fill opening 114 and the output opening 115.
The rectangular shape of an embodiment of the storage section 102 may permit the scoop to be used to reach into corners of a drink mix container, and may assist with scooping powder from the bottom of the drink mix container when a flat side of the storage section 102 is abutted flush against a flat surface of the drink mix container.
The first storage wall 104 and the second storage wall 106 may each include a midsection 116 that is substantially parallel to the Y-Z plane (e.g., a plane defined by the Y-axis and the Z-axis that is perpendicular to the X-axis). The first storage wall 104 and the second storage wall 106 may each include angled sections 118 disposed at the lateral sides of the midsections 116 of the first storage wall 104 and the second storage wall 106. The angled sections 118 may extend from the lateral sides of the midsection 116 along the Y-axis away from the midsection 116 and along the X-axis towards the central axis 50 of the input unit 101.
The third storage wall 108 and the fourth storage wall 110 may each include a midsection 116 that is substantially parallel to the X-Z plane (e.g., a plane defined by the X-axis and the Z-axis that is perpendicular to the Y-axis). The third storage wall 108 and the fourth storage wall 110 may each include angled sections 118 disposed at the lateral sides of the midsections 116 of the third storage wall 108 and the fourth storage wall 110. The angled sections 118 may extend from the lateral sides of the midsections 116 along the X-axis away from the midsection 116 and along the Y-axis towards the central axis 50 of the input unit 101.
The first storage wall 104, the second storage wall 106, the third storage wall 108, and the fourth storage wall 110 may each extend substantially parallel to the Z-axis.
As shown in
The first storage wall 104 may define a passage 120 that extends between an exterior face and an inner face of the first storage wall 104, and that is in fluid communication with the storage cavity 112. The passage 120 may be configured to receive insertion of the sliding unit 200 along the X-axis. The sliding unit 200 may be extended through the first storage wall 104 along the X-axis and between the third storage wall 108 and the fourth storage wall 110 until the sliding unit 200 is abutted against the second storage wall 106. When sufficiently extended into the storage section 102, the sliding unit 200 may cover the output opening 115 of the storage section 102.
The passage 120 may extend between an exterior face and an interior face of the first storage wall 104 along the X-axis. The passage 120 may include an elongate first section 122 extending laterally across the first storage wall 104 along the Y-axis. The first section 122 may extend across the midsection of the first storage wall 104 and across at least a portion of each of the angled sections 118 of the first storage wall 104. The passage 120 may also include an elongate second section 124 extending downward along the Z-axis away from the first section 122. The first section 122 and the second section 124 may form a T-shaped opening, and the width of the second section 124 along the Y-axis may be similar to the width of the first section 122 along the Z-axis.
The portions of the angled sections 118 of the first storage wall 104 that define part of the upper and lower boundaries of the passage 120 may be angled support faces 126 that extend along the Y-axis away from the midsection 116 and along the X-axis towards the central axis 50 of the input unit 101. The support faces 126 may be disposed at the bottom and top surfaces (e.g., along the Y-axis) of the first section 122 of the passage 120. The angled support faces 126 may provide rotational support for the sliding unit 200 that restricts rotation around the Y-axis.
The guide section 152 may be configured to receive the measured amount of powder or liquid when the sliding unit 200 is extracted along the X-axis through the passage 120 that extends through the first storage wall 104 of the storage section 102. The guide section 152 may include a first guide wall 154, a second guide wall 156, a third guide wall 158, and a fourth guide wall 160. The walls of the guide section 152 may cooperate to form an upper opening 164 that is rectangular and that mates with the output opening 115 of the input unit 101. The walls of the guide section 152 may further cooperate to define a lower opening 166 that is circular through which powder or liquid may be dispensed. The walls of the guide section 152 may further define a guide section cavity 162 that extends along the Z-axis between the upper opening 164 and the lower opening 166. Each wall of the guide section 152 may extend inward in the X-Y plane towards the central axis 50 as each wall of the guide section 152 extends downward away from the storage section 102.
The sliding unit 200 may be configured to be inserted through the passage 120 disposed in the first storage wall 104 of the storage section 102 and extended along the X-axis towards the second storage wall 106. The sliding unit 200 may include a blocking section 230 and a grip section 250.
As shown in
The blocking section 230 may include a rectangular wall that is sized to fit between the third storage wall 108 and the fourth storage wall 110 sufficiently tightly to prevent excessive leakage. The rectangular wall may include a first blocking edge 232, a second blocking edge 234, a third blocking edge 236, and a fourth blocking edge 238. The first blocking edge 232 and the second blocking edge 234 may extend along the Y-axis, and the third blocking edge 236 and the fourth blocking edge 238 may extend along the X-axis. When the blocking section 230 has been sufficiently inserted into the storage section 102 to block the storage cavity 112, the first blocking edge 232, the second blocking edge 234, the third blocking edge 236, and the fourth blocking edge 238 may be disposed near or against the first storage wall 104, the second storage wall 106, the third storage wall 108, and the fourth storage wall 110, respectively. In some embodiments, the second blocking wall may be abutted against an inner face of the second storage wall 106 to block off the storage cavity 112.
The blocking section 230 may include a grip section 250 that is co-planar with and integrally formed with the rectangular wall. The grip section 250 may extend from the rectangular wall along the X-axis away from the storage section 102. The grip section 250 may be narrower along the Y-axis than the rectangular wall, and may have substantially the same thickness along the Z-axis as the rectangular wall.
The sliding unit 200 may include a flange 212 that extends downward from the rectangular wall along the Z-axis and substantially the length of the blocking section 230 along the X-axis. The flange 212 may have a first end 214 disposed proximate to the first blocking edge 232, and a second end 216 disposed proximate to the second blocking edge 234. The second blocking edge 234 may extend past the second end 216 of the flange 212 along the X-axis, which may assist with insertion of the blocking section 230 into the passage 120 formed in the first storage wall 104. For example, a second blocking edge 234 that extends past the second end 216 of the flange 212 may permit the sliding unit 200 to be aligned with and inserted into the first section 122 of the passage 120 even if the flange 212 is not aligned in the X-axis direction with the second section 124 of the passage 120. The user may then align the flange 212 of the sliding unit 200 along the Y-axis with the second section 124 of the passage 120 to permit insertion of the sliding unit 200 into the storage section 102 of the input unit 101.
The flange 212 may be formed with a first retention protrusion 218 that extends downward along the Z-axis away from the first end 214 of the flange 212. The flange 212 may be formed with a second retention protrusion 220 that extends downward along the Z-axis from the second end 216 of the flange 212. The second retention protrusion 220 may be substantially larger than the first retention protrusion 218 as measured along the X-axis and the Z-axis.
The second retention protrusion 220 may make it more difficult to accidentally separate the sliding unit 200 from the input unit 101 when allowing powder or liquid to fall through the storage section 102 and the sliding unit is at an open position. For example, when the sliding unit 200 is being extracted along the X-axis from the input unit 101, the second retention protrusion 220 may extend past the a lower end of the second section 124 of the passage 120, hooking onto the first storage wall 104 and restricting further movement of the sliding unit 200. The first retention protrusion 218 may help retain the sliding unit 200 at a blocking position within the input unit 101.
The first end 214 of the flange 212 may extend onto the grip section 250, and may taper in the Z-axis direction as the flange 212 extends along the X-axis away from the second end 216 of the flange 212.
As shown in
Although the present embodiments have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, various modifications and changes can be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments.
This application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/653,231, which was filed on May 30, 2012, and which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
