Apparatus and process for dispensing liquid preparations

Apparatus for dispensing a liquid preparation comprising a spherical container having demountable upper and lower hemispherical container parts, separated by a soft, flexible diaphragm adapted to provide an expandable and contractable pressurized-fluid chamber and an expandable and contractable preparation chamber, said upper container part having at its acme a pressurized-fluid inlet means which is connected by a first flexible line to a valve means operative to connect said flexible line either to a source of pressurized-fluid or vent means, whereby pressurized fluid can be charged into said pressurized-fluid chamber or vented therefrom as need be, said lower container part having at its nadir an orifice comprising separate filling means and discharge means through which a fluid may be charged into or discharged from said preparation chamber, said discharge means being connected by a second flexible connecting line connecting said discharge means with a point at which said fluid is discharged;

• means for mounting said container for rotation about a horizontal axis for allowing rotation of said container from a position in which said orifice in said lower container part is uppermost for filling preparation into said preparation chamber to a position in which said orifice is in position for the discharge of fluid therefrom, said flexible connecting lines being long enough to permit the rotation of said container for the stated purpose;
• and back-pressure-establishing means for establishing a back-pressure in said first flexible line when it is connected to said vent means such that said disphragm does not collapse during filling faster than the preparation is fed into said preparation chamber, and wherein said orifice in said lower container part is of a larger diameter than said pressure-fluid inlet means in said upper container part, said filling means comprises a radially-disposed tubular member having a removable closure, and said discharge means comprises a discharge outlet in the wall of said tubular member, and wherein said back-pressure-establishing means comprises a hydrostatic column in said first flexible line and said vent means is located at a level relative to said filling orifice, when said container is in the filling position, such that said diaphragm is displaced into said pressurized-fluid chamber only so fast as liquid preparation is introduced into said preparation chamber and liquid in said hydrostatic column is vented through said vent means.