Mixing and dispensing apparatus

Apparatus to facilitate mixing liquid with material stored in a container which includes a hollow body, a neck secured to and extending away from the body to provide an open mouth connected to the body interior, an outwardly extending annular lip around the mouth, the lip having an undersurface facing toward an outwardly extending annular shoulder on the body and spaced from the lip, the mouth being sealed by a resilient plug, the apparatus comprising:

• an adapter including an end wall with a bore extending through it from an inlet side of the wall to an outlet side of the wall;
• at least two separate elongated flexible fingers secured to the wall at spaced locations around the bore to define a cavity on the inlet side of the wall and opening away from the inlet side of the wall to receive the lip and neck of the container as the container is inserted into the cavity with the plug facing toward the wall, the diameter of the cavity being less than the maximum diameter of the container shoulder;
• a fitting in the shape of socket having a passageway extending through it secured to the outlet side of the adapter wall so the fitting passageway is connected to the bore;
• an elongated cannula secured at one end to the inlet side of the adapter wall around the bore so a passageway through the cannula is connected to the bore, the cannula extending away from the wall so the other end of the cannula will penetrate the plug in the container opening as the container is inserted into the cavity and thus provide a flow path from the material in the container to the passageway in the fitting;
• and
• inwardly facing detent means on each finger for making a snug fit against the undersurface of the lip, each finger being of sufficient length from the detent means in a direction away from the end wall to contact the annular shoulder on the container body when the detent means fit against the undersurface of the lip, each detent means includes a leading ramp that slopes inwardly toward the end wall to a peak, and a locking ramp which slopes outwardly from the peak and toward the end wall at a higher rate than that of the leading ramp.