Single serve dispenser for a powdered nutrient
OwnerNicholas J. Singerinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The dispenser disclosed herein serves a single serving of a powdered nutrient contained within a container having multi-servings of the powdered nutrient. The dispenser has a metering device that operates as a ball valve or guillotine to dispense a single serving of the powdered nutrient into a water container. The dispenser also has a support surface that can be lowered and raised back up in order to fit a water container under the metering device and a distal tip of the metering device into a mouth of the water container so that no powdered nutrient spills out of the water container during transfer of the powdered nutrient from the metering device to the water container.
Claims20
A dispenser system for dispensing a single serve of a powdered nutrient, the dispenser system comprising:
- a container for holding two or more servings of the powdered nutrient, the container having an opening and a first part of a fastening system;
- a metering unit for measuring the single serve of the powdered nutrient and dispensing the measured powdered nutrient from a dispensing tip of the metering unit, the metering unit having a second part of the fastening system wherein the first and second parts are removably attachable to each other so that the container is removable from the metering unit when the container is empty and a new container filled with the powdered nutrient is attachable to the metering unit;
- a bottle for receiving the measured powdered nutrient dispensed from the dispensing tip, the bottle defining a mouth which is larger than the dispensing tip so that the mouth of the bottle does not contact the dispensing tip when the dispensing tip is inserted into the mouth of the bottle;
- and
- a stand for holding the metering unit above a surface, the stand including a support surface that is traversable between a biased up position and a down position, the down position allowing the mouth of the bottle to slip under the dispensing tip while the bottle pushes down on the support surface and the biased up position wherein the bottle is positioned on the support surface with the dispensing tip at least partially inserted into the bottle and the mouth of the bottle not contacting any part of the dispenser system including the dispensing tip,
- wherein a height of the bottle is greater than a first distance defined between an end of the dispensing tip and the support surface when the support surface is in the biased up position and less than a second distance defined between the end of the dispensing tip and the support surface when the support surface is in the down position.
A method of dispensing a single serve of a powdered nutrient from a container to a bottle comprising:
- measuring the single serve of the powdered nutrient in a metering unit to which the container is removable attached;
- receiving the bottle on a support surface of a stand that holds the metering unit such that the bottle is underneath a dispensing tip of the metering unit and the support surface is at a down position;
- releasing the support surface such that the support surface traverses to a biased up position in which the bottle is raised above the down position to a predetermined level, the dispensing tip is at least partially inserted into a mouth of the bottle, and the mouth of the bottle does not contact any part of the dispensing system;
- and
- dispensing the measured powdered nutrient from the dispensing tip into the bottle.
A dispenser for dispensing a single serve of a powdered nutrient, the dispenser comprising:
- a container for holding two or more servings of the powdered nutrient, the container having an opening and a first part of a fastening system;
- a metering unit defining a measuring cup for measuring the single serve of the powdered nutrient and dispensing the measured powdered nutrient from a dispensing tip of the metering unit, the metering unit having a second part of the fastening system wherein the first and second parts are removably attachable to each other so that the container is removable from the metering unit when the container is empty and a new container filled with the powdered nutrient is attachable to the metering unit;
- a stand for holding the metering unit above a surface, the stand including a support surface that is traversable between a biased up position and a down position, the down position allowing for a mouth of a water bottle to slip under the dispensing tip while the water bottle pushes down on the support surface and the biased up position wherein the water bottle is positioned on the support surface with the dispensing tip at least partially inserted into the water bottle and the mouth of the water bottle not contacting any part of the dispenser system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.