Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to a seasoning dispenser
intended for use as a novelty item.
Salt and pepper shakers have been known for many years,
and usually comprise a container having one end apertured to
permit salt or pepper -to be shaken over food. Some means is
necessary for distinguishing between the salt and pepper shaker,
and this has been done in a number of ways. q'he two shakers can
simply be labelled "salt" or "pepper" or -the configuration of the
aperatures can be different in the two cases. For ins-tance, it
is common practice for the pepper shaker to have an end pla-te
with multiple perforations and the sal-t shaker to have only a
single hole. In some shakers, the perforations themselves are
configured as an S or a P as -the case may be. Such methods of
distinguishing between the two shakers are ill-suited to a dimly
lit environmen-t, such as may be found in a restaurant, and it is
not uncommon for a diner to inadvertently take the wrong shaker.
Moreover, since salt and pepper shakers are so common, it is
desirable to provide an attractive feature to induce a purchaser
to select one shaker over another.
According to the present invention there is provided a
seasoning dispenser, comprising a container body having an
apertured end to permit seasoning in the container body to be
dispensed over food, switch means that are actuated when said
container body is lifted from its normal rest position, and voice
synthesizer means for emitting a message indicative of the
contents of the dispenser responsive to actuation of said switch
means, whereby said clispenser emits a voice message indicative of
its contents upon being lifted from its normal rest position.
The seasoning dispenser can suitably be a salt or
pepper shaker, in which case the message would normally be "salt"
or "pepper" as appropriate, but the invention can equally well be
applied to other types of seasoning. The voice synthesizer
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preferably comprises a miniature loud speaker driven by a chip
containing read only memory programmed with -the appropriate
message. The switch means and voice synthesizer means are
desirably mounted in a separate housing inser-table into a recess
formed in the bottom of the container body.
The invention will now be described in more detail, by
way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings,
in which:
Figure 1 is a highly diagramatic diagram of a first
10 embodiment of a salt or pepper shaker in accordance with the
invention;
Figure 2 is a diagramatic diagram of a second
embodiment of a salt or pepper shaker in accordance with the
invention;
Figure 3 is a simplified block diagram of the voice
synthesizer circuitry.
The shaker shown in Figure 1, which for convenience
will be referred to as a salt shaker, or a shaker for any other
type of seasoning, has a frusto-conical container body 1
20 containing salt grains 2. The upper end plate 3 of the container
body 1 has multiple perforations 4, through which the grains of
salt 2 pass when the shaker is shaken in the inverted position.
A cylindrical recess 5 is provided in the lower end of
the container body 1, and in-to which is fitted a plastic plug 6.
The plug 6 has a small nut 7 which fits into an aperture in the
base of the recess 5. The plug 6 can be removed to expose the
aperture and allow the container body 1 to be filled in the
inverted position w~th salt.
A small cylindrical housing 8 can be fitted within the
central recess formed in the plug 6. The housing 8 can be held
in place by means of a screw 9 engaging in a threaded hole 10 in
the bo-t-tom of the housing, or the whole assembly of the housing
8, the plug 6 and -the recess 5 can be snap-fitted toge-ther.
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The housing 8 has in its bo-ttom a protruding normally
open microswtich 11. Next to the microswitch 11, mounted on the
bottom of the housing, is a miniature loud speaker 12. The
housing 8 also contains a voice synthesizer chip 13, connected to
the microswitch 11 and the loud speaker 12, and a miniature
button type battery 14. The voice syn-thesi~er chip generates
driver pulses to the miniature loud speaker to generate sound
simulating the human voice saying the word "salt". The necessary
instructions to cause the synthesizer chip to form the word
"salt" are stored in a read only memory chip in the housing. In
the case of a pepper shaker, the voice synthesizer chip will be
programmed to generate the word "pepper", or in the alternative
other sounds can be generated for other types of seasoning. The
circuitry is arranged so that the loud speaker will only emi-t the
sound "salt" immedia-tely after the shaker is lifted from the
table. Replacing the shaker on the table resets the system, so
that on subsequent lifting the shaker again emits the sound salt.
Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of the invention~
In the embodiment of Figure 2, in which like components have like
net reference numerals, the container body 1 has an upper end 1'
which can be unscrewed from the main body 1 by means of a screw
thread 1" for filling purposes. A recess 15 is formed over the
whole of the bottom of the main body 1 and a nut 14 is fitted
inside the body 1 at the center of bottom plate 16. Housing 8
fits into the recess 15 and is held in place by a screw 13 which
extends through the cen-ter of the housing into the nut 14 The
housing 8, in Figure 2, is shown partly removed from the recess
15. A small recess 16 is formed in the side of the housing 80
This small recess 16 is adapted to receive the button-type
battery 18. Appropriate contacts, not shown, are provided, so
that in order to replace -the battery, the housing 8 is removed
from the container body 1 by undoing the screw 13. The spent
battery can be pushed out of the small recess, by means of an
appropriate tool, and the new battery simply slotted into place.
Figure 3 shows the mircoswitch 11 connected to the
voice synthesizer 13, which in turns drives loud speaker 12. The
voice synthesizer is in -the form of a single chip connected to a
ROM 18 storing instructions to generate the appropriate sound,
"salt" or "pepper". The normally open microswitch 11 is
connected to an appropriate input on the voice synthesizer chip,
such that when the switch is closed, the syn-thesizer chip drives
the loud speaker 12 to generate the appropriate sound.
The described salt and pepper shakers can be
conveniently moulded from plasticO They can have the same
configuration, whether they be for salt, pepper, or any other
seasoning, and the appropriate housing selected to generate the
required sound. The housings can be produced en masse, off shore
if necessary, from integrated components. Indeed, the complete
circuitry can be integrated onto the same chip. Alternatively,
the ROM would be in the form of a p.r.o.m. (programable read only
memory), so that the appropriate instructions could be burned
into the ROM to generate the required sound.
The descxibed shaker is easy to make and solves the
aforementioned problems in the prior art. Even in a dim
environment, the diner would be immediately alerted to the type
of shaker he has selected. The shaker also has a certain value
as a novelty item, in that purchasers are likely to be intrigued
by the concept of a talking seasoning dispenser.
