Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
W095/08097 2 ~ 7 1 3 4 ~ PCT/S~94/00856
MEA~URING TUBE.
The present invention relates to a measuring vessel or to a
measure for measuring finely-ground packable material, such
5 as ground brewing cofee, cocoa, flour, powdered sugar, gruel
tpowder and like packable materials.
Conventional measuring vessels for this purpose normally have
the form of scoops of varying volumes. When measuring with the
lO aid of scoops, however, certain disadvantages are encountered,
which at times are experienced as clear drawbacks to the
method:
- Poor measuring accuracy, because the scoop cannot be used
to the same level of accuracy each time, wherewith any
15 measuring error is liable to be multiplied by repeating an
error with each scooped quantity.
- Spillage, partly caused by material adhering to the outer
surface of the scoop and partly because the measured material
is able to "run" readily over the edge or lip of the scoop.
20 - A risk of measurement errors, because counting of the
number of scoops that have been taken is disturbed.
- Hand and wrist movements performed in the measuring
procedure are llnco~fortable for persons who are handicapped
in their movements in some way, for instance as the result of
25 wearing a supportive bandage, dressing, etc., and because of
pain or because of age, which further increases the risk of
spillage from the scoop.
The drawbacks of the conventional scoop enumerated above can
30 be avoided to great extent by the inventive measuring vessel,
the aim of which is to provide an auxiliary device for measur-
ting finely-ground, packable and pourable material and which
by virtue of its construction and the method in which it is
used facilitates precise measuring of the material concerned,
35 reduces spillage and can be handled comfortably by persons who
are handicapped in their movements.
W095/08097 PCT/SE94/00856
~ 6 2
This object of the invention is fulfilled with a measuring
vessel according to Claim 1.
The measuring vessel and its method of use will now be
described in more detail with reference to the accompanying
drawing, in which
Fig. 1 is an axial cross-sectional view of one preferred
embodiment of the measuring vessel;
Fig. 2 is an end view of the vessel shown in Fig. 1 from
beneath;
Fig. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the measuring
vessel in a view corresponding to the view of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 illustrates an alternative embodiment of one part of
the measuring vessel; and
Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view which illustrates the lower
part of the vessel filled with finely-ground material.
According to one preferred embodiment, the measuring vessel
is comprised of a tube or hollow cylinder which preferably has
a round cross-section along the whole of its length, said tube
being generally referenced 1 in Fig. 1. By round is meant here
a generally round form which can include both circularly
rounded and ovally or elliptically rounded cross-sectional
shapes. The measuring vessel 1 is transparent so that the
quantity of material taken-up in the vessel can be read
against a graduated scale 2 printed on or etched in the outer
surface of the measuring vessel, and to this end is preferably
made of a hard plastic material, for instance an acrylic
material. The measuring vessel 1 is open at both ends and
includes at the bottom end of the vessel a constriction 3,
which may be spherical, as shown in Fig. 1, or conical as
shown in Fig. 4. The constriction 3 can be readily produced
W095/08097 PCT/SE94/00856
2~ 77 346
by the person skilled in the art of manufacture, by heating
and forming. When the constriction 3 has a spherical form, its
radius R may be equal to the internal radius R of the straight
cylindrical part of the measuring vessel. To facilitate
penetration of the material into the measuring vessel, the
constriction 3 includes an opening whose edge 4 is suitably
bevelled towards the horizontal plane H at an angle a. The
angle a may vary and will preferably lie within the range of
45-65, preferably 55-60.
In the case of a tested, well-functioning and preferred
embodiment, the opening defined by the constriction has a
radius r which is about three-quarters of the inner radius R
of the measuring vessel 1. Experience has shown that this
ratio provides a suitable balance between the ability of the
measuring vessel to retain material and its resistance and
tendancy of packing of the material when pressing the measur-
ing vessel down to collect a measured amount of powdered
material in the vessel.
The measuring vessel 1 may alternatively have a square or
polygonal cross-section (not shown) or a circular cross-
section with a square or polygonal bottom opening edge 4' as
shown in Fig. 3.
When intended for measuring small quantities of finely-ground
material, such as ground brewing coffee or cocoa, the measur-
ing vessel will suitably have an inner diameter of 25-30 mm,
while when intended for measuring larger quantities of materi-
al, such as flour for instance, may have an inner diameter ofup to about 40-45 mm.
The length of the measuring vessel may vary, although as a
reference the measuring vessel of one preferred embodiment has
a length of about 20 cm with an inner diameter of about 25 mm,
which provides an accurate measurement of ground brewing
coffee for at least ten cups of normal size.
W095/08097 PCT/SE94/00856
~7~346 4
It will be understood that the measurements, radii and angles
recited in the aforegoing are intended as guidelines for the
person skilled in this art, and that optimal construction of
a measuring vessel for respective products may result in
~;r?n~ionS that differ from those given above.
The measuring vessel 1 is used to measure a portion of the
material concerned by inserting the vessel vertically into the
finely-ground material so that the vessel will be filled with
a given quantity of said material through the opening in the
bottom end of the vessel. When a larger quantity is desired,
the measuring vessel is repeatedly pushed down into the
finely-ground material, wherewith further material will enter
the tube from beneath. When the measuring vessel is lifted out
of the finely-ground material, the constriction 3 functions
to retain a packed column of material in this region of the
vessel and the material is retA; n~ within the vessel by the
frictional forces acting between the fine particles. As shown
in Fig. 5, a characteristic conically concave surface 6 forms
on the undersurface of the packed material 5. The volume of
this cone corresponds to the amount of material that the
vessel is unable to retain when lifted out of the material.
If too much material has been collected in the measuring
vessel, the excess material can be caused to run out through
the opening of the constriction, by knocking the vessel
lightly against the wall of the storage cont~; n~r or against
the free hand that is not holding the vessel. It has been
found, however, that only a very small amount of material will
leave the vessel before the characteristic conical bottom
surface 6 is recreated and prevents further material from
leaving the vessel. This enables the amount of material
collected in the measuring vessel to be accurately adjusted
in accordance with the graduated scale provided on the vessel.
The measuring vessel is emptied by turning it generally upside
down, whereupon the material is able to flow through the upper
opening by virtue of the low coefficient of friction of the
~l7~ 54b
W095/08097 PCT/SE94/00856
~1~J3~
5
plastic and the ease with which the powdered material is now
able to flow.
- It is not necessary to turn the wrist when filling the
measuring vessel 1 in accordance with the aforegoing, which
makes handling of the measuring vessel easy for those people
whose movements are restricted due to supportive bandages or
due to rheumatism and so on. Neither will light shaking of the
filled vessel cause material to flow therefrom. The risk of
erroneous measurements due to a counting error can be avoided
in the majority of user situations. The inventive measuring
vessel is thus constructed and suitable for use by those user
categories which normally find it difficult to handle conven-
tional scoop measures.
