Powder Bucket and Powder Dispensing Device

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to Chinese Patent Application No. 202421197785.1, filed May 28, 2024, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

This disclosure relates to the field of experimental device technology, and in particular to a powder bucket and a powder dispensing device.

In the process of developing new drugs or developing chemical industry materials, it is often required to mix solid powder with liquid or mix multiple types of solid powder to make certain reactions occur, so as to obtain expected drug or material products under experimental designs. Addition of the solid powder is a key part of the process, and thus precision of adding the solid powder will directly affect the quality of the experimental product (or refer to “finished product”).

A powder dispensing device is a device for dispensing powder into a corresponding container on demand. A powder bucket of the powder dispensing device stores the powder and discharges the powder. When the existing powder bucket discharges the powder, powder will be scattered around. Therefore, for a container having a small opening dimension, the powder may be scattered outside the container, resulting in powder loss. Further, powder entering the container does not match powder quantitatively discharged from the powder bucket, resulting in insufficient precision of powder dispensing.

In a first aspect, a powder bucket is provided in the present disclosure. The powder bucket includes a bucket body, a stirring rod, a funnel, and a scraper. The bucket body defines a first accommodating cavity for storing powder and has a powder outlet in communication with the first accommodating cavity. The stirring rod is rotatable around an axis of the stirring rod, at least partially placed in the first accommodating cavity, and configured to adjust an opening degree of the powder outlet. The funnel has one end connected to the bucket body and the other end having a powder leakage port. The funnel defines a second accommodating cavity. The powder outlet and the powder leakage port are both in communication with the second accommodating cavity. The scraper is at least partially placed in the second accommodating cavity, connected to the stirring rod, and rotatable around the axis of the stirring rod following rotation of the stirring rod.

In a second aspect, a powder dispensing device is provided in the present disclosure. The powder dispensing device includes a driving device and the powder bucket in the first aspect. The driving device is configured to drive the stirring rod of the powder bucket to rotate.

Illustration of reference signs in the accompanying drawings:—powder bucket,—bucket body,—first accommodating cavity,—powder outlet,—cover opening,—conical structure,—column structure,—limiting surface,—mounting groove,—communication opening,—stirring rod,—slot,—blocking segment,—powder-outlet segment,—powder-outlet surface,—main—body segment,—extrusion segment,—extrusion surface,—limiting boss,—stirring blade,—funnel,—second accommodating cavity,—powder leakage port,—conduit,—central hole,—scraper,—connecting segment,—powder-scraping segment,—fixing segment,—connecting member,—guiding segment,—circlip,—washer,—cover body,—cover plate,—powder inlet,—first mounting hole,—extension structure,—collapsible chamber,—second mounting hole,—elastic structure,—spring,—slider,—butt joint,—fitting groove,—locking mechanism,—driving device,—powder dispensing device.

The following clearly and completely describes technical solutions in implementations of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings in the implementations of the present disclosure. Apparently, the described implementations are merely some rather than all of the implementations of the present disclosure. Based on the implementations of the present disclosure, all other implementations obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall belong to the protection scope of the present disclosure.

It may be noted that when a component is referred to as “fixed to” another component, the component may be directly positioned on the other component or an intermediate component may exist therebetween. When a component is referred to as “connected to” another component, the component may be directly connected to the other component or an intermediate component may exist therebetween simultaneously.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in the present disclosure have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art of the present disclosure. The terms used in the detailed description in the present disclosure are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The term “and/or” in the present disclosure includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items.

The following will describe in detail some implementations of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings. Various embodiments and features therein may be implemented in any combination with each other without conflict.

Reference can be made to, and a powder dispensing deviceis provided in embodiments of the present disclosure. The powder dispensing deviceincludes a driving deviceand a powder bucketaccording to any following embodiment of the present disclosure. The driving deviceis configured to drive a stirring rodof the powder bucketto rotate.

The structure of the driving deviceis not limited. The driving deviceis configured to drive the stirring rodto rotate, so as to stir and discharge powder in the powder bucket.

In the powder dispensing devicein the embodiments of the present disclosure, by adopting the powder bucketincluding a funnel, the powder scattered around when discharged from the powder outletof a bucket bodycan be collected, and then the powder thus collected can be discharged from a powder leakage portin a concentrated manner. Therefore, the powder dispensing devicecan be compatible with a container having a smaller opening dimension, thereby avoiding the powder from being scattered outside the container and avoiding powder loss. In addition, the powder entering the container matches the powder quantitatively discharged from the powder bucket, so that the precision of powder dispensing is high.

The powder bucketaccording to the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below.

Referring toto, the powder bucketis provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The powder bucketincludes a bucket body, a stirring rod, a funnel, and a scraper.

The bucket bodydefines a first accommodating cavityfor storing powder and has a powder outletin communication with the first accommodating cavity. The stirring rodis rotatable around an axis of the stirring rod. The stirring rodis at least partially placed in the first accommodating cavity. The stirring rodis configured to adjust an opening degree of the powder outlet. The funnelhas one end connected to the bucket body, and the other end having a powder leakage port. The funneldefines a second accommodating cavity. The powder outletand the powder leakage portare both in communication with the second accommodating cavity. The scraperis at least partially placed in the second accommodating cavity. The scraperis connected to the stirring rod. The scraperis rotatable around the axis of the stirring rodfollowing rotation of the stirring rod.

The shape, structure, etc., of the bucket bodyare not limited. The first

accommodating cavityof the bucket bodyis used for storing the powder. The powder may be solid powder, particulate matter, etc. When the powder bucketis in use, the powder outletis located at the bottom of the bucket body, that is, the powder outletis located at a position of the bucket bodyclosest to the center of earth. Therefore, the powder stored in the first accommodating cavityflows naturally towards the powder outletunder the gravity and is gathered, thereby facilitating discharging the powder.

The stirring rodis substantially in a column shape extending linearly. When the powder bucketis in use, the stirring rodextends substantially in a vertical direction. The stirring rodis at least partially accommodated in the first accommodating cavity, rotatable around the axis of the stirring rod, and can adjust the opening degree of the powder outlet. The opening degree of the powder outletmay range from 0 to 100%. When the opening degree is 0, the powder outletis completely blocked by the stirring rod, and the powder cannot be discharged from powder outlet. When the opening degree is 100%, the powder outletis completely open, that is, the powder outletis not blocked by the stirring rodat all, and a powder discharging speed is the fastest. Optionally, the opening degree of the powder outletmay range from 0 to 60%, that is, when the maximum opening degree of the powder outletis 60%, the powder outletcannot be completely open, so that the fastest powder discharging speed is controlled not to be excessive. Optionally, the stirring rodcan pass through the powder outlet, so as to facilitate mounting and arrangement of the stirring rodand the powder bucket. With the special shape and structure of the stirring rod, the opening degree of the powder outletcan be adjusted when the stirring rodrotates. Since the powder outletneeds to accommodate at least a part of the stirring rod, the opening degree of the powder outletranging from 0 to 60% can meet the requirement of the arrangement of the stirring rodin the powder outlet. The value of the opening degree of the powder outletmay be 0, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, etc., which is not limited.

It can be understood that, in the powder bucket, the opening degree of the powder outletis adjusted by the rotation of the stirring rodand the powder is stirred by the rotation of the stirring rod, or the opening degree of the powder outletis adjusted by movement of the stirring rodin the axial direction of the stirring rod(linear movement) and the powder is stirred by the rotation of the stirring rod, which is not limited in the embodiments.

The funnelis disposed outside the bucket body. The funnelhas a larger end and a smaller end in dimension. The larger end of the funnelis connected to the bucket body. When the powder bucketis in use, the larger end of the funneland the smaller end of the funnelare substantially opposite to each other in the vertical direction, and the smaller end of the funnelis closer to the center of earth. When the larger end of the funnelis connected to the bucket body, a sealing structure can be formed between the funneland the bucket body, and the smaller end of the funnelhas the powder leakage port. In this way, the powder outletof the bucket bodyis in communication with the second accommodating cavity, and the second accommodating cavityis in communication with the outside only through the powder leakage port. The powder scattered around when discharged from the powder outletfalls onto an inner wall of the funnel, flows naturally along the inner wall of the funneltowards the powder leakage portunder the gravity, and then falls into the container from the powder leakage port.

The scraperis at least partially accommodated in the second accommodating cavity. When the stirring rodrotates, the scrapercan be driven to rotate. The powder remaining on the inner wall of the funnelcan be scraped off by the scraperand then discharged from the powder leakage port. The shape and structure of the scraperare not limited.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, by providing the funnel, the powder scattered around when discharged from the powder outletof the powder bucketcan be collected and discharged from the powder leakage port. Therefore, the powder bucketcan be compatible with the container having a smaller opening dimension. The scrapercan scrape off the powder on the inner wall of the funnelto avoid the powder from remaining in the funnel, so that all the powder output from the bucket bodycan enter the container through the funnel, thereby avoiding powder loss. In addition, the powder entering the container matches the powder quantitatively discharged from the powder bucket, so that the precision of powder dispensing is high, which helps to improve the accuracy of subsequent experiment results.

Optionally, referring toand, a radial dimension of the funnelgradually decreases from the end of the funnelconnected to the bucket bodyto the other end of the funnelhaving the powder leakage port. A caliber of the powder leakage portis smaller than or equal to a caliber of the powder outlet.

The funnelmay have a rotationally symmetrical structure. The radial dimension of the funnelrefers to a dimension of the funnelin the radial direction of the stirring rod. The powder leakage portand the powder outleteach may also be in a rotationally symmetrical shape. The caliber of the powder leakage portalso refers to a dimension of the powder leakage portin the radial direction of the stirring rod. The powder outletalso refers to a dimension of the powder outletin the radial direction of the stirring rod. This is not limited.

Exemplarily, the funnelmay have a substantially circular conical structure. A cross section of one end of the bucket bodyclose to the funnelmay also be substantially circular. The radial dimension of the funnelis the diameter. The radial dimension of the funnelis set to gradually decrease from the end of the funnelconnected to the bucket bodyto the other end of the funnelhaving the powder leakage port, so that the inner wall of the funnelcan form an inclined surface, which facilitates the powder to slide along the inner wall of the funnelto the powder leakage portunder the gravity.

Exemplarily, the powder outletand the powder leakage porteach may be circular, and the caliber of the powder outletand the caliber of the powder leakage porteach refer to the diameter. The powder from the powder outletis scattered around due to the stirring rod, but the powder from the powder leakage portis not scattered around thanks to an accommodating effect of the funnel. Therefore, compared with a manner in which the funnelis not provided and powder is directly discharged to the container through the powder outlet, a manner in which the funnelis provided and the powder is discharged from the powder leakage portcan avoid the powder from being scattered to the outside the container. Therefore, the powder leakage portcan be adapted to the container having a smaller opening dimension, the powder can be discharged from the powder leakage portinto the container, so that the precision of powder dispensing is still high even in a special situation where the opening dimension of the container is relatively small, thereby improving the applicability of the powder bucket. It can be understood that, the powder outletand the powder leakage portmay also have other shapes, for example, the powder leakage porthas a circular shape, and the powder outlethas a semi-circular shape, an oval shape, a sector shape, a polygonal shape, and the like, which are not limited herein.

Optionally, a central line of the stirring rod, a central line of the powder outlet, a central line of the funnel, and a central line of the powder leakage portare collinear. With this arrangement, the risk of powder sticking to the wall can be reduced as much as possible, and the falling speed of the powder can be accelerated.

Optionally, referring toand, the bucket bodyhas a conical structureat one end of the bucket bodyclose to the funnel. The funnelis detachably connected to the bucket body. The conical structureis at least partially located in the funnel.

The conical structureof the bucket bodyextends upwards from the powder outlet(i.e., in a direction away from the powder leakage port), and has a shape in which the conical structurehas the minimum diameter at the powder outletand gradually increases upwards. The bucket bodymay further have a column structure. The conical structureis smoothly connected to the column structure. When the funnelis connected to the bucket body, the funnelmay be connected to the conical structure, may be connected to the column structure, or may be connected to a connection between the conical structureand the column structure, which is not limited. The conical structureand the column structureeach may be a rotationally symmetrical structure. Further, the conical structuremay be a circular conical shape, and the column structuremay be a cylindrical shape, which are not limited herein.

A detachable connection manner between the funneland the bucket bodymay be screw connection, snap connection, sleeve connection, adhesion bonding, magnetic attraction, etc., which is not limited. The conical structureof the bucket bodyis at least partially located in the funnel, so that the powder outletis located at a position between a connection between the funneland the bucket bodyand the powder leakage port. Therefore, when the powder is discharged from the powder outlet, the powder only enters the second accommodating cavityof the funneland does not leak to the outside from the connection between the funneland the bucket body, thereby improving the sealing performance.

Optionally, referring to, the scraperextends out of the funnelfrom the powder leakage port. The scraperextends out of the powder leakage port, and the powder can be collected around the scraperto be discharged, so that the scrapercan play a role of guiding a discharging direction of the powder. With regard to the container having a smaller opening dimension, the part of the scraperextending out of the funnelcan extend into the container, to guide the powder to enter the container from the opening of the container. The scraperat the powder leakage portoccupies a part of the space of the powder leakage port, but the radial dimension of the scraperat the powder leakage portis much smaller than the caliber of the powder leakage port, so that a blocking effect of the scraperon the powder can be negligible, and an influence on the powder discharging speed can be negligible. Optionally, an extension direction of the part of the scraperextending out of the funnelmay be parallel to the axial direction of the stirring rod, thereby facilitating guiding the powder to fall vertically into the container, and avoiding the powder from being scattered around. In addition, an upper end of the part of the scraperextending out of the funnelis in contact with an inner wall of the powder leakage port. Therefore, when the stirring rodrotates, the upper end of the part of the scraperextending out of the funnelcan scrape off the powder remaining on the inner wall of the powder leakage port, thereby further improving the precision of powder dispensing.

Optionally, referring toto, the scraperincludes a connecting segmentand a powder-scraping segment. The connecting segmentis connected to the stirring rod. The powder-scraping segmentis connected to the connecting segment. The powder-scraping segmentis at least partially adjacent to or in contact with an inner wall of the second accommodating cavity. The powder-scraping segmentis configured to scrape off powder on the inner wall of the second accommodating cavity.

The powder-scraping segmentmay be connected to the connecting segmentdirectly or indirectly. Indirect connection means that the powder-scraping segmentand the connecting segmentmay be connected through an intermediate member, which is not limited. A connection manner between the connecting segmentand the stirring rodmay be fixed connection, rotatable connection, movable connection, etc., which is not limited. The powder-scraping segmentis at least partially adjacent to or in contact with the inner wall of the second accommodating cavity(i.e., the inner wall of the funnel). In some embodiments, the powder-scraping segmentis at least partially adjacent to the inner wall of the second accommodating cavity, that is, at least a part of the powder-scraping segmenthas a small distance from the inner wall of the second accommodating cavity, and the distance is smaller than the size of the powder. Therefore, not only can direct friction between the powder-scraping segmentand the inner wall of the second accommodating cavityand affecting the operating efficiency and service life of the powder-scraping segmentbe avoided, but also the powder on the inner wall of the second accommodating cavitycan be scraped off well. The powder-scraping segmentis at least partially in contact with the inner wall of the second accommodating cavity, which may be understood as that at least a part of the powder-scraping segmentis in slight contact with the inner wall of the second accommodating cavity, so as to reduce friction between the powder-scraping segmentand the inner wall of the second accommodating cavityas much as possible. During rotation of the powder-scraping segmentfollowing the rotation of the stirring rod, the powder-scraping segmentcan sweep throughout the inner wall of the second accommodating cavityin a circumferential direction the second accommodating cavity, and sweep through most of the inner wall of the second accommodating cavityin an axial direction of the second accommodating cavity. Therefore, the powder on the inner wall of the second accommodating cavitycan be scraped off, thereby avoiding the powder from remaining on the inner wall of the second accommodating cavity, and avoiding the powder discharging amount from being less than expected.

Optionally, referring toto, the scraperfurther includes a fixing segment. The fixing segmentis connected to the connecting segmentand/or the powder-scraping segment. The fixing segmentis movably connected to an outer surface of the bucket bodyclose to the powder outlet, or the fixing segmentis movably connected to an inner surface of the funnelat one end of the funnelclose to the bucket body.

The fixing segmentmay be directly or indirectly connected to the connecting segment. The fixing segmentmay also be directly or indirectly connected to the powder-scraping segment. For indirect connection, reference can be made to the foregoing similar description. If the fixing segmentis movably connected to the bucket body, a movable connection manner between the fixing segmentand the bucket bodymay be rotational connection, mobile connection, etc., which is not limited. If the fixing segmentis movably connected to the funnel, a movable connection manner between the fixing segmentand the funnelmay be rotational connection, mobile connection, etc., which is not limited. Due to the fixing segment, the scraperis limited. It is ensured that the connecting segmentis well connected to the stirring rod, and the powder-scraping segmentkeeps adjacent to or in slight contact with the inner wall of the second accommodating cavity, so that the reliability of a powder scraping operation can be ensured.

Optionally, referring toto, the powder bucketfurther includes a limiting structure. The limiting structure is disposed on the outer surface of the bucket bodyclose to the powder outlet. The fixing segmentis cooperatively connected to the limiting structure.

The fixing segmentis movably connected to the outer surface of the bucket body. Optionally, the fixing segmentis rotatable around the bucket bodyunder the limitation of the limiting structure and the bucket body, and a rotation axis of the fixing segmentis substantially a rotation axis of the stirring rod. The structure of the limiting structure is not limited. By providing the limiting structure, the fixing segmentis cooperatively connected to the limiting structure. The limiting structure has a function of limiting, and ensures that the fixing segmentwill not be separated from the bucket bodyand the fixing segmentis movably connected to the bucket body. The limiting structure limits the scraper, fixes a posture of the scraper, so that the scrapercan scrape off the powder on the inner wall of the funnel.

Optionally, referring toto, the limiting structure includes a circlip. The circlipis snapped to the outer surface of the bucket bodyclose to the powder outlet. The fixing segmentis wound around the bucket bodyand located at one side of the circlipaway from the powder outlet. By providing the circlip, the fixing segmentcan be avoided from moving downwards and separating from the bucket body.

Optionally, the limiting structure further includes a washer. The washeris sleeved on the bucket bodyand located between the circlipand the fixing segment.

The circliphas elasticity. Installation or disassembly of the circlipwith the bucket bodycan be achieved by elastic deformation. The washerhas wear resistance. The washeris disposed between the circlipand the fixing segment, so that severe wear caused by the direct contact between the fixing segmentand the circlipcan be avoided, and the smoothness of relative rotation between the fixing segmentand the bucket bodycan be improved.

The fixing segmentmay be sleeved on the outer surface of the bucket bodyat the conical structure. The diameter of the conical structureat one end of the conical structureclose to the powder leakage portis small, and gradually increases in the direction away from the powder leakage port. The fixing segmentcan be designed to be substantially annular, and the inner diameter of the fixing segmentis larger than the outer diameter of the conical structureat one end of the conical structureclose to the powder leakage port, and smaller than the outer diameter of the conical structureat a position where the conical structurehas the maximum outer diameter (for example, the position where the conical structureis connected to the column structure), so that the outer surface of the conical structurecan limit the fixing segment. The fixing segmentis sleeved on the conical structurefrom one end of the conical structureclose to the powder leakage port, and abuts against the outer surface of the conical structureat a certain position of the conical structureand cannot move further towards the other end of the conical structureaway from the powder leakage port.

The circlipand the washermay be disposed on the outer surface of the conical structure, and the inner diameter of the fixing segmentmay have a certain reasonable value. Therefore, in the axial direction of the stirring rod, one end of the fixing segmentaway from the powder leakage portis limited by the outer surface of the conical structure, the other end of the fixing segmentclose to the powder leakage portis limited by the circlipand the washer, and the fixing segmentis rotatable relative to the conical structureat the position where the fixing segmentis limited.

Optionally, at the outer surface of the bucket body, the bucket bodymay further has a limiting surfaceand defines a mounting groovethat both surround the bucket body. The limiting surfacefaces the powder leakage port. The mounting grooveis located at one side of the limiting surfaceclose to the powder leakage portand is located near the limiting surface. The circlipis sleeved in the mounting grooveand extends out of the outer surface of the bucket body. The limiting surfaceis opposite to the circlipand the washer. The limiting surface, the circlip, and the washercooperatively define an annular groove. The fixing segmentis accommodated in the annular groove. In this way, with the mounting groove, the circlipcan be stably snapped to the bucket body, thereby playing a basic supporting role. With the limiting surface, the fixing segmentcan be accommodated in the annular groove, thereby improving the limiting effect.

Optionally, referring toto, the powder-scraping segmentis deviated from the stirring rod. An inclination angle of the powder-scraping segmentrelative to the axis of the stirring rodis equal to an inclination angle of the inner wall of the second accommodating cavityrelative to the axis of the stirring rod.

The funnelis in a circular conical shape. The shape of the powder-scraping segmentmatches the shape of the inner wall of the funnelin a longitudinal cross-sectional view. For example, as illustrated in, in a longitudinal cross-sectional view, the inner wall of the funnelis linear, and the powder-scraping segmentis substantially in a rod shape extending linearly. The inclination angle of the powder-scraping segmentrelative to the axis of the stirring rodis equal to the inclination angle of the inner wall of the second accommodating cavityrelative to the axis of the stirring rod, so that the powder-scraping segmentcan be adjacent to or in contact with the funnel, and the powder at various positions of the inner wall of the second accommodating cavitycan be scraped off, thereby avoiding powder residue.

It may be understood that, since the powder outletis located between the connection between the funneland the bucket bodyand the powder leakage port, most of the powder discharged from the powder outletis scattered downwards (that is, in a direction close to the powder leakage port), and the inner wall of the funnel, mainly a part of the inner wall below a position of the inner wall flush with the powder outlet, may carry the powder. Therefore, one end of the powder-scraping segmentaway from the powder leakage portmay be at least disposed at a position where the inner wall of the funnelis flush with the powder outlet. In order to provide redundancy, the powder-scraping segmentmay be disposed further above the position where the inner wall of the funnelis flush with the powder outlet(that is, in a direction away from the powder leakage port), and close to the connection between the funneland the bucket body. In this way, it can be ensured that the powder carried at various positions of the inner wall of the funnelcan be scraped off by the powder-scraping segment.

Optionally, referring toand, the stirring rodextends out of the bucket bodyfrom the powder outletand extends into the second accommodating cavity. The scraperis connected to a part of the stirring rodextending out of the bucket body. In this way, it is easier for the scraperto be connected to the stirring rod, so that the stirring rodcan drive the scraperto rotate.

Optionally, referring toto, the stirring rodis movable in an axial direction of the stirring rod. The stirring roddefines a slotin the axial direction of the stirring rodat one end of the stirring rodextending out of the powder port. One end of the connecting segmentaway from the powder-scraping segmentextends into the slot. An inner wall of the slotin the axial direction of the stirring rodis spaced apart from the connecting segment.