Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~1~2951
CONTAINER HAVING SEP~RATE STORAGE
FACILITIES FOR TWO MATERIALS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
- Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to
containers and, more particularly, pertains to
containers having separate compartments in which
several ingredients of a product may be stored
separately until it is desired to admix them, at
which time it is possible to establish communication
between the compartments so that the separated
~: ingredients may be admixed prior to dispensing of
the product from the containers.
~; Containers of this type are useful for the
separate storage of ingredients or materials for a
~, variety of products, and have particular applic-
ability to the fields of pharmaceuticals and
cosmetics, for instance, where at least two ingred-
ients can be stored separately for reasonably
- 20 lengthy periods of time, but if admixed will produce
a product which deteriorates rather rapidly. Such
products usually, but not necessarily, comprise at
least one liquid ingredient and one other ingredient
` which may be either in the form of a liquid or in
~, 25 the form of dry granules or powder.
~` Other fields of application in whic~ such
~ containers may find utility are in the separate
'x
.~ . . . . . .
,~ ' ~ , ' . .
. .: , ,
- : . .
5~ -
- 2 -
- storage and predispensing addition of color pigments
to paints, and admixing of catalysts and chemical
compounds (e.g., epoxy cements), the combination of
~ifferen~ chemicals in order to produce desired
reactions (e.g., multico~ponent foam s~stems), and
unstable colorants such as naturally-occurring
colors.
~ Another important field of use for containers
- of this type lies in the storage of foodstuffs and
particularly beverages. Thus, a new flavoring
constituted of dry ingredients, and being in the
form of granular material or a powder may have been
developed for carbonated beverages which has signi-
ficant potential consumer appeal in comparison with
existing products, with the beverage, however,
having a limited shelf life after the flavoring is
mixed with liquid or carbonated water present in the
container. The flavoring has a lengthier shelf life
when maintained in a dry condition and separate from
, ~20 the water or liquid, and with the product being more
flavorful and marketable when stored in a container
which maintains the flavoripg and carbonated water
in separate compartments and inaccessible to each
other until opening of the container for the purpose
of dispensing the beverage.
Discussion of thé Prior Art
At present, the prior art discloses various
containers or receptacles for the separate storage
of various materials or ingredients of a product
adapted to be admixed prior to dispensing from the
containers.
~, Nosik U.S. Patent 2,721,522; Bowes et al. U.S.
Patent 3,156,369; Magni U.S. Patent 3,603,469;
Morane U.S. Patent 3,802,604; Lanfranconi et al.
U.S. Patent 3,840,136 and Cavazza U.S. Patent
. . .
~29 5 1 ;
3,968,872 each disclose multicompartmented contain-
ers f~r the separate storage of various materials or
ingredients of a product adapted to be admixed prior
to dispensing from the containers. Each of these
patents discloses a type of container in the shape
of a bottle, can, or the like wherein a frangible
member is adapted to be severed or ruptured by the
depression of a plunger so as to dispense a material
stored in a compartment within the neck of the
bottle or container into a liquid which is located
in the container. ~owever, severance of the
frangible member is caused by relatively complex and
cumbersome mechanisms or actuators in the prior art
patents, thereby rendering them unattractive from an
economical standpoint. Moreover, in various of the
earlier patents, such as in Nosik and Morane, there
is encountered the drawback of portions of the
; closure forming loose debris in the containers
subsequent to opening of the latter, which will
.20 render the containers unattractive and possibly
, unsanitary from a consumer standpoint.
' Gil de Lloret U.S. Patent 3,779,372 discloses a
type of container storing a first material which
includes a pull-top opener and in which a compart-
ment for the separate storage of a second material
~ is positioned beneath the top closure of the con-
-- tainer. Thus, when imparting a pull to the opener
A' to provide access to the contents of the container,
a piercing lever is caused to rotate downwardly into
engagement with a frangible bottom wall of the -
compartment, thereby rupturing the wall and releas-
ing the material stored in the separate compartment
, to admix with the first material in the container.
` The entire top of the container, including the
separate compartment, may then be removed from the
- ., .
: 1. ' . .
. . .
'
- '. .. : . ;
' ~
;
~2~ 5
-- 4 --
container leaving a kind of open drinking cup
structure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
.
. Accordingly, the present invention contemplates
the provision of an improved and unique container
having an arrangement for separately storing several
materials or ingredients of a product within a
container prior to opening of the container and
which, upon opening of the container, provides for
the automatic and practically instantaneous admixing
of the separately stored materials prior to being
dispensed therefrom.
In accordance with various embodiments of the
~' invention, there is disclosed.a container for stor-
ing a first material, prefe-rably a liquid such as
carbonated water, which container has.an outlet
orifice or access aperture permitting access to and
, dispensing of its contents. A closure is provided
~ for the container aperture, and includes a compart-
,, 20 ment therein adapted to depend into the container
'~ orifice for separately storing a second material.
The closure structure incorporates a releasable wall
.~, formed in the end of.the compartment depending into
; the container and a flexible or resilient wall at
the top end of the compartment or closure. An
actuating rod extends centrally through the compart-
ment intermediate the releaseable wall and the
~ flexible wall, the arrangement being such that the
c~. flexible wall on the closure can be depressed so as
-~ .30 to i~pel the actuating rod against the releasablP
. . wall to thereby at least partially separate the
~ releasable wall from the other compartment walls and
: release the material.stored in the compartment into
the material stored in the container. Furthermore,
. 35 the disclosed embodiment contemplates the container
;
.
t ~j, .
. . ~ .
. . , .. - .-.~ - , ~ ~ ;.
: .
9s~
-- 5 --
being in Lhe shape of a hottJe having a neck portior
extending ~e~ween ~he outlet oriLice and container
interior, and wherein the closure is of the bottle
cap ~ype, ~hc compartlllcll~ being cylind~ic~llly
sha[)ed, positioncd to depelld at lcast l)arl:ially illlO
the neck in close conformance with the inner dia-
eter thereof and with the releasable wall being
innermostly located in the bottle neck. Moreover
in the disclosed embodiment, the actuating rod is
integrally formed with or connected to the releas-
able compartment wall. Furthermore, the disclosed
embodiment provides structure in which the closure
is formed of inner and-outer members, with the inner
member comprising the releasable wall, the actuating
rod and the cylindrical side walls of the compart-
ment extending over the lip of the bottle neck, and
with the outer member comprising the top flexible
wall and bottle neck-engaging flange of the closure.
In another embodiment of the invention, there
is disclosed an arrangement wherein a container for
storing a first material, preferably in the shape of
a cylindrical can, has a top closure surface with a
pull-top opener attached to the latter. A compart-
ment for sèparately storing a second material is
attached to the top closure interiorly of the con-
tainer and is operatively connected to the pull-top
opener. Upon opening of the container by means of
the pull-top opener, the compartment tilts downward
to dispense the second material in the compartment
into the container and admix with the first material.
Moreover, in the disclosed embodiment of the inven-
~ion, the container is a can of which the top
closure forms one wall surface of the compartment.
Furthermore, the compartment is coupled to the
pull-top opener in a manner so that upward pull on
, . - :
- ~
. . . ~ - - . ., - . . .
5Z951
- 6 -
the latter will tilt the compartment downwardly into
the container so as to elnp~y the ~econd ma~erial
stored therein into the first material stored in the
container for almost instantaneous admixing there-
with.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of thepresent invention to provide a novel arrangement for
separately storing several materials in a container
prior to opening of the container and admix the
materials within the container prior to opening of
the latter.
Another object of the present invention is to
provide an arrangement of the type described incor-
porating a cap or pull-top type of closure on a
container which provides for the admixing of several
separately stored materials in the container prior
to dispensing thereof rom the container.
A more specific object of the present invention
lies in the provision of an arrangement of the type
described, particularly a container which is adapted
to separately store a liquid beverage, such as
carbonated water, and a flavoring therefor, includ-
ing structure for separating the constituents by a
liquid-impermeable barrier, an actuating element for
causing the flavoring to admix with the liquid when
the container is opened but prior to being dispensed
therefrom; a convenience type opening such as a
pull-top can lid or pilferproof bottle cap; and
which aIlow for utilization of a standard size
- ~ 30 beverage can or bottle; which will require little or
no modification of a standard container whereby any
increase in container cost is minimal; will pour
easily when opened; will not contain loose debris
from the barrier after opening; and will be
compatible with standard carbonated beverage filling
, .
i '
' ' ~ ' : ' ' '~ ; '
' ",'~' '' '
.: . ' . - - .
~295
- 7 -
and sealing e~luipl~len~, with the possible exception
that special provisions may be required to fill the
powder into its compartment in the container.
Bl~ D~SC~IPTlO~ O~ D~AWINGS
The foregoing and other objects and advantages
of the inventive container constructed pursuant to
~he teachings of the presen~ invention may be more
readily understood by one skilled in the art, having
reference to the following detailed description of
preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction
witn the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates an elevational section
through a first embodiment of the invention wherein
a bottle-shaped container is provided with an inven-
tive cap closure having a closed compartment therein
for the storage of a material adapted to be admixed
with another material in the container;
Figure 2 is a section taken along line 2-2 in
Figure 1;
Figure 3 illustrates a view, partly in section,
of another embodiment of the invention;
Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional
view of the closure shown in Figure 3;
Figure 5 shows a sectional view of the closure
of Figure 3 with the compartment therein in an
opened condition;
Figure 6 is a sectional view of another embodi-
:~ ment of the invention illustrating a closure differ-
ing from that shown in Figure 3;
Figure 7 is an elevational sectional view of
another embodiment of the invention wherein the
container is of a cylindrical can-shape having a
pull-top opener which is operatively connected to a
compartment mounted beneath the can top interiorly
.
- .. -
~5'~95
-- 8 --
of the container and in which the contents of ~he
compartment are adapte~ to be released into the
contents of the can upon activiation of the pull-top
opcner; an(l
~igure 8 is a top plan view of the conLainer of
Figure 7.
D~'l'AIL~ CRlP'l`lON Ol~ AWlNCS
Referring now in detail to the drawings, in
Figure 1 there is illustrated a first embodiment of
the invention wherein a container 10 in the shape of
a bottle has a bottle cap closure 14 applied to the
top of its neck 12. The container may be a standard
commercial bottle formed of glass or plastic, and is
adapted to hold a first material 16 therein, prefer-
ably a liquid such as carbonated water. The closure14 has a substantially cylindrically shaped compart-
ment located therein which contains a second material
18. The second material 18 may be flavoring for the
carbonated water, such as a dipeptide sweetener in
either granular or pulverulent form. It is desir-
able to separately store the dipeptide sweetener
from the carbonated water since the dipeptide sweet-
ener undergoes a hydrolysis reaction after being
admixed w~ith water, which imparts a limited shelf
life to the mixture after admixing thereof. The
closure 14 is formed of an outer member 20 which has
a flexible or resiliently deformable top surface or
crown and substantially cylindrically shaped side
walls of flange which closely covers an inner
compartment-forming~member 22 which has an obliquely
sloped bottom wall surface and substantially
cylindrically shaped side walls. The outer member
20 may be formed of any flexible or resiliently
yieldable material such !as plastic or a thin metal.
The inner member 22 includes a flange portion 24
-
: .
~' ' ' ''' . ' ' ~ . '
- :
~SZ951
which ex~en(ls over a beaded lip 26 fornled at Lhe top
of the bottle neck 12 to securely fasten the closure
14 to the bottle. A first portion of the compart-
ment con~aining the second material 18 extends into
the neck 12 of the bottle in the form of a sleeve 28
in close contact with the inner wall surface of the
bottle neck, while a second sleeve-like portion 30
of the compartment projects above the neck of the-
bottle into engagement with the inner surface of the
cap crown. In modifications of this embodiment of
the invention, the compartment might extend to a
greater or lesser degree into the neck of the
bottle. The sloped bottom wall 32 of the compart-
ment is formed with a weakened annular wall section
34 extending almost entirely around its entire
circumference proximate its attachment to sleeve 28
with the exception of a small tab portion 36 which
is constituted of a slightly heavier thickness than
the weakened wall portion. The bottom wall 32 of
the compartment has an actuating rod 38 connected
thereto or integrally formed therewith which extends
j generally vertically upwardly through the compart-
: ment to the upper end thereof into contact with the
lower or inner crown surface of the outer member 20.
The inner member 22 may be formed of various types
` of materials and, preferably, is formed of molded
plastic. The outer member 20 fits snugly over the
- inner member 22 in the region extending over the
bottle lip 26 so as to form a pressure-tight seal
structure.
The arrangement is such that a consumer may
press down on the top surface of the closure cap
crown in the direction of arrow A, thereby causing
the top surface to deflect downwardly and, result-
ingly, displace the actuating rod 38 downwardly in
.
' ' ' : . ' ' , : ' . :.- :
,,
.
~1~5Z951
- 10 -
conjunction with the bottom wall 32 of the coml>ar~-
ment. The force is sufficient to cause severance of
the bottorn wall 32 from sleeve portion 28 along its
,annu'lar wcakened wall section 34 thereby opening the
cornpartment and allowing the second material 18 in
the compartment to empty into the first material 16
in the container 10. The tab portion 36 prevents
'~ the bottom wall 32 from completely separating from
the remainder of the inner member 22 and falling
into the container. The force exerted against the
flexible top surface is also adequate to contain any
added pressure acting against the top wall which may
be encountered by the release of pressurized gas
- from the container into the compartment.
Figures 3, 5 and 5 illustrate a second embodi-
ment of the invention in the shape of a wide-mouth
jar or bottle 40 which, as in the previous instance,
may be formed of glass or plastic. A peel- or
pry-off closure 42 includes an outer portiorl 44 and
an inner portion 46. The outer portion 44 includes
a flexible or resiliently yieldable top wall 48 and
a flanged rim section 50 which curves down and about
in close engagement with the lip 52 of the container
so as to seal the closure to the container. The
outer portion 44 may be formed of a relatively soft
flexible or pliable material such as aluminum foil
which will permit its removal from the container
without the need for an opener. The inner portion
46 includes a generally cylindrical side wall 54,
the upper portion 56 of which curves upwardly and
outwardly over the lip 52 of the container and below
the flanged rim section 50 to form a pressure-tight
- seal between the top of the bottle 40 and the outer
member 44. The inner portion 46 also includes a
releasable bottom wall 58, as shown ,in enlarged
.
- :
, ~
,
~ ~ ~2~ S~
- 11 -
de~ail in ~igure 4 of the drawings. Wall 58 is
hinge~ at one edge 60 to the cylindrical side wall
54 at the lower end thereof, as shown in Figure 5.
Bottom wall 58 fits into an annular recess 62 formed
in the bottom of the side wall, and may be held in
that position closing the compartment by either
being force-fitted into recess 62 or, alternatively,
held in place by a suitable adhesive. The inner
portion 46 also includes an actuating rod 64 which
is connected to or formed integrally with the
releasable bottom wall 58 and which extends upwardly
through and centrally of the compartment into con-
tact with the lower surface at the center of the
flexible top wall or bottle cover 48.
When a consumer wishes to use the contents of
; the apparatus, the consumer presses down on the
center of the top cover wall 48, in the direction of
arrow A, thereby flexing the wall downwardly and,
resultingly, concurrently downwardly displacing the
actuating rod 64, thereby causing the bottom wall 58
to pivot downwardly, as shown in Figure 5, about
hinge 60 integrally joining it to side wall 54, and
to release the contents of the compartment into the
container and admix with the contents of the latter.
After the contents of the compartment have been
released into the container, the entire closure,
'L including the inner and outer portions thereof, may
`~- be peeled off the top of the container and removed
as indicated by the phantom lines in Figure 5. If
it is desired to reclose the bottle, the bottom wall
58 together with actuator rod 64 may be detached
from the closure structure, i.e. by twisting off a
hinge 60, and discarded. The remaining closure
structure can then be readily snapped onto the lip
' ~ 35 of the bottle.
;~. ~^~ ,
' ' .
. .
, . -,
~-
951
2 -
Figwre 6 il1ustrates still ~nother embodilllent
of th~ invention which is basically similar in
operation to that shown in Figures 3 to 5. The
con~ainer 70 is the sanle ~ype of wide~ ouLh jar or
~otLle, sui~ably formed of g1ass or plasLic, how-
ever, the closure 72 is formed somewhat differently.
lhe outer closure portion 74 now comprises an
annular rolled flange sealing member 76 which
extends about and over a lip 78 formed at the tOp or
orifice of the bottle. The function of the outer
portion 74, in this embodiment, is primarily to seal
the closure to the bottle.
The outer portion-may be formed of various
types of materials, with a suitable material being a
soft metal, such as aluminum or aluminum foil. The
inner closure portion 80 includes structure for
forming the complete compartment, including a
flexible or resiliently yieldable top wall 82, an
annular or toroidal flanged sealing portion 84 which
extends below the annular outer portion 74 so as to
complete the seal with the lip 78 of the bottle 70.
A cylindrical side wall 86 which is integrally formed
with portion 80 extends into the neck portion of the
bottle in proximity to the inner wall thereof. An
actuating rod 88 is formed integrally with the
center of the top wall portion 82 and depends down-
wardly therefrom into contact with a horizontal
bottom wall 90. A flexible hinge 92 connects one
edge portion of bottom wall 90 to the lower end of
side wall 86 in a manner adapted to form a closed
compartment, in effect, either force-fitted into a
recess provided in the bottom of the side wall 86,
or adhesively fastened thereto. Inner member 74 may
be formed of various materials, with one suitable
construction being of molded plastic. In one
.
~;2951
- 13 -
a]ternative ~lodification of this embodimen-, the
releasable bottom wall 90 may be formed of a thin
rupturable film, such as aluminum foil, which will
, rca~ily rup~ure upon ~orce being applie(l Lhere~o by
,thc actuating ro~ 88. The embodioen~ of the inven-
tion shown in Figure 6 provides for an arrangement
which operates in much ~he same manner as ~ha~
'` illustrated in Figures 3 to 5 of the drawings.
The embod,iments of the invention described,thus
far have a number of advantages over known prior art
constructions. Thus, the closure is of a simple
construction which may be easily formed or molded
from two pieces of material. The compartment in the
closure may be readil~ filled with a product ingred-
ient, and the compartmen$ sealed by interfitting thetwo segments of the closure prior to the latter
being mounted on the container. If the container
holds carbonated water, the initial depression of
the closure top surface so as to open the compart-
ment and release its content into the containerconfines the release of carbon dioxide which occurs
upon occasion when a carbonated beverage container
is opened. The entire closure may be removed from ,!
the container without leaving behind any remnants or
residue in the container. Further~ the contents of
the compartment are released into the container past
the neck of the container whereby, if the container
is imbibed from directly, no residue of the second
material is found around the opening or bottle
orifice which,will be directly contacted by the
lips. Moreover, the closure is a type which may be
'' reapplied so as to reseal the container.
~ Figures 7 and 8 illustrate a further embodiment
`; of the present invention. A container in the form
, 35 of a cylindrical can 100 has relatively flat top and
,
, _ ,
. . ,
.
:, ,
, . . .. . .
~ .
.
,
.. .
~SZ951
",
bott:om closures 102 and 1()4 which Are crimped .~round
tlleir edgcs a~ 106 and 108 to se~lingly Lasten Lhc
to the cylindrical wal'l of the container. The
ConLainer m~y al~o b~ soldercd aL 106 and 108 ~o
5 provi(Je a more erfectiv~ seal. lhc outcr surf.lcc
110 of the top closure 102 has a pull-top opener 112
at~ached ~hereto. A small depression 114 for~ d in
,' the top of the càn closure 102 allows a consumer
convenient gripping access to a pull-tab 116 on the
opener 112 when it is desired to open the container,
and an aperture 118 in the opener which permits the
consumer to firmly grasp the opener. 'rhe opener 112
extends over and seals-off a round-cornered rec-
tangular access aperture 120 formed in the top
closure 102 of the can. The body and/or closures of
the can may be formed of any suitable material, such
as aluminum or steel. A compartment in the form of
a cup 122 is filled with an ingredient 124 adapted
to be ev~ntually admixed with the contents of the
,20 can, and the cup 122 is fastened, as by a releasable
glue, along its rim portion to the inner wall sur-
face of opener 112 facing the can top closure 102.
Thc area defined by the side walls of the cup is
smaller than the aperture 120 formed in the top
closure 102 of the can above the location of the cup
and, accordingly, the main portion of the cup is
held in place only by adherence to the surface of
the opener 112, a flange portion 128 and a handle
section 130 on the cup upper rim preventing movement
out of the aperture 120. The handle section 130 of
the cup is attached directly to the inner surface of
the top closure of the can and not to the opener.
When the pull tab 116 is utiliz~d for opening of the
can, it is peeled off the top of the main portion of
the cup, thus,freeing the latteF from contact there-
~. .
. . .
~5Z951
- 15 -
wi~h. 'l'hc han~le sec~io~ 0 may inclu(le a ri~l~e or
hinge linc 132 which will bias ~l~e main portion o~
the cup to tilt downwardly at an angle relative to
~llc rclllaindcr oL Llle harl~l.c ul)on Lhe cul) ~ein~ fr(e~
from adherence to the opener 112. Upon release of
the cup, the cup is biased down, as shown by the
phantom lines in ~igure 7, to assume a downwardly
inclined position in which its contents are released
into the container so as to admix with the contents
in the latter. The top closure 102 of the can is
also provided with a small pressure release aperture
134 which allows pressurized gas in the can to be
vented preceding the opening of the access aperture
120 and release of the contents of cup 122. The
pressure release aperture 134 is normally covered
and sealed by the pull-tab opener 112. As the
opener 112 is pulled off, the pressure release
aperture 134 is vented prior to opening of the
access aperture 120, which allows any excess pres-
sure in the container to be released prior to open-
ing of accéss aperture 120. This feature prevents
vented gas from the container from entraining
material contained in the cup 122 from being blown
out of the container. The top closure 102 and
opener 112 may be formed of metal, with aluminum
being particularly suitable, and the cup 122 may be
constituted of plastic. The embodiment of the
invention shown in Figures 7 and 8 has a number of
advantages over known prior art constructions,
including the following: The top of the can may be
relatively easily manufactured from three pieces;
the top closure, the pull-top opener and the cup.
The cùp may be filled prior to being assembled with
the top closure and the three-piece assembly may
then be easily applied to a standard can body.
.
.,: .
.
5'~9 5
- 16 -
ter rcllm~v~ll of l-he opener, the access opening -in
the can top closure becomes a standard type opening
which provides a clean unemcumbered surface for
contact by a consumer's mouth for drinking purposes.
The vent aperture provides for the venting of any
excess gas pressure present in the can prior to
opening of the can. Furthermore, after opening of
the container, no loose debris remains in the can;
Although several embodiments of the invention
have been described herein in detail, the teachings
of the present invention will suggest many other
embodiments to those skilled in the art. For
instance, although only two separately stored
ingredients for a product are shown and described in
the disclosed embodiments, it should be apparent to
one skilled in the art that embodiments fall within
the scope of the invention wherein three or more
materials may be separately stored and automatically
admixed upon or preceding opening of the container.
Furthermore, although several types of convenience
openers for the containers have been illustrated,
other types of openers may be used in other embodi-
ments or modifications of the invention.
: , -
-
., . ~
