Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CONTAINER FOR TWO-CYCLE ENGINE FUEL
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a container that holds both the gasoline and oil
required by two-cycle engines, and more particularly to a gasoline container
having a
unique configuration which alerts the user that it is intended for use with
two-cycle
fuel and includes a recessed opening on a sidewall of the container for
receiving a can
of two-cycle oil to be mixed with the gasoline.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
While four-cycle gasoline engines of the type commonly used in automobiles
and trucks include reservoirs which are filled with oil and pumps for
distributing the
oil to lubricate the operation of the engine, two-cycle engines do not include
separate
oil reservoirs. The lubricating oil is rather mixed with the gasoline for
powering the
engine. When the gasoline is carbureted into the two-cycle engine's cylinders,
it also
provides the necessary lubrication.
Two-cycle engines are typically employed to power relatively small, portable
devices such as marine outboard engines, lawnmowers, chainsaws or the like,
and
these smaller engines are not filled with gasoline directly from a pump as are
the
four-cycle engines of automotive vehicles. Rather, they are typically filled
from
small containers which might hold between one and five gallons of gasoline.
The
containers are typically filled with gasoline directly from a pump, and the
lubricating
oil is provided in separate small containers of approximately one or two pint
capacity.
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An appropriate amount of lubricating oil is added into the gasoline container,
and
mixed with the gasoline, before the two-cycle engine is filled with the
mixture.
Not uncommonly, operators of two-cycle engines forget to mix oil with the
gasoline, causing damage to the engine. Occasionally, a mixture of gasoline
and
lubricating oil intended for two-cycle engines will be added to four-cycle
engines,
which may result in improper operation of the engine, excessive smoke from the
exhaust, or possibly damage to the engine.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is accordingly directed toward a container for gasoline
intended to be used with two-cycle engines which is specialized in design to
clearly
distinguish it as a two-cycle engine gasoline container to minimize the
possibility of
use of its contents with four-cycle engines. More particularly, the present
invention is
directed toward a container which includes a recess in one of its sidewalls
which
allows the insertion of a smaller container of two-cycle engine oil intended
for mixing
with the gasoline before use, so that both the gasoline and the oil may be
stored and
transported as a single unit.
The preferred embodiment of the container of the present invention, which
will be subsequently disclosed in detail, is uniquely contoured so as to give
the
appearance of the Arabic numeral two when viewed from either side, the front
or the
back, to unequivocally identify the nature of its contents and its intended
use. The
contoured configuration is such as to allow the container to be produced by
conventional blow molding processes which are extremely economical. Thus, the
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container of the present invention costs no more than a conventional plastic
gasoline
container but serves the added function of uniquely identifying the nature of
its
contents and intended use. Alternatively, the container of the present
invention could
be formed out of sheet metal, again only requiring the special dies, or any
other
material suitable for containing petrolium based fluids.
Since a quantity of lubricating oil, smaller in volume than the gasoline, must
be mixed with the gasoline before use, the container of the present invention
includes
a recess in one of its sidewalls, preferably the rear wall, which allows the
insertion
and secure retention of a smaller container of two-cycle engine oil, intended
for
IO mixing with the gasoline before use, in order to allow the storage and
transport of
both the required gasoline and lubricating oil as a single unit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other objects, advantages and applications of the present invention will be
made apparent by the following detailed description of the preferred
embodiment of
the invention. The description makes reference to the accompanying drawings,
in
which:
Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a container constituting a preferred
embodiment of my invention;
Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the container of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a front view of the container of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a left side view of the container of Figure I;
Figure 5 is a rear view of the container of Figure 1;
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Figure 6 is a right-side view of the container of Figure 1;
Figure 7 is a top view of the container of Figure 1;
Figure 8 is a bottom view of the container of Figure 1;
Figure 9 is a perspective view of a dispensing spout for use with the
inventive
container;
Figure 10 is a perspective view of an oil container formed in accordance with
the present invention; and
Figure 11 is an alternative embodiment of the invention wherein the gasoline
container is contoured so as to resemble the Roman numeral two.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The container of the present invention, generally indicated at 10 in Figure 1,
is
preferably blow molded of an appropriate plastic such as polyethylene and is
colored
red in accordance with the convention of gasoline containers. Alternatively,
the
container 10 can be stamped and fabricated out of sheet metal and painted with
the
red color. The container is intended to be hand carried. The container might
be
designed to hold anywhere between one and five gallons of gasoline, with one,
one
and one-half, two, two and one-half, or five gallon containers being the most
popular
sizes. Larger sizes could be formed.
The container, generally at 10 in Figure 1, is generally rectangular in
configuration. The interior of the container is hollow and access to the
container is
through a male threaded port 12 on the upper side. The port 12 may be closed
with a
conventional female threaded cap 14. Alternatively, a spout, generally
indicated at 16
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in Figure 9, may be attached to the port 12 to allow the contents to be poured
into the
tank of a two-cycle engine.
The top of the container has a molded handle 20 extending over a central
depression 22 above the container body. The container has a front side 24, a
right 26
side, a rear side 28, a left side 30, a bottom 32, and a top 34 , preferably
with rounded
edges joining the four sides. The preferred embodiment of the invention is
contoured
so as to present the Arabic numeral two when viewed from any of its four
sides.
Alternative embodiments could be contoured so as to present the Roman numeral
two, as illustrated in the container generally indicated at 90, in Figure 11,
or could be
imprinted with either the Arabic or Roman numeral two or other variations
thereon.
The contouring or imprinting could be limited to one or more selected sides.
To provide the appearance of the Arabic numeral two on any of the four sides,
a first indentation 36 extends from the front wall 24 through the left wall
30. A
second indentation 38 extends from the front wall 24 through the right side
wall 26.
A third indentation 40 extends from the back side 28 through the left side 30.
A
fourth indentation 42 extends from the rear of the right side 26 through the
rear side.
This configuration, providing the container with the appearance of the Arabic
numeral two from all four sides, prominently brings to the attention of the
users that
the purpose of the container is to store two-cycle gasoline.
Oil to be mixed with gasoline in the container 10 is provided in a smaller
bottle, preferably of one or two pint size, generally indicated at 50 in
Figure 10. This
bottle, preferably formed of plastic by a blow molding process, or
alternatively of
sheet metal, has a screw cap 52. The sidewalk of the bottle 50 are preferably
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contoured in the same way as the sidewalk of the container 10 with a first
indentation
54 extending from the front wall to one sidewall, a second indentation 56
extending
from the rear wall to the opposed sidewall, and a third indentation 58
extending from
one sidewall to the rear. Another indentation, not visible in Figure 10, gives
the
completed configuration of the Arabic numeral two to all four sides.
The oil bottle 50 is adapted to be retained within a recess generally
indicated
at 60 formed in the rear wall of the container 10. The recess has an extension
62 on
its top side adapted to receive the cap 52 of the container 10. It has a pair
of keeper
walls 64 extending upwardly from the outer side of the bottom wall of the
recess 60 at
its opposite edges. The container 10 is inserted into the recess 60 by
inclining the
container so that its bottom end clears the keeper walls 64 and then
straightening the
container so it is in an upright position and retained against displacement by
the
keeper walls 64.
The bottom 32 as illustrated in Figure 8, has a laterally extending
indentation
70, which acts as a hand grip.
When the contents of the two containers 10 and 50 are to be used to fill a two-
cycle engine, the container 50 is removed, the cap 14 is removed from the port
12,
and the contents of the container 50 are poured into the main container 10.
The cap
16 is then replaced, the container is shaken to mix the oil with the gasoline,
and the
cap 14 is removed and replaced with a pouring spout 16. The contents are then
poured into the gas tank of the two-cycle engine. In alternate embodiments of
the
invention, other physical arrangements could be provided to retain the oil
container
15 in a unitary manner with the gasoline container 10.
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Alternate forms of contouring or imprinting could be utilized to clearly
identify to users the nature of the container as being intended for two-cycle
gasoline.
Having thus described my invention I claim:
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