Paint Touch-up Container

Abstract

A container adapted to dispense materials from first and second storage chambers. The first storage chamber is defined by a hollow cylindrical body having a sidewall and a bottom wall. A cap is provided for the body and includes an applicator brush. A hollow agitator is disposed within the first chamber about the brush. Ribs or fins project from either the agitator or the cylindrical body sidewall to guide the agitator in its reciprocating up and down movement. The cap further includes a second storage chamber defined by an upper sidewall extending from the cap. A closure member is provided for the cap. In the preferred embodiment the first storage chamber of the container is adapted to receive touch-up paint. The second storage chamber is adapted to receive rubbing compound.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application is directed to a container adapted to dispense a touch-up finish for motor vehicles and the like. More particularly this invention is directed to a dual chambered container adapted to store and dispense both a touch-up paint and a finishing compound.

It is well known to provide touch-up paints for use in covering scratches and other blemishes in road vehicles, household appliances, furniture and other such products having a quality finish. These touch-up products have usually taken the form of a relatively small bottle having a cap from which is suspended an applicator brush. Other prior art containers have taken the form of aerosol cans from whicch touch-up paint is dispensed.

With greater emphasis placed on quality in automotive, appliance, etc., finishes it is often times desirable to use a rubbing compound after a touch-up paint has been applied for the purpose of removing slight blemishes in the paint surface. Rubbing compounds are commerically available although they are relatively inconvenient to use when packaged in rather large containers. The touch-up paint job is usually relatively small. Consequently a user will not normally take the time or trouble to pruchase a separate container of rubbing compound in order to improve the quality of the touch-up finish.

This application is directed to a dual chambered touch-up container wherein provision is made within the container itself for the storage and dispensing of both paint and rubbing compound.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly summarized this invention provides for a container adapted to dispense and store material from first and second storage chambers. The first storage chamber is defined by a hollow cylindrical body which in some cases has ribs extending radially inward from the wall thereof. A cap is provided for the body and includes a transverse wall and an applicator brush extending from the interior surface of such wall. The upper portion of the cap is defined by a sidewall extending upwardly to define a second chamber. A closure member is provided for the second storage chamber. A hollow agitator is disposed within the first storage chamber and is disposed coaxial with the applicator brush. The aforementioned ribs extending from the wall of the cylindrical container guide the agitator along a concentric path within the cylindrical container. In some cases the guiding ribs are integral with the agitator as opposed to being integral with the body sidewall. A wiping disc is inserted in the upper portion of the body for the purpose of removing excess paint from the applicator brush.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A description of the preferred embodiment of this invention will now be made with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the touch-up container of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational cross-sectional view of the touch-up container of this invention taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the touch-up container of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of FIG.2;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view, partly in section, of the several elements of the touch-up container of this invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an agitator element of one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a modification of the container and agitator element of this invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an agitator of modified shape.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of another agitator of modified shape.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring more particularly to FIG. 2 there is shown a container 10 including a generally cylindrical hollow body 12 having a sidewall 14 and an integral bottom wall 16. The sidewall 14 and bottom wall 16 together define a first storage chamber 20.

The upper portion of body 12 is provided with threads 22 adapted to receive complementary threads 24 of cap 26.

Cap 26 is defined by a transverse wall 28 extending generally perpendicular to the axis of body 12. A boss 30 is defined on the interior surface of transverse wall 28 and provides a supporting surface for applicator brush 34. As shown in FIG. 2, applicator brush 34 is defined by a generally cylindrical shank member 36 and bristles 38. Shank member 36 is press fitted or otherwise secured within boss 30.

An upper sidewall 40 extends upwardly from transverse wall 28 and together with such transverse wall defines a second storage chamber 44. A closure member 46 having a reduced lip portion 48 is adapted to be pressed into engagement with sidewall 40 thus sealing the second storage chamber 44.

Attention will now be directed to the interior of body 12 wherein there is provided a hollow washer shaped agitator 50 having radially extending ribs 52 and an inner wall 54 surrounding applicator brush 34. The combination of the agitator, ribs and sidewall define a plurality of divided flow paths 49, 51, 53. The agitator 50 is thus disposed approximately coaxial with the applicator brush 34 so that when the container is shaken the agitator will move up and down about the applicator brush 34. Ribs 52 serve the useful purpose of centering the agitator thus providing a guide for the agitator in its reciprocating path. Without the centering and guiding ribs 52 the agitator will bounce against the brush 34 which tends to bend the shank 36 and fray the bristles 38.

Obviously the guide ribs 52 could be on the inner surfaces of container wall 14 instead of on the agitator 50. In that case the outer surface of the agitator would be cylindrical as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 which will be discussed subsequently. Obviously the agitator of FIG. 6 could be without fins and would work in the FIG. 7 environment and the agitators of FIGS. 9 and 10 could have fins and would work in the FIG. 2 environment.

In FIG. 6 an enlarged cross-sectional view of the agitator 50 is shown. It will be noted that the corners of the fins 52 are rounded, both in the plane of FIG. 4 and the plane of FIG. 6. With this design, the preferred embodiment, the fins 52 not only hold the agitator in proper concentric alignment within the container 12 and serve as dividers to cut through the paint pigment but they also scrape the sidewalls 14 of the container. This scraping action and the segmented peripheral flow paths 49, 51, 53 contribute greatly in mixing the stratified pigment with the liquid solvent.

It should be noted that the shape of the fins 52 and the lower frusto-conical surface 56 minimize the surface contact between the container and the agitator. The concave surface of the bottom 16 of the container also helps to minimize surface contact. The need to minimize such contact is obviously the tacky adhering nature and bonding of paint pigment and other paint components.

Modifications of the agitator are shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. In FIG. 9 the agitator 57 is provided with a flat lower surface 58 whereas in FIG. 10 the agitator 59 is provided with V-shaped notches 60. Surfaces 56 and 58 and notches 60 in the modified embodiments of the agitator have been found to improve the mixing characteristics of the agitator under certain circumstances and with some paint mixtures. The agitator surface area is increased by surface 56 and notches 60 thus exposing the agitator to a greater quantity of paint and reducing the likelihood of either the agitator sticking in the bottom of the body 12 or pigments collecting at the bottom of body 12.

Obviously, sticking can also occur at the rib portions. Thus, the rounded rib contact surfaces contribute to minimizing sticking and hang up, whether this be the ribs 52 of FIG. 4 on the ribs 61 of FIG. 8.

The relationship of the agitators to the ribs tends not only to guide the agitator during movement of the container, but also creates mixing of the paint as the agitator acts much like a piston in moving up and down. As the agitator moves toward the bottom wall 16 paint will be extruded upwardly between the ribs through paths 49, 51, 53 thus producing mixing of the pigments in this area of the container.

Turning now to the upper portion of the body 12, there is also provided in the container of this invention a generally annular wiping element in the form of a disc 62 press fitted into the body 12 and abutting the upper end wall of the respective ribs 60 or shoulder 63 of FIGS. 7 and 2, respectively. Wiping disc 62 is provided with an aperture 64 through which the applicator brush 34 is adapted to pass. An edge 65 is defined by the disc 62 such that as the applicator brush 34 is withdrawn from the first storage chamber 20, excess paint may be wiped from the bristles 38 as such bristles are wiped across the edge 65.

The wiping disc 62 not only provides a convenient mechanism for removing excess paint from the applicator brush but such disc also serves to retain paint within the first storage chamber 20 thus tending to seal the paint within its chamber. Disc 62 thus somewhat inhibits large amounts of paint from coming into contact with the area of the engaging threads 22, 24.

Turning now to the materials themselves stored within the container, the first storage chamber 20 is adapted to receive touch-up paint or any similar protective coating. The second storage chamber 44 is configured so as to cooperate with the closure member 46 to define a receptacle for rubbing compound 72.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2 rubbing compound 72 is in the form of a paste entirely disposed within the closure member 46. A rubbing pad 74 may be confined within the second storage chamber 44 and may be used for the purpose of applying rubbing compound 72 to the painted surface after application thereof.

It should be understood that variations in the packaging of the rubbing compound 72 within the container should be considered within the spirit of this invention. Thus, the rubbing pad 74 could be eliminated altogether and the rubbing compound 72 could be provided in the second storage chamber 44 in powder or semi-liquid form.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. 2 the exterior of the container 10 generally assumes a missile-like configuration in order to produce an attractive package. To this end fins 76 are provided at the bottom end of the body 12 to simulate the fins of a missile. Also the closure member 46 is configured so as to simulate the nose cone of a missile.

An exploded view of the several parts of the container of this invention is shown in FIG. 5. From an examination of FIG. 5 the mode of assembly of the container of this invention will become obvious. Thus the agitator 50 is initially disposed within the body 12. Thereafter the disc 62 is pressed into place. Cap 26 is then threaded to body 12. Closure 46 may be secured to the upper portion of the cap.

Claims

The invention claimed is:

1. A container adapted to dispense and store materials from first and second storage chambers, said container comprising:

a generally cylindrical hollow body having a sidewall and a bottom wall, said side and bottom walls defining a first storage chamber;

a cap for said body, said cap defined by; a transverse wall, an applicator brush extending from the interior surface of said transverse wall and means to secure said cap to said body with said brush extending into said first chamber;

said cap further including; an upper sidewall extending upwardly from said transverse wall, said upper sidewall and said transverse wall defining a second storage chamber, and a closure member for said cap,

means for agitating liquids dispposed within said first storage chamber, said agitating means being annular with an aperture through its center and with the surface of the aperture circumscribing the brush, said agitating means being axially short relative to the length of said storage chamber and being reciprocal within said storage chamber between the bottom and the cap, said reciprocation being substantially coaxial with the brush,

rib means extending radially of one of the agitating means and the sidewall of the cylindrical body to contact the other for centering the agitating means and preventing the contact between the brush and the agitating means.

2. The invention of claim 1 and further including a generally annular wiping element disposed within said body, said wiping element having a wiping edge surrounding said brush with said cap in place.

3. The invention of claim 2 in which said wiping element is a disc press fitted into said body into the upper end of the container.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein the rib means are integral with the agitating means and extend radially thereof for scraping the sides of the cylindrical body during its reciprocation.

5. The invention of claim 2 wherein the rib means are integral with the agitating means and extend radially thereof for scraping the sides of the cylindrical body during its reciprocation.

6. The invention of claim 1 in which said wiping element is a disc press fitted into said body into engagement with the upper surface of said ribs.

7. The invetion of claim 1 wherein the combination of the agitator, ribs and sidewall serve to provide a plurality of divided flow paths through which liquid is extruded during the reciprocation of the agitating means.

8. The invention of claim 1 wherein the inner surface of the bottom wall of the cylindrical body is concave to minimize surface contact with the agitating means.

9. The invention of claim 2 wherein the inner surface of the bottom wall of the cylindrical body is concave to minimize surface contact with the agitating means.

10. The invention of claim 3 wherein the ribs are integral with the sidewall of the cylindrical body and the outer surface of the agitating means is smooth and cylindrical.