U.S. patent number 3,788,520 [Application Number 05/164,657] was granted by the patent office on 1974-01-29 for multiple compartment tube with resilient divider.
Invention is credited to Joseph Dukess.
United States Patent |
3,788,520 |
Dukess |
January 29, 1974 |
MULTIPLE COMPARTMENT TUBE WITH RESILIENT DIVIDER
Abstract
A squeezeable container in the form of a multiple compartment
tube having a resilient bellows divider. One end of the bellows
divider is secured to the neck and the other is crimped into the
closed opposite end. The bellows have side pieces which lie flush
against the inner side walls of the container so that two separate
compartments are formed by the divider with the divider being
deformable so as to permit variable amounts of material to be
deposited in the several compartments.
Inventors: |
Dukess; Joseph (Mamaroneck,
NY) |
Family
ID: |
22595486 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/164,657 |
Filed: |
July 21, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
222/94;
222/206 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
35/22 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
35/22 (20060101); B65D 35/00 (20060101); B65d
035/24 () |
Field of
Search: |
;222/94,107,206,215,94
;220/1S,85B |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Reeves; Robert B.
Assistant Examiner: Scherbet; David A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Goldfarb; Kenneth S.
Claims
I claim:
1. A squeezable container comprising a tubular body having a neck
at one end provided with outlet bores, a divider in said body
dividing ssaid body into a plurality of compartments communicating
with said bores, the opposite end of said tube from said neck being
crimped, said divider having a resilient bellows running the length
of said body for permitting said compartments to be variably
filled, said bellows including arcuate side member running the
length of said bellows at each side of said bellows and closely
conforming to contour to said tubular body and extending
substantially normal to said bellows, said body having inner side
walls, said side members being slidable relative to said body and
being resiliently held in tight sealing engagement flush against
diametrically opposed portions of the inner side walls of said body
by said bellows.
Description
This invention relates to a multiple compartment squeezeable
container having a resilient divider and is an improvement upon the
device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,157, issued Apr. 14, 1970,
for "Pronged Closure Device for Multiple Compartment Squeeze
Tube."
Multiple compartment tubes have been produced in the past having
various types of dividers or more than one divider for forming a
plurality of compartments in the tubes. However, there has been no
provision in the past for allowing a tube to have either variable
amounts of material stored in the separate compartments or the same
amounts stored therein. Some material, including hair dyes, require
different amounts of material in the form of a pigment and a
peroxide so that when it is desired to store both in a single
squeezeable container it is necessary to provide for compartments
of different sizes. Further, heretofore each special size
compartment of the tube must be separately filled which required
particularly positioning the tube for filling.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art
multiple compartment squeezeable tubes by providing for a
construction adaptable to many varied uses and including a
resilient bellows divider which is disposed in a manner so as to
permit for filling one of the compartments, for example, to an
amount substantially twice the amount of material in the other
compartment, either compartment being capable of being filled to
the greater extent, with the added advantage that the resilient
divider provides means for aiding the more rapid dispensing of
material from the compartment which is filled to the greater
extent.
The concept of this invention features the use of a resilient
bellows divider which is secured to the neck and crimped to the
closed base end of the tube with strip members on the sides of the
bellows which lie flush with the inner side walls of the
squeezeable tube and which strip members may be sealed to the side
walls or resiliently held thereagainst.
Still further objects and features of this invention reside in the
provision of a multiple compartment squeezeable container which is
capable of being manufactured out of various types of synthetic
plastic materials, which is capable of use for storing in a
convenient manner two or more ingredients which should be mixed
only after they have been dispensed from the squeezeable container,
which is capable of being inexpensively mass produced, yet which is
simple in construction and attractive in appearance, being of the
external shape and configuration as the well-known squeezeable
tube.
These, together with the various ancillary objects and features of
the present invention, which will become apparent as the following
description proceeds, are attained by this multiple compartment
tube with resilient divider, preferred embodiments of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawing, by way of example only,
wherein:
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a multiple compartment
squeezeable container constructed in accordance with the concepts
of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view, taken along the plane of
line 2--2 in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a modified form of the
invention;
FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view, taken along the plane of
line 4--4 in FIG. 3; and,
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing a modified form of
the invention.
With continuing reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein like
reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various
views, reference numeral 10 generally designates a squeezeable tube
or container in the form of a body having a neck 12 and provided
with a shoulder portion 14 joining the body 10 to the neck 12. The
neck 12 is preferably bonded to the shoulder portion 14 and
includes bores 16 and 18. The body 10 includes an outer wall
portion 20 having an inner surface 22. The end 25 opposite the neck
is closed preferably by crimping as at 24 or may be heat sealed or
sonically welded or otherwise formed into a closed end.
A divider 26 is disposed in the body 10 and is crimped at the
closed end 24 so as to be fixedly held in place. The upper end of
the divider 26 is preferably bonded or otherwise secured to the
neck 12 or may be held against the neck 12 by being held in
position by the crimped end 24. As can be seen best in FIG. 2, the
divider 26 is in the form of a bellows having convolutions 28 and
terminating side members 30 and 32 which are arcuate and which
conform closely to the contours of the inner surface portions 34
and 36 of the inner surface 22. The side members 30 and 32 provide
for a tight frictional fit and preferably need not be heat sealed
to the body 10 but are resiliently held in tight sealing engagement
with the inner side wall 22 by the action of the convolutions 28.
Alternatively, if it is desired, the side members 30 and 32 may be
heat sealed or sonic welded to the body 10.
In use, when it is desired to fill the compartment 38 with more
materials as, for example, substantially twice as much material as
the compartment 40, this may be easily accomplished because the
bellows will resiliently stretch from the position as shown in
dotted lines to the position as shown in phantom lines. An
unusually advantageous effect is obtained due to the fact that the
stretching of the bellows 26 provides for pressure to be
continuously exerted in compartment 38 thereby causing such to be
dispensed at a greater rate when the squeezeable tube is compressed
for feeding material.
FIGS. 3 and 4 show a modified form of the invention in which the
bellows 26a extends normal to the bellows 26 of the type shown in
FIG. 1 to divide the container into compartments 38a and 40a.
In FIG. 5, the bellows 26b is generally of an S configuration with
the side members 30b and 32b conforming to the shape of the inner
surfaces 22b.
A latitude of modification, substitution and change is intended in
the foregoing disclosure, and in some instances, some features of
the invention may be employed without a corresponding use of other
features.
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