Device For Storing Two Products Separately And Dispensing Them Simultaneously

Abstract

Device for storing two products separately and dispensing them simultaneously comprises a necked container, a covered flanged cup sealed in the neck with its flange lying on the rim of the neck, a trocar above the cup in alignment therewith, removable tear-strip for holding the trocar away from the cup, and means for guiding the trocar to pierce the cup when the tear-strip is removed.

Description

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is often necessary to separate during storage two compositions which must be dispensed and used simultaneously. This is particularly necessary when the mixture or solution of the two products is unstable over a period of time.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a container which is particularly simple to make, and is adapted to separate during storage a liquid product and a liquid or powdered product, and to provide for the mixture of these two products before they are dispensed.

It should be noted that containers for this general purpose are already well-known. However, the known containers are either relatively simple, in which case at least one of the two products stored therein is not kept in a sealed compartment, or the two products are both well sealed, but the container is relatively expensive to manufacture. The present invention, on the contrary, makes it possible to store the two products while both are tightly sealed by means of an arrangement which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

This invention accordingly has for its object to provide a new article of manufacture which consists of a container for storing and dispensing a liquid product and at least one additional liquid or powdered product, the liquid product being enclosed in a main container, and the additional product being enclosed inside a covered cup, characterized by the fact that the covered cup is positioned inside the neck of the main container and held on the end of the neck by a flange, while a trocar is adapted to slide with respect to the container said tube being positioned at the time of storage opposite the cover of the cup and being adapted to slide over a distance sufficient to perforate said cover and the bottom of the cup.

In a first embodiment of the invention, the neck of the main container has an external thread and an internally threaded cap cooperating with the external thread on the neck presses the flange on the covered cup against the end of the neck, said cap having a central opening permitting the passage of the trocar therethrough.

In a second embodiment, the edge of the lateral wall of the covered cup which rests on the end of the neck of the cover is crimped onto this end.

In a first variation of one or the other of the two preceding embodiments, the trocar is attached to a cover which is slidably mounted on the container, said cover comprising a dispensing spout positioned in alignment with the trocar. In a second variation the trocar is fixed to a pressure plate which surmounts the cap of the container and the container carries at the end remote from its neck a dispensing spout which is closed during storage.

The trocar may advantageously be held in position during storage with respect to the container by a removable safety or "tear" strip. This safety strip may, in the first variation of the first embodiment, be interposed between the cap and the container, said strip encircling the zone in which the cap and the container meet. In the second variation of the first embodiment, the safety strip may connect the pressure surface fixed to the trocar and the cap in which the trocar slides.

In the second embodiment of the invention the covered cup may be advantageously made of aluminum foil, with its cover being also made of aluminum foil. In manufacturing the first variation the trocar may be fixed to a cover which is slidable in and guided by at least part of the wall of the container. The cover may even have at least one part adapted to cooperate with an abutment on the lateral wall of the container.

It will be appreciated that, in the container according to the invention, the two products are stored in a tightly sealed manner. The liquid product enclosed in the container is isolated from the outside, in the first embodiment, by the flange of the cup which is pressed against the neck of the container by the cap for the container, and, in the second embodiment, by the closure provided by the crimping of the flange of the cup on the end of the neck of the container. The additional product enclosed in the cup is isolated from the outside by the cover of the cup. In the first embodiment sealing tightness is also assured by the fact that the cap presses on the flange of the cup through the cover of the cup. It will thus be seen that the flange of the covered cup serves two purposes. In the first place it ensures the isolation of the additional product stored in the cup from the outside, and, on the other hand, it ensures the isolation of the liquid inside the container from the outside.

It is obvious that the container, the cup and the trocar may be made of a plastic material such as polyethylene and the cover of the cup may be a disc of aluminum foil. However, when the additional product is physically or chemically sensitive to the vapors of the liquid in the main container, it is preferable to make the cup of aluminum foil so that there is no passage of vapor between the container and the additional product in the cup. This arrangement provides a very satisfactory barrier between the additional product and the liquid in the container during storage.

It should be noted that the arrangement which has been described is particularly useful in manufacture because the additional product may be put in the cup totally independently of the introduction of the liquid product into the container. In particular this advantage is very substantial when the additional product is a powder. This product may be introduced in a first shop, and the cup thereafter closed by its cover. Then the liquid product is introduced into the container in another shop. It then suffices to place a covered cup inside the neck of each of the containers, to seat the flange of the pot on the neck of the container or position the cap, and finally, locate the trocar in order to produce the assembly as it exists during storage.

The device is used by sliding the trocar with respect to the container. For this purpose one either removes the removable tear-strip connecting the trocar support and the container or, by rotating the trocar support, disengages a part of the trocar support from an abutment on the container, which abutment, during storage, kept the trocar spaced from the cover of the cup. Sliding of the trocar ruptures the cover of the cup and the bottom of the cup so that contact or mixing of the additional product with the liquid product in the container takes place.

In order that the invention may be better understood, four embodiments thereof will now be described, purely by way of illustration and example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows in axial section a container according to the invention comprising a trocar associated with a cover defining a dispensing spout, the assembly being shown in storage position;

FIG. 2 shows the container of FIG. 1 after translation of the trocar, in dispensing position;

FIG. 3 shows in axial section a container according to the invention in which the dispensing spout is carried by the container itself, the assembly being shown in storage position;

FIG. 4 shows the container of FIG. 3 after translation of the trocar, in dispensing position;

FIG. 5 shows in elevation a third embodiment of the container according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows in elevation the container of FIG. 5 after removal of the tear-strip, rotation of the cap, and depression of the trocar into the covered cup;

FIG. 7 is a section taken along the line VII--VII of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a detail view showing the crimping of the flange of the covered cup onto the neck of the container of FIGS. 5 to 7;

FIG. 9 is an elevational view showing a fourth embodiment of the container according to the invention;

FIG. 10 is an elevational view taken along the line X--X of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 shows the container of FIGS. 9 and 10 after rotation of the cap through an angle of 90.degree. and depression of the trocar into the neck of the container; and

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the line XII--XII of FIG. 11.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be seen that reference numeral 1 indicates a container made of polyethylene and holding a liquid 2. The container 1 has a neck 3, the outer surface of which is provided with threads 4. Inside the neck 3 is a cylindrical cup 5, the bottom 6 of which is connected to the lateral wall of the cup by a weakened zone 6a. The cup 5 holds a pulverulent product 7. Its lateral wall terminates on the end remote from the bottom 6 in a flange 8. A cover 9 isolates the powder 7 from the outside of the container. The cover 9 is a disc of aluminum foil heat-sealed tot the flange 8, which rests on the end of the neck 3. A cap 10 is provided with internal threads 11 which cooperate with the threads 4 on the neck 3. The top 10a of the cap 10 rests on the flange 8, the cover 9 being gripped between the cap 10 and the flange 8 of the cup 5. In the central part of the top 10a the cap 10 has a circular orifice 12 encircled by a collar 13.

The cap 10 is surmounted by the cover 14, the upper part of which defines a dispensing spout 15. Inside the cover 14, in alignment with the spout 15, and positioned axially of the cover, is a tube 16, the lower part 16a of which terminates in a beveled edge, which constitutes a trocar. The external diameter of the tube 16 is slightly less than the inner diameter of the neck 13 and, in storage position, the cover 14 is so positioned that the trocar 16-16a barely engages inside the neck 13, without being in contact with the cover 9. The cover 14 is held in position with respect to the container 1 and the cap 10 by a removable tear-strip 17 which encircles adjacent edge portions of the container and the cap 10.

During storage, the cap 10, when screwed down, simultaneously isolates the powder 7 from the outside, by reason of the engagement of the top 10a on the sealed edges of the cover 9 in alignment with the edge 8 of the cup 5 and also isolates the liquid 2 from the outside due to the engagement of the flange 8 on the upper edge of the neck 4 of the container 1.

When it is desired to simultaneously dispense the products 2 and 7 the removable tear-strip is torn away and the cover 14 is slid along the axis of the container 1 in a direction which brings the trocar 16/16a toward the cover 9. This causes perforation of the cover 9 and the bottom 6 which is broken at its weakened zone 6a. It then suffices to shake the container in order to provide a mixture of the powder 7 with the liquid 2. The spout 15 is then positioned to dispense the mixture in response to either gravity, or deformation of the wall of the container 1.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, which illustrate a second embodiment of the invention, it will be seen that reference numeral 18 indicates a polyethylene container which holds a liquid product 19. The container 18 has a dispensing spout 20 at its lower end, the tip of which is closed by a seal 21 during storage. At the opposite end from the dispensing spout 20 the container 18 has a neck 22 which is externally threaded. This neck cooperates with an internally threaded cap 23. A polyethylene cup 24 is positioned inside the neck 22. The cup holds a powder 25 which is isolated from the outside by a cover 26. The bottom 24a of the cup 24 has a peripheral zone of weakened material. The cup 24 has at the end remote from its bottom 24a a flange 27 to which a cover 26 is sealed. The flange 27 is supported on the end of the neck 22. The cap 23 has a top 23a and, in the central part of this top, a cylindrical collar 28, terminating at its lower end in an edge 29. When the cap 23 is screwed onto the neck 22 of the container 18 the edge 29 is pressed against the cover 26 and the flange 27 of the cup 24. Simultaneously, the flange 27 is pressed against the end of the neck 22. The screwing down of the cap 23 thus causes both the isolation of the inside of the cup 24 from the outside and the isolation of the inside of the container 18 from the outside. Inside the neck 28 is a tube 30, the lower end 30a of which is wedge-shaped to constitute a trocar. The tube 30 is attached at its upper end to a pressure plate 31 forming the upper end of a cover 33 which grips the cap 23. The position of this cover with respect to the cap is determined by a tear-strip 32.

When the container is being filled, the product 19 is introduced into the main container 18 and, possibly in a different shop, the cups 24 are filled with the powder 25 and closed by the covers 26 which consist of discs of aluminum foil. The cups 24 are then inserted in the necks 22 of the containers 18. The caps 23 are then put in place, followed by the covers 33 with their trocars 30 and the tear-strips 32.

When the user wants to utilize the container which has just been described, he tears the tear-strip 32 and depresses the cover 33 by pressing on the pressure plate 31 so as to slide the trocar 30-30a inside the neck 28. This perforates the cover 26 and the bottom 24a of the cup 24. The container may then be shaken to mix the powder 25 and the liquid 19. The sealed end of the dispensing spout 20 is then cut off so that the mixture of the solution of the two products may be dispensed either by gravity or by producing a pressure difference by deforming the wall of the container 18. It is obvious that all the component parts of the container according to the invention, as found in either the first or the second embodiment, may be made of a molded plastic material and that consequently the cost of such a container is very low. It should be emphasized that it is highly advantageous to be able to provide, during the manufacture, for separate storage of the liquid product in the container and the powdered product in the cover cup.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 - 8, it will be seen that reference numeral 101 indicates a polyethylene container holding a liquid 102. The container 101 has a neck 103 inside which a substantially cylindrical cup 105 is positioned. The bottom of this cup is indicated by reference numeral 106. The cup 105 holds a pulverulent product 107. Its lateral wall terminates at the end remote from the bottom 106 in a flange 108. A cover 109 isolates the powder 107 from the outside of the container. The cover 109 is a disc of aluminum foil sealed to the flange 108. The cup 105 is also made of a thin aluminum foil. The flange 108 is folded at a right angle with respect to the lateral wall of the cup 105 and rests on the end of the neck 103 of the container 101. The container 101 is closed by bending the flange 108 of the cup 105 around the end 103a of the neck 103. This closes the container 101, thus isolating the liquid 102 from the outside, and also holds the cup 105 inside the neck 103 of the container.

The container 101 is substantially cylindrical and is provided on its external surface with two diametrically opposed recesses 150 formed by producing a local depression in the wall of the container. The recesses 150 are generally parallel to the generatrices of the cylindrical lateral surface of the container 101. The upper part of the container 101 has a collar 151 positioned between the lower part of the container 101 and the neck 103 at the top of the container. The collar 151 has a diameter intermediate between that of the lower part of the container and that of the neck 103. It is connected to the lower part of the container by an annular neck 152 which is in communication with the two diametrically opposed grooves 150. The container 101 is associated with a cover 114 the upper part of which defines a dispensing spout 115. The lower part of the cover 114 comprises two tabs 153 having a width slightly less than that of the recesses 150. The external diameter of the cover 114 is substantially equal to the external diameter of the container 101 and, when they are positioned opposite the grooves 150, the tabs 153 are slidable in the grooves 150 until their lower ends, which terminate in a rib 154, contact the bottoms 155 of the grooves. In its central part, in alignment with the dispensing spout 115, the cover 114 carries a trocar 116, the lower end 116a of which is oblique with respect to the axis of the cap 114. The container 101, the cover 114, and the trocar 116 are coaxial. The outer diameter of the trocar 116 is slightly less than the inner diameter of the covered cup 105. The length of the trocar 116 is such that its oblique end 116a can completely sever the bottom 106 of the covered cup 105 when the cover 114 abuts the neck 103 of the container 101.

In the storage position, the ribs 154 of the tabs 153 bear against the flange which separates the annular neck 152 from the lateral wall of the container 101. This position is illustrated on FIG. 5. The trocar 116 is then located above the cover 109 of the cup 105. The cover 114 is held on the container 101 because the rib 154 is held in the annular neck 152. A tear-strip 156 is preferably positioned between the cover 114 and the neck 151. This strip prevents any relative axial movement between the trocar 116 and the container 101. When the user wants to use the container according to the invention, he removes the tear-strip 156 and rotates the cover 114 so as to bring the tabs 153 in alignment with the recesses 150. He then presses on the cover 114 so as to depress the trocar 116 in the neck 103. This depression cuts the cover 109 and then the bottom 106 of the cup 105. The cut-out parts fall into the container 101. The final position of the cover 114 with respect to the container 101 is illustrated on FIGS. 6 and 7. The powder 107 initially contained in the cup 105 may then be mixed with the liquid 102 and the mixture may be dispensed through the dispensing spout 115.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment which has just been described, the cup 105 constitutes a seal between the powder 107 and the vapor from the liquid 102. There is thus in all cases a perfect conservation of the qualities of the powder 107 during storage. On the other hand, the container makes it possible to obtain during storage a perfect isolation of the powder 107 and the liquid 102 from the outside of the container. Finally, there is a double safety preventing the depression of the trocar 116 during storage, to wit, the presence of the tear-strip 156, and the necessity of rotating the cover 114 to permit depression of the tabs 153 in the recesses 150.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 to 12, it will be seen that these illustrate a fourth embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment the container 201 carries in relief on its outer surface two shaped abutments 250 which are identical and diametrically opposed. The container 201 comprises at its upper end a neck 203 which terminates at a rib 208. The neck 203 contains a cup 205 identical in all respects to the cup 105 of the preceding embodiment. The cup 205 is covered and its upper edge is crimped around the rib 208 of the neck 203. The cover 214 which is associated with the container 201 comprises at its upper end a dispensing spout 215 and its lower end is cylindrical in shape so that it may slide on the outside of the container 201. The lower part of the cover 214 has two cut-outs 251 having the shape and dimension of the abutments carried in relief 250. As in the preceding example, the cover 214 carries internally, in alignment with the dispensing spout 215, a trocar 216 the external diameter of which is slightly less than the inner diameter of the cup 205.

In the storage position, the lower part of the cover 214 bears on the upper ends of the projecting abutments 250 and the trocar 216 is positioned above the cover which closes the cup 205. This position is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10.

When it is desired to use the products enclosed in the container according to the invention, the cover 214 is turned about its axis through an angle of 90.degree. away from the position shown on FIGS. 9 and 10, so that the recesses 251 are in alignment with the projecting abutments 250. The cover may then be depressed by sliding it along the wall of the container 201. During this movement the trocar 216 perforates the cover in the cup 205 and the bottom of said cup. These two parts fall into the container 201. The product held in the container 201 and the product in the cup 205 are thus mixed. The embodiment shown on FIGS. 9 to 12 differs from the third embodiment only in that the means permitting the locking of the cover 214 on the container 201 during storage are different. It follows that the advantages inherent in the third embodiment are likewise inherent in the fourth embodiment.

It will of course be appreciated that the embodiments hereinbefore described have been given purely by way of illustration and example, and may be modified as to detail without thereby departing from the basic principles of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. In a device for storing and dispensing a liquid product and at least one additional fluent product, said device comprising a container for holding said liquid product and a covered cup for holding said fluent product, said container having an integral neck and said cup being positioned inside said neck and having a supporting flange resting on said neck, and a trocar carried by said container for sliding movement toward and away from said cup, the improvement which comprises:

a diaphragm covering and sealing said cup,

a cover having internal threads mating with external threads on said neck, said flange being gripped between said cover and neck and thereby sealed to said neck to isolate the contents of said container from the ambient atmosphere, and said cover also having a collar projecting above said cup aligned with the wall of said cup and encircling said trocar to form a guide therefor,

a cap mounted on said container and supporting said trocar in alignment with said diaphragm, said cap having a dispensing spout aligned with said trocar and a cylindrical flange encircling said trocar and telescopically slidable on the peripheral wall of said cover between a storage position in which said trocar is held away from said diaphragm and a dispensing position in which said trocar extends through both said diaphragm and the bottom of said cup, and

removable means for preventing movement of said cap and trocar into dispensing position.

2. Device as claimed in claim 1 in which said removable movement-preventing means is a tear-strip which holds said trocar in position with respect to said container.

3. Device as claimed in claim 2 in which said tear-strip is positioned between the container cover and the container and encircles the adjacent portions of the cap and the container.

4. Device as claimed in claim 1 in which the diaphragm closing the cup is made of aluminum.

5. Device as claimed in claim 1 in which said cup is made of aluminum.

6. In a device for storing and dispensing a liquid product and at least one additional fluent product, said device comprising a container for holding said liquid product and a covered cup for holding said fluent product, said container having an integral neck and said cup being positioned inside said neck and having a supporting flange resting on said neck, and a trocar carried by said container for sliding movement toward and away from said cup, the improvement according to which

said cup is closed at its upper end by a diaphragm sealed to said flange,

said flange is sealed to said neck to isolate the contents of said container from the ambient atmosphere, and

said device further comprises a cap mounted on said container and supporting said trocar in alignment with said diaphragm, said cap being slidable from a storage position in which said trocar is held away from said diaphragm and a dispensing position in which said trocar extends through both said diaphragm and the bottom of said cup,

a pressure plate surmounting said cap and to which said trocar is attached,

removable means for holding said cap and trocar in storage position, and

a dispensing spout formed in the bottom of said container.