Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6550647
-
Patent Number
6,550,647
-
Date Filed
Thursday, February 8, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, April 22, 200321 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Mancene; Gene
- Cartagena; Melvin A.
Agents
- Burns, Doane, Swecker & Mathis, LLP
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 215 6
- 220 530
- 222 129
- 222 94
- 222 1451
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A multi-chamber bottle that can be made by a blowing process for separately holding different products, requiring only a single closure. The bottle may, for example, have two chambers with openings which are disposed inside the neck of the bottle. One of the opening is disposed coaxially with the neck. This allows a closure to be screwed or snapped onto the neck that is provided with a thread or a snap bead. In the process, the attachment penetrates the opening in a sealing manner. This creates two channels, which lead from the chambers to the outlet openings. The outlet openings can be closed with a cap.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to containers and, more particularly, to a plastic multi-chamber bottle, made by a blowing process, especially for separately holding different products, as well as to a closure for such a multi-chamber bottle.
2. Background Information
Multi-chamber bottles are already on the market. They are used, for instance, as vessels for two-component adhesive. To that end, the chambers are completely separated from one another and each is provided with its own neck. A separate closure is required for each neck.
German Patent Disclosure DE-A-42 19 598, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses a dual-chamber bottle that comprises two separate bottles, resting side by side on one another, each with its own bottle neck. The two bottles are held together by a common plastic closure and can be closed by it. It proves disadvantageous that this dual-chamber bottle comprises two parts and accordingly cannot be produced in one piece by blowing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,725, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, describes a cylindrical bottle that is divided by a dividing wall into two chambers of semicircular cross section. This reference says nothing about how such a bottle is to be produced. Production by blowing from a length of tubing is precluded, because a dividing wall has to be created.
In European Patent Application EP-A-0 875 460, which was not published before the priority date of the present application and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, a plastic multi-chamber bottle made by the blowing process is described that has at least two separate chambers whose walls are joined together by a rib and which have an opening inside or under a common neck. For bottles with chambers completely separated from one another, a spout is described, which terminates the neck and has channels that lead from the openings of the chambers to a spout part. The spout part is secured to the bottle by a fastening part. To that end, the fastening part has detent protrusions that snap onto an annular protrusion of the neck. Closing the various pour openings of the multi-chamber bottle requires additional closure means.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the present invention to create a plastic multi-chamber bottle that can be made by the blowing process for separately holding different products, which requires only a single closure. A closure of this kind is also to be created.
According to a first embodiment of the present invention, a multi-chamber bottle made of plastic and produced by a blowing process is provided, comprising at least two chambers separate from one another, whose walls are joined together by a rib, wherein each of the chambers, inside or below a common neck, has a respective opening; and a closure having at least two channels, wherein each channel leads from an opening of one chamber to one of at least two pour openings, and having at least one cap for closing at least one of the pour openings.
One advantageous version of the multi-chamber bottle provides that the opening of one of the chambers is embodied as circular and disposed coaxially to the neck; that the neck has a thread, and that the closure is provided with a thread corresponding to this thread. This has the advantage that the closure can be joined in a simple way to the multi-chamber bottle by a screw connection.
The opening of one of the chambers can be embodied in circular form and can be disposed coaxially to the neck. The opening is also advantageously calibrated. This makes it possible for one of the channels to be disposed coaxially to the neck and embodied as a tubular attachment, which when the closure is in place protrudes fittingly into the coaxial opening of the chamber. This assures a tight connection of the chamber to the pour opening.
It is also possible for one or more or all of the openings of the chambers to be disposed eccentrically to the neck. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a partition in the closure, the partition extending to the bottom of the neck and separating the channels from one another. A flange that rests sealingly on the neck is advantageously provided on the closure.
According to a second embodiment of the present invention, a closure for a multi-chamber bottle is provided, the bottle having at least two chambers separate from one another, whose walls are joined together by a rib, wherein each of the chambers has one opening inside or below a common neck, and having at least two channels in order to form passageways for the contents of the chambers to corresponding pour openings, the closure comprising at least one cap for closing one or more pour openings; and fastening means for mounting the closure on the multi-chamber bottle.
Advantageously, one of the channels is disposed coaxially to the fastening means. The fastening means are expediently formed by a thread. The channel disposed coaxially to the neck can be formed by a tubular attachment. The attachment then acts as a coupling to the corresponding chamber of the bottle. The tubular attachment is advantageously dimensioned such that with the closure in place, it engages the calibrated opening of the associated chamber in a sealing manner. Expediently, the closure has a partition, which extends from the spout through the bottle downward, so that when the closure in place the partition rests on the bottom of the neck.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like elements have been represented by like reference numerals and wherein:
FIG. 1
is a side view of a dual-chamber bottle in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, in which the opening of one of the chambers is disposed coaxially to the neck;
FIG. 2
is a section through view of the dual-chamber bottle of
FIG. 1
taken along the line II—II;
FIG. 3
is a top view of the bottle of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 4
is a section through view of the bottle of
FIG. 1
with the closure in place;
FIG. 5
illustrates a dual-chamber bottle with the closure in place in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, in which the pour openings are disposed spaced apart from the bottle axis;
FIG. 6
is a top view of the bottle of
FIG. 5
without the closure;
FIG. 7
illustrates a three-chamber bottle with the closure in place in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 8
illustrates a variant of a dual-chamber bottle with a mirror-symmetrical embodiment of the chambers in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 9
is a top view of the bottle of
FIG. 8
without the closure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The multi-chamber bottle
10
shown in
FIGS. 1-4
can be made from plastic by a blowing process. It has two chambers
11
,
13
, whose walls are joined together by a rib
15
. The chambers
11
,
13
can be different in size and can also have different shapes. The rib
15
is formed upon closure of the blowing mold, in that the two halves of the blowing mold press together the tubing along a practically vertical line, so that the two opposed walls are joined to one another. This also creates the indentations
17
that are visible in FIG.
2
. In the region of the neck
19
, the chambers
11
,
13
have openings
21
,
23
, which discharge inside or below this common neck
19
. The opening
23
is advantageously calibrated. This makes a tight connection with a closure possible. A circular embodiment and coaxial disposition of the opening
23
relative to the neck
19
make it possible to use a closure provided with a thread. To that end, a male thread
20
can be provided on the neck
19
. However, it would also be possible to provide a female thread on the neck
19
. Still other fastening means are also possible, however, such as a snap device as in FIG.
5
. The opening
23
is located in the bottom
25
of the neck
19
. The other opening
21
is practically semicircular. However, it would also be possible to make this opening circular, oval, or of some other shape.
The wall thickness of the multi-chamber bottle
10
described is expediently so thin that the paste-like contents, for instance, of the bottle can be expelled by pressure. However, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that given a suitable embodiment of the bottle, it can also be suitable for liquid or powdered contents.
As
FIG. 4
, a closure
27
is screwed onto the neck
19
of the bottle
10
. The closure
27
is expediently made in one piece of plastic. The closure
27
has a flange
33
, which protrudes into the neck
19
and seals it off. The closure
27
furthermore has channels
35
,
37
, which lead from the openings
21
,
23
of the chambers
11
,
13
to the pour openings
39
,
40
. For fastening the closure
27
, there is a thread
41
, which fits the thread
20
of the neck
19
. A cap
42
, pivotably connected to the closure body
28
with a film hinge, for instance, serves to close the pour openings
39
,
40
. To that end, pegs
44
,
46
are provided on the cap
42
, which when the cap
42
is closed penetrate the pour openings
39
,
40
. It is also possible to split the cap
42
in a sense, or in other words to provide a separate cap for each pour opening
39
,
40
, so that each chamber
11
,
13
can be evacuated independently of another chamber. Even a closure embodied in this way can still be made in one piece.
The channel
37
disposed coaxially with the neck
19
is formed by a tubular attachment
43
. This attachment
43
is dimensioned such that with the closure
27
in place, it sealingly engages the expediently calibrated opening
23
.
In the embodiment of
FIGS. 5 and 6
, neither of the openings
21
,
23
is disposed concentrically with the neck
19
. Accordingly, the closure
27
is not embodied so that it can be screwed on, either. The difference from the closure of
FIG. 4
is thus essentially that instead of a thread, detent protrusions
41
′ are provided, which can snap onto an annular bead
20
′ of the neck
19
. Otherwise, the closure
27
is embodied the same as that of
FIG. 4
, so that its description there can be referred to.
The exemplary embodiment of
FIG. 7
has a three-chamber bottle
10
′ with the chambers
11
,
13
and
14
. The three-chamber bottle is embodied analogously to the dual-chamber bottle of
FIGS. 5 and 6
, so that reference may be made to the description above. Instead of one rib, two ribs
15
′ are provided, which once again extend vertically over a substantial portion of the bottle. The closure
27
′ is embodied such that all three chambers
11
,
13
,
14
each communicate with one of pour openings
39
,
40
.
The multi-chamber bottle
10
″ of the third exemplary embodiment in
FIGS. 8 and 9
is embodied practically mirror-symmetrically, at least in the region of the neck
19
. The openings
21
,
23
of the chambers
11
,
13
are thus embodied practically identically. They are relatively large, thus facilitating filling of the bottle.
In accordance with the embodiment of the bottle, the closure
27
″ is also embodied largely symmetrically. The channels
35
,
37
are separated from one another by a partition
49
, which rests on the connection point
51
of the two chambers
11
and
13
. This connection point
51
is in a sense a neck bottom
25
, reduced to a narrow strip, as shown in FIG.
6
. Although perfect sealing between the two chambers
11
and
13
is not achieved by the partition
49
, still for many intended uses of the multi-chamber bottle this may suffice. For paste-like products, for instance, there is virtually no risk of problematic mixing anyway.
The closure
27
″ has a cap
42
, which is joined to the closure body
28
with a film hinge
53
. As already mentioned earlier, the closure can also have separate caps for the different pour openings, yet can still be made in one piece. As a fastening means for placement of the closure on the bottle, the closure can have a thread
41
. A snap device can be used instead, however.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. For instance, various characteristics of the embodiments shown can be combined; e.g., a snap closure can be provided instead of a thread. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore considered in all respects illustrative and not restricted. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and all changes that come within the meaning and range and equivalence thereof are intended to be embraced within.
Claims
- 1. A multi-chambered bottle made of plastic and produced by a blowing process, comprising:at least two chambers separate from one another, whose walls are joined together by a rib, wherein each of the chambers, inside or below a common neck, has a respective opening; and a closure having at least two channels, wherein said closure is separate from said two chambers and is detachably connected to said common neck of said at least two chambers, wherein each channel leads from an opening of one chamber to one of at least two pour openings, and having at least one cap for closing at least one of the pour openings.
- 2. The multi-chamber bottle of claim 1, wherein the opening of one of the chambers is circular and disposed coaxially to the neck.
- 3. The multi-chamber bottle of claim 1, wherein at least one opening of the chambers is disposed eccentrically to the neck.
- 4. The multi-chamber bottle of claim 1, wherein the closure has a flange that rests sealingly on the neck.
- 5. The multi-chamber bottle of claim 1, wherein at least one of the channels, in the form of a tubular attachment, protrudes sealingly into the opening of one chamber.
- 6. The multi-chamber bottle of claim 1, wherein the closure has a partition, which extends to the bottom of the neck and separates the channels from one another.
- 7. The multi-chamber bottle of claim 1, wherein the neck has a thread, and the closure is provided with a thread corresponding to this thread.
- 8. The multi-chamber bottle of claim 1, wherein a snap bead is disposed on the neck, and the closure is provided with a snap device.
- 9. Closure for a multi-chambered bottle, the bottle having at least two chambers separate from one another, whose walls are joined together by a rib, wherein each of the chambers has one opening inside or below a common neck, wherein said closure is separate from said two chambers and is detachably connected to said common neck of said at least two chambers and having at least two channels in order to form passageways for the contents of the chambers to corresponding pour openings, the closure comprising:at least one cap for closing one or more pour openings; and fastening means for mounting the closure on the multi-chambered bottle.
- 10. The closure of claim 9, wherein one of the channels is disposed coaxially to the fastening means.
- 11. The closure of claim 9, wherein at least one channel is disposed eccentrically to the neck.
- 12. The closure of claim 9, comprising a flange for sealingly contacting the neck.
- 13. The closure of claim 9, wherein at least one of the channels is in the form of a tubular attachment, which is dimensioned such that with the closure mounted in place, it sealingly engages the opening of the associated chamber.
- 14. The closure of claim 9, comprising at least one partition, which extends downward from the pour openings, so that when the closure is mounted in place it rests on the bottom of the neck of the bottle.
- 15. The closure of claim 9, wherein the fastening means are formed by a thread.
- 16. The closure of claim 9, wherein the fastening means are formed by a snap device.
- 17. The closure of claim 9, comprising a separately actuatable cap for each pour opening.
PCT Information
Filing Document |
Filing Date |
Country |
Kind |
PCT/CH99/00354 |
|
WO |
00 |
Publishing Document |
Publishing Date |
Country |
Kind |
WO00/09413 |
2/24/2000 |
WO |
A |
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DE |
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Nov 1986 |
DE |
8901835.4 |
May 1989 |
DE |
9105431.1 |
Aug 1991 |
DE |
9200369.9 |
May 1992 |
DE |
40 38 324 |
Jun 1992 |
DE |
9215964.8 |
Jun 1994 |
DE |
9408948.5 |
Sep 1994 |
DE |
297 01 969 |
May 1997 |
DE |
297 19 950 |
Feb 1998 |
DE |
297 00 314 |
Jun 1998 |
DE |
197 42 493 |
Feb 1999 |
DE |
0 628 484 |
Dec 1994 |
EP |