Information
-
Patent Grant
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6253945
-
Patent Number
6,253,945
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Date Filed
Tuesday, September 7, 199924 years ago
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Date Issued
Tuesday, July 3, 200122 years ago
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Inventors
-
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
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US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 220 2386
- 220 2383
- 220 236
- 220 234
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International Classifications
-
Abstract
A container including independent main container unit and liquid-ornament unit that are separably connected to each other. The main container unit is formed by blow molding and can therefore have diversified configurations. Retaining means, such as collar and protruded key, and an open space may be formed outside the main container unit at the time the latter is formed. The liquid-ornament container has a configuration corresponding to the open space and can therefore be easily assembled to the main container unit by fitting it into the open space and holding it in place with the collar and key.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a container having a main container unit and a separable liquid-ornament unit. The main container unit of the container is formed by blow molding and can therefore have diversified configurations. An open space and retaining means can be formed outside the main container unit, so that the liquid-ornament unit may be easily firmly fitted in the open space and thereby connected to the main container unit.
There is a container with a liquid ornament attached thereto being widely welcomed in the markets. Such container includes multiple injection-molded parts that are connected to one another to form a complete container through ultrasonic welding. One of the multiple parts is a chamber filled with oil and water before the chamber is sealed. Following are some disadvantages of such container in respect to its design and manufacturing process:
1. All the parts of the container are injection molded. Since there are many limitations in making the injection molds, such as the way of knocking out, these parts may have only limited types of shape. That is, the container could not be diversified designed to create changeful appearances.
2. Although it has been tried to give the container a shape as simple as possible to reduce ultrasonic welding, the ultrasonic welding are still required and the filling of dual-liquid ornament into one of the parts is time-consuming. All these factors adversely increase the manufacturing cost of the container and decrease the competition ability thereof in the markets.
It is therefore desirable to develop an improved liquid-ornament contained container to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a container includes independent main container unit and liquid-ornament unit that are separably connected to each other. The main container unit is formed by blow molding and can therefore have diversified configurations. Retaining means, such as collar and protruded key, and an open space may be formed outside the main container unit at the time the latter is formed. The liquid-ornament container has a configuration corresponding to the open space and can therefore be easily assembled to the main container unit by fitting it into the open space and holding it in place with the collar and key.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is an assembled perspective of a container having separable liquid-ornament unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2
is an exploded perspective of the container of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is a side sectional view of the container of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 4
is a perspective of a container having separable liquid-ornament unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5
is a partially exploded perspective of a container having separable liquid-ornament unit according to a third embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 6
is a perspective of a container having separable liquid-ornament unit according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Please refer to
FIGS. 1
,
2
and
3
that are sequentially an assembled perspective, an exploded perspective, and a side sectional view of a container having separable liquid-ornament unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The container mainly includes a main container unit
10
, a liquid-ornament unit
20
, and an associated dispenser
30
.
The main container unit
10
is made of a plastic material. Unlike the conventional similar containers, such as that disclosed in the Taiwan Patent Application No. 87210180 entitled “A Container Structure”, that have both the main container unit and the ornamental unit formed by injection molding, the main container unit of the present invention is formed by blow molding. With this blow-molding manner, the main container unit
10
can be more easily formed while there are diversified shapes available for it. For example, the container of
FIGS. 1
,
2
and
3
has a main container unit
10
defining a considerably large chamber
11
for accommodating a planned type of product, such as a creamy liquid. The main container unit
10
has a centered and upward extended tubular neck
12
. An upper end of the tubular neck
12
has integrally formed external threads
13
and a collar
14
that serves as a retaining means. A space
15
surrounding a portion of the tubular neck
12
between the collar
14
and the chamber
11
provides a location for holding the liquid-ornament unit
20
.
The liquid-ornament unit
20
is a separately formed clear container for accommodating a desired liquid ornament
40
therein. The liquid ornament
40
shown in the container of
FIGS. 1
,
2
and
3
includes a dual-liquid (oil and water)
41
and three-dimensional floating ornaments
42
. In order to hold the dual-liquid
41
and the floating ornaments
42
, the liquid-ornament unit
20
is preferably formed by injection molding of general plastic material. The liquid-ornament unit
20
may have a configuration selected depending on the space
15
. In the embodiment shown in
FIGS. 1
,
2
and
3
, the liquid-ornament unit
20
is an annular container defining a central through hole
21
. The central through hole
21
has an inner diameter slightly larger than an outer diameter of the tubular neck
12
but slightly smaller than an outer diameter of the collar
14
. By taking advantage of inherent rigidity and elasticity of the molded plastic main container unit
10
, the liquid-ornament unit
20
is allowed to put around the tubular neck
12
from the threads
13
at the upper end of the tubular neck
12
, and eventually locate in the space
15
immediately above the main container unit
10
. By this manner, the main container unit
10
and the liquid-ornament unit
20
are combined to form a two-chamber container having a shape intended by a designer. With the tubular neck
12
extending through the central hole
21
and the collar
14
abutting against an upper opening of the central hole
21
, the liquid-ornament unit
20
, once it has been forced down from the upper end of the neck
12
to pass the collar
14
, would not be easily separated from the main container unit
10
. The associated dispenser
30
, such as a set of press-type suction head and pipe, can be then mounted onto the upper end of the tubular neck
12
by engaging with the threads
13
to complete the container of the present invention.
Before the liquid-ornament unit
20
is assembled to the main container unit
10
around the tubular neck
12
, it is easy to access the tubular neck
12
. Therefore, an outer surface of the tubular neck
12
can be freely printed or labeled with any desired design. Such design will be advantageously magnified by and clearly viewed through liquid in the liquid-ornament unit
20
mounted around the tubular neck
12
. The design on the tubular neck
12
also serves as a very good background for the floating ornaments
42
in the dual liquid
41
.
The main container unit
10
may have changeful shapes. And the tubular neck
12
, the threads
13
and the collar
14
may also be formed differently. Another three embodiments of the container of the present invention will now be described below.
FIG. 4
illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a container
50
is structurally similar to the container in the first embodiment and consists of a main container unit
51
, a liquid-ornament unit
52
, and an associated dispenser
53
. However, the main container unit
51
and the liquid-ornament unit
52
are not limited to regular round bottles, and the main container unit
51
has a tubular neck eccentrically upward projected from a top thereof.
FIG. 5
illustrates a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a container
60
also consists of a main container unit
61
, a liquid-ornament unit
62
, and an associated dispenser
63
. Wherein, the main container unit
61
provides an independent open space
611
generally located at a central portion of the main container unit
61
for holding the liquid-ornament unit
62
therein. A recess
612
extending along an inner peripheral wall of the space
611
forms a retaining means to hold the liquid-ornament unit
62
in place in the space
611
. Meanwhile, the liquid-ornament unit
62
is designed to have a configuration corresponding to the space
611
and the retaining means
612
, so that the liquid-ornament unit
62
can be set in the space
611
without the risk of easily separating from the space
611
. In this third embodiment, a press-type dispensing head is selected to serve as the associated dispenser
63
. To match with the dispensing head
63
, the main container unit
61
has a differently formed upper opening. The dispensing head
63
may be any suitable product available in the markets, so long as it matches with the upper opening of the main container unit
61
to provide the function of dispensing creamy liquid from the container
60
.
FIG. 6
illustrates a fourth embodiment of the present invention that is a container
70
consisting of a main container unit
71
, a liquid-ornament unit
72
, and an associated dispenser
73
. The main container unit
71
is in a shape of general plastic beverage container designed for sportsmen. The associated dispenser
73
is also a generally available product. In this fourth embodiment, the main container unit
71
has a tubular leg
711
downward extending from a bottom of the main container unit
71
. A collar
712
is provided around a lower end of the tubular leg
711
to serve as a retaining means. The liquid-ornament unit
72
defines a central through hole having a diameter suitable for the unit
72
to mount around the tubular leg
711
and be retained thereto below the main container unit
71
by the collar
712
. Thereby, the liquid-ornament unit
72
forms a decoration at a lower part of the container
71
. For the liquid-ornament unit
72
to be more stably located around the tubular leg
711
, a longitudinally extended key
713
may be additionally provided to protrude from an outer surface of the tubular leg
711
to engage with a recess correspondingly formed on an outer surface of the central through hole of the liquid-ornament unit
72
. Both the collar
712
and the key
713
could be integrally formed during blow molding of the main container unit
71
. Again, the tubular leg
711
may be printed or labeled on its outer surface with desired designs or advertisements.
In conclusion, the present invention provides a container having a main container unit and a separable liquid-ornament unit. The main container unit is formed by blow molding and can therefore have more choices in its configuration. That is, the liquid-ornament unit may be assembled to the main container unit at different positions and have different configurations depending on the shape of the main container unit and the position at which it is located on the main container unit. Moreover, the main container unit and the liquid-ornament unit can be easily combined to form a complete container having a desired shape. Therefore, the container of the present invention is superior to conventional containers both in its structure and the ornamental effect it can provide.
Claims
- 1. A container comprising a main container unit and a smaller liquid-ornament unit separately assembled to said main container unit, said main container unit being formed by blow molding to have a configuration defining a base portion and an upwardly extending tubular neck having an outside diameter and an upper end portion including integrally formed external threads and retaining means having an outside diameter formed on said upper end portion below said external threads, said main container portion defining an open space around said upwardly extending tubular neck and between said base portion and said retaining means and said liquid ornament unit defining a through passageway having an inner diameter slightly larger than said outside diameter of said upwardly extending tubular neck and slightly smaller than the diameter of said retaining means and a configuration for fitting into said open space with said liquid ornament unit adjacent to and resting on said base portion of said main container unit and with said upwardly extending neck portion extending through and beyond said passageway and held in place by said retaining means and wherein said liquid-ornament unit can be directly assembled on said main container unit by fitting it over said tubular neck and into said open space from outside of said main container unit.
- 2. A container according to claim 1 which includes a liquid dispenser threaded onto said external threads above said retaining means and a dual liquid and a floating ornament within said liquid ornament unit.
US Referenced Citations (8)