Container closure with auxiliary compartment

Abstract

A screw-on type closure (12) for a container (10) comprised of an auxiliary compartment (14), accessible only when the closure is in the fully open configuration, and separated from the container by a sealing element (16), such that a second material may be housed in said compartment separate and secure from a first material housed within the container, in a configuration that does not affect the overall dimensional envelope of the closure and container assembly, nor the maximum volumetric capacity of the container itself.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

This present invention relates to container closures, specifically to such bottle or jar-type closures having a compartment to house a second material that is accessible only when the closure is in its open configuration and does not reduce the maximum capacity of the primary container.

2. Description of Prior Art

For many reasons, which have included the presentation of medicine, the bundling of a bonus or gift item with a primary item, or simply to fulfill some form of novelty function, there is a well-established economic desire to package an auxiliary material with a primary material. Further, one common manner to achieve this result, where there is a desire to maintain separation between the primary material and the auxiliary material, has been to form an auxiliary compartment within a closure configuration for a primary container, such that the second material can be contained therein, while the first or primary material remains within the primary container.

In one common configuration, the closure will rely upon a neck created in the container upon which the closure can be securely threaded thereon, and which an auxiliary compartment can be housed within or externally about. This configuration is unsatisfactory because it requires that the overall dimensional envelope of the primary container be increased in order to accommodate the required container neck in order to not otherwise sacrifice a portion of the maximum volumetric capacity of the primary container when the neck is created.

In a second common configuration, the auxiliary compartment will be configured within the closure to reside above the plane defined by the container opening, but employing an insecure closure type, such as a snap-on closure designed to flex and snap over a hp of some configuration that generally surrounds and protrudes perpendicularly outward or inward from the container wall at or near its opening point This configuration is unsatisfactory because it does not provide secure engagement of the closure to the container, such that the closure may be easily dislodged by incidental contact with an external object.

At present, more than 300 patents have been issued that describe some form of a container closure mechanism incorporating a compartment for the purpose of separating a second material from a first material. Upon review of this entire group, it is revealed that a first subset of this group can be defined as that wherein the auxiliary compartment of the container closure is only accessible when the closure is in the open configuration.

From this first subset, defined by accessibility to the auxiliary compartment, a second subset can thus be formed according to the style of the closure itself. Of this first subset, all container closures therein can be generally be further subdivided as either being a (i) snap-on, (ii) clamp-on, (iii) crimp-on, (iv) screw-on, or (v) stopper-type closure. Each of these closure styles exhibits various features that make them either more or less suitable to different applications.

Snap-on style closures, while inexpensive to produce and convenient to operate, do not generally offer positive engagement with the primary container and are thus easily dislodged through inadvertent contact with an external object.

Clamp-on style closures are generally more expensive to fabricate, due to the plurality of parts required for their configuration, and generally require greater effort to engage and release, again due to the plurality of parts that require manipulation.

Crimp-on style closures, while inexpensive to fabricate and mechanically install, generally require some form of auxiliary device to facilitate their removal. Further, containers using this type of closure typically cannot be easily resealed once the closure has been initially removed.

Screw-on style closures are relatively inexpensive to fabricate, easy to install, and containers using this closure type can typically be easily resealed manually with minimal effort and without requirement of auxiliary devices.

Stopper-style closures offer the simplest solution to the closure of a primary container, but generally require that the primary container be maintained in an upright orientation to assure a confident seal. Further, stopper-style closures are generally the easiest to dislodge, regardless of orientation, which can ultimately result to a loss of the contained product in the primary container through spillage or evaporation. Similarly, contamination of the primary product may also become an issue when the stopper is dislodged, even where no loss of product has occurred.

Accordingly, the screw-on type mechanism appears to provide the most practical closure type contemplated for the present invention.

This second subset, according to style of closure, may be further refined according to the position of the auxiliary compartment contained by the closure in relation to the primary container, forming a third and final subset derived from the first and second subsets.

Of this third subset, all preceding closures incorporating an auxiliary compartment accessible only when the closure is in its open configuration can generally be subdivided by the compartment being located either (i) protruding generally perpendicularly from the closure interior into the primary container, defined as within the walls of the primary container and bounded by the plane created across the primary container opening, (ii) in an annulus space, concentrically exterior to necked primary container, such as a bottle, and generally below the plane created across the open container neck; said annulus created when a closure having a second outer diameter substantially larger than its first threaded inner diameter, which is designed to engage the outer threaded diameter of the container neck, is in place, such that creation of an annulus space is possible, or (iii) within a closure of increased height, such that a useful void can be created within the closure itself, residing above the plane defined by the container opening when the closure is installed upon the container.

Those closures of the third subset described above, where the auxiliary compartment protrudes from the bottom of the closure into the container, as in FIG. 1, are useful for many applications, particularly where the overall dimension of the primary container and closure assembly is of greater importance that the volumetric capacity of either the auxiliary compartment or the primary container. However, where an increased auxiliary compartment capacity is required, or where reduction in the maximum capacity of a primary container of fixed dimension is undesirable, then a closure containing an auxiliary compartment that protrudes from the closure into the primary container becomes highly undesirable.

Further, where a wall of such an auxiliary compartment comes into direct contact with the first material contained by the primary container, a potential exists for contamination of one or both of the first or second materials over time, due to degradation of the wall boundary, or migration of the first or second material through the wall boundary, since the wall material may not have been specifically designed to function as a seal for any duration.

Additionally, the auxiliary compartment must necessarily be designed such that its primary seal isolating the first material from the second material is located within closed primary container, thereby increasing the likelihood of leakage between the auxiliary compartment and the primary container, with handling, over time, particularly where either or both the first or second material is a liquid. The only alternative must be to construct the auxiliary compartment with a lip about its upper periphery, such that this lip can be subsequently clamped between the lip opening of the primary container and the interior of the closure. Such a clamping configuration would subsequently require the use of an upper and a lower seal, fitted on either side of the auxiliary compartment lip, in order to create a complete seal boundary. Since it is well documented in literature that the probability of leakage increases with the number of seals required to achieve a closure, this duplicity of seals is undesirable from both a functional and economic standpoint.

Those closures of the third subset described above, where the auxiliary compartment is concentrically exterior to the primary container, as in FIG. 2, are useful for many applications, particularly those, such as packaging of instructions, auxiliary implements, or bonus items, where absolute security from tampering and contamination of the second material by environmental factors may be less important criteria. However, where security and absolute preservation of the second material contained in the auxiliary compartment are important, this closure configuration is undesirable due to the difficulty in forming a reliable seal about the external closure-to-primary container interface, and the ease with which a foreign object or matter can become inserted through, or migrate through, this interface region, thereby allowing foreign contact with the second material contained therein.

Further, in order to make such a configuration practical, it is generally necessary to reduce the threaded diameter of the primary container, rather than increasing the diameter of the closure significantly beyond that of the primary container diameter, thus resulting in formation of a neck in the primary container itself. About this neck, it is usually possible to form an external concentric auxiliary compartment by increasing the overall closure diameter; generally this increased closure diameter approximates the external diameter of the primary container itself. However, as with the aforementioned configuration wherein the auxiliary compartment is positioned within the boundaries of the primary container, this configuration also results in a reduction of the volumetric capacity of the primary container, when compared to a similar container without a neck and having the same overall dimensions.

Therefore, what is needed is a screw-on type closure for a primary container, where said closure is of increased height such that an auxiliary compartment can be created within the closure itself, which is suitable for acting as a secure compartment for a second material that is only accessible when the closure is in the open configuration, and does not affect the maximum capacity of the primary container in relation to the overall size of the primary container, and is easily removable and resealable with respect to the primary container.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention a screw-on type closure for a primary container, which closure contains an auxiliary compartment only accessible when said closure is in the open configuration, and capable of containing a second material, that does not infringe upon the maximum volumetric capacity of a primary container of a given size, provides positive mechanical engagement with the primary container and leak-free service using a minimum of sealing elements, and can be easily removed and reinstalled manually upon the primary container.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

Accordingly, several objects and advantages of my invention are:

to provide a container closure that provides an auxiliary compartment;

to provide a container closure with an auxiliary compartment that is only accessible when the closure is in the open configuration;

to provide a container closure with an auxiliary compartment that is capable of housing a second material, in addition to the first material housed by the primary container;

to provide a container closure with an auxiliary compartment that does not affect the maximum volumetric capacity of a primary container of a given size;

to provide a container closure with an auxiliary compartment that provides a positive environmental seal for both the primary container and the auxiliary compartment;

to provide a container closure with an auxiliary compartment that uses as few as one shared element to seal both the primary container and the auxiliary compartment;

to provide a container closure with an auxiliary compartment that positively engages the primary container in such a fashion so as to not be easily dislodged by the inadvertent contact of an external object;

to provide a container closure with an auxiliary compartment that can be manually easily reinstalled upon the primary container after initial removal;

to provide a container closure with an auxiliary compartment that is capable of securely sealing a wide-mouthed container in order to facilitate the ease of addition or mixing of second or additional materials to the primary container.

Other objects and advantages are to provide a container closure that can be manufactured from various colored materials, or otherwise color-coded, in such a fashion as to provide a visible means of recognition or differentiation, one from another, according to some specific requirement, which can also be otherwise labeled for purposes of recognition, differentiation, or information.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.

DESCRIPTIONS OF DRAWINGS

Further features, embodiments, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings attached hereto, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating one example of the many examples of the prior art wherein the auxiliary compartment of the closure is formed and configured to exist beneath the closure and within the boundaries of the primary container;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating one example of the many examples of the prior art wherein the auxiliary compartment of the closure is formed and configured to exist beneath the closure and external to the boundaries of the primary container;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a closure according to the present invention;

FIG. 3a is a cross-sectional close-up view of the circled area of interest indicated in FIG. 3 by the corresponding extension lines between FIGS. 3 and 3a;

FIG. 4 is a general isometric projection of the closure and example container according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the closure (underside shown) illustrating the configuration of the auxiliary compartment in relation to the closure opening, and placement of the sealing member with pull tab shown.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

10	Primary container wall	12	Closure wall
14	Auxiliary compartment	16	Sealing element
18	Sealing element pull tab	20	Closure land
22	Folded pull tab configuration	24	Container open lip

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Three aspects control the efficiency and the effectiveness of the closure. First, the closure's auxiliary compartment is configured above the plane of the container opening in order to preserve the container's maximum volumetric capacity within fixed overall dimensions. Second, the auxiliary compartment diameter is less than that of the container inside diameter, such that an inner land is formed in the closure. Said land is located adjacent to the upper endpoint of the closure's internal spiral thread form, and serves to provide a surface to which to attach the sealing member, and upon which the open lip of the container will engage when said closure has been screwed down upon the container's external spiral thread form and is in the fully closed configuration, thereby serving to effectively clamp the sealing member between the container lip and the closure land. Third, a single sealing element, with integral pull tab, is affixed to the closure land by some means, such as a simple press-fit or through the use of an auxiliary adhesive compound, so as to permit the manual removal of the seal, using the pull tab, when the closure is in the open configuration and fully disengaged from the container. Subsequently, the second material contained in the closure's auxiliary compartment may be accessed.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 3 (cross-sectional view) and FIG. 3a (cross-section close-up view), FIG. 4 (isometric projection w/container), and FIG. 5 (plan view, underside). In the preferred embodiment, the closure is a plastic material, such as polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), commonly used on the manufacture of bottles and other plastic closures and containers, and readily available from multiple commercial sources. However, the closure may also be fabricated from any suitable material that can be milled, machined, formed, molded, or otherwise made in the illustrated configuration.

In the preferred embodiment, the closure top 12 is a screw-on type closure with an internal spiral thread form located on the inside closure wall, and extending only part way up the inner closure wall. Above the upper endpoint where the closure threads end, the closure inner diameter is reduced to some dimension less than that of the container 10 opening inner diameter, effectively creating a land 20 upon which the container opening lip 24 may engage when the closure is fully in the closed configuration and upon which a means of creating a seal between the auxiliary compartment 14 and the container 10, such as a sealing element 16, may be affixed using a simple press-fit or through the use of an auxiliary adhesive.

In the preferred embodiment, the sealing element 16 affixed to the land 20 is constructed from a thin sheet of flexible, waterproof material that may be a paper, impregnated or coated paper, plastic, plasticized, metal or metalized material, or other such material, or combination of materials, as may be suitable to form a sealing element for a liquid container. The sealing element 16 will have an integral pull tab 18 constructed by extending a peninsular segment of the sealing material a distance sufficiently past the sealing element's outer diameter such that the peninsular segment can be folded back 22 upon itself to form a pull tab 18 which resides on the container side of the sealing element 16.

In the preferred embodiment, the container opening lip 24 will engage the closure land 20 when the closure 12 is in the fully closed configuration. By extending the closure 12 top in the axial direction, away from the closure 12 opening, a region above the plane defined by an upper endpoint of the internal spiral thread form and adjacent closure land 20 can be formed, wherein an auxiliary compartment 16 can be created therein to house a second material in addition to that first material housed in the container 10. The diameter and depth of the auxiliary compartment 16 are defined by the container 10 inner diameter and the depth of the closure 12 from the closure land 20 to the container 10 inner top. In the preferred embodiment, the depth of the auxiliary compartment 16 is approximately 0.5-inches, however the depth may be adjusted to a greater or less value during manufacture to be any depth according to the desired dimension or volume of the resulting auxiliary compartment 16.

From the above description, a number of advantages of the present invention become evident:

(a) an auxiliary compartment to house a second material can be wholly formed within the container closure;

(b) the auxiliary compartment in no way reduces the maximum volumetric capacity of the primary container;

(c) the auxiliary compartment may be completely and securely sealed against both the contents of the primary container and any external elements;

(d) the auxiliary container may rely upon as few as one (1) sealing element to effectively seal both the auxiliary compartment and the primary container;

(e) the screw-on type closure mechanism provides positive engagement of the closure to the container, such that inadvertent external contact with an object is highly unlikely to result in loosening or removal of the closure from the container;

(f) the volumetric capacity of the auxiliary compartment can be adjusted to meet application requirements as desired, independent of the overall dimensions or capacity of the primary container;

(g) the configuration of the closure's auxiliary compartment forms a convenient land to which a sealing element separating said compartment from the primary container may be affixed, and upon which the container's open lip engages in such a way when in the fully closed configuration so as to effectively further clamp and seal the sealing element therein;

(h) the peninsular extension of a portion of the sealing element beyond the element's general diameter, when folded back upon itself, forms a simple, convenient and useful pull tab with which to manually remove the sealing element from the closure, thereby revealing the contents of the auxiliary compartment when said closure is in the fully open configuration;

(i) the closure may be made from colored materials, color-coded, or otherwise imprinted or designed to directly or indirectly disclose the contents of the auxiliary compartment while in the fully closed configuration;

(j) the closure may be imprinted, designed, or otherwise fabricated in such a manner so as to convey other important information beyond that pertaining to the contents of the auxiliary compartment.

Operation of Invention

Owing to the simplicity of the present invention and lack of moving parts therein, the present invention is easily and intuitively operated.

On initial assembly, the auxiliary compartment 14 of the closure 12 is filled with a second material intended to be distributed with a first material contained in container 10. Subsequent to the addition of the second material to the auxiliary compartment 14, a sealing element 16 is affixed to the closure land 20 in such a fashion that the pull tab 18 remains on the container 10 side of the sealing element 16. Subsequently, the container 10 is filled with the first material, and the completed closure 12 is installed upon the container 10 by means of screwing the closure 12 down upon the threaded portion of container 10 until such time as the container opening lip 24 engages the sealing element 16, thereby compressing it securely against the closure land 20 to effect a seal of the primary container 10.

It should be noted that in the above description, the described order of operation relative to the filling of the auxiliary compartment 16 and the container 10 are inconsequential, and either component may be filled first according to the most convenient order of operation for a given assembly process.

On first use, the closure 12 is manually unscrewed from the container 10, while maintaining said container in a generally upright orientation. Maintenance of an upright orientation of the container 10 while loosening or removing the closure 12 is necessary in order to mitigate the possibility of spilling any of the first material as the closure 12 is loosened or removed and the seal between the container opening lip 24 and the sealing element 16 is separated.

With the closure 12 in the fully open and inverted configuration, the pull tab 18 is manually used to dislodge the sealing element 16 from the closure 12. This is accomplished by manually pulling the pull tab 18 completely up and away from open end of the closure 12, such that the contents of the auxiliary compartment 14 are revealed within the closure 12. While the general orientation of the closure 12 is not important to the function of removing the sealing element 16, it may be important to mitigate the possibility of spilling the contents of the auxiliary compartment 14 once the sealing element 16 is fully removed from the closure 12.

In the event that it is desirable to reseal the container 10 after the contents of the auxiliary compartment 14 have been removed, the threaded closure 12 is manually reengaged with the threaded portion of the container 10 in the usual fashion, and is screwed down until such time as the container open lip 24 securely reengages either the reinserted sealing element 16, if said element is reused, or the closure land 20.

Description and Operation of Alternative Embodiments

In a first alternative embodiment, a different method for forming the pull tab 18 in conjunction with the sealing element 16 is envisioned, whereby the pull tab 18 and sealing element 16 are individually similarly shaped but completely separate components, subsequently joined together face-to-face along one edge as a means to avoid the necessity of folding the aforementioned peninsular extension back upon itself. In this embodiment, the sealing element 16 and the pull tab 18 may be joined adhesively, or by such other method as is suitable to the materials used to construct each component.

Said first alternative embodiment may prove useful in diversifying the function of the pull tab 18 and the sealing element 16, such as for combining a pull tab 18 of certain physical properties with a sealing element 16 of differing physical properties, or for other such purpose as may become clear from consideration of this first alternative embodiment in relation to the present invention by someone skilled in the art. The function of this first alternative embodiment is not contemplated to differ from that of the preferred embodiment previously described.

In a second alternative embodiment, a different method of constructing the sealing element 16 is envisioned, wherein the sealing element 16 is semi-perforated, or in some other fashion appropriate to the materials used, is caused to shear along some predefined pathway, such as a circular path generally defined as being equal to or less than the diameter of the auxiliary compartment 14 and the inside diameter of the closure land 20, such that the center concentric piece is removed from the outer concentric piece when pull tab 18 is pulled, while said outer piece remains adhered to the closure land 20.

This second alternative embodiment provides access to the auxiliary compartment 14 similar to that of the preferred embodiment, while also providing a means of maintaining that portion of the sealing element intact that generally lies upon the closure land 20 and acts as the sealing element for the container 10, thus perhaps improving the resealability of container 10 after the contents of the auxiliary compartment 14 have been accessed.

In a third alternative embodiment, a different method for sealing the auxiliary compartment 14 and the container 10 is contemplated, wherein separate sealing elements 16 with affixed pull tabs 18 are used to seal the auxiliary compartment 14 and the container 10, resulting in the use of two sealing elements 16 with individually integral pull tabs 18.

While the use of multiple sealing elements to individually seal both the auxiliary compartment 14 of the closure 12, and the container 10, is more complex, it does offer an increased degree of security with respect to maintaining separation of the first and second materials contained by the primary container 10 and the closure 12, respectively. From a functional perspective, the use of multiple sealing elements 16 requires that each element be manually removed separately in the fashion of the aforementioned preferred embodiment, thereby slightly increasing the difficulty in accessing both the first and second materials.

Conclusion, Ramifications, and Scope of Invention

In view of the aforesaid written description of the present invention, it will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible of broad utility and application. Many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those herein described, as well as many variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements, will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the foregoing description thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, while the present invention has been described herein in relation to a preferred embodiment with several alternative embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention. The foregoing disclosure is not intended nor is to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude any such other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, the present invention being limited only by the claims appended hereto and the equivalents thereof.

Sequence Listing

Not Applicable.

Claims

1. A container closure device comprising:

(a) an internal spiral thread form sufficient to facilitate positive engagement of the closure with a similar external spiral thread form of a container,

(b) an auxiliary compartment that is accessible only when the closure is in the open configuration, and residing within the closure above the plane defined by the upper endpoint of the closure's internal spiral thread form,

(c) a means of creating a seal between the auxiliary compartment of the closure and the container,

(d) a means of manually disengaging the seal from the closure