US2321998A - Two-compartment container - Google Patents

Description

June 15,1943.

W. W. CROUCH ETAL TWO-COMPARTMENT CONTAINER Filed April 4, 1942 Patented June 15, 1943 prise sin s TWO COMPARTMENT CQNTAINER Wentworth W. Grouch and Arthur W. M. Dickins, Rochester, N. Y;, assignors to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey orrics Application April 4, 1942, Serial No. 437,566

2 Claims.

vention is to provide a two-compartment container in which one container may be suspended in the other before the materials are placed therein. Another object of our invention is to provide a two-compartment container in which the parts of the container vary but little from standard products on the market so that the containers are relatively inexpensive. Still another object of our invention is to provide a two-part container which can be quickly and easily filled. Other objects will appear from the following specification, the novel features being particularly pointed out in the claims at the end thereof.

Coming now to the drawing wherein like reference characters denote like parts throughout,

Fig. 1 is a section through a typical container constructed in accordance with and embodying a preferred form of our invention,

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of a disc provided with apertures for suspending a small container in the large container and for loading the large container,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional View showing the position of the small container relative to the large container during the loading operation,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail section showing the connection between a small container and the supporting disc,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a second embodiment of our invention.

In a preferred embodiment of our invention shown in Fig. 1, we provided an outer container 1 having an open end 2 surrounded by a threaded neck 3. A disc 4, as shown in Fig. 2, is of a size and shape to cover the open top 2 of the container I. This disc is provided with a central aperture 5 for suspending a small container 6 and there are a series of apertures l which may be used for filling a large container I.

The small container 6 is provided with an open end 8 surrounded by a threaded neck 9 and a screw cap I 0 may be placed on the container, this cap mating with the threads 9 on the neck of the container.

As best shown in Fig. 4, the bottom flange l l of this cap is formed outwardly so that this flange, together with a flange l2 surrounding the neck of the container 6, receives the disc 4 between them so as to suspend the small container 6 from the disc 4.

In loading the container I, it is desirable to place the disc 4 over the open end of the container and to suspend thesmall container 6 from the disc as indicated in Fig. 3. The chemical or other material which is to be placed in the container I may then be flowed into the container through an aperture 7 air escaping from one or more apertures not used for the filling material. If

desired, a funnel 13 may be provided so that the material may be flowed into the large container 1 about at least a part of the smaller container 6. After this is done, a screw cap l5 which may have the usual lining I6 is placed on the container i,

this cap having a threaded area ll mating with the thread 3 of the large container I. This construction is not only simple but the containers can be easily and quickly loaded and unloaded.

In a second embodiment of our invention shown in Fig. 5, a container 20 is provided with a threaded neck 2| adapted to receive a threaded flange 22 of a screw cap 23 having the usual lining 24. This screw cap and lining are provided with a pair of openings, a loading opening 25 and a container suspending opening 26. The first mentioned opening lies beneath an upwardly extending threaded flange 21 adapted to receive a screw cap 28 and having the usual lining 29.

The opening 26 lies beneath an opening 30 of a similar size and shape in the top of the screw cap 23. These openings are of a size to permit a threaded neck 3| of a small container 32 to extend through the openings there being a flange 33 on the container 32 of a size which will not pass through the openings. Thus, by providing a threaded cap 34 for the threaded neck 3! of the smaller container, the smaller container can be held in place when a threaded flange 35 is turned so that an outwardly flaring flange 36 pinches the threaded cap 23 between the flanges 33 of the container 32 and the outwardly flared portion 36 of the screw cap 34.

In this form of the invention the larger container 20 is fllled by unscrewing the cap 23 and utilizing the opening 25 in the lining 24 as a filling opening. This can be done after the smaller container 32 has been filled and placed in posi tion on the screw cap 23.

In the second described form of our invention the inner container 32 is removed with the screw cap 23 since it is supported by the screw cap. In this form of the invention the closure for the larger container is provided with two openings one for filling the larger container and the other for supporting a smaller container so that this latter container may be positioned before the larger container is loaded. If the larger container is to be loaded with a material such as a salt or other granular substance, it has been found that if the container is filled with such materials it is later impossible to insert a smaller container into the granular mass and it is therefore necessary to position the smaller container so that the salt or other material may be filled in around the smaller container.

In the first described embodiment of our invention the smaller container may be supported in the larger container for loading by the disc 4 which may be rested on the top of the neck 3 as shown in Fig. 3. In this form of our invention the material may be loaded through a loading aperture in the disc 4 and after the loading operation is complete the screw cap 15 may be turned to its said position in Fig. 1 since the central aperture in the screw cap [5 is of a size to turn about the screw cap I!) of the centrally located small container.

It will thus be seen that in both embodiments of our invention it is possible to suspend a small container in a large one to facilitate loading the large container after which the opening through which the large container is loaded may be closed by a screw cap. In the first described embodiment of our invention, this screw cap is a screw cap l5 whereas in the second described embodiment of our invention this screw cap is the screw cap 28.

We claim:

1. A two-compartment container including, in combination, a large jar having an open end, a disk fitting the open end of the jar including a supporting aperture and a filling aperture, a small jar fitting in the supporting aperture, a cap for engaging the small jar and disk to hold the small jar suspended in the large jar, said filling aperture permitting filling the large jar with the small jar suspended therein, and means for holding the disk on the large jar and closing the filling aperture therein comprising a cap member for engaging the open end of the large jar.

2. A two-compartment container including, in combination, a large jar having an open end provided with a threaded neck, a threaded cap attachable to the threaded neck having a central aperture therein, a small jar having an opening and a threaded neck, a disk fitting the threaded opening of the large jar and having a central aperture for suspending the small jar by said neck, a threaded cap engaging said disk and threaded neck of the small jar, a filling opening in the disk, said threaded cap for the large jar closing the filling opening, said central aperture clearing the cap of the small jar when the apertured cap is screwed onto the threaded neck of the large jar.

W'EN'I'WOR'I'H W. CROUCH. ARTHUR W. M. DICKINS.

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