GB2293157A

GB2293157A - Container and its application

Info

Publication number: GB2293157A
Application number: GB9518001A
Authority: GB
Inventors: King-Tsang Chung
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-03-14
Filing date: 1994-03-10
Publication date: 1996-03-20
Anticipated expiration: 2014-03-10
Also published as: GB2293157B; HK1006831A1; GB9518001D0; WO1994021535A1; CN2157139Y; AU6201194A; JPH09500850A

Abstract

The present invention relates a container and its application. The container includes a container body and a cover body. The container body consists of two chambers which may be constructed of tube, bottle or bag. The cover body may be constructed of a tube-cover and a plug-cover. A passageway which acts as a mixing chamber is provided in the tube-cover. A proportional fluid pump can be installed at the cover body. The described two chamber container can mix up material which is separately packed in the two chambers at the proportion, so as to make a unit package of proportional mixed type, and to be used to package the hair spray etc. at the atmosphere. <IMAGE>

Description

A Double-compartment Container and its Proportional Mixing Parts Field of Invention The present invention relates to a packing container for holding two substances of different chemica( property which should not be mixed up with each other until the time of use. It is particularly for use as a unit package of proportional mixed type, and is also to be used to foam at atmospheric pressure for the mousse products.

Background Art In daily life, as restricted by the chemical properties of certain substances or for some other. reasons, it is often necessary to divide the products into two portions and separately packed as a twongent type package, which are to'be mixed up together proportionaly only be'fore the time of use; These products most in use include certain hair dyes and adhesives.

For the two-agent type hair dyes, it is usually to squeeze out the two agents one after the other on a comb and comb the hair with it. Now comes the problem of definite proportion between the two hair dyeing agents. Accuracy can not be ensured when judged merely by naked eye. Besides, there is also problem of mixing, as the mixing is carried but in conventional practice on the hair, excellent results can hardly be ensured. It would be two troublesome, if mixing is conducted in vessels.

To overcome the above problems, the inventor invented a "doublecompartment mixing packing container" (chinese patent application No.93206976.2). This double-compartment mixing packing container comprises a container body, an inner plug and a container cover. Two hollow compartments are formed in the container body and small holes are provided in the inner plug.

when the double-compartment mixing packing container is in use, the hollow cavity (or the passageway) between the inner plug and the pipe orifier is actually used as a mixing chamber.

The following problems are existing in the above double cdmpartment mixing packing container : 1. assembly work is comparatively complicate due to the inner plug; 2. if used for hair dyes, the mixing chamber is difficult to clean up, thus fouling the double compartment container.

Summary of Invention The present invention provides a double-compartment container of simple construction, the inner plug of which is injection moulded within the container body so to solve the problem of assemblage.

Furthermore, the present invention also provides a doublecompartment container --- double-compartment pouch made of flexible gum, especially made of complex film.

It can be produced through thermocompression, having the advantage of simpleness and easiness of manufacture.

For products having risk of coutamination, it can be solved according to the present ivention, by either of the two following fitting parts: The one is that the container cover is to be designed to comprise of a tube-cover and a plug-cover. The plug-cover serves for ealing while the tube-cover is used also as a mixing chamber, which can be stripped and cheaned whenever needed.

The other is that on the container cover are mounted proportional fluid pumps, that is, to use two sets of pumps with one mixing nozzle in common. In this way, the nozzle is convenient to strip and clean.

In practice, the proportional fluid pump can be so designed that the cross-sectional area of the pistons of the two sets of pump can be made in the right proportion so as to obtain amounts in desired proportion.

The double-compartment container can also be designed to make the cross-sections of the two compartments to be in a certain probortion. When both compartments are being pressed simultaneously the same length, a mixture in desired proportion is obtained.

Thus, the double-compartment container according to the present invention is not only simple in structure, easy to manufacture, but can obtain a mixture of desired proportion as well, and the mixing fitting parts can easily stripped and cleaned.

Brief Description of the Drawings The following is a detailed description of the present invention in two parts with reference to the attached drawings, it is by no means to restrict the invention.

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of one embodiment of the double-compartment container of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of another embodiment of the double-compartment container of the present invention; Figs 3 and 4 are vertical sectional views of still another embodiments of the double-compartmetn container of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional "ew of one embodiment of the double-compartment pouch of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatical view of one of the accessories of the double-compartment container of the present invention the constant delivery push plate; Fig. 7 is a diagrammatical view of one of the accessories of the double-compartment container of the present invention the proportional fluid pump mounted on the container cover of the double-compartment container.

Preferred Embodiments of the Invention Double-compartment container and Proportional Mixing Fitting Parts Example I Referring to Fig. 1, the double-compartment container of the present invention can be made by means of special mould and is to be extruded by extruder to form annular pipe blank with an intermediate partition 2. The pipe blank is cut to the desired length and encased in another mould as the pipe body portion.

Injection mould is used to mould out the shape and structure of the pipe mouth 3 which is connected integrally to the pipe body forming the container body 1. The intermediate partition 2 divides the container body 1 into two portions which can be formed in desired proportion.

The container cover 4 in the form of a plug can be plugged into the pipe mouth 3 to seal the container. At the time of use, the container cover 4 is opened and the pipe mouth 3 is made to be the inner mixing chamber.

The bottom end of the pipe can be used as the feeder, and after feeding the end is sealed.

Example II Referring to Fig. 2, the manufacture of the container body of the container shown is just the san 12 as in Example Container cover consists of a tube-cover 5 and a plug-cover 6.

Tube-cover 5 can be fitted over the pipe mouth, and the plugcover 6 plugged into the tube-cover 5 so to seal up the container. At the time of use, the plug-cover 6 is pulled out and the passageway of the tube-cover 5 becomes a mixing chamber. It can be stripped and cleaned whenever needed.

Example Ill Referring ot Fig. 3, first, two single-compartment container 21 are made by means of the process of Example I or using a bottle plowing machine. Then the two containers are stuck together to form a double-compartment container.

Referring to Fig. 4, two containers of different size are manufactured by means of 4hue process of Example Ill. The smaller container 22 is encased in the larger container 23 to form a double-compartment container.

The cross-sectional area of the compartments of the doublecompartment container shown in Fig. 1 to 4 can be made in Desired proportion.

Example IV Referring to Fig. 5, a hot pressing mould is designed such that its pressing lines are as shown by the bold black lines in Fig. 5. Two sheets of flexible gum or of complex film are disposed one on top of the other1 and are hot pressed by hot pressing mould. The pressing lines are butt fused on the two complex film to form hot pressing bonding lines 32, and enclosed to become the double-compartment pouch body 31 and the pouch mouth 33.

At the time of use, the hot pressing bonding lines are peeled open at the pouch mouth by some bardware and the contents in the two compartments are then pressed out from the pouch mouth.

For products of frequent use, they can be used in combination with a spring clamp. After each use, the pouch mouth is to be clamped by the spring clamp at some appropriate place.

The cross-sectional area of the two compartments of the double-compartment pouch can also be designed to correspond the desired proportioal relationship.

A double-compartment pouch can easily be made of one or more sheets of complex film only that the presssing lines of the hot pressing mould should vary accordingly.

Example V For double-compartment container of the soft pipe type which has a smaller diameter or cross-sectional area, an essentially accurate proportional amounts can be obtained by pressing and extruding the double compartments by fingers from the bottom end towards the mouth of the pipe.

For double-compartment soft pipe or pouch which has larger diameter or cross-sectional area, it would be difficult to push or extrude only by fingers. For this reason, there is designed according to the present invention a constant delivery push plate to be used whenever necessary.

Referrijg ot Fig. 6, the constant delivery push plate comprises a thin plate 8, in the center of which there is cut a long, narrow slot 9. Its dimension corresponds to the double-compartment container when it is flattened out along the partition 2. The bottom end of the double-compartment container is to be inserted into the narrow slot 9, and when the thin plate 8 is being pressed and pushed towards the pipe mouth 3, substances of the same length is squeezed out from each of the two compartments, and their volumes are in proportion to the crosssectional areas of the two compartments so as to achieve the object of mixing in proporiton the substances held in the compartment.

For containers made of hard material, it is impossible to squeeze out substances by pressing and squeezing the container body.

In such case, a proportional fluid pump can be used (see Chinese Patent Application No.93215052.7). The proportional fluid pump disclosed by said patent application comprises two conduits 10, two sets of piston pumps 11, two exit pipes 12 connected in succession and to a same mixing nozzle 13. When the nozzle 13 is being pressed, the both piston pump sets 11 operate simultaneously, making the same reciprocating strokes.

The fluid outputs from the two piston pumps 1 1 are in proportion to the cross-sectional area of the two pistons; Therefore, it is possible to obtain the desired mixing proportion.

By mouting the proportional fluid pumps on the container cover 4 and pressing the nozzle 13, it is possible to attain the object of mixing the substances in the two compartments in proportion.

Mixing nozzle 13 can conveniently be stripped and cleaned.

Industrial Applicability The double-compartment container can apparently be used as a unit package, in which two different substances are separately filled in each of the two compartments and the compartments are then to be sealed. Such a package is suitable for holding hair dyers and adhesive agents, etc. Besides, it can also be used to make the mousse products foaming at atmospheric pressure.

Mousse is a kind of product used mostly for cosmetics. The word bmousse"itself means to foam.

The conventional mousses are packed in pressurized cans filled with compressed gas. When the can is opened through valve, the mousse starts to foam and expand due to pressure drop caused by leakage of gas. There is a risk of burning or explosion when filled with propane or butane.

In a double-compartment container, two sorts of substance, namely agent A and agent B, are separately filled in each of the two compartments, one of the compartments is filled with an agent A which is a kind of mousse product containing an unneutralized acidic group, together with some other materials, and the other compartment is filled with an agent B which is a carbonate or bicarbonate having equivalent weight as the acids, together with some other materials, At the time of use, agent A and agent B are made mixing with each other in equivalent weights, producing CO2 and starting to foam. The acidolysis reaction is as follows:

This is an aspect of the present invention to manufacture a mousse product through an controlled acidolysis in a doublecompartment container, which produces COL to make a foam.

The acid or acidic substances used, including inorganic acid and organic acid, must be stronger than the carbonic acid. The uses must first observe the relevant regulations and security rules issued by department concerned for that product; and next, it must be in agreement with the aim of use of that product or without making any notable impact.

If it is used for cosmetics, it will be restricted by relevant provisions of the cosmetic industry. The acids that can be used in cosmetics include hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, glycollic acid, lactic acid, citric acid, butanedioic acid, tartaric acid, mercaptoacetic acid, peroxy acetic acid, some acidic surfactants and acidic resins, etc.

Suitable carbonates and bicarbonates include chiefly potassium salts1 sodium salts, calcium salts, magnesium salts and ammonium salts; and organic amine salts include chiefly bicarbonates of monoethanolamine, di-ethanolamine, triethanolamine, isopropanolamine and aminomethyl propanol, etc.

It should be pointed out that when foam produced by CO1 is used on mousse products, its density of foam is higher than the density of foam of conventional mousse, but it will not affect the use. As viewed from the factors of security, environmental protection, and cost, the double-compartment container used to produce foam by COt for the manufacture of mousse has its practical segnificance.

Claims

1. A double-compartment container comprising a container body and a container cover, said container body having two compartments, charactrized in that said container cover consists of a tube-cover and a plug-cover, a passageway acting as a mixing chamber is formed in the tube-cover, said two compartments communicate with the passageway through small apertures, said plug-cover can be tightly plugged in the passageway to close the double-compartment container.

2. The double-compartment container according to claim 1, characterized in that the cross-sectional area of the two compartments are made to be in the desired proprotional relationship.

3. A double-compartment container comprising a container body and a container cover, said container body having two compartments, characterized in that a pipe mouth is formed on said container body with a passageway therein acting as a mixing chamber, said two compartments communicate with the passageway through small apertures.

4. The double-compartment container according to claim 3, characterized in that the cross-sectional area of the two compartments are made to be in the desired proportional relationship.

5. A double-compartment container comprising a container body and a container cover, said container body having two compartments, characterized in that said container cover is provided with a proportional fluid pump.

6. The double-compartment container according to claim 5, characterized in that said proportional fluid pump comprises two piston pumps, a mixing nozzle, two conduits and two exit pipes.

7. The double-compartment container according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that said container body is divided into two compartments by a partition provided therein.

8. The double-compartment container according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that said container body is formed by two containers stuck together.

9. The double-compartment container according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that said container body is formed by encasing smaller container in a larger container.

10. The double-compartment container according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that said container body is constituted of flexible pipe.

11. The double-compartment container according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that said container body is constituted of pouch.

12. The double-compartment container according to claim 5, characterized in that said container body is constituted of bottle.

13. The use of the double-compartment container according to claims 1-5 in mousse products, characterized in that one compartment of container body holds therein acid, acidic substance and basic materials of cosmetic, and the other compartment holds therein stoichiometrically equivalent weight of carbonates, bicarbonates and basic materials of cosmetic, which are mixed according to desired definite quantities to give out CO,and generate foam, so to form mousse.

14. The use according to claim 13, characterized in that said acid and acidic substance are permitted to use by the regulations of the cosmetic society, the acidity of which is stronger than that of the carbonic aicd.

15. The use according to claim 13, characterized in that said carbonates, bicarbonates are chiefly alkali metal salts and organic amine salts.