GB2298180A

GB2298180A - Container with two compartments

Info

Publication number: GB2298180A
Application number: GB9603641A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alexander Lockey Campbell
Original assignee: ALEXANDER LOCKEY CAMPBELL
Current assignee: ALEXANDER LOCKEY CAMPBELL
Priority date: 1995-02-21
Filing date: 1996-02-21
Publication date: 1996-08-28
Anticipated expiration: 2016-02-21
Also published as: GB9603641D0; GB9503307D0; GB2298180B

Abstract

A container 1 comprises a first compartment 2 and a second compartment 3 separated by a seal 4 that takes the form of a thin flexible membrane. On opening the can, pressure within the second compartment 3 is released causing the membrane 4 to break thus mixing the two components. In another embodiment (Fig 2) the seal 23 may be broken by means such as a grommet 24. In yet another embodiment (Figs 3-5) the container is a flexible plastics bag 30 one of whose compartments 31 is at reduced pressure such that when grommet 34 is removed mixture is promoted by the surge of contents of compartment 32 into compartment 31 by implosion. In a two further embodiments (Figs 6-7) a rigid auxiliary compartment (6, 52), (7, 94) is closed by the elements (6, 54) and (7, 92, 7, 100) inside a bottle such that on opening the bottle lid (6, 60), (7, 96) the contents may be mixed. In two final embodiments, typified by Fig 8, a rigid auxiliary compartment 72 within a can 70 has a closure element 80 in communication with another closure element 78 in the main compartment using the elongate member 76 such that opening of the main compartment at 78 causes the simultaneous opening of the auxiliary compartment at 80 resulting in mixture of the two components.

Description

CONTAINER This invention relates to a container of the type suitable for containing a liquid solution, for example, a medicinal fluid or, a soft or alcoholic drink, or other food product.

It is known to manufacture and sell such drinks in dehydrated tablet or powder form. A person wishing to consume the drink must rehydrate the drink by adding water or another liquid to the tablet or powder. It is alto known to sell such drinks in concentrated liquid form. A p son wishing to consume such a drink must add water or other appropriate fluid to the concentrated liquid.

A disadvantage of such known dehydrated tablet or powdered form of drink is that water may not always be readily accessible to the user. If water is available, it may be inconvenient for the user to carry out the process of rehydrating the drink. In addition, the process of rehydrating the tablet or powder is time consuming, and particularly with medicinal solutions, it may be important that the medication is consumed as soon as possible.

A further disadvantage is that in certain situations or in certain countries, the-quality of the water may be doubtful, and it may not be advisable to use the water supply to rehydrate the powder, tablet or concentrated liquid.

It is also known to manufacture and sell drinks, particularly sparkling or effervescent drinks, in their completed form in cans or bottles. A disadvantage of this known practice is that the shelf life of such drinks may be short due to the fact that the drinks may quickly become "flat". In addition, the components forming the sparkling or effervescent drink may break down or disintegrate during the shelf life of the drink.

According to the present invention there is provided a container comprising a first compartment, and a second compartment, the first and second compartments being sealingly separated from one another, the first compartment being adapted to contain a first component of a solution, and the second compartment being adapted to contain a second component of a solution.

By means of the container of the present invention it is thus possible to store in a single container the components necessary to form a particular solution whilst at the same time maintaining these individual components separate from one another.

A further advantage of the present invention, is that it obviates the need to use very large containers to mix components to form soft drinks. It is known that it can be necessary to mix components to form soft drinks and very large vats. By means of the present invention, the components of the drinks only need to be manufactured, the mixing taking place in-situ as and when the user requires to consume the drink.

The container according to the present invention is particularly useful for storing components to form a medicinal solution or compound.

The container may take any suitable form and may comprise, for example, an aluminium can. Alternatively the container may be formed from a plastics material. The container may be made from a semi-rigid material.

Preferably, the first and second compartments are separated from one another by a seal.

Advantageously, the seal comprises a flexible thin membrane.

Preferably, there will be a pressure difference between the first portion and second portion of the container. This results in mixing of the two components when the seal is broken or at some other predetermined time.

Advantageously, the pressure differential is such that on opening the container, the seal is broken causing mixing of the components.

Alternatively, the container further comprises means for breaking the seal on opening of the container.

The container may further comprise an elongate member connectable to the first and second compartments.

The elongate member may comprise a tube.

The elongate member may be attachable to the first and second compartment by means of screw threads.

Conveniently, the second compartment comprises the tube.

Preferably, the means for breaking the seal comprises a grommet positioned within the second portion. The grommet extends to the outside of the cam, and on pushing the grommet, the seal will break thus mixing the components.

The invention will now be further described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a container according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic representation of the second embodiment of a container according to the present invention; Figures 3 to 5 are schematic representations of a third embodiment of a container according to the present invention; Figure 6 is a schematic representation of a fourth embodiment of a container according to the present invention; Figure 7 is a schematic representation of a fifth embodiment of a container according to the present invention; and Figures 8 and 9 are schematic representations of a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1 a container according to the present invention is designated generally by the reference numeral 1.

The container 1 comprises an aluminium can. Within the container is a first portion 2 and a second portion 3. The portions 2, 3 are separated from one another by means of a seal 4 comprising a thin flexible membrane. Portion 2 contains liquid such as water, and portion 3 comprises a second component such as a powder or liquid. The powder or liquid contained in portion 3 is maintained at a higher pressure than that of the liquid in portion 2.

The container 1 may be opened by any suitable means, for example, by means of a ring pull. On opening the can, the pressure within portion 3 is released, causing the thin flexible membrane 4 to break resulting in mixing of the components to form the desired mixture.

Turning now to Figure 2 a container according to the present invention is designated generally by the reference numeral 2.

The container comprises an aluminium or plastics container and may be rigid or semi-rigid. The container 2 is divided into two portions 21 and 22, portion 21 containing a first component of a mixture, and portion 22 containing a second component of a mixture. The two portions 21, 22 are sealingly separated from one another by means of a seal in the form of a thin flexible membrane 23. The container 20 further comprises a grommet 24 positioned within portion 22 and extending to the outside of the container 20 such that a portion of the grommet 22 is visible from the outside of the container 20. In order to break the seal 23 it is merely necessary to push the head of the grommet which causes an opposite end 25 to break through the seal 23 resulting in mixture of the components contained within the different portions 21, 22.In the example illustrated in Figure 2 it is thus possible to mix the components to form the desired mixture before opening the can.

Referring to Figure 3, a third embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The container 30 comprises a flexible enclosure made, for example, from a plastics material. The container 30 comprises a first portion 31 and a second portion 32. The portions 31, 32 are sealingly separated from one another by means of a seal 33 in the form of a thin membrane. Portion 31 contains a first component, for example, a liquid which is held below atmospheric pressure. Portion 32 comprises a second component, for example, a powder or a liquid which is held at atmospheric pressure. The container further comprises a grommet 34 the head 35 of which extends outside the container.

In order to mix the components, the grommet may be pulled out of the container. This results in the seal 33 imploding resulting in the mixing of the components to form the desired mixture.

The container according to the present invention may be used to store components to form any mixture, and is particularly useful for storing components which together with form a medicinal mixture or components which together will form a still, sparkling or effervescent liquid.

Referring to Figure 6, a fourth embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The container 50 comprises an enclosure 52 into which components in the form of, for example, a powder or a liquid may be placed. The container 52 has a lid 54 which in this example is a screw top lid. Once the component has been placed in the container 52 the screw top lid 54 is screwed to the container 52 thus closing the container with the component held within it.

The container 50 may then be filled with a second component in the form of, for example, a liquid. An elongate member 56 in the form of, for example, a tube is placed on top of the lid 54. The length of the tube 56 is such that it extends to the neck 58 of the container 50. The container 50 is also sealed by means of a screw top lid 60 and the dimensions of the container 50, the lid 60, the container 52 and the tube 56 are such that when the lid 60 is screwed to seal the container 50, the tube is just held in place between the lid 54 and the lid 60.

The tube 56 is attachable to both the lid 54 and the lid 60 by means of screw threads. When the lid 60 is unscrewed to open the container 50, the tube is caused to rotate which also results in unscrewing of the lid 54. This allows the components held separately within the containers 52 and 50 to mix. The tube 56 may then be either removed or used to agitate the mixture. The lid 54 may be detachable from the tube 56.

Referring to Figure 7, a fifth embodiment of the invention is shown. A container 90 comprises a screw base 92 into which is fittable a tube 94. The tube 94 may be filled with a component such as a powder or a liquid and then sealed. The sealed and filled tube is fittable in the screw base 92. The container 90 comprises a lid 96 which may be placed over the container 90 once the container has been filled with the second component.

The lid 98 is a screw top lid which also comprises a screw base 100 into which an end of the tube 94 is positionable. When the lid has been screwed to close the container 90, it also locks onto the tube 94.

When the lid is unscrewed to open the container 90, the tube 94 is caused to unscrew from the screw base 92 thus releasing the contents of the tube 94 into the container 90 where the two components may mix.

Referring now to Figures 8 and 9 a sixth embodiment of the invention is shown.

The container 70 comprises an enclosure 72 which may either be the full width of the container 70 as shown in Figure 7 or may have any smaller size as shown in Figure 6. The container 70 comprises a can having a ring pull 74 used to open the can.

Attached to the ring pull is an elongate member 76 in the form of, for example, a cord, a wire or a piece of string. The elongate member 76 is attached at one end 78 to the ring pull of the container 70 and at the opposite end to lid portion 80 attached to the container 72. Two separate components which are ultimately to be mixed contained in each of the containers 70, 72.

When the ring pull 74 is activated to open the container 70, the action causes the end 78 of the elongate member 76 to be pulled away from the container 72. This produces a force which causes the lid member 80 to pull away from the enclosure 72 thus opening the enclosure 72. This allows the components to mix.

Claims

1. A container comprising a first compartment, and a second compartment, the first and second compartments being separated from one another, the first compartment being adapted to contain a first component of a solution, and the second compartment being adapted to contain a second component of a solution.

2. A container according to claim 1 comprising an aluminium can.

3. A container according to claim 1 formed from a plastics material.

4. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the first and second compartments are separated from one another by a seal.

5. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the first compartment is connected to the second compartment by means of an elongate member.

6. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the second compartment comprises a tube connectable to a lid of the first compartment.

7. A container according to claim 4 wherein the seal comprises a flexible thin membrane.

8. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein there is a pressure difference between the first compartment and the second compartment of the container.

9. A container according to claim 8 wherein the pressure differential is such that on opening the container the seal is broken causing mixing of the components.

10. A container according to any one of the preceding claims further comprising means for breaking the seal on opening of the container.

11. A container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.