US20130026124A1

US20130026124A1 - Container Capable of Accommodating Multiple Substances

Info

Publication number: US20130026124A1
Application number: US13/191,611
Authority: US
Inventors: Kuo Cheng WU
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-07-27
Filing date: 2011-07-27
Publication date: 2013-01-31

Abstract

A container capable of accommodating multiple substances includes a bottle, a tube and a scraping member. The bottle has a chamber. The bottle further comprises a bottom and an opening portion at two ends thereof. The opening portion communicates with the chamber. The tube is disposed in the chamber of the bottle and has a positioning end and an opening. The positioning end is detachably coupled with the opening portion of the bottle, and the opening of the tube is detachably coupled with the bottom of the bottle. The scraping member is extended into the tube in the bottle and has a scraping portion abutting against an inner face of the tube.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a container that can accommodate multiple substances and, more particularly, to a container that can accommodate multiple substances and can mix the substances when it is desired.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional container that can accommodate multiple substances is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 7,931,140 entitled “cosmetic container with integrated mixing insert”. Referring to FIG. 8, the conventional container 8 comprises a body 81 and a movable cap 82. The body 81 has a plurality of chambers 811 and an opening 812 communicating with the chambers 811. The body 81 further comprises a scraper 813 on an inner wall of the body 81 adjacent to the opening 812. The movable cap 82 is coupled with the body 81 at the opening 812 thereof, and has a stem 821 extending into the body 81. When the stem 821 is pulled out of the body 81, the scraper 813 can scrape off the cosmetic liquid remained on the stem 821, preventing the cosmetic liquid on the stem 821 from dropping on the ground.
However, the sealing effect of the chambers 811 is poor, causing the cosmetic liquids in the chambers 811 to mix. Moreover, the scraper 813 is not very efficient as the scraper 813 can only scrape off the cosmetic liquids remained on an outer face of the stem 821.
Another conventional container that can accommodate multiple substances is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 2,494,294 entitled “plurality capsule”. Referring to FIG. 2, the conventional container 9 comprises a housing 91 having a hole 911. A tube 92 can be extended into the housing 91 via the hole 911. A rubber sleeve 93 is disposed in the housing 91 and fitted around the tube 92. In such an arrangement, the housing 91 and the tube 92 can accommodate different substances. When the tube 92 is withdrawn from the housing 91, the substances of the housing 91 and the tube 92 can mix together. In such a case, the rubber sleeve 93 can scrape off the substance remained on an outer face of the tube 92.
However, although the rubber sleeve 93 of the container 9 can scrap off the substance remained on the outer face of the tube 92, it cannot scrap off the substance remained on an inner face of the tube 92. Thus, the substance on the inner face of the inner tube 92 will drop on the ground, resulting in a waste and inconvenience in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore the objective of this invention to provide a container capable of accommodating multiple substances in which a substance remained on an inner face of a tube of the container can be scraped off when in use, thus preventing the substance from dropping on the ground.
The invention discloses a container capable of accommodating multiple substances, which includes a bottle, a tube and a scraping member. The bottle has a chamber. The bottle further comprises a bottom and an opening portion at two ends thereof. The opening portion communicates with the chamber. The tube is disposed in the chamber of the bottle and has a positioning end and an opening. The positioning end is detachably coupled with the opening portion of the bottle, and the opening of the tube is detachably coupled with the bottom of the bottle. The scraping member is extended into the tube in the bottle and has a scraping portion abutting against an inner face of the tube.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinafter and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a conventional container capable of accommodating multiple substances.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of another conventional container capable of accommodating multiple substances.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a container capable of accommodating multiple substances according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the container of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows an operation diagram of the container of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a container capable of accommodating multiple substances according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the container of the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows an operation diagram of the container of the second embodiment.

In the various figures of the drawings, the same numerals designate the same or similar parts. Furthermore, when the term “first”, “second”, “third”, “fourth”, “inner”, “outer” “top”, “bottom” and similar terms are used hereinafter, it should be understood that these terms refer only to the structure shown in the drawings as it would appear to a person viewing the drawings, and are utilized only to facilitate describing the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a container capable of accommodating multiple substances includes a bottle 1, a tube 2 and a scraping member 3 according to a first embodiment of the invention. The tube 2 is detachably coupled with the bottle 1. The scraping member 3 is disposed inside the tube 2 in the bottle 1 so as to scrape off the substance remained on an inner face of the tube 2.
The bottle 1 has a chamber 11 which is filled with substances that can be mixed, such as beverages, medicaments or others. In the embodiment, the bottle 1 has a bottom 12 and an opening portion 13 communicating with the chamber 11. The bottle 1 further comprises a lateral wall 14 between the bottom 12 and the opening portion 13.
The bottom 12 of the bottle 1 has a positioning member 121 to which the tube 2 is coupled. The positioning member 121 can be implemented as a protrusion. The tube 2 can be coupled with the bottom 12 in a tight manner via the protrusion. The protrusion may be assembled to the bottom 12 or formed on the bottom 12 in an integral manner. The positioning member 121 preferably comprises a plurality of airtight rings 122 on an outer circumferential face thereof. The airtight rings 122 can abut against the inner face of the tube 2 to enhance the sealing effect of the tube 2.
The tube 2 can be disposed in the chamber 11 and may be a hollow tube with a fixed or varying outer diameter. The tube 2 may be filled with substances that can be mixed, such as beverages, medicaments or others. The tube 2 has a positioning end 21 and an opening 22. The positioning end 21 of the tube 2 may be detachably coupled with the opening portion 13 of the bottle 1. The opening 22 of the tube 2 can be detachably coupled with the positioning member 121 of the bottom 12.
The positioning end 21 of the tube 2 has a cap 211. The positioning end 21 can be coupled with the opening portion 13 of the bottle 1 via the cap 211. The cap 211 can be coupled with the opening portion 13 by ways of, for example, fastening, screwing or the like. In this embodiment, screwing is the case. The opening 22 of the tube 2 is coupled with the positioning member 121 of the bottom 12 in a tight manner.
The scraping member 3 is extended into the tube 2 and has a scraping portion 31 abutting against the inner face of the tube 2.
The scraping member 3 has a rod 3 a and a plate 3 b. The rod 3 a has a first end and a second end. The first end of the rod 3 a is coupled with the positioning member 121 of the bottom 12 of the bottle 1. The second end of the rod 3 a extends towards the opening portion 13 of the bottle 1. The plate 3 b is coupled with the second end of the rod 3 a. The plate 3 b can be coupled with the rod 3 a or assembled to the rod 3 a by ways of, for example, fastening or screwing. In a preferred case, the plate 3 b is assembled to the rod 3 a by way of fastening or screwing so that substance can be filled into the tube 2. In addition, the scraping portion 31 is formed on an outer periphery of the plate 3 b.
Referring to FIG. 4, when in assembly, the tube 2 is inserted into the bottle 1 until the opening 22 of the tube 2 is coupled with the positioning member 121 of the bottom 12. Then, the rod 3 a of the scraping member 3 is inserted into the tube 2 (without the plate 3 b and the cap 211 involved at this moment). In this situation, substances in the bottle 1 and the tube 2 can be separated from each other. The substances in the bottle 1 and the tube 2 can be different type of liquids. Alternatively, one substance can be a liquid such as a beverage, a medicament or the like, and the other substance can be a non-liquid substance that can mix with or become dissolved in the liquid, such as eatable pearl sago or other powders with special flavor. After the substances are filled into the bottle 1 and the tube 2, the plate 3 b is forced into the tube 2 until the plate 3 b is coupled with the second end of the rod 3 a. This allows the scraping portion 31 of the plate 3 b to abut against the inner face of the tube 2. Finally, the cap 211 can be coupled with the opening portion 13 of the bottle 1 and the positioning end 21 of the tube 2, thus completing assembly of the bottle 1.
Referring to FIG. 5, when it is desired to drink the substances in the container, the cap 211 can be twisted open to remove the cap 211 from the opening portion 13 of the bottle 1. When the cap 211 is being twisted, the cap 211 can turn without disengaging from the positioning end 21 of the tube 2. As the cap 211 is gradually twisted away from the opening portion 13 of the bottle 1, the cap 211 may simultaneously drive the tube 2 to separate from the positioning member 121 of the bottom 12, allowing the substances in the bottle 1 and tube 2 to mix. Thus, a mixed beverage with special flavor and freshness can be provided.
Referring to FIG. 5 again, the container of the first embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the scraping portion 31 of the scraping member 3 can scrape off the substance (such as liquid) remained on the inner face of the tube 2 when the tube 2 is being pulled away from the bottle 1. This can prevent the substance of the tube 2 from dropping on the ground.
Referring to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, the container of the invention may further comprise an auxiliary scraping member 4 for improved scraping effect according to a second embodiment of the invention. The auxiliary scraping member 4 is disposed in the chamber 11 and coupled with the bottle 1. The auxiliary scraping member 4 has a scraping portion 41 abutting against an outer face of the tube 2. In this embodiment, the auxiliary scraping member 4 comprises a plurality of rods 4 a and a scraping ring 4 b. Each rod 4 a has one end coupled with the bottom 12 of the bottle 1. The rods 4 a preferably surround the tube 2 in order not to disturb assembly of the tube 2. The scraping ring 4 b is disposed at other end of each rod 4 a and fitted around the tube 2. The scraping portion 41 is formed on an inner periphery of the scraping ring 4 b in order to touch the outer face of the tube 2. In such an arrangement, as shown in FIG. 8, the scraping portion 41 of the auxiliary scraping member 4 can scrape off the substance remained on the outer face of the tube 2. Therefore, the scraping member 3 and the auxiliary scraping member 4 can jointly provide a completed scraping effect to prevent the substances in the container from dropping on the ground.
In conclusion, the scraping members 3 and 4 can efficiently scrap off the substances remained on the inner and outer faces of the tube 2, thereby preventing the substances in the container from dropping on the ground. This can avoid the environment from being stained by the substances and prevent waste of the substances.
Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to its presently preferable embodiment, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A container capable of accommodating multiple substances, comprising:

a bottle having a chamber, wherein the bottle further comprises a bottom and an opening portion at two ends thereof, and the opening portion communicates with the chamber;

a tube disposed in the chamber of the bottle and having a positioning end and an opening, wherein the positioning end is detachably coupled with the opening portion of the bottle, the opening of the tube is detachably coupled with the bottom of the bottle; and

a scraping member extended into the tube in the bottle and having a scraping portion abutting against an inner face of the tube.

2. The container capable of accommodating multiple substances as claimed in claim 1, wherein the scraping member comprises a rod and a plate, the rod has a first end and a second end, the first end of the rod is coupled with the bottom of the bottle, the second end of the rod extends towards the opening portion of the bottle, the plate is coupled with the second end of the rod, and the scraping portion is formed on an outer periphery of the plate.

3. The container capable of accommodating multiple substances as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an auxiliary scraping member disposed in the chamber and coupled with the bottle, wherein the auxiliary scraping member has a scraping portion abutting against an outer face of the tube.

4. The container capable of accommodating multiple substances as claimed in claim 3, wherein the auxiliary scraping member comprises a plurality of rods and a scraping ring, each of the rods has one end coupled with the bottom of the bottle, the scraping ring is disposed at other end of each of the rods and fitted around the tube, and the scraping portion is formed on an inner periphery of the scraping ring.

5. The container capable of accommodating multiple substances as claimed in claim 4, wherein the rods surround the tube.

6. The container capable of accommodating multiple substances as claimed in claim 1, wherein the positioning end of the tube has a cap, and the positioning end is coupled with the opening portion of the bottle via the cap.

7. The container capable of accommodating multiple substances as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottom of the bottle has a positioning member to which the opening of the tube is coupled.

8. The container capable of accommodating multiple substances as claimed in claim 7, wherein the positioning member comprises a plurality of airtight rings on an outer circumferential face thereof, and the airtight rings abut against the inner face of the tube.