US2024843A - Nonrefillable bottle - Google Patents

Description

Dec- 17, 1935- M. J. BELQERH AL 2,024,843

NONREFILLABLE BOTTLE Filed Aug. 6, 1954 VENTCRS; MAQ/0J.' Emmi /QMHE Patented Dec. 17, 1935 UNITED STATES NNREFELLABLE BOTTLE Mario J. Belgeri and Theodore F. A. Umland, St. Louis, Mo.

Application August 6, i934, Serial No. 738,606

2 Claims.

This invention relates to non-rellable bot- 1716s;y 1

The-main object of the invention is to provide'a bottle of novel construction, that cannot be'relled or used more than once as a container for liquid that is sold to the public.

Anotherobject of the invention is to provide afbottle; which, in addition to having the desirableY characteristic or feature above referred to, isy of suchy designl or construction that the contents of the'bottle canvbe easilyV poured from the bottle.

Briefly described, our invention consists of a bottle comprising., a lower portion that holds the liquidto. be dispensed, an upper portion providedr with a neck or spout,.. and a hemispherical-shaped sealing chamber insaid upper portion, connected with the lower portion of thebottle by one or more-ports or ducts that lead from the. peripheral edge of said sealing chamber atV a pointv above the central portion of; theconcaved bottom of. saidy chamber, and connected. with said spout or neck by a passageway that leads upwardly from the center of saidfsealing chamber` Due to the faotthat said sealing.y chamber` is-substantially dished or bowlshaped, and islconnected with ther spout by a passageway that leadsA upwardly from the depressedv central portion of said chamber, the part of the upper portion of the bottle that forms-the toptwall of saidsealing chamber constitutes a depending, annular-shaped baffle whose. lower. end terminates at apoint below the upper end of the ductvor. duets previously mentioned, that lead downwardly from the peripheral edge of the sealing chamber and establish communication between said chamber andthe. lower portion of the bottle that holds the. liquid. to be dispensed. Consequently, if liquidbe. poured` into therspout in an attempt tofrell'the bottle, such liquid, even ifit should find its way into the sealing chamber, will rise inlsaidohamber and submerge the lower end of said baffle, thus producing an air lock in the upper portion of the sealing chamber which prevents said liquid from rising high enough to/overflow or escape from the sealing chamber through the duct or duets that lead downwardly from the peripheral edge of the sealing chamber, and which constitute the sole outlet from said chamber to the lower portion of the bottle. In. other Words, in our improved bottle thereisa sealing chamber in the upper portion of :the bottle, provided with a concaved bottom arrangedin-d-irect longitudinal alignment with the spout and overhung by an annular baliie disposed so that any liquid which might pass inwardly through the spout or the passageway that extends from the spout to the sealing chamber, would collect in the central portion 5 of the sealing chamber, and upon rising in said chamber, would submerge the lower end of said baille, and thus form an air lock in the upper peripheral portion of the sealing chamber that would effectively prevent liquid from escaping from the sealing chamber into the lower portion of the bottle, through the duct or ducts at the peripheral edge of the sealing chamber.

If desired, the upper portion of the bottle that contains the sealing chamber may be formed as one unit, and the lower portion of the bottle may be formed as a separate unit that has no top, the lower portion of the, bottle being adapted to be lled with liquid and thereafter closed by combining or attaching said lower portion with the upper portion in such a manner that said'portions cannot thereafter be separated or detached without breaking one or the other of said portions, or making it clearly apparent to the public that the bottle has been tampered with.

Figure 1 of the drawing is a vertical longitudinal view of our improved bottle.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional View, taken 30 on approximately line 2-2 of Figure l, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional View, taken on approximately the line 3--3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow;

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Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view,'taken on approximately the line 4-4 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow.

As stated previously, we prefer to construct the bottle in the form of two separate units or portions, to wit, a lower portion that serves as a container for the liquid to be dispensed and which is not provided with a top, and an upper portion that serves as a top for said lower portion and which is provided with a neck or spout and a sealing chamber, said units being connected together after the lower unit has been lled with the liquid to be dispensed. However, We wish it to be understood that certain features of our invention, such as the sealing chamber and elements associated with same, are applicable to bottles in which the lower portion of the ,bottle is integrally attached to 55 the part of the bottle in which the sealing chamber is formed.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates the preferred form of our invention, il designates the bottom unit or lower portion oi the bottle that is adapted torserve as a container for liquid, and A designates the top unit or upper portion of the bottle that is combined with or attached to said lower portion 9 after said lower portion has been filled, As shown in Figure 1, the bottorn unit 3 consists of an open glass container provided with a bottom and with a side wall whose top edge terminates at a point above the liquid level. The particular means that is used to connect or attach said two portions is immaterial and may be varied without departing from the spirit of our invention. In the form of our invention herein illustrated one oi said units, for example, the lower portion 5 of the bottle, is provided at its upper end with a plurality of substantially cani-shaped ribs or lugs 'l that are 'adapted to be interlocked or arranged in'engagement with co-operating grooves I in the top unit A, after which one of said units is rotated -in a direction to cause said lugs and grooves to co-operate with each other to draw said units together and compress a gasket i I that is ernployed to produce a liquidetight joint between said units. In order to prevent the units 9 and A from being thereafter separated, the lugs l are equipped with resilient locking devices formed preierably by leaf springs 8 imbedded. in the lugs 1 and arranged so that'in the operation of turning or rotating said units to draw them together,- as previously explained, the free ends of the locking devices 3 will snap into engagement with stops or shoulders 8n on the top unit A, and thus effectively preventV said units from being turned in the reverse direction so as to disengage the lugs 'I from the grooves IU.

The upper portion A of the bottle is provided with a spout, neck or discharge portion I, and

Vsaid upper portion is also equipped with a sealing chamber 5, which is of such shape and arrangement that when theV chamber contains liquid, air will be confined in said chamber in such a manner as to produce an air lock that effectively prevents liquid Vfrom being introduced into the bottle through the neck I to rell or replenishl the lower portion 9 of the bottle. As shown in Figure 1, the sealing chamber 5 is of substantially hemispherical shape or form and is disposed kliorizontally in the top portion A of the bottle in concentric relation with the spout i, the concaved or dish shaped bottom of said chamber being arranged below and in direct bottle.

longitudinal alignment with the spout of the A plurality of openended, verticallydisposed ducts 5 are formed ,in the top portion A so as to establish communication between the lowerY portion 9 of the bottle and the peripheral upper portion of the sealing chamber A. A. valve chamber or vent chamber 3 is formed in the upper portion A of the bottle between the spout I and the'center portion of the sealing chamber 5, anda valve 4 is provided for normally cutting off communication between the sealing chamber 5 and the vent chamber 3. In

the bottle herein illustrated the valve chamber or vent chamber 3 is disposed vertically and provided with a tapered or inclined side wall whose lower end acts as a seat for a ball valve ll, said valve chamber 3 being of such shape and dimensions that when the bottle is tilted or arranged in an inclined position to discharge liquid from the spout I of the bottle, the valve 4 will unseat or roll towards the large end of the valve cham ber 3, and thus vent the sealing chamber 5 Vand the lower portion 9 of the bottle in which the liquid is confined. Il desired, a horizontallydisposed partition provided with orifices 2 may be arranged between the spout I and the valve chamber 3, so as to eliminate, or tend to eliminate, the possibility of the valve 4 being unseated by means of a Wire or other instrument introduced through the spout I.

At the center of the sealing chamber 5 is a depending baffle 5 whose lower end terminates in a lower horizontal plane than the upper end of the ducts 5, previously mentioned. Consequently, in the normal use of the bottle, i. e., when small quantities of liquid are poured out of the bottle from time to time, a sufficient body of liquid will collect in the lower portion or central portion of the sealing chamber 5 to cover the lower end of the baffle 5, such coniined liquid co-operating with said baille 5iI to produce a liquid seal which cuts off communication between the spout I of the bottle and the upper portion of the sealing chamber 5 to which the ducts 6 lead from the lower portion 9 of the bottle. Similarly, if the bottle has been emptied and an attempt is made to rell the bottle by unseating the valve 4 and introducing liquid through the spout l, the liquid which enters the sealing chamber 5 will rise in same and cover the lower end of the baie 5, thereby trapping air in the upper portion of the chamber 5 and in the lower portion 9 of the bottle. It is practically impossible, however, for surlicient liquid to be introduced into the sealing chamber 5 through the spout I of the bottle to cause such Vliquid to overflow through the ducts 5, due to the fact that the air which is trapped in the upper portion of `the sealing chamber 5 when the lower end of the baffle 5I1 is submerged in liquid, acts as an air lock to prevent liquid from rising in the sealing chamber 5 high enough to overflow or escape from said sealing chamber through theducts 6. It will thus be seen that in our improved bottle it is impossible to add liquid to the bottle or to rell the bottle through the spout I, due to the fact that the sealing chamber 5 is of such shape and arrangement that when the Ybaffle 5l is submerged or partially covered by liquid in the' sealing chamber 5, sufficient air is trapped in the upper portion of the sealing chamber 5 or in the lower part 9 of the bottle to resist a rise in the level, of. the liquid in the sealing chamber 5 to aA height suicient to permit such liquid to overilow into the ducts 6. While the valve 4 Vis not absolutely essential, we prefer to equip the bottle with such a valve and also with a perforated baie arranged between the spout and the valve chamber, as such elements further reduce the possibility of the bottle being refilled or replenished.

The shape, dimensions and arrangement of the sealing chamber 5, the perforated baffle in the discharge passage and the ducts 6 may be` varied so long as said parts are of such design that the outlet from the sealing chamber 5 toy the spout l is arranged in such relationship with the inlet to the sealing chamber 5 from the lower portion of the bottle, that a body of air will be trapped in the sealing chamber 5, and thus constitute an air lock whenever the sealing chamber 5 contains suicient liquid to cover or partially cover the bale 5a at the center of the sealing chamber. Preferably, the ducts 6 are located some distance inwardly from the outer edge of the sealing chamber 5, and an annular groove I2 is located at the extreme outer edge of the sealing chamber, as shown in Figure 1, so as to tend to prevent a wire or small pliable tube from being iished into the lower portion 9 of the bottle, in an endeavor to replenish or refill the bottle through the spout I. The two portions A and 9 of the bottle are preferably made of glass, and the top portion A, in turn, is preferably made of two sections, which, after being molded, are joined or fused together on a line approximately coincident with the upper enlarged end of the valve chamber 3 after the Valve 4 has been introduced into said chamber.

Having thus described our invention, what we claimias new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A non-rellable bottle, comprising `a lower portion adapted to act as a container for liquid and having no top, an upper portion constituting a top or closure for said lower portion and provided with a spout, co-acting means on said upper and lower portions for joining the same together after said lower portion has been lled, a locking means which prevents said portions from being detached or separated without defacing one of said portions, a substantially hemispherical-shaped sealing chamber in said upper portion arranged below said spout with the concaved bottom of said chamber in longitudinal alignment with said spout, ducts leading from the peripheral edge portion of said sealing chamber to the lower portion of the bottle, a means at the center of the sealing chamber which is adapted to co-act with liquid in said chamber to produce a liquid seal for the lower portion of the bottle, a vent chamber arranged between the sealing chamber and the spout of the bottle, and a ball Valve in said vent chamber for cutting 01T communication between said Vent chamber and the sealing chamber when the bottle is in other than pouring position.

2. A non-rellable bottle, comprising a spout or discharge portion, a lower portion adapted to act as a container for liquid, a sealing chamber arranged in direct longitudinal alignment with the spout and having its peripheral portion connected by a duct with the lower portion of the 20 the bottle through said duct, the upper end of 25 Said duct terminating in a horizontal plane higher than the lower end of said baiile.

MARIO J. BELGERI. THEODORE F. A. UNLAND.

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