US2632280A - Safe dispensing container - Google Patents

Description

March 24, 1953 1 G, ||E|M 2,632,280

I SAFE DISPENSING CONTAINER Filed July 16, 1948 A Il 11117110111/ .//v VEA/Tof?. dA c o@ 6'. His/M 5) H/` HTTPRNEKS. HAR/ws, K/ECH, Fos T1 f? cHAR/e/s Patented Mar. 24, 1953 SAFE DISPENSING CONTAINER Jacob G. Heim, San Gabriel, Calif., assignor to The Calpat Corporation, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application July 16, 1948, Serial No. 39,149

2 Claims.

This invention refers to improvements in safety dispensing containers and more particularly to a dispensing container of the type which is adapted to act as a container for nocuous or poisonous fluids and which is so designed that the inadvertent or accidental removal of the fluid contained therein may be prevented.

A specic application for my invention lies in containers which are adapted to permit poisonous fluids to be dispensed to crawling insects such as ants and which are adapted to be deposited about thehouse or the garden in positions in which they are readily accessible to children and household pets. It is also within the concept of my invention to provide a container for nocuous or poisonous uids which will prevent the inadvertent drainage of a container containing such iluid should an individual attempt to drain the container thinking that the contents thereof are nonpoisonous or beneficial.

As indicated above, it is the custom to dispose containers of nocuous or poisonous fluids about the garden or the house which are adapted to permit the entry of insects thereinto to facilitate the poisoning of the insects and to rid the house or garden thereof. Numerous accidents to both children and household pets have occurred as the result of the use of such containers. Quite frequently children, happening upon such containers, will pick them up out of curiosity and drink their poisonous contents with extremely harmful results.

It is, therefore, a primary object of my invention to provide a container for poisonous fluids which will permit the ready dispensing of such uids to the insects whose eradication is desired but which will not permit the contents thereof to be drunk by a child, another individual or a household pet.

There are in use at the present time such containers adapted to dispense poisonous fluids automatically which have embodied therein wick means having one end deposited in the uid within the container and the other end protruding therefrom to render the poisonous liquid accessible to the insects whose destruction is desired.

It is another object of my invention to provide a container for poisonous liuids which has no protruding wick-like elements embodied therein, but which will incorporate dispensing means to prevent a child from inserting a stick or other element in the container and from withdrawing from the container any of the poisonous fluid contained therein upon the stick.

One of the greatest hazards inherent in the construction of poisonous fluid-dispensing containers is the fact that most of those in use at the present time have filling means or openings which are provided with caps susceptible of easy removal by a child who may stumble upon the container.

It is another object of my invention to provide a container adapted to dispense poisonous iiuids which has embodied therein an automatic, inaccessible closure means which will automatically close off the access to the interior of the container and the fluid therein when the cap sealing the llng Opening of the container is removed.

Containers of the conventional type are readily discernible by their size and shape to a child, and it is within the scope of my invention to provide a container which has such a configuration that it will readily simulate a piece of scrap lumber or any other similar object which is ordinarily found lying about the garden or within the house and of such a nature as not to excite the curiosity of a child.

It is a further object of my invention to pro vide a container adapted to dispense poisonous fluids which is so shaped and constructed that whatever the position may be in which it is disposed upon the surface of the ground or upon the surface of areas within the house, it will nevertheless assume a position in which the entry to the dispensing means embodied in the container is readily accessible to insects crawling upon the ground or the surface of the object upon which the container is disposed.

It is generally the object of my invention to provide a container for nocuous or poisonous fluids which will permit the ready distribution of poisonous fluids to the insects for whose consumption they are intended, but which will nevertheless prevent the inadvertent drainage of the fluids by children who may happen upon the container.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consultation of the following specification and the accompanying drawing, which is for the purpose of illustration only, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View taken on broken line 2-2 of Fig. l; Y

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of still another embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan View taken along line 6 6 of Fig. 5 and showing the manner in which the automatically actuated closure means incorporated within the embodiment of my invention shown in Fig. 5 is distended by the insertion therein of the dispensing tube; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary detail showing the manner in which the automatic closure means.

of Fig. 6 contracts when the dispensing tube is withdrawn therefrom to prevent the inadvertent dispensing of nocuous iiuids fromY the;

container.

Referring to Figs. l, 2 and 3 of the drawing, I show a preferred embodiment of my ,invenf tion which includes a dispensing container II! having side walls II, I2 and I3 and being formed in the general coniiguration of a triangle for a purpose which will be explained in greater detail below. A forward wall I5 joins the side walls II, I2 and I3 of the container and is provided with an elongated lling opening Il which, renders accessible aA fluid containing chamber I8 adapted to receive a predetermined amount of nocuous or poisonous fluid li) therein.

Thev dispensing container i@ is also provided with a rear wall IBlwhich has a dispensing opening 20 formed therein adapted to permit access by the insects whose destruction is desired to the interior of the chamber I8. A dispensing tube 2l Vhaving an entry port 22 and an exit port 23 has the entry port 22 disposed contiguously to the dispensing opening 2i) formed inthe rear wall I6 of the container I0.

Thus, as can be seen from Figs. 2 and 3 of' the drawing, the container I0 may be filled with nocuous or poisonous fluids through the medium of. the filling opening il which is provided with a securely fastened closure 24 which cannot be readily removed from the filling opening I'I. The amount of fluid deposited in the iiuid chamber I8 is such that,v when the container I0 is disposed upon any of the sides Ii, I2 or I3, the uid level will lie below the peripheral area ofv the dispensing tube 2l, and when the container is stood upon end the fluid level will lie below the exit port 23 of the dispensing tube 2I. The, exit port 23 of the dispensing tube ZI is of substantiallysmaller diameter than the diameter of the entry port 22Y so that, should a child pick up the container and shake it, the inadvertent dispensing of iiuid through the exit port 23V is precluded` since the dimensions of the exit port 23 are so small that the shaking of the container II) will not permit the dispensing of Yfluid therefrom.

The exterior of the container IIJ is provided with an incised or protuberant uid level or gage line 26 which, if the container IB is formed of translucent material, will enable the person filling the container through the iilling opening I1 to readily determine when the container has been suiciently filled with poisonous fluid. In addition, the exterior of the container It is-pro'- vided with a pattern or design 2l which is adapted to render the container I9 inconspicuous and not readily ascertainable by a child. For

Thus, they container is. notreadily seenY bya.

child, and since it appears to be a familiar o by the wedge-snaped,4 opening-'252,111thetrian object, there is no motivation for a child to pick up the container Il) for further investigation.

A triangular extension 28 of the container I0 is formed upon and integrally with the rear wall IB thereof and is provided with a wedgeshaped opening 29, the apex of which surrounds the dispensing opening 20.-:-for'med in the rear wall I6 of the container ID. rI'he sides of the wedge-shaped opening 29 constitute a plurality of inclined ramps 3| which are a means of access to the dispensing opening 2i) for insects whose destruction and eradication by the poisonous fluid I9 contained within the chamber I8 is intended.

Due toA the triangular configuration of the container lll and due to the wedge-shaped opening 29 provided in the triangular extension 28, the lower end of one of the two ramps 3I providedby the side walls4 of the wedgef-shaped opening 29 will alwaysrbe. disposed close to the` surface upon which the container I0 is placed,V thus facilitating the easy access of undesirable insects to the dispensingV opening 2t. As. can be readily seen from thedr'awing,- thewedgeshaped opening is disposed` in an angular. relationship to the axis ofthe container I0; When the insects enter the dispensing openinglo-.they pass through the entry port 2270i the dispensing, tube 2i and then traversev the length Aof the. dispensing tube 2| which they are permitted to',V leave throughv the exit port. 23 of thertube so that they may contact the poisonous fluid I9. The dispensing tube 2| has iteaXissubStanti-ally coaxial with the axis of tlfieiilli-ngopening.l and! the axis oi the passageV provided byl the tri. angular extension 2BA isdisposedinangular"rela,-Y tionship to the axis of thedispensingtube.V

As can be readily conceived, should; a chi-ld,A out of curiosity, ick upl the dispensing, container from the ground or the surface upon-whichfit is disposed, he wi-l'l'rstattempt tti-remove the. securely xed cap 24 from. the -fillingg'opening il.; Failing to do this, due to-the s'eourte:fixa-1I tion. of the crap, he willthen attemptto/remove, some of the iiuid inthe chamber. llofthecon, tainer by shaking `the container-up'.;and'down. Due tothe small eX-i-tport--23 ofthe dispensing tube 2i, he will fan m 'this-artempt.' nfsV- further attempts tofobtain'l the poisonous from the container iii are madre,they-w`A` prob, ably lie in,l the directionofinser'ti-riga-fstickor similar elongated objeotfinto'thepassageforrneda lar-shaped extensior1i-2'8.v Since ,thefwedge-sha opening or passage 29vis disposedin'angularirelaef tionshiprto the dispensing openingfZlard-lthe. appended dispensing tube 'I, 'the child isiunablel to insert the stick or similar element into( Y chamberA I8., and is thusprevented frornwwi i, drawing anyV poisonous iiuid therefronrf -nithis manner., the inadvertent andaccidental poiso of children by imbibmg meiosis 'npriseoiea' such containers is vavoided-loy. -,-niy. inyentiorii 'but the containeris, nevertheless, just asEeiectiveein;VA attaining its primary purpose of dispensing .1201-,Y sonous fiuidstoY insects whosejeradicat-ion: is desired.

Another embodiment of myrginven-tion-,is sho-wh in Fig. 4 of the drawing, exemplifiedbyfa, con-f tainer 3 3 which incorporatesyan inner vesselff;

which is concealed in :an outer concealing fhousf, Y

ing formed-,of wood-oranalegousmaterial and;

container 33 by children when the container 33 is disposed about the garden or the house. The inner vessel 3d provides a uid-containing chamber 35 which is adapted to receive a predetermined amount of poisonous iiuid through a lling opening 31 which may be readily closed and sealed by closure means 3B threadedly engaged with the external portions of the filling openings or otherwise suitably secured thereto. The inner vessel 34 is provided with a dispensing opening 39 through the medium of the closure means 3S, and there is attached to the closure means contiguous to the dispensing opening 39 a dispensing tube i5 whose axis is substantially coaxial with the axis of the container 33.

The dispensing tube 49 is provided with an entry port ii and an exit port 42, the exit port 42 `being of somewhat smaller diameter than the entry port 4l to prevent fluid from being ejected through the dispensing tube 55 when the container 33 is shaken by a child in an attempt to dislodge the contents of the luid-contaning chamber 35 therefrom. Although the main portion of the dispensing tube 45 has its axis coaxial with the axis of the container 33, the dispensing tube 4Q is formed with an oil-struck, integral portion 43. By the provision of the integral, oif-strucl portion i3 in the body of the dispensing tube 45, the possibility that a child may be able to inject a foreign body into the fluid-containing chamber 35 is eliminated and the child is unable to withdraw fluid from the fluid-containing chamber 35 by such an expedient.

Formed in that portion of the outer concealing housing 35 contiguous to the dispensing opening 35 in the closure 38 is a plurality of passages 44 provided by means oi' orifices 45 formed in the body of the outer concealing housing 35 and arranged with their axes angularly disposed to the axes of the dispensing tube 43 and the container 33. When the container 33 is disposed upon the surface of the ground insects are enabled to enter the duid-containing chamber 36 through the medium of the passages 44, the dispensing opening 39 and the dispensing tube 45. However, due to the fact that the fluid level within the huid-containing chamber 3S is regulated in such a manner that uid cannot be withdrawn through the dispensing tube 45, a child who may pick up the container 53 is unable to drain the poisonous fluid therefrom.

In Figs. 5, 6 and 7 of the drawing is shown another embodiment of my invention, which is exemplified by a container 41 adapted to be utilized in the dispensing of poisonous or nocuous fluid to undesired insects in a manner analogous to that in which the previously described embodiments of my invention are adapted to dispense such iiuid. The containerd'l provides a fluid-containing chamber 48 to which access may be had for filling purposes through the medium of a lling opening 9 which is designed to -be securely closed by means of a closure member 55.

The closure member 50 is provided with a threaded mock aperture 5| in its upper portion so that a child who picks up the container and turns it upside down in an attempt to remove its contents may ,be deceived into believing that the container is empty. The closure means 5B also provides a dispensing opening 52 which is designed to permit undesirable insects to have access to the contents of the fluid-containing chamber 48. Mounted upon the underside of the closure 5D or formed integrally therewith in communication with the dispensing opening 52 is a dispensing tube 53 through which access may be had to the contents of the fluid-containing chamber 48 by insects. Also provided in the body of the closure 50 is a passage 54 which permits communication from the outside of the container to the dispensing opening 52 and the dispensing tube 53 by insects desiring to enter the interior of the container 41. The passage 54 has its axis disposed in angular relationship to the axis of the container 41 and the axes of the dispensing opening 52 and dispensing tube 53 to render it impossible for a child to insert a foreign body into the duid-containing chamber 48 and to thus withdraw poisonous or nocuous fluid there from.

While it is intended that the primary purpose of the container 41 be the automatic and safe dispensing therefrom of nocuous or poisonous fluids to undesired insects, the container 41 is also provided with automatic closure means adapted to prevent the inadvertent removal therefrom of medicinal liquids which may be stored therein. To accomplish this purpose the container 41 is provided with a resilient closure means 55 which is disposed in the passage constituted by the lling opening 49 and which, in the present embodiment of the invention, is constituted by a rubber gland 56. Although the container is shown in the drawing as having a wick 51 provided in the dispensing tube 53, it is intended that the wick 51 not be provided with the dispensing tube 53 when the container 41 is utilized as a container for fluids, such as iodine, potassium permanganate, acidulous mixtures, and other fluids, designed to be applied externally but exceedingly harmful if taken internally by acci- It is common knowledge that many serious accidents result from the inadvertent drainage of vessels containing poisonous or nocuous fluids which are removed from a medicine cabinet and drained under the mistaken assumption that their contents are of a beneficial nature. Of course, it also happens that children having access to the contents of a medicine chest will frequently remove conventional closures from the vessels containing harmful fluids and drain the contents thereof. The container 41 is adapted to prevent the occurrence of such unfortunate accidents by providing the automatic resilient closure means 55 in the filling opening 49 of the container. When the container and its harmful contents are placed upon the shelf of a medicine cabinet, the closure 50 is removed from the filling opening and the dispensing tube 53 is thus withdrawn from the position in which it distends the resilient closure means 55. The mouth of the closure means 55 is automatically sealed upon the withdrawal of the dispensing tube 53 therefrom, and it is impossible to drain the poisonous fluid contained Within the uid-containing chamber d3 until the closure 50 is once again installed upon the container 41 and the dispensing tube 53 inserted through the closure means 55 to permit access to the nocuous or poisonous contents of this chamber.

Should a child insert an object through the closure means 55, the closure means will serve to wipe it clean of poisonous fluid as it is withdrawn, so none will remain upon the inserted object. Of course, the filling opening 49 may also be closed by reversing the closure member 50 and threading the area thereof surrounding the mock aperture 5i upon the container 41.

The withdrawal of the closure means 50 from its relationship with the filling opening 49 will 7 cause-theresilent closure `means 55 tcrseal'U injthe manner shown in Fig. 7 of -th'e drawing. When reinserted intopthe filling opening `L19, the dispensing` tube 53 vassociated-with the closure means 50 will cause the resilient'closurefmeans 55` to expandv in the manner shown; Fig. 6' of the drawing; Therefore, when'th'e` closuremeans 55 is removed from the ycontainer d'hthe content'sof the'uid'- containing chamber 48-are automatically sealed oiandA access thereto may'only be had by, reinstallingthe closurel 50 vupon thecontainer 41'.

Byrny inventionIthus prevent the inadvertent drainage of the harmfuland" poisonous contents of "vessels and'eliminatethe possibility thatthe accidentalconsumption ofy the contents of'such vessels may. take place.

in addition, I'provide a container adapted to contain a-nddispensenocuous or poisonous uids whichis providedwith dispensing means designed to, prevent unauthorized: access to said fiuid'by children, householdY pets or unauthorized, indi'-` vi'duals; The containers which are shown as embodiments ofmy invention may be easily and cheapiyn1annfazctured',` are of durable andrugged constrnctionand maybe readily relled when the iiui'dcontained Ltherein is exhausted;

Aith'ough'have shown and described herein preferred"A embodiments of' my invention incorporatingfspecificelements, I desiredit to be understoodrthatsuch'embodiments have beenshown fon-the purposeofillustrating the manner of construction andmode-of operation of myY in- Ven-tion; andr; thereforegzdo'not intend that'my invent-ionr be lim-itedto the specic constructions and elementsshownbut prefer rather that it be accorded 'the-full scope of the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A vessell adapted toVY permit the safer dispensing of nocuous iuids including: a'trianguiar lyshaped housingjha-vinga fluid chamber formed therein and afdispensingfopening in communication withsaid uid' chamber; a dispensingtube communicat'ingA with` said chamber Vadapted to permit access to said--uid and having its axis substantiallycoincident with the axis. ofV said ch'amberandlhaving, an entry port and an exit port,` saidfentrygfportbeingjuxtaposed to said passage in theIV bottom'Y thereof" communicating'- with said entry port to sa-idi` dispensingA tube, said passage beingjtriang-ularin transverse cross sec--l tion adjacent sai-duid' chamber, and wherein'th'e closed apex of said passage is located adjacent said entry port.

2. A Vessel adapted'to permit the' safe dispensingof'nocuous iiuids" including: a triangularly shaped housing having aA uid chamber formed therein anda filling; openingr anda dispensing opening-in communication withsaid fluid chamber; av closure securelysealing `said lling.: opening; a dispensing'tube..communicatingwith said chamber adapted to" permit access to' said uid and having `its axis substantially'coincident`with the axis ofk said lling opening and having" an entryfportr and" an` exit' port', said entry port being 'juxtaposed toisaid dispensingopening'; and said housing' having a passage'in" the bottom thereofV communicatingwith" said entry port to said dispensing'tube, vsaid passage beingtriangular in transverse cross'section adjacent said fluid chamber, and wherein the closed .apex of vsaidpassage is located adjacent saidcentry port.

JACOB G..HEIM1' REFERENCES; CITED The following references areofrecord Yin-the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS f Number Name Date D. 35,976 McCormickv ..July 8, 1902 117,489 Victor July 25, 1871 1,629,402 March May 17, 1927 2,060,245 Roseeld Nov. 10, 1936 2,223,256V Kross Nov. 26, 1940 2,234,500 Moore A-- 11,1941 2,294,858" Allen Sept. 1, 1942 Number Country Date 335 Australia` Dec.`9, v1931 625,361 Germany Feb; 7, 1936

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