US20130068771A1

US20130068771A1 - Multi-Dye Container

Info

Publication number: US20130068771A1
Application number: US13/270,336
Authority: US
Inventors: David Tong
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-09-21
Filing date: 2011-10-11
Publication date: 2013-03-21
Also published as: TW201313150A

Abstract

A multi-dye container including a vessel body, a partition and a sealer is disclosed. The vessel body has a containing room and a first opening in communication with the containing room, with a first lid mounted on the vessel body to seal the first opening. The partition is positioned in the containing room and divides the containing room into two compartments, with the partition having a passage communicating the two compartments. The sealer has a first surface and a second surface, wherein the first surface has a shaft with a free end extending toward the first opening, the second face has at least one paddle, and the sealer is capable of sealing the passage of the partition.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a multi-dye container and, more particularly, to a multi-dye container able to separately store two different kinds of dyes and for the various dyes to be evenly mixed before use.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, different lotions of a hair dye composition are stored in different containers separately. When a user is going to use the hair dye composition for hair coloring, the user has to evenly mix these lotions in a specific ratio before applying the hair dye composition onto the hair. However, conventional storage and use of the hair dye composition not only have to be done with a plurality of containers for storage and mixture, but the lotions can be easily splashed out of a mixing container when being stirred in the mixture step since the mixing container is often a dish for a brush to easily touch the mixed lotions.
For example, referring to FIG. 1, an invention of a Taiwan patent with patent number 1265131 and entitled as “Tubular container with plural channels” is shown. A hair dye container 9 with a hollow tube 91 and a partition 92 is disclosed, wherein two annular indents 911 are arranged on two ends of the hollow tube 91 respectively, and the partition 92 is disposed inside the hollow tube 91 to form at least two channels 912 so as to receive different lotions of a hair dye composition separately. Thereby, a user may tear an end of the hollow tube 91 along one of the annular indents 911 for the lotions in the channels 912 to flow out.
Practically, in use of the hair dye container 9, an additional mixing container is necessary to receive the lotions originally received inside the channels 912 for mixture of the lotions. Although the lotions of the hair dye composition are received inside the same hair dye container 9 convenient for storage and movement, there is still a good possibility of splashed lotions in the mixture step. Therefore, a new hair dye container is needed to enhance the convenience in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore the primary objective of this invention to provide a multi-dye container allowing different dye materials to be separately stored vessel body and then to be mixed in the vessel body, so as to avoid splash of the mixed dye materials and the use of an additional mixing container, and also to enhance the convenience in operation and the evenness of the mixture.
The invention discloses a multi-dye container including a vessel body, a partition and a sealer. The vessel body has a containing room and a first opening in communication with the containing room, with a first lid mounted on the vessel body to seal the first opening. The partition is positioned in the containing room and divides the containing room into two compartments, with the partition having a passage communicating the two compartments. The sealer has a first surface and a second surface, wherein the first surface has a shaft with a free end extending toward the first opening, the second face has at least one paddle, and the sealer is capable of sealing the passage of the partition.
The invention further discloses that the first lid has a through hole, and the free end of the shaft extends through the through hole.
The invention further discloses that a handle is coupled with the free end of the shaft.
The invention further discloses that the shaft and the through hole couple with each other by threads on the surfaces of the shaft and the through hole.
The invention further discloses that the vessel body further has a neck portion bulging inwards to support the partition.
The invention further discloses that a section of the shaft opposite to the free end forms a stirring member.
The invention further discloses that a cross section of the stirring member is in a non-circular shape.
The invention further discloses that the vessel body further has a second opening in communication with the containing room, with a second lid mounted on the vessel body to seal the second opening.
The invention further discloses that a number of the at least one paddle is two, and a longitudinal edge of a cross section of one of the two paddles is not parallel to a longitudinal edge of a cross section of the other paddle.

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 cross-sectional view of a conventional multi-dye container disclosed by a Taiwan patent with patent number 1265131 and entitled as “Tubular container with plural channels.”

FIG. 2 shows a perspective and exploded view of a multi-dye container according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the multi-dye container of the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the multi-dye container of the first embodiment of the invention in use.

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional top view of the multi-dye container of FIG. 4 according to section line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of a multi-dye container according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the multi-compartment container of the second embodiment of the invention in use.

In the various figures of the drawings, the same numerals designate the same or similar parts. Furthermore, when the term “first,” “second,” 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

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a multi-dye container according to a first embodiment of the invention, which includes a vessel body 1, a partition 2 and a sealer 3. The vessel body 1 is a vessel with a containing room 11. The partition 2 is received in the containing room 11 to define the containing room 11 into a first compartment 11 a and a second compartment 11 b. The sealer 3 is capable of coupling with or departing from the partition 2 for the two compartments 11 a, 11 b of the containing room 11 to be in separation from or in communication with each other.
The vessel body 1 is preferably a tube with a shape of its cross section being in a circle, a triangle, a rectangle or a polygon. In addition to the containing room 11, the vessel body 1 further includes a first opening 12 in communication with the containing room 11 while the first opening 12 is formed in a wall defining the second compartment 11 b. There can also be a second opening 13 formed in another wall defining the first compartment 11 a. A first lid 14 is mounted on the vessel body 1 to seal the first opening 12, and a second lid 15 is also mounted on the vessel body 1 to seal the second opening 13 if the second opening 13 is provided. In this embodiment, the first and second lids 14, 15 are mounted onto the vessel body 1 by threads. Furthermore, there can be a through hole 16 formed in the first lid 14 while an outer cover 17 can be coupled with the first lid 14 or the vessel body 1 to cover the first lid 14.
The partition 2 has a cross section in the same shape of a cross section of the containing room 11, so as to be inserted into and positioned in the containing room 11 with a combination between the partition 2 and an inner surface of the vessel body 1 being completed in a water proof way. Specifically, a section of the containing room 11 on one side of the partition 2 and in communication with the second opening 13 is defined as the first compartment 11 a for storing a dye material, while another section of the containing room 11 on the other side of the partition 2 and in communication with the first opening 12 is defined as the second compartment 11 b for storing another dye material. Namely, the partition 2 divides the containing room 11 into the first compartment 11 a and the second compartment 11 b. In this embodiment, an outer peripheral surface of the partition 2 has a plurality of annular ribs 21 for the partition 2 to tightly abut against the inner surface of the vessel body 1. Additionally, there can be adhesive applied to the top and bottom of the outer peripheral surface of the partition 2, so as to enhance the combination between the partition 2 and the vessel body 1. The partition 2 includes a passage 22 extending from a side of the partition 2 to another side of the partition 2 to communicate the first compartment 11 a and the second compartment 11 b. Moreover, the passage 22 is adaptive to allow the dye material in the second compartment 11 b flowing into the first compartment 11 a, and the sealer 3 can be at least partially received in the passage 22 to conceal or reveal the passage 22. In addition, an inner peripheral surface of the partition 2, which defines the passage 22, can further have a plurality of annular ribs 23 for an enhanced sealing effect between the partition 2 and the sealer 3.
When the sealer 3 totally blocks the passage 22 of the partition 2, the dye materials separately stored inside the first and second compartments 11 a, 11 b are unable to mix with each other; alternatively, the dye materials in the first and second compartments 11 a, 11 b can be mixed if the sealer 3 is removed from the passage 22. A first surface of the sealer 3, which faces the second compartment 11 b, has a shaft 31 with a free end extending toward the first opening 12. The free end of the shaft 31 may extend through the first lid 14 via the through hole 16 and couple with a handle 34, so that an user can hold the handle 34 and drive the sealer 3 to rotate or to conceal or reveal the passage 22 of the partition 2, wherein the movable coupling between the shaft 31 and the through hole 16 is in a water proof way and which is implemented by threads in this embodiment. Preferably, a section of the shaft 31 opposite to the free end forms a stirring member 32, such as a paddle, with a cross section of the stirring member 32 being in a non-circular shape. A second surface of the sealer 3, which faces the first compartment 11 a, has at least one paddle 33, and the number of the at least one paddle 33 is two preferably. Specifically, the cross section of each paddle 33 is in a rectangular form while a longitudinal edge of the cross section of one paddle 33 is not parallel to another longitudinal edge of the cross section of the other paddle 33, so that these paddles 33 can provide a desirable stirring performance when the sealer 3 is rotated.
Please refer to FIG. 3 again, which shows the present multi-dye container separately receiving different dyes. In assembly, if the vessel body 1 has the second opening 13 and the second lid 15, the second lid 15 has to be mounted on the vessel body 1 to seal the second opening 13 initially. Besides, the partition 2 is initially positioned in the containing room 11 of the vessel body 1 too, so as to define the first and second compartments 11 a, 11 b. A first dye material “L1” is poured into the first compartment 11 a, and then the sealer 3 is inserted into the containing room 11 via the first opening 12 to seal the passage 22 of the partition 2. After the passage 22 is firmly sealed by the sealer 3, a second dye material “L2” is poured into the second compartment 11 b. It should be noticed that each of the first and second dye materials “L1, L2” may be in a liquid state or in a solid state. Finally, the first lid 14 is mounted on the vessel body 1 to cover the first opening 12, with the free end of the shaft 31 extending through the through hole 16 of the first lid 14 for the handle 34 to couple with. In addition, the outer cover 17 is used to conceal the handle 34 for protection of the handle 34.
Referring to FIG. 4, when it is necessary to mix the first dye material “L1” with the second dye material “L2,” a user can axially push or pull the shaft 31 for driving the sealer 3 to depart from and reveal the passage 22 of the partition 2. Accordingly, the first and second dye material “L1, L2” originally in the first and second compartments 11 a, 11 b can mix with each other through the passage 22. Specifically, since there are threads on the surfaces of the shaft 31 and the through hole 16 in this embodiment for the shaft 31 and the through hole 16 to couple with each other in a water proof way, the user may rotate the shaft 31 relative to the first lid 14 to drive the sealer 3. At the same time, referring to FIG. 5, as the shaft 31 is rotated, the stirring member 32 and the at least one paddle 33 are also driven, so as to evenly mix the first and second dye material “L1, L2” and to further stir the mixture thereof.
Referring to FIG. 6, a multi-dye container according to a second embodiment of the invention is shown. In this second embodiment, the vessel body can further has a neck portion 18 bulging inwards to a center of the containing room 11, with the cross section of the containing room 11 at the neck portion 18 being smaller than an area enclosed by an outmost peripheral edge of the partition 2, so that a side of the neck portion 18 can support the partition 2 for the partition 2 to be disposed at an exact position in the vessel body 1. Furthermore, the threads on the surfaces of the shaft 31 and the through hole 16 can be omitted.
Referring to FIG. 7, when the multi-dye container according to the second embodiment is used, the user may push the shaft 31 to drive the sealer 3 falling into the first compartment 11 a and rotate the shaft 31 to stir the mixture of the first and second dye materials “L1, L2” by the stirring member 32 and the at least one paddle 33, so as to evenly mix these two dye materials “L1, L2.”
In sum, the multi-dye container allows different dye materials to be separately stored and then mixed in the containing room 11 of the vessel body 1 by the partition 2 and the sealer 3, so as to avoid splash of the mixed dye materials and the use of an additional mixing container, and also to enhance the convenience in operation and the evenness of the mixture.
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

What is claimed is:

1. A multi-dye container, comprising:

a vessel body having a containing room and a first opening in communication with the containing room, with a first lid mounted on the vessel body to seal the first opening;

a partition positioned in the containing room and dividing the containing room into two compartments, with the partition having a passage communicating the two compartments; and

a sealer having a first surface and a second surface, wherein the first surface has a shaft with a free end extending toward the first opening, the second face has at least one paddle, and the sealer is capable of sealing the passage of the partition.

2. The multi-dye container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first lid has a through hole, and the free end of the shaft extends through the through hole.

3. The multi-dye container as claimed in claim 2, wherein a handle is coupled with the free end of the shaft.

4. The multi-dye container as claimed in claim 2, wherein the shaft and the through hole couple with each other by threads on the surfaces of the shaft and the through hole.

5. The multi-dye container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vessel body further has a neck portion bulging inwards to support the partition.

6. The multi-dye container as claimed in claim 1, wherein a section of the shaft opposite to the free end forms a stirring member.

7. The multi-dye container as claimed in claim 6, wherein a cross section of the stirring member is in a non-circular shape.

8. The multi-dye container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vessel body further has a second opening in communication with the containing room, with a second lid mounted on the vessel body to seal the second opening.

9. The multi-dye container as claimed in claim 1, wherein a number of the at least one paddle is two, and a longitudinal edge of a cross section of one of the two paddles is not parallel to a longitudinal edge of a cross section of the other paddle.