US2885104A - Bottle with disposable cartridge - Google Patents

Description

I. GREENSPAN BOTTLE WITH DISPOSABLE CARTRIDGE May 5, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 11, 1956 Qwzaeiair May 5, 1959' I. GREENSPAN BOTTLE WITH DISPOSABLE CARTRIDGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 11, 1956 38 II/I/I I I United States Patent C BOTTLE WITH DISPOSABLE CARTRIDGE- Irving Greenspan, Skokie, Ill.

Application October 11, 1956, Serial No. 615,309

11 Claims. (Cl. 215-6) This invention relates generally to dispensing bottles and more particularly, relates to a novel construction for a disposable cartridge adapted to be removably installed in such a bottle, said cartridge capable of holding the solvent and solute of a predetermined solution separated one from the other until it is desired to prepare the solution and thereafter, permitting said solvent and solute to be intermixed directly in the bottle and then dispensed without removing the cartridge.

Although the bottle embodying the invention may be used in connection with. a large variety of solutions which are not desired to be mixed until immediately prior to the time of their use, it is contemplated that the invention will be particularly advantageous as a feeding bottle. Generally, milk formulae fed to infants is prepared and then. refrigerated until used because harmful bacteria thrive and multiply in a warm culture. An adequate supply of the milk formula must be available at all times andsinceit is inadvisable to permit the formula to remain unrefrigerated for long periods of time, it is inconvenient andsometimes impossible to travel with infants who may require feeding every two to four hours. Also, preparation ofv milk formulae and storage in conventional bottles is time consuming because of sterilization techniques which must be closely followed. There are available dispensing containers which permit the ingredients of a solution to be stored separately and then intermixed in the containers, however, in many instances, such containers cannot be used successively after the solution is once formed. In other instances, the containers are relatively expensive because of the particular structure employed to keep the solute and solvent separated and for mixing thereof. Other inconveniences attending prior art bottles of. this type include dilficulty in filling the bottle with the necessary ingredients and difliculty encountered in successfully mixing the solute and solvent.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the invention to provide a dispensing bottle of the character described which is characterized by a structure capable of substantially eliminating the disadvantages stated hereinabove.

An important object of the invention is to provide a dispensing bottle of the character described which includes a disposable cartridge and a holder for the cartridge, said cartridge comprising an expandable container formed of a thin, flexible sheet material characterized by a high tensile strength and having a heat sealing agent coatedon the interior surface thereof, said container being providedwith a pair of compartments sealed. one from the other by means of said agent between juxtaposed parts of.said.interior surface, said container havingmeans operable manually from exterior thereof for rupturing the seal between the compartments to permit intermixture of with the ingredients of the solution separately stored in said compartments, and the intermixture and dispensing 2. of said ingredients may be accomplished in the said eon; tainer without displacing same from the holder.

A further important object of the invention is to provide a bottle of the character described. in which said cartridge is formed from a high tensile strength polyester film having at leastone surface thereof coated with a polyethylene capable of providing said heat sealing'agent.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bottle of. the character described in which said cartridge is formed as. an expandable sleeve from said high tensile strength. sheet. or film material, said sleeve being inwardly folded lengthwise along lateral edges thereof to provide pleats having superimposed facing surfaces having the heat sealing. agent therebetween, said sealing agentbeing cohered between facing surfaces of the sleeve and pleats on the interior of the sleeve along a line transversely of the sleeve to form a pair of interior compartments sepa rated one from the other along said. line of juncture, said manual operable means comprising an elongate strip of said. sheet or film material having the sealing agent on both surfaces thereof and secured across said linev of cohesion. andcapable of being pulled to rupture the sealing juncture between said compartments.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dispensing bottle of the character. described in which said cartridge is closed at one end thereof'and its opposite end has novel support means secured thereat for attaching a dispensing device such as a nursing nipple.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dispensing bottle of the character described in. which the bottom end: of the holder has means for. anchoring the cartridge thereat, said anchoring means also permitting the manually operableseal. rupturing means to be manipulated from exterior of the holder if desired.

A further object of the. invention is to provide a novel dispensing bottle of the character described characterized by a structure whose several parts cooperate to permit achievement of the many objects of I the invention both enumerated and those not specifically stated but which will occur to the skilled artisan upon reading this disclosure.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail in the specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In complying with the patent statutes it has been necessary to refer to specific structural details of the parts of the invention which it is contemplated may be varied in minor respects without departingfrom the spirit or sacrificing any of. the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, where the samecharacters of reference are employed to designate the same or equivalent parts" throughout the several figures thereof:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of the novel dispensing. bottle embodying the invention, portions of the bottle being broken away to show particular structural features.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the cartridge of the invention and showing the compartmentation achieved for separately storing the ingredients of a.

solution.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken through said dispensing bottle and showing the condition of the cartridge after the seal between the compartments has been broken.

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the manner of installing the seal rupturing means on the interior of the sleeve and Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the said means in position to be so secured.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken, through a sheet of the high tensile strength material fromwhich the cartridge preferably may be formed.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken transversely through the sealing juncture betweenthe compartments ofrthe cartridge withtbe seal rupturing meanereeured in place.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken through the cartridge alougIthe line 8-8 of Fig. 7 and in the direction indicated.

Fig. 9 isa plan view of the bottomend ofthe'dispensingbottle illustrating the means for anchdringlthe cartridgeatthebottom oftheholderr r :Fig. ,lOis a fragmentary sectional view taken through a modified form. of the cartridge to illustratedifierent manners of attaching dispensing means to the cartridge. Referring now to. the drawings, the dispensing bottle embodyingthe'invention has been designated generally by the reference. character 20. Same comprises .a holder generally 22 and a cartridge designated generally 24 adapted to be removably installed on the interior of the holder. The holder. 22 is intended to be a more or less permanent part of the combination in that same may be :usedsuecessively merely by installing a new car tridge with a new batch of ingredients as needed. The

holder may be made from any one or a combination of a large variety of materials such as, synthetic plastic materialametal, pressed fibre materials, paperboard and the like. The holder preferably is a hollow, rigid, cylindrical member having one end thereof open and a transverse wall26 across the opposite end thereof and may be formed as an integral member or with the wall 26 as a aeparate 'attached member- It will be apparent that the cross-sectional configuration of the holder need not be circular since the functions of the holder may be achieved with: polygonal cross-sectional configurations therefor equally as well. l

The cartridge 24 comprises an expandable. bag or container formed from thin, pliable sheet material on one surface of which. has been coated a heat sealing agent The properties desired for the sheet material from which the cartridge is formed is high tensile strength, suitable thinness which permits prefolding of the cartridge in accordance with the invention, and a material which will support a compatible sealing agent capable of being cohered with application of heat and/or pressure and which is not soluble in the solvent from which the predetermined solution is to be made; also, one which will permit formation of a sealing juncture between compartments of the cartridge which is strong and not likely to rupture inadvertently. I have determined that a suitable sheet material from the cartridge 24 may be fabricated comprises a polyester film, at least one surface of which has been coated with a thin film of polyethylene. Such a material is available commercially under the trademark "Mylar, manufacturedby The Du Pont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. The structure of this material is illustrated in Fig. 6 in which the polyester film is designated 28 and the polyethylene coating is designated 30. The polyester film 28 and polyethylene coating comprise a very high tensile strength sheet material which is relatively stiffer than either the polyester or polyethylene alone and has a very high tensile strength approximately one-third of that. of a sheet of steel of the same thickness. The polyethylene coating is suitable since same is dry and may be readily fused under application of heat. It is contemplated that various other synthetic thermoplastic resin sheeting may lend themselves to forming of the cartridge. For instance,

polymerized polyvinyl chloride could serve as a suitable heat sealing agent.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, priorto completion thereof, the cartridge 24 may be seen to comprise an, elongate sleeve 32 which is folded into substantially rectangular panels 34 and 36 arranged with a surface of one panel facing a surface of the other panel. The panels 34 and 36 are conjoined along the entire length of the lateral edges 38, 38 of the sleeve. It is to be understood that the sleeve 30 may initially be cylindrical, or polygonal and is merely folded in the configuration shown to facilitate assembly. As seen in Fig. 4, the sleeve 32 preferably isflattened out with the lateral edges 38, 38 each tucked essence j inwardly between the panels 34 and 36 to provide a fourply pleat extending the entire length of the sleeve. Each pleat is comprised of an end portion 39 of the panel 34, the portions 40 and 42 connected along a said lateral edge 38 and an end portion 44 of the panel 36. The sleeve 32 seen in Fig. 4 is open at each end thereof and the panels 34 and 36 face one another along the entire length thereof.

The sleeve 32 is folded in the manner described with the heat sealing agent or polyethylene coating arranged on the interior thereof so that when the pleats are formed, the facing surfaces of the portions 39, 40, 42 and 44 thereof respectively are coated with the heat sealing agent. Likewise, the facing surfaces of the panels 34 and 36 intermediate said inwardly folded side edges 38 have the heat sealing agent coated thereon. The sleeve is then subjected to heat along a substantially straight line intermediate the ends thereof to form a transverse sealing juncture designated generally 45 in Fig. 5 across the entire sleeve. The sealing juncture is achieved by fusing the polyethylene coating on the facing surfaces of portions 39, 40, 42 and 44 and on the intermediate facing surfaces of panels 34 and 36. As shown in Fig. 5, the resulting juncture 45 effectively divides the sleeve 32 into two sections 46 and 47 sealed one from the other.

The sections 46 and 47 each provide a compartment on the interior thereof in which the solvent and solute of a predetermined solution may be stored respectively until it is desired to mix the same. Illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 is the seal rupturing means 48. Said means 48 may be seen to comprise an elongate flexible strip or tab 49 which is installed concurrently with forming of the juncture 45. Said tab 49 may be formed of the same material as the cartridge 24 except that each surface of the tab has the heat scaling agent, such as polyethylene, coated thereon. The width of the strip or tab 49 may be substantially equal to the linear distance between the inwardly folded edges 38 as seen in Fig. 4 although this is not critical. It may be wider or narrower. Prior to forming of the juncture 45, the tab or slip 49 is inserted axially into the sleeve through an open end thereof between the lateral edges 38, 38 until the rear extremity 50 of the tab is substantially flush with the end of the sleeve through which inserted. The length of the strip 49 is selected so that the opposite end 51 thereof will extend slightly forward of the point intermediate the ends of the sleeve at which the transverse line of juncture 45 is to be made. Thus, the length of strip 49 may be seen to be slightly longer than the length of the compartment section through which same extends so that end 51 of said strip will lie across the line of juncture 45 to be formed. Since each surface of the strip or tab 49 is coated with a heat sealing agent, upon application of heat, the surfaces of strip or tab 49 will be fused with the facing surfaces of the panels 34 and 36 respectively along said line of juncture 45. 6 As seen in Fig. 5, the end 50 of said tab 49 will be disposed adjacent the open end 52 of section 47 through which the tab 49 extends.

The open end 52 of section 47 is heat sealed in the same manner, the end,50 of the tab thereby being adhered to the oppositely facing surfaces of the panels 34 and 36. However, prior to closing end 52, the portions 53 and 54 of the panels 36,,and 34 respectively disposed intermediate edges 38 are preferably folded inwardly as seen in Fig. 2 and arranged so that the portion 53 has a section 55 engaged against one surface of the strip adjacent end 50 thereof and the portion 54 has a section 56 engaged against the opposite surface of strip 49 also adjacent said end 50. Upon application of heat, a concave formation 57 is achieved at the end 52 of said sec tion 47 which opens outwardly of the section 47. This formation may be localized at the strip 49 but conveniently extends across the entire bottom end of the section 47.

The procedure of forming the compartmentized cartridge 24 is accompanied by the filling of section 47 with the dry solute shown at 58 in Fig. 2. This may be done either after forming the juncture 45 through open end 52 or first closing end 52 and then filling section 47 before juncture 45 is completed through the opposite open end of the sleeve. The pleat formations described enable the cartridge to be expanded to accommodate the solute 58 in section 47 without interfering with the heat sealing procedure.

Section 46 provides the compartment for the solvent designated 59. The opposite end 60 of the sleeve, which of course, is the open end of section 46 after formation of the sealing juncture 45 is secured around the outer surface of the annular flange 62 of a support ring which has a T-shaped cross-section. The ring has annular sections 63 and 64 protruding respectively on opposite sides of the flange 62, the section 63 defining a central opening 65 permitting access into section 46. Said support ring is preferably formed of the same material as the coating 30 on the interior surfaces of the sleeve, namely, polyethylene, so that the section 46 may be heat sealed around the flange 62.

The inwardly extending annular section 63 provides a support for a dispensing device, such as the nipple 66 provided with an outwardly opening channel-shaped base flange 68. The flexibility of the nipple enables said flange to be passed through opening 65 and the section 63 engaged in the channel of the flange 68 to support the nipple on the said support ring. Installation of the nipple may follow filling of section 46 with the solvent 59.

Referring to Fig. 10, there is illustrated another manner of attaching the support ring designated 70. The flange 71, which corresponds to the flange 62, has a circular groove 72 in the external face thereof. The end 60 of section 46 is engaged upon said flange 71 and a band 73 of a flexible, expandable material is engaged around the end 60 of the sleeve and over the outwardly protruding part of support ring 70 and upon the edges of nipple 66. The band 73 is then heated. Upon cooling, the band 73 contracts and tightly engages around said ring and end 60 pressing the material of said end 60 into the groove 72 as shown at 72 and holding the ring and nipple tightly engaged with said end 60 of the sleeve. Transverse openings 74 may be provided through the ring '70 to function as permanent air passageways for dispensing the solution through the nipple 66.

Referring to Fig. 2, the completed cartridge is illustrated with the compartments provided by sections 46 and 47 filled with the solvent and solute respectively, Of course, the contents of said compartments may be reversed. With the nipple secured on the supporting ring, the entire cartridge may be inserted through the end 77 of the holder 22 opposite wall 26 and supported on the interior of the holder by means of the section 64 of the supporting ring engaged upon the end face of the holder at its end 77. To prevent withdrawal of the cartridge when the holder is inverted, such as during feeding of an infant, a cap 78 may be provided to be screw threaded over end 70 and permit the nipple 66t0 protrude through a passageway therein in a' familiar manner, as. seen. in Fig. 3.

The opposite end of the cartridge is received adjacent a cut-out 80 in the wall 26. Referring to Fig. 9, said cut-out 80 may be star-shaped, the number of points of the star being a matter of choice. The conjoined end 50 of the tab 49 and sections 55 and 56 of the section 47, which together has been designated 81 in Fig. 9, may be anchored to bottom wall 26 by wedging said portion 81 in a point 82 of the cut-out and protruding outwardly through cut-out 80.

To rupture the sealing juncture 45 between sections 46 and 47, the portion 81 is removed from engagement in a point 82 and pulled or jerked downwardly through cut-out 80 sufiiciently to withdraw the end 51 of the tab 49 from its sealing engagement across juncture 45.

6 Havingpulled the tab 49 free from juncture 45, the seal between sections 46 and 47 is broken so that the com partments thereof will be in communication one with the other and the solvent 59 is free to flow into the section 46 and dissolve the solute 58 to form the solution 83 designated in Fig. 3. It will be noted that the cartridge 24 remains fixed on the interior of the holder 22 throughout the mixing procedure and the solution is" thereafter dispensable with the cartridge still so secured. The tab 49 merely falls to the bottom of the cartridge and the cartridge thereafter expands to accommodateformation of the solution 83 therein.

Since the tab 49 must be pulled or jerked to rupture the sealing juncture 45, the strip or tab 49 may be" folded over at its opposite ends as indicated at 85 in" Fig. 4 to strengthen the ends 50 and 51 thereof. Since both surfaces of the strip 49 are coated with the heat sealing agent, folding over of the end 51 as illustrated in Fig. 7, does not interfere with forming the sealing juncture 45.

After the solution 83 is dispensed or no longer desired, the cartridge may be removed from holder 22 by unscrewing cap 78, lifting the cartridge 24 completely out of the holder and replacing with a new cartridge. The

cartridge 24 may be supplied with the nipple already attached and suitably protected as by paper or cellophane wrapping. Also, the cap and supporting ring may be made as a unitary member with the sleeve attached to the ring.

Success has been achieved with the construction of the disposable cartridge 24 due to the high tensile strength sheet material employed in forming the same. The size of the holder and cartridge may vary within great limits because high tensile strength polyester film will not tear nor will the sealing juncture 45 rupture even' under rough handling of the bottle 26. Likewise, the cartridge 22 will not be torn form its securement on the interior of the holder under such conditions. The cartridge can hold substantial quantities of solution without tearing. In achieving these desirable advantages, the structure described still is economical to construct and the cartridge replacements may also be made available at attractive low prices. Of course, the holder 22 may be used repeatedly.

It is appreciated that the seal between compartments may be broken prior to insertion of the cartridge 24 in the holder 22. The protruding end 81 is then wedged into a corner of opening to prevent the collapse of the cartridge upon itself during use. It should be ap' preciated that the entire device 20 may be immersed for warming or the like, and the opening 86 permits the heating fluid to have immediate access to the cartridge.

Although the invention has been described with particular reference to its function as a nursing bottle, it will be appreciated that the principles of the invention have desirable application to other functions as well. Thus, the invention contemplates providing the combined holder and cartridge without attached dispensing means and having the solution removed by pressure, for example by inserting a conduit, such as a needle, into the car-' Also, an outlet tridge and withdrawing the solution. may be made in the expanded sleeve and the solution squeezed therefrom. Thus, the invention may be useful in dispensing blood plasma, for instance.

It is believed that the invention has been described in sufiicient detail to enable the skilled artisan to understand and practice the same. It is contemplated that variations may occur to the skilled artisan which will not circumvent the principles of the invention, such as varying the structure of the dispensing nipple 66 or employing another type of dispensing device, or varying the material from which the cartridge is made While still adhering to the principle of a high tensile strength sheeting having a heat sealing agent on at least one surface thereof. Consequently, it is intended that the scope of the claims hereto appended be construed com hollowformation, means forming a frangible seal .be-' tween inner areas of the formation and dividing same into at least two compartments for individual storage of said ingredients, a tension means secured with said seal and accessible from exterior of said formation for,

rupturing the seal to obtain admixture of said ingredicuts, saidinner areas being provided with a thermoplastic material and the areas are bonded together to form said seal, said vessel formed of a sheet material the tensile strength of which is substantially higher than that of said thermoplastic material, and said tension means comprises a flexible member sandwiched between said bonded areas at said seal and bonded thereto and extending through a compartment and a wall of said formation and sealed to said wall at the point of passage therethrough.

2. A vessel as described in claim 1 in which said wall is indented at said point of passage therethrough of the flexible member.

3. A vessel as described in claim 1 in which at least one wallof said vessel is pleated to permitexpansion thereof. 1

4. A vessel as described in claim 1 in which the sheet material comprises a high tensile strength polyester film.

5. A dispensing bottle comprising, in combination, a hollow, rigid holder and a disposable cartridge removably supported on the interior of the holder, said cartridge comprising an expandable vessel formed from a high tensile strength sheet material having a heat sealing agent coated on the interior faces thereof, said interior faces being cohered along a transverse frangible line of juncture intermediate the ends of the vessel dividing same into two compartments sealed one from the other along said line ofiuncture, each compartment holding the ingredient of a predetermined solution, means manually operable from exterior of the vessel secured across said juncture for rupturing the said; seal of the vessel, said tension means comprising an elongate,

flexible strip. sandwiched between said cohered faces at said seal and extending through one of said compartments and through a wall of said vessel.

6. The combination as described in claim 5 in which said holder has a perforated end wall and the strip is accessible through said perforation for rupturing said seal.

7. The combination as described in claim 5 in which said holder has an end wall having means for releasably anchoring the adjacent end of the vessel thereat comprising a cut-out in said wall having convergent edges and the strip is removably engaged between said edges.

8. A nursing bottle, comprising, in combination, a hollow rigid holder and a disposable cartridge for bolding the ingredients of a solution separated one from the other until admixture thereof is desired, said cartridge comprising an expandable vessel formed of a flexible sheet material having at least two compartments, a heat sealable film coated on interior surfaces of said vessel and Wmntummm mlnsuumwmnmn stunt cohered along a transverse frangible line of juncture dividing the vessel into said compartments sealedone from the other along said line of juncture, each compartment containing an ingredient of the solution, manually operable tension means secured across said line of juncture and operable from exterior of the holder for rupturing said seal to permit intermixture of said ingredients, and means secured to said cartridge for supporting a nursing nipple thereon in communication with the interior of the vessel to permit dispensing of the solution formed.

9. A nursing bottle, comprising, in combination, a hollowrigid holder and a disposable cartridge for holding the ingredients of a solution separated one from the other until admixture thereof is desired, said cartridge comprising an expandable vessel formed from a high tensile strength polyester film having at least two compartments, a heat scalable film coated on interior surfaces of said vessel and cohered along a transverse frangible line of juncture dividing the vessel into said compartments sealed one from the other along said line of juncture, each compartment containing an ingredient of the solution, manually operable tension means secured across said line of juncture and operable from exterior of the holder for rupturing said seal to permit intermixture of said ingredients, and dispensing means secured on said vessel in communication with one of said compartments.

10. A compartmented vessel for holding the ingredients of a solution separated one from the other until formation of the solution comprising, a hollow, expansible sleeve formed from a flexible sheet material having high tensile strength, means forming a frangible seal on the interior of the sleeve and transversely thereacross dividing the sleeve into two compartments for individual storage of said ingredients, said means comprising a heat scalable material coated on the internal surfaces of said sleeve at least in vicinity of the seal formation, and a pullmember secured with the seal and accessible from exterior of the sleeve for selectively rupturing said seal to permit intermixture of the ingredients directly in the vessel.

11. A device for storaging ingredients of a solution separately and thereafter enabling mixture thereof in the device to form the solution comprising, a compartmented vessel formed from a flexible plastic sheet material having high tensile strength, said sheet material being conjoined along juxtaposed surfaces thereof by a transverse frangible line of juncture on the interior of the vessel to form the compartments, said seal formed by means of a heat scalable thermoplastic composition of matter coated on the internal surfaces of the vesseland pull means selectively operable from exterior of the vessel for rupturing the seal.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,110,928 De Buys Mar. 15, I938 2,40l,ll0 Rohdin May 28, 1946 2,605,896 Rohdin Aug. 5, 1952 2,756,875 Yochim July 31, 1956 2,773,591 Jensen Dec. 11,1956

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,054,170 France Oct. 7, 1953

Images