The present invention relates to a new and improved construction of a two-compartment package or pack.
Generally speaking, the two-compartment package or pack of the present development is of the type containing an essentially dimensionally or form stable outer container for a first packaged material or component and equipped with a dispensing valve. An inner container for a second packaging material or component is arranged within the outer container. Externally actuatable or releasable means serve for emptying the filled contents of the inner container into the outer container and for conjointly dispensing both of the packaged materials or components.
Two-component packages or packs of this type are used whenever different types of packaged or filled materials must be separately stored and should only commingle with one another immediately prior to their use. As an example reference is made simply, by way of illustration and not limitation, to hair dyes and the like.
Essential requirements which are placed upon such two-compartment packages are, on the one hand, that they must possess extreme simplicity in their construction and, therefore, have low fabrication costs and, on the other hand, they must be capable of being simply and reliably handled or used, and at the same time there should be ensured for good admixing of the individual packaged materials or components.
For many fields of applications, particularly for instance also in the case of hair dyes, it is desirable or required that the packaged or filled materials can be dispensed in an aerosol or foam consistency. For these fields of application there only can be used an aerosol two-component package, i.e. a spray can.
The only heretofore known aerosol two-compartment pack or package usable as a practical matter for such purpose, as far as applicant is aware, has been disclosed in the afore- mentioned commonly assigned, copending U.S. application Ser. No. 177,640, filed Aug. 13, 1980. Such two-compartment pack comprises an outer container and an inner container, each serving to store a component of the packaged material, and a pressurized gas. Both of the containers are at the same internal pressure. The inner container is closed by means of a displaceable piston. By venting a portion of the pressurized gas from the outer container the piston within the inner container is displaced because of the then prevailing unequal pressure conditions, and thus releases flow communication openings leading to the outer container, so that the package components can admix.
Although this known two-component package or pack is capable of extensively satisfying the previously mentioned requirements, it has however been found that it can still be further improved upon, particularly as concerns its construction, and therefore, also with respect to the economies of fabrication thereof.
A further state-of-the-art aerosol two-component package is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,718,235. With this package or pack an inner container is located in an outer container which contains the one package component and a propellant gas. The inner container is closed by a mountable cover. Retained in the inner container is a spiral spring under stress, this spring, when released, detaching the cover from the container. The spring is held in a stressed or tensioned condition by two legs of a resilient clamp, these legs being spread apart by a metallic ball. By shaking or jarring the entire package it is possible to propel the ball out of the clamp by the action of inertia, so that its legs release the spiral spring and such finally opens the cover of the container.
The two-compartment package or pack of this U.S. Pat. No. 3,718,235 does not possess adequate safeguards that the inner container will not unintentionally open, and hence, both of the package components prematurely admix with one another. Additionally, this package is relatively cumbersome to handle and the admixing of the package components is not accomplished automatically, rather there are required specific manipulations of the package, such as shaking the same and the like.
In the published French Patent application No. 2,015,337 there is furthermore known to the art an aerosol two-component package containing within a stable outer container two interfitted flexible inner containers. Each of the package components is located in a respective one of these inner containers and the propellant gas is located between the larger inner container and the outer container.
At the cover of the package, constructed as a conventional aerosol container or spray can, there is imbedded a standard aerosol valve. Coaxially secured to this valve is a second valve by means of an adaptor. This second valve closes the innermost container. Both valves are interconnected by means of a thrust rod in such a manner that, upon opening of the outer valve, following a slight time-delay, there is also opened the inner valve. If the outer valve is again released there is also again closed the inner valve. Both of the valves and their connection adaptor are constructed such that both package components, upon opening the valves, are admixed in the adaptor and are conjointly dispensed through the outer valve. In each case only the dispensed quantities of the package components are admixed, the residual quantities remaining in the package remain unmixed in their related container. However, with this two-component package there is not accomplished any emptying of the one container into the other container, and thus, admixing of the total contents of both containers.
A different construction of two-component package is also known from German Patent Publication No. 1,801,518. With this package one of the filled or packaged components is located in a glass ampoule arranged in a spray can. The glass ampoule can be shattered by means of a plunger coupled with a dispensing valve. This two-component package has not found practical applications for a number of different reasons.
Furthermore, in French Pat. No. 1,431,181 there is disclosed a two-component package which consists of two separate aerosol containers, each of which contains one of the packaged components together with a propellant gas. Both of the containers have their shape coordinated to one another and, for instance, can be interconnected by being threaded together. At the confronting surfaces they are equipped with a respective valve which automatically open when both of the containers are intercoupled. Consequently, the contents of the container which is under greater pressure empties into the other container and at that location both of the packaged or filled components admix. This other container is equipped with a conventional dispensing valve, by means of which there can be then dispensed both of the packaged or filled components in the admixed form. The drawback of such two-component package resides in the fact that, it is rather complicated in its construction and also relatively cumbersome to handle.
German Pat. No. 1,929,844 discloses a two-component package which is extensively similar to the package construction discussed above with respect to the French Patent application No. 2,015,337. Also with this package there does not occur any admixing of the total quantities or contents of both filled or packaged components, rather in each case only the dispensed package quantities are admixed with one another directly prior to dispensing.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,080,094 there is described a two-component package, wherein both of the packaged components are separated by a membrane within the aerosol container. This membrane can be punctured by a puncturing element connected with the dispensing valve, whereby both of the components then can admix. Also this package is associated with certain drawbacks, and therefore, has not been accepted in practice.
Finally, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,773,264 there is disclosed a further construction of two-component package or pack wherein, just as was the case for the package of the previously discussed U.S. Pat. No. 3,718,235, a filled or package component is located in a separate container in the spray can. This container possesses a spring-loaded cover member which can be opened by a trigger mechanism. This trigger mechanism is actuated by a ball, which by appropriate shaking movements of the spray can can be caused to impact against the trigger mechanism. This prior art package, while equipped with safety means which safeguards against unintentional opening of the inner container, still is rather complicated in its construction and also cumbersome to handle.