US1966754A - Bottle for ink or other liquids - Google Patents

Description

a July 17, 1934. w DENMS ETAL "1,966,754

BOTTLE FOR INK OR OTHER LIQUIDS Filed April' 22, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS Charles RDenmls aviihiizr E [owl/11m ATTORN EYS Jilly 17, 1934. c. w DENNIS r AL 1,966,754

BOTTLE FOR INK OR OTHER LIQUIDS FiledApril 22, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS (A ar/es ltflennzs ATTORNEYS Patented 17, 1934 PATENT OFFICE.

BOTTLE FOR INK OR OTHER LIQUIDS Charles w. Dennis, Middletown, and Walter E. Lowthian, White Plains, N. Y.

Application April 22, 1933, Serial No. 667,360

7 Claims.

This invention relates to bottles and other liquid containers of the type having a neck or neck-like extension provided with .an auxiliary receptacle or cup which may be filled by tilting or inverting the bottle, to provide a measured quantity of liquid in the cup for ready access upon removal of the cork or other closure. The chief object of the invention is to provide a de- 'vice of the nature referred to, which is cheap, unfailing in operation, and capable of being manufactured with but little if any special shaping of the bottle or of the bottle neck. Another object is to provide a device having an auxiliary cup or receptacle which will operate with the same facility and certainty when the bottle is nearly empty as when it contains a relatively large amount of liquid. To these and other ends the invention comprises the novel features and combinations hereinafter described.

One use in which the invention is particularly useful is in ink bottles, to provide at the top of the neck a small quantity of ink into which the pen may be dipped, and from which a self-filling fountain pen may be filled without smearing the penholder or barrel with ink as is so liable to happen when the pen is thrust into the bottle itself. We have accordingly illustrated herein several forms which at the present time are believed to be the best for the purpose mentioned.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a common form of bottle such as is used for ink, with the present invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view, on a larger scale, of the auxiliary cup or receptacle.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 1 but showing the bottle inverted to fill the cup in the neck thereof.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section showing another form of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a cross section similar to Fig. 2 but showing a modification.

Figs. '7, 8 and 9 are perspective views illustrating other forms of cups.

The bottle 10 has a neck 11 provided with a closure of any suitable kind, in the present instance a screw cap 12 having the usual gasket 13. Mounted in the neck in any convenient manner is an auxiliary cup or receptacle 14, preferably though not necessarily fixed in position or secured firmly enough to prevent displacement in ordinary use. To permit easy refilling of the 55 bottle the cup may be removable. By preference the cup is made of semi-rigid material, by which is meant material which can give slightly without breaking, as for example celluloid, hard or semi-soft rubber, a phenolic resin, or the like. To hold the cup in position the inside of the neck or the inside of the cup, or both, may have a slight downward taper, as indicated in the drawings, so that the cup may be wedged in place merely by pushing it down into the neck. If the cup is made of glass it is left loose inthe neck or fixed in position by means of a suitable cement or adhesive, as any attempt to wedge the cup in the neck is liable to cause breakage, unless cup and neck are accurately fitted, as by grinding or the like, a construction which would increase the cost of manufacture.

The cup is provided with one or more outer longitudinal ribs, as 15, preferably integral with the body of the cup, which serve to space the outer surface of the cup from the inner surface of the neck, to provide at least one longitudinal passage, as 16, for the flow of ink into the cup when the bottle is inverted. The passage or passages mentioned also provide spaces in which liquid will be held by capillary action when the bottle is turned back to normal or upright position. In designing a cup to fit a given size and shape of neck it should be kept in mind that the larger these passages the more rapidly the cup will fill, but that they must be small enough to give the capillary action needed to prevent emptying when, the cup having been filled, the bottle is returned to upright position.

To permit inflow of liquid when the bottle is inverted the cup is provided with one or more air-escape openings. One such opening is usually suflicient and it is preferably in the bottom of the cup, as at 17, since if placed in the side of the cup too much air may be trapped therein unless the opening is located close to the bottom.

When the bottle is turned upside down, as in Fig. .4, the air in the cup bubbles from the vent opening 17 and liquid running down through the capillary passage or passages 16 rises in the cup. When the bubbles cease to rise the bottle is 100 turned back to upright position, then upon removing the cap the cup will be found to be filled with liquid. The latter does not, however, run out through the opening 17. This seems to be due to the fact that since the passages 16 are 105 closed by liquid therein, apparently held by capillary action, air can not escape from the bottle and hence retains sufficient pressure to prevent inflow of liquid through the opening 1'7.

When the bottle is inverted to fill the cup the 110 liquid tends to fill the entire space between the bottom of the cup and the inner surface of the closure. Hence if the latter is in the form of a cap the user may find, on turning the bottle upright and removing the cap, that the liquid fills the neck to the brim and hence may overflow easily, especially when the nozzle of the fountain pen is thrust into the ink for filling purposes. To prevent such overfiow the central part of the cap may be depressed, as at 18, to take up more or less of the space between the same and the cup. Then when the cap is removed the surface of the liquid will be correspondingly below the top of the neck.

The invention may be used to advantage with other liquids than ink, as for example for measuring out a dose of medicine, or an amount of antiseptic liquid for dilution.

In Fig. 5 is shown a construction in which neither the tapering cup 14 nor the tapering neck is otherwise shaped to provide a passage or passages for the liquid. Instead, both are smooth and hence may fit together, for example as in the figure, but in that case the fit should be loose so that when the bottle is inverted the cup can drop and thus open a passage between itself and the neck through which the liquid can pass. Upon turning the bottle upright again, the cup will drop back and hold a film of liquid between itself and the neck. It has been found that if the cup is light in weight the air in it when the bottle is inverted will buoy it up enough to permit the liquid to pass under its edge. On the other hand, if the cup is too heavy it may drop far enough to seat its edge on the closure and may thus impede the infiow of liquid. In suchcase the cup may be provided at its edge with one or more lugs, as 19, to hold the edge away from the closure and thus leave space for the passage of the liquid.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the construction illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, but can be embodied in other forms. For instance, the ribs which provide the capillary passage or passages may be on the inside of the neck of the bottle, as shown at 15c, Fig. 6. Or the passages may be simple grooves or tubular openings, preferably in the cup as indicated at 160., Fig. 7, and 16b, Fig. 8, respectively.

The use of a plurality of passages has the advantage that their collective capacity can be large enough for rapid filling oi the cup and yet they can be individually small so as to insure holding the liquid therein when the bottle is turned back to upright position. A single passage may, however, be used, as for example in Fig. 9, in'which the passage is provided by a groove or indentation 16c in the side of the cup, which elsewhere may be shaped to fit snugly and tightly in the neck. With a single passage greater care is sometimes necessary in shaping the passage to a size which will give the desired rapidity of filling and yet holding the liquid when the bottle is upright.

It is to be understood that the invention can be embodied in still other forms without departing from its spirit as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a device of the character described, in combination, a bottle/having a neck equipped with a removable closure, and an upwardly open cup supported in the neck and providing passages adapted for the inflow of liquid into the cup when the bottle is inverted and for holding liquid by capillary action when the bottle is turned back to upright position, the cup having a bottom opening for the escape of air while the cup is being filled.

2. In a device of the character described, in combination, a bottle having a neck tapering downwardly on the inside and equipped with a removable closure, and an upwardly open cup wedged in the tapering neck and providing passages for the flow of liquid into the cup when the bottle is inverted, the cup having a bottom opening for the escape of air and said passages being dimensioned to hold liquid therein when the bottle is returned to upright position.

3. In a device of the character described, in combination, a bottle having an element comprising a neck, a removable closure for the neck, and an element comprising an upwardly open cup supported in the tapering neck, one of said elements being ribbed to provide passages between the two for flow of liquid into the cup when the bottle is inverted, the cup having abottom opening for escape of air as the cup fills and the said passages being dimensioned to hold liquid therein when the bottle is returned to upright position.

4. Inc. device of the character described, in combination, a bottle having a neck, and an upwardly open cup supported in the neck, the cup being ribbed to provide passages between the neck and thecup for flow of liquid into the cup when the bottle is inverted, the cup having a bottom opening for the escape of air and the said passages being dimensioned to hold liquid therein when the bottle is returned to upright position.

5. In a device of the character described, in combination, a bottle having a neck, and an upwardly open cup supported in the neck, the cup being grooved longitudinally on its outer surface to provide passages for the flow of liquid into the cup when the bottle is inverted, the cup having a bottom opening for escape of air and said passages being dimensioned to hold liquid therein when the bottle is returned to upright position.

6. In a device of the character described, in combination, a bottle having a neck the inside of which tapers downwardly, a removable closure for the neck, an upwardly open downwardly tapering cup supported in the neck by the cooperating tapered surfaces but loose therein to permit downward movement of the cup when the bottle is inverted whereby a passage is opened between the cup andthe neck for flow of liquid, said cup having a bottom opening for the escape of air and having lugs on its upper edge to prevent seating of the edge on the closure when the bottle is inverted.

7. In a device of the character described, in combination, a bottle having a neck, a removable closure therefor, and an upwardly open cup in the neck, cooperating therewith to support the cup and maintain liquid between the two to prevent escape of air from the bottle, the cup being loose in the neck so as to drop freely when the bottle is inverted'whereby liquid in the bottle can flow downwardly between the cup and the neck and thence under the edge thereof and upwardly into the cup, the latter having a bottom opening for the escape of air when the bottle is inverted.

" CHARLES W. DENNIS.

WALTER E. IOWTHIAN.

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