PLUG FOR RELEASABLY SEALING A CONNECTION CHANNEL AND METHOD FOR MIXING TWO COMPONENTS

Abstract

A plug for releasably sealing a connection channel connecting an upper chamber comprising a first component with a lower chamber comprising a second component of a two-chamber container, comprising a plug body for being inserted into the connection channel with a sealing force, a guiding member for guiding the plug in axial direction inside the upper chamber, wherein the guiding member comprises a larger extension in radial direction than the plug body and the guiding member is axially spaced to the plug body by an unsealing distance, and a head part for pushing out a folded nozzle sealing the upper chamber, wherein the head part protrudes from the guiding member away from the plug body.

Claims

1. A plug for releasably sealing a connection channel connecting an upper chamber comprising a first component with a lower chamber comprising a second component of a two-chamber container, comprising a plug body for being inserted into the connection channel with a sealing force, a guiding member for guiding the plug in axial direction inside the upper chamber, wherein the guiding member comprises a larger extension in radial direction than the plug body and the guiding member is axially spaced to the plug body (34) by an unsealing distance, and a head part for pushing out a folded nozzle sealing the upper chamber, wherein the head part protrudes from the guiding member away from the plug body.

2. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the head part comprises a discharge channel communicating with a volume arranged in the unsealing distance by means of at least one discharge opening of the guiding member, wherein the discharge opening corresponds to the cross sectional area of the discharge channel, wherein the extension of the discharge channel in axial direction is larger than the extension of the guiding member in axial direction.

3. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the guiding member is connected to the plug body by at least one stiffening web, wherein the extension of the stiffening web in radial direction is larger than in circumferential direction, wherein a plurality of cross-like arranged stiffening webs are provided, wherein at least one stiffening web is arranged in or outside an area covered by the cross sectional area of the discharge channel and/or the discharge opening in axial view.

4. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the head part comprises a mainly ring-shaped contact surface for contacting a flexibly deformed intermediate part of the folded nozzle, wherein the intermediate part, of the folded nozzle reaches axially inwards towards the upper chamber.

5. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the guiding member comprises a larger extension in radial direction than the head part, wherein the guiding member provides an abutting surface for abutting a pushing member of a cap relative movable with respect to the upper chamber in axial direction, wherein the abutting surface is located radially outwards with respect to the head part.

6. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the guiding member comprises at least one recess at its radial outer circumference, wherein the recess provides a clearance between a wall of the upper chamber and the guiding member, wherein the extension of the recess in circumferential direction is smaller than the extension of the guiding member in circumferential direction outside the recess.

7. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the plug body comprise at least one lamella protruding radially outwards for being clamped between the plug body and the connection channel for providing the sealing force, wherein at least two lamellae are provided, wherein the most upper lamella comprises a larger extension in radial direction than the at least one further lamella.

8. A container for storing and mixing two components, comprising an upper chamber for storing a first component, a lower chamber for storing a mainly liquid second component and mixing the first component with the second component, a connection channel connecting the upper chamber with the lower chamber, a cap for sealing the upper chamber, wherein the cap is relative movable with respect to the upper chamber in axial direction, wherein the cap comprises a foldable nozzle, wherein the nozzle protrudes upwards from the cap in unfolded state and protrudes at least partially downwards in the folded state, and a plug according to anyone of claim 1 for sealing the connection channel, wherein the plug is movably receivable by the connection channel, wherein a distance in axial direction of the nozzle to the head part in the folded state of the nozzle is smaller than a distance in axial direction of a cap body of the remaining cap to the plug.

9. The container according to claim 8, wherein the nozzle comprises a foldable nozzle body, the nozzle body comprising a mainly ring-shaped connecting part connected to the cap body of the cap, a tip arranged mainly in the centre of the nozzle body, wherein the tip comprises a predetermined breaking line for providing an outlet in broken state, at least one intermediate folding ring connecting the tip with the connecting part so that the tip is movable relative to the connecting part in axial direction between a folded state, where the tip is arranged mainly radially inside the connecting part in radial view, and an unfolded state, where the tip is arranged mainly outside the connecting part in radial view, and a cover plate connected with the tip for covering the tip inside a volume bordered by the folding ring directly connected to the connecting part in folded state.

10. The container according to claim 8, wherein an unfolding force F.sub.u in axial direction for unfolding the nozzle from the folded state into the unfolded state is smaller than the sealing force F.sub.s in axial direction for sealing the connection channel, wherein 1 N≦F.sub.u≦20 N applies.

11. The container according to claim 8, wherein the cap body comprises a pushing member protruding downwards for meeting the guiding member, and for pushing the plug body of the plug downwards out of the connection channel when the cap is moved relative downwards with respect to the upper chamber.

12. The container according to claim 11, wherein a ring-shaped pocket is formed between the pushing member and the remaining cap body, wherein a wall of the upper chamber is guided inside the pocket.

13. The container according to claim 8, wherein the cap body comprises a snap lug for being inserted into a corresponding first snap recess for providing a defined relative axial position of the cap to the upper chamber in the folded state of the nozzle and/or a second snap recess for providing a defined relative axial position of the cap to the upper chamber in the unfolded state of the nozzle, wherein the first snap recess and/or the second snap recess is provided in a wall of the upper chamber.

14. The container according to claim 8, wherein the upper chamber and/or the lower chamber provides a stop surface for abutting the cap body in its maximum downwards relative position of the cap with respect to the upper chamber.

15. A method for mixing two components, for providing a hair cosmetic composition, whereby a container according to claim 8 is provided, the cap is moved downwards with respect to the upper chamber, the head part of the plug meets the folded nozzle and unfolds the nozzle while the cap is moved further downward, after the nozzle is unfolded the cap body meets the plug and pushes the plug body of the plug downwards out of the connection channel while the cap is moved further downward and mixing the first component with the second component located both in the lower chamber.

Description

[0039] FIG. 1: shows a schematic sectional side view of a two-chamber container in folded state,

[0040] FIG. 2: shows a schematic sectional side view of the two-chamber container of FIG. 1 in unfolded state,

[0041] FIG. 3: shows a schematic side view of a plug for the container of FIG. 1 and

[0042] FIG. 4: shows a schematic top view of the plug of FIG. 3.

[0043] The two-chamber container 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a bottle body 12 by which an upper chamber 14 and a lower chamber 16 connected via a connecting channel 18 is provided one-piece. The connecting channel 18 is formed by a narrow neck 20 between the upper chamber 14 and the lower chamber 16.

[0044] A plug 32 is provided comprising a partially hollow plug body 34 for plugging and sealing the connection channel 18. The plug 32 comprises a guiding member 22 for guiding the plug 32 in axial direction at a wall 24 of the upper chamber 14. The guiding member 22 is connected spaced by an unsealing distance 26 via stiffening webs 28. A head part 30 of the plug 32 protrudes upwards from the guiding member 22. The head part 30 particularly comprises a larger diameter than the plug body 34.

[0045] A cap 40 is provided covering the upper chamber 14. The cap 40 is relative moveable with respect to the upper chamber 14. The cap 40 comprises a rigid cap body 42 and a flexible foldable nozzle 44 connected to the cap body 42 via a connecting part 46. The nozzle 44 comprises folding rings 48 foldable connected to each other via a bended intermediate part 50 utilized as a kind of film hinge. In the middle of the nozzle 44 a tip 52 is formed which defines an outlet 54 covered by a cover plate 56 connected to the tip via a breaking line 58.

[0046] In the illustrated embodiment the cap body 42 comprises a snap lug 60 which can be inserted into a snap recess 62 of the wall 24 of the upper chamber 14 in an upper start position of the cap 40. In the start position or when the cap 40 is moved downwards the intermediate part 50 of the nozzle 44 meets a ring-shaped contact surface 64 of the head part 30 of the plug 32 (FIG. 1). When the cap 40 is moved further downwards the head part 30 pushes the intermediate part 50 and the folding rings 48 upwards into the unfolded state of the nozzle 44 (FIG. 2). After this a ring-shaped pushing member 66 of the cap body 42 meets the guiding member 22 of the plug 32. When the cap 40 is moved further downwards the pushing member 66 pushes the plug 32 downwards until the plug body 34 is pushed out of the connecting channel 18 so that the connecting channel 18 is opened and a first component of the upper chamber 14 may flow into the lower chamber 16 for being mixed with a second component located in the lower chamber 16. The pushing member 66 and the remaining cap body 42 form a ring-shaped pocket 68 where the wall 24 of the upper chamber 14 is guided so that the cap 40 may not tilt when moved downwards.

[0047] As illustrated in FIG. 3 the plug body 34 may comprise at least one, particularly several, like three, circumferential lamellae 70 protruding in radial direction from the plug body 34. The free ends of the lamellae 70 are slightly bended upwards facilitating inserting the plug 32 into the connecting channel 18. Further the head part 32 is formed hollow so that a discharge channel 72 communicating with a volume arranged in the unsealing distance 26 via at least one discharge opening 74 provided in the guiding member 22 is formed. The stiffening webs 28 may reach until the underside of the guiding member 22 so that the cross section of the discharge opening 74 corresponds to the cross section of the discharge channel 72. In the alternate the stiffening webs 28 may reach from the plug body 34 into the discharge opening 74 of the guiding member 22 so that one larger discharge opening 74 of the guiding member 22 is divided into several smaller discharge openings 22 by the material of the stiffening webs 28.

[0048] As illustrated in FIG. 4 the guiding member 22 may comprises several recesses 76 at its outer circumference so that the guiding member 22 may contact the wall 24 of the upper chamber 14 only partially at its outer circumference. Further mixed components may flow through the gap provided by the recess 74 between the guiding member 22 and the wall 24 when the mixture should be poured out the container 10.