US2409118A - Condiment holder - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 8, 1946. l G. D. FLEAK 2,409,118

CONDIMENT HOLDER Filed Sept. 24, 1943 Patented Oct. 8, 1946 UNH'ED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

CONDIMENT HOLDER.

Glen D. Eleak, Beaumont 'Een Application September 24, 1943, Serial-No. 503,617-

(CL, 65e-151).

The present invention relates to condiment holders which are adapted to be used to dispense the contents of the holders. The invention is particularly advantageous in connection with salt shakers because of the tendency of the salt to become wet and clog the outlet openings. It is however quite valuable in connection with all spices and similar condiments particularly where it is necessary to maintain the container closed to protect the flavor of the material therein.

It is the principal purpose of my invention to provide a device of the character described with means whereby the dispensing openings are kept sealed while the holder is upright and are kept open when the container is inverted and shaken to discharge the contents thereof.

The present invention contemplates, as a means of accomplishing the desired result, the provision, in connection with the dispensing openings of a condiment holder, of closures in the form of tapered or conical plugs which are too large to go through the dispensing openings and which are connected by resilient rods or wires extending inwardly through the openings to a common weight within the container. The rods themselves are of such rigidity as -to support the weight safely, and desirably they converge from the openings to the weight so that they tend to prevent tipping of the weight in the container.

rIhe features and advantages of the invention will appear more fully as the description proceeds, reference being had to the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred form of the invention is shown. It is to be understood however that the drawing and description are illustrative only and are not to be taken as limiting the invention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a sectional view taken through the condiment holder emboding my invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view like Figure l but with the container inverted so that the dispensing openings in the holder are open; and

Figure 3 is a plan view looking down on Figure l with the several openings closed.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, I have illustrated the invention as applied to a container 5 which may be a salt shaker or other condiment holder. The container as shown has a cap which completes the enclosure, and this cap is provided with a multiplicity of openings 1 through which the contents of the container may be shaken when the container is inverted in the manner shown in Figure 2. As shown, the portion 6 is the usual cap employed on salt shakers and the like butv it is of course entirely within the scope of .the presentv invention to have the portion 6 integral with the portion 5 and to have the iilling opening for the container 5 at the other end. Such containers are common on the market.

The present invention concerns itself with the provision of a plurality of conical plugs 8 which are too large to pass through the openings 1 but which extend into them from the exterior of the cap (i. These plugs may be of any suitable material. Each plug has fixed therein one end of a rod 9 which extends inwardly through the openings in the cap 5, and the several rods 9 converge to a weight i0, conical in shape, in which the rods are xed. It is desirable that the rods 9 be resilient so that they may spring back and forth in the shaking of the condiment holder to aid in working the material to the openings l. Each rod has an oiiset portion Il which provides a stop to engage the inner surface of the cap 5 and limit the outward movement of the plugs 8. It is believed to be evident that shaking of the container 5 with a vertical motion will result in shifting all of the plugs up and down in the openings 'I so that material within the container vcannot clog in the openings.

The present improvement is particularly adaptable to ordinary designs of salt shakers already on the market since the cap and the improved closure means hereinbefore described can be made to fit existing sali'l shakers so as to replace the caps now thereon. It is of course not limited to salt shakers but may be applied to any condiment holder of the type wherein the contents are dispensed by shaking.

The particular advantageous features of the present device are the provision of the conical plugs with the spring rods connecting them to the weight, and the provision on the spring rods of the offset parts I I which act not only to limit the outward movement of the plugs but also to agitato the contents of the container when it is shaken. The weight itself acts as a pulverizer in engaging the contents of the container and the plugs clean the openings repeatedly as the container is shaken. Owing to the fact that all of the plugs are supported by converging rods that connect to the weight, the entire weight is available to release any plug that sticks in an opening.

From the foregoing description it iS beleVed that the nature and advantages of the present 3 invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An article of the class described, comprising a container having a plurality of small spaced dispensing openings in a wall thereof, a, tapering plug extending into each opening from the exterior and movable into said opening far enough to completely close it, and resilient rods secured to said plugs and extending from the smaller ends thereof, the several rods converging as they extend into the container and being connected to each other at a distance from the plugs, the rods having offsets therein adjacent their connection to the plugs to provide stops limiting the outward movement of the plugs to maintain the inner ends of said plugs in said openings at the limit of their outward movement.

2. In a container for condiments and the like having a portion provided with a plurality of small dispensing openings, means acting to close said openings when the portion faces upwardly and to aid in dispensing the contents of the container when the portion faces downward, said means comprising a weight spaced inwardly from said portion, said weight being spaced a substantial distance from the surrounding wall of the container so as to be able to rock therein and to avoid wedging against the wall, a plurality of resilient rods attached to said Weight and extending through the openings, said rods diverging from each other as they extend from the Weight toward the opening, and a tapering closure on the outer end of each rod for closing the corresponding opening, said rods having stops thereon adjacent the small ends of said closures to limit outward movement of the rods into the i openings and maintain the small ends of said closures in said openings at the limit of their outward movement.

GLEN D. FLEAK.

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