Multi-compartment beverage or ingredient container

Abstract

A food container in the form of a carton or beverage bottle is provided with two or more sub-compartments. The sub-compartments designed to segregate two or more beverages or ingredients within a common bottle or carton enclosure, the retail unit package. The container includes a base wall configured to support the container in an upright fashion, say for retail display or storage. A neck tube having a threaded end and equipped with a removable cap is sealably mounted over each sub-compartment such that for each sub-compartment there is one removable cap providing access to contents stored within the sub-compartment. Sub-compartment dividing walls provide a hermetic seal between sub-compartments. The container having multiple hermetically sealed sub-compartments providing a multi-ingredient container in which beverages or ingredients may be stored for an extended period of time. The caps and tubes into each compartment are similar in size and form the threaded necks and thread bottle caps of conventional beverage bottles.

1 . A compartmentalized closed container having two or more sub-compartments for storing and segregating ingredients, the container comprising: 
 a base wall configured to support the container in an upright fashion;    a side wall secured along a bottom edge to peripheral edges of the base;    a top wall having two or more holes therethrough, each hole singularly positioned over one sub-compartment, the top wall secured along peripheral edges to top edges of the side wall, secured edges between the top, base and side wall forming a hermetic seal;    one or more dividing walls, the dividing walls segregating the container into two or more sub-compartments, the dividing walls secured along its peripheral edges to inside surfaces of the side wall, top wall and bottom wall so as to form a hermetic seal between sub-compartments in the container;    a plurality of neck tubes, one for each compartment, each having one end secured to and hermetically sealed to a wall of the container, and an opposing end projecting outwards from the container and having a threaded portion thereon; and    a removable cap for providing hermetic closure to the threaded end of the neck tube, the cap having threads sized and fitted to be threadably received onto the threads of the neck tube and to provide a hermetic closure thereon, wherein the ingredients in each sub-compartment are hermetically sealed.    
   
   
       2 . The compartmentalized closed container of  claim 1 , wherein the ingredients comprise two or more liquid beverages, one for each sub-compartment.  
   
   
       3 . The compartmentalized closed container of  claim 2 , wherein the walls comprise substantially clear polyethylene terephthalate plastic allowing the beverage to be viewed through the container.  
   
   
       4 . The compartmentalized closed container of  claim 3  wherein the top wall is a convex dome shaped top wall, the top wall configured to withstand pressure of a carbonated beverage; 
 and wherein at least one beverage is a carbonated beverage.    
   
   
       5 . The compartmentalized closed container of  claim 4 , wherein the number of sub-compartments is two; and wherein the number of neck tubes and caps is two.  
   
   
       6 . The compartmentalized closed container of  claim 4 , wherein the one or more dividing walls is one ‘Y’ shaped dividing wall dividing the container into three hermetically sealed sub-compartments; and wherein the number of neck tubes and caps is three.  
   
   
       7 . The compartmentalized closed container of  claim 2 , wherein the walls comprise formed paperboard coated with a waterproof polyethylene plastic coating; and wherein the beverage is a non-carbonated beverage.  
   
   
       8 . The compartmentalized closed container of  claim 1 , wherein the walls comprise formed paperboard coated with a waterproof polyethylene plastic coating; and wherein at least one ingredient comprises a dry granular material.  
   
   
       9 . The compartmentalized closed container of  claim 5 , wherein the container has a base width of 4 to 6 inches and an overall container height of 4 to 14 inches.  
   
   
       10 . The compartmentalized closed container of  claim 9 , wherein the overall height is 12 inches.  
   
   
       11 . The compartmentalized closed container of  claim 6 , wherein the container has a base width of 4 to 8 inches and an overall container height of 4 to 14 inches.  
   
   
       12 . The compartmentalized closed container of  claim 11 , wherein the overall height is 12 inches.