Patent ID: 9730438
Date: 2017-08-15
CPC Classifications: A01M

Claim:
1. A container apparatus for exposing an article to an external environment, comprising: (a) a surrounding sidewall that is about a longitudinal axis, said surrounding sidewall including a first end portion and an opposing second end portion along said longitudinal axis, said surrounding sidewall having an inner surface and an opposing outer surface, said first end portion terminating in a first open aperture defining a first margin portion and said second end portion terminating in a second open aperture defining a second margin portion, said surrounding sidewall inner surface, said first aperture, and said second aperture defining a sidewall interior of said surrounding sidewall, as differentiated from the external environment outside of said sidewall interior; and (b) a capsule element having an outer periphery and an inner void disposed within said periphery, wherein said outer periphery is slidably engaged to said surrounding sidewall inner surface such that said capsule element has movement along said longitudinal axis within said sidewall interior, said capsule element having a split boundary separating said capsule element into a plurality of partial capsule elements, said capsule element having a closed state defined as said plurality of partial capsule elements are adjacent to one another at said split boundary with said inner void being a closed volume separated from the external environment and said capsule element having an open state defined as said plurality of partial capsule elements are partially separated apart from one another at said split boundary with said inner void being an open volume exposed to the external environment, wherein when said capsule element has said slidable engagement on said outer periphery to said surrounding sidewall inner surface said capsule element is in said closed state, wherein said capsule element is disposed completely within said surrounding sidewall interior between said first and second end portions when said capsule element is in said closed state, and when said capsule element is not slidably engaged on said outer periphery and clear from said surrounding sidewall inner surface, wherein said capsule element is in the external environment, said capsule element can be in said open state, wherein operationally the article is disposed within said inner void with the article isolated from the external environment when said capsule element is in said closed state and the article being exposed to the external environment when said capsule element is in said open state facilitated by said surrounding sidewall inner surface having been forcibly removed in a direction along said longitudinal axis from said capsule element outer periphery.