Abstract:
A pair of interconnecting bottles is presented which are adapted to be free standing separately or when interconnected. The bottles are connectable at the base.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of a prior filed, co-pending application Ser. No. 60/642,924, filed Jan. 11, 2005, entitled INTERCONNECTING CONTAINER. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to bottles and containers and, more particularly, to interconnecting containers for dispensing liquid products that may be separately free standing or may be releasably interconnected.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Plastic containers and bottles are widely used throughout the world for packaging products. Some products are best marketed and sold together, such as ketchup and mustard, shampoo and conditioner, laundry detergent and softener, to name a few. Some containers include two separate chambers to contain the different products or come in separate containers that may be joined together.  
         [0004]     One problem with bottles that have two separate chambers is the buyer may not have a choice as to the brand or type of product sold together. Also, if one product is used up before the other product, then the excess space taken up by the empty chamber is wasted.  
         [0005]     A problem with containers that may be joined together is often neither container nor only one of the containers may stand alone without the support of the other. Additionally, the desired combination of products may not be readily available in these types of containers.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention provides interconnecting containers for which may be interconnected to conveniently present and store complementary products and which may be free standing to allow the consumer to mix and match the products and to replace only the product that is consumed. The interconnecting containers include a chamber for storing a product, a cap for dispensing the product, and a bottom. The bottom is shaped to allow the container to set upright and rest on the bottom. The bottoms of two containers may be joined or locked together to form an interconnected container for two products. When joined together, the interconnected containers rest on the top of one of the containers.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]      FIG. 1  is a front elevational view of the interconnecting containers of the present invention.  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the interconnecting containers of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the interconnecting containers of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0010]      FIG. 4  is a front elevational view of one container of the present invention shown upright resting on its bottom.  
         [0011]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of one container of the present invention shown upside down resting on its top.  
         [0012]      FIG. 6  is a sectional view of the interlock.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0013]     Referring to  FIGS. 1-5 , an interlocking container of the present invention is generally indicated by reference numeral  10 . Interconnecting container  10  includes relatively rigid walls made of any suitable plastic material that may be injection molded, blow-molded or extrusion blown, for example. A variety of different materials may be used in the construction of the container  10  depending on the intended end use and characteristics of the product held by the container  10 .  
         [0014]     Container  10  includes a top  12 , a body  14 , and a bottom  16 . Top  12  may be removable or may include a flip-up top  18  for dispensing the contents of the container  10  through a conventional aperture (not shown). The body  14  of container  10  is a conventional hollow bottle for holding a liquid product.  
         [0015]     Bottom  16  includes a tab or ball  20  and socket  22 . The bottom surface  24  is shaped so that the container  10  may be free standing when two containers are not interlocked.  
         [0016]     To connect two containers  10 , one of the containers  10  is inverted and the bottoms of the two containers are matched together with the ball  20  of one bottom  16  opposite the socket  22  of the other bottom  16 . By applying a sufficient force to the two bottles, they may be snapped together. In the interconnected configuration, the pair of bottles may stand on the top surface of either bottle.  
         [0017]     Referring to  FIG. 6 , a ball  20  and a socket  22  are shown in a sectional view. Ball  20  includes a head  26 , a reduced neck portion  28 , and shoulder  30 . The neck  28  has a smaller diameter than the head  26  or shoulder  30 . The socket  22  is designed to receive the ball  20  and releasably hold the ball  20  in place.  
         [0018]     The socket  22  includes a dome  32 , a locking ridge  34  and a sleeve  36 . When the ball  20  is pushed into the socket  22 , the head  26  separates the locking ridge  34  slightly to allow passage of the head  26  into the dome  32 . Once the widest dimension of the head  26  passes the locking ridge  34 , the socket  22  pulls the ball  20  into the dome  32  and the locking ridge  34  seats in the heck of the ball  20 . The shoulder  30  of the ball  20  is received in the sleeve  36  of the socket  22 . In this position, the bottles  10  are securely locked together. To unlock the bottles  10 , the bottles may be pulled apart.  
         [0019]     In this manner, a consumer may purchase a bottle of one brand or type of shampoo and a different brand or style of conditioner that may then be joined together and take up less space in the shower. The user may dispense the product from the upside down bottle first since the product will be in the top dispenser portion of the bottle, then invert the interconnected bottles to allow the product in the other bottle to settle to the top for dispensing.  
         [0020]     As another example, ketchup and mustard may be purchased separately and then the bottles snapped together for storage in the refrigerator. If the ketchup is used up first, a new ketchup bottle can be purchased and interconnected with the partially used mustard bottle.  
         [0021]     It should be understood by one skilled in the art that other configurations of the interlocking surfaces and shapes of bottles may be used and are within the scope of this invention. The particular shape shown is for illustrative purposes only.