Abstract:
A beverage can having a primary fluid volume and a segregated secondary container. The secondary container could contain a liquid or a granulated solid. The two containers are separated by a barrier which can be opened. The beverage can has a lid with a conventional pull-tab and downward-opening hatch. However, the hatch is equipped with a piercer extending down into the can. When the pull-tab is actuated, the piercer breaches the barrier separating the secondary container from the primary fluid volume. The contents of the secondary container can then be mixed with the primary fluid.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable. 
     MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to the field of beverage containers. More specifically, the invention comprises a beverage can having a segregated primary volume and secondary volume where the “pull tab” that opens the can also breaches the barrier separating the two volumes. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Metal beverage cans have been in common use for many years. These were originally steel cans which had to be opened with a can opener. The “pull-tab” evolved in the 1950&#39;s. This allowed the can to be opened without using any external devices. The pull-tabs themselves, however, became a significant litter source. 
     In 1975 Reynolds Metals of Richmond, Va. introduced a pull-tab which remained attached to the beverage can after opening. The basic concept for this device has continued to evolve.  FIG. 1  shows a prior art can assembly that has been manufactured since the 1990&#39;s. Can  10  is attached to lid  12 , usually by roll forming the edges of the two components together to create roll seam  14 . The bottom of the can is customarily integral with the cylindrical side wall—the can being made by a drawing process. The separate lid allows the can to be filled with a beverage—such as carbonated soda—before being sealed. 
     Prior art lid  12  has some sophisticated features allowing the can to be safely opened without producing litter. Lever  16  is attached to the lid at fulcrum  18 . Contact arm  20  extends over hatch  24 . The hatch is connected to the balance of the lid along tearable seam  22  (a line of reduced material thickness). The terrible seam extends around the periphery of the hatch, with the exception of a small undisturbed region that is intended to become a hinge when the hatch is opened. 
       FIG. 2  shows the same assembly when the user lifts lever  6  upward as shown. Contact arm  20  urges hatch  24  downward, which tears tearable seam  22 . Bendable hinge  28  is the part of the hatch&#39;s periphery that does not include the tearable seam. The hatch bends downward from the lid along bendable hinge  28 , as shown in the view. 
       FIG. 3  shows a plan view of the can with lever  16  removed so that the user may better understand the hatch and the tearable seam. Lever  16  attaches to the lid at attachment point  30  (which becomes the fulcrum in operation). The reader will note how tearable seam  22  extends around most of the periphery of hatch  24 —except for the length of bendable hinge  28 . The bendable hinge is simply a region of undisturbed material which will not tear when the lever is actuated. 
     The reader will also note how the hinge is angled with respect to the orientation of lever  16 . The hatch will pivot downward and to the left in the orientation shown in the view. Other designs have the tearable hinge immediately in front of the attachment point so that the hatch rotates in the same plane as lever  16 . The present invention can be used with any of these designs, though the geometry may need to be altered somewhat. 
     There is a long-felt need in the art to provide the capacity to mix two substances together just before they are consumed. One application is the popular concept of a “mixed drink,” in which liquor is often combined with a carbonated soft drink. Many of these combinations do not have a good shelf life when pre-mixed. In other words, they are best if the two components are mixed just prior to consumption. 
     Another example is the situation of a powdered additive being mixed into a liquid. Vitamins and other supplements are often presented in this fashion. Again, the mixture has a poor shelf life and it is therefore advisable to create the mixture just prior to consumption. The present invention provides two separated storage chambers which can be mixed just prior to consumption. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention comprises a beverage can having a primary fluid volume and a segregated secondary container. The secondary container could contain a liquid or a granulated solid. The two containers are separated by a barrier which can be opened. 
     The beverage can has a lid with a conventional pull-tab and downward-opening hatch. However, the hatch is equipped with a piercer extending down into the can. When the pull-tab is actuated, the piercer breaches the barrier separating the secondary container from the primary fluid volume. The contents of the secondary container can then be mixed with the primary fluid. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view, showing a prior art beverage can. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view, showing a prior art beverage can with the pull-tab actuated to open the hatch. 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view, showing the nature of the hatch and tearable seam. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view with a cutaway, showing the secondary container. 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional elevation view, showing the relationship of the internal components. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view with a cutaway, showing the piercer opening the seal. 
         FIGS. 7(A)-7(C)  are sectional elevation views, showing the operation of the piercer. 
         FIG. 8  is an exploded perspective view, showing how the lid and secondary container can be united into a subassembly. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view, showing an alternate embodiment for the piercer. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view with a cutaway, showing the operation of the embodiment of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is a sectional elevation view, showing another alternate embodiment for the piercer. 
       
         
           
                 
               
                 
                 
                 
                 
               
             
                 
                     
                 
                 
                   REFERENCE NUMERALS IN THE DRAWINGS 
                 
                 
                     
                 
               
               
                 
                     
                 
               
            
             
                 
                   10 
                   can 
                   12 
                   lid 
                 
                 
                   14 
                   roll seam 
                   16 
                   lever 
                 
                 
                   18 
                   fulcrum 
                   20 
                   contact arm 
                 
                 
                   22 
                   tearable seam 
                   24 
                   hatch 
                 
                 
                   26 
                   opening 
                   28 
                   bendable hinge 
                 
                 
                   30 
                   attachment point 
                   32 
                   primary fluid volume 
                 
                 
                   34 
                   secondary container 
                   36 
                   seal 
                 
                 
                   38 
                   piercer 
                   40 
                   secondary fluid 
                 
                 
                   42 
                   point 
                   44 
                   cutting edge 
                 
                 
                   46 
                   breach 
                   48 
                   roll crimping lip 
                 
                 
                   50 
                   side wall 
                   52 
                   bottom wall 
                 
                 
                   54 
                   stiff boundary 
                   60 
                   attachment 
                 
                 
                   62 
                   separate piercer 
                   64 
                   folded cross section 
                 
                 
                     
                 
               
            
           
         
       
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 4  shows a cutaway view of can  10  having a hollow interior designated as primary fluid volume  32 . Secondary container  34  is located within the can&#39;s hollow interior. The secondary container is also hollow. Primary fluid volume  32  contains the primary fluid, such as a carbonated soft drink. The secondary container can contain many types of substances. The most common application is another liquid—such as liquor. However, the secondary container could also contain a granulated solid or even a gelatinous substance. The secondary container completely encloses its contents and prevents them from mixing with the primary fluid until the user desires to mix the two. 
       FIG. 5  shows a sectioned elevation view through the center of a can incorporating the present invention. The can&#39;s lid includes the same elements as in the prior art: Hatch  24  is attached to the lid along bendable hinge  28  (and a tearable seam, prior to actuation of the opening cycle). Lever  16  provides the actuating force to detach hatch  24  along the tearable seam and bend it down into the can&#39;s interior along bendable hinge  28 . 
     Piercer  38  is connected to hatch  24  and rotates in unison with the hatch. Piercer  38  is positioned so that as the hatch rotates downwards, the piercer is propelled into secondary container  34 . Piercer  38  is sufficiently sharp and stiff to breach the secondary container. As an example, the piercer can be a blade of thin aluminum. 
     The piercer can be configured to simply breach the side wall of the secondary container itself. However, it is preferable to provide a thin section of the side wall which is intended to be easily breached. In  FIG. 5 , a portion of the side wall is replaced by seal  36 . This seal is preferably a thin foil—typically laminated with a thin layer of plastic—which is retained in placed by an adhesive.  FIG. 6  shows a perspective view of the piercing mechanism (with a portion of the can cut away to aid visualization). 
     The side wall of the secondary container preferably includes stiff boundary  54 , which runs around the opening covered by seal  36 . This stiff boundary holds the seal in place and promotes rapid and complete tearing of the seal as piercer  38  penetrates. For some applications it is helpful to carry seal  36  around the corner between side wall  50  and bottom wall  52 . This creates a corner in the seal which promotes tearing and also aids the rapid egress of the secondary container&#39;s contents. 
     The user lifts lever  16  as for the prior art can. This rotates hatch  24  down into the can&#39;s interior. Piercer  38  is propelled along with the hatch and ruptures seal  36 .  FIGS. 7(A) through 7(C)  illustrate the piercing sequence in more detail. In  FIG. 7(A) , the user has just started lifting lever  16 . Hatch  24  has just broken free along the tearable seam and has just started to rotate down into the can. In this embodiment, the piercer is equipped with point  42 . Point  42  makes a sharp point contact with seal  36  and pokes an initial hole through it (breach  46 ). This vents the top of the secondary container to promote rapid egress of its contents. 
     In  FIG. 7(B) , the user has continued lifting up on lever  16  and hatch  24  has rotated down about 30 degrees. Cutting edge  44  is at this point slicing through seal  36  and expanding the hole made by point  42 . For the embodiment shown, the secondary substance is a fluid (secondary fluid  40 ). This secondary fluid begins to flow out of secondary container  34  and mix with the primary fluid. 
     In  FIG. 7(C) , the user has nearly completed the opening process. Hatch  24  has rotated down into the hollow interior about 85 degrees. Cutting edge  44  has completely breached seal  36  and secondary fluid  40  is then able to freely flow out into the can&#39;s hollow interior. The user is ideally encouraged to swirl the can at this point in order to promote thorough mixing of the primary fluid and the secondary substance. 
     Depending on the nature of the contents of the secondary container, it may be desirable to extend the length of seal  36  over a greater distance of the container&#39;s bottom. The length of cutting edge  44  can likewise be extended to carry all the way across the bottom of the secondary container as the device is actuated. In addition, the cutting edge can be provided with flanges to make the edge into a “plow” configuration (with one flange extending out one side and possible a second flange extending out the other). In this embodiment, the sharp edge pierces the seal and the flanges then spread the seal apart as the blade proceeds into the secondary container. 
     The arrangement proposed by the present invention is preferably made to be incorporated into the existing manufacturing processes. As mentioned previously, modern soft drink cans are made as two pieces—the can and the lid. These are then roll crimped together.  FIG. 8  shows a prior art can  10 . The can is filled with the primary liquid. The innovative features of the present invention can then be incorporated into lid  12 . The piercer is preferably attached to the lid. Though it certainly could be attached to the can wall as well, attaching the piercer somewhere on the lid promotes easy assembly. 
     Secondary container  34  is preferably attached to the underside of the lid to make a unified subassembly. Roll crimping flange extends around the lid&#39;s perimeter. The subassembly shown is then placed on top of the can (after the can is filled), and the roll crimping flange is rolled together with roll crimping lip  48  to create a finished product. The product is then ready for delivery. The primary fluid and the secondary substance will remain separated until the user pulls up the lever on the can&#39;s lid. Using this approach, the can and the secondary container/lid subassembly can be made on different lines which are brought together just before the roll crimping process. 
     Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many variations on the design of the secondary container and the piercer are possible.  FIG. 9  shows one such alternate embodiment. Piercer  38  is formed into a sharpened “scoop” by giving it folded cross-section  64 . This stiffens the piercer. Point  42  is still provided. 
       FIG. 10  shows this alternate embodiment in operation. Lever  16  and hatch  24  operate in the same manner as previously described. Piercer  38  pokes through seal  36  and expands the breach as the hatch pivots further downward. 
     In many respects it is preferable to attach the piercer directly to the bottom of the hatch. However, there are other ways to secure the piercer.  FIG. 11  shoes an alternate embodiment in which separate piercer  62  is attached at attachment  60  to the underside of the lid itself. The attachment is preferably a bendable piece of thin aluminum. The hatch still propels this piercer into the secondary container and it performs in the same manner as the previously disclosed embodiments. Attachment  60  could even be the same rivet that joins lever  16  to the top of the lid. 
     Of course, one could also secure the piercer to the secondary container. The pivoting attachment for the piercer would be roughly the same as shown in  FIG. 11 , except that the piercer would be attached to the upper part of the secondary container itself rather than the lid. The piercer could also be attached to the side wall of the can itself. As long as the piercer is positioned so that the hatch&#39;s motion propels it into the secondary container, any of these attachments will work. 
     The reader will thereby perceive how the present invention provides a storage can having a separate secondary container which unites two substances as the user pulls up on the opening lever. The device can be used to mix: (1) Liquor and a soft drink to make a “mixed drink” such as Rum and Coke; (2) a granulated solid and water to make a sports drink; (3) a heavy syrup and a low viscosity liquid; or (4) any other suitable combination of ingredients. 
     The preceding description contains significant detail regarding the novel aspects of the present invention. It is should not be construed, however, as limiting the scope of the invention but rather as providing illustrations of the preferred embodiments of the invention. Thus, the scope of the invention should be fixed by the following claims, rather than by the examples given.