Patent ID: 7195602

Claim:
A dual-chamber liquid receiving and retaining device which comprises: a. a liquid receiving and retaining body, said body having a continuous outside wall, and an open top and an open bottom; b. a detachable top cover and a detachable bottom cover for said body; c. a funnel-shaped transverse inner wall dividing said body into an upper liquid receiving and retaining chamber and a lower liquid receiving and retaining chamber, said transverse inner wall tapering downwardly toward a transverse inner wall orifice which enables liquid flow communication between said upper and lower chambers; d. an annular depending locking flange surrounding said orifice, said flange being formed having a narrow inner annular locking recess; and e. an orifice stopper disposed in said lower chamber, said stopper being responsive to liquid filling said lower chamber to a predetermined level for causing the stopper to float upwardly into sealing engagement with said orifice for preventing liquid flow into the lower chamber, said stopper being formed having a narrow external annular bead shaped to latch into said locking flange annular recess when the stopper is tightly received into said orifice; and f. an annular, spring-like flexible web formed in said bottom cover and responsive to a downward pushing on the device for deflecting upwardly in a manner causing a central upstanding region of the bottom cover to engage said stopper and force the stopper upwardly into said orifice and latch said stopper external annular bead into said locking flange annular recess for tightly sealing the orifice against liquid leakage past the stopper.