Background Art Liquids are provided for retail in a large variety of containers, including glass bottles and plastic lined cardboard boxes. A great variety of closures are provided for these containers, and much ingenuity has been expended on tamper proof or tamper evident seals, and resealable closures.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed in Australia or elsewhere before the priority date of each claim of this application.

Summary of the Invention The invention provides a liquids container for pre-use mixing, comprising a vessel containing the liquid, the vessel defining a means for opening which is sealed closed, and a pocket within the vessel ; the walls of the pocket define a space containing an additive for the liquid and keep the additive out. of contact with the liquid ; the walls of the pocket include at least a region which is rupturable to release the additive into the liquid ; the additives are packaged into the pocket, or its compartments, preferably under vacuum, or surrounded by an inert gas, typically under pressure.

In a preferred embodiment at least part of the container and/or pocket is transparent or translucent.

The pocket may comprise an insert separate from the vessel and closure. Most preferably, the pocket will comprise a cylindrical chamber in the form of a drinking straw or the like.

Making at least part of the container and/pocket transparent, allows one to view the integrity of the additives. Further it allows one to view the mixing of the additives The additives may be a mixture of powder, granules, grains, tablets, capsules, liquids, or any other suitable additive.

The pocket will generally be held at a fixed location within the vessel.

This may be achieved by attaching the pocket to the inside of the vessel using any suitable mechanical or chemical means. For instance it may be heat sealed to the vessel walls.

The walls of the vessel may be flexible, and the walls of the pocket may be ruptured by manipulating the walls of the vessel. In this case the rupturable region of the walls of the pocket may be designed to have a point or line of weakness which will be ruptured by the manipulation, in particular squeezing or twisting, of the vessel.

In an alternative the walls of the pocket may be ruptured by a mechanism associated with the vessel, the closure, or both. For instance, the pocket may define an open end opening into the container, a mechanically sealed portion and a closed end containing the additives. Opening the mechanically sealed portion allows the additives to travel from the closed end to the open end.

The arrangement of the present invention has the advantage that it permits the mixing of additives to a drink immediately before consumption.

The walls of the pocket may be made of any material which is capable of keeping the additive out of contact with the liquid. For instance, the walls may comprise a plastic or an elastic material, they may be made of metal foil or a membrane. Mixture of these materials such as laminates or combinations such as a blister pack may also be employed.

The liquid may be a drink. Examples include water, fruit juice, milk and gastrolytes, but the invention is not limited to any particular drink. The additives may be salts or vitamins which deteriorate in solution or suspension within a drink, for instance by exposure to sunlight. Where the additive provides flavour to the drink, mixing immediately before consumption may improve the flavour of the drink.

The additives may be such that upon mixing with the liquid contents of the container, they dissolve progressively in such a way that the colour of the mixed ingredients may change. For example, the mixture may start out as one

colour such as yellow, then may progressively become orange, then red, purple, blue and then green.

In one embodiment, the additive may include a freeze dried consumable bacteria or probiotic culture.

The pocket may be divided into separate compartments with different additives, or combinations of additives, being place in each. In this case the pocket may be designed so that all the compartments are ruptured at the same time, may be designed so that the compartments are ruptured progressively or individually.

Brief Description of the Drawings Examples of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 a is a schematic diagram of a flexible drink vessel containing a pocket, and Figure 1 b is a schematic diagram of the vessel when it has been manipulated to open the membrane of the pocket; Figure 2 shows a cap for a container including a pocket in the form of a straw; Figure 3 is a variant of the cap of Figure 2; Figure 4 shows a container in the form of a carton including a pocket in the form of a straw; Figure 5 is a variant on the carton of Figure 4; and Figure 6 illustrates a yet further variant of the invention.

Best Modes for Carrying Out the Invention Referring first to Figure 1, drink vessel 1 comprises flexible walls 2 having a waterproof liner which may, for example be made from cardboard with a waterproof plastics liner, although other materials may be used. At least part of the container walls at the top are preferably transparent or translucent and define a window so that the contents of the vessel can be seen.

Inside the vessel are three identical cylindrical pockets 3. The pockets are also preferably transparent or translucent. The circular ends 4 of the pockets 3 are connected to the side-walls of the vessel so that the pockets are strung side by side between opposite side-walls. The pockets comprise tubular membranes which separate the contents of the pockets from the remainder of the contents of the vessel. However, the pockets each have a

circular line of weakness 5 extending around the tubular membranes midway between the ends.

A drink 6 is contained inside the vessel, and an additive 7 to the drink is contained inside the pockets 3. Because of the window in the vessel and the transparent pockets, the contents of the pockets and the integrity thereof can be checked without opening the vessel.

The vessel may be opened by peeling away a tab 8 from the top of the vessel to reveal a hole. A straw may be introduced into the hole to assist in consuming the contents, if desired.

Before the vessel is opened, and before the drink 6 is consumed, the vessel is manipulated by squeezing the tops of the two opposing sidewalls together, as shown in Figure 1 b. This has the effect of causing the top of the vessel to buckle and to bear down on the pockets 3. As the pockets 3 are distorted they break open along the lines of weakness 5 and the additive 7 is tipped out into the drink. The vessel may then be shaken to disperse and dissolve the additive, or the additive may dissolve without shaking, particularly if it is in powder form.

Figures 2 to 5 illustrate further embodiments of the present invention in which a straw is incorporated either into the closure of a bottle as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 or into a"Tetra Pak" type container as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5.

With reference to Figure 2, a container 10 is sealed with a membrane 11 which covers the top of the container 10. A pocket in the form of a straw 12 extends through the membrane and is sealed to the membrane and depends into the body of the container. The straw 12 contains additives for the drink contained in the container which may be in capsule, granular, powder, liquid or other suitable form. A closure 13 having a safety cap 14 defining a central aperture 15 which receives the upper end of the straw covers the aperture and top of the bottle, covers the top of the container 10.

The ingredients in the straw are held under vacuum or in a pressurised inert gas such as nitrogen. The ingredients are mixed into the liquid by the action of twisting and/or lifting the straw which ruptures a weakened area in the straw. One preferred ingredient for the additives is a consumable bacteria also known as probiotic cultures which are freeze dried and are part of the additives contained in the straw. At least part of the straw is preferably transparent so that the ingredients can be viewed. The container will also

typically be transparent, so that the mixing can be viewed. The additives may be such that upon mixing with the liquid contents of the container, they dissolve progressively in such a way that the colour of the mixed ingredients may change. For example, the mixture may start out as one colour such as yellow, then may progressively become orange, then red, purple, blue and then green. This may be achieved by having the additives as different coloured pellets or capsules, which drop in the liquid progressively.

Alternatively the pellets could be formed from coloured layers each layer being a different colour, or the pellets might be arranged to dissolve at different rates.

Figure 3 shows a variant of the container of Figure 2 in which the pocket 12 in the form of a straw having a open end 12a projects into the container 10 through the closure 13 and in which a portion 16 of the straw is crimped or mechanically sealed, with the portion of the straw distal from the container, containing ingredients 17. When the straw is straightened and the crimped part 16 uncrimped, ingredients pass from the distal end 17 of the straw into the container 10. Again the straw 12 is preferably transparent or at least translucent.

Figure 4 shows a variant of the embodiment shown in Figure 2 in which the pocket in the form of a straw 12 projects from the body of a carton 20 such as a"Tetra Pak" liquid paperboard type carton. Again the straw 12 contains ingredients which may be granular, powder, a capsule, and which may include prebiotic or probiotic cultures, in a vacuum or partial vacuum or in an atmosphere of an inert gas under pressure. The straw 12 is raised or twisted to dispense the ingredients into the carton 20. At least part of the straw 12 and the carton 20 should preferably transparent or translucent so that the integrity of the stored additives can be visibly checked and so that mixing of the ingredients into the container can be watched.

Figure 5 shows a variant of the container of Figure 3 in which the straw 12 is fitted to the outside of a carton 20 and includes a crimped portion 16. In use the end 18 of the straw is removed and the straw straightened such that the ingredients pass the previously crimped portion of the straw 16 into the carton mixing with the contents of the carton.

Finally, Figure 6 shows a further variant in which the pack 20 defines a circular membrane 22 at the top of the container and the additives for adding to the container are contained in a straw which is sealed at both ends and

which is typically translucent or transparent. The straw can simply be removed from the container, the ends 26 and 28 torn off and the straw and ingredients inserted into the carton 20 via the pierceable membrane 22 for mixing into the liquid in the container.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a drink container, it should not be forgotten that the container may be used for other purposes. For instance, it may be used to package binary chemicals such as adhesives.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.