Partitioning dispensing container

Claim 1

A partitioning dispensing container for separately storing and dispensing a plurality of different groups of individual items, said container being in the form of a hollow jar having a cylindrically shaped sidewall, a bottom wall, an open top, and a plurality of vertically disposed partitioning walls dividing the jar's interior space into a plurality of separate chambers, with each chamber being adapted to receive and hold therein plural items to be dispensed, said sidewall having a top edge and including a plurality of passages located about the periphery thereof adjacent said top edge, each of said passages being disposed between an immediately adjacent pair of said partitioning walls, said container further including lid means releasably and rotatably mounted on said jar portion adjacent the top to close the jar's chambers, each of said partitioning walls including a generally horizontal edge adjacent the open top of said jar, said lid means including a top wall and an annular sidewall, said sidewall including a dispensing slot of a sufficient size to enable any item disposed within any chamber to pass therethrough to enable an item to be dispensed from a selected chamber when the lid means is rotatably positioned so that said slot overlies the associated passage in said chamber, while the annular sidewall portions of the lid means close the other passages, thereby precluding dispensing of items therefrom, the container further comprising alignment means for facilitating the process of aligning the dispensing slot with respective passages , said alignment means including engagement means on said lid means, said engagement means comprising a pair of adjacent rib members arranged to receive therebetween and engage respective top edges of said partitioning walls when the cap means is rotated to a first position to align the dispensing slot with one of said passages, while resisting accidental rotational movement of the lid means with respect to the said jar which would tend to misalign said slot and said passage, said engagement means being releasable by the application of additional rotary force to said lid means to cause said rib members to be disengaged from the edge located therebetween, thereby enabling said lid means to rotate to a second position of alignment between another one of said passages and the dispensing slot, thus permitting access to another of the chambers.