text: the dispenser shown in fig1 includes a cap 1 provided with an outlet opening , or window , 3 and constituting , apart from window 3 , a sealing closure for the dispenser . the cap includes a top surface in which window 3 is disposed and a downwardly projecting , cylindrical , peripheral surface via which the cap will be secured to the dispenser body 9 . projecting from the interior horizontal surface of cap 1 is a pin 2 the function of which will be described below . between cap 1 and dispenser body 9 there is interposed a cover disc 6 provided with a first dispensing opening 5 constituted by an array of small holes and a second dispensing opening 10 in the form of a single , relatively large aperture . openings 5 and 10 are separated from one another by a cover region 11 . cover disc 6 is further provided with an arcuate slot 4 into which the pin 2 will engage when the dispenser is assembled . slot 4 subtends a circular arc the center of curvature of which lies on the longitudinal axis of body 9 . finally , cover disc 6 is provided with a center opening 7 formed to have a flat portion on its periphery . the dispenser is completed by the body 9 provided with a plurality of preferably radial partitions dividing its interior into at least three compartments , the illustrated embodiment containing five compartments . each compartment is open at the top of the body 9 , and at the center of the top surface the body is provided with a raised member 8 the circumference of which is constituted by a series of flat surfaces , the number of flat surfaces being equal to the number of compartments provided in body 9 . when the dispenser is assembled , cover disc 6 rests upon the top of body 9 so as to cover the open ends of all of the compartments , with the exception of those compartments aligned with openings 5 and 10 . raised portion 8 extends into center opening 7 so that the flat surface portion of opening 7 mates with one of the flat surfaces of raised portion 8 . as a result , it will be assured that cover disc 6 remains stationary relative to body 9 , with openings 5 and 10 each aligned with a different respective compartment in body 9 , until some external rotation force is applied to the cover disc . in addition , in the assembled state of the dispenser , pin 2 projects into slot 4 of cover disc 6 . cap 1 is secured to body 9 by suitable connecting members formed on the body and the interior surface of the peripheral portion of cap 1 . when window 3 in cap 1 is aligned with the region 11 between openings 5 and 10 of disc 6 , pin 2 will be located approximately at the midpoint of slot 4 and all compartments of the dispenser will be closed either by disc 6 or by cap 1 . if cap 1 is then rotated in either direction about the axis of the dispenser , disc 6 will be maintained stationary relative to the dispenser body by the detent action of the flat portion of center opening 7 , and pin 2 will travel along slot 4 until window 3 comes into alignment with one of the openings 5 and 10 . at that time , the compartment with which window 3 is aligned will be open , either via the array of holes 5 , providing a shaker opening , or via large aperture 10 , providing a pouring opening . the seasoning or condiment contained in the compartment then aligned with window 3 can be dispensed . if seasoning is to be dispensed from a different compartment , the cap will continue to be rotated toward that compartment . since , however , pin 2 is at that time at one end of slot 4 , a force transmitting connection will exist between cap 1 and disc 6 sufficient to overcome the detent action of the flat surface of center opening 7 so that the disc will rotate together with cap 1 while the opening then aligned with window 3 continues to be aligned therewith . in this manner , both window 3 and the opening 5 or 10 will be rotated as a unit into alignment with the opening of the desired compartment . upon arrival in alignment with the desired compartment , disc 6 will be urged into a position in which the associated opening therein is aligned with the opening of that compartment by the action of the flat portion of center opening 7 and the associated flat surface of raised portion 8 . after the desired quantity of seasoning has been dispensed , cap 1 can be rotated back in the opposite direction to bring it again into alignment with region 11 , whereupon all dispenser compartments are again closed . in preferred embodiments of the invention , the body 9 is made of a clear plastic molded in two pieces : a main body piece including the radial partitions dividing the body into compartments and the raised portion 8 ; and a bottom piece which is subsequently cemented ultra - sonically bonded , or otherwise secured to the bottom of the main body piece . cap 1 will be molded from an opaque plastic , preferably in a decorative color , while disc 6 can be a molded piece having any desired color , typically white . fig2 - 6 illustrate the details of the components of a preferred specific embodiment of the invention . fig2 shows the cap 1 of such an embodiment in longitudinal cross section . the elements not illustrated in fig1 include attachment elements 18 disposed in pairs about the lower edge of the inner surface of the peripheral portion of the cap , typically three such pairs being disposed uniformly around the peripheral portion . each element 18 has an upper surface which , while illustrated as being horizontal , can alternatively be inclined upwardly toward the peripheral portion of the cap at any selected angle . at the center of the lower horizontal surface of cap 1 there is provided a hollow projection 19 arranged to engage in a mating process provided at the top of the dispenser body 9 . a preferred configuration for the cross section of pin 2 is shown to an enlarged scale in fig3 . this pin has the form of an irregular hexagon including a radially outermost surface 21 perpendicular to a radial plane 22 passing through the axis of the dispenser . adjacent surface 21 are two camming surfaces 23 each inclined at an angle b to surface 21 . typically , b will have a value of 45 °. adjacent surfaces 23 are two further surfaces 25 each forming an angle a with plane 22 . in a typical embodiment , a can have a value of 5 °. the polygonal outline of pin 2 is completed by a radially innermost surface 27 which can also be normal to plane 22 . the function of the various surfaces will be explained below with reference to the description of a specific embodiment of cover disc 6 . fig4 illustrates a preferred embodiment of disc 6 employed in combination with the cap of fig2 and 3 . the arcuate slot 4 is formed to present , along its radially outermost side , a number of bearing surface portions 31 separated by intervening arcuate surface portions 32 . at least the free end region of each surface portion 31 constitutes a bearing surface which will press against pin 2 to impose a slight restraint on the movement of cap 1 relative to disc 6 when pin 2 is adjacent these free end regions . slot 4 additionally includes auxiliary slot regions 34 which , in conjunction with the main portion of the slot , create flexible fingers 35 in the vicinity of each surface portion 31 . the fingers 35 at the extremities of slot 4 are spaced a predetermined distance from the associated ends of the slot , while the fingers 35 at the center of the slot are spaced from one another by a corresponding predetermined distance . disc 6 is additionally provided with a further arcuate finger 36 adjacent opening 7 . one end of finger 36 is connected to the body of the disc , while the other end is free , and the radial dimension of finger 36 is selected to permit the free end thereof to have a certain degree of radial flexibility . adjacent its free end , finger 36 is provided on its inner arcuate surface with a radially inwardly extending detent projection 38 . in the illustrated embodiment , projection 38 has a generally v - shaped form . a suitable embodiment of a container body 9 for a dispenser according to the invention is shown in fig5 and 6 . the entire body is preferably formed of a one - piece molded main body part including all of the body portions except for its base , and a separate base part which is subsequently cemented ultra - sonically bonded , or otherwise secured to the bottom of the main body part . both parts of the body are preferably molded from clear acrylic plastic so as to provide a transparent container . the one - piece main body part illustrated in fig5 and 6 includes a cylindrical side wall 41 , a cylindrical neck portion 42 having a diameter slightly less than that of the main side wall 41 , five partitions 43 equispaced about the axis of the container and extending from the longitudinal axis thereof to side wall 41 and neck 42 , a central hub 45 located at the top of the container body , and a raised portion 8 &# 39 ; located at the center of the hub and projecting a small distance above the upper edges of partitions 43 . alternatively , the main body part can be molded in one piece including the bottom and the neck 42 together with the associated portions of partitions 43 , hub 45 , and raised portion 8 &# 39 ; can be molded as one part and subsequently attached to the main body part . the raised portion 8 &# 39 ; is provided in its outer peripheral surface with five equispaced detent notches 48 arranged to cooperate with projections 38 of disc 6 . in addition , the raised portion 8 &# 39 ; and the hub 45 are provided with an axially extending blind recess 49 into which will extend the projection 19 of cap 1 when the latter is seated over the top of body 9 . neck portion 42 of body 9 is provided with an annular rib 44 located to engage the attachment elements 18 of cap 1 in order to retain the cap in place on body 9 . the upper surface of rib 44 is inclined , as are the lower surfaces of elements 18 , to facilitate movement of elements 18 past rib 44 during assembly of the cap and the body . according to a typical embodiment of the invention , the lower edges of elements 18 and the upper edge of rib 4 are inclined at an angle of 45 ° to the longitudinal axis of the container . on the other hand , the lower edge of rib 44 , and possibly the upper edges of elements 18 , are formed to prevent subsequent removal of the cap . such removal is not required for filling the container compartments , since this can be accomplished by aligning opening 3 in cap 1 and opening 10 in disc 6 with a selected compartment . to assemble a container according to the invention , a cylindrical bottom piece is permanently secured , as by cementing , to the open bottom of the main body portion . the cylindrical bottom piece can simply be a flat disc , or can be provided with upstanding ribs arranged to be aligned with partitions 43 when the unit is assembled . the lower surface of the bottom can be given any desired configuration in accordance with considerations of appearance and stability . the individual compartments can then , if desired , be initially filled at the assembly location , if the dispenser is to be sold with an assortment of seasonings already contained therein . if the container is to be sold by itself , such initial filling step would be omitted . thereafter , it is simply necessary to place disc 6 upon the top of the body 9 so that projection 38 engages in any one of notches 48 . thereafter , a cap 1 is placed upon the top of the body so that elements 18 slide over and past rib 44 , pin 2 enters into slot 4 in the region between surface 33 and one of surface portions 32 , and disc 6 is clamped between cap 1 and the upper edges of neck 42 and partitions 43 . the components are dimensioned so that virtually no clearance will exist between disc 6 and the upper edges of neck 42 and partitions 43 , on the one hand , and the upper surface of disc 6 and the lower horizontal surface of cap 1 , on the other hand . this will assure that when the container is inverted , the contents of one compartment cannot transfer to an adjacent compartment . pin 2 and slot 4 are dimensioned such that a small clearance will exist between pin surface 27 and the inner arcuate surface 33 of the slot . in addition , a small clearance will exist between pin surface 21 and outer arcuate surface portions 32 of the slot . as cap 1 is then rotated relative to disc 6 toward the region of one of the fingers 35 , surface 21 of pin 2 will come to bear against an associated surface portion 31 , thereby providing a certain retention force which does not , however , prevent movement of cap 1 relative to disc 6 . in other words , when any one of fingers 35 is pressing against pin 2 , the resulting retention force is less than that existing between projection 38 and an associated notch 48 of raised portion 8 &# 39 ;. in order to fully close the dispenser , cap 6 need only be rotated to bring pin 2 into alignment with the space between fingers 35 at the center of slot 4 . in this position , the inclined surfaces 23 of pin 2 will bear against the radially inwardly directed edges at the free ends of those fingers 35 , and opening 3 in cap 1 will be aligned with cover region 11 , while openings 5 and 10 in disc 6 will be aligned with covering regions of cap 1 . the cap will be retained in that position by the detent action of the central fingers 35 on pin 2 . in order to dispense a selected seasoning or condiment via large opening 10 , it is only necessary to rotate cap 1 counterclockwise , when viewing the illustrated arrangement from the top , whereupon pin 2 moves out of engagement with the fingers 35 at the center of slot 4 , traverses the left - hand path of slot 4 , and arrives in the region of finger 35 at the left - hand end of the slot . at the end of this rotation , one surface 25 of pin 2 will engage the associated end of the slot , while the camming surface 23 at the other side of pin 2 will engage finger 35 . during the rotation of cap 1 to this position , disc 6 is prevented from rotating by the engagement of projection 38 in an associated notch 48 . the opening 3 in cap 1 will then be aligned with the opening 10 in disc 6 , and , because the angular position of disc 6 is defined by engagement of projection 38 in a notch 48 , both openings will be aligned with one of the compartments . if seasoning is to be dispensed from that compartment , such operation can then be effected . if , on the other hand , seasoning is to be dispensed through opening 10 from a different compartment , it is only necessary to continue rotating cap 1 in the counterclockwise direction , and during this further rotation disc 6 will rotate as a unit with cap 1 in view of the engagement of pin 2 against the left - hand end of slot 4 . during this further rotation , projection 38 will leave the notch 48 in which it originally engaged , and will enter into each subsequent notch 48 around raised portion 8 &# 39 ;, thereby reaching the detent position associated with each successive compartment . cap 1 and disc 6 then continue to be rotated until window 3 and opening 10 come into alignment with that compartment from which seasoning is to be dispensed , and the dispensing operation is then performed . thereafter , to close the dispenser , it is simply necessary to rotate cap 1 back in the counterclockwise direction , disc 6 at that time remaining stationary relative to the body portion , until pin 2 again comes into engagement between the fingers 35 at the center of slot 4 and window 3 is again aligned with cover region 11 . in order to dispense seasoning through the array of small holes constituting dispensing opening 5 , it is only necessary to rotate cap 1 in the clockwise direction , whereupon the same sequence of operation as described above will occur . since , according to preferred embodiments of the invention , the body of the container is of clear plastic , the contents of the individual compartments could be visually identified by the user . if it were desired to label each compartment , this could be done in any manner already known in the art , as by the application of labels selected from a set of labels pre - printed on , for example , transparent stock provided with an adhesive backing and sold with the container . paper labels , either pre - printed with a selection of names or intended to be written on by the user , could also be employed . it would equally be possible to emboss or print the container body with legends corresponding to the seasonings which are most frequently used . thus , the present invention provides a simple structure which is capable of storing any desired number of seasonings or condiments which is capable of being manipulated in a very simple manner to selectively dispense any desired seasoning through two different types of openings and which can effect tight sealing of all of the compartments between uses . if suitably narrow tolerances are established between the movable parts , the dispenser according to the invention could also be employed for storing and dispensing liquids . articles could also be constructed according to the invention with the single body replaced by a plurality of individual containers each having the form of a single compartment and each secured to the cap . it will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications , changes and adaptations , and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims .