This invention relates to a container and lid arrangement wherein a lid portion is able to engage a container portion with a snap ring and with corresponding threads.
Buckets or containers for bulk materials typically have one type of lid or closure structure that includes a snap ring structure that is adapted to clip around a downwardly oriented outside rim that is disposed around the opening of the container. What is needed a container and lid system wherein the lid may be pushed down upon the container to install the lid portion with a very low cycle time in an assembly line packing process and yet that may also be used as a lid that is able to be engaged and disengaged with the container by means of corresponding threads arranged within the container and on the lid.
The above described need is addressed by a container having a container portion and a corresponding lid portion having two sets of corresponding features for permitting the installation of the lid portion with rapid non-rotating insertion of the lid portion and removal and replacement of the lid portion by means of rotation to disengage and re-engage corresponding threads within the container and on the lid portion. The present container features a round container portion that presents a radially projecting outboard rim that preferably includes a downwardly oriented outside flange that is uniformly spaced away from the outside surface of the container portion, as is well known in the art. The lid portion presents a plurality of tabs that are shaped to bend outward and then engage the outboard rim of the container portion as the lid portion is pushed down upon the container portion as is also well known in the art. The tabs are fixed to the periphery of the lid portion at scored zones that make it possible to easily snap the tabs away from the lid portion. The presence of the tabs indicates that the container has not been opened after the point in time when any contents were placed in the container. Optionally, the joints between the plurality of tabs and the lid portion may include a removable strip that may be pulled and removed to rapidly remove all of the tabs. The lid portion also presents an offset surface that presents a pattern of lid portion threads. The lid portion threads have arcuate cross sections and are generally oriented upwardly. The upper inside surface of the container portion presents a pattern of container portion threads. The container portion threads have arcuate cross sections that are generally oriented downwardly. The container portion threads and the lid portion threads are preferably fashioned from a flexible molded plastic and are spaced and arranged to interfere to a limited degree so that it is possible to push the lid portion down upon the container portion as the threads deform to allow passage of the corresponding threads over each other. However, once the plurality of tabs are engaged with the outboard rim of the container portion and the lid portion threads have been received by the flexing of both the lid portion threads and the container portion threads, the preferred method for removing the lid portion is to remove the tabs and unscrew the lid portion from the container portion. Once the tabs are removed, the lid portion may be removed and replaced using the corresponding container portion and lid portion threads as many times as is desired.
Referring to the drawings,
As noted above, once closed container 10 is in the possession of a customer who will open and use the contents of container 10, tabs 62 may be removed as described above. Then, it is possible to simply unscrew lid portion 60 and later re-install lid portion 60 by merely screwing lid portion 60 back into container portion 20. With this arrangement it is now possible to install lid portions very rapidly in an industrial container filling process and to later use those same containers as re-usable containers with threaded lid portions. Screwing in lid portion 60 after tabs 62 have been removed from lid portion 60 will still result in re-establishing the above noted air-tight seal because of the presence of optional o-ring 82 and optional o-ring ledge 26 which will make contact with each other and preferably establish an air tight seal between lid portion 60 and container portion 20.
It is to be understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto, except in so far as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable equivalents thereof.
This application claims the benefit of Provisional Utility Application 62/820,378 filed on Mar. 19, 2019 which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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3458079 | Gasbarra | Jul 1969 | A |
20080017642 | King | Jan 2008 | A1 |
20160046415 | Buck | Feb 2016 | A1 |
20190248553 | Minnette | Aug 2019 | A1 |
20200122905 | Agrawal | Apr 2020 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20200299036 A1 | Sep 2020 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62820378 | Mar 2019 | US |