Patent Application
20110036837
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a container, and more particularly to a container cover with a sealable arrangement, wherein the sealable arrangement not only allows the container cover freely coupling with the container body when the sealable arrangement is held at its unsealed position but also ensures the container cover sealing with the container body when the sealable arrangement is held at its sealed position.
2. Description of Related Arts
It is advantageous for a container to be sealed, so that it is not permeable to liquid or air, so as to well preserve a content received in the container. Conventionally, the container has a container cover for sealably covering the container body. For some examples, a desiccant, powder, or such water absorbing material should be kept in an air-tight container to prevent water absorption from the atmosphere. Food items might be kept in an air-tight container to keep them from spoiling. Liquid might be sealed in a container so as to minimize the chance of a spill. In each case, the content of the container may be frequently accessed for removal or further storage, but the content remaining in the container must be resealed in the original condition for the original reasons. Thus, it is advantageous to provide a container cover that can repeatedly seal a container in an air-tight manner after removal.
A rudimentary form of sealing a container is described in US patent having a U.S. Pat. No. 6,923,338. Containers with such a seal rely on matching ridges on the container and the container cover to create banks against liquid flow. Because the container and container cover assembly relies on a small pressure between the ridges on the container and the container cover, the fit between the two parts is loose. Regardless of the quality of the fit between the interlocking rims of container body and cover, there is a significant gas between the ridges. Therefore, the container is relatively permeable to liquid and air.
Another typical type of container body and cover uses multiple ridges and a screw mechanism for fitting as described in US patents having the U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,503,468 and 7,388,506. In a basic screw sealing assembly, only the interlocking ridges in the screw mechanism is used to seal the container, which may not be as air-tight as desired. In the U.S. Pat. No. 7,503,468, an additional sealing rib is provided to provide better sealing to the container, while the invention in U.S. Pat. No. 7,388,506 provides a disc or ring mounted at the inner surface of the top of the container cover to contact with the edge of the opening of the container to provide a better seal.
Both solutions have the shortcoming that the user must provide a large amount of force to seal the container properly, and it is difficult for the user to know when he has applied sufficient force. Neither invention solves the problem of requiring a container cover that specifically fits with the container, because the ridges on the container and the container cover must match each other.
US patent having the U.S. Pat. No. 6,845,867 provides a container cover that is easier to operate than a screw mechanism and does not require that the container be specifically constructed to accommodate the container cover. It does, however, require a container of the correct radius of opening. The container cover features an elastic ring and a plurality of extendable poles starting at the center of the ring and extending out radially; both the ring and the poles are between two circular boards with radii equal to the relaxed radius of the elastic ring; the container cover features an operating mechanism above the container cover, which can be manipulated to cause the extendable poles to push the elastic ring. The container cover is inserted into a container with a circular opening of radius slightly larger than the radius of the circular board, and the operating mechanism is operated so that the extendable poles push the elastic ring against the walls of the container, thereby creating a seal.
Such a seal has the shortcoming of being uneven: The points at which the poles push against the ring are sealed tightly, but on the arcs between the points of contact between the poles and the ring, the distance between the ring and the center of the ring tend to be smaller than the length of the pole because of the elasticity of the ring. Therefore, the seal provided by such a container cover is weakened at many points along the ring. The seal may be improved by increasing the number of poles, but such a solution increases the cost of the container, and there always remains an unevenness of the seal between where the poles push against the ring and where the poles do not.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a container cover, which has a sealable arrangement for sealing a container body via the container cover in an air-tight and liquid-tight manner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a container cover, wherein the sealable arrangement not only allows the container cover freely coupling with the container body when the sealable arrangement is held at its unsealed position but also ensures the container cover sealing with the container body when the sealable arrangement is held at its sealed position.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a container cover, wherein the sealable arrangement requires a one single operation movement to move between the unsealed position and the sealed position, so as to simplify the operation of the container.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a container cover, wherein the sealable arrangement the container cover is securely retained at the opening of the container body to enclose the receiving cavity thereof when the sealable arrangement is held at its sealed position.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a container cover, wherein the sealable arrangement is able to liquid-and-air-tightly seal the container body without the use of any tools beyond the container body and the container cover.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a container cover, which is able to conveniently reseal the same container body after the container cover has been removed from a container.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a container cover, wherein the opening of the container body for being sealed by the container cover does not require a specific and complicated structure for receiving the container cover to seal the container body, so as to reduce the manufacturing cost.
Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, a container cover of the present invention comprises:
a container body having a receiving cavity, and an opening defining around an opening edge; and
a container cover, which comprises:
a cover panel detachably coupling with the opening of the container body to enclose the receiving cavity thereof; and
a sealable arrangement which comprises:
a sealing element movably supported underneath the cover panel, wherein the sealing element has a size smaller than a size of the opening edge of the container body such that when the cover panel couples at the opening of the container body, the sealing element is encircled within the opening edge of the container body; and
an actuation unit operatively mounted on top of the cover panel to move the sealing element between an unsealed position and a sealed position, wherein at the unsealed position, the cover panel is free to detachably support at the opening of the container body, and at the sealed position, the sealing element is radially and outwardly moved to seal at and bias against the opening edge of the container body so as to seal the receiving cavity in an air-tight manner and to retain the cover panel in position.
These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.
Referring to
The container body 10 has a receiving cavity 12 and defines an opening 14 around an opening edge 16 of the container body 10. Thus, the container cover 20 is supported at the opening 14 for sealing the receiving cavity 12 in an air-tight manner.
The container cover 20 comprises a cover panel 22 detachably coupling with the opening 14 of the container body 10 to enclose the receiving cavity 12 thereof, and a sealable arrangement 30 for air-sealing the receiving cavity 12 of the container body 10 in an air-tight manner and retaining the cover panel 22 of the container cover 20 in position.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sealable arrangement 30 comprises a sealing element 40 movably provided underneath the cover panel 22, wherein the sealing element 40 preferably has a shaped size generally conform a peripheral edge of the cover panel 22, which has a circumference slightly smaller than a peripheral circumference of the cover panel 22. Therefore, when the container cover 20 is supported at the opening 14 of the container body 10, the sealing element 40 is encircled within the opening edge 16 of the container body 10 to allow the cover panel 22 to move freely, as shown in
According to the preferred embodiment, the cover panel 22 has an upper covering portion 222 and a lower retaining portion 223, wherein a diameter of the upper covering portion 22 of the cover panel 22 is larger than a diameter of the lower retaining portion 223 thereof to define a shoulder portion between the upper covering portion 222 and the lower retaining portion 223. In addition, the diameter of the upper covering portion 22 of the cover panel 22 is at least equal to the diameter of the opening 14 of the container body 10 while the diameter of the lower retaining portion 223 of the cover panel 22 is smaller than the diameter of the opening 14 of the container body 10. Therefore, when the cover panel 22 is disposed at the opening 14 of the container body 10, the shoulder portion of the cover panel 22 is held at the opening edge 16 of the container body 10 at a position that the upper covering portion 222 of the cover panel 22 is supported on the opening edge 16 of the container body 10 while the lower retaining portion 223 of the cover panel 22 is encircled within the opening edge 16 of the container body 10.
Accordingly, the sealable arrangement 30 further comprises an actuation unit 50 provided preferably for being operatively mounted on top of the cover panel 22 to move the sealing element 40 between an unsealed position and a sealed position. At the unsealed position, as shown in
As best show in
As shown in
It is worth to mention that through the size changeable of the diameter of the sealing element 40, the receiving cavity 12 of the container body 10 is able to be completely sealed by enlarging the diameter of the sealing element 40 in the air-tight manner. The sealing element 40 is preferably made by a deformable material, such as rubber, for applying a sealing force thereon, such as squeezing to deform an original shape of the sealing element 40 to enlarge the diameter of the sealing element 40, so that during the force is applied on the sealing element 40, the container cover 20 is sealing the receiving cavity 12 at the sealed position. Conversely, when the external force, which may be applied via the actuation unit 50, is disappeared, the sealing element 40 returns to its original shape for the sealing element 40 detaching from the opening edge 16, so as to return to the unsealed position.
It is appreciated that through the changeable diameter or circumference of the sealing element 40, the deformable sealing element 40 is able to increase its diameter or circumference to firmly contact with the opening edge 16 of the container body 10, so as to entirely seal the receiving cavity 12 of the container body 10 in the air-tight and water-tight manner.
The actuation unit 50 is adapted for providing a mechanism for moving or deforming the sealing element 40 between the sealed and unsealed position. In the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, the actuation unit 50 may further comprises a pressing member, embodied as a pressing panel 52 supported underneath the cover panel 22, and a hand-operated member 54 coupled or secured to the cover panel 22 preferably arranged to lift up the pressing panel 52 for applying the force on the size-adjustable diameter of the sealing element 40. In other words, the pressing panel 52 is adapted for being upwardly and downwardly moved to compress and uncompress the sealing element 40 at the sealed position and the unsealed position respectively.
Accordingly, the sealing element 40, supported at a position between the cover panel 22 and the pressing panel 52, has an upper edge 42 and a lower edge 44 to define a slope surface 46 inclinedly extended between the upper edge 42 and the lower edge 44. The upper edge 42 is preferably supported at a position to bias against a bottom side of the cover panel 22, while the lower edge 44 is affixed to a top side of the pressing panel 52. Thus, when the pressing panel 52 is moved to decrease a distance between the cover panel 22 and the pressing panel 52 to apply a compressing force to the sealing element 40, the sealing element 40 is radially and outwardly extended to increase the diameter or circumference thereof. In other words, the upper edge 42 of the sealing element 40 will be forced to radailly and outwardly slide at the bottom side of the cover panel 22 to increase the diameter of the sealing element 40.
The slope surface 46 is preferred to upwardly and inclinedly extend from the pressing panel 52 to the cover panel 22. The pressing panel 52 may further has a groove 521 provided at a peripheral side edge thereof, so that the lower edge 44 of the sealing element 40 is able to be received within the groove 521 to affix thereon and to extend toward the bottom side of the cover panel 22. It will be appreciated that the sealing element 40 may be supported underneath the cover panel 22 in relation to a pressing member by a means for providing the deformation force on the sealing element 40, so that through the diameter change of the sealing element 40, the container cover 20 is able to seal and unseal the container body 10. Therefore, the sealing member may be elastically affixed on the peripheral edge of the pressing panel 52 and/or the bottom side of the cover panel 22. The slop surface 46 of the sealing element 40 may be downwardly and inclinedly extended from the cover panel 22 to the pressing panel 52, as another example.
The hand-operated member 54 further comprises at least one actuation shaft 56 and a pivot handle 58 preferably provided at a position on the top of the cover panel 22, wherein the pivot handle 58 is preferably for operatively moving the pressing panel 52 to reduce a distance between the pressing panel 52 and the cover panel 22 through the actuation shaft 56. Therefore, the pressing panel 52 is preferred to be lifted to move toward the bottom side of the cover panel 22 to increase the diameter of the sealing member 40 at the sealed position, and to move away the cover panel 22 to increase the distance between the cover panel 22 and the pressing panel 52 to release the force on the sealing element 40 at the unsealed position.
More specifically, the actuation shaft 56 is upwardly and integrally extended from a center of the pressing panel 52 through the cover panel 22 via one end, and pivotally coupled with the pivot handle 58 via the other end of the actuation shaft 56 at a position that the pivot handle 58 is coupled on the top of the cover panel 22 for pivotally lifting the pressing panel 52 between the sealed and unsealed position.
As shown in
As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the cover panel 22 in combination with the pressing panel 52 provides a means for compressing the sealing element 40 for sealing the receiving cavity 12 and retaining the container cover 20 at the opening 14 in position. The pressing cover 52 may also be provided at a position above the cover panel, so that the pressing panel 52 may be downwardly pressed to increase the diameter of the sealing element 40 and retained in position via the actuation unit 50.
In the present invention, the actuation shaft 56 is preferred to coaxially extend from a center portion of the pressing panel 52 through a center portion of the cover panel 22, so that the actuation shaft 56 is able to vertically and evenly lift up the pressing panel 52, so as to evenly seal the receiving cavity 12 via evenly compressing the sealing element 40. As will be appreciated, there are may be two or more actuation shafts 56 are provided to evenly distribute the compressing force on the sealing element 40, such as two actuation shafts 541 provided at two ends of the diameter of the pressing panel 52 to pivotally coupling with a half ring shaped pivot handle respectively to be pivotally folded between the sealed and unsealed position.
In the presently preferred embodiment, the top side of the cover panel 22 has an indented portion 221 having a shape generally conform to the pivot handle 58, which is coupling on the top of the cover panel 22, such that when the pivot handle 58 is pivotally folded to lift up the pressing panel 52, the pivot handle 58 is laying within the indented portion 221 to substantially form the same surface of the top side of the cover panel 22. It is worth to mention that when the pivot handle 58 is folded at the sealed position on the same surface of the top cover panel 22, the containers are capable of being stacked on one another for storage purpose.
As best shown in
A plurality of reinforcing member may further provided at top side of the pressing panel 52 and/or the bottom side of the cover panel 22, so that the actuation unit 50 is able to relatively more efficient to provide the force for compressing the sealing element 40, so as to increase the durability of the container cover 20.
As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the pivot handle 58 pivotally driving the actuation shaft 56 to move the pressing panel 52 is only one of the examples. There is variety of mechanisms for compressing the sealing member 40 between the unsealed and sealed position via changing the diameter or circumference of the sealing element 40. For other example, the actuation shaft 56 may be actuated to compress the sealing element 40 through a spiral handle to spirally rotate the actuation shaft 56 to vertically move a pressing member, such as pressing panel 52, so as to deform the sealing element 40.
The actuation shaft 56, in this preferred embodiment, may have a through hole 561 at a pivot end, and the pivot handle 58 may has a pair of apertures 581, such that the pivot handle 58 may be pivotally secured to the actuation shaft 56 via a snap pin mechanism. It is worth to mention that the pivot handle 58 allows the container cover 20 simply sealing at the opening 14 of the container body 10 and being retained in position, in such a manner that the container cover 20 is able to conveniently open and close the container cover 20 simply via the pivotally folding mechanism without involving complicated operation. Also, the force for sealing and unsealing the container cover is relatively smaller by simply applying a force on the pivot handle 58 to fold between the unsealed and sealed position.
The container cover 20 is able to incorporate with any conventional container body which has an opening size matching the size or shape of the container cover 20 for enclosing and sealing the receiving cavity within the container body, such as traditional cylindrical shaped container body made by glasses or plastic material.
Accordingly, the operation of the container is shown as the following steps.
(1) Dispose the container cover 20 at the container body 10 at the position that the cover panel 22 of the container cover 20 is freely supported at the opening 14 of the container body 10 to enclose a receiving cavity thereof while the sealing element 40 of the sealable arrangement 30 is encircled within the opening edge 16 of the container body 10.
(2) Actuate the sealing element 40 to move between the unsealed position and the sealed position. Accordingly, the sealing element 40 is moved between the unsealed position and sealed position by adjusting the size-adjustable diameter of the sealing element 40, in the step (2).
In addition, the step (2) further comprises the steps of (2.1) supporting the pressing panel 52 of the sealable arrangement 30 underneath the sealing element 40; (2.2) actuating the hand-operated member 54 on top of the cover panel 22 to lift up the pressing panel for compressing the sealing element 40 between the pressing panel 52 and the cover panel 22 so as to move the sealing element 40 at the sealed position; and (2.3) actuating the hand-operated member to drop down the pressing panel 52 for uncompressing the sealing element 40, so as to move the sealing element 40 at the unsealed position, such that the cover panel 22 of the container cover 20 is free to remove from the container body 10.
According to the preferred embodiment, the step (2.2) further comprises a step of (2.2.1) pivotally folding the pivot handle 58 to lay on the top surface of the cover panel 22 of the container cover 20, so as to lift up the pressing panel 52 for compressing the sealing element 40. The step (2.3) further comprises a step of (2.3.1) pivotally folding the pivot handle 58 to drop down the pressing panel 52 for uncompressing the sealing element at the unsealed position.
One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting.
It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.
