Patent Application
20140251995
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a container cover, more particularly to a container cover adapted for hermetically sealing a container body.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional sealable container generally includes a container body, and a container cover capable of hermetically sealing an opening of the container body. For achieving the “hermetic” effect, an annular groove is usually provided directly in a bottom surface of the container cover for a gasket to be embedded therein. Though this configuration enables positioning of the gasket, gaps between the gasket and the container cover still exist. Liquid or powders can easily enter and accumulate in the gaps, making the gasket dirty and possibly causing contamination of contents stored in the conventional sealable container. Thus, in order to properly clean the gasket and the groove, the gasket has to be frequently removed from the container cover and assembled back together after being dried, causing the user inconvenience.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a container cover adapted for hermetically sealing a container body and having an improved structure to eliminate the drawbacks associated with the prior art.
According to the present invention, there is provided a container cover including a cover plate, an annular frame and an annular gasket.
The cover plate has upper and lower surfaces that are opposite to each other in a vertical direction, and a peripheral surface that interconnects the upper and lower surfaces.
The frame includes an annular surrounding wall and an annular flange. The surrounding wall extends substantially in the vertical direction, and is disposed outwardly of the cover plate to surround the cover plate. The surrounding wall cooperates with the peripheral surface of the cover plate to define a gap therebetween.
The flange extends integrally and inwardly from the surrounding wall to contact the upper surface of the cover plate and to seal off one end of the gap.
The gasket is made from a resilient material and is disposed between the surrounding wall of the annular frame and the peripheral surface of the cover plate to fill the gap.
The cover plate, the frame and the gasket are molded as one piece.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Referring to
The container cover 2 includes a cover plate 3, an annular frame 4, and an annular gasket 5.
The cover plate 3 has upper and lower surfaces that are opposite to each other in a vertical direction, and a peripheral surface that interconnects the upper and lower surfaces. In this embodiment, the cover plate 3 is integrally formed by a plastic material and is transparent. However, in practice, the cover plate 3 may be made of glass. The materials and transparency characteristics of the cover plate 3 are not limited to what is disclosed herein.
The frame 4 includes an annular surrounding wall 41 and an annular flange 42. The surrounding wall 41 extends substantially in the vertical direction, and is disposed outwardly of the cover plate 3 to surround the cover plate 3. The surrounding wall 41 cooperates with the peripheral surface of the cover plate 3 to define a gap therebetween. The flange 42 extends integrally and inwardly from the surrounding wall 41 to contact the upper surface of the cover plate 3 and to seal off one end of the gap. In this embodiment, the frame 4 is made of a plastic material and is not limited to what is disclosed herein.
The gasket 5 is made from a resilient material and is disposed between the surrounding wall 41 of the frame 4 and the peripheral surface of the cover plate 3 to fill the gap. The gasket 5 includes an annular outer gasket portion 51 and an annular inner gasket portion 52. The outer gasket portion 51 fills the gap, extends downwardly beyond the gap, and is fixedly connected to the surrounding wall 41 of the frame 4. The inner gasket portion 52 extends integrally and inwardly from the outer gasket portion 51 to be fixedly connected to the lower surface of the cover plate 3, and protrudes downwardly of the lower surface of the cover plate 3. The flange 42 of the frame 4 is fixedly connected to an upper surface of the outer gasket portion 51 and the upper surface of the cover plate 3. In this embodiment, the gasket 5 is made of silicone material. However, in practice, the gasket 5 may be made of rubber or a resilient plastic material.
Specifically, the cover plate 3 includes a flat center plate body 31, and a peripheral plate portion 32 extending integrally and outwardly from and surrounding the center plate body 31 and having a thickness in the vertical direction greater than that of the center plate body 31. The peripheral plate portion 32 of the cover plate 3 is formed with an annular upper groove 321 and an annular lower groove 322. The upper groove 321 extends inwardly from the peripheral surface and downwardly from the upper surface, and having the flange 42 of the frame 4 fixedly engaged therein. The lower groove 322 extends inwardly from the peripheral surface and upwardly from the bottom surface, and having the inner gasket portion 52 fixedly engaged therein.
The surrounding wall 41 of the frame 4 has a lower wall segment 411 and an upper wall segment 412. The lower wall segment 411 is fixedly connected to an outer surface of said outer gasket portion 51 opposite to the inner gasket portion 52. The upper wall segment 412 extends integrally and upwardly from the lower wall segment 411 beyond the cover plate 3, and cooperates with the cover plate 3 to define a space that permits another container body (not shown) to be stably positioned and stacked thereon. The flange 42 of the frame 4 is connected at a junction of the lower and upper wall segments 411, 412.
The frame 4 further includes a plurality of engaging projections 43 protruding integrally, inwardly and spacedly from the lower wall segment 411 and disposed below the gasket 5 in the vertical direction. Each of the engaging projections 43 is an elongated strip extending in a horizontal direction transverse to the vertical direction.
The cover plate 3, the frame 4, and the gasket 5 are molded into one piece through an injection molding process involving three materials. The cover plate 3 which is made of a first material is initially placed in a mold (not shown) , in which the second material for forming the gasket 5 is injected to integrally surround the periphery of the cover plate 3, and then the integral piece of the cover plate 3 and the gasket 5 is placed into another mold (not shown) in which the third material for forming the frame 4 is injected to integrally surround the integral piece of the cover plate 3 and the gasket 5, thereby forming the container cover 2 in one piece. However in practice, the order and manner carrying out this process is not limited to what is disclosed herein.
By the structural design of integral formation of the cover plate 3, the frame 4 and the gasket 5, the container cover 2 of this invention is constructed as an integrated entity with no inherent gaps.
When the container cover 2 is mounted on the container body 800, the inner gasket portion 52 of the gasket 5 is placed on and tightly abuts against a top edge of the container body 800 while the engaging protrusions 43 are engaged with the annular engaging rib 801 of the container body 800 so as to hermetically seal the container body 800. Since the gasket 5 is molded with the cover plate 3 and the frame 4 as one piece, there are no inherent gaps, and thus the problem of entering of liquid or powders is completely eliminated and the subsequent contamination therein is prevented. In addition, the user no longer needs to go through the tedious cleaning of the container cover involving disassembly and re-assembly of the gasket as with the prior art.
It should be noted herein that, when the container cover 2 of the present invention is adapted to be connected to the container body 800 in a pivoting manner, the engaging protrusions 43 are dispensable. Moreover, in practice, it is not essential for the peripheral plate portion 32 of the cover plate 3 to have a greater thickness than the center plate body 31, and the entire cover plate 3 can have a constant thickness. Furthermore, the upper wall segment 412 of the surrounding wall 41 may also be omitted.
In summary, through the gapless integral coupling structure of the cover plate 3, the frame 4 and the gasket 5 of the container body 2, accumulation of liquid nor powders is no longer possible. Therefore the purpose of this invention is served.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
