The present disclosure relates to a container, and to a lidded container. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a lidded container suitable for containing carbonated or pressurized contents.
According to the present disclosure, a package includes a container and a closure. The container is formed to include a product-storage region and a mouth opening into the product-storage region. The closure may be installed on the container to close the mouth or separated from the container to open the mouth and allow access to products stored in the product-storage region.
In illustrative embodiments, the closure includes a lid and a lid collar. The lid is coupled to the lid collar to close the mouth when the container is in a closed position. The lid is separated from the lid collar to open the mouth when the container is in an opened position.
In illustrative embodiments, the lid collar further includes a bottom ring, a container mount coupled to the bottom ring, and a lid mount coupled to the bottom ring. The lid mount includes a collar facet. The container mount includes a container facet. When the container is in a closed position, the container facet and the collar facet are coupled to block rotational movement of the lid collar when the lid is rotated.
Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.
The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which:
A package 1 in accordance with the present disclosure may be used to store products therein. Package 1 includes, for example, a container 10 and a closure 12 as shown in
Closure 12 includes lid 20 and a lid collar 30 as shown in
Lid 20 includes a top wall 21, a skirt 22 arranged to extend downwardly from top wall 21, a band 24, a break area 23, and a lid thread 26 as shown in
Band 24 may further include one or more protrusions 25 for engaging lid collar 30 and/or container 10, and/or a component thereof as shown in
Package 1 may be subsequently opened by removing closure 12. If band 24 and/or protrusions 25 are included, opening of package 1 by removing closure 12, for example, by unscrewing lid 20 relative to container 10, may cause protrusions 25 and/or respective upper surfaces 28 to engage collar ring 32, thereby blocking band 24 from moving upwardly relative to container 10 and lid collar 30. This may cause separation of band 24 from skirt 22. Break area 23 may be provided to facilitate such separation, for example, by comprising an area of reduced strength relative to skirt 22 band 24 such as might be formed by use of thinner material, perforations, score lines, etc. The separation of band 24 from skirt 22 and/or the breakage, rupturing, or discontinuity formed in break area 23 could provide a readily apparent indicator, visual or otherwise, to a consumer to signal that package 1 had been opened previously.
Container 10 is shown, for example, in
Lid 20 includes, for example, a thread configuration as shown in
In one example of use, the contents stored in product-storage region 17 of container 10 may include CO2 gas. The CO2 may be up to approximately three CO2 gas volumes. In some embodiments the contents of package 1 may be up to about five CO2 gas volumes. In some embodiments the contents of package 1 may be up to about six CO2 gas volumes. In some embodiments the contents of package 1 may be up to approximately 2.5 CO2 gas volumes. In some embodiments the contents of package 1 may be up to approximately two CO2 gas volumes. In an exemplary embodiment, used only as a non-limiting example, at an ambient temperature of about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, with the contents of package 1 sealed from the outside environment, the pressure may be about 28-30 psi and in at least one case was measured at 28.6 psi. The pressure may fluctuate with temperature so that, continuing the example, at an ambient temperature of about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the pressure may be about 51.3 psi.
The pressure inside package 1 may be up to approximately 200 psi in some embodiments. The pressure inside package 1 may be up to approximately 150 psi in some embodiments. The pressure inside package 1 may be up to approximately 100 psi in some embodiments. The pressure inside package 1 may be up to approximately 90 psi in some embodiments. The pressure inside package 1 may be up to approximately 75 psi in some embodiments. The pressure inside package 1 may be up to approximately 70 psi in some embodiments. The pressure inside package 1 may be up to approximately 60 psi in some embodiments. The pressure inside package 1 may be up to approximately 50 psi in some embodiments. The pressure inside package 1 may be up to approximately 40 psi in some embodiments. The pressure inside package 1 may be up to approximately 20 psi in some embodiments. The pressure inside package 1 may be up to approximately 10 psi in some embodiments.
In some embodiments, the pressure inside package 1 may be approximately equivalent to one atmosphere. In some embodiments, the pressure inside package 1 may be greater than approximately 10 psi. In some embodiments, the pressure inside package 1 may be greater than approximately 20 psi. In some embodiments, the pressure inside package 1 may be greater than approximately one CO2 gas volume. In some embodiments, the pressure inside package 1 may be greater than approximately 1.5 CO2 gas volumes. In some examples, the package 1 may not be pressurized but could be pressurized. In another example, package 1 may be used without contents in product-storage region.
Gradual removal of lid 20 from container 10, such as may be provided with use of the aforementioned threaded configuration, may allow for gradual release of pressure and equalization of pressure. Gradual equalization of pressure may discourage lid 20 from being forced off container 10 suddenly (i.e. popping off). Furthermore, inclusion of one or more thread breaks 26b, 31b may facilitate venting and gradual pressure release during opening. Lid collar 30 may optionally include a bottom ring 33 for any of a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, providing a lower bound for the downward movement of lid 20 relative to lid collar 30, and/or protecting lid 20 from being accidentally bumped or removed by some external force.
Package 1 and/or container 10 may have a substantially circular or cylindrical shape. If lid collar 30 is included and it and container 10 are substantially circular, this configuration may allow lid collar 30 to spin relative to container 10. Such free rotation could make it more difficult to open package 1 as an attempt to unscrew lid 20 from lid collar 30 could potentially result in free spinning of lid collar 30 and a lack of the necessary rotation of lid 20 relative to lid collar 30 for removing lid 20 as desired. Lid collar 30 is coupled to container 10 so as to minimize free spinning of closure 12 relative to container 10. Friction fit, adhesion, bonding, or the like, or any other suitable option may be used to block free spinning. In one example, container 10 and lid collar both include a non-circular portion which limits free spinning between container 10 and closure 12.
A lower portion or some portion below container rim 13 of container 10 may be substantially octagonal, with a series of container facets 15 separated by corners 16 as shown in
One or more facets 15, 35 may be included in no particular shape such as the aforementioned hexagon or octagon. For example, container 10 may include several container facets 15 separated by areas of one or more circular arcs so that some portions of container 10 are circular but other areas are not. In such embodiments the non-circular portions may be enough to sufficiently resist rotation of lid collar 30 relative to container 10. Container 10 and/or lid collar 30 may include one or more facets 15, 35 separated by a substantially circular or cylindrical region so that there is more circular than non-circular region, for example. Moreover, there may be a different number of container facets 15 than collar facets 35. While the embodiments shown in the various figures depict eight collar facets 35 and eight container facets 15, the number of each could vary.
In one example, choosing numbers arbitrarily to demonstrate the variability, container 10 may have four container facets 15 and lid collar 30 may have six collar facets 35. Continuing this example, collar facets 35 and container facets 15 may still be configured to block relative rotation even if of varying size, shape, and/or orientation. Any or all facets 15, 35, whether on container 10 or lid collar 30 or both, may vary from any other facet 15, 35, and no two facets need to be the same although they may be. As mentioned above, non-circular regions are not required and/or relative rotation of lid collar 30 relative to container 10 may be overcome in others ways instead of or in addition to use of non-circular regions.
Package 1 and/or any component thereof may have any suitable shape and, where shown in the figures as substantially circular such as in the case of lid 20, lid collar 30, and container rim 13, for example, is not limited to a substantially circular or cylindrical shape shown in the various figures.
Package 1 and/or any component thereof may be made of any of a variety of materials, including, but not limited to, any of a variety of suitable plastics material, any other material, or any combination thereof. Suitable plastics material may include, but is not limited to, polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), crystallized polyethylene terephthalate (CPET), mixtures and combinations thereof, or any other plastics material or any mixtures and combinations thereof. Multiple layers of material may be used for any of a variety of reasons, including to improve barrier properties, to reduce weight and/or lightweight, or to provide known functions related to multiple layer structures. The multiple layers, if included, may be of various materials, including those recited herein.
Package 1 may be substantially rigid, substantially flexible, a hybrid of rigid and flexible, or any combination of rigid, flexible, and/or hybrid, such as having some areas be flexible and some rigid. A variety of processes or combination thereof may be used to form package 1, any component thereof, or any layer or substrate used therein. For example, any component, layer, or substrate, or combination thereof, may be thermoformed, injection molded, blow molded, coextruded, subjected to any other suitable process, or subjected to any combination thereof. In some embodiments, package 1 and/or any component thereof may be formed substantially of injection molded PP. In some embodiments, package 1 and/or any component thereof may be formed substantially of injection molded HDPE.
It may be desirable to use disposable packaging for containers or packages. For example, it may be desirable to purchase or obtain a package or container from a store while on the go, which may contain any of a variety of things, such as a beverage. A consumer may then drink the beverage and dispose of the container with minimal inconvenience.
One general approach to provide a disposable container has been to include a can or a bottle that is relatively inexpensive and disposable. However, to some consumers, there may be drawbacks to bottles and cans. Some consumers prefer a consuming experience more like drinking from a glass bottle, cup, glass, tumbler, or the like. This preference may exist in general, and/or in particular with higher end products, beverage or otherwise. However, with existing containers or packages, it is difficult to achieve these and other goals.
A package 1 comprises a container 10 and a closure 12 as shown in
The closure 12 includes a lid collar 30 and a lid 20 as shown in
The lid collar 30 includes a bottom ring 33, a container mount 14 coupled to the bottom ring 33, and a lid mount 34 coupled to the bottom ring 33 as shown in
The container mount 14 includes a collar facet 35 and a corner 16 as shown in
The lid collar 30 includes a bottom ring 33, a container mount 14 coupled to the bottom ring 33, and a lid mount 34 coupled to the bottom ring 33 as shown in
The container 10 further includes a container facet 15 which has a straight relatively flat surface 50 as shown in
When the package 1 is in the closed arrangement, a pressure in the product-storage region is less than about 200 pounds per square inch. In other embodiments, when the package 1 is in the closed arrangement a pressure in the product-storage region is less than about 100 pounds per square inch. In some embodiments, when the package 1 is in the closed arrangement a pressure in the product-storage region is less than about 50 pounds per square inch. In other embodiments, a pressure in the product-storage region 17 is in a range of about 20 pounds per square inch to about 50 pounds per square inch. In additional embodiments, a pressure in the product-storage region 17 is in a range of about 20 pounds per square inch to about 100 pounds per square inch when the package 1 is in the closed arrangement.
The container 10 further includes a plurality of eight container facets 15 that cooperate together to establish an octagon shape of a portion of the container 10 as shown in
The lid 20 further includes a cap 37, a lid thread 26 coupled to the cap 37, and a band 24 coupled to the cap 37 as shown in
The band 24 includes a retention ring 38, a weakened ring 39, and a ring retainer 41 coupled to the retention ring 38 as shown in
The lid collar 30 includes a bottom ring 33, a container mount coupled to the bottom ring 33, and a lid mount coupled to the bottom ring 33 as shown in
The lid 20 includes a cap 37, a lid thread 26 coupled to the cap 37, and a band 24 coupled to the cap 37 as shown in
The band 24 includes a retention ring 38, a weakened ring 39, and a ring retainer 14 coupled to the retention ring 38 as shown in
The lid collar 30 includes a bottom ring 33, a container mount 14 coupled to the bottom ring 33, and a lid mount 34 coupled to the bottom ring 33 as shown in
The container mount 14 includes a collar facet 35 as shown in
The relatively flat straight surface 48 of the collar facet 35 slides along the relatively flat straight surface 50 of the container facet 15 when the lid collar 30 travels along the longitudinal axis 19 away from the mouth 18 of the container 10 when the package 1 is in the opened arrangement as suggested in
The container mount 14 includes a plurality of eight collar facets 35 that cooperate together to establish an octagon shape of the container mount 14 when viewed from the bottom as suggested in
The container 10 includes a container facet 15 as shown in
The container 10 includes a plurality of eight container facets 15 that cooperate together to establish an octagon shape of a portion of the container 10 as suggested in
In some embodiments, portions of lid collar 30 may be substantially tapered, angled, and/or wedge shaped as suggested in
This application is a Continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 15/887,419, filed Feb. 2, 2018, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/454,402, filed Feb. 3, 2017, each of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
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Office Action dated May 29, 2020 for U.S. Appl. No. 15/887,419 (pp. 1-12). |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20210039839 A1 | Feb 2021 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62454402 | Feb 2017 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15887419 | Feb 2018 | US |
Child | 17083733 | US |