This disclosure relates to containers, and particularly containers' structure, material, and manufacturing.
Many current containers on the market are not compressible, and therefore, a user cannot adjust their capacity according to the user's demands. Further, even if a container is compressible, a user may have difficulty to compress the container when the container is sealed and has no way to discharge the air contained inside.
The embodiments can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.
The bellow body 111 further includes at least one moveable bump structure 210. The bump structure 210 is positioned between the two convolutions 112, 113 to space two first living hinges 114 apart. In this embodiment, the container 10 includes seven moveable bump structures 210 as an example. The bump structure 210 is movable between an outer position (as shown in
Additionally, the bump structures 210 are provided at two opposite sides of the compressible portion 110. In other implementations, the bump structures 210 can be provided on one side, two adjacent sides, three sides, or even all sides of the compressible portion 110. The length or size of the bump structures 210 at the different sides of the compressible portion 110 can be different. For example, the bump structures 210 on a shorter side of the compressible portion 110 may be shorter than bump structures 210 on a longer side of the compressible portion 110, or vice versa. Further, the bump structures 210 can be provided between every convolution (as shown in the
Specifically, when the bump structure 210 is the an outer position as shown in
Further, when the bump structure 210 is pushed inwards toward the container interior 11, the side wall (which may be connected to two adjacent first living hinges 114) of the movable bump structure 210 can be coplanar or roughly coplanar with the sidewalls 115 of the convolutions 112 and 113 as shown in
Likewise, a user can push the indented bump structures 210 outwards to use the bump structures 210 to maintain the rigidity of the compressible portion 110. In an implementation, when a user expand the compressible portion 110, the bump structures 210 may pop out automatically due to the tension of the material of the compressible portion 110.
As shown in
As shown in
Additionally, as shown in
Additionally as shown in
For manufacturing, the container 10 can, for example, be made by an insert molding process. Specifically, the lid base 310 can be prepared first by a molding process, such as an injection molding. The lid base 310 can be made of polypropylene. Then, the body of the container 10, such as the container base 120 and the compressible portion 110, can be affixed together with the lid base 310 by insert molding. The container base 120 and the compressible portion 110 therefore can be formed in the same molding process. The lid base 310 has a wall 318, and the wall 318 surrounds the first skirt 314, the gasket 117, and the second skirt 118. That is, the geometry of the lid base 310 is larger than the compressible portion 110 and the container base 120.
In one embodiment as shown in
Exemplarily, the valve or vent 400 can be configured as part of the compressible portion 110. For example, the valve 400 can be situated underneath the second skirt 118 of the compressible portion 110. The valve 400 can be situated next to the inner surface of the wall 318 of the lid base 310. The valve 400 may include a rib 424 and a pair of leaflets 420. The pair of leaflets 420 extend from the rib oppositely, and a thickness of each of the leaflets 420 gradually reduces along with the leaflet 420 in a direction extending away from the rib 424. Specifically, the end of the leaflet 420 attached to the rib 424 has the largest thickness, and the end of the leaflet 420 opposite to the rib 424 has the smallest thickness. The leaflet 420 can be in a shape of a triangular prism or a trapezoidal prism. This design facilitates the leaflet 420 to deform to allow the air to pass the valve 400 and discharge. The valve 400 and the leaflet 420 can be made of silicone to provide proper flexibility. The valve 400 and the leaflet 420 can be formed during the same molding process as the compressible portion 110.
Further, the lid base 310 may define at least one channel 410 (as shown in
In one embodiment, the first branch 412 aligns with the rib 424, and the second branch 414 aligns with the leaflet 420. Further, the leaflet 420 may extend outwards over the end of the second branch 414 to ensure that the second branch 414 is fully covered by the leaflet 420. That is, the length of the second branch 414 is smaller than the total length of the two leaflets 420 and the rib 424 along the longitudinal axis of the second branch 414.
In one embodiment, a ratio (H1/H2) of a height of the compressible portion 110 (H1) to a height of the container base 120 (H2), when the compressible portion 110 is fully expanded, is less than 2.0. In another embodiment, the ratio is less than 1.9. In still another embodiment, the ratio is less than 1.5 or 1.0. Further, in one embodiment, a ratio of the height of the container 10, when the compressible portion 110 is full compressed, to the height of the container 10, when the compressible portion 110 is fully expanded, is more than 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, or 60%.
One embodiment of this disclosure provides a container, which comprises a lid base 310 and a compressible portion 110. The lid base 310 has a channel and is configured to receive a lid 320. The compressible portion 110 is connected to the lid base 310, and the compressible portion 110 includes a one-way valve in air communication with the channel. The components of this container of this embodiment can be selectively adopted in the implementation disclosed above.
One embodiment of this disclosure provides a container. The container comprises a lid base and a body. The lid base is configured to receive a lid and includes a first skirt 314. The body includes a gasket 117 and a second skirt 118. The gasket 117, the first skirt 314, and the second skirt 118 stack with each other sequentially. The body may include a compressible portion 110 and a container base 120. The components of this container of this embodiment can be selectively adopted in the implementation disclosed above.
As shown in
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as illustrative forms of implementing the claims.
One skilled in the art will realize that a virtually unlimited number of variations to the above descriptions are possible, and that the examples and the accompanying figures are merely to illustrate one or more examples of implementations.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various other modifications can be made, and equivalents can be substituted, without departing from claimed subject matter. Additionally, many modifications can be made to adapt a particular situation to the teachings of claimed subject matter without departing from the central concept described herein. Therefore, it is intended that claimed subject matter not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that such claimed subject matter can also include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims, and equivalents thereof.
In the detailed description above, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of claimed subject matter. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that claimed subject matter can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, devices, or systems that would be known by one of ordinary skill have not been described in detail so as not to obscure claimed subject matter.
Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “one aspect,” or “an aspect” can mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with a particular embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of claimed subject matter. Thus, appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “in on aspect,” or “an aspect,” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily intended to refer to the same embodiment or to any one particular embodiment described. Furthermore, it is to be understood that particular features, structures, or characteristics described can be combined in various ways in one or more embodiments. In general, of course, these and other issues can vary with the particular context of usage. Therefore, the particular context of the description or the usage of these terms can provide helpful guidance regarding inferences to be drawn for that context.
This Application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/217,548, filed on Jul. 1, 2021, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
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