Patent Application
20250206498
This application claims priority to European Patent Application No. EP22461528, filed on Mar. 24, 2022, the entire contents and disclosure of which are incorporated by reference.
The present technology relates to lids for containers, such as food, beverage, and storage cans. More specifically, the present technology relates to lid designs that facilitate better storage properties of beverage, food, and storage cans while maintaining can integrity.
Containers, such as food, beverage, and storage cans, often include lids with grooves or indentations that provide structural integrity to the container. These grooves and indentations add strength to the lid and help prevent the lid from being crushed, dented, or damaged during processing and shipping. Additionally, the grooves and indentations may provide strength and enable the lid to expand to handle pressure changes within the can. In many container applications, a lacquer, enamel, or other coating is disposed on an interior surface of the lid and container. This coating may serve to protect the contents from interacting with the lid and container materials and may ensure freshness of the contents. Conventional grooves and indentations in the lids may have angles that are too large and severe for the coating to be maintained prior to opening of the container. Accordingly, the coating may be prone to breaking and/or flaking due to the angles of conventional lids. The coating may separate from the lid and may contaminate the contents stored in the container. Therefore, improvements in lids for containers are desired.
The present technology relates to lids for containers, such as food, beverage, and storage cans. Lids for a container may include a lid body having one or more inner ribs and an outer bead. Each of the one or more inner ribs may have a trough and a peak. The one or more inner ribs may be concentrically aligned on the lid body radially inward from the outer bead. The one or more inner ribs may each be characterized by a width of greater than 1.65 mm measured from the trough of the inner rib to the peak of the inner rib. The lids may also include a tab fixed to the lid body.
In some embodiments, each of the one or more inner ribs may be characterized by a height of less than or about 0.50 mm measured from a peak of each of the one or more inner ribs to a trough of each of the one or more inner ribs. The outer bead may be characterized by a depth of less than or about 0.40 mm measured from a peak of the outer bead to a trough of the outer bead. Each of the one or more inner ribs may be characterized by an angle of between about 2° and about 50° relative to a plane extending through and parallel to a center panel of the lid body. The trough of each of the one or more inner ribs may be greater than or about 0.10 mm lower than a lowest surface of the outer bead. The peak of each of the one or more inner ribs may be greater than or about 0.05 mm lower than a lowest surface of the outer bead. A concave side of the trough of each of the one or more inner ribs may be characterized by a radius of greater than or about 0.50 mm. The lid body may include a first inner rib and a second inner rib. The first inner rib may be positioned inward of the second inner rib. A concave side of the trough of the first inner rib may be characterized by a radius of between about 0.55 mm and about 1.05 mm. A concave side of the trough of the second inner rib may be characterized by a radius of between about 0.65 mm and about 1.05 mm. An outer perimeter of the lid body may define a tear panel for removing the lid from a container.
Some embodiments of the present technology encompass containers, such as food, beverage, and storage cans. The containers may include a can body and a lid body. The lid body may be coupled to the can body. The lid body may include one or more inner ribs and an outer bead. The one or more inner ribs may be concentrically aligned on the lid body radially inward from the outer bead. Each of the one or more inner ribs may be characterized by an angle of between about 2° and about 50° relative to a plane extending through and parallel to a center panel of the lid body. Each of the one or more inner ribs may be characterized by a height of less than or about 0.50 mm measured from a trough of the inner rib to a peak of the inner rib.
In some embodiments, each of the one or more inner ribs may be characterized by a width of between about 1.65 and about 3.00 mm measured from the trough of each of the one or more inner ribs to the peak of the each of the one or more inner ribs along the plane. The one or more inner ribs may include a first inner rib, a second inner rib, and a third inner rib. The first inner rib may be positioned inward of the second inner rib and the second inner rib may be positioned inward of the third inner rib. A concave side of the trough of the first inner rib may be characterized by a radius of between about 0.55 mm and about 1.05 mm. A concave side of the trough of the second inner rib and a concave side of the trough of the third inner rib may be characterized by a radius of between about 0.65 mm and about 1.05 mm. A concave side of the peak of the third inner rib may be characterized by a radius less than or equal to the radius of the concave side of the trough of the third inner rib. Two of the one or more inner ribs may be separated by a distance greater than or about a width of the one or more inner ribs.
Some embodiments of the present technology encompass methods of forming lids for containers. The methods may include punching a lid body into a sheet of metal material. The methods may include forming one or more inner ribs in the lid body. Each of the one or more inner ribs may include a peak and a trough. The methods may include forming an outer bead in the lid body. The outer bead may be disposed outward of the one or more inner ribs.
In some embodiments, the lid body may have a circular shape. An outer perimeter of the lid body may define a tear panel for removing the lid from a container. The lid body may include at least three inner ribs. At least one of the one or more inner ribs may be characterized by a D-profile. The one or more inner ribs may be spaced apart evenly.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the disclosed technology may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings.
Several of the figures are included as schematics. It is to be understood that the figures are for illustrative purposes, and are not to be considered of scale unless specifically stated to be of scale. Additionally, as schematics, the figures are provided to aid comprehension and may not include all aspects or information compared to realistic representations, and may include exaggerated material for illustrative purposes.
In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a letter that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the letter.
The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure. Rather, the description of the exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing one or more exemplary embodiments. It being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to lids for containers such as food, beverage, and storage cans. The lids may include various grooves and indentations that provide structural integrity to the lid and respective can, when assembled. Further, the grooves and indentations may configured such that any coating, enamel, or lacquer applied inside the container may be less prone to cracking and/or flaking. Embodiments may include lids for containers in which a user lifts a handle of a tab to push on a region of the lid having a perforation and/or weakened perimeter to push the region into the inner region of the container to create an opening in the lid through which the contents may be accessed. Embodiments may also be utilized in food and/or beverage cans, such as “easy open” (EZO) cans, in which the tab is used to puncture the lid near a rim of the can, with the user then pulling the tab backwards to partially or fully remove the lid from the can. While discussed primarily in the context of food and beverage cans, it will be appreciated that the features described herein may be applied to other cans and containers, including racquetball cans, tennis ball cans, and the like.
Turning now to
Referring to
As illustrated, a distance di along the lid body 102 between two of the one or more inner ribs 104, measured between the peak 110 of the radially inward inner rib 104 and the trough 108 of the radially outward inner rib 104, may be greater than or about a width of each of the respective inner ribs 104. The distance d1 along the lid body 102 between two of the one or more inner ribs 104 may be measured from a shortest distance between the two inner ribs 104. For example, if the width of the two inner ribs 104 are 1.80 mm and 2.05 mm, the distance between the two inner ribs 104 may be greater than or about 2.05 mm. However, it is also contemplated that the inner ribs 104 may be closer together, even closer than a width of the inner ribs 104.
Referring to
Referring to
Still referring to
The trough 108 of each of the one or more inner ribs 104 may be greater than or about 0.10 mm lower than a lowest surface (e.g., trough) of the outer bead 106. The peak 110 of each of the one or more inner ribs 104 may be greater than or about 0.05 mm lower than a lowest surface of the outer bead 106. It is contemplated that the peak 110 of each of the one or more inner ribs 104 may be higher than a lowest surface of the outer bead 106.
As shown in
A concave side 120 of the peak 110 of each of the one or more inner ribs 104 may be characterized by a radius of greater than or about 0.50 mm. The concave side 120 radius of each of the one or more inner ribs 104 may be measured at the outer peak 110, toward the outer periphery of the lid body 102, of the respective inner rib 104. The concave side 120 of the peak 110 of each of the one or more inner ribs 104 may have any of the ranges previously described for the concave side 118 of the trough 108. In embodiments, the concave side 118 of the trough 108 and the concave side 120 of the peak 110 of each of the one or more inner ribs 104 may be the same or the two radii may be different.
In embodiments, the lid body 102 may include any number of inner ribs 104, such as two inner ribs, three inner ribs, four inner ribs, five inner ribs, six inner ribs, or more. Each of the one or more inner ribs 104 may have the same dimensions and characteristics or may have different dimensions and characteristics.
As illustrated in
The lid body 102 may slope downward from the peak 110 of the first inner rib 104A to the second inner rib 104B. The width of the lid body 102 between the first inner rib 104A and the second inner rib 104B along plane L may be between about 1.40 mm and about 5.20 mm. The width of the lid body 102 between the first inner rib 104A and the second inner rib 104B along plane L may be measured from a shortest distance between the first inner rib 104A and the second inner rib 104B. In some embodiments, the width of the lid body 102 between the first inner rib 104A and the second inner rib 104B along plane L may be between about 3.20 mm and about 5.20 mm. As further explained below, placement of tab 112 may result in the shape of the ribs varying about the lid body 102. For example, some or all of the ribs may be D-shaped. The width of the lid body 102 between the first inner rib 104A and the second inner rib 104B along plane L′, which may be orthogonal to plane L and may extend through an opening in the lid body 102 for receiving a rivet though opening 138 of tab 112, may be between about 1.40 mm and about 3.40 mm. The cross-sectional shapes of the lid body 102 may be generally similar along planes L and L′, but distances may slightly vary and, thus, rates of slopes along the lid body 102 between ribs may slightly vary. The downward slope of the lid body 102 may be coupled to the trough 108 of the second inner rib 104B. The second inner rib 104B may transition upward from the trough 108 of the second inner rib 104B to the peak 110 of the second inner rib 104B. The width of the second inner rib 104B relative to the plane L may be between about 1.70 mm and about 2.10 mm. A concave side 118 of the trough 108 of the second inner rib 104B may be characterized by a radius of between about 0.55 mm and about 1.05 mm. A concave side 120 of the peak 110 of the second inner rib 104B may be characterized by a radius of between about 0.55 mm and about 1.05 mm.
The lid body 102 may again slope downward from the peak 110 of the second inner rib 104B to the third inner rib 104C. The width of the lid body 102 between the second inner rib 104B and the third inner rib 104C along the plane L may be between about 1.10 mm and about 5.00 mm. The width of the lid body 102 between the second inner rib 104B and the third inner rib 104C along plane L may be measured from a shortest distance between the second inner rib 104B and the third inner rib 104C. In some embodiments, the width of the lid body 102 between the second inner rib 104B and the third inner rib 104C along plane L may be between about 3.00 mm and about 5.00 mm. The width of the lid body 102 between the first inner rib 104A and the second inner rib 104B along plane L′ may be between about 1.10 mm and about 3.10 mm. Vary about the lid body 102. The downward slope of the lid body 102 may be coupled to the trough 108 of the third inner rib 104C. The third inner rib 104C may transition upward from the trough 108 of the third inner rib 104C to the peak 110 of the third inner rib 104C. The width of the third inner rib 104C along plane L may be between about 1.60 mm and about 2.00 mm. A concave side 118 of the trough 108 of the third inner rib 104C may be characterized by a radius of between about 0.55 mm and about 1.05 mm. A concave side 120 of the peak 110 of the third inner rib 104C may be characterized by a radius of between about 0.50 mm and about 1.00 mm.
The lid body 102 may extend relatively planar to the plane L between the third inner rib 104C and the outer bead 106. As previously discussed, it is contemplated that the lid body 102 may again slope upward between the third inner rib 104C and the outer bead 106. The width of the lid body 102 between the third inner rib 104C and the outer bead 106 along plane L may be between about 0.50 mm and about 12.50 mm. The width of the lid body 102 between the third inner rib 104C and the outer bead 106 along plane L may be measured from a shortest distance between the third inner rib 104C and the outer bead 106. In some embodiments, the width of the lid body 102 between the third inner rib 104C and the outer bead 106 along plane L may be between about 0.50 mm and about 2.50 mm. The width of the lid body 102 between the third inner rib 104C and the outer bead 106 along plane L′ may be between about 10.50 mm and about 12.50 mm. The outer bead 106 may slope downward to a trough of the outer bead 106 before sloping upward to the peak of the outer bead 106. The width of the outer bead 106 measured between peaks 114 of the outer bead 106 relative to the plane L may be between about 0.50 mm and about 0.90 mm. The lid body 102 may then extend from the peak of the outer bead 106 to an outer perimeter 122 (countersink) of the lid body 102.
The trough 108 of each of the inner ribs 104 may be planar to or below the plane L. The peak 110 of each of the inner ribs 104 may be above the plane L. In embodiments having three or more inner ribs 104, the inner ribs 104 may have the same shape when viewing the inner ribs 104 from a top of the lid body 102. As illustrated in
In embodiments, the outer perimeter 122 of the lid body 102 may define a tear panel for removing the lid 100 from a container. Alternatively, a portion (not shown) of the lid body 102 may define an area smaller than the entire lid body 102 that may be opened with the tab 112.
Referring to
Handle 132 and/or medial portion 134 may define a central opening 140, which may help a user better grasp the handle 132. Central opening 140 may have a generally circular shape as shown here, or may have any other shape, such as an oval, oblong, or other shape. In some embodiments, such as those in which the tab 112 is installed on an EZO can, the central opening 140 may be sufficiently large that a user may position his or her finger through the central opening 140 to make it easier to apply sufficient force to remove the lid from the can. Some or all of the edge of the material used to form the tab 112 may be bent, folded, and/or otherwise curved onto itself such that some or all of the outer periphery of the central opening 140 may have a rounded edge. For example, the central opening 140 may be formed using a punch or other machining device that forms a hole in a sheet of metallic material. Edges defining the hole may be bent to an underside of the tab 112 to form an inner curl that includes rounded edges defining central opening 140, while safely positioning the cut edges folded along a bottom surface of the tab 112. A portion of the cut edges proximate the distal end of tab 112 may be directed away from the medial portion 134 and generally toward the distal end of tab 112.
The methods, systems, devices, graphs, and tables discussed herein are examples. Various configurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For instance, in alternative configurations, the methods may be performed in an order different from that described, and/or various stages may be added, omitted, and/or combined. Also, features described with respect to certain configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of the configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Also, technology evolves and, thus, many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure or claims. Additionally, the techniques discussed herein may provide differing results with different types of context awareness classifiers.
While illustrative and presently preferred embodiments of the disclosed systems, methods, and machine-readable media have been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed, and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations, except as limited by the prior art.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly or conventionally understood. As used herein, the articles “a” and “an” refer to one or to more than one (i.e., to at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, “an element” means one element or more than one element. “About” and/or “approximately” as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, and the like, encompasses variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, as such variations are appropriate to in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein. “Substantially” as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, a physical attribute (such as frequency), and the like, also encompasses variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, as such variations are appropriate to in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein.
Where a range of values is provided, it is understood that each intervening value, to the smallest fraction of the unit of the lower limit, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, between the upper and lower limits of that range is also specifically disclosed. Any narrower range between any stated values or unstated intervening values in a stated range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range is encompassed. The upper and lower limits of those smaller ranges may independently be included or excluded in the range, and each range where either, neither, or both limits are included in the smaller ranges is also encompassed within the technology, subject to any specifically excluded limit in the stated range. Where the stated range includes one or both of the limits, ranges excluding either or both of those included limits are also included.
As used herein, including in the claims, “and” as used in a list of items prefaced by “at least one of” or “one or more of” indicates that any combination of the listed items may be used. For example, a list of “at least one of A, B, and C” includes any of the combinations A or B or C or AB or AC or BC and/or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Furthermore, to the extent more than one occurrence or use of the items A, B, or C is possible, multiple uses of A, B, and/or C may form part of the contemplated combinations. For example, a list of “at least one of A, B, and C” may also include AA, AAB, AAA, BB, etc.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22461528 | Mar 2022 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2022/052783 | 3/25/2022 | WO |
