This application relates generally to containers for fasteners, such as screws, and more particularly to a container with a closeable lid assembly.
Packaged fasteners are often sold in boxes, jars and buckets, with larger quantities of more commonly sold in jars and buckets. Typical fastener jars may be of the 5 pound size or 10 pound size, but other variations are possible. Ease of jar opening, access, uses and reclosing for later use are all important to contractors on the job site, and commonly available jars have limitations in one or more of these areas.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a fastener jar and lid assembly that improves the contractor experience.
In one aspect, as seen in the attached drawings, the container includes a two-component lid assembly movable between item retain and item dispense positions, and stacking feet projecting downwardly from the bottom of the container to facilitate stacking of one container atop another.
In another aspect, a container assembly includes a jar with a body portion defining an interior space for holding items and an upper neck portion disposed about a jar opening leading to the interior space, where the upper neck portion includes an exterior thread arrangement. A lid assembly is threadedly connected onto the upper neck portion of the jar so as to be removable by unthreading, where the lid assembly includes an inner lid component and an outer lid component, and the outer lid component is rotatable relative the inner lid component.
In another aspect, a container assembly includes a jar and a lid assembly. The jar includes a body portion defining an interior space for holding items and an upper neck portion disposed about a jar opening leading to the interior space. The lid assembly is connected onto the upper neck portion of the jar, and the lid assembly includes an inner lid component and an outer lid component. The inner lid component includes a top wall partially covering the jar opening and having an access opening therein. The outer lid component includes a top wall partially covering the jar opening and having an access opening therein. The outer lid component is rotatable relative to the inner lid component between an item dispense position and an item retain position. In the item dispense position the access opening of the outer lid component at least partially overlaps with the access opening of the inner lid component to provide access to the interior space of the jar, and in the item retain position the access opening of the outer lid component does not overlap with the access opening of the inner lid component such that the jar opening is completely covered by the lid assembly.
In a further aspect, a container assembly includes a jar and a lid assembly. The jar includes a body portion defining an interior space for holding items and an upper neck portion disposed about a jar opening leading to the interior space. The lid assembly is connected to the upper neck portion of the jar and includes an inner lid component and an outer lid component. The outer lid component is rotatable relative to the inner lid component while the inner lid component remains stationary relative to the upper neck portion of the jar.
In yet another aspect, a lid assembly for a container includes an inner lid component and an outer lid component. The inner lid component is retained within a bottom interior of the outer lid component. The outer lid component is rotatable relative to the inner lid component between a dispense position and a retain position. In the dispense position an opening in a top of the inner lid component aligns with an opening in a top of the outer lid component. In the retain position the opening in the top of the inner lid component does not align or overlap with the opening in the top of the outer lid component. The inner lid component and the outer lid component collectively include a set of interacting stops that limit rotation of the outer lid component relative to the inner lid component to no more than two hundred and ten circumferential degrees.
The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
Referring to
The jar 12 includes a bottom surface portion 30 that, in the illustrated embodiment, is substantially planar, and a plurality of feet 32 extending downwardly below the bottom surface portion 30. The plurality of feet 32 are arranged to permit stacking of containers in such a manner that the feet of an upper container assembly extend downward alongside the lid assembly of a lower container assembly and thus interact with the lid assembly of the lower container assembly so as to inhibit the upper jar from sliding off the lower lid assembly. In the illustrated embodiment, the jar is generally four-sided and four feet are provided, each foot located at a respective corner of the jar, but variations are possible. The jar body 14 includes an indented grip region 15 with reduced lateral dimension and to facilitate one-handed gripping by a user.
The inner lid component 26 includes a top portion 40 and a mount collar portion 42 extending downward from the top portion 40. Here, the top portion 40 is in the form of a top wall that is substantially planar, but other variations are possible. The mount collar portion 42 has an interior thread arrangement 44 that is configured to engage with the exterior thread arrangement 22 of the upper neck portion 18 of the jar 12. The top portion 40 is configured to, in part, cover the jar opening 20 and includes an access opening 46 having an area (e.g., in top or bottom plan view) that may be between about ⅓ and about ½ of an area (e.g., in top or bottom plan view) of the jar opening 20. An additional opening 48 that is substantially smaller than opening 46 and may be centrally located along a rotational axis of the inner lid component 26.
The outer lid component 28 including a top portion 50 and a mount collar portion 52 extending downward from the top portion 50. The top portion 50 is in the form of a top wall that is substantially planar, but other variations are possible. The mount collar portion 52 is sized to be disposed about the mount collar portion 42 when the lid components are connected together for use. The inner side of the mount collar portion 52 includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart inwardly extending tabs 54. Each tab 54 is disposed between a respective set of slots 56 in the mount collar portion 52 that provide for slight radially outward flexing when the outer lid component is moved downward onto the inner lid component and a cam surface 58 of the tab engages a peripheral rim 60 at the bottom of the mount collar portion 42, enabling each tab to be disposed beneath the radially outwardly projecting peripheral rim 60 (per
The top portion 50 includes a pin component 70 projecting downwardly therefrom and positioned to be disposed within the additional opening 48 of the top portion 40 when the lid components are connected together, which arrangement helps to provide proper alignment between the inner lid component 26 and the outer lid component 28. However, the embodiments in which the pin 70 and opening 48 are eliminated are also contemplated. The top portion 50 also includes an access opening 72, which here has an area (e.g., in top or bottom plan view) that, here, is substantially the same as the area of the access opening 46 of the inner lid component, with a corresponding matching shape so that the two openings 72 and 46 can nicely align with peripheries closely matched. In other embodiments the area and shape of the openings 72 and 46 could be different than each other, if desired.
The threaded engagement between the inner lid component and the jar neck holds the lid assembly onto the jar when the lid assembly is tightened onto the jar (e.g., by rotating the lid assembly onto the jar with clockwise rotation). As mentioned above, the outer lid component 28 is rotatable relative to the inner lid component 26, which enables movement of the outer lid component between an item dispense position of the outer lid component (e.g.,
As seen with reference to
In particular, the mount collar portion 42 of the inner lid component includes an outwardly projecting stop 80, a circumferentially spaced outwardly projecting stop 82 and an outwardly projecting detent 84 proximate the stop 82. The mount collar portion 52 of the outer lid component includes an inwardly projecting stop 86 and an inwardly projecting stop 88. In the item dispense position of the outer lid component 28 (per the cross-section of
When the outer lid component is in the item retain position (per the cross-section of
The stop 80 of the inner lid component includes a stop surface 90 that angles away from the counterclockwise rotational direction (in top down view), and the stop 86 of the outer lid component includes a stop surface 92 that angles toward the counterclockwise rotational direction, which helps prevent the stop 86 from being rotated past the stop 80 even when significant counterclockwise rotational force is applied to the outer lid component (e.g., when the lid assembly is being untightened in order to disengage the lid assembly from the jar entirely). The stop 82 of the inner lid component includes a stop surface 94 that angles toward the counterclockwise rotational direction, and the stop 88 of the outer lid component includes a stop surface 96 that angles away from the counterclockwise rotational direction, which helps prevent the stop 88 from being rotated past the stop 82 even when significant clockwise rotational force is applied to the outer lid component (e.g., when the lid assembly is being tightly threaded onto the jar). Notably, the outward projection of the detent 84 is less than stop 82, and the shape of the detent 84 permits the stop 88 to pass by the detent 84 if sufficient rotational force is applied to the outer lid component. However, the detent 84 interacts with the stop 88 to hold the outer lid component in the retain position until an intentional and sufficient counterclockwise force is applied to the outer lid component.
Also notable is that the described configuration prevents the stop 86 of the outer lid component from ever being moved into contact with the 82 stop of the inner lid component.
An exemplary sequence of clockwise rotation of the outer lid component to move the outer lid component from the item dispense position to the item retain position can be seen by sequential depiction of
It is to be clearly understood that the above description is intended by way of illustration and example only, is not intended to be taken by way of limitation, and that other changes and modifications are possible.
For example,
A pair of stacked container assemblies 110A and 110B are show in
Still other variations and configurations are possible.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3125260 | Dreps | Mar 1964 | A |
3357605 | Chadfield | Dec 1967 | A |
4643881 | Alexander | Feb 1987 | A |
5738236 | Brun, Jr. | Apr 1998 | A |
5855304 | Dean et al. | Jan 1999 | A |
5947171 | Woodruff | Sep 1999 | A |
6070751 | Mejias | Jun 2000 | A |
6085809 | Woodruff | Jul 2000 | A |
6241128 | McClean et al. | Jun 2001 | B1 |
6305444 | Woodruff | Oct 2001 | B1 |
6460718 | Vogel | Oct 2002 | B1 |
6543496 | Woodruff | Apr 2003 | B2 |
6547102 | Stoneberg | Apr 2003 | B2 |
6612451 | Tobias et al. | Sep 2003 | B2 |
6615473 | McClean et al. | Sep 2003 | B2 |
6732772 | Woodruff | May 2004 | B2 |
6732875 | Smith et al. | May 2004 | B2 |
6739471 | Goetz et al. | May 2004 | B2 |
6757957 | McClean et al. | Jul 2004 | B2 |
7032756 | Wylie | Apr 2006 | B2 |
7073546 | Woodruff | Jul 2006 | B2 |
7150378 | Dean et al. | Dec 2006 | B2 |
7156251 | Smith et al. | Jan 2007 | B2 |
7159732 | Smith et al. | Jan 2007 | B2 |
7246715 | Smith et al. | Jul 2007 | B2 |
7543713 | Trude et al. | Jun 2009 | B2 |
7699171 | Rivera et al. | Apr 2010 | B2 |
7731047 | Ishimitsu | Jun 2010 | B2 |
7766197 | Getsy | Aug 2010 | B2 |
D641246 | Maas et al. | Jul 2011 | S |
7980404 | Trude et al. | Jul 2011 | B2 |
8047392 | Eiten et al. | Nov 2011 | B2 |
8235214 | Eiten et al. | Aug 2012 | B2 |
8251240 | Seelhofer | Aug 2012 | B2 |
8393487 | Pillers et al. | Mar 2013 | B1 |
8528768 | D'Amato | Sep 2013 | B2 |
8529975 | Trude et al. | Sep 2013 | B2 |
8544649 | Rivera et al. | Oct 2013 | B2 |
8584879 | Melrose et al. | Nov 2013 | B2 |
8839972 | Trude et al. | Sep 2014 | B2 |
D722885 | Mooney et al. | Feb 2015 | S |
8955705 | Vogel et al. | Feb 2015 | B2 |
D760085 | Su et al. | Jun 2016 | S |
9434508 | Su et al. | Sep 2016 | B2 |
20030196926 | Tobias | Oct 2003 | A1 |
20030221987 | Trude | Dec 2003 | A1 |
20060000832 | Smith et al. | Jan 2006 | A1 |
20080029512 | Smith et al. | Feb 2008 | A1 |
20080128417 | Smith et al. | Jun 2008 | A1 |
20080296297 | Ohashi | Dec 2008 | A1 |
20100018975 | DeMarco | Jan 2010 | A1 |
20100237083 | Trude et al. | Sep 2010 | A1 |
20110089174 | Smith et al. | Apr 2011 | A1 |
20110147392 | Trude et al. | Jun 2011 | A1 |
20110226768 | Sexton et al. | Sep 2011 | A1 |
20120037669 | Goetz et al. | Feb 2012 | A1 |
20120132611 | Trude et al. | May 2012 | A1 |
20130000259 | Trude et al. | Jan 2013 | A1 |
20150114964 | Vogel et al. | Apr 2015 | A1 |
20160009449 | Su et al. | Jan 2016 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
202358458 | Aug 2012 | CN |
203581589 | May 2014 | CN |
203727859 | Jul 2014 | CN |
104411593 | Mar 2015 | CN |
1041944 | Sep 1966 | GB |
9-58673 | Mar 1997 | JP |
H1111451 | Jan 1999 | JP |
588730 | May 2004 | TW |
M365323 | Sep 2009 | TW |
M401380 | Apr 2011 | TW |
WO 2016012165 | Jan 2016 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20180037382 A1 | Feb 2018 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62371485 | Aug 2016 | US |