BACKGROUND
The present disclosure relates to containers, and particularly to containers made of plastics material and used to store paint. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to paint cans and lids.
SUMMARY
In accordance with the present disclosure, a container includes a can, a lid support mounted on a rim of the can, and a removable lid arranged normally to close an opening provided in the lid support into an interior region formed in the can. Each of the can, lid support, and lid is made of a plastics material. A tool can be used to pry the lid away from the lid support to access paint or other material stored in the interior region of the can.
In illustrative embodiments, retaining walls included in the lid support cooperate to form a narrow, annular, lid-retention groove receiving a peripheral portion of the lid to limit radially inward and outward movement of the lid in the lid-retention groove. Thus, the retaining walls act to minimize the possibility that the lid will separate inadvertently from the lid support should a paint can filled with paint be dropped on the floor.
Also in illustrative embodiments, an upstanding annular fence included in the lid support provides one of the retaining walls defining the lid-retention groove. This upstanding annular fence cooperates with a surrounding annular fence to define an upwardly opening paint overflow trough arranged to surround the annular lid-retention groove. The floor of the paint overflow trough lies above the can rim while the floor of the lid-retention groove lies below the can rim.
In other illustrative embodiments, spin-weld lugs are provided on the lid support and located in the paint overflow trough to engage a rotating tool used to rotate the lid support relative to the rim of an underlying can to spin-weld the lid support to the rim of the can. Each spin-weld lug extends between the two upstanding annular fences that are arranged to define the paint overflow trough. The spin-weld lugs are uniformly spaced apart along the floor of the paint overflow trough.
Additional features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container in accordance with the present disclosure;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing a can formed to include an interior region, an annular lid support mounted on a rim of the can, and a removable lid mounted on the lid support to close an opening into the interior region formed in the lid support.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the container of FIG. 2 showing a peripheral portion of the lid extending downwardly into a lid-retention groove formed in the lid support, the lid-retention groove bounded by spaced-apart radially outwardly and inwardly facing retaining walls, and showing a radially inwardly extending locking flange included in that peripheral portion of the lid and arranged to extend into a locking flange receiver formed in the lid support and located above the radially outwardly facing retaining wall;
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective assembly view of the lid, lid support, and can of FIGS. 1-3 showing a series of circumferentially spaced-apart spin-weld lugs located in the annular upwardly opening paint overflow trough formed in the lid support;
FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the lid support of FIGS. 1-4 showing six radially extending spin-weld lugs located in the paint overflow trough;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the lid support taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the lid support showing a lid retainer having a somewhat U-shaped cross-sectional shape and a rim mount around the lid retainer, the lid retainer being formed to include the lid-retention groove and the locking flange receiver, the lid retainer and the rim mount cooperating to define the paint overflow trough;
FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the lid of FIGS. 1-4;
FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the lid taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the lid showing a closure and a closure anchor ring located to extend around the closure and formed to include a radially inwardly extending locking flange and a radially outwardly extending tool-engaging pry flange;
FIG. 11 is a sectional view similar to FIGS. 7 and 10 showing movement of a peripheral portion of the lid into the lid-retainer groove formed in the lid retainer of the lid support as the lid is being mounted on the lid support to close the opening into the interior region of the can; and
FIG. 12 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 11 showing use of a tool extending into a space above the paint overflow trough to engage an underside of the pry flange of the lid to begin to lift and withdraw the peripheral portion of the lid from the lid-retainer groove bounded by the radially outwardly and inwardly facing retaining walls.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A container 10 includes a can 12, a lid support 14 coupled to can 12, and a lid 16 as suggested, for example, in FIG. 1-4. A peripheral portion 18 of lid 16 is mated to a lid retainer 20 of lid support 14 in a manner shown, for example, in FIG. 11 to couple lid 16 to lid support 14 as shown, for example, in FIG. 3. A tool 22 can be used as shown, for example, in FIG. 12 to pry lid 16 away from lid support 14.
Can 12 includes a floor 24 and an annular side wall 26 extending upwardly from floor 24 to define an interior region 28 as suggested in FIGS. 2 and 4. Side wall 26 terminates at an annular rim 30 as shown best in FIG. 4. In an illustrative embodiment, can 12 is made of a weldable plastics material and is designed to store paint.
Lid support 14 includes a rim mount 32 that is adapted to be coupled to rim 30 of can 12 as suggested in FIGS. 1-3. Rim mount 32 has an annular shape in the illustrated embodiment as suggested in FIGS. 4 and 5. Lid retainer 20 is coupled to rim mount 32 and arranged to extend from rim mount 32 in a radially inwardly extending direction as shown, for example, in FIGS. 2-4 to overlie interior region 28 of can 12 and define an opening 34 into interior region 28. In an illustrative embodiment, lid support 14 is monolithic and made of a weldable plastics material suitable for welding to rim 30 of can 12 using spin-welding techniques.
Lid 16 includes a closure 36 and a closure anchor ring 38 arranged to extend around closure 36 as suggested in FIGS. 8 and 9. Closure anchor ring 36 includes the peripheral portion 18 of lid 16, which peripheral portion 18 is mated to lid retainer 20 of lid support 14 when lid 16 is coupled to lid support 14. Closure 36 is sized and shaped to close opening 34 into interior region 28 of can 12 defined by lid retainer 20 when lid 16 is coupled to lid support 14 as suggested in FIGS. 1-3.
As suggested in FIGS. 3 and 7, lid retainer 20 of lid support 14 is formed to include an upwardly opening lid-retention groove 39 bounded, in part, in the illustrated embodiment, by a radially outwardly facing retaining wall 40 and an opposing radially inwardly facing retaining wall 42. Closure anchor ring 38 extends into lid-retention groove 39 to lie in a space between radially outwardly and inwardly facing retaining walls 40, 42 when lid 16 is mounted on lid support 14 to close opening 34 into interior region 28 of can 12. These retaining walls 40, 42 are arranged to lie in confronting relation to the closure anchor ring 38 lying therebetween to limit movement of lid 16 relative to lid support 16 in radially inward and outward directions while lid 16 is mounted on lid support 14.
Lid retainer 20 includes an annular first upstanding fence 44 including radially inwardly facing retaining wall 42 as shown, for example, in FIG. 7. Rim mount 32 includes an annular second upstanding fence 46 also shown in FIG. 7. Second upstanding fence 46 is arranged to surround first upstanding fence 44 as suggested in FIGS. 5-7 to define an upwardly opening paint overflow trough 45 therebetween. Paint overflow trough 45 is sized and located to capture paint after pouring or during manual stirring. Rim mount 32 also includes an upwardly facing annular trough floor 48 arranged to extend between fences 44, 46 and located above rim 30 of can 12 as suggested, for example, in FIG. 3.
As suggested in FIGS. 3 and 7, rim mount 32 of lid support 14 also includes annular inner and outer rim flanges 50, 52 that are arranged to extend downwardly from second upstanding fence 46. These inner and outer rim flanges 50, 52 lie in radially spaced-apart relation to one another to define a downwardly opening rim-receiving channel 51 therebetween. Rim 30 of can 12 is arranged to extend into rim-receiving channel 51 and is coupled to one or more of flanges 50, 52 and second upstanding fence 46 using any suitable means to couple lid support 14 to can 12. In an illustrative embodiment, lid support 14 is rotated (i.e., spun) at high speed relative to can 12 while in contact with rim 30 to cause lid support 14 to become welded to rim 30.
Rim mount 32 further includes a radially inwardly extending annular retainer support 54 as shown, for example, in FIG. 7. Retainer support 54 is coupled to lid retainer 20 and arranged to extend between first and second fences 44, 46 to provide upwardly facing annular trough floor 48.
Lid retainer 20 includes a flex ring 56 coupled to a lower portion of annular first upstanding fence 44 and configured to extend radially inwardly and then upwardly as suggested in FIG. 7 to define lid-retention groove 39 therebetween. Flex ring 56 has a somewhat J-shaped cross section as suggested in FIGS. 6 and 7. Lid support 14 is made of an elastic material that allows for repeated relative movement between flex ring 56 and first upstanding fence 44 during movement of lid 16 into and out of lid-retention groove 39 as suggested in FIGS. 11 and 12. Flex ring 56 allows lid 16 and lid support 14 to conform to one another to provide a seal therebetween.
As suggested in FIGS. 3 and 7, flex ring 56 of lid retainer 20 is formed to include a radially outwardly opening locking flange receiver 58 arranged to open into lid-retention groove 39. Locking flange receiver 58 is a channel bounded by confronting axially upwardly and downwardly facing surfaces 60, 62 and by a radially outwardly facing annular surface 61 located between surfaces 60, 62. Surfaces 60, 62 are arranged to diverge somewhat in a radially outwardly extending direction. Locking flange receiver 58 is located above radially outwardly facing retaining wall 40 and below a frustoconical flange-camming ramp 64 extending to an upper tip of flex ring 56.
Lid retainer 20 is also formed to include an upwardly opening annular end flange receiver 66 arranged to open into lid-retention groove 39 as suggested in FIGS. 3 and 7. End flange receiver 66 is a channel bounded by spaced-apart, confronting, radially outwardly and inwardly facing surfaces 40, 421 and by an upwardly facing annular surface 67 included in lid support 14 as shown in FIG. 7. In the illustrated embodiment, surface 421 is a lower portion of radially inwardly facing retaining wall 42.
A peripheral portion 18 of closure anchor ring 38 of lid 16 extends into lid-retention groove 39 of lid retainer 20 to couple lid 16 to lid support 14 as suggested, for example, in FIGS. 3, 11, and 12. Peripheral portion 18 includes a radially inwardly extending locking flange 70 and an axially downwardly extending end flange 72 as shown in FIG. 10. In the illustrated embodiment, both flanges 70, 72 have an annular shape. Locking flange 70 is sized and shaped to extend into locking flange receiver 58 to limit movement of lid 16 relative to lid support 14 in axially upward and downward directions while lid 16 is mounted on lid support 14. End flange 72 is sized and shaped to extend into end flange receiver 66 to limit movement of lid 16 relative to lid support 14 in radially inward and outward directions while lid 16 is mounted on lid support 14.
Peripheral portion 18 of closure anchor ring 38 further includes a radially outwardly extending tool-engaging pry flange 74 as shown best in FIG. 10. In the illustrated embodiment, pry flange 74 is arranged to overlie the radially inwardly facing retaining wall 42, the surface 421 providing a boundary of end flange receiver 66, and first upstanding fence 44. A tool 22 can be used in the manner suggested in FIG. 12 (e.g., pivoted about second upstanding fence 46 in direction 71) to move pry flange 74 in direction 73 and withdraw locking flange 70 from locking flange receiver 58, end flange 72 from end flange receiver 66, and peripheral portion 18 from lid-retention groove 39 to remove lid 16 from lid support 14.
In an illustrative embodiment, peripheral portion 18, flex ring 56, and first upstanding fence 44 are made of elastic materials and deform elastically to allow movement of peripheral portion 18 into and out of lid-retention groove 39. As illustrated in FIG. 11, peripheral portion 18 will spread radially outwardly in direction 75 when peripheral portion 18 is inserted into lid-retention groove 39 owing to camming engagement of locking flange 70 on frustoconical flange-camming ramp 64 as peripheral portion 18 is moved downwardly in direction 76. Then, locking flange 70 will “snap” and move in a radially inward direction to a “nested” position in locking flange receiver 58 as shown in FIG. 3. Such a snap provides an audible and tactile indication to a user that lid 16 is mounted properly on lid support 14.
Closure 36 of lid 16 includes a ceiling 80, an annular upright side wall 82 coupled to closure anchor ring 38, and a frustoconical ceiling support 84 as shown, for example, in FIGS. 2 and 3. Frustoconical ceiling support 84 has a radially innermost portion 86 coupled to ceiling 80 and a radially outermost portion 88 coupled to upright side wall 82 as shown in FIG. 3. Radially outermost portion 88 is arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to end flange 72 of closure anchor ring 38 to locate radially outwardly facing retaining wall 40 therebetween when lid 16 is mounted on lid support 14 as shown, for example, in FIG. 3.
In the illustrated embodiment, frustoconical ceiling support 84 is arranged to converge in a direction toward the ceiling and away from floor 24 of can 12 (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) to locate ceiling 80 above rim 30 of can 12 to maximize interior region 28 of can 12 when lid 16 is mounted on lid support 14. This “extra” volume allows for addition of colorants or tints to a base paint 90 in interior region 28 owing to a greater distance 92 between the top surface of paint 90 and the underside of ceiling 80 when lid 16 is mounted on lid support 14 coupled to a “full” paint can 12. In the illustrated embodiment, ceiling 80 is arranged to lie at a first distance above rim 30 of can 12 and pry flange 74 is arranged to lie above ceiling 80 at a greater second distance above rim 30 of can 12.
As shown, for example, in FIGS. 4 and 5, rim mount 32 further includes at least one “spin-weld” lug 94 located in upwardly opening paint overflow trough 45. Illustratively, six spin-weld lugs 94 are provided and coupled to upwardly facing annular trough floor 48. In the illustrated embodiment, spin-weld lugs 94 are integrated components in a monolithic lid support 14. The spin-weld lugs 94 are located in close proximity to the location of the weld coupling lid 16 to lid support 14. Providing spin-weld lugs 94 in trough 45 allows lugs 94 to be larger and makes it easier to locate and drive lugs 94 during welding of lid 16 to lid support 14. These spin-weld lugs 94 cooperate to provide means for receiving a rotary drive torque applied by an external apparatus (not shown) to rotate lid support 14 at a high speed relative to can 12 to spin and weld lid support 14 to rim 30 of can 12. In the illustrated embodiment, spin-weld lugs 94 are arranged to lie in circumferentially spaced-apart relation to one another in trough 45.
In practice, lid support 14 is welded to can 12. Can 12 is then filled with paint. Lid 16 is then snapped onto lid support 14 in such a manner that a seal and a lock are created to prevent can 12 from opening or leaking inadvertently. When lid 16 is secure, a tool 22 is required to open can 12.
Patent Application
20060043095
