The field of the invention is plastic containers for fluids.
Although the plastic container for fluids has evolved substantially in the last few years, there have been important needs unmet by the traditional cylindrical container.
One of the most important needs is to reduce transportation costs which the traditional cylindrical container has not solved. First, cylindrical containers have a large space between them even when touching, and this area means smaller volumes of the contents can be shipped in individual containers arranged within a space of a certain size, e.g., the van of a large trailer, compared to in the present invention. Second, a cylindrical container, when empty, cannot be nested, so stacking multiple empty containers for shipment to plants where they are filled also greatly increases the number of unfilled units which can be loaded into a shipment.
Another longstanding issue is that of dried paint which accumulates within the U-shaped channel of a container rim after fluids such as paint dry after collecting in the rim, for example, after pouring or dripping from a paintbrush. Dried fluids or paint in the rim tends to make resealing a container difficult because the channel in the rim (for receiving the lid) can become obstructed.
Additionally, the stability of loaded containers when stacked has been a continuing concern.
Also, pouring paint into a roller pan produces wasted paint in that paint is slathered in the pan and dries there, or at least paint that adheres to the roller pan cannot be returned to the container.
Thus, there is a need for a plastic container to address the above issues.
The invention disclosed herein is a non-cylindrical plastic container which has several novel features providing advantages over the prior art. In one or more embodiments the plastic container is a modified rectangular prism or, more specifically, a modified square prism. The use of the term “modified” here means that the prism has a substantially rectangular or square 3-dimensional shape, except that at least a portion of the rectangular or square prism has four tapered sidewalls and, in this sense, the container is rectangular or square at its top and, in various embodiments, may have rounded corners or angular corners. The modified rectangular or square prism is thus a rectangular or square frustum. Additionally, other embodiments at the top may have shapes other than rectangular or square, as long as they are non-cylindrical.
In one embodiment the invention is a plastic container 1 comprising a bucket 1A and a lid 16 sized to fit the bucket, said bucket comprising a rim 2 near a mouth 14 of the bucket, sidewalls 26, corners 12, and a bottom, each said sidewall having a width 29 and comprising two borders 30 integral, each border integral to one of the corners and also integral to the bottom 10, each said sidewall also comprising an upper portion 15, a nesting ridge 25 and a lower portion 3, said upper portion comprising a first end near the mouth and a second end integral to the nesting ridge, and the lower portion comprising a first end integral to the nesting ridge and a second end integral to the bottom, each said lower portion of the sidewalls having a width 29 greater near the nesting ridge than at the bottom, such that the mouth of the bucket is wider than the bottom and one of the buckets may be nested inside another bucket when the lids are removed and the buckets are empty. The bucket and the lid are sized to fit each other and each has corners 12. In one embodiment, the container comprises four sidewalls 26 and the mouth of the bucket, the rim and the lid are shaped as a rectangle or, in another embodiment, a square. The aforesaid shape of the bucket describes a rectangular frustum extending from near the nesting ridge to the bottom. In one embodiment, the corners 12 of the bucket 1A, the rim 2 and the lid 16 are rounded. In one embodiment, the lower portion 3 of each of the sidewalls 26 comprises an internal surface 11, and at least one of the internal surfaces 11 comprises ridges 7. The ridges 7 can be disposed so that they are approximately horizontal or parallel to the bottom 10 of the bucket, that is, they are non-vertical. The shape of the ridges 7 can be selected from a group consisting of straight lines, curvy lines, wavy lines, a chevron, or a series of bumps or other shapes placed randomly or irregularly. Moreover, as used herein, “horizontal” or “parallel” means broadly that the ridges 7 are not vertical so that, when a paint roller is applied, the ridges are able to contact the majority of the width of the roller, so as to remove excess paint from the roller.
In one embodiment, the rim 2 comprises a breakaway tab 6 at one or more of the corners 12 which, when broken off the rim 2, leaves no channel 20 in which fluids, such as paint, can collect and dry, hindering re-sealing of the lid 16.
In one embodiment the lid 16 comprises an outer edge 28 and a stacking ridge 17 which is, in one embodiment, a continuous or nearly continuous ridge near the outer edge 28 of the lid, and the bucket 1A further comprises a stacking loop 9 integral to the bottom 10, the sidewalls 26 and the corners 12 of the bucket, the stacking loop 9 being slightly wider than the stacking ridge 17 of a lower container, so that the stacking loop 9 of one container can fit within close proximity around the stacking ridge 17 and prevent a bucket filled with contents (stacked on top of another bucket) from sliding. The stacking ridge 17 and stacking loop 9 are sized such that stability can be achieved in stacking two or more containers by placing the stacking loop 9 of one bucket on the lid 16 of another of the containers adjacent to the stacking ridge.
In all the embodiments of the invention, the lid 16 further comprises a U-shaped channel 18 which, when installed, faces toward the bottom 10 and the rim 2 further comprises a U-shaped channel 20 which faces away from the bottom, the U-shaped channel 18 of the lid comprising three projections E, F, I, and the U-shaped channel 20 of the rim comprises three projections D, G, H, each of said projections of the lid corresponding to one of said projections of the rim, so that pressing the U-shaped channel of the lid into the U-shaped channel of the rim forms three complementary or corresponding pairs A, B, C of said projections from the lid and the rim.
In another embodiment the container comprises a bucket 1A and a lid 16 sized to fit the bucket, said bucket 1A comprising a rim 2 and sidewalls 26 defining a mouth 14 at an open end of the bucket, each of said sidewalls comprising a width 29 and two borders 30, each said border being integral to one of the corners 12 and said sidewalls also integral to a bottom, each width being greater near the mouth than at the bottom, such that one of the buckets may be nested inside another bucket when the lids are removed and the buckets are empty. That is, the bucket in this embodiment has no nesting ridge but the sidewalls 26 comprise a continuous slope commencing near the mouth of the bucket, and the sidewalls 26 are, at their other end, integral to the bottom of the bucket. The aforesaid shape of the bucket describes a rectangular frustum extending from near the mouth, i.e, from inward slope notch G, to the bottom. Further, in this embodiment, the sidewalls 26 have no upper portion or lower portion. Embodiments of the bucket with sidewalls 26 having a continuous slope may also be rectangular or square, have rounded corners, have ridges 7 on one or more of the internal surfaces of the sidewalls, have a breakaway tab 6 on the rim, have a stacking ridge 17 on the lid 16, and a stacking loop 9 on the bucket, all as described in embodiments above. This embodiment may be, at the top, any shape which is non-cylindrical. The bucket and the lid are sized to fit each other and each has corners 12. The overall dimensions of the mouth of the bucket are wider at the top than at the bottom of the bucket, and the sidewalls 26 taper inwardly to a bottom 10 which is narrower than the dimensions of the mouth 14 of the bucket. The tapering thus allows one version of the bucket, before being filled with fluid, to nest inside another instance of the bucket as needed, such as during shipment from the production facility to the paint producer's facility. This allows significant reduction in freight as opposed to prior art cans.
The invention, in one embodiment, has a breakaway tab 6 in one corner which will tear when pressed by the user thus turning this corner into a natural pour spout. The U-shaped channel on the rim of prior art containers, whether metal or plastic, fills up with paint during pouring. This is a cleanup issue for closing the container. Paint left in the U-shaped channel of the rim 2 then dries and makes the lid more difficult to open and close in future use. The breakaway tab 6, along with moving the U-shaped channel 20 beyond the sidewall 26, solves those issues. Moving the U-shaped channel beyond the sidewall also increases the size of the opening vis-à-vis a rim which is attached to the sidewall and extends inwardly from the sidewall.
There is at least one set of ridges 7 raised above the internal surface of at least one of the sidewalls 26, which mimics the bottom of a traditional flat roller pan. This allows the bucket to be used with a 4″ roller without a separate roller pan, thus being more convenient and reducing waste of paint left in a separate roller pan.
In one embodiment, the plastic container comprises a bucket and a lid sized to fit the bucket, said bucket comprising a rim, a bottom, a mouth at an open end defined by four sidewalls and each said sidewall comprising two borders and integral to one of four corners on each of said borders, each of said sidewalls further comprising an upper portion, a nesting ridge and a lower portion, said rim integral to said upper portions of the sidewalls and said rim comprising a breakaway tab, each said upper portion integral to one of the nesting ridges integral to one of the lower portions integral to the bottom, said lower portion having a width greater near the nesting ridge than at the bottom, such that one of the buckets can be nested in another of the buckets without the lid attached. The aforesaid shape of the bucket describes a rectangular frustum extending from near the nesting ridge to the bottom. In this embodiment with the four sidewalls and the four corners, the mouth, the lid and the rim are in the shape of a rectangle with rounded corners and, in a further embodiment, the rectangle is a square. Herein, the lid comprises a stacking ridge near an outer edge, and the bucket further comprises a stacking loop integral to the bottom on the bottom's outer perimeter and sized slightly larger than the stacking ridge, so that the stacking loop of one instance of the bucket can be positioned for stability just outside the stacking ring of the lid of another container.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention are further described in the figures.
In one embodiment, upon installation of the lid 16, there is over-travel K, i.e., unfilled volume in several places near combinations A, B, C to allow sufficient flexibility for the lid to be sealed and re-sealed to the rim with less damage to the structures if there were no spaces. The actual locations of the over-travel K may vary from those shown in
In another embodiment, the container 1 also comprises a handle 30, which may be of unitary construction and made of plastic, comprising a strap 33 with tabs 31, 32 projecting from the strap near either end. As shown in
Referring to
The strap 33 is sufficiently long with respect to the container 1 to form an arc above it, when the tabs are attached to the brackets, preferably with sufficient clearance between strap 33 and the lid 16 of the container for a person to grasp the handle without interference from the lid of the container.
The tab 31, 32 comprises a three-dimensional head N that tapers from a broader base R to a narrower top M. In one embodiment the head N is attached to the strap 33 or cap by a post O. The cross section of the head N of the tab 31, 32 may be of any shape that allows its insertion into the slot 4 of the bracket 5 in one orientation and which becomes interlocked with the bracket 5 at any other orientation, including without limitation an oval, rectangle or spheroid. This generally requires the cross section to have major and minor axes, with the major axis being longer than the minor axis. Thus, the shapes described below are in all respects illustrative.
The head N is a frustum which may be regular or irregular and the cross section defining its base may be any shape which generally has a major axis longer than a minor axis including, for example, a rectangle, an oval, squoval or a spheroid. The head N comprises a top M, opposing minor axis surfaces P defining the head's thickness in the direction of the minor axis, connected by opposing major axis surfaces Q defining its width in the direction of the major axis. In one embodiment, the surfaces Q of the head N taper from the broader base R to the narrower top M. As shown in
This application claims priority to, and the full benefit of, U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/369,581 filed on Aug. 1, 2016.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2017/044940 | 8/1/2017 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62369581 | Aug 2016 | US |