PAIL WITH SKIRT AND LID
A pail includes a base and at least one wall extending upwardly from a periphery of the base to an opening of the pail. A lip protrudes outwardly from an upper edge of the wall adjacent the opening. A skirt curves outwardly and downwardly from an outer surface of the wall below the lip. A lid for the pail includes an upper wall and three latch portions extending downwardly from an outer periphery of the upper wall. The three latch portions are substantially evenly disposed about the outer periphery of the upper wall. A tear away strip connects the three latch portions, to prevent removal of the lid from the pail. When the tear away strip is torn away from the lid, the lid can be removed from the pail by manually deflecting one of the latch portions.
Pails are often used to ship and sell products to consumers. The pails include a base and a side wall extending upwardly from a periphery of the base. At an open end of the pail, a lip may be formed for retaining a lid thereon. Further, the pail may include one or more reinforcing rings protruding outwardly from the side of the side wall. These rings sometimes cause the pails to “shingle,” wherein the ring of one pail rides up on top of the ring of an adjacent pail thereby interfering with stacking of the pails.
Many pails include lids that snap down over a lip at the open end of the pail. The lids may include a tear away portion around the periphery of the lid. The tear away portion prevents the lid from being removed until the tear away portion is torn away from the rest of the lid. Generally, four latch portions remain on the lid after the tear away portion has been removed. The latch portions permit the lid to be removably re-secured to the pail. Removal of the lid is a two step process, where the user must unsnap two opposing latch portions with two hands, then rotate his hands to unsnap the other two latch portions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA pail according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a base and at least one wall extending upwardly from a periphery of the base to an opening of the pail. A lip protrudes outwardly from an upper edge of the wall adjacent the opening. A skirt curves outwardly and downwardly from an outer surface of the wall below the lip. The skirt performs several functions. First, the curved outer surface of the skirt prevents shingling by adjacent containers. Instead, the skirt of one container will slide down the curved surface of the skirt of an adjacent container. The skirt can be used as a handle and can be gripped from underneath to help lift the pail. The skirt also limits the amount of nesting of two empty pails, so that they do not get stuck together.
A lid includes an upper wall and three latch portions extending downwardly from an outer periphery of the upper wall. The three latch portions are substantially evenly disposed about the outer periphery of the upper wall. A tear away strip connects the three latch portions, to prevent removal of the lid from the pail. When the tear away strip is torn away from the lid, the lid can be removed from the pail by manually deflecting two of the latch portions in a single step. Thus, the lid is easier to remove from the pail in one step.
These and other features of the application can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description.
A pail 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown in
A pair of handle attachment walls 22 (one shown in
Referring to
As shown in
As shown in
In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes and jurisprudence, exemplary configurations described above are considered to represent a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope.
Claims
1) A pail comprising:
- a base;
- at least one wall extending upwardly from a periphery of the base to an opening of the pail;
- a lip protruding outwardly from an upper edge of the at least one wall; and
- a skirt curving outwardly and downwardly from an outer surface of the at least one wall below the lip.
2) The pail of claim 1 wherein the skirt has a generally rounded cross-section.
3) The pail of claim 1 wherein the skirt includes a plurality of cross-ribs generally perpendicular to the at least one wall, the skirt curving outwardly and downwardly over the cross-ribs.
4) The pail of claim 1 further including a handle attachment wall spaced from the at least one wall.
5) The pail of claim 4 wherein the handle attachment wall is generally parallel to the at least one wall.
6) The pail of claim 4 wherein the handle attachment wall extends upwardly from the skirt.
7) The pail of claim 6 wherein the handle attachment wall opens downwardly.
8) The pail of claim 7 wherein the handle attachment wall includes a handle attachment opening.
9) The pail of claim 8 wherein the skirt has a generally rounded cross-section.
10) The pail of claim 9 wherein the skirt includes a plurality of cross-ribs generally perpendicular to the at least one wall, the skirt curving outwardly and downwardly over the cross-ribs.
11) The pail of claim 7 further including a mid-ring protruding outwardly from the at least one wall, the handle attachment wall extending from the mid-ring to the skirt.
12) The pail of claim 11 further including a pair of side walls connecting the at least one wall to the handle attachment wall, the mid-ring and the skirt.
13) A pail lid comprising:
- an upper wall;
- three latch portions extending downwardly from an outer periphery of the upper wall, the three latch portions substantially evenly disposed about the outer periphery of the upper wall; and
- a tear-away strip connecting the three latch portions.
14) The pail lid of claim 13 further including an inner lip protruding downwardly from the upper wall, the inner lip spaced inwardly from the latch portions.
15) The pail lid of claim 14 further including a plurality of ribs protruding downwardly from the upper wall outwardly of the inner lip.
16) The pail lid of claim 15 further including a middle lip protruding downwardly from the upper wall, the plurality of ribs between the inner lip and the middle lip.
17) The pail lid of claim 16 wherein the upper wall is an annular upper wall.
18) The pail lid of claim 17 further including a lower wall, the inner lip extending downwardly from the upper wall to an outer periphery of the lower wall.
19) The pail lid of claim 18 wherein the ribs extend onto a lower surface of the lower wall.
20) A pail comprising:
- a base;
- at least one wall extending upwardly from a periphery of the base to an opening of the pail;
- a lip protruding outwardly from an upper edge of the at least one wall;
- a skirt curving outwardly and downwardly from an outer surface of the at least one wall below the lip; and
- a pail lid including an upper wall having three latch portions extending downwardly from an outer periphery of the upper wall, the three latch portions substantially evenly disposed about the outer periphery of the upper wall.
21) The pail of claim 20 further including a tear-away strip connecting the three latch portions.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 2, 2008
Publication Date: Dec 3, 2009
Inventor: Kyle L. Baltz (Redondo Beach, CA)
Application Number: 12/131,222
International Classification: B65D 85/62 (20060101);