RECLOSABLE CONTAINER LID
A reclosable lid including a lid portion defining an opening to dispense the contents of a container, and a closeable flap portion including a sealing member and a resilient member. The closeable flap portion pivotable between a first position where the resilient member is flexed and the sealing member is not engaged with the opening and a second position where the sealing member is engaged with the opening and the resilient member is unflexed. A slide lock may be disposed on the closeable flap portion to engage with the lid portion and secure the closeable flap portion in the second position.
1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to container lids, and more particularly to a self closing, reclosable lid for use with a container.
2. Relevant Art
Generally, most containers are made with a corresponding lid used to close and sometimes seal the container. Typically, container lids may include a spout or similar means adapted to permit the flow of the container's contents from within the container and through the lid.
However, many existing container lid designs typically require that the user use two hands to open the container lid. Typically, one hand is used to secure or hold on to the container and the other is used to “twist” or “pry” the container lid on or off and effectively provide access to the container's contents.
SUMMARYA recloseable lid is provided including a lid portion defining an opening to dispense the contents of a container, and a closeable flap portion including a sealing member and a resilient member. The closeable flap portion is pivotable between a first position, where the resilient member is flexed and the sealing member is not engaged with the opening and a second position, where the sealing member is engaged with the opening and the resilient member is not flexed.
In one aspect, a slide lock may be disposed on the closeable flap portion to engage with the lid portion and secure the closeable flap portion in the second position.
In another aspect, a reclosable lid is provided including a lid portion defining an opening to dispense the contents of a container, and a closeable flap portion including a sealing member and a resilient member. The closeable flap portion is pivotable between a first position, where the resilient member is in a flexed state and the sealing member is away from the opening and a second position, where the sealing member is engaged with the opening and the resilient member is in an unflexed state. A slide lock, including a tab, disposed on the closeable flap portion is also provided. The tab is configured to engage a corresponding slot on the lid portion when the closeable flap portion is in the second position.
In yet another aspect, a reclosable lid is provided including a lid portion defining an opening and including a spout and a handle positioned diametrically opposed substantially on a circumference of the lid portion, and a grippable section formed on a diameter of the lid portion between the spout and handle. The reclosable lid also includes a closeable flap portion including a front end, a mid-section and a rear end, where the front end is configured to extend over the spout, the mid-section over the grippable section and the rear end over at least a portion of the handle when the closeable flap portion is in a closed position. The closeable flap portion includes a sealing member, a resilient member, and a hinge structure. The rear end of the closeable flap portion is depressable to cause the sealing member to rotate about the hinge structure away from the opening and place the resilient member in a compressed state to move the closeable flap portion to an opened position. A slide lock including a tab is disposed on the mid section of the closeable flap portion, where the tab is configured to mate with a corresponding slot on the lid portion to maintain the closeable flap portion in the closed position.
This brief summary has been provided so that the nature of this disclosure may be understood quickly. A more complete understanding of the disclosure can be obtained by reference to the following detailed description of the various embodiments thereof in connection with the attached drawings.
The foregoing features and other features of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings of an illustrated embodiment. In the drawings, the same components have the same reference numerals. The illustrated embodiment is intended to illustrate, but not to limit the disclosure. The drawings include the following Figures:
As shown in
Referring now to the embodiments shown in
In one embodiment, each of the surface features and structures are aligned along a diameter of the lid between the spout 112 and the handle 114. The alignment of the surface features and structures in this manner facilitates operation of the closable flap portion 106 using only one hand, if desired.
As shown in
Immediately adjacent the opening 204, toward the handle 114 side of the opening, a raised section 206 is formed on platform section 202. The raised section 206 is generally formed as a loop of material that provides a hand grippable section 118 (see
The raised section 206 is positioned at a height from platform section 202 that places the raised section 206 slightly below the height of spout 112 and handle 114. In this way, when closeable flap portion 106 is positioned on the raised section 206 as described below, the closeable flap portion 106 operationally mates properly with the spout 112, the handle 114 and other structures described below.
As shown in
Referring again to recloseable lid 100 or 100a, a channel 212, having guide walls 213, is formed on a portion of the platform section 202 immediately forward of handle 114. The channel 212 is configured to receive and engage with a resilient member provided on the closable flap portion 106, such as a spring mechanism or similarly resilient mechanism. The surface of the channel 212 including the guide walls 213 provides a reactive surface upon which the resilient member may be made to flex, bend or coil when an appropriate force is applied to the resilient member as described below.
Handle 114 defines an empty or hollowed section 214 that opens upward away from platform 202. The hollowed section 214 creates an empty space configured to receive a rear portion of the closable flap portion 106 when the closable flap portion 106 is made to rotate about hinge post 210 and open as described below. In one embodiment, the hollowed section 214 may include an abutment 216 used to impede or limit the travel of the closeable flap portion 106 within the hollowed section. The movement of the portion of the closeable flap portion 106 that enters the hollowed section is limited by the engagement of the rear end 314 of the closeable flap portion 106 and a surface of the abutment 216.
The closeable flap portion 106 includes a top wall or top surface 302 that extends the length of the closeable flap portion 106 upon which are surface features and structures configured to engage with the surface features and structures disposed on the lid portion 104 as described above.
In one embodiment, the top surface 302 includes a front end 304 that is sized and configured to fit over spout 112 (
The top surface 302 also includes a rear end 314 that includes a raised or upwardly curved surface feature 316. The raised surface feature 316 provides a resistive surface upon which a user's thumb or finger, for example, may be placed when the user is grasping handle 114. As described below, the resistive surface provides a surface upon which the user's thumb may catch or grasp to allow the user to depress the curved surface feature 316 on rear end 314 to force the rear end 314 into the hollowed section 214 of handle 114 allowing the front end 304 of the flap portion to pivot to the open position.
Inward of the front end 304, the closeable flap portion 106 includes a sealing member 306. The sealing member 306 that extends an appropriate length from the top surface 302 to come to rest over the opening 204 of lid portion 104 (
Adjacent the sealing member, the closeable flap portion 106 may include a lock groove 308 that is integrally cut, machined or formed into the top surface 302. The slide lock 108 may be snap-fit into the open channel 308 and allowed to move or slide within the lock groove 308. The lock groove 308 includes an open channel 310 configured to engage with a stem 309 of the slide lock 308 that terminates with an outwardly projecting tab 312 that generally points along the travel path of the slide lock 108. The lock groove 308 and corresponding open channel 310 may have a variety of cross sectional shapes, including but not limited to rectangular, square, and circular.
In one embodiment, the slide lock 108 is configured to engage with the lock groove 308 such that the stem 309 slides within the open channel 310 between a first or locked position and a second or unlocked position.
Movement of the slide lock 308 into the locked position is effectuated by moving the slide lock in a first direction that causes tab 312 to slide into and engage with the corresponding slot channel 208 (
Referring again to
As described below, the resilient member 318 extends into lid portion 104 such that the resilient member 318 is aligned with and made to engage with the surface of the channel 212 between guide walls 213. In operation, a properly placed downward force applied to the closeable flap portion 106 is reacted with a counter-force supplied by channel 212 to the resilient member 318 to cause the resilient member to compress, flex, bend or coil. The engagement between the resilient member and the channel creates a bias in the closeable flap portion 106 that generally returns the closeable flap portion 106 to the closed position if the downward force is not adequately maintained.
In
When in the closed position, the closeable flap portion 106 is engaged with the lid portion 104 to be able to positively seal or close the container body 103.
In operation, as shown in
One embodiment of the engagement between the opening 204 and the sealing member 306 is shown in
Referring again to
Referring to recloseable lid 10a, when closeable flap portion 106 is closed, slide lock 108 may be deployed to “lock” the closeable flap portion 106 and keep the closeable flap portion from opening. Generally, a user may grasp the grippable section 118, such that with the user's thumb is positioned on the exterior portion of the slide lock 108. Advantageously, the user can manipulate the slide lock 108 with a single hand.
In one embodiment, the stem 309 of slide lock 108 is configured to slide within the open channel 310 and move along the lock groove 308 between a first or locked position and a second or unlocked position.
As shown in
Referring again to
In operation, to cause the locked closeable flap portion 106 of recloseable lid 100a to open as shown in
With reference to
As long as the rear end 314 of closeable flap portion 106 remains pushed downward, the front end remains open. Therefore, to hold the closeable flap portion 106 in the open position, the downward force on the rear end 314 is maintained to overcome the biasing force generated by the flexed resilient member 318. It should be understood that the closeable flap portion 106 automatically returns to the closed position in the absence of an appropriate counter-force to the biasing force.
Once the user removes the counter-force from rear end 314, the resilient member 318 may unfold to force the closeable flap portion 106 to counter-rotate (arrow 412) about hinge structure 402 back to the closed position.
Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to specific embodiments, these embodiments are illustrative only and not limiting. Many other applications and embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent in light of this disclosure and the following claims.
Claims
1. A reclosable lid comprising:
- a lid portion defining an opening to dispense the contents of a container; and
- a closeable flap portion including a sealing member and a resilient member, the closeable flap portion pivotable between a first position where the resilient member is flexed and the sealing member is not engaged with the opening and a second position where the sealing member is engaged with the opening and the resilient member is not flexed.
2. The reclosable lid of claim 1, wherein the lid portion further comprises a spout and a handle, wherein the handle and the spout are positioned diametrically opposed substantially on a circumference of the lid portion.
3. The reclosable lid of claim 1, further comprising a slide lock disposed on the closeable flap portion to engage with the lid portion and secure the closeable flap portion in the second position.
4. The reclosable lid of claim 3, wherein the slide lock comprises a tab, wherein the tab is configured to engage a corresponding slot on the lid portion when the closeable flap portion is in the second position.
5. The reclosable lid of claim 1, wherein the closeable flap portion further comprises a front end that forms a seal over a spout formed on the lid portion when in the second position.
6. The reclosable lid of claim 1, wherein the closeable flap portion comprises a depressable rear end configured to be pushed to cause the closeable flap portion to move from the second position to the first position.
7. The reclosable lid of claim 1, wherein the closeable flap portion comprises a depressable rear end configured to be pushed to cause the resilient member to flex.
8. The reclosable lid of claim 1, wherein the resilient member comprises a silicone spring.
9. The reclosable lid of claim 1, wherein the lid portion further comprises a grippable section forming a handle.
10. The reclosable lid of claim 1, wherein the lid portion comprises threads for mating with corresponding threads on a container to secure the lid portion to the container.
11. A reclosable lid comprising:
- a lid portion defining an opening to dispense the contents of a container;
- a closeable flap portion including a sealing member and a resilient member, the closeable flap portion pivotable between a first position where the resilient member is in a flexed state and the sealing member is away from the opening and a second position where the sealing member is engaged with the opening and the resilient member is in an unflexed state; and
- a slide lock including a tab disposed on the closeable flap portion, the tab configured to engage a corresponding slot on the lid portion when the closeable flap portion is in the second position.
12. The reclosable lid of claim 11, wherein the lid portion further comprises a spout and a handle, wherein the handle and the spout are positioned diametrically opposed substantially on a circumference of the lid portion.
13. The reclosable lid of claim 11, wherein the lid portion further comprises a grippable section forming a handle.
14. The reclosable lid of claim 11, wherein the closeable flap portion further comprises a front end that forms a seal over a spout formed on the lid portion when in the second position.
15. The reclosable lid of claim 11, wherein the closeable flap portion comprises a depressable rear end configured to be pushed to cause the closeable flap portion to move from the second position to the first position.
16. The reclosable lid of claim 11, wherein the closeable flap portion comprises a depressable rear end configured to be pushed to cause the resilient member to flex.
17. The reclosable lid of claim 11, wherein the resilient member comprises a silicone spring.
18. The reclosable lid of claim 11, wherein the lid portion comprises threads for mating with corresponding threads on a container to secure the lid portion to the container.
19. A reclosable lid comprising:
- a lid portion defining an opening and including a spout and a handle positioned diametrically opposed substantially on a circumference of the lid portion, and a grippable section formed on a diameter of the lid portion between the spout and handle;
- a closeable flap portion including a front end, a mid-section and a rear end, the front end configured to extend over the spout, the mid-section over the grippable section and the rear end over at least a portion of the handle when the closeable flap portion is in a closed position, the closeable flap portion including a sealing member, a resilient member, and a hinge structure, the rear end of the closeable flap portion depressable to cause the sealing member to rotate about the hinge structure away from the opening and place the resilient member in a compressed state to move the closeable flap portion from the closed position to an opened position; and
- a slide lock including a tab disposed on the mid section of the closeable flap portion, the tab configured to mate with a corresponding slot on the lid portion to maintain the closeable flap portion in the closed position.
20. The reclosable lid of claim 19, wherein the resilient member is configured to return to an unflexed state to cause the sealing member to pivot about the hinge structure to engage and seal the opening and to cause the front end to form a seal over the spout.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 10, 2009
Publication Date: Mar 10, 2011
Inventors: Hiroshi Taketani (Toyonaka-City), Nobuhiro Iwamura (Toyonaka-City)
Application Number: 12/556,814
International Classification: B65D 25/28 (20060101); B65D 51/04 (20060101);