CLOSEABLE SILICON CONTAINER
The present invention is a container for storing products, comprising a base made substantially of silicon comprising an inner area for containing products, the base having an outer wall of a particular perimeter, the base having a rim at the very top thereof, and a cover made substantially of silicon comprising a wall extending around the outer perimeter thereof which encloses the rim and the top of the base, the cover also having a lip on the inside thereof which is parallel to the wall thereof, whereby when the cover is placed on the base, the rim of the base is gripped between the lip on the inside of the cover and the wall on the cover to hold the cover in place. Due to the fact that the container is comprised substantially of silicon, substantially all of the products placed therein will be useable such that there will be no remnants of the product left over.
The present invention generally relates to closeable containers in which items are stored. More specifically, the present invention is drawn to a container made of silicon or other material with which allow the contents thereof not to adhere thereto, so that all of the contents will be useable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONPrior art containers for cosmetics, medicines, food, and other items are well known in the art. An issue with some of these containers is that as the products placed within the container are used, due to the material on the walls of the container, the last remaining bits of the product contained within the container will adhere to the container's walls, making the last bit of product essentially unusable especially if the container is small.
Likewise, merely making a container out of a non-adherent material such as silicon or coating a container with an anti-adherent coating on all surfaces thereof does not remedy this issue completely, as when a container is made out of a substance such as silicon, it is very flexible and difficult for a simple screw on cover to keep the container closed.
SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSA preferred embodiment of the present invention is a container having a body made substantially of silicon onto which traditional screw-on threads are fabricated onto the upper outside thereof proximate the rim. In a preferred embodiment, the threaded area has a smaller outer circumference (if the container is round) or a smaller outer perimeter (if the container is any other shape) than the immediately adjacent body container. The threaded area of the body of the container also has an upper rim that extends around the entire upper part thereof. In a preferred embodiment, a shoulder is formed where the outer perimeter of the body of the container steps down to the smaller outer perimeter of the threaded area of the body.
In order to make the body of the container closeable, in a preferred embodiment, the container has a separate silicon cover that is fabricated to completely cover the opening of the body of the container. In an embodiment, the cover may be fixably attached to the body of the container. In a preferred embodiment, the cover has the same is configured so that it has the same outside circumference (if the container is round) or the same perimeter (if the container is any other shape) as the circumference/perimeter of the body of the container proximate to where the cover is mounted. If the threaded area of the body tapers, the cover will taper reciprocally.
In a preferred embodiment, the cover has a wall extending from the inside top edge thereof, the wall being substantially the same depth as the height of the threaded upper area of the body of the container. The inside of the cover's wall contains threads corresponding to the threads on the upper area of the container so that the cover may be screwed on the container using the threads. In a preferred embodiment, the cover also has a lip on the inside of the cover that is substantially parallel to the wall of the cover. The lip is located on the inside of the cover so that when the cover is screwed onto the body of the container, it is immediately adjacent and touching the entire inside perimeter of the rim of the container. In a preferred embodiment, the lip is configured so that it partially extends past the rim and into the mouth of the container such that when the cover is mounted onto the body of the container, the rim of the body of the container is held in place between the lip and the inside wall of the cover.
In an embodiment of the present invention, when the cover is fully engaged on the body of the container, the outer wall of the cover rests on top of the outermost shoulder of the body of the container directly below the threaded area. The cover is placed upon the container either by screwing it on or by snapping the cover on so that it is in full contact with the rim of the threaded end of the container. In this manner, the container will remain closed. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, there are no threads on either the container or the lid and the lid is held in place on the container solely by the lip on the inside of the lid which holds the rim of the container between the lip and the wall extending from the lid.
Due to the fact that the container is fabricated of silicon or other non-adherent material, the contents that are placed within the container will not permanently stick thereto so that all of the contents may be removed with little to no residue left inside the container. In a preferred embodiment, the container of the present invention can be any shape so long as there is at least an inner lip and parallel wall on the cover which will grip onto the rim of the body of the container to hold the cover in place. In other embodiments, another means of affixing the cover to the container may be used such as, but not limited to, snapping, hooking or some other semi-permanent affixing means.
A detailed description of the invention will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings, where like numerals refer to like parts and in which:
In the following descriptions of the invention, terms such as “top”, “bottom,” first “end” and “second end”, “horizontal”, “longitudinal”, and the like are used herein merely for ease of description and refer to the orientation of the components shown in the figures and are not meant to limit the invention in any way.
Generally, the present invention may be briefly described as follows. Referring first to
Referring more specifically to
In an embodiment of the present invention, the upper portion 16 has one or more spiraled threads 18 thereon. In alternate embodiments (not shown), the upper portion 16 of container base 12 does not have spiraled threads 18. In further alternate embodiments (not shown) the cover has alternate means of enclosing the container base 12 such as, but not limited to snaps, hooks, and the like.
Referring next to
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the inside surface 24 of the cover 14 also comprises a lip 28 which is parallel to the wall 26. Lip 28 is fabricated so that its perimeter is slightly smaller than the perimeter of the rim 20 of container base 12 so that when the cover 14 is placed on top of container base 12, lip 28 will rest directly against the inside of rim 20. In a preferred embodiment, when the cover is closed the rim 20 will be pinched between the wall 26 and lip 28 of the cover 14 so that the cover is rests tightly on container base 12.
When the container base 12 and the cover 14 are fabricated wholly of silicon, they become flexible. Thus, the inner lip 28 on the cover 14 allows the cover to stay in place as it causes the rim 20 of the base 12 to be gripped tightly between the lip 28 and the wall 26 of the cover.
In a preferred embodiment such as shown in
Referring next to
The presently disclosed embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims, rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. The embodiments and methods described above are exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art may now make numerous uses of, and departures from, the above-described embodiments without departing from the inventive concepts disclosed herein. Thus, the construction of the embodiments disclosed herein are not limitations of the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is to be defined solely by the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. A container for storing, comprising:
- a base having an area therein for containing, the base having an outer wall of a particular perimeter, and an area near the top thereof of a smaller perimeter corresponding to the shape of the base, whereby a shoulder is formed where the reduction of perimeter is fabricated, the base having a rim at the very top thereof;
- a cover having the same perimeter as the top area of base, the cover having a wall extending around the outer perimeter thereof which encloses the top area of the base, the cover also having a lip on the inside thereof which is parallel to the wall thereof;
- whereby when the cover is placed on the base, the rim of the base is gripped between the lip on the inside of the cover and the wall on the cover to hold the cover in place.
2. The container of claim 1, further comprising threads on the base thereof and corresponding threads on the cover thereof, such that the cover is threaded onto the base to enclose the inside of the base.
3. The container of claim 1, wherein the base is made wholly of silicon.
4. The container of claim 1 wherein the cover is made wholly of silicon.
5. The container of claim 1, wherein the base has no seams.
6. The container of claim 1 wherein all of the surfaces which come into contact with whatever may be stored within the container are fabricated of a non-adherent material.
7. A container for storing products, comprising:
- a base made substantially of silicon comprising an inner area for containing products, the base having an outer wall of a particular perimeter, the base having a rim at the very top thereof;
- a cover made substantially of silicon comprising a wall extending around the outer perimeter thereof which encloses the rim and the top of the base, the cover also having a lip on the inside thereof which is parallel to the wall thereof;
- whereby when the cover is placed on the base, the rim of the base is gripped between the lip on the inside of the cover and the wall on the cover to hold the cover in place.
8. The container of claim 7, further comprising threads on the base thereof directly below the rim and corresponding threads on the inside of the wall of the cover thereof, such that the cover is threaded onto the base to enclose the inside of the base.
9. The container of claim 7 wherein the base further comprises a lower outer wall of a particular perimeter, and an upper outer wall of a smaller perimeter, whereby a shoulder is formed where the reduction of perimeter is fabricated, whereby when the cover is placed on the base, the wall of the cover will fully enclose the upper outer wall of the base, and the rim of the wall of the cover will rest against the shoulder on the outside of the base.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 17, 2013
Publication Date: Oct 23, 2014
Inventor: Jonathan Braveman (Scottsdale, AZ)
Application Number: 13/864,811
International Classification: B65D 25/00 (20060101); B65D 41/04 (20060101);