Apparatus for securing gasket prior to lid installation
A lid for a container forming an upper rim portion. The lid comprises a central portion and a peripheral skirt portion forming a downwardly disposed channel extending around the periphery of the lid. The channel is adapted to overlie the container upper rim portion and to hold a sealing gasket therein at an upper portion of the channel. The skirt portion forms a plurality of bendable flaps extending within said channel, each of which being movable from a first position wherein each said flap extends across a portion of said channel preventing said gasket from falling out of the channel to a second position wherein each said flap is positioned within a relief pocket formed within said skirt wall. Each flap is urged from said first position to said second position by the rim of the container as it is inserted within said channel and pressed into engagement with said gasket. The flap may be inserted in a clearance fit within said pocket and remains in said pocket once urged therein by said rim portion. Alternately each flap may be pressed into friction fit engagement within said pocket and is fixed within said pocket once pressed therein.
This invention relates to plastic containers, and in particular, to lids for such containers and a system for securing a sealing gasket within the lid prior to installation on a container.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONFor certain uses of plastic containers, it is known and desirable to use an additional sealing means (such as a gasket or o-ring or the like) between the container upper rim and the downward groove formed around the periphery of the lid which is adapted to overlay the rim. In order to avoid gasket damage caused by inadvertent removal from the lid, it is desirable that gaskets be held firmly in lids during transportation and handling of lids regardless of lid stacking orientation. Known lids using additional seals such as gaskets or the like do not provide means to effectively secure the gasket within the downward peripheral groove of the lid in an economical and efficient manner nor do they secure the gasket in a way which causes no further significant interference or additional tensions between lid and container once they are assembled together.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the invention to provide a means to secure a gasket within an lid prior to installation of said lid on a container in an efficient and improved manner.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention there is provided a lid for a container, said container forming an upper rim portion, the lid comprising: a central portion and a peripheral skirt portion forming a downwardly disposed channel extending around the periphery of said lid, said channel adapted to overlie the container upper rim portion and to hold a sealing gasket therein, said skirt portion forming a plurality of bendable flaps extending within said channel, each of which is movable from a first position wherein each said flap extends across a portion of said channel preventing said gasket from falling out of the channel to a second position wherein each said flap is positioned within a relief pocket formed within said skirt wall.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, each said flap is urged from said first position to said second position by said upper rim portion as said upper rim portion is inserted within said channel as the channel overlies the upper rim portion, the gasket being positioned above said flap and pocket.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSPreferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
In an example embodiment a plastic container lid (10) is disclosed for a container (12), the container having an upper peripheral rim portion (15) and upper and lower locking flanges (18, 20) around its upper peripheral rim portion for locking engagement with the lid. The lid has a central portion (14) and a peripheral skirt portion (16) which forms downwardly disposed peripheral channel (19) which is adapted to overlie the container upper rim portion (15) and to hold a sealing gasket (21) therein at an upper portion of said channel at a position above said upper rim portion. The skirt portion forms a plurality of bendable flaps (22) extending within said channel, each of which being movable from a first position (best shown in
As can be best seen in
In an example embodiment, the flaps are approximately ½ inch wide and long and 0.03 inches thick, although it should be understood that the size and thickness of each flap may be varied and such variations are within the scope of this invention.
In the embodiment shown, the flap (22) in the first position extends across only a portion of the channel (19), and leaves an open portion of the channel. This open portion allows gasket (21) to pass through upon slight compression of the gasket away from wall (17) toward the side of the channel opposite wall (17).
Any gasket, such as an o-ring or the like may be used in accordance with the invention, provided that it is sized to fit within the container lid channel (19). In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the gasket is compressible and resilient returning to its original shape (as shown in
The shape and geometry of the relief pocket is influenced by the resilience of the material used. For lids made of less resilient materials, flaps (22a) preferably have a clearance fit as shown in
For lids made of a resilient material, the relief pockets (25) must have some means of holding the flaps (22) in place once bent therein by the upper rim portion (15), as the resilience/elasticity of the flap will give them a tendency to snap back out. The embodiment shown in
In the embodiment of the lid and container shown in the drawings, the skirt portion forms a peripheral groove (30) dividing the skirt into an upper portion (32) and a lower tear-off strip portion (34). The upper portion has intermittent locking flange segments (36) for engaging the upper locking flange, formed from the bottom of the upper rim portion. The tear-off strip portion has a second locking flange (38) for engaging the other of the container locking flanges. As can be seen in
In the preferred embodiment as shown in the drawings, a gasket (21), such as a compressible o-ring seal, is installed within the channel (19). In order to ensure that the gasket does not fall out of the channel, additional holding means such as flaps (22) or (22a) are positioned between adjacent locking flange segments (36). In the embodiments shown in the Figures, openings (40), located on either side of the intermittent locking flange segments (36), allow flexing the portion of the intermittent locking flange segment to clear the container upper locking flange (18) and allow the lid to be removed. If more locking flange segments (36) were introduced than that of the embodiments shown in the Figures, the lid skirt would become more rigid and would make removal of the lid more difficult.
As can be seen in
Variations in the nature of the opening (40) are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,635 to Ciccone, said patent being incorporated herein by reference. For example opening (40), may be covered with a thin membrane which can tear as priable portions are pried upwardly, or, if windows (40) are made thicker, they can stretch elastically and act as springs to help return priable portions to the locking position. The membranes of windows (40) typically are about 0.2 to 0.5 mm (0.008 to 0.020 inches) thick, and prevent dirt or other foreign matter from entering windows (40) and collecting on flange (20). If desired, membrane windows (40) can have strengthening or reinforcing ribs especially if it is desired that the membranes not tear upon the lifting of priable portions. With ribs, priable portions will more readily resume their original shape after being lifted.
A variation in the opening includes a membrane having an opening therethrough bordering on the annular groove (30). The removal of tear-off strip portion (34) thus leaves downwardly disposed open, inverted V-shaped open notches on either side of the locking flange segments (36) to make the lifting of priable portions easier. The openings or notches can be any shape or configuration desired, even narrow vertical slits, if it is desired to prevent dirt or debris from passing through openings (40).
Preferably flaps (22) may be positioned around the periphery of the lid at regularly spaced intervals. Preferably flaps (22) are positioned between locking flange segments. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, two flaps (22) are positioned between adjacent locking flange segments (36). As best seen in
In the embodiments shown in the Figures, the added flaps hold the gasket in place until the lid is installed on the container for the first time. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 to 7 and the embodiment of
A lid incorporating flaps and relief pockets in accordance with the herein invention has approximately the same volume and weight as a similar lid without such flaps. The design does not add or remove a considerable amount of material from a comparable lid rather it just molds it in a different shape. This aspect is relevant for cases where the volume or the weight of the lid is an important feature. Other than the added weight of the gasket, the new lid weighs approximately the same as a comparable lid without said flaps, molded therein. For example, the lid as shown in drawings would be similar in weight to the lid shown in International Patent Application PCT/CA00/01406 having a publication number WO/0140070, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Another aspect of this invention relates to the geometry of the tool used to inject the lid with flaps. As can be seen in
Although the Figures show a particular embodiment of a lid and container, it should be understood that the invention herein may be utilized with any lid for a container, the container forming an upper rim portion, the lid comprising a central portion and a peripheral skirt portion forming a downwardly disposed channel extending around the periphery of said lid, the channel adapted to overlie the container upper rim portion and to hold a sealing gasket therein at an upper portion of said channel at a position above said upper rim portion, said skirt portion forming a plurality of bendable flaps extending within said channel, each of which being movable from a first position wherein each said flap extends across a portion of said channel preventing said gasket from falling out of the channel to a second position wherein each said flap is positioned within a relief pocket formed within said skirt wall, urged there by the rim portion of the container as it is inserted into the channel. It should be further understood that the lid of the herein invention may be circular or rectangular or square or other suitable shape.
As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following claims.
Claims
1. A lid for a container, said container forming an upper rim portion, the lid comprising: a central portion and a peripheral skirt portion forming a downwardly disposed channel extending around the periphery of said lid, said channel adapted to overlie the container upper rim portion and to hold a sealing gasket therein at an upper portion of said channel at a position above said upper rim portion when said channel overlies said upper rim portion, said skirt portion forming a plurality of bendable flaps extending within said channel, each of which being movable from a first position wherein each said flap extends across a portion of said channel preventing said gasket from falling out of the channel to a second position wherein each said flap is positioned within a relief pocket formed within said skirt wall.
2. A lid as recited in claim 1 wherein each said flap is urged from said first position to said second position by said rim as said rim is inserted within said channel and pressed into engagement with said gasket.
3. A lid as recited in claim 1 wherein said flap extends from said skirt portion at a position below said pocket, and may be bent from said first position into said pocket by said rim portion as it is inserted within said channel.
4. A lid as recited in claim 1 wherein said flap is inserted in a clearance fit within said pocket and remains in said pocket once urged therein by said rim portion.
5. A lid as recited in claim 1 wherein said lid is formed of resilient material, with each said flap being resiliently biased in said first position.
6. A lid as recited in claim 5 wherein each said flap is pressed into friction fit engagement within said pocket and is fixed within said pocket once pressed therein by said rim portion, as said rim is inserted within said channel.
7. A lid as recited in claim 6 wherein an portion of the skirt forming an upper portion of the pocket, is downwardly tapered as it extends outwardly from within said pocket, said upper portion of the pocket engages in friction fit an upper portion of said flap within said pocket, thereby securing said flap within said pocket.
8. A lid as recited in claim 1 wherein said flaps are positioned around the periphery of the lid at regularly spaced intervals.
9. A lid as recited in claim 1 wherein the container further includes upper and lower peripheral, annular outwardly disposed locking flanges, said flanges having undersides for locking engagement with the container lid, the downwardly disposed channel of the lid further adapted to overlie the container locking flanges and the peripheral skirt portion further defining a peripheral groove dividing said skirt into a skirt upper portion located adjacent to the container upper locking flange, and a lower tear-off strip portion located adjacent to the container lower locking flange; the skirt upper portion having inwardly disposed intermittent locking flange segments adapted to engage the underside of the container upper locking flange; the skirt upper portion also being formed with thin membrane windows therein on either side of the locking flange segments and bordering on the peripheral groove; and the tear-off strip portion defining an inwardly disposed locking flange adapted to engage the underside of the container lower locking flange, so that removal of the tear-off strip portion leaves downwardly disposed thin membrane notches on either side of the locking flange segments, the flaps being formed on the upper skirt portion.
10. A lid as recited in claim 9 wherein a pair of said flaps are positioned at regularly spaced intervals between adjacent locking flange segments.
11. A lid as claimed in claim 1 wherein the thin membrane windows are formed with openings therethrough bordering on the annular groove, so that removal of the tear-off strip portion leaves downwardly disposed open notches on either side of the locking flange segments.
12. A lid as claimed in claim 1 wherein the thin membrane are formed with strengthening ribs therein.
13. A lid as claimed in claim 1 wherein the periphery of the lid and container is rectangular.
14. A lid as claimed in claim 1 wherein the periphery of lid and container is circular.
15. A lid as claimed in claim 1 wherein in said first position each said flap extends across said portion of said channel preventing said gasket from falling out of the channel, and leaves an open portion which allows the gasket to be inserted through into said channel if slightly compressed away from said flap.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 4, 2004
Publication Date: Dec 8, 2005
Inventor: Vince Ciccone (Kleinburg)
Application Number: 10/860,842