Container having a Changeable Sealed Volume
A container (10) having a base (11), a lid (12) and a press (14). The base (11) and the lid (12) are removably connectable together to define an interior space. With the base (11) and the lid (12) connected together, the press engages the inside surface of the base (11) to form a substantially sealed chamber (32) within the interior space. The press (14) is movable within the interior space to change the volume of the chamber (32) through relative rotation between at least two of the base (11), the lid (12) and the press (14).
The present invention relates to containers for the storage of substances, in particular granular, ground or powdered substances, such as coffee.
The present invention has been developed principally for the storage of ground or granular coffee, and it will therefore be convenient to describe the background of the invention with that foodstuff in mind. However, it is to be appreciated that the present invention has wider application beyond coffee, and beyond foodstuffs, such as for the storage of medications or chemicals for example.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONImproper storage of coffee grindings or granules can reduce the flavour and aroma of the coffee. Several different options for storage of coffee are available, including coffee containers, such as plastic, glass or metallic containers, or flexible storage bags. However, these options often allow exposure of the coffee to air even when the container is closed.
It is generally accepted that exposure to air is a significant factor in the degradation of coffee. Accordingly, coffee storage containers generally attempt to minimise the amount of air to which the coffee is exposed. Attempts in the past have involved airtight containers. In some forms, these involve plastic, glass or metallic containers which have an airtight closure and which prevent the coffee within the container being exposed to air other than to the air that is retained within the container.
Such containers can include means to create a vacuum within the container, and while that reduces the air exposure further, there nevertheless remains an amount of air that is not removed.
Other solutions involve storing coffee in vacuum sealed flexible containers such as aluminium foil containers that are vacuum sealed when the coffee is packaged. This latter solution provides by some standards, acceptable storage for coffee during transport and sale, but once the container is opened, the coffee is generally again subject to exposure to any air that remains within the container when it is subsequently closed. These types of containers sometimes include a resealable opening, so that air can be expelled prior to resealing, but the operation of resealing is often difficult and requires some manual dexterity. Otherwise, these containers are often just folded over, which provides very little barrier to the ingress of air into the container.
EP 0638274 discloses a storage container for coffee powder, which includes a main vessel that is closed by a lid and a spring biased plate that is biased into engagement with the coffee in the container. The container includes a discharge opening in the base of the vessel. The plate engages and seals against the inside surface of the vessel and compresses the coffee, urging it towards the discharge opening.
The container of EP 0638274 can limit the amount of air to which the coffee is exposed, by sealing against the inside surface of the vessel and by removing air above the coffee. Also, by applying pressure to the coffee, the coffee is compressed, thereby expelling air from the coffee. However, the construction of the container does not allow removal of the coffee in the normal manner through the top of the container, but rather, coffee is removed through the discharge opening, which itself adds a complication and cost to the container and a component that could allow for air ingress, while it also requires cleaning. For the foregoing reasons, the container of EP 0638274 is considered to be for commercial use rather than domestic use.
Moreover, as the volume of coffee within the container of EP 0638274 diminishes, so does the biasing load on the coffee, so that as the volume decreases, the likelihood of air exposure increases due to the reduced tendency to expel air from the coffee.
Given the above described difficulties in maintaining ground or granular coffee in good condition, some revert to purchasing coffee beans and grinding the beans just prior to brewing the coffee. While this results in fresher coffee for brewing, the downside is that the coffee is more time consuming to make and results usually in more mess and waste.
It would be desirable to provide a container which overcomes or at least alleviates one or more of the foregoing disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a container having:
-
- a base,
- a lid,
- a press,
the base and lid being removably connectable together to define an interior space,
with the base and lid connected together, the press engages the inside surface of the base to form a substantially sealed chamber within the interior space between the press and the base, the press being movable within the interior space to change the volume of the chamber through relative rotation between at least two of the base, the lid and the press.
A container according to the invention advantageously is simple to operate and can be arranged to cause the press to engage the foodstuff within the chamber in order to apply a compressive load to the foodstuff. As will be appreciated, applying a compressive load to a foodstuff can operate to expel air from both around the foodstuff and potentially from the foodstuff itself. As will further be appreciated, this is particularly advantageous when the foodstuff is coffee.
The potential to bring the press into engagement with the foodstuff so that air that would otherwise reside above the foodstuff towards the lid can be expelled, distinguishes the invention from containers which simply have a lid that closes at the same position each time, and which allows a layer of air to always reside between the foodstuff and the lid. A container according to the invention can thus provide benefits over existing containers, particularly those used for containing coffee, by minimising the exposure of the coffee to air, which can result in the coffee retaining its freshness, aroma and flavour for longer.
A container can be so arranged so that the press is movable relative to the lid to change the volume of the chamber. For this, the press can be threadably connected to the lid, such that with the base and lid connected together, relative rotation between the press and the lid causes movement of the press within the interior space and a change in volume of the chamber. A particular advantage of this arrangement is that the container is easily operable by simple rotation of the press. A suitable grip arrangement can be employed with the press to facilitate rotation of the press, if it is the press to be rotated rather than the lid, and the grip arrangement can include suitable finger openings or finger lugs for that purpose.
An alternative is to provide the lid as movable relative to the base in order to shift the press within the interior space and to change the volume of the chamber. In this arrangement, the lid can be threadably connected to the base, such that relative rotation between the lid and the base causes movement of the press within the interior space. In this arrangement, the press can be connected to the lid in any suitable manner to move lengthwise with the lid, or indeed the press can be formed integrally with the lid.
In order to increase the speed and convenience of the container when the arrangement is for the lid to be connected through a threaded arrangement to the base so that the lid is rotated relative to the base to position the press within the interior space, the threaded arrangement can comprise a main thread which is formed on one of the base and a lid and a thread engagement portion provided on the other of the base and the lid. It is not important which of the lid and base includes either of these components. However, the main thread can include a slot or slots which extend lengthwise through the thread to allow for passage of the thread engagement portion or portions through the main thread. This arrangement permits the thread engagement portion or portions to be moved quickly through the main thread by passage through the slot or slots, to position the press within the interior space. Thereafter, the lid can be rotated relative to the base to threadably engage the thread engagement portion or portions with the main thread. With that engagement, both the lid and press are secured in position relative to the base, while the amount of rotation required between them is minimised without employing a complicated mechanism.
Any number of slots can be provided in the above arrangement, with the preferred arrangement being two or three slots, which are preferably equidistantly spaced about the base or lid.
The above arrangement can also employ a multi-start thread, with the preferred form of thread being a four start thread where three slots are employed, or a three start thread where two slots are employed. However, two or greater than four start threads can also be employed. Alternatively, non-continuous threads can be used.
In the above arrangement in which slots are employed in a main thread, it is appropriate for the main thread to provide for further movement of the lid upon engagement of the thread engagement portions with the main thread. Accordingly, in this arrangement, the press can be moved close to or into a point of first engagement with the foodstuff within the chamber by movement of the thread engagement portion or portions through the slot or slots of the main thread. Thereafter, rotation of the lid relative to the base to engage the thread engagement portion or portions with the slot or slots of the main thread causes further but only small movement of the lid and therefore also the press, so that the press can firmly engage the foodstuff.
In some arrangements, it is appropriate for the press to be movable relative to the lid as well as the lid being movable relative to the base. Thus, shifting of the press can occur through movement of any of the base, lid or press relative to each other, so that the position of the press within the interior space can be precisely made. Threaded connection of the press to the lid is considered the preferred connection.
In some arrangements, the connection between the lid and the base can be available at two lengthwise or axially spaced apart positions. This arrangement advantageously can enable the container to adopt two configurations in which the volume of the interior space is different, so that the larger volume can be adopted when the chamber is to be filled, and when a sufficient amount of the foodstuff has been removed, the container can adopt the reduced volume. This enables the container to reduce the extent to which the press has to be moved within the interior space as foodstuff is removed, so that the press can be of a shorter length than otherwise required and so that the container can have a more compact construction.
In the above arrangement, it is preferred that the press be movable relative to the lid to provide adjustment of the volume of the chamber between the two different configurations described above. Thus, major changes in the interior space volume can be made by shifting the lid relative to the base between the two lengthwise spaced apart positions, while further adjustment can be made by movement of the press relative to the lid.
The container can include a lid having a pair of coaxial wall portions which define an annular cavity into which the wall of the base can extend. As discussed above, the base can be positioned lengthwise relative to the lid by engagement of the base wall and this can occur within the annular cavity at at least two axially spaced positions of engagement within the annular cavity.
The connections at the lengthwise spaced apart positions can take any suitable form, but in one form they can comprise a projection which extends from one of the lid and the base which is received within a recess provided in the other of the lid and the base. In one arrangement, insertion of the projection into the recess can be by relative rotation between the lid and the base.
It is preferred that the projection be a frictional fit within the recess, to securely fix the lid relative to the base.
In some arrangements, the engagement between the press and the inside surface of the base permits escape of air from within the chamber as the volume of the chamber reduces upon movement of the press within the interior space relative to the base. This arrangement allows for the expulsion of air from within the chamber, as the press approaches the surface of the foodstuff and is advantageous in eliminating air exposure to the foodstuff.
While the escape of air can occur at the junction between the press and the inside surface of the base, in the alternative or in addition, the container can include an exhaust opening which allows for exhaust of air within the chamber as the volume of the chamber reduces. The opening can extend through the press and can be closable by a plug.
An opening of the above kind can also include a valve, which permits escape of air from within the chamber as the volume of the chamber reduces, but which substantially resists ingress of air into the chamber through the opening. This arrangement therefore permits air to escape as required, but does not allow reintroduction of air after the press has been properly positioned. All of this contributes to reducing the air exposure to the foodstuff in order to maintain the foodstuff fresh. The valve may be arranged to allow air to enter the chamber under certain circumstances, such as during removal of the press from within the interior space to access the foodstuff within the chamber. Thus the one way action of the valve may be disabled under certain circumstances, such as manually by the person operating the container, or it may include a mechanism for providing passage of air in both directions, i.e. into and out of the chamber.
The opening can also include a filter to resist ingress of foodstuff within the chamber into the opening. Where the container is used with ground coffee, the filter can resist the ingress of coffee into the opening so that the seal between the plug and the opening is not fouled.
An alternative to the use of relative rotation between at least two of the base, the lid and the press, is to employ a linear arrangement or at least substantially linear arrangement. In one form of this type of arrangement, a ratchet and pawl system can be employed. In one form of this arrangement, the press can be attached to a ratchet member, such as a rod, which carries or is formed with a ratchet. The ratchet member can extend through the lid and be in cooperation with the pawl. In this arrangement, the ratchet member can be pressed downwardly to shift the press downwardly within the base and away from lid to reduce the volume of the chamber, by ratcheting relative to the pawl. When the pawl has been positioned as required, the pawl will lock the ratchet member in place and the press will be secured in position within the base.
To return the press to a position at or closer to the lid, for example when the container has been filled with a foodstuff and the chamber volume is to be maximised or increased, the pawl can be manually disengaged from the ratchet member to allow displacement of the ratchet member relative to the pawl. By this action, the press can be retracted back to or towards the lid.
The above arrangement is simple and effective in allowing the press to be appropriately positioned within the base, such as against a foodstuff within the container. All that is necessary is for the ratchet member to be pressed downwardly until the press engages the foodstuff. The pawl will then hold the ratchet member and thus the press in place. The lid, ratchet member and press can be removed together for access to the foodstuff, after which they can be reconnected to/within the base. If sufficient foodstuff has been removed, the ratchet member and press can be depressed further, by pressing the ratchet member relative to the pawl, to shift the press downwardly within the base, to engage the press with the foodstuff. The ratchet member will then be locked by the pawl in the new position.
The ratchet member need not extend centrally through the lid, but could extend eccentrically, for example, along one wall of the base.
A further alternative to the use of relative rotation between at least two of the base, the lid and the press, is to secure the press relative to the lid and to allow for the lid and press to shift within the base from the inner end of the base, to at or adjacent the open end. The lid and press can be integrally formed. A mechanism to secure the lid and press within the base can include an arrangement in which the lid or press engages with the inside surface of the base to secure the lid and press within the base. In one arrangement, a mechanism to allow expansion and contraction of the circumference of the lid and or the press can be employed, so that in the expanded condition, the lid and press are secured within the base at the desired position. The mechanism can be employed to contract the circumference when the lid and press are to be removed from the base, to allow access to within base, or to be shifted within the base.
The mechanism can take any suitable form. In one form the lid and press is of a flexible material, that in a relaxed state, is of a size to engage the inside surface of the base sufficiently to hold the lid and press in place relative to the base. In this form, an actuator can be employed to distort the flexible material in a manner to withdraw the lid and press from engagement with the inside surface of the base, or at least to reduce the engagement force, so that the lid and press can be removed from the base. The actuator can include an arrangement to apply an axial force to the lid and press which retracts the lid and press radially. Advantageously, this embodiment allows for substantially full travel of the lid and press through the height or depth of the base.
The present invention also provides a container having:
-
- a base defining an interior space and a press,
- the base and press being removably connectable together and in that connected condition, the press engaging the inside surface of the base to form a substantially sealed chamber within the interior space of the base, the press being movable within the interior space to change the volume of the chamber through relative rotation between the base and the press.
In a container of the above kind, a handle can be connected to the press and can be employed to cause relative rotation between the press and the base.
In one arrangement, the handle and base are connectable together when the press has been positioned within the interior space at the appropriate position. Thus, the operation of the device is to insert the press into the interior space to the desired position and then to engage the handle with the base to secure both the handle and press relative to the base.
Any suitable securing arrangement can be employed between the base and the handle, although in one form, a tongue and groove arrangement can be employed between them. For example, a plurality of grooves can be applied to the outside surface of the base, for engagement by a plurality of tongues which extend from the handle. The grooves can extend for only a portion of the outside surface of the base, so that only when the press has been correctly positioned within the interior space is the handle engaged to the base. Alternatively, the grooves can extend for a major portion of the outside surface of the base with a slot extending through the grooves to allow insertion of the tongue or tongues into the grooves. Clearly, the grooves can be applied to the handle while the tongues can be applied to the outside surface of the base.
It is to be understood that any suitable material can be used for the container and its components. Suitable materials for the base for example include plastic, metal and glass.
Moreover, operation of the container can be manual or can be motorised.
Still further, the threads referred to above can have any suitable form, although rough rather than smooth threads are considered to be appropriate.
The attached drawings show an example embodiment of the invention of the foregoing kind. The particularity of those drawings and the associated description does not supersede the generality of the preceding broad description of the invention.
The lid 12 is open at each end, with one end of a press 14 being visible through one open end of the lid 12 in
The lid 12 is connected to the base 11 through a connecting or latching arrangement, which comprises three lugs 20 (which are shown in
A second set of slot structures 22 is shown in
The press 14 is threadedly connected to the lid 12, by a threaded side wall 23 of the press 14 being threadably engaged with the threaded portion 24 of the lid 12.
The arrangement of the container 10 is such that the lid 12 can be connected to the base 11 at either of the two axially spaced apart positions of the slot structures 21 and 22, while the press 14 can be shifted relative to the lid 12 and the base 11, by rotation of the press 14 relative to the lid 12. By this arrangement, the volume of the container 10 can be varied and advantageously, can be made to match the volume of material contained within the container at any particular moment.
The press 14 includes a flange 28 and a seal 29. With reference to
The seal 29 can be made of any suitable substance, but the preference is that it is made of a polymeric substance, such as synthetic rubber.
It is to be appreciated that the use of a separate seal 29 as described above is preferred, but that in some arrangements, the flange 28 can directly engage the internal surface 31 of the base 11 without a separate seal. The flange 28 could for example be made of a polymeric substance, such as synthetic rubber, or the entire press 14 could be made of that material. Alternatively, the internal surface 31 of the base 11 can be coated with a suitable material, to allow for direct contact with the flange 28 of the press 14, without the press 14 having to have a seal 29 fixed to the flange 28.
With reference to
Referring again to
Further, in
A substance (not shown) such as coffee can be placed within the base 11 and the lid 12 fitted to the base 11 as shown in
Referring to
When a further reduction in the volume of the chamber 32 is required due to removal of substance from within the container 10, the form of the container 10 can be changed to that shown in
Finally, with reference to
Further, the transition from the connection of the lid 12 to the base 11 between
The stem 44 of the plug 40 preferably is a clearance fit within the opening 41, with contact between the stem 44 and the opening 41 occurring at the bottom end 45 (
To maintain the plug 40 in position, the end 16 of the plug 40 can include projections 47 that are received within slots 48 in each of the lugs 15 (see also slots 248 shown in
Another modification of the container 100 compared to the container 10, is that the container 100 includes a filter 101. With reference to
Each of the filter parts 102 and 103 include openings 105 to allow passage of air therethrough, while the paper 104 is chosen to be sufficiently permeable to be resistant to passage of solid material through the filter 101, but to allow the passage of air, to allow the air to be exhausted as the press 114 is moved to reduce the volume of the chamber 132.
While
The filter 101 is positioned within the opening 142 of the seal 129, by adopting an external periphery of the part 102 that includes recesses into which the facing surface of the opening 142 can enter and thus retain or hold the filter 101. Alternatively, a threaded arrangement could be adopted or any other suitable arrangement, such as frictional arrangement.
Still referring to
The slot structures 21 include a shallow C-shaped protrusion, which comprises a bottom leg 50, a top leg 51 and an end wall 52. The top leg 51 is inclined from the end wall 52 slightly away from the bottom leg 50. The leg 50 has a slightly greater length than the leg 51 to provide a land for the lugs 20 to engage when the lid 12 is being fitted to the base 11. In
Axially spaced from the slot structures 21, is a further three slot structures 22, which have generally the same configuration as the structures 21, except that the bottom leg 54 is a continuous annular ring which extends fully about the base 11. Otherwise, each slot structure 22 also includes a top leg 55 and an end wall 56. Additionally, like the slot structures 21, only one of the slot structures 22 includes an upstanding post 57.
It will be readily appreciated, that connection of the lid 12 to the base 11 is effected simply by aligning the lugs 20 of the lid 12, with the open ends of either of the slot structures 21 or 22 and rotating the lid 12 and base 11 relative to each other to drive the lugs 20 into the support structures 21 or 22. The tapering of the legs 51 and 55 relative to the legs 50 and 54 respectively, creates a wedge shape within the slot structures 21 and 22, so that the lugs 20 can be frictionally engaged within the slot structures. Moreover, the upstanding posts 53 and 57 serve to resist disconnection of the lugs 20 from within the slot structures 21 and 22. The upstanding posts 53 and 57 are intended to be of a construction which will yield when it is intended to connect or disconnect the lid 12 to/from the base 11, but to provide resistance to disconnection at other times. Alternatively, either the lid or the base can be deformable to allow the lugs 20 to ride over the respective upstanding posts 53 and 57.
The provision of a continuous annular leg 54 in the slot structure 22, is to provide a limiting surface against which the lid 12 cannot be lowered past.
A further embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
The lid 202 includes a main thread 204, which includes three equidistantly spaced slots 205. The slots 205 extend for the full height of the main thread 204, although a lesser extent is acceptable.
The base 201 includes three sets of projections 206 which are dimensioned to fit within a respective slot 205, and to threadably engage the main thread 204. The arrangement of the container 200 is thus that the lid 202 can be lowered on to the base 201, by alignment of the slots 205 with the projections 206 until the appropriate axial position of the lid 202 relative to the base 201 is reached, and at that time, the lid 202 can be rotated relative to the base 201 to engage the projections 206 with the main thread 204.
In the above arrangement, the press 203, which is connected to the lid 202, can be quickly brought into engagement with a substance within the base 201, by quick axial movement of the lid and press relative to the base 201, until such time as the press 203 contacts or is close to contacting the substance. Once the press 203 is in contact or close to contact, relative rotation between the lid 202 and the base 201 engages the projections 206 with the main thread 204 to fix the lid 202 relative to the base 201. The rotational engagement can also slightly further push the press 203 further into contact with the substance, to potentially compress the food substance if the thread is a helical thread.
For convenience, the base 201 and the lid 202 can include suitable markings to show the correct alignment between them to align the projections 206 with the slots 205. See for example the alignment lines 211 in
In many other respects, the container 200 is operable in a similar manner to the containers 10 and 100 described previously, in as much as the press 203 includes an axial opening 207, within which is received the stem 208 of a plug 209 and the plug includes a tapered end 210 for engagement within a complementary tapered end of the opening 207. A seal 217 is applied to the press 203. A sleeve of the kind shown in
The container 200 provides a very quick arrangement for connecting the lid 202 to the base 201, with the press 203 quickly positioned to engage the substance contained within the base 201.
The connection between the press 203 and the lid 202 is by an annular recess 214, which receives an annular projection 215 that extends from an inner wall portion 216 of the lid 202. This engagement does not necessarily cause the press 203 to rotate with the lid 202 when the lid 202 is rotated relative to the base 201, however the connection is required to be sufficient to maintain the press 203 in connection with the lid 202. The connection preferably facilitates disassembly of the press and lid to allow for cleaning. Alternative connections to those described could also be suitable, including for example an interference fit. Alternatively, where the geometry of the press and lid allow for cleaning without disassembly, an adhesive can be used to connect the press 203 and the lid 202 together.
A slight variation to the container 200 is shown in
By the arrangement of the container 250, the requirement for the inner wall portion 216 of the container 200 is removed.
In
The threaded arrangement of
A further embodiment is illustrated in
In the container 300, the lid includes a main thread 307, while the base includes projections 308.
The operation of the container 300 is such that the press 303 is positioned relative to the lid 302 firstly, by inserting the lugs 304 into one of the sets of slot structures 305 or 306, whereafter the main thread 307 of the lid 302 is engaged with the projections 308. Rotation of the lid 302 relative to the base 301 raises or lowers the press 303 within the base 301, and if a significant shift in the position of the end of the press 303 within the base 301 is required, the position of connection between the press 303 and the lid 302 can be changed.
A further container according to the invention is illustrated in
In the container 400, the operation is as follows. After a substance has been placed into the base 401, the press 402 is inserted into the base 401 and the seal 409 attached to the press 402 engages the internal surface of the base 401. The press 402 is moved into the base 401 the desired distance, possibly to a position of contact with the substance, and thereafter the sockets 408 are aligned with and inserted into the grooves 407. The handle 404 is then rotated to cause the sockets 408 to move within the grooves 407 and by that mechanism, the press 402 is fixed relative to the base 401. By inclining the grooves slightly, the press 402 can be pushed slightly further into the base 401 as the handle 404 is rotated relative to the base 401.
It will be appreciated from
The container 500 includes a lid 504, a base 505, and a press 506. A seal 507 is attached to the press 506.
The lid 504 is connected to the base 505 by any suitable manner, such as by the arrangement of slot structures and lugs as described in relation to the earlier figures, such as in
Operation of the container 500 is as follows. Once a foodstuff is placed within the chamber 509, the lid 504 can be connected to the base 505 in the manner described earlier in relation to the other embodiments, and the ratchet member 501 can be depressed to bring the press 506 and the seal 507 into engagement with the foodstuff. Depression of the ratchet member 501 is simple and easy, with the pawl member 502 clicking along the ratchet face 510.
When the press 506 has been positioned appropriately within the base 505, further depression of the ratchet member 501 ceases and the engagement between the pawl 502 and the ratchet face 510 maintains the ratchet member 501 in position.
When it is necessary to open the container 500 to access the foodstuff within the chamber 509, the lid can simply be disconnected from the base 505 and each of the lid 504, the press 506, the seal 507 and the ratchet member 501 can be removed.
When the lid is to be returned to the base 505, each of the components discussed above can be returned to the position shown in
When it is desired to return the press 506 and the seal 507 back to a position adjacent the open end 511 of the base 505, the pawl 502 can be depressed against the biasing influence of the pawl spring 508, to disengage the pawl from the ratchet face 510 and to allow the ratchet member to be shifted relative to the lid 504 in the direction D.
It will be appreciated that the container 500 is simple and easy to use, and is of relatively simple construction.
The mechanism to reduce the circumference of the base 601 employs a pair of arms 607. By finger manipulation, the upper ends 608 of the arms 607 can be pressed towards each other and by this mechanism, the opposite ends of the arms 607 are pushed downwards and with these arms fixed to the lid/press 602, such as by a pivotal arrangement, or by receipt within a recess, the lid/press 602 is pushed or distorted downwardly, thus reducing the circumference of the seal 603 either to disconnect the seal 603 from the inside surface 604 or at least to reduce the pressure force on the surface 604. In that condition, the lid/press 602 can be shifted downwardly into the base 601, in order to reduce the volume of the chamber 609, or the lid/press 602 can be removed from the base 601. The flange 605 serves the purpose of alignment of the lid/press 602 within the base 601. Advantageously, this embodiment allows the lid/press 602 and seal 603 to travel substantially the full height or depth of the inside of the base 601.
A container 600 is of very simple and easy to use construction and advantageously permits substantially full travel of the lid/press 602 within the base 601.
There are many variations of a container according to the invention, and in relation to the figures already described, many of the features of the containers 10, 100, 200, 250, 300, 400, 500 and 600 are interchangeable.
The invention described herein is susceptible to variations, modifications and/or additions other than those specifically described and it is to be understood that the invention includes all such variations, modifications and/or additions which fall within the spirit and scope of the above description.
Claims
1. A container having: the base and lid being removably connectable together to define an interior space, with the base and lid connected together, the press engages the inside surface of the base to form a substantially sealed chamber within the interior space between the press and the base, the press being movable within the interior space to change the volume of the chamber through relative rotation between at least two of the base, the lid and the press.
- a base,
- a lid,
- a press,
2. A container according to claim 1, wherein the press is movable relative to the lid to change the volume of the chamber.
3. A container according to claim 2, wherein the press is threadably connected to the lid, such that with the base and lid connected together, relative rotation between the press and the lid causes movement of the press within the interior space and a change in the volume of the chamber.
4. A container according to claim 1, wherein the lid is movable relative to the base to shift the press within the interior space and to change the volume of the chamber.
5. A container according to claim 4, wherein the lid is threadably connected to the base, such that relative rotation between the lid and the base causes movement of the press within the interior space and a change in the volume of the chamber.
6. A container according to claim 4 or 5, the press being connected to the lid and the lid being connectable to the base through a threaded arrangement, the threaded arrangement comprising a main thread formed on one of the base and the lid and a thread engagement portion provided on the other of the base and the lid, the main thread including a slot extending lengthwise through the thread for passage of the thread engagement portion through the main thread, the arrangement being such that the thread engagement portion can be moved through the slot to a position at which threaded engagement with the main thread is required, whereafter the lid can be rotated relative to the base to threadably engage the thread engagement portion with the main thread.
7. A container according to claim 6, the main thread including at least two lengthwise extending slots and the threaded arrangement including a thread engagement portion for each slot.
8. A container according to claim 7, the main thread including three lengthwise extending slots, generally spaced equidistantly apart and the threaded arrangement including three thread engagement portions being one portion for each slot.
9. A container according to any one of claims 6 to 8, the main thread comprising a multi-start thread.
10. A container according to claim 9, the multi-start thread being a four start thread.
11. A container according to any one of claims 6 to 8, the main thread comprising a plurality of non-continuous threads.
12. A container according to any one of claims 6 to 11, the threaded arrangement permitting further movement of the lid relative to base after the thread engagement portion has threadably engaged the main thread by rotation of the lid relative to the base.
13. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the lid is connectable to the base at two lengthwise spaced apart positions, the connection at the first position providing a first interior space volume and the connection at the second position providing a second interior space volume which is reduced compared to the first interior space volume.
14. A container according to claim 13, wherein the first interior space volume is about twice the volume of the second interior space volume
15. A container according to claim 13 or 14, the lid including a pair of coaxial wall portions which define an annular cavity into which the wall of the base extends, the base being positioned relative to the lid by engagement of the base wall within the annular cavity at least two positions of engagement within the annular cavity
16. A container according to any one of claims 13 to 15, the connections at the first and second positions comprising a projection extending from one of the lid and the base, which is received within a recess provided in the other of the lid and the base.
17. A container according to claim 16, the projection being inserted into the recess by relative rotation between the lid and the base.
18. A container according to claim 17, the projection being a frictional fit within the recess.
19. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the engagement between the press and the inside surface of the base permits escape of air from within the chamber as the volume of the chamber reduces upon movement of the press within the interior space relative to the base.
20. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the engagement between the press and the inside surface of the base permits ingress of air from outside the chamber as the volume of the chamber increases upon movement of the press within the interior space relative to the base.
21. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 20, the container including an exhaust opening for exhaust of air within the chamber as the volume of the chamber reduces upon movement of the press within the interior space relative to the base.
22. A container according to claim 21, the exhaust opening permitting ingress of air into the chamber as the volume of the chamber increases upon movement of the press within the interior space relative to the base.
23. A container according to claim 21 or 22, the opening being closable by a plug.
24. A container according to any one of claims 21 to 23, the opening extending through the press and opening to atmosphere.
25. A container according to any one of claims 21 to 24, each of the opening and the plug being elongate.
26. A container according to any one of claims 22 to 25, the opening including a valve which permits escape of air from within the chamber as the volume of the chamber reduces upon movement of the press within the interior space relative to the base and which substantially resists ingress of air into the chamber through the opening.
27. A container according to claim 26, wherein the valve is operable to allow selected passage of air into and out of the chamber.
28. A container according to any one of claims 21 to 27, the opening including a filter to resist ingress of matter within the chamber into the opening.
29. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 28, each of the base and the lid being cylindrical.
30. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 29, wherein the base, the lid and the press are coaxially aligned when the base and lid are connected together.
31. A container having: the base and lid being removably connectable together to define an interior space, with the base and lid connected together, the press engages the inside surface of the base to form a substantially sealed chamber within the interior space between the press and the base, the press being movable within the interior space to change the volume of the chamber by a linear arrangement.
- a base,
- a lid,
- a press,
32. A container according to claim 31, the linear arrangement including a ratchet and pawl mechanism having a ratchet member which extends through the lid and which is in cooperation with a pawl which is associated with the lid, the ratchet and pawl mechanism allowing the press to be moved relative to the lid in a first direction within the interior space to reduce the volume of the chamber and to be locked in position by the pawl engaging with the ratchet member, and allowing the press to be moved relative to the lid in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, by disengagement of the pawl from the ratchet member.
33. A container according to claim 32, the pawl being biased towards a position of engagement with the ratchet member.
34. A container according to claim 32 or 33, the ratchet member extending centrally through the lid, generally axially of the base.
35. A container having: the base and lid being removably connectable together by slidable engagement of the lid with the inside surface of the base, with the base and lid connected together, a substantially sealed chamber is formed between the lid and the base and the lid and the press are secured in place relative to the base, the circumference of the lid being expandable and contractable to permit the lid to be disengaged from the inside surface of the base so as to be movable within the interior space to change the volume of the chamber and to remove the lid from the base.
- a base,
- a lid,
- a press connected to or formed part of the lid,
36. A container according to claim 35, wherein the lid is of a flexible material that in a relaxed state, is of a size to engage the inside surface of the base sufficiently to hold the lid and press in place relative to the base and wherein an actuator is employed to distort the flexible material in a manner to withdraw the lid from engagement with the inside surface of the base, or at least to reduce the engagement force, so that the lid and press can be moved within the base.
37. A container according to claim 36, the actuator includes an arrangement to apply an axial force to the lid which retracts the circumference of the lid radially.
38. A container having:
- a base defining an interior space and a press,
- the base and press being removably connectable together and in that connected condition, the press engaging the inside surface of the base to form a substantially sealed chamber within the interior space of the base, the press being movable within the interior space to change the volume of the chamber through relative rotation between the base and the press.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 11, 2009
Publication Date: Feb 3, 2011
Inventor: Peter Loukeris (Melbourne, Victoria)
Application Number: 12/866,879
International Classification: B65D 51/16 (20060101); B65D 41/04 (20060101);