CZ294738B6 - Container with curved closure between base and cover - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a non-planar seal between a container (10) having a base (12) and lid (14). The base (12) has a rim (22) which includes a first seal component (28). The lid has a rim (26) which includes a second seal component (30). The first and second seal components (28, 30) interact to provide a seal, for example a water-tight seal, when the lid (14) is mounted to the container (10) to thus protect the contents of the container (10). The seal is formed along a locus of points defining a non-linear plane, or curved surface. The first and second seal components (28,30) are oriented so as to extend substantially normal to the non-linear plane at any given point along the seal. This arrangement permits greater design possibilities due to fewer restraints on seal component placement, while still providing excellent sealing properties for the container (10).

Description

Container with curved closure between base and lid

Technical field

The invention relates to closed containers for storage and storage. In particular, the invention relates to an improved container closure design along the point positions that define a curved surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Container closures are already known, in particular containers for household and food storage. Examples of such containers include Tupperware ^R containers comprising a base that defines an interior space for receiving the material to be stored, usually food, and a lid that is attached to the base to close them. The joint between the base and the lid is designed in a conventional manner so as to form a watertight and possibly gas-tight closure. This closure can be formed using various construction methods already known in the art.

Such containers may be characterized by a large number of shapes, the outer edges of which may have relatively rectangular to fully rounded shapes, may have bases which may be of relatively flat to deep depths, and may also have lids, which may have a deep concave shape to a relatively flat form. However, despite this variety of shapes, the contact points between the base and the lid (hence the closure itself) are typically spaced along the positions that define the plane. In other words, regardless of the shape of the connected base and lid, the base and lid are in contact at the points defined by the linear plane that passes through this composite structure. This linear plane allows the lid to be placed on the base by moving in a direction perpendicular to this plane.

This has proven to be a limiting factor for container design options. It is known in the art to tilt this plane at an angle and to position it in different vertical positions. It is also known to create a slight deflection of the plane about one axis. Each of these designs has expanded the possibility, but has always had limited possibilities of application, even when the slightly curved closure components that formed the closure were oriented vertically. In other words, the lid was still needed to be placed on the base by a purely vertical movement, respectively the direction of closure was purely vertical, which limited the radial elasticity of the plastic components. While this may be neglected in small curvature of the closure plane, this will result in poor closure properties for larger deflections. However, the invention opens new possibilities in this regard. In the invention, it is possible to shape the closure to a greater extent in accordance with changes in direction around the plane. This change of closure direction requires changes to the closure components. In general, it is necessary to ensure that they are perpendicular to the plane of the closure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a container which comprises a base with a closure lid.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a base and a lid in which the closure extends therebetween along points defining a curved surface.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a base and a lid wherein the closure members are oriented substantially perpendicular to the curved surface.

-1 CZ 294738 B6

These objects are achieved according to the invention by means of a curved closure of a container comprising a base and a lid. The base includes edges that include a first closure member. The lid includes an edge that includes a second closure member. When the lid is connected to the containers to protect the contents of the container, the first second closure member is in contact with each other to form a (e.g., waterproof) closure. The closure is formed along points that define a non-linear plane or curved surface. The first and second closure members are oriented in such a way that they extend substantially perpendicular to the curved surface at any point of the closure. Thanks to this design, excellent container closure properties are achieved, while opening many new possibilities by reducing the closure component placement requirements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following description, examples of embodiments of the invention and their characteristics as described above will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings

Giant. 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of the container according to the invention, FIG. 2 shows a side view of the container according to FIG. 1, FIG. 3 shows a detail of a section along line 3-3 of FIG. 1a.

Figure 4 shows the assembled state of the components of Figure 3.

Giant. Figures 5 and 6 show details similar to those of Figure 4 showing an embodiment of the prior art closure; Figure 7 shows a detail of a section along line 7-7 of Figure 1, with the components disassembled.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with FIG. 1, a first embodiment of a container according to the invention is generally designated 10. The container 10 comprises a base 12 and a lid 14. The base 12 and the lid 14 together define an interior space 16 (FIG. 3) to accommodate the material The inner space 16 is defined by the base 12 and the lid 14, one or both of them having a concave shape. This shape, however, usually has a base 12, as shown in Figure 1.

In a first embodiment of the invention, the base 12 comprises a bottom wall 18 having an outer edge and one or more side walls 20 that extend upwardly from the bottom wall 18, thereby forming a base edge 22. The lid 14 comprises an upper wall 24, which has an outer edge that defines the lid edge 26. It will be appreciated that these components may be interchanged in such a way that the lid 14 will be in the role of a base and the base 12 will represent the lid. As an additional or substitute structural measure, the lid 14 may be made to have a deep profile, which would contribute to a larger interior space 16 by adding a side wall (not shown), as is the case with the illustrated base 12.

The base edge 22 and the lid edge 26 are formed to form a closure when folded. At this end of the container 10, the base edge 22 comprises a first closure member 28 and the lid edge 26 comprises a second closure member 30. In a first embodiment of the invention, the first closure member 28 is shaped to form a vertically extending edge and a second closure member 30 it is shaped so that it has the form of a depression that extends downwards and is able to abut said edge. As best seen in FIG. 4, it is known from the prior art to provide this variable-width depression, in particular by means of a protrusion 32. It can be seen from the figures that this protrusion 32 serves to compress the edge in the folded state. As said protrusion 32 may be in close contact with

By this design, the projection 32 makes it possible to use a similar closure for very tight seals such as waterproof closures.

In order to achieve a tight connection and solid construction, it is contemplated that the at least one closure member of the first closure member 28 and the second closure member 30 is formed of a material having elastic properties. These elastic properties can be relatively small and can be achieved by making the second closure member 30 a thin metal. However, for ease of manufacture and maintenance, it is preferred that the elastic material be a plastic material. For example, the lid 14 may be formed from a single piece of plastic material, such as polyethylene.

As mentioned above, said prior art closure members would extend on a planar surface as the portions of the closure members shown in Figs. 3 and 4 extend. components at a low angle to the vertical axis. This is shown in FIG. 4 by a certain inclination. Starting from the nomenclature of the invention, the prior art closure components are inclined at a small angle to the plane of the closure (in other words, to the horizontal plane in Figs. 3 and 4) and are therefore not perpendicular to this plane. Taking into account the position of the points that define the closure, for the purposes of the invention this angle will be included in the expression "substantially perpendicular". As such, the portions of the shutter members shown in Figures 3 and 4 are substantially perpendicular to the linear horizontal plane.

In the prior art construction, the positions of the points that define the closure (i.e., the contact points between the protrusion 32 and the base edge 22) would typically form a linear horizontal plane. In addition, the closure members (in other words, the base rim 22 and the lid rim 26) extend in a parallel vertical direction. One type of container is also known in the art in which the positions of the points defining the closure form a curved position, the curvature of this surface being small and gentle and the closure members also running in a parallel vertical direction.

The first closure member 28 and the second closure member 30 may also be designed in such a way that they have different shapes known in the art. Examples of similar closure members are shown in Figures 5 and 6. In Figure 5 a prior art container 34 is shown which includes a base 36 and a lid 38. The base 36 comprises an upper edge 40 and the lid 38 comprises a slip-on rim 42 whose dimensions they are such that they abut against the top edge 40. The first closure member 28 in this embodiment is an edge extension 44 that extends downwardly from the top edge 40. The second closure member 30 is the inner side of the flange 42. As can be seen in the figures , when folding the extension 44, it is pushed and the inner side of the lip 42 pushed to form the desired seal.

In this construction, the positions of the points that define the closure again form a linear horizontal plane, and the closure members (in other words, the top edge 40 and the rim 42) run again in a parallel vertical direction.

The arrangement according to FIG. 5 can also be formed in the opposite way, that is, the rim would be inserted into the upper edge and would include a projection that would abut the inner side of the upper edge. This construction is similar to that of the prior art shown in FIG. 6. In this construction, the container 46 comprises a base 48 and a lid 50. The base 48 again comprises an upper edge 52 which in this case comprises an inwardly extending edge projection which the lid 50 comprises a lid rim 56 that surrounds the retracted upper wall 58. The inner side of the lid rim 56 includes a projection 60 which is positioned such that it will lie below the arm 54 when the lid 50 and base 48 are folded. In this design, this abutment of the projection 60 on the arm 54 creates the resulting closure.

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Again, the positions of the points defining the closure again determine the linear horizontal plane and the closure members (in other words, the top edge 52 and the lid edge 56) run in a parallel vertical direction.

Various structures of closure members are known in the art. In any case, however, it can be said that the positions of the points defining the closure are substantially within a linear, usually horizontal plane. Furthermore, the closure members usually run in a parallel, usually vertical direction. These other closure members can be used in accordance with the invention and are included therein.

Up to this point, the description of the container 10 has focused on those aspects of the invention that are the same as those of the prior art. However, the invention differs from the prior art at one important point. This difference consists in forming the closure member in such a way that the positions of the points that make the closure define a curved surface. Another difference is that the closure members run in a direction perpendicular to the curved surface at any point in the closure.

As shown in Fig. 2, the side walls 20 have a reduced height in the region of the left end of the container 10 in such a way that the base edge 22 slopes downwards towards that end. Similarly, the lid 14 and the lid rim 26 also slope downward. As shown in the figures, the positions of the points that define the closure are therefore located on a curved surface. In this simple example, the curved surface comprises one single bending line between two linear planar portions. In other, slightly more complex shapes, there may be a greater number of bending lines. This curved surface is a first characteristic of the invention. A second characteristic of the invention is the orientation of the closure components, which is best illustrated in Fig. 7.

As seen in this figure, the base rim 22 and the lid rim 26 (with a corresponding protrusion 32) slope downward into the region of the respective end of the container. The closure members 28 and 30 do not run vertically, but instead extend substantially perpendicular to the curved surface at each point along the closure. In other words, the actual perpendicular N to the curved surface extends perpendicular to the edge of the base edge 22. However, the closure members 28, 30 may be angled from this real perpendicular N by a small angle, which improves the closure operation compared to prior art constructions. As already defined in the above description, the closure members as such extend in a substantially perpendicular direction. However, this does not have to be done for all arrangements and the orientation of the actual perpendicular can therefore of course also be described by the expression "substantially perpendicular".

As already mentioned, in this simple example, there is only one single fold line between two linear planar portions. However, the principle of the invention can also be applied to cases of much more complex shapes, which would then contain a plurality of bending lines that run in different directions and with different dimensions. In any case, however, the positions of the points defining the closure define a curved surface, and in any case, the closure members at any point along the closure extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to this plane. This design makes it possible to create a good closure along the entire length of the base while opening up many new container design options.

Although this principle is relatively simple, the actual production of containers in accordance with the invention is much more problematic. In particular, the manufacture of molds for similar containers used in the technology of injection molding material into the mold is complicated by the possible occurrence of problems with the release of the resulting product from the mold. For example, in Fig. 7, it can be seen that the typical edge of the base edge 22 would be a dividing line between the mold parts. In this case, however, there would be no problem. However, this may occur at an outwardly extending edge 62. The upper portion of this edge 62 extends inwardly, so that the mold portion that would shape the inner portion could cause the base to become stuck in the mold (in other words, reduce movement in the vertical direction of FIG. 7). Similar problems

They may also occur in the mold for the lid 14, and in particular these problems could arise in relation to the lid edge 26. However, these problems can be overcome by using the mold with movable components already known in the prior art. Although the molds with movable parts cannot be used to manufacture all possible constructions, it is still possible to use them for the production of a wide variety of different containers in accordance with the invention.

From the foregoing description of the invention, the invention guarantees the achievement of the aforementioned results and properties, and also makes it possible to achieve other advantages which are obvious at first sight or those resulting from the very nature of the construction.

It will be appreciated that some of the characteristics of the invention and their subcombinations are very advantageous and can be used without simultaneously using the other characteristics of the invention and their subcombinations. This fact is confirmed by the wording of the claims and is included therein.

Since it is possible to create many different embodiments of the invention, which by their nature correspond to the spirit of the invention, it is to be understood that all of the above exemplary embodiments of the invention, which have been described with reference to or associated with them, are to be considered only and the invention is not limited to these examples.

Claims (3)

PATENT CLAIMS A container with a curved closure between a base and a lid, the base (12) comprising a first closure member (28) and the lid (14) comprising a second closure member (30) and wherein, in a state where the lid (14) is connected to the base ( 12), the first and second shutter members (28) and (30) are in contact with each other to form a shutter, characterized in that the shutter is formed by point positions defining a curved surface, and said first and second shutter members (28) and (30) extend substantially perpendicular to said curved surface at any point of the closure. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that the base (12) comprises a base edge (22) and the lid (14) comprises a lid edge (26) and that said first closure component (28) comprises a base edge surface (22) and said second closure member (30) comprising a protrusion (32) extending from the lid edge (26) to abut said base edge surface (22). Container according to claim 1, characterized in that the base (12) comprises a base edge (22) and the lid (14) comprises a lid edge (26) and that said second closure member (30) comprises a lid edge surface (26) and said first closure member (28) comprising a projection extending from the base edge (22) to abut said surface of the lid edge (26).