MX2007006568A

MX2007006568A - Container lid.

Info

Publication number: MX2007006568A
Application number: MX2007006568A
Authority: MX
Inventors: Antonio Carlos Teixeira Alvares; Antonio Roberto Sene
Original assignee: Brasilata Embalagens Metalicas
Priority date: 2004-12-02
Filing date: 2005-12-01
Publication date: 2007-07-25
Also published as: KR20070094753A; US20080006646A1; UY29242A1; MY146258A; AR052417A1; WO2006058402A2; EP1831081B1; WO2006058402A3; BRPI0405465A; JP2008521717A; EP1831081A2; BRPI0405465B1; DE602005019468D1

Abstract

A container lid comprising an end closing portion (31) having a peripheral region (31a)that incorporates a sealing portion (32) to be fitted and retained in a seat (S)provided in a container (10); a handle (33) having a marginal edge portion (33a)incorporated to the peripheral region (31a) and a higher median portion (33b),the marginal edge portion (33a) and an adjacent part of the median portion (33b)of the handle (33) being cut to define a radial opening (35) to allow inserting atleast one finger of the user, as well as resting his/her palm and/or wrist on a regionof the sealing portion (32), so that the user's hand forms a lever to helphim/her to gradually open the lid (30) from the peripheral region (31a) adjacentto the radial opening (35).

Description

CONTAINER COVER FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a lid for closing a container, such as a can or any other container made of glass, plastic or other suitable material. The invention particularly relates to a lid to be applied to a can used to contain bulky powder products or particles of progressive consumption, such as certain food products and chemical substances.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Certain bulky powder or particulate products, such as some food products or potentially toxic or corrosive chemicals, need to be hermetically sealed and provided with a clear visual indication to the consumer that the container in which they are presented to the market has not been violated. In addition, it should be considered that, since many of these products are of progressive consumption, it is essential that after the container is opened for the first time, the lid that gives access to the interior of the can can be closed again as many times as necessary during the progressive consumption of the stored product, in order to guarantee the tightness of the closed can again and protect the remaining content of the same. In the art, cans are well known in which the lid is adjusted by pressing on a peripheral peripheral structural ring to the upper edge of the can body and which is hermetically double-sewn thereto. The tightness of the contents is guaranteed in this type of construction by adjusting the lid on the seat to seat and retain the lid and that is provided in the structural ring that defines the upper annular wall of the lid. Brazilian patent application PI0003727-3 from the same applicant describes a plastic cap containing a removable sealing portion, which is seated and retained in the seat, and a pair of generally semi-annular fastening strips arranged around an upper edge of the seat. sealing portion and having ends incorporated in the latter. The fastening strips may be moderately displaced from a non-operative position, coplanar to the upper edge, at a high operative position, after rupture of the breakable means connecting the medial regions of the fastening strips to the sealing portion of the fastener. plastic cap. In the operative position of said fastening strips, the user holds them to extract the liquid from the can. The Brazilian patent application PI0203950-8, also from the same applicant, describes a plastic lid for a can comprising, in a single piece, a sealing portion, which is to be broken when opened by the lid for the first time and having an interruption in its circumferential extension, extending through the width of the upper ring and through at least part of the height of the lower skirt of the can. The sealing portion of said lid incorporates a clamping tab projecting through said seal interruption and which can be manually operated only by breaking part of the seal. The user only needs to use a fold with the finger in the form of a hook to pull the lid off the can. As can be seen, the aforementioned constructions, as well as other known prior art constructions, comprise plastic caps molded in a single piece, in which the main concern is to optimize both the sealing of the caps and to provide evident seals to manipulation undue that can be easily and safely broken without causing injury to the user, which commonly occurs when using metal seals. Although the traditional problems inherent in the known closure arrangements for cans have been solved, a new problem arises, which occurs when opening the can, especially when its content consists of powdered or particulate material. Since the user sometimes removes the lid, pulling it in the axial direction of the container, an abrupt opening of the container occurs and, at the moment when the lid is released, a negative pressure is formed in the container opening, entraining the material in powder or in particles and finally spreading the latter. In addition to the spill and loss of the product, there is a risk of causing injuries or intoxications to the user, depending on the contents of the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a lid for containers, such as cans, with a construction that induces the user to remove the lid only, preventing unwanted spillage or entrainment of the contents of the container. This and other objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved by providing a container lid of the type comprising, in one piece, an end closure portion having a peripheral region incorporating a sealing portion to be adjusted by pressure removably. and retained in a seat provided in a container. According to the invention, the lid further comprises a handle having at least a marginal edge portion which is seated and incorporated into a respective extension of the peripheral region of the closing portion, and a median portion which is raised in relation with the end closure portion, the marginal edge portion and an adjacent portion of the median portion of the handle being cut in at least one radial cut, defining a radial opening with dimensions sufficient to allow radial insertion, from the outside to the interior of the lid, of the extreme phalanx of at least one finger of the user, as well as resting at least one of his palm and wrist over a region of the sealing portion diametrically opposite the radial opening, whereby the user's hand forms a lever to help him gradually open the lid from the peripheral region adjacent to the radial opening. The constructive arrangement of the lid of the present invention forces the user to remove the lid angularly, using his hand as a lever. The result is that the lid is gently released, avoiding abrupt air displacements in the container opening, which in the prior art covers can spill or drag the contents of the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a top plan view of a lid constructed in accordance with the present invention, its handle having a finger clamping opening; Figure 2 is a diametrical sectional view of the lid of the present invention when mounted in a container, said section being taken in accordance with the line ll-ll of Figure 1; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of an alternative embodiment for the present lid, in which the handle has two radial gripping openings for the fingers; Figure 4 is a diametrical sectional view of the lid of the present invention when mounted in a container, said section being taken in accordance with line IV-IV of Figure 1; and Figure 5 is a top plan view of a third alternative embodiment for the present cap, in which the handle has three radial finger holding openings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITY In accordance with the accompanying drawings, the present invention relates to a cover 30 made in one piece by injection or otherwise molded in a plastic material, such as polypropylene, polyamide or any other suitable material, and comprising an end portion. closure 31 having a peripheral region 31a incorporating a sealing portion 32 with an appropriate construction that is to be seated and removably retained in the "S" seat provided in a container 10 made of metal, plastic, glass or any other material suitable. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the seat "S", located in a central discharge opening "A" of the container 10, is defined by a circumferential rib 11a obtained by bending upwards and radially outwards the end edge internal of an annular upper wall 11 of the container 10, said circumferential rib 11a having the cross section thereof defined by at least a portion of a arc of a circle, said annular upper wall 11 having its outer edge, opposite to that in which the seat "S" is defined, usually fixed by double stitching, to an upper edge 10a of the peripheral side wall of the container 10. Also in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the sealing portion 32 of the lid 30 is defined by a circumferential support 32a with its cross section in the form of an arc of a circle and within which the circumferential rib 11a is fitted of the upper annular wall 11 of the container 10 when closing the lid 30 on the latter. The sealing portion 32 may incorporate a continuous external peripheral flange 32b which is seated on an adjacent portion of the annular upper wall 11 of the container 10 by adjusting the circumferential rib 11a on the circumferential support 32a of the cover 30, keeping the latter in the closed condition of the opening "A" of the container 10. On the other hand, in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, the "S" seat of the container 10 is defined by a hanging tubular projection 12 that is incorporated in a superior way to the edge of an opening "A" provided in the annular upper wall 11. The hanging tubular projection 12 is provided with a lower end portion which is bent inwardly of the opening "A", then upwards and towards the hanging tubular projection 12 a so as to form a continuous tubular rib 13 which may have, for example, a circular shape. Even in the modality illustrated in figures 3 and 4, the region peripheral 31a of the end closure portion 31 of the lid 30 has a free upper edge 31 b that is bent outwardly, downward and towards the peripheral region 31 a, in order to define a tubular upper rib 31 c to be seated on the upper annular wall 11 of the container 10 around the opening "A". It is understood that the free upper edge 31 b of the peripheral region 31 a of the lid 30 could have different construction forms. In the constructions of Figures 3 and 4, the peripheral region 31 a of the cover 30 extends downward, defining the sealing portion 32 in the form of a surrounding side wall, in which a continuous peripheral depression 32 c is provided, within from which the continuous tubular rib 13 of the pendant tubular projection 12 is sealably adjusted and retained axially. In accordance with the invention, the cap 30 further comprises a handle 33 defined by a wall portion comprising a median portion 33b with an upwardly curved profile, preferably frustoconical or in the form of a cap, and having a marginal bore 33a which is seated and incorporated to a respective extension of the peripheral region 31a of the end closure portion 31, preferably by means of a molded connection with the cap 30. As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the marginal edge 33a and an adjacent portion of the median portion 33b of the handle 33 are cut by a c radial art 34, which defines a radial opening 35 with sufficient dimensions to allow the radial insertion, from the outside to the inside of the lid 30, of the extreme phalanx of at least one finger of the user, preferably the extreme phalanges of their parallel fingers. In the preferred construction, the radial cut 34 is bent inwardly of the cover 30 and its middle portion is disposed in a radial region between the center of the cover 30 and the peripheral region 31a to open the container, in order to provide a place of comfortable fit for the user's fingers, with his palm resting on a region of the sealing portion 32 of the lid 30 diametrically opposite the radial opening 33, whereby the user's hand forms a lever, using his fingers to open radially cover 30. To allow the stacking of one container on the other, and considering that most containers are provided with flat bottom walls, the lid 30 is contained superiorly in a plane P orthogonal to the axis thereof. For this reason, the end closure portion 31 of said lid 30 is low in relation to the sealing portion 32, which has the tubular upper rib 31c thereof contained superiorly to said plane P and the preferably frustoconical handle 33 being disposed inferiorly. to the plane P. However, in an alternative embodiment, not illustrated, in the event that the container to be closed is provided with a concave bottom wall, both the closure portion of the lid and its sealing portion may be contained in said plane P, with the handle securing the lid projecting upwards, beyond the plane P.

It should be noted that, although the above embodiment is preferred, mainly because of its simplicity, the lid of the present invention could have two radial openings 35, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, three radial openings 35, as illustrated in FIG. 5, or even more, not illustrated, equally angularly separated. The only basic condition to be considered resides in the radial openings that are always located in a region between the center of the lid and the peripheral opening region of the container, to allow the user to use his hand as a lever to remove the top.

Claims

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - A container lid of the type comprising, in one piece, an end closure portion (31) having a peripheral region (31a) incorporating a sealing portion (32) to be adjusted by pressure removably and retained in a seat (S) provided in a container (10) characterized in that it further comprises a handle (33) having at least a marginal edge portion (33a) which is seated and incorporated to a respective extension of the peripheral region (31a) of the end closure portion (31), and a median portion (33b) that is elevated relative to the end closure portion (31), the marginal edge portion (33a) and an adjacent portion of the median portion (33b) of the handle (33) being cut by at least one radial cut (34), which defines a radial opening (35) with sufficient dimensions to allow radial insertion, from the outside to the interior of the phalange cover (30) extreme of at least one finger of user, as well as resting at least one of his palm and wrist over a region of the sealing portion (32) diametrically opposite the radial opening (35), whereby the user's hand forms a lever to help him open radially the cover (30) of the peripheral region (31a) adjacent to the radial opening (35).

2. The lid according to claim 1 and that is superiorly contained in a plane (P) orthogonal to the axis thereof, further characterized in that the handle (33) is disposed inferiorly to said plane (P).

3. The lid according to claim 2, further characterized in that the sealing portion (32) is superiorly contained in the plane (P), while the extreme closing portion (31) is lowered in relation to the portion of sealed (32).

4. The lid according to claim 1, further characterized in that the handle (33) is defined by a wall portion having a profile bent upwards from the marginal portion (33a).

5. The lid according to claim 4, further characterized in that the handle (33) is defined by a frusto-conical wall portion provided with at least one radial opening (35).

6. The lid according to claim 1, further characterized in that the sealing portion (32) is defined by a circumferential support (32a) and incorporates an external peripheral flange (32b).