Case with hinged lid assembly

The present invention is directed to a case with a rotatable and readily removable cover. The unitary flexible cover is provided with hinge members adapted to cooperate with corresponding slots in an upstanding wall of the case upon manual flexing of the cover. Upon release of the cover, the cover returns to its normally flat posture, locking the cover in place through means of tabs. A preferred embodiment comprises a plastic beer case.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to carrying and stacking cases of the type 
generally used for storage and transportation of beverage bottles, 
especially beer bottles. In particular, the present invention relates to 
such cases that are equipped with lids or covers. 
2. State of the Prior Art 
Cases of the foregoing type equipped with covers are in common use. Many 
are produced by molding in a single operation from a suitable high impact 
plastic, such a polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride and the 
like. 
In use it is often desirable to close the top of the cases. Closable 
containers protect bottled products from light, dirt and dust, the impact 
of objects that might fall onto the cover, and may facilitate stacking the 
cases, depending on the design of the case and lid. 
The prior art illustrates several methods of hingeably attaching a cover or 
lid to a case. It is, for example, well known to construct such a case 
from cardboard wherein the fold in the cardboard along the edge of the 
case serves as a hinge. Cases of this type are subject to rapid 
deterioration due to the repeated bending of the cardboard hinge. In 
addition, they are susceptible to damage from water. As indicated above, 
various plastics have gained widespread acceptance in the manufacture of 
beverage bottle cases. Suitably attaching a hinged lid to such cases, 
however, presents difficulties that have not been altogether overcome by 
the prior art. Crate, (Canadian Pat. No. 703,687) for example, teaches a 
two-piece lid with a series of pivot shaft 13 constructed of metal held in 
place by shaft supports 14 which may be mounted on either the case or the 
lid. The other half of the hinge comprises two types of pivot shaft 
engaging means 15, 17 which enable the lid to be readily snap-fitted onto, 
or removed from, the case. This construction suffers from the disadvantage 
that it requires two different materials, and therefore cannot be 
manufactured in one step. In addition, the pivot shaft may be subject to 
corrosion, which shortens the life of the case, and may impede operation 
of the hinge. Second, the hinge is positioned exactly along the top edge 
of the case an protrudes above the body of the case. In this position the 
hinge, which is probably the weakest portion of the structure, is directly 
exposed to the weight of cases that may be stacked on it, and to the 
impact that may result when the cases accidentally bump into another 
object. In addition, the hinge and the individual pivot shaft engaging 
means are the weakest portions of the entire structure and are accordingly 
most susceptible to breakage and damage. 
Other prior art, for example, Dreyfuss, U.S. Pat. No. 3,315,796, and 
Boysen, U.S. Pat. No. 2,990,082, provide hinge pintles integral with the 
cover element that engage in pintle receiving spots. In Boysen, the cover 
11 is permanently attached and cannot be removed without damaging the 
cover and the case. Thus if either member of the unit is damaged, the 
entire unit must be discarded. In addition, Boysen requires a 
hollow-spaced double wall as a housing for its hinge. Dreyfuss provides 
hinges 84 at the bottom of the case. This construction limits the strength 
of the joint between the bottom wall and hinged sidewall to the strength 
of the hinge pintles. When cases are stacked, it is this joint that should 
be strongest. The hinge of Dreyfuss is not readily adaptable to being 
repositioned along the top of a vertical wall. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Thus, it would be of significant importance if a case, such as a beer case, 
could be provided with a cover that could be readily opened and closed, 
removed, and replaced without the use of tools, and would be sturdy, 
non-corrosive, and interfere less with the structural integrity and 
strength of the case. 
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a hinged cover 
assembly for a case that overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art. 
More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a 
beverage case with a hinged cover assembly that can be readily removed and 
replaced without the use of tools, but which will not become inadvertently 
disengaged from the case. This feature makes cleaning the case easier. It 
also facilitates filling or emptying the case in confined areas such as 
narrow isles. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a beverage case 
and cover made entirely of one material which is non-corrosive. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage case with a 
hinged cover assembly that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture. 
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a beverage case 
and hinged cover assembly in which the case or the hinged cover assembly 
may be individually and separately replaced in the event of damage to 
either. 
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a beverage case 
and hinged cover assembly in which, in the closed position, the hinge is 
flush with the body of the case for ease of stacking and handling. 
It is also an object ov the present invention to provide a beverage case 
and hinged cover assembly in which the structural integrity and strength 
of the case walls are substantially maintained. 
Accordingly, the present invention provides a plastic case comprising in 
combination, at least one upstanding wall having at least one hinge 
receiving slot, at least one separate unitary flexible cover comprising 
hinge means adapted to be retained in said slot when said cover is 
unflexed to allow pivotal movement of said cover with respect to said 
wall, said cover attachable to said wall upon flexing of said cover to 
cause said hinge means to enter said slot, wherein said cover is retained 
in said slot in a pivotal state upon release of said cover to an unflexed 
condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to a case and hinged lid assembly. The case may be 
integrally molded of high impact plastic such as polyethylene, 
polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride or other suitable material. The separate 
cover may be integrally molded of a flexible plastic such as polyethylene, 
polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride or other suitable material. 
The body of the case comprises one set of opposed upstanding side walls, a 
second set of upstanding end vertical walls, and a bottom wall, wherein at 
least one upstanding wall is adapted to receive each of the hinge members 
through corresponding slots. The case may be equipped with suitable 
reinforcing segments and compartment dividers. Except for the portion of 
the upstanding wall containing the hinge slots and slot extensions, the 
specific details of the design of the case form no part of the invention 
and will not be discussed further. 
Referring to FIG. 1, the cover 16 comprises a lid portion 10, and hinge 
members 12. Each hinge member 12 further comprises a tab from the cover 
having a first portion of first width and a second outer portion 14 of 
second, larger width. The entire cover 16 including hinge members 12 may 
be integrally molded from one flexible material, such as polyethylene. 
Although flexible, the cover 16 must also be resilient, tough and strong. 
Lid portion 10 may be substantially rectangular and adapted to cover 
substantially the entire surface area of the container to which it is 
intended to be affixed. In a preferred embodiment, cover 16 consists of 
two individually hinged cover portions, each covering substantially 
one-half the area of the case top. Hinge members 12 having a first width, 
extend perpendicularly downwardly from their position adjacent one edge of 
the cover 16, then turned inwardly at a substantially perpendicular angle 
so that outer portion 14 of second width of hinge members 12 is 
substantially parallel to lid portion 10. As best illustrated in FIG. 4, 
the second larger width of the hinge member 12 that is in excess of the 
first width of hinge member 12 is symmetrically distributed on both sides 
of the first width of hinge member 12. 
Hinge receiving slots in a vertical wall of the case are adapted to receive 
each hinge member 12. Referring to FIG. 3, the hinge receiving slot is 
composed of a horizontal slot 30, and superimposed on it slot extensions 
32 canted to the horizontal. Horizontal slot portion 30 is wide enough to 
receive hinge member 12 with first width, but too narrow to receive the 
second width. Slot extensions 32 are wider than horizontal slot 30 and may 
be canted at any angle of approximately 30.degree. to the horizontal axis 
of horizontal slot 30. Slot extensions 32 are sufficiently wide to receive 
the second width of hinge members 12. 
Installation of cover 16 in case 20 is readily achieved without the use of 
tools or skilled labor. The cover 16 is manually grasped along the edges 
of the width dimensions with hinge members 12 facing downwardly in 
approximately the same plane as the upstanding wall of container 20 in 
which hinge receiving slots 30 are molded. As illustrated in FIG. 2, cover 
16 is then deformed by bending so that it is downwardly convex at its 
center. The cover is thus deformed until the second width of hinge members 
12 align with slot extensions 32. Then hinge members 12 are inserted into 
slot extensions and penetrate the upstanding wall of case 20. Tab 
receiving slot extensions 32 of FIG. 2 are each canted at an angle to the 
horizontal such that they define a line running downwardly toward the 
vertical center line of the panel in which they are molded, thus assuring 
that a single downward deflection along the center line of cover 16 will 
bring both hinge members 12 into alignment with tab receiving slot 
extensions 32. After inserting the second width of hinge means 12 through 
tab receiving slot extensions 32 the cover 16 is released. When released, 
the cover returns to its normally flat configuration due to its natural 
resiliency. In this position, the second widths of hinge members 12 are 
substantially parallel to the top edge of the upstanding wall through 
which they were inserted. The hinge members 12 are thus aligned with and 
parallel to horizontal slot portion 30. The second width is wider than 
horizontal slot 30, which prevents hinge members 12 from inadvertently 
disengaging from case 20. 
To remove the cover 16 from the case 20 it is necessary to reverse the 
steps of the above procedure. One grasps the width edges of the cover and 
bends it downwardly in its center until the second width of hinge members 
12 align with tab slot extensions 32 and then pushes the cover 16 
outwardly from case 20 until tabs 14 disengage from case 20. 
In a preferred embodiment, two opposing vertical walls of case 20 include 
hinge receiving slots. Two individually hinged covers 16, each covering 
substantially one-half the area of the top of case 20 may be fitted onto 
the case 20 through interaction of hinge members 12 and hinge receiving 
slots. Construction of hinge and slot features, installation, removal and 
operation of the hinged lid assembly is the same whether the case includes 
one hinged cover or two hinged covers. 
In operation, the cover 16 is rotated upwardly through angles of 1801/4, 
i.e., when completely opened, the cover 16 is substantially perpendicular 
to the upstanding wall having hinge receiving slots. No bending of hinge 
members 12, or rotation about a fixed hinged pin is involved. Rather, the 
hinge members 12 slide through horizontal slot portion 30. To close the 
cover 16 one merely rotates the cover toward the top of case 20 which 
causes hinge member 12 to slide outwardly through horizontal slot 30 
permitting the cover 16 to close. 
Hinge receiving slots 30 and slot extension 32 are molded into a recessed 
area 36 of case 20, which is sufficiently recessed so that when the cover 
16 is closed, hinge members 12 are flush with the exterior surface of 
upstanding wall of the case 20. This construction minimizes the risk of 
damage to the hinge members. It also serves to maintain the structural 
integrity and strength of the case 20 by reducing the load bearing demands 
placed on the hinge members themselves, and thus overcomes a primary 
weakness of conventional cases, which expose the hinges to a greater risk 
of accidental damage by placing them along a top edge of the case. 
The invention has been described above in reference to specific preferred 
embodiments. It will be evident, however, that variations and 
modifications may be made without departing from the broader scope and 
spirit of the invention as set forth in the claims. The specification and 
drawings are accordingly to be regarded as illustrative rather than 
restrictive.