CONTAINER WITH SIDE WALL,COVER AND TEARING DEVICE PRODUCED AS A UNIT

Abstract: Container unit produced in one piece e.g. by injection moulding of plastics and comprising a side wall (2), a circumferential tearing strip (4) and a closure (1). The container unit is closed after filling from the bottom by means of an attached bottom (3). The tearing strip (4) is positioned between the upper edge of the side wall and the closure so that after the tearing off of the strip a frame (7) is left on the underside of the lid which frame fits inside the upper edge of side wall, whereby an individual fit is obtained by every single container. Consumption of material for a separate lid to be used by reclosure is avoided. The tearing strip (4) bordered by weakening lines (6) is removed by a radial pull in a protruding pulling flag (5). The pulling flap (5) has a sealing string (14) connected to the closure (1) so that even if the lid is put on it can be observed that initial opening has taken place. The upper surface of the lid has a protrusion (11) to serve as a grip for the fingers when the lid (1) shall be lifted. Protrusion (11) on the upper surface of the closure of a container unit rests against an internal shoulder of another container when they are stacked. The frame of the lid and the edge zone of the side wall may have complementary holding members for example with spring locking effect.

Description: Container with side wall, cover and tearing device produced as a unit. Technical field of the invention The invention relates to a container with side wall, cover and tearing device for the cover produced as a unit to be closed after filling by means of a separately produced bottom. Technical background From the Danish patent specification No. 127,376 an injection moulded container of plastics comprising on one hand a container part with a container body, an aperture and a tearable closure and on the other hand a bDttαm part is known. The cross-section of the container diminishes from the bottom to the closure which can be torn open without the use of tools. The container units are shaped in a way allowing stacking. The tearing device of the known container unit is a circular tearing strip situated in the upper top face of the container. The tearing strip is bordered by- weakening lines in the material and has. a grip ring by means of which the ringshaped strip and that part of the closure surrounded by the strip can be torn from. he container. After the opening of the container a lid can be put on the upper protruding ridge around the aperture. The known container offers important advantages as it consists of only two separate units viz. a container unit and a bottom unit, which units after filling from the bottom are united suitably by friction welding. The container is opened by pulling the ring in the axial direction and after the tearing of the closure the separate lid can be put on. Disclosure of the invention The present invention is based on the recognition that in spite of the advantages of the known container in relation to those known previously it suffers from a number of disadvantages in the production as well as in use. The invention aims- at the solving of the problem to devise. a ' container construction, which is less resource demanding, simpler to produce and more consumer-friendly. According to the invention, the problem is solved thereby that the tearing device is a circumventing tearing strip around the container wall between its upper edge and the lower edge of a frame around the closure, which after the removal of the tearing strip is adapted to fit into the upper edge zone of the con¬ tainer wall as a reusable lid. In the construction according to the present in¬ vention, the closure and the lid are combined to a single part, whereby the resource consumption becomes less. Further, a circumferential protruding edge around the container opening, which in the known con¬ struction is necessary for several reasons, is avoided. This also reduces the consumption of material, especi¬ ally in the case of containers having large openings, for example buckets or tins for paint. Further, circumferential irregular protrusions occurring when the closure is broken by tearing, and which is troublesome especially when pouring viscose liquids is avoided. Seen from the point of view of moulding technic, the container according to the invention offers the ___ . v.i - advantage that the material, which normally is introduc¬ ed into the mould at a place situated centrally in the top surface of the closure, shall not move upwards as well as downwards when it is leaving the surface of the clo- sure. By the construction according to the invention, another problem by containers which have to be closed by a lid after the opening is solved at the same time. When container and lid are produced .completely separate- ly or just connected by a single string of material, it often happens that lid and container do not fit together even if there has been shown great diligence ' by the production of the forms. This is due to the small va¬ riation in material and in the production procedure. When the lid and that part of the container, on which the lid shall be fitted, are produced in one piece, these irregularities will have no effect, and the lid will always fit the container. In a suitable embodiment of the container unit according to the invention, the frame of the lid and the upper edge area of the container wall have mutually complementary holding means resulting in the necessity of exerting greater force by the removal of the lid, so that the risk that the lid falls off, if the con- tainer is tipped over, is less. The holding means can be corresponding circumferential protrusions contacting each other with spring-lock effect. It is an advantage that the tearing strip has an integral pulling member offering a safe grip for exert- .ing a radial pull in the tearing strip. Such a radial pull will in general give a better control over the opening procedure than the axial pull, which is to be exerted in connection with the known container. In order .to ease the removal of the reusable lid, the container unit is suitably designed, so that the upper, surface of the lid at least in some places protrude beyond the frame to form a grip for the fingers. The construction according to the invention opens up the possibility in a simple way to produce a sealing, so that the consumer can check whether the container has been opened before. This is expediently obtained by means of a sealing string produced integrally with the lid and the pulling device, which string automatically tears when the pulling device is actuated for opening of the container. In connection with container units of plastics having continuously dimishing cross-section from the bottom to the lid allowing several identical container units to be stacked, it is normal to provide the wall of the container with stacking protrusions on the in- side, so that it is avoided that the stacked container units to be conveyed separately to a filling machine are sticking together owing to the close contact. Such stacking protrusions occurring as local thickening of the wall often results in suckings showing as depres- sions in the outer side of the container wall. Such de¬ pressions destroy the appearance of the container and make it difficult to put printed matter or decoration on the wall. This disadvantage can be avoided in a con¬ tainer unit according to the invention by designing the upper surface of the lid protruding above the frame, preferably a radial flange, so that by stacking it will contact a corresponding shoulder at the inside of the adjacent container situated in such a place that the two adjacent container units cannot be pushed so close together that jamming or sucking occurs by the separa¬ tion. Because the shoulder is only produced by inturn- ing of the material in the wall without changing the thickness of the wall, no suction problems will arise. The ' flange on the upper surface of the lid further protects the pulling device and prevents that it is in the way by the stacking. ^ _~\} List of Figures, short description of an embodiment. The invention is explained in detail in the following by reference to an example of an embodiment of a container unit according to the invention and with referende to the drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows a container unit according to the invention seen in perspective, Fig. 2 a longitudinal cross-section of a container unit according to the invention with closure and container wall and tearing strip between closure and wall, Fig. 3 an axial cross-section through a separate bottom to be put on the container unit, Fig. 4 an axial cross-section through two container units stacked one into the other, Fig. 5 an axial cross-section through a container unit with mounted bottom and with the container lid put on the container after removal of the tearing strip, arid Fig. 6 two with bottom assembled containers stacked one upon the other. The drawing shows a container with a lid 1 and a tapering side wall 4 and a bottom 3. The container is produced by injection moulding of plastics in two units, one of which is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and comprises the closure 1, the wall 2 and the intermediate tearing strip 4 with a pulling flap 5, by means of which the closure 1 can be removed from the container wall 2. • The tearing strip ' 4 is produced with weakening lines 6, which can be more or less discontinuous in order to create suitable flowing paths for the plastics between closure and wall during the moulding. On the under side of the lid 1 is a circumferential -frame 7 having an outwardly projecting wedge shaped rib or bead 8 the whole way around and designed for meshing the lower edge 9 of a narrowed edge zone 10 in the upper part of the container wall 2 when the lid after removal of the 5 tearing strip is put on the container. Flush with the upper side of the lid is an outward protruding flange 11 and the container wall 2 is designed with an inward going part 12 forming a shoulder 13 against which the flange 11 of the 10 lid can rest when several container units are stacked within each other as shown in Fig..4 in the' usual way to save room by the storing and transport of this kind of container units. Between the pulling flap 5 and the flange 7 15. is moulded a sealing string 14 which is broken when the tearing strip 4 is removed by pull in the pulling flap. The sealing string 14 is weakened at the pulling flap so that after having been broken it remains on the flange 7 as shown in Fig. 5, 20 thereby indicating that the container has been opened even if the lid 1 rests on and closes the container. As can be seen in Fig. 4 the flange 7 and the narrowed upper part of the container form a space for the pulling flap 5 so that this does not get in 25 the way by the stacking of the container units. As can be seen in Fig. 2 the container wall 2 has below a circumferential groove 15 corresponding to an upwards protruding rib ' 16 along the circumference of the bottom 3 as can be seen in 30 Fig. 3. When the container has been filled in a position with the closure facing downwards, the bottom 3 is put on the container unit with the rib 16 within the groove 15, and these units are welded together preferably by friction welding. 35 The bottom 3 has a depression 17, Fig. 3, which corresponds to the top surface of the lid inclusive the flange 7, so that filled containers can be put one upon the other in a stable stack as shown in Fig. 6. The container units can be filled up to a volume corresponding to the lower edge of the tearing strip 4 on the complete container even with a foaming fluid owing to the auxiliary container volume derived from the height of the tearing strip and the frame 7. -BUREAU -?____

Claims: PATENT CLAIMS 1. Container with side wall, cover and tearing device produced as a unit to be closed after filling by means of a separately produced bottom, characterized in that the tearing device is a circumventing tearing strip (4) around the container wall (2) between its upper edge and the lower edge of a frame (7) around the closure (1) , which after the removal of the tearing strip (4) is adapted to fit into the upper edge zone (10) of the container wall (2) as a reusable lid. 2, Container unit according to claim 1, characterized in that the frame (7) of the lid and the upper edge zone (10) of the container wall have mutually complementary holding means (8, 9). 3. Container unit according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the tearing strip (4) has a pulling flap (5) for manually opening of the container by a radial pull. 4. Container unit according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the upper surface of the.lid at least in some places (11) protrudes beyond the frame (7) to form a grip for easing the removal of the lid. 5. Container unit according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized by a sealing string (14) produced integrally with the lid (1) and the pulling flap (5) . 6. Container unit according to claim 3 or 5 produced in plastics and with a continuously decreasing cross-section from the bottom to the lid, so that several identical container units can be stacked, - characterized in that the upper surface of the lid protruding beyond the frame, referably a radial flange (11) is designed so that by stacking it rests against a correspondingly designed circumferential shoulder (13) inside the adjacent container and situated so that two adjacent container units cannot be pushed one into the other so that a jaming or sucking occurs by the separation. lϊURE-t ________ ' WilO

Inventors: HARILD N
Applicants: HARILD N, LEGARTH HARILD PACKING & MACHI, LEGARTH HARILD PACKING & MACHINERY SA
Application year: 1979
Main classification: B65D41
IPC codes: B65D17, B65D43