CONTAINER

Abstract: Improved container construction including a molded resilient plastic vessel (12) having one open end and a molded resilient plastic cover (14) removably and sealingly mountable on the open end of the vessel for containing materials, including liquids, in the vessel. The molded resilient plastic vessel includes a right circular cylindrical wall (16) having a bottom (18) formed integral with the interior of the wall adjacent to one end leaving the opposite end of the wall open. A handle assembly (22) is formed integral with the exterior of the cylindrical wall adjacent to the open end. The handle assembly includes an arcuate handle (40) having opposite ends formed integral with the cylindrical wall. The vessel includes a top seal (20) defining the open end. The top seal includes a bead (24) formed integral with the outer surface of the cylindrical wall and a top surface defining the open end of the vessel. The bead has a side (30) and a lower locking face (32). The lower locking face is on the bead adjacent to the bottom. The cover includes a substantially flat circular top (60) having a cover seal formed integral with the outer periphery of the top. The cover seal includes a ring wall (76) formed integral with the outer periphery of the top. An annular inner seal (78) is formed integral with the top for engagement with the vessel. An annular wall seal (80) is formed integral with the interior surface of the ring wall and is sealingly engageable with the side of the bead of the top seal of the vessel. The cover seal includes an annular bead (92, 94, 96) formed integral with the lower locking face of the vessel top seal for holding the cover onto the vessel.

Description: -1- COI-3TA-EKΞR The present invention relates to an improved container. Paint and other like liquids have been heretofore customarily sold in metal containers. The metal contain¬ ers include a vessel with a bail or handle attached to the vessel and a reusable cover, which may be removed to expose the contents of the vessel and then reapplied to reseal the vessel. The use of plastic as a material for making containers for this general type has not been widely accepted; however, the use of such containers is known. Examples of disclosures which teach the use of plastic for paint containers are U.S. Patent No. 3,977,563, 3,730,382, 3,532,244 and 3,335,774. The prior art men¬ tioned hereinabove does not disclose containers that are readily adapted for use in automatic assembly type filling of containers and applying closures. Accordingly, the object of the invention is to provide an improved construction for a resealable container made of resilient plastic which is particularly adapted for holding paints and other like liquids. The present invention provides a container in¬ cluding a molded resilient plastic vessel having one end open, and a molded resilient plastic cover for removably and sealingly mounting on the open end of the vessel to close the vessel, the molded plastic vessel including a circular side wall; a bottom formed integral with one end of the circular side wall and the opposite end of the circular side wall being the open end; a handle assembly having a portion formed integral with the outer surface of the circular side wall adjacent to the open end, said handle assembly including a handle having its opposite ends formed integral with the circular sice wall, and a top seal formed integral with the circular side wall defining the open end of the circular side wall, said top seal including, a bead formed integral with the circu¬ lar side wall, a top surface formed integral with the bead, a side defining the outer periphery of the bead, and a lower locking face formed integral with the bead, and said cover including; a circular top; and a cover seal formed integral with the top; said cover seal including; a ring wall formed integral with the outer periphery of the top, an annular inner seal formed integral with the interior surface of the top and being engageable with the top seal of the vessel to form a seal therebetween, an annular per¬ ipheral seal formed integral with the interior surface of the ring wall and being engageable with the side of the top seal of the vessel to form a seal therebetween, and an annular lock-formed integral with the ring wall and en¬ gageable with the lower locking face of the top seal to hold the cover in engagement with the vessel. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a vessel of the herein disclosed invention w τ ith a portion of a cover shown mounted on the vessel, the remainder of the cover is broken away in order to show clearly the construction of the vessel; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the vessel of Figure 1, but showing an integral handle in a raised attitude; Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 3—3 of Figure 1 shewing a portion of the vessel engaging a surface; Figure 4 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the instant vessel and showing a portion of a mold for making the vessel; -3- Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 5—5 of Figure 4 showing a portion of a mold for the vessel; Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view similar to Figure 5 but showing the mold in an attitude for cutting off the flow of a plastic material used to make the vessel; Figure 7 is a plan view of the bottom or inter¬ ior of the cover; Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 8—8 of Figure 7 showing the cross-sectional view of the cover and a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a vessel of a like container positioned on top of the cover; Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sec- tional view showing a portion of the cover and a portion of the vessel as the cover is about to engage sealingly the vessel; and Figure 10 is an enlarged fragmentary cross- sectional view showing the cover in sealing engagement with the vessel. Referring now to the drawings, a container embodying the instant invention is shown therein. The subject container generally includes a vessel 12 shown in Figure 1, and a cover 14 which is shown in Figure 7. The vessel 12 and cover 14 are each integral molded resilient plastic parts, which are made of a suitable plastic such as; polypropylene or _ polyethylene. The cover is adapted for being removably and sealingly mounted on the vessel to seal closed the vessel. Vessel 12 includes a cylindrical side wall 16 having a relatively thin wall. Cylindrical side wall 16 is in the form of a right circular cylinder. A bottom 18 is formed integral with side wall 16 to close one end of the side wall. Bottom 18 is spaced slightly from the end of the side wall 16 as may be best seen in Figure 8. The vessel includes a top seal 20 on the end of the side wall opposite to the end adjacent -o bottom 18. A handle assembly 22 is formed integral with the side wall adjacent to the top seal. Referring now to Figure 9 , it may be seen that top seal 20 includes a bead 24, which is formed integral with the end of side wall 16. A conical guide surface 26 is formed in the interior of side wall 16 and defines the open end of the side wall. A top face 28 defines the top of the bead and is flat. A tapered peripheral side 30 defines the other side of bead 24. Side 30 is tapered. The taper for angle "alpha" as shown in Figure 9, is 5°. A lower locking face 32 defines the bottom of the bead. The handle assembly 22 includes an annular flange 34, which is positioned a short distance below the top seal 20. Flange 34 has a pair of handle abutments 36 and 38 formed integral therewith. A handle 40 has one end formed integral with abutment 36 and the other end formed integral with abutment: 38. The vessel is molded in a conventional injection mold. However, the portion of the mold which forms the handle contains an improve¬ ment to eliminate bubbles and weak points in the handle. The handle assembly includes a pair of handle tabs 42 and 44, which are formed integral with the flange 34, and abut the handle 40. The handle tabs 42 and 44 are generally semi-circular having the larger portion formed integral with flange 34. An indicator ear 46 is formed integral with abutment 38. The indicator ear provides a means for identifying the position of the vessel. One purpose for identifying the position of the vessel is to present the vessel in an appropriate attitude for application of a label or other identifying means to a selected portion of the vessel. As was mentioned above, the vessel is made in a conventional injection mold having an improvement which may be best seen in Figures 4, 5 and 6. A portion of a mold 48 is shown therein. As may be seen in Figure 5, the mold 48 is made up of several parts so that the vessel may be ejected from the mold. The mold contains an arcuate aperture 50 which forms handle 40. As is con¬ ventional, the molten plastic flows from the area which defines abutments 46 and 48 towards the center of aperture 50. Aperture 50 communicates with a vent 52 which in turn communicates with a vent passage 54. The vent has a piston 56 which is reciprocal in vent 52.' The plastic is introduced along aperture 50 until it flows out vent 52 and into vent passage 54. An actuator 58 drives piston 56 into vent 52 thereby, closing off vent passage 54 to cut off any plastic material in vent 52 and close aperture 50 so that the plastic forming the handle is trimmed and the plastic is unable to flow out of the aperture. When the vent is opened, the gases are allowed to escape as the molten plastic travels from both sides of the aperture defining handle 40. Inasmuch as the gases and plastic contaminated with gases are allowed to escape when the molten plastic meets, there are no gases to form bubbles in the material and thereby produce a weak portion. Cover 14 includes a circular top 60 with a cover, seal 62 formed integral with the top. Top 60 includes an annular groove 64 which is particularly adapted to receive the side wall of a vessel so that like containers may be readily stacked one on top of the other. The top includes a threaded plug aperture 66 (Figure 8) with a plug 68 removably mounted in the plug aperture. Plug 68 includes a threaded side wall 70 with a cap 72 formed integral therewith. The cap 72 has a slot 74 formed therein to receive a tool. Cover seal 62 includes a ring wall 76 which has its upper edge formed integral with the top. An annular inner V-seal 78 is formed integral with the inner surface of the top. A peripheral V-seal 80 is formed integral with the interior wall of the ring wall and is particu- larly adapted for engaging tapered peripheral side 30. An annular bead or lock 82 is formed integral with the inner surface of the ring wail. The annular lock 82 includes a conical cam face 84 and an annular cylindrical face 86. The annular lock also includes an annular catch face 88, which is adapted for engagement with the face 32 of the top seal. A lip 89 is formed integral with the outer surface of the ring wall. An annular wall 90 is formed integral with the inner or lower surface of top 60. Annular wall 90 is cylindrical and is perpendicular to the top. The annular wall includes an outer annular sealing bead 92 which is formed integral with the wall. An intermediate sealing bead 94 is also formed integral with the outer surface of wall 90. An inner sealing bead 96 is also formed integral with the outer surface of the annular wall. The diameter of the annular wall is slight¬ ly less than the inside diameter of the cylindrical wall 16, so that beads 92, 94 and 96 sealingly engage the interior surface of the cylindrical wall when the cover is mounted on the top seal of vessel 12. The annular wall has a beveled edge 98 for positioning the annular wall rel¬ ative to the vessel. A plurality of locator baffles 100 are formed integral with the interior surface of the top. Each of the locator baffles 100 is perpendicular to the top and is arranged radially on the top as may be best seen in Figure 7. Each locator baffle has a beveled edge 102which is aligned with beveled edge 98 of the annular wall. A radial rib 104 is formed integral with each baffle 100 and is also formed integral w τ ith top 60. An inner annular wall 106 is formed integral with the top. A plurality of radial reinforcement webs 108 is formed integral with the top and extend between annular wall 90 and wall 106. The vessel is filled with a liquid such as; paint or other liquid, and the cover is placed on the open end. It is to be noted that the cover cooperates with the vessel to seat the cover into its proper position. The beveled edges 102 of the baffles and the beveled edge 98 of the annular wail cooperates with the conical surface 26, so that any misalignment of the cover with the open end of the vessel is accommodated as a downward force is applied to the cover. As a force is applied to the cover, first the baffles direct the cover, and then the beveled edge of the annular wall directs the cover. The cam surface 84 of annular lock 82 engages the top seal. As a force is continued to be applied, the cam surface of the annular lock tends to push out the ring wall. Simultan¬ eously, the top seal tends to be pushed in inasmuch as the cover and the vessel are resilient. As the cover moves downward, the inner annular bead 96 engages the in¬ terior surface of the cylindrical wall. Continued move¬ ment of the cover downward as viewed in Figure 9, places the cylinder face into engagement with tapered face 30. Further movement finally has the locking face 88 pass the tapered face 30, so that the resilience of the parts causes the annular lock to snap under bead 24 and thereby, place locking face 88 into engagement with locking face 32 to hold the cover onto the vessel. As is shown in Figure 10, it will be noted that beads 92, 94 and 96 engage the interior surface of the wall to form a seal therebetween. The V-seal 78 also engages the top seal as shown, and the peripheral seal 80 engages the tapered face 30. It may be appreciated that the cover and the vessel have seals at the three annular bead seals and the two V-seals 78. and 80. In order to remove the cover from the vessel it is only necessary to insert a tool between flange 34 and lip 89, to pry the lock out from under the bead and there¬ by release the cover. The present construction provides a further im¬ provement in that material may be added to the container without removing the cover. In the case of paint, should it be desired to add color, it is a simple matter to insert a tool into slot 74 and turn plug 80 to remove the plug from the plug aperture. Color in an appropriate amount may be added to the contents and the plug reinsert¬ ed. OMPI The plug is simply tightened with an appropriate tool without any need for removing the cover from the vessel. With certain automatic equipment it is necessary to provide an index for the container so that a label will be applied in a desired location. Locator ear 48 pro¬ vides such an index for the instant container. Ordinarily, the label is applied to the vessel while the vessel is held in a horizontal attitude. After the label is applied, the vessel is then filled with liquid and the cover is applied to seal closed the vessel. The container has the handle positioned in an attitude parallel to the flange so that the handle does not interfere with the handling of the container in auto- atic packaging machinery. The handle tabs 42 and 44 are formed in the molding process and abut the handle. Once the container is delivered to the ultimate customer and it is desired to use the handle for carrying the container, the customer need only lift the handle and the handle may be moved to an upright attitude such as that shown in Figure 2. The handle tabs 42 and 44 are positioned closer to their respective abutments than to the center of the handle; thus, there is no rough edge which would interfere with a comfortable carrying of the container inasmuch as the tabs are positioned out of the way. In the event that the container is accidentally dropped onto a hard surface, the construction of the instant container is such that the side wall has a free portion as shown in Figure 3, so that there is added re- silience to allow the shock to be absorbed. It may be appreciated that the full container does not absorb shock as readily as the free portion of the side wall; thus, the container has a substantial degree of shock resist¬ ance. The free portion of the side wall also provides an important function of providing a foot for positioning in the stacking groove in the top so that the container may be readily stacked one en top of the other.

Claims: C------IMS 1. A container including a molded resilient plastic vessel having one end open, and a molded resilient plastic cover for removably and sealingly mounting on the open end of the vessel to close the vessel, the molded plastic vessel including a circular side wall; a bottom formed integral with one end of the circular side wall and the opposite end of the circular side wall being the open end; a handle assembly having a portion formed integral with the outer surface of the circular side wall adjacent to the open end, said handle assembly including a handle having its opposite ends formed integral with the circular side wall, and a top seal formed integral with the circu¬ lar side wall defining the open end of the circular side wall, said top seal including, a bead formed integral with the circular side wall, ' a top surface formed integral with the bead, a side defining the outer periphery of the bead, and a lower locking face formed integral with the bead, and said cover including; a circular top; and a cover seal for¬ med integral with the top; said cover seal including; a ring wall formed integral with the outer periphery of the top, an annular inner seal formed integral with the inter¬ ior surface of the top and being engageable with the top seal of the vessel to form a seal therebetween, an annular peripheral seal formed integral with the interior surface of the ring wall and being engageable with the side of the top seal of the vessel to form a seal therebetween, and an annular lock formed integral with the ring wall and engageable with the lower locking face of the top seal to hold the cover in engagement with the vessel. 2. A container according to claim 1, including a plurality of locator baffles formed integral with the top of the cover, each of said locator baffles being sub¬ stantially perpendicular to the top and being arranged radially on the top, each of said locator baffles having a bevel portion engageable with the open end of the ves¬ sel for facilitating the application of the cover to the vessel. OMPI 3. A container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bottom of the vessel is spaced from the end of the circular side wall to provide a free end portion of the circular side wall. 4. A container according to claim 3, wherein the top of the cover includes a groove on its outer surf¬ ace for receiving the end portion of a circular side wall of a vessel of a like container to facilitate stacking of the containers one on top of the other. 5. A container according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the handle assembly of the vessel has a pair of handle tabs formed integral with the circular side wall, each of said tabs being positioned closer to the point where the handle is formed integral with the circular side wall than to the center of the handle. 6. A container according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the top of the cover includes a plug aperture, and a plug removably mounted in the plug aperture to allow the plug to be removed to introduce materials into the container while the cover is sealingly mounted on the open end of the vessel. 7. A container according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cover includes an annular wall formed integral with the top substantially perpendicular to the top for fitting into the open end of the circular side wall of the vessel, said annular wall having an annular sealing bead formed integral with the outer surface of the annular wall for sealing engagement with the interior of the circular side wall of the vessel to form a seal therebetwee . 8. A container according to any of claims 1 to 6, including an annular wall formed integral with the top of the cover, said annular wall being substantially perpen¬ dicular to the top, the free end of the annular wall hav¬ ing a beveled guide edge formed therein for engaging the open end of the vessel to facilitate insertion of the annular wall into the cylindrical wall. 9. A container according to any of claims 1 to 8, including a locator ear formed integral with the handle assembly and extending outward therefrom to provide an identifiable position on the vessel to position the vessel in a selected attitude. 10. A molded resilient plastic vessel compris¬ ing a circular side wall, a bottom formed integral with one end of the circular side wall to close the bottom, and a curved-elongated handle having opposite ends formed integral with the circular side wall, said handle being formed in a mold wherein plastic material flows from each end of the handle towards the center and a vent is contained at the center to allow gases to escape, and the vent is subsequently closed to complete the handle. __

Inventors: ANDERSON GEORGE C, ANDERSON, GEORGE, C.
Applicants: INSILCO CORP, INSILCO CORPORATION
Application year: 1982
Main classification: B65D41
IPC codes: B65D1, B65D21, B65D25, B65D41, B65D43, B65D47