Abstract:
A lid construction for a container, canister (can), or the like, includes a top piece and a skirt piece. The top and skirt pieces are connected together using a folded and crimped joint that is located primarily on the inside of the lid adjacent to the inner surface of the skirt and generally below the top surface of the lid, providing a substantially flush and flat upper surface and a substantially flush and flat side surface of the lid at the location of the joint.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention generally relates to removable and replaceable lids for containers, such as metal canisters for bakery goods, snacks, candy, nuts, toys, health and beauty items, apparel, coffee, tea, powdered drinks mixes, etc.  
         [0002]     Typically, canister lids (such as removable and replaceable lids for metal containers or canisters) have been made from a single piece of metal (blank) that is formed in a press, with the skirt (side wall) of the lid being drawn and stretched, as well as being bent to 90 degrees to the top surface of the lid. While this type of construction is acceptable for many types and sizes of lids, it is not always desirable for lids having a relatively long skirt. When it is desired for the skirt of the lid to be relatively long, for example on the order of 1 or 2 inches, the drawing process limits the ability to include any ornamentation on the lid skirt. If a long-skirted lid is provided with printing on the surface prior to drawing, whether as a solid color, or actual text, the stretching of the metal that occurs in the drawing process causes the color of the ink to change. This change is due to a thinning of the ink as the metal stretches. If too much stretching occurs, then the ink simply falls off of the metal. Furthermore, printing on the lid after it has been drawn into shape is impractical due to the difficulty in printing on the surface of a three-dimensional object as opposed to printing on a flat blank. Thus, long skirted lids have not been able to have printing on them, and other decorative flourishes are required to be put onto the lid after it is formed. Therefore, a need exists for a long skirted lid construction that permits printing on the lid skirt.  
         [0003]     As an alternative to drawing lids from a single piece of metal, some lids have been made from crimping two pieces of metal together with one piece typically forming the top of the lid and the other typically forming the lid skirt. Examples of two-piece lid constructions of the prior art are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 458,361, 811,728, 1,180,059, 1,204,093, 1,318,999, 1,446,458, 1,791,417, 2,455,767, 3,469,507, 3,543,996, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.  
         [0004]     Most two-piece lid constructions of the prior art include either a non-flat/non-flush top surface or a non-flat/non-flush sidewall surface, or both, which are often undesirable for several reasons, one example being the aesthetic appearance of the container. The non-flush surface is the result of a crimp connection or lock joint formed to connect the two pieces together. For example, the lid construction disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,791,417, illustrated herein in  FIG. 1 , includes top piece  110  and side/skirt piece  120 . Top piece  110  includes a generally flat central portion,  112 , and a perimeter lip,  114 . Skirt piece  120  includes a generally flat wall portion,  122 , and a top lip,  124 , extending outward from the top edge of wall portion  122  and curling downward to form a channel,  126 , between the outer surface of wall portion  122  and the inner surface of lip  124 . Perimeter lip  114  curls around the outer surface of top lip  124  by extending upward from the outer edge of central portion  112  over the top of top lip  124  and then downward over the outer surface of top lip  124 . The outer edge of perimeter lip  114  then extends upward into channel  126 . When crimped together, perimeter lip  114  and top lip  124  form a protrusion that extends both up from top piece  110  and outward from side piece  120 . A somewhat similar construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,469,507 and 3,543,996 and illustrated herein in  FIG. 2 . As is shown in  FIG. 2 , skirt piece  220  includes a generally flat wall portion,  222 , and a top lip,  224 , extending outward from the top edge of wall portion  222  and curling downward to form a channel,  226 , between the outer surface of wall portion  222  and the inner surface of lip  224 . Top piece  210  includes central portion  212  and perimeter flange  214  extending upward from central portion  212  into channel  222 . When crimped together, perimeter flange  214  and top lip  224  form a protrusion that extends both up from top piece  210  and inward from side piece  220 . A slightly different lid construction to those described above with respect to  FIGS. 1 and 2  is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,204,093 and illustrated herein in  FIG. 3 . As is shown in  FIG. 3 , top piece  310  includes a generally flat central portion,  312 , and a perimeter lip,  314 , extending downward from the outer edge of central portion  312  and curling inward to form channel  316  between the bottom surface of central portion  312  and the inner surface of lip  314 . Skirt piece  320  includes a generally flat wall portion,  322 , and a top flange,  324  extending outward from wall portion  322  into channel  316 . When crimped together, perimeter lip  314  and top flange  324  form a protrusion that extends outward from sidepiece  320 , leaving top piece  310  substantially flat.  
         [0005]     The two-piece lid construction disclosed in U.S. Patent 458,361 and illustrated in  FIG. 4  provides for a generally flush and flat upper surface,  410  and a generally flush and flat side surface,  420 . As is shown in  FIG. 4 , top piece  410  includes a generally flat central portion,  412 , and a perimeter lip,  414 , extending downward from the outer edge of central portion  412  and curling inward to form channel  416  between the bottom surface of central portion  412  and the inner surface of lip  414 . Skirt piece  420  includes a generally flat wall portion,  422 , and a top lip,  424 , extending inward from the top edge of wall portion  422  and curling upward and outward to form channel  426 . As is discussed in greater detail in U.S. Patent No. 458,361, channels  416  and  426  are formed simultaneously by bending together the outer perimeter of top piece  410  with the outer edge,  425 , of top lip  424 . This initially results in the outer perimeter of top piece  410  being non-flush with side piece  420 . As is discussed in U.S. Patent No. 458,361, top piece  410  may then be made flush with side piece  420  by bending side piece  420  downward, forming bend  428 . Although this results in a flush and flat upper and outside surface for the lid, the bending process is relatively complex and still results in the bottom surface of the lid having an obtrusive bulge spaced away from the inner surface of side piece  420 . A need exists for a lid construction that provides a generally flush transition between the top and skirt portions of the lid, and that also provides an unobtrusive joint between the top and skirt portions of the lid.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention provides a two piece lid construction for a container, canister (can), or the like, one piece primarily being the top surface of the lid and the other piece primarily being the skirt. The joint connection between the top and skirt of the lid is formed using a folded and crimped joint that is located primarily on the inside of the lid adjacent to the inner surface of the skirt and generally below the top surface of the lid. This construction allows for a substantially flush and flat upper surface and a substantially flush and flat side surface. In addition, this construction provides for a generally unobtrusive joint when viewed from the bottom of the lid as it creates a generally unbroken transition between the skirt, the joint and the top piece.  
         [0007]     In one embodiment, the lid of the can is formed differently than the main body of the can, which itself is formed from two separate pieces of metal, one for the sidewall and one for the bottom wall. In this embodiment, the seam between the bottom wall and sidewall of the body is formed with a flange of the sidewall and an outer annular/perimeter portion of the bottom wall being folded over each other and crimped to form a seam that is visible from the exterior of the can and physically protrudes beyond the surface of the can similar to the seam of the prior art lid construction illustrated in  FIG. 3 . In contrast, the formation of the lid, according to the present invention, while using a folded over and crimped joint, places that joint on the inside of the lid, virtually invisible to the exterior observer (and hardly visible, unobtrusive, when looking inside the lid from the bottom).  
         [0008]     In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the top edge of the skirt piece is folded to form a channel for receipt of an outer edge or flange portion of the top surface piece of the lid. In these embodiments a seam or channel is visible, which appears at the top surface of the lid at an abutment of the two pieces of metal, but the vertical extent of the skirt itself is devoid of any joint construction and is fully printable, with color as well as text.  
         [0009]     Other details of embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the drawings and described below. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  illustrates a sectional view of the left side of a first two-piece lid construction of the prior art including both a non-flat/non-flush top surface and a non-flat/non-flush sidewall surface.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  illustrates a sectional view of the right side of a second two-piece lid construction of the prior art including both a non-flat/non-flush top surface and a non-flat/non-flush sidewall surface.  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  illustrates a sectional view of a two-piece lid construction of the prior art including a non-flat/non-flush sidewall surface.  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  illustrates a sectional view of a two-piece lid construction of the prior art including a flat/flush top surface and a flat/flush sidewall surface.  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  illustrates a sectional view of a first embodiment of a two-piece lid construction embodying the principles of the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  illustrates a sectional view of a second embodiment of a two-piece lid construction embodying the principles of the present invention  
         [0016]      FIG. 7  illustrates a perspective top view of a container utilizing the lid constructions of either  FIG. 5  or  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]     As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a first embodiment of the present invention provides a two-piece lid construction comprising top piece  10  and side/skirt piece  20 . Top piece  10  includes a generally flat central portion,  12 , and a perimeter flange,  14 . Skirt piece  20  includes a generally flat wall portion,  22 , and a top lip,  24 , extending inward from the top edge of wall portion  22  (at point b of skirt  20 ) and forming channel  26 . Perimeter flange  14  is bent or drawn downward from the outer perimeter of top piece  10  at point x and outward at point y so as to be orientated generally parallel to but below the top surface of central portion  12 , then it is bent back upward at point z. In this manner, outer finger  15  of perimeter flange  14  may be located in channel  26 , as is shown in  FIG. 5 , and result in the top surface of central portion  12  being generally flush with the top edge of wall portion  22  between points a and b of skirt  20 . The construction of perimeter flange  14  creates channel  18  at (or adjacent to) the abutment of central portion  12  and lip  24 . Channel  18  is visible from the top of the lid, as is shown in  FIG. 7 , and results in an aesthetically pleasing appearance for the top of the lid.  
         [0018]     Referring to  FIG. 6 , an alternative embodiment of the instant invention is shown. As is described with the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 , top piece  10  includes a generally flat central portion,  12 , and a perimeter flange,  14 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 , skirt piece  20  includes a generally flat wall portion,  22 , and a top lip,  24 , extending inward from the top edge of wall portion  22  (at point c′ of skirt  20 ) and forming channel  26 . Perimeter flange  14  is bent or drawn downward from the outer perimeter of top piece  10  so as to be orientated generally parallel to but below the top surface of central portion  12 . In this manner, perimeter flange  14  may be located in channel  26 , as is shown in  FIG. 6 , and result in the top surface of central portion  12  being flush with the top surface of top lip  24  between the top edge of wall portion  22  (at point c′ of skirt  20 ) and top inner edge of lip  24  (at point a′ of skirt  20 ). The abutment between the outer edge of central portion  12  and top inner edge of lip  24  results in seam  18 ′ which is visible from the top of the lid, as is shown in  FIG. 7 .  
         [0019]     In several embodiments of the present invention, the bottom edge,  28 , of wall portion  22  of skirt  20  is folded inward to form a lip. This provides a clean edge at bottom  28  and also provides for a tight frictional seal with the outer surface of sidewall  42  of the canister on which the lid is placed. In other embodiments, the top,  48 , of sidewall  42  of the canister is folded inward to form a lip that provides a clean edge at top  48 . In still other embodiments, annular stop  44  projects outward from sidewall  42  of the canister to limit the downward movement of the lid as it is placed on the canister. It will be appreciated that alternative configurations of the lid and container connection/seal may be developed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, annular stop  44  may be formed by creating an annular flange at the top of sidewall  42  of the canister similar to the embodiment of perimeter flange  14  discussed above with respect to  FIG. 7 . In this manner the outer surface of sidewall  22  of lid skirt  20  may be made flush with the lower portion of container sidewall  42  when the lid is positioned on the container.  
         [0020]     Referring to  FIG. 7 , an exemplary, octagonal shaped, container utilizing the lid constructions of the present invention (as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 ) is shown. Lid  30  is placed on container  40  such that the bottom edge of the skirt of lid  30  abuts annular stop  44 , which projects outwardly from container sidewall  42 . Lid  30  includes channel  18  or visible seam  18 ′ as are discussed above with respect to  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 . The bottom of container  40  includes an outwardly projecting annular flange-seam,  46 , that is a crimped joint connection between the bottom wall and sidewall  42  of container  40 . The crimped joint connection of seam  46  is formed in a manner similar to that discussed above with respect to the prior art lid construction shown in  FIG. 3 . It will be appreciated that the actual shape of the lid (and canister) of the present invention may be circular or non-circular, such as the octagonal shape shown in  FIG. 7 , oval, square, rectangular, etc. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the shape of the lid of the present invention may take on the shape of any container for which it is desired to be used, whether symmetrical or asymmetrical, simple (i.e. square, rectangle, circle) or complex (i.e. heart-shaped, the shape of a cartoon character&#39;s or other person&#39;s head, the shape of a state, the shape of a race car, etc.)  
         [0021]     Lid  30  of the present invention is formed from two separate pieces (blanks) of material, one blank for top piece  10  and another blank for skirt piece  20 . In a preferred embodiment, lid  30  is formed from any of numerous metal materials well known as being suitable for metal containers. In another preferred embodiment, printing is provided on the surface of skirt piece  30  while it is a flat blank. The flat blank for skirt piece  20  is generally rectangular in shape. Lip  24  is formed by folding, bending, or drawing, etc. (referred to herein generically as “bend” or “bending”) the top of the blank for skirt piece  20 . Referring to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 , lip  24  is formed by bending the top of skirt piece  30  first at point a 90 degrees, and then at point b 90 degrees. Referring to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 , lip  24  is formed by bending the top of skirt piece  30  first at point a′ 180 degrees, and folding the blank at point b′ 180 degrees in the direction opposite the direction of the bend at point a′. As is shown in  FIG. 6 , the 180 degree bend at point b′ may be accomplished by two separate 90 degree bends to form channel  26  (with the first bend at the top of channel  26  and the second bend at the bottom of channel  26 ) for receipt of flange  14  of lid top piece  10 . Alternatively, the 180 degree bend at point b′ may be formed by a single bend that is made in two stages, first the bend is made at point b′ such that it is less than 180 degrees (i.e. 135 degrees) to provide a gap for placement of flange  14 , once flange  14  is in position, the second stage of the bend is completed to provide the crimp connection with flange  14  located in channel  26 . It will be appreciated that such a single two stage bend may also be used in connection with the embodiment of lip  24  shown in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0022]     With respect to the embodiment of lid  30  shown in  FIG. 6 , after the bends at points a′ and b′ are completed (note: if a two-stage bend at point b′ is utilized, the term “completed” in the context refers to the first stage), a 90 degree downward bend is made at point c′ to form skirt sidewall  22 . With respect to the embodiment of lid  30  shown in  FIG. 5 , skirt sidewall  22  is already formed as a result of the bends made at points a and b. If desired, a 180 degree bend is also made at lower edge  28  of skirt sidewall  22  to form the lip discussed above and shown at the bottom of skirt sidewall  22  in  FIGS. 5 and 6 .  
         [0023]     The flat blank for top piece  10  is initially provided or made in the general shape of the container for which it is to be used. Top piece  10  is formed by drawing or bending downward the outer perimeter edge of the flat blank to form flange  14 . With respect to the embodiment of lid  30  shown in  FIG. 5 , the outer perimeter edge of the flat blank is drawn or bent downward 90 degrees at point x, then outward 90 degrees at point y, and then back upward 90 degrees at point z, to form channel  18  within flange  14 . Preferably, the length of outer finger  15  of flange  14 , which is created by the bend at point z, will have a length equal to the length of outer finger  25  of lip  24 , such that the top surface of central portion  12  will be flush with the top of skirt piece  20  between points a and b. With respect to the embodiment of lid  30  shown in  FIG. 6 , the outer perimeter edge of the flat blank is drawn or bent downward such that flange  14  is offset from central portion  12  of top piece  10 . Preferably, flange  14  of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 6  is drawn downward a distance that is equal to the thickness of the bent material at point a′ of skirt  20  such that the top surface of central portion  12  will be flush with the top of skirt piece  20  between points a′ and c′.  
         [0024]     Once the above-described bends are completed for both top piece  10  and skirt piece  20 , the blank of skirt piece  20  is wrapped around the outside of top piece  10  such that flange  14  is positioned in channel  26 . Channel  26  is then crimped about flange  14 . With respect to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 , channel  26  is crimped about outer finger  15  of flange  14 ; in this embodiment, channel  18  provides room for a tool to be inserted to make the crimp. The length of the blank for skirt  20  is such that the two side edges of the rectangular blank will slightly overlap each other once the blank for skirt  20  is wrapped around the blank for top piece  10 . This allows the edges to be crimped together in a manner well known in the art. Alternatively, it will be appreciated that other methods of connected the two side edges of the blank for skirt  20 , such as welding, may be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of the instant invention.  
         [0025]     It will be appreciated that alternative methods of forming the lid and the crimp configurations between the top and skirt pieces of the lid described herein, as well as alternative lid and crimp configurations entirely, may be utilized without departing from the spirit or scope of the instant invention.  
         [0026]     Various components and features are shown and described in different embodiments of the invention, and it should be understood that these various components and features may be used not only in the particular combinations shown and described, but also in other variations of combinations without departing from the spirit of the present invention.  
         [0027]     It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and without diminishing its attendant advantages. It is, therefore, intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.