Patent Publication Number: US-6655544-B1

Title: Container with a lid

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a container with a lid that can be easily opened and closed. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     A container containing things, such as wet tissues, is provided with an opening through which the things are taken out and a lid hermetically closing the opening. 
     Such a container has a container body containing wet tissues and provided with an opening, and a lid hermetically closing the opening of the container body. 
     When using the wet tissues contained in the container, the lid is removed from the opening of the container body and the wet tissues are taken out one at a time through the opening. 
     The conventional container has the container body and the lid supported for turning on the container body. The lid is turned to open to take out the wet tissues from the container body. Sometimes, a child opens the lid and takes a large number of wet tissues only for fun to waste the wet tissues. It is desirable to provide a lid operating part with a function to prevent mischievous opening of the lid. 
     DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances and it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a container with a lid provided with a lid that can be surely and easily opened and provided with a function to prevent mischievous opening. 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, a container with a lid includes: a container body provided with an opening, a lid supported for turning on the container body and capable of hermetically closing the opening; and an elastic biasing member provided between the container body and the lid to bias the lid in an opening direction; wherein the lid is provided at its free end part with a stopping part, the container body is provided with an operating member having a catching part that catches the stopping part of the lid and capable of being bent by an external pressure. 
     The container with a lid may further include an operating member locking mechanism for locking the operating member. 
     The container with a lid may further include a lid fastening mechanism for fastening the lid to the container body. 
     In the container with a lid, the container body may have a top wall provided with the opening, a side wall extending down from the top wall and defining an open lower end, and a bottom wall hermetically closing the open lower end defined by the side wall. 
     The container with a lid may have a vertical wall holding an operating member locking part, and a cover plate connected to the vertical wall so as to cover the vertical wall and capable of bending the vertical wall when external pressure is applied thereto. 
     According to the present invention, when the operating member is bent by pressure while the operating member stopping mechanism and the lid fastening mechanism being disengaged, the stopping part of the lid is disengaged from the catching part of the operating member and the lid can be opened by the elastic biasing means. 
     When the operating member is restrained by the operating member locking mechanism, the operating member does not bend even if the operating member is pressed. The lid is unable to be opened when the same is fastened to the container body by the lid fastening mechanism. 
     The vertical plate can be bent by applying a pressure to the cover plate from above the cover plate to lower the cover plate. Thus the stopping part of the lid and the catching part of the vertical plate are disengaged and the lid can be opened by the elastic biasing means. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a container with a lid in a first embodiment according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the container with a lid shown in FIG. 1 in a closed state; 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing a lid and an operating member on a container body; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a movable member; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an operating member and a moving member; 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a sealed pouch containing wet tissues; 
     FIG. 7 is a view showing a rotary locking member provided in a container with a lid in a second embodiment according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a sliding locking member; 
     FIG. 9 is a view showing a locking tongue formed integrally with a lid; 
     FIG. 10 is a view showing a modified locking tongue formed integrally with a lid; and 
     FIG. 11 is a view showing another modified a locking member formed integrally with a lid. 
    
    
     BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
     First Embodiment 
     Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIGS. 1 to  6  show a container with a lid in a first embodiment according to the present invention. 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 to  5 , a container with a lid  10  comprises a container body  11  having an open lower end, for containing wet tissues  41  (FIG. 6) and a bottom wall  12  hermetically closing the open lower end of the container body  11 . The container body  11  has a top wall  27  provided with an opening  24 , and a side wall  13  extending down from the top wall  27 . A lid  23  for hermetically closing the opening  24  of the top plate  27  is supported for turning on the side wall  13  of the container body  11 . 
     The top wall  27  of the container body  11  has a first top part (first thin part)  27   a  forming a substantially central part of the top wall  27 , an upright part  28  rising from the periphery of the first top part  27   a,  and a second top part (second thin part)  27   b  extending from the upper end of the upright part  28  on a level above that of the first top part  27   a.  The opening  24  through which wet tissues  41  are taken out, is formed in the first top part  27   a.    
     The first top part  27   a  is provided with a vertical annular wall  94 . The opening  24  is formed in a part of the first top part  27   a  inside the annular wall  94 . An annular rib  37  that can be fitted by the annular wall  94  is, formed on the inner surface of the lid  23 . The lid  23  is turned so that the annular rib  37  is fitted in the space surrounded by the annular wall  94  to close the opening  24  hermetically. Reinforcing ribs  81  are formed on the inner surface of the lid  23 . 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the lid  23  is provided on its free end part with a side rib  36 . A stopping projection  32  is formed integrally with the side rib  36 . 
     An upper end part of the side wall  13  on the side of the free end part of the lid  23  is recessed to form a recessed step  58  recessed from the top wall  27 . A vertical wall  55   a  is provided on the recessed step  58 . The vertical wall  55   a  has a thin bending part  52 . A horizontal wall  55   b  projects forward from a part of the vertical wall  55   a  immediately below the thin bending part  52 . A catching projection  33  is formed on the inner surface of the vertical wall  55   a.  The stopping projection  32  of the lid  23  can be engaged with the catching projection  33 . 
     A cover plate  55   c  is joined to the upper end of the vertical plate  55   a  by a hinge  53 . The cover plate  55   c  has an L-shaped cross section and is connected by the hinge  53  to the upper end of the vertical wall  55   a  as indicated by two-dot chain lines in FIG. 3. A retaining rib  56  provided with a slot  56   a  is fixed to the inner surface of the cover plate  55   c.  The cover plate  55   c  is turned on the hinge  53  and the horizontal wall  55   b  is received in the slot  56   a.  Thus, the cover plate  55   c  covers the vertical wall  55   a  and the horizontal wall  55   b,  and is connected to the vertical wall  55   a  and the horizontal wall  55   b.  The vertical wall  55   a,  the horizontal wall  55   b  and the cover plate  55   c  constitute an operating member  55  indicated by continuous lines in FIG.  3 . 
     As shown in FIG. 1, an elongate rubber plate  50  is extended between the container body  11  and the lid  23  to bias the lid  23  in an opening direction. The rubber plate  50  has one end inserted in a slot  75  formed in the container body  11 , and the other end fastened to a holding part  76  formed on the lid  23  and spaced a predetermined distance apart from the container body  11 . 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the rubber plate  50  is extended between respective middle parts of the container body  11  and the lid  23 . 
     The container body  11  and the lid  23  are formed of a polypropylene resin (PP) by injection molding. The container body  11  and the lid  23  may be formed of any one of PE resins, PS resins, ABS resins, elastomers, PET resins, PVC resins and polycarbonate resins. Preferably, the bottom wall  12  is formed of a linear, low-density polyethylene resin (LLDPE). The rubber plate  50  is formed of silicone rubber. The holding part  76  is formed of a PP resin. 
     The operating member  55  will be described. As mentioned above, the operating member  55  includes the vertical wall  55   a , the horizontal wall  55   b  and the cover plate  55   c  covering the vertical wall  55   a  and the horizontal wall  55   c.  Projections  57  project from the outer surface of the vertical wall  55   a.  The projections  57  support the cover plate  55   c  so as to extend perpendicularly to the vertical wall  55   a.    
     A pressure exerted on the cover plate  55   c  to depress the cover plate  55   c  is transmitted through the projections  57  and the retaining rib  56  to the vertical wall  55   a  and the horizontal wall  55   b,  respectively. Consequently, the vertical wall  55   a  is bent along the thin bending part  52  in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3, and the horizontal wall  55   b  is bent in the same direction. 
     When the vertical wall  55   a  is thus bent in a clockwise direction, the stopping projection  32  of the lid  23  is disengaged from the catching projection  33  of the vertical wall  55   a.    
     When the pressure is removed from the cover plate  55   c,  the horizontal wall  55   b  returns to its original horizontal position. Consequently, the cover plate  55   c  retained on the horizontal wall  55   b  by the retaining rib  56 , and the vertical wall  55   a  connected to the cover plate  55   c  by the projections  57  return to their original positions, respectively. 
     As shown in FIG. 5, the width L 1  of the horizontal wall  55   b  is smaller than the width L 2  of the cover plate  55   c.  The horizontal wall  55   b  does not have any thin part and is comparatively rigid. The comparatively rigid horizontal wall  55   b  can be easily bent because the horizontal wall  55   c  has the comparatively small width L 1 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 to  5 , a slide step  65  is formed on the outer side of the recessed step  58  on a level below that of the recessed step  58 . A slider  60  is supported for sliding motion on the slide step  65 . 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the slider  60  has a groove  62  capable of receiving a lower end part f the cover plate  55   c.  The slider  60  slides on the slide step  65  along the lower end part of the cover plate  55   c  received therein. A protrusion  61  projects upward from the bottom of the groove  62 . A recess  51  is formed in the lower end of the cover plate  55   c  to receive the protrusion  61  therein. 
     When the slider  60  is located at a position where the protrusion  61  of the slider  60  coincides with the recess  51  of the cover plate  55   c,  the cover plate  55   c  can be depressed as far as the protrusion  61  is received deep in the recess  51 . 
     In a state where the protrusion  61  of the slider  60  and the recess  51  of the cover plate  55   c  are dislocated from each other, the protrusion  61  of the slider  60  is in contact with a flat part of the lower end of the cover plate  55   c,  so that the cover plate  55   c  is unable to move down even if a pressure is applied thereto and hence the lid  23  cannot be opened. 
     Thus, the slider  60  is moved on the slide step  65  so that the protrusion  61  of the slider  60  and the recess  51  of the cover plate  55   c  are dislocated from each other to prevent mischievous opening of the lid  23  by children. The slider  60  is a component of an operating member locking mechanism for locking the operating member  55 . 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the top wall  27  of the container body  11  is provided with the vertical, annular wall  94  having an inner surface that engages the annular rib  37  of the lid  23 . The upper edge of the annular wall  94  is chamfered to form a bevel surface  94   a  to enable the lid  23  to be easily opened even if a wet tissue  41  is caught between the annular rib  37  and the annular wall  94 . The bevel surface  94   a  is formed in the entire upper edge of the annular wall  94  excluding a section corresponding to the rubber plate  50 . The biasing force of the rubber plate  50  acting on a part of the annular rib  37  in the vicinity of the rubber plate  50  is high and hence the part of the upper edge of the annular wall  94  corresponding to the rubber plate  50  does not need to be chamfered and the annular rib  37  and the annular wall  94  are in close engagement. 
     A structure forming the opening  24  of the top plate  27  of the container body  11  will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the first top part  27   a  of the top wall  27  is provided with a pair of first flaps  82  extending into the opening  24 , and a pair of second flaps  83  extending into the opening  24 . The pair of first flaps  82  and the pair of second flaps  83  are disposed opposite to each other. 
     Each of the pair of first flaps  82  and the pair of second flaps  83  has a wavy sectional shape extending from the base end toward the free end thereof. Thus, bending directions of the pair of first flaps  82  and the pair of second flaps  83  perpendicular to directions along the lengths of the flaps  82  and  83  are determined, so that the flaps  82  and  83  can be stably and surely bent. 
     The pair of first flaps  82  are extended away from each other to expand a space between the pair of first flaps  82  toward the extremities of the pair of first flaps  82 , and the pair of second flaps  83  extend away from each other to expand a space between the pair of second flaps  83  toward the extremities of the pair of second flaps  83 . 
     The wet tissues  41  contained in the container body  11  will be described with reference to FIG.  6 . Referring to FIG.  6 ( a ), the folded wet tissues  41  are piled up in a neat pile and the neat pile of the wet tissues  41  is sealed in a sealed pouch  40  formed from a soft film. Each wet tissue  41  is folded substantially in two along a fold  42 . Folded wet tissues  41  respectively having folds  42  on the opposite sides are piled alternately. The lower half  41   b  of a first folded wet tissue  41  lies between the upper half  41   b  of a second folded wet tissue  41  underlying the first folded wet tissue  41  and the upper half  41   a  of a third wet tissue  41  underlying the second folded wet tissue  41 . When the top wet tissue  41  is pulled out of the sealed pouch  40 , the lower half  41   b  of the same wet tissue  41  pulls up the upper half  41   a  of the second top wet tissue  41 . There is no particular restriction on the method of folding the wet tissues  41  and the wet tissues  41  may be folded by any folding method, provided that the wet tissues  41  can be successively taken out of the sealed pouch  40 . For example, the wet tissues  41  may be folded and piled up as shown in FIG.  6 ( b ). An opening  40   a  is formed in the upper wall of the sealed pouch  40  and the opening  40   a  is covered with a removable seal  45  attached to the upper wall of the sealed pouch  40 . 
     The wet tissues  41  are formed of a water-soluble material. The wet tissues  41  may be formed of paper or may be sheets of a textile material, such as gauze or nonwoven fabric, foamed material or a paper-base soft material. A liquid with which the tissues are impregnated to provide the wet tissues  41  may be any one of wetting agents respectively containing germicides, disinfectants and detergents, and cosmetics including lotions and milky lotions. 
     The functions of the container with a lid in the first embodiment thus formed will be explained hereinafter. 
     One end of the rubber plate  50  is inserted in the slot  75  formed in the container body  11 , and the other end of the rubber plate  50  is fastened to the holding part  76  formed on the lid  23  with a projection formed at a predetermined position on the lid  23  fitted in a positioning hole, not shown, formed in the other end of the rubber plate  50 . 
     The sealed pouch  40  sealing the wet tissues  41  is put in the container body  11  through the open lower end of the container body  11 . 
     The lid  23  is turned relative to the container body  11  in a closing direction and the stopping projection  32  of the lid  23  is engaged with the catching projection  33  of the container body  11  to close the opening  24  closely. When the lid  23  is closed, the annular rib  37  of the lid  23  is fitted closely in the annular wall  94  of the container body  11  to seal up a space surrounded by the annular rib  37 . 
     When using the wet tissues  41 , the slider  60  is moved along the slide step  65  so as to align the protrusion  61  of the slider  60  with the recess  51  formed in the cover plate  55   c,  and then the cover plate  55   c  of the operating member  55  is depressed. Consequently, the vertical wall  55   a  is bent along the thin part  52  and the horizontal wall  55   b  is bent, so that the stopping projection  32  is released from the catching projection  33 . In this state, the lid  23  is turned about an axis of turning by the resilience force of the rubber plate  50  to its open position. 
     The top wet tissue  41  is picked up between fingers and is pulled up. Then the wet tissue  41  is pulled out of the container body  11 . When the top wet tissue  41  is thus pulled out of the container body  11 , the lower half  41   b  of the top wet tissue  41  pulls the upper half  41   a  of the second top wet tissue  41  into the gap between the end edges of the first flaps  82  and those of the second flaps  83 . After the top wet tissue  41  has been taken out, the upper half  41   a  of the second top wet tissue  41  is held between the first flaps  82  and the second flaps  83 . 
     Since the vertical wall  44   a  and the horizontal wall  55   b  are bent by depressing the cover plate  55   c,  the stopping projection  32  of the lid  23  and the catching projection  33  of the vertical wall  55   a  can be directly and surely disengaged. The cover plate  55   c  conceals the vertical wall  55   a  and the horizontal wall  55   b  from the outside, so that the aesthetic appearance of the container with a lid  10  is not spoiled by the vertical wall  55   a  and the horizontal wall  55   b.    
     The lid  23  can be locked by dislocating the protrusion  61  of the slider  60  from the position corresponding to the recess  51  of the cover plate  55   c  to prevent the depression of the cover plate  55   c.  Thus, the mischievous opening of the lid  23  and the wasting of the wet tissues  41  by children can be prevented. 
     As is apparent from the foregoing description, according to the present invention, the slider is moved on the container body to align the protrusion of the slider with the recess of the cover plate. In this state, the stopping projection can be released from the catching projection simply by depressing the cover plate of the operating member to bend the vertical wall, and the lid can be opened by the resilience force of the elastic biasing member. The lid can be locked by dislocating the protrusion of the slider from the position corresponding to the recess of the cover plate to prevent the depression of the cover plate. Thus, the mischievous opening of the lid by children can be prevented. 
     Although a locking mechanism for locking the operating member  55  having the slider  60  has been described, the operating member  55  may be locked by a swing arm supported for turning on the lid or by a turnable stopper supported on the operating member  55  and capable engaging the container body  11 . 
     The operating member  55  and the container body  11  may be formed separately and the operating member  55  may slide relative to the container body  11  to make the operating member  55  exercise a locking function. 
     Second Embodiment 
     A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to  11 . 
     The second embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 to  11  has a lid fastening mechanism to fasten a lid  23  to a container body  11  instead of the operating member locking mechanism, and is substantially the same as the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to  6  in other respects. 
     In FIGS. 7 to  11 , parts of the second embodiment like or corresponding to those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference characters and the description thereof will be omitted. 
     Referring to FIGS.  7 ( a ) and  7 ( b ), the lid fastening mechanism comprises, for example, a locking member  95  having a tongue  95   a  and a turning stem  95   b  is supported for turning on a top wall  27  of the container body  11 . The locking member  95  is turned so as to insert the tongue  95   a  in a groove  23   a  formed in the lid  23  to hold the lid  23  surely on the container body  11 . The locking member  95  serves as a lid locking mechanism. 
     A locking member  96  shown in FIG. 8 may be employed instead of the locking member  95 . The locking member  96  is supported for sliding on the top wall  27 . 
     The lid  23  may be provided with a bendable locking tongue  97  as shown in FIGS.  9 ( a ) and  9 ( b ). The locking tongue  97  is engaged with a projection  98  formed on the container body  11  to lock the lid  23 . The locking tongue  97  and the projection  98  serve as a lid locking mechanism. 
     As shown in FIGS.  10 ( a ) and  10 ( b ), the lid  23  maybe provided with a bendable tongue  99  provided with a protrusion  99   a.  The protrusion  99   a  of the locking tongue  99  is forced into a recess  100  formed in the top wall  27  to lock the lid  23  at the closed position. 
     As shown in FIGS.  11 ( a ) and  11 ( b ), a locking member  101  may be pivotably supported on the lid  23  and the locking member  101  may be moved into a groove  103  formed in the container body  11  so as to engage projections  102  formed on side walls of the groove  10 . 
     The operating member locking mechanism included in the first embodiment or the lid locking mechanism included in the second embodiment may be applied to a container with a lid, not shown, including a container body for containing wet tissues, having an open upper end and a top wall covering the open upper end of the container body. In this container with a lid, the top wall is provided with an opening through which the wet tissues are taken out, a turnable lid closes the opening, and an elastic biasing means in an opening direction. 
     As is apparent from the foregoing description, according to the present invention, the operating member can be locked by the operating member locking mechanism and the lid can be locked on the container body by the lid locking mechanism. Accordingly, the mischievous operation of the operating member by children can be prevented, and the lid cannot be accidentally opened and the useless takeout of the wet tissues can be prevented.