Patent Publication Number: US-10322858-B2

Title: Container that prevents from an illegal operation and can be easily identified after being illegally operated

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/148,566, filed on May 6, 2016, and entitled “Container That Prevents from an Illegal Operation and Can Be Easily Identified after Being Illegally Operated”, presently pending. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     NAMES OF PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     REFERENCE TO AN APPENDIX SUBMITTED ON COMPACT DISC 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a container, and more particularly to a container that prevents illegal operation and can be easily identified after being illegally operated. 
     2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98 
     Vacuum-formed plastic containers are usually made to have a box-shaped or a cup-shaped containing structure and are used in the supermarkets for keeping food fresh. The plastic container is transparent for the buyer to clearly see the contents, such as jelly-like, fruit or liquid foods and provided to stimulate customer&#39;s buying intentions. For containing liquid foods, the conventional plastic containers focus on the function of a water-tight seal. The conventional plastic container usually includes a hollow body and a body for selectively closing the hollow body. 
     For preventing the container from an illegal operation before checkout, some businesses position the cover of the container by staples. However, the casing or the cover of the container may be broken due to the staples when the buyer forcibly opens the cover. As a result, the container cannot be reused. 
     In addition, some businesses provided a snapper for temporarily positioning the cover on the casing of the container and a puller extending from cover for upwardly lifting the cover. As a result, the snapper is maintained in a cavity when the puller is lifted for opening the cover and a pre-broken line, formed on the puller is broken. However, the conventional plastic container is transparent and the cover is flexible such that the cover may be reinstated. Consequently, the manager and the checkout staff is difficultly to identify whether the container is illegally operated or not. The altered plastic container cannot effectively prevent an illegal operation and cannot be easily identified after being illegally operated. 
     The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the disadvantages of the conventional plastic container. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The main objective of the present invention is to provide an improved container that prevents illegal operation and can be easily identified after being illegally operated. 
     To achieve the objective, the container in accordance with the present invention comprises a casing defining an opening and formed with a first abutting edge surrounding the opening. A cover is selectively mounted onto the casing for closing the opening, wherein the cover has a second abutting edge laterally extending therefrom and abutting against the first abutting edge when the cover closes the opening. A puller is connected to an outer side of the second abutting edge. A snapping device includes a plug formed on the puller and a socket defined in the cover for receiving the plug and holding the plug in place. A pre-broken line is formed on the puller and surrounds a root of the plug, wherein the plug is maintained in the socket when the puller is upwardly pulled and the pre-broken line is broken, and the puller abuts a plan area surrounding the socket. Two weakened portions are formed on the puller, wherein each weakened portion has a plan structure and is flexible, the two weakened portions diametrically correspond to each other relative to the pre-broken line and respectively vertical to an operating line of the puller such that the puller is irreversibly curved after being lifted due to the weakened portion. 
     Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a closed perspective view of a container that prevents illegal operation and can be easily identified after being illegally operated in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an opened perspective view of the container in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a partially enlarged view of the container in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a partially enlarged view of the container in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the container in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 5A  is a partially enlarged view of the container in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the container in accordance with the present invention along line  6 - 6  in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the container in accordance with the present invention along line  7 - 7  in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 8  operational view of the puller of the container in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a partially perspective view of the container in accordance with the present invention when the pre-broken line is broken. 
         FIG. 10  is a partially perspective view of a second embodiment of the container in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is an operational view of the container in accordance with the present invention in  FIG. 10 . 
         FIG. 12  is a partially cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the cover of the container in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the drawings and initially to  FIGS. 1-7 , a container, that prevents illegal operation and can be easily identified after being illegally operated, in accordance with the present invention comprises a casing  10  defining an opening  12  and formed with a first abutting edge  11  surrounding the opening  12 . A cover  20  is selectively mounted onto the casing  10  for closing the opening  12 , wherein the cover  20  has a second abutting edge  22  laterally extending therefrom and abutting against the first abutting edge  11  when the cover  20  closes the opening  12 . A puller  30  is connected to an outer side of the second abutting edge  22 . In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the puller  30  is situated on a corner of the cover  20 . A snapping device  40  includes a plug  41  formed on the puller  30 , a socket  42  defined in the cover  20  for receiving the plug and holding the plug  41  in place. A pre-broken line  43  is formed on the puller  30  and surrounds a root of the plug  41 , wherein the plug  41  is maintained in the socket  42  when the puller  30  is upwardly pulled and the pre-broken line  43  is broken. As shown in  FIG. 6 , the puller  30  abuts a plan area (not numbered) surrounding the socket  42 . Two weakened portions  50  are formed on the puller  30 , wherein each weakened portion  50  has a plan structure and is flexible. With reference to  FIGS. 3, 5 and 5A , the two weakened portions  50  diametrically correspond to each other relative to the pre-broken line  43  and respectively are vertical to an operating line  300  of the puller  30  such that the puller  30  is irreversibly curved after being lifted due to the weakened portion  50  and the curved puller  30  is used as a basis for easily identifying whether the container is illegally operated, as shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . In addition, the puller  30  easily becomes curved because the puller  30  abuts the plan area surrounding the socket  42  and the plan area provides a stable support to the puller during being pulled. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the pre-broken line  43  is separated from a periphery of the plug  41  and the two weakened portions are respectively formed between the pre-broken line  43  and the opposite sides of the puller  30 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the pre-broken line  43 , surrounding the plug  41 , is broken, the puller  30  forms a pull-tab and the puller  30  is curved along the two weakened portions  50  when the puller  30  is lifted. 
     With reference to  FIG. 5A , the pre-broken line  43  is divided into a first portion and a second portion by the operating line  300 , wherein the first portion and the second portion respectively includes multiple connecting sections  431 . Each connecting section  431  of the first portion of the pre-broken line  43  aligns with a corresponding one of the multiple connecting sections  431  of the second portion of the pre-broken line  43 . A connecting line  432  of the corresponding connecting sections  431  is vertical to the operating line  300  to make the puller  30  being easily curved when the puller  30  is lifted. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 10 and 11 , each weakened portion  50  is formed with a fold edge  51 , wherein each fold edge  51  aligns with a corresponding one of the multiple connecting sections  431  of the pre-broken line  43 . In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fold edges  51  provide a greater resistance during lifting the puller  230  such that the operator more hardly forces the puller  30  and the puller  30  is more clearly curved. 
     With reference to  FIG. 2 , at least one connecting plate  60  is provided to connect two corresponding sides of the cover  20  and the casing  10  such that the cover  20  is upward and inclined relative to the casing  10  after being lifted from the opening  12  of the casing  10 . However, the at least one connecting plate  60  is not absolutely necessary to the container in accordance with the present invention. 
     With reference to  FIG. 7 , the first abutting edge  11  is formed with a first wall  13 , wherein an outer periphery of the second abutting edge  22  of the cover  20  is laterally engaged to the first wall  13 . A groove  14  is laterally defined in a root of the first wall  13  and the outer periphery of the second abutting edge  22  of the cover  20  is laterally engaged into the groove  14 . In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first wall is provided to prevent an outer periphery of the first abutting edge  11  from an illegal dig relative to a fingernail. 
     With reference to  FIG. 12 , a second wall  80  is formed on the cover  20  along the second abutting edge  22  for preventing the abutted first abutting edge  11  and the second abutting edge  22  from being detached from each other by pinching with one&#39;s fingers because the fingers touch the second wall  80  during pinching. 
     As described above, the manager and the checkout staff can easily identify whether the container is illegally operated or not due to the curved puller  30  that is deformed when being pulled relative to the weakened portion  50 . Consequently, the effect of preventing the container in accordance with the present invention from an illegally operation is promoted. 
     Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.