Abstract:
A container lid that is easily sealed to prevent air and other environmental agents from infiltrating the covered container and its contents and to accommodate storage of tools such as paintbrushes or paint rollers. The lid includes a base and lip and a strap surrounding the lip to secure the position of the lid and prevent air from seeping into the container. The base of the lid can be a solid, smooth surface, or it can be configured with special features such as suction vents and pour spouts. The base further includes a hatch and slots for receiving and holding tools suspended from the lid into the container. The hatch includes features including a hatch cover, gasket, and hinge cover that prevent the passage of air into the container that when paired with the easily sealed lid on the container prevents air, pests, and other particles from ruining or contaminating the container contents or tools.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/419,985 filed on Oct. 21, 2002. The entire disclosure and contents of the above application is hereby incorporated by reference. 

   The present invention is directed generally to a container lid and specifically to a sealable container lid including a mechanism for securely holding tools such as painting and kitchen tools within the container when the lid is in place on the container. 
   BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
   Containers for storing paint, food, and other substances have been in use for many years, and most such containers generally have lids that keep the contents from spilling out. Often containers need to be watertight or airtight or must be sealed to keep out contaminants, but such sealed containers are often difficult to open and close, and once the seal is broken, are not resealable and require tools to be opened or closed. A lid for a paint container, for example, is necessary to keep the paint from drying out. When not in use painting tools such as brushes and rollers must be paint-free in order to prevent the paint from drying in the brush. Many times painters must leave a painting job partially done, whether for a lunch break or an end of day work stoppage or other reason. Under these circumstances, the painter must cover the paint container and clean the painting tools so that they do not dry out and become unusable. 
   Covering and cleaning paint containers and tools is time a consuming and potentially messy procedure. Some painters have tried to overcome these problems by covering their brushes with plastic wrap or the like, however this procedure tends to be messy and does not always insure that the tools are completely covered, in which case they may dry out. Some painters store their brushes in a jar of solvent or water, in the case of water-based paints. This technique can cause the bristles to bend and become permanently deformed. 
   Paint container lids are also problematic in that when a can or bucket is closed while paint is in lid receiving rim of the can or bucket, the lid can become stuck to the point that it takes great effort to remove it. Even if there is no paint in the receiving rim, a tool such as a screwdriver is needed to pry open the lid. This process is time consuming and requires the user to have a screwdriver or other lever tool handy. 
   Finally, a person using traditional sealed containers can has no way to lock the lid of the can so that unauthorized persons can not easily get into the paint or other items that may be stored inside the container. 
   SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to a container lid that is easily sealed to prevent air and other environmental agents from infiltrating the covered container. The lid includes a base and lip, and a strap surrounding the lip that secures the position of the lid and prevents air from seeping into the container. The base of the lid can be a solid, smooth surface, or it can be configured with special features such as suction vents and pour spouts. 
   A further aspect of the invention is a base configuration including a hatch and slots for receiving and holding tools such as painting tools such as brushes and rollers, kitchen utensils such as spoons, or measuring utensils such as measuring cups or spoons suspended from the lid into the container. The hatch includes features including a hatch cover, gasket, and hinge cover that prevent the passage of air into the container that when paired with the easily sealed lid on the container prevents air, pests, allergens, and other particles from infiltrating the contents of the container. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1A  is a schematic view of the lid with sealing mechanism. 
       FIG. 1B  is a schematic view of the strap with a toggle latch. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic view of the sealed lid having a suction vent and pressure release valve. 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic view of the sealed lid having a pour spout. 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic view of the lid showing the base having a hatch with slots and a hinge on the periphery. 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic view of the lid showing a paint roller suspended in a slot. 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic view of the hatch cover that coordinates with the hinge of  FIG. 4  to cover the hatch of  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 7  is a schematic view of the gasket that fits under the slotted side of the lid of  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 8  is a schematic view of the hinge cover. 
       FIG. 9  is a schematic view of the lid in the unsealed lip configuration with a buckle fastener. 
       FIG. 10  is an embodiment showing hollow lip holding the strap. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION 
   The lid of the present invention can be attached to any container having a size and shape corresponding to the lid. For the purposes of the present description, the lid is shown as a circular cover for a cylindrical container, but the novel features described herein can correspond to a lid of any reasonable size and shape. In  FIG. 1A , lid  10  includes a base  11 , which covers the container opening, and a lip  12 , which envelops the container rim when the lid is secured in place on the container. The lip  12  can be a sealed lip or an unsealed lip. A sealed lip configuration initially fits securely around the rim of the container to form a seal thereby preventing air from seeping through the lid, while an unsealed lip configuration simply fits loosely over the perimeter of the rim of the container. Lid  10  is preferably constructed of rigid material such as molded propylene while lip  12  is preferably constructed of resilient plastic material such as a vinyl or buna-N material; however, the preferences for material set forth herein do not limit the scope of the invention. Other suitable materials could be used by those skilled in the art. Lip  12  is preferably about one sixteenth of an inch thick and two inches in height, though the exact dimensions are not critical to the invention. The material used for lip  12  must resist migration of air from the outside environment to the inside of the container, and should preferably be resilient and easy to clean. 
   In order to further secure lid  10  to the container and to prevent the infiltration of air into the container, a flexible strap  21  having two ends  22   a  and  22   b  as shown in  FIG. 1B  surrounds lip  12  of  FIG. 1A . Strap  21  is made of a flexible material such as nylon or pliable metal and terminates at each end with a fastening mechanism  23 . Any fastening assembly known in the art can be used so that when the fastening mechanism  23  is in a locked position, strap  21  is pulled tightly around lip  12  into a cinched configuration. If lip  12  is an unsealed configuration, strap  21  is attached to base  10  and fits around lip  12 . Upon closing of the fastening mechanism of strap  21 , lip  12  compresses tightly around container. In a preferred embodiment, a lining lines the side of lip  12  that engages the container rim to form a more secure seal when compressed. If lip  12  is a sealed configuration, strap  21  is held onto lip  12  by a holding mechanism  25  which can include a plurality of loops  25  attached to lip  12 , a tube attached to lip  12 , or lip  12  itself. Strap  21  is inserted through said holding mechanism  25  thereby suspending the strap from lip  12  when the strap is not in a closed configuration. In the preferred embodiment, wherein lip  12  serves as the holding mechanism, lip  12  is a flexible, hollow nylon-type material, and strap  21  is inserted into the hollow area of lip  12 . When strap  21  is tightened by fastening assembly  23 , the lip  12  is drawn under the rim or tightly against the side of the container thereby creating a water-tight seal. In a preferred embodiment, a toggle latch is used as the fastening assembly, however hook and loop fasteners or buckles are also effective. A hasp  24  can protrude from strap  21  thereby allowing a lock to be inserted. 
   Base  11  of lid  10  can be a solid surface or can be configured to have special features. As shown in  FIG. 2 , base  11  can include a suction vent  13  and a pressure release valve  14 . Suction vent  13  allows air to be removed from the container after the lid is in place thereby creating a vacuum-type environment inside the container. Pressure release valve  14  releases the vacuum created by the suction vent. As shown in  FIG. 3 , base  11  can also. include an opening  15  for receiving a pour spout  16 . When the contents of the container need to be poured out, the pour spout  16  is inserted into opening  16  and when the pour spout is not needed, the opening  15  is covered with a cap. In order to reduce splashes when using pour spout  16 , base  11  also includes and air vent  17 . The lid of the present invention can be used to securely cover and seal a wide variety of containers, including but not limited to food storage containers and paint containers. 
   In a preferred embodiment, lid  10  is configured with a hatch to hold tools such as paintbrushes or rollers suspended from lid  10  within a sealed container. Other tools that could be suspended from the lid include kitchen utensils and measuring utensils. For simplicity of description, painting tools will be used as the primary example for describing the invention. The present invention is not limited to the tools described herein, but could be used to suspend any tool useful to one in the relevant art. 
   As shown in  FIG. 4 , within base  11  is a hatch  30  providing access into the covered container. Hatch  30  is preferably rectangular in shape having two parallel sides  31   a  and  31   b  and two parallel ends  32   a  and  32   b . The periphery of side  31   a  includes at least one slot  33  for receiving the handle of a paint tool as shown in  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 7  shows the preferred configuration of three slots  33 ,  34   a , and  34   b  along the periphery of side  31   a , which allows three tools to be suspended simultaneously from lid  10 . Slots can vary depending on the intended use of the lid and there can be a variety of slots within one configuration. For example, slot  33  for receiving paint rollers is slightly longer and narrower than slots  34   a  and  34   b  for receiving paint brushes as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . The long, narrow slot better accommodates a paint roller handle while the short, wide slots better accommodate paintbrush handles. To hang a roller or brush in a slot, a painter simply lowers the roller or brush into the container through hatch  30  of lid  10  and then slides the handle into a slot. 
   The periphery of side  31   b  includes a hinge  35 , which receives hatch cover  40  depicted in  FIG. 6 . Preferably, hinge cover  43 , shown in  FIG. 8 , is attached over hinge  35  when hatch cover  40  is in the closed position to secure hatch cover  40  within hinge  35 ; however, a hinge assembly having a unitary hinge and cover could also be used. Hatch cover  40  is configured to securely cover and seal the entirety of hatch  30  when in the closed position. Accordingly, hatch cover  40  shown in  FIG. 6  is rectangular in shape to correspond to hatch  30  shown in  FIG. 4 . Hatch cover  40  includes fastening mechanisms  44  that coordinate with fastening mechanisms  36  located on the periphery of side  31   a  as shown in  FIG. 6 , thereby securing hatch cover  40  in a closed position. Hinge cover  43  and hatch cover  40  can easily be removed from lid  10  allowing all moving parts to be cleaned to remove paint build up, soil, etc. 
   When in the closed position, hatch cover  40  does not cover slots  33 ,  34   a , and  34   b  in order to accommodate tool handles extending up from said lid. In order to prevent air from entering the covered container and ruining or contaminating the contents and the tools, a gasket  41  is attached to the underside of lid  10  extending from the periphery of side  31   a  outward toward the lip  12  of lid  10  and away from hatch  30 . The gasket  41  can be attached to the lid using any suitable adhesive known in the art. As shown in  FIG. 7 , gasket  41  includes at least one narrow slit  42 . The number of slits a gasket contains corresponds directly to number of slots in the periphery of side  31   a . Gasket  41  shown in  FIG. 7  contains three slits  42  corresponding to slots  33 ,  34   a , and  34   b  of  FIG. 7 . Gasket  41  is flexible so as to allow insertion of a tool handle into a slot and corresponding slit and envelope the handle once inserted thereby keeping air out of the covered container. When a handle is not inserted into a slot, slit  42  of gasket  41  remains in a closed configuration to keep air out. 
   The combination of elements of the present invention comes together to store painting tools in a substantially water-tight and air-tight manner within a paint container. To use the paint lid of the present invention, a container is covered with the lid having a base, lip, hatch, and strap previously described. Once the lid is in place covering the container opening, the flexible strap is cinched into a substantially water-tight configuration by closing the fastening mechanism and thus holding the lip tightly against the container. After the lid is sealed in place, at least one painting tool such as a paint brush or paint roller is inserted through said hatch and the handle of each tool is inserted within a slot and corresponding gasket slit along the first side of the hatch. The gasket snugly grips the tool handles to hold them in place and to further contribute to the air-tightness of the lid. The open hatch is then covered by closing the hatch cover over the hatch. The fastening mechanism on the hatch cover engages the corresponding fastening mechanism on the periphery of the hatch to hold the hatch cover in place. The hatch cover is simple to close as it functions as a door attached by hinges to the lid. The slots holding the painting tools hold the tools at a location that does not interfere with opening or closing the hatch cover. If desired, a hinge cover can be placed over the hatch cover hinge in order to further provide for an air-tight environment within the container. 
   The variety of lids described herein can be used independently to cover a container or in conjunction with one another to cover a single container for a single use. For example, a paint container can fitted with the suction vent/pressure release lid while being stored, fitted with the pouring lid during a project, and fitted with the paint tool storage lid for temporary storage during a project. It is understood that various modifications may be made in the construction of the invention set forth above without departing form the spirit of the invention. Specific examples set forth in the description are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.