Abstract:
A transportation ring affixed to a plastic paint can for the purpose of retaining the lid on the plastic paint can during transportation. The transportation ring snaps downward over the can rim and extends inwardly over the edge of the lid. The transportation ring additionally includes an alignment ridge for cooperation with the bottom of the plastic paint can to facilitate stacking both during shipment and in-store stocking. The ring is preferably fabricated from a rigid plastic material.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to containers and more particularly to transportation rings of the type used to retain the lid on a can containing essentially hazardous and dangerous materials during shipping. 
         [0002]    A transportation ring is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,705. This ring extends downwardly into the plug recess. A removable retaining device for cans is also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,003. This device also extends into the U-shaped plug or lid recess. A reclosable vacuum container has the lid captured in a peripheral sealing cavity as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,330. 
         [0003]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,554 shows a lid retaining collar which also has a portion which extends into the U-shaped plug or lid recess. 
         [0004]    While the prior art devices extend into the U-shaped plug recess and onto the plug cover portion to operate adequately, the Applicant discovered it was not necessary to have these extensions to hold a lid or plug on a can to pass the applicable United Nations can testing requirements. U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,557 filed by the Applicant discloses such a transportation ring suitable for metal containers. 
         [0005]    A new plastic container is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,348 for “Plastic Paint Can.” While the transportation ring of the &#39;557 patent works well for metal containers, it does not engage the top edge of the new plastic paint can. Further, the plastic paint cans are designed to facilitate stacking, and the transportation ring of the &#39;557 patent does not include such features. The &#39;557 and &#39;348 patents are incorporated in their entirety herein by reference. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The present invention addresses the above and other needs by providing a transportation ring affixed to a plastic paint can for the purpose of retaining the lid on the plastic paint can during transportation. The transportation ring snaps downward over the can rim and extends inwardly over the edge of the lid. The transportation ring includes an alignment ridge for cooperation with the bottom of the plastic paint can to facilitate stacking. The ring is preferably fabricated from a rigid plastic material. 
         [0007]    In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a round transportation ring affixed to a plastic paint can. The plastic paint can includes a cylindrical can body, a round can bottom attached to the can body, round can rim attached to the can body, and a round lid. The round can rim is attached to the can body opposite to the can bottom and including a lid sealing ridge and an outer peripheral edge extending radially out beyond the can body. The round lid is removably attached to the can rim and includes a planar center portion for enclosing the contents of the plastic paint can and an outer channel portion for sealing with the lid sealing ridge. The round transportation ring is mounted to the plastic paint can and includes a lid retaining collar, a cylindrical outer ring portion, and a securing ridge. The lid retaining collar reaches inward over the outer channel portion of the lid for retaining the lid on the plastic paint can. The cylindrical outer ring portion reaches down over the can rim. The securing ridge is on an inside inner surface of the cylindrical outer ring portion residing below the outer peripheral edge of the can rim and has an inside diameter smaller than an outside of the outer peripheral edge thereby resisting removal of the transportation ring from the plastic paint can. The securing ridge includes a lower beveled portion at an angle A 1  for sliding over a rim edge of the plastic paint can, a center cylindrical portion, and an upper beveled portion at an angle A 2  for retaining the transportation ring on the plastic paint can where the angle A 1  is smaller than the angle A 2 . The lower beveled portion is preferably at an angle A 1  between 30 degrees and 50 degrees from the vertical and the upper beveled portion is preferably at an angle A 2  between 50 degrees and 70 degrees from the vertical for retaining the transportation ring on the plastic paint can. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         [0008]    The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings wherein: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a plastic paint can. 
           [0010]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of a lid used to seal the plastic paint can. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the plastic paint can with a transportation ring according to the present invention retaining the paint can lid for shipping. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2   a  is a perspective view of the transportation ring according to the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3A  is a top view of the transportation ring according to the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 3B  is a bottom view of the transportation ring according to the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the transportation ring according to the present invention taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3A . 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged and dimensioned cross-sectional view of the transportation ring according to the present invention taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3A . 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a detailed cross-sectional view of a detail  6  of  FIG. 5  of the transportation ring according to the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is a detailed cross-sectional view of a detail  7  of  FIG. 6  of the transportation ring according to the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of stacked plastic paint cans showing an alignment ridge of the transportation ring according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
       [0020]    Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0021]    The following description is of the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing one or more preferred embodiments of the invention. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims. 
         [0022]    A perspective view of a plastic paint can  10  is shown in  FIG. 1  and a perspective view of a lid  12  used to seal the plastic paint can  10  is shown in  FIG. 1A . Such plastic paint can  10  is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,348 for “Plastic Paint Can” incorporated by reference above. While the plastic lid  12  provides a good seal for general use, the lid  12  is not sufficiently strong to meet United Nations requirements to allow shipment with some modes of shipping. 
         [0023]    A perspective view of the plastic paint can  10  with a transportation ring  14  according to the present invention retaining the paint can lid  12  for shipping is shown in  FIG. 2  and a perspective view of the transportation ring alone is shown in  FIG. 2A . The top edge of the paint can  10  includes a laterally protruding rim edge  24   a  (see  FIG. 8 ) and the transportation ring  14  engages the rim edge  24   a  to hold the transportation ring  14  on the plastic paint can  10 . The transportation ring  14  further includes a lid retaining collar  18  (see  FIG. 4 ) reaching laterally inward over the lid  12  to retain the lid  12  during shipping. 
         [0024]    A top view of the transportation ring  14  is shown in  FIG. 3A , a bottom view of the transportation ring  14  is shown in  FIG. 3B , and a cross-sectional view of the transportation ring  14  taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3A  is shown in  FIG. 4 . The transportation ring  14  includes a lid retaining collar  18  reaching laterally inward over the lid  12  to retain the lid  12  during shipping and an alignment ridge  16  for engaging a bottom groove  22   a  (see  FIG. 8 ) on the bottom of known plastic paint cans  10 , the bottom groove  22   a  concentric with and proximal to the outer edge of the can bottom  22 , to facilitate stacking the plastic paint cans. The lid retaining collar  18  further provides a surface for embossing, for example, product name, manufacturer, phone number, and the like. The transportation ring  14  further includes a securing ridge  20  on a lower inner surface of the transportation ring for engaging the rim  24  (see  FIG. 8 ) of the plastic paint can  10 . 
         [0025]    An enlarged and dimensioned cross-sectional view of the transportation ring  14  taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3A  is shown in  FIG. 5 . The transportation ring  14  has a cylindrical outer ring portion  14   a  having an outside diameter D 1 , an outer ring inside diameter D 1 , an alignment ridge  16  outer diameter D 3  and inner diameter D 4 , a lid retaining collar  18  inside diameter D 5 , and a securing ridge  20  inside diameter D 6 . The diameter D 1  is preferably approximately 6.986 inches. The diameter D 2  is preferably approximately 6.786 inches. The diameter D 3  is preferably approximately 6.600 inches. The diameter D 4  is preferably approximately 6.450 inches. The diameter D 5  is preferably approximately 5.716 inches. And the diameter D 6  is preferably approximately 6.706 inches. These dimensions are based on the dimensions of a standard plastic paint can. 
         [0026]    A detailed cross-sectional view a detail  6  of  FIG. 5  of the transportation ring  14  is shown in  FIG. 6  and a detailed cross-sectional view a detail  7  of  FIG. 6  of the transportation ring is shown in  FIG. 7 . The alignment ridge has a width W 1  and a height H 1 . The lid retaining collar  18  has a height H 2 . The transportation ring  14  has an overall height H 3 . The securing ridge  20  has an upper beveled portion  20   a  with a height H 4  and at an angle A 1  from vertical, a vertical center portion  20   b  with a height H 6 , and a lower bevel portion  20   c  with a height H 6  and at an angle A 2  from vertical. The securing ridge  20  further reaches inward a distance W 3  and is approximately a height H 7  below the bottom surface of the lid retaining collar  18 . The dimensions of the securing ridge  20  are important because the angle A 1  must be sufficiently small to allow the ridge to pass over the rim edge  24   a  (see  FIG. 8 ) without high force which may damage the paint can, and the angle A 2  must be large to retain the transportation ring  14  on the paint can while allowing removal without damaging the paint can. As a result of experimentation, non-symmetric angles A 1  and A 2  with A 1  less than A 2  were found to be required to meet design requirements. 
         [0027]    The height H 4  is preferably between 0.020 inches and 0.040 inches, and is more preferably between 0.025 inches and 0.035 inches, and is most preferably approximately 0.030 inches, the height H 5  is preferably between 0.029 inches and 0.049 inches, and is more preferably between 0.034 inches and 0.044 inches, and is most preferably approximately 0.039 inches, and the height H 6  is preferably between 0.067 inches and 0.087 inches, and is more preferably between 0.072 inches and 0.082 inches, and is most preferably approximately 0.077 inches. The angle A 1  is preferably between 30 degrees and 50 degrees and is more preferably between 35 degrees and 45 degrees and is most preferably approximately 40 degrees and the angle A 2  is preferably between 50 degrees and 70 degrees and is more preferably between 55 degrees and 65 degrees and is most preferably approximately 60 degrees. The width W 3  is preferably between 0.030 inches and 0.050 inches, and is more preferably between 0.035 inches and 0.045 inches, and is most preferably approximately 0.040 inches and the height H 7  is preferably between 0.390 inches and 0.410 inches, and is more preferably between 0.395 inches and 0.405 inches, and is most preferably approximately 0.400 inches. 
         [0028]    A cross-sectional view of stacked plastic paint cans  10   a  and  10   b  showing the alignment ridge  16  of the transportation ring  14  according to the present invention is shown in  FIG. 8 . The plastic paint can  10  includes a cylindrical body  26 , bottom  22  at the base of the body  26 , and a rim  24  opposite the bottom. The rim  24  includes the rim edge  24   a  and a lid sealing ridge  24   b.  The lid  12  further includes a center planar portion  12   a  for enclosing the contents of the plastic paint can  10  and an outer channel portion  12   b  for sealing to the rim  24 . The alignment ridge  16  cooperates with the bottom groove  22   a  of the bottom  22  to facilitate stacking the cans  10   a  and  10   b.  The cooperation of the securing ridge  20  of the transportation ring  14  and rim  24  of the plastic paint cans  10  is shown. 
         [0029]    The transportation ring  14  is preferably made from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). 
         [0030]    While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.