U.S. patent application number 10/336216 was filed with the patent office on 2004-07-08 for storage container with captive lid.
Invention is credited to Bogdanovich, Ron.
Application Number | 20040129715 10/336216 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32680964 |
Filed Date | 2004-07-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040129715 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bogdanovich, Ron |
July 8, 2004 |
STORAGE CONTAINER WITH CAPTIVE LID
Abstract
A storage container apparatus comprises a storage portion having
a bottom panel, and integral with, and extending upwardly from the
bottom panel, a continuous peripheral storage portion side wall
terminating with an upwardly facing rim. Downwardly spaced from the
rim is an outwardly extending flange. A cover portion has a top
panel, and integral with it and extending downwardly a continuous
peripheral side wall terminating with an outwardly extending
flange. The two flanges lie in mutual contact when the cover
portion is in place over the storage portion. One or more circular
wire rings fitted loosely through corresponding holes in the
flanges and the rings are of such diameter as to enable the cover
portion to be placed to one side of the storage portion without
overlap of the respective flanges.
Inventors: |
Bogdanovich, Ron; (Irvine,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
GENE SCOTT; PATENT LAW & VENTURE GROUP
3140 RED HILL AVENUE
SUITE 150
COSTA MESA
CA
92626-3440
US
|
Family ID: |
32680964 |
Appl. No.: |
10/336216 |
Filed: |
January 3, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/843 ;
220/4.22 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 43/163
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/843 ;
220/004.22 |
International
Class: |
B65D 043/16 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A storage container apparatus comprising: a storage portion
having a bottom panel, and integral with, and extending upwardly
from the bottom panel, a continuous peripheral storage portion side
wall terminating with a top, upwardly facing, rim, and downwardly
spaced from the rim, an outwardly extending flange; a cover portion
having a top panel, and integral with the top panel, and extending
downwardly from the top panel, a continuous peripheral side wall
terminating with an outwardly extending cover portion flange; the
cover portion flange and the storage portion flange laying in
mutual adjacency when the cover portion is in place over the
storage portion; and a circular flexible ring fitted loosely
through corresponding clearance holes in the storage and cover
portions flanges, the ring of such diameter as to enable the cover
portion to be removed from the container portion and rotated around
the ring so as to be placed to one side in approximately the same
plane, and spaced apart from the storage portion.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the ring is continuous and
unbroken.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the ring is continuous and
split.
4. A storage container apparatus comprising: a storage portion
having a bottom panel, and integral with, and extending upwardly
from the bottom panel, a continuous peripheral storage portion side
wall terminating with a top, upwardly facing, rim, and downwardly
spaced from the rim, an outwardly extending flange; a cover portion
having a top panel, and integral with the top panel, and extending
downwardly from the top panel, a continuous peripheral side wall
terminating with an outwardly extending cover portion flange; the
cover and storage portions flanges laying in mutual adjacency when
the cover portion is in place over the storage portion; and a pair
of circular flexible rings fitted loosely through corresponding
clearance holes in the storage and cover portions flanges, the
rings of such diameter as to enable the cover portion to be removed
from the container portion and rotated around the ring so as to be
placed to one side in approximately the same plane, and spaced
apart from the storage portion.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein at least one of the rings is
continuous and unbroken.
6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein at least one of the rings is
continuous and split.
Description
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
[0001] Applicant(s) hereby incorporate herein by reference, any and
all U.S. patents, U.S. patent applications, and other documents and
printed matter cited or referred to in this application.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This invention relates generally to food storage containers
and more particularly to such a container with means for capturing
a removable lid so that the lid and container proper cannot become
separated.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] The following art defines the present state of this
field:
[0006] Gedell, U.S. Des. 228,887 describes a combined can sealing
plug and retainer ring design.
[0007] Low, U.S. Pat. No. 715,399 describes a means for retaining
sealing-caps with vessels, the combination consisting of the cap
provided with a circumferential enlargement at its top, and an
outwardly trending flange at its bottom; a band encircling said
cap, and free to move circumferentially and longitudinally between
said enlargement and said flange; and provided with ears to receive
an attachment, by which said band is secured to the said cap; a
flexible attachment connected at one end with the said ears of said
band and at the other connected to a band located upon the neck of
a vessel between beads formed upon said neck, the said neck-band
being closed upon the said neck by passing the end of the said
attachment through ears upon the ends of said neck-band, and a
vessel-neck having channel formed between beads on said neck, all
constructed, arranged and combined to operate, substantially as
specified, whereby the said neck-band is restricted as to vertical
motion and the capband is unrestricted in its movements upon the
said cap.
[0008] MacMillan, U.S. Pat. No. 1,234,189 describes a liquid-tight
receptacle comprising a can provided with a neck, the upper edge of
which is rolled to form an external bead, said beaded upper edge
being of less diater than the body portion of said neck, a flexible
moisture seal extending across the mount of the can and having its
edges terminating below said external bend, a sealing band
confining the edge of said seal beneath said bead, and a cover
having a flat central portion extending extirely over the mouth of
the can in contact with said moisture seal, said cover being formed
with a depending annular flange enclosing the moisture seal and
sealing band and closely fitting the body portion of the can neck
below said bead and sealing band.
[0009] Menefee, U.S. Pat. No. 1,513,921 describes the combination
with a container and a cover, of a flexible loop-shaped member
passing through registering openings in the cover and container to
maintain them in operative relation and adapted to be drawn
upwardly through the openings and held taut while putting the cover
in place, a staple member rigidly mounted upon said cover and
extending downwardly and outwardly from the cover for extending
through a slot in the container, and means for engaging the
protruding end of the staple whereby the cover may be locked upon
said container.
[0010] Perdue, U.S. Pat. No. 2,155,329 describes a receptacle
having a discharge neck and a cap adapted to be removably secured
over the neck, attaching means for said cap comprising a band of
stretchable material having each end enlarged to form a flat tab,
each of said tabs having an opening therethrough, one of said tabs
being stretched for the reception of said neck and the other tab
being stretched over and securing the cap in the opening thereof,
the said cap and neck being tightly secured to the tab by the
contraction of the same thereabout whereby the cap and neck are
held against turning independently of the attached tabs and the
said band being of sufficient length to permit the cap to be turned
on and for connection with the neck of the receptacle.
[0011] Wiinikka, U.S. Pat. No. 2,547,353 describes the combination
with the neck of a container of a cap for the neck, and connecting
means between the cap and neck and including a guide carried by the
neck, and a .connector carried by the cap and slidably engaged with
the guide, said connector Including` a tongue projecting laterally
from the surface of the connector and resting on an edge of the
neck to support the cap in an elevated position when removed from
the neck.
[0012] Fisch, U.S. Pat. No. 2,581,849 describes a container having
a threaded neck including an upper and a lower part and a. cap
adapted for engagement with said threaded neck; a flexible
non-metallic connector device made from a single peice of a tubular
body cut so as to provide two co-axilly arranged and normally
spaced apart rings and a. strap interconnecting said rings; one of
said rings being adapted for position at the lower end of said
threaded neck and for rotation thereabout, the other ring being
adapted for frictional and firm engagement with said cap, said
strap being of such length that in engagement position of said cap
on said threaded neck said strap projects laterally beyond said
rings whereby upon disengagement of said cap from said upper part
of said threaded neck said cap will be springedly removed from said
threaded neck by said strap and securely held by the latter on said
container.
[0013] Freeman, U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,100 describes a container of
rubber or the like having a neck provided with a passageway
extending longitudinally thereof between the inner and outer
surfaces of the neck, said passageway opening at the upper rim of
the neck, said neck having an opening is the. outer surface thereof
beneath the rim thereof communicating with and forming part of the
lower end of said. passageway and providing a throughway from the
rim of the, neck to the opening in the outer surface of the neck, a
closure for said container, and a connecting member integral with
the closure and extending down into the passageway into the opening
in the outer surface of the neck.
[0014] Hayes, U.S. Pat. No. 3,145,872 describes a captive closure
and nozzle assembly for a container comprising, a nozzle having
vertically spaced external locking beads with the upper bead of
lesser diameter than the lower bead, a closure including a cap and
an annular holding ring permanently hingedly secured thereto, said
cap having a depending annular skirt provided with locking
shoulders on both the interior and exterior peripheries thereof,
said holding ring having a pair of vertically spaced inwardly
facing locking shoulders with the upper shoulder of greater
diameter than the lower shoulder, said ring upper shoulder being
detachably interengageable with said cap skirt exterior shoulder to
facilitate unit handling of said closure prior to and during
application thereof to said nozzle, said cap skirt interior
shoulder being detachably interengageable with said upper nozzle
bead to dispose said cap in sealing relation to said nozzle, and
said ring lower shoulder being lockingly interengageable with said
greater diameter lower nozzle bead when said ring upper shoulder is
detached from said cap skirt exterior shoulder following engagement
of said cap skirt interior shoulder with said upper nozzle bead, to
thereby lock said closure to said nozzle and prevent loss
thereof.
[0015] Berkstresser, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,056 describes
a mechanism for tethering a removable cover to a container so that
the cover does not become lost therefrom; the mechanism consisting
of a flexible elongated strap which at one end includes a means for
connecting to the cover, and which at the other end has means for
connection to the container.
[0016] Mayes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,547 describes a specimen
collection apparatus particularly useful for urine samples is
disclosed the apparatus includes a container or beaker and a screw
on self-locking top that cannot be removed without damage either to
the top or the beaker.
[0017] Abrams et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,941 describes a
tamper-proof container and cap assembly including apertured flanges
disposed on the container and cap, the apertures of which become
substantially aligned when the cap is inserted onto the container.
Integrally molded with one of the flanges is a locking strip
designed for one-way passage through the aligned holes, whereby
removal of the strip is possible only by permanent destruction
thereof. Structure may be provided for preventing relative lateral
movement between the flanges.
[0018] Giancaspro et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,512 describes a sport
bottle including a container for a liquid and a cover which seals
to the container and which includes an aperture through which a
straw extends. The straw extends outwardly from the cover to allow
the user to drink from the container. A flexible handle element is
secured to the cover and is disposed over the straw to allow the
user to hold both the container and the straw. The handle element
includes a cap for the straw so that the straw may be covered or
closed when the sports bottle is not being used for drinking
purposes. The cap prevents the liquid from sloshing out of the
bottle and also prevents dirt, or the like, from entering through
the straw and keeps the end of the straw or the portion of the
straw which contacts the users lips, from accumulating dust, dirt,
and the like.
[0019] Araki et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,482 describes a
string-attached cap in which one end of an elongated coupling
member is connected to a capping member, the capping member is
formed of an electroconductive resin, and the coupling member is
also formed of an electroconductive resin which is flexible.
[0020] Angus et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,399 describes a
tamper-evident fastening assembly for an outlet of a conduit,
including a closure member for covering the outlet of the conduit,
a strap extending from the closure member, and first and second
fasteners connected to the closure member. The first fastener
secures a first portion of the strap to the conduit by forming a
first loop. The second fastener secures a second portion of the
strap to the closure member by forming a second loop. Removal of
the closure member from the outlet breaks the second loop but
leaves the first loop intact on the conduit.
[0021] Yamada et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,553 describes an annular
groove that is formed in a cap body of a cap. An elongated coupling
member has a ring part formed integrally therewith, and is coupled
to the cap as the ring part is engaged in the annular groove. The
cap and the coupling member are each formed of electroconductive
resin, and the surface resistance from the cap to the vehicle is
set to be greater than or equal to 1.times.10.sup.12 OMEGA. and
less than 5.30.times.10.sup.12 OMEGA.. Hence, when the human body
is brought into contact with the cap, static electricity in the
human body is discharged to the vehicle side, and no shock is
imparted to the human body. In addition, the amount of residual
charge also declines without causing secondary spark discharge.
[0022] The prior art teaches specimen collection containers with
non-removable covers; a sports bottle with a cover which seals to
the container; a tamper evident fastener; a cap holder for bottles
and tubes; closures for bottles and cans; a milk can with attached
cover; attachments for caps; tamper proof container and cap;
captive caps; and string attached caps, but does not teach a cover
attached to the container by a ring such that the cover may be
easily moved laterally to expose the interior of the container or
move to be fully laid open. The present invention fulfills these
needs and provides further related advantages as described in the
following summary.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0023] The present invention teaches certain benefits in
construction and use which give rise to the objectives described
below.
[0024] A storage container apparatus comprises a bottom storage
portion having a bottom panel, and integral with, and extending
upwardly from the bottom panel, a continuous peripheral storage
portion side wall terminating with an upwardly facing rim.
Downwardly spaced from the rim is an outwardly extending flange. A
top cover portion has a top panel, and integral with it, and
extending downwardly a continuous peripheral side wall terminating
with an outwardly extending flange. The two flanges lie in mutual
adjacency when the cover portion is in place over the storage
portion with the cover sealing the bottom storage portion. One or
more circular rings are fitted loosely through corresponding
clearance holes in the flanges. The rings are of such diameter as
to enable the cover portion to be dislodged above the storage
portion and further enable the cover portion to be turned like the
page in a ring binder to one side of the storage portion without
the respective flanges overlapping. It should be noted that the
rings provide three important advantages to the present invention:
first, they prevent the cover and container portions from being
separated; second, they guide the positioning of the cover with
respect to the container portion in opening and closing the
container portion; finally, they do not influence how the cover
lies when it is removed from the container and placed on a
dishwasher shelf. It should be noted that more tenuous connectors,
such as flexible cords and bead type chains, when used to connect
the cover and container, do not perform the job of guiding the
cover on and off the container, and less tenuous connectors, such
as flexible hinges, lanyards and such, do not permit the cover to
be relatively free of the container so that its position in the
dishwasher is unaffected by the connector, i.e., plastic memory
positioning, etc. It has been found through extensive testing that
one or two rings of the size and type used in the present invention
provides a novel enablement ideally suitable for the control of the
cover to the right extent.
[0025] A primary objective of the present invention is to provide
an apparatus and method of use of such apparatus that provides
advantages not taught by the prior art.
[0026] Another objective is to provide such an invention capable of
storing items in a sealed space.
[0027] A further objective is to provide such an invention capable
of full removal of a cover portion without the possibility of the
cover being separated from a container portion to which it is
attached.
[0028] A further objective is to provide such an invention capable
of moving the cover portion to one side of the container
portion.
[0029] A still yet objective is to provide such an invention with
the ability to fully disconnect the cover portion from the storage
portion for replacement.
[0030] A final objective is to provide such an invention with the
storage portion and the cover portion fully independent; each of
the other, with the cover portion capable of being rotated from a
position sealing the storage portion, to a position to one side of
the storage portion as with a page in a book.
[0031] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken
in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by
way of example, the principles of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0032] The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention.
In such drawings:
[0033] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of
the invention with cover of the invention shown ajar;
[0034] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a further preferred
embodiment thereof;
[0035] FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of a split ring
engagement thereof; and
[0036] FIG. 4 is a plan view thereof laid fully open;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0037] The above described drawing figures illustrate the invention
in at least two of its preferred embodiments, which are further
defined in detail in the following description.
[0038] The present invention is a storage container apparatus
comprising, in a first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a storage
portion 5 having a bottom panel 10, and integral with, and
extending upwardly from the bottom panel 10, a continuous
peripheral storage portion side wall 20 terminating with a top,
upwardly facing rim 30; and downwardly spaced from the rim 30, an
outwardly extending storage portion flange 40. The invention
further comprises a cover portion 50 providing a top panel 60, and
integral with the top panel 60 and extending downwardly from it, a
continuous peripheral cover portion side wall 70 having an
outwardly extending cover flange 80. The cover flange 80 and the
storage flange 40 are in mutual adjacency or contact when the cover
portion 50 is in place over the storage portion 5 for sealing it.
The storage and cover portions are preferably injection molded
plastic parts and may be transparent or opaque as desired. Finally,
the invention further comprises one or more circular rings 90;
preferably, one such ring 90, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 or two such
rings 90, as shown in FIG. 2, loosely fitted through corresponding
clearance holes 42 and 82 in the storage portion flange 40 and the
cover portion flange 80 respectively. The rings 90 are preferably
of such diameter as to enable the cover portion 50 to be lifted
fully off the storage portion 5 so that the cover portion 50 is
clear of the storage portion 5 and thus may be rotated laterally to
one side of the storage portion momentarily for visibility into the
storage portion 5, and also that it may be easily rotated around
the ring(s) 90 so as to be placed in the same plane as the storage
portion 5 without overlap of the respective flanges 40, 80. This
assures that the entire surfaces of both container and cover
portions are exposed for thorough cleaning and is a novel aspect of
the invention. This is as shown in FIG. 4. The rings 90 may be
continuous and integral as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, or they may
be continuous and split as shown in FIG. 3. In the latter case, the
cover portion 50 is able to be removed or replaced. The rings 90
are large enough to be used for hanging the storage and cover
portions of the container on a hook or nail (not shown). The
important novel aspect of the present invention is that the ring(s)
90 are not able to influence the positions of the cover and the
storage portions 50, 5, because of the clearance holes 42, 82.
[0039] While the invention has been described with reference to at
least one preferred embodiment, it is to be clearly understood by
those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited thereto.
Rather, the scope of the invention is to be interpreted only in
conjunction with the appended claims and it is made clear, here,
that the inventor(s) believe that the claimed subject matter is the
invention.
* * * * *