U.S. patent application number 10/886378 was filed with the patent office on 2005-01-13 for container with double lids.
Invention is credited to Wang, Soo Chang.
Application Number | 20050006390 10/886378 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33448370 |
Filed Date | 2005-01-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050006390 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wang, Soo Chang |
January 13, 2005 |
Container with double lids
Abstract
The present invention provides a container with double lids,
which has a container body, a lid unit to close an open top of the
container body, a locking flap provided on either of the container
body and the lid unit, and a locking protrusion provided on a
remaining one of the container body and the lid unit to lock
thereto the locking flap. The lid unit of the container of the
present invention includes a locking lid which is made of a soft
material and has a predetermined shape to correspond to an edge of
the open top of the container body, with an opening provided at an
inside part of the locking lid, and a rim-shaped receiving part
provided on a lower end of the locking lid to receive therein the
edge of the open top of the container body; and an observing lid.
The observing lid includes a cover plate to be placed in the
opening of the locking lid, and a coupling part extending outward
from an edge of the cover plate and to be inserted into the
receiving part of the locking lid. Therefore, the container of the
present invention allows a user to observe contents of the
container through the observing lid, thus being convenient to the
user. Furthermore, because the locking lid may be variously
colored, the container of the present invention provides the double
lids of two tones of color, thus enhancing the appearance
thereof.
Inventors: |
Wang, Soo Chang; (Seoul,
KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROTH & GOLDMAN, P.A.
523 W. 6TH STREET
SUITE 707
LOS ANGELES
CA
90014
US
|
Family ID: |
33448370 |
Appl. No.: |
10/886378 |
Filed: |
July 7, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/326 ;
220/256.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 45/30 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/326 ;
220/256.1 |
International
Class: |
B65D 051/18 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 9, 2003 |
KR |
10-2003-0046560 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A container with double lids, comprising a container body, a lid
unit to close an open top of the container body, a locking flap
provided on either of the container body and the lid unit, and a
locking protrusion provided on a remaining one of the container
body and the lid unit to lock thereto the locking flap, the lid
unit comprising: a locking lid made of a soft material and having a
predetermined shape to correspond to an edge of the open top of the
container body, with an opening provided at an inside part of the
locking lid, and a rim-shaped receiving part provided on a lower
end of the locking lid to receive therein the edge of the open top
of the container body; and an observing lid, comprising: a cover
plate to be placed in the opening of the locking lid; and a
coupling part extending outward from an edge of the cover plate to
form a bent shape and to be inserted into the receiving part of the
locking lid.
2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the cover plate is
made of a transparent plastic or glass material to allow contents
in the container to be observed.
3. The container according to claim 2, wherein the coupling part of
the observing lid comprises a channel-shaped coupling slot opened
downward to receive therein the edge of the open top of the
container body, and the coupling part is inserted into the
rim-shaped receiving part of the locking lid.
4. The container according to claim 3, further comprising: a
plurality of coupling protrusions provided by protruding upward on
the coupling part of the observing lid at positions spaced out at
predetermined intervals; and a plurality of coupling holes provided
on predetermined portions of the receiving part of the locking lid
to correspond to and receive therein the plurality of coupling
protrusions.
5. The container according to claim 1, further comprising: an
extension part extending from the rim-shaped receiving part of the
locking lid to a predetermined distance inwardly.
6. The container according to claim 1, further comprising: an air
hole provided on a predetermined portion of the cover plate of the
observing lid; and an air control valve provided on a predetermined
portion of the cover plate to control the air hole.
7. The container according to claim 3, further comprising: first
and second bolt holes respectively provided on the channel-shaped
coupling slot of the observing lid and the rim-shaped receiving
part of the locking lid to be aligned with each other, so that the
observing lid and the locking lid are coupled to each other by a
bolt tightened into both the first and second bolt holes.
8. The container according to claim 3, wherein the coupling part of
the observing lid and the rim-shaped receiving part of the locking
lid are coupled to each other through an ultrasonic sealing
process.
9. The container according to claim 3, wherein the coupling part of
the observing lid and the rim-shaped receiving part of the locking
lid are coupled to each other through a double injection process.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to containers, and
more particularly, to a container with double lids which comprise a
locking lid and an observing lid, which is made of a material
different from the locking lid and has a transparent plate to allow
a user to easily observe contents in the container, and in which
the locking lid has various colors, thus enhancing an appearance of
the container.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Generally, containers each include a container body which
has a predetermined space to contain therein contents, and a lid to
close an open top of the container body. The container further
includes a locking flap which is provided on either of the
container body and the lid, and a locking protrusion which is
provided on a remaining one of the container body and the lid to
lock thereto the locking flap. By locking the locking flap to the
locking protrusion, the lid is coupled to the container body, thus
preventing the contents in the container from undesirably leaking
out.
[0005] The containers are typically made of plastics, because the
containers made of the plastics have several advantages in
comparison with containers made of stainless or glass materials, as
follows: processes of forming container products are simple, costs
and weights of container products are reduced, and the container
products are prevented from being damaged.
[0006] As such, in case of the container made of the plastic, the
locking flap is integrally provided on the container body or the
lid. Furthermore, a film hinge is provided between the locking flap
and either of the container body or the lid, so that the locking
flap is rotated around the film hinge. To achieve the
above-mentioned purpose of the film hinge, the container is made of
a soft plastic which is a kind of plastic. If a hard plastic is
used to produce the container, the film hinge may be broken by
repeatedly rotating the locking flap.
[0007] However, in case that the container is made of the soft
plastic, the container must be translucent or opaque because of the
special feature of the soft plastic in that transparency thereof is
poor.
[0008] As such, when the conventional containers are made of the
above-mentioned translucent or opaque materials, users cannot
confirm the contents, contained in the containers, without opening
the containers. Therefore, to confirm the contents in each of the
containers, the users must open each of the containers. Thus, the
conventional containers cause inconvenience to the user.
[0009] Furthermore, in case that the conventional containers made
of the soft plastic are colored, the containers become further
translucent or further opaque. Then, the users cannot confirm the
contents in the container. To avoid the above-mentioned problem,
typically, the conventional containers have been made of uncolored
soft plastics, which are translucent. However, the uncolored
containers are disadvantageous in that the appearances thereof are
poor. To manufacture variously colored containers, the containers
must be partially made of the hard plastic. However, in case that
the hard plastic is used to manufacture the container, a part of
the container, which is made of the hard plastic having a physical
feature different from the soft plastic, may not be easily bonded
with another part of the container, which is made of the soft
plastic.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in
mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object
of the present invention is to provide a container with double
lids, which has a transparent window to allow a user to confirm
contents in the container.
[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
container with the double lids, which has a variety of colors, thus
providing a good appearance.
[0012] In order to accomplish the above object, the present
invention provides a container with double lids, including a
container body, a lid unit to close an open top of the container
body, a locking flap provided on either of the container body and
the lid unit, and a locking protrusion provided on a remaining one
of the container body and the lid unit to lock thereto the locking
flap. The lid unit has a locking lid made of a soft material and
having a predetermined shape to correspond to an edge of the open
top of the container body, with an opening provided at an inside
part of the locking lid, and a rim-shaped receiving part provided
on a lower end of the locking lid to receive therein the edge of
the open top of the container body; and an observing lid, having a
cover plate to be placed in the opening of the locking lid, and a
coupling part extending outward from an edge of the cover plate to
form a bent shape and to be inserted into the receiving part of the
locking lid.
[0013] The cover plate may be made of a transparent plastic or
glass material to allow contents in the container to be
observed.
[0014] The coupling part of the observing lid may include a
channel-shaped coupling slot opened downward to receive therein the
edge of the open top of the container body, and the coupling part
may be inserted into the rim-shaped receiving part of the locking
lid.
[0015] The container may further include a plurality of coupling
protrusions provided by protruding upward on the coupling part of
the observing lid at positions spaced out at predetermined
intervals, and a plurality of coupling holes provided on
predetermined portions of the receiving part of the locking lid to
correspond to and receive therein the plurality of coupling
protrusions.
[0016] The container may further include an extension part
extending from the rim-shaped receiving part of the locking lid to
a predetermined distance inwardly.
[0017] The container may further include an air hole provided on a
predetermined portion of the cover plate of the observing lid, and
an air control valve provided on a predetermined portion of the
cover plate to control the air hole.
[0018] The container may further include first and second bolt
holes respectively provided on the channel-shaped coupling slot of
the observing lid and the rim-shaped receiving part of the locking
lid to be aligned with each other, so that the observing lid and
the locking lid are coupled to each other by a bolt tightened into
both the first and second bolt holes.
[0019] The coupling part of the observing lid and the rim-shaped
receiving part of the locking lid may be coupled to each other
through an ultrasonic sealing process.
[0020] The coupling part of the observing lid and the rim-shaped
receiving part of the locking lid may be coupled to each other
through a double injection process.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] The above and other objects, features and other advantages
of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the
following detailed description taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0022] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a container with
double lids, according to a first embodiment of the present
invention;
[0023] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the container of FIG. 1;
[0024] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the container, according to a
modification of the first embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0025] FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged plan view of a container with
double lids, according to a second embodiment of the present
invention;
[0026] FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG.
4; and
[0027] FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a container with double lids,
according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0028] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be
described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.
[0029] Reference now should be made to the drawings, in which the
same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings
to designate the same or similar components.
[0030] A container of the present invention includes a rim-shaped
locking lid, which is made of a soft material, and an observing
lid, which closes a containing space defined in a container body
and is made of a transparent material to allow a user to observe
contents in the container. Furthermore, the locking lid is made of
a translucent or opaque material to apply a variety of colors to
the container, thus providing a better appearance of the
container.
[0031] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the container with double lids
according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a
container body 10 which defines therein a containing space, and a
lid unit 20 which is coupled to an open top of the container body
10 to cover the containing space of the container body 10.
[0032] The container body 10 has a seating rib 11 which is provided
around a predetermined portion of an outer surface of the container
body 10 spaced apart from an edge of the open top of the container
body 10 to a predetermined distance to be projected outward in a
circumferential direction of the outer surface of the container
body 10. Thus, when the lid unit 20 is coupled to the container
body 10, the lid unit 20 is seated onto the seating rib 11. A
plurality of locking protrusions 13 are provided on an outer edge
of the seating rib 11 at positions spaced out at predetermined
intervals. A locking protuberance 15 is provided by protruding
downward under an end of each of the plurality of locking
protrusions 13.
[0033] The lid unit 20 to be coupled to the container body 10
includes a locking lid 25 which has a rim shape to correspond to
the edge of the open top of the container body 10, with an opening
provided at an inside part of the locking lid 25. The lid unit 20
further includes an observing lid 30 which is coupled to the
container body 10 while closing the opening of the locking lid
25.
[0034] The locking lid 25 of the lid unit 20 has a receiving part
26 which has a reversed U-shaped cross-section to be opened
downward and has the rim shape, such as a rectangular, circular or
elliptical rim shape, to correspond to the edge of the open top of
the container body 10. The locking lid 25 further has a plurality
of locking flaps 27 which are provided on an outside of the
receiving part 26 at positions spaced out at predetermined
intervals to correspond to the plurality of locking protrusions 13
of the container body 10. Each of the locking flaps 27 is rotated
between a position of locking the locking flap 27 to the locking
protrusion 13 and a position of unlocking the locking flaps 27 from
the locking protrusion 13. To achieve the above-mentioned purpose,
the locking lid 25 further has a film hinge which is provided
between each of the locking flaps 27 and the receiving part 26 of
the locking lid 25. Thus, each of the locking flaps 27 is rotated
around each of the film hinges toward the container body 10. Each
of the locking flaps 27 has a locking hole 28 to receive therein
each of the locking protrusions 13 of the container body 10. When
each of the locking protrusions 13 is inserted into each of the
locking holes 28, the locking protrusion 13 is elastically locked
to the locking hole 28 by the locking protuberance 15 of each of
the locking protrusions 13. Thus, each of the locking protrusions
13 is prevented from being undesirably removed from each of the
locking holes 28 of the locking flaps 27.
[0035] The locking lid 25 is made of an opaque or translucent soft
plastic, so that the locking lid 25 may be variously colored.
Therefore, when a plurality of locking lids 25 having different
colors are provided, the user may selectively couple a locking lid
25 of a desired color to the container body 10 according to the
purpose of use, contents in the container body 10 or the atmosphere
around the container.
[0036] The observing lid 30 of the lid unit 20 has a cover plate 31
to close the opening the locking lid 25, and a coupling part 32
which has a coupling slot 33 extending outward from an edge of the
cover plate 31 to form a channel-shape to be opened downward. The
cover plate 31 of the observing lid 30 is made of a transparent
material, such as a transparent hard plastic or glass material,
different from the locking lid 25. Thus, the cover plate 31 has a
transparent window.
[0037] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the container, according to a
modification of the first embodiment of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 3,
the container according to the modification of the first embodiment
includes an air control valve 37 which is provided by passing
through the cover plate 31 at an inside part of the cover plate 31.
The air control valve 37 controls an amount of air in the
containing space of the container body 10 to create a vacuum in the
container body 10, thus preventing foods contained in the container
body 10 from deteriorating, and thereby maintaining the quality of
the foods.
[0038] In the meantime, the coupling part 32 with the coupling slot
33 receives therein the edge of the open top of the container body
10. A packing 35 is inserted in the coupling slot 33 to seal the
container body 10. Furthermore, the coupling part 32 of the
observing lid 30 is inserted into the receiving part 26 of the
locking lid 25, so that the observing lid 30 and the locking lid 25
are coupled to each other.
[0039] At this time, there are several methods to couple the
observing lid 30 to the locking lid 25 by inserting the coupling
part 32 of the observing lid 30 into the receiving part 26 of the
locking lid 25.
[0040] In a first coupling method, the coupling part 32 of the
observing lid 30 is received in the receiving part 26 of the
locking lid 25 without a separate coupling means. To couple both
the observing lid 30 and the locking lid 25 to the container body
10, the observing lid 30 is coupled to the container body 10 while
the edge of the open top of the container body 10 is inserted into
the coupling slot 33 of the observing lid 30. Thereafter, the
locking lid 25 is coupled to an upper portion of the observing lid
30 while the coupling part 32 of the observing lid 30 is received
into the receiving part 26 of the locking lid 25. To separate both
the locking lid 25 and the observing lid 30 from the container body
10, the locking lid 25 is removed from the observing lid 30 before
the observing lid 30 is removed from the container body 10.
[0041] In a second coupling method, as a second embodiment shown in
FIGS. 4 and 5, a plurality of coupling protrusions 39 are provided
by protruding upward around a circumferential upper surface of the
coupling part 32 of the observing lid 30 at positions spaced out at
predetermined intervals. A plurality of coupling holes 29 are
provided on predetermined portions of the receiving part 26 of the
locking lid 25 to correspond to and receive therein the plurality
of coupling protrusions 39. Thus, the locking lid 25 and the
observing lid 30 are coupled to each other while each of the
plurality of coupling protrusions 39 of the observing lid 30 is
inserted into each of the plurality of coupling holes 29 of the
locking lid 25.
[0042] In a third coupling method, after the coupling part 32 of
the observing lid 30 is received in the receiving part 26 of the
locking lid 25, the coupling part 32 of the observing lid 30 and
the receiving part 26 of the locking lid 25 are coupled to each
other through an ultrasonic sealing process.
[0043] In a fourth coupling method, first and second bolt holes
(not shown) are respectively provided on the coupling part 32 of
the observing lid 30 and the receiving part 26 of the locking lid
25 to be aligned with each other. Thus, the observing lid 30 and
the locking lid 25 are coupled to each other by a locking bolt (not
shown) tightened into both the first and second bolt holes.
[0044] In a fifth coupling method, the coupling part 32 of the
observing lid 30 and the receiving part 26 of the locking lid 25
are coupled to each other through a double injection process.
[0045] Except for the above-mentioned several coupling methods,
another coupling method may exist, for example, use of a bonding
agent. However, the locking lid 25 is made of the soft plastic,
while the observing lid 30 is made of the hard plastic or a glass
material. In other words, the materials constituting the locking
lid 25 and the observing lid 30 are different from each other.
Therefore, the locking lid 25 and the observing lid 30 are not
easily coupled to each other by using only the bonding agent. Thus,
the coupling method using the bonding agent is less advantageous
than the others which are above-mentioned.
[0046] The operation and effect of the container of the present
invention will be described herein below.
[0047] The contents are contained in the container body 10.
Thereafter, the lid unit 20 comprising the locking lid 25 and the
observing lid 30, which are coupled to each other through one
method among the above-mentioned several coupling methods, is
coupled to the container body 10. At this time, the edge of the
open top of the container body 10 is received in the coupling slot
33 of the observing lid 30. By the packing 35, which is provided in
the coupling slot 33, a gap between the lid unit 20 and the edge of
the open top of the container body 10 is sealed. Thereafter, each
of the plurality of locking flaps 27, provided on the locking lid
25, is rotated downward until each of the locking protrusions 13 of
the container body 10 is locked to each of the locking holes 28 of
the locking flaps 27. In case of the container according to the
modification of the first embodiment, after both the locking lid 25
and the observing lid 30 are coupled to the container body 10, a
central portion of the observing lid 30 is pressed downward by a
user to discharge the air from the containing space of the
container body 10 to the outside through air hole provided on the
cover plate 31 of the observing lid 30. Thus, the lid unit 20 is
further tightly coupled to the container body 10.
[0048] At this time, because the lid unit 20 comprises the locking
lid 25 having the variety of colors and the observing lid 30 having
the cover plate 31 to form the transparent window, the user can
observe the interior of the container body 10 through the
transparent window. Accordingly, it is not necessary to open each
of the containers to confirm of the contents in the containers,
different from the conventional containers. Thus, the container of
the present invention is convenient to the user.
[0049] In the meantime, because the locking lid 25 is made of the
soft material in the same manner as that of the conventional
containers, the locking lid 25 of the container of the present
invention may be variously colored. Therefore, when a plurality of
locking lids 25 having different colors are provided, the user may
selectively purchase a container having a locking lid 25 of a
desired color. Furthermore, the user may purchase a set of locking
lids 25 each having a different color, so that the user may
selectively use a locking lid 25 of a desired color according to
contents in the container body 10, the atmosphere around the
container, or the purpose of use of the container. In addition,
because the observing lid 30 has the transparent window and the
locking lid 25 is variously colored, the container of the present
invention may be provided into two or more tones, thus enhancing
the appearance of the container.
[0050] In the container of each of the above-mentioned first and
second embodiments, the locking lid 25 has a rim shape to provide
the receiving part 26. However, as shown in FIG. 6, a container
according to the third embodiment includes an extension part 24
which extends inwardly from a receiving part 26 of a locking lid 25
to a predetermined distance. The extension part 24 of the locking
lid 25 is bent at an end thereof downwardly. The container
according to the third embodiment further includes a receiving slot
34 which is provided by depressing downward a predetermined portion
of a cover plate 31 of the observing lid 30 to correspond to and
receive therein the bent end of the extension part 24. Thus, the
extension part 24 made of a soft material is prevented from being
undesirably separated from the observing lid 30. The extension part
24 may extend inwardly from the receiving part 26 of the locking
lid 25 to the same predetermined distance. Alternatively, the
extension part 24 may be different in the protruded distance
thereof while extending in the circumferential direction of the
receiving part 26. According to the protruded distance of the
extension part 24, the appearance of a transparent window, which is
formed by the cover plate 31 of the observing lid 30, is
determined. Therefore, the transparent window of the observing lid
30 may have various appearances by the extension part 24, thus
enhancing the appearance of the container.
[0051] In the container of each of the above-mentioned first,
second and third embodiments, the locking protrusions 13 each
having the locking protuberance 15 are protruded outward from the
seating rib 11 of the container body 10. However, the plurality of
locking protuberances 15 may be provided on the outer edge of the
seating rib 11 to extend downwardly. In this case, each of the
locking flaps 27 has a hook, which is provided on an inner surface
of the locking flap 27 and is bent to correspond to the locking
protuberance 15, which is provided on the seating rib 11, in place
of the locking hole 28. Thus, when each of the locking flaps 27 is
pressed toward the seating rib 11, the hook of the locking flap 27
elastically snaps to each of the locking protuberances 15 of the
seating rib 11. Therefore, the lid unit 20 is reliably coupled to
the container body 10 by the above-mentioned locking structure.
[0052] Furthermore, in the container of each of the first, second
and third embodiments, both the seating rib 11 and the locking
protuberances 15 are provided on the container body 10, while the
locking flaps 27 are provided on the lid unit 20. However, both the
seating rib 11 and the locking protuberances 15 may be provided on
the lid unit 20, while the locking flaps 27 may be provided on the
container body 10.
[0053] As described above, the present invention provides a
container with double lids which comprise a locking lid made of a
soft material and an observing lid made of a hard material.
Therefore, the container of the present invention allows a user to
observe contents of the container through the observing lid, thus
being convenient to the user. Furthermore, because the locking lid
may be variously colored, the container of the present invention
provides the double lids of two tones, thus enhancing the
appearance thereof.
[0054] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention
have been disclosed-for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the
art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and
substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying
claims.
* * * * *