Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A variety of covers for sealing containers which
can be easily opened without the use of any separate opening
means have been proposed.
For example, the cover of a metal can may be provided
with series of indentations or slits defining the configuration
of the portion of the cover to be opened and a handle is connect-
ed to the portion defined by the indentations or slits whereby
when the handle is pulled upwardly, the cover is severed along
the line of indentations or slits to thereby open the container.
However, the prior art container cover has a rather large num-
ber of parts and requires a rather great number of processing
steps resulting in high production cost. And in such a prior
~ art container cover, since the series of indentations or slit
is not provided with any reinforcing means, said weakened por-
tions are not so strong as the rest of the cover. Thus, the
cover has the disadvantage that when the covered can containing
a product therein drops or falls down, the cover breaks or gets
damaged along the weakened line.
A variety of covers having easily openable portions
have been employed, but in these, the part that is pulled up to
define the opening is separated from the cover member when the
can is opened. Then the part removed is in many cases discarded
thereby polluting the environment.
Therefore, one object of the present invention is to
provide a container cover member which can be opened without
the use of any separate opening means and which can be easily
produced at low cost.
Another object of the present invention is to provide
a cover member which can be produced by injecting thermoplastic
synthetic resin into weakened portion such as a through holer
through holes, slots or slits provided in a preformed cover
blank with a pull tab so as to form an opening whereby the cover
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member can be easily opened.
Another object of the present invention is to provide
a container cover member which has a pull tab acting as an
opening and closing plug which is retained the cover member
even after the container has been opened.
A further object of the present invention is to pro-
vide a method for producing a container cover member at low cost,
which can be easily opened without the use of any separate open-
lng means.
~he above and other objects and advantages of the
present invention will be more readily apparent to those skilled
in the art from a reading of the following detailed description
in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which show preferred
embodiments of the invention for illustration purpose only, but
not for limiting the scope of the same in any way.
Fig. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of the cover
member having an openable portion defined by openable belt zones
formed on the opposite surfaces of said cover sheet according to
the present invention~
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view substantially taken
along the line II-II of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a plan view of another embodiment of the
cover member having an opening portion defined by a series of
slots substantially in one direction and occupies a substantial
portion of the area of the cover sheet according to the present
invention,
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view substantially taken
along the line IV-IV of Fig. 3;
Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment
of the cover member which is similar to the cover member of
Fig. 1, but has the openable belt zone defined on only the inner
surface of the cover sheet;
Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view similar to the cover
member of Fig. 5, but has a notch on a revet head,
Fig. 7 is a plan view of another embodiment of the
cover having the openable belt zone positively secured to the
cover sheet in a portion between slots defining the openable
portion according to the present invention;
Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of said embodiment ;
of Fig. 7;
Fig. 9. is a plan view of another embodiment of the
cover member having the openable portion defined by the slits,
and the openable belt zone on the inner surface of the cover
sheet along the slits according to the present invention;
Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment
of Fig. 9;
Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 10,
including a notch on a revet head along the slits;
Fig. 12 is a plan view of another embodiment of the
cover member having an appropriate number of through holes along
the periphery of the portion to be opened slits connecting the
through holes on the outer surface of the cover sheet and open-
ing the sheet on the inner surface of the cover sheet;
Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view substantially taken
along the line XIII - XIII of Fig. 12;
Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 13,
including a notch instead of the slit;
Fig. 15 is a plan view of another embodiment of the
cover member similar to the cover member of Fig. 13, but has
the openable belt zone adhered to the inner surface of the
cover sheet in place of the opening sheet of Fig. 13;
Fig. 16 is a cross-sectional view of said embodiment
of Fig. 15;
Fig. 17 is a plan view of another embodiment of the
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cover member in which all the closure member filling up a plura-
lity of small through holes in the cover sheet are integrally
formed with the openable belt zone on only the outer surface of
the cover sheet whereby as the part that makes up the openable
belt zone is pulled upwardly, the closure members are in succes-
sion pulled out of the small through holes, and
Fig. 18 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially
along the line XVIII - XVIII of Fig. 17.
The present invention will be now described referring
to the accompanying drawings and more particularly, to Figs. 1
through 8 thereof in which embodiments of No. 1 type container
cover member according to the present invention are shown.
In the embodiment as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a cover
member 10 comprising a circular cover sheet 11 which has an
openable portion 20 defined by a series of slots 21 with dis-
continuous portions 22 is placed into a metal mould in an injec-
tion moulding machine and in the moulding operation, the slots
21 are filled with synthetic resin to form closure members 23
in the form of a double-ended rivet having the heads 24, 25 -
at the opposite ends which engage the opposite surfaces of the --~
circulàr sheet to prevent the closure members from coming off
the sheet and ensure a positive sealing by the synthetic resin
filling up the slots 21. Since the opposite rivet heads 24, 25
of the closure members 23 also connect between the discontinuous
portions 22 on the opposite surfaces of the circular sheet 11
to form resin continuous portions 26, the opposite rivet heads
24, 25 of the rivet-shaped closure members 23 and the resin con-
tinuous portions 26 cooperate with each other in forming ring-
shaped continuous opening belt zones 27 along the periphery of
the openable portion or opening portion 20 on the opposite sur-
faces of the circular cover sheet 11. Furthermore, one end of
the openable continuous belt zone 27 on one or the outer surface
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(the upper surface as seen in Fig. 2) of the circular cover sheet
11 is integrally connected with a ring-shaped handle 30 at a
portion 28.
After the cover member having the synthetic resin
handle 30 as shown and described hereinabove has been placed
onto a container filled by suitable conventional means, when it
is desired to open the cover member, the handle 30 is first
pulled upwardly whereupon the junction 28 between the handle 30
and openable continuous belt zone 27 is also raised because the
handle is integral with the opening continuous zone. As the
junction is raised, the openable continuous belt zone portions
extending in the opposite directions from their junction with
the handle are also raised. At this time, the discontinuous
portions 22 of the slots 21 in the circular cover sheet 11 are
sheared off by the closure member 23 having the rivet heads on
the opposite surfaces of the circular sheet 11 and the opening
continuous zones which connect the rivet heads at the opposite
rivet heads of the closure members and as a result, the openable ~ ~
portion 20 can be easily removed from the rest of the cover -
member together with the openable continuous belt zone 27 to
thereby open the container. ;~
Another embodiment of ~o. 1 type cover member of the
invention is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. In this embodiment, the
openable portion 20 occupies a substantial portion of the center
area of the cover sheet 11 and the slots 21 having discontinuous
portions 22 extent in one direction along a substantial portion
of the periphery of the cover sheet 11 to define a substantial
portion of the opening 20 and terminate at a discontinuous por-
tion 28 without forming a complete annular configuration. The
cover member blank preformed in this manner is placed into an
injection moulding machine in which synthetic resin is injected
into the slots 21 on the opposite surfaces of the cover sheet 11
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to integrally form the closure members 23 each having rivet
heads 24, 25 on the opposite surfaces of the cover sheet 11
and also form resin continuous member 26 which connect adja-
cent rivet heads 24, 25 together. The thus formed parts con-
stitute an integral annular opening continuous belt zone 27
as a whole on each of the opposite surfaces of the cover sheet.
~he injection of resin also forms a handle 30 integral with the
ring-shaped opening belt zone 27 on one of the opposite sur-
faces of the cover sheet 11 (the outer surface of the cover sheet).
In this embodiment, in use, when the handle 30 is
pulled upwardly with respect to the rest of the cover member, the
opening of the continuous belt zones 27 divides the cover sheet
11 into the inner or opening 20 a substantial portion of the
periphery of which is separated from the cover sheet and the
remaining discontinuous portion 28 which serves as the hinge ~ -
about which the openable portion is opened or closed.
In this manner, the large opening through which a
spoon or the like is inserted into the container can be not only
easily opened but the opening is so arranged that the openable
portion defining the opening is always thrown away together with
the container.
Another embodiment of No. 1 type cover member is shown
in Fig. 5 and in this embodiment, the cover member is formed
of thermoplastic synthetic resin or paper. If good bonds are
formed between thermoplastic synthetic resin filled in the slots -
~and the opposite end faces of the cover sheet, when the slots
21 are filled with thermoplastic synthetic resin to form the
closure member 23, only one end or the end of the closure mem-
ber 23 which is positioned on the inner surface of the cover
sheet may be provided with the rivet head 25.
Also in this embodiment, in use, when the opening belt
zone 27 is pulled upwardly by means of the handle 30, the open-
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able portion 20 is removed from the cover member to therebyopen the container.
Fig. 6 shows another embodiment of No. 1 type cover
member and as shown in this Figure, a cut 29 is provided extend-
ing from a portion of the thickness of each closure member 23
through the thickness of the rivet head 25 associated with the
closure member 23 in accordance with the contour of the weakened
line of series of slots and when the handle 30 is pulled upwardly,
the rivet head 25 is divided into inner and outer side portions
31, 32 and therefore, the closure members 23 and continuous belt
zone 27 are also divided into inner and outer side portions. As
a result, the inner portion 31 of the cut 29 is separated from
the outer portion 32 which is so strongly sealed to the sheet 11
itself that when the cut 29 is cut said outer portion 32 is still
rçtained to the original position, and displace upwardly without
being obstructed by the cover sheet to thereby accelerate the -
opening of the openable portion 20.
Another embodiment of ~o. 1 type cover member is shown
in Figs. 7 and 8 and as shown in these Figures, the preformed ;
cover member has the openable portion 20 defined by the slots 21
in annular configuration, a portion of which is discontinuous as
shown at 33 and the closure members 23 fill up the slots 21. At
least one of the closure member rivet heads 24, 25 positioned on
the outer and inner surfaces of the cover sheet 11 (the rivet
head 24 in the illustrated embodiment) is contiguous to the resin
continuous member 26 around the discontinuous area 33 to form a
continuous structure. And before the closure member 23 and resin
continuous member 26 are formed by injection, a specific adhesive
is applied to the portion of the cover sheet 11 where the resin
continuous member 26 is to be formed so that the injec~ed resin
continuous member will positively adhere to the cover sheet 11.
Since the resin continuous member 26 is positively adhered to the
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cover sheet in this manner, even when the handle 30 is pulled
upwardly to separate the resin closure member 26 from the cover
sheet 11 to thereby open the openable portion 20 and since the
resin continuous member 26 remains on the cover sheet 11 at the
discontinuous area 33, the openable portion 20 is retained on
the cover sheet 11 by means of the resin continuous member 26
and pivots about the resin continuous member 26 as the hinge to
thereby accelerate the opening and closing of the openable portion
Although the opening 20 is defined by the slots in the
embodiments of No. 1 type cover member shown and described here-
inabove, in the embodiments of No. 2 type cover member as shown
in Figs. 9 and 10, the cover member having the opening 20 de-
fined by a circular line 34 of perforations or slits having the
discontinuous portion 35 and a through hole 36 adjacent to and
inwardly of the perforated line 34 is employed. The through
hole 36 in the preformed cover member is filled with thermoplas-
tic synthetic resin to form the closure member 23 having the
handle 30 integrally formed therewith on the outer surface of
the cover member and the openable belt zone 27 is adhered to the -
inner surface of the cover member and thus, the openable zone -~
27 is made integral with the closure member 23 on the said sur- ~-
face of the cover member.
With the above-mentioned construction of the embodiment
of No. 2 type cover member of Figs. 9 and 10, although the open-
ing 20 is defined by the perforated line or slits 34, the opening
is prevented from coming off the particular surface of the cover
member by the continuous openable belt zone 27 and perforated
line 34 and through hole 36 are effectively sealed by the conti-
nuous belt zone 27. In order to open the cover member, when the
handle 30 is pulled upwardly, the closure member 23 and continu-
ous openable belt zone 27 integral with the handle 30 are raised
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and the openable portlon 20 can be easily removed from the cover
member together with the continuous belt zone 27 by severing the
discontinuous portion 35 o~ the perforated line 34. Another
embodiment of ~o. 2 type cover member is shown in Fig. 11. As
shown in this Figure, the annular continuous belt zone 27 having
a suitable width is adhered to the inner surface of the cover
sheet 11 along the perforated line 34 and provided on the inner
surface thereof with cuts or notches 37 along the perforated
line or slits 34. Thus, when the cover member is opened by
pulling the handle 30 upwardly, the portions of continuous belt
zone 27 positioned below the handle 30 are divided into inner
and outer sides 38, 39 by notches 37 just below the perforated
line 34. Thus, the inner sides 38 of the continuous zones can
easily displace upwardly without being obstructed by the sheet
11. Therefore, by pulling the handle 30 upwardly, the continuous
zones 27 are gradually divided into inner and outer sides 38, 39
whereby the openable portion 20 can be easily opened.
Embodiments of ~o. 3 type cover member are shown in
Figs. 12 through 16. In the embodiment of Figs. 12, 13 and 14,
the preformed cover member has a number of spaced through holes
36 provided along the periphery of the opening 20 and cut lines
40 (Fig. 12) or notch 41 (under side of the cover member 10 of
Fig. 14) provided along the periphery of the opening portion 20
for connecting the through holes 36 together. By injection
moulding of thermal setting synthetic resin closure members 23
are formed in the through holes 36 and rivet heads 24 are formed
on the upper ends of the closure members 23 respectively. By
the injection moulding, the closure members and rivet heads 23
and 24 are integrally formed, at least the opening sheet 42 ex-
tending along the whole inner surface of the openable portion 20and the closure members 23 are integrally formed and one of the
closure members 23 and the handle 30 on the surface thereof are
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integrally formed.
With the construction of the cover member 10 as des- -
cribed, when the handle 30 is pulled upwardly, the pulling action
is applied to the opening sheet 42 on the inner surface of the
cover sheet the movement of which opening sheet 42 is controlled
by the rivet heads 24 and the cover sheet 11 is sheared upwardly
along the cut line 40 or notch 41 adjacent to the periphery of
the opening sheet 42 to thereby easily open the openable portion
20. Another embodiment of No. 3 type cover member is shown in
Figs. 15 and 16 and the embodiment of these Figures has continu-
ous openable belt bands 27 integrally formed with the closure
members 23 filling the through holes 36 along the cut lines or
perforated lines 43 on the inner surface of the cover sheet 11
instead of the opening sheet 42 extending along the inner sur-
face of the cover sheet of Figs. 12 and 13. Thus, the continu- -
~ous openable belt band 27 is held in position by the rivet heads
24 against lateral displacement. In this embodiment, when the
handle 30 is pulled upwardly, the continuous belt zone 27 is
positively and gradually pulled upwardly without lateral displace-
ment to thereby sever the cover sheet along the perforated line43 whereby the openable portion 20 is raised and easily opened.
Another embodiment of No. 4 type cover member of the
present invention is shown in Figs. 17 and 18. As shown in these
Figures, a number of small through holes 36 are provided in peri-
pherally spaced relationship in the cover sheet 11, the closure
members 23 fill the through holes 36 and the rivet heads 24, 25
are formed at the opposite ends thereof to engage the cover sheet
11 to thereby prevent the closure members 23 from coming off the -
cover sheet and provide sealing for the through holes and accord-
ingly, the opening portion. The rivet heads 24 are connectedtogether by the continuous resin member 26 and the handle 30 is
formed at one end of the continuous resin member 26. The lower -
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rivet heads 25 are preferably small, just large enough to prevent
the closure members 23 from coming off the cover sheet 11. In
the cover member formed by injecting thermoplastic synthetic
resin into the through holes as described hereinabove, when the
handle 30 is pulled upwardly, an upward action is applied to
the closure members 23 and the lower rivet heads 24 which are
small just large enough to hold the closure members against
falling and to provide necessary sealing deformation whereby the
closure members 23 can be pulled upwardly because the lower rivet
heads 25 deform or reduce their size as the closures 23 are
pulled upwardly. Thus, in this embodiment, all the closure mem-
bers fill the plural through holes which are provided in the
cover sheet can be automatically and easily pulled out of the
through holes in succession by pulling the handle upwardly. Thus,
the embodiment of the cover member can be conveniently employed
as an inner cap for a shaking-type container filled with parti-
cular powdery product.
While several embodiments of the invention have been
shown and described in detail, it will be understood that the
same are for illustration purpose only and not to be taken as a
definition of the invention, reference being had for this purpose
to the appended claims.
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