CONTAINER AND CLOSURE ARRANGEMENT

CONTENANT ET AGENCEMENT DE FERMETURE

English Abstract

An arrangement comprising an open-ended container (2) and closure (10)
therefor, wherein the container comprises at least one projection (6)
extending at least partially around its outer surface adjacent the rim (4) of
its open, upper end, and wherein the closure comprises a cover for extending
over the open upper end and a skirt depending therefrom having an upper (18)
and a lower portion (20), whereby, the lower portion of the skirt may be
flipped between a raised configuration for mounting and removal of the cover
on the container and a lowered configuration in which it engages with the
projection of the container thereby to retain the cover on the container, and
wherein the lower portion of the skirt is divided into at least two discrete
peripheral sections that may be flipped between the raised and lowered
configurations independently of each other.

French Abstract

L'invention concerne un agencement comprenant un contenant à extrémité ouverte (2) et une fermeture (10) associée, le contenant comprenant au moins une saillie (6) s'étendant au moins partiellement autour de la surface externe de celui-ci de manière adjacente au rebord (4) de l'extrémité supérieure ouverte de celui-ci et la fermeture comprenant un élément couvrant destiné à s'étendre sur l'extrémité supérieure ouverte et une jupe dépendant de celui-ci et comprenant des parties supérieure (18) et inférieure (20), la partie inférieure de la jupe pouvant passer d'une conception élevée permettant de monter et de retirer l'élément couvrant sur le contenant à une conception abaissée dans laquelle celui-ci vient en contact avec la saillie du contenant, de manière à retenir l'élément couvrant sur le contenant et la partie inférieure de la jupe étant divisée en au moins deux sections périphériques distinctes pouvant passer des conceptions élevée à abaissée de manière indépendante l'une de l'autre.

Claims

CLAIMS:
1. An arrangement comprising an open-ended container and closure
therefor, wherein the container comprises a rim on an outer surface adjacent
an open
upper end,
at least one projection extending at least partially around the outer surface
adjacent the rim, and wherein the closure comprises a cover for extending over
the
open upper end and a skirt depending therefrom having an upper and a lower
portion,
whereby the lower portion of the skirt may be flipped between a raised
configuration
for mounting and removal of the cover on the container and a lowered
configuration
in which the cover engages with the projection of the container thereby to
retain the
cover on the container, and wherein the lower portion of the skirt is divided
into at
least two discrete peripheral sections that may be flipped between the raised
and
lowered configurations independently of each other.
2. An arrangement according to claim 1, in which the closure includes an
annular channel formed between the cover and the upper portion of the skirt
for
receiving the rim and the at least one projection of the container.
3. An arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, in which the skirt includes
at least one inwardly directed projection that extends therearound partway
along its
depth, and the projection engages with the projection of the container.
4. An arrangement according to claim 3, in which the at least one
inwardly directed projection engages beneath the projection of the container.
5. An arrangement according to claim 3 or 4, in which the at least one
inwardly directed projection divides the upper and lower portions.
6. An arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the
discrete peripheral sections of the skirt are formed by slits in a continuous
skirt
portion.
6

7. An arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the
container is of generally cylindrical configuration and the cover is of
generally
circular configuration.
8. An arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 7, made of plastics
material.
7

Description

CA 02562120 2011-09-23
Container and Closure Arrangement
This invention relates to a container and closure arrangement. The invention
finds particular, though not exclusive, application to closing a container of
liquid, for
example paint.
Cans of paint, for example, are often simply closed with a lid that has an
outwardly-directed rim that is press-fitted into the top of the container.
Removal of
the lid may be made by means of insertion of the blade of the screw driver and
twisting to prise off the lid. The lid can subsequently be replaced to re-
close the
container, but usually the mating surfaces of the lid and container become
damaged,
and can become coated with dried contents of the container, with the result
that a
significant effort has to be exerted to re-close the container, and even then
a seal may
not be effected, which can cause spillage and/or deterioration of the
contents.
An improved form of closure for such a container is known, in which an
outwardly-directed projection is provided on the outer surface of the
container just
below the rim of its open end. The lid is provided with a flat surface to
close and seal
down onto the container rim, and has a skirt that extends down and around the
projection, with an inwardly-directed projection to engage beneath the
projection of
the container, thereby to secure the lid in position. The skirt, is flexible
so that it can
be prised outwards and upwards, usually by hand, to release the inter-engaging
projections, thereby to allow the can to be opened. Such an arrangement can be
conveniently re-sealed. However, with this arrangement it can be very
difficult to
deflect the annular skirt to open the container.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an arrangement
comprising an open-ended container and closure therefor, wherein the container
comprises at least one projection extending at least partially around its
outer surface
adjacent the rim of its open, upper end, and wherein the closure comprises a
cover for
extending over the open upper end and a skirt depending therefrom having an
upper
and a lower portion, whereby the lower portion of the skirt may be flipped
between a
raised configuration for mounting and removal of the cover on the container
and a
lowered configuration in which it engages with the projection of the container
thereby
1

CA 02562120 2011-09-23
to retain the cover on the container, and wherein the lower portion of the
skirt is
divided into at least two discrete peripheral sections that may be flipped
between the
raised and lowered configurations independently of each other.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an
arrangement comprising an open-ended container and closure therefor, wherein
the
container comprises a rim on an outer surface adjacent an open upper end, at
least one
projection extending at least partially around the outer surface adjacent the
rim, and
wherein the closure comprises a cover for extending over the open upper end
and a
skirt depending therefrom having an upper and a lower portion, whereby the
lower
portion of the skirt may be flipped between a raised configuration for
mounting and
removal of the cover on the container and a lowered configuration in which the
cover
engages with the projection of the container thereby to retain the cover on
the
container, and wherein the lower portion of the skirt is divided into at least
two
discrete peripheral sections that may be flipped between the raised and
lowered
configurations independently of each other.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided an arrangement
comprising an open-ended container and closure therefor, wherein the container
comprises at least one projection extending at least partially around its
outer surface
adjacent the rim of its open, upper end, and wherein the closure comprises a
cover for
extending over the open upper end and a skirt depending therefrom, an annular
channel being formed between the cover and an upper portion of the skirt for
receiving the rim and the projection of the container, wherein the skirt is
divided into
said upper and a lower portion by at least one inwardly-directed projection
that
extends therearound partway along its depth, whereby the lower portion of the
skirt
may be flipped between a raised configuration for mounting and removal of the
cover
on the container and a lowered configuration in which its projection engages
beneath
the projection of the container thereby to retain the cover on the container,
and
wherein the lower portion of the skirt is divided into at least two discrete
peripheral
sections that may be flipped between the raised and lowered configurations
independently of each other.
2

CA 02562120 2011-09-23
By dividing the skirt of the closure of the arrangement of the present
invention
into a plurality of discrete sections, of which there may be three or four or
more, it has
been found to be much simpler to release the inter-engaging projections, which
can be
done section-by-section.
The discrete peripheral sections of the skirt may conveniently be formed by
slitting a continuous skirt portion.
Although the container may be of generally cylindrical configuration, the
cover then being of generally circular configuration, it is envisaged that the
arrangement of the invention may be applied to other configurations.
Advantageously, the arrangement is made of plastics material, although the
various components need not be made from the same composition.
An arrangement comprising an open ended container and closure therefor, will
now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying
drawings,
in which:
FIG. 1 is a vertical section through part of the arrangement, prior to fitting
the
closure onto the container;
FIG. 2 is a section corresponding to FIG. 1, with the closure mounted on the
container and locked thereon; and
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the closure of FIG. 1.
Referring to the Figures, a generally cylindrical plastics paint container 2
has
an annular rim 4 at its open end. Adjacent the rim 4 on the outer surface of
the
container 2, a projection 6 extends continuously therearound, and is directed
outwardly and then downwardly to a free end 8.
A cover 10 is of generally circular shape having a planar surface 12 that sits
as
a push fit within the rim 4 of the container 2. Beyond the surface 12, the
cover 10 has
an annular channel 14 of width sufficient to engage the radial extent of the
rim 4 and
the projection 6 of the container. The outer wall of the channel 14 is defined
by a skirt
3

CA 02562120 2011-09-23
16 that has a relatively rigid upper portion 18 and a relatively flexible
lower portion
20, the portions 18 and 20 being demarcated by an inwardly-directed projection
22.
As shown seen in FIG. 1, the cover 10 is in its open configuration, with the
lower portion 20 of the skirt 16 flipped upwardly to allow the cover 10 to be
mounted
down over the top of the container 2.
FIG. 2 shows the arrangement with the cover 10 fitted onto the container 2,
with the lower portion 20 of the skirt 16 having being flipped downwardly
after the
rim 4 and projection 6 have been enclosed within the channel 14, thus
disposing the
skirt projection 22 beneath and in engagement with the free end 8 of the
container
projection 6. In this way, the cover 10 is securely mounted on the container
2, and the
contents thereof are sealed inside by abutment of the rim 4 with the wall of
the
channel 14.
As can be seen in FIG. 3, the lower portion 20 of the cover skirt 16 does not
extend continuously all the way around, but rather is divided into three
discrete
sections that have been formed by making slits 24 therein. It will be
appreciated that
the slits 24, although shown as being of generally V-shape, may be of other
shape, for
example providing a castellated configuration.
With the arrangement in the closed and sealed state indicated in FIG. 2, the
container may conveniently be opened by flipping up one section of the skirt
20 at a
time to the configuration shown in FIG. 1. It will be appreciated that each
configuration of the skirt 16, that is to say as shown in FIG. 1 and in FIG.
2, is a stable
configuration, allowing repeated opening and closing of the cover 10 and the
container 2.
It can be seen from FIG. 2 that the closure includes an annular channel
positioned between the cover and the skirt, with the channel receiving both
the rim
and the at least one projection of the container. In an alternative
embodiment, the rim
of the container and/or the projection on the container need not be received
in such a
channel, for example, the rim only could be received in the channel.
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CA 02562120 2011-09-23
In an alternative embodiment, the projection on the skirt may engage above
the projection of the container, as opposed to beneath it, by using a suitable
snap-fit
arrangement.
In another embodiment, the skirt of the closure may be divided by alternative
means, for example, by a live hinge, and not by the projection. In this case,
the
projection of the skirt could be positioned below the live hinge such that it
engages
with the container as the skirt is flipped from the upper to the lowered
configuration.
It would also be possible to provide a recess on the skirt, as opposed to a
projection, for snap-fit engagement with a corresponding projection on the
container,
so as to retain the cover on the container.
5

Representative Drawing