Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02647659 2008-12-19
CONTAINER WITH LID
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to containers, and more particularly
to
containers with attached lids.
Containers with attached lids are used for many purposes. These containers
generally include a pair of opposing side walls and a pair of opposing end
walls
integrally molded with a base. A pair of lids are each hingeably connected to
one of the
side walls. The lids include a plurality of tongues that interlock in the
middle of the
container in the closed position.
One use for this type of containers is for medical waste. Medical waste is
placed
in the container, which is then closed and shipped to a biohazard facility for
disposal.
At the facility, the contents of the container are dumped into an autoclave
for disposal.
During dumping, one of the lids is open and pivoted outward until it abuts its
respective
side wall. The container is then tipped, with the lid resting on a wall of the
autoclave,
and the container is inverted to dump the contents into the autoclave. This
sometimes
breaks the lid and/or the hinge connecting the lid to the side wall.
After being emptied, the container must be washed prior to reuse. In order to
wash the container, the container is inverted on a conveyor with the lids
open. In order
to prevent water from accumulating on the upper surfaces of the open lids, the
lids may
be tied up at an angle. The container may also be tipped onto its side by
another
conveyor to further assist in the drainage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A container according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a
base and a plurality of sidewalls. At least one lid is pivotably connected to
one of the
walls. The lid includes at least one projection that contacts at least one rib
on the
exterior surface of the wall when the lid is pivoted to an open position. This
prevents
CA 02647659 2008-12-19
over-rotation of the lid, such as when the lid and container are resting on
the wall of the
autoclave prior to dumping.
In a second feature of the present invention, the lid includes at least one
projection from an interior surface of the lid proximate the axis. When the
container is
inverted with the lid open for washing, the at least one projection contacts
the support
surface thereby pivoting the lid to a position where it is not parallel to the
floor, thus
ensuring that water drains from the lid during washing.
These and other features of the application can be best understood from the
following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief
description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container according to one embodiment of
the present invention.
Figure 2 is a top view of the container of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an end view of the container of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a side view of the container of Figure 1.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the container of Figure 1 with the lids in
the
open position.
Figure 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the container of Figure 5.
Figure 7 is an end view of the container of Figure 1 in an inverted position
with
the lids open on a support surface.
Figure 8 is an enlarged view of the hinge area of the container of Figure 1.
Figure 9 is a section view through one of the side walls and one of the lids
in the
open position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A container 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown
in Figure 1. The container 10 includes a base 12 integrally molded with
opposing side
walls 14 and opposing end walls 16. A lip 20 protrudes outwardly and
downwardly
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from a periphery of the upper edges of the side walls 14 and end walls 16. The
side
walls 14 each include a pair of outer ribs 21 and inner ribs 22 extending
vertically on an
exterior surface of the side wall 14. The outer ribs 21 extend downwardly from
the lip
20 further than the inner ribs 22. The outer ribs 21 are also a little deeper
than the inner
ribs 22.
The end walls 16 each include an integrally molded handle 26 defining a hand
opening 28 between the handle 26 and the end walls 16. Ribs 30 are formed in
the
handle 26 and face upwardly.
The container 10 includes a pair of lids 34, each connected to an uppermost
edge
of one of the side walls 14 by a hinge 36. Each of the lids 34 includes an
outer
reinforcement portion 40 and an inner reinforcement portion 41. Both
reinforcement
portions 40, 41 are elongated in a direction generally parallel to an axis of
the hinge 36.
The outer reinforcement portions 40 are shorter than the inner reinforcement
portions 41
in a longitudinal direction. The outer reinforcement portions 40 each include
an
interlocking portion 42 at each end, projecting upwardly further than the
outer
reinforcement portion 40. Each lid 34 also includes a latch portion 46 for
latching to the
lip 20. The lids 34 further include interleaved tongues 48, as is known in the
art.
Figure 2 is a top view of the container 10. As can be seen in Figure 2, the
handle 26 projects outwardly from the footprint of the container 10.
Figure 3 is an end view of the container 10. Figure 4 is a side view of the
container 10. Again, it can be seen that the handles 26 project outwardly of
the
footprint of the container 10 and outwardly of the lip 20.
Figure 5 is perspective view of the container 10 with the lids 34 open. Each
of
the lids 34 includes a pair of projections 50 projecting downwardly from an
interior
surface of the lid 34. Figure 6 is an enlarged view showing one of the
projections 50 on
the interior surface of the lid 34, proximate the hinge 36. The projections 50
are
positioned proximate the hinges 36. In this particular example, the
projections 50 are
positioned much closer to the hinge 36 than the opposite edge of the lid 34.
In the
example shown, the distance between the axis of the hinge 36 and the
projections 50 is
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less than a tenth of the distance between the axis of the hinge 36 and an
opposite edge
of the lid 34.
Figure 7 is an end view of the container 10 inverted, with the lids 34 open
and
resting on a support surface S, which could be a floor or conveyor. As can be
seen more
clearly in Figure 8, in this position, the projections 50 contact the support
surface S and
cause the lids 34 to pivot upwardly as shown. Preferably, the container 10 is
supported
solely on the projections 50, such that the weight of the container is used to
pivot the
lids 34 to this drainage position. In the drainage position, the lids 34 are
approximately
thirty degrees relative to the support surface S. Thus, without any ties,
bands or hooks,
the lid 34 is automatically in pivoted to a drainage position for washing.
This will
prevent water from accumulating on the exterior surface of the lids 34.
Figure 9 is a section view through one of the side walls 14 and lids 34 in the
open position. When opened all the way, as shown, the outer reinforcement
portion 40
contacts the inner ribs 22 on the side wall 14, while the inner reinforcement
portions 41
contact the outer ribs 21 on the side wall 14. The outer reinforcement
portions 40 do
not contact the outer ribs 21, because they are too short. Thus, if the
container 10 were
tipped and rested on the lid 34 shown in Figure 9, the weight of the container
10 would
be born by the ribs 21, 22 via the lid 34, and not solely by the hinge 36 as
in the prior
art.
It should be noted that variations could be utilized, including various
arrangements of the reinforcement portions 40, 41 and ribs 20, 21 but still be
within the
scope of the present invention. Further, variations to the projections on the
interior
surface of the lids 34 could also be utilized within the scope of this
invention.
In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes and jurisprudence,
exemplary configurations described above are considered to represent a
preferred
embodiment of the invention. However, it should be noted that the invention
can be
practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without
departing from
its spirit or scope.
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