AU2010261856A1

AU2010261856A1 - Container with frame and cover

Info

Publication number: AU2010261856A1
Application number: AU2010261856A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Marcus Blumenschein
Original assignee: Jokey Plastik Wipperfuerth GmbH
Current assignee: Jokey Plastik Wipperfuerth GmbH
Priority date: 2009-06-18
Filing date: 2010-06-15
Publication date: 2012-01-19
Also published as: DE202009008561U1; MX2011013632A; WO2010146061A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a container (1) with a cover (10), wherein the container has a container wall with an upper border region (3), a container base (5) and a container opening, and in the border region of the container opening a peripheral frame (20), which projects radially inwards with respect to the container wall and to which the cover is detachably fastened, and wherein the frame can be fastened to the border region of the container opening in a latching manner, for which purpose the frame and the upper border region of the container wall are provided with interacting latching means (8, 22), and wherein the frame has a peripheral outer region (23) in the form of a downwardly open U profile, which receives the upper border region of the container wall and which has a peripheral web (24), surrounding the container wall on the outside, and an inner web (26), wherein the latching means of the frame that interact with the container are arranged on one of the two webs.

Description

WO 2010/146061 Al 1 5 Container with frame and cover The invention relates to a container with a cover, wherein the container has a container wall with an upper border re gion, a container base and a container opening, and in the 10 border region of the container opening a peripheral frame, which projects radially inwards with respect to the container wall and to which the cover is detachably fastened, and wherein the frame can be fastened to the border region of the container opening in a latching manner, for which reason the 15 frame and the upper border region of the container wall are provided with interacting latching means, and wherein the frame has a peripheral outer region in the form of a down wardly open U profile, which receives the upper border region of the container wall and which has a peripheral web, sur 20 rounding the container wall on the outside, and an inner web, wherein the latching means of the frame that interact with the container are arranged on one of the two webs. In generic containers with a cover, the frame to which the 25 cover is fastened is hence manufactured as a separate compo nent and the frame can be fastened to the border of the con tainer in a latching manner, for closing the container. The cover can be previously mounted to the frame, if need be, or the cover is fastened to the frame only after fixing the 30 frame to the container.

2 Problematic in such generic containers is the fact that fas tening the frame to the container shall be done in a very easy manner and automatically by suitable machines, for exam 5 ple in automatic filling installations, on the one side. On the other side, the fixation between the container and the frame must be very stable. But conventional containers which have the cover fixed to a frame are mostly manufactured with out an outer peripheral flange as it is usually provided in 10 containers of units in which the cover is directly fastened to the container, for the purpose of stabilizing the upper border of the container. As the flange is frequently omitted in containers with a frame, the upper border region is rela tively flexible, and this is even promoted by regions of a 15 lower material thickness with which the container is provided in order to allow for instance a connection to the frame in a latching manner. As a result the lock between the container and the frame cannot be performed with sufficient accuracy when the frame is attached, so that manual or particularly 20 automatic fastening of the frame by handling machines or ro bots is made difficult or practically impossible. On the other hand, stabilizing the container upper wall region by means of an outer peripheral flange or by an increased mate rial thickness is frequently inacceptable for reasons of an 25 unaesthetic visual appearance or an increased material usage in that case. On the other hand, the lock between the frame and the container is required to be very stable, particularly in the case of stackable, filled containers, if the frame provides the stacking surface on the radial inside and spaced 30 with respect to the container wall and is thus required to receive high forces.

3 Further, the fastening region between the container and the frame on the outside of the container is required to meet high optical requirements, which means that this region shall exhibit only minor or preferably invisible transition zones 5 between the frame and the container. It is an object of the invention to provide a generic con tainer with a cover and a frame that is fastened to the con tainer in a latching manner, wherein the lock between the 10 container and the frame can be easily and yet stably per formed using handling machines and handling robots. This object is achieved by a container with a cover and frame as defined in claim 1, wherein one of the webs includes a 15 first contact area which during the vertical attachment of the frame to the upper border region of the container is the first to contact this upper border region under the exertion of radial forces and wherein the opposite web of the frame U profile includes a circumferential region that extends as far 20 as to the level or right below the level of the first contact area and surrounds the first contact area on the opposite side of the container wall and/or accommodates radial defor mations of the container border caused by the radial forces exerted by that first contact area. This prevents the con 25 tainer edge from "excursion", and the upper edge of the con tainer is captured within the frame U profile so that the frame can be attached more easily in a latching manner by ro bots. In that case, the upper edge of the container or a latching means on the upper region of the container can 30 straightly form the first contact area in the process of fas tening.

4 If the frame and the container are the first to interact with the latching means when the frame is attached, in order to solve the problem, the web of the frame U profile opposite the frame locking means extends towards the container as far 5 as to the level or right below the level of the latching means that interact with the container wall so that when the frame is fastened, one part of that web surrounds the upper border of the container on the side opposite the latching means at the time or before the latching means of the frame 10 interact with the container wall. This embodiment can be im plemented alternatively to the first-mentioned embodiment or simultaneously with it. Alternatively to or simultaneously with one of the two first 15 mentioned embodiments (either the first and/or second), the web of the frame U profile opposite the latching means can extend towards the bottom of the container and as far as to the level or right below the level of the web region which comprises the latching means of the frame cooperating with 20 the container wall and which when the frame is attached in teracts with the associated latching means of the container for the first time so that during the process of fastening the frame, a web region opposite the latching means surrounds the container border on the side opposite the latching means 25 at the time or before the latching means of the container wall interact with the web region of the frame which includes the latching means. As a result, in both alternatives or in a container that is generally designed in accordance with the invention, the latching border of the container can be di 30 rectly arranged on the upper edge of the container.

5 Thus, in the lock of the container and the frame according to the invention, the lower edge of one of the webs of the frame U profile that receives the container latching border over laps the container latching border before a region of the 5 frame U profile contacts the container latching frame and thus possibly deforms the upper border of the container, or is arranged at least on the same level with the latching bor der of the container so that both webs practically simultane ously contact the latching border of the container and the 10 opposite side of the upper border of the container so that the lower edge of the web provides a kind of abutment or guide for the upper edge of the container or the upper border of the container, for the continued latching operation. This can generally apply within the scope of the invention. A de 15 formation or excursion of the upper border of the container which would impede or prevent a lock is thus prevented or re duced. This allows the frame to be easily and smoothly at tached in a latching manner even by a robot. 20 Advantageous embodiments of the invention will become appar ent from the subclaims. Especially the frame can be designed in such a manner that first the lower edge of the outer peripheral web of the frame 25 overlaps the upper border of the container so that the over lapping frame web prevents the border of the container from bulging radially outwards. The border of the container in its radially outwardly directed condition is thus fixed by the radially outer peripheral web of the frame.Only after this 30 positive fixation of the upper container border, advanta geously the latching means of the frame and the container are caused to contact each other and thereafter the frame and the 6 container wall are interlocked by continuing pressing the frame vertically onto the container. In that case, a certain deformation of the upper border region of the container and/or the frame region on which the latching means are pro 5 vided can take place. But the latching means of container and frame can nevertheless be engaged with each other automati cally and even by machine, because due to the overlapping frame web it is no longer possible for the upper border of the container to yield outwards with respect to the frame. As 10 it is possible for the frame and the container to be auto matically connected to each other in a latching manner by ma chine, the units can be handled and filled particularly eas ily and economically. 15 While making the present invention it turned out that in con ventional containers an attachment of the frame to the con tainer in a latching manner is made more difficult by the fact that the latching means of the frame first contact the inner side of the container wall and on the continued inser 20 tion of the frame into the container opening urge the upper border of the container radially outwards and hence radially expand the upper border of the container. In that case, the frame web of the radially outer U profile of the frame which surrounds the upper border of the container on the outside 25 does no longer directly engage the associated receiving groove or receiving channel of the upper wall of the con tainer but the outer peripheral frame web is seated on the upper edge of the expanded container wall and impedes a con tinued fastening of the frame to the container in a latching 30 manner. Even though the lock as a whole can still be estab lished by a further deformation of the radially outer frame region, a manual or especially an machine-based automatic 7 fixation of the frame is made impossible thereby or is only possible under frequent system malfunction. The latching means can be arranged on the radial outside of 5 the container wall. This enables the closure system of frame and cover to have a slimmer design and the frame can be more easily removed from the injection mold. The cover can be fas tened to the frame by the latching means, with an inner sur face of the cover being arranged below the interacting latch 10 ing means of container and frame. In that case, at least one downwardly open U-shaped bead can also be disposed between the latching fixtures of the container and frame on the one side and of the frame and cover on the other side, to render the connection between cover and frame sufficiently flexible 15 for facilitating the detachment of the cover and for provid ing opening means for the cover or a tamper-evident closure on the other hand. Preferably, the latching means on the upper edge of the con 20 tainer are disposed only on the outside or only on the in side. Advantageously, the latching means of frame and container are disposed on the radial inside of the container wall, thus 25 surprisingly impeding a detachment of the frame, e.g. by pulling forces. The cover can be fastened to the frame using latching means, wherein the latching means and/or an inner surface of the cover can be disposed at least approximately at the level of the interacting latching means of container 30 and frame, for example in a range of two to three times the height of the interacting latching means of frame and con tainer or two to three times the height of a constriction of 8 the container wall in the region of the upper edge of the container. According to a preferred embodiment, the outer peripheral web 5 of the frame U profile does not have any latching means. The same are disposed on the radially inner web of the frame. The radial outside of the frame or of the outer web can then be manufactured with optimum smoothness and without optical flaws, thus providing an appearance of the container which 10 meets highest aesthetic requirements. This is attributed to the fact that the radially outer interacting regions of the container wall and frame can be manufactured particularly true to size because any additional profiling such as snap tabs or snap seats is unnecessary. Based on the subject mat 15 ter of the invention, this is ascribed to the fact that the outer peripheral web of the frame can be manufactured par ticularly true to shape and that it is possible to practi cally completely avoid especially even sink marks or material irregularities caused for example by irregular material 20 shrinkage, sink marks and the like of the frame and the con tainer that are both preferably produced as plastic compo nents. This particularly applies to a case where the con tainer and the frame are produced by an injection molding process. 25 Further, it is advantageous for the outer peripheral web of the frame being extended downwards a relatively long way, namely preferably beyond the latching means of the frame and the container. It is then possible for the upper border re 30 gion of the unit to be designed optically more uniform. Fur ther, it has been found that in a case where the lock of con tainer and frame is provided on the inner wall of the con- 9 tainer, it can perfectly resist external forces such as im pacts on the upper edge of the container as those may occur if containers fall down. That resistance is due to the lock being provided on the inner wall of the container on the one 5 side and on the other side that unlocking is considerably stabilized due to the outer peripheral web of the frame which can be disposed at the level of the latching means of the frame and/or container or can be extended beyond the same to wards the base of the container. 10 The peripheral web of the frame preferably extends towards the container base as far as to the level or right below the level of the frame latching means interacting with the con tainer wall. As a result, the lock between container and 15 frame is particularly stabilized and attaching the frame to the container by pressing the frame vertically into the con tainer opening is considerably facilitated. The upper border region of the container carrying the con 20 tainer latching means can have a radial constriction that is distinct from the latching means receiving region for the corresponding latching border of the frame but can directly join the same. The web opposite the frame latching means or possibly also the web including the frame latching means can 25 lie against the container wall, preferably laterally against the container wall, at the level of the constriction. The web of the frame U profile opposite the frame latching means can be extended downwards as far as to right below the frame latching means or below the lock. The web of the frame U pro 30 file opposite the frame latching means can surround the con tainer wall below the constriction with its lower end region or it can alternatively or additionally lie also against the 10 container wall, preferably against the outer wall of the con tainer, below the constriction. That constriction is distinct from the latching means seat of the container intended for receiving the frame latching means. However, it is also pos 5 sible for that constriction to merge into that latching means seat. Attaching and guiding the frame are improved as a re sult of the web being extended downwards, below the constric tion. 10 Also the upper border region of the container carrying the container latching means can have a radial constriction, wherein the web of the frame U profile opposite the frame latching means surrounds the container wall below the con striction with its lower end region. 15 The constriction is preferably provided on the side of the container wall opposite the container latching means, pref erably at and/or below the level of the container wall latch ing means. A region of a web of the frame U profile can ac 20 cordingly engage the constriction, thus surprisingly provid ing a connection area which despite the diminished strength of the material, which occurs as a result of the mutual en gagement of the frame and the container, can absorb high forces from different directions even during opening the 25 cover, while it is possible at the same time to manufacture the container border at low cycle periods during the injec tion molding process and with high accuracy. Further, the web can lie against the container wall, preferably against the radial outside of the container wall, at the level of the 30 constriction, so that the frame U profile lies against the container wall on the radial inside and outside thereof below 11 the latching means, whereby a particularly stable lock is es tablished. The web of the frame U profile arranged on the radial outside 5 can surround the outside of the container wall below the con striction or below the frame latching means, especially if that constriction is provided on the radial outside of the container wall. 10 The web of the frame U profile arranged on the radial outside preferably includes an upper and/or lower sliding ramp that prevents the containers from getting wedged during transpor tation or palletizing. 15 Directly below the frame latching means on the side of the container wall facing the interior of the container, a clear ance which extends over the circumferential extension of the latching means can be left between the frame and the con tainer wall. That clearance can also fully extend about the 20 circumference of the container. On the one side, a certain flexibility of the upper border of the container is achieved by that clearance, which facilitates the lock of frame and container. Further, certain production tolerances in the latching means can be accommodated by that clearance in a 25 manner such that a correct lock always exists even in the case of certain production tolerances and such as to guaran tee that the outer peripheral web of the frame optimally as sumes its specified position, for example terminating on its outside flush with the container wall and/or being seated 30 with its web lower edge on and flush with a shoulder of the outer wall of the container without play, thus providing for a continuous, optically perfect outer wall of the container 12 in the region of the connection between the frame and the container. The clearance between the frame and the container wall below 5 the latching means can be formed at least partially or fully by a radial set-back region of the container wall. This sur prisingly facilitates attaching the frame to the container in a latching manner and slightly increases the flexibility of the upper border of the container, yet enabling a very stable 10 and durable lock as before. Preferably, the radial outside of the web terminates in the radial direction flush with the container wall, thus produc ing a smooth outer container wall in the upper border region 15 of the container. Preferably, the container wall is designed in the region of its upper border without radially outwardly protruding reinforcing ribs or a peripheral container flange which, if necessary, can extend radially outwardly and verti cally downwards. In this way, the container wall can be pro 20 duced with a particularly high optical quality and can be im printed for example over the entire height of the container wall by using a technique such as in-mold-labeling. Where re quired, also the transition zone between the outer peripheral web of the frame and the container wall can be imprinted, 25 which is possible due to the high optical quality of the con necting area between the frame and the container of the unit according to the invention. Preferably, apart from fixing elements for fixing a carrying handle and/or apart from a possible shoulder in the container wall, the container does 30 not include any additional texturing on its outside.

13 The peripheral web of the frame is seated with the lower edge thereof on a shoulder of the container outer wall, preferably fully and/or over the radial extension thereof, so that the connecting area of the frame and the container can be pro 5 duced in a particularly tight manner and with high optical quality. Preferably, the outer peripheral web of the frame is applied over the full height thereof against the outside of the upper border of the container which is received by the outer U profile of the frame, with the possible exception of 10 a chamfer of the upper border of the container, where appro priate. In one embodiment, the frame can be applied against the in side of the container wall in a sealing manner below the 15 latching means on the frame and/or container wall, thus pro viding an additional sealing area. In another preferred embodiment, the frame below the latching means on the frame and/or container wall is slightly spaced 20 from the inside of the container wall. The interior of the container can thus extend in the clearance between the con tainer wall and the frame provided immediately below the latching means of the frame, where appropriate. It turned out that the connection between the frame and the container is 25 sufficiently tight as before, while the frame can be more easily attached to the container in latching manner, espe cially if the lock is produced automatically. Where appropri ate, also separate sealing means can be placed into the clearance between the container wall and the frame, or the 30 clearance can be filled with a sealing agent, at least partly, which sealing agent can be permanently connected with the container wall and/or the frame, for example by molding 14 in a two-component injection molding process, although this is not always required. The outer peripheral web of the frame can thus be applied 5 against the container wall in a sealing manner below the latching means of the container wall and over the full verti cal extension thereof as far as to the lower edge of the web. The upper part of the container wall having attached to it 10 the web carrying the latching means, can be designed as a thickening portion compared to the wall portion arranged be low the same. The upper part of the container is thus stabi lized and the frame can be more easily attached in an auto matic or robot-based manner, since automatic handling impedes 15 a deformation of the upper border of the container and fa cilitates mounting of the upper edge of the container in the downwardly open U profile of the frame. Further, the cover is preferably fixed to the frame in such a 20 manner that the cover can be detached from the frame manually by levering or by using a suitable tool. To this end, the cover and the frame can be connected to each other by suit able latching means. The lock between frame and cover can be configured in such a manner that the tool used for levering 25 or unlocking the cover can be applied against the frame as an abutment means. Accordingly, during levering, a pressure is exerted on the frame in a vertical direction and/or towards the container wall, whereby the container wall is deformed to a certain (minor) extent. It has been found that the lock ac 30 cording to the invention can resist such loads particularly well, without fearing that leaks might occur in the connect ing region between the frame and the container or that the 15 lock between the frame and the container may become unlocked, if only partially. This is attributed to the fact that due to the lock which is provided on the inside of the container wall and which is simultaneously secured on its radial out 5 side by the web of the frame, a lock is established that can resist such loads particularly well. This reliably prevents the lock from unlocking and the upper border of the container from popping out of the seat of the frame that can be de signed as a U profile. It also prevents a deformation of the 10 outer region of the frame, in which case the frame would pro trude radially outwards from the container wall. The frame can generally serve as a stacking surface for con tainers to be stacked. The stacked container can be directly 15 supported on a part of the frame or, where appropriate, on a part of the cover that is supported by a frame part, the cover being radially spaced from the container wall over the full circumference thereof, at least substantially, so that the cover is held by the frame. 20 The container can be generally designed as a bucket or can. In the following the invention will be described by way of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the attached drawing 25 wherein Figs. 1 to 4 show a cross-sectional view respectively of the border region of a container with cover and frame in four different embodiments of 30 the invention.

16 As illustrated in the Figure, the container 1 is closed by a cover 10, wherein the container comprises a container wall 2 with an upper border region 3 and a container upper edge 4 as well as a container base 5. On the container wall 2 an out 5 wardly projecting fixing element 6, for example in the form of a pin, is provided for fixing a carrying handle, which can be the only radial protrusion of the container. The container 2 can include a shoulder 7 so that the upper part of the con tainer wall slightly protrudes radially outwards. Preferably, 10 the radial width of the shoulder is less than two to three times or one time the thickness of the container wall. The shoulder 7 can be so configured that it substantially extends only over the width of the fixing element 6. 15 The container opening la has arranged therein a peripheral frame 20 which protrudes radially inwardly with respect to the container wall 2 and to which the cover 10 is fixed in a detachable manner. For this purpose, latching means 11, 21 are provided on the frame and on the cover. Where appropri 20 ate, the cover can be detachably fixed to the frame also in a different manner, for example by a screw or clamping connec tion. The frame 20 can be fixed to the border region 3 of the container opening or the container in a latching manner. To this end, the frame 20 and the upper border region 3 of the 25 container wall have interacting latching means 8, 22. The latching means 8 of the container wall and/or the latching means 22 of the frame can each be designed as a peripheral latching border. The frame further includes a peripheral outer region 23 in the form of a downwardly open U profile, 30 which receives the upper border region of the container wall or the container upper edge 4 and which comprises a periph eral web 24 that surrounds the container wall on the outside, 17 a central region 25 that is at least substantially horizon tal, and. a peripheral border 26 that extends on the inside of the container wall at the bottom thereof. To the inner border 26, preferably below the latching means 22 and particularly 5 preferably to the lower region of the border 26, a frame re gion 27 is molded that radially extends inwards and merges into the fixing means or latching means 21 for holding the cover. 10 According to the invention, the peripheral web 24 of the frame 20 extends beyond the latching means 8 on the container wall towards the container base 5. When fixing the frame, the upper border 3 of the container or the upper edge 4 of the container will be first surrounded on the outside thereof by 15 a lower edge 24a of the peripheral web, before the latching means of the frame and the container wall 8, 22 interact in a latching manner. The upper border of the container is thus received by the outer peripheral web 24 in a radially outward direction when the latching means 8, 22 on the container wall 20 and on the frame contact each other, especially when they snap one over the other, so that the highest deformation forces on the frame and on the container wall are exerted during the production of the lock. Additional inwardly pro truding latching means can be provided also on the outer pe 25 ripheral web 24, where appropriate, which interact with latching means provided on the outside of the container wall and below the latching means 22 disposed on the inner wall of the container. However, such additional latching or fixing means are preferably not provided on the peripheral web 24 or 30 on the frame U profile receiving the upper border of the con tainer.

18 Accordingly, the web 24 extends towards the container base 5 and as far as to right below the latching means 22 of the frame 20 which interact with the latching means 8 on the in ner wall side of the container. The vertical distance of the 5 lower edge of the web to the lower region of the latching means 8 of the inner wall side of the container can be within a range of 0.5 or more thicknesses of the container wall, for example within a range of 1 to 2 thicknesses of the container wall. The upper edge 4 of the container can be provided ra 10 dially inwardly and/or radially outwardly with a respective chamfer 4a, 4b. Accordingly, when the frame is attached to the container, the latching border 22 of the frame first en gages the upper side of the latching border 8 of the con tainer, while the radially outer web of the frame U profile 15 receiving the upper edge of the container is arranged on the outside of the afore-mentioned contact area and is extended downwards beyond that contact area towards the container base. 20 Below the latching means 22 of the frame, preferably immedi ately below the same, a clearance 28 is provided between the frame 20 and the container wall 2 on the side 2a of the con tainer wall 2 facing the interior lc of the container. In that case, the clearance is substantially formed in the con 25 tainer wall 2. The clearance can extend over the circumferen tial extension of the latching means 8, 22 on the frame and/or on the container, preferably over the whole circumfer ence of the container. A receiving space is produced by this clearance 28 below the latching means 22 of the frame, 30 whereby secure locking is always guaranteed also in the case of production tolerances of the latching means 8, 22. The 19 clearance is here formed by the radially set-back region 2b of the container wall. Below the latching means 22 of the frame the same can lie 5 with the region 29 against the inside 2a of the container wall 2 in a sealing fashion. According to the embodiment, the region 29 which is arranged below the latching means 21 of the frame is slightly spaced from the inside 2a of the con tainer in the radial direction. The clearance thus communi 10 cates with the interior lb of the container. The frame can thus be attached and locked to the container more easily, particularly if this is done by machine. Where appropriate, additional sealing means 31 or other textures of the inside of the container can be provided in the region of the clear 15 ance 28 and/or in the region of the lower region 29 of the frame and can be connected, for example molded to the con tainer wall using a multi-component injection molding proc ess. 20 The peripheral web 24 of the frame thus overlaps the upper edge of the container as far as to right below the latching means 21 of the frame. The web 24 lies with its inside against the outside of the container 32 in a sealing manner, preferably over the full height of the web 24, except for a 25 possible outer chamfer 4a of the upper edge of the container. Further, the web 24 is received by an outside constriction 33 of the upper border region of the container wall. The outside 24b of the web 24 can thus terminate flush and free of clear ance with the outside 2c of the container wall 2. The lower 30 edge 24a of the web 24 can be seated on the upper side of the shoulder 34 arranged on the outside of the container wall, if 20 necessary with a certain initial tension or substantially without tension. The frame, for example the region between the peripheral web 5 39 and the web 26 which may also include radial ribs, can provide the stacking and supporting surface for a stacked container. The frame 20 preferably includes an engagement region 35 for 10 engaging a tool, which can be applied with its working part against the associated engagement region 36 of the cover so that the cover can be detached or levered off the frame by means of the tool or also manually. The tool engagement re gion of the cover can be arranged in the vertical direction 15 below the latching means 8, 22 of the frame and/or the con tainer, while the tool engagement region of the frame can be arranged approximately at the level of the latching means 8, 22 of the container and/or the frame, for example also above the latching means 8, 22 of the container and/or the frame. 20 The section 38 that can be molded to the cover or to the frame can be used as a tear-off tag in terms of a tamper evident closure. In the Figures 2 to 4, features which are similar to those in 25 the embodiment according to Figure 1 are identified by the same reference numbers. In the embodiment according to Figure 2, the latching border 8 of the container is disposed on the outside of the con 30 tainer. Below the latching border of the container follows a receiving space for the preferably peripheral latching border 22 of the frame 20 which is joined downwards by a constric- 21 tion 41 of the upper border of the container. In that case, the radially outer web 24 of the U profile of the frame 20 receiving the upper edge of the container now carries the latching border 22. The web 24 is seated with its lower side 5 on the shoulder 34 of the upper region of the container with out play and terminates on its outside flush with the outer surface of the container. Accordingly, when the frame is at tached, the radially inner leg 26 of the frame U profile re ceiving the upper edge of the container first plunges into 10 the container opening la in such a manner that the lower re gion 29 of the at least substantially vertically extending web 26 is arranged at the level of the latching border of the container. The lower region 29 is joined by a further frame region 27, which can substantially extend in an inclined or 15 curved manner. The latching border 22 on the outer web 24 of the frame U profile contacts the upper side of the latching border of the container only on the continued insertion of the frame into the container. To facilitate mounting of the upper edge 4 of the container 4 in the U-shaped seat of the 20 frame, the outer web of the frame carrying the latching bor der is provided with an inner chamfer or an inward bulging at the level of the bay 41. At the time of attaching the frame in a latching manner, the latching border of the container has been already received by the frame U profile and in that 25 case can be radially inwardly supported by the inner web of the frame U profile, if necessary. The outside of the inner web can simultaneously constitute a respective sealing area against the inner wall of the container. 30 The Figures 3 and 4 show modifications of the embodiments ac cording to the Figures 1 and 2. The modification respectively resides in the fact that the outer web 24 of the frame U pro- 22 file is extended downwardly over the shoulder disposed on the outside of the container wall and below the latching border 8 of the container and thus covers the outside 51 of the con tainer wall. A slant or a slightly downwardly tapering tran 5 sition area can be provided instead of the shoulder. In that case, the downwardly extended region 52 of the web can lie against the outside of the container wall. This further sta bilizes the lock of container and frame and impedes detaching due to forces exerted on the lock. Automatic mounting of the 10 frame to the container is thus made particularly easy as a result of the radially outer web being extended with its lower edge 53 further downwards than the lower region 29 of the at least substantially vertically extending web 26 of the frame U profile on the inside of the container. If the frame 15 is attached to the container in a slightly canted manner, it is the lower region 29 of the inner web 26 which first con tacts the upper edge 4 of the container or the latching bor der 8 of the container. In that case, the frame can continue to be tilted in an undesired manner with respect to the con 20 tainer thus urging the upper edge of the container radially outwards, which impedes the lock or causes the lock not being established at all in conventional containers. However, with the arrangement according to the invention, the lower region 52, 53 of the outer web 24 of the frame U profile is disposed 25 below the lower region 29 of the vertical web 26 opposite the inner wall of the container, whereby an expansion of the up per edge of the container is reduced or at least the upper edge of the container is already caught inside the U profile of the frame by the time the frame is further pressed down 30 wards during its attachment. In that case, the outer web 24 of the frame U profile can have a slant 56 on the inside thereof, which slant rises towards the upper edge 4 of the 23 container and can thus serve as a sliding ramp with respect to the upper edge of the container when the frame is at tached. The lower region of the inner web is respectively ar ranged at a vertical level between the lower edge and the 5 sliding ramp of the outer web. Further, the radially outer web 24 of the frame U profile has on the outside thereof an upper and lower sliding ramp 57, 58 that merge into each other. The transition area 59 is ar 10 ranged at least approximately at the level of the lower end region of the outer constriction 33 of the container border or at least approximately at the level of the radially outer shoulder 34 of the container wall. The transition area 59 is arranged approximately at the level or above the lower end 15 region 29 of the inner web 26 of the frame U profile and/or approximately at the level or below the frame locking border that interacts with the container wall. This prevents canting of adjacent containers during transportation or palletizing and simultaneously reinforces the lock between frame and con 20 tainer while additionally protecting the lock against the in fluence of external forces. The upper region 51a of the container wall which has attached to it the web 8a carrying the latching means 8, is designed 25 thicker compared to the container wall region 51b arranged vertically below the region 51a, wherein the two regions 51a, 51b directly merge into each other or succeed each other. Ac cording to the embodiment, the upper container wall region 51a conically expands upwards.

Claims

2. Container with cover according to claim 1, characterized 5 in that the latching means are arranged on the radial inside of the container wall.
3. Container with cover according to claim 2, characterized in that the cover is fixed to the frame by latching 10 means and that the latching means and/or an inner sur face of the cover is arranged at least at the level of the interacting latching means of the container and the frame. 15 4. Container with cover according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the latching means are arranged on the radial outside of the container wall.
5. Container with cover according to claim 4, characterized 20 in that the cover is fixed to the frame by latching means and that an inner surface of the cover is arranged below the interacting latching means of container and frame and/or that at least one downwardly open bead is provided between the latching fixtures of container and 25 frame on the one side and between frame and cover on the other side.
6. Container with cover according to one of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the upper border region of the 30 container carrying the container latching means includes a radial constriction which is distinct from the latch ing means receiving region for the frame latching means, 26 and that the constriction is arranged on the container wall side opposite the container latching means and/or on the container wall side provided with the container latching means, preferably directly below the container 5 wall latching means.
7. Container with cover according to claim 6, characterized in that the web of the frame U profile opposite the con tainer latching means surrounds the container wall below 10 the constriction with its lower end region.
8. Container with cover according to claim 6 or 7, charac terized in that web which faces the container latching means and/or the web of the frame U profile which faces 15 away, surrounds the container wall below the constric tion with its lower end region.
9. Container with cover according to one of the claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the web of the frame U profile 20 which faces the constriction lies against the container wall, preferably laterally, in the region of the con striction.
10. Container with cover according to one of the claims 1 to 25 9, characterized in that radially outer web of the frame U profile surrounds the outside of the container wall below the constriction and/or below the frame latching means. 30 11. Container with cover according to one of the claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the radially outer web of the 27 frame U profile includes an upper and/or lower sliding ramp.
12. Container with cover according to one of the claims 1 to 5 11, characterized in that the outside and/or the lower edge of the radially outer web of the frame U profile terminates flush with the container wall in the radial direction. 10 13. Container with cover according to one of the claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the frame below the latching means on the frame and/or on the container wall lies against the inside of the container wall in a sealing manner. 15
14. Container with cover according to one of the claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the frame below the latching means on the frame and/or container wall is slightly spaced from the inside of the container wall. 20
15. Container with cover according to one of the claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the radially outer peripheral web of the frame below the latching means of the con tainer wall lies against the container wall in a sealing 25 manner, over the entire vertical extension thereof as far as to the lower edge of the web.
16. Container with cover according to one of the claims 1 to 15, characterized in that lower end of the peripheral 30 web of the frame is seated on a shoulder which is ar ranged on the radial outside of the container wall. 28
17. Container with cover according to one of the claims 1 to 16, characterized in that immediately below the latching means of the frame on the side of the container wall facing the interior of the container a clearance that 5 extends over the circumferential extension of the latch ing means is left between the frame and the container wall.
18. Container with cover according to one of the claims 1 to 10 16, characterized in that the upper region (51a) of the container wall which has attached to it the web (8a) that is provided with the latching means (8) is designed thicker compared to a region (51b) of the container wall which is arranged vertically below it. 15