CA1041045A - Dispensing container for solid air-treating gel - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT
The dispensing container disclosed is adapted for use in storing and dispensing solidified air-treating gel and includes a base member in the form of a cup having an open upper end portion and a plurality of integrally formed axially elongated and peripherally spaced spring fingers extending upwardly from the cup to positions above the upper end portion thereof. In addition, a closure member is provided which consists of an elongated cup having an open end through which the spring fingers of the base are received for sliding engagement against the inner surfaces of the cover, so that the cover is adapted to be supported on the spring fingers above the end of the base member to expose solid air-treating gel in the container for effective control of air circulation therethrough when in use.

Description

lQ41045 The present invention relates to a dispensing container for an air-treating gel and, more particularly to a container for such gel which is adapted to introduce into the atmosphere, at regulated rates, the volatizable air-treating agents in the gel and to provide vapor tight sealing during transit and storage.
It has been found that air-treating gels of the type disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,691,615 to Turner et. al. provide effective means for gradually introducing into the atmosphere volatizable air-treating comp-onents including, for example, air freshening and odor counteractant components.Originally, such gels were pre-formed into blocks or bodies of a suitable shape and placed in a container or dispenser which fully exposed the block to the air for volatilization when in use. More recently, however, a number of various types of dispensers have been provided which permit substantial control or variation of the rate of volatilization, while at the same time preventing loss of air-treating agent during periods of non-use. Such containers are provided in a variety of configurations, and generally consist of two parts (for example a base and cover) which are adapted to be placed in various positions with respect to one another in order to expose the body of air-treat-ing gel therein to varying degrees in order to regulate the rate of volatili-zation of the gel.
Two such containers are disclosed, for exa~ple, in United States Patent Nos. 2,878,060 and 3,239,145, issued to Aurelio Dello Russo. These latter types of containers have been found to be substantially satisfactory in use, with the structur~ of the latter patent providing a highly effective vapor tight seal between the base and cover that prevents volatilization of the gel when the dispenser is in storage or transit. However, to assist in per-fecting the vapor tight seal in the container disclosed in the 3,239,145 patent a bayonet lock arrangement is utilized which requires the manufacturer to perform an extra step in the manufacturing process.
Typically, the solid air-treating gel material is initially placed 1~410 .
in a closed container in its liquid state and permitted to solidify therein, Thus, in the Dello Russo Patent ~o. 3,239,145 the manufacturer must first assemble the cover and base member by moving the parts into mating relation-ship with one another and then twist the cover or base, to permit the bayonet - locks thereon to mesh Thereafter the sealed container is filled with liquid air_treating gel, in any convenient manner, and allowed to solidify. The vapor tight seal formed in conjunction with the bayonet locks prevent volat-ilization of the gel when the container is closed As will be appreciated, the use of the bayonet arrangement in this container structure and the extra operating step required thereby increases the cost of manufacture of the container.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to regulate the rate of volatilization of solid air-treating gels in a dispensing container which is relatively simple and inexpensive in construction.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a dis-pensing container for air-treating gels which is adapted to form a vapor tight seal by a simple mating arrangement between its cover and base.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a struct-urally simple and relatively easily manufactured dispenser for air-treating gel.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a vapor tight -dispenser for air-treating gel which is relatively simple to fill with liquid gel, A still further object of the present invention is to provide a dispenser for air-treating gel which is attractive in appearance and relatively easy for the consumer to use.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a dispensing : container for a solid air-treating gel has a base member in the form of a cup which includes an open upper end portion and an integral base and side walls.
The cup also is provided with internal guide and support means consisting of a :;; . ..

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., : - - . .: - . . , -: , , , -~ ~04iO45 plurality of integrally formed axially elongated and peripherally spaced spring fingers that extend upwardly from the interior of the base to positions above the upper end portion of the base. In addition, a closure member for the container is provided which consists of an elongated cup having opposed closed and open end portions and a side wall that extends therebetween. The cover is adapted to receive and slidably engage the spring fingers, through its open end, in a friction fit with the inner surface of its side wall engaging the fingers, whereby said closure member is adapted to be supported on said spring fingers above the open end of said base member and to engage the open end of the latter outside the fingers with a vapor tight seal when the outside walls of the two members are aligned with one another in a ,, .
determined closing position. The elongated cup is tapered slightly from a first cross-sectional dimension at the closed end portion thereof to a slightly ~: larger cross-sectioned dimension at said open end portion. The elongated closure member has a plurality of convex ribs formed in its side wall -: opening towards the interior of the closure member. These convex ribs are dimensioned to respectively receive the spring fingers freely therein. With thls arrangement the closure member is seated on the shoulder without stressing the spring fingers when said convex ribs are aligned with said fingers and said closure member is supported on said fingers above the open end portion of said base member by the engagement of said spring fingers with the inner surface of the side wall of the closure member when said closure member is rotated to move said ribs out of alignment with said spring fingers.
By this construction, the elongated closure member is adapted to be supported on the spring fingers of the base above the open end of the base member, in a plurality of relative positions thereby to control the amount of air introduced to the container to in turn regulate the volatilization of air-treating agents in the gel. In addition, the cover and base include cooperating beveled surface portions which, when the cover is fully engaged with the base, serve to provide a vapor tight seal to prevent volatilization ' ~

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of the air-treating agents in the gel when the container is stored or in transit.
, The above, and other object, features, and advantages of this invention will be apparent in the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments of the invention which is to be read in connection ~`: with the accompanying drawings wherein:
Figure 1 is an elevational view of a dispensing container for solid : air-treating gel constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present ~ invention, and showing the container in its closed position;
: 10 Figure 2 is an elevational view, similar to Figure 1, showing the ::
i . . ., ~, configuration of the container during use of the gel, but showing the gel in ~-dotted lines for clarity; ~ :
Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the dispensing container ~-of Figures 1 and 2;
Figure 4 is an enlarged elevational view, taken in section, of the ~; dispensing container of Figure l;
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Figure 5 is an enlarged partial sectional view of a portion of the cover and base of another embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view similar to Figure 5 of yet another embodiment of the invention; and Figure 7 is a bottom view of the dispenser shown in Figure 1.
Referring now to the drawing in detail, and initially to Figures 1 and 2 thereof, it will be seen that the dispensing container 10 of the present ; invention includes a base 12 and a top cover or closure member 14 which con-tains a solidified body 16 (shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 for clarity) of an air-treating gel containing volatilizable air-treating components, such as . for example as described in the above noted United States Patent No. 2,691,615.
Preferably, each of the base and cover elements comprise a unitary body of ~ molded plastic material formed from polyethylene or polypropylene. However, - it is to be understood that various types of plastics can be used and that the respective base and cover can be formed from the same or different plastic materials and in different colors, as desired.
Base 12, shown in greater detail in Figures 3 and 4, is in the form of a cup having a generally circular crass-section and an open top 18 in which gel 16 is seated. The cup includes a base or bottom wall 20 and a tapered side wall 22 which~ at its upper end 24, has a laterally (or radially) offset annular w~ll portion 26 that cooperates with cover 14 to form a substantially vapor tight seal as described hereinafter. In addition, cup 12 includes a plurality of axially elongated integral spring fingers 28 that extend up-wardly from the cup~s side wall 22 in spaced relation to the offset wall 26 to positions above the open end 18 of the cup. Although four such spring fingers are shown for purposes of illustration, it is to be understood that two, three or more than four such fingers can be used in the dispensing container of the invention.
Spring fingers 28 are tapered from their bottom-most positions adjacent wall 22 to their upper ends and have a relatively flat exterior surface 30. When container 10 is filled with liquid air-treating gel, as described hereinafter, fingers 28 are embedded within the gel with the outer surfaces 30 thereof being exposed. The fingers each include an inner narrow rib 32 that extends deeper into the gel than the main body portion of the fingers, thereby to provide additional anchoring support for the gel body within the fingers. Of course, it will be appreciated that the fingers obtain their spring characteristic, which is used to support cover 14 as described hereinafter, since they are formed of a resilient plastic material.
The closure part or cover 14 is essentially a cylindrical cup , having a closed end 34 and a slightly tapered side wall 36 which extends to j an open end 38 of slightly larger diameter than end 34. The diameter of cover 14 is selected such that the open end 38 thereof has a diameter which is slightly less than the distance between the surfaces 30 of any two diametrical-ly opposed fingers 28. Thus cover 14 is adapted to receive spring fingers 28 with the outer surfaces 30 of the spring fingers in engagement with the inclin-ed inner surface 40 of the cover in a slidable friction fit. To improve this friction fit the bottom half of cover 14 has its sidewall tapered from a first thickness approximately halfway up the cover to a second larger thick-ness near the bottom of the cover, at 41, where the cover wall returns to a smaller thickness to form a ridge on the inner surface 40. This arrangement decreases the inner diameter of the cover so that the frictional engagement of the cover with fingers 28 is increased to prevent the cover from slipping down on the fingers. In this manner, as illustrated in Figure 2, the cover .. . .
14 can be supported on base 12 in a variety of positions with respect to the open top of the base 12 by spring fingers 28 The opening 42 provided between base 12 and cover 14 can thus be varied by moving cover 14 along fingers 28 to a variety of positions in order to regulate the amount of gel exposed to ;
the atmosphere for volatilization.
The lower open end portion 38 of cover 14 includes a laterally off_ ; 30 set annular wall portion 44 which forms an enlarged bore having a diameter ~ ~ 5 ~
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substantially complementary to the external diameter of the annular wall 26 of base 12, Preferably, the inner surface 46 of annular wall 44 and the outer surface 48 of~all 26 are slightlybeveled, for example 2 from the vertical (see Figure 5), in a complementary configuration, so as to form a relatively tight friction fit therebetween when cover 14 is lowered into its sealing position, shown in Figures l and 4 This lower position of cover 14 is limited and defined by an annular shoulder 50, formed on the e~terior of the laterally offset portion 26 of base 12, and faces upwardly towards the open end of the base, This shoulder engages the lower edge 52 of the wall 44 in cover 14, when the cover 14 is seated in its lowermost position. The engagement of edge 52 with shoulder 50, and the further tight friction fit between the beveled surfaces 46, 48 serve to provide a substantial vapor tight seal between the cover and the base which ~reven~s volatilization of the air-treating gel in order to preserve the gel during storage or transit.
In accordance with a feature of the present invention, cover 14 is - constructed to allow spring fingers 28 to remain in a relaxed configuration when cover 14 is sealed against base 12. This is permitted by the provision of a plurality of convex ribs 54 formed in the peripheral side wall 36 of cover 14. These ribs are provided in a number equal to the number of ribs 28 in base 22 and are peripherally spaced about the circumference of wall 36 distances equal to the circumferential distances separating fingers 28.
In addition, these ribs 54 open towards the interior of cover 14 thereby to define recesses 56 which will receive fingers 28 in a relaxed condition when the cover 14 is moved downwardly onto base 12 with the ribs 54 aligned with fingers 28. Thus, as illustrated in Figure 4, when cover 14 is placed on base ; 12 with ribs 54 radially aligned with fingers 28, the fingers are received within recesses S6 in an unstressed condition. On the other hand, it will be appreciated that when cover 14 is raised away from base 12 and rotated axially a distance sufficient to move ribs 54 out of the alignment with fingers 28 the tapered inner surface 40 of the cover 14, in the areas 58 between ribs 54, : ' ~ ., .. . ~ . :
- will be moved into engagement with the outer surface 30 of each of the fingers, compressing the fingers inwardly, so that the stressed fingers will then support the cover in its raised position. It is noted that only the areas 58 of surface 40 has the increased thickness described above to form ridge 41;
the surface 40 is not tapered and does not form ridge 41 in ribs 54.
In order to insure that ribs 54 and spring fingers 28 are in proper alignment when cover 14 is closed on base 12, the base and cover are provided with cooperating keying means 60. In the illustrative embodiments of the invention this keying means consists of one or more recesses 62 formed in the ` 10 annular wall 44 at the lower end of cover 14 and a cooperating complementary protuberance or key 64 formed on the shoulder 50 of base 12. The complement-ary recesses and keys 64 are formed on the cover and base in predetermined locations such that they will mate with each other only when the fingers 28 and ribs 54 are in 31ignment. Thus, in the illustrative embodiments of the invention, it will be seen that a recess 62 is located in cover 14 in align-ment with each of the ribs 54, while a key 64 is located in alignment with each of the spring fingers 28. Accordingly, when cover 14 is moved downwardly over and along fingers 28, with the ribs 54 in radial alignment with the fing_ ers, the recesses 62 will receive their associated complementary keys 64, thereby allowing the lower edge 52 of the cover 14 to engage shoulder 50 to form the vaporrtight seal between the beveled surfaces 46, 48 as described above. Of course, if ribs 54 and fingers 28 are not properly aligned, l~eys 64 will engage the lower edge 52 of cover 14 and prevent the cover from closing i properly~ (It is noted that the number of recesses 62 and cooperating keys 64 ` ~ may vary as desired and need not be limited to the number of spring fingers on the base 12.) As seen in Figures 3 and 4, cover 14 for container 10 has an opening ., 66 formed in its closed end 34, with a circular cap or plug 68 seated therein to close the opening. The cap 68 is held fast on cover 14 by an annular snap - 30 bead 70 formed on the periphery of its integral cylindrical extension 72, which `` ~ ~ ' ' ,... .
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snap bead engages the inner surface of cover 14 adjacent aperture 66 when the plug is properly in position. Aperture 66 is provided in this manner to facilitate filling of the container 10 by the manufacturer with air-treating gel. Thus, in khe manufacturing procedure, cover 14 and base 12 are assembled, as described above, with fingers 28 received in recesses 56 and the bottom edge 52 of the cover engaged against shoulder 50 of the base As mentioned, in this configuration the fingers 28 are in a relaxed position, with their outer surfaces substantially adjacent the inner surface of the recesses 56, but not compressed by the surface of the recesses. In this configuration, with open-ing 66 unobstructed, the manufacturer can fill the container 10 with air-treating gel in its liquid form to a pre-determined level with the container in its upright position. After filling, the opening 66 is closed by simply snapping cap 68 in place. Since the construction of the container as described above forms a vapor tight seal at the interface between the tapered sufaces 46, 48, that seal is also liquid tight so that the liquid air-treating gel is fully contained in container 10. The liquid in the container can then solidify and the entire package is ready for shipment by the manufacturer.
As will be appreciated from a consideration of Figure 4, the liquid gel supplied to the container will substantially fill all the voids and spaces in the container. Thus, the gel will fiIl recesses 56 and the annular area between the offset wall 26 of base 12 and the fingers 28, as weIl as the annular area between the offset wall 44 of cover 14 and the fingers 28. How_ `i.::
ever, it is noted that since the outer surface 30 of fingers 28 (in their relaxed condition, as shown in Figure 4), are located adjacent the inner surface 40 of cover 14, the surfaces 30 will be exposed in the final product and not surrounded by solidified gel, even though the surrounding space within - ribs 54 will be filled with gel, as seen in Figure 3. Accordingly, the surf-aces 30 will be free to engage the tapering inner wall 40 of cover 14 in the areas 58 between ribs 54 when the dispensing dévice is in use.
As mentioned, since there are spaces between the surfaces 30 of : :~
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,' 1C)4~045 fingers 28 and the inner surface 74 of annular wall 26 in base 12, an annular ring of air-treating gel will also tend to form in the base 12 about fingers 28. Since the air-treating gel has a tendency to harden and shrink when in use, such an annular ring or air-treating gel at this point may have a tend-ency to compress the fingers 28 inwardly after the dispenser has been used for some time, thereby reducing the ability of fingers 28 to support cover 14.
This however is avoided, in accordance with the present invention, by the provision of a plurality of thin webs or plates 76 extending radially inwardly from the inner surface 74 of wall 26 towards fingers 28. These plates may extend up to the surface of walls 30, but preferably are spaced a slight dis-tance therefrom, as seen in Figure 4, to permit full flexibility in the fing-ers. The plates serve to break up the annular ring which would tend to form adjacent the laterally offset portion 26 of base 12, so as to avoid any tend-ency for the hardening and shrinking gel in this area to puIl fingers 28 inwardly. It is noted that even though a small space is left between the inner edge of plates 76 and the surfaces 30 of fingers 28, the small amount of gel which can occupy this space to form a continuous ring about fingers 28 is .~. . .
so slight that it will break upon movement of the fingers 28 and on volatili-zation of gel in that area. Accordingly, the formation of an undesirable hoop of solidified gel about the base of the fingers 28 is avoided.
As mentioned, when the dispensing container 10 of the invention is ~ in use, the cover 14 is lifted to free recesses 62 from the keys or protuber-: ances 64 and then rotated so as to engage the surface 40 of cover 14, in the area 58 between ribs 54, with the surfaces 30 of fingers 28. Since the gel in . the container has a tendency, particularly when first used to stick to the interior surfaces of cover 12, the fingers 28 are provided with the narrow ribs 32 that serve to anchor the gel against rotation during rotation of cover 14 To assist in this anchorage, the bottom wall 20 of base 12 is provided with a cylindrical member 78 which becomes embedded in the solidified gel. In addition, the base can be provided with a plurality of individual cylindrical , _ g_ .

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protuberances 80, about the bottom of the base, which also become embedded in the gel and which, along with the member 78, further resists rotation of the gel when the cover 14 is raised and rotated.
As seen in the portion of Figure 4 surrounded, for illustrative purposes, by a dashed circle, the inner surface 40 of cover 14 adjacent the lower end 38 thereof includes a transition surface 82 which, in this embodiment of the invention, is a relatively smooth curve extending between the tapered inner surface 40 and the inner surface 46 of the laterally offset wall 44.
During filling of container 10 with liquid gel, the gel will occupy the area adjacent this transition surface 82 and, when solidified, will have a periph-eral surface conforming substantially to the configuration of surface 82.
This curved surface is illustrated in Figure 3 at the portion 84 of the gel - body shown therein.
While such a curved surface on the exterior of the gel body is generally satisfactory, it has been found that the solidified gel may produce a liquid film or drops of air-treating agent or components therein which, under the influence of gravity, will tend to move down the outer surface of , ...
the gel body to the curved transition portion 84 thereof. If sufficient liquid forms in this manner, the liquid may ultimately drip off the edge or .~, side 86 of the gel body over the edge of base 12 and onto the supporting surf-ace for the container. In accordance with another feature of the invention, such dripping is avoided by constructing cover 14 such that it will form an : annular trough in the area 84 of the solidified gel body, This is accomplish_ - ed, for example as shown in Figure 5, by forming the transition area 82 of cover 14, such that it extends first from the inner surface 40 of cover 14 ; ' :
downwardly, to a first level 88, and then upwardly to a second higher level 90 at which it joins the beveled surface 46 of laterally offset wall portion ~ . , .
M . In effect, the transition surface 82 is formed with a reversed S_curve surface, in section, so that when liquid gel is introduced into container 14 ~ 30 it occupies the zone 92 (see Figure 5) with the lowermost level 88 of the ,.' " - 10 _ :, ~

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transition surface 82 forming an annular trough about the periphery of the solidified body. This trough will receive liquid from the surface of the - solidified gel body when the container is in use, and prevent its dripping onto the supporting surface for the container. The liquid received in the . trough 88 will vaporize relatively rapidly, so that the trough is continuously available for receiving other liquid which may form on the surface of the gel body.
It is noted that the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 5 provides the transition surface 82 on the interior of cover 14 with-out changing the configuration of the exterior surface of the cover from that of the embodiment shown in Figure 4. As a result, it will be appreciated that a substantial mass of plastic in the cover 14 will be present at the trans-ition area 82, which mass re~resents an additional expense in plastic and may create a heat sink at that point in the cover during the plastic molding -opcration, Accordingly, in accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the outer surface of cover 14, as shown in Figure 6, may be constructed to conform to the inner surface 40 thereof at transition area 82 so that the cover has a substantially uniform thickness throughout its entire length, while the same reversed curved transition surface is provided in order to form a trough in the gel, In accordance with yet another feature of the present invention, container 10 is adapted to be stacked for display on other containers of identical construction. This is permitted by the construction of the bottom wall 20 of base 12 which, as seen most clearly in Figure 4, has a generally ` ~ concave construction opening outwardly of the base. This wall is provided with a plurality of radially extending tabs 98 formed integrally therewith (see Figure ~) and which are dimensioned to receive therebetween the outer wall 100 of a cap 68 on another dispenser. This is shown for illustrative purposes in dot and dash lines in Figure 4. Accordingly, in order to stack .. . . .. .
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;~ 30 a plurality of COntAiners 10 of the present invention for storage or display, .,' ' ~.~.
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`` 1()4~045 the containers are simply seated on one another in a nesting relationship with the caps 68 thereof received within the concave bottom wall of an adjac-ent base 12. The tabs 98 serve to center the top container on the lower container to insure proper stacking.
It will be appreciated that in use the dispensing container 10 of the present invention can be opened and supported on spring fingers 28 innum-erable times before the gel therein is consumed As is well known, the volatilization process for the solid air-treating gel progresses relatively 910wly when the gel is exposed to the atmosphere and, by the construction of the present invention, is substantially completely arrested when the cover is closed This is accomplished, as described above, because of the vapor tight seal formed between the beveled matting surfaces 46, 48 Moreover, the degree of volatilization is adapted to be controIled by the construction of the container disclosed herein since the amount of gel exposed can be varied simply by varying the position of cover 14 on spring fingers 28 to a greater or lesser height with respect to the open end of base 12 Thus, by exposing a greater amount of gel a more rapid volatilization of the gel is achieved.
Accordingly, it is seen that a dispensing container of relatively simple and inexpensive construction is provided which can regulate the rate of volatilization of air-treating agents in a solid air-treating gel while, at the same time, providing a substantially vapor tight seal preventing such ., ~"
volatilization when the gel is to be stored or transported. Moreover, th0 ;~ container avoids many of the problems of the prior art and eliminates a number - of manufacturing steps required by previously proposed containers for solid .
air-treating gels.
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Although illustrative embodiments of the present in~ention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of this invention.
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Claims (9)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A dispensing container for air-treating gel comprising a base member in the form of a cup having an open upper end portion and integral base and side walls, said cup including internal guide and support means comprising a plurality of axially elongated and peripherally spaced spring fingers extending upwardly therefrom to positions above the upper end portion of said base; and a closure member for said dispenser comprising an elongated cup having opposed closed and open end portions and a side wall extending therebetween, said closure member receiving and slidably engaging said spring fingers through its open end portion in a friction fit with the inner surface of its side wall engaging said fingers whereby said closure member is adapted to be supported on said spring fingers above the open end of said base member, and to engage the open end of the latter outside of the fingers with a vapor tight seal when the outside walls of the two members are aligned with one another in a determined closing position; the side wall of said base member having a top edge at the upper end portion of the base member and an exterior upwardly facing shoulder located below said top edge about the periphery of said base member; said side wall of said elongated closure member including a lower edge portion, adjacent the open end portion of the closure member, dimensioned to receive said upper end portion of the base member; said lower edge portion including an edge for engaging said upwardly facing shoulder on said base member; said elongated closure member having a plurality of convex ribs formed in its side wall opening towards the interior of said closure member, said convex ribs being dimensioned to respectively receive said spring fingers freely therein, whereby said closure member is seated on said shoulder without stressing said spring fingers when said convex ribs are aligned with said fingers and said closure member is supported on said fingers above the open end portion of said base member by the engagement of said spring fingers with the inner surface of the side wall of the closure member when said closure member is rotated to move said ribs out of alignment with said spring fingers.

2. The dispensing container as defined in claim 1, wherein said elongated cup is tapered slightly from a first cross-sectional dimension at the closed end portion thereof to a slightly larger cross-sectioned dimension at said open end portion.

3. The dispensing container as defined in claim 1 wherein said upper end portion of the base member, above said shoulder and said lower end portion of said closure member are beveled in a complementary interfitting fitting configuration to form a vapor tight seal therebetween.

4. The dispensing container as defined in claim 1 wherein said base member and closure member have cooperating keying means for locating said convex ribs in alignment with said spring fingers when said closure member is seated on said base.

5. The dispensing container as defined in claim 4 wherein said keying means comprises at least one recess formed in the lower edge portion of said closure member and at least one protuberance formed on said shoulder in a configuration complementary to that of said recess, said recess and protuberance being respectively located to be in mating relation when said fingers are received in said ribs.

6. The dispensing container as defined in claim 5 wherein said cover member and base member have a plurality of said recesses and protuber-ances formed therein respectively located in generally axial alignment with said ribs and said fingers.

7. The dispensing container as defined in claim 1 wherein said closure member has a generally circular raised surface portion at its closed end and said base wall of the base member is generally concave and defines a circular recess opening outwardly of the base member; said base member having a plurality of spaced ribs extending radially inwardly of said recess for frictionally engaging the raised surface portion of a cover member, whereby a plurality of said dispensing containers may be stacked on one another in vertical alignment.

8. The dispensing container as defined in claim 1 wherein said spring fingers are spaced inwardly of the upper end portion of said base member and said upper end portion has a plurality of thin webs, respectively associated with said spring fingers, extending radially inwardly therefrom to positions adjacent to but spaced from said spring fingers, whereby said webs serve to break up any ring of gel tending to form about said fingers in said base member.

9. The dispensing container as defined in claim 1, wherein said lower edge portion of said closure member is laterally offset from the remainder of the tapered side wall of said closure member to form an enlarged base and said closure member has a relatively smooth transition surface on the interior thereof between said tapered side wall and said offset lower end portion of the closure member.