CA2095795A1

CA2095795A1 - Container lid

Info

Publication number: CA2095795A1
Application number: CA002095795A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Frano Luburic; Dennis R. Willis
Original assignee: Ropak Corp
Current assignee: Ropak Corp
Priority date: 1993-05-07
Filing date: 1993-05-07
Publication date: 1994-11-08

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure:

A container lid is characterized by a tamper-evi-dencing tear-strip member having a tab that protrudes from a plane formed by adjacent portions of the lid. The tab preferably includes gripping rib members on opposing sur-faces of the tab and is surrounded by a sufficient gap to permit the tab to be readily grasped for easier removal of the tear-strip member from the lid, prior to initial removal of the lid from the container. In container and lid embodi-ments that are substantially rectangular, the lid also preferably includes mating engagement structure between the lid and the container which is interrupted or not present at the corners of the lid. The tear-strip in this rectangular embodiment also preferably includes a widened portion at the corners, whereby the removal of the rear-strip results in a "scalloping" of the corners. These features on rectangular embodiments facilitate easier attachment and removal of the lid to and from the container, after the removal of the tear-strip.

Description

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I~P~OVEIL~ AINER LID

Back~round ~f th~ In~n~io~- , ;
This in~ention relates ~o l$d~ ~or containers, and speci~ically to a lid adapted to provide ~asier use o~ tam-per-oYidencing tear-~trips and to sub~quently provid~ eas-ler remo~al o~ the lid from (and attachment o~ the lid to) the contalner.
It is known to use tear-s~rip~ on the lids Or con-~ :
tainers a5 a means o~ tamper-evidencing. Prior art tear-~trip~, howev~r, can some~ime~ be quitQ "un~riendly" to per-sons atte~ptin~ to lagitimately open ~he containers. Among other things, lt i~ ~ometim~s diffiault to av~n lo~at~ t~e; ~:
ta~ or other means for initiating the removal o~ th~ t~ar~
strip from the lid. Once looated, it can 80met~e~ require lS tho U3Q of a ~crewdri~er or other lever ~eshanism ~o l-pry' the tab loose so ~hat the t~ar-strip can be removed. Be-sld~s belng unduly cumbersome, tha u~e of a screwdri~r or : similar instrum~nt can d m~g~ the contain~r andfor lid, ~ven ~o ~ha ~o~nt o~ de~troying the abil~ty o~ the lid to be apI -propxia~ely res~aled on the ~ontainar.
~ dditional~y, on lids ~on~gured to oo~er ion-talner op~nings that are sub~tant~ally rectan~ular, it can '' '~.

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be extremely difficult to remove the lid becau~e, as one corner of the lid i~ lifted, the other corner~ "bit~ in" and engage the container even more ~orcefully than during normal statio engagement. The same problem can exist when a per~on attempts to reseat the lid on the ~ontainer.

~Oble~ n~,~dvantaqes o~the Iay~n~iQ~
It is, therefor~, a~ ob~ect o~ our invention to provide a lid for a container which incorporat~s a centrally dispos~d cover portion having tamper-G~i~Qncing means for indic~ting whether said lid has been removed ~rom t~s con-taine~. In ~he pre~err~d embodi~ent, ~ tamper-avidoncin~
mean~ includes tab means ~or initiating the operation of ~he tamper-~videncing mean~, with the tab ~2ans including at lea~t a portion thereof which protrud~s ~rom ~ plan~ formed 1~ by a~ac~nt por~ions o~ th~ lid. A ub~tan~ial gap i~
pre~erably pro~ded between the protrud~ng portion and cer- -~
ta~n o~ th~ adjacen~ portion3 Or ~he lid, ~o per~it a user's Pinger~ to readily gra~p the protr~diny portion.
~n additional object of our in~ention i~ ~he pro-vi6ion of a lid of th~ a~oremen~ioned character in which thetablmean~ has oppo~ing sur~ace~, and tactil~ grippi~g mean~
such a~ a plurality of ribs are di~posed on ~he oppo~lng sur~aces. The~ ribs provide improved frictional cs~tact 2 ~ 3 A3 7 ~

for a person to grip the tab mean~ and manipulate the ta~-per-evidencing tear-strip.
The aforesaid protrusion and gap and gripping rlbs aan help persons to ~ore readily locate th~ tab mean~, both vi~ually or ~y feel. Perhaps ~ore imp~rtantly, tho~e fea-tures permit persons to more readily break loose the tab means ~nd r~m~ve the tear-~trip from ~he contain~r, ~o that the lid can be remo~ed and the contents of ~he container can --be utlli~ed. . --A further object o~ our invention is the provicion o~ a lid of the aforementioned character, in which the pro-truding portion of the tab means i3 originally ~old~d in the plan~ ~ormed by ths aforesaid ad~acent portion~ of the l~d, and subs~quently moves from tha~ plane into t~e n~n-planar alignm~nt. This simpli~ie~ the de~ign, molding and m~nufac- ~
turing processes (~uch as in pl~stic inj~ction ~olding), and ~-: an r~ult in economio ~aving~ to ths manufac~ur~r. ~:
An~ther ob~ect o~ our invention is th~ provi~ion o~ a lid of the a~oremention~d oharacter in whl~h th~ ta~-20 p~r-evid-ncing mean~ in~lude~ a t~ar-~r~p m~mber d~po~d at the periphery of the lid, with tab means operatively a~
~ixed ~o th~ tear-strip member.- ~he operati~e aff~xation may be ac~omp}ished,,~or ex~mple, by integrally mold~ng ~he ta~ an~ the te~r-~trip me~ber.
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2~J~7~3 Yet another ob~ect o~ our invention is th~ pro~i-sion of a lid of the aforementioned ch~rac~er i~ which the lid and the corre ponding containar opening are o~ ~ub~tan-tially rectangular configuratio~, and the tear-strip me~ber incl~des corner extension means a~ the cornerg o~ tha lld ~or permit~ing greater ~lexure of the lid at the corner~ af-ter removal o~ the tear-s~rip mQmb~r. Each o~ the corner ~xt-n6ion means pr~er~bly inclu~es a section o~ the te~r-strip member that i6 wid~r than ad~a¢ent section~ of ~he t~ar-strip memb2r. me r~moval of these wider sections dur- :
ing removal of the tear-strip result~ in a "scalloping" o~
th~ ¢orners and a corresponding increa~ed ~lexibllity in the lid, provlding easier removal and attaahment o~ th~ lid.
Add~tionally with respect to embodiment~ o~ ~ub-~tantially rect~ngular con~iguratlon, it ~ a~ ob~sc~ o~ ourinv~nt~on to provide a lid of th~ aforemention~d char~cter that includes rataining ~eanæ for ret~in~ng tha lid on the ~n~ o~ ~nd bh~ t~ ls no~ pr~sen~ a~ on~ or ~o~o o~ th~ cornsrs o~ ~he rQct~gu~ar lid. Thi~ faatur~
al~o prevents the unde~ired "b~ting in" of r~mot~ corn~rs~ a~
one corner i6 li~ted ~uring r~moval of the lid from the con-tainer.
It is yet another object o~ our inv~ntion to pro-vid~ a ~ub~tantially re~tangular conta~ner lid w~ia~ in-9~ -cludes a centrally disposed co~er portion having an inverted generally U-shaped cover edge, with the U-shaped edga form- :
ing a groove ~or recei~ing an upper edge o~ a sid2 wall of the contain~r. ~he lid ~urth~r include~ a ~aar-str~p member di~possd a~ the periphery of th~ lid and h~ving a wid~n~d ~ection at one or more o~ the corners. ~he tear-strip me~-ber include~ tab mean~ ~or initiating th~ operat$on of the ta~p~r-~videncing ~ean~. The tab means includ~s at lea~t a port~on pro~ruding ~rom a plan~ ~rm~d by ad~acent ~ortions of th~ lid, and includes taatile gripping means for provid-ing ~n improved frictional con~ac~ for a per~on to grip the ta~ means. ~he lid further includes rataining mean~ ~or r2- ~
ta~n~ng the lid on the container, with tha retaining mQan~ -on ~h~ lid b~in~ interrupted or ~ rwisQ no~ pr~snt at on~
or ~ore o~ the corner~ o~ th~ lid. These ~eature~ gr~atly facilitate the init~al and subsequent removal and att~chment of the lid to the conta~ner.
Oth~r o~jeo~ and advant~ge~ oP the inv~nt~on will . ~.
be appar~nt ~rom ~h~ ~ollowing ~p~aifi~ation ~nd the accom~
panying arawings, which ~r~ for the purpose o~ illust~ation only.

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F~G. 1 is a 6ide elevation view of a prior art lid and tab means t FIG. 2 i~ a s~d~ ele~vat~on view simil~r to FIG. 1, but illustratir~g a lid constructed in acc:ordanc~ ~ith the tea~ning~ of ~he invantion;
PIG. 3 i6 an Rnlarged ~iew of the port~on of FIG. ~ delineat~d by line 3;
FIG. 4 i~3 a sect~orlal Y~ewl ~i;imilar to th2t of FIG. 5 bu~ illu~tra~ing the~ coplanar alignmen1: o~ t:he tab m2ans as it preferably appear~ during ~nanufacture ~
~IG. 5 i~ 3 sectional view, taken along line 5-5 o~ FIG. 3 ~IG. 6 i~ a ~ectional view, taken along line 6-6 o~ FIG . 3:
~IG. 7 is a ~de el~ation ~iew ~lmilar to FIG. 2, but 111u~trating a su~'can*ially re¢tangular lid ~on6tructed in acco~danc~ w:~.th the teachings o~ ~ha inv~ntionJ
FIG;. 8 i~ a top view of one corner of the lid o~
~IG. 8, taken along l~ne 8-8 of FIG. 7 FI~; . 9 ~ ~ a ~ectional view, taken along lin~ 9-9 ~ :
0~ FI~ o 13;
FI~:. lO i~ a ~ec:ti~n~l vl~w of ths tab ~ean~ of FIG. 7, taken along line 10-10 o~ ~IG. 7;

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FIGo 11 18 a side elevation view similar ~o FIG. 7, but illustrating a sub~tantially rectangular lid constructed in accordanc~ with th3 teaching~ of the inven- . :
tion with the tear-strip member partially separated ~rom the li~, And ~: -~IG. 12 is an isometric view of a lid ~im$1ar to the lids illu~rated ln FIGS. 7-11, but illustr~ting how a person might attach or remove the lid to ox from a contain~r a~ter th~ tear-strip member has been ~ompl~tely re~oved from th~ lid.

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Re~erring ~o the drawin~, and particularly to : .
FIGS. a-6 thereof, w~ ~how a lid 10 con~truc~ed in accor-dance with the teaching~ o~ ~e in~ention and including tam-p~r-evldenc~ng ~ean~ 12, s~swn a~ a ~ear-6tr~p m~mb~r 14.
Tho~e ~kllled in the art will und~r~tand that th~ tamper~ev-iden~ing means ind~ates whether the lid ha~ be~n remo~Qd ~rom its aæ~ociate~ ~ontainer ta ~ontain~r i~ not illu~-trated in FIGS. 2-6~ ~ter the original a~sembly o~ the lid 1~ onto u container.
~hose 6k~ d in the art will further understand that th~ lid ~ncludes a c~ntral~y dispo~ed cover po~tion ~irilar to that 111u~trat-d a~ portlon 80 ln FIGS. 8 aDd 12.

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The lid is pre~erably lightweight with s~me degre~ o~ re-silience, to resist damage during ha~dling and use and to permit operative repetitive engagement with a container.
Th~ ~id may b~ fabricated from any 6uitabl~ matQrial and by any suitable proce~s, but i~ pre~erably manufactur~d ~rom pla~tia in an injection molding process.
The lid 10 may b8 of any ~uitabl~ 6i2e ~nd 6hape so as to ~orrespond to an associated container, ~ut is il-lustrated ln a circular configuration in the ~IGS. 2-6.
The tamper-evid~ncing maans ~2 preferably includes tab means 20, which i8 pr~erably intQgrally molded with tear-~trip m~mber 14, but whi~h may be op~rati~ely attached ~.
to th~ tQar-strip memb~r 14 by any suitabl~ ~eans ~ùch as ~.
gluing, ~t~pling, bol~ing, weld~ng or the like. In the pre~
~err~d ~mbodiment, ~he tab mQ~ns 20 includes a oentr~l body portion 22, a fr~ngible or breakable conn~c~inq portion 24, ~nd a relativ~ly non-brQakabl~ connecting portion 26. Th~
conn~ln~ portion~ 2~ and 26 maintain the tab ~ean~ 20 in ; op0rat1v~ relation~hip with ~he 1~ 10 and the tear-~trlp 20~: me~b~r 14, with th~ ~rangible aonn~cting portion 24 dim~n- -~ioned and oon~igured to permi ~ra~ur~ thereof wh~n a per- ;
~on want6 to re~ov~ the tea~-strlp ~emb~r 14, a~ more thor-oughly des~rib~d herein. Th~ relatively non-breakabl~ con-~cting portion 26, in contrast, i5 dimen~ion~d and config- .

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ured to withs~and the forces exerted thereon by the person pulling on the ta~ means 20 during removal o~ the tear- ~rip member 14. :
As indicated above, the ta~ means 20 i~ utili~e~
S to ~nitlate the re~o~al of th~ t~per-evidle~cing tear-~trip me~ber 14 from the a~s~mbled lid lO and container. ~his i~
prefera~ly accompli~hed by a per on gra~p~ng the tab means 20, exQrting suffici~nt pre~sure to break the connecting portion 24, and sub~equently "peQling" t~e ~ear-strip 14 ~ ;
Prom the lid lO along an integrally-molded w orelinQ 2~
(he0t illu6trated i~ ~Ia. 6). This removal proce~s i~ ~ur-th~r illu~trated in FIG. ll (sh~wing a tear-strip partially r~moved ~rom a lid) and in FIG. 12 (~howlng ~ lid on a con-tainer a~ter the tear-~trip haæ bean removed from thQ assem-~ly).
In order to make the ~ab mean~ 20 easier to locate~by sight or by touch), the tab means pr~fera~ly include~
protru~ing p~rtion 2~ (a~ ~8t illustra~ed ln F~. 5~ which protrud~ from a plane ~ormsd by ad~3cent portion cf th~
lid. Th~s protrusion enables a us~r ~o more readily ~e thQ
tab me~n~ 20 whil~ initially opening the contai~er, ~d also to feel the tab mean~, e~pecially in sltuation~ where light~
ing and/or loca~ion of the con~ain~r/lid a~s~l31y re~uirs th~t ~hs u~er lo:aa~ ~he tab ~eans by ~l in tead o~ 61ght.

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To facilitate manufactur~ of the lid lo through processes such as injection molding, the protrudi~g portion 29 ~s preferably molded "in-line" or co-planar with the ad-jac2nt portions o~ the lid. As illustr~ted in FIG. 4, the mold ~n such a process c~n be co~figur~d withou~ the more co~pi~cated shape of ~G. 5, and upon removal of th~ lid 10 ~ro~ the mold, several faator3 can comb~n~ to acco~pli~h the ::
de~ired protrusion of portion 29. ~hese include the natural shrinkage of t~e plastic material ~rom which the lid i~
~ormed and ~he r~latively grQater ~lexi~i~ity o~ th~ br~ak-able connecting portion 22. The~ ~actors p~rmit th~ lower edge o~ tha taar-s~rip ms~ber 14 a~d t~ tab mean~ 20 to 7'~hrink" inwardly, as indicated by arrow "A'l in ~G. 4. A~
such ~hrinkage occure, ~he pr~trudlng portion 29 corrQspond~
1~ ~ngly mov~æ out o~ ~h~ coplanar ali~nment with the adjacent portion~ o~ the lid lO, and into the non-aligned po ition shown ~n F~G. 5.
Thi8 ou*ward movement o~ the protruding portion 29 i~ ~urther ~acilitated by the pro~sion o~ a su~st~ntial gap 30 be~w~en ~he pro~rudlng portion 2g and certain of tha ad j~ent portion~ o~ the lid lO, Th~ gap 30 i~ additlonally su~iciently larg~ and appropri~tely shaped to par~it a u~r'3 finger~ ~ readily gra~p the pro~ruding portion 29 to facilitate removal o~ the te~r- trip membar 14. --.. . . . . .
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To further enable to operative removal o~ the tear-strip memb~r 14 from the lid 10, the tab m~ans ~o al~o pre~erably includes tactile gripping mean6 40 such as a plu-rality of ribs 42 ~or providing an improved ~r.ictlonal con-tact for a per~on to grip the tab means 20. ~hose skilledin t~e art wlll understand that the tactil~ gripping means 40 may be provided ln any o~ a wid~ var~e~y o~ o~her embodi-ments (not ~hown), including a roughened surfase, holes in the ta~ means 20, an adhesive-coating on the tab mean~ 20, or tha lik~. In th~ pr~ferred embodi~ent, the tab means 20 ha~ opposing ~urface~ 27, FIG. 5, and ~he tactile gripping me~ns 40 aro di~posed on b~th opposing sur~a¢e~ 27 As illustrat~d, the te~r-strip ~em~er 14 i~
pre~erably dispo~ed a~ tha periphery of th~ lid 10. The lid 10 has an invert~d generally U-~haped cover edg~ 50, a~ b~st illustrat~d in M&S. 5 and 6. Th~ U-shap~d edg~ 50 ~orm a groove ~or receivin~ an upper edge of a side wall o~ the oont~ln~r (not shown~. The lid 10 ~u ~ er includes retain-in~ ~ea~ 5~ ~or r~tai~ing th~ lid on the zontainer.
20 lu~rat~d, the retaining ~ean 58 includes an en~agement lip con~igured to matingly e~gag~ a ~orrespondingly-~haped li~
, on tha container (no~ shown) when ~h~ lid 10 and ~ontain~r ar2 a~sembled with ea~ other.

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~n embodi~ents in which the lid 60 is of substan-tially rectangular configurat~on to covor a correspondingly-shaped opening in a cont~iner, ~I&S. 7-12, the ta2r-8trip member 62 of the lid 60 further include~ corner extens~on ~eans 63. In the preferred embodi~ent, corner extension means 63 include~ one or mor~ s~ctlons 64 of th~ tear-strip -~ember 62 at one or ~ore of the corn~rs of the li~ 60. ~he ~ections 64 are wid~r than ad~acent section~ o~ said t~ar-~trip m~mber 62, and are preferably d~fined by the ~coreline 28 ~o t~at tearing the tear-strip member 62 ~rom the lidl 60 re~lte in a "~calloping" of the ~orners o~ the li~ ~. In o~her words, upon remov~l o~ th~ tear-~trip m~mb~r 62 ~ro~
th~ lld 60, ~heae wid~ned s~ctions 64 leave corre~ponding saalloped Bec~ions 66 in ths lid 60, p~rmit~ng a gr~ater ~
: 15 ~1QXU~ 0~ the lid 60 during r~mo~al from or attach~nt to : :
the container (~e~ FIG. 12) than would be pos~i~le with~ut th~ one or m~xe widened ~ection~ 640 Th~3 incr~ase~ ~lexure provides corre~ponding~y e~sier r~moval and attachment o~
: th~ lid 60 from and to ~h~ container.
A1BO in e~b~dim~nt~ o~ ~ubstantially rectanyul~r con~iguration, ~ha lid 60 ~urth~r include~ r~taining meang -68 ~imilar to the r~tainlng mean~ 5~ described abov~ ~n re-lat~on to FIGS. 2~6. ~h~ r~taining ~eans 6~ i~ for rQtain-ing the l~d on ~h~ ~onta~ner, bu~ ln ~ ub~tanti~lly r~ct -`'.

',`~.

2~ 3 angular embodiment of FIGS. 7~12, the retaining means 68 is not present at one ~r more of the corner of the rec~angular lid. For example, in e~bodiments wh~re th~ retaining means 6~ is a substantially con~inuous lip about ~he periphery of th~ lld 60, that lip is interrupt~d or is okherwi~e absent ~ ~;
at tha corners o~ t~ lid (a~ b~st illus~rated in FIGS. 8 and 9). ; -~
~he abeence o~ the retaining me~n~ 6~ at tha cor-nQrs of the lid 60 en6ur~s that, when one corner o~ ~he ltd i5 lifted, FIG. 12, there i~ no retaining lip at the other co~ners ~o nbi~e inn and more ~irmly ~ngage thQ contain~r.
A~ tho~ skilled in th~ art will understand, flexur~ o~ the ~id from one corner, FIG. 12, would cau~e ad~ nt ~orners o prior art lids to pull inwardly agains~ ~he con~ain~r, lS ~nh~nGing thQ engagam~nt betwsen tha ~ating retaining l ip~
o~ th~ lid and the container. Th~ pr~ent invsntion not only p~rmit~ ~ore re~dy flexure Or the lid (by the provision oP th~ scalloped sQetions 66, aa d~scrib~d above~, ~ut pre-v~nts ths undesirable increa~ed interengagem~nt at the cor-ner~ o~ the a~sembl~d lid and container.
Thus, by our invention we provid~ a container lid whiah parml~s ths ~a~i~r identi~lcation, loca~ion and re-moval o~ tamper-indi~ating ~an~ ~uch as an enaircling tQar ~trip ~m~er, and also ~acilitate~ ~ubseguant attachm~nt an~

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remo~ral of the lid ~o the containar for ~ubs~antially rect-angular llds .
The lid o~ our invention has been descri~ed with ~ some particula~ity but the specific designs and con- :
stnlc~ions disclosed are not to 3~ taken as dellmitlIIg of ~ ~:
the invention in ~ha~ variouf3 obYious mo~ificati~ns will : ~:
make them~lves apparent to those Or ordinary skill ln th~
art, all of which will not depart ~rom the essanc~a of the invQntion and all ~;uc:h change6 and modifications ar~ in-tended to be encompa~sed within th~ appended clai~

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Claims

1. A lid for a container, including, a centrally disposed cover portion having tamper-evidencing means for indicating whether said lid has been removed from the con-tainer, said tamper-evidencing means including tab means for initiating the operation of said tamper-evidencing means, said tab means including at least a portion thereof which protrudes from a plane formed by adjacent portions of said lid, and said tab means including tactile gripping means for providing an improved frictional contact for a person to grip said tab means.

2. The lid of Claim 1, in which said tab means has opposing surface and said tactile gripping means in-cludes a plurality of ribs disposed on on said opposing sur-faces of said tab means.

3. The lid of Claim 1, in which said protruding portion thereof is originally molded in said plane formed by adjacent portions of said lid, and subsequently moves from said plane into said non-planar alignment.

4. The lid of Claim 1 or Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which a substantial gap is provided between said protruding portion and certain of said adjacent portions of said lid, said gap being sufficient to permit a user's s fingers to readily grasp said protruding portion.

5. The lid of Claim 4 in which said tamper-evi-dencing means includes a tear-strip member disposed at the periphery of said lid, and said tab means is operatively af-fixed to said tear-strip member.

6. The lid of Claim 5, in which said lid and the container opening covered thereby are of substantially rect-angular configuration, and said tear-strip member includes corner extension means at the corners of said lid for per-mitting greater flexure of said lid at said corners after removal of said tear-strip member.

7. The lid of Claim 6, in which each of said cor-ner extension means includes a section of said tear-strip member that is wider than adjacent sections of said tear-strip member.

8. The lid of Claim 4, in which said lid and the container opening covered thereby are of substantially rect-angular configuration, and said lid further includes retain-ing means for retaining said lid on said container, and said retaining means is not present at one or more of the corners of said rectangular lid.

9. The lid of Claim 8, in which said tear-strip member includes corner extension means at the corners of said lid for permitting greater flexure of said lid at said corners after removal of said tear-strip member.

10. The lid of Claim 9, in which each of said corner extension means includes a section of said tear-strip member that is wider than adjacent sections of said tear-strip member.

11. A substantially rectangular container lid, including, a centrally disposed cover portion having an in-verted generally U-shaped cover edge, said U-shaped edge forming a groove for receiving an upper edge of a side wall of said container, said lid further includes a tear-strip member disposed at the periphery of said lid and having a widened section at one of more of said corners, whereby re-moval of said tear-strip member permits greater flexure of said lid during removal from or attachment to said container than without said one or more widened sections.

12. The lid of Claim 11, in which said tear-strip member includes tab means for initiating the operation of said tamper-evidencing means, said tab means including at least a portion thereof which protrudes from a plane formed by adjacent portions of said lid, said tab means including tactile gripping means for providing an improved frictional contact for a person to grip said tab means.

13. The lid of Claim 11 or Claim 12, in which said lid further includes retaining means for retaining said lid on said container, said retaining means including a lip substantially about the periphery of said lid, said lip be-ing configured to matingly engage a corresponding lip on said container, and said lip is not present at one or more of the corners of said lid.

14. A substantially rectangular container lid, including, a centrally disposed cover portion, and a tear-strip member disposed at the periphery of said lid and hav-ing a widened action at one or more of said corners, whereby after said tear-strip member has been removed, said lid may be flexed more easily than without said one or more widened sections.