CA2216470A1 - Vent plug for pail lid - Google Patents
Vent plug for pail lid Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2216470A1 CA2216470A1 CA 2216470 CA2216470A CA2216470A1 CA 2216470 A1 CA2216470 A1 CA 2216470A1 CA 2216470 CA2216470 CA 2216470 CA 2216470 A CA2216470 A CA 2216470A CA 2216470 A1 CA2216470 A1 CA 2216470A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- pail
- lid
- channel
- vent plug
- section
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 10
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 5
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 5
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 4
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 17
- 230000009969 flowable effect Effects 0.000 description 11
- 239000003570 air Substances 0.000 description 5
- 238000007789 sealing Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000011109 contamination Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000004806 packaging method and process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000000717 retained effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000000853 adhesive Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001070 adhesive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000012080 ambient air Substances 0.000 description 1
- 150000001875 compounds Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000007599 discharging Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000008157 edible vegetable oil Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000010687 lubricating oil Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000003973 paint Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000011236 particulate material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D47/00—Closures with filling and discharging, or with discharging, devices
- B65D47/04—Closures with discharging devices other than pumps
- B65D47/32—Closures with discharging devices other than pumps with means for venting
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D51/00—Closures not otherwise provided for
- B65D51/16—Closures not otherwise provided for with means for venting air or gas
- B65D51/1672—Closures not otherwise provided for with means for venting air or gas whereby venting occurs by manual actuation of the closure or other element
- B65D51/1677—Closures not otherwise provided for with means for venting air or gas whereby venting occurs by manual actuation of the closure or other element by rupturing a portion of the closure
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Closures For Containers (AREA)
Abstract
A plastic lid for a pail. The lid has a central section and a peripheral channel that is adapted to fit over walls of the pail to effect closure of the pail. The channel has an upper surface exterior to said pail with an elongated hinged tear tab extending along a section of the channel. The tear tab is integral with the lid to effect closure of the pail and further is tearable along sections of reduced tear strength to form a vent in the fluid flow communication with said pail.
Description
Title VENT PLUG FOR PAIL LID
The present invention ls directed to a plastic pail lid with a vent plug, and especially to a tamper-evident lid having a vent plug in which the vent plug provides evidence of tampering. In particular aspects of the invention, the plastic pail lid is intended for use on pails for the packaging, storage and transportation of flowable materials.
Plastic pails are used in a variety of end-uses and a variety of sizes. Such pails are used in the transportation of flowable materials, which may be in the form of solid particulate material or in the form of a liquid. Examples of such materials include paint, edible oils, lubricating oils, adhesives, other solvent-base materials as well as a wide variety of granular flowable materials.
Lids for plastic pails intended for use in the packaging of such flowable materials generally have a pouring spout through which the flowable material within the pail may be dispensed. A wide variety of pouring spouts are known.
One of the difficulties encountered in pouring a fluid or other flowable material from a pail is that the flowable material passing from the pail must be replaced within the pail by air. In the absence of a vent for passage of such air, this results in a substantially uncontrolled flow of material, particularly with large variations in the rate of flow of material. Such a problem may be overcome by providing a vent in the lid of the container. The vent may be in the form of an orifice, which may be plugged prior to use or preferably an incipient orifice which may be ruptured to form an orifice, e.g. using a screw driver, prior to pouring of the flowable material. One preferred example of an incipient orifice is a section of the lid that is of -reduced thickness. The section of the lid of reduced thickness is a practical way of providing a vent, in that a user may use a sharp object e.g. a screw driver, to penetrate the section of reduced thickness and thereby quickly provide a vent to the lid, while preventing contamination prior to forming of the vent.
An improved vent plug for a lid of a pail has now been found.
Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention lo provides a plastic lid for a pail, said lid having a central section and a peripheral channel that is adapted to fit over walls of said pail to effect closure of the pail, said channel having an upper surface exterior to said pail with an elongated hinged tear tab extending along a section of the channel, said tear tab being integral with the lid to effect closure of the pail and further being tearable along sections of reduced tear strength to form a vent in the fluid flow communication with said pail.
In a preferred embodiment of the plastic lid of the present invention, the upper surface of the channel is raised relative to the central section of the lid.
In another embodiment, one end of the tear tab has a lip that may be levered to effect tearing along the lines of reduced tear strength.
In yet another embodiment, the tear tab is flush with or extends above the upper surface of the channel.
In a further embodiment, two projections are located on the upper surface of said channel, cooperatively located to receive and retain the hinge when said hinge has been torn along the sections of reduced tear strength and bent through an arc of about 180~ to contact said upper surface of the channel.
The present invention is illustrated by the embodiments shown in the drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a plan view of a section of a lid with the peripheral channel;
Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of the lid of Figure 1 through A-A;
Figure 3 shows a schematic representation of a cross-section of the lid of Figure 1 through B-B;
Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of a cross-section of the lid of Figure 1 through C-C;
Figure 5 shows a schematic representation of an alternate embodiment of the cross-section of Figure 4; and lo Figure 6 shows a schematic representation of a cross-section of a channel of a lid.
Referring to Figure 1, a lid 1 is shown with a central section 2 and a channel 3. Central section 2 would normally be substantially planar, but may have any convenient surface. In addition, central section 2 would have a pour spout or other opening for discharge of contents of the container, not shown. The pour spout would be used for discharge of the contents of the container, at which time the vent plug of the invention would be in an open position, as discussed herein.
Channel 3 of lid 1 has a vent plug, generally indicated by 4. Vent plug 4 is elongated, and would normally be a generally elongated rectangular shape, as illustrated in Figure 1. Vent plug 4 has hinge 5 at one end of the vent plug and lever section 6 located at the opposed end. Hinge 5 and lever section 6 are connected by two sections of reduced tear strengths, indicated by 7, which define the side dimensions of vent plug 4. Vent plug 4 is intended to be opened by levering at lever section 6 and hinging about hinge 5, preferably so that the vent plug as defined by lever section 6 and the sections of reduced tear strength 7 may be hinged about hinge 5 and located and retained between projections 8 and 9. Projections 8 and 9 are optional, but are preferred. Such projections will retain vent plug 4 in an open position, and are cooperatively located to do so.
- - -Figure 2 shows hinge 5 of vent plug 4 located in channel 3. Hinge 5 has hinge groove 10 on the upper surface 12 of channel 3 and an opposed interior groove 11 on the interior surface 13 of channel 3. Hinge groove 10 and interior groove 11 cooperate to form hinge 5.
Figure 3 shows lever section 6. Lever section 6 has groove 14 located in interior surface 13 of channel 3.
In upper surface 12 of channel 3, lever section 6 has lever groove 15, which is cooperatively located with o recess section 14 so that channel gate 16 of reduced thickness is formed in channel 3. Figure 3 shows that lever section 15 has pivot point 17 extending upwards from upper surface 12 on one side of lever groove 15 and lever mount 18 on the opposed side of lever groove 15.
Figure 4 shows the cross-section of vent plug 4 as having plug grooves 20 and 21. Plug grooves 20 and 21 extend from lever section 6 to hinge 5, and would normally be parallel to each other, or substantially so to facilitate the opening of vent plug 4. Figure 4 shows the embodiment in which plug grooves 20 and 21 are located in the upper surface 13 of channel 3, forming plug gates 22 and 23 respectively juxtaposed to upper surface 12 of channel 3. Plug grooves 20 and 21 form the sections of reduced tear strength, and hence define the sides of vent plug 4.
Figure 5 shows the alternate embodiment in which channel 3 has grooves on both upper surface 12 and lower surface 13. Lower groove 25 is cooperatively located with upper groove 26 in upper surface 12 to form vent plug gate 29 therebetween. Similarly, lower groove 27 is in lower surface 13 and upper groove 28 is in upper surface 12, forming vent plug gate 30 therebetween.
Figure 6 shows a cross-section of channel 3 and, in part, central section 2 of lid 1. Channel 3 has an alternate lip 30 spaced from ridge 31, forming groove 32 therebetween. Groove 32 would normally have a sealing compound therein e.g. a rubber gasket to effect sealing of the pail. It is understood that the wall of the pail would fit into sealing groove 32 to effect closure of the pail. Channel 3 also has channel interior wall 33 spaced from ridge 31 to form groove 34. Groove 34 would frequently contain struts between ridge 31 and interior wall 33 for support of lid 1 e.g. to provide rigidity to the lid and reduce the likelihood that the lid will pop off the pail during use, as is known. However, it is o understood that any such struts should not be located in the same location as vent plug 1. As illustrated in Figure 6, the vent plug is located interior to the location of the wall of the pail, such that when the vent plug is in an open position there is fluid flow communication between the interior of the pail and the ambient air, to allow air to enter the pail during discharge of the contents of the pail.
In operation, the pail is filled with flowable material and the lid is placed on the pail. The pail would then normally be shipped to another location for use. The user would open the pouring spout, and would lever open the vent plug to provide the vent during pouring of flowable material from the pail. This also provides evidence that the pail has been opened.
It is understood that other known techniques could be used to provide evidence of tampering with the pail, in addition to the vent plug described herein.
The vent plug may be of any convenient size with respect to the design of the lid of the pail. However, as an illustration of the dimensions of an embodiment of the vent plug of the invention, the vent plug may have a length of about one inch and a width of about 0.2 inches.
The thickness of the gates at the sections of reduced tear strength may be about 0.01 inches. However, it will be appreciated that the dimensions will depend on many factors, including dimensions of the pail and the channel -on the lid, and the material of construction of the pail.
The vent plug of the present invention provides a tamper-evident vent that is conveniently opened, and which may be retained in an open position in order facilitate the flow of air into the pail during discharge of the contents of the pail. Location of the vent plug in the raised peripheral channel of the lid reduces the likelihood of contamination of the contents of the pail on opening the vent plug. The location may also assist in o the pouring of flowable material from a container, compared to use of a vent located in the lid of a container, as air should be located within the container at the vent thereby facilitating immediate flow of material from the container on discharging of the contents of the container.
The present invention ls directed to a plastic pail lid with a vent plug, and especially to a tamper-evident lid having a vent plug in which the vent plug provides evidence of tampering. In particular aspects of the invention, the plastic pail lid is intended for use on pails for the packaging, storage and transportation of flowable materials.
Plastic pails are used in a variety of end-uses and a variety of sizes. Such pails are used in the transportation of flowable materials, which may be in the form of solid particulate material or in the form of a liquid. Examples of such materials include paint, edible oils, lubricating oils, adhesives, other solvent-base materials as well as a wide variety of granular flowable materials.
Lids for plastic pails intended for use in the packaging of such flowable materials generally have a pouring spout through which the flowable material within the pail may be dispensed. A wide variety of pouring spouts are known.
One of the difficulties encountered in pouring a fluid or other flowable material from a pail is that the flowable material passing from the pail must be replaced within the pail by air. In the absence of a vent for passage of such air, this results in a substantially uncontrolled flow of material, particularly with large variations in the rate of flow of material. Such a problem may be overcome by providing a vent in the lid of the container. The vent may be in the form of an orifice, which may be plugged prior to use or preferably an incipient orifice which may be ruptured to form an orifice, e.g. using a screw driver, prior to pouring of the flowable material. One preferred example of an incipient orifice is a section of the lid that is of -reduced thickness. The section of the lid of reduced thickness is a practical way of providing a vent, in that a user may use a sharp object e.g. a screw driver, to penetrate the section of reduced thickness and thereby quickly provide a vent to the lid, while preventing contamination prior to forming of the vent.
An improved vent plug for a lid of a pail has now been found.
Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention lo provides a plastic lid for a pail, said lid having a central section and a peripheral channel that is adapted to fit over walls of said pail to effect closure of the pail, said channel having an upper surface exterior to said pail with an elongated hinged tear tab extending along a section of the channel, said tear tab being integral with the lid to effect closure of the pail and further being tearable along sections of reduced tear strength to form a vent in the fluid flow communication with said pail.
In a preferred embodiment of the plastic lid of the present invention, the upper surface of the channel is raised relative to the central section of the lid.
In another embodiment, one end of the tear tab has a lip that may be levered to effect tearing along the lines of reduced tear strength.
In yet another embodiment, the tear tab is flush with or extends above the upper surface of the channel.
In a further embodiment, two projections are located on the upper surface of said channel, cooperatively located to receive and retain the hinge when said hinge has been torn along the sections of reduced tear strength and bent through an arc of about 180~ to contact said upper surface of the channel.
The present invention is illustrated by the embodiments shown in the drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a plan view of a section of a lid with the peripheral channel;
Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of the lid of Figure 1 through A-A;
Figure 3 shows a schematic representation of a cross-section of the lid of Figure 1 through B-B;
Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of a cross-section of the lid of Figure 1 through C-C;
Figure 5 shows a schematic representation of an alternate embodiment of the cross-section of Figure 4; and lo Figure 6 shows a schematic representation of a cross-section of a channel of a lid.
Referring to Figure 1, a lid 1 is shown with a central section 2 and a channel 3. Central section 2 would normally be substantially planar, but may have any convenient surface. In addition, central section 2 would have a pour spout or other opening for discharge of contents of the container, not shown. The pour spout would be used for discharge of the contents of the container, at which time the vent plug of the invention would be in an open position, as discussed herein.
Channel 3 of lid 1 has a vent plug, generally indicated by 4. Vent plug 4 is elongated, and would normally be a generally elongated rectangular shape, as illustrated in Figure 1. Vent plug 4 has hinge 5 at one end of the vent plug and lever section 6 located at the opposed end. Hinge 5 and lever section 6 are connected by two sections of reduced tear strengths, indicated by 7, which define the side dimensions of vent plug 4. Vent plug 4 is intended to be opened by levering at lever section 6 and hinging about hinge 5, preferably so that the vent plug as defined by lever section 6 and the sections of reduced tear strength 7 may be hinged about hinge 5 and located and retained between projections 8 and 9. Projections 8 and 9 are optional, but are preferred. Such projections will retain vent plug 4 in an open position, and are cooperatively located to do so.
- - -Figure 2 shows hinge 5 of vent plug 4 located in channel 3. Hinge 5 has hinge groove 10 on the upper surface 12 of channel 3 and an opposed interior groove 11 on the interior surface 13 of channel 3. Hinge groove 10 and interior groove 11 cooperate to form hinge 5.
Figure 3 shows lever section 6. Lever section 6 has groove 14 located in interior surface 13 of channel 3.
In upper surface 12 of channel 3, lever section 6 has lever groove 15, which is cooperatively located with o recess section 14 so that channel gate 16 of reduced thickness is formed in channel 3. Figure 3 shows that lever section 15 has pivot point 17 extending upwards from upper surface 12 on one side of lever groove 15 and lever mount 18 on the opposed side of lever groove 15.
Figure 4 shows the cross-section of vent plug 4 as having plug grooves 20 and 21. Plug grooves 20 and 21 extend from lever section 6 to hinge 5, and would normally be parallel to each other, or substantially so to facilitate the opening of vent plug 4. Figure 4 shows the embodiment in which plug grooves 20 and 21 are located in the upper surface 13 of channel 3, forming plug gates 22 and 23 respectively juxtaposed to upper surface 12 of channel 3. Plug grooves 20 and 21 form the sections of reduced tear strength, and hence define the sides of vent plug 4.
Figure 5 shows the alternate embodiment in which channel 3 has grooves on both upper surface 12 and lower surface 13. Lower groove 25 is cooperatively located with upper groove 26 in upper surface 12 to form vent plug gate 29 therebetween. Similarly, lower groove 27 is in lower surface 13 and upper groove 28 is in upper surface 12, forming vent plug gate 30 therebetween.
Figure 6 shows a cross-section of channel 3 and, in part, central section 2 of lid 1. Channel 3 has an alternate lip 30 spaced from ridge 31, forming groove 32 therebetween. Groove 32 would normally have a sealing compound therein e.g. a rubber gasket to effect sealing of the pail. It is understood that the wall of the pail would fit into sealing groove 32 to effect closure of the pail. Channel 3 also has channel interior wall 33 spaced from ridge 31 to form groove 34. Groove 34 would frequently contain struts between ridge 31 and interior wall 33 for support of lid 1 e.g. to provide rigidity to the lid and reduce the likelihood that the lid will pop off the pail during use, as is known. However, it is o understood that any such struts should not be located in the same location as vent plug 1. As illustrated in Figure 6, the vent plug is located interior to the location of the wall of the pail, such that when the vent plug is in an open position there is fluid flow communication between the interior of the pail and the ambient air, to allow air to enter the pail during discharge of the contents of the pail.
In operation, the pail is filled with flowable material and the lid is placed on the pail. The pail would then normally be shipped to another location for use. The user would open the pouring spout, and would lever open the vent plug to provide the vent during pouring of flowable material from the pail. This also provides evidence that the pail has been opened.
It is understood that other known techniques could be used to provide evidence of tampering with the pail, in addition to the vent plug described herein.
The vent plug may be of any convenient size with respect to the design of the lid of the pail. However, as an illustration of the dimensions of an embodiment of the vent plug of the invention, the vent plug may have a length of about one inch and a width of about 0.2 inches.
The thickness of the gates at the sections of reduced tear strength may be about 0.01 inches. However, it will be appreciated that the dimensions will depend on many factors, including dimensions of the pail and the channel -on the lid, and the material of construction of the pail.
The vent plug of the present invention provides a tamper-evident vent that is conveniently opened, and which may be retained in an open position in order facilitate the flow of air into the pail during discharge of the contents of the pail. Location of the vent plug in the raised peripheral channel of the lid reduces the likelihood of contamination of the contents of the pail on opening the vent plug. The location may also assist in o the pouring of flowable material from a container, compared to use of a vent located in the lid of a container, as air should be located within the container at the vent thereby facilitating immediate flow of material from the container on discharging of the contents of the container.
Claims (5)
1. A plastic lid for a pail, said lid having a central section and a peripheral channel that is adapted to fit over walls of said pail to effect closure of the pail, said channel having an upper surface exterior to said pail with an elongated hinged tear tab extending along a section of the channel, said tear tab being integral with the lid to effect closure of the pail and further being tearable along sections of reduced tear strength to form a vent in the fluid flow communication with said pail.
2. The lid of Claim 1 in which the upper surface of the channel is raised relative to the central section of the lid.
3. The lid of Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which one end of the tear tab has a lip that may be levered to effect tearing along the sections of reduced tear strength.
4. The lid of any one of Claims 1-3 in which the tear tab is flush with or extends above the upper surface of the channel.
5. The lid of any one of Claims 1-4 in which two projections are located on the upper surface of said channel, cooperatively located to receive and retain the hinge when said hinge has been torn along the lines of reduced tear strength and bent through an arc of about 180° to contact said upper surface of the channel.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2216470 CA2216470A1 (en) | 1997-09-24 | 1997-09-24 | Vent plug for pail lid |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2216470 CA2216470A1 (en) | 1997-09-24 | 1997-09-24 | Vent plug for pail lid |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2216470A1 true CA2216470A1 (en) | 1999-03-24 |
Family
ID=4161521
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2216470 Abandoned CA2216470A1 (en) | 1997-09-24 | 1997-09-24 | Vent plug for pail lid |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2216470A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US8469217B2 (en) | 2010-10-13 | 2013-06-25 | Dart Container Corporation | Vented container |
-
1997
- 1997-09-24 CA CA 2216470 patent/CA2216470A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US8469217B2 (en) | 2010-10-13 | 2013-06-25 | Dart Container Corporation | Vented container |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Dead |