EP1495987A2

EP1495987A2 - Container with double lids

Info

Publication number: EP1495987A2
Application number: EP04016009A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Soo Chang Wang
Original assignee: Korea Alphaline Co Ltd
Current assignee: Korea Alphaline Co Ltd
Priority date: 2003-07-09
Filing date: 2004-07-07
Publication date: 2005-01-12
Also published as: HK1073095A1; MXPA04006610A; KR20050006666A; AR046496A1; US20050006390A1; MY137343A; RU2004120469A; RU2286294C2; CN1603211A; JP2005029269A; CA2472978C; EP1495987A3; BRPI0402936A; CA2472978A1; KR100530531B1; CL2004001714A1; AU2004203032A1; JP4165886B2; CN1310805C

Abstract

The present invention provides a container with double lids, which has a container body (10) and a lid (20) unit to close an open top of the container body. The lid unit of the container includes a locking lid (25) which is made of a soft material and has a predetermined shape to correspond to an edge of the open top of the container body, with an opening provided at an inside part and a rim-shaped receiving part (26) provided on a lower end to receive therein the edge of the open top of the container body; and an observing lid (30). The observing lid includes a transparent cover plate (31) to be placed in the opening of the locking lid, and a coupling part (32) extending outward from an edge of the cover plate and to be inserted into the receiving part of the locking lid. The container allows a user to observe contents of the container through the observing lid.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to containers, and more particularly, to a container with double lids which comprise a locking lid and an observing lid, which is made of a material different from the locking lid and has a transparent plate to allow a user to easily observe contents in the container, and in which the locking lid has various colors, thus enhancing an appearance of the container.

Description of the Related Art

Generally, containers each include a container body which has a predetermined space to contain therein contents, and a lid to close an open top of the container body. The container further includes a locking flap which is provided on either of the container body and the lid, and a locking protrusion which is provided on a remaining one of the container body and the lid to lock thereto the locking flap. By locking the locking flap to the locking protrusion, the lid is coupled to the container body, thus preventing the contents in the container from undesirably leaking out.
The containers are typically made of plastics, because the containers made of the plastics have several advantages in comparison with containers made of stainless or glass materials, as follows: processes of forming container products are simple, costs and weights of container products are reduced, and the container products are prevented from being damaged.
As such, in case of the container made of the plastic, the locking flap is integrally provided on the container body or the lid. Furthermore, a film hinge is provided between the locking flap and either of the container body or the lid, so that the locking flap is rotated around the film hinge. To achieve the above-mentioned purpose of the film hinge, the container is made of a soft plastic which is a kind of plastic. If a hard plastic is used to produce the container, the film hinge may be broken by repeatedly rotating the locking flap.
However, in case that the container is made of the soft plastic, the container must be translucent or opaque because of the special feature of the soft plastic in that transparency thereof is poor.
As such, when the conventional containers are made of the above-mentioned translucent or opaque materials, users cannot confirm the contents, contained in the containers, without opening the containers. Therefore, to confirm the contents in each of the containers, the users must open each of the containers. Thus, the conventional containers cause inconvenience to the user.
Furthermore, in case that the conventional containers made of the soft plastic are colored, the containers become further translucent or further opaque. Then, the users cannot confirm the contents in the container. To avoid the above-mentioned problem, typically, the conventional containers have been made of uncolored soft plastics, which are translucent. However, the uncolored containers are disadvantageous in that the appearances thereof are poor. To manufacture variously colored containers, the containers must be partially made of the hard plastic. However, in case that the hard plastic is used to manufacture the container, a part of the container, which is made of the hard plastic having a physical feature different from the soft plastic, may not be easily bonded with another part of the container, which is made of the soft plastic.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a container with double lids, which has a transparent window to allow a user to confirm contents in the container.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a container with the double lids, which has a variety of colors, thus providing a good appearance.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a container with double lids, including a container body, a lid unit to close an open top of the container body, a locking flap provided on either of the container body and the lid unit, and a locking protrusion provided on a remaining one of the container body and the lid unit to lock thereto the locking flap. The lid unit has a locking lid made of a soft material and having a predetermined shape to correspond to an edge of the open top of the container body, with an opening provided at an inside part of the locking lid, and a rim-shaped receiving part provided on a lower end of the locking lid to receive therein the edge of the open top of the container body; and an observing lid, having a cover plate to be placed in the opening of the locking lid, and a coupling part extending outward from an edge of the cover plate to form a bent shape and to be inserted into the receiving part of the locking lid.
The cover plate may be made of a transparent plastic or glass material to allow contents in the container to be observed.
The coupling part of the observing lid may include a channel-shaped coupling slot opened downward to receive therein the edge of the open top of the container body, and the coupling part may be inserted into the rim-shaped receiving part of the locking lid.
The container may further include a plurality of coupling protrusions provided by protruding upward on the coupling part of the observing lid at positions spaced out at predetermined intervals, and a plurality of coupling holes provided on predetermined portions of the receiving part of the locking lid to correspond to and receive therein the plurality of coupling protrusions.
The container may further include an extension part extending from the rim-shaped receiving part of the locking lid to a predetermined distance inwardly.
The container may further include an air hole provided on a predetermined portion of the cover plate of the observing lid, and an air control valve provided on a predetermined portion of the cover plate to control the air hole.
The container may further include first and second bolt holes respectively provided on the channel-shaped coupling slot of the observing lid and the rim-shaped receiving part of the locking lid to be aligned with each other, so that the observing lid and the locking lid are coupled to each other by a bolt tightened into both the first and second bolt holes.
The coupling part of the observing lid and the rim-shaped receiving part of the locking lid may be coupled to each other through an ultrasonic sealing process.
The coupling part of the observing lid and the rim-shaped receiving part of the locking lid may be coupled to each other through a double injection process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a container with double lids, according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the container of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the container, according to a modification of the first embodiment of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged plan view of a container with double lids, according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 4; and
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a container with double lids, according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.
Reference now should be made to the drawings, in which the same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings to designate the same or similar components.
A container of the present invention includes a rim-shaped locking lid, which is made of a soft material, and an observing lid, which closes a containing space defined in a container body and is made of a transparent material to allow a user to observe contents in the container. Furthermore, the locking lid is made of a translucent or opaque material to apply a variety of colors to the container, thus providing a better appearance of the container.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the container with double lids according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a container body 10 which defines therein a containing space, and a lid unit 20 which is coupled to an open top of the container body 10 to cover the containing space of the container body 10.
The container body 10 has a seating rib 11 which is provided around a predetermined portion of an outer surface of the container body 10 spaced apart from an edge of the open top of the container body 10 to a predetermined distance to be projected outward in a circumferential direction of the outer surface of the container body 10. Thus, when the lid unit 20 is coupled to the container body 10, the lid unit 20 is seated onto the seating rib 11. A plurality of locking protrusions 13 are provided on an outer edge of the seating rib 11 at positions spaced out at predetermined intervals. A locking protuberance 15 is provided by protruding downward under an end of each of the plurality of locking protrusions 13.
The lid unit 20 to be coupled to the container body 10 includes a locking lid 25 which has a rim shape to correspond to the edge of the open top of the container body 10, with an opening provided at an inside part of the locking lid 25. The lid unit 20 further includes an observing lid 30 which is coupled to the container body 10 while closing the opening of the locking lid 25.
The locking lid 25 of the lid unit 20 has a receiving part 26 which has a reversed U-shaped cross-section to be opened downward and has the rim shape, such as a rectangular, circular or elliptical rim shape, to correspond to the edge of the open top of the container body 10. The locking lid 25 further has a plurality of locking flaps 27 which are provided on an outside of the receiving part 26 at positions spaced out at predetermined intervals to correspond to the plurality of locking protrusions 13 of the container body 10. Each of the locking flaps 27 is rotated between a position of locking the locking flap 27 to the locking protrusion 13 and a position of unlocking the locking flaps 27 from the locking protrusion 13. To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the locking lid 25 further has a film hinge which is provided between each of the locking flaps 27 and the receiving part 26 of the locking lid 25. Thus, each of the locking flaps 27 is rotated around each of the film hinges toward the container body 10. Each of the locking flaps 27 has a locking hole 28 to receive therein each of the locking protrusions 13 of the container body 10. When each of the locking protrusions 13 is inserted into each of the locking holes 28, the locking protrusion 13 is elastically locked to the locking hole 28 by the locking protuberance 15 of each of the locking protrusions 13. Thus, each of the locking protrusions 13 is prevented from being undesirably removed from each of the locking holes 28 of the locking flaps 27.
The locking lid 25 is made of an opaque or translucent soft plastic, so that the locking lid 25 may be variously colored. Therefore, when a plurality of locking lids 25 having different colors are provided, the user may selectively couple a locking lid 25 of a desired color to the container body 10 according to the purpose of use, contents in the container body 10 or the atmosphere around the container.
The observing lid 30 of the lid unit 20 has a cover plate 31 to close the opening the locking lid 25, and a coupling part 32 which has a coupling slot 33 extending outward from an edge of the cover plate 31 to form a channel-shape to be opened downward. The cover plate 31 of the observing lid 30 is made of a transparent material, such as a transparent hard plastic or glass material, different from the locking lid 25. Thus, the cover plate 31 has a transparent window.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the container, according to a modification of the first embodiment of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the container according to the modification of the first embodiment includes an air control valve 37 which is provided by passing through the cover plate 31 at an inside part of the cover plate 31. The air control valve 37 controls an amount of air in the containing space of the container body 10 to create a vacuum in the container body 10, thus preventing foods contained in the container body 10 from deteriorating, and thereby maintaining the quality of the foods.
In the meantime, the coupling part 32 with the coupling slot 33 receives therein the edge of the open top of the container body 10. A packing 35 is inserted in the coupling slot 33 to seal the container body 10. Furthermore, the coupling part 32 of the observing lid 30 is inserted into the receiving part 26 of the locking lid 25, so that the observing lid 30 and the locking lid 25 are coupled to each other.
At this time, there are several methods to couple the observing lid 30 to the locking lid 25 by inserting the coupling part 32 of the observing lid 30 into the receiving part 26 of the locking lid 25.
In a first coupling method, the coupling part 32 of the observing lid 30 is received in the receiving part 26 of the locking lid 25 without a separate coupling means. To couple both the observing lid 30 and the locking lid 25 to the container body 10, the observing lid 30 is coupled to the container body 10 while the edge of the open top of the container body 10 is inserted into the coupling slot 33 of the observing lid 30. Thereafter, the locking lid 25 is coupled to an upper portion of the observing lid 30 while the coupling part 32 of the observing lid 30 is received into the receiving part 26 of the locking lid 25. To separate both the locking lid 25 and the observing lid 30 from the container body 10, the locking lid 25 is removed from the observing lid 30 before the observing lid 30 is removed from the container body 10.
In a second coupling method, as a second embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a plurality of coupling protrusions 39 are provided by protruding upward around a circumferential upper surface of the coupling part 32 of the observing lid 30 at positions spaced out at predetermined intervals. A plurality of coupling holes 29 are provided on predetermined portions of the receiving part 26 of the locking lid 25 to correspond to and receive therein the plurality of coupling protrusions 39. Thus, the locking lid 25 and the observing lid 30 are coupled to each other while each of the plurality of coupling protrusions 39 of the observing lid 30 is inserted into each of the plurality of coupling holes 29 of the locking lid 25.
In a third coupling method, after the coupling part 32 of the observing lid 30 is received in the receiving part 26 of the locking lid 25, the coupling part 32 of the observing lid 30 and the receiving part 26 of the locking lid 25 are coupled to each other through an ultrasonic sealing process.
In a fourth coupling method, first and second bolt holes (not shown) are respectively provided on the coupling part 32 of the observing lid 30 and the receiving part 26 of the locking lid 25 to be aligned with each other. Thus, the observing lid 30 and the locking lid 25 are coupled to each other by a locking bolt (not shown) tightened into both the first and second bolt holes.
In a fifth coupling method, the coupling part 32 of the observing lid 30 and the receiving part 26 of the locking lid 25 are coupled to each other through a double injection process.
Except for the above-mentioned several coupling methods, another coupling method may exist, for example, use of a bonding agent. However, the locking lid 25 is made of the soft plastic, while the observing lid 30 is made of the hard plastic or a glass material. In other words, the materials constituting the locking lid 25 and the observing lid 30 are different from each other. Therefore, the locking lid 25 and the observing lid 30 are not easily coupled to each other by using only the bonding agent. Thus, the coupling method using the bonding agent is less advantageous than the others which are above-mentioned.
The operation and effect of the container of the present invention will be described herein below.
The contents are contained in the container body 10. Thereafter, the lid unit 20 comprising the locking lid 25 and the observing lid 30, which are coupled to each other through one method among the above-mentioned several coupling methods, is coupled to the container body 10. At this time, the edge of the open top of the container body 10 is received in the coupling slot 33 of the observing lid 30. By the packing 35, which is provided in the coupling slot 33, a gap between the lid unit 20 and the edge of the open top of the container body 10 is sealed. Thereafter, each of the plurality of locking flaps 27, provided on the locking lid 25, is rotated downward until each of the locking protrusions 13 of the container body 10 is locked to each of the locking holes 28 of the locking flaps 27. In case of the container according to the modification of the first embodiment, after both the locking lid 25 and the observing lid 30 are coupled to the container body 10, a central portion of the observing lid 30 is pressed downward by a user to discharge the air from the containing space of the container body 10 to the outside through air hole provided on the cover plate 31 of the observing lid 30. Thus, the lid unit 20 is further tightly coupled to the container body 10.
At this time, because the lid unit 20 comprises the locking lid 25 having the variety of colors and the observing lid 30 having the cover plate 31 to form the transparent window, the user can observe the interior of the container body 10 through the transparent window. Accordingly, it is not necessary to open each of the containers to confirm of the contents in the containers, different from the conventional containers. Thus, the container of the present invention is convenient to the user.
In the meantime, because the locking lid 25 is made of the soft material in the same manner as that of the conventional containers, the locking lid 25 of the container of the present invention may be variously colored. Therefore, when a plurality of locking lids 25 having different colors are provided, the user may selectively purchase a container having a locking lid 25 of a desired color. Furthermore, the user may purchase a set of locking lids 25 each having a different color, so that the user may selectively use a locking lid 25 of a desired color according to contents in the container body 10, the atmosphere around the container, or the purpose of use of the container. In addition, because the observing lid 30 has the transparent window and the locking lid 25 is variously colored, the container of the present invention may be provided into two or more tones, thus enhancing the appearance of the container.
In the container of each of the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, the locking lid 25 has a rim shape to provide the receiving part 26. However, as shown in FIG. 6, a container according to the third embodiment includes an extension part 24 which extends inwardly from a receiving part 26 of a locking lid 25 to a predetermined distance. The extension part 24 of the locking lid 25 is bent at an end thereof downwardly. The container according to the third embodiment further includes a receiving slot 34 which is provided by depressing downward a predetermined portion of a cover plate 31 of the observing lid 30 to correspond to and receive therein the bent end of the extension part 24. Thus, the extension part 24 made of a soft material is prevented from being undesirably separated from the observing lid 30. The extension part 24 may extend inwardly from the receiving part 26 of the locking lid 25 to the same predetermined distance. Alternatively, the extension part 24 may be different in the protruded distance thereof while extending in the circumferential direction of the receiving part 26. According to the protruded distance of the extension part 24, the appearance of a transparent window, which is formed by the cover plate 31 of the observing lid 30, is determined. Therefore, the transparent window of the observing lid 30 may have various appearances by the extension part 24, thus enhancing the appearance of the container.
In the container of each of the above-mentioned first, second and third embodiments, the locking protrusions 13 each having the locking protuberance 15 are protruded outward from the seating rib 11 of the container body 10. However, the plurality of locking protuberances 15 may be provided on the outer edge of the seating rib 11 to extend downwardly. In this case, each of the locking flaps 27 has a hook, which is provided on an inner surface of the locking flap 27 and is bent to correspond to the locking protuberance 15, which is provided on the seating rib 11, in place of the locking hole 28. Thus, when each of the locking flaps 27 is pressed toward the seating rib 11, the hook of the locking flap 27 elastically snaps to each of the locking protuberances 15 of the seating rib 11. Therefore, the lid unit 20 is reliably coupled to the container body 10 by the above-mentioned locking structure.
Furthermore, in the container of each of the first, second and third embodiments, both the seating rib 11 and the locking protuberances 15 are provided on the container body 10, while the locking flaps 27 are provided on the lid unit 20. However, both the seating rib 11 and the locking protuberances 15 may be provided on the lid unit 20, while the locking flaps 27 may be provided on the container body 10.
As described above, the present invention provides a container with double lids which comprise a locking lid made of a soft material and an observing lid made of a hard material. Therefore, the container of the present invention allows a user to observe contents of the container through the observing lid, thus being convenient to the user. Furthermore, because the locking lid may be variously colored, the container of the present invention provides the double lids of two tones, thus enhancing the appearance thereof.
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

A container with double lids, comprising a container body, a lid unit to close an open top of the container body, a locking flap provided on either of the container body and the lid unit, and a locking protrusion provided on a remaining one of the container body and the lid unit to lock thereto the locking flap, the lid unit comprising:

a locking lid made of a soft material and having a predetermined shape to correspond to an edge of the open top of the container body, with an opening provided at an inside part of the locking lid, and a rim-shaped receiving part provided on a lower end of the locking lid to receive therein the edge of the open top of the container body; and

an observing lid, comprising:

a cover plate to be placed in the opening of the locking lid; and

a coupling part extending outward from an edge of the cover plate to form a bent shape and to be inserted into the receiving part of the locking lid.
The container according to claim 1, wherein the cover plate is made of a transparent plastic or glass material to allow contents in the container to be observed.
The container according to claim 2, wherein the coupling part of the observing lid comprises a channel-shaped coupling slot opened downward to receive therein the edge of the open top of the container body, and the coupling part is inserted into the rim-shaped receiving part of the locking lid.
The container according to claim 3, further comprising:

a plurality of coupling protrusions provided by protruding upward on the coupling part of the observing lid at positions spaced out at predetermined intervals; and

a plurality of coupling holes provided on predetermined portions of the receiving part of the locking lid to correspond to and receive therein the plurality of coupling protrusions.
The container according to claim 1, further comprising:

an extension part extending from the rim-shaped receiving part of the locking lid to a predetermined distance inwardly.
The container according to claim 1, further comprising:

an air hole provided on a predetermined portion of the cover plate of the observing lid; and

an air control valve provided on a predetermined portion of the cover plate to control the air hole.
The container according to claim 3, further comprising:

first and second bolt holes respectively provided on the channel-shaped coupling slot of the observing lid and the rim-shaped receiving part of the locking lid to be aligned with each other, so that the observing lid and the locking lid are coupled to each other by a bolt tightened into both the first and second bolt holes.
The container according to claim 3, wherein the coupling part of the observing lid and the rim-shaped receiving part of the locking lid are coupled to each other through an ultrasonic sealing process.
The container according to claim 3, wherein the coupling part of the observing lid and the rim-shaped receiving part of the locking lid are coupled to each other through a double injection process.