EP3189875A2

EP3189875A2 - Container device and method of making the same

Info

Publication number: EP3189875A2
Application number: EP16205795.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Pei-Lun SUNG
Original assignee: Spl Design Co Ltd
Current assignee: Spl Design Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-01-06
Filing date: 2016-12-21
Publication date: 2017-07-12
Also published as: TW201725155A; JP6305507B2; TWI582016B; EP3189875A3; JP2017121968A; CN106943696B; CN106943696A

Abstract

A container device (100) includes outer and inner containers (4, 5). The outer container (4) includes an outer container body (41) defining an axis (L) and an accommodation space (414) extending along the axis (L), and a metal tube layer (42) disposed in the accommodation space (414) and extending along and surrounding the axis (L). The outer container body (41) is made of a polymeric material. The metal tube layer (42) is made of a ferromagnetic material. The inner container (5) is disposed in the accommodation space (414) such that the metal tube layer (42) is disposed between the inner and outer containers (5, 4).

Description

The disclosure relates to a container, and more particularly to a container device that can be attracted by a magnet and a method of making the same.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a conventional household fire extinguisher is shown to include a metal container 1 and a fixing frame 2. The fixing frame 2 can be fixed on a support surface, and includes a bottom plate 23, a back plate 21 extending upwardly from the bottom plate 23, and two curved arms 22 extending oppositely from the back plate 21 and located above the bottom plate 23. The container 1 can be detachably engaged with the fixing frame 2 by the embracing of the curved arms 22.
The conventional household fire extinguisher uses the detachable engagement between the fixing frame 2 and the container 1 to fix the container 1 on the support surface. However, the direction or angle of the container 1 must be adjusted first before it can be disposed on the fixing frame 2. Further, the curved arms 22 of the fixing frame 2 are prone to damage after repeated use. Use of the conventional household fire extinguisher is inconvenient.
Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a container device that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art and a method of making the same.
According to one aspect of this disclosure, a container device includes an outer container and an inner container. The outer container includes an outer container body defining an axis and an accommodation space extending along the axis, and a metal tube layer disposed in the accommodation space and extending along and surrounding the axis. The outer container body is made of a polymeric material. The metal tube layer is made of a ferromagnetic material. The inner container is disposed in the accommodation space such that the metal tube layer is disposed between the inner and outer containers.
According to another aspect of this disclosure, a method of making a container device includes the steps of: (A) sleeving a metal tube on a mold post of a male mold and then mating the male mold to a female mold, the metal tube being made of a ferromagnetic material; (B) pouring molten plastic material into a gap between the male and female molds so as to surround and cover an outer surface of the metal tube; (C) removing a molded outer container body with a metal tube layer from the male and female molds after the molten plastic material is cured and solidified; and (D) inserting an inner container into the outer container body.
The efficiency of this disclosure resides in that: Because the metal tube layer is made of a ferromagnetic material, the magnet unit can magnetically attract the outer container so that the outer container can be detachably mounted on a support structure. Use of this disclosure is very convenient.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional household fire extinguisher;
Figure 2 is an assembled perspective view of the conventional household fire extinguisher;
Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of a container device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4 is an assembled perspective view of the embodiment;
Figure 5 is an assembled sectional view of the embodiment;
Figure 6 is a flowchart of a method of making the container device of the embodiment;
Figure 7 illustrates a metal tube being sleeved on a mold post of a male mold;
Figure 8 illustrates how molten plastic material flows into a gap between the male mold and a female mold;
Figure 9 is an exploded perspective view of an inner container and an outer container body of the embodiment; and
Figure 10 is a partially exploded perspective view of the embodiment.

Referring to Figures 3 to 5, a container device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown to include an outer container 4, an inner container 5 and a magnet unit 6.
The outer container 4 includes an outer container body 41, a metal tube layer 42, a top cap 43, and a bottom cap 44. The outer container body 41 defines an axis (L) and has a length extending along the axis (L). The outer container body 41 is made of a polymeric material. The polymeric material has more variations in color, shape and texture than metal. The outer container body 41 has a surrounding wall 412 surrounding the axis (L) and defining an accommodation space 414, an annular shoulder 411 extending inwardly from a top end of the surrounding wall 412 toward the axis (L) and defining an opening 413 that communicates with the accommodation space 414, and an annular top engaging groove 415 extending inwardly from a junction of the annular shoulder 411 and the top end of the surrounding wall 412. In this embodiment, the surrounding wall 412 has an inner surface provided with three spaced-apart bottom engaging protrusions 416 proximate to a bottom end thereof.
The metal tube layer 42 is made of a ferromagnetic material, and is disposed in the accommodation space 414 such that an outer surface thereof abuts against the inner surface of the surrounding wall 412. The metal tube layer 42 extends along and surrounds the axis (L). The bottom engaging protrusions 416 are located below the metal tube layer 42. In this embodiment, the metal tube layer 42 is integrally formed with the outer container body 41 by an injection molding process.
The top cap 43 has an inner surface provided with four spaced-apart top engaging protrusions 431 proxi- mate to a bottom end thereof. The top cap 43 is detachably connected to the top end of the surrounding wall 412 through detachable engagement of the top engaging protrusions 431 with the top engaging groove 415.
The bottom cap 44 includes a base wall 443 that is concave, an annular cap wall 440 extending upwardly from and cooperating with the base wall 443 to define a receiving space 444, and a metal piece 441 that is fixed to the base wall 443, that is located within the receiving space 444 and that is made of a ferromagnetic material. The annular cap wall 440 is provided with three angularly spaced-apart L-shaped bottom engaging grooves 442 extending inwardly from an outer surface thereof. Each L-shaped bottom engaging groove 442 has a circum- ferential portion 4421, and an axial portion 4422 extending axially from one end of the circumferential portion 4421 through a top end of the annular cap wall 440. The bottom cap 44 is detachably connected to a bottom end of the surrounding wall 412 through detachable engagement of the bottom engaging grooves 442 with the respective bottom engaging protrusions 416.
The inner container 5 includes an inner container body 51 for containing a content, a neck portion 53 connected to a top end of the inner container body 51, and a nozzle head 52 connected to the neck portion 53 for discharging the content inside the inner container body 51. The inner container body 51 is inserted into the accommodation space 414 such that the metal tube layer 42 is disposed between the inner surface of the surrounding wall 412 and an outer surface of the inner container body 51, and such that the nozzle head 52 extends through the opening 413 and protrudes out of the annular shoulder 411, as shown in Fig. 5. The content of the inner container body 51 is a fire-extinguishing material, and the pressure inside the inner container body 51 is greater than the atmospheric pressure.
The magnet unit 6 of this embodiment is configured to be fixed on a support structure (not shown), and includes a first magnet 61 and a second magnet 62. The first and second magnets 61, 62 can be respectively fixed to a side surface and a bottom surface of the support structure using screws. In this embodiment, since the metal tube layer 42 and the metal piece 441 are made of ferromagnetic materials, an outer surface of the surrounding wall 412 can be magnetically attracted to the first magnet 61 through the metal tube layer 42, and an outer surface of the base wall 443 can be magnetically attracted to the second magnet 62 through the metal piece 441. The first and second magnets 61, 62 can cooperate with each other for detachably mounting the container device 100 on the support structure. A surface of the first magnet 61 to be in contact with the outer surface of the surrounding wall 412 has an arcuate shape conforming to that of the surrounding wall 412, so that the outer container 4 can be stably attached to the first magnet 61. If the angle of the arcuate surface of the first magnet 61 is smaller than 90 degrees, when the outer container 4 is attached to the first magnet 61, the first magnet 61 may be covered by the outer container 4, so that the overall appearance of the container device 100 may be enhanced.
Referring to Figure 6, a method of making the container device 100 according to this disclosure includes steps 100 to 500. These steps will be described with reference to Figures 7 to 10.
In step 100, with reference to Figure 7, a metal tube 7 made of a ferromagnetic material is sleeved on a mold post 81 of a male mold 8, after which the male mold 8 is mated to a female mold 9. The male and female molds 8, 9 define therebetween a gap 80 surrounding the metal tube 7.
In step 200, with reference to Figure 8, molten plastic material is poured into the gap 80 between the male and female molds 8, 9. Since the plastic material is in a liquid state, it can flow and fill the gap 80 completely to surround and cover an outer surface of the metal tube 7.
In step 300, a molded outer container body 41 with a metal tube layer 42 is obtained after the plastic material is cured and solidified, and is then removed from the male and female molds 8, 9.
In step 400, with reference to Figure 9, an inner container 5, which is separately made, is inserted into the outer container body 41.
In step 500, with reference to Figure 10, a top cap 43, which is separately made, and a bottom cap 44, which is also separately made and which has a ferromagnetic metal piece 441 attached therein, are respectively connected to top and bottom ends of the outer container body 41. In this embodiment, each of the top and bottom caps 43, 44 is made by an injection molding process.
In sum, the outer container body 41 of the container device 100 of this disclosure is made of the polymeric material so that it has more variations in color, shape and texture than the metal. Furthermore, because the metal tube layer 42 and the metal piece 441 are made of ferromagnetic materials, the metal tube layer 42 is fixed to the outer container body 41, and the first and second magnets 61, 62 are fixed to the support structure, the container device 100 can be detachably mounted on the support structure through magnetic attractions between the first magnet 61 and the metal tube layer 42 and between the second magnet 62 and the metal piece 441, so that placement of the container device 100 can be facilitated. Moreover, the first and second magnets 61, 62 are not easily damaged. It is worth to mention herein that the outer and inner containers 4, 5 may be sold separately from the magnet unit 6, or may cooperate with other kinds of magnets (not shown) to achieve the same effect. The method of making the container device 100 of this disclosure not only has simple steps, but also can make the container device 100 which is convenient to use. Hence, the object of this disclosure can be achieved.

Claims

A container device (100) comprising:
an outer container (4) including an outer container body (41) defining an axis (L) and an accommodation space (414) extending along the axis (L), and a metal tube layer (42) disposed in said accommodation space (414) and extending along and surrounding the axis (L), said outer container body (41) being made of a polymeric material, said metal tube layer (42) being made of a ferromagnetic material; and

an inner container (5) disposed in said accommodation space (414) such that said metal tube layer (42) is disposed between said inner and outer containers (5, 4).
The container device (100) as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said outer container body (41) has a surrounding wall (412) surrounding the axis (L) and defining said accommodation space (414), and annular shoulder (411) extending inwardly from a top end of said surrounding wall (412) toward the axis (L) and defining an opening (413) that communicates with said accommodation space (414).
The container device (100) as claimed in Claim 2, further comprising a magnet unit (6) configured to be fixed on a support structure, said magnet unit (6) magnetically attracting said outer container (4) for detachably mounting said outer container (4) on the support structure.
The container device (100) as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said inner container (5) includes an inner container body (51) for containing a content, a neck portion (53) connected to a top end of said inner container body (51), and a nozzle head (52) connected to said neck portion (53) for discharging the content inside said inner container body (51), said inner container body (51) being disposed in said accommodation space (414), said metal tube layer (42) being disposed between an inner surface of said surrounding wall (412) and an outer surface of said inner container body (51), said nozzle head (52) extending through said opening (413) and protruding out of said annular shoulder (411).
The container device (100) as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said outer container (4) further includes a top cap (43) detachably connected to the top end of said surrounding wall (412) and having an inner surface provided with a plurality of spaced-apart top engaging protrusions (431) proximate to a bottom end of said top cap (43), said outer container body (41) further having an annular top engaging groove (415) extending inwardly from a junction of said annular shoulder (411) and the top end of said surrounding wall (412), said top cap (43) being detachably connected to the top end of said surrounding wall (412) through detachable engagement of said top engaging protrusions (431) with said annular top engaging groove (415).
The container device (100) as claimed in Claim 3, wherein said outer container (4) further includes a bottom cap (44) detachably connected to a bottom end of said outer container body 41 and having an outer surface provided with a plurality of angularly spaced-apart bottom engaging grooves (442), said surrounding wall (412) having an inner surface provided with a plurality of spaced-apart bottom engaging protrusions (416) proximate to a bottom end of said surrounding wall (412), said bottom cap (44) being detachably connected to the bottom end of said surrounding wall (412) through detachable engagement of said bottom engaging grooves (442) with said bottom engaging protrusions (416), respectively.
The container device (100) as claimed in Claim 6, wherein said bottom cap (44) includes a base wall (443), an annular cap wall (440) extending upwardly from and cooperating with said base wall (443) to define a receiving space (444), and a metal piece (441) that is fixed to said base wall (443), that is located within said receiving space (444) and that is made of a ferromagnetic material, said annular cap wall (440) having said bottom engaging grooves (442).
The container device (100) as claimed in Claim 7, wherein said magnet unit (6) includes a first magnet (61) for magnetically attracting said surrounding wall (412) of said outer container body (41).
The container device (100) as claimed in Claim 8, wherein a surface of said first magnet (61) to be in contact with said outer surface of said surrounding wall (412) has an arcuate shape conforming to that of said surrounding wall (412).
The container device (100) as claimed in Claim 8, wherein said magnet unit (6) further includes a second magnet (62) for magnetically attracting an outer surface of said base wall (443), said first and second magnets (61, 62) cooperating with each other for detachably mounting said outer container (4) on the support structure.
The container device (100) as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the content of said inner container body (51) is a fire-extinguishing material, and the pressure inside said inner container body (51) is greater than the atmospheric pressure.
A method of making a container device (100), comprising the steps of:
(A) sleeving a metal tube (7) on a mold post (81) of a male mold (8) and then mating the male mold (8) to a female mold (9), the metal tube (7) being made of a ferromagnetic material;

(B) pouring molten plastic material into a gap (80) between the male and female molds (8, 9) so as to surround and cover an outer surface of the metal tube (42);

(C) removing a molded outer container body (41) with a metal tube layer (42) from the male and female molds (8, 9) after the molten plastic material is cured and solidified; and

(D) inserting an inner container (5) into the outer container body (41).
The method as claimed in Claim 12, further comprising the step of connecting respectively a top cap (43) and a bottom cap (44) to top and bottom ends of the outer container body (41).
The method as claimed in Claim 13, wherein each of the top and bottom caps (43, 44) is made by an injection-molding process.
The method as claimed in Claim 14, wherein the bottom cap (44) has a metal piece (441) made of a ferromagnetic material.