ES2948432T3 - Container with a lid snap-fitted to a base - Google Patents

Abstract

A container includes a base (1) and a cover (2) that snaps onto the base (1). The cover (2) includes a cover top part (24), a side face (25) and at least one recess (23) extending from a periphery of the cover top part (24). The base (1) includes a peripheral wall (11) that has a reception area (14). The receiving area (14) includes a stop wall (141) that extends from the peripheral wall (14) and a spring member (13) that extends from the receiving area (14) and includes a protuberance (132). ). The at least one recess (23) includes a wide top opening and a narrow bottom. The projection (132) is shaped to engage with at least one recess (23) to connect the cover (2) to the base (1). The stop wall (141) reinforces the strength of the base and prevents deformation. (Automatic translation with Google Translate, without legal value)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Container with a lid snap-fitted to a base

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Fields of invention

The present invention relates to a container and, more particularly, to a container with a lid that is press fit to a base.

2. Descriptions of the related art

Conventional containers are made of plastic or paper-like material, where containers with a lid that can seal the base to keep food fresh are welcomed on the market. Especially for those containers made of plastic that can prevent the liquid from separating and are used in different ways.

An important feature of this type of containers made of plastic is the stability and reliability of the lid that is connected to the base. For containers made of conventional plastic, hooks formed along the sides of the lid are generally included, and the base includes lips that engage the hooks. However, this press-fit latch may be too loose to seal the base, or it may be too firm to release. For the first situation, the hooks simply engage with the edge of the lips so that the hooks cannot firmly engage with the lips. The hitch can be loosened by impact or compression. The hooks can also disengage from the lips due to heavy food in the container or the way users close the lid incorrectly. For the second situation, there are different shapes of the hooks and lips, such as hooked hooks with recesses in projections. If the hooks have an exaggerated curvature or the width of the lips is not properly adjusted, or the hooks are too large compared to the recesses in the projections. Friction between the hooks and lips will be important to make the lid difficult to open or even deform the lid or base.

Another snap-fit device for containers includes a male portion and a female portion, wherein the male and female portions engage together in a surface-to-surface engagement manner. If there are tolerances between the male and female parts, resistance is important, so the lid is difficult to close and open with respect to the base. Furthermore, the male parts have to be pressed hard to connect with the female parts, the male parts or female parts may be deformed if there is no reinforcing structure to withstand the pressing action. Due to the existing molding technology, it is difficult to form the male parts on the side sides of the base. Existing problems must be improved further. US Patent US 4986438 A discloses a container according to the preamble of claim 1.

The present invention aims to provide a container composed of a lid and a base to eliminate the aforementioned deficiencies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the present invention is to provide a container that includes a base and a lid that is press fit on the base. The cover includes at least one defined recess on the lateral face thereof. The base includes a snap-fit member, wherein the snap-fit member includes a protuberance that engages the at least one recess to connect the lid to the base. The base includes a receiving area that reinforces the strength of the at least one recess to shorten the press fit element and reduce the height of the lid and the material required to save materials and costs. The container includes a stable and simple structure. The container does not deform even when squeezed to reduce the chance of it disengaging and separating.

To achieve the aforementioned objective, the present invention relates to a container comprising a lid and a base. The cap includes a cap top portion and a side face extending from the periphery of the cap top portion. A protruding portion is formed by the side face together with the upper part of the lid. The base includes a top opening that is defined by the peripheral wall. The lid is mounted on the top opening of the base to form a space between the base and the lid. The side face has at least one recess that includes a wide upper opening and a narrow lower part. The at least one recess is located between two reinforcing portions. A contact face is formed between the two reinforcing portions. The at least one recess is defined between the contact face and the two reinforcement portions. The peripheral wall of the base has a recessed area that forms a reception area located in correspondence with the at least one recess of the lid. The reception area has a stop wall that extends from the peripheral wall. A snap-fit element extends from the receiving area and It has a bump. The protuberance is formed to engage with the at least one recess to connect the lid to the base. The snap fit member is bent by a flex portion connected to the receiving area to allow, when the cap is mounted to the base, bending of the snap fit member to engage the protuberance with the at least one recess.

Preferably, a lip extends from the receiving area along the top opening of the base. The lateral face of the lid includes a skirt that extends therefrom. The skirt contacts the edge when the lid is mounted on the base.

Preferably, a receiving area is formed at the connection between the lip and the press fit member. The reception area includes a stop wall that extends upwards. When the cover is connected to the base, the at least one recess is located between the stop wall and the press fit member. Preferably, an extension portion element extends from the base protuberance. The protuberance includes a recessed portion formed on the posterior side thereof. The flexing portion is formed between the edge and the press fit member.

Preferably, the base and lid are formed to include a curved periphery or multiple sides.

Preferably, there are multiple recesses and the press-fit element includes multiple protrusions. The number of protuberances is the same as the number of recesses.

Preferably, there are multiple recesses and multiple press fit elements. The number of protrusions of the press-fit elements is the same as the number of recesses.

Preferably, there are multiple recesses. The number of press fit members is the same as the number of recesses, and each press fit member includes a boss.

Preferably, the container comprises a handle and a hole is formed through each of two ends of the handle. The protuberances are engaged with the two holes in the handle. A gripping portion is formed between the two ends of the handle.

In one embodiment, the recesses and protrusions may be pushbuttons. The protuberances are located on the base, and the recesses are located on the lid. Alternatively, the protuberances are located on the lid and the recesses are located on the base.

The container may have the engaging portions on corresponding side sides of the base and lid. Therefore, the strength of the lid and base is reinforced so that the lid and base will not be deformed due to compression to separate the protrusions from the recesses. The base has stop walls so that the press-fit element can be shortened to reduce the height of the lid. The stop wall reinforces the strength of the recesses so that the protrusions do not disengage from the recesses due to compression, and the container is likely to deform. In addition, the thickness of the cap can be reduced to meet the market demand for thin cap and low cap.

The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which show, for illustrative purposes only, a preferred embodiment according to the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is an exploded view of the container of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view to show the container of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view to show the press fit member and the protrusion on the base, where the protrusion engages the recess of the lid;

Figure 4 shows the action of the protrusion engaging with the recess of the lid;

Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing that the protuberance is engaged with the recess;

Figure 6 is a partial cross-sectional top view showing that the protuberance is engaged with the recess;

Figure 7 shows the press fit member with multiple protuberances that are engaged with multiple recesses;

Figure 8 shows the handle for the container of the present invention, and

Figure 9 shows that the container of the present invention is provided with the handle, as shown in Figure 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the container of the present invention may be made of paper or plastic and comprises a base 1 and a lid 2.

The base 1 includes a top opening that is defined by a peripheral wall 11. An edge 12 extends from the periphery of the top opening and folds downward. A receiving area 14 is formed in a recessed area of the lip 12 and the receiving area 14 has a stop wall 141 extending from the peripheral wall 11 to reinforce the strength of the receiving area 14. At least one adjustment element Snap 13 extends from the receiving area 14 and includes a protuberance 132. In this embodiment there are multiple snap-fit elements 13. The protuberance 132 includes a recessed portion 133 formed on its rear side. The connection between the press fit member 13 and the lip 12 is a bending portion 134.

The lid 2 includes a lid top portion 24, and a side face 25 extends from the periphery of the lid top portion 24. A projecting portion 21 is formed by the side face 25 together with the lid top portion 24. The Lid 2 is mounted in the upper opening of the base 1 to form a space between the peripheral wall 11 of the base 1 and the protruding portion 21 of the lid 2. The side face 25 of the lid 2 includes a skirt 22 that extends from it. The skirt 22 contacts the lip 12 when the cover 2 is mounted on the base 1. The side face 25 includes at least one recess 23 that includes a wide upper opening and a narrow lower part. In this embodiment, there are multiple recesses 23. Each recess 23 is located between two reinforcement portions 231. A contact face 233 (Figure 3) is formed between the two reinforcement portions 231. Each recess 23 is defined between the face contact 233 and the two reinforcing portions 231. The reinforcing portions 231 reinforce the strength of the lid 2 to prevent the lid 2 from deforming. The 2 covers can be stacked and do not deform. The contact face 233 provides support when the protrusion 132 is engaged with the recess 23. The contact face 233 also prevents the protrusion 132 from sliding out of the recess 23.

The recessed area forming the receiving area 14 allows the recess 23 of the lid 2 to be lowered and positioned in the receiving area 14. Therefore, the length of the press fit element 13 can be shortened and this also saves the material necessary. The height of the cap 2 can also be reduced to meet the requirement of a thin cap that requires less material. The stop wall 141 provides support to the recess 23 when the protuberance 132 engages the recess 23, the recess 23 moves inward. In other words, the stop wall 141 prevents the recess 23 from moving inward, so that the recess 23 is supported by the stop wall 141 and the protrusion 132 easily engages with the recess 23.

Figures 3 and 4 show the first embodiment of the container of the present invention.

The press fit elements 13 of the base 1 are bent by the bending portion 134 which is connected to the receiving area 14. As shown in Figure 3, the protruding area 135 of the protrusion 132 is formed integrally with the protrusion 132 and may be made of plastic or paper so that the protrusion area 135 is strong enough and does not deform when the protrusion 132 is slightly forcibly fitted into the recess 23.

When the cap 2 is mounted on the base 1, the user can press the recessed portion 133 of the press fit member 13 to bend the press fit member 133 by the bending portion 134 to engage the protuberance 132 with the recess 23 When removing the cover 2 from the base 1, the protuberance 132 is disengaged from the recess 23 by pulling the extension portion member 131.

It is noted that when the lid 2 is opened with respect to the base 1 to access the food in the container, the user simply separates the protuberances 132 of a press fit element 13 from the recesses 23, the lid 2 can be pivoted 90 or 180 degrees from the base 1 by the bending portions 134. It is not necessary to separate all the protuberances 132 from all the press-fit elements 13 from the recesses 23.

Furthermore, the skirt 22 of the lid 2 is mounted and contacts the edge of the lip 12 of the base 1, so that when the protuberances 132 engage the recesses 23, the lid 2 is securely mounted on the base 1. Even when the container is turned upside down, the food does not spill.

Figures 5 and 6 show that the protuberances 132 are engaged with the recesses 23.

The recess 23 provides a space for engaging the protuberance 132, and the space is formed between the reinforcing portions 231 and the contact face 233. The width of the protuberance 132 is slightly larger than the width of the recess 23 between the two portions of reinforcement 231. Therefore, the protrusion 132 can securely engage with the recess 23 and contacts the contact face 233. Because the recess 23 has a wide top opening and a narrow bottom, the protrusion 132 is engages even more securely with recess 23 when the container is pressed or squeezed. Each recess 23 includes a wide top opening, and the side walls of the reinforcing portions 231 are inclined walls with an angle of Positive tilt, making the shaping action easy. In other words, the recess 23 is not deformed to ensure engagement between the protrusion 132 and the recess 23. The contact face 233 prevents the protrusion 132 from falling from the recess 23 when the container is shaken or turned upside down. The two reinforcing portions 231 are two projecting portions that include multiple faces to form a strong structure to sustain the pressing action of the protuberance 132 in the recess 23.

In the aforementioned embodiment, the number of press fit elements 13 is the same as the number of recesses 23, and each press fit element 13 includes a protuberance 132. Alternatively, the number of recesses 23 may be unique. or multiple. When the number of recesses 23 is one, then there is one press fit element 13. When the number of recesses 23 is multiple, then there are one or more press fit elements 13. Each press fit element 13 includes one or more plus protrusions 132. The number of protrusions 132 is the same as the number of recesses 23. In other words, the number of protrusions 132 of all press-fit elements 13 is the same as the number of recesses 23.

Figure 7 shows the second embodiment of the container of the present invention, where each press fit element 13 includes multiple protuberances 132.

The differences between the second embodiment and the first embodiment are that the base 1 includes two elongated snap-fit members 13 respectively formed on two sides thereof, and each snap-fit member 13 includes multiple protuberances 132. The number of protrusions 132 of the press fit members 13 is the same as the number of recesses 23, so that the protrusions 132 engage the recesses 23 accordingly.

Figure 8 shows the handle 26 of the third embodiment of the container of the present invention, and Figure 9 shows that the container of the present invention is equipped with the handle 26.

The handle 26 includes a hole 261 formed through each of its two ends. A gripping portion 262 is formed between the two ends of the handle 26. The protuberances 132 of two snap-fit elements 13 are engaged with the two holes 261 of the handle 26. The two protuberances 132 connected with the handle 26 are engaged with the rebates 23 corresponding to them. Users can hold the grip portion 262 to carry the container.

The container may be a rectangular or round container to include a rectangular or round base 1 and a lid 2. Obviously, the base 1 and lid 2 may be formed to include a curved periphery or multiple sides.

The recesses 23, press-fit elements 13 and bosses 132 can be modified to include any size, number and arrangement. For example, the container may include multiple pairs of press fit elements 13 and recesses 23 to obtain better strength of the lid 2 so that the lid 2 is securely connected to the base 1. The positions of the recesses 23 and the protuberances 132 can be modified. The protuberances 132 may be located on the base 1, and the recesses 23 may be located on the lid 2. Alternatively, the protuberances 132 may be located on the lid 2, and the recesses 23 are located on the base 1.

While we have shown and described the embodiment according to the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that other embodiments may be realized without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (11)

1. Container, which includes: a lid (2) having a lid top part (24), a side face (25) extending from a periphery of the lid top part (24), where the lid (2) has a protruding portion (21 ) formed by the side face (25) together with the upper part of the lid (24), and a base (1) that includes an upper opening that is defined by a peripheral wall (11), where the cover (2) is mounted in the upper opening of the base (1) to form a space between the base (1) and the lid (2), characterized by the fact that the side face (25) has at least one recess (23) that includes a wide upper opening and a narrow bottom, and the at least one recess (23) is located between two reinforcement portions (231), where a contact face (233) is formed between the two reinforcement portions (231), and the at least one recess (23) is defined between the contact face (233) and the two portions reinforcement (231); and The peripheral wall (11) of the base (1) has a recessed area that forms a reception area (14) located in correspondence with the at least one recess (23) of the lid (2), where the reception area ( 14) has a stop wall (141) extending from the peripheral wall (11), a press fit member (13) extending from the receiving area (14) and having a protuberance (132), wherein the protuberance (132) is formed to engage with the at least one recess (23) to connect the lid (2) to the base (1), wherein the snap fit element (13) is bent by a bending portion (134) connected to the receiving area (14) to allow, when the cover (2) is mounted on the base (1), bending the pressure fitting element (13) to engage the protuberance (132) with the at least a recess (23), and the at least one recess (23) is located between the stop wall (141) and the adjustment element (13) when the protuberance (132) of the base (1) is engaged with the at least one recess (23) of the cover (2). 2. Container according to claim 1, wherein a lip (12) extends from the receiving area (14) along the upper opening of the base (1), where the side face (25) of the lid (2 ) includes a skirt (22) that extends from there. 3. Container according to claim 2, wherein the skirt (22) makes contact with the edge (12) when the lid (2) is mounted on the base (1). 4. Container according to claim 2, wherein the flexing portion (134) is formed between the lip (12) and the press fit element (13). 5. Container according to claim 1, wherein an extension portion element (131) extends from the protuberance (132) of the base (1). 6. Container according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion (132) includes a recessed portion (133) formed on a rear side thereof. 7. Container according to claim 1, wherein the base (1) and the lid (2) are formed to include a curved periphery or multiple sides. 8. Container according to claim 1, wherein there are multiple recesses (23), wherein the press fit element (13) includes multiple protrusions (132), where a number of protrusions (132) is the same as a number of recesses ( 2. 3). 9. Container according to claim 1, wherein there are multiple recesses (23) and multiple snap-fit elements (13), where a number of recesses (132) of the snap-fit elements (13) is the same as a number of recesses (23). 10. Container according to claim 1, wherein there are multiple recesses (23), where a number of pressure fitting elements (13) is the same as a number of recesses (23), where each pressure fitting element (13) includes a protuberance (132). 11. Container according to claim 1, further comprising a handle (26), wherein a hole (261) is formed through each of the two ends of the handle (26), where the protuberances (132) are engaged with the two holes of the handle (26), where a gripping portion (262) is formed between the two ends of the handle (26).