MX2013001391A

MX2013001391A - Container cap and seal assemblies.

Info

Publication number: MX2013001391A
Application number: MX2013001391A
Authority: MX
Inventors: Daniel Perez; Kieron H Tse; Jason Paul Grochowski
Original assignee: Prc Desoto Int Inc
Priority date: 2010-08-05
Filing date: 2011-08-04
Publication date: 2013-06-05
Also published as: RU2013109434A; EP2601111B1; CA2807234A1; BR112013002818A2; KR101460460B1; US20120031905A1; ES2522847T3; JP2013535383A; RU2550320C2; KR20130050962A; CN103118955A; DK2601111T3; AU2011285629A1; WO2012019039A1; EP2601111A1; AU2011285629B2; CA2807234C

Abstract

A container, cap and seal assembly (10) comprises a container base (20), a cap (30) and a seal (40) engagable with the container base. The seal is held on the cap when the cap is initially installed on the base. When the cap is subsequently opened, the seal disengages from the cap and remains on the base. The seal may then be manually removed and re- installed on the base as desired. The container, cap and seal assembly may be used to contain pastes, liquids and other flowable materials.

Description

COVER AND CONTAINER SEAL SETS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is concerned with container closures and more in particular is concerned with lid and container seal assemblies for pastes, liquids and other materials.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various types of container closures are known. For example, conventional solder paste containers have a base, a layer and a separate seal to minimize contact with air with the paste contained in the container. Such seals are in the form of either a sliding piston that is pressed down into the container base against the upper surface of the solder paste or upper seal installed in the region between the cover and the upper edge of the base. Although such standard seals can effectively prevent air from coming into contact with the solder paste, additional steps are required during the manufacturing process in order to separately install the seal in the container after the container is filled before the cap be secured to the base of the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An aspect of the present invention is to provide a container lid and seal assembly comprising a container base having an internal volume, a lid movable from an open position to a closed position on the base of the container and a seal element that has a sealing surface engageable with the surface of the base of the container to thereby provide a seal for the internal volume of the container base, wherein the seal element is temporarily retained on the lid when the lid is initially moved from the container. open position to the closed position.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a set of caps and seal for a container comprising a lid comprising at least one threaded engageable with a container base and a seal element retained on the lid, wherein the lid and element of seal are structured and arranged to temporarily retain the seal element on the lid until the lid is secured on the base of the container. A further aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for sealing a container comprising filling at least partially the base of the container with a flowable material and installing a cap and seal element together on the container phase, wherein the lid and seal element are structured and arranged to separate from each other, when the lid is subsequently removed from the base of the container.

These and other aspects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Figure 1 is an isometric view in section illustrating a base of the container, lid arrangement and seal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is an isometric view in detailed section of the container assembly of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an isometric sectional view of the cap and seal arrangement of the solder paste container assembly of Figure 1, illustrating how the cap and seal are jointly attached as a single unit when they are initially installed on the base of the container.

Figure 4 is an isometric sectional view of the seal secured on the base of the container with the lid removed, illustrating how the seal separates the lid when the lid is removed from the base of the container.

Figure 5 is an isometric view of the base of the container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a side view of the base of the container of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is another side view of the base of the container of Figure 5.

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view taken through line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through line 9-9 of Figure 7.

Figure 10 is an isometric view of a container lid according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 11 is a sectional view of the container lid of Figure 10.

Figure 12 is an enlarged view of a portion of the container lid of Figure 11.

Figure 13 is a sectional view of a container seal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 14 is an enlarged view of a portion of the container seal of Figure 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As shown in Figures 1-4, a container assembly 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a container base 20, a cover 30 and a seal member 40. An additional piston seal 50 is shown installed in the base 20 of the container 10. However, it will be understood that the piston seal 50 may be optional when the seal member 40 is used. In certain embodiments of the invention, the container assembly 10 may be used to contain paste. welding. However, it will be understood that other types of paste, liquids and materials that can flow may be contained in the container assembly 10.

As shown in Figures 1-9, the base 20 is generally cylindrical with a rounded inner lower portion 21 which facilitates the removal of the weld base or other bottom materials from the base of the container 20. A threaded closure 22 is provided on the upper edge 24 of the base 20. An annular flange 25 surrounds the base 20. Protruding retaining elements 26 are spaced 180 degrees around the outer circumference of the base 20 and extend radially outward from the base 20 adjacent to the base 20. annular rim 25. In the embodiment shown, the threaded closure 22 is in the form of a quarter-turn closure that requires the cap to be rotated only 90 degrees to close the container. However, any other suitable closure arrangement can be used, such as screw closures, insert fit covers, etc.

As shown in Figures 1-4 and 10-12, the lid 30 includes quarter-turn threads 32 which engage the respective quarter-turn threads 22 of the base 20. It will be noted that the threads of a quarter turn 32 can be replaced with any other threaded arrangement, as well as any other appropriate closing arrangements such as an insert fit cover as described above. The cover 30 includes an annular ring extending downwardly 34 with a beveled edge 35. As more fully described later herein, the seal member 40 is temporarily retained on the cover 30 by engagement with the ring 34. Highlighted retention elements 36 are spaced 90 degrees around the inner circumference of the lid 30 and extend radially inward from the lid to engage with the raised retention elements 36 of the base 20. When the lid 30 is secured on the base 20, two of the highlighted retention elements 36 engage the opposite highlighted retention elements 26 of the base 20 to provide tactile feedback when the cap 30 is manually tightened. Although two highlighted retention elements 36 are shown on the base 20 and four highlighted retention elements 36 are shown on the cover 30, any other appropriate number and forms of tactile retention elements can be used.

As shown in Figures 1-4, 13 and 14, the seal member 40 has a generally cylindrical side wall 42 and an annular rim 43 extending radially outward from the side wall 42. The lower surface of the annular rim 43 comes into contact with the upper edge 24 of the stage 20. The generally cylindrical side wall 42 is joined to a flange extending radially inwardly 44 with a circular flange 45. In the embodiment shown, the flange extending inward 44 has a generally conical shape, however, any other appropriate shape can be used.

At least a portion of the outer surface of the cylindrical side wall 42 is brought into contact with the inner surface of the upper portion of the base 20 to form a seal therebetween, for example by means of an interference fit. At least one raised ring 46 extending a short radial distance outwardly from the outer surface of the cylindrical side wall 42 can be used to provide the desired sealing and sealing properties between the seal member 40 and the base 20. In the embodiment shown, two such rings 46 are used, however, any other appropriate number of rings may be provided. Thus, when the seal member 40 is installed on the base 20, air is prevented from entering the interior of the base 20 due to contact between the outer surface of the side wall 42 and the internal surface of the base 20. It can be providing an additional seal by contact between the inner surface of the annular flange 43 and the upper edge 44 of the base 20.

As shown in Figures 1-3 and 11-14, the circular flange 45 of the seal member 40 has an inner surface that comes into contact with an outer surface of the downwardly extending ring 34 of the lid 30. In In certain embodiments, at least one raised ring 48 extending radially inwardly from the inner surface of the flange 45 can be used to provide a desired fit between the seal member 40 and the annular ring 34 of the cover 30. The contact between the inner edge of the circular flange 45 or the raised ring 48 and the outer diameter of the downwardly extending ring 34 retains the seal element 40 on the lid 30 when the lid 30 is initially installed on the base 20 during production . Thus, after the base of the container 20 has been filled with solder paste, a single operation is required to mount the seal member 40 and cover 30 together as a unit on the base 20. In the embodiment shown, the ring that is extends downwardly 34 of the cover 30 is beveled 35 in order to facilitate the initial assembly of the seal element 40 on the cover 30.

The base 20, lid 30 and seal element 40 can be manufactured from any suitable materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene or the like. For example, the components can be made of polyethylene. In one embodiment, the base 20 and lid 30 are made of high density polyethylene, while the seal element 40 is made of low density polyethylene. If a piston seal 50 is used, it can be made of polyethylene, for example low density polyethylene.

In one embodiment, the dimensions of the flange 44, flange 45 and raised ring 48, also like the dimensions of the downwardly extending ring 34, are selected such that a slight interference fit or press fit is provided, for example a slight amount of radial deformation outwardly of the flange 45 and / or radial deformation inward of the flange 34 may occur when the seal member 40 on the cover 30. Such adjustment or contact keeps the seal member 40 in place over the lid 30 until the lid 30 is initially installed on the base 20. Similarly, the dimensions of the external diameter of the side wall of the seal 42 or raised ring (s) 46 and the internal diameter of the base 20 are selected in such a way that sufficient contact or interference fit is provided between the contact surfaces of the base 20 and seal element 40 in order to prevent air from entering the interior of the base 20, while it allows the seal element 40 to be removed from the base 20 by the hand without undue force. The degree of contact or interference fit between the respective parts can be selected by routine experimentation by those skilled in the art.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the force required to remove the seal element 40 from the lid 30 due to the contact between the flange 45 and ring 34 is less than the force necessary to remove the seal element 40 from the base 20 due to the contact between the outer surface of the neighboring side wall 42 or raised ring (s) 46 and the internal surface of the base 20. In this way, during the initial filling and production of the container assembly 10, the cap 30 and seal element 40 can be installed on the base 20 as a single unit without the need for extra production steps conventionally required to separately install seals and lids on standard containers. However, when the container assembly 10 is first opened by a user when the lid 30 is removed from the base 20, the seal member 40 is separated from the lid 30 and remains secured to the base 20 due to contact between the side wall 42 raised ring (s) 46 of the lid and the interior of the base 20. When the seal member 40 is subsequently removed from the base 20 by the user, it can optionally be pressed on the lid 30 for convenience or security, in which case the seal element 40 will be automatically reinstalled on the base 20 when the cover 30 is secured to the base 20.

In addition to allowing the cap 30 and the seal member 40 to be installed on the base 20 together as a single unit during production, the radially inwardly extending flange 44 of the seal member 40 provides a finger grip for the removal of the seal element 40 from the base 20. Since the outer surface of the seal side wall 42 or raised ring (s) 46 are pressed against the inner surface of the base 20, a certain amount of force to remove the seal member 40 from the base 20 and the radially inwardly extending flange 44 provides a gripping surface to facilitate removal of the seal member 40 against such force.

For purposes of this detailed description, it will be understood that the invention may assume several alternative variations except where expressly specified otherwise. It will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications to the invention can be made without departing from the concepts disclosed in the foregoing description. It is considered that such modifications are included within the following claims unless the claims by their language expressly affirm otherwise. Thus, the particular embodiments described in detail herein are illustrative only and are not limiting of the scope of the invention given to the full scope of the appended claims and any and all equivalents thereof.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A container lid and seal assembly characterized in that it comprises: a container base that contains an internal volume; a lid movable from an open position to a closed position on the base of the container and a seal element having a sealing surface engageable with a surface of the base of the container to thereby provide a seal for the internal volume of the base of the container, wherein the seal element is temporarily retained on the lid when the lid is moved initially from the open position to the closed position. 2. The lid and container seal assembly of claim 1, characterized in that the seal member is temporarily retained on the lid by pressing a portion of the seal member against a portion of the lid. 2. The lid and container seal assembly of claim 2, characterized in that the seal element comprises a rim that extends radially inwardly, the lid comprises an annular ring that extends downwardly and the seal element is temporarily retained on the rim. cover by contact between the flange extending radially inwardly and the annular ring extending downwards. . The lid and container seal assembly of claim 3, characterized in that the seal member comprises a generally cylindrical side wall and the radially inwardly extending flange comprises a generally conical portion attached to the side wall and a circular flange which extends radially inwardly in contact with the annular ring extending downwardly from the lid. 5. The lid and container seal assembly of claim 4, characterized in that the circular flange extending radially inward includes a raised ring in contact with the annular ring extending downwardly. 6. The lid and container seal assembly of claim 1, characterized in that the seal member comprises a circular outer surface that comes into contact with the generally cylindrical internal surface of the container base to provide the seal. 1. The lid and container seal assembly of claim 6, characterized in that the external surface of the seal element is generally cylindrical. 8. The lid and container seal assembly of claim 6, characterized in that the external surface of the seal element comprises at least one raised ring that comes into contact with the internal surface of the base of the container. 9. The lid and container seal assembly of claim 6, characterized in that the seal member further comprises a radially outwardly extending flange having a surface that comes into contact with the upper edge of the base of the container. 10. The lid and container seal assembly of claim 1, characterized in that the base of the container and lid comprise engageable threads to secure the lid in the closed position. 11. The lid and container seal assembly of claim 10, characterized in that the engageable threads are threaded one quarter turn. 12. The lid and container seal assembly of claim 10, characterized in that it further comprises tactile detent elements engageable on the base of the container and lid which comes into contact with each other when the lid is moved to the closed position. 13. The lid and container seal assembly of claim 12, characterized in that the engagable touch detent elements comprise radially opposing shoulders. 14. A cap and seal assembly for a container, characterized in that it comprises: a cover that cuts at least one threaded coupling with a container base and a seal element retained on the lid, wherein the lid and seal element are structured and arranged to temporarily retain the seal element on the lid until the lid is secured on the base of the container. 15. A method for sealing a container, characterized in that it comprises: At least partially fill the base of the container with a material that can flow in installing a cap element and seal element together on the base of the container, wherein the cap and seal element are structured and arranged to separate from each other when the cap is subsequently removed from the base of the container. 16. The method of claim 15, characterized in that the seal element is removable by the hand of the base of the container after the lid is removed. 17. The method of claim 16, characterized in that the seal element can be reinstalled on the base of the container after it has been removed from the base of the container. 18. The method of claim 16, characterized in that the seal element can be re-engaged on the lid after the lid has been removed from the base of the container. 19. The method of claim 15, characterized in that the material that can flow comprises a paste. 20. The method of claim 19, characterized in that the dough comprises solder paste.