US2992030A - Container means - Google Patents

Description

J. P. MALONE CONTAINER MEANS July 11, 1961 Filed Jan. 11, 1960 FIG FIGZ

INVENTOR. W, 6 W

United States Patent 2,992,030 CONTAINER MEANS James P. Malone, '1 Odell Court, Syosset, N.Y. Filed Jan. 11, 1960, Ser. No. 1,542 1 Claim. (Cl. 292-17) This invention relates to pail type container means and more particularly to cover means adapted to fit the pail when the pail is out of round.

More particularly the invention relates to cover means for garbage pails which are adapted to fit the pail when either the pail or the cover is damaged so as to be out of round.

One of the main difiiculties with garbage pails is that they are roughly handled by the garbage man and thrown and banged around the street. Also the garbage men customarily empty the pail by upturning it and slamming it down against the side of the truck. After a few months of this treatment the garbage pails generally develop broken rims and are forced out of round so that a cover will not normally fit on them.

Also the covers are generally thrown carelessly on the street, where they are stepped on and possibly run over by automobiles so that they, too, get out of round.

The present invention solves this ditficulty by providing a cover which is oversize but which fits on the pails with a first ring of spring fingers which are adapted to contact the outside of the pail and a second ring of spring fingers which are adapted to contact the inside of the pail. The spring fingers are preferably spaced equally around the cover and preferably abut each other. Three or four sets of spring fingers has been found adequate. If the pail is knocked out of round or the rim is broken the spring fingers will give enough to accommodate this situation and still hold the cover securely on the pail. Also, if the cover is bent or twisted, the spring fingers will still accommodate themselves to the desired configuration and make the proper contact with the pail.

Accordingly, a principal object of the invention is to provide new and improved container means.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved garbage pail means.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved container means having a cover adapted to fit out of round, or broken, rim pails.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved cover means for containers comprising an oversize cover, a first ring of spring fingers connected to said cover and adapted to contact the outside of a pail and a second ring of spring fingers connected to said cover and adapted to contact the inside of a pail.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and drawings, of which FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the invention and FIG. 2 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

Referring to the figures, the pail 1 is a conventional garbage pail of the cylindrical type. The cover 2 is oversize and is held on the pail by a first ring of spring fingers 3, 4, 5 and 6 which are spot welded or otherwise connected to the cover. They are equally spaced around in a ring configuration so that they will bear against the inside surface of the pail.

A second ring of similar spring fingers 7, 8, 9 and 10 are similarly connected around the outer periphery of the cover preferably in abutting relation to the first group of spring fingers, so that when the cover is taken off the two rings of spring fingers will oppose each other and remain in substantially neutral position, that is, the perfectly round position of the pail. The spring fingers are preferably made of a good grade of steel and have sufficient strength to hold the cover on for ordinary purposes. The spring fingers are adapted to give considerably to accommodate an out of round condition of the pail as illustrated by the distorted positions 7' and 3 of the spring fingers 7 and 3.

FIGURE 2 illustrates a condition where the pail 1 has an out of round portion 12 and it is seen that the spring 7 will be compressed and the spring 3 will be extended to accommodate this condition.

Similarly, if the pail rim is broken as at 11 the springs 4 and 8 will similarly accommodate this condition.

Either the inner ring or the outer ring of springs may be used separately. However, in such case when the cover is taken off the springs will normally extend themselves to such an extent that they will extend over the top of the pail providing difiiculty in attaching the cover to the pail. This situation does not exist when the two rings of springs are arranged in abutting relation.

Various modifications and substitutions of material may be made without departing from the scope of this invention, for instance, different numbers of springs may be used or ditferent materials such as plastics may be used.

I claim:

Cover means for a pail comprising a flat member sufficiently larger than the top of said pail to accommodate a first ring of spaced spring fingers connected to the underside of said fiat member and adapted to bear against the outside surface of said pail, a second ring of spaced spring fingers connected to said flat member and adapted to bear against the inside of said pail, all said spring fingers being sufiiciently large and spaced a distance from the original preiphery of said pail sufiicient to accommodate a substantial deformation of the upper periphery of said pail, said spring fingers of said first ring being adapted to bear against the spring fingers of said second ring in abutting relation when said cover is removed along a line corresponding to the original periphery of said pail, said abutting spring fingers being sufiiciently large and mounted far enough apart to accommodate substantial deforming of the periphery of said pail and breaks in the rim of said pail.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 871,271 Hall Nov. 19, 1907 1,167,920 Natsch Jan. 11, 1916 1,179,453 Paton Apr. 18, 1916 1,643,661 Kendall Sept. 27, 1927 1,960,308 Grashow May 29, 1934 2,837,236 Betner June 3, 1958

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