WO2001058776A1

WO2001058776A1 - Cover for cans

Info

Publication number: WO2001058776A1
Application number: PCT/SE2001/000179
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pär CLAESSON
Original assignee: Emballator Ulricehamns Bleck Ab
Priority date: 2000-02-11
Filing date: 2001-02-01
Publication date: 2001-08-16
Also published as: SE515741C2; SE0000455L; AU2001232518A1; SE0000455D0

Abstract

The present invention relates to a covering lid for both uncovering and covering an opening of a container. The covering lid consists of a planar disc unit, intended to cover said openings in a closed position in a part of the container. The disc unit is equipped with an adhesive layer on one side, arranged to be facing the container at the closed position, the disc unit is also penetrated along a line, dividing the disc unit in a lid tongue (20) and a surrounding attaching part (18). The lid tongue is pivotally connected to the attaching part for switching between covered and uncovered position for covering and uncovering said openings respectively. The size of the lid tongue is dimensioned to exceed the size of said openings and in the covering position to cover both said openings and an area surrounding said openings. The covering lid is equipped with a protective foil, that at a first condition of use only covers the lid part, where the adhesive layer adheres to the attaching part of the covering lid at the container, and which is arranged to be removed at a second condition of use enabling the adhesive agent on the lid part to adhere to the container at the area (27) surrounding said openings for the final covering of said openings.

Description

Cover for cans

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a cover lid for a container according to the preamble of the appended claim 1.

BACKGROUND ART

An example of a common cover lid for a container is a screw lid which is intended to be screwed on respective off a stand-up ring-shaped edge or flange of a container which for example is otherwise closed. These containers is of the can type and generally have the pervading disadvantage of not being stackable in any stage of handling and thus demand large spaces for storage and transports. A typical feature of a can is that the screw lid does not extend over all of the upper side or the gable of the container, but is of practical reasons of such a dimension that the lid may be grasped with the hand for unscrewing the lid. Cans may for example be used as safety containers, by way of example for contaminated objects, such as used syringe needles in the medical care. The container is here used in a filling mode an extended period of time, where the lid either has to be unscrewed and fastened each time an object is dropped in the container, or is removed until the container is filled. There is a risk that a loose lid disappears if it is not retained by means of a chain or similar. Such cans are also relatively expensive to manufacture, especially if special measures have to be taken to prevent that the lid disappears.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The purpose with the present invention is to present a coveπng lid for a container, which may be manufactured at a low cost and with a very low profile. Another purpose of the present invention is that the covering lid seals containers finally in a reliable manner.

Said purposes are achieved using a covering lid according to the present invention, which characterising features are disclosed in the appended claim 1.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention shall in the following text be described more in detail with examples of embodiment with reference to disclosed drawings, on which

fig. 1 shows an example of a container, which may be provided with the covering lid according to the invention, fig. 2 is a side view of a lid part belonging to the container, fig. 3 is a top view of a lid part which have not yet been equipped with the covering lid according to the invention, fig. 4 and 5 is a side view and top view respectively, showing the covering lid according to the invention separately, fig. 6 is a top view of the lid part equipped with the covering lid according to the invention, fig. 7 shows a very enlarged view of the covering lid according to the invention in a partly broken side view, while fig. 8 and 9 show partly broken section views of the covering lid in different states of use, mounted on the lid part, while fig. 10 schematically shows a partly broken view of a container equipped with the covering lid according to the invention shown in both closed position and opened position. MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Fig. 1 thus shows an example of a container which is suitable for a covering lid according to the invention and may for example be intended for reception and storage of contaminated medical waste, for example syringe needles. The container is in this example a principally conventional tin pot 1 , consisting of a container part 2 and a lid part 3, which in the example shown are made of metal of the sheet iron type, which may be tinplated. The container part 2 consists of a casing that is essentially cylindrical but suitably slightly conical to make piling easier, and a lower gable part 4' which usually is plane. The lid part 3 forms the upper gable part and is also essentially plane. In the example shown the pot is equipped with a carrying handle 5 attached to a pivoted joint 6 at the casing 4 of the pot. The pot may be of the same type that is used for paint and similar. The pot may alternatively be of the can type, where the lid part 3 is provided with an upper gable part, that just as the lower gable part suitably is seamed to the casing 2.

In the example shown the pot is provided with a detachable lid part 3, shown separately in fig. 2 and 3. The lid part is in the example shown countersunk and equipped with an essentially cylindrical periphery edge 7, which at closed position projects downward inside the casing and a flange 8 that essentially has a radial direction and forms a support against the encircling periphery edge 9 of the container part 2. The lid part 3 is normally openable with a tool that is wedged in between the flange 8 and the opening lid 9 in a conventional manner. In the present case the lid may be intended to be fastened permanently or possibly intended to be opened at a later occurring emptying stage. The lid part 3 is intended to form a covering surface 19 in order to close an opening in the container part 2, where the lid part and container part together form an essentially closed container that includes a containing space in the form of a cavity that is intended to receive objects for storage and transportation with containers. However, as disclosed in fig. 3, the lid part 3 is equipped with a number of, in the example three, openings 9,10, 11 , of different shape and size covering smaller part of the otherwise covering surface of the lid part 3. The openings 9, 10, 11 are made by simply punching the sheet metal in the lid part 3 to a suitable shape. The openings, such as the hole 9, consist of a refill part 12 in the example shown, intended to have a larger dimension than those object which are supposed to be filled through the hole, and pulling ramps 13, 14, 15, 16 that form edges, against which for example syringe needles may be put to be pulled of a syringe, making the needle to fall down into the interior of the container which will be described in more detail below.

According to the invention the lid part 3 is equipped with a covering lid 17 that in a covering position is intended to cover the openings 9, 10, 11 or, alternatively, in an uncovering position uncover these for receiving objects. The general construction of the cover lid 17 will first be described with reference to fig. 4 and 5. As disclosed in fig. 4 the cover lid consists of a discshaped unit, for example with a thickness of from a fraction of a millimetre to some millimetres. The disc-shaped unit is advantageously made from a plastic material, i.e. a polymer, with a certain rigidity, but preferably also with a certain flexibility, for example polypropylene. The cover lid both consists of an attaching part 18, intended to be attached to the covering surface 19 of the lid part 3, see fig. 3 and 6, and also of a lid tongue 20 that in the example shown is completely enclosed of the attaching part 18 and pivotally connected to the attaching part 18 along a pivoted axis 21 formed by a folding joint or fold notch in the disc-shaped material, for example by perforation lines partly or completely penetrating the material with remaining connected, foldable parts between the attaching part 18 and the lid tongue 20, that is shown in a raised position with dot-dashed lines in fig. 4. The lid tongue 20 is in the example shown provided with a grasping part 22 and a covering part 23, see fig. 5. The grasping part intended to be grasped with the hand, for example between the thumb and the forefinger. The covering part 20 is in its closed position intended to cover the openings 9, 10, 11. Nothing prevents the grasping part 22 from serving as a cover for any hole or part of a hole. In the example shown a recess 24 is arranged, i.e. a through- hole in the material, thus making it easier to get a grasp of the grasping part 22 as a grasping edge 25 of this is uncovered. In the example shown the covering lid is equipped with a circular outer edge 26, that, however, principally may have any shape, while the lid tongue also may have rounded parts in order to avoid sharp outwardly turned edges. The lid part is for example manufactured from a continuous line by punching or cutting with conventional technology, where also the border line between the lid tongue 20 and the attaching part 28 is punched or cut to form both the outer edge 34 of the lid tongue and the edge 35 of the attaching part facing the lid tongue.

Fig. 6 shows the covering lid applied on the lid part 3 and shown at a closed position where it is evident that the holes 9, 10, 11 are covered by the covering part 23 of the coveπng lid. The attaching device 18 is intended to bear on the covering surface of the lid part, whereby parts of the covering lid also cover and bear on areas 27 around the holes in the closed position, i.e. that the covering lid in the closed position not only covers the openings, but also overlaps these.

The covering lid 17 is shown separately in a very enlarged scale in fig. 7, disclosing that the covering lid has a frame layer 28, for example made of some appropriate polymer, as mentioned above, with a smooth dirt repelling surface on one of its sides 29, that in the example shown is intended to be directed upwards. On the opposite side 30 of the covering lid, that in the example is intended to be directed downwards against the lid part 3, an adhesive layer 31 is arranged, for example of the type double-stick tape. The adhesive layer 31 or the glue layer covers all of the lower side 30 of the coveπng lid, i.e. the attaching part 18 as well as the lid tongue 20, and is in the separate state of the covering lid covered with a protective foil 32 or covering foil over all its downward facing surface, retained at the glue layer by its adhesive mechanism, but easily removed. Right in front of the folding joint 21 the protective foil 32 is advantageously provided with a tearing notch 33, while the protective foil is punched or cut-through i.e. that the covering lid 20 is completely cut through all the three layers along its contour line, which facilitates the removal of a part of the protective foil, see below.

When the cover lid 17 is applied on the lid part 3 to give the container 1 its special function, the protective foil 32 is torn over its part, that is situated below the attaching part 18, i.e. everywhere except the lid tongue 20. Thereafter the attaching part 18 of the cover lid is attached to the covering surface 19 of the lid part by pressuring it towards this, thus enabling the double-stick adhesive layer 31 to adhere to the lid part and retain the attaching part 18. The protective foil 32 thus remains on the lower side of the lid tongue 20 to enable this to cover the openings 9, 10, 11 in a lowered position, see fig. 8 with dot-dashed lines, and may then be kept in a lowered position and cover the openings 9, 10, 11 temporarily or at least before the final sealing by friction between the edge part 34 of the lid tongue 20 and the connected edge parts 35 of the attaching part 18. By letting the protective foil 32 remain and cover all of the lower side of the lid tongue 20 no adhesion occurs between the lid tongue and the lid part of the pot, but the covering lid is anyway in a position that covers the openings and protects the enclosed containing space of the container before the pot is taken into use or between the occasions when objects are dropped into it.

When the container 1 in the example shown is used for storage of used syringe needles 36 for syringes 37 a person takes hold of the grasping edge 25 and folds or flips open the lid tongue 20 around the folding joint 21 to its uncovering position as shown with solid lines in fig. 8. By the material characteristics in the covering lid 17 and suitable choice of folding notch the lid tongue is brought to rest at a raised position without having to be kept raised by hand. Alternatively, such characteristics may be chosen for the folding joint 21 , either by choice of material or design of the folding joint, that the lid tongue swings to a closed position by itself when it is released, according to current application. In the opened position the syringe needles 36 are inserted by putting down the syringe 37 with mounted syringe needle into one of the openings 9, 10, 11 according to suitable size and dimension of the waste object, where the syringe needle first is lowered into the refilling part 12, see fig. 3, and then brought to the side against any of the pulling ramps 13, 14 enabling an upward facing edge to be put against the lower side of the pulling ramps. The syringe 37 is then pulled upwards, thus releasing the syringe needle 36 that is retained with friction forces, and enabling it to fall down into the container. If another move is acquired, for example a turning movement for syringe needles with bayonet, the ramp 13 or 16 in the second hole 10 may be used for wedging the needle holder and the following turning movement. The syringe needle may thus be released without any personnel having to touch the syringe needle.

When the desired amount of waste objects or time of use has been obtained, the container shall be removed from its place of use together with its contents. The protective foil 32 is then removed from the lid tongue 29, which then is folded down around the folding joint 21 by either taking hold of the grasping part 22 or simply putting some fingers on the upper side of the locking tongue and pressing it down towards the covering surface of the lid part. The lid tongue is then pressed towards the area around the openings 9,

10, 11 where the lid tongue using the glue layer adheres to the area surrounding the holes, which hereby are covered or sealed, i.e. the container is sealed for a secure transport and further handling. At the final handling site the container may be melted down together with all its contents for recycling the material and all the contents, or, alternatively, the contents are poured out after the lid part 3 is opened in its whole thus uncovering the large opening of the container to pour out the contents.

The invention is not limited to the above described and in the drawings showed examples of embodiments, but may be varied within the scope of the appended claims. For example the container may be made with another design or in another material, for example plastic. The covering lid may further be made in a non-polluting material, such as cardboard with a glue layer and a covering foil of paper. The opening may consist of one single hole, two holes and more and may be of other shapes, circular, rectangular etc., with or without pulling ramp.

Claims

1. Covering lid (17) for both uncovering and covering an opening (9, 10, 11 ) of a container characterized in that the covering lid consists of a planar disc unit, intended to cover said openings (9, 10, 11) in a closed position in a part of the container, that the disc unit is equipped with an adhesive layer on one side, arranged to be facing the container at the closed position, that the disc unit is penetrated along a line, dividing the disc unit in a lid tongue (20) and a surrounding attaching part (18), that the lid tongue is pivotally connected to the attaching part for switching between covered and uncovered position for covering and uncovering said openings respectively, that the size of the lid tongue is dimensioned to exceed the size of said openings and that in the covering position cover both said openings and an area surrounding said openings, that the covering lid (17) is equipped with a protective foil (22), that at a first condition of use only covers the lid part, where the adhesive layer adheres to the attaching part of the covering lid at the container, and which is arranged to be removed at a second condition of use enabling the adhesive agent on the lid part to adhere to the container at the area (27) surrounding said openings for the final covering of said openings.

2. Covering lid according to claim 1 , characterized in that the attaching part (18) surrounds all of the lid tongue (20).

3. Covering lid according to claim 2, characterized in that the attaching part (18) and the lid tongue (20) are made from one and the same disc-shaped material and that the lid tongue is acquired by punching or cutting along a separating line between the attaching part and the lid tongue.

4. Covering lid according to claim 3, characterized in that the jointed connection is acquired by means of a folding notch in the discshaped material.

5. Covering lid according to claim 1, characterized in that the lid tongue (20) is equipped with both a covering part (23) which is arranged to cover said openings (9, 10, 11) and a grasping part (22) which is arranged to be taken hold of for switching between the covering position and the uncovering position.

6. Covering lid according to claims 3 and 5, characterized in that a recess (24) is arranged in the disc-shaped material between the lid tongue (20) and the attaching part (18).

7. Container for containment of waste and equipped with both openings (9, 10, 11) through which the waste is put into the container and a covering lid (17) for uncovering and covering said openings characterized in that the covering lid consists of a planar disc unit, intended to cover said openings (9, 10, 11) in a closed position in a part of the container, that the disc unit is equipped with an adhesive layer on one side, arranged to be facing the container at the closed position, that the disc unit is penetrated along a line, dividing the disc unit in a lid tongue (20) and a surrounding attaching part (18), that the lid tongue is pivotally connected to the attaching part for switching between covered and uncovered position for covering and uncovering said openings respectively, that the size of the lid tongue is dimensioned to exceed the size of said openings and that in the covering position cover both said openings and an area surrounding said openings, that the covering lid (17) is equipped with a protective foil (22), that at a first condition of use only covers the lid part, where the adhesive layer adheres to the attaching part of the covering lid at the container, and which is arranged to be removed at a second condition of use enabling the adhesive agent on the lid part to adhere to the container at the area (27) surrounding said openings for the final covering of said openings.

8. Container according to claim 7, characterized in that the container (1) has a lid part (3) that is equipped with said openings (9, 10, 11).

9. Container according to claim 8, characterized in that the lid part (3) consists of sheet metal where said openings (9, 10, 11) are punched, and that the covering lid (17) is attached to the lid part with said adhesive layer (31).