WO2020039336A1

WO2020039336A1 - Sealable lid and container comprising the same

Info

Publication number: WO2020039336A1
Application number: PCT/IB2019/056995
Authority: WO
Inventors: Siu Wah Wong; Shun Sang Poon
Original assignee: Master Plans Llc
Priority date: 2018-08-21
Filing date: 2019-08-20
Publication date: 2020-02-27
Also published as: CN112888637A; CN112888637B; TW202014351A; TWI705925B

Abstract

A lid (10) for a container (1), comprises a top plate (12), a bottom plate (14), and a movable plate (15) movably arranged between the top plate (12) and bottom plate (14). The bottom plate (14) is not altered as to its position and level relative to a container body(20)of the container (1)after the lid (10) is placed over the container body (20), regardless of opening or closing the container (1), with a result of the inner volume of the container (1)remaining unchanged. This provides the convenience and case of effortlessly opening and closing the container (1). A container (1) comprising the sealable lid (10) is also provided.

Description

Sealable Lid and Container Comprising The Same

Related Application

This non-provisional application claims priority from provisional application no. 62/720,383 filed on August 21, 2018, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of lids for containers. More specifically, the present invention relates to a lid capable of forming an air-tight and water-tight seal for a container, for example a food and/or drink container, and preferably a thermal insulated food container. The lid is configured to have a sealing mechanism controllable by a pivotal handle to provide an unexpected simple solution which allows to open and close the container with ease.

Background of the Invention

In traditional food containers equipped with a sealable lid, a seal between the lid and the container body is achieved using a sealing member disposed peripherally around the lower portion of the lid. The lid is configured with a movable bottom plate, which is mechanically in connection with a button or handle on top of the lid. Operation of the button or handle causes the bottom plate to move up or down so as to compress the sealing member. The sealing member then expands to press against the inner wall of the container body so as to create sealing of the container.

However, such a sealing mechanism is accompanied with the bottom plate moving up and down to open and close the container. The main drawback is that when the container contains high-temperature contents in a closed state, the bottom plate of the lid is caused to move down to its lower position so as to bias the sealing member against the inner wall of the container body. Consequently, internal volume of the container is reduced with a result of increased inside pressure. Therefore, when it is required to seal the container in its closed state, a comparatively large manual force is applied in order to operate the button or handle to hermetically seal the container. Likewise, when it is required to open the sealed container, a greater force is required to operate the button or handle in order to open or remove the lid from the container. This type of food containers makes it difficult for senior people and young children to use a sealable food container.

To address the above drawback, most of the sealable containers available in the market are provided with an air valve for balancing the pressure inside and outside the container. On one hand, the air valve requires more structural components and would affect the sealing performance, particularly when storing liquid contents. On the other hand, when the container is designed to be thermally insulated, the air valve will also reduce the heat- retaining capability.

Accordingly, there is a need for a sealable container lid, particularly suitable for thermal food and drink containers, which lid is easy to manufacture at low cost and allows to be effortlessly opened or closed. There is also a need for a container lid that can be easily disassembled and re-assembled for cleaning purpose.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention has been developed to fulfill the needs noted above and therefore has a principle object of the provision of a container lid which is structurally simplified but creates the air-tight and fluid-tight seal for the container.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container lid with a simple and effortlessly mechanism to open and close the container in a hermetical manner.

A yet object of the invention is to provide a container lid which enables to remain the inner volume of the container and thus the inside pressure of the container unchanged, providing the ease of effortlessly opening and closing the sealable container, no matter whether the container is opened or closed.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention are satisfied by providing a container lid according to the present invention. The lid is adapted for a container having a container body over which the lid is placed, comprising:

a lid body having a top plate,

a handle having a pivot end pivotally mounted on the top plate,

a bottom plate operably coupled with the top plate,

a movable plate movably arranged between the top plate and bottom plate, wherein the movable plate is driven to move between a first position and a second position by pivotal movement of the handle relative to the top plate, and a sealing member provided between the lid body and the bottom plate, said sealing member being biased against an inner wall of the container body to hermetically seal the container when the movable plate is in the first position, and biased away from the inner wall of the container body to release the seal when the movable plate is in the second position.

In one specific embodiment of the invention, the top plate may comprise one or more locking tabs extending downwardly from a lower surface thereof, each of the tabs having a stem portion and a hook arranged at an end of the stem portion; and a corresponding number of locking stubs formed on the bottom plate are positioned to releasably lock with the locking tabs. Preferably, the top plate comprises four locking tabs extending downward circumferentially from the lower surface at an equal angular interval to releasably lock with four locking stubs of the bottom plate, respectively.

In one embodiment of the invention, the lid body may have a skirt portion with internal threads for mating engagement with corresponding threads formed on an outer surface of the container body.

In another embodiment of the invention, the top plate may have a receiving chamber for accommodating the handle, the receiving chamber being configured to have a window for passage of the pivot end of the handle, and two opposite recesses on two sides thereof in a manner that two pivots formed on two opposite sides of the handle are pivotally carried in the recesses, respectively. Preferably, the handle further has a free end useful to operate the handle and is flushed with the top plate. According to the invention, the handle may be pivoted with respect to the top plate by an angle in the range of 0 to 90 degrees. When the handle is at an angle of 0 degree with respect to (i.e. parallel with) the top plate, the container is in the first fully unsealed state; and when the handle lies at an angle of 90 degrees with respect to the top plate, the container is in the second fully and hermetically closed state.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the movable plate may comprise a plate member formed with a raised portion, the raised portion having a substantially flat top face on which the handle acts, and a depressed bottom face for catching an anchoring end of a spring member which is forced to move the movable plate upward, such that the pivotal movement of the handle acting on the raised portion causes the movable plate to move vertically between the first position and the second position. The movable plate may further comprise a wall extending from a circumferential edge of the plate member, and one or more slot holes through which the locking tabs of the top plate pass to lock with the respective locking stubs of the bottom plate. Advantageously, the circumferential wall of the movable plate may be configured to have a height which is smaller than a length of the stem portion of the locking tab, so as to allow the moveable plate is movable in a length direction of the locking tab between the first position and the second position.

In certain embodiments of the invention, the sealing member may be configured to comprise a first part having a groove engageable with an outer edge of the bottom plate, and a second part in continuation of the first part and extending upwardly from the first part, said second part being adapted to lie against an outer surface of the movable plate, whereby the sealing member is biased against the inner wall of the container body when the movable plate is caused by the handle to move down to reach the first position, and is released when the movable plate is caused by the handle to move up to reach the second position.

In certain embodiments of the invention, the sealing member may be configured to comprise a first part having a groove engageable with a flange formed on a neck extending downwardly from the movable plate, and a second bent part in continuation of the first part and extending laterally from the first part in such a manner that the second bent part is biased against the inner wall of the container body when the movable plate is caused by the handle to move down to reach the first position, and is released when the movable plate is caused by the handle to move up to reach the second position.

Advantageously, the bottom plate may comprise an upper plate portion made of a plastic material or silicon, and a lower plate portion made of a metallic material and fixed to the upper plate. The metal lower plate portion is advantageous for high-temperature contents stored in the container body.

A second aspect of the present invention provides a container comprising a container body including an open-top wall structure defining a receptacle for receiving contents to be stored, and a lid according to the present invention.

According to the invention, the sealable lid utilizes a pivotal handle to control the movement of the movable plate disposed between the top and bottom plates so as to create a seal or release the seal between the lid and the container body. The bottom plate substantially remains immobile during the process of opening and closing the container, therefore the inner volume of the container is constant during the open-open operation of the container and thus the inside pressure of the container would not increase, providing the ease of opening and closing the container with little efforts. To have a better understanding of the invention reference is made to the following detailed description of the invention and embodiments thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary thermal food container constructed according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the container shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective top view of a lid body having a top plate of the lid shown in Fig. 1 with the handle being removed.

Fig.4A is a perspective bottom view of the lid body with the top plate shown in Fig. 3.

Fig.4B is a perspective view of the lid body with the top plate shown in Fig. 3 showing the bottom of the top plate in another angle.

Fig.5 is a cross section of the top plate shown in Fig. 3 taken along line I-I of Fig. 1.

Fig.6 is a perspective view of a movable plate of the lid shown in Fig. 1.

Fig.7 is a perspective view of an assembly of the movable plate shown in Fig. 6 with a sealing member.

Fig.8 is a perspective bottom view of an assembly of the lid body with the top plate, the movable plate and the sealing member.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view in cross-section of the sealing member shown in Fig. 7.

Fig.10 is a cross sectional view of the container shown in Fig. 1 in hermetically closed state.

Fig.11 is a cross sectional view of the container shown in Fig. 1 in unsealed and ready- to-open state.

Fig. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a thermal food container constructed according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a perspective top view of a top plate of the lid shown in Fig. 12 with the handle being removed.

Fig.14 is a perspective view of the top plate shown in Fig. 13 showing the bottom of the top plate.

Fig.15 is a perspective view of an assembly of the lid body with the top plate, the movable plate and a sealing member. Fig.16 is a perspective view in cross-section of the sealing member shown in Fig. 12.

Fig.17 is a cross sectional view of the container shown in Fig. 12 in hermetically closed state.

Fig.18 is a cross sectional view of the container shown in Fig. 1 in ready-to-open state.

In the various figures of the drawings, like reference numbers are used to designate like parts.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

While this invention is illustrated and described in preferred embodiments, the container lid and the sealing ring may be produced in many different configurations, sizes, forms and materials.

Referring now to the drawings, Figs. 1 to 11 illustrate a thermal food container 1 constructed according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. The container 1, which is substantially in the shape of a cylinder, comprises a sealable lid 10 and a container body 20 over which the lid is placed. As illustrated in Fig. 1 , the container is in a hermetically closed state where the contents inside the container body 20 are well sealed. The container may be of the type having the need to maintain high or low temperature thermal insulation in order to store food, beverages and other items for some time.

The sealable lid 10 comprises a lid body 11 having a top plate 12, a handle 13 having a pivot end 131 pivotally mounted on the top plate 12 and a free end 132 useful to operate the handle, a bottom plate 14 operably coupled with the top plate 12, and a movable plate 15 arranged between the top plate 12 and the bottom plate 14. The handle 13 is provided with two pivots 133 on opposite sides of the pivot end 131 for the purpose of pivotal mounting on the top plate 12. As shown in Fig. 2, at the pivot end 131 of the handle, an extension 134 between the two pivots 133 is laterally formed to be operably in rotatable abutment with the movable plate 15. The handle 13 can be pivotally rotated around the pivot end 131 in order to seal or unseal the container 1.

Turning to Figs. 3 to 5, there is illustrated the lid body 11 with the top plate 12. The lid body has a skirt portion 111 extending downwardly from a circumferential edge of the lid body. The skirt portion 111 is configured and sized to cover a mouth of the container body 20, and is formed with internal threads for mating engagement with corresponding threads formed on an outer surface of the container body 20. As illustrated, the top plate 12 comprises four locking tabs 121 extending downward circumferentially from a lower surface thereof at an equal angular interval. Each of the locking tabs 121 has a stem portion 1211 and an outwardly facing hook 1212 arranged at an end of the stem portion 1211. The top plate 12 further comprises a receiving chamber 122 in the center of the top plate 12 for accommodating the handle 13. The receiving chamber 122 is such configured to allow for the handle 13 to flush with the top plate 12 in the closed state of the container 1, as shown in Fig. 1. The receiving chamber 122 has a window 124 for allowing passage of the pivot end 131 of the handle 13 therethrough to abut against the movable plate, which will be discussed herein below. The receiving chamber 122 further has two opposite recesses 123 on two sides thereof, and the recesses 123 are positioned and sized in such a manner that the recesses 123 pivotally carry the two pivots 133 formed on the pivot end 131 of the handle 13, respectively, allowing pivotal movement of the handle 13 relative to the top plate 12. In this embodiment, the handle 13 is allowed to pivot relative to the top plate 12 at an angle between 0° and 90°.

Fig. 5 is a view in cross-section of the top plate 12 taken along line I-I of Fig. 1. Three locking tabs 121 are visible in this cross-section view, and the recesses 123 for pivotally mounting the pivots 133 of the handle 13 become more apparent.

The bottom plate 14 is substantially of a disc shape in this embodiment and comprises an upper plate portion 141 made of, for example, a plastic material or silicon, and a lower plate portion 142 made of a metallic material, for example, stainless steel or aluminum. Generally the upper plate portion 141 and the lower plate portion 142 are fixed together by adhesive or other methods known in the art. The metallic lower plate portion 142, which is in direct contact with the high temperature contents in the container 1 , is devised to provide the durability and resistance to the high temperature contents. As can be seen in Fig. 2, four locking stubs 143 are created on a top surface of the upper plate portion 141, and positioned to correspond to the locking tabs 121 so as to releasably lock with the locking tabs 121. In this embodiment, the locking stubs 143 are locked with the locking tabs 121 by rotating the bottom plate 14 relative to the top plate 11, whereby the bottom plate 14 is locked with the top plate 12 in place for their assembly.

One of the features of the invention is the movable plate 15 as illustrated in Fig. 6, which is movably arranged between the top plate 12 and the bottom plate 14. The movable plate 15 comprises a plate member 151 formed with a raised portion 152 (see Fig. 2). The movable plate 15 further comprises a wall 153 extending from a circumferential edge of the plate member 151, and four slot holes 154 positioned to correspond to the locking tabs 121. The wall 153 of the movable plate 15 has a height which is smaller than a length of the stem portion 1211 of the locking tab 121, so that the moveable plate is movable in a length direction of the locking tab between a first lower position where the container is in the hermetically closed state (see Fig. 10), and a second upper position where the container is in the unsealed state (see Fig. 11). The locking tabs 121 of the top plate 12 movably pass through the respective slot holes 154 to lock with the locking stubs 143 of the bottom plate 14. It would be appreciated that the movable plate 15 is not rotatable relative to the top plate because of the provision of the locking tabs 121.

The raised portion 152 has a substantially flat top face 1521 and a depressed bottom face 1522. The top face 1521 abuts against the extension 134 of the handle 13 such that it is subject to the action applied by the handle 13. The depressed bottom face 1522 is configured to snugly catch an anchoring end of a spring member, for instance a compression spring 16. As can be seen in Fig. 8, the compression spring 16 is provided to constantly apply an upward force to the movable plate 15 to enable the movable plate 15 move upward after the pressure applied by the handle 13 onto the movable plate 15 is removed, which in turn cause to release the compression spring 16. The other end of the compression spring 16 comes into contact with the upper plate portion 141 of the bottom plate 14. In other words, the pivotal movement of the handle 13 with respect to the top plate 12 can drive the movable plate 15 to move up and down between the first lower position and the second upper position.

Now turning back to Figs. 6 and 7, a neck 155 projects downwardly and circumferentially from the bottom of the movable plate 15. A flange 156 is formed on an outer surface of the neck 155 to engage with a sealing member 17, which will be discussed herein below.

The sealing member 17 is provided between the lid body 11 and the bottom plate 14. Fig. 9 illustrates an exemplary construction of the sealing member 17 which comprises a first part 171 having a groove 173 engageable with the flange 156 formed on the neck 155 of the movable plate 15, and a second bent part 172 in continuation of the first part 171 and extending laterally from the first part 171. The second bent part 172 is shaped and sized to bias against the inner wall of the container body 20 when the movable plate 15 is caused by the handle to move down to compress the compression spring 16 and reach the first lower position, and is released when the movable plate 15 is caused by the compression spring 16 to move up to reach the second upper position when the handle 13 is rotated up. In the first lower position of the movable plate 15, the second bent part 172 of the sealing member 17 is biased to expand and form a seal between the lid 10 and the container body 20 (see Fig. 10). The sealing member 17 between the lid 10 and the container body 20 helps to preserve items, such as food items and/or drinks, stored in the container body 20. To access the items stored in the container body 20, the user rotates the handle 13 up by 90° to release the sealing member 17, causing the sealing member 17 to bias away from the inner wall of the container body 20 and to return to its original non-compressed form, and thereby release the lid 10 from the container body 20. The user now is able to easily remove the lid 10 from the container body 20 to access the contents contained therein.

With reference to Figs. 10 and 11, the mechanism of sealing the container 1 by pivotably rotating the handle 13 mounted on the lid 10 according to the present invention will now be elaborated. These two figures illustrate the movement of the handle 13, the movable plate 12 and the sealing member 17.

Fig. 10 shows the lid 10 hermetically seal the container body 20 and the container 1 is in its hermetically closed state. As illustrated, the container 1 is the type of double wall construction which provides an excellent insulation performance. When a user wants to place and seal the lid 10 over the container body 20, he may pivot the handle 13 down with respect to the top plate 12 by implementing the free end 132 of the handle 13 to an extent that the handle 13 lies on the top plate 12 in parallel (i.e. at an angel of 0°). Because the pivot end 131 of the handle 13 acts on the raised portion 152 of the movable plate 15, the movable plate 15 is caused to move down to its first lower position. The handle 13 is in flush with the top plate 12 while the extension 134 at the pivot end 131 of the handle 13 presses down the top face 1521 of the raised portion 152 of the movable plate 15 and thus the compression spring 16. The sealing member 17 in engagement with the flange 156 of the movable plate 15 is then forced to bias the second bent part 172 towards and press against the inner wall 21 of the container body 20, thereby hermetically sealing the container body 20 (Fig. 10). In this closed and sealed state, the container 1 has great sealing tightness and thermal insulation capability.

When the user wants to detach the lid 10 from the container body 20 to place the contents or to get access to the contents stored in the container body 20, the user may flip up the handle 13 at the free end 132 by 90°, the pressure applied by the pivot end 131 of the handle 13 onto the raised portion 152 of the movable plate 15 is removed, which causes the movable plate 15 to move up to its second upper position by the compression spring 17 which always applies an upward spring force onto the movable plate 15. The sealing member 17 is then released to resume to its un-compressed state (Fig. 11). In the un-compressed state, the sealing member 17 stays away at a small distance from the inner wall 21 of the container body 20, therefore allowing the lid 10 to be effortlessly screwed from the container body 20.

As discussed above, the bottom plate 14 is fixed to the top plate 12 by way of locking the locking stubs 143 with the locking tabs 121, and the bottom plate 14 is substantially immovably coupled with the top plate 12 during the process of pivotal movement of the handle 13. As a result, the level of the bottom plate 14 relative to the container body 20 remain unchanged. It is clear that the inner volume of the container 1 (i.e. the space defined by the bottom plate 14 and the inner wall 21 of the container 20) would not change during the process of opening or closing the container by the operation of the handle 13. Unlike the prior art containers whose inner volume is reduced with a result of increased inside pressure, closing and sealing of the container 1 through the lid 10 according to the invention would not reduce the inner volume of the container 1 and therefore the inside pressure is not increased either. This provides an effortless solution to open and close the sealable container, which is advantageous for senior people and young children to use.

Figs. 12 to 18 illustrate a container constructed consistent with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. The container of this embodiment is substantially structurally same as the container 1 shown in the first embodiment above and comprises a sealable lid 10 and a container body 20 over which the lid 10 is placed. The sealable lid 10 comprises a lid body 11 having a top plate 12, a handle 13 having a pivot end 131 pivotally mounted on the top plate 12 and a free end 132 useful to operate the handle, a bottom plate 14 operably coupled with the top plate 12, a movable plate 15 movably arranged between the top plate 12 and the bottom plate 14, a spring member 16 which is forced to move the movable plate 15 upward, and a sealing member 18 which is mounted to bias towards or away from the inner wall 21 of the container body 20.

The lid 10 of this embodiment differs from the one of the first embodiment in that the top plate 12 is formed additionally with a downwardly extending wall 125 that lies tightly against an inner surface of the skirt portion 111 of the lid body 11, for example by overmoulding. In this case, internal threads are formed on the inner surface of the downwardly extending wall 125 of the top plate 12 for mating engagement with the corresponding threads formed on the outer surface of the container body. The overmoulding of the wall 125 of the top plate 12 and the skirt portion of the lid body can provide additional protection and insulation for the lid 10 on a whole.

Another distinction of the container of the present second embodiment from the one discussed in the above first embodiment resides in the sealing member. The sealing member 18 of this embodiment is shown in Fig. 16. The sealing member 18 is configured to comprise a first part 181 having a groove 183 engageable with an outer edge of the bottom plate 14, and a second part 182 in continuation of the first part 181 and extending upwardly from the first part. The second part 182 snugly lies against an outer surface of the movable plate 15, and is caused to bias against the inner wall 21 of the container body 20 when the movable plate 15 is pressed by the handle 13 to move down to reach its first lower position. In this state, the contact area between the sealing member 18 and the container body 20 is increased, thereby creating a seal therebetween (Fig. 17). When the handle 13 is fliped up by 90°, the movable plate 15 is driven to move up to its second lower position because of the compression spring 16, the sealing member 18 is then released and stays away from the inner wall 21 of the container body 20. The contact area between the sealing member 18 and the inner wall 21 of the container body 20 decreases so that the sealing action is eliminated where the lid 10 is loosely seated over the mouth of the container which is ready to open by removing the lid 10.

In the embodiments described above, the components of the lid and the container body are preferably made of a polymer or plastic which can be easily manufactured, washed and stored, except for the metallic lower plate portion of the bottom plate. Preferably, the polymer or plastic may be selected from polyoxymethylene (POM) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). It should be appreciated however that the lid and the other components of the container may be made of any suitable material or materials.

Thus, the present invention provides a container comprising a container body and a sealable lid with a bottom plate, and the level of said bottom plate would not altered after the lid is placed over the container body, regardless of opening or closing the container. This design enables the inner volume of the container to remain unchanged, and such a technical effect is achieved by providing the movable plate arranged between the top and bottom plates, which can be lifted or lowered to release or press the sealing member against the container body.

In addition, the container can be easily assembled or disassembled for cleaning purpose, as all the components of the lid can be detached from one another with ease.

The above described is preferred embodiments of the sealable lid for thermal insulated food container. It would be understood that the lid is useful for all kinds of containers intended to contain solid or liquid contents at any temperature sustainable by the materials of the container.

While the present invention is described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment, and is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the claims. Modifications and variations in the present invention may be made without departing from the novel aspects of the invention as defined in the claims, and this application is limited only by the scope of the claims.

Numerical references

1 Container

10 Lid

11 Lid body

111 Skirt portion

12 Top plate

121 Locking tab

1211 Stem portion

1212 hook

122 Receiving chamber

123 recess

124 window

125 Downwardly extending wall

13 Handle

131 Pivot end

132 Free end

133 Pivot

134 Extension

14 Bottom plate

141 Upper plate portion

142 Lower plate portion

143 Locking stub

15 Movable plate

151 Plate member

152 Raised portion

1521 Top face

1522 Depressed face

153 Wall of movable plate 4 Slot holes

5 Neck

6 Flange

Compression spring, 18 Sealing member1, 181 First part

2. 182 Second part3. 183 Groove

Container body Inner wall

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A lid for a container, the container having a container body over which the lid is placed, the lid comprising:

a lid body having a top plate,

a handle having a pivot end pivotally mounted on the top plate,

a bottom plate operably coupled with the top plate,

a movable plate movably arranged between the top plate and bottom plate, wherein the movable plate is driven to move between a first position and a second position by pivotal movement of the handle relative to the top plate, and

a sealing member provided between the lid body and the bottom plate, said sealing member being biased against an inner wall of the container body to hermetically seal the container when the movable plate is in the first position, and biased away from the inner wall of the container body to release the seal when the movable plate is in the second position.

2. The lid as claimed in claim 1, wherein the top plate comprises one or more locking tabs extending downwardly from a lower surface thereof, each of the tabs having a stem portion and a hook arranged at an end of the stem portion; and a corresponding number of locking stubs formed on the bottom plate are positioned to releasably lock with the locking tabs.

3. The lid as claimed in claim 2, wherein the top plate comprises four locking tabs extending downward circumferentially from the lower surface at an equal angular interval to releasably lock with four locking stubs of the bottom plate, respectively.

4. The lid as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the lid body has a skirt portion with internal threads for mating engagement with corresponding threads formed on an outer surface of the container body.

5. The lid as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the top plate has a receiving chamber for accommodating the handle, the receiving chamber being configured to have a window for passage of the pivot end of the handle, and two opposite recesses on two sides thereof in a manner that two pivots formed on two opposite sides of the handle are pivotally carried in the recesses, respectively.

6. The lid as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the movable plate comprises a plate member formed with a raised portion, wherein the raised portion has a flat top face on which the handle acts, and a depressed bottom face for catching an anchoring end of a spring member which is forced to move the movable plate upward, such that the pivotal movement of the handle causes the movable plate to move vertically between the first position and the second position.

7. The lid as claimed in claim 6, wherein the movable plate further comprises a wall extending from a circumferential edge of the plate member, and one or more slot holes through which the locking tabs of the top plate pass to lock with the respective locking stubs of the bottom plate.

8. The lid as claimed in claim 7, wherein the wall of the movable plate has a height which is smaller than a length of the stem portion of the locking tab, so as to allow the moveable plate is movable in a length direction of the locking tab between the first position and the second position.

9. The lid as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the sealing member is configured to comprise a first part having a groove engageable with an outer edge of the bottom plate, and a second part in continuation of the first part and extending upwardly from the first part, said second part being adapted to lie against an outer surface of the movable plate, whereby the sealing member is biased against the inner wall of the container body when the movable plate is caused by the handle to move down to reach the first position, and is released when the movable plate is caused by the handle to move up to reach the second position.

10. The lid as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the sealing member is configured to comprise a first part having a groove engageable with a flange formed on a neck extending downwardly from the movable plate, and a second bent part extending laterally from the first part in such a manner that the second bent part is biased against the inner wall of the container body when the movable plate is caused by the handle to move down to reach the first position, and is released when the movable plate is caused by the handle to move up to reach the second position.

11. The lid as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the handle is pivoted with respect to the top plate by an angle in the range of 0 to 90 degrees.

12. The lid as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the bottom plate comprises an upper plate portion made of a plastic material or silicon, and a lower plate portion made of a metallic material and fixed to the upper plate.

13. A container comprising: a container body including an open-top wall structure defining a receptacle for receiving contents to be stored; and

a lid according to any one of claims 1 to 12.