Reusable lid and container
AssigneePlastican, Inc.
InventorsRino Conti, Mark J. Keyes
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The combination of a reusable lid and a container, the lid being provided with locking tabs and the container being provided with openings designed to accept the locking tabs and to make an interlocking connection by relatively rotating the lid and container. A latch element is formed on the lid for engagement with one of a plurality of cooperating catch elements formed on the container. The engaged catch element prevents removal of the lid from the container until the latch element is depressed inwardly far enough to allow the lid to be turned to a position in which the tabs may be removed from the openings.
Claims12
A lid/container combination comprising:
- a molded lid having a central crown portion, a circularly shaped rim portion surrounding said crown portion, and mutually spaced locking tabs formed integral with and depending form said rim portion;
- and
- a container having an open end, a closed end, a first circumferentially continuous side wall extending from said open end to said closed end, a transversely-extending annular wall attached to and surrounding said side wall at said open end, a second side wall attached to and depending from said annular wall, said second side wall being spaced from said first side wall, and a plurality of openings in said annular wall;
- said openings and locking tabs being shaped so that (a) said tabs can be inserted in said openings when said lid is in a first rotational position relative to said container and (b) said tabs extend under and are restrained by said annular wall when said lid is in a second rotational position relative to said container, whereby said lid can be applied to or detached from said container when said lid is in said first rotational position and is locked to said container when said lid is in said second rotational position.
A lid/container combination comprising:
- a lid having a crown and a rim surrounding and attached to said crown, said rim having first and second concentric walls surrounding said crown, with said second wall surrounding said first wall, and a plurality of mutually spaced locking tabs depending from said second wall;
- and
- a container comprising a top end and a bottom end defined by a circular side wall and a bottom wall formed integral with said side wall, a skirt comprising a top annular wall attached to said side wall adjacent said top end and a circular wall attached to said top annular wall and spaced from said side wall by said top annular wall, said top annular wall having a plurality of openings for receiving said locking tabs;
- said tabs and said openings being shaped and sized so that (a) when said lid is placed adjacent said top end of said container in a first position said tabs may be inserted in said openings, and (b) when thereafter said lid is rotated relative to said container, said tabs will interlock with said top annular wall.
A reusable lid for a container, said lid being circular and comprising a main body portion and a rim comprising an annular flange portion attached and surrounding said main body portion and a wall portion formed integral with and depending from said annular flange portion in surrounding and spaced relation to said main body portion, a portion of said wall portion being severed and contoured so as to form a resilient latch element having one end projecting radially outward of the remainder of said skirt portion, whereby said one end of said latch element can interlock with a catch element carried by a container for use with said lid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.