Metal container having resilient interface ring
AssigneeJ.L. Clark, Inc.
InventorPhilip M. Baerenwald
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A metal container which includes two drawn container halves joined by an injection molded plastic ring. The container halves can be identical and of low profile, with upstanding walls terminating in formed edges of substantially the same size and shape. The ring includes a pair of opposed channels sharing a common base, and the formed edges of the respective container halves fit into the opposed channels of the ring. The channels and formed edges are adapted to provide tailored fitting and retention characteristics, so that one of the container half is gripped more securely by the ring, and the other container half is more readily removable.
Claims27
A low profile container comprising the combination of:
- two drawn metal container halves being identical in size and shape, each container half having a closed end, upstatanding walls and a formed edge at an open end, said formed edge and the upstanding walls of said each container half being integrally formed as a single unitary piece with no mechanical connections, and
- a ring formed of resilient material for joining the container halves at their respective formed edges to produce an openable closed container,
- the ring having first and second channels sized to match the formed edges of the container halves and to receive the formed edges, the channels being opposite each other and separated by a common base so that when the formed edges of the container halves are engaged in the respective channels the height of the closed container is determined substantially by the summed height of the respective walls,
- the respective channels having non-identical gripping characteristics for the formed edges of the associated container halves such that the ring attaches to the formed edge of one of the container halves more securely than to the formed edge of the other.
A container comprising the combination of:
- two metal container halves each having a closed end and upstanding walls terminating in a formed edge at an open end, said formed edge and the upstanding walls of said each container half being integrally formed as a single unitary piece with no mechanical connections, the formed edges of the container halves being substantially identical and defining a peripheral container shape, and
- a ring of resilient material formed to match the peripheral container shape for joining the container halves at their respective formed edges to produce an openable closed container,
- the ring having opposed upper and lower seats sharing a common base for engaging facing portions of the formed edges of the respective container halves, each seat having at least one upstanding wall extending around the ring and comprising means for gripping the formed edge of a container half when seated therein to provide a retention force resisting removal thereof, the respective seats having non-identical gripping characteristics for the formed edges of the associated container halves such that the retention force for removal of the formed edge of a seated container half is different between the two seats to allow a predetermined one of the seats to release before the other.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.