CN107074407A - Two-piece container lid - Google Patents

Abstract

A two-piece cap (10) for a product container is provided, the two-piece cap including a base (102) connectable to the container, wherein the base has corner portions, wherein the base defines a first opening (106) and a second opening (108) smaller in size than the first opening, the second opening having a recess (110) at the corner portion. The product container also has a single cap portion having a main portion (116) for removably covering the first opening and a secondary portion (118) for removably covering the second opening, wherein the cap portion has a bottom surface, and the secondary portion of the cap portion has a skirt (120) on the bottom surface of the cap portion, the skirt being sized to fit the recess on the base portion.

Description

Two-Piece Container Lids

technical field

The present invention relates generally to a two-piece lid for a product container and, more particularly, to a lid for a retail package having a base attachable to the container and a lid covering the base.

Background technique

Containers made of plastic, cardboard and/or corrugated cardboard materials are often used to package and display merchandise for retail sale. Product containers are very important for the sale, storage and distribution of products. At least some known containers are capable of being reclosed so that the consumer can remove the product and securely retain the remainder of the product in the container. However, at least some such containers include opening(s) that, if not properly sized and oriented, can limit consumer use. At times, a consumer may wish to dispense one product at a time, and at other times may wish to dispense multiple products at a time.

Contents of the invention

In one aspect, there is provided a two-piece lid for a product container comprising a base coupleable to the container, wherein the base has corners and the base defines a first opening and a second opening having a smaller size than the first opening, the second opening having a recess at the corner; and a single cover portion having a main portion and a secondary portion, the main portion for Removably covering the first opening, the secondary portion is adapted to removably cover the second portion, wherein the cover portion has a bottom surface, the secondary portion of the cover portion has a a skirt on the bottom surface of the lid, the skirt being sized to fit the recess on the base.

Description of drawings

1 is a top perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a two-piece lid with the lid in an open configuration;

2 is a top perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the two-piece lid with the lid portion of the lid shown in FIG. 1 in a closed configuration;

3 is a top perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2 with the lid removed from the base of the lid;

4 is a bottom perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2 with the cover removed from the base of the cover;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2 .

detailed description

Provided herein are embodiments of a two-piece lid for a product container having a base and a single lid covering the base.

The lids for product containers described herein overcome the limitations of existing lids. The two-piece lid includes a base coupleable to a product container and a single lid covering the base. The base has a first opening and a second opening having a smaller size than the first opening. By providing two openings in the base, the consumer is enabled to choose whether he wishes to dispense one product at a time through the second opening, or multiple products at a time through the first opening. The base has a corner at the second opening. By providing the corners at the second opening, a targeted guidance of the product parts is facilitated during dispensing of the product parts.

With particular reference to Figures 1 and 2, in certain embodiments, the cover 10 is made of a plastic material. The plastic material can be polypropylene, polyethylene and any number of suitable plastic materials that can be molded. In alternative embodiments, the cover 10 is made of any suitable material and thus is not limited to a particular type of material. For example, in alternative embodiments, cover 10 is made of at least one of metal, cardboard, cardboard, fiberboard, foam board, corrugated paper, and any other suitable material known to those skilled in the art and guided by the teachings herein. . As shown in FIG. 1 , the cover 10 has a base 102 and a cover 104 covering the base. The cover portion 104 and the base portion 102 may be transparent, translucent, or opaque, and may be colored or colorless. In some embodiments, portions of the cover portion 104 include printed graphics, branding or nutritional information printed thereon or on a sticker. Product containers with two-part lids of the present invention may have an overwrap for tamper-resistant or increased shelf life.

The lid 10 has a rounded square perimeter, but it will be appreciated that the perimeter may be rounded rectangular in shape, or any other shape having at least one corner. The use of lids with rounded square or rectangular perimeters and product containers of similar shape maximizes the space available for the container while using a minimum of material.

The base 102 has a first opening 106 and a second opening 108 . The first opening 106 may be larger than the second opening 108, or in other words, the second opening 108 may be smaller than the first opening 106 of the base. The second opening 108 may have a substantially triangular shape. Additionally, the second opening 108 also includes a recess 110 that may be located at a corner 112 . Said recesses 110 at corners 112 facilitate dispensing of product components from the container. At the recess 110, a groove 144 may be located at the bottom of said recess to better guide the product part for dispensing from the container. Product components that can be dispensed from the cap of the present invention include confectionery products such as chewing gum, mints, hard candy, chewy candy, soft candy, chocolate or caramel. Products dispensed from the caps of the present invention may be of any suitable size and shape. Examples of such shapes include pellets, blocks, flat sticks, pillows, circles, rectangles, triangles, and any combination of the above shapes.

Additionally, the first opening 106 of the base 102 may also have a second corner 114 . At the periphery of the base, there may be a raised ridge 138 configured to fit the lid 104 . Ridge 138 and lid portion 104 may be configured such that lid 10 has a flat top profile to provide a clean appearance to the consumer. Likewise, having a flat top profile also facilitates stacking of multiple containers on top of each other for easier assembly and storage in larger boxes that hold multiple containers.

Cover portion 104 has a primary portion 116 and a secondary portion 118 . The main portion 116 removably covers the first opening 106 and the secondary portion 118 of the cover removably covers the second opening 108 . The cover portion 104 has a bottom surface and a top surface. On the bottom surface of the cover, the secondary part 118 has a skirt 120 on the bottom surface of the cover 104 . The skirt 120 is sized to fit the recess 110 of the base 102 . In another embodiment, the skirt 120 may also have side walls 128 on both sides thereof. The side wall 128 may further have a protrusion 126 such that the cover 104 . Sidewall 120 may frictionally engage base 102 to retain lid 10 in the closed configuration. On the main portion 116 of the lid, a ridge 124 may be provided on the bottom surface of the lid 104 to frictionally engage the base 102 so that the lid 104 remains closed. Ridges 124 may have protrusions or flanges on them to better engage base 102 .

In the illustrated embodiment, the cover portion 104 has a tab 122 on the main portion 116 and a second tab 124 on the secondary portion 118 . The tab provides an easy location for the consumer to open the lid 104 . The tabs may protrude slightly outside the perimeter of the base 102 to provide easy access to the lid 10 . In one embodiment, the lid portion 104 has a hinge connection 130 . A hinge connection 130 is used to join the main portion 116 and the secondary portion 118 of the lid. In turn, hinge connection 130 is configured to allow lid 104 to pivot along first hinge 134 and second hinge 136 . The first hinge 134 is used to pivot the main part 116 and the second hinge 136 is used to pivot the secondary part 136 so that the lid 10 can be in an open or closed configuration.

Additionally, in the illustrated embodiment, the first opening 106 of the base and the main portion 116 of the lid are oriented in such a way as to provide a first dispensing direction for the product components. The second opening 108 and the secondary portion 118 are oriented in such a way as to provide a second dispensing direction substantially opposite to the first dispensing direction. In alternative embodiments, the dispensing directions may be the same direction, mutually perpendicular directions, or any direction relative to each other. It is understood that any number and size of openings and corresponding cover portions may be provided in the cover 10 of the present invention.

With particular reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 , the details of the lid 10 are better shown in the exemplary embodiment with the lid portion 104 removed from the base portion 102 . The cover 104 is connectable to the base 102 by at least one snap connection. Specifically, the snap-fit connection can be realized in the following manner: a rod 142 is provided on the base 102 , and the rod 142 has one or more holes 140 , and the pin 132 can be assembled in the holes 140 . The pin(s) 132 are provided on the bottom surface of the cover portion 104 . One pin, two pins, or three or more pins may be provided such that each pin snaps into a hole in the base 102 . The rod 102 may be aligned with the hinge connection 130 of the lid. Alternatively, the cover 104 may be connected to the base 102 by at least one welded connection. A welded connection may be achieved at the two components by bonding the lid 104 and base 102 together using a bonding agent or heat.

In one embodiment, the lid 10 is configured to have a snap-fit connection with the container. In the illustrated embodiment, the base 102 has a rim 146 at its bottom edge 152 . The rim 146 has a perimeter that is slightly smaller than the bottom edge 152 of the base. The rim 146 may also have one or more flanges 148 . Flange 148 is a protrusion protruding from rim 146 that can be connected to the container by a snap-fit connection. Flanges 148 may be located on corners 112 of base 102 . Alternatively, the flange 148 can be located on a straight portion of the base 102 . One, two or even up to 8 flanges may be provided on the rim 102 .

Referring to FIG. 5 , the recess 110 has a depth D ₁ measured from the top edge 150 of the base and the bottom 154 of the recess. The base 102 has a depth D ₂ measured from a top edge 150 of the base and a bottom edge 152 of the base. In one embodiment, D ₁ may be greater than 1/4 (one quarter) of D ₂ . In another embodiment, D ₁ may be greater than 1/2 (half) of D ₂ . In another embodiment, D ₁ may be greater than 2/3 (two-thirds) of D ₂ . _The depth D1 of the recess relative to the depth D2 _of the base can be configured such that the consumer will dispense the product part more easily. The larger the opening, the easier it is to dispense the product parts, but the opening should not be too large when the purpose of the opening is to dispense one or a few products for the consumer. The base 102 with the recess 110 allows for a smoother dispensing, but still allows only one or a few pieces of product to be dispensed from the container.

Exemplary embodiments of a two-piece product container lid are described above in detail. The cover is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein, and indeed, system components and/or method steps described herein may be used independently and separately from other components and/or steps. Although specific features of the various embodiments of the present disclosure may be shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenience only. In accordance with the principles of the present disclosure, any feature of a referenced drawing may be and/or required to be combined with any feature of any other drawing.

This written description uses examples to illustrate the disclosure, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any methods described herein. The patentable scope of the disclosure is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be included in the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims. within the range.

Claims (18)

1. A two-piece lid for a product container, comprising: a base coupleable to the container, wherein the base has corners, and the base defines a first opening and a second opening having a size smaller than the first opening, the second opening at the having recesses at said corners; and a single cover portion having a main portion for removably covering the first opening and a secondary portion for removably covering the second portion, wherein , the cover has a bottom surface, the secondary portion of the cover has a skirt on the bottom surface of the cover, the skirt is sized to fit the base on the base recessed part. 2. The lid of claim 1, wherein the lid portion is connected to the base portion by at least one snap connection. 3. A lid as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein the primary and secondary portions of the lid are joined by at least one hinge connection to allow pivoting of the lid. 4. The lid of claims 1 to 3, wherein the main portion of the lid portion has a top surface and a bottom surface, the bottom surface having a ridge that frictionally engages the base portion. 5. The lid of claims 1 to 4, wherein the primary and secondary portions of the lid portion include tabs on each portion. 6. The lid according to claims 1 to 5, wherein the depth of the recess is greater than 1/4 (one quarter) of the depth of the base. 7. The cap according to claims 1 to 6, wherein the recess has a depth greater than 1/2 (half) the depth of the base. 8. The lid according to claims 1 to 7, wherein the depth of the recess is greater than 2/3 (two thirds) of the depth of the base. 9. The lid of claims 1 to 8, wherein the shape of the lid is selected from the group consisting of rounded square and rounded rectangle. 10. The lid of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a second corner at the first opening. 11. The cap according to claims 1 to 10, wherein said first opening and said main portion define a first dispensing direction, said second opening and said secondary portion define a second dispensing direction, said first The first dispensing direction and the second dispensing direction are substantially opposite. 12. The cap of claims 1 to 11, further comprising a side wall on the skirt of the cap for frictional engagement with the base. 13. The lid of claims 1 to 12, wherein the lid is connected to the base by at least one welded connection. 14. The lid of claims 1 to 13, wherein the lid portion is transparent. 15. The lid of claims 1 to 14, wherein the lid portion is translucent. 16. The cap of claims 1 to 15, wherein the cap is configured for snap-fit connection with a container. 17. The lid of claims 1 to 16, wherein the base has a rim with one or more flanges thereon configured to snap into engagement with a container. 18. The lid of claims 1 to 17, wherein the base and lid are made of plastic.