GB2284801A

GB2284801A - Display containers

Info

Publication number: GB2284801A
Application number: GB9325491A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roger Knowles
Original assignee: Woods of Windsor Ltd
Current assignee: Woods of Windsor Ltd
Priority date: 1993-12-14
Filing date: 1993-12-14
Publication date: 1995-06-21
Also published as: GB9325491D0

Abstract

A two-part container, intended to house pot pourri or like materials of attractive appearance and/or intended to emit pleasant aromas, comprises a container body 2 which is relatively-shallow and which has a cylindrical wall to which a substantially air-tight lid 14 may be fitted for transport and when the contents are to have their desirable properties preserved. The lid 14 is domed with a central low spigot 18, and the centre of the base of the body 2 has in it a shallow blind recess 12 of complimentary dimensions. After the container has been opened, the lid 14 is placed on a display surface with the spigot 18 uppermost, and the open-topped body is then fitted over the spigot 18 so that the lid 14 acts as a support raising the body 2 above the display surface. <IMAGE>

Description

DISPLAY CONTAINERS This invention relates to display containers, by which term is meant two-part containers which are air-tight when closed and which are intended to have their contents exposed to the atmosphere for long periods when the containers are in a suitable environment.

The present inventions lends itself to being used to give small rooms or hallways a pleasant scent, as by using the containers for pot pourri or like collections of aromatic substances.

When such containers have their contents displayed solely by removing their lids, the appearance of the resultant open-topped body portion is rather inelegant and casual.

The present invention aims at providing a container which, in addition to having its body just open, can have the body mounted on a non-inverted lid to provide a display vessel of attractive appearance.

Accordingly the present invention provides a container which is as claimed in the appended claims.

The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a vertical cross-section through a container of the present invention with its lid in position to seal the contents from the atmosphere, and Figure 2 is a similar cross-section of the container of Figure 1 in its display position, with the container proper being fitted to the lid, now functioning as a stand.

The container of the present invention is in the form of a vessel 2 made from sheet metal and including a cylindrical wall 4 having its upper edge provided with a rolled rim 6. The base 8 of the container is substantially plainer, being connected to the wall 4 by a rounded corner 10 of relatively-large radius of curvature.

Position centrally of the base 8 is a shallow recess 12 which is circular in plan view. Preferably the recess 14 has been formed during the metal-shaping operating in which the container 2 has been made from an integral sheet of appropriate metal, such as thin steel.

The container 2 is intended to be fitted with a lid 14 having a domed top 16 surmounted by a shallow spigot 18 which is circular in plan view. The domed top ends in a cylindrical flange 20 ending in a rolled edge 22. The inside diameter of flange 20 is slightly greater than the outside diameter of wall 4, so that the lid is a substantially air-tight push fit on the container. The diameter of the container and lid is about 130 mm, so that the lid can be comfortably removed from the container by means of a hand spanning the lid and gripping opposite sides of the container and particularly the rolled edge 22 which gives a convenient purchase for the thumb and fingertips. Whereas it might be possible to use the spigot 18 as a grip, the spigot is not intended to function as this.

When the contents of the container are to be displayed or to be permitted to release their aroma into the ambient atmosphere, the lid 14 is first removed from the container 2 and positioned on a support surface with its orientation unchanged, that is, with its spigot facing upwardly. This then permits the container to be fitted on the support so that the spigot 18 becomes a push fit in recess 12, to form a spigot-and-socket connection between the two components. This lifting of the container above the support surface makes an attractive container and display stand for the contents thereof.

Although made of metal, it is within the purview of the present invention for the container and lid to be made of suitable other materials, such as of turned wood.

The exterior surfact of the container and/or lid may be decorated e.g. by printing, to give an overall attractive appearance.

Accordingly it will be seen that the present invention provides a lidded container which preserves the contents of the container when closed by its lid, and in which the lid can function as a stand for the container proper when the contents of the container are to be exposed to view or to release their aroma.

Claims

1. A container for aromatic or attractive substances, comprising a hollow body portion of sheet metal with a cylindrical wall adapted to be fitted with a domed lid in substantially air-tight fashion in which the lid has at its centre an external integral spigot, and in which the centre of the base of the body portion has in it a shallow blind recess intended to act as a socket for the spigot when the open body portion is supported on the lid with their orientations preserved.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1, in which both the body portion and the lid are of sheet metal, with their circular edges being of rolled metal, beaded or of like cross-section presenting a blunt edge.