HK1078550B - Can lid - Google Patents

Description

Can lid

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a lid for closing a can made of sheet metal, said can comprising a tubular body, the lower end of which is joined or integrated with a bottom wall and the upper end of which is joined an annular upper wall portion, said upper wall being in the form of a structural ring, the inner edge of said ring defining a seat for fixing and retaining a lid that can be press-fitted. In particular, the present invention relates to a lid for a can of the above-mentioned type, intended to contain products that can be consumed in portions, such as certain food products.

Background

Certain products, such as certain food products, must be stored in a sealed condition and provide a clear indication to the consumer that the container they purchased on the market has not been opened. It should be considered that this is indispensable since many products are consumed in portions, i.e. after the first opening of the container, the lid of the container can be reclosed as many times as necessary during the portion consumption of the stored product, in order to guarantee the tightness of the reclosed can and protect the product remaining inside the can.

It is well known in the art that the lid is press-fitted within a circumferential structural ring located on the upper edge of the can body, which can be sealed by means of a double seam. In this type of construction, the tightness of the product inside the can is ensured by fitting the lid on a seat designed to seat and retain the can lid, said seat being provided on a structural ring defining the annular upper wall of the can.

Such a can is disclosed in US 5899352, in which the can has a flange extending inwardly from its longitudinal wall and a downwardly extending side wall defining an opening. The free lower end of the side wall has an annular first edge. The lid is press fit and seals the opening, and the lid has an opening and a groove in which the first rim of the can is engaged in an interference fit.

In this type of closure, the caulk seal, which also maintains the seal, is usually made of an aluminum sheet metal material which is joined to the upper edge of the can body together with the structural ring by double seaming. Such a seal is only visible when the can lid is removed, and to break it requires the user to use an instrument to cut along the perimeter of the seal, which inevitably leaves a cut-back edge near the upper opening of the can, which is prone to injury to the user's fingers.

In addition to the inconveniences described above, these known press-fit lids require the use of a lever-type instrument for assisting the user in removing the lid from the seat in the structural ring. A user cannot open this type of lid using only his own hand.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a reclosable lid suitable for a can of the above-mentioned type, which is simple and inexpensive in construction and is equipped with means for facilitating the opening of the lid, preferably a seal which is temporarily known at a glance to be removed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cap as described above which can be easily and safely used by the consumer.

The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved by providing such a cover. Wherein said can comprises a body to which is attached, by means of a double seam, an annular upper wall defining internally a seat for the hermetic fixing of the lid.

According to the invention, on a single piece, said lid comprises a sealing portion which is removably fixed and held on said seat and which has an upper edge, said lid further comprising a pair of handles arranged at least partially around said upper edge, the ends of which are non-removably associated with said upper edge at points angularly spaced from each other, said handles being movable in the middle due to the deformation of their ends, this movement being moved from the inactive position to the raised active position after the breakage of the frangible means; the rest position is substantially coplanar with said upper edge, in which the handle is held intermediately incorporated in the sealing position by respective frangible means until the first opening of the lid.

The can lid further comprises a manually removable sealing strip distributed at the upper end of the can body, the lower portion of the sealing strip is seated and fixed under the double-edge curl of the annular upper wall, and the handle is kept at an inoperative state by the upper portion of the sealing strip.

Drawings

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top view showing a lid having a seal and having a handle held in a rest position in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1, showing the lid of FIG. 1 mounted on the upper end of a can;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but in partial cross-section taken along line III-III of FIG. 1;

figure 4 is a view similar to figure 3 but showing the overcap assembly after removal of the seal strip while the handle is in a partially upwardly displaced position (shown in phantom).

Detailed Description

According to the figures, the lid according to the invention is suitable for cans made of sheet metal, comprising a can body 10, which is joined at its lower end to a bottom wall (not shown) by means of a double bead and at its upper end to an annular upper wall 20, which defines internally a seat 21 for the hermetic fixing of the lid 30.

The annular upper wall 20 may take the form of a structural ring, as shown in figures 2, 3 and 4, or an annular plate for large size cans, such as 18 litre cans. The configuration of the annular upper wall 20 and the seat 21 can be obtained in different ways, provided that it enables the lid 30 to be fitted safely and hermetically to the upper part of the tank. In figures 2, 3 and 4, the structure of the annular upper wall 20 and of the seat 21 is completed as described and protected in patents issued to brazil (BR PI9408643-5) and to the same applicant in other countries (US5,899,352; EP 0706486), and therefore this is not described in any detail in the description of the present application.

According to the invention and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the cover 30 is preferably made of a transparent or opaque plastic material and comprises a suitably configured sealing portion 31 which can be removably fixed and retained on the seat 21, said sealing portion representing an upper edge 33, said upper edge 33 being defined, in the embodiment shown, by a peripheral flange 32 which is well integrated on the sealing portion 31. The can lid 30 further comprises a pair of handles 35 distributed around at least a portion of the upper edge 33, said handles being integral with the sealing portion 31, at points angularly spaced from each other, the two ends of said handles being non-removably integral with the upper edge 33. In the embodiment shown, the two handles 35 have the shape of a half ring whose two ends are integrally joined to the upper edge 33 of the sealing portion 31 at two opposite points on the upper edge of the sealing portion 31.

If we choose a cap of generally circular profile, a configuration is obtained in which the handles 35 present a semi-circular annular configuration, each of which surrounds half the profile of the upper edge 33 of the respective sealing portion 31 at a radial spacing. The two ends of the handle 35 preferably engage two opposite outer radial projections 34 on the upper edge 33 of the sealing portion 31, said handle being slightly spaced from the upper edge 33 for ease of construction.

This constructive arrangement allows to obtain a pair of handles integral with the sealing portion 31, said handles 35 and sealing portion 35 being joined by means of respective breakable units 36, which breakable units 36, in the preferred embodiment, preferably take the form of small radial bridges connecting the handles 35 to the upper edge 33 of the sealing portion 31.

The first opening of the can lid by means of the handles 35 of the type described above, the handles 35 are manually forced upwards to rupture the respective frangible elements 36, so that by deforming the end portions, these can be moved from an inoperative position coplanar with said upper edge 33 to an elevated operative position, as shown in figure 4, thus constituting a gripping device for the user who pulls the can lid from its seat 21, easily opening the can, without the need for additional tools.

In order to guarantee inviolability of the can until its first opening, the lid according to the invention further comprises a manually removable annular strip 40 distributed around the upper end of the can body 10, the upper and lower portions 41 of said strip 40 being fixed and locked under the double seam of the annular upper wall 20, the upper portion 42 of said strip 40 maintaining the handle 35 in the inactive condition, as shown in the attached figures.

In the preferred embodiment, the annular strip 40 is formed integrally with the handle 35 and the sealing portion 31, and the upper portion 42 of the sealing strip is joined to the handle 35 by a connecting portion 46, the connecting portion 46 being torn when the sealing strip 40 is removed. This connecting portion 46 may comprise, for example, a plurality of small radial rods 47 for connecting the upper portion 42 of the sealing strip 40 to the handle 35.

According to the above arrangement, in order to open the can by removing the lid 30, the user must remove the sealing strip 40, forcing the sealing strip 40 and the rest of the lid apart by tearing the radial bar 47. After removing the sealing strip 40, the user can manually force the two handles to rise, causing the frangible elements 36 to break, and thus pull the pair of handles to the raised position, in which they are brought together in a central direction, constituting a comfortable gripping means for the user to axially pull the lid from the seat 21, without using additional tools to open the can. This arrangement also allows the can lid 30 to be re-secured in its closed position to maintain the hermeticity within the can so that the remaining contents of the can be used at a later time.

Claims (8)

1. Can lid, wherein the can comprises a tubular body (10) joined at its upper end by a double seam to an annular upper wall (20), the upper wall defining internally a seat (21) for the hermetic fixation of a lid (30), said lid (30) comprising a sealing portion (31), the sealing portion being removably seated and retained in the seat (21) and provided with an upper edge (33), characterized in that said lid (30) is made in one piece and further comprises said sealing portion (31) and a pair of handles (35), the handle is arranged around at least a part of the upper edge (33) of the sealing portion (33) and has ends non-detachably joined thereto at points angularly spaced from each other, said handles (35) being movable in the middle due to their end deformation, from an inoperative position to an elevated operative position after the breaking of the frangible means (36); said rest position being substantially coplanar with said upper edge (33) and retaining them therein until the first opening of the lid (30), is intermediately coupled to the operative position in which the sealing portion (31) is raised by the relative frangible means (36), said can further comprising a manually removable sealing strip (40) arranged around the upper end of the tubular body (10) and providing a lower portion (41) which is seated and locked under the double seam of the annular upper wall (20), while the upper portion (42) retains the handle (35) in the rest condition.

2. The can lid according to claim 1, wherein: the handle (35) is semi-annular, in two opposite places on the upper edge (33), the ends of said handle and the upper edge (33) of the sealing portion (31) being joined together.

3. The can lid according to claim 1, wherein: said frangible means (36) being defined by a plurality of small radial bridges which connect the handle (35) and said upper edge (33) together in the middle.

4. The can lid according to claim 3, wherein: the two opposite ends of the handle (35) are joined together with two opposite outer radial projections (34) of the upper edge (33) of the sealing portion (31).

5. The can lid according to claim 1, wherein: the upper edge (33) is defined by a peripheral flange (32) joined to the sealing portion (31) so as to be fixed to the annular upper wall (20).

6. The can lid according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, wherein: the sealing strip (40) is integral with the handle (35) and the sealing portion (31), the upper portion (42) of the sealing strip (40) and the handle (35) being joined together by a connecting portion (46), the connecting portion (46) being broken when the sealing strip (40) is removed.

7. The can lid according to claim 6, wherein: the connecting portion (46) comprises a plurality of small radial bars (47) interconnecting the upper portion (42) of the sealing strip (40) and the handle (35).

8. The can lid according to claim 6, wherein: the upper portion (42) of the sealing strip (40) is fixed to the upper end of the tubular body (10).