Container and collar with attaching means

Abstract

A container (210) for holding granular/powdered material and formed by a top wall (212), a bottom wall (214), a front wall (216), a rear wall (218), a first side wall (220), and a second side wall (222). A removable lid (D) is interiorly mounted with a scoop (32) and is hinged to a collar (300) that includes a sealing gasket (330). The collar (300) mounts to the walls of the container (210). A sealing wall 240 of the lid (D) cooperates with the gasket (330) to prevent the contents from spilling. The container (210) incorporates sealing features, a geometry for container wall junctions (50) and a junction congruent scoop (32) enabling easy access to the contents, and a strength improving receptacle (280) with indentations (290) that interlock with flex clips (310) of a J-shaped collar (300), and which accommodate wide tolerance variations between the collar (300) and receptacle (280).

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of the earlier filing date of commonly owned and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 11 / 645,887 filed Dec. 27, 2006, and No. 61 / 014,595 filed Dec. 18, 2007, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as though fully set forth in the present application.RELATED APPLICATIONS[0002]This application is also related to three other commonly owned and co-pending applications filed on Dec. 26, 2007, concurrently with this application, each incorporated by reference. The titles and inventors are:[0003]CONTAINER WITH GASKET SEAL, invented by James P. Perry, David Compeau, Craig A. McCardell, and Jeremy McBroom and given Ser. No. ______.[0004]CONTAINER WITH SEALING, invented by James R Perry, David Compeau, Craig A. McCardell, and Jeremy McBroom and given Ser. No. ______.[0005]CONTAINER AND CONGRUENT SCOOP ASSEMBLY, invented by James P. Perry, Peter B. Clarke, J. Kevin Clay, Marc A....

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0045]The lid is furnished with a scoop holder, whereby the scoop can be stored outside the bulk of the contents of the conta

Problems solved by technology

Consumers or users of such containers have found that the current packaging is difficult to handle with a single hand, and have found that it is difficult to open the container and to locate and remove the scoop from the packaging upon the first use without experiencing spillage.

Once the lid of the container is removed and/or opened, the contents are often loosely caked or packed into parts of the interior of the lid or top of the container, which leads to spillage as the contents fall away from the lid or top.

While some of the falling powder may fall back into the interior of the container, much of it is wasted and contaminated as it spills onto the surrounding workspace.

Additionally, prior containers do not offer adequate sealing of the contents after the container has been opened for the first time.

This leads to the undesirable and inadvertent leaking or escape of the contents from various poorly sealed areas of the container.

This search and locate process contaminates the contents and soils the hands of the user, which can lead to more unwanted spillage as the powder-coated fingers and hands are removed from the interior of the container.

As the coating of powder and the packed bowl of powder loosen during the removal process, more contents are contaminated and wasted as the coating falls away from the hands, fingers, and scoop, and as any powder caked in the bowl loosens and falls.

Additional problems have been experienced with scoops that are positioned in a more convenient location, perhaps against an interior or exterior wall.

These additional problems include difficulty in grasping the scoop, which may be tightly fastened with adhesive against the wall and/or with a mechanical retainer or fastener that leaves very little clearance between the scoop and surrounding structure of the container for grasping the scoop.

These undesirable configurations typically will require more than one free hand for removal and grasping of the scoop.

Users have also found that it is difficult to remove the last bit of powder from the nearly empty container because the shape of the container includes tight and closed spaces that are inaccessible to the scoop, and which has other areas having a shape that is different than the shape of the scoop.

As a result, a user must resort to inverting the container to completely empty the contents, which creates another instance of spillage and wasted contents.

Manufacturers of such containers h

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