Plastic pry-off paint can assembly

Abstract

An all plastic paint container assembly comprising a container, a ring assembly attached to the rim of the container and a pry-off plastic closure having a dual sealing arrangement with the ring member and an undercut lock at a location which provides maximum circumferential area and lies directly under the highest point on the closure. Containers of this design can be stacked both with and without the ring members attached. Three embodiments are disclosed, providing double and triple closure locks and multiple seals.

Description

RELATED CASE INFORMATION[0001]This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12 / 765,257 filed under attorney docket no. LTC-138-B on Apr. 22, 2010, currently pending, which application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12 / 540,585 filed under attorney docket no. LTC-138-A on Aug. 13, 2009, currently pending. The content of the U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 12 / 765,257 and 12 / 540,585 are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to containers and more particularly to a container assembly which is particularly well suited for paint and which comprises a pry off plastic closure sealingly nested into a ring attached to the top rim of a container.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Paint cans and lids have been traditionally been made of steel. There are a number of disadvantages associated with steel paint cans including cost, weight, a propensity to rust, and disposal issues.[0004]As a result, a number of st...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a closure adapted to fit complementally into a snap ring as described above wherein a downwardly-extending lip is added to the radially outermost element of the closure. This lip extends downwardly toward, but does not touch the top surface of the ring just inside of the rim-engaging portion and provides several advantages hereinafter described.

[0008]In accordance with a still further aspect of the invention, an undercut-type lock is formed between the outermost wall of the closure and the outer wall of the ring assembly thereby locating the lock in that portion of the overall combination of components which has the largest circumferential dimension thereby giving the lock greater surface area and improving drop test performance. In addition, locating the lock in this area takes advantage of the natural spring effect between the ring member and the outer wall of the closure thereby making it easier to remove the closure. However, in an alternative embodiment, an additional lock may be provided between the inner surface of the inner ring wall and the adjacent closure wall. In this embodiment, multiple locks and multiple seals are provided. The term “lock” is used herein to refer to an undercut, interference fit between two radially adjacent plastic walls which makes disengagement of those walls from one another more difficult, but not impossible, to achieve. This term is commonly used in this manner in the plastic container technology.

[0009]In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the bottom of the pail or container is formed with a downwardly projecting annular tongue and, radially outwardly thereof, an annular groove. The radius of the annular groove is such that, when two such containers are stacked atop one atop the other, before the ring member is attached to the container, the top rim of the container fits into the grove and enhances the stackability of the two containers. At the same time, the downwardly projecting annular tongue fits into a radial gap between the closure and a step formed between the peripheral portion of the ring member and the outer wall of the ring member so as to provide a laterally stable stacking relationship between two containers when a ring member is attached to the bottommost container in the stack. Therefore, as a result of the invention, assembled containers can be stacked both with and without attached ring members while lateral stability in the stack is provided.

Problems solved by technology

The term “lock” is used herein to refer to an undercut, interference fit between two radially adjacent plastic walls which makes disengagement of those walls from one another more difficult, but not impossible, to achieve.

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