Container With Locking Cover

The invention relates to a container, particularly suited to storing sensitive products such as contaminated waste, for example hospital refuse, the container having a base with adjoining upright wall members, whereby the open top bounded by the upper edges of the wall members can be closed by a cover, whose rim is supported by the upper edges of the wall members.

Such a container or cover is particularly intended for once-only usage. The container needs only to be filled and closed, after which it is brought to a waste-disposal plant, for example to be incinerated. Considering that such a container is not necessarily filled at once, but gradually, it is necessary that the cover can be removed regularly from the container, and then replaced air-tight. When the container is full, the cover must be permanently fastened onto the container, a purpose for which external means of clamping such as clamping strips are often used, which are not only difficult to handle, but are also difficult to process during waste disposal.

The aim of the invention is to provide a container with a locking cover which is easy for the operating personnel to handle, that is to say, it is easy for them to close the container temporarily, while permanent locking of the cover is easy to perform manually, and, moreover, can be confirmed visually.

To that end, the invention provides a container which is distinguished in that the rim of the cover displays a groove or channel which can accommodate the top edge of the upright wall members, or vice versa, whereby the rim of the cover and the upper edge of the container are provided with integral locking means for permanently fixing the cover to the container, and a sealing means is fitted in the channel.

The proposed sealing means provides for both a temporary closure between container and cover, which allows the cover to be removed again, and a permanent closure, when the cover is locked onto the container. Thanks to the integral locking means, a permanentclosure is assured, because no locking devices can be omitted, as can happen, for example, due to loss, when the usual separate locking means are used.

In the preferred embodiment, a sealing means is provided by a rib formed on an edge member, which serves to eliminate the clearance between the respective edge members in the groove. A rib of this kind provides a temporary closure before the cover is permanently locked onto the container.

An extra measure, a strip of deformable material situated in the bottom of the groove can serve as an extra means of sealing, the strip ensuring a permanent closure as soon as the cover is finally locked in place.

Preferably, the locking means is in each case formed by a first abutment surface formed on the cover, and a second abutment surface formed on the container wall member, whereby the distance between the first abutment surface and the bottom of the groove is less than the sum of the thickness of the deformable strip and the distance from the second abutment surface to the top edge of the wall member.

In a particularly simple embodiment, the first abutment surface of the locking means is in each case formed by a transverse surface of a flexible downward-projecting flange around the circumference of the cover.

If the cover is formed, for example, by means of injection moulding, it is advantageous, from the point of view of obtaining a releasing form, to situate the first abutment on the outer edge (with respect to the cover) of the flange, the flange being cut away in a number of places, whereby the projecting rib on the container wall members which bears the second abutment surface is provided with apertures for the insertion of the remaining portions of the flange.

A particularly smooth locking action can be obtained by giving the remaining portions of the flange a V-shape (in elevated section).

The invention will be further clarified by reference to the following description with figures of a number of embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a container fitted with a cover, according to the invention, the cover not yet being locked on.

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 each show an elevated section of the edge members of the container and cover, in a locked position.

In FIG. 1, reference number 1 indicates a container made of an arbitrary material, preferably plastic. The container can be made by arbitrary production processes, but by preference can be made by a blow moulding procedure, whereby the projection rib 2 can be integrally moulded at the same time.

The container has a base 3, upon which there are adjoined the air-tight and light-proof standing wall members 4 which terminate at the top with the above mentioned projecting rib 2, which borders the open top of the container. In the embodiment shown, four wall members 4 are indicated, but it will be clear that wall members 4 can have a circular or conical shape.

The open top can be closed off by a cover 5, which can also be made of an arbitrary material.

In FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 there is in each case shown a detail of the edge members of container 1 and cover 5.

According to a feature of the invention, either along the edge of cover 5, (see FIGS. 2 and 3) or in the edge member of container 1 (see FIG. 4) there is provided a channel 6. The breadth of the channel 6 is such that the cover 5 is easy to remove in an upwards direction. On the inner wall of groove 6 there is situated a rib 7, which closes airtight on the outside of the upper edge member of the standing walls 4.

The outer wall of groove 6 is formed as a flexible flange, which is cut away at a number of places, 8 (see FIG. 1), so that the flexible locking tabs 9 remain. In elevation these have a V-shape (see FIG. 2). The upper edge of the vertical wall members 4 is provided with an integral rib, 10, which is also cut away in a number of places, 11. These apertures 11 correspond with the V-shaped flexible tabs 9 of the cover flange, such that, together, they form the means of locking.

Finally, in the bottom of groove 6, a deformable sealing strip 12, is fitted.

The container can be used as follows. When cover 5 is placed normally on the top edge projection of standing wall members 4, groove 6 of the cover will fall over the upper edge of the wall members, whereby rib 7 forms a temporary seal. Cover 5 can be removed whenever required. As soon as the container is full, the cover can be pushed down in such a way that flexible tabs 9 pass through the apertures in rib 10, until the turned-up part of each tab 9 falls into place against the underside of rib 10. By this means, a permanent locking takes place, such that the container is definitely closed. A permanent seal is assured because of the sealing strip 12.

FIG. 3 shows an alternative embodiment, in which groove 6 or cover 5 has a rib 13, on the inner side of the outer wall, which rib closes against the outside of the upright wall members 4 of the container. The outer wall of the container displays an abutment rib, 14, behind which abutment rib 13 can be engaged, as soon as the cover is pushed down from the position shown by broken lines in FIG. 3, in the manner described above, to the position drawn with unbroken lines. On the one hand, a temporary seal is provided in this way by rib 13, and on the other hand a permanent seal is provided by sealing strip 12 in the bottom of groove 6 and the engagement between abutment ribs 13 and 14. The flexible downward-directed outer side of groove 6 is, in this embodiment, not cut away, and forms a continuous rim which is sufficiently stiff and robust to ensure a permanent locking.

FIG. 4 shown an embodiment in which the groove or channel 6 is situated in the upper edge of the standing wall members 4 of container 1. The outer wall of groove 6 is provided with incisions, corresponding to the incisions 8 in the cover shown in FIG. 1, so that tabs corresponding to those indicated by 9 in FIG. 1 are left over. Each tab can be pushed through an aperture, 11 in a rib 10, which is integral to the cover, in order to bring about locking between the cover and the container. For this purpose, the flexible remaining tab of channel 6 is made with an abutment rib 15, which engages behind the upper surface of rib 10.

The downward projecting edge 16, of cover 5 is provided with a rib 17, on the inner side, to obtain a temporary closure.

Finally, it should be pointed out that, of all the embodiments shown, that in FIG. 2 is the easiest to cast in an injection mould. Thanks to the S-shape of the edge member of cover 5, the form is fully releasing, such that particularly simple mould forms can be used, thus bringing down the cost.

Obviously, the invention is not restricted to the embodiments described above.