Pail Safety Ring

This invention relates to containers which comprise a pail and a removable lid or cover, and is more particularly concerned with pails having a safety ring associated with a lid and pail.

Plastic containers in various sizes are widely manufactured and used. Existing conventional designs of plastic containers, of the type used for paint and other liquids, typically have a closure in the form of a lid or cover that is attached to the pail by a snap-fit or by a screw-on connection.

Once the lid is removed, the contents of the pail are completely exposed. When the pail is used in an environment where small children are present, their curiosity may cause them to look into the pail to view its contents. If the pail contains a liquid the child may put its head in the pail and may fall or tumble into the interior of the pail and possibly drown. Containers of the type which present the greatest danger are the 5-gallon pail size, since a small child's head can readily be immersed in the contents of such a pail.

A satisfactory and simple solution to this problem has not yet been made available.

It is therefore one object of the invention to provide plastic pails containing liquids with a means for preventing a small child from drowning in such liquids.

A further object of the invention is to provide a plastic pail having a safety ring with elements which partially restrict the opening of the pail so as to prevent a child's head from passing through the pail opening into the interior of the pail.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a safety ring for pails which can he employed with a snap-on or screw-on lid, wherein the safety ring is snapped into position so as to provide a restriction for the pail opening while permitting pouring out of liquid contents of the pail.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a safety ring for use with either a screw-on or snap-on lid for a container, which can be separately assembled to the lid and placed into a pail, and thereafter be retained therein.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the foregoing objects are attained by providing the combination of a removable container or lid and a safety ring which is detachably assembled to the cover or lid, with the safety ring being detachable from the cover or lid so as to remain in place within the container when the cover or lid is subsequently removed.

Other features and advantages of the invention are set forth in or rendered obvious by the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, which is to be considered together with the drawings hereinafter described.

FIG. 1 is an exploded side view in elevation of a preferred embodiment of the invention comprising a container, a snap-on lid for the container, and a safety ring constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, with the lid broken away to illustrate portions of the safety ring;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the safety ring shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a an exploded cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 3--3 of FIG. 2, showing details of the retention means for coupling the safety ring to the lid;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale showing how the safety ring of FIGS. 1-3 is disposed in the container when it is closed off by the lid;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 4, but omitting a gasket seal between the lid and container;

FIG. 6 is an exploded side view in elevation illustrating use of the invention with a screw-type lid; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view showing how the components of FIG. 6 fit together.

In the drawings, like parts and elements thereof are identified by like numerals.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 1-4, wherein a plastic lid or cover 2 and a plastic safety ring 6 are combined with a plastic container 10. By way of example, container 10 may be a pail of the type shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,103,993 and 4,004,710. Lid 2, safety ring 6 and container 10 are preferably made by injection molding.

As described hereinafter, it is preferred that the invention be practiced by assembling safety ring 6 to lid 2 before the lid is attached to pail 10, with ring 6 and lid 2 being coupled together as a separable pre-assembly by retaining means which permit the two to be separated from one another when the lid is removed from the pail, whereby to permit access to the contents of the pail while obstructing introduction into the pail of a large foreign body, e.g., the head of a child.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 4, container 10 comprises a side wall 12 and a bottom end wall 13. The upper end of side wall 12 has an annular locking flange 14 on its outer periphery to permit secure attachment and retention of lid 2 by a snap-fit connection. Locking flange 14 is generally L-shaped in cross-section, comprising an annular inner section 16 that is formed integral with side wall 12 and an outer section 18 having an outer surface 20 that is tapered as shown in FIG. 4 to facilitate application of lid 2 by a snap-fit.

Lid 2 is of the snap-on type, having a crown section 24 (FIG. 4) and a rim section 26 comprising an end wall 28 and a depending side wall 30 that functions as a skirt. In this particular embodiment, end wall 28 is provided with a pair of upstanding annular ribs 29 that strengthen the lid and also serve as stacking guides to permit containers to be stacked one upon the other. Preferably, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, at least the lower part of side wall 30 is tapered so as to flair outwardly, whereby to facilitate application of lid 2. Side wall 30 is provided with an annular rib 34 on its inside surface. Rib 34 is sized and shaped so that it can be snapped over and into frictional locking engagement with locking flange 14 when the lid is pressed onto the container. Although rib 34 is preferably a continuous element extending for the full circumference of the inner surface of side wall 30, it may be replaced by a series of short, circumferentially-extending rib sections that are spaced from one another about the inner periphery of side wall 30.

Safety ring 6 may take various configurations. The preferred form is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, where ring 6 is shown as comprising an outer annular rim 40 and an inner oval shaped ring 42. Rim 40 and inner ring 42 are joined together by a series of struts or ribs 44, 46, 48 and 50 of U-shaped cross-section. These struts provide a strong support for ring 42. Preferably, rim 40 is tapered as shown in FIG. 4, having its smallest outside diameter at its junction with the four struts.

In addition, rim 40 of ring 6 is formed with a pair of mutually-spaced circumferential ribs 54 and 56 on its outer surface. These ribs form one part of a two-part means for retaining the safety ring in container 10. The undersides of ribs 54 and 56 are bevelled as shown at 58 and 59, respectively; When ring 6 is mounted in the mouth of a container as hereinafter described, struts 44, 46, 48 and 50 and inner ring 42 coact to provide a barrier to prevent a large foreign body, such as a child's head, from being introduced into the container.

Side wall 12 of the container is provided with the second part of the two-part means for retaining the safety ring in container 10. For this purpose, side wall 12 comprises an enlarged diameter section 70 (FIG. 4) which is formed with two axially-spaced grooves 72 and 74 separated by an inner rib 78 of rectangular cross-section. Grooves 72 and 74 have a rectangular shape in cross-section and are sized to accommodate the external ribs 54 and 56 on ring 6. Preferably but not necessarily, the maximum diameter of grooves 72 and 74 is set so that ribs 54 and 56 make a close but not tight fit therein. Also the outer diameters of ribs 54 and 56 are slightly larger than the minimum inside diameter of that portion of pail wall 70 that is above groove 72. Ribs 54 and 56 are made with an o.d. just large enough to tightly engage the inner surface of side wall 12 of the pail above groove 72, but not so large as to prevent the ring from being forced downward in the pail far enough to allow ribs 54 and 56 to slip into grooves 72 and 74. It is to be noted that typically the side wall of an injection molded plastic container such as a pail has a slight taper, tapering inwardly with increasing distance from its top end. Preferably the height of grooves 72 and 74 is substantially greater than the corresponding dimension of ribs 54 and 56 (as shown in FIG. 4), so as to facilitate insertion of ring 6 into container 10. When safety ring 6 is pushed into container 10 to the position shown in FIG. 4, ribs 54 and 56 will be forced into the respective grooves 72 and 74. Once placed into this position, the ring is blocked against removal from the pail because of the shape of ribs 54 and 56, since rib 54 has a flat annular horizontally extending (as viewed in FIG. 4) upper surface 80 and rib 56 has a like upper surface 82. If an attempt is made to remove the safety ring by pulling it upwardly, the upper surfaces of grooves 72 and 74 will intercept the flat upper surfaces 80 and 82 of ribs 54 and 56, preventing any further vertical movement of the safety ring.

As indicated above, it is preferred, but not essential, that safety ring 6 be pre-assembled to lid 2. In the preferred embodiment the two parts are held together by a pin and hole arrangement as shown in FIGS. 2-4. More particularly, each strut of ring 6 is provided with at least one and preferably two elongate holes 88. Crown section 24 of lid 2 has a depressed flat center portion 92 that is provided with a plurality of depending pins 94 (FIGS. 3 and 4) that are disposed so as to be aligned with elongate holes 88. Pins 94 are round and have an outside diameter that is slightly greater than the width of holes 88, i.e., the horizontal dimension of hole 88 as seen in FIG. 3. Lid 2, ring 6 and pail 10 are molded of a plastic material, e.g., polyethylene or polypropylene, which is formulated so as to be sufficiently resilient to permit the pins 94 to be compressed and holes 88 to expand enough to allow the pins to be pushed into and make a relatively tight fit in holes 88.

As shown in FIG. 4, rim section 26 of lid 2 comprises an annular inner wall 98 that is spaced from side wall 30 so as to form a channel 100 for receiving the upper end of container 10. Channel 100 is made large enough to accept flange 14 in a snap fit connection with rib 34, as shown in FIG. 4. As noted above, the outer surface 20 of flange 14 is sloped as shown so as to facilitate application of lid 2 by a press fit. Since the pail is made of a material such as polyethylene or polystyrene, both flange 14 and skirt 30 are sufficiently resilient to yield under pressure to the extent required to permit lid 2 to make a snap-type lock fit with flange 14. In this embodiment, lid 2 has a resilient annular seal 102 disposed in channel 100, and that seal is captured between the underside of end wall 28 and the top surface of inner section 16 of flange 14, so as to make a tight seal between the pail and lid.

As suggested hereinabove, it is preferred that the lid 2 and safety ring 6 be pre-assembled together by forcing the pins 94 into holes 88 in the safety ring. When this has been accomplished, the lid and safety ring will become a single unit for the purposes of subsequent attachment to a container after the latter has been filled with a predetermined commodity, e.g., a solid swimming pool disinfectant.

Assuming that safety ring 6 has been pre-assembled to lid 2, when lid 2 is pressed onto the container so as to make a snap fit connection, safety ring 6 will automatically be forced into locking engagement with grooves 72 and 74. When lid 2 is pried off of the container, the locking engagement of container side wall 12 with ring 6 will be stronger than the locking engagement of pins 94 and struts 44, 46, 48 and 50, with the result that the pins will pull out of holes 88, leaving ring 6 in the container.

FIG. 5 shows a container/lid arrangement like that of FIG. 4, except that no gasket is used between the rim section and flange 14B of container 10B. Also, in this case the upper surface of end wall 28B is flat instead of having ribs 29 as shown in FIG. 4.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, the invention is equally applicable to screw-on lids. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the upper end of container 10A has a plurality of helical screw threads 110 in place of flange 14 of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4. Preferably four equally spaced screw threads are provided, each extending for about 135 degrees, with the leading end of each thread overlapping the trailing end of another thread by the same amount. Similarly lid 2A has a rim section 26A having a top end wall 28A and a skirt 30A, plus a depending internal wall 98A similar to wall 98 described above. Skirt 30A and internal wall 98A form a channel 100A for receiving the upper end of container 10A. Skirt 30A is formed with a plurality of internal screw threads 112 that are shaped, sized and spaced to mate with screw threads 110 to make a screw-type locking connection. Lid 2A has pins 94A like pins 94 that extend into holes 88A so as to make a tight but releasable connection with safety ring 6A. The latter may be inserted into container 10A before the lid is applied, or it may be pre-assembled to lid 2A, so that it automatically is forced downward into locking engagement with grooves 72A and 74A when the lid is screwed onto the container. In the case where ring 6A is pre-assembled to lid 2A and the lid is screwed onto the container, ring 6 will rotate with the lid but will also be forced down into the container into grooves 72A and 74A.

It should be noted that a common industry practice is to apply a screw-type lid to a container by a downward, non-rotating propulsion of the lid with respect to the container, i.e., by a press-on action. Since the lid, or container, or both, are made of a resilient material, attaching a screw lid like lid 2A to container 10A by a simple press-on action to achieve a snap-on connection is not only feasible, but preferred.

Further with respect to FIGS. 6 and 7, the safety ring will remain in place in container 10A when lid 2A is removed by unscrewing, even though ring 6A may be free to rotate in the container, since the flat upper surfaces of grooves 72A and 74A combine with the flat upper surfaces of ribs 54A and 56A to prevent the ring from coming out of the pail as the lid is unscrewed. As the lid moves up during the unscrewing procedure, pins 88A will separate from holes 94A of the ring.

Although, as shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4, safety ring 6 comprises an inner ring 42 that is located in an off-center position with respect to its outer rim 40, it is to be understood that a centered inner ring may also be employed. Also, although grooves 72, 74 and ribs 54, 56 are shaped to resist removal of ring 6 from container 10, it is to be appreciated that ring 6 may be sized so as to permit easy removal from the container by a manual force. These and other modifications may be made within the teaching of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.