EP0667299A1 - Metallic container for drier and adherent products such as paints, varnishes or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

The container has a body (4) with a cylindrical neck (10) forming an opening and a cover (6) with a base (16) and cylindrical edge (18). An engagement system with a threaded action is provided on the neck and cylindrical edge. A seal (8) is provided separately between the cover and the edge of the opening. The seal has a rigid edge which co-operates with an abutment (38) provided in the cover in an axial direction after the thread has been disengaged. The seal has a circular groove (42) which contains a gasket (44) and the groove also has a base (45) which is directed towards the base of the cover and forms a contact surface (46) in contact with the contact face (47) of the cover. One of the contact faces is curved and the other is flat.

Description

The present invention relates to an improved metal container for siccative and adherent products, in particular paints or varnishes.

It is known to package paints and varnishes in airtight metal boxes or airtight metal pots commonly known as trucks.

Hermetic boxes are usually used for packaging a relatively small volume of product and comprise a generally cylindrical body having an opening delimited by a radial rim, and a cover having a first part of wall inserted with constraint into the opening and a second part of wall located opposite the radial edge of the body.

Sealing is ensured in airtight boxes by metal-to-metal contact between the wall of the cover inserted in the opening and the edge of the latter.

To open an airtight box, it is necessary to use a tool forming a lever arm between the body of the box and the edge of the cover, for example a screwdriver, to exert on the edge of the cover a substantially axial force directed towards the outside of the box, greater than the constraints existing between the opening of the body and the first wall portion of the cover.

It should be noted that these constraints are increased by the fact that the dried siccative product, acting as an adhesive, causes the elements ensuring sealing to adhere to one another.

To condition a larger volume of product, a truck is usually used designed as a large hermetic box or arranged so as to be able to use a cover having at its periphery fixing lugs on an outer rim of the body, the lugs being deformable.

Such a cover provided with deformable tabs is commonly called a "straw" type cover and has a groove intended to receive a seal.

To open a truck designed as a large airtight box, it is also necessary to use a tool.

To open a truck fitted with a "pail" type cover, it is necessary to use a tool to deform the fixing lugs towards the outside of the rim in order to release them from the latter.

It is then necessary to exert on the legs an axial force directed towards the outside of the truck, sufficient to obtain the complete opening, possibly taking off the seal from the edge of the opening of the truck.

To overcome these drawbacks, the present invention aims to provide a sealed metal container whose opening can be carried out manually, that is to say without the aid of a tool and without requiring significant effort on the part of the user.

To this end, the subject of the present invention is a metal container, in particular for paints and varnishes, comprising a body having a cylindrical neck delimiting an access opening in the container, a cover provided with a bottom and with a cylindrical wall. for fixing to the neck, complementary screwing means arranged on the neck and the cylindrical wall of the cover, characterized in that it further comprises a separate sealing member arranged between the cover and the edge of the opening, having a rigid periphery intended to cooperate with an axial thrust stop integral with the cover, after release of the screwing means, in that the sealing member comprises a disc provided with a circular groove for housing a seal annular, this groove having a bottom projecting towards the bottom of the cover and delimiting a bearing surface intended to be brought into contact with a corresponding bearing surface of the bottom of the cover when the cover is tightly screwed onto the neck, the bearing surfaces being one rounded and the other flat, and in that the rounded bearing surface is discontinuous and is delimited by a series of substantially spherical caps distributed circumferentially.

• la surface d'appui plane est délimitée par le fond de la rainure et la surface d'appui arrondie est ménagée dans le fond du couvercle ;
• la butée de poussée est délimitée par une paroi radiale d'un logement ménagé dans la paroi cylindrique du couvercle, destiné à recevoir la périphérie rigide de l'organe d'étanchéité, un jeu axial, permettant le déblocage des moyens de vissage, étant prévu entre la périphérie de l'organe d'étanchéité et la butée de poussée;
• le logement est une gorge annulaire ;
• la périphérie du disque d'étanchéité comprend une jupe s'évasant vers l'élément de poussée ;
• l'extrémité libre de la jupe comporte un bord roulé extérieurement ;
• l'extrémité libre du col est reliée au reste du col par une partie de liaison convergente vers le couvercle et est roulée extérieurement ;
• la paroi cylindrique du couvercle est écartée radialement par rapport au col et comporte un retour interne cylindrique muni de moyens de vissage complémentaires des moyens de vissage du col ;
• les moyens complémentaires de vissage comprennent des nervures réparties circonférentiellement sur la surface externe du col, destinées à coopérer avec des saillies réparties circonférentiellement sur la surface interne de la paroi cylindrique du couvercle, chaque nervure délimitant une rampe supérieure de serrage destinée à coopérer, lors du vissage du couvercle, avec une surface complémentaire de serrage et de blocage d'une première saillie du couvercle, et une rampe inférieure d'appui destinée à coopérer, lors du dévissage du couvercle, avec une surface complémentaire d'appui d'une seconde saillie du couvercle immédiatement voisine de la première;
• chaque nervure délimite de plus un palier de blocage du couvercle reliant les rampes de serrage et d'appui, destiné à coopérer avec la surface de serrage et de blocage de la première saillie du couvercle associée à la rampe de serrage ;
• les saillies sont délimitées par des déformations en forme d'encoche ménagées dans un bord replié vers l'intérieur de la paroi cylindrique du couvercle.

According to other characteristics:

• the planar bearing surface is delimited by the bottom of the groove and the rounded bearing surface is formed in the bottom of the cover;
• the thrust stopper is delimited by a radial wall of a housing formed in the cylindrical wall of the cover, intended to receive the rigid periphery of the sealing member, an axial clearance, allowing the unlocking of the screwing means, being provided between the periphery of the sealing member and the thrust stop;
• the housing is an annular groove;
• the periphery of the sealing disc comprises a skirt which widens towards the pushing element;
• the free end of the skirt has an externally rolled edge;
• the free end of the neck is connected to the rest of the neck by a connecting part converging towards the cover and is rolled externally;
• the cylindrical wall of the cover is spaced radially relative to the neck and has a cylindrical internal return provided with screwing means complementary to the screwing means of the neck;
• the complementary screwing means comprise ribs distributed circumferentially on the external surface of the neck, intended to cooperate with projections distributed circumferentially on the internal surface of the cylindrical wall of the cover, each rib delimiting an upper clamping ramp intended to cooperate, when the cover is screwed on, with a complementary clamping and locking surface of a first projection of the cover, and a lower support ramp intended to cooperate, when the cover is unscrewed , with a complementary bearing surface of a second projection of the cover immediately adjacent to the first;
• each rib further delimits a cover blocking bearing connecting the clamping and support ramps, intended to cooperate with the clamping and blocking surface of the first projection of the cover associated with the clamping ramp;
• the protrusions are delimited by notches in the form of a notch formed in an edge folded inwardly of the cylindrical wall of the cover.

• la Fig.1 est une vue partielle en élévation latérale, avec un arrachement, d'un récipient selon l'invention;
• la Fig.2 est une vue partielle en coupe axiale, à plus grande échelle, d'une partie du récipient représenté à la Fig.1,
• la Fig.3 est une vue de dessus du récipient représenté à la Fig.1
• les Fig.4 et 5 sont des vues partielles, en coupe axiale, respectivement du couvercle et du col du récipient selon l'invention montrant une variante de réalisation des moyens de vissage.

The invention will be better understood on reading the detailed description which follows, given solely by way of example and with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• Fig.1 is a partial side elevational view, with a cutaway, of a container according to the invention;
• FIG. 2 is a partial view in axial section, on a larger scale, of a part of the container shown in FIG. 1,
• Fig.3 is a top view of the container shown in Fig.1
• Fig.4 and 5 are partial views, in axial section, respectively of the lid and the neck of the container according to the invention showing an alternative embodiment of the screwing means.

In Fig.1, there is partially shown a container 2 according to the invention for siccative and adherent products such as paint or varnish.

This container 2 comprises a cylindrical body 4 provided with a cover 6 and with a sealing member 8 ensuring the seal between the cover 6 and the body 4.

The body 4 comprises a cylindrical neck 10 of axis X-X, delimiting a circular opening for access to the interior of the container, comprising on its external face, near its base, means forming a thread.

These means include ribs 12 projecting outwards, uniformly distributed angularly on the neck.

The ribs 12, in projection on a plane passing through the axis X-X, form the same angle a with this axis, and are spaced between them by a predetermined distance to allow the cover to be released by unscrewing.

Referring to Figure 2, we see that the free end edge 14 of the neck is connected to the rest of the neck by a connecting portion 15 converging towards the cover 6 and is rolled externally so as to avoid an accumulation of drying agent in the rolled edge.

The cover 6 has a bottom 16 and a cylindrical wall 18 for fixing to the neck 10, of axis X-X and of larger diameter than that of the wall of the neck 10.

The cylindrical wall 18 extends from the bottom 16 towards the base of the neck, comprising a first wall 20 roughly cylindrical of axis XX, an annular groove 22, a frustoconical connection part 24, converging towards the bottom 16, of axis XX, connecting the groove to a second cylindrical wall 26 of axis XX, then a semi-toric portion 28 extended by a third cylindrical wall 30 of axis XX.

The groove 22 is arranged near the bottom 16 so as to be located opposite the neck, near the edge 14 of the latter.

The second cylindrical wall 26 has a larger diameter than that of the first cylindrical wall 20 which is itself larger than the diameter of the neck 10.

The third cylindrical wall 30 extends from the semi-toric part 28 towards the bottom 16 while being spaced radially from the second cylindrical wall 26, along only a part of the latter, by forming a cylindrical internal return called a lining.

The lining 30 has a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the neck 10, and comprises screwing means on the neck consisting of grooves 32 formed in the wall, having a shape and an arrangement complementary to those of the ribs 12 of the neck 10, to receive these last.

The groove 22 is delimited by a cylindrical bottom 34 of diameter approximately equal to that of the second cylindrical wall 26, a first radial wall 36 of connection with the first cylindrical wall 20 of the cover, and a second radial wall 38 of connection with the frustoconical part 24.

The sealing member 8 is a separate member comprising a metal disc 40, of axis XX, intended to cover the opening of the neck 10, and a circular groove 42 for housing an annular seal 44, formed in this disc 40.

The circular groove 42 has a trapezoidal cross section converging downward so as to facilitate the retention of the seal 44 inside thereof.

The groove 42 has a bottom 45 projecting towards the bottom 16 of the cover and delimiting a flat radial support surface 46 intended to come into contact, when the cover 16 is tightly screwed onto the neck 10, with a rounded surface 47 the bottom of the cover.

The contact zones between the planar 46 and rounded 47 bearing surfaces are relatively small so as to reduce the frictional forces opposing the unscrewing of the cover 6.

Preferably, the rounded support surface is discontinuous and is delimited by a series of rounded projections distributed circumferentially on the internal surface of the bottom of the cover, for example substantially spherical caps 48 delimited by recesses formed in the external surface of the bottom of the bottom cover, as shown in Figure 3.

In the example illustrated in the figures, the spherical caps 48 have a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the rolled edge 14, equal to approximately 1 mm, the caps 48 being spaced apart at regular intervals of approximately 7 mm.

The small size of the caps 48 makes it possible to obtain a series of almost punctual contacts between the bottom 16 of the cover and the bottom 45 of the groove 42.

Alternatively, the planar bearing surface can be delimited by the bottom of the cover and the rounded bearing surface can be formed in the bottom of the groove.

The lateral edges of the groove 42 are delimited by a substantially axial inner wall 49, of smaller diameter than that of the edge 14 of the neck, and by a substantially axial outer wall 50, protruding outside the edge 14 and extended by a tapered skirt of axis XX flaring towards the base of the neck 10.

The free end of the skirt is received in the groove 22 of the cover and has a rim 52 rolled towards the outside of the disc 40 located opposite the second radial wall 38 of the groove 22.

The skirt has an axial dimension such that when the bottom 16 of the cover bears against the bottom 45 of the groove, there is an axial clearance j between the flange 52 of the sealing member 8 and the second radial wall 38 of the groove 22 of the cover 6 (see FIG. 2).

The rim 52 constitutes axial retaining means with clearance, of the sealing member 8 in the groove 22 of the cover 6.

In fact, when the sealing member is introduced through the opening of the cover, the skirt deforms elastically towards the axis XX by sliding along the lining 30 of the cover, returns to its initial position, then is again elastically deformed towards the axis XX along the frustoconical part 24 of the cover to return to its initial position when the flange 52 is at the level of the groove 22 of the cover.

The sealing member 8 thus being snapped into the groove 22 of the cover, the latter can then be screwed onto the neck 10 of the body 4 filled with its contents, the seal 44 being crushed in contact with the rolled edge 14.

When you want to use the contents of the container thus produced, unscrew the cover, turning it in the direction of arrow F in Fig.1.

At the beginning of the unscrewing, due to the existence of the clearance j, the cover has no action on the sealing member 8, so that even if the latter is glued by the contents to the rolled edge 14 of the body 4, the only forces to overcome, are those existing between the parts of the three metal parts of the container which are in mutual contact.

In particular, it is necessary to overcome the jamming effect caused by the screwing means.

These forces can be overcome by an operator manually unscrewing the cover.

In this first phase, the cover moves axially towards the outside of the body until the second radial wall 38 of the groove 22 of the cover comes into contact with the rim 52 of the sealing member 8.

It will be noted that at this instant, if the sealing member is glued to the rolled edge 14 of the neck 10, it is necessary to overcome the adhesion forces between the rolled edge 14 and the seal 44.

However, at this same instant, the frictional forces inherent in unscrewing are reduced because the bottom 45 of the groove 42 is no longer in contact with the caps 48 of the cover, and that the effect of jamming of the screwing means is decreased.

All of these forces can therefore be easily overcome by a user manually unscrewing the cover.

A waterproof metal container has thus been produced which can be used without the aid of a tool, but by simple manual action of a user.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show an alternative embodiment of the complementary screwing means arranged on the cover 6 and the cylindrical neck 10 of the body 4 of the container.

In this case, the screwing means comprise eight ribs 12A distributed circumferentially on the external surface of the neck 10, intended to cooperate with eight projections 54, distributed circumferentially on the internal surface of the cylindrical wall 18 of the cover.

Preferably, the projections 54 are delimited by deformations in the form of notches 56 formed in an edge 58 folded inwardly of the cylindrical wall 18 of the cover.

Each rib 12A defines an upper clamping ramp intended to cooperate, when the cover 6 is screwed, with a complementary clamping and locking surface 62 of a first projection 54 of the cover, and a lower support ramp 64 intended to cooperate , during the unscrewing the cover 6, with a complementary bearing surface 66 of a second projection 54 of the cover immediately adjacent to the first.

The clamping 60 and support ramps 64 of two immediately adjacent ribs 12A extend substantially over the same angular sector of the neck 10, being axially offset from one another.

Each rib 12A further delimits a bearing 68 for blocking the cover 6, connecting the clamping ramps 60 and the support 64, intended to cooperate with the clamping and blocking surface 62 of the first projection 54 of the cover associated with the ramp clamp 60.

When the cover 6 is screwed onto the neck 10, the clamping and locking surfaces 62 of the projections 54 cooperate with the clamping ramps 60 so as to tighten the sealing member 8 (not shown in FIG. 4 for reasons between the cover 6 and the neck 10.

At the end of screwing on the cover 6, the clamping and blocking surfaces 62 of the projections 54 cooperate with the blocking bearings 68 so that the screwing of the cover is extended by an angular blocking stroke of the latter.

When the cover 6 is unscrewed, the bearing surfaces 64 of the projections 54 cooperate with the bearing ramps 66 so as to overcome the adhesion of the sealing member 8 on the neck 10 in order to separate these elements and open lid.

The invention has many advantages.

It allows the easy opening of a container for paint or varnish having a wide neck closed by a relatively large diameter cover.

The pressure exerted on the sealing member by the cover, when the latter is closed in a leaktight manner, is distributed over the projecting bottom of the groove 42 so that the bottom of the cover does not deform. Thus, after closing the cover, the bottom of the latter remains flat, preserving the aesthetics of the container and allowing the stacking of a series of identical containers.

Claims (11)

Metal container, in particular for paints and varnishes, comprising a body (4) having a cylindrical neck (10) delimiting an access opening in the container, a cover (6) provided with a bottom (16) and a wall cylindrical (18) for fixing on the neck, complementary screwing means arranged on the neck (10) and the cylindrical wall (18) of the cover, characterized in that it further comprises a separate sealing member (8) arranged between the cover and the edge of the opening, having a rigid periphery intended to cooperate with an axial thrust stop (38) integral with the cover, after release of the screwing means, in that the sealing member (8 ) comprises a disc provided with a circular groove (42) for housing an annular seal (44), this groove (42) comprising a bottom (45) projecting towards the bottom of the cover and delimiting a surface d support (46) intended to be brought into contact with a support surface (47) corresponding to the bottom of the cover when the cover (16) is tightly screwed onto the neck (10), the bearing surfaces (46,47) being one rounded and the other flat, and in that the surface rounded support (47) is discontinuous and is delimited by a series of substantially spherical caps (48) distributed circumferentially. Metal container according to claim 1, characterized in that the planar bearing surface (46) is delimited by the bottom (45) of the groove and the rounded bearing surface (47) is formed in the bottom (16) of the lid. Metal container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the thrust stopper is delimited by a radial wall (38) of a housing (22) formed in the cylindrical wall (18) of the cover, intended to receive the rigid periphery of the sealing member, an axial clearance (j), allowing the unlocking of the screwing means, being provided between the periphery of the sealing member and the thrust stop. Metal container according to claim 3, characterized in that the housing is an annular groove (22). Metal container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the periphery of the sealing disc comprises a skirt (50) widening towards the pushing element (38). Metal container according to claim 5, characterized in that the free end of the skirt (50) has an edge (52) rolled outwards. Metal container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the free end (14) of the neck (10) is connected to the rest of the neck (10) by a connecting part (15) converging towards the cover (6 ) and is rolled externally. Metal container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cylindrical wall (18) of the cover is spaced radially with respect to the neck and has a cylindrical internal return (30) provided with screwing means (32) complementary to the means screwing (12) of the neck. Metal container according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the complementary screwing means comprise ribs (12A) distributed circumferentially on the external surface of the neck (10), intended to cooperate with projections (54) distributed circumferentially on the internal surface of the cylindrical wall (18) of the cover (6), each rib (12A) delimiting an upper clamping ramp (60) intended to cooperate, when the cover (6) is screwed, with a complementary surface of clamping and locking (62) of a first projection (54) of the cover, and a lower support ramp (64) intended to cooperate, during the unscrewing of the cover (6), with a complementary support surface (66) of a second projection (54) of the cover immediately adjacent to the first. Metal container according to claim 9, characterized in that each rib (12A) further delimits a bearing (68) for blocking the cover (6) connecting the clamping (60) and support (64) ramps, intended to cooperate with the clamping and locking surface (62) of the first projection (54) of the cover associated with the clamping ramp (60). Metal container according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the projections (54) are delimited by deformations in the form of notches (56) formed in an edge (58) folded inwards from the cylindrical wall (18) of the cover (6).

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