US20040045969A1

US20040045969A1 - Sealing container

Info

Publication number: US20040045969A1
Application number: US10/236,275
Authority: US
Inventors: Jou-Hsuan Chiang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-09-06
Filing date: 2002-09-06
Publication date: 2004-03-11

Abstract

A sealing container in which the container body has a plurality of tapered retaining blocks protruded from the inside wall thereof and equiangularly spaced around the opening in one end of the container body, the sealing cap has a disk-like knob, a hollow cylindrical plug axially extended from the center of one side of the disk-like knob and filled with a desiccant for fitting into the opening of the container body, and an annular retaining flange extended around the periphery of the cylindrical plug for engaging the tapered retaining blocks of the container body and forcing air out of the container body after insertion of the cylindrical plug into the opening of the container body.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a container and, more particularly, to a sealing container, which forces air out of the container body when sealed, keeping the container body in a tightly enclosed status.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 1 shows a sealing container constructed according to the prior art. This structure of sealing container comprises a

cylindrical container body

1, and a sealing cap 4 adapted to seal the container body 1. The container body 1 has inside annular flanges 3 extended around the inside wall near the front opening 2. The sealing cap 4 has a cylindrical plug portion 5 for fitting into the front opening 2 of the container body 1. When the plug portion 5 inserted into the front opening 2 of the container body 1, a friction force is produced between the inside annular flanges 3 and the periphery of the plug portion 5, and therefore the sealing cap 4 is secured to the front opening 2 of the container body 1. In order to prevent permanent deformation of the front part of the container body 1 around the front opening 2, the height of the inside annular flanges 3 is limited to a certain range. However, this limitation affects the tightness of the engagement between the plug portion 5 of the sealing cap 4 and the inside wall of the container body 1.

FIG. 2 shows another structure of sealing container according to the prior art. According to this design, the

container body

1′ has an annular retaining groove 6 extended around the inside wall near the front opening 2′; the sealing cap 4′ has an annular retaining flange 7 extended around the periphery of the cylindrical plug portion thereof and adapted to engage the annular retaining groove 6 of the container body 1′. This structure of sealing container is still not satisfactory in function. Because the outer diameter of the annular retaining flange 7 is greater than the inner diameter of the container body 1′ around the front opening 2′, the periphery of the front opening 2′ of the container body 1′ will be deformed upon insertion of the sealing cap 4′ into the front opening 2′ of the container body 1′. Further, in case the annular retaining flange 7 fits the annular retaining groove 6 very tightly, much air pressure will be produced when plugging the sealing cap 4′ into the front opening 2′ of the container body 1′, thereby causing the sealing cap 4′ not easy to be positioned in the front opening 2′ of the container body 1′. However, if the annular retaining flange 7 does not fit the annular retaining groove 6 perfectly, the sealing cap 4′ will be unable to seal the container body 1′ in an airtight status.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide a sealing container, which can easily be sealed to keep the container body in an airtight status. To achieve this and other objects and according to one aspect of the present invention, the sealing container comprises a container body with an opening, and a sealing cap adapted to seal the opening of the container body. The container body has a plurality of tapered retaining blocks protruded from the inside wall near the front opening. The sealing cap has a disk-like knob, a hollow cylindrical plug axially extended from the center of one side of the disk-like knob and filled with a desiccant for fitting into the opening of the container body, and an annular retaining flange extended around the periphery of the cylindrical plug for engaging the tapered retaining blocks of the container body and forcing air out of the container body after insertion of the cylindrical plug into the opening of the container body. According to another aspect of the present invention, the cylindrical plug of the sealing cap has a hollow structure filled with a desiccant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing showing a sealing container constructed according to the prior art. [0007]
FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing showing another structure of sealing container according to the prior art. [0008]
FIG. 3 is an exploded view, partially cutaway, of a sealing container according to the present invention. [0009]
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the present invention before sealing of the sealing cap. [0010]
FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 4 but showing the sealing cap sealed.[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, an enclosed container is shown comprised of a [0012] container body 10 and a sealing cap 20 adapted to seal the container body 10.
The [0013] container body 10 has a holding chamber 11 adapted to hold things, an opening 12 for the access to the holding chamber 11, and a plurality of tapered retaining blocks 13 protruded from the inside wall and equiangularly spaced around the opening 12. Each tapered retaining block 13 has a transversely extended and smoothly arched middle convex portion 131 on the middle, a sloping guide surface portion 132 and a sloping retaining surface portion 133 respectively extended from the middle convex portion 131 toward the inside wall of the container body 10 at two sides.
The [0014] sealing cap 20 comprises a disk-like knob 21, a cylindrical plug 22 of diameter slightly smaller than the opening 12 of the container body 10 axially extended from the center of one side of the disk-like knob 21, an annular retaining flange 23 extended around the periphery of the cylindrical plug 22. The annular retaining flange 23 has a smoothly curved ridge 231 extended on the middle around the periphery of the cylindrical plug 22, a tapered guide surface portion 232 and a retaining surface portion 233 respectively extended from the smoothly curved ridge 231 toward the periphery of the cylindrical plug 22 at two sides.
Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 4 again, when the [0015] cylindrical plug 22 of the sealing cap 20 inserted into the opening 12 of the container body 10, the smoothly curved ridge 231 of the sealing cap 20 is moved over the inside wall of the container body 10 toward the tapered retaining blocks 13 to compress the air inside the container body 10 and to force the air out of the container body 10. When the smoothly curved ridge 231 of the sealing cap 20 passed over the tapered retaining blocks 13 of the container body 10, the retaining surface portion 233 of the sealing cap 20 is forced into engagement with the sloping retaining surface portion 133 of the container body 10.
Because the maximum outer diameter of the [0016] annular retaining flange 23 is slightly greater than the inner diameter of the container body 10 around the opening 12, the container body 10 must be springy. According to the present invention, the container body 10 is injection-molded from elastic plastics.
Further, the [0017] cylindrical plug 22 can be made hollow filled with a desiccant (silica gel, caustic lime, or the like).
A prototype of sealing container has been constructed with the features of FIGS. [0018] 3˜5. The sealing container functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.
Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims. [0019]

Claims

What the invention claimed is:

1. A sealing container comprising a container body, said container body having an inside wall defining a holding space and an opening, and a sealing cap adapted to seal the opening of the container body, wherein:

said container body comprises a plurality of tapered retaining blocks protruded from the inside wall and equiangularly spaced around said opening, said tapered retaining blocks each having a transversely extended and smoothly arched middle convex portion, a sloping guide surface portion and a sloping retaining surface portion respectively extended from said middle convex portion toward the inside wall of said container body at two sides;

said sealing cap comprises a disk-like knob, a cylindrical plug axially extended from the center of one side of said disk-like knob for fitting into the opening of said container body, an annular retaining flange extended around the periphery of said cylindrical plug for engaging the tapered retaining blocks of said container body after insertion of said cylindrical plug into the opening of said container body, said annular retaining flange having a smoothly curved ridge extended on the middle around the periphery of said cylindrical plug, a tapered guide surface portion extended from said smoothly curved ridge toward the periphery of said cylindrical plug at one side for guiding said annular retaining flange over the sloping guide surface portions of said tapered retaining blocks of said container body, and a retaining surface portion extended from said smoothly curved ridge toward the periphery of said cylindrical plug at an opposite side for engaging the sloping retaining surface portions of said tapered retaining blocks of said container body.

2. The sealing container as claimed in claim 1, wherein said container body has a cylindrical shape, and said opening of said container body is formed in one end of said container body.

3. The sealing container as claimed in claim 1, wherein said container body and said sealing cap are respectively injection-molded from plastics.

4. The sealing container as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cylindrical plug of said sealing cap is a hollow structure filled with a desiccant.