LID FOR JARS FOR PRESERVES

Abstract

Lid for a preserving jar (10), said jar (10) being provided at the circular mouth (11) with a thread (13) formed on the side wall (12) thereof, and said 1 id (1) comprising a circular c losing plane (101) and a continuous cylindrical side wall (201), made of stainless steel sheet piece, said side wall being provided with a plurality of cavities (211, 221, 231) on the outer face of said wall 1(201), corresponding to reliefs on the inner face, and said reliefs (211, 221, 231) being arranged along a helical path (13) corresponding to the pitch of the thread (13) on the side wall (12) of the mouth (11) of the vessel (10), and being provided with removable sealing means (301) arranged on the inner surface of the closing plane (101).

Claims

1. Lid for a preserving jar (10), said jar (10) being provided at the circular mouth (11) with a thread (13) formed on the side wall 12) thereof, and said lid (1) comprising a circular closing plane (101) and a continuous cylindrical side wall (201), made of stainless steel sheet piece, said side wall being provided with a plurality of cavities (211, 221, 231) on the outer face of said wall (201), corresponding to reliefs on the inner face, and said reliefs (211, 221, 231) being arranged along a helical path (13) corresponding to the pitch of the thread (13) on the side wall (12) of the mouth (11) of the vessel (10), and being provided with removable sealing means (301) arranged on the inner surface of the closing plane (101).

2. Lid according to claim 1, wherein the side wall (201) has a height ranging from 18% to 25% of the diameter of the end plate (101) of the lid.

3. Lid according to claim 1, wherein said cavities (211, 221, 231), and corresponding reliefs, are formed by punching the side wall.

4. Lid according to claim 1, wherein said reliefs (211, 221, 231) are substantially formed with the height equal to the height of the threading (13) on the side wall of the vessel mouth (10).

5. Lid according to claim 1, wherein at least three reliefs (211, 221, 231) formed on said wall are provided.

6. Lid according to claim 5, wherein said reliefs (211, 221, 231) are angularly equidistant from each other.

7. Lid according to claim 1, wherein a bell-shaped relief (241) is formed on the side wall (201) of said lid projecting outwardly, with a corresponding cavity inwardly, and tapered from the trailing edge of the side wall toward the closing plane.

8. Lid according to claim 7, wherein said bell-shaped relief (241) has a height that may range from 25% to 50% of the side wall height, and a maximum width at the base from 70% to 90% of the wall height.

9. Lid according to claim 1, wherein the closing plane (101) is provided with an annular perimeter relief (121), contiguous with the side wall (201), which protrudes from the closing plane (101) in the order of 5-7% of the height of the side wall (201), and a spherical cap relief (111), which has a maximum protrusion from the closure plane (101) in the order of 5-7% of the height of the side wall (201).

10. Lid according to claim 1, in which the sealing means is a gasket (301) made of natural rubber.

Description

[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an executive form of the lid according to the present invention, illustrated together with the vessel with which it is used;

[0013] FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the lid of FIG. 1;

[0014] FIG. 3 is a plan view from above of the lid of FIG. 1;

[0015] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of detail IV of FIG. 3;

[0016] FIG. 5 is a section view along the V-V line of FIG. 3.

[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates in perspective a lid for preserving jars according to the present invention; 1 indicates the lid, while the numeral 10 designates a jar of the type commonly used for preserving, provided with a circular mouth 11 having a cylindrical side wall 12 on which the threading 13 is formed; the vast majority of glass preserving jars have the same type of threading, which is then the one schematically illustrated in the figure. The lid 1 has a closing plane 101 formed of piece with a cylindrical side wall 201 and provided with the perimeter annular relief 121 contiguous to the side wall, and centrally with a spherical cap 101. On the side wall 201 are formed the cavities 211 and 221, to which inside correspond reliefs that below will present the same numbering of the cavities. Between the two cavities 211 and 221 is formed the bell-shaped relief 241, facing the trailing edge of the side wall 201, and tapered in the opposite direction. On the portion of the side wall 201 proximate to the end plane 101 are formed knurls 251, while the trailing edge of said wall has a radial flange 261, facing inward.

[0018] FIG. 2 shows the lid of FIG. 1 in lateral elevation; equal parts correspond to equal numerals. The figure shows a third cavity, or relief, indicated by 231, illustrated in line and point since, as is better shown below, this cavity 231 is located on the non-visible face of lid 1. The three cavities, or reliefs, 211, 221, and 231, are located at three different levels on the side wall 201, and are arranged along the helical path 13, which essentially replicates the helical path of the thread 13 of jar 10. The slight protrusion from relief 121 of cap 111 can also be noted.

[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates in plan view the lid according to the invention; equal parts correspond to equal numerals. Highlighted in the figure is the equidistant angular placement of the cavities/reliefs 211, 221 and 231 on the wall 201. In addition, protrusion of the bell-shaped relief 241 from the closing plane 101 of the lid can be seen. Finally, FIG. 4 shows detail IV of FIG. 3, which allows one to see more clearly the shape and extent of the relief, or cavity, 221, which is obviously also illustrative of the shape of the other two cavities 211 and 231.

[0020] FIG. 5 shows the sectional view along the V-V line of FIG. 3; the same numerals correspond to the equal parts. The figure shows the geometry of the closing plane 101, with at the periphery the protruding relief 121 contiguous to the side wall 201, and at the center the spherical cap 111, also protruding from the closure plane. Also illustrated is the removable gasket 301.

[0021] The manufacture and operation of the lid according to the present invention will be apparent from the following. As mentioned above, a main purpose of the present invention is to replace the disposable lids that are currently used for the preparation of homemade preserves with a lid that is long reusable but of acceptable cost. The most suitable material is undoubtedly stainless-steel sheet, having a thickness of between 0.2 and 0.4 mm, so as to be both sufficiently workable and sufficiently strong, and capable of providing the appropriate elastic loading to the seal. The side wall 201 of the lid should have a height that allows cooperation with the entire portion of the side wall 12 of the vessel 10 in which the threading 13 is formed; in particular, the wall has a height of 18% to 25% of the diameter of the lid closing plane.

[0022] The closing plane, as shown in the section of FIG. 5, is formed such that the relief 121 on one side and the cap 111 on the other side create the precondition for elastic loading of the seal exerted by the gasket 301. The protrusion of the perimeter relief 121 and the protrusion of the cap 111 relative to the closing plane 101 are estimated to achieve the elastic loading effect, and are both in the range of 5-7% of the side wall height. The gasket will preferably be made of natural rubber and will still be replaceable and recyclable independently from the lid.

[0023] The recesses 211, 221 and 231, i.e., the corresponding reliefs projecting onto the inner face of the side wall 201, are formed by punching, and have a height, and also a width suitable for cooperating with the threading 13 of the vessel 10. The reliefs projecting toward the wall 12 of the mouth 11 of vase 10, in the illustrated embodiment have a width at the base substantially double their height. The positioning of the reliefs along the path 13 allows the correct coupling to be established with the threading 13 of vase 10, without the need to form the full threading on the side wall. In addition to simpler manufacturing, the reliefs allow for a quicker and more immediate closing movement by the user than the thread.

[0024] The number of cavities that can be formed on the side wall is preferably equal to three. A number greater than three makes the processing too sophisticated, and therefore makes the product less competitive, which is however intended to replace a decidedly cheap item. The equidistant angular distribution of the cavities on the side wall is the one that allows with greater simplicity to realize the coupling with the thread of the jar

[0025] The bell-shaped relief, and its corresponding cavity accessible from the trailing edge of the side wall of the lid, allows the user to release the seal made during pasteurization by inserting a portion of a tableware, and thus makes the use of the lid easier overall. This relief has a height that can range from 25% to 50% of the side wall height, and a maximum width at the base from 70% to 90% of the wall height. The relief has a maximum protrusion from the side wall in the range of 4% to 6% of the radius of the lid closure plane.

[0026] The canning jar lid according to the present invention solves the problems encountered in the state of the art due to its simple and effective structure, which makes it a reusable product for a very large number of cycles.