Cover or cap screwable onto a container, in particular of glass, with a manual grip formed by a recess or a bar

Abstract

A practical and useful cover or cap to be screwed/unscrewed manually by a user onto a container includes a plastic body exhibiting a recess or recess or a bar, both sized to be gripped by all or part or some of the index through little fingers, side by side, of the user's hand, providing a manual grip or handle for the same user, when screwing the cap on/off the container. The recess is formed between upper and lower walls. The bar extends along a side upper cup of the cover or cap. The cover or cap allows an easy and convenient portability, with one hand, of the container on which the cover or cap is screwed, and also satisfies the user's need to firmly and easily screw the cover or cap onto the container with a high torque, and to unscrew it easily from the same container.

Claims

1. A cover or cap configured to be manually screwed/unscrewed by a user onto/from one of a container, a recipient, a vessel, and an article, the cover or cap comprising: a body, made by molding a plastic material, said body, made of plastic material, having, along a respective upper surface or face, a manual grip or handle configured to receive and be gripped by fingers and a palm of a hand of the user, when screwing/unscrewing the cover or cap onto/from the container, said manual grip or handle comprising a grip recess which extends deep into the body of the cover or cap and is sized to receive and house all or some of an index finger, a middle finger, a ring finger, and a little finger, arranged side by side, of the fingers of the hand of the user, wherein said grip recess has an opening on the upper surface or face of the body of the cover or cap, and is formed between an upper wall, substantially flat, extending along said upper face or surface of the body of the cover or cap, and a lower wall extending along a lower face of the body of the cover or cap, wherein said upper wall is configured to be gripped by the fingers and by the palm of the hand of the user, with the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger and little finger which are received, all or some, arranged side by side, in said grip recess, and with the thumb finger closing outside the grip recess on said body of the cover or cap, wherein said grip recess provides said manual grip or handle that is configured to be gripped by the fingers and by the palm of the hand of the same user, when screwing/unscrewing the cover or cap onto/from the container, wherein said lower wall has a concave shape, and wherein said body comprises a first plastic part that defines said substantially flat upper wall, and a separate second plastic part that has a lowered dome shape and defines the lower wall of the body of the cover or cap, both of the first plastic part and the second plastic part being a plastic material, the first plastic part and the second plastic part being snap coupled together to form said body, the first plastic part including a middle collar and an inner collar defining a first plastic part recess, the second plastic part including an upper edge snap coupled into the first plastic part recess.

2. The cover or cap according to claim 1, wherein said body, of plastic material, is propylene.

3. The cover or cap according to claim 1, wherein said body has a diameter between 100 and 120 mm and a height between 20 and 40 mm.

4. A cover or cap configured to be manually screwed/unscrewed by a user onto/from one of a container, a recipient, a vessel, and an article, the cover or cap comprising: a body, made by molding a plastic material, said body, made of plastic material, having, along a respective upper surface or face, a manual grip or handle configured to receive and be gripped by fingers and a palm of a hand of the user, when screwing/unscrewing the cover or cap onto/from the container, said manual grip or handle comprising a bar which extends transversely along said upper surface or face of the body of the cover or cap and is sized to be gripped and embraced by the fingers and from the palm of the hand of the user, with all or some of an index finger, a middle finger, a ring finger and a little finger of the fingers engaging and embracing, arranged side by side, said bar, and with a thumb closing on said body of the cover or cap, wherein said bar provides said manual grip or handle that is configured to being gripped by the fingers and by the palm of the hand of the user, when screwing/unscrewing the cover or cap onto/from the container; and wherein said body comprises a first plastic part that defines said bar and a separate second plastic part that defines a lower wall of the body of the cover or cap, both of the first plastic part and the second plastic part being a plastic material, the first plastic part and the second plastic part being snap coupled together to form said body, the first plastic part including a middle collar and an inner collar defining a first plastic part recess, the second plastic part including an upper edge snap coupled into the first plastic part recess.

5. The cover or cap according to claim 4, further comprising a lower wall, slightly rounded outwards, which extends along a lower face of the cover or cap.

6. The cover or cap according to claim 4, wherein said body, of plastic material, is propylene.

7. The cover or cap according to claim 4, wherein said body has a diameter between 160 and 200 mm and a height between 30 and 45 mm.

8. A container comprising the cover or cap according to claim 1, wherein the container is configured to be screwed/unscrewed onto/from a mouth of a containment body of the container.

9. The container according to claim 8, wherein the respective containment body, on which the cover or cap is screwable/unscrewable, is a glass containment body.

10. The cover or cap according to claim 1, wherein the first plastic part further includes an outer wall, the middle collar being disposed between the outer wall and the inner collar.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of some preferred embodiments thereof, given purely by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1, divided into sections (a)-(d), is a series of photographic images showing from different observation points, either from the top or from the bottom, an example of a cover or cap according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a photographic image showing a container on which the cover or cap of FIG. 1, according to the invention, is screwed;

(4) FIG. 3 is a photographic image showing the container FIG. 2 in use, i.e. during manual screwing on it of the cover or cap of FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 4, divided into sections (a)-(f), is a series of graphic views and photographic images, in addition to the previous photographic images, showing the cover or cap of FIG. 1, according to the first embodiment of the invention, and the respective container on which the cover or cap is screwed;

(6) FIG. 5, divided into sections (a)-(b), is a pair of graphical views showing in section the cover of FIG. 1 of the invention;

(7) FIG. 6, divided into sections (a)-(c), is a series of graphical views showing in perspective the parts constituting the cover or cap of FIG. 1 of the invention, and in detail how these parts are connected;

(8) FIG. 7, divided into sections (a)-(c), is a series of graphic views showing in perspective form and in section a cover or cap according to a second embodiment of the invention;

(9) FIG. 8, divided into sections (a)-(b), is a series of graphical views showing the cover or cap of FIG. 7, according to the second embodiment of the invention, screwed onto a container;

(10) FIG. 9, divided into sections (a)-(b), is a series of graphical views showing the cover or cap of FIG. 7 in broken-out form and some details thereof in enlarged form;

(11) FIG. 10, divided into sections (a)-(c), is a series of photographic images, in addition to the previous graphic views, showing an example of the cap of the invention, according to the second embodiment of the invention, screwed onto a container and in broken-out form;

(12) FIG. 11, divided into sections (a)-(b), is a series of photographic images, in addition to the previous graphic views and photographic images, showing an example of the cover or cap of FIG. 7 of the invention in use for transporting the container on which the cap is screwed;

(13) FIG. 12, divided into sections (a)-(d), is a series of graphical views showing in perspective and in section the parts constituting the cover or cap of FIG. 7 of the invention; and

(14) FIG. 13, divided into sections (a)-(b), is a series of photographic images showing some containers closed by a cover or cap, according to the prior art, which are located in the same field as the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A FIRST PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE COVER OR CAP, ACCORDING TO THE PRESENT INVENTION, WHICH CAN BE SCREWED/UNSCREWED ONTO/FROM A CONTAINER OR A SIMILAR ARTICLE AND OBJECT

(15) With reference to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1-3, a cover or cap or lid, hereinafter also synthetically referred to and called cap, according to a first embodiment of the present invention, adapted to be screwed/unscrewed manually by a user U on/from a container C, a vessel, a recipient, a receptacle, a can or a similar article, is generally indicated with 10.

(16) The container C on which the cap 10 can be screwed and from which it can be unscrewed can be a usual container or container made of various materials and in particular glass, having a main body CO which defines at the top a threaded mouth B on which and from which the cap 10 can be screwed and unscrewed.

(17) In detail, the cap 10 of the invention comprises: a main body, indicated with 11, made by moulding a plastic material, having a circular shape with an outer collar internally exhibiting a thread 11 adapted to be screwed onto the threaded mouth B of the container C, wherein, according to a salient feature of the invention, this body 11, made of plastic material, has, along an upper surface or face 11 thereof, a manual grip or handle, generally indicated with 12, suitable for receiving and being gripped by the fingers D and the palm PA of the user's hand M, when screwing/unscrewing the cap 10 on/from the same container C.

(18) In greater detail, as clearly shown in the drawings, this manual grip or handle 12 is formed by: a recess, designated by the reference numeral 13, which extends deep into the body 11 of the cover or cap 10 and is dimensioned so as to be able to receive and house all or some of the four index finger IN, middle finger ME, ring finger AN, and little finger MI, side by side, of the hand M of the user U.

(19) Moreover, this recess 13 has an opening 13 on the upper surface or face 11 of the body 11 of the cap 10 and is in turn formed between a substantially flat upper wall 14 which extends along the upper face 11 of the body 11 of the cap 10 and a concave lower wall 15 extending along a lower face of the body 11 of the cap 10.

(20) Therefore, thanks to the aforesaid configuration of the cap 10, the upper wall 14 is able to be gripped by the fingers D and by the palm PA of the user's hand M, with the respective four index finger IN, middle finger ME, ring finger AN and little finger MI, side by side, which are received, all or some, by the recess 13 and with the thumb PO that closes outside the recess 13 on the body 11 of the cap 10, so as to provide the hand grip or handle 12 that can be gripped by the fingers D and the palm PA of the user's hand M, when screwing/unscrewing the cap 10 on/from the container C.

(21) As stated, the body 11 of the cover or cap 10 is made by moulding a plastic material, for example, but not exclusively, propylene.

(22) Moreover, advantageously, this main body 11 can be constituted by two parts including a first part 11a and a second part 11b, moulded separately, which can be snap-coupled to each other as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 6-section (c), wherein the part 11a defines the flat upper wall 14, and the portion 11b defines the lower wall 15, having a lowered dome shape, of the cap 10. The first part 11a includes a middle collar 20 and an inner collar 24 defining a first plastic part recess 22. The second plastic part 11b includes an upper edge snap 26 coupled into the first plastic part recess 22.

(23) In use, as shown in FIGS. 1-3 the cap 10 is screwed or unscrewed from the container C, as indicated by an arrow F1 and an arrow F2, respectively, by gripping with the fingers and the palm of the user's hand U the handle 12 formed in the same cap 10, that is, by inserting the fingers into the recess 13 and holding the upper wall 14 with the palm of the hand, so as to manually exert the force and therefore the torque necessary to screw the cap 10 firmly or unscrew the container C.

(24) For a clearer and more complete information, FIG. 4, divided into sections (a)-(f), shows, in addition to the photographic images of FIGS. 1-3, the cap 10 of the invention and the respective container C on which the cap 10 is screwed.

(25) Moreover, FIG. 5, divided into sections (a)-(b), and FIG. 6, divided into sections (a)-(c), show in section the cap 10 of the invention, the parts 11a and 11b constituting its main body 11, and the manner in which these parts 11a and 11b are snap-connected to each other.

(26) Of course, the diameter D and the height H of the cap 10 can assume very different values depending on the diameter and configuration of the threaded mouth B of the container C on which the cap 10 is screwed, and for example, in widely used ranges of variation, they can be comprised respectively between 100 and 120 mm and between 20 and 40 mm.

Description of a Second Preferred Embodiment of the Cover or Cap According to the Present Invention, Which can Be Screwed/Unscrewed Onto/From a Container or a Similar Article and Object

(27) With reference to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 7-9, a cover or lid or cap, hereinafter also synthetically referred to as cap, according to the present invention, adapted to be screwed/unscrewed manually by a user U on/from a container C, a vessel, a recipient, a receptacle, a can or a similar article, is generally indicated with 110.

(28) The container C on which the cap 110 can be screwed and from which it can be unscrewed can be a usual container made of various materials and in particular glass, having a main body CO which defines at the top a threaded mouth B on which and from which the cap 110 can be screwed or unscrewed.

(29) In detail, the cap 110 of the invention comprises: a main body, indicated with 111, made by moulding a plastic material, having a circular shape with an outer collar internally exhibiting a thread 111 adapted to be screwed onto the threaded mouth B of the container C, wherein, according to a salient feature of the invention, this body 111, made of plastic material, has, along an upper surface or face 111 thereof, a manual grip or handle, generally indicated with 112, suitable for receiving and being gripped by the fingers D and the palm PA of the hand M of the user U, when screwing/unscrewing the cap 110 onto/from the same container C.

(30) In greater detail, as clearly shown in the drawings, this manual grip or handle 112 is formed by: a bar, indicated with 113, which extends transversely along the upper surface or face 111 of the body 111 of the cover or cap 110 and is dimensioned so as to be adapted to be engaged and embraced by all or a part, that is some of the four index finger IN, middle finger ME, ring finger AN and little finger MI, side by side, of the hand M of the user U.

(31) Therefore, thanks to the aforesaid configuration of the cap 110, the bar 113 is able to be gripped and embraced by the fingers D and the palm PA of the user's hand M, with all or some of the four index finger IN, middle finger ME, ring finger AN and little finger MI which engage and embrace, side by side, the bar 113, and with the thumb finger PO closing on the body 111 of the cover or cap 110, so as to provide the hand grip or handle 112 which can be gripped by the fingers D and the palm PA of the user's hand M, when screwing/unscrewing the cap 110 onto/from the container C.

(32) As stated, the body 111 of the cover or cap 110 is made by moulding a plastic material, for example, but not exclusively, propylene.

(33) Moreover, advantageously, this main body 111 can be constituted by two distinct parts, as shown in FIG. 12, indicated respectively with 111a and 111b, moulded separately and coupled, for example by snap action, so as to form the main body 111, wherein the part 111a defines the bar 113 and the part 111b defines a lower wall 115, exhibiting a slightly outwardly convex shape, of the cap 110.

(34) In use, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the cap 110 is screwed or unscrewed from the container C, as indicated by an arrow F1 and an arrow F2, respectively, by gripping with the fingers and the palm PA of the user's hand U the handle 112, i.e. the bar 113 formed by the body 111, so as to exert manually the force and therefore the torque necessary to screw firmly or unscrew the cap 110 on or from the container C.

(35) Of course, the diameter D and the height H of the cap 110 can assume very different values depending on the diameter and configuration of the threaded mouth B of the container C on which the cap 110 is screwed, and for example, in widely used ranges of variation, they can be comprised between 160 and 200 mm and between 30 and 45 mm respectively.

(36) It is therefore clear from the description made that the present invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects, and in particular proposes a new and useful cover or cap, adapted to be screwed/unscrewed manually by a user onto/from a container, a vessel, a recipient or a similar article, wherein this cover or cap allows its firm and stable screwing on the container, as well as its easy unscrewing, and also a comfortable and convenient transportability of the container on which the cover or cap itself is screwed.