Container and collar with attaching means

Abstract

A container ( 210 ) for holding granular/powdered material and formed by a top wall ( 212 ), a bottom wall ( 214 ), a front wall ( 216 ), a rear wall ( 218 ), a first side wall ( 220 ), and a second side wall ( 222 ). A removable lid (D) is interiorly mounted with a scoop ( 32 ) and is hinged to a collar ( 300 ) that includes a sealing gasket ( 330 ). The collar ( 300 ) mounts to the walls of the container ( 210 ). A sealing wall 240 of the lid (D) cooperates with the gasket ( 330 ) to prevent the contents from spilling. The container ( 210 ) incorporates sealing features, a geometry for container wall junctions ( 50 ) and a junction congruent scoop ( 32 ) enabling easy access to the contents, and a strength improving receptacle ( 280 ) with indentations ( 290 ) that interlock with flex clips ( 310 ) of a J-shaped collar ( 300 ), and which accommodate wide tolerance variations between the collar ( 300 ) and receptacle ( 280 ).

1 . A sealable container, comprising:
 walls defining interior and exterior surfaces and an interior space, the walls having an upper portion near an upper end of the walls that defines an opening to the interior space, the upper portion defining on the exterior surfaces a plurality of indentations projecting interiorly, the indentations having a downwardly facing top surface;   a collar having an interior surface adapted to fit around the container about the upper portion to define a subcollar space between the exterior surface of the container and the interior surface of the collar; and   wherein the collar further includes a plurality of spaced apart flex clips formed with upwardly facing surfaces and depending downwardly into the subcollar space and juxtaposed to align with the plurality of indentations enabling the upwardly facing surfaces to engage the downwardly facing top surfaces whereby the flex clips hold the collar to the upper end of the container.   
   
   
       2 . The sealable container according to  claim 1 , wherein the upwardly facing surfaces of the flex clips are dimensioned to be smaller than the downwardly facing surfaces of the indentations, so as to absorb dimensional tolerance errors and enable the collar to fit around the upper portion of the container. 
   
   
       3 . The sealable container according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the collar and the upper portion of the walls are formed from a substantially flexible material to enable at least one of the collar and the upper portion of the walls to flex to absorb dimensional tolerance errors and enable the collar to fit around the upper portion of the container. 
   
   
       4 . The sealable container according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the collar and the upper portion of the walls are formed from a substantially flexible material to enable at least one of the collar and the upper portion of the walls to flex to accommodate shape mismatch between at least one of the collar and the upper portion of the walls to enable the collar to fit around the upper portion of the walls. 
   
   
       5 . The sealable container according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the collar and the upper portion of the walls are formed from a substantially flexible material to enable at least one of the collar and the upper portion of the walls to flex and wherein the upwardly facing surfaces of the flex clips are dimensioned to be smaller than the downwardly facing surfaces of the indentations to absorb dimensional tolerance errors and to accommodate shape mismatch between at least one of the collar and the upper portion of the walls to enable the collar to fit around the upper portion of the container. 
   
   
       6 . The sealable container according to  claim 1 , wherein the collar has a substantially J-shaped cross-section having an outward projecting long wall, a substantially rounded, stiffening top portion, and an inward short wall that cooperate to define the subcollar space. 
   
   
       7 . The sealable container according to  claim 6 , wherein the short wall cooperates with an internal edge of the upper portion that defines the opening to seal the interior space from the subcollar space. 
   
   
       8 . The sealable container according to  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a sealing flange formed in the upper portion and extending to the internal edge; and   a flexible gasket projecting from the short wall and sized to rest against the sealing flange and cooperative therewith to seal the interior space from the subcollar space.   
   
   
       9 . The sealable container according to  claim 1 , wherein the walls further define the container to have a substantially cuboid shape, and wherein the plurality of indentations and the plurality of spaced apart flex clips are further positioned to be paired across opposite facing walls to establish force coupling between the pairs to increase rigidity and structural stability of the sealable container when the collar is fitted onto the upper portion. 
   
   
       10 . The sealable container according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of indentations and the plurality of spaced apart flex clips are further positioned to be paired with opposite facing indentations and clips of the plurality to establish an aligning capability between the collar and the upper portion of the walls. 
   
   
       11 . The sealable container according to  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of flex clips incorporate at least one stiffening rib. 
   
   
       12 . The sealable container according to  claim 1 , wherein the upper portion near the upper end of the walls defines a sealing flange having an internal edge that defines the opening to the interior space, and wherein the collar has an integral gasket projecting inwardly and in a direction to be biased against the sealing flange; and further comprising:
 a lid removably attached to the collar and having an interior surface which, when in a closed position, is adapted to cover and seal the opening, the lid having a sealing wall depending from its surface and projecting toward the sealing flange and being dimensioned to remain inward of the sealing flange when in the closed position.   
   
   
       13 . A sealable container, comprising:
 walls defining interior and exterior surfaces and an interior space, the walls having an upper portion near an upper end of the walls that defines an opening to the interior space, the upper portion defining on the exterior surfaces a plurality of indentations projecting interiorly, the indentations having a downwardly facing top surface;   a collar having an interior surface adapted to fit around the container about the upper portion to define a subcollar space between the exterior surface of the container and the interior surface of the collar; and   wherein the collar further includes a plurality of spaced apart attachment means formed with upwardly facing surfaces and depending into the subcollar space and juxtaposed to align with the plurality of indentations enabling the upwardly facing surfaces to engage the downwardly facing top surfaces to secure the collar to the upper end of the container.   
   
   
       14 . The sealable container according to  claim 13 , wherein the attachment means comprise inwardly projecting alignment fins formed on the interior surface of the collar assembly, the alignment fins adapted to substantially align the collar assembly while being and once fitted about the upper portion. 
   
   
       15 . The sealable container according to  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of indentations comprise a continuous groove about the periphery of the upper portion of the walls, and the alignment fins are juxtaposed to fit into the groove to secure the collar to the container. 
   
   
       16 . The sealable container according to  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of indentations comprise a continuous groove about the periphery of the upper portion of the walls. 
   
   
       17 . The sealable container according to  claim 13 , wherein the attachment means comprise flex clips formed on the interior surface of the collar assembly and depending downwardly into the subcollar space and having upward facing surfaces for engaging the downward facing surfaces of the plurality of indentations. 
   
   
       18 . The sealable container according to  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of indentations are spaced apart by intermittent stabilizing bridges, and the flex clips are juxtaposed to fit into the spaced indentations to secure the collar to the container. 
   
   
       19 . The sealable container according to  claim 18 , wherein the flex clips are juxtaposed to substantially align the collar assembly about the upper portion of the container and absorb any tolerance mismatches between the collar and the supper portion of the container. 
   
   
       20 . The sealable container according to  claim 13 , wherein the attachment means are dimensioned to be smaller than the dimension of the downward facing surface of the indentations, so as to absorb any tolerance mismatches between the collar and the supper portion of the container. 
   
   
       21 . The sealable container according to  claim 18 , wherein the flex clips are dimensioned to be smaller than the dimension of the downward facing surface of the indentations, so as to absorb any tolerance mismatches between the collar and the supper portion of the container. 
   
   
       22 . The sealable container according to  claim 13 , wherein the collar has a substantially J-shaped cross-section having an outward projecting long wall, a substantially rounded, stiffening top portion, and an inward short wall that cooperate to define the subcollar space. 
   
   
       23 . The sealable container according to  claim 17 , wherein each of the plurality of flex clips incorporate at least one stiffening rib.