Containers

Dec. 24, 1963

3,115,263

L. LESLIE-SMITH

CONTAINERS

Filed June 15, 1961

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INVENTOR

Laurance Leslie-Smith

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United States Patent Office Patented Dec. 24, 1963

3,115,263 CONTAINERS

Laurence Leslie-Smith, Grosvenor Gardens House, Grosvenor Gardens, London, England Filed June 15,1961, Ser. No. 117,360

Claim. (01.215—43)

The present invention relates to vacuum flasks and more particularly to the containers for vacuum flasks.

A popular form of container or canister for holding the vacuum bottle is made up normally from a cylindrical portion frequently made of metal and a shoulder portion which connects the canister with the neck or mouth of a vacuum bottle either directly by means of a washer or other form of resilient annular member, or by means of what is known as a pouring lip member, the lower end of which engages the opening in the shoulder and which lies closely around the neck of the bottle and the upper end of which forms the pouring lip, the puring lip member holding and locating the mouth of the bottle intermediate its ends.

Other forms of canister are known in which the pouring lip and the shoulder portions are formed integrally. Such constructions are convenient particularly when the canister is wholly or partially formed of metal.

An object of the present invention is to provide a construction of canister which is particularly adapted to be manufactured from a plastic, for example polythene.

Broadly the invention comprises a canister formed from a plastic, for example polythene, in which the body of the canister is formed integrally with the shoulder and pouring lip, means being provided for inserting the vacuum bottle into the canister from the lower end which means includes means for permitting the vacuum bottle to be gripped at least at the upper and lower ends to hold it firmly located in the canister.

Conveniently the body incorporating a shoulder and pouring lip may be moulded from a thin walled section which is uniform in section thereby facilitating the moulding, and lowering the cost of production. The closure at the lower end of the body may comprise a disc or cap member which engages over or under the lower end of the body in a secure manner, for example by screw threads. The closure member may be formed if desired of rigid material, for example a hard plastic, so as to prevent the threads jumping as may occur if two portions, both formed of a relatively soft resin such as polythene, engage each other by threads.

Similarly the shoulder portion may be moulded to provide screw threads and if desired the portions of the body and/or the closure carrying the screw threads may be reinforced internally by rigid annular members lying behind the screw threaded sections and if desired extending any desired distance beyond them.

Alternatively the canister moulding may terminate somewhat short of the total length of the canister body and the bottom disc or cap formed with a substantial cylindrical upstand which engages the body to form the lower end of the cylindrical portion of the canister.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 shows in part section a vacuum flask assembly in accordance with the present invention; and

FIGURE 2 shows on an enlarged scale details of the upper end of the flask.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line 3—3 of FIGURE 1.

The flask casing 1 comprises a substantially cylindrical casing terminating at its lower end with an internally threaded portion 2 which is adapted to receive a screw in bottom member 3, the bottom member being pro2 vided with a circular concentrically arranged flange 4 within which a spring 5 is housed for applying spring pressure to the bottom of the vacuum bottle 6,

The outer casing 1 may be formed from what is 5 commonly known as a thin wall moulding and be of a thickness of the order of 35,000ths to SO.OOOths of an inch thick. The bottom member 3 may be of stouter construction serving as a general support for the lower end of the casing structure and also serving to resist frac10 ture in the event of the flask being dropped accidentally upon its base.

The upper end of the casing may incorporate a pouring lip and shoulder of the construction described and claimed in my co-pending application Number 706,321, 15 now U.S. Patent No. 3,082,895, granted March 26, 1963. Whilst the closure means for the vacuum bottle may be by any ordinary bung it is shown in the form of screw stopper means also constructed in accordance with the aforementioned patent applications.

As shown, the upper part of the casing 1 is formed integrally therewith as a shoulder portion 7 and a pouring lip portion 8. The shoulder 7 may have moulded in it external screw threads 9 adapted to engage with screw threads on a closure cap 10 which can serve as a ²⁵ cup. The pouring lip 8 forming the upper extremity of the single piece casing is provided with a pair of internal skirts 11 and 12 which engage the mouth 13 of the vacuum bottle 6 in a manner which permits the mouth 13 to be centralised and also permits the mouth a degree of lateral movement so as to centralise on the bung 14 of the screw stopper 15 which engages the thread 16 formed internally on the pouring lip 8. Whilst as shown the screw thread is on the inner face of the pouring lip member the threads may be formed on the outer ³⁵ face to provide a smooth pouring lip surface. In this case the screw stopper would be formed with a peripheral depending flange threaded internally.

If desired, and as one feature of the invention, the bottle 6 is supported within the casing midway between its upper and lower ends by members 17 which are spaced around the inside of the casing 1 and may comprise separate or integral mouldings of a plastic to give a resilient support to the central portion of the vacuum bot45 tie. Conveniently the members 17 may be positioned as chords of the inner face of the casing 1 (see FIG. 3), the arrangement being such that when the bottle is pushed into the casing these chords are flexed outwardly between their ends to grip resiliently the outer face of the vacuum 50 bottle.

The casing 1 need not be formed as a thin walled moulding but can if desired comprise a normal plastic moulding in which case the thickness of the wall may be or the order of an eighth of an inch thick or more.

Whilst the cap 10 is shown as being screwed on, an alternative method is for the cap 10 to be provided with one or more internal ridges on the inner face of its lip which spring into a single groove formed in the casing 1 in the place of the screw threads 9.

Conveniently the lower closure member if made of plastic may be moulded in one with a cup or other suitably shaped upstand which engages the base of the vacuum bottle and the effect of screwing the closure into the canister will cause the bottle to be gripped firmly be⁶⁵ tween the upstand and the washer or skirt at the other end of the canister in known manner.

Whilst the invention has been described with reference to the use of screw threads for connecting the body to ₇₀ other portions of the assembly, other fastening means may be employed e.g. bayonet joints, snap or spring over fastening or the like.

3,115,203