Resealable container

Claim 2

A container comprising an open-ended, hollow body terminating in a substantially cylindrical neck, the neck having an end face, an outwardly extending annular protrusion adjacent the face, an annular groove recessed from an exterior surface of the neck and disposed on the side of the protrusion facing towards the container, the neck further having a depression extending from adjacent the annular protrusion towards the remainder of the container and below the exterior neck surface, whereby snap-on lids can be placed over the annular protrusion and manually removed therefrom by engaging a portion of the lid overlying the depression.

Claim 3

A container according to claim 1 wherein the exterior neck surface includes a thread disposed between the groove and the remainder of the container, and wherein the width of the depression in the direction of the thread is between about three-eighths to about 1 1/2 inches.

Claim 4

A resealable container adapted to alternatively receive a snap-on lid or a screw-on cover, the container comprising: a hollow body having a closed and an open end, and a neck portion extending from the body and defining the open end of the container, the neck having a cylindrical exterior and an end face, an external thread spaced from the end face, an annular bead intermediate the end face and the thread and projecting radially outward from the exterior surface of the neck, and a recess extending from adjacent the bead towards the body and over an arc substantially less than 360*, whereby a snap-on lid can be applied to the neck by engaging the lid with the annular bead and whereby the lid is manually removable from the neck by grasping an edge of the lid disposed adjacent the recess to forcibly separate the lid from the neck.

Claim 5

A resealable container adapted to alternatively receive a snap-on lid or a screw-on cover, the container comprising: a hollow body having a closed and an open end, and a neck portion extending from the body and defining the open end of the container, the neck having a cylindrical exterior and an end face, an external thread spaced from the end face, an annular bead intermediate the end face and the thread and projecting radially outward from the exterior surface of the neck, and a recess extending from adjacent the bead towards the body and over an arc substantially less than 360*, whereby a snap-on lid can be applied to the neck by engaging the lid with the annular bead and whereby the lid is manually removable from the neck by grasping an edge of the lid disposed adjacent the recess to forcibly separate the lid from the neck.

Claim 6

A container according to claim 3 wherein the recess extends in an axial direction of the container past the end of the thread closest to the container body.

Claim 7

A container according to claim 3 including an annular groove of a substantially constant cross section between the annular bead and the thread, and wherein the recess extends below a bottom of the groove.

Claim 8

A resealable container for alternative use with screw-type covers and snap-on lids comprising: a main container body having an opening therein, and a tubular neck defining the opening and aligned therewith, the neck terminating in an end face and having an external thread for engagement by the cover, the thread being positioned with respect to the end face so that it is engageable by standardized covers requiring a predetermined spacing between an end of the thread proximate the end face and the end face, the neck further including an annular protrusion intermediate the end face and the thread and an annular groove intermediate the protrusion and the thread, adjacent portions of the thread being discontinued in the direction of the axis of the opening and over a thread length substAntially less than the total thread length to provide access to the groove along the exterior of the neck whereby a snap-on lid placed over the neck opening and engaged by the annular protrusion is manually removable from the container by applying a force to an edge of the snap-on lid overlying the discontinuity of the thread.

Claim 9

A resealable container for alternative use with screw-type covers and snap-on lids comprising: a main container body having an opening therein, and a tubular neck defining the opening and aligned therewith, the neck terminating in an end face and having an external thread for engagement by the cover, the thread being positioned with respect to the end face so that it is engageable by standardized covers requiring a predetermined spacing between an end of the thread proximate the end face and the end face, the neck further including an annular protrusion intermediate the end face and the thread and an annular groove intermediate the protrusion and the thread, adjacent portions of the thread being discontinued in the direction of the axis of the opening and over a thread length substAntially less than the total thread length to provide access to the groove along the exterior of the neck whereby a snap-on lid placed over the neck opening and engaged by the annular protrusion is manually removable from the container by applying a force to an edge of the snap-on lid overlying the discontinuity of the thread.

Claim 10

A screw-top container adapted to receive a quick release, sealing snap-on lid having a closure member and a tubular, cylindrically shaped skirt depending from the periphery of the closure member, the skirt including an inwardly extending annular projection spaced from the closure member, the container comprising: a hollow body and a tubular neck extending from the body and defining an opening of the container, the tubular neck including an end face, an annular bead on the periphery of the neck and positioned to be disposed intermediate the closure member and the annular projection when the snap-on lid is placed over the opening to thereby retain the snap-on lid to the neck and seal the opening, the neck further including an external thread spaced from the annular bead to form a groove between the thread and the bead for placement of the annular projection therein, the thread being formed for engagement by a screw-type cover to enable the alternative closing of the container with the cover, the neck further including a recess terminating at the groove and extending along the exterior of the neck towards a remainder of the container to define a discontinuity of the thread and provide access to the skirt along the recess when the lid is engaged by the bead to facilitate the removal of the snap-on lid by engaging an edge of the skirt portion proximate the recess and pry the snap-on lid off the bead.

Claim 11

A screw-top container adapted to receive a quick release, sealing snap-on lid having a closure member and a tubular, cylindrically shaped skirt depending from the periphery of the closure member, the skirt including an inwardly extending annular projection spaced from the closure member, the container comprising: a hollow body and a tubular neck extending from the body and defining an opening of the container, the tubular neck including an end face, an annular bead on the periphery of the neck and positioned to be disposed intermediate the closure member and the annular projection when the snap-on lid is placed over the opening to thereby retain the snap-on lid to the neck and seal the opening, the neck further including an external thread spaced from the annular bead to form a groove between the thread and the bead for placement of the annular projection therein, the thread being formed for engagement by a screw-type cover to enable the alternative closing of the container with the cover, the neck further including a recess terminating at the groove and extending along the exterior of the neck towards a remainder of the container to define a discontinuity of the thread and provide access to the skirt along the recess when the lid is engaged by the bead to facilitate the removal of the snap-on lid by engaging an edge of the skirt portion proximate the recess and pry the snap-on lid off the bead.

Claim 12

A container according to claim 7 wherein a depth of the recess measured from peaks of the threads is greater than a depth of the groove measured from peaks of the thread to enable the engagement of the full edge surface of the skirt.

Claim 13

A container according to claim 7 wherein the groove has a width of between about one-sixteenth inch to about one-eighth inch, and wherein the spacing between the end face and an end of the thread proximate the end face is no more than about one-fourth inch, whereby a cover standardized for a predetermined distance between the end face and the proximate thread end, the distance being less than one-fourth inch, is engageable with the thread for the closing of the containers with a standardized cover.