US3968914A — Container assembly

Claim 1

Independent Claim 174 words

In a container assembly comprising in combination a plurality of containers provided with substantially identical caps and a carrier bar defining a corresponding number of openings completely encircled by sleeves, the improvement according to which said caps have a circular transverse cross section and an external cylindrical surface, each said cylindrical surface carrying a plurality of ridges extending outward of said surface and in the direction of said cylinder, and said sleeves have closed internal surfaces of revolution mating approximately with said cylindrical external surface, but provided with a different number of ridges having different dimensions which interengage with the ridges on said caps, said caps and sleeves being made of a resilient material so that said ridges are compressible and the maximum undistended inner diameter of said sleeves being slightly less than the maximum uncompressed outer diameter of said caps, so that when said caps are forced into said sleeve said ridges are compressed and the caps are frictionally retained in said sleeves said caps having an axial length greater than said sleeves.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 174 words

In a container assembly comprising in combination a plurality of containers provided with substantially identical caps and a carrier bar defining a corresponding number of openings completely encircled by sleeves, the improvement according to which said caps have a circular transverse cross section and an external cylindrical surface, each said cylindrical surface carrying a plurality of ridges extending outward of said surface and in the direction of said cylinder, and said sleeves have closed internal surfaces of revolution mating approximately with said cylindrical external surface, but provided with a different number of ridges having different dimensions which interengage with the ridges on said caps, said caps and sleeves being made of a resilient material so that said ridges are compressible and the maximum undistended inner diameter of said sleeves being slightly less than the maximum uncompressed outer diameter of said caps, so that when said caps are forced into said sleeve said ridges are compressed and the caps are frictionally retained in said sleeves said caps having an axial length greater than said sleeves.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 49 words

Assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the external surfaces of said caps are frusto-conical, with a small angle of conicity and a circular section, the sleeves of the bar having cylindrical inner surfaces having a circular section and all of the ridges on said sleeves being identical.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 66 words

Assembly as claimed in claim 2 in which the diameter of the circular section passing through the summits of the ridges on each sleeve lies between the diameter of the circular section passing through the summits of the ridges separating two adjacent striations on the cap measured at the larger end of the cap and the analogous diameter measured at the smaller end of the cap.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 52 words

Assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the outer surface of each cap carries striations having a triangular profile, the depth of which lies between 0.1 and 0.3 mm, the width of the ridges between said striations, measured perpendicularly to the surface of the sleeve, lying between 0.3 and 0.6 mm.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 41 words

Assembly as claimed in claim 4 in which the maximum width of the striations of the cap lies between 0.3 mm and 0.6 mm and the maximum width of the ridges of the bar lies between 0.6 mm and 1.2 mm.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 28 words

Assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the number of striations on the cap lies between 5 and 20 times the number of ridges on the sleeve.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 28 words

Assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the one end of each sleeve is provided with a chamfer facilitating the introduction of the cap into the sleeve.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 36 words

Assembly as claimed in claim 7 in which the ridges on each sleeve terminate at a distance of from 0.1 and 0.4 times the axial length of the sleeve, said distance being measured from its chamfer.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 32 words

Assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the axial length of the sleeves of the bar lies between 0.15 and 0.80 times the axial length of the caps of the containers.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 32 words

Assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the axial length of the sleeves of the bar lies between 0.25 and 0.50 times the axial length of the caps of the containers.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 66 words

Assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the axes of said sleeves lie parallel to each other in the same plane, said sleeves being connected together at one end by a plate encircled by a rim the height of which is at least equal to the axial length of the sleeves, said rim being positioned on the same side of the plate as the sleeves.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 29 words

Assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the caps of the containers of the group are made of polypropolene and the bar is made of high impact polystyrene.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1979-07-13	1980-01-12	1980-07-13	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1983-07-13	1984-01-12	1984-07-13	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1987-07-13	1988-01-12	1988-07-13	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Container assembly

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