Container cap and seal assemblies

Abstract

A container cap and seal assembly comprises a container base, a cap and a seal engagable with the container base. The seal is held on the cap when the cap is initially installed on the base. When the cap is subsequently opened, the seal disengages from the cap and remains on the base. The seal may then be manually removed and re-installed on the base as desired. The container assembly may be used to contain pastes, liquids and other flowable materials.

1 . A container cap and seal assembly comprising:
 a container base having an internal volume;   a cap movable from an open position to a closed position on the container base; and   a seal member having a sealing surface engagable with a surface of the container base to thereby provide a seal for the internal volume of the container base, wherein the seal member is temporarily held on the cap when the cap is initially moved from the open position to the closed position.   
     
     
         2 . The container cap and seal assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the seal member is temporarily held on the cap by pressing a portion of the seal member against a portion of the cap. 
     
     
         3 . The container cap and seal assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the seal member comprises a radially inwardly extending rim, the cap comprises a downwardly extending annular ring, and the seal member is temporarily held on the cap by contact between the radially inwardly extending rim and the downwardly extending annular ring. 
     
     
         4 . The container cap and seal assembly of  claim 3 , wherein the seal member comprises a generally cylindrical sidewall and the radially inwardly extending rim comprises a generally conical portion connected to the sidewall and a radially inwardly extending circular flange in contact with the downwardly extending annular ring of the cap. 
     
     
         5 . The container cap and seal assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the radially inwardly extending circular flange includes a raised ring in contact with the downwardly extending annular ring. 
     
     
         6 . The container cap and seal assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the seal member comprises a circular outer surface contacting a generally cylindical inner surface of the container base to provide the seal. 
     
     
         7 . The container cap and seal assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the outer surface of the seal member is generally cylindrical. 
     
     
         8 . The container cap and seal assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the outer surface of the seal member comprises at least one raised ring contacting the inner surface of the container base. 
     
     
         9 . The container cap and seal assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the seal member further comprises a radially outwardly extending flange having a surface contacting an upper edge of the container base. 
     
     
         10 . The container cap and seal assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the container base and cap comprise engagable threads for securing the cap in the closed position. 
     
     
         11 . The container cap and seal assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the engagable threads are quarter-turn threads. 
     
     
         12 . The container cap and seal assembly of  claim 10 , further comprising engagable tactile stop members on the container base and cap that engage each other when the cap is moved to the closed position. 
     
     
         13 . The container cap and seal assembly of  claim 12 , wherein the engagable tactile stop members comprise opposing radially extending ridges. 
     
     
         14 . A cap and seal assembly for a container comprising:
 a cap comprising at least one thread engagable with a base of the container; and   a seal member held on the cap, wherein the cap and seal member are structured and arranged to temporarily hold the seal member on the cap until the cap is secured on the base of the container.   
     
     
         15 . A method of sealing a container comprising:
 at least partially filling a container base with a flowable material; and   installing a cap and seal member together onto the container base, wherein the cap and seal member are structured and arranged to disengage from each other when the cap is subsequently removed from the container base.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the seal member is removable by hand from the container base after the cap is removed. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the seal member can be re-installed on the container base after it has been removed from the container base. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the seal member can be re-engaged on the cap after the cap has been removed from the container base. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the flowable material comprises a paste. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the paste comprises solder paste.