Container or can for balls or the like for a racket sport

Abstract

A container or can- for balls or the like for a racket sport, in particular for tennis balls or badminton shuttlecocks, is provided. The container or can includes a hollow tube containing the balls or shuttlecocks, to which a cap is fastened. The cap includes a ring suitable for being secured to the hollow tube and a cover that hinged relative to the ring. The joint between the cover and the ring includes at least one hinge and a return member suitable for moving the cover into a position oriented at an angle of more than 90° relative to the ring when opening the cover.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 - 9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . A container for holding balls for a racket sport comprising:
 a hollow tube for containing a plurality of balls;   a cap fastened to the hollow tube, the cap including a ring and a cover, the cover being hinged with respect to the ring;   a joint between the cover and the ring including at least one hinge and at least one return member for moving the cover into a position oriented at an angle of more than 90° relative to the ring when opening the cover.   
     
     
         11 . The container according to  claim 10 , wherein the cover is moved by the at least one return member into a position wherein the angle between the cover and the ring is approximately 180°. 
     
     
         12 . The container according to  claim 10 , wherein the cover is moved by the at least one return member into a position wherein the angle between the cover and the ring is less than 180°. 
     
     
         13 . The container according to  claim 10 , wherein the at least one return member is bistable. 
     
     
         14 . The container according to  claim 10 , wherein the joint includes one hinge and two return members installed on either side of the one hinge. 
     
     
         15 . The container according to  claim 10 , wherein the joint includes two hinges installed on either side of the at least one return member installed at the center of the joint. 
     
     
         16 . The container according to  claim 10 , wherein the cover is integral with the hollow tube in a closed configuration of the cap. 
     
     
         17 . The container according to  10 , wherein the cover is suitable to be made integral with the ring in a closed configuration of the cap. 
     
     
         18 . The container according to  claim 10 , wherein the at least one return member is springs back when opening the cover. 
     
     
         19 . The container according to  claim 10 , wherein the container is a can. 
     
     
         20 . The container according to  claim 10 , wherein the ball is a tennis ball or a badminton shuttlecock. 
     
     
         21 . The container according to  claim 10 , wherein the ball is used for play in a racket sport. 
     
     
         22 . The container according to  claim 10 , wherein the ring is integral with the hollow tube. 
     
     
         23 . The container according to  claim 10 , wherein the at least one return member includes a plurality of return members. 
     
     
         24 . The container according to  claim 12 , wherein the angle between the cover and the ring is from 135° to 150°.