Container with seal structure

Abstract

Disclosed is a container with a seal structure having a base and a lid. The lid includes a top, a sidewall, a rim, a sealing edge, and a barb protruding from the lid sealing edge. The base includes a bottom, a sidewall, a rim, and a sealing edge. The lid sealing edge and the base sealing edge are molded to be correspondingly mateable with each other. Upon mating, an exterior region of the lid sealing edge attaches to an exterior region of the base sealing edge to form a seal, and the interior region of the lid sealing edge and the interior region of the base sealing edge gradually part from the point of attachment, forming a gap between the lid rim and the base rim.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A container with seal structure, the container comprising:
 a base; and   a lid,   wherein said lid comprises:
 a top, 
 a lid sidewall extending downward from said top, 
 a lid rim extending substantially horizontally outward from said lid sidewall, 
 a lid sealing edge extending outward from said lid rim, wherein said lid sealing edge includes an interior region adjacent to said lid rim and a exterior region apart from said lid rim, and 
 a barb protruding from said lid sealing edge, 
   wherein said base comprises:
 a base bottom, 
 a base sidewall extending upward from said base bottom, 
 a base rim extending substantially horizontally outward from said base sidewall, and 
 a base sealing edge extending outward from said base rim, wherein said base sealing edge includes an interior region adjacent to said base rim and an exterior region apart from said base rim, and 
   wherein said lid sealing edge and said base sealing rim are molded to be mateable to each other, and upon mating, the exterior region of said lid sealing edge attaching to the exterior region of said base sealing edge to form a seal, the interior region of said lid sealing edge and the interior region of said base sealing edge gradually parting from a point of attachment, forming a gap between said lid rim and said base rim.   
     
     
         2 . The container with seal structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the exterior region of said lid sealing edge and the exterior region of said base sealing edge are concentric arcs, and
 wherein the interior region of said lid sealing edge and the interior region of said base sealing edge are straight lines extending from an end of the concentric arcs with different tilted angles.   
     
     
         3 . The container with seal structure according to  claim 1 , wherein said lid top includes an annular slot and said base bottom includes an annular ridge, and
 wherein said annular slot and said annular ridge include coinciding projections mateable with the annular ridge of the annular slot when the base is placed on the lid top.   
     
     
         4 . The container with seal structure according to  claim 1 , wherein said lid sidewall extends substantially vertically or at an outward angle downward from said lid top, to facilitate stacking of a plurality of lids. 
     
     
         5 . The container with seal structure according to  claim 1 , wherein said base sidewall extends substantially vertically or at an outwardly extending angle downward from said base bottom, to facilitate stacking of a plurality of bases. 
     
     
         6 . The container with seal structure according to  claim 1 , wherein said base and said lid have one of a substantially rectangular shape and a square shape. 
     
     
         7 . The container with seal structure according to  claim 1 , wherein said base and said lid are substantially shaped as a round cylinder. 
     
     
         8 . The container with seal structure according to  claim 1 , wherein an angle between said lid rim and said base rim is between 5° and 10°. 
     
     
         9 . The container with seal structure according to  claim 1 , wherein said base and said lid are made of plastic or rubber material.