Container with Press-to-Release Cover

Abstract

A novel container is disclosed, comprising a housing and a lid or cover that extends over the top central opening into the housing. The cover rests on a ledge at the top of the housing walls. The ledge has a depression at one or more of the corners of the housing, which permits the cover over the depression to be pressed downward into the depression, causing the opposite side of the cover to project upward from the housing.

1 . A container having a top central opening with a perimeter extending around the opening, the container comprising:
 (c) a housing with walls and a bottom panel that form the primary storage portion of the container, the walls having a top portion, the top portion including a narrow ledge that extends around the perimeter of the central opening, with at least a portion of the ledge dipping down into a depression that extends below the usual plane of the narrow ledge thereby forming a cantilever for levering the cover against the cantilever; and   (d) a substantially flat, thin and relatively rigid top cover for covering the top central opening;   whereby the cover is released from the container by pressing downward on the cover over the depression, which causes the opposite end of the cover to be levered up against the cantilever, causing the opposite end of the cover to rise up from the narrow ledge.   
     
     
         2 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the individual walls of the housing are formed by individual panels, each panel having a first end and a second end, with the adjacent panels being connected end-to-end. 
     
     
         3 . The container of  claim 2 , wherein the depression is formed by curving the ledge downward. 
     
     
         4 . The container of  claim 2 , wherein the depression is formed by sloping the ledge downward at an inflection point to form a faceted depression. 
     
     
         5 . The container of  claim 3 , further comprising a magnet on the horizontal portion of the support ledge, which corresponds to a magnet on the releasable top cover, wherein the cover is held in place by the magnetic attraction between the magnet on the housing and the magnet on the top cover. 
     
     
         6 . The container of  claim 5 , wherein the housing is made of wood. 
     
     
         7 . The container of  claim 5 , wherein the housing is made of plastic. 
     
     
         8 . The container of  claim 5 , wherein the housing is made of metal. 
     
     
         9 . The container of  claim 5 , wherein the inflection point functions as a cantilever for levering the opposite end of the cover away from the ledge.