GB1593451A

GB1593451A - Container having a removable cover

Info

Publication number: GB1593451A
Application number: GB2281/78A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Societe de Paris et du Rhone SA
Current assignee: Societe de Paris et du Rhone SA
Priority date: 1977-01-27
Filing date: 1978-01-19
Publication date: 1981-07-15
Also published as: IT7819568A0; DE2803439A1; FR2378994B1; JPS5395460A; IT1092100B; ES466353A1; FR2378994A1

Description

(54) IMPROVED CONTAINER HAVING A REMOVABLE COVER (71) We, SOCIETE DE PARIS ET DU RHONE, a Societe Anonyme, organised and existing under the laws of France, of 36 Avenue Jean Mermoz, Lyon 8eme, Rhone, France, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention concerns an improved container having a removable cover.

This invention relates particularly to a container having a shoulder inside the container for example in internal combustion engine distributor.

At present attachment of bearings in the cover of a distributor is effected by means of two spring strips attached by screws at two points which are diametrically opposite and the radially external ends of which are raised and intended to be engaged under a shoulder inside the distributor. Although giving satisfaction, this type of attachment has the disadvantage of requiring screws, the fitment and removal of which are expensive operations which considerably increase the cost price and maintenance of the distributor. This type of attachment also requires the presence of a nut which, in order to make fitment of the bearing possible, must be fixed in the inside face of the latter, which contributes to increasing the cost price.

This invention is intended to obviate or mitigate these disadvantages.

According to the present invention there is provided a container having a removable cover and means for attaching the cover to the container, in which the container has first and second internal facing shoulders, the first of which is adapted to support the cover, the cover has a boss on its external face and said attachment means is a spring strip which includes a central arched section and two end sections, one of said end sections being removably engaged against said second shoulder and the other of said end sections being removably engaged with the boss whereby said attachment means on fitment to the container resiliently urges the cover towards said first shoulder.

The attachment of the cover to the container may therefore be effected immediately and without a tool. It is sufficient, after having engaged one of the ends of the spring strip under the inside shoulder of the container, to exercise pressure on the other end which, sliding against the periphery of the boss, jams itself in the locking position of the cover.

In a simple embodiment of the invention the end of the spring strip which is intended to be hooked to the boss on the cover, is straight and it is hooked as a result of its edge gripping against the said boss.

In a variant, to improve the gripping positions of the relevant end of the spring strip, the latter is notched, the sides of the notch, forming sharp corners with the edge of said end which bite into the material of the said boss.

This arrangement however, has the disadvantage of not allowing repeated fitment and stripping of the cover, by virtue of the rapid deterioration of the wall of the boss into which the spring strip bites. This is why, in accordance with an advantageous embodiment of the invention allowing repeated fitting and stripping of the cover without risk of deterioration of the boss on the latter, on the one hand, the boss on the cover has a shoulder facing the top face of the cover and, on the other, on the relevant end of the spring strip a small tongue is cut out forming a projection in relation to the bottom face of the said end, and this tongue then being engageable under the aforementioned shoulder of ,the boss when the spring strip is put in the locking position.

When the cover is to be removed it is sufficient to act on the free end of the relevant end cf the spring strip by removing it from the boss on the cover until, the small tongue having escaped the shoulder of the boss, the spring strip can be freely withdrawn.

In another variant of the embodiment which has just been described, the end of the spring strip intended to rest against the boss on the cover, is straight and this boss has, on the one hand, a shoulder facing the top face of the cover, and under which the aforementioned edge of the spring strip can engage with a view to locking the cover and, on the other, a longitudinal groove extending at least either side of the aforementioned shoulder, in the support zone of the relevant end of the spring strip.

In this case, to lock the spring strip in the cover locking position, it is sufficient, after fitment of its other end, to exercise on its relevant end, a pressure in the direction of the cover until it clicks under the shoulder of the boss. To withdraw it, it is sufficient to use a tool, like a screwdriver, the point of which, engaged in the groove on the boss, makes it possible to remove the relevant end of the strip from the boss and so release it from the shoulder which was retaining it.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view of a distributor of a combustion engine, the bearing of which is attached by the means described hereunder; Figs. 2 and 3, are on an enlarged scale, part sectional views along 2-2 of Fig. 1, illustrating two variants of these means; Fig. 4 is a part view, on an enlarged scale, similar to Fig. 1 showing a variant of these means; Fig. 5 is a sectional view along 5-5 of Fig.

4.

The drawings show a top bearing 2 of a combustion engine distributor attached to its cylindrical body 3. It is obvious, however, that the means for fixing the top 2 to the body 3 could be applied to the fixing of any type of cover encasing its box as bearing 2 may be likened to a cover for a box and body 3 to the box.

As shown in particular in Figs. 2 and 3, body 3 has an inside shoulder 4 orientated outwards and intended to serve as a support for bearing 2. In addition, between the support shoulder 4 and the free end of the body 3 there is provided an internal shoulder 5 facing support shoulder 4. In fact, in the example shown in the drawing, shoulder 5 consists of the facing side face of an annular groove 6.

In accordance with the invention the means to allow attachment of bearing 2 to body 3 includes a spring strip 7, central section 7a of which is bent in the form of an arch and two ends 7b and 7c of which are upwardly inclined with respect to the plane on which the ends of arched section 7a lie. End 7b is intended to be engaged in groove 6 to rest against shoulder 5, whilst end 7c, is intended to be hooked against boss 8, in which the bushing 9 of bearing 2 is accommodated.

In rhe embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2 the hooking of end 7c of spring strip 7 is effected by the gripping of the edge of the said end against the periphery of boss 8. The gripping conditions of this end 7c of spring strip 7 against boss 8 are, moreover, improved by the presence of a notch 11 made at the relevant end 7c of spring strip 7. In fact, the result of the presence of this notch 11 is two sharp corners 12, contact of which with boss 8 ensures excellent attachment by gripping. However, it can be imagined that these means of attachment do not allow repeated fitment and removal of this bearing by virtue of the rapid deterioration of the wall of boss 8.

The variant illustrated in Fig. 3 overcomes this disadvantage. In this variant, in end 7c of spring strip 7 a small tongue 13 is cut out and boss 8 has a shoulder 14 facing the top face 2a of bearing 2. In the locking position of bearing 2, in body 3 of the distributor, tongue 13 engages under shoulder 14 locking bearing 2 in this position, as shown in Fig. 3.

To remove bearing 2, it is sufficient to exert on the free edge 15 of end 7c of spring strip 7 a pressure tending to move it away from the boss, that is to say orientated in the direction of arrow 16, until tongue 13 is released from shoulder 14. After this release, spring strip 7 may easily be withdrawn and bearing 2 lifted from body 3.

It is obvious that these repeated fitment and removal operations in connection with spring strip 7 fitted with tongue 13 involve no deterioration of bearing 2 nor, in particular, the outside wall of its boss 8.

The variant illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 is a simplified embodiment of the one illustrated in Fig. 3.

In this embodiment, end 7c of spring strip 7 is cut straight and is intended to be engaged under shoulder 14 of boss 8. To allow withdrawal of spring strip 7, boss 8 has in addition to its shoulder 14, a longitudinal groove 17 extending over the whole of the height of boss 8. Therefore end 7c of spring strip 7 rests on shoulder 14 in boss 8 on either side of groove 17.

To remove end 7c from spring strip 7 and allow it to escape from shoulder 14 on boss 8, it is then possible to use a tapered tool such as, for example, the point of a screwdriver 18 which can be used by supporting it against the base of groove 17 either at the top end, as shown in solid lines on Fig. 5, or at the bottom end, as shown by the dotand-dash lines in the same illustration. In the first case, the screwdriver may be tipped in the direction of arrow 19 and in the second case in the direction of arrow 30. In this way, the operator may act directly on end 7c of spring strip 7 which makes the operation of removing this strip 7 much more reliable.

Another advantage of this variant embodiment resides in the fact that the formation of grooves 17 costs less than that of the tongue 13 provided in end 7c of spring strip 7 in the example illustrated in Fig. 3.

As is obvious and as can be seen from the foregoing, the invention is not limited simply to the embodiments of this tongue which were described above as non-limiting examples, on the contrary, it covers any variants within the scope of the claims.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS : - 1. A container having a removable cover and means for attaching the cover to the container, in which the container has first and second internal facing shoulders, the first of which is adapted to support the cover, the cover has a boss on its external face and said attachment means is a spring strip which includes a central arched section and two end sections, one of said end sections being removably engaged against said second shoulder and the other of said end sections being removably engaged with the boss whereby said attachment means on fitment to the container resiliently urges the cover towards said first shoulder.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1, in which the edge of the end section of the strip engaging the boss is straight.

3. A container as claimed in claim 1, in which the edge of the end section of the strip engaging the boss is notched to define sharp corners at the junction of the notch and edge.

4. A container as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the boss has a shoulder facing the top face of the cover and in the end of the spring strip adapted to engage the boss a tongue is cut out forming a projection in relation to the remainder of the said end, the tongue being capable of being engaged under the aforementioned shoulder of the boss when the spring strip is placed in the cover locking position.

5. A container as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the end of the spring strip engaging the boss is straight, and the boss has a shoulder facing the top face of the cover and under which the aforementioned end of the spring strip is engageable with a view to locking the cover, and a groove extending at least on either side of the aforementioned shoulder.

6. A container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, or Figs. 1 and 3, or Figs. 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **.

13 provided in end 7c of spring strip 7 in the example illustrated in Fig. 3.

As is obvious and as can be seen from the foregoing, the invention is not limited simply to the embodiments of this tongue which were described above as non-limiting examples, on the contrary, it covers any variants within the scope of the claims.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS : - 1. A container having a removable cover and means for attaching the cover to the container, in which the container has first and second internal facing shoulders, the first of which is adapted to support the cover, the cover has a boss on its external face and said attachment means is a spring strip which includes a central arched section and two end sections, one of said end sections being removably engaged against said second shoulder and the other of said end sections being removably engaged with the boss whereby said attachment means on fitment to the container resiliently urges the cover towards said first shoulder.
2. A container as claimed in claim 1, in which the edge of the end section of the strip engaging the boss is straight.
3. A container as claimed in claim 1, in which the edge of the end section of the strip engaging the boss is notched to define sharp corners at the junction of the notch and edge.
4. A container as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the boss has a shoulder facing the top face of the cover and in the end of the spring strip adapted to engage the boss a tongue is cut out forming a projection in relation to the remainder of the said end, the tongue being capable of being engaged under the aforementioned shoulder of the boss when the spring strip is placed in the cover locking position.
5. A container as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the end of the spring strip engaging the boss is straight, and the boss has a shoulder facing the top face of the cover and under which the aforementioned end of the spring strip is engageable with a view to locking the cover, and a groove extending at least on either side of the aforementioned shoulder.
6. A container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, or Figs. 1 and 3, or Figs. 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.