Tube container

Abstract

To provide a tube container that allows for easy removal of contents remaining around the shoulder area without increasing manufacturing costs. [Solution] The tube container 1 comprises a body portion 21 made of a flexible material, with the vertical direction being a cylindrical axis 100, at least the upper end being a hollow cylindrical shape coaxial with the cylindrical axis and the lower end being closed; a shoulder portion 24 covering the upper end of the body portion; a neck portion 23 integrally molded with the shoulder portion and having a hollow cylindrical shape with an opening 22 for dispensing contents at its upper end; and a cap 3 that is detachably attached to the neck portion. The upper end 27 of the body portion is formed in a wave shape that periodically repeats bumps and dips around the cylindrical axis, and the vertices 27a of the convex parts of the wave or the lowest points 27b of the concave parts of the wave face each other at a position 180° with respect to the cylindrical axis, and the periphery of the shoulder portion is formed in a shape that follows the wave shape at the upper end of the body portion.

Description

[[Technical Field]]

[0001] The present invention relates to a tube container. [[Background Art]]

[0002] Tube containers are known as containers for storing viscous contents such as toothpaste paste and creamy cosmetics. A general tube container has a take-out port for the contents in the body portion, where the distal end side of a tube member made of a flexible resin material molded into a hollow cylindrical shape is closed by ultrasonic welding or the like. The tube container is composed of a container body to which a shoulder portion, formed by integrally molding a hollow cylindrical neck portion provided with the take-out port, is attached, and a cap detachably attached to the neck portion.

[0003] In the container body of a general tube container, while the body portion is formed of a thin and flexible resin material and has flexibility, the integrally molded portion composed of the neck portion and the shoulder portion is formed of a resin material molded harder than the body portion, for example by being made thicker, in order to allow the cap to be attached and detached and to maintain the cylindrical shape on the distal end side of the body portion.

[0004] In such a tube container, when taking out the contents, the flexible body portion of the container body is squeezed to push the contents outward from the take-out port at the tip of the neck portion. Further, assuming that the cylindrical axial direction of the upper end side of the hollow cylindrical body portion and the neck portion is the vertical direction, when the remaining amount of the contents becomes small, the body portion is squeezed in the radial direction leaving the area around the shoulder, and the body portion is also squeezed in the vertical direction while pinching the shoulder between fingers, thereby guiding the contents remaining below the shoulder to the take-out port.

[0005] As for tube containers, Patent Document 1 below discloses an extrusion container that makes it easier to push out the contents remaining below the shoulder when the remaining amount of contents becomes low. In addition, Non-Patent Document 1 below describes an example of a method for manufacturing a tube container. [[Prior Art Documents]] [[Patent Documents]]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-037974 [Non-patent literature]

[0007] [Non-Patent Document 1] Kansai Tube Co., Ltd., "Laminated Tube Manufacturing Process", [online], [searched January 6, 2025], Internet <URL:https: / / www.yamanakagroup.jp / kansaitube / business / laminate / manufacturing-process.php> [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] In typical tube containers, the body does not collapse sufficiently in the radial direction around the rigid shoulder, making it difficult to use up the contents completely. Therefore, the extruded container described in Patent Document 1 has a specially shaped shoulder with folds to make it easier to deform. However, the molding process for creating a shoulder with folds by making the resin thin requires a mold with a complex shape, which increases manufacturing costs.

[0009] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a tube container that allows for easy removal of contents remaining around the shoulder area without increasing manufacturing costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above objective is a body made of a flexible material having a cylindrical axis in the vertical direction, at least the upper end being formed as a hollow cylindrical shape coaxial with the cylindrical axis and the lower end being closed, The shoulder portion covers the upper end of the torso, A hollow cylindrical shape coaxial with the cylindrical shaft, with an opening at the upper end for dispensing contents, and a neck portion integrally molded with the shoulder portion, A cap that can be detachably attached to the neck portion, It has, The upper end of the body is formed in a wave shape that periodically repeats bumps and dips around the cylindrical axis, and the peaks of the convex portions of the wave, or the lowest points of the concave portions, face each other at a position 180° with respect to the cylindrical axis. The periphery of the shoulder portion is formed in a shape that follows the wave shape at the upper end of the torso portion. It comes in a tube container.

[0011] The upper end of the body may be formed in a wavy shape with repeated bumps and dips around the cylindrical axis at intervals of 1 / 4 of a turn, thus forming a tube container. The lower end of the body portion can also be a tube container in which the lower end of the body portion is closed in a manner that is flattened in the direction of the extension of the straight line connecting the lowest points of the downwardly convex regions in the waveform at the upper end of the body portion.

[0012] The cap is attached to the neck portion by a snap-fit ​​engagement structure. The lower end of the cap is formed in a shape that follows at least a portion of the downwardly convex region in the waveform of the body, The tube container may also be configured such that when the cap attached to the neck is rotated around the cylindrical shaft, the lower end of the cap is guided upward by the wavy shape of the body, releasing the snap-fit ​​engagement. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] The present invention provides a tube container that allows for easy removal of contents remaining around the shoulder area without increasing manufacturing costs. Further effects will be described below. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1A] This figure shows the external appearance of a tube container according to the embodiment, and is a perspective view from above with the cap of the tube container removed. [Figure 1B]FIG. 1 is an external view of the tube container according to the embodiment, and is a perspective view of a state where the cap is attached as viewed from above. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cap as viewed from below. [Figure 3A] FIG. 3 is a side view of the tube container according to the embodiment as viewed from the front-rear direction. [Figure 3B] FIG. 4 is a side view of the tube container according to the embodiment as viewed from the left-right direction. [Figure 4] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the waveform at the upper end of the body portion constituting the tube container according to the embodiment. [Figure 5A] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the principle of taking out content when the remaining amount of the content is low in the tube container according to the embodiment, and shows the tube container in a state where a sufficient amount of the content remains. [Figure 5B] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the principle of taking out content when the remaining amount of the content is low in the tube container according to the embodiment, and shows the tube container in a state where the remaining amount of the content is low. [Figure 6] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a procedure for removing a cap from the tube container according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 9 is an external view of a tube container according to a modification. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings used in the following description, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description thereof may be omitted. With respect to a part denoted by a reference numeral in one drawing, the reference numeral may be omitted from the corresponding part in other drawings if it is unnecessary. === Embodiment === Figures 1A and 1B show the external appearance of the tube container 1 according to the embodiment. Figure 1A is a perspective view showing the tube container 1 with the cap 3 removed, and Figure 1B is a perspective view showing the tube container with the cap 3 attached. As shown in Figures 1A and 1B, the tube container 1 according to the embodiment has a generally cylindrical external shape. Here, the direction of the cylindrical axis (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "axis 100") is defined as the vertical direction, and the vertical directions are defined assuming that the cap 3 is attached to the top of the tube container 1. Furthermore, the vertical direction of the cap 3 is defined based on the attached state, even when it is removed.

[0016] As shown in Figure 1A, the tube container 1 consists of a container body 2 comprising a body portion 21 in which the contents are stored, a hollow cylindrical neck portion 23 with an outlet 22 at its upper end for removing the contents from the body portion, and a shoulder portion 24 integrally molded with the neck portion 23 and provided on the upper end side of the body portion, and a cap 3 that is detachably attached to the neck portion 23 of the container body 2. In addition, in the tube container 1 according to the embodiment, a ridge portion 25 is formed around the neck portion 23, protruding radially outward from the axis 100 and circumferentially around the axis, and the cap 3 has an engagement structure with this ridge portion 25. This engagement structure will be described later.

[0017] The body portion 21 is a hollow cylindrical tube member made of a flexible resin material, with its lower end sealed linearly by heat welding or the like. For example, it may be a tube member formed into a hollow cylindrical shape by extrusion molding of a resin such as polyethylene (PE), or a tube member formed by winding a sheet of resin into a cylindrical shape and welding the sides of the cylinder, with the lower end of the tube member closed in a radially flattened state. Hereinafter, the portion that is linearly closed at the lower end of the body portion 21 will be referred to as the "sealed portion 26".

[0018] The shoulder portion 24 is a part integrally molded with the neck portion 23 and is made of, for example, high-density PE (rigid PE). In order to attach the shoulder portion 24, which is integrally molded with the neck portion 23, to the upper end of the body portion 21, for example, the upper edge of the body portion 21 is bent in the direction of axis 100 (inward), and the neck portion 23 and shoulder portion 24 are placed in a mold for integral molding, and molten resin is injected into the mold. As a result, the shoulder portion 24 is molded in a state where it is welded to the upper end 27 of the body portion 21, forming the container body 2. The contents are filled, for example, through an opening at the lower end of a hollow cylindrical tube member after the shoulder portion 24 has been molded to the upper end of the tube member. The sealing portion 26 is formed after the contents have been filled.

[0019] The cap 3 is a one-piece molded product made of a resin such as high-density PE. Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the cap 3 as seen from below. The cap 3 is generally a hollow cylindrical shape that is flattened vertically and has a top surface 31 at the top and an opening at the bottom, and is composed of an outer cylinder portion 32 that forms the exterior of the cap 3, and an inner cylinder portion 33 that is suspended from the top surface 31 inside the outer cylinder portion 32 and has a reduced diameter relative to the outer cylinder portion 32.

[0020] Inside the cap 3, a ridge 25 of the neck portion 23 and a so-called "snap-fit" engagement structure are formed. In this embodiment, protrusions 34 are intermittently formed at equal angular intervals (for example, 120° intervals) on the inner circumferential surface of the inner cylinder portion 33, projecting radially inward with respect to the axis 100 and circumferentially around the axis 100. In this embodiment, these are formed at three locations on the inner circumferential surface of the inner cylinder portion 33. In addition, a notch 35 is formed at one location between adjacent protrusions 34 in the circumferential direction, extending in a slit-like manner from the lower end of the inner cylinder portion 33 upwards.

[0021] When attaching the cap 3, which has the above configuration, to the neck portion 23, the cap 3 is pushed onto the neck portion 23 from above. During the process of pushing the cap 3 in, the convex portion 34 of the cap 3 first comes into contact with the ridge portion 25 of the neck portion 23, and then the inner cylinder portion 33 elastically deforms to expand in diameter due to the notch portion 35. Then the convex portion 34 overcomes the ridge portion 25, and the cap 3 is attached to the container body 2. Of course, the engagement structure between the cap 3 and the neck portion 23 is not limited to a screw cap or other snap-fit ​​type.

[0022] In the cap 3 of the tube container 1 of this embodiment, in addition to the above configuration, a hollow cylindrical portion (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "sealing portion 36") is formed inside the inner cylindrical portion 33, protruding downward from the top surface 31, and is inserted liquid-tightly into the dispensing opening 22 of the container body 2. The sealing portion 36 serves as a stopper to prevent the contents from drying out. Note that the sealing portion 36 is not limited to a hollow cylindrical shape, but may also be formed as a projection. Furthermore, if the dispensing opening is sealed when the cap 3 is attached by providing a packing on the top surface 31 inside the cap 3, or if the contents do not require drying, the sealing portion 36 may be omitted.

[0023] The above is an overview of the configuration and structure of the tube container 1. However, in the tube container 1 according to the embodiment, the shape of the upper end 27 side of the body portion 21 allows for effective removal of the contents remaining below the shoulder portion 24 when the amount of contents remaining decreases. The following describes the structure and other features of the tube container 1 according to the embodiment that allow for the removal of more of the small amount of remaining contents.

[0024] Figures 3A and 3B show side views of the tube container 1 as seen from a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction. As shown in Figures 3A and 3B, the upper end 27 of the body portion 21 has a wave-like shape with a series of peaks that are convex upwards and valleys that are convex downwards around the axis. Furthermore, the lower end 37 of the outer cylinder portion 32 of the cap 3 follows the wave shape on the upper end 27 side of the body portion 21, and when the cap 3 is attached to the container body 2, the wave shape at the upper end 27 of the body portion 21 and the wave shape at the lower end of the outer cylinder portion 32 coincide.

[0025] Figure 4 shows an explanatory diagram of the waveform at the upper end 27 of the body portion 21. As shown in Figure 4, in this embodiment, when the container body 2 is viewed from above and below, and one of the points that become the peak 27a is set to 0°, when the container body 2 is rotated around the axis 100 while viewing the upper end 27 of the body portion 21 from the radially outward direction relative to the axis 100, the above-mentioned peaks and troughs draw a cosine curve for two periods in which they alternate every 90°. Figure 3A shows the state in which the peak 27a is facing forward when the tube container 1 is viewed from the radially outward direction, and Figure 3B shows the state in which the lowest point 27b of the trough is facing forward when viewed from the radially outward direction.

[0026] Here, the three mutually orthogonal directions are defined as the up-down direction, the front-back direction, and the left-right direction. At the upper end 27 of the body portion 21, the direction in which the two peaks 27a face each other with respect to the axis 100 is defined as the front-back direction, and the direction in which the lowest points 27b of the two valleys face each other is defined as the left-right direction. Therefore, Figure 3A is a view of the tube container 1 from the front-back direction, and Figure 3B is a view of the tube container 1 from the left-right direction. In this embodiment, the sealing portion 26 is formed to be linear in the left-right direction. The left-right and front-back directions of the cap 3 are defined based on the state in which it is attached to the container body 2. The lower end 37 of the outer cylinder portion 32 of the cap 3 is formed to follow the shape of the wave of the upper end 27 of the body portion 21.

[0027] Figures 5A and 5B illustrate the principle of removing the contents from the tube container 1 according to the embodiment when the remaining amount of contents is low. In Figures 5A and 5B, the tube container 1 according to the embodiment is shown on the left side of the paper as viewed from the left-right direction with respect to the axis 100, and a general tube container 1 is shown on the right side of the paper. Figures 5A and 5B show the tube container (1,101), i.e., the container body (2,102), with the cap 3 removed. Figure 5A shows each tube container (1,101) when there is plenty of contents remaining, and Figure 5B shows the state when the remaining amount of contents is low, and the shoulder portion (24,124) is grasped from above and below with fingers 50 to push out the contents remaining around the shoulder portion (24,124) from the dispensing opening 22. Figures 5A and 5B also show each tube container (1,101) as viewed from the left-right direction.

[0028] As shown in Figure 5A, in a typical tube container 101, the upper end 127 of the body 121 is circular when viewed from above, so the shoulder portion 124 is a straight line perpendicular to the vertical direction when viewed from either the front-to-back or left-to-right direction. On the other hand, in the tube container 1 according to the embodiment, the upper end 27 of the body 21 is a valley when viewed from the front-to-back direction, and when viewed from the left-to-right direction, there is a difference in height h between the vertical position of the peak 27a and the vertical position of the lowest point 27b of the valley. Note that in each tube container (1,101), if the origin of the body (21,121) and the diameter of the tube member are the same, and if there is sufficient contents remaining, the distance from the axis 100 to the periphery of the shoulder portion (24,124) when viewed from the left-to-right direction will be approximately the same for both tube containers (1,101) (w1 ≈ w2).

[0029] Here, when the amount of contents remaining decreases, for example, as shown in Figure 5B, the body portion 21 is compressed radially while the fingers 50 (for example, the index finger 50a and thumb 50b) are used to grip the upper side of the shoulder portion (24, 124) and the upper end (27, 127) of the body portion (21, 121) to guide the contents remaining below the shoulder portion (24, 124) in the container body (2, 102) into the neck portion 23. However, it is difficult to reduce the diameter of the rigid shoulder portion (24, 124). In a typical tube container 101, the position of the upper end 127 of the body 121 is almost the same around the axis 100, so there is little space to insert the thumb 50b below the shoulder 124. In other words, even if the upper end 127 side of the body 121 is crushed downwards, there is not enough room in the width w4 that can be crushed relative to the original diameter w2, and a large amount of contents remain below the shoulder 124. That is, it is difficult to push out the contents remaining below the shoulder 124 in the region close to the axis 100 through the neck 23 and out of the dispensing opening 22.

[0030] On the other hand, in the tube container 1 according to the embodiment, the body portion 21 can be easily deformed up to the peak formation region simply by crushing it in the front-to-back direction, and when the upper end 27 of the body portion 21 is crushed, enough space is created below the shoulder portion 24 to insert a thumb 50b, depending on the height difference h between the valley and the peak. In other words, the width w3 that can be used to crush the body portion 21 below the shoulder portion 24 can be increased compared to the initial diameter w1 on the upper end 27 side of the body portion 21. In this way, in the tube container 1 according to the embodiment, the contents remaining below the shoulder portion 24 in the region close to the axis 100 can be effectively removed. Furthermore, in the tube container 1 according to the embodiment, by simply making the shape of the upper end 27 corrugated when manufacturing the body portion 21, the rest can be manufactured using the same manufacturing process as a general tube container 101, thus suppressing an increase in manufacturing costs. Furthermore, as described above, the tube container 1 according to the embodiment employs a snap-fit ​​engagement structure between the neck portion 23 and the cap 3, allowing the cap 3 to be attached and detached by pushing it into or pulling it up against the container body 2. In addition, the corrugated shape of the lower end 37 of the outer cylinder portion 32 of the cap 3 is formed to follow the corrugated shape of the upper end 27 of the body portion 21. That is, in the tube container 1 according to the embodiment, when the cap 3 is attached, the valleys of the body portion 21 correspond to the downwardly convex region at the lower end 37 of the outer cylinder portion 32. Moreover, in the tube container 1 according to the embodiment, the snap-fit ​​attachment structure between the container body 2 and the cap 3, and the corrugated shapes at the upper end 27 of the body portion 21 and the lower end 37 of the cap 3 allow the cap 3 to be removed more easily. Figure 6 shows the procedure for removing the cap 3. In Figure 6, the left / right and front / back directions of the container body 2 are indicated by solid double arrows where appropriate, and the left / right and up / down directions of the cap 3 are indicated by dashed arrows.

[0031] The waveform at the upper end 27 of the body 21 is a curve in which peaks and troughs smoothly alternate around the axis with a period of 90°. Therefore, in the initial state with the cap 3 attached (s1), the position of the peak 27a at the upper end 27 of the body 21 and the lowest point 37a of the downwardly convex region at the lower end 37 of the outer cylinder 32 coincide in the direction of axis 100, and the position of the lowest point 27b of the trough at the upper end 27 of the body 21 and the highest point 37b of the upwardly convex region at the lower end 37 of the outer cylinder 32 coincide in the direction of axis 100. From this initial state, as shown by the elliptical arrow in the figure, when the cap 3 is rotated around axis 100 (s2), the lower end 37 of the outer cylinder 32 of the cap 3 is guided by the waveform of the upper end 27 of the body 21, and the cap 3 gradually floats upward relative to the container body 2. Then, when the cap 3 is rotated 90°, the snap-fit ​​engagement is released and the cap 3 is removed (s4) during the process (s3) when the lowest point 37a of the downwardly convex region at the lower end 37 of the outer cylinder portion 32 coincides with the peak 27a of the peak at the upper end 27 of the body portion 21. Furthermore, the snap-fit ​​engagement structure between the cap 3 and the neck portion 23 allows for a lower vertical height of the neck portion 23 compared to a screw cap, thus increasing the filling rate of the contents in the tube container 1 according to this embodiment. In other words, the vertical height of the tube container 1 can be reduced while maintaining the capacity of the contents, increasing the design flexibility. ===Other Examples=== Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be modified in various ways without departing from its essence. The above embodiment is described in detail for the purpose of explaining the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner and is not necessarily limited to having all the configurations described. Some of the configurations of the embodiment can be added to, deleted from, or replaced with other configurations.

[0032] For example, in the tube container 1 according to the above embodiment, the remaining contents could be effectively removed by gripping the shoulder portion 24 with the fingers 50 in the region of the wave peak at the upper end 27 of the body portion 21. Therefore, if it is not necessary to make the removal of the cap 3 easier, the wave shape at the upper end 27 of the body portion 21 is not limited to a smooth curve as in the above embodiment, but may be other shapes such as a triangular wave or a square wave. Also, the shape of the lower end 37 of the outer cylinder portion 32 of the cap 3 does not have to follow the shape of the wave at the upper end 27 of the body portion 21. In any case, it is sufficient that the upper end 27 side of the body portion 21 is formed in a wave shape.

[0033] In the tube container 1 according to the above embodiment, the sealing portion 26 was formed to be straight in the left-right direction so that the body portion 21 could be naturally crushed in the front-to-back direction when viewed from above. However, if the body portion 21 is crushed in the front-to-back direction when the amount of contents remaining is low, more of the remaining contents can be extracted, so the sealing portion 26 may also be straight in the front-to-back direction. Of course, the sealing portion 26 does not have to be straight; for example, it may be formed in a wavy shape when viewed from the front-to-back direction, or in a shape that is flat when viewed from above. In any case, the body portion 21 only needs to be hollow cylindrical at least at the upper end and have a wavy shape at the upper end.

[0034] The basic shape of the body portion 21 of the tube container 1 according to the embodiment is not limited to a cylinder. For example, the external shape may be based on an elliptical cylinder, as shown in the modified example tube container 201 in Figure 7. This tube container 201 comprises a container body 202 having a sealing portion 226 at the lower end of the body portion 221 and a corrugated upper end 227 of the body portion 221, and a hollow elliptical cylindrical cap 203 having a top surface 231 that opens downwards. Specifically, the cap 203, container body 202, and a neck portion 23 (not shown) that is continuous above the container body 202 and has a planar shape that is elliptical when viewed from above and below, with its lower end 237 formed to follow the corrugated shape of the upper end 227 of the body portion 221, are arranged coaxially with the elliptical cylindrical axis 200. The upper end 227 of the body portion 221 of the container body 202 has a corrugated shape that repeats bumps and dips around the cylindrical axis 200 at 1 / 4 period intervals.

[0035] In the modified tube container 201 shown in Figure 7, the sealing portion 226 is formed to be linear in the left-right direction (diametrically, with respect to the elliptical cylindrical axis 200, connecting the lowest points 227b of the opposing valleys at the upper end 227 of the body portion 221), but it may also be linear in the front-back direction (diametrically, connecting the peaks 227a of the opposing peaks at the upper end 227 of the body portion 121). Of course, the shape of the sealing portion 226 of the modified tube container 201 does not have to be linear.

[0036] In the container 1 according to the above embodiment and the modified container 201, the waveform at the upper end (27,227) of the body (21,221) is formed so as to repeat bumps and dips every quarter turn around the axis (100,200), and the waveform includes two peaks 27a and two lowest points 27b. However, it is not limited to every quarter turn; for example, it is sufficient if the peaks (27a,227a) and the lowest points (27b,227b) of the peaks and valleys are located at positions that are symmetrical (180°) with respect to the axis (100,200) when viewed from above and below. Note that depending on the circumference of the body (21,221) when viewed from above and below, if there are too many peaks and valleys, there will be less room to insert a finger to crush the body (21,221) when the amount of contents remaining decreases. Therefore, the number of peaks and troughs in the waveform of the body (21,221) should be set appropriately according to the circumference of the body (21,221).

[0037] In the above embodiment of container 1 and the modified container 201, the lower end (37,237) of the cap (3,203) was formed in a wave shape that followed the wave shape at the upper end (27,227) of the body (21,221) over its entire circumference, with the highest point (37a,237a) and lowest point (37b,237b) repeating every quarter turn around the axis. However, the lower end (37,237) of the cap (3,203) only needs to be formed in a shape that follows a part of the region of at least one of the two valleys in the wave shape of the body (21,221), such as a part of the downwardly convex region including the lowest point (37b,237b).

[0038] Of course, if the snap-fit ​​engagement is released before the lowest point (37b,237b) of the cap (3,203) attached to the neck portion 23 coincides with the peak (27a,227a) of the waveform of the body portion (21,221) during the rotation of the cap (3,203) attached to the neck portion 23 around the axis (100,200), then the shape of the lower end of the cap (3,203) does not need to include the lowest point (37b,237b) of the downwardly convex region. In other words, the lower end (37,237) of the cap (3,203) does not need to have a region corresponding to the lowest point (27b,227b) of the trough in the waveform of the body portion (21,221). The region at the lower end (37,237) of the cap (3,203) that follows the waveform of the body portion (21,221) can be appropriately set according to the vertical position at which the snap-fit ​​engagement is released.

[0039] In any case, by forming only a portion of the lower end (37,237) of the cap (3,203) to follow a part of the valley in the wave of the body (21,221), when attaching the cap (3,203) to the neck 23, a margin of error can be made in the alignment of the cap (3,203) and the container body (2,202) around the axis (100,200). Then, by rotating the attached cap (3,203) around the axis (100,200), the lower end (37,237) of the cap (3,203) is guided by the wave shape of the body (21,221) and pushed up to a position where the snap-fit ​​engagement is released. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1,101,201 Tube container, 2,102,202 Container body, 3,203 Cap, 21,221 Body, 22 Dispensing opening, 23 Neck, 24,124 Shoulder, 25 Protruding section, 26, 226 Sealing section, 27, 127, 227 Upper end of body section, 27a,227a The peak of the waveform at the upper end of the body, 27b,227b Lowest point of the waveform at the upper end of the body, 31,231 Top surface of the cap, 32 Outer cylinder portion of the cap, 33 Inner cylinder portion of the cap, 34 Protrusion, 36 Sealing portion, 37 The lower end of the cap (outer cylinder part), 37a,237a The highest point of the waveform at the lower end of the cap, 37b,237b Lowest point of the waveform at the bottom of the cap, 100 Cylindrical axis (axis), 200 Elliptical Cylinder Axis

Claims

1. A body made of a flexible material having a cylindrical axis in the vertical direction, at least the upper end being formed as a hollow cylinder coaxial with the cylindrical axis, and the lower end being closed; The shoulder portion covers the upper end of the torso, A hollow cylindrical shape coaxial with the cylindrical shaft, with an opening at the upper end for dispensing contents, and a neck portion integrally molded with the shoulder portion, A cap that can be detachably attached to the neck portion, It has, The upper end of the body is formed in a wave shape that periodically repeats bumps and dips around the cylindrical axis, and the peaks of the convex portions of the wave, or the lowest points of the concave portions, face each other at a position 180° with respect to the cylindrical axis. The periphery of the shoulder portion is formed in a shape that follows the wave shape at the upper end of the torso portion. Tube container.

2. The tube container according to claim 1, wherein the upper end of the body is formed in a wave shape that repeats undulations every quarter turn around the cylindrical axis.

3. The tube container according to claim 1, wherein the lower end of the body is closed in a manner that is flattened in the direction of the extension of the straight line connecting the lowest points of the downwardly convex regions in the waveform at the upper end of the body.

4. The cap is attached to the neck portion by a snap-fit ​​engagement structure. The lower end of the cap is formed in a shape that follows at least a portion of the downwardly convex region in the waveform of the body, When the cap attached to the neck is rotated around the cylindrical shaft, the lower end of the cap is guided upward by the wavy shape of the body, and the snap-fit ​​engagement is released. The tube container according to claim 1.

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