Shaking-out cap

Abstract

To provide a shaking-out cap capable of preventing a content from remaining on an upper face of a shaking-out plate, even after opening a shift plug body of an inner plug.SOLUTION: The shaking-out cap comprises: an inner plug B fitted to a mouth 1 of a container body A; and an over-cap C screwed and detachably fitted to the inner plug B. The inner plug B comprises: a discharge cylinder 10 for guiding a content; a shift plug body 15 continuously provided on an inner peripheral face of the discharge cylinder 10 via a thin-walled weakening part 14 and having a first engagement part 18 formed in a circumferential direction; and a shaking-out plate D fitted to a lower portion of the shift plug body 15 and having a shaking-out hole 52 of the content formed therein. The over-cap C comprises: a top wall 30; a sealing cylinder 35 suspended from the top wall 30 and tightly closing the discharge cylinder 10 at an outer periphery during closing of a lid; and a second engagement part 36 capable of engaging with the first engagement part 18 of the shift plug body. In the shift plug body 15, the thin-walled weakening part 14 is broken during opening of the lid so as to be shifted to the over-cap C.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a shake-out cap that is attached to a container body that contains granular or powdery contents, and in particular to a shake-out cap that can be opened by rotating an overcap in the opening direction. [Background technology]

[0002] A known cap that is attached to a container body for storing granular or powdered contents such as powdered cheese, sesame salt, etc. is a shake-out cap that is attached to the mouth of the container body and has a cap body with multiple shake-out holes formed therein, and a top lid that opens and closes on the cap body via a hinge and has protrusions formed thereon for insertion into the shake-out holes, and that blocks the shake-out holes when the lid is closed to prevent leakage of the contents and to prevent the shake-out holes from becoming clogged.

[0003] Also known is a cap which has a cap body to be attached to the mouth of a container, a stopper part corresponding to the mouth opening, and a lid body which is integrated with the cap body via a hinge and swings around the hinge, in which the stopper part has a discharge part which surrounds the stopper opening, a stopper body which closes the stopper opening and is integrated with the discharge part via a score, and an inner seal part which surrounds the mouth opening of the container and can abut against the inner peripheral surface of the opening edge, in which the cap has multiple swing-out holes and the stopper part of the stopper part seals against the swing-out holes of a packing which covers the mouth opening of the container body and is placed on the opening edge, and the inner seal part presses against the packing (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-31894 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the cap described in Patent Document 1 above, when the stopper is unopened and unused, the stopper of the inner stopper section seals the swing-out hole of the packing to seal the inside of the container. However, after the stopper is opened by breaking the score, even in the closed state, there is a risk that the contents that have leaked out through the swing-out hole of the packing may accumulate because the upper space of the inner stopper opening is large, and there is a problem in that the accumulated contents may make it difficult to open and close the lid.

[0006] The present invention has an object to solve the above problem and to provide a swing-out cap that can prevent the contents from accumulating on the upper surface of the swing-out plate even after the transition stopper body of the inner stopper is opened. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a shake-out cap comprising an inner stopper that is attached to the mouth of a container body, and an overcap that is screwed onto the inner stopper and removably attached, the inner stopper comprising a discharge tube that guides the contents, a transition stopper body that is connected to the inner surface of the discharge tube via a thin-walled weakened portion and has a first engagement portion formed in the circumferential direction, and a shake-out plate that is attached below the transition stopper body and has a contents shake-out hole formed therein, the overcap comprising a top wall, a sealing tube that hangs down from the top wall and seals the discharge tube on its outer periphery when the lid is closed, and a second engagement portion that can engage with the first engagement portion of the transition stopper body, and when the lid is opened, the thin-walled weakened portion of the transition stopper body breaks and the transition stopper body transitions to the overcap.

[0008] As an embodiment of the swing-out cap, a configuration is adopted in which the swing-out plate has a gap of a predetermined distance between it and the underside of the transition plug body, and the swing-out plate is characterized by having a partition plate with a swing-out hole formed therein, and a gap maintaining portion that protrudes from the periphery of the partition plate and abuts against the lower end surface of the discharge tube of the inner plug, and the transition plug body is characterized by being connected to the thin-walled weakened portion and having a bottom wall with a flat underside. Effect of the Invention

[0009] By adopting the above-mentioned configuration, the swing-out cap of the present invention can reduce the space in which the contents accumulate on the upper surface of the swing-out plate even after the transfer stopper body is opened, and can use granular or powdered contents without interfering with the opening and closing operations of the overcap. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a container with a swing-out cap according to an embodiment of the present invention in a closed state, in which (a) is a side cross-sectional view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in (a). [Diagram 2] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing an inside plug in a swing-out cap according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a top view and (b) is a partial cross-sectional side view. [Diagram 3] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing an overcap in a swing-out cap according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a side cross-sectional view and (b) is a bottom view. [Figure 4] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a swing-out plate in a swing-out cap according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a top view and (b) is a side cross-sectional view. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Next, the swing-out cap of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings showing an embodiment. In the following description, the up-down direction in FIG. 1(a) is referred to as the "axial direction", the up direction is referred to as the "upper", and the down direction is referred to as the "lower".

[0012] (Example) In FIG. 1, A is a container body, B is an inner plug attached to the mouth 1 of the container body A, C is an overcap attached to the inner plug B by screwing it onto it so as to be freely detachable, and D is a swing-out plate attached to the inner plug B.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the mouth 1 of the container body A is provided with a locking protrusion 2 that fits over the inside plug B to prevent it from coming off. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, plug B is made up of an outer tube 5 on the outer periphery, an inner tube 6 on the inner periphery, and an upper wall 7 located on the top surface side of mouth portion 1, and is further made up of a fitting tube portion 4 which forms an annular groove into which mouth portion 1 fits, a threaded wall portion 8 standing from fitting tube portion 4, and a discharge tube 10 which is connected to the upper end of threaded wall portion 8 via a top wall 9.

[0014] The discharge tube 10 forms a discharge port for discharging the contents contained within the container body A, and a transition plug body 15 is integrally connected to the inner surface of the lower end of the discharge tube 10 via a thin-walled weakened portion 14 formed around the entire circumference. The transition plug 15 has a cylindrical wall 16 with an open top and a disk-shaped bottom wall 17 provided at the bottom of the cylindrical wall 16, and seals the discharge port together with the thin-walled weakened portion 14. The bottom wall 17 of the transition plug 15 has a flat, smooth lower surface, which makes it difficult for the shaken contents to adhere to it.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2(a), the cylindrical wall 16 has external teeth 18 that form a first engagement portion protruding from an outer periphery at six positions in the circumferential direction. The external teeth 18 are formed in a substantially radial direction, have first engagement surfaces 19 on both side surfaces that engage with second engagement portions of the overcap C described below, and have a substantially sector-like shape in a plan view. In this embodiment, the external teeth 18 are provided at six circumferential positions, but the number is not limited to six, and they may be provided at any suitable number of positions in accordance with the shape of the transition plug 15, etc.

[0016] A first engaging projection 20 that constitutes a first engaging portion is formed on the outer periphery of the external teeth 18 and projects from the upper surface of the bottom wall 17 at a predetermined height.

[0017] The threaded wall portion 8 is suspended from the outer peripheral edge of a top wall 9 which is connected to the lower part of the discharge tube 10 at its inner peripheral edge, and a mounting protrusion 22 is protruded from the lower part of the inner peripheral surface for engaging a swing-out plate D described later, while a male screw 23 which constitutes the first threaded portion is screwed into the outer peripheral surface. Unlike a normal screw thread, the male thread 23 is not symmetrical in cross section from top to bottom, but is composed of an inclined upper surface 23a that is formed with a steeply inclined upper surface and a flat lower surface 23b that is formed with a flat lower surface, and the male thread 23 is formed as a double thread whose upper end begins at 180° intervals, as shown in Figure 2(a). In this embodiment, the male thread 23 is a double-start thread, but depending on the height of the threaded wall portion 8, it may be a multiple-start thread having three or more starts.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, a step 25 is provided on the peripheral edge of the top wall 9 so as to be recessed toward the outer periphery, and sound-emitting protrusions 26 are provided on the inner periphery of step 25 at two locations spaced 180° apart.

[0019] The outer cylinder 5 is provided on its inner periphery with a locking reduced diameter portion 27 which engages with the locking ridge 2 of the container body A to prevent the mouth portion 1 from coming off. As shown in FIG. 2, stoppers 28 are provided at two circumferential positions on the upper surface of the upper wall 7, with a first abutment surface 28a that is approximately vertical to the screwing / removing direction and a first inclined surface 28b that is formed in the screwing direction.

[0020] As shown in Figures 1 and 3, overcap C comprises a disk-shaped top wall 30 and an outer peripheral wall 31 extending vertically from the outer periphery of top wall 30. On the inner surface of top wall 30, a cutting tube portion 32 and a threaded tube portion 33 are integrally extended vertically from top wall 30, in that order from the inside. Furthermore, sound-producing members 34 are concentrically arranged at two locations 180° apart between the cutting tube portion 32 and the threaded tube portion 33.

[0021] The cutting tube portion 32 comprises a sealing tube 35 whose outer periphery fits tightly against the inner circumferential surface of the discharge tube 10 to seal the discharge port when the lid is closed, and inner teeth 36 on the inner periphery of the cutting tube portion 32 which form a second engagement portion that engages with the external teeth 18, and the inner teeth 36 are provided at six circumferential positions, the same number as the external teeth 18. Furthermore, the cutting tube portion 32 has a ring-shaped second engaging projection 37 formed on its inner tip circumference which overcomes the first engaging projection 20 formed on the transition plug body 15 of the inner plug B and fits tightly onto the outer circumferential surface of the external teeth 18.

[0022] The internal teeth 36 are formed in a generally radial direction and have second engagement surfaces 38 on both sides that engage with the first engagement surfaces 19 of the external teeth 18 of the transition plug body 15 .

[0023] The threaded cylindrical portion 33 is provided on its inner circumference with a female thread 40 which constitutes a second threaded portion which screws into the male thread 23 of the inner plug B. As shown in FIG. 3(a), the female thread 40 is not symmetrical from top to bottom in cross section like a normal screw thread, but is composed of a flat upper surface 40a which is formed with a flat upper surface and an inclined lower surface 40b which is formed with a steeply inclined lower surface, and as shown in FIG. 3(b), the lower end of the female thread 40 is formed as a double thread beginning at 180° intervals. As described above, the female thread 40 may be a multiple-start thread having three or more threads in correspondence with the male thread 23 .

[0024] The threaded cylindrical portion 33 has a lower end surface formed with wedge-shaped recesses 41 for engaging with the stopper 28 at two locations in the circumferential direction. The wedge-shaped recess 41 is formed with a second abutment surface 41a that is approximately perpendicular to the screwing / removing direction, and a second inclined surface 41b that is formed in the screwing direction, and each has a shape that corresponds to the first abutment surface 28a and the first inclined surface 28b of the stopper 28. When the lower end face of the threaded cylindrical portion 33 abuts against the upper wall 7 and the second abutment surface 41a of the wedge-shaped recess 41 abuts against the first abutment surface 28a of the stopper 28, the tightening of the overcap C is completed. In this embodiment, the stopper 28 and the wedge-shaped recess 41 are provided at two locations in the circumferential direction, but this is not limiting and they can be provided at any number of locations.

[0025] The sound-making member 34 comes into contact with the sound-making protrusion 26 of the inner plug B just before the overcap C is completely tightened, and as the tightening proceeds, it goes over the sound-making protrusion 26 and tries to return to its original shape as soon as the tightening is completed, thereby vibrating and generating sound.

[0026] As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4, the swing-out plate D comprises a disk-shaped partition plate 50 and an attachment tube 51 extending vertically from the outer peripheral edge of the partition plate 50. The partition plate 50 has a swing-out hole 52 opened to allow granular or powdery contents to pass through, and a plurality of gap maintaining portions 53 protruding along the inner peripheral edge of the attachment tube 51. The attachment tube 51 has a stopper protrusion 54 protruding radially from the lower part of the outer peripheral surface and engaging with the attachment protrusion 22 formed on the threaded wall portion 8 of the inside plug B.

[0027] Next, the manner of use and the effects of this embodiment will be described. First, to attach the swing-out cap of this embodiment to the container body A, the overcap C is attached from above the inner plug B, and the inner plug B and the overcap C are set in place. After that, as shown in Figure 2, the swing-out plate D is attached from below the inner plug B so that it faces the bottom wall 17 of the transition plug body 15, and then the fitting tubular portion 4 of the inner plug B is placed against the mouth 1 of the container body A and the container is swing-out.

[0028] When fitting the overcap C from above the inner plug B and setting it, the inner plug B and the overcap C may be temporarily aligned in the circumferential direction using marks or the like (not shown); however, in the case of this embodiment, if the overcap C is placed so as to align with the axis of the inner plug B without performing preliminary temporary positioning, the inner plug B and the overcap C will not be temporarily positioned, and therefore the inner teeth 36 of the cutting tube portion 32 of the overcap C will likely abut against the outer teeth 18 of the transition plug body 15 and will not be inserted between the outer teeth 18. In this case, the female thread 40 of the overcap C will not abut against the male thread 23 of the inner plug B.

[0029] Thereafter, when the overcap C is rotated slightly left and right without applying any load to it, the internal teeth 36 of the cutting tube portion 32 fit between the external teeth 18 and become capable of engaging with the external teeth 18 of the transition plug body 15. From this state, when the overcap C is pushed into the inner plug B, as shown in Figure 1(a), the female thread 40 of the overcap C overcomes the male thread 23 while the inclined lower surface 40b slides against the inclined upper surface 23a of the male thread 23 of the inner plug B, and the threaded tube portion 33 of the overcap C comes to engage with the threaded wall portion 8 of the inner plug B.

[0030] At this time, the second engaging projection 37 of the cutting cylinder portion 32 climbs over the first engaging projection 20 formed on the transition plug body 15 of the inside plug B and comes to fit onto the outer circumferential surface of the external teeth 18 . At the same time, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the wedge-shaped recess 41 at the lower part of the threaded tube portion 33 fits into the stopper 28 on the upper wall 7 of the inside plug B, so that the second abutment surface 41a of the wedge-shaped recess 41 abuts against the first abutment surface 28a of the stopper 28, completing the engagement of the two screws.

[0031] Thereafter, when attaching the swing-out plate D from below the inner plug B, the mounting tube 51 of the swing-out plate D is screwed onto the inner periphery of the threaded wall portion 8 of the inner plug B, so that the anti-slip projection 54 protruding from the outer periphery of the mounting tube 51 of the swing-out plate D overcomes the mounting projection 22 formed on the inner periphery of the threaded wall portion 8, and the gap maintaining portion 53 protruding from the periphery of the partition plate 50 abuts against the lower end surface of the discharge tube 10 of the inner plug B, thereby maintaining a gap of the specified distance α between the swing-out plate D and the underside of the bottom wall 17 of the transition plug body 15. It is preferable to set the gap distance α to about 0.4 mm to 1.0 mm, taking into consideration the particle size of the powdered cheese and sesame seeds that are the contents. The set shake-off cap is plugged by placing the fitting tubular portion 4 of the inner plug B on the mouth portion 1 of the container body A filled with the contents, and is then ready for use.

[0032] In this way, when setting the overcap C on the inner plug B, the swing-out cap of this embodiment can attach the overcap C to the inner plug B by tapping it, so that a ratchet mechanism like in conventional transition plug caps is not required and the setting of the overcap C and the inner plug B can be completed with a single touch. In addition, by extending the tip of the cutting tube portion 32 more than before to form the second engaging projection 37, the overcap C can be stably guided relative to the transition plug body 15, thereby improving the ease of setting the overcap C and the inner plug B. In this embodiment, the overcap C is attached to the inner plug B by tapping, but the overcap C may be tightened onto the inner plug B by a ratchet mechanism, as in the case of a conventional transfer plug cap.

[0033] Next, to use a container equipped with the swing-out cap of this embodiment, the overcap C is rotated relative to the inside plug B in the opening direction. When the overcap C is rotated, the internal teeth 36 of the cutting tube portion 32 rotate, and its second engagement surface 38 comes into contact with the first engagement surface 19 of the external teeth 18 of the transition plug body 15, and the rotational force of the overcap C is applied to the transition plug body 15 via the internal and external teeth.

[0034] As the rotation continues, the tip of the sound-producing member 34 of the overcap C comes into contact with the sound-producing protrusion 26 on the top wall 9 of the inside plug B, and as the rotation continues, the tip of the sound-producing member 34 passes over the sound-producing protrusion 26, and sound is produced.

[0035] At this time, since the second engagement protrusion 37 of the cutting tube portion 32 tightly fits into the outer peripheral surface of the external teeth 18 of the transition plug body 15, a force that pulls the transition plug body 15 upward as the overcap C rotates can be generated on the outer periphery of the external teeth 18. As the rotation of the overcap C continues, the rotational force and pulling force applied to the transition plug body 15 eventually break the thin-walled weakened portion 14, opening the discharge port inside the discharge tube 10, and the transition plug body 15, which has been separated from the discharge tube 10, is pulled up by the second engaging projection 37 of the cutting tube portion 32, which engages with the first engaging projection 20 of the external teeth 18, and rises together with the overcap C.

[0036] Furthermore, after the female thread 40 is unscrewed from the male thread 23 and the overcap C is removed from the inner plug B, when the container body A is shaken in a tilted state, the contents in the container body A can be shaken out through the shake-out hole 52 in the shake-out plate D from the discharge outlet of the discharge tube 10 from which the transition plug 15 has been removed together with the overcap C.

[0037] After the contents have been shaken out of the shake-out hole 52, the container body A is held upright and gently shaken sideways, causing the contents remaining on the upper surface of the partition plate 50 of the shake-out plate D to return into the container body A. Then, by screwing the overcap C onto the inner plug B again, the sealing tube 35 of the cutting tube portion 32 of the overcap C will adhere tightly to the inner circumference of the discharge tube 10, thereby sealing the inside of the container body A.

[0038] When the overcap C is screwed onto the inner plug B and closed, the bottom wall 17 of the transition plug body 15 attached to the overcap C maintains a gap of distance α with the swing-out plate D of the inner plug B, and no wasted space is created, so that even if the container body A falls over, the contents can be prevented from passing through the swing-out hole 52 of the swing-out plate D. Furthermore, since the distance α between the bottom wall 17 of the transfer plug body 15 and the swing-out plate D of the inner plug B is secured, there is no risk of the opening and closing operation of the overcap C being hindered.

[0039] In this embodiment, stopper 28 and wedge-shaped recess 41 are provided on inner plug B and overcap C to stop the rotation of overcap C after closing is complete; however, when closing is complete, a sound is produced by sound-making member 34, allowing the user to intuitively know that the cap is completely closed. Therefore, stopper 28 and wedge-shaped recess 41 do not have to be provided, and further, a sound-making mechanism using sound-making protrusion 26 and sound-making member 34 does not have to be provided. [Industrial Applicability]

[0040] The shake-out cap of the present invention can reduce the space on the upper surface of the shake-out plate where the contents can accumulate even after the transfer stopper is opened, does not interfere with the opening and closing operation of the overcap, and is suitable as a shake-out cap that can be used for containers that store granular or powdered foods, seasonings, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] A Container body B Inner stopper C Overcap D Swing Plate α distance 1 Mouth 2 Locking ridges 4. Fitting cylinder 5 Outer cylinder 6 Inner cylinder 7 Upper Wall 8 Threaded wall 9. Ceiling 10 Discharge tube 14 Thin weakened part 15 Transition plug 16 Cylindrical Wall 17 Bottom wall 18 External teeth (first engagement portion) 19 First engagement surface 20 1st engagement protrusion 22 Mounting protrusion 23 Male thread (first threaded part) 23a Slanted top surface 23b Flat bottom surface 25 Step section 26 Sound output protrusion 27 Locking diameter reduction part 28 Stopper 28a 1st contact surface 28b 1st slope 30 Top Wall 31 Outer wall 32 Cutting cylinder part 33 Threaded barrel 34 Sound-producing components 35 Closed Envelope 36 Internal teeth (second engagement portion) 37 Second locking protrusion 38 Second engagement surface 40 Female thread (second threaded part) 40a flat top surface 40b Sloped bottom surface 41 Wedge-shaped recess 41a Second contact surface 41b 2nd slope 50 Partition 51 Mounting tube 52 Swing hole 53 Gap maintenance part 54 Anti-slip protrusion

Claims

1. The container has an inner plug that is attached to the mouth of the container body, and an overcap that is detachably attached by screwing onto the inner plug, The inner plug includes a discharge tube that guides the contents, a transition plug body that is connected to the inner circumferential surface of the discharge tube via a thin-walled weakened portion and has a first engagement portion formed in the circumferential direction, and a swing-out plate that is attached below the transition plug body and has a swing-out hole for the contents. The overcap has a top wall, a sealing tube that hangs down from the top wall and seals the discharge tube at its outer periphery when the overcap is closed, and a second engagement portion that can be engaged with the first engagement portion of the transition stopper body, This is a swing-out cap characterized in that when the transition plug body is opened, the thin-walled weakened portion breaks and the transition plug body transitions to an overcap.

2. 2. The swing-out cap according to claim 1, wherein the swing-out plate has a gap of a predetermined distance between itself and the lower surface of the transition plug body.

3. 3. The cap according to claim 2, wherein the plate comprises a partition plate having a hole formed therein, and a gap maintaining portion protruding from the periphery of the partition plate and abutting against the lower end surface of the discharge tube of the inner plug.

4. 4. The swing-out cap according to claim 1, wherein the transition plug body is connected to the thin-walled weakened portion and has a bottom wall with a flat lower surface.

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