Plug

Abstract

To provide a plug capable of preventing the periphery of the plug from collapsing even when a flat-top paper container is dropped upside down.SOLUTION: The plug is attached to the opening of a container body mainly made of paper and comprises a spout and a cap. The spout has: a tubular pouring portion having a protrusion and a male thread formed thereon; and a spout flange portion which is welded to the periphery of the opening on the inner surface of the container body. The cap has: a cap body which has a top plate portion and a skirt portion which extends vertically from the edge of the top plate portion and has a female thread formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof; a tamper band which is arranged with a predetermined gap between it and the skirt portion and is connected to the skirt portion via multiple bridges and has a flap on the inner surface thereof; and a cap flange portion which is connected to the end of the tamper band opposite the bridges and which sandwiches the periphery of the opening of the container body between it and the spout flange portion which is welded to the container body, the outer diameter of the cap flange portion being larger than the outer diameter of the spout flange portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a plug. [Background technology]

[0002] Packaging containers such as paper containers are known that are provided with a spout for pouring out contents such as liquids. Examples of the form of paper container to which the spout can be attached include a gable top type and a flat top type (Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-179462 A [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2021-062902 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When providing a plug to a flat-top paper container, the plug is attached to an opening formed at the top of the paper container. Because the top has a flat shape, when the paper container is dropped upside down, the impact of the fall is concentrated on the plug, and the area around the opening of the paper container to which the plug is attached may collapse, resulting in damage.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a plug that can prevent the area around the plug from collapsing even when a flat-top paper container is dropped upside down. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The plug according to the present invention is attached to the opening of a container body mainly made of paper and comprises a spout and a cap attached by screwing to the spout, the spout being tubular in shape and having a tubular pouring portion with a protrusion and a male thread formed on its outer circumferential surface in that order from one end side, and a spout flange portion connected to one end of the tubular pouring portion and welded to the periphery of the opening on the inner surface of the container body, the cap being arranged with a predetermined gap between the cap body and the skirt portion and having a top plate portion and a skirt portion extending vertically from the edge of the top plate portion and having a female thread formed on its inner circumferential surface which screws into the male thread, and the cap being attached to the cap body with a predetermined gap between the cap body and the skirt portion and having a plurality of bridges on the skirt portion. the tamper band is connected to the bridge and has a flap on its inner surface that engages with the protrusion, and the cap flange portion is connected to the end opposite the bridge of the tamper band and sandwiches the peripheral portion of the opening of the container body between it and the spout flange portion welded to the container body, and the end face of the tamper band facing the cap body is formed with a convex portion having a right-angled trapezoidal shape, with the side facing the cap closing direction being an oblique side and the side facing the cap body being shorter than the side facing the tamper band, and the end face of the open end side of the skirt portion of the cap body is formed with a recess capable of accommodating the convex portion, and the outer diameter of the cap flange portion is larger than the outer diameter of the spout flange portion. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, a plug can be provided that can prevent the area around the plug from collapsing even when a flat-top paper container is dropped upside down. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a plug according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] A vertical end view of the plug shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] Front view showing the spout during recapping [Figure 4] Cross-sectional view of the plug in an open state [Diagram 5] A diagram explaining how to attach the stopper to the container body. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] <Embodiment> Fig. 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a plug according to an embodiment, Fig. 2 is a vertical end view of the plug shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a front view showing the plug at the time of recap. The plug 100 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 shows a state before opening, and Fig. 3 shows a state after opening and recapping.

[0010] The stopper 100 includes a spout 10 and a cap 20, and is attached to the opening of a container body 1 made mainly of paper, for example. Hereinafter, the container body 1 with the stopper 100 attached thereto is referred to as a packaging container. The stopper 100 according to this embodiment can be suitably used for a flat-top type packaging container. In this specification, the rotation direction of the cap 20 when the cap 20 is screwed onto the spout 10 is referred to as the stoppering direction. The stoppering direction corresponds to the left direction in Figs. 1 to 3 (the clockwise direction when viewed from above from the outside of the top plate portion 25 of the cap 20). The unstoppering direction is the rotation direction opposite to the stoppering direction.

[0011] (Spout) Spout 10 is a member attached to the opening of container body 1 and used to pour out contents, such as liquid, contained in container body 1 to the outside. Spout 10 includes a cylindrical pouring tube portion 11 and a spout flange portion 12.

[0012] The pouring tube portion 11 is cylindrical, and on its outer circumferential surface, a protrusion 13 and a male screw 4a are formed in this order from one end side (the spout flange portion 12 side). The protrusion 13 is an annular convex ridge protruding from the outer circumferential surface of the pouring tube portion 11, and engages with a flap 29 formed on the cap 20, which will be described later. The male screw 4a screws into a female screw 4b formed on the cap 20, which will be described later.

[0013] The spout flange portion 12 is connected to one end of the cylindrical pouring portion 11 and welded to the periphery of the opening on the inner surface of the container body 1. The spout flange portion 12 is a flat plate-shaped member extending outward from the cylindrical pouring portion 11, and in this embodiment, is formed extending in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the cylindrical pouring portion 11. The shape of the spout flange portion 12 is not limited as long as it can be joined to the container body 1, but it can be, for example, annular. The spout flange portion 12 and the container body 1 are joined using a known method such as welding.

[0014] The spout 10 is made of, for example, a material containing a thermoplastic resin, and can be molded by an existing molding method such as injection molding or compression molding.

[0015] (cap) The cap 20 is a screw cap that is detachably attached to the spout 10 by screwing. The cap 20 includes a cap body 21, a tamper band 23 connected to an open end of the cap body 21 via a plurality of bridges 22, and a cap flange portion 24 connected to an end of the tamper band 23 opposite to the bridges 22. The provision of the bridges 22 creates a gap between the cap body 21 and the tamper band 23. Therefore, when the packaging container falls upside down, the gap is compressed, and the impact of the fall can be absorbed. In this case, the distance between the cap body 21 and the tamper band 23 is preferably 0.5 mm to 0.7 mm.

[0016] The cap body 21 includes a top plate portion 25 and a skirt portion 26 extending vertically from an edge of the top plate portion 25. A plurality of bridges 22 are connected to an end face of the cap body 21 on the tamper band 23 side (the open end face of the skirt portion 26). An internal thread 4b is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the skirt portion 26 to be screwed into an external thread 4a formed on the spout 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the end face of the cap body 21 on the tamper band 23 side is provided with recesses 5b for accommodating protrusions 5a formed on the tamper band 23, which will be described later, in the same number as the protrusions 5a. The number of recesses 5b may be two or four.

[0017] It is preferable that the top plate portion 25 of the cap 20 is formed with an inner ring 27 that is in close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the pouring tube portion 11, and a contact ring 28 that is in contact with the other end of the pouring tube portion 11. This can improve the sealing of the packaging container. As described above, when the packaging container is dropped upside down, the gap between the cap body 21 and the tamper band 23 formed by the bridge 22 absorbs the impact, but by forming the contact ring 28, a margin for compressing the gap can be secured. In this case, the contact ring 28 is crushed by the impact of the upside down drop, and the gap between the cap 20 and the tamper band 23 is filled accordingly. Therefore, it is preferable that the contact ring 28 has a cross-sectional shape in which the width narrows toward the tip portion on the other end side of the pouring tube portion 11 and the angle of the tip portion is an acute angle so that the contact ring 28 is easily crushed by the impact of the upside down drop. Note that, if the gap between the cap body 21 and the tamper band 23 is compressed by the upside down drop, it is not necessary to form the contact ring 28.

[0018] Tamper band 23 is connected to skirt portion 26 of cap body 21 via multiple bridges 22, and is disposed at a predetermined distance from skirt portion 26. Tamper band 23 has, on its inner surface, a flap 29 that engages with protrusion 13 provided on spout 10.

[0019] The flap 29 abuts against the projection 13 of the spout 10 and restricts the movement of the tamper band 23 towards the open end of the spout 10 when the cap 20 is opened. When the cap body 21 is rotated in the opening direction, the cap body 21 moves away from the spout 10 as it is rotated, but since the movement of the tamper band 23 in the same direction is restricted, further rotation of the cap body 21 breaks the bridge 22, separating the cap body 21 and the tamper band 23, and the cap 20 can be opened. By providing the tamper band 23 with the flap 29, it is possible to impart tamper evident properties (a function to prevent unauthorized opening) to the plug 100.

[0020] 1, a protrusion 5a is formed on the end face of the tamper band 23 on the cap body 21 side to be accommodated in the recess 5b of the cap body 21. The protrusion 5a has a right-angled trapezoid shape in which the side in the closing direction of the cap 20 is an oblique side and the side on the cap body 21 side is shorter than the side on the tamper band 23 side. The recess 5b that accommodates the protrusion 5a has a similar shape to the protrusion 5a.

[0021] When the cap body 21 is rotated in the closing direction during capping, the contact between the vertical faces of the concave portion 5b and the convex portion 5a on the opening direction side allows the rotational force of the cap body 21 to be efficiently transmitted to the tamper band 23. Therefore, the ability of the tamper band 23 to follow the rotation of the cap body 21 during capping can be improved.

[0022] Furthermore, when cap body 21 is rotated in the opening direction during opening, the oblique side of recess 5b of tamper band 23 comes into contact with the oblique side of protrusion 5a of cap body 21 from the closing direction side. As a result, part of the rotational force changes to a force that pulls cap body 21 away from tamper band 23 in the axial direction of cap body 21, making it easier to open cap 20.

[0023] Furthermore, when recapping the cap 20, there is a high probability that the positional relationship between the recessed portion 5b and the protruding portion 5a will be misaligned. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 3, the edge of the protruding portion 5a on the cap body 21 side comes into contact with the end face of the skirt portion 26 of the cap body 21, making it possible to press the cap flange portion 24 (described later) more strongly than during initial plugging.

[0024] The cap flange portion 24 is connected to the end of the tamper band 23 opposite to the bridge 22, and sandwiches the periphery of the opening of the container body 1 between the cap flange portion 24 and the spout flange portion 12 welded to the periphery of the opening on the inner surface of the container body 1. The outer diameter of the cap flange portion 24 is set to be larger than the outer diameter of the spout flange portion 12. Since the area of ​​the cap flange portion 24 is designed to be large, even if the packaging container is dropped upside down and the plug 100 is impacted, the force applied to the periphery of the opening of the container body 1 can be dispersed. Therefore, the collapse of the periphery of the plug can be suppressed. Furthermore, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the thickness of the cap flange portion 24 decreases from the portion overlapping with the outer peripheral edge of the spout flange portion 12 to the outer peripheral edge of the cap flange portion 24 in a plan view. This can suppress the container body 1 from being cut by the edge of the spout flange portion 12 when dropped upside down.

[0025] It is preferable that a rib 6 extending in the circumferential direction of the cap flange portion 24 is formed on the surface of the cap flange portion 24 opposite to the cap body 21. This makes it possible to reduce resistance between the cap flange portion 24 and the container body 1 during capping. A plurality of ribs 6 may be provided as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

[0026] After opening, it is not necessary to reattach cap body 21, and for example, a different plug such as a pump, a dispenser, or a trigger may be attached to spout 10. In this case, if the end face of tamper band 23 on the cap body side (the part indicated by the arrow in FIG. 4) is pressed or the plug is placed close to said part, the effect of inverted drop resistance can be maintained even after replacement.

[0027] (How to install the plug) A method for attaching the plug 100 to the container body 1 will now be described. Figure 5 is a diagram for explaining a method for attaching the plug to the container body.

[0028] The plug 100 according to this embodiment has a configuration in which the spout flange portion 12 and the cap flange portion 24 sandwich the periphery of the opening of the container body 1, so that it is necessary to first attach the spout 10 by itself. Specifically, first, the spout 10's cylindrical portion 11 is inserted into the opening from the inside of the container body 1 to bring the spout flange portion 12 into contact with the inner surface of the container body 1, and the ultrasonic horn 3 is applied from the outer surface of the container body 1 to weld the spout 10 to the container body 1. Thereafter, the contents are filled into the container body 1 through the spout 10. Finally, the cap 20 is screwed onto the spout 10 and closed until the flap 29 of the tamper band 23 overcomes the protrusion 13 of the spout 10, so that the plug 100 can be attached to the container body 1.

[0029] As described above, the plug 100 according to this embodiment has a configuration in which the periphery of the opening of the container body 1 is sandwiched between the cap flange portion 24 and the spout flange portion 12, and the outer diameter of the cap flange portion 24 is configured to be larger than the outer diameter of the spout flange portion 12. This makes it possible to disperse the impact that the plug 100 receives when the packaging container is dropped upside down within the cap flange portion 24. This makes it possible to suppress collapse around the plug.

[0030] In addition, in the cap 20, the cap body 21 and the tamper band 23 are connected via a plurality of bridges 22. This forms a predetermined gap between the cap body 21 and the tamper band 23, and the impact that the stopper 100 receives when the packaging container is dropped upside down can be absorbed between the cap body 21 and the tamper band 23, thereby suppressing collapse around the stopper.

[0031] Furthermore, a flap 29 that engages with the protrusion 13 is formed on the inner surface of the tamper band 23. As a result, when the cap 20 is opened, the cap body 21 and the tamper band 23, which are connected via the multiple bridges 22, are separated. This makes it possible to impart tamper-evident properties to the plug 100.

[0032] Furthermore, a convex portion 5a is formed on the end face of the tamper band 23 on the cap body 21 side, and a concave portion 5b for accommodating the convex portion 5a is formed on the end face of the skirt portion 26 of the cap body 21 on the tamper band 23 side. As a result, the concave portion 5b and the convex portion 5a come into contact with each other during capping, and the rotational force of the cap body 21 can be efficiently transmitted to the tamper band 23 side. This improves the followability of the tamper band 23 to the rotation of the cap body 21 during capping. Furthermore, when recaping the cap 20 after opening it, the edge of the convex portion 5a on the cap body 21 side comes into contact with the end face of the skirt portion 26 of the cap body 21, making it possible to press the cap flange portion 24 more strongly than during initial capping.

[0033] Furthermore, the thickness of cap flange portion 24 decreases from the point where it overlaps with the outer peripheral edge of spout flange portion 12 in a plan view toward the outer peripheral edge of cap flange portion 24. This makes it possible to prevent container body 1 from being cut by the edge of spout flange portion 12 when dropped upside down.

[0034] In addition, a rib 6 extending in the circumferential direction of the cap flange portion 24 is formed on the surface of the cap flange portion 24 opposite the cap body 21. This makes it possible to reduce resistance between the cap flange portion 24 and the container body 1 during capping.

[0035] Furthermore, an inner ring 27 that comes into close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical pouring portion 11 is formed on the top plate portion 25 of the cap 20. This can improve the sealing performance of the packaging container.

[0036] Furthermore, a contact ring 28 that comes into contact with the other end of the pouring tube portion 11 is formed on the top plate portion 25 of the cap 20. This can improve the sealing performance of the packaging container.

[0037] In addition, contact ring 28 has a cross-sectional shape in which the width narrows toward the tip on the other end side of pouring tube portion 11, and the tip angle is acute. As a result, contact ring 28 is crushed by the impact of the inverted drop, and the gap between skirt portion 26 of cap 20 and tamper band 23 is filled accordingly, and the impact of the inverted drop can be absorbed. Therefore, collapse around the stopper can be suppressed. [Industrial Applicability]

[0038] The plug according to the present invention is a plug to be attached to a paper container, and is particularly applicable to a plug to be attached to the container body of a flat-top type paper pack. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1: Container body 4a: Male thread 4b: Female thread 5a: Convex part 5b: Recess 6: Rib 10: Spout 11: Pour cylinder part 12: Spout flange part 13:Protrusion 20: Cap 21: Cap body 22: Bridge 23: Tamper band 24: Cap flange part 25:Top plate part 26: Skirt section 27: Inner ring 28: Contact ring 29: Flap 100: Plug

Claims

1. A plug attached to an opening of a container body mainly made of paper, the plug comprising a spout and a cap attached to the spout by screwing, The spout is A cylindrical pouring tube portion having an outer circumferential surface on which a protrusion and a male screw are formed in this order from one end side; a spout flange portion connected to the one end of the pouring tube portion and welded to a periphery of the opening on the inner surface of the container body; The cap is a cap body including a top plate portion and a skirt portion extending perpendicularly from an edge of the top plate portion and having an internal thread formed on an inner circumferential surface thereof, the internal thread being adapted to screw into the external thread; a tamper band disposed with a predetermined gap between itself and the skirt portion, connected to the skirt portion via a plurality of bridges, and having a flap on an inner surface thereof that engages with the protrusion; a cap flange portion that is connected to an end of the tamper band opposite to the bridge and that sandwiches a peripheral portion of the opening of the container body between the cap flange portion and the spout flange portion that is welded to the container body; A convex portion having a shape of a right-angled trapezoid is formed on an end surface of the tamper band on the side of the cap body, the side of the tamper band being an oblique side in the closing direction of the cap, and the side of the tamper band on the side of the cap body being shorter than the side of the tamper band, A recess capable of accommodating the protrusion is formed on an end surface of the skirt portion of the cap body on the open end side, A plug, wherein the outer diameter of the cap flange portion is larger than the outer diameter of the spout flange portion.

2. The plug according to claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the cap flange portion decreases from a point overlapping with an outer circumferential edge of the spout flange portion toward the outer circumferential edge of the cap flange portion in a plan view.

3. 2. The plug according to claim 1, wherein a rib extending in a circumferential direction of said cap flange portion is formed on a surface of said cap flange portion opposite to said cap body.

4. 2. The plug according to claim 1, wherein an inner ring is formed on the top plate of the cap and is in intimate contact with an inner circumferential surface of the pouring tube portion.

5. A contact ring is formed on the top plate portion of the cap and is in contact with the other end of the pouring tube portion, 2. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the contact ring has a cross-sectional shape in which the width narrows toward a tip portion on the other end side of the cylindrical pouring portion, and the tip portion has an acute angle.

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