Discharge cap

Abstract

To provide a discharge cap that can switch between shower discharge and straight discharge of content liquid by being attached to a mouth of a squeezable container body.SOLUTION: The discharge cap comprises: an inner cap B attached to a squeezable container body A; an outer cap D rotatably attached to the top of the inner cap B; and a top lid F covering the outer cap D. The inner cap B includes: an attachment part 10 attached to a mouth part 1 of the container body A; and a sealed top wall 11 connected inwardly from the attachment part 10 and the center of which can move up and down. The outer cap D includes: a discharge top wall 32 which can be brought into close contact with the sealed top wall 11 of the inner cap B and has a plurality of discharge holes 38 open therein. The center of the sealed top wall 11 of the inner cap B threadably engages with the center of the discharge top wall 32 of the outer cap D, and upon rotation of the outer cap D, the center of the sealed top wall 11 descends to open a flow path to the discharge top wall 32.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a discharge cap that can be fitted to a container body that is filled with a liquid content such as a cleaning agent or herbicide and pushed out by squeezing (pressing) the body, and can switch between shower discharge or straight discharge of the liquid content. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a discharge cap has been used in which a liquid content such as various chemicals, cleaning agents, herbicides, etc. is filled into a squeezable container body, and the liquid content is discharged by squeezing the body. Conventional discharge caps are caps with nozzles formed therein that are attached to a squeezable container body, and the discharge pattern of the content liquid is determined to some extent by the shape of the nozzle, etc., so the discharge pattern of the content liquid only changes slightly depending on the strength of the squeeze.

[0003] For this reason, a cap is known which comprises a cap body having an outer tube portion which is attached to the mouth of a container body in which the content liquid is contained and an outlet portion formed with an outlet for pouring out the content liquid, a first lid portion which is connected to the cap body via a first hinge portion and opens and closes the outlet and has a nozzle for spraying the content liquid, and a second lid portion which is connected to the first lid portion via a second hinge portion and opens and closes the nozzle, and which makes it possible to change the ejection pattern of the content liquid and easily switch the ejection pattern (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-6462 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the cap described in Patent Document 1 above has a configuration in which first and second lid portions that can be opened and closed are adjacently disposed on the cap body and connected via first and second hinge portions, allowing the discharge pattern to be easily switched. However, the only discharge patterns that can be switched are spraying through the nozzle opening and pouring through the spout, and there is a problem in that it is not possible to switch between shower discharge, which sprays over a wide area, and straight discharge, which sprays to a pinpoint.

[0006] The present invention has an object to solve the above problem and to provide a discharge cap that can be attached to the mouth of a squeezable container body to switch between shower discharge and straight discharge of the content liquid. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a discharge cap comprising an inner cap attached to a squeezable container body, an outer cap rotatably attached to the top of the inner cap, and a top lid covering the outer cap, wherein the inner cap has an attachment portion attached to the mouth of the container body and a sealed top wall connected inwardly from the attachment portion and the center of which can move up and down, the outer cap has a discharge top wall which can be brought into close contact with the sealed top wall of the inner cap and has a plurality of discharge holes opened therein, the center of the sealed top wall of the inner cap threadably engages with the center of the discharge top wall of the outer cap, and upon rotation of the outer cap, the center of the sealed top wall descends to open a flow path to the discharge top wall.

[0008] As an embodiment of the discharge cap, the inner cap has a lifting tube hanging down from the center of the sealed top wall, and the outer cap has a rotation guide part rotatably attached to the mounting part of the inner cap, a discharge top wall connected inward from the rotation guide part, and a protrusion hanging down from the center of the discharge top wall and screw-fitting with the lifting tube of the sealed top wall, the sealed top wall has a slit wall with multiple spiral slits formed from the center to the periphery, and the top lid is connected to the outer cap via a hinge so as to be able to be opened and closed. Effect of the Invention

[0009] By adopting the above-described configuration, the discharge cap of the present invention is attached to a squeezable container body, and by simply rotating the outer cap relative to the inner cap, the flow path of the content liquid can be switched between shower discharge or straight discharge by the up and down movement of the sealing top wall. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing a closed state when a discharge cap according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to a container body. [Diagram 2] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a state during molding of a discharge cap according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a top view and (b) is a side cross-sectional view. [Diagram 3] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing an inner cap of a discharge cap according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a top view and (b) is a side cross-sectional view. [Figure 4] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a state in which an outer cap and an upper lid of a discharge cap according to an embodiment of the present invention are set, in which (a) is a side cross-sectional view and (b) is a bottom view. [Diagram 5] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a state in which the outer cap has been separated from the inner cap after closing the discharge cap according to an embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a side cross-sectional view and (b) is an enlarged view of a main portion of (a). [Figure 6] 11A and 11B are diagrams showing a state in which the discharge pattern of the content liquid is switched from the discharge cap according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a state in which the content liquid is discharged from the discharge cap according to an embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a straight discharge and (b) is a shower discharge. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Next, the discharge cap of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings showing an embodiment. In the following description, the left-right direction in FIG. 1 is referred to as the "radial direction", the up-down direction 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 Figure 1, A is a squeezable container body, B is an inner cap attached to the container body A, D is an outer cap connected to the inner cap B via a breakable cutting hinge C and rotatably attached to the top of the inner cap B, and F is a top lid connected to the outer cap D via a hinge E so as to be able to be opened and closed. The discharge cap of this embodiment comprises the inner cap B, the cutting hinge C, the outer cap D, the hinge E and the top lid F.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the container body A has a rigid cylindrical mouth 1 and a body 2 which is expanded in diameter from the lower part of the mouth 1 and can be deformed by pressure. A male screw 3 is screwed into the upper part of the outer peripheral surface 1a of the mouth 1, and multiple anti-rotation ribs 4 (four in this embodiment) are protruding from the lower end in the axial direction.

[0014] As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the inner cap B comprises an attachment portion 10 that is attached to the mouth portion 1 of the container body A, and a sealed top wall 11 that is connected radially inward from the attachment portion 10 with a guide groove portion 12 in between, and whose center is movable up and down.

[0015] The mounting portion 10 comprises an outer tube wall 13 that is screwed onto the outer peripheral surface 1a of the mouth portion 1, a ring-shaped base wall 14 that extends radially inward from the upper end of the outer tube wall 13 and abuts the upper end surface of the mouth portion 1, and an inner tube 15 that is suspended from the inner edge of the base wall 14 and is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the mouth portion 1.

[0016] A flange portion 16 is formed in the middle of the outer peripheral surface of the outer tube wall 13, which is connected to the hinge weakened portion 25 of the cutting hinge C, and a sliding protrusion 17 is formed at the upper portion to rotatably engage with the outer cap D. Furthermore, a female thread 18 that screws into the male thread 3 of the container body A is screwed into the upper part of the inner surface of the outer tube wall 13, and multiple rotation prevention grooves 19 (four in this embodiment) that engage with the rotation prevention ribs 4 of the container body A are recessed in the axial direction at the lower end.

[0017] The seal top wall 11 comprises a support cylinder wall 20 erected from the inner edge of the guide groove portion 12, a slit wall 21 extending radially inward from the upper end of the support cylinder wall 20 in a dome shape and having multiple spiral slits (in this embodiment, two) formed from the center to the periphery, and a lifting cylinder 22 erected downward from the center of the slit wall 21. An intermittent thread portion 23 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the lift cylinder 22 and is threadably fitted with a protrusion 33 of an outer cap D, which will be described later. In this embodiment, the center of the sealing top wall 11 is allowed to move up and down by a slit wall 21 having a spiral slit formed therein, but instead of the slit wall 21, the center of the sealing top wall 11 may be allowed to move up and down by a thin-walled wall formed to be thin.

[0018] As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4, the outer cap D comprises a rotational guide portion 30 which is rotatably mounted to the mounting portion 10 of the inner cap B, a discharge top wall 32 which extends radially inward from the inner edge of the rotational guide portion 30 and is formed in a dome shape which can come into close contact with the upper surface of the sealing top wall 11 of the inner cap B, and a protrusion 33 which is suspended downward from the center of the discharge top wall 32.

[0019] The rotation guide portion 30 has a rotating cylinder portion 31 whose lower end is connected to the opposite side of the hinge weakened portion 25 of the cutting hinge C and is rotatably attached to the outer periphery of the outer tube wall 13 and the upper surface of the base wall 14 of the inner cap B, and a sealing cylinder portion 37 which extends downward from the inner edge of the rotating cylinder portion 31 toward the guide groove portion 12 of the inner cap B and is in tight contact with the inner tube 15 of the inner cap B. The rotating cylinder portion 31 has an engaging protrusion 34 protruding from its inner circumference which engages with the sliding protrusion 17 of the inner cap B in an undercut manner and is mounted rotatably, a knurling 35 is engraved on its outer circumference, a lid engaging portion 31a is provided on the outer periphery of the upper end which engages with the top lid F, and multiple sliding ribs 36 (24 in this embodiment) protruding in the axial direction between the lower surface and the inner periphery which come into sliding contact with the upper surface of the base wall 14 of the inner cap B.

[0020] The discharge top wall 32 has a plurality of discharge holes 38 for shower discharge radially formed from the periphery of the central protruding portion 33 toward the periphery. The protrusion 33, except for the upper part, is threadedly fitted with a threaded portion 39 which is screwed into the intermittent threaded portion 23 of the lift cylinder 22 of the inner cap B and moves the center of the seal top wall 11 up and down (raise and lower).

[0021] As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4, the upper cover F has a side wall 40 whose lower end is connected to the hinge E and is attached to the upper outer edge of the rotating cylinder portion 31 of the outer cap D, a top wall 41 extending radially inward from the upper end of the side wall 40 and covering the upper surface of the outer cap D, and a flange portion 43 connected to the side opposite the hinge E of the top wall 41 via a bent portion 42.

[0022] A fitting recess 44 is provided on the lower inner periphery of the side peripheral wall 40 to fit with the lid engaging portion 31a of the outer cap D to keep the lid closed. The top wall 41 is composed of a ring wall portion 45 that covers the upper part of the rotating cylinder portion 31 of the outer cap D, and a dome wall portion 46 that is connected radially inward from the lower end of the inner edge of the ring wall portion 45 and covers the upper surface of the discharge top wall 32. As shown in FIG. 5, the flange portion 43 is provided with a locking hole 47 into which a cutting hinge C protruding from the lower end of the rotating cylinder portion 31 of the outer cap D is inserted and locked when the outer cap is closed.

[0023] Next, the manner of use and the effects of this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the discharge cap of this embodiment is formed by setting the inner cap B, cutting hinge C, outer cap D, hinge E, and top cover F in this order from the left in a mold, and pouring synthetic resin into them to form them into a single piece.

[0024] The formed discharge cap is first folded from the state shown in FIG. 2 at the center of the cutting hinge C as a fulcrum and then covered with the inner cap B. When the outer cap D is put onto the inner cap B, the protrusion 33 of the outer cap D is pressed into the lift tube 22 of the inner cap B, and the threaded portion 39 of the protrusion 33 is screwed into the intermittent threaded portion 23 of the lift tube 22. At the same time, the engaging rib 34 of the outer cap D rides over the sliding contact rib 17 of the inner cap B and engages with it in an undercut manner.

[0025] When the outer cap D is placed over the inner cap B, the lower end of the sliding rib 36 protruding from the underside of the rotating cylinder portion 31 of the rotation guide portion 30 of the outer cap D abuts against the upper surface of the mounting portion 10 (base wall 14) of the inner cap B, reducing the sliding resistance when the outer cap D rotates, and the sealing cylinder portion 37 is in close contact with the inner side of the mounting portion 10 (inner cylinder 15), preventing the contents from leaking from the rotation guide portion 30 when the outer cap D is rotated.

[0026] Next, the top cover F is rotated via the hinge E to cover the outer cap D, and closed as shown in FIG. 5(a). At this time, the dome wall portion 46 of the top lid F fits tightly against the upper surface of the discharge top wall 32 of the outer cap D to seal the inside of the container body A, and the mating recess 44 of the top lid F fits into the lid engagement portion 31a of the outer cap D to maintain the lid closed.

[0027] 5, the closed discharge cap is attached to the container body A filled with the liquid content by screwing the female thread 18 of the inner cap B into the male thread 3 screwed into the outer circumferential surface 1a of the mouth part 1 of the container body A. At this time, a rotation stop groove 19 is provided on the inner circumferential surface of the lower end of the outer tube wall 13, and when the inner cap B is attached to the mouth part 1, the rotation stop rib 4 provided on the lower end of the mouth part 1 engages with the rotation stop groove 19, so that the inner cap B is prevented from rotating with respect to the mouth part 1 and cannot be easily removed from the mouth part 1. In this embodiment, the inner cap B is configured to be attached to the mouth portion 1 by screwing it into place, but this is not limited thereto, and it may be attached to the mouth portion 1 by other means, such as by capping.

[0028] Next, when the outer cap D is rotated relative to the inner cap B from the state shown in Figure 5, the hinge weakened portion 25 of the breaking hinge C connected to the flange portion 16 of the inner cap B is broken, and the inner cap B can be separated from the outer cap D and the top cover F. In this embodiment, the inner cap B, the outer cap D, and the top cover F are molded integrally, but it is also possible to mold only the outer cap D and the top cover F integrally from the beginning, and mold the inner cap B separately. In this case, instead of the cutting hinge C, a locking protrusion to be inserted into the locking hole 47 of the flange portion 43 may be provided at the lower end of the rotating cylinder portion 31 of the outer cap D.

[0029] As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the upper cover F has an enlarged flange 43 connected via a bent portion 42, so that the upper cover F can be easily opened even when the user is wearing gloves. In addition, by inserting the cut hinge C that is broken off from the hinge weakened portion 25 and remains at the lower outer periphery of the outer cap D into a locking hole 47 opened in the flange portion 43 of the top lid F, it is possible to make the container compact when stored and to provide an anti-misopening function.

[0030] To use the liquid contents of the container body A equipped with the discharge cap of this embodiment, from the state shown in Figure 1, as shown in Figure 5, the tip of the flange portion 43 of the top lid F is lifted and the locking hole 47 is released from the cutting hinge C, and then the downward flange portion 43 is turned sideways via the bent portion 42 and further lifted. Then, the fitting recess 44 of the top lid F is released from the fitting state with the lid engaging portion 31a of the outer cap D, and the top lid F can be opened.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 6, when the discharge cap is opened, a finger is hooked on the knurling 35 engraved on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder portion 31 of the outer cap D, and the outer cap D is rotated, whereby the slit wall 21 of the inner cap B descends, switching the flow path and switching the liquid content in the container body A from straight discharge to shower discharge, as will be explained below.

[0032] First, as shown in FIG. 7(a), when the liquid content in the container body A is to be ejected straight and with pinpoint accuracy, the outer cap D is not rotated, but the container body A is tilted downward and squeezed. In this case, when the slit wall 21 is raised, the sealed top wall 11 of the inner cap B is in close contact with the discharge top wall 32 of the outer cap D (the part where the discharge hole 38 is not formed), and the discharge hole 38 of the discharge top wall 32 is blocked, so that the liquid contents can be discharged through the gap between the intermittent screw portion 23 of the lifting tube 22 of the inner cap B located in the center of the discharge cap and the screw portion 39 of the protrusion 33 of the outer cap D.

[0033] Next, as shown in FIG. 7(b), when the liquid content in the container body A is to be shower-discharged over a wide area, the outer cap D is rotated and then the container body A is squeezed while being tilted downward. In this case, the sealed top wall 11 of the inner cap B has the lifting tube 22 screwed into the protrusion 33 of the outer cap D, so that the slit wall 21 descends from the center, opening the flow path to the discharge hole 38 of the discharge top wall 32, and the content liquid can be discharged through the discharge hole 38 of the discharge top wall 32.

[0034] As described above, in the discharge cap of this embodiment, when switching the liquid content in the container body A between straight discharge and shower discharge, the outer cap D needs to be rotated relative to the inner cap B within a predetermined angle range. For this reason, although not shown, a recess is formed in the flange portion 16 of the inner cap B within a specified angle range (for example, within 180°), and a protrusion capable of sliding within the recess of the flange portion 16 within a specified angle range is protruded from the lower end of the rotating cylindrical portion 31 of the outer cap D, thereby regulating the rotation angle range of the outer cap D relative to the inner cap B.

[0035] After use, by closing the top lid F again on the outer cap D, the dome wall portion 46 of the top lid F fits tightly against the upper surface of the discharge top wall 32 of the outer cap D to seal the inside of the container body A, and the mating recess 44 of the top lid F fits into the lid engagement portion 31a of the outer cap D to maintain the lid closed state. Furthermore, by tilting the flange portion 43 of the top cover F, which is connected via the bent portion 42, downward and inserting the locking hole 47 opened in the flange portion 43 into the cut hinge C left in the outer cap D, accidental opening can be prevented. In this manner, the discharge cap can be used by repeatedly opening and closing the top lid F. [Industrial Applicability]

[0036] The discharge cap of the present invention is attached to a squeezable container body, and by simply rotating the outer cap relative to the inner cap, the flow path of the content liquid can be switched between shower discharge or straight discharge by the up and down movement of the sealed top wall, making it particularly suitable as a discharge cap to be attached to a container body to be filled with herbicides, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] A Container body B Inner cap C Cutting Hinge D Outer cap E Hinge F Top lid 1 Mouth 1a Outer surface 2. Torso 3 Male thread 4 Anti-rotation rib 10. Mounting Part 11 Seal top wall 12 Guide groove 13 Outer cylinder wall 14 Base wall 15 Inner cylinder 16 Flange section 17 Sliding protrusion 18 Female thread 19 Anti-rotation groove 20 Support cylinder wall 21 Slit Wall 22 Elevator 23 Intermittent thread 25 Weakened hinge 30 Rotation guide section 31 Rotating cylinder 31a Lid engaging part 32 Discharge top wall 33 Protrusion 34 Engagement ridge 35 Knurling 36 Sliding rib 37 Seal cylinder 38 Discharge hole 39 Threaded part 40 Side Wall 41 Top Wall 42 Bend 43 Brim 44 Fitting recess 45 Ring wall 46 Dome wall 47 Locking hole

Claims

1. A dispensing cap including an inner cap attached to a squeezable container body, an outer cap rotatably attached to an upper portion of the inner cap, and a top lid covering the outer cap, The inner cap has an attachment part that is attached to the mouth of the container body, and a sealed top wall that is connected inwardly from the attachment part and has a center that is movable up and down. the outer cap has a discharge top wall capable of being brought into close contact with the sealing top wall of the inner cap and having a plurality of discharge holes formed therein; The inner cap is characterized in that the center of the sealing top wall is threadedly engaged with the center of the discharge top wall of the outer cap, and when the outer cap is rotated, the center of the sealing top wall descends to release the flow path to the discharge top wall.

2. The inner cap has an elevator tube suspended from the center of the seal top wall, The discharge cap according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer cap has a rotation guide portion that is rotatably attached to the mounting portion of the inner cap, a discharge top wall that is connected inwardly from the rotation guide portion, and a protrusion that is suspended from the center of the discharge top wall and is screwed into the lifting tube of the sealing top wall.

3. 3. The discharge cap according to claim 1, wherein the seal top wall has a slit wall having a plurality of spiral slits formed from the center to the periphery.

4. 3. The discharge cap according to claim 1, wherein the top cover is connected to the outer cap via a hinge so as to be openable and closable.

5. 4. The discharge cap according to claim 3, wherein the top cover is connected to the outer cap via a hinge so as to be openable and closable.

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