Container with inner plug

Abstract

To provide a container with an inner plug in which the inner plug can be attached and detached by a simple operation.SOLUTION: A container with an inner plug comprises a container main body 1, the inner plug 2, and a cover cap 3. The container main body 1 comprises: a plurality of projection parts 16 which are provided along an outer peripheral wall 15 of a mouth / neck part 11, and protrude upward; a recessed part 17 which is provided in the outer peripheral wall 15 of the mouth / neck part 11 between the projection parts 16; and a locking projection part 18 provided inside the recessed part 17. The inner plug 2 comprises: a top surface wall 21 which hermetically holds an opening end 11a of the mouth / neck part 11; a peripheral wall 22 which surrounds the mouth / neck part 11; and a plurality of engagement pieces 23 which can remove the inner plug 2 from the mouth / neck part 11, by sliding and raising a protruding part which is suspended and held at a lower end of the peripheral wall 22, and protrudes downward, along an outer side edge part of the projection part 16 of the container main body 1 in accordance with the rotation of the inner plug 2. The engagement piece 23 has an engagement protrusion 25 undercut-fittable to the locking projection part 18 of the container main body 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a container with an inner plug, the inner plug of which can be attached and detached with a simple operation. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a container with an inner stopper as described in Patent Document 1 has been known. This container with an inner stopper is composed of a container body, an inner stopper, and an outer cap, and an engaging protrusion formed in an upward convex shape is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the neck part of the container body, and an engaging protrusion formed in a downward convex shape is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the tubular part of the inner stopper. When the inner stopper is attached to the container body, it is fitted into the undercut by tapping the stopper, while when the inner stopper is removed, the inner stopper is rotated to push up the engaging protrusion of the inner stopper along the engaging protrusion of the container body, thereby disengaging the undercut fitting. This attachment and detachment method is said to make it easy to attach and detach the inner stopper to and from the container body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-158456 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned container with an inner stopper, a fitting portion (engagement protrusion) is formed continuously around the entire outer surface of the mouth and neck portion of the container body and the inner surface of the cylindrical portion of the inner stopper, so the fitting force is strong, and there is room for improvement in terms of making the inner stopper easier to remove with less force.

[0005] Furthermore, when using such a container with an inner stopper as a refill container, the inner stopper must be removed when refilling the contents. However, inner stoppers generally have a small diameter and nowhere to hook one's fingers, so they must be pried open to remove, making the refilling process difficult.

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a container with an inner stopper which can be easily attached and detached. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The container with an inner stopper of the present invention, which has been developed to achieve the above object, is a container with an inner stopper, comprising: a container body for storing contents; an inner stopper that is removably fitted and held in the mouth and neck part of the container body and enables the contents to be poured out through a spout; and a cover cap that houses the inner stopper inside and is attached to the outside of the mouth and neck part by screwing, The container body includes a plurality of protrusions provided along an outer peripheral wall of the mouth and neck portion and protruding upward, a recess provided on the outer peripheral wall of the mouth and neck portion between the protrusions, and a locking protrusion provided within the recess and having a tip that is flush with the surface of the outer peripheral wall, The inside plug comprises a top wall in which the spout is formed and which keeps the open end of the mouth and neck part sealed, a peripheral wall which is provided on the outer edge of the top wall and surrounds the mouth and neck part, and a plurality of engagement pieces which enable the inside plug to be removed from the mouth and neck part by sliding a protruding end part which is suspended and held at the lower end of the peripheral wall and which protrudes downward along the outer edge of the convex part of the container body and pushing it up as the inside plug is rotated, The engaging piece has an engaging protrusion that can be fitted into an undercut of a locking protrusion of the container body when the inside plug is attached to the neck portion.

[0008] In the container with an inside plug of the present invention, it is preferable that the inside plug is provided with a knurling formed of one or more vertical ribs on the outer circumferential surface of the peripheral wall at a position other than directly above the engagement projection.

[0009] In the container with an inside plug of the present invention, it is preferable that the recess has an inclined side wall that causes the engaging projection to ride up onto the outer peripheral wall and release the undercut fitting when the inside plug is rotated. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the container with an inner stopper of the present invention, the downwardly protruding ends of the multiple engaging pieces suspended and held at the lower end of the peripheral wall of the inner stopper are engaged with the multiple protrusions provided to protrude upward along the outer peripheral wall of the mouth and neck of the container body, and the inner stopper can be removed from the mouth and neck by sliding the protrusions along the outer edge of the protrusions as the inner stopper is rotated.

[0011] In particular, in the present invention, a plurality of recesses are provided on the outer peripheral wall between the protrusions of the mouth and neck of the container body, and locking protrusions are provided within the recesses. During use, the locking protrusions can be engaged in an undercut by striking the stopper, preventing the stopper from coming off or from rotating unintentionally and reliably maintaining the locked state. On the other hand, when the locked state is released to refill the contents, etc., the locking protrusions of the stopper come into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the recesses, in particular the inclined side edges of the recesses, as the stopper is rotated and gradually rise, and the locking pieces are gradually pushed outward in the radial direction while elastically deforming, thereby releasing the undercut engagement between the locking protrusions and the engaging protrusions and allowing the stopper to be easily removed with little force.

[0012] According to the present invention, the inside plug has a knurling formed of one or more vertical ribs on the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall, so that the inside plug can be rotated and easily removed by hooking the fingers on the knurling without the fingers slipping. In particular, by providing the knurling at a position other than directly above the engagement protrusion provided on the engagement piece of the inside plug, the inside plug can be easily removed with a small load without the fingers pressing down from the outside on the undercut fitting portion between the locking protrusion of the container body and the engagement protrusion of the inside plug when rotating the inside plug. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing one embodiment of a container with an inner plug according to the present invention, in which (a) is a plan view and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1A. [Diagram 2] 2(a) is a plan view, FIG. 2(b) is a front view, and FIG. 2(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 2(a). [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a reference perspective view of the container body of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 4(a) is a plan view, FIG. 4(b) is a front view, and FIG. 4(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 4(a). [Diagram 5] 1A and 1B are diagrams for explaining a method for removing the inner plug from the container body, in which (a) shows the inner plug in a mounted state and (b) shows the inner plug after being rotated. [Figure 6] 6(a) is a diagram illustrating the fitted state of the inner stopper and the container body during use; (b) is an enlarged plan view of the fitting position α portion of FIG. 6(a); (c) is a diagram illustrating the fitted state of the inner stopper and the container body immediately after the inner stopper starts to rotate; and (d) is an enlarged plan view of the fitting position β portion of FIG. 6(c). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a container with an inside stopper according to the present invention, where (a) is a plan view and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Fig. 1(a). Fig. 2 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a container body, where (a) is a plan view, (b) is a front view and (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in Fig. 2(a), and Fig. 3 is a reference perspective view of the container body in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing one embodiment of an inside stopper, where (a) is a plan view, (b) is a front view and (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in Fig. 4(a). Fig. 5 is a diagram explaining a method of removing the inside stopper from the container body, where (a) is a view showing the inside stopper attached and (b) is a view showing the inside stopper rotated. Figure 6 is a diagram explaining the fitted state of the inner stopper and the container body, where (a) is a diagram showing the fitted state of the inner stopper and the container body during use, (b) is a plan view showing an enlarged view of the fitting position α part of Figure 6(a), (c) is a diagram showing the fitted state of the inner stopper and the container body immediately after the inner stopper starts to rotate, and (d) is a plan view showing an enlarged view of the fitting position β part of Figure 6(c).

[0015] 1 to 6, reference numeral 1 denotes a container body that contains the contents, and reference numeral 2 denotes an inside plug that is detachably fitted and held in an opening end 11a of a neck portion 11 of the container body 1.

[0016] The container body 1 has a cylindrical body portion 12 with a bottom having a filling space inside for the contents, and a cylindrical neck portion 11 located at the upper end of the body portion 12 and having a smaller diameter than the body portion 12. The neck portion 11 is composed of a lower cylindrical portion 13a having a male thread 14 on its outer circumferential wall, and an upper cylindrical portion 13b having a smaller diameter than the lower cylindrical portion 13a and having an open end 11a at its upper end.

[0017] A plurality of triangular protrusions 16 are provided continuously in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral wall 15 of the upper cylindrical portion 13b and protrude upward along the outer peripheral wall 15. In addition, recesses 17 recessed radially inward are provided on the outer peripheral wall 15 between the protrusions 16, and locking protrusions 18 protruding radially outward are provided within the recesses 17.

[0018] The recess 17 extends in the axial direction L of the container body 1 to the apex of the protrusion 16 (triangular shape). In this embodiment, the recess 17 is arc-shaped in a plan view, and has inclined side walls 17a, 17b at both circumferential ends. The shape of the recess 17 is not limited to an arc shape, and can be changed as appropriate.

[0019] The locking protrusions 18 are formed so that their protruding tips are flush with the outer peripheral wall 15. In this embodiment, the locking protrusions 18 are shown as having an elliptical shape in a front view as an example, but the shape of the locking protrusions 18 is not limited to this and can be changed as appropriate.

[0020] Furthermore, in order to enable undercut fitting with the engaging protrusion 25 provided on the engaging piece 23 of the inside plug 2 by tapping the plug as described later, it is preferable that at least the upper part of the engaging protrusion 18 has a shape curved toward the protruding tip, whereby the engaging protrusion 25 can be smoothly guided to the fitting position along the outer circumferential surface of the engaging protrusion 18. On the other hand, it is preferable that the lower surface of the engaging protrusion 18 is flat so that the engaging protrusion 25 can be firmly fitted and held.

[0021] The container body 1 can be manufactured using a material such as synthetic resin, but the material is not particularly limited. In addition, in this embodiment, a cylindrical container body 1 is shown as an example, but the shape of the container body can be appropriately changed based on the type of content, the design of the container, the purpose, etc., and is not limited to the shape shown in the figure.

[0022] The inside plug 2 has a top wall 21, a peripheral wall 22 suspended from the outer edge of the top wall 21, and a plurality of inverted triangular engagement pieces 23 suspended from the lower end of the peripheral wall 22. The inside plug 2 can be manufactured using a material such as synthetic resin, but the material is not particularly limited. In this embodiment, a cylindrical inside plug 2 is shown as an example, but the shape of the inside plug 2 can be appropriately changed based on the design, use, etc. of the container, and is not limited to the shape shown in the figure.

[0023] The top wall 21 has a spout 21a in the center for dispensing the contents contained in the container body 1, and a ring portion 21b suspended from the underside can be fitted into the opening end 11a of the container body 1 to keep the opening end 11a sealed.

[0024] The boundary between the peripheral wall 22 and the engaging pieces 23 forms a circumferential step 24. As described below, when the inside plug 2 is rotated, the step 24 serves as a base end and can displace the engaging pieces 23 radially outward, and when the inside plug 2 is attached to the mouth / neck part 11 of the container body 1 by plugging, the step 24 engages with a step 19 provided above the convex part 16 and the concave part 17 of the upper tubular part 13b, allowing the inside plug 2 to be stably attached to the mouth / neck part 11 and preventing the inside plug 2 from being pushed in excessively.

[0025] The engagement pieces 23 are provided at the same intervals and in the same number as the protrusions 16 (six in the figure, spaced 60° apart from each other around the axis L of the container body 1) to engage with the protrusions 16 of the container body 1.

[0026] Furthermore, an elliptical engagement protrusion 25 extending in the circumferential direction is provided on the inner wall surface of the engagement piece 23, and the inside plug 2 can be detachably attached to the neck portion 11 by undercut-fitting the engagement protrusion 25 into the locking protrusion 18 provided on the neck portion 11 of the container body 1 by plugging. At this time, the tip (inverted triangle) of the engagement piece 23 of the inside plug 2 is engaged with the protrusion 16 (triangle) provided on the neck portion 11 of the container body 1, as shown in Figure 5(a).

[0027] The shapes of the engaging piece 23 of the inner plug 2 and the convex portion 16 provided on the neck portion 11 of the container body 1 are not limited to those shown in the figures (inverted triangle and triangle), and may be any shape as long as they engage when the inner plug 2 is attached and the tip of the engaging piece 23 can move up along the outer edge of the convex portion 16 as the inner plug 2 rotates when the inner plug 2 is removed as described below.

[0028] Knurling 26, which is composed of one or more vertical ribs 26a, is provided at multiple locations in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral wall of the peripheral wall 22. In this embodiment, the knurling 26, which is composed of five vertical ribs 26a, is provided at six locations at 60° intervals around the axis L of the container body 1, but this is not limited thereto, and the number of the vertical ribs 26a and the number of the knurling 26 can be changed as appropriate.

[0029] The knurling 26 acts as an anti-slip measure when the peripheral wall 22 of the inside plug 2 is gripped with fingers to rotate it. In addition, the knurling 26 is preferably provided at a position other than directly above the engaging protrusion 25, which makes it possible to prevent the fingers from gripping the fitting position between the engaging protrusion 25 and the locking protrusion 18 when the inside plug 2 is rotated, and prevents the fitting between the engaging protrusion 25 and the locking protrusion 18 from becoming difficult to release.

[0030] When removing the inner plug 2, when the inner plug 2 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow in Figure 5(a), as the inner plug 2 rotates, the tip of the engagement piece 23 slides and rises along the outer edge of the convex portion 16, as shown in Figure 5(b), and the undercut engagement between the engagement projection 25 of the inner plug 2 and the locking convex portion 18 of the neck portion 11 is released, and the inner plug 2 is removed from the neck portion 11.

[0031] At this time, as the inside plug 2 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow from the state before the inside plug 2 starts to rotate (undercut fitted state with the locking protrusion 18) shown in Fig. 6(a) and (b), the engagement protrusion 25 of the inside plug 2 gradually approaches while abutting against the inclined side wall 17b provided at the side end of the recess 17 of the container body 1 as shown in Fig. 6(c) and (d), and accordingly the engagement piece 23 is displaced radially outward with the step portion 24 as the base end, thereby releasing the undercut fitting with the locking protrusion 18. This allows the inside plug 2 to be easily removed with a light force. Note that in Fig. 6(a) and Fig. 6(c), the engagement piece 23 and the engagement protrusion 25 of the inside plug 2 are shown by solid lines.

[0032] By providing the inclined side walls 17a, 17b on both ends of the recess 17, the inside plug 2 can be removed by rotating it either clockwise or counterclockwise, which has the effect of being usable by either hand. In addition, it is preferable to change the inclination angle of the inclined side walls 17a, 17b as appropriate depending on the shapes of the recess 17 and the locking protrusion 18, etc.

[0033] Reference numeral 3 in the figure denotes a cover cap. The cover cap 3 is composed of a top wall 31 and a peripheral wall 32, and has a female thread 33 on the inner wall surface of the peripheral wall 32, which is screwed into a male thread 14 provided on the outer peripheral wall of the lower cylindrical part 13a of the neck part 11 of the container body 1. The cover cap 3 can be manufactured using a material such as synthetic resin, but the material is not particularly limited. Reference numeral 4 denotes a packing that is disposed on the underside of the top wall 31 of the cover cap 3 and keeps the spout 21a of the inside plug 2 in a liquid-tight state, and a flexible material such as rubber can be used. The packing 4 is fitted and held on the underside of the top wall 31 of the cover cap 3 by an undercut, and is also held by being attached with an adhesive or the like. [Industrial Applicability]

[0034] The container with an inner stopper of the present invention can be used as a container for storing liquid cosmetics, medicines, detergents, food and beverages, etc., and in which the inner stopper can be attached and detached with a simple operation, and in particular as a container with an inner stopper that is suitable as a refill container. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1 Container body 11 Mouth and neck 11a Open end 12 Torso 13a Lower cylindrical part 13b Upper cylindrical part 14 Male thread 15 Outer wall 16 Convex 17 Recess 17a, 17b Slanted side walls 18 Locking protrusion 19 Step section 2 Inner stopper 21 Top wall 21a spout 21b Ring section 22 Peripheral wall 23 Engagement piece 24 Step section 25 Engagement protrusion 26 Knurling 26a Vertical rib 3 Cover cap 31 Top wall 32 Peripheral wall 33 Female thread 4. Packing

Claims

1. A container with an inner plug, comprising: a container body for storing contents; an inner plug that is detachably fitted and held in the mouth and neck part of the container body and enables the contents to be poured out through a spout; and a cover cap that houses the inner plug inside and is attached to the outside of the mouth and neck part by screwing, The container body includes a plurality of protrusions provided along an outer peripheral wall of the mouth and neck portion and protruding upward, a recess provided on the outer peripheral wall of the mouth and neck portion between the protrusions, and a locking protrusion provided within the recess and having a tip that is flush with the surface of the outer peripheral wall, The inside plug comprises a top wall in which the spout is formed and which keeps the open end of the mouth and neck part sealed, a peripheral wall which is provided on the outer edge of the top wall and surrounds the mouth and neck part, and a plurality of engagement pieces which enable the inside plug to be removed from the mouth and neck part by sliding a protruding end part which is suspended and held at the lower end of the peripheral wall and which protrudes downward along the outer edge of the convex part of the container body and pushing it up as the inside plug is rotated, The container with an inner stopper is characterized in that the engaging piece has an engaging protrusion that can be fitted into an undercut of a locking protrusion of the container body when the inner stopper is attached to the mouth and neck portion.

2. 2. A container with an inner plug as described in claim 1, characterized in that the inner plug has a knurling formed of one or more vertical ribs on the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall except for a position directly above the engagement projection.

3. 3. The container with an inner plug according to claim 1, wherein the recess has an inclined side wall that causes the engaging projection to ride up onto the outer peripheral wall and release the undercut engagement when the inner plug is rotated.

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