Synthetic resin container lid

Abstract

To provide a new synthetic resin container lid in which an upper lid can be turned in an opening direction from a closed position toward an opened position without providing a protruding part on an outer peripheral surface of a skirt wall and further which has a tamper-evident mechanism.SOLUTION: A recessed part 66 whose outer diameter is reduced is provided at a portion at an opposite side to hinge means 8 on an outer peripheral surface of a skirt wall 54, and a holding piece 70 whose lower end is connected to an outer surface of the skirt wall 54 is disposed at the recessed part 66, and an outer peripheral surface of the holding piece 70 is arranged on the same circumferential surface as the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall 54 or on an inner side than this.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a container lid including an upper lid that is connected to a lid body via hinge means and is rotatable between a closed position covering the upper surface of the lid body and an open position exposing the upper surface of the lid body.

Background Art

[0002] A typical example of a synthetic resin container lid, a so-called hinge cap, which includes a lid body and an upper lid that is connected to the lid body via hinge means and is rotatable between a closed position covering the upper surface of the lid body and an open position exposing the upper surface of the lid body, is shown in Patent Document 1 below. The lid body includes a closing wall and a cylindrical mounting wall that hangs down from the periphery of the closing wall. A cylindrical locking wall is disposed at the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface of the closing wall, and a locking ridge is formed at the upper end of the outer peripheral surface of the locking wall. The upper lid includes a top wall and a cylindrical skirt wall that hangs down from the periphery of the top wall. At the lower end of the inner peripheral surface of the skirt wall, a locked ridge is formed that is locked to the locking ridge formed on the lid body when the upper lid is rotated to the closed position.

[0003] The container lid shown in Patent Document 1 below further includes a mechanism for indicating that the upper lid has been opened, a so-called tamper-evident mechanism. Such a tamper-evident mechanism includes a flange piece that is connected to a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall of the upper lid on the side opposite to the hinge means and hangs downward, and a flange locking portion that is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall above the flange piece. A locked portion that can be locked to the flange locking portion is provided on the outer surface of the flange piece. When the upper lid is first rotated from the closed position to the open position, the flange piece is rotated upward in a direction away from the outer peripheral surface of the container lid about the base end connected to the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall, and then the locked portion is locked to the flange locking portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall, and the flange piece is fixed to the locked portion. By fixing the flange piece to the locked portion, it is indicated that a required opening operation has been applied to the upper lid. Thereafter, when an upward force is applied to the flange piece, the locked ridge of the upper lid elastically overrides the locking ridge of the lid body, and the upper lid is rotated in the opening direction toward the open position.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Document

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the container lid made of synthetic resin shown in the above Patent Document 1, due to the flange piece and the flange locking portion for fixing the same being provided to protrude from the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall, when a large number of container lids are accommodated in a container or the like and transported, the flange piece and the flange locking portion may collide with the outer peripheral surface of another container lid, causing the locking between the flange piece and the flange locking portion to be released and the upper lid to unexpectedly open, or there is a risk of damaging itself or other container lids. On the other hand, if a protruding portion such as a flange portion protruding radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the upper lid is removed, when turning the upper lid in the opening direction from the closed position to the open position, there is no part to hang a finger on the upper lid, making it difficult to turn the upper lid in the opening direction.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above facts, and its main technical problem is to provide a novel and improved synthetic resin container lid that can turn the upper lid in the opening direction from the closed position to the open position without providing a protruding portion on the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall and also has a tamper - evident mechanism.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] As a result of intensive studies, the inventors of the present invention provided a recess with a reduced outer diameter at a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall opposite to the hinge means, disposed a gripping piece with its lower end connected to the outer surface of the skirt wall in this recess, and arranged the outer peripheral surface of the gripping piece on the same circumferential surface as or inside the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall, thereby finding that the above main technical problem can be solved.

[0008] That is, according to the present invention, as a synthetic resin container lid for solving the above main technical problems, it includes a lid body and an upper lid that is connected to the lid body via hinge means and is rotatable between a closed position covering the upper surface of the lid body and an open position exposing the upper surface of the lid body. The lid body includes a closing wall and a cylindrical mounting wall hanging down from the periphery of the closing wall. A cylindrical locking wall is disposed at the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface of the closing wall, and a locking ridge is formed at the upper end of the outer peripheral surface of the locking wall. The upper lid includes a top wall and a cylindrical skirt wall hanging down from the periphery of the top wall. At the lower end of the inner peripheral surface of the skirt wall, when the upper lid is rotated to the closed position, a locked ridge that is locked to the locking ridge formed on the lid body is formed. In the synthetic resin container lid. A concave portion with a reduced outer diameter is provided at a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall opposite to the hinge means. A gripping piece with its lower end connected to the outer surface of the skirt wall is disposed in the concave portion, and the outer peripheral surface of the gripping piece is located on the same circumference as or inside the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall. A synthetic resin container lid is provided, which is characterized by this.

[0009] Preferably, both the concave portion and the gripping piece are U-shaped facing downward. The concave portion is open upward, and the upper edge of the gripping piece connected to the outer surface of the upper lid via the weakened portion is located at the upper end of the skirt wall. At the upper end of the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall to the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface of the top wall in the circumferential region where the concave portion is provided or at the upper end of the inner peripheral surface of the gripping piece, a chamfered portion extending in the circumferential direction is preferably formed. It is convenient that the gripping piece is connected to the outer surface of the skirt wall via a weakened portion.

Effect of the Invention

[0010] In the container lid configured according to the present invention, a gripping piece having a lower end connected to the outer surface of the skirt wall is disposed at a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall opposite to the hinge means. When the upper lid is pivoted in the opening direction from the closed position to the open position, first, the gripping piece is pivoted radially outward with the lower end of the gripping piece as the pivot axis. By being pivoted, the gripping piece is plastically deformed to some extent, and thus the gripping piece does not return to the recess again, indicating that the required opening operation has been applied to the upper lid. The gripping piece is disposed in a recess provided on the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall, and since the outer peripheral surface of the gripping piece is located on the same circumference as or inside the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall, the upper lid can be easily pivoted in the opening direction from the closed position to the open position without providing a protrusion on the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall, and it also has a tamper-evident mechanism.

[0011] After the weakening portion is broken and the gripping piece is pulled upward, the upper lid starts to pivot in the opening direction from the closed position to the open position, and the locked protrusion formed on the inner surface of the skirt wall elastically overrides the locking protrusion formed on the locking wall of the lid body. At this time, in the container lid configured according to the present invention, since the lower end of the gripping piece is connected to the outer surface of the skirt wall, the lower end of the gripping piece is close to the locked protrusion, so the force applied to the gripping piece is effectively transmitted to the locked protrusion formed on the skirt wall of the upper lid, and thus the locked protrusion can easily override the locking protrusion.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings showing preferred embodiments of a synthetic resin container lid configured according to the present invention, it will be described in more detail. Here, the vertical direction in this specification is based on the state where the upper lid is in the closed position described later unless otherwise specified. Therefore, in the state where the upper lid is in the open position described later, the vertical direction is reversed.

[0014] Referring to FIG. 1 for explanation, a synthetic resin container lid indicated by the number 2 as a whole includes a lid body 4 and an upper lid 6, and the lid body 4 and the upper lid 6 are connected via hinge means 8. The container lid 2 is integrally molded in the state shown in FIG. 1, that is, in the state where the upper lid 6 is in the open position described later.

[0015] Mainly referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 for explanation, the lid body 4 has a closing wall 10 and a cylindrical mounting wall 12 hanging down from the periphery of the closing wall 10. The closing wall 10 is circular in plan view, that is, in FIG. 1, and is partitioned into a removal region 16 surrounded by a breakable thin line 14 and a remaining region 18 outside the breakable thin line 14. The breakable thin line 14 is constituted by an annular groove formed on the lower surface of the closing wall 10. The removal region 16 is disposed at the center of the closing wall 10, and is partitioned into a circular central portion 20 and a pair of extending portions 22a and 22b that locally extend radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the central portion 20 toward the side where the hinge means 8 exists and the opposite side thereof. A well-known pull ring 24 is connected to the upper surface of the extending portion 22a.

[0016] On the upper surface of the closing wall 10 at the outer peripheral edge of the residual region 18, a substantially cylindrical pouring guide inner wall 36 extending upward is disposed. The upper end portion of the pouring guide inner wall 36 is curved radially outward. On the upper surface of the closing wall 10 outside the pouring guide inner wall 36, a cylindrical locking wall 38 is disposed, and an annular locking ridge 40 is formed at the upper end portion of the outer peripheral surface of the locking wall 38. On the lower surface of the closing wall 10 at the outer peripheral edge of the residual region 18, a cylindrical seal wall 42 hanging downward is formed, and the outer peripheral surface of the seal wall 42 faces the inner peripheral surface of the mounting wall 12 with a radial interval therebetween. At the lower end portion of the inner peripheral surface of the mounting wall 12, locking means 46 protruding radially inward are disposed.

[0017] The upper lid 6 has a substantially horizontally extending circular top wall 52 and a cylindrical skirt wall 54 hanging down from the periphery of the top wall 52. The lower end portion of the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall 54 is connected to the upper end portion of the outer peripheral surface of the mounting wall 12 of the lid body 4 via hinge means 8, and the upper lid 6 is rotatable between a closed position (for example, the state shown in FIG. 5) covering the closing wall 10 of the lid body 4 and an open position (for example, the state shown in FIG. 2) exposing the closing wall 10 of the lid body 4. A cylindrical hanging wall 58 hanging downward is formed at the outer peripheral edge of the lower surface of the top wall 52. An annular engaged ridge 62 extending in the circumferential direction is disposed at the lower end portion of the inner peripheral surface of the skirt wall 54. Above the engaged ridge 62, an annular abutting shoulder surface 64 facing downward is formed.

[0018] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in the container lid 2 configured according to the present invention, a recess 66 with a reduced outer diameter is provided at a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall 54 opposite to the hinge means 8. A gripping piece 70 with its lower end connected to the outer surface of the skirt wall 54 is disposed in the recess 66. In the illustrated embodiment, both the recess 66 and the gripping piece 70 are U-shaped facing downward, and the gripping piece 70 is in the form of a thin plate. The recess 66 is open upward, and the upper edge of the gripping piece 70 is located at the upper end of the skirt wall 54. A chamfered portion 68 extending in the circumferential direction is formed in the circumferential region where the recess 66 is provided at the upper end portion of the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall 54 to the outer peripheral edge portion of the upper surface of the top wall 52. If desired, the chamfered portion 68 may be formed at the upper end portion of the inner peripheral surface of the gripping piece 70. The outer peripheral surface of the gripping piece 70 is located on the same circumferential surface as the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall 54. If desired, the outer peripheral surface of the gripping piece 70 may be located inside the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall 54. The gripping piece 70 is also connected to the outer surface of the skirt wall 54 via a weakening portion (not shown). Such a weakening portion may be a well-known breakable bridging portion or a breakable thin film.

[0019] As described above, the container lid 2 is integrally formed with the upper lid 6 in the open position, and after forming, the upper lid 6 is pivoted from the open position to the closed position. When the upper lid 6 is pivoted to the closed position, as shown in FIG. 5, the abutting shoulder surface 64 formed on the inner surface of the skirt wall 54 of the upper lid 6 abuts against the upper surface of the locking wall 38 of the lid body 4, and the locked protrusion 62 elastically rides over the locking protrusion 40 and is locked thereto, and the upper lid 6 is held in the closed position. When the upper lid 6 is in the closed position, the outer surface of the lower end portion of the hanging wall 58 formed on the top wall 52 of the upper lid 6 is in close contact with the inner surface of the pouring guide inner wall 36 formed on the lid body 4. The container lid 2 is transported with the upper lid 6 positioned in the closed position.

[0020] In the container lid configured according to the present invention, the gripping piece 70 is disposed in the recess 66 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall 54, and the outer peripheral surface of the gripping piece 70 is located on the same circumferential surface as or inside the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall 54. Therefore, there is no protruding portion on the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall 54. Therefore, when a large number of container lids are stored and transported in a container or the like, there is no risk that the container lids will collide with each other and accidentally open, or that the outer peripheral surfaces of themselves or other container lids will be damaged.

[0021] In FIG. 5, together with the container lid 2 configured according to the present invention, the mouth-neck portion of the container to which such a container lid 2 is applied is also shown by a two-dot chain line. The mouth-neck portion 100 of the container, which can be formed of an appropriate synthetic resin or glass, has a cylindrical shape with an open upper surface, and a fitting ridge 102 is formed at the upper end portion of its outer peripheral surface. Further, a support ring 104 (which is used when transporting the container) is also formed on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth-neck portion 100, below the fitting ridge 102.

[0022] When the container lid 2 with the upper lid 6 in the closed position is fitted onto the mouth-neck portion 100 and forced downward to seal the mouth-neck portion 100 after the contents are stored in the container, the locking means 46 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the mounting wall 12 elastically rides over the fitting ridge 102 of the mouth-neck portion 100 and is locked thereto.

[0023] When discharging the contents of the container, first, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lower end of the gripping piece 70 is used as a pivot axis to swing the gripping piece 70 radially outward to break a weakened portion (not shown). At this time, since the recess 66 is opened upward and the upper edge of the gripping piece 70 is located at the upper end of the skirt wall 54, the user can easily grip the upper end of the gripping piece 70 by crawling their fingers from the upper surface of the top wall 52. Further, in the angular region where the recess 66 is provided at the upper end of the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall 54 to the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface of the top wall 52, a chamfered portion 68 extending in the circumferential direction is formed, so that the user can also easily grip the upper end of the gripping piece 70 from this point. Due to being swung, the gripping piece 70 is somewhat plastically deformed, and thus the gripping piece 70 will not return to the recess 66 again, indicating that the required opening operation has been applied to the upper lid 6. That is, the tamper evidence property is exhibited. Next, the gripping piece 70 is pulled upward to elastically overcome the locking protrusion 40 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the locking wall 38 of the lid body 4 by the locked protrusion 62 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the skirt wall 54 of the upper lid 6. At this time, since the lower end of the gripping piece 70 connected to the outer surface of the skirt wall 54 is close to the locked protrusion 62, the force applied to the gripping piece 70 is effectively transmitted to the locked protrusion 62, and the locked protrusion 62 can easily overcome the locking protrusion 40.

[0024] After elastically overcoming the locking protrusion 40 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the locking wall 38 of the lid body 4 by the locked protrusion 62 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the skirt wall 54 of the upper lid 6, the upper lid 6 is swung to the open position. Thereafter, a finger is hooked on the pull ring 24 of the lid body 4 and forced upward to break the breakable thin wall line 14 to remove the removal region 16 from the closing wall 10. Thus, as shown in FIG. 8, a discharge opening 76 is generated in the closing wall 10. Thereafter, by appropriately tilting the container, the contents of the container are discharged through the discharge opening 76. After the discharge of the contents is completed, the upper lid 6 is swung to the closed position about the hinge means 8 as the pivot center, that is, in the closing direction, namely, in the direction of covering the closing wall 10.

[0025] As described above, the synthetic resin container lid configured according to the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and appropriate modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the recess 66 was formed only on the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall 54, but it may be formed on the outer surface of the skirt wall 54 or the upper surface of the top wall 52. By forming the recess on the outer surface of the skirt wall 54 or the upper surface of the top wall 52, the gripping piece can also be disposed along the recess, so that the length of the gripping piece can be increased. As a result, the so-called arm length when pulling up the gripping piece during opening can be increased (therefore, the torque acting on the upper lid can be increased), and thus it becomes possible to more efficiently swing the upper lid from the closed position to the open position. Further, the recess and the gripping piece do not necessarily have to be U-shaped.

Explanation of Signs

[0026] 2: Container lid 4: Lid body 6: Upper lid 8: Hinge means 10: Closing wall 12: Mounting wall 38: Locking wall 40: Locking ridge 52: Top wall 54: Skirt wall 66: Recess 68: Chamfered portion 70: Gripping piece

Claims

1. A container lid made of synthetic resin, comprising a lid body and an upper lid pivotally connected to the lid body via hinge means and capable of pivoting between a closed position covering the upper surface of the lid body and an open position exposing the upper surface of the lid body, wherein the lid body includes a closing wall and a cylindrical mounting wall hanging down from the periphery of the closing wall, a cylindrical locking wall is disposed at the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface of the closing wall, and a locking ridge is formed at the upper end of the outer peripheral surface of the locking wall, and the upper lid includes a top wall and a cylindrical skirt wall hanging down from the periphery of the top wall. When the upper lid is pivoted to the closed position, a locked ridge is formed at the lower end of the inner peripheral surface of the skirt wall for locking with the locking ridge formed on the lid body. In the synthetic resin container lid, a recess with a reduced outer diameter is provided at a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall opposite to the hinge means, and a gripping piece with its lower end connected to the outer surface of the skirt wall is disposed in the recess. The outer peripheral surface of the gripping piece is located on the same circumferential surface as or inside the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall. The synthetic resin container lid is characterized by this.

2. The synthetic resin container lid according to claim 1, wherein both the recess and the gripping piece are in a downward-facing U-shape.

3. The recess is open upward, the upper edge of the gripping piece is located at the upper end of the skirt wall, and a chamfered portion extending in the circumferential direction is formed in the circumferential region where the recess is provided from the upper end of the outer peripheral surface of the skirt wall to the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface of the top wall or at the upper end of the inner peripheral surface of the gripping piece. The synthetic resin container lid according to claim 1.

4. The synthetic resin container lid according to claim 1, wherein the gripping piece is connected to the outer surface of the skirt wall via a weakened portion.

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