Container

Abstract

To provide a container that reliably and sufficiently prevents dripping.SOLUTION: An upper surface 18 of an annular protruding portion 16, which is formed at the upper end of a neck portion 6, is arcuate in cross-section, and the protruding portion 16 and a male screw thread 8 are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, such that the outer diameter of an intermediate upper portion 24, which is defined between the protruding portion 16 and the male screw thread 8 is smaller than the outer diameter of the protruding portion 16.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Containers for holding liquids such as beverages and seasonings have been widely used, having a cylindrical neck portion, a male thread formed in the middle of the outer periphery of the neck portion, and a female thread formed on a container lid that is threaded onto the male thread to seal the neck portion. An example of such a container is shown in Patent Document 1 below. The container shown in Patent Document 1 below also has an annular bulge at the upper end of the outer periphery of the neck portion. The cross-sectional shape of the bulge has an upper surface that extends linearly and inclined radially outward from the outer periphery of the top surface of the neck portion, and a lower surface that extends radially inward and inclined downward from the lower end of the upper surface.

[0003] By tilting the container as described above, the liquid contents are expelled from the mouth and neck portion. When the container is sufficiently filled with contents, the contents will be expelled even when the top surface of the mouth and neck portion is facing upward, as shown in Figure 6. This expulsion can be stopped by turning the container upright. When the container is turned upright, the contents are separated into a portion that is expelled directly to the outside and a portion that is pulled back into the container by surface tension. Dripping from the portion that is expelled directly to the outside is undesirable from a hygienic perspective. Dripping occurs when the contents L adhere to the top surface of the mouth and neck portion M and the outer peripheral surface, as shown in Figure 6, when the container is tilted to expel the contents. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 1989 / 007553 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the container disclosed in Patent Document 1, the cross-sectional shape of the upper surface of the bulge is linear, and the inclination of the upper surface relative to the horizontal is constant radially outward. Therefore, when the container is turned upright while discharging the contents with the upper surface of the neck facing upward, the contents tend to remain on the upper surface of the bulge. Furthermore, the contents are difficult to separate into a portion that is discharged as is and a portion that is pulled back into the container due to surface tension (so-called poor separation), resulting in dripping. Furthermore, in the container disclosed in Patent Document 1, the outer diameter of most of the upper middle portion of the neck defined between the bulge and the male thread is larger than the outer diameter of the bulge. The outer peripheral edge of the upper surface of the bulge is close to the outer peripheral surface of the upper middle portion, so there is a risk that the contents guided to the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface of the bulge may adhere to the outer peripheral surface of the upper middle portion. This results in the contents adhering from the top surface of the neck to the outer peripheral surface, causing dripping.

[0006] The present invention was made in consideration of the above facts, and its main technical objective is to provide a container that improves on the container shown in Patent Document 1 and that more reliably prevents dripping. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] After extensive research, the inventors have discovered that the above-mentioned main technical problem can be solved by making the upper surface of the cross-sectional shape of the annular bulge formed at the upper end of the mouth and neck part arc-shaped, arranging the bulge part and the male screw thread at a distance from each other in the vertical direction, and making the outer diameter of the upper intermediate part defined between the bulge part and the male screw thread smaller than the outer diameter of the bulge part.

[0008] That is, according to the present invention, a container that solves the above-mentioned main technical problem is a container having a cylindrical mouth and neck portion, in which a male thread is formed in the middle portion of the outer circumferential surface of the mouth and neck portion and an annular bulge is formed in the upper end portion, The cross-sectional shape of the bulging portion has an arcuate upper surface that curves downward from the outer circumferential edge of the top surface of the mouth and neck portion toward the outside in the radial direction, and a lower surface that extends toward the inside in the radial direction from the lower end of the upper surface or the lower end of the outer circumferential surface that extends downward from the lower end of the upper surface, The bulge and the male screw thread are arranged at a distance from each other in the vertical direction, and the outer diameter of the upper middle part of the mouth / neck part defined between the bulge and the male screw thread is smaller than the outer diameter of the bulge.

[0009] Preferably, the outer peripheral surface of the upper intermediate portion is cylindrical. The upper end of the inner peripheral surface of the neck portion is preferably provided with a guide surface in the shape of an inverted truncated cone that slopes radially outward as it extends upward. In this case, the guide surface is inclined at an angle of 60±15° relative to the vertical, the top surface of the neck portion is flat and annular, the radial width of the top surface is 63 to 78% of the wall thickness of the neck portion at the root of the male thread, and the distance between the lower end of the bulge and the upper end of the male thread is at least 0.3 mm. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] In the container of the present invention, the cross-sectional shape of the upper surface of the annular bulge is an arc that curves downward radially outward, so the inclination of the upper surface relative to the horizontal is not constant but gradually increases radially outward. Therefore, even if the container is turned upright while discharging the contents with the upper surface of the neck facing upward, the contents are unlikely to remain on the upper surface of the bulge. The contents are smoothly separated into a portion that is discharged as is and a portion that is pulled back into the container by surface tension, resulting in good separation and minimizing dripping. Furthermore, in the container of the present invention, the bulge and the male thread are spaced apart vertically, and the outer diameter of the upper intermediate portion defined between the bulge and the male thread is smaller than the outer diameter of the bulge, so the contents are unlikely to adhere to the outer surface of the upper intermediate portion or the male thread. In other words, the container of the present invention more reliably prevents dripping during dispensing. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view of a container constructed in accordance with the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the container shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] 2 is an enlarged view of the neck portion in the cross section taken along line AA of the container shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a further enlarged view of the upper end of the mouth and neck portion in FIG. 3. [Figure 5] 2 is a diagram showing a state in which the container shown in FIG. 1 is tilted and the liquid content is being discharged. FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a diagram showing the state in which the liquid contents adhere from the top surface of the neck portion to the outer peripheral surface when the container is tilted to discharge the liquid contents. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show preferred embodiments of a container constructed in accordance with the present invention.

[0013] 1 to 3, a container generally designated by the numeral 2 is a container for holding liquids such as beverages and seasonings, and is molded from an appropriate synthetic resin. If desired, the container 2 may be made of glass. The container 2 has a bottomed body 4 for holding the contents, and a cylindrical opening and neck 6.

[0014] The neck portion 6 has a flat, annular top surface 7 that extends substantially horizontally. A male thread 8 is formed in the middle of the outer periphery of the neck portion 6. The neck portion 6 of the container 2 is sealed by fitting a container lid (not shown) over the neck portion 6 of the container 2 and threading the female thread formed on the lid onto the male thread 8. Further, an annular locking jaw 10 is formed below the male thread 8 in the middle of the outer periphery of the neck portion 6, and an annular support ring 12 is formed below the locking jaw 10. Both the locking jaw 10 and the support ring 12 are well known to those skilled in the art, so detailed explanations will be omitted.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 3, the upper end of the inner peripheral surface of the neck portion 6 is formed with a guide surface 14 having an inverted truncated cone shape that slopes radially outward. The upper edge of the guide surface 14 is connected to the inner peripheral edge of the top surface 7. Preferably, the guide surface 14 is inclined at 60°±15° relative to the vertical. An annular bulge 16 is formed at the upper end of the outer peripheral surface of the neck portion 6. Referring also to FIG. 4, the cross-sectional shape of the bulge 16 has an arcuate upper surface 18 that curves downward radially outward from the outer peripheral edge of the top surface 7 of the neck portion 6, a cylindrical outer peripheral surface 20 that extends downward from the lower end of the upper surface 18, and an arcuate lower surface 22 that curves downward radially inward from the lower end of the outer peripheral surface 20. If desired, the outer peripheral surface 20 may be omitted, and the lower surface 22 may extend radially inward from the lower end of the upper surface 18. Furthermore, the lower surface 22 may extend radially inward substantially horizontally. The radius of curvature of the upper surface 18 is preferably 0.58±0.06 mm.

[0016] 1 and 3, the bulge 16 and the male thread 8 are spaced apart in the vertical direction, and an upper intermediate section 24 is defined between the bulge 16 and the male thread 8. The outer diameter of the neck portion 6 at the upper intermediate section 24 is smaller than the outer diameter of the bulge 16. Therefore, the outer peripheral surface of the upper intermediate section 24 is displaced radially inward relative to the bulge 16. In the illustrated embodiment, the outer peripheral surface of the upper intermediate section 24 is cylindrical. The distance between the lower end of the bulge 16 and the upper end of the male thread 8 is preferably at least 0.3 mm.

[0017] By tilting container 2, the liquid contents are discharged from neck opening 6. Figure 5 shows the state in which contents L are being discharged from neck opening 6 of container 2. In the container of the present invention, the cross-sectional shape of upper surface 18 of annular bulge 16 is an arc that curves downward radially outward, and therefore the inclination of upper surface 18 with respect to the horizontal direction is not constant but gradually increases radially outward. Therefore, when the container is turned upright while the contents are being discharged, the contents are less likely to remain on upper surface 18, and the contents are smoothly separated into a portion that is discharged as is and a portion that is pulled back into the container by surface tension, resulting in good cutoff and minimizing dripping. Furthermore, in the container of the present invention, the bulging portion 16 and the male thread 8 are disposed at a distance from each other in the vertical direction, and the outer diameter of the upper intermediate portion 24 defined between the bulging portion 16 and the male thread 8 is smaller than the outer diameter of the bulging portion 16, so that the contents are less likely to adhere to the outer surface of the upper intermediate portion 24 or the male thread 8. In other words, the container of the present invention more reliably prevents dripping during dispensing.

[0018] In the illustrated embodiment, the upper end of the inner circumferential surface of the neck portion 6 is formed with a guide surface 14 in the shape of an inverted truncated cone that slopes radially outward toward the top, and the thickness of the upper end of the neck portion 6 gradually decreases toward the top.For this reason, when the container is turned upright while the contents are being discharged, the contents are less likely to remain on the upper surface of the bulging part, resulting in good drainage and preventing dripping.If the thickness of the upper end of the neck portion 6 is gradually reduced toward the top due to the presence of guide surface 14, when a container lid (not shown) is attached to the neck portion 6 of the container, the well-known contact ring formed on the inner surface of the container lid may not make sufficient contact with the top surface 7 of the neck portion 6, resulting in a poor seal. However, according to experiments conducted by the inventors, it has been confirmed that if the guide surface 14 is inclined at 60°±15° with respect to the vertical direction, the radial width w of the top surface 7 of the neck portion 6 is 63 to 78% of the thickness t of the neck portion 6 at the thread valley in the male thread 8 (see Figure 3), the cross section of the upper surface 18 of the bulge portion 16 is arc-shaped (in the illustrated embodiment, the radius of curvature is 0.58±0.06 mm), and the distance between the lower end of the bulge portion 16 and the upper end of the male thread 8 is at least 0.3 mm, the above-mentioned sealing failure will not occur and dripping will not occur in actual use, as is expected when the contents are concentrated concentrate for a beverage or seasoning.

[0019] The container constructed according to the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and appropriate modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0020] 2: Container 6: Mouth and neck 8: Male screw 14: Guide surface 16:bulge 18: Top surface of the bulge 20: Outer surface of the bulge 22: Underside of bulge

Claims

1. A container having a cylindrical neck portion, a male thread formed in the middle of the outer circumferential surface of the neck portion, and an annular bulge formed at the upper end, The cross-sectional shape of the bulging portion has an arcuate upper surface that curves downward from the outer circumferential edge of the top surface of the mouth and neck portion toward the outside in the radial direction, and a lower surface that extends toward the inside in the radial direction from the lower end of the upper surface or the lower end of the outer circumferential surface that extends downward from the lower end of the upper surface, The bulge and the male screw thread are arranged at an interval in the vertical direction, and the outer diameter of the upper middle part of the mouth / neck part defined between the bulge and the male screw thread is smaller than the outer diameter of the bulge.

2. 10. The container of claim 1, wherein the outer periphery of the intermediate upper portion is cylindrical.

3. 2. The container according to claim 1, wherein an inverted truncated cone-shaped guide surface is formed at the upper end of the inner peripheral surface of the neck portion, and is inclined radially outward as it extends upward.

4. 4. A container according to claim 3, wherein the guide surface is inclined at an angle of 60°±15° with respect to the vertical direction, the top surface of the neck portion has a flat, annular shape, the radial width of the top surface is 63 to 78% of the wall thickness of the neck portion at the thread root of the male thread, and the distance between the lower end of the bulge and the upper end of the male thread is at least 0.3 mm.

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