Discharge container

Abstract

To provide a discharge container that switches between metered discharge and continuous discharge by operating an operating part.SOLUTION: The discharge container includes a housing C with a communication port 4 opening at its top, a measuring slide B formed with a measuring section 33 that measures and discharges contents P flowing in through the communication port 4, and a case A that has a closure section 14 formed to close the discharge side of the measuring section 33, and stores the measuring slide B so that it can move along the top of the housing C. The measuring slide B includes a biasing member 35 that biases it to a neutral position where its discharge side faces the closure member 14, and operating members 34a, 34b that can move the measuring section 33 from the neutral position. The measuring slide B, when the container is inverted and the content P flows from the housing C into the measuring section 33, allows continuous discharge by operating the operation section 34a in one direction against the biasing section 35 to connect the measuring section 33 with the communication port 4. Conversely, when the operation section 34b is operated in the opposite direction, the measuring section 33 is disconnected from the communication port 4, enabling fixed-quantity discharge.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a dispensing container for measuring and dispensing a flowable solid material such as a powder, and more particularly to a dispensing container that can switch between fixed amount dispensing and continuous dispensing. [Background technology]

[0002] Portable fixed-volume dispenser containers have been known for some time as containers for measuring and discharging fluid solids such as powders and granules as their contents. These containers have separate upper and lower spaces, with the upper space being a storage space and the lower space being a secondary storage space for fixed-volume discharging, and are equipped with a mechanism that ensures that once the contents are transferred from the upper storage space to the fixed-volume discharging space, they are always discharged at a constant volume from the fixed-volume discharging space (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Also known is a discharge container that includes a container body having a storage space for storing the contents, a cap body having an inlet that leads to the storage space and a discharge outlet that leads to the outside world, a measuring space into which the contents of the storage space are introduced from the inlet and that slides relative to the cap body, an operating body that defines an air chamber between itself and the measuring body and is held by the measuring body so as to slide in the direction in which the measuring body slides relative to the cap body, and an air vent that connects the measuring space to the air chamber (see Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-139291 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-072196 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the portable fixed-amount dispenser container described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that it can only dispense a fixed amount of the contents, but cannot dispense them continuously. Furthermore, the discharge container described in Patent Document 2 can discharge the liquid in a concentrated manner near the discharge port or can disperse the liquid over a wide area using air pressure, but like the portable container described in Patent Document 1, it has the problem of not being able to discharge the liquid continuously.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention aims to solve the above problem and to provide a dispensing container that switches between fixed quantity dispensing and continuous dispensing by operating an operating section. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a dispensing container comprising a storage section that stores contents and has a communication port opening at the top, a metering slide formed with a measuring section that measures the contents flowing in from the communication port and discharges them from the top, and a case formed with a closing section that closes the discharge side of the metering section and stores the metering slide so that it can be moved along the top of the storage section, wherein the metering slide is equipped with a biasing section that biases the metering section to a neutral position in which the discharge side faces the closing section and the metering slide faces the closing section, and an operating section that can move the metering section from the neutral position in one direction or the opposite direction, and the metering slide is configured such that when the container is inverted and the contents flow from the storage section into the metering section, when the operating section is operated in one direction against the biasing section, the metering section is connected to the communication port to continuously discharge the contents, and when the operating section is operated in the opposite direction, the metering section is blocked from the communication port and a fixed amount is discharged.

[0008] As a specific embodiment of the case of the dispensing container, a configuration is adopted in which the case is provided with a blocking part that blocks communication between the communication port of the storage part and the measuring part when a fixed amount is dispensed.

[0009] As another specific embodiment of the discharge container, the measuring slide is configured to include an axis supported on the case, a swingable bottom wall that can swing around the axis, and a one-way operating section and a reverse operating section provided on both sides of the measuring section formed on the swingable bottom wall, and the measuring slide is configured to include an elastically deformable biasing section that extends from the axis side of the swingable bottom wall toward the case side and biases the swingable bottom wall to return it to a neutral position. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] By adopting the above-described configuration, the dispensing container of the present invention can easily switch between fixed quantity dispensing and continuous dispensing of the contents by simply inverting the container and operating the operating part in one direction or the other. Furthermore, all of the components of the dispensing container of the present invention, including the biasing portion, can be made of synthetic resin. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a discharging container according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line YY in (b), and (b) is a cross-sectional side view taken along line XX in (a). [Figure 2] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing an open case of a discharging container according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a top view and (b) is a side view cut along the center line. [Figure 3] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a measuring slide of a dispensing container according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a top view and (b) is a side view cut along the center line. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the discharging container of the embodiment of the present invention when the discharging container of FIG. 1(a) is inverted during use. [Figure 5] 5 is an explanatory diagram of the state in which the measuring slide in FIG. 4 is operated in the reverse direction when discharging a fixed amount of the contents of the discharging container according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 5 is an explanatory view of the state where the metering slide of FIG. 4 is operated in one direction when the contents of the dispensing container according to the embodiment of the present invention are continuously discharged. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Next, the discharging container of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings showing an embodiment. In the following description, in FIG. 1(a), the upward direction is the "upward (discharge) direction", the downward direction is the "downward direction", and line XX is the "center line", and in FIG. 1(b), the leftward direction is the "front side" and the rightward direction is the "rear side".

[0013] (Example) As shown in Figure 1, A is the case, B is a measuring slide that is attached so as to be able to swing freely left and right within the case A and switches the discharge state of the contents P, which is a fluid solid such as powder or granules, and C is an inner tray that serves as a storage section for storing the contents P within the case A. The discharge container of this embodiment is composed of the case A, the measuring slide B, and the inner tray C that serves as the storage section, and all of the components are containers made of synthetic resin. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, case A is composed of a case body A1 on the back side of which a middle tray C and a measuring slide B are attached, and a case lid A3 which is connected to the upper front side of case body A1 via a hinge A2 and which closes the open front side of case body A1.

[0014] As shown in Figure 1, the middle plate C comprises a middle plate bottom wall 1 whose upper (discharge) side is an arc, a middle plate partition wall 2 erected along the upper periphery of the middle plate bottom wall 1, and side walls 3 erected along the periphery from both ends of the middle plate partition wall 2 excluding the upper part of the middle plate bottom wall 1, and a communication port 4 is formed in the center of the middle plate partition wall 2, opening on both sides within an angle range of θ1 from the center line. In this embodiment, the communication port 4 is opened in the inner tray partition wall 2 so that the angle θ1 from the center line is 27.5° as viewed in FIG. 1(a).

[0015] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the case body A1 comprises a case bottom wall 10 whose upper side forms an arc whose diameter is expanded by a predetermined distance from the arc at the top of the middle plate bottom wall 1; side wall portions 11 which extend from the lower edge and both left and right edges of the case bottom wall 10 and whose inner periphery covers the outer periphery of the side wall 3 of the middle plate C; an arc-shaped inner partition wall portion 12 which extends from the upper surface of the case bottom wall 10 along the outer periphery of the middle plate partition wall 2 of the middle plate C in an area that at least blocks the communication port 4; and an arc-shaped outer partition wall portion 13 which extends to the left and right from the center line of the upper arc edge of the case bottom wall 10 within an angle range of θ2. The inner tray C is attached and fixed inside the side wall portion 11 and the inner partition wall portion 12 of the case body A1. In this embodiment, the outer partition wall portion 13 is formed such that the angle θ2 on the left and right sides from the center line is 22° as viewed in FIG. 1(a).

[0016] The bottom wall 10 of the case has a bearing hole 15 for supporting the measuring slide B at the same center of the arcs of the inner partition portion 12 and the outer partition portion 13 on the center line XX extending in the vertical direction, and a stopper recess 16 is recessed from the top surface between the inner partition portion 12 and the outer partition portion 13.A spring bearing portion 17 (in this embodiment, a pair of rod-shaped protrusions spaced apart on the left and right) is erected at a position a predetermined distance below the bearing hole 15 at a height h whose tip abuts the underside of the bottom wall 1 of the inner tray C during assembly.

[0017] A lid engaging portion 19 is provided at the upper end of the outer peripheral surface at the center of the lower portion of the side wall portion 11 to protrude and engage with the case lid A3 to keep the lid closed.

[0018] The inner partition wall portion 12 has a right inner opening 21 that extends from the upper end to a height h at an angle θ1 (27.5° in this embodiment) to the right of the center line and an angle smaller than θ3 (2.5° in this embodiment) to the left, and a blocking portion 22 is formed adjacent to the right inner opening 21.

[0019] The outer partition wall portion 13 has a left outer opening 23a and a right outer opening 23b that are opened at a predetermined height from the lower end within a predetermined range with an angle of θ3 to the left and right of the center line, and a closing portion 14 is formed between the left outer opening 23a and the right outer opening 23b. In this embodiment, the outer partition wall portion 13 is formed with an angle θ2 of 22° to the left and right (a total of 44°) from the center line, and the left outer opening 23a and the right outer opening 23b are opened with an angle θ3 of 15° to the left and right from the center line within a range of 5° to the left and right (a total of 10°).

[0020] The case lid A3 comprises a case top wall 25 formed in the same shape as the case bottom wall 10 of the case body A1, a lid engagement piece 26 protruding from the center of the lower side of the case top wall 25 and having its inner side engaging with the lid engagement part 19 of the case body A1 to maintain the lid in a closed state, and an inner wall part 27 formed on the back surface of the case top wall 25 so as to be inserted inside the middle plate partition 2 (excluding the communication opening 4) and side wall 3 of the middle plate C when the case A is assembled, thereby closing the lid. When the case A is assembled, guide spaces α for guiding the sliding of the measuring slide B are formed between the case bottom wall 10 and the case top wall 25 and between the inner partition wall portion 12 and the outer partition wall portion 13.

[0021] As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the measuring slide B is equipped with a shaft portion 30 journaled in a bearing hole 15 opened in the case bottom wall 10 of the case main body A1, a fan bottom wall 31 formed from the upper end of the shaft portion 30 into a fan shape with the upper part being an arc centered on the shaft portion 30, a fan-shaped slide bottom wall 32 formed from the arc side of the fan bottom wall 31 to follow the arc of the upper part of the case bottom wall 10 and capable of swinging left and right within the guide space α, a measuring portion 33 formed in the center on the upper surface of the slide bottom wall 32 with a width W about the center line and communicating in the vertical direction, and a one-way operating portion 34a and a reverse operating portion 34b erected on the fan-shaped peripheral wall on both sides of the measuring portion 33 as operating portions that can move in one direction or the reverse direction, and a spring portion 35 as an elastically deformable biasing portion extending downward from the lower end (shaft portion 30 side) of the fan bottom wall 31. The fan bottom wall 31 and the sliding bottom wall 32 are collectively referred to as a swinging bottom wall as an integral member. The width W of the measuring section 33 is at least narrower than the width between the left outer opening 23a and the right outer opening 23b on both sides of the outer partition wall section 13, and is formed with a width that closes the measuring section 33, and is also formed with a width that is approximately the same as the width of the left outer opening 23a or the right outer opening 23b, and is formed with a width that opens the measuring section 33.

[0022] A guide arc hole 40 is drilled on the arc side of the fan bottom wall 31 between the inner arc of the fan-shaped slide bottom wall 32, allowing the inner partition wall portion 12 of the case body A1 to pass through, and either the left or right side end abuts either the left or right side end of the inner partition wall portion 12, thereby acting as a stopper to regulate the swing range of the measuring slide B.

[0023] A stopper projection 42 that engages with the stopper recess 16 of the case bottom wall 10 is provided at the center of the rear side of the slide bottom wall 32 .

[0024] The one-way operating section 34a and the reverse-direction operating section 34b have an outer arc wall 44 at the top that slides against the inner surface of the outer partition section 13, and an inner arc wall 45 at the bottom that slides against the outer surface of the inner partition section 12, guiding the sliding of the measuring slide B. Between the outer arc wall 44 and the inner arc wall 45, an inner wall 46 is formed at each inner end of the outer arc wall 44 and the inner arc wall 45, which forms a measuring section 33 of width W with the upper surface of the slide bottom wall 32, and an outer wall 47 is formed at each outer end of the outer arc wall 44 and the inner arc wall 45.

[0025] The spring portion 35 is formed in a plate shape with a height h, and when assembled, the front side slides against the underside of the bottom wall 1 of the middle plate C, and the width is curved and formed with a thickness that allows elastic deformation, and at the lower end is formed a fixing portion 49 that is engaged with the spring support portion 17 of the case main body A1 (in this embodiment, it is engaged between two rod-shaped protrusions spaced apart on the left and right) and fixed.

[0026] Next, the manner of use and the effects of the discharging container of this embodiment will be described. The case A is integrally molded with the case lid A3 connected to the case body A1 by a hinge A2 in an open state. In the discharging container of this embodiment, first, the measuring slide B is set in the case body A1 with the case lid A3 open.

[0027] When the metering slide B is set in the case body A1, as shown in FIG. 1 , the inner partition wall 12 of the case body A1 penetrates the guide arc hole 40 of the metering slide B, and the underside of the slide bottom wall 32 of the metering slide B and the outer surfaces of the outer arc wall 44 and inner arc wall 45 of the one-way operating part 34a and the reverse-direction operating part 34b slide in contact with each other within the guide space α of the case body A1. Furthermore, the shaft 30 of the metering slide B is inserted into the bearing hole 15 in the case bottom wall 10 of the case body A1, and the metering slide B is mounted on the shaft 30 so that it can swing relative to the case A. The fixed portion 49 of the spring portion 35 of the measuring slide B engages with the spring receiving portion 17 of the case body A1, fixing the spring portion 35 in a state where it is not elastically deformed, and the stopper protrusion 42 of the measuring slide B engages with the stopper recess 16 of the case body A1, holding it in a neutral position.

[0028] Next, the inner tray C is set on the front side of the measuring slide B inside the case body A1, and then the case lid A3 is closed to the case body A1 via the hinge A2, thereby creating a discharge container that stores the inner tray C and the measuring slide B inside the case A, as shown in Figure 1. Also, before closing the case lid A3, the contents P may be filled into the inner tray C, and then the case lid A3 may be closed.

[0029] When the middle tray C is set on the front side of the measuring slide B inside the case body A1, the middle tray C abuts against the inside of the side wall portion 11 and the inner partition portion 12 of the case body A1 and the front side of the spring portion 35 of the measuring slide B, and is fixed in place. In addition, when the case lid A3 is closed on the case body A1, the inner wall portion 27 of the case lid A3 is inserted into the inside of the inner plate partition 2 (excluding the communication opening 4) and side wall 3 of the inner plate C, and the lid engagement piece portion 26 of the case lid A3 engages with the lid engagement portion 19 of the case body A1 to maintain the closed state.

[0030] When using the contents P in the discharging container, first, the discharging container is turned upside down from the upright state shown in FIG. 1 to the state shown in FIG. When the discharge container is turned upside down, the contents P in the inner tray C flows from the communication port 4 of the inner tray partition 2 through the right inner opening 21 of the inner partition portion 12 and into the measuring portion 33 of the measuring slide B. At this time, the discharge side of the measuring section 33 is closed by a closing section 14 formed between the left outer opening 23a and the right outer opening 23b of the outer partition section 13 of the case body A1, and the contents P are filled into the measuring section 33 and weighed.

[0031] When using the contents P weighed by the weighing section 33, as shown in Figure 5, the reverse direction operating section 34b of the weighing slide B is pushed inward from the outside in the direction of the arrow, and the weighing slide B is swung counterclockwise around the axis section 30. At this time, first, the stopper protrusion 42 of the measuring slide B and the stopper recess 16 of the case body A1 are disengaged, and the measuring slide B swings rightward from the neutral position.

[0032] When the metering slide B swings to the right, the end of the guide arc hole 40 on the side of the reverse direction operation portion 34b abuts against the end of the inner partition wall portion 12, and the swinging of the metering slide B stops. When the swinging of the measuring slide B stops, the discharge side of the measuring section 33 faces to the right, and the communication port 4 side of the measuring section 33 is blocked from the right inner opening 21 of the inner partition section 12 toward the adjacent blocking section 22, stopping the flow of contents P in the middle tray C. Meanwhile, the discharge side of the measuring section 33 opens from the closing section 14 of the outer partition section 13 toward the left outer opening 23a, and the measured contents P in the measuring section 33 are discharged from the left outer opening 23a of the outer partition section 13.

[0033] When the measuring slide B swings to the right and stops, the spring portion 35 of the measuring slide B, whose fixing portion 49 is fixed to the spring receiving portion 17 of the case bottom wall 10 of the case main body A1, is curved and deformed, and an elastic force is applied to restore the swing of the measuring slide B to a neutral position relative to the case A. When the contents P measured in the measuring section 33 have been discharged and the reverse operating section 34b of the measuring slide B is no longer pressed, the spring section 35 returns the measuring slide B to its neutral position due to its elastic recovery, and as shown in Figure 4, the discharge side of the measuring section 33 is closed by the closing section 14 of the outer partition section 13 of the case body A1, while the communication port 4 side of the measuring section 33 opens opposite the right inner opening 21 of the inner partition section 12, and the contents P in the middle tray C are filled into the measuring section 33. At the same time, the stopper projection 42 of the measuring slide B engages with the stopper recess 16 of the case body A1, and the measuring slide B is held in a neutral position relative to the case A.

[0034] By swinging the measuring slide B to the right again as shown in Figure 5, only the contents P measured in the measuring section 33 can be discharged, so that the measured contents P can be used repeatedly.

[0035] Next, when the contents P in the inner tray C are to be used continuously without being weighed, the discharge container is inverted as shown in Figure 4, and then, as shown in Figure 6, the one-way operating portion 34a of the measuring slide B is pushed inward from the outside in the direction of the arrow, and the measuring slide B is swung clockwise around the shaft portion 30. When the metering slide B swings leftward, the end of the guide arc hole 40 on the one-way operating portion 34a side abuts against the end of the inner partition wall portion 12, and the metering slide B stops swinging. When the swinging of the measuring slide B stops, the discharge side of the measuring section 33 faces leftward, so that the communication port 4 side of the measuring section 33 opens facing the right inner opening 21 of the inner partition section 12, while the discharge side of the measuring section 33 opens from the closing section 14 of the outer partition section 13 toward the right outer opening 23b, so that the contents P in the middle plate C are continuously discharged from the right outer opening 23b of the outer partition section 13 using the measuring section 33 as a flow path. At this time, the spring portion 35 of the measuring slide B is curved and deformed, and an elastic force is applied to restore the swing of the measuring slide B to a neutral position relative to the case A.

[0036] When the desired contents P have been discharged, the container is returned to its upright position, and the one-way operating portion 34a of the measuring slide B is no longer pressed, the spring portion 35 elastically returns to its neutral position, as shown in Figure 1, and the discharge side of the measuring portion 33 is closed by the closing portion 14 of the outer partition portion 13 of the case body A1. At the same time, the stopper protrusion 42 of the measuring slide B engages with the stopper recess 16 of the case body A1, and the measuring slide B is held in a neutral position relative to the case A.

[0037] As described above, the dispensing container of this embodiment can switch between dispensing a fixed amount of content P or dispensing continuously by pushing the one-way operating portion 34a or the reverse operating portion 34b of the measuring slide B inward relative to the case A. [Industrial Applicability]

[0038] The dispensing container of the present invention can easily switch between fixed quantity and continuous discharge of the contents by simply inverting the container and operating the operating part in one direction or the other, and can therefore be widely used as a container for powdered or granular seasonings, medicines, supplements, confectioneries, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] Case A A1 case body A2 hinge A3 case lid B. Measuring slide C. Inner tray (storage section) P Contents h height W width α Guidance space θ1, θ2, θ3 angles 1 Bottom wall of inner plate 2 Middle plate bulkhead 3 side wall 4 Connecting port 10 Case bottom wall 11 Side wall 12 Internal partition wall 13 External bulkhead 14 Closing part 15 bearing holes 16 Stopper recess 17 Spring support 19 Lid engaging part 21 Right inner opening 22 Breaker 23a Left outer opening 23b Right outer opening 25 Case top wall 26 Lid engagement piece 27 Inner wall 30 Shaft 31 Fan bottom wall (swinging bottom wall) 32 Sliding bottom wall (swinging bottom wall) 33 Measuring part 34a One-way operation section (operation section) 34b Reverse direction operation section (operation section) 35 Spring part (biasing part) 40 Guide arc hole 42 Stopper protrusion 44 Outer arc wall 45 Inner arc wall 46 Inner wall 47 Outer wall 49 Fixed part

Claims

1. A discharging container comprising: a storage section for storing contents and having a communication port opening at the top; a measuring slide having a measuring section formed therein for measuring the contents flowing in from the communication port and discharging them from the top; and a case having a closing section formed therein for closing the discharge side of the measuring section, for storing the measuring slide movably along the top of the storage section; The metering slide includes a biasing portion that biases the metering portion to a neutral position in which the metering portion faces the communication port and the discharge side faces the closing portion, and an operating portion that can move the metering portion in one direction or the opposite direction from the neutral position, The metering slide is a dispensing container characterized in that when the container is inverted and the contents flow from the storage section to the metering section, if the operating section is operated in one direction against the biasing section, the metering section is connected to the communication port and the contents are continuously discharged, and if the operating section is operated in the opposite direction, the metering section is blocked from the communication port and a fixed amount is discharged.

2. 2. The dispensing container according to claim 1, wherein the case includes a blocking portion that blocks communication between the communication port of the storage portion and the measuring portion when a fixed amount is dispensed.

3. The dispensing container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the measuring slide comprises an axis portion pivotally supported on the case, a swingable bottom wall that can swing around the axis portion, and a one-way operating portion and a reverse operating portion provided on both sides of the measuring portion formed on the swingable bottom wall.

4. 4. The dispensing container according to claim 3, wherein the measuring slide has an elastically deformable biasing portion that extends from the shaft side of the swingable bottom wall toward the case side and biases the swingable bottom wall to return to its neutral position.

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