Screw cap

Abstract

To provide a screw cap capable of removing from a container body without breaking a TE ring when a lid is opened, and capable of determining irregular lid opening, in the screw cap provided with the TE ring.SOLUTION: A screw cap B comprises: a cap body C screwed to a container body A; and a TE ring D connected to a lower edge of the cap body via a plurality of TE bridges 17. The container body includes a stopper protruding part 4 formed at an outer periphery of a mouth part 1. The cap body includes: a top wall 10; an outer peripheral wall 11 hung down from an outer peripheral edge of the top wall; and a separation bridge 16 hung down from a lower edge of the outer peripheral wall. The TE ring includes: a connection band 23 extending in a lid-opening rotation direction along the outer peripheral wall from the separation bridge; a ring peripheral wall 21 connected to a connection part 23a on the opposite side of the separation bridge of the connection band; and a ratchet protrusion 26 which is formed on an inner periphery of the ring peripheral wall and is engaged with the stopper protruding part of the container body. The connection band is curved and deformed radially outward when the lid is opened.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a screw cap that is screwed onto the mouth of a container, and more particularly to a screw cap that is provided with a TE ring to prevent unauthorized opening. [Background technology]

[0002] As a screw cap with TE (tamper-evident) function, a screw cap that prevents unauthorized opening has been used in the past. The cap body is screwed onto the mouth of the container body, and a TE ring is connected to the lower end of the cap body via multiple breakable TE bridges, which lock onto the locking protrusions on the outer periphery of the mouth so that they cannot be removed. When this type of screw cap is opened, the TE bridge breaks as it is unscrewed from the mouth of the container body, separating it into the TE ring that remains at the bottom of the mouth and the cap body that is being opened.This makes it possible to determine that the screw cap has been opened, but there was a problem in that the TE ring could not be removed from the mouth of the container body.

[0003] To solve this problem, screw caps have been known for some time (see, for example, Patent Document 1) in which, when the cap is opened, the rotation of the cap first breaks the TE bridge connecting the cap body and the TE ring, then the ring-shaped TE ring deforms, and the weakened portion connecting both ends of the TE ring band breaks, becoming band-shaped, allowing the cap to be removed from the container body while the TE ring remains connected to the cap body via the weakened connecting piece. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-10554 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The screw cap described in Patent Document 1 above can be removed from the container body while the closure band (TE ring) remains connected to the cap body (cap body) via the weakened connecting piece, making it suitable as a screw cap for disposable containers whose contents are used only once. However, when the lid is opened, the locking claw pieces of the closure band lock into the locking step of the container body, making it difficult to remove the closure band from the locking step unless the weakened part of the closure band is broken. Furthermore, when opening the screw cap, simply rotating the cap body slightly only breaks a portion of the weakened piece connecting the cap body and the sealing band, and does not break the weakened portion connecting the ends of the band, making it difficult to determine whether the cap has been opened or not.

[0006] The present invention aims to solve the above problem by providing a screw cap equipped with a TE ring that can be removed from the container body when opened without the TE ring breaking, and that can detect unauthorized opening. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a screw cap comprising a cap body that is screwed onto the mouth of a container body and a TE ring that is connected to the lower end of the cap body via a plurality of breakable TE bridges, wherein the container body has a stopper protrusion formed on the outer periphery of the mouth, the cap body has a top wall, an outer circumferential wall that hangs down from the outer peripheral edge of the top wall, and a separation bridge that hangs down from the lower end of the outer circumferential wall, and the TE ring has a connecting band that extends from the separation bridge of the cap body along the outer circumferential wall in the direction of rotation for opening the lid, a ring peripheral wall that is connected to the connecting part of the connecting band on the opposite side to the separation bridge, and a ratchet protrusion formed on the inner periphery of the ring peripheral wall that engages with the stopper protrusion of the container body, and wherein the connecting band is configured to bend and deform radially outward when the lid is opened.

[0008] As an embodiment of the screw cap of the present invention, the cap body is configured to have a sorting bridge breakage prevention rib that is vertically attached from the lower end of the outer peripheral wall toward the ring peripheral wall of the TE ring and adjacent to the sorting bridge on the closing rotation side of the lid, and the TE ring is configured to have a plurality of pedestals that are erected from the upper end of the ring peripheral wall between the TE bridges that are connected to the cap body on the opening rotation side of the connecting band and are close to the lower end of the outer peripheral wall of the cap body, and the TE ring is configured to have a pedestal-free range on the closing rotation side of the sorting bridge breakage prevention rib, within a predetermined angular range of the ring peripheral wall, where no pedestals are present. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] By adopting the above-mentioned configuration, the screw cap of the present invention, when the cap body is rotated in the opening direction relative to the container body, the TE ring becomes unable to rotate due to engagement between the stopper protrusion of the container body and the ratchet protrusion of the TE ring, and the unbreakable connecting band connecting the cap body and the TE ring bends and deforms radially outward, pulling up the TE ring, causing the ratchet protrusion of the TE ring to disengage from the stopper protrusion of the container body, allowing the TE ring to be removed from the mouth of the container body together with the cap body, and then by hooking a finger around the ring peripheral wall of the TE ring and pulling it relative to the cap body, the separation bridge is broken and the TE ring can be separated from the cap body and discarded. Furthermore, with the screw cap of the present invention, even if the rotation is stopped halfway during opening, the connecting band will bend and deform radially outward, leaving a trace, making it easy to determine whether the cap body has been opened fraudulently. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 2A and 2B are diagrams showing a state after a screw cap according to an embodiment of the present invention has been set on a container body, in which (a) is a partial side cross-sectional view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in (a). [Figure 2]1(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line YY in FIG. 1(a), and FIG. 1(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line ZZ in FIG. 1(a). [Figure 3] 1(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX in FIG. 1(a) when the cap body of the screw cap according to the embodiment of the present invention is rotated, where (a) is a diagram showing the state when the cap body is rotated further than in (a). [Figure 4] 3(b) is a side cross-sectional view showing the state when the cap body of the screw cap according to the embodiment of the present invention is rotated. FIG. [Figure 5] 1 is a side view of a screw cap according to an embodiment of the present invention when removed from a container body. [Figure 6] 10 is a side view of the screw cap according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the cap body is closed onto the container body after the TE ring connected to the cap body has been removed. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Next, the screw cap of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings showing an embodiment thereof. In the following description, the upward direction in FIG. 1(a) is referred to as "upper", the downward direction as "lower", and the left-right direction as "radial direction".

[0012] (Example) In Figure 1, A is a container body, B is a screw cap that is screwed onto the mouth 1 of the container body A, and the screw cap B comprises a cap body C that is screwed onto the mouth 1 of the container body A and a TE ring D that is integrally connected to the lower end of the cap body C via a TE bridge 17.

[0013] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the mouth portion 1 of the container body A has a male screw 2 screwed into the upper outer periphery, a locking ring portion 3 formed below the male screw 2, and stopper protrusions 4 formed on the upper surface of the locking ring portion 3 in a range of approximately 90° and in three locations on the opposite side (total of six locations) to regulate the rotation of the TE ring D. As shown in Figure 2(a), the stopper protrusion 4 has an approximately triangular shape when viewed from above, and is formed with an abutment surface 4a that extends vertically outward from the outer periphery of the mouth portion 1 in the direction of rotation for closing the lid, and an inclined surface 4b that slopes from the outer end of the abutment surface 4a in the direction of rotation for opening the lid and extends toward the outer periphery of the mouth portion 1.

[0014] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cap body C comprises a disk-shaped top wall 10, an outer peripheral wall 11 hanging down from the outer edge of the top wall 10, and a sealing tube 12 hanging down from the underside of the top wall 10, the outer periphery of which is inserted into the inner periphery of the mouth portion 1 when the lid is closed, and a TE ring D is detachably connected to the lower end of the outer peripheral wall 11.

[0015] An internal thread 13 is threadedly provided on the inner periphery of the outer peripheral wall 11 to be engaged with the external thread 2 on the outer periphery of the mouth portion 1 . As shown in Figure 1, the outer wall 11 has a sorting bridge breakage prevention rib 15 hanging down from a predetermined point at the lower end, and a breakable sorting bridge 16 hanging down from a point adjacent to the opening side abutment surface 15a of the sorting bridge breakage prevention rib 15, which connects to the vicinity of the sorting end 23b of the connecting belt 23 of the TE ring D, and breakable TE bridges 17 hanging down from multiple points at predetermined intervals from the sorting bridge 16, which connect to the upper surface of the TE ring D.

[0016] The sorting bridge breakage prevention rib 15 is formed with a height α so that when the cap body C and the TE ring D are connected and integrally molded with the sorting bridge 16 and multiple TE bridges 17, at least the sorting end 23b of the connecting band 23 of the TE ring D is close to the opening side abutment surface 15a, and further, the lower end is positioned lower than the upper end surface of the TE ring D.

[0017] The TE ring D comprises a ring upper wall 20 that covers the upper part of the stopper protrusion 4 of the mouth portion 1, and a ring peripheral wall 21 that hangs down from the outer edge of the ring upper wall 20 and covers the outer periphery of the stopper protrusion 4. At a predetermined position on the ring upper wall 20, a guide recess 22 is recessed so that the lower end of the sorting bridge breakage prevention rib 15 enters the closing direction end 22a with a gap during molding, and the guide recess 22 guides the lower end of the sorting bridge breakage prevention rib 15 within a predetermined circumferential length (angle range) in the opening rotation direction.

[0018] Furthermore, at the top of the guide recess 22, there is provided a deformable connecting band 23 which is connected by a connecting portion 23a to the upper surface of the ring upper wall 20 adjacent to the opening direction end 22b of the guide recess 22, extends along the top of the guide recess 22 in the closing rotation direction, and has a sorting end portion 23b adjacent to the opening side abutment surface 15a of the sorting bridge breakage prevention rib 15, and is formed with a height β of approximately half the gap between the cap body C and the TE ring D.

[0019] As shown in Figure 1, on the upper surface of the ring upper wall 20, multiple pedestals 25 are formed at predetermined locations between adjacent TE bridges 17 located on the lid-opening rotation side of the connecting band 23, each having a height β. However, there is a pedestal-free range γ from the sorting bridge breakage prevention rib 15 on the lid-closing rotation side to the range where the next pedestal 25 is formed. In this embodiment, the range from the separating end 23b of the connecting band 23 to the end of the next base 25 from the closing lid rotation direction is formed at approximately 180°, and the range γ without the separating bridge breakage prevention rib 15 from this 180° range is the range without a base.

[0020] As shown in Figure 2(a), ratchet protrusions 26 are formed on the inner circumference of the ring peripheral wall 21 in a range of approximately 90° and in three locations on each side (six locations in total), and these protrusions engage with the stopper protrusions 4 of the mouth portion 1 to restrict rotation. The ratchet protrusion 26 has an inclined tip 26a, and when it comes into contact with the inclined surface 4b of the stopper protrusion 4 in the direction of rotation to close the lid, the ring peripheral wall 21 deforms, causing it to climb over the stopper protrusion 4, and when it comes into contact with the contact surface 4a of the stopper protrusion 4 in the direction of rotation to open the lid, creating a ratchet mechanism that stops the rotation.

[0021] Next, the manner of use and the effects of this embodiment will be described. First, in the screw cap B of this embodiment, a cap body C and a TE ring D are integrally molded. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cap body C and the TE ring D are connected by multiple TE bridges 17 and one separation bridge 16, and the lower end of the separation bridge breakage prevention rib 15 of the cap body C is inserted between the closing direction end 22a of the guide recess 22 of the TE ring D and the separation end 23b of the connecting belt 23, creating a gap with the bottom surface of the guide recess 22, and are molded integrally.

[0022] The integrally molded screw cap B is screwed onto the mouth 1 of the container body A filled with the contents, forming a container with the screw cap B attached. When the screw cap B is closed, the female thread 13 on the outer wall 11 of the cap body C screws into the male thread 2 on the outer periphery of the mouth portion 1 of the container body A, and the cap body C rotates in the closing direction relative to the container body A and descends. Finally, the outer periphery of the sealing tube 12 of the cap body C is inserted into the inner periphery of the mouth 1 of the container body A, sealing the inside, and the lower surface of the top wall 10 abuts against the upper surface of the mouth 1, stopping the descent. As shown in Figure 1(a), the screw cap B is completely screwed onto the container body A.

[0023] Before the screw cap B is completely screwed onto the container body A, the tip 26a of the ratchet protrusion 26 of the TE ring D abuts against the stopper protrusion 4 of the container body A. However, when the tip 26a of the ratchet protrusion 26 abuts against the inclined surface 4b of the stopper protrusion 4, the ring peripheral wall 21 deforms, causing it to climb over the stopper protrusion 4, so that the rotation is not stopped and it can be rotated in the closing direction to the end.

[0024] In addition, the ratchet protrusion 26 of the TE ring D engages from above with the stopper protrusion 4 of the container body A, providing resistance to the rotation and descent of the TE ring D, but the lower end of the separation bridge breakage prevention rib 15 of the cap body C abuts against the closing direction end 22a of the guide recess 22 of the TE ring D, and by synchronizing the closing rotation of the cap body C with the TE ring D, the separation bridge 16 and the multiple TE bridges 17 can be prevented from shifting in the horizontal rotation direction and breaking.

[0025] Furthermore, the sorting end 23b side of the connecting band 23 of the TE ring D sinks into the guide recess 22 with the connecting portion 23a as a fulcrum, and the connecting portion 23a and base 25 of the connecting band 23 on the upper surface of the TE ring D abut against the lower end surface of the outer wall 11 of the cap body C, preventing buckling of the TE ring D against the cap body C. This prevents the sorting bridge 16 and the multiple TE bridges 17 from being crushed and broken, and when the cap body C is rotated to close, the sorting bridge 16 and the multiple TE bridges 17 between the TE ring D can be rotated to the end without breaking.

[0026] Next, to use the container to which the screw cap B of this embodiment is attached, the cap body C is rotated relative to the container body A in the opening direction. When the cap body C is rotated in the opening direction, the female thread 13 on the outer wall 11 of the cap body C and the male thread 2 on the mouth 1 of the container body A are unscrewed, causing the cap body C to rise up the mouth 1 of the container body A.

[0027] As the cap body C rotates, the TE ring D connected to the cap body C becomes unable to rotate due to the abutment between the abutment surface 4a of the stopper protrusion 4 of the container body A and the tip 26a of the ratchet protrusion 26 of the TE ring D, and the rotating cap body C shifts relative to the non-rotating TE ring D.

[0028] As the cap body C is rotated relative to the stationary TE ring D, the upper and lower ends of the multiple TE bridges 17 shift and break; and as the cap body C rotates, the opening-side abutment surface 15a of the sorting bridge breakage prevention rib 15 abuts against the sorting end 23b of the connecting band 23.Furthermore, as the cap body C is rotated, as shown in Figure 3(a), the sorting bridge breakage prevention rib 15 pushes against the connecting band 23, deforming the connecting band 23 with the connecting part 23a of the stationary TE ring D as the fulcrum and the sorting end 23b as the point of application. The connecting band 23 is fixed to the TE ring D by the connecting portion 23a, and the separating end portion 23b, which is connected to the cap body C by the separating bridge 16, is pushed toward the connecting portion 23a, so that the middle portion is curved and deformed radially outward.

[0029] Furthermore, as the cap body C rotates, the opening side abutment surface 15a of the separation bridge breakage prevention rib 15 of the cap body C abuts against and pushes against the separation end 23b of the connecting band 23, so that the separation bridge 16 between the separation end 23b of the connecting band 23 and the cap body C twists but does not shift laterally, preventing the separation bridge 16 from twisting off. In a lid opening test in this embodiment, when the separation bridge breakage prevention rib 15 was not present, the breaking strength between the separation end 23b of the connecting band 23 and the separation bridge 16 was approximately 2N as the cap body C rotated, whereas when the separation bridge breakage prevention rib 15 was present, as the cap body C rotated and the separation end 23b of the connecting band 23 was also pushed, the breaking strength between the separation end 23b of the connecting band 23 and the separation bridge 16 became approximately 5N, confirming the effectiveness of the separation bridge breakage prevention rib 15.

[0030] When the rotation of the cap body C is stopped in the middle of opening, not only is the TE bridge 17 broken, but the middle part of the connecting band 23 is curved and deformed radially outward, so that it is easy to tell from the appearance that the cap has been opened (or is in the middle of opening).

[0031] Furthermore, when the cap body C is rotated, the cap body C rises relative to the TE ring D, and as shown in Figure 3(b), at the rotation angle at which the sorting bridge breakage prevention rib 15 of the cap body C passes over the connecting portion 23a of the connecting belt 23, the sorting end portion 23b connected by the sorting bridge 16 is also moved upward in the opening rotation direction of the connecting portion 23a. The connecting belt 23, whose separating end 23b is moved upward in the rotational direction of the connecting portion 23a to open the lid, is deformed.

[0032] When the TE ring D connected to the connecting portion 23a of the deformed connecting belt 23 is pulled together with the rotated cap body C, the side of the TE ring D opposite to the pulled portion rises as shown in FIG. The raised portion of the TE ring D mainly overlaps with the base-free area γ, and because there is no base 25, it rises further, disengaging the tip 26a of the ratchet protrusion 26 on the inner circumference of that portion of the TE ring D from the abutment surface 4a of the stopper protrusion 4 of the container body A, and the TE ring D in that portion is removed from the stopper protrusion 4 of the container body A.

[0033] In addition, in this embodiment, the TE ring D and the container body A are formed such that the tips 26a of the ratchet protrusions 26 of the TE ring D abut against the abutment surfaces 4a of the stopper protrusions 4 of the container body A in a circumferential range of approximately 90° and three points on the opposite side (six points in total), and are engaged around the entire circumference to stop rotation.Therefore, when one side of the TE ring D is lifted and the engagement at the three points on one side of the circumference is released, the engagement at each of the three points on one side of the remaining range on the opposite side of the TE ring D is also shifted and released. When the TE ring D is removed from the stopper protrusion 4 of the container body A, as the rotating cap body C rises, the TE ring D also rises while spinning freely around the mouth 1 of the container body A while being connected to the sorting bridge 16 by the deformed connecting band 23.

[0034] As the cap body C rotates, the female thread 13 of the cap body C unscrews from the male thread 2 of the container body A, and when the cap body C is lifted from the mouth 1 of the container body A, as shown in Figure 5, the TE ring D connected to the separation bridge 16 by the deformed connecting band 23 is also lifted along with the cap body C, allowing the contents in the container body A to be used from the mouth 1.

[0035] In the screw cap B of this embodiment, simply by rotating the cap body C from the closed state in the opening direction relative to the container body A, it is possible to easily determine whether the cap has been opened (or is in the process of being opened) by looking at the TE ring D connected to the cap body C from the outside. Furthermore, when the cap body C is removed from the container body A, the TE ring D can also be removed while still connected to the cap body C, and the TE ring D will not remain in the container body A.

[0036] As shown in Figure 5, after removing the cap body C from the container body A, the user hooks a finger or the like on the ring peripheral wall 21 of the TE ring D connected to the cap body C and pulls it toward the cap body C, causing the connecting band 23 to pull the separation bridge 16, breaking the separation bridge 16 and allowing the TE ring D to be separated from the cap body C and discarded.

[0037] The cap body C from which the TE ring D has been removed can be used by screwing it back onto the opening 1 of the container body A as shown in FIG. Of course, when the lid is first opened, traces of the TE ring D being removed (traces of the broken separation bridge 16 and TE bridge 17, and the separation bridge breakage prevention rib 15) remain on the cap body C, making it possible to determine whether the container has been opened or not. [Industrial Applicability]

[0038] In the screw cap of the present invention, when the cap body is rotated in the opening direction relative to the container body, the stopper protrusion on the container body engages with the ratchet protrusion on the TE ring, preventing the TE ring from rotating, and the unbreakable connecting band connecting the cap body and the TE ring bends and deforms radially outward, pulling up the TE ring. This disengages the ratchet protrusion on the TE ring from the stopper protrusion on the container body, allowing the TE ring to be removed from the mouth of the container body together with the cap body. Subsequently, by placing a finger on the peripheral wall of the TE ring and pulling it toward the cap body, the separation bridge breaks and the TE ring can be separated from the cap body and discarded. Furthermore, even if the rotation during opening is stopped midway, the connecting band bends and deforms radially outward, leaving a trace, making it easy to determine whether the cap body has been opened fraudulently. This makes the screw cap suitable as a screw cap that can be widely used for various containers. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] A Container body B Screw cap C Cap body D TE Ring α, β height gamma range 1 Mouth 2 male threads 3 Locking ring 4 Stopper protrusion 4a Contact surface 4b Slope 10 Top wall 11 Peripheral wall 12 Closed envelope 13 Female thread 15 Separate bridge breakage prevention rib 15a Lid opening side contact surface 16 Separation Bridge 17 TE Bridge 20 Ring Top Wall 21 Ring Wall 22 Guide recess 22a Closed end 22b Lid opening direction end 23 Connecting Belt 23a Connecting part 23b Separation end 25 pedestal 26 Ratchet protrusion 26a tip

Claims

1. A screw cap comprising a cap body that is screwed onto the mouth of a container body, and a TE ring that is connected to the lower end of the cap body via a plurality of breakable TE bridges, The container body has a stopper projection formed on the outer periphery of the mouth, The cap body includes a top wall, an outer peripheral wall extending from the outer peripheral edge of the top wall, and a separation bridge extending from the lower end of the outer peripheral wall; The TE ring includes a connecting band extending from the separation bridge of the cap body along the outer peripheral wall in the lid opening rotation direction, a ring peripheral wall connected to the connecting portion of the connecting band on the opposite side to the separation bridge, and a ratchet projection formed on the inner periphery of the ring peripheral wall and engaging with the stopper projection of the container body; The screw cap is characterized in that the connecting band is curved and deformed radially outward when the cap is opened.

2. A screw cap as described in claim 1, characterized in that the cap body is provided with a separation bridge breakage prevention rib that extends downward from the lower end of the outer peripheral wall toward the ring peripheral wall of the TE ring and is adjacent to the separation bridge on the side in the closing rotation direction of the lid.

3. The screw cap according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the TE ring is erected from the upper end of the ring peripheral wall between the TE bridge connected to the cap body on the side of the connecting band in the direction of lid opening rotation, and has a plurality of pedestals adjacent to the lower end of the outer peripheral wall of the cap body.

4. 4. The screw cap according to claim 3, wherein the TE ring has a predetermined angular range of the ring peripheral wall on the closing rotation side of the separation bridge breakage prevention rib, where no base exists.

Images