Refilling container and refilling method

Abstract

To provide a refilling container and a refilling method which can easily refill relatively high viscosity contents into a main container.SOLUTION: Disclosed is a refilling container 1 for refilling contents 2 into a main container 40, which comprises: a container body 10 provided with a cylindrical mouth part 11; and a discharge cap 20 attached to the mouth part 11. The discharge cap 20 comprises: a closed-end cylindrical attachment part 21 attached to the mouth part 11; a connection cylinder part 22 including a female screw 22a at an inner circumferential face, and integrally provided at a top wall 21b of the attachment part 21; and a nozzle part 23 integrally provided at the top wall 21b of the attachment part 21 at the inside of the connection cylinder part 22, and connected to the inside of the container body 10. The container body 10 comprises an easily crushable barrel part 16 connected to the mouth part 11. Also provided is a refilling method using the refilling container 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a refill container and a refilling method for refilling contents into the container. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a refill container for refilling the contents into the main container has been known which has a bottle-shaped synthetic resin container body and a cap attached to the mouth of the container body, with the female thread on the cap screwed into the male thread on the mouth of the main container, and is configured so that the contents of the container body flow into the main container from the outflow tube while introducing outside air into the inside of the container body through the inlet hole, thereby refilling the contents into the main container (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] On the other hand, a dispensing container is known that is a container that dispenses a fixed amount of contents at a time, and that includes a container body and a pump-type dispenser attached to the mouth of the container body, with the bottom of the container body configured as a sliding bottom plate that slides against the cylindrical body, and as the pump-type dispenser is operated and the contents inside the container body decrease, the sliding bottom plate moves upward, allowing the contents to be dispensed without taking in outside air into the container body (see, for example, Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-171232 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-362659 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The discharge container shown in Patent Document 2 is called an HVD container or the like, and is often used to store contents with a relatively high viscosity, such as cosmetics.

[0006] However, since the refill container described in Patent Document 1 is configured to replace the contents inside the container body with outside air while refilling, it is difficult to refill relatively high viscosity contents into the discharge container shown in Patent Document 2, and there is room for improvement in this regard.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to provide a refill container and a refilling method that enable contents of a relatively high viscosity to be easily refilled into the container. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The refill container of the present invention is a refill container for refilling contents into the container, and comprises a container body with a cylindrical mouth portion and a discharge cap attached to the mouth portion, wherein the discharge cap comprises a topped cylindrical attachment portion attached to the mouth portion, a connecting cylindrical portion with a female thread on its inner surface and integrally formed on the top wall of the attachment portion, and a nozzle portion inside the connecting cylindrical portion and integrally formed on the top wall of the attachment portion, and communicating with the inside of the container body, and wherein the container body comprises a body portion that is connected to the mouth portion and can be easily crushed.

[0009] In the refill container of the present invention having the above configuration, the container body is preferably a tube container.

[0010] In the above-described configuration, the refill container of the present invention preferably has an overcap that has a male thread that threadably engages with the female thread and closes the tip of the nozzle portion.

[0011] The refilling method of the present invention is a refilling method for refilling contents into this container, which comprises a container body and a pump-type discharge device attached to the mouth of the container body, the bottom of the container body being configured as a sliding bottom plate that slides against a cylindrical body, and the sliding bottom plate being configured to move upward as the pump-type discharge device is operated and the contents inside the container body decrease, and is characterized in that the pump-type discharge device is removed from the mouth of the container body, the nozzle part of the refill container described in claim 1 is inserted into the mouth of the container body, and the connecting cylindrical part is screwed onto the male thread provided on the outer surface of the mouth of the container body, thereby refilling the contents inside the container body into this container. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a refill container and a refilling method that allow contents with a relatively high viscosity to be easily refilled into the container. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view, partially in cross section, of a refill container according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a front view of the container, partly in cross section. [Figure 3] 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the procedure for refilling the contents into the main container shown in FIG. 2 using the refill container shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] 3 is an explanatory view showing the state in which the contents are being refilled into the main container shown in FIG. 2 using the refill container shown in FIG. 1.

[0023] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, a refill container and a refill method according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, a refill container 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention has a container body 10 and a discharge cap 20.

[0016] The container body 10 has a cylindrical mouth portion 11. In this embodiment, the mouth portion 11 is cylindrical and centered on the axis O1, and an annular locking protrusion 12 extending around the entire circumference is integrally formed on the outer circumferential surface thereof. In addition, a flange portion 13 extending radially inward around the axis O1 around the entire circumference is integrally formed on the tip (upper end in FIG. 1 ) of the mouth portion 11, and the inside of the flange portion 13 forms a circular discharge port 14 for discharging the contents.

[0017] An umbrella-shaped shoulder 15 is integrally formed at the inner periphery of the base end of the mouth 11 (the lower end in FIG. 1 ), and the body 16 is connected to the outer periphery of the shoulder 15 by welding or the like. That is, the body 16 is connected to the mouth 11 via the shoulder 15. The container body 10 may also be configured such that the body 16 is integrally molded with the mouth 11 and the shoulder 15 by, for example, blow molding.

[0018] The body 16 is tubular, and its base end (the lower end in FIG. 1) is closed by welding in a flattened state. The body 16 contains the contents 2 to be refilled into the container.

[0019] In this embodiment, the container body 10 is a tube container made primarily of, for example, low-density polyethylene resin. The container body 10 can accommodate, as the content 2, a relatively high-viscosity substance such as a cream-like cosmetic.

[0020] As described above, it is preferable that the container body 10 is a tube container, and that the body 16 is configured to be easily crushable but not easily restored to its original shape. That is, the body 16 is configured to be easily crushed when pressed, but is flexible enough that it does not easily return to its original shape from the crushed shape due to its own elasticity. Therefore, by pressing the body 16, the contents 2 contained inside the container body 10 can be easily ejected by sequentially pushing them out through the discharge port 14. Furthermore, even if the pressure on the body 16 is released after the contents 2 have been ejected, the body 16 does not return to its original shape, so the ejected contents 2 are not sucked back into the container body 10 due to the restoration of the body 16. Note that, as described above, it is preferable that the body 16 of the container body 10 is configured to be difficult to restore to its original shape, but it may also be configured to restore its original shape.

[0021] The discharge cap 20 includes an attachment portion 21, a connecting tube portion 22, and a nozzle portion .

[0022] The mounting part 21 is a closed-topped cylinder having a cylindrical tubular part 21a and a top wall 21b, and is mounted to the mouth part 11 of the container body 10. In this embodiment, the mounting part 21 is fixedly held to the mouth part 11 by undercut engagement of the locking protrusion 12 with a groove 21c provided on the inner circumferential surface of the tubular part 21a. Note that instead of undercut engagement between the groove 21c and the locking protrusion 12, the mounting part 21 may be fixedly held to the mouth part 11 by screw connection.

[0023] The connecting tubular portion 22 is cylindrical and has a female thread 22a on its inner circumferential surface, and is provided coaxially with the tubular portion 21a and integrally with the surface of the top wall 21b of the mounting portion 21 (the surface facing upward in FIG. 1).

[0024] The nozzle portion 23 is cylindrical and coaxial with the tubular portion 21a and the connecting tubular portion 22, and is provided integrally with the surface (the upward surface in FIG. 1) of the top wall 21b of the attachment portion 21 inside the connecting tubular portion 22. The nozzle portion 23 communicates with the interior of the container body 10 via the discharge port 14 at its base end (the lower end in FIG. 1). The length of the nozzle portion 23 along the axis O1 is longer than the length of the connecting tubular portion 22 along the axis O1, and the tip (the upper end in FIG. 1) of the nozzle portion 23 protrudes from the tip (the upper end in FIG. 1) of the connecting tubular portion 22 to the outside (in the direction away from the top wall 21b).

[0025] The discharge cap 20 may be configured such that a cylindrical sealing wall 24 that abuts against the discharge port 14 of the mouth portion 11 over the entire circumference is integrally provided on the back surface of the top wall 21b (the downward surface in FIG. 1).

[0026] The refill container 1 may be configured to include an overcap 30. The overcap 30 is a cylindrical cap with a size corresponding to the nozzle portion 23, and is provided with a male thread 31 that is threadedly coupled to the female thread 22a of the connecting cylindrical portion 22, and is detachably attached to the discharge cap 20 by threading the male thread 31 into the female thread 22a. When attached to the discharge cap 20, the overcap 30 closes the tip of the nozzle portion 23.

[0027] The overcap 30 may include a flange portion 32, and may be configured so that the flange portion 32 abuts against the tip of the connecting tube portion 22 when attached to the discharge cap 20. Alternatively, a sheet-like seal body 25 may be provided on the top wall 21b of the attachment portion 21, and the base end (the lower end in FIG. 1 ) of the overcap 30 may abut against the seal body 25 when attached to the discharge cap 20. Furthermore, the overcap 30 may be configured so that it is integral with a seal tube 33 that fits onto the tip of the nozzle portion 23 when attached to the discharge cap 20.

[0028] The refill container 1 according to this embodiment can be used to refill the contents 2 into the main container 40. As shown in Fig. 2, the main container 40 can be a dispensing container also known as an HVD container, which includes a container body 50 and a pump-type dispensing device 60. The main container 40 is used to store contents 41 with a relatively high viscosity, such as a cream-like cosmetic product.

[0029] The container body 50 has a cylindrical mouth portion 51 centered on an axis O2, and a cylindrical body portion 53 integrally connected to the lower end of the mouth portion 51 via a shoulder portion 52.

[0030] A male thread 51a is integrally formed on the outer circumferential surface of the mouth portion 51. The male thread 51a can be threadably coupled to the female thread 22a of the connecting tubular portion 22.

[0031] The cylindrical body 53 has a cylindrical shape coaxial with the mouth 51, and its base end (the lower end in FIG. 2) is open and has no bottom. A sliding bottom plate 54 that forms the bottom of the container body 50 is provided inside the cylindrical body 53.

[0032] The sliding bottom plate 54 has a sliding portion 54a that slidably contacts the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 53 around the entire circumference. The cylindrical body 53 also has a partition 54b. In this embodiment, the partition 54b has a central recess 54c that is recessed in a direction away from the opening 51. As a result, a storage space S for the contents 41 is defined inside the cylindrical body 53 by the sliding bottom plate 54. When the contents 41 are refilled from the refill container 1, the contents 41 stored in the storage space S become the contents 2. The sliding portion 54a slides along the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 53, allowing the sliding bottom plate 54 to move relatively to the cylindrical body 53 in the direction along the axis O2 (the up and down direction in FIG. 2 ).

[0033] When the pump-type discharge device 60 is operated to reduce the contents 41 contained inside the container body 50, i.e., in the storage space S, the sliding bottom plate 54 moves upward (toward the mouth 51) in Fig. 2 in accordance with the reduction in the contents 41. This allows the contents 41 to be discharged from the storage space S to the outside without taking in outside air into the storage space S, thereby preventing the contents 41 contained in the storage space S from coming into contact with air.

[0034] The container body 50 may be configured such that a cover body 55 is attached to the base end (the lower end in FIG. 2) of the cylindrical body 53 to close the base end of the cylindrical body 53. In this case, the cover body 55 is configured to have an air hole 55a that communicates with the space between the cover body 55 and the sliding bottom plate 54.

[0035] The pump-type dispensing device 60 has an attachment part 61, a push-down head 62, and a pump 63. The attachment part 61 is a threaded cap that is detachably attached to the opening 51 of the container body 50 by threaded connection. The push-down head 62 is supported on the attachment part 61 in an upwardly biased state so that it can be pushed downward in FIG. 2. The pump 63 is supported by the attachment part 61 and disposed inside the container body 50. The pump-type dispensing device 60 is configured so that when the push-down head 62 is pushed down, the pump 63 is activated and the contents 41 inside the storage space S are dispensed to the outside through a nozzle 62a provided on the push-down head 62. When the push-down operation of the push-down head 62 is released, the push-down head 62 returns to its original position, and the contents 41 to be dispensed next are sucked into the pump 63.

[0036] The container 40 may be configured such that an overcap 70 that covers the push-down head 62 is detachably attached to the pump-type discharge tool 60 .

[0037] Next, a refilling method according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described using as an example a case where the contents 2 are refilled into the main container 40 using the refill container 1 according to this embodiment.

[0038] First, as shown in Fig. 3, the overcap 30 is removed from the discharge cap 20 of the refill container 1 in a state in which the content 2 is accommodated in the container body 10. When the overcap 30 is removed from the discharge cap 20, the nozzle portion 23 and the internal thread 22a of the discharge cap 20 are exposed to the outside.

[0039] Furthermore, the pump-type dispenser 60 is removed from the opening 51 of the container body 50 of the present container 40 that is the target for refilling the contents 2. The pump-type dispenser 60 may be removed with the overcap 70 still attached. When the pump-type dispenser 60 is removed from the container body 50, the opening 51 and the male thread 51a of the container body 50 are exposed to the outside. Note that the present container 40 is a used container in which most of the contents 41 have been dispensed, and the sliding bottom plate 54 has moved to the stroke end on the opening 51 side inside the cylindrical body 53.

[0040] Next, as shown in Figure 4, the nozzle portion 23 of the refill container 1 is inserted into the mouth 51 of the container body 50 of the main container 40, and the female thread 22a of the connecting tube portion 22 is screwed into the male thread 51a of the mouth 51 of the container body 50, thereby connecting the main container 40 and the refill container 1. At this time, the tip (lower end in Figure 4) of the nozzle portion 23 faces the sliding bottom plate 54 (shown by a two-dot chain line in Figure 4) which has moved to the stroke end on the mouth 51 side. In this embodiment, the tip of the nozzle portion 23 is inserted into a recess 54c provided in the center of the partition wall portion 54b of the sliding bottom plate 54 and is positioned inside the recess 54c.

[0041] Next, with the refill container 1 connected to the main container 40, the barrel 16 of the container body 10 of the refill container 1 is pressed. When the barrel 16 is pressed, the contents 2 contained in the container body 10 are forced out through the nozzle 23 and the discharge port 14, filling the storage space S defined by the cylindrical barrel 53 and the sliding bottom plate 54 and refilling the main container 40. As the contents 2 are filled into the storage space S, the sliding bottom plate 54 moves in a direction away from the mouth 51, and when the sliding bottom plate 54 abuts against the cover body 55 and engages at the stroke end position in the direction away from the mouth 51 (the position shown by the solid line in Figure 4), refilling is complete.

[0042] At this time, the discharge cap 20 of the refill container 1 is screwed to the mouth 51 of the container 40 with the nozzle portion 23 inserted into said mouth 51, so that the contents 2 do not leak out during refilling, making refilling easy. In particular, in this embodiment, a seal 25 is disposed at the base of the inside of the connecting tube portion 22, so that when the refill container 1 is connected to the container 40, the seal 25 abuts against the tip of the mouth 51 of the container body 50, thereby liquid-tightly sealing the connecting portion between the container 40 and the refill container 1 and reliably preventing leakage of the contents 2. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the tip of the nozzle portion 23 is inserted into the recess 54c of the partition portion 54b and disposed inside the recess 54c, so that the pressing force of the contents 2 dispensed from the nozzle portion 23 acts on the center of the sliding bottom plate 54, allowing the sliding bottom plate 54 to reliably descend without tilting.

[0043] In the case shown in Figure 4, refilling is performed with the main container 40 in an upright position with the mouth 51 facing upward relative to the cylindrical body 53, and the refill container 1 in an inverted position with the discharge cap 20 facing downward relative to the container body 10, but the positions of the main container 40 and the refill container 1 can be changed as appropriate.

[0044] Here, as described above, since the body 16 is easily crushable, the contents 2 contained inside the container body 10 can be easily refilled into the container 40 by pressing the body 16. Furthermore, even if the pressure on the body 16 is released after the contents 2 has been discharged, the body 16 does not return to its original shape, so that the discharged contents 2 can be prevented from being sucked back into the container body 10 from the container 40 due to the restoration of the body 16. Therefore, when refilling the contents 2, it is not necessary to take air into the container body 10 and replace the discharged contents 2 with the air. Therefore, even if the contents 2 contained in the container body 10 have a relatively high viscosity, the contents 2 can be easily refilled into the container 40 by the simple procedure of connecting the connecting tube portion 22 to the mouth 51 of the container 40 and pressing the body 16 of the container body 10.

[0045] In this way, according to the refill container 1 and refilling method of this embodiment, the relatively highly viscous contents 2 can be easily refilled from the refill container 1 into the main container 40. This allows the main container 40 to be reused by refilling it with the contents 2.

[0046] Furthermore, according to the refill container 1 and refilling method of this embodiment, as described above, when refilling the contents 2, there is no need to take air into the container body 10 and replace the discharged contents 2 with the air, so the contents 2, which have a relatively high viscosity, can be easily refilled from the refill container 1 into the main container 40 while preventing them from coming into contact with air. Therefore, even if the contents 2 are prone to deterioration when exposed to air, the contents 2 can be easily refilled from the refill container 1 into the main container 40 while preventing them from coming into contact with air.

[0047] Furthermore, in the refill container 1 of this embodiment, the container body 10 is a tube container, so that the body portion 16 can be more easily crushed, and the relatively high viscosity contents 2 can be easily refilled from the refill container 1 into the main container 40.

[0048] Furthermore, in the refill container 1 according to this embodiment, the overcap 30 that closes the tip of the nozzle portion 23 is configured with a male thread 31 that is threadably coupled to the female thread 22a, so it is not necessary to provide a separate part for attaching the overcap 30 to the discharge cap 20 in addition to the female thread 22a. This simplifies the configuration of the discharge cap 20 and reduces the cost of the refill container 1.

[0049] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0050] For example, in the above embodiment, the container body 10 is a tube container mainly made of low-density polyethylene resin, but it is not limited to this, and any container having an easily crushable body portion, such as a thin-walled bottle container made of synthetic resin, an aluminum tube, or a laminated tube including an aluminum layer, may be used. When an aluminum tube or a laminated tube including an aluminum layer is used as the container body 10, the restorability of the container body 10 can be reduced and the barrier properties can be improved compared to when the container body 10 is mainly made of low-density polyethylene resin. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 1 refill container 2 Contents 10 Container body 11 Mouth 12 Locking protrusion 13 Flange 14 Outlet 15 Shoulder 16 Torso 20 Discharge cap 21 Mounting part 21a Cylinder part 21b Top wall 21c groove 22 Connecting cylinder part 22a female thread 23 Nozzle section 24 Seal Wall 25 Seal body 30 Overcap 31 Male thread 32 Flange 33 Seal tube 40 bottles 41 Contents 50 Container body 51 Mouth 51a male thread 52 Shoulder 53 Cylindrical body 54 Sliding bottom plate 54a Sliding part 54b Bulkhead 54c recess 55 Cover body 55a Ventilation hole 60 Pump-type discharge device 61 Mounting part 62 Push-down head 62a nozzle 63 Pump 70 Overcap O1 axis O2 axis S Storage space

Claims

1. A refill container for refilling the contents into the container, A container body having a cylindrical mouth portion; a discharge cap attached to the opening, The discharge cap is a cylindrical attachment portion attached to the mouth portion; a connecting tubular portion having an internal thread on an inner circumferential surface thereof and integrally provided on a top wall of the mounting portion; a nozzle portion that is integrally provided on the top wall of the attachment portion inside the connecting cylindrical portion and communicates with the inside of the container body, The refill container is characterized in that the container body has a body portion that is connected to the mouth portion and can be easily crushed.

2. The refill container according to claim 1 , wherein the container body is a tube container.

3. The refill container according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an overcap that has a male thread that is threadably coupled to the female thread and that closes the tip of the nozzle portion.

4. A refilling method for refilling contents into the container, comprising: The container comprises a container body and a pump-type discharge device attached to the opening of the container body, the bottom of the container body is configured as a sliding bottom plate that slides against the cylindrical body, and the sliding bottom plate is configured to move upward as the pump-type discharge device is operated and the contents inside the container body decrease, Remove the pump-type discharge tool from the opening of the container body, A refilling method characterized by inserting the nozzle portion of the refill container described in claim 1 into the mouth of the container body and screwing the connecting tube portion into a male thread provided on the outer surface of the mouth of the container body, thereby refilling the contents inside the container body into the main container.

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