Dispensing cap

Abstract

To provide a dispensing cap that allows for smooth dispensing and reduces contamination, even when the contents contain solid particles. [Solution] A dispensing cap comprising a cap body B attached to the mouth 1 of a container A, an upper lid D attached to the cap body B so as to be openable and closable, and a separate nozzle member E attached to the cap body B, wherein the cap body B comprises an upper wall 6 that seals the mouth 1, a mounting opening 6a that penetrates the upper wall 6, and a cylindrical part with an air replacement section 7 that is suspended from around the mounting opening 6a and has an air replacement section 19 with an air replacement hole 27 opening on the rear side, and the nozzle member E comprises a partition wall 30 attached to the mounting opening 6a of the upper wall 6, a dispensing outlet 30a that penetrates the partition wall 30, a dispensing cylinder 31 that is erected from around the dispensing outlet 30a, and a fitting cylinder 32 that is suspended from the lower surface of the partition wall 30 and inserted into the cylindrical part with an air replacement section 7.

Description

Technical Field

[0007] ,

[0001] The present invention relates to a pouring cap, and particularly to a pouring cap capable of smoothly pouring a content liquid containing solids.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a pouring cap for a container that stores a content liquid containing solids such as squeezed sauce, a cap having a wide-mouth pouring outlet is often used, and the content liquid containing solids may adhere to the pouring outlet of the cap and become dirty.

[0003] For this reason, a pouring cap is known that can pour while adjusting the opening degree of the pouring outlet to limit the pouring amount of the content liquid (see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0008] As an embodiment of the dispensing cap, the air replacement section is characterized by extending inward from the lower rear inner circumference of the cylindrical section with the replacement section so as to close the rear side of the dispensing outlet of the nozzle member. Furthermore, the air replacement section is characterized by comprising a rear wall suspended from the lower rear end of the cylindrical section with the replacement section, an inclined bottom wall that slopes upward toward the dispensing side from the lower end of the rear wall, vertical walls erected from the inner end of the inclined bottom wall and connected on both sides to the mounting cylindrical section, and a replacement hole opening in the center of the rear wall. Furthermore, the cylindrical section with the replacement section is characterized by comprising a stepped wall section that is reduced in diameter from the periphery of the mounting opening of the upper wall and accommodates the partition wall of the nozzle member, and a mounting cylindrical section that is suspended from the inner edge of the stepped wall section and into which the fitting cylinder of the nozzle member is inserted. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] By adopting the above configuration, the dispensing cap of the present invention allows for smooth dispensing of the contents by replacing the air inside the container with air through the air replacement section, and even if the contents contain solids, the solids are less likely to clog the air replacement section. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a side cross-sectional view showing the closed state of a container fitted with a dispensing cap, which is an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2]This figure shows an example of a dispensing cap according to the present invention, where (a) is a side cross-sectional view with the lid open and (b) is a bottom view with the lid closed. [Figure 3] This figure shows an embodiment of the present invention, a dispensing cap, where (a) is a side cross-sectional view of the nozzle member and (b) is a side cross-sectional view of the cap body. [Figure 4] This is a side cross-sectional view showing the state of a container equipped with a dispensing cap, which is an embodiment of the present invention, during dispensing. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Next, the dispensing cap of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings showing an embodiment of the cap as a hinged cap. In the following explanation, as seen in Figure 1, the left direction is referred to as the "dispensing side (opposite the hinge)," the right direction as the "rear side (hinge side)," the upward direction as "up," and the downward direction as "down."

[0012] (Examples) In Figure 1, A is a container, B is a cap body attached to container A, D is a top lid that can be opened and closed via a hinge C attached to cap body B, and E is a separate nozzle member attached to cap body B. Container A is made of a material with good shape retention (such as glass or PET) that can hold liquid contents containing solid particles, such as a sauce with grated radish. The cap body B, hinge C, and top lid D are integrally formed from a material such as PE, and the nozzle member E is made of a material harder than PE, such as PP. Each material can be changed as appropriate. The cap body B, hinge C, top lid D and nozzle member E may be made of the same material. Container A has a mouth portion 1 at its top, and a fitting projection 2 is provided on the upper part of the outer circumferential surface of the mouth portion 1.

[0013] As shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3(b), the cap body B comprises a mounting portion 5 that is fitted onto the mouth portion 1 of the container A, and an upper wall 6 that extends inward from the inner edge of the mounting portion 5 and seals the opening of the mouth portion 1. A mounting opening 6a is formed in the center of the upper wall 6, penetrating the upper wall 6, and a nozzle member E is attached downward from around the mounting opening 6a, and a cylindrical portion 7 with a displacement portion that adjusts the inward flow of liquid is formed.

[0014] The mounting portion 5 consists of a base wall portion 9 that abuts against the upper surface of the mouth portion 1 of container A, an inner cylinder 10 that extends downward from the inner circumference of the base wall portion 9, and an outer peripheral wall portion 11 that extends downward from the outer circumference of the base wall portion 9. A lid engaging portion 12 is erected on the upper part of the base wall portion 9, with its upper surface and outer circumference engaging with the upper lid D. A hinge C is connected to the upper rear side of the outer circumference of the outer peripheral wall portion 11, and an engaging projection 13 is provided on the lower inner circumference that engages with the fitting projection 2 of the mouth portion 1 of container A.

[0015] The outer peripheral wall portion 11 is provided with a stepped recess 15 on the upper part of the dispensing side, which is recessed from the outer circumference within a predetermined arc range.

[0016] The cylindrical portion 7 with the replacement section is provided with a ring-shaped stepped wall portion 17 that is tapered inward from the periphery of the mounting opening 6a of the upper wall 6, a mounting cylindrical portion 18 that is suspended from the inner edge of the stepped wall portion 17 and on which a nozzle member E is mounted on its inner circumference, and an air replacement section 19 that closes the rear side of the lower inner end of the mounting cylindrical portion 18. As shown in Figure 2(b), the rear side of the lower end of the mounting cylindrical portion 18 has an arc-shaped inner end 19a that extends inward from both sides (in this embodiment, the most protruding part reaches near the center of the mounting opening 6a). Furthermore, a crescent-shaped opening 20 is formed on the dispensing side of the lower inner circumference of the mounting cylinder portion 18, which is closed by the air exchange portion 19. A fitting projection 22 is provided on the inner circumference of the mounting cylinder portion 18, which engages with the nozzle member E.

[0017] The air replacement part 19 is formed by a rear side wall 24 vertically provided from the lower end on the rear side of the mounting cylinder part 18, an inclined bottom wall 25 inclined upward from the lower end of the rear side wall 24 toward the inner end 19a, and vertical walls 26 erected from the inner end 19a of the arc of the inclined bottom wall 25 and continuously provided on the inner circumference of the mounting cylinder part 18 on both sides. A replacement hole 27 for air replacement penetrating inside and outside is formed in the central part on the rear side of the rear side wall 24.

[0018] As shown in FIGS. 1, FIGS. 2 and FIGS. 3(a), the nozzle member E has a partition wall 30 whose outer peripheral edge is inserted into the mounting opening 6a of the upper wall 6, the outer edge of the lower surface abuts on the upper surface of the stepped wall part 17 of the cylinder part 7 with a replacement part and closes the inside, and a pouring outlet 30a penetrating the partition wall 30 is formed near the pouring side of the partition wall 30. A pouring cylinder 31 is erected from around the pouring outlet 30a to guide and pour out the content liquid in the pouring direction, and a fitting cylinder 32 vertically provided from the lower surface of the partition wall 30 and whose outer periphery is inserted into the inner circumference of the mounting cylinder part 18. Further, when the nozzle member E is mounted on the cap body B, the pouring outlet 30a of the nozzle member E is located above the crescent opening 20 in the mounting cylinder part 18 of the cap body B as shown in FIGS. 2(b), and the rear side part is formed so as to be hidden in a space α overlapping the central part of the inner end 19a of the air replacement part 19.

[0019] The fitting cylinder 32 is formed with a fitting concave part 34 that fits with the fitting protrusion 22 on the inner circumference of the mounting cylinder part 18 at the lower part of the outer periphery. Also, on both sides of the rear side, when the nozzle member E is mounted on the cap body B, it fits on both sides of each of the vertical walls 26 continuously provided on the inner circumference of the mounting cylinder part 18, and alignment cutouts 35 for aligning the nozzle member E are cut out from the lower end. The alignment cutouts 35 are preferably provided on the air replacement part 19 side. Note that other alignment means may be adopted instead of the alignment cutouts 35.

[0020] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper lid D is rotatably attached to the upper end of the outer peripheral wall portion 11 of the cap body B via a hinge C, and includes a top wall 40, a side wall 41 that is vertically provided from the periphery of the top wall 40 and has a hinge C continuously provided on the outer periphery thereof, and a sealing cylinder 42 that is vertically provided from a predetermined position on the lower surface of the top wall 40, inserted into the pouring cylinder 31 of the nozzle member E from above, and seals it. On the outer peripheral side of the sealing cylinder 42 of the top wall 40, there is provided a thin-walled deformable portion 43 that is recessed from the lower surface and thinned, and is deformable at this portion.

[0021] An engaging recess 45 that engages with the lid engaging portion 12 to maintain the closed lid state is provided around the inner periphery of the lower end portion of the side wall 41. An arc-shaped covering wall 46 is vertically provided on the outer peripheral edge on the pouring side of the lower surface of the side wall 41 so as to cover the step recess 15 of the outer peripheral wall portion 11 of the cap body B when the lid is closed. On the outer periphery of the side wall 41, an arc-shaped knob portion 47 is formed in the circumferential direction at the lower end portion on the pouring side, and a hinge C is continuously provided at the lower end portion on the rear side.

[0022] Next, the usage mode and working effects of this embodiment will be described. The pouring cap of this embodiment is integrally formed in an open lid state as a hinge cap with the cap body B, the hinge C, and the upper lid D made of the same material, as shown in FIG. 2(a), while the nozzle member E is formed separately with a different material.

[0023] When forming the pouring cap, particularly, since there is no nozzle member E above the cylinder portion 7 with a replacement portion of the cap body B, the air replacement portion 19 of the cylinder portion 7 with a replacement portion is formed to be sandwiched vertically by a mold, and no stress such as drawing is applied, and a stable hinge cap with an open lid can be formed. Also, since there is no nozzle member E and the air replacement portion 19 of the cylinder portion 7 with a replacement portion can be formed to be sandwiched vertically by a mold, even if a plurality of replacement holes 27 for air replacement penetrating the inside and outside of the rear side wall 24 of the air replacement portion 19 are drilled in addition to the central portion on the rear side, it can be formed without applying stress such as drawing.

[0024] Next, the nozzle member E is aligned with the cylindrical portion 7 with the replacement part of the cap body B from above and inserted, and force is applied from the upper surface of the partition wall 30 to seal it. Since the nozzle member E is made of a harder material than the cap body B, when the plug is driven in from the upper surface of the partition wall 30, the fitting cylinder 32 is inserted from the upper inner circumference of the mounting cylinder 18 of the cylinder 7 with replacement part at its lower outer circumference. As it descends, the outer circumference of the fitting cylinder 32 slides along the inner circumference of the mounting cylinder 18, comes into contact with and overcomes the fitting projection 22, pushing the mounting cylinder 18 outward as it descends.

[0025] Finally, as shown in Figure 2(a), the lower outer surface of the partition wall 30 comes into contact with the upper surface of the stepped wall portion 17 of the cylindrical portion 7 with replacement portion, stopping its descent. At the same time, the fitting recess 34 on the outer circumference of the fitting cylinder 32 engages with the fitting projection 22 on the inner circumference of the mounting cylinder portion 18, and the nozzle member E is attached to the cap body B. After the nozzle component E is installed, the upper surface of the partition wall 30 becomes flush with the upper surface of the upper wall 6 of the cap body B. Furthermore, when the fitting projection 22 of the mounting cylinder portion 18 engages with the fitting recess 34, the expanded state is released, and it returns to its original shape, making it tightly fitted to the outer circumference of the fitting cylinder 32. Since the nozzle member E is made of a harder material than the cap body B, it does not shrink in the circumferential direction and has good shape retention, so the outer circumference of the fitting cylinder 32 can be kept in close contact with the inner circumference of the mounting cylinder 18. Furthermore, if the nozzle member E is formed to repel in the outer circumference direction, the repulsive force can cause the outer circumference of the fitting cylinder 32 to be tightly pressed against the inner circumference of the mounting cylinder portion 18.

[0026] The dispensing cap is closed by rotating the top lid D via the hinge C and placing it over the cap body B, as shown in Figure 1. At that time, the lower outer circumference of the sealing cylinder 42 of the top lid D is in close contact with the inner circumference of the dispensing cylinder 31 of the nozzle member E attached to the cap body B, sealing the inside. Furthermore, the engaging recess 45 of the side peripheral wall 41 of the top lid D engages with the lid engaging portion 12 of the cap body B, maintaining the lid closed.

[0027] Next, container A, which is filled with the liquid, is sealed with a dispensing cap that is closed on the opening 1 to make it a capped container. In the capping process, the annular groove formed between the inner cylinder 10 and the outer peripheral wall 11 of the mounting part 5 is set from above onto the mouth 1 of container A, and pressing force is applied from above onto the top lid D, causing the engaging projection 13 of the outer peripheral wall 11 to overcome the fitting projection 2 of the mouth 1 and engage, and the mouth 1 of container A is held between the outer circumference of the inner cylinder 10, the inner circumference of the outer peripheral wall 11, and the base wall 9, and the dispensing cap is attached.

[0028] In this embodiment, when the top lid D is closed, the sealing cylinder 42 of the top lid D is in close contact with the inner circumference of the dispensing cylinder 31 of the nozzle member E, sealing the inside. Thus, the container with a cap seals the inside of the dispensing cylinder 31, the inside of the cap body B, and the inside of the container A. Furthermore, when the container is dropped upside down with the lid closed, even if an impact force is applied to the top wall 40 of the top lid D, the thin-walled deformable portion 43 absorbs the impact received by the top lid D, preventing the sealing cylinder 42 from being pushed in or pulled away from the dispensing cylinder 31 of the nozzle member E. This does not affect the airtight seal between the sealing cylinder 42 and the dispensing cylinder 31, preventing the seal between the sealing cylinder 42 and the dispensing cylinder 31 from breaking or damaging each other. In addition, since the nozzle member E can be made of a hard material such as PP, even when the container A contains a liquid filled at a high temperature, leakage can be suppressed, making it an applicable structure.

[0029] When using the liquid contents of container A, first, place your fingers on the tab 47 of the top lid D and lift it relative to the cap body B. This releases the seal between the sealing cylinder 42 of the top lid D and the dispensing cylinder 31 of the nozzle member E attached to the cap body B, and also releases the engagement between the side circumferential wall 41 of the top lid D and the lid engagement portion 12 of the cap body B, allowing the top lid D to be opened relative to the cap body B. When the capped container is tilted towards the dispensing side with the lid open, the liquid contents inside container A flow from the dispensing side of the inner circumference of the mouth 1, through the inner cylinder 10 and the inner surface of the upper wall 6 of the cap body B, along the fitting cylinder 32 of the nozzle member E, the partition wall 30, and the inner surface of the dispensing cylinder 31, and are dispensed outward from the tip of the dispensing cylinder 31. The amount of liquid dispensed can be adjusted by tilting the capped container: a shallow tilt dispenses a small amount, while a deeper tilt dispenses a large amount.

[0030] In this embodiment of the dispensing cap, when the capped container is tilted deeply, as shown in Figure 4, the liquid contents hit the crescent-shaped opening 20 inside the mounting cylinder portion 18 of the cap body B and the inclined bottom wall 25 of the air exchange portion 19, blocking the crescent-shaped opening 20. However, air passes through the exchange hole 27 drilled in the rear center of the rear side wall 24 of the air exchange portion 19 and is replaced into container A. Therefore, the liquid contents do not block the crescent-shaped opening 20, preventing negative pressure inside container A and stopping the flow. The liquid content blocking the crescent-shaped opening 20 is guided and flows along the dispensing side of the inner circumference of the fitting cylinder 32 of the nozzle member E and the dispensing side of the vertical wall 26 of the air exchange section 19, and is then guided to the dispensing outlet 30a of the nozzle member E. As shown in Figure 2(b), the liquid contents guided into the crescent-shaped opening 20 are obstructed by the inner end 19a of the air exchange section 19 and do not flow into the space α within the outlet 30a. Therefore, as shown in Figure 4, the liquid contents mainly flow along the outlet 30a and the dispensing side of the dispensing cylinder 31, creating space α on the rear side, and are dispensed outward from the tip of the dispensing cylinder 31.

[0031] Even when the capped container is tilted deeply, a space α is formed at the rear, so the contents do not block the spout 30a and the dispensing cylinder 31. Furthermore, during dispensing, outside air flows through space α as indicated by the arrow, into the upper surface of the inclined bottom wall 25 inside the rear side of the vertical wall 26, through the replacement hole 27, and into container A. As a result, the liquid contents do not block the crescent opening 20, preventing negative pressure inside container A from stopping the flow, and thus stable dispensing can be continued. Since outside air is replaced into container A through space α and the displacement hole 27, even if the diameters of the crescent-shaped opening 20 and the spout 30a are made somewhat narrow (of course, the spout 30a has a diameter that can form space α through which air can pass), the contents can be dispensed without blocking the openings.

[0032] Even if the contents are a sauce with grated radish or other liquids containing solid particles, the liquid can be dispensed steadily without blocking the flow. Therefore, unlike conventional methods, the opening does not need to be blocked and the body of container A must be squeezed to dispense the liquid, and a rigid container that does not require squeezing the body of container A can be used.

[0033] When you have finished dispensing, return the capped container to its original position. When the capped container is returned to its original position, the liquid contents remaining in the dispensing cylinder 31, the dispensing side of the spout 30a, and the crescent-shaped opening 20 flow down quickly without blocking the opening. Additionally, the liquid contents adhering to the inclined bottom wall 25 of the air exchange section 19 also flow down due to the inclination and are collected in container A. As a result, no liquid contents remain on the inside of the dispensing cap, preventing the liquid contents from drying and hardening, blocking the opening, or contaminating it, thus maintaining hygiene inside the dispensing cap. Thus, even if the liquid contents enter the air exchange section 19 after being dispensed, they can be discharged through the inclined bottom wall 25 via the exchange hole 27.

[0034] By closing the top lid D onto the cap body B again, the lower outer surface of the sealing cylinder 42 of the top lid D tightly seals against the dispensing cylinder 31 of the nozzle member E attached to the cap body B, thereby sealing the inside of container A. The dispensing cap can be repeatedly opened and closed, and the contents of container A can be dispensed by tilting it. In this embodiment, the top lid D of the dispensing cap is connected to the cap body B via a hinge C, but the top lid D may be a separate component from the cap body B. [Industrial applicability]

[0035] The dispensing cap of the present invention is suitable as a dispensing cap for containers containing liquids that include solid matter, as it is formed by separately manufacturing a cap body that is attached to the mouth of a container and a nozzle member that serves as a dispensing tube, and by providing an air exchange portion in the cap body, the liquid contents can be dispensed smoothly. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0036] A container B Cap Body C Hinge D Top lid E Nozzle component α space 1 Mouth 2. Interlocking protrusions 5. Mounting part 6 Upper wall 6a Mounting opening 7. Cylindrical section with replacement part 9 Base wall part 10 Inner cylinder 11 Outer wall 12 Lid engagement part 13 Engagement protrusion 15 recessed steps 17 Step wall section 18 Mounting cylinder part 19 Air replacement section 19a Inner end 20 Crescent opening 22 Fitting projection 24 Rear side wall 25 Slanted bottom wall 26 Vertical walls 27 Replacement hole 30 Bulkhead 30a spout 31 Pour tube 32 Fitting cylinder 34 Fitting recess 35 Alignment notches 40 Top Wall 41 Side perimeter wall 42 Closed Envelope 43 Thin-walled deformed section 45 Engagement recess 46 Covered wall 47. Thumb part

Claims

1. A dispensing cap comprising a cap body that is attached to the mouth of a container, an upper lid that is attached to the cap body so as to be openable and closable, and a separate nozzle member that is attached to the cap body, The cap body comprises an upper wall that seals the mouth, a mounting opening that penetrates the upper wall, and a cylindrical part with an air replacement section that is suspended from around the mounting opening and has an air replacement hole opening on the rear side. The nozzle member is characterized by comprising a partition wall fitted into a mounting opening in the upper wall, a spout penetrating the partition wall, a dispensing cylinder erected from around the spout, and a fitting cylinder suspended from the lower surface of the partition wall and inserted into the cylindrical portion with a replacement part.

2. The dispensing cap according to claim 1, characterized in that the air replacement portion extends inward from the lower end of the rear inner circumference of the cylindrical portion with the replacement portion so as to close the rear side of the dispensing outlet of the nozzle member.

3. The dispensing cap according to claim 2, characterized in that the air replacement section comprises a rear wall suspended from the rear lower end of the cylindrical section with the replacement section, an inclined bottom wall sloping upward toward the dispensing side from the lower end of the rear wall, vertical walls erected from the inner end of the inclined bottom wall and connected on both sides to the mounting cylindrical section, and a replacement hole opening in the center of the rear wall.

4. The dispensing cap according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the cylindrical portion with replacement section comprises a stepped wall portion that is tapered in diameter from the periphery of the mounting opening on the upper wall and accommodates the partition wall of the nozzle member, and a mounting cylinder portion that is suspended from the inner edge of the stepped wall portion and into which the fitting cylinder of the nozzle member is inserted.

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