Compact container

Abstract

To provide a compact container that allows for the enjoyment of the advantages of a hinge pin fitting method while maintaining a stable free-stop function over a long period of time. [Solution] The outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion 3 is formed into a non-circular shape 31 over a predetermined angular range, and the inner circumferential surface of the bearing portion 4 is formed into a non-circular shape 41 over a predetermined angular range corresponding to the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion 3, so that no stress is applied from the shaft portion 3 to the springy bearing portion 4 when the cover 2 is closed, and stress is applied from the shaft portion 3 to the springy bearing portion 4 when the cover 2 is open.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a compact container having a free stop function for stationary the lid pivotally attached to the container body at an arbitrary opening angle position.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a method of pivotally attaching a lid to a container body so that it can be opened and closed, there have been a hinge pin driving method (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3) and a hinge pin fitting method (see, for example, Patent Documents 4 to 5).

[0003] Among these, the hinge pin driving method requires a separate hinge pin in addition to the two parts of the container body and the lid, so the number of parts increases, and since the work of press-fitting the hinge pin into the pin hole is required, the assembly work is not easy. Furthermore, since the free stop function is obtained by the frictional force between the hinge pin and the pin hole, there is a problem that the free stop function deteriorates or is lost due to sagging or wear of the pin.

[0004] On the other hand, the hinge pin fitting method has the advantage that the number of parts can be reduced because it does not require a hinge pin, and the assembly work is easy because it does not require the work of press-fitting the hinge pin into the pin hole.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Patent Document 5

[0006] Incidentally, while the hinge pin insertion method has the advantage of resolving the problems of the hinge pin drive-in method, if a free-stop function is provided to keep the lid, which is pivotally attached to the container body so as to be openable and closable, in place at any open angle, there is a problem that the free-stop function deteriorates or is lost due to wear and creep of the plastic spring-like bearing part during long-term storage or use.

[0007] The present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned problems of conventional hinge pin fitting methods, and aims to provide a compact container that can maintain a free-stop function stably for a long period of time while enjoying the advantages of the hinge pin fitting method, such as reducing the number of parts because it does not require a hinge pin, and simplifying assembly work because it does not require the work of pressing the hinge pin into the pin hole. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To achieve the above objective, the compact container of the present invention is A compact container comprising a container body, a lid, and a shaft portion and a springy bearing portion provided on one end of the container body and the lid, which are rotatably fitted together and pivotally attach the lid to the container body so that it can be opened and closed, wherein the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion is formed in a non-circular shape over a predetermined angular range, and the inner circumferential surface of the bearing portion is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion Accordingly, the lid is formed in a non-circular shape over a predetermined angular range so that no stress is applied from the shaft to the springy bearing portion when the lid is closed, and stress is applied from the shaft to the springy bearing portion when the lid is open.

[0009] In this case, the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion can be recessed over a predetermined angular range to form a non-circular shape, and the inner circumferential surface of the bearing portion can be convex over a predetermined angular range corresponding to the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion to form a non-circular shape.

[0010] Furthermore, the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion can be made convex over a predetermined angular range to form a non-circular shape, and the inner circumferential surface of the bearing portion can be made concave over a predetermined angular range corresponding to the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion to form a non-circular shape.

[0011] Furthermore, the maximum stress can be applied from the shaft to the spring-like bearing portion when the lid is open at a predetermined angle or within a predetermined angular range.

[0012] Furthermore, the container body and lid may be provided with a shaft portion and a bearing portion, each having a shaft portion with a circular outer surface and a bearing portion with a circular inner surface corresponding to the shaft portion's outer surface. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] The compact container of the present invention does not require a hinge pin, thus reducing the number of parts, and it also does not require the work of pressing the hinge pin into the pin hole, thus enjoying the advantages of the hinge pin fitting method, while the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion is formed in a non-circular shape over a predetermined angular range, and the inner circumferential surface of the bearing portion is formed in a non-circular shape over a predetermined angular range corresponding to the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion, so that no stress is applied from the shaft portion to the springy bearing portion when the lid is closed, and stress is applied from the shaft portion to the springy bearing portion only when the lid is open, thereby enabling the free-stop function to be maintained stably for a long period of time. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1]Explanatory drawing showing an embodiment of the compact container of the present invention, (a) is a plan view of the shaft portion, (b) is a plan view of the shaft portion and the bearing portion, (c) is a sectional view taken along line A-A of (b), and (d) is a sectional view taken along line B-B of (b). [Figure 2] It is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 1(d). [Figure 3] Explanatory drawing when the lid body is in the open operation state, (a) is a drawing corresponding to FIG. 1(c), and (b) is a drawing corresponding to FIG. 1(d). [Figure 4] It is an explanatory drawing corresponding to FIG. 1(d) when the lid body is in the open operation state. [Figure 5] It is an explanatory drawing showing a modified embodiment of the shaft portion.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the compact container of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

[0016] FIGS. 1 to 2 show an embodiment of the compact container of the present invention. This compact container includes a container body 1, a lid body 2, a shaft portion 3 provided at one end of the container body 1 and the lid body 2 and fitting rotatably with each other to pivotally attach the lid body 2 to the container body 1 so as to be rotatable for opening and closing, and a bearing portion 4 having spring properties provided on one side of each of the container body 1 and the lid body 2. The outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 3 is formed into an oval shape 31 over a predetermined angular range, and the inner peripheral surface of the bearing portion 4 is formed into an oval shape 41 over a predetermined angular range corresponding to the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 3 so that when the lid body 2 is in the closed state, no stress (force for expanding the bearing portion 4) is applied from the shaft portion 3 to the bearing portion 4 having spring properties, and when the lid body 2 is in the open state, stress (force for expanding the bearing portion 4) is applied from the shaft portion 3 to the bearing portion 4 having spring properties. It is configured to apply stress (force for expanding the bearing portion 4).

[0017] Specifically, in this embodiment, the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 3 provided on the container body 1 is recessed over a predetermined angular range, for example, about 50°, to form an oval shape, and the inner peripheral surface of the bearing portion 4 provided on the lid body 2 can be formed into an oval shape by protruding over a predetermined angular range corresponding to the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 3. Here, the diameters of the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 3 and the inner peripheral surface of the bearing portion 4 can be set to any fitting dimensions except for the portions formed in non-circular shapes 31 and 41, that is, it can be set so that no stress is applied to the springy bearing portion 6 from the shaft portion 5 just by sliding contact.

[0018] In addition, as the non-circular shape, instead of the concavo-convex shape of the shaft portion 3 and the bearing portion 4 of the present embodiment, an elliptical shape, a polygonal shape, etc. can be adopted.

[0019] Also, the concavo-convex shapes of the shaft portion 3 and the bearing portion 4 of the present embodiment can be reversed, the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 3 can be made convex over a predetermined angular range to form a non-circular shape, and the inner peripheral surface of the bearing portion 4 can be made concave over a predetermined angular range corresponding to the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion to form a non-circular shape.

[0020] Also, the locations where the shaft portion 3 and the bearing portion 4 of the present embodiment are provided can be reversed, and the bearing portion 4 can be provided on the container body 1 and the shaft portion 3 can be provided on the lid body 2.

[0021] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, in addition to the shaft portion 3 and the bearing portion 4, on both sides thereof, a shaft portion 5 and a bearing portion 6 provided on one of the container body 1 and the lid body 2 are further provided, where the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 5 is formed in a circular shape and the inner peripheral surface of the bearing portion 6 is formed in a circular shape corresponding to the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 5. Here, the diameters of the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 5 and the inner peripheral surface of the bearing portion 6 can be set to any fitting dimensions, that is, it can be set so that no stress is applied to the springy bearing portion 6 from the shaft portion 5, or it can be set so that a predetermined stress is applied to the springy bearing portion 6 from the shaft portion 5.

[0022] Also, when the shaft portion 5 and the bearing portion 6 of the present embodiment are not provided, it is possible to prevent the bearing portion 4 from detaching from the shaft portion 3 by expanding the range in which the bearing portion 4 covers the shaft portion 3 (to the same extent as the bearing portion 6).

[0023] In this way, the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion 3 is formed in a non-circular shape over a predetermined angular range, and the inner circumferential surface of the bearing portion 4 is formed in a non-circular shape over a predetermined angular range corresponding to the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion 3. This prevents stress (a force that expands the bearing portion 4) from being applied from the shaft portion 3 to the springy bearing portion 4 when the cover 2 is closed, and ensures that stress (a force that expands the bearing portion 4) is applied from the shaft portion 3 to the bearing portion 4 only when the cover 2 is open. As a result, the time over which stress (a force that expands the bearing portion 4) is applied from the shaft portion 3 to the springy bearing portion 4 can be reduced, preventing the free-stop function from deteriorating or being lost due to wear or creep of the plastic springy bearing portion, and allowing the free-stop function to be maintained stably for a long period of time.

[0024] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the lid 2 is opened, specifically, as shown in Figure 3, a constant stress is applied from the shaft 3 to the spring-like bearing 4 in the angular range of 60° to 180°, thereby enabling the free-stop function in this angular range. However, as shown in Figure 5(a), by making the outer circumferential surface of the shaft 3 convex over a predetermined angular range (making it a non-circular shape 32), it is possible to apply maximum stress (maximum force to expand the bearing 4) from the shaft 3 to the spring-like bearing 4 when the lid 2 is open at a predetermined angle or within a predetermined angular range, for example, around 120°.

[0025] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5(b), by making the outer surface of the shaft portion 3 convex over a predetermined angular range and forming a knurled pattern on the surface (resulting in a non-circular shape 33), the feel when opening the lid 2 can be changed.

[0026] Although the compact container of the present invention has been described above based on several embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the configurations described in the above embodiments, and its configuration can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention, such as by appropriately combining the configurations described in each embodiment. [Industrial applicability]

[0027] The compact container of the present invention can be used in applications requiring a compact container because it enjoys the advantages of a hinge pin fitting method while maintaining a free-stop function stably for a long period of time. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 1. Container body 2 Lid 3. Shaft section 31 Non-circular shape (part) 32 Non-circular shape (part) 33 Non-circular shape (part) 4 Bearing section 41 Non-circular shape (part)

Claims

1. A compact container comprising a container body, a lid, and a shaft portion and a spring-loaded bearing portion provided on one end of the container body and the lid, which are rotatably fitted together and pivotally attach the lid to the container body so that it can be opened and closed, The outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion is formed in a non-circular shape over a predetermined angular range, The inner circumferential surface of the bearing portion is formed in a non-circular shape over a predetermined angular range, corresponding to the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion. The cover is designed so that no stress is applied from the shaft to the spring-like bearing when the cover is closed, and so that stress is applied from the shaft to the spring-like bearing when the cover is open. A compact container characterized by its features.

2. The compact container according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion is recessed over a predetermined angular range to form a non-circular shape, and the inner circumferential surface of the bearing portion is convex over a predetermined angular range corresponding to the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion to form a non-circular shape.

3. The compact container according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion is made convex over a predetermined angular range to form a non-circular shape, and the inner circumferential surface of the bearing portion is made concave over a predetermined angular range corresponding to the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion to form a non-circular shape.

4. The compact container according to claim 1, 2, or 3, characterized in that the maximum stress is applied from the shaft to the springy bearing portion when the lid is open at a predetermined angle or within a predetermined angular range.

5. The compact container according to claim 1, 2, or 3, further comprising a shaft portion and a bearing portion provided on one of the container body and the lid, respectively, wherein the outer surface of the shaft portion is formed in a circular shape, and the inner surface of the bearing portion is formed in a circular shape corresponding to the outer surface of the shaft portion.

Images