Swallowing container

Abstract

The challenge is to create a swallowing container that allows tablets to be swallowed without drinking water, while maintaining hygiene and easily and reliably encasing the tablets in jelly for swallowing. [Solution] The variable container 10 contains the jelly J, a nozzle member 20 having a dispensing hole 21a at its tip and connected to the upper open end of the variable container 10, and an overcap 30 having a sealing cylindrical portion 34 that seals the dispensing hole 21a and covering the nozzle member 20, wherein the variable container 10 is made of a soft material and is deformable in the axial direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a swallowing container for swallowing a tablet together with dosing assistance jelly.

Background Art

[0002] As a swallowing container that assists swallowing of tablets by using fluid dosing assistance jelly (hereinafter referred to as "jelly") instead of drinking water, for example, the tube container disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.

Prior Art Literature

Patent Literature

[0003]

Patent Literature 1

Summary of the Invention

Problem to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the tube container disclosed in Patent Document 1, to properly swallow a tablet, the following procedure is required: pour jelly onto a spoon assembled to the tube container, then pull the spoon out to place the tablet on the poured jelly, re-assemble the spoon into the tube container, pour additional jelly onto the tablet, and wrap the tablet between the upper and lower layers of jelly before swallowing. However, in the tube container of Patent Document 1, improvement in operability has been demanded, and it is necessary to place the tablet, once taken out by hand, on the jelly, so there still remains room for improvement in terms of hygiene. Furthermore, depending on the size of the tablet, it may be difficult to wrap the tablet on the spoon, which may cause discomfort to the throat when swallowing.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and to provide a swallowing container that allows swallowing of tablets even without drinking water, and enables simple and reliable wrapping of tablets with jelly while maintaining hygiene for swallowing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] Among the means for solving the above problems, the first means of the present invention is: A swallowing container comprising: a variable container for containing jelly; a nozzle member having a dispensing hole at its tip and connected to the upper open end of the variable container; and an overcap covering the nozzle member and having a sealing cylinder portion that seals the dispensing hole, The variable container is characterized by being made of a soft material, thereby allowing it to be deformed in the axial direction. In the first means of the present invention, the tablets contained inside can be pushed up toward the dispensing hole by deforming the variable container in the axial direction.

[0007] Furthermore, a second means of the present invention adds to the first means described above that the variable container is formed to be able to be reversed and deformed in the axial direction by connecting a plurality of cylindrical sections whose diameters are progressively increased from the bottom to the top. With the above method, the tablet can be pushed up to near the dispensing hole, allowing the user to hygienically swallow the tablet by sucking up the tablet and jelly together without ever having to take the tablet out of their hand.

[0008] Furthermore, a third means of the present invention is that, in addition to the first means described above, the variable container is formed to be expandable and contractible in the axial direction, having a bellows-shaped body. In the above method, as in the second method, the tablet can be pushed up to a position near the dispensing hole.

[0009] A fourth means of the present invention is to add to any of the above means that the outer wall of the nozzle member is positioned opposite to the outside of the variable container, and a notch is formed in the outer wall. The above means allows for easy pushing up of the variable container provided on the inside of the outer wall of the nozzle member.

[0010] A fifth means of the present invention is that the notches are formed at two positions that are axially symmetric to the outer wall, in addition to the means described above. The above method prevents the user's fingertips from coming into contact with the outer wall while the variable container is being pushed up. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] In this invention, by using jelly, tablets can be swallowed anytime, anywhere, even without drinking water. Furthermore, it can be swallowed hygienically without ever touching the tablet. Furthermore, because the tablets can be encased in jelly, they can be swallowed without putting stress on the throat. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a front view of a swallowing container illustrating an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a cross-sectional view of a swallowing container from the side. [Figure 3] (a) is a partial cross-sectional view of a jelly container that holds jelly, and (b) is a plan cross-sectional view of (a) along line III-III. [Figure 4] This is a partial cross-sectional view showing the state of connecting a jelly container to a swallowing container and filling it with jelly. [Figure 5] This is a cross-sectional view showing the first operation of squeezing jelly and tablets out of a swallowing container. [Figure 6] This is a cross-sectional view showing the second operation following Figure 5. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a front view of a swallowing container showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the swallowing container from the side. Furthermore, in the following description, the direction along the container axis O is referred to as the axial direction, the vertical direction or the height direction; the direction orthogonal to the container axis O is referred to as the radial direction; and the direction circling around the container axis O is referred to as the circumferential direction, the closing direction or the opening direction.

[0014] First, the configuration of the swallowing container A will be described. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the swallowing container A comprises a variable container 10 that houses a tablet P, a nozzle member 20 that has a nozzle portion 21 at an upper part thereof and is disposed outside the variable container 10, and an overcap 30 that covers the nozzle portion 21. Such a swallowing container A is used, for example, for disposable (single-dose) products, and is sold separately from a jelly container B described later.

[0015] The variable container 10 shown in the present embodiment is formed by continuously connecting a plurality of cylindrical portions whose diameter dimensions are increased stepwise from the lowermost stage toward the uppermost stage. Specifically, the variable container 10 is integrally formed as a bottomed multi-step cylindrical member including: a lower cylindrical portion 11 provided at the lowermost stage for housing the tablet P; a middle cylindrical portion 12 continuously provided on the lower cylindrical portion 11 via a first step 12A with a diameter one size larger than that of the lower cylindrical portion 11; and an upper cylindrical portion 13 further continuously provided at the uppermost stage via a second step 13A provided on the middle cylindrical portion 12 with the largest diameter dimension. An undercut-shaped locking portion 14 and an outward flange 15 are provided circumferentially on the outer peripheral surface of the upper cylindrical portion 13. Such a variable container 10 is formed of an easily deformable soft material such as polyethylene (PE), for example, and can be inverted and deformed stepwise by pushing the bottom portion 11A of the lower cylindrical portion 11 upward along the axial direction as described later (see Figures 5 and 6).

[0016] The nozzle member 20 includes: a nozzle portion 21 having a pouring hole 21a formed at a tip end thereof; a top wall 22 continuously provided at a lower end of the nozzle portion 21; a cylindrical outer wall 22 extending at an outer edge of the top wall 22; an inner cylindrical portion 24 suspended from an inner edge of the top wall 22; an inner cylindrical portion 25 suspended on a lower surface of the top wall 22 and between the outer wall 23 and the inner cylindrical portion 24; and a flange 26 circumferentially projecting radially outward from the outer wall 23, and is integrally formed of synthetic resin.

[0017] A male thread 21b is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the base end of the nozzle portion 21, and an undercut locking portion 25a is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the lower end of the inner cylindrical portion 25. Further, the outer side wall 23 is disposed so as to face the side surfaces of the respective cylindrical portions constituting the variable container 10, and a cutout portion 27 that opens in a substantially U-shape and reaches the lower end of the outer side wall 23 is formed in this outer side wall 23. Such a cutout portion 27 only needs to be formed at at least one position of the outer side wall 23, but as shown in the present embodiment, a configuration in which it is formed at two positions that are axially symmetric across the container axis O is preferable.

[0018] The overcap 30 is a topped cylindrical member in which a cylindrical side wall 32 is suspended from the outer edge of a top wall 31, and a female thread 33 that screws with the male thread 21b of the nozzle portion 21 when the overcap 30 is attached to the nozzle portion 21 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the side wall 32. Further, on the lower surface of the top wall 31, a seal cylinder portion 34 that tightly fits to the inner peripheral surface of the pouring hole 21a and seals the same during attachment is suspended. This makes it possible to prevent deterioration of the tablet P due to moisture or the like during the distribution stage or the like of the swallowing container A.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 2, the swallowing container A is assembled by placing the nozzle member 20 on the upper opening end of the upper cylindrical portion 13 constituting the variable container 10 that contains the tablet P, striking the nozzle member 20 to lock the locking portion 25a of the nozzle member 20 to the locking portion 14 of the upper cylindrical portion 13 of the variable container 10 for attachment (capping fitting), and then screwing the female thread 33 of the overcap 30 onto the male thread 21b of the nozzle portion 21.

[0020] Next, the configuration of a jelly container B that supplies jelly J to the swallowing container A will be described. Fig. 3(a) is a partial cross-sectional view of the jelly container B that stores jelly, and Fig. 3(b) is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in Fig. 3(a). As shown in Figure 3(a), the jelly container B is formed having a container body 40 in which the jelly J is contained, and a cap 50 that is attached to the mouth portion 41 of the container body 40. Such a jelly container B can supply jelly to multiple swallowing containers A in multiple installments.

[0021] The container body 40 is a bottomed cylindrical container in which a mouth section 41 is erected on a radially deformable body section 43 via a shoulder section 42, and the upper part of the mouth section 41 is provided with a top wall section 44 having a through hole 45 that penetrates axially through the center. An undercut-shaped engaging section 46 is provided around the outer surface of the mouth section 41. Such a container body 40 may be a bottle-type container or a tube-type container, as long as it can be deformed radially by squeezing.

[0022] The cap 50 has a cap body 51 that is attached to the mouth portion 41 of the container body 40 and a lid 60 that is hinged to the cap body 51, and is integrally formed using a synthetic resin material. The cap body 51 is composed of a disc-shaped base wall 52, a cylindrical outer peripheral wall 53 connected to the outer edge of the base wall 52, a dispensing tube 54 vertically mounted in the center of the base wall 52 in a manner that communicates with the center in the vertical direction, a cylindrical guide tube 55 provided coaxially with the dispensing tube 54 on the upper surface of the base wall 52, and a cylindrical mounting tube 56 also provided coaxially with the dispensing tube 54 on the lower surface of the base wall 52. An engaging portion 56a is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the lower end of the mounting tube 56, which engages with the engaging portion 46 of the container body 40. An engaging projection 53a, which is in the shape of an undercut, is formed at one point in the circumferential direction on the upper outer peripheral surface of the outer peripheral wall 53. A slit valve S with a cross-shaped slit S1 formed in the center of a thin plate is provided inside the dispensing tube 54 (see Figure 3(b)).

[0023] The lid 60 is a cylindrical member with a top plate 61 that covers the upper end of the outer peripheral wall 53 and a peripheral wall 62 that hangs down from the outer edge of the top plate 61. A sealing cylinder 63 hangs down from the center of the lower surface of the top plate 61, which tightly fits onto the tip of the dispensing cylinder 54 to seal it when the lid is closed. The lid 60 is rotatably connected to the outer peripheral wall 53 of the cap body 51 via a hinge 59, which is formed with a thin wall between the peripheral wall 62 and the outer peripheral wall 53 of the cap body 51. A locking projection 62a that engages with an engaging projection 53a is formed on the inner surface of the peripheral wall 62 at a position axially symmetrical with respect to the hinge 59 and the container axis O, and a knob 64 that protrudes radially outward and assists in opening and closing the lid 60 is formed near the locking projection 62a and on the outer surface of the peripheral wall 62.

[0024] As shown in Figure 3(a), the cap 50 is attached by placing the mounting cylinder 56 over the mouth portion 41 of the container body 40 containing the jelly J, and engaging the engaging portion 56a with the engaging portion 46 of the container body 40. The lower end of the dispensing cylinder 54 is then inserted into the through hole 45 of the mouth portion 41 in a tight fit state. In the closed lid state shown in Figure 3(a), the locking projection 62a of the lid body 60 engages with the engaging projection 53a of the cap body 51, and the sealing cylinder 63 is tightly fitted to the upper end of the dispensing cylinder 54.

[0025] Next, we will explain how to use the swallowing container A described above. Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the state of connecting the jelly container to the swallowing container and filling it with jelly, Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the first operation of pushing out the jelly and tablets from the swallowing container, and Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the second operation following Figure 5.

[0026] (1) Filling the swallowing container with jelly The user removes the overcap 30 of the swallowing container A by turning it in the open direction, exposing the nozzle portion 21. Next, the user rotates the lid 60 of the jelly container B to open it, exposing the dispensing tube 54. Then, as shown in Figure 4, the user inverts the jelly container B and inserts the tip of the downward-facing dispensing tube 54 into the dispensing hole 21a in the nozzle section 21 to connect them. In this connected state, the nozzle section 21 is housed inside the guide tube 55, and the tip of the guide tube 55 is in contact with the top wall 22 of the nozzle member 20.

[0027] If the jelly container B is inverted, the jelly J will attempt to flow from inside the jelly container B into the dispensing cylinder 54. However, since the dispensing cylinder 54 is equipped with a slit valve S, the jelly J will not flow outside the dispensing cylinder 54 simply by inverting it.

[0028] Next, the user squeezes and compresses the body 43 of the jelly container B. This causes the extruded jelly J to push open the slit valve S inside the dispensing cylinder 54 and begin to flow, ensuring that the jelly J is reliably filled into the variable container 10. After the predetermined amount of jelly J has been filled into the variable container 10, the user stops squeezing to finish the filling process, and then detaches the jelly container B from the swallowing container A to release the connection.

[0029] (2) Swallowing of tablet P and jelly J Next, the user inserts the nozzle portion 21 into their mouth and holds it in their mouth. Then, as shown by the dashed line in Figure 5, the user places the pad of one of their fingers F against the bottom portion 11A of the variable container 10 and performs the first operation of pushing upward in the direction toward the dispensing hole 21a. At this time, inserting the finger F radially into the U-shaped notch 27 formed in the outer wall 23 makes it possible to push upward smoothly. When the bottom portion 11A is pushed upward, the variable container 10 folds back starting from the first step 12A, so that the tablet P can be brought closer to the mouth. In this embodiment, by forming notches 27 at two axially symmetrical locations on either side of the container axis O, the user's fingernails will not come into contact with the outer wall 23 when pushing up the variable container 10. Therefore, even if the user has long fingernails, they can easily push up the variable container 10. This also eliminates the risk of breaking the fingernails.

[0030] Next, the user performs a second operation, pushing up the bottom 11A further, as shown in Figure 6. As a result, the variable container 10 folds back from the second step 13A and inverts completely, allowing the tablets P stored inside the variable container 10 to be pushed up even further to a position near the dispensing hole 21a. In this case, the user can swallow the tablet P and jelly J by sucking them in, without ever having to take the tablet P out with their hand, thus enabling hygienic swallowing of the tablet P. When the user inhales while inverting and deforming the variable container 10, the flow of the jelly J becomes smoother, and the amount of jelly J that tends to remain near the dispensing hole 21a is reduced.

[0031] Furthermore, it is preferable for the user to gently knead the variable container 10, which is made of a soft material, from the outside after filling it with jelly J and before putting the nozzle part 21 into their mouth. This makes it possible to easily and reliably encase the tablet P with jelly J, allowing for comfortable swallowing without stressing the throat. Furthermore, in this invention, by providing a swallowing container A and a jelly container B having the above configuration, it is possible to swallow tablets P anytime, anywhere, even without drinking water.

[0032] The configuration and effects of the present invention have been described above in accordance with the examples, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above examples. For example, in the above embodiment, the variable container 10 constituting the swallowing container A was described as a container that can be transformed in multiple stages, comprising a lower cylindrical portion 11, a middle cylindrical portion 12, an upper cylindrical portion 13, and a first step 12A and a second step 13A provided between them. However, the number of cylindrical portions and steps are not limited to this.

[0033] Furthermore, the variable container 10 is not limited to a container that deforms in stages as described above; for example, it can also be a bellows-shaped container in which the body can expand and contract in the axial direction as a whole, by having a bellows-shaped body. [Industrial applicability]

[0034] This invention can be applied to an even wider range of fields in the field of swallowing containers that allow tablets to be swallowed together with a swallowing aid jelly. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 10: Variable container 11: Lower cylinder part 11A: Bottom 12: Middle cylinder part 12A: First step 13: Upper cylinder part 13A: Second step 14: Locking part 15: Flange 20: Nozzle component 21: Nozzle part 21a: Outlet hole 21b: Male screw 22: Top Wall 23 :Outside wall 24: Inner cylinder part 25: Inner cylinder 25a: Locking part 26: Flange 27: Notch 30: Overcap 31: Heaven and Wall 32: Side wall 33: Female thread 34: Seal cylinder part 40: Container body 41: Mouth tube part 42:Shoulder 43: Torso 44:Top wall part 45: Through hole 46: Engaging part 50: Cap 51: Cap body 52: Base Wall 53 :Outer wall 53a: Engagement protrusion 54: Pour tube 55: Guide tube 56: Mounting tube 56a: Engagement part 59: Hinge 60: Lid 61: Tabletop 62: Peripheral wall 62a: Locking projection 63: Sealing cylinder 64: Thumb part A: Swallowing container B: Jelly container F: Finger J: Jelly O: Container axis P: Tablets S: Slit valve S1: Slit

Claims

1. A swallowing container comprising: a variable container (10) for containing jelly (J); a nozzle member (20) having a dispensing hole (21a) at its tip and connected to the upper open end of the variable container (10); and an overcap (30) having a sealing cylindrical portion (34) for sealing the dispensing hole (21a) and covering the nozzle member (20), A swallowing container characterized in that the variable container (10) is made of a soft material and is therefore deformable in the axial direction.

2. The swallowing container according to claim 1, wherein the variable container (10) is formed to be deformable in the axial direction by connecting a plurality of cylindrical sections whose diameters are progressively increased from the bottom to the top.

3. The swallowing container according to claim 1, wherein the variable container (10) has a bellows-shaped body and is formed to be expandable and contractible in the axial direction.

4. The swallowing container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the outer wall (23) of the nozzle member (20) is positioned opposite to the outside of the variable container (10), and a notch (27) is formed in the outer wall (23).

5. The swallowing container according to claim 4, wherein the notches (27) are formed at two positions that are axially symmetrical to the outer wall (23).

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