Liquid containers

Abstract

The present invention provides a liquid container equipped with a dropper in the cap, which allows for easy extraction of even small amounts of liquid remaining at the bottom of the container. [Solution] A liquid container 100 comprising a container body 10 capable of storing liquid inside, a screw cap 21 capable of sealing the opening 11 of the container body 10, and a dropper 22 attached to the screw cap 21 such that the tip of the tubular pipette 24 is housed inside the container body 10 when the screw cap 21 seals the container body 10, wherein the dropper 22 is capable of extending and retracting its overall axial length and is equipped with an axial extension mechanism 28 consisting of a bellows joint 25, a compression spring 26, and a through-lid 27.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a container for storing liquid therein, and particularly to a liquid container in which a dropper for sucking up the liquid in the container is provided on a cap for sealing the container.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as described in Patent Document 1 for example, a liquid container having a configuration in which a dropper is attached to a cap for sealing the container so that the liquid stored in the container can be sucked up and taken out has been used. By integrally forming the cap and the dropper in this way, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to separately prepare the dropper used when using the liquid, and it is also possible to prevent the loss of the cap when using the dropper.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the above conventional technology, since the dropper is provided so as to be fixed to the cap, the tip length of the dropper is limited to such a length that the tip of the dropper contacts the bottom of the container when the cap completely seals the container. Therefore, when the cap is a screw cap in particular, when the cap is loosened to enable the use of the dropper, the tip of the dropper separates from the bottom of the container, and it becomes difficult to suck up the small remaining amount of liquid remaining at the bottom with the dropper.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid container that can easily suck up even a small remaining amount of liquid remaining at the bottom of the container, even in a configuration where a dropper is fixed to a cap. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a liquid container comprising a container body capable of storing liquid inside, a cap capable of sealing the opening of the container body, and a dropper attached to the cap such that its tip is stored inside the container body when the cap seals the container body, wherein the dropper is equipped with an axial extension mechanism that allows its overall axial length to be extended and retracted.

[0007] The liquid container of the present invention allows the tip of the dropper to be stored inside the container body when the cap is attached to the container body, while also allowing the opening of the dropper tip to reach the inner bottom surface of the container body even before the cap is attached. As a result, even with a configuration in which the dropper is fixed to the cap, it is possible to easily suck up even the small amount of liquid remaining at the bottom surface of the container body. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to this invention, even with a configuration in which a dropper is fixed to the cap, it is possible to easily suck up even the small amount of liquid remaining at the bottom of the container. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] These are perspective views from above of the liquid container of this embodiment, showing both the container body with the cap attached and the container body with the cap separated. [Figure 2] These are axial cross-sectional views of the container body with and without the dropper-equipped cap, which does not have an axial extension mechanism, attached. [Figure 3] This is an exploded view of the axial direction of the dropper-equipped cap. [Figure 4] This is a magnified axial cross-sectional view of the area surrounding the axial extension / retraction mechanism of the dropper-equipped cap. [Figure 5] These are axial cross-sectional views of the container body with and without the dropper-equipped cap, which has an axial extension mechanism. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is for illustrative purposes only and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art can adopt embodiments in which each of the following components is replaced with equivalent components, and these are also included within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 1 is an external view of the liquid container of this embodiment, viewed from above. Figure 1(a) shows the container body with the dropper cap attached, and Figure 2(b) shows the container body with the dropper cap separated. In Figure 1, the liquid container 100 has a container body 10 and a dropper cap 20.

[0012] The container body 10, in the illustrated example, has a bottom surface at its lower end and a male screw-shaped opening 11 at its upper end, and is a bottle-shaped body formed to store liquids such as cosmetic liquids or medicinal solutions inside.

[0013] The dropper-equipped cap 20 has a dropper 22 that passes through the upper end of the screw cap 21, allowing it to draw up liquid. The screw cap 21 is substantially cylindrical with a top surface and has an internal thread formed on its inner diameter. It can be screwed onto the male-threaded opening 11 of the container body from above to seal the opening 11 (see Figure 1(a)). By unscrewing it and removing it upwards, the opening 11 of the container body 10 can be opened (see Figure 1(b)).

[0014] The dropper 22 has a hollow rubber head 23 located at its upper end and a tubular pipette 24 that communicates with the inside of the hollow head 23 at its lower end. The hollow head 23 of the dropper 22 is exposed to the outside above the screw cap 21, and the tubular pipette 24 is located below the screw cap 21, and when attached to the container body 10, the entire tubular pipette 24 is housed inside the container body 10. The tubular pipette 24 is a cylindrical tube with the same inner diameter on the hollow head 23 side, and is a tapered hollow tube whose diameter narrows from the middle of the axial direction towards the lower tip, with its tip opening to a small diameter.

[0015] By pressing the hollow head 23 radially, for example with a finger, a predetermined amount of air inside the dropper 22 can be expelled. Then, with the tip opening of the tubular pipette 24 inserted into the container body 10 and immersed in the stored liquid, the pressure on the hollow head 23 is released, causing the liquid to flow into the tubular pipette 24 due to the negative pressure from the elastic restoring force of the hollow head 23, and the liquid can be drawn up. Finally, by separating the entire dropper-equipped cap 20 from the container body 10 and pressing the hollow head 23 again, the liquid inside the tubular pipette 24 can be discharged to a desired position outside the container body 10.

[0016] However, if the liquid container 10 has a simple configuration that only achieves the above functions, the following problems arise during its use. Specifically, as shown in the axial cross-sectional view in Figure 2(a), when the screw cap 21 of the dropper-attached cap 20 is fully screwed onto the male threaded opening 11 of the container body 10, the dropper 22 is directly fixed to the screw cap 21, so the tip of the tubular pipette 24 hits the bottom surface inside the container body 10, thus limiting the setting of its axial length dimension. For this reason, when the screw cap 21 is unscrewed from the male threaded opening 11 so that the dropper-attached cap 20 can be handled freely, as shown in Figure 2(b), the tip opening of the tubular pipette 24 is separated from the bottom surface of the container body 10 by at least the axial screwing distance D, and when there is a small amount of liquid remaining, it becomes difficult to draw up the liquid with the dropper.

[0017] In this embodiment, the liquid container 100 addresses this problem by providing an axial extension mechanism to the dropper 22 of the dropper cap 20. Figure 3 is an axial exploded view of the entire dropper cap 20 of this embodiment with this axial extension mechanism, and Figure 4 is an enlarged axial cross-sectional view of the area around the axial extension mechanism in the assembled dropper cap 20. In Figures 3 and 4, the dropper cap 20 includes a hollow head 23, a screw cap 21, a compression spring 26, a bellows joint 25, a through-lid 27, and a tubular pipette 24.

[0018] The hollow head 23 and tubular pipette 24 have the same configuration as described above, while the screw cap 21 is formed to be longer in the axial direction than described above, and is configured to accommodate an axial extension mechanism inside.

[0019] The bellows joint 25 is a component formed from an elastic material such as rubber or plastic, and while the entire structure is hollow, it is also expandable and contractible in the axial direction, forming a so-called bellows structure. Its upper end is connected to the lower end of the hollow head 23, and its lower end is connected to the upper end of the tubular pipette 24.

[0020] The pressing spring 26 is a coil spring mounted in a coaxial arrangement between the inner peripheral surface of the screw cap 21 and the outer peripheral surface of the bellows joint 25, and when the bellows joint 25 is axially compressed, it applies a pressing force to the bellows joint for restoring in the extending direction. Note that this pressing spring 26 is an example of a biasing member.

[0021] The through cap 27 is an annular disc member that is fitted into the inner diameter of the screw cap 21 while penetrating only the body portion of the tubular pipette 24, and it limits the total elongation length of the pipette 22 by the bellows joint 25 and the pressing spring 26 and prevents the pressing spring 26 from falling out of the screw cap 21. Note that this through cap 27 is an example of a limiting member.

[0022] Among the above members, the bellows joint 25, the pressing spring 26, and the through cap 27 constitute the axial expansion and contraction mechanism 28. A configuration with the hollow head 23 and the tubular pipette 24 added to this forms the pipette 22, and a configuration with the screw cap 21 further added forms the cap with pipette.

[0023] In the liquid container 100 of the present embodiment, since the pipette 22 of the cap with pipette 20 has the axial expansion and contraction mechanism 28 of the above configuration, the liquid remaining in a small amount on the bottom surface of the container body 10 can be easily sucked up. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the screw cap 21 moves relatively by an axial distance D between a state where the screw cap 21 is completely screwed and attached to the container body 10 (FIG. 5(a)) and a state where it is completely unscrewed (FIG. 5(b)), but the bellows joint 25 of the axial expansion and contraction mechanism 28 can be compressed by the same distance D or more to pull in and move the tubular pipette 24.

[0024] Therefore, even if the tubular pipette 24 is formed with dimensions such that its tip opening contacts the bottom surface of the container body 10, using the state shown in Figure 5(b), where the screw cap 21 is completely unscrewed to the container body 10, as a reference, the tubular pipette 24 can be pulled in and moved into the container body 10 by an axial relative distance D, making it possible to completely screw the screw cap 21 onto the container body 10. In other words, as shown in Figure 5(a), the entire tubular pipette 24 can be housed inside the container body 10 when the screw cap 21 is screwed onto the container body 10, while the tip opening of the tubular pipette 24 can reach the inner bottom surface of the container body 10 even in the unscrewed state shown in Figure 5(b). As a result, even with a dropper 22 fixed to the screw cap 21, it is possible to easily suck up even the small amount of liquid remaining on the bottom surface of the container body 10.

[0025] <Effects of the Embodiment> As described above, the liquid container 100 of this embodiment includes a container body 10 capable of storing liquid inside, a screw cap 21 capable of sealing the opening 11 of the container body 10, and a dropper 22 attached to the screw cap 21 such that its tip is stored inside the container body 10 when the screw cap 21 seals the container body 10. The dropper 22 is equipped with an axial extension mechanism 28 that allows its overall axial length to be extended and retracted.

[0026] As a result, the entire tubular pipette 24 can be housed inside the container body 10 when the screw cap 21 is screwed onto the container body 10, while the tip opening of the tubular pipette 24 can reach the inner bottom surface of the container body 10 even when the screw cap is unscrewed. Consequently, even with the dropper 22 fixed to the screw cap 21, it is possible to easily draw up any small amount of liquid remaining at the bottom surface of the container body 10.

[0027] In this embodiment in particular, the cap attached to the container body 10 is a screw cap 21 with an internal thread. This allows the attachment and detachment operations to the container body 10 to be performed by screwing the screw cap 21 itself, thereby reducing the mechanical load on the bellows joint 25 of the axial extension mechanism 28, especially during these operations. In addition to the form of a screw cap 21, if it is possible to provide an axial extension mechanism 28, a push-in type cap such as a cork stopper may be used (not shown).

[0028] In this embodiment in particular, the axial extension mechanism 28 is equipped with a bellows-structured member, a bellows joint 25. This allows for appropriate extension and retraction while maintaining the airtightness of the entire dropper 22. Note that, in addition to the bellows joint 25, an axial extension mechanism may be constructed using, for example, a piston and cylinder, as long as airtightness can be ensured (not shown).

[0029] In this embodiment in particular, the axial extension mechanism 28 is configured to contract the axial length of the entire dropper 22 to a length greater than the axial travel distance D of the screw cap 21 required for sealing to the container body 10. As a result, even if the tubular pipette 24 is formed with a length such that the tip opening of the tubular pipette 24 contacts the bottom surface of the container body 10, based on the state in which the screw cap 21 is completely unscrewed to the container body 10, the axial extension mechanism 28 can retract and move the tubular pipette 24 to a length greater than the relative axial distance D, making it possible to completely screw the screw cap 21 onto the container body 10 and seal it.

[0030] In this embodiment in particular, the axial extension mechanism 28 includes a compression spring 26 that biases the tubular pipette 24, which is the tip of the dropper 22, in the extension direction, and a through-lid 27 that limits the overall extension length of the dropper 22. This ensures that the overall length of the dropper 22 can be reliably restored when the screw cap 21 is separated from the container body 10, and prevents the compression spring 26 from falling out of the screw cap 21. If the elastic force of the bellows joint 25 is sufficiently large and sufficient restoring force can be expected, the compression spring 26 and the through-lid 27 may be omitted (not shown).

[0031] In the above explanation, if there are descriptions such as "identical," "equal," or "different" regarding external dimensions or size, these descriptions do not have a strict meaning. Rather, "identical," "equal," and "different" mean that tolerances and errors in design and manufacturing are acceptable, and that they are "substantially identical," "substantially equal," or "substantially different."

[0032] Similarly, descriptions including angular components or directions such as "vertical (perpendicular)," "horizontal (plane)," "right angle (orthogonal)," and "uniform (equivalent)" do not represent a strict meaning, but rather are due to design or manufacturing tolerances, errors, or artificial / visual methods (procedures), and mean "substantially vertical (perpendicular)," "substantially horizontal (plane)," "substantially right angle," and "substantially uniform (equivalent)."

[0033] In addition to what has already been described above, the methods described in the above embodiments and their respective modifications may be used in appropriate combinations.

[0034] Furthermore, although not to be exemplified individually, this invention may be implemented with various modifications, provided that they do not deviate from its spirit. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0035] 10 Container body 11 Opening 20 caps with droppers 21 Screw cap 22 Droppers 23 Hollow Head 24 Tubular pipettes 25 Bellows joint 26 Compression spring (an example of a biasing member) 27 Through cover (an example of a limiting member) 28 Axial expansion mechanism 100 liquid containers

Claims

1. A container body capable of storing liquid inside, A cap capable of sealing the opening of the container body, A dropper is attached to the cap such that the tip is stored inside the container body while the cap is sealing the container body. A liquid container having, The aforementioned dropper is A liquid container characterized by having an axial extension mechanism that allows the overall axial length to be extended or retracted.

2. The liquid container according to claim 1, characterized in that the cap is a screw cap.

3. The liquid container according to claim 1, characterized in that the axial extension mechanism comprises a bellows-structured member.

4. The liquid container according to claim 1, characterized in that the axial extension mechanism has a dimension setting that allows the axial length dimension of the dropper to be reduced to a length greater than the axial movement distance of the cap necessary for sealing to the container body.

5. The aforementioned axial extension mechanism is A biasing member that biases the tip of the dropper in the extension direction, The liquid container according to claim 4, further comprising a limiting member that limits the extension length of the dropper.

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