Powder dispensing container

Abstract

To provide a powder discharge container capable of stably discharging an appropriate amount of powder while suppressing scattering to the surroundings.SOLUTION: A powder discharge container 1 includes: a container 2 having a trunk part 2b and a mouth part 2c having flexibility and having a storage space S for storing powder; a hollow pipe 4A having an upper opening 4a, a lower opening 4b, and an air introduction port 4c positioned between the upper opening 4a and the lower opening 4b; and a cap 3 attached to the mouth part 2c to hold the pipe 4A inside the mouth part 2c and having a discharge port 3k connected to the upper opening 4a. When the trunk part 2b is pressed, the air in the storage space S flows from the air introduction port 4c toward the upper opening 4a, as a result, powder in the storage space S passes through the upper opening 4a passing through the inside of the pipe 4A from the lower opening 4b, and is discharged from the discharge port 3k.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a powder dispensing container capable of dispensing powder such as cosmetics, medicines, seasonings, etc. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art As a powder dispensing container that can store powder such as cosmetics, medicines, and seasonings and dispensing the powder when desired, for example, one disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.

[0003] The container of Patent Document 1 is tilted so that the cap faces downward, and a shaking operation is performed in that state to dispense an appropriate amount of powder. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Publication number 1-8525 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when shaking this type of container, a relatively large amount of powder tends to be dispensed. Also, when shaking, the powder often scatters to the surroundings, especially when the particle size of the powder is fine (such as powders used in makeup, childcare, and elderly care).

[0006] The present invention aims to solve these problems and provide a powder dispensing container that can stably dispense an appropriate amount of powder while preventing it from scattering into the surrounding area. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention relates to a container having a flexible body portion, a mouth portion and a bottom wall portion connected to the body portion, the container having a storage space for storing powder inside the body portion, the bottom wall portion and the mouth portion, a hollow pipe having an upper opening, a lower opening, and an air inlet located between the upper opening and the lower opening; before The pipe is held inside the mouth. A lower annular wall and A discharge port connected to the upper opening and Have And, the mouth part is attached A cap; The air inlet is provided below the lower annular wall and passes through the pipe, the lower opening faces the bottom wall portion without any intervening material other than powder; When the body portion is pressed, air in the storage space flows from the air inlet toward the upper opening, and the powder in the storage space passes through the lower opening, the inside of the pipe, the upper opening, and is discharged from the discharge port. The pipe is cylindrical, and the inner diameter of the lower opening is 0.8 mm or more and 6.4 mm or less. When the area of ​​the air inlet is S1 and the area of ​​the lower opening is S2, the powder discharging container satisfies the following formula (1). 1 × S2 ≦ S1 ≦ 16 × S2 (1)

[0010] It is preferable that one of the body portion and the pipe has a restricting portion that protrudes toward the other of the body portion and the pipe to restrict the amount of pressure applied to the body portion. Effect of the Invention

[0011] In the powder dispensing container of the present invention, the powder is dispensed by pressing the body without using a swinging motion, so that the problem of a relatively large amount of powder being dispensed and scattering around, which was common with conventional powder dispensing containers, can be suppressed. Also, as will be described later, even with powder dispensing containers that dispense powder by pressing the body, it was sometimes difficult to adjust the amount of powder dispensed if a pipe without an air inlet was used, but with the powder dispensing container of the present invention that includes a pipe with an air inlet, the amount of powder dispensed can be stably adjusted. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional side view showing one embodiment of a powder discharging container according to the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional side view showing a modified example of the powder dispensing container according to the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which powder is discharged from the powder discharging container shown in FIG. 2, in which a large amount of powder is contained in the container. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which powder is discharged from the powder discharging container shown in FIG. 2, in which the amount of powder contained in the container is small. [Diagram 5] 5 is a diagram showing the results of checking the powder discharge state in the powder discharging container shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a powder dispensing container according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this specification, the vertical direction is the direction along the illustrated axis O (the axis of a pipe 4A described later). The radial direction is the direction perpendicular to the axis O in a plane perpendicular to the axis O, and the circumferential direction is the direction rotating around the axis O in this plane.

[0014] First, the configuration of a powder dispensing container 1, which is one embodiment of a powder dispensing container according to the present invention, will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The powder dispensing container 1 of this embodiment includes a container 2, a cap 3, a pipe 4A, and a lid 5, which are made of synthetic resin.

[0015] 1, the container 2 has a bottom wall 2a and a body 2b connected to the outer edge of the bottom wall 2a. A cylindrical mouth 2c is connected to the upper end of the body 2b, and a neck ring 2d extending in the circumferential direction and a male screw portion 2e located above the neck ring 2d are provided on the outer circumferential surface of the mouth 2c.

[0016] As shown in the figure, a storage space S for storing powder (such as powder used for makeup, childcare, or elderly care) is provided inside bottom wall 2a, body 2b, and mouth 2c. Body 2b is flexible, and storage space S is pressurized by pressing it.

[0017] The cap 3 includes a top wall 3a located above the mouth 2c and extending horizontally, a cap peripheral wall 3b extending downward from the outer edge of the top wall 3a to surround the mouth 2c, and a female thread 3c provided on the inner peripheral surface of the cap peripheral wall 3b. The female thread 3c can be screwed into the male thread 2e, and the cap 3 is attached to the mouth 2c by screwing the female thread 3c into the male thread 2e.

[0018] The central portion of the top wall portion 3a is provided with a through hole 3d penetrating the top wall portion 3a in the vertical direction. The lower surface of the top wall portion 3a is provided with a lower annular wall 3e surrounding the through hole 3d, and an annular seal wall 3f located radially outside the lower annular wall 3e and abutting the inner peripheral surface of the mouth portion 2c when the cap 3 is attached to the mouth portion 2c. The upper surface of the top wall portion 3a is provided with an upper annular wall 3g surrounding the through hole 3d, and a step portion 3h is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the upper surface of the upper annular wall 3g by recessing the upper surface downward. The upper surface of the upper annular wall 3g is provided with a visor portion 3j that extends upward along the axis O from the side where the hinge portion 5a described later is provided, and then extends in a direction intersecting the axis O (horizontal in this embodiment) to cover the upper portion of the through hole 3d. On the side opposite to the side where the hinge portion 5a is provided, between the end of the overhanging portion 3j and the upper end of the upper annular wall 3g, a discharge port 3k that opens toward the side is provided. The opening area of ​​the discharge port 3k is smaller than the opening area of ​​the through hole 3d (the area of ​​the through hole 3d in the cross section).

[0019] The pipe 4A is hollow (in this embodiment, cylindrical with the same diameter from top to bottom) and has an upper opening 4a and a lower opening 4b. Between the upper opening 4a and the lower opening 4b (in this embodiment, closer to the upper opening 4a), a hole (air inlet 4c) is provided in the pipe 4A that extends along the axis O and penetrates the pipe 4A. An inner passage T is provided inside the pipe 4A, and the upper opening 4a, the lower opening 4b, and the air inlet 4c are connected to the inner passage T. The pipe 4A is fitted and held in the lower annular wall 3e by inserting its upper end into the inside of the lower annular wall 3e. When the pipe 4A is fitted and held in the lower annular wall 3e, the air inlet 4c is located below the lower annular wall 3e.

[0020] Note that the pipe 4B shown in Fig. 2 may be used instead of the pipe 4A described above. The pipe 4B is cylindrical like the pipe 4A, and further includes a disk-shaped restricting portion 4d on its outer circumferential surface that protrudes radially outward (protrudes toward the body portion 2b). In this embodiment, a total of two restricting portions 4d are provided at intervals in the vertical direction.

[0021] The lid 5 is integrally connected to the cap 3 via a bendable hinge portion 5a. The lid 5 has a top wall 5b located above the top wall portion 3a when the hinge portion 5a is bent inward from the open state shown in FIG. 1 to the closed state, and a lid peripheral wall portion 5c provided on the outer edge of the top wall 5b. The lid peripheral wall portion 5c also has a knob portion 5d extending radially outward on the opposite side to the side where the hinge portion 5a is located. A lid seal wall 5e is provided on the back surface of the top wall 5b, which abuts against the step portion 3h when the lid 5 is in the closed state.

[0022] Next, a method of discharging powder from the powder discharging container 1 equipped with the pipe 4B shown in Figures 2 and 3 will be described. Note that the method of discharging powder from the powder discharging container 1 equipped with the pipe 4A shown in Figure 1 is similar to that of the powder discharging container 1 equipped with the pipe 4B.

[0023] When discharging powder from the powder dispensing container 1, the lid 5 is opened as shown in Fig. 2, and the body 2b is pressed. As a result, as shown in Fig. 3, air in the storage space S flows rapidly inside the pipe 4B from the air inlet 4c toward the upper opening 4a, and then passes through the through hole 3d of the cap 3 and is discharged from the discharge port 3k. That is, the inside of the pipe 4B becomes negative pressure due to the rapid flow of air at its upper part. Therefore, the powder that has entered the inner passage T is sucked up, and the powder in the storage space S is sucked up from the lower opening 4b, so that the sucked up powder is discharged from the discharge port 3k.

[0024] In this way, the powder dispensing container 1 of this embodiment can dispense powder by pressing the body without using the swinging motion of conventional powder dispensing containers, and therefore can suppress the problem of a relatively large amount of powder being dispensed and scattering around, which was common with conventional powder dispensing containers. Also, since the body 2b can be pressed while the container 2 is placed on a desk or the like in an upright position, powder can be dispensed while the discharge port 3k is directed to the intended location.

[0025] Incidentally, the inventor of the present application also confirmed the discharge state of the powder in a comparative example (not shown in the figure) (which has the same configuration as the powder discharge container 1 shown in FIG. 1, but the air inlet 4c provided in the pipe 4A is eliminated, and a pipe is used in which only the upper opening 4a and the lower opening 4b are connected to the inner passage T). In the powder discharge container of the comparative example, when the body of the container is pressed to pressurize the storage space, the air and powder in the storage space pass through the internal passage from the lower opening of the pipe and are discharged from the discharge port of the cap. However, in the powder discharge container of the comparative example, it was sometimes difficult to adjust the discharge amount of the powder (control the discharge amount) by adjusting the pressure of the body. On the other hand, according to the powder discharge container 1 of the present embodiment, it was possible to stably adjust the discharge amount of the powder (control the discharge amount) by adjusting the pressure of the body 2b.

[0026] In addition, when powder is discharged from the powder discharge container 1 shown in FIG. 1, if the body 2b is pressed strongly (pressed to the extent that the inner peripheral surface of the body 2b comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the pipe 4A), the amount of powder discharged becomes excessive, and the powder may be discharged from the discharge port 3k in the form of lumps. For this reason, in order to prevent the body 2b from being pressed excessively, it is preferable to provide a restricting portion 4d as in the pipe 4B in FIG. 2. Note that the restricting portion 4d is not limited to the one shown in the figure, and the shape and number of the restricting portion 4d can be changed as appropriate. In addition, a portion protruding toward the axis O may be provided on the inside of the body 2b, and this portion may be configured to contact the outer peripheral surface of the pipe even if the body 2b is pressed excessively (i.e., this protruding portion may function as a restricting portion).

[0027] Furthermore, the inventors of the present application have found that the powder discharge state is improved by setting the inner diameter of the lower opening 4b of the pipes 4A and 4B and the relationship between the area (opening area) of the lower opening 4b and the air inlet 4c in a predetermined range. This point will be explained with reference to the confirmation result on the powder discharge state shown in FIG. 5. The confirmation result in FIG. 5 is for the powder discharge container 1 shown in FIG. 2, and shows the discharge amount of powder (unit: mg) when the inner diameter of the lower opening 4b of the pipe 4B is changed in the range of 0.4 mm to 6.4 mm, and when the area of ​​the air inlet is S1 and the area of ​​the lower opening is S2, the amount of powder discharged (unit: mg) is changed in the range of (1 / 8)×S2≦S1≦16×S2 (the range in FIG. 5 where the area S2 of the lower opening: the area S1 of the air inlet is 8:1 to 1:16). Regarding the "amount of powder in the container" in FIG. 5, "large" is a state in which the upper surface of the powder contained in the storage space S is located near the air inlet 4c as shown in FIG. 3, and "small" is a state in which the upper surface of the powder contained in the storage space S is located below the lower opening 4b as shown in FIG. 4. When discharging the powder, the body 2b is pressed to the extent that its inner circumferential surface comes into contact with the restricting portion 4d as shown in the figure. In addition, when the difference in the amount of powder discharged between the cases where the "amount of powder in the container" is "large" and "small" exceeds 0.4 mg, there is an impression that there is a difference in the amount of powder discharged. For this reason, if the difference between the cases where the "amount of powder in the container" is "large" and "small" is 0.4 mg or less, it is judged that the amount of powder discharged from the start of use of the powder discharge container 1 and the end of use is small and good. In Figure 5, "lumpy" indicates that the powder was discharged from the discharge port 3k in clumps, and "○" indicates that it was visually confirmed that the amount of powder discharged from the discharge port 3k was good (there was little variation in the amount of powder discharged between the start and end of use of the powder dispensing container 1) and that the condition of the discharged powder was good (the powder did not spread too far and did not form clumps).

[0028] When the confirmation was performed under such conditions, when a pipe 4B with an inner diameter of the lower opening 4b of 0.4 mm was used, the powder sometimes clogged inside the pipe 4B. In addition, when the inner diameter of the lower opening 4b was 0.4 mm and the relationship between the area S2 of the lower opening and the area S1 of the air inlet was 1:2 or 1:16, the difference in the amount of powder discharged when the "amount of powder in the container" was "large" and when it was "small" exceeded 0.4 mg. On the other hand, when the inner diameter of the lower opening 4b was 0.8 mm or more and 6.4 mm or less, the phenomenon of the powder clogging inside the pipe 4B was not observed, and the difference in the amount of powder discharged when the "amount of powder in the container" was "large" and when it was "small" was also 0.4 mg or less. For this reason, it is preferable that the inner diameter of the lower opening 4b is 0.8 mm or more and 6.4 mm or less.

[0029] Furthermore, when the inner diameter of lower opening 4b is 0.8 mm or more and 6.4 mm or less, the phenomenon of powder clogging inside pipe 4B was not observed when the relationship between the area S2 of the lower opening and the area S1 of the air inlet is in the range of 8:1 to 2:1, but when the "amount of powder in the container" is "large," the phenomenon of powder being discharged in clumps was observed. For this reason, it is preferable that the inner diameter of lower opening 4b is 0.8 mm or more and 6.4 mm or less, and further, the relationship between the area S1 of the air inlet and the area S2 of the lower opening is 1×S2≦S1≦16×S2 (in FIG. 5, the range in which the area S2 of the lower opening: the area S1 of the air inlet is 1:1 to 1:16).

[0030] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the spirit of the present invention described in the claims unless otherwise specifically limited in the above description. Furthermore, the effects of the above embodiment are merely examples of the effects resulting from the present invention, and do not mean that the effects of the present invention are limited to the above effects. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1: Powder discharge container 2: Container 2a: Bottom wall part 2b: Torso 2c: Mouth 2d:Neck ring 2e: Male thread 3: Cap 3a: Ceiling wall part 3b: Cap peripheral wall 3c: Female thread 3d:Through hole 3e: Lower annular wall 3F: Seal wall 3g: Upper annular wall 3h: Step part 3j: Eave 3k:Discharge port 4A, 4B: Pipe 4a: Top opening 4b: Lower opening 4c: Air inlet 4d: Regulatory Department 5: Lid 5a: Hinge part 5b:Top wall 5c: Lid body peripheral wall part 5d: Knob 5e: Lid body seal wall O: Axis line S: Containment space T:Inner passage

Claims

1. a container having a flexible body portion, a mouth portion and a bottom wall portion connected to the body portion, the container having a storage space for storing powder inside the body portion, the bottom wall portion and the mouth portion; a hollow pipe having an upper opening, a lower opening, and an air inlet located between the upper opening and the lower opening; a cap attached to the mouth portion, the cap having a lower annular wall that holds the pipe inside the mouth portion and a discharge port that communicates with the upper opening, The air inlet is provided below the lower annular wall and passes through the pipe, the lower opening faces the bottom wall portion without any intervening material other than powder; When the body portion is pressed, air in the storage space flows from the air inlet toward the upper opening, and the powder in the storage space passes through the lower opening, the inside of the pipe, the upper opening, and is discharged from the discharge port. The pipe is cylindrical, and the inner diameter of the lower opening is 0.8 mm or more and 6.4 mm or less. A powder dispensing container that satisfies the following formula (1), where the area of ​​the air inlet is S1 and the area of ​​the lower opening is S2. 1 × S2 ≦ S1 ≦ 16 × S2 ... (1)

2. 2. The powder dispensing container according to claim 1, wherein one of the body and the pipe has a restricting portion that protrudes toward the other of the body and the pipe to restrict an amount of pressure applied to the body.

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