Powder dispensing cap

Abstract

To provide a cap for shaking out powder that can prevent powder from adhering to multiple through-holes.SOLUTION: A cap for shaking out powder 1 includes a lid body 2 attached to a container B containing powder P, an upper lid 3 that can be freely opened and closed with respect to the lid body 2, and a hinge 4 that connects the lid body 2 with the upper lid 3. The lid body 2 has multiple through-holes 20 through which powder P is shaken out from the container B. The upper lid 3 has multiple sealing protrusions 31 that are inserted into the through-holes 20 when closed on the lid body 2. The sealing protrusions 31 have tubular shapes in which hollow parts 30 communicating with the inside of the container B are formed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a powder dispensing cap that is attached to a container that contains powder and that dispenses the powder. [Background technology]

[0002] Powdered seasonings such as salt and / or pepper are stored and used in a container. When using the powder, the user opens the top lid of a powder dispensing cap attached to the container from the lid body, and then tilts the container, causing the powder to be dispensed through a through-hole formed in the lid body.

[0003] Powdered seasonings generally absorb moisture easily, and once they do, they harden. For this reason, containers that maintain airtightness have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The container (a powdered food dispensing and sprinkling container) described in Patent Document 1 is sealed with a laminate film 4 shown in FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1, and is fitted with a powder dispensing cap (cap 5) shown in FIG. 2 of Patent Document 1. The powder dispensing cap (cap 5) has three through-holes (dispensing openings 5-2) through which the powder is dispensed, as shown in FIG. 9 of Patent Document 1. These through-holes (dispensing openings 5-2) are sealed by inserting sealing protrusions (protrusions 5-3) on an upper lid (hinge lid portion 5-4) shown in FIG. 10 of Patent Document 1. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-51567 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the container (powdered food dispensing and sprinkling container) of Patent Document 1 has a problem in that once the laminate film 4 is opened, the powder (powdered food) absorbs moisture and adheres to the through-hole (dispensing opening 5-2). In particular, if there are multiple through-holes (dispensing openings 5-2) as in the container (powdered food dispensing and sprinkling container) of Patent Document 1, the through-holes (dispensing openings 5-2) are necessarily small to prevent excessive dispensing of the powder (powdered food), making it easy for the powder (powdered food) to adhere to the through-hole (dispensing opening 5-2). If the powder (powdered food) adheres to the through-hole (dispensing opening 5-2), it becomes difficult to close the top lid (hinge lid portion 5-4), which causes moisture to be absorbed not only by the through-hole but also by the powder (powdered food) inside the container (powdered food dispensing and sprinkling container).

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a powder dispensing cap that can prevent powder from adhering to a plurality of through-holes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, a powder dispensing cap according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a lid body attached to a container for storing powder; an upper lid that can be opened and closed relative to the lid body; a hinge connecting the lid body and the top lid, The lid body has a plurality of through holes through which powder is shaken out of the container, the upper cover has a plurality of sealing protrusions that are inserted into the plurality of through holes when the upper cover is closed on the cover body, the plurality of sealing protrusions are cylindrical in shape and have hollow portions that communicate with the interior of the container; a leaf spring that biases the lid body in a direction to open the upper lid, the leaf spring has one end connected to the upper lid and the other end connected to an upper surface of a plate material of the lid body in which the plurality of through holes are formed, before When the lid is opened relative to the lid body, the leaf spring is located above the hinge. the side farther from the plate than the hinge When the top cover is closed on the cover body, the leaf spring passes through the hinge. a side closer to the plate than the hinge Pass through. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] With the powder dispensing cap, when the top lid is closed onto the lid body, the powder adhering to the through holes is easily scraped off by the sealing protrusion, thereby preventing powder from adhering to multiple through holes. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a powder dispensing cap and a container to which the powder dispensing cap is attached according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing a plurality of through holes and sealing protrusions of the powder dispensing cap, as well as the vicinity thereof. [Figure 3] 3 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which powder adhering to the through-hole in FIG. 2 is scraped off by a sealing protrusion. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a plan view of the powder dispensing cap with the top lid opened at 90° relative to the lid body. [Figure 5] 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 4. [Figure 6] 6 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which a user presses the top lid with a finger to close the lid body of FIG. 5. FIG. [Figure 7] 10 is a cross-sectional view of the powder dispensing cap with the top lid opened at a predetermined angle relative to the lid body. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a plan view of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A powder dispensing cap according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] As shown in Figure 1, the powder dispensing cap 1 comprises a lid body 2 attached to a container B that contains powder P, an upper lid 3 that can be opened and closed relative to the lid body 2, and a hinge 4 that connects the lid body 2 and the upper lid 3.

[0014] The lid body 2 has a plurality of through holes 20 through which the powder P is sprinkled from the container B. The top lid 3 has a plurality of sealing protrusions 31 that are inserted into the plurality of through holes 20 when the top lid 3 is closed to the lid body 2. The plurality of sealing protrusions 31 are cylindrical and have hollow portions 30 that communicate with the interior of the container B. Because the sealing protrusions 31 are cylindrical, when the powder P adheres to the through holes 20 as shown in FIG. 2, the powder P adhered to the through holes 20 is easily scraped off by the sealing protrusions 31 as shown in FIG. 3. This is because the sealing protrusions 31 have a smaller area in contact with the powder P adhered to the through holes 20 than when the hollow portions 30 are not formed, and therefore the pressure acting on the powder P is higher. The outer edge of the powder P adhered to the through holes 20 is pushed in by the sealing protrusions 31 with high pressure and falls into the interior of the container B. The powder P adhering to the through-hole 20 other than the outer edge (i.e., the central part) falls together with the outer edge, or the outer edge falls, losing its connection with the inner surface of the through-hole 20 and falling.

[0015] A preferred configuration of the powder dispensing cap 1 will now be described.

[0016] 1, the number of through holes 20 and the number of sealing protrusions 31 are the same, and when the top lid 3 is closed on the lid main body 2, all of the sealing protrusions 31 are inserted into all of the through holes 20. The plurality of through holes 20 are of two or more sizes, and are arranged such that larger through holes 20L are surrounded by smaller through holes 20S in a plan view.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, in a more preferred configuration, the thicknesses t and T of the sealing protrusions 31 are 15% to 30% of the inner diameters d and D of the through holes 20. That is, t / d and T / D are 15% to 30%. Even more preferably, t / d is 20% to 30% and / or T / D is 15% to 25%. This allows the sealing protrusions 31 to apply an appropriately high pressure to the powder P, thereby more easily scraping off the powder P adhering to the through holes 20. As shown in FIG. 3, when the top cover 3 is closed on the lid main body 2, each sealing protrusion 31 contacts the inner surface of each through hole 20 (more preferably, the entire surface of the inner surface) to prevent the powder P from remaining on the inner surface. Furthermore, when the top cover 3 is closed on the lid main body 2, each sealing protrusion 31 does not protrude from the lower end of each through hole 20. In other words, when the top lid 3 is closed on the lid main body 2, the lower end of each sealing protrusion 31 is located at the lower end of each through hole 20 or is located inside each through hole 20. Since each sealing protrusion 31 does not protrude from the lower end of each through hole 20, each through hole 20 does not widen even if the top lid 3 is repeatedly opened and closed with respect to the lid main body 2, that is, even if each sealing protrusion 31 is repeatedly inserted into and removed from each through hole 20. Because each through hole 20 does not widen with use, the adhering powder P can be easily scraped off by the sealing protrusions 31 in a stable manner.

[0018] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the lid main body 2 includes an outer tube portion 21 and an inner tube portion 22 that sandwich the upper end of the container B from the outside and inside, and an upper plate 23 that connects the outer tube portion 21 and the inner tube portion 22. The outer tube portion 21 and the inner tube portion 22 attach the lid main body 2 to the container B by sandwiching the upper end of the container B from the outside and inside. The upper plate 23 includes a lower plate portion 24 that is covered by the upper cover 3 that is closed on the lid main body 2, a higher plate portion 25 that is flush with the upper surface of the upper cover 3 that is closed on the lid main body 2, and an inclined plate portion 26 that connects the lower plate portion 24 and the higher plate portion 25. As shown in FIG. 4 , the lower plate portion 24 is a plate material in which the aforementioned multiple through holes 20 are formed. The higher plate portion 25 is a plate material that is larger in area than the lower plate portion 24 in a plan view and has a major arc-shaped outer periphery. The inclined plate portion 26 is not a single straight line when viewed in a plane, but consists of two straight line portions 27 to which the hinge 4 is connected, and a U-shaped portion 28 formed between the two straight line portions 27.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 5 , the powder dispenser cap 1 includes a leaf spring 5 that biases the top lid 3 relative to the lid body 2 at least in the direction of opening the top lid 3. The leaf spring 5 has one end 51 connected to the top lid 3 and the other end 52 connected to the top surface of the lid body 2. The leaf spring 5 exerts a higher biasing force when the other end 52 is connected to the top surface of the lid body 2 than when the other end 52 is connected to an inclined portion such as the inclined plate portion 26. This is because, when the top lid 3 is closed on the lid body 2, the leaf spring 5 bends more when the other end 52 is connected to the top surface of the lid body 2 than when the other end 52 is connected to an inclined portion such as the inclined plate portion 26. The portion to which the other end 52 of the leaf spring 5 is connected is, for example, a portion of the top surface of the lid body 2 that is surrounded by the U-shaped portion 28 on the top surface of the bottom plate portion 24. 6, the leaf spring 5 biases the top lid 3 in the direction of opening it relative to the lid body 2 (see the outline arrow), making the user U aware of the need for a strong force when closing the top lid 3 relative to the lid body 2. Therefore, the top lid 3 is closed relative to the lid body 2 with a stronger force, and the sealing protrusion 31 is inserted into the through-hole 20 with a stronger force, and as a result, the powder P adhering to the through-hole 20 is more easily scraped off by the sealing protrusion 31. This is more noticeable the stronger the biasing force of the leaf spring 5.

[0020] The leaf spring 5 may also bias the top cover 3 in a direction to close it relative to the lid main body 2. As shown in Fig. 7, such a leaf spring 5 does not bias when the top cover 3 is open at a predetermined angle relative to the lid main body 2 (shown by the solid line in Fig. 7), but biases the top cover 3 in the opening direction when the angle relative to the lid main body 2 is less than the predetermined angle (shown by the hollow arrow pointing to the upper right in Fig. 7), and biases the top cover 3 in the closing direction when the angle relative to the lid main body 2 is more than the predetermined angle (shown by the hollow arrow pointing to the lower left in Fig. 7).

[0021] In addition to the sealing protrusions 31, the top cover 3 has a cover plate 32 from which the sealing protrusions 31 protrude, and an arc-shaped engagement portion 33 provided on the periphery of the cover plate 32. As shown in FIG. 8 , the cover plate 32 has a bow shape with a minor arc and a chord in a plan view. Furthermore, when the top cover 3 is closed on the lid main body 2, the cover plate 32 faces the bottom plate portion 24 but does not contact the bottom plate portion 24. The arc-shaped engagement portion 33 is a portion that engages with a portion 21e of the outer peripheral edge of the outer tube portion 21 when the top cover 3 is closed on the lid main body 2. The hinge 4 is connected to the end of the cover plate 32 facing the two linear portions 27. Furthermore, one end 51 of the leaf spring 5 is connected to the end of the cover plate 32 facing the U-shaped portion 28. The position of the hinge 4 serves as the center of rotation when the top cover 3 opens and closes with respect to the lid main body 2.

[0022] The function of the powder dispensing cap 1 will now be described.

[0023] When the powder P is not in use, the powder dispensing cap 1 keeps the top lid 3 closed relative to the lid body 2, thereby preventing the powder P contained in the container B from absorbing moisture. On the other hand, when the powder P is used, the powder dispensing cap 1 keeps the top lid 3 open relative to the lid body 2, as shown in FIG. 1, so that the powder P can be dispensed through the through-holes 20. Since there are multiple through-holes 20, each through-hole 20 is relatively small to prevent excessive dispensing of the powder P. For this reason, the powder P tends to adhere to the through-holes 20, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0024] After the powder P has been used, the powder dispensing cap 1 closes the top lid 3 on the lid body 2, thereby preventing the powder P contained in the container B from absorbing moisture again. When the top lid 3 is closed on the lid body 2, the powder P adhering to the through-hole 20 is scraped off by the sealing protrusion 31, as shown in Figure 3. In particular, the cylindrical shape of the sealing protrusion 31 applies high pressure to the powder P, making it easy to scrape off the powder P adhering to the through-hole 20.

[0025] In this way, with the powder dispensing cap 1, when the top lid 3 is closed on the lid body 2, the powder P adhering to the through holes 20 is easily scraped off by the sealing protrusions 31, thereby preventing the powder P from adhering to multiple through holes 20.

[0026] In addition, the leaf spring 5, which biases the upper lid 3 in the direction of opening it relative to the lid main body 2, causes the upper lid 3 to be closed relative to the lid main body 2 with even greater force, and as a result, the powder P that has adhered to the through holes 20 can be more easily scraped off by the sealing protrusions 31, thereby further preventing the powder P from adhering to the multiple through holes 20.

[0027] Furthermore, one end 51 of the leaf spring 5 is connected to the top lid 3 and the other end 52 is connected to the top surface of the lid body 2, so that the biasing force of the leaf spring 5 is increased, and the top lid 3 is closed with even greater force against the lid body 2. As a result, the powder P adhering to the through-holes 20 is more easily scraped off by the sealing protrusions 31, and therefore, the powder P can be more effectively prevented from adhering to the plurality of through-holes 20.

[0028] In the above embodiment, the through hole 20 is illustrated as a perfect circle in a plan view, but it may be other circular shapes such as an ellipse, or other shapes such as a square. Of course, it is preferable that the sealing protrusion 31 corresponds to the through hole 20.

[0029] In the above embodiment, it is preferable that the number of through holes 20 and the number of sealing protrusions 31 are the same, but it is sufficient that there are a plurality of both. For example, the number of through holes 20 and the number of sealing protrusions 31 may be different as long as there are a plurality of both.

[0030] Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. Of the configurations of the powder dispensing cap 1 described in the above-described embodiments, those other than those described as the first invention in the "Means for Solving the Problems" are optional and may be deleted or modified as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] P powder B container 1 Powder dispensing cap 2 Lid body 3 Top lid 4 hinges 5. Leaf springs 20 through holes 30 Hollow part 31 Sealing protrusion 51 One end 52 Other end

Claims

[Claim 1] a lid body attached to a container containing powder; an upper lid that can be opened and closed relative to the lid body; a hinge connecting the lid body and the top lid, The lid body has a plurality of through holes through which powder is shaken out of the container, the upper cover has a plurality of sealing protrusions that are inserted into the plurality of through holes when the upper cover is closed on the cover body, the plurality of sealing protrusions are cylindrical in shape and have hollow portions that communicate with the interior of the container; a leaf spring that biases the lid body in a direction to open the upper lid, the leaf spring has one end connected to the upper lid and the other end connected to an upper surface of a plate material of the lid body in which the plurality of through holes are formed, When the top lid is opened relative to the lid body, the leaf spring passes from the plate material above the hinge on a side farther from the hinge, and when the top lid is closed relative to the lid body, the leaf spring passes from the plate material below the hinge on a side closer to the hinge.

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