Dispensing cap and dispensing container

Abstract

To provide a discharge cap and a discharge container which can effectively prevent content from dripping even when roughly put in an inverted posture on a placement surface, while maintaining usability.SOLUTION: A discharge cap 2 includes cap body parts 3, 5, a slit valve 4, and a slide member 6. The slide member 6 has a protruding part 6f that protrudes outward beyond a tip part 3c in a state that the tip part 3c is away from a mounting surface PS. The cap body parts 3, 5 have opposing walls 5a that face a partition wall 4c in the state that the tip part 3c is away from the mounting surface PS. When the container 1 is placed in an inverted posture on the placement surface PS, the slide member 6 is slid by the protruding part 6f, and simultaneously the slide member 6 comes into contact to slide the slit valve 4, thereby, the opposing wall 5a contacts the partition wall 4c to close a discharge passage T.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a dispensing cap that is attached to the mouth of a container, and to a dispensing container having a dispensing cap attached to the mouth. [Background technology]

[0002] Dispensing containers with various dispensing caps attached to the openings of containers containing kitchen detergents, household detergents, shampoos, conditioners, etc. have been known for some time. For example, Patent Document 1 shows a dispensing container in which a dispensing cap is attached to the opening of a container, which can be placed upside down on a flat surface such as a desk, and when in use, the container is lifted in the inverted position and the body of the container is pressed to dispense the contents from the dispensing cap.

[0003] The dispensing container of Patent Document 1 is equipped with a dispensing cap equipped with a slit valve. When the container is placed in an inverted position, the slit of this slit valve closes to prevent the contents from being dispensed, but when the container is pressed and the internal pressure increases, the wall portion with the slit elastically deforms, thereby opening the slit and allowing the contents to be dispensed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2004 / 002843 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when a dispensing container equipped with such a dispensing cap is forcefully placed in an inverted position on a surface, the impact can cause the contents to leak from the slit and drip onto the surface. Dripping of the contents can be prevented by making the slit harder to open by increasing the thickness of the wall where the slit is provided or by increasing the hardness of the material used for the slit valve. However, in this case, the slit becomes harder to open even during normal use, and the contents cannot be dispensed without applying strong pressure to the container, reducing usability.

[0006] The present invention aims to solve such problems and to provide a dispensing cap and a dispensing container that can effectively prevent the contents from dripping even when the cap is placed forcefully on a support surface in an inverted position while maintaining ease of use. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention provides a pouring cap that is attached to the mouth of a container and supports the container when the container is placed in an inverted position on a support surface, The container has an annular wall whose tip contacts the placement surface to support the container, and a communication port that communicates with the content storage space of the container. A base member-side claw portion is provided on the radially inner side of the annular wall, and a through hole is provided on the radially outer side of the base member-side claw portion. A cap main body; a slit valve having an elastically deformable partition wall and slits dividing the partition wall into a plurality of partition wall portions, wherein when the contents are fed from the communication port to a pouring passage connected to the slits, the partition wall portion elastically deforms to pour out the contents; a slide member-side claw portion, the slide member-side claw portion being attached to the cap body by inserting the slide member-side claw portion into the through hole and engaging with the base member-side claw portion; a slide member that is held movably along the axial direction of the annular wall relative to the cap body, the slide member has a protruding portion that protrudes outward beyond the tip end portion when the tip end portion is separated from the placement surface, the cap body has an opposing wall that faces the partition wall when the tip end is separated from the placement surface, When the container is placed on the placement surface in an inverted position, the sliding member slides due to the protrusion contacting the placement surface. The slide member side claw portion When the opposing wall contacts the partition wall, the slit valve also slides, and the opposing wall contacts the partition wall to close the pouring passage.

[0008] The opposing wall preferably has a protrusion that protrudes toward the partition wall.

[0009] It is preferable that the slit valve has a base portion connected to the partition wall and thicker than the partition wall, and the sliding member contacts the base portion when sliding.

[0010] It is preferable that the slit valve has an elastic portion supported by the cap main body portion, and that the elastic portion elastically deforms when the container is placed in an inverted position on the support surface and the slit valve slides using the sliding member, and restores its original shape when the container is moved away from the support surface, thereby moving the slit valve.

[0011] It is preferable that the cap further comprises a lid portion connected to the annular wall via a hinge portion and swinging between a closed position in which the lid portion covers the partition wall and is held by the cap body portion, and an open position in which the lid portion exposes the partition wall.

[0012] The annular wall has an engaging portion protruding from an outer circumferential surface, The cover preferably has an engaged portion that engages with the engaging portion in the open position.

[0013] The present invention also provides a pouring container having the above-mentioned pouring cap attached to the opening. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] With the dispensing cap and dispensing container of the present invention configured as described above, when the container is placed in an inverted position on a support surface, the protrusion that contacts the support surface slides the sliding member, which then contacts the support surface and slides the slit valve, causing the opposing wall to contact the partition wall and close the dispensing passage. Therefore, even if the dispensing container is placed in an inverted position on a support surface with force, it is possible to effectively prevent the contents from dripping. Furthermore, because the sliding member returns to its original position when the container is lifted from the support surface, the slit valve can move smoothly during normal use and usability is not impaired. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing an embodiment of a dispensing container according to the present invention in an upright position, in which (a) is a plan view and (b) is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line AA. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line BB shown in FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is a diagram showing the state in which the dispensing container shown in FIG. 1 is placed in an inverted position on a placement surface. FIG. [Figure 4] 1(a) is a partially enlarged view showing the state in which the pouring passage is closed, and FIG. 1(b) is a partially enlarged view showing the state immediately before the pouring container is lifted from the mounting surface and the contents are poured out. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Hereinafter, one embodiment of a dispensing cap and a dispensing container according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The axis O shown here is the central axis of the annular wall 3a described below. In the following description, the radial direction refers to a direction perpendicular to the axis O in a plane perpendicular to the axis O, and the circumferential direction refers to a direction circumferentially around the axis O in this plane.

[0017] As shown in Figure 1, the dispensing container 10 of this embodiment includes a container 1 and a dispensing cap 2. The dispensing cap 2 is composed of a base member 3, a slit valve 4, an inner stopper 5, and a slide member 6. The base member 3 and the inner stopper 5 correspond to the "cap body" in this specification. Each member constituting the dispensing container 10 of this embodiment is formed in a shape centered on an axis O as shown in the figure.

[0018] In this embodiment, the container 1 is formed in a bottle shape as shown in the figure. The container 1 has a disk-shaped bottom 1a, a cylindrical body 1b provided on the outer edge of the bottom 1a, a cylindrical mouth 1c with a smaller diameter than the body 1b, and a male thread 1d provided on the outer circumferential surface of the mouth 1c. A content-accommodating space S for accommodating contents is defined inside the container 1. In the container 1 of this embodiment, after the contents are accommodated in the content-accommodating space S, the content-accommodating space S is sealed by adhering a sealing material SM shown in FIG. 2 to the mouth 1c. The sealing material SM is removed from the mouth 1c when the container is in use.

[0019] The base member 3 has an annular wall 3a that surrounds the mouth portion 1c. An internal thread portion 3b that corresponds to the external thread portion 1d is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the annular wall 3a. As shown in Figure 2, when the container 1 is in an upright position, the upper portion of the annular wall 3a is curved radially outward, and its tip portion 3c is shaped to bulge outward.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 2 , a top wall 3d is provided radially inward of the annular wall 3a. In this embodiment, the top wall 3d has an outer edge connected to the annular wall 3a that extends horizontally radially inward, then slopes upward radially inward, and then extends horizontally radially inward again. An opening 3e is provided at the center of the top wall 3d, penetrating the top wall 3d. A claw-shaped base member-side claw 3f is provided on the top surface of the top wall 3d radially outward of the opening 3e. A plurality of through holes 3g are provided radially outward of the base member-side claw 3f, penetrating the top wall 3d at intervals in the circumferential direction. A retaining portion 3h, whose tip portion bulges radially outward, is provided radially outward of the through hole 3g. A recessed portion 3j, into which a slit valve 4 and an inner plug 5 are fitted, is provided on the underside of the annular wall 3a.

[0021] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, a thin, bendable hinge portion 3k is provided at the top of the annular wall 3a. A lid portion 3m is integrally connected to the hinge portion 3k. The lid portion 3m can be swung relative to the annular wall 3a, with the hinge portion 3k as the base point. In FIG. 1, the position of the lid portion 3m shown by the solid line is referred to as the closed position, and the position of the lid portion 3m shown by the imaginary line is referred to as the open position. As shown in the figure, the outer edge of the lid portion 3m connected to the hinge portion 3k extends horizontally, and the center portion curves downward. A lid-side holder 3n is provided on the underside of the outer edge of the lid portion 3m. The lid-side holder 3n engages with the holder 3h when the lid portion 3m is displaced to the closed position, thereby maintaining the lid portion 3m in the displaced state in the closed position. Furthermore, a cylindrical engaged portion 3p extending upward is provided in the curved central portion of the lid portion 3m, and an engaging portion 3q protruding radially outward and having a bulging tip is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the annular wall 3a. The engaging portion 3q fits into a hole in the engaged portion 3p when the lid portion 3m is displaced to the open position, thereby maintaining the lid portion 3m in the open position.

[0022] The slit valve 4 is made of a relatively soft material such as rubber or elastomer. As shown in Fig. 2, the slit valve 4 of this embodiment includes a relatively thick, annular base 4a, a thin cylindrical wall 4b extending upward from the inner edge of the base 4a, and a thin partition wall 4c connected to the upper end of the cylindrical wall 4b and curved to protrude downward. A slit 4d that is cross-shaped in plan view is provided in the center of the partition wall 4c. The slit 4d divides the partition wall 4c into a plurality of partition wall portions (four partition wall portions in this embodiment).

[0023] The base 4a has a protrusion 4e on its underside, the cross section of which is a triangle tapering downward. The base 4a also has an elastic portion 4f on its outer circumferential surface. In this embodiment, the elastic portion 4f is annular in shape overall, with the radially inner portion being thinner than the radially outer portion, and the radially inner portion is elastically deformable in the vertical direction.

[0024] The inside plug 5 includes a top wall 5a located at its center and curved downward, a peripheral wall 5b extending downward from the outer edge of the top wall 5a, a connecting wall 5c extending radially outward from the peripheral wall 5b, and a fitting wall 5d extending upward from the outer edge of the connecting wall 5c and fittingly retained on the inner peripheral surface of the recessed portion 3j. The top wall 5a of this embodiment faces the partition wall 4c when assembled into the dispensing cap 2, as described below, and corresponds to the "facing wall" in this specification. The outer edge of the upper surface of the top wall 5a is provided with a ring-shaped protrusion 5e with a semicircular cross section. The protrusion 5e is located radially outward from the outer edge of the slit 4d. The peripheral wall 5b is provided with a plurality of communication ports 5f that penetrate the peripheral wall 5b at intervals in the circumferential direction.

[0025] The slide member 6 has an annular ring wall 6a extending horizontally. A through hole provided in the center of the ring wall 6a is referred to as the spout 6b. An inner annular wall 6c surrounding the spout 6b and an outer annular wall 6d connected to the outer edge of the ring wall 6a are provided on the underside of the ring wall 6a. A plurality of claw-shaped slide member claws 6e are provided on the underside of the ring wall 6a between the inner annular wall 6c and the outer annular wall 6d, spaced apart in the circumferential direction. A plurality of triangular protrusions 6f in a side view are provided on the upper surface of the ring wall 6a, spaced apart in the circumferential direction.

[0026] As shown in Figure 2, the base member 3, slit valve 4, inner plug 5, and slide member 6 of this embodiment are assembled into the dispensing cap 2 by inserting the cylindrical wall 4b of the slit valve 4 into the opening 3e of the base member 3, inserting the fitting wall 5d into the inside of the recessed portion 3j, and further inserting the slide member side claw portion 6e into the through hole 3g to engage the slide member side claw portion 6e with the base member side claw portion 3f.

[0027] When the pouring cap 2 is assembled in this manner, the outer edge of the elastic portion 4f is sandwiched between the lower surface of the top wall 3d and the upper surface of the fitting wall 5d. In this state, the lower surface of the slide member claw 6e is in contact with the upper surface of the base 4a. As will be described later, the slide member claw 6e has the function of sliding the slit valve 4 when the slide member 6 slides. It is sufficient for the slide member claw 6e to be in contact with the slit valve 4 when the slide member 6 slides. In the state shown in FIG. 2, the lower surface of the slide member claw 6e may be spaced apart from the upper surface of the base 4a. In this state, a pouring passage T extending from the communication port 5f to the slit 4d is defined and formed between the peripheral wall 5b and the cylindrical wall 4b, and between the top wall 5a and the partition wall 4c.

[0028] 2, the protruding portion 6f of the slide member 6 protrudes outward beyond the tip end 3c of the base member 3. In this embodiment, the protruding portion 6f protrudes by a protruding amount P from the tip end 3c.

[0029] In this embodiment, the dispensing cap 2 is attached to the container 1 to which the sealing material SM is fixed during distribution. In other words, in this state, the sealing material SM is covered by the dispensing cap 2, so that damage to the sealing material SM during distribution can be prevented. Furthermore, by displacing the lid portion 3m to the closed position as shown in Figure 1, the partition wall 4c of the slit valve 4 is covered by the lid portion 3m, so that damage to the partition wall 4c can also be prevented.

[0030] To use the dispensing container 10, the dispensing cap 2 is rotated relative to the container 1 to remove it. After removing the sealant SM from the container 1, the male threaded portion 1d is threadedly engaged with the female threaded portion 3b to attach the dispensing cap 2 to the container 1. In this state, the communication port 5f communicates with the content-receiving space S. The lid portion 3m is then displaced from the closed position to the open position, and the dispensing container 10 is placed in an inverted position. The dispensing container 10 is then placed on a flat support surface PS, such as a tabletop, as shown in FIG. 3. In this embodiment, the annular wall 3a extends radially outward on the side where the tip portion 3c, which contacts the support surface PS, is located. Therefore, the dispensing container 10 is stably placed on the support surface PS.

[0031] In the dispensing container 10 of this embodiment, the protruding portion 6f protrudes relative to the tip portion 3c as shown in Fig. 2. Therefore, when the dispensing container 10 is placed in an inverted position on the mounting surface PS as shown in Figs. 3 and 4(a), the protruding portion 6f is pushed up by the mounting surface PS to the same position as the tip portion 3c. That is, the slide member 6 slides toward the inside of the container 1 by a length equal to the protrusion amount P, and the slide member-side claw portion 6e also pushes up the base portion 4a, causing the slit valve 4 to slide toward the inside of the container 1. Here, the protruding portion 5e provided on the inside plug 5 in this embodiment is set to come into contact with the partition wall 4c when the slit valve 4 slides by the protrusion amount P. That is, the dispensing passage T from the communication port 5f to the slit 4d is closed when the protruding portion 5e comes into contact with the partition wall 4c. Therefore, even if the inverted dispensing container 10 is forcefully placed on the mounting surface PS, the flow of the contents flowing from the contents storage space S to the communication port 5f is restricted by the dispensing passage T, so that dripping of the contents from the slit 4d can be effectively prevented.

[0032] When sliding the slit valve 4 to close the pouring passage T, the top wall 5a may be configured to contact the partition wall 4c without using the protrusion 5e. However, when the protrusion 5e is used, the protrusion 5e comes into local contact with the partition wall 4c, increasing the contact pressure between them, thereby more reliably closing the pouring passage T.

[0033] When the slit valve 4 is slid toward the inside of the container 1 by the slide member 6, the tip of the protrusion 4e contacts the connecting wall 5c as shown in FIG. 4(a). That is, the protrusion 4e functions as a stopper when sliding toward the inside of the container 1. The protrusion 4e is a part of the slit valve 4 made of a soft material and is elastically deformable. That is, the slide member 6 can slide a distance greater than the protrusion amount P due to the elastic deformation of the protrusion 4e. For this reason, for example, if the mounting surface PS is uneven and the portion of the mounting surface PS where the protrusion 6f contacts is slightly higher than the portion where the tip 3c contacts, if the slide member 6 can only slide by the protrusion amount P, the pouring container 10 placed on the mounting surface PS will be supported by the protrusion 6f without contacting the mounting surface PS, resulting in an unstable state. However, with the configuration of this embodiment, both the tip 3c and the protrusion 6f contact the mounting surface PS, allowing the pouring container 10 to be stably placed.

[0034] Furthermore, the slide member 6 of this embodiment has the slide member-side claw portion 6e in contact with the thick and strong base portion 4a to slide the slit valve 4. That is, if the slide member-side claw portion 6e comes into contact with a weak portion of the slit valve 4, the slit valve 4 may be damaged, or only the weak portion may be partially elastically deformed, preventing the slit valve 4 from sliding sufficiently, but this embodiment can prevent such problems.

[0035] To dispense the contents, the dispensing container 10 is lifted from the placement surface PS while still in the inverted position. This causes the pushed-up slide member 6 to slide back to its original position as shown in Figure 4(b), and the protrusion 5e comes into contact with the partition wall 4c, opening the previously closed dispensing passage T. Therefore, when the body 1b of the container 1 is pressed to pressurize the contents-accommodating space S, the contents in the contents-accommodating space S pass through the communication port 5f and the dispensing passage T, and the pressure elastically deforms the partition wall portion of the partition wall 4c separated by the slit 4d, opening the slit 4d, allowing the contents to be dispensed from the dispensing outlet 6b.

[0036] The elastic portion 4f provided on the slit valve 4 has its outer edge sandwiched between the lower surface of the top wall 3d and the upper surface of the fitting wall 5d, and is therefore elastically deformed when the base 4a is pressed in as shown in FIG. 4(a). Therefore, when the pouring container 10 is lifted from the mounting surface PS, the elastically deformed elastic portion 4f returns to its original state. Here, the slide member 6 that was pushed up in the state shown in FIG. 4(a) can also slide to the position shown in FIG. 4(b) by its own weight, but in this embodiment, the slit valve 4 returns to its original position by the restoring elastic portion 4f, and at that time, the restoring force of the elastic portion 4f acts on the slide member-side claw portion 6e via the base 4a, so that the slide member 6 can be reliably slid to its original position.

[0037] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and unless otherwise limited in the above description, various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the spirit of the present invention as set forth in the claims. Furthermore, the effects of the above embodiment are merely examples of the effects that can be obtained from the present invention, and do not mean that the effects of the present invention are limited to the above effects.

[0038] For example, in this embodiment, the cap body is made up of two members, the base member 3 and the inside plug 5, but these may be integrated into one member. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1: Container 1a: bottom 1b: Torso 1c: Mouth 1d: Male thread 2: Dispensing cap 3: Base material (cap body) 3a: Annular wall 3b: Female thread 3c: Tip 3d: Ceiling wall 3e:Aperture 3f: Base member side claw 3g:Through hole 3h: Holding part 3j: Concave portion 3k: Hinge portion 3m: Lid portion 3n: Lid portion side holding portion 3p: Engaged portion 3q: Engaging portion 4: Slit valve 4a: Base portion 4b: Cylindrical wall 4c: Partition wall 4d: Slit 4e: Protrusion 4f: Elastic portion 5: Plug (cap main body portion) 5a: Top wall (opposing wall) 5b: Peripheral wall 5c: Connecting wall 5d: Fitting wall 5e: Projection 5f: Communication port 6: Slide member 6a: Ring wall 6b: Pouring outlet 6c: Inner annular wall 6d: Outer annular wall 6e: Slide member side claw portion 6f: Protruding portion 10: Pouring container O: Axis P: Protrusion amount PS: Placing surface S: Content accommodation space SM: Sealing material T: Pouring passage

Claims

1. A pouring cap that is attached to the mouth of a container and supports the container when the container is placed in an inverted position on a placement surface, a cap body having an annular wall whose tip contacts the placement surface to support the container, and a communication port leading to a content storage space of the container, with base member side claws provided radially inside the annular wall and through holes provided radially outside the base member side claws; a slit valve having an elastically deformable partition wall and slits dividing the partition wall into a plurality of partition wall portions, wherein when the contents are fed from the communication port to a pouring passage connected to the slits, the partition wall portion elastically deforms to pour out the contents; a slide member having slide member-side claw portions, which are attached to the cap body by inserting the slide member-side claw portions into the through holes and engaging with the base member-side claw portions, and which is held movably relative to the cap body along the axial direction of the annular wall, the slide member has a protruding portion that protrudes outward beyond the tip end portion when the tip end portion is separated from the placement surface, the cap body has an opposing wall that faces the partition wall when the tip end is separated from the placement surface, When the container is placed in an inverted position on the placement surface, the protrusion contacts the placement surface, causing the slide member to slide, and the slide member side claw portion of the sliding member comes into contact with the slit valve, causing the opposing wall to contact the partition wall and close the pouring passage, thereby forming a pouring cap.

2. The pouring cap according to claim 1 , wherein the opposing wall has a protrusion that protrudes toward the partition wall.

3. The pouring cap according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the slit valve has a base portion connected to the partition wall and having a thickness greater than that of the partition wall, and the sliding member comes into contact with the base portion when slid.

4. The slit valve has an elastic portion supported by the cap main body portion, and the elastic portion elastically deforms when the container is placed in an inverted position on the mounting surface and the slit valve slides using the sliding member, and restores its original shape when the container is moved away from the mounting surface, moving the slit valve. A dispensing cap as described in any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The dispensing cap according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a lid portion that is connected to the annular wall via a hinge portion and swings between a closed position in which the lid portion covers the partition and is held by the cap body portion, and an open position in which the lid portion exposes the partition.

6. The annular wall has an engaging portion protruding from an outer circumferential surface, The pouring cap according to claim 5 , wherein the lid portion has an engaged portion that engages with the engaging portion in the open position.

7. A pouring container having the pouring cap according to any one of claims 1 to 6 attached to the opening.

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