Measuring Cap

Abstract

To create a measuring cap with which filled liquid quantity can be easily visually confirmed from outside and content liquid deterioration can be suppressed.SOLUTION: A measuring cap, which is in the shape of a capped cylinder, has a top wall 2 and a cylindrical side wall 3 hanging from the outer edge of the top wall 2, and is formed with opaque colored resin Ra, is structured as such that the side wall 3 is provided with a window portion 8 made of transparent resin Rb.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a measuring cap with a window. [Background technology]

[0002] A prior art measuring cap that can be attached and detached to the spout or neck of a container filled with liquid contents is known (for example, Patent Document 1), in which a measuring cap formed into a cylindrical shape with a bottom from a transparent resin has measuring lines (scale lines) on the inner wall surface, allowing the level of the liquid contents poured from the container into the measuring cap to be visually confirmed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 2-8745 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, if the entire measuring cap is made of transparent resin, on the one hand, it becomes easy to see from the outside the amount of liquid poured, but on the other hand, sunlight can directly irradiate the liquid, and if the liquid is a chemical liquid such as a pesticide, there is a risk that the liquid will be affected by ultraviolet rays and deteriorate.

[0005] Another method for preventing deterioration of the contents due to ultraviolet rays, etc. is to provide a circular rib or printed scale lines on the inner wall surface of a colored, opaque measuring cap. However, in the case of a circular rib, there is a risk that the scale lines will blend in with the inner wall surface and become difficult to see, and in the case of printed lines, there is also the problem that a separate printing process is required.

[0006] The present invention aims to solve the problems of the prior art described above by creating a measuring cap that can prevent deterioration of the liquid contents and allows the amount of liquid poured to be easily visible from the outside. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] Among the means for solving the above problems, the main means of the present invention is: A cylindrical measuring cap having a top wall and a cylindrical side wall extending downward from the outer edge of the top wall, the measuring cap being made of an opaque colored resin, A window made of transparent resin is provided on the side wall. 、 A scale mark consisting of a whitened line utilizing a whitening phenomenon is formed on one or both of the side wall and the window portion. It is said that the feature of this method is that it is In the main means of the present invention, a window made of transparent resin is provided on the side of the measuring cap, so that the amount of the content liquid poured into the measuring cap can be easily seen through the window. Furthermore, the above-mentioned means can improve the visibility of the scale lines, and furthermore, the scale lines can be formed simultaneously with molding of the measuring cap.

[0008] Another aspect of the present invention is to add to the above-mentioned main aspect of the present invention that the window portion is formed in a vertical strip shape on the side wall, or along half the circumference or the entire circumference. In the above-mentioned means, the shape of the window can be adapted to the design of the measuring cap.

[0011] Another aspect of the present invention is any of the above-mentioned aspects, further comprising providing a tamper-evident ring 4 at the lower end of the side wall, the ring 4 being connected via a plurality of breakable connecting pieces. The above means can prevent unauthorized release of the measuring cap. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] In the present invention, deterioration of the liquid contents can be suppressed when the measuring cap is attached to the mouth of the container body and is in an unopened state, and when the liquid contents are poured into the measuring cap after opening, the amount of liquid poured can be easily seen from the outside. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a half cross-sectional view of a measuring cap of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view showing the state in which the measuring cap is attached to the opening of the container. [Figure 3] 10A and 10B are explanatory views showing an example of a state in which the attachment cap is used. [Figure 4] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an outline of a nozzle portion and a mold as the main portion of a manufacturing device for injection molding a measuring cap. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an injection pattern of molten resin. [Figure 6] 5A and 5B show the state of the molten resin being injected, where FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the section a and the section c in FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the section b in FIG. 5A. [Figure 7] 1. (a) is a plan cross-sectional view of the measuring cap taken along line VIIa-VIIa in FIG. 1, (b) is a plan cross-sectional view of the measuring cap taken along line VIIb-VIIb in FIG. 1, and (c) is a top view of the measuring cap. [Figure 8] 10A and 10B are plan cross-sectional views showing other embodiments of the measuring cap, in which (a) shows a case where a window portion is formed over half the circumference, and (b) shows a case where a window portion is formed over the entire circumference. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a half cross-sectional view of the measuring cap showing how the scale lines are formed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a half cross-sectional view showing the measuring cap of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing the measuring cap attached to the mouth of a container, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of how the attached cap is used.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, the measuring cap 1 of the present invention is configured to have a cap body 1A in the form of a cylindrical cap with a top, in which a cylindrical side wall 3 is provided hanging down from the outer edge of a disk-shaped top wall 2. The top wall 2 and side wall 3 that constitute the cap body 1A are formed using an opaque colored resin Ra obtained by mixing a coloring agent such as white into a synthetic resin material such as PP, PE, or PET.

[0016] A short cylindrical inner tube portion 6 hangs down from the inner surface of the top wall 2, and when attached, fits tightly into the inner surface of the open end of the mouth portion 11 on the container body 10 side, and a female thread 7 is formed on the inner surface of the side wall 3, which screws into a male thread 12 formed on the outer surface of the mouth portion 11. Furthermore, a vertical strip-shaped window 8 made of a translucent or transparent resin such as PP, PE, or PET is integrally formed in a portion of the side wall 3 that constitutes the cap body 1A. The inside of the measuring cap 1 can be seen through this translucent or transparent window 8.

[0017] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a tamper-evident ring 4 is integrally molded at the lower end of the side wall 3 that constitutes the cap body 1A and is connected via a plurality of connecting pieces 5. An undercut-shaped locking protrusion 9 is provided on the inner surface of this tamper-evident ring 4. Further, on one or both of the side wall 3 and the window portion 8, scale lines M are formed by whitening lines utilizing the whitening phenomenon.

[0018] As shown in Figure 2, the measuring cap 1 is attached by screwing onto the nozzle 11 of the container body 10 filled with the liquid content. At this time, the undercut-shaped locking protrusion 9 formed on the tamper-evident ring 4 moves downward over a locking portion (not shown) formed on the outer circumferential surface of the nozzle 11 to lock it, so that the measuring cap 1 cannot be removed from the nozzle 11 after attachment.

[0019] When the measuring cap 1 is attached to the mouth 11 of the container body 10 in an unopened state, the opening end of the mouth 11 is covered by a top wall 2 formed of a colored resin, preventing ultraviolet rays and the like from directly irradiating the liquid contents inside the container (light blocking), and the inner tube 6 fits into the inner surface of the opening end of the mouth 11 to seal it, making it possible to prevent the contents from deteriorating.

[0020] To open the cap from an unopened state, the cap body 1A is strongly rotated in the opening direction while grasping the side wall 3. This causes the cap body 1A to be screwed up and rise, but the tamper-evident ring 4's locking projections 9 engage with locking portions formed on the outer periphery of the nozzle 11 and attempt to remain in place, breaking the multiple connecting pieces 5. Therefore, the nozzle 11 can be opened by unscrewing and removing only the cap body 1A.

[0021] As shown in Figure 3, after opening, the cap body 1A is placed on a table or the like with the top wall 2 facing downward, and the liquid content is poured into the cap body 1A while tilting the container body 10. At this time, since the window 8 is formed in the cap body 1A, the amount of liquid content poured into the cap body 1A can be easily seen from above the cap body 1A and through the window 8.

[0022] Next, a method for manufacturing the measuring cap having the above-described structure will be described. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an outline of a nozzle and a mold as the main components of a manufacturing device for injection molding a measuring cap. The measuring cap manufacturing apparatus shown in Figure 4 is basically the same as the apparatus described in the specification and drawings attached to Patent Application No. 2012-263132 previously filed by the applicant, and is equipped with a nozzle portion 20 that injects two types of molten resin, consisting of a colored resin Ra and a transparent resin Rb, and a mold 40 that has a cavity 42 for molding the molten resin injected from the nozzle portion 20 into a measuring cap 1.

[0023] 4, the nozzle section 20 is basically configured by arranging a cylindrical inner mandrel 21 and an outer mandrel 22 coaxially, and inserting a cylindrical shutoff pin 30 into the inner mandrel 21 so that it can slide forward and backward and move forward. The shutoff pin 30 has a conical tip, and this conical tip 30t projects from the tip of the inner mandrel 21 when the shutoff pin 30 is in the open position. In this embodiment, the conical tip 30t is eccentrically positioned to the left of the central axis Ax in the figure.

[0024] Between the inner mandrel 21 and the outer mandrel 22, there are provided a cylindrical flow path 25 through which the colored resin Ra flows and a narrow groove-like vertical flow path 27 through which the transparent resin Rb flows, and a tapered diameter-reducing flow path 26 is formed at the lower end of the cylindrical flow path 25. Furthermore, downstream of the tip of the diameter-reducing flow path 26, there is provided a cylindrical junction flow path 29 where the molten colored resin Ra and transparent resin Rb join. The colored resin Ra and transparent resin Rb join in the junction flow path 29 to form a cylindrical molten resin, which is then injected into a cavity 42 through a pin gate 41 in a mold 40 and fills it.

[0025] Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the injection pattern of the molten resin injected into the cavity, Fig. 6 shows the state of the injected molten resin, (a) is a plan cross-sectional view of sections a and c in Fig. 5, and (b) is a plan cross-sectional view of section b in Fig. 5. Fig. 7(a) is a plan cross-sectional view of the metering cap at VIIa-VIIa in Fig. 1, Fig. 7(b) is a plan cross-sectional view of the metering cap at VIIb-VIIb in Fig. 1, and Fig. 7(c) is a top view of the metering cap.

[0026] The molten colored resin Ra and transparent resin Rb are injected from the nozzle portion 20 according to the injection pattern shown in Fig. 5. That is, in section a from time t1 to time t2 after the start of injection, only the colored resin Ra is injected, in section b from time t2 to time t3, the colored resin Ra and transparent resin Rb are injected together, and further in section c from time t3 to time t5, only the colored resin Ra is injected.

[0027] More specifically, as shown in Fig. 6(a), the planar cross section of the cylindrical molten resin is composed entirely of colored resin Ra in sections a and c, but as shown in Fig. 6(b), in section b, transparent resin Rb is layered in the shape of slits in the radial direction within the circular colored resin Ra by the eccentric conical tip 30t of the shutoff pin 30. The molten resin having such a planar cross section can be obtained by advancing and retracting the shutoff pin 30 at an appropriate timing to control the opening and closing of the flow of molten resin at the tip of the nozzle portion 20.

[0028] Then, when the cylindrical molten resin having the above-described configuration is injected and filled into the cavity 42 in the mold 40, the colored resin Ra injected in the first section a passes through the top wall forming section 42c and the intermediate wall section 42b of the cavity 42, and further fills from the connecting piece forming section 42d into the ring forming section 42a, thereby forming the tamper-evident ring 4 and the connecting piece 5 (see Figure 7(a)), the molten resin injected in the subsequent section b (resin in which slit-shaped transparent resin Rb is laminated within the circular colored resin Ra) passes through the top wall forming section 42c of the cavity 42 and fills into the intermediate wall section 42b, thereby simultaneously forming the side wall 3 and the window section 8 (see Figure 7(b)), and the colored resin Ra injected in the final section c fills the top wall forming section 42c on the pin gate 41 side of the cavity 42, thereby forming the top wall 2 (see Figure 7(c)). 7(b), in the intermediate wall portion 42b, the transparent resin Rb is laminated in a vertical band shape so as to radially penetrate a portion of the colored resin Ra that forms the cylindrical side wall 3. This allows the metering cap 1 to be integrally molded in part of the side wall 3, with a high-quality transparent and clear window portion 8.

[0029] The circumferential range of the window portion 8 within the side wall 3 is arbitrary, and it may be formed in a vertical band shape on part of the side wall 3 as described above, or, for example, the window portion 8 may be formed on half the circumference of the side wall 3 (see FIG. 8(a)). Alternatively, the window portion 8 may be configured to cover the entire circumference of the side wall 3 (see FIG. 8(b)). Such a configuration can be easily set by adjusting the timing at which the shut-off pin 30 opens and closes the flow of molten resin at the tip of the nozzle portion 20, and by changing the ratio of the colored resin Ra and the transparent resin Rb that form the cylindrical molten resin generated in the junction flow path 29.

[0030] Next, a method for forming the scale lines M will be described. FIG. 9 is a half cross-sectional view of the measuring cap showing how the scale lines are formed. FIG. 8 is a plan cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the measuring cap, where (a) shows a case where half the circumference is made up of a window portion, and (b) shows a case where the entire circumference is made up of a window portion.

[0031] The formation of the graduation lines M in the present invention is effective when the measuring cap 1 is injection-molded using a crystalline resin such as PP, PE, or PET. When a large stress is applied to a measuring cap 1 made of a crystalline resin at a predetermined height due to localized external pressure, the resin corresponding to the stressed portion can be whitened radially in the direction of its thickness due to a whitening phenomenon. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9 , in the present invention, by applying a circular stress to the side wall 3 and window 8 of the measuring cap 1, the graduation lines M consisting of whitened lines are formed in a circular shape in the circumferential direction around both the side wall 3 and the window 8. Examples of methods for applying stress include poking the measuring cap 1 in the mold 40 after injection molding with an air cylinder, applying stress to the measuring cap 1 by forcibly removing it when releasing it from the mold 40, or whitening it using the pressure during injection.

[0032] In the above method, the scale lines M can be formed not only on the colored side wall 3 but also on the transparent window portion 8, and can be formed radially across the inner and outer surfaces of these, thereby improving the visibility of the scale lines M. Furthermore, since the scale lines M can be formed simultaneously with the injection molding of the measuring cap 1, the process for forming the scale lines M (printing process, etc.) as in the conventional case can be eliminated. In addition, in a configuration in which the entire periphery of the side wall 3 is formed as the window portion 8, the scale lines M are formed only in the window portion 8.

[0033] The configuration and effects of the present invention have been described above in accordance with the examples, but the present invention is not limited to the above examples. For example, in the above embodiment, the side wall 3 is cylindrical, but it may be polygonal.

[0034] In the above embodiment, a crystalline synthetic resin is used to form the measuring cap in order to utilize the whitening phenomenon to form the scale lines M. However, if the scale lines M are not to be formed or if the scale lines are formed by a method other than whitening, the measuring cap may be formed using a non-crystalline synthetic resin.

[0035] In the above embodiment, the whitening phenomenon is utilized, and therefore a case has been described in which a white color, which is less noticeable, is used as the colorant, but colorants of other colors may also be used. [Industrial Applicability]

[0036] The present invention can expand the range of applications in the field of measuring caps to a wider range. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1: Measuring cap 1A: Cap body 2: Top wall 3: Side wall 4: Tamper-evident ring 5: Connecting piece 6: Inner tube 7: Female thread 8: Window section 9: Locking protrusion 10: Container body 11: Mouth part 12: Male thread 20: Nozzle part 21: Inner mandrel 22: Outer mandrel 25: Cylindrical channel 26: Reduced diameter channel 27:Flute channel 29: Merging road 30:Shut-off pin 30t: Conical tip 31: Pin gate 40: Mold 41: Pin gate 42: Cavity 42a: Ring forming part 42b: Intermediate wall part 42c:Top wall forming part 42d: Connection piece forming part Ax: Central axis M: Scale line R: Transparent resin Ra: Colored resin Rb: Transparent resin a: Section b: Section c: Section

Claims

1. A cylindrical measuring cap with a top made of an opaque colored resin (Ra) has a top wall (2) and a cylindrical side wall (3) extending downward from the outer edge of the top wall (2), The side wall (3) is provided with a window portion (8) made of a transparent resin (Rb), A measuring cap characterized in that scale lines (M) consisting of whitened lines utilizing a whitening phenomenon are formed on one or both of the side wall (3) and the window portion (8).

2. 2. The measuring cap according to claim 1, wherein the window portion (8) is formed in the side wall (3) in the form of a vertical strip or along a half or full circumference.

3. 3. A measuring cap according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the side wall (3) is provided at its lower end with a tamper-evident ring (4) connected via a plurality of breakable connecting pieces (5).

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