Dispensing container

Abstract

To provide an extraction container capable of recycling a container body and an extraction cap without separating them.SOLUTION: An extraction container 1 has a container body 10 with a mouth part 11 and an extraction cap 20 attached to the mouth part 11. The extraction cap 20 has: a cap body 21; an over-cap 22 covering a nozzle 21a; and a middle stopper member 23 comprising a first fitting cylinder 23a fitted to an inner circumference of the nozzle 21a, a second fitting cylinder 23b fitted to an inner circumference of the mouth part 11, a closing wall part 23c provided so as to be integrally connected to an inner circumference of the first fitting cylinder 23a, and a pick part 23d provided so as to be integrally connected to an upper surface of the closing wall part 23c. The container body 10, the cap body 21, and the over-cap 22 are formed of the same first synthetic resin material. The middle stopper member 23 is formed of a second synthetic resin material softer than the first synthetic resin material.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a dispensing container having a container body with a mouth and a dispensing cap attached to the mouth. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART As a container for storing liquid contents such as cooking oil, soy sauce, and liquid seasonings such as dressings, pouring containers having a container body with a mouth and a pouring cap attached to the mouth are often used.

[0003] Conventionally, such a dispensing container has a dispensing cap having a cap body with a nozzle attached to the mouth, and an overcap that is attached to the cap body so as to be freely opened and closed and covers the nozzle, and a blocking wall that blocks the nozzle is provided integrally with the inside of the nozzle via a thin-walled portion, so that the container is kept unopened before use, such as during distribution, and when in use, the blocking wall can be torn off from the nozzle by pulling up a knob such as a pull ring that is integral with the blocking wall, and after opening, the nozzle can be opened and closed by the overcap (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-318967 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In conventional dispensing containers, bottles made of highly transparent and lightweight polyethylene terephthalate (PET bottles) are often used as the container body. In contrast, dispensing caps are configured so that the closing wall is torn off from the nozzle by pulling up the knob, and are therefore made of a relatively soft synthetic resin material such as polyethylene resin.

[0006] Therefore, in conventional dispensing containers, the container body and the dispensing cap are often made of different synthetic resin materials, which creates the problem that when recycling (reusing), the dispensing cap needs to be removed from the mouth of the container body and separated.

[0007] In response to this, it is possible to consider making the container body and the dispensing cap out of polyethylene terephthalate as well, but this configuration would result in the problem that the dispensing cap would become hard, making it difficult to attach the dispensing cap to the mouth by tapping.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to provide a dispensing container that can be recycled without separating the container body and the dispensing cap. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The pouring container of the present invention is a pouring container having a container body with a spout and a pouring cap attached to the spout, wherein the pouring cap has a cylindrical nozzle and is attached to the spout; an overcap that is attached to the cap body so as to be able to open and close freely and covers the nozzle; a first fitting cylindrical portion that fits over the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle around its entire circumference; a second fitting cylindrical portion that is integrally connected to the first fitting cylindrical portion and fits over the inner peripheral surface of the spout around its entire circumference; a blocking wall portion that is integrally connected to the inner peripheral surface of the first fitting cylindrical portion around its entire circumference; and a knob portion that is integrally connected to an upper surface of the blocking wall portion, and which closes the nozzle and can be removed from the cap body by pulling up the knob portion; and the container body, the cap body, and the overcap are formed from the same first synthetic resin material, and the middle plug member is formed from a second synthetic resin material that is softer than the first synthetic resin material.

[0010] In the pouring container of the present invention having the above configuration, the first synthetic resin material is preferably polyethylene terephthalate resin.

[0011] In the pouring container of the present invention having the above configuration, the second synthetic resin material is preferably a polyethylene resin.

[0012] In the above configuration of the pouring container of the present invention, it is preferable that the second fitting cylindrical portion has a larger diameter than the first fitting cylindrical portion, and a tapered connecting wall portion that abuts against the lower end of the nozzle is integrally provided between the first fitting cylindrical portion and the second fitting cylindrical portion.

[0013] In the pouring container of the present invention having the above configuration, it is preferable that the nozzle has a space that opens at a lower end and extends upward. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a dispensing container that can be recycled without separating the container body and the dispensing cap. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a dispensing container according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the front. [Figure 2] 2 is an enlarged front view of the dispensing cap portion of the dispensing container shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is an enlarged front view of the dispensing cap portion of the dispensing container shown in FIG. 1 in a state in which the overcap and the inner plug member have been removed from the cap body. [Figure 4] 2 is an enlarged front view of the dispensing cap portion of the dispensing container shown in FIG. 1 in a state where an overcap is attached to the cap body after the inner plug member has been removed from the cap body. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Hereinafter, a pouring container according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 1, a dispensing container 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention has a container body 10 and a dispensing cap 20. The container body 10 has a mouth portion 11, and the dispensing cap 20 is attached to the mouth portion 11. The dispensing container 1 can be used as a container for storing liquid contents such as cooking oil, soy sauce, and liquid seasonings such as dressing.

[0018] In this specification and claims, the vertical direction refers to the vertical direction when the dispensing container 1 is in the upright position shown in Fig. 1. The radial direction refers to the direction perpendicular to the axis O of the mouth portion 11. The circumferential direction refers to the circumferential direction centered on the axis O.

[0019] In this embodiment, the container body 10 has a bottle shape in which a cylindrical bottomed barrel 12 is integrally connected to the lower end of a cylindrical mouth 11. As shown in FIG. 2 , an annular locking protrusion 11a that protrudes radially outward and extends circumferentially is integrally formed on the upper end of the mouth 11. An annular neck ring 11b that protrudes radially outward and extends circumferentially is integrally formed on the lower side of the locking protrusion 11a of the mouth 11. Furthermore, the inner circumferential surface of the portion of the mouth 11 where the locking protrusion 11a is provided is an expanded-diameter inner circumferential surface 11d that is larger in diameter than the inner circumferential surface 11c of the remaining portion of the mouth 11.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 2, the dispensing cap 20 has a cap body 21, an overcap 22, and an inner plug member 23.

[0021] The cap body 21 has a cylindrical nozzle 21 a and is attached to the mouth portion 11 .

[0022] More specifically, the cap body 21 has a cylindrical mounting tube portion 21b with a larger diameter than the mouth portion 11. The mounting tube portion 21b is integrally provided with a locking projection 21c that projects radially inward on the inner peripheral surface at the lower end side, and when the cap body 21b is plugged into the mouth portion 11, the locking projection 21c is undercut-engaged with the locking projection 11a of the mouth portion 11, and is fitted and held on the outside of the mouth portion 11.

[0023] The nozzle 21a has a cylindrical shape centered on the axis O. The nozzle 21a is integrally connected to the mounting tubular portion 21b via a flange portion 21d that is integrally connected to the upper end of the mounting tubular portion 21b. The nozzle 21a extends along the axis O from below the flange portion 21d to above the flange portion 21d. The portion of the nozzle 21a below the flange portion 21d is liquid-tightly fitted around the entire circumference to the expanded-diameter inner circumferential surface 11d of the opening portion 11. Meanwhile, the portion of the nozzle 21a above the flange portion 21d is integrally provided with a male thread 21e on its outer circumferential surface. A curled lip portion 21f that gradually expands in diameter from bottom to top is integrally formed on the upper end of the nozzle 21a. Furthermore, an annular locking protrusion 21g that protrudes radially inward and extends circumferentially is integrally formed on the inner circumferential surface at the lower end of the nozzle 21a. The inner diameter of the nozzle 21a is smaller than the inner surface 11c of the mouth portion 11 other than the enlarged inner surface 11d, and the lower end of the nozzle 21a has a tapered inclined surface 21h that gradually enlarges in diameter downward.

[0024] The nozzle 21a may be configured to have a space 21i that opens at its lower end, i.e., at the inclined surface 21h, and extends upward. In this embodiment, the nozzle 21a has a plurality of spaces 21i that are spaced apart in the circumferential direction. By having the spaces 21i, the nozzle 21a is more likely to elastically deform radially outwardly so as to narrow the spaces 21i within a predetermined range from the lower end toward the top.

[0025] The overcap 22 is attached to the cap body 21 so as to be freely openable and closable, and covers the nozzle 21a.

[0026] More specifically, the overcap 22 is cylindrical and has a top end. The overcap 22 is integral with a cylindrical peripheral wall 22a centered on the axis O and a top wall 22b connected to the upper end of the peripheral wall 22a. The peripheral wall 22a has a larger diameter than the nozzle 21a, and an internal thread 22c is integrally formed on its inner circumferential surface. A cylindrical sealing wall 22d is integrally formed on the lower surface of the top wall 22b and is coaxial with the peripheral wall 22a. The outer diameter of the sealing wall 22d is the same as or slightly larger than the inner diameter of the nozzle 21a.

[0027] The overcap 22 is detachably attached to the cap body 21 on the outer circumferential surface of the nozzle 21a by threadingly engaging the female thread 22c with the male thread 21e provided on the outer circumferential surface of the nozzle 21a. When the overcap 22 is attached to the cap body 21, the opening of the nozzle 21a is covered by the overcap 22, and the seal wall portion 22d is liquid-tightly fitted around the entire inner circumferential surface of the nozzle 21a. This closes the nozzle 21a. On the other hand, the overcap 22 can be removed from the nozzle 21a, i.e., the cap body 21, by rotating it in a loosening direction (counterclockwise in plan view) relative to the nozzle 21a to release the threaded engagement of the female thread 22c with the male thread 21e. As will be described later, when the inside plug member 23 is removed from the nozzle 21a and the overcap 22 is removed from the cap body 21, the nozzle 21a is in an open state in which the contents can be poured out.

[0028] In this embodiment, the overcap 22 is configured to be attached to the cap body 21 by screw connection so as to be freely opened and closed, but this is not limiting, and the overcap 22 may be attached to the cap body 21 by stoppering (undercut engagement using a protrusion) so as to be freely opened and closed. Moreover, the overcap 22 may be configured to be integrally connected to the cap body 21 via a hinge and opened and closed by rotation about the hinge (a hinge cap).

[0029] The inside plug member 23 integrally includes a first fitting cylindrical portion 23a, a second fitting cylindrical portion 23b, a blocking wall portion 23c, and a knob portion 23d.

[0030] The first fitting cylindrical portion 23a is cylindrical and has a smaller diameter than the nozzle 21a, and its outer circumferential surface is fitted liquid-tightly around the entire circumference of the inner circumferential surface of the nozzle 21a. The outer circumferential surface of the first fitting cylindrical portion 23a is integrally provided with an annular locking projection 23e that protrudes radially outward and extends circumferentially. The locking projection 23e engages and locks from above with a locking projection 21g provided on the inner circumferential surface of the nozzle 21a, thereby restricting downward movement of the first fitting cylindrical portion 23a, i.e., the inside plug member 23, relative to the nozzle 21a.

[0031] The second fitting cylindrical portion 23b has a cylindrical shape with a larger diameter than the first fitting cylindrical portion 23a, and its outer circumferential surface is fitted liquid-tightly around the entire circumference to the inner circumferential surface 11c of the opening 11. A tapered connecting wall portion 23f, which gradually increases in diameter downward, is provided integrally with the first fitting cylindrical portion 23a and the second fitting cylindrical portion 23b between the first fitting cylindrical portion 23a and the second fitting cylindrical portion 23b. That is, the second fitting cylindrical portion 23b is provided integrally and connected to the first fitting cylindrical portion 23a via the connecting wall portion 23f. The inclination angle of the connecting wall portion 23f matches the inclination angle of the lower end of the nozzle 21a, i.e., the inclined surface 21h, and its outer circumferential surface abuts against the lower end of the nozzle 21a, i.e., the inclined surface 21h. As a result, the connecting wall portion 23f, ie, the inside plug member 23, is restricted from moving upward relative to the nozzle 21a by the connecting wall portion 23f abutting against the inclined surface 21h of the nozzle 21a from below.

[0032] As described above, the center plug member 23 is fixed to the nozzle 21a by the fact that the engaging projection 23e provided on the first fitting cylindrical portion 23a is engaged with the engaging projection 21g of the nozzle 21a, thereby restricting downward movement of the center plug member 23 relative to the nozzle 21a, and the connecting wall portion 23f abuts against the inclined surface 21h of the nozzle 21a from below, thereby restricting upward movement of the center plug member 23 relative to the nozzle 21a.

[0033] The blocking wall portion 23c is a circular wall that is curved slightly downward and convex. The blocking wall portion 23c is integrally provided along the entire inner circumferential surface of the first fitting cylindrical portion 23a, and blocks the inside of the first fitting cylindrical portion 23a.

[0034] A groove 23g that opens downward and extends in the circumferential direction may be provided between the outer peripheral edge of the blocking wall portion 23c and the connecting wall portion 23f, making it easier for the connecting wall portion 23f to deform radially inward.

[0035] The grip portion 23d has a circular ring shape large enough for a consumer's finger to pass through, and is disposed inside the nozzle 21a in a position coaxial with the axis O. A pillar portion 23h extending upward is integrally provided on the upper surface of the blocking wall portion 23c at a position eccentric from the axis O, and the grip portion 23d is integrally connected to the pillar portion 23h at a portion in the circumferential direction and disposed above the blocking wall portion 23c with a gap therebetween. That is, in this embodiment, the grip portion 23d is a so-called pull ring. Note that the shape of the grip portion 23d is not limited to the pull ring shape described above, and may be any other shape as long as it can be gripped and pulled up with a finger or the like.

[0036] The inner plug member 23 configured as described above closes the nozzle 21a so as to isolate the nozzle 21a from the internal space of the container body 10. That is, the dispensing container 1 is in an unopened state with the nozzle 21a closed by the inner plug member 23. Therefore, before use, such as during distribution, by keeping the dispensing container 1 in the unopened state, leakage of the contents can be prevented, and the presence of the inner plug member 23 with the knob portion 23d allows consumers to recognize that the container is in an unopened state.

[0037] On the other hand, the inner plug member 23 having the above-described configuration can be removed from the cap body 21 by pulling up the knob portion 23d after removing the overcap 22 from the cap body 21. That is, when the knob portion 23d is pulled up, the connecting wall portion 23f is pulled up together with the blocking wall portion 23c on the side where the column portion 23h is provided, and the inner plug member 23 is removed from the nozzle 21a. When the inner plug member 23 is removed from the nozzle 21a, the dispensing cap 20 and the dispensing container 1 are in an opened state.

[0038] In this embodiment, the second fitting cylindrical portion 23b has a larger diameter than the first fitting cylindrical portion 23a, and a tapered connecting wall portion 23f that abuts against the lower end of the nozzle 21a is integrally provided between the first fitting cylindrical portion 23a and the second fitting cylindrical portion 23b.Therefore, when the gripping portion 23d is pulled up, the connecting wall portion 23f elastically deforms radially inward and moves upward along the inclined surface 21h, which makes it easy to release the engagement of the connecting wall portion 23f with the inclined surface 21h of the nozzle 21a, and makes it easier to remove the inner plug member 23. Furthermore, the inner plug member 23 has a shape that makes it difficult to reattach to the nozzle 21a once it has been removed from the nozzle 21a, by making the second fitting cylindrical portion 23b have a larger diameter than the first fitting cylindrical portion 23a and integrally having a tapered connecting wall portion 23f that abuts against the lower end of the nozzle 21a between the first fitting cylindrical portion 23a and the second fitting cylindrical portion 23b. Therefore, after the inner plug member 23 has been removed from the nozzle 21a and the dispensing cap 20 or the dispensing container 1 has been opened, it is possible to prevent the inner plug member 23 from being reattached to the nozzle 21a and returned to an unopened state.

[0039] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the nozzle 21a is configured to have a space 21i that opens at its lower end and extends upward, so that when the gripping portion 23d is pulled up, the connecting wall portion 23f can more easily elastically deform radially inward compared to when the connecting wall portion 23f does not have the space 21i, making it even easier to remove the inner plug member 23.

[0040] 3, when the overcap 22 is removed from the cap body 21 in a state in which the inner plug member 23 has been removed from the nozzle 21a and opened, the nozzle 21a communicates with the interior of the container body 10 via the opening 11 and is open to the outside of the container body 10. Therefore, by tilting the container body 10 in this state, the contents stored inside the container body 10 can be poured out through the nozzle 21a.

[0041] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, after the contents have been poured out, the overcap 22 is attached to the cap body 21 by threading the female thread 22c of the overcap 22 onto the male thread 21e of the nozzle 21a, thereby covering the nozzle 21a with the overcap 22 and closing it with the sealing wall portion 22d to create a closed state, thereby preventing the contents stored in the container body 10 from leaking out through the nozzle 21a.

[0042] Here, the pouring container 1 has a container body 10, a cap body 21, and an overcap 22 each formed from the same first synthetic resin material. That is, the container body 10, the cap body 21, and the overcap 22 are made of the same material. In contrast, the inside plug member 23 is formed from a second synthetic resin material that is softer than the first synthetic resin material forming the container body 10, the cap body 21, and the overcap 22.

[0043] In this embodiment, the first synthetic resin material forming the container body 10, cap body 21, and overcap 22 is polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET resin), and the second synthetic resin material forming the inner plug member 23 is polyethylene resin (PE resin). More specifically, the container body 10 is a blow-molded bottle container (PET bottle) made of polyethylene terephthalate resin, the cap body 21 and overcap 22 are each injection-molded products made of polyethylene terephthalate resin, and the inner plug member 23 is also injection-molded product made of polyethylene resin.

[0044] In this way, the dispensing container 1 is configured such that the container body 10, the cap body 21, and the overcap 22 are each formed from the same first synthetic resin material, and the inner plug member 23 is formed from a second synthetic resin material that is softer than the first synthetic resin material forming the container body 10, the cap body 21, and the overcap 22. As a result, the inner plug member 23, which is configured to be removed from the nozzle 21a by elastically deforming when the knob portion 23d is pulled up, is made of a softer synthetic resin material, making it possible to easily remove the inner plug member 23, i.e., to open the dispensing container 1. 4, when the inner plug member 23 is removed and the dispensing container 1 is opened, the dispensing container 1 has only the container body 10, the cap body 21, and the overcap 22, all of which are made of the same material, and therefore the dispensing cap 20 (the cap body 21 and the overcap 22) can be recycled as is, without removing the dispensing cap 20 from the container body 10 and separating the container body 10 and the dispensing cap 20. This improves the recyclability of the dispensing container 1.

[0045] In particular, when the container body 10, the cap body 21, and the overcap 22 are made of polyethylene terephthalate resin, the container body 10 can be made transparent and lightweight, while improving the recyclability of the dispensing container 1. Furthermore, if the inner plug member 23, in addition to the container body 10, the cap body 21, and the overcap 22, were also made of polyethylene terephthalate resin, the inner plug member 23 would be hard, making it difficult to set the inner plug member 23 inside the nozzle 21a and remove the inner plug member 23 from the nozzle 21a. However, in the dispensing container 1 of this embodiment, by making only the inner plug member 23 out of a synthetic resin material that is softer than polyethylene terephthalate resin, it is possible to easily set the inner plug member 23 inside the nozzle 21a and remove the inner plug member 23, while still making the cap body 21 and the overcap 22 out of polyethylene terephthalate resin.

[0046] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0047] In the above embodiment, the first synthetic resin material forming the container body 10, the cap body 21, and the overcap 22 is polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET resin), but this is not limiting and other synthetic resin materials may be used. For example, if a biodegradable resin (polylactic acid, polybutylene succinate, polybutylene adipate terephthalate, polycaprolactone, polyglycolic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoate, cellulose, bacterial cellulose, cellulose acetate, etc.) is used as the first synthetic resin material forming the container body 10, the cap body 21, and the overcap 22, the dispensing container 1 excluding the inner plug member 23 can be easily decomposed by composting, etc.

[0048] In addition, in the above embodiment, the second synthetic resin material forming the inside plug member 23 is polyethylene resin (PE resin), but this is not limited to this and other synthetic resin materials such as polypropylene resin (PP resin) may also be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1. Dispensing container 10 Container body 11 Mouth 11a Locking protrusion 11b Neck ring 11c Inner surface 11d Expanded inner circumferential surface 12 Torso 20. Dispensing cap 21 Cap body 21a nozzle 21b Mounting tube 21c Locked protrusion 21d flange 21e Male thread 21f Lip 21g locking protrusion 21h Slope 21i space 22 Overcap 22a Peripheral wall part 22b Ceiling wall section 22c female thread 22d Seal wall 23 Inner plug member 23a First fitting cylinder part 23b Second fitting cylinder part 23c Blocking wall 23d Knob 23e Locked protrusion 23f Connecting wall section 23g groove 23h Pillar O axis

Claims

1. A pouring container having a container body with a mouth portion and a pouring cap attached to the mouth portion, The dispensing cap is a cap body having a cylindrical nozzle and attached to the opening; an overcap that is attached to the cap body in an openable and closable manner and covers the nozzle; a first fitting cylindrical portion that fits over the entire circumference of the inner circumferential surface of the nozzle; a second fitting cylindrical portion that is integrally connected to the first fitting cylindrical portion and fits over the entire circumference of the inner circumferential surface of the mouth portion; a closing wall portion that is integrally connected to the entire circumference of the inner circumferential surface of the first fitting cylindrical portion; and a knob portion that is integrally connected to an upper surface of the closing wall portion, and the inner plug member is configured to close the nozzle and be removable from the cap body by pulling up the knob portion, A pouring container characterized in that the container body, the cap body and the overcap are formed from the same first synthetic resin material, and the inner plug member is formed from a second synthetic resin material that is softer than the first synthetic resin material.

2. 2. The dispensing container of claim 1, wherein the first synthetic resin material is polyethylene terephthalate resin.

3. The dispensing container according to claim 2, wherein the second synthetic resin material is a polyethylene resin.

4. The second fitting cylindrical portion has a larger diameter than the first fitting cylindrical portion, and a tapered connecting wall portion that abuts against the lower end of the nozzle is integrally provided between the first fitting cylindrical portion and the second fitting cylindrical portion. The pouring container according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The pouring container according to claim 4, wherein the nozzle has a space that opens at a lower end and extends upward.

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