Hinge cap

Abstract

To provide a hinge cap which reduces force required for unplug so as to be capable of easily performing unpluggable operation.SOLUTION: A hinge cap is given in which: a skirt part 9 consists of a skirt upper side part 91 which has a double-wall structure of an inner wall 23 and an outer wall 24, and a skirt lower side part 92 which has a single wall structure; an inter double-wall weakened part 26 is arranged between the inner wall 23 and the skirt lower side part 92; the skirt lower side part 92 includes a main body engaging protrusion part 21 and a lateral slit part 27; the inter double-wall weakened part 26 is parallel through the main body engaging protrusion part 21 with the lateral silt weakened part 28, and the outer wall 24 has a vertical slit part 29; the vertical slit weakened part 30 extends from a fracture starting end 30a in a side against a top cover to a fracture starting end 26a of the inter double-wall weakened part 26; the skirt lower side part 92 has an engaging intermittent part 32; and an intermittent weakened part 33 is connected with the fracture starting end 30a of the vertical slit weakened part 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a hinge cap, and relates to a recycling technology that allows easy sorting of caps. [Background Art]

[0002] Conventionally, for example, in the hinge cap described in Patent Document 1, the cap body includes an assembling cylinder that is assembled to the outer circumference of the bottle mouth cylinder, and a connecting plate located at an upper portion of the assembling cylinder. The connecting plate is non-breakably connected to the assembling cylinder via a connecting portion provided at one end of both left and right ends along the circumferential direction of the assembling cylinder, and is breakably connected to the assembling cylinder at the other end via a connecting portion. Furthermore, at the base end of the connecting portion, a thin rear weakened line that passes vertically through the connecting portion side and extends from the upper end to the lower end of the assembling cylinder, and a thin upper weakened line connected to the upper end of the rear weakened line and extending circumferentially along the upper surface of the assembling cylinder are respectively provided on the assembling cylinder, and the connecting plate and the lid body are connected via a hinge. In addition, in the hinge cap described in Patent Document 2, at least one weakened line extending axially from the upper end to the lower end of the main body is provided near the hinge connecting portion at the upper end of the outer circumferential surface of the main body. A projection that contacts the other of the outer circumferential surface of the upper lid and the outer circumferential surface of the main body when the upper lid is opened is provided on one of the outer circumferential surface of the upper lid and the outer circumferential surface of the main body. During sorted disposal, the projection contacts one of the outer circumferential surface of the upper lid and the outer circumferential surface of the main body earlier than the upper lid and the main body contact each other, this contact point serves as a fulcrum for the upper lid to continue rotating, and tearing of the weakened line starts before the rotating upper lid rotates more than 180 degrees. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 3928320 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent No. 6601787 [Summary of the Invention] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0004] Conventionally, when a cap is fitted onto the opening of a container, a structure is used in which a projection on the cap and a projection on the container engage in the axial direction of the container to prevent it from coming off. When removing the cap for separate collection, the common method is to break a weakened portion on the cap, thereby easing the engagement between the projections on the cap and the container and allowing the cap to detach from the opening of the container. However, when the cap is broken during separate collection, a large load is placed on the hinge, which can cause the hinge or band to break, making separate collection impossible. As described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, in configurations where the skirt portion of the cap is broken along its entire length in the axial direction of the opening during the initial stages of the sorting and collection operation, a large load is applied to the hinge when the thick portion of the skirt breaks. If a weakened portion is provided along the axial direction of the opening in the thick portion of the skirt, there is a limit to how thin it can be, as the thickness of the weakened portion may become too thin and break when the cap is sealed. For this reason, the load applied to the hinge when the thick portion of the skirt breaks becomes large. Furthermore, the protrusions, or undercuts, on the thicker sections of the skirt must have intermittent sections to form weakened areas. The presence of these intermittent sections in the undercuts affects the heat resistance of the cap. When filling containers with contents in a high-temperature environment, the sealed cap is also exposed to the high temperature, so heat resistance is required for the cap. However, if the undercut portion has a discontinuous shape with intermittent sections, it can cause stress concentration, leading to a decrease in heat resistance. As shown in Patent Document 2, the presence of two intermittent sections in the undercut portion is an undesirable structure from the standpoint of heat resistance. The present invention aims to solve the above problems and to provide a hinged cap that reduces the force required to remove the cap and facilitates separate collection operations. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] To achieve the above objective, the hinge cap according to the present invention has a cap body that is attached to the mouth of a container and an upper lid that is integral with the cap body via a hinge, the cap body has an inner stopper that closes the mouth opening and a skirt portion that surrounds the mouth, the skirt portion has an upper skirt portion that has a double wall structure of an inner wall and an outer wall and a lower skirt portion that has a single wall structure, the inner wall is integral with the inner stopper and the outer wall is integral with the lower skirt portion, and there is a double wall weakening portion that connects the inner wall and the lower skirt portion, the double wall weakening portion extends along the circumferential direction of the mouth, the lower skirt portion has a fitting projection on its inner surface that is raised inward in the radial direction of the mouth and extends along the circumferential direction of the mouth, and a transverse slit portion that is recessed outward in the radial direction of the mouth and extends along the circumferential direction of the mouth, the transverse slit portion is in the circumferential direction of the mouth The outer wall is integral with the hinge, and has a vertical slit on the inner surface near the hinge on one side of the hinge, the vertical slit has a vertical slit along the axis of the opening, the vertical slit has a fracture start end on the side opposite the upper lid and extends toward the fracture start end of the double wall weakening, the lower part of the skirt has intermittent fitting sections with intermittent fitting protrusions at positions corresponding to the vertical slit, the intermittent fitting sections have intermittent weakening along the axis of the opening, the intermittent weakening sections are connected to the fracture start end of the horizontal slit weakening, the horizontal slit forms an oblique slit at the end side in the circumferential direction of the opening that reaches the bottom of the skirt, and the oblique slit has an oblique slit weaken. The hinge cap of the present invention is characterized in that the vertical slit portion has a notch portion on the side facing the upper lid that continues from the starting end of the fracture of the weakened vertical slit portion. The hinge cap of the present invention is characterized in that the lower part of the skirt has a plurality of linear protrusions extending in the direction of the mouth axis on the inner circumferential surface of the skirt hem side from the fitting protrusion. The hinge cap of the present invention is characterized in that the upper lid portion acts as a separating drive unit that pulls the hinge outward in the radial direction of the opening to break the vertical slit portion from the starting point of the break of the vertical slit weakening portion to the starting point of the break of the double-wall weakening portion, further breaks the intermittent weakening portion to the starting point of the break of the horizontal slit weakening portion, and pulls the hinge outward in the radial direction of the opening while rotating it in the circumferential direction of the opening to simultaneously break the double-wall weakening portion and the horizontal slit weakening portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] With the above configuration, at the start of the hinge cap sorting and collection operation, by pinching the top lid in the open state and pulling the hinge outward in the radial direction of the opening, the vertical slit weakening portion of the vertical slit breaks from the starting point of the break and breaks up to the starting point of the break of the double-wall weakening portion. Further pulling the hinge outward in the radial direction of the opening causes the intermittent weakening portion to break up to the starting point of the break of the lateral slit weakening portion. Then, by pulling the top lid and hinge outward in the radial direction of the opening and rotating them in the circumferential direction of the opening, the parallel double-wall weakening portion and the lateral slit weakening portion break simultaneously via the fitting projection, and the fitting projection is separated from the skirt portion in the circumferential direction of the opening. Therefore, it is not necessary to break the skirt portion along its entire length in the direction of the mouth axis at the start of the sorting and collection operation, and the breaking length in the thick-walled portion of the skirt can be shortened. As a result, the load acting on the hinge at the start of the sorting and collection operation can be reduced, and hinge breakage can be prevented. As the rupture of the double-wall weakened section and the lateral slit weakened section progresses while the bottom edge of the skirt portion remains ring-shaped around the mouth without breaking, the separation and collection operation to separate the fitting projection from the skirt portion in the circumferential direction of the mouth proceeds smoothly without the cap body rotating together. Once the fitting projection is separated from the skirt portion, the hinge cap can be detached from the mouth of the container. When the weakened portion of the oblique slit in the oblique slit breaks at the circumferential end of the horizontal slit in the mouth, the bottom of the skirt breaks, marking the end of the sorting and collection operation. The hinge cap is then detached from the mouth of the container, completing the sorting and collection process. Further, since only one intermittent portion is provided in the fitting convex portion, the structure improves the heat resistance of the hinge cap. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] [Figure 1] Top view showing an unopened state of the hinge cap according to the embodiment of the present invention [Figure 2] Cross-sectional view showing the unopened cap body of the hinge cap according to the same embodiment [Figure 3] Bottom view showing an unopened state of the hinge cap according to the same embodiment [Figure 4] Side view showing a closed state of the hinge cap according to the same embodiment [Figure 5] Back view showing a closed state of the hinge cap according to the same embodiment [Figure 6] Partial cross-sectional view taken along line a-a of Fig. 1 [Figure 7] Partial cross-sectional view taken along line b-b of Fig. 1 [Figure 8] Partial cross-sectional view taken along line c-c of Fig. 1 [Figure 9] Partial cross-sectional view taken along line d-d of Fig. 1 [Figure 10] Partial cross-sectional view taken along line e-e of Fig. 1 [Figure 11] Perspective view showing an opened and unsealed state of the hinge cap according to the same embodiment, and showing an initial state of sorting processing [Figure 12] Perspective view showing an opened and unsealed state of the hinge cap according to the same embodiment, and showing an early half state of sorting processing [Figure 13] Perspective view showing an opened and unsealed state of the hinge cap according to the same embodiment, and showing a middle state of sorting processing [Figure 14] Perspective view showing an opened and unsealed state of the hinge cap according to the same embodiment, and showing a final state of sorting processing MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a hinge cap according to the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 14. In FIGS. 1 to 10, the hinge cap 1 is attached to the mouth portion 3 of a container 2, and includes a cap body 4, and an upper lid portion 7 integrated with the cap body 4 via a hinge 5 and a band hinge 6. The cap body 4 includes an inner plug 8 that closes the mouth opening of the mouth portion 3, and a skirt portion 9 that surrounds the periphery of the mouth portion around the axial center of the mouth portion. The inner plug 8 has a cylindrical spout cylinder 10 on its top surface, a plug body 11 in a portion to be opened surrounded by the spout cylinder 10 is connected by a plug body weakening portion 12, and a pull ring 13 is integrally provided on the plug body 11. Further, the inner plug 8 has an annular inner plug fitting portion 14 that surrounds the outer side of the spout cylinder 10 on the top surface and forms an annular shape around the axial center of the cap body 4, and the inner plug fitting portion 14 includes an inner plug fitting convex portion 15 that protrudes outward in the radial direction of the cap body 4. Furthermore, the inner plug 8 includes an inner seal portion 16 inserted into the mouth portion 3 on a lower surface thereof. The upper lid portion 7 has a lid fitting portion 17 at an inner edge of an opening thereof, and the lid fitting portion 17 has a lid fitting concave portion 18 that fits to the inner plug fitting convex portion 14. Further, the upper lid portion 7 has a flange portion 19 extending outward in the radial direction of the upper lid portion 7 on an outer peripheral surface thereof, and the flange portion 19 is located at a position facing the hinge 5 in the radial direction of the upper lid portion 7. Furthermore, the upper lid portion 7 includes an annular upper lid inner 20 inserted into the spout cylinder 10 on an inner side surface thereof. The skirt portion 9 has a main body fitting convex portion 21 protruding inward in the radial direction of the mouth portion on an inner side surface thereof, and the main body fitting convex portion 21 fits into a mouth fitting concave portion 22 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 3, thereby preventing the cap body 4 from coming off in the axial direction of the mouth portion. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 10, the skirt portion 9 has a double-wall structure in which an upper skirt portion 91 is composed of an inner wall 23 and an outer wall 24, with a slit 25 provided between the inner wall 23 and the outer wall 24, and a lower skirt portion 92 has a single-wall structure. In the double-wall structure of the upper skirt portion 91, the inner wall 23 is integrated with the inner plug 8, and the outer wall 24 is integrated with the hinge 5 and the lower skirt portion 92. Between the inner wall 23 and the inner side surface of the lower skirt portion 92, there is provided an inter-double-wall weakening portion 26 connecting the two, and the inter-double-wall weakening portion 26 extends along the circumferential direction of the mouth portion. The lower part 92 of the skirt has a transverse slit portion 27 recessed outward in the radial direction of the opening on its inner surface, the transverse slit portion 27 extends along the circumferential direction of the opening, the double wall weakening portion 26 and the transverse slit portion 27 are parallel via the main body fitting projection 21, and the transverse slit portion 27 has a transverse slit weakening portion 28 along the circumferential direction of the opening. The outer wall 24 has a vertical slit portion 29 on the inner surface immediately adjacent to the band hinge 6, near the hinge on one side of the hinge 5. The vertical slit portion 29 has a vertical slit weakening portion 30 along the axis direction of the opening, and the vertical slit weakening portion 30 has a fracture start end 30a on the side facing the upper lid and extends toward the fracture start end 26a of the double wall weakening portion 26. The vertical slit portion 29 also has a notch portion 31 on the side facing the upper lid that continues toward the fracture start end 30a of the vertical slit weakening portion 30. The lower part 92 of the skirt has a fitting intermittent portion 32 in which the main body fitting projection 21 is intermittently spaced at a position corresponding to the vertical slit portion 29, and the fitting intermittent portion 32 has an intermittent weakening portion 33 along the axis direction of the opening, and the intermittent weakening portion 33 is connected to the fracture start end 28a of the horizontal slit weakening portion 28. The vertical slit weakening portion 30 of the vertical slit portion 29 is connected to the intermittent weakening portion 33 of the fitting intermittent portion 32, and the vertical slit weakening portion 30 and the intermittent weakening portion 33 are connected to the fracture start end 26a of the double wall weakening portion 26 via the bottom thin-walled portion 34 of the slit 25 that separates the vertical slit portion 29 and the fitting intermittent portion 32. Furthermore, the lower part of the skirt 92 has multiple linear protrusions 35 extending in the axial direction of the opening on the inner circumferential surface of the skirt hem side from the main body fitting projection 21. The horizontal slit portion 27 forms an oblique slit portion 36 that extends to the bottom edge of the skirt portion 9 at the circumferential end of the opening, and the oblique slit portion 36 has an oblique slit weakening portion 37. The end of the horizontal slit portion 27 and the oblique slit portion 36 are located away from the hinge 5, and in this case, the separation distance is relatively short, with the end of the oblique slit portion 36 being close to the hinge 5. The area between the end of the oblique slit portion 36 and the vertical slit portion 29 forms a non-recyclable portion. The operation of the above configuration will be explained below. When separating the hinge cap 1, the top lid 7 acts as the separation drive. In other words, as shown in Figure 11, at the start of the separation and collection operation of the hinge cap 1, by pinching the top lid 7 in the open state and pulling the hinge 5 outward in the radial direction of the opening, the vertical slit weakening portion 30 of the vertical slit portion 29 breaks easily with a small force from the break initiation end 30a that follows the notch portion 31, and then breaks down to the break initiation end 26a of the double wall weakening portion 26. Furthermore, by pulling the hinge 5 outward in the radial direction of the opening, the intermittent weakening portion 33 breaks up to the fracture start end 28a of the lateral slit weakening portion 28. Then, as shown in Figures 12 and 13, by pulling the top cover portion 7 and hinge 5 outward in the radial direction of the opening and rotating them in the circumferential direction of the opening, the parallel double-wall weakening portion 26 and the lateral slit weakening portion 28 are simultaneously broken via the main body fitting projection 21, and the main body fitting projection 21 is successively separated from the skirt portion 9 in the circumferential direction of the opening. Therefore, it is not necessary to break the skirt portion 9 along its entire length in the direction of the mouth axis at the start of the sorting and collection operation, and the break length in the thick-walled portion of the skirt portion 9 can be shortened. As a result, the load acting on the hinge 5 at the start of the sorting and collection operation can be reduced, and the breakage of the hinge 5 can be prevented. As the rupture of the double-wall weakening portion 26 and the lateral slit weakening portion 28 progresses while the bottom edge of the skirt portion 9 remains ring-shaped around the mouth without breaking, the separation and collection operation to separate the main body fitting projection 21 from the skirt portion 9 in the circumferential direction of the mouth proceeds smoothly without the cap body 4 rotating together. At this time, the linear projection 35 on the inner circumferential surface of the lower skirt portion 92 comes into contact with the outer circumferential surface of the mouth portion 3 of the container 2, further suppressing the rotation together. Then, the main body fitting projection 21 separates from the skirt portion 9 while remaining continuous, and moves away from the mouth portion 3 of the container 2, allowing the hinge cap 1 to be detached from the mouth portion 3 of the container 2. As shown in Figure 14, when the diagonal slit weakening portion 37 of the diagonal slit portion 36 breaks at the circumferential end of the horizontal slit portion 27, the bottom of the skirt portion 9 separates from the mouth 3 of the container 2 in a continuous state, marking the end of the sorting and collection operation. The hinge cap 1 is then detached from the mouth 3 of the container 2, completing the sorting and collection operation. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, since there is only one intermittent fitting 32 provided on the main body fitting projection 21, the hinge cap 1 has a structure with high heat resistance. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0009] 1. Hinge cap 2 containers 3 Mouth 4 Cap body 5 Hinge 6-band hinge 7. Top lid 8. Inner stopper 9 Skirt section 10 Pour tube 11 Plug body 12 Weakened part of plug body 13 Pull ring 14. Inner plug fitting section 15. Inner plug fitting projection 16 Inner seal section 17 Lid fitting section 18 Lid fitting recess 19 Guard section 20 Top lid inner 21 Main body fitting protrusion 22. Mouth fitting recess 23 Inner wall 24 Exterior Wall 25 slits 26 Weakened area between double walls 26a Fracture start 27 Horizontal slit section 28 Horizontal slit weakening section 28a Fracture start 29 Vertical slit section 30 Vertical slit weakening area 30a Fracture start 31 Notch 32 Interlocking part 33 Intermittent weakening section 34 Thin bottom part 35 Linear protrusions 36. Oblique slit section 37. Diagonal slit weakening section 91 Upper part of the skirt 92 Lower part of the skirt

Claims

1. It has a cap body that attaches to the mouth of the container and an upper lid that is integrated with the cap body via a hinge. The cap body has an inner stopper that seals the opening and a skirt portion that surrounds the opening. The skirt portion has an upper skirt portion that forms a double-wall structure with an inner wall and an outer wall, and a lower skirt portion that forms a single-wall structure, the inner wall being integral with the inner plug, the outer wall being integral with the lower skirt portion, and a double-wall weakening portion connecting the inner wall and the lower skirt portion, the double-wall weakening portion extending along the circumferential direction of the opening, The lower part of the skirt has on its inner surface a fitting projection that rises inward in the radial direction of the opening and extends along the circumferential direction of the opening, and a transverse slit that is recessed outward in the radial direction of the opening and extends along the circumferential direction of the opening, the transverse slit has a transverse slit weakening portion along the circumferential direction of the opening, and the double wall weakening portion and the transverse slit weakening portion are parallel via the fitting projection. The outer wall is integrated with the hinge, and has a vertical slit on the inner surface near the hinge on one side of the hinge, the vertical slit has a weakened vertical slit portion aligned with the axis of the opening, the weakened vertical slit portion has a fracture initiation point on the side opposite the upper cover, and extends toward the fracture initiation point of the weakened portion between the double walls, The lower part of the skirt has intermittent fitting sections with intermittent fitting protrusions at positions corresponding to the vertical slits, and the intermittent fitting sections have intermittent weakening sections along the axis of the opening, and the intermittent weakening sections are connected to the starting end of the fracture of the horizontal slit weakening section. A hinge cap characterized in that the horizontal slit portion forms an oblique slit portion that extends to the bottom edge of the skirt portion at the end of the circumferential direction of the opening portion, and the oblique slit portion has an oblique slit weakening portion.

2. The hinge cap according to claim 1, characterized in that the vertical slit portion has a notch portion on the side opposite the upper lid that continues from the starting end of the fracture of the weakened vertical slit portion.

3. The hinge cap according to claim 1, characterized in that the lower part of the skirt has multiple linear protrusions extending in the direction of the mouth axis on the inner circumferential surface of the skirt hem side from the fitting protrusion.

4. The hinge cap according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper lid portion has a separating drive mechanism that pulls the hinge outward in the radial direction of the opening to break the vertical slit portion from the starting point of the break of the vertical slit weakening portion to the starting point of the break of the double-wall weakening portion, further breaks the intermittent weakening portion to the starting point of the break of the horizontal slit weakening portion, and pulls the hinge outward in the radial direction of the opening while rotating it in the circumferential direction of the opening to simultaneously break the double-wall weakening portion and the horizontal slit weakening portion.

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