Container

Abstract

This container comprises an inner container in which contents are accommodated, and an outer container in which the inner container is accommodated. The outer container includes an upper container part that has, on an outer peripheral surface thereof, a screw structure for engaging with a lid body, and a lower container part continuous with the upper container part. The upper container part has a recess formed on the outer peripheral surface. The inner container has a body part in which the contents are accommodated, and a tongue piece extending at a predetermined interval from the outer surface of the body part. When the inner container is accommodated in the outer container, the tongue piece enters the recess and, in a state in which a gap is present between mutually facing surfaces of the tongue piece and the recess, a first engagement part provided on the tongue piece is engaged with a second engagement part attached to the outer container. The engagement between the first engagement part and the second engagement part is released when the tongue piece is bent toward the recess.

Description

container

[0001] The present invention relates to a container.

[0002] BACKGROUND ART In recent years, containers for storing contents such as cosmetics have become known that are configured to be refillable with the contents, so-called refills, from the viewpoint of environmental issues and the like.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a double container that can accommodate a refill container in a wide-mouth container. The double container disclosed in Figure 9 of Patent Document 1 has a fitting notch and a thin-walled portion with engaging means on the mouth side of the wide-mouth container, and a flange one step below the mouth of the refill container, with a tongue extending downward from the flange and a thin-walled portion with engaging means. The refill container is held in the wide-mouth container by engaging the engaging means with the tongue inserted into the notch.

[0004] Patent No. 6448471

[0005] In the double-walled container disclosed in Figure 9 of Patent Document 1, the engagement between the tongue and the notch is released by bending the tongue inward, allowing the refill container to be removed from the wide-mouth container. Therefore, if the notch is shallow and the tongue is short, a large force is required to bend the tongue inward. On the other hand, if the notch is made deeper and the tongue is made longer in order to bend the tongue inward with less force, the appearance will be deteriorated. In particular, the so-called premium feel, or luxury, will be lost.

[0006] Furthermore, when removing the refill container from the wide-mouth container by bending the refill container itself inward as shown in Figure 7 of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to provide a gap between the refill container and the wide-mouth container to allow for bending of the refill container as shown in Figure 6 of Patent Document 1. This poses the problem of reducing the amount of contents that can be accommodated in the refill container.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems associated with the conventional technology as described above, and aims to provide a container in which an inner container is housed in an outer container, and in which the inner container can be removed from the outer container without reducing the capacity of the inner container, without significantly damaging the appearance, and without requiring a great deal of force.

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a container having an inner container with a first opening through which an item is placed, an outer container with a second opening through which the inner container is placed, and a lid that closes the second opening, wherein the outer container has: a cylindrical upper container portion having a thread structure on its outer peripheral surface that is threadably engaged with the lid, and a lower container portion that is continuous with the upper container portion on the side opposite the second opening, and the upper container portion has a recess that is recessed inward from the outer peripheral surface and extends a first length from the second opening toward the side opposite the second opening, and the inner container has: a main body portion in which the item is placed, and a tongue that is connected to an end of the main body portion on the first opening side and extends a second length that is less than the first length so as to follow the outer surface of the main body portion at a predetermined interval, When the inner container is placed in the outer container, the tongue piece enters the recess, creating a gap between the opposing surfaces of the tongue piece and the recess, and a first engagement portion provided on the tongue piece engages with a second engagement portion attached to the outer container, and the tongue piece bends toward the recess, thereby disengaging the first engagement portion from the second engagement portion.

[0009] In the present invention configured as described above, when the inner container is placed in the outer container, the tongue connected to the end of the body of the inner container enters a recess provided on the outer surface of the upper container part of the outer container, which has a thread structure for threadably engaging with the lid, and with a gap generated between the opposing surfaces of the tongue and the recess, the first engagement portion provided on the tongue engages with the second engagement portion attached to the outer container. When the tongue is deflected toward the recess from this state, the engagement between the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion is released.

[0010] In this way, the tongue and recess that are deflected when the inner container is removed from the outer container are located in an area that is hidden by the lid when the outer container is screwed to the lid and the lid is attached, so the sizes of the tongue and recess can be increased without significantly impairing the appearance, and by increasing the size of the tongue, the inner container can be removed from the outer container without requiring a large amount of force. Furthermore, by inserting the tongue into a recess provided on the outer peripheral surface of the outer container and deflecting this tongue toward the recess, the engagement between the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion is released, so the operating area for removing the inner container from the outer container is outside the outer container, thereby avoiding a reduction in the capacity of the inner container.

[0011] In addition, the lower container part may have a shoulder at the continuous portion with the upper container part by having an outer diameter in a direction perpendicular to the continuous direction with the upper container part that is larger than that of the upper container part, and may have a shoulder member attached to the shoulder and equipped with the second engagement part.

[0012] In such a configuration, the first engaging portion of the inner container can be engaged with the second engaging portion by utilizing a shoulder member attached to the shoulder portion.

[0013] The shoulder member may be fixed to the shoulder portion by adhesive means.

[0014] In such a configuration, the shoulder member can be fixed to the shoulder portion with a simple configuration.

[0015] The length of the recess may be the same as the length of the upper container part in the direction of continuity with the lower container part.

[0016] In this configuration, the length of the tongue that fits into the recess can be set to the maximum length that is hidden by the lid, and the inner container can be removed from the outer container with less force.

[0017] The shoulder member may also have a first anti-rotation portion on its mounting surface to the shoulder portion, and the shoulder portion may have a second anti-rotation portion on its mounting surface to engage with the first anti-rotation portion.

[0018] In this configuration, even if the fixing force of the adhesive means weakens, the shoulder member is prevented from rotating on the shoulder portion.

[0019] The main body and the tongue may be connected via a flange that comes into surface contact with the end face of the upper container portion on the second opening side.

[0020] In this configuration, when the inner container is housed in the outer container, the flange rests on the upper end face of the outer container, allowing the inner container to be stably fixed.

[0021] According to the present invention, in a container in which an inner container is housed in an outer container, the inner container can be removed from the outer container without reducing the capacity of the inner container, without significantly damaging the appearance, and without requiring a large force.

[0022] 1A and 1B. FIG. 1B is an external perspective view showing an embodiment of a container of the present invention. FIG. 1C is a side view showing an embodiment of a container of the present invention. FIG. 1D is an external perspective view showing a state in which the lid body is removed from the container shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 1D is an external perspective view showing the configuration of the lid body shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 1E is an external perspective view showing the configuration of the outer container shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 1F is an external perspective view showing the configuration of the inner container shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 1G is a side view showing the configuration of the inner container shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 1H is a side view showing the configuration of the gold crown shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 1H is an external perspective view showing the configuration of the gold crown shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 1H is a view showing a state in which the inner container is housed in a state in which the gold crown is attached to the outer container. FIG. 1I is a view showing the positional relationship between an engaging claw provided at the tip of a tongue and the gold crown. FIG. 1I is a view showing a state in which the engaging claw overcomes the fitting claw of the gold crown. FIG. 1I is a view showing a state in which the tip of the tongue is inserted between the doughnut-shaped inner peripheral surface of the gold crown and the outer peripheral surface of the upper container part. FIG. 1J is a view for explaining a method of removing the inner container from the outer container.

[0023] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0024] 1A and 1B are views showing one embodiment of a container of the present invention, in which Fig. 1A is a perspective view of the container 1 seen from diagonally above, and Fig. 1B is a side view of the container 1. Fig. 2 is an external perspective view showing the container 1 shown in Figs. 1A and 1B with the lid 10 removed.

[0025] As shown in Figures 1A, 1B and 2, this embodiment is a container 1 having a lid body 10, an outer container 20, an inner container 30 and a gold crown 40, in which the gold crown 40 is attached to the outer container 20 and the inner container 30 is housed inside the outer container 20, and the opening of the container 1 is covered by the lid body 10.

[0026] <Cover 10> FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the cover 10 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, as viewed obliquely from below.

[0027] The lid 10 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B has a top surface 11, an outer side wall 12, and an inner side wall 13, as shown in FIG.

[0028] The top surface 11 is configured in the shape of a circular plate. The outer sidewall 12 is configured in a cylindrical shape standing up from the outer periphery of the top surface 11 on one side of the top surface 11. The inner sidewall 13 is configured in a cylindrical shape standing up from the inside of the outer sidewall 12 at a fixed distance from the outer sidewall 12 on one side of the top surface 11. The inner surface of the inner sidewall 13 is provided with a thread structure 14 that can be threadably engaged.

[0029] The cover 10 configured as described above can be made of resin or the like by integrating the top surface 11, the outer side wall 12, and the inner side wall 13 together.

[0030] <Outer Container 20> FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the outer container 20 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, as viewed obliquely from above.

[0031] The outer container 20 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is configured such that an upper container portion 21 and a lower container portion 22 are continuous with each other, as shown in FIG.

[0032] The upper container portion 21 is cylindrical, and one end of the cylindrical shape forms an opening 23 for inserting the inner container 30 into the outer container 20 or removing the inner container 30 from the outer container 20. The opening 23 is an example of a second opening in the present invention. The cylindrical diameter R1 of the upper container portion 21 is approximately the same as the inner diameter of the inner sidewall 13 of the lid 10. The outer peripheral surface of the upper container portion 21 is provided with a thread structure 25 that can engage with the thread structure 14 of the lid 10. The outer peripheral surface of the upper container portion 21 is also provided with two recesses 27. The two recesses 27 are recessed inward from the outer peripheral surface of the upper container portion 21 in regions facing each other across the cylindrical center of the upper container portion 21. The recesses 27 extend from the end of the upper container portion 21 on the opening 23 side to the end on the side continuous with the lower container portion 22. As a result, the first length of the recess 27 in the continuous direction between the upper container part 21 and the lower container part 22 is the same as the length in the same direction of the upper container part 21. Note that the recess 27 is recessed inward from the outer peripheral surface of the upper container part 21, so that the screw structure 14 is not provided in the region of the outer peripheral surface of the upper container part 21 where the recess 27 is provided.

[0033] The lower container portion 22 is cylindrical, and its end opposite the end connected to the cylindrical upper container portion 21 is closed to form a bottom 29. As a result, the bottom 29 is configured in the shape of a circular plate. The cylindrical diameter R2 of the lower container portion 22, which is the outer diameter of the lower container portion 22 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of connection between the upper container portion 21 and the lower container portion 22, is longer than the cylindrical diameter R1 of the upper container portion 21 in the same direction. Therefore, the lower container portion 22 has a shoulder 24 at its connecting portion with the upper container portion 21 to connect the lower container portion 22 to the upper container portion 21. The shoulder 24 is configured in a doughnut plate shape, thereby connecting the upper container portion 21 and the lower container portion 22, which have different outer shapes. The lower container portion 22 also has two protrusions 28 on the shoulder 24. The protrusions 28 are an example of a second rotation prevention portion in the present invention. The protrusion 28 is provided on the shoulder 24 at a position adjacent to the recess 27 of the upper container part 21, with a portion of the protrusion fitting into the recess 27, so as to protrude upward from the shoulder 24. If the diameter of the bottom 29 of the lower container part 22 is the same as the diameter of the top surface 11 of the lid 10, when the lid 10 is attached to the outer container 20, the outer peripheral surface of the lid 10 can be positioned on an extension of the outer peripheral surface of the outer container 20, as shown in Figure 1B.

[0034] The outer container 20 configured as above can be made of glass, resin, or the like by integrating the upper container portion 21 and the lower container portion 22 together.

[0035] <Inner container 30> Figures 5A and 5B are diagrams showing the configuration of the inner container 30 shown in Figure 2, where Figure 5A is a perspective view of the inner container 30 seen from diagonally above, and Figure 5B is a side view of the inner container 30 seen from the side.

[0036] The inner container 30 shown in FIG. 2 has a main body 31 and two tongues 32 as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

[0037] The main body 31 is configured in a kettle shape with an opening 33 and is sized to fit through the opening 23 of the outer container 20. Therefore, the diameter of the opening 33 of the main body 31 is shorter than the diameter of the opening 23 of the outer container 20, and the height of the main body 31 is shorter than the length from the end face 26 on the opening 23 side of the outer container 20 to the bottom 29. The opening 33 is an example of a first opening in the present invention. A flange 34 protruding outward is continuous with the end of the main body 31 on the opening 33 side. The flange 34 protrudes outward by a certain width from the end of the main body 31 on the opening 33 side, forming a doughnut plate shape.

[0038] The tongues 32 are connected to the end of the main body 31 on the opening 33 side via the flange 34. The two tongues 32 are respectively continuous with regions of the flange 34 that face each other across the center of the opening 33. One end of each tongue 32 is continuous with the flange 34, and extends from there along the outer surface of the main body 31 at a predetermined distance d1. Note that the distance d1 is wider than the thickness of the region of the upper container portion 21 of the outer container 20 where the recess 27 is provided. The second length of each tongue 32 is the same as the length of the recess 27 of the outer container 20 in the direction of continuity between the upper container portion 21 and the lower container portion 22. An engaging claw 35 that protrudes outward is provided at the tip of each tongue 32. The engaging claw 35 is an example of a first engaging portion in the present invention.

[0039] The inner container 30 configured as described above can be made of resin or the like, with the main body 31 and the tongue 32 integrated via the flange 34. By making the inner container 30 out of an easily processable material such as resin, the tongue 32 and the engaging claw 35 can be easily provided.

[0040] <Gold crown 40> FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing the configuration of the gold crown 40 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, where FIG. 6A is a side view of the gold crown 40 as seen from the side, and FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the gold crown 40 as seen from diagonally below.

[0041] The gold crown 40 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is an example of a shoulder member according to the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B , the gold crown 40 is donut-shaped and has a sloped surface 43 on its upper surface. The sloped surface 43 curves downwardly from the inside to the outside of the donut shape, with the height of the outside of the donut shape being lower than the inside. The gold crown 40 is sized to be attachable to the shoulder 24 of the outer container 20. Therefore, the inner diameter of the donut shape of the gold crown 40 is larger than the outer diameter of the upper container portion 21 of the outer container 20. As described below, when the inner container 30 is housed in the outer container 20, the tongue 32 of the inner container 30 must fit between the donut-shaped inner peripheral surface of the gold crown 40 and the outer peripheral surface of the upper container portion 21. Therefore, the inner diameter of the donut shape of the gold crown 40 is larger than the outer diameter of the upper container portion 21 of the outer container 20 by at least the thickness of the tongue 32. Furthermore, if the outer diameter of the donut shape of the gold crown 40 is the same as the outer diameter of the lower container portion 22 of the outer container 20, when the gold crown 40 is attached to the outer container 20, it is possible to form a configuration in which the outer peripheral surface of the gold crown 40 is located on an extension of the outer peripheral surface of the outer container 20, as shown in Fig. 1B. In this case, as described above, the gold crown 40 has a sloped surface 43 on the upper surface. Therefore, even if a configuration is formed in which the outer peripheral surfaces of the gold crown 40 and the lid 10 are located on an extension of the outer peripheral surface of the outer container 20, a space 44 is formed between the sloped surface 43 of the gold crown 40 and the lid 10, as shown in Fig. 1B, thereby creating a unique design.

[0042] The gold crown 40 is also provided with an annular claw 41 and two recesses 42. The annular claw 41 is an example of a second engagement portion of the present invention. The annular claw 41 protrudes inward from the donut-shaped inner peripheral surface of the gold crown 40 at the upper end of the donut-shaped inner peripheral surface of the gold crown 40 and is provided in a ring shape along the inner circumference of the gold crown 40. The recess 42 is an example of a first rotation prevention portion of the present invention. The recess 42 is recessed from the lower surface of the gold crown 40, which is the attachment surface to the shoulder portion 24 of the outer container 20, and has a shape that allows the protrusion 28 of the outer container 20 to fit into it. The two recesses 42 are provided in areas facing each other across the center of the donut shape.

[0043] The gold crown 40 configured as described above can be made of resin or the like.

[0044] <Relationship Between Outer Container 20, Inner Container 30, and Gold Crown 40> Hereinafter, a configuration in which the inner container 30 is housed in the outer container 20 configured as described above with the gold crown 40 attached thereto will be described.

[0045] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the inner container 30 is housed in a state in which the gold crown 40 is attached to the outer container 20, and shows a cross section taken along the line AA shown in FIG.

[0046] In the container 1 shown in Figures 1A and 1B, the gold crown 40 shown in Figures 6A and 6B is attached to the outer container 20 shown in Figure 4. As shown in Figure 7, the gold crown 40 is attached to the shoulder portion 24 of the outer container 20. As described above, the inner diameter of the donut-shaped gold crown 40 is larger than the outer diameter of the upper container portion 21 of the outer container 20. Therefore, the gold crown 40 can be attached to the shoulder portion 24 of the outer container 20 so that the upper container portion 21 of the outer container 20 fits inside the gold crown 40. In this case, the lower surface of the gold crown 40 is provided with two recesses 42 recessed from the lower surface of the gold crown 40, and two protrusions 28 protruding upward from the shoulder portion 24 are provided on the shoulder portion 24. The two recesses 42 are provided in regions facing each other across the center of the donut shape of the gold crown 40, while the two protrusions 28 are provided in regions facing each other across the center of the cylindrical shape of the upper container portion 21. This allows the two recesses 42 and the two protrusions 28 to be aligned and engaged with each other by fitting the protrusions 28 of the outer container 20 into the recesses 42 of the gold crown 40. With the protrusions 28 of the outer container 20 fitted into the recesses 42 of the gold crown 40, the gold crown 40 can be fixed to the outer container 20 by an adhesive such as hot melt. Fixing the gold crown 40 to the shoulder portion 24 by an adhesive in this way allows the gold crown 40 to be fixed to the shoulder portion 24 with a simple configuration. Furthermore, fitting the protrusions 28 of the outer container 20 into the recesses 42 of the gold crown 40 prevents the gold crown 40 from rotating on the shoulder portion 24 of the outer container 20. 1A and 1B, the lid 10 is attached to and detached from the outer container 20 by threaded engagement between the thread structure 14 of the lid 10 and the thread structure 25 of the outer container 20, as will be described later. Therefore, if the protrusion 28 of the outer container 20 is fitted into the recess 42 of the gold crown 40, when turning the lid 10 relative to the outer container 20, even if the fixing force provided by the adhesive means weakens, it is possible to prevent the hand turning the lid 10 from coming into contact with the gold crown 40 and causing the gold crown 40 to rotate on the shoulder 24 of the outer container 20.

[0047] In this way, the inner container 30 is housed in the outer container 20 to which the gold crown 40 is attached.

[0048] As described above, the diameter of the opening 33 of the main body 31 is smaller than the diameter of the opening 23 of the outer container 20. Therefore, the main body 31 of the inner container 30 can enter through the opening 23 of the outer container 20, and the inner container 30 is housed in the outer container 20.

[0049] On the other hand, the tongue 32 of the inner container 30 does not enter through the opening 23 of the outer container 20, but is arranged along the outer peripheral surface of the upper container portion 21 of the outer container 20, and the tip of the tongue 32 enters between the outer peripheral surface of the upper container portion 21 of the outer container 20 and the doughnut-shaped inner peripheral surface of the gold crown 40. The tip of the tongue 32 is provided with an engaging claw 35 that protrudes outward, while the gold crown 40 is provided with an annular claw 41 at the upper end of its inner peripheral surface that protrudes inward from the doughnut-shaped inner peripheral surface of the gold crown 40 and forms a ring shape along the inner circumference of the gold crown 40. Therefore, the engaging claw 35 of the tongue 32 engages with the annular claw 41 of the gold crown 40, thereby fixing the inner container 30 in a state where it is housed in the outer container 20. In this case, the distance d1 between the main body portion 31 of the inner container 30 and the tongue piece 32 is wider than the thickness of the area of ​​the upper container portion 21 of the outer container 20 where the recess 27 is provided, so that a gap 50 is created between the opposing surfaces of the outer periphery of the area where the recess 27 is provided in the upper container portion 21 and the tongue piece 32.

[0050] Furthermore, as described above, the height of the main body 31 is smaller than the length from the end face 26 on the opening 23 side of the outer container 20 to the bottom 29, so that the flange 34 of the inner container 30 rests in surface contact with the end face 26 on the opening 23 side of the outer container 20, as shown in Figure 7, thereby enabling the inner container 30 to be stably fixed.

[0051] In this way, the lower container part 22 of the outer container 20 has a shoulder part 24, and the gold crown 40 attached to the shoulder part 24 is provided with annular claws 41 that engage with the engaging claws 35 of the tongue piece 32. By using the gold crown 40 attached to the shoulder part 24, the engaging claws 35 of the inner container 30 can be engaged with the annular claws 41 to fix the inner container 30 to the outer container 20. In particular, when the outer container 20 is made of a material that is difficult to process, such as glass, by making the gold crown 40 out of an easily processable material, such as resin, it is possible to easily provide an engaging part that engages with the engaging claws 35 of the inner container 30.

[0052] Thereafter, the screw structure 14 of the lid 10 is threadedly engaged with the screw structure 25 of the outer container 20 , thereby attaching the lid 10 to the outer container 20 and closing the opening 23 of the outer container 20 with the lid 10 .

[0053] 1A and 1B, a so-called refill product that allows the contents to be refilled has become known from the viewpoint of environmental issues, etc. Therefore, in the container 1 shown in Fig. 1A and 1B, the inner container 30 containing the contents such as cosmetics may also be provided as a refill product, and general consumers may place the inner container 30 containing the contents such as cosmetics in the outer container 20 or remove it from the outer container 20.

[0054] A method for placing the inner container 30 in the outer container 20 and a method for removing the inner container 30 from the outer container 20 will be described below.

[0055] <Method of Enclosing Inner Container 30 in Outer Container 20> First, a method of enclosing the inner container 30 in the outer container 20 to which the gold crown 40 has been attached as described above will be described.

[0056] The inner container 30 is placed inside the outer container 20 through the opening 23 of the outer container 20. As described above, the diameter of the opening 33 of the main body 31 is shorter than the diameter of the opening 23 of the outer container 20. Therefore, the main body 31 of the inner container 30 can be inserted through the opening 23 of the outer container 20. When the main body 31 of the inner container 30 is inserted through the opening 23 of the outer container 20, the tongue 32 of the inner container 30 and the recess 27 of the outer container 20 are aligned to face each other. The inner container 30 may be provided in such a manner that an item such as a cosmetic is placed inside the inner container 30 and a sheet-like lid is removably attached to the flange 34 so as to close the opening 33. In this case, a consumer who purchases the inner container 30 may peel off the sheet-like lid and place the inner container 30 in the outer container 20, or may peel off the sheet-like lid after placing the inner container 30 in the outer container 20.

[0057] When the main body 31 of the inner container 30 is inserted through the opening 23 of the outer container 20, the distance d1 between the main body 31 of the inner container 30 and the tongue 32 is wider than the thickness of the area of ​​the upper container part 21 of the outer container 20 where the recess 27 is provided, so the tongue 32 of the inner container 30 enters the recess 27 of the upper container part 21 and moves downward along the outer peripheral surface of the area of ​​the upper container part 21 where the recess 27 is provided.

[0058] As described above, the length of the tongue 32 is the same as the length of the recess 27 of the outer container 20 in the direction of continuity between the upper container portion 21 and the lower container portion 22, and the recess 27 extends from the end of the upper container portion 21 on the opening 23 side to the end on the side that is continuous with the lower container portion 22.

[0059] Therefore, when the tongue 32 of the inner container 30 moves downward along the outer peripheral surface of the upper container part 21 of the outer container 20, the tip of the tongue 32 tries to get in between the donut-shaped inner peripheral surface of the gold crown 40 and the outer peripheral surface of the upper container part 21, but the tip of the tongue 32 has an engaging claw 35 that protrudes outward.

[0060] 8A is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the engagement claw 35 provided at the tip of the tongue piece 32 and the gold crown 40. FIG. 8B is a diagram showing a state in which the engagement claw 35 climbs over the annular claw 41 of the gold crown 40.

[0061] 8A along the outer circumferential surface of the upper container portion 21 of the outer container 20, an engaging claw 35 provided at the tip of the tongue 32 comes into contact with the gold crown 40. However, as shown in FIG. 8A , the region of the engaging claw 35 that comes into contact with the gold crown 40 forms an inclined surface 35a such that the thickness of the tongue 32 decreases toward the tip of the tongue 32. Furthermore, although the gold crown 40 has an annular claw 41 provided at the upper end of the inner circumferential surface of the gold crown 40, the region that the tongue 32 comes into contact with forms an inclined surface 41a such that the height of the annular claw 41 decreases toward the outside of the gold crown 40.

[0062] Therefore, if the tongue 32 is made of a bendable material such as resin, the tongue 32 that comes into contact with the gold crown 40 can bend in the direction C in Figure 8B, while allowing the inclined surface 35a to slide over the inclined surface 41a of the gold crown 40, moving in the direction of arrow B in Figure 8A.

[0063] Then, the engaging claw 35 of the tongue 32 climbs over the annular claw 41 of the gold crown 40, allowing the tip of the tongue 32 to fit between the donut-shaped inner surface of the gold crown 40 and the outer surface of the upper container portion 21.

[0064] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state in which the tip of the tongue piece 32 is inserted between the doughnut-shaped inner peripheral surface of the gold crown 40 and the outer peripheral surface of the upper container portion 21, and shows a part of the cross-sectional view shown in FIG.

[0065] As shown in Figure 9, when the engaging claws 35 of the tongue 32 climb over the annular claws 41 of the gold crown 40, the curved state of the tongue 32 is released, and the engaging claws 35 of the tongue 32 engage with the annular claws 41 of the gold crown 40, thereby fixing the inner container 30 in a state where it is housed in the outer container 20.

[0066] <Method of Removing Inner Container 30 from Outer Container 20> Next, a method of removing the inner container 30 from the outer container 20 will be described.

[0067] 1A and 1B, the inner container 30 can be removed from the outer container 20. For example, when the inner container 30 containing contents such as cosmetics is provided as a refill product, when the contents such as cosmetics contained in the inner container 30 contained in the outer container 20 are used up through use, the inner container 30 contained in the outer container 20 can be removed in order to place a new inner container 30 in the outer container 20.

[0068] As described above, when the inner container 30 is housed in the outer container 20, the engaging claws 35 of the tongue 32 are engaged with the annular claws 41 of the gold crown 40. Therefore, in this state, the inner container 30 cannot be removed from the outer container 20.

[0069] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a method for removing the inner container 30 from the outer container 20, and shows a part of the cross-sectional view shown in FIG.

[0070] As described above, the distance d1 between the main body portion 31 of the inner container 30 and the tongue 32 is wider than the thickness of the area of ​​the upper container portion 21 of the outer container 20 where the recess 27 is provided, so that when the inner container 30 is housed in the outer container 20, a gap 50 (see Figure 7) is created between the opposing surfaces of the outer periphery of the area of ​​the upper container portion 21 where the recess 27 is provided and the tongue 32.

[0071] Therefore, if the tongue piece 32 is made of a bendable material such as resin, as shown in Figure 10, the tongue piece 32 can be pushed in the direction of arrow D toward the upper container part 21 to bend it toward the recess 27 of the upper container part 21.

[0072] Then, the engagement between the engaging claws 35 of the tongue 32 and the annular claws 41 of the gold crown 40 is released, and by moving the inner container 30 upward in this state, the inner container 30 can be removed from the outer container 20. Note that in order to release the engagement between the engaging claws 35 of the tongue 32 and the annular claws 41 of the gold crown 40 by bending the tongue 32 toward the recess 27 of the upper container part 21, it is preferable that the distance d3 between the outer peripheral surface of the region where the recess 27 of the upper container part 21 is provided and the doughnut-shaped inner peripheral surface of the gold crown 40 be equal to or greater than the thickness of the engaging claws 35 of the tongue 32.

[0073] As described above, in this embodiment, the tongue 32 of the inner container 30 is inserted into the recess 27 of the outer container 20 at the portion where the outer container 20 and the lid 10 are threadedly engaged, and the engagement claw 35 of the tongue 32 is engaged with the annular claw 41 of the gold crown 40 attached to the outer container 20, thereby fixing the inner container 30 in a state where it is housed in the outer container 20. The tongue 32 is then bent toward the recess 27, thereby releasing the engagement between the engagement claw 35 and the annular claw 41, and the inner container 30 can be removed from the outer container 20. In this way, the tongue 32, which is bent when removing the inner container 30 from the outer container 20, and the recess 27 into which the tongue 32 enters are located in an area hidden by the lid 10 when the lid 10 is attached to the outer container 20. This allows the sizes of the tongue 32 and the recess 27 to be increased without significantly impairing the appearance of the container 1, and the increased size of the tongue 32 allows the inner container 30 to be removed from the outer container 20 without requiring a large force. Furthermore, by inserting the tongue 32 into the recess 27 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the outer container 20 and bending the tongue 32 toward the recess 27, the engagement between the engaging claw 35 and the annular claw 41 is released, so that the operating area for removing the inner container 30 from the outer container 20 is outside the outer container 20, thereby preventing a reduction in the capacity of the inner container 30.

[0074] In this embodiment, the length of the recess 27 in the direction in which the upper container portion 21 and the lower container portion 22 are connected is the same as the length of the upper container portion 21 in the same direction, and the length of the tongue 32 is the same as the length of the recess 27 of the outer container 20 in the direction in which the upper container portion 21 and the lower container portion 22 are connected. However, the length of the recess 27 may be shorter than the length of the upper container portion 21, and the length of the tongue 32 may be equal to or shorter than the length of the recess 27. However, as long as the length of the recess 27 in the direction in which the upper container portion 21 and the lower container portion 22 are connected is the same as the length of the upper container portion 21 in the same direction, the length of the recess 27 can be the maximum length that is hidden by the lid 10, and by lengthening the length of the tongue 32 to the same length as the length of the upper container portion 21, the inner container 30 can be removed from the outer container 20 with less force.

[0075] In this embodiment, the gold crown 40 is attached to the outer container 20, and the engaging claws 35 of the inner container 30 are engaged with the annular claws 41 of the gold crown 40, thereby fixing the inner container 30 in a state where it is housed in the outer container 20. However, instead of using the gold crown 40, a second engaging portion that engages with the engaging claws 35 of the inner container 30 may be provided on the outer container 20. However, if the outer container 20 is made of a material that is difficult to process, such as glass, the annular claws 41 can be easily provided if the gold crown 40 is made of a material that is easy to process, such as resin.

[0076] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-200153, filed on November 27, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0077] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Container 10 Lid 11 Top surface 12 Outer side wall 13 Inner side wall 14, 25 Screw structure 20 Outer container 21 Upper container part 22 Lower container part 23, 33 Opening 24 Shoulder part 26 End surface 27, 42 Recessed part 28 Protrusion 29 Bottom part 30 Inner container 31 Main body part 32 Tongue 34 Flange part 35 Engagement claw 35a, 41a Inclined surface 40 Gold crown 41 Annular claw 43 Sloped surface 44 Space 50 Gap

Claims

1. A container having an inner container with a first opening and an object to be contained through the first opening, an outer container with a second opening and the inner container to be contained through the second opening, and a lid for closing the second opening, wherein the outer container has: a cylindrical upper container portion having a threaded structure on its outer peripheral surface for threaded engagement with the lid, and a lower container portion continuous with the upper container portion on the opposite side to the second opening, wherein the upper container portion has a recess recessed inward from the outer peripheral surface thereof for a first length from the second opening to the opposite side to the second opening, and the inner container has: a main body portion in which the object to be contained is contained, and a tongue piece connected to an end of the main body portion on the first opening side and extending from the end a second length less than the first length so as to follow the outer surface of the main body portion at a predetermined interval, When the inner container is placed into the outer container, the tongue fits into the recess creating a gap between the opposing surfaces of the tongue and the recess, and a first engagement portion provided on the tongue engages with a second engagement portion attached to the outer container, and the tongue bends toward the recess, disengaging the first engagement portion from the second engagement portion.

2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the lower container part has an outer diameter in a direction perpendicular to the direction of continuity with the upper container part that is larger than that of the upper container part, so that the lower container part has a shoulder at the continuity with the upper container part, and has a shoulder member attached to the shoulder and equipped with the second engagement part.

3. A container as claimed in claim 2, wherein said shoulder member is secured to said shoulder portion by adhesive means.

4. The container according to claim 3, wherein said shoulder member has a first anti-rotation portion on an attachment surface to said shoulder portion, and said shoulder portion has a second anti-rotation portion on an attachment surface of said shoulder member that engages with said first anti-rotation portion.

5. The container according to claim 1, wherein the first length of the recess is the same as the length of the upper container part in a continuous direction with the lower container part.

6. A container as described in claim 1, wherein the main body and the tongue are connected via a flange portion that comes into surface contact with the end face of the second opening side of the upper container portion.

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