JP7618521B2 - Pour cap - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a dispensing cap, and in particular to a dispensing cap that is attached to a squeeze container body.

Conventionally, in dispensing caps attached to so-called squeeze containers, the contents are dispensed by squeezing the body of the container with the hand, and the container returns to its original state when the hand is released. In such cases, when the container body is tilted from an upright position to an inclined position, the contents may immediately drip out of the dispensing outlet.

For this reason, a dispensing cap is known that is provided with a discharge valve that opens and closes the communication hole in response to fluctuations in the internal pressure of the container body when the container body is squeezed, switching between communicating and blocking the communication hole, so that the contents do not immediately drip when the container body is simply tilted from an upright position (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2020-33087 A

However, in the dispensing cap described in Patent Document 1, the discharge hole (dispensing outlet) is positioned away from the bottle axis toward the opposite side to the hinge, with respect to the discharge valve which is coaxial with the bottle axis. Therefore, when the container body is squeezed hard to dispense a large amount of the contents, the contents flow in an uneven direction from the discharge valve along the inner circumference of the inner plug to the underside of the top wall, causing disturbances in the flow of the contents, which can splash out of the discharge hole into the surrounding area.

The present invention aims to solve the above problems by providing a pouring cap that prevents the contents from dripping immediately even when the container body is tilted, and can stabilize the flow even when a large amount of contents is poured out by squeezing the container body.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a pouring cap comprising a cap body attached to the mouth of a squeezable container body and an upper lid for opening and closing the cap body, wherein the cap body comprises a partition wall that closes the mouth and opens the pouring outlet, and a valve member formed inside the partition wall and provided with an inflow space into which the contents in the container body flow from a connecting passage, and a connecting passage that opens at a position eccentric to the pouring outlet, wherein the partition wall has a straightening portion protruding from a position opposite the connecting passage on the inflow space side , and the valve member comprises an outer peripheral wall attached to the cap body, a valve wall that closes the lower end of the outer peripheral wall and opens the connecting passage, and a plurality of straightening ribs extending in the vertical direction on the inner circumference of the outer peripheral wall .

As an embodiment of the flow straightening part of the dispensing cap, the flow straightening part is characterized by being a curved recess that protrudes from the underside of the partition and is recessed in the center, and the flow straightening part is characterized by being a plurality of flow straightening guide ribs that are formed radially from the center of the underside of the partition toward the hinge side.

In another embodiment of the dispensing cap, the top cover is connected to the cap body via a hinge.

By adopting the above-mentioned configuration, the dispensing cap of the present invention prevents the contents from dripping immediately even when the container body is tilted, and even when the container body is squeezed strongly to dispense a large amount of contents, the contents can be caused to collide with the flow straightening section to stabilize the flow.

1 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the pouring cap according to the first embodiment of the present invention is attached to a container body in a closed state. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a cap body of a pouring cap according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a side cross-sectional view and (b) is a bottom view. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a valve member of a pouring cap according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the contents of the dispensing cap according to the first embodiment of the present invention are being used. FIG. FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state in which a pouring cap according to a second embodiment of the present invention is attached to a container body in a closed state. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing a cap body of a pouring cap according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a side cross-sectional view and (b) is a bottom view. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing a valve member of a pouring cap according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a top view and (b) is a side cross-sectional view. FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the contents of the dispensing cap according to the second embodiment of the present invention are being used.

The pouring cap of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which the following embodiments are shown.
In the following description, in FIG. 1 , the left side is the "front side (opposite the hinge)", the right side is the "rear side (hinge side)", the upward direction is the "upper", and the downward direction is the "lower".

In FIG. 1, A is a cap body attached to a container body E, B is an upper lid connected to the cap body A by a hinge C so as to be able to be opened and closed, and D is a valve member attached inside the cap body A.
The container body E can be elastically deformed by manually squeezing the body (not shown), and an engaging projection 2 for mounting the cap body A is provided on the outer periphery of the mouth portion 1 of the container body E.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cap body A has an attachment part 5 that is attached to the mouth part 1 of the container body E, and a partition wall 6 that extends inward from the attachment part 5 and closes the opening of the mouth part 1. The partition wall 6 has a spout 7 opened at a position of an axis O2 that is biased toward the front side (opposite the hinge C) from the central axis O1, and a spout tube 8 is erected from the periphery of the spout 7. A cylindrical attachment tube 9 is erected on the underside, and is formed with an inner diameter that includes the spout 7 inwardly with the axis O1 as the center, and a valve member D is attached to its inner circumference. The inner circumference of the attachment tube 9 is provided with a fitting recess 15 that fits with the outer circumference of the valve member D.

The attachment portion 5 comprises an inner tube 11, the outer periphery of which is inserted into the inner periphery of the mouth portion 1 of the container body E, an outer tube 12, the inner periphery of which engages with the outer periphery of the mouth portion 1, and a ring-shaped lid engagement portion 13 which is connected to the upper ends of the inner tube 11 and outer tube 12 and which keeps the top lid B closed.
An engagement portion 14 that engages with the engagement protrusion 2 of the mouth portion 1 is provided on the inner periphery of the outer cylinder 12 .

A flow straightening portion 10 is provided on the lower surface of the partition 6 so as to protrude about a central axis O1 in order to straighten the flow of the contents.
The flow straightening portion 10 is provided in a cylindrical shape so as to protrude from the lower surface of the partition wall 6, and the lower surface of the flow straightening portion 10 is formed as a curved recess 16 which is recessed deepest in the center and curved outward.

As shown in Figure 1, the upper lid B has a flat top wall 20, a side wall 21 hanging down from the periphery of the top wall 20, and a sealing tube 22 hanging down from the front side of the center of the underside of the top wall 20 and having a lower outer periphery that is inserted into the inner periphery of the pouring tube 8 of the cap body A to seal when the lid is closed.
A hinge C is connected to the lower end on the back side of the outer periphery of the side wall 21, and a knob 23 is provided on the front side. The lower end of the inner surface of the side wall 21 is provided with a locking portion 24 into which the lid engagement portion 13 of the cap body A fits to maintain the lid in a closed state.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the valve member D has an outer peripheral wall 25 whose outer periphery engages with the inner periphery of the mounting tube 9 of the cap body A, and a valve wall 26 that closes the bottom of the outer peripheral wall 25 and has flexibility that allows it to be deformed by pressure. The center of the valve wall 26 is cut in a cross shape that penetrates vertically around the axis O1, forming a cross slit hole 27. The cross slit hole 27 opens from the center 27a due to elastic deformation of the valve wall 26, forming a communication passage between the inside and outside, and the communication passage may be closed so as to be openable and closable.

A fitting protrusion 28 is provided on the outer periphery of the outer wall 25, which fits into the fitting recess 15 on the inner periphery of the mounting tube 9 of the cap body A, and a plurality of straightening ribs 29 (eight in this embodiment) extending in the vertical direction to straighten the flow of the contents are arranged at equal intervals around the circumferential direction on the inner periphery, although the number of straightening ribs 29 may be increased or decreased as necessary.
Furthermore, a plurality of legs 25a extending downward are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction at the lower end of the outer peripheral wall 25, but the legs 25a do not necessarily have to be provided.

Next, the manner of use and the effects of this embodiment will be described.
First, in the present embodiment, the dispensing cap is formed by integrally molding the cap body A, the top cover B and the hinge C in an open state, and then attaching a separately molded valve member D to the mounting tube 9 of the cap body A, thereby forming a dispensing cap with the valve member D set therein.
At that time, as shown in FIG. 1, an inflow space a is formed between the lower surface of the partition wall 6 of the cap body A and the inside of the valve member D.

Next, after setting the dispensing cap, the top lid B is rotated around the hinge C as a fulcrum to close the cap body A. The sealing tube 22 of the top lid B fits tightly against the dispensing tube 8 of the cap body A to form a seal, and the lid engagement portion 13 of the cap body A and the locking portion 24 of the top lid B fit together to close the lid.
The closed pouring cap is attached to the mouth 1 of the container body E filled with the contents, forming a squeeze container fitted with the pouring cap.
In this embodiment, the dispensing cap is attached to the container body E by plugging, but it may be attached by screwing.

When the contents in the container body E are to be used, first open the top lid B from the cap body A, then tilt the container body E and squeeze the body to elastically deform it, applying pressure to the contents in the container body E and directing the contents to the opening of the mouth 1. Press the valve wall 26 of the valve member D toward the inflow space a, causing the valve wall 26 to elastically deform, opening the center portion 27a of the cross slit hole 27 to form a communication passage, and allowing the contents to flow into the inflow space a.

As shown in Figure 4, the contents that flow into the inflow space a from the opening of the central portion 27a of the cross slit hole 27 mainly collide with the center of the curved recess 16 of the straightening section 10 protruding from the partition wall 6, and are diffused in all directions along the curved surface of the curved recess 16 and guided to the periphery of the curved recess 16.
Furthermore, the contents guided around the curved recess 16 are rectified by a plurality of rectifying ribs 29 arranged along the inner circumference of the outer circumferential wall 25 of the valve member D, and are filled into the inflow space a.
As described above, the contents flowing into the inflow space a from the opening of the cross slit hole 27 are guided into the pouring tube 8 from the pouring outlet 7 of the partition wall 6 of the cap body A, and are poured out.

When the contents in the container body E are used, the cap body A and valve member D of this embodiment squeeze the body of the container body E, causing the valve wall 26 of the valve member D to deform. The contents flowing in from the center 27a of the cross slit hole 27 first collide with the curved recess 16 of the flow straightening section 10 on the underside of the partition 6 of the cap body A, are then straightened by the flow straightening rib 29 on the inner circumference of the outer wall 25 of the valve member D, and fill the inflow space a. After that, the contents are poured out from the pouring outlet 7 of the partition 6 through the pouring tube 8, so that the flow of the contents can be reliably straightened within the inflow space a.

In the pouring cap of this embodiment, even if the cross slit hole 27 of the valve member D opens slightly due to the weight of the contents simply by tilting the container body E, the contents remain in the inflow space a before being poured out from the pouring outlet 7 through the pouring tube 8, so the contents do not immediately drip out from the pouring outlet 7.
In addition, even if the body of the container body E is squeezed hard to open the central portion 27a of the cross slit hole 27 widely and the contents are sprayed into the inflow space a, the flow is straightened within the inflow space a and the contents can be poured out stably without being suddenly sprayed out of the pouring tube 8. Therefore, by adjusting the strength of the squeeze, the contents can be adjusted to be poured out in small or large amounts stably from the pouring tube 8.

The contents are stably dispensed from the dispensing tube 8 of the cap body A by squeezing the body of the container body E, and then when the squeezing is stopped, the pressure on the valve wall 26 stops, the deformation of the container body E is restored, the cross slit hole 27 is closed, the flow into the inflow space a is stopped, and the dispensing from the dispensing tube 8 is stopped.
When the top lid B is closed on the cap body A, the pouring tube 8 is inserted into the sealing tube 22 of the top lid B, and the inner side is sealed by the partition wall 6.
The contents can be used repeatedly by opening the top cover B from the cap body A again and squeezing the body of the container body E.

Next, a second embodiment in which the cap body A and the valve member D of the first embodiment are modified will be described.
In the following, the same components as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and only different components are given different reference numerals, and differences will be mainly described.

In FIG. 5, Aa is the cap body that is attached to the container body E, B is the top cover that is connected to the cap body Aa by a hinge C so that it can be opened and closed freely, and Da is the valve member that is attached inside the cap body Aa.

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the cap body Aa has an attachment portion 5 that is attached to the mouth portion 1 of the container body E, and a partition wall 30 that extends inward from the attachment portion 5 and seals the opening of the mouth portion 1.
The partition 30 has an outlet 7 opened at a position on an axis O2 that is biased toward the front from the central axis O1, and an outlet tube 8 is erected from the periphery of the outlet 7. The underside is formed with an inner diameter that includes the outlet 7 inwardly with the axis O1 as the center, and a mounting tube 9 is erected on the lower surface for mounting the valve member Da on its inner periphery, and a fitting recess 15 is provided on the inner periphery of the mounting tube 9 to fit with the outer periphery of the valve member Da.

A straightening portion 31 is provided on the lower surface of the partition 30 to protrude toward the rear side (hinge C side) from the central axis O1 in order to straighten the flow of the contents.
The flow straightening portion 31 is formed of a plurality of flow straightening guide ribs 32 arranged from the center of the lower surface of the partition wall 30 toward the rear surface side.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the flow straightening section 31 is composed of five flow straightening guide ribs 32 arranged at intervals from the center of the central side to the rear side of the underside of the partition wall 30, radially outward from the center of the central side.

As shown in Figures 5 and 7, the valve member Da has an outer peripheral wall 25 whose outer periphery engages with the inner periphery of the mounting tube 9 of the cap body Aa, and a valve wall 35 that closes the bottom of the outer peripheral wall 25 and has flexibility that allows it to be deformed by pressure. When the valve member Da is attached to the cap body Aa, the valve wall 35 has a U-shaped slit hole 36 formed by a U-shaped cut that extends from a central portion 36a located on the axis O3 on the rear side of the axis O1 along the outer peripheral wall 25 to both sides and penetrates in the vertical direction. The U-shaped slit hole 36 is opened near the central portion 36a by deformation of the valve wall 35, forming a communication passage between the inside and outside, and the communication passage may be closed so as to be openable and closable.

A fitting protrusion 28 is provided on the outer periphery of the outer periphery wall 25 to fit into the fitting recess 15 on the inner periphery of the mounting tube 9 of the cap body Aa.
As in the first embodiment, a plurality of vertically extending flow straightening ribs for straightening the flow of the contents may be provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the inner circumference of the outer wall 25 .
Additionally, a plurality of legs 25a extending downward are provided at the lower end of the outer peripheral wall 25 at intervals in the circumferential direction.

Next, the manner of use and the effects of this embodiment will be described.
First, the dispensing cap of this embodiment becomes a dispensing cap with the valve member Da set therein by mounting the valve member Da inside the mounting cylinder 9 of the cap body Aa.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, an inflow space b is formed between the lower surface of the partition wall 30 of the cap body Aa and the inside of the valve member Da.

When using the contents in the container body E of this embodiment, first open the top lid B from the cap body Aa, then tilt the container body E and squeeze the body to elastically deform it, applying pressure to the contents in the container body E and directing the contents to the opening of the mouth 1. Press the valve wall 35 of the valve member Da toward the inflow space b, which elastically deforms the valve wall 35, opening the area near the center 36a of the U-shaped slit hole 36 to form a communication passage, allowing the contents to flow into the inflow space b.

As shown in FIG. 8, the contents flowing into the inflow space b from the opening near the center 36a of the U-shaped slit hole 36 mainly collide with the rear side of a plurality of flow straightening guide ribs 32 of the flow straightening section 31 protruding from the partition wall 30, and are guided between the flow straightening guide ribs 32 from the rear side to the front side, where they are straightened, and fill the inflow space b.
As described above, the contents flowing into the inflow space b from the opening of the U-shaped slit hole 36 are guided into the pouring tube 8 from the pouring outlet 7 of the partition wall 30 of the cap body Aa, and are poured out.

When the contents in the container body E are used, the cap body Aa and valve member Da of this embodiment squeeze the body of the container body E, causing the valve wall 35 of the valve member Da to deform, and the contents flowing in from the opening near the center 36a of the U-shaped slit hole 36 collide with the back side of the flow straightening guide rib 32 on the underside of the partition 30 of the cap body Aa, are guided between the flow straightening guide ribs 32 from the back side to the front side, are straightened, and after filling the inflow space b, are poured out through the pouring outlet 7 on the front side of the partition 30 via the pouring tube 8, so that the contents can be reliably straightened in the inflow space b.

As with the first embodiment, in the pouring cap of this embodiment, even if the U-shaped slit hole 36 of the valve member Da opens slightly due to the weight of the contents simply by tilting the container body E, the contents remain in the inflow space b before being poured out from the pouring outlet 7 through the pouring tube 8, so that the contents do not immediately drip out from the pouring outlet 7.
In addition, even if the body of the container body E is squeezed hard to widen the central portion 36a of the U-shaped slit hole 36 and the contents are sprayed into the inflow space b, the flow is rectified within the inflow space b, and the contents can be stably poured out without being suddenly sprayed out of the pouring tube 8.
The other functions and effects are similar to those of the first embodiment.

The dispensing cap of the present invention forms an inflow space between the partition of the cap body and the inside of the valve member attached to the cap body, and the contents are caused to flow into the inflow space by the pressure deformation of the valve wall of the valve member, and the flow is rectified within the inflow space, allowing stable dispensing from the dispensing outlet of the cap body, making it suitable as a dispensing cap to be attached to a squeeze container that squeezes and dispenses the contents.

A, Aa Cap body B Top lid C Hinge D, Da Valve member E Container body O1, O2, O3 Axis a, b Inflow space 1 Mouth 2 Engagement protrusion 5 Mounting portion 6, 30 Partition wall 7 Spout 8 Spout tube 9 Mounting tube 10, 31 Flow straightening portion 11 Inner tube 12 Outer tube 13 Lid engagement portion 14 Engagement portion 15 Fitting recess 16 Curved recess 20 Top wall 21 Side peripheral wall 22 Sealing tube 23 Knob 24 Locking portion 25 Outer peripheral wall 25a Legs 26, 35 Valve wall 27 Cross slit hole 27a, 36a Center portion (communication passage)
28 Fitting protrusion 29 Flow straightening rib 32 Flow straightening guide rib 36 U-shaped slit hole

Claims (4)

The container has a cap body that is attached to the mouth of a squeezable container body, and a top lid that opens and closes the cap body.
The cap body includes a partition wall that closes the mouth portion and has an opening for the pouring outlet, and a valve member that is formed inside the partition wall and has an inflow space through which the contents in the container body flow in from a communication passage, and a communication passage that opens at a position eccentric to the pouring outlet,
the partition wall includes a straightening portion protruding from a position facing the communication passage on the inflow space side,
The valve member is a pouring cap characterized in that it comprises an outer wall attached to the cap body, a valve wall that closes the lower end of the outer wall and opens the communicating passage, and a plurality of straightening ribs extending in the vertical direction on the inner circumference of the outer wall . The dispensing cap according to claim 1, characterized in that the flow straightening portion is a curved recess that protrudes from the underside of the partition and is recessed in the center. The pouring cap according to claim 1, characterized in that the flow straightening portion is a plurality of flow straightening guide ribs formed radially from the center of the underside of the partition toward the hinge side. 4. The pouring cap according to claim 1 , wherein the top lid is connected to the cap body via a hinge .

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