JP7620467B2 - Double-walled container with lid - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a double-structure container consisting of an outer cylindrical container and an inner bag container inserted and held within the outer cylindrical container, and more specifically to a double-structure container with a container lid in which a container lid equipped with a check valve is attached to the double-structure container.

Conventionally, a double-structure container having a double structure consisting of an inner bag container and an outer cylinder container is called an airless bottle, and is used as a container for storing seasoning liquid such as soy sauce (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). Such an airless bottle is used in combination with a cap with a check valve. By squeezing and denting the body wall of the bottle, which is the outer cylinder container, from the outside, the liquid content filled in the inner bag container is discharged from the pouring passage formed in the cap. When the pressure on the body wall of the bottle is stopped to end the discharge of the liquid content, the check valve prevents air from being introduced into the inner bag container, and the air is introduced into the space between the inner bag container and the outer cylinder container through a flow path different from the pouring passage of the cap. As a result, the inner bag container shrinks by the amount of the liquid content discharged, and the inner bag container shrinks every time the liquid content is discharged. In an airless bottle in which the liquid contents are discharged in this manner, the liquid contents can be dispensed in small amounts and air is effectively prevented from entering the inner bag container in which the liquid contents are filled, which has the advantage that oxidation deterioration of the liquid contents can be effectively avoided and the freshness of the liquid contents can be maintained for a long period of time.

Therefore, in a double-structure container (airless bottle), in order to ensure the above-mentioned air circulation, a gap is generally formed between the inner surface of the neck of the outer tube container and the inner surface of the mouth of the inner bag container, and further, a valve body that swings up and down is provided on the inner surface of the cylindrical side wall (skirt portion) of the cap that is attached to the neck of the outer tube container, and this valve body is configured to control the flow of air through the above-mentioned inlet port (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

By the way, a method called stack preform method is known as a method for manufacturing double-structured containers such as airless bottles (see, for example, Patent Document 3). In this method, a test tube-shaped preform for an outer tube container and a preform for an inner bag container are first molded by injection molding or the like, and then the stack preform in which the preform for the inner bag container is inserted inside the preform for the outer tube container is used for stretch blow molding. In this method, the stack preform is placed in a blow mold and heated to a stretch molding temperature (above the glass transition point and below the melting point), and in this state, blow fluid is blown into the preform for the inner bag container to perform blow molding. That is, the blowing of the blow fluid causes the preform for the inner bag container to expand, and as a result, the preform for the outer tube container is pushed out and shaped into the shape of a bottle-shaped outer tube container, and the preform for the inner bag container is shaped into the shape of a bag that is in close contact with the inner surface of the outer tube container. This method allows for the mass production of container preforms (preforms for outer tube containers and preforms for inner bag containers), has high productivity, and has the advantage of being able to produce containers of stable quality with little variation in container weight and internal volume, and is particularly advantageous in that it allows for cost reduction.

However, the above-mentioned double-structure container is not limited to the stack preform method, and is formed in such a way that the outer surface of the inner bag container is in close contact with the inner surface of the outer cylindrical container, which creates a fundamental problem of how to introduce air between the outer surface of the inner bag container and the inner surface of the outer cylindrical container.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-39906 JP 2018-2198 A JP 2016-210181 A

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a double-structure container with a container lid, which has a structure that allows air to be introduced quickly by forming a gap between the outer surface of the inner bag container and the outer cylinder container, and which is fitted with a container lid equipped with a check valve that controls the introduction of such air.

According to the present invention, a double-structure container is provided which has an outer cylindrical container and an inner bag container which is accommodated in the outer cylindrical container and contains contents, and a container lid attached to the double-structure container, the outer cylindrical container being formed of a nozzle and a stretch-molded portion including a shoulder portion, a body portion and a bottom portion connected to the nozzle, the inner bag container having a cylindrical mouth portion having a fixed shape and a bag-shaped body portion which is connected to the cylindrical mouth portion, is thinned by stretching, and is capable of shrinking and deforming by reducing the volume by discharging the contents, the outer surface of the cylindrical mouth portion of the inner bag container is provided with a fixing ring which fits to the inner surface of the nozzle of the outer cylindrical container, the fixing ring forms a fitting portion between the outer surface of the fixing ring and the inner surface of the nozzle, and an air passage is formed between the outer surface of the cylindrical mouth portion of the inner bag container and the inner surface of the nozzle of the outer cylindrical container, penetrating the fitting portion in the axial direction, the container lid is provided with a cylindrical mouth portion of the inner bag container , a cap body attached to the nozzle of the outer cylindrical container so as to cover the nozzle, and an upper lid attached to the cap body by a hinge or screw engagement so as to be freely opened and closed, and equipped with a check valve for regulating the flow of air through the air path, the cap body being provided with an opening which serves as a discharge path for the contents, a valve body which opens and closes the opening, and a hollow tube connected to the air path, the hollow tube being provided with a stopper body which functions as the check valve and a small-diameter regulating path which has horizontal steps formed at the upper and lower ends of the regulating path which regulate the movement of the stopper body, the stopper body being composed of a valve body located below the regulating path and a base located above the regulating path, via a small-diameter connecting rod, and when the valve body abuts against the upper end surface of the cylindrical mouth, there is a space between the lower end of the base and the horizontal step at the upper end of the regulating path .

In the double-structure container with a container lid of the present invention , the container lid is attached by a fitting.
The following structure can be adopted.

In the double-structure container with a container lid of the present invention, this double-structure container (i.e., airless container) consists of an outer tube container and an inner bag container housed inside the outer tube container, and the contents are housed in the inner bag container. A fixing ring is provided on the outer surface of the cylindrical mouth of the inner bag container housed in the outer tube container for fitting and fixing with the inner surface of the nozzle (neck) of the outer tube container, and a fitting part is formed between the outer surface of this fixing ring and the inner surface of the nozzle of the outer tube container. In the double-structure container having such a structure, a container lid is attached to close the cylindrical mouth of the inner bag container, but in the present invention, an air passage is formed that penetrates the fitting part formed between the outer surface of the fixing ring and the inner surface of the nozzle of the outer tube container in the axial direction (height direction of the container). Air can flow between the outer surface of the bag-shaped body of the inner bag container and the inner surface of the body of the outer tube container through this air passage.

Furthermore, the container lid is provided with a check valve that regulates the inflow and outflow of air through the air passage. That is, by pressing the body of the outer tube container from the outside with the container lid open and the cylindrical mouth of the inner bag container open, the bag-shaped body of the inner bag container is depressed together with the body of the outer tube container, and as a result, the contents are discharged. When the pressure on the body of the outer tube container is stopped after the contents are discharged, the body of the outer tube container returns to its original shape, but the bag-shaped body of the inner bag container remains depressed, and negative pressure is created between the body of the outer tube container and the bag-shaped body of the inner bag container. As a result, air flows between the two through the check valve of the container lid from the air passage that passes through the joint in the axial direction. As a result, the bag-shaped container is maintained in the shape that was collected by the amount of volume reduced by the discharge of the contents. On the other hand, when the contents are next discharged, if the body of the outer container is pressed and dented, an air layer exists between the body of the outer cylindrical container and the bag-shaped body of the inner bag container, but this air is not discharged to the outside due to the action of the check valve provided in the container lid. In other words, the body of the outer container dents while the air layer exists, so the bag-shaped body of the inner bag container dents in response to this dent, and the contents are quickly discharged. If the air in the air layer is discharged due to the dent of the outer cylindrical container at this time, as the volume reduction due to the discharge of the contents becomes larger, the body of the outer cylindrical container must be dented significantly in order for the contents to be discharged. In the present invention, the check valve of the container lid is provided, so the discharge of air at this time is effectively prevented, and the contents can be quickly discharged even if the volume reduction due to the discharge of the contents becomes large.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the basic structure of a double-structure container according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part of the double-structure container of FIG. 1 . 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a stack preform used to manufacture a double-walled container of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing an example of a container lid (cap) attached to the double-structure container of FIG. 1, showing a state in which the upper lid is closed. FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the top cover in FIG. 4 is open. 2 is a bottom view of the inside plug used in the container lid of FIG. 1 . FIG. 7 is a side view of the valve body held by the inner plug of FIG. 6 . FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the valve body of FIG. 7 . 1. FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing another example of a container lid (cap) to be attached to the double-structure container of FIG. 1, showing a state in which the upper lid is closed. 10A to 10C are partially enlarged views for explaining the function of the hollow tube and the stopper (check valve) in the container lid (cap) of FIG. 9 .

<Basic structure of double-walled container (airless container)>
First, the basic structure of the double-structure container constituting the lidded double-structure container of the present invention will be described.
Referring to FIG. 1, which shows the basic structure of this double-structure container (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as an airless container), and a partially enlarged view of a main portion, the airless container generally designated by 1 comprises a bottle-shaped outer cylindrical container 3 and an inner bag container 5 in which contents such as soy sauce are contained.

The outer cylinder container 3 is composed of a nozzle 11, a shoulder 13 connected to the nozzle 11, a body 15, and a bottom 17. The nozzle (neck) 11 of the outer cylinder container 3 is a rigid part that is not stretched, and the shoulder 13 connected to the nozzle 11, the body 15, and the bottom 17 are stretched parts. The body 15 of such an outer cylinder container 3 has elastic deformation properties, and when the body 15 is pressed, it is depressed, and when the pressing is stopped, the depressed body 15 returns to its original shape. In order to smoothly cause the body 15 to be depressed by pressing and to elastically return to its original shape when pressing is stopped, the center of the body 15 is generally a depressed squeeze area as shown in FIG. 1.

The inner bag container 5 is made up of a cylindrical mouth 21 and a thin-walled bag-like body 23 that is connected to the cylindrical mouth 21. The cylindrical mouth 21 is thick and has a fixed shape (i.e., this part is not stretched and has a rigidity that does not easily deform), and the bag-like body 23 is filled with the contents, and shrinks and deforms due to the reduction in volume caused by the discharge of the contents.

The nozzle 11 of the outer cylinder 3 has a cylindrical shape with an open upper end, and a cap (not shown in FIG. 1) having a check valve function, which will be described later, is attached to it by plugging. The upper end of this nozzle 11 is formed with an enlarged head 11a, which stably holds a container lid (hereinafter simply called a cap) with a check valve that is plugged. In addition, a support ring 11b is formed at the lower part of the nozzle 11, which makes it easy to transport the airless container 1 (or preform) using a jig.
Incidentally, the cap can be attached by providing a screw on the outer surface of the nozzle 11 and screwing it in place of the cap.

The nozzle 11 described above is a non-stretched molded part, and its lower part is the part that is stretched by blow molding. A shoulder part 13 with an enlarged diameter is formed connected to the lower end of the nozzle 11, and a body part 15 is connected to this shoulder part 13, and the body part 15 is closed by a bottom part 17.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the inner bag container 5 is housed in the outer tube container 3, and its cylindrical mouth portion 21 (i.e., the portion that is not stretched) extends through the nozzle 11 of the outer tube container 3 so that a gap is formed between the inner surface of the nozzle 11 and the cylindrical mouth portion 21. A fixing ring 30 is formed on the outer surface of the cylindrical mouth portion 21, and the outer peripheral surface of the fixing ring 30 is in close contact with the inner surface of the nozzle 11 of the outer tube container 3, forming a fitting portion α (see FIG. 2). As a result, the inner bag container 5 housed in the outer tube container 3 is stably held within the outer tube container 3 without rattling.

In the present invention, a gap is formed in a portion of the joint α so that a flow path through which air passes is formed. That is, the formation of such a gap forms an air passage X that penetrates in the axial direction, and this air passage X is connected to the outside of the airless container 1. As can be seen from this, air is supplied to the space Z between the bag-shaped body portion 23 of the inner bag container 5 and the body portion 15 of the outer tube container 3 through this air passage X.

For example, as shown in the partially enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, the upper end of the cylindrical mouth 21 of the inner bag container 5 is formed with a flange 31 that protrudes outward for position adjustment, transportation, etc., but its outer diameter is smaller than the inner diameter of the upper end of the nozzle 11 of the outer tube container 3. Therefore, a space Y that communicates with the outside is formed between the inner surface of the cylindrical mouth 21 of the inner bag container 5 and the inner surface of the nozzle 11 of the outer tube container 3. In addition, the flange 31 has a partially cut-out shape so that a sufficient gap is formed between the nozzle 11 and the flange 31.

In addition, a step 11c is formed on the inner surface of the nozzle 11 of the outer tube container 3. As a result, the fixing ring 30 of the inner bag container 5 is placed on this step 11c, and its peripheral surface is closely fitted to the inner surface of the nozzle 11, so that the inner bag container 5 is stably held inside the outer tube container 3 without rattling. In this configuration, a groove 11d extending in the axial direction is provided on the inner surface of the nozzle 11 so as to include the step 11c in a part of the fitting portion α between the outer peripheral surface of the fixing ring 30 and the inner surface of the nozzle 11. In other words, an air passage X is formed through this groove 11d, connecting the space Z between the bag-shaped body 23 and the body 15 of the outer tube container 3 with the upper space Y and the external space of the airless container 1.

Instead of forming a groove 11d on the inner surface of the nozzle 11, a similar air passage X can be formed by forming a notch in part of the outer circumferential surface of the fixing ring 30 of the inner bag container 5.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, the upper end of the cylindrical mouth 21 of the inner bag container 5 and the upper end of the nozzle 11 of the outer tube container 3 are located at approximately the same height. This makes it easy to control the flow of air into the air passage X using a container lid (cap) with a check valve, which will be described later. Furthermore, in this configuration, not only can the cap be attached by plugging and fitting, but by forming a thread on the outer surface of the nozzle 11, a structure can be adopted in which the cap is attached by screw engagement. This is because the flow of air into the air passage X can be controlled by the check valve no matter what position the cap is fixed in by rotation.

By attaching a container lid with a check valve (not shown in Figure 1) to the airless container 1 having the above-mentioned structure, it becomes possible to repeatedly and smoothly discharge the contents contained in the bag-shaped body 23.

For example, immediately after molding, the bag-shaped body 23 of the inner bag container 5 is held in close contact with the inner surface of the shoulder 13, body 15, and bottom 17 of the outer tube container 3, and in this state the contents are filled into the bag-shaped body 23 of the inner bag container 5, and a container lid with a check valve (not shown) is attached and sold. In the airless container 1 filled with the contents in this way, the top lid of the container lid is opened to enable the contents to be discharged, and the body 15 (squeezed area) of the outer tube container 3 is pressed to discharge and remove the contents.

That is, when the body 15 (squeezed region) of the outer cylinder container 3 is pressed and depressed, the bag-shaped body 23 of the inner bag container 5, which is in intimate contact with the inner surface of the body 15, also depressions and enters a reduced volume state (the form shown by the chain line in Figure 1). This causes the contents contained in the bag-shaped body 23 to be expelled. Then, when pressure on the body 15 is stopped, the body 15 returns to its original shape due to its elasticity, and the depression disappears. Meanwhile, the bag-shaped body 23 remains in the contracted state due to the volume reduction, and therefore the space Z between the bag-shaped body 23 and the body 15 of the outer cylinder container 3 becomes negative pressure.

In this way, space Z becomes negative pressure, but in the airless container 1 of the present invention, as described above, an air passage X leading to the outside is formed, so air flows into this space Z, and an air layer is formed between the bag-shaped body portion 23 and the body portion 15 of the outer tube container 3. Therefore, the next time the body portion 15 is pressed and dented, the bag-shaped body portion 23 will be pressed through this air layer.

Here, it is important to note that in the airless container 1 with a container lid of the present invention, a check valve provided on the container lid (the detailed structure of which will be described later) is arranged on the air passage X described above, and air is allowed to flow in from the outside through the air passage X, but air is prevented from being discharged to the outside. That is, when the body 15 of the outer tube container 3 is pressed and dented, thereby reducing the volume of the bag-shaped body 23, an air layer is always present between the two. Therefore, even if the contents are discharged and the bag-shaped body 23 is greatly shrunk with the discharge, it is possible to contract the bag-shaped body 23 and quickly discharge the contents by pressing the body 15 of the outer tube container 3 to the same extent as when the contents are full, and the contents are discharged quickly. For example, when the body 15 of the outer tube container 3 is pressed and dented, if air is discharged from the space Z, the body 15 must be greatly deformed in order to contract the bag-shaped body 23, and therefore the more the contents are discharged and the greater the volume reduction, the more difficult it becomes to discharge the contents. The present invention effectively avoids these inconveniences.

The outer tube container 3 and inner bag container 5 constituting the airless container 1 as described above are molded using a blow moldable thermoplastic resin, such as, but not limited to, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polyethylene furanoate, amorphous polyarylate, polylactic acid, olefin resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, propylene-ethylene, polycarbonate, acrylonitrile resin, polyamide resin, etc. The outer tube container 3 and inner bag container 5 may be molded using different resins, but generally, it is preferable that they are molded using the same resin, since it is easy to set the blow molding conditions, and it is most preferable that they are molded using ethylene terephthalate polyester.

<Manufacturing of double-structure containers (airless containers)>
The airless container 1 having the above-mentioned structure is formed by blow molding using a stack preform. Figure 3 shows a vertical cross section of such a stack preform (generally designated 50).

In FIG. 3, the stack preform 50 is composed of an outer preform 51 and an inner preform 53, and has an overall test tube shape, with the inner preform 53 inserted into the outer preform 51.

In this stack preform 50, the upper part is a non-stretch molded part 50a (fixed part) that is not stretch molded, and the lower body part is a stretch molded part 50b, the lower end of which is closed. That is, the non-stretch molded part 50a in the outer preform 51 corresponds to the nozzle 11 of the outer tube container 3, and the non-stretch molded part 50a in the inner preform 53 corresponds to the cylindrical mouth part 21. That is, since no deformation occurs due to blow molding, the shapes of these preforms 51, 53 are maintained as they are in the nozzle 11 of the outer tube container 3 and the cylindrical mouth part 21 of the inner bag container 5.

As shown in FIG. 3, both the outer preform 51 and the inner preform 53 have a shape in which the diameter is reduced from the non-stretched molded portion to the lower stretched molded portion (body portion), which allows the preform to be made thinner by blow molding.
The outer preform 51 and the inner preform 53 are each molded by injection molding. After molding, the inner preform 53 is inserted into the outer preform 51 and fixed in place to form a stack preform 50, which is then subjected to blow molding.

After the outer preform 51 and the inner preform 53 are heated to a predetermined stretch-molding temperature (a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point and lower than the melting point of the resin forming the preform), the stack preform 50 is set in a blow molding die having a cavity space corresponding to the stretch molding portion of the outer cylindrical container 3, and a blow fluid (usually air) is supplied into the inner preform 53 by a blow nozzle, thereby performing blow molding. In this case, a stretch rod can be inserted into the inner preform 53 and stretched in one axial direction (vertical direction) prior to blowing the blow fluid from the blow nozzle.

As a result, the inner preform 53 is thinned by stretching, and at the same time, the outer preform 51 is thinned by stretching due to the expanded inner preform 53, cooled by the blow molding die, and shaped into the shape of the outer tube container 3. At this time, the stretch-molded portion 50b of the inner preform 53 is thinned into a bag shape and is held in a state of tight contact with the inner surface of the stretch-molded portion (shoulder portion 13, body portion 15, bottom portion 17) of the outer tube container 3 molded by the outer preform 51. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the lower end of the nozzle 11 of the outer tube container 3 (the position where the diameter expansion by stretch molding starts) is in close contact with the lower end portion of the cylindrical mouth portion 21 of the inner bag container 5 (the upper end portion of the bag-shaped body portion 23).

The airless container 1 thus formed is filled with soy sauce or other contents in the inner bag container 5 (bag-shaped body 23), and then a container lid (cap) equipped with a check valve is attached and the container is sold as an airless container with a container lid.

<Container lid (cap) equipped with a check valve>
The container lid (cap) attached to the airless container 1 described above has a contents discharge passage that enables the contents to be discharged under certain conditions, but in addition to this discharge passage, it also has an air flow path that communicates with the air path X of the airless container 1 described above and is equipped with a check valve that controls the flow of air in and out through this air path X.

Type A cap;
Figures 4 to 8 show an example of such a cap (type A cap) together with the mouth portion of the airless container 1 (the nozzle 11 of the outer tube container 3 and the cylindrical mouth portion 21 of the inner bag container 5).

In FIG. 4, this cap is generally designated 100 and includes a cap body 101 that is fixed to the nozzle 11 of the outer cylinder container 5, a top cover 105 that is pivotally connected to the cap body 101 by a hinge 103, an inner plug 107 that is attached to the underside of the cap body 101, and a valve body 109 that is inserted into the inner plug 107.

The cap body 101 is composed of a cylindrical side wall 111 and a top wall 113 that is formed to close the upper end of the cylindrical side wall 111.

An undercut 115 is formed on the lower inner surface of the cylindrical side wall 111, and this undercut 115 engages with the head 11a of the nozzle 11, thereby firmly fitting and fixing the cap body 101 to the nozzle 11. In addition, an arc-shaped slit 117 extending downward from the upper end in the thickness direction is provided in the cylindrical side wall 111, forming a partial double-wall structure. The formation of such a double-wall structure makes the cap body 101 more flexible, and when plugging, the undercut 115 of the cap body 101 (cylindrical side wall 111) overcomes the enlarged diameter head 11a of the nozzle 11, allowing for a firm fit and fixation.
A thick portion 113a is formed on the periphery of the top wall 113, and when the cap body 101 is fitted and fixed to the nozzle 11, the upper end of the nozzle 11 is in close contact with the thick portion 113a, so that air does not leak from the air passage X to the outside. Furthermore, a ring-shaped protrusion 113b is provided on the lower surface of the top wall 113. This ring-shaped protrusion 113b is a member for holding the inner plug 107, and its lower end protrudes inward. Furthermore, a circumferential small protrusion 113c is provided near the holding ring. This small protrusion 113c is a member for ensuring sealing between the cap body 101 and the inner plug 107.

A small peripheral projection 119 is provided on the periphery of the top wall 113 which is formed to close the upper end of the cylindrical side wall 111, for stably holding the top lid 105 in the closed state.
A guide tube 121 is erected in the center of the top wall 113, and its inside penetrates the lower side of the top wall 113. That is, the guide tube 121 serves as a discharge path when discharging the contents. That is, since the contents are discharged from the tip of the guide tube 121, the upper end has a trumpet-like widening shape. The guide tube 121 on the hinge 103 side is low so as not to interfere with the rotation of the top cover 105. A circumferential protrusion 121a protruding radially inward is formed inside the guide tube 121. The function of the protrusion 121a will be described later.

Furthermore, a straight hollow tube 123 is provided on the side of the top wall 113 that is offset from the center and closer to the hinge 103. This hollow tube 123 is connected to the space below the top wall 113 and is connected to the air passage X formed between the nozzle 11 and the cylindrical mouth portion 21 described above.

On the other hand, the top cover 105, which is pivotally connected to the cap body 101 by the hinge 103, consists of a top plate 125 and a skirt 127 that hangs down from the periphery of the top plate 125.

A valve biasing rod 129 is provided at the center of the inner surface of the top plate 125. This valve biasing rod 129 extends downward inside the guide tube 121, and its tip abuts and biases the valve body 109 that opens and closes the content discharge path described below. As can be seen from FIG. 4, one side of the upper end of the guide tube 121 is formed low so that this rod 129 can quickly enter the guide tube 121 when the top cover 105 is turned to close. In addition, this rod 129 is thick at the base and thin at the tip, and the thick part is clamped by the circumferential protrusion 121a formed on the inner surface of the guide tube 121 described above, so that it is firmly fixed in position without any rattling.

A small peripheral projection 131 for preventing scattering is provided around the valve actuation rod 129 described above, and within the area surrounded by this peripheral projection 131, a double annular groove 133 is formed to surround the rod 129. These peripheral projections 131 and annular grooves 133 form a structure that prevents the contents adhering to the inner surface of the guide tube 121 from scattering to the outside.

Furthermore, a large buffer protrusion 135 is formed in a ring shape on the outside of the circumferential protrusion 131. When the top lid 105 is closed, the tip of this buffer protrusion 135 abuts against the top wall 113 of the cap body 101, and when an external force is applied to the top lid 105, it is designed to mitigate the external force. A portion of this buffer protrusion 135 is cut out (the cutout portion is indicated by 135a) so that it does not interfere with the function of other components and also provides an appropriate buffer force.

The skirt 127 of the top lid 105 is formed with a tab 137 at a position opposite the hinge 103, and the top lid 105 can be easily opened and closed by rotating it by holding the tab 137. Furthermore, a circumferential recess 139 is formed at the lower end of the inner surface of the skirt 127, and when the top lid 105 is closed, this circumferential recess 139 engages with the small circumferential protrusion 119 provided on the cap body 101 (top wall 113), thereby holding the top lid 105 firmly in place.

In the above-described cap 100, the inner plug 107 is attached to the underside of the top wall 113 of the cap body 101, and in this state is held so as to close the cylindrical mouth 21 of the inner bag container 5. Such an inner plug 107 holds a valve body 109 that regulates the content discharge path, and furthermore, a check valve 140 that regulates the intake and exhaust of air through the air path X is formed in this inner plug 107.

Referring to FIG. 6 along with FIG. 4 and 5, the inner plug 107 functions as a plug for the cylindrical opening 21 of the inner bag container 5, and comprises a ring-shaped base plate 141, an outer side wall 143 rising from the outside of the base plate 141, and an inner side wall 145 rising from the inside of the base plate 141, and a flange 147 extending horizontally outward is provided from the upper end of the outer side wall 143.

When the container lid 100 is attached to the airless container 1, the outer side wall 143 adheres closely to the inner surface of the cylindrical mouth 21 of the inner bag container 5 and functions as a sealing wall. For this reason, as can be seen from FIG. 4, this outer side wall has an outwardly bulging shape so that it adheres firmly to the inner surface of the cylindrical mouth 21.

The flange 147 extending outward from the upper end of the outer side wall 143 is in close contact with the upper end surface of the cylindrical mouth 21 of the inner bag container 5 when the container lid 100 is attached to the airless container 1, and has a protrusion 147a on its underside. This protrusion 147a is in close contact with the upper end surface of the cylindrical mouth 21, preventing the inner stopper 107 from shifting in the circumferential direction and allowing the inner stopper 107 to be stably held in position. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, it is preferable to provide a notch 147b on the flange 147. (In the example of FIG. 6, the notches 147b are provided in three places. By providing the notches 147b on the flange 147 in this way, the outer side wall 143 becomes more flexible, and the inner stopper 107 can be easily fitted and fixed to the cylindrical mouth 21 of the inner bag container 5.

Furthermore, the flange 147 is formed with a check valve 140 at a position facing the hollow tube 123. This check valve 140 will be described later.

An engaging protrusion 145a that expands outward is formed at the upper end of the inner sidewall 145. That is, as can be seen from FIG. 4, this engaging protrusion 145a engages with a ring-shaped protrusion 113b provided on the underside of the top wall 113 of the cap body 101, so that the inside plug 107 is stably held in the cap body 101. At this time, the small protrusions 113c provided on the underside of the top wall 113 abut against the upper end surface of the inner sidewall 145, ensuring a seal between the cap body 101 and the inside plug 107, and ensuring a stable content discharge path.

Furthermore, the inside of the inner side wall 145 described above houses a valve body 109 that opens and closes the discharge path for the contents. For this purpose, a valve seat 151 having an opening 150 in the center is formed on the inner surface of the inner side wall 145. The opening 150 formed in the center of this valve seat 151 serves as a discharge path for the contents, and the contents are discharged through this opening 150. In other words, the valve body 109 is provided to open and close this opening 150, and is held on the valve seat 151 so that the opening 150 is closed except when the contents are being discharged, and functions as a check valve that prevents air from entering the inner bag container 5.

The valve seat 151 has an inclined wall 151a that descends toward the center so that the valve body 109 is stably held, and this inclined wall 151a is connected to a curved wall 151b, the lower end of which is connected to a horizontal wall 151c, and the center of this horizontal wall 151c is hollowed out to form an opening 150. That is, as can be seen from FIG. 4, the valve body 109 is pressed against the curved wall 151b by the valve biasing rod 129 formed in the upper cover 105 described above to close the opening 150, but the valve body 109 is held in an elastically biased upward state by the elasticity of the support member described later. Therefore, when the upper cover 105 is opened and released from the pressure of the valve biasing rod 129, the valve body 109 is pushed slightly upward. From this state, when the body 15 of the outer cylinder container 3 is pressed to expel the contents, the pressure inside the inner bag container 5 rises in conjunction with this, causing the valve body 109 to rise and open the opening 150.

Therefore, in the present invention, when the top lid 105 is opened and the valve body 109 is pushed up by pressing the body 15 of the outer cylinder container 3, the opening 150 is opened and the contents are discharged through the opening 150.

7 and 8, which show the configuration of the valve body 109, the support member for the valve body 109 includes a support ring 153 and a plurality of hanging bands 155 extending from the support ring 153, and the valve body 109 is held so as to be movable up and down by the hanging bands 155. In the figure, the valve body 109 is held by three hanging bands 155. Such hanging bands 155 are arranged point symmetrically, and hold the valve body 109 so as not to tilt.
In order to hold the hanging band 155 firmly so as not to break, descending pieces 153 a are formed at regular intervals from the support ring 153 , and the hanging band 155 is fixed to these descending pieces 153 .

The support member supporting the valve body 109 as described above is placed on the valve seat 151 (on the opening 150) and is attached to the airless container 1 together with the cap body 101 with the top lid 105 closed, and is positioned within the cylindrical mouth 21 of the inner bag container 5. In this state, the valve body 109 is pressed against the valve seat 151 by the valve biasing rod 129, and the opening 150 is completely closed by the valve body 109, preventing leakage of the contents.

In order to improve the contact between the valve body 109 and the valve seat 151 (curved wall 151b), as shown in FIG. 7, the lower side surface of the valve body 109 is formed as an inclined surface 109a whose diameter becomes smaller as it goes downward.
4, the inside of the valve body 109 is hollowed out in a dome shape. This makes the valve body 109 lightweight, and when the pressing force of the valve biasing rod 129 is released, the valve body 109 can easily rise to open the opening 150 and form a content discharge path. That is, the content can be discharged through the opening 150.

In addition, in the cap 100 having the above-mentioned structure, a check valve 140 is provided outward from the upper end of the outer side wall 143 of the cap body 101 (the flange 147 is cut out in this portion). This check valve 140 is positioned so as to face the hollow tube 123 existing on the air path X described above, and its tip is a free flap piece, and when it is rolled up upward, it closes the hollow tube 123, and when it is pushed down, it opens the hollow tube 123 and communicates with the air path X inside the airless container 1. In the normal state, this check valve 140 is held horizontally, and the hollow tube 123 may be connected to the space Y inside the airless container 1 (space Y is held at atmospheric pressure).

In other words, the cap 100 of the above structure is constructed by attaching the inner plug 107 holding the valve body 109 to the cap body 101, and with the top lid 105 closed, fitting and fixing the nozzle 11 of the outer tube container 3 of the airless container 1 (at this time, the inner plug 107 is fitted into the cylindrical mouth portion 21 of the inner bag container 5), and in this state, the airless container 1 is sold and stored.

When discharging the contents from the airless container 1, the top lid 105 is rotated to open, and in this state, the airless container 1 is tilted downward to press and dent the body 15 (squeezed region) of the outer cylindrical container 3. This pushes out the contents in the inner bag container 5 (bag-shaped body 23), and this pressure moves the valve body 109 housed in the inner plug 107 to open the opening 150, forming a contents discharge path and discharging the contents to the outside of the airless container 1. At this time, the pressure on the body 15 of the outer cylindrical container 3 puts the space Z between the body 15 and the bag-shaped body 23 into a pressurized state, but since the hollow tube 123 is closed by the check valve 140 at this time, air is not discharged to the outside through the air path X.
On the other hand, when the pressure is stopped and the airless container 1 is returned to the upright state, the valve body 109 is urged to close the opening 150 by its own weight and the elastic force of the hanging band 155. At this time, by rotating and closing the top cover 105, the valve body 109 is urged by the valve urging rod 129 more strongly to tightly close the opening 150. In this way, air is prevented from entering the inner bag container 5 (bag-shaped body 23), the oxidation of the contents by air is prevented, and the quality is stably maintained. Furthermore, the body 15 of the outer cylindrical container 3 returns to its normal state and the dent disappears, but the bag-shaped body 23 has been reduced in volume by the amount of the contents discharged and is in a contracted form. As a result, the space Z between the body 15 and the bag-shaped body 23 becomes negative pressure, so that the check valve 140 is bent downward, the hollow tube 123 is opened, the air passage X is connected to the outside, and air flows into the space Z. That is, an air layer exists between the body portion 15 and the bag-shaped body portion 23 .
Therefore, the next time the body 15 is pressed to discharge the contents, an air layer exists in the space Z between the body 15 and the bag-shaped body 23, and this air layer is not discharged to the outside by the pressing of the body 15. As a result, even if the bag-shaped body 23 shrinks significantly as the contents are discharged from within the bag-shaped body 23, air is introduced into the space Z through the air path X from the hollow tube 123, and the body 15 can always be pressed and dented in the same way as in the initial state to discharge the contents.

Type B cap;
In addition, Figure 9 shows a cap of a different type from the above (a type B cap) together with the mouth portion of the airless container 1 (the nozzle 11 of the outer tube container 3 and the cylindrical mouth portion 21 of the inner bag container 5).

The cap in Figure 9 is generally designated 200, but since its basic shape is the same as the Type A cap described above, those parts are designated with the same reference numerals and detailed descriptions are omitted.

In FIG. 9, the cap generally designated 200 has a cap body 101 that is fixed to the nozzle 11 of the outer cylinder container 5, and a top cover 105 that is rotatably connected to the cap body 101 by a hinge 103. The crucial difference from a Type A cap is that the valve body 109 that regulates the discharge path of the contents is attached directly to the cap body 1, and there is no inner plug 107, and the structure of the hollow tube and check valve that are placed on the air path X.

Specifically, the cap body 101 is composed of a cylindrical side wall 111 and a top wall 113 formed to close the upper end of the cylindrical side wall 111, and an undercut 115 is formed on the lower side of the inner surface of the cylindrical side wall 111. The cylindrical side wall 111 is also provided with an arc-shaped slit 117 extending downward from the upper end in the thickness direction, and the partially double-walled structure is exactly the same as the above-mentioned Type A cap. Similarly, a thick portion 113a is formed on the periphery of the top wall 113, and the upper end of the nozzle 11 is in close contact with this thick portion 113a, preventing air from leaking out from the air passage X.

On the other hand, an inner ring 211 is formed on the inner surface of the top wall 113 of the cap body 101, extending downward at a distance from the cylindrical side wall 111. This inner ring 211 bulges outward slightly and fits closely to the inner surface of the cylindrical opening 21 of the inner bag container 5 to ensure a seal.

A retaining ring 213 with its tip bent toward the center is provided on the inner surface of the top wall 113, further toward the center than the inner ring 211, and this retaining ring 213 houses a cylinder 145 with a valve seat 151. That is, an opening 150 that serves as a discharge path for the contents is formed in the center of the valve seat 151, and a valve body 109 is positioned to close this opening 150. The shape and function of this valve body 109 are exactly the same as the valve body 109 provided in the Type A cap.

That is, the valve body 109 is held so as to be movable up and down by multiple hanging bands 155 extending from the support ring 153, and is positioned on the valve seat 151 (above the opening 150).

The periphery of the top wall 113 is provided with small peripheral projections 119 for stably holding the top lid 105 in a closed state, the center of the top wall 113 is slightly raised upward, and above the portion where the valve body 109 is located, a guide tube 121 is erected to serve as a discharge path for discharging the contents. As with the cap 100 of type A, the upper end of the guide tube 121 is shaped like a trumpet, and the side of the guide tube 121 facing the hinge 103 is short so as not to interfere with the rotation of the top lid 105. As with the cap 100 of type A, the inside of the guide tube 121 has a peripheral protrusion 121a.

Furthermore, a hollow tube 221 is provided on the side of the top wall 113 that is offset from the center and closer to the hinge 103, and a stopper 223 that functions as a check valve is provided inside the hollow tube 221. Like the hollow tube 123 in the cap 100 of type A, this hollow tube 221 is connected to the space below the top wall 113, and is connected to the air passage X formed between the nozzle 11 and the cylindrical mouth 21. However, the shape of this hollow tube 221 and the stopper 223 (check valve) provided in association with this hollow tube 221 are completely different from the hollow tube 123 and check valve 140 in the cap 100 of type A. This point will be described later.

On the other hand, the top cover 105, which is pivotally connected to the cap body 101 by the hinge 103, consists of a top plate 125 and a skirt 127 that descends from the periphery of the top plate 125. A valve biasing rod 129 is provided at the center of the inner surface of the top plate 125. The function of this valve biasing rod 129 is also exactly the same as that of the type A cap 100, and its tip abuts against the valve body 109 to bias it so as to firmly close the opening 150. However, in this cap 200, the upper surface of the top wall 113 on which the guide tube 121 is formed is formed to be raised, and as a result, the valve body 109 is positioned slightly higher than in the type A cap 100. As a result, the length of the valve biasing rod 129 in this type B cap 200 is slightly shorter.

In addition, this cap 200 also has a small peripheral projection 131 and an annular groove 133 formed in a double layer to surround the valve actuation rod 129, and is designed to prevent the contents adhering to the inner surface of the guide tube 121 from scattering to the outside.

In addition, a ring-shaped buffer protrusion 135 is formed on the outside of the shatterproof peripheral protrusion 131, and a portion of the buffer protrusion 135 is cut out. Also, a tab 137 is formed on the skirt 127 of the top cover 105 at a position opposite the hinge 103, and a peripheral recess 139 is formed at the lower end of the inner surface of the skirt 127, which is the same as the Type A cap 100.

Now, in the above-mentioned type B cap 200, the hollow tube 221 present on the air passage X contains a plug 223 that functions as a check valve. This plug 223 is of a nested type, and since this plug 223 functions as a check valve, the shape of the hollow tube 221 is naturally completely different from the hollow tube 123 in the type A cap 100.

First, referring to FIG. 10, which shows an enlarged view of the hollow tube 221 in which the plug 223 is housed, a small-diameter restriction passage 222 is formed inside the hollow tube 221 to restrict the movement of the plug 223, and the upper part of the restriction passage 222 forms an inclined surface 222a that decreases in diameter from top to bottom, and the lower part forms a flat straight surface 222b. In addition, horizontal steps 222c and 222d are formed at the upper and lower ends of the restriction passage 222 to restrict the movement of the plug 223.

A plurality of axially extending protrusions 222e are formed above the restriction passage 222. The space below the restriction passage is connected to the space Y between the nozzle 11 and the cylindrical opening 21.

On the other hand, the plug 223 inserted into the hollow tube 221 has a valve body 223a located below the regulated passage 222, and this valve body 223a is connected to a base 223c located above the regulated passage 222 by a small diameter connecting rod 223b.

As can be seen from the figure, an enlarged engagement portion 223d is formed at the upper end of the valve body 223a, and when the valve body 223a moves upward, the upper end surface of the engagement portion 223d comes into close contact with the horizontal step 222d formed at the lower end of the regulated passage 222, closing the regulated passage 222. In addition, the base 223c is formed with a larger diameter than the regulated passage 222, and since the base 223c cannot pass through the regulated passage 222 when the valve body 223a moves downward, the stopper body 223 is structured not to fall out from inside the hollow tube 221.

The stopper 223 is made of a flexible elastic material such as soft PVC, polyethylene, various rubbers, or elastomers, and is inserted into the hollow tube 221 formed in the preformed cap 200 by pushing it from above. The protrusion 222e and inclined surface 222a are formed to allow the stopper 223 to be smoothly pushed into the hollow tube 221.

Referring to FIG. 10, after the cap is formed, when the plug 223 is pushed into the hollow tube 221, as described above, the bottom end of the base 223c of the plug 223 is held in contact with the horizontal step 222c formed at the top end of the regulating passage 222 of the hollow tube 221 (see FIG. 10(a)).

Next, when the cap 200 with the stopper 223 held in the hollow tube 221 as described above is fitted and fixed to the mouth of the airless container 1, the valve body 223a of the stopper 223 abuts against the upper end surface of the cylindrical mouth 21 (see FIG. 10(b)). As a result, the stopper 223 rises relative to the hollow tube 221, and the lower end of the base 223c moves away from the horizontal step 222c at the upper end of the regulating passage 222, opening the regulating passage 222, and the air passage X that connects to the space between the cylindrical mouth 21 and the nozzle 11 connects to the outside via the hollow tube 221.

That is, when the cap 200 is attached to the airless container 1, it is in the state shown in FIG. 10(b). Then, when the top lid 105 is opened and the airless container 1 is tilted to press the body 15 of the outer tube container 3 to discharge the contents, the space Z between the body 15 of the outer tube container 3 and the bag-shaped body 23 of the inner bag container 5 is compressed, and as a result, the stopper body 223 rises and the locking portion 223d formed at the upper end of the valve body 223a comes into close contact with the horizontal step 222d at the lower end of the regulating path 222, closing the regulating path 222 (see FIG. 10(b)). As a result, when the body 15 of the outer tube container 3 is pressed and depressed to discharge the contents, the air from the space Z is effectively prevented from being discharged to the outside.

When the pressure on the body 15 of the outer tube container 3 is stopped, the body 15 returns to its original shape and the dent disappears, but the bag-shaped body 23 shrinks by the amount of the contents discharged. Therefore, the space Z between the body 15 and the bag-shaped body 23 of the inner bag container 5 becomes negative pressure. As a result, the stopper 223 descends and returns to the state shown in FIG. 10(b), and the regulating passage 222 opens. That is, air flows into the space Z through the air passage X that leads to the outside. Therefore, the next time the contents are discharged, an air layer still exists in the space Z, so that even if the amount of shrinkage of the bag-shaped body 23 increases with the discharge of the contents, the contents can be discharged by pressing and denting the body 15 of the outer tube container 3 to the same extent as at the beginning.

The operation of the valve body 109 when discharging and stopping discharging the contents is exactly the same as that of the Type A cap 100.

In addition, in both the above-mentioned Type A and Type B container lids 100, 200, the top lid 105 is connected to the cap body 101 by a hinge 3, but it is also possible to provide a thread on the cylindrical side wall 111 of the cap body 1 so that the top lid 105 can be attached by screwing.

The above-mentioned caps 100 and 200 can be easily manufactured by injection molding using a thermoplastic resin, for example an olefin-based resin such as polypropylene or polyethylene.

1: Double structure container (airless container)
3: Outer cylindrical container 5: Inner bag container 11: Nozzle 13: Shoulder 15: Body 17: Bottom 21: Cylindrical mouth 23: Bag-shaped body X: Air passage Y: Void Z: Shapeless region

Claims (2)

The present invention comprises a double-structure container having an outer cylindrical container and an inner bag container that is accommodated in the outer cylindrical container and that accommodates contents, and a container lid that is attached to the double-structure container,
The outer cylindrical container is formed from a nozzle and a stretch-molded portion including a shoulder portion, a body portion, and a bottom portion connected to the nozzle,
The inner bag container has a cylindrical mouth portion having a fixed shape, and a bag-shaped body portion connected to the cylindrical mouth portion, thinned by stretching, and capable of shrinking and deforming by reducing the volume by discharging the contents,
The outer surface of the cylindrical mouth of the inner bag container is provided with a fixing ring that fits onto the inner surface of the nozzle of the outer tube container, and a fitting portion is formed between the outer surface of the fixing ring and the inner surface of the nozzle by the fixing ring,
an air passage is formed between an outer surface of a cylindrical mouth of the inner bag container and an inner surface of a nozzle of the outer cylinder container, the air passage passing through the joint in an axial direction;
the container lid is comprised of a cap body attached to the nozzle of the outer cylindrical container so as to cover the cylindrical mouth of the inner bag container, and a top lid provided on the cap body so as to be freely opened and closed by a hinge or screw engagement, and is provided with a check valve for regulating the inflow and outflow of air through the air passage,
The cap body is provided with an opening which serves as a discharge path for the contents, a valve body which opens and closes the opening, and a hollow tube which is connected to the air path, and the hollow tube contains a stopper body which functions as the check valve, and a small diameter regulating path is formed, and horizontal steps which regulate the movement of the stopper body are formed at the upper and lower ends of the regulating path,
The plug body is composed of a valve body located below the regulating passage and a base located above it, via a small-diameter connecting rod, and when the valve body abuts the upper end surface of the cylindrical mouth portion, there is a space between the lower end of the base and the horizontal step at the upper end of the regulating passage . The double-structure container with lid according to claim 1, wherein the lid is attached to the double-structure container by a fitting.

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