JP7624713B2 - Cap and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cap and a method for manufacturing the cap.

Of the components that make up the cap, the lid body that is attached to the container is provided with a pouring tube that pours out the liquid stored in the container. Generally, the ability of the pouring tube to drain the liquid when pouring is finished, in other words, liquid drainage, is important for the pouring tube. If the liquid drainage is poor, liquid is likely to remain in the pouring tube, and the remaining liquid will fall from the pouring tube and soil the surrounding area.

The invention described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed as a cap with improved liquid drainage. As shown in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1, the cap 1 described in Patent Document 1 has a spout 24 (the tip of the pouring tube) of the pouring outlet 22 that extends downward in order to improve liquid drainage.

JP 2020-186024 A

The cap 1 described in Patent Document 1 has a narrow gap between the spout 24 and the pouring barrel 21, and a smoothly curved shape at the flange 23. For this reason, it is difficult to mold a cap 1 of this shape by injection molding, and in actual injection molding, the cap 1 is molded into a shape in which the gap between the spout 24 and the pouring barrel 21 is wider. Furthermore, even if the gap between the spout 24 and the pouring barrel 21 is narrowed, the gap will widen over time.

In this way, if the distance between the spout 24 and the pouring barrel 21 is increased, the spout 24 (tip) will widen relative to the axis of the pouring part 20 (pour barrel), which creates the problem of insufficient liquid drainage.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a cap that can improve liquid drainage and a method for manufacturing the cap.

In order to solve the above problems, a cap according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a lid body that is attached to a container;
The lid body is provided with a detachable upper lid,
The lid body has a pouring tube having a tip portion folded back on the outer periphery,
The upper lid has an outer peripheral protrusion that contacts the tip of the pouring tube from the outer periphery when the upper lid is attached to the lid body,
The tip of the pouring tube has a groove portion on the inside of the fold that is thinner than an adjacent portion,
The groove portion is a portion that is bent when the outer peripheral protrusion abuts against the tip portion of the pouring cylinder from the outer periphery.

The cap according to the second invention is similar to the cap according to the first invention in that the groove is formed in an angular shape.

Furthermore, the cap according to the third invention is a cap according to the first or second invention, in which the top lid has an inner peripheral protrusion that abuts against the tip of the pouring tube from the inside when the top lid is attached to the lid body.

In addition, the cap according to the fourth invention is such that the inner peripheral protrusion and the outer peripheral protrusion of the cap according to the third invention each abut against the tip of the pouring tube over their entire circumference.

The cap according to the fifth invention is a cap according to any one of the first to fourth inventions, in which the area from the tip of the pouring tube to the tip of the pouring tube is greater than the area of the part of the tip that abuts against the outer peripheral protrusion on the outside of the fold.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is a method for producing a cap according to any one of the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, comprising the steps of:
an injection molding process for molding a lid body and a top lid from synthetic resin by injection molding;
and a mounting step of mounting the upper lid on the lid body at a temperature at which the tip of the pouring tube is plastically deformed.

According to the cap and the method for manufacturing the cap, the tip of the dispensing tube is bent at the groove, so the tip does not expand relative to the axis of the dispensing tube, improving the liquid drainage.

1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which a top lid of a cap according to an embodiment of the present invention is open. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing only the left side of the cap in a state in which the top lid of the cap is beginning to be closed. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing only the left side of the cap in a state where the top cover shown in FIG. 2 is further closed. FIG. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing only the left side of the cap with the top lid closed. 5 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing the periphery of a tip portion of a pouring tube in a lid body of the cap shown in FIG. 4 . FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing the periphery of a tip portion of a pouring tube in a lid body of the cap shown in FIG. 1 . FIG.

The following describes a cap according to an embodiment of the present invention and a method for manufacturing the cap with reference to the drawings. Note that the cap is a hinge-type cap as an example, but is not limited to the hinge type.

First, we will explain the cap, and then we will explain how to manufacture the cap.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cap 1 includes a lid body 2 attached to the mouth m of the container B, and a top lid 3 that can be attached and detached to the lid body 2. The lid body 2 is attached to the mouth m of the container B, and therefore includes, for example, a base 10, an outer tube 11 connected to the base 10 and in contact with the mouth m of the container B from the outer periphery, and an inner tube 12 connected to the base 10 and in contact with the mouth m of the container B from the inner periphery. That is, the base 10, the outer tube 11, and the inner tube 12 of the lid body 2 are configured to sandwich the mouth m of the container B. The lid body 2 has, for example, an engagement portion 13 that engages with the top lid 3 over the entire circumference, since the top lid 3 is attached. On the other hand, the top lid 3 has an engaged portion 30 that engages with the engagement portion 13. In addition, the cap 1 is, as an example, a hinge type, and also includes a hinge 4 that connects the lid body 2 and the top lid 3.

The lid body 2 has a pouring tube 14, and the upper lid 3 has an outer peripheral protrusion 31. The pouring tube 14 of the lid body 2 is a cylindrical body that pours out the liquid L stored in the container B, and is provided, for example, on the base portion 10. For this reason, the inside of the pouring tube 14 has, for example, an annular groove 15 formed on the base portion 10 and a pull ring 16 connected to the part surrounded by this annular groove 15 to form a pouring outlet through which the liquid L passes. That is, the part surrounded by the annular groove 15 in the base portion 10 is removed by pulling up the pull ring 16 to become the pouring outlet. Of course, the inside of the pouring tube 14 may be configured to form a pouring outlet in another manner without having the annular groove 15 and the pull ring 16, or the pouring outlet may be formed from the beginning. In any case, the performance of cutting off the liquid L at the end of pouring, that is, the liquid cutting ability, becomes important for the pouring tube 14. To ensure this liquid drainage, the tip 20 of the pouring tube 14 is folded back toward the outer periphery. On the other hand, the outer peripheral protrusion 31 of the top lid 3 is a member that contacts the tip 20 of the pouring tube 14 from the outer periphery when the top lid 3 is attached to the lid body 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 has a groove 25 on the inside of the fold that is thinner than the adjacent portion. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the groove 25 is a portion that is bent when the outer peripheral protrusion 31 abuts against the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 from the outer periphery.

The following describes a preferred form of the cap 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the top lid 3 has an inner peripheral protrusion 32 that abuts the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 from the inside when the top lid 3 is attached to the lid body 2. As a result, the dispensing tube 14 is doubly sealed by the inner peripheral protrusion 32 and the outer peripheral protrusion 31 when the top lid 3 is attached to the lid body 2.

The inner peripheral protrusion 32 and the outer peripheral protrusion 31 each abut against the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 over the entire circumference. That is, when the top lid 3 is attached to the lid body 2, the inner peripheral protrusion 32 abuts against the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 from the inner circumference over the entire circumference, and the outer peripheral protrusion 31 abuts against the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 from the outer circumference over the entire circumference. As a result, when the top lid 3 is attached to the lid body 2, the dispensing tube 14 is sealed over the entire circumference.

As shown in FIG. 5, the area of the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 from the part t that abuts against the outer peripheral protrusion 31 on the outside of the fold to the tip 21 of the dispensing tube 14 (the non-contacting part n) is larger than the area of the part t. In other words, when the top lid 3 is attached to the lid body 2, the area of the part t where the outer peripheral protrusion 31 abuts against the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 is relatively small. This prevents the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 from being deformed by being pulled by the moving outer peripheral protrusion 31 when the attachment is released (the top lid 3 is opened).

Next, the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 6, the tip 20 of the pouring tube 14 before contacting the outer peripheral protrusion 31 and the inner peripheral protrusion 32 has an expanded diameter portion 23 that expands to the outer periphery, and an overhanging portion 24 that overhangs further outward from the expanded diameter portion 23. This overhanging portion 24 forms the tip 21 of the pouring tube 14 described above. The upward facing surfaces of the expanded diameter portion 23 and the overhanging portion 24 are the outer side of the fold described above, and the downward facing surfaces of the expanded diameter portion 23 and the overhanging portion 24 are the inner side of the fold described above. The groove portion 25 is formed near the boundary between the expanded diameter portion 23 and the overhanging portion 24. The groove portion 25 is thinner than the adjacent portions (i.e., both the expanded diameter portion 23 side and the overhanging portion 24 side). The protruding portion 24 is formed so that the angle α between the upper surface and the axis of the pouring tube 14 (axis A parallel to said axis) is 55 to 75°, and the angle β between the lower surface and the axis of the pouring tube 14 (axis A parallel to said axis) is 80 to 100°. Such a protruding portion 24 makes it easier to mold the lid body 2 by injection molding (specifically, the demolding process).

As shown in FIG. 5, when the top cover 3 is attached to the cover body 2, the expanded diameter portion 23 does not change its position significantly from the state shown in FIG. 6, but the protruding portion 24 changes its position significantly from the state shown in FIG. 6. The reason why there are parts where the position does not change significantly and parts where it changes significantly is because there is bending between these two parts. The valley side of this bending is performed by the groove portion 25. As shown in FIG. 5, when the groove portion 25 is bent, the protruding portion 24 has an upper surface (more precisely, the outer surface) and the axis of the spouting tube 14 (axis A parallel to the axis) that are approximately parallel (including ±10° from parallel), and the angle β between the lower surface (more precisely, the inner surface) and the axis of the spouting tube 14 (axis A parallel to the axis) is 15 to 35°. In this way, the protruding portion 24 becomes closer to being parallel to the axis of the spouting tube 14 by bending the groove portion 25, improving the liquid cut-off performance.

As shown in FIG. 6, in order to promote the bending, the groove 25 has a portion 26 formed in an angular shape. This angular shape is not limited to a strict angular shape, and includes manufacturing tolerances. Note that as long as the groove 25 has a portion 26 formed in an angular shape, the bending can be promoted even if the groove 25 has a portion other than the portion 26 that is curved. Note that if the angle of the angular portion 26 of the groove 25 is 80 to 100 degrees, the bending is promoted appropriately.

The function of the cap 1 is explained below.

As shown in Figure 1, the top lid 3 is not attached to the lid body 2 (top lid 3 is open), and then as shown in Figure 2, the top lid 3 is attached to the lid body 2 (top lid 3 is closed).

As shown in Fig. 3, as the outer peripheral protrusion 31 comes into contact with the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14, the groove 25 bends. After that, as shown in Fig. 4, when the top lid 3 is attached to the lid body 2, the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 is doubly sealed all around by the inner peripheral protrusion 32 and the outer peripheral protrusion 31. At this time, as shown in Fig. 5, the position of the extension 24 changes until it becomes nearly parallel to the axis of the dispensing tube 14 (axis A parallel to that axis).

In this way, with the cap 1, the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 is bent at the groove 25, so that the tip 20 does not expand relative to the axis of the dispensing tube 14, improving the liquid drainage.

In addition, the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 is doubly sealed by the inner peripheral protrusion 32 and the outer peripheral protrusion 31, improving sealing performance.

Furthermore, the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 is sealed all around, further improving the sealing performance.

In addition, because the area t of the contact portion between the outer peripheral protrusion 31 and the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 is relatively small, the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 is less likely to deform when the top lid 3 is opened, further improving the liquid drainage.

In addition, the bending of the groove portion 25 is promoted by the angularly shaped portion 26, so that the groove portion 25 bends appropriately, and as a result, the liquid drainage can be further improved.

The manufacturing method for the cap 1 is described below.

The manufacturing method of the cap 1 includes an injection molding step of molding the lid body 2 and the top lid 3 shown in FIG. 1 from synthetic resin by injection molding. The manufacturing method of the cap 1 also includes an attachment step of attaching the top lid 3 to the lid body 2 at a temperature at which the tip 20 of the dispensing tube 14 is plastically deformed.

In the injection molding process, synthetic resin that has been melted by heating is poured into a metal mold (not shown) for molding the lid body 2 and the top lid 3. The synthetic resin poured into the metal mold is, for example, polyethylene resin. The synthetic resin then solidifies in the metal mold, forming the lid body 2 and the top lid 3, and the lid body 2 and the top lid 3 are then removed from the metal mold (demolded).

The lid body 2 and top lid 3 are naturally cooled after being removed from the mold. Here, before the temperature of the tip 20 of the pouring tube 14 drops to a level at which it no longer undergoes plastic deformation, specifically, when the tip 20 of the pouring tube 14 is at or above 40°C, the top lid 3 is attached to the lid body 2 as shown in Figures 2 to 4. This causes the protruding portion 24 of the tip 20 to plastically deform to the state shown in Figure 5, that is, to a position that is nearly parallel to the axis of the pouring tube 14 (axis A parallel to said axis). Even if the top lid 3 is then opened, the protruding portion 24 of the tip 20 maintains a position that is nearly parallel to the axis of the pouring tube 14 (axis A parallel to said axis).

In this way, according to the manufacturing method of the cap 1, it is sufficient to simply attach the top lid 3 to the lid body 2 to prevent the tip portion 20 from spreading out relative to the axis of the dispensing tube 14, so the cap 1 can be manufactured extremely simply.

In the above embodiment, a hinged cap 1 has been described as an example of the cap 1, but a non-hinged cap may also be used. An example of a non-hinged cap is a screw-type cap in which the top cover 3 is attached to the lid body 2 by screwing.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the lid body 2 is described as being attached to the mouth m of the container B, but it may be attached to a part other than the mouth m as long as it is a part that pours out the liquid L stored in the container B. For example, if the cap 1 is a spout and the container B is a pouch, the spout is attached to a part that pours out the liquid L stored in the pouch.

Furthermore, although not described in detail in the above embodiment, the tip 20 folded back on the outer periphery of the dispensing tube 14 may be the entire circumference of the dispensing tube 14, or may be a part of the entire circumference of the dispensing tube 14. Of course, if the tip 20 folded back on the outer periphery of the dispensing tube 14 is the entire circumference of the dispensing tube 14, the liquid drainage can be further improved.

In addition, the above embodiment is illustrative in all respects and is not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims, not the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. Of the configurations of the cap 1 described in the above embodiment, those other than those described as the first invention in the "Means for solving the problem" are optional configurations and may be deleted or modified as appropriate.

B Container 1 Cap 2 Lid body 3 Upper lid 10 Base portion 11 Outer cylinder portion 12 Inner cylinder portion 14 Spout tube 15 Annular groove 16 Pull ring 20 Tip portion 21 Tip 23 Enlarged diameter portion 24 Protruding portion 25 Groove portion 26 Corner-shaped portion 31 Outer peripheral protrusion 32 Inner peripheral protrusion

Claims (6)

A lid body that is attached to the container;
The lid body is provided with a detachable upper lid,
The lid body has a pouring tube having a tip portion folded back on the outer periphery,
The upper lid has an outer peripheral protrusion that contacts the tip of the pouring tube from the outer periphery when the upper lid is attached to the lid body,
The tip of the pouring tube has a groove portion on the inside of the fold that is thinner than an adjacent portion,
The cap is characterized in that the groove portion is a portion that is bent when an outer peripheral protrusion abuts against the tip portion of the pouring tube from the outer periphery. The cap according to claim 1, characterized in that the groove is formed in an angular shape. The cap according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the top lid has an inner peripheral protrusion that abuts from the inside against the tip of the pouring tube when the top lid is attached to the lid body. The cap according to claim 3, characterized in that the inner peripheral protrusion and the outer peripheral protrusion each abut against the tip of the pouring tube over their entire circumference. A cap according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the area of the tip of the pouring tube from the part that abuts against the outer peripheral protrusion on the outside of the fold to the tip of the pouring tube is larger than the area of the part. A method for manufacturing the cap according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising the steps of:
an injection molding process for molding a lid body and a top lid from synthetic resin by injection molding;
and a mounting step of mounting the upper lid on the lid body at a temperature at which the tip of the pouring tube plastically deforms.

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