JP7777912B2 - Dispensing container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a dispensing container.

For example, as shown in Patent Document 1, a known dispensing container is equipped with a dispensing cap that has a suck-back function that allows it to suck up liquid around the dispensing hole after the contents of the container body have been dispensed by having a cylindrical housing portion with a sliding body slidably housed inside.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-159942

In dispensing containers like the one described above, when the amount of content remaining in the container body becomes low, the opening of the cylindrical container portion on the container body side may become exposed to the content when the container body is turned upside down, etc. In this case, when attempting to increase the pressure inside the container body by squeezing or deforming the container body to force the content out through the dispensing hole, the air inside the container body escapes from the cylindrical container portion into the dispensing hole, making it impossible to increase the pressure inside the container body. As a result, the dispensing valve that releasably closes the opening of the container body cannot be opened, and the content cannot be dispensed through the dispensing hole even if it remains in the container body. This poses the problem of a relatively large amount of content easily remaining in the container body.

In view of the above circumstances, one aspect of the present invention aims to provide a dispensing container that can reduce the amount of contents remaining in the container body.

One embodiment of the dispensing container of the present invention comprises a container body including an inner container that shrinks and deforms as the contents are contained therein and as the contents decrease, and an outer container in which the inner container is housed; and a dispensing cap attached to the opening of the container body, wherein the outer container has an air intake hole formed in it to draw in outside air between it and the inner container, and the dispensing cap comprises a cap body in the shape of a cylinder with a top wall portion formed with a dispensing hole, and a communication hole that connects the inside of the container body with the dispensing hole, and an inner plug portion that closes the opening, a dispensing valve that releasably closes the communication hole, and the cap body. the container is formed in a cylindrical shape extending in the direction of the central axis of the body, the end on the container body side being an opening located inside the container body, and the interior of the container is in communication with the pouring hole, a sliding body accommodated inside the container cylindrical part so as to be able to slide freely in the direction of the central axis, and an engaging cylindrical part fitted inside the mouth , wherein a plurality of the container cylindrical parts and sliding bodies are provided, the plurality of container cylindrical parts are arranged at positions different from the flow hole when viewed from the direction of the central axis, and the opening is located on the opposite side of the container body from the end of the engaging cylindrical part on the container body side .

In one aspect of the dispensing container of the present invention, multiple tubular holding portions and sliding bodies are provided. Therefore, even if the tubular holding portion is shortened in the direction of the central axis of the cap body, reducing the stroke amount of one sliding body, the multiple sliding bodies move in the direction of the central axis within each tubular holding portion, thereby maintaining the suck-back function favorably. This prevents a decrease in the suck-back function and allows the opening of the tubular holding portion on the container body side to be positioned closer to the container body. Therefore, even if the dispensing container is inverted when the remaining amount of contents is low, the opening of the tubular holding portion on the container body side is less likely to be exposed from the contents. This reduces the amount of contents remaining in the container body.

Furthermore, because the interior of the tubular housing is connected to the outlet, when discharging the contents, the contents can be dispensed from the outlet through multiple tubular housings. This increases the number of paths through which the contents can flow to the outlet by the number of tubular housings. Therefore, by providing multiple tubular housings, the amount of contents that can be dispensed from the outlet per unit time can be increased. Specifically, when the container body is suddenly squeezed, for example, and more contents than can pass through the outlet per unit time attempt to leave the container body, the contents that cannot pass through the outlet flow through the multiple tubular housings to the outlet. This increases the amount of contents that can be dispensed from the outlet per unit time.
Furthermore, since the number of paths for the contents to flow to the spout hole is increased, the contents can be more easily sent to the spout hole when the container body is squeezed. This reduces the force pressing on the container body when the container body is squeezed. This makes it easier to squeeze the container body, improving convenience for users.

The plurality of cylindrical housing portions may be arranged at intervals along a circumferential direction centered on the flow hole.
This configuration allows the distances from the flow holes to each of the cylindrical storage sections to be approximately the same. This prevents unevenness in the amount of content passing through each of the cylindrical storage sections when the content that cannot pass through the flow holes passes through the multiple cylindrical storage sections and flows to the spout hole. This allows the content to pass through each of the multiple cylindrical storage sections in an optimal manner, making it easier to optimally increase the amount of content that can be dispensed from the spout hole per unit time.

One aspect of the present invention provides a dispensing container that can reduce the amount of contents remaining in the container body.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the dispensing container of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a view of a portion of the dispensing cap of this embodiment as seen from below. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the dispensing container of this embodiment in an inverted state.

The following describes a dispensing container according to an embodiment of the present invention, with reference to the drawings. Note that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and can be modified as desired within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention. In addition, in the following drawings, the scale and number of each structure may differ from the scale and number of the actual structure in order to make each configuration easier to understand.

The dispensing container 1 of this embodiment comprises a container body 4 in which the contents are stored, and a dispensing cap 2 that is attached to the opening 4a of the container body 4. The contents stored in the container body 4 are not particularly limited, but may be, for example, liquid contents. In this embodiment, the dispensing cap 2 and the container body 4 are arranged around a common axis.

Hereinafter, the common axis of the pouring cap 2 and the container body 4 will be referred to as the central axis O, and the direction of the central axis along the central axis O will be referred to as the up-down direction (Z-axis direction). The side (+Z side) on which the pouring cap 2 is located relative to the container body 4 will be referred to as the upper side or top, and the opposite side (-Z side) will be referred to as the lower side or bottom. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the direction that intersects with the central axis O when viewed in the up-down direction will be referred to simply as the radial direction, and the direction going around the central axis O will be referred to simply as the circumferential direction.

The container body 4 to which the dispensing cap 2 of this embodiment is attached comprises a highly flexible inner container 5 that shrinks (deforms) as the contents are accommodated and the inner container 5 is placed inside the outer container 6. Both the outer container 6 and the inner container 5 are made of polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET). Although not shown, the outer container 6 is made of an outer preform made of polyethylene terephthalate resin, and an inner preform made of polyethylene terephthalate resin for forming the inner container 5 is assembled inside the outer preform made of polyethylene terephthalate resin for forming the outer container 6, resulting in a double-structure container formed by blow molding. The container body 4 is formed by biaxial stretch blow molding, and is a delaminated container (delamination bottle) in which the inner container 5 is peelably laminated to the inner surface of the outer container 6. The outer container 6 is formed to be deformable by squeezing, and the inner container 5 shrinks in volume as the outer container 6 deforms. The container body 4 may also be made of a synthetic resin such as polyethylene; there are no restrictions on the material.

The mouth 4a of the container body 4 is constructed by stacking the mouth 5a of the inner container 5 and the mouth 6a of the outer container 6. A flange protruding radially outward is formed at the upper end of the mouth 5a of the inner container 5, and this flange is positioned at the upper opening edge of the mouth 6a of the outer container 6. The mouth 6a of the outer container 6 is formed with an air intake hole 8 that draws outside air between the outer container 6 and the inner container 5. Multiple air intake holes 8 are formed at intervals around the circumferential direction of the mouth 6a. A sealed portion 7 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the portion of the mouth 6a of the outer container 6 located below the air intake hole 8, extending continuously around the entire periphery. The outer diameter of the sealed portion 7 is the largest of the outer diameters of the mouth 6a of the outer container 6.

As shown in Fig. 1, the dispensing cap 2 of this embodiment includes a cap body 20 that is attached to the mouth 4a of the container body 4, and a lid body 30 that is connected to the cap body 20 via a hinge portion 34. Fig. 1 shows the lid body 30 in a closed state. In the following description of the relative positional relationships of each part, unless otherwise specified, the description will be given for the case where the lid body 30 is in a closed state. The cap body 20 and the lid body 30 are cylindrical and arranged coaxially with a central axis O.
1 will be referred to as the front-rear direction, and the direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction and the front-rear direction (Y-axis direction) will be referred to as the left-right direction. In the front-rear direction, the side on which the hinge portion 34 is located with respect to the central axis O (-X side) will be referred to as the rear side or rear, and the opposite side (+X side) will be referred to as the front side or front.

The cap body 20 has a disk-shaped top wall portion 22 arranged coaxially with the central axis O, and a cylindrical mounting tube portion 21 extending downward from the outer circumferential edge of the top wall portion 22 .
The mounting tubular portion 21 of the cap body 20 is tightly fitted onto the mouth 4a of the container body 4. The lower end of the mounting tubular portion 21 forms a seal portion 21b that is in airtight contact with the sealed portion 7 of the container body 4 over the entire circumferential direction. A plurality of communication grooves 21a are formed at intervals in the circumferential direction on the inner circumferential surface of the mounting tubular portion 21, extending in the vertical direction and connecting the outside air introduction hole 23 (described later) with the air intake hole 8. The mounting tubular portion 21 may also be screwed onto the mouth 4a.

The top wall 22 of the cap body 20 is located above the container body 4. A spout 26 through which the contents are poured is formed in the top wall 22. The spout 26 is positioned forwardly relative to the central axis O. The spout 26 is located in the center of the top wall 22 in the left-right direction. A spout tube 19 that protrudes upward is formed around the opening edge of the spout 26 on the top surface of the top wall 22. The upper end of the spout tube 19 curves and extends so that the inner and outer diameters increase upward, and the outer peripheral edge of the upper opening edge 19a of the spout tube 19 is pointed radially outward from the spout tube 19.

An outside air introduction hole 23 that connects the outside of the cap body 20 to the intake hole 8 is formed in a portion of the top wall portion 22 that is located rearward of the outlet hole 26. The outside air introduction hole 23 is provided, for example, in portions of the top wall portion 22 that are located on both sides of the center portion in the left-right direction in the circumferential direction.
A downwardly projecting tube 24 is formed in a portion of the ceiling wall 22 that is located radially inward of the outside air introduction hole 23 and surrounds the lower end opening of the pouring hole 26 when viewed from below.

The lid 30 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a top having a peripheral wall 31 and a top wall 32 , and opens and closes the pouring hole 26 .
The top wall portion 32 is formed with a stopper portion 33 that protrudes downward and is tightly and detachably fitted into the dispensing tube 19. The stopper portion 33 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The top wall portion 32 is formed with an enclosing tube 17, inside which the dispensing tube 19 is inserted. The lower end opening edge of the enclosing tube 17 is close to the upper surface of the top wall portion 22 of the cap body 20. The vertical gap between the lower end opening edge of the enclosing tube 17 and the upper surface of the top wall portion 22 is smaller than the vertical gap between the upper end opening edge 19a of the dispensing tube 19 and the lower surface of the top wall portion 32.

The peripheral wall portion 31 is removably fitted onto the upper end of the mounting tube portion 21 of the cap body 20. The peripheral wall portion 31 is connected to the mounting tube portion 21 via a hinge portion 34. This allows the lid body 30 to rotate up and down around the hinge portion 34, and this rotation causes the stopper portion 33 to be attached and detached to the dispensing tube 19, opening and closing the dispensing hole 26. A finger hook portion 35 that protrudes forward is provided at the front end of the lower end of the peripheral wall portion 31.

The dispensing cap 2 further includes an inner plug portion 10 that closes the mouth portion 4 a of the container body 4 , and a valve member 60 attached to the inner plug portion 10 .
The inner plug portion 10 is fixed to the inside of the mounting tubular portion 21 of the cap body 20. The inner plug portion 10 has a base portion 11 that covers the upper opening of the mouth portion 4a of the container body 4, a fixed tubular portion 15 that extends upward from the base portion 11, a fitting tubular portion 16 that extends downward from the base portion 11, a storage tubular portion 12 that extends downward from the base portion 11 radially inward of the fitting tubular portion 16, and a slider 13 that is housed inside the storage tubular portion 12 so as to be slidable in the up and down direction. Note that, although the base portion 11 and the storage tubular portion 12 are integrally formed in the illustrated example, they may also be formed separately.

The base portion 11 has an annular outer base portion 11a positioned on the upper opening edge of the mouth portion 4a of the container body 4, an inner base portion 11b located radially inward from the outer base portion 11a, and a connecting tube portion 11c extending vertically and connecting the radial inner end of the outer base portion 11a to the radial outer end of the inner base portion 11b. The inner base portion 11b is located higher than the outer base portion 11a.

The outer base portion 11a is formed with a rising tube portion 14 that protrudes upward and surrounds the connecting tube portion 11c from the radial outside. The rising tube portion 14 is located radially inward of the fixed tube portion 15. The upper opening edge of the rising tube portion 14 faces the lower opening edge of the hanging tube 24 of the cap body 20 in the vertical direction. The portion of the outer base portion 11a that rests on the upper opening edge of the mouth portion 4a of the container body 4 is formed with a communication hole 11d that connects the outside air introduction hole 23 in the cap body 20 with the communication groove 21a.

A flow hole 11e that opens toward the inside of the container body 4 is formed in the inner base portion 11b. The flow hole 11e connects the interior of the container body 4 with the spout hole 26. In this embodiment, the flow hole 11e connects the interior of the inner container 5 with the spout hole 26. The flow hole 11e is, for example, a circular hole that is arranged coaxially with the central axis O. The entire flow hole 11e faces up and down with a portion of the underside of the top wall portion 22 of the cap body 20 that is away from the spout hole 26.

The fixed cylinder portion 15 extends upward from the outer peripheral edge of the outer base portion 11a. The fixed cylinder portion 15 is cylindrical and opens upward about the central axis O. The fixed cylinder portion 15 is fitted into and fixed to the inside of the upper end of the mounting cylinder portion 21 of the cap body 20. The upper end of the fixed cylinder portion 15 is located higher than the upper end of the rising cylinder portion 14. The upper end of the fixed cylinder portion 15 contacts the underside of the top wall portion 22. The above-mentioned communication hole 11d is formed across the lower part of the fixed cylinder portion 15 and the outer peripheral edge of the outer base portion 11a.

The fitting cylindrical portion 16 extends downward from the outer base portion 11a. The fitting cylindrical portion 16 is cylindrical and opens downward about the central axis O. The fitting cylindrical portion 16 is located radially inward from the fixed cylindrical portion 15 and radially outward from the rising cylindrical portion 14. The fitting cylindrical portion 16 is fitted into the inside of the mouth portion 4a of the container body 4. In this embodiment, the fitting cylindrical portion 16 is fitted into the inside of the mouth portion 5a of the inner container 5.

The accommodating tube portion 12 is formed in a cylindrical shape extending in the central axis direction (vertical direction) of the cap body 20. The accommodating tube portion 12 is, for example, cylindrical and open in both the vertical and horizontal directions. The accommodating tube portion 12 protrudes downward from a portion of the inner base portion 11b adjacent to the flow hole 11e. In the example shown, the accommodating tube portion 12 is offset radially from the central axis O, and a portion of it is integrated with the connecting tube portion 11c. The accommodating tube portion 12 penetrates the inner base portion 11b in the vertical direction. The upper opening of the accommodating tube portion 12 opens above the base portion 11.

The interior of the tubular housing 12 is a space into which contents remaining above the base 11 are drawn, and is open in the vertical direction. A valve seat 12a is formed in the lower part of the tubular housing 12, the diameter of which decreases toward the bottom end. The end of the tubular housing 12 facing the container body 4 (lower side) is an opening 12b that opens downward and is located inside the container body 4. The opening 12b is located above the bottom end of the tubular fitting 16. Note that the opening 12b may be located at the same vertical position as the bottom end of the tubular fitting 16, or may be located below the bottom end of the tubular fitting 16. The inner diameter of the opening 12b is smaller than the diameter of the sliding body 13. The vertical dimension from the top end of the tubular housing 12 to the bottom end of the valve seat 12a is, for example, no more than twice the diameter of the sliding body 13.

The sliding body 13 is housed within the tubular housing portion 12 so as to be able to move up and down, and is seated on the inner circumferential surface of the valve seat portion 12a so as to be able to move upward and away from it. In the example shown, the sliding body 13 is a so-called ball valve formed in a spherical shape. The outer diameter of the sliding body 13 is smaller than the inner diameter of the portion of the tubular housing portion 12 located above the valve seat portion 12a. As a result, as shown by the two-dot chain line in Figure 1, for example, when the sliding body 13 moves upward away from the valve seat portion 12a, a small gap is formed between the inner circumferential surface of the tubular housing portion 12 and the sliding body 13, allowing the contents or air to flow through the tubular housing portion 12.

When the dispensing container 1 is tilted or turned upside down to dispense the contents, the sliding body 13 moves under its own weight away from the valve seat 12a, and when the dispensing container 1 is returned to its original upright position, it moves under its own weight towards the valve seat 12a. As a result, when the dispensing container 1 is returned to its original upright position after the contents have been dispensed, any contents remaining above the base 11 can be drawn into the interior of the tubular storage portion 12, preventing dripping through the so-called suck-back effect. The maximum stroke that the sliding body 13 can move up and down within the tubular storage portion 12 is, for example, equal to or less than the diameter of the sliding body 13.

A plurality of accommodating cylindrical portions 12 and sliding bodies 13 are provided. In this embodiment, two accommodating cylindrical portions 12 and two sliding bodies 13 are provided. One sliding body 13 is accommodated in each accommodating cylindrical portion 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the multiple accommodating cylindrical portions 12 are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction centered on the flow hole 11e. In this embodiment, the circumferential direction centered on the flow hole 11e refers to the direction going around the central axis O. The multiple accommodating cylindrical portions 12 are arranged, for example, at equal intervals around the circumference along the circumferential direction.

In this embodiment, the two housing tube portions 12 are arranged on either side of the flow hole 11e in the front-to-rear direction (X-axis direction). One housing tube portion 12 is provided in a portion of the inner base portion 11b that is located forward of the flow hole 11e. The other housing tube portion 12 is provided in a portion of the inner base portion 11b that is located rearward of the flow hole 11e. The shapes and sizes of the multiple housing tube portions 12 are, for example, the same as each other. The vertical positions of the openings 12b in the multiple housing tube portions 12 are, for example, the same as each other. The shapes and sizes of the multiple sliding bodies 13 are, for example, the same as each other.

1, the valve member 60 is provided between the inner plug portion 10 and the top wall portion 22 of the cap body 20 in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, the valve member 60 has a spout valve 40 and an air valve 50.
Furthermore, a configuration may be adopted in which, for example, the size of the outside air inlet hole 23 is reduced so that, even without providing an air valve 50, the air between the outer container 6 and the inner container 5 does not substantially flow out through the outside air inlet hole 23 when the outer container 6 is squeezed and deformed.

The spout valve 40 closes the flow hole 11e in an openable manner. In this way, the spout valve 40 switches between communication between the spout hole 26 and the inside of the inner container 5 through the flow hole 11e of the inner plug portion 10 and blocks communication. The spout valve 40 is, for example, a three-point valve equipped with a valve body 41 that is separably arranged on the upper surface of the inner base portion 11b, and multiple (three) elastic arms 42 that connect the valve body 41 to the cylindrical portion 51 of the air valve 50 (described below).

The valve body 41 has a circular shape when viewed from above, for example, and releasably closes the flow hole 11e. The valve body 41 does not seal the upper end opening of the tubular storage portion 12. Therefore, the interior of the tubular storage portion 12 is always open upward. As a result, the interior of the tubular storage portion 12 communicates with the spout hole 26 via the vertical space between the top wall portion 22 of the cap body 20 and the inner plug portion 10.

The elastic arm 42 elastically deforms when the internal pressure of the inner container 5 increases due to squeeze deformation of the outer container 6, causing the valve body 41 to move upward away from the upper surface of the inner base portion 11b. As a result, when the outer container 6 is squeezed and deformed, the communication hole 11e is opened, connecting the pouring hole 26 to the inside of the inner container 5 and allowing the contents to be poured out through the pouring hole 26.
The dispensing valve 40 may have a valve structure other than that described above as long as it can open the flow hole 11e when the outer container 6 is squeezed and deformed.

The air valve 50 has a cylindrical portion 51 whose lower end is fitted into the rising cylindrical portion 14 of the inner plug portion 10 and whose upper end is fitted into the hanging tube 24 of the cap body 20, and an elastically deformable annular valve element 52 that protrudes radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 51 and whose outer radial end is a free end.

The valve body 52 has its radially outer end in releasable contact with the underside of the top wall portion 22 of the cap body 20 over the entire circumferential direction, and closes the outside air introduction hole 23 so as to be releasable from below. The valve body 52 functions as a check valve that allows air to flow from the outside of the cap body 20 into the inside of the cap body 20 through the outside air introduction hole 23, and regulates air from the inside of the cap body 20 to the outside of the cap body 20 through the outside air introduction hole 23. Air that flows into the inside of the cap body 20 from the outside through the outside air introduction hole 23 flows between the inner container 5 and the outer container 6 through the communication hole 11 d of the inner plug portion 10, the communicating groove 21 a of the cap body 20, and the intake hole 8 of the outer container 6.
In this embodiment, the spout valve 40 and the air valve 50 are configured to be integrally formed, but the spout valve 40 and the air valve 50 may be separate members.

To dispense the contents in the above configuration, first, lift or push up the finger grip 35 to rotate the lid 30 upward around the hinge 34, opening the dispensing hole 26. Then, for example, tilt or turn the dispensing container 1 upside down, squeezing (elastically deforming) the outer container 6. This causes the inner container 5 to deform and reduce in volume along with the outer container 6, increasing the internal pressure of the inner container 5. This causes the elastic arm 42 of the dispensing valve 40 to elastically deform, and the valve body 41 moves away from the upper surface of the inner base 11b, opening the flow hole 11e and connecting the dispensing hole 26 to the interior of the inner container 5. This allows the contents contained inside the inner container 5 to be dispensed to the outside through the dispensing hole 26. At this time, the sliding body 13 inside the cylindrical housing 12 moves away from the valve seat 12a, as shown in FIG. 3. Note that Figure 3 shows the dispensing container 1 upside down.

Thereafter, when the squeeze deformation of the container body 4 is stopped or released, the increase in the internal pressure of the inner container 5 stops or decreases, and the elastic arm 42 of the dispensing valve 40 returns to its original shape, causing the valve body 41 to seat on the upper surface of the inner base portion 11b. This closes the flow hole 11e again, and the dispensing of the contents is stopped.
Furthermore, by releasing the squeeze deformation of the container body 4, the outer container 6 begins to restore its original shape, generating a negative pressure between the outer container 6 and the inner container 5. This negative pressure then acts on the air valve 50 through the intake hole 8, the communication groove 21a, and the communication hole 11d, causing the radially outer end of the valve body 52 to move downward from the underside of the top wall portion 22 and open the outside air introduction hole 23. This allows air to flow in from outside the cap body 20 through the outside air introduction hole 23, and this air flows between the inner container 5 and the outer container 6 through the communication hole 11d, the communication groove 21a, and the intake hole 8.
As a result, even if the outer container 6 is deformed to restore its original shape, the inner container 5 can be separated from the inner surface of the outer container 6 and kept in the state of reduced volume deformation.

Furthermore, by returning the container body 4 to its upright position in accordance with the release of the squeeze deformation of the container body 4, the slider 13 inside the tubular housing 12 moves by its own weight in a direction approaching the valve seat 12a and seats on the valve seat 12a. As a result, even if the contents remain above the base 11, the suck-back effect caused by the movement of the slider 13 makes it possible to draw the remaining contents into the tubular housing 12. Therefore, the remaining contents are less likely to leak to the outside through the dispensing tube 19, and dripping can be suppressed.
In addition, it is possible to use the increase in internal pressure in the inner container 5 to move the sliding body 13 inside the tubular storage portion 12 in a direction away from the valve seat portion 12a, so it is not necessarily necessary to tilt or turn the dispensing container 1 upside down when dispensing the contents.

Furthermore, when the liquid level of the contents falls below the position of the imaginary line IL shown in Figure 3 when the dispensing container 1 is turned upside down, the opening 12b of the tubular storage portion 12 becomes exposed from the contents. In other words, the opening 12b becomes exposed to the air inside the container body 4. The imaginary line IL is perpendicular to the vertical direction and passes through the same vertical position as the opening 12b of the tubular storage portion 12.

In this case, when the container body 4 is squeezed, the air inside the container body 4 escapes from the opening 12b of the tubular housing portion 12 to the dispensing hole 26, making it difficult for the pressure inside the container body 4 to increase. As a result, even when the container body 4 is squeezed, the dispensing valve 40 may not be able to be opened, and the contents may not be able to be dispensed through the dispensing hole 26. Therefore, when the dispensing container 1 is turned upside down, there may be a case where the amount of contents remaining is such that the liquid level is at the position of the imaginary line IL, making it impossible to dispense the contents to the outside.

For this reason, in order to reduce the amount of contents remaining in the container body 4, it is preferable to position the opening 12b of the tubular storage portion 12 in the vertical direction as far away from the container body 4 as possible, i.e., on the upper side in Figure 1. In other words, when the dispensing container 1 is inverted as shown in Figure 3, it is preferable to lower the position of the imaginary line IL as much as possible. However, in this case, the vertical dimension of the tubular storage portion 12 is likely to become shorter, and the vertical stroke of the sliding body 13 within the tubular storage portion 12 is likely to become smaller. As a result, there is a risk that the suck-back function will be reduced.

In contrast, according to this embodiment, multiple tubular housing portions 12 and multiple sliding bodies 13 are provided. Therefore, even if the tubular housing portion 12 is shortened in the vertical direction and the vertical stroke of each sliding body 13 is reduced, the multiple sliding bodies 13 move vertically within each tubular housing portion 12, thereby maintaining the suck-back function favorably. This prevents a decrease in the suck-back function, while positioning the opening 12b higher and lowering the position of the imaginary line IL when the dispensing container 1 is inverted. Therefore, even if the dispensing container 1 is inverted when the remaining amount of content is low, the opening 12b of the tubular housing portion 12 is less likely to be exposed from the content. This reduces the amount of content remaining in the container body 4.

In particular, in this embodiment, the vertical dimension from the upper end of the tubular accommodating portion 12 to the lower end of the valve seat portion 12a is equal to or less than twice the diameter of the sliding body 13. This makes it easy to suitably reduce the vertical dimension of the tubular accommodating portion 12. This makes it easy to suitably position the opening 12b of the tubular accommodating portion 12 upward, and makes it possible to suitably lower the position of the imaginary line IL when the pouring container 1 is inverted. This makes it easy to suitably reduce the amount of content remaining in the container body 4.
If it is possible to prevent dripping by the suck-back effect caused by the vertical movement of each slider 13 within each cylindrical housing portion 12, the vertical length of each cylindrical housing portion 12 may be shorter than that of the cylindrical housing portion 12 shown in Fig. 1. In this case, the opening 12b can be positioned higher, thereby further reducing the amount of content remaining in the container body 4.

Furthermore, because the interior of the tubular housing portion 12 is in communication with the outlet hole 26, when the contents are to be discharged, the sliding body 13 is disengaged from the valve seat 12a of the tubular housing portion 12, allowing the contents to be dispensed through the outlet hole 26 via the multiple tubular housing portions 12. This allows the number of paths through which the contents can flow to the outlet hole 26 to be increased by the number of tubular housing portions 12. Therefore, by providing multiple tubular housing portions 12, the amount of contents that can be dispensed per unit time from the outlet hole 26 can be increased. Specifically, when the container body 4 is suddenly squeezed and deformed, for example, if more contents than can pass through the flow hole 11e per unit time attempt to leave the container body 4, the contents that cannot pass through the flow hole 11e flow through the multiple tubular housing portions 12 to the outlet hole 26. This allows the amount of contents that can be dispensed per unit time from the outlet hole 26 to be increased.
Furthermore, since the number of paths for the contents to flow to the spout hole 26 is increased, when the container body 4 is squeezed, the contents can be more easily sent to the spout hole 26. This reduces the force pressing on the container body 4 when the container body 4 is squeezed. This makes it easier to squeeze the container body 4, improving convenience for the user.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the multiple storage tube portions 12 are spaced apart in the circumferential direction centered on the flow hole 11e. This allows the distance from the flow hole 11e to each storage tube portion 12 to be approximately the same. This prevents unevenness in the amount of contents passing through each storage tube portion 12 when contents that cannot pass through the flow hole 11e pass through the multiple storage tube portions 12 and flow to the dispensing hole 26. This allows the contents to pass through each of the multiple storage tube portions 12 in an optimal manner, making it easier to optimally increase the amount of contents that can be dispensed from the dispensing hole 26 per unit time.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the following configurations may also be adopted.
The number of accommodating cylindrical portions and the number of sliding bodies are not particularly limited. As long as a plurality of accommodating cylindrical portions and sliding bodies are provided, three or more of each may be provided. The arrangement of the plurality of accommodating cylindrical portions is not particularly limited. The shapes and sizes of the plurality of accommodating cylindrical portions may be different from each other. The vertical positions of the plurality of accommodating cylindrical portions at the opening on the container body side may be different from each other.
The sliding body may have a structure other than a ball valve as long as it is slidable up and down inside the cylindrical housing portion.
The configurations described in this specification can be combined with each other within the scope of not being mutually inconsistent.

1... Dispensing container, 2... Dispensing cap, 4... Container body, 4a... Mouth portion, 5... Inner container, 6... Outer container, 8... Intake hole, 10... Inner stopper portion, 11e... Flow hole, 12... Storage tube portion, 12b... Opening, 13... Slider, 14... Cylinder portion, 20... Cap body, 22... Top wall portion, 26... Dispensing hole, 33... Stopper portion, 40... Dispensing valve, O... Center axis

Claims (2)

a container body including an inner container that shrinks and deforms as the contents are stored therein and the contents decrease, and an outer container in which the inner container is housed;
A pouring cap attached to the opening of the container body;
Equipped with
an air intake hole is formed between the outer container and the inner container to draw in outside air;
The dispensing cap is
a cap body having a cylindrical shape with a top and a top wall portion formed with a pouring hole;
an inner plug portion that closes the opening and that has a flow hole that connects the inside of the container body with the pouring hole;
a pouring valve that releasably closes the flow hole;
a cylindrical housing portion formed in a cylindrical shape extending in the central axis direction of the cap body, the end portion on the container body side being an opening portion located inside the container body, and the interior of the cylindrical housing portion communicating with the pouring hole;
a sliding body accommodated inside the accommodating cylindrical portion so as to be slidable in the direction of the central axis;
a fitting cylindrical portion fitted inside the mouth portion;
Equipped with
The housing cylinder portion and the sliding body are provided in plural,
the plurality of accommodating cylindrical portions are disposed at positions different from the flow holes as viewed from the central axis direction ,
The pouring container is characterized in that the opening is located on the opposite side of the container body side from the end of the fitting cylindrical portion on the container body side . The dispensing container described in claim 1, characterized in that the multiple storage cylindrical portions are arranged at intervals along a circle centered on the flow hole when viewed from the central axis direction.