JP2001158452A - Positional alignment cap - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a positional alignment cap in which a visible step or protuberance or the like is not needed at a shoulder part of a container, an accurate positional alignment setting of the cap can be carried out without damaging an outer aesthetic appearance of the container, its setting or plug opening operation may also be easily performed and its accurate positional alignment setting to a glass bottle or the like can be performed. SOLUTION: A protruded edge part 12 of a container port to which a cap is installed has a non-circular sectional shape such as an ellipse or an oval and the like. Inside part of a positional alignment cap 2 fitted to the protruded edge part is provided with a plug 5 for the container port and an engagement protrusion 47 engaged with the protruded edge part of the container port having its radial spacing substantially the same as a short diameter length of the non- circular shape. The cap is of a two-piece structure of an outer ABS resin piece 3 and an inner polypropylene piece 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an alignment cap to be mounted in a specific orientation with respect to a container, and particularly to an alignment cap suitable for use in a container having a non-circular shape such as a polygonal or elliptical cross section. Regarding the cap.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the occupation of the form design of a container in many commodities such as alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, toiletry products, and car products has been increasing. In these products, not only the design of the bottle and the container itself, but also the cap, especially the cap in a mounted state, has been designed to be integrated with the bottle and the like. For this reason, in a container having a non-circular shape such as a polygon or an ellipse, the cap attached to the container is also designed to have the same or similar shape as the container, and a circular cross-section. In this case, a positioning cap that requires the shape of the container body, the shape of the cap with respect to the pattern, and the pattern to come to a specific position is used, for example, when a pattern from the bottle to the cap is integrated.

[0003] In the positioning cap, one which is screw-fitted with a screw provided on the container and a screw provided on the cap ensures that the position of the cap at the end of tightening is always at a specific position with respect to the container. It is difficult. For this reason, various proposals have been made in which the cap is fitted to the container mouth or the container shoulder by utilizing the elasticity of the constituent part of the cap, and the cap is rotated to release the fitting (for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-84). 4
No. 1082, No. 56-20368, No. 55-
No. 34071).

[0004]

However, in the conventional positioning cap, the portion of the cap on which the engaging projection is provided is elastically deformed to forcibly engage the engaging projection on the container. By engaging with the engagement ring and rotating the cap at the time of opening the cap, the engagement protrusion is configured to slip over the engagement ridge or the engagement ring in the opposite direction and to be detached. On the shoulder of the container, there must be provided a projection or a step which acts as a cam to push up the lower end of the outer wall of the cap. Therefore, with the cap removed, these projections and steps provided on the shoulder portion of the container are conspicuous, and these containers, which emphasize design in particular, have drawbacks such as impairing the aesthetic appearance and are limited by design. was there. In addition, the accuracy of the position or shape of the above-mentioned convex portion or step has a great effect on the accuracy of the positioning of the cap with the cap attached, but the container has a convex upper portion such as a glass bottle or a step. In the case of a container lacking in the accuracy of the position and the shape of the cap, the positioning of the cap also has a disadvantage in that the accuracy is also lacking.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is not necessary to provide a prominent step or projection on the shoulder of the container, and without impairing the beauty of the container.
In addition, the positioning cap can be accurately positioned and mounted without being limited by the design. Especially, the mounting and opening can be easily performed, and the aesthetic appearance and decorativeness can be accurately positioned and mounted on a glass bottle or the like. It is intended to obtain an alignment cap excellent in the above.

[0006]

According to the positioning cap of the present invention, the cap is oriented in a specific direction on a container having a non-circular cross-sectional shape such as an ellipse on the outer periphery of the top of the container opening. A positioning cap for mounting the container, the container having, on the inner side defined by a top wall and an outer wall, a closure of a container mouth and a cylindrical wall externally fitted to the container mouth, The inner peripheral surface of the wall is provided with an engaging convex portion that engages with a convex edge portion of the container port whose radial interval is substantially the same as the minor axis length of the non-circular portion of the container port. It is a feature. In addition, the container mouth is used as a term including the mouth and neck and the protruding edge formed on the top thereof.

[0007] It is desirable that the convex edge portion of the container opening has an elliptical cross-sectional shape, particularly an elliptical shape having a difference between a major axis and a minor axis of 2 mm or more, and the inner diameter of the container opening is circular. The engaging projection is provided with a spring property in a closed state in which the inner surface of the cylindrical wall corresponding to the major axis of the convex edge, particularly a part of the cylindrical wall is separated from the other part by a slit. It is desirable to provide on a spring wall.

The positioning cap includes an outer cap having a substantially equal thickness formed of a relatively hard resin, a cap for sealing the container opening formed of a relatively elastic resin, and a convex edge of the container opening. By integrating by fitting an interior cap having an engagement projection that engages the part, it is possible to improve the printing characteristics of the exterior, in particular,
A beautiful positioning cap can be obtained. on the other hand,
The positioning cap has a simple structure and a low-cost positioning cap formed by integrally molding an exterior portion thereof and a cylindrical wall having an engaging projection engaged with the projecting edge of the container opening. Can be obtained. In addition, the container has a shoulder portion with which the lower edge of the outer wall of the alignment cap abuts, and an inclined surface following the shoulder portion. By rotating the cap from the closed position, the lower edge of the outer wall of the cap is inclined. It may be formed so as to be pushed up by the surface.

[0009]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a positioning cap according to an embodiment of the present invention. Generally container,
For example, in a bottle, the upper end of the bottle mouth (container mouth) usually forms a convex portion thicker than the mouth and neck of the bottle, including the meaning of strengthening the end. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the bottle mouth (container mouth) into which the positioning cap of the present invention is fitted is of a type that is sealed by a cork stopper, and the mouth and neck portion 11 of the bottle mouth is circular in cross section. However, the cross-sectional shape of the protruding edge portion 12 is not circular as usual, but is an elliptical shape having a difference between a major axis and a minor axis of 2 mm or more, and the inner wall of the bottle is circular.

A corresponding positioning cap 2 is
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, it is rectangular and has a two-piece structure in which the outer cap 3 and the inner cap 4 are assembled integrally. Since the exterior cap 3 performs thermal transfer of an appropriate pattern such as a woodgrain on the entire top wall surface and the outer wall surface, the exterior cap 3 is made of ABS resin which is easy to thermally transfer and has relatively hard surface strength, and sink marks appear on the ceiling surface. If the top wall 31 is provided with a structure that directly engages with the bottle,
As a result, the thickness of the top wall 31 is prevented from being partially changed, and most of the top wall has the same thickness. For this reason, the interior cap 4 is formed of an elastic material such as polypropylene, has a structure corresponding to the inner surface of the top wall of the exterior cap 3, and has a two-piece structure in which the interior cap 4 is fitted and assembled.

The exterior cap 3 includes a short wall 32 'and a long wall 3'.
It has a rectangular parallelepiped shape having a side wall 32 of 2 ", and an engagement convex portion 33 for fitting with the interior cap 4 and preventing falling off is provided below the inside of both short walls 32 ', together with both long walls 32". The inner surface at the lower end has an R surface on the entire circumference in order to make the inner surface of the lower end slide smoothly with the container shoulder. As shown in FIG. 2A, which is a bottom view of the outer cap 3, the inner corner portion 34 is provided.
Is a C-plane to increase the strength, and the outer corner 38, which is a corresponding corner of the interior cap 4, is also a C-plane (FIG. 3).
(A)) A fitting vertical rib (not shown) is provided on the outer surface corner portion 38 of the interior cap 4 so as to increase the fitting force due to the interference.

As shown in FIG. 3 (a) for a bottom view and FIG.
And a bottom wall provided with a peripheral wall 41 composed of a short wall 41 ′ and a long wall 41 ″ of a predetermined height which are fitted and abutted on the short wall 32 ′ and the long wall 32 ″. Is provided with a concave wide guide groove 42 in the engaging projection 33 of the exterior cap 3 that is easy to enter and hard to fall off. Interior cap bottom wall 43
Has an inclined surface that rises toward the center in accordance with the shoulder of the container body, and has a cylindrical wall 44 rising at the center.

The inner diameter of the cylindrical wall 44 is determined by the convex edge 12 of the bottle.
, And a pair of spring walls 46 are formed by forming slits 45 near the ceiling at two corresponding locations of the cylindrical wall 44, and forming a pair of spring walls 46 inside the spring wall. An engagement projection 47 is provided at a position near the bottom. This engaging projection 47
Is formed so as to have an interval corresponding to the minor axis of the bottle edge 12 whose tip is elliptical in the radial direction.

At the top of the cylindrical wall 44, an exterior cap 3
A top wall 40 having an adjustment portion 39 of a predetermined height abutting on the inner surface of the top wall is formed. A small cylinder 48 with a bottom is hung down at the center of the top wall 40, and an annular convex portion 49 is provided at the lower portion of the outer wall thereof. Is provided. A bottomed fitting hole 6 is formed in the center of the small cylinder 48, and the cork stopper 5 having an outer diameter fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the bottle is fitted and fixed with an adhesive as shown in FIG. It is supposed to be. The height of the wing-shaped rib 50 of the small cylinder 48 is set slightly tighter than the inner diameter of the fitting hole 6 of the cork stopper 5 so that it is difficult to rotate when the adhesive is fixed, and the lower annular convex is provided. The part 49 is for preventing dropout.

The elliptical shape of the convex portion 12 of the bottle and the positional relationship between the oval shape and the corresponding spring wall 46 are as follows. Is designed to be located below the elliptical long-diameter convex portion of the convex portion 12 of the bottle, and even if the cap is lifted at the same position, the engaging convex portion 47 hits and the cap comes out of the bottle. Prevent from falling out.

At the shoulder of the container body 1, there is a flat portion 13 slightly wider than the thickness of the side wall of the outer cap 3. From this, a shoulder connecting to the mouth and neck portion 11 of the bottle via a rising step portion and an R surface. The surface 14 is a predetermined inclined surface that rises upward. The reason why the entire circumference of the inner surface at the lower end of the side wall of the exterior cap 3 is the R surface is that the flat portion 13 of the container main body shoulder, the rising step portion,
Corresponding to the R surface, when the cap is turned at the time of opening, it slides on the shoulder surface of the container body so that it can easily get on.

The positioning cap 2 of the present embodiment configured as described above is used as follows. When the alignment cap 2 is pushed down by aligning the front of the container body 1 filled with the contents with the front of the cap, the convex edge 12
The engaging convex portion 47 of the spring wall 46 abuts on the long diameter convex portion of the elliptical shape of FIG.
2, the lower end of the side wall of the cap fits in the flat portion 13 of the shoulder of the container body, and the cork stopper 5 is fitted and closed on the inner diameter of the bottle to maintain a predetermined positional relationship. Dripping.

In opening the cap, when the positioning cap is rotated to the right or left by about 90 degrees, the lower end of the side wall of the cap rides on the rising step R surface of the shoulder of the container body, and is lifted along the inclined surface 14, and at the same time, Since the engaging projection 47 of the spring wall 46 shifts from the elliptical long-diameter portion of the protruding edge 12 to the short-diameter portion, when the cap is pulled up, the engaging projection 47 of the spring wall becomes the same as the engaging projection. Since it does not hit the minor diameter side, it can be opened smoothly.

According to the drop size of the shoulder inclined surface of the container body,
Further, depending on the axial positional relationship between the convex edge 12 of the bottle and the engaging convex portion 47 of the spring wall 46 of the cap, and the contact length of the cork stopper 5 fitted to the inner periphery of the bottle, the opening of the cork stopper 5 may be difficult. In the opened state in which the cap is rotated by approximately 90 degrees, the engagement projection can be configured to be detached from the engagement projection or to be still positioned below the engagement projection. Further, the cork stopper 5 may be detached from the bottle and opened one-touch.

The positioning cap 2 of the present invention constructed as described above is a molded product having an equal thickness even if heat transfer such as woodgrain is applied to the entire surface of the outer cap 3, so that there is no sink mark and no beautiful sink. It is advantageous in that the surface strength required by the ABS material can be obtained. In addition, the interior cap 4 can make use of the characteristics of polypropylene, and can utilize the respective advantages as a two-piece cap by utilizing the elasticity of the spring wall and the interference fit.

However, a one-piece cap can be used as a simpler structure. The positioning cap 60 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is configured as a one-piece, and members having the same action as the previous embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.
Although the positioning cap of this embodiment is less expensive than the previous embodiment, it can be a low-cost cap. That is, the positioning cap 60 of the present embodiment is used.
Is a top wall 61 corresponding to the exterior cap of the embodiment,
It has a side wall 62, a cylindrical wall 63, a small cylinder 64 provided on the interior cap in the embodiment, on the top wall 61.
A structure for directly sealing the bottle opening is provided directly. Although the present embodiment has a simple structure with a one-piece structure, the basic structure is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, and the effects of closing and opening are also the same.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various design changes can be made. For example, in each of the above embodiments, the spring wall is formed by providing a slit in the cylindrical wall, and the engaging projection is provided on the spring wall. A portion may be provided to elastically deform the cylindrical wall by utilizing the elasticity of the plastic so that the convex portion of the bottle mouth of the container body can be overcome. At this time, even if the spring property is slightly inferior due to the cap material, basically, when the cap is opened, the engagement convex portion 47 is disengaged from the bottle mouth convex edge portion. There is no problem with this, and when it is necessary to force the bottle and the cap to be pushed in the same position when the bottle is closed, the bottle should be pushed in at a position shifted by 90 degrees, and then the front should be fitted. Also,
The closure of the container opening is not necessarily limited to a cork stopper, and an appropriate stopper such as a plastic stopper can be adopted.

The above embodiment has been described on the premise that the container has a non-circular cross-sectional shape. However, even if the container has a circular cross-section, the point that the lower edge of the cap is pushed up by the shoulder of the container main body. Except, it is applicable as it is,
Various design changes are possible.

[0024]

According to the positioning cap of the present invention, it is possible to easily position the container with the cap simply by providing an oval or elliptical section in the mouth of the container to be fitted, and to close and open the cap. Can be performed easily and reliably. Moreover, it is not necessary to make the shape of the shoulder portion of the container special for positioning, and it can be easily applied to a glass bottle or a ceramic container, and is visually conspicuous with the cap removed. It has no special structure such as a projection, and has an effect that a difference from a normal container is hardly recognized. In addition, in the case of conventional positioning caps that require the provision of fine positioning projections on the container body, and in the case of containers that are difficult to make fine projections, such as glass bottles, accurate positioning may not always be possible. According to the positioning cap of the present invention, since there is no need to provide a positioning projection or the like on the container main body, even a glass bottle can be surely positioned, so that an unprecedented effect is exhibited.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of an alignment cap of the present invention.
It is sectional drawing which combined the short wall side cross section and the long wall side cross section of the side wall in the state at the time of closure.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view and a partial cross-sectional view of the exterior cap of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows the interior cap of the embodiment of the present invention,
(A) is a bottom view, (b) is the AA sectional view.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the positioning cap of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container main body 2 Alignment cap 3 Outer cap 4 Inner cap 5 Cork stopper 11 Bottle holder 12 Convex edge 13 Flat part 14 Shoulder surface 31 Top wall 32 Side wall 32 'Short wall 32 "Long wall 33 Engagement convex part 34 Inner corner part 38 outer corner portion 40 top wall 41 peripheral wall 42 guide groove 43 bottom wall 44 cylindrical wall 45 slit 46 spring wall 47 engaging convex portion 48 small cylinder 49 annular convex portion 50 winged rib 60 positioning cap 63 cylindrical wall 64 small Cylindrical

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 3E084 AA04 AA12 AB01 AB09 BA02 BA09 CA03 CC03 CC05 CC08 DA03 DB13 DB17 DB18 DC03 DC05 EA03 EC07 EC09 FA09 FC01 GA08 GB01 GB12 GB14 HA03 HA07 HB01 HC05 HD04 JA19 KA11

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A positioning cap for fitting a cap to a container having an outer peripheral portion having a non-circular cross-sectional shape such as an ellipse or the like in which the outer peripheral portion of the top of the container opening has a specific orientation. On the inner side defined by the top wall and the outer wall, there is a plug for closing the container mouth, and a cylindrical wall externally fitted to the container mouth, and an inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical wall has a radial gap therebetween. Is provided with an engaging projection that engages with a convex edge of the container opening, which is substantially the same as the minor diameter of the non-circular portion of the container opening. 2. The positioning cap according to claim 1, wherein said engaging projection is provided on an inner surface of a cylindrical wall corresponding to a major axis of said projection in a closed state. 3. The wall provided with the engaging projection is a spring wall provided with a part of the cylindrical wall separated from the other part by a slit to provide a spring property. 2 alignment cap 4. The positioning cap includes an outer cap having a substantially equal thickness formed of a relatively hard resin.
It is unified by fitting the closure of the container mouth formed of a relatively elastic resin and the interior cap having the engaging projection engaging with the convex edge of the container mouth. A positioning cap according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: 5. The positioning cap according to claim 1, wherein an exterior portion of the positioning cap and a cylindrical wall having an engaging projection engaged with a projecting edge of the container opening are integrally formed. An alignment cap according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The container has a shoulder on which the lower edge of the outer wall of the alignment cap abuts and a slope that follows the shoulder, and the lower edge of the outer wall of the cap is rotated by rotating the cap from the closed position. The positioning cap according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein is pushed up by the inclined surface.