JP2004244093A - Cap with tamper preventive capability and container using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a cap having a high degree of enclosing capability and a sure tamper preventive capability before unsealing, capable of being easily opened when opening the cap, and of being opened and closed, after being unsealed, with single motion with a weak enclosing capability and locking capability, and to obtain a container applying the same. <P>SOLUTION: The cap is formed of an annular engaging wall 3 vertically extending downward from a ceiling wall 2, at the lower part of which a hem part 4 having a form of a skirt is formed, with the annular engaging wall 3 being constituted of a dual structure having an engaging wall 7 on whose inner peripheral face engaging protrusions 10 that engage with the engaging jaw part of the container mouth part are formed and a TE band 8 formed around the outer face of the engaging wall 7, while, on the inner surface of the hem part 4, a protrusion 20 is formed that corresponds to a cam provided on the mouth part of the container. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cap which can be attached to the mouth of a container by tapping, has resealability, and has a tamper-proof property that can be opened with one touch after resealing, and a container comprising a combination of the cap and the container body.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as a cap having both a tamper-proof property and a re-sealing property, a screw provided with a tamper-evident band (hereinafter referred to as a TE band) via a weakening line at a lower end of a skirt wall having a thread formed on an inner peripheral surface. Caps are common and widely used. Although this cap has many advantages, it has the following problems.
{Circle around (1)} The cap needs to be turned one or more turns to open and close, and lacks one-touch opening and closing. (2) The TE band is broken by the rotation of the cap, and the presence or absence of unauthorized opening is determined. However, when the TE band is broken, it requires a predetermined torque or more to break the TE band. hard. On the other hand, in order to obtain a reliable TE property, it is necessary to prevent the sealing property from being impaired before the TE band breaks, but it is difficult to ensure the timing of the breakage of the TE band and the seal break of the container. It is.
(3) Since the TE band is provided at the lowermost end of the skirt wall (that is, the lowermost end of the cap), a shock or an external load acts directly on the TE band during cap handling, and the bridge is broken carelessly. May be done.
{Circle around (4)} Since the screw cap has a high sealing property even after resealing, when the contents are spoiled after resealing, the internal pressure rises, and when the cap is opened, a lid pop-out phenomenon (so-called blow-off) may occur.
[0003]
On the other hand, various stopper caps having a TE band have been proposed (for example, see Patent Literatures 1 to 3), but some of these conventional caps partially solve the above-mentioned problems. A cap and its container that can solve most or all of the problems have not yet been proposed.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-9-58719 [Patent Document 2]
JP-A-11-292112 [Patent Document 3]
Japanese Patent No. 3357464 [0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has a tamper-resistant cap capable of solving all or most of the problems (1) to (4) of a conventional cap, and application of the cap. It is intended to provide a container that performs
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the tamper-resistant cap of the present invention comprises a top wall, an annular engagement wall hanging down from the top wall, and a skirt-shaped hem formed at a lower portion of the annular engagement wall. An engagement wall in which the annular engagement wall portion is formed on an inner peripheral surface with an engagement protrusion for engaging an engagement jaw of a container mouth, and a tamper evidence band formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof. Which has a double structure.
[0007]
A projection corresponding to a cam provided at the container mouth is formed on the inner surface of the skirt. In addition, vertical slits are formed at predetermined intervals in the engagement wall that forms the annular engagement wall portion, and the lower portion of the engagement wall is divided into a plurality of engagement wall pieces by the vertical slit. It is preferable that a lower end of the tamper-evidence band is connected to a lower side of one group of the wall pieces via a bridge, and an upper end of the hem is connected to a lower end of the other group. Further, the engaging projection of the engaging wall is formed on the inner peripheral surface portion of only the engaging wall piece of the group to which the tamper-evidence band is connected via the bridge at the lower end, so that the cap for resealing is formed. Is easier to open and close.
[0008]
By forming the vertical slit of the engaging wall so as to extend above the tamper-evident band, it is possible to expect a showering effect on the container opening by a shower during the pastelization. Further, the annular engaging wall portion is cut in the axial direction so as to divide the annular wall portion into two in the thickness direction while leaving only the bridge by post-processing after molding, thereby forming the tamper-evident band portion and the engaging wall. By forming the portion, it can be formed accurately and reliably.
[0009]
In the container of the present invention to which the cap is applied, an engaging jaw for engaging the engaging protrusion of the cap is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the container opening, and a neck ring is formed below the engaging jaw. A cam projection is formed on the upper surface. Although the material of the above-mentioned container is not limited, for example, by applying it to a synthetic resin bottle such as a PET bottle, it is possible to obtain a synthetic resin bottle without the above-mentioned problems, and to directly drink the beverage from the mouth of the container. It is suitable for a resealable bottled beverage.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a cap according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing a state where a cap according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to a container mouth, FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state where a TE band is removed, and FIG. 5 to 5 show a cap according to the present embodiment, and FIGS. 6 and 7 show a container mouth of a container to which the cap is applied. The cap 1 according to the present embodiment can be attached to the container with one touch, and when the cap is opened, the cap 1 is detached from the container opening by rotation within about 90 ° from the closed state, and a cam is formed on the neck ring of the container opening. Apply to a sealed container.
[0011]
The cap 1 of the present embodiment is made of a synthetic resin including a top wall 2, an annular engagement wall portion 3 hanging down from the top wall 2, and a skirt-shaped hem portion 4 formed below the annular engagement wall portion 3. Cap. An inner ring 6 is provided on the inner surface of the top wall 2 to press against the inner wall of the container opening. The annular engaging wall portion 3 is formed in a double wall structure. The inner side is an engaging wall 7 that engages with the container mouth, and the outer side is a TE band 8. The engagement wall 7 and the TE band 8 are cut annularly by the cut line 5 and connected at the lower end by a breakable bridge 9.
[0012]
When forming the cap, the annular fitting wall portion 3 is formed as a thick integral annular wall having a thickness such that a portion serving as a TE band protrudes outward from the outer peripheral surface of the top wall, and serves as a bridge at the lower end thereof. The projections are formed at predetermined intervals and are integrally formed. After the molding, the projections are cut vertically by a ring cutter from the upper part, leaving the projections serving as bridges 9 at the lower end to form annular cut lines 5, thereby forming an engagement wall. 7 and the TE band 8 have a double annular wall structure.
[0013]
An engaging projection 10 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the engaging wall 7 to engage with an engaging jaw formed on the outer peripheral surface of the container mouth. Engages with the engaging jaw of the container opening and cannot be removed. In order to facilitate the attachment and detachment of the cap after opening and resealing, and to weaken the sealing property after resealing, the engaging wall 7 is positioned at least at a predetermined distance from the position of the engaging protrusion 10 in the vertical direction. A vertical slit 11 is provided to extend to the outside, so that the engaging projection escapes outward and easily comes off the engaging jaw when the lid is removed. In particular, in the present embodiment, the engagement wall 7 is divided into a plurality of engagement wall pieces 12 and 13 by the slit 11 as shown in FIG. 2, and the lower part thereof is connected to the lower end of the TE band 8 and the bridge 9. The engagement protrusions 10 are provided only on the inner surfaces of the engagement wall pieces 12 of the group. Therefore, when the TE band 8 after opening is removed, the lower ends of the engaging wall pieces 12 are completely free as shown in FIG. Then, the engagement protrusion 10 is easily elastically deformed outward. The lower end of the engaging wall piece 13 of the other group is bent outward and continues to the skirt 4 as described later. The engagement wall pieces 12 and 13 are formed so as to be alternately arranged.
[0014]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the TE band 8 is formed with a tearing knob 15 having an upper end projecting slightly upward in order to break and remove the TE band at the time of opening. A longitudinal weakening line 16 is formed on both sides of the tear knob 15 so that the tear knob 15 can be pinched and easily cut from the TE band. In addition, the weakening line 16 does not necessarily need to be provided on both sides. If it is provided only on one side, if the tearing portion 15 is pulled as it is after breaking the weakening line 16, the bridge 9 can be broken and the entire TE band 8 can be cut off. it can.
[0015]
The skirt portion 4 is formed to be larger in diameter than the annular engagement wall portion 3, and is formed integrally with the lower end of the engagement wall piece 13 of the annular engagement wall portion 3. On the inner surface of the skirt portion 4, projections 20 serving as cam floors are provided at predetermined intervals to engage with cams 33 (FIG. 6) formed at the container mouth. In the present embodiment, four caps are provided at 90 ° intervals, and the cap 1 can be removed by rotating the cap 1 within 90 °. The projection 20 has a rounded corner at the lower end in a circumferential direction, and is formed so that it can easily ride on a cam formed at the container opening when the cap is rotated. In the present embodiment, the projection 20 is formed at the lower end of the engaging wall piece 13 by extending the lower part of the engaging wall piece 13 to the skirt portion at the lower end thereof. The part also functions as a reinforcing rib 21 of the skirt.
[0016]
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the container body 30 to which the cap of the present invention is applied has an engaging jaw 32 near the top of the mouth 31 to which the engaging protrusion 10 of the cap engages. In the present embodiment, the engaging jaw 32 is an annular groove, but is not limited to this. The engaging jaw 32 may have a step that can engage the engaging protrusion of the cap. Not limited. A neck ring 36 is formed below the mouth 31, and a cam 33 is formed on an upper surface of the neck ring. In the present embodiment, two cams 33 are provided at regular intervals as shown in FIG. 7, have an upwardly inclined surface 34 in the opening direction, and have substantially vertical surfaces 35 at their ends. A side portion of the projection 20 formed as a stopper is used as a stopper when the plug is closed. However, the cam 33 is not limited to this shape, and may be formed in a shape having an upwardly inclined surface on both sides in the opening direction and the closing direction. In that case, there is an advantage that the cap can be opened by rotating the cap in any direction.
[0017]
The cap 1 and the container main body 30 of the present embodiment are configured as described above. To mount the cap on the container main body 30 filled with the contents, the cap is capped with a capper so that the annular fitting wall portion is formed. The engagement protrusion 10 formed on the engagement wall is expanded by elasticity, enters below the engagement jaw 32 formed on the container mouth, and the cap is locked. In this state, the inner ring 6 of the cap is pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the container opening to seal the container, and the contact between the top of the container opening and the inner surface of the cap top wall, and the annular engaging wall and the outer peripheral surface of the opening are formed. Also, sealing can be achieved, so that high sealing performance can be ensured. When the cap is plugged into the mouth of the container, even if the projection 20 hits the peak of the cam 33, the projection 20 automatically slides down the mountain of the cam due to the tapping force. No special adjustment is required. However, the tapping may be performed while slightly rotating. Further, in the cap of the present embodiment, since the bridge 9 constituting the weakening line of the TE band is provided at an intermediate portion between the annular engaging wall portion 3 and the hem portion 4, the cap is attached to the container from the time of manufacturing the cap. During handling and plugging, the bridge does not directly hit other members to receive an impact or a load, so that the bridge is not likely to be damaged, and there is an effect that the number of defective products is reduced.
[0018]
When the cap 1 is attached to the container mouth, the annular engaging wall 3 has a double structure in which the TE band 3 is fitted to the outer peripheral portion of the engaging wall 7, so that the cap hardly spreads outward. However, the rotation of the engaging projection 10 cannot be released from the engaging jaw 32, the rotation is prevented, and the stopper cannot be opened. Therefore, since this cap cannot be opened unless the TE band is broken to release the constraint on the outer peripheral portion of the engagement wall, it is checked whether the TE band has been broken or not to determine whether the TE band has been opened by mischief. It has a mischief prevention function. Until the TE band is torn, a high sealing property can be ensured by the double structure of the annular engaging wall portion, and the sealing property of the cap cannot be destroyed unless the TE band is removed. The timing of the breakage of the TE band and the breakage of the seal as in the case does not matter, and the tamper evidence can be reliably achieved.
[0019]
At the time of opening, the TE band 8 and the engaging wall 7 are pulled by pulling the tearing knob 15 of the TE band 8 to remove it by tearing from the weakening line 16 and picking the broken end of the TE band and pulling it in the circumferential direction. The connecting bridge 9 is broken and the TE band 8 can be removed over the entire circumference. By removing the TE band 8, the cap is in the state shown in FIG. In this state, since the outer peripheral portion of the engaging wall 7 is not restricted by the TE band 8, the engaging wall 7 is easily spread to the outside. Moreover, in the present embodiment, the engaging walls 7 are formed with the longitudinal slits 11 at predetermined intervals, and are defined by the slits, and the lower ends of the engaging walls 7 are disconnected from the TE band to be free ends. Since the engagement protrusion 10 is formed only on the piece 12, the engagement wall piece 12 is easily elastically deformed, the engagement between the engagement protrusion 10 and the engagement jaw 32 is released, and the engagement wall piece 12 is opened with a small opening torque. Can be plugged. Further, in order to increase the engagement force with the container, the engagement protrusion 10 may be formed on the engagement wall piece 13 in an auxiliary manner.
[0020]
When the cap 1 is rotated about 45 ° in the opening direction from the state shown in FIG. 2, the projection 20 formed on the skirt 4 rides on the inclined surface 34 of the cam 33, and the cap acts on the cap in the axial direction. When a lifting force is applied, the engaging wall piece 12 on which the engaging projection 10 is formed is elastically deformed as described above, and the upper side of the engaging projection 10 and the engaging jaw 32 are disengaged from each other. Can be removed from the container mouth. Further, at the time of resealing, simply by pressing down the cap 1 in accordance with the container mouth, the resealing can be easily performed with a relatively weak force, and the one-touch opening and closing property is excellent. In the closing after the reseal, the locking force at the engaging wall is weak due to the vertical slits 11 on the outer peripheral portion of the engaging wall, and the sealing after the reseal is only the inner ring. weak. Therefore, even if the contents are rotten after resealing, the gas does not escape to the outside and the internal pressure of the container does not increase, and there is no danger of the lid jumping out due to the internal pressure increase that may occur in the case of a screw cap. Is safe.
[0021]
8 to 11 show a cap and a container according to another embodiment of the present invention.
The basic forms of the cap and the container of the present embodiment are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the above-described embodiment, and only the differences will be described. The main difference between the cap 40 and the container 50 of the present embodiment from the above-described embodiment is that the shape of the neck ring 52 formed in the mouth portion 51 of the container 50 is square, and the outer shape of the hem 41 of the cap 40. Is a square in line with that. 8, the cap 40 is shown in a state of an AA cross section cut along a diagonal line in the bottom view shown in FIG. 10, and the container 50 is shown in a front state. Cams 53 formed on the neck ring 52 of the container 50 are formed at two opposite corners. As shown in FIG. 8, the cam 53 is formed in a mountain shape having cam inclined surfaces 54 on both sides in the rotation direction. The protrusion 42 of the cap 40 corresponding to the cam 53 is provided at the center of each side of the skirt 41 as shown in FIG. 10, and the lower end surface thereof is formed in a substantially circular arc shape. , The cap can be opened and closed by engaging with the cam 53. Further, in the cap 40 of the present embodiment, the weakening line 16 of the TE band 8 is provided only at one place, and as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 9 can be continuously broken to remove the TE band.
[0022]
The cap and the container according to the present embodiment are configured as described above. Since the skirt 41 and the neck ring 52 of the container are square, it is necessary to fit the skirt of the cap to the neck ring at the time of resealing and fit the cap. The same operation and effect as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.
[0023]
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 within the scope of the technical idea. For example, by extending the vertical slit of the engaging wall above the TE band, washing water from a shower penetrates through the vertical slit at the time of sterilization with a pastelizer, and a cleaning effect of the container opening can be expected. The container to which the cap of the present invention is applied is not limited in its material and shape, and may be a plastic bottle such as a PET bottle, a glass bottle, a metal bottle, a paper container, or a pouch with a spout. Is also applicable. The container of the present invention is, for example, applied to a container for drinking the content liquid directly from the mouth of the container, such as a small PET bottle, to obtain a simple reseal bottle which does not cause the above problems (1) to (4). Is preferred.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a high sealing property can be maintained because the annular engagement wall that engages with the mouth of the container has a double wall structure before opening. In this state, since the TE band cannot be opened unless the TE band is broken to release the constraint on the outer peripheral portion of the engaging wall, the tamper-proof function is excellent. Further, the timing of breakage of the TE band and the breakage of the seal as in the case of the screw cap does not become a problem, and tamper evidence can be reliably achieved. Furthermore, since the bridge that constitutes the weakening line of the TE band is provided in the middle part between the annular engaging wall and the skirt, the bridge is less likely to receive impact or load during handling of the cap, and the bridge is careless. There is little risk of damage.
[0025]
By removing the TE band at the time of opening, the engaging wall can easily spread to the outside, and can be easily opened, and has excellent openability. In particular, according to the configuration of the third and fourth aspects, the engagement projection is formed only on the engagement wall piece whose lower end is a free end, so that the engagement wall piece is easily elastically deformed and small opening. Can be opened with torque. In addition, the cap can be opened and closed with a rotation of 0.5 rotation or less, and at the time of resealing, it can be easily resealed with a relatively weak force by simply pushing down the cap in accordance with the container opening, so that the one-touch opening and closing property is excellent. . And, in the closure after resealing, even if the contents are rotten after resealing, the gas easily escapes to the outside. is there. Further, according to the configuration of claim 5, it is possible to expect a cleaning effect of the container mouth portion at the time of sterilization with the past riser.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing a state in which a cap according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to a container mouth.
FIG. 2 is a front view with the TE band removed.
FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway front view of the cap according to the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a bottom view thereof.
FIG. 5 is a plan view thereof.
FIG. 6 is a front view of the mouth of the container according to the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a plan view thereof.
FIG. 8 shows a cap and a container according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the cap is shown in a state of AA cross section cut along a diagonal line in a bottom view shown in FIG. Indicated by.
9 is a partially cutaway front view showing a state where the cap shown in FIG. 8 is attached to a container mouth.
FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the cap shown in FIG. 8;
FIG. 11 is a plan view of the container shown in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 40 Cap 2 Top wall 3 Annular fitting wall part 4 Hem part 5 Cut line 6 Inner ring 7 Engagement wall 8 TE band 9 Bridge 10 Engagement projection 11 Vertical slit 12, 13 Engagement wall piece 15 Tearing knob 16 Weak lines 20, 42 Protrusion 30, 50 Container body 31, 51 Mouth 32 Engagement jaw 33, 53 Cam 36, 52 Neck ring

Claims (7)

A top wall, an annular engagement wall portion hanging down from the top wall, and a skirt-shaped hem formed at a lower portion of the annular engagement wall portion; The tampering prevention feature is characterized by having a double structure of an engagement wall formed with an engagement projection engaging with the engagement jaw and a tamper evidence band formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof. The cap I had. The cap according to claim 1, wherein a projection corresponding to a cam provided at a container mouth is formed on an inner surface of the skirt. The engagement wall has a vertical slit formed at a predetermined interval, and the lower portion is divided into a plurality of engagement wall pieces by the vertical slit. The cap according to claim 1, wherein a lower end of the tamper evidence band is connected, and an upper end of the skirt is connected to a lower end of the other group. The engagement projection of the engagement wall is formed on the inner peripheral surface portion of only the engagement wall piece of the group to which the tamper evidence band is connected via a bridge at the lower end. The cap described. The cap according to claim 3, wherein the vertical slit of the engagement wall is formed to extend above the tamper-evidence band. The annular engaging wall portion is cut in the axial direction so as to divide the annular wall portion into two in the thickness direction while leaving only the bridge by post-processing after molding, so that the tamper-evident band and the engaging wall are formed. The cap according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cap is formed. A container body in which an engaging jaw for engaging the engaging protrusion of the cap is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the container mouth, and a neck ring is formed below the container jaw, and a cam protrusion is formed on the upper surface of the neck ring; A container comprising a combination with the cap according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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