JP2024051626A - Dispenser with stopper - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a dispenser with a stopper, which is provided with a structure for regulating the pushing of the pressure head to a stopper for preventing unintentional pushing down of the pressure head, and a structure for allowing the stopper to be hung on a towel rack, etc. [Solution] A dispenser with a stopper is provided with a cap 2, an annular body 24 provided on a top wall 23 of the cap 2, a pressure head 31, and a stopper 4 for regulating the pushing of the pressure head 31, the stopper 4 having a C-shaped main body 41 and a plate-like member 43 supported on the outer peripheral wall of the main body 41 via a shaft 42, the cap 2 having a notch 6 for allowing the shaft 42 to pass through, and an insertion path 5 for fixing the stopper 4 to the peripheral wall of the cap 2 by rotating the main body 41 together with the plate-like member 43 around the axis of the shaft 42 while the plate-like member 43 is inserted along the notch 6, and the main body 41 forms a hanging support when the stopper 4 is fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap 2. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a dispenser equipped with a pressure head that dispenses liquid contents through a nozzle and a stopper that regulates the downward depression of the pressure head.

Dispensers equipped with a press head are widely used as containers for liquid contents such as shampoo, conditioner, cosmetics, etc. The dispensers have a pump mechanism, and are configured such that by pressing the press head downward, the pump mechanism is driven via a hollow stem to suck in, pressurize, and compress the contents in the container, and then dispense the contents from a nozzle provided on the press head.
In such containers, the contents can be easily ejected through the nozzle by pressing down the pressure head, so a stopper is known to prevent the pressure head from being pressed down unintentionally during distribution, handling, etc. (Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-282197 A

Dispensers equipped with the above-mentioned pump mechanism are often used in bathrooms for shampoo, conditioner, etc., and have a problem in that they are prone to becoming dirty, such as mold growing on the bottom due to humidity in the bathroom. Also, in recent years, the proportion of consumers who only take showers is increasing, and there is a demand to be able to hang shampoo, conditioner, facial cleanser, etc. within reach by hanging them on a towel rack in the bathroom.

The present invention aims to provide a dispenser with a stopper that prevents the pressure head from being unintentionally pressed down, and that has a structure that restricts the pressure head from being pressed down, as well as a structure that allows it to be hung on a towel rack, etc.

The dispenser with a stopper of the present invention, which was developed to achieve the above-mentioned object, is a dispenser comprising: a cap which is attached to the mouth and neck of a container to keep the inside of the container sealed; an annular body attached to the top wall of the cap; a pressure head which drives a pump mechanism suspended inside the mouth and neck by repeated pushing motions to eject the contents of the container through a nozzle; and a stopper which is detachably attached to the body of the annular body and restricts the pushing of the pressure head by abutting its upper end face against the lower end of the pressure head and abutting its lower end face against the top wall of the cap,
the stopper has the upper end surface and the lower end surface, and includes a C-shaped main body portion provided with a pair of arms capable of clamping a body portion of the annular body with elastic deformation, and a plate-like member supported on an outer peripheral wall of the main body portion via a shaft portion,
the cap has a cutout portion formed by cutting out a peripheral wall of the cap, the cutout portion allowing the shaft portion to pass through, and an insertion path for fixing the stopper to the peripheral wall of the cap by inserting the plate-like member along the cutout portion from an open end formed in a top wall of the cap and rotating the main body portion together with the plate-like member around the axis of the shaft portion while maintaining the inserted position,
The main body portion constitutes a hanging support portion that hangs the container together with the pressing head when the stopper is fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap.

In the stopper-equipped dispenser of the present invention, the insertion path preferably has two protrusions on the wall surface along the peripheral wall of the cap, which protrude from both ends of the plate-like member over an inclined surface and a top surface connected to the inclined surface to engage with the undercut when the main body portion is rotated together with the plate-like member to fix the stopper to the peripheral wall of the cap.

In addition, in the dispenser with a stopper of the present invention, when both ends of the plate-like member are engaged with the undercuts, it is preferable that, of the two protrusions, the protrusion closest to the top wall of the cap has another protrusion at a lower position that clamps the end of the plate-like member above and below.

In addition, in the dispenser with a stopper of the present invention, it is preferable that when the body portion of the annular body is clamped by the pair of arms, the stopper is oriented so that the main body portion is visually recognized as a C-shape in a plan view of the container, and when the stopper is fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap, the main body portion is oriented so that the main body portion is visually recognized as a C-shape in a side view of the container.

In addition, in the dispenser with a stopper of the present invention, it is preferable that the pair of arms have an opening between them that is located below the axis of the shaft when the stopper is fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap.

In addition, in the dispenser with a stopper of the present invention, it is preferable that the cap has an abutment portion on the outer surface of the peripheral wall surrounding the notch portion, and the main body portion has a fixing portion on its outer wall that abuts against the contact portion when the stopper is fixed to the cap, thereby maintaining the stopper in a stable fixed position.

According to the dispenser with a stopper of the present invention, the stopper that restricts the pressing of the pressing head is removed when the dispenser is used, and the plate-shaped member provided on the outer peripheral wall of the stopper is inserted into the insertion path provided on the peripheral wall of the cap and rotated together with the stopper, thereby fixing the stopper to the peripheral wall of the cap and forming a hanging support part that suspends the container together with the pressing head.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the main body portion of the stopper is C-shaped and is fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap while rotating as described above, so that before use begins (when the pressing head is restricted from being pressed down), the main body portion is oriented in a way that makes it appear C-shaped when viewed from the top of the container, so that it is clamped by a pair of arms against the body portion of the annular body provided on the top wall of the cap, whereas at the start of use (when fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap), the main body portion is oriented in a way that makes it appear C-shaped when viewed from the side of the container.
Therefore, by fixing the stopper, which is removed for use, to the peripheral wall of the cap, the main body portion (C-shaped) forms a hanging support part for hanging on a rod-shaped member such as a towel rack, and by using the hanging support part as a hook to hang the dispenser in a bathroom, etc., there is no need to add new parts, and increases in costs and materials used can be suppressed.

In addition, according to the stopper-equipped dispenser of the present invention, two protrusions having inclined surfaces are provided on the wall surface of the insertion path along the peripheral wall of the cap, and when the stopper is fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap, both ends of the rotated plate-like member of the stopper are fitted into the undercut by climbing over the inclined surfaces of the protrusions and the top surface continuing from the inclined surfaces, respectively, so that the plate-like member can be firmly fixed within the insertion path of the cap, and the stopper can be prevented from falling off the cap during use. The fixation of this plate-like member within the insertion path of the cap can be made even stronger by providing another protrusion below the protrusion that is closest to the top wall of the cap and clamping both ends of the rotated plate-like member from above and below.

Furthermore, according to the dispenser with a stopper of the present invention, a fixing portion consisting of a protrusion, rib, etc. is provided on the outer peripheral wall of the main body of the stopper, and when the plate-shaped member of the stopper is inserted into the insertion path, the fixing portion can be pushed up while being abutted against an abutment portion consisting of, for example, a flat surface provided on the outer surface of the peripheral wall surrounding the cutout portion provided in the peripheral wall of the cap. This allows for a smooth insertion operation, and the stopper can be maintained in a stable fixed position, effectively preventing the stopper from falling off the cap.

1A and 1B are diagrams showing an embodiment of a dispenser with a stopper according to the present invention before use, in which (a) is a plan view and (b) is a side view. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a cross section of the dispenser with a stopper shown in FIG. 1( a ) taken along the line AA in FIG. 2A is a plan view showing the stopper-equipped dispenser of FIG. 1 with the stopper removed, FIG. 2B is a side view, FIG. 2C is a plan view of the removed stopper, and FIG. 2D is a side view of the stopper. FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a stopper, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a cap. 5 is a perspective view showing a cut section of the portions B, B, C, and C in FIG. 4(b). 2A to 2C are diagrams showing the state in which the plate-shaped member of the stopper is inserted into an insertion path provided in the outer tube of the cap for the stopper-equipped dispenser of FIG. 1, where (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view, and (c) is a diagram showing the state of the plate-shaped member in the insertion path. 7A to 7C are diagrams showing the state in which the stopper has been rotated from the state shown in FIG. 6 and fixed to the outer tube of the cap, where (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view, and (c) is a diagram showing the state of the plate-shaped member in the insertion path. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which the dispenser with a stopper is suspended.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a dispenser with a stopper according to the present invention before use begins, where (a) is a plan view and (b) is a side view. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the section A-A position of the dispenser with a stopper in FIG. 1(a) for the dispenser with a stopper in FIG. 1. FIG. 3(a) is a plan view showing the dispenser with a stopper in FIG. 1 with the stopper removed, (b) is a side view, (c) is a plan view of the removed stopper, and (d) is a side view of the stopper. FIG. 4(a) is an oblique view showing one embodiment of a stopper, (b) is an oblique view showing one embodiment of a cap, and FIG. 5 is an oblique view showing the cut sections of parts B, B, C, and C in FIG. 4(b).

In Figures 1 to 5, reference numeral 1 denotes a container that contains the contents, reference numeral 2 denotes a cap that is screwed onto the neck portion 11 of the container 1 to keep the inside of the container 1 sealed, and reference numeral 3 denotes a pump mechanism 3 that is inserted through the center of the cap 2 and suspended inside the neck portion 11.

The container 1 has a filling space inside for the contents, and a cylindrical neck 11 is provided at the top. The container 1 can be manufactured by extrusion blow molding or biaxial stretch blow molding using a material such as synthetic resin, but the material is not particularly limited. In addition, in this embodiment, a cylindrical container 1 is shown as an example, but the shape of the container can be changed appropriately based on the type of contents, the design of the container, the purpose, etc., and is not limited to the shape shown in the figure.

The cap 2 has an inner tube 21 and an outer tube 22, which are integrally formed via a top wall 23 provided at the upper end. The inner tube 21 has a female thread 21a on the inner peripheral wall, which is screwed into a male thread 11a provided on the outer peripheral wall of the mouth and neck portion 11 of the container 1, and is detachably attached by undercut fitting. The cap 2 is integrally provided with an annular body 24 that stands up from the top wall 23. The cap 2 can be manufactured using a material such as synthetic resin, but the material of the material is not particularly limited. In this embodiment, a cylindrical shape is shown as an example, but the shape is not limited to the shape shown in the figure.

On the back surface of the cap 2, a pump mechanism 3 is arranged, which is connected to a hollow stem 34 that rises up through the top wall 23 and the annular body 24, and is suspended inside the neck portion 11 of the container 1. The pump mechanism 3 has a pressing head 31, and by repeatedly pressing the pressing head 31, the pump mechanism 3 is driven via the hollow stem 34, and the contents contained in the container 1 are sucked in through the suction tube 32, and are pressurized, compressed, and discharged from the nozzle 33 of the pressing head 31. The pump mechanism 3 is fixed to the cap 2 by undercut fitting or the like.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a stopper that is detachably disposed on the body portion of the annular body 24 of the cap 2. As shown in FIG. 1(b), the upper end surface 4a of the stopper 4 abuts against the lower end of the pressing head 31, and the lower end surface 4b abuts against the top wall 23 of the cap 2, thereby restricting the pressing head 31 from being pressed downward, and preventing the contents of the container from being unintentionally discharged during distribution or before the start of use.

As shown in Figs. 3(c), (d) and 4(a), the stopper 4 has a main body 41 that is C-shaped in plan view of the container 1, a cylindrical shaft 42 that protrudes from the outer peripheral wall of the main body 41, a rectangular plate-like member 43 that is supported by the shaft 42, and a fixing portion 44 that is located across the shaft 42 and consists of one or more (two in Fig. 2) vertical ribs that extend over the entire length of the main body 41. The shaft 42 and the plate-like member 43 are not limited to the shapes shown in the drawings, and can be modified as appropriate. In addition, the fixing portion 44 is configured by a vertical rib in this embodiment, but as described later, it may have any shape as long as it can abut against the abutment portion 7 provided on the outer surface of the peripheral wall surrounding the cutout portion 6 when the stopper 4 is fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap 2, and can also be a protrusion, a flat surface, etc.

The main body 41 of the stopper 4 has a pair of elastically deformable arms 48a, 48b, and an opening 45 is formed between the arms 48a, 48b. The stopper 4 can be attached and detached by fitting it into or pulling it out of the body of the annular body 24 of the cap 2 through the opening 45. The main body 41 is made of an elastically deformable material, preferably made of synthetic resin. In this embodiment, each component is molded as a single unit, but the components can also be formed as separate units. As is clear from the plan view of FIG. 3(c), the opening 45 of the stopper 4 is arranged circumferentially offset from the axis L of the shaft 42, and is configured so that when the stopper 4 is fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap 2 in a C-shaped orientation in a side view as described below, the opening 45 is located below the axis L of the shaft 42 (toward the bottom of the container).

In addition, in this embodiment, the outer peripheral wall of the main body portion 41 of the stopper 4 is provided with vertical ribs 46 to prevent slipping when the main body portion 41 is held and rotated with the fingers, and to serve as a gripping portion when pulling out, as described below.

Reference numeral 5 denotes an insertion path formed of a recess provided on the peripheral wall of the outer tube 22 of the cap 2 for inserting the plate-like member 43 of the stopper 4 from the top wall 23 side, 6 denotes a notch through which the shaft portion 42 passes when the plate-like member 43 is inserted along the insertion path 5, and 7 denotes an abutment portion provided on the outer surface of the peripheral wall surrounding the notch portion 6. In this embodiment, the abutment portion 7 is a flat surface, but as long as it can abut against the fixed portion 44 of the stopper 4 when the stopper 4 is fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap 2 as described above, any shape may be used. For example, the abutment portion 7 may be a vertical rib and the fixed portion 44 of the stopper 4 may be a flat surface, or both the abutment portion 7 and the fixed portion 44 may be formed of vertical ribs. In this embodiment, the abutment portion 7 is integrally formed on the peripheral wall of the outer tube 22, but it may also be formed separately from the outer tube 22.

As shown in the cutaway cross-sectional view of FIG. 5, the insertion path 5 has three protrusions 51, 52, and 53 on the wall surface (inner wall surface) along the peripheral wall of the cap 2. Protrusions 51 and 52 have triangular cross sections with inclined surfaces 51a and 52a and are provided at diagonal positions. Protrusion 53 has a rectangular shape and is located on the side of protrusions 51 and 52 that is closer to the top wall 23, below protrusion 51 in this embodiment, and is formed so that its upper end surface is flush with the upper end surface of protrusion 52.

The cutout portion 6 has a cutout portion 6a that extends in a direction along the axis of the cap 2, and a cutout extension portion 6b that extends from the lower end of the cutout portion 6a in the circumferential direction of the cap 2. The cutout extension portion 6b is provided for the convenience of removing the mold when forming the cap 2, and does not need to be provided if it does not interfere with removing the mold.

Figure 6 shows the state in which the plate-shaped member 43 of the stopper 4 of the stopper-equipped dispenser of Figure 1 is inserted into the insertion path 5 provided in the outer tube 22 of the cap 2, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view, and (c) is a view showing the state of the plate-shaped member 43 in the insertion path 5. Figure 7 shows the state in which the stopper 4 has been rotated from the state shown in Figure 6 and fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap 2, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view, and (c) is a view showing the state of the plate-shaped member 43 in the insertion path 5. Figure 8 shows the state in which the stopper-equipped dispenser is suspended.

A method of fixing the stopper 4 to the peripheral wall of the cap 2 (outer cylinder 22) will be described with reference to Figs.
At the start of use, the plate-like member 43 of the stopper 4 removed from the annular body 24 of the cap 2 is inserted from the open end formed in the top wall 23 so that the shaft portion 42 is aligned with the notch portion 6 as shown in Fig. 6. As a result, the two long sides 43a, 43b of the rectangular plate-like member 43 are inserted along the protrusions 51, 52, 53 provided on the wall surface of the insertion path 5 (between the protrusions 51, 53 and the protrusion 52) as shown in Fig. 6(c).

When the plate-like member 43 of the stopper 4 is inserted into the insertion path 5, the fixing portion 44 consisting of two vertical ribs provided on the outer peripheral wall of the main body portion 41 abuts against the abutment portion 7 consisting of the flat surface of the cap 2. Therefore, while the fixing portion 44 abuts against the abutment portion 7, the plate-like member 43 can be smoothly pressed downward, and the stopper 4 can be maintained in a stable fixed position. In addition, the main body portion 41 of the stopper 4 can be rotated stably as described below.

When the main body 41 of the stopper 4 is rotated around the axis of the shaft 42 while the plate-shaped member 43 is inserted in the insertion path 5, the plate-shaped member 43 in the insertion path 5 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow from the position indicated by the dotted line as shown in FIG. 7(c). The main body 41 is rotated in a direction such that the opening 45 faces downward.

At this time, the ends of the two long sides 43a, 43b of the plate-like member 43 abut against the protrusions 51, 52 provided on the wall surface of the insertion path 5, respectively, and the long sides 43a, 43b climb over the inclined surfaces 51a, 52a of the protrusions 51, 52 and the top surfaces continuing from the inclined surfaces 51a, 52a to be undercut-fitted, and one long side 43b of the plate-like member 43 abuts against the upper end surface of the protrusion 53, and is sandwiched from above and below by the protrusions 51 and 53. As a result, the stopper 4 can be fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap 2 (outer tube 22) as shown in FIG. 7. In this embodiment, the structure in which the plate-like member 43 is rotated 90° counterclockwise to fix the stopper 4 to the peripheral wall of the cap 2 is shown as an example, but the rotation angle of the plate-like member 43 can be changed as appropriate.

Before use as shown in FIG. 1, the stopper 4 is used with the main body 41 oriented to form a C-shape in a plan view of the container 1, but after use as shown in FIG. 7 (when fixed to the cap 2), the main body 41 is rotated as described above to be oriented to form a C-shape in a side view of the container 1, forming a hanging support part. Therefore, the main body 41 can be used as a hook by clamping it from above to a rod-shaped member 8 such as a towel rack by elastically deforming a pair of arms 48a, 48b that form the opening 45 as shown in FIG. 8, and the container 1 can be hung together with the pressing head 31 in a bathroom or the like. At this time, the opening 45 is positioned offset from the axis L of the shaft 42, so that when the stopper 4 is fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap 2, it is located below the axis L, and the support portion by the main body 41 becomes longer, allowing the container 1 to be stably supported and suspended, and preventing the container 1 from falling off the rod-shaped member 8.

In addition, it is preferable to provide multiple protrusions 47 (five in this embodiment) on the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion 41, and the protrusions 47 can suppress rotation of the main body portion 41 when hooked onto the rod-shaped member 8 (anti-slip), and can prevent the container 1 from falling off the rod-shaped member 8.

The dispenser with a stopper of the present invention can be suitably used as a container for filling liquid, creamy, viscous, and other foods and beverages, cosmetics, medicines, detergents, and the like.

Reference Signs List 1 Container 11 Mouth neck portion 11a Male thread 2 Cap 21 Inner tube 21a Female thread 22 Outer tube 23 Top wall 24 Annular body 3 Pump mechanism 31 Pressing head 32 Suction tube 33 Nozzle 34 Hollow stem 4 Stopper 4a Upper end surface 4b Lower end surface 41 Main body portion 42 Shaft portion 43 Plate-shaped members 43a, 43b Long side 44 Fixing portion 45 Opening 46 Vertical rib 47 Convex portions 48a, 48b Arm 5 Insertion path 51 Protrusion 52 Protrusion 53 Protrusion 6 Cutout portion 6a Cutout portion 6b Cutout extension portion 7 Contact portion 8 Rod-shaped member

Claims (6)

a cap that is attached to the mouth and neck of a container and keeps the inside of the container sealed; an annular body attached to the top wall of the cap; a pressure head that drives a pump mechanism suspended inside the mouth and neck by repeated pushing motions to eject the contents of the container through a nozzle; and a stopper that is detachably attached to a body part of the annular body and restricts the pushing of the pressure head by abutting its upper end surface against the lower end of the pressure head and abutting its lower end surface against the top wall of the cap,
the stopper has the upper end surface and the lower end surface, and includes a C-shaped main body portion provided with a pair of arms capable of clamping a body portion of the annular body with elastic deformation, and a plate-like member supported on an outer peripheral wall of the main body portion via a shaft portion,
the cap has a cutout portion formed by cutting out a peripheral wall of the cap, the cutout portion allowing the shaft portion to pass through, and an insertion path for fixing the stopper to the peripheral wall of the cap by inserting the plate-like member along the cutout portion from an open end formed in a top wall of the cap and rotating the main body portion together with the plate-like member around the axis of the shaft portion while maintaining the inserted position,
A dispenser with a stopper, wherein the main body portion constitutes a hanging support portion that suspends the container together with the pressing head when the stopper is fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap. The dispenser with a stopper according to claim 1, characterized in that the insertion path has two protrusions on the wall surface along the peripheral wall of the cap, which are fitted into an undercut by overcoming an inclined surface at each end of the plate-like member and a top surface connected to the inclined surface when the main body portion is rotated together with the plate-like member to fix the stopper to the peripheral wall of the cap. A dispenser with a stopper as described in claim 2, characterized in that, when both ends of the plate-like member are engaged with the undercuts, the protrusion closest to the top wall of the cap has another protrusion at a lower position that clamps the end of the plate-like member above and below. The stopper-equipped dispenser according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that when the pair of arms clamp the body of the annular body, the stopper is oriented so that the main body is seen as a C-shape in a plan view of the container, and when the stopper is fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap, the main body is oriented so that the main body is seen as a C-shape in a side view of the container. The dispenser with a stopper according to claim 4, characterized in that the pair of arms have an opening between them that is located below the axis of the shaft when the stopper is fixed to the peripheral wall of the cap. The dispenser with a stopper according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cap has an abutment portion on the outer surface of the peripheral wall surrounding the notch, and the main body portion has a fixing portion on its outer peripheral wall that abuts against the contact portion when the stopper is fixed to the cap, thereby maintaining the stopper in a stable fixed position.

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