JP3146657B2 - Cap mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cap mounting structure. More specifically, like a medicine container or an infusion container, it can be opened only after a specific procedure to maintain a sterile sealed state before use, prevent misuse of infants, etc. The present invention relates to a cap mounting structure for a non-returnable disposable container or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional cap mounting structure, in a disposable container which is not used once it has been removed from a sealed state, a so-called virgin cover or virgin plate is provided between the cap bodies to prevent erroneous reuse. Some are prevented (conventional example I). Further, there is also known a cap structure which can be opened only when the cap is turned only by turning the cap and rotated while pressing the top of the cap while engaging the screw member (conventional example II). Further, some infusion containers at present use a cap provided with a multi-threaded screw for pressing a double-ended needle or the like inside the container toward a vial attached to the lower portion of the container (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 2
-1277 publication). This infusion container can be configured so that the cap can be removed from the container after use in order to allow divided disposal, but in this case, it is necessary to be able to re-cap the cap once it has been removed. There is.

[0003]

In the conventional example I, when a cap is put on a container and then a virgin cover is attached, other processes and equipment such as thermoforming and caulking are required, which is costly. In Conventional Example II, there is a problem that prevention of reuse is incomplete. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a cap mounting structure that requires a certain procedure for removal by a simple process of elastically fitting a cap and that is difficult to reconnect. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cap mounting structure that can be used in addition to the cap of the infusion container and that allows at least free rotation in the forward direction, and that is difficult to reconnect once one end is removed.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cap mounting structure comprising: a container; a ring concentrically mounted on a mouth of the container; and a cap mounted on the mouth of the container via the ring. (A) between the mouth and the ring, the first engagement means is provided to allow mutual rotation, and to restrain the axial upward movement of the ring, (b) the mouth and A unidirectional rotation means for allowing forward rotation of the ring and preventing reverse rotation thereof is provided between the ring and the ring at one point of at least one rotation. In the meantime, the first position, which is located when the forward rotation is applied to the cap, restricts the axial movement, and the second position, which is located when the reverse rotation is applied, is the shaft from the ring of the cap. (D) second engagement means is provided for allowing the direction of extraction. And when a rotational force of a certain level or more is applied between the ring and the cap,
A second invention is characterized in that a resistance means for allowing movement between the position and the second position is provided, and the forward rotation of the cap is allowed between the cap and the mouth of the container. The reverse rotation preventing means for preventing the rotation in the reverse direction is provided at at least one position in one rotation at an angular position different from that of the one-way rotation means between the mouth and the ring. To be

[0005]

In the first invention, when attaching the ring and the cap to the container mouth, the cap and the ring are fitted at the first position. In this state, when the cab is rotated in the forward direction of the one-way rotating means, the cap and the ring integrally rotate around the container. To remove the cap, rotate the cap in the opposite direction. At this time, the cap and the ring tend to rotate together because of the resistance means. However, the rotation is restricted at a position where the one-way rotating means between the ring and the container mouth engages, and the rotation of the ring stops. As a result, a torque over the resistance means can be generated between the cap and the ring, and can be shifted to the second position. Further, by pulling up the cap in the second position in the axial direction, the cap can be removed from the ring. On the other hand, after the cap is once removed, the cap can be fitted to the second position of the ring, but cannot be returned to the first position. That is, even if the ring is rotated in the forward direction to return to the first position, the ring idles with respect to the container mouth, and the relative torque necessary to get over the resistance means cannot be given.

[0006] In the second invention, the reverse rotation preventing means operates in an initial stage. That is, first, rotation is allowed only in the forward direction, and once rotation is performed in the forward direction to get over the reverse rotation preventing means, and then rotation in the reverse direction is stopped by the reverse rotation preventing means. Therefore, the cap cannot be removed unless it is rotated at least once in the forward direction.

[0007]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cap mounting structure according to the present invention. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a cap mounting structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of a cap, FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of a ring, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 4 showing a main part in an assembled state, and FIG. 6 is a front view of the main part showing its operation. The cap mounting structure shown in FIG. 1 includes a container 1, a ring 3 fitted around the outer periphery of the mouth 2 of the container 1, and a mouth 2 at the outer periphery of the ring 3.
And a cap 4 fitted to the upper end of the cap.

In FIG. 1, a container 1 is a cylindrical member having a bottom, and an annular projection 5 is formed on an outer periphery of a mouth portion 2.
The upper surface 6 of the annular projection 5 is a tapered surface inclined downward toward the outside, and the lower surface is substantially perpendicular to the axis. Four wedge-shaped projections 8 are formed on the upper surface 6 at 90 ° intervals. The inclined surface 9 and the right angle surface 10 of the wedge-shaped projection 8
Is a direction in which the clockwise direction (arrow A) becomes the forward direction as shown in FIG. The ring 3 is, as shown in FIGS.
The inner peripheral surface 11 is a surface that is in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface 12 of the annular projection 5 of the mouth portion 2. The inner peripheral surface 11 is provided with a wedge-shaped projection 13 projecting in the direction of engaging with the wedge-shaped projection 8 of the mouth portion 2 and further projecting inward so as to engage with the lower surface 7 of the annular projection 5. An annular step 14 is provided.

On the other hand, a recess 16 extending in the circumferential direction is formed on the outer peripheral surface 15 of the ring 3. The concave portion 16 is repeated in the same shape every quarter turn of the ring 3 and is formed at four places in total. The recess 16 has a groove 17 having a narrow width W at the leading end in the clockwise direction (arrow A) and a step 18 opening toward the upper end of the ring 3 at the trailing end. The inside of the groove 17 is the first position according to claim 1, and the inside of the step 18 is the second position. The leading edge 19 of the step 18 is inclined so as to become narrower upward. At the boundary between the groove 17 and the step 18, a resistance projection 20 slightly lower than the outer peripheral surface 15 of the ring 3 is formed. In addition, an annular step on the inner periphery of the ring 3
14 is cut off at a portion 21 of the wedge-shaped projection 13, which is a notch for removing a mold at the time of molding. Also helps.
The ring 3 is preferably injection-molded from a synthetic resin material which has good sliding properties and is somewhat flexible, such as nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene, ABS resin and the like.

The cap 4 is, as shown in FIGS.
Two step portions are formed at the lower end. Upper step 22
A deep groove 24 that fits into the upper end 23 of the container opening 2
Is formed, and an O-ring 25 for sealing is inserted therein. On the inner peripheral surface 27 of the side wall of the lower step portion 26, a ridge 28 that fits with the concave portion 16 of the ring 3 is formed in the circumferential direction. The ridges 28 have a width and a length to be fitted into the grooves 17 of the ring 3, and are provided four at 90 ° intervals.
A window 29 penetrating to the outside is formed directly above the ridge 28, which is an opening for inserting a mold when the ridge 28 is formed, and the ridge 28 is bent in the radial direction. It has the effect of making it easier.

The container opening 2, ring 3 and cap 4 constructed as described above are assembled as shown in FIG. In that case, the ring 3 can be easily inserted from the bottom side of the container 1. The cap 4 supports the bottom of the ring 3 and has a ridge.
Assemble by forcibly fitting in the axial direction so that 28 is aligned with groove 17. The combination of the wedge-shaped projections 8 and 13 constitutes the one-way rotating means (b) according to claim 1, and the annular projection 5 of the container 1 and the lower surface of the ring 3 are first engaging means (a). Is composed. Also, the protrusions 28 of the cap 4
The combination of and the recess 16 of the ring 3 constitutes the second engaging means (c), and the resistance projection 20 of the ring 3 constitutes the resistance means (d).

Next, a method of using the assembled cap mounting structure will be described. When the cap 4 is rotated clockwise (arrow A), as shown by the solid line in FIG. Further, since the ridge 28 of the cap 4 abuts on the step 17a in the leading direction of the groove 17 of the ring 3, the cap 4 and the ring 3 rotate integrally.
The forward rotation simply rotates the cap 4 round and round, and the cap cannot be removed. In the case of a cap for an infusion container, the free rotation of the cap in one direction can be used to slide down the double-ended needle. Next, when the cap 1 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction (arrow B), the wedge-shaped projections 8 and 13 are freely rotated to a position where they engage with each other. In this case, no torque is applied between the cap 4 and the ring 3 so that the ridge of the cap 4 gets over the resistance projection 20 of the ring 3, so that the cap 4 and the ring 3 rotate integrally.

As shown by an imaginary line 8N in FIG.
When the members 13 mesh with each other, the ring 3 and the mouth 2 cannot rotate with each other. Therefore, when a torque is further applied to the cap 4, as shown in FIG. 4, the projection 28 in the groove 17 eventually gets over the resistance projection 20 and enters the step 18 side (see an imaginary line 28N in FIG. 6). In this state, even if the cap 4 is further rotated in the counterclockwise direction, it cannot be rotated because the ridge 28 hits the wall 18a of the step portion 18. Then, when the cap 4 is pulled upward (arrow C), since the upper part of the step 18 is open, it can be pulled out as it is.

As described above, in the cap mounting structure of the present embodiment, the cap 4 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction until the wedge-shaped projections 8 and 13 come into contact with each other. The cap 4 cannot be removed without going through a series of steps of moving over and then pulling the cap 4 upward. This provides a so-called child proof action that prevents misuse of infants and the like.

On the other hand, the cap 4 once removed as described above cannot be fitted again even if the removal procedure is reversed. That is, the ridge 28 of the cap 4 can be inserted into the step 18 of the ring 3,
Is rotated in the clockwise direction (arrow A) in order to get over the ring 2, since the ring 3 and the wedge-shaped projections 8, 13 of the mouth 2 are in the forward direction, the ring 2 only turns around. This is because the relative torque required to get over the resistance protrusion 20 between the ring 2 and the cap 4 cannot be provided. This can provide the same effect as a so-called virgin plate.

In the first embodiment, once the cap 4 is removed, it cannot be re-attached to the container 1, so that the cap is turned counterclockwise without any intention of use or by mistake before use. Inconvenience that can not be resealed when removed. However, in a configuration in which a spiral strip is formed on the inner surface of the cap and a double-ended needle or the like for breaking a vial is screwed to the spiral strip, as in the cap of an infusion container described in JP-A-2-1277. Before use (before lowering the double-ended needle), it cannot be rotated counterclockwise anyway. Therefore, even if the following special configuration is not adopted, there is no risk of accidentally removing the cap before use, so that the present embodiment can be suitably adopted.

(Second Embodiment) In order to prevent the cap from being unscrewed and turned counterclockwise before use without intention to use it, the second embodiment should be performed at least once in the clockwise direction. It is devised that the cap cannot be removed until the cap has been sufficiently rotated (in the forward direction). As shown in FIG. 7, the cap structure of the second embodiment is substantially the same as the structure of the first embodiment except that a reverse rotation preventing means 41 is provided on the outer periphery of the mouth 2 and the inner periphery of the cap 4. . The reverse rotation preventing means 41 includes a wedge-shaped projection 42 formed on the outer periphery of the container opening 2 and a wedge-shaped projection 43 formed on the inner lower surface of the lower step 23 of the cap 4. These wedge-shaped projections 42, 43 directly prevent relative reverse rotation of the cap 4 and the container 1 irrespective of the position of the ring 3. It is preferable that the wedge-shaped projection 42 of the container opening 2 is provided at a position (angular position) different from the wedge-shaped projection 8 constituting one-way rotating means with the ring 3.

If such a reverse rotation preventing means is provided, even if the cap is suddenly rotated in the counterclockwise direction, the reverse rotation preventing means operates before the one-way rotating means operates, and the cap is further moved in the reverse direction. Can not be rotated. Therefore, the cap is once rotated clockwise to get over the wedge-shaped projection 13 of the ring 3 and, immediately after the cap is turned, is rotated in the opposite direction to cause engagement of the one-way rotating means. And that ring 3
In this case, the resistance protrusion 20 is passed over while restraining the rotation of. As described above, the structure of the second embodiment has an advantage that the cap 4 cannot be rotated in the reverse direction and thus cannot be removed unless the cap 4 is once rotated in the forward direction.

In addition to the combination of the wedge-shaped projections 42 and 43, various means for preventing reverse rotation of the cap 2 with respect to the opening 2 can be employed, and in this case, the same operation and effect can be obtained. In any of the above embodiments, the clockwise direction may be the forward direction. Further, the second engaging means (c)
As for, a configuration may be adopted in which a protrusion is provided on the ring 3 and a recess is provided on the cap 4.

[0020]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cap cannot be removed unless a certain procedure is followed. Also, once the cap is opened, it cannot be returned to the original closed state again, so there is no danger of accidentally using the container whose sterility has been broken by opening the cap once. Second
The invention has the advantage of avoiding the risk of accidentally removing the cap from an unused container since it cannot be rotated in the reverse direction unless it is once rotated in the forward direction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cap mounting structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention before being assembled.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of a cap.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of a ring.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the cap mounting structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a main part of the cap mounting structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway front view of a cap mounting structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 container 2 mouth 3
Ring 4 cap 5 annular projection 8
Wedge-shaped projection 13 Wedge-shaped projection 14 Annular step 16
Recess 17 Groove 18 Step 20
Resistance projection 28 Ridge 42 Wedge-shaped projection 43
Wedge-shaped protrusion

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-253863 (JP, A) JP-A-2-1277 (JP, A) JP-A-5-91681 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int) .Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61J 1/05 B65D 51/18

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A container comprising: a container; a ring attached concentrically to the mouth of the container; and a cap attached to the mouth of the container via the ring. A first engagement means for allowing rotation of each other and for restraining the ring from moving upward in the axial direction;
A unidirectional rotating means for allowing forward rotation of the ring and preventing reverse rotation of the ring is provided at one of at least one rotation between the mouth and the ring; The first position, which is located when the forward rotation is applied to the cap, restricts the axial movement, and the second position, which is located when the reverse rotation is applied, is the position of the cap. A second engagement means is provided for allowing axial withdrawal from the ring, and (d) when a rotational force of a certain level or more is applied between the ring and the cap, the first engagement means is provided.
A cap mounting structure, wherein a resistance means for allowing movement between the position and the second position is provided. 2. A reverse rotation preventing means for permitting the forward rotation of the cap and preventing the reverse rotation of the cap between the cap and the mouth of the container is provided in at least one position of one rotation. The cap mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the cap mounting structure is provided at an angular position different from the one-way rotating means between the mouth and the ring.