JP3424073B2 - Can mouth cover - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a can mouth cover attached to the can mouth of a beverage can having a pull top provided for opening an aluminum can or the like containing a beverage such as beer, tea or juice. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, beverages such as beer, tea and juice have been manufactured and sold in aluminum beverage cans.

In order to open such a beverage can, the pull-top provided on the upper surface of the beverage can is pulled up to open the can mouth.

By the way, the structure of a beverage can, such as an aluminum can, is such that the outer peripheral edge 13 of the upper surface 12 is raised by about 5 mm as shown in FIG.
There is a step between the upper surface 12 and the outer peripheral edge 13, and the upper surface 12
A groove 14 is formed around the periphery of the outer peripheral edge 13 along the inner periphery thereof. Therefore, when the can mouth 15 is opened and then drunk directly, a gap is formed between the upper surface 12 and the outer peripheral edge 13 due to the step and the concave groove 14, and the gap from the can mouth 15 is caused by this gap. There was a drawback that the spilled beverage would spill.

Further, when pulling up the pull top 11 provided on the upper surface 12 of the beverage can to open the can mouth 15, it is necessary to put a finger below the lever 17 of the pull top 11 and pull up. If the gap below the lever 17 is not sufficient, it may be difficult to pull up the pull top 11.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and makes it easy to open a pull top used when opening a beverage can, and at the same time, the beverage flowing out of the can mouth is outside the upper surface. An object of the present invention is to provide a can mouth cover that is easy to drink without spilling from a step on the periphery.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the can mouth cover according to claim 1 of the present invention is configured such that the can mouth is opened by pulling up the pull top fixed to the upper surface of the beverage can. A can mouth cover having an outer diameter to be accommodated in the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface of the beverage can, the cover being formed by an elastic thin plate, and a notch formed from the outer periphery of the cover toward the center. When fitted to the lower side of the pull top, the cover is housed in the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface of the beverage can, while the circular arc frame provided along the outer periphery of the cover on the opposite side of the cut is An opening having a diameter corresponding to the depth of the outer peripheral edge of the beverage can and having a diameter smaller than that of the can mouth is formed in the cover along the vicinity of the center of the arc frame.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the cover is formed of a thin synthetic resin having elasticity.

A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the notch formed in the cover gradually widens from the center toward the outer periphery.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a can mouth cover according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view.

The can cover 1 shown in these figures is formed by forming a thin synthetic resin plate such as plastic having elasticity into a circular shape, and a notch 2 from the outer periphery of the cover 1 toward the center.
On the other hand, an arc frame 3 having a predetermined length that is curved along the outer circumference on the opposite side of the cut 2 is formed, and an opening 4 is further formed in the cover 1 along the vicinity of the center of the arc frame 3. Is.

In such a structure, the notch 2 is cut to a position beyond the center of the cover 1, its width gradually widens from the center toward the outer periphery, and the width near the center is the upper surface of the beverage can 10. Fixing part 1 of pull-top 11 provided on 12
It is formed so that it can enter both sides of 1a.

Further, the length of the arc frame 3 of the cover 1 is necessary for the arc frame 3 to receive the beverage spilled from the can port 15 when the beverage can 10 having the open can port 15 is tilted as described later. Since it requires a length, it is preferable that the line L connecting the both ends 3a of the arc frame 3 and the apex H of the opening 4 is exceeded as shown in FIG.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, since the arc frame 3 of the cover 1 has a height corresponding to the depth of the outer peripheral edge 13 of the beverage can 10, as shown in FIG. 1
When it is accommodated in the outer peripheral edge 13 of the upper surface 12 of 0, the circular arc frame 3
Is placed inside the outer peripheral edge 13 of the beverage can 10, and the cover surface 5 in the vicinity of the arc frame 3 has the outer peripheral edge 1 of the beverage can 10.
It is almost the same as the height of 3.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the can cover 1
An opening 4 having a diameter smaller than that of the can opening 15 is formed on the cover surface 5 along the vicinity of the center of the arc frame 3 (see FIG. 12).
The opening 4 serves as a drinking mouth for drinking the beverage in the beverage can 10.

In order to make such a can mouth cover 1 of the present invention, in addition to integrally making it by synthetic resin molding,
The arc frame 3 may be attached to the outer periphery of the cover 1 by an adhesive material or heat welding.

The can cover 1 is attached to the upper surface 1 of the beverage can 10.
In order to mount it on 2, the notch 2 of the cover 1 is inserted from the force point 16 side of the pull top 11 to the lower side of the pull top 11 as shown in FIGS. This is a fitting method utilizing that the force point 16 side of the pull top 11 has a wider space than the lever 17 side.

At this time, the arcuate frame 3 is provided on the notch 2 side of the cover 1.
Since it is not provided, it bends freely due to elasticity,
The notch 2 enters so as to sandwich both sides of the fixed portion 11a of the pull top 11.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, when the cover 1 is pushed in until the tip of the cut 2 contacts the inside of the outer peripheral edge 13 of the beverage can 10, the entire cover 1 is inside the outer peripheral edge 13 of the beverage can 10. Housed in. At this time, the arc frame 3 of the cover 1
Fits in a groove 14 along the inside of the outer peripheral edge 13 of the beverage can 10.

Therefore, the cover 1 is provided along the outer peripheral edge 13 of the beverage can 10 as indicated by the arrow indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
When the cover 4 is rotated once, and the opening 4 of the cover 1 is submerged under the lever 17 side of the pull top 11 as shown in FIG. 8 or 9, the cover surface 5 forming a height by the arc frame 3 pushes up the lever 17. The gap below the lever 17 can be enlarged, and as shown in FIG. 10, the operation of pulling the lever 17 upward by inserting a fingertip into this gap can be easily performed. By the pulling-up operation of the lever 17, the force point 16 of the pull-top 11 pushes the can lid 18 of the can mouth 15 to open the can mouth 15.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, since the opening width of the can mouth 15 is shielded by the notch 2 of the cover 1 in a narrowed state, bubbles from the inside of the can blow out to the outside. Can be prevented. In addition, if the cover 1 is rotated to close the can opening 15 opened on the cover surface 5,
From 5, it is possible to prevent the beverage or bubbles in the can from scattering.

As another method of mounting the can cover 1 on the upper surface 12 of the beverage can 10, as shown in FIG. 6 or 7,
The cut 2 of the cover 1 may be inserted from the lever 17 side of the pull top 11.

In this case, the fixed portion 11a of the pull top 11
Since the lever 17 floats up about the fulcrum, the lever 1
It becomes easy to insert the cut 2 of the cover 1 below the cover 7. With this operation, the cover 1 is attached to the outer peripheral edge 1 of the beverage can 10.
When housed in 3, the state shown in FIG. 8 or FIG.
It is possible to immediately obtain a state in which the opening 4 of the cover 1 is submerged in the lower portion of the pull top 11 on the lever 17 side.

In any case, when the opening 4 of the cover 1 is below the lever 17 of the pull-top 11, the cover 1 is rotated again by 180 degrees along the outer peripheral edge 13 of the beverage can 10, and as shown in FIG. As shown in 12, the positioning is performed so that the opening 4 of the cover 1 overlaps the opened can opening 15.

In order to drink the beverage in the beverage can 10 in which the cover 1 is mounted and the can mouth 15 is opened as described above, the canister 15 is tilted with the can mouth 15 downward as usual.
In this state, the opening 4 of the cover 1 and the arc frame 3 are located below. The beverage that has flowed out of the can 15 is poured into the mouth of the drinker through the opening 4 of the cover 1.

At this time, since the cover surface 5 around the opening 4 of the cover 1 substantially coincides with the upper end of the outer peripheral edge 13 of the beverage can 10, there is a gap when the opening 4 of the cover 1 is opened. Therefore, the beverage that has leaked to the periphery of the opening 4 is blocked by the cover surface 5 of the cover 1 and the arc frame 3 and does not spill outside.

The beverage thus spilled around the can mouth 15 and shielded by the cover surface 5 and the arc frame 3 flows down toward the opening 4 along the inside of the arc frame 3, and the opening After 4 it is poured into the mouth of the person who drinks.

[0029]

As described above, in the can cover of the present invention, a thin synthetic resin plate such as plastic having elasticity is formed into a circular shape, and a notch is formed from the outer periphery of the cover toward the center. On the other hand, since a curved arc frame is provided along the outer circumference on the opposite side of the cut, it can be produced at a low cost with a very simple structure, and the cost per piece is also very low. .

The cut of the can mouth cover of the present invention as described above is pushed into the lower side of the pull top and rotated while being accommodated in the outer peripheral edge of the beverage can, and the opening of the cover is inserted into the lower portion of the pull top on the lever side. Since the upper surface of the cover having a height is pushed up by the arc frame, the gap below the lever is enlarged, and it is easy to open the can mouth by inserting a fingertip here and pulling the lever upward. Become.

When the beverage in the beverage can is to be drunk, the can mouth cover mounted on the upper surface is rotated and the opening of the cover is aligned with the opened can mouth. It is poured into the mouth of the drinker through the opening. At this time, since the cover surface around the opening of the cover substantially coincides with the upper end of the outer peripheral edge of the beverage can, there is no gap when the mouth of the cover is opened, so that it is easy to drink and the opening of the cover Beverage leaking to the periphery of the part is shielded by the cover surface and the arc frame so that it does not spill outside.

Since the can cover of the present invention having such advantages can be manufactured at a very low cost,
It can be installed as a service at a factory or retail store in a pull-top can such as an aluminum can containing conventional beer, tea, juice, and other beverages, or sold separately. It is easy to use and can be widely used as a can cover having the advantages of not easily spilling.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an upper perspective view of a can cover according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the can cover according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view showing a state before the can mouth cover according to the present invention is attached to the upper surface of a beverage can.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the can cover according to the present invention is inserted under the pull top on the upper surface of the beverage can.

FIG. 5 is a top view showing a state in which the can mouth cover according to the present invention is mounted on the upper surface of a beverage can.

FIG. 6 is a top view showing another method of inserting the can mouth cover according to the present invention into the lower side of the pull top on the upper surface of the beverage can.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another method of inserting the can mouth cover according to the present invention under the pull top on the upper surface of the beverage can.

FIG. 8 is a top view showing a state in which the opening of the can mouth cover according to the present invention is located below the lever of the pull top.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which the opening portion of the can cover according to the present invention is located below the lever of the pull top.

FIG. 10 is a top view showing a state where the pull top of the can cover according to the present invention is pulled up by a finger.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a state in which the opening of the can mouth cover according to the present invention is aligned with the opened can mouth.

FIG. 12 is a top view showing a state in which the opening of the can mouth cover according to the present invention is aligned with the opened can mouth.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an upper portion of a beverage can.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Can cover (cover) 2 ... notch 3 ... Arc frame 4 ... Opening 5 ... Cover surface 10 ... Beverage can 11 ... Pull top 11a ... Fixed part 12 ... Top 13 ... Outer periphery 14 ... concave groove 15 ... Can 16 ... 17 ... Lever 18 ... Can lid

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-6080 (JP, A) JP-A-11-301668 (JP, A) JP-A-2001-72113 (JP, A) JP-A-10-72054 (JP, A) Actual flat 6-69165 (JP, U) Actual flat 7-43407 (JP, U) US patent 4852763 (US, A) US patent 4717039 (US, A) (58) Fields investigated ( Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65D 51/24 B65D 47/06 B21D 51/26

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A can mouth cover having an outer diameter accommodated in an outer peripheral edge of an upper surface of a beverage can, wherein a can is opened by pulling up a pull top fixed to the upper surface of the beverage can. The cover is formed of an elastic thin plate, and when the notch formed from the outer periphery of the cover toward the center is fitted to the lower side of the pull top, the cover is inside the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface of the beverage can. While being accommodated, an arc frame provided along the outer circumference on the opposite side of the notch of the cover has a height corresponding to the depth of the outer peripheral edge of the beverage can, and further in the vicinity of the center of the arc frame. A can mouth cover, characterized in that an opening having a diameter smaller than that of the can mouth is formed in the cover. 2. The can cover according to claim 1, wherein the cover is formed of a thin synthetic resin having elasticity. 3. The can mouth cover according to claim 1, wherein the notch formed in the cover gradually widens from the center toward the outer circumference.