JP4205883B2 - Cap with excellent cleanability - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cap excellent in cleaning properties after filling, and more specifically, it is possible to reliably clean the content liquid remaining between the container mouth and the cap, and effectively prevent the cleaning liquid from remaining. Related to the cap.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, after filling the container with the content liquid and capping, the cleaning liquid is sprayed toward the cap in order to clean the content liquid remaining between the outer peripheral surface of the container mouth and the inner peripheral surface of the cap. The cleaning liquid is allowed to flow into the cap.
As a cap that can be cleaned by spraying such cleaning liquid, for example, a cap in which a plurality of holes are formed at intervals in the circumferential direction at the peripheral portion of the top surface of the cap and the skirt portion or a boundary region thereof. Has been proposed (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-54119).
[0003]
Since the cap having a plurality of holes as described above is required to be as small as possible due to dust and appearance problems, a tamper evidence band (hereinafter referred to as TE) is formed after the cap is molded. (Referred to as Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-208693).
On the other hand, in the cap in which holes as small as possible are formed, it is difficult to sufficiently flow the cleaning liquid into the cap. Therefore, as a method for efficiently flowing the cleaning liquid into the cap, It has been proposed to spray a cleaning liquid at 65 ° C. or higher, or spray a cleaning liquid at 45 to 70 ° C. after heating the cap to 70 ° C. or higher (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-85727).
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
According to the above method, it is possible to efficiently clean the inside of the cap. However, in the above method, since the container mouth and the cap are heated to a relatively high temperature, for example, aseptic filling (aseptic filling) is performed. It cannot be applied to containers and caps. That is, in a container to which aseptic filling is applied, the container mouth portion does not have heat resistance because it is not premised on heat sterilization after filling in order to prevent deterioration of the contents. In order to obtain a necessary cleaning effect by spraying a cleaning liquid at 65 ° C. or higher, the container mouth may be deformed, which may cause a problem in sealing performance.
[0005]
In addition, a method of cleaning without providing a plurality of holes in the cap has also been proposed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-7096 discloses a screw thread portion formed on the outer periphery of a container mouth portion or a cap screwed into the cap portion. Vent slits are formed at a plurality of longitudinal positions on at least one of the threaded portions of the container, and the cleaning water is sprayed toward the gap between the neck support portion of the container and the lower end of the cap, and the outer peripheral portion of the container mouth through the vent slit There has been proposed a method for cleaning between the cap and the inner surface of the cap.
[0006]
In the above method, the cleaning water jetted at high pressure passes between the inner surface of the cap skirt and the vent slit to clean the outer periphery of the container mouth and the inner surface of the cap. Because of the slight gap between them, it is not enough to effectively flow upward the wash water sprayed from below, or from above to below and then flow out of the cap again. It is. Further, in the above method, an annular jaw portion that engages with the TE band engagement piece is formed below the thread at the container mouth portion, making it difficult to distribute the wash water upward.
The cleaning liquid remaining in the cap may be misunderstood by the consumer as leakage of the content liquid, or may cause mold.
On the other hand, if the flow passage is enlarged so as to increase the flow rate of the washing water, the inner surface of the cap skirt portion and the outer peripheral surface of the container mouth portion may be easily contaminated.
[0007]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to reliably clean the outer periphery of the container mouth, the entire skirt portion of the inner surface of the cap, and a part of the peripheral edge of the top plate portion, and also facilitate the flow of cleaning water and effectively prevent the cleaning water from remaining. It is in providing a possible cap.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the present invention, a top plate portion and a skirt portion that is suspended from the periphery of the top plate portion and engages with the container mouth portion are provided on the inner surface, and the screw thread is divided in the circumferential direction on the inner surface of the skirt portion. In the cap in which the notch and the upper and lower screw threads form a flow path for the cleaning liquid, (1) an axial groove is formed in the axial flow path formed by the notch. Ri inner surface that is formed and (2) said skirt portion is the name larger inside diameter downwardly, the engagement beneath the threads on the screw threads and the container mouth portion provided on the cap inner surface cap, which is a so that a tapered such shallow engagement than the upper is provided.
[0009]
In the cap of the present invention,
(3) A cap having a tamper-evident band formed by injection molding and integrally formed via a breakable bridge portion at the lower end of the skirt portion, wherein cleaning water is discharged from the opening between the bridge portions. Inflow,
(4) The lower end of the opening between the breakable bridge portions is inclined upward from the radially outer side to the inner side,
Is preferred.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a cap in which a thread provided on the inner surface of the skirt portion of the cap is formed with a notch that divides the thread in the circumferential direction, and a flow path for the cleaning liquid is formed between the notch and the upper and lower threads.
(1) The axial flow passage formed by the notch is formed with an axial groove and / or (2) the inner surface of the skirt portion is increased in the downward direction so that the inner diameter increases. It is an important feature that it is a tapered shape.
[0011]
As described above, the notch provided so as to divide the screw thread in the circumferential direction serves as a flow path in the vertical direction of the cleaning water, and along with the flow path in the circumferential direction between the upper and lower screw threads, the cleaning that has flowed in from below or above. Water is distributed over almost the entire area between the outer periphery of the container mouth and the inner surface of the cap for cleaning. In the above aspect (1) of the present invention, the flow path in the vertical direction (axial direction) By forming the groove in the axial direction, it is possible to increase the flow rate of the flow passage and effectively perform cleaning, and to efficiently flow the cleaning liquid after cleaning out of the cap.
FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which an example of a cap having the above-described aspect (1) is screwed with a container mouth portion, and as shown in FIG. The screw threads of the container mouth portion 20 are engaged in the vertical direction, and the respective screw thread tips 13 and 23 are close to the cap inner surface 7 and the container mouth outer peripheral surface 24 in order to ensure sealing performance. For this reason, the flow passage 11 formed by the notch as it is is a slight gap, and it is difficult to distribute the washing water sufficiently. However, the groove is formed so that the thickness of the skirt portion of the flow passage 11 is slightly reduced. By being formed, the groove forms a guiding path for the washing water, and can be effectively distributed above the cap.
[0012]
In the aspect (2) of the present invention, since the inner surface of the skirt portion is tapered so that the inner diameter increases downward, the cleaning liquid that has flowed in from the lower side can easily While being able to pass between the outer periphery of the container mouth portion, the washing water that has flowed upward returns downward and can easily flow out of the cap.
FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which an example of the cap having the aspect (2) is screwed with the container mouth portion. As shown in FIG. 2, the inner surface 7 of the skirt portion of the cap 1 is shown. Is slightly tapered so that the inner diameter increases downward. For this reason, the engagement between the screw threads 8a and 8b provided on the inner surface of the cap and the screw threads 21a and 21b provided at the container mouth is downward (engagement between 8b and 22b) and upward (engagement between 8a and 21a). ), The gap formed by the notch becomes slightly wider as it goes downward, so that the cleaning water can easily flow in and out.
[0013]
In the present invention, the above features (1) and (2) may be provided alone, but it is particularly preferable that both (1) and (2) are provided. Thereby, the inflow and outflow of the cleaning water becomes more efficient, the cleaning is effectively performed, and the cleaning water is also effectively prevented from remaining in the space formed by the cap inner surface and the container mouth outer peripheral surface.
[0014]
The cap of the present invention is preferably a cap having a tamper-evident band (hereinafter referred to as a TE band) formed by injection molding and integrally formed via a breakable bridge portion at the lower end of the skirt portion. In other words, since the bridge portion connecting the TE bands is also formed integrally without any post-processing, the opening between the bridge portions is larger than that which is cut by a cutter or the like by post-processing, and is cold washing water. However, it is possible to flow from the opening of the bridge portion, and even in a sterile filling container having low heat resistance, the entire region between the inner surface of the cap and the outer periphery of the container mouth can be effectively cleaned.
[0015]
At this time, it is particularly preferable that the lower end of the opening between the bridge portions is provided with an inclined surface inclined upward from the radially outer side to the inner side, and the washing water sprayed on the inclined surface collides with it. Accordingly, the cleaning water sprayed from the horizontal direction flows upward at a different angle, so that the cleaning water can efficiently flow into the cap.
[0016]
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of a cap having the aspect (1), (A) is a side sectional view, (B) is a bottom view, and FIG. 4 shows the aspect (2). It is a figure which shows an example of the provided cap, (A) is a sectional side view, (B) is a bottom view.
1 and 3, the cap of the present invention represented as a whole by 1 is composed of a top plate portion 2 and a skirt portion 3 depending from the top plate portion. A band 5 is provided, and a plurality of flap pieces 6 are formed on the inner surface of the TE band 5 to engage with a container mouth (not shown). The inner surface 7 of the skirt portion 3 is provided with a screw portion 8 that engages with a screw portion 21 provided in the container mouth portion 20. On the inner surface side of the top plate portion 2, an inner ring 9 that is inserted into the container mouth portion and maintains the sealing performance of the container is formed integrally with the cap shell.
[0017]
The screw portion 8 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 is a single thread, and has a portion that is doubled by an upper screw thread 8a and a lower screw thread 8b as shown in FIG. 3A. In the cap of the present invention, notches 10a and 10b are provided at the same position vertically on the screw threads 8a and 8b, and an axial flow passage 11 is formed by the notches 10a and 10b.
In the present invention, the groove 14 is formed in the axial flow passage 11 to increase the flow rate of the cleaning water, and the cleaning water flows along the groove 14, so that the cleaning water easily flows. .
The depth of the groove is 30% or less of the wall thickness of the cap skirt portion, particularly about 0.2 to 1.0 mm, so that the inner surface of the skirt portion of the cap and a part of the top surface or the outer peripheral surface of the container mouth portion. It is preferable to perform the cleaning of the cap effectively and maintain the strength of the cap.
[0018]
The basic structure of the cap shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 is the same as that shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 except that the inner surface 7 of the cap skirt 3 is tapered so that the inner diameter increases downward. It is the same.
As apparent from FIG. 2, the engagement between the screw thread 8 provided on the inner surface of the skirt portion and the screw thread 21 provided on the container mouth portion is slightly shallower than the upper portion in the lower portion. The gap 12 formed by the screw tip 23 and the inner surface 7 of the skirt portion or the gap 15 formed by the screw tip 13 of the cap and the outer peripheral surface 22 of the container mouth becomes slightly wider in the downward direction so that the washing water flows in and out. Can be easily performed.
The taper angle of the inner surface of the cap skirt portion is about 0.5 to 5.0 ° with respect to the axis, and the cleaning of the inner surface of the cap skirt portion and a part of the top surface or the outer peripheral surface of the container mouth portion is performed effectively. At the same time, it is preferable to maintain the engagement strength between the screw thread provided on the inner surface of the skirt part and the screw thread provided at the container mouth part.
[0019]
In the cap shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, it is particularly preferable that the plurality of flap pieces 6 provided in the TE band 5 are not formed at positions corresponding to the axial flow passages 11 formed by the notches. . That is, since the flap piece 6 is not formed below the flow passage 11, the flow passage 11 is connected to the lower end of the cap through the flap pieces 16, thereby facilitating the flow of the washing water. .
[0020]
In the present invention, as described above, it is possible to apply the wash water from the opening between the bridge portions connecting the TE band, so that high temperature water is not used and the container can be applied to a container having low heat resistance such as an aseptic filling container. Of course, it is also effective when a cleaning is performed by injecting hot water into the cap skirt part or at the periphery of the top plate part as in the conventional cleaning method.
[0021]
The cap of the present invention can be applied to a cap molded by a conventionally known molding method such as injection molding, compression molding, etc., but is particularly effective for those molded by injection molding without secondary processing.
As the resin that can be used for forming the cap, any resin that has been conventionally used for resin caps can be used. For example, olefin resins such as polyethylene, isotactic polypropylene, ethylene-polypropylene copolymer, polybutene-1, ethylene-butene-1 copolymer, propylene-butene-1 copolymer, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, etc. And synthetic resins such as polystyrene, styrene-butadiene copolymer, ABS resin, and polycarbonate.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, a top plate portion and a skirt portion that is suspended from the periphery of the top plate portion and engages with the container mouth portion are provided on the inner surface, and the screw thread is divided in the circumferential direction on the inner surface of the skirt portion. In the cap in which the notch and the upper and lower screw threads form a flow path for the cleaning liquid, (1) an axial groove is formed in the axial flow path formed by the notch. (2) Since the inner surface of the skirt portion is tapered so that the inner diameter increases downward, the cleaning water is effectively distributed and the flow rate of the cleaning water is reduced. The inner surface of the cap and the outer peripheral surface of the container mouth can be efficiently cleaned. Further, the inflow and outflow of cleaning water is effective, and the remaining of the cleaning liquid in the cap is effectively prevented. Furthermore, it was possible to provide a cap that can be reliably cleaned even when applied to a container having low heat resistance such as a container for aseptic filling.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a view showing a state in which an example of a cap adopting the first aspect of the present invention is screwed with a container mouth, a right half is a side view, and a left half is a side sectional view.
FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which an example of a cap adopting the second aspect of the present invention is screwed with a container mouth, a right half is a side view, and a left half is a side sectional view.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing an example of a cap adopting the first aspect of the present invention, where FIG. 3A is a side sectional view and FIG. 3B is a bottom view.
FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing an example of a cap adopting the second aspect of the present invention, where FIG. 4A is a side sectional view and FIG. 4B is a bottom view.

Claims (3)

It consists of a top plate part and a skirt part provided on the inner surface with a screw thread that hangs down from the peripheral edge of the top plate part and engages the container mouth part, and a notch for dividing the screw thread in the circumferential direction is formed on the inner surface of the skirt part. In the cap in which the notch and the upper and lower screw threads form a flow path for the cleaning liquid, an axial groove is formed in the axial flow path formed by the notch, and the skirt Ri is Na larger inner diameter inner surface parts is downward, so that the engagement is such a shallow engagement than the upper in the lower and thread provided on the screw threads and the container mouth portion provided on the cap inner surface Cap characterized by a tapered shape. The cap is formed by injection molding and has a tamper-evident band integrally formed through a breakable bridge portion at the lower end of the skirt portion, and cleaning water flows from an opening between the bridge portions. The cap according to claim 1 . The cap according to claim 2, wherein a lower end of the opening between the breakable bridge portions is inclined upward from the radially outer side to the inner side.

Images