JP4428013B2 - Nozzle structure of bottle with enhanced tamper evidence function - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the structure of a nozzle of a plastic bottle in which a cap provided with a tamper evident band is screwed to a nozzle of a bottle containing soft drinks such as tea, juice, coffee, tea, and mineral water, More specifically, when the cap is opened, the tamper evident band is reliably broken or separated, or after opening, the tamper evidence band is separated with a gap between the main part and the skirt part. The present invention relates to a bottle nozzle structure in which a stopper state is easily confirmed by visual observation, and a tamper evidence function that does not cause finger pinching during recap after opening is further enhanced.

Many bottles containing various beverages or liquid foods are often used with caps having a tamper-evidence characteristic for the purpose of notifying the purchaser of the fact that the bottle has been opened due to mischief during display at the store.
Each of the following patent documents discloses a technique relating to a combination of a bottle and a cap called tamper evidence or pill fur proof for preventing unauthorized opening.

JP-A-8-34458 JP-A-1-182259 JP 2000-85810 A JP 2003-12001 A

As shown in FIG. 8, the structure of the combination of the cap and the container having the tamper evidence characteristic disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a tamper evidence main part d and a tamper evidence skirt through a weakening line e that can be cut. A locking piece that is composed of a combination of a cap body A having c and a nozzle B of a bottle having an annular jaw (cabra) a, and projects inward from the bottom of the tamper evidence hem c When b is in contact with the lower stepped portion of the turnip a, and the load due to opening is applied, the cap body cannot withstand the load, and the weakening line e breaks,
The main part d and the skirt part c are separated so that the fact of opening is revealed.
In this case, the technique of Patent Document 1 uses a locking piece b to prevent the so-called slipping phenomenon from occurring due to insufficient engagement of the locking piece b with the turnip a due to elastic deformation or the like. A lock protrusion g is formed on the lower surface of the piece b, and on the inner peripheral surface of the tamper evidence skirt, downward from the locking piece and upward in the radial direction from the inclination angle of the locking piece b. A locking piece f that protrudes with a large inclination angle is formed, and the tip of the locking piece f is engaged with the locking protrusion g of the locking piece b.

Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration of a pill fur proof cap as shown in FIG. 9, and the present invention is configured such that the shape of the locking piece b is bent outward in the circumferential direction. It is a feature. In Patent Document 2, unless the angle between the band of the skirt c and the locking piece b is reduced, the longitudinal tensile force at the time of opening is applied to the bent portion h without acting on the weakening line e. A so-called slip-out phenomenon occurs as recognized in Patent Document 1, but if the angle between the band of the hem c and the locking piece b is simply reduced, the locking piece b becomes a stepped portion. (Cabra) a
In this case, it has been proposed in order to solve the problem that the slip-out phenomenon occurs.

Further, in Patent Document 3, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a cut portion i having a stopper portion j is formed at least at one place on the circumference of the skirt portion (cabra) a of the nozzle B. Is a feature. In this example, the bottle cap A is formed on the tamper-evident main part d and the tamper-evidence hem part via the bridge (weakening line) e, and the locking part b protruding inward from below the hem part. The front end of the bridge is engaged with the stopper portion i of the cut portion i so that it does not rotate freely, and the bridge is broken by a load accompanying opening.

Furthermore, in Patent Document 4, the bridge piece is formed in a square plate shape, and in a state where the cap is once opened, the bridge piece is caused to be in an upright state with the diagonal direction up and down,
A cap has been described in which a ring-shaped band isolates downward from the turnip at the mouth of the container by its own weight, thereby improving the clearness of opening.

In any of the inventions disclosed in the above Patent Documents 1 to 3, it is noted that the tamper evidence characteristic is not sufficient only by the engagement between the turnip and the locking portion. In order to achieve the tamper-evident function by engaging the turnip and the locking portion, the portion is reinforced and the work for forming the stopper portion for ensuring the engagement is applied to the turnip. In addition to this, in bottles with a tamper-evident function, the tamper-evidence hem that breaks and separates when the bottle is opened can move freely up and down, or the separated hem is located above the nozzle's cover. The tamper-evidence main part and the hem part may become narrower, and it may be unclear whether or not the bag has been opened. There are many situations where people are doing things and there is a need for improvement.

Further, Patent Document 4 describes a cap with improved opening clarity, but it is necessary to use a cap with a special bridge structure, and an angle required until the bridge is broken by turning the cap when opening the cap. The seal of the container mouth is broken before the bridge breaks,
Tamper evidence characteristics may be impaired.

The present inventors have attempted to enhance the tamper evidence characteristics with high accuracy and perform capping without reinforcing the locking piece, changing the shape of the capra, changing the cap structure, etc., as seen in the above prior art. The workability at the time is safe and reliable, and even when uncapping after opening, the tamper evidence characteristics have been strengthened by ensuring the clearness of opening, which was a problem of the prior art,
Furthermore, the present invention is intended to provide a bottle nozzle structure that can avoid the situation of pinching fingers.

The present invention has been proposed in order to achieve the above object, and is characterized by having the following configuration.
That is, according to the present invention, it has a cylindrical nozzle opening, is external thread is formed on the nozzle outer peripheral surface, and a bottle of turnips is circumferentially provided below the article該螺, from the top panel wall A combination comprising a cap having a cylindrical skirt wall that hangs down, and a main thread inner circumferential surface of the skirt wall formed with a female thread that engages with a male thread formed on the outer circumferential surface of the nozzle. The skirt wall includes a tamper evidence main part above a weakening line formed in a lower circumferential direction, and a tamper evidence bottom part below the weakening line. A bottle and a cap provided with a tamper-evidence mechanism configured such that the weakening line is separated by an abutting force between the front end of a locking flap protruding inward and the lower surface of the turnip on the inner peripheral surface of the hem portion In combination Te,
The peripheral wall of the bottle on the lower surface of the turnip is formed into a peripheral wall having the same outer diameter on the top and bottom via a recess into which the locking flap tip after separation enters.
A bottle nozzle structure with enhanced tamper evidence function is provided.

In addition, according to the present invention, there is provided the nozzle structure of the bottle, wherein the angle of the contact state between the front end surface of the locking flap and the lower surface of the turnip is 0 to 12 °.

In addition, according to the present invention, a neck ring that is held in a state in which the bottom of the tamper evidence after separation is dropped protrudes below the turnip, and the neck ring is the main tamper evidence after separation. There is provided a nozzle structure for the bottle, which is formed so that the distance between the lower end of the part and the upper end of the tamper evidence skirt is 1.3 mm or more.

According to the present invention, by restricting the contact state between the locking flap and the turnip, the lock of the turntable and the locking flap in the cap having the tamper evidence function, which is recognized in the above prior art, is not possible. Breakage of the tamper evidence main part and hem part due to the sufficient
The phenomenon that the cap is detached from the bottle mouth without being separated, the so-called soaking phenomenon, is prevented, and the locking flap is recessed in the nozzle peripheral wall after separation of the tamper-evident main part and the hem part. Since the tamper evidence skirt does not rise by being locked in, a gap is formed between the lower end of the main part of the tamper evidence and the upper end of the skirt, and clearly shows the history of opening, Finger pinching phenomenon during recapping is prevented.

Hereinafter, an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view (a) showing an engagement state of a cap body 10 of the present invention and a nozzle 20 of a container mouth portion.
) And a sectional view (b) showing a state in which the weakening line 13 between the tamper-evident main part 11 and the skirt part 12 of the cap is broken, and FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view showing the configuration of the main part of the nozzle 20. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an engaged state of the turnable 21 of the nozzle 20 and the locking flap 15 of the cap 10.
In the figure, the cap body 10 has a cylindrical skirt wall 18 that hangs down from a circular top wall 14, and the skirt wall 18 includes a main portion 11 and a skirt portion 12 with a weakening line 13 interposed therebetween. A female thread 16 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the main portion 11 of the skirt wall 18 to be screwed into a male thread 22 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle of the container mouth. A locking flap 15 protruding in the axial direction from the base end portion 17 is provided over the entire inner peripheral surface.

The nozzle 20 has a cylindrical shape formed in the opening of the bottle, and the nozzle outer wall 24 has
A male thread 22 that engages with the female thread 16 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cap is formed, and the male thread 2
An annular turnip 21 having a diameter larger than that of the male thread is provided below 2. The turnip 21 is usually formed in an inclined shape whose upper surface gently falls outward, and the step portion under the turnip is
It is formed so as to be almost flat or slightly inwardly inclined.
These cap bodies and nozzles are usually molded from a polyolefin resin such as polypropylene or polyethylene, or a polyester resin such as polyethylene terephthalate.

The front end of the locking flap 15 that protrudes inwardly upward from the skirt portion 12 of the cap is configured to abut below the turnip (step down the turnover).
The weakening line 13 is a breakable bridge (not shown) formed at intervals in the circumferential direction.
The cap having the tamper-evidence characteristic connecting the main part 11 and the skirt part 12 of the skirt wall 18 is self-evident, and this weakening line is a load at the time of opening (in the opening direction of the cap). (The upward force accompanying the rotation) causes the locking flap 15 of the skirt 12 to abut the lower stepped portion of the turnip 21 and prevents the skirt 12 from rising, so that the load breaks the bridge, and the skirt 18 The main part 11 and the skirt part 12 have a function for separating.

In the present invention, the width in the nozzle radial direction of the lower step of the turnip is 0.8 to 1.2 times, preferably 1.0 to 1.2 times the thickness of the tip of the locking flap 15 (diameter in the cap direction). It is desirable to form it 1.2 times. 2 is the width of the portion indicated by t1 in FIG. 2, and the relationship between the lower step difference of the turnip and the thickness of the locking flap is due to the wide gap between the locking flap and the nozzle outer peripheral wall. Therefore, it is important to prevent the so-called slip-out phenomenon in which the engagement flap is bent downward due to the load at the time of opening, and the engagement state between the engagement flap and the turnip, which is the problem of the above-described prior art, is released. . As can be seen from the configurations disclosed in the above patent documents, the width in the nozzle radial direction of the lower step of the cabra is normally formed at least about 1.5 times the width in the thickness direction of the tip of the locking flap 15. Accordingly, the degree of freedom of the front end of the locking flap is increased accordingly, and the locking flap formed upward is inverted when the cap is opened, causing a slip-out phenomenon. In order to form the width (step) in the nozzle radial direction of the lower step of the turnip at 0.8 to 1.2 times the thickness of the tip of the locking flap 15, the outer diameter of the nozzle at this portion is set to It is preferable to form the outer wall 24 with an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the upper outer wall 24 (the diameter of the valley of the male thread).

In the present invention, by forming the width under the turnip (step difference under the turnip) 0.8 to 1.2 times the thickness of the end of the stop flap 15, the stop flap 15 has a more inclined angle. Since it is made smaller, breakage of the weakening line 13 at the time of opening is accelerated and more reliable. According to the experiments by the present inventors, the inclination angle α of the locking flap (the angle formed between the axial direction of the nozzle and the locking flap in the cross section including the nozzle axis, see FIG. 3) is 7 ° to 18 °, Especially 1
A range of 4 ° to 17 ° has been found to be preferred. It will be understood that the angle of inclination of the locking flap is a fairly narrow angle considering that the angle of the locking flap of the conventional tamper-evidence cap is 19 ° to 45 °.

In addition, when the lower step of the turnip is formed flat in the nozzle radial direction, the tip angle of the locking flap 15 abuts in a slightly inclined state, but the lower step of the turnip does not necessarily have to be flat,
If the angle at the time of contact between the lower step of the turnip and the front end of the locking flap 15 (θ in FIG. 3 is referred to as the lower end angle of the turnip tip) is set to 0 to 12 °, the tamper evidence characteristic of the present invention is intended. Can be fully demonstrated.

According to the experiments by the present inventors, when the width in the nozzle radial direction of the lower step of the turnip exceeds 1.2 times the thickness of the tip of the locking flap 15, the degree of freedom of the locking flap 15 increases. In addition, the elasticity of the locking flap 15 is damaged, and when the opening load is applied, the locking flap contacting the lower stepped portion of the turnip is reversed, so-called so-called slipping phenomenon occurs, The knowledge that the tamper evidence function cannot be achieved was obtained. On the other hand, even if the lower step difference of the turnip is less than 0.8 times, the flap is not sufficiently locked, and the slip-out phenomenon tends to occur. In claim 1 of the present invention, the step below the turnip is defined in relation to the thickness of the tip of the locking flap, but in the case of a normal bottle nozzle, its width is 0.6 mm or less. 1.0m
m is preferable. Incidentally, the lower step difference of the conventional tamper evidence cap is about 1.1 mm to 1.5 mm. Also, the cap's locking flap is usually
The tip has a thickness of about 0.7 mm to 1.0 mm, and the flap has a length of about 2 to 4 mm.

In the present invention, it is an important requirement that the bottle peripheral walls 24a and 24b on the lower surface of the turnip 21 have an outer diameter of the same thickness on the upper and lower sides through a recess into which the distal end portion of the locking flap 15 after separation enters. .

The main part 11 and the skirt part 12 of the cap are broken and separated by the load at the time of opening, and at the same time, the skirt part 12 descends together with the locking flap 15 and stops at the neck ring 25 part. At this time, since the concave portion 23 is formed on the nozzle outer peripheral wall surface 24, the front end of the locking flap 15 urged inwardly of the nozzle enters the concave portion 23 and restricts the subsequent movement of the locking flap 15. . The shape of the recess 23 is not particularly limited as long as the distal end of the locking flap 15 after separation enters and the movement can be restricted, and has a gentle slope as shown in FIGS. Or a cut-out recess, and the depth may be about 0.2 mm.

In the capping process, when the bottle is transported, the gripper 30 may be inserted between the turnip 21 and the neck ring 25 to grip the bottle. The upper and lower portions 24a and 24b of the nozzle peripheral wall are made the same thickness via the recess 23. By forming the gripper 30, the front end of the gripping surface of the gripper 30 abuts on the outer peripheral wall of the nozzle, and the outer peripheral wall 24 straddles the recess 23 on the outer periphery of the nozzle.
Since it hits a and 24b simultaneously, there is no wobble and it can grip a bottle stably. FIG. 4 shows the state in a side view and FIG. 5 shows it in a top view. At this time, when only the outer periphery 24a under the turnip, that is, only the upper part of the recess 23 is formed thick, the contact with the nozzle outer peripheral wall at the tip of the gripper 30 is only the portion 24a, and a stable grip can be performed. It will be easily understood that it will disappear.

In FIG. 6, the structure of the latching | locking part in the combination of the bottle and cap which has tamper evidence property was shown by contrasting the case of a prior art example (a) and this invention (b). FIG. 7 shows a comparison between the conventional example (a) in which the nozzle outer peripheral wall surface is formed with the same thickness and the configuration (b) of the present invention in which a recess is formed in the nozzle outer peripheral wall surface. In FIG. 7, Ho is an interval when the tamper-evident main portion and the skirt portion are separated, and H indicates an interval at which the locking flap can move after the main portion and the skirt portion are separated in the conventional shape.

As in the conventional example shown in FIG. 7A, the separation Ho after separation may change to H.
You may not know that it was opened at a glance. In addition, there may be a situation where a finger is pinched between the tamper-evident main part and the skirt part at the time of recapping. On the other hand, in the present invention, since the tip of the separated locking flap 15 enters the recess 23 and the tamper evidence skirt 12 does not move, the distance Ho after separation is maintained as it is. The opening history is clear, and there is no risk of pinching even during recapping. According to the experiments conducted by the present inventors, the distance Ho after separation for preventing finger pinching at the time of recapping is 1.3 m.
m or more.

The bottle nozzle structure of the present invention has a tamper evidence performance further enhanced, so that it is possible to easily determine whether the bottle has been tampered with visually, thus ensuring the quality assurance of the bottle contents and the consumer of the beverage. It is used more effectively in the field where it is desired to gain trust.

Sectional drawing (a) which shows the engagement state of the cap main body of this invention and the nozzle of a container opening part, and sectional drawing (b) which shows the state which the weakening line 13 between the tamper-evident main part and skirt part of a cap fractured | ruptured ). It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the structure of the principal part of the nozzle of this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the engagement state of the capra of a nozzle, and the latching flap of a cap. It is a side view which shows the state which inserts a gripper between a turnip and a neck ring at the time of bottle conveyance, and grips a bottle. FIG. 5 is a top view of FIG. 4. It is sectional drawing which showed the structure of the latching | locking part in the combination of the bottle and cap which have tamper evidence property in contrast with the case of a prior art example (a) and this invention (b). It is sectional drawing which contrasted and showed the conventional example (a) which formed the nozzle outer peripheral wall surface in the same thickness, and the structure (b) of this invention which formed the recessed part in the nozzle outer peripheral wall surface. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the tamper evident cap in patent documents 1. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of a tamper evident cap in Patent Document 2. FIG. It is a side view of the nozzle which has a tamper evidence characteristic in patent documents 3. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the engagement state of the cap and nozzle which have a tamper evidence characteristic in patent document 3.

Explanation of symbols

10, A Cap body
11, d Skirt main part (tamper evidence main part)
12, c Skirt hem (tamper evidence hem)
13, e Weakening line 14 Top wall 15, b Locking flap 16 Female thread
17 Base part 18 Skirt part 20, B Nozzle 21, Cabra 22 Male thread 23 Recessed part 24 Nozzle outer wall 24 a Cabra lower nozzle upper outer wall 24 b Cabra lower nozzle lower outer wall 25 Neck ring 30 Gripper f Lock protrusion g Lock piece
h Bent part i Cut part j Stopper part

Claims (3)

The opening has a cylindrical nozzle, the external thread on the nozzle outer circumferential surface formed, and bottle of turnips is circumferentially provided below the article該螺, a cylindrical skirt wall extending downwardly from the top panel wall The skirt wall has a combination of a cap formed with a female thread that engages with a male thread formed on the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle on the inner peripheral surface of the main portion of the skirt wall, A tamper evidence main part above the weakening line formed in the lower circumferential direction, and a tamper evidence bottom part below the weakening line, and an inner peripheral surface of the tamper evidence skirt part In the combination of a bottle and a cap provided with a tamper evidence mechanism configured so that the weakening line is separated by the contact force between the tip of the locking flap protruding inward and the lower surface of the turnip,
The peripheral wall of the bottle on the lower surface of the turnip is formed into a peripheral wall having the same outer diameter on the top and bottom via a recess into which the locking flap tip after separation enters.
The nozzle structure of the bottle with enhanced tamper evidence function.   The bottle nozzle structure according to claim 1, wherein the angle of the contact state between the front end surface of the locking flap and the lower surface of the turnip is 0 to 12 °.   A neck ring that holds the tamper-evidence hem after falling is protruded below the turnip, and the neck ring includes a lower end of the main tamper-evidence main part and a tamper-evidence hem after separation. The nozzle structure of the bottle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gap between the upper ends of the portions is formed to be 1.3 mm or more.

Images