JP7154691B2 - squeeze container - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a squeeze container from which contents can be poured out by squeezing the barrel.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a container for storing contents such as food and cosmetics, there has been provided a cylindrical mouth portion, a shoulder portion continuing below the mouth portion, a body portion continuing below the shoulder portion, and a body portion continuing below the body portion. A container with a bottom and a is used. In addition, in such a container, the contents can be poured out by squeezing the body, and the shape of the body is restored by the restoring force of the body itself when the container is released. is known, which allows the contents to be expelled without the use of a push-down pump or the like.

Patent Literature 1 proposes a delamination container composed of an outer layer forming an outer shell of the container and an inner layer arranged inside the outer layer so as to be deformable in volume reduction. In the delamination container, when pouring out the contents to the outside, only the inner layer body is reduced and deformed by introducing outside air between the outer layer body and the inner layer body through the outside air introduction hole provided in the mouth or the like. can be made With such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the introduction of outside air into the inner layer body after the contents have been poured out, thereby suppressing the deterioration and deterioration of the contents accommodated in the container.

JP 2011-230817 A

By the way, in the container described in Patent Literature 1, the diameter (width and thickness) of the body portion gradually decreases from the vicinity of the central portion in the height direction downward. Therefore, the position of the center of gravity in the state of being filled with contents is relatively high, and there is room for improvement in terms of the stability in the upright state with the bottom on the ground.

Also, in the case of a container from which the contents are poured out by squeezing the body, if the strength in the radial direction of the body is too high, a large force is required during the squeezing operation, making it difficult to crush. If the strength in the radial direction is too low, it will be difficult to restore the original shape after squeezing, and repeated squeezing operations may become difficult. In addition, if the strength in the axial direction of the body is reduced, there is a risk that the body may easily undergo buckling deformation. Therefore, it is required to achieve both ease of squeezing operation and securing of buckling strength.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a squeeze container that can improve stability in an upright state with the bottom portion grounded and that can achieve both ease of squeezing operation and securing of buckling strength. .

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the squeeze container of the present invention is
A squeeze container having a space for containing contents,
a cylindrical mouth;
a shoulder portion extending below the mouth;
a torso extending below the shoulder;
a bottom portion extending downward from the body portion;
an upper annular groove extending continuously over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction;
a lower annular groove disposed below the upper annular groove and extending continuously over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction;
The shoulder portion and the trunk portion are bounded by the upper annular groove,
The trunk portion and the bottom portion are bounded by the lower annular groove,
The trunk portion has an enlarged diameter portion that gradually expands in diameter from above to below,
The enlarged diameter portion is provided over the entire axial length of the body portion,
The entire diameter-enlarged portion has a substantially polygonal tubular shape with a substantially polygonal cross section perpendicular to the axis,
The shoulder is
an upper shoulder located on the mouth side;
a lower shoulder portion located on the side of the trunk;
a plurality of vertical ribs extending in the vertical direction,
The upper shoulder portion expands in diameter from above to below,
The lower shoulder portion has a diameter that decreases from the top to the bottom or has a constant diameter,
The longitudinal rib extends from the upper shoulder to the lower shoulder.

Further, in the squeeze container of the present invention, the bottom portion has a peripheral wall connected to the body portion and a bottom wall connected to the peripheral wall,
It is preferable that the peripheral wall has a diameter that decreases from top to bottom or that has a constant diameter.

Further, the squeeze container of the present invention preferably comprises an outer layer body forming an outer shell of the container, and an inner layer body arranged inside the outer layer body so as to be deformable in volume reduction.

In the squeeze container of the present invention, the expanded diameter portion has a plurality of panel portions arranged side by side in the circumferential direction,
It is preferable that the panel portion has a shape that smoothly extends over the entire length of the panel portion in the vertical direction.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a squeeze container that can improve stability in an upright state with the bottom portion grounded, and can achieve both ease of squeezing operation and securing of buckling strength. .

1 is a front view of a squeeze container that is an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the squeeze container shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a front view of a squeeze container shown for comparison; FIG. 10 is a front view of another squeeze container shown for comparison;

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically by way of example with reference to the drawings.

In this specification, the scope of claims, and the abstract, the term “vertical direction” refers to the vertical direction with reference to the upright state of the squeeze container 1 shown in FIG. shall mean. That is, in the squeeze container 1 of FIG. 1, the term "above" means the direction in which the mouth portion 10 is positioned with respect to the bottom portion 13 (upward in FIG. 1), and the term "below" means the opposite direction. The direction in which the bottom 13 is located with respect to 10 (downward in FIG. 1) is meant.

A synthetic resin squeeze container 1 (hereinafter also referred to as "container 1") which is an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. Contents such as shampoo, rinse, liquid soap, etc. can be accommodated. In particular, the container 1 of this example is suitable for containing high-viscosity contents having higher density and viscosity than water.

The container 1 has a double structure including an outer layer 2 forming an outer shell of the container 1 and an inner layer 3 accommodated inside the outer layer 2 and capable of being reduced and deformed. More specifically, the container 1 is a delaminated container (delaminated container) in which the inner layer 3 is detachably laminated on the inner surface of the outer layer 2 . Note that the container 1 may be formed by separately forming and assembling the outer layer body 2 and the inner layer body 3 instead of the lamination-peel container, or a normal container that does not have the inner layer body 3 that can be reduced and deformed. It may be a container. Moreover, in the case of a container that does not have the inner layer body 3, a single layer structure or a laminated structure may be used.

The outer layer body 2 can be made of, for example, a synthetic resin material whose main material is low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The synthetic resin material mainly composed of low-density polyethylene may be a synthetic resin material composed only of low-density polyethylene, or may be a synthetic resin material composed of low-density polyethylene alone, or may contain other types of synthetic resin materials or additives in low-density polyethylene. It may be a mixed synthetic resin material.

The inner layer body 3 is made of a synthetic resin material such as EVOH (ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer) or nylon (registered trademark), and is formed into a bag shape thinner than the outer layer body 2, and is housed inside the outer layer body 2. there is In this embodiment, the inner layer body 3 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the outer layer body 2 . In addition, the inner layer body 3 is not limited to a single-layer structure made of the above synthetic resin material, and may have a multi-layer structure such as a structure in which an EVOH layer and a polyethylene layer are laminated.

Although details are not shown, the opening of the inner layer body 3 formed in a bag shape continues to the upper end (open end) of the outer layer body 2 forming the mouth portion 10, and the interior of the inner layer body 3 is a storage space that continues to the opening. It is S. Inside the inner layer body 3, that is, in the accommodation space S, the contents described above can be accommodated. The inner layer body 3 is freely deformable to reduce its volume, and can be deformed so as to reduce the volume of the accommodation space S by separating from the inner surface of the outer layer body 2 as the contents are poured out.

Between the outer layer body 2 and the inner layer body 3, an elongated strip-shaped adhesive strip (not shown) extending from the mouth portion 10 to the bottom portion 13 is provided, and the outer layer body 2 and the inner layer body 3 are bonded together at the adhesive strip portion. may be adhered to each other. The number of adhesive bands may be one, or two or more, as long as the position does not hinder the volume-reducing deformation of the inner layer body 3 . Moreover, when the container 1 is formed by extrusion molding, which will be described later, as in the present embodiment, two adhesive strips can be provided across the parting line PL produced by the molding.

The container 1 is formed by co-extrusion of a synthetic resin material for the outer layer 2 and a synthetic resin material for the inner layer 3, which have low compatibility, to form a laminated parison, and this laminated parison is subjected to extrusion blow molding using a mold. (EBM: Extrusion Blow Molding). Since the container 1 is formed by extrusion blow molding, the bottom portion 13 is provided with a pinch-off portion which is a portion where the laminated parison is cut away by the mold.

Note that the container 1 can also be formed by biaxially stretching and blow-molding a preform having a laminated structure formed in advance by injection molding or the like.

The container 1 includes a cylindrical mouth portion 10, a shoulder portion 11 continuing below the mouth portion 10, a trunk portion 12 continuing below the shoulder portion 11, and a bottom portion 13 continuing below the trunk portion 12. , the body portion 12 is squeezed so that the contents can be poured out.

A pair of outside air introduction holes 14 are provided in the outer layer body 2 forming the mouth portion 10 . The pair of outside air introduction holes 14 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the axis O, which is the central axis of the container 1 . These outside air introduction holes 14 penetrate the outer layer body 2 and communicate between the outer layer body 2 and the inner layer body 3 . As a result, when the inner layer body 3 is separated from the outer layer body 2 , outside air can be introduced through the outside air introduction hole 14 into the space created between the outer layer body 2 and the inner layer body 3 . In addition, the outside air introduction hole may be provided not only in the mouth portion 10 but also in the shoulder portion 11 , the body portion 12 , or the bottom portion 13 .

The mouth portion 10 has a cylindrical shape, and a male thread 10a is integrally provided on the outer peripheral surface thereof. A spout cap (not shown) can be attached to the mouth portion 10 by threading it onto the male thread 10a. As the pouring cap, for example, it has a pouring port for pouring out the contents, an intake hole for communicating the outside air introduction hole 14 to the outside, and a check valve provided in each of the pouring cylinder and the intake hole. can use things.

The spout cap can be attached to the mouth portion 10 by undercut engagement by plugging in place of the screw connection. In this case, the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 10 is provided with locking projections for plugging in place of the male thread 10a.

Shoulder 11 is located between mouth 10 and body 12 . The shoulder portion 11 of this example has an upper shoulder portion 11a located on the mouth portion 10 side and a lower shoulder portion 11b located on the body portion 12 side. The upper shoulder portion 11a continues to the lower end portion of the mouth portion 10 and gradually expands in diameter from the top to the bottom. The lower shoulder portion 11b is connected to the lower portion of the upper shoulder portion 11a, and has a diameter that decreases from the top to the bottom or has a constant diameter. With such a configuration, the strength of the shoulder portion 11 can be increased. As a result, unintended deformation of the shoulder portion 11 when the torso portion 12 is squeezed can be suppressed, and the buckling strength of the shoulder portion 11 can be increased.

Further, the upper shoulder portion 11a and the lower shoulder portion 11b are connected while being smoothly curved. Moreover, the shoulder portion 11 is configured such that a cross section perpendicular to the axis O is circular. With such a configuration, the strength of the shoulder portion 11 can be further increased, so that the effect of suppressing unintended deformation of the shoulder portion 11 when the body portion 12 is squeezed and the buckling strength of the shoulder portion 11 can be improved. can be further enhanced.

The shoulder portion 11 is provided with a plurality of vertical ribs 18 extending vertically. Each vertical rib 18 extends linearly from near the upper end of the upper shoulder portion 11a to near the upper end of the lower shoulder portion 11b. In addition, in this example, the concave vertical rib 18 is provided that is concave toward the inside of the container, but conversely, it may be a convex rib that is convex toward the outside of the container. By providing such vertical ribs 18 on the shoulder portion 11, a gap is formed between the inner layer body 3 and the outer layer body 2 in the peripheral region of the vertical ribs 18 after the initial peeling process. The initial peeling step means that the inner layer body 3 is once peeled from the outer layer body 2 by a method such as blowing air from the outside air introduction hole 14 after the container 1 is blow-molded, and then air is blown from the upper end opening of the mouth portion 10. is press-fitted to return the inner layer body 3 to its original state. During this initial peeling process, a gap is formed between the inner layer 3 and the outer layer 2 in the peripheral region of the vertical rib 18, so that the outside air introduction hole 14 is opened during use (when pouring out the contents). Therefore, outside air can be easily introduced between the inner layer body 3 and the outer layer body 2 through the gap.

In this example, four vertical ribs 18 are provided on the lower side of one of the outside air introduction holes 14 and four vertical ribs 18 are also provided on the lower side of the other outside air introduction hole 14 . That is, a total of eight vertical ribs 18 are arranged on the shoulder portion 11 at intervals in the circumferential direction. The shape such as the length of the vertical ribs 18, the number, the positions, etc. thereof can be changed as appropriate.

The body part 12 is flexible, can be squeezed and deformed by a squeeze operation that is pressed from both sides, and is configured to restore its original shape when the pressing force is released.

The trunk portion 12 has an enlarged diameter portion 15 that gradually expands in diameter from top to bottom in an upright state. It has a substantially polygonal tubular shape, which is a substantially regular dodecagon in the case of the present invention. The enlarged diameter portion 15 is preferably configured such that the cross section perpendicular to the axis O is a substantially regular polygon, but the cross section does not have to be a substantially regular polygon.

The enlarged diameter portion 15 has a plurality of (twelve in the illustrated case) panel portions 15a arranged side by side in the circumferential direction. is formed to be a substantially regular dodecagon). Each panel portion 15a has a shape that smoothly extends over the entire length of the panel portion 15a in the vertical direction. It should be noted that the "smoothly continuous shape" means, for example, a flat shape without recesses or protrusions such as the annular grooves 16 and 17, and a gently curved shape such as the panel portion 15a in the illustrated example. is also included. Each panel portion 15a has a substantially rectangular shape and is arranged such that its longitudinal direction extends in the vertical direction. Moreover, the panel portions 15a adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction are arranged without leaving an interval therebetween. That is, the circumferential end of the panel portion 15a and the circumferential end of the adjacent panel portion 15a are in contact with each other to form corners.

As shown in the plan view of FIG. 2, each panel portion 15a has a curved shape that is concave from both ends in the width direction of the panel portion 15a (the circumferential direction of the trunk portion 12) toward the center portion. there is The shape of each panel portion 15a is not limited to the illustrated example, and can be changed as appropriate. It may have a curved shape that is convex toward the center. Moreover, in this example, all the panel portions 15a have the same shape, but panel portions having different shapes may be combined.

In the container 1 of the present embodiment, the body portion 12 is provided with the enlarged diameter portion 15 that gradually increases in diameter from the top to the bottom. In comparison, the position of the center of gravity in a state of being filled with contents is at a lower position, and stability in an upright state can be improved.

Further, in the container 1 of the present embodiment, the enlarged diameter portion 15 provided in the body portion 12 as a whole is configured in a substantially polygonal tubular shape having a substantially polygonal cross section perpendicular to the axis O. As shown in FIG. As a result, it is possible to achieve both ease of squeezing operation and securing of buckling strength. That is, for example, as in the squeeze container 30 shown in FIG. Although the buckling strength is high, a large force is required at the initial stage of pressing in the squeezing operation, making it difficult to crush. Further, like the squeeze container 40 shown in FIG. 4, the enlarged diameter portion 45 provided in the body portion 12 is replaced with a substantially polygonal tubular region 46 having a substantially polygonal cross section perpendicular to the axis O and a circular cross section. In the case where an annular groove 48 extending in the circumferential direction is provided between the substantially polygonal cylindrical region 46 and the substantially cylindrical region 47, there is no problem in the squeezing operation. Since stress concentrates on the annular groove 48 when compressed in the vertical direction, the buckling strength is lowered.

On the other hand, in the container 1 of the present embodiment, the enlarged diameter portion 15 as a whole is configured in a substantially polygonal cylindrical shape, and the enlarged diameter portion 15 is provided with a structure such as an annular groove that reduces the buckling strength. Therefore, it is possible to achieve both ease of squeezing operation and securing of buckling strength.

As described above, according to the container 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to improve the stability in the upright state with the bottom portion 13 grounded, and to achieve both ease of squeezing operation and securing of buckling strength. Become.

Further, the enlarged diameter portion 15 of this example is provided over the entire length of the body portion 12 in the axial direction. As a result, the effect of improving the stability in the standing state and the effect of ensuring the ease of squeezing operation and the buckling strength can be achieved more reliably.

The bottom portion 13 has a peripheral wall 13b connected to the body portion 12 and a bottom wall 13c connected to the peripheral wall 13b. The peripheral wall 13b either decreases in diameter from top to bottom or has a constant diameter. With such a configuration, the strength of the bottom portion 13 can be increased. As a result, unintended deformation of the bottom portion 13 when the body portion 12 is squeezed can be suppressed, and the buckling strength of the bottom portion 13 can be increased. Incidentally, the diameter of the peripheral wall 13b is larger than the diameter of the trunk portion 12. As shown in FIG. Further, the bottom portion 13 is configured such that a cross section perpendicular to the axis O is circular. With such a configuration, the strength of the bottom portion 13 can be further increased, so that the effect of suppressing unintended deformation of the bottom portion 13 when the body portion 12 is squeezed and the buckling strength of the bottom portion 13 can be further increased. can be done.

In the container 1 of this example, an upper annular groove 16 (annular groove) is provided at the boundary between the shoulder portion 11 and the body portion 12 , and a lower annular groove 17 is provided at the boundary between the body portion 12 and the bottom portion 13 . (annular groove) is provided. Both the upper annular groove 16 and the lower annular groove 17 are formed concavely toward the inside of the container, and extend continuously over the entire circumference of the body 12 in the circumferential direction.

By providing the upper annular groove 16 and the lower annular groove 17 as described above, it is possible to make it difficult for the pressing force when squeezing the body portion 12 to be transmitted to the shoulder portion 11 and the bottom portion 13 . Therefore, unintended deformation of the shoulder portion 11 and the bottom portion 13 can be suppressed by the functions of the upper annular groove 16 and the lower annular groove 17 . By suppressing the deformation of the bottom portion 13 in this manner, for example, it is possible to prevent cracks from occurring in pinch-off portions provided on the bottom wall 13c.

In the container 1 having such a structure, the content can be pushed out and discharged by squeezing the body portion 12 while the spout cap is attached to the mouth portion 10, for example. More specifically, by pressing the body portion 12 (enlarged diameter portion 15), the content pushed out from the housing space S through the mouth portion 10 is poured out from the pouring port of the pouring cap toward the outside. can be done. Further, when the pressing force on the body portion 12 is released after pouring out the contents, the body portion 12 restores its original shape. At this time, the pouring pipe is closed by the check valve, and the outside air is introduced between the outer layer 2 and the inner layer 3 through the outside air introduction hole 14, thereby reducing the volume of the inner layer 3. Only the trunk portion 12 can be restored to its original shape while being deformed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent outside air from flowing into the accommodation space S of the inner layer body 3 after pouring out the contents, thereby preventing the contents accommodated in the accommodation space S from being deteriorated or degraded.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the shape of the trunk portion 12 can be changed in various ways, and regions having a constant diameter of the trunk portion 12 may be provided above, below, or both above and below the enlarged diameter portion 15 of the trunk portion 12 . Further, the shapes of the mouth portion 10, the shoulder portion 11 and the bottom portion 13 are not limited to the shapes described above and can be variously changed.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the enlarged diameter portion 15 as a whole gradually expands in diameter from top to bottom at a substantially constant rate. may be a shape that gradually changes.

1: Squeeze container 2: Outer layer 3: Inner layer 10: Mouth 10a: Male screw 11: Shoulder 11a: Upper shoulder 11b: Lower shoulder 12: Body 13: Bottom 13a: Bottom 13b: Peripheral wall 13c: Bottom wall 14: Outside air introduction hole 15: Expanded diameter portion 15a: Panel portion 16: Upper annular groove (annular groove)
17: Lower annular groove (annular groove)
18: Vertical rib 30: Squeeze container 35: Expanded diameter portion 40: Squeeze container 45: Expanded diameter portion 46: Substantially polygonal tubular region 47: Substantially cylindrical region 48: Annular groove S: Accommodating space O: Axis line

Claims (4)

A squeeze container having a space for containing contents,
a cylindrical mouth;
a shoulder portion extending below the mouth;
a torso extending below the shoulder;
a bottom portion extending downward from the body portion;
an upper annular groove extending continuously over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction;
a lower annular groove disposed below the upper annular groove and extending continuously over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction;
The shoulder portion and the trunk portion are bounded by the upper annular groove,
The trunk portion and the bottom portion are bounded by the lower annular groove,
The trunk portion has an enlarged diameter portion that gradually expands in diameter from above to below,
The enlarged diameter portion is provided over the entire axial length of the body portion,
The entire diameter-enlarged portion has a substantially polygonal tubular shape with a substantially polygonal cross section perpendicular to the axis,
The shoulder is
an upper shoulder located on the mouth side;
a lower shoulder portion located on the side of the trunk;
a plurality of vertical ribs extending in the vertical direction,
The upper shoulder portion expands in diameter from above to below,
The lower shoulder portion has a diameter that decreases from the top to the bottom or has a constant diameter,
The squeeze container, wherein the longitudinal rib extends from the upper shoulder to the lower shoulder. The bottom portion has a peripheral wall continuous with the body portion and a bottom wall continuous with the peripheral wall,
2. The squeeze container according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral wall has a diameter that decreases from top to bottom or has a constant diameter. 3. The squeeze container according to claim 1, comprising an outer layer body forming an outer shell of the container, and an inner layer body arranged inside the outer layer body so as to be deformable in volume reduction. The enlarged diameter portion has a plurality of panel portions arranged side by side in the circumferential direction,
The squeeze container according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the panel portion has a shape that smoothly extends over the entire length of the panel portion in the vertical direction.

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