JP7178795B2 - hinge cap - Google Patents

Description

The present invention comprises a cap body having a pouring nozzle erected from the periphery of the pouring outlet and attached to the mouth of a container, an inner plug having a plug body fitted in the pouring nozzle, and a cap body. The present invention relates to an improvement of a hinge cap including an upper lid which is openably and closably connected via a hinge and has a hook for pulling up the inner plug together through engagement with the inner plug during opening operation with the hinge as a base point.

As this type of hinge cap, Patent Document 1 discloses a cap body that is attached to the mouth of a container, a lid that is attached to the cap body via a hinge, and a plug that is attached inside the lid. The cap body includes a mounting portion attached to the mouth portion of the container, a base wall closing the opening of the mouth portion, a pouring tube erected from the periphery of the pouring port penetrating the base wall, and an outside of the pouring tube. The lid body includes a top wall, a side peripheral wall extending vertically from the peripheral edge of the top wall, and a retainer provided inside the top wall and the side peripheral wall. The stopper includes an upper wall, a close-fitting cylinder extending vertically from the upper wall and sealing the inner circumference of the pouring cylinder of the cap body, and an outer edge of the upper wall and engaging the inner circumference. Disclosed is an engaging tube that can be engaged with the mating surface, and an engaging portion that protrudes from the outer edge of the upper wall or the outer periphery of the engaging tube and can swing with respect to the retaining portion of the lid. Unlike a hinge cap with a plug-removing part in which a pull ring or the like is formed in the intended opening part of the cap body, such a hinge cap is different from the hinge cap in that the plug body is removed from the pouring tube together with the lid body at the same time as the lid is opened. It has the advantage of being easy to open.

In the hinge cap described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to assemble the stopper to the side peripheral wall of the lid before closing the lid for the first time. The stopper is held in the side peripheral wall by pushing it in, and then the lid is attached to the cap body via the hinge to close the lid. At this time, the bottom of the outer periphery of the close contact tube of the plug attached to the lid body is closely attached to the inner periphery of the pouring tube of the cap body and sealed, and the tip of the engagement tube of the plug is engaged with the engagement recess at the base end. It is inserted in the office.

JP 2017-154748 A

By the way, in the conventional hinge cap described above, the sealability of the stopper with respect to the cap body is ensured through the double fitting portions between the close contact tube and the pouring tube and between the engaging tube and the engaging recess. However, in order to achieve a higher sealing performance before opening for the first time, it is necessary to firmly fit the tip of the engaging cylinder of the stopper into the engaging recess of the cap body. However, in this case, even when used after the first opening, where normal sealing performance is sufficient, a new problem arises in that a strong force is required to engage and disengage the engaging cylinder from the engaging recess. A problem arises.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a hinge cap capable of improving the sealing performance before the initial opening without making the operation of opening and closing the lid difficult after the initial opening.

In order to solve the above problems, the hinge cap of the present invention has a cap body that has a pouring nozzle erected from the periphery of the pouring outlet and is attached to the mouth of a container, and the hinge cap fits inside the pouring nozzle. an inner plug having a plug body, and a hook connected to the cap body via a hinge so as to be freely openable and closable, and pulls up the inner plug together through engagement with the inner plug during an opening operation with the hinge as a base point. an upper lid having a portion, wherein the inner plug has a supporting leg that hangs down on the outside of the plug body, and the cap body has a hook that locks the hanging end of the supporting leg. A stop portion is provided, and the hook portion has a clearance between the inner plug and the upper lid that allows the inner plug to move upward in a state of being engaged with the inner plug before the first opening. When the upper lid is closed after being opened for the first time, the inner plug approaches the upper lid by the amount of the clearance by shallowly fitting the plug body into the injection nozzle. The upper surface of the upper wall of the inner plug is in contact with the lower surface of the top wall of the upper lid.

In addition, in the hinge cap of the present invention, the inner plug is in a state of being assembled to the cap body before being opened for the first time. It is preferred that the parts are completely engaged.

Further, in the hinge cap of the present invention, it is preferable that the hanging end portion of the support leg is assembled in a groove having the locking portion formed on the inner surface thereof.

Further, in the hinge cap of the present invention, the inner plug has an engaging portion that engages with the hook portion when the upper lid is opened, and the hook portion is configured such that the inner plug is attached to the cap. It is preferable that an elastic piece hanging down from the upper cover is formed so as to climb over the engaging portion when the upper cover is first closed after being assembled to the main body.

Further, in the hinge cap of the present invention, it is preferable that the support leg has a hanging dimension that causes the hanging end part and the locking part to be partially engaged when the lid is closed after being opened for the first time.

According to the present invention, even if the engagement between the hanging end portion of the supporting leg and the locking portion of the cap body is firmly set before the first opening, the inner plug is positioned upward by the amount of the clearance when the lid is closed after the first opening. Since the hanging end portion of the support leg does not completely or completely engages with the locking portion of the cap body due to floating movement, the next opening and closing operation of the top cover can be performed without difficulty. In addition, even if an impact such as pushing down the upper lid is applied during distribution, the impact can be blocked by the clearance between the upper lid and the inner plug, so that the plug main body and the pouring nozzle are sealed by the impact. It is possible to prevent deterioration of the properties.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the hinge cap before being opened for the first time according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating how the inner plug is assembled to the cap body in the hinge cap of FIG. 1; In the hinge cap of FIG. 1, it is a figure explaining a mode that a top lid is closed after assembling|attaching an inner plug to a cap main body. 1. After mounting|wearing the opening of a container with the hinge cap of FIG. 1, it is the figure which showed a mode that the upper lid was opened. It is the figure which showed a mode that the upper cover was closed from the state of FIG.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. Here, FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a hinge cap before being opened for the first time according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. The hinge cap described below is used by being attached to the mouth of a synthetic resin bottle-shaped container (not shown), for example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the hinge cap 10 of the present embodiment mainly includes a cap body 12, an inner plug 14, and an upper lid 18 connected to the cap body 12 via a hinge 16 so as to be openable and closable. It can be manufactured from a resin material by an injection molding method or the like. Also, the cap main body 12 and the upper lid 18 are preferably integrally molded by injection molding or the like.

The cap body 12 includes a mounting portion 20 fitted to the mouth of the container by fitting or screwing, and an inner lid wall extending inwardly from the upper end of the inner periphery of the mounting portion 20 to close the mouth of the container. 22, a pouring nozzle 26 erected from the periphery of a pouring port 24 penetrating substantially the center of the inner lid wall 22, and a buffer mechanism provided below the pouring port 24 (inside the space inside the mouth of the container). 28. The upper edge of the pouring nozzle 26 has a shape that is rolled up to improve liquid drainage, and a hinge 16 that facilitates insertion of a later-described plug body 30 of the inner plug 14 when the upper lid 18 is closed. The standing dimension of one side is smaller than that of the opposite side (extraction side).

The mounting portion 20 has an outer peripheral wall 32 fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion of the container, and an inner lower end portion of the inner surface of the upper lid 18 when the upper lid 18 is closed. It has an annular upper lid engaging piece 34 for maintaining the closed state of the upper lid 18 and an inner peripheral wall 36 which hangs down from the inner position of the upper lid engaging piece 34 and sandwiches the mouth of the container between itself and the outer peripheral wall 32 .

The inner cover wall 22 has a projecting piece 38 standing outside the pouring nozzle 26 and an outside projecting piece 42 standing outside the projecting piece 38 and defining a recessed groove 40 between the projecting piece 38 and the projecting piece 38 . have. An inner side surface of the groove 40, ie, an outer side surface of the projecting piece 38, is formed with a convex engaging portion 46 for engaging a lower hanging end portion of a supporting leg 44 of the inner plug 14, which will be described later. The outer protruding piece 42 is preferably formed at a position close to the hanging end portion so as to restrict positional deviation of the hanging end portion of the supporting leg 44 when the hanging end portion is inserted between the projecting piece 38 . . In addition, in order to facilitate insertion of the lower end of the support leg 44 between the projecting piece 38 and the outer projecting piece 42, the inner side surface of the outer projecting piece 42 approaches the projecting piece 38 as it goes toward the bottom surface of the groove 40. It is preferably formed as an oblique surface sloping to the side. In addition, the groove 40 may be defined by forming a recess in the inner cover wall 22 . Also, the projecting pieces 38 and/or the outer projecting pieces 42 may be intermittently formed in the circumferential direction.

The cushioning mechanism 28 is for softening the momentum of the content liquid when the container is tilted for pouring out the content liquid. and The side wall 48 is formed with a plurality of, for example, slit-shaped openings 48a, through which the content liquid passes when the container is tilted, at intervals in the circumferential direction. The opening 48a) on the 16 side also functions as an air replacement hole when the container is tilted and the content liquid is poured out. In the illustrated example, the cushioning mechanism 28 is formed integrally with the cap main body 12, but it is also possible to form it as a separate body and to fit and hold it on the lower surface of the inner lid wall 22. FIG. A side wall 48 of the buffer mechanism 28 has a gap g between the side wall 48 and a tight fitting cylinder 64 of the inner plug 14, which will be described later, when the inner plug 14 is assembled to the cap body 12 (FIG. 1). It is preferably formed in position. As a result, even if the inner plug 14 is pushed in by an external force that may occur during circulation, the close contact cylinder 64 can be prevented from colliding with the side wall 48 of the cushioning mechanism 28 and being damaged.

As shown in FIG. 1, the upper lid 18 is connected to the outer peripheral upper end of the outer peripheral wall 32 of the cap body 12 via a hinge 16 so as to be openable and closable (rotatably). It has a peripheral wall 52 having an outer diameter and extending in the axial direction, and a top wall 54 closing the upper end opening of the peripheral wall 52 . An engaging portion 52 a that engages with the upper lid engaging piece 34 of the cap body 12 is formed at the lower end portion of the inner surface of the peripheral wall 52 . Further, on the opposite side of the peripheral wall 52 to the hinge 16, a finger hooking piece 52b is formed on which a finger or the like can be hooked when opening the upper lid 18. As shown in FIG.

The upper lid 18 also has a convex hook 58 that engages with an engaging portion 56 of the inner plug 14 (described later) from below and pulls up the inner plug 14 together when the hinge 16 is used as a base point for opening. there is The hooking portion 58 is formed on the inner surface of an elastic piece 60 hanging down from the top wall 54 so as to climb over the engaging portion 56 when the upper lid 18 is first closed after the inner plug 14 is assembled to the cap body 12 . Although the elastic pieces 60 are annular in the illustrated example, they may be intermittently formed in the circumferential direction. What is important here is the position where a clearance G is provided between the inner plug 14 and the upper lid 18 to allow the inner plug 14 to move upward when the hook portion 58 is engaged with the engaging portion 56 of the inner plug 14. is to form Note that the hook portion 58 may be formed directly on the inner surface of the peripheral wall 52 .

The inner plug 14 has an annular upper wall 62 extending parallel to the top wall 54 of the upper lid 18 when the upper lid 18 is closed ( FIG. 1 ), and the spout 24 interlocking with the opening/closing operation of the upper lid 18 . the above-described plug body 30 for opening and closing the plug body 30, the above-described support leg 44 hanging down from the upper wall 62 outside the plug body 30, and the above-described engaging portion 56 for engaging the hook portion 58. there is

The stopper body 30 hangs down from the upper wall 62 at a position corresponding to the pouring nozzle 26 of the cap body 12 and has a shape corresponding to the inner surface shape of the pouring nozzle 26 so as to be in close contact (pressure contact) with the inner surface of the pouring nozzle 26 . ), and a dome-shaped partition wall 66 formed at an intermediate height position of the tight contact cylinder 64 and convex upward. The tightly fitting cylinder 64 is deeply inserted into the pouring nozzle 26 in a state before the first opening, in which the inner plug 14 is assembled to the cap main body 12 (FIG. 1). floats upward with respect to the upper lid 18 by the amount of the clearance G, and is shallowly inserted into the pouring nozzle 26 (FIG. 5). dimensioned. The partition wall 66 not only shields the cavity of the tight fitting tube 64 but also reinforces the tight fitting tube 64 to improve the sealing performance between the pouring nozzle 26 and the plug body 30 . The partition wall 66 is preferably formed at an intermediate height of the close contact tube 64 , but may be provided at any position within the height range of the pouring nozzle 26 . In addition, by forming the partition wall 66 in a dome shape as in the illustrated example, after use (after the content liquid is poured out), the content liquid attached to the lower surface of the partition wall 66 can be easily returned into the bottle-shaped container. However, the shape of the partition wall 66 is not limited to a dome shape, and may be of any shape as long as it cooperates with the close contact tube 64 to block the pouring nozzle 26. For example, a simple disc shape that is not curved may be used. .

In the illustrated example, the support leg 44 has a cylindrical shape that hangs down from the upper wall 62 so as to surround the plug body 30, and has an engagement projection 44a that engages with the engagement portion 46 of the cap body 12 at its hanging end. formed. The support legs 44 may be intermittently formed in the circumferential direction. The engaging force between the engaging portion 46 and the engaging projection 44a is set to be smaller than the engaging force between the hook portion 58 and the engaging portion 56, so that when the upper lid 18 is opened from the state shown in FIG. , the hooking portion 58 lifts the inner plug 14 via the engaging portion 56 to release the engagement between the locking portion 46 and the engaging convex portion 44a. The hanging end portion of the support leg 44 and the locking portion 46 are completely engaged with each other before the inner plug 14 is assembled to the cap body 12 and the cap body 12 is not opened for the first time. inserted (Fig. 1). On the other hand, the hanging length of the support leg 44 is such that when the upper wall 62 of the inner plug 14 is pushed down by the top wall 54 of the upper lid 18 when the lid is closed after the first opening, the hanging end portion is half engaged with the locking portion 46 . sized to fit. “Half-engagement” means engagement with a smaller engagement margin than the above-described “complete engagement” state, and includes a state in which the hanging end simply contacts the engagement portion 46 . The hanging dimension of the support leg 44 is a dimension such that the hanging end portion does not come into contact with the locking portion 46 when the upper wall 62 of the inner plug 14 is pushed down by the top wall 54 of the upper lid 18 when the lid is closed after the first opening. good too. In relation to the contact tube 64, the support leg 44 has a hanging dimension equal to or larger than that of the contact tube 64 so that the contact tube 64 does not protrude below the support leg 44 when viewed from the side. is preferred. As a result, the lower end of the close contact tube 64, which serves as a seal portion with the pouring nozzle 26, is less likely to be damaged during the transportation process from the molding of the inner plug 14 to its assembly. A good seal is obtained between In the illustrated example, the hanging dimension of the support leg 44 is set larger than the hanging dimension of the close contact tube 64 .

The outer edge of the upper wall 62 protrudes outward beyond the support legs 44, and the protruding portion forms an engagement portion 56 that engages with a hook portion 58 of the upper lid 18 from below. The form of the engaging portion 56 is not limited to this, and the engaging portion 56 may be formed as a convex portion or a concave portion on the outer surface of the support leg 44 or the outer edge portion side surface of the upper wall 62 (not shown).

2 and 3 show the procedure for assembling the hinge cap 10. FIG. When the cap body 12 and the top lid 18 interconnected by the hinge 16 are molded by injection molding or the like, the top lid 18 is open. Assemble. The assembly involves fitting the plug body 30 of the inner plug 14 into the pouring nozzle 26, inserting the hanging end of the support leg 44 into the groove 40 of the cap body 12 to the final position, and engaging the hanging end. This is done by completely engaging the protrusion 44a with the engaging portion 46 in the recessed groove 40 (making the engaging protrusion 44a climb over the engaging portion 46).

After that, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper lid 18 is rotated in the closing direction with the hinge 16 as a base point. As a result, the hooking portion 58 of the top lid 18 first climbs over the engaging portion 56 of the inner plug 14 through the deformation of the elastic piece 60 , and then the lower end of the inner surface of the peripheral wall 52 of the top lid 18 engages the top lid engaging piece 34 of the cap body 12 . , and the state before the first opening shown in FIG. 1 is established.

The hinge cap 10 assembled in this way is attached to the mouth of the container filled with the liquid by plugging. 4 and 5 show how the hinge cap 10 is attached to the mouth of the container (the container is not shown). First, as shown in FIG. 4, when the upper lid 18 is rotated in the opening direction about the hinge 16, the hook 58 of the upper lid 18 engages the engaging portion 56 of the inner plug 14, thereby supporting the inner plug 14. The engagement between the leg 44 and the engaging portion 46 of the cap body 12 is released, and the inner plug 14 is pulled up together with the upper lid 18 . As a result, the pouring port 24 is opened, and by tilting the container, the liquid inside the container can be poured out from the pouring nozzle 26 via the buffer mechanism 28 . The inner plug 14 is held by the upper lid 18 via a hook portion 58 so as not to fall off.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, when the pouring of the contents is completed and the upper lid 18 is rotated in the closing direction around the hinge 16, the plug body 30 of the inner plug 14 is fitted with the inner surface of the pouring nozzle 26. , the inner plug 14 relatively moves upward by the clearance G with respect to the cap main body 12 (actually, the upper lid 18 approaches the inner plug 14 by the clearance G), and the upper surface of the upper wall 62 of the inner plug 14 moves upward. It abuts on the underside of the top wall 54 of 18 . When the upper lid 18 is further rotated from this state to the closing operation, the inner plug 14 is pushed by the top wall 54 of the upper lid 18, and the plug body 30 is fitted into the pouring nozzle 26 to a predetermined shallow position. , the lower end of the support leg 44 is partially engaged with the locking portion 46 formed on the projecting piece 38 .

Therefore, even if the engagement between the hanging end portion of the support leg 44 and the locking portion 46 of the cap main body 12 is set firmly before the initial opening in order to improve the sealing performance, the support leg 44 cannot be used after the initial opening. Since the hanging end portion does not completely engage with the engaging portion 46 of the cap body 12 or does not engage at all, the opening and closing operation of the upper lid 18 after the first opening can be performed without difficulty. In addition, even if an impact such as pushing down the upper lid 18 is applied during distribution, etc., the impact can be blocked by the clearance G between the upper lid 18 and the inner plug 14. It is possible to prevent deterioration of sealing performance between the outlet nozzles 26 .

Further, when the inner plug 14 is assembled to the cap main body 12 instead of the upper lid 18 as shown in the figure, the lower hanging end portion of the support leg 44 and the engaging portion 46 of the cap main body 12 are firmly engaged. Even when it is designed to do so, the inner plug 14 can be accurately and easily assembled to the cap main body 12. - 特許庁

Furthermore, as shown in the figure, when the hanging end portion of the support leg 44 is assembled in the recessed groove 40 having the engagement portion 46 formed on the inner surface, the support leg 44 may be damaged by, for example, impact after assembly. Positional deviation can be prevented.

Further, when the hook portion 58 is formed on the elastic piece 60 hanging down from the upper lid 18 as in the illustrated example, the hook portion 58 is not attached to the hook portion 58 when the upper lid 18 is closed for the first time after the inner plug 14 is assembled to the cap main body 12 . can easily get over the engaging portion 56 of the inner plug 14, and the assembly work of the hinge cap 10 is facilitated.

In addition, if the support leg 44 has a hanging dimension such that the hanging end part and the locking part 46 are half-engaged when the lid is closed after the first opening, as in the illustrated example, the pouring nozzle 26 and the plug body 30 may be separated from each other. Since a sealing effect can be obtained not only between the lower end portion and the engaging portion 46 but also between the lower end portion and the engaging portion 46, it is possible to provide the hinge cap 10 with high sealing performance even after the first opening.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the illustrated examples, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes, additions, and modifications are possible. may

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the hinge cap which can improve the sealing property before opening for the first time can be provided, without making opening and closing operation after opening for the first time difficult.

10 hinge cap 12 cap main body 14 inner plug 16 hinge 18 upper lid 20 mounting portion 22 inner lid wall 24 spout 26 spout nozzle 28 cushioning mechanism 30 plug main body 32 outer peripheral wall 34 upper lid engaging piece 36 inner peripheral wall 38 projecting piece 40 concave groove 42 Outer projecting piece 44 Supporting leg 44a Engagement projection 46 Engagement portion 48 Side wall 48a Opening 50 Bottom plate 52 Peripheral wall 54 Top wall 56 Engagement portion 58 Hook portion 60 Elastic piece 62 Upper wall 64 Adhesion cylinder 66 Partition G Clearance g gap

Claims (5)

a cap body having a spout nozzle erected from the periphery of the spout and attached to the mouth of the container;
an inner plug having a plug body that fits inside the pouring nozzle;
an upper lid that is connected to the cap body via a hinge so as to be freely openable and closable, and has a hook that pulls up the inner plug together through engagement with the inner plug during an opening operation with the hinge as a base point;
A hinge cap comprising:
The inner plug has supporting legs that hang down outside the plug body,
The cap body has a locking portion that locks the hanging end portion of the support leg,
The hooking portion is formed at a position that provides a clearance between the inner plug and the upper lid that allows the inner plug to move upward when engaged with the inner plug before the first opening. and
When the top lid is closed after being opened for the first time, the plug body is shallowly fitted into the injection nozzle, so that the inner plug approaches the top lid by the amount corresponding to the clearance, and the upper wall surface of the inner plug is aligned with the top lid. A hinge cap, characterized in that it is in contact with the lower surface of the top wall of the. The inner plug is in a state of being assembled to the cap body before being opened for the first time, and in the assembled state, the hanging end portion of the supporting leg and the engaging portion are completely engaged. 2. The hinge cap of claim 1, characterized by: 3. The hinge cap according to claim 1, wherein the hanging end portion of said support leg is assembled in a groove having said locking portion formed on the inner surface thereof. The inner plug has an engaging portion that engages with the hook portion when the upper lid is opened,
The hooking portion is formed as an elastic piece that hangs down from the upper lid so as to climb over the engaging portion when the upper lid is opened for the first time after the inner plug is assembled to the cap body. 4. A hinge cap according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein 5. The support leg according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the support leg has a hanging dimension that causes the hanging end portion and the locking portion to be partially engaged when the lid is closed after the first opening. hinge cap.

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