JP7292802B2 - Granular container - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a granule storage container that stores granules such as confectionery, medicines, nutritional supplements, and cosmetic agents, and allows a predetermined amount of the granules to be taken out with a simple operation.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a granular material storage container from which a predetermined amount of granular materials can be taken out, for example, the container disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. This container has a storage recess for storing the granules and a measurement recess communicating with the storage recess. With the lid closed, the container is tilted to introduce a predetermined amount of the granules into the measurement recess. , By opening the lid and inverting the container, the weighed granular material can be taken out.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-180726

However, in the container of Patent Document 1, even if the container is tilted, the granules do not move from the storage recess to the measurement recess as expected, and when the lid is opened, the granules are not placed in the measurement recess. In that case, it was necessary to close the lid again and tilt the container to introduce a predetermined amount of granules into the measuring recess. In addition, since it is necessary to separately perform the operation of tilting the container to introduce the granules into the lightweight recess and the operation of opening the lid and inverting the container, it is necessary to perform the operation before taking out a predetermined amount of granules. Take the trouble. Furthermore, since the storage recess and the weighing recess are always in communication with each other, if the container is tilted with the lid open, there is a risk that the particles in the storage recess will pass through the weighing recess and come out excessively. .

Therefore, the present invention provides a granule storage container that can take out a predetermined amount of granules with high precision through a simple take-out operation, and that can prevent granules from coming out excessively. intended to

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the granular material storage container of the present invention has a storage space for storing granular materials, and a main body provided with a communication port communicating with the storage space. Department and
A holding portion projecting from a peripheral edge portion of the communication port toward the outside of the main body portion and configured to hold the granular material sent out from the accommodation space through the communication port by setting the main body portion in an inverted posture. and
The holding part has a take-out port for taking out the granules, and an operation lever capable of swinging to open and close the take-out port by being pushed down,
an opening/closing portion for closing the outlet when the operating lever is not pushed down and for opening the outlet when the operating lever is pushed down;
a movement regulating part that allows movement of the particulate matter from the storage space toward the ejection port in the non-pressed state, and prevents movement of the particulate matter from the storage space toward the ejection port in the depressed state; It is characterized by having

In addition, in the granular material storage container of the present invention, the operation lever has a pressing portion capable of swinging around a supporting point projecting from the main body portion,
The movement restricting portion protrudes from the pressing portion toward the communication port,
It is preferable that the opening/closing portion protrudes from the pressing portion in a direction opposite to the communication port.

Further, in the granular material storage container of the present invention, it is preferable that the operation lever has a biasing portion that restores the depressed operation lever to the non-depressed state.

Moreover, in the granular material storage container of the present invention, it is preferable that the biasing portion is formed of a leaf spring that is integrally formed with the pressing portion.

Further, in the granular material storage container of the present invention, the holding part has side walls provided on the front side and both left and right sides of the communication port,
It is preferable that the operating lever is provided on the rear side of the communication port.

Further, in the granular material storage container of the present invention, it is preferable that the granular material is non-spherical, and the holding part is configured to hold the granular material in a predetermined posture.

Further, in the granular material storage container of the present invention, the main body portion is formed by a container main body having a cylindrical peripheral wall and a top wall connected to the peripheral wall, and a bottom lid closing a lower end opening of the peripheral wall. preferably.

Moreover, in the granular material storage container of the present invention, it is preferable that the holding portion is integrally formed with the container body.

According to the present invention, there is provided a granule storage container capable of taking out a predetermined amount of granules with high accuracy through an easy take-out operation, and capable of suppressing excessive ejection of the granules. be able to.

1 is a side cross-sectional view of a particulate matter storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the granular material storage container of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an enlarged side cross-sectional view showing a state in which a pressing portion of an operation lever in the granular material storage container of FIG. 1 is pushed down;

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a granular material storage container 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. In this specification, the scope of claims, and the abstract, the "upper" side is the side on which the upper lid 30 is positioned with respect to the container body 10 when the container 1 is in the upright posture shown in FIG. The "lower" side is the opposite side (the side where the container body 10 is positioned with respect to the upper lid 30). The "front" side is the side where the communication port 13 is located with respect to the hinge portion 31, and the "rear" side is the opposite side.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a granular material storage container 1 (hereinafter also simply referred to as “container”) according to this embodiment includes a container body 10 , a bottom lid 20 and a top lid 30 . 1 is a side sectional view showing the container 1 with the upper lid 30 opened, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the container 1. As shown in FIG. The granules G as the contents contained in the container 1 are not particularly limited, but may be, for example, confectionery formed into granules such as spherical, flattened circular, flattened elliptical, flattened polygonal, cubic, and rectangular parallelepiped shapes. or a drug (tablet) or the like. The granular material G of this example has a flat circular shape (disk shape).

In this embodiment, the main body A of the container 1 is defined by the container main body 10 and the bottom lid 20 . In other words, in the container 1, the container main body 10 and the bottom lid 20 define a storage space S in which the granular material G is stored.

The container body 10 includes a cylindrical peripheral wall 11, a partition wall 12 continuing to cover the upper end of the peripheral wall 11, a communication port 13 passing through the partition wall 12, and a holding portion 40 projecting from the partition wall 12 around the communication port 13. and have The communication port 13 communicates with the accommodation space S.

The peripheral wall 11 of this example has a substantially elliptical tubular shape with a substantially elliptical cross section (cross section) perpendicular to the axis O, but is not limited thereto. For example, the peripheral wall 11 may have a tubular shape with a circular or polygonal cross section. A lower end opening 11 a of the peripheral wall 11 is closed by a bottom lid 20 .

The partition wall 12 has a flat plate shape extending perpendicularly to the axis O. As shown in FIG. The communication port 13 is positioned forward of the center of the partition wall 12 . That is, the axis C of the communication port 13 is located forward of the axis O. As shown in FIG. Note that the axis C of the communication port 13 is parallel to the axis O. As shown in FIG.

The holding part 40 protrudes from the peripheral edge of the communication port 13 toward the outside of the main body A, and holds the granular material G delivered from the storage space S through the communication port 13 by setting the main body A in an inverted posture. is configured to

The holding portion 40 of this example is integrally connected to the partition wall 12 . That is, the holding portion 40 is integrally formed with the container body 10 . Note that, in this example, the holding portion 40 is also positioned forward of the center of the partition wall 12 in correspondence with the position of the communication port 13 . The holding part 40 includes a side wall 41 extending upward from the partition wall 12 so as to surround the communication port 13, an extraction port 42 for taking out the granular material G, and an operation capable of opening and closing the extraction port 42 by swinging by pushing down. and a lever 43 . The side walls 41 of this example are provided on the front side and both the left and right sides of the communication port 13 . In addition, the outlet 42 is formed upward at the upper end of the side wall 41 . The operating lever 43 is provided behind the communication port 13 .

The communication port 13 and the take-out port 42 of this example are set to have a size that allows the granular material G to pass therethrough one by one. In other words, the communication port 13 and the extraction port 42 are formed to have a size that allows two or more granular materials G to pass through at the same time. The size of the communication port 13 and the take-out port 42 can be appropriately changed according to the size of the granular material G, the number of the granular material G to be taken out in one operation, and the like.

The operating lever 43 has a post portion 44 , a pressing portion 45 , an opening/closing portion 46 , a movement restricting portion 47 and a biasing portion 48 .

The strut portion 44 extends upward from the partition wall 12 on the rear side of the side wall 41 . The strut part 44 of this example is arranged on the rear side of the communication port 13 . Moreover, although the support|pillar part 44 of this example is comprised by the left-right paired support|pillar member extended parallel to the axis line C, it is not restricted to this.

The pressing portion 45 is configured so as to be able to swing around a supporting point 44 projecting from the main body portion A. As shown in FIG. More specifically, the pressing portion 45 of this example is integrally provided at the tip (upper end) of the support 44, and is configured to be swingable about the tip of the support 44 as a fulcrum. The pressing portion 45 has a flat plate-like configuration extending rearward from the tip portion of the support portion 44 . The pressing portion 45 of this example extends parallel to the partition wall 12 . A plurality of lateral rib-shaped non-slip projections 45 a are provided in the rear region of the upper surface of the pressing portion 45 . When the operation lever 43 is pressed down, the pressing portion can be pressed down with a light force while preventing the finger from slipping by placing a finger on the non-slip convex portion 45a and pressing it down. The pressing portion 45 is integrally provided with an opening/closing portion 46 and a movement restricting portion 47 .

The opening/closing part 46 closes the ejection port 42 in a non-pressed state in which the pressing portion 45 of the operating lever 43 is not pressed down (see FIGS. 1 and 2), and closes the ejection port in a pressed state in which the pressing portion 45 of the operating lever 43 is pressed down. 42 is released. In the non-depressed state shown in FIG. 1, the opening/closing part 46 does not have to close the entire extraction opening 42 without gaps, but at least partially closes the extraction opening 42 so that the granular material G cannot pass through. Just do it.

The opening/closing portion 46 protrudes from the pressing portion 45 to the opposite side (upper side) of the communication port 13 . The opening/closing portion 46 extends upward from the front end portion of the pressing portion 45 and curves forward toward the tip portion 46a. The opening/closing portion 46 is configured by a plate portion curved in an arc shape when viewed from the side, corresponding to the shape of the granular material G. As shown in FIG. In the non-depressed state (initial state) shown in FIG. 1, the distance (opening width) between the tip portion 46a of the opening/closing portion 46 and the upper end portion of the side wall 41 located on the front side is smaller than the diameter of the granular material G. . As a result, the take-out port 42 is closed, and movement of the granular material G through the take-out port 42 to the outside is prevented. In the non-depressed state shown in FIG. 1, the distal end portion 46a of the opening/closing portion 46 of this example is positioned near the center of the communication port 13 in the front-rear direction (on the axis C).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, when the pressing portion is pressed down, the distance (opening width) between the tip portion 46a of the opening/closing portion 46 and the side wall 41 located on the front side is larger than the diameter of the granular material G. Become. As a result, the take-out port 42 is opened, and the granular material G can move to the outside through the take-out port 42 .

The movement restricting portion 47 permits movement of the granular material G from the accommodation space S toward the outlet 42 when the operation lever 43 is not pressed down as shown in FIG. Movement of the granular material G from the space S toward the take-out port 42 is blocked. The movement restricting portion 47 of this example protrudes from the pressing portion 45 toward the communication port 13 . The movement restricting portion 47 extends downward from the front end portion of the pressing portion 45 and curves forward toward the tip portion 47a. As shown in FIG. 1, the movement restricting portion 47 is composed of a plate portion curved in an arc shape when viewed from the side. The movement restricting portion 47 is smaller in length and width than the opening/closing portion 46 .

In the non-depressed state shown in FIG. 1, the distance (opening width) between the tip portion 47a of the movement restricting portion 47 and the side wall 41 located on the front side is larger than the diameter of the granular material G. As shown in FIG. As a result, the communication port 13 is opened, and movement of the granular material G from the storage space S toward the outlet 42 is permitted.

On the other hand, in the depressed state shown in FIG. 3, the distance (opening width) between the tip portion 47a of the movement restricting portion 47 and the side wall 41 located on the front side is smaller than the diameter of the granular material G. As shown in FIG. As a result, the communication port 13 is closed, and movement of the granular material G toward the take-out port 42 is prevented.

The biasing portion 48 can restore the depressed operating lever 43 to the non-depressed state. The biasing portion 48 is composed of a plate spring integrally formed with the pressing portion 45 . The biasing portion 48 extends downward from the rear portion of the pressing portion 45 and curves forward toward the tip portion 48a. When the operation lever 43 is not pushed down as shown in FIG. 1, the biasing portion 48 is separated from the partition wall 12. When the operation lever 43 is pushed down as shown in FIG. , and elastically deforms, and the pressing portion 45 is urged by its repulsive force. As a result, when the pressing force on the pressing portion 45 is released, the operating lever 43 is automatically restored to the original non-pressed state.

By setting the container 1 to an inverted posture, the granular material G that has passed through the communication port 13 from the accommodation space S is supported by the side wall 41 and the opening/closing portion 46 of the operating lever 43 and held in the holding portion 40 . As shown in FIG. 1, the opening/closing portion 46 of this example is curved in an arc shape according to the shape of the outer peripheral surface of the granular material G. As shown in FIG. The outer peripheral surface of the granular material G held in the holding part 40 abuts against the inner peripheral surface of the opening/closing part 46, so that the granular material G is maintained in a predetermined posture (orientation) in a stable state. Note that the shape of the holding portion 40 can be appropriately changed according to the shape of the granular material G.

The bottom lid 20 has a flat bottom plate 21 and fitting walls 22 rising from the vicinity of the outer periphery of the bottom plate 21 . In addition, in this example, a cylindrical projection 23 is provided at the center of the bottom plate 21 . The fitting wall 22 fits into the lower end portion of the peripheral wall 11 from the inside. In the upright position of the container 1 shown in FIG. 1, the lower surface 20a of the bottom lid 20 constitutes a horizontal ground surface.

The upper lid 30 is integrally connected to the container body 10 via a hinge portion 31 . In this example, one end of the hinge portion 31 is connected to the rear upper portion of the peripheral wall 11 , and the other end is connected to the side peripheral wall 33 of the upper lid 30 . The upper lid 30 has a flat top wall 32 and a cylindrical side peripheral wall 33 that continues to the outer peripheral edge of the top wall 32 . A front end portion of the upper lid 30 serves as a finger hook portion 34 for hooking a finger when opening the upper lid 30 .

As indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the upper lid 30 covers the holding portion 40 from the outside in the closed state. In this example, the lower inner peripheral surface of the side peripheral wall 33 of the upper lid 30 fits into the upper outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 11 of the container body 10, so that the upper lid 30 can be kept closed.

A method for taking out a predetermined amount (one piece in this example) of the granular material G contained in the container 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described below.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the container 1 with the upper lid 30 opened is changed from the upright posture to the inverted posture (see FIG. 3). The inverted posture is a posture in which the container 1 is tilted so that the communication port 13 faces downward, and is not limited to a posture in which the axis O is parallel to the vertical direction. It also includes a posture (tilted posture) that is tilted to the side. When the container 1 is placed in an inverted position, the granular materials G stored in the storage space S move into the holding section 40 through the communication port 13 and are held in the holding section 40 . In the inverted posture, the opening/closing portion 46 of the operating lever 43 in the non-pressed state abuts against the granular material G in the holding section 40, thereby preventing the granular material G from passing through the outlet 42 and falling. That is, the opening/closing portion 46 of the operating lever 43 prevents the granular material G from falling unintentionally.

Next, in order to take out the granular material G from the holding portion 40, the pressing portion 45 is pressed toward the partition wall 12 as shown in FIG. As a result, the opening/closing portion 46 is opened, and a predetermined amount (one piece) of the granular material G held by the holding portion 40 is discharged to the outside through the outlet 42 . At this time, the distal end portion 47a of the movement restricting portion 47 swings in a direction approaching the side wall 41 located on the front side, so that the particulate matter G located closer to the accommodation space S than the particulate matter G ejected from the outlet 42 is , is prevented from moving toward the outlet 42 . In this way, only a predetermined amount of granular material G can be reliably taken out of the container 1. As shown in FIG. After the granular material G is taken out, the restoring force of the biasing portion 48 automatically restores the operating lever 43 to its original state. As a result, the opening/closing portion 46 closes the extraction port 42 and the movement restricting portion 47 opens, so that the next granular material G can be held in the holding portion 40 .

After the granular material G is taken out, the granular material G held in the holding part 40 returns to the accommodation space S through the communication port 13 by returning the container 1 to the upright posture. By closing the upper lid 30 to cover the holding portion 40, it is possible to more reliably prevent the granular material G from falling unintentionally. Furthermore, by closing the upper lid 30, it becomes difficult for the outside air to enter the storage space S, so that deterioration in the quality of the granular material G can be suppressed.

As described above, in the container 1 of the present embodiment, the upper lid 30 is opened, the container 1 is placed in an inverted position, and a predetermined amount of granular materials G can be taken out by simply pressing down the pressing portion 45 of the operating lever 43. can be done. That is, there is no need to tilt the container to introduce the granular material into the weighing unit before opening the lid, and the take-out operation can be performed with one hand. Even if the container 1 is tilted with the upper lid 30 open and in a non-pressed state, the movement of the granular materials G passing through the outlet 42 is prevented by the opening/closing portion 46, and even in the pressed state, the communication port 13 is closed. Since movement of the granular material G passing through and toward the outlet 42 is blocked by the movement restricting portion 47, the granular material G does not come out excessively. Furthermore, whether or not a predetermined amount of granular material G is held in the holding portion 40 can be confirmed at a glance from the take-out port 42 .

In this manner, in the depressed state shown in FIG. 3, a predetermined amount (one piece in this example) of granular material G preliminarily held in the holding portion 40 is moved (taken out) through the take-out port 42 to the outside. , the movement of the other granular material G toward the outlet 42 is blocked by the movement restricting portion 47 . This makes it possible to take out only a predetermined amount of granular material G.

As described above, according to the container 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to take out only a predetermined amount of the granular material G with high accuracy through an easy take-out operation, and it is possible to prevent the granular material G from coming out excessively. becomes possible.

Further, in the container 1 of the present embodiment, it is preferable to have a biasing portion 48 that restores the depressed operation lever 43 to the non-depressed state. , the operation lever 43 can be quickly restored. As a result, the accuracy of the operation of the operating lever 43 can be enhanced. Further, since the urging portion 48 is composed of a plate spring that is integrally formed with the pressing portion 45, the number of parts can be reduced compared to the case where the urging portion 48 is formed as a separate part and assembled. , the labor for assembly can also be reduced.

In addition, in the container 1 of the present embodiment, the operation lever 43 is provided on the rear side of the communication port 13, so that the granular material G can be easily discharged forward from the outlet 42, and the granular material can be discharged forward. The operation of extracting G becomes easier.

Further, in the container 1 of the present embodiment, the granular materials G are not spherical, and are configured to be held in a predetermined posture when held in the holding portion 40 . Specifically, in this example, the granular material G in the holding portion 40 is held in a posture in which the circular front surface and rear surface face the left and right side walls 41 respectively, and the annular outer peripheral surface abuts the inner surface of the opening/closing portion 46 . be. As a result, the granular material G in the holding part 40 can be maintained in a state in which it is easy to move toward the take-out port 42, so that the granular material G can be taken out more smoothly.

In the container 1 of the present embodiment, the main body A includes a container body 10 having a cylindrical peripheral wall 11 and a partition wall 12 connected to the peripheral wall 11, and a bottom lid 20 closing the lower end opening 11a of the peripheral wall 11. formed by With this configuration, the storage space S can be easily filled with the granular material G by removing the bottom cover 20 .

Further, in the container 1 of this embodiment, the holding portion 40 is integrally formed with the container body 10 . With this configuration, the number of parts can be reduced and the labor for assembly can be reduced as compared with the case where the holding portion 40 is molded as a separate part and assembled.

What has been described above merely shows an example of the present invention, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. For example, in the above embodiment, the container main body 10 and the upper lid 30 are integrally molded, but the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, the upper lid 30 may be detachably attached. In that case, for example, one of the container main body 10 and the upper lid 30 may be provided with a male threaded portion and the other may be provided with a female threaded portion for screwing, or an outward convex portion may be provided on the outer peripheral surface of one of them and the other. It is also possible to provide an inward convex portion on the inner peripheral surface of the inner peripheral surface to engage with the outward convex portion, and to form an undercut connection by plugging or the like. Also, the bottom cover 20 may be screwed or undercut connected to the peripheral wall 11 .

Further, in the above embodiment, the holding portion 40 is integrally connected to the partition wall 12 , but the holding portion 40 may be formed as a separate body and attached to the partition wall 12 . Alternatively, the partition wall 12 and the holding portion 40 may be formed separately from the peripheral wall 11 and assembled by press-fitting, screwing, undercutting, or the like. In that case, the bottom lid 20 may be formed integrally with the peripheral wall 11 .

1: Granular material storage container (container)
10: Container body 11: Peripheral wall 11a: Lower end opening 12: Partition wall 13: Communication port 20: Bottom lid 20a: Lower surface 21: Bottom plate 22: Fitting wall 23: Projection 30: Top lid 31: Hinge 32: Top wall 33: Side peripheral wall 34: finger hook 40: holding portion 41: side wall 42: outlet 43: operating lever 44: support 45: pressing portion 45a: non-slip convex portion 46: opening/closing portion 47: movement restricting portion 48: urging portion A : Body part C: Axis line of communication port G: Granular material O: Axis line S: Storage space

Claims (7)

a main body having a storage space for storing granular materials and provided with a communication port communicating with the storage space;
A holding portion projecting from a peripheral edge portion of the communication port toward the outside of the main body portion and configured to hold the granular material sent out from the accommodation space through the communication port by setting the main body portion in an inverted posture. and
The holding part has a take-out port for taking out the granules, and an operation lever that can be swung by a pressing operation to open and close the take-out port,
an opening/closing portion for closing the outlet when the operating lever is not pushed down and for opening the outlet when the operating lever is pushed down;
a movement regulating part that allows movement of the particulate matter from the storage space toward the ejection port in the non-pressed state, and prevents movement of the particulate matter from the storage space toward the ejection port in the depressed state; and
The operating lever has a pressing portion that is integrally provided at the tip of a support that protrudes from the main body and that is swingable about the tip of the support,
The movement restricting portion protrudes from the pressing portion toward the communication port,
The opening/closing part projects from the pressing part in a direction opposite to the communication port . 2. The granular material storage container according to claim 1 , wherein said operating lever has an urging portion that restores the depressed operating lever to a non-pressed state. 3. The granular material storage container according to claim 2 , wherein said urging portion comprises a leaf spring integrally formed with said pressing portion. The holding part has side walls provided on the front side and both left and right sides of the communication port,
The granular material storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein said operating lever is provided on the rear side of said communication port. The granular material has a non-spherical shape, and the holding section holds the granular material in a posture in which the granular material in the holding section faces the left and right side walls and the granular material contacts the inner surface of the opening/closing section. 5. A container according to any one of claims 4 to 5, configured to be held by 6. The container according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the main body portion is formed of a container body having a cylindrical peripheral wall and a top wall connected to the peripheral wall, and a bottom lid closing a lower end opening of the peripheral wall. A particulate storage container as described. 7. The granular material storage container according to claim 6 , wherein said holding portion is integrally formed with said container body.

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