JP7485637B2 - Discharge Cap - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a dispensing cap, in particular a dispensing cap suitable for dispensing various liquids such as chili oil and vinegar.

A known dispensing cap for hot chili oil, vinegar, etc., has a cap-shaped portion that stands up from an annular mounting tube that can be fitted onto the mouth and neck of a container and that also serves as a push button that can be elastically compressed vertically, and a dispensing nozzle that protrudes outward from the bottom end of the cap-shaped portion (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 2-25458

The discharge cap in Patent Document 1 was difficult to distinguish between when it was desired to drip the liquid contents and when it was desired to pour out the liquid contents (meaning to take out a continuous flow of fluid).

A first object of the present invention is to provide a discharge cap that can be selectively used between a mode for dripping liquid from a discharge cylinder and a mode for pouring liquid from the discharge cylinder.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a discharge cap that can easily switch between an operation of dripping liquid from the discharge cylinder and an operation of pouring liquid from the discharge cylinder.

The first means is a cap body 4 having a top wall 20 with an insertion hole 24 attached to the upper end of an attachment tube 6 that is fitted to a mouth and neck portion 102 of a liquid storage container 100, and a discharge tube 22 standing upright from the top wall;
an operating member 40 in which a tip end side of a vertical pressure rod 50 supported on the top wall 20 via an elastic support means 42 is airtightly inserted into the insertion hole 24, and a pressing portion 45 for pressing down is provided on the elastic support means 42;
It is equipped with
The pressure rod 50 can be lowered by being pushed into the pressing portion 45.
An air replacement hole 52 is provided on the upper side of the top wall 20 at a portion of the longitudinal direction of the pressure rod 50.
The pressure rod 50 is configured to be able to be lowered until the air replacement hole 52 is exposed below the top wall 20 .

As shown in FIG. 1, this means comprises a cap body 4 having a top wall 20 attached to the upper end of a mounting tube 6 and an insertion hole 24 formed in the top wall 20, and an operating member 40 having a vertical pressure rod 50 supported on the top wall 20 via an elastic support means 42, the tip end of which is airtightly inserted into the insertion hole 24, and a pressing portion 45 for pressing down is provided on the elastic support means 42.
In addition, an air replacement hole 52 is provided on a portion of the longitudinal direction of the pressure rod 50 on the upper side of the top wall 20, and it is possible to lower the pressure rod 50 until the air replacement hole 52 is exposed on the underside of the top wall 20.
In this configuration, first, as shown in Figure 3 (A), by pushing the pressure rod 50 into the pressing portion 45, the inside of the container body 100 fitted into the mounting tube 6 is pressurized, and the stored liquid can be caused to drip out of the discharge tube 22.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3(B), by lowering the pressure rod 50 until the air replacement hole 52 is exposed below the top wall 20, the container body 100 can be connected to the outside, and the liquid in the container body 100 can be poured out from the discharge tube 22.
Therefore, a mode in which liquid is dripped from the discharge tube 22 and a mode in which liquid is poured out from the discharge tube 22 can be appropriately used.

The second means has the first means, and the air replacement hole 52 is formed in the upper half 50a of the pressure rod 50.

In this embodiment, the air replacement hole 52 is formed in the upper half 50 a of the pressure rod 50 as shown in FIG.
3A, when the pressing portion 45 is pressed shallowly, only the lower half 50b of the pressure rod 50 enters below the top wall 20, so that the inside of the container body 100 is pressurized. This causes the liquid to drip out of the discharge tube 22.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3(B), when the pressing portion 45 is pressed deeply, the air replacement hole 52 provided in the upper half 50a of the pressure rod 50 becomes exposed on the underside of the top wall 20, whereby the inside of the container body 100 is connected to the outside via the air replacement hole 52 and the liquid in the container body 100 is poured out via the discharge tube 22.
In this structure, the operation can be easily switched between a pouring operation and a dispensing operation depending on the degree to which the pressing portion 45 is pressed.

The third means includes the first means or the second means, and the elastic support means 42 is formed as a cap-shaped elastic body having a lower end portion 43 attached to the upper surface of the top wall 20, and the upper surface of the top portion 44 of the cap-shaped elastic body is the pressing portion 45,
The pressure rod 50 was suspended from the top 44 .

In this means, as shown in FIG. 1, the elastic support means 42 is formed as a hat-shaped elastic body having a lower end portion 43 attached to the upper surface of the top wall 20.
The upper surface of the top portion 44 of this cap-shaped elastic body serves as the pressing portion 45, and the pressure rod 50 is suspended from the top portion 44.
In this structure, the cap-shaped elastic body covers the insertion hole 24, so that the inconvenience of dust or the like adhering to the insertion hole 24 is unlikely to occur, and the device can be used hygienically.

The fourth means includes any one of the first means to the third means, and connects a top-opening cylindrical upper cover 30 that opens and closes the upper surface of the cap body 4 to the upper end side of the mounting tube 6 via a hinge 28,
The discharge tube 22 is disposed on the opposite side of the top wall 20 to the hinge 28,
In addition, the insertion hole 24 and the operating member 40 are disposed between the hinge 28 and the discharge tube 22 .

In this means, as shown in FIG. 1, a cylindrical top cover 30 that opens and closes the top surface of the cap body 4 is connected to the upper end side of the mounting tube 6 via a hinge 28, and the discharge tube 22 is arranged on the side of the top wall 20 opposite the hinge 28.
The insertion hole 24 and the operating member 40 are disposed between the hinge 28 and the discharge tube 22 .
In this structure, the operating member 40 can be compactly assembled inside the upper cover 30 and is not bulky, which makes it easy to use.

According to the present invention, it is possible to selectively use a mode in which liquid is dripped from the discharge cylinder and a mode in which liquid is poured out from the discharge cylinder.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily switch between an operation of dripping liquid from the discharge cylinder and an operation of pouring liquid from the discharge cylinder.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the discharge cap according to the embodiment of the present invention in a closed state. FIG. 2 is a top view of the discharge cap shown in FIG. 1 in an open state. 2A and 2B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the discharge cap shown in FIG. 1, in which FIG. 2A shows the operation when dispensing droplets of liquid, and FIG. 2B shows the operation when pouring liquid.

Figures 1 to 3 show a discharge cap 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This discharge cap comprises a cap body 4, a top cover 30, and an operating member 40.

1, the cap body 4 has an attachment tube 6 that is fitted to the mouth and neck part 102 of the liquid storage container 100, and a top wall 20 that is connected to the upper end of the attachment tube 6 and covers the upper opening of the mouth and neck part 102. A discharge tube 22 is erected from the front part of the top wall 20.
For ease of explanation, the right side of FIG. 1 will be referred to as the "rear", the left side of FIG. 1 as the "front", and the directions perpendicular to the paper surface as the "left and right".
The mounting cylinder 6 in the illustrated example is a double cylinder in which the upper ends of an outer cylinder portion 8 and an inner cylinder portion 10 are connected by an annular wall portion 12, but this structure can be modified as appropriate.
The mouth/neck portion 102 is sandwiched between the outer cylinder portion 8 and the inner cylinder portion 10. An engagement protrusion 9 for engaging with the mouth/neck portion 102 is provided on the lower inner surface of the outer cylinder portion 8.
An upper cover 30 is connected to the upper rear end of the mounting cylinder 6 via a hinge 28 .

In this embodiment, a lid engaging projection 14 for engaging with an upper lid 30 is provided upright on the upper surface of the annular wall portion 12 .
In the illustrated example, the cover engagement protrusion 14 is formed in a C-shaped arc shape in a plan view with a notch n left on the back side (rear side). A plurality of rear side protrusions 16 are provided upright within the notch n.
These structures may be omitted and the lid engaging projection 14 may be formed in an annular shape.
In the illustrated example, known vertical tear lines L1 and circumferential tear lines L2 suitable for separating and disposing of the discharge cap are formed. The vertical tear lines L1 are formed as thin-walled portions on the inner end side of the outer peripheral cut portions c that are generally V-shaped in plan view and vertically provided on the outer surface of the outer tube portion 8, as shown in FIG. 2. The circumferential tear lines L2 are formed so as to be broken in the circumferential direction in continuation with the vertical tear lines L1 by pulling the upper cover 30 outward from the open state shown in FIG. 2. In the illustrated example, the thin-walled portions at the inner end of the lower surface of the slit groove 18 drilled from the upper end surface of the outer tube portion 8 and the thin-walled portion between the outer tube portion 8 and the annular wall portion 12 are part of the circumferential tear lines L2. The structures of these vertical tear lines and circumferential tear lines may be omitted.
2, a stepped recess 17 is provided on the front half of the upper portion of the outer tubular portion 8, recessed from the outer periphery in an arc shape in a plan view over a range of an arc of approximately 180°. A cover wall 35 (described below) protruding from the upper cover 30 is provided adjacent to or in contact with this stepped recess 17 (see FIG. 1). These structures can be modified as appropriate.

In the present invention, an insertion hole 24 and a fitting groove 26 are formed in an appropriate position on the top wall 20, in the illustrated example, in the rear half portion of the top wall 20 (the portion between the discharge tube 22 and the hinge 28).
The insertion hole 24 is a through hole for inserting a pressure rod 50, which will be described later.
The fitting groove 26 is a concave groove that opens onto the upper surface into which a lower end portion 43 of a cap-shaped elastic body 42 (described later) is fitted, and in the illustrated example, is formed in a circular shape with the insertion hole 24 as its center.

The upper lid 30 has a side wall (lid wall) 32 connected to the cap body 4 via a hinge 28, and a top plate 37 attached to the upper end of the side wall 32. A sealing tube 38 is suspended from the top plate 37 and inserted into the discharge tube 22.
In the illustrated example, an engagement recess 33 is provided around the inner periphery of the lower end of the side peripheral wall 32, which engages with the outer surface of the lid engagement protrusion 14 to maintain the lid in the closed state.
1, a plurality of engaging protrusions 34 are provided on the inner surface of the side peripheral wall 32, positioned above the engaging recesses 33, for engaging with the inner surface of the lid engaging projection 14. As shown in FIG.
A knob 36 protrudes forward from the front portion of the side peripheral wall 32 .
Furthermore, an arc-shaped covering wall 35 corresponding to the stepped recess 17 is vertically extended from the lower surface of the side peripheral wall 32 .
In the preferred illustrated example, a blocking rod 39 is suspended from the top plate 37 in the vicinity of a vent hole 47 described below. This blocking rod 39 is provided so as to block the vent hole 47 when the top cover 30 is closed, thereby preventing the liquid contents adhering to a pressure rod 50 described below, etc., from leaking out through the vent hole 47 from an air replacement hole 52 described below.

The operating member 40 has an elastic support means 42 attached to the top wall 20 and a pressure rod 50 supported via the elastic support means 42 so as to be movable up and down.
In this embodiment, the elastic support means 42 is formed as a hat-shaped elastic body having a thick lower end portion 43 fitted into the fitting groove 26 .
The top 44 of the hat-shaped elastic body 42 in the illustrated example is a nearly flat, upwardly convex curved wall portion, and the upper surface of this top 44 serves as a pressing portion 45. However, the shape of the hat-shaped elastic body 42 can be appropriately changed, and may be, for example, a hemispherical one (elastic dome).
The structure of the hat-shaped elastic body 42 has an advantage that the upper part of the insertion hole 24 can be covered, so that dust and the like do not adhere to the vicinity of the insertion hole 24 .
However, the elastic support means 42 may have any shape as long as it can support the pressure rod 50 so that it can be raised and lowered.
The pressure rod 50 is integrally attached downward from the top 44 of the elastic support means 42 .
The pressure rod 50 is airtightly fitted into the insertion hole 24, and is arranged so that when the pressing portion 45 is pressed down, it descends inside the insertion hole 24 as shown in Fig. 3(A) and when the pressing force is released, it rises and returns to its original position. The function of the pressure rod 50 is to pressurize the inside of the container body 100 by the pressing operation, and to promote the dripping (dripping) of liquid from the discharge tube 22.
When the pressing portion 45 is not pressed down (the state shown in FIG. 1), the lower half portion 50 b of the pressure rod 50 is fitted into the insertion hole 24 .
An air replacement hole 52 is provided in the upper half 50a of the pressure rod 50. This air replacement hole 52 is disposed on the upper side of the top wall 20 in the state shown in FIG.
1, the air replacement hole 52 is an introduction path for outside air to replace the liquid in the container body, and in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, it is formed by a communication recess 53 recessed into the surface of the pressure rod 50 and a vertical communication passage 54 drilled in the center of the upper half 50a of the pressure rod 50, connecting with an appropriate position (the upper part in the illustrated example) of this communication recess 53. The upper end of this communication passage 54 is connected to the air vent 47 opening in the top 44.
In the illustrated example, the communication recess 53 serves as a downstream opening of the air replacement hole 52 .
3(B), when the pressure rod 50 is lowered until the downstream opening 53 of the air replacement hole 52 is exposed on the underside of the top wall 20, outside air enters the container body 100 through the air replacement hole 52. This allows the liquid in the container body 100 to be poured out through the discharge tube 22.
In the illustrated example, the communicating recess 53 has an upper-lower width w that is greater than the thickness d of the top wall 20, and this communicating recess 53 connects the upper and lower sides of the top wall 20 over both the upper and lower sides of the top wall 20 in the state shown in Figure 3 (B).
In this case, the communication passage 54 may be omitted, and an outside air introduction passage may be formed by the communication recess 53 and an air hole provided at an appropriate position of the elastic support means 42.
In the illustrated example, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of auxiliary air grooves 48 extending radially (in the illustrated example, cross-shaped) from the air vent 47 are provided in the top 44 of the hat-shaped elastic body 42, and these air vents 47 and the auxiliary air grooves 48 form the air vent 46.
This makes it possible to prevent the communication passage 54 from being blocked when the pressing portion 45 is pressed with a finger, as shown in FIG. 3B.

In the above configuration, as shown by imaginary lines in FIG. 1 , after attaching the discharge cap 2 of the present invention to the mouth and neck portion 102 of the container body 100, the top lid 30 is opened and the container body 100 is tilted forward. Then, as shown in FIG. 3 (A), when the pressing portion 45 is pressed shallowly within a range where the air replacement hole 52 is not exposed on the underside of the top wall 20, the pressure rod 50 enters the container body 100, pressurizing the inside of the container body 100, and liquid is thereby dripped from the discharge tube 22.
3(B), when the pressing portion 45 is pressed deeply, the air replacement hole 52 is exposed below the top wall 20, and outside air flows into the container body 100 through the air replacement hole 52. This causes the liquid to be poured out of the discharge tube 22.
Therefore, the mode for dripping liquid and the mode for pouring liquid can be appropriately used. Moreover, the mode can be switched between these modes by simply adjusting the amount of pressing of the pressing portion 45, so that the dripping operation and the pouring operation can be easily switched.
In addition, in the closed state shown in Figure 1, the operating member 40 is disposed in the space between the hinge 28 and the discharge tube 22, so that this space can be effectively utilized to compactly incorporate the operating member 40 inside the top cover 30.

Next, effects of the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
A common feature of all the aspects is that the tip side of a vertical pressure rod 50 supported against the top wall 20 of the cap body 4 via elastic support means 42 is airtightly inserted into the insertion hole 24, the elastic support means 42 is provided with a pressing portion 45 for pressing down, the pressure rod 50 can be lowered by pressing into the pressing portion 45, an air replacement hole 52 is provided on a part of the longitudinal direction of the pressure rod 50 on the upper side of the top wall 20, and the pressure rod 50 can be lowered until this air replacement hole 52 is exposed on the underside of the top wall 20, so that a mode in which liquid is dripped and a mode in which liquid is poured can be used appropriately.
Furthermore, in an embodiment in which the air replacement hole 52 is formed in the upper half 50a of the pressure rod 50, the liquid can be dripped by pressing the pressing portion 45 shallowly, and the liquid can be poured out by pressing the pressing portion 45 deeply. Therefore, by simply changing the degree to which the pressing portion 45 is pressed, it is possible to easily switch between the dripping operation and the pouring operation of the liquid.
Furthermore, in an embodiment in which the elastic support means 42 is formed as a hat-shaped elastic body having a lower end 43 attached to the upper surface of the top wall 20, and the pressure rod 50 is suspended from the top 44 of the hat-shaped elastic body, the hat-shaped elastic body covers the insertion hole 24, so that the inconvenience of dust and the like accumulating in the insertion hole 24 is less likely to occur.
In addition, in an embodiment in which a topped cylindrical top cover 30 is connected to the upper end of the mounting tube 6 via a hinge 28, and the insertion hole 24 and operating member 40 are arranged between this hinge 28 and the discharge tube 22, the operating member 40 can be compactly incorporated inside the top cover 30.

Reference Signs List 2: Discharge cap 4: Cap body 6: Mounting tube 8: Outer tube portion 9: Engagement protrusion 10: Inner tube portion 12: Annular wall portion 14: Lid engagement protrusion 16: Rear side protrusion 17: Step recess 18: Slit groove
Description of 20: Top wall 22: Discharge tube 24: Insertion hole 26: Fitting groove 28: Hinge 30: Top cover 32: Side peripheral wall 33: Engagement recess 34: Locking protrusion 35: Covering wall 36: Knob 37: Top plate 38: Sealing tube 39: Obstruction rod 40: Operation member 42: Elastic support means (cap-shaped elastic body) 43: Lower end 44: Top 45: Pressing portion 46: Vent 47: Vent hole 48: Auxiliary air groove
50: Pressurizing rod 50a: Upper half 50b: Lower half 52: Air replacement hole 53: Communication recess (downstream opening) 54: Communication passage 100: Container body 102: Mouth neck c: Outer peripheral cut d: Thickness of top wall L1: Vertical tear line L2: Circumferential tear line n: Cutout w: Vertical width of communication recess

Claims (4)

A cap body (4) having a top wall (20) with an insertion hole (24) attached to the upper end of an attachment tube (6) that is fitted onto the mouth and neck portion (102) of a liquid storage container body (100), and a discharge tube (22) standing upright from the top wall;
an operating member (40) in which a tip end side of a vertical pressure rod (50) supported on the top wall (20) via an elastic support means (42) is airtightly inserted into the insertion hole (24), and a pressing portion (45) for pressing down is provided on the elastic support means (42);
It is equipped with
The pressing rod (50) can be lowered by being pushed into the pressing portion (45),
An air replacement hole (52) is provided on the upper side of the top wall (20) at a portion of the longitudinal direction of the pressure rod (50);
The discharge cap is characterized in that the pressure rod (50) can be lowered until the air replacement hole (52) is exposed below the top wall (20). The discharge cap according to claim 1, characterized in that the air replacement hole (52) is formed in the upper half (50a) of the pressure rod (50). The elastic support means (42) is formed in a cap-shaped elastic body having a lower end portion (43) attached to the upper surface of the top wall (20), and the upper surface of the top portion (44) of the cap-shaped elastic body is used as the pressing portion (45),
3. The discharge cap according to claim 1, wherein the pressure rod (50) is provided vertically from the top (44). A top-end cylindrical top cover (30) that opens and closes the top surface of the cap body (4) is connected to the upper end side of the mounting tube (6) via a hinge (28),
The discharge tube (22) is disposed on the top wall (20) on the opposite side to the hinge (28),
4. The discharge cap according to claim 1, further comprising: a through hole (24) and an operating member (40) disposed between the hinge (28) and the discharge tube (22).

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