JP7523123B2 - cap - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a technology for separating caps in which the lid is integrated with the cap body via a hinge.

Conventionally, this type of cap is described in Patent Document 1. In this cap, a fitting ridge is formed on the outer peripheral wall of the cap, which fits into the necked recess of the mouth of the container. In addition, a deep groove is formed in the outer peripheral wall extending in the axial direction, and a main vertical weakened line is formed in the thin-walled part of the deep groove.

In the cap described in Patent Document 2, the cap has a double structure of an engaging tubular portion and an outer tubular portion, and has a bridge connecting the engaging tubular portion and the outer tubular portion. In addition, an engaging ridge formed on the inner circumference of the engaging tubular portion engages with an engaging ridge formed on the outer circumference of the mouth tubular portion of the container, and the lower end of the engaging tubular portion and the lower end of the outer tubular portion are connected by a weakening piece and a connecting piece.

In the cap described in Patent Document 3, the cylindrical side wall of the cap body is formed from an inner wall portion and an outer wall portion, and the inner wall portion and the outer wall portion are separated by a slit. The inner wall portion has engagement protrusions formed at predetermined intervals around the entire inner circumference of the lower end, and the engagement protrusions engage with the outer surface of the container mouth portion. The outer wall portion has an axial score formed thereon, extending from the upper end to near the lower end, and the lower end of the inner wall portion and the outer wall portion are connected by a connecting portion.

JP2001-192053 Patent Publication 2011-246173 Patent Publication 2007-22567

In the above conventional type, when the cap is fitted onto the mouth of the container, the ridges or protrusions formed on the inner periphery of the cap slide over the outer periphery of the mouth of the container and move radially along the shape of the outer periphery of the mouth of the container, causing the opening of the cap to expand radially.

For this reason, when the cap is a single wall in the radial direction of the mouth of the container, as in Patent Document 1, a tensile force in the circumferential direction of the cap acts on the weakened portion formed in the axial direction of the cap, and there is a risk of the weakened portion breaking, particularly at the tear initiation portion of the weakened portion. If the strength of this weakened portion is increased, the force required to break the weakened portion during the sorting operation of removing the cap from the container increases, making it more difficult for the weakened portion to break, particularly at the tear initiation portion of the weakened portion, which becomes a factor that impedes the sorting operation.

In Patent Document 3, the cap has a double wall in the radial direction of the mouth of the container, but a connecting portion connects the inner wall and the outer wall at a position below the engagement protrusion, and the force acting on the inner wall is transmitted to the outer wall via the connecting portion.

That is, when the cap is capped, the engaging projection formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cap slides over the outer peripheral surface of the mouth of the container in the axial direction of the mouth and moves radially of the mouth following the shape of the outer peripheral surface of the mouth of the container, causing the opening of the inner wall to widen radially and the opening of the outer wall to widen radially via the connecting portion, causing a tensile force in the circumferential direction of the cap to act on the weakened portion formed in the axial direction of the cap, which may cause it to break.

The present invention aims to solve the above problems by providing a cap that prevents the weakened portion from breaking when the cap is attached and allows the cap to be easily removed during sorting work.

In order to achieve the above object, the cap according to the present invention has a cap body to be attached to the mouth of a container, and an upper lid part which is integral with the cap body via a hinge and opens and closes around the hinge, and the cap body has a cap upper part formed with a pouring tube which communicates with the opening of the mouth of the container, a cap lower part formed with a cap inner convex part which fits into a container outer concave part formed on the outer periphery of the mouth of the container, a thin upper and lower connecting part which connects the cap upper part and the cap lower part, a cylindrical outer shell part surrounding the cap upper part and the cap lower part, an upper slit which separates the cap upper part and the outer shell part, a lower slit which separates the cap lower part and the outer shell part, and an upper slit which separates the cap lower part and the outer shell part in the vicinity of the upper and lower connecting parts. The cap has a thin-walled inner and outer connection portion that connects the outer shell and the lower part of the cap, separating the slit and the lower slit, the cap body has an inner and outer separation region corresponding to the hinge and an upper and lower separation region that continues to the inner and outer separation region around the axis of the cap, the outer shell is integral with the hinge in the inner and outer separation region and has an outer shell vertical score extending in the axial direction of the cap body at the starting end side of the inner and outer separation region, the inner and outer connection portion has a score in the inner and outer separation region, the lower part of the cap has a lower cap vertical score extending from the upper and lower connection portion toward the lower end of the lower part of the cap at the starting end side of the upper and lower separation region that continues to the inner and outer separation region, and the upper and lower connection portion has a score in the upper and lower separation region.

In the cap according to the present invention, the outer shell has a second outer shell vertical score at the start of the upper and lower separation area that extends from the upper end side of the outer shell toward the upper and lower connection parts.

In the cap according to the present invention, the outer shell portion extends in the axial direction of the cap body and covers the lower part of the cap.

In the cap according to the present invention, the top lid has a locking part that is connected via a score to a position facing the hinge in the radial direction of the mouth of the container, the cap body has a stopper part that engages with a locking claw formed on the locking part to prevent the top lid from opening, and the outer shell has a guard part that surrounds the locking claw and the stopper part.

In the cap of the present invention, the guard portion is characterized by a structure that retains the lock portion even if it is broken by the score.

As described above, the cap according to the present invention has a structure in which the upper part of the cap and the lower part of the cap, which has an inner convex part formed on the cap that fits into the outer concave part of the container, are connected by thin upper and lower connecting parts, and a thin inner and outer connecting part is provided near the upper and lower connecting parts, separating the upper and lower slits and connecting the outer shell part and the lower part of the cap, so that the lower end of the lower part of the cap is not restricted by other members.

As a result, when the cap's inner convex portion slides over the outer circumferential surface of the mouth of the container in the axial direction of the mouth and moves radially along the shape of the outer circumferential surface of the mouth of the container during stoppering, the lower part of the cap, which is connected to the upper part of the cap by a thin-walled upper and lower connecting portion and to the outer shell by a thin-walled inner and outer connecting portion, easily expands radially without being restricted by other components, allowing the stoppering operation to be performed smoothly and reducing the force required for stoppering.

In addition, no load acts on the outer shell that is connected to the bottom of the cap by the thin-walled inner and outer connection near the upper and lower connection, and no tensile force acts in the circumferential direction of the cap that would break the outer shell vertical score of the outer shell.

Furthermore, by forming an outer shell vertical score on the outer shell part where no unnecessary force is applied when plugging, it is possible to eliminate the influence factor at the time of plugging when determining the strength of the outer shell vertical score, and it is possible to preferentially select a degree of weakening that allows easy breakage during the sorting process, making the sorting process easier.

The sorting process begins in the inner and outer separation area of the cap, where the outer shell breaks in the axial direction of the cap at the outer vertical score, and the outer shell of the inner and outer separation area is separated from the cap body by breaking the score at the inner and outer connection area, and then the cap body is separated into an upper cap and a lower cap by breaking the lower cap vertical score and the score at the upper and lower connection areas of the upper and lower separation area.

As a result, the sorting process can begin at the outer shell vertical scores formed on the outer shell, i.e., the outer shell vertical scores whose strength has been determined by preferentially selecting a degree of weakening that allows easy breakage during the sorting process, and the force applied to the cap during the sorting process acts smoothly on the scores of the internal and external connections after the outer shell vertical scores, allowing the outer shell to be easily peeled off around the axis of the cap.

When the outer shell detaches from the cap body in the inner/outer separation area, it becomes easier to apply force to the detached outer shell, and the force applied to the outer shell around the axis of the cap is smoothly transmitted from the end of the score of the inner/outer connection part of the inner/outer separation area to the start of the score of the upper/lower connection part of the upper/lower separation area located nearby, causing the score of the upper/lower connection part to break without the need for excessive force, making the sorting process easy.

In addition, by separating the upper and lower cap parts, the inner cap convex part formed on the lower cap part comes out of the outer container concave part formed on the outer periphery of the container mouth, so the cap can be easily removed from the container mouth.

In addition, because the outer shell has a second outer shell vertical score, the force applied to the outer shell around the axis of the cap is transmitted more smoothly from the end of the score of the inner/outer connection part of the inner/outer separation area to the beginning of the score of the upper/lower connection part of the upper/lower separation area.

The outer shell extends in the axial direction of the cap body and covers the bottom end of the cap's lower part, so it is not possible to apply force directly to the cap body to remove the cap from the mouth of the container. If force is applied to the outer shell in an attempt to remove the cap, the scores on the internal and external connections and the scores on the upper and lower connections will break, leaving behind traces of tampering and improving the tamper evidence (TE) properties of the cap.

The locking claw and stopper engage in the area surrounded by the guard, preventing unauthorized opening of the top lid. If unauthorized opening occurs, the score breaks and the locking part separates from the top lid, with the released locking part being held in the guard. This improves the TE properties of the cap and prevents the released locking part from becoming waste, contributing to environmental conservation.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an unopened cap showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cap in an open state according to the embodiment; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cap in the embodiment after it has been tampered with; FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the cap in the same embodiment after another unauthorized opening. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cap showing a state before the inner plug is assembled in the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cap showing a state after the inner plug is assembled in the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a front view of the cap body in the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the cap in the embodiment. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines B-G in FIG.

The following describes an embodiment of a cap according to the present invention with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figs. 1 to 6, the cap 1 has a cap body 4 that is attached to the mouth 3 of a container 2, and a top lid 6 that is integrated with the cap body 4 via a hinge 5 and a band 5a and opens and closes around the hinge. The entire cap 1 is made of resin.

The cap body 4 has a cap upper part 7, a cap lower part 8, and a thin-walled upper and lower connecting part 9 that connects the cap upper part 7 and the cap lower part 8. The cap upper part 7 has a pouring tube 10 that communicates with the opening 3a of the mouth part 3 of the container 2, and the cap lower part 8 has a cap inner convex part 12 that fits into a container outer concave part 11 formed on the outer periphery of the mouth part of the container 2.

The cap 1 further has a cylindrical outer shell 13 that surrounds the cap upper part 7 and the cap lower part 8 and forms a double wall with the cap body 4. Around the cap upper part 7 there is an upper slit 14 that separates the cap upper part 7 from the outer shell 13, around the cap lower part 8 there is a lower slit 15 that separates the cap lower part 8 from the outer shell 13, and in the vicinity of the upper and lower connection part 9 there is a thin-walled inner and outer connection part 16 that separates the upper slit 14 from the lower slit 15 and connects the outer shell 13 to the cap lower part 7.

The outer shell 13 extends in the axial direction of the cap body 4, covering the cap lower part 8, reaching near the flange 17 formed on the mouth 3 of the container 2, and has multiple embrittled parts 13a at appropriate intervals along the circumferential direction.

As shown in Figures 5 to 7, the inner plug 18 that closes the opening of the dispensing tube 10 is separate from the upper lid portion 6 and the cap body 4 before the upper lid portion 6 is folded at the hinge 5. With the inner plug 18 placed in the opening of the dispensing tube 10, the upper lid portion 6 is folded at the hinge 5 to incorporate the inner plug 18 into the upper lid portion 6.

The top cover 6 has a cylindrical plug holder 19 that holds the plug 18, and has a mating projection 20 that is annular along the inner periphery of the top cover 6 and protrudes radially inward.

The cap body 4 has an annular upper lid holding portion 21 along its outer periphery, and the upper lid holding portion 21 is shaped to expand diagonally upward on the radially outer side of the cap body 4. The upper lid holding portion 21 has an engagement surface 22 whose outer periphery is recessed in an arc shape, and the engagement surface 22 engages with the engagement protrusion 20 of the upper lid portion 6.

The top lid 6 has a locking portion 23 at a position facing the hinge 5 in the radial direction of the mouth 3 of the container 2, and the locking portion 23 is connected to the top lid 6 via a locking portion score 24. The cap body 4 has a stopper portion 25 that engages with a locking claw 23a formed on the locking portion 23 to prevent the top lid 6 from opening, and the outer shell 13 has a guard portion 26 that surrounds the locking claw 23a and the stopper portion 25. The guard portion 26 forms a holding space 27 between the cap body 4 and is structured to hold the locking portion 23, which breaks at the locking portion score 24 and falls onto the flange 17 of the container 2, in the holding space 27.

As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the cap body 4 has an inner/outer separation area A (section B-F in Figure 8) that corresponds to the hinge 5, and an upper/lower separation area B (an area other than section B-F in Figure 8) that follows the inner/outer separation area A around the axis of the cap 1.

The outer shell 13 is integral with the hinge 5 in the inner/outer separation region A, and has an outer shell vertical score 28 that extends over the entire length of the cap body 4 in the axial direction at the start end side of the inner/outer separation region A (position B in Figure 8).

The internal/external connection portion 16 has an internal/external separation score 29 in the internal/external separation region A, the cap lower portion 8 has a cap lower vertical score 30 extending from the upper/lower connection portion 9 toward the lower end of the cap lower portion 8 at the start side of the upper/lower separation region B following the internal/external separation region A (position E in FIG. 8), and the upper/lower connection portion 9 has an upper/lower separation score 31 in the upper/lower separation region A.

The outer shell 13 also has an outer shell second vertical score 32 that extends from the upper end side of the outer shell 13 toward the upper and lower connection part 9 at the start side of the upper and lower separation area B (position F in FIG. 8). In this embodiment, the outer shell second vertical score 32 exists over the entire axial length of the outer shell 13, but the upper and lower connection part 9 at a position corresponding to the outer shell second vertical score 32 forms a thick reinforcement part 33, so that breakage of the outer shell second vertical score 32 is stopped at the reinforcement part 33.

The operation of the above-described configuration will be described below. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, before the top lid portion 6 is folded, the inside plug 18 is placed in the opening of the spouting tube 10, and the top lid portion 6 is folded at the hinge 5 to incorporate the inside plug 18 into the top lid portion 6.
(TE property)
1, in the folded state of the top lid portion 6, the inner plug holding portion 19 holds the inner plug 18, and the fitting protrusion 20 of the top lid portion 6 fits into the top lid holding portion 21 of the cap body 4. In addition, the locking portion 23 of the top lid portion 6 enters into the guard portion 26, and the locking claw 23a engages with the stopper portion 25.

When opening, the locking claw 23a engages with the stopper 25 and pushes up the top lid 6, breaking the locking score 24 of the locking part 23. The locking part 23, which is separated from the top lid 6 by the breaking of the locking score 24, falls onto the flange 17 and is held in the holding space 27 between the guard part 26 and the cap body 4.

As a result, the separated locking portion 23 does not scatter around as waste, contributing to environmental conservation. Furthermore, when the locking portion 23 is separated from the top lid portion 6 of a container 2 on a display shelf or the like, this indicates that the container has been tampered with, and the TE performance is improved by the locking portion 23 being held in the holding space 27.

The outer shell 13 extends in the axial direction of the cap body 4 to cover the lower end of the cap lower part 8, and reaches the vicinity of the flange 17 of the container 2 to protect the cap body 4. Therefore, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, it is not possible to apply force directly to the cap body 4, for example with a tool such as a bottle opener, to remove the cap 1 from the mouth 3 of the container 2, and when a force is applied to remove the cap 1 to the outer shell 13, the inner/outer separation score 29 of the inner/outer connection part 16 and the upper/lower separation score 31 of the upper/lower connection part 9 break, leaving traces of tampering and improving the TE performance of the cap 1.
(Corning)
The upper cap portion 7 and the lower cap portion 8 are connected by a thin-walled upper and lower connection portion 9, and a thin-walled inner and outer connection portion 16 is provided near the upper and lower connection portion 9 to connect the outer shell portion 13 and the lower cap portion 8, thereby forming a structure in which the lower end of the lower cap portion 8 is not restrained by other members.

As a result, when the cap inner convex portion 12 slides on the outer circumferential surface of the mouth 3 of the container 2 in the axial direction of the mouth 3 and moves radially of the mouth 3 following the shape of the outer circumferential surface of the mouth 3 of the container 2 during stoppering, the cap lower portion 8, which is connected to the cap upper portion 7 by the thin-walled upper and lower connecting portions 9 and is connected to the outer shell portion 13 by the thin-walled inner and outer connecting portion 16, easily expands radially without its opening being restricted by other components, allowing the stoppering operation to be performed smoothly and reducing the force required for stoppering.

Furthermore, no load acts on the outer shell 13 which is connected to the lower part 8 of the cap by the thin-walled inner and outer connection part 16 near the upper and lower connection parts 9, and no circumferential tensile force acts on the cap 1 which would break the outer shell vertical score 28 and the outer shell second vertical score 32 of the outer shell 13.
(Separation)
Furthermore, by forming the outer shell vertical scores 28 and the outer shell second vertical scores 32 in the outer shell portion 13 where no unnecessary forces act when plugging, it is possible to eliminate factors that influence the strength of the outer shell vertical scores 28 and the outer shell second vertical scores 32 when plugging, and it is possible to preferentially select a degree of weakening that allows the containers to be easily broken during the sorting process, thereby making the sorting process easier.

The sorting process begins in the inner/outer separation area A of the cap 1. First, the fully open top lid 6 is pulled downward, and force is applied to the outer shell 13 via the hinge 5 and band 5a. The outer shell 13 breaks in the axial direction of the cap 1 at the outer shell vertical score 28.

The strength of the outer shell vertical score 28 is determined by preferentially selecting a degree of weakening that allows easy breakage during the sorting process, so the sorting process can be started easily at the outer shell vertical score 28. Then, during the sorting process, the force applied to the top lid portion 6 and outer shell portion 13 of the cap 1 acts smoothly on the outer shell vertical score 28 and then on the inner/outer separation score 31 of the inner/outer connection portion 16, so that the outer shell portion 13 can be easily peeled off around the axis of the cap 1.

The outer shell 13 is detached from the cap body 2 in the inner/outer separation region A, so that it becomes easier to apply force to the detached outer shell 13. Furthermore, the cap lower vertical score 30 of the cap lower part 8 is broken at the end side of the inner/outer separation region A, and then the outer shell 13 is broken from the upper end to a position corresponding to the reinforcing part 33 of the upper/lower connection part 9 at the outer shell second vertical score 32, so that the force around the axis of the cap 1 applied to the outer shell 13 is smoothly transmitted from the inner/outer separation region A to the upper/lower separation region B, that is, from the end of the inner/outer separation score 29 in the inner/outer separation region A to the start end of the upper/lower separation score 31 of the upper/lower separation region B located nearby, and the breakage of the upper/lower separation score 31 of the upper/lower connection part 9 in the upper/lower separation region B begins without requiring excessive force, making it easy to perform the sorting work. Then, the breakage of the upper/lower separation score 31 in the upper/lower separation region B separates the cap body 4 into the cap upper part 7 and the cap lower part 8. By separating the upper cap portion 7 and the lower cap portion 8, the cap inner convex portion 12 formed on the lower cap portion 8 comes off from the container outer concave portion 11 formed on the outer periphery of the mouth of the container 2, so that the cap 1 can be easily removed from the mouth 3 of the container 2.

LIST OF SYMBOLS 1 Cap 2 Container 3 Mouth 3a Opening 4 Cap body 5 Hinge 5a Band 6 Top lid portion 7 Top of cap 8 Bottom of cap 9 Top and bottom connection portion 10 Spout tube 11 Outer container recess 12 Inner cap protrusion 13 Outer shell portion 13a Embrittlement portion 14 Top slit 15 Bottom slit 16 Inner/outer connection portion 17 Flange portion 18 Inside plug 19 Inside plug holding portion 20 Fitting protrusion portion 21 Top lid holding portion 22 Fitting surface 23 Lock portion 23a Lock claw 24 Lock portion score 25 Stopper portion 26 Guard portion 27 Holding space 28 Outer shell vertical score 29 Inner/outer separation score 30 Bottom of cap vertical score 31 Top/bottom separation score 32 Second outer shell vertical score 33 Reinforcement portion A Inner and outer separation area B Upper and lower separation area

Claims (5)

The cap has a cap body that is attached to the mouth of the container, and a top lid that is integral with the cap body via a hinge and opens and closes around the hinge.
The cap body includes an upper cap portion having a pouring tube communicating with the opening of the mouth of the container, a lower cap portion having an inner cap protrusion that fits into an outer container recess formed on the outer periphery of the mouth of the container, a thin-walled upper and lower connecting portion connecting the upper cap portion and the lower cap portion, a cylindrical outer shell portion surrounding the upper cap portion and the lower cap portion, an upper slit separating the upper cap portion and the outer shell portion, a lower slit separating the lower cap portion and the outer shell portion, and a thin-walled inner and outer connecting portion separating the upper slit and the lower slit in the vicinity of the upper and lower connecting portion and connecting the outer shell portion and the lower cap portion,
The cap body has an inner and outer separation region corresponding to the hinge, and an upper and lower separation region continuing to the inner and outer separation region around the axis of the cap,
The outer shell portion is integral with the hinge in the inner/outer separation region, and has an outer shell vertical score extending in the axial direction of the cap body on the starting end side of the inner/outer separation region,
the interior-exterior connection has a score in the interior-exterior separation region;
The cap lower portion has a cap lower vertical score extending from the upper and lower connection portion toward the lower end of the cap lower portion on the starting end side of the upper and lower separation region continuing to the inner and outer separation region,
A cap characterized in that the upper and lower connection portions have scores in the upper and lower separation regions . The cap according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer shell has a second outer shell vertical score at the start of the upper and lower separation area, which extends from the upper end side of the outer shell toward the upper and lower connection parts. The cap according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the outer shell extends in the axial direction of the cap body to cover the lower part of the cap. The upper lid portion has a lock portion connected via a score at a position facing the hinge in the radial direction of the mouth of the container,
A cap as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the cap body has a stopper portion that engages with a locking claw formed on the locking portion to prevent the upper lid portion from opening, and the outer shell portion has a guard portion that surrounds the locking claw and the stopper portion. A cap according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the guard portion is structured to retain the lock portion even if it is broken by a score.

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