JPS649229B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an easy-to-open container lid that includes an outer lid and an inner lid.

As a container lid for closing the opening of a container such as a bottle or can, French Patent No. 2231578 specification and drawings, Utility Model Application Publication No. 1986-86349, Utility Model Publication No. 1983-
Publications No. 30512 and JP-A-54-133987 contain
It has a cylindrical skirt part, an annular top part continuous to the upper end of the skirt part, and a tension ring continuous to a part of the inner peripheral edge of the annular top part via a connecting piece of a predetermined width, and both side edges of the connecting piece. an outer cover in which a pair of weakened lines for cutting are formed in the annular top surface portion and the skirt portion along an extension line of the outer cover; and an opening held within the outer cover and existing on the top surface of the outer cover; An easy-to-open container lid is disclosed that includes an inner lid that closes the container.

Such a container lid fits over the opening of the container, and the lower edge of the skirt of the outer lid is deformed radially inward to engage an appropriate portion of the opening of the container, thereby closing the opening of the container. the opening of the container, thus sealing the opening of the container. When unsealing the opening of the container, the pair of weakened lines for cutting are first cut by pulling the tension ring on the outer lid. Next, by pushing up the lower edge of the skirt of the outer lid, the outer lid and the inner lid held therein are separated from the opening of the container, thus unsealing the opening of the container.

The container lid as described above is an easy-to-open type that can be opened without using any equipment such as a bottle opener, and can be produced relatively easily and inexpensively. It has become highly desirable to use them in place of other types of container lids.

However, when opening the opening of the container, the known easy-to-open container lid of the above-mentioned form has a structure in which the lower edge of the skirt of the outer lid is pushed up and the outer lid is opened, especially when the inside of the container is in a negative pressure state. It has been found that a problem exists in that it is relatively difficult to remove the inner lid retained therein from the opening of the container.

The present invention has been made in view of such facts, and its main purpose is to provide an easy-to-open container lid having the above-mentioned configuration. To provide a new and excellent easy-to-open container lid that is improved so that a held inner lid can be easily removed from an opening of the container.

According to the present invention, there is provided a cylindrical skirt portion, an annular top surface portion continuous to the upper end of the skirt, and a tension ring continuous to a part of the inner peripheral edge of the annular top surface portion via a connecting piece having a predetermined width. an outer cover in which a pair of weakened lines for cutting are formed in the annular top surface portion and the skirt portion along the extension line of both side edges of the piece; An easy-to-open container lid, comprising an inner lid that closes an existing opening, and a lower edge of the skirt portion of the outer lid is deformed radially inward to engage with the opening of the container. The inner lid has a top surface portion whose central portion is raised in a dome shape, and a plurality of hanging pieces that hang down from the periphery of the top surface portion, and the hanging pieces are connected to the skirt portion of the outer lid. is located in contact with or in close proximity to the inner surface of the container, but is not engaged with the opening of the container, and after pulling the tension ring of the outer lid to sever the pair of cutting weakening lines, the outer lid When the central portion of the inner lid is depressed through the opening present on the top surface of the inner lid, the hanging pieces are expanded radially outward, and thus the skirt portion of the outer lid is also expanded radially outward. Provided is an easy-to-open container lid characterized in that it is configured to be expanded.

In the container lid of the present invention, when opening the opening of the container, the tension ring of the outer lid is pulled to cut the pair of weakened lines for cutting, and then the central part of the inner lid is pressed. When this is collapsed, the hanging pieces of the inner lid are expanded radially outward, which in turn causes the skirt of the outer lid to expand radially outward, thus breaking the seal at the opening of the container and allowing the inside of the container to be expanded. is communicated with the atmosphere, and the lower edge of the skirt of the outer lid is disengaged from the opening of the container. Therefore, after such an operation, the outer lid and the inner lid held therein can be relatively easily removed from the opening of the container.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the description below.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the easy-to-open container lid according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the illustrated container lid includes an outer lid 2 and an inner lid 4. As shown in FIG. The outer lid 2 is preferably integrally formed from a metal material such as aluminum, tin plate, or chrome steel plate.
The annular top surface part 8 is connected to the substantially cylindrical skirt part 6, an annular top part 8 connected to the upper end of the skirt part 6, and a connecting piece 12 extending inward from a part of the inner peripheral edge 10 of the annular top part 8. It has a tension ring 14 which is connected to the tension ring 14. In the illustrated embodiment, the upper surfaces of the annular top surface 8, the connecting piece 12 and the tension ring 14 are
located on the same substantially horizontal plane. Outer lid 2
The connecting piece 1 is attached to the annular top surface part 8 and the skirt part 6.
A pair of weakened lines 15 are formed extending along the extension lines of both side edges of 2. Such a pair of weakened lines 15
may be of any form as long as it extends along the extension line of both side edges of the connecting piece 12, in other words, extends continuously from both side edges of the connecting piece 12. The pair of weakening lines 15 themselves are formed by their own known so-called scores formed by reducing the thickness of the material, or by cutting the material intermittently. A known so-called perforation may be used.

The inner cover 4, which is preferably formed from a metal material such as aluminum, tin plate or chrome steel plate, is held within the outer cover 2 as described above, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 2 (ie, the opening 16 inside the tension ring 14 and the opening 18 between the tension ring 14 and the inner peripheral edge 10 of the annular top surface 8).

In the illustrated embodiment, the skirt portion 6 of the outer lid 2 is sloped somewhat inwardly from its upper end towards its lower end, as clearly shown in FIG. The inner diameter of the lower end portion is somewhat smaller than that of the skirt portion 6, and a curl portion 17 is formed at the lower end of the skirt portion 6. On the other hand, the outer diameter of the inner cover 4 is substantially the same as or slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the upper end of the skirt 6 of the outer cover 2, but is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the lower end of the skirt 6. Such an inner cover 4 can be moved to a predetermined position as shown in FIG. Once inserted into the predetermined position, the inner diameter of the lower end of the skirt portion 6 of the outer cover 2
Because it is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the tube, it is held there without falling off. An annular gasket layer 31 for engaging the top of the opening of the container and sealing the opening of the container is provided on the inner surface and outer periphery of the inner lid 4 inserted at a predetermined position in the outer lid 2. There is.

The above-described configuration of the illustrated container lid is already known and does not constitute a novel feature in the container lid according to the present invention. Regarding the configuration as described above, the container lid of the present invention is not limited to the specific example shown in the drawings.
It is also possible to adopt the structure as disclosed in the specification and drawings of Japanese Utility Model Application No. 51-86349, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 53-30512, and Japanese Patent Application No. 53-39278 and drawings.

According to the present invention, the following improvements are added to the container lid as described above.

That is, according to the present invention, the inner lid 4 has a solid top surface (that is, no opening is present) whose central portion is raised in a dome shape, and a plurality of holes that hang down from the periphery of the top surface. It has a plurality of hanging pieces, and when the central part of the top surface is pressed and depressed, the plurality of hanging pieces are expanded radially outward.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 as well as FIGS. 1 and 2, in the illustrated example,
The inner lid 4 has a solid top surface portion 20 that closes the openings 16 and 18 present on the top surface of the outer lid 2, and a plurality of hanging pieces 22 that hang down from the periphery of the top surface portion 20. The solid top surface portion 20 includes an annular outer portion 24 located below the annular top surface portion 8 of the outer lid 2.
and a dome-shaped raised central portion 26 located within this annular outer portion 24. As shown in FIG.
When the inner cover 4 is inserted into a predetermined position within the outer cover 2, it contacts or approaches the inner surface of the skirt portion 6 of the outer cover 2. Further, the hanging length of the hanging piece 22 is shorter than the axial length of the skirt portion 6 of the outer lid 2, and as shown in FIG. , the skirt portion 6 of the outer lid 2 extends downward beyond the lower end of the hanging piece 22 of the inner lid 4.

In the inner lid 4 as described above, when the center part 26 is pressed in the direction indicated by the arrow 28 as shown in FIG. It is important that this is expanded to include the following:

In the illustrated example, only the central portion 26 of the inner lid 4 is raised in a dome shape, rather than the entire top surface 20; however, if desired, the inner lid 4 may be raised.
The entire top surface portion 20 may be raised in a dome shape.

Furthermore, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the outer lid 2
an additional relatively narrow connection connecting the tension ring 14 to the inner peripheral edge of the annular top surface 8 at at least one suitable position circumferentially spaced relative to the connection piece 12; Pieces are formed.

To explain with reference to FIG. 1, in the illustrated example, at two positions equally spaced in the circumferential direction and in mutually opposite directions with respect to the connecting piece 12,
An additional connecting piece 30 is formed which connects the tension ring 14 to the inner periphery of the annular top surface 8. As will be explained later, it is important that the additional connecting piece 30 is broken when the tension ring 14 is pulled to sever the pair of cutting weakening lines when opening the opening of the container. Therefore, it is important that the width of the connecting piece 12 is narrower than that of the connecting piece 12. Although the additional connecting piece 30 can be omitted if the width is made sufficiently narrow, the outer periphery of the tension ring 14 is Preferably, the additional connecting piece 30 is formed with a weakening line 32 for cutting that extends along.

If the outer lid 2 is not formed with the additional connecting piece 30 as described above, generally the
As detailed in Publication No. 54-133987,
There is a tendency for the tension ring 14 to lift upwards, such as due to the application of an inward force to the lower end of the skirt portion 6 during capping, which attaches the container lid to the opening of the container; If the upper surface of the tension ring 14 is located substantially on the same plane as the upper end of the skirt portion 6 and the annular top surface portion 8 as in the example, the tension ring 14 is located on the upper end of the skirt portion 6 of the outer cover 2 and 8 tends to protrude upward. If the tension ring protrudes upward in this way, the tension ring 14 will collide with a foreign object, for example when transporting a container with a lid or when a container with a lid is being transported in a vending machine, and this will cause the tension ring 14 to collide with a foreign object. If force is applied to the ring 14, the outer lid 2 may be accidentally cut along the pair of weakened lines 15, or the conveyance of the container along the conveyance path within the vending machine may be obstructed and the function of the vending machine may be impaired. Serious problems may occur, such as interference with However, if the additional connecting piece 30 is provided as described above, the tension ring 14 can be attached to the annular top surface 8 in at least two places (three in the case shown) by the connecting piece 12 and the additional connecting piece 30. Because of the connection, the tension ring 14
is reliably prevented from lifting upward.

Next, the effects of the container lid as described above will be explained.

In order to attach the container lid, which includes an outer lid 2 and an inner lid 4 inserted at a predetermined position within the outer lid 2, to the opening of the container and seal it, as shown in FIG. A container lid is fitted into the opening 34 of the container, and the lower edge of the skirt portion 6 of the outer lid 2 is deformed radially inward to engage with an appropriate portion of the opening 34 of the container. In this way, the container lid is securely attached to the container opening 34, and the gasket layer 31 applied to the inner surface of the inner lid 4 engages the tip of the container opening 34, so that the container opening 34 is closed. securely sealed.

On the other hand, when opening the opening 34 of the container, the tension ring 14 is first pulled. The additional continuous piece 30 is then broken along the cutting line of weakening 32 formed therein, and a pair of cutting lines of weakening 15 are then cut to separate the tension ring 14, the annular top surface 8 and the skirt. A portion of the portion 6 between the pair of weakened cutting lines 15 is separated from the container lid. Next, a finger is placed on the center part 26 of the inner cover 4 through the opening 16 on the top surface of the outer cover 2 and pressed. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the center portion 26 of the inner lid 4 is depressed, and the plurality of hanging pieces 22 of the inner lid 4 are expanded radially outward. When the hanging pieces 22 are expanded radially outward, the skirt portion 6 of the outer lid 2 is also expanded radially outwardly. Accordingly, the seal of the opening 34 of the container is broken, opening the interior of the container to the atmosphere, and also disengaging the lower edge of the skirt 6 from the opening 34 of the container. After that, if you put your finger on the lower edge of the skirt part 6 and apply upward force, the outer lid 2 and the inner lid 4 held therein will be raised relatively easily, opening the container. The opening 34 of the container is thus opened.

Thus, the container lid once removed from the opening 34 of the container applies a radially inward force to the skirt portion 6 of the outer lid 2, causing the hanging piece 22 of the inner lid 4 to be displaced radially inward. and return it to its original state, and raise the center part 26 of the top surface part 20 again into a dome shape,
By then fitting the opening 34 of the container, it can be used to temporarily close the opening 34 of the container.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a specific example of a container lid according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the container lid shown in FIG. 1. 3 is a side view, partially in cross section, of the inner lid used in the container lid shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a side view, partially in cross section, showing a state in which the center portion of the top surface of the inner lid shown in FIG. 3 is depressed and the hanging pieces are expanded radially outward; FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a state in which the container lid shown in FIG. 1 is attached to the opening of the container and sealed. FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the state of the container lid shown in FIG. 1 when the container lid attached to the opening of the container is removed from the opening of the container. 2...Outer cover, 4...Inner cover, 6...Skirt portion of outer cover, 8...Annular top surface portion of outer cover, 12...Connecting piece of outer cover, 14...Tension ring, 15...Pair Weakening line for cutting, 20...Top surface part of inner lid, 22...
Hanging piece of the inner lid, 30...Additional connecting piece of the outer lid,
32...Weakening line for cutting formed on the additional connecting piece.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A cylindrical skirt portion, an annular top surface portion continuous to the upper end of the skirt portion, and a tension ring continuous to a part of the inner peripheral edge of the annular top surface portion via a connecting piece of a predetermined width, an outer cover in which a pair of weakened lines for cutting are formed in the annular top surface portion and the skirt portion along an extension line of both side edges of the connecting piece; and an outer cover held within the outer cover;
an inner lid that closes an opening present on the top surface of the outer lid; the lower edge of the skirt portion of the outer lid is deformed radially inward to engage with the opening of the container; In the opening type container lid, the inner lid has a top surface portion whose central portion is raised in a dome shape, and a plurality of hanging pieces that hang down from the periphery of the top surface portion, and the hanging pieces are located in contact with or close to the inner surface of the skirt portion of the outer lid, but not engaged with the opening of the container;
After pulling the tension ring of the outer cover and cutting the pair of weakening lines for cutting, the central part of the inner cover is depressed through the opening on the top surface of the outer cover. and an easy-to-open container lid, characterized in that the hanging piece is expanded radially outward, and thus the skirt portion of the outer lid is also expanded radially outward. 2. The outer lid has a relatively narrow addition connecting the tension ring to the inner periphery of the annular top surface at at least one suitable location circumferentially spaced relative to the connecting piece. 2. The easy-open container lid according to claim 1, wherein a connecting piece is formed. 3. The easy-open container lid according to claim 2, wherein the additional connecting piece is formed with a line of weakening for cutting that extends along the outer periphery of the tension ring.