WO2001051380A1

WO2001051380A1 - Cap for liquid containers

Info

Publication number: WO2001051380A1
Application number: PCT/KR2001/000052
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hee Kwon Rho
Original assignee: Hee Kwon Rho
Priority date: 2000-01-14
Filing date: 2001-01-12
Publication date: 2001-07-19
Also published as: AU2001227143A1

Abstract

The object of this invention is to provide a cap for liquid containers. The cap consists of a mounting part (1), a liquid discharging part (2) extending from the top of the mounting part (1) upwardly. A liquid outlet opening (2a) and an air inlet opening (2b) are formed on the sidewall of the liquid discharging part (2), while a partition wall (23) is provided in the part (2) to partition a liquid passage from an air passage. A top cover (4) is connected to the mounting part (1) and covers the liquid dischargingpart (2). During a liquid discharging action, atmospheric air is introduced into the container without causing uneven flow or violent gush of the outlet liquid. A fitting ring (3) is formed at the bottom of the liquid discharging part (2) to hold the cover (4), thus allowing a user to easily close or open the cap as desired.

Description

CAP FOR LIQUID CONTAINERS

Technical Field

The present invention relates, in general, to a cap set on the mouth of a liquid container so as to open or close the mouth as desired and, more particularly, to a cap designed to allow atmospheric air to be introduced into the liquid container through the cap when liquid is discharged from the container through the cap.

Background Art

As well known to those skilled in the art, a conventional cap for liquid containers is designed such that it is normally tightened to the single mouth of a liquid container to close the mouth, and is selectively removed from the mouth to open the mouth when it is desired to discharge liquid from the container. After the cap is removed from the mouth of the container, the container is properly leaned to a side so as to allow a desired amount of liquid to be discharged from the container through the open mouth. When liquid is discharged from the container through the open mouth as described above, negative pressure proportionate to the volume of discharged liquid is formed within the container. In order to compensate for the negative pressure induced within the container, atmospheric air is continuously introduced into the container through the same mouth during such a liquid discharging action. However, the mouth of the container provides only one passage, and so discharged liquid unevenly flows out of the mouth and gushes violently since it inevitably encounters atmospheric air current flowing into the container through the same mouth. Therefore, people sometimes fail to smoothly discharge liquid from the mouth of the container into a desired cup, but may spill some liquid outside the cup.

In an effort to overcome the above-mentioned problem experienced while discharging liquid from the mouth of a conventional liquid container, another liquid container, designed to prevent such an encounter of outlet liquid with inlet atmospheric air within the mouth and to prevent uneven flow of outlet liquid or a violent gush of the liquid from the mouth, was proposed. In this proposed liquid container, a mouth, normally sealed with a cap, is formed at a side of the container, while an air inlet opening is formed at the other side opposite to the mouth.

When liquid is discharged from the leaned container through the open mouth, atmospheric air is separately introduced into the container through the air inlet opening, thus smoothly flowing into the container without encountering the outlet liquid. However, this liquid container is problematic in that it forces a manufacturer to separately form the air inlet opening on the container in addition to the mouth of the container during the process of producing the containers. This complicates the container production process and increases the production cost, and reduces productivity while producing liquid containers. Another problem of the container resides in that it fails to achieve a desired sealing effect for preserving the liquid in a fresh state. In addition, the liquid container having such a separate air inlet opening in addition to the mouth is limited in its application since it is very difficult to form such an air inlet opening on some containers having a narrow neck, such as bottles.

Disclosure of the Invention

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cap for liquid containers, which is designed to allow liquid to be smoothly discharged from a liquid container through the mouth of the container while allowing atmospheric air to smoothly flow into the container through the mouth without encountering the discharged liquid.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cap for liquid containers, which is designed to allow a user to selectively open the mouth of a liquid container to discharge liquid from the container through the mouth and to tightly close the mouth so as to achieve a desired sealing effect for preserving the liquid left within the container in a fresh state.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a cap for liquid containers, which is designed to allow some liquid, left around the mouth of a liquid container after a liquid discharging action, to be naturally recovered into the container by gravity.

In order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a cap for liquid containers, comprising: a mounting part engaging with the mouth of a liquid container, the mounting part having a cylindrical shape with internal threads and being tightened to external threads formed on the mouth of the liquid container at the internal threads; a liquid discharging part extending from the top of the mounting part upwardly, and used for discharging liquid from the container, the liquid discharging part comprising a hollow cylindrical sidewall and a top wall integrated along the top edge of the cylindrical sidewall so as to cover the top of the sidewall, with a liquid outlet opening formed at a portion of the sidewall and an air inlet opening formed at another portion of the sidewall opposite to the liquid outlet opening; and an openable top cover connected to a side of the mounting part, and used for covering and protecting the liquid discharging part.

In the cap of this invention, a partition wall vertically extends from the lower surface of the top wall of the liquid discharging part downward, thus partitioning the interior of the liquid discharging part into a liquid passage and an air passage.

The liquid discharging part has an outer diameter smaller than that of the mounting part, with a fitting ring externally formed around the junction of the mounting part and the liquid discharging part and used for engaging with the lower edge of the skirt of the openable top cover when the top cover is closed. The fitting ring had an outer diameter smaller that that of the mounting part, but larger than that of the liquid discharging part.

The upper surface of the fitting ring is inclined downwardly from the outside edge to the inside edge, thus forming a sloped upper surface. This sloped upper surface of the fitting ring continuously extends at its inside edge to the air inlet opening. In the cap of this invention, one or more liquid guide walls vertically extend from the lower surface of the top wall of the liquid discharging part downward such that the liquid guide walls are perpendicular to the partition wall.

The above liquid guide walls are used for guiding liquid flowing in the liquid discharging part before the liquid is discharged from the liquid outlet opening.

Another embodiment of this invention provides a cap for liquid containers, comprising: a mounting part engaging with the mouth of a liquid container, the mounting part having internal threads on its sidewall and being tightened to the mouth of the liquid container at the internal threads; and a liquid discharging part including a hollow cylindrical sidewall extending from the top of the mounting part upward and closed by the top wall at its top end, the liquid discharging part having an inner diameter equal to or larger than the outer diameter of the mouth, the liquid discharging part being provided with both a liquid outlet opening and an air inlet opening, the liquid outlet opening and air inlet opening being commonly closed by the mouth when the mounting part is rotated to move downward relative to the mouth, but commonly communicating with the mouth to allow liquid to be discharged from the container through the liquid outlet opening and allow atmospheric air to flow into the container through the air inlet opening when the mounting part is rotated to move upward relative to the mouth.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a cap for liquid containers in accordance with the primary embodiment of the present invention, when the openable top cover of the cap is opened from the cap body;

Fig. 2 is a rear perspective view of the cap according to the primary embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the cap according to the primary embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 4 is a rear view of the cap according to the primary embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the cap according to the primary embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 6 is a partially sectioned view of the cap according to the primary embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view, showing the cap according to the primary embodiment of this invention set on the mouth of a liquid container, with the liquid guide walls removed from the cap for ease of description;

Fig. 8 is a front perspective view of a cap for liquid containers in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention, when the openable top cover of the cap is opened from the cap body;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the cap according to the second embodiment of this invention set on the mouth of a liquid container;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view of the cap according to the second embodiment of this invention set on the mouth of the liquid container, with a plurality of sealing members removed from the cap to allow liquid to be discharged from the container through the cap; Fig. 1 1 is a front perspective view of a cap for liquid containers in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention, when the openable top cover of the cap is opened from the cap body;

Fig. 12 is a sectional view of the cap according to the third embodiment of this invention set on the mouth of a liquid container; Fig. 13 is a sectional view of the cap according to the third embodiment of this invention when the cap body is somewhat loosened from the mouth of the liquid container to allow liquid to be discharged from the container through the cap; and

Fig. 14 is a sectional view of the cap of Fig. 13 taken along the line A-A. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Reference now should be made to the drawings, in which the same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings to designate the same or similar components. Figs. 1 to 6 show a cap for liquid containers in accordance with the primary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawings, the cap according to the primary embodiment of this invention comprises three parts, that is, a mounting part 1, a liquid discharging part 2, and an openable top cover 4. The cap of this invention is mounted to the mouth of a liquid container at the mounting part 1. The liquid discharging part 2 extends from the top of the mounting part 1 upwardly, and is used for discharging liquid from the container. The openable top cover 4 is connected to a side of the mounting part 1 , and is used for covering and protecting the liquid discharging part 2.

In the cap of this invention, the mounting part 1 is a cylindrical part with internal threads 12, and so the part 1 is tightened to the externally-threaded mouth of the liquid container at the internal threads 12. The liquid discharging part 2 comprises a hollow cylindrical sidewall 21, and a top wall 22 integrated along the top edge of the sidewall 21 so as to cover the top of the sidewall 21. A liquid outlet opening 2a is formed at the front portion of the sidewall 21, while an air inlet opening 2b is formed at the rear portion of the sidewall 21 opposite to the liquid outlet opening 2a. A partition wall 23 vertically extends from the lower surface of the top wall 22 downward within the liquid discharging part 2, thus partitioning the interior of the part 2 into a liquid passage 2a' and an air passage 2b'. The openable top cover 4 is rotatably connected to a side of the mounting part 1 by a snap hinge 5. The cover 4 is thus normally closed to cover the liquid discharging part 2, and is selectively opened to expose the part 2 to the atmosphere.

The outer diameter of the liquid discharging part 2 is smaller than that of the mounting part 1. A fitting ring 3 is externally formed around the junction of the mounting part 1 and the liquid discharging part 2, and closely engages with the lower edge 41 of the skirt of the top cover 4 when the cover 4 is fully closed. In such a case, the outer diameter of the fitting ring 3 is smaller than that of the mounting part 1, but is larger than that of the liquid discharging part 2. The upper surface 31 of the fitting ring 3 is linearly inclined downwardly from the outside edge to the inside edge, thus forming a sloped surface.

The sloped upper surface 31 of the fitting ring 3 continuously extends at its inside edge to the lower edge of the air inlet opening 2b, and so some liquid, left on the upper surface 31 at a time when the container is stood upright after liquid is discharged from the container through the liquid outlet opening 2a, naturally flows down the sloped upper surface 31 by gravity and is recovered into the container through the air inlet opening 2b.

The circular lower edge 41 of the skirt of the openable top cover 4 is slightly depressed along its interior surface, thus forming an annular seat having an inner diameter slightly larger than that of the remaining part of the skirt. The top cover 4 is thus closely fitted over the fitting ring 3 at the annular seat.

An inclined recess 11 is externally formed at the upper edge of the front portion of the mounting part 1, thus allowing the lower edge 41 of the top cover 4 to be partially exposed to the outside at a position above the recess 1 1 , when the cover 4 is completely closed. Therefore, when it is desired to open the top cover

4, it is possible for a user's fingertip to easily reach the exposed part of the lower edge 41 through the recess 1 1 prior to levering the cover 4 up. The top cover 4 is thus easily opened.

The lower edge of the liquid outlet opening 2a is defined by the top edge of a liquid leading wall 26 extending upward from the inside edge of the sloped upper surface 31 of the fitting ring 3 to a predetermined height. The liquid leading wall 26 allows liquid to smoothly flow from the liquid outlet opening 2a without coming into contact with the fitting ring 3 during a liquid discharging action. The top edge of the liquid leading wall 26 is so rounded upwardly that its central portion is higher than opposite end portions. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an undesired concentration of liquid toward the central portion of the top edge of the liquid leading wall 26 when the liquid flows out of the liquid outlet opening 2a during a liquid discharging action.

Three liquid guide walls 24 and 25 vertically extend from the lower surface of the top wall 22 downward within the liquid discharging part 2 in such a way that they are perpendicular to the partition wall 23. The three liquid guide walls 24 and 25 smoothly guide liquid currents within the liquid discharging part 2 before the liquid is discharged from the part 2 through the liquid outlet opening 2a. Of the three guide walls 24 and 25, the central one 24 has a rectangular profile and is integrated with the fitting ring 3, thus enhancing the structural strength of the liquid discharging part 2. On the other hand, the two outside guide walls 25 individually have a triangular profile, with the horizontal side of each triangular guide wall 25 integrated with the top wall 22, the vertical side extending in parallel to the surface of the partition wall 23, and the inclined side suspended within the interior of the liquid discharging part 2. As best seen in Figs. 3 and 6, the top wall 22 of the liquid discharging part

2 slopes up in a direction toward the central portion of the upper edge of the liquid outlet opening 2a. Opposite side edges of the liquid outlet opening 2a are linearly inclined in such a way that the horizontal width of the opening 2a is gradually reduced in a direction from the top to the bottom as best seen in Figs. 1 and 3. Due to such a profile of the liquid outlet opening 2a, liquid converges to the center of the opening 2a and smoothly flows out of the opening 2a into a desired cup.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view, showing the cap according to the primary embodiment of this invention set on the mouth of an upright standing liquid container, with the liquid guide walls 24 and 25 removed from the cap for ease of description. When the container is properly leaned to the right in the drawing after opening the top cover 4, liquid in the container flows through the liquid passage 2a' prior to being discharged from the liquid outlet opening 2a into a desired cup. During such a liquid discharging action, atmospheric air is introduced into the container through the air inlet opening 2b and the air passage 2b' so as to compensate for the negative pressure induced within the container.

In such a case, the inlet air current does not encounter the outlet liquid, and so the liquid is smoothly discharged from the container without unevenly flowing or violently gushing from the mouth of the container.

Figs. 8 to 10 show a cap for liquid containers in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawings, the cap according to the second embodiment of this invention comprises three parts, that is, a mounting part 108, a liquid discharging part 1 12, and an openable top cover 1 14. The cap of this invention is mounted to the mouth 106 of a liquid container 104 at the mounting part 108. The liquid discharging part 1 12 extends from the top of the mounting part 108 upwardly, and is used for discharging liquid from the container 104. The liquid discharging part 1 12 has a liquid outlet opening 142 and an air inlet opening 144. The liquid outlet opening 142 is formed at the front portion of the sidewall of the liquid discharging part 112, while the air inlet opening 144 is formed on the top wall of the liquid discharging part 112 at a rear portion opposite to the liquid outlet opening 142. The openable top cover 114 is connected to a side of the mounting part 108, and is used for covering and protecting the liquid discharging part 112.

In the cap of this embodiment, the mounting part 108 is a cylindrical part with internal threads, and so the part 108 is tightened to the externally-threaded mouth 106 of the liquid container 104 at the internal threads. A first sealing member, made of an elastic material, is fitted into the mouth 106, and seals the top edge of the mouth 106 within the top portion of the mounting part 108 when the cap is fully tightened to the mouth 106. This first sealing member seals the mouth 106 to maintain pressure of liquid within the container 104 as desired. The first sealing member comprises a disc-shaped sealing plate 118, which comes into close contact with the top edge of the mouth 106. A cylindrical sealing skirt 120 vertically and downwardly extends from the lower surface of the sealing plate 1 18 along the edge of the plate 118 such that the skirt 120 comes into close contact with the interior wall of the mouth 106 to enforce the sealing effect of the sealing member. In the present invention, it is preferred to make the first sealing member including the sealing skirt 120 using rubber capable of allowing the skirt 120 to be more effectively brought into close contact with the interior wall of the mouth 106 to accomplish a desired sealing effect when interior pressure of the container 104 acts on the skirt 120. This sealing skirt 120 is provided with a plurality of contact lugs 124. The first sealing member must be removed from the mouth 106 by a user to allow liquid to be discharged from the container 104 as will be described later herein.

A fitting ring 128 is externally formed around the junction of the mounting part 108 and the liquid discharging part 1 12, and closely engages with the lower edge of the skirt of the top cover 114 when the cover 114 is fully closed. A guide groove 132, having a predetermined depth, is formed along the upper surface of the fitting ring 128, and so some liquid, left on the upper surface of the fitting ring 128 at a time when the container 104 is stood upright after liquid is discharged from the container 104 through the liquid outlet opening 142, naturally flows down the surface of the guide groove 132 by gravity and is recovered into the container 104 through a plurality of liquid return holes 134 formed along the bottom of the guide groove 132.

The liquid discharging part 112 is integrally formed on the top of the mounting part 108, and comprises a hollow cylindrical sidewall having a predetermined height and closed by a top wall. A partition wall 146 vertically extends from the lower surface of the top wall downward within the liquid discharging part 112, thus partitioning the interior of the part 112 into a liquid passage 138 and an air passage 140. The liquid passage 138 allows liquid to flow from the container 104 to the atmosphere, while the air passage 140 allows atmospheric air to flow into the container 104. The liquid outlet opening 142 is formed at the front portion of the sidewall of the part 1 12 to communicate with the liquid passage 138, thus allowing a discharging of liquid from the container 104. The air inlet opening 144 is formed at the rear portion of the top wall of the part 1 12 to communicate with the air passage 140, thus allowing an introduction of atmospheric air into the container 104. In order to close the liquid outlet opening 142 and the air inlet opening

144 so as to seal them before the cap is opened, two second sealing members 150 are integrally set at the two openings 142 and 144. In this embodiment, the second sealing members 150 are thin films formed at the openings 142 and 144 to close the openings, and are easily removed from the openings when pressed by a user. The openable top cover 114, used for covering the liquid discharging part

1 12, is rotatably connected to a side of the mounting part 108 by a snap hinge. In order to allow the cover 1 14 to be stably held on the mounting part 108 when it covers the liquid discharging part 112, a locking ring 130 is formed on the internal surface of the skirt of the cover 1 14 along the lower edge, and elastically engages with the fitting ring 128 of the mounting part 108. A finger-operable projection

152 is exteriorly formed on the front part of the sidewall of the cover 1 14 at a position around the lower edge. It is thus easy to open the cover 1 14 by levering the projection 152 up when necessary.

The cylindrical sidewall of the cover 1 14 is open at its lower end, and so the cover 1 14 effectively seals both openings 142 and 144 of the liquid discharging part 112.

The operational effect of the cap according to the second embodiment will be described herein below.

The first and second sealing members are removed from the cap to open the mouth 106 and the two openings 142 and 144 as shown in Fig. 10.

When the container 104 in the above state is properly leaned to the left in the drawings after opening the top cover 1 14, liquid in the container 104 flows through the liquid passage 138 prior to being discharged from the liquid outlet opening 142 to the atmosphere. During such a liquid discharging action, atmospheric air is introduced into the container 104 through the air inlet opening

144 and the air passage 140 so as to compensate for the negative pressure induced within the container 104. In such a case, the inlet air current does not encounter the outlet liquid, and so the liquid is smoothly discharged from the container 104 without unevenly flowing or violently gushing from the mouth 106 of the container 104.

In such a case, some liquid, flowing from the liquid outlet opening 142, flows down on the upper surface of the fitting ring 128 to be collected in the guide groove 132 prior to being recovered into the container 104 through the return holes 134.

Figs. 1 1 to 13 show a cap for liquid containers in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the drawings, the cap according to the third embodiment of this invention comprises four parts, that is, a mounting part 208, a cover fitting part 210, a liquid discharging part 212, and an openable top cover 216. The cap of this invention is mounted to the mouth 206 of a liquid container 204 at the mounting part 208. The cover fitting part 210 is integrally formed at the top of the mounting part 208. The liquid discharging part 212 extends from the top of the cover fitting part 210 upwardly, and is used for discharging liquid from the container 104, in addition to introducing atmospheric air into the container 204. The openable top cover 216 is connected to a side of the mounting part 208, and is fitted over the cover fitting part 210 to cover and protect the liquid discharging part

212.

In the cap of this embodiment, the mounting part 208 is a cylindrical part with internal threads 220, and so the part 208 is tightened to the externally- threaded mouth 206 of the liquid container 204 at the internal threads 220. The internal threads 220 of the mounting part 208 are provided with a locking embossment 218. Due to the locking embossment 218, the mounting part 208 is limitedly rotatable relative to the mouth 206 in either direction to be opened or closed only when the mounting part 208 is rotated around the mouth 206 by force stronger than a predetermined level. That is, the locking embossment 218 is formed on a predetermined portion of the internal threads 220 of the mounting part 208 to reduce the space between two neighboring threads 220. When the mounting part 208 is rotated relative to the mouth 206, the external thread 222 of the mouth 206 reaches the locking embossment 218, and is compressed by the embossment 218, and so the mounting part 208 at the above-mentioned position is limitedly rotatable relative to the mouth 206 in either direction to be opened or closed only when it is rotated around the mouth 206 by force stronger than a predetermined level.

The cover fitting part 210 is integrally formed at the top of the mounting part 208. This part 210 is gradually reduced in its outer diameter in a direction from the lower end to the upper end, and so the cover 216 is fitted over the part 210 when the cover 216 covers the liquid discharging part 212. A N-shaped recess 230 is externally formed at the upper edge of the front portion of the mounting part 208, thus allowing the lower edge of the cover 216 to be partially exposed to the outside at a position above the recess 230 when the cover 4 is completely closed. Therefore, it is possible for a user's fingertip to easily reach the exposed part of the cover 216 through the recess 230 prior to levering the cover

216 up.

The liquid discharging part 212 is a hollow cylindrical body integrally extending from the top of the cover fitting part 210 upwardly, and has an outer diameter smaller than that of the cover fitting part 210. The inner diameter of the liquid discharging part 212 is equal to or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the mouth 206. The sidewall of the liquid discharging part 212 is closed by a top wall. A liquid outlet opening 226 is formed at the front portion of the sidewall of the liquid discharging part 212 to discharge liquid from the container 104, while an air inlet opening 228 is formed on the sidewall of the liquid discharging part 212 at a rear portion opposite to the liquid outlet opening 226.

As shown in Figs. 13 and 14, the liquid outlet opening 226 is formed by partially opening the front portion of the sidewall of the liquid discharging part 212, with two vertical support ribs 232 regularly provided at the opening 226 to maintain the shape of the opening 226. The upper surface of the lower edge of the liquid outlet opening 226 is linearly inclined downward from the outside edge to the inside edge, thus forming a sloped surface 227. Due to the sloped surface 227, liquid naturally flows down the sloped surface 227 by gravity to be recovered from the liquid outlet opening 226 into the container 204. It is thus possible to prevent the liquid from flowing on the external surface of the container during a liquid discharging action.

A liquid guide means is provided within the liquid outlet opening 226 for guiding liquid to allow the liquid to flow in a single direction when the liquid is discharged from the opening 226.

As shown in Fig. 14, the liquid guide means is formed by the inclined side surfaces of the vertical support ribs 232 as shown in Fig. 14. That is, opposite side surfaces of each support rib 232 are inclined relative to the radial axis of the liquid discharging part 212 at an angle of β to form a triangular cross-section, thus allowing the liquid to flow along the inclined surfaces of the support ribs 232 when the liquid flows out through the liquid outlet opening 226. The opposite side surfaces of the opening 226 are inclined relative to the radial axis of the liquid discharging part 212 at an angle of θ, thus guiding the liquid to the central portion of the opening 226.

The air inlet opening 228 is formed on the sidewall of the liquid discharging part 212 at the rear portion opposite to the liquid outlet opening 226.

That is, the air inlet opening 228 is formed at a position around the joint of the mounting part 208 and the cover 216. A vertical support rib 238 is formed at the center of the opening 228 to maintain the shape of the opening 228.

A sealing member 240 is interiorly seated on the lower surface of the top wall of the liquid discharging part 212, and comes into close contact with the top end of the mouth 206 to seal the mouth 206. Fig. 13 is a sectional view of the cap according to the third embodiment of this invention when the cap body is somewhat loosened from the mouth of the liquid container to allow liquid to be discharged from the container through the cap.

As shown in the drawing, the mouth 206 is opened when the mounting part 208 of the cap is somewhat loosened. That is, when the mounting part 208 is rotated and moved upward relative to the mouth 206, the mouth 206 communicates with both the liquid outlet opening 226 and the air inlet opening 228, thus allowing liquid to be discharged from the container 204 to the atmosphere through the liquid outlet opening 226. When the container 204 in the above state is properly leaned to the left in the drawings after opening the top cover 216, liquid in the container 204 is discharged to the atmosphere through the liquid outlet opening 226. During such a liquid discharging action, atmospheric air is introduced into the container 204 through the air inlet opening 228 so as to compensate for the negative pressure induced within the container 204. In such a case, the inlet air current does not encounter the outlet liquid, and so the liquid is smoothly discharged from the container 204 without unevenly flowing or violently gushing from the mouth 206 of the container 204.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the present invention provides a cap for liquid containers. This cap comprises a mounting part, a liquid discharging part, and an openable top cover. The cap is easily and firmly mounted to the mouth of a liquid container at the mounting part. The liquid discharging part extends from the top of the mounting part upwardly, and is used for discharging liquid from the container. The openable top cover is connected to a side of the mounting part, and is used for covering and protecting the liquid discharging part. The interior of the liquid discharging part is partitioned into a liquid passage and an air passage by a partition wall, and is provided with a liquid outlet opening communicating with the liquid passage and an air inlet opening communicating with the air passage. When the liquid is discharged from the container through the liquid outlet opening, atmospheric air is introduced into the container through the air inlet opening to compensate for negative pressure induced within the container. The cap thus allows liquid to be smoothly discharged from the container without unevenly flowing or violently gushing from the mouth of the container. A fitting ring is formed around the junction of the mounting part and the liquid discharging part, and closely engages with the lower edge of the skirt of the top cover when the cover is fully closed. It is thus possible for the top cover to stably cover the liquid discharging part and protect the liquid discharging part from the outside. The fitting ring is positioned under the liquid discharging part, thus allowing the cover to be easily and simply opened. Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A cap for liquid containers, comprising: a mounting part engaging with a mouth of a liquid container, said mounting part having a cylindrical shape with internal threads and being tightened to external threads formed on the mouth of said liquid container at said internal threads; a liquid discharging part extending from the top of said mounting part upwardly, and used for discharging liquid from the container, said liquid discharging part comprising a hollow cylindrical sidewall and a top wall integrated along a top edge of said cylindrical sidewall so as to cover the top of said sidewall, with a liquid outlet opening formed at a portion of said sidewall and an air inlet opening formed at another portion of said sidewall opposite to the liquid outlet opening; and an openable top cover connected to a side of said mounting part, and used for covering and protecting said liquid discharging part.

2. The cap according to claim 1, wherein a partition wall vertically extends from a lower surface of said top wall of the liquid discharging part downward, thus partitioning the interior of said liquid discharging part into a liquid passage and an air passage.

3. The cap according to claim 2, wherein one or more liquid guide walls vertically extend from the lower surface of said top wall of the liquid discharging part downward such that said liquid guide walls are perpendicular to said partition wall, said liquid guide walls being used for guiding liquid flowing in the liquid discharging part before the liquid is discharged from said liquid outlet opening.

4. The cap according to claim 3, wherein said liquid guide walls comprise one central guide wall integrated with a lower part of the sidewall of said liquid discharging part at its lower portion, and two outside guide walls positioned outside the central guide wall and individually having a triangular profile, with a horizontal side of each of said triangular outside guide walls integrated with the top wall of the liquid discharging part, a vertical side extending in parallel to said partition wall, and an inclined side suspended within the interior of said liquid discharging part.

5. The cap according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said top wall of the liquid discharging part is inclined upward in a direction toward a central portion of an upper edge of said liquid outlet opening.

6. The cap according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said liquid outlet opening is inclined at opposite side edges thereof such that the liquid outlet opening has a horizontal width gradually reduced in a direction from the top to the bottom.

7. The cap according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said liquid discharging part has an outer diameter smaller than that of said mounting part, with a fitting ring externally formed around the junction of said mounting part and said liquid discharging part and being used for engaging with a lower edge of a skirt of said openable top cover when the top cover is closed, said fitting ring having an outer diameter smaller that that of said mounting part, but larger than that of said liquid discharging part.

8. The cap according to claim 7, wherein an upper surface of said fitting ring is inclined downwardly from an outside edge to an inside edge, thus forming a sloped upper surface.

9. The cap according to claim 8, wherein said sloped upper surface of the fitting ring continuously extends at its inside edge to said air inlet opening.

10. The cap according to claim 7, wherein said lower edge of the skirt of the openable top cover is depressed along its interior surface, thus forming an annular seat and being fitted over the fitting ring at said annular seat.

1 1. The cap according to claim 2, wherein an inclined recess is externally formed at a predetermined position of an upper edge of said mounting part, thus allowing the lower edge of said openable top cover to be partially exposed to the outside at a position above the inclined recess when the cover is closed.

12. The cap according to claim 7, wherein a liquid leading wall extends upward from an inside edge of said fitting ring to a predetermined height, thus defining a lower edge of said liquid outlet opening at its top edge.

13. The cap according to claim 12, wherein the top edge of said liquid leading wall is so rounded upwardly that its central portion is higher than opposite end portions.

14. The cap according to claim 1, wherein two thin films are integrally formed at the liquid outlet opening and the air inlet opening, thus closing said openings, said thin films being removed from the openings when pressed by predetermined force.

15. A cap for liquid containers, comprising: a mounting part engaging with a mouth of a liquid container, said mounting part having internal threads on its sidewall and being tightened to the mouth of said liquid container at said internal threads; and a liquid discharging part including a hollow cylindrical sidewall extending from a top of said mounting part upward and closed by a top wall at its top end, said liquid discharging part having an inner diameter equal to or larger than an outer diameter of said mouth, said liquid discharging part being provided with both a liquid outlet opening and an air inlet opening, said liquid outlet opening and air inlet opening being commonly closed by the mouth when the mounting part is rotated to move downward relative to the mouth, but commonly communicating with the mouth to allow liquid to be discharged from the container through the liquid outlet opening and allow atmospheric air to flow into the container through the air inlet opening when the mounting part is rotated to move upward relative to the mouth.

16. The cap according to claim 15, further comprising: a cover fitting part formed at a top of said mounting part; and an openable top cover connected to a side of said mounting part, and removably fitted over the cover fitting part at its lower edge to cover and protect said liquid discharging part.

17. The cap according to claim 15, wherein an upper surface of a lower edge of the liquid outlet opening is inclined downward from an outside edge to an inside edge, thus forming a sloped upper surface and allowing liquid to naturally flow down the sloped upper surface to be recovered from the liquid outlet opening into the container after a liquid discharging action.

18. The cap according to claim 15, wherein two vertical support ribs are regularly provided at the liquid outlet opening, with opposite side surfaces of each of said two support ribs being inclined relative to a radial axis of the liquid discharging part at an angle of β to form a triangular cross-section of each of said support ribs, thus allowing the liquid to flow along the inclined side surfaces of the support ribs during a liquid discharging action, and opposite side surfaces of said liquid outlet opening being inclined relative to the radial axis of the liquid discharging part at an angle of θ, thus guiding the discharged liquid to a central portion of the liquid outlet opening during the liquid discharging action.

19. The cap according to claim 15, wherein a partition wall is provided within the liquid discharging part for partitioning the liquid outlet opening from the air inlet opening.