阅读说明：本技术 合成树脂容器盖 (Synthetic resin container cover ) 是由 川崎翔太 岛田知 冈崎大树 林浩昭 杉山尚 脇岛淳 于 2019-06-04 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供一种新型的合成树脂容器盖,在围壁分离区(58),从其上游端起朝向逆时针方向破断多个可断连片(66)和/或可断连接薄壁(68)而将围壁(12)与侧壁(10)分离之后,尽可能避免施加于围壁(12)上的所需断裂力激增,断裂时的使用者的所谓官能得以改善。根据需要,使围壁分离区(58)中的可断连接薄壁(68)的壁厚变化。(A novel synthetic resin container lid is provided, in which, after a plurality of breakable pieces (66) and/or breakable connecting thin walls (68) are broken in a counterclockwise direction from the upstream end of a wall separating region (58) to separate a wall (12) from a side wall (10), the required breaking force applied to the wall (12) is prevented as much as possible from being increased, and so-called functionality of a user at the time of breaking is improved. The wall thickness of the thin breakable connection wall (68) in the wall separation area (58) is varied as required.)

1. A synthetic resin container closure having a closure body including a body portion covering a top surface of a container neck portion, a cylindrical side wall depending from the body portion, and a cylindrical peripheral wall surrounding the side wall, the closure body being mounted on the container neck portion in such a manner that a locking member extending in a circumferential direction is formed on an inner peripheral surface of the side wall and a locking claw formed on an outer peripheral surface of the container neck portion is locked by the locking member when fitted to the container neck portion, characterized in that a peripheral wall separation region, a transition region, and a side wall separation region are provided in this order in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from above, a breakable connection thin wall connecting an upper end of the peripheral wall and the side wall is present in the peripheral wall separation region, the breakable connection thin wall including an increasing portion increasing in wall thickness in the counterclockwise direction, a slit extending upward from a lower end on the peripheral wall is formed at an upstream end of the peripheral wall separation region in the counterclockwise direction, in the transition region and the sidewall separation region, the sidewall is connected to the main body portion by a breakable connecting thin wall extending continuously in the circumferential direction, and also in the transition region, at least a part of a breakable thin wall line extending obliquely downward in the counterclockwise direction is formed on the sidewall while the sidewall is firmly connected to the surrounding wall on a downstream side of the breakable thin wall line as viewed in the counterclockwise direction.

2. The synthetic resin container cap according to claim 1, wherein the wall thickness of the breakable connection thin wall is gradually increased from t1 below 0.05 mm up to t2 of 0.25-0.35 mm in the gradually increasing portion.

3. The synthetic resin container cap according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at an upstream end portion of the surrounding wall separation region as viewed in the counterclockwise direction, there is an unconnected portion which does not interconnect the surrounding wall and the side wall.

4. The synthetic resin container cap according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein in the peripheral wall separation region, a plurality of breakable pieces interconnecting the upper end of the peripheral wall and the side wall are circumferentially spaced.

5. The synthetic resin container cap according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the peripheral wall separation region exists over an angle of 20 to 180 degrees, the transition region exists over an angle of 10 to 45 degrees, and the sidewall separation region exists over an angle of 90 to 270 degrees.

6. The synthetic resin container cap according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the breakable thin line is formed of an upper end portion vertically extending downward from an upper end of the sidewall and an inclined body portion downwardly inclined toward a counterclockwise direction to extend to a lower end in contact with the upper end portion.

7. The synthetic resin container cap according to claim 6, wherein the inclined body has an inclination angle of 10 to 80 degrees with respect to a vertical line.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a synthetic resin container closure including a sidewall and a surrounding wall surrounding the sidewall, and more particularly, to a synthetic resin container closure which is mounted on a mouth-and-neck portion of a container in such a manner that a locking member formed on an inner circumferential surface of the sidewall is engaged with a locking claw formed on an outer circumferential surface of the mouth-and-neck portion of the container, but which can be separated from the mouth-and-neck portion of the container with sufficient ease without using a tool.

Prior Art

In a synthetic resin container lid widely used as a container for seasonings and the like, it is required to discard the container separately from the container after the contents are consumed from the viewpoint of waste disposal and resource saving. However, since the container cap is fitted and fixed to the mouth-and-neck portion of the container and cannot be easily separated, various improvements have been proposed in connection with the separability and disposability of the container cap. Patent document 1 listed below discloses, as a synthetic resin container closure suitable for use in a mouth-and-neck portion of a liquid seasoning container, a synthetic resin container closure which includes a body portion covering a top surface of the mouth-and-neck portion of the container, a cylindrical side wall depending from the body portion, and a cylindrical surrounding wall surrounding the side wall, and which is attached to the mouth-and-neck portion of the container by forming a locking member extending in a circumferential direction on an inner peripheral surface of the side wall, and locking the locking member to a locking claw formed on an outer peripheral surface of the mouth-and-neck portion of the container when fitted thereto. The peripheral wall separation area, the transition area and the side wall separation area are sequentially arranged in the anticlockwise direction when viewed from the top. At the peripheral wall separation region, the peripheral wall upper end is connected to the side wall by a breakable connecting thin wall extending continuously in the circumferential direction, and at the upstream end of the peripheral wall separation region as viewed in the counterclockwise direction, a slit extending upward from the lower end on the peripheral wall is formed. In the transition zone, a vertically extending breakable thin-walled line is formed on the side wall, which is firmly connected to the surrounding wall on the downstream side of the breakable thin-walled line as seen in the counterclockwise direction. In the sidewall separation region, the sidewall upper end is connected to the main body portion by a breakable connecting thin wall that extends continuously in the circumferential direction.

When the container lid is detached from the mouth-and-neck portion for so-called waste collection after the contents of the container are consumed, the breakable connecting thin wall is broken counterclockwise from the upstream end of the peripheral wall separation region to separate the peripheral wall from the side wall, and then the breakable connecting thin wall is broken counterclockwise from the upstream end of the side wall separation region to separate the side wall from the body portion while the breakable thin wall line of the side wall is broken at the transition region. Thus, the locking member formed on the inner peripheral surface of the side wall is at least partially separated from the locking claw formed on the mouth-and-neck portion of the container, and thus the entire container lid can be separated from the mouth-and-neck portion of the container without using a tool.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The container closure as described above has a problem that the entire container closure can be separated from the container neck without using a tool, but according to the experience of the present inventors, when the breakage of the breakable thin wall starts in the counterclockwise direction in the sidewall separation region along with the breakable thin wall line of the sidewall being broken in the transition region, the breakage of the breakable thin wall is in the circumferential direction compared with the breakage of the breakable thin wall line of the sidewall in the vertical direction, and therefore, it is difficult to start the breakage of the breakable thin wall simultaneously with or successively with the breakage of the breakable thin wall line of the sidewall, and the container closure cannot be separated from the container neck with sufficient ease.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present inventors have proposed, in the specification of patent application 2017-046982, that the breakable thin-walled line formed on the side wall in the transition region is in a form in which at least a part thereof extends obliquely downward and counterclockwise, and that, after the breakable thin-walled line in the transition region is broken, the breakage of the breakable connecting thin-walled line can be sufficiently smoothly started in the side wall separation region.

However, it has been found that the synthetic resin container lid proposed previously by the present inventors is not satisfactory enough, and the following problems remain. That is, after the wall separation region is separated from the side wall by pinching the upstream end portion of the wall as viewed in the counterclockwise direction with a finger from the upstream end thereof and breaking the breakable connecting thin wall in the counterclockwise direction, when the breakable thin wall line of the side wall is broken in the transition region, the required breaking force applied to the wall is increased sharply, the breaking behavior is temporarily stopped due to a large change in the breaking force with the breakable connecting thin wall in the wall separation region, and the so-called performance of the user at the time of a series of breaking actions during the separation is not necessarily good.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a main technical problem thereof is to improve the synthetic resin container lid previously proposed by the present inventors, and to prevent a sudden change in a required breaking force applied to the peripheral wall as much as possible after the peripheral wall separation region breaks the breakable connecting thin wall in a counterclockwise direction from the upstream end thereof to separate the peripheral wall from the side wall, and to improve the so-called feeling of the user at the time of a series of breaking operations during the separation.

Means for solving the problems

The present inventors have also conducted a functional test while conducting earnest studies, and as a result, have found that the above-mentioned main technical problem can be solved by changing the wall thickness of the disconnectable thin wall in the wall separation region as desired.

That is, according to the present invention, there is provided a synthetic resin container closure as a synthetic resin container closure solving the above-mentioned main technical problems, wherein the synthetic resin container closure has a closure body including a body portion covering a top surface of a container neck portion, a cylindrical side wall depending from the body portion, and a cylindrical surrounding wall surrounding the side wall, the closure body is attached to the container neck portion in such a manner that a locking member extending in a circumferential direction is formed on an inner circumferential surface of the side wall, and the locking member is engaged with a locking claw formed on an outer circumferential surface of the container neck portion when fitted to the container neck portion, characterized in that a surrounding wall separation region, a transition region, and a side wall separation region are provided in this order in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from above, a breakable thin wall connecting an upper end of the surrounding wall to the side wall is present in the surrounding wall separation region, the breakable thin wall includes an increasing portion increasing a wall thickness in the counterclockwise direction, a slit extending upward from a lower end on the peripheral wall is formed at an upstream end of the peripheral wall separation region as viewed in the counterclockwise direction, the side wall is connected to the main body portion by a breakable connecting thin wall extending continuously in the circumferential direction in the transition region and the side wall separation region, and the side wall and the peripheral wall are firmly connected to each other at a downstream side of the breakable thin wall line as viewed in the counterclockwise direction while at least a portion of the breakable thin wall line extending obliquely downward in the counterclockwise direction is formed at the side wall in the transition region.

Preferably, at the gradual increase, the wall thickness of the breakable connection thin wall gradually increases from t1 below 0.05 mm to t2 of 0.25-0.35 mm. It is appropriate that there is an unconnected portion at the upstream end of the peripheral wall separation region, as viewed in the counterclockwise direction, which does not connect the peripheral wall to the side wall. Suitably, a plurality of breakable tabs are provided at circumferentially spaced intervals in the separation zone of the enclosure wall connecting the upper end of the enclosure wall to the side wall. Suitably, the wall separation region is present over an angle of 20-180 degrees, the transition region is present over an angle of 10-45 degrees and the sidewall separation region is present over an angle of 90-270 degrees. Preferably, the breakable thin-walled line is composed of an upper end portion extending vertically downward from an upper end of the sidewall and an inclined main body portion contiguous to the upper end portion and extending obliquely downward all the way to a lower end toward the counterclockwise direction. Suitably the inclined body portion has an angle of inclination of 10-80 degrees to the vertical.

Effects of the invention

In the container lid of the present invention, since the thin breakable connecting wall includes the gradually increasing portion which gradually increases the wall thickness as viewed in the counterclockwise direction, after the thin breakable connecting wall is broken in the peripheral wall separation region in the counterclockwise direction from the upstream end thereof to separate the peripheral wall from the side wall, the sharp change of the required breaking force applied to the peripheral wall is avoided as much as possible, and the so-called functiveness of the user is improved at the time of a series of breaking actions in the separation.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is a front view, partially in section, of a preferred embodiment of a synthetic resin container closure constructed in accordance with the present invention in a state of being mounted on a mouth-and-neck portion of a container.

Fig. 2 is a front view of a cap body of the synthetic resin container cap shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a cap body of the synthetic resin container cap shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a cap body of the synthetic resin container cap shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of a cap body of the synthetic resin container cap shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a view showing in polar form the peripheral wall separating region of the lower end portion of the synthetic resin container cap shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a side view showing a transition region as a front surface in the cap body of the synthetic resin container cap shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a view showing a partial cross section at an angular position indicated by a in fig. 5 upside down.

Fig. 9 is a view showing a partial cross section at an angular position indicated by B in fig. 5 upside down.

Fig. 10 is a view showing a partial section at an angular position indicated by C in fig. 5 upside down.

Fig. 11 is a view showing a partial cross section at an angular position indicated by D in fig. 5 upside down.

Fig. 12 is a view showing a partial cross section at an angular position indicated by E in fig. 5 upside down.

Fig. 13 is a view showing a partial cross section at an angular position indicated by F in fig. 5 upside down.

Fig. 14 is a partial schematic view illustrating a breakable thin-wall line formed on the synthetic resin container cap shown in fig. 1.

Mode for carrying out the invention

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the container lid according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As will be explained with reference to fig. 1, a container lid constructed in accordance with the present invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 2, is comprised of a lid body 4 and an outer lid 6. The cap body 4 can be injection molded from a relatively soft synthetic resin such as polyethylene, and the outer cap 6 can be injection molded from a relatively hard synthetic resin such as high density polyethylene or polypropylene.

When described with reference mainly to fig. 3, the cap body 4 includes a body portion 8 covering the top surface of the mouth-and-neck portion of the container described below, a cylindrical side wall 10 depending from the body portion 8, and a cylindrical surrounding wall 12 surrounding the side wall 10. A circular discharge port formation region 16 demarcated by a circular breakable line 14 is defined in the center of the main body portion 8. A cylindrical wall 18 extending upward substantially midway in the radial direction is formed on the top surface of the main body portion 8. A male thread 20 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical wall 18. A cylindrical discharge wall 22 extending upward is formed radially inward of the cylindrical wall 18 and outward of the discharge port forming region 16. The upper end portion of the pouring wall 22 is curled radially outward. A cylindrical counterpart lock wall 24 extending upward is formed inside the discharge port formation region 16. A first axially mating locking ridge 26 that extends continuously in the circumferential direction and protrudes radially outward is provided at an axially intermediate portion of the outer peripheral surface of the mating locking wall 24, and an auxiliary ridge 28 that extends continuously in the circumferential direction and protrudes radially outward is provided slightly below the first axially mating locking ridge 26. Below the auxiliary ridge 28 on the outer circumferential surface of the counter lock wall 24, a first circumferential counter lock member 30 is provided. As will be understood with reference to fig. 3 and 4 in common, in the illustrated embodiment, there are 6 first circumferential counter locking parts 30 arranged at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction. The first axial mating locking ridge 26 and the first circumferential mating locking member 30 will be described later. A substantially horizontal circular central wall 32 is provided inside the lower end portion of the mating lock wall 24, and a central projecting shaft 34 extending upward is formed on the central wall 32.

As described with reference to fig. 3 to 5, a cylindrical hanging wall 36 hanging downward is formed on the outer periphery of the bottom surface of the body portion 8. A second axially mating locking ridge 38 that extends continuously in the circumferential direction and projects radially outward is provided at the upper end portion of the outer peripheral surface of the depending wall 36. A second circumferential counter lock member 40 is provided at a lower end portion of the outer peripheral surface of the depending wall 36. As is clear from fig. 4, in the illustrated embodiment, 6 second circumferential counter lock members 40 are provided at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction. As will be described later, the second axial mating locking ridge 38 and the second circumferential mating locking member 40 are provided. Radially inwardly of depending wall 36, a downwardly extending annular sealing wall 42 is formed. Radially inward of the seal wall 42, axially extending outer ribs 44 are fixed to the bottom surface and the inner side surface of the body 8. As understood with reference to fig. 5, 4 outer ribs 44 are provided at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction. On the radially inner side of the outer rib 44, there is also formed an annular seal piece 46 projecting obliquely radially outward and downward from a root end contacting the bottom surface of the main body portion 8 on the radially inner side of the breakable line 14, and a projecting end thereof is located radially outward of the breakable line 14. The sealing disc 46 can be relatively thin and elastically deformable. Radially inward of the seal 46, an axially extending inner rib 48 is secured to the bottom surface of the central wall 32 and the inner side surface of the mating lock wall 24. As understood with reference to fig. 5, 4 inner ribs 48 are provided at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction.

When explained with primary reference to fig. 3 and 5, the upper end of the side wall 10 is connected to the lower end of the depending wall 36 of the body portion 8 by a cylindrical connecting portion 50. A rectangular cutout 52 is provided in a predetermined region in the circumferential direction of the lower end portion of the side wall 10 (see also fig. 10, 11, and 14). A locking member 54 extending in the circumferential direction is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the side wall 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the locking member 54 is a plurality of circumferentially extending ridges that are circumferentially spaced apart. The locking member 54 is not provided at a portion where a thin portion (see also fig. 14) described later is formed. If desired, the locking member 54 may be a ridge extending continuously in the circumferential direction or a plurality of tabs provided at intervals in the circumferential direction, but in either case is absent where a thin wall portion described later is formed.

As shown in fig. 3, a bottomless annular gap 56 is provided between the wall 12 and the side wall 10. The connection of the wall 12 to the side wall 10 will be mentioned below.

As explained with reference to fig. 5, in the container lid according to the present invention, the peripheral wall separating region 58, the transition region 60 and the sidewall separating region 62 are provided in this order in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from above (i.e., a clockwise direction as viewed from below, which is the direction indicated by the arrow X). More downstream counterclockwise of the sidewall separation region 62 (specifically between the sidewall separation region 62 and the wall separation region 58) there is preferably an unseparated region 64, while the wall separation region 58 is preferably present across an angle of 20-180 degrees, the transition region 60 is present across an angle of 10-45 degrees, the sidewall separation region 62 is present across an angle of 90-270 degrees, and the unseparated region 64 is present across an angle of 45-180 degrees. In the illustrated embodiment, the perimeter wall separation region 58 spans an angle of 84 degrees, the transition region 60 spans an angle of 13 degrees, the sidewall separation region 62 spans an angle of 173 degrees, and the unseparated region 64 spans an angle of 90 degrees.

When it is stated primarily with reference to fig. 5 and 6 and 9, it is important that there is a thin breakable connecting wall 68 connecting the upper end of the perimeter wall 12 with the side wall 10 at the perimeter wall separation zone 58, the thin breakable connecting wall 68 comprising an increasing portion 70 of increasing wall thickness seen in the counter-clockwise direction. The taper 70 is preferably present across an angle of 20-180 degrees. The top surface of the thin breakable connection wall 68 is substantially horizontal over the entire range in the circumferential direction, and when the wall thickness of the thin breakable connection wall 68 increases, the position of the bottom surface of the thin breakable connection wall 68 moves downward. At the gradual increase 70, the wall thickness of the thin breakable connection wall 68 may gradually increase from t1 below 0.05 mm to t2 of 0.25-0.35 mm. At the upstream end portion 71 of the surrounding wall separation region 58 as viewed in the counterclockwise direction, there are provided an unconnected portion 71a which does not interconnect the surrounding wall 12 and the side wall 10 (i.e., there is no thin wall 68 for disconnectable connection), and a constant portion 71b which has a constant wall thickness t1 despite the thin wall 68 for disconnectable connection. While the upstream end of the constant portion 71b is connected to the downstream end of the unconnected portion 71b, the downstream end of the constant portion 71b is connected to the upstream end of the increasing portion 70. In the illustrated embodiment, the unconnected portion 71a spans an angle of 36 degrees, the constant portion 71b spans an angle of 18 degrees, and the increasing portion 70 spans an angle of 30 degrees. If desired, the unconnected portion 71a and/or the constant portion 71b may be absent. That is, the thin breakable connecting wall 68 may be formed over the entire extent of the peripheral wall separation region 58, and the increasing portion 70 may also be formed from the upstream end of the peripheral wall separation region 58 as viewed in the counterclockwise direction. In the illustrated embodiment, in the wall separation region 68 (specifically, the portion of the wall separation region 68 excluding the unconnected portion 71 a), a plurality of breakable links 66 interconnecting the upper end of the wall 12 and the sidewall 10 are also provided at intervals in the circumferential direction.

As will be explained further with reference to fig. 2 in conjunction with fig. 5, a slit 72 is formed in the wall 12 extending upwardly from the lower end at the counterclockwise upstream end of the wall separation zone 58. In the illustrated embodiment, the downstream end portion of the peripheral wall 12 in the counterclockwise direction of the unseparated region 64 is cut out with a substantially rectangular cutout, except for the remaining portion 74 located at the upper end portion thereof, and the remaining portion 74 may be formed with a thin wall having an L-shaped downward cross section (see also fig. 8). Therefore, the upper end portion of the upstream edge in the counterclockwise direction of the surrounding wall 12 on the downstream side of the slit 72 in the counterclockwise direction is connected to the upper end portion of the downstream edge in the counterclockwise direction of the surrounding wall 12 on the upstream side of the slit 72 in the counterclockwise direction, that is, the remaining portion 74, by the breakable connecting piece 76. As is clearly understood with reference to fig. 5, the wall thickness of the breakable connection 76 is smaller than the wall thickness of the residual 74 of the thinned peripheral wall 12. As will be described further with reference to fig. 2 and 5, an auxiliary slit 78 extending upward from the lower end is formed in the peripheral wall 12 on the downstream side of the slit 72 in the counterclockwise direction, and a nip 79 is defined between the slit 72 and the auxiliary slit 78 as viewed in the counterclockwise direction. If desired, the remaining portion 74 may be formed not at the upper end portion of the surrounding wall 12 but at the lower end portion or the intermediate portion of the surrounding wall 12 as viewed in the axial direction, and in the case where the remaining portion 74 is formed at the lower end portion or the intermediate portion of the surrounding wall 12 as viewed in the axial direction, the breakable connecting piece 76 that connects the remaining portion 74 and the counterclockwise upstream edge of the surrounding wall 12 on the downstream side of the slit 72 in the counterclockwise direction is also located at the lower end portion or the intermediate portion of the surrounding wall 12 as viewed in the axial direction. As described with reference to fig. 5 and 9, a rib 80 continuously extending in the axial direction from the upper end to the lower end between the adjacent breakable links 66 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the surrounding wall 12. The rib 80 and the breakable links 66 are disposed at positions different from each other as viewed in the circumferential direction.

As explained mainly with reference to fig. 5 and 7, in the transition region 60 and the sidewall separation region 62, the upper end of the sidewall 10 is connected to the main body portion 8 by a thin breakable connecting wall 82 that extends continuously in the circumferential direction. The thin breakable connection wall 82 is defined by partially reducing the outer diameter of the cylindrical connection portion 50 (refer to fig. 9 and 10 in contrast).

As explained mainly with reference to fig. 5, 7, and 14, the side wall 10 is firmly connected to the peripheral wall 12 on the counterclockwise downstream side of the breakable thin-walled line 84 while forming the breakable thin-walled line 84 on the side wall 10 in the transition region 60, at least a portion of which extends obliquely downward in the counterclockwise direction. In the illustrated embodiment, in the transition region 60, a thin-walled portion 86 defined by locally increasing the inner diameter of the side wall 10 and extending obliquely downward in the counterclockwise direction is formed on the side wall 10 (see also fig. 10 and 11). As clearly understood with reference to fig. 14, the thin-walled portion 86 has a substantially parallelogram shape, and the upper end of the upstream end in the counterclockwise direction is integrated with the upper end of the side wall 10, while the lower end of the downstream end in the counterclockwise direction is integrated with the lower end of the side wall 10. Thus, the region 88 where the side wall 10 is firmly connected to the wall 12 comprises a portion of the thin-walled portion 86, the breakable thin-walled line 84 being defined by the portion of the thin-walled portion 86 not connecting the side wall 10 to the wall 12 (the portion indicated by light ink in fig. 14).

When the above-described region 88 is described in more detail with reference to fig. 14, the region 88 has a first straight edge 88a extending vertically downward from the upper end of the side wall 10 at a position slightly downstream of the counterclockwise upstream end of the transition region 60, and an inclined side edge 88b inclined downward in the counterclockwise direction in contact with the lower end of the first straight edge 88a and extending in parallel with the thin-walled portion 86. The region 88 also has a U-shaped edge 88c convexly curved downward at the counterclockwise upstream end portion of the side wall separation region 62 in contact with the counterclockwise downstream end of the inclined side edge 88b and having an inflection point integrated with the lower end of the side wall 10, and a second straight edge 88d vertically extending upward as viewed in the axial direction up to the upper end position of the locking member 54 in contact with the upper end on the counterclockwise downstream side of the U-shaped edge 88 c. Because the region 88 of the sidewall 10 is stiffer than the thin-walled portion 86 of the sidewall 10, the thin-walled portion 86 is more likely to fracture along the perimeter of the region 88 in the transition region 60. However, the breakable thin-walled line 84 is constituted by an upper end portion 84a extending vertically downward from the upper end of the side wall 10 along a first straight edge 88a at the thin-walled portion 86, and an inclined main body portion 84b extending obliquely downward in the counterclockwise direction along an inclined edge 88b to the lower end of the side wall 10 in contact with the upper end portion 84 a. The inclined main body portion 84b preferably has an inclination angle of 10 to 80 degrees with respect to a vertical line, and in the illustrated embodiment has an inclination angle of 45 degrees. If desired, instead of forming the thin portion 86 as a parallelogram including a part of the region 88, the region 88 may be formed so as to have a shape along the outer periphery of the first straight edge 88a, the inclined edge 88b, and the U-shaped edge 88c, but if the thin portion has such a shape, the shape of the mold for forming the thin portion becomes complicated, and the manufacturing process becomes complicated, and the manufacturing cost may increase.

In the unseparated region 64, the side wall 10 is firmly connected to the surrounding wall 12, and the thin breakable connection wall is not formed on the cylindrical connecting portion 50 interconnecting the body portion 8 and the side wall 10 (refer to fig. 12 and 13 in contrast).

As will be explained further with reference to fig. 1, the outer lid 6 includes a circular top wall 90, a cylindrical skirt wall 92 depending from the peripheral edge of the top wall 90. A downwardly depending cylindrical depending wall 94 is formed radially outwardly of the inner surface of the top wall 90. A female screw 96 is provided at a lower end portion of the inner peripheral surface of the depending wall 94. A plurality of ribs 98 (details are omitted) are formed at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction at the upper end portion of the inner peripheral surface of the depending wall 94, and a shoulder surface 100 is formed at the lower end of each rib 98. Radially inward of the inner surface of the top wall 90, a downwardly depending cylindrical lock wall 102 is formed. A first axial locking ridge 104 that extends continuously in the circumferential direction and projects radially inward is provided at the lower end portion of the inner peripheral surface of the locking wall 102. Below the first axial locking ridge 104 on the inner peripheral surface of the locking wall 102, a first circumferential locking member 106 is provided. Although not shown, the first circumferential locking members 106 are provided at 6 in the circumferential direction at equal angular intervals and engage with the respective first circumferential counterpart locking members 30 provided on the cover main body 6. That is, when the outer lid 6 is rotated clockwise with respect to the lid body 4, the first circumferential locking part 106 provided on the outer lid 6 elastically passes over the first circumferential counterpart locking part 30 provided on the lid body 4, and when the outer lid 6 is rotated counterclockwise with respect to the lid body 4, the first circumferential locking part 106 provided on the outer lid 6 is restricted by the first circumferential counterpart locking part 30 provided on the lid body 4. A tubular spoiler 108 and a tubular assist seal piece 110 that depend between the vertical wall 94 and the lock wall 102 are also formed on the inner surface of the top wall 90.

A breakable line 112 extending in the circumferential direction is formed at the lower end portion of the skirt wall 92, and the skirt wall 92 is divided into a body portion 92a above the breakable line 112 and a tamper evident skirt portion 92b below the breakable line 112. The breakable lines 112 are preferably located at the same position as or below the lower end of the depending wall 94 as viewed in the axial direction. A convex strip (concave-convex shape) 114 for preventing a finger from slipping on the outer peripheral surface of the body portion 92a of the skirt wall 92 is formed. A second axial locking ridge 116 that extends continuously in the circumferential direction and projects radially inward is provided at the upper end portion of the inner peripheral surface of the tamper evident skirt 92 b. A second circumferential locking member 118 is provided at the lower end portion of the inner circumferential surface of the tamper evident skirt 92 b. Although illustration is omitted, a plurality of second circumferential locking members 118 are provided at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction, and each second circumferential locking member 118 engages with each second circumferential counter locking member 40 provided on the cover main body 6. That is, when the outer lid 6 is rotated in the clockwise direction with respect to the lid body 4, the second circumferential locking part 118 provided on the outer lid 6 elastically passes over the second circumferential counterpart locking part 40 provided on the lid body 4, and when the outer lid 6 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction with respect to the lid body 4, the second circumferential locking part 118 provided on the outer lid 6 is restricted by the second circumferential counterpart locking part 40 provided on the lid body 4.

The cap body 4 and the outer cap 6 as described above can be assembled with each other by rotating the outer cap 6 relative to the cap body 4 in the clockwise direction as viewed from above in a state where the outer cap 6 is fitted to the cap body 4, so that the male thread 20 of the cap body 4 is threadedly engaged with the female thread 96 of the outer cap 6. In this case, the predetermined jig is applied to the outer rib 44 and the inner rib 48 of the lid body 4 as described above to restrict the rotation of the lid body 4 with respect to the outer lid 6. When the outer lid 6 is lowered relative to the lid body 4 by rotating the outer lid 6 relative to the lid body 4 in the above-described direction, the first circumferential locking members 106 on the outer lid 6 elastically ride over the first circumferential counter locking members 30 on the lid body 4, and at the same time, the second circumferential locking members 118 on the outer lid 6 also elastically ride over the second circumferential counter locking members 40 on the lid body 4. Therefore, the rotation of the outer cap 7 with respect to the cap body 4 is not restricted by the engagement of the first circumferential lock member 30 with the first circumferential counter lock member 110 and the engagement of the second circumferential lock member 118 with the second circumferential counter lock member 40. When the cap body 4 is assembled with the outer cap 6 by threadedly engaging the female thread 96 of the outer cap 6 with the male thread 20 of the cap body 4, the first axial locking ridge 104 provided on the locking wall 102 of the outer cap 6 elastically passes over and is locked thereunder by the first axial mating locking ridge 26 provided on the mating locking wall 24 of the cap body 4, and the second axial locking ridge 116 provided on the skirt wall 92 of the outer cap 6 elastically passes over and is locked thereunder by the second axial mating locking ridge 38 provided on the depending wall 36 of the cap body 4. The outer cap 6 is rotated relative to the cap body 4 until the shoulder surface 100 formed on the depending wall 94 thereof abuts the top surface of the cylindrical wall 18 of the cap body 4. Thus, the outer lid 6 is attached to the lid body 4. In a state where the outer lid 6 is attached to the lid body 4, as shown in fig. 1, the outer peripheral surface of the auxiliary seal piece 110 of the outer lid 6 is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the upper end portion of the pouring wall 22 of the lid body 4.

The container lid 2 assembled as described above is forcibly lowered with respect to the container mouth-and-neck portion 120 indicated by a two-dot chain line in fig. 1 to the state shown in fig. 1, thereby being mounted on the container mouth-and-neck portion 120. Then, the locking member 54 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the side wall 10 of the cap body 4 elastically passes over the locking claw 122 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth-and-neck portion 120 and is locked therein, and the cap body 4 is fixed to the mouth-and-neck portion 120. Further, the sealing wall 42 of the cap body 4 is brought into the mouth-and-neck portion 120, whereby the mouth-and-neck portion 120 is sealed.

When the contents of the container are consumed, the outer lid 6 mounted on the lid main body 4 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction as viewed from above by the fingers' catching on the skirt wall 92 of the outer lid 6. When the outer lid 6 is rotated in the above-described direction with respect to the lid main body 4, the threaded engagement of the female screw 96 formed on the depending wall 94 of the outer lid 6 with the male screw 20 formed on the lid main body 4 is released, and the outer lid 6 is raised with respect to the lid main body 4. At this time, the first axial locking ridges 104 provided on the locking walls 102 of the outer lid 6 are locked to the first axial mating locking ridges 26 provided on the mating locking walls 24 of the lid body 4, so that the outer lid 6 is restricted from being lifted relative to the lid body 4, and at the same time, the first circumferential locking members 106 provided on the locking walls 102 of the outer lid 6 are locked to the first circumferential mating locking members 30 provided on the mating locking walls 24 of the lid body 4, so that the outer lid 6 is restricted from being rotated relative to the lid body 4. Therefore, when the outer lid 6 is further rotated relative to the lid body 4 in the above-described direction, stress is transmitted to and concentrated on the breakable line 14 defined on the body portion 8 by the first axial locking ridge 104 and the first axial mating locking ridge 26 and the first circumferential locking member 106 and the first circumferential mating locking member 30, and such force causes the breakable line 14 to break to form the discharge port. When the outer lid 6 is further rotated relative to the lid body 4 in the above-described direction after the breakable line 14 is broken to form the discharge port in the body portion 8 of the lid body 4, the discharge port formation area 16 is separated from the other portion of the body portion 8, and the discharge port formation area 16 is raised relative to the lid body 4 together with the outer lid 6. When the discharge port forming region 16 is removed from the other portion of the main body portion 8, the sealing sheet 46 moves above the other portion due to elastic bending.

When the outer lid 6 is rotated relative to the lid body 4 in the above-described direction and the outer lid 6 is further raised relative to the lid body 4, the second axial locking ridge 116 provided on the skirt wall 92 of the outer lid 6 is locked to the second axial mating locking ridge 38 provided on the hanging wall 36 of the lid body 4 to restrict the raising of the outer lid 6 relative to the lid body 4, and at the same time, the second circumferential locking member 118 provided on the skirt wall 92 of the outer lid 6 is locked to the second circumferential mating locking member 40 provided on the hanging wall 36 of the lid body 4 to restrict the rotation of the outer lid 6 relative to the lid body 4. Therefore, when the outer lid 6 is further rotated with respect to the lid main body 4 in the above-described direction, stress is transmitted to and concentrated on the breakable line 112 provided on the skirt wall 92 by the second axial locking ridge 116 and the second axial counter locking ridge 38 and the second circumferential locking member 118 and the second circumferential counter locking member 40, and such force causes the breakable line 112 to break. After doing so, the main body portion 92a moves upward while rotating to disengage the cap body 4, leaving the tamper evident skirt portion 92b, thereby exposing a discharge port formed on the main body portion 8 of the cap body 4 through which the contents can be discharged.

After the discharge of the required amount of the content is completed, the outer cap 6 is fitted to the cap body 4, and then the female screw 96 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the depending wall 94 of the outer cap 6 is screwed with the male screw 20 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical wall 18 of the cap body 4 by rotating in the clockwise direction as viewed from above, so that the outer cap 6 is lowered with respect to the cap body 4. When the outer lid 6 is lowered relative to the lid body 4 by rotating the outer lid 6 relative to the lid body 4 in the above-described direction, although not shown, the sealing sheet 46 abuts against the top surface of the above-described other portion of the body portion 8 to be prevented from moving downward of the discharge port formation area 16, and at the same time, the discharge port formed in the body portion 8 is closed. In this way, the cover 6 separated from the cover main body 4 is mounted on the cover main body 4 again.

After the container contents have been consumed, the entire container lid is removed from the container mouth neck 120 for so-called separate waste recovery. At this time, at the counterclockwise upstream end portion of the surrounding wall separation region 58, the breakable connecting pieces 76 can be broken by forcing the pinch portion 79 upwardly or radially outwardly sandwiching the pinch portion 79 defined at the upstream end portion 71 of the surrounding wall 12. The gripping portion 79 is then forced radially outward and counterclockwise to disengage the wall 12 from the sidewall 10. In this way, in the wall separating region 58, tensile stress is applied to the breakable tab 66 and the breakable thin wall 68 that connect the wall 12 and the side wall 10, and these are broken in the counterclockwise direction from the portion near the pinch portion 79.

In the container lid of the present invention, since the thin breakable connection wall 68 includes the gradually increasing portion 70 whose wall thickness increases as viewed in the counterclockwise direction, after the thin breakable connection wall 68 is broken in the peripheral wall separation region 58 from the upstream end thereof toward the counterclockwise direction to separate the peripheral wall 12 from the side wall 10, the sharp change of the required breaking force applied to the peripheral wall 12 is avoided as much as possible, and the so-called functiveness of the user is improved at the time of a series of breaking actions in the separation.

Then, when the pinch portion 79 is forced radially outward and counterclockwise to disengage the surrounding wall 12 from the side wall 10, at least a portion of the thin breakable thin-wall line 84 formed on the side wall 10 extending obliquely downward in the counterclockwise direction is broken while the thin breakable connecting wall 82 interconnecting the main body portion 8 and the side wall 10 in the transition region 60 is broken. The breaking of the breakable thin-walled line 84 is described in more detail with reference to fig. 14. The upper end portion 84a of the breakable thin-walled wire 84 is broken first because the upper end portion 84a is locally made thin as viewed in the counterclockwise direction and stress is concentrated. Then, the inclined main body portion 84b is broken along the inclined edge 88b of the region 88, starting from the breakage of the upper end portion 84 a. At this time, since the region 88 having high rigidity includes a part of the thin portion 86 having low rigidity, a shearing force can be favorably applied between the region 88 and the thin portion 86, and the inclined body portion 84b of the breakable thin wire 84 can be smoothly broken. Thus, the side wall 10 can be broken in the vertical direction. Then, since the side wall 10 and the surrounding wall 12 are firmly connected at the counterclockwise downstream side of the breakable line 84, the side wall 10 is moved radially outward together with the surrounding wall 12.

Then, when the peripheral wall 12 is disengaged from the side wall 10 by forcing the pinch portion 79 radially outward and counterclockwise, the breakable connecting thin wall 82 interconnecting the body portion 8 and the side wall 10 is subsequently broken after the transition region 60 in the side wall separation region 62, the side wall 10 is moved radially outward together with the peripheral wall 12, and the latching of the locking member 54 formed on the cap body 4 to the locking claw 122 formed on the container mouth neck portion 120 is gradually released. The breaking of the thin breakable connection wall 82 is stopped by reaching the unseparated area 64. After the end of the breaking of the breakable connecting thin wall 82, the latching to the spout neck 120 by the latching member 54 is sufficiently weakened, so that the peripheral wall 12 of the other region is forced upward coaxially with the peripheral wall 12 in the unseparated region 64, thereby enabling the entire cap body 4 to be detached from the spout neck 120 with sufficient ease.

Examples

Injection moulding a polyethylene container lid of nominal 33 mm diameter according to the form shown in figures 1 to 14. At the gradually increasing portion 70 of the peripheral wall separation region 58, the wall thickness of the thin breakable connection wall 68 is set to gradually increase from t1 to t2 of 0.30 mm in the counterclockwise direction. In the transition region 60, the radial wall thickness of the thin breakable connection wall 82 is set to 0.05 mm, and the radial wall thickness of the thin wall portion 86 of the thin breakable connection wall 84 is set to 0.25 mm (see fig. 10 and 11).

The container cap is attached to a container neck and mouth portion made of polyethylene terephthalate having a neck and mouth portion as shown by a two-dot chain line in fig. 1. Subsequently, at the counterclockwise upstream end of the peripheral wall separation region 58, the pinch 79 defined by the upstream end 71 of the peripheral wall 12 is gripped to force it upwardly or radially outwardly to disengage the container closure from the container finish as described above. At this time, the breaking force at the downstream end of the peripheral wall separation region 58 as viewed in the counterclockwise direction, that is, the breaking force of the thin breakable connection wall 68 at the position where the wall thickness of the thin breakable connection wall 68 is t2, is 15 newtons, and the breaking force at the upstream end of the transition region 60 as viewed in the counterclockwise direction, that is, the breaking force for breaking the thin breakable connection wall 82 and the thin wall portion 86 at the same time, is 25 newtons. Thus, the required breaking force applied to the enclosure wall 12 at the downstream end of the enclosure wall separation zone 58 and the upstream end of the transition zone 60 varied by 10 newtons.

Comparative example

The same form of the container cap as that of the above-described embodiment is formed except that the wall thickness of the thin breakable-connection wall 68 of the container cap is constantly set (i.e., the gradually increasing portion 70 is not provided) at t1 of 0.05 mm, which is mounted on the same form of the container mouth-and-neck portion as that of the container equipped with the container cap of the above-described embodiment. Therefore, the container lid is detached from the container mouth-and-neck portion as in the above-described embodiment. The breaking force at the downstream end of the wall separation region 58, i.e., the breaking force of the thin breakable connecting walls 68, as viewed in the counterclockwise direction is 5 n, and the breaking force at the upstream end of the transition region 60, as viewed in the counterclockwise direction, is 25 n as in the previous embodiment. Thus, the required breaking force exerted on the enclosure wall 12 at the downstream end of the enclosure wall separation zone 58 and the upstream end of the transition zone 60 varies by 20 newtons.

Description of the reference numerals

2: container lid

4: cover main body

6: outer cover

8: main body part

10: side wall

12: enclosure wall

58: separation area of surrounding wall

60: transition zone

62: sidewall separation zone

64: unseparated area

66: breakable connecting piece

68: thin wall capable of being disconnected and connected

70: gradual increase part

106: container mouth and neck

108: locking claw