U.S. patent application number 12/995101 was filed with the patent office on 2011-04-28 for integrally formed attachment cap with lid opened by single push.
Invention is credited to Hiroshi Yoshihara.
Application Number | 20110095023 12/995101 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41376670 |
Filed Date | 2011-04-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110095023 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yoshihara; Hiroshi |
April 28, 2011 |
INTEGRALLY FORMED ATTACHMENT CAP WITH LID OPENED BY SINGLE PUSH
Abstract
A thin attachment cap capable of simply taking out contents from
a container containing drinking water, juice, powder or the like.
In the attachment cap (30), by pressing down a pressing part (33)
in the direction of an arrow (34) while a lid (31) is closed, the
lid (31) rotates in the direction of an arrow (35) and an
extraction port (37) is opened. When the pressing part (33) is
completely pressed down, the lid (31) stands up approximately at
the right angle with respect to a cap base (32). When the lid (31)
stands up, the lid (31) is temporarily fixed, and a liquid or the
like in the container can be smoothly taken out through the
extraction port (37).
Inventors: |
Yoshihara; Hiroshi; (Tokyo,
JP) |
Family ID: |
41376670 |
Appl. No.: |
12/995101 |
Filed: |
May 30, 2008 |
PCT Filed: |
May 30, 2008 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP2008/001375 |
371 Date: |
January 10, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/260 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 5/746 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/260 |
International
Class: |
B65D 47/08 20060101
B65D047/08 |
Claims
1. An integrally formed attachment cap attached to a container in
order to take out contents in the container and allowing its lid to
be opened and closed by a single push, the integrally formed
attachment cap comprising: a cap base having a pouring opening for
taking out the contents, an attachment surface of the cap base
being attached to the container; a hinge section including a
pushing operation section rotatably connected adjacently to one end
of the cap base and a correction arm section formed spaced apart
from and parallel to the pushing operation section; and a lid body
rotatably connected adjacently to the other end of the pushing
operation section and the correction arm section and having a plug
section for sealing the pouring opening, wherein the cap base has a
receiving region capable of receiving the pushing operation section
on an upper surface of the cap base facing an attachment surface of
the cap base; a bottom surface of the receiving region is formed
lower than the surface on which the correction arm section abuts
against the upper surface; and in a state in which the pouring
opening is sealed by the plug section, when the pushing operation
section is pushed out into the receiving region, the lid body
rotates to release the plug section from the pouring opening.
2. The integrally formed attachment cap according to claim 1,
wherein the correction arm section is formed spaced apart from and
parallel to both sides of the pushing operation section.
3. The integrally formed attachment cap according to claim 1,
wherein a sectional side of the correction arm section contacting
the cap base is formed flared such that when a pushing operation is
performed, the correction arm section always contacts a lower
portion of the cap base, thereby preventing lifting upward.
4. The integrally formed attachment cap according to claim 1,
further comprising a cylindrical wall around the pouring
opening.
5. The integrally formed attachment cap according to claim 1,
wherein the plug section has a protruding section fit into the
pouring opening.
6. The integrally formed attachment cap according to claim 1,
further comprising a hook section for temporarily fixing the lid
body to the cap base.
7. The integrally formed attachment cap according to claim 1,
wherein the attachment cap is integrally formed of a synthetic
resin.
8. The integrally formed attachment cap according to claim 1,
wherein the cap base has an air vent for passing air into the
container and the lid body has an air vent plug section for closing
the air vent when the lid body is completely closed.
9. The integrally formed attachment cap according to claim 1,
wherein when the pushing operation section is pushed down into the
receiving region by a pushing operation, an end section on a
pushing operation section side in a bending section formed between
the pushing operation section and the lid body contacts a
wedge-shaped side surface in an upstanding section of the cap base
from a bottom section in the receiving region, an end section on
the lid body in the bending section is located on an upper surface
of the upstanding section of the cap base, and thereby the lid body
maintains a state of standing up on the upper surface of the cap
base.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to an attachment cap attached
to a container containing a liquid or the like, and more
particularly to an attachment cap allowing its lid to be opened by
a single push.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] It would be very convenient to be able to smoothly take out
a liquid or the like from a container containing the liquid or the
like by a single handed operation. There have been proposed various
cap mechanisms of this kind allowing a lid to be opened by a single
push.
[0003] For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,310 discloses a lid opening
mechanism in which, particularly in FIG. 30, a pushing operation
section 5 is formed on a side surface of a case 11 and the pushing
operation section 5 is pushed from a lateral direction thereof to
rotate a lid section 12 around a bending line 21. According to this
mechanism, as illustrated in FIG. 31, it is understood that the lid
section 12 rotates around a support section 24. As the lid section
12 rotates, the bending line 21 gets into a space formed between
the pushing operation section 5 and the support section 24. In
other words, the lid section 12 rotates by leverage using a support
section 24 as the fulcrum.
[0004] Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 1A according to the
present application, an attachment cap 12 is attached to a paper
carton pack 11 to take out juice or the like contained in the paper
carton pack 11. In order to open the attachment cap 12, as
illustrated in FIG. 1B, first, the paper carton pack 11 is held by
one hand and a lid body 13 of the attachment cap 12 is lifted by
the other hand so as to open a pouring opening 15 of a cap base 14.
Then, juice or the like, which are contents, can be poured into a
glass through the pouring opening 15.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0005] According to the above embodiment disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.
5,730,310, the pushing operation section 5 is pushed by a finger
and thus in order to improve the operability, the pushing operation
section 5 needs to have a wide area to some extent. This imposes a
limitation that the case 11 cannot be very thin. Further, in order
to increase the volume of the case 11, it is preferable to provide
a small space formed between the pushing operation section 5 and
the support section 24. However, the smaller the space, the smaller
the lever ratio (a ratio of the distance from a fulcrum point to a
force applied point divided by the distance (corresponding to the
length of the lid section 12) from the fulcrum point to an
operating point). Therefore, as the lid section 12 becomes larger,
the stronger pushing pressure is needed.
[0006] Further, the attachment cap 12 illustrated in FIG. 1A
involves the inconvenience that both hands are required to open it.
Furthermore, when a liquid is to be taken out, air will flow back
inside the paper carton pack 11 through the pouring opening 15, and
thus involves the inconvenience of preventing the liquid from being
smoothly taken out.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0007] The present invention has been made to solve the above
problems and provides an attachment cap allowing contents such as a
liquid to be smoothly taken out from a container. More
specifically, the present invention provides a cap mechanism which
allows its lid to be opened by a single push as well as a further
thinner attachment cap which allows its lid to be opened by a small
force.
[0008] In light of this, the attachment cap according to the
present invention includes a cap base, a hinge section adjacently
connected to the cap base, and a lid body adjacently connected to
the hinge section. The cap base has a pouring opening for taking
out contents. The hinge section includes a pushing operation
section rotatably connected adjacently to one end of the cap base
and a correction arm section formed parallel to and spaced apart
from the pushing operation section. The lid body is rotatably
connected adjacently to the other end of the pushing operation
section and the correction arm section and has a plug section for
sealing the pouring opening. In the attachment cap configured in
this manner, the cap base has a receiving region capable of
receiving the pushing operation section on an upper surface of the
cap base facing an attachment surface of the cap base, and a bottom
surface of the receiving region is formed lower than the surface on
which the correction arm section abuts against the upper surface.
In a state in which the pouring opening is sealed by the plug
section, when the pushing operation section is pushed out into the
receiving region, the lid body rotates to release the plug section
from the pouring opening.
[0009] Further, the attachment cap according to the present
invention includes not only the above configuration but also an air
vent separately from the pouring opening provided on the cap base,
in which the lid body includes a plug section and an air vent plug
section fit to the pouring opening and the air vent
respectively.
Advantages of the Invention
[0010] The present invention can form a shallow region for
operating the pushing operation section and thus can provide a thin
attachment cap allowing its lid to be opened by a single push.
Further, the pushing operation section can be pushed from an upper
portion of the attachment cap and thus a relatively strong force
can be applied to the pushing operation section. This allows the
lid body to be sufficiently rotated. Furthermore, the attachment
cap according to the present invention has an air vent and thus
allows contents in a container to be smoothly taken out.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1A illustrates a state in which a conventional
attachment cap with its lid closed is attached to a paper carton
pack;
[0012] FIG. 1B is a drawing for describing an operation of opening
the lid of the conventional attachment cap;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a drawing for schematically describing an
operation of opening a lid of an attachment cap according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 3A is a perspective view illustrating the attachment
cap with its lid closed according to an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0015] FIG. 3B is a perspective view for describing an operation of
opening the lid of the attachment cap according to an embodiment of
the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 3C is a perspective view illustrating a state in which
the attachment cap according to an embodiment of the present
invention completely opens its lid;
[0017] FIG. 4A is a plan view of the attachment cap according to an
embodiment of the present invention at the time of its
formation;
[0018] FIG. 4B is a side view of the attachment cap according to an
embodiment of the present invention at the time of its
formation;
[0019] FIG. 4C is a bottom view of the attachment cap according to
an embodiment of the present invention at the time of its
formation;
[0020] FIG. 5 is a sectional view along line A-A of FIG. 4A
illustrating the attachment cap according to an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0021] FIG. 6A is a plan view of a state of the attachment cap with
its lid closed according to an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0022] FIG. 6B is a side view of a state of the attachment cap with
its lid closed according to an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0023] FIG. 6C is a bottom view of a state of the attachment cap
with its lid closed according to an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0024] FIG. 7 is a sectional view along line B-B of FIG. 6A
illustrating the attachment cap according to an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0025] FIG. 8A is a sectional view of the attachment cap for
describing a state in which a lid body thereof is closed;
[0026] FIG. 8B is a sectional view of the attachment cap for
describing a state in which the lid body advances and a hook
thereof is disengaged;
[0027] FIG. 8C is a sectional view of the attachment cap for
describing a state in which the lid body rotates;
[0028] FIG. 8D is a sectional view for describing a state in which
the lid body is completely opened;
[0029] FIG. 9 is a sectional view for describing a state in which
the lid body is maintained in a state in which the lid body
completely stands up;
[0030] FIG. 10 is a sectional view along line C-C of FIG. 6A
illustrating the attachment cap according to an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0031] FIG. 11 is a plan view of an attachment cap according to
another embodiment of the present invention at the time of its
formation;
[0032] FIG. 12 is a sectional view along line D-D of FIG. 11
illustrating the attachment cap according to the another embodiment
of the present invention;
[0033] FIG. 13 is a plan view of a state of the attachment cap with
its lid closed according to the another embodiment of the present
invention;
[0034] FIG. 14 is a sectional view along line E-E of FIG. 12
illustrating the attachment cap according to the another embodiment
of the present invention; and
[0035] FIG. 15 is a side view of a state of the attachment cap with
its lid closed according to the another embodiment of the present
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS
[0036] 21 Container
[0037] 22, 31, 44 Lid body
[0038] 23, 33, 48 Pushing operation section
[0039] 25, 37, 45, 101 Pouring opening
[0040] 26, 49 Air vent
[0041] 30, 41, 100 Attachment cap
[0042] 32, 42 Cap base
[0043] 36, 46 Cylindrical wall
[0044] 39, 57 Air vent plug section
[0045] 43 Hinge section
[0046] 50 Correction arm section
[0047] 52, 53, 54, 55 Bending section
[0048] 56, 102 Plug section
[0049] 58 Receiving region
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0050] As an embodiment of the present invention, an attachment cap
attached to a paper carton pack will be described based on the
drawings. The present attachment cap can be formed by injection
molding using polypropylene, but may be formed integrally with a
container thereof. Further, the following description is based on
the assumption that the present attachment cap is attached to a
paper carton pack, but it may be attached to a container other than
the paper carton pack such as a synthetic resin carton pack.
Furthermore, the illustrated attachment cap is simplified in detail
for ease of description and it should be noted that the size of the
attachment cap is different from that of an actual attachment cap.
Furthermore, the following description is based on the assumption
that the present attachment cap is attached to a container
containing a liquid or the like, but the attachment cap according
to the present invention may be attached to a container containing
powder or particles. Furthermore, the attachment cap may have one
pouring opening or a plurality of pouring openings. It should be
noted that throughout the drawings, like reference numerals or
characters refer to like components for the sake of
convenience.
[0051] FIG. 2 is a perspective view for schematically describing an
operation of opening a lid body 22 in a state in which an
attachment cap 20 according to the present invention is attached to
a paper carton pack 21. In a state in which the lid body 22 is
closed, when a pushing operation section 23 of the attachment cap
20 is pushed down, the lid body 22 rotates in a direction indicated
by an arrow 24. As a result, a pouring opening 25 opens and an air
vent 26 opens as well. Since the air vent 26 opens, a liquid in the
paper carton pack 21 can be smoothly taken out through the pouring
opening 25.
[0052] FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C each is a perspective view for
schematically describing an operation of an attachment cap 30
according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A
is a drawing illustrating a state in which a lid body 31 of the
attachment cap 30 is closed. In this state, the lid body 31 is
folded into a cap base 32 and a pouring opening is closed by the
lid body 31. As described later, an air vent is also closed by an
air vent plug section.
[0053] As illustrated in FIG. 3B, when a pushing operation section
33 is pushed down in a direction indicated by an arrow 34, the lid
body 31 rotates in a direction indicated by an arrow 35. As a
result, the lid body 31 is disengaged from a cylindrical wall 36
and a pouring opening 37 opens. At the same time, an air vent 38 is
released from an air vent plug section 39. When the pushing
operation section 33 is completely pushed down, as illustrated in
FIG. 3C, the lid body 31 stands up substantially at a right angle
with respect to the cap base 32. When the lid body 31 stands up,
the lid body 31 is located on an upstanding section 40 of the cap
base 32 and temporarily fixed thereto (described later). Therefore,
a liquid in the container can be smoothly taken out through the
pouring opening 37.
[0054] Next, the structure of the attachment cap according to the
present invention will be described. FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C are a
plan view, a side view, and a bottom view of an attachment cap 41
according to an embodiment of the present invention at the time of
its formation respectively. FIG. 5 is a sectional view along line
A-A of FIG. 4A. Hereinafter, by referring to these figures, the
structure of the attachment cap 41 will be described.
[0055] The attachment cap 41 includes a cap base 42, a hinge
section 43, and a lid body 44, which are integrally formed using a
synthetic resin such as polypropylene. As illustrated in FIG. 4A,
the cap base 42 has a pouring opening 45 substantially at its
center and a cylindrical wall 46 at its surrounding. It is
desirable to form the cylindrical wall 46 into a shape allowing the
contents to be easily taken out from the container. The cap base 42
further includes a receiving region 47 in a position adjacent to
the hinge section 43. The region forms a region lower than its
surrounding. As described later, the receiving region 47 forms a
space for receiving a pushing operation section 48 when the pushing
operation section 48 is pushed down. An air vent 49 is formed
between the cylindrical wall 46 and the receiving region 47. The
air vent 49 may pass air when a liquid or the like inside the
container is taken out. Therefore, the air vent 49 may have a small
diameter and may be formed in any position of the cap base 42.
[0056] The hinge section 43 includes the pushing operation section
48 and a correction arm section 50 formed on both sides of the
pushing operation section 48 and parallel to the pushing operation
section 48, each formed between the cap base 42 and the lid body
44. A gap 51 is provided between the pushing operation section 48
and the correction arm section 50. The pushing operation section 48
and the correction arm section 50 constitute a hinge mechanism. The
hinge section 43 has a first bending section 52 and a second
bending section 53 interposed between the cap base 42 and the hinge
section 43. The hinge section 43 can rotate with the first and
second bending sections 52 and 53 as its axis.
[0057] The lid body 44 is formed to be adjacently connected to the
hinge section 43. The lid body 44 is coupled to the pushing
operation section 48 through a third bending section 54 as well as
to the correction arm section 50 through a fourth bending section
55. A plug section 56 is formed substantially at the center of the
lid body 44 so as to be able to fit to the pouring opening 45
provided in the cap base 42 and seal the pouring opening 45. A
protrusion shaped air vent plug section 57 is provided between the
pushing operation section 48 and the plug section 56. The lid body
44 rotates with the third bending section 54 and the fourth bending
section 55 as its axis.
[0058] FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are a plan view, a side view, and a
bottom view of the attachment cap 41 with its lid closed according
to an embodiment of the present invention respectively. FIG. 7 is a
sectional view along line B-B of FIG. 6A. The attachment cap 41
illustrated in FIG. 6A is in a state in which the hinge section 43
of the attachment cap 41 in FIG. 4A rotates with the first and
second bending sections 52 and 53 as its axis; and the plug section
56 and the air vent plug section 57 of the lid body 44 are fit to
the pouring opening 45 and the air vent 49 respectively. In FIG. 7,
a receiving region 58 is formed between the pushing operation
section 48 and the cap base 42. When the pushing operation section
48 is pushed down, the pushing operation section 48 moves inside
the receiving region 58 as described later.
[0059] FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C, and 8D each are a sectional view for
describing the operation that from a state in which the attachment
cap 41 attached to a container 80 such as a paper carton pack
closes its lid, the lid body 44 rotates until the pouring opening
45 is completely opened. FIG. 8A illustrates a state in which the
plug section 56 of the attachment cap 41 is fit to the pouring
opening 45 to close the lid. In this state, as illustrated in FIG.
8B, a pushing force is applied to the pushing operation section 48
in a direction indicated by an arrow 81, the bending section 53
slightly moves in a direction indicated by an arrow 82 and the
pushing operation section 48 sinks into the receiving region 58. As
a result, the plug section 56 and the air vent plug section 57 move
upward from the pouring opening 45 and the air vent 49 respectively
and the lid body 44 slightly advances in a direction indicated by
an arrow 83 to disengage a hook section 84.
[0060] In a state in which the hook section 84 is disengaged, when
a pushing force further continues to be applied to the pushing
operation section 48, the pushing operation section 48 further
sinks into the receiving region 88 as illustrated in FIG. 8C.
However, the correction arm section 50 prevents the lid body 44
from advancing and instead of advancing, the lid body 44 rotates in
a direction indicated by an arrow 85 with the bending section 54 as
its axis. When the pushing operation section 48 is further pushed
down, the lid body 44 further continues rotating, and the lid body
44 reaches a substantially upstanding state as illustrated in FIG.
8D. In this state, the lid body 44 is placed on the upstanding
section 40 and the upstanding state is maintained.
[0061] FIG. 9 is a sectional view for describing a state in which
the lid body 44 is maintained in a state in which the pushing
operation section 48 is pushed down into the receiving region 58
and the lid body 44 completely stands up. When the pushing
operation section 48 is pushed down into the receiving region 58,
the upstanding section 40 prevents the pushing operation section 48
from laterally moving and the tensile force of the correction arm
section 50 causes the lid body 44 to rotate and finally reach a
completely upstanding state. When the pushing operation section 48
is pushed down into the receiving region 58 by a pushing operation,
an end section 59 of the bending section 54 on the pushing
operation section 58 side contacts a wedge-shaped upstanding side
surface 60 from a bottom section 47 and an end section 61 on the
lid body 44 side is located on an upper surface of the upstanding
section 40 of the cap base 32. In this state, the lateral and
upward movements of the lid body 44 are restricted and the lid body
44 maintains the state of standing up on the upper surface of the
upstanding section 40 of the cap base 32. As a result, in a state
in which the pushing operation section 48 is press-contacted to the
upstanding section 40, the lid body 44 adjacently connected to the
pushing operation section 48 is held standing up.
[0062] FIG. 10 is a sectional view along line C-C of FIG. 6A. When
the attachment cap 41 is closed, each correction arm section 50
placed side by side to the pushing operation section 48 is located
on a ledge section 62 formed on the cap base 32. As illustrated in
the figure, an angle 63 contacting the cap base 32 of the
correction arm section 50 is formed into an acute angle slightly
less than 90 degrees. When the lid body 44 rotates in a state in
which the pushing operation section 48 is pushed down into the
receiving region 58, the correction arm section 50 formed (into a
wedge-shape) in this manner can prevent the correction arm section
50 from lifting upward from the ledge section 62. Thus, the lid
body 44 can smoothly rotate.
[0063] Thus, the attachment cap according to the first embodiment
allows the pouring opening to be opened simply by pushing the
pushing operation section of the attachment cap by a single push
and the contents in the paper carton pack to be easily poured out.
Further, the receiving region into which the pushing operation
section is pushed down can be formed shallow, and thus the
attachment cap can be formed thin and does not require a large
space on the upper portion of the paper carton pack to be attached
thereto. Furthermore, a cylindrical wall is provided around the
pouring opening, and thus the contents in the paper carton pack can
be smoothly guided in a specific direction by designing the
cylindrical wall into a desired shape.
[0064] FIG. 11 is a plan view of an attachment cap 100 according to
a second embodiment of the present invention at the time of its
formation. FIG. 12 is a sectional view along line D-D of FIG. 11.
The attachment cap 100 according to the second embodiment has the
same structure as the attachment cap 41 according to the first
embodiment except the shapes of a pouring opening 101 and a plug
section 102. The pouring opening 101 does not have a cylindrical
wall such as the one in the first embodiment and is formed to be
tightly fit to the plug section 102 for sealing.
[0065] FIG. 13 is a plan view of a state of the attachment cap 100
with its lid folded according to the second embodiment of the
present invention. FIG. 14 is a sectional view along line E-E of
FIG. 13. As understood from the sectional view of FIG. 14 and the
side view of FIG. 15, the attachment cap of the second embodiment
does not have a cylindrical wall around the pouring opening 101,
and thus the attachment cap 100 can be formed thinner than the
attachment cap 41 of the first embodiment.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0066] Attachment of the attachment cap according to the present
invention to a container containing drinking water, juice, or the
like allows the content to be poured out by single push. Further, a
thin attachment cap can be formed and thus is convenient for
storing, transporting, and using the container to which the
attachment cap is attached. Furthermore, the attachment cap
according to the present invention can be used for a container
containing powder or particles, and can be formed to have a
plurality of pouring openings. It should be understood that all of
the above configurations should be included in the claims according
to the present invention.
* * * * *