U.S. patent application number 16/493158 was filed with the patent office on 2020-03-05 for small capacity container for viscous substance.
This patent application is currently assigned to TOYO SEIKAN CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is TOYO SEIKAN CO., LTD., TOYO SEIKAN GROUP HOLDINGS, LTD.. Invention is credited to Yosuke AKUTSU, Takashi KASHIWABARA, Tomoyuki MIYAZAKI, Keisuke NYUU, Jun TAKAHASHI.
Application Number | 20200071023 16/493158 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 63522213 |
Filed Date | 2020-03-05 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200071023 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
NYUU; Keisuke ; et
al. |
March 5, 2020 |
SMALL CAPACITY CONTAINER FOR VISCOUS SUBSTANCE
Abstract
Provided is a small capacity container for viscous substance,
which is capable of quickly discharging a viscous content at any
time even when being held upside down or almost upside down. In the
small capacity container of not more than 300 ml to contain a
viscous substance, a region for quickly discharging the content and
a region for slowly discharging the content during the container is
held upside down are formed on the inner surface of the barrel
portion of the container.
Inventors: |
NYUU; Keisuke;
(Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, JP) ; AKUTSU; Yosuke;
(Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, JP) ; KASHIWABARA; Takashi;
(Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, JP) ; MIYAZAKI; Tomoyuki;
(Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, JP) ; TAKAHASHI; Jun;
(Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
TOYO SEIKAN CO., LTD.
TOYO SEIKAN GROUP HOLDINGS, LTD. |
Tokyo
Tokyo |
|
JP
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
TOYO SEIKAN CO., LTD.
Tokyo
JP
TOYO SEIKAN GROUP HOLDINGS, LTD.
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
63522213 |
Appl. No.: |
16/493158 |
Filed: |
March 13, 2018 |
PCT Filed: |
March 13, 2018 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP2018/009813 |
371 Date: |
September 11, 2019 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 23/02 20130101;
B65D 35/14 20130101; B65D 1/0223 20130101; B65D 85/72 20130101;
B65D 83/00 20130101; B65D 1/0215 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B65D 23/02 20060101
B65D023/02; B65D 1/02 20060101 B65D001/02; B65D 35/14 20060101
B65D035/14; B65D 85/72 20060101 B65D085/72 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 17, 2017 |
JP |
2017-052617 |
Claims
1. A small capacity container for containing viscous substance,
having a capacity of not more than 300 ml, the container includes a
barrel portion having an inner surface provided with a region for
quickly discharging a content and a region for slowly discharging
the content in the container being held upside down.
2. The small capacity container for viscous substance according to
claim 1, wherein the inner surface of the barrel portion of the
container has an odd-shaped longitudinal cross section having an
asymmetrical shape to form the region for quickly discharging the
content and the region for slowly discharging the content.
3. The small capacity container for viscous substance according to
claim 1, wherein a liquid film of a lubricating liquid to improve a
slide-down property with respect to the viscous substance is formed
on the inner surface of the barrel portion of the container, the
liquid film has an uneven thickness in a circumferential direction
when viewed on a transverse cross section of the barrel portion of
the container, and the uneven thickness of the liquid film forms
the region for quickly discharging the content and the region for
slowly discharging the content.
4. The small capacity container for viscous substance according to
claim 1, wherein the container has a multilayered structure
including a lubricant-containing resin layer that forms the inner
surface of the container, the lubricant-containing resin layer has
the uneven thickness in the circumferential direction when viewed
on the transverse cross section of the barrel portion of the
container, and the uneven thickness of the lubricant-containing
resin layer forms the region for quickly discharging the content
and the region for slowly discharging the content.
5. The small capacity container for viscous substance according to
claim 1, wherein the container has the multilayered structure with
the inner surface formed of the lubricant-containing resin layer,
an amount of the lubricant blended in the lubricant-containing
resin layer is uneven in the circumferential direction when viewed
on the transverse cross section of the barrel portion of the
container, and the uneven blend amount of the lubricant in the
lubricant-containing resin layer forms the region for quickly
discharging the content and the region for slowly discharging the
content.
6. The small capacity container for viscous substance according to
claim 1, wherein a viscous substance has a viscosity of not less
than 8 Pas at 25.degree. C.
7. The small capacity container for viscous substance according to
claim 6, having a capacity of more than 70 ml.
8. The small capacity container for viscous substance according to
claim 6, wherein the content is food, a pharmaceutical product or
toothpaste.
9. The small capacity container for viscous substance according to
claim 1, which is a hollow molded container.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a small capacity container
for viscous substance, having a capacity of not more than 300 ml.
Specifically, the present invention relates to a small capacity
container for viscous substance to contain a highly viscous
fluid.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Containers to contain liquid contents are required to have a
content discharge ability, irrespective of the material of the
container. In a case of containing a less viscous liquid like
water, there is substantially no need to take the discharge ability
into consideration. However, when the content is a viscous material
like mayonnaise or ketchup, there is a demand that the contents be
discharged quickly and used up without remaining in the container,
whenever the container is made from plastics or glass.
[0003] Regarding the discharge ability, various measures to form an
oil film on the surface of a molded body like a container have been
proposed (see for example, Patent documents 1, 2). Formation of the
oil film will enhance the lubricity to viscous substance and
improve the discharge ability.
[0004] However, when a particularly viscous content is contained in
the small capacity container, there may be difficulty in
discharging the content. Specifically, when the container is held
upside down for discharging the content, the content may be
confined in the container before it reaches an outlet of the
container.
PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS
Patent Documents
[0005] [Patent Document 1] WO2012/100099
[0006] [Patent Document 2] WO2013/022467
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide
a small capacity container for viscous substance, which is capable
of discharging quickly a viscous content at any time during the
container is held upside down or almost upside down.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0008] The present invention provides a small capacity container
for containing viscous substance, having a capacity of not more
than 300 ml. The container comprises a barrel portion having an
inner surface provided with a region for quickly discharging a
content and a region for slowly discharging the content in the
container being held upside down.
[0009] The small capacity containers for viscous substance of the
present invention can be classified into an odd-shaped cross
section type, a liquid film formation type and a bleeding type,
depending on the measure to form, on the inner surface of the
barrel portion, the region for quickly discharging the content and
the region for slowly discharging the content. [0010] (1) The
odd-shaped cross section type small capacity container for viscous
substance has a barrel portion, and the inner surface of the barrel
portion has an odd-shaped longitudinal cross section having an
asymmetrical shape to form the region for quickly discharging the
content and the region for slowly discharging the content. [0011]
(2) The liquid film type small capacity container for viscous
substance has a barrel portion, and the inner surface of the barrel
portion has a liquid film of a lubricating liquid to improve a
slide-down property with respect to the viscous substance. The
liquid film has an uneven thickness in the circumferential
direction when viewed on the transverse cross section of the barrel
portion of the container, and the uneven thickness of the liquid
film forms the region for quickly discharging the content and the
region for slowly discharging the content. [0012] (3) The bleeding
type small capacity container for viscous substance has a
multilayered structure including a lubricant-containing resin layer
that forms the inner surface of the container, the
lubricant-containing resin layer has an uneven thickness in the
circumferential direction when viewed on the transverse cross
section of the barrel portion of the container, and the uneven
thickness of the lubricant-containing resin layer forms the region
for quickly discharging the content and the region for slowly
discharging the content. [0013] (4) Alternatively, the container
has a multilayered structure including a lubricant-containing resin
layer that forms the inner surface of the container. The amount of
the lubricant blended in the lubricant-containing resin layer is
uneven in the circumferential direction when viewed on the
transverse cross section of the barrel portion of the container,
and the uneven blend amount of the lubricant in the
lubricant-containing resin layer forms the region for quickly
discharging the content and the region for slowly discharging the
content.
[0014] It is preferable in the present invention that [0015] (5)
the viscous substance has a viscosity of not less than 8 Pas at
25.degree. C.; [0016] (6) the container has a capacity of more than
70 ml; [0017] (7) the content is food, a pharmaceutical product, or
toothpaste; and [0018] (8) the container is a hollow-molded
container.
Effects of the Invention
[0019] The small capacity container for viscous substance of the
present invention has two regions: a region for quickly discharging
content (region with a higher slide-down velocity) and a region for
slowly discharging content (region with a lower slide-down
velocity) in the container being held upside down. That is, the
lubricity of the inner surface of the barrel portion of the
container is uneven when viewed in the circumferential direction.
In the container for viscous substance where the lubricity is
varied in the circumferential direction on the inner surface of the
barrel portion, the content is discharged quickly from a part of
the barrel portion and slowly from another part when the container
is turned upside down to discharge the content. The difference in
the slide-down velocity facilitates discharge of the air confined
on the bottom of the container by the content, whereby the content
can be discharged easily at any time without remaining inside the
container irrespective of the type of the content, i.e., even if
the content is a viscous paste like one having a viscosity of not
less than 8 Pas at 25.degree. C.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] FIG. 1: a set of views showing a schematic structure of an
example of an odd-shaped cross section type small capacity
container for viscous substance and a content therein, where FIG.
1(a) is a schematic longitudinal cross sectional view and FIG. 1(b)
is a transverse cross sectional view taken along a line X;
[0021] FIG. 2: a set of views showing a schematic structure of a
conventionally known small capacity container, where FIG. 2(a) is a
schematic longitudinal cross sectional view and FIG. 2(b) is a
transverse cross sectional view taken along a line X;
[0022] FIG. 3: a view showing a schematic transverse cross
sectional view of a barrel portion for an example of a liquid film
type small capacity container for viscous substance of the present
invention; and
[0023] FIG. 4: a set of schematic transverse cross sectional views
showing barrel portions for examples of a bleeding type small
capacity container for viscous substance of the present invention,
where FIG. 4(a) shows an example where the thickness of a
lubricant-containing resin layer is adjusted to form regions
different in the ability for discharging a content, and FIG. 4(b)
shows an example where the amount of lubricant to be blended in a
lubricant-containing resin layer is adjusted to form regions
different in the ability for discharging a content.
MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0024] As described above, the small capacity container for viscous
substance according to the present invention can be classified into
an odd-shaped cross section type, a liquid film formation type and
a bleeding type, according to the measure for forming on the inner
surface of a barrel portion a region for quickly discharging a
content and a region for slowly discharging a content.
[0025] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an odd-shaped cross section
type small capacity container for viscous substance of the present
invention in an upside-down state. The container comprises a
hollow-cylindrical barrel portion 1 with one end of a neck portion
3 as an outlet for discharging the content, while the other end is
closed with a bottom portion 5.
[0026] On the outer surface of the neck portion 3, a screw thread 7
may be formed to seal the container with a cap, though this depends
on the embodiment of the container.
[0027] The small capacity container for viscous substance has a
content of 300 ml or less, in particular, 150 ml or less. Since the
small capacity container is light-weighted, it may be held upside
down or almost upside down to discharge the content as shown in
FIG. 1. This may often make the discharge of content difficult. On
the other hand, a large capacity container is heavy and often
attached with a handle, it may not be held upside down or almost
upside down, and substantially no problem may be found in the
content discharge ability. For this reason, the capacity for the
liquid film type or bleeding type container mentioned below is here
set to 300 ml or less, in particular 150 ml or less.
[0028] In the present invention, it is particularly important that
the inner surface of the barrel portion 1 has an asymmetric
lubricity as shown in FIG. 1(a). Namely, the inner surface having
an uneven lubricity differentiates the falling velocity of the
content. For instance, in the example shown in FIG. 1(a), the inner
surface 1a at one side of the barrel portion 1 has a larger
lubricity, while the inner surface 1b on the opposite side has a
smaller lubricity. As a result, the content 10 falls faster on the
inner surface 1a and slower on the inner surface 1b.
[0029] On the other hand, a conventionally known small capacity
container usually has an even lubricity on the container inner
surface in the circumferential direction.
[0030] Namely, when this container is held upside down as shown in
FIG. 2 to discharge the content 10, the content 10 falls evenly
along the inner surface of the barrel portion 1, and it may be
confined inside the container before reaching the opening of the
neck portion 3. In this state, air layer 13 is trapped between the
content 10 and the bottom portion 5. Since the atmospheric pressure
is greater than the pressure applied by the air layer 13, the
content 10 is confined in the container and discharge thereof will
be difficult.
[0031] In contrast, in the present invention, the slide-down
property is imparted asymmetrically as shown in FIG. 1(a), thereby
forming on the inner surface of the barrel portion 1 a site to
differentiate the falling velocity of the content. This results in
differences of the falling velocity of the content 10, and thus,
the air layer 13 between the content 10 and the bottom portion 5
can escape easily along the side where the thickness of the content
10 is decreased (i.e., the 1b side with less falling velocity).
This can effectively avoid a disadvantage of difficulty in
discharging the content 10 confined in the container.
[0032] In the present invention, the aforementioned embodiment with
an asymmetric slide-down property is not limited particularly as
long as the falling velocity of the content 10 is differentiated.
That is, there is no particular limitation as long as a region on
which the content 10 falls quickly (a region for quickly
discharging the content 10) and a region on which the content 10
falls slowly (a region for slowly discharging the content 10) are
formed on the inner surface of the barrel portion 1.
[0033] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1(a), the region 1a on which
the content 10 falls quickly and the region 1b on which the content
10 falls slowly are located opposite to each other. The present
invention is not limited to this embodiment, but the regions 1a and
1b may be located close to each other.
[0034] The aforementioned odd-shaped cross section type small
capacity container for viscous substance may be formed of any
suitable material such as plastics, glass and a metal as long as it
satisfies a requirement in principle that its inner surface has a
variation in the lubricity. From the viewpoint of convenience of
formation, it is preferred to be made of plastics.
[0035] Though there is no particular limitation on the shape of the
container, preferably the container is formed to have a hollow
shape. It is most preferable that the container has a shape of a
bottle or a tube provided with an opening for discharging the
content, and the opening has a smaller diameter than that of the
cross section of the barrel portion in which the content is
contained. Meanwhile, concerning a wide-open container or a cup,
the opening for discharging the content has a larger cross section
than that of its barrel portion. There is substantially no
necessity of considering the ability for discharging the content 10
in this type of container.
[0036] For instance, the blow-formed container shown in FIG. 1 may
be replaced by a tube container.
[0037] FIG. 3 shows a schematic transverse cross sectional view of
a barrel portion 1 of a liquid film type small capacity
container.
[0038] Unlike the container as shown in FIG. 1, this container in
FIG. 3 has a liquid film 21 formed on the inner surface of the
barrel portion 1. This liquid film 21 imparts a slide-down property
with respect to the viscous content 10 (not shown in FIG. 3).
Namely, the liquid that forms the liquid film 21 functions as a
lubricating liquid to improve the slide-down property with respect
to the content 10.
[0039] As indicated in FIG. 3, the liquid film 21 formed on the
inner surface of the barrel portion 1 of the container in the
present invention has a thickness uneven in the circumferential
direction. Specifically, the liquid film 21 has a region with more
thickness T and a region with less thickness t. The region with
more thickness T and the region with thickness t each extend like a
band in the axial direction of the container. As a result, in the
region with thickness T, the content 10 is discharged quickly at a
high slide-down velocity. On the other hand, the slide-down
velocity is decreased on the region with thickness t, so that the
discharge speed has a variation as shown in FIG. 1(a). And thus,
the viscous content 10 flows into the region that increases the
slide-down velocity, and it decreases its thickness on the region
that decreases the slide-down velocity. This allows the air layer
13 between the content 10 and the bottom portion 5 to easily escape
from the region where the content 10 is thin (the side where the
liquid film 21 has less thickness t), thereby avoiding effectively
the disadvantage of difficulty in discharging the viscous content
10 confined in the container.
[0040] The liquid for forming the aforementioned liquid film 21
(lubricating liquid) is selected, depending on the type of the
content 10 to be contained in the container, from liquids that are
immiscible with the content 10 and that are non-volatile (for
instance, having a boiling point of 200.degree. C. or more). And
the liquid is required to exhibit repellency to the content 10.
Representative examples thereof include edible oils (animal fats or
vegetable oils), fatty acid triglyceride, fluorinated surfactant,
liquid paraffin, and silicone oil. A lubricating liquid can be
selected from these in accordance with the type of the content
10.
[0041] The aforementioned liquid film type small capacity container
is usually used as a plastic container having an inner surface of
resin. By forming the container inner surface with a thermoplastic
resin such as an olefin resin and polyester (in particular, an
olefin resin), the liquid film 21 of the lubricating liquid can be
held stably.
[0042] Preferably, the container is a bottle or a tube having an
opening for discharging a content whose diameter is smaller,
similarly to the odd-shaped cross section type container as shown
in FIG. 1.
[0043] The liquid film 21 having the aforementioned thickness
distribution can be formed by spraying, for instance. Specifically,
after forming a container, the lubricating liquid is sprayed on the
inner surface of the container so as to form the liquid film 21. At
this time, the spray nozzle is directed to the region where the
thickness of the liquid film 21 to be increased. In this manner, a
liquid film 21 having a thickness distribution can be formed
easily.
[0044] In this case, it is possible to conduct a laboratory test in
advance to determine the conditions for spraying (spraying pressure
and amount) in order to set the thickness distribution of the
liquid film 21 and to prevent the content 10 from clogging or the
like.
[0045] For the bleeding type small capacity container as described
below, it is also possible to form the liquid film 21 having the
thickness distribution by using the method of forming a
lubricant-containing resin layer.
[0046] FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) show a schematic transverse cross
sectional view of the barrel portion 1 of the bleeding type small
capacity container.
[0047] Unlike the containers as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the
container in FIG. 4 has a structure that the inner surface of the
barrel portion 1 is formed of the lubricant-containing resin layer
23. This lubricant is bled on the inner surface to get contact with
the viscous content 10 (not shown in FIG. 4), thereby imparting a
slide-down property with respect to the viscous content 10. In
other words, the lubricant in the lubricant-containing resin layer
23 forming the container inner surface functions as a lubricating
agent to improve the slide-down property with respect to the
content 10.
[0048] In this bleeding type small capacity container, the
lubricant-containing resin layer 23 has a thickness distribution as
shown in FIG. 4(a) just like that of the liquid film type small
capacity container as shown in FIG. 3. That is, the
lubricant-containing resin layer 23 has a region with more
thickness T and a region with less thickness t. The region with
more thickness T and the region with less thickness t each extend
like a band in the axial direction of the container. In the region
with more thickness T, a larger amount of lubricant is bled onto
the surface of the resin layer, which increases the slide-down
velocity with respect to the content 10. In the region with less
thickness t, a smaller amount of lubricant is bled onto the surface
of the resin layer, which decreases the slide-down velocity with
respect to the content 10. When this container is turned upside
down, the discharge speed distribution as shown in FIG. 1(a) is
formed. That is, the air present on the bottom of the container
escapes easily from the region where the lubricant-containing resin
layer 23 has a less thickness t. This can effectively prevent the
disadvantage of difficulty in discharging the viscous content 10
confined in the container.
[0049] In FIG. 4(b), the lubricant-containing resin layer 23 has an
even thickness, but the amount of the lubricant blended in the
resin layer 23 has a concentration distribution. For instance, a
larger amount of lubricant is blended in the region 23a. This
region 23a blended with a larger amount of lubricant extends like a
band in the axial direction of the container. Similarly in this
embodiment, the slide-down velocity with respect to the content 10
is increased on the region 23a where a larger amount of lubricant
is blended, and thus, when the container is turned upside down,
there occurs the discharge speed distribution as shown in FIG.
1(a). That is, the air present on the bottom of the container
escapes easily from the region where a less amount of lubricant is
blended (the region other than the region 23a). This can
effectively prevent the disadvantage of difficulty in discharging
the viscous content 10 confined in the container.
[0050] In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 4(b), the concentration
distribution of the lubricant may be formed in the
lubricant-containing resin layer 23 so as to form a slide-down
velocity distribution for allowing the air to escape from the
container being held upside down. That is, the lubricant may be
blended only in the region 23a but not in the other region.
[0051] In the present invention, the lubricant is selected
depending on the type of the content, so that it can exhibit an
effect in improving the slide-down property with respect to the
viscous content as a result of bleeding from the resin layer 23.
Representative examples of the lubricant are described below.
[0052] (a) Hydrocarbon-based agents such as fluid- natural- or
synthetic paraffin, micro wax, polyethylene wax, and chlorinated
polyethylene wax; [0053] (b) fatty acids such as stearic acid and
lauric acid; [0054] (c) fatty amides such as stearic acid amide,
palmitic acid amide, oleic acid amide, erucic acid amide,
methylenebisstearic acid amide, ethylenebisstearic acid amide,
ethylenebisbehenic acid amide, and ethylenebisoleic acid amide;
[0055] (d) fatty acid esters such as butyl stearate, hydrogenated
castor oil, and ethylene glycol monostearate; [0056] (e) alcohols
such as cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol; [0057] (f) metal soaps
such as zinc stearate and calcium stearate; [0058] (g)
polyorganosiloxane; and [0059] (h) glycerin fatty acid esters such
as medium-chain fatty acid triglyceride, glycerin
diacetomonooleate, glycerin trioleate, and decaglycerin oleate.
[0060] The aforementioned lubricants are normally solid. Among
them, a liquid substance that can be used for forming the liquid
film 21, e.g., fluid paraffin, is included. When this type of
liquid lubricant is blended in a massive amount to increase the
bleeding, it forms a liquid film 21 (i.e., continuous film) to make
a liquid film type container. On the other hand, when the blend
amount is decreased and the lubricant molecules are distributed
like islands, the container is provided as a bleeding type
container.
[0061] The aforementioned bleeding type small capacity container is
typically used as a plastic container having an inner surface of
resin. For formation of the lubricant-containing resin layer 23, a
thermoplastic resin that can be formed into the container is used.
For the purpose, olefin resins, polyester and the like that can be
widely used in particular in the field of packing container, are
used preferably.
[0062] Since the content 10 is a viscous substance and the
container is turned upside down or inclined to discharge the
content 10, this type of container is preferably a container having
an opening with a small diameter to discharge the content, such as
a bottle or a tube.
[0063] Representative examples of the method for forming the
aforementioned thickness distribution of the lubricant-containing
resin layer 23 or the concentration distribution of the lubricant
are described below, though the present invention is not limited to
these examples.
[0064] Specifically, for imparting a thickness distribution to the
lubricant-containing resin layer 23, the shape of a circular die
for forming the inner layer of the container may be set to make the
resin channel width uneven during formation of the container by
extrusion, for instance.
[0065] This method further can be applied to production of a liquid
film type small capacity container. Specifically, the lubricant may
be blended in a resin to form the inner surface of the container
and then, the extrusion is conduced as described above, so that the
liquid film 21 formed by bleeding can have the thickness
distribution.
[0066] For providing the concentration distribution of the
lubricant, a composition blended with a larger amount of lubricant
and a resin composition blended with a smaller amount of lubricant
(or no lubricant is blended) are prepared for the resin to form the
container inner surface, with which the concentration distribution
of the lubricant can be formed on the lubricant-containing resin
layer 23 by a so-called stripe extrusion.
[0067] This method can be applied also to production of a liquid
film type small capacity container. Namely, for the resin to be
formed on the inner surface of the container, a composition blended
with a larger amount of lubricant and a composition blended with a
smaller amount of lubricant (or blended with no lubricant) are
prepared to conduct a stripe extrusion. As a result, the liquid
film 21 becomes thicker on the region formed with the resin
composition blended with a larger amount of lubricating liquid, and
the liquid film 21 becomes thinner (or the liquid film 21 is not
formed) on the region formed with the resin composition blended
with a smaller amount of lubricating liquid (or no lubricating
liquid).
[0068] Some values such as the thickness distribution or the
concentration distribution of the lubricant-containing resin layer
23, and further the thickness of the lubricant-containing resin
layer 23, can be determined by a laboratory test conducted in
advance to prevent clogging or the like of the content 10 to be
used.
[0069] In the aforementioned liquid film type or a bleeding type
small capacity container, the barrel portion wall of the container
is preferably formed to have a multilayered structure having an
intermediate layer of a gas barrier resin such as an ethylene vinyl
alcohol copolymer. In a case of a monolayer structure, the
lubricating liquid forming the liquid film 21 on the inner surface
of the container or the lubricant in the lubricant-containing resin
layer 23 on the inner surface of the container may sometimes pass
through the barrel portion wall so as to be bled on the outer
surface of the container. The immigration of the lubricating liquid
or the lubricant to the container outer surface can be blocked by
providing an intermediate layer of the gas barrier resin.
[0070] In the present invention, the content 10 to be contained in
the container is a viscous paste-like material having a high
viscosity, more specifically, a viscous paste having a viscosity of
not less than 8 Pas at 25.degree. C. Such a paste content often may
be provided as a gel, and it is not limited to food but it can be a
pharmaceutical product, toothpaste or the like.
[0071] Further, the aforementioned small capacity container of the
present invention preferably has a capacity of more than 70 ml.
When the capacity is too small, the inner diameter of its mouth
portion from which the content is discharged may be also decreased
considerably. In that case, its cross section is required to have a
relatively complicated shape to differentiate the speed for
discharging the content thereby avoiding the content from clogging
in the container. Furthermore, this may make it difficult to form
the thickness distribution of the liquid film of the lubricating
liquid, the thickness distribution of the lubricant-containing
resin layer, and the distribution of the blend amount of the
lubricant.
[0072] The small capacity container for viscous substance of the
present invention is excellent in the ability of discharging the
content in the container turned upside down, and thus, the
container is widely applied to various fields.
EXPLANATIONS OF LETTERS OR NUMERALS
[0073] 1: barrel portion
[0074] 3: neck portion
[0075] 5: bottom portion
[0076] 10: content
[0077] 13: air layer
[0078] 21: liquid film
[0079] 23: lubricant-containing resin layer
* * * * *