JP4296004B2 - Anti-tamper cap - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to container opening can be mounted in stoppered and cap removal after resealing having resealing properties about the cap having a tamper-resistant properties that can be one-touch.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as a cap having both tamper resistance and resealability, a screw provided with a tamper evident band (hereinafter referred to as a TE band) via a weakening line at the lower end of a skirt wall having a screw formed on the inner peripheral surface Caps are common and widely adopted. This cap has many advantages, but has the following problems.
(1) It is necessary to turn the cap one or more times for opening and closing, and one-touch opening and closing is lacking.
(2) When the TE band is broken by the rotation of the cap, the presence or absence of unauthorized opening is determined. However, when opening the TE band, it requires a torque higher than the specified level to break the TE band. hard. On the other hand, in order to obtain a reliable TE property, it is necessary to prevent the sealing performance from being impaired before the TE band breaks, but it is difficult to reliably ensure the timing of the TE band break and the container seal break. It is.
(3) Since the TE band is provided at the bottom end of the skirt wall (ie, the bottom end of the cap), the bridge is inadvertently broken by direct impact or external load acting on the TE band during cap handling. May be.
(4) Since the screw cap has high sealing performance even after resealing, if the contents decay after resealing, the internal pressure increases, and a lid skipping phenomenon (so-called blow-off) may occur when the cap is opened.
[0003]
On the other hand, various types of stopper caps equipped with a TE band have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3), but these conventional caps may partially solve the above-mentioned problems. A cap and its container that can solve most or all of the problems have not yet been proposed.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-9-58719 [Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-292112 [Patent Document 3]
Japanese Patent No. 3357464 [0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention was devised in view of the above circumstances, and provides a cap having a tamper-proof property that can solve all or most of the problems (1) to (4) of the conventional cap. Objective.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The cap with tamper-proofing of the present invention that solves the above problems includes a top wall, an annular engagement wall portion that hangs down from the ceiling wall, and a skirt-like skirt formed at the lower portion of the annular engagement wall portion. The annular engagement wall portion has an engagement wall formed on the inner peripheral surface with an engagement protrusion that engages with the engagement jaw portion of the container mouth portion, and a tamper evidence band formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof. The engagement wall has a vertical slit formed at a predetermined interval, and the vertical slit divides the lower part into a plurality of engagement wall pieces, and one group of the engagement wall pieces. The lower end portion of the tamper evidence band is connected to the lower end of the tamper evidence band via a bridge, and the upper end of the skirt portion is connected to the lower end of the other group .
[0007]
A protrusion corresponding to a cam provided at the container mouth is formed on the inner surface of the skirt. Also, the engagement protrusions of the engaging walls, by forming the inner peripheral surface of the engaging wall piece only groups that tamper evident band via a bridge at the lower end is connected, for resealing The cap can be opened and closed more easily.
[0008]
By forming the vertical slit of the engagement wall so as to extend above the tamper evidence band, a cleaning effect of the container mouth portion by showering can be expected during pastation. Further, the annular engagement wall portion is cut in the axial direction so as to divide the annular wall portion into two in the thickness direction, leaving only the bridge by post-processing after molding, and thereby the tamper-evident band portion and the engagement wall. By forming the portion, it can be formed accurately and reliably.
[0009]
Container which the cap that apply, the engaging projection of the cap on the outer peripheral surface of the container mouth portion is engaged jaw for engaging the form, and the neck ring is formed thereunder, to the upper surface of the neck ring A cam is formed. Although the material of the container is not limited, for example, by applying it to a synthetic resin bottle such as a PET bottle, a synthetic resin bottle free from the above problems can be obtained, and the beverage can be directly fed from the container mouth. It is suitable for resealable bottle beverages.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of a cap according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 is a partially cutaway front view of a state in which a cap according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to a container mouth, FIG. 2 is a front view of a state in which the TE band is removed, and FIG. FIG. 5 shows a cap according to the present embodiment, and FIGS. 6 to 7 show a container mouth portion of a container to which the cap is applied. The cap 1 of the present embodiment can be attached to the container with one touch, and when opened, the cap 1 is detached from the container mouth by rotation within about 90 ° from the closed state, and a cam is formed in the neck ring of the container mouth. Apply to the sealed container.
[0011]
The cap 1 of the present embodiment is made of a synthetic resin including a top wall 2, an annular engagement wall portion 3 depending from the ceiling wall 2, and a skirt-like skirt portion 4 formed at the lower portion of the annular engagement wall portion 3. It is a cap. An inner ring 6 that is in pressure contact with the inner wall of the container mouth is provided on the inner surface of the top wall 2. The annular engagement wall portion 3 is formed in a double wall structure, the inside is an engagement wall 7 that engages with the container mouth portion, and the outside is a TE band 8. The engagement wall 7 and the TE band 8 are cut in an annular shape by a cut line 5 and connected by a bridge 9 that can be broken at the lower end.
[0012]
When the cap is molded, the annular fitting wall portion 3 is molded as a thick integral annular wall so that a portion to be a TE band protrudes outward from the outer peripheral surface of the top wall, and a bridge is formed at the lower end portion thereof. The engagement wall is formed by forming protrusions at predetermined intervals and forming them integrally, and by forming a ring-shaped cut line 5 by vertically cutting with a ring cutter from the upper part, leaving a protrusion that becomes a bridge 9 at the lower end after forming. 7 and TE band 8 are formed in a double annular wall structure.
[0013]
An engagement protrusion 10 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the engagement wall 7 to be engaged with an engagement jaw formed on the outer peripheral surface of the container mouth portion. Engages with the engaging jaw of the container mouth, making it impossible to remove. In order to facilitate the attachment and detachment of the cap after opening and resealing, and to weaken the sealing performance after resealing, the engaging wall 7 is positioned at least at a position below the position of the engaging protrusion 10 at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. A vertical slit 11 extending to the top is provided, and when the lid is removed, the engaging projection is evacuated to the outside so that it can be easily detached from the engaging jaw. In particular, in the present embodiment, as clearly shown in FIG. 2, the engaging wall 7 is divided into a plurality of engaging wall pieces 12 and 13 by the slit 11, and the lower part thereof connects the lower end of the TE band 8 and the bridge 9. The engaging protrusion 10 is provided only on the inner surface of the engaging wall piece 12 of the group. Therefore, in a state where the TE band 8 after opening is removed, the lower ends of the engaging wall pieces 12 are completely free as shown in FIG. 2, so that it is easy to attach and detach the cap after opening. Therefore, the engagement protrusion 10 can be easily engaged and disengaged. The engaging wall piece 13 of the other group is connected to the skirt 4 with its lower end bent outward as described later. The engaging wall pieces 12 and 13 are formed so as to be alternately arranged.
[0014]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the TE band 8 is formed with a tear knob portion 15 whose upper end protrudes slightly upward in order to break and remove the TE band when opened. Longitudinal weakening lines 16 are formed on both sides of the tear picking portion 15 so that the tear picking portion 15 can be picked and easily cut from the TE band. The weakening line 16 is not necessarily provided on both sides. If the weakening line 16 is provided only on one side, the bridge 9 is broken and the entire TE band 8 is cut off by pulling the tearing portion 15 as it is after breaking the weakening line 16. it can.
[0015]
The skirt 4 is formed larger in diameter than the annular engagement wall 3, and is formed integrally with the lower end of the engagement wall piece 13 of the annular engagement wall 3. On the inner surface of the skirt 4, projections 20 are provided at predetermined intervals to be cam followers that engage with cams 33 (FIG. 6) formed in the container mouth. In the present embodiment, four caps are provided at intervals of 90 °, and the cap 1 can be removed by rotating the cap 1 within 90 °. The protrusion 20 has a rounded corner at the lower end and is formed so as to easily ride on a cam formed at the container mouth when the cap is rotated. Further, in the present embodiment, the protrusions 20 are formed at the lower ends of the engaging wall pieces 13 by extending the lower part thereof to the hem portion at every other one of the engaging wall pieces 13, thereby extending the engaging wall pieces 13. The portion also functions as a reinforcing rib 21 at the bottom.
[0016]
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the container body 30 to which the cap of the present invention is applied has an engaging jaw portion 32 that engages with the engaging protrusion 10 of the cap near the top of the mouth portion 31. In this embodiment, the engaging jaw portion 32 is an annular groove portion, but is not necessarily limited thereto, and it is only necessary to have a step portion that can be engaged with the engaging protrusion of the cap. It is not limited. In addition, a neck ring 36 is formed at the lower portion of the mouth portion 31, and a cam 33 is formed on the upper surface of the neck ring. In the present embodiment, two cams 33 are provided at regular intervals as shown in FIG. 7, have an upward inclined surface 34 in the opening direction, and have an end portion that is a substantially vertical surface 35, and a cap A side portion of the projection 20 formed on the stopper serves as a stopper that is contacted when the plug is closed. However, the cam 33 is not limited to this shape, and may be formed in a shape having upward inclined surfaces on both sides in the opening direction and the closing direction. In that case, there is an advantage that the cap can be opened regardless of which direction the cap is rotated.
[0017]
The cap 1 and the container main body 30 of the present embodiment are configured as described above. To attach the cap to the container main body 30 filled with the contents, the annular fitting wall portion is formed by plugging with a capper. The engaging projection 10 formed on the engaging wall is expanded by elasticity and enters below the engaging jaw 32 formed in the container mouth, and the cap is locked. In this state, the inner ring 6 of the cap is pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the container mouth, so that sealing is achieved, and the top of the container mouth and the inner surface of the cap top wall, and the contact between the annular engagement wall and the outer peripheral surface of the mouth. Can also be sealed, so that high sealing performance can be secured. When the cap is plugged into the container mouth, even if the protrusion 20 hits the peak of the cam 33, the protrusion 20 automatically slides down the cam peak due to the plugging force. Matching is not required. However, it may be plugged while slightly rotating. In addition, since the bridge 9 constituting the TE band weakening line is provided in the intermediate portion between the annular engagement wall portion 3 and the skirt portion 4 in the cap of the present embodiment, the cap is attached to the container since the cap is manufactured. During handling and during plugging, the bridge does not directly hit other members and is not subjected to an impact or load. Therefore, there is no possibility that the bridge is damaged, and there is an effect that the occurrence of defective products is reduced.
[0018]
When the cap 1 is attached to the container mouth, the annular engagement wall 3 has a double structure in which the TE band 3 is fitted to the outer periphery of the engagement wall 7, so that it is difficult to spread outward. Even if it is going to turn, the engaging protrusion 10 cannot come out of the engaging jaw 32, the rotation is prevented and the plug cannot be opened. Therefore, since this cap cannot be opened unless the TE band is broken and the restraint of the outer peripheral portion of the engagement wall is released, whether or not the TE band has been opened by tampering is confirmed by checking whether or not the TE band is broken. And has a tamper-proof function. And until the TE band is torn, a high sealing performance can be secured by the double structure of the annular engagement wall portion, and the sealing performance of the cap cannot be broken unless the TE band is removed. The timing of the TE band break and the seal break as in the case does not become a problem, and the tamper evidence can be surely achieved.
[0019]
At the time of opening, the TE band 8 is pulled and removed from the weakening line 16 by pulling the tear band 15, and the TE band 8 and the engaging wall 7 are pulled by pulling the broken end of the TE band and pulling it in the circumferential direction. The connected bridges 9 are broken and the TE band 8 can be removed over the entire circumference. By removing the TE band 8, the cap is in the state shown in FIG. In this state, there is no restriction of the outer peripheral portion of the engagement wall 7 by the TE band 8, so that the engagement wall 7 is likely to spread outward. In addition, in this embodiment, the engagement wall 7 is formed with the longitudinal slits 11 at predetermined intervals, and the engagement wall is defined by the slits and the lower end is broken at the connection with the TE band to be a free end. Since the engagement protrusion 10 is formed only on the piece 12, the engagement wall piece 12 is easily elastically deformed so that the engagement protrusion 10 and the engagement jaw 32 are disengaged and opened with a small opening torque. Can be plugged. Further, in order to increase the engagement force with the container, the engagement protrusion 10 may be formed on the engagement wall piece 13 as an auxiliary.
[0020]
When the cap 1 is rotated about 45 ° in the opening direction from the state shown in FIG. 2, the protrusion 20 formed on the bottom part 4 rides on the inclined surface 34 of the cam 33 and the cam action causes the cap 1 to move in the axial direction. When the ascending force is applied, the engaging wall piece 12 on which the engaging protrusion 10 is formed as described above is elastically deformed to disengage the upper side portion of the engaging protrusion 10 from the engaging jaw 32, and the cap 1 Can be removed from the container mouth. Further, at the time of resealing, the cap 1 can be simply resealed with a relatively weak force by simply pressing down the cap 1 in accordance with the container mouth, and the one-touch opening and closing is excellent. And in the closing after resealing, the locking force at the engaging wall is weak due to the longitudinal slit 11 on the outer peripheral portion of the engaging wall, and the sealing after resealing is only the inner ring, so the sealing force against the increase in internal pressure is weak. Therefore, even if the contents rot after resealing, the gas does not escape to the outside and the container internal pressure does not increase, and there is no risk of a lid jumping accident due to an increase in internal pressure that may have occurred in the case of a screw cap. , Safe.
[0021]
8 to 11 show a cap and a container according to another embodiment of the present invention.
Since the basic form of the cap and container of the present embodiment is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, the same reference numerals as those of the above-described embodiment are attached to the same portions, and only differences will be described. The main difference between the cap 40 and the container 50 of the present embodiment is that the neck ring 52 formed in the mouth 51 of the container 50 has a square shape, and the outer shape of the hem 41 of the cap 40 is as follows. Is square to match. In FIG. 8, the cap 40 is shown in the state of the AA cross section cut along the diagonal line in the bottom view shown in FIG. 10, and the container 50 is shown in the front state. Cams 53 formed on the neck ring 52 of the container 50 are formed at two opposite corners. As shown in FIG. 8, the cam 53 is formed in a mountain shape having cam inclined surfaces 54 on both sides in the rotational direction. As shown in FIG. 10, the protrusion 42 of the cap 40 corresponding to the cam 53 is provided at the center of each side of the skirt 41, and its lower end surface is formed in a substantially arc shape, and the cap is placed on either the left or right side. The cap can be opened and closed by engaging with the cam 53 even if it rotates. Further, in the cap 40 of the present embodiment, the weakening line 16 of the TE band 8 is provided only in one place, and as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 9, the weakening line 16 and the bridge are pulled by pulling the tear knob 15. 9 can be continuously broken to remove the TE band.
[0022]
The cap and container of the present embodiment are configured as described above, and the skirt 41 and the neck ring 52 of the container are square, so that it is necessary to fit the cap with the skirt of the cap aligned with the neck ring when resealing. The same operation effect as the above-mentioned embodiment is produced.
[0023]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not restricted to the said embodiment, A various design change is possible within the range of the technical idea. For example, by extending the vertical slit of the engagement wall above the TE band, cleaning water from the shower enters the vertical slit during sterilization with a pasterizer, and a cleaning effect on the container mouth can be expected. In addition, the material and shape of the container to which the cap of the present invention is applied are not limited, and plastic bottles such as PET bottles, glass bottles, metal bottles, paper containers, and pouches with spouts, etc. It is also applicable to. By applying the container of the present invention to, for example, a container for drinking the content liquid directly from the container mouth, such as a small PET bottle, a simple reseal bottle that does not cause the above problems (1) to (4) can be obtained. This is preferable.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the annular engagement wall portion that engages with the mouth portion of the container has a double wall structure in a state before opening, high sealing performance can be maintained. And in that state, since it cannot open unless the TE band is broken and the restraint of the outer peripheral portion of the engagement wall is released, the tamper-proof functionality is excellent. Further, the timing of the TE band break and the seal break as in the case of the screw cap does not become a problem, and the tamper evidence can be surely achieved. In addition, the bridge that constitutes the weakening line of the TE band is provided in the middle of the annular engagement wall and skirt, so the bridge is not easily subject to impacts and loads during cap handling, and the bridge is inadvertent There is little risk of damage.
[0025]
By removing the TE band at the time of opening, the engagement wall can easily spread to the outside, can be easily opened, and has excellent openability. In particular, according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the engagement protrusion is formed only on the engagement wall piece whose lower end is the free end, the engagement wall piece is easily elastically deformed with a small opening torque. Can be opened. In addition, the cap can be opened and closed with a rotation of 0.5 rotations or less. When resealing, the cap can be easily resealed with a relatively weak force by simply pressing the cap down on the container mouth, thus providing excellent one-touch opening and closing. . And in the closing after resealing, even if the contents rot after resealing, the gas easily escapes to the outside, so the internal pressure of the container does not increase, and there is no risk of the lid jumping off due to the increase in internal pressure. is there. Moreover, according to the structure of Claim 5, the washing | cleaning effect of a container mouth part can be anticipated at the time of sterilization with a pasteurizer.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of a state where a cap according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to a container mouth portion.
FIG. 2 is a front view with the TE band removed.
FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway front view of a cap according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a bottom view thereof.
FIG. 5 is a plan view thereof.
FIG. 6 is a front view of the mouth of the container according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a plan view thereof.
8 shows a cap and a container according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the cap is shown in a state of AA cross section cut along a diagonal line in the bottom view shown in FIG. 10, and the container is in a front state. Is shown.
9 is a partially cutaway front view of a state where the cap shown in FIG. 8 is attached to the container mouth portion. FIG.
10 is a bottom view of the cap shown in FIG.
FIG. 11 is a plan view of the container shown in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 40 Cap 2 Top wall 3 Annular fitting wall part 4 Bottom part 5 Cut line 6 Inner ring 7 Engagement wall 8 TE band 9 Bridge 10 Engagement protrusion 11 Longitudinal slit 12, 13 Engagement wall piece 15 Tear knob part 16 line of weakness 20, 42 impact force 30, 50 the container body 31 and 51 neck portion 32 Kakarigoago blocks 33 and 53 the cam 36 and 52 neck ring

Claims (4)

A ceiling wall, an annular engagement wall portion depending from the ceiling wall, and a skirt-like hem formed at the lower portion of the annular engagement wall portion, and the annular engagement wall portion is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the container mouth portion. It has a double structure of an engagement wall formed with an engagement projection that engages with the engagement jaw and a tamper evidence band formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof, and the engagement wall has a predetermined interval. A vertical slit is formed by the vertical slit, and the lower part is divided into a plurality of engagement wall pieces by the vertical slit, and a lower end portion of the tamper evidence band is provided below one group of the engagement wall pieces via a bridge. Is connected, and the upper end of the skirt is connected to the lower end of the other group .   The cap according to claim 1, wherein a projection corresponding to a cam provided in the container mouth is formed on the inner surface of the skirt. Engaging projection of the engagement wall is according bridge to claim 1 or 2 tamper evident band is formed on the inner surface of only the engagement wall piece of a group that is connected via the lower end cap. The annular engagement wall portion is cut in the axial direction so as to divide the annular wall portion into two in the thickness direction, leaving only the bridge by post-processing after molding, thereby forming a tamper-evident band and an engagement wall. The cap according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .

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