This application claims a priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-029471 filed on Feb. 20, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a closable container, and more specifically relates to a closable container that is highly sealable and is suitable for storing food or the like.
Heretofore, various highly-sealable closable containers have been known. JP 2007-204104A and JP 2007-261670A each disclose a container that includes a container body and a cap as this type of container. The cap includes a ring-shaped frame that is attached so as to surround a mouth part that defines an opening of the container body, and a door lid that is attached to the frame in a hinged manner and closes the opening. Also, in the frame, a gasket is disposed at a position of closing a gap between the frame and the door lid when the door lid is closed, and the sealability of the container is ensured by this gasket.
JP 2007-204104A and JP 2007-261670A are examples of related art.
After locking is canceled when the door lid is to be opened, the container of JP 2007-204104A needs to be moved by hand so as to rotate the door lid about the axis of the hinge. In this respect, in the container disclosed in JP 2007-261670A, a coil spring for biasing in the direction of opening the door lid is attached to the hinge portion coupling the door lid and the frame. Accordingly, the door lid opens automatically when the door lid is unlocked from the frame. However, since the container disclosed in JP 2007-261670A requires the coil spring, the number of parts increases, the structure is more complex, and the cost increases.
The present invention aims to provide a highly-sealable closable container that has a simple configuration and has a door lid that can open automatically.
A closable container according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a container body having a mouth part that defines an opening and a cap that closes the opening. The cap includes a ring-shaped frame, a door lid, a gasket, and a biasing member. The frame is detachably attached to the mouth part. The door lid is coupled to the frame in a hinged manner and rotates between a closed position at which the opening is closed and an open position at which the opening is open. The gasket is attached to the frame or the door lid, is composed of an elastic material, and is interposed in a gap between the frame and the door lid so as to seal the gap when the door lid is at the closed position. The biasing member is composed of the same elastic material as the gasket, is constituted integrally with the gasket, and biases the door lid in a direction toward the open position.
A closable container according to a second aspect of the present invention is the closable container according to the first aspect, in which the gasket is attached to the frame.
A closable container according to a third aspect of the present invention is the closable container according to the second aspect, in which the gasket is interposed in the gap between the mouth part and the frame so as to seal the gap in a state in which the frame is attached to the mouth part.
A closable container according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the closable container according to any of the first aspect to the third aspect, in which the cap further includes a lock mechanism that switches between a locked state in which the door lid is kept at the closed position, and an unlocked state in which the locked state is canceled.
A closable container according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the closable container according to the fourth aspect, in which the lock mechanism includes a first extension portion that extends from the door lid, and a second extension portion that extends from the frame and engages with the first extension portion in the locked state.
A closable container according to a sixth aspect of the present invention includes a container, a door lid, a gasket, and a biasing member. The container includes a circumferential edge portion that surrounds an opening. The door lid is coupled to the edge portion in a hinged manner and rotates between a closed position at which the opening is closed and an open position at which the opening is open. The gasket is attached to the edge portion or the door lid, is composed of an elastic material, and is interposed in a gap between the edge portion and the door lid so as to seal the gap when the door lid is at the closed portion. The biasing member is composed of the same elastic material as the gasket, is constituted integrally with the gasket, and biases the door lid in a direction toward the open position.
A closable container according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the closable container according to the sixth aspect, further including a lock mechanism configured to switch between a locked state in which the door lid is kept at the closed position, and an unlocked state in which the locked state is canceled.
A closable container according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the closable container according to the seventh aspect, in which the lock mechanism includes a first extension portion that extends from the door lid, and a second extension portion that extends from the circumferential edge portion and engages with the first extension portion in the locked state.
A closable container according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is the closable container according to any of the first aspect to the eighth aspect, in which the biasing member is in contact with the door lid, and is folded so as to bias the door lid in the direction toward the open state using an elastic force by which the biasing member attempts to return to its original state when the door lid is at the closed position.
A closable container according to a tenth aspect of the present invention is the closable container according to any of the first aspect to the ninth aspect, in which the elastic material is elastomer.
A closable container according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention is the closable container according to any of the first aspect to the tenth aspect, in which the elastic material is silicone rubber.
According to the present invention, the gasket that seals the gap between the part defining the opening of the container (the circumferential edge portion or the frame) and the door lid, and the biasing member that biases the door lid in the direction of opening are integrally constituted by the same elastic material. Accordingly, a highly-sealable closable container that has a small number of parts, a simple structure, and a door lid that can automatically open is provided.
Hereinafter, a closable container according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Hereinafter, a configuration of parts will be described in detail. Note that unless otherwise stated in particular, up, down, front (front surface side), and rear (rear surface side) are defined as shown in
A rib 25 that extends along the circumferential direction is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the neck portion 24. More specifically, the rib 25 extends in a spiral shape along the central axis of the neck portion 24 and screws onto a later-described rib 45 formed on the cap 3. Accordingly, the cap 3 is detachably attached to the container body 2. The mouth part 24 is a portion to which the cap 3 is attached and is a portion that couples with the cap 3.
Although there is no particular limitation on the material of the container body 2, from the viewpoint of lightness, strength, and corrosion resistance, it is preferable that the container body 2 is formed of a hard synthetic resin with no rubber elasticity, but the container body 2 can be made of glass. In the present embodiment, the container body 2 is made of AS (acrylonitrile styrene resin). Also, in the present embodiment, the above-described portions 21 to 25 are constituted integrally.
As shown in
As shown in
Although there is no particular limitation on the material of the door lid 30, from the viewpoint of lightness, strength, corrosion resistance, and the like, the material is preferably constituted by a hard synthetic resin with no rubber elasticity. In the present embodiment, the door lid 30 is made of saturated polyester. Also, in the present embodiment, the door lid 30 is formed integrally together with a later-described first extension portion 50.
On the other hand, the frame 40 includes an approximately circular ring-shaped base frame 41, and a left and right pair of side wall portions 42a and 42b that extend further toward the rear surface side from the rear portion of the base frame 41. The lower portions of the side wall portions 42a and 42b are connected via a lower surface portion 43 (see
Although there is no particular limitation on the material of the frame 40, from the viewpoint of lightness, strength, corrosion resistance, and the like, the material is preferably constituted by a hard synthetic resin with no rubber elasticity. In the present embodiment, the frame 40 is made of polypropylene. Also, in the present embodiment, the frame 40 is formed integrally together with a later-described second extension portion 60.
The side wall portions 33a and 33b of the door lid 30 are arranged between the side wall portions 42a and 42b such that the outer surfaces of the side wall portions 33a and 33b face the inner surfaces of the side wall portions 42a and 42b of the frame 40. Also, the protrusions 34 and 34 of the door lid 30 are inserted into the holes 44 and 44 of the side wall portions 42a and 42b. For this reason, the protrusions 34 and 34 form a rotation axis of a hinge mechanism 4 that couples the door lid 30 and the frame 40, and the holes 44 and 44 form bearings that receive the rotation axis. In other words, the hinge mechanism 4 is formed by the plate member 32, the side wall portions 33a and 33b, the protrusions 34 and 34, the side wall portions 42a and 42b, the holes 44 and 44, and the lower surface portion 43. Accordingly, the door lid 30 is coupled to the frame 40 in a hinged manner and can rotate with respect to the frame 40. The circumferential edge portion of the lid body 31 is received at the upper end portion 41b of the base frame 41 in the closed state (note that, as shown in
As shown in
The upper end portion 41b of the base frame 41 is located above the circumferential wall portion 41a and protrudes inward with respect to the inner circumferential surface of the circumferential wall portion 41a. In other words, in a view from the inside of the base frame 41, a level difference is formed on the upper portion of the base frame 41. Also, a circular ring-shaped gasket 70 is attached to the base frame 41 so as to be caught on the level difference.
As shown in
Also, as shown in
The opening S1 is completely closed by the gasket 70 with the configuration above when the door lid 30 is at the closed position, and the inner space S2 of the container body 2 is sealed off from the outside. Also, in the present embodiment, one gasket 70 seals the gap between the container body 2 and the frame 40, in addition to the gap between the frame 40 and the door lid 30. Accordingly, a highly sealable container 1 that has a small number of parts and a simple configuration is achieved.
As shown in
When the door lid 30 falls forward from the open position and approaches the closed position, the plate member 52 is inserted into the space between the plate member 62 and the base frame 41. At this time, the claw 53 pushes the claw 64, whereby the plate member 62 deforms elastically and falls slightly forward. Then, when the plate member 52 proceeds deeper from this state, the claw 53 surpasses the claw 64. At this time, the plate member 62 returns to its original position due to an elastic force, and the two claws 64 and 53 engage with each other. Accordingly, the claw 53 catches on the claw 64 and a locked state in which the door lid 30 is kept at the closed position is formed.
When a user presses the pressing button 63 in the locked state with his or her finger, the plate member 62 once again deforms elastically and falls forward. Accordingly, the locked state in which the claw 53 and the claw 64 are engaged with each other is canceled, and the unlocked state is entered. As described above, the locking mechanism 5 can switch between the locked state and the unlocked state.
When the locked state is canceled, the door lid 30 automatically rotates about the rotation axis 34 and returns to the open position. More specifically, as shown in
The biasing member 80 is composed of the same material as the gasket 70 and is formed integrally with the gasket 70. The biasing member 80 and the gasket 70 are composed of elastic materials and have rubber elasticity. The biasing member 80 and the gasket 70 are typically constituted by elastomer (rubber or thermoplastic elastomer), and in the present embodiment, they are made of silicone rubber. Since the gasket 70 and the biasing member 80 are soft and deform easily, they can be removed from the other parts of the cap 2.
The biasing member 80 includes a protruding portion 81 that is continuous with the rear portion of the gasket 70 and protrudes slightly toward the rear surface side from the rear portion of the gasket 70. Note that although the upper end portion 41b of the base frame 41 and the upper portion of the circumferential wall portion 41a extend over approximately the entire circumference as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The sheet portion 83 has a flat shape in the state in which the gasket 70 and the biasing member 80 are removed from the other portions of the cap 3. Also, the sheet portion 83 curves not only when it is folded in the closed state, but in the open state as well, as shown in
Also, as shown in
Although an embodiment of the present invention was described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the following modifications are possible. Also, the gists of the following modified examples can be combined as appropriate.
3-1
In the above-described embodiment, the gasket 70 had a role of sealing both the gap between the container body 2 and the frame 40 and the gap between the frame 40 and the door lid 30, but gaskets for filling the gaps may be provided separately. In this case, the gasket that fills the gap between the frame 40 and the door lid 30 may be attached not to the base frame 41 but to the lid body 31. Also, the gasket that seals the gap between the container body 2 and the frame 40 can be omitted.
3-2
The structure for attaching the cap 3 to the container body 2 is not limited to that described above (screwing), and it is possible to employ any structure, such as a fitting-in scheme. Also, it is possible to use a configuration in which the door lid 30 is coupled to the mouth part 24 of the container body 2 directly in a hinged manner, instead of using a configuration in which the cap 3 is attached to the container body 2.
3-3
In the above-described embodiment, the mouth part 24 and the frame 40 were formed into circular ring shapes, but the mouth part 24 and the frame 40 can also be formed into rectangular ring shapes.
1 Closable container
2 Container body
3 Cap
4 Hinge mechanism
5 Lock mechanism
24 Mouth part
30 Door lid
40 Frame
50 First extension portion
60 Second extension portion
70 Gasket
80 Biasing member
S1 Opening
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2017-029471 | Feb 2017 | JP | national |