The present invention relates to a closure of a vessel for opening and closing a vessel inlet, and more particularly, to a closure of a vessel capable of enhancing a user's convenience by separating a sealing member sealed at a vessel inlet from a vessel together with the closure when the closure is opened.
Generally, a sealing member 152 for protecting contents stored in a vessel 150 is attached to a beverage vessel, a drug vessel, etc. The sealing member 152 is attached onto a vessel inlet 160 in an adhesion manner, etc. In order to prevent the sealing member 152 from being damaged due to an external impact or collision with objects, the sealing member 152 is covered with a closure of a vessel 154.
The closure of a vessel 154 is provided with a female screw portion 162 on an inner circumferential surface thereof, and a male screw portion 164 is formed at the vessel inlet 160. Under this configuration, once the closure of a vessel 154 is opened, the closure of a vessel 154 is detached from or mounted to the vessel inlet 160.
As a user grips and rotates the closure of a vessel 154, the closure of a vessel 154 is detached from the vessel inlet 160. Then, the sealing member 152 is removed from the vessel inlet 160, and contents inside the vessel are discharged out through the vessel inlet 160.
However, the conventional closure of a vessel has the problem that after the closure of a vessel is separated from the vessel, the sealing member attached to the vessel inlet has to be removed by a user's hand, or additional tools such as a knife. Accordingly, a user's inconvenience may be caused.
Especially, when the sealing member is removed by a user's hand, the sealing member is not easily separated from the edge of the vessel inlet due to a strong adhesion force therebetween. Accordingly, the user has to remove the sealing member again, which may cause sanitary problems due to contact between the user's hand and the vessel inlet.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a closure of a vessel capable of enhancing a user's convenience by additionally removing no sealing member, in which when the closure of a vessel is opened, a sealing member is separated from a vessel inlet thus to be stored in the closure of a vessel.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a closure of a vessel capable of preventing environmental contamination by storing a sealing member removed from a vessel inlet when opening the closure, in the closure of a vessel not outside.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a closure of a vessel capable of solving sanitary problems due to contact between a user's hand and a vessel inlet when removing a sealing member, by automatically removing the sealing member by a sealing member removing unit.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present disclosure, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a closure of a vessel, comprising: a body mounted to a vessel inlet through which contents inside a vessel are discharged out, and having a space therein; a sealing member mounted in the body, and sealed at the vessel inlet; and a sealing member separating unit formed on an inner circumferential surface of the body, for separating the sealing member from the vessel inlet when the body is opened, and storing the separated sealing member in the body.
A concaved groove at an outer circumferential surface of the vessel inlet may be formed at an upper end of the vessel inlet. The sealing member may be adhered to an upper surface of the vessel inlet, and have an edge extending to outside from the upper end of the vessel inlet.
The sealing member may consist of an elastic supporting layer formed of paper or synthetic resin, etc. with its own elastic force, and adhered to the vessel inlet by being elastically transformed when closing the closure of a vessel; a metallic layer attached to a lower surface of the elastic supporting layer, and formed of aluminum; and an adhesive layer deposited onto a lower surface of the metallic layer, and adhering the sealing member to the vessel inlet.
The sealing member separating unit may be inwardly protruding from an inner circumferential surface of the body, inserted into a groove of the vessel inlet, and disposed on a lower surface of an edge of the sealing member, for lifting and separating the sealing member from the vessel inlet by being upwardly moved when the body is separated from the vessel inlet.
The sealing member separating unit may consist of a supporting protrusion formed in the body in a circumferential direction, disposed on a lower surface of the sealing member, inserted into a groove of the vessel inlet, and supported by an edge of the sealing member; and a rotation protrusion disposed above the supporting protrusion with an interval therebetween, and locked by locking protrusions formed at the edge of the sealing member in a circumferential direction with the same interval, for rotating the sealing member so as to separate the sealing member from the vessel inlet when the body is rotated.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a closure of a vessel, comprising: a body mounted to a vessel inlet through which contents inside a vessel are discharged out, and having a space therein; a sealing member mounted in the body, and sealed at the vessel inlet; a sealing member separating unit formed on an inner circumferential surface of the body, for separating the sealing member from the vessel inlet when the body is opened, and storing the separated sealing member in the body; and a sealing member locking unit formed at the body, and locked at an inner surface of the sealing member by penetrating the sealing member when being pressed.
The sealing member locking unit may consist of a pressing plate disposed in the body so as to be movable in upper and lower directions, and downwardly moving when pressed by a user; a locking portion disposed on a lower surface of the pressing plate, and locked at a lower surface of the sealing member by penetrating the sealing member when the pressing plate is pressed; and a connection portion connected between an outer circumferential surface of the pressing plate and an inner circumferential surface of the body, for guiding the pressing plate to be moved in upper and lower directions, and supporting the pressing plate that has moved to another position by its own elastic force.
One or more protrusions may be protruding from a coupling part between the sealing member and the vessel inlet at one of the sealing member and the vessel inlet, or at both of them.
The body may be provided with one or more protrusions or groove portions at a contact part to the sealing member, and the protrusions or the groove portions may be radially formed.
The closure of a vessel of the present invention enhances a user's convenience because the sealing member is automatically removed from the vessel inlet when opening the closure, after pressing the pressing plate of the sealing member removing unit installed in the closure.
The closure of a vessel of the present invention can prevent environmental contamination by storing the sealing member removed from the vessel inlet when opening the closure, in the closure of a vessel not outside.
The closure of a vessel of the present invention can solve sanitary problems due to contact between a user's hand and the vessel inlet when removing the sealing member, by automatically removing the sealing member by the sealing member removing unit.
Hereinafter, a closure of a vessel according to the present invention will be explained in more detail.
The closure of a vessel according to a first embodiment of the present invention comprises: a body 16 mounted to a vessel inlet 12 through which contents inside a vessel 10 are discharged out, and having a space therein; a sealing member 18 mounted in the body 16, and sealed at the vessel inlet 12; and a sealing member separating unit formed on an inner circumferential surface of the body 16, for separating the sealing member 18 from the vessel inlet 12 when the body 16 is opened, and storing the separated sealing member 18 in the body 16.
The vessel 10 may be implemented as a beverage vessel, a drug vessel, or an oil vessel for storing liquid or solid contents. The sealing member 18 for protecting contents stored in the vessel 10 by sealing the vessel inlet 12 is attached to the vessel inlet 12.
A concaved groove 20 at an outer circumferential surface of the vessel inlet 12 the may be formed at an upper end of the vessel inlet 12. The sealing member 18 may be disposed so that its edge can cover the groove 20 of the vessel inlet 12. That is, the edge of the sealing member 18 is disposed to be extending outwardly from the end of the vessel inlet 12, and is not adhered to the vessel inlet 12 by the groove 20 formed at the vessel inlet 12.
As shown in
Under a state that the body 16 is mounted to the vessel inlet 12, once a magnetic field of a certain intensity is applied to the sealing member 18 (induction heating method), the sealing member 18 is attached to the vessel inlet 12 with the metallic layer 26 being heated and the adhesive layer 28 being melted.
A male screw portion 30 is formed on an outer circumferential surface of the vessel inlet 12, and a female screw portion 32 is formed on an inner circumferential surface of the body 16. Accordingly, once the body 16 is rotated, the closure of a vessel is mounted to the vessel inlet 12, or separated from the vessel inlet 12. A skirt 34 connected with the body 16 by a plurality of bridges that can be easily fractured is formed at a lower end of the body 16, thereby maintaining a mounted state of the body 16 to the vessel inlet 12. Here, as shown in
The body 16 may be coupled to the vessel inlet 12 by a snap method to open the body 16 in a pressing manner, as well as by a screw coupling manner. A protrusion (not shown) protruding towards an outer side may be formed at the end of the vessel inlet 12, and may be coupled to the body 16. Under a state that the body 16 is coupled to the vessel inlet 12 by a snap method, when the body 16 is separated from the vessel inlet 12, the sealing member 18 is separated from the vessel inlet 12 with a mounted state in the body 16.
Under a state that the body 16 is coupled to the vessel inlet 12 by a snap method, the sealing member 18 can be separated from the vessel inlet 12 by rotating the body 16 with respect to the vessel inlet 12.
The sealing member separating unit is implemented as a ring-shaped supporting protrusion 22 protruding from an inner circumferential surface of the body 16 towards inside of the body 16, and inserted into the groove 20 of the vessel inlet 12. The groove 20 of the vessel inlet 12 may not be necessarily formed with consideration of a plastic material, and may be formed in a gradually concaved or convexed curved line.
The supporting protrusion 22 is inserted into the groove 20 of the vessel inlet 12, and is disposed on a lower surface of the edge of the sealing member 18. Preferably, the sealing member 18 is formed to have a certain strength so as to be locked by the supporting protrusion 22 thereby to be separated from the vessel inlet 12, as the body 16 is rotated to be lifted up.
The supporting protrusion 22 is lifted up when the body 16 is lifted up, and pushes the sealing member 18 upwardly, thereby separating the sealing member 18 from the vessel inlet 12.
In a processes for mounting the closure of a vessel to the vessel inlet 12, firstly, the sealing member 18 composed of a plurality of stacked layers is inserted into the body 16. Once the sealing member 18 is pushed into the body 16, the sealing member 18 is bent by its own elastic force. Then, the sealing member 18 passes through the supporting protrusion 22 thus to be disposed on an upper inner surface of the body 16. The sealing member 18 is locked by the supporting protrusion 22 thus to be prevented from being discharged out.
Once the closure of a vessel having the sealing member 18 inserted thereinto is mounted to the vessel inlet 12, the adhesive layer 28 deposited onto a lower end of the sealing member 18 is adhered to an upper end of the vessel inlet 12. Under this state, a magnetic field having a certain intensity is applied to the closure of a vessel (induction heating method). As a result, heat is generated from the metallic layer 26, and thereby the adhesive layer 28 is melted to be attached to an upper surface of the vessel inlet 12, thereby protecting contents stored in the vessel 10.
Here, the supporting protrusion 22 of the body 16 is in an inserted state into the groove 20 of the vessel inlet 12, and the edge of the sealing member 18 is disposed above the supporting protrusion 22.
Hereinafter, processes for detaching the closure of a vessel mounted to the vessel inlet from the vessel inlet will be explained.
Once the body 16 is rotated in an open direction, the skirt 34 is torn away to inform that the body 16 is separated from the vessel inlet 12. Then, the body 16 is lifted up.
Here, the supporting protrusion 22 formed on an inner surface of the body 16 applies force to the edge of the sealing member 18, with being lifted up together with the body 16. As a result, the adhesive layer 28 of the sealing member 18 is separated from the vessel inlet 12, and thus the sealing member 18 is separated from the vessel inlet 12. The sealing member 18 is locked by the supporting protrusion 22, and maintains a stored state inside the body 16.
Once the body 16 is rotated in an open direction, the sealing member 18 is separated from the vessel inlet 12 thus to be stored in the body 16. This allows a user not to additionally tear away the sealing member 18, thereby enhancing a user's convenience.
On the contrary, when the body 16 is rotated in a closed direction with respect to the vessel inlet 12, the sealing member 18 is adhered to the vessel inlet 12. Accordingly, contents stored in the vessel 10 can be protected.
The closure of a vessel according to the second embodiment is the same as that according to the first embodiment, except for the sealing member separating unit and the sealing member.
That is, the sealing member separating unit according to the second embodiment consists of a supporting protrusion 42 formed in the body 16 in a circumferential direction, disposed on a lower surface of the sealing member 40, inserted into the groove 12 of the vessel inlet 12, and supported by an edge of the sealing member 40; and a rotation protrusion 44 disposed above the supporting protrusion 42 with an interval therebetween, and locked by locking protrusions 46 formed at the edge of the sealing member 40 in a circumferential direction with the same interval, for rotating the sealing member 40 so as to separate the sealing member 40 from the vessel inlet 12 when the body 16 is rotated.
As shown in
Preferably, the sealing member 40 is formed to have a certain strength so as to insert the rotation protrusion 44 and thereby to be rotated.
The operation of the closure of a vessel according to the second embodiment will be explained.
Once the body 16 is mounted to the vessel inlet 12, the supporting protrusion 42 formed on an inner circumferential surface of the body 16 is inserted into the groove 20 of the vessel inlet 12, and is disposed on a lower surface of an edge of the sealing member 40. And, the rotation protrusion 44 is in a locked state by the locking protrusion 46 formed on an outer circumferential surface of the sealing member.
Under this state, once the body 16 is rotated, the rotation protrusion 44 is rotated with a locked state by the locking protrusion 46 of the sealing member 40, thereby pushing the locking protrusion 46 of the sealing member 40. As a result, the adhesive layer 28 of the sealing member 40 is torn away from the vessel inlet 12 due to the pushing force by the rotation protrusion 44. When the body 16 is further rotated, the supporting protrusion 42 is lifted up thereby to lift up the sealing member 40. As a result, the sealing member 40 is separated from the vessel inlet 12 with a locked state by the supporting protrusion 42, and maintains an accommodated state in the body 16.
According to the closure of a vessel of the second embodiment, as the rotation protrusion 44 rotates the sealing member 44, the adhesive layer 28 of the sealing member 40 is torn away from the vessel inlet 12. And, the supporting protrusion 42 separates the sealing member 40 from the vessel inlet 12 by lifting up the sealing member 40, and then stores the separated sealing member 40 in the body 16. Accordingly, the sealing member 40 can be more stably separated from the vessel inlet 12.
The closure of a vessel according to the third embodiment is the same as each closure of a vessel according to the first and second embodiments, except for a sealing member locking unit 70 for detaching the sealing member 60 from the vessel inlet 12.
The sealing member locking unit 70 consists of a pressing plate 72 disposed in the body 16 so as to be movable in upper and lower directions, and downwardly moving when pressed by a user; a locking portion 74 disposed on a lower surface of the pressing plate 72, and locked at a lower surface of the sealing member 60 by penetrating the sealing member 60 when the pressing plate 72 is pressed; and a connection portion 76 connected between an outer circumferential surface of the pressing plate 72 and an inner circumferential surface of the body 16, for guiding the pressing plate 72 to be moved in upper and lower directions, and supporting the pressing plate 72 that has moved to another position by its own elastic force.
The pressing plate 72 is formed in a disc shape having a diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the body 16.
As shown in
Here, the supporting rod 80 is formed in a cylindrical bar perpendicularly extending from a central part of the pressing plate 72 in a lower direction, and is provided with a punch portion 84 at the end thereof. The punch portion 84 has a sharp shape so as to penetrate the sealing member 60.
The locking protrusion 82 is formed to have an elastic transformation force so as to be upwardly bent. At the time of penetrating the sealing member 60, the locking protrusion 82 is upwardly bent thus to pass through a hole penetrated by the punch portion 84, and to be positioned at an inner side of the sealing member 60. Once the locking protrusion 82 is positioned at an inner side of the sealing member 60, it is extending to the original state thus to be locked at an inner side of the sealing member 60.
The locking protrusion 82 is formed so as to be perpendicularly extending from an outer circumferential surface of the supporting rod 80 by a certain length, and is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the supporting rod 80 in one or more in number. Preferably, one pair of locking protrusions 82 are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the supporting rod 80 with an interval of 180°.
As aforementioned, the sealing member 60 is composed of the elastic supporting layer 24, the metallic layer 26, and the adhesive layer 28. A through hole 78 for passing the locking portion 74 so that the sealing member 60 can be easily penetrated is provided at the elastic supporting layer 24.
More concretely, when the pressing plate 72 is pressed, the locking portion 74 penetrates the metallic layer 26 via the through hole 78 of the elastic supporting layer 24.
The connection portion 76 is formed between an outer circumferential surface of the pressing plate 72 and an inner circumferential surface of the body 16 as a thin film having a dome shape. The connection portion 76 is elastically transformed when the pressing plate 72 is pressed by a force more than a certain degree, thereby guiding the pressing plate 72 to be moved in a lower direction.
The connection portion 76 elastically maintains the current position of the pressing plate 72. More concretely, when the pressing plate 72 is upwardly protruding (not pressed state), the connection portion 76 maintains a convexed dome shape thereby to maintain the current position of the pressing plate 72. On the contrary, when the pressing plate 72 is pressed by a force more than a certain degree, the connection portion 76 is elastically transformed into a concaved shape thereby to maintain a pressed position of the pressing plate 72.
As another embodiment, the connection portion 76 is implemented as an ‘S’-shaped guide rib between the pressing plate 72 and an inner surface of the body 16. Once the pressing plate 72 is downwardly moved, the connection portion 76 is extending to guide a downward motion of the pressing plate 72, and to maintain a connected state of the pressing plate 72 to the body 16.
The operation of the closure of a vessel according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be explained.
Once the pressing plate 72 is downwardly pressed, the connection portion 76 is elastically transformed, and thus the pressing plate 72 is downwardly moved. Then, the supporting rod 80 of the locking portion 74 penetrates a central part of the sealing member 60. Here, the locking portion 74 can more easily penetrate the sealing member 60 due to the through hole 78 of the elastic supporting layer 24 of the sealing member 60.
When penetrating the sealing member 60, the locking protrusion 82 of the locking portion 74 is upwardly bent to penetrate a hole formed by the punch portion 84 of the supporting rod 80. Once being positioned at an inner side of the sealing member 60, the locking protrusion 82 is elastically transformed into the original state thereby to be positioned at an inner side of the sealing member 60 in an extending state.
Then, once the body 16 is rotated in an open direction, the supporting protrusion 22 formed on an inner surface of the body 16 applies force to an edge of the sealing member 60 with being upwardly moved together with the body 16. As a result, the adhesive layer 28 of the sealing member 60 is detached from the vessel inlet 12, and at the same time, the sealing member 60 is detached from the vessel inlet 12.
Since the sealing member 60 is in a locked state by the supporting portion, the sealing member 60 is detached from the vessel inlet 12 together with the body 16, and maintains a stored state in the body 16.
Preferably, the sealing member 18 of each closure of a vessel according to the first to third embodiments of the present invention is configured to be coupled to the vessel inlet 12 for sealing to prevent contents stored in the vessel 10 from being discharged out, and to be easily detached from the vessel inlet 12 when the closure is rotated.
Accordingly, the sealing member 18 of the closure of a vessel according to the present invention may be coupled to the vessel inlet 12 in various manners. Here, the sealing member 18 can be easily detached from the vessel inlet 12 by minimizing a coupling area between the sealing member 18 and the vessel inlet 12.
In order to minimize a coupling area between the sealing member 18 and the vessel inlet 12, as shown in
In order to minimize a coupling area between the sealing member 18 and the vessel inlet 12, as shown in
Preferably, the protrusion 12a is formed to have a circular shape. Or, the protrusion 12a may be formed to face the protrusion 18a of the sealing member 18, or to be alternately arranged with the protrusion 18a as shown in
Since the closure of a vessel has to be configured to be detached from the vessel inlet 12 with rotating the sealing member 18 and detaching the sealing member 18 from the vessel inlet 12, as shown in
The protrusions 16a or groove portions may be configured in various patterns such as a rectangular shape, a circular shape, an wedge shape, etc., and are preferably formed at positions corresponding to a coupling parts between the sealing member 18 and the vessel inlet 12. Here, the sealing member 18 may be provided with groove portions 18b or protrusions corresponding to the protrusions 16a or the groove portions of the body 16. The sealing member 18 is formed with the groove portions 18b or protrusions corresponding to the protrusions 16a or groove portions of the body 16 due to its material characteristics. Accordingly, the groove portions 18b or the protrusions corresponding to the concaved portions 16a or the protrusions of the body 16 are not necessarily formed.
It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2007-0077561 | Aug 2007 | KR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/KR2008/004456 | 7/31/2008 | WO | 00 | 4/14/2010 |