Patent Grant
11840388
The present invention relates to a multilayered container having a vertically foldable inner container, and the vertically foldable inner container.
In recent years, various two-layered or double containers have been proposed to protect content thereof from oxidation and light, and to maintain the freshness of the content. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a two-layered container which contains a plurality of solids in a closely filled state, by depressurizing and shrinking an inner package in order to avoid damage caused by collision among the plurality of solids, when distributing solid medicine tablets or medicine capsules prior to use.
However, in Patent Document 1, although the inner package is shrunk for the distribution, once opened, the inner package is released from the shrunk state and restored such that a space is generated inside, and thus, no consideration is given with regard to shrinking during use.
Accordingly, in view of the above described circumstances, one object of the present invention is to provide a multilayered container capable of continuously protecting content thereof from exposure to the air, and maintaining the quality of the content to the end, by shrinking an inner container so as to reduce the volume thereof according to a remaining volume of the content.
One aspect of the present invention provides a multilayered container including
an inner container configured to contain content; and
an outer container configured to accommodate the inner container,
wherein the inner container has a side surface formed with a plurality of folded pleats contractable and expandable in a vertical direction, so that the inner container is shrinkable inside the outer container,
wherein the inner container includes a metal layer or an inorganic layer, and
wherein a discharge mechanism, configured to discharge the content, and including a mechanism configured to prevent air from entering the inner container when discharging the content, is attached to an upper surface of the inner container.
According to one aspect, in a multilayered container, it is possible to continuously protect the content thereof from exposure to the air, and maintain the quality of the content to the end, by shrinking an inner container so as to reduce the volume thereof according to a remaining volume of the content.
Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each of the following drawings, the same elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and a description of the same elements may be omitted.
<First Configuration Example>
A two-layered container 100 includes an inner container 5, and an outer container 7. In this embodiment, the inner container 5 includes a container body 1, and a lid part 20. The container body 1 is made of a flexible material that can shrink when depressurized, and the outer container 7 is made of a material, having fastness and shape retention properties, that can provide protection from external shock. Because the lid part 20 is used for fitting, the lid part 20 is made of a material having shape retention properties to such an extent that is able to retain the shape thereof.
In addition, discharge mechanisms, having various types of airless characteristics, may be attached to an upper portion of the two-layered container 100 according to the present invention. The airless discharge mechanism is a mechanism that discharges a liquid (fluid) content by applying a pressure to the content itself without using air. The discharge mechanism having the airless characteristic according to the present invention includes a mechanism that prevents air from entering the inner container 5 when discharging the content.
Further, the two-layered container 100 may include an upper fixing part 8. The upper fixing part 8 is made of a material, having fastness and shape retention properties, that can provide protection from external shock, as is the outer container 7.
The container body 1 is a container that contains content or contents, and has a side surface 10 and a bottom surface (lower surface) 17 (refer to
Further, a mouth-side member 2, provided above the container body 1, is a lid part 20 (
In this embodiment, the lid part 20, which is the mouth-side member 2, functions as a constituent element of the inner container 5 that is attached to the container body 1 prior to being accommodated in and attached to the outer container 7.
The outer container 7 has a bottle-like shape including a side surface 701 and a bottom surface 702, so as to accommodate the inner container 5. Moreover, a fitting protrusion 703, which is a threaded convex portion, is provided on an upper end surface of the side surface 701 of the outer container 7. Further, a fitting protrusion 704, which is a threaded convex portion, is provided on an outer portion of the side surface 701 near the upper end surface of the side surface 701. Although
The upper fixing part 8 illustrated in
The two-layered container 100 is assembled by fitting the fitting protrusions 703 and 704 on the upper end and the outer periphery of the side surface 701 of the outer container 7, into the fitting grooves 803 and 804 in the top plate 801 and the lid peripheral wall 802 of the upper fixing part 8.
A state illustrated in
The two-layered container 100 is configured as an airless container to which a so-called airless discharge mechanism is fitted. For example, the container body 1 (inner bag) of the inner container 5 may be formed of a flexible material that is detachably attached with respect to the outer container 7, and a liquid material may be contained inside the container body 1. In addition, a pumping part (for example, discharge mechanisms 50, 60, and 60F illustrated in
The configuration of the container body 1 of the inner container 5 will be described below. A plurality of units, that are extendable and retractable in a predetermined direction, are formed on the side surface 10 of the container body.
At the side surface 10, a bottom side of a parallelogram and a top side of a parallelogram are shared between the stages (units) that are vertically adjacent, and the shared bottom and top sides in the vertically adjacent stages are regarded as an axis of symmetry, so that the parallelograms are alternately stacked in line symmetry. For example, in the example of
Further,
In addition, each of the bottom side of the parallelogram forming a lower end portion of the side surface 10, and the top side of the parallelogram forming an upper end portion of the side surface 10, forming a folded pleat 11 that is the line of symmetry formed by the shared bottom and top sides, is a mountain-fold crease (ridge line).
The unit S1 in the lower stage of
The diagonal line 14 of the unit S1 and the diagonal line 16 of the unit S2 are diagonal lines that bisect acute angles of the parallelograms.
In addition, in each of the units S1 and S2 on the side surface 10, the sides of the parallelograms are successively connected in an articulated manner, so that a polygonal shape is observed in a top view. In other words, the container body 1 has a hollow shape having a generally polygonal cross section. In
The bottom surface 17 of the container body 1 has a polygonal shape corresponding to the number and position of the lower sides of the lowermost stage (S1). For example, the bottom surface is hexagonal. The shoulder part 22 of the lid part 20, in the top view, has a polygonal shape in correspondence with the number and position of the top sides of the uppermost stage (S2).
The shape of the side surface 10 is called a Reversed Spiral Cylindrical Model (RSC) origami structure (for example, Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2).
According to this shape, the side surface 10 of the container body 10 becomes folded pleats including the mountain-fold creases 11, 13, and 15 protruding outward, and the valley-fold creases 14 and 16 protruding inward, and can contract and expand in a predetermined direction (vertical direction in
In addition, the bottom surface 17 and the side surfaces 10 forming the container body 1 preferably include a metal layer or an inorganic layer. The metal of the metal layer may preferably be one of aluminum, iron, gold, silver, titanium, tin, zinc, platinum, ruthenium, palladium, and iridium, an alloy (tin plate), or a metal oxide (aluminum oxide (alumina) or the like). To “include a metal layer” may encompass cases where the entire surface is formed by a metal material, or a metal film is formed on a surface of another material (for example, a resin or the like) or is deposited on an inner surface. The inorganic layer includes an inorganic material such as a silica gel (silicon oxide) or the like.
The metal layer and the inorganic layer forming the container body 1 are also air blocking materials. In addition, the metal layer is a light blocking material. The inorganic layer may be colored to have light blocking properties, or may be transparent so as not to have the light blocking properties.
In this configuration, because the container body 1 includes the metal layer or the inorganic layer, and the metal layer is included in the lid part 20 and the closing film 41 that closes the mouth part 21, the content contained in the two-layered container 100 is surrounded by an air barrier layer in all directions, and it is possible to ensure the air blocking properties of the two-layered container 100.
Further, by forming the container body 1 by the metal layer, or by faulting the container body 1 by the transparent inorganic layer and forming the outer container 7 to include an opaque resin, it is possible to ensure the light blocking properties of the two-layered container.
For example, in this embodiment, the metal layer may be formed by metal deposition of aluminum or the like on a plastic sheet, for example, in order to make the container body 1, which is the inner bag of the inner container 5, flexible while maintaining the air blocking properties and the light blocking properties. The metal that is deposited is not limited to aluminum, and may preferably be one of iron, gold, silver, titanium, tin, zinc, platinum, ruthenium, palladium, iridium, or the like, an alloy (tin plate), or a metal oxide (aluminum oxide (alumina), or the like).
Alternatively, in the present invention, the inorganic layer (inorganic deposition layer) of the container, which is the inner container, may be formed by depositing an inorganic material on a plastic sheet, for example, in order to provide flexibility. The inorganic material may be silica gel (silicon oxide) or the like, for example.
The container body 1 may contain content including oxygen and/or light sensitive materials. Examples of the content is not particularly limited, and may include vitamins (vitamins A, C, or the like) and derivatives thereof or the like, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, foods, or the like including ingredients that are easily oxidized or easily deteriorated.
The outer container 7 is formed to include a plastic or a resin, such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or the like, for example, so as to withstand external shock.
The configuration example in which members of the two-layered container are assembled is not limited to the example of
<Second Configuration Example>
At the side surface 10A of the container body 1A in
More specifically, in this embodiment, a mountain-fold crease formed by each side 13A of the parallelogram, and a valley-fold crease formed by a diagonal line 14A of the parallelogram, are famed in each unit, and each of stages N1 and N2 are stacked by sharing the top side and the bottom side of the parallelograms in the vertically adjacent stages (units).
In addition, although
According to the configuration of this embodiment, because the units N1 and N2, including folded pleats that can contract and expand in a predetermined direction, are also formed on the side surface 10A of the container body 1A, the side surfaces 10A can contract and expand inside the outer container 7. In this configuration, the parallelograms in each of the stages share the top side and the four sides, and the positions the parallelograms are slightly shifted for each of the stages N1 and N2 to form the side surface 10A, the container body 1A shrinks while being twisted when the side surface 10A contracts.
The container bodies 1 and 1A of
<Third Configuration Example>
In this configuration, the side surface of the container body 1G has a bellows shape. A horizontally extending mountain-fold crease 101, and a valley-fold crease 102 are alternately provided in the vertical direction on the side surface 10G of the container body 1G.
<Shrinking of Container Body in First Configuration Example>
A check valve is provided in a cap 54 (refer to
The cap 54 of the airless pump 50 (refer to
On the other hand, the external air inlet port 706, formed in the bottom surface 702 of the outer container 7, maintains the pressure on the immediate inner side of the outer container 7 at the atmospheric pressure.
According to these configurations, as the amount of the content of the container body 1 decreases, it is possible to automatically shrink the container body 1 in the upward direction by air pressure, that is, by a pressure difference between the outer side of the container body 1 and the inner side of the outer container 7, as illustrated by (a)-(b) (c) in
Further, as illustrated in
Accordingly, by shrinking the container body 1 of the inner container so as to reduce the volume according to the remaining amount of the content, the two-layered container 100 having the two-layer structure, which is a multilayered container of the present invention, can continue to protect the content from exposure to the air, and maintain the quality of the content until the end.
As illustrated in
Furthermore, although the container body 1 is formed of a material that includes a metal layer and is configured to vertically overlap a convex surface and a concave surface in stages, the side surface 10 of the container body of the present invention exhibits the same pattern in every other stage, and thus, when a mold is made for every two stages, the mold does not need to be displaced during the manufacturing process, and the manufacturing process can be simplified.
The container body 1G, which is the inner container having the bellows shape illustrated in
<Shrinking in Second Configuration Example>
In this embodiment, a check valve is also provided in the cap 54 (refer to
In this embodiment, similar to the first embodiment, as the amount of the content of the container body 1A decreases, it is possible to automatically shrink the container body 1A in the upward direction by the pressure difference between the outer side of the container body 1A and the inner side of the outer container 7, as illustrated by (a) (b) (c) in
As illustrated in
Accordingly, in this embodiment, by shrinking the container body of the inner container 5A so as to reduce the volume according to the remaining volume of the content, the two-layered container 100A, which is the multilayered container, can continue to protect the content from exposure to the air, and maintain the quality of the content until the end.
Further, as illustrated in
In addition, the metal layer included in the side surface 10 (10A) of the container bodies 1 and 1A can undergo plastic deformation so as to reduce the volume, because portions of the folded pleats provided in advance are deformed when shrinking the container bodies 1 and 1A. For this reason, as illustrated in
Moreover, when the container body 1 (1A, 1G) is crushed, a force is unlikely applied to the portions other than the prescribed fold creases, and scratches, dents, and cracks are unlikely formed on the side surface 10 (10A, 10G), and the appearance of the container body 1 (1A, 1G) is good because a plurality of container bodies 1 (1A, 1G) can be crushed along the fold creases to similar external appearances. Further, because the plurality of container bodies 1 (1A, 1G) can be crushed to the similar external appearances, a recycling process that collects and reuses the container bodies 1 (1A, 1G) is facilitated because the fold creases simply need to be expanded after cleaning.
In addition, as illustrated in
On the other hand, as illustrated in
Alternatively, the outer container 7 may be formed entirely of an opaque material. In this case, because the container body 1 (1A) on the inner side is not visible from the outside, it is possible to employ a design that hides the deformation of the container body 1 (1A).
<Second Fitting Example>
A flange 18B is provided at an upper end of a side surface 10B of a container body 1B, which is a part of an inner container 5B, and this flange 18B has a generally polygonal annular shape that is formed to extend outwardly in the horizontal direction, or a polygonal inner shape and a ring-shaped outer shape. In addition, a lid part 20B is attached to an upper surface of the flange 18B. The outer container 7B has a side surface 701 and a bottom surface 702.
The clasp 90 is another example of the fixing part that fixes the lid part 20B with respect to the outer container 7B. The clasp 90 is a ring-shaped sealing member with an upper surface 91 and a side surface 92. A fitting groove 93 is formed in an inner periphery of the side surface 92.
The flange 18B and an end 23B of the shoulder part 22 of the lid part 20B are sandwiched between a top surface of the side surface 701 of the outer container 7B and the clasp 90. In other words, the clasp 90 is assembled by sandwiching the end 23 of the shoulder part 22 of the lid part 20 and the flange 18B of the inner container 5B, and fitting the fitting protrusion 704 of the outer container 7 into the fitting groove 93 of the clasp 90, similar to the upper fixing part 8 in
The lid part 20B has the shoulder part 22, and the mouth part 21 standing upwardly from the shoulder part 22, similar to
According to this configuration, because the container body 1B includes a metal or inorganic layer, and the lid part 20B and the closing film 41 covering the mouth part 21 include a metal layer, it is possible to ensure the air blocking properties of the two-layered container 100B.
<Third Fitting Example>
A flange 18C is provided at an upper end of a side surface 100 of the container body 10, which is a part of the inner container 5C, and this flange 18C has a generally polygonal annular shape that is formed to extend outwardly in the horizontal direction, or a polygonal inner shape and a ring-shaped outer shape.
Further, in this configuration, a flange 705 is also provided at an upper end of a side surface 701C of the outer container 7C, and this flange 705 has a generally polygonal annular shape that is formed to extend outwardly in the horizontal direction, or a polygonal inner shape and a ring-shaped outer shape.
A metal film 42 is adhered on a lower surface of the upper pressing part 30, and when shipping the container, the content is filled in an oxygen-free atmosphere, and the upper pressing part 30 and the inner container 5C are fitted thereafter to put the inner container 5C into a sealed state. Alternatively, when assembling the container, the metal film 42 is sandwiched between the upper pressing part 30 and the flange 18C, and pressed by the upper pressing part 39, so that the inner container 5C is put into the sealed state.
According to this configuration, because the container body 10 includes a metal layer or an inorganic layer, and the metal film 42 covering the entire upper surface of the container body 1C includes a metal layer, it is possible to ensure the air blocking properties of the two-layered container 100C.
The upper pressing part 30 includes the mouth part 31, the shoulder part 32 forming the upper surface, and a peripheral wall part 33 standing downward from an outer peripheral edge of the shoulder part 32. The shoulder part 32 of the upper pressing part 30 presses against the flange 18C and the metal film 42 from above. The upper pressing part 30 functions as the mouth-side member 2 having the mouth part 31 and the shoulder part 32.
The peripheral wall part 33 of the upper pressing part 30 fits over the flange 18C of the container body 10, the metal film 42, and the flange 705 of the side surface 701C of the outer container 7C, and holds the flange 18C, the metal film 42, and the flange 705 from the outer peripheries thereof.
According to this configuration, because the content included in the two-layered container 100C is surrounded by an air barrier layer in all directions, by the container body 10 and the metal film 42, the upper pressing part 30 need not be formed of a material (metal or the like) having air barrier properties, as long as the material has fastness and shape retention properties that can provide protection from external shock. For example, the upper pressing part 30 may be formed of a plastic or a resin, such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or the like, similar to the outer container 7C.
In this embodiment, the upper pressing part 30, which is the mouth-side member 2, is a constituent element of the two-layered container 100C, which is simultaneously attached to the container body 10 and the outer container 7C after the container body 10 is accommodated in the outer container 7C.
Accordingly, by maintaining the metal film 42 adhered until immediately prior to use, it is possible to maintain the oxygen-free state inside the container body 1. The metal film 42 deep inside the mouth part 31 is broken during use, or when the discharge mechanisms 50, 60, and 60F having the airless characteristics, to be described later in conjunction with
The shoulder part 22 of the lid part 20 of
In
In the two-layered containers of
In this case, the outer container 7 and the upper fixing part 8/clasp 90/or the upper pressing part 30 may continue to be used. In addition, when the inside of the container body 1 of the inner container 5 becomes empty, or the liquid material in the container body 1 runs short, the inner container 5 may once be removed from the outer container 7 to refill the inner container 5 with the liquid material, and then reattach the refilled inner container 5 to the outer container 7.
When the discharge mechanisms 50, 60, and 60F having the airless characteristics illustrated in
<Attaching Airless Pump (1: Horizontal Discharge Pump)>
The airless pump 50 illustrated in
When attaching the airless pump 50 to the mouth part 21 (31), the closing film 41 of
At the airless pump 50, the inlet tube 53 is not in contact with the content prior to assembly. Further, when the neck 51 is pressed, the inside of the container body 1 is drawn, so that the side surface of the container body 1 shrinks due to decompression of the container body 1, and the volume of the container body 1 decreases. As a result, the content is moved to the airless pump 50, and a predetermined amount of the content is discharged to the outside.
In addition, in order to maintain sealing properties, the airless pump 50 may be provided with an annular packing P1, an inlet valve for opening and closing, a discharge valve (not illustrated), or the like.
Accordingly, when attaching the airless pump 50 to the mouth part 21 (31), the air hardly enters the airless pump 50 even after the closing film 41 or the metal film 42 is punctured, and thus, oxygen is prevented from making contact with the content inside the container body 1 as much as possible, and it is possible to maintain a state where the denaturation caused by oxidation is minimized until the content is discharged.
Further, in this configuration, because the container body 1 shrinks according to the remaining amount of the content while maintaining the sealed state, it is possible to confirm the remaining amount of the content at a glance, by checking the shrunk state of the container body 1 from outside the outer container 7 that is transparent in its entirety or in part.
For example, examples of the container, which requires the air barrier properties and accommodates a low-viscosity liquid that is used on multiple occasions, may suitably include fluid packages or the like, such as condiment containers, condiment tubes, travel mini-bottles for cosmetics and sanitary supplies, pouches for retort foods and beverages, or the like, for example.
In addition, according to this configuration, the content can be sprayed by adjusting the diameter size of the outlet 5a of the airless pump 50 illustrated in
In this configuration, the airless pump 50 may be attached to the mouth part 21 (31) during a pre-shipment manufacturing process, or the airless pump 50 and the two-layered container 100 (100A, 100B, 100C) may be sold separately and assembled by the user.
In a case where at least one of filling the content, assembling the outer container 7 and the mouth-side member with respect to the outer container 1, and attaching the airless pump 50 for the content, is performed in a different room during the pre-shipment manufacturing process, and the airless pump is attached in the oxygen-free state after sealing by the fitting and assembling illustrated in
Alternatively, in a case where the filling the content, the assembling the outer container 7 and the mouth-side member with respect to the outer container 1, and the attaching the airless pump 50 are performed by a series of processes in the same room in an oxygen-free state during the manufacturing process, the closing film 41 and the metal film 42 illustrated in
On the other hand, when the airless pump 50 is manually attached to the mouth part by the user, the container body 1D and the airless pump 50 are filled with an inert gas (nitrogen or the like) to realize the oxygen-free state in the shipping state. Hence, even when the user punctures the metal film 42 by the suction tube 53 immediately prior to use, the air hardly enters inside the container body 1, and thus, oxygen is prevented from making contact with the content inside the container body 1D as much as possible, and it is possible to maintain the state where the denaturation caused by oxidation is minimized until the content is discharged.
<Attaching Second Discharge Mechanism: Airless Pump (2: Pressing Head)>
The pump head 60 is an example of an upwardly discharging type discharge mechanism having the airless characteristics.
In this configuration, the pump head 60 discharges the content upward using a pump similar to the case of
Moreover, in this configuration, the mouth part 21 or 31 (inner lid part 6) to which the pump head 60 is attached preferably has functions of the inner lid part as illustrated in
The pump 3 includes a tubular cylinder 3a, a piston 3b, a hollow stem 3c, a slip-out prevention cover 3d, and a valve body 3e. The tubular cylinder 3a has a content inlet h at a bottom part thereof. The piston 3b is slidably arranged inside the cylinder 3a. The hollow stem 3c is inserted through a through hole of this piston 3b, and an end (upper end) of the hollow stem 3c is connected to a casing of the pressing head 4 that will be described later. The slip-out prevention cover 3d is fixed to an upper open end of the cylinder 3a, and prevents the piston 3b from slipping out of the cylinder 3a. The valve body 3e is arranged inside the cylinder 3a at the content inlet h, a casing 3f, which is a three-point valve or the like opened only when the content is drawn, is integrally connected to an outer side wall of the cylinder 3a, and an upper surface of the casing 3f has a concave cross sectional shape in which each of the above described constituent members of the pump 3 are set and accommodated.
An outer edge part of the slip-out prevention cover 3d is integrally formed with annular grooves 3d1 and 3d2, an upward-opening annular recess 3d3, a cylinder 3d4, and a claw portion 3d5. The annular groove 3d1 is provided so as to surround the cylinder 3a, and opens upward and opens downward. The upward-opening annular recess 3d3 is provided so as to surround the annular grooves 3d1 and 3d2, and the cylinder 3d4, forming a spring setting portion (seating surface) that will be described later, stands at an edge part of the annular recess 3d3. The claw portion 3d5 is integrally connected to an upper end part of the cylinder 3d4, a tip end part of the claw portion 3d5 is oriented obliquely downward, and the claw portion 3d5 may have an annular shape, or a plurality of claw portions 3d5 may be provided.
The casing 3f is formed with a cylinder 3f1, a bottom wall 3f2, a cylinder 3f3, and a flange portion 3f4 are formed in the casing 3f. The cylinder 3f1 fits into the annular groove 3d2 of the slip-out prevention cover 3d, and is used integrally (integrally connect) with the slip-out prevention cover 3d. The bottom wall 3f2 abuts a lower surface of the annular recess 3d3 of the slip-out prevention cover 3d. The cylinder 3f3 rises from the edge part of the bottom wall 3f2, and has a threaded portion n on an outer wall thereof. The flange portion 3f4 abuts the flange portion 6c of the mouth part 21 or 31.
In addition, the pressing head 4 is formed by a disk-shaped top lid 4a, a cylinder 4b, a spring 4c, a guide 4d, a cylinder 4e, and a peripheral wall 4f.
The top lid 4a is a disk-shaped lid having a diameter that enables the top lid 4a to enter inside the cylinder 3f3 of the casing 3f, and
An inner wall of the peripheral wall 4f is provided with an annular protrusion 4f1 or a plurality of protrusions 4f1. The protrusion 4f1 engages the claw portion 3d5 of the locking cover 3d, to prevent the pressing head 4 from coming off. An urging force of the spring 4c is set to an extent such that the pressing head 4 does separate from the claw portion 3d5 of the lock cover 3d.
An opening 4a1 is formed at a center of the top lid 4a of the pressing head 4, and the opening 4a1 is blocked in a steady position not having the pressing head 4 pressed into the opening 4a1. A valve body 4a2 is provided at the center of the top lid 4a of the pressing head 4, to open the opening 4a1 only in a state where the pressing head 4 is pressed into the opening 4a1. The valve body 4a2 includes a body portion 4a21 that is secured in a passage of the opening 4a1, and a valve portion 4a22 that is connected in an elastically deformable manner to the body portion 4a21, and at least the valve portion 4a22 is formed of an elastic material such as a rubber or the like, or a soft material such as an elastomer.
The piston 3b of the pump 3 is arranged inside a space formed between a flange portion t provided at a tip end part of the hollow stem 3c, and a tip end of the cylinder 4b. Within this space, the piston 3b can slide very slightly by itself. When the pressing head 4 is pressed (when discharging the content), the tip end of the cylinder 4b abuts a rear end (upper end) of the piston 3b, and the piston 3b slides toward the inlet h of the cylinder 3a. On the other hand, when the pressing head 4 is restored to an initial state (when drawing the content), the flange portion t provided at the tip end part of the hollow stem 3c abuts a tip end (lower end) of the piston 3b, and the piston 3b slides toward the upper end of the cylinder 3a.
In this configuration, the mouth part 21 that becomes the inner lid part 6 is connected to the shoulder part 22 (32) forming the upper surface. A bottom wall (partition) 6a, an annular peripheral wall 6b, a flange portion 6c, and an opening 6d are provided at an inner periphery of the inner lid part 6.
The bottom wall (partition) 6a has a large surface area that covers the top end opening of the container body 1. The annular peripheral wall 6b stands at (integrally connects to) an edge part of the bottom wall 6a. The flange portion 6c is provided at a protruding end portion of the annular peripheral wall 6b, and abuts the flange portion 3f4 of the casing 3f. The opening 6d is formed at a center portion of the bottom wall 6a, and directs only the inlet h of the pump 3 to face toward a filling space M.
The bottom wall 6a of the inner lid part 6 includes functions of a partition that prevents the inside of a container body 1E from contacting the casing 3f of the pump 3. The inner wall of the annular peripheral wall 6b is provided with a threaded portion n1 that engages the threaded portion n formed on the cylinder 3f3 of the casing 3f. An outer wall of the annular peripheral wall 6b becomes the outer wall of the mouth part 21 or 31. Although illustrated example employs the undercutting for the engagement, the engagement may use screws. A packing P is arranged between the annular protrusion 6a1 of the bottom wall 6a and the annular recess 3f5 of the casing 3f, to maintain a fluid-tight state.
According to this configuration, the pump head 60, which is the discharge mechanism having the airless characteristics, is attached to the mouth part 21 (31) during the pre-shipping manufacturing process. For this reason, oxygen is prevented from making contact with the content inside the container body 1 as much as possible, and it is possible to maintain a state where the denaturation caused by oxidation is minimized until the content is discharged.
In addition, according to this configuration, because the container body 1 shrinks according to the remaining amount of the content while maintaining the sealed state, it is possible to confirm the remaining amount of the content at a glance, by checking the shrunk state of the container body 1 from outside the outer container 7 that is transparent in its entirety or in part.
In the case of this configuration, because it is a precondition that the content remains on the top lid 4a that is a flat dish-like discharge surface, a high-viscosity liquid (fluid), such as a cosmetic (foundation cosmetic, cosmetic for base makeup, cosmetic for point makeup), a solid perfume, a condiment, or the like having a predetermined viscosity, for example, is preferably contained as the content.
<Attaching Discharge Mechanism (3: Pressure Head With Tray)>
The pump head 60F with the tray illustrated in
Further, in this configuration, because the tray 61 has a concave shape that caves in, the low-viscosity content can be retained on the tray 61. For example, this configuration is suitable for use when the discharged content is to be impregnated into a sponge, puff, cotton, tissue, kitchen paper, or the like.
According to this configuration, the pump head 60F with the tray, which is the discharge mechanism having the airless characteristics, is attached to the mouth part 21 (31) during the pre-shipping manufacturing process. For this reason, oxygen is prevented from making contact with the content inside the container body 1 as much as possible, and it is possible to maintain a state where the denaturation caused by oxidation is minimized until the content is discharged.
In the configurations of
The material used for the discharge mechanisms 50, 60, and 60F simply need to withstand the discharge operation and the operation of the check valve, because the content pass through the cap 54 or inside the pump 3 only during use. Further, the material used for the discharge mechanisms 50, 60, and 60F is preferably a plastic or the like including a metal layer or an inorganic layer having excellent air blocking properties, in order to prevent the air from entering inside the container body 1 through the discharge mechanisms 50, 60, and 60F.
In the two-layered container, the type of discharge mechanism may be selected according to the viscosity of the content contained in the container body 1. The discharge mechanisms for the anticipated viscosities of the content, in an order starting from the low viscosity, include the configuration of
Thus, the two-layered containers of the embodiments described above are suitable for containing liquid materials need to avoid light transmission and oxygen contact, because the containers are made of the material having the air blocking properties and optically non-transparent properties.
When the contained liquid material is discharged and used, the container body of the container undergoes plastic deformation, and when the liquid material in the container body runs out, the container body collapses to a thin state due to shrinking in the vertical direction, and for this reason, there is no need to further compress the container body even if the inner container is removed from the outer container.
Moreover, because the container body that shrinks inside the outer container is deformed with a good appearance along the fold creases, the deformation of the container body will not appear unsightly even if the outer container is transparent.
<Three-Layered Container>
A three-layered container 200, which is a multilayered container according to one embodiment of the present invention, includes a two-layered container 100H, an outer casing 40, and a push pump 60H. The three-layered container 200 may additionally include a lid part 70.
The two-layered container that can be accommodated in the three-layered container 200 may be the two-layered containers 100, 100A, 100G, 100B, and 100C having the convex mouth part 21 or 31 described above, or a two-layered container having a concave mouth part. The two-layered container 100H includes least a container body 1H, and the mouth part 21 or 31.
The push pump 60H, which is a discharge mechanism, fits to an upper end of the outer casing 40, and pushes the content contained in the container body 1 of the two-layered container 100 upward while preventing the air from entering the container body during use. The push pump 60H includes a pressing head 4H and a pump 3H.
Because the three-layered container according to the present invention includes the two-layered container as described above, the three-layered container 200 can ensure the air blocking properties because a container body 1H of the two-layered container 100H includes a metal layer or an inorganic layer, and the closing film 41 or the metal film covering the mouth part 21 of the lid part 20 (refer to
In addition, the container body 1H may be formed of a metal layer, or the container body 1H may be formed of a transparent inorganic layer, and an outer container 7H and/or the outer casing 40 may be formed to include an opaque resin, to provide the light blocking properties.
As illustrated in
In addition, according to this configuration, a cylinder (concave cylinder) 3AH is configured to be recessed with respect to a lower surface of the pump 3H of the push pump 60H.
By fitting the recessed cylinder 3AH of the push pump 60H and the mouth part 21 of the two-layered container 100 together upon assembly in (1), the push pump 60H communicates with the container body 1H.
Then, in (2), while accommodating the connected push pump 60H and the two-layered container 100 in the outer casing 40, an outer periphery of the pump 3H of the push pump 60H to which the two-layered container 100H is attached, is attached to the outer casing 40.
Finally, in (3), the lid part 70H is attached to the top of the push pump 60H.
After all elements are assembled, as illustrated in
In this embodiment, similar to
In the three-layered container 200 illustrated in
In this embodiment, similar to
When the three-layered container 200 is configured as in the above described embodiment, it is preferable that the outer container 7H of the two-layered container 100H is made transparent in its entirety, and the outer casing 40 accommodating the two-layered container 100H is made transparent at least in part, for example, so that the shrinking of the container body 1H, included in the two-layered container 100H accommodated inside the three-layered container 200, is visually recognizable from the outside. When a part of the outer casing 40 is made transparent, it is preferable to provide a slit that extends in the vertical direction to enable visual confirmation of the shrinking of the container body 1H from the outside.
Alternatively, the outer casing 40 and/or the outer container 7H of the two-layered container 100H may be formed entirely of an opaque material. In this case, at least the container body 1H on the inside is not visible from the outside, to enable a design that hides the deformation of the container body 1H.
In the three-layered container of
In addition, in the two-layered container 100H contained in the three-layered container 200, the innermost container body 1H shrinks, while the outermost outer casing 40 and outer container 7 maintain the standing stage. For this reason, when a product label or the like is affixed to the side surface of the outer casing 40, for example, it is possible to maintain the product label in a visibly recognizable state even at the end of use. Furthermore, when the inside of the container body 1H becomes empty, or the liquid material inside the container body 1H runs short after use, and the entire two-layered container 100H is to be replaced, the product label or the like affixed to the outer container 7H of the two-layered container can prevent filling of an erroneous content into the two-layered container 100H that is collected and thereafter reused, when refilling the two-layered container 100H at a factory or the like.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention are described above in detail, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and various variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the subject matter of the present invention as recited in the claims.
This application is based upon and claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-113137, filed Jun. 13, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-113137 | Jun 2018 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2019/023331 | 6/12/2019 | WO |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2019/240187 | 12/19/2019 | WO | A |
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