SPOUT-EQUIPPED CONTAINER AND REFILLING METHOD

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a spout-equipped container, and a refilling method.

BACKGROUND ART

Dispensing containers (dispenser containers) are known that contain a content material, such as shampoo, hair rinse, or conditioner, and dispense the content liquid through a discharge opening formed in a press head through operation of a pump mechanism by pressing the press head. Also, discharging containers with a discharge nozzle-equipped cap are widely used for liquid detergents such as laundry detergent and dish washing detergent, liquid food products such as soy sauce and other sauces, and the like.

Dispensing containers and discharging containers as described above are often commercially available in the form of disposable packages containing a content material. In recent years, however, from the viewpoint of saving resources, these containers are increasingly being provided as containers to be refilled so that they can be used repeatedly by being refilled with a content liquid from a refill container.

Under these circumstances, from the viewpoint of preventing the loss of content liquid when refilling a refillable container, such as a dispensing container or a discharging container, with a content material that is contained in a refill container, there is demand to reduce the amount of content material that remains in the refill container as much as possible.

Patent Literature 1 discloses, although it does not relate to a technique for refilling a refillable container with a content material that is contained in a refill container, a cap-equipped container and a filling nozzle. In order to prevent the content material to be used for filling from adhering to a leading end portion of a container opening of a container body of the cap-equipped container when the container body of the cap-equipped container is refilled with the content material from the filling nozzle, a configuration is used in which a ring-shaped protruding portion is provided within the container opening. With this configuration, the content material can be injected, with the filling nozzle being inserted to the position of the protruding portion within the container opening of the refillable container.

Patent Literature 2 discloses a configuration in which ribs are provided in a protruding manner so as to extend along a flow path on the inner surface side of a nozzle portion of a refill container.

CITATION LIST
Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: JP 2015-24848A

Patent Literature 2: JP 2006-89133A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a spout-equipped container that is used to refill a refillable container with a content material. The spout-equipped container includes: a refill container spout; and a flexible container body portion, the container body portion containing the content material. The refill container spout includes a tubular nozzle portion that brings the inside and outside of the container body portion into communication with each other, and a fixing portion that is fixedly attached to the container body portion. When the nozzle portion is divided in a height direction of the nozzle portion into three equal parts, and the three equal parts are respectively defined as an upper portion that includes a discharge-side opening portion, an intermediate portion, and a lower portion, the nozzle portion includes, on an inner surface side in the lower portion, a throttle projection that protrudes toward a center of the nozzle portion. The throttle projection forms, on a leading end side in a protrusion direction of the throttle projection, a flow path through which the content material passes, and the throttle projection extends along a circumferential direction of the nozzle portion, and has a length more than 50% of a total circumferential length of an inner surface of the nozzle portion. The container body portion includes a top surface portion, a front surface portion, a back surface portion, and a bottom portion.

The fixing portion of the refill container spout is fixedly attached to the top surface portion.

Also, the present invention relates to a refilling method for refilling a refillable container with a content material by using the spout-equipped container as described above. The method includes the step of inserting the nozzle portion of the spout-equipped container into a container opening of the refillable container and injecting the content material into the refillable container, with the spout-equipped container being held upside down.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a spout-equipped container according to an embodiment of the present invention that is a refill container.

FIGS. 2(a) to 2(c) are diagrams showing a refill container spout that is attached to the spout-equipped container shown in FIG. 1, with FIG. 2(a) being a perspective view, FIG. 2(b) being a cross sectional view taken along the line II-II shown in FIG. 2(c), and FIG. 2(c) being a plan view.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of a nozzle portion when the spout-equipped container shown in FIG. 1 is capped.

FIG. 4(a) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state immediately after refilling has been started when a refillable container is refilled with a content material from the spout-equipped container shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4(b) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a cross section corresponding to FIG. 4(a) after completion of refilling.

FIG. 5(a) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state immediately after refilling has been started when a refillable container is refilled with a content material from a spout-equipped container that does not include a throttle projection, and FIG. 5(b) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a cross section corresponding to FIG. 5(a) after completion of refilling.

FIGS. 6(a) to 6(d) are illustrative diagrams showing throttle projections according to preferred embodiments, each showing a schematic cross-sectional view showing a vertical cross section taken along a plane including the central axis of the nozzle portion.

FIGS. 7(a) to 7(e) are illustrative diagrams showing throttle projections according to other preferred embodiments, each showing a schematic cross-sectional view showing a vertical cross section taken along the plane including the central axis of the nozzle portion.

FIGS. 8(a) to 8(c) are diagrams showing other examples of throttle portions that are each formed in the nozzle portion by the throttle projection (corresponding to FIG. 2(c)).

FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a refill container spout according to another embodiment.

FIGS. 10(a) to 10(d) are schematic diagrams showing a refilling process of refilling a refillable container with a content material from the spout-equipped container shown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The protruding portion disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is formed within the container opening of the refillable container into which the content material is filled through the filling nozzle, rather than within the nozzle portion of the refill container, and Patent Literature 1 does not disclose a configuration for reducing the amount of content material that remains in the nozzle portion of the refill container as much as possible. Also, the protruding ribs provided on the inner surface of the nozzle portion disclosed in Patent Literature 2 are ribs that extend along the flow path, and thus there is no or minimal effect of reducing the amount of content material that remains in the nozzle portion.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems encountered in the conventional techniques described above.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described by way of preferred embodiments.

A spout-equipped container 100 shown in FIG. 1 is a spout-equipped container according to an embodiment of the present invention that is a refill container, and includes a refill container spout 1 configured as shown in FIG. 2(a) to FIG. 2(c).

The spout-equipped container 100 according to the present embodiment includes the refill container spout 1, a container body portion 2, and a cap 3.

As a result of the refill container spout 1 being fixed to the container body portion 2 that has a bag shape, it is possible to obtain a spout-equipped container 100 that includes a nozzle portion 11 that is internally provided with a content material discharging path 12A. In the spout-equipped container 100 shown in FIG. 1, the refill container spout 1 shown in FIGS. 2(a) to 2(c) is fixedly attached to the container body portion 2 that is made of a soft packaging material.

The refill container spout 1 according to the present embodiment (hereinafter also referred to simply as “container spout 1”) includes, as shown in FIGS. 2(a) to 2(c), the nozzle portion 11 that has a tubular shape and brings the inside and outside of the container into communication with each other, and a fixing portion 19 that is fixedly attached to the container body portion 2.

The nozzle portion 11 of the container spout 1 has a cylindrical shape with openings at its upper and lower ends. The nozzle portion 11 includes a discharge-side opening portion 12 that serves as a discharge opening for discharging a content material 5 during a refilling operation, and a container body-side opening portion 13 that is located on the opposite side of the discharge-side opening portion 12. Also, the nozzle portion 11 includes an outer surface 11a that forms an outer circumferential surface of the cylinder, an upper end portion 11b that forms a circumferential edge portion of the discharge-side opening portion 12, an inner surface 11c that forms an inner circumferential surface of the cylinder, and a lower end portion 11d that forms a circumferential edge portion of the container body-side opening portion 13.

The fixing portion 19 is provided continuously with the nozzle portion 11 so as to extend horizontally outward from the lower end portion of the nozzle portion 11. The fixing portion 19 shown in FIGS. 2(a) to 2(c) is an annular plate-like body that has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, but the shape of the fixing portion 19 can be changed to any shape. For example, the fixing portion 19 may be an annular plate-like body that extends substantially horizontally outward from the outer surface of the nozzle portion 11, and the shape of its outer edge as viewed in plan view may be a circular shape, an elliptic shape, a hexagonal shape, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the container body portion 2 of the spout-equipped container 100 includes a top surface sheet portion 21, a front surface sheet portion 22, a back surface sheet portion 23, and a bottom surface sheet portion 24. A top surface portion is formed by the top surface sheet portion 21, a front surface portion is formed by the front surface sheet portion 22, a back surface portion is formed by the back surface sheet portion 23, and a bottom portion is formed by the bottom surface sheet portion 24. In the container body portion 2, side edge portions 22s and 22s on both lateral sides of the front surface sheet portion 22 and side edge portions 23s and 23s on both lateral sides of the back surface sheet portion 23 are bonded together, and a lower end portion of a tubular body that is composed of the front surface sheet portion 22 and the back surface sheet portion 23 and a circumferential edge portion of the bottom surface sheet portion 24 are bonded together. In an upper portion of the container body portion 2, an upper end edge 22t of the front surface sheet portion 22 and a front surface-side edge 21s of the top surface sheet portion 21 are bonded together, and an upper end edge 23t of the back surface sheet portion 23 and a back surface-side edge 21s′ of the top surface sheet portion 21 are bonded together. In this way, the container body portion 2 according to the present embodiment is formed so as to have a bag shape by bonding together the respective portions of the top surface sheet portion 21, the front surface sheet portion 22, the back surface sheet portion 23, and the bottom surface sheet portion 24, thereby forming a container portion 25 that is capable of containing a liquid content material. The spout-equipped container 100 according to the present embodiment is a pouch container in which the container body portion 2 is made of a flexible sheet material. The spout-equipped container according to the present invention is not limited to a self-standing container, but the spout-equipped container 100 according to the present embodiment is a self-standing container at least while it contains a content material.

The front surface portion, the bottom surface portion, the back surface portion, and the top surface portion that constitute the container body portion 2 may be made of a single continuous sheet material. For example, the container body portion 2 can be produced by using the production method and apparatus disclosed in WO 2008/096392. It is also possible to form any two or three portions of the front surface portion, the bottom surface portion, the back surface portion, and the top surface portion by using a single continuous sheet, and form the remaining portions by using another sheet. It is also possible to form the front surface portion, the bottom surface portion, the back surface portion, and the top surface portion by using separate sheets.

As shown in FIG. 3, the container body portion 2 includes, in the top surface portion that is composed of the top surface sheet portion 21, a through hole 21a for attaching a spout, and the container spout 1 described above is fixedly attached to the container body portion 2 by bonding an upper surface of the plate-like fixing portion 19 to a lower surface of the top surface portion, more specifically, the lower surface of the top surface sheet portion 21, with the nozzle portion 11 being inserted into the through hole 21a.

With this configuration, when refilling a refillable container with the content material contained in the container body portion 2, the content material moves along the lower surface of the fixing portion 19 and smoothly flows into the nozzle portion 11. Accordingly, the amount of content material that remains in the container body portion 2 and the nozzle portion 11 can be more reliably reduced.

As the bonding method for bonding the sheet portions that constitute the container body portion 2, and the bonding method for fixedly attaching the fixing portion 19 to the container body portion 2, various types of known methods can be used such as heat sealing, ultrasonic sealing, high frequency sealing, and using an adhesive.

In the nozzle portion 11 of the container spout 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2(b), where a central axis L of the nozzle portion 11 is set to be parallel to the vertical direction, with the discharge-side opening portion 12 of the nozzle portion 11 facing vertically upward, the nozzle portion 11 is divided in a height direction Y that extends along the vertical direction into three equal parts, and the three equal parts are respectively defined as an upper portion A that includes the discharge-side opening portion 12, an intermediate portion B, and a lower portion C, the nozzle portion 11 includes, on the inner surface 11c side in the lower portion C, a throttle projection 14 that protrudes toward the center of the nozzle portion 11. More specifically, the throttle projection 14 protrudes in the horizontal direction, which is a direction perpendicular to the central axis L of the nozzle portion 11, so as to approach the central axis L.

The throttle projection 14 is provided to reduce the horizontal cross sectional area of the space in the nozzle portion 11, as well as limiting the horizontal cross sectional area of the content material 5 that flows through the nozzle portion 11 to part of or the entire area of the lower portion C of the nozzle portion 11 in the height direction, and preferably to part of the lower portion C. To rephrase, the throttle projection 14 forms a throttle portion 12A′ within the nozzle portion 11, the throttle portion 12A′ being a member that partially reduces the horizontal cross sectional area of the space in the nozzle portion 11.

Also, the throttle projection 14 according to the present embodiment forms, on a leading end side in a protrusion direction of the throttle projection 14, a flow path through which the content material passes. In the present invention, it is sufficient that the throttle projection 14 is formed so as to form a main flow path on the leading end side in the protrusion direction of the throttle projection 14 within the nozzle portion 11. It is also possible to form the throttle projection 14 such that a throttle projection 14-free portion that is provided in a portion of the inner surface of the nozzle portion 11 in the circumferential direction forms a part of the flow path.

As shown in FIG. 2(c), the throttle projection 14 according to the present embodiment is formed in an annular shape on the inner surface 11c side of the nozzle portion 11, and the throttle projection 14 has a length that is more than 50% of the total circumferential length of the inner surface of the nozzle portion 11. To be more specific, the throttle projection 14 have the same length as the circumferential length of the nozzle portion 11, specifically, the total circumferential length of the inner surface of the nozzle portion 11, or in other words, the throttle projection 14 have a length equal to 100% of the total circumferential length of the inner surface of the nozzle portion 11.

The nozzle portion 11 according to the present invention may include a throttle projection 14-free portion in a portion of the inner surface of the nozzle portion 11 in the circumferential direction, as in refill container spouts shown in Table 1 used in Examples 2 to 4, which will be described later. Alternatively, the nozzle portion 11 according to the present invention may include a throttle projection 14 that is composed of a plurality of segments that are provided spaced apart in the circumferential direction of the nozzle portion 11, as in refill container spouts shown in Table 1 used in Examples 3 and 4, and Comparative Example 1.

The throttle projection 14 according to the present invention has a length more than 50% and 100% or less of the total circumferential length of the inner surface of the nozzle portion 11, preferably 60% or more and 100% or less, and more preferably 85 to 100%.

As used herein, “the circumferential length of the inner surface of the nozzle portion 11” refers to the length of the nozzle portion 11 that extends along the circumferential direction, and is obtained through measurement along the inner surface of the nozzle portion 11. Also, in the case where the throttle projection 14 is composed of a plurality of segments that are provided spaced apart in the circumferential direction of the nozzle portion 11, the total value of the length of each of the plurality of segments of the throttle projection 14, the length extending along the circumferential direction of the inner surface of the nozzle portion, is referred to as “the length of the throttle projection 14”.

Also, the length of the throttle projection 14 means the length at a base end portion of the throttle projection 14 in the protrusion direction, or in other words, the length at a boundary between the throttle projection 14 and the inner surface 11c of the nozzle portion 11, and is obtained by measuring the inner surface 11c of the nozzle portion 11 along the circumferential direction.

With respect to the refill container spout and the nozzle portion, as shown in FIG. 2, the terms “upper side”, “above”, “horizontal direction”, and “height direction” are directions that are, in a state in which the central line L of the tubular nozzle portion 11 is set to be parallel to the vertical direction Y, with the discharge-side opening portion 12 facing vertically upward, parallel to the upper side in the vertical direction, vertically upside, the horizontal direction (the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction), and the vertical direction Y

The spout-equipped container 100 according to the present embodiment is preferably used as a refill container that is used to refill or top up a refillable container such as a dispensing container (dispenser container), or a discharging container that includes a discharge nozzle-equipped cap with a content material 5 to be discharged or dispensed.

With the container spout 1 and the spout-equipped container 100 according to the present embodiment, as shown in, for example, FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), when a refillable container 4 is refilled with the content material 5 from the spout-equipped container 100, the amount of the content material 5 that remains in the nozzle portion 11 after the refillable container 4 has been refilled with the content material 5 can be reduced significantly.

The reason is presumably as follows.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the content material 5 that has flowed into the nozzle portion 11 through the container body-side opening portion 13 flows toward the discharge-side opening portion 12, with the cross-sectional area of the flow of the content material 5 being throttled by the throttle projection 14. Then, the content material 5 is injected into the refillable container 4 through the discharge-side opening portion 12. With this configuration, the extent to which the content material 5 comes into contact with the inner surface 11c of the nozzle portion 11 is reduced, which minimizes the amount of the content material 5 that remains in the nozzle portion 11 after refilling has been performed.

In contrast, in the case where the nozzle portion 11 does not include the throttle projection 14, as shown in FIG. 5(a), the content material 5 that has flowed into the nozzle portion 11 through the container body-side opening portion 13 flows toward the discharge-side opening portion 12 while coming into contact with a wide area of the inner surface 11c of the nozzle portion 11. Then, the content material 5 is injected into the refillable container 4 through the discharge-side opening portion 12. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5(b), a large amount of the content material 5 is likely to remain in the nozzle portion 11 after refilling has been performed. The container spout 1B shown in FIG. 5 has the same configuration as the container spout 1 shown in FIG. 2, except that the throttle projection 14 is not provided on the inner surface side of the nozzle portion 11.

The refillable container 4 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 includes a tubular container opening portion 41 at an upper end portion of a body portion 42 such that the content material 5 can be injected into the refillable container 4, with the container spout 1 and the nozzle portion 11 of the spout-equipped container 100 according to the present embodiment being inserted into the container opening portion 41. The refillable container 4 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 can be used as a dispensing container or a discharging container by detachably attaching a dispenser-equipped cap or a discharge nozzle-equipped cap to the container opening portion 41.

The refilling method according to the present invention is a method for refilling a refillable container with a content material by using the above-described spout-equipped container.

The refilling method according to the present invention includes the step of inserting the nozzle portion of the spout-equipped container into a container opening of the refillable container and injecting the content material into the refillable container, with the spout-equipped container being held upside down. To be more specific, the procedure includes, for example, the following steps:

step 1 of holding the spout-equipped container 100 according to the present invention with one hand, and the refillable container 4 with the other hand (see FIG. 10(a));

step 2 of inserting the nozzle portion 11 of the spout-equipped container 100 into the container opening portion 41 of the refillable container 4 (see FIG. 10(a));

step 3 of placing the refillable container 4 on a table to be substantially vertical with respect to the mounting surface, together with the spout-equipped container 100 that is held upside down (see FIG. 10(b));

step 4 of injecting the content material 5 into the refillable container 4 while squeezing the container body portion 2 of the spout-equipped container 100 that is held upside down, in a direction from the bottom surface portion toward the nozzle portion 11 (see FIG. 10(c)), and as the method for squeezing the container body portion 2 in a direction from the bottom surface portion toward the nozzle portion 11, it is preferable to inwardly roll the bottom surface portion so as to fold the front surface portion and the back surface portion once or more times toward the front surface portion side or the back surface portion side, with the inner surfaces of the front surface portion and the back surface portion being brought into contact or close proximity with each other; and

step 5 of squeezing out the content material 5 from the spout-equipped container 100 while the container body portion 2 is held flat (see FIG. 10(d)).

Also, the refilling method described above may be displayed on any portion of the spout-equipped container. The refilling method is preferably displayed on the container body portion, and is preferably displayed on the front surface portion or the back surface portion. As the method for displaying the refilling method, any method can be used such as attaching a label, or direct printing or transfer thereof onto the container body portion.

As the refilling method that is shown, it is sufficient to simply display the step of inserting the nozzle portion of the spout-equipped container into a container opening of the refillable container and injecting the content material into the refillable container, with the spout-equipped container being held upside down.

Examples of the liquid content material 5 to be injected into the refillable container 4 include: liquid hair care agents such as shampoo, hair conditioner, hair rinse; liquid soaps such as body soap and hand soap; liquid detergents such as laundry detergent and dish washing detergent; softening agents; bleaching agents; liquid cleaning agents for cleaning bathrooms and floors; liquid cosmetics; and liquid pharmaceuticals.

In particular, a highly viscous liquid such as conditioner or hair rinse is likely to adhere to the inner surface of the nozzle portion 11 of the refill container and remain in the nozzle portion 11. Accordingly, the present invention provides an even greater advantage.

As a highly viscous liquid, liquids such as those with a viscosity of 10,000 mPa·S or more and 65,000 mPa·S or less measured using the method described below are examples. Even a liquid having a viscosity within the above range is unlikely to remain in the nozzle portion 11 as shown in FIG. 4(b).

Method for Measuring Viscosity

Viscosity at a temperature of 30° C. is measured by using a BR-type viscometer (TVB-10 available from Toki Sangyo Co., Ltd.) that is a B-type viscometer, and a rotor No. T-C (10 rpm, 1 minute).

From the viewpoint of further preventing the content material from remaining in the nozzle portion 11, as shown in FIG. 2(b) and FIGS. 6(a) to 6(d), the throttle projection 14 is preferably formed on a container body portion-side end portion of the nozzle portion 11. As used herein, the container body portion-side end portion of the nozzle portion 11 refers to the end portion of the nozzle portion 11 that is on the container body-side opening portion 13 side in the height direction Y.

From the viewpoint of further preventing the content material from remaining in the nozzle portion 11, a distance Tu from an upper end 14u of the maximum protruding portion of the throttle projection 14 to the upper end portion 11b of the nozzle portion (see FIG. 2(b)) is preferably 85% or more of the height T of the nozzle portion 11, and more preferably 90% or more, and preferably 98% or less, and more preferably 95% or less, and preferably 85% or more and 98% or less, and more preferably 90% or more and 95% or less. From the same viewpoint, the distance Tu is preferably 110% or more of an inner diameter L1 (equivalent circle diameter in the case where the cross section is non-circular) of the nozzle portion 11, and more preferably 116% or more, and preferably 127% or less, and more preferably 123% or less, and preferably 110% or more and 127% or less, and more preferably 116% or more and 123% or less.

There is no particular limitation on the height T and the inner diameter L1 of the nozzle portion 11, but from the viewpoint of achieving ease of refilling the refillable container with the content material, the height T of the nozzle portion 11 is, for example, preferably 15 mm or more and 30 mm or less, and more preferably 20 mm or more and 25 mm or less. On the other hand, the inner diameter L1 of the nozzle portion 11 is, for example, preferably 12 mm or more and 24 mm or less, and more preferably 16 mm or more and 20 mm or less from the viewpoint of achieving ease of refilling the refillable container with the content material even when the content material is highly viscous, and further reducing the amount of the content material that remains in the nozzle portion. The inner diameter L1 of the nozzle portion 11 is obtained by measuring the inner diameter L1 at a throttle projection-free area of the nozzle portion 11 in the height direction of the nozzle portion 11, and preferably at a central position of the nozzle portion 11 in the height direction.

From the viewpoint of further preventing the content material from remaining in the nozzle portion 11, the throttle projection 14 has a protruding height T3 (see FIG. 2(b)) of preferably 1 mm or more, and more preferably 2 mm or more, and preferably 4 mm or less, and more preferably 3 mm or less, and preferably 1 mm or more and 4 mm or less, and more preferably 2 mm or more 3 mm or less. In FIG. 6, the X direction is the direction in which the throttle projection 14 protrudes.

Also, the protruding height T3 is preferably 4% or more of the inner diameter L1 (equivalent circle diameter in the case where the cross section is non-circular) of the nozzle portion 11, and more preferably 10% or more, and preferably 17% or less, and more preferably 13% or less, and preferably 4% or more and 17% or less, and more preferably 10% or more and 13% or less.

Also, from the viewpoint of further preventing the content material from remaining in the nozzle portion 11, the throttle projection 14 has an inclination angle θ1 of preferably 120° or less, more preferably 100° or less, and even more preferably 95° or less, and preferably 30° or more, more preferably 60° or more, and even more preferably 85° or more, the inclination angle θ1 being an inclination angle of a surface 14a that is on the discharge-side opening portion 12 side of the nozzle portion 11 with respect to the inner surface 11c of the nozzle portion.

On the other hand, the throttle projection 14 can have an inclination angle θ2 in a range above 0° and less than 180, and preferably 90° or more and 150° or less, the inclination angle θ2 being an inclination angle of a surface 14b that is on the container body portion side of the nozzle portion 11 with respect to the inner surface 11c of the nozzle portion 11.

As shown in FIG. 2(b) and FIGS. 6(a) to 6(d), the inclination angle θ1 and the inclination angle θ2 are measured on a vertical cross section taken along a plane passing through the central axis L of the nozzle portion. In the throttle projection 14 shown in FIG. 6(a), the inclination angle θ1 and the inclination angle θ2 are both set to 90°. In the throttle projection 14 shown in FIG. 6(b), the inclination angle θ1 is set to 45°, and the inclination angle θ2 is set to 120°. As shown in FIGS. 6(a), 6(c), and 6(d), the surface 14a of the throttle projection 14 that is on the discharge-side opening portion 12 side is preferably substantially vertical to the inner surface 11c of the nozzle portion 11. In this case, the inclination angle θ1 is 85° or more and 95° or less.

In each of FIGS. 6(a) to 6(d), the arrow F indicates the direction of movement of the content liquid when the refillable container is refilled with the content liquid in the refill container via the nozzle portion 11.

In the throttle projection 14 according to the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 6(b), 6(c), and 6(d), the surface 14b that is on the container body portion side of the nozzle portion 11 is preferably inclined toward the discharge-side opening portion 12 of the nozzle portion 11.

Also, as shown in FIG. 3, it is preferable that a leading end 14t of the throttle projection 14 is chamfered along the circumference of the container body-side opening portion 13 of the nozzle portion 11.

As described above, with the configuration in which in the entire area or a leading end portion of the throttle projection 14 in the protrusion direction X, the surface 14b that is on the container body portion side of the nozzle portion 11 is inclined toward the discharge-side opening portion 12 of the nozzle portion 11, when the refillable container is refilled with the content material contained in the container body portion 2, the content material flows more smoothly into the nozzle portion 11, and it is therefore possible to even more reliably reduce the amount of content material that remains in the container body portion 2 and the nozzle portion 11.

The throttle projections 14 that have the cross-sectional shapes shown in FIGS. 6(a) to 6(d) are also formed so as to extend along the total circumferential length of the inner surface of the nozzle portion, but may be formed in a portion of the nozzle portion in the circumferential direction or may be formed by a plurality of segments separately provided in the circumferential direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, with the spout-equipped container 100 according to the present embodiment, by screwing the cap 3 into the nozzle portion 11, the discharge-side opening portion 12 can be sealed in a liquid-tight manner. More specifically, the container spout 1 includes, on the outer circumferential surface of the nozzle portion 11, threads 15 for threaded engagement with the cap. The cap 3 includes threads 33 for threaded engagement with the threads 15, on an inner circumferential surface 32a of a tubular portion 32 that extends downward from an edge portion of a top surface portion 31. The cap 3 includes an annular inner ring 35 that is suspended from the top surface portion 31 at a position spaced apart from the tubular portion 32 in the top surface portion 31, and thus the sealing properties when the spout-equipped container is capped are improved.

The refill container spout 1 according to the present invention is preferably made of a synthetic resin. Also, the throttle projection 14 is preferably molded into one unit with the nozzle portion 11. Also, the nozzle portion 11 and the fixing portion 19 are preferably molded into one unit through injection molding of a synthetic resin. Examples of the synthetic resin that constitutes the refill container spout include: polyolefins such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polybutene; polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET); polyamides; polyvinyl chloride; polystyrene; and polylactic acid. The cap 3 is also preferably made of a synthetic resin.

Although the refill container spout 1 and the cap 3 are preferably made of a synthetic resin, they may be made of a metal such as aluminum or a ceramic.

Also, the flexible sheet that forms the container body portion 2 according to the embodiment described above can be, but is not limited to, a monolayer or multilayer film or a stacked sheet made of a synthetic resin such as a polyolefin, a polyester, or a polyamide, or a combination thereof, a stacked sheet obtained by adding a metal deposition layer made of aluminum to the monolayer or multilayer film or the stacked sheet described above, or the like.

The spout-equipped container and the refilling method according to the present invention are not limited to the embodiment given above, and can be changed as appropriate.

For example, the flexible container body portion 2 to which the refill container spout 1 is attached may be a flexible bag-like container or a thin-walled container (for example, a container that has a thickness of 700 μm or less, and more preferably 500 μm or less) formed through blow molding, such as the bag-like container disclosed in JP 2009-280228A. As a result of the container body portion 2 being flexible, even when the content material is a highly viscous liquid (for example, a liquid that has a viscosity of 10,000 mPa·S or more as described above), the content material 5 can be injected into the refillable container 4 while squeezing the container body portion 2 of the spout-equipped container 100 that is held upside down from the bottom surface portion toward the nozzle portion 11 as described above.

Also, as the throttle projection provided on the nozzle portion of the refill container spout, only one annular throttle projection as shown in FIG. 2 may be provided. Alternatively, as in the container spouts used in Examples 3 and 4 which will be described later, a plurality of throttle projections that have the same length or different lengths, the length extending in the circumferential direction of the nozzle portion, may be provided in the circumferential direction of the nozzle portion so as to form an annular shape.

The throttle projection may be configured as any one of the projections that have the shapes shown in FIGS. 7(a) to 7(e). In the examples shown in FIGS. 7(a) to 7(e) as well, the inclination angle θ1 is set to 90.

Also, with respect to the throttle portion 12A′ that is a flow path that is formed on the leading end side in the protrusion direction of the throttle projection within the nozzle portion 11 by the throttle projection 14, the shape as viewed in plan view may be, in addition to a circular or a substantially circular shape as shown in FIG. 2(c), other shapes such as a rectangular shape, a triangular shape, and a star shape as shown in FIGS. 8(a) to 8(c).

Also, in order to facilitate transfer of the refill container spout 1 between processes in the production line of the spout-equipped container 100, two upper and lower annular extending portions 16 and 17 are provided on the outer circumference of the nozzle portion 11 of the refill container spout 1 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. As a result of the annular extending portions 16 and 17 being provided, when the nozzle portion 11 of the spout-equipped container 100 is inserted into the container opening portion 41 of the refillable container 4, the outer circumferences of the annular extending portions 16 and 17 come into contact with the inner circumference of the container opening portion 41. Accordingly, the orientation of the spout-equipped container 100 can be thereby stabilized, and the content material can be injected into the refillable container more easily. From this viewpoint, it is preferable to provide either one or both of the annular extending portions 16 and 17. However, if it is unnecessary to take into consideration the above viewpoint, it is also possible to omit both of the annular extending portions 16 and 17.

Also, the nozzle portion may have, instead of the circular tubular shape, a rectangular tubular shape. Also, the refill container spout according to the present invention may be configured as in the refill container spout shown in FIG. 8 such that the throttle projection 14 is formed at a position spaced apart from the lower end portion 11d of the tubular nozzle portion 11.

Also, the refill container spout according to the present invention may be configured as in the refill container spout shown in FIG. 9 such that the throttle projection 14 is formed at a position spaced apart from the lower end portion 11d of the tubular nozzle portion 11.

Also, the central axis L of the nozzle portion of the refill container spout 1 according to the present invention may be non-parallel to the vertical direction as long as advantageous effects of the present invention can be obtained.

With regard to the above-described embodiments, the present invention further discloses the following spout-equipped container and refilling method.

<1> A spout-equipped container that is used to refill a refillable container with a content material, the spout-equipped container comprising:

a refill container spout; and

a flexible container body portion, the container body portion containing the content material,

wherein the refill container spout includes a tubular nozzle portion that brings the inside and outside of the container body portion into communication with each other, and a fixing portion that is fixedly attached to the container body portion,

when the nozzle portion is divided in a height direction of the nozzle portion into three equal parts, and the three equal parts are respectively defined as an upper portion that includes a discharge-side opening portion, an intermediate portion, and a lower portion, the nozzle portion includes, on an inner surface side in the lower portion, a throttle projection that protrudes toward a center of the nozzle portion,

the throttle projection forms, on a leading end side in a protrusion direction of the throttle projection, a flow path through which the content material passes, and the throttle projection extends along a circumferential direction of the nozzle portion, and has a length more than 50% of a total circumferential length of an inner surface of the nozzle portion,

the container body portion includes a top surface portion, a front surface portion, a back surface portion, and a bottom portion, and

the fixing portion of the refill container spout is fixedly attached to the top surface portion.

<2> The spout-equipped container as set forth in clause <1>, wherein the content material has a viscosity of 10,000 mPa·s or more and 65,000 mPa·s or less.

<3> The spout-equipped container as set forth in clause <1> or <2>, wherein the fixing portion of the refill container spout is fixed with an upper surface of the fixing portion being fixedly attached to a lower surface of the top surface portion.

<4> The spout-equipped container as set forth in any one of clauses <1> to <3>, wherein the throttle projection is formed on an end portion on the container body portion side of the nozzle portion.

<5> The spout-equipped container as set forth in any one of clauses <1> to <4>, wherein an annular extending portion is provided in an outer circumferential portion of the nozzle portion.

<6> The spout-equipped container as set forth in any one of clauses <1> to <5>, wherein the throttle projection has an inclination angle θ1 of 120° or less, the inclination angle θ1 being an inclination angle of a surface that is on the discharge-side opening portion side of the nozzle portion with respect to the inner surface of the nozzle portion.

<7> The spout-equipped container as set forth in any one of clauses <1> to <6>, wherein the top surface portion includes a through hole, and the spout is fixedly attached to the container body portion, with the nozzle portion being inserted into the through hole.

<8> The spout-equipped container as set forth in any one of clauses <1> to <7>, wherein the throttle projection has a length equal to 85% to 100% of a total circumferential length of the inner surface of the nozzle portion.

<9> The spout-equipped container as set forth in any one of clauses <1> to <8>, wherein the throttle projection is configured such that a surface of an entire area or a leading end portion in the protrusion direction, the surface being on the container body portion side of the nozzle portion, is inclined toward the discharge-side opening portion side of the nozzle portion.

<10> The spout-equipped container as set forth in any one of clauses <1> to <9>, wherein a leading end of the throttle projection is chamfered along a circumference of an opening portion on the container body portion side of the nozzle portion.

<11> A refilling method for refilling a refillable container with a content material by using the spout-equipped container according to any one of claims <1> to <10>, the method comprising the step of

inserting the nozzle portion of the spout-equipped container into a container opening of the refillable container and injecting the content material into the refillable container, with the spout-equipped container being held upside down.

<12> The spout-equipped container as set forth in any one of clauses <1> to <10>, wherein the refilling method as set forth in clause <11> is displayed on the spout-equipped container.

EXAMPLES

Hereinafter, the present invention will be further described by way of examples. It is to be noted, however, that the present invention is not limited to the examples given below.

Example 1

A spout-equipped container with the configuration shown in FIG. 1 was produced. As the refill container spout, a refill container spout that was made of a high density polyethylene and had the mode shown in FIG. 2 was used. The throttle projection 14 of the refill container spout had an inclination angle θ1 of 90°, an inclination angle θ2 of 90°, and a protruding height T3 of 2 mm, the inclination angle θ1 being an inclination angle of the surface 14a on the discharge-side opening portion side, and the inclination angle θ2 being an inclination angle of the surface 14b on the container body 2 side. Also, the throttle projection 14 had an annular shape extending along the inner circumferential surface of the nozzle portion, and the percentage of the length of the throttle projection in the circumferential direction of the nozzle portion 11 with respect to the total length of the inner circumference of the nozzle portion was 100%. The height T and the inner diameter L1 of the nozzle portion 11 were 22 mm and 17 mm, respectively.

Examples 2 to 4 and Comparative Example 1

Refill containers that had the same configuration as that of the refill container of Example 1 were produced except that the percentage (indicated as “Percentage” in Table 1) of the length of the throttle projection in the circumferential direction of the nozzle portion 11 with respect to the total length of the inner circumference of the nozzle portion was changed to 87.5% (Example 2), 75.0% (Example 3), 62.5% (Example 3), and 50.0% (Comparative Example 1) respectively by removing one or a plurality of portions of the throttle projection in the circumferential direction of the throttle projection.

Evaluation

Each of the produced refill containers was filled with 340 g of commercially available hair conditioner (Essential Rich Damage Care Conditioner with a viscosity of about 33000 mPa·S available from Kao Corporation), and each of the spout-equipped containers was used as a refill container, and a refillable container was refilled with hair conditioner serving as the content material by holding the spout-equipped container upside down as shown in FIG. 4. The viscosity was measured at a temperature of 30° C. by using the BR-type viscometer (TVB-10 available from Toki Sangyo Co., Ltd.) and the rotor No. T-C (10 rpm, 1 minute) that were mentioned above. As the refillable container, a synthetic resin container that had a sufficient capacity to contain 340 g of hair conditioner was used. The test was performed at room temperature (20 to 25° C.), and the viscosity of the hair conditioner was measured at a temperature of 30° C. by using the viscosity measurement method described above.

Table 1 shows each nozzle portion before refilling and the nozzle portion after refilling.

The nozzle portion after refilling was visually observed, and the state of the content liquid that remained in the nozzle portion was evaluated based on the following evaluation criteria. The results are shown in Table 1.

A: Almost no content material remaining in the nozzle portion.

B: A small amount of content material remaining on the container body-side opening portion of the nozzle portion.

C: Content material remaining in the nozzle portion completely covering the inside of the nozzle portion.

As can be seen from the results shown in Table 1, by setting the length of the throttle projection to more than 50% of the total circumferential length of the nozzle portion as in Examples 1 to 4, the amount of content material that remains in the nozzle portion can be reduced significantly.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

With the spout-equipped container according to the present invention, it is possible to significantly reduce the amount of content material that remains in the nozzle portion after the refillable container has been refilled with the content material.

With the refilling method according to the present invention, it is possible to facilitate the refilling operation of refilling the refillable container with the content material. It is also possible to significantly reduce the amount of the content material that remains in the nozzle portion after refilling the refillable container with the content material.

SPOUT-EQUIPPED CONTAINER AND REFILLING METHOD

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