EP1606185B1

EP1606185B1 - Closure with push type opener

Info

Publication number: EP1606185B1
Application number: EP04711315A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hee Kwon Rho
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-02-14
Filing date: 2004-02-14
Publication date: 2007-10-17
Anticipated expiration: 2024-02-14
Also published as: AU2004223991B2; ES2297384T3; DE602004009550T2; EP1606185A4; DE602004009550D1; BRPI0407453A; MXPA05008608A; WO2004085278A1; US20060151421A1; EA007400B1; IL170232A; EA200501297A1; TWI249498B; TW200606074A; ATE375932T1; CA2516057A1; UA82868C2; EP1606185A1; AU2004223991A1; US20170001772A1

Abstract

A closure with a push type opener and a device for automatically keeping slit sealing member inside the cloture. The closure includes a at an inlet of a container, a cutting region provided at the closure body and sealing the inlet of the container or the closure body as a hemispherical region descends by a pressing method, and a device having a function of keeping the slit sealing member therein. The sealing member can be easily by touching it by hand, and thus, a content of a container can be hygienically taken. In addition, content separately stored in the container and in the closure can be simply mixed for use.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a stopper of a vessel for opening and closing a vessel opening, and more particularly, to a stopper of a vessel capable of facilitating usage by detaching a sealing member sealed at a vessel opening from a vessel together with the stopper at the time of opening the stopper, and capable of preventing the sealing member from being discarded outwardly by storing the removed sealing member in the stopper.

BACKGROUND ART

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a vessel stopper in accordance with the conventional art.
The conventional vessel stopper 100 is mounted at a vessel opening 102 thus to protect contents stored in a vessel 104. A sealing member 106 for sealing the contents stored in the vessel 104 is mounted at the vessel opening 102.
The vessel stopper 100 has a cylindrical shape of which upper side is sealed. A stopping protrusion 110 stopped by a stopping rib 108 formed at an outer circumferential surface of the vessel opening 102 thus to be prevented from being detached is formed at an inner circumferential surface of the vessel stopper 100. A handgrip 112 that is held by a user in order to facilitate to detach the vessel stopper 100 from the vessel opening 102 is provided at the vessel stopper 100.
The vessel stopper 100 is detached form the vessel opening 102 by grasping the handgrip 112 and thereby pulling the handgrip 112 by a user. Then, the sealing member 106 is removed from the vessel opening 102, and the contents stored in the vessel 104 are discharged outwardly through the vessel opening 102.
However, in the conventional vessel stopper 100, after the vessel stopper 100 is detached from the vessel 104, the sealing member 106 sealed at the vessel opening 102 has to be removed by a hand or by an additional tool such as a knife, etc. thereby to have inconvenience in usage.
Also, since the sealing member 106 that has been removed from the vessel opening 102 is discarded outwardly at the time of using the vessel outside, an environment pollution can be caused.
Additionally, a skirt portion 114 wound on an outer circumferential surface of the vessel opening 102 in a circumferential direction with a certain length is necessary in order to facilitate to remove the sealing member 106 sealed at the vessel opening 102 by an adhesion method, etc., thereby increasing a usage amount of the sealing member 106 and thus increasing a fabrication cost.
EP 0 039 374 A1 discloses a vessel stopper having a body comprising a recess that is provided with a female screw thread for engaging a male screw thread provided at a vessel neck surrounding a vessel opening that is sealed by a sealing member. At the bottom of the recess, a cutting unit is formed that cuts the sealing member when the vessel stopper is rotated in a closing direction. The sealing member cut off by the cutting means is then clamped thereby for removing it from the vessel neck together with the vessel stopper.
EP 1 008 337 A1 discloses a container closure comprising a stopper inserted with its skirt into a neck portion of a container to sealingly close a container opening. To securely hold the stopper in its sealing position a cylindrical collar is provided that has an access opening exposing a target area of the stopper that should be pierced by a cylindrical shaft of a spike having a channel so that the interior of the container is connected to the outside when the shaft of the spike has been pierced through the target area of the stopper. The spike is provided on an outer cap mounted over the cylindrical collar. This structure is finally covered by a cylindrical protection cap.
After pushing down the outer cap the cylindrical protection cap can be removed so that a male luer connector is exposed to be used for connecting a tube or the like with the container without removing the vessel stopper from the vessel.
The spike is provided with a recess for holding it tightly and sealingly within the stopper after the outer cap has been pushed down.
GB 2 305 655 A1 discloses a closure, in particular a lid provided with an internal screw thread engageable with a external screw thread provided at a container or jar. The lid is provided with an upwardly extending rim and four cutters extending from the top of the lid but not beyond the rim. The cutters are provided with hook like cutters forming a recess with the top of the lid.
Thus, after removing the lid from the container it can be turned upside down and used for cutting off a sealing foil and holding it by means of the hook like secondary cutters when the edge of the cut off sealing foil is accommodated within the recesses.
FR 2 505 784 A discloses another vessel stopper having a recess that is provided with an internal screw thread for engaging an external screw thread provided at a neck of a container or vessel. At the bottom of the recess a cutting unit is provided that cuts off a sealing element of the container when the vessel stopper is rotated into a closing direction of the vessel stopper. The sealing element after cut-off is clamped by the cutting unit and therefore stored thereby in the body.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vessel stopper capable of facilitating usage without installing an additional sealing member removing unit by installing a sealing member removing unit at a stopper so that a sealing member can be automatically removed at the time of opening the stopper by rotating the stopper.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a vessel stopper capable of preventing an environment pollution due to a discard of a sealing member to an outside by storing a sealing member that has been removed from a vessel opening in the stopper.
A third object of the present invention is to provide a vessel stopper capable of mixing contents stored in a stopper with contents stored in a vessel when the stopper is detached from the vessel by storing contents different from the contents stored in the vessel in the stopper and by introducing the contents stored in the stopper into the vessel.
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a vessel stopper capable of reducing a fabrication cost by minimizing a usage amount of a sealing member without installing an additional skirt portion for removing the sealing member since the sealing member is automatically removed by a sealing member removing unit.
These objects are achieved by a vessel stopper according to the independent claims 1 and 25.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a vessel stopper in accordance with the conventional art;
FIGs. 2 and 3 are perspective views of a vessel stopper according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a state that the vessel stopper is mounted at a vessel opening according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the vessel stopper according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a cutting unit according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIGs. 8 and 9 are operational state views of the vessel stopper according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a vessel stopper according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a vessel stopper according to a third embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a vessel stopper according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 13 is an operational state view of the vessel stopper according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 14 is an upper surface view of a vessel stopper according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 14;
FIG. 16 is an enlargement view of 'B' of FIG.15;
FIG. 17 is an operational state view of the vessel stopper according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 18 is a sectional view of a vessel stopper according to an alternative realisation which is not the invention.
FIG. 19 is an operational state view of the vessel stopper illustrated in figure 18.
FIG. 20 is a sectional view of a vessel stopper according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 21 is an operational state view of the vessel stopper according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 22 is a sectional view of a vessel stopper according to an seventh embodiment of the present invention.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a vessel stopper according to the present invention will be explained with reference to the attached drawings.
Even if a plurality of preferred embodiments of the vessel stopper can exist in the present invention, the most preferred embodiment will be explained.
FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views of a vessel stopper according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a state that the vessel stopper is mounted at a vessel opening according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the vessel stopper according to one embodiment of the present invention.
The vessel stopper 2 according to the present invention comprises: a body 16 mounted at a vessel opening 12 through which the contents stored in a vessel 10 are discharged outwardly, and having a space therein; a mounting unit 22 formed at a lower side of the body 16, for mounting the body 16 at the vessel opening 12; and a sealing member removing unit 18 formed in the body 16, for removing a sealing member 20 sealed at the vessel opening 12 when the stopper 2 is separated from the vessel opening 12.
The vessel 10 stores a storage item of a fluid state therein, and the sealing member 20 for protecting the storage item contained in the vessel 10 by sealing the vessel opening 12 is attached to the vessel opening 12 through which the storage item is discharged outwardly. The sealing member 20 is preferably formed of a material such as paper or an aluminum thin plate capable of being easily removed by a knife, etc.
Since the sealing member 20 is removed by the sealing member removing unit 18, a skirt portion for removing the sealing member 20 by a hand is not necessary. That is, in the conventional art, a certain amount of skirt portion is wound on an outer circumferential surface of the vessel opening in order to remove the sealing member by a hand after removing the vessel stopper. However, in the present invention, since the sealing member 20 is removed by the sealing member removing unit 18, the sealing member 20 is mounted only at the vessel opening thereby to minimize a usage amount of the sealing member 20.
The body 16 has a cylindrical shape of which upper and lower sides are respectively opened, and is composed of: a first body 24 where the sealing member removing unit 18 is formed; and a second body 26 having an inner diameter larger than that of the first body 24 and provided with the mounting unit 22 for mounting the body 16 at the vessel opening 12. A plurality of protrusions 28 for easily turning the vessel stopper 2 by a hand are formed at an outer circumferential surface of the body 16. A handgrip 36 to be held and pulled when the body 16 is detached from the vessel opening 12 is formed at a lower end of the body 16.
A stopping protrusion 30 is formed at the open upper portion of the body 16 in a circumferential direction thereof. Also, a cover member 32 is mounted at the stopping protrusion 30 thus to close the open upper portion of the body 16 and thereby to protect the sealing member removing unit 18 mounted in the body 16.
The cover member 32 is formed as a disc shape, and is preferably provided with a handgrip 34 for easily detaching the cover member 32 from the body 16 by a hand at one side thereof.
A supporting rib 38 is protruded at an inner circumferential surface of a connection portion between the first body 24 and the second body 26 in a circumferential direction thus to be adhered to an upper surface of the vessel opening 12 where the sealing member 20 is mounted. That is, the sealing member 20 is adhered to the upper surface of the vessel opening 12 by the supporting rib 38 thereby to maintain a sealing state.
The mounting unit 22 is preferably constructed as a stopping protrusion formed at an inner circumferential surface of the second body 26 and stopped by a stopping rib 40 formed at an upper end of the vessel opening 12 for maintaining a state that the vessel stopper 2 is mounted at the vessel opening 12.
The sealing member removing unit 18 includes: a connection portion 42 connected to an inner circumferential surface of the body 16; a pressing plate 44 connected to the connection portion 42 and pressed by a user; and a plurality of cutting units 46 formed at a lower surface of the pressing plate 44 in a circumferential direction with a certain interval, for punching the sealing member 20 by being moved downwardly when the pressing plate 44 is pressed and for cutting the sealing member 20 when the body 16 is rotated.
The connection portion 42 is formed as a thin film of a dome shape connected between an inner circumferential surface of the first body 24 of the body 16 and an outer circumferential surface of the pressing plate 44. The connection portion 42 is elastically deformed when the pressing plate 44 is pressed by a force more than a certain intensity, thereby moving the pressing plate 44 downwardly.
Since the connection portion 42 is connected between the inner circumferential surface of the body 16 and the outer circumferential surface of the pressing plate 44, the connection portion 42 seals the second body 26 and elastically supports the current position of the pressing plate 44. That is, when the pressing plate 44 is upwardly protruded without being pressed, the connection portion 42 maintains the current position of the pressing plate 44 while maintaining a convex dome shape. Also, when the pressing plate 44 is pressed by a force more than a certain intensity, the connection portion 42 is elastically deformed as a concave shape thus to support the state that the pressing plate is pressed.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 4 showing the pressing plate of the vessel stopper according to the present invention.
The pressing plate 44 is provided with a pressing portion 50 protruded to be pressed by a user at the center of an upper surface thereof, and is provided with a reinforcing rib 52 for uniformly dispersing a force applied when the pressing portion 50 is pressed to the entire pressing plate 44 at the upper surface thereof. The reinforcing rib 52 is radially formed at the upper surface of the pressing plate 44, and the number of the reinforcing rib 52 is the same as the number of the cutting unit 46.
As shown in FIG.7, the cutting unit 46 includes: a plurality of supporting portion 56 formed at a lower side of the pressing plate 44 in a circumferential direction with a certain interval; a punching portion 58 extended downwardly from the end portion of the supporting portion 56 and moved downwardly at the time of pressing the pressing plate 44, for punching the sealing member 20; a cutter 60 formed at both lateral surfaces of the supporting portion 56 and rotated together with the body 16 at the time of rotating the body 16, for cutting the sealing member 20 as a circular shape; and an accommodation portion 62 for accommodating the sealing member 20 that has been removed by the cutter 60 at the vessel opening 12.
The supporting portion 56 is formed as a flat plate having a certain curvature radius and arranged at the edge of the lower surface of the pressing plate 44 with a certain interval, and is provided with the cutter 60 for cutting the sealing member 20 at both lateral surfaces thereof. The supporting portion 56 is provided with a cutter 64 for punching the sealing member 20 like the punching portion 58 at both lateral surfaces of the lower end thereof.
The punching portion 58 is formed at the lower end of the supporting portion 56 with a width narrower than a width of the supporting portion 56, and has an end portion sharply formed to easily punch the sealing member 20.
The accommodation portion 62 is extended from the end portion of the punching portion 58 to an inner side of the body 16 with a certain inclination angle, and mounts the outer circumferential surface of the sealing member 20 that has been removed from the vessel opening 12.
Operation of the vessel stopper according to the present invention will be explained as follows.
FIGs. 8 and 9 are operational state views of the vessel stopper according to one embodiment of the present invention.
First, in order to discharge the contents stored in the vessel 10 outwardly, the cover member 32 mounted at the upper side of the body 16 is uncovered. That is, as the user pulls the cover member with grasping the handgrip 34, the cover member 32 is detached from the upper surface of the body 16. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, when the pressing plate 44 is pressed with a force more than a certain intensity, the connection portion 42 is elastically deformed and at the same time the pressing plate 44 is downwardly moved. According to this, the punching portion 58 of the cutting unit 46 formed at the lower side of the pressing plate 44 punches the edge of the sealing member 20.
Then, when the body 16 is rotated, the cutting unit 46 is rotated together with the body 16 and thereby the cutter 60 formed at both lateral surfaces of the supporting portion 56 cuts the sealing member 20 as a circular shape. At this time, the sealing member 20 that has been cut by the cutter 60 is fitted into the accommodation portion 62. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, when the body 16 is upwardly pulled with grasping the handgrip 36 formed at the body 16, the stopping protrusion 22 formed at the inner circumferential surface of the body 16 is detached from the stopping rib 40 formed at the upper surface of the vessel opening 12 thereby to detach the vessel stopper 2 from the vessel opening 12.
According to this, the sealing member 20 that has been removed from the vessel opening 12 is fitted into the accommodation portion 62 formed in the body 16 thereby to be stored in the vessel stopper 2.
In the vessel stopper according to one embodiment of the present invention, the user presses the pressing plate 44 and then rotates the body 16 thereby to cut the sealing member 20 by the cutting unit 46. Then, when the vessel stopper 2 is detached from the vessel opening 12, the sealing member 20 that has been removed from the vessel opening 12 is stored in the body 16 thereby to facilitate usage and to prevent an environment pollution due to a discard of the sealing member 20.
FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a vessel stopper according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
The vessel stopper according to the second embodiment is the same as the vessel stopper according to the first embodiment except a mounting unit mounted at the vessel opening.
That is, in the vessel stopper aforementioned in the first embodiment, applied is one-touch method that the vessel stopper is detached from the vessel opening 12 when the user pulls the vessel stopper with grasping the handgrip. On the contrary, in the vessel stopper according to the second embodiment, applied is a spiral coupling method that the vessel stopper is detached from the vessel opening 12 when the user turns the vessel stopper.
The mounting unit of the vessel stopper according to the second embodiment of the present invention is composed of: a male screw portion 72 formed at the outer circumferential surface of the vessel opening 12; and a female screw portion 70 formed at the inner circumferential surface of the body 16 to be spirally-coupled to the male screw portion 72. Also, a skirt portion 76 for maintaining a state that the vessel stopper is mounted at the vessel opening 12 is formed at the lower end of the body 16.
Operation of the vessel stopper according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be explained as follows.
When the pressing plate 44 is pressed with a force more than a certain intensity, the connection portion 42 is elastically deformed and at the same time the pressing plate 44 is downwardly moved. According to this, the punching portion 58 of the cutting unit 46 formed at the lower side of the pressing plate 44 punches the edge of the sealing member 20.
Then, when the body 16 is rotated in an open direction, the female screw portion 70 is detached from the male screw portion 72 formed at the vessel opening 12. When the body 16 is rotated, the cutter 60 of the cutting unit 46 is rotated together with the body 16 and at the same time cuts the sealing member 20 in a circumferential direction. Also, the sealing member 20 that has been removed from the vessel opening 12 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 62 formed at the inner circumferential surface of the body 16.
The vessel stopper according to the second embodiment of the present invention can be applied to any vessel that a vessel stopper is spirally-coupled to a vessel opening thus to be detached from the vessel opening once the vessel stopper is rotated.
FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a vessel stopper according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
The vessel stopper according to the third embodiment of the present invention is the same as the vessel stopper 2 aforementioned in the first embodiment or the second embodiment except that a spoon 78 with which the contents stored in the vessel 10 are taken is mounted in the vessel stopper 2.
That is, the vessel stopper 2 according to the third embodiment is provided with a holding portion 80 at an inner circumferential surface of an upper side of the body 16, and the spoon 78 is mounted at the holding portion 80.
The vessel stopper 2 according to the third embodiment is used when contents taken by the spoon 78 are stored in the vessel 10. First, the cover member 32 mounted at the upper side of the body 16 is detached from the body and then the spoon 78 mounted in the body 16 is taken out. Then, the operation aforementioned in the first embodiment is performed thereby to detach the vessel stopper 2 from the vessel opening 12 and at the same time to remove the sealing member 20. Then, the user eats the contents stored in the vessel 10 by using the spoon 78.
FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a vessel stopper according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13 is an operational state view of the vessel stopper according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
The vessel stopper according to the fourth embodiment is for storing contents 60 different from contents 62 stored in the vessel 10 in the body 16, and then for mixing the contents 62 stored in the vessel 10 with the contents 60 stored in the vessel stopper before discharging the contents 62 stored in the vessel 10. The vessel stopper according to the fourth embodiment is mainly used at a vessel for mixing two kinds of drugs before a usage, and can be applied to any vessel for mixing two materials before a usage.
In the vessel stopper according to the fourth embodiment, the sealing member removing unit 18 for removing the sealing member 20 attached to the vessel opening 12 is mounted in the body 16, and contents 84 different from contents 86 stored in the vessel 10 are stored in the body 16.
The sealing member removing unit 18 includes: a connection portion 42 integrally connected to the inner circumferential surface of the body 16; a pressing plate 44 integrally formed with the connection portion 42 and protruded upwardly thus to be pressed by a user; a cutting unit 46 formed at a lower side of the pressing plate 44 in a circumferential direction, for punching the sealing member 20 by being moved downwardly when the pressing plate 44 is pressed and for cutting the sealing member 20 by being rotated when the body 16 is rotated; and a punch 88 extended from the center of the lower side of the pressing plate 44, for punching the center of the sealing member 20 so that the contents 84 stored in the body 16 can be introduced into the vessel 10.
The connection portion 42, the pressing plate 44, and the cutting unit are equal to those of the first embodiment, thereby omitting their explanations.
The punch 88 is sharply protruded as a conic shape at the end of a rod portion 90 extended downwardly from the center of the lower side of the pressing plate 44 thus to punch the center of the sealing member 20 and thereby to form a hole 92. Through the hole 92, the contents 84 stored in the body 16 is introduced into the vessel 10.
Since an outer diameter of the punch 88 is larger than that of the rod portion 90, a sufficient space for passing the contents 84 stored in the body 16 can be obtained even if the rod portion 90 passes through the hole 92 formed by the punch 88.
Operation of the vessel stopper according to the fourth embodiment will be explained as follows.
When the pressing plate 44 is pressed by a certain force after the cover member 32 is detached from the body 16, the cutting unit 46 is downwardly moved thus to punch the edge of the sealing member 20. At the same time, the punch 88 is downwardly moved thus to punch the center of the sealing member 20 thereby to form the hole 92. According to this, the contents 84 stored in the body 16 is introduced into the vessel 10 through the hole 92, and is mixed with the contents 86 stored in the vessel 10.
When the contents 84 stored in the body 16 is completely introduced into the vessel 10, the user rotates the body 16 and thereby the cutter 60 of the cutting unit 18 cuts the sealing member 20 as a circular shape. If the vessel stopper is detached from the vessel opening 12, the sealing member 20 that has been removed from the vessel opening 12 is stored in the accommodation portion 62 inside the body 16.
FIG. 14 is an upper surface view of a vessel stopper according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 14; FIG. 16 is an enlargement view of 'B' of FIG.15; and FIG. 17 is an operational state view of the vessel stopper according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
The vessel stopper according to the fifth embodiment is applied to a vessel having a relatively large vessel opening 16. In the vessel stopper, a plurality of sealing member removing units 63 are formed in a circumferential direction of the body 16.
That is, in the vessel stopper 2 according to the fifth embodiment, a partition wall 94 of a disc shape is formed at the inner circumferential surface of the body 16, and at least two mounting holes 96 are formed in the circumferential direction of the partition wall 94. The sealing member removing unit 63 is formed in each mounting hole 96.
The sealing member removing unit 63 includes: a connection portion 65 formed as a flexible form and connected to an inner circumferential surface of the mounting hole 96; a pressing plate 67 mounted at an inner circumferential surface of the connection portion 65 and pressed by a user; and a cutting unit 69 formed at a lower surface of the pressing plate 67 for cutting a sealing member 20.
A width T1 of the connection portion 65 positioned at the edge of the partition wall 94 is wider than a width T2 positioned inside the partition wall 94, so that the pressing plate 67 is pressed with an inclined state.
The pressing plate 67 is formed as a triangular flat-plate so as to be easily pressed with an inclined state.
The cutting unit of the fifth embodiment of the present invention has the same shape as that of the aforementioned embodiment except that only one cutting unit 69 is formed at the lower surface of the pressing plate 67.
Operation of the vessel stopper according to the fifth embodiment will be explained. When the user downwardly presses each pressing plate 67 mounted in a circumferential direction of the partition wall 94, the connection portion 65 is elastically deformed and thereby the pressing plates 67 are downwardly moved. According to this, the cutting unit 60 formed at the lower surface of the pressing plate 67 punches the sealing member 20.
Under this state, when the vessel stopper is rotated, the cutting unit 69 cuts the sealing member 20 and the cut sealing member 20 is stored in the vessel stopper.
According to the vessel stopper of the first to fourth embodiments, since one sealing member removing unit is used when the vessel opening 12 is large, the size of the pressing plate 67 becomes large and a great force for pressing the pressing plate 67 is required. Also, since the pressing plate 67 is not horizontally maintained easily at the time of pressing the pressing plate 67, cutting units that do not punch the sealing member exist among the plurality of cutting units formed at the lower surface of the pressing plate 67.
Therefore, in order to solve said problem, at least two sealing member removing units 63 are installed in a circumferential direction of the partition wall 94 with the same interval in the fifth embodiment. According to this, the user can press each pressing plate 67 with less force thereby to have a convenient usage, and all the cutting units 69 punch the sealing member 20.
FIG. 18 is a sectional view of a vessel stopper according to an alternative realisation which is not the invention, and FIG. 19 is an operational state view of the vessel stopper shown in figure 18.
The vessel stopper includes: a body 5 mounted at the vessel opening 12; and a cutting unit 7 formed at an inner side surface of the body 5, for punching the sealing member 20 attached to the vessel opening 12 when the body 5 is rotated in a close direction of the vessel, and for cutting the sealing member 20 and thereby storing the sealing member 20 in the body 5 when the body 5 is rotated in an open direction of the vessel 10.
The body 5 has a cylindrical shape of which upper side is closed. A female screw portion 70 spirally-coupled to a male screw portion 72 formed at the outer circumferential surface of the vessel opening 12 is formed at the inner circumferential surface of the lower side of the body 5. Also, a skirt portion 9 for maintaining a state that the vessel stopper is fixed to the vessel opening 12 is formed at the lower end of the body 5.
The skirt portion 9 has a certain interval H from the upper surface of the vessel 10, so that the body 5 can be rotated as much as the interval H in a close direction of the vessel.
The cutting unit 7 includes: a plurality of supporting portion 56 formed at an inner side surface of the body 5 in a circumferential direction with a certain interval; a punching portion 58 extended downwardly from the end portion of the supporting portion 56 and moved downwardly at the time of pressing the pressing plate 44, for punching the sealing member 20; a cutter 60 formed at both lateral surfaces of the supporting portion 56 and rotated together with the body 16 at the time of rotating the body 16, for cutting the sealing member 20 as a circular shape; and an accommodation portion 62 for accommodating the sealing member 20 that has been removed by the cutter 60 at the vessel opening 12.
Operation of the vessel stopper according to the sixth embodiment will be explained as follows. First, if the body 5 is rotated in a close direction of the vessel 10, the body 5 is downwardly moved. At this time, the body 5 can be downwardly moved as much as the interval H since the skirt portion 9 mounted at the lower side of the body 5 has the interval H from the upper surface of the vessel 10.
According to this, the cutting unit 7 formed at the lower surface of the body 5 punches the sealing member 20. Under this state, if the body 5 is rotated in an open direction of the vessel 10, the cutting unit 7 is rotated together with the body 5 and at the same time cuts the sealing member 20 as a circular shape. Also, the sealing member 20 that has been removed from the vessel opening 12 is fitted into the accommodation portion 62 formed in the body 5 thus to be stored in the vessel stopper.
FIG. 20 is a sectional view of a vessel stopper according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 21 is an operational state view of the vessel stopper according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention.
A sealing member removing unit 150 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention includes: a connection portion 152 elastically and deformably connected to an inner circumferential surface of the body 16; a pressing plate 154 connected to an outer circumferential surface of the connection portion 152 and pressed by a user; and a cutting unit 156 formed at a lower surface of the pressing plate 154 in a circumferential direction, for cutting an outer circumferential surface of the sealing member 20 by being downwardly moved when the pressing plate 154 is pressed and then storing in the body.
The connection portion 152 is formed as a thin film of a dome shape connected between the inner circumferential surface of the body 16 and the outer circumferential surface of the pressing plate 154. When the pressing plate 154 is pressed by a force more than a certain degree, the connection portion 152 is elastically deformed and the pressing plate 154 is downwardly moved.
The pressing plate 154 is formed as a circular plate, and is provided with the cutting unit 156 at the lower surface thereof.
The cutting unit 156 is composed of: a supporting portion formed at the lower side of the pressing plate 154 as a cylindrical shape; a cutter 162 formed at the end of the supporting portion 160 as a cylindrical blade shape, for cutting the sealing member 20 as a circular shape at the time of pressing the pressing plate 154; and an accommodation portion 164 extended inwardly at an inner circumferential surface of the supporting portion 160 with a certain width, for accommodating the sealing member 20 that has been cut by the cutter 162.
At least one stopping portion 170 serving as a stopper for punching the sealing member 20 when the pressing plate 154 is pressed and thereby accommodating the sealing member 20 to the inner circumferential surface of the body 16 is formed at the lower surface of the pressing plate 154.
The stopping portion 170 is composed of: a supporting bar 172 perpendicularly formed at the lower surface of the pressing plate 154; and a stopping jaw 174 formed as a corn shape at the end of the supporting bar 172 and stopping the sealing member 20.
Operation of the sealing member removing unit according to the seventh embodiment will be explained as follows.
When the user presses the pressing plate 154 after removing the cover member 32 mounted at the upper end of the body 16, the connection portion 152 is elastically deformed and the pressing plate 154 is downwardly moved. According to this, the cutting unit 156 formed at the lower surface of the pressing plate 154 is downwardly moved thereby to cut the edge of the sealing member 20 mounted at the vessel opening and then to accommodate the edge to the inner circumferential surface of the body 16.
More specifically, when the pressing plate 154 is downwardly moved, the cylindrical cutter 162 is downwardly moved thereby to cut the sealing member as a circular shape. The sealing member 20 that has been removed at the vessel opening 12 is stopped by the stopping portion 170 thereby to be accommodated in the body 16.
At this time, the stopping jaw 174 formed at the lower surface of the pressing plate 154 is also moved downwardly thus to punch the sealing member 20 and stop the sealing member 20, thereby more stably accommodating the sealing member 20 in the body 16.
Then, when the user pulls the vessel opening upwardly with grasping the handgrip 36, the vessel opening is separated from the vessel 10 and thereby the sealing member 20 that has been removed from the vessel opening is accommodated in the body.
FIG. 22 is a sectional view of a vessel stopper having a sealing member removing unit according to an seventh embodiment of the present invention.
The sealing member removing unit 180 according to the seventh embodiment has the same as the sealing member removing unit 150 of the seventh embodiment except the structure of a cutting unit 188.
That is, the cutting unit 188 includes: a supporting portion 182 formed at the edge of a lower side of the pressing plate 154 as a cylindrical shape; a cutter 184 formed at the end of the supporting portion 182 as a saw edge shape, for cutting the sealing member 20 as a circular shape; and an accommodation portion 186 protruded at an inner side surface o the supporting portion 182, for accommodating the sealing member 20 that has been removed by the cutter 184.
The cutter 184 constructed as a triangular saw edge is repeatedly formed is downwardly moved at the time of pressing the pressing plate 154, and cuts the sealing member 20 as a circular shape.
In the vessel stopper according to the present invention, the sealing member removing unit is installed in the stopper and the pressing plate of the sealing member removing unit is pressed before opening the stopper. Then, if the user opens the stopper by rotating it, the sealing member is automatically removed from the vessel opening thereby to have a convenient usage.
Also, since the sealing member that has been removed from the vessel opening is stored in the accommodation portion inside the stopper, an environment pollution resulting from that the sealing member is discarded outside can be prevented.
Additionally, the contents different from the contents stored in the vessel is stored in the stopper thus to be introduced into the vessel when the stopper is detached from the vessel. According to this, the contents stored in the stopper can be mixed with the contents stored in the vessel.
Also, the skirt portion for removing the sealing member is not required as the sealing member is removed by the sealing member removing unit, thereby reducing a usage amount of the sealing member and thus reducing a fabrication cost.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

A vessel stopper (2) comprising:
- a body (16) coupled to a vessel opening (12) through which contents stored in a vessel (10) are discharged outwardly; and

- a sealing member removing unit (18) formed in the body for removing a sealing member mounted at the vessel opening,
characterized in that the sealing member removing unit (18) includes:
-- a connection portion (42) elastically and deformably connected to an inner circumferential surface of the body (16);

-- a pressing plate (44) connected to an inner circumferential surface of the connection portion (42) and to be pressed by a user; and

-- a cutting unit (46) formed at a lower surface of the pressing plate (44) for cutting the sealing member (20) and then storing it in the body (16).
The vessel stopper of claim 1, wherein a cover member (32) for protecting the sealing member removing unit (18) is mounted at an upper end of the body (16).
The vessel stopper of claim 1, wherein the body (16) has a cylindrical shape of which upper and lower sides are respectively opened, and is composed of: a first body (24) where the sealing member removing unit (18) is formed; and a second body (26) having an inner diameter larger than that of the first body (24) and provided with a mounting unit (22, 70) for mounting the body (16) at the vessel opening.
The vessel stopper of claim 3, wherein the first body (24) and the second body (26) are provided with a supporting rib (32) at a connection portion therebetween, the supporting rib (32) protruded in a circumferential direction thus to be adhered to an upper surface of the vessel opening (12) where the sealing member (20) is mounted.
The vessel stopper of claim 1, wherein the body (16) is provided with a plurality of protrusions (28) at an outer circumferential surface thereof, and is provided with a handgrip (36) to be held and pulled when the body is detached from the vessel opening (12) at a lower end thereof.
The vessel stopper of claim 1, comprising a mounting unit (22) constructed as a stopping protrusion protruded at an inner circumferential surface of the body (16) in a circumferential direction thus to be stopped by a stopping rib (40) formed at an upper surface of the vessel opening (12).
The vessel stopper of claim 1, comprising a mounting unit (70) formed with a female screw portion formed at an inner circumferential surface of the body (16) to be spirally-coupled to a male screw portion (72) formed at an outer circumferential surface of the vessel opening (12).
The vessel stopper of claim 1, wherein the connection portion (42) is formed as a thin film of a dome shape connected between an inner circumferential surface of the body (16) and an outer circumferential surface of the pressing plate (44) thus to be elastically deformed at the time of pressing the pressing plate (44).
The vessel stopper of claim 1, wherein the pressing plate (44) is formed as a disc shape and is provided with a pressing portion (50) protruded to be pressed by a user at the center of an upper surface thereof, and a reinforcing rib (52) for reinforcing the pressing plate (44) is radially formed at an upper surface of the pressing plate (44).
The vessel stopper of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cutting unit (46) is formed at a lower surface of the pressing plate (44) in a circumferential direction with the same interval, for punching the sealing member (20) when the pressing plate (44) is pressed and for cutting the sealing member (20) and thereby storing it in the body (16) when the body (16) is rotated.
The vessel stopper of claim 10, wherein the cutting unit includes:
- a plurality of supporting portions (56) formed at the edge of a lower side of the pressing plate (44) in a circumferential direction with the same interval;

- a punching portion (58) extended downwardly from the end portion of the supporting portion (56), for punching the sealing member (20);

- a cutter (60) formed at both lateral surfaces of the supporting portion (56) and rotated together with the body (16) at the time of rotating the body (16), for cutting the sealing member (20) as a circular shape; and

- an accommodation portion (62) for accommodating the sealing member (20) that has been removed by the cutter (60) at the vessel opening (12).
The vessel stopper of claim 11, wherein the supporting portion (56) is formed as a flat plate having a certain curvature radius and arranged at the edge of the lower surface of the pressing plate (44) with a certain interval, and is provided with the cutter (60) at both lateral surfaces thereof and at both lateral surfaces of the lower end thereof.
The vessel stopper of claim 11, wherein the punching portion (58) is formed at the lower end of the supporting portion (56) with a width narrower than a width of the supporting portion (58), and has an end portion sharply formed to easily punch the sealing member (20).
The vessel stopper of claim 11, wherein the accommodation portion (62) is constructed as a holding portion extended from the end portion of the punching portion (58) to an inner side of the body (16) with a certain inclination angle.
The vessel stopper of claim 1, wherein the body (16) that has a space therein is provided with a spoon (78) with which contents stored in the vessel are taken therein.
The vessel stopper of claims 1, comprising:
- a punch (88) extended from the lower side of the pressing plate, for punching the sealing member (20) by being downwardly moved at the time of pressing the pressing plate (44).
The vessel stopper of claim 16, wherein the body (16) is provided with a spoon (78) therein.
The vessel stopper of claim 16, wherein the punch (88) is formed as a conic shape at the end of a rod portion (90) extended downwardly from the center of the pressing plate (44).
The vessel stopper of claim 16, wherein the punch (88) has an outer diameter larger than that of the rod portion (90).
The vessel stopper of any one of the claims 1 to 9, wherein the cutting unit (156) is formed at the edge of the lower surface of the pressing plate (154) as a cylindrical shape.
The vessel stopper of claim 20, wherein the cutting unit (156) is composed of:
a supporting portion (160) formed at a lower side of the pressing plate as a cylindrical shape;

- a cutter (162) formed at the end of the supporting portion (160) as a cylindrical blade shape, for cutting the sealing member (20) as a circular shape at the time of pressing the pressing plate (154) ; and

- an accommodation portion (164) extended inwardly at an inner circumferential surface of the supporting portion (160) with a certain width, for accommodating the sealing member (20) that has been cut by the cutter (162).
The vessel stopper of claim 20, wherein the cutting unit (188) is composed of:
- a supporting portion (182) formed at a lower side of the pressing plate (154) as a cylindrical shape;

- a cutter (184) formed at the end of the supporting portion (182) as a triangular blade is repeatedly formed, for cutting the sealing member (20) as a circular shape at the time of pressing the pressing plate (154); and

- an accommodation portion (186) extended inwardly at an inner circumferential surface of the supporting portion (182) with a certain width, for accommodating the sealing member (20) that has been cut by the cutter.
The vessel stopper of claim 20, wherein the sealing member removing unit (150) further includes a stopping portion (170) formed at a lower surface of the pressing plate (154), for punching the sealing member (20) when the pressing plate (154) is pressed and thereby accommodating the sealing member (20) to an inner circumferential surface of the body (16).
The vessel stopper of claim 23, wherein the stopping portion (170) is composed of:
- a supporting bar (172) perpendicularly formed at the lower surface of the pressing plate (154); and

- a stopping jaw (174) formed as a corn shape at the end of the supporting bar (172) and stopping the sealing member (20).
A vessel stopper (2) comprising:
- a body (16) mounted at a vessel opening (12) through which contents stored in a vessel (10) are discharged outwardly, and having a partition wall (94) therein; and

- at least two sealing member removing units (63) formed at the edge of the partition wall (94) in a circumferential direction with the same interval, for removing a sealing member (20) sealed at the vessel opening (12) and thereby storing the sealing member (20) in the body (16) when the body (16) is detached from the vessel opening (12),
wherein the sealing member removing unit (63) includes:
- a connection portion (65) connected to an inner circumferential surface of the mounting hole (96) as a flexible form;

- a pressing plate (67) connected to an inner circumferential surface of the connection portion (65) and to be pressed by a user; and

- a cutting unit (69) formed at a lower surface of the pressing plate (67) and for removing the sealing member (20).
The vessel stopper of claim 25, wherein the partition wall (94) is provided with at least two mounting holes (96) in a circumferential direction thereof, and the sealing member removing unit (63) is formed in each mounting hole.
The vessel stopper of claim 25, wherein a width of the connection portion (65) positioned at an edge of the partition wall (94) is wider than a width positioned inside the partition wall (94).