JP5184281B2 - Refill container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a refill container.

In recent years, after the contents in the container are used up, there is an increasing number of consumers who continue to use the container by transferring the contents from the refill container to the container without discarding the container. Conventionally, it has been pointed out that the contents spill out of the container at the time of refilling, or the contents touch the air, for example, the scent of the contents dissipates or the contents absorb moisture.
As a means for solving such a problem, for example, it has been proposed that the refill container is an airtight bag, so that the contents are stored in the container together with the refill container when the contents are refilled. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2006-188266 A

  However, the following problems remain in the conventional refill container. That is, when the contents are stored in the container together with the refill container, it is difficult to take out an appropriate amount of the contents, and when the container is formed of, for example, a transparent material, a bag body that does not retain its shape is seen from the outside of the container. There is a problem that it looks bad because it is visible, and it is difficult to check the remaining amount of contents.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refill container that can easily and quickly transfer the contents in the refill container into the container.

  The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems. That is, the refill container of the present invention includes a bottomed cylindrical container body filled with contents, a container body disposed in the mouth of the container body to close the container body, and the container body along the container axis. An inner plug member that is slidable relative to the main body, and a support portion that supports the inner plug member so as to be slidable along the container axis. And an opening that is removably closed by the support, and an abutting portion that abuts the opening end of the refill container to which the contents are transferred, and the opening is The inner plug member is pushed into the container body along the container axis to open into the container body beyond the bottom edge of the container body along the container axis direction in the support part, The inside of the inner plug member communicates with the inside of the container body. That.

  In this invention, when the refill container is in an inverted posture, the inner plug member is pushed relative to the container main body along the container axis and slid into the container main body. The inside of the container main body and the inside plug member communicate with each other through the opening, and the contents move into the refill container through the opening. That is, when the refill container is pushed into the refill container in a state where the abutting portion is in contact with the opening end of the refill container, the inner plug member moves relative to the support portion together with the opening. Slide along the container axis into the container body. And an opening part moves to a pushing direction rather than the edge by the side of the bottom part of the container main body in a support part. Thereby, an opening part is open | released from the obstruction | occlusion state by a support part, and opens in a container main body. In this way, since the refill container can be refilled simply by pushing the refill container into the refill container, the contents in the refill container can be easily and quickly transferred.

In the refill container of the present invention, it is preferable that the abutting portion is located on the bottom side with respect to the edge of the container main body on the mouth side of the inner plug member.
In this invention, when the abutting portion is brought into contact with the mouth portion of the refill container, a part of the inner plug member enters and is placed in the mouth portion of the refill container. The inner plug member can be quickly positioned by the portion, and the contact time with the outside air can be shortened when the contents are transferred. For this reason, when transferring the contents, the refill container is prevented from being displaced with respect to the refill container, and for example, the scent of the contents is dissipated or the contents absorb moisture. It can be prevented more reliably.

  According to the refill container according to the present invention, the refill container is pushed into the refill container, and the refill container and the refill container are communicated with each other via the inner plug member. The contents can be transferred.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a refill container according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing used in the following description, the scale is appropriately changed to make each member a recognizable size.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refill container 1 according to the present invention is filled and circulated with contents that are powders such as instant coffee powder. As shown in FIG. ) Can be purchased and transferred from the refill container 1 to the refill container 2 formed of, for example, a glass bottle.
As shown in FIG. 1, the refill container 1 includes a container body 11, an inner stopper member 12, and a support member (support portion) 13.
The container main body 11, the inner plug member 12, and the support member 13 have their central axes located on a common axis. Hereinafter, this common axis is referred to as a central axis (container axis) O. In the present embodiment, the open end side of the container body 11 along the central axis O in FIG. 1 is referred to as “upper side”, and the opposite side is referred to as “lower side”. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a direction orthogonal to the central axis O is defined as a “radial direction”.

The container main body 11 has a bottomed cylindrical shape extending along the central axis O, and opens upward by the container opening end 11A. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the container body 11 includes a bottom portion 21 that is circular in plan view, and a body portion 22 that extends upward from the outer peripheral edge of the bottom portion 21.
A step portion 23 is provided at a central portion along the central axis O of the body portion 22. In the body portion 22, the upper portion (mouth portion) 24 above the step portion 23 has a larger diameter than the lower portion 25 below the step portion 23. Moreover, the upper end edge of the upper part 24 of the trunk | drum 22 protrudes toward radial direction over the perimeter, and the sealing member 26 which seals the container main body 11 is affixed on the upper surface of this protrusion part. Yes.

  The inner plug member 12 has a bottomed cylindrical shape extending along the central axis O, and opens upward by the plug opening end 12A. The inner plug member 12 is disposed radially inward of the upper portion 24 of the container body 11 and is fitted to the support member 13 so as to be slidable along the central axis O. Thereby, the inner plug member 12 closes the trunk portion 22. The inner plug member 12 includes a bottom surface portion 31, a side wall portion 32, a folded portion 33, and a flange portion (contact portion) 34.

The bottom surface portion 31 has a hollow conical shape that protrudes downward and gradually decreases in diameter as it goes downward.
The side wall part 32 has a cylindrical shape extending along the central axis O, and extends upward from the outer peripheral edge of the bottom surface part 31. In addition, a plurality of openings 35 extending along a plane parallel to the central axis O are provided in the side wall 32 at intervals in the circumferential direction.

The plurality of openings 35 allow communication between the outside and the inside of the inner plug member 12. Moreover, the opening part 35 is formed over substantially the whole length along the central axis O of the side wall part 32, and the length along the central axis O is longer than the length along the central axis O of the inner wall part 42 described later of the support member 13. It is getting longer.
Further, a locking piece 36 that protrudes outward in the radial direction is provided at a central portion along the central axis O of the side wall portion 32. The length along the central axis O of the side wall 32 is such that the upper edge of the side wall 32 does not protrude upward from the container opening end 11 </ b> A of the container body 11.

The folded portion 33 has a substantially cylindrical shape, protrudes radially outward from the upper end edge of the side wall portion 32, and is folded downward from the outer peripheral edge of the protruding portion. In addition, the outer diameter of the folded portion 33 is smaller than the inner diameter of the mouth portion 2A of the refill container 2, but the outer diameter of the folded portion 33 is made equal to the inner diameter of the mouth portion 2A of the refill container 2. May be.
The flange portion 34 has an annular shape and protrudes outward in the radial direction from the lower end edge of the folded portion 33. Further, the outer diameter of the flange portion 34 is larger than the outer diameter of the mouth portion 2A of the refill container 2.

The support member 13 has a substantially cylindrical shape extending along the central axis O, and includes an outer wall portion 41, an inner wall portion 42, and a connection portion 43.
The outer wall portion 41 has a cylindrical shape, and the outer diameter is equal to the inner diameter of the upper portion 24 of the body portion 22. Further, the length along the central axis O of the outer wall portion 41 is equal to the length along the central axis O of the upper portion 24. The outer wall portion 41 is fitted into the upper portion 24 of the body portion 22, and the lower end edge thereof is in contact with the step portion 23 of the body portion 22.

The inner wall portion 42 has a cylindrical shape, and has an outer diameter smaller than that of the outer wall portion 41 and an inner diameter equal to the outer diameter of the side wall portion 32 of the inner plug member 12. Further, the length along the central axis O of the inner wall portion 42 is equal to the length from the lower end edge of the side wall portion 32 of the inner plug member 12 to the locking piece 36. As a result, the inner plug member 12 is fitted into the inner wall portion 42 such that the upper end edge of the inner wall portion 42 is brought into contact with and locked with the locking piece 36. Further, the inner wall portion 42 is formed in the container main body 11 and the inner plug member 12 by the opening 35 formed in the side wall portion 32 in a state where the upper end edge of the inner wall portion 42 is locked with the locking piece 36. Block communication. At this time, the opening 35 does not communicate with the inside of the lower portion 25 of the container body 11.
The connecting portion 43 has a hollow truncated cone shape that gradually decreases in diameter as it goes upward, and connects the end edge of the outer wall portion 41 and the lower end edge of the inner wall portion 42. Further, the connecting portion 43 closes the container body 11 together with the bottom surface portion 31 in a state where the upper end edge of the inner wall portion 42 is locked with the locking piece 36.

Next, a method for refilling the contents into the refill container 2 using the refill container 1 configured as described above will be described.
First, the seal member 26 is peeled off. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the refill container 1 is turned upside down, and the inner plug member 12 is filled so that the center axis O of the refill container 1 and the container axis of the refill container 2 substantially coincide. It arrange | positions in the mouth part 2A of the replacement container 2. FIG. At this time, the flange portion 34 of the inner plug member 12 contacts the mouth opening end (opening end) 2B of the mouth 2A. Moreover, since the outer diameter of the folding | returning part 33 is smaller than the internal diameter of 2 A of opening parts, the inner stopper member 12 approachs and arrange | positions in the opening part 2A, Therefore The inner stopper member 12 is stably with respect to the opening part 2A. Can be positioned.

In this state, when the refill container 1 is pushed toward the refill container 2 along the central axis O, the flange portion 34 is in contact with the mouth portion 2A of the refill container 2, so that the inner plug member 12 is about to be pushed inward of the container body 11 along the central axis O relative to the refill container 1. Then, the pushing force is transmitted to the inner plug member 12, so that the engagement state between the locking piece 36 and the end edge of the inner wall portion 42 on the plug opening end 12A side is released. As a result, the inner wall portion 42 gets over the locking piece 36, and the side wall portion 32 of the inner plug member 12 slides inward of the container body 11 along the central axis O with respect to the inner wall portion 42 of the support member 13. Moving. The inner plug member 12 is pushed inward of the container main body 11 along the central axis O.
Here, since the edge on the bottom 21 side of the outer wall portion 41 is in contact with the stepped portion 23 of the body portion 22, even if the pushing force is transmitted to the support member 13 via the inner plug member 12, the support member 13 does not slide along the central axis O along the central axis O together with the inner plug member 12 toward the inside of the container body 11.

  Then, when the inner plug member 12 is further pushed inward toward the inside of the container main body 11, the end of the inner wall portion 42 on the plug opening end 12 </ b> A side protrudes outward in the radial direction at the folded portion 33; While abutting, a part of the inner wall portion 42 is accommodated in the gap between the folded portion 33 and the side wall portion 32. At this time, due to the gap formed between the inner wall portion 42 and the folded portion 33 and a part of the opening 35 formed in the radially projecting portion of the folded portion 33, there is no contact with the outside air. A communication path may be formed. Further, when the entire inner wall portion 42 gets over the locking piece 36, an end edge of the inner wall portion 42 connected to the connecting portion 43 is engaged with the locking piece 36. Thereby, the inner stopper member 12 does not slide and move toward the outside of the container body 11 along the central axis O with respect to the support member 13.

Thus, when the inner plug member 12 is pushed inward of the container main body 11 along the central axis O, the opening 35 extends beyond the edge of the inner wall portion 42 on the bottom 21 side and the lower portion of the container main body 11. It opens toward the inside of 25. Thereby, the opening part 35 connects the inside of the lower part 25 of the container main body 11 and the to-be-refilled container 2. The contents filled in the container main body 11 are poured into the refill container 2 through the opening 35 and the inside of the inner plug member 12. At this time, the flange portion 34 of the inner plug member 12 is in a position retracted toward the bottom surface portion 31 side along the central axis O from the plug opening end 12A of the inner plug member 12, and the inner plug member 12 is in the mouth portion 2A. Because of the approach, quick refilling is achieved with a stable posture. Further, for example, when the outer surface of the inner wall portion 42 and the inner surface of the folded portion 33 are configured to be airtightly slidable, the contact between the outside air and the contents during refilling can be effectively suppressed.
As described above, the refill container 2 is refilled with the contents using the refill container 1.

In the refill container 1 according to the present embodiment, the refill container 1 is pushed into the refill container 2 and is easily communicated with the refill container 1 and the refill container 2 via the inner plug member 12. In addition, the contents can be transferred to the refill container 2 in a short time.
Further, in the refill container 1, the flange portion 34 of the inner plug member 12 is formed below the plug opening end 12 </ b> A, so that the refill container 1 is placed inside the mouth portion 2 </ b> A of the refill container 2. The plug member 12 enters the mouth portion 2A. Therefore, in the refill container 1, the contents can be transferred to the refill container 2 in a short time, and for example, the scent of the contents can be more reliably prevented or the contents can be prevented from absorbing moisture. it can.
Furthermore, in the refill container 1, the support member 13 does not slide along the central axis O with respect to the barrel portion 22 together with the inner plug member 12, so the support member 13 needs to be fixed to the barrel portion 22 by, for example, bonding. Disappear. Therefore, in the refill container 1, the support member 13 can be easily separated from the container main body 11 after refilling the contents into the refill container 2 using the refill container 1. Therefore, the refill container 1 can be easily disassembled, and the refill container 1 can be easily separated after the contents are transferred.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change can be added in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.
For example, the flange portion is positioned so as to recede downward from the upper end edge of the inner plug member, but may be formed at the upper end edge.
The opening is formed over almost the entire length along the central axis of the side wall, but before the inner plug member is pushed inward of the container main body, the inner plug member closes the container main body and after the inner plug member is pushed in. Other shapes may be used as long as the inner plug member can communicate the inside of the container body with the refill container.
The inner plug member has a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape with an open end, but if the inside of the container body communicates with the refill container after the inner plug member is pushed in, the upper end is not open. Other shapes such as a shape may be used.
The container body and the support member are formed as separate members, but the support member may not be slid along the central axis along with the inner plug member, and may be formed integrally.
The sealing member may not be provided because the inner plug member closes the container body before the inner plug member is pushed in.
The inner plug member is arranged so that the upper end does not protrude upward from the open end of the container main body, but the inner plug member closes the container main body before the inner plug member is pushed in. You may arrange | position so that it may protrude upward from an opening end.
The refilling method using the refilling container is not limited to the method of pushing the refilling container into the refilling container, but the inner plug member by sliding the inner plug member relative to the container body in advance and pushing it in. A method may be used in which the refill container is placed in the mouth of the refill container in an inverted posture after the container body is in communication with the container body.
The contents filled in the refill container are not limited to powder.

  According to this invention, industrial applicability is recognized regarding the refill container which can transfer the contents in the refill container into the container easily and in a short time.

It is an axial sectional view showing the refill container in one embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the refilling method of the to-be-refilled container using the refill container shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refillable container, 2 Refillable container, 2B Opening end (opening end), 11 Container body, 12 Inner plug member, 13 Support member (supporting part), 21 Bottom part, 24 Upper part (Refilling container mouth Part), 34 flange part (contact part), 35 opening part, O center axis (container axis)

Claims (2)

A bottomed cylindrical container body filled with contents;
An inner plug member disposed in the mouth of the container body, closing the container body, and being slidable relative to the container body along a container axis;
A support portion that slidably supports the inner plug member along the container axis, and
The inner plug member is in contact with an opening that can communicate with the inside of the container body and is openably closed by the support, and an opening end of a refill container to which the contents are transferred. A contact portion is formed,
The opening portion pushes the inner plug member into the container body along the container axis, thereby exceeding the bottom edge of the container body along the container axis direction in the support portion. The refill container is characterized in that the inside of the inner plug member communicates with the inside of the container main body.   2. The refill container according to claim 1, wherein the abutting portion is located on the bottom side with respect to an end edge of the container main body on the mouth side of the inner plug member.

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