JP7792815B2 - Dispensing container and cartridge for dispensing container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a dispenser capable of dispensing rod-shaped contents, and a cartridge for the dispenser.

A known dispensing container is a container for holding stick-shaped contents such as lipstick, lip balm, or stick-type glue. It is cylindrical overall and includes an operating part with a bottomed, tubular skirt member, a sleeve that protrudes from the operating part along the axis of the skirt member, and a holding member that is located inside the sleeve and holds the contents; when the operating part is rotated relative to the sleeve, the holding member advances, and the contents are dispensed from a dispensing opening in the sleeve (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In recent years, large dispensing containers containing cosmetics and other products in stick-shaped contents have also come into use (see, for example, Patent Document 2). The dispensing container in Patent Document 2 has a rotor attached to the base (case body), and when this rotor is rotated, the rod-shaped contents contained in the base can be dispensed from an opening in the base.

JP 2013-248076 A Design Registration No. 1568492

However, the dispensing container in Patent Document 2 is simply discarded after the stored rod-shaped contents are used up. For this reason, from the perspective of resource conservation and reducing the burden on the environment, there is a demand for a dispensing container in which some components, such as the base, can be reused and in which a used cartridge containing the used rod-shaped contents can be replaced with a new cartridge.

In light of these conventional problems, the present invention aims to provide a dispenser that allows a used cartridge to be replaced with a new one, and a cartridge for the dispenser.

The present invention provides a dispensing container comprising a base having a rotating body, and a cartridge that is attached to the base and that dispenses a rod-shaped content when the rotating body is rotated, wherein the rotating body has a shaft extending along the central axis of the rotating body, and the cartridge has a center tray that holds the rod-shaped content, a cartridge body that is attached to the base and surrounds the rod-shaped content and the center tray, has a first screw portion, and a second screw portion that screws into the first screw portion and is rotatably supported by the center tray, is detachable from the shaft and is held in a rotation-preventing manner, and when the rotating body is rotated, the cartridge body is dispensed. and a cylindrical body that moves the middle plate back and forth by means of a screw, the cartridge body having a cylindrical upper outer wall that houses the middle plate inside, a plate-like wall provided at the lower end of the upper outer wall and covering the middle plate from below, and a claw portion that engages with a hole provided in the base to hold the cartridge on the base, the first screw portion being a female screw provided at the center of the plate-like wall, the cylindrical body having the second screw portion that screws into the first screw portion and extends below the plate-like wall, and the claw portion extends downward from the plate-like wall radially outward of the cylindrical body and elastically deforms radially to engage with the hole portion.

It is preferable that the base, the cartridge, and the rod-shaped content have a flat shape in a plan view, and the cartridge has the elastically deformable claw portion at a position located in the long side direction of the flat shape.

It is preferable that the base, the cartridge, and the rod-shaped content have a flat shape when viewed in a plane, and that the cartridge has a guide wall that extends longer than the cylindrical body at a portion located in the short side direction of the flat shape.

The present invention also provides a cartridge for a dispensing container that is attached to a base having a rotating body and that dispenses a rod-shaped content when the rotating body is rotated, the cartridge comprising: a middle tray that holds the rod-shaped content; a cartridge body that is attached to the base and surrounds the rod-shaped content and the middle tray, and has a first screw portion; and a cylindrical body that has a second screw portion that screws into the first screw portion, is rotatably supported by the middle tray, is detachably held and prevented from rotating by a shaft that extends along the central axis of the rotating body, and moves the middle tray forward and backward relative to the cartridge body when the rotating body is rotated. The cartridge body comprises a cylindrical upper outer wall that houses the inner plate inside, a plate-shaped wall provided at the lower end of the upper outer wall that covers the inner plate from below, and a claw portion that engages with a hole provided in the base to hold the cartridge for the dispensing container on the base, the first screw portion is a female screw provided in the center of the plate-shaped wall, the cylindrical body has the second screw portion that screws into the first screw portion and extends below the plate-shaped wall, and the claw portion extends downward from the plate-shaped wall radially outward from the cylindrical body and elastically deforms radially to engage with the hole portion, making it also a cartridge for the dispensing container.

With the dispensing container of the present invention configured as described above, when the rotor is rotated with the cartridge attached to the base, the cylindrical body rotates with the rotor, causing the inner tray to move back and forth relative to the cartridge body, allowing the rod-shaped contents held in the inner tray to be dispensed or inserted into the cartridge body. Furthermore, because the cylindrical body is detachably held on the shaft of the rotor, once the rod-shaped contents have been used up, the cartridge attached to the base can be removed by separating the cylindrical body from the shaft, and a new cartridge can be attached to the original base by following the reverse procedure.

2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view showing one embodiment of the dispensing container according to the present invention (cross-sectional view taken along line BB shown in FIG. 2). 2A is a cross-sectional view of the dispensing container shown in FIG. 1 from the front (cross-sectional view along CC shown in FIG. 2), and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view along AA shown in FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which a cartridge is removed from the base shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing an embodiment of a new cartridge, in which (a) is a cross-sectional side view and (b) is a bottom view.

One embodiment of the dispensing container and cartridge for the dispensing container (sometimes simply referred to as a cartridge in this specification) according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that in the following description, the up-down direction refers to the direction along the central axis O shown in the drawings (the central axis of the rotor 5 described below). The radial direction refers to the direction perpendicular to the central axis O in a plane perpendicular to the central axis O, and the circumferential direction refers to the direction circumferentially around the central axis O in this plane.

Figures 1 and 2 show one embodiment of a dispensing container according to the present invention. The dispensing container 1 of this embodiment is composed of a base 2, a cartridge 6, and a cap 10. The base 2 is composed of a base body 3, a bottom cover 4, and a rotating body 5, and the cartridge 6 is composed of a cartridge body 7, an inner tray 8, and a cylindrical body 9. All of these components are shaped around a central axis O.

As shown in the figure, the base body 3 has a cylindrical lower outer peripheral wall 3a that has a flattened shape (a track shape in this embodiment) in plan view. A fitting wall 3b that is thinner than the lower outer peripheral wall 3a is provided at the lower end of the lower outer peripheral wall 3a. A pair of openings 3c that penetrate the lower outer peripheral wall 3a are provided in the vertically intermediate portion of the lower outer peripheral wall 3a, located in the short direction in plan view, as shown in FIG. 2. Furthermore, a pair of holes 3d that penetrate the lower outer peripheral wall 3a are provided in the upper portion of the lower outer peripheral wall 3a, located in the long direction in plan view, as shown in FIG. 1.

The bottom cover 4, like the lower outer peripheral wall 3a, is shaped like a track in plan view. The outer edge of the bottom cover 4 is provided with a mating recess 4a that fits into the mating wall 3b. The center of the bottom cover 4 is provided with a ring-shaped support wall 4b whose upper end bulges outward in the radial direction. The upper surface of the support wall 4b is provided with a protrusion 4c that protrudes upward. The protrusion 4c may be provided in a ring shape centered on the central axis O, or may be provided intermittently.

The rotating body 5 has a cylindrical operating wall 5a. As shown in Figure 2(b), the outer diameter of the operating wall 5a is slightly larger than the short-side length of the lower outer peripheral wall 3a, and the operating wall 5a is exposed through the opening 3c. Below the operating wall 5a is a lower wall 5b that comes into contact with the protrusion 4c when the rotating body 5 is assembled as the base 2. The lower surface of the lower wall 5b is provided with an annular engagement wall 5c whose inner peripheral surface protrudes radially inward and has a claw-like cross-section. The engagement wall 5c engages with the support wall 4b, allowing it to rotate relative to the support wall 4b and preventing it from slipping out. A lower annular wall 5d that protrudes downward from the lower wall 5b is provided radially outward of the engagement wall 5c.

A shaft 5e is provided on the upper surface of the lower wall 5b. The shaft 5e is integrally connected to the lower wall 5b and extends upward along the central axis O. In this embodiment, the shaft 5e is cross-shaped in plan view, as shown in Figure 2(b).

The cartridge body 7 has a cylindrical upper outer wall 7a that is track-shaped like the lower outer wall 3a. A horizontally extending plate-like wall 7b is provided at the lower end of the upper outer wall 7a. The plate-like wall 7b has an open center, and its inner surface is provided with a first threaded portion 7c that is female-threaded. A pair of guide walls 7d are provided on the lower surface of the plate-like wall 7b in the short direction, extending along the inner surface of the lower outer wall 3a in the short direction, as shown in Figure 2(a). The guide walls 7d extend downward, and as shown in Figure 4, their central portions are notched from bottom to top. This notch is provided to avoid interference with the rotating body 5.

As shown in Figure 1, the lower longitudinal surface of plate-shaped wall 7b is provided with a claw portion 7e that extends downward and bulges outward in the radial direction. Claw portion 7e is elastically deformable radially inward from the point where it connects to plate-shaped wall 7b. As shown in the figure, the portion of claw portion 7e that bulges outward in the radial direction is inserted into hole 3d from the radially inner side. The upper surface of this bulging portion extends horizontally and engages with the upper surface of hole 3d. The lower surface of this bulging portion is provided with an inclined surface 7f that slopes downward and radially inward.

The inner tray 8 is located radially inward of the upper outer peripheral wall 7a and has a plate-shaped inner tray lower wall 8a that is slightly smaller than the upper outer peripheral wall 7a in a plan view. The outer edge of the inner tray lower wall 8a is provided with an inner tray outer peripheral wall 8b that extends upward along the inner peripheral surface of the upper outer peripheral wall 7a. The inner tray inner peripheral wall 8c extends upward radially inward of the inner tray outer peripheral wall 8b. Although not shown, the inner tray 8 holds a stick-shaped content. In this embodiment, when the inner tray lower wall 8a is located near the plate-shaped wall 7b (when the inner tray 8 has moved downward) as shown in Figure 1, the shape of the stick-shaped content before use is approximately the same height as or lower than the upper end of the upper outer peripheral wall 7a, and the shape in a plan view is a track shape approximately the same as the inner tray lower wall 8a.

A stepped cylindrical support shaft 8d is provided on the underside of the lower wall 8a of the inner tray, extending downward along the central axis O and with a larger diameter at the bottom than at the top.

The cylindrical body 9 extends along the central axis O and is cylindrical overall. In this embodiment, the cylindrical body 9 has a circular outer surface and a cross-shaped inner surface in a plan view, allowing the shaft body 5e to be inserted inside the cylindrical body 9. In other words, the cylindrical body 9 is detachable from the shaft body 5e and is held in place without rotation. The cylindrical body 9 has a second threaded portion 9a on its outer surface that is male-threaded. The second threaded portion 9a screws into the first threaded portion 7c.

A circular shaft hole 9b is provided at the upper end of the cylindrical body 9. The inner diameter of the shaft hole 9b is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the upper end of the support shaft 8d and smaller than the outer diameter of the lower end of the support shaft 8d, allowing the cylindrical body 9 to rotate relative to the support shaft 8d and preventing it from slipping out. The cylindrical body 9 may be provided with a slit extending in the vertical direction to allow the cylindrical body 9 to elastically deform when the support shaft 8d is inserted into the shaft hole 9b. Note that, as shown in Figure 2(a), when the cylindrical body 9 is held on the support shaft 8d, the above-mentioned guide wall 7d extends downward further than the cylindrical body 9. The lower end of the cylindrical body 9 is provided with a retaining portion 9c, which has a larger diameter than the middle portion of the cylindrical body.

The cap 10 has a plate-shaped top wall 10a located above the cartridge body 7, and a cap outer wall 10b that extends downward from the outer edge of the top wall 10a and surrounds the upper outer wall 7a, lower outer wall 3a, and claw portion 7e. The cap outer wall 10b is configured to be removably fitted to the lower outer wall 3a, and the cap 10 is held in place by the base body 3.

To use the dispensing container 1 constructed as described above, remove the cap 10 from the base body 3 and rotate the rotor 5 so that the second threaded portion 9a rises relative to the first threaded portion 7c. As shown in FIG. 1, the lower wall 5b of the rotor 5 contacts the protrusion 4c. In other words, the rotor 5 is supported by the bottom cover 4 via the protrusion 4c with a small contact area, allowing the rotor 5 to rotate smoothly. The inner tray 8 rises relative to the cartridge body 7 along with the cylindrical body 9 in accordance with the amount of rotation of the rotor 5, dispensing the stick-shaped contents (not shown) held on the inner tray 8 from the cartridge body 7. The rod-shaped contents can then be dispensed onto the application target while holding the base body 3 with one's fingers. The lower end of the cylindrical body 9 is provided with a retaining portion 9c, preventing the raised cylindrical body 9 from slipping out of the cartridge body 7 even if the rotor 5 is rotated excessively. After application is complete, the rotating body 5 is rotated in the reverse direction, which causes the cylindrical body 9 and inner plate 8 to retract into the cartridge body 7, allowing the rod-shaped contents to be stored inside the cartridge body 7.

When replacing the used cartridge 6 with a new cartridge 6 (see Figure 4) after using up the rod-shaped contents, the claws 7e of the used cartridge 6 attached to the base 2 are pressed radially inward, as shown in Figure 3. This causes the claws 7e to bend radially inward, disengaging them from the hole 3d. The cylindrical body 9 can also be removed vertically from the shaft 5e. Therefore, the used cartridge 6 can be removed from the base 2 by lifting it up and down.

In this embodiment, the claws 7e are provided in the longitudinal direction of the plate-shaped wall 7b, and sufficient space is secured radially inward of the claws 7e. In other words, if there is not enough space radially inward of the claws 7e, for example, the claws 7e would have to be made smaller, which would reduce the strength of the claws 7e and make it difficult to stably hold the cartridge 6 to the base 2. However, by providing the claws 7e in the longitudinal direction of the plate-shaped wall 7b as in this embodiment, this type of problem does not occur.

The new cartridge 6 shown in Figure 4 has a sheet material 7g attached to the upper end of the upper outer wall 7a to keep the rod-shaped contents sealed. The sheet material 7g may be, for example, an aluminum sheet or a synthetic resin sheet. The new cartridge 6 is inserted into the original base body 3 with the sheet material 7g still attached (or it may be removed first). The guide wall 7d of the cartridge body 7 extends downward beyond the cylindrical body 9. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2(a), the guide wall 7d is shaped to fit along the inner circumferential surface of the lower outer wall 3a in the short direction. In other words, when attaching the cartridge 6 to the base body 3, the guide wall 7d can guide the cartridge 6 to the desired position, eliminating the need to pay special attention to aligning the cylindrical body 9 with the shaft 5e. This allows the cartridge 6 to be easily attached to the base body 3. Furthermore, the guide walls 7d extend further downward than the cylindrical body 9, and are provided on both sides of the cylindrical body 9, which also provides the effect of protecting the cylindrical body 9 before it is attached to the base main body 3.

As mentioned above, the underside of the claw portion 7e is provided with an inclined surface 7f that slopes downward and radially inward. In other words, when the cartridge 6 is inserted into the base body 3, the inclined surface 7f comes into contact with the upper end surface of the lower outer peripheral wall 3a, causing the claw portion 7e to bend radially inward, allowing the cartridge 6 to be attached to the base body 3 without having to press the claw portion 7e with a finger.

Then, by peeling off the attached sheet material 7g, the container can be used as a dispensing container 1. As such, with the dispensing container 1 of this embodiment, the base 2 and cap 10 can be reused after the rod-shaped contents have been used, making it superior to conventional dispensing containers such as those described in Patent Document 2 in terms of resource conservation and reduced environmental impact.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this specific embodiment, and unless otherwise specified in the above description, various modifications and variations are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims. Furthermore, the effects of the above embodiment are merely examples of the effects that can be obtained from the present invention, and do not mean that the effects of the present invention are limited to the above-mentioned effects.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the cartridge body 7 is provided with a claw portion 7e and the base body 3 is provided with a hole portion 3d, but it is also possible to provide a hole portion in the cartridge body 7 and a claw portion in the base body 3. Furthermore, the components that make up the base 2 and cartridge 6 are not limited to those in the above-described embodiment, and the number of components may be reduced by integrating them as appropriate, or the number of parts may be increased to facilitate ease of manufacturing.

1: Discharge container 2: Base 3: Base body 3a: Lower outer peripheral wall 3b: Fitting wall 3c: Opening 3d: Hole 4: Bottom cover 4a: Fitting recess 4b: Support wall 4c: Convex portion 5: Rotating body 5a: Operation wall 5b: Lower wall 5c: Engagement wall 5d: Lower annular wall 5e: Shaft 6: Cartridge 7: Cartridge body 7a: Upper outer peripheral wall 7b: Plate-like wall 7c: First screw portion 7d: Guide wall 7e: Claw portion 7f: Inclined surface 7g: Sheet material 8: Center tray 8a: Center tray lower wall 8b: Center tray outer peripheral wall 8c: Center tray inner peripheral wall 8d: Support shaft 9: Cylindrical body 9a: Second screw portion 9b: Shaft hole 9c: Anti-slip portion 10: Cap 10a: Top wall 10b: Cap outer peripheral wall O: Central axis

Claims (4)

A dispensing container comprising a base having a rotating body and a cartridge attached to the base from which a rod-shaped content is dispensed when the rotating body is rotated,
the rotating body has a shaft extending along a central axis of the rotating body,
The cartridge comprises:
An inner tray for holding the rod-shaped contents;
a cartridge body that is attached to the base and surrounds the rod-shaped content and the inner tray, and has a first screw portion;
a cylindrical body having a second screw portion that screws into the first screw portion, rotatably supported by the inner plate, detachable from the shaft body and held in an anti-rotation state, and which moves the inner plate back and forth relative to the cartridge body when the rotating body is rotated;
the cartridge body includes a cylindrical upper outer peripheral wall that houses the inner tray therein, a plate-like wall that is provided at a lower end of the upper outer peripheral wall and covers the inner tray from below, and a claw portion that engages with a hole provided in the base to hold the cartridge on the base,
The first screw portion is a female screw provided in a central portion of the plate-like wall,
the cylindrical body extends below the plate-like wall with the second threaded portion threadedly engaged with the first threaded portion,
The claw portion extends downward from the plate-like wall radially outward of the cylindrical body, and elastically deforms radially to engage with the hole portion. The base, the cartridge, and the rod-shaped content have a flat shape in a plan view,
The dispensing container according to claim 1 , wherein the cartridge has the claw portion that is elastically deformable at a portion located in a long side direction of the flat shape. The base, the cartridge, and the rod-shaped content have a flat shape in a plan view,
The dispensing container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cartridge has a guide wall extending longer than the cylindrical body at a portion located in a short side direction of the flat shape. A cartridge for a dispensing container that is attached to a base having a rotating body, and that dispenses a rod-shaped content when the rotating body is rotated,
An inner tray for holding the rod-shaped contents;
a cartridge body that is attached to the base and surrounds the rod-shaped content and the inner tray, and has a first screw portion;
a cylindrical body having a second screw portion that screws into the first screw portion, rotatably supported by the inner plate, detachably held by a shaft that extends along the central axis of the rotating body and prevents rotation, and which moves the inner plate back and forth relative to the cartridge body when the rotating body is rotated;
the cartridge body includes a cylindrical upper outer peripheral wall that houses the inner tray therein, a plate-like wall that is provided at a lower end of the upper outer peripheral wall and covers the inner tray from below, and a claw portion that engages with a hole provided in the base to hold the dispensing container cartridge on the base,
The first screw portion is a female screw provided in a central portion of the plate-like wall,
the cylindrical body extends below the plate-like wall with the second threaded portion threadedly engaged with the first threaded portion,
The claw portion extends downward from the plate-like wall radially outward of the cylindrical body and elastically deforms radially to engage with the hole portion.