JP7519762B2 - Compact container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a compact container.

Conventionally, compact containers have been known that include an inner tray for storing contents, a container body with a storage section for storing the inner tray, and a lid that closes the storage section in an openable manner, as shown in, for example, Patent Document 1 below.

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 6-13708

However, with such compact containers, the inner tray needs to be removed from and attached to the container after use in order to separate the contents for disposal or to refill the contents, and there is room for improvement in the ease of use.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to improve the operability of attaching and detaching the inner tray of a compact container from the storage section.

(1) The compact container of the present invention comprises an inner tray for containing the contents, a container body having a storage section in which the inner tray is housed, and a lid for opening and closing the storage section, the container body having an engagement section that can engage with the inner tray housed in the storage section, the engagement section forming at least a part of the peripheral wall of the container body that forms the storage section, and is elastically deformable in a radial direction that intersects with the central axis of the container body.

In the compact container according to the present invention, the engaging portion that can engage with the inner plate forms at least a part of the peripheral wall of the container body that forms the storage portion, so that the engaging portion (part of the peripheral wall) elastically deforms in the radial direction, allowing the inner plate to be removed from the storage portion while still firmly fixing the inner plate to the storage portion.

(2) The engaging portion may further form a part of the bottom wall of the container body that forms the storage portion, and may be integrally connected to the bottom wall via a hinge portion so as to be displaceable in the axial direction along the central axis of the container body.

In this case, the engaging portion forms part of the bottom wall of the container body that forms the storage portion, so that when the engaging portion (bottom wall) is displaced axially upward, the inner plate contained in the storage portion is pushed up, making it easy to remove the inner plate from the storage portion. In addition, because the engaging portion is integrally formed with the bottom wall of the container body via the hinge portion, costs can be reduced.

(3) The engaging portion forms a part of the peripheral wall and has a peripheral wall bulge portion that bulges inward in the radial direction, and the peripheral wall bulge portion may abut against the outer peripheral surface of the inner plate in a state where it is elastically deformed outward in the radial direction.

In this case, the engaging portion has a peripheral wall bulge that bulges inward in the radial direction, and the peripheral wall bulge abuts against the outer circumferential surface of the middle plate while elastically deforming outward in the radial direction, so that the middle plate can be firmly fixed to the storage portion. In other words, because the peripheral wall bulge bulges inward in the radial direction, the middle plate can be prevented from slipping out of the storage portion by applying a force to the peripheral wall that faces the peripheral wall bulge.

(4) The engagement portion may have an engagement protrusion that engages with the upper opening edge of the inner plate from above.

In this case, the engaging protrusions can prevent the inner tray from slipping out of the storage section. In addition, the engaging protrusions can be detached from the storage section together with the engaging sections, making it easier to remove the inner tray from the storage section.

The compact container of the present invention improves the ease of attaching and detaching the inner tray from the storage section.

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a compact container according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the compact case shown in FIG. 1 with the lid open. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main portion of the compact case shown in FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of a main portion showing the state in which the inner plate is removed from the compact container according to one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a main portion showing the state in which the inner plate is removed from the compact container according to one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the compact container according to one embodiment of the present invention before the inner plate is set in the compact container. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main part of the compact case shown in FIG. 6, showing how the holding portion of the engagement portion passes over the main body shaft. 7 is an enlarged view of a main portion showing the state of the engagement portion of the compact case shown in FIG. 6. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which an inner plate is set in the compact case shown in FIG. 6.

Hereinafter, a compact case according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the compact container 1 of this embodiment comprises an inner tray 10 in which the contents are stored, a container body 20 having a storage section 20a in which the inner tray 10 is stored, and a lid body 30 that closes the storage section 20a in an openable manner.

The inner plate 10 and the container body 20 are formed into a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and the lid 30 is formed into a cylindrical shape with a top, and the inner plate 10, the container body 20, and the lid 30 are arranged coaxially with a common axis. Hereinafter, this common axis will be referred to as the central axis O, and the direction intersecting the central axis O when viewed from the axial direction along the central axis O will be referred to as the radial direction, and the direction going around the central axis O will be referred to as the circumferential direction. In the axial direction, the side of the lid 30 with respect to the storage section 20a will be referred to as the upper side, and the side of the bottom wall 22 of the container body 20 will be referred to as the lower side.

The vertical cross section of the compact container 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes the central axis O, the locking protrusion 23b described below, and the lid hinge portion 31 described below. In other words, the cross-sectional line showing this vertical cross section, when viewed from the axial direction, is a straight line passing through the central axis O and the locking protrusion 23b described below, as well as a straight line passing through the central axis O and the lid hinge portion 31 described below. The same is true for the vertical cross sections of the compact container 1 shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 9 described below.

The inner plate 10 is made of a metal material and is formed into a flat, bottomed cylindrical shape. By making the inner plate 10 out of a metal material, it is possible to store many types of contents, regardless of the type of contents to be stored or the components contained in the contents. The inner plate 10 is stored in the storage section 20a in a non-adhered state to the container body 20. Note that the inner plate 10 is not limited to a metal material and may be formed of other materials, such as a synthetic resin material.

The container body 20 is formed into a flat, bottomed cylinder made of, for example, a synthetic resin material. The container body 20 has a peripheral wall 21 and a bottom wall 22 that form the storage section 20a. In this embodiment, the peripheral wall 21 is formed into a substantially cylindrical shape centered on the central axis O, and faces the middle plate 10 in the radial direction. The bottom wall 22 is connected to the lower end of the peripheral wall 21, closes the lower end opening of the bottom wall 22, and faces the middle plate 10 in the axial direction.

The lid body 30 is formed into a flat, topped cylinder shape, for example, from a synthetic resin material. The lid body 30 is connected to the container body 20 via the lid hinge portion 31. The lid body 30 and the lid hinge portion 31 are formed integrally with the container body 20. Hereinafter, in the radial direction, the side on which the lid hinge portion 31 is located is referred to as the rear side, the opposite side (the other side) is referred to as the front side, and the direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction is referred to as the left-right direction (perpendicular direction).

The lid hinge portion 31 connects the rear ends of the lid body 30 and the container body 20. In the illustrated example, an applicator W such as a puff can be accommodated between the underside of the top wall of the lid body 30 and the upper opening of the inner tray 10. A lid operation protrusion 32 that protrudes forward is formed at the front end of the peripheral wall of the lid body 30. Meanwhile, a container operation protrusion 23a (see FIG. 2) that protrudes forward is formed at the front end of the peripheral wall 21 of the container body 20.

Only the circumferential ends of the lid operation projection 32 and the container operation projection 23a overlap in the axial direction. At the front end of the peripheral wall 21 of the container body 20, a locking projection 23b is formed in a portion adjacent to the container operation projection 23a in the circumferential direction. The lid operation projection 32 is formed with a locking projection 33 (see Figure 1) that is detachably fitted into the locking projection 23b via an undercut.

The container body 20 has an engagement portion 40 that can engage with the inner plate 10 housed in the housing portion 20a. The engagement portion 40 includes an engagement protrusion 41 that engages with the upper opening edge 11 of the inner plate 10, a peripheral wall bulge portion 42 that forms part of the peripheral wall 21 of the container body 20, and a bottom wall push-up portion 43 that forms part of the bottom wall 22 of the container body 20. In this embodiment, the engagement portion 40 is formed in a substantially L-shaped arm shape in the vertical cross section shown in FIG. 1.

The bottom wall push-up portion 43 forms a band-shaped portion 22a that is part of the bottom wall 22 of the container body 20, and is displaceable in the axial direction along the central axis O of the container body 20. The bottom wall push-up portion 43 is provided in a portion of the bottom wall 22 of the container body 20 that is away from the center in the radial direction to one side (rear side). As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom wall push-up portion 43 is disposed between two parallel slits 24 formed in the bottom wall 22, and extends radially in the shape of a band with a constant left-right dimension.

The front end of the bottom wall push-up portion 43 (strip portion 22a) is connected to the main bottom wall portion 22b, which is another portion of the bottom wall 22, via a push-up hinge portion 44 (hinge portion). The push-up hinge portion 44 forms a recess that extends linearly in the left-right direction on the upper surface of the bottom wall 22. This allows the bottom wall push-up portion 43 to rotate up and down around the push-up hinge portion 44 on the bottom wall 22 of the container body 20. Therefore, the bottom wall push-up portion 43 (strip portion 22a) can be displaced in the axial direction relative to the main bottom wall portion 22b of the bottom wall 22.

As shown in FIG. 1, the peripheral wall bulge 42 forms a separate peripheral wall portion 21a that is part of the peripheral wall 21 of the container body 20 that forms the storage portion 20a, and is elastically deformable in a radial direction that intersects with the central axis O of the container body 20. The peripheral wall bulge 42 is connected to the rear end of the bottom wall push-up portion 43 and extends upward in the axial direction. In other words, the peripheral wall bulge 42 forms part of the peripheral wall 21 that is located on one side (rear side) in the radial direction.

The peripheral wall bulge 42 extends upward from the rear end of the bottom wall push-up portion 43. As shown in FIG. 2, the peripheral wall bulge 42 is a part of the peripheral wall 21 that is disposed between two parallel slits 24 formed in the bottom wall 22 and extends between them, forming a band with a constant dimension in the left-right direction and extending in the axial direction. Therefore, the peripheral wall bulge 42 (separate peripheral wall portion 21a) can be displaced in the radial direction by being separated from the main peripheral wall portion 21b, which is the other part of the peripheral wall 21.

As shown in FIG. 1, the peripheral wall bulge 42 (separate peripheral wall 21a) has a thinner radial thickness than the main peripheral wall 21b of the peripheral wall 21. Specifically, the radial position of the inner wall surface of the peripheral wall bulge 42 (separate peripheral wall 21a) is the same as that of the main peripheral wall 21b of the peripheral wall 21 (or the peripheral wall bulge 42 is located slightly radially inward), but the radial position of the outer wall surface of the peripheral wall bulge 42 is located radially inward of the main peripheral wall 21b of the peripheral wall 21. In other words, the peripheral wall bulge 42 (separate peripheral wall 21a) is thinner than the main peripheral wall 21b of the peripheral wall 21, and is easily elastically deformed in the radial direction.

As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 3, the peripheral wall bulge 42 bulges radially inward. Specifically, the peripheral wall bulge 42 elastically deforms in a generally L-shape when viewed from the left and right so as to bulge radially inward. In FIG. 3, the two-dot chain line indicates the position (state) of the peripheral wall bulge 42 before the inner plate 10 is accommodated in the accommodation section 20a. The peripheral wall bulge 42 abuts against the outer circumferential surface 12 of the inner plate 10 radially outward from the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3.

In other words, the peripheral wall bulge 42 abuts against the outer peripheral surface 12 of the middle plate 10 in a state where it is elastically deformed radially outward. As a result, the middle plate 10 is urged toward the other radial side (front side) by the peripheral wall bulge 42 (separate peripheral wall portion 21a) located on one radial side (rear side), and is fixed to the storage portion 20a by being pressed against the main peripheral wall portion 21b of the peripheral wall 21 located on the other radial side (front side). This makes it possible to prevent the middle plate 10 from slipping out of the storage portion 20a.

That is, in this embodiment, in order to facilitate removal of the middle plate 10 from the storage section 20a, there is no portion that engages with the upper end opening edge 11 of the middle plate 10 from above, except for the engagement protrusion 41 formed on the engagement portion 40 (separate peripheral wall portion 21a). In other words, the main peripheral wall portion 21b other than the separate peripheral wall portion 21a does not have the engagement protrusion 41, and the inside of the main peripheral wall portion 21b is a smooth cylindrical surface. However, if a gap is formed in the radial direction between the middle plate 10 and the main peripheral wall portion 21b in this state, there is a risk that the middle plate 10 will come off the storage section 20a so as to rotate around the engagement protrusion 41. For this reason, in this embodiment, the peripheral wall bulge portion 42 presses the middle plate 10 against the opposing main peripheral wall portion 21b in the radial direction, thereby restricting the detachment.

The engagement protrusion 41 protrudes radially inward from the upper end of the peripheral wall bulge 42. The engagement protrusion 41 is located on the upper end opening edge 11 of the middle plate 10 and engages with the upper end opening edge 11 to prevent the middle plate 10 from slipping out axially upward from the storage section 20a. In addition, when the roughly L-shaped peripheral wall bulge 42 elastically deforms radially outward, the tip of the engagement protrusion 41 lowers slightly in response to the deformation, and presses the upper end opening edge 11 of the middle plate 10 axially downward.

As a result, the inner plate 10 is urged axially downward by the engaging protrusions 41 located on the upper side in the axial direction, and is fixed to the storage section 20a by being pressed against the bottom wall 22 located on the lower side in the axial direction. In other words, the engaging protrusions 41 can suppress axial wobbling of the inner plate 10 relative to the storage section 20a. As a result, for example, when cosmetics made of solidified powder are stored in the inner plate 10, cracking of the solid powder can be suppressed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the engagement portion 40 is disposed adjacent to the lid hinge portion 31 in the radial direction when viewed from the axial direction. The lid hinge portion 31 is connected to the container body 20 via a container flange 31a that bulges outward in the radial direction from one radial side (rear side) of the upper end opening edge of the container body 20. A body shaft 25 is formed on the radial inner side of the container flange 31a at a position one step lower than the upper surface of the container flange 31a. The body shaft 25 extends in the circumferential direction and is bridged between the two slits 24.

As shown in FIG. 3, at the upper end of the peripheral wall bulge 42, on the opposite side to the engagement projection 41, a holding portion 45 is provided to hold the main body shaft 25 connected to the container flange 31a. The holding portion 45 has a first protrusion 45a protruding radially inward from the peripheral wall bulge 42, a second protrusion 45b disposed below the first protrusion 45a, and a groove 45c formed between the first protrusion 45a and the second protrusion 45b.

The holding portion 45 sandwiches the main body shaft 25 between the lower surface of the first protrusion 45a and the upper surface of the second protrusion 45b (groove portion 45c). When the lid body 30 is closed, the holding portion 45 (first protrusion 45a) is sandwiched between the lid body 30 and the main body shaft 25 (see FIG. 1). The lower surface of the first protrusion 45a is a flat surface that is approximately parallel to the upper surface of the main body shaft 25. On the other hand, the upper surface of the second protrusion 45b is an inclined surface that moves axially downward from the lower surface of the main body shaft 25 as it moves radially outward. Therefore, the holding portion 45 is difficult to separate from the main body shaft 25 when the engaging portion 40 is pressed down, and is easy to separate from the main body shaft 25 when the engaging portion 40 is pressed up.

In the above configuration, as shown by the symbol F in FIG. 1, when the bottom wall push-up portion 43 is pushed up and the engagement portion 40 is rotated around the push-up hinge portion 44, the inner plate 10 can be pushed up from the storage portion 20a together with the engagement portion 40. At this time, in the holding portion 45 shown in FIG. 4, the second protrusion 45b that abuts against the main body shaft 25 is pushed relatively downward by the engagement portion 40 being pushed up. Then, the tip of the engagement protrusion 41 at the upper end of the peripheral wall bulge portion 42 rotates upward, the engagement protrusion 41 no longer faces the bottom wall 22 in the axial direction, and the pressure that pinches the inner plate 10 in the axial direction is released.

When the inner plate 10 is pushed up further, as shown in FIG. 5, slippage occurs between the underside of the main shaft 25 and the upper surface (inclined surface) of the second protrusion 45b, and the holding portion 45 comes off from the main shaft 25. When the holding portion 45 comes off from the main shaft 25, the restriction on the radial outward displacement of the peripheral wall bulge 42 is released, the peripheral wall bulge 42 is displaced radially outward, and the peripheral wall bulge 42 no longer faces the main peripheral wall 21b in the radial direction, and the pressure pinching the inner plate 10 in the radial direction is released.

This allows the inner plate 10 to be easily removed from the storage section 20a. In other words, the inner plate 10, which is made of a metal material or the like, can be separated from the compact case 1. In this embodiment, the bottom wall push-up section 43 is provided in a portion of the bottom wall 22 of the container body 20 that is radially away from the center toward the rear, and is detachable from the storage section 20a together with the engagement protrusion 41 also provided at the rear, making it easier to remove the inner plate 10 from the storage section 20a. In other words, if the engagement protrusion 41 were provided on the main peripheral wall section 21b other than the separation peripheral wall section 21a, the push-up force required to disengage the engagement protrusion 41 can be reduced.

On the other hand, when fixing the inner plate 10 to the storage section 20a, first, as shown in FIG. 6, the engaging section 40 is rotated around the push-up hinge section 44 while the peripheral wall bulge section 42 of the engaging section 40 is elastically deformed radially inward, and the main body shaft 25 is held by the holding section 45. At this time, as shown in the enlarged view in FIG. 7, the peripheral wall bulge section 42 is bent into a dogleg shape and the upper surface of the first protrusion 45a is inclined obliquely, so that the main body shaft 25 can easily climb over it. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the engaging section 40 is rotated around the push-up hinge section 44 from the lower side to the upper side of the bottom wall 22, but when the engaging section 40 is in a pushed-up state, it is better to rotate the engaging section 40 around the push-up hinge section 44 from the upper side to the lower side of the bottom wall 22.

Figure 8 shows the state of the engagement portion 40 before the inner plate 10 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 20a. In this state, the lower surface of the first protrusion 45a abuts against the upper surface of the main body shaft 25, but the upper surface of the second protrusion 45b does not abut against the lower surface of the main body shaft 25. In addition, a radial gap is formed between the stepped wall surface between the main body shaft 25 and the container flange 31a that is connected to the upper surface of the main body shaft 25, and the tip surface of the first protrusion 45a.

Figure 9 shows how the inner plate 10 is set in the storage section 20a. First, the inner plate 10 is tilted relative to the central axis O of the container body 20, and the rear end of the inner plate 10 is inserted under the engaging protrusion 41. Next, the inner plate 10 is pushed toward the peripheral wall bulge 42, and the front end of the inner plate 10 is pushed down while the peripheral wall bulge 42 is elastically deformed radially outward, thereby storing the inner plate 10 in the storage section 20a. When the inner plate 10 is stored in the storage section 20a, as shown in Figure 3, radial pressure is generated due to the elastic deformation of the peripheral wall bulge 42 radially outward, and axial pressure is generated by the above-mentioned engaging protrusion 41, and the inner plate 10 is firmly fixed.

As described above, according to the compact case 1 of this embodiment, the engaging portion 40 having the engaging protrusion 41 that can engage with the inner plate 10 forms at least a part of the peripheral wall 21 of the container body 20 that forms the storage portion 20a. Therefore, the engaging portion 40 elastically deforms in the radial direction, making it possible to remove the inner plate 10 from the storage portion 20a while firmly fixing the inner plate 10 to the storage portion 20a.

In addition, in this embodiment, the engagement portion 40 forms part of the bottom wall 22 of the container body 20 that forms the storage portion 20a, and is integrally connected to the bottom wall 22 via the push-up hinge portion 44 so as to be displaceable in the axial direction along the central axis O of the container body 20. Therefore, when the bottom wall push-up portion 43 is displaced axially upward, the inner plate 10 stored in the storage portion 20a is pushed up, and the inner plate 10 can be easily removed from the storage portion 20a. In addition, because the engagement portion 40 is integrally formed with the bottom wall 22 of the container body 20 via the push-up hinge portion 44, costs can be reduced.

In addition, in this embodiment, the engagement portion 40 forms a part of the peripheral wall 21 and has a peripheral wall bulge portion 42 that bulges radially inward, and the peripheral wall bulge portion 42 abuts against the outer peripheral surface 12 of the middle plate 10 in a state of elastic deformation radially outward. In this way, the peripheral wall bulge portion 42 bulges radially inward, so that the middle plate 10 is pressed against the main peripheral wall portion 21b that faces the peripheral wall bulge portion 42, and the middle plate 10 can be prevented from slipping out of the storage portion 20a.

In addition, in this embodiment, the engagement portion 40 has an engagement protrusion 41 that engages with the upper end opening edge 11 of the middle plate 10 from above. With this configuration, the engagement protrusion 41 can prevent the middle plate 10 from slipping out upward from the storage portion 20a. In addition, since the engagement protrusion 41 can be detached from the storage portion 20a together with the engagement portion 40, the middle plate 10 can be easily removed from the storage portion 20a.

In addition, in this embodiment, the lid body 30 is connected to the container body 20 via the lid hinge portion 31, and the engagement portion 40 is provided adjacent to the lid hinge portion 31 in the radial direction when viewed from the axial direction along the central axis O of the container body 20, as shown in FIG. 2. With this configuration, since the engagement portion 40 and the lid hinge portion 31 are arranged adjacent to each other in the radial direction, the reaction force that the engagement portion 40 receives from the inner plate 10 to fix the inner plate 10 can be borne by the structure (main body axis 25) on the lid hinge portion 31 side. Therefore, for example, it is not necessary to thicken the peripheral wall 21 of the container body 20, which contributes to reducing the weight and size of the compact container 1.

In this way, the compact container 1 according to this embodiment can improve the operability of attaching and detaching the inner tray 10 from the storage section 20a.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the engaging portion 40 is described as forming a part of the bottom wall 22 of the container body 20, but the engaging portion 40 may be configured to form only a part of the peripheral wall 21 of the container body 20. In addition, the engaging portion 40 does not have to be provided adjacent to the lid hinge portion 31 in the radial direction when viewed from the axial direction along the central axis O of the container body 20, as shown in Fig. 2.
For example, a part of the other radial side (front side) of the peripheral wall 21 of the container body 20 or the left or right side in the left-right direction may be an engagement portion 40 that is elastically deformable in the radial direction.

For example, in the above embodiment, a configuration was shown in which the lid body 30 is connected to the container body 20 via the lid hinge portion 31, but a configuration in which the lid body 30 is removably screwed onto the container body 20 may also be adopted.
In addition, the bottom wall push-up portion 43 may be appropriately modified, for example, disposed in the center of the bottom wall 22 of the container body 20 .

In addition, the components in the above-described embodiments may be replaced with well-known components as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the above-described modifications may be combined as appropriate.

1 Compact case 10 Inner plate 12 Outer periphery 20 Case body 20a Storage section 21 Peripheral wall 22 Bottom wall 30 Lid 31 Lid hinge section 40 Engagement section 41 Engagement protrusion 42 Peripheral wall bulge section 44 Push-up hinge section (hinge section)
O Central axis

Claims (2)

An inner plate for accommodating contents;
A container body having a storage portion in which the inner plate is stored;
A lid body that openably closes the storage portion,
The container body has an engagement portion that can be engaged with the inner plate accommodated in the accommodation portion,
the engaging portion forms at least a portion of the peripheral wall of the container body forming the storage portion, and is elastically deformable in a radial direction intersecting the central axis of the container body; and further comprises: a bottom wall push-up portion which forms a portion of the bottom wall of the container body forming the storage portion, and which is integrally connected to the bottom wall via a hinge portion so as to be displaceable in an axial direction along the central axis of the container body; and a peripheral wall bulge portion which is connected to the bottom wall push-up portion, forms a portion of the peripheral wall, and bulges inward in the radial direction;
the bottom wall push-up portion is disposed between two parallel slits formed in the bottom wall, extends in a radial direction intersecting the central axis when viewed in the axial direction, and is capable of being pushed up above a main bottom wall portion which is another part of the bottom wall;
A compact container characterized in that the peripheral wall bulge portion is a part of the peripheral wall disposed between the two parallel slits extending to the peripheral wall, and extends in the axial direction as a band having a constant left-right dimension, and is elastically deformed into an approximately L-shape when viewed from the left-right direction so as to bulge radially inward . 2. The compact case according to claim 1 , wherein the engaging portion has an engaging protrusion that engages with an upper opening edge of the inner plate from above.

Images