Push-pull cap a bottle and a bottle having the push-pull cap

Abstract

Disclosed is a push-pull cap for bottles, which is configured such that a lip contact part of the cap can be kept in a hygienic state and an upper cap unit or a protective cap unit of the push-pull cap can be easily and simply manipulated to be opened with one hand holding a bottle, and the upper cap unit can be maintained at a state of being coupled to the cap without being lost. The present invention also provides a bottle, which has the push-pull cap and is capable of being held with one hand. The push-pull cap for bottles includes: an upper cap unit and a lower cap unit, which are coupled to each other using an elastic extensible hinge connector a lifting means provided at a predetermined position on the lower cap unit corresponding to a position of a finger grip of the upper cap unit, so that the lifting means guides a lifting motion of the upper cap unit when a user rotates the upper cap unit leftwards or rightwards at a predetermined angle using a finger of one hand; and an elastic locking ring for providing an elastic restoring force to the upper cap unit, thus causing the upper cap unit to elastically restore an original state thereof when a pushing force is released from the upper cap unit after the upper cap unit is opened.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates, in general, to hygienic maintenance of lip contact parts of push-pull caps for bottles and, more particularly, to a push-pull cap for bottles, which is configured such that the lip contact part of the push-pull cap can be kept in a hygienic state and an upper cap unit or a protective cap unit of the push-pull cap can be easily and simply manipulated to be opened with one hand holding a bottle, and the upper cap unit can be maintained in a state of being coupled to the cap without being lost. The present invention also relates to a bottle, which has the push-pull cap and can be held with one hand.

2. Description of the Related Art

A conventional push-pull cap comprises a lower cap unit, which has an openable outlet for discharging contents and is tightened to the neck part of a bottle, and an upper cap unit, which covers the upper part of the lower cap unit and is opened to expose the lower cap unit every time it is required to discharge the contents through the lower cap unit. However, the upper cap unit of the conventional push-pull cap is easily contaminated with polluted air or germs because it is always exposed to the atmosphere. The upper cap unit also has a structural disadvantage in that it is easily lost. Furthermore, it is almost impossible to keep the push-pull cap in a hygienic state for a lengthy period of time when the cap is used with a portable bottle, which may be constantly carried by a user. To open the upper cap unit of the conventional push-pull cap, a user must manipulate the upper cap unit with both hands.

In recent years, a portable beverage bottle, which is provided with a push-pull cap configured to keep the contents thereof in a hygienic state for a lengthy period of time and to be easily manipulated, and which is carried by one hand, has been proposed and used. However, the portable beverage bottle is problematic in that it does not have any means for allowing a user to open the cap with one hand, so that, to open the push-pull cap in order to drink the contents, a user must use both hands, so that the user cannot open the cap while driving a car. Furthermore, a variety of cap structures for portable bottles, such as a structure for protecting an upper cap unit of a cap or a structure for protecting a lip contact part of the cap, have been proposed and used. However, in the related art, there is no hygienic or economic cap structure for portable bottles, which allows a user to easily open the upper cap unit with one hand.

Furthermore, some users cannot easily carry relatively larger sized bottles having a capacity of one liter or more with one hand, or cannot easily drink the contents while holding the bottle with one hand. Thus, the users must use both hands to hold conventional larger sized bottles having capacities of one liter or more while drinking the contents, and must use separately provided handles to carry the bottles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a push-pull cap for bottles, which has an economical structure and a good appearance, efficiently keeps contents in a hygienic state, and includes an improved coupling structure for coupling an upper cap unit to a lower cap unit, thus being easily and efficiently manufactured in large quantities.

To accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a push-pull cap for bottles, in which the upper cap unit is coupled to the lower cap unit using an elastic hinge connector without allowing the upper cap unit to become undesirably separated from the lower cap unit. Further, the upper cap unit and the lower cap unit of the cap are configured such that, when a finger grip of the upper cap unit is pushed leftwards, rightwards or upwards using a finger of one hand, a lifting means forms a path along which the upper cap unit is moved and lifted upwards relative to the lower cap unit, thus being opened.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bottle, which can be easily held with one hand and has a push-pull cap such that a user can easily open the push-pull cap using one finger of the hand with which the bottle body is held.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a bottle, which comprises a bottle body including a body part, a waist part and a chest part, and a push-pull cap tightened to the mouth of the bottle body. The chest part of the bottle body is provided at a height that is spaced apart from a neck part of the bottle body by a predetermined distance so that a user can easily open the cap using the thumb of one hand by pushing the finger grip in one direction with the thumb while holding the bottle body with the hand.

Furthermore, the body part is provided with a plurality of finger seats for seating therein the middle finger, the ring finger and the little finger of one hand, respectively, so that a user can stably hold the bottle body by using the thumb and index finger of one hand to hold the waist part, with the middle finger, the ring finger and the little finger holding the body part without slipping off of the body part.

In an aspect, the present invention provides a push-pull cap for bottles, comprising: an upper cap unit and a lower cap unit, which are coupled to each other using an elastic extensible hinge connector; a lifting means provided at a predetermined position on the lower cap unit corresponding to a position of a finger grip of the upper cap unit, so that the lifting means guides a lifting motion of the upper cap unit when a user rotates the upper cap unit leftwards or rightwards at a predetermined angle using a finger of one hand; and an elastic locking ring for providing an elastic restoring force to the upper cap unit, thus causing the upper cap unit to elastically restore an original state thereof when a pushing force is released from the upper cap unit after the upper cap unit is opened.

In an embodiment, the lifting means comprises two inclined lifting members, which are provided on a flat surface part of the lower cap unit supporting a lower surface of a rim of the upper cap unit such that the two lifting members symmetrically extend leftwards and rightwards at positions spaced apart from each other and are inclined upwards and outwards, and come into contact with the finger grip.

The upper cap unit and the lower cap unit may be provided with an arcuate locking part and an arcuate locking rib, respectively, to maintain a locking force, such that the upper cap unit and the lower cap unit have neither the arcuate locking part nor the arcuate locking rib at positions thereof corresponding to positions of the inclined lifting members, thus forming a path through which, during rotation of the upper cap unit relative to the lower cap unit, the upper cap unit can be removed from the lower cap unit.

In another embodiment, the lifting means comprises: two inclined vertical lifting members formed on a support of a lip contact part of the lower cap unit at a predetermined position at which an inner surface of a rim of the upper cap unit comes into contact with the support of the lip contact part; and a locking protrusion formed on the inner surface of the rim of the upper cap unit, wherein the inclined vertical lifting members include: a vertical guide hole to guide the locking protrusion of the upper cap unit to a state of vertical engagement with the lifting members during downward movement of the upper cap unit; and an inclined guide surface forming a path along which the upper cap unit is lifted from a lower end of the vertical guide hole leftwards or rightwards.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a bottle that can be held with one hand and having the push-pull cap, with the bottle comprising: a bottle body including a body part formed at a position below an intermediate part of the bottle body, and a waist part, a chest part and a neck part formed at a position above the intermediate part of the bottle body, wherein the chest part is bulged outwards such that the chest part can be held with an index finger, a middle finger and a ring finger of one hand, and the waist part is recessed inwards to a predetermined depth and has an angled shoulder so that a palm, an edge and a little finger of the hand are placed around the waist par, and the chest part has a predetermined size such that the chest part is held with three fingers, the chest part being spaced apart from the neck part by a predetermined distance such that a user can push the upper cap unit of the push-pull cap with a thumb of the hand. The chest part may be provided at a center of the bulged part thereof with at least one step to prevent the three fingers from slipping off of the chest part. The body part may be provided at a position adjacent to the waist part with a plurality of finger seats to seat the middle finger, the ring finger and the little finger of one hand thereon, respectively, so that the user can stably hold the body part with the fingers while preventing the fingers from slipping off of the body part and securing the center of gravity of the bottle at a desired position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the operation for opening an upper cap unit of a push-pull cap according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the opened upper cap unit of the push-pull cap according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view illustrating the upper cap unit and lower cap unit of the push-pull cap according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view illustrating the lower cap unit of the push-pull cap according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view illustrating the leftward/rightward rotating motion of the lower cap unit of the push-pull cap according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded front perspective view illustrating the push-pull cap according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an exploded side perspective view illustrating the rear view of the upper cap unit of the push-pull cap according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a push-pull cap according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an important part of the push-pull cap according to the other embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a plan view illustrating the assembled push-pull cap of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a plan view illustrating the operation of the push-pull cap of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating a large-sized bottle having a push-pull cap according to the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating the large-sized bottle having the push-pull cap according to the present invention, when it is held in a user's hand; and

FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating the operation for removing the push-pull cap from the bottle using one hand.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Herein below, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a push-pull cap according to the present invention when the cap is completely assembled. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the push-pull cap when an upper cap unit of the push-pull cap is open. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the opened upper cap unit. FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating a lower cap unit of the push-pull cap.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the push-pull cap of the present invention has an upper cap unit 100 and a lower cap unit 200 coupled thereto. The upper cap unit 100 has an appearance similar to a conventional cap, which covers a lip contact part 230, with an upper locking ring 120 formed on a side surface of the upper cap unit 100 at a predetermined position and a finger grip 110 formed on the side surface of the upper cap unit 100 at the opposite position. The lower cap unit 200 has an appearance similar to a lower cap of a conventional push-pull sport bottle. The lower cap unit 200 is formed to tighten to a mouth of a bottle body 10 through a screw-type engagement, and a lip contact part 230 is provided on the upper part of the lower cap unit 200 similar to the lower cap of the conventional sports bottle. The lip contact part 230 is supported by a support 240, and a through hole 245 is vertically formed through the support 240 so that contents held in a bottle body 10 can be discharged through the through hole 245 similar to the lower cap of the conventional sports bottle.

Unlike the conventional sports bottle, the lower cap unit 200 and upper cap unit 100 have improvements in the form of structures and devices allowing for a novel manner in which they are detachably coupled and uncoupled. The lower cap unit 200 also has a lower locking ring 220 on a sidewall thereof at a predetermined position. The support 240 for supporting the lip contact part 230 is provided below the lip contact part 230, and several arcuate locking ribs 250 are formed around the outer circumferential surface of the support 240 and are spaced apart from each other at predetermined intervals corresponding to an arcuate locking rib 210 for locking the finger grip 110. In the above embodiment, the arcuate locking rib 210 for locking the finger grip 110 and the other arcuate locking ribs 250 are formed along the same circle. However, for ease of description, the arcuate locking rib 210 for locking the finger grip 110 of the upper cap unit 100 is specifically called a “finger grip arcuate locking rib” herein below.

The lower cap unit 200 also has a flat surface part 270 concentrically formed below the support 240, and two inclined lifting members 260 used as a lifting means are formed on the flat surface part 270 such that the two inclined lifting members 260 are inclined upwards and outwards. Thus, when the finger grip 110 of the upper cap unit 100 is pushed upwards to the left or right with the thumb of one hand, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of arcuate locking parts 150 of the upper cap unit 100 moves along the finger grip arcuate locking rib 210, so that the upper cap unit 100 can be released from the lower cap unit 200. Furthermore, when the finger grip 110 of the upper cap unit 100 is pushed leftwards or rightwards with the thumb of the hand holding a bottle, the arcuate locking parts 150 of the upper cap unit 100 are released from the arcuate locking ribs 250 of the lower cap unit 200. Also, when the upper cap unit 100 is twisted leftwards or rightwards, a hinge connector 199, which is an elastic hinge structure coupling the upper locking ring 120 to the lower locking ring 220, is stretched. In this state, the lower surface of the finger grip 110 moves upwards along the upper surface of one lifting member 260, so that the upper cap unit 100 is slightly moved to one side. In addition, the arcuate locking parts 150 of the upper cap unit 100 pass through the gaps between the arcuate locking ribs 250 of the lower cap unit 200.

Described in detail, when the upper cap unit 110 is tightened to the lower cap unit 200, the arcuate locking parts 150 of the upper cap unit 100 engage with the arcuate locking ribs 250 of the lower cap unit 200, as shown in FIG. 4. However, to open the upper cap unit 100, the finger grip 110 of the upper cap unit 100 is pushed to one side with the thumb of one hand, so that the finger grip 110 is moved from the state indicated by the solid line to another state, indicated by the dotted line, as shown in FIG. 5. Thus, the upper cap unit 100 is rotated at a predetermined angle of rotation and moves upwards along the inclined upper surface of one of the lifting members 260. Furthermore, the arcuate locking parts 150 of the upper cap unit 100, which are circumferentially spaced apart from each other at predetermined intervals, are released from the arcuate locking ribs 250 of the lower cap unit 200, which are circumferentially spaced apart from each other at predetermined intervals in the same manner as that described for the arcuate locking parts 150 of the upper cap unit 100, so that the upper cap unit 100 can be lifted upwards so as to be removed from the lower cap unit 200. In FIG. 4, the figure shows a top plan view of the lower cap unit 200 with the upper cap unit 100 removed; however, the arcuate locking parts 150 of the upper cap unit 100 are shown in the placement as they would be when the upper cap unit 100 is engaged to the lower cap unit 200 as shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 5, although the upper cap unit 100 in the embodiment shown is translucent consistent with FIG. 1, the lip contact part 230 and support 240 are not shown for purposes of clarity in illustrating the movement of the upper cap unit 100.

The push-pull cap of the present invention is configured such that, although the arcuate locking parts 150 are in partial contact with the arcuate locking ribs 250 in the above state due to both elasticity of the hinge connector 199 and compression of the finger grip 110, the upper cap unit 100 can be reliably released from the lower cap unit 200 while overcoming the resistance of both the hinge connector 199 and the finger grip 110. In the present invention, the upper cap unit 100 can be efficiently removed from the lower cap unit 200 when the finger grip 110 of the upper cap unit 100 is pushed upwards or to one side using the thumb.

In the present invention, the upper cap unit 100 can be made of a transparent plastic material, for example, polypropylene, and has a structure for protecting the lip contact part 230.

The upper cap unit 100 is also configured such that it is openable with a finger of one hand. The arcuate locking parts 150 are formed on the inner surface of the lower part of the upper cap unit 100 such that the arcuate locking parts 150 are circumferentially spaced apart from each other at predetermined intervals. The upper locking ring 120 is provided on the upper cap unit 100 at a position opposite the finger grip 110 and is coupled to the lower locking ring 220 of the lower cap unit 200 using the hinge connector 199. The hinge connector 199 also functions as a coupling rib, which holds the upper cap unit 100 so that the upper cap unit 100 is prevented from being lost. A pressure part 116, preferably having a tubular shape, extends downwards from the center of the inner surface of the upper cap unit 100 so that the pressure unit 116 presses down the lip contact part 230 after a user pulls the lip contact part 230 outward to drink the contents of the bottle.

As shown in FIG. 1, the finger grip 110 has a semicircular shape and is slightly raised and curved upwards so that a right-handed or left-handed user can easily push the finger grip 110 in a desired direction with the thumb of one hand. FIG. 6 shows the lower surface 111 of the finger grip 110 in detail. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 6, the upper surface of the finger grip 110 is provided with one or more reinforcing ribs 125 such that the reinforcing ribs 125 form reinforcing bridges. Thus, the reinforcing ribs 125 strongly support the finger grip 110 relative to the upper cap unit 100. The reinforcing ribs 125 of the finger grip 110 also function as a structure causing the finger grip 110 of the upper cap unit 100 to reliably engage with the finger grip locking part 210 of the lower cap unit 200.

The finger grip 110 of the upper cap unit 100 having the above-mentioned structure provides a collateral function of informing a user whether the upper cap unit 100, which has a thin and transparent structure, is deformed or not.

Described in detail, the lower surface 111 of the finger grip 110 is inclined in directions opposite the inclination directions of the lifting members 260 of the lower cap unit 200, as shown in FIG. 6. The lower surface 111 of the finger unit 110 comes into contact with the lifting members 260, so that the upper cap unit 100 can be easily and reliably rotated and lifted upwards when the finger grip 110 is pushed using the thumb of one hand. When the thin and transparent upper cap unit 100 is rotated and lifted upwards, pressure is applied to the upper cap unit 100, whereby the upper cap unit 100 may become deformed. However, due to the reinforcing ribs 125, the present invention protects the upper cap unit 100 from such deformation.

The reinforcing ribs 125 further function as a reinforcing structure for preventing the upper cap unit 100, which is made of polypropylene, from cracking or breaking even if the upper cap unit 100 is repeatedly stressed by pressure applied thereto through the finger grip 110, or is thermally stressed due to temperature variation when a beverage bottle having the push-pull cap of the present invention is repeatedly put into and taken out of a refrigerator.

The finger grip arcuate locking rib 210 is formed on the support 240 of the lip contact part 230 at a position opposite the lower locking ring 220 such that the finger grip arcuate locking rib 210 protrudes outwards in a radial direction in the same manner as that of the other arcuate locking ribs 250. However, the finger grip arcuate locking rib 210 is preferably shorter than each of the other arcuate locking ribs 250. Due to the above-mentioned structure of the arcuate locking ribs 210 and 250, the lower surface 111 of the finger grip 110 can be easily moved along the lifting members 260, and the upper cap unit 100 can be easily separated from the lower cap unit 200.

The arcuate locking parts 150 of the upper cap unit 100 protrude from the lower part of the inner surface of the upper cap unit 100 along the same circle. When the upper cap unit 100 is tightened to the lower cap unit 200, the arcuate locking parts 150 of the upper cap unit 100 closely engage with the arcuate locking ribs 250 of the lower cap unit 200, which are circumferentially formed around the lower cap unit 100 such that the ribs 250 are spaced apart from each other at predetermined intervals. In the above state, the arcuate-locking parts 150 move around the support 240.

The hinge connector 199 is preferably made of an elastic material that has high elasticity, high rigidity, and high contractibility such as silicone. The hinge connector 199 is used as a coupling structure for coupling the upper locking ring 120 to the lower locking ring 220. The diameter of the hinge connector 199 is larger than the width of coupling mouths 121 and 221 formed in each of the upper and lower locking rings 120 and 220, so that the hinge connector 199 can be securely coupled to the upper and lower locking rings 120 and 220. Thus, when the upper cap unit 100 is separated from the lower cap unit 200, the upper cap unit 100 is opened so as to expose the lip contact part 230 to the atmosphere, as shown in FIG. 2. In the above state, the upper cap unit 100 is not completely removed from the lower cap unit 200.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, even if the upper cap unit 100 is pushed leftwards or rightwards, the hinge connector 199 elastically extends and becomes thinner, as shown in FIG. 7, so that its is not easily separated from the upper or lower locking ring 120 or 220.

When the hinge connector 199 is coupled to the upper locking ring 120 and the lower locking ring 220, the hinge connector 199 is elastically stretched to reduce the diameter thereof and is inserted into the coupling mouths 121 and 221 of the upper and lower locking rings 120 and 220, as shown in FIG. 7. After the hinge connector 199 has been completely inserted into the upper and lower locking rings 120 and 220, the hinge connector 199 elastically restores the original diameter thereof so that the coupled state of the hinge connector 199 relative to the locking rings 120 and 220 is maintained without allowing the connector 199 to become undesirably removed from the upper or lower locking ring 120 or 220. In the embodiment of the present invention, the hinge connector 199 is embodied as a ring. However, the hinge connector 199 of the present invention may have a variety of shapes and may be made of a variety of materials, such as silicone, elastic rubber, or PVC.

The lower cap unit 200 is tightened to the mouth of a bottle 10 through a screw-type engagement. As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 3, a through hole 245 is vertically formed through the support 240. The lip contact part 230 is produced separately from the remainder of the push-pull cap, and is assembled with the support 240 such that the lip contact part 230 is movable upwards and downwards relative to the support 240. Two lifting members 260 are formed on the flat surface part 270 at opposite sides of the finger grip arcuate locking rib 210 formed on the support 240. The arcuate locking ribs 250 are circumferentially formed around the upper part of the outer surface of the support 240 such that the ribs 250 are spaced apart from each other at predetermined circumferential intervals. Thus, the arcuate locking parts 150 of the upper cap unit 100 function as angled shoulders, which are forcibly inserted into the gaps between the arcuate locking ribs 250 of the lower cap unit 200 and engage with the ribs 250, so that the upper cap unit 100 cannot be easily removed from the lower cap unit 200. Further, the arcuate locking parts 150 of the upper cap unit 100 move slightly downwards relative to the support 240 of the lip contact part 230. The lower locking ring 220, which is provided at a predetermined position on the side surface of the lower cap unit 200, has the coupling mouth 221 through which the hinge connector 199 is inserted into the lower locking ring 220, so that the lower locking ring 220 is coupled to the upper locking ring 120.

The lifting members 260 come into contact with the inclined lower surface 111 of the finger grip 110. Thus, when the finger grip 110 is moved leftwards or rightwards, as shown in FIG. 5, the finger grip 110 is moved along the lifting members 260 until it becomes separated from the lifting members 260. In the above state, the arcuate locking parts 150 of the upper cap unit 100 are moved and rotated upwards along the gaps of the arcuate locking ribs 250 of the support 240, and pass upwards through the gaps S of the arcuate locking ribs 250, without interfering with the ribs 250. During the above operation, the hinge connector 199, which is provided at a position opposite the finger grip 110, is elastically stretched, as shown in FIG. 5, so that the upper cap unit 100 can elastically restore the original state thereof when a pushing force is released from the finger grip 110 after the upper cap unit 100 is removed from the lifting members 260 of the lower cap unit 200.

Another embodiment of the lifting means according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 8. The lifting means in this embodiment comprises vertical lifting members 265 formed on the support 240 of the lower cap unit 200, which comes into contact with a locking protrusion 115 formed on the lower part of the inner surface of the upper cap unit 100. The form and structure of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is identical to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 through FIG. 7 except that 1.) the two lifting members 260 and the finger grip arcuate locking rib 210 are no longer present and replaced with the vertical lifting members and 2.) the arcuate locking part 150 formed at the front of the upper cap unit 100 behind the finger grip 110 is no longer present and replaced with the locking protrusion 115. The inclined vertical lifting members 265 comprise a vertical guide hole 262, which guides the locking protrusion 115 into a state of vertical engagement with the lifting members 265 when the upper cap unit 100 is moved downwards to engage with the lower cap unit 200. The vertical lifting members 265 also include an inclined guide surface 263. The guide surface 263 forms a path along which the locking protrusion 115 is moved upwards from the lower end of the vertical guide hole 262 leftwards or rightwards. Thus, when the locking protrusion 115, which is formed on the lower part of the inner surface of the upper cap unit 100, is moved downwards along the vertical guide hole 262, the locking protrusion 115 engages with the lifting members 265. When the locking protrusion 115 is moved upwards, it disengages from the lifting members 265. When the finger grip 110 is pushed leftwards or rightwards while the locking protrusion 115 is removed from the lifting members 265, the locking protrusion 115 is moved upwards along the inclined guide surface 263, so that the upper cap unit 100 is separated from the lower cap unit 200. In the above state, the hinge connector 199 is elastically stretched, so that the upper cap unit 100 can easily and elastically restore the original state thereof after the upper cap unit 100 is opened. When the upper cap unit 100 is opened, the lip contact part 230 is exposed to the atmosphere, so that a user can drink the contents of the bottle. To close the upper cap unit 100, the opening process is executed in reverse order such that the locking protrusion 115 engages with the vertical guide hole 262.

As described above, the upper and lower cap units of the push-pull cap for bottles according to the present invention have an appearance and a structure similar to those of the upper and lower cap units of a conventional push-pull cap, but have improved functions, so that the push-pull cap for bottles can be efficiently manufactured in large quantities using injection molding techniques.

FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of a push-pull cap for bottles. As shown in the drawing, the lifting means provided between the upper cap unit 100 and the lower cap unit 200 comprises an inclined finger grip 110-1, which is provided on the upper cap unit 100 and has a finger grip pressure protrusion 110-2 at an end thereof An inclined pressure lever guide 266-3 is provided on the flat surface part 270 of the lower cap unit 200 at a position corresponding to the finger grip 110-1. The lifting means also includes a pressure lever guide rail 266-1, which is provided to move along the pressure lever guide 266-3. The guide rail 266-1 is integrally formed with a pressure lever 266 at an outside end thereof. The inside end of the pressure lever guide rail 266-1 is integrally provided with a finger grip pusher 266-2. Thus, when the pressure lever 266 is pushed with a finger of one hand, the finger grip pusher 266-2 pushes the finger grip pressure protrusion 110-2, thus causing the upper cap unit 100 to rotate at a predetermined angle. In the above state, a stopper 2664 is formed on the upper part of each of the opposite sidewalls of the inlet of the pressure lever guide 266-3 at a predetermined position and engages with a protruding hook 266-5 formed on the upper part of each sidewall of the pressure lever guide rail 266-1 at a predetermined position. Thus, once the pressure lever guide rail 266-1 is fitted into the pressure lever guide 266-3, the rail 266-1 is not easily removed from the guide 266-3 due to engagement of the hooks 266-5 with the stoppers 2664. The pressure lever guide rail 266-1 of the pressure lever 266 is fitted into the pressure lever guide 266-3 of the flat surface part 270, as shown in FIG. 9. In the above state, the finger grip pusher 266-2 is in an initial engagement state relative to the lever guide 266-3, as shown in FIG. 10. For ease of description, FIG. 10 shows that protruding hooks 266-5 passing over the stoppers 2664 of the pressure lever guide 266-3 and initially engaging with the stoppers 2664. When the pressure lever 266 in the above state is pushed in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 10, the finger grip pusher 110-2 pushes the finger grip pressure protrusion 110-2, as shown in FIG. 11. Thus, the finger grip pressure protrusion 110-2 is bent slightly inwards, so that the finger grip 110-1, integrated with the upper cap unit 100, rotates the upper cap unit 100 at a predetermined angle. The upper cap unit 100 is then removed from the lower cap unit 200 in the same manner as that described for the first embodiment, and further explanation is thus not deemed necessary. As such, the form and structure of the push-pull cap is identical as the first embodiment other than the addition of the additional features described in this embodiment and the modification of the structure of finger grip 110.

Herein below, a bottle 300, which is configured to be held with one hand and has a push-pull cap capable of being opened with a finger of the hand holding the bottle according to the present invention, will be described.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating the bottle 300 according to the present invention. As shown in the drawing, a bottle 300 comprises a bottle body including a body part 310 formed at a position below an intermediate part of the bottle body, and a waist part 320, a chest part 330 and a neck part 340 formed at a position above the intermediate part of the bottle body. The chest part 330 is bulged outwards such that the chest part 330 can be held with the index finger, the middle finger and the ring finger of one hand. The waist part 320 is recessed inwards to a predetermined depth such that the bottle 300 can be supported with the palm and the wrist of the hand. The chest part 330 has a predetermined size such that the chest part 330 is held with three fingers excluding the little finger. The chest part 330 is spaced apart from the neck part 340 by a predetermined short distance such that a user can push the finger grip 110 of the upper cap unit 100 of the push-pull cap with the thumb of the hand holding the bottle 300. When the chest part 330 is held with the three fingers, the little finger H5 is placed around the center of the recessed waist part 320, so that the bottle 300 provides a hand grip, which can be stably and comfortably held with the fingers of one hand. The waist part 320 also has an angled shoulder 321 so that the edge HO of the hand is placed around the angled shoulder 321. Thus, a user can stably hold the bottle 300, in which contents, such as a beverage, are stored, by holding both the waist part 320 and the chest part 330 of the bottle 300.

The chest part 330 is provided at the center of the bulged part thereof with at least one step 332 to prevent the three fingers from slipping off of the chest part 330.

The body part 310 is provided at a position adjacent to the waist part 320 with a plurality of finger seats 311, 312 and 313 to seat the middle finger H3, the ring finger H4, and the little finger H5 of one hand thereon, respectively, so that the user can stably hold the body part 310 with the fingers while preventing the fingers from slipping off of the body part 310 and securing the center of gravity of the bottle 300 at a desired position.

To allow a user to hold the waist part 320 and the chest part 330 of the bottle 300 with the fingers while opening the cap or inclining the bottle 300 to pour the contents, the thickness of the sidewall of each of the waist part 320 and the chest part 330 is preferably greater than the vertical sidewall of the body part 310. Preferably, the sidewall of each of the waist part 320 and the chest part 330 has a thickness 1.5 times to three times greater than the thickness of the sidewall of the body part 310. When the thickness of each of the waist part 320 and the chest part 330 is less than 1.5 times the body part 310, the chest part 330 and the waist part 320 may fail to maintain the desired grip structure. If the thickness of each of the waist part 320 and the chest part 330 exceeds three times the body part 310, the production cost of the bottle 300 is increased, so that the economic efficiency of the bottle 300 is reduced.

To drink the contents of the large-sized bottle 300, the push-pull cap is opened by pushing the finger grip 110 of the upper cap unit 100 with the thumb of the hand holding the bottle 300. To open the cap, the chest part 330 of the bottle 300 is held with the index finger H2, the middle finger H3 and the ring finger H4, as shown in FIG. 14, while the little finger H5 is placed around the waist part 320. Further, the edge H0 of the hand is stably supported around the angled shoulder 321 of the waist part 320. When the finger grip 110 of the upper cap unit 100 is pushed with the thumb H1 of the hand holding the bottle 300, the finger grip 110 is opened and allows the user to drink the contents. Thus, the bottle 300 according to the present invention is convenient to a user because the finger grip of the upper cap unit can be pushed with the thumb of one hand holding the bottle 300 to open the upper cap unit without using any additional handle. Particularly, the bottle of the present invention is efficiently used by a driver while driving a car. In the bottle according to the present invention, the sidewall of each of the chest part 330 and the waist part 320 is thicker than the sidewall of the body part 310, so that the chest part 330 and the waist part 320 can maintain a desired bottle shape, able to be gripped with the hand and to support the gripping force of the fingers without being deformed.

In the present invention, the finger seats 311, 312 and 313 are provided on the body part 310 below the waist part 320, so that, as shown in FIG. 13, the waist part 320 having a small diameter can be held with the thumb H1 and the index finger H2, while the body part 310 having a large diameter can be held with the middle finger H3, the ring finger H4 and the little finger H5 located on the respective fingers seats 311, 312 and 313. Thus, the bottle 300 can be stably held with a slight force of the fingers, so that a user can conveniently carry and easily tilt the bottle 300 with one hand so as to drink the contents. Furthermore, the vertical sidewall of the body part 310 having the finger seats 311, 312 and 313 is thinner than the sidewall of each of the chest part 330 and the waist part 320. Therefore, the compressive force for generating the internal pressure required to discharge the contents from the bottle 300 can be transmitted to the bottle body part 310 using only the fingers H3˜H5 of one hand, so that a user can easily and conveniently discharge and drink the contents.

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

As apparent from the above description, the push-pull cap for bottles according to the present invention provides advantages in that the cap is provided with an upper cap unit having an appearance and structure similar to those of the upper cap unit of a conventional push-pull cap. The cap is also configured such that the upper cap unit is easily opened by an operation of pushing a finger grip with a thumb due to elasticity of a hinge connector. The cap efficiently maintains a hygienic state of a lip contact part and prevents the upper cap unit from being lost.

Further, the present invention provides a bottle, which is held with one hand and has a push-pull cap. The bottle comprises a bottle body, which includes a body part defined in the bottle body below an intermediate part of the bottle body. A waist part having a reduced diameter, a chest part having an increased diameter, and a neck part having a mouth are defined in the bottle body above the intermediate part. The chest part has a size and a height such that the chest part allows a user to hold the bottle with one hand and to easily open the upper cap unit by pushing the finger grip of the upper cap unit with the thumb of the hand. Thus, the bottle according to the present invention can be opened with the thumb of the hand holding the bottle body, so that a driver can conveniently drink the contents of the bottle while driving a car. The body part of the bottle is provided with a plurality of finger seats at positions below the waist part, thus stably seating three fingers except for the thumb and the index finger in the respective finger seats. Therefore, a user can easily open the bottle of the present invention with one hand and can conveniently drink the contents.

Claims

1. A push-pull cap for bottles, said cap comprising:

an upper cap unit and a lower cap unit, which are removably coupled to each other using an elastic extensible hinge connector;

a finger grip formed on the upper cap unit;

a lifting means provided at a predetermined position on the lower cap unit corresponding to a position of the finger grip, so that the lifting means guides a lifting motion of the upper cap unit when a user pushes the upper cap in a predetermined manner.

2. The push-pull cap according to claim 1, wherein a locking ring is formed on each of the upper cap unit and lower cap unit, and said hinge connector is an elastic ring engaging both the locking rings of the upper cap unit and lower cap unit.

3. The push-pull cap according to claim 1, wherein the finger grip of the upper cap unit is provided with a reinforcing rib for preventing the finger grip from breaking.

4. The push-pull cap according to claim 1, wherein the lifting means comprises two inclined lifting members, which are provided on a flat surface part of the lower cap unit supporting a lower surface of a rim of the upper cap unit such that the two lifting members symmetrically extend leftwards and rightwards at positions spaced apart from each other and are inclined upwards and outwards relative to each other.

5. The push-pull cap according to claim 4, wherein the finger grip has a lower surface inclined at an angle equal to an angle of inclination of the inclined lifting members.

6. The push-pull cap according to claim 4, wherein the upper cap unit has a surface having a plurality of arcuate locking parts protruding therefrom spaced circumferentially a predetermined distance from each other in a circular pattern;

the lower cap unit has an outer surface having a plurality of arcuate locking ribs protruding therefrom spaced circumferentially a predetermined distance from each other in a circular pattern,

said arcuate locking parts and arcuate locking ribs spaced and positioned to maintain a locking force of the upper cap unit relative to the lower cap unit when the upper cap unit is placed on top of the lower cap unit with the finger grip between the lifting members; and,

said arcuate locking parts and arcuate locking ribs spaced and positioned to form a path through which during rotation of the upper cap unit relative to the lower cap unit, the upper cap unit can be removed from the lower cap unit.

7. The push-pull cap according to claim 1, wherein the lower cap unit further comprises a lip contact part and a support for the lip contact part;

the upper cap unit has an inner surface and a rim that comes into contact with the support;

said lifting means comprises:

two inclined vertical lifting members formed on the support of the lip contact part of the lower cap unit at a predetermined position at which the inner surface of the rim of the upper cap unit comes into contact with the support of the lip contact part; and

a locking protrusion formed on the inner surface of the rim of the upper cap unit,

wherein the inclined vertical lifting members include: a vertical guide hole to guide the locking protrusion of the upper cap unit to a state of vertical engagement with the vertical lifting members during downward movement of the upper cap unit; and an inclined guide surface forming a path along which the upper cap unit is lifted from a lower end of the vertical guide.

8. The push-pull cap according to claim 1, wherein the lifting means provided on the upper cap unit and the lower cap unit comprises:

an inclined finger grip provided on the upper cap unit;

a finger grip pressure protrusion formed on an end of the inclined finger grip; and

an inclined pressure lever guide provided on a flat surface part of the lower cap unit at a predetermined position corresponding to a position of the inclined finger grip;

a pressure lever guide rail provided in the pressure lever guide;

a pressure lever integrally formed at a first end of the pressure lever guide rail, and a finger grip pusher integrally formed at a second end of the pressure lever guide rail, so that, when the pressure lever is pushed, the finger grip pusher pushes the finger grip pressure protrusion, thus causing the upper cap unit to rotate relative to the lower cap unit in a predetermined direction at a predetermined angle.

9. The push-pull cap according to claim 8, wherein the upper cap unit has a surface having a plurality of arcuate locking parts protruding therefrom spaced circumferentially a predetermined distance from each other in a circular pattern;

the lower cap unit has an outer surface having a plurality of arcuate locking ribs protruding therefrom spaced circumferentially a predetermined distance from each other in a circular pattern,

said arcuate locking parts and arcuate locking ribs spaced and positioned to maintain a locking force of the upper cap unit relative to the lower cap unit when the upper cap unit is placed on top of the lower cap unit with the finger grip between the lifting members; and,

said arcuate locking parts and arcuate locking ribs spaced and positioned to form a path through which during rotation of the upper cap unit relative to the lower cap unit, the upper cap unit can be removed from the lower cap unit.

10. A bottle formed to be held by a hand having a thumb, an index finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger, an edge below the little finger, and palm, said bottle comprising:

an upper cap unit and a lower cap unit, which are removably coupled to each other using an elastic extensible hinge connector;

a finger grip formed on the upper cap unit;

a neck part removeably connected to the lower cap unit;

a chest part formed below the neck part;

a waist part formed below the chest part;

a body part formed below the waist part;

said waist part is recessed inwards to a predetermined depth;

wherein the chest part is bulged outwards such that the chest part can be held with the index finger, the middle finger and the ring finger of the hand;

wherein the waist part is recessed inwards to a predetermined depth and has an angled shoulder so that the palm, the edge below the little finger, and the little finger of the hand are placed around the waist part; and,

the chest part has a predetermined size and is spaced apart from the neck part by a predetermined distance such that when the chest part is held with the index finger, the middle finger and the ring finger, the finger grip can be pushed with the thumb.

11. The bottle according to claim 10, wherein the chest part has at least one step to prevent the three fingers from slipping off of the chest part.

12. The bottle according to claim 10, wherein the body part is provided at a position adjacent to the waist part with a plurality of finger seats to seat the middle finger, the ring finger and the little finger of the hand thereon, respectively, so that the hand can stably hold the body part with the fingers while preventing the fingers from slipping off of the body part and securing the center of gravity of the bottle at a desired position.

13. The large-sized bottle according to claim 10, wherein each of the waist part and the chest part has a thickness 1.5 times to three times greater than a thickness of a sidewall of the body part.

14. A bottle formed to be held by a hand having a thumb, an index finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger, an edge below the little finger, and palm, said bottle comprising:

a neck part;

a chest part formed below the neck part;

a waist part formed below the chest part;

a body part formed below the waist part;

said waist part is recessed inwards to a predetermined depth sufficient to accommodate the palm, the edge below the little finger, and the little finger of the hand;

an upper cap unit and a lower cap unit, which are removably coupled to each other using an elastic extensible hinge connector;

a finger grip formed on the upper cap unit;

a lifting means provided at a predetermined position on the lower cap unit corresponding to a position of the finger grip, so that the lifting means guides a lifting motion of the upper cap unit when a user pushes the upper cap unit leftwards or rightwards; and,

the chest part has a predetermined size and is spaced apart from the neck part by a predetermined distance such that when the chest part is held with the index finger, the middle finger and the ring finger, the finger grip can be pushed with the thumb.

15. The bottle according to claim 14, wherein a locking ring is formed on each of the upper cap unit and lower cap unit, and said hinge connector is an elastic ring engaging both the locking rings of the upper cap unit and lower cap unit.

16. The bottle according to claim 14, wherein the lifting means comprises two inclined lifting members, which are provided on a flat surface part of the lower cap unit supporting a lower surface of a rim of the upper cap unit such that the two lifting members symmetrically extend leftwards and rightwards at positions spaced apart from each other and are inclined upwards and outwards relative to each other.

17. The bottle according to claim 16, wherein each of the waist part and the chest part has a thickness 1.5 times to three times greater than a thickness of a sidewall of the body part.

18. The bottle according to claim 16, wherein the upper cap unit has a surface having a plurality of arcuate locking parts protruding therefrom spaced circumferentially a predetermined distance from each other in a circular pattern;

the lower cap unit has an outer surface having a plurality of arcuate locking ribs protruding therefrom spaced circumferentially a predetermined distance from each other in a circular pattern,

said arcuate locking parts and arcuate locking ribs spaced and positioned to maintain a locking force of the upper cap unit relative to the lower cap unit when the upper cap unit is placed on top of the lower cap unit with the finger grip between the lifting members; and,

said arcuate locking parts and arcuate locking ribs spaced and positioned to form a path through which during rotation of the upper cap unit relative to the lower cap unit, the upper cap unit can be removed from the lower cap unit.

19. The bottle according to claim 14, wherein the lower cap unit further comprises a lip contact part and a support for the lip contact part;

the upper cap unit has an inner surface and a rim that comes into contact with the support;

said lifting means comprises:

two inclined vertical lifting members formed on the support of the lip contact part of the lower cap unit at a predetermined position at which the inner surface of the rim of the upper cap unit comes into contact with the support of the lip contact part; and

a locking protrusion formed on the inner surface of the rim of the upper cap unit,

wherein the inclined vertical lifting members include: a vertical guide hole to guide the locking protrusion of the upper cap unit to a state of vertical engagement with the vertical lifting members during downward movement of the upper cap unit; and an inclined guide surface forming a path along which the upper cap unit is lifted from a lower end of the vertical guide.

20. The bottle according to claim 14, wherein the lifting means provided on the upper cap unit and the lower cap unit comprises:

an inclined finger grip provided on the upper cap unit, with a finger grip pressure protrusion formed on an end of the inclined finger grip; and

an inclined pressure lever guide provided on a flat surface part of the lower cap unit at a predetermined position corresponding to a position of the inclined finger grip;

a pressure lever guide rail provided in the pressure lever guide;

a pressure lever integrally formed at a first end of the pressure lever guide rail, and a finger grip pusher integrally formed at a second end of the pressure lever guide rail, so that, when the pressure lever is pushed, the finger grip pusher pushes the finger grip pressure protrusion, thus causing the upper cap unit to rotate relative to the lower cap unit in a predetermined direction at a predetermined angle.