Gas Releasing Cap for Aerosol Container

A gas releasing cap 750 comprises a cap body 501 composed of a top plate part 511 and a side wall 512 installed downwardly at the rim of the top plate part 511, where an opening is formed, and a pushing member 502 having a pushing projection 521 swingably connected to the top plate part 511 of the cap body 501, wherein the cap 750 is capable of releasing gas by swinging the pushing member downwardly so as to lock the pushing member 502 into the top plate part 511 and pushing the stem 35 with a pushing projection 502 when releasing gas.

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Description
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a gas releasing cap for an aerosol container, more specifically to a gas releasing cap which is capable of easily discharging the content by being simply attached to an aerosol container filled with the content, such as cosmetics, paints, insecticide, and propane gas or the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventionally, a cap described in Patent document 1 is known as a gas releasing cap for releasing the content by being attached to an aerosol container. The cap releases gas by bending a folding plate provided to a top plate part of the cap inwardly and attaching the cap to the aerosol container in this state and pushing down a push bottom at a pushing part of the folding plate at the time of gas releasing. At the time of general use without gas releasing (hereinafter merely referred to as “at the time of general use” in this specification), the cap is used as a cover cap to surround the push bottom.

However, the conventional gas releasing cap had such drawbacks that supporting means (a fixing plate) to support the folding plate bending inwardly has to be provided separately, resulting in an increase in production costs due to increased number of components. Further, the pushing part of the folding plate and the supporting means largely project inside the cap at the time of general use, so that there was an advantage of fairly restricting the possibility of a cap design due to the necessity of avoiding interference with the push button of the aerosol container and the like.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-54665A

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional gas releasing cap, it is an object of the present invention to provide a gas releasing cap having a very simple configuration without the need for separately providing special supporting means for supporting a pushing member to push a push button and a stem of an aerosol container or the like in the cap.

Further, in other technical problems of the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide a gas releasing cap without large projection of a pushing member in the cap and fears of interference with a push button and a stem of an aerosol container or the like.

Means for Solving the Problems

A gas releasing cap for attaching to an aerosol container for spraying the content through a stem by pushing the stem according to the present invention comprises: a cap body composed of a top plate part and a side wall installed downwardly at the rim of the top plate part, in which an opening is formed in the top plate part; and a pushing member having a pushing projection swingably connected to the top plate part of the cap body, wherein the cap is capable of releasing gas by swinging the pushing member within the cap so as to lock the pushing member into the top plate part and attaching the cap body to the aerosol container so as to push the stem with a pushing projection.

Further, the gas releasing cap for attaching to an aerosol container for spraying the content through a stem by pushing the stem according to the present invention comprises: a top plate part; a first side wall installed downwardly at the rim of the top plate part having an engaging projection engageable with a winding up part of the aerosol container at a lower end; and a second side wall installed upwardly at the rim of the top plate part having an engaging projection engageable with the winding up part at an upper end, wherein the distance from the top plate part to the upper end of the second side wall is set to be smaller than the distance from the top plate part to the lower end of the first side wall and the stem is pushed with the top plate part so as to release gas by engaging the second side wall with the winding up part of the aerosol container.

Furthermore, the gas releasing cap for attaching to an aerosol container for spraying the content through a stem by pushing the stem according to the present invention comprises: a top plate part; and a side wall installed downwardly at the rim of the top plate part, wherein the stem is pushed with the top plate part by forcibly inserting the side wall into the aerosol container.

Moreover, the gas releasing cap for attaching to an aerosol container for spraying the content through a stem by pushing the stem according to the present invention comprises: a top plate part; a first side wall installed downwardly at the rim of the top plate part having an engaging projection engageable with one winding up part of the aerosol container at a lower end; and a second side wall installed upwardly at the rim of the top plate part having an engaging projection engageable with another winding up part at an upper end, wherein the distance from the top plate part to the upper end of the second side wall is set to be smaller than the distance from the top plate part to the lower end of the first side wall and the stem is pushed with the top plate part so as to release gas by engaging the second side wall with the winding up part of the aerosol container.

In addition, the gas releasing cap for attaching to an aerosol container for spraying the content through a stem by pushing the stem according to the present invention comprises: a push button attachably/detachably attached to the stem having a spray nozzle; a top plate part provided above the push button; and a side wall provided above the top plate part having an engaging projection engageable with a winding up part of the aerosol container at an upper end, wherein the stem is pushed with the top plate part so as to release gas by removing the push button from the stem and engaging the side wall with the winding up part of the aerosol container.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, a gas releasing cap having a very simple configuration and inexpensive can be provided because there is no need for separately providing a special supporting means to support a pushing member for pushing a push button and a stem of an aerosol container or the like.

In addition, since the pushing member has no possibility of largely protruding, unlike conventional caps, there is no need for considering interference with the push button or the like, resulting in securing of a design freedom.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A gas releasing cap for an aerosol container according to the present invention will now be described in detail on the basis of the accompanying FIGS. 1 to 2 (b).

A gas releasing cap 750 of an t in the present invention comprises: a cap body 501; and a pushing member 502 swingably connected to the top plate part 511 of the cap body 501.

The cap body 501 comprises: the circular top plate part 511; and a cylindrical side wall 512 installed downwardly around the periphery of the top plate part 511. A medium part of the top plate part 511 is recessed in the shape of a rectangular solid and a round opening 513 is provided at the bottom of a recess 514 of the top plate part 511 in an open condition. Further, an engaging projection 517 is provided to the inner surface of a lower end of the side wall 512 in all circumferences. The engaging projection 517 is attachably/detachably engaged with respective outside recessed parts of a winding up part 33 of an aerosol container 3 to attachably/detachably attach the gas releasing cap 750 to the aerosol container 3 so as to surround a stem 35 and a push bottom 37. The winding up part 33 connects a container body 31 of the aerosol container 3 to a top dome 32 in the status of airtight. Moreover, a through-hole 515 is provided in the medium part of the side wall 512.

On the other hand, a pushing member 502 comprises: a head 520 in the shape of a square plate; and a cylindrical pushing projection 521. As shown in FIG. 1, not only one end of the head 520 is swingably connected to the recess 514 of the above-mentioned top plate part 511 via a thin part 522 but also another end of the head 520 is separably connected to a breaking portion 523. The breaking portion 523 prevents the pushing member 502 from involuntarily swinging in the recess 514 at the time of general use. Additionally, a locking projection 516 is provided to the opposite side of the above-mentioned thin part 522 on the inner wall surface of the recess 514 to lock another end of the head 520 of the pushing mer 502.

As shown in FIG. 1, the gas releasing cap 750 is located in the recess 514 in the situation in which the pushing projection 521 is raised upward at the time of general use. In this situation, the gas releasing cap 750 is attached to or removed from the aerosol container 3 appropriately to be used in general use.

As shown in FIG. 2 (a), when releasing gas, the pushing mer 502 is allowed to swing toward the inside of the cap by breaking the breaking portion 523 with the gas releasing cap 750 attached to the aerosol container 3 to abut the head 520 with the bottom of the recess 514 and in addition, another end of the head 520 is allowed to lock the locking projection 516. By doing this, the pushing projection 521 protrudes to the inside of the cap through the opening 513 and the push button 37 and the stem 35 of the aerosol container 3 are maintained in the pushed state, so that the content of the aerosol container 3 is discharged into the cap body 501 through the push button 37 and the stem 35 and then discharged outside the through-hole 515.

Thus, according to the gas releasing cap 750, gas releasing work can be easily carried out simply by swinging the pushing member 502 toward the inside of the cap with the cap body 501 attached to the aerosol container 3. In general use, there is no possibility of the pushing member 502 protruding toward the inside the cap and unlike conventional caps, there is no need for considering interference with the push button 37 of the aerosol container 3 or the like.

While typical embodiments of the gas releasing cap according to the present invention have been described so far, the gas releasing cap according to the present invention can be embodied in other forms.

For example, the gas releasing cap may be configured like a gas releasing cap 770 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The gas releasing cap 770 comprises: a top plate part 711; a first side wall 712 installed downwardly at the rim of the top plate part 711 having an engaging projection 713 engageable with a winding up part of the aerosol container at a lower end; and a second side wall 714 installed upwardly at the rim of the top plate part 711 having engaging projections 715 engageable with the winding up part at lower ends. The distance from the top plate part 711 to the upper end of the second side wall 714 is set to be smaller than the distance from the top plate part 711 to the lower end of the first side wall 712. And the gas releasing cap 770 releases gas by pushing the stem with the top plate part, engaging the second side wall 714 with the winding up part of the aerosol container.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, in the gas releasing cap 770, the cylindrical first side wall 712 and the cylindrical second side wall 714 having the same shaft center as that of the first side wall 712 are concentrically connected to each other up and down and the top plate part 711 is provided in the medium place of the inner cylinder in a sloped condition. The distance S from the central part of the top plate part 711 to the upper end of the second side wall 714 is set in such a manner that the distance S is smaller than that of the distance T from the top plate part 711 to the lower end of the first side wall 712. And the engaging projection 713 is provided to the outer surface of the lower end of the first side wall 712 in all circumferences and the engaging projections 715 is provided to the outer surface of the upper end of the second side wall 714 in all circumferences. In addition, a through-hole 716 is provided in the medium place of the second side wall 714.

As shown in FIG. 3, the gas releasing cap 770 is attachably/detachably attached to the aerosol container 3 at the time of general use so as to surround the stem 35 by attachably/detachably engaging the engaging projection 713 of the first side wall 712 with the inside recessed part of the winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3. The winding up part 36 connects a valve unit 34 having the stem 35 to the top dome 32 in the state of airtight. For example, like an aerosol container for a portable stove, the gas releasing cap 770 is usable appropriately for an aerosol container without attaching a push button to the stem 35.

When gas is released, as shown in FIG. 4, the gas releasing cap 770 is reversed after being removed from the aerosol container 3 to fit the engaging projections 715 of the second side wall 714 into the inside recessed part of the winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3. By doing this, the stem 35 of the aerosol container 3 is pushed with the top plate part 711 to discharge the content of the aerosol container 3 into the gas releasing cap 770 through the stem 35 and then the content is discharged outside through the through-hole 716.

Thus the gas releasing cap 770 is easily capable of releasing gas by simply reversing the cap itself to be attached to the same winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3. Since its structure is very simple, very low-priced gas releasing caps can be placed on the market. Further, the engaging projection provided to the outer side end of the side wall enables to easily attach and remove the cap. Furthermore, there is no possibility of the top plate part 711 blocking spray holes of the stem 35 when pushing the stem 35 because the top plate part 711 is provided in a sloped state.

Alternatively, in the gas releasing cap 770, while the first side wall 712 and the second side wall 714 are provided directly at the periphery of the top plate part 711, the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, like a gas releasing cap 775 shown in FIGS. 5 (a) to 8, an inner wall 757 may be provided directly at the periphery of a top plate part 751 and a second side wall 754 and a first side wall 752 via the inner wall 757.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the substantially cylindrical inner wall 757 is arranged in a standing condition from the periphery of the sloped top plate part 751 in the shape of a substantially circular plate to the upward portion and an upper wall 758 is provided horizontally outward from an upper end of the inner wall 757. The substantially cylindrical-shaped second side wall 754 is provided downwardly from the margin of the upper wall 758 and then the first side wall 752 is provided downwardly from the second side wall 754. The second side wall 754 and the first side wall 752 are formed together in a vertical succession.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the gas releasing cap 775, the distance S1 from the central part of the top plate part 751 to the upper end of the second side wall 754 is set to be smaller than the distance T1 from the central part of the top plate part 751 to the lower end of the first side wall 752, so that an engaging projection 753 is provided to the outer surface of the lower end of the first side wall 752 in all circumferences and an engaging projection 755 is provided to the outer surface of the upper end of the second side wall 754. And as shown in FIGS. 5 (a), 5 (b) and 7, a through-groove 756 is formed in the upper portion of the gas releasing cap 775 over the inner wall 757, the upper wall 758, and the second side wall 754.

As shown in FIG. 7, the gas releasing cap 775 is attachably/detachably attached to the aerosol container 3 at the time of general use so as to surround the stem 35 by attachably/detachably engaging the engaging projection 753 of the first side wall 752 with the inside recessed part of the winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3.

When releasing gas, as shown in FIG. 8, the gas releasing cap 775 is allowed to reverse after being removed from the aerosol container 3 to fit the engaging projection 755 of the second side wall 754 into the inside recessed part of the winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3. By doing this, the stem 35 of the aerosol container 3 is pushed with the top plate part 751 to discharge the content of the aerosol container 3 outside through the stem 35 and the through-groove 756.

Thus, as in the case of the afore-mentioned gas releasing cap 770, in the gas releasing cap 775, gas releasing can be easily carried out by simply reversing the cap itself to be attached to the same winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3. Further, extremely inexpensive gas releasing caps can be placed on the market because of its simple structure. Additionally, the engaging projections provided to the outer side end of the side wall enables to easily attach and remove the cap.

Furthermore, the content can be discharged sideward of the cap through the through-groove 756 provided in the second side wall 754, so that there is no fear of the content to be adhered to fingers or tops of fingers of the operator when engaging the gas releasing cap 775 with the aerosol container 3. The through-groove 756 or the through-hole 716 of the above-mentioned gas releasing cap 770 is preferably formed large so as to facilitate the side discharging part of the content to be visible. In addition, there is no possibility of the top plate part 751 blocking spray holes of the stem 35 when pushing the top plate part 751 with the stem 35.

Alternatively, the gas releasing cap may be configured like the gas releasing cap 776 shown in FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b). As shown in FIG. 10, a substantially cylindrical inner wall 767 is arranged in a standing manner upwardly from the periphery of a sloped top plate part 761 in the shape of a substantially circular plate and an upper wall 768 is horizontally provided outwardly from the upper end of the inner wall 767. A substantially cylindrical second side wall 764 is provided downwardly from the margin of the upper wall 768, and in addition, the substantially cylindrical first side wall 762 is provided downwardly from the second side wall 764. The second side wall 764 and the first side wall 762 are formed together in a vertical succession.

As shown in FIG. 11, in the gas releasing cap 776, as in the case of the above-mentioned gas releasing cap 770, space S2 from the central part of the top plate part 761 to the upper end of the second side wall 764 is set to be smaller than space T2 from the central part of the top plate part 761 to the lower end of the first side wall 762, so that an engaging projection 763 is provided to the outer surface of the lower end of the first side wall 762 in all circumferences and then an engaging projection 765 is provided to the outer surface of the upper end of the second side wall 764 in all circumferences. And as shown in FIG. 9 (a), 9 (b) and FIG. 11, a through-groove 766 is formed in the upper portion of the second side wall 764 in the outer side of the upper portion of the gas releasing cap 776.

As shown in FIG. 11, the gas releasing cap 776 is attachably/detachably attached to the aerosol container 3 at the time of general use so as to surround the stem 35 by attachably/detachably engaging the engaging projection 763 with the inside recessed part of the winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3.

As shown in FIG. 12, when releasing gas, the gas releasing cap 776 is allowed to reverse after being removed from the aerosol container 3 to fit the engaging projection 765 of the second side wall 764 into the inside recessed part of the winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3. By doing this, the stem 35 of the aerosol container 3 is pushed with the top plate part 761 to discharge the content of the aerosol container 3 outside through the stem 35 and the through-groove 766.

Thus, as in the case of the above-mentioned gas releasing cap 770, the gas releasing cap 776 can easily release gas by simply reversing the cap itself to be attached to the same winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3. Since its structure is extremely simple, very low-priced gas releasing caps can be placed on the market. Further, the engaging projections provided to the outer side end of the side wall enables to easily attach and remove the cap.

Further, the content can be discharged sideward of the cap through the through-groove 766 provided in the second side wall 764, so that there is no fear of the content to be adhered to fingers or tops of fingers of the operator when engaging the gas releasing cap 776 with the aerosol container 3. Furthermore, there is no possibility of the top plate part 761 blocking the spray holes of the stem 35 when pushing the stem 35 with the top plate part 761 because the top plate part 761 is sloped.

Alternatively, the gas releasing cap of the present invention may be configured like a gas releasing cap 780 shown in FIG. 13. The gas releasing cap 780 comprises a top plate part 811 and a side wall 812 installed downwardly at the rim of the afore-mentioned top plate part 811. The releasing cap may release gas by forcibly inserting the side wall 812 into the aerosol container to push the stem with the top plate part.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, the gas releasing cap 780 comprises the hemispheric shell-shaped top plate part 811 and the cylindrical side wall 812 installed downwardly around the periphery of the top plate part 811, wherein a through-hole 813 is provided. The inside diameter of the side wall 812 is set to be a little smaller than the outside diameter of a projection 30 of a valve unit 34 to support the stem 35.

When releasing gas, the side wall 812 is forcibly inserted into the outside of the projection 30 in the aerosol container 812 to be secured while keeping the pushing of the stem 35 at the inner side of the top plate part 811 with the stem 35 covered by the gas releasing cap 780. This enables to keep the stem 35 in the pushed state to discharge the content of the aerosol container 3 into the gas releasing cap 780 through the stem 35, resulting in further discharge outwardly through the through-hole 813.

Thus the gas releasing cap 780 can easily and surely release gas simply by forcibly inserting the cap into the aerosol container 3. Since its structure is extremely simple, very low-priced gas releasing caps can be placed on the market. While an example for forcibly inserting the gas releasing cap 780 into the outside the projection 30 in the valve unit 34 has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the gas releasing cap may be forcibly inserted into the inner side or the outer side of the winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3 to be secured. Alternatively, the gas releasing cap may be forcibly inserted into the inner side or the outer side of the winding up part 33 of the aerosol container 3 to be secured.

Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 14 to 16, the gas releasing cap may be configured like a gas releasing cap 850. The gas releasing cap 850 comprises: a top plate part 851; a first side wall 852 provided under the top plate part 851 having engaging projections 853 engageable with one winding up part of an aerosol container at lower ends; and a second side wall 854 provided above the top plate part 851 having engaging projections 855 engageable with another winding up part of the aerosol container at upper ends. The distance from the top plate part 851 to the upper end of the second side wall 854 is set to be smaller than the distance from the top plate part 851 to the lower end of the first side wall 852, so that gas can be released by pushing the push button and the stem, engaging the second side wall 854 with the winding up part of the aerosol container.

More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the substantially cylindrical second side wall 854 is installed in a standing condition upwardly from the periphery of the circular-shaped horizontal top plate part 851 and an upper wall 857 is horizontally provided outwardly from the upper end of the second side wall 854. And a substantially cylindrical outer wall 858 is provided downwardly from the margin of the upper wall 857 and further, the substantially cylindrical first side wall 852 is provided downwardly from the outer wall 858. The outer wall 858 and the first side wall 852 are formed together in a vertical succession.

The distance S3 from the central part of the top plate part 851 to the upper end of the second side wall 854 is set to be smaller than the distance T3 from the central part of the top plate part 851 to the lower end of the first side wall 852. And a plurality of engaging projections 853 are provided to the inner surface of the lower end of the first side wall 852 and a plurality of engaging projections 855 are provided to the inner surface of the upper part of the second side wall 854. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a through-groove 856 is formed in the upper part of the gas releasing cap 850 over the second side wall 854, the upper wall 857, and the outer wall 858.

As shown in FIG. 15, the gas releasing cap 850 is attachably/detachably attached to the aerosol container 3 at the time of general use so as to surround the stem 35 and the push button 37 by attachably/detachably engaging the engaging projections 853 with the outside recessed part of the outer winding up part 33 of the aerosol container 3.

As shown in FIG. 16, when releasing gas, the gas releasing cap 850 is allowed to reverse after being removed from the aerosol container 3 to fit the engaging projections 855 of the second side wall 854 into the outside recessed part of the inner winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3. By doing this, the push button 37 and the stern 35 of the aerosol container 3 are pushed with the top plate part 851 to release the content of the aerosol container 3 outside through the stem 35, the push button 37, and the through-groove 856.

Thus, as in the case of the gas releasing cap 850, the gas releasing cap 850 can easily release gas by simply reversing the cap itself to be attached to the winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3. Since its structure is extremely simple, very low-priced gas releasing caps can be placed on the market. Further, the content can be discharged sideward of the cap through the through-groove 856 provided to the second side wall 854, so that there is no fear of the content to be adhered to fingers or tops of fingers of the operator when engaging the gas releasing cap 850 with the aerosol container 3. The size of the through-groove 856 is preferably largely formed so as to facilitate the side discharging part of the content to be visible.

Alternatively, the gas releasing cap of the present invention may be configured like a gas releasing cap 860 shown in FIGS. 17 to 19. The gas releasing cap 860 comprises: a top plate part 861; a first side wall 862 provided under the top plate part 861 having engaging projections 863 engageable with one winding up part of an aerosol container at lower ends; and a second side wall 864 provided above the top plate part 861 having engaging projections 865 engageable with another winding up part of the aerosol container at upper ends. The distance from the top plate part 861 to the upper end of the second side wall 864 is set to be smaller than the distance from the top plate part 861 to the lower end of the first side wall 862, so that gas can be released by pushing the stem, engaging the second side wall 864 with the winding up part of the aerosol container.

More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, in the gas releasing cap 860, the substantially cylindrical inner side wall 867 is installed in a standing condition upwardly from the periphery of the sloped top plate part 861 in the shape of a substantially circular plate and a first upper wall 868 is horizontally provided outwardly from the upper end of the inner wall 867. And a substantially cylindrical second side wall 864 is provided downwardly from the margin of the first upper wall 868. Further, a second upper wall 869 is horizontally provided downwardly from the lower end of the second side wall 864 and a substantially cylindrical medium wall 870 is provided upwardly from the margin of the second side wall 869, a third upper wall 871 is horizontally provided downwardly from the margin of the medium wall 870, and a substantially cylindrical outer wall 872 is provided downwardly from the margin of the third upper wall 871. Then, a substantially cylindrical first side wall 862 is provided downwardly from the outer wall 872. The outer wall 872 and the first side wall 862 are formed together in a vertical succession. Thus an annular groove 873 capable of receiving the inner winding up part 36 inside the aerosol container 3 is formed in the upper portion of the gas releasing cap 860 by the second side wall 864, the second upper wall 869, and the medium wall 870.

The distance S4 in an up and down direction from the central part of the top plate part 861 to the upper end of the second side wall 864 is set to be smaller than the distance T4 from the central part of the top plate part 861 to the lower end of the first side wall 862. And a plurality of engaging projections 863 are provided to the inner surface of the lower end of the first side wall 862 and a plurality of engaging projections 865 are provided to the outer surface of the upper end of the second side wall 864. As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, a through-groove 866 is formed in the upper part of the gas releasing cap 860 over the upper wall 867, the first upper wall 868, the second side wall 864, the second upper wall 869, the medium wall 870, the third upper wall 871, and the outer wall 872 so as to cut the annular groove 873.

As shown in FIG. 18, the gas releasing cap 860 is attachably/detachably attached to the aerosol container 3 at the time of general use so as to surround the stem 35 and the push button 37 by attachably/detachably engaging the engaging projections 863 with the outside recessed part of the outer winding up part 33 of the aerosol container 3.

As shown in FIG. 19, when releasing gas, the gas releasing cap 860 is allowed to reverse after being removed from the aerosol container 3 to fit the engaging projections 865 of the second side wall 864 into the inside recessed part of the inner winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3. By doing this, the stem 35 of the aerosol container 3 is pushed with the top plate part 861 to release the content of the aerosol container 3 outside through the stem 35 and the through-groove 866.

Thus, as in the case of the above-mentioned gas releasing cap 860, the gas releasing cap 860 can easily release gas by simply reversing the cap itself and being attached to the winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3. Since its structure is extremely simple, very low-priced gas releasing caps can be placed on the market. Further, the content can be discharged sideward of the cap through the through-groove 866, so that there is no fear of the content to be adhered to fingers or tops of fingers of the operator when engaging the gas releasing cap 860 with the aerosol container 3. The size of the through-groove 866 is preferably largely formed so as to facilitate the side discharging part of the content to be visible. In addition, there is no possibility of the top plate part 861 blocking the spray holes of the stem 35 when pushing the stem 35 with the top plate part 861 because the top plate part 861 is inclined.

Alternatively, the gas releasing cap of the present invention may be configured like a gas releasing cap 900 shown in FIGS. 20 to 22. The gas releasing cap 900 comprises: a push button part 950; a top plate part 960 provided above the push button part 950; and a side wall 970 provided above the top plate part 960.

As shown in FIG. 21, the push button part 950 comprises: an inserting hole 951 to which the stern 35 of the aerosol container 3 can be inserted; a spray nozzle 952 for spraying the content of the aerosol container 3; and a path 953 to connect the spray nozzle 952 and the inserting hole 951. The content is sprayed from the spray nozzle 952 through the stem 35, the inserting hole 951, and the path 953 by pushing down the push button 950 to push the stem 35 toward the aerosol container 3 side.

The top plate part 960 in the shape of a substantially circular plate and the upper portion of the above-mentioned push button 950 are formed together in a sloped condition. A receiving recessed part 961 capable of receiving the stem 35 is formed in the center of the upper surface of the top plate part 960 and a bottom 962 of the receiving recessed part 961 is sloped at the same angle as the upper sloped surface of the top plate part 960.

The side wall 970 is installed in a standing condition upwardly from the margin of the above-mentioned top plate part 960 and is substantially cylindrical-shaped. A plurality of engaging projections 971 are provided to the inner surface of the upper end of the side wall 970. As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, a through-groove 972 is formed in the lower portion of the sloped surface of the top plate part 960 so as to cut a part of the side wall 970.

As shown in FIG. 21, the gas releasing cap 900 is attached to the stem 35 of the aerosol container 3 in the push button part 950 at the time of general use. And the content is sprayed from the spray nozzle 952 by pushing down the entire gas releasing cap 900 with a finger or the like laid on the sloped surface of the top plate part 960 through the through-groove 972 of the side wall 970. There is no possibility of the sprayed content being adhered to the finger because the side wall 970 can surround the finger laid on the sloped surface of the top plate part 960 when spraying.

As shown in FIG. 22, when releasing gas, the gas releasing cap 900 is allowed to reverse after being removed from the aerosol container 3 to fit the engaging projections 971 of the side wall 970 into the outside recessed part of the inner winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3. By doing this, the stem 35 of the aerosol container 3 is pushed with the bottom surface 962 of the receiving recessed part 961 of the top plate part 960 to release the content of the aerosol container 3 outside through the stem 35, the receiving recessed part 961, and the through-groove 972.

Thus the gas releasing cap 900 can easily release gas by simply reversing the cap and being attached to the winding up part 36 of the aerosol container 3. Since the aerosol container 3 can be disposed of together with the push button part 950 because the push button part 950 and the gas releasing cap 900 are formed together. Moreover, the content can be discharged sideward of the cap through the through-groove 972 provided in the side wall 970, so that there is no fear of the content to be adhered to fingers or tops of fingers of the operator when engaging the reserved gas releasing cap 900 with the aerosol container 3. The size of the through-groove 972 is preferably largely formed so as to facilitate the side discharging part of the content to be visible. In addition, in general use of the gas releasing cap 900, it would became easier to lay fingers at the sloped surface by forming the through-groove 972 in a large way, resulting in improvement in usability. Since there is no possibility of the bottom surface 962 blocking the spray holes of the stem 35 when pushing the stem 35 with the bottom surface 962 because the bottom surface 962 of the receiving recessed part 961 in the top plate part 960 is sloped toward the through-groove 972.

It is to be understood that the present invention may be practiced in other embodiments in which various improvements, modifications, and variations are added on the basis of knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Further, any of the specific inventive aspects of the present invention may be replaced with other technical equivalents for embodiment of the present invention, as long as the effects and advantages intended by the invention can be insured. Alternatively, the integrally configured inventive aspects of the present invention may comprise a plurality of members and the inventive aspects that comprise a plurality of members may be practiced in a integrally configured manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a gas releasing cap at the time of general use according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) respectively illustrate the gas releasing cap. FIG. 2 (a) is a cross-sectional view when releasing gas and FIG. 2 (b) is a plan view when releasing gas.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a variation of the gas releasing cap according to the present invention at the time of general use.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the gas releasing cap when releasing gas.

FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b) respectively illustrate another variation of the gas releasing cap according to the present invention. FIG. 5 (a) is a plan view and FIG. 5 (b) is a front view.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on line A-A of FIG. 5 (a) in the gas releasing cap.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on line B-B of FIG. 5 (a) in the gas releasing cap.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the gas releasing cap when releasing gas.

FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b) respectively illustrate still another variation of the gas releasing cap according to the present invention. FIG. 9 (a) is a plan view and FIG. 9 (b) is a front view.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on line A-A of FIG. 9 (a) in the gas releasing cap.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken on line B-B of FIG. 9 (a) in the gas releasing cap.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the gas releasing cap when releasing gas.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a further variation of the gas releasing cap when releasing gas according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a still further variation of the gas releasing cap according to the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken on line A-A of FIG. 14 in the gas releasing cap and is an illustration view at the time of general use.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the gas releasing cap when releasing gas.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of another variation of the gas releasing cap according to the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view taken on line A-A of FIG. 17 in the gas releasing cap and an illustration view at the time of general use.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of the gas releasing cap when releasing gas.

FIG. 20 is still another variation of the gas releasing cap according to the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view taken on line A-A of FIG. 20 in the gas releasing cap and an illustration view at the time of general use.

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the gas releasing cap when releasing gas.

 DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SYMBOLS

    • 750, 770, 775, 776, 780, 850, 860, 900: Gas releasing cap
    • 501: Cap body
    • 511, 711, 751, 761, 811, 851, 861, 960: Top plate part
    • 512, 812, 970: Side wall
    • 712, 752, 762, 852, 862: First side wall
    • 714, 754, 764, 854, 864: Second side wall
    • 513: Opening
    • 517, 713, 715, 753, 755, 763, 765, 853, 855, 863, 865,
    • 971: Engaging projection
    • 502: Pushing r
    • 521: Pushing projection
    • 950: Push button part
    • 952: Spray nozzle
    • 3: Aerosol container
    • 33: Winding up part
    • 35: Stem
    • 36: Winding up part
    • 37: Push button

Claims

1. A gas releasing cap for attaching to an aerosol container for spraying the content through a stem by pushing the stem, comprising:

a cap body composed of a top plate part and a side wall installed downwardly at the rim of the top plate part, in which an opening is formed in the top plate part; and
a pushing member having a pushing projection swingably connected to the top plate part of the cap body,
wherein the cap is capable of releasing gas by swinging the pushing member within the cap so as to lock the pushing member into the top plate part and attaching the cap body to the aerosol container so as to push the stem with the pushing projection.

2. A gas releasing cap for attaching to an aerosol container for spraying the content through a stem by pushing the stem, comprising:

a top plate part;
a first side wall installed downwardly at the rim of the top plate part having an engaging projection engageable with a winding up part of the aerosol container at a lower end; and
a second side wall installed upwardly at the rim of the top plate part having an engaging projection engageable with the winding up part at an upper end,
wherein the distance from the top plate part to the upper end of the second side wall is set to be smaller than the distance from the top plate part to the lower end of the first side wall and the stem is pushed with the top plate part so as to release gas by engaging the second side wall with the winding up part of the aerosol container.

3. A gas releasing cap for attaching to an aerosol container for spraying the content through a stem by pushing the stem, comprising:

a top plate part; and
a side wall installed downwardly at the rim of the top plate part,
wherein the stem is pushed with the top plate part by forcibly inserting the side wall into the aerosol container.

4. A gas releasing cap for attaching to an aerosol container for spraying the content through a stem by pushing the stem, comprising:

a top plate part;
a first side wall installed downwardly at the rim of the top plate part having an engaging projection engageable with one winding up part of the aerosol container at a lower end; and
a second side wall installed upwardly at the rim of the top plate part having an engaging projection engageable with another winding up part at an upper end,
wherein the distance from the top plate part to the upper end of the second side wall is set to be smaller than the distance from the top plate part to the lower end of the first side wall and the stem is pushed with the top plate part so as to release gas by engaging the second side wall with the winding up part of the aerosol container.

5. A gas releasing cap for attaching to an aerosol container for spraying the content through a stem by pushing the stem, comprising:

a push button attachably/detachably attached to the stem having a spray nozzle;
a top plate part provided above the push button; and
a side wall provided above the top plate part having an engaging projection engageable with a winding up part of the aerosol container at an upper end,
wherein the stem is pushed with the top plate part so as to release gas by removing the push button from the stem and engaging the side wall with the winding up part of the aerosol container.
Patent History
Publication number: 20080308583
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 29, 2005
Publication Date: Dec 18, 2008
Inventor: Sigeru Matsuyama (Shiga)
Application Number: 11/658,619
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: With Means To Hold Valve Open (222/402.14)
International Classification: B65D 83/00 (20060101);