HERMETIC CONTAINER

Abstract

A hermetic container includes a container body, a cap unit, and a control unit. The cap unit is disposed to cover a mouth of the container body, and has an outer cap, a mid cap, and an inner cap having a sealing ring that is movable toward and away from the mid cap and that can be pushed by the mid cap to abut against the mouth when moving to the mid cap. The control unit includes a release button depressably inserted into the cap unit, a sealing button inserted into the cap unit around the release button, and a lever unit connected to the inner cap to interact with the sealing button. The sealing button is movable relative to the release button to switch between a sealing position and a non-sealing position.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a hermetic container, more particularly to a hermetic container which is easy to operate.

2. Description of the Related Art

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional hermetic container 1 includes a container body 11, and a sealing cap 12 having a sealing ring 121. In use, the sealing cap 12 is plugged and fitted into a mouth of the container body 11 so as to obtain a sealing effect for the container body 11 by abutting the sealing ring 121 of the sealing cap 12 against an inner surface of the container body 11.

However, it is required to apply a relatively large force to plug the sealing cap 12 into the mouth of the container body 11 and/or to remove the sealing cap 12 from the mouth of the container body 11. Therefore, it is inconvenient to use the conventional hermetic container 1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a hermetic container which is easy to operate.

Accordingly, the hermetic container of this invention includes a container body, a cap unit, and a control unit. The container body has a mouth. The cap unit is disposed to cover the mouth and has an outer cap, a mid cap stacked beneath the outer cap and extendable into the mouth, and an inner cap stacked beneath the mid cap and having a sealing ring that is movable toward and away from the mid cap and that can be pushed by the mid cap to abut against the mouth when moving to the mid cap. The control unit includes a release button depressably inserted into the cap unit, a sealing button inserted into the cap unit around the release button, and a lever unit connected to the inner cap to interact with the sealing button. The sealing button is movable relative to the release button to switch between a sealing position and a non-sealing position. When the sealing button is at the sealing position, the sealing button is substantially flush with the outer cap and presses the lever unit so that the inner cap together with the sealing ring is moved toward the mid cap. When the release button is pressed, the lever unit pushes the sealing button to protrude outwardly of the outer cap and to reach the non-sealing position so that the inner cap moves away from the mid cap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional hermetic container;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a hermetic container according to this invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment;

FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 are fragmentary sectional views illustrating the preferred embodiment in which a sealing button is at a sealing position;

FIGS. 7, 8, 9, and 10 are fragmentary sectional views illustrating how the sealing button is switched from the sealing position to a non-sealing position; and

FIGS. 11 and 12 are fragmentary sectional views illustrating a structural relationship between a lining plate and an inner cap bottom wall of an inner cap in the preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 9, the preferred embodiment of a hermetic container according to this invention includes a container body 2 having a mouth 21, a cap unit 4 disposed to cover the mouth 21 of the container body 2, and a control unit 6 for controlling the cap unit 4.

The cap unit 4 has an outer cap 41, a mid cap 42 stacked beneath the outer cap 41 and extendable into the mouth 21, and an inner cap 422 stacked beneath the mid cap 42 and having a sealing ring 43 that is movable toward and away from the mid cap 42 and that can be pushed by the mid cap 42 to abut against the mouth 21 when moving to the mid cap 42.

The outer cap 41 has an outer cap top wall 411, a middle hole 4110 extending through the outer cap top wall 411, and an annular receiving space 410 formed around the middle hole 4110. The outer cap 41 further has an outer tubular wall 414 that extends downwardly from the outer cap top wall 411 and that has a bottom end flange 4141 projecting transversely and inwardly, an inner tubular wall 413 that has an upper part 4131 extending upward and into the outer tubular wall 414, and a lower part 4132 extending downward and outward of the outer tubular wall 414, as best shown in FIG. 9. The inner tubular wall 413 is connected to and supported by the bottom end flange 4141 between the upper and lower parts 4131, 4132. The inner tubular wall 413 confines the middle hole 4110. The upper part 4131 of the inner tubular wall 413 and the outer tubular wall 414 confine the annular receiving space 410 therebetween.

The inner tubular wall 413 has two diametrically opposite axial apertures 415, and two stop pieces 416 each of which is formed on an edge of the inner tubular wall 413 bounding one of the axial apertures 415. The outer tubular wall 414 has two opposite first axial openings 417 which are aligned respectively with the axial apertures 415 and each of which extends from a top end of the outer tubular wall 414 to an end of the bottom end flange 4141, and two second axial openings 418 which are diametrically opposite and which extend from a top end of the outer tubular wall 414 to an end of the bottom end flange 4141 and spaced apart from the first axial openings 417.

The mid cap 42 has a mid cap bottom wall 420 opposite to the outer cap top wall 411, and a mid cap surrounding wall 421 that extends upward from the mid cap bottom wall 420. The mid cap surrounding wall 421 is stepped to form an upper enlarged wall portion 423 connected to the outer cap 41, and a lower narrow wall portion 424 connected between the mid cap bottom wall 420 and the upper enlarged wall portion 423.

The inner cap 422 has an inner cap bottom wall 426 extending below the mid cap bottom wall 420, an inner cap surrounding wall 426′ that extends upward from the inner cap bottom wall 426, two pivot seats 425 mounted to the inner cap 422 and extending through the mid cap bottom wall 420, and an inner-cap-biasing spring 632 disposed between and having top and bottom ends connected respectively to the mid cap and inner cap bottom walls 420, 426. The inner cap surrounding wall 426′ has a top portion extending around the lower narrow wall portion 424 and having the sealing ring 43 fixed thereto. Each of the pivot seats 425 is composed of a pair of posts 4251 mounted to the inner cap 422. The inner cap 422 further has a lining plate 427 disposed on the inner cap bottom wall 426 and having an outer periphery engaging threadedly an inner surface of the inner cap surrounding wall 426′, a plurality of annularly spaced apart retaining members 428 protruding upward from the inner cap bottom wall 426 and respectively having retention recesses 428′, and a plurality of retention elements 429 projecting downward from the lining plate 42. The pivot seats 425 are mounted to the lining plate 427.

The control unit 6 includes a release button 61 depressably inserted into the cap unit 4, a sealing button 62 inserted into the cap unit 4 around the release button 61, and a lever unit 63 connected to the inner cap 422 to interact with the sealing button 62. The sealing button 62 is movable relative to the release button 61 to switch between a sealing position and a non-sealing position, which will be further described hereinafter. The release button 61 is received in the middle hole 4110 of the outer cap 41, and the sealing button 61 is received in the annular receiving space 410 of the outer cap 41.

The sealing button 62 has an annular top wall 623 that is substantially flush with the outer cap top wall 411 when the sealing button 62 is at the sealing position (best shown in FIG. 4), two engaging arms 625 extending downward from the annular top wall 623, and a plurality of annularly spaced apart hooks 624 at a bottom end of the sealing button 62. The engaging arms 625 are engageable with the inner tubular wall 413 of the outer cap 41, and the hooks 624 are engageable with the outer tubular wall 414 of the outer cap 41. The engaging arms 625 engage the inner tubular wall 413 of the outer cap 41 when the sealing button 62 is at the sealing position.

The sealing button 62 further has an axial surrounding wall 621 extending downwardly from an outer periphery of the annular top wall 623 and received in the receiving space 410, and a plurality of annularly spaced apart axial wall segments 622 extending downwardly from an inner periphery of the annular top wall 623 and over an inner surface of the inner tubular wall 413 of the outer cap 41. The axial wall segments 622 define a plurality of limit grooves 627, 627′ therebetween. Two of the limit grooves 627 are aligned with the axial apertures 415 of the inner tubular wall 413. The four hooks 624 are disposed at a bottom edge of the axial surrounding wall 621.

The hooks 624 are movable within and along the first and second axial openings 417, 418, respectively. The engaging arms 625 are in alignment with two of the hooks 624 movable within the first axial openings 417 and respectively engageable with the stop pieces 416. The sealing button 62 further has two press arms 626 extending downwardly from the annular top wall 623 in alignment with the other two of the hooks 624 movable within the second axial openings 418.

Each of the engaging arms 625 has an engaging element 628 that engages a bottom end of one of the stop pieces 416 when the sealing button 62 is at the sealing position (best shown in FIG. 4) and that engages a top end of said one of the stop pieces 416 when the sealing button 62 is at the non-sealing position (best shown in FIG. 8). The engaging element 628 of each of the engaging arms 625 has an inclined guide face 620 releasably engageable with and slidable over the top end of one of the stop pieces 416 (best shown in FIG. 8). Each of the engaging arms 625 further has a pushed part 629 movable within and along one of the axial apertures 415 and projecting into the receiving space 410.

The release button 61 has a first button body 611 surrounded by the axial wall segments 622, a plurality of annularly spaced apart first tongues 612 projecting from an outer periphery of the first button body 611, a second button body 613 disposed beneath the first button body 611, a plurality of annularly spaced apart second tongues 614 projecting from an outer periphery of the second button body 613 and aligned respectively with the first tongues 612, and two diametrically opposite push blocks 615 disposed on the outer periphery of the second button body 613. The push blocks 615 are inserted slidably and respectively into two of the limit grooves 627 aligned with the axial apertures 415. The first and second tongues 612, 614 are inserted slidably and respectively into two other ones of the limit grooves 627′.

The control unit 6 further includes a release-button-biasing spring 64 disposed between the second button body 613 and the mid cap bottom wall 420 of the mid cap 42 to bias the release button 61 to move upward.

The lever unit 63 is mounted to the pivot seats 425 above the mid cap bottom wall 420. The lever unit 63 includes two levers 631 disposed above the mid cap bottom wall 420. Each of the levers 631 has a spindle portion 633 provided with two ends respectively pivoted to the corresponding posts 4251, a press member 634 connected transversely to the spindle portion 633 and having an abutment end 6341, and a lever arm portion 635 connected transversely to the spindle portion 633.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, when the sealing button 62 is at the sealing position, the sealing button 62 is substantially flush with the outer cap 41 and presses the lever unit 63 so that the inner cap 422 together with the sealing ring 43 is moved toward the mid cap 42.

Specifically, when the sealing button 62 is at the sealing position, the hooks 624 move away respectively from top ends of the first and second axial openings 417, 418, the engaging arms 625 extend out of the annular receiving space 410 through respective ones of the first axial openings 417 and engage bottom ends of respective ones of the stop pieces 416, and the press arms 626 extend out of the annular receiving space 410 through respective ones of the second axial openings 418 and press the lever unit 63.

Additionally, the lever arm portion 635 of each of the levers 631 of the lever unit 63 is pressed by the sealing button 62 so that the lever arm portion 635 is placed substantially in parallel to the mid cap bottom wall 420, and so that the press member 634 of each of the levers 631 of the lever unit 63 is turned to incline upward from a turning point where the abutment end 6341 abuts against the mid cap bottom wall 420, thereby lifting respective ones of the pivot seats 425 together with the inner cap bottom wall 426. Therefore, the inner cap 422 moves towards the mid cap 42 and the sealing ring 43 extends around and is pushed by the mid cap surrounding wall 421 to abut against the mouth 21.

Referring to FIGS. 7, 8, 9, and 10, when the release button 61 is pressed, the first and second button bodies 611, 613 are moved downward. The push blocks 615 respectively press the pushed parts 629 of the engaging arms 625 so that the engaging elements 628 disengage from bottom ends of the stop pieces 416, and the lever unit 63 pushes the press arms 626 upward so as to push the sealing button 62 to protrude outwardly of the outer cap 41. The sealing button 62 is moved to the non-sealing position so that the inner cap 422 moves away from the mid cap 42.

Additionally, the release button 61 pushes the engaging arms 625 to disengage from the outer cap 41 when the release button 61 is pressed. The hooks 624 engage the outer cap 41 after the sealing button 62 disengages from the outer cap 41, thereby placing the sealing button 62 at the non-sealing position.

Furthermore, when the release button 61 is pressed, the press member 634 of each of the levers 631 of the lever unit 63 turns downward and lies substantially in parallel to the mid cap bottom wall 420, and the lever arm portion 635 of each of the levers 631 of the lever unit 63 inclines upward and pushes the sealing button 62 upward to the non-sealing position. At the same time, the pivot seats 425 are moved downward together with the inner cap bottom wall 426 by the action of the inner cap-biasing spring 632 so that the lever unit 63 pushes the sealing button 62 upwards to the non-sealing position and so that the sealing ring 43 moves downward from the mid cap surrounding wall 421.

When the sealing button 62 is at the non-sealing position, the press arms 626 are pushed into the receiving space 410 by the lever unit 63. The hooks 624 engage the outer tubular wall 414 respectively at the top ends of the first and second axial openings 417, 418, and the engaging arms 625 move into the receiving space 410 and engage top ends of respective ones of the stop pieces 416.

The sealing button 62 can be switched from the non-sealing position to the sealing position by simply pressing the sealing button 62.

Referring to FIG. 11, when the outer periphery of the lining plate 427 is rotated to engage threadedly the inner cap surrounding wall 426′, the retention element 429 is moved rightward and slightly upward so that the retention element 429 is slid over a left part 4281 of the retaining member 428. As a result, the retention element 429 enters the retention recess 428′ and abuts against a right part 4282 of the retaining member 428, thereby providing a proper tightness between the lining plate 427 and the inner cap surrounding wall 426′, and preventing the lining plate 427 from being loosened relative to the inner cap surrounding wall 426′.

Referring to FIG. 12, when the lining plate 427 is rotated in an opposite direction so as to be detached from the inner cap surrounding wall 426′ for cleaning, the retention element 429 is moved leftward and slightly upward so that it is slid over the left part 4281 and is moved out of the retention recess 428′.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A hermetic container, comprising:

a container body having a mouth;

a cap unit disposed to cover said mouth and having an outer cap, a mid cap stacked beneath said outer cap and extendable into said mouth, and an inner cap stacked beneath said mid cap and having a sealing ring that is movable toward and away from said mid cap and that can be pushed by said mid cap to abut against said mouth when moving to said mid cap; and

a control unit including a release button depressably inserted into said cap unit, a sealing button inserted into said cap unit around said release button, and a lever unit connected to said inner cap to interact with said sealing button, said sealing button being movable relative to said release button to switch between a sealing position and a non-sealing position;

wherein, when said sealing button is at said sealing position, said sealing button is substantially flush with said outer cap and presses said lever unit so that said inner cap together with said sealing ring is moved toward said mid cap;

wherein, when said release button is pressed, said lever unit pushes said sealing button to protrude outwardly of said outer cap and to reach said non-sealing position so that said inner cap moves away from said mid cap;

wherein said outer cap has an outer cap top wall, a middle hole extending through said outer cap top wall to receive said release button, and an annular receiving space formed around said middle hole to receive said sealing button, said sealing button having an annular top wall that is substantially flush with said outer cap top wall when said sealing button is at said sealing position, two engaging arms extending downward from said annular top wall, and a plurality of annularly spaced apart hooks at a bottom end of said sealing button, said engaging arms engaging said outer cap when said sealing button is at said sealing position, said release button pushing said engaging arms to disengage from said outer cap when said release button is pressed, said hooks engaging said outer cap after said sealing button disengages from said outer cap, thereby placing said sealing button at said non-sealing position;

wherein said outer cap further has an outer tubular wall that extends downwardly from said outer cap top wall and that has a bottom end flange projecting transversely and inwardly, an inner tubular wall that has an upper part extending upward and into said outer tubular wall, and a lower part extending downward and outward of said outer tubular wall, said inner tubular wall being connected to and supported by said bottom end flange between said upper and lower parts, said inner tubular wall confining said middle hole, said upper part of said inner tubular wall and said outer tubular wall confining said annular receiving space therebetween, said engaging arms being engageable with said inner tubular wall, said hooks being engageable with said outer tubular wall;

wherein said inner tubular wall has two diametrically opposite axial apertures, and two stop pieces each of which is formed on an edge of said inner tubular wall bounding one of said axial apertures, said outer tubular wall having two opposite first axial openings which are aligned respectively with said axial apertures and each of which extend from a top end of said outer tubular wall to an end of said bottom end flange, and two second axial openings which are diametrically opposite and which extends from a top end of said outer tubular wall to an end of said bottom end flange and spaced apart from said first axial openings, said hooks being movable within and along said first and second axial openings, respectively, said engaging arms being in alignment with two of said hooks movable within said first axial openings and being respectively engageable with said stop pieces, said sealing button further having two press arms extending downwardly from said annular top wall in alignment with the other two of said hooks movable within said second axial openings, wherein, when said sealing button is at said sealing position, said hooks move away respectively from top ends of said first and second axial openings, said engaging arms extend out of said annular receiving space through respective ones of said first axial openings and engage bottom ends of respective ones of said stop pieces, and said press arms extend out of said annular receiving space through respective ones of said second axial openings and press said lever unit;

wherein, when said sealing button is at said non-sealing position, said press arms are pushed into said receiving space by said lever unit, said hooks engage said outer tubular wall respectively at said top ends of said first and second axial openings, and said engaging arms move into said receiving space and engage top ends of respective ones of said stop pieces; and

wherein each of said engaging arms has an engaging element that engages a bottom end of one of said stop pieces when said sealing button is at said sealing position and that engages a top end of said one of said stop pieces when said sealing button is at said non-sealing position.

2. The hermetic container of claim 1, wherein said engaging element of each of said engaging arms has an inclined guide face releasably engageable with and slidable over said top end of one of said stop pieces.

3. The hermetic container of claim 1, wherein said sealing button further has an axial surrounding wall extending downwardly from an outer periphery of said annular top wall and received in said receiving space, and a plurality of annularly spaced apart axial wall segments extending downwardly from an inner periphery of said annular top wall and over an inner surface of said inner tubular wall of said outer cap, said axial wall segments defining a plurality of limit grooves therebetween, two of said limit grooves being aligned with said axial apertures of said inner tubular wall, said hooks being disposed at a bottom edge of said axial surrounding wall.

4. The hermetic container of claim 3, wherein each of said engaging arms further has a pushed part movable within and along one of said axial apertures and projecting into said receiving space, said release button having a first button body surrounded by said axial wall segments, a plurality of annularly spaced apart first tongues projecting from an outer periphery of said first button body, a second button body disposed beneath said first button body, a plurality of annularly spaced apart second tongues projecting from an outer periphery of said second button body and aligned respectively with said first tongues, and two diametrically opposite push blocks disposed on said outer periphery of said second button body, said push blocks being inserted slidably and respectively into two of said limit grooves aligned with said axial apertures, said first and second tongues being inserted slidably and respectively into two other ones of said limit grooves, wherein, when said sealing button is at said sealing position and when said release button is pressed, said first and second button bodies move downward, said push blocks respectively press said pushed parts of said engaging arms so that said engaging elements disengage from bottom ends of said stop pieces and said lever unit pushes said press arms upward, thereby causing said sealing button to move to said non-sealing position.

5. The hermetic container of claim 4, wherein said control unit further includes a release-button-biasing spring disposed between said second button body and said mid cap to bias said release button to move upward.

6. The hermetic container of claim 1, wherein said mid cap has a mid cap bottom wall opposite to said outer cap top wall, and a mid cap surrounding wall that extends upward from said mid cap bottom wall, said inner cap having an inner cap bottom wall extending below said mid cap bottom wall, an inner cap surrounding wall that extends upward from said inner cap bottom wall, at least one pivot seat mounted to said inner cap and extending through said mid cap bottom wall, and an inner-cap-biasing spring disposed between and having top and bottom ends connected respectively to said mid cap and inner cap bottom walls, said sealing ring being fixed to said inner cap surrounding wall, said lever unit being mounted to said pivot seat above said mid cap bottom wall, wherein, when said sealing button is at said sealing position, said sealing button presses said lever unit so that said inner cap moves towards said mid cap and said sealing ring extends around and is pushed by said mid cap surrounding wall to abut against said mouth, and wherein, when said release button is pressed, said pivot seat is moved downward together with said inner cap bottom wall by the action of said inner cap-biasing spring so that said lever unit pushes said sealing button upwards to said non-sealing position and so that said sealing ring moves downward from said mid cap surrounding wall.

7. The hermetic container of claim 6, wherein said mid cap surrounding wall is stepped to form an upper enlarged wall portion connected to said outer cap, and a lower narrow wall portion connected between said mid cap bottom wall and said upper enlarged wall portion, said inner cap surrounding wall having a top portion extending around said lower narrow wall portion and having said sealing ring fixed thereto.

8. The hermetic container of claim 6, wherein said inner cap has two of said pivot seats each of which is composed of a pair of posts mounted to said inner cap, said lever unit including two levers disposed above said mid cap bottom wall, each of said levers having a spindle portion provided with two ends respectively pivoted to said posts, a press member connected transversely to said spindle portion and having an abutment end, and a lever arm portion connected transversely to said spindle portion, wherein, when said sealing button is at said sealing position, said lever arm portion is pressed by said sealing button so that said lever arm portion is placed substantially in parallel to said mid cap bottom wall, and so that said press member is turned to incline upward from a turning point where said abutment end abuts against said mid cap bottom wall, thereby lifting respective ones of said pivot seats together with said inner cap bottom wall, and wherein, when said release button is pressed, said press member turns downward and lies substantially in parallel to said mid cap bottom wall, and said lever arm portion inclines upward and pushes said sealing button upward to said non-sealing position.

9. The hermetic container of claim 4, wherein said inner cap further has a lining plate disposed on said inner cap bottom wall and having an outer periphery engaging threadedly an inner surface of said inner cap surrounding wall, a plurality of annularly spaced apart retaining members protruding upward from said inner cap bottom wall and respectively having retention recesses, and a plurality of retention elements projecting downward from said lining plate for engaging said retention recesses, said pivot seats being mounted to said lining plate.