Container having screw-threaded captive cap

A packaging container having a container body and a lid unit which is undetachably mounted on the container body. The container body has a neck portion provided with an opening. An external thread cut in the outer periphery of the neck portion, and a lid mounting portion is provided below the external thread. The lid unit has a lid body and a fitting member. The lid body is provided with an internal thread engageable with the external thread of the container body, and has a function of hermetically sealing the opening of the container body. The fitting member is rotatably fitted around the lid mounting portion of the container body, but vertical movement of the fitting member is restricted within a predetermined range. The fitting member is held undetachable from the lid mounting portion by a collar of the container body. The lid body and the fitting member are connected to each other by a connecting member in such a manner that the lower surface of the lid body can rest on and separate from the upper surface of the fitting member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1.Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a packaging container and, more 
particularly, to a packaging container which is arranged such that the lid 
of the container does not separate from the container body when the 
container is opened. 
2. Description of the Background Art 
In pharmacies or other places where dispensing is performed, it is common 
to store a great variety of drugs for dispensing in the same drawer or on 
the same shelf. Generally, the indicator label of a drug is attached to 
the trunk portion of the drug packaging container. However, in a case 
where a great variety of drugs are stored together in the same drawer or 
on the same shelf as described above, it is often difficult to confirm the 
names, contents, etc. of the drugs as stored in this way, and it is 
necessary to take them out one by one in order to make confirmation. 
Accordingly, if the top of the lid of the container for each drug is 
provided with an indication for identification of the drug, it is possible 
to remarkably improve the efficiency of the work of delivering drugs to a 
dispensary and also the efficiency of the dispensing work, which always 
require rapid performance. Moreover, it is extremely important to provide 
such an identification indication on the top of the lid of each drug 
container from the viewpoint of preventing erroneous dispensing. In fact, 
there have heretofore been strong user demands that such an indication 
should be provided on the top of the lid of each drug container. 
However, many of packaging containers used for ordinary drugs have a 
structure in which the lid is fitted on the container body by thread 
engagement or the like; when the container is opened, the lid separates 
from the container body. Accordingly, when a plurality of drugs contained 
in such containers of the same opening diameter are used, there is a 
possibility that the lid of some container will be put on a wrong 
container after the drugs have been used. Accordingly, the risk of 
erroneous prescription accompanies the provision of an indication for drug 
identification on the top of the lid of a packaging container having the 
conventional structure, or the attachment of a drug name and content 
indicating label for the top indication to the conventional packaging 
container. 
Incidentally, there is a packaging container designed so that, even when 
the container is opened, the lid thereof does not separate from the 
container body, for example, a packaging container with a hinged cap 
having a hinge structure which is generally known as "three-point hinge 
structure", as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model 
Application Unexamined Publication (KOKAI) No. 6-20261 (Japanese Utility 
Model Application No. 4-47436). 
The above-described packaging container uses a hinged cap which is formed 
by joining together a cap body and a top lid by hinges. The cap body is 
secured to the top of the container body by using threads or the like, and 
a tubular portion of the top lid is fitted into an outlet opening provided 
in the top wall of the container body, thereby hermetically sealing the 
container. 
However, the container having the above-described structure suffers from 
the problem that it is difficult to ensure the hermeticity when the outlet 
opening is enlarged, because the tubular portion of the top lid is fitted 
into and removed from the outlet opening by rotating the top lid about the 
hinged portion. 
Accordingly, it is difficult to adopt the conventional container structure 
for drug packaging containers which are used to contain solid preparations 
such as powders, granules, tablets, capsules, etc. and required to have a 
large opening diameter in order to allow a desired amount of drug to be 
taken in and out of them, and which are demanded to ensure a high degree 
of hermeticity. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In view of the above-described circumstances, an object of the present 
invention is to provide a packaging container which is particularly 
suitable for use as a packaging container for a drug or the like and 
superior in hermeticity despite a large opening diameter, and which is 
designed so that the lid thereof does not separate from the container body 
when the container is opened. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a packaging container 
of the type described above which is further designed to be capable of 
being opened and closed by a one-touch simple operation using snap-action 
hinged joining in order to improve usability. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a packaging 
container of the type described above which is further designed so that, 
even when the lid body is raised to open the container, a portion of the 
lid which is secured to the container body is held in the fixed position, 
thereby making it convenient for the subsequent containing closing 
operation. 
The packaging container according to the present invention is arranged as 
follows: A container body is provided with a neck portion having an 
opening at the upper end thereof. The neck portion has an external thread 
cut in the upper portion of the outer periphery thereof, and a cylindrical 
lid mounting portion which is formed below the external thread. A lid unit 
for opening and closing the opening of the container body comprises a lid 
body for opening and closing the opening, and a fitting member which is 
connected to the lid body and undetachably fitted around the lid mounting 
portion of the container body. The lid body has a cylindrical side wall 
provided on the inner periphery thereof with an internal thread which is 
engageable with the external thread of the container body, and a top wall 
which closes the top of the side wall. The fitting member has a 
cylindrical portion which is rotatably and undetachably fitted around the 
lid mounting portion in such a manner that vertical movement of the 
fitting member relative to the lid mounting portion is restricted within a 
predetermined range. The lid body and the fitting member are connected by 
a connecting member in such a manner that the lower surface of the side 
wall of the lid body can rest on and separate from the upper surface of 
the fitting member. 
In one embodiment of the present invention, the connecting member is 
provided as a hinge which is provided near the outer peripheries of the 
lid body and fitting member. The hinge is formed from a foldable 
thin-walled portion which is provided in the joint of the lid body and the 
fitting member when these members are integrally molded from a plastic 
material. 
In another embodiment of the present invention, the lid body comprises an 
inner lid and an outer lid. The inner lid has a cylindrical side wall and 
a top wall which closes the upper end of the side wall. The outer lid 
fixedly receives the inner lid therein by using a rotation preventing 
device and a removal-preventing device. The fitting member is connected to 
the outer lid, and a spring member is provided between the outer lid and 
the fitting member. The spring member biases the lid body in a direction 
in which the lid body rests on the fitting member or in a direction in 
which the lid body separates from the fitting member when the lid body has 
passed a neutral point during pivoting relative to the fitting member. 
In still another embodiment of the present invention, the connecting member 
includes an extending member which extends between the lid body and the 
fitting member, whereby the lid body and the fitting member can lie 
separate from each other. 
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the container body and 
the cylindrical portion of the fitting member are provided with respective 
slide-preventing members which engage with each other when the lid body 
rotates relative to the container body as far as a position where the 
external thread and the internal thread disengage from each other, to 
prevent downward movement of the fitting member. 
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present 
invention will become more apparent from the following description of the 
preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying 
drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like elements.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference 
to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the scope of the 
present invention is not necessarily limited to the following embodiments. 
FIGS. 1a, 1b and 1c are side views of a packaging container 1 according to 
a first embodiment of the present invention, in which: FIG. 1a shows the 
packaging container 1 in a closed state; FIG. 1b shows the packaging 
container 1 in an openable state; and FIG. 1c shows the packaging 
container 1 in an open state. The packaging container 1 includes a 
container body 3, and a lid unit 5 which is mounted on the container body 
3 so as to open and close an outlet opening of the container body 3. FIG. 
1a shows the packaging container 1 in a state where the lid unit 5 is in a 
closing position relative to the container body 3. In this state, the 
packaging container 1 cannot be opened. If the lid unit 5 is rotated 
through a predetermined angle from the position shown in FIG. 1a, the 
packaging container 1 is brought into an openable state as shown in FIG. 
1b. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1c, a lid body 30 (described later) of the lid 
unit 5 can be raised from the container body 3 to unstop the packaging 
container 1. The packaging container 1 will be described below in detail. 
FIG. 2 is a side view of the container body 3. The container body 3 is made 
of a plastic material. The container body 3 has a neck portion 7 which is 
provided at the upper end thereof with an opening 9 which leads to the 
inside of the container 1. The upper portion of the neck portion 7 is 
formed with an external thread 11. A short collar 15 is provided below the 
external thread 11, and a cylindrical lid mounting portion 13 is formed 
below the collar 15. The diameter of the lid mounting portion 13 is 
slightly smaller than the diameter of the collar 15. The lid unit 5 
(described later) is undetachably mounted on the lid mounting portion 13. 
Although in this embodiment the external thread 11 is a quadruple thread, 
the external thread 11 is not necessarily limited to it. 
A first projection 19 having a side surface 21 projects downwardly from the 
lower surface 17 of the collar 15 along the lid mounting portion 13 or 
radially outward from the lid mounting portion 13. The first projection 19 
functions as a rotation preventing stop 19 which limits the rotation of a 
fitting member 53 of the lid unit 5 (described later). Further, a lower 
collar 29 is formed at the lower end of the lid mounting portion 13, and 
second projections 23 project upwardly from the collar 29 along the lid 
mounting portion 13 or radially outward from the lid mounting portion 13. 
As will be described later, the second projections 23 function as 
slide-preventing stops 23 in such a manner that, when the lid unit 5 
rotates through a predetermined angle relative to the container body 3 so 
as to undo the thread engagement between the lid unit 5 and the container 
body 3 while moving upwardly by a predetermined amount, the second 
projections 23 retain the fitting member 53 of the lid unit 5 to prevent 
the lid unit 5 from sliding downwardly, even when the lid body 30 is 
raised to open the container 1. As shown in FIG. 2, each slide-preventing 
stop 23 has an upper end surface 25 and a slant surface 27 which is 
contiguous to one side edge of the upper end surface 25. In this 
embodiment, the container body 3 has one rotation-preventing stop 19 and 
three slide-preventing stops 23 which are circumferentially spaced at 
equal intervals. The functions of the rotation-preventing stop 19 and 
slide-preventing stop 23 will be detailed later. 
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an inner lid 31 made of a plastic material as 
one member which constitutes the lid unit 5. The inner lid 31 has a 
cylindrical side wall 33, and a top wall 37 which closes the upper end of 
the side wall 33. The inner peripheral surface of the side wall 33 is 
provided with an internal thread 35 which is engageable with the external 
thread 11 of the container body 3. Accordingly, when the internal thread 
35 of the inner lid 31 is engaged with the external thread 11 of the 
container body 3, the container body 3 is completely hermetically sealed. 
The outer periphery of the side wall 33 of the inner lid 31 is formed with 
four narrow longitudinal grooves 39 which extend in the longitudinal 
direction of the side wall 33. The longitudinal grooves 39 are 
circumferentially spaced at equal intervals. The function of the 
longitudinal grooves 39 will be detailed later. An inner side wall 41 
extends downwardly from the inner surface of the top wall 37 in concentric 
relation to the side wall 33. The inner side wall 41 has a circumferential 
groove 43 formed in the outer periphery of the lower end portion thereof. 
The height of the inner side wall 41 is shorter than the height of the 
side wall 33. Further, four elongate tongues 45 extend downwardly from the 
inner surface of the top wall 37 so as to lie inside the inner side wall 
41. The tongues 45 are equally spaced in concentric relation to the side 
wall 33. Each tongue 45 has a configuration in which it is gently bent 
toward the center of the top wall 37 as the distance from the top wall 37 
increases toward the lower end of the tongue 45. The circumferential 
groove 43 and the tongues 45 will be detailed later. 
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an outer lid 55 for receiving the 
inner lid 31, which also constitutes the lid unit 5, and a fitting member 
53 which is undetachably fitted on the container body 3. In this 
embodiment, the outer lid 55 and the fitting member 53 are integrally 
formed from a plastic material. The fitting member 53 is fitted around the 
lid mounting portion 13 of the container body 3, thereby undetachably 
mounting the lid unit 5 on the container body 3. The outer lid 55 receives 
the above-described inner lid 31 therein as one unit to form the lid body 
30. The outer lid 55 and the fitting member 53 are joined together by 
hinges 57 so as to be pivotable relative to each other. More specifically, 
as shown in FIG. 4, the hinges 57 are provided at two positions in 
parallel to each other. Each hinge 57 has a structure in which short arms 
59 and 61 which extend from the fitting member 53 and the outer lid 55, 
respectively, are connected at their distal ends by a thin plastic film 
formed by integral molding process, so that the arms 59 and 61 are 
foldable at the thin-film portion. That is, the outer lid 55, or the lid 
body 30, is pivotable relative to the fitting member 53 about the hinges 
57. Further, the outer lid 55 has a cut portion 84 formed at a position 
between the two arms 61. The cut portion 84 extends from the lower end of 
the side wall 83 to the top wall 85 of the outer lid 55. Reference numeral 
63 denotes an approximately V-shaped spring member which is integrally 
molded with the outer lid 55 and the fitting member 53. The spring member 
63 is disposed by utilizing the cut portion 84. That is, one end of the 
spring member 63 is connected to the top wall side end of the cut portion 
84 by a thin plastic film 65 which functions as a hinge, and the other end 
of the spring member 63 is connected to that circumferential portion of 
the outer periphery of a cylindrical portion 67 constituting the fitting 
member 53 which faces the cut portion 84 by a thin plastic film (not 
shown) which functions as a hinge, so that the spring member 63 is 
foldable at the thin plastic film portions. The spring member 63 provides 
a snap action. That is, when the outer lid 55 is pivoted relative to the 
fitting member 53 between an open position as illustrated in FIG. 4 and a 
closed position where the outer lid 55 is placed to fit on or around the 
fitting member 53, the spring member 63 biases the outer lid 55 toward 
either the open position or the closed position when the outer lid 55 has 
passed a neutral point during the pivoting motion. The hinges 57 and the 
spring member 63 are also described in the aforementioned Japanese Utility 
Model Application Unexamined Publication (KOKAI) No. 6-20261; therefore, 
further description thereof is omitted. 
The fitting member 53 is a cylindrical member comprising a lower first 
tubular portion 67 and a second tubular portion 69 which is formed on the 
first tubular portion 67. The second tubular portion 69 is shorter in 
height and outer diameter than the first tubular portion 67 although the 
inner diameter of the second tubular portion 69 is the same as that of the 
first tubular portion 67. A thin-walled wall 73 with a predetermined 
length is formed on the upper surface 71 of the second tubular portion 69 
at a position diametrically opposite to the above-described hinges 57 in 
the shape of a circular arc extending along the second tubular portion 69. 
The outer peripheral surface of the wall 73 is formed with an elongated 
low projection with a predetermined length extending in the shape of a 
circular arc as an engagement projection 75 for locking the outer lid 55. 
The inner peripheral surface of the fitting member 53 is formed with 
circumferentially elongated projections at an approximately central 
position in the heightwise direction of the fitting member 53 as 
removal-preventing abutments 77 for preventing the fitting member 53 from 
coming off the neck portion 7 of the container body 3. In this embodiment, 
the fitting member 53 has three removal-rotation-preventing abutments 77 
which are circumferentially spaced at appropriate intervals (in this 
embodiment, the abutments 77 comprise three abutments 77a, 77b and 77c 
having different lengths; however, these are represented by reference 
numeral 77). The removal-preventing abutments 77 are provided to 
correspond to the collar 15 of the above-described container body 3. When 
the fitting member 53 fitted on the lid mounting portion 13 moves upwardly 
by a predetermined distance, the removal-preventing abutments 77 abut 
against the lower surface 17 of the collar 15 of the container body 3, 
thereby preventing the fitting member 53 from coming off the neck portion 
7 of the container body 3. It should, however, be noted that the 
configuration of the removal-preventing abutments 77 may be appropriately 
changed according to need. 
A projection 79, which functions as a rotation-preventing engagement 
portion, is formed at one end of one of the three removal-preventing 
abutments 77 in contiguity with the abutment 77 so as to correspond to the 
rotation-preventing stopper 19 of the container body 3. When the 
rotation-preventing engagement portion 79 abuts against the side surface 
21 of the rotation-preventing stopper 19, the fitting member 53, and hence 
the lid unit 5, cannot further rotate in the same direction. 
The inner peripheral surface of the fitting member 53 is further formed 
with projections or elongated projections which function as 
slide-preventing engagement portions 81 at a heightwise position lower 
than the removal-preventing abutments 77. The slide-preventing engagement 
portions 81 each extend circumferentially by a predetermined length in the 
same way as the removal-preventing abutments 77, although the engagement 
portions 81 are shorter than the abutments 77. The slide-preventing 
engagement portions 81 are provided to correspond to the slide-preventing 
stoppers 23. When the fitting member 53 is rotated around the lid mounting 
portion 13 as far as a position where the rotation-preventing projection 
79 abuts against the side surface 21 of the rotation-preventing stopper 19 
of the container body 3, the slide-preventing engagement portions 81 rest 
on the upper surfaces 25 of the slide preventing stoppers 23 to prevent 
downward movement of the fitting member 53 at this position in the 
rotational direction. 
The outer lid 55 has a cylindrical side wall 83 and a top wall 85 which 
substantially closes the upper end of the side wall 83. The side wall 83 
comprises a thick-walled, upper first tubular portion 87 and a thin-walled 
second tubular portion 89 which is equal in the outer diameter to but 
larger in the inner diameter than the first tubular portion 87. The inner 
diameter of the first tubular portion 87 is set to a dimension 
corresponding to the outer diameter of the inner lid 31, so that the first 
tubular portion 87 can receive the inner lid 31. The inner peripheral 
surface of the first tubular portion 87 is provided with longitudinally 
elongated projections 91 which are slightly raised at respective positions 
corresponding to the longitudinal grooves 39 of the inner lid 31. With the 
longitudinal grooves 39 fitted with the longitudinally elongated 
projections 91, the inner lid 31 is received in the first tubular portion 
87 in such a manner as to be prevented from rotating relative to the outer 
lid 55. A circumferentially elongated projection 93 which is slightly 
raised is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the first tubular 
portion 87 at a position close to the second tubular portion 89 as a 
removal preventing engagement portion for preventing the inner lid 31 from 
coming off the first tubular portion 87. The heightwise dimension from the 
inner surface of the top wall 85 to the removal-preventing engagement 
portion 93 is determined in conformity to the height of the inner lid 31. 
Accordingly, when the inner lid 31 is received in the first tubular 
portion 87, the lower end portion of the inner lid 31 is retained by the 
come-off preventing engagement portion 93. Thus, the inner lid 31 is held 
by the outer lid 55 as one unit, in such a manner as to be prevented from 
coming off the outer lid 55. In another embodiment, the outer surface of 
the top wall 37 of the inner lid 31 may be bonded to the inner surface of 
the top wall 85 of the outer lid 55 by using an adhesive. In the case of a 
container with a relatively large diameter, the inner lid 31 can be 
secured to the outer lid 55 even more reliably by using bonding in 
combination with the above-described mechanisms for preventing the inner 
lid 31 from coming off and from rotating relative to the outer lid 55. 
The inner peripheral surface of the thin-walled second tubular portion 89 
is formed with a circumferentially elongated, short, slightly raised 
projection in the shape of a circular arc at a position diametrically 
opposite to the hinges 57 as a projection 97 to be engaged. When the outer 
lid 55 is placed around the fitting member 53, the second tubular portion 
89 of the outer lid 55 fits over the outer periphery of the second tubular 
portion 69 of the fitting member 53, and at that time, the projection 97 
rides over the engagement projection 75, thereby locking the outer lid 55 
to the fitting member 53. 
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a center lid 101 which is fitted inside the 
inner lid 31. The center lid 101 has a tubular portion 102 including a 
large-diameter portion 103 and a small-diameter portion 105, a bottom wall 
107 which closes the bottom of the tubular portion 102, and a flange 109 
which extends radially outward from the upper end of the large-diameter 
portion 103. The inner peripheral surface of the large-diameter portion 
103 is formed with a circumferentially elongated projection 115. The 
center lid 101 is mounted on the inner lid 31 by fitting the elongated 
projection 115 into the circumferential groove 43 of the inner lid 31. A 
desiccating agent 120 or other appropriate substance is accommodated in a 
cavity 117 in the tubular portion 102 and held down by the tongues 45 of 
the inner lid 31. The bottom wall 107 is provided with a vent hole 111. A 
plurality of shallow grooves or recesses 113 having an appropriate planar 
configuration are formed in the inner surface of the bottom wall 107 so as 
to communicate with each other, thereby ensuring a maximal area of contact 
between the desiccating agent 120 and the air. 
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the lid unit 5 which is 
mounted on the container body 3 in such a manner that the internal thread 
35 of the inner lid 31 is engaged with the external thread 11 of the 
container body 3, thereby completely closing the container body 3. FIG. 6 
corresponds to FIG. 1a. It should be noted that, to initially mount the 
lid unit 5 onto the container body 3, the inner lid 31 is secured in the 
outer lid 55, and the outer lid 55 is placed to fit around the fitting 
member 53. That is, the lid unit 5 is brought into the closed position, 
and in this state, it is fitted onto the neck portion 7 of the container 
body 3. In order to facilitate the operation of fitting the lid unit 5, as 
shown in FIG. 6, the cylindrical portion of the fitting member 53 has been 
slit from the lower end thereof to a predetermined position, as indicated 
by reference numeral 70 in the figure, except the portion where the hinges 
57 are provided. Thus, the cylindrical portion of the fitting member 53 
has a double-wall structure. Alternatively, the cylindrical portion of the 
fitting member 53 may have a cut made in a circumferential portion 
thereof. It should be noted that it is necessary to conduct the fitting 
operation by taking into consideration the positional relationship in the 
rotational direction between the rotation-preventing stop 19 of the 
container body 3 and the rotation-preventing engagement portion 79 of the 
fitting member 53. After the removal-off preventing abutments 77 of the 
fitting member 53 have passed over the collar 15 of the container body 3 
and fitted into the lid mounting portion 13, the lid unit 5 is then 
rotated in the closing direction, causing the internal thread 35 of the 
inner lid 31 to be tightly engaged with the external thread 11 of the 
container body 3. In this way, the lid unit 5 is tightened, and the 
container 1 is hermetically sealed. 
FIG. 8a is an interior elevation of the lid mounting portion 13 of the 
container body 3 and the fitting member 53 fitted thereon in the 
above-described state, schematically showing the positional relationship 
between, on the one hand, the collar 15, the rotation-preventing stop 19 
and the slide-preventing stops 23 of the container body 3 and, on the 
other, the removal-off preventing abutments 77, the rotation preventing 
engagement portion 79 and the slide-preventing engagement portions 81 of 
the fitting member 53. As will be clear from the figure, the 
removal-preventing abutments 77 are not in contact with the collar 15, and 
the rotation-preventing engagement portion 79 is not in contact with the 
rotation-preventing stop 19. Further, the slide-preventing engagement 
portions 81 are not on the slide-preventing stop 23. 
It should be noted that, in the closed state, the flange 109 of the center 
lid 101 is compressed between the inner surface of the inner lid 31 and 
the end surface of the opening 9 of the container body 3 to enhance the 
hermeticity of the container 1. Further, the tongues 45 push downwardly 
the desiccating agent 120 accommodated in the center lid 101 and press it 
against the bottom wall 107 of the center lid 101. Therefore, even when 
the container 1 is tilted, the drug in the container 1 is prevented from 
entering the center lid 101 through the vent hole 111. 
If the lid unit 5 which is in the closed state is rotated in the direction 
for opening the container 1, the whole lid unit 5 rises as shown in FIG. 
7, causing the internal thread 35 of the inner lid 31 to disengage from 
the external thread 11 of the container body 3. It should be noted that in 
this embodiment the threads 11 and 35 are quadruple threads, as described 
above, and the thread engagement is undone by rotating the lid unit 5 
through about 90 degrees from the tightened position, and that FIG. 7 
shows a state where the lid unit 5 has been rotated slightly further in 
the opening direction after the disengagement of the threads 11 and 35. 
The state illustrated in FIG. 7 corresponds to that shown in FIG. 1b. FIG. 
8b is an interior elevation of the lid mounting portion 13 of the 
container body 3 and the fitting member 53 of the lid unit 5 at this time, 
schematically showing the positional relationship between, on the one 
hand, the collar 15, the rotation-preventing stop 19 and the slide 
preventing stop 23 of the container body 3 and, on the other, the removal 
preventing abutments 77, the rotation-preventing engagement portion 79 and 
the slide-preventing engagement portions 81 of the fitting member 53. As 
will be clear from the figure, one abutment 77 abuts on the left end 
surface 21 of the rotation preventing stop 19 to limit further rotation of 
the lid unit 5 in the opening direction. The slide-preventing engagement 
portions 81 rest on the slide-preventing stoppers 23, and thus the 
slide-preventing stops 23 bear the whole lid unit 5. It should be noted 
that, in this state, there is a slight gap between the removal-preventing 
abutments 77 and the collar 15. However, if the lid unit 5 is pulled 
upwardly in this state, the removal-preventing abutments 77 come in 
contact with the collar 15 to prevent the lid unit 5 from coming off the 
container body 3. Further, in this state, the left end surface 78 of one 
77b of the three removal-preventing abutments 77 lies in the immediate 
neighborhood of the right end surface 20 of the rotation-preventing stop 
19. Thus, the lid unit 5 is prevented from undesirably rotating in the 
closing direction. FIG. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view taken 
along the line 9--9 in FIG. 8b. As will be understood from FIGS. 8a, 8b 
and 9, when the lid unit 5 shifts from the position shown in FIG. 8a to 
the position shown in FIG. 8b, one 77b of the removal-preventing abutments 
77 rides over the rotation-preventing stopper 19 to reach the position 
shown in FIG. 8b. In order to make it easy for the abutment 77b to ride 
over the rotation-preventing stopper 19, the right end surface of the 
abutment 77b is formed as a slant surface 80. During the closing operation 
also, the abutment 77b rides over the rotation-preventing stopper 19 to 
reach the position shown in FIG. 8a. Therefore, in order to facilitate the 
movement of the abutment 77b, the left end surface of the abutment 77b is 
formed as a slant surface 78. It should be noted that the right end 
surface of the rotation-preventing stopper 19 is also formed as a slant 
surface 20. Although both the surfaces 20 and 78 are slanted, the abutment 
77b requires a force of certain magnitude to ride over the 
rotation-preventing stopper 19. Accordingly, the lid unit 5 is prevented 
from undesirably shifting from the position shown in FIG. 8b to the 
position shown in FIG. 8a, that is, rotating in the closing direction, as 
has been described above. 
If the lid unit 5 is in the state shown in FIG. 7, the lid body 30, that 
is, the combination of the outer and inner lids 55 and 31, can be raised 
to open the container 1, as shown in FIG. 1c, by disengaging the 
projection 97 from the engagement projection 75 of the fitting member 53. 
At this time, the snap action of the spring member 63 enables the opening 
operation to be effected by a one-touch simple operation and also allows 
the lid body 30 to be held in the open position; this is convenient in 
actual use. To close the container 1, the above-described procedure is 
reversed. It should be noted that, if the slide preventing stops 23 and 
the slide preventing engagement portions 81 are not provided, when the lid 
body 30 is raised to the open position, the fitting member 53, and hence 
the whole lid unit 5, would undesirably lower, making it difficult to 
return the lid body 30 to the closed position because of the interference 
between the lid body 30 and the end of the neck portion 7 of the container 
body 3. Accordingly, the provision of the slide-preventing stops 23 and 
the slide-preventing engagement portions 81 is extremely effective. 
It should be noted that in the above-described embodiment the container 
body 3 is provided with only one rotation-preventing stop 19, and the 
fitting member 53 is also provided with only one rotation-preventing 
engagement portion 79. Therefore, when the lid unit 5 is to be mounted on 
the container body 3, it is necessary to take into consideration the 
positional relationship between the rotation-preventing stop 19 and the 
rotation-preventing engagement portion 79. A certain type of container has 
a casing mounted on an outer portion thereof, e.g. the front face, to 
accommodate a description of the drug contained therein. In such a case, 
it is desirable from the viewpoint of the relationship to the 
accommodating casing that the lid unit 5, the top of which has been pasted 
with a label including an indication concerning the drug contained, should 
be mounted so that the front face thereof is placed in a specific position 
relative to the container body 3. Therefore, it is recommended to employ 
an arrangement such as that of the above-described embodiment. 
On the other hand, in a case where the above-described accommodating casing 
is attached to the bottom of the container body, the lid unit need not be 
mounted so that the front face thereof is placed in a specific position 
relative to the container body. In such a case, it is rather preferable 
not to set the lid unit in a specific position from the viewpoint of 
facilitating the operation of mounting the lid unit onto the container 
body. FIG. 10 shows a container body 151 according to a second embodiment 
which has such an arrangement. 
The container body 151 has four rotation-preventing stops 153 which are 
circumferentially spaced at equal intervals, and four slide-preventing 
stops 155 which are also circumferentially spaced at equal intervals. On 
the other hand, a lid unit (not shown) corresponding to the container body 
151 has four rotation-preventing engagement portions which are 
circumferentially spaced at equal intervals, and four slide preventing 
engagement portions which are also circumferentially spaced at equal 
intervals. The rotation preventing and slide-preventing engagement 
portions are similar to those described with respect to the first 
embodiment. The rotation-preventing stops 153 may be arranged in the same 
way as in the first embodiment, and the arrangements of the rotation and 
slide-preventing engagement portions of the lid unit will be readily 
understood from the description of the first embodiment; therefore, 
description thereof is omitted. 
FIG. 11 is an enlarged front view showing a slide-preventing stop 155 in 
detail, and FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the slide-preventing stop 155. 
As illustrated in these figures, the slide-preventing stop 155 has a flat 
portion 157 on which one slide-preventing engagement portion 171A of the 
lid unit rests when the lid unit is in the open position, and a slant 
portion 159 which is contiguous with the flat portion 157. The slant of 
the slant portion 159 approximately corresponds to the lead of the thread 
of the container body 151. Thus, when the lid unit is rotated, the 
slide-preventing engagement portions 171 of the lid unit move 
approximately along the respective slant surfaces 159 of the 
slide-preventing stops 155. 
As is clearly shown in FIG. 12, each slide-preventing stop 155 has a recess 
161 which is recessed in the radial direction of the container body at a 
position below the flat portion 157 and the slant portion 159. The recess 
161 extends from the outer end of the flat portion 157 to a part of the 
slant portion 159. When the lid unit is in the closed position, the recess 
161 receives at least a part of the slide-preventing engagement portion 
171B, which is adjacent to the slide-preventing engagement portion 171A, 
as shown in FIG. 11. With this arrangement, the rotational angle of the 
lid unit, that is, approximately 90 degrees, is ensured. 
Although in the above-described embodiment the container body 151 is 
provided with four rotation-preventing stoppers 153, and the lid unit is 
also provided with four rotation-preventing engagement portions 
corresponding to the rotation-preventing stops 153, it should be noted 
that either the number of rotation-preventing stops 153 or the number of 
rotation-preventing engagement portions may be one. Further, although the 
container body 151 is provided with four slide-preventing stoppers 155, 
and the lid unit is also provided with four slide-preventing engagement 
portions corresponding to the slide-preventing stops 155, the number of 
slide-preventing stops 155 and the number of slide-preventing engagement 
portions are not necessarily limited to four. 
It should be noted that various changes and modifications may be imparted 
to the described embodiments within the scope of the present invention. 
For example, the arrangement for limiting the rotation of the fitting 
member 53 of the lid unit 5 is not necessarily limited to the arrangement 
comprising the rotation preventing stop 19 and the rotation-preventing 
engagement portion 79. For example, either the rotation preventing stop 19 
or the rotation-preventing engagement portion 79 may be a recess. It is 
possible to adopt any arrangement that is capable of limiting the rotation 
of the fitting member 53 at a predetermined position. The same is true of 
the arrangement for preventing downward movement of the fitting member 53 
at the openable position, which comprises the slide-preventing stops 23 
and the slide-preventing engagement portions 81. Further, the arrangement 
for preventing the fitting member 53 from coming off is not necessarily 
limited to the arrangement according to the embodiment. Further, the outer 
lid 55 may have any arrangement whereby it can retain the inner lid 31 as 
one unit. That is, the outer lid 55 is not necessarily limited to a 
lid-shaped member, one end of which is substantially closed, as in the 
described embodiment. The outer lid 55 may comprise a pair of upper and 
lower rings and a plurality of ribs which connect the rings together. 
Although in the foregoing embodiment the spring member 63 is provided as 
described above, it should be noted that, if the spring member 63 is not 
used, the arrangement may be such that the outer lid 55 is omitted, and 
the inner lid 31 is connected directly to the fitting member 53 by using a 
device similar to the hinges 57. In this case, the inner lid 31 should 
preferably be provided with an engagement projection 97 as is provided on 
the outer lid 55 in the described embodiment. 
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be explained with 
reference to FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a partly-cutaway fragmentary sectional 
view of a packaging container 201 according to the third embodiment. 
The packaging container 201 comprises a container body 203 and a lid unit 
231. The container body 203 has an external thread 209 cut in the upper 
peripheral portion of a neck portion 207 thereof in the same way as in the 
case of the container body in the first embodiment. Further, a collar 211 
is formed below the external thread 209, and a lid mounting portion 213 is 
formed below the collar 211. The diameter of the lid mounting portion 213 
is smaller than that of the collar 211. A lower collar 215 is formed below 
the lid mounting portion 213. The third embodiment differs from the first 
and second embodiments in that neither rotation-preventing stops nor 
slide-preventing stoppers are formed on the container body 203. 
The lid unit 231 comprises a lid body 233 and a ring-shaped fitting member 
241 which is rotatably fitted around the lid mounting portion 213 of the 
container body 203. The lid body 233 has an internal thread 235 which is 
engageable with the external thread 209 of the container body 203. The lid 
body 233 and the fitting member 241 are integrally molded from a plastic 
material. That is, the lid body 233 and the fitting member 241 are 
integrally connected by a connecting portion 250 which is formed at a 
position near the respective outer peripheral portions of the lid body 233 
and the fitting member 241. A part of the connecting portion 250 is formed 
as a thin-walled foldable part to constitute a hinge 251. In this 
embodiment, the hinge 251 is provided at only one position. The inner 
periphery of the fitting member 241 is formed with a circumferential 
come-off preventing abutment 243. The abutment 243 is adapted to abut 
against the lower surface of the collar 211 of the container body 203, 
thereby preventing the fitting member 241 from coming off the container 
body 203, and thus preventing the whole lid unit 231 from separating from 
the container body 203. 
FIG. 13 shows the packaging container 201 which is completely closed with 
the lid unit 231. In this state, the lid unit 231 ensures a high degree of 
hermeticity by compressing a packing 202 between it and the upper end 
opening of the neck portion 207 of the container body 203. If the lid unit 
231 which is in the illustrated state is rotated in the opening direction, 
the thread engagement between the lid body 233 and the container body 203 
is undone. A projection 245 extends upwardly from the upper end surface of 
the fitting member 241 at a position opposite to the hinge 251. The 
projection 245 is fitted in a cut portion 237 formed in the lower end 
surface of the lid body 233. Accordingly, when the lid unit 231 is rotated 
in the opening direction, the fitting member 241 rises together with the 
lid body 233. It is convenient to form the projection 245 and the cut 
portion 237 in a reverse-tapered configuration. After the lid body 233 has 
disengaged from the container body 203, the projection 245 is disengaged 
from the cut portion 237, and the lid body 233 is pivoted in the 
counterclockwise direction as viewed in the figure by using the hinge 251, 
thereby opening the container 201. It should be noted that the dimension 
of the upper end portion of the neck portion 207 of the container body 203 
must be set so that the upper end portion of the neck portion 207 will not 
interfere with the lid body 233 when pivoted. 
Unlike the first and second embodiments, the third embodiment has no 
arrangement for preventing sliding. Therefore, if the user takes his/her 
hand off the lid body 233 after the lid has been opened, the fitting 
member 241, and hence the lid unit 231, is likely to move downwardly. It 
is, of course, possible to provide a slide-preventing structure and also 
an over-rotation-preventing structure in the same way as in the first and 
second embodiments. 
As will be clear from the foregoing description, the packaging container 
according to the present invention has a lid unit which is opened and 
closed by thread engagement with an external thread formed on the outside 
of an opening of the container body. The lid unit includes a lid body 
capable of hermetically sealing the opening of the container body, and a 
fitting member which is undetachably mounted on the container body. The 
lid body is provided with a thread which is engageable with the thread 
formed on the outside of the opening of the container body. Accordingly, 
the present invention provides an arrangement which enables completely 
hermetic sealing of a container even in the case of a container having a 
large diameter, which hermetic sealing has heretofore been strongly 
demanded with respect to packaging containers for drugs in particular, and 
in which arrangement the lid does not separate from the container body 
when the container is opened. Thus, it becomes possible to put a drug 
identification indication on the lid top without the risk of erroneous 
prescription, and hence possible to achieve a high efficiency of 
dispensing work. 
If the lid body and the fitting member are integrally molded from a plastic 
material, and a thin-walled portion is provided at the joint of the lid 
body and the fitting member to form a hinge whereby the lid body and the 
fitting member can tilt relative to each other, the production cost is 
reduced, and the lid unit becomes convenient for handling. 
In a case where a snap-action spring member is provided between the lid 
body and the fitting member, the opening operation can be effected by a 
one-touch simple operation. Thus, the ease of use is enhanced. 
If the lid body comprises an inner lid and an outer lid, and the outer lid 
is connected to the fitting member, and further a snap-action spring 
member is disposed in a cut portion formed in the outer lid, the spring 
member will not project outwardly from the lid unit when the container is 
in a stoppered state. Thus, the arrangement is convenient for storing the 
container in a drawer or the like. 
If the container is provided with a rotation-preventing device for 
preventing further rotation of the fitting member after the thread 
engagement has been undone by rotating the lid unit through a 
predetermined angle, no excess rotating operation will be performed. 
Therefore, the efficiency of the dispensing work is further improved. 
Particularly, if multiple threads are used, and the required rotation angle 
is set at a small angle, specifically an angle smaller than 360 degrees, 
more desirably approximately 90 degrees, it is possible to effect the 
opening operation in a short time while ensuring high hermeticity for the 
container. 
If the container is provided with a slide-preventing device for preventing 
downward movement of the fitting member after the thread engagement has 
been undone, even when the lid body is raised to open the container, the 
fitting member, and hence the lid unit, will not move downwardly; this is 
extremely convenient for the subsequent stoppering operation. Thus, the 
operating efficiency can be further improved. 
If a locking member for releasably locking together the lid body and the 
fitting member is provided at a position opposite to the connecting 
member, the unitariness of the lid body and the fitting member is 
conveniently ensured even more effectively when the lid body is rotated; 
this is convenient for handing. 
Although the present invention has been described through specific terms, 
it should be noted here that the described embodiments are not necessarily 
exclusive and that various changes and modifications may be imparted 
thereto without departing from the scope of the invention which is limited 
solely by the appended claims.