Patent Publication Number: US-2017360176-A1

Title: Sealing structure of cream-type cosmetics container

Description:
TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In general, a cream-type cosmetics container storing high-viscosity cream is configured to prevent contents received in a cosmetics container from being exposed to air. This cream-type cosmetics container is disclosed in the registered patent no. 10-1453048. 
     The registered patent includes: a container body receiving contents, and having a volume thereof getting reduced according to use of contents; a pumping guide cap coupled to an upper portion of the container body, elastically deformed by user&#39;s pressurization, and discharging the contents received in the container body by pumping operation; and a contents absorption part coupled at an inner side of the container body as forming a space storing contents at a lower portion of the pumping guide cap, and absorbing a fixed amount of contents stored in the container body by an elastic deformation of the pumping guide cap, wherein the pumping guide cap is characterized to include a button part, made of an elastic material, which is disposed at one side of an upper end of the pumping guide cap and guides pumping operation by changing pressure of the space formed by the pumping guide cap and the contents absorption member by an elastic deformation in which a upper surface thereof moves to a downward direction and then is restored according to user&#39;s pressurization; and a discharge hole disposed at the other side of an upper end of the pumping guide cap and discharging contents by manipulation of the button part. 
     The registered patent is configured in a way that contents pass through a contents discharge hole during a pumping operation through the button part and are discharged onto an upper surface of the pumping guide cap, such that a pressing protrusion formed at an inner upper side of the finishing cap presses an upper end of the pumping guide cap and prevents the pumping guide cap from being separated from the container body in a normal state that the finishing cap is coupled to an upper portion of the container body. 
     However, since the pressing protrusion having a structure of simply pressing an upper end of the pumping guide cap does not have a perfect sealing function for blocking the air movement in case the inner pressure of the container body rises, there arises a problem of contents leaking through a content discharge hole. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure is provided to solve the above mentioned problem, and the present disclosure is to provide a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container having an elastic protrusion bent and brought into close contact with a mounting groove when a pressurizing part, provided at the inner upper side of a finishing cap, makes contact with the upper end surface of a pumping guide cap during a process of coupling the finishing cap to a container body, thereby performing an efficient sealing function as the volume of a space formed by the pumping guide cap and the finishing cap is reduced and pressure is getting increased and also preventing a first valve member from opening a contents discharge hole, thus preventing the leakage of contents even if the internal pressure of the container body increases. 
     To solve the above-described problems, a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container according to a first exemplary embodiment includes: a container body which forms a first space where contents are stored and has a volume thereof getting reduced according to usage of contents; a pumping guide cap which is coupled to an upper portion of the container body and forms a contents discharge hole at an upper end thereof for discharging contents stored in the container body by the pumping operation according to user&#39;s manipulation; and a finishing cap which encases the pumping guide cap and is coupled to an upper portion of the container body, and is provided with a pressurizing part which presses an upper end of the pumping guide cap at an inner upper side thereof, 
     characterized in that at an upper end of the pumping guide cap is formed a mounting groove where the pressurizing part is mounted, and at a lower portion of the pressurizing part is provided an elastic protrusion which is bent when mounted on the mounting groove, such that the elastic protrusion is bent when the elastic protrusion mounts on the mounting groove in a process of coupling the finishing cap to the container body and thereby preventing air from moving while the elastic protrusion is being bent and contacted to the mounting groove. 
     Furthermore, it is characterized in that a first valve member, opening/closing the contents discharge hole, is prevented from opening by the inner pressure of a second space arising as the second space formed by the pumping guide cap and the finishing cap becomes decreasing as much as the elastic protrusion is bent in a process of coupling the finishing cap to the container body. 
     Meanwhile, a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container according to a second exemplary embodiment includes: a container body which forms a first space where contents are stored and has a volume thereof getting reduced according to usage of contents; a pumping guide cap which is coupled to an upper portion of the container body and forms a contents discharge hole at an upper end thereof for discharging contents stored in the container body by the pumping operation according to user&#39;s manipulation; a finishing cap, which encases the pumping guide cap and is coupled to an upper portion of the container body, is provided with a receiving groove which receives an upper end of the pumping guide cap at a upper portion thereof and a pressurizing part which presses an upper end of the pumping guide cap at an lower portion thereof; and an over cap encasing the contents application member and hinge-coupled to the container body for being rotated upwards and downwards, 
     characterized in that at an upper end of the pumping guide cap is formed a mounting groove where the pressurizing part is mounted, and at a lower portion of the pressurizing part is provided an elastic protrusion which is bent when mounted on the mounting groove, such that the elastic protrusion is bent when the elastic protrusion is mounted on the mounting groove in a process of coupling the finishing cap to the pumping guide cap and thereby preventing air from moving while the elastic protrusion is being bent and contacted to the mounting groove. 
     Furthermore, it is characterized in that a first valve member, which opens/closes the contents discharge hole, in a process of coupling the finishing cap to the container body, is prevented from being opened by the inner pressure of a second space arising that is generated as the volume of the second space formed by the pumping guide cap and the finishing cap is getting decreased as much as the elastic protrusion is bent, such that contents are prevented from being discharged through the contents discharge hole. 
     As described in the above, a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container is configured in a way that an elastic protrusion is bent and brought into close contact with a mounting groove when a pressurizing part provided at an inner upper side of the finishing cap meets an upper end surface of the pumping guide cap in a process of coupling the finishing cap to a container body, such that an efficient sealing function is achieved as the volume of a space formed by the pumping guide cap member and the finishing cap is decreasing and the pressure is rising. In addition, since a first valve member can stop the contents discharge hole from opening, it is also possible to prevent the leakage of contents even if the internal pressure of the container body increases 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container according to a first exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is an assembled cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container according to a first exemplary embodiment. 
         FIGS. 3( a ) and 3( b )  are views illustrating an operational state of a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container according to a first exemplary embodiment. 
         FIGS. 4  is an assembled cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container according to a second exemplary embodiment. 
         FIGS. 5( a ) and 5( b )  are views illustrating an operational state of a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container according to a second exemplary embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals provided in the drawings indicate the same members. 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container according to a first exemplary embodiment.  FIG. 2  is an assembled cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container according to a first exemplary embodiment.  FIGS. 3( a ) and 3( b )  are views illustrating an operational state of a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container according to a first exemplary embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 3 ( a ) and  3 ( b ), a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container according to a first exemplary embodiment includes a container body  100 , a pumping guide cap  200 , and a finishing cap  400 . 
     The container body  100 , receiving contents, is provided, at an interior thereof, with a piston  110  which ascends according to contents use. 
     At a lower end of the container body  100  is provided an air inflow hole  120  such that air can flow into the inside of the container body  100  when the piston  110  ascends with pumping operation by controlling a pumping guide cap  200  to be described later. 
     The pumping guide cap  200  is coupled to an upper portion of the container body and closes an upper end opening of the container body  100 , further including a coupling part  210  coupled to an upper portion of the container body  100  for fixing the pumping guide cap  200  to an upper portion of the container body  100 . 
     At one side of an upper end of the pumping guide cap  200  is provided a button part  220  which is elastically deformed according to user&#39;s pressurization and changes the pressure of a space formed by the contents absorption part  300  and a pumping guide cap  200  to be described later, thereby discharging contents absorbed into the contents absorption part  300  to the outside, wherein the button part  220 , an entire upper surface of which moves downwards when a user presses an upper end thereof and then restores when the user releases the upper end thereof, guides a pumping operation by changing the pressure of the space formed by the contents absorption part  300  and a pumping guide cap  200 . In addition, the button part  220  is made of an elastic material for being able to be elastically deformed according to user&#39;s pressurizing. 
     Meanwhile, a contents discharge hole  230  is provided at an upper end of the pumping guide cap  200  such that contents can be discharged by pumping operation according to the control of the button part  220 , wherein at the contents discharge hole  230  is provided a first valve member  231  which opens/closes the contents discharge hole  230  according to the pressurization of the button part  220 . 
     The present embodiments are characterized in a way that a mounting groove  240 , where a pressurizing part  410  of the finishing cap  400  is mounted, is provided at an upper end of the pumping guide cap  200 , wherein the mounting groove  240  is contacted with an elastic protrusion  411  of the pressurizing part  410  and preferably has a shape corresponding to the shape of the elastic protrusion  411  for being able to block air inflow. 
     The contents absorption part  300 , which is coupled to a lower portion of the pumping guide cap  200  at an inner side of the container body  100  and absorbs a fixed amount of contents stored in the container body  100  by an elastic deformation of the button part  220  of the pumping guide cap  200 , forms a space separated with a predetermined distance from the pumping guide cap  200  at a lower portion of the pumping guide cap and stores contents for absorbing and storing the contents stored in the container body  100 . 
     Furthermore, a contents inflow hole  310  is provided at the contents absorption part  300  such that contents stored in the container body  100  can flow in, wherein at the contents inflow hole  310  is formed a second valve member  311  which opens/closes the contents inflow hole  310  according to pressurization of the button part  220 . 
     The contents absorption part  300 , by absorbing and storing a fixed amount of contents received in the container body  100 , guides to always discharge a fixed amount of contents by a pumping operation according to the control of the button part  220 . 
     The finishing cap  400 , encasing the pumping guide cap  200  and coupled to an upper portion of the container body  100 , prevents the button part  220  from malfunctioning and the first valve member  231  from being broken from an exterior impact. 
     At an upper inner side of the finishing cap  400  is provided a pressurizing part  410  which presses an upper end of the pumping guide cap  200  for preventing the pumping guide cap  200  from being separated from the container body  100 . The present embodiments are characterized in that an elastic protrusion  411 , bent when mounted at the mounting groove  240 , is provided at a lower portion of the pressurizing part  410 . 
     The elastic protrusion  411 , which is made of an elastic material and thus, can be bent when meeting the mounting groove  240  in a process of coupling the finishing cap  400  to the container body  100 , is bent when mounted at the mounting groove  240  and performs a sealing function by preventing air from flowing into a second space (S 2 ) formed by the pumping guide cap  200  and the finishing cap  400  as the elastic protrusion  411  gets bent and contacted to the mounting groove  240  when mounted to the mounting groove  240 . 
     Describing more in detail with a reference of  FIGS. 3( a ) and 3( b ) , when the finishing cap  400  is coupled to the container body  100 , the elastic protrusion  411  finishes being mounted to the mounting groove  240  before completing screw-coupling. If a finishing cap  400  rotates one more time at this state, the elastic protrusion  411  bends and gets to be contacted to a mounting groove  240  at the time when the finishing cap  400  completes a screw coupling with the container body  100 . 
     As in the above, when the elastic protrusion  411  bends and gets to be contacted to the mounting groove  240 , the volume of a second space (S 2 ) formed by the pumping guide cap  200  and the finishing cap  400  decreases as much as the elastic protrusion bends. Pressure is applied to a first valve member  231 , which opens/closes the contents discharge hole  230  by the inner pressure of the second space (S 2 ) generated due to this, and thereby the first valve member  231  is prevented from opening, such that it is possible to prevent leakage of contents through the contents discharge hole  230  even though the pressure of the first space (S 1 ) where contents are stored rises. 
     Hereinafter, referring  FIGS. 4 to 5 ( b ), a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container according to a second exemplary embodiment will be explained.  FIGS. 4  is an assembled cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container according to a second exemplary embodiment.  FIG. 5  is a view illustrating an operational state of a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container according to a second exemplary embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4 to 5 ( b ), a sealing structure of a cream-type cosmetics container according to a second exemplary embodiment includes a container body  100 ′, a pumping guide cap  200 ′, a contents absorption part  300 ′, a finishing cap  400 ′, and an over cap  500 ′. Since each structure comprising a container body  100 ′, a pumping guide cap  200 ′, and a contents absorption part  300 ′ are the same with the structure and function thereof according to the first exemplary embodiment, hereafter will be described a structural difference of the finishing cap  400 ′. 
     The finishing cap  400 ′ encasing the pumping guide cap  200 ′ and coupled to an upper portion of the pumping guide cap  200 ′ is provided with a receiving groove  420  which receives a contents application member (P), such as a puff, at an upper portion thereof, and a pressurizing part  410 ′ which pressurizes an upper end of the pumping guide cap  200 ′ so as to prevent the pumping guide cap  200 ′ from being separated from the container body  100 ′. In the present embodiments, it is characterized that at a lower portion of the pressurizing part  410 ′ is provided an elastic protrusion  411 ′ which bends when mounted on the mounting groove  240 ′. 
     In case the elastic protrusion  411 ′ meets the mounting groove  240 ′, in a process of coupling a finishing cap  400  to the pumping guide cap  200 ′, that is, in a process of rotating the finishing cap  400  opened by rotating to an upper portion to the downward direction, the elastic protrusion  411 ′ made of elastic material is bent. When mounted at a mounting groove  240 ′, the elastic protrusion  411 ′ is bent, and as getting contacted to the mounting groove  240 ′, the elastic protrusion  411 ′ prevents air from flowing into a second space (S 2 ) formed by the pumping guide cap  200 ′ and the finishing cap  400 ′ and performing a sealing function. 
     To describe in detail, referring to  FIGS. 5( a ) and 5( b ) , when the finishing cap  400 ′ is rotated to a downward direction and coupled to the pumping guide cap  200 ′, the elastic protrusion  411 ′ gets mounted to the mounting groove  240 ′ before the coupling is completed. In this state, if the finishing cap  400 ′ is moved to the dead end in a downward direction, the elastic protrusion  411 ′ bends and gets contacted to the mounting groove  240 ′ at the time that the finishing cap  400 ′ finishes coupling to the pumping guide cap  200 ′. 
     When the elastic protrusion  411 ′ bends and gets contacted to the mounting groove  240 ′ as in the above, the volume of the second space (S 2 ) formed by the pumping guide cap  200 ′ and the finishing cap  400 ′ decreases as much as the elastic protrusion  411 ′ bends. By the inner pressure of the second space (S 2 ) generated due to this, pressure is delivered to a first valve member  231 ′ opening/closing a contents discharge hole  230 ′ and thereby prevents the first valve member  231 ′ from opening; hence, though the pressure of the first space (S 1 ) rises, it is possible to prevent contents from leaking through the contents discharge hole  230 ′. 
     In other words, the present embodiments are disclosed as a cosmetic container having a structure that contents are discharged to an upper end of the pumping guide cap  200 ,  200 ′ by a pumping operation, wherein the finishing cap  200 ,  200 ′ is able to prevent air from moving by sealing the space (S 2 ) formed by the pumping guide cap  200 ,  200 ′ and the finishing cap  400 ,  400 ′ in a state of closing the upper portion of the pumping guide cap  200 ,  200 ′, such that contents can be prevented from leaking through the contents discharge hole  230 ,  230 ′ even though the pressure of the first space (S 1 ) storing contents rises. 
     As described above, optimal embodiments have been disclosed in the drawings and the specification. Although specific terms have been used herein, these are only intended to describe the contemplated embodiments and are not intended to limit the meanings of the terms or to restrict the scope of the accompanying claims. Therefore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and other equivalent embodiments are possible from the above embodiments.