Patent Description:
There have been conventionally known storage containers for sanitary tissue paper to store sanitary tissue paper for wiping floors and toilets in houses, human bodies, or the like.

As a storage container for sanitary tissue paper, there has been known a storage container for sanitary tissue paper that includes a detachable outlet portion in which an outlet is formed, so that a resistance is applied to sanitary tissue paper by this outlet and the sanitary tissue paper is cut off along perforations provided in the sanitary tissue paper (for example, see patent document <NUM>).

In such a storage container for sanitary tissue paper, in order to enable continuous use of sanitary tissue paper, when a sheet of the sanitary tissue paper is cut off along perforations, the subsequent sheet of the sanitary tissue paper needs to be held with the end thereof protruding from the outlet, without falling into the container.

However, when a higher resistance is applied to the sanitary tissue paper by the outlet in order to secure a sufficient holding function, the protruding amount from the outlet of the subsequent sheet of sanitary tissue paper is reduced and taking out the subsequent sheet becomes difficult in some cases.

An object of the present invention is to provide a storage container for sanitary tissue paper that achieves both of reliability of holding the sanitary tissue paper in the outlet and easiness of operation of taking out the sanitary tissue paper.

In order to achieve the object, according to the invention recited in claim <NUM>, there is provided a storage container for sanitary tissue paper including:.

According to the present invention, it is possible to have a configuration that achieves both of reliability of holding the sanitary tissue paper in the outlet and easiness of operation of taking out the sanitary tissue paper.

According to the invention, there is provided the storage container for the sanitary tissue paper according to claim <NUM>, wherein the chamfered portion is a flat chamfered portion in which the hole wall of the outlet is chamfered to be a flat face.

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily form a chamfered portion.

According to the invention recited in claim <NUM>, there is provided the storage container for the sanitary tissue paper according to claim <NUM>, wherein, in the outlet, an opening area on a lower end side is larger than an opening area on an upper end side.

According to the present invention, it is possible to enhance the easiness of operation of taking out the sanitary tissue paper.

According to the invention recited in claim <NUM>, there is provided the storage container for the sanitary tissue paper according to any one of claims <NUM> to <NUM>, wherein the outlet is formed by a radial cut.

According to the present invention, it is possible to enhance the reliability of holding the sanitary tissue paper in the outlet.

According to the invention recited in claim <NUM>, there is provided The storage container for the sanitary tissue paper according to any one of claims <NUM> to <NUM>, wherein.

According to the present invention, it is possible to avoid easy detachment of the outlet portion from the lid.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a storage container for sanitary tissue paper that achieves both of reliability of holding the sanitary tissue paper in the outlet and easiness of operation of taking out the sanitary tissue paper.

Hereinafter, the specific embodiment of a storage container for sanitary tissue paper <NUM> (storage container <NUM> for sanitary tissue paper) that is an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to <FIG>. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

In the following description, the front-rear direction, left-right direction and up-down direction, and the X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis are defined as shown in <FIG>. That is, in a storage container for sanitary tissue paper <NUM>, the side on which the sanitary tissue paper is taken out and the side opposite thereto are respectively referred to as up and down, the front side in a plan view of the storage container for sanitary tissue paper <NUM> and the side opposite thereto are respectively referred to as front and rear, the right side when the observer faces rearward is referred to as right, the left side when the observer faces rearward is referred to as left, the axis along the front-rear direction is referred to as the X-axis, the axis along the left-right direction is referred to as the Y-axis, and the axis along the up-down direction is referred to as the Z-axis.

As shown in <FIG>, the storage container for sanitary tissue paper <NUM> includes: a container body <NUM> inside which sanitary tissue paper (for example, roll paper such as wet sheets or wet tissues wound into a roll) is stored; a lid <NUM> that is detachably attached to the container body <NUM>; and an outlet portion <NUM> that is detachably attached to the lid <NUM>.

Since the lid <NUM> is configured to be attachable and detachable with respect to the container body <NUM>, it is possible to store the sanitary tissue paper inside the container body <NUM> and take out the sanitary tissue paper from inside, in a state in which the lid <NUM> is removed from the container body <NUM>.

The sanitary tissue paper is stored in the container body <NUM> in a state in which the sanitary tissue paper is wound into a roll around an axis along the up-down direction. The sanitary tissue paper has perforations at regular intervals in a length direction, and the user uses a sheet of sanitary tissue paper which was cut off along the perforations.

The container body <NUM> is a container for storing the sanitary tissue paper, which is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape and has an opening in the upper surface. A male screw portion <NUM> is provided along the circumferential direction on the outer circumferential surface of the upper end portion of the lateral surface, as shown in <FIG>.

The container body <NUM> is formed of PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), ABS resin, or the like, for example.

The container body <NUM> is formed in a cylindrical shape that is a circle in a plan view with a diameter of <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably <NUM> to <NUM>, and is <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably <NUM> to <NUM> in the Z-axis direction (height), and has a thickness of each surface of <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably <NUM> to <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the lid <NUM> is configured by a lid main body <NUM> and a small lid <NUM>.

The lid main body <NUM> is formed of PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), ABS resin, or the like, for example. The lid main body <NUM> is in a cylindrical shape in which the lower surface is open, and includes a top surface 21a, a lateral surface 21b, a recessed portion 21c that is formed to be recessed downward on the inner circumferential side in a plan view of the top surface 21a, a hole portion 21d, and a main-body-side wall 21e that is provided to rise in a cylindrical shape so as to surround the hole portion 21d inside the recessed portion 21c.

The lid main body <NUM> is formed in a cylindrical shape that is a circle in a plan view with a diameter of <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably <NUM> to <NUM>, and is <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably <NUM> to <NUM> in the Z-axis direction (height), and has a thickness of each surface of <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably <NUM> to <NUM>.

A female screw portion <NUM> into which the male screw portion <NUM> of the container body <NUM> screws is provided on the internal circumferential surface of the lower end of the lateral surface 21b. Thus, as shown in <FIG>, the container body <NUM> and the lid <NUM> have an attachable and detachable connection structure via the male screw portion <NUM> and the female screw portion <NUM>, which allows the lid <NUM> to be detached from the container body <NUM>.

The recessed portion 21c is formed to have a nearly same shape in a plan view as the small lid <NUM> when the small lid <NUM> is closed, so that the small lid <NUM> can fit into the recessed portion 21c. The recessed portion 21c is formed to have the front end larger than the front end of the small lid <NUM> in a plan view so as to leave a slight gap even in a state in which the small lid <NUM> is fitted into the recessed portion 21c. Thus, it is possible to get a finger caught on the small lid <NUM> by using the gap.

The hole portion 21d is a hole formed in a circle in a plan view in the nearly center in a plan view of the lid main body <NUM> and leading to the inside of the storage container for sanitary tissue paper <NUM>. The hole portion 21d is formed to be slightly smaller than the outlet portion <NUM> in a plan view and the outlet portion <NUM> is fixed to the hole portion 21d as mentioned later.

The main-body-side wall 21e is formed to protrude upward in a cylindrical shape inside the recessed portion 21c, so as to surround the hole portion 21d. The main-body-side wall 21e is formed to have the outer diameter same as or slightly smaller than the internal diameter of a small-lid-side wall 22a formed in the small lid <NUM>.

The small lid <NUM> is formed of PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), ABS resin, or the like, for example. The small lid <NUM> has the end connected to the lid main body <NUM>, and includes the small-lid-side wall 22a protruding from the lower surface at the time of closing. The small lid <NUM> is formed such that the shape in a plan view when the small lid <NUM> is closed nearly matches the shape of the recessed portion 21c and the small lid <NUM> can be fitted to the recessed portion 21c when the small lid <NUM> is closed.

The small-lid-side wall 22a is formed in a cylindrical shape protruding downward when the small lid <NUM> is closed. The small-lid-side wall 22a is formed to have the internal diameter same as or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the main-body-side wall 21e. Thus, when the small lid <NUM> is closed, the small-lid-side wall 22a can fit to the main-body-side wall 21e, and it is possible to maintain airtightness of the space surrounded by the small-lid-side wall 22a and the main-body-side wall 21e, and thus maintain airtightness of the space inside the storage container for sanitary tissue paper <NUM> that is connected to the space via the hole portion 21d.

In the present embodiment, the airtightness inside the storage container for sanitary tissue paper <NUM> is maintained by fitting the main-body-side wall 21e to the small-lid-side wall 22a. However, any configuration different from the above is possible as long as the configuration can maintain the airtightness inside the storage container for sanitary tissue paper <NUM>.

In a case where the sanitary tissue paper to be stored is not soaked with chemical solution or the like and does not need to avoid drying, any configuration not especially including an air tightness measure may be used.

As shown in <FIG>, the outlet portion <NUM> is an elastically deformable member that is formed in a nearly round pillar shape which is a circle in a plan view. The outlet portion <NUM> can be formed by an injection molding, for example.

To be specific, the outlet portion <NUM> includes a recess <NUM> formed in the center in a plan view, a narrow portion <NUM> formed on the lateral surface, an outlet <NUM> formed in the nearly center in a plan view of the recess <NUM>, and chamfered portions <NUM> formed by chamfering the edges of the outlet <NUM> on the lower surface 3b.

The outlet portion <NUM> is a circle that is slightly larger than the hole portion 21d between one tenth to one third inclusive the diameter of the lid main body <NUM> in a plan view, and the thickness R1 in the Z-axis direction (see <FIG>) excluding the recess <NUM> is <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably <NUM> to <NUM>.

On the upper surface of the outlet portion <NUM>, the recess <NUM> is formed to be recessed downward in a circle from the upper view, leaving the peripheral portion. The recess <NUM> is formed such that the internal bottom surface 3a is a flat face.

The narrow portion <NUM> is formed in a groove shape recessed in a radial direction to have a depth between one twentieth and one tenth inclusive the diameter of the outlet portion <NUM> in a plan view, surrounding the nearly central portion in the up-down direction of the lateral surface of the outlet portion <NUM> along the circumferential direction. Since the outlet portion <NUM> is formed to be slightly larger than the hole portion 21d in a plan view as described above, by fitting the edge of the hole portion 21d into the narrow portion <NUM>, it is possible to fix the outlet portion <NUM> to the lid main body <NUM>.

The outlet <NUM> is a hole for taking out the sanitary tissue paper stored inside the container body <NUM>.

The sanitary tissue paper is inserted through the outlet <NUM> from the lower side, and the outlet <NUM> holds the sanitary tissue paper with its end protruding from the upper surface of the outlet portion <NUM> (internal bottom surface 3a of the recess <NUM>).

When the end of the sanitary tissue paper is in a state of protruding from the upper surface of the outlet portion <NUM>, the protruding amount is <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably <NUM> to <NUM>. Such a protruding amount facilitates plucking with a general user's finger, and the taking-out operation can be performed easily.

The outlet <NUM> is formed by radial cuts. For example, in the case of <FIG>, cross-shaped (radial) cuts are formed by forming two linear cuts in a cross shape. The entire length R2 of the outlet <NUM> (see <FIG>) is <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably <NUM> to <NUM>. For example, the entire length R2 is set to approximately <NUM> that is equal to or greater than the width of an index finger of a general user. By forming the outlet <NUM> with the radial cuts in this way, it is possible to more enhance the reliability of holding the sanitary tissue paper in the outlet <NUM>.

In <FIG>, the case of forming the outlet <NUM> in a cross shape is described by illustration. However, the shape of the outlet <NUM> is not limited to this, and an arbitrary shape can be selected as long as the above function can be achieved. That is, the radial cuts may be formed by three or more linear cuts. The outlet <NUM> may be formed by a single linear cut, or may be formed in a circle, oval, nearly star shape or the like.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, each of the chamfered portions <NUM> is a region obtained by chamfering the corner formed by the lower surface 3b of the outlet portion <NUM> and the hole wall 33a of the outlet <NUM>.

To be specific, the chamfered portion <NUM> is a flat chamfered portion obtained by chamfering the edge of the hole wall 33a of the outlet <NUM> on the lower surface 3b of the outlet portion <NUM> with an inclined flat face. Thus, the outlet <NUM> has such a shape that the opening area on the lower end side is larger than the opening area on the upper end side.

As shown in <FIG>, the size of the chamfered portion <NUM> is set such that the length L1 in the width direction (direction along the XY plane) of the outlet <NUM> from the hole wall 33a of the outlet <NUM> is within the range of <NUM> to <NUM> and the length L2 in the height direction (direction along the Z-axis direction) from the lower end of the outlet <NUM> is within the range of <NUM> to <NUM>.

In the embodiment, the case of forming each of the chamfered portions <NUM> by chamfering to be a flat face has been described by illustration. However, as shown in <FIG> not forming part of the invention, the chamfered portion <NUM> may be a curved chamfered portion obtained by chamfering the corner, which is formed by the lower surface 3b of the outlet portion <NUM> and the hole wall 33a of the outlet <NUM>, to be a convex curved face.

In a case where the force necessary to pull out the sanitary tissue paper in the above outlet portion <NUM> is measured <NUM> times by using a digital force gauge (manufactured by IMADA: model number DS2-200N) and the average value is defined as a resistance value, the value of such a resistance value is preferably within the range of <NUM> to <NUM> N, and more preferably <NUM> to <NUM> N.

When sanitary tissue paper wounded in a single roll (for example, continuous <NUM> sheets having <NUM> lines of perforations) is pulled out, the allowable range of the number of times (number of continuations) that a sheet is not cut along the perforations and the subsequent sheet of sanitary tissue paper comes out following the sheet is <NUM> times or less, and preferably <NUM> times or less.

In the above-mentioned storage container for sanitary tissue paper <NUM>, by applying a resistance to the pulled-out sanitary tissue paper with the outlet <NUM>, the sheet of the sanitary tissue paper to be used is cut off along the perforations, and the subsequent sheet of the sanitary tissue paper can be held with the end protruding from the outlet <NUM>.

At this time, by having the chamfered portions <NUM>, the resistance when the sanitary tissue paper passes through the outlet <NUM> is reduced compared to the case of not having the chamfered portions <NUM>. Thus, it is possible to sufficiently secure the protruding amount of the subsequent sheet of sanitary tissue paper protruding from the outlet <NUM>, and the force necessary for pulling out is also reduced, thus facilitating the taking-out operation.

According to the present embodiment, in a storage container for sanitary tissue paper <NUM> including: a container body <NUM> inside which sanitary tissue paper is stored; and a lid <NUM> that is detachably attached to the container body <NUM> and that has an outlet portion <NUM> to take out the sanitary tissue paper stored in the container body <NUM>, the outlet portion <NUM> includes: an outlet <NUM> through which the sanitary tissue paper is inserted and which holds the sanitary tissue paper with an end of the sanitary tissue paper protruding from the upper surface of the outlet portion <NUM> (internal bottom surface 3a of recess <NUM>); and chamfered portions <NUM> each of which is a corner that is chamfered, the corner being formed by the lower surface 3b of the outlet portion <NUM> and the hole wall 33a of the outlet <NUM>.

Thus, it is possible to have a configuration achieving both of reliability of holding the sanitary tissue paper in the outlet <NUM> and easiness of the operation of taking out the sanitary tissue paper.

According to the present embodiment, the chamfered portion <NUM> is a flat chamfered portion in which the hole wall 33a of the outlet <NUM> is chamfered to be a flat face.

Thus, it is possible to easily form the chamfered portion <NUM>.

According to the present embodiment, in the outlet <NUM>, an opening area on a lower end side is larger than an opening area on an upper end side.

Thus, it is possible to facilitate the operation of taking out the sanitary tissue paper.

According to the present embodiment, the outlet <NUM> is formed by radial cuts.

Thus, it is possible to enhance the reliability of holding the sanitary tissue paper in the outlet.

According to the present embodiment, the lid <NUM> includes a hole portion 21d in an upper surface, and the outlet portion <NUM> includes a narrow portion <NUM> provided on a lateral surface, and an edge of the hole portion 21d is fitted to the narrow portion <NUM> to attach the outlet portion <NUM> to the lid <NUM>.

Thus, it is possible to avoid the outlet portion <NUM> from easily detaching from the lid <NUM>.

The sanitary tissue paper stored in the storage container for sanitary tissue paper <NUM> is not necessarily limited to the sanitary tissue paper wounded in a roll. For example, there can be used so called pop-up type sheets that are laminated in a state of being folded in an alternate manner and formed such that, when one sheet of sanitary tissue paper is taken out, the next sheet of sanitary tissue paper is also pulled out to the outlet.

The shape of the storage container for sanitary tissue paper <NUM> may not necessarily be a cylindrical shape.

Next, the results of evaluating the easiness of taking out the sanitary tissue paper for Examples of the present invention and Comparative Examples are described. Hereinafter, though the present invention is described specifically by the Examples, the present invention is not limited to them.

As a storage container for sanitary tissue paper, there was prepared a container that has the shape shown in <FIG> and is made of polyethylene, the container having a container body and a lid that is detachably attached to the container body.

The outlet portion of each of the following Examples <NUM> and <NUM> and Comparative Examples <NUM> and <NUM> is attached to this storage container for sanitary tissue paper.

The outlet portion of each of the Examples <NUM>, <NUM> has a shape shown in <FIG>, and made of elastomer.

The thickness in the Z-axis direction of the outlet portion is <NUM> excluding the recess.

The outlet is in a cross shape in a plan view and the entire length of the outlet is <NUM> in the upper surface view.

The lengths L1 and L2 of each of the chamfered portions were L1=L2=<NUM> and L1=L2=<NUM> in the Examples <NUM> and <NUM> respectively.

L1 is the length in the direction along the XY plane, and L2 is the length in the direction along the Z-axis.

The outlet portion in the Comparative Example <NUM> was same as that of the Example <NUM>, except that the length L1 and L2 of the chamfered portion was L1=L2=<NUM>.

The outlet portion in the Comparative Example <NUM> was same as that of the Example <NUM>, except that the chamfered portion is not provided (that is, L1=L2=<NUM>).

As the sanitary tissue paper, a wet sheet that is wound in a roll and has perforations at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction was used. To be specific, the number of lines of perforations was <NUM> and the wet sheet having the <NUM> continuous sheets was used.

By using the samples of the Examples <NUM> and <NUM> and the Comparative Examples <NUM> and <NUM>, (<NUM>) Protruding amount of subsequent sheet of sanitary tissue paper, (<NUM>) Resistance value at the time of taking out and (<NUM>) Number of continuations were measured as follows and the results were shown in Table I.

The above one wet sheet wound in a roll was pulled out by using the samples of the above Examples <NUM> and <NUM> and Comparative Examples <NUM> and <NUM>, and the average value of measurements of the protruding amount of subsequent sheet in the wet sheet was calculated as a protruding amount of sanitary tissue paper.

The above wet sheet wound in a roll was pulled out by using the samples of the above Examples <NUM> and <NUM> and Comparative Examples <NUM> and <NUM>, and the force necessary for the pulling out was measured by using the digital force gauge (manufactured by IMADA: model number DS2-200N). The measurement was performed <NUM> times for each sample, and the average value thereof was determined as the resistance value.

The above one wet sheet wound in a roll was pulled out by using the samples of the above Examples <NUM> and <NUM> and Comparative Examples <NUM> and <NUM>, and the number of times that a sheet is not cut along the perforations and the subsequent sheet of sanitary tissue paper comes out following the sheet was counted as the number of continuations.

The results of Table I show that the protruding amount of subsequent sheet of sanitary tissue paper is larger as the area of chamfered portion is larger, that is, as the values of L1 and L2 are larger.

In addition, it is found that, as the area of chamfered portion is larger, the force necessary to take out the sanitary tissue paper is reduced, but the number of continuations is increased.

In the case of Comparative Example <NUM>, the number of continuations is excessively large, which is not preferable. In the case of Comparative Example <NUM>, the protruding amount is excessively small, which is not preferable.

Therefore, by making the lengths L1 and L2 be <NUM> to <NUM>, it is possible to achieve both of the reliability of holding the sanitary tissue paper and the easiness of operation of taking out the sanitary tissue paper.

Claim 1:
A storage container (<NUM>) for sanitary tissue paper comprising:
a container body (<NUM>) inside which sanitary tissue paper is stored; and
a lid (<NUM>) that is detachably attached to the container body (<NUM>) and that has an outlet portion (<NUM>) that is detachably attached to the lid (<NUM>) to take out the sanitary tissue paper stored in the container body (<NUM>), wherein
the outlet portion (<NUM>) includes:
an outlet (<NUM>) through which the sanitary tissue paper is inserted and which holds the sanitary tissue paper with an end of the sanitary tissue paper protruding from an upper surface (3a) of the outlet portion (<NUM>); and
a chamfered portion (<NUM>) that is a corner which is chamfered, the corner being formed by a lower surface (3b) of the outlet portion (<NUM>) and a hole wall (33a) of the outlet (<NUM>), whereby
the chamfered portion (<NUM>) is a flat chamfered portion in which the hole wall (33a) of the outlet (<NUM>) is chamfered to be a flat face,
wherein
the size of the chamfered portion (<NUM>) is set such that the length L1 in the width direction of the outlet (<NUM>) from the hole wall (33a) of the outlet (<NUM>) is within the range of <NUM> to <NUM> and the length L2 in the height direction from the lower surface (3b) of the outlet (<NUM>) is within the range of <NUM> to <NUM>, wherein L1 equals L2 ( L1 = L2).