Gas Discharge Cap and Cosmetic Container Including the Same

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0051341, filed on Apr. 17, 2024, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

The present disclosure relates to a gas discharge cap and a cosmetic container including the gas discharge cap, and more particularly, to a gas discharge cap configured to discharge the gas generated inside the cosmetic container through a lower side surface of the cap while simultaneously preventing the contents contained inside the cosmetic container from leaking out, and a cosmetic container including the gas discharge cap.

In general, liquid contents, such as detergent, fuel oil, edible oil, and soy sauce

are stored in a container having a storage space formed inside to store a certain amount of volume and a handle formed to facilitate injection and use of the contents, and the container are typically equipped with an inner stopper and a container cap to seal an inlet to prevent leakage of the contents.

However, when a sealed container is stored for a long time with contents stored inside, or when gas is generated inside the container due to the surrounding environment (for example, exposure to sunlight, high temperature, and so on), causing the container to swell due to pressure, and when the container stopper does not open properly or the stored contents are highly flammable liquids, explosion due to gas pressure may also occur frequently.

The problem of gas generation inside the container may occur in cosmetic containers that contain cosmetic contents therein, and particularly, the problem is more prominent in cosmetic containers that contain vitamin contents. In order to solve the problem of gas generation inside the cosmetic container, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2022-0144965 discloses a technique in which the gas generated inside is discharged to the outside by using a packing member that expands according to the pressure of a space and seals or opens a lower ventilation hole, which has a problem in that not only an aesthetic sense of a cosmetic product deteriorates because holes are formed on a surface of an outer cap to allow gas to be discharged to an upper portion of the outer cap, but also the gas discharge efficiency is reduced due to a discharge manner through upward movement of the gas.

Therefore, in order to solve the problems and shortcomings of the gas discharge method of the existing cosmetic container, there is a growing need in the art for a new type of gas discharge cap that allows the gas generated inside a cosmetic container to be discharged through a lower side of a cap while simultaneously preventing the contents in the cosmetic container from leaking out, and for a cosmetic container including the gas discharge cap.

An objective of the present disclosure is to solve the above-described technical problem and provide a gas discharge cap that improves an aesthetic sense and gas discharge efficiency of cosmetic container products by excluding the existing method of forming a hole in an upper portion of an outer cap and discharging gas through the hole and allowing gas in a container to be discharged through a lower side surface of the outer cap, and to provide a cosmetic container including the gas discharge cap.

In addition, an objective of the present disclosure is to provide a gas discharge cap that prevents the contents in a container from leaking out by forming a sealing area through a contact-coupling between an inner cap and a check valve and additionally forming an auxiliary sealing area through a contact-coupling between the inner cap and an outer cap, and to provide a cosmetic container including the gas discharge cap.

In addition, an objective of the present disclosure is to provide a gas discharge cap that may secure the stability of pressure reduction leakage of a check valve by additionally providing a spring coupled with the check valve, and to provide a cosmetic container including the gas discharge cap.

In addition, an objective of the present disclosure is to provide a gas discharge cap that may more effectively prevent the contents in a container from leaking out by additionally providing a foam packing portion implemented with non-woven fabric in a space between upper portions of an inner cap and an outer cap, and to provide a cosmetic container including the gas discharge cap.

In addition, an objective of the present disclosure is to provide a gas discharge cap that may more effectively prevent the contents in a container from leaking out by forming an additional sealing area in a space between side surfaces of an inner cap and an outer cap, and to provide a cosmetic container including the gas discharge cap.

Technical problems of the present disclosure are not limited to the technical problems described above, and other technical problems not described above will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the descriptions below.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure devised to solve the above-described technical problem, a gas discharge cap may include an inner cap configured to be coupled to a main body and having a partial region in which an inner cap opening is formed; an outer cap configured to cover an outer side of the inner cap; and a check valve configured to be inserted into and coupled to the inner cap opening to seal or open the inner cap opening according to a pressure of the main body.

In addition, the check valve may be made of a nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) material.

In addition, when the pressure of the main body exceeds a preset threshold pressure, the check valve may be elastically deformed to open the inner cap opening, and a gas in the main body may be configured to be discharged downwardly from the outer cap along the opened inner cap opening and a space between the inner cap and the outer cap.

In addition, the check valve may be further configured to prevent contents in the main body from leaking out by a first sealing area and a second sealing area formed by a coupling to the inner cap.

In addition, the gas discharge cap may further include a spring having one end configured to be coupled to the outer cap and another end configured to be coupled to the check valve.

In addition, the spring may be configured to press the check valve toward the main body.

In addition, the gas discharge cap may further include a foam packing portion disposed in a space between the inner cap and the outer cap, configured to prevent contents in the main body from leaking out.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure devised to solve the above-described technical problem, a cosmetic container may include the gas discharge cap; and a main body coupled to the gas discharge cap.

According to a gas discharge cap according to an embodiment of the present disclosure and a cosmetic container including the gas discharge cap, the conventional method of forming a hole in an upper portion of an outer cap to discharge gas through the hole is excluded, and the gas in the container is discharged through a lower side surface of the outer cap, and thus, an aesthetic sense and gas discharge efficiency of the cosmetic container may be improved.

In addition, according to a gas discharge cap according to an embodiment of the present disclosure and a cosmetic container including the gas discharge cap, a sealing area may be formed through a contact-coupling of an inner cap and a check valve, and an auxiliary sealing area may be additionally formed through the contact-coupling of the inner cap and an outer cap, thereby preventing the contents in the cosmetic container from leaking out.

In addition, according to a gas discharge cap according to an embodiment of the present disclosure and a cosmetic container including the gas discharge cap, a spring coupled to a check valve may be additionally provided, thereby increasing the stability of pressure reduction leakage of the check valve.

In addition, according to a gas discharge cap according to an embodiment of the present disclosure and a cosmetic container including the gas discharge cap, a foam packing portion made of non-woven fabric may be additionally provided in a space between upper portions of an inner cap and an outer cap, thereby more effectively preventing the contents in the cosmetic container from leaking out.

In addition, according to a gas discharge cap according to an embodiment of the present disclosure and a cosmetic container including the gas discharge cap, an additional sealing area may be formed in a space between side surfaces of an inner cap and an outer cap, thereby more effectively preventing the contents in the cosmetic container from leaking out.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the attached drawings. It should be noted that, when adding reference signs to components in each drawing, the same components are given the same reference signs as much as possible even when the components are shown in different drawings. In addition, in describing embodiments of the present disclosure, when it is determined that a specific description of a related known configuration or function interferes with the understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure, the detailed descriptions thereof are omitted. In addition, although embodiments of the present disclosure are described below, the technical idea of the present disclosure is not limited or restricted thereto and may be modified and implemented in various ways by those skilled in the art.

Throughout the specification, when a portion is said to be “connected” to another portion, this includes not only a case where the portion is “directly connected” to another portion but also a case where the portion is “indirectly connected” to another portion with another component therebetween. Throughout the specification, when a portion is said to “include” a component, this does not exclude other components unless otherwise specifically stated, but means that other components may be included therein. In addition, when describing the components of the embodiment of the present disclosure, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), and so on may be used. The terms are only intended to distinguish the components from other components, and the nature, order, or sequence of the components are not limited by the terms.

illustrates a cross-sectional view of a gas discharge capaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The gas discharge capaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure is configured to discharge gas generated inside a cosmetic container through a lower side surface of the gas discharge capwhile simultaneously preventing the contents inside the cosmetic container from leaking out, and a cross-sectional view of the gas discharge capis illustrated in.

As illustrated in, the gas discharge capaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include an inner cap, an outer cap, a check valve, and so on. For reference, each component constituting the gas discharge capaccording to the present disclosure and a cosmetic container(see) including the gas discharge capmay be made of lightweight materials, and accordingly, convenience of manufacturing, transporting, and use of the gas discharge capand the cosmetic containerincluding the gas discharge capmay be further increased, and each component constituting the gas discharge capwill be described in more detail below.

The inner capmay be configured such that a partial area of the inner capis coupled to a main body(see). More specifically, the inner capaccording to the present disclosure may have a cylindrical shape, and accordingly, a cross-section thereof is configured to approximately a letter “”, and for this purpose, the inner capmay be composed of an inner cap main horizontal frame, an inner cap main vertical frame, an inner cap sub-vertical frame, and so on, and accordingly, the inner capmay serve as an inner housing of the gas discharge capaccording to the present disclosure.

In addition, the inner capaccording to the present disclosure may be made of a plastic material, for example, polypropylene (PP), but PP is only one example of a material which is used to make the inner cap, and the material of the inner capis not limited to PP.

The inner cap main horizontal framemay extend horizontally from the inside of the gas discharge capaccording to the present disclosure, that is, extend parallel to a bottom surface of the cosmetic containeraccording to the present disclosure. More specifically, the inner cap main horizontal frameaccording to the present disclosure may extend parallel or substantially parallel to an outer cap main horizontal frameof the outer capwith a shorter length than a length of the outer cap main horizontal frameof the outer capin an inner space of the outer cap, and one end of the inner cap main horizontal framemay be coupled to the inner cap main vertical frame, and an inner cap protrusionand an inner cap openingmay be formed in at least part of the inner cap main horizontal frame.

The inner cap protrusionmay protrude in a partial area of the inner cap main horizontal frameaccording to the present disclosure, and as illustrated, the inner cap protrusionmay protrude in a direction of the outer cap main horizontal frameat a point spaced apart from the center of an upper surface of the inner cap main horizontal frameby a predetermined interval, and the inner cap protrusionmay be contact-coupled to at least a partial area of the check valve, more specifically, to an arm(see) of the check valve, and accordingly, a sealing area, more specifically, a second sealing area(see (a) of) may be formed.

In addition, the inner cap openingmay be formed in an approximately central area of the inner cap main horizontal frameaccording to the present disclosure, and as illustrated, the check valveaccording to the present disclosure may be inserted into and coupled to the inner cap openingThe check valveaccording to the present disclosure may seal or open the inner cap openingaccording to the pressure of the main body, and in particular, when the pressure inside the main bodyexceeds a preset threshold pressure, the inner cap openingis opened due to deformation of the check valve, and accordingly, a path through which the gas inside the main bodyis discharged to the outside may be formed, which will be described in more detail with reference tobelow.

The inner cap main vertical framemay extend vertically from the inside of the gas discharge capaccording to the present disclosure, that is, extend parallel to a side surface of the cosmetic containeraccording to the present disclosure. More specifically, the inner cap main vertical frameaccording to the present disclosure may extend parallel or substantially parallel to the outer cap main vertical framewith a shorter length than a length of the outer cap main vertical frameof the outer capin an internal space of the outer cap, and one end thereof may be coupled to the inner cap main horizontal frame.

In addition, upper and lower spaces between the inner capand the outer capmay be defined by a difference between a length of the inner cap main vertical frameand the length of the outer cap main vertical frame, and the inner cap sub-vertical frame, an outer cap sub-vertical frame, the upper area of the check valve, and so on may be disposed in the upper and lower spaces between the inner capand the outer cap, and additionally, a spring(see) and a foam packing portion(see) may be provided.

The inner cap sub-vertical framemay be formed vertically with the inner cap main horizontal frameat a predetermined distance from a partial area of the inner cap main horizontal frame, for example, the center of the inner cap main horizontal frame. A width of the inner cap sub-vertical framemay be greater than a horizontal length of the check valve, and accordingly, the check valvemay be more stably accommodated in an upper space of the inner capformed by the inner cap sub-vertical frame.

In addition, a height of the inner cap sub-vertical framemay substantially correspond to a distance between the inner capand the outer cap, and accordingly, an exposed end of the inner cap sub-vertical framemay be contact-coupled to a lower surface of the outer cap, more specifically, the outer cap main horizontal frame, and an additional (or auxiliary) sealing area, for example, a third sealing area(see (a) of), may be formed by the contact-coupling of the inner cap sub-vertical frameto the outer cap main horizontal frame, particularly, the outer cap protrusionA formation and function of the sealing area will be described in more detail with reference tobelow.

The outer capmay cover an outer side of the inner cap. More specifically, the outer capaccording to the present disclosure may have a cylindrical shape and have a cross-section of approximately a letter “” and include the outer cap main horizontal frame, the outer cap main vertical frame, an outer cap sub-vertical frame, and so on, and accordingly, the outer capmay be configured to form an exterior of the gas discharge capaccording to the present disclosure while preventing internal components from being detached.

In addition, the outer capaccording to the present disclosure may also be made of a plastic material, for example, PP, but, like the inner capdescribed above, PP is an example of a material which the outer capmay be made of, and the material of the outer capis not limited to PP.

The outer cap main horizontal framemay extend horizontally from the outside of the gas discharge capaccording to the present disclosure, that is, extend parallel to a bottom surface of the cosmetic containeraccording to the present disclosure. More specifically, the outer cap main horizontal frameaccording to the present disclosure may extend parallel or substantially parallel to the inner cap main horizontal frameat the outermost side of the gas discharge capwith a greeter length than the inner cap main horizontal frameof the inner cap, and one end of the outer cap main horizontal framemay be coupled to the outer cap main vertical frame, and an outer cap protrusionmay be formed in at least a partial area of the outer cap main horizontal frame.

The outer cap protrusionmay be formed in a partial area of the outer cap main horizontal frameaccording to the present disclosure, and as illustrated, the outer cap protrusionmay protrude toward the inner cap main horizontal frameat a point spaced apart from the center of a bottom surface of the outer cap main horizontal frameby a predetermined interval, and as the outer cap protrusionis contact-coupled to an exposed end of the inner cap sub-vertical frame, an auxiliary sealing area, more specifically, a third sealing area(see (a) of) may be formed.

As illustrated, the outer cap protrusionaccording to the present disclosure may be formed at a distance further from the center of the gas discharge capthan the inner cap protrusionand an outer side of the outer cap protrusionis coupled to the inner cap sub-vertical frame, thereby implementing an auxiliary (or additional) third sealing area, compared to the first sealing area(see (a) of) and a second sealing area(see (a) of), and accordingly, the contents in the main bodymay be more reliably prevented from leaking out.

An outer cap main vertical framemay extend vertically from the outside of the gas discharge capaccording to the present disclosure, that is, extend parallel to a side surface of the cosmetic containeraccording to the present disclosure. More specifically, the outer cap main vertical frameaccording to the present disclosure may extend parallel or substantially parallel to the inner cap main vertical frameat the outermost side of the gas discharge capwith a greater length than the inner cap main vertical frameof the inner cap, and one end of the outer cap main vertical framemay be coupled to the outer cap main horizontal frame.

In addition, upper and lower spaces between the inner capand the outer capmay be defined by a difference in length between the inner cap main vertical frameand the outer cap main vertical frame, and the inner cap sub-vertical frame, the outer cap sub-vertical frame, an upper area of the check valve, and so on may be disposed in the upper and lower spaces between the inner capand the outer cap, and additionally, the springand the foam packing portionmay also be provided therein as described above.

The outer cap sub-vertical framemay be vertical to the outer cap main horizontal frameby being spaced apart from a partial area of the outer cap main horizontal frame, for example, from the center of the outer cap main horizontal frameby a predetermined distance. A width of the outer cap sub-vertical framemay be greater than a horizontal length of the check valveand be less than a head(see) of the check valve, and accordingly, the headof the check valvemay be stably disposed in a space formed by the outer cap sub-vertical framewithout or with coupling to the springas illustrated.

In addition, a height of the outer cap sub-vertical framemay be less than a height of the inner cap sub-vertical frame, and for example, the height of the outer cap sub-vertical framemay be less than a length obtained by subtracting a thickness of the armof the check valvefrom a distance between the inner capand the outer cap, and accordingly, as the gas pressure of the main bodyincreases, a space may be secured in advance to enable the check valveto move (for example, slidably move or so on) upward (for example, see (b) of) when the check valvedeforms. This is described below in more detail with reference to

As illustrated, an exposed end of the outer cap sub-vertical framemay be rounded toward the headof the check valve, and when the outer cap sub-vertical framecollides with the headof the check valveand/or the springthrough the rounded shape of the exposed end of the outer cap sub-vertical frame, structural stability may be guaranteed to the maximum extent.

The check valvemay be inserted into and coupled to the inner cap openingformed in the inner capto seal or open the inner cap openingaccording to the pressure of the main body. More specifically, when the pressure in the main bodyof the cosmetic containerfilled with contents exceeds a preset threshold pressure due to gas generation inside the main body, the check valveaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure is deformed, preferably elastically deformed, and accordingly, the inner cap openingis opened, and thereby, the gas in the main bodymay be discharged downwardly through the opened inner cap openingand along a space between the inner capand the outer cap.