CN114222593A

CN114222593A - Liquid spraying device

Info

Publication number: CN114222593A
Application number: CN202080055530.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 中野洋一
Original assignee: Japan Kalmik Co ltd; Kyoritsu Seiyaku Corp
Current assignee: Japan Kalmik Co ltd; Kyoritsu Seiyaku Corp
Priority date: 2019-07-30
Filing date: 2020-05-19
Publication date: 2022-03-22
Anticipated expiration: 2040-05-19
Also published as: JP2021020195A; WO2021019872A1; JP7170993B2; CN114222593B

Abstract

The invention provides a liquid spraying device which sprays fine mist capable of floating for a longer time in a wide range. The air nozzle (51) and the liquid nozzle (55) can be integrated by engaging nozzle engagement portions formed on peripheral wall portions thereof with each other, so that the air discharge direction is at a predetermined angle with respect to the liquid discharge direction, and the air discharge port (511) and the liquid discharge port (5521) are in a positional relationship of being close to each other at a predetermined distance. The air nozzle (51) and the liquid nozzle (55) which are engaged with each other and integrated with each other are attached to the base (57), so that they can be attached to a constant position, and can be easily attached in a positional relationship suitable for generating mist having a fine particle diameter of not more than a predetermined value.

Description

Liquid spraying device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a liquid spraying apparatus for spraying various liquids such as an aromatic agent, a deodorant, a bactericide, and a bactericide in the form of mist.

Background

Conventionally, there have been developed fragrance devices, deodorizers, deodorizing devices, and the like for making the air environment of a space such as a toilet favorable by fragrance or deodorization.

In the case of the above-described fragrance and deodorization device, the container is filled with only an aromatic agent and a deodorant. For example, since the aromatic agent is naturally evaporated and emitted in the fragrance device, a portion having strong local fragrance or a portion having weak fragrance is formed in the indoor space. In particular, in the case of a wide space, it is difficult to uniformly distribute fragrance throughout the entire space. This is also the case in a deodorizer.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, for example, patent document 1 discloses a liquid spray device that can be used as a fragrance device or a deodorization device, and studies have been made to uniformly distribute an aromatic agent and a deodorant agent in a narrow space such as a toilet of a general household, not to mention a wide space such as a toilet of a hotel, a restaurant, and the like. That is, a container in which a liquid aromatic agent or the like is enclosed is disposed inside a main body casing having a suction port and a discharge port, and the liquid aromatic agent or the like in the container is disposed so as to be emitted to an air flow path portion between the suction port and the discharge port of air in the main body casing. The electric fan disposed in the air flow path section is driven to generate a flow of air between the suction port and the discharge port.

When the electric fan is driven, air is sucked into the air flow path portion from the suction port. The air forcibly evaporates and emits the liquid aromatic agent and the like in the container, and is blown out from the air outlet. Thus, the fragrance is filled in the room such as a toilet or the like, or the room such as a toilet or the like is deodorized.

On the other hand, patent document 2 discloses a liquid spraying device (air freshener) in which an ejection port of an air nozzle is arranged in the vicinity of an ejection port of a liquid nozzle for sucking a fragrance or a deodorant, and the liquid ejected from the ejection port of the liquid nozzle is blown away when air is ejected from the air nozzle.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 5-329199

Patent document 2: utility model registration No. 3201503

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The device for emitting a fragrance or a deodorant disclosed in patent document 1 is effective in that the entire fragrance or the like can be uniformly distributed over a wide space, but since the liquid such as the fragrance evaporated from the container is blown out by the electric fan, only the easily evaporated component is easily consumed first. Therefore, there is a problem that efficacy of fragrance or the like is reduced early with the lapse of time.

In contrast, in the case of the air freshener disclosed in patent document 2, since the liquid such as the aromatic agent is blown to a distant place by air, there is an advantage that the mist of the liquid floats in the air for a long time and the efficacy of the liquid such as the aromatic agent acts over a wide area for a longer time than the device described in patent document 1.

The air freshener of patent document 2 adopts the following structure: the liquid ejecting apparatus includes a cylindrical liquid ejecting nozzle, and a cylindrical air ejecting nozzle disposed in a direction perpendicular to the cylindrical liquid ejecting nozzle, so that the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting nozzle is blown away by air from the air ejecting nozzle. The liquid is finely atomized by the air, but the particle diameter of the liquid to be atomized varies depending on the distance separating the liquid discharge port of the liquid nozzle and the air discharge port of the air nozzle. However, in patent document 2, the liquid nozzle and the air nozzle are separately arranged, and there are cases where the positions of mounting the two nozzles vary between products, and there are cases where the diffusion range and diffusion time of the fragrance vary depending on the products. Further, due to an error in the attachment position of the both, the liquid may not smoothly contact with the air, and may adhere to the inner surface of the housing without being discharged from the opening portion to the outside in a state where the particle diameter is large.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a liquid spraying apparatus capable of spraying various liquids such as an aromatic agent, a deodorant, a bactericide, or a bactericide in the form of a fine mist and capable of distributing the effects of the liquids more uniformly over a wider space. In addition to the above problem, another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid spraying apparatus capable of reducing liquid adhering to an inner surface of a housing.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above problems, the liquid spray apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that,

the liquid spray device comprises:

a spraying mechanism, which is configured to include: a liquid nozzle connected to a liquid container containing liquid via a liquid supply pipe; and an air nozzle connected to an air supply source via an air supply pipe, and configured to spray air to atomize the liquid discharged from the liquid discharge port of the liquid nozzle; and

a housing having an opening portion for discharging the liquid, which is atomized by spraying the air, to the outside, the opening portion being provided with a liquid discharge port of the liquid nozzle and an air discharge port of the air nozzle in the vicinity thereof,

the liquid nozzle includes: an ejection port side portion in which an ejection port side flow path having the liquid ejection port is formed; and an inlet-side portion having a liquid inlet for introducing a liquid through the liquid supply pipe and having an inlet-side flow path communicating with the discharge port-side flow path,

the air nozzle is formed with an air flow path having the air ejection port,

a nozzle engaging portion is formed on each of the peripheral wall portions of the liquid nozzle and the air nozzle, and the nozzle engaging portions are positioned such that the air discharge direction is at a predetermined angle with respect to the liquid discharge direction and the air discharge port and the liquid discharge port are close to each other at a predetermined distance in a state of being engaged with each other,

a base engaging portion different from the nozzle engaging portion is formed in a peripheral wall portion of the liquid nozzle, and the liquid discharge port is oriented upward from a horizontal direction and the air discharge port is oriented outward of the opening portion in a state where the base engaging portion is engaged with a nozzle mounting portion of a base portion provided at a predetermined position in the housing, and the air discharge port and the liquid discharge port are arranged in the vicinity of the opening portion.

Preferably, the liquid discharge port of the liquid nozzle is provided so as to be located at the same position as or outward from an inner imaginary line passing through the opening and along the inner surface of the housing. More preferably, the liquid ejection port of the liquid nozzle is provided so as to be located within a range of a thickness of a peripheral edge portion forming the opening portion sandwiched by the inner imaginary line and an outer imaginary line along an outer surface of the housing.

Preferably, the air ejection port of the air nozzle is provided so as to be located within a range of a thickness of a peripheral edge portion forming the opening portion sandwiched by the inner virtual line and an outer virtual line along an outer surface of the housing.

Preferably, the pedestal portion has an inclined surface portion that increases as it approaches the opening portion, and the nozzle mounting portion is provided in the inclined surface portion.

Preferably, in the liquid nozzle, a range of a predetermined length from the liquid inlet toward the discharge port is a connecting tube portion for connecting the liquid supply tube in the inlet-side portion, and the pedestal portion is formed with a tube passage slit through which the liquid supply tube connecting the connecting tube portion and the liquid container passes.

Preferably, the liquid supply pipe includes: a first tube that communicates with the liquid container side and is fixedly disposed through the tube via a slit such that a distal end opening portion thereof opens toward the connection cylinder portion of the liquid nozzle; and a second pipe that connects the first pipe and the connecting cylinder portion.

Preferably, the housing is provided with a container support frame for supporting the liquid container, the housing is provided with a container connecting portion, and when the liquid container is connected to the liquid outlet of the liquid container in a state where the liquid container is supported by the container support frame, the liquid flow hole communicates with the liquid outlet, and the liquid supply pipe is disposed so as to communicate with the liquid flow hole of the container connecting portion.

Preferably, the container support frame is supported in the housing via an elastic member so as to be capable of biasing the liquid container supported by the container support frame in a direction in which the liquid outlet is pressed in the direction of the container connecting portion.

Preferably, the liquid nozzle, the air nozzle, and the base are all molded articles of synthetic resin.

Effects of the invention

In the liquid spraying apparatus of the present invention, the air nozzle and the liquid nozzle can be integrated by engaging the nozzle engagement portions formed on the peripheral wall portions of the air nozzle and the liquid nozzle with each other, so that the air discharge direction can be set at a predetermined angle with respect to the liquid discharge direction, and the air discharge port and the liquid discharge port can be set in a positional relationship in which they are close to each other at a predetermined distance. In the air nozzle and the liquid nozzle that are engaged with each other and integrated as described above, the air nozzle and the liquid nozzle can be attached to the fixed positions at all times by attaching the engaging portion for the base formed on the peripheral wall portion of the liquid nozzle to the nozzle attachment portion provided on the base. Therefore, the air nozzle and the liquid nozzle can be easily attached in a positional relationship suitable for generating mist having a fine particle diameter of a predetermined value or less, and the dispersion distance and dispersion range of the mist can be stabilized, and variation in the amount of mist spray between products can be reduced. As a result, the generation of mist having a large particle diameter is reduced, and the amount of mist adhering to the inner surface of the housing without diffusing from the opening to the outside can be reduced, and further, the waste of liquid can be reduced, and the amount of liquid used can be suppressed. The air nozzle, the liquid nozzle, and the pedestal portion are formed of a synthetic resin, so that dimensional accuracy is improved, positional relationships among the members and mounting positions are further stabilized, and variation in mist spray amount is further reduced.

Further, the liquid discharge port of the liquid nozzle is preferably provided so as to be located within a range of the thickness of the peripheral edge portion of the opening portion sandwiched between an inner virtual line passing through the opening portion and along the inner surface of the housing and an outer virtual line passing through the opening portion and along the outer surface of the housing, so that the position of the liquid discharge port is located outward of the inner virtual line, preferably substantially flush with the opening portion of the housing, and the mist can be blown out of the housing by air from the position. In this case, the effect of suppressing the adhesion of the mist to the inside of the housing can be further improved by setting the air ejection port of the air nozzle to the same position.

Further, by providing the tube slit through which the liquid supply tube can pass in the base portion, it is possible to suppress a spray failure due to kinking.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a liquid spray apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing an internal structure of the liquid spray apparatus with a main body cover removed.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the arrangement relationship of the liquid supply tube, the pedestal portion, the container connecting portion, and the like.

Fig. 4 is a side view of the spraying mechanism in a state of being attached to the housing.

Fig. 5 (a) is a side view of the air nozzle, the liquid nozzle, and the base unit in an assembled state, and fig. 5 (b) is a front view.

Fig. 6 (a) to (c) are views showing the air nozzle, in which (a) is a perspective view seen from the front side, (b) is a perspective view seen from the side of the connecting cylinder, and (c) is a longitudinal sectional view.

Fig. 7 (a) to (c) are views showing the liquid ejecting nozzle, wherein (a) is a perspective view seen from the front side, (b) is a perspective view seen from the side of the connecting cylinder, and (c) is a longitudinal sectional view.

Fig. 8 (a) to (e) are views showing the pedestal portion, wherein (a) is a perspective view seen from the front side, (b) is a perspective view seen from the back side, (c) is a plan view, (d) is a side view, and (e) is a cross-sectional view taken along line a-a of (c).

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the liquid spray apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is configured to include a spray mechanism 50 disposed in the housing 10. The housing 10 is formed in a substantially box shape having a back cover 20, a main body cover 30, and an upper cover 40 on the back side.

As shown in fig. 2, upper frame portion 21 protruding forward is provided at a substantially middle position in the vertical direction of back cover 20, and battery case 23 in which battery 11 is disposed is provided below upper frame portion 21. A container support frame 22 is elastically supported by the upper frame portion 21 via an elastic member 21a such as a coil spring. On the container support frame 22, the liquid container 12 containing an aromatic agent, a deodorant agent, and the like is placed. A main body cover 30 having a substantially コ -shaped cross section is detachably provided so as to cover the front surface and both side surfaces thereof.

The upper cover 40 covers the upper side of the body cover 30, is formed to be inclined and curved downward from the rear toward the front in a side view, and is formed with an opening 41 for discharging the atomized liquid sprayed from the spraying mechanism 50 to the outside.

Further, a control board constituting the control unit 70 and an illuminance sensor 13 for detecting ambient illuminance are mounted inside the upper cover 40. The illuminance sensor 13 is electrically connected to the control unit 70. An illuminance sensor window 42 facing the illuminance sensor 13 is formed in a position rearward of the upper wall of the upper cover 40.

Next, the spraying mechanism 50 which is a main part of the present embodiment will be described in detail. The spray mechanism 50 includes an air nozzle 51, a liquid nozzle 55, and a base 57. The air nozzle 51 and the liquid nozzle 55 are stacked and supported by a pedestal portion 57 (see fig. 3 to 5).

First, the air nozzle 51 has an air flow path 510 formed therein, the front end serving as an air discharge port 511, and the rear end serving as an air introduction port 512 (see fig. 6 (c)). The air flow path 510 is formed linearly from the air inlet 512 to the air outlet 511. As shown in fig. 3, one end of the air supply pipe 52 is connected to the air inlet 512, and the other end of the air supply pipe 52 is connected to the compressor 54 as an air supply source. The compressor 54 is disposed at a position of the backrest cover 20 within a range surrounded by the battery case 23, is electrically connected to the control unit 70, is driven by a control signal from the control unit 70, and supplies air (compressed air) to the air nozzle 51 via the air supply pipe 52.

More specifically, as shown in fig. 6 (a) and (b), the air nozzle 51 includes a rectangular parallelepiped portion 51a formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a connecting tube portion 51b projecting rearward from the rectangular parallelepiped portion 51 a. Preferably, a fine hole having a diameter of 1mm or less is formed at the center in the width direction of the distal end surface of the rectangular parallelepiped portion 51a to be an air ejection port 511, and the protruding end of the connecting cylindrical portion 51b is an air introduction port 512 having a diameter of about 1 to 4 mm. As shown in the cross-sectional view of fig. 6 (c), the air flow path 510 is formed linearly from the air inlet 512 to the air discharge port 511, the vicinity of the front of the air discharge port 511, which is a fine hole, gradually narrows in a tapered shape, and the flow velocity of the air introduced from the air discharge port 511 increases in the tapered portion, and the air is strongly discharged.

As shown in fig. 7 (a) to (c), the liquid nozzle 55 has an inlet port side portion 551 and an outlet port side portion 552. The inlet-side portion 551 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is integrally formed with the outlet-side portion 552 so as to be positioned on the front side thereof. The inlet-side portion 551 has a connecting tube 551a projecting rearward. The end of the connecting tube 551a is a liquid inlet 5511 having a diameter of about 1 to 4mm, and the inlet-side flow path 5510 is formed linearly from the liquid inlet 5511 toward the outlet-side portion 552. The connection tube 551a is connected to a liquid supply tube 56 for supplying the liquid in the liquid container 12 from the liquid inlet 5511 into the inlet-side flow path 5510. The details of the liquid supply pipe 56 and the liquid container 12 will be described later together with the description of the pedestal portion 57.

The discharge port side portion 552 is located forward of the introduction port side portion 551 as described above, but the tip end portion where the liquid discharge port 5521 is formed protrudes outward beyond the facing surface 5515a of the peripheral wall portion 5515 of the substantially rectangular parallelepiped introduction port side portion 551 which faces the air nozzle 51. Therefore, the liquid nozzle 55 is formed in a substantially L-shape in a side view as a whole of the inlet-side portion 551 and the outlet-side portion 552.

As shown in fig. 7 (c), an ejection port side flow path 5520 is formed in the ejection port side portion 552 in a direction perpendicular to the introduction port side flow path 5510. The liquid ejection port 5521 is formed so as to penetrate from the back surface (surface located on the opposite side to the facing surface 5515a of the introduction port side portion 551) 552a of the ejection port side portion 552, and the tip of the introduction port side flow path 5510 communicates with the side surface of the ejection port side flow path 5520 in the middle. The liquid ejection port 5521 is preferably formed as a fine hole having a diameter of about 1mm or less, and the ejection port-side flow path 5520 is tapered in the front of the liquid ejection port 5521, thereby increasing the flow rate of the liquid. A cap member 5523 is attached to a back surface side opening end 5522 of the ejection port side flow path 5520 facing the back surface 552a of the ejection port side portion 552 so as to close it. Thus, the inlet-side flow path 5510 and the discharge port-side flow path 5520 are formed as a single substantially L-shaped flow path intersecting at substantially 90 degrees, and the liquid inlet 5511 and the liquid discharge port 5521 communicate with each other.

Here, the air nozzle 51 and the liquid nozzle 55 are arranged in a stacked manner as described above, but the air nozzle 51 and the liquid nozzle 55 are provided with nozzle engagement portions, respectively, and are integrated by engaging both. That is, as shown in fig. 6 (b) and (c), in the air nozzle 51, the engagement groove portion 516 formed in a groove shape is provided on the facing surface 515a of the peripheral wall portion 515 facing the liquid nozzle 55, and as shown in fig. 7 (a) to (c), the engagement projection 5516 that projects in the direction of the facing surface 515a of the air nozzle 51 and engages with the engagement groove portion 516 is provided on the facing surface 5515a of the peripheral wall portion 5515 of the introduction port side portion 55 in the liquid nozzle 55. These engagement groove portion 516 and engagement projection 5516 constitute a nozzle engagement portion.

The inlet side portion 551 of each of the air nozzle 51 and the liquid nozzle 55 is formed into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, and the facing

surfaces

515a and 5515a are formed into flat surfaces. Therefore, when the engagement groove portion 516 and the engagement projection 5516 are engaged with each other, the air flow path 510 formed linearly in the air nozzle 51 and the introduction port side flow path 5510 formed in the introduction port portion 551 are arranged in a substantially parallel positional relationship, and the connection

cylindrical portions

51b and 551a also extend substantially in parallel (see fig. 5).

On the other hand, the spout port side portion 552 is located forward of the inlet port side portion 551 as described above, and the tip end portion of the liquid spout port 5521 formed projects outward from the facing surface 5515a of the substantially rectangular parallelepiped inlet port side portion 551. Therefore, in a state where the engagement groove portion 516 of the air nozzle 51 and the engagement projection 5516 of the inlet-side portion 551 of the liquid nozzle 55 are engaged with each other, the liquid discharge port 5521 is positioned in close proximity to the air discharge port 511 of the air nozzle 51 (see fig. 4 and 5). The distance separating the two is preferably as close as possible, and is also dependent on the capacity of the compressor 54, the diameter of the liquid discharge port 5521, and the like, but the end surface of the air discharge port 511 is preferably 3mm or less, more preferably 2mm or less, and further preferably 1mm or less in a direction substantially orthogonal to the center of the liquid discharge port 5521. Thus, the air blown out from the air outlet 511 of the air nozzle 51 traverses the liquid outlet 5521 in the radial direction, blows the liquid away, atomizes the liquid, and diffuses the liquid.

When the engagement groove portion 516 and the engagement projection 5516 as the nozzle engagement portion are engaged with each other, the air nozzle 51 and the liquid nozzle 55 according to the present embodiment adjust the length of the air nozzle 51 in the axial direction, the length of the inlet-side portion 551 of the liquid nozzle 55 in the axial direction, the length of the discharge port-side portion 552 projecting from the opposing surface 5515a, the positions of the engagement groove portion 516 and the engagement projection 5516, and the like so as to have such positional relationships.

In the housing 10, a pedestal mounting frame 24 protruding forward from the back cover 20 is provided between the liquid container 12 supported by the container support frame 22 and the upper cover 40, and a pedestal 57 is mounted on the pedestal mounting frame 24 (see fig. 3 and 4). As shown in fig. 8, the base portion 57 has a bottom surface 571 having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, and a back surface portion 572 rising upward from a rear end edge of the bottom surface 571, and is provided with a pair of

side plate portions

573, 574 extending from the back surface portion 572 at substantially the center of both side edges thereof with a predetermined interval in the front end edge direction. Upper edges 573a, 574a of the

side plates

573, 574 extend flat from the rear end edge toward the front end edge, and on the other hand, form inclined surface portions 575 that gradually increase in height from the midway position to the front end edge. The pedestal portion 57 is attached to the pedestal attachment frame 24 such that the inclined surface portion 575 gradually increases toward the opening 41 of the upper cover 40.

The inclined surface 575 is provided with a nozzle mounting part 576. The nozzle mounting portion 576 is formed in a plate shape having a predetermined thickness, and has a slit 576a extending laterally from a side edge portion. The slit 576a is formed in a shape having a wide lower surface side and a narrow upper surface side.

On the other hand, a base engaging projection 5517 (see (a) to (c) of fig. 7) that projects toward the base 57 and constitutes a base engaging portion is provided on a rear surface 5515b of the inlet-side portion 551 of the liquid nozzle 55 (a surface located on the opposite side to the facing surface 5515 a). The pedestal engaging projection 5517 has a wide front end in the projecting direction, and can be inserted into and engaged with the slit 576a formed in the nozzle attachment portion 576 of the pedestal portion 57 from the side edge portion of the slit 576 a. Therefore, the air nozzle 51 and the liquid nozzle 55, which are integrated by the engagement groove portion 516 and the engagement projection 5516 as the nozzle engagement portion, are supported by the base portion 57 by engaging the base engagement projection 5517 of the liquid nozzle 55 with the nozzle mounting portion 576 of the base 57 (see fig. 4 and 5).

The nozzle attachment portion 576 is provided on the inclined portion 575 inclined so as to become higher toward the front end edge (the opening portion 41) as described above. Therefore, when the pedestal engaging projection 5517 of the liquid nozzle 55 is engaged with the nozzle mounting portion 576, the liquid nozzle 55 and the air nozzle 51 engaged with the liquid nozzle 55 are disposed so as to be inclined in accordance with the inclination angle θ of the inclined portion 575 (see fig. 4 and fig. 8 (d)).

Since the air flow path 510 of the air nozzle 51 and the inlet-side flow path 5510 of the liquid nozzle 55 are in a substantially parallel positional relationship, the air flow path 510 and the inlet-side flow path 5510 are disposed obliquely upward at substantially the same angle. This angle, i.e., the inclination angle θ of the inclined portion 575, becomes the spray angle of the liquid blown away by the air. Therefore, the inclination angle θ of the inclined portion 575 is preferably in the range of 20 degrees to 70 degrees, more preferably 30 degrees to 60 degrees, with respect to the horizontal.

Here, since the liquid discharged from the liquid discharge port 5521 of the liquid nozzle 55 is blown out toward the outside of the opening 41 by the air discharged from the air discharge port 511 of the air nozzle 51, the air discharge port 511 and the liquid discharge port 5521 which are adjacently disposed need to be positioned to face the opening 41 formed in the upper cover 40. At this time, since the air nozzle 51 and the liquid nozzle 55 are mounted on the pedestal portion 57, the dimensions, the forming positions, the inclination angles of the inclined surface portions 575, and the like of the pedestal engaging projection 5517, the nozzle mounting portion 576, and the inclined surface portions 575 are adjusted to be positioned, and thus the dimensions, and the like can be appropriately adjusted, and the air ejection port 511 and the liquid ejection port 5521 are positioned to face the opening portion 41.

Therefore, when the air nozzle 51 and the liquid nozzle 55 are assembled in a state where the pedestal portion 57 is attached to the pedestal portion attachment frame 24, in order to ensure high dimensional accuracy so that the air ejection port 511 and the liquid ejection port 5521 are properly positioned, it is preferable that each of the three members of the air nozzle 51, the liquid nozzle 55, and the pedestal portion 57 is a molded product made of synthetic resin by injection molding or the like.

Even if the air outlet 511 and the liquid outlet 5521 face the opening 41, the amount of liquid adhering to the inner surface of the housing 10 increases when the air outlet is positioned inside the opening 41. Therefore, it is preferable to be provided at a position as close to the opening 41 as possible, and as shown in fig. 4, it is more preferable to be provided at the same position as or at a position outside an inner imaginary line passing through the opening 4 and along the inner surface of the housing 10. However, it is preferable that the opening 41 does not protrude outward, because the opening is likely to contact a hand of a person or affect the appearance of the person.

Therefore, as shown in fig. 4, the liquid discharge port 5521 of the liquid nozzle 55 is further preferably provided so as to be located within a range of the thickness t of the peripheral portion forming the opening 41 sandwiched by an inner imaginary line P passing through the opening 41 and along the inner surface of the housing 10 and an outer imaginary line Q passing through the opening 41 and along the outer surface of the housing 10. Thus, the liquid ejection port 5521 of the liquid nozzle 55 is not positioned inward of the opening 41, and therefore the liquid blown off by the air hardly adheres to the inner surface of the housing 10.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 4, the air ejection port 551 of the air nozzle 51 is also more preferably provided so as to be located within a range of the thickness t of the peripheral portion forming the opening 41 sandwiched by an inner imaginary line P passing through the opening 41 and along the inner surface of the housing 10 and an outer imaginary line Q passing through the opening 41 and along the outer surface of the housing 10. The air ejection port 551 of the air nozzle 51 is not necessarily limited to this position as long as it can blow the liquid ejected from the liquid ejection port 5521 outward of the opening 41, but is preferably provided in a range of the thickness t forming the opening 41 in proximity to the liquid ejection port 5521 so as to suck and blow the liquid by making the vicinity of the liquid ejection port 5521 negative pressure.

In the present embodiment, the opening 41 of the housing 10 is formed in the upper cover 40 as described above, and the virtual line Q outside the opening 41 is curved. Therefore, the outer surface 552b of the liquid nozzle 55, which is substantially parallel to the discharge port-side flow path 5521 of the discharge port-side portion 552, is also preferably curved so as to substantially follow the outer virtual line Q (see fig. 4 and fig. 7 (a) to (c)). Thus, the outer surface 552b does not protrude outward from the opening 41, and the liquid discharge port 5521 can be set at the predetermined position.

As shown in fig. 8 (b) and (c), the tube passage slit 571a is formed in the base portion 57 from a portion of the bottom surface portion 571 located between the pair of

side plate portions

573 and 574 to a halfway position of the rear surface portion 572. The tube is formed to have a size having an opening on an extension of the connecting cylinder 551a of the liquid nozzle 55 through the slit 571 a. Thus, the liquid supply tube 56 connecting the connection tube 551a and the liquid container 12 is disposed through the tube passage slit 571 a.

Here, the liquid container 12 used in the present embodiment is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped as a whole, and has a cylindrical projecting portion 12a at an upper portion, and a liquid outlet 12b at a substantially central portion of the cylindrical projecting portion 12 a. An inner container tube 12c having a lower end immersed in the liquid is disposed in the liquid container 12, and an upper end of the inner container tube 12c is connected to the liquid outlet 12b so as to communicate therewith. On the other hand, a container-connection-portion mounting frame 25 is provided slightly below the pedestal portion mounting frame 24 that supports the pedestal portion 57, and the container-connection-portion mounting frame 25 projects forward from the back cover 20 and extends to a range that reaches above the liquid outlet 12b in a state where the liquid container 12 is placed on the container support frame 22. A tank connecting portion 58 is attached to a portion of the tank connecting portion attaching frame 25 which corresponds to a portion above the liquid outlet 12b of the liquid tank 12.

The container connecting portion 58 is formed into a substantially disk shape having a predetermined thickness and capable of fitting into the cylindrical projecting portion 12a of the liquid container 12, and is provided with a liquid flow hole 58a penetrating vertically. When the liquid container 12 is placed on the container support frame 22, the upper frame portion 21 is urged upward by the elastic member 21a, and the cylindrical projecting portion 12a of the liquid container 12 is fitted to the container connecting portion 58. Thereby, the liquid outlet 12b of the liquid container 12 communicates with the lower end side of the liquid flow hole 58a of the container connecting portion 58.

The liquid supply pipe 56 is constituted by combining a first pipe 561 and a second pipe 562. One end 561a of the first tube 561 is connected to the upper end side of the liquid flow hole 58a of the tank connecting portion 58. The first tube 561 extends upward from one end 561a, passes through the slit 571a of the base 57, is slightly bent in the middle, and is formed in a substantially L shape (preferably, a substantially L shape having an obtuse angle at the intersection between both sides) extending in the direction of the connecting tube 551a of the liquid nozzle 55. Thus, the distal end opening 561b of the first tube 561 is directed to be opened substantially toward the connection tube 551 a.

The second pipe 562 connects the distal end opening 561b of the first pipe 561 to the connection cylindrical portion 551a of the liquid nozzle 55. Since the distal end opening 561b of the first tube 561 is directed to be opened substantially toward the connecting tube portion 551a, the second tube 562 connecting both is disposed substantially straight.

The first tube 561 has a portion bent after passing through the tube through the slit 571a as described above, but is preferably made of a tube material such as metal or hard plastic so that the tube does not collapse at the bent portion.

Since the liquid supply tube 56 of the present embodiment is composed of the first tube 561 passing through the tube passing slit 571a and the second tube 562 disposed substantially straight between the first tube and the liquid nozzle 55 as described above, as shown in fig. 4, an extremely bent portion is not formed in the middle, and thus, a spray failure due to kinking can be suppressed.

Next, the operation of the spraying mechanism 50 will be described.

The air (compressed air) is sent to the air nozzle 51 by driving the compressor 54, and is discharged obliquely upward from the air discharge port 511 with respect to the horizontal direction. When the illuminance sensor 13 is provided as in the present embodiment, the control unit 70 transmits a control signal to drive the compressor 54 when the illuminance sensor 13 detects that the predetermined brightness is reached.

When air (compressed air) is ejected, the liquid discharge port 5521 of the liquid nozzle 55 approaches the air discharge port 511 of the air nozzle 51 as described above, and therefore the air passes through the outside of the vicinity of the liquid discharge port 5521 of the liquid nozzle 55 so as to be substantially orthogonal to the liquid discharge direction, that is, so as to cross. As a result, the vicinity of the liquid discharge port 5521 of the liquid nozzle 55 becomes a negative pressure, and the liquid such as an aromatic agent or an deodorant in the liquid container 12 is sucked through the liquid supply tube 56 and discharged from the liquid discharge port 5521 at the tip of the liquid nozzle 55. The liquid is ejected from the liquid nozzle 55 to the outside and collides with air ejected from the air nozzle 51 passing immediately in front of the liquid ejection port 5521. Then, the liquid is finely divided into mist M of several tens μ M or less to several μ M or less, and is blown to the outside through the opening 41 of the upper cover 40 and diffused in accordance with the pressure of the air jetted from the air nozzle 51 (see fig. 4).

As described above, since air (compressed air) passes through the outside of the liquid nozzle 55 in the vicinity of the liquid discharge port 5521, the liquid is forcibly sucked and blown from the inside of the liquid container 12 via the liquid supply pipe 56. At this time, the liquid supply pipe 56 is not crushed as described above, and the liquid is smoothly discharged, and the position of the liquid discharge port 5521 of the liquid nozzle 55 is located within the range of the thickness t of the opening 41 as described above, so that the amount of liquid adhering to the inner surface of the housing 10 is reduced, and waste of the liquid can be suppressed. The air nozzle 51, the liquid nozzle 55, and the pedestal portion 57 are molded articles of synthetic resin as described above, and the liquid discharge port 5521 and the air discharge port 511 can be brought close to each other by a predetermined distance and positioned in an appropriate range such as a range of the thickness t of the opening 41 only by engaging them with each other. As a result, compared to the conventional configuration in which the air nozzle and the liquid nozzle are formed by metal pipes and are disposed in the housing, the air nozzle 51 and the liquid nozzle 55 are easily attached to appropriate positions in the housing 10, so that the assembly work can be simplified, and the mist M of the liquid to be sprayed can be further miniaturized. Therefore, the mist M of the sprayed liquid can float in the air for a longer time, and the entire liquid effect of the fragrance and the like can be distributed more uniformly in a wide space such as a toilet of a hotel, a restaurant, and the like.

The control unit 70 may be configured to set a drive time of the spray liquid by a timer, for example, and automatically spray the liquid when the drive time reaches a predetermined time. On the other hand, when the liquid spray apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is installed in, for example, a public toilet, it is not necessary to spray in a time zone when no one is used. Therefore, by providing the illuminance sensor 13 as described above, the configuration is made such that the spray driving is performed only when the luminance is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, and thus waste of liquid consumption can be saved.

Further, a container support frame 22 supporting the liquid container 12 is disposed on the upper frame portion 21 via an elastic member 21 a. Therefore, when the liquid container 12 is placed on the container support frame 22, the liquid outlet 12b of the liquid container 12 communicates with the liquid flow hole 58a of the container connecting portion 58 located above the liquid outlet via the elastic member 21 a. In the structure of patent document 2, the liquid supply pipe extends to the inside and outside of the liquid container, and the liquid nozzle is connected to the liquid supply pipe, so that the replacement work of the liquid container takes time. However, according to the present embodiment, when the empty liquid container 12 on the container support frame 22 is pushed downward against the elastic force of the elastic member 21a to release the engagement with the container connection portion 58, and the liquid container 12 is removed, and then a new liquid container 12 is placed on the container support frame 22 while being pushed downward again, the new liquid container 12 is connected to the container connection portion 58 by the elastic force of the elastic member 21a, and therefore, the replacement work is easy.

In the above description, the liquid is sucked and discharged by the negative pressure of the air discharged from the air nozzle 51, but a pump (not shown) may be provided between the liquid container 12 and the liquid supply pipe 56 to drive the pump to suck a required amount of liquid. By driving the pump, a predetermined amount of liquid is forcibly ejected from the liquid ejection port 5521 at the tip of the liquid nozzle 55, and the air ejected from the air nozzle 51 collides with the liquid. Then, as in the above embodiment, the liquid is finely atomized. The pump can be used in such a configuration as well, for example, when the performance of the compressor 54, that is, the pressure of the air injected from the air nozzle 51 is not too high.

Description of the reference numerals

1: liquid spraying apparatus, 10: outer shell, 12: liquid container, 20: back cover, 30: main body cover, 40: upper cover, 41: opening, 50: spraying mechanism, 51: air nozzle, 516: groove for engagement (engagement portion for nozzle (of air nozzle)), 52: air supply pipe, 54: compressor, 55: liquid nozzle, 5516: engagement projection (nozzle engagement portion of liquid nozzle), 5517: projection for pedestal engagement (engaging portion for pedestal), 56: liquid supply tube, 57: a pedestal part, 575: inclined surface portion, 576: a nozzle mounting part.

Claims

1. A liquid spraying device is characterized in that,

the liquid spray device comprises:

the air nozzle is formed with an air flow path having the air ejection port,

2. The liquid spray apparatus of claim 1,

the liquid discharge port of the liquid nozzle is provided so as to be located at the same position as or outward from an inner imaginary line passing through the opening and along the inner surface of the housing.

3. The liquid spray apparatus of claim 2,

the liquid ejection port of the liquid nozzle is provided so as to be located within a range of a thickness forming a peripheral edge portion of the opening portion sandwiched by the inner imaginary line and an outer imaginary line along an outer surface of the housing.

4. The liquid spray apparatus of claim 2 or 3,

the air ejection port of the air nozzle is provided so as to be located within a range of a thickness forming a peripheral edge portion of the opening portion sandwiched by the inside virtual line and an outside virtual line along an outer surface of the housing.

5. A liquid spray apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the base portion has an inclined surface portion that increases as the base portion approaches the opening portion, and the nozzle mounting portion is provided in the inclined surface portion.

6. The liquid spray apparatus of claim 5,

a connection cylinder portion for connecting the liquid supply pipe to a region of the liquid nozzle on the inlet port side, the region having a predetermined length from the liquid inlet port toward the discharge port side,

a tube passage slit through which the liquid supply tube connecting the connection tube portion and the liquid container passes is formed in the pedestal portion.

7. The liquid spray apparatus of claim 6,

the liquid supply pipe is configured to include:

a first tube that communicates with the liquid container side and is fixedly disposed through the tube via a slit such that a distal end opening portion thereof opens toward the connection cylinder portion of the liquid nozzle; and

and a second pipe connecting the first pipe and the connecting cylinder portion.

8. A liquid spray apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

the liquid supply pipe is disposed so as to communicate with the liquid flow hole of the container connection section.

9. The liquid spraying apparatus according to claim 8,

the container support frame is supported in the housing via an elastic member so as to be capable of biasing the liquid container supported by the container support frame in a direction in which the liquid outlet is pressed in the direction of the container connecting portion.

10. A liquid spray apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9,

the liquid nozzle, the air nozzle, and the base are all molded articles of synthetic resin.