JP2007320594A - Dispensing container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dispensing container capable of suppressing retention of a content in a nozzle hole after use. <P>SOLUTION: A dispensing pump 13 includes a depressing head 13c formed with a communication hole 13a opened in a lower end face and communicating with a nozzle hole 12, a stem 14 connected to the communication hole 13a and extending downward of the depressing head 13c, a cylindrical cylinder 16 arranged below the stem 14 and passed through a container body 11, a valve body 15 provided at a lower end opening part in the cylinder 16 in a seating/retractable manner, a piston 17 provided in the cylinder 16 in a vertically slidable manner, and a first resilient member 18 provided between the piston 17 and the valve element 15 inside the cylinder 16 to urge the piston 17 upwardly. A second resilient member 37 for urging the depressing head 13c upward of the stem 14 is provided between the depressing head 13c and the stem 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a discharge container.

Conventionally, as a discharge container, a container main body and a discharge pump attached to the mouth of the container main body and discharging contents from a nozzle hole are provided, and the discharge pump opens at a lower end surface and communicates with the nozzle hole. A pressing head (nozzle head) formed with a communication hole, a stem connected to the communication hole and extending downward from the pressing head, and disposed under the stem and inserted into the container body. A cylindrical cylinder, a valve body that can be seated and separated from the lower end opening in the cylinder, a piston that can slide up and down in the cylinder, and the piston and the valve body inside the cylinder An elastic member that urges the piston upward, and pushes down the push-down head to push down the piston through the stem, and the contents in the container body Configuration of ejecting is known from the nozzle hole.
Conventionally, this type of container has a problem in that the content remaining in the nozzle hole drips or the remaining content is altered. As a means for solving such a problem, for example, a configuration has been proposed in which the contents remaining in the nozzle hole after use are sucked toward the container body as shown in Patent Document 1 below.
JP 2006-027654 A

  However, the conventional discharge container has a problem that the structure is complicated because a special valve mechanism is arranged in the pressing head, and the number of assembly steps increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a discharge container that has a simple structure and can prevent the contents from remaining in the nozzle hole after use.

In order to solve the above problems and achieve such an object, the discharge container of the present invention includes a container body and a discharge pump attached to the mouth of the container body and discharging the contents from the nozzle holes. The discharge pump includes a pressing head that is open at a lower end surface and has a communication hole that communicates with the nozzle hole, a stem that is connected to the communication hole and extends downward from the pressing head, and the stem A cylindrical cylinder that is disposed below the container body, inserted into the container body, a valve body that can be seated and separated at a lower end opening of the cylinder, and a vertically slidable cylinder. And a first elastic member provided between the piston and the valve body inside the cylinder and biasing the piston upward, and by pushing down the pressing head, the piston is inserted through the stem. And a second elastic member that urges the pressing head upward against the stem between the pressing head and the stem. It is provided.
In the present invention, since the second elastic member is provided, not only the first elastic member but also the second elastic member is compressed and deformed when the pressing head is pressed down to discharge the contents from the nozzle hole. The pressing head is pushed down with respect to the stem. Therefore, when the pressing down of the pressing head is released and the second elastic member is restored and deformed, the pressing head is pushed up with respect to the stem, and the volume of the internal space connected to the nozzle hole in the pressing head is released. When this is done, it is possible to increase the pressure before the release, and the internal space can be made negative. As a result, the contents remaining in the nozzle hole without being discharged when the pressing head is pressed down can be sucked into the internal space from the nozzle hole by the negative pressure almost simultaneously with the release of the pressing down. It becomes possible, and it can suppress that the content remains in a nozzle hole after use.

Here, as for the said nozzle hole, a flow path cross-sectional area may be made small gradually as it goes to the said communicating hole from the front-end | tip opening part.
In this case, the flow passage cross-sectional area of the nozzle hole is gradually reduced from the tip opening to the communication hole constituting the internal space, so that the residual pressure from the nozzle hole to the internal space due to the negative pressure is reduced. It becomes possible to increase the suction efficiency of the contents.

The second elastic member may have an upward biasing force smaller than that of the first elastic member.
In this case, when the pressing head is pushed down to discharge the contents from the nozzle holes, the second elastic member is first compressed and deformed, and then the first elastic member is compressed and deformed and the contents are discharged from the nozzle holes. It will be. Thereby, in order to discharge the contents, the second elastic member must be compressed and deformed, so that the suction when the pressing head is released can be reliably realized.
That is, on the contrary, when the pressing head is pushed down, the first elastic member is first compressed and deformed, and the contents are discharged from the nozzle hole. Then, when further pushed down, the second elastic member is compressed and deformed. In the configuration, the user may stop pressing the first elastic member when the first elastic member is compressed and deformed and the contents are discharged, and may not be pressed until the second elastic member is compressed and deformed. In this case, since the volume of the internal space does not change before and after releasing the push-down, the above-mentioned effect is not exerted.

  Furthermore, in the discharge pump, the cylinder is a liquid cylinder and the piston is a liquid piston, and the discharge pump further includes an air cylinder in which an air piston slides, A gas-liquid mixing chamber in which the contents sent from the liquid cylinder and the air sent from the air cylinder merge, and a liquid discharge that can be seated on and separated from a valve seat provided at the liquid inlet of the gas-liquid mixing chamber And a foaming member installed between the nozzle hole and the gas-liquid mixing chamber, and the contents in the container body and the air are merged in the gas-liquid mixing chamber by pushing down the pressing head. Later, the foamed member may be passed to foam the contents, and the foamed contents may be discharged from the nozzle holes.

According to the discharge container of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the contents from remaining in the nozzle hole after use, and to prevent dripping from the nozzle hole.
In addition, the problem of deterioration and solidification of the contents remaining in the nozzle hole can be suppressed.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The discharge container 10 according to this embodiment includes a container main body 11 and a discharge pump 13 that is attached to the mouth portion 11 a of the container main body 11 and discharges contents from the nozzle hole 12.
The discharge pump 13 includes a pressing head 13c that has a communication hole 13a that is open at the lower end surface and communicates with the nozzle hole 12, a stem 14 that extends from the communication hole 13a toward the lower side of the pressing head 13c, A cylindrical liquid cylinder (cylinder) 16 disposed below the stem 14 and inserted into the container main body 11, and a lower valve body provided at a lower end opening in the liquid cylinder 16 so as to be seated and disengaged. (Valve element) 15, a liquid piston (piston) 17 provided in the liquid cylinder 16 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and between the liquid piston 17 and the lower valve element 15 in the liquid cylinder 16. And a first coil spring (first elastic member) 18 that urges the liquid piston 17 upward. Then, by pushing down the pressing head 13c, the liquid piston 17 is pushed down while compressing and deforming the first coil spring 18 via the stem 14, and the contents in the container body 11 are discharged from the nozzle hole 12. ing.

  Further, in the illustrated example, the discharge pump 13 includes an air cylinder 20 in which the air piston 19 slides, and the contents sent from the liquid cylinder 16 and the air sent from the air cylinder 20. Between the nozzle hole 12 and the gas-liquid mixing chamber 21. The gas-liquid mixing chamber 21 where And the contents in the container main body 11 and the air are merged in the gas-liquid mixing chamber 21 by pushing down the pressing head 13c, and then the contents are passed through the foaming member 23. And a so-called former pump that discharges the foamed contents from the nozzle hole 12 through the communication hole 13a. Note that when the contents are discharged from the nozzle holes 12, the contents are filled in the entire flow path cross section of the nozzle holes 12. The nozzle hole 12 extends radially outward from the upper end portion of the communication hole 13a extending in the vertical direction.

Hereinafter, each member mentioned above is demonstrated in detail.
The air cylinder 20 has a larger diameter than the liquid cylinder 16, and extends from the mouth portion 11 a of the container body 11 to the inside of the container body 11, that is, downward. The liquid cylinder 16 extends concentrically downward from the bottom plate portion 24 of the air cylinder 20, and the connecting cylinder 25 extends downward from the lower end of the liquid cylinder 16. Further, a flange portion 26 projects from the upper outer peripheral surface of the air cylinder 20.

  The air cylinder 20, the liquid cylinder 16 and the connection cylinder 25 are configured such that the mounting cylinder 28 is mounted on the mouth portion 11a in a state where the flange portion 26 is placed on the packing 27 disposed on the upper surface of the mouth portion 11a. It is attached to the container main body 11 by being screwed and pressing the flange portion 26 toward the upper surface of the mouth portion 11a. A suction pipe 29 is connected to the connection cylinder 25, and a lower end opening of the suction pipe 29 is disposed at the bottom in the container body 11.

  Here, a central cylinder part 28b is suspended from the center part in the radial direction of the top plate part 28a of the mounting cylinder 28, and the pressing head 13c is disposed inside the central cylinder part 28b so as to be movable up and down. Projecting upward from the plate portion 28a. A cap engaging portion 28 c that engages with the open end portion of the overcap 30 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the upper peripheral wall portion 28 d that is substantially suspended from the outer peripheral edge portion of the top plate portion 28 a of the mounting cylinder 28.

  A shaft portion 31 is connected to the upper surface of the lower valve body 15 disposed at the lower end opening in the liquid cylinder 16, and an inverted conical upper valve body 32 is provided at the upper end portion of the shaft portion 31. . On the other hand, the liquid piston 17 provided in the liquid cylinder 16 so as to be movable up and down is a cylindrical body extending in the vertical direction, and a valve cylinder portion 17a is provided at the center in the vertical direction on the inner peripheral surface thereof. . The first coil spring 18 is provided between the lower surface of the valve cylinder portion 17a and the upper surface of the lower valve body 15 with the shaft portion 31 inserted therein. The liquid piston 17 is biased upward with respect to the lower valve body 15. As a result, in the standby state before the pressing head 13c is pushed down, the inner peripheral surface of the valve cylinder portion 17a of the liquid piston 17 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the inverted conical upper valve body 32 from below, and the liquid cylinder 16 And the portion of the liquid piston 17 located above the valve cylinder portion 17a.

  A flange portion 17b protrudes from the upper outer peripheral surface of the liquid piston 17, and when the pressing head 13c is pushed down, the lower surface of the flange portion 17b is in contact with the liquid inner surface of the bottom plate portion 24 of the air cylinder 20. The lowering of the liquid piston 17 is regulated by contacting the peripheral edge of the upper end opening of the cylinder 16. Further, the outer peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the liquid piston 17 is gradually enlarged downward, and when the liquid piston 17 moves up and down in the liquid cylinder 16, the liquid piston 17 is moved to the liquid cylinder 16. It slides up and down in a liquid-tight manner on the inner peripheral surface.

  A cylindrical piston guide 33 is connected to the upper portion of the liquid piston 17. The inside of the upper portion of the piston guide 33 is the gas-liquid mixing chamber 21, and the upper portion of the liquid piston 17 is fitted to the lower portion of the piston guide 33. Further, a ring-shaped step 33a in a plan view is provided at the center in the vertical direction on the inner peripheral surface of the piston guide 33, and the valve seat 21a is erected on the inner periphery of the step 33a. The lower part of the piston guide 33 has a double structure including an inner cylinder part 33b extending downward from the step part 33a and a diameter-expanding cylinder part 33c that gradually increases in diameter as it goes downward from the step part 33a. The upper portion of the liquid piston 17 is fitted between the cylindrical portions 33b and 33c. Further, a flange portion 33d is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the enlarged diameter cylindrical portion 33c. Whether the lower surface of the flange portion 33d and the upper surface of the flange portion 17b of the liquid piston 17 push down the pressing head 13c. It is in contact regardless of whether or not.

The air piston 19 is formed on a sliding cylinder portion 34 that is slidable in an up and down direction on the inner peripheral surface of the air cylinder 20, and a top plate portion 34 a of the sliding cylinder portion 34. The inner cylinder part 35 arrange | positioned in the state protruded in the up-down direction from this top-plate part 34a in the through-hole, and the air valve 36 fitted by the outer peripheral surface of the lower part 35b of the inner cylinder part 35 are provided. The air piston 19 divides the interior of the air cylinder 20 into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, and the upper chamber and the lower chamber can be communicated and blocked by an air valve 36.
Here, the inner cylinder portion 35 includes an upper portion 35a protruding upward from the top plate portion 34a of the sliding cylinder portion 34, a lower portion 35b protruding downward from the top plate portion 34a and having a larger diameter than the upper portion 35a, and A step portion 35c that connects the upper portion 35a and the lower portion 35b is provided. The inner cylindrical portion 35 is provided such that the inner peripheral surface of the upper portion 35a is along the outer peripheral surface of the piston guide 33, and the inner peripheral surface of the lower portion 35b is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the enlarged diameter cylindrical portion 33c. Further, the lower end of the lower portion 35 b of the inner cylinder portion 35 is in contact with the upper surface of the flange portion 33 d of the piston guide 33.

  A ring-shaped partition portion 14a is projected at the center in the vertical direction on the inner peripheral surface of the stem 14, and the vertical direction is formed inside the lower cylindrical portion 14b located below the partition portion 14a. The upper part of the piston guide 33 is inserted over substantially the entire area. Further, in the standby state, the upper end portion of the inner cylinder portion 35 is inserted between the inner peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the stem 14 and the upper outer peripheral surface of the piston guide 33, and the outer peripheral surface of the upper end portion is In contact with the inner peripheral surface of the stem 14 with a gap provided above the upper end. Furthermore, the foam member 23 is provided in the upper cylinder part 14c located in the stem 14 above the partition part 14a. The stem 14 is entirely fitted in the communication hole 13a of the pressing head 13c except for its lower end.

  In the above configuration, when the pressing head 13c is pushed down as shown in FIG. 3, the lower end of the stem 14 comes into contact with the step portion 35c of the inner cylinder portion 35. Together with the air valve 36, the piston guide 33, and the liquid piston 17, the first coil spring 18 is lowered while being compressed and deformed. At this time, the internal pressure of the liquid cylinder 16 increases due to the lowering of the liquid piston 17 and the closing of the lower end opening of the liquid cylinder 16 by the lower valve body 15, and this increased internal pressure is seated on the valve seat 21a. The liquid discharge valve 22 acts on the liquid discharge valve 22 and is separated from the valve seat 21 a, whereby the contents in the liquid cylinder 16 flow into the gas-liquid mixing chamber 21.

On the other hand, by pressing down the pressing head 13c, air flows into the upper chamber of the air cylinder 20 from between the outer peripheral surface of the pressing head 13c and the inner peripheral surface of the central cylinder portion 28b of the mounting cylinder 28, and then This air passes between the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder part 35 and the through hole of the sliding cylinder part 34, and between the air valve 36 and the inner surface of the top plate part 34a of the sliding cylinder part 34. As the air piston 19 descends while passing through and flowing into the lower chamber of the air cylinder 20, the air in the lower chamber is compressed and its internal pressure rises. As the internal pressure rises, the air valve 36 comes into close contact with the inner surface of the top plate portion 34a of the sliding cylinder portion 34, and the inflow of air from the upper chamber to the lower chamber stops, and the lower end of the inner cylinder portion 35 and The air in the lower chamber enters the gas-liquid mixing chamber 21 through the gap between the piston guide 33 and the flange portion 33d of the piston guide 33 and the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the inner cylinder portion 35 and the outer peripheral surface of the piston guide 33. Inflow.
As described above, the contents in the container main body 11 and the air are merged into the gas-liquid mixing chamber 21, and then the contents are foamed by passing through the foaming member 23, and then in this state via the communication hole 13 a. The ink is discharged from the nozzle hole 12.

  In the present embodiment, a second coil spring (second elastic member) 37 that urges the pressing head 13 c upward with respect to the stem 14 is provided between the pressing head 13 c and the stem 14. The second coil spring 37 is provided between the inner peripheral surface of the communication hole 13a of the pressing head 13c and the outer peripheral surface of the stem 14, and these 13a, 14, and 37 are arranged concentrically. Further, the lower inner peripheral surface of the communication hole 13a is formed with a first step portion 13b whose surface extends in the central axis direction, that is, the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, and the lower outer peripheral surface of the stem 14 also has a surface. Is formed in a second step portion 14d extending in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction. And each surface of these 1st, 2nd step parts 13b and 14d has mutually opposed in the up-down direction. As described above, the second coil spring 37 is provided between the surfaces of the first and second step portions 13b and 14d in the vertical direction.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the second coil spring 37 has a lower upward biasing force than the first coil spring 18. The nozzle hole 12 may be reduced in diameter so that the flow passage cross-sectional area gradually decreases from the tip opening 12a toward the communication hole 13a.

  As described above, according to the discharge container 10 according to the present embodiment, since the second coil spring 37 is provided, when the pressing head 13c is pressed down to discharge the contents from the nozzle hole 12, the first coil spring 37 is provided. By compressing and deforming not only the coil spring 18 but also the second coil spring 37, the pressing head 13 c is pressed down with respect to the stem 14. Therefore, when the pressing down of the pressing head 13c is released and the second coil spring 37 is restored and deformed, the pressing head 13c is pushed up with respect to the stem 14, and the volume of the internal space connected to the nozzle hole 12 in the pressing head 13c is reduced. When the pressing down of the pressing head 13c is released, it is possible to increase the pressure compared to before the release, and the internal space can be made negative. As a result, the contents remaining in the nozzle hole 12 without being discharged when the pressing head 13c is pressed down are sucked into the internal space from the nozzle hole 12 by the negative pressure almost simultaneously with the release of the pressing down. It is possible to prevent the contents from remaining in the nozzle hole 12 after use.

  Further, in the case where the flow path cross-sectional area of the nozzle hole 12 is gradually reduced from the tip opening 12a toward the communication hole 13a constituting the internal space, the internal space from the nozzle hole 12 due to the negative pressure is reduced. It becomes possible to increase the suction efficiency of the residual contents inside.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the upward biasing force of the second coil spring 37 is smaller than that of the first coil spring 18, when the pressing head 13c is pushed down to discharge the contents from the nozzle hole 12, first, FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the second coil spring 37 is compressed and deformed, and thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, the first coil spring 18 is compressed and deformed, and the contents are discharged from the nozzle hole 12. Thereby, in order to discharge the contents, the second coil spring 37 must be compressed and deformed, so that it is possible to reliably realize the suction when the pressing down of the pressing head 13c is released.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, the cross-sectional area of the nozzle hole 12 may be gradually increased from the tip opening 12a toward the communication hole 13a, or the entire region extending from the tip opening 12a to the communication hole 13a may be made equal.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the upward biasing force of the 2nd coil spring 37 was made smaller than the 1st coil spring 18, it replaces with this, for example, the upward biasing force of the 1st coil spring 18 is changed to a 2nd coil. It may be smaller than the spring 37, or the upward biasing force of both the coil springs 18 and 37 may be equalized.
Further, the foaming member 23 may be disposed in the pressing head 13 c and the pressing head 13 c may be inserted into the stem 14.

Furthermore, in the said embodiment, what was called a former pump which discharges the contents from the nozzle hole 12 in the state of a bubble as the discharge container 10 was shown, but it replaces with this, for example, the piston 19 for air, the cylinder 20 for air Further, the present invention can be applied to a container that does not have the gas-liquid mixing chamber 21 and the foaming member 23 and discharges the contents without foaming.
In the above-described embodiment, the first and second coil springs 18 and 37 are shown. However, instead of this, for example, a soft material, a resin spring, or the like may be integrally formed or separately provided on the pressing head 13c. However, a rubber member or the like may be provided.

  It is possible to suppress the contents from remaining in the nozzle holes after use, and to prevent the contents from dripping from the nozzle holes.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the standby state of the discharge container shown as one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. In the discharge container shown in FIG. 1, it is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which only the second coil spring is compressed and deformed while the first coil spring is not compressed and deformed by pushing down the pressing head. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which both the first and second coil springs are compressed and deformed by pushing down a pressing head in the discharge container shown in FIGS.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Discharge container 11 Container main body 11a Mouth part 12 Nozzle hole 12a Tip opening part 13 Discharge pump 13a Communication hole 13c Press head 14 Stem 15 Lower valve body (valve body)
16 Cylinder for liquid (cylinder)
17 Piston for liquid
18 First coil spring (first elastic member)
19 Air Piston 20 Air Cylinder 21 Gas-Liquid Mixing Chamber 21a Valve Seat 22 Liquid Discharge Valve 23 Foam Member 37 Second Coil Spring (Second Elastic Member)

Claims (4)

A container body and a discharge pump that is attached to the mouth of the container body and discharges contents from the nozzle hole;
The discharge pump has a pressing head having a communication hole that is open at a lower end surface and communicates with the nozzle hole;
A stem connected to the communication hole and extending downward of the pressing head;
A cylindrical cylinder disposed below the stem and inserted into the container body;
A valve body provided at the lower end opening in the cylinder so as to be seated and disengaged;
A piston that is slidable up and down in the cylinder;
A first elastic member provided between the piston and the valve body inside the cylinder, and biasing the piston upward;
A discharge container that pushes down the piston through the stem by depressing the pressing head, and discharges the contents in the container body from the nozzle hole;
A discharge container, wherein a second elastic member is provided between the pressing head and the stem to urge the pressing head upward with respect to the stem. The discharge container according to claim 1,
The discharge container, wherein the nozzle hole has a gradually reduced cross-sectional area as it goes from the tip opening to the communication hole. The discharge container according to claim 1 or 2,
The discharge container, wherein the second elastic member has an upward biasing force smaller than that of the first elastic member. A discharge container according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
In the discharge pump, the cylinder is a liquid cylinder and the piston is a liquid piston.
Further, the discharge pump includes an air cylinder in which an air piston slides,
A gas-liquid mixing chamber in which the content delivered from the liquid cylinder and the air delivered from the air cylinder merge;
A liquid discharge valve that can be seated on and separated from a valve seat provided at the liquid inlet of the gas-liquid mixing chamber;
A foaming member installed between the nozzle hole and the gas-liquid mixing chamber,
After the contents in the container body and air are merged in the gas-liquid mixing chamber by depressing the pressing head, the contents are foamed by passing through the foaming member, and the foamed contents are discharged from the nozzle holes. A discharge container characterized by that.

Images