JP2009286406A - Dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dispenser which easily attaches a container to a case body easily and securely and also effectively prevents ingress of foreign matters and leakage of a fluid in the container. <P>SOLUTION: The dispenser is equipped with: the case body 10 to which the container 1 is detachably attached; a pump device 30 for sucking the fluid in the container through a suction pipe 48 and discharging it from a discharge pipe 46, and drive mechanisms 34, 35, 41 and 42 for the pump device 30; a cap 38 which is locked on the pump device and abuts on the upper surface of the base plate 21 of a holding bracket in order to fix the pump device to the holding bracket 20 of the case body; a fixing mechanism engaged with the cap from below and having an adaptor 50 abutting on the undersurface of the base plate; and a bottom wall part 14 for the case body supporting the bottom part 4 of the container attached to the case body. The adaptor has a flexible skirt part 58 disposed in close contact with the wall faces of the upper parts 5 and 6 of the container, attached to the case body, thereby urging the container downwards and holding the container between the bottom wall part and itself. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a dispenser, and more specifically, to a dispenser that is used by detachably attaching a container filled with a fluid content such as a chemical solution or a soap solution to a case body.

  Conventionally, for example, a container filled with fluid contents such as chemical liquid or soap liquid is detachably attached to the case body, the fluid in the container is sucked up by a pump mechanism, and discharged from a discharge nozzle for use. Are generally well known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In such a dispenser, when replenishing the contents of a container or changing its type, it is common to replace the container with a new one.
Since the container is usually coupled to the pump mechanism using the screw of the supply / discharge port portion, in the dispenser having a structure in which the pump mechanism is incorporated in the case body, when the container is replaced, first, the supply / discharge port Remove the used container from the pump mechanism. Then, by tightening the screw of the supply / discharge port of the new replacement container by screwing it into the screw part of the pump mechanism, the new replacement container is attached to the case body in a state of being coupled to the pump mechanism. ing.
JP-A-9-48479

  However, in this way, when installing a new replacement container, the used container is removed by screwing and tightening the screw of the supply / discharge port of the container to the screw part of the pump mechanism incorporated in the case body. The screw unscrewing operation at the time and the screw screwing operation at the time of mounting the exchange container are troublesome and cumbersome.

  In addition, when mounting the replacement container on the case body, the container mounting space of the case body is limited, and it is necessary to mount it on the case body while inserting a suction pipe that sucks up fluid from inside the container, In addition, since the screw portion of the pump mechanism is often difficult to see from the outside of the case, when the screw of the supply / discharge port portion of the container is screwed to the screw portion of the pump mechanism, poor screwing or insufficient tightening occurs. There are many cases.

  If such screw screwing failure or insufficient tightening occurs, it cannot be stably held in the case body of the container, and foreign matter may enter the container or the pump mechanism from the screw connection part. May leak the fluid in the container.

  The present invention has been made in view of such technical problems, and it is intended to provide a dispenser that can easily and reliably attach a container to a case body and that can effectively prevent foreign matter contamination and fluid leakage in the container. Basic purpose.

  For this reason, the dispenser according to the present invention includes a) a case body in which a container filled with a predetermined fluid is detachably mounted, and b) a fluid in the container mounted on the case body via the suction pipe. A pump device that sucks up from the container and discharges it to the outside of the case body via the discharge pipe; c) a drive mechanism for driving the pump device; and d) a fixing mechanism for fixing the pump device to the holding plate of the case body. A fixing mechanism having an upper fixing member that is engaged with the upper surface of the holding plate and is engaged with the upper surface of the holding plate, and a lower fixing member that engages with the upper fixing member from below and contacts the lower surface of the holding plate. E) a bottom support portion provided at a bottom portion of the case body and supporting a bottom portion of the container mounted on the case body, and f) the lower fixing tool of the container mounted on the case body. Close contact with the upper wall and urge the container downward The has a flexible skirt portion for holding the container between the bottom support portion, it is obtained by said.

  In this case, the upper fixing tool and the lower fixing tool are fastened and fixed to each other with the holding plate interposed therebetween, so that the pump device can be fixed to the holding plate of the case body.

  In this case, the lower fixture preferably has a first adapter having a screw portion fastened to the upper fixture, and a second adapter assembled to the first adapter and having a flexible skirt portion below. It consists of an adapter.

According to the present invention, the pump device is fixed to the holding plate of the case body with the upper fixing tool and the lower fixing tool, and the container mounted on the case body has an upper wall surface that is flexible with the lower fixing tool. It is urged downward by the skirt portion and is held between the bottom support portion of the case body.
Therefore, when replacing the container, the screw unscrewing operation for removing the used container and the screw threading operation for mounting the replacement container are unnecessary, and the container replacing operation can be greatly simplified. In addition, the exchange container can be easily and reliably attached to the case body. Moreover, since the flexible skirt portion urges the container downward in close contact with the upper wall surface of the container, foreign matter is mixed into the container or the pump device or fluid in the container leaks out. It can be surely prevented.

  In this case, the upper fixing tool and the lower fixing tool are fastened and fixed to each other with the holding plate interposed therebetween, and the pump device is fixed to the holding plate of the case body. The pump device can be fixed to the case body.

  In this case, the lower fixing tool includes a first adapter having a screw part fastened to the upper fixing tool, and a second adapter assembled to the first adapter and having the flexible skirt part below. By adopting a split structure, even when the overall shape of the lower fixture is complicated, it can be manufactured relatively easily. In addition, the first adapter having the screw portion and the second adapter having the flexible skirt portion can be made of different materials having characteristics required for each. The degree of freedom can be increased.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the overall configuration of a case body and an exchange container of a dispenser according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the dispenser showing a state where the container is mounted on the case body, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a holding bracket for holding the pump device of the dispenser, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the pump device in a pump non-operating state. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a sectional structure of the pump device in a pump driving state.

  As shown in these drawings, the dispenser D according to the present embodiment is a so-called manual type in which a pump device is driven manually (manual), for example, a chemical container filled with a chemical such as soap liquid. As shown in FIG. 2, 1 is mounted in a case body 10 and used.

As can be clearly understood from FIG. 1, the container 1 is configured by providing a supply / discharge port 8 at the center of the upper end of a bottle-shaped container body 2, and is integrally formed by using, for example, a blow molding method using a synthetic resin material. ing. The container body 2 includes a thin-walled cylindrical body portion 3, a bottom portion 4 that covers and closes the lower end side of the body portion 3, and an upper surface portion that covers the upper end side of the body portion 3 and includes the supply / discharge port 8 at the center. 5 and a curved shoulder portion 6 forming the periphery of the upper surface portion 5 and the vicinity thereof.
In the present embodiment, the body 3 of the container body 2 is formed in a rectangular cylindrical shape, but may instead be in a cylindrical shape, for example. Moreover, although the upper surface part 5 is a shape close | similar to a relatively flat shape, you may form in a cone shape or a dome-shaped curved surface shape including the shoulder part 6 instead.

  Until the container 1 is attached to the case body 10, the container 1 is stored in a predetermined storage location with a cap (not shown) screwed to the male screw portion 8m of the supply / discharge port 8 at the center of the upper end of the container. The cap is unscrewed from the male screw portion 8m of the supply / exhaust port portion 8 when being attached to the case body 10. Instead of this, a cap (not shown) may be detachably attached to the supply / discharge port portion 8 of the container 1 by a fitting structure regardless of the screw mechanism. Further, the contents filled in the container 1 are not limited to a chemical solution such as a soap solution, and various fluids are used depending on the application.

  The case body 10 includes a housing part 11 that can accommodate the container 1 and a cover part 18 attached to the upper part of the housing part 11. The main part of the housing part 11 is manufactured by, for example, press-molding a steel plate, and the cover part 18 is manufactured by using, for example, a synthetic resin material by, for example, an injection molding method. In addition, the material and manufacturing method of the housing part 11 and a cover part are not limited to these.

  The housing portion 11 includes a pair of left and right side walls 12 (see FIG. 1), a ceiling portion 13 that connects the upper end portions of the side walls 12, and a bottom wall portion 14 that connects the lower end portions of the left and right side walls 12. A housing space 11 s for housing the container 1 is formed between the left and right side walls 12. One side and one side lower side of the accommodation space 11s are opened, and the container 1 is inserted into the accommodation space 11s from the opening 11h. In this specification, the side on which the container 1 is inserted (the left side in FIGS. 2, 5 and 6) is referred to as the “front side” of the case body 10 or the housing part 11.

  As shown in detail in FIG. 3, a projection 14 p is provided at the front end of the bottom wall portion 14 so as to protrude upward by a predetermined height. A curved edge 4a that is curved with a predetermined curvature is formed at the peripheral portion of the bottom 4 of the container 1, and a gently curved inclined portion 4b that extends from the inside of the curved edge 4a toward the center of the container bottom 4 is formed. Is provided. When the container 1 is mounted in the housing part 11, the curved edge part 4a gets over the protruding part 14p of the bottom wall part 14, and the curved inclined part 4b rides on the protruding part 14p. The bottom portion 4 is supported on the bottom wall portion 14 of the housing portion 11. Thus, since the container 1 is mounted on the housing part 11 with the curved edge 4a of the container bottom part 4 getting over the protrusion 14p of the bottom wall part 14 of the housing part 11, the container bottom part 4 is attached to the housing. The bottom wall part 14 of the part 11 will not fall off carelessly.

  A rear plate 15 facing the opening 11 h is provided at the rear portion of the bottom wall portion 14, for example, integrally with the bottom wall portion 14. The container 1 inserted into the accommodation space 11s has its bottom 4 supported on the bottom wall portion 14 of the case body 10 so that its vertical position is determined, and the lower portion of the body 3 is the back plate. The position in the front-rear direction is fixed by being stopped by 15. An attachment plate 16 (see FIG. 2) used when attaching the case body 10 to, for example, a vertical wall (not shown) is assembled above the back plate 15 as necessary.

  In addition, a holding bracket 20 for holding the pump device 30 is fixed at an appropriate position in the vertical direction at a relatively upper portion of the housing portion 11. As shown in FIG. 4, the holding bracket 20 includes a base plate 21 having a substantially U-shaped slot portion 21 k in a plan view, and a pair of left and right side plates 22 extending upward from a side end portion of the base plate 21. The front plate 23 that connects the front end portions of the side plates 22 and the left and right side plates 22 are screwed, for example, to the left and right side walls 12 of the housing portion 11 so that the base plate 21 is oriented substantially horizontally. In this state, the holding bracket 20 is fixed to the housing part 11.

  5 and 6, the pump device 30 includes a cylindrical main body 31, a ball-shaped valve body 32 and a coil spring 33 housed in a pump chamber 31s of the cylindrical main body 31, A drive shaft 34 that is urged upward by a coil spring 33 and that slides relative to the cylindrical main body 31, and a head portion 35 provided at the upper end of the drive shaft 34 is pushed down by a roller portion 42 of the drive lever 41. In this way (see FIG. 6), the drive shaft 34 is slid downward to drive the pump device 30 and discharge a certain amount of fluid stored in the pump chamber 31s.

  A suction pipe 48 for sucking the chemical solution in the container 1 into the pump chamber 31 s is coupled to the lower end of the pump body 31. In order to ensure and improve the workability when the container 1 is mounted on the case body 10, the sucking pipe 48 is more preferably made of a material rich in elasticity and has sufficient flexibility.

  On the other hand, a discharge pipe 46 for discharging a chemical stored in the pump chamber 31 s is coupled to the side of the head section 35, and a nozzle section 47 is incorporated at the tip of the discharge pipe 46. Yes. The nozzle portion 47 of the discharge pipe 46 faces the outside of the cover portion 18 from a hole provided in the cover portion 18. Further, the drive lever 41 extends so as to protrude outward from the hole provided in the cover portion 18.

  The terminal portion of the drive lever 41 is rotatably supported by a pivotal support portion 43 near the upper end of the rear portion of the housing portion 11 of the case body 10, and the user can move from a standby state (pump non-drive state) shown in FIG. By rotating the drive lever 41 forward and downward, as shown in FIG. 6, the roller portion 42 attached to the drive lever 41 moves downward and pushes down the head portion 35. As a result, a certain amount of chemical liquid is discharged from the tip nozzle portion 47 of the discharge pipe 46 coupled to the head portion 35.

Thereafter, when the user releases the drive lever 41 by releasing his / her hand from the drive lever 41, the drive shaft 34 slides upward by the urging force of the coil spring 33 and returns to the original standby state (see FIG. 5). At this time, the ball-shaped valve body 32 floats due to the pressure difference in the container 1 and the pressure in the pump chamber 31 s, and the chemical solution in the container 1 is passed through the suction pipe 48 coupled to the lower end portion of the cylindrical main body 31. A certain amount of chemical solution is stored in the pump chamber 31s according to the volume of the pump chamber 31s.
Since the pump device 30 having such a configuration is conventionally known as a manual pump device, further description of the structure and operation thereof will be omitted.

  An annular bush 37 is fixed to the cylindrical body 31 of the pump device 30 using, for example, a screw mechanism, and an annular bush 37 is interposed between the bush 37 and the flange 31b of the cylindrical body 31 positioned below the bush 37. The upper surface portion 38b of the cap 38 is locked so as not to drop off. A female screw portion 38n is screwed on the inner surface of the annular portion 38a of the cap 38. The lower end surface of the annular portion 38a of the cap 38 is formed to have a diameter larger than the width of the slot portion 21k formed in the base plate 21 of the holding bracket 20, and can come into contact with the upper surface of the base plate 21. ing.

The dispenser D according to this embodiment includes an adapter 50 that fixes the pump device 30 to the holding bracket 20. Next, the structure and operation of the adapter 50 will be described.
FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the adapter, and FIG. 8 is an overall perspective view showing an assembled state of the adapter. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the cross-sectional structure of the adapter immediately before the container is mounted, and FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the cross-sectional structure of the adapter in the container mounted state.

As can be clearly understood from FIG. 7, the adapter is preferably divided into two parts, and includes a first adapter 51 having a male screw portion 53 m at an upper portion and a second adapter 56 assembled to the lower portion of the first adapter 51. It is configured.
The first adapter 51 is preferably integrally formed using a synthetic resin material, and is composed of a larger-diameter lower cylindrical portion 52 and a smaller-diameter upper cylindrical portion 53, and an outer peripheral portion of the upper cylindrical portion 53. The male screw portion 53m is screwed. The male screw portion 53m is screwed with a female screw portion 38n formed on the inner surface of the annular portion 38a of the cap 38 of the pump device 30.

  The outer diameter of the upper cylindrical portion 53 is set to be smaller than the width of the slot portion 21k formed in the base plate 21 of the holding bracket 20, while the outer diameter of the annular upper end surface of the lower cylindrical portion 52 is set. The dimension is set larger than the width of the slot portion 21k. Accordingly, the annular upper end surface of the lower cylindrical portion 52 can come into contact with the lower surface of the base plate 21 of the holding bracket 20 with the upper cylindrical portion 53 inserted through the slot portion 21k from below.

  The second adapter 56 has a cylindrical portion 57 having an inner peripheral surface that fits with the outer peripheral surface of the lower cylindrical portion 52 of the first adapter 51, and extends downward from the lower end of the cylindrical portion 57. The skirt part 58 is comprised. The second adapter 56 is made of an elastic material such as rubber or soft resin, and the skirt portion 58 has sufficient flexibility and sealing characteristics.

  An annular locking collar portion 57 b is integrally formed inside the upper end of the cylindrical portion 57, and this locking collar portion 57 b is formed in an annular shape provided on the upper outer periphery of the lower cylindrical portion 52 of the first adapter 51. The second adapter 56 is assembled integrally with the first adapter 51 by being fitted in the groove 52g.

  Thus, the adapter 50 that fixes the pump device 30 to the holding bracket 20 is assembled to the first adapter 51 having the male screw portion 53m fastened to the cap 38 of the pump device 30, and the first adapter 51 is flexible. By dividing the second adapter 56 having the sex skirt portion 58 into two parts, the adapter 50 having a complicated shape as a whole can be manufactured relatively easily. In addition, the first adapter 51 having the threaded portion 53m and the second adapter 56 having the flexible skirt portion 58 can be manufactured from different materials having the required characteristics, and the adapter 50 is manufactured. At this time, the degree of freedom in material selection can be increased. In addition, it is also possible to integrally mold the adapter without using a two-part structure.

  When the pump device 30 is fixed to the housing portion 11 of the case body 10, the cylindrical main body portion 31 and the suction pipe 48 of the pump device 30 are formed on the base plate 21 of the holding bracket 20 fixed to the case body 10. The upper cylindrical portion 53 of the adapter 50 (that is, the first adapter 51) is inserted into the slot portion 21 k and the lower end surface of the annular portion 38 a of the cap 38 of the pump device 30 is located on the upper surface side of the base plate 21. Is inserted into the slot portion 21k from below, and the male screw portion 53m of the upper cylindrical portion 53 is screwed into the female screw portion 38n formed on the inner surface of the annular portion 38a of the cap 38 and tightened (FIGS. 5 and 6). reference).

Thereby, the lower end surface of the annular portion 38a of the cap 38 abuts on the upper surface of the base plate 21, and the annular upper end surface of the upper cylindrical portion 53 of the adapter 50 (that is, the first adapter 51) is the base plate 21. The cap 38 and the adapter 50 are fastened and fixed to each other with the base plate 21 of the holding bracket 20 sandwiched between them, and the pump device 30 is fixed to the base plate 21.
By fixing the pump device 30 to the base plate 21 in this way, the pump device 30 can be fixed to the case body 10 easily and reliably using a screw fastening mechanism.

  In the dispenser D configured as described above, when the container 1 filled with the chemical solution is attached to the case body 10, the container with the cap of the supply / discharge port 8 removed as shown in FIG. While slightly tilting 1, the suction pipe 48 is inserted into the container 1 from the supply / exhaust port 8, and the housing space 11 s is opened from the opening 11 h formed on the front side and the front lower side of the housing space 11 s of the housing part 11 of the case body 10. The container 1 is inserted inside. At this time, the container 1 is inserted upward so that the body 3 of the container 1 is substantially along the back plate 15 of the case body 10, so that the supply / discharge port 8 of the container 1 is connected to the adapter 50 (that is, the second adapter 56). And) the container 1 moves up so as to be substantially coaxial (see FIG. 9).

  And the bottom part 4 of the container 1 is supported on the bottom wall part 14 of the case body 10 and positioned in the up-and-down direction, and the relatively lower part of the body part 3 is held against the back plate 15 and positioned in the front-and-rear direction. Thus, the container 1 is mounted in the housing part 11 of the case body 10 without the need for screw fastening work as in the prior art.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, the skirt portion 58 of the adapter 50 (that is, the second adapter 56) preferably has its tip portion and its vicinity on the wall surface of the shoulder portion 6 or the upper surface portion 5 of the container 1. It bends so that it adheres (elastically deforms). And the container 1 is urged | biased below with the elastic force according to this bending amount, and the container 1 is hold | maintained with fixed urging | biasing force between the said bottom wall part 14 of the case body 10. FIG. .

  At this time, according to the elastic characteristics of the skirt portion 58 and the vertical dimension of the container 1, the holding bracket 20 is deformed so that the amount of deflection of the skirt portion 58 (that is, the elastic force) is a value within a desired and suitable range. A distance Ls between the lower surface of the base plate 21 and the upper surface of the bottom wall portion 14 of the case body 10 is suitably set.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the pump device 30 is fixed to the base plate 21 of the holding bracket 20 of the case body 10 with the cap 38 and the adapter 50, and the container 1 attached to the case body 10 is The wall surface of the upper portion (shoulder portion 6 or upper surface portion 5) is urged downward by the flexible skirt portion 58 of the adapter 50 and is held between the bottom wall portion 14 of the case body 10.

  Therefore, when the container 1 is replaced, the screw unscrewing operation for removing the used container and the screw threading operation for mounting the replacement container are unnecessary, and the container replacing operation is greatly simplified. Can do. In addition, the exchange container 1 can be easily and reliably attached to the case body 10. In addition, since the flexible skirt portion 58 urges the container 1 downward in a state of being in close contact with the wall surface of the upper portion (shoulder portion 6 or the upper surface portion 5) of the container, the foreign matter is placed inside the container 1 or the pump device 30. It is possible to surely prevent the fluid in the container 1 from leaking out.

  Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and changes and improvements can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

  The present invention relates to a dispenser, and can easily and surely attach a container to a case body, and can effectively prevent foreign matter contamination and fluid leakage in the container, for example, a container filled with a fluid content such as a chemical solution or a soap solution. Can be effectively used as a dispenser that is detachably mounted on the case body.

It is a perspective view which shows roughly the whole structure of the case body and exchange container of the dispenser which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the said dispenser which shows the state which mounted | wore the case body with the container. It is a partial expanded sectional view which expands and shows the Y3 part of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the holding | maintenance bracket holding the pump apparatus of the said dispenser. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the cross-sectional structure of the pump apparatus of the said dispenser in a pump non-operation state. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the cross-section of the said pump apparatus in a pump drive state. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows schematic structure of the adapter of the said dispenser. It is a whole perspective view which shows the assembly state of the said adapter. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the cross-section of the said adapter just before container mounting. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the cross-section of the said adapter in a container mounting state.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container 2 Container main body 3 Trunk part 4 Bottom part 5 Upper surface part 6 Shoulder part 8 Supply / exhaust part 10 Case body 11 Housing part 14 Bottom wall part 20 Holding bracket 21 Base plate 30 Pump apparatus 31 Cylindrical main body 34 Drive shaft 35 Head part 38 Cap 41 Drive lever 42 Roller part 46 Discharge pipe 48 Suction pipe 50 Adapter 51 First adapter 53 Upper cylindrical part 53m Male thread part 56 Second adapter 58 Skirt part D Dispenser

Claims (3)

A case body in which a container filled with a predetermined fluid is detachably mounted;
A pump device for sucking up the fluid in the container attached to the case body from the container via a suction pipe and discharging the fluid to the outside of the case body via a discharge pipe;
A drive mechanism for driving the pump device;
A fixing mechanism for fixing the pump device to the holding plate of the case body, the upper fixing device being locked to the pump device and contacting the upper surface of the holding plate; A fixing mechanism having a lower fixture that contacts the lower surface of the holding plate;
A bottom support portion provided at the bottom of the case body and supporting the bottom of the container mounted on the case body,
The lower fixture has a flexible skirt that holds the container between the bottom support part and the bottom support part in close contact with the upper wall surface of the container attached to the case body to urge the container downward. is doing,
A dispenser characterized by that.   The upper fixing tool and the lower fixing tool are fastened and fixed to each other with the holding plate interposed therebetween, thereby fixing the pump device to the holding plate of the case body. The dispenser described.   The lower fixture is composed of a first adapter having a screw portion fastened to the upper fixture and a second adapter assembled to the first adapter and having the flexible skirt portion below. The dispenser according to claim 2.

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