JP3247359U - Whisk - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a foaming tool capable of uniformly generating fine, creamy foam. [Solution] A double cylindrical net body 5 is formed by folding one end of a flexible cylindrical net 2 over the other end, with both end overlapping ends where both ends of the cylindrical net 2 overlap, and a folded-back end 5b where the cylindrical net 2 is folded back, and with an outer net part and an inner net part 5d. Then, a sheet-like foam 3 is inserted into the annular space formed between the outer net part and the inner net part 5d, and both end overlapping ends are closed by thermal welding. Then, the double cylindrical net body 5 is turned over, and a tightening string 4 is attached to the folded-back end 5b of the turned-over double cylindrical net body 5, which tightens the annular opening formed by the folded-back end 5b so as to be able to open and close. This allows soap to be stored in the soap storage space B, and the foaming tool 1 can be used. [Selected Figure] Fig. 6

Description

This invention relates to a foaming device, and more specifically, to a foaming device used to foam detergents such as solid soap and liquid soap.

Conventionally, whisks of this type have been proposed that use a net made of a flexible plastic material (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

The whisk shown in Patent Document 1 is mainly composed of a bag-shaped inner net that contains solid soap, and an outer net that is arranged to cover the outside of the inner net. The end of the inner net on the opening side is joined to one end of the outer net, and the other end of the outer net is not joined to the inner net and is left open. Therefore, with this whisk, the outer net can be rubbed against the inner net over a wide area, allowing for efficient whipping of large amounts of foam.

The foaming device shown in Patent Document 2 is configured so that finely cut sponge pieces are placed inside a cylindrical net that is open at both ends, and then the openings at both ends are welded in a straight line along the edges, and the net is closed to form an envelope-like foaming net with both ends of the closures in a crossed or twisted position. The closed ends at both ends are then folded to align and the ends are tied with string, and one of the openings of the net, which is open at both ends, is welded to form a space to store soap. In this foaming device, the sponge pieces absorb moisture, and the twisted net rubs the soap to create a foam, making it possible to create a fine foam.

Utility Model Registration No. 3109976 Utility Model Registration No. 3142536

However, such conventional whisks have the following problems, and improvements are needed:

In other words, the whisk in Patent Document 1 has the advantage that the outer net can be rubbed widely against the inner net, allowing soap to be lathered efficiently, but on the other hand, because the outer net and the inner net are structured to overlap in a flat plane, it is difficult for air to get between the outer net and the inner net when lathering. Therefore, there is a problem in that it is difficult to produce fine bubbles with this whisk.

On the other hand, the whisk in Patent Document 2 has a three-dimensional net structure, with the closed ends at both ends of the whisk net being configured to be in a crossed or twisted positional relationship. Therefore, the whisk in Patent Document 2 allows air to easily get into the frictional parts during whisking compared to the whisk in Patent Document 1, making it possible to produce finer foam. However, in this whisk, the sponge pieces that supply air are finely cut, so not much air is supplied to the frictional parts, and the air is not supplied evenly. Therefore, this whisk has a problem of inconsistent foaming and an inability to produce uniformly fine foam.

This invention was made in consideration of these problems, and its purpose is to provide a whisk that can produce fine, creamy foam evenly and uniformly.

In order to achieve the above object, the whisk of the present invention is characterized in that one end of a flexible tubular net formed in a mesh shape from synthetic resin material or synthetic resin fiber is folded over to the other end to form a double tubular net body having both end overlapping ends where both ends of the tubular net are overlapped and a folded end where the tubular net is folded over, and having an outer net part and an inner net part, a sheet-like foam is inserted into the annular space formed between the outer net part and the inner net part to close both end overlapping ends, the double tubular net body with both end overlapping ends closed is turned over, and a tightening string is arranged at the folded end of the turned over double tubular net body to tighten and close the annular opening formed by the folded end so that it can be opened and closed.

In this device, when foaming solid soap, the solid soap is placed inside the annular opening formed by the folded ends of the double cylindrical net body, and the tightening string is tightened to close the opening. This causes the solid soap to be contained inside the foaming tool. In this state, water is added to the solid soap while the foaming tool is kneaded from the outside, and foam is generated by the friction between the solid soap and the cylindrical net.

In this case, in the whisk of the present invention, a sheet-shaped expanded foam is inserted into the annular space between the outer net portion and the inner net portion, so that when the whisk is kneaded, the air trapped in the expanded foam escapes from the surface of the sheet to the outside. The air that escapes from the sheet is then supplied over a wide area to the friction area between the bar soap and the cylindrical net. As a result, this whisk produces fine, creamy foam uniformly over a wide area.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the closure of both overlapping ends is achieved by overlapping and welding the outer net portion and the inner net portion together at both overlapping ends of the double cylindrical net body that is folded flat.

In this invention, when the double cylindrical net body is folded flat, the outer net portion and the inner net portion at both overlapping ends are welded together, so that both overlapping ends of the double cylindrical net body can be closed without compromising the flexibility of the cylindrical net. Therefore, with the whisk according to this invention, it is possible to whip the foam without compromising the soft kneading sensation when whipping.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the foam is made of a substantially rectangular sheet that occupies substantially the entire area of one of the rectangular spaces that is divided into an upper rectangular space and a lower rectangular space by folding the double cylindrical net body flat, and this sheet is inserted into at least one of the rectangular spaces.

In this invention, the expanded foam is composed of a substantially rectangular sheet that occupies substantially the entire rectangular space formed by folding the double cylindrical net body flat to divide the annular space in two. In other words, the expanded foam occupies substantially the entire surface of the double cylindrical net body that is folded flat, and air is supplied from the expanded foam over a wide area. In addition, the expanded foam is inserted into at least one of the rectangular space on the upper layer side and the rectangular space on the lower layer side, so air can be supplied from either the upper layer side or the lower layer side, or from both the upper layer side and the lower layer side.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the expanded foam is made of a long, approximately rectangular sheet that occupies approximately the entire area of the annular space formed between the outer net portion and the inner net portion, and this sheet is inserted over approximately the entire circumferential length of the annular space.

In this device, the expanding foam is made up of a long, roughly rectangular sheet that occupies almost the entire annular space, allowing air to be supplied from a wide range when the whisk is kneaded.

According to this invention, the air trapped inside the sheet-shaped foam escapes from the surface of the sheet during whipping and is distributed over a wide area. This allows fine, creamy foam to be generated uniformly over a wide area.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of the external configuration of a whisk according to the present invention. 2A and 2B are perspective views showing components of the whisk, with FIG. 2A showing a cylindrical net and FIG. 2B showing a foamed foam. These are explanatory diagrams showing part of the manufacturing process of the whisk, where Figure 3(a) is an oblique view showing the process of folding one end of a tubular net back to the other end to form a double tubular net body, and Figure 3(b) is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the double tubular net body. These are explanatory diagrams showing part of the manufacturing process of the whisk, where Figure 4(a) is an oblique view showing the process of inserting expanded foam between the outer net portion and the inner net portion, and Figure 4(b) is an end view of the section taken along line II showing the structure after the expanded foam has been inserted. These are explanatory diagrams showing part of the manufacturing process of the whisk, where Figure 5(a) is a front view showing the process of closing both end overlapping ends after inserting foam, and Figure 5(b) is a front view showing the double cylindrical net body with both end overlapping ends closed in an inverted state. These are explanatory diagrams showing part of the manufacturing process of the same whisk, where Figure 6(a) is a front view showing the completed state of the whisk by attaching a tightening string to the annular opening formed at the folded end of the inverted double cylindrical net body, and Figure 6(b) is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic diagram of the completed whisk in use. 7A and 7B are end views of the cross-section section along line II showing an example of another embodiment of the same whisk, in which Figure 7(a) shows an end face in which foam is placed on both sides of the rectangular space formed by folding the double cylindrical net body flat, and Figure 7(b) shows an end face in which foam is placed along the entire circumferential length of the annular space of the double cylindrical net body.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the same reference numerals throughout the drawings indicate the same components or elements.

EMBODIMENT 1
FIG. 1 shows an example of the external configuration of a whisk 1 according to the present invention.
The foaming tool 1 is a product used for foaming detergent such as solid soap or liquid soap, and is mainly composed of a cylindrical net 2, a foam 3, and a tightening string 4.

As shown in FIG. 2(a), the tubular net 2 is a cylindrical net with both ends 2a and 2b open. The tubular net 2 is made of synthetic resin or synthetic resin fibers formed into a mesh shape, and is soft and flexible overall. In this embodiment, a polyethylene net with a diamond mesh is used as the tubular net 2, and is configured to be freely stretchable in the radial direction.

In the whisk 1 shown in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2(a), a net having a diameter L1 of about 115 mm and an axial length L2 of about 360 mm is used as the cylindrical net 2. In addition, the mesh of the cylindrical net 2 is a small mesh net with an axial length of about 1 mm.

The expanded foam 3 is a sponge-like member that allows air to escape to the outside when compressed, and is composed of a sheet-like member that is generally rectangular in plan view, as shown in FIG. 2(b). Specifically, an open-cell structure such as urethane foam is preferably used for the expanded foam 3. In this embodiment, an open-cell urethane foam with a high porosity and a large amount of air entrapped therein is used as the expanded foam 3.

In the whisk 1 shown in this embodiment, the expanded foam 3 is a urethane foam with a length L3 of about 160 mm, a width L4 of 140 mm, and a thickness L5 of about 10 mm in plan view, as shown in Figure 2 (b).

The tightening string 4 is used to tighten the annular opening of the soap storage space B (described later) so that it can be opened and closed. A soft and flexible string is used. Specifically, for example, a thin nylon string is used. In this embodiment, a nylon string with a width of about 3 mm and a length of about 500 mm is used as the tightening string 4.

Next, the specific structure of the whisk 1 according to the present invention will be explained using Figures 3 to 6, while showing the manufacturing process of the whisk 1.

(1) In the manufacturing process of the whisk 1, first, one end 2b of the cylindrical net 2 is folded back onto the other end 2a to overlap both ends 2a, 2b of the cylindrical net 2 (folding back process: see arrow in Fig. 3(a)). This forms a double cylindrical net body 5 having both end overlapping ends 5a where both ends 2a, 2b of the cylindrical net 2 are overlapped, and a folded back end 5b where the cylindrical net 2 is folded back, as well as an outer net portion 5c and an inner net portion 5d (see Fig. 3(b)).

(2) Once the double cylindrical net body 5 has been formed by folding back the cylindrical net 2 in the center, a sheet-shaped expanded foam 3 is then inserted into the annular space A formed between the outer net portion 5c and the inner net portion 5d of the double cylindrical net body 5 (expanded foam insertion process: see Figures 4(a) and 4(b)).

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the double cylindrical net body 5 is folded flat while the expanded foam 3 is inserted between the outer net portion 5c and the inner net portion 5d. When folded flat, the double cylindrical net body 5 has a rectangular shape with a length of about 180 mm and a width (axial length) of about 180 mm in a plan view. However, as described above, the expanded foam 3 shown in this embodiment has a length L3 of about 160 mm and a width L4 of 140 mm, so that it is large enough to be inserted into one of the annular spaces A divided into two by folding flat.

That is, by folding the double cylindrical net body 5 flat, the annular space A of the double cylindrical net body 5 is divided into an upper rectangular space A1 and a lower rectangular space A2 (see FIG. 4(b)). The expanded foam 3 is inserted into at least one of the upper rectangular space A1 and the lower rectangular space A2 (the upper rectangular space A1 in the illustrated example), and is sized so that the expanded foam 3 occupies substantially the entire rectangular space A2 in a plan view.

(3) Then, when the foam 3 is inserted into the rectangular space A1 on the upper layer side, the overlapping ends 5a at both ends of the double cylindrical net body 5 are closed with the foam 3 inserted in the rectangular space A1 (end closing process: see FIG. 5(a)). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5(a), the double cylindrical net body 5 is pressed flat and folded, and the outer net portion 5c and the inner net portion 5d at both overlapping ends 5a of the double cylindrical net body 5 are overlapped and heat-sealed together. As a result, the foam 3 is sealed between the outer net portion 5c and the inner net portion 5d of the double cylindrical net body 5. The reference numeral 6 in the figure indicates the traces of heat welding (heat-sealed portions) applied in a straight line along the overlapping ends 5a at both ends.

(4) After the closing of both overlapping ends 5a is completed, the folded end 5b of the double cylindrical net body 5 is folded back toward the overlapping ends 5a as shown by the arrow in FIG. 5(a) to turn the double cylindrical net body 5 inside out (turning process: see FIG. 5(b)). As a result, the double cylindrical net body 5 has the inner net part 5d positioned on the outside and the outer net part 5c positioned on the inside as shown in FIG. 5(b). In addition, the overlapping ends 5a with their ends closed are positioned inside the turned-down double cylindrical net body 5 to form the bottom of the soap storage space B described below, and the folded end 5b is formed with a ring-shaped opening by the periphery of the folded end 5b, inside which the bag-shaped soap storage space B is formed.

(5) After turning the double cylindrical net body 5 inside out in this way, a tightening string 4 is attached to the periphery of the folded end 5b where the annular opening is formed, tightening and closing the annular opening so that it can be opened and closed (tightening string attachment process: see FIG. 6(a)). Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 5(b), a through hole 7 through which the tightening string 4 passes is formed at one end of the folded end 5b of the double cylindrical net body 5, and one end of the tightening string 4 is inserted from this through hole 7 into the space between the outer net part 5c and the inner net part 5d. Then, one end of the tightening string 4 is wound around the annular opening and taken out from a through hole (not shown) formed at the other end, and both ends are tied outside the double cylindrical net body 5. This allows the annular opening of the soap storage space B to be opened by loosening the tightening string 4 (see FIG. 6(a)), while the annular opening of the soap storage space B can be closed by tightening the tightening string 4 (see FIG. 6(b)), allowing soap S (solid soap) to be inserted into and removed from the soap storage space B (storage/removal).

In the whisk 1 thus constructed, a sheet of expanded foam 3, particularly in this embodiment a sheet of foam large enough to occupy almost the entire rectangular space A2, is inserted into the annular space A between the outer net portion 5c and the inner net portion 5d. When using the whisk 1 to create foam, the air trapped in the expanded foam 3 is released over a wide area from the sheet surface by kneading the whisk 1. This allows air to be supplied over a wide area to the friction area between the soap S and the cylindrical net 2, resulting in the generation of fine, creamy foam uniformly over a wide area.

EMBODIMENT 2
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs.
The whisk 1 shown in this embodiment is obtained by modifying the arrangement of the expanded foam 3 of the whisk 1 shown in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, and other configurations are common to the whisk 1 shown in embodiment 1. Therefore, the same reference numerals are used for the parts having the same configuration, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Figure 7 (a) shows the end surface of the cut portion taken along line I-I, showing the internal structure of the double cylindrical net body 5 during the foaming foam insertion process. As shown in the figure, in the whisk 1 according to this embodiment, foaming foam 3 is inserted into both the upper rectangular space A1 and the lower rectangular space A2 that are formed when the double cylindrical net body 5 is folded flat. In this way, by inserting foaming foam 3 into both the upper rectangular space A1 and the lower rectangular space A2 that divide the annular space A in two, the soap S contained in the soap containing space B is sandwiched between the foaming foams 3, 3 arranged on both the upper and lower sides. Therefore, air is supplied from both sides of the soap S during foaming, making it possible to generate more fine, creamy foam.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 7(b) is a further modified example of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7(a), in which one long sheet of foam 3 is used instead of two sheets of foam 3. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7(b), the foam 3 is disposed over substantially the entire area of the annular space A formed between the outer net portion 5c and the inner net portion 5d. That is, the foam 3 is disposed so as to straddle both the upper rectangular space A1 and the lower rectangular space A2 formed when the double cylindrical net body 5 is folded flat. In this way, by inserting one long sheet of foam 3, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the embodiment of FIG. 7(a).

The above-mentioned embodiments are merely preferred implementations of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these, and various design changes are possible within the scope of the invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, a sheet-like member having a generally rectangular shape in plan view is used as the foam 3, but this is to allow the foam 3 to cover as wide an area as possible within the insertion space of the foam 3 (e.g., the rectangular space A1 on the upper layer side). Therefore, the shape of the foam 3 is not limited to a generally rectangular shape and can be changed as appropriate as long as it can cover a wide area.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the overlapping ends 5a at both ends of the double cylindrical net body 5 are closed by thermal welding, but for example, the overlapping ends 5a at both ends of the double cylindrical net body 5 may be configured to be closed using a method other than thermal welding, such as bonding with an adhesive.

In the above embodiment, a polyethylene net is used as the cylindrical net 2 constituting the whisk 1, but the cylindrical net 2 may be formed using a synthetic resin material or synthetic resin fiber other than polyethylene. In the above embodiment, a urethane foam with an open cell structure is used as the expanded foam 3, but the expanded foam 3 may be composed of a foam other than urethane foam as long as it is a sponge-like material that can release air by compression.

The specific values of the dimensions of the tubular net 2 and other details disclosed in the above-mentioned embodiment are merely disclosed as examples, and the specific values can be changed as appropriate.

Reference Signs List 1 Whisk 2 Cylindrical net 3 Expanded foam 4 Tightening string 5 Double cylindrical net body 5a Overlapped ends 5b Folded end 5c Outer net part 5d Inner net part 6 Heat-sealed part A Annular space A1 Upper rectangular space A2 Lower rectangular space

Claims (4)

A double tubular net body is formed by folding back one end of a flexible tubular net formed in a mesh shape from a synthetic resin material or synthetic resin fiber to the other end, and has overlapping ends at both ends where both ends of the tubular net are overlapped and a folded end where the tubular net is folded back, and also has an outer net portion and an inner net portion;
a sheet-like foam is inserted into an annular space formed between the outer net portion and the inner net portion to close both overlap ends;
This whisk is characterized in that the double cylindrical net body with both overlapping ends closed is turned inside out, and a tightening string is arranged at the folded end of the turned-inside out double cylindrical net body to tighten and close the annular opening formed by the folded end in an openable and closable manner. The whisk according to claim 1, characterized in that the overlapping ends at both ends are closed by overlapping the outer net portion and the inner net portion and welding them together at the overlapping ends at both ends when the double cylindrical net body is folded flat. The whisk described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the expanded foam is composed of an approximately rectangular sheet that occupies approximately the entire area of one of the rectangular spaces formed when the double cylindrical net body is folded flat to divide the annular space into an upper rectangular space and a lower rectangular space, and this sheet is inserted into at least one of the rectangular spaces. A whisk as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the expanded foam is composed of a long, approximately rectangular sheet that occupies almost the entire area of the annular space formed between the outer net portion and the inner net portion, and this sheet is inserted over almost the entire circumferential length of the annular space.

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