JP5695499B2 - Foam ejection container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a foam ejection container that foams and discharges fluid contents (liquid, gel, etc.) by squeezing a flexible body.

  As a container that contains various liquid detergents such as shampoos, body soaps, hand soaps, facial cleansers, and hair conditioners such as set lotions, the flow of the contents is from the viewpoint of simplifying use by omitting the foaming operation. A foam member made of, for example, a mesh is incorporated in the road, and by compressing the flexible trunk, the contents and air are mixed and passed through the foam member to cause foaming. There has been proposed a foam ejection container that discharges the contents that have become from the nozzle outlet (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the foam ejection container as described above, the foamed content remains in the nozzle discharge path in addition to the amount discharged from the jet outlet, but the remaining content is Over time, the bubbles disappeared and the contents returned to the original contents having fluidity. Therefore, after a while after use, the contents sometimes dropped from the spout. This is particularly noticeable in the horizontal-type foam ejection container in which the ejection port is provided on the side surface of the nozzle.

  In order to avoid such dripping, an outside air introduction hole for restoring the squeezed body part is provided in the discharge path of the contents, together with the outside air taken into the container body as the body part is restored. There is known a foam ejection container provided with a back suction function for returning the remaining contents into the container body.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 58-174272

  By the way, in order to make fine bubbles, the mixing ratio of the contents and air that passes through the foam member is one of the important factors. To maintain the foam quality constant, the mixing ratio is stable. It is necessary to keep in mind. However, in the foam ejection container having the back suction function as described above, when the discharge of the contents is continued by repeating the squeezing and restoration of the body part, the foam of the residual contents pulled back fills the container body, The rate at which the mixing ratio of the contents and air is expected due to the fact that the inflow hole that feeds air to the foamed member may be blocked, resulting in a decrease in the amount of inflow of air or the inclusion of bubbles in the air. The foam quality deteriorated (the texture of the foam became rough). For this reason, even if it has a back suction function, the appearance of a new bubble ejection container that can stably discharge fine bubbles has been strongly desired.

  An object of the present invention relates to a foam ejection container that foams and discharges contents, and has a back suction function, and proposes a foam ejection container that can stably discharge fine foam and is easy to use. It is in.

The present invention comprises a container body that includes a flexible body portion, and that is filled with contents in an internal space inside the body, and a cylinder body that stands up at the mouth portion of the container body. A base cap that is fixedly held on the part, a suction pipe for the contents, and an air inflow hole that are connected to the lower end of the cylindrical body to form a confluence space between the contents and air inside A cylinder and a nozzle that is connected to the upper end of the cylindrical body and communicates a discharge path formed inside thereof with the merged space;
A foam ejection container for mixing and foaming the contents and air in the merged space by pressing the body part, and ejecting the foamed contents from the outlet of the discharge path to the outside,
The base cap is provided with an outer cylinder that surrounds the cylindrical body with a gap, and an annular path leading to the internal space is formed between the cylindrical body and the outer cylinder,
The nozzle is connected to the discharge path and the annular path to form a through hole for introducing outside air and the residual contents in the discharge path into the annular path.
The lower end of the outer cylinder is provided with a partition wall that partitions the annular path and forms a storage space for the introduced residual content,
An opening communicating with the internal space is provided in the partition wall ,
The said opening is a bubble ejection container characterized by having an opening area smaller than the minimum through-hole used as the minimum opening area among the said through-holes .

The base cap is provided with a cylinder fixedly held at the mouth of the container main body and an outer cylinder surrounding the cylinder, and an annular path is formed between them, and the contents and air are formed at the lower end of the cylinder. Is connected to a cylinder that forms a merging space that mixes and foams, and a nozzle having a discharge path is connected to the upper end portion of the cylinder so that the merging space communicates with the discharge path. Since the through-hole that introduces both the outside air and the remaining contents in the discharge path into the annular path is formed, the back-suction function is effectively exhibited and the liquid from the outlet is discharged. It can be surely prevented.
Further, at the lower end portion of the outer cylinder, a partition wall that partitions the annular path and forms a storage space for the introduced residual content is provided, and the partition wall is provided with an opening that communicates with the internal space of the container body. Once the residual content is retained in the storage space, the bubbles easily disappear, and when the residual content passes through the opening, the bubbles become smaller than the opening area. As a result, the inside of the container body is not immediately filled with bubbles of residual contents, so that the air inflow holes are not easily blocked by the bubbles of residual contents, and the contents and air are mixed. By maintaining the ratio at the desired ratio, fine bubbles can be discharged stably.

Further, the opening provided in the partition wall, due to assumed to have a smaller opening area than the minimum through-hole communicating with the discharge passage and the annular path, ensures the size of the bubbles of residual contents which are stored in the circular path Therefore, fine bubbles can be discharged more stably.

It is a fragmentary sectional view which concerns on the form at the time of the distribution | circulation of the foam ejection container according to this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the attitude | position which squeezed the trunk | drum of the foam ejection container shown in FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the attitude | position which the trunk | drum of the foam ejection container shown in FIG. 2 restored | restored. It is an expanded sectional view of the through-hole and opening periphery of the foam ejection container shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view according to a form of the foam ejection container according to the present invention during distribution, and FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a posture in which the body of the foam ejection container shown in FIG. 1 is squeezed. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a posture in which the body portion of the foam ejection container shown in FIG. 2 is restored, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view around the through hole and the opening of the foam ejection container shown in FIG. is there.

  In FIG. 1, the code | symbol 10 is a container main body. The container body 10 has a cylindrical mouth portion 11 having an open top, and a tubular body portion 12 connected to a bottom portion (not shown) is connected to the mouth portion 11 so that the inside is filled with contents. A space M is formed. Here, the trunk portion 12 has flexibility formed by, for example, a synthetic resin. A screw portion 11 a is formed on the outer surface wall of the mouth portion 11.

  Reference numeral 20 denotes a base cap that closes the internal space M of the container body 10. The base cap 20 has a cylindrical body 21 that rises along the axis of the container body 10 at the mouth portion 11, and a top wall 22 that extends radially outward from an axially intermediate portion of the cylindrical body 21 with a stepped portion 22 a. And the peripheral wall 23 is suspended from the edge of the top wall 22. A screw portion 23 a corresponding to the screw portion 11 a is provided on the inner wall of the peripheral wall 23, and the base cap 20 is detachably fixed to the mouth portion 11. In the illustrated example, the base cap 20 is fixedly held by screws, but may be fixedly held by undercutting.

  An upper outer cylinder 24a that surrounds the cylinder 21 with a gap is provided on the upper surface of the top wall 22, and a lower outer cylinder 24b that similarly surrounds the cylinder 21 with a gap is provided on the lower surface of the ceiling wall 22. It has been. On the outer surface wall of the upper outer cylinder 24a, a protrusion t is formed at the middle in the axial direction and protrudes radially outward. Furthermore, a plurality of through holes 22b are formed in the stepped portion 22a where the cylindrical body 21 and the top wall 22 are connected to each other at intervals in the circumferential direction. Thereby, an annular path K connected by the through hole 22b is formed between the cylindrical body 21, the upper outer cylinder 24a, and the lower outer cylinder 24b. The upper outer cylinder 24a and the lower outer cylinder 24b are collectively referred to as an outer cylinder 24.

  Further, an inner cylinder 25 is provided on the inner side of the cylinder body 21 with a gap from the inner wall of the cylinder body 21, and the inner cylinder 25 is interposed via a flange 25 a extending radially outward from the lower end thereof. The cylinder 21 is integrally connected. A plurality of holes 25b are formed in the connecting portion between the cylinder 21 and the inner cylinder 25 at intervals in the circumferential direction, and a top wall 25c is formed in an intermediate portion in the axial direction of the inner cylinder 25. Is provided.

  Reference numeral 30 denotes a cylinder connected to the lower end of the cylindrical body 21. The cylinder 30 includes a bottomed cylindrical portion 31 and an annular portion 32 that is integrally connected to an edge portion of the bottomed cylindrical portion 31 via a step portion, and the lower end portion of the cylindrical body 21 is fitted into the annular portion 32. Combined, a confluence space G is defined inside. Further, a bottom hole 31a penetrating the front and back is formed on the bottom surface of the bottomed cylinder part 31, and a cylindrical fitting part 31b integrally connected to the bottomed cylinder part 31 is provided below the edge of the bottom hole 31a. The protrusion 31c protrudes above the edge of the bottom hole 31a. The fitting portion 31 b is fitted with a suction pipe 40 that sucks the contents of the internal space M by squeezing the body portion 12 and feeds it to the joining space G. In addition, a plurality of inflow holes 31d that extend in the radial direction and are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction are provided above the fitting portion 31b. When the trunk portion 12 is squeezed, the air in the internal space M is It is introduced into the merge space G.

  Here, a check valve 50 that elastically supports the valve portion 52 inside the ring 51 is provided inside the bottomed cylindrical portion 31. Around the valve portion 52, a valve hole 53 is formed that penetrates the front and back surfaces and is spaced apart in the circumferential direction. In the check valve 50, normally, as shown in FIG. 1, the protruding portion 31c and the valve portion 52 are in close contact with each other to block the flow of air from the inflow hole 31d. In the present invention, the check valve 50 is not essential and may be omitted.

  Further, a foam member 60 is provided above the check valve 50. In the illustrated example, a total of two foam members 60 are arranged symmetrically in the vertical direction. Here, the foaming member 60 is made of a mesh 62 installed on the end face of the ring 61, and the contents mixed with air can be made to foam by being passed through the foaming member 60 to be foamed. In addition, the installation number of the foaming member 60, the coarseness of the mesh 62, etc. are suitably changed according to the kind of content.

  In addition, a side-out nozzle 70 having a jet port 71 on the side surface is provided at the upper end of the cylinder 21. The nozzle 70 has an annular wall 72 that slidably contacts the inner wall of the cylindrical body 21, extends radially outward from the annular wall 72, and defines a discharge path H between the annular wall 72. A partition wall 73 is provided. An annular peripheral wall 74 that surrounds the annular wall 72 and slidably contacts the inner wall of the upper outer cylinder 24a is provided on the radially outer side of the annular wall 72. The partition wall 73 has a discharge path H and an annular path K. A through-hole 75 is formed for communicating the. Further, the side wall 76 of the nozzle 70 is formed with a claw 76 a at the lower end of the inner wall. The annular wall 72 and the cylindrical body 21, and the annular peripheral wall 74 and the upper outer cylinder 24a are in liquid-tight contact with each other, and leakage of contents is prevented.

  A check valve 80 provided with a valve body 82 that is elastically displaced outside the ring 81 is disposed in the lower annular path K, which is partitioned by the top wall 22 of the base cap 20. In the illustrated example, the check valve 80 is disposed on the step portion 22 a of the top wall 22, and is retained by an undercut portion provided on the outer surface wall of the cylindrical body 21. In the check valve 80, normally, as shown in FIG. 1, the valve body 82 and the lower surface of the top wall 22 are in close contact with each other to block the air flow from the through hole 22b.

  A partition wall 90 is provided at a lower end portion of the outer cylinder 24 (a lower end portion of the lower outer cylinder 24b) so as to span the cylinder 30 and partition the annular path K. In the illustrated example, the partition wall 90 is held between the inner wall of the outer cylinder 24 and the outer wall of the bottomed cylinder portion 31 so as not to be pulled out. The partition wall 90 is formed with an opening 91 penetrating the front and back surfaces thereof, whereby the annular path K and the internal space M communicate with each other. Note that the partition wall 90 may be integrally connected to the cylinder 30 and may be fitted to the outer cylinder 24.

  In the bubble ejection container configured as described above, the nozzle 70 is maintained in the pushed-down posture shown in FIG. 1 during distribution, and inadvertent leakage of contents is effectively prevented. Then, when discharging the contents, the nozzle 70 is displaced from the pushed-down posture shown in FIG. 1 to the lifting posture shown in FIG. Since the nozzle 70 is provided with a claw 76 a that engages with the protrusion t of the base cap 20, the lifting of the nozzle 70 can be stopped at an expected position.

  Then, the trunk | drum 12 is squeezed as shown in FIG. The pressurized content is directed to the bottom hole 31a through the suction pipe 40 as indicated by the solid line in FIG. 2, and the pressurized air is also indicated by the double-dot chain line in FIG. The valve portion 52 is lifted toward the bottom hole 31a through the inflow hole 31d. The contents and air that have passed through the valve portion 52 reach the merge space G through the valve hole 53 and pass through the foamed member 60 in a mixed state. Then, the content foamed to the expected foam quality by passing through the foaming member 60 is discharged from the jet outlet 71 via the discharge path H. Even if the internal space M is pressurized, the air holes 22b are blocked by the valve body 82, so that air in the internal space M does not escape from the through holes 22b to the outside.

  After the foamed contents are discharged, when the squeezing of the body part 12 is released, the flexible body part 12 is restored to its original shape as shown in FIG. As a result, the internal space M becomes negative pressure, so that the outside air is displaced downward from the outlet 71 through the through hole 75 and the valve body 82 of the check valve 80 as indicated by the solid line in FIG. It is introduced into the internal space M. At the same time, the foamed residual content in the discharge path H is also drawn back into the annular path K, so that dripping from the jet port 71 due to the residual contents is reliably avoided. Here, the annular path K is partitioned by the partition wall 90 and serves as a storage space for the residual contents introduced into the annular path K. Therefore, the foamed residual contents are temporarily retained in the storage space. Will be placed. Thereby, a residual content can be returned to the internal space M in the state which reduced the bubble. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the residual contents that are relatively large bubbles in the annular path K are drawn back to the internal space M by making the bubbles smaller than the opening area by passing through the openings 91. . For this reason, the internal space M is not immediately filled with bubbles of the residual content, so that the inflow hole 31d is not easily blocked by the bubbles of the residual content, and the mixing ratio of the content and air is reduced. By maintaining the desired ratio, fine bubbles can be discharged stably and continuously.

  After restoration of the body portion 12, the nozzle 70 is displaced to the depressed position shown in FIG. 1. Thereby, since the annular wall 72 is brought into close contact with the inner cylinder 25 and the communication between the merge space G and the discharge path H is closed, the internal space M can be more reliably sealed.

Then, an opening 91 provided in the partition wall 90, through one of the holes 75, since it is assumed to have a smaller opening area than the minimum through-hole having a minimum opening area, the foam residue contents to be stored Since the size can be reliably reduced, fine bubbles can be discharged more stably. In addition, the site | part which provides the through-hole 75 is not restricted only to the partition wall 73, You may provide in the annular wall 72. FIG. Further, the opening area of the through hole 22b may be reduced, and the bubbles in the residual contents may be reduced also in the through hole 22b.

  As shown in the figure, when the annular path K is provided around the discharge path H, the internal space can be used effectively, so that stable discharge with the expected foam quality described above can be achieved with the size of the container. Can be realized without increasing the size.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while providing a back suction function, a fine foam foam container which can discharge fine foam stably and can be provided can be provided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Container main body 11 Mouth part 12 Body part 20 Base cap 21 Cylinder body 22 Top wall 23 Peripheral wall 24 Outer cylinder 25 Inner cylinder 30 Cylinder 31 Bottomed cylinder part 31d Inflow hole 32 Annular part 40 Suction pipe 50 Check valve 60 Foaming member 70 Nozzle 71 Spout 75 Through hole 76 Side wall 80 Check valve 90 Partition wall 91 Opening M Internal space K Annular route G Merge space H Discharge route

Claims (1)

A container body that has a flexible body and has a container body that fills the inner space of the container, and a cylinder that stands up at the mouth of the container body, and the cylinder is fixedly held in the mouth. A base cap that holds the suction pipe for the contents and has an air inflow hole, is connected to the lower end portion of the cylindrical body, and forms a merging space for the contents and air inside the cylinder, A nozzle that is connected to the upper end of the cylindrical body and communicates a discharge path formed inside thereof with the merge space;
A foam ejection container for mixing and foaming the contents and air in the merged space by pressing the body part, and ejecting the foamed contents from the outlet of the discharge path to the outside,
The base cap is provided with an outer cylinder that surrounds the cylindrical body with a gap, and an annular path leading to the internal space is formed between the cylindrical body and the outer cylinder,
The nozzle is connected to the discharge path and the annular path to form a through hole for introducing outside air and the residual contents in the discharge path into the annular path.
The lower end of the outer cylinder is provided with a partition wall that partitions the annular path and forms a storage space for the introduced residual content,
An opening communicating with the internal space is provided in the partition wall ,
The opening has a smaller opening area than a minimum through-hole having a minimum opening area among the through-holes .

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