JP6636854B2 - Trigger type foam ejector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a foam ejector that drives a pump to foam a mixture of contents and air and ejects the foam, and more particularly to a trigger-type foam ejector that drives a pump using an operation lever. .

  For example, in a container filled with shampoo, body soap, hand soap, face wash, etc., from the viewpoint of omitting the bubbling operation of the content and aiming for easy use, the content in the container is mixed with air to form a foam. Those equipped with a bubble ejector capable of ejecting are often used.

  Such a foam ejector is provided with a pump composed of a single cylinder incorporating a piston for contents and a piston for air concentrically arranged in series, and each piston is actuated by pushing a pressing head, and the contents are moved. And air are suctioned and pressurized in each cylinder, mixed with each other in the merging space on the pump outlet side, and the contents are foamed by passing through a foaming member such as a mesh, and are generally ejected to the outside. It is.

  By the way, when a container equipped with this type of bubble ejector is used in a bathroom or the like, water may be taken in when outside air is taken into the cylinder. If water is taken into the cylinder in this way, the amount of air pressurized by the cylinder will decrease and the mixing ratio with the contents will fluctuate, and only air will be supplied. Since the water that is to be taken in is also fed, there is an inconvenience that fine-textured bubbles cannot be ejected as intended.

  On the other hand, in a foam ejector using such a pressing head, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a portion that has been a water inflow port (the uppermost end of the hollow neck and the lowermost end of the cover, By providing the seal member between the two), it is possible to suppress water intrusion.

Japanese Patent No. 4781749

  By the way, various products are required in the market, and in such a foam ejector, a trigger type foam that drives a pump by pulling an operation lever in place of a pressing head that drives a pump by pushing down by hand is used. A squirt is needed. In addition, even in the case of a trigger-type bubble ejector, it is required to prevent water from entering assuming use in a water place such as a bathroom.

  An object of the present invention is to effectively suppress infiltration of water into the interior even when used in a bathroom or the like, and this allows fine foam to be spouted regardless of the place of use. The aim is to propose a trigger-type bubble ejector that can be used.

The present invention has a top wall covering an opening of a container and an opening penetrating the top wall, and a base cap held by the opening,
A stem that penetrates the opening, is held by the base cap on the back surface of the top wall, and separately sucks, pressurizes, and pumps the contents and air of the container by pushing down and restoring the stem. Two pumps,
A nozzle that has an internal passage for feeding the pressure-fed content and air in a mixed state, and is attached to the stem and ejects foam-like content from an outlet of the internal passage;
An operation lever that is swingably supported with respect to a support portion provided behind the base cap and pushes down the stem by rearward towing,
The base cap has an air inlet for sending air to the pump through the top wall,
A trigger-type bubble ejector including a cover member above the top wall, the cover member covering the air introduction port and having a gap between the top wall and the air introduction port.

  The cover member has a top wall that is located above the air introduction port and has an outer edge having the gap between the through opening through which the nozzle is inserted and the top wall, and the top wall has It is preferable to be inclined downward from the through opening toward the outer edge.

  It is preferable that the top wall has a partition wall extending upward between the air inlet and the gap.

  The trigger-type foam ejector of the present invention has an air inlet for sending air to the pump on the top wall of the base cap, and covers the air inlet above the top wall and between the top wall and the top wall. A cover member having a gap communicating with the air inlet is provided. Thereby, direct infiltration of water into the air inlet can be prevented, so that finely textured bubbles can be ejected even when used in a bathroom or the like.

  The cover member has a top wall that is located above the air introduction port and has an outer edge having a gap between the through-opening through which the nozzle is inserted and the top wall. It is preferable to be inclined downward from the opening toward the outer edge. This makes it easier for the water attached to the cover member to flow and to be less likely to stay in the gap, so that it is possible to effectively prevent water from entering the inside.

  When the ceiling wall is provided with a partition extending upward between the air inlet and the gap, the partition prevents flow into the air inlet even if water may enter from the gap. Therefore, infiltration of water into the inside can be more effectively suppressed.

It is sectional drawing which shows one Embodiment of the trigger type | formula bubble ejector according to this invention. It is a top view of the base cap shown in FIG. It is the elements on larger scale sectional drawing of FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a trigger type bubble ejector according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this specification, the claims, and the abstract, the “up” direction and the “down” direction refer to the directions in which a container equipped with a trigger-type foam ejector is placed on a horizontal surface. . The “front” direction is the direction in which the tip of the nozzle is directed (the direction in which the tip opening is located with respect to the base of the nozzle) (left side in FIG. 1), and the “rear” direction is the opposite side (FIG. 1 right). The “left” and “right” directions are directions when the trigger-type bubble ejector is viewed toward the tip opening of the nozzle (from front to back).

  FIG. 1 shows a state in which an embodiment (indicated by reference numeral A) of a trigger-type foam ejector according to the present invention is attached to a container C. Here, reference numeral 1 denotes a base cap for holding the trigger-type foam ejector A at the mouth of the container C. The base cap 1 has a top wall 1a that covers the mouth of the container C. The top wall 1a of the present embodiment has a shape that is curved downward from the center toward the outside in the radial direction. An outer wall 1b extending downward is provided at the edge of the top wall 1a. A female screw is formed inside the outer wall 1b, and by screwing into a male screw provided at the mouth of the container C, the trigger type foam ejector A is detachably held at the mouth of the container C. In addition, in order to hold | maintain the base cap 1 in the container C, it is also possible to use another structure, such as an undercut. An opening 1c penetrating the top wall 1a is provided at the center of the top wall 1a, and a hollow neck 1d standing upward is provided at an edge of the opening 1c. As shown in FIG. 3, an annular recess 1d1 is provided above the inner peripheral surface of the hollow neck 1d.

  In addition, a hole (air inlet) 1e penetrating through the top wall 1a is provided in front of the top wall 1a. As shown in FIG. 2, three air inlets 1e are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. An annular partition 1f extending upward from the ceiling wall 1a is provided outside the air inlet 1e.

  A support portion S for supporting an operation lever described later is provided behind the top wall 1a. The support portion S of the present embodiment includes a pair of left and right side walls 1g integrally connected to the top wall 1a and a rear wall 1h connecting the side walls 1g behind the side wall 1g. The side wall 1g is provided with a cylindrical shaft portion 1j protruding outward in the left-right direction.

  Reference numerals 2 and 3 denote two pumps which are suspended and held at the mouth of the container C by the base cap 1 and individually suction, pressurize, and feed the contents and air, respectively. The contents pump 2 and the air pump 3 have a configuration in which a small-diameter cylinder 4a and a large-diameter cylinder 4b having a bottom integrally connected to an upper portion of the small-diameter cylinder 4a are coaxially arranged in series. It is formed by a single cylinder 4. A flange extending radially outward is provided above the cylinder 4. When the flange is held down by the container C, a packing PA is provided on the lower surface side of the flange, and a gap is provided between the flange and the mouth of the container C. The packing PA is sandwiched.

  The contents pump 2 has a suction port 4c at the bottom of the small-diameter cylindrical body 4a through which the contents in the container C flows, and the suction port 4c has a suction extending toward the bottom of the container C. The pipe p is held. A hollow piston 5 is provided in the small-diameter cylinder 4a so as to be in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the small-diameter cylinder 4a and to be slidable along the axis thereof. A poppet 6 is arranged inside the hollow piston 5, and a hollow stem 7 is arranged outside the hollow piston 5. A spring 8 is disposed between the cylinder 4 and the hollow piston 5 to elastically support the hollow piston 5 and the stem 7 so as to be slidable. Further, an inward flange 7a is provided above the inner surface of the stem 7, and a ball valve 9 is provided above the inward flange 7a.

  According to the content pump 2 having such a configuration, when the stem 7 is pushed down, the content in the small-diameter cylindrical body 4a is pressurized by the hollow piston 5 and is fed inside the stem 7 by pressure. On the other hand, when the stem 7 moves upward by the restoring force of the spring 8, the contents in the container C are sucked into the small-diameter cylindrical body 4a through the suction pipe p.

  The air pump 3 includes an air piston 10 which is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the large-diameter cylindrical body 4b and is slidable along the axis thereof. Here, the air piston 10 includes a cylindrical guide 10 a surrounding the stem 7 on the radially inner side. Note that a gap is provided between the outer peripheral surface of the stem 7 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guide 10a, through which the air pressurized by the air piston 10 passes. A communication port 10b for taking in air from the outside into the large-diameter cylindrical body 4b is provided at an edge of the cylindrical guide 10a (an outer surface of the air piston 10). Further, a check valve 11 for opening and closing the communication port 10b is provided outside the cylindrical guide 10a. The check valve 11 normally abuts against the back surface of the air piston 10 to close the communication port 10b, and separates from the back surface of the air piston 10 to close the communication port 10b when the inside of the large-diameter cylinder 4b becomes negative pressure. release.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a holder 12 is provided above the stem 7, and the holder 12 is provided with foam members 13 (two in the present embodiment) having a mesh-like mesh. . The holder 12 is held by a nozzle 14 connected to the stem 7. The nozzle 14 includes a vertical cylindrical portion 14a extending upward and a horizontal cylindrical portion 14b extending from rear to front, and includes a vertical cylindrical portion 14a and a horizontal cylindrical portion. An internal passage 14c is provided inside 14b. A distal end opening 14d serving as an outlet of the internal passage 14c is provided at a distal end of the horizontal cylindrical portion 14b. Further, a pair of convex portions 14e protruding outward in the left-right direction is provided at a connecting portion between the vertical cylindrical portion 14a and the horizontal cylindrical portion 14b.

  Here, a gap is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the stem 7 and the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle 14, through which the pressurized air passes through the gap between the stem 7 and the cylindrical guide 10a described above. The air passing through this gap is configured to flow through the gap formed between the inner peripheral surface of the stem 7 and the outer peripheral surface of the holder 12 into the space (merging space G) where the ball valve 9 is arranged. ing. Here, the contents pumped by the contents pump 2 also flow into the merge space G, so that the contents and the air are mixed in the merge space G. Then, the content can be foamed by passing the mixed content and air through the foaming member 13. Since the optimum foaming state varies depending on the contents, the roughness of the mesh provided on the foaming member 13, the number of the foaming members 13, or the mixing ratio of the content and air introduced into the confluence space depends on the content. The optimal one is selected as appropriate.

  An operation lever 15 supported by the support portion S is provided above the nozzle 14. The operation lever 15 connects a pair of side walls 15a on the left and right, an upper wall 15b connecting the side walls 15a above the side walls 15a, and connecting the side walls 15a in front of the side walls 15a. The front wall 15c is provided. The side wall 15a is provided with a concave portion 15d that is adapted to the shaft portion 1j and that supports the operation lever 15 so as to swing with respect to the support portion S. Further, in the upper wall 15b, a C-shaped concave portion (a pair of which is provided in the left-right direction) which is open downward is hung directly above the convex portion 14e, although not shown. Thus, when the operation lever 15 is pulled rearward, the concave portion (not shown) pushes down the convex portion 14e, so that the stem 7 can be pushed down through the nozzle 14.

  A cover member 16 is provided above the base cap 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the cover member 16 includes a top wall 16a located above the air inlet 1e and covering the air inlet 1e. The top wall 16a is provided with a through-opening 16b through which the nozzle 14 is inserted. Outside the through-opening 16b, there is provided an annular wall 16c fitted into the annular concave portion 1d1. A gap g is provided between a radially outer portion (outer edge) 16d of the top wall 16a and the top wall 1a. Here, the top wall 16a is inclined downward from the through opening 16b toward the outer edge 16d as shown in FIG. Further, the gap between the through-opening 16b and the nozzle 14 is narrowed as long as the movement of the nozzle 14 is not hindered. Note that ribs 16e are provided on the back surface of the top wall 16a with a slight gap (may be in contact with) with the partition wall 1f to maintain the gaps g at regular intervals.

  In the trigger-type foam ejector A configured as described above, when the finger is put on the front wall 15c of the operation lever 15 and it is pulled rearward, the stem 7 is pushed down through the nozzle 14. The hollow piston 5 is also pushed down against the reaction force of the spring 8. As a result, the contents in the small-diameter cylindrical body 4a are pressurized and sent to the merge space G under pressure. At this time, since the air piston 10 is also pushed down, the air in the large-diameter cylindrical body 4b is pressurized, and the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the stem 7 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical guide 10a, the outer peripheral surface of the stem 7 Through the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle 14 and the inner peripheral surface of the stem 7 and the outer peripheral surface of the holder 12. After the content and the air that have been fed are mixed with each other in the merge space, the content and the air further pass through the foaming member 13 and foam, and are ejected from the tip opening 14 d through the internal passage 14 c of the nozzle 14.

  On the other hand, when the pressing on the operation lever 15 is released, the hollow piston 5 is raised by the restoring force of the spring 8. As a result, the inside of the small-diameter cylinder 4a becomes negative pressure, so that the contents in the container C are sucked through the suction pipe p. At this time, the air piston 10 also rises and the inside of the large-diameter cylinder 4b becomes negative pressure, so that the check valve 11 separates from the back surface of the air piston 10 and the communication port 10b is opened. Here, since the communication port 10b is connected to the gap g via the air inlet 1e, the outside air is introduced into the large-diameter cylinder 4b through the gap g, the air inlet 1e, and the communication port 10b. Is done.

  Since the air inlet 1e is covered with the cover member 16 as described above, water does not directly enter the air inlet 1e even when used in a water place such as a bathroom. Further, since the gap between the through-opening 16b and the nozzle 14 in the cover member 16 is also narrowed, it is difficult for water to enter the inside from this gap. Further, since the top wall 16a is inclined downward, water attached to the cover member 16 flows down without collecting in the gap g. Therefore, even when air is taken in from the gap g, a problem that water is taken in together is less likely to occur. In the present embodiment, since the top wall 1a of the base cap 1 is also curved downward, water is less likely to enter from the gap g. Furthermore, since the partition 1f is provided between the gap g and the air inlet 1e, even if water may enter from the gap g, the partition 1f prevents the air from entering the air inlet 1e. It is possible. As described above, since the trigger-type foam ejector A has a structure in which water hardly infiltrates into the inside, even when used in a bathroom or the like, fine foam can be ejected.

  The trigger-type foam ejector according to the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope according to the claims. For example, the support portion of the present embodiment is integrally connected to the base cap, but may be formed of a member different from the base cap. Although the hollow neck of the present embodiment is integrally connected to the base cap, it may be provided on the cover member, and the hollow neck is divided into two parts, a front part and a rear part. The front portion may be integrally connected to the cover member while being integrally connected to the base cap as in the embodiment shown in FIG. Further, although the total number of air inlets is three in the above description, at least one air inlet may be provided. The content pump and the air pump are not limited to the above-described configurations, and various pumps can be employed. Further, the operation lever is not limited to one that indirectly pushes down the stem via the nozzle as in this embodiment, and may be one that pushes down the stem directly.

1: Base cap 1a: Top wall 1b: Outer wall 1c: Opening 1d: Hollow neck 1d1: Annular recess 1e: Air inlet 1f: Partition wall 1g: Side wall 1h: Rear wall 1j: Shaft 2: Pump for contents 3: Air pump 4: cylinder 4a: small-diameter cylinder 4b: large-diameter cylinder 4c: suction port 5: hollow piston 6: poppet 7: stem 7a: inward flange 8: spring 9, ball valve 10: air piston 10a: cylinder Guide 10b: communication port 11: check valve 12: holder 13: foam member 14: nozzle 14a: vertical tubular portion 14b: horizontal tubular portion 14c: internal passage 14d: tip opening 14e: convex portion 15: operation lever 15a: side wall 15b: upper wall 15c: front wall 15d: recess 16: cover member 16a: top wall 16b: through opening 16c: annular wall 16d: outer edge 16e: rib A: trigger type foam ejector C Container G: converging space PA: Packing S: supporting portion g: gap portion p: the suction pipe

Claims (2)

A top cap that covers the mouth of the container and an opening that penetrates the top wall, and a base cap that is held by the mouth;
A stem that penetrates the opening, is held by the base cap on the back surface of the top wall, and separately sucks, pressurizes, and pumps the contents and air of the container by pushing down and restoring the stem. Two pumps,
A nozzle that has an internal passage for feeding the pressure-fed content and air in a mixed state, and is attached to the stem and ejects foam-like content from an outlet of the internal passage;
An operation lever that is swingably supported with respect to a support portion provided behind the base cap and pushes down the stem by rearward towing,
The base cap has an air inlet for sending air to the pump through the top wall,
Above the top wall, a cover member that covers the air introduction port and has a gap between the top wall and the air introduction port ,
The cover member has a top wall that is located above the air introduction port and has an outer edge having the gap between the through opening through which the nozzle is inserted and the top wall, and the top wall has A trigger-type bubble ejector inclined downward from the through opening toward the outer edge .   The trigger-type foam ejector according to claim 1, wherein the top wall has a partition wall extending upward between the air inlet and the gap.

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