JPH0330422B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] This invention relates to a liquid flow pattern switching mechanism for switching the flow of liquid from an atomizer or dispenser into a spray, a jet, or an off stream.

[Conventional technology]

In general, a sprayer or dispenser (hereinafter referred to as a sprayer or the like) uses a reciprocating motion of a piston to suck up liquid contained in a container into a cylinder, pressurize the liquid, and cause it to flow out from an orifice of a nozzle cap. In this type of sprayer and the like, the state of the liquid flow, that is, the liquid flow pattern, is predetermined. Therefore, only a fixed liquid flow pattern can be obtained, and even if a different liquid flow pattern is required, the liquid flow pattern cannot be changed.

To solve this problem, a rotatable nozzle cap is screwed onto the tip of the sprayer, etc., and the nozzle cap is rotated and moved in the axial direction, thereby creating a gap between the orifice formed at the center of the nozzle cap and the spinner. Mechanisms are known for adjusting the liquid flow pattern and thereby switching the liquid flow pattern. However, with this liquid flow pattern switching mechanism, normally a spray stream cannot be obtained, and a jet stream cannot be obtained unless the nozzle cap is rotated sufficiently away from the spinner. When the nozzle cap rotates, the nozzle cap moves in the axial direction toward or away from the spinner, so there is a risk that the nozzle cap may become detached from the tip of the atomizer or the like by moving too far away from the spinner and be lost.

In order to eliminate the drawbacks of the liquid flow pattern switching mechanism in which the nozzle cap is screwed on, there is a known mechanism in which the nozzle cap is not screwed on, but is rotatably but immovably attached to the tip of the sprayer, etc. ing. For example, according to Japanese Patent Publication No. 54-35681, a spinner is fixed at the end of a flow path communicating with a cylinder,
A nozzle cap is rotatably but immovably attached to this spinner. The orifice of the nozzle cap is formed to be offset from the center, and a plurality of liquid flow regulating parts for spraying or jetting are formed in the spinner. In such a liquid flow pattern switching mechanism, the liquid flow pattern is switched by rotating the nozzle cap and aligning the orifice with a desired liquid flow regulating portion. According to this configuration, a desired liquid flow pattern can be easily obtained without losing the nozzle cap.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the known liquid flow pattern switching mechanism in which the nozzle cap is not screwed on and is rotatably but immovably attached to the tip of the sprayer, etc., the configuration of the spinner and nozzle cap becomes complicated. Furthermore, since the orifice is not centered, there is a drawback that the position of the orifice, that is, the outflow position, changes depending on the switching of the liquid flow pattern.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple liquid flow pattern switching mechanism that does not change the outflow position.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve this object, according to the present invention, the liquid flow pattern switching mechanism includes a spinner having a recess formed at the tip installed in the main flow path communicating with the cylinder, and a spinner rotatably attached to the spinner. The nozzle cap has a central nozzle cap formed with an orifice that communicates with the recess of the spinner. The spinner is formed with at least one inner flow path including an axial flow path communicating with the main flow path and a flow path extending in a tangential direction of the recess. On the other hand, there is an extension part extending from the back of the nozzle cap into the axial flow path of the spinner, and an extension part formed in the extension part, one end of which communicates with the axial flow path of the spinner, and the other end of which connects to the inner flow path of the spinner. at least one outer flow passage including an alignably formed tangential flow passage is formed in the nozzle cap. The liquid flow pattern is switched by rotating the nozzle cap and changing the alignment of the inner flow path and the outer flow path.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid flow pattern switching mechanism 1
0 is the main channel 1 communicating with the cylinder of the sprayer 12
It is attached to the tip of 4. Illustrated sprayer 12
is a two-way trigger type, and a piston that reciprocates within the cylinder is disposed in the main flow path 14. However, in a so-called three-way trigger type atomizer, a piston is disposed within an inclined cylinder without a main flow path 14. Liquid flow pattern switching mechanism 10 for dispenser rather than sprayer
may be attached.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the liquid flow pattern switching mechanism 10 includes a spinner 18 attached to the tip of a piston, and a nozzle cap 20 rotatably attached to the outside of the spinner. There is. In addition, in the case of a three-way trigger type sprayer, the spinner 18 is attached to the tip of the main flow path 14 instead of the piston.

The spinner 18 has an annular portion 22 that extends rearward and is fitted into the piston, and a spinner body 28 that has an engagement recess 26 on its outer surface into which an engagement protrusion 24 formed on the nozzle cap 20 is fitted. are doing. The spinner 18 is connected to a trigger 32 via a hinge 30.
The trigger is integrally molded with the hinge 3.
4 and is integrally molded with the housing 36. By integrally molding the spinner 18 with the trigger 32 in this manner, the number of independent members is reduced and assembly can be easily performed.

Further, an axial flow passage 38 communicating with the main flow passage 14 and an annular axial flow passage 39 communicating with this flow passage are formed in the spinner body 28, and a circular recess 40 is formed at the tip of the spinner body. It is formed. And, as you can see from Figure 3, 180°
A pair of flow channels 42 extending tangentially to the recess 40 and separated from each other, and a radial flow channel 43 separated by 30 degrees from one of the flow channels 42 are provided in the spinner body 28.

The nozzle cap 20 has an orifice 44 in the center.
An extension portion 46 having a diameter and fitted into the flow path 39 of the spinner body 28 extends from the back surface of the nozzle cap 20 . and a pair of tangential channels 50 that can be aligned with the tangential channels 42 of the spinner 18.
and a radial passage 52 spaced 30° from one of these passages so as to be aligned with the radial passage 43 of the spinner. (See Figure 4).

Liquid flow pattern switching mechanism 10 configured as described above
According to the method, a spray pattern, a jet pattern, and an off-position are obtained sequentially by rotating the nozzle cap 20 by 120 degrees as follows.

For example, suppose nozzle cap 20 is rotated to align tangential channels 42 and 50 as shown in FIG. 5A. In this state, trigger 32
When the piston is rotated and the piston is reciprocated, the pressurized liquid flows from the main flow path 14 through the flow paths 38 and 39, and from the flow path 50 into the flow path 42. Since these passages 42, 50 are aligned tangentially to the circumferential surface of the recess 40 of the spinner 18, pressurized liquid flows through the passages 50, 42.
When it enters the recess 44, it is swirled and exits the orifice 44 as a spray stream. In other words, when the channels 42 and 50 are aligned, a spray flow is obtained.

When the nozzle cap 20 is rotated 120 degrees clockwise when viewed from the front of the sprayer 10 from the position where the flow channels 42 and 50 are aligned, the flow in the radial direction of the nozzle cap 20 is changed as shown in FIG. 5B. Channel 52 is aligned with radial flow path 43 of spinner 18 . In this state, the pressurized liquid is passed through the channels 14, 38,
39 and flows from the flow path 52 to the flow path 43, since these flow paths 52 and 43 are formed in the radial direction, it flows into the recess 40 without being turned into a vortex, and flows from the orifice 44 into a mere jet flow. It will be leaked as.

Furthermore, rotate the nozzle cap 20 120° clockwise.
When rotated, as shown in FIG. 5C, the flow paths 50 and 52 of the nozzle cap 20 are both closed by the peripheral wall of the flow path 39 of the spinner 18, resulting in a so-called off position. Channels 50, 52
is closed by the peripheral wall of the flow path 39 and sealed over a wide contact area, so that reliable liquid tightness can be obtained.

As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, in the above embodiment, the nozzle cap 20 rotates by 120 degrees to turn the spray stream, jet stream, and off, and each rotation of the nozzle cap changes the spray pattern. It is obtained once at a time (no liquid flow occurs when it is off, but a pattern in which no liquid flow occurs can also be considered as one liquid flow pattern). In the off-position, communication between the main flow path 14 and the orifice 44 is
Since it is shut off, it is possible to prevent the liquid from inadvertently flowing out when the atomizer is not in use, and also to prevent the liquid from evaporating or leaking.

Further, since the orifice 44 is formed in the center, the outflow position does not change.

Further, since the nozzle cap 20 only needs to be rotated and there is no need to move it in the axial direction toward or away from the spinner 18, there is no risk of the nozzle cap coming off.

Here, the outer channels such as channels 50 and 52 formed in the nozzle cap 20 and the spinner 18
As will be described later, it is sufficient that at least one inner flow path such as the flow paths 42 and 43 formed in the nozzle cap 20 is formed. The configuration is simplified compared to .

In addition, if liquid flow pattern displays such as SPRAY, JET, and OFF are provided on the outer periphery of the nozzle cap 20 at a distance of 120 degrees in correspondence with the liquid flow pattern, the correspondence can be achieved as shown in Figures 5A to 5C. The liquid flow pattern display is located on the upper surface of the nozzle cap 20, and the liquid flow pattern can be known at a glance.

Further, as can be seen from FIG. 2, the spray flow channel 42 formed in the spinner body 28 is formed to have a smaller cross-sectional area than the jet flow channel 43. Therefore, a relatively high flow velocity is given to the liquid flowing through the flow path 42, and the spray flow can be sufficiently atomized.

removing the radial channel 43 of the spinner 18;
and the radial passage 52 of the nozzle cap 20 in a counterclockwise direction with respect to one of the tangential passages 50.
If they are provided 120 degrees apart, the liquid flow pattern can be switched by rotating the nozzle cap 20 by 120 degrees, as in the above embodiment. In other words, in such a configuration, the nozzle cap 20 is moved clockwise from the spray flow pattern shown in FIG. 6A.
A rotation of 120 degrees aligns the channels 42 and 52 (see Figure 6B). However, the flow path 52 is formed smaller than the flow path 42, and the flow path 52 is formed on the peripheral wall of the flow path 42.
It has a shape that prevents liquid from colliding with it. Therefore, even if the pressurized liquid flows from the channels 14, 38, 39 to the channels 52, 42, it will not turn into a vortex and will not flow into the recess 40.
and flows out from the orifice 44 as a jet. Furthermore, turn the nozzle cap 20 clockwise.
Turning it 120° turns it off (Figure 6C).

Furthermore, a third embodiment is shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C. In this embodiment, the radial passage 52 of the nozzle cap 20 is removed and the spinner 18
This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the radial passages 43 are spaced apart by 60° counterclockwise with respect to one of the passages 42. If the nozzle cap 20 is rotated 120 degrees clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 7A where a spray stream is obtained, the tangential passage 50 of the nozzle cap 20 will be aligned with the radial direction of the spinner 18, as shown in FIG. 7B. It is aligned with the flow path 43. At this time, even if the pressurized liquid flows from the flow paths 38 and 39 into the flow paths 50 and 43, since the flow path 43 extends in the radial direction, the pressurized liquid flows into the recess 40 without being turned into a vortex flow. death,
It flows out from the orifice 44 as a jet. Further, the nozzle cap 20 is turned off by rotating it 120 degrees clockwise (see Fig. 7C).

Among the three embodiments described above, in the first embodiment, the inner flow path and the outer flow path each include two types of flow paths: a tangential flow path and a radial flow path. , in the second and third embodiments, one of the inner flow path and the outer flow path has one type of flow path among the tangential flow path and the radial flow path, and the other has two types of flow paths. It is formed with

However, even if the inner flow path and the outer flow path are formed from only tangential flow paths, the liquid flow pattern can be switched in the same way.

In the fourth embodiment shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C, a single synthetic channel 56 is formed in the nozzle cap 20 by removing the barrier between the channels 50 and 52 in the second embodiment. . Even with such a configuration, when flowing into the recess 40 from the channels 56 and 42 in FIG. 8A, the pressurized liquid is turned into a vortex flow because the combined channel 56 functions like a tangential channel. . Also, in FIG. 8B, the composite flow path 56 functions like a radial flow path, and the pressurized liquid flows out as a jet without being swirled. FIG. 8C shows the off state.

In the above four embodiments, the nozzle cap 20 is
It is configured to switch the liquid flow pattern every time it rotates by 120 degrees, and each liquid flow pattern switching mechanism 10 is obtained once during one rotation of the nozzle cap 20. However, the rotation angle for switching is not limited to 120°, and may be larger or smaller than 120°.

The four embodiments have been described above, but if the two sets of channels are configured to be perfectly aligned as in the first embodiment (see Figures 5A to 5C),
While turning into a vortex from a direction 180° apart, the concave 40
The pressurized stream is sufficiently swirled in the spray flow pattern to obtain a spray stream with small particles.

As described above, according to the liquid flow pattern switching mechanism according to the present invention, by aligning the inner flow path of the spinner and the outer flow path of the nozzle cap, the spray flow, jet flow, and off jet flow patterns can be arbitrarily changed. Can be set. Although three jet patterns, spray, jet, and off, are usually settable, there may be no jet pattern, and two jet patterns, spray, and off, may be set.

That is, according to the present invention, it is sufficient that the inner flow path of the spinner and the outer flow path of the nozzle cap include at least a tangential flow path. The radial flow path may be omitted, and by omitting the radial flow path, two jet flow patterns, spray flow and off, can be set.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the inner passage of the spinner and the outer passage of the nozzle cap each include a pair of tangential passages and a radial passage. In this configuration, the tangential flow path and the radial flow path can each be selected in an optimal shape, and a good spray flow and jet flow can be obtained.

Also, even if the radial flow path of the spinner is omitted (see Figure 6) or the radial flow path of the nozzle cap is omitted (see Figure 7), the three jets of spray, jet, and off can be created. Patterns can be set. With such a structure, the structure is further simplified, and the spinner and nozzle cap can be easily formed.

Furthermore, if the tangential flow path of the nozzle cap is made partially annular and also serves as the radial flow path (see FIG. 8), the structure can be further simplified.

The above-mentioned embodiments are for illustrating the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention in any way, and any modifications, modifications, etc. made within the technical scope of the present invention are also included in the present invention. Needless to say.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, in this invention, the extension portion protrudes from the back surface of the nozzle cap, the axial flow path and the outer flow path are used as the nozzle cap, and the axial flow path and the inner flow path are used as the spinner. The structure is simplified compared to the conventional one.

Furthermore, since the orifice is formed in the center of the nozzle cap, the outflow position does not change even if the nozzle cap is rotated.

Furthermore, since the nozzle cap does not move in the axial direction, there is no risk of the nozzle cap coming off.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a partially cutaway side view of a trigger type sprayer equipped with a liquid flow pattern switching mechanism according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the liquid flow pattern switching mechanism shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. The figure is a front view of the spinner, Figure 4 is a rear view of the nozzle cap, and Figure 5A is a rear view of the nozzle cap.
8C are partial cross-sectional views of the nozzle cap and spinner showing the alignment of the inner flow path and the outer flow path in each embodiment. 10: liquid flow pattern switching mechanism, 14: main flow path,
18: spinner, 20: nozzle cap, 40:
Circular recess at spinner tip, 42, 43: (inner) passage of spinner, 44: orifice, 46: extension, 50, 52, 56: (outer) passage of nozzle cap.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Installed in the main flow path communicating with the cylinder,
The spinner includes a spinner having a recess formed at its tip, and a nozzle cap rotatably attached to the outside of the spinner and having an orifice formed in the center that communicates with the recess of the spinner, and the spinner communicates with the main flow path. the nozzle cap has an axial passageway extending from the back of the knob cap into the axial passageway of the spinner; Debe and
At least one tangential channel formed in the extending portion, one end of which communicates with the axial channel of the spinner, and the other end of which is aligned with the inner channel of the spinner.
A liquid flow pattern switching mechanism that is equipped with different types of external flow paths and changes the liquid flow pattern by changing the alignment of the inner flow path and the outer flow path by rotating the nozzle cap. 2. The inner flow path of the spinner includes a flow path extending in the tangential direction of the recess and a flow path extending in the radial direction of the recess, and the outer flow path of the nozzle cap extends in the tangential direction of the spinner. When the nozzle cap is rotated 120° from the position where the alignable tangential flow path is aligned with the tangential flow path of the nozzle cap and spinner, the radial flow path that is aligned with the radial flow path of the spinner is rotated. The liquid flow pattern switching mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a flow path. 3. The inner flow path of the spinner consists of only tangential flow paths, and the outer flow path of the nozzle cap consists of a tangential flow path that can be aligned with the tangential flow path of the spinner, and a nozzle cap and a tangential flow path that can be aligned with the tangential flow path of the spinner. Rotating the nozzle cap 120° from the position where the tangential channels are aligned, the radial channels are aligned with the tangential channels of the spinner, and the radial channels are aligned with the tangential channels of the spinner. The radial flow path of the nozzle cap is such that the liquid flows in the tangential flow path of the spinner radially relative to the recess of the spinner, without following the tangential flow path of the spinner. The liquid flow pattern switching mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a passage is formed. 4. The inner flow path of the spinner includes a flow path extending in the tangential direction of the recess and a flow path extending in the radial direction of the recess 120° away from the tangential flow path, and the outer flow path of the nozzle cap. 2. The liquid flow pattern switching mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the passage comprises only a tangential flow path that can be aligned with either a tangential flow path or a radial flow path of the spinner. 5. Both the inner flow path of the spinner and the outer flow path of the nozzle cap consist of only tangential flow paths. It is formed into a partial ring shape that continues to align in the tangential direction of the nozzle cap, and at one end of the 120° rotation range where the liquid that flows through the tangential flow path of the nozzle cap can be aligned,
Flows along the tangential flow path of the spinner and within the tangential flow path of the spinner, and at the other end, the spinner 2. The liquid flow pattern switching mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle cap has a partially annular flow path formed in such a shape that the flow path flows in a tangential direction of the nozzle cap.