JPH07112777A - Aerosol device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a spray passage high in formability and inexpensive to form and prevent contents from sticking to the inside of the spray passage by a method wherein an oil-containing synthetic resin having lubricating oil dispersed in its interior is used in the inner wall of at least the content passage in a valve assembly. CONSTITUTION:An aerosol device is provided with a cylindrical bottomed aerosol container 1 filled with its contents and a valve assembly 4 including a mountain cap 2 for covering the top part of the aerosol container and a push button 3 provided at the central opening part of the mountain cap 2. Of all the members of the valve assembly 4, at least the members (the push button 3 and a stem 7) forming a content passage are made from an oil-containing synthetic resin having lubricating oil dispersed in its interior. Therefore, an invariably high lubricating ability can be maintained due to the lubricating oil dispersed within the resin without using Teflon, etc., whereby the contents can be prevented from sticking to and deposition on the inner walls of the spray passages 11 and 13 of the valve assembly 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an aerosol device. More specifically, the present invention relates to an aerosol device in which the contents are less likely to stick inside the passage and the resistance due to friction in the moving parts of the valve can be reduced.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when the contents compressed and filled in an aerosol container are sprayed, this is done through a valve assembly having a stem provided on the upper part of the container. Generally, polyethylene, polyacetal resin, nylon, polybutylene terephthalate, etc. are used for stems, buttons (spouts), etc. that constitute the valve assembly.

[0003]

However, depending on the contents, there is a problem in that the viscosity increases or the composition dries after injection to adhere to the inside of the injection passage of the valve assembly and solidify to block the injection passage. There is. In particular, Figure 4
This is all the more true for pushbuttons shaped as shown in ~ 5 (with extremely narrow content passages).

In order to solve this problem, conventionally, there has been an aerosol device having improved sliding characteristics by using a fluororesin such as Teflon or forming a coating film on a member constituting a passage of a valve assembly. Proposed.

However, in the process of melting the fluororesin and performing molding, fluorine is separated by heat and hydrofluoric acid is generated. This fluorine or hydrofluoric acid oxidizes and damages the mold, which lowers durability and moldability, which not only increases costs but also makes it difficult to manufacture high-quality aerosol products. Newly occurs. Further, there is another problem that the material cost is increased by using Teflon or the like.

On the other hand, in the case of an aerosol device filled with powders as contents, a valve with a long scanning stroke of the stem is used (for example, the one shown in FIG. 2,
Called powder valve). In this valve, a ring-shaped packing is tightly fitted so as to surround the outer circumference of the stem. Normally (when not in use), the through hole drilled on the side of the bottomed cylindrical stem is located above the stem rubber, and when in use, push the stem to move the through hole below the stem rubber. It is a thing to make things spray.

Therefore, as described above, the ring-shaped packing is tightly fitted so as to enclose the outer circumference of the stem, and the opening provided on the side portion of the stem is completely exposed inside the aerosol container. It is necessary to make the stroke larger than that of a normal stem (the stroke of a normal aerosol valve is around 2 mm, whereas that of a so-called powder valve is around 3 mm). In addition to a large operation reaction force, tightening the packing also provides a large sliding resistance. If the required operation force of the stem is large, it becomes difficult to perform delicate operation unlike the normal operation of the stem, and the user feels that the operation is extremely inconvenient.

In the case of a so-called metering valve (for example, the one shown in FIG. 3) in which only a fixed amount is injected by one pressing operation of the stem, the stem has a long operation stroke and is made of rubber, like the powder valve. Since sliding resistance is added by sliding contact with the peripheral edge of the bottom opening of the tank,
The required operation force is large.

In order to achieve a delicate operation and a light operation in a powder valve or a metering valve, it is conceivable to weaken the spring for pressing the stem upward to reduce the operating force of the valve. However, if the elastic force of the spring is reduced, a new problem arises that the sealing performance of the valve assembly when closed (that is, the sealing performance based on the pressing force of the lower part of the stem against the packing) is reduced.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and provides an aerosol device which has a high moldability and which has a structure capable of preventing the contents from adhering to the inside of the injection passage at a low cost. The purpose is to Another object of the present invention is to provide an aerosol device capable of reducing the operation force of the stem while preventing the adhesion of the contents and maintaining the sealing property.

[0011]

An aerosol device of the present invention comprises an aerosol container in which contents are compressed and filled, and a valve assembly having a stem, which is provided on an upper portion of the aerosol container. In at least the inner wall surface of the passage of the contents, an oil-containing synthetic resin having lubricating oil dispersed therein is used.

It is preferable that at least the entire stem is made of the oil-containing synthetic resin.

Further, a push button is preferably provided on the upper portion of the stem, and the push button is preferably made of the synthetic resin.

[0014]

In the aerosol device of the present invention, since the oil-containing synthetic resin in which the lubricating oil is dispersed is used on at least the inner wall surface of the passage of the contents in the valve assembly, the resin can be used without using Teflon or the like. The lubricating oil dispersed in the interior of the valve can always maintain high lubricity, and can prevent the contents from adhering to and solidifying on the inner wall surface of the injection passage of the valve assembly.

Further, if the entire valve stem is made of the above oil-containing synthetic resin, it is possible to prevent the contents from adhering to the inside of the injection passage, while maintaining the sealing property between the stem and the packing abutting the outer periphery thereof. It is possible to significantly improve the sliding characteristics of the stem and reduce the required operating force. Therefore, if such a stem is applied to a metering valve or a powder valve, the user can operate it with almost the same operation feeling as a normal stem.

[0016]

The aerosol device of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part showing an embodiment of the aerosol device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part of another embodiment of the aerosol device of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a push button showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

The aerosol device shown in FIG. 1 has a bottomed cylindrical aerosol container 1 filled with contents, a mountain cap 2 for closing the upper part thereof, and a pusher provided at a central opening of the mountain cap 2. The valve assembly 4 includes a button 3. In the valve assembly 4, at least the members (push button 3 and stem 7) forming the passage for the contents are formed of an oil-containing synthetic resin in which lubricating oil is dispersed.

In the valve assembly 4, the housing 6 is attached to the inner peripheral edge of the central opening of the mountain cap 2 via the stem rubber 5, and the stem 7 is coaxially arranged in the hollow portion of the housing 6. 7
Is urged upward by the compression coil spring 8.

At the lower part of the housing 6, there is formed a circular tube-shaped introducing portion 10 for fitting the dip tube 9 therein.

The passage 11 in the stem 7 is adapted to communicate with the inside of the housing 6 through a flow port 12 provided in the side surface of the stem 7. Further, the passage 11 is a passage 13 of the push button 3 attached to the upper portion of the stem 7.
Is in communication with.

Since the housing 6 is normally shielded from the outside, it is not necessary to form the housing 6 from the above oil-containing synthetic resin because the contents do not easily adhere to it.

In the stationary state shown in FIG. 1, the flow port 12 is closed by the stem rubber 5 fitted to the small diameter portion of the stem 7, but in the operating state in which the push button 3 is pressed downward, the stem Since the inner diameter side of the rubber 5 bends downward and a gap is formed between the stem rubber 5 and the stem 7, the flow port 12 and the passages 11 and 13 communicate with the inside of the aerosol container, and the contents filled in the aerosol container And the propellant is injected to the outside.

The oil-containing synthetic resin having a lubricating oil dispersed therein, which is applied to the aerosol device of the present invention, is, for example, an oil-containing synthetic resin in which oil having excellent lubricity is uniformly dispersed in a base resin made of a thermoplastic. Plastic is used. As a specific example, Gunpla (manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.) is generally known. This is a base resin made of polyacetal, nylon 6, nylon 66, nylon 12, acrylonitrile.
A lubricating oil is uniformly dispersed in a base resin such as a butadiene / styrene copolymer, polybutylene terephthalate, polyphenylene sulfide, polycarbonate, polyethylene, thermoplastic polyurethane with an oil content of about 5 to 15% by volume. In addition, the base resin,
Carbon fiber, glass fiber, potassium titanate whiskers, etc. are appropriately added as a reinforcing material.

By using such an oil-containing synthetic resin, the passage 13 of the push button 3 and the passage 1 of the stem 7 are
1, the inner wall surface of the flow port 12 is
High lubricity can be maintained and contents can be prevented from adhering to the inner wall surface of the passage. In addition, since the lubricating oil is dispersed and contained in the resin, even if the surface is worn, a high lubricating effect can be obtained for a long period of time, and the surface of the resin does not become sticky.

When the oil-containing synthetic resin is used to form the push button 3 and the stem 7 as a whole or only the passage portions thereof, injection molding or extrusion molding under the same conditions as conventional thermoplastic resins. By the molding method of
Molding can be performed easily and accurately. Further, since a little lubricating oil is leached into the mold surface during molding, it has an additional effect of good releasability.

Next, as another embodiment of the present invention, a description will be given of a valve (powder valve) having a structure shown in FIG. 2, which is suitable for an aerosol device for powder, and which uses the oil-containing synthetic resin.

As shown in the figure, this aerosol device has a ring-shaped stem rubber on the lower surface of the mountain cap 15.
16 is provided, and the stem 17 made of the oil-containing synthetic resin is slidably provided in close contact with the surface on the inner diameter side. The stem 17 is biased by a spring 19 so that a flow hole 18 provided at a side portion of the stem 17 is arranged above the mountain cap 15 in a non-use state (FIG. 2A). Then, the stem 17 is pushed to move the flow hole 18 to the lower side of the stem rubber 16 to inject (Fig. 2).
(B)). Therefore, the operation stroke of the stem 17 is long.

However, by adopting the structure employing the oil-containing synthetic resin, it is possible to prevent the contents from adhering to the inner wall surface of the passage 20 of the stem 17, and at the same time, to prevent the outer surface of the stem 17 and the inner surface of the stem rubber 16 from being At the interface between them, the lubricating oil inside the oil-containing synthetic resin forming the stem 17 can always maintain a good lubricating state (that is, the state in which the sliding resistance by the stem rubber 16 is low) and maintain a high sealing property. be able to. Therefore, unlike the conventional case, it is not necessary to excessively increase the resilience of the compression coil spring 19 provided in the lower part of the stem 17 for the purpose of maintaining the sealing property, and therefore, despite a long stroke, a light operating force is required. It is possible to inject with.

FIG. 3 shows an aerosol device equipped with a so-called metering valve. The related configuration of the stem 21 and the stem rubber 22 in this aerosol device and the point that the stem 21 and the push button 26 are made of an oil-containing synthetic resin are the same as those of the powder valve (FIG. 2). However, the stem casing 23 is enclosed in a rubber tank 25 having a bottom opening 24 (FIG. 3 (a)),
By pressing the stem 21, the closing bar 21a below the stem 21
By closing the bottom opening 24 of the tank 25
Only a certain amount within 25 is injected (Fig. 3
(B)).

Also in such a metering valve, the stem
Since 21 has a good slip property, the operation stroke of the stem 21 is long, and the required operation force can be kept low despite the sliding contact with the peripheral edge of the bottom opening 24 of the tank 25.

Further, even in the case of an aerosol device having a narrow flow passage or a small diameter throttle in the injection passage provided in the push button or the like, the injection passage is formed by using the oil-containing synthetic resin of the present invention. It is possible to prevent the contents from adhering to the inside of the. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the push button provided at the tip of the stem 7 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The push button 31 shown in FIG. 4 has an orifice 33 fitted to the tip of a passage 32.
Both the 31 and the orifice 33 are made of the synthetic resin, so that the contents are less likely to adhere to the injection passage. Since the contents are less likely to adhere to the corner portion 35 near the opening end of the injection hole 34, which is most likely to adhere, clogging does not occur.

The push button 36 shown in FIG. 5 has a structure in which a protrusion 38 extending toward the tip of the passage 37 is provided inside the passage 37, and an orifice 39 is fitted to the tip of the protrusion 38. The push button 36 and the orifice 39 are formed of the synthetic resin. In this push button 36, the passage 37 is very narrow at the periphery of the protrusion 38, but the contents are smoothly ejected due to the high sliding property of the oil-containing synthetic resin, and the adhesion of the contents inside the passage 37 is prevented. It

In the above embodiment, an example in which the entire member forming the passage for the contents is formed of the oil-containing synthetic resin is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The outer main member may be formed of a normal resin material, and the passage portion of the contents may be formed by fitting a cylindrical member made of the oil-containing synthetic resin to the outer main member.

[0036]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, no matter how narrow the flow passage or the small diameter diaphragm is, the moldability is high,
In addition, it is possible to effectively prevent the contents from adhering to the inside of the injection passage at low cost.

Further, since the operating force of the stem can be reduced while maintaining the sealing property, even if the aerosol device uses a metering valve, the user operates with almost the same operational feeling as a normal aerosol device. It is possible,
A fine spray adjustment can be made.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part showing an embodiment of an aerosol device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing another embodiment of the aerosol device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part showing still another embodiment of the aerosol device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a push button showing still another embodiment of the aerosol device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a push button showing still another embodiment of the aerosol device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Aerosol container 3, 26, 31, 36 Push button 4 Valve assembly 7, 17, 21 Stem

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An aerosol container in which contents are compressed and filled, and a valve assembly having a stem, which is provided on an upper portion of the aerosol container, and at least an inner wall surface of a passage of the contents in the valve assembly, An aerosol device using an oil-containing synthetic resin having lubricating oil dispersed therein. 2. The aerosol device according to claim 1, wherein at least the entire stem is made of the oil-containing synthetic resin. 3. A push button is provided on an upper portion of the stem, and the push button is made of the oil-containing synthetic resin.
The described aerosol device.