JPH07293427A - Distributor measuring at least two liquid-like or pasty substance at required rate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a dispenser for liquid or paste products adjustable in mixing ratio from outside a bottle. CONSTITUTION: This dispenser 10 for liquid or paste products comprises a displacement pump 18 for delivering a metered quantity of product withdrawn from a bottle 12 to which the pump 18 is applied, the metered quantity of product consisting of at least two different liquid or paste substances contained in respective compartments 12A, 24 of the bottle 12. A dip tube 18B is divided into the number of branches 32, 34 equal to the number of different substances, each branch dipping into one of the substances contained in the respective compartments 12A, 24. All the branches 32, 34 of the dip tube with the exception of one branch 32 comprise a flow regulating valve 36, the valves 36 being operable from the outside.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a positive displacement pump for discharging a liquid or pasty substance contained in a container in a metered amount, the pump being attached to the container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Prior Art Several dispensers are known which are capable of weighing products consisting of two different liquid or pasty substances. However, these distributors cannot change the predetermined mixing ratio.

[0003]

Particularly in the field of cosmetics, there is a known problem that the skin of the user changes even during one day in terms of its natural characteristics (sebum, water, acidity). ing. For this reason, as is well known, a product such as a cream comprising a basic substance and an active substance can be effectively used at a specific time point on one day, but is not used at other time points on that day. There is a case where it does not bring a preferable effect to the person.

The object of the present invention is to vary the proportions of the individual dispensed metered amounts of the at least two constituent substances, which substances are contained in each compartment of the container. To provide a distributor of this type.

A more particular object of the present invention is, for example, a dispenser of the type mentioned above, which contains a cosmetic product containing an active substance, the proportion of the active substance of which can be varied by the user as required. To provide.

[0006]

These objects include a positive displacement pump for delivering a metered quantity of product withdrawn from a container, the pump being attached to the container, the metered quantity of product being , At least two different liquid or pasty substances contained in each of the compartments of the container, and further in the pump, the pumping pipe is divided into a number of branches equal to the number of these different substances, In the distributor for liquid or pasty products, in which each branch of the pipe is immersed in one of the substances contained in each compartment, all but one branch of the pumping pipe are This is achieved by the distributor according to the invention, characterized in that each is provided with a flow control valve, the flow control valve being externally operable.

[0007]

According to the invention, for example, the proportion of active substance contained in a single metered amount can be varied freely according to the needs of the user or according to the prescription.
In this way, the product can be tailored to the characteristics of the individual and, even for a particular individual, in particular circumstances (eg environmental conditions).
Alternatively, the composition can be distributed according to the particular needs.

[0008]

The invention will be further clarified from the following description of an embodiment of a distributor in which two different substances can be mixed in any proportion.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, a dispenser 10 according to the present invention is attached to a container 12, which comprises
For the sake of simplicity, only the area around the screw-formed mouth portion 14 is shown, and the shape of the main body of the container 12 is arbitrary.

A known positive displacement pump 18, of the type often used to extrude measured quantities of liquid or pasty substances, is attached to the mouth 14 of the container 12 by means of a threaded ring cap 16. This pump 18
Is actuated by pushing with a finger a delivery button 20 provided on the top thereof and having a delivery port formed therein. From this outlet, the substance to be dispensed, in metered amounts, is taken out of the container 12 by the operation of the pump 18. The delivery button 20 may be provided with a known lock mechanism (for example, the button 20 needs to be rotated by a predetermined angle in order to be operated) to prevent the button from being accidentally pushed down.

The container 12 contains a predetermined liquid or pasty substance (not shown). The container also contains a container (only partially shown in FIG. 1) 24 containing a second liquid or pasty substance. The container and the inner volume of the container are almost the same as the inner container compartments 12A and
, And the substances contained therein are withdrawn by the action of the pump 18, as will be described later.

The container 24 is connected to the bottom portion 18A of the pump 18 by an interposing member 26. This interposing member 26
It also closes the mouth 28 of the container 24 (which is connected to the mouth, for example, with a tight fit) and opens into the known pumping tube 18B of the pump 18. The passage 30 is provided. This pumping pipe extends to the inner container division chamber 12A via the branch passage 32, but passes through the passage 30 to the second branch passage (second pumping pipe) 34 inserted in the inner container division chamber 24. Connected.

The second branch passage, that is, the second pumping pipe 34 is connected to the interposition member 26 and the conduit 26A by a known means. This conduit provides a chamber 26 to which the passage 30 is connected.
Open to B. Head 36A acts on mouth 26F of conduit 26A on the same side as chamber 26B.

The second pumping tube 34 is at least partially immersed in a substance contained in the container 24, for example a substance containing the active substance.

The valve 36 according to the present invention is actuated by a shaft 38, the upper end 38A of which is the ring cap 16.
To the outside of the container 12 through the hole 40. The shaft is provided with a portion 38B screwed into the threaded accommodating portion 26C of the interposition member 26. A lever 42 in the shape of a pointer is fixed to the upper end of the shaft 38, and when this lever is rotated in a predetermined moving region, the valve 36 is moved to adjust the degree of closure of the mouth or hole 26F. Ring cap 1
The graduations 44 provided on the horizontal free surface 16A of 6 divide the moving region of the adjusting lever 42 so that the valve 36 can be adjusted accurately. Thus, because of the presence of this valve 36, actuation of the button 20 causes the compartment 2
The flow of material out of 4 can be regulated.

The pumping pipe 18B of the pump 18 (branch path,
That is, the branch pipes 32 and 34 are connected to the pump 1
8 communicates with the mixing chamber 46 formed inside 8 in a known manner.

Now suppose that an attempt is made to dispense the product from the container 12. This product contains a substance (for example, a basic substance) contained in the compartment 12A and a substance (for example, formed of an active substance) contained in the compartment 24 or a basic substance and an active substance per se. It is included in the ratio).

The lever 42 is set to a position selected based on, for example, a known characteristic of the user's skin (for example, the amount of water or the amount of sebum), and then the user pushes the button 20 to suck up the pump 18. Then, the contents of the container compartments 12A and 24 are sucked into the mixing chamber 46. The substances sucked from these compartments are mixed in this mixing chamber, and together are sent out through the outlet 22.

The lever 2 allows the hole 2 formed by the valve 36.
Should be distributed by adjusting the degree of occlusion on 6F,
The proportions of the two substances that make up the metered product can be changed. In this case, by operating the lever 42, the shaft 38 rotates and the threaded portion 38B of this shaft is
It is screwed into or unscrewed from the accommodation portion 26C. Thus, the degree of blockage of the holes 26F may be increased or decreased, resulting in more or less flow of material from the compartment 24 to the passage 30 and then to the mixing chamber 46. In this way, by actuating the lever 42, the user is free to change the proportion of active substance mixed with the basic substance, based on his / her own skin characteristics (eg moisture, sebum content, acidity). be able to.

As is known to those skilled in the art, to operate the dispenser, the interior of container 12 and the interior of container 24 must be
It is necessary to communicate with the outside through a publicly known mechanism provided exclusively. Although not shown, this also applies to the container of the invention. Thus, following the operation of the pump 18, no vacuum is created inside the container or compartment 24 or compartment 12A to prevent product extrusion. Being in communication with the outside, air can replace the amount of material pumped from each compartment after each dispensing operation.

If the substance contained in one of the two compartments is exhausted, the distributor will not operate because the mixing chamber 46 of the pump 18 is filled with air. Therefore, when one of the two substances is used up, there is no fear that the other substance alone will be delivered in a measured amount by the operation of the pump.

Generally, when it is necessary to mix three or more liquid or pasty substances in varying proportions, the container 12 contains a corresponding number of separate compartments, each compartment being Accommodates a specific substance and is connected to one pumping pipe of the pump 18, respectively. These substances are separate until the moment the pump is activated, that is, the button 20 is actuated to draw them into the chamber 46 and mix there. In this case, the container is provided with an inner dividing wall forming a number of compartments equal to the number of substances to be mixed, or the container 24 described above.
Contains multiple containers of the same type as.

[0023]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the dispenser according to the present invention can be effectively used to dispense a skin cream composed of, for example, a basic substance and an active substance or a substance containing the active substance. You can The proportions of the two substances in the individual metered amounts can thus be determined according to the user's skin type, eg skin type (eg based on the amount of sebum on the skin), or for the same user. Even so, it is free to change depending on the environmental conditions (eg, dry or wet weather) to obtain the appropriate dispensed product composition.

The dispenser according to the present invention can also be effectively used to dispense toothpaste consisting of a basic substance and an active substance or a substance containing fluorine by changing the mixing ratio of these substances. it can.

It will be appreciated that the distributor according to the invention has many other applications. It is very effective in all cases where it is necessary to deliver liquid or pasty products of at least two substances in metered quantities and in such a manner that their proportions can be varied.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the dispenser according to the present invention taken along line 1-1 of FIG. 2, showing only a portion of the container for clarity.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the distributor seen from above.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A positive displacement pump (18) is provided for delivering a metered amount of product withdrawn from a container (12), the pump (18) being attached to the container, the metered amount of product being , Compartments of the container (12) (12A, 2
4) consisting of at least two different liquid or pasty substances contained in each of the pumps (1
In 8), the pumping pipe (18B) is divided into a number of branches (32, 34) equal to the number of these different substances, and each branch of the pumping pipe is housed in each compartment (12A, 24). In a dispenser (10) for a liquid or pasty product that is submerged in one of the substances, all branch lines (32, 34) of the pumping tube, except one branch line (32), are respectively: Flow control valve (3
6) and a flow control valve (36) operable externally. 2. Distributor (10) according to claim 1, wherein the number of different constituent substances of the product to be dispensed in metered amounts is two. 3. The container (2) according to claim 1, wherein one of the two substances is directly contained in the container (12) and the other substance is itself contained in the container (12).
Distributor (10) housed in 4). 4. The flow control valve (36) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the flow rate control valve (36) can be operated by a shaft (38) rotatable about the same axis as the shaft. A hole (4) formed in a ring cap (16) that allows a pump (18) to be attached to the container (12).
0) to the outside of the distributor and at the outer end of the shaft (38) an operating mechanism (42) for the flow control valve (36).
Is fixed and the shaft (38) is rotated so that the flow rate control valve performs a metering operation to adjust the flow rate of the substance in each pumping pipe (10). 5. The operation mechanism (42) according to claim 4, wherein the operating mechanism (42) is in the shape of a pointer, and a moving region of the pointer is graduated, and a corresponding flow control valve (36) is provided. Distributor (10) that can accurately adjust the temperature.