JPH09276759A - Bubble forming vessel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To generate a fine and creamy bubble in a mechanism for pressing and deforming a flexible vessel to discharge the contents bubbled by a nozzle member by providing a bubble forming member in the middle of a line for discharging the bubbled contents by a discharge mechanism. SOLUTION: When the contents 30 of a bubble forming vessel 20 is discharged, the flexible vessel main body 21 is pressed and deformed, a first valve element 23 is closed, and a second valve element 24 is opened. In this case, only the air in a space 36 is passed through the second valve element 24 and introduced into a nozzle member 22, and then the air in the nozzle 22 is sent into a pipe member 25 due to the elastic return of the main body 21 when the pressure on the main body 21 is released. At this time, the air is passed through a first mesh member 26 to generate a minute bubble 37 in the contents 30 which are bubbled. A bubble 38 is passed through a second mesh member 27 and made fine and creamy.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a foam producing container,
In particular, the present invention relates to a foam generating container having a structure in which the contents are foamed in the container and then discharged to the outside of the container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, since a facial cleanser or the like is foamed when used, it is convenient to use a facial cleanser or the like as a container in which the contents are foamed and then discharged from the container. . For this reason, there is provided a container (hereinafter, this container is referred to as a foam-generating container) having a structure in which a liquid content is foamed in the container and the generated foam-like substance is discharged from a nozzle.

FIG. 4 shows an example of this type of foam producing container. The foam producing container 1 shown in the figure is roughly composed of a container body 2, a nozzle member 3, a first valve body 4, a second valve body 5, a pipe member 6, a mesh member 7, and the like. The container body 2 is a resin container and is configured to be flexible and deformable. The contents 8 such as a face wash are contained in the container body 2
The container body is filled through the opening 9 formed in the upper part of the container.

The nozzle member 3 is mounted in the opening 9 and has a discharge port 10 through which the contents 8 are discharged. Further, the nozzle member 3 is provided with a partition plate 11 that defines the container body 2 and the nozzle member 3, and the partition plate 11 is provided with the first valve body 4 and the second valve body 5. It is set up.

Both the first valve body 4 and the second valve body 5 are ball valves, and are configured to allow the flow of fluid in only one direction. The first valve body 4 is configured to allow the contents 8 to advance to the nozzle member 3 as described later only when the pressure in the container body 2 becomes higher than the pressure in the nozzle member 3. . Further, the second valve body 5 is provided only when the pressure inside the nozzle member 3 becomes higher than the pressure inside the container body 2.
It is configured to allow air to travel into the container body 2.

The upper end of the pipe member 6 is connected to the lower portion of the first valve body 4, and the lower end of the pipe member 6 is inserted into the contents 8 by extending downward. Further, an air introduction hole 12 is formed at a position downstream of the upper end of the pipe member 6 and upstream of the position where the first valve body 4 is arranged with respect to the flow direction of the contents 8 at the time of discharging. The air in the container body 2 can flow into the first valve body 4 through the air introduction hole 12.

The mesh member 7 is a fine mesh member and is arranged downstream of the position of the first valve body 4 with respect to the flow direction of the contents 8 at the time of discharge. As will be described later, when the air-mixed contents pass through the mesh member 7, the contents become bubbles and are discharged from the discharge 10 to the outside.

Next, the operation of the conventional foam producing container 1 will be described. In order to discharge the contents 8 from the discharge port 10 in the conventional bubble generation container 1, the container body 2 is pressed as shown by the arrow in the figure. Since the container body 2 has flexibility, it is deformed as shown by being pressed.

Further, in the container body 2 together with the contents 8,
Since the air 13 exists in the upper portion, the pressure of the air 13 is increased and becomes higher than the atmospheric pressure when the container body 2 is pressed and the volume is reduced. Therefore, the pressure in the container body 2 becomes higher than the pressure in the nozzle member 3, which is kept at atmospheric pressure due to the opening of the discharge port 10, and the second valve body 5
Is closed.

On the other hand, as the pressure in the container body 2 increases as described above, the contents 8 enter the pipe member 6 and are directed toward the first valve body 4 as indicated by the broken line arrow in the figure. proceed. Further, since the air introduction hole 12 is formed at the lower position of the first valve body 4 in the figure, the pressure in the container body 2 becomes high, so that the air 13 also enters the first valve body 4. To do. Therefore, the content 8 mixed with the air 13 is introduced into the first valve body 4.

As described above, since the pressure inside the container body 2 is high when the container body 2 is pressed, the first valve body 4 is opened and the contents 8 mixed with the air 13 are the mesh member. It advances through 7 into the nozzle member 3. At this time, the contents 8 mixed with the air 13 are foamed by passing through the mesh member 7. That is, the mesh member 7 functions as a bubble generation mechanism that generates bubbles.

As described above, the foamed contents which have passed through the mesh member 7 are discharged from the discharge port 10 to the outside of the container.

[0013]

According to the foam-generating container 1 having the above-described structure, the contents 8 are foamed in the container and then discharged from the discharge port 10, so that the usability is improved. You can By the way, when foaming a facial cleanser or the like, it is desirable to use finely creamy foam in order to improve the feeling of use and the cleaning effect. However, in the above-described conventional foam generating container 1, since the foam is generated by only one mesh member 7, the generated foam has a rough texture.

In this way, in the coarse-grained foam, the contents 8
When the is discharged, the foamy contents easily become liquid and flow. As described above, the conventional foam-generating container 1 cannot generate fine-grained creamy foam, so that there is a problem in that the feeling of use and the cleaning effect cannot be sufficiently improved.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a foam producing container capable of producing a creamy foam having a fine texture.

[0016]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The above-mentioned problems can be solved by taking the following means. According to the first aspect of the present invention, the flexible container is filled with the content, and the nozzle member is provided at the opening of the flexible container and has a discharge port for discharging the content. In a foam-generating container that discharges the contents in a foam state from the nozzle member by operating the flexible container, the contents are foamed and the foamed contents are A bubble generation mechanism for accumulating in a flexible container, an ejection mechanism for ejecting the foamed contents accumulated in the flexible container by the operation of the flexible container, and an ejection mechanism for ejecting the foamed content. It is characterized in that a foam generating member disposed in the middle of the discharge path of the foamed contents is provided.

Further, in the foam producing container according to the second aspect of the present invention, the flexible container filled with the content and the opening provided in the flexible container are arranged to discharge the content. A first nozzle, which is disposed at a boundary between the nozzle member having a discharge port and the flexible container and the nozzle member, and permits only a flow of air from the nozzle member into the flexible container.
A valve body, and a second valve body that is disposed at a boundary between the flexible container and the nozzle member, and that allows only the flow of fluid from the flexible container into the nozzle member. A pipe member having one end connected to the first valve body and the other end inserted into the content filled in the flexible container, and the pipe member having an end portion on the content side of the pipe member. A first bubble generating member provided and a second bubble generating member disposed downstream of the position of the second valve body in the flow direction of the fluid. It is what

Further, in the invention according to claim 3, in the foam generating container according to claim 1 or 2, the foam generating member is a porous member in which a large number of minute holes are formed in a base material. It is a feature.

Further, in the invention according to claim 4, in the foam generating container according to claim 3, the porous member is at least one of a mesh member, a porous resin, and a porous ceramic. It is characterized by.

Each of the above means operates as follows. According to the invention described in claim 1, the foam generating mechanism makes the contents foamy, and the foamed contents are stored in the flexible container, and the discharge mechanism is stored in the flexible container. Discharge the foamed contents to the outside of the container.

At this time, since the foam generating member is disposed in the discharge path of the foamed contents, the foamed contents become fine-grained bubbles by passing through the foam generating member. . Therefore, the discharged foam becomes a fine-grained foam,
It does not become liquid immediately and the usability can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the content is discharged from the nozzle member by repeating the operation of pressing the flexible container to reduce the volume. During this discharge operation,
Air travels from the first valve body through the pipe member and into the contents.

At this time, since the first bubble generating member is disposed at the end of the pipe member on the content side, fine air bubbles are contained in the content when the air passes through the first bubble generating member. Are generated, and the bubbles generate bubbles in the space above the contents in the flexible container.

Further, bubbles of the contents generated in the flexible container progress to the nozzle member through the second valve body by pressing the flexible container, but at this time, bubbles are formed. The contents pass through the second foam-generating member. Therefore, the foam-like content generated by the first bubble-generating member becomes finer bubbles by passing through the second bubble-generating member and is discharged from the discharge port. Therefore, the liquid does not become liquid immediately after being discharged, and the usability can be improved.

Further, according to the inventions of claims 3 and 4, the foam generating member is constituted by the porous member having a large number of minute holes formed in the base material, so that the contents are contained in the holes. By introducing gas (air or the like) into the impregnated porous member, the contents in each hole are foamed, so that it is possible to generate a finely creamy foam.

At this time, a mesh member, a porous resin, and a porous ceramic can be used as the porous member.

[0027]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a foam production container 20 which is an embodiment of the present invention. Bubble generating container 20 shown in the same figure
Roughly, the container body 21 (corresponding to a flexible container), the nozzle member 22, the first valve body 23, the second valve body 2
4, a pipe member 25, a first mesh member 26 (corresponding to a first bubble generating member), and a second mesh member 27.
(Corresponding to a second bubble generating member) and the like.

The container body 21 is a resin container, and is configured to be flexible and deformable by being pressed from the side. The container body 21 has a cylindrical shape with a bottom, an opening 28 is formed in the upper portion thereof, and a screw portion 29 is formed in the outer peripheral portion of the opening 28.

Content 30 such as a face wash is filled in the container body 21 through the opening 9. However, the contents 30 are not filled to the extent that the container body 21 is completely filled, so that a space 36 in which air exists is formed in the container body 21 above the contents 30.

The nozzle member 22 is mounted on the top of the container body 21. Specifically, a threaded portion 31 is formed on the lower portion of the inner circumference of the nozzle member 22.
1 is the threaded portion 29 of the opening 28 formed in the container body 21.
The nozzle member 22 is screwed onto the container main body 21
Attached to.

The nozzle member 22 has a discharge port 32 through which the contents 30 are discharged. In addition, the nozzle member 22
A partition plate 33 that defines the container body 21 and the nozzle member 22 is provided in the. The partition plate 33 has a first
The valve body 23 and the second valve body 24 are disposed.

The first valve body 23 and the second valve body 24 are both ball valves having ball bodies 34 and 35 therein.
It is configured to allow the fluid flow only in one direction.
The pressure in the nozzle member 22 of the first valve body 23 is
Only when the pressure becomes higher than the pressure inside 1, the air is allowed to proceed into the container body 21.

The second valve body 24 allows the contents 30 to move into the nozzle member 22 only when the pressure in the container body 21 becomes higher than the pressure in the nozzle member 22, as will be described later. It is configured to do. The first valve body 23 and the second valve body 24 configured as described above are configured to be integrally incorporated in the partition plate 33. Further, with the nozzle member 22 attached to the container body 21, the partition plate 3
3 is configured to come into liquid-tight contact with the upper end of the opening 28.

The upper end of the pipe member 25 is the first valve body 23.
The lower end is inserted into the contents 30 by being connected to the lower part of the and extending downward. A first mesh member 26 is disposed at the lower end of the pipe member 25. The first mesh member 26 is a porous member in which a large number of fine holes are formed in a sheet-shaped base material, and when air flows downward through the pipe member 25 as described later, this air flows Travels through the first mesh member 26 and into the contents 30.

The air thus guided to the pipe member 25 enters the contents 30 in a dispersed state by passing through the first mesh member 26, so that minute bubbles are generated in the contents 30. appear. Contents 30 due to these bubbles
Is foamed, and the space 36 formed on the top of the contents 30
Bubbles are generated in the.

On the other hand, a second mesh member 27 is arranged at a position downstream (upper position in the drawing) from the position where the second valve body 24 is arranged with respect to the flow direction of the contents 30 at the time of discharging. ing. The second mesh member 27 is a porous member having a structure in which a large number of fine holes are formed in a sheet-like base material like the first mesh member 26, and the fine holes have the first mesh. The diameter of the member 26 is smaller than that of the fine holes of the member 26.

Next, the operation of the conventional foam producing container 20 will be described. In the following description, a case will be described in which the foam generating container 20 is first discharged, that is, the foam generating container 20 is discharged from a state where no bubbles of the content 30 are generated in the space 36. .

In order to discharge the contents 30 from the discharge port 32 in the foam generating container 20, the side of the container body 21 is pressed inward, and the container body 2 is shown as shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG.
1 is flexibly deformed. As described above, the deformation of the container body 21 reduces the volume of the container body 21 (means that the volume decreases), and the pressure inside the container body 21 rises and becomes higher than the atmospheric pressure.

Therefore, the pressure in the container body 21 is higher than the pressure in the nozzle member 22 because the pressure is set to the atmospheric pressure due to the opening of the discharge port 32, and the first valve body 2
3 is closed and the second valve body 24 is opened. At this time, since only air is present in the space 36 during the first pressing operation on the bubble generation container 20, the first and second
When the valve bodies 23 and 24 of the nozzle member 2 are in the above state, only the air in the space 36 passes through the second valve body 4 and the nozzle member 2
It progresses to 2 and is discharged from the discharge port 32.

Subsequently, when the pressing on the container body 21 is released, an elastic restoring force shown by an arrow in FIG. 2 is generated in the container body 21 and the container body 21 returns to the shape before deformation. At the time of this elastic recovery, the container body 21 increases in volume (means that the volume increases), so that the inside of the container body 21 becomes a negative pressure. As a result, the first valve body 23 is closed and the second valve body 24 is opened, and the air in the nozzle member 22 (which is in communication with the atmosphere via the discharge port 32) is the second valve body. Pipe member 2 passing through body 24
Enter within 5.

In this way, the air that has entered the pipe member 25 (the flow of the air is shown by the dashed arrow in FIG. 2) has the lower end portion of the pipe member 25 inserted into the contents 30. Installed in 30. At this time, the pipe member 2
Since the first mesh member 26 is disposed at the lower end of the pipe 5, the air guided by the pipe member 25 enters the contents 30 while being dispersed by the first mesh member 26.

At this time, since a large number of fine holes are formed in the first mesh member 26 as described above, the air passes through the first mesh member 26 so that the contents 3
Minute bubbles (indicated by reference numeral 37 in FIG. 2) are generated in 0, and the contents 30 are foamed by the bubbles.

The bubbles of the content 30 thus generated are
Since the specific gravity is lighter than the content 30, the content 30 moves upward in the content 30, and thus the bubbles 38 of the content 30 start to accumulate in the space 36 formed on the upper portion of the content 30. 2 shows the space 3
6 shows a state in which the bubbles 38 of the contents 30 have begun to accumulate, and when the generation of the bubbles 38 further progresses from this state, the space 36 becomes filled with the bubbles 38 (hereinafter, this state Waiting state). As described above, the first feature of the foam production container 20 according to the present embodiment is that the foam 38 is first produced in the container body 21.

The contents 30 are discharged when the foam producing container 20 is in the standby state described above. Contents 30
In order to carry out the discharge of the container body 21 in the same manner as shown in FIG.
3 is pressed in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3 to flexibly deform the container body 21 as shown in FIG.

As described above, the deformation of the container body 21 causes the volume of the container body 21 to be reduced.
The pressure inside rises and becomes higher than atmospheric pressure. Therefore, in this state, the pressure inside the container body 21 becomes higher than the pressure inside the nozzle member 22 as described above, and the first valve body 23 is closed and the second valve body 24 is opened. .

At this time, in the standby state, the space 38 is filled with the bubbles 38 generated from the contents 30, so that the first and second valve bodies 23, 24 are in the above-described state. Thereby, the air existing in the bubble 38 and the space 36 passes through the second valve body 24 and advances to the nozzle member 22.

Further, as described above, since the second mesh member 27 is provided at the downstream side position of the second valve body 24 which serves as the discharge path of the bubble 38, the bubble 38 is formed by the second mesh member 27. And then discharged from the discharge port 32. At this time, the fine holes formed in the second mesh member 27 have a diameter smaller than that of the fine holes formed in the first mesh member 26, so that the bubbles 38 are formed in the second mesh member 27. By passing, a creamy foam having a finer texture than the state in the space 36 is generated.

Therefore, the bubbles discharged from the discharge port 32 are
The creamy foam has a very fine texture and does not become liquid immediately, thus improving usability. On the other hand, when the above-mentioned discharging operation is completed and the pressing on the container body 21 is released, the container body 21 returns to the shape before deformation due to the elastic restoring force. At the time of this elastic restoration, the container body 21
Since the volume increases, the inside of the container body 21 becomes a negative pressure. As a result, the first valve body 23 is closed and the second valve body 24 is closed.
Is opened, and the air in the nozzle member 22 passes through the second valve body 24 and enters the pipe member 25.

Therefore, the air that has entered the pipe 25 is
The same behavior as described with reference to FIG. 2 is performed and dispersed by the first mesh member 26, and the contents 30 are foamed. Then, the bubbles 38 thus generated accumulate in the space 36, and the standby state is formed again.

As described above, since a new standby state is formed each time the content 30 is discharged, the content 30 cannot be discharged even if the content 30 is continuously discharged. There is no such thing. Further, when the discharge operation is not performed for a long period of time, it is conceivable that the bubbles 38 are liquefied and the amount of the bubbles 38 in the space portion 36 is reduced.
As described above, the operation of putting the foam generating container 20 in the standby state and the operation of discharging the content 30 are the same operations (operations of only pressing the container body 21), so that the foam 38 is not used for a long period of time. Even if the liquefaction occurs, the operability does not deteriorate.

In the above embodiment, the first and second mesh members 26 and 27 are used as the bubble-generating member, but the bubble-generating member is not limited to the mesh member. It is also possible to use another material as long as it is a porous member in which a large number of minute holes are formed in the material. For example,
As the other porous member, it is possible to use porous resin, porous ceramics, or the like.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the first valve body 23, the pipe member 25, and the first mesh member 26 correspond to the bubble generating mechanism according to the first aspect, and the container body 21, the first member.
The second valve bodies 23 and 24 correspond to the discharge mechanism according to the first aspect.

[0053]

According to the present invention as described above, the following various effects can be realized. According to the invention of claim 1, since the foam generating member is disposed in the middle of the discharge path of the foamed content, the foamed content passes through the foam generating member to improve the texture. It becomes a fine foam, and thus the discharged foam becomes a fine-textured creamy foam and does not become a liquid immediately and it is possible to improve usability.

According to the invention of claim 2, the first
The foam-like content produced by the foam-generating member of No. 2 becomes finer-grained foam as it passes through the second foam-generating member and is discharged from the discharge port, so that the foam becomes liquid immediately after being discharged. There is nothing, and usability can be improved.

According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the foam generating member is constituted by the porous member having a large number of minute holes formed in the base material, so that the contents are contained in the holes. By introducing gas (air or the like) into the impregnated porous member, the contents in each hole are foamed, so that it is possible to generate a finely creamy foam.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a foam production container which is an embodiment of the present invention, and is a view showing a state before use.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a foam production container which is an embodiment of the present invention, and is a view showing a state where the flexible container is once pressed and then this pressing is released.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a foam production container which is an embodiment of the present invention, and is a view showing a discharged state of contents.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a conventional foam production container.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20 Bubble Generation Container 21 Container Body 22 Nozzle Member 23 First Valve Body 24 Second Valve Body 25 Pipe Member 26 First Mesh Member 27 Second Mesh Member 28 Opening 30 Contents 32 Discharge Port 33 Partition Plate 36 Space 37 Bubbles 38 Bubbles

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A flexible container filled with contents, and a nozzle member disposed at an opening of the flexible container and having a discharge port for discharging the contents. A foam generating container which discharges the content in a foam state from the nozzle member by operating the flexible container, wherein the content is foamed, and the foamed content is the flexible container. A bubble generation mechanism for accumulating therein, a discharge mechanism for discharging the foamed contents accumulated in the flexible container by the operation of the flexible container, and a foam condition discharged by the discharge mechanism. A foam-generating container provided with a foam-generating member disposed in the middle of a discharge path for the converted contents. 2. A flexible container filled with contents, a nozzle member disposed in an opening of the flexible container and having a discharge port for discharging contents, the flexible container. A first valve body which is disposed at a boundary between the container and the nozzle member and allows only a flow of air from the nozzle member into the flexible container; and the flexible container and the nozzle member. A second valve body that is disposed at the boundary part of the second valve body that allows only a fluid flow from the flexible container toward the nozzle member, and one end of the second valve body is connected to the first valve body, A pipe member having the other end inserted into the content filled in the flexible container; a first bubble-generating member disposed at the content-side end of the pipe member; And a second bubble generating member disposed downstream of the position where the second valve body is disposed with respect to the flow direction. A foam-generating container characterized in that. 3. The foam generating container according to claim 1, wherein the foam generating member is a porous member in which a large number of minute holes are formed in a base material. 4. The foam generating container according to claim 3, wherein the porous member is at least one of a mesh member, a porous resin, and a porous ceramic.