JP7847925B2 - Foamer dispenser - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a foaming dispenser that mixes the liquid inside the container body with air and dispenses it as foam from a nozzle.

Many containers for liquids such as shampoo, body wash, hand soap, and facial cleanser are equipped with a foaming dispenser, which mixes the liquid with air to dispense it as a foam, thus eliminating the need for foaming and facilitating easier use.

Conventionally, such foaming dispensers are known to have a mounting cap attached to the mouth of a container, a liquid pump and an air pump supported by the mounting cap, and a head attached to the upper end of a stem that is supported to be vertically movable relative to the mounting cap. When the head is pressed down, the liquid pump and air pump are activated, and the liquid and air are pressurized, mixed in a mixing chamber, and foamed through a foaming member before being discharged as foam from a nozzle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2014-28620

However, conventional foaming dispensers had a problem: when the head was pressed down at high speed (e.g., 70 mm/s), the foam dispensed from the nozzle would become uneven, containing large bubbles in some areas.

The present invention aims to solve these problems, and its objective is to provide a foamer dispenser capable of dispensing uniform foam even when the head is pressed down at high speed.

The foamer dispenser of the present invention comprises a mounting cap attached to the mouth of the container body, a cylindrical connecting portion having an outflow hole and a stem protruding from the mounting cap, a head portion having a nozzle and attached to the upper end of the stem, a cylindrical body having a partition wall having a liquid inflow hole, which fits from the outside to the cylindrical connecting portion and partition wall to form a mixing chamber, a liquid pump supported by the mounting cap and driven by the stem when the head portion is pressed down to pump the liquid inside the container body from the liquid inflow hole into the mixing chamber, and the mounting cap The device comprises an air pump supported by a cap, which is driven by the stem when the head portion is pressed down to pump air taken in from the outside into the mixing chamber through an air passage provided between the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical connection portion and the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical body; and a foaming member provided on at least one of the stem and the nozzle to foam the liquid mixed with air in the mixing chamber. Three air passages are provided between the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical connection portion and the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical body, arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and the cross-sectional area of the smallest portion of the liquid passage between the liquid pump and the mixing chamber is 2.0 mm². The diameter is ² or more and 14.5 ^mm² or less, the ratio of the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the three air passages to the cross-sectional area of the smallest part of the liquid passage is 1.0:1.4 to 1.0:2.8, an air introduction passage is provided between the inner circumferential surface of the lower part of the stem and the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body, the introduction passage communicates with the air passage via an annular space between the upper end of the cylindrical body and the stem, and the smallest part of the liquid passage is the liquid inlet .

In the foamer dispenser of the present invention, it is preferable that the three air passages are composed of grooves arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer surface of the cylindrical connecting portion.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a foamer dispenser capable of dispensing uniform foam even when the head is pressed down at high speed.

This is a partially cutaway cross-sectional view showing a foamer dispenser according to one embodiment of the present invention attached to the mouth of a container body. This is a cross-sectional view showing an enlarged view of the main part of the foamer dispenser shown in Figure 1. This is a cross-sectional view along line A-A in Figure 2.

The following describes in detail a former dispenser 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention, with reference to the drawings.

In this specification, claims, and abstract, the vertical direction refers to the vertical direction when the container body 2, to which the foamer dispenser 1 is attached, is in an upright position, as shown in Figure 1.

As shown in Figure 1, the foamer dispenser 1 has a mounting cap 10 that is attached to the opening 2a of the container body 2.

The mounting cap 10 has a top wall 10a and a mounting cylinder wall 10b integrally connected to the outer peripheral edge of the top wall 10a. A female thread 10c provided on the inner circumferential surface of the mounting cylinder wall 10b is screw-connected to a male thread 2b provided on the outer circumferential surface of the mouth 2a of the container body 2, thereby allowing the cap to be detachably attached to the mouth 2a. The mounting cap 10, when attached to the mouth 2a, covers the opening of the mouth 2a. A support cylinder portion 10d, projecting upward, is integrally provided on the top wall 10a of the mounting cap 10.

Furthermore, instead of the screw connection described above, other configurations such as undercut engagement may be used to attach the mounting cap 10 to the mouth portion 2a of the container body 2.

The mounting cap 10 supports the stem 20. The stem 20 has a cylindrical upper portion 20a centered on axis O, and a lower portion 20b that is slightly larger in diameter than the upper portion 20a and coaxially and integrally connected to the lower end of the upper portion 20a. The upper portion 20a protrudes upward from the mounting cap 10. Furthermore, a cylindrical guide tube portion 21, larger in diameter than the lower portion 20b, is coaxially and integrally provided on the outside of the boundary between the upper portion 20a and the lower portion 20b via a flange-like portion 20c. The stem 20 is guided by the guide tube portion 21, which is prevented from rotating on the inner circumferential surface of the support tube portion 10d, allowing it to move freely in the vertical direction along the support tube portion 10d.

As shown in Figure 2, the stem 20 is equipped with a cylindrical connecting portion 22 inside. The cylindrical connecting portion 22 is substantially cylindrical in shape, with an outflow hole 23 at its axial center, and is coaxially and integrally provided on the inside of the boundary between the upper portion 20a and the lower portion 20b of the stem 20, via a tapered connecting portion 20d.

As shown in Figure 1, a head portion 30 is attached to the upper end of the stem 20. The head portion 30 is equipped with a nozzle 31 that communicates with the internal flow path of the stem 20. The nozzle 31 extends from the stem 20 in a direction approximately perpendicular to the axis O of the stem 20, and its tip is a discharge port 32. Note that the nozzle 31 is not limited to extending in a direction approximately perpendicular to the axis O of the stem 20; for example, the discharge port 32 may be provided on the top surface of the head portion 30 so as to open upwards, discharging the contents upwards. Its shape can be varied in various ways. The head portion 30 is fixed to the stem 20 in the vertical direction. Therefore, when the head portion 30 is pushed downwards, the stem 20 is pushed downwards together with the head portion 30.

A cylindrical body 40 is attached to the lower end of the stem 20. As shown in Figure 2, the cylindrical body 40 is cylindrical in shape with a smaller diameter than the lower portion 20b of the stem 20 and a larger diameter than the cylindrical connecting portion 22. Its upper end is fitted into the cylindrical connecting portion 22 from the outside and fixed to the stem 20. In this embodiment, the cylindrical body 40 is also fitted into the lower portion 20b of the stem 20 from the inside and is fixed in place in the groove-shaped portion between the lower portion 20b and the cylindrical connecting portion 22.

The cylindrical body 40 has a partition wall 41 integrally inside. A liquid inlet 42 is provided in the center of the partition wall 41, penetrating it vertically.

Inside the cylindrical body 40, a mixing chamber 43 is provided, partitioned by a cylindrical connecting portion 22 and a partition wall 41. The mixing chamber 43 communicates with the stem 20 via an outflow hole 23 in the cylindrical connecting portion 22, and also communicates with a liquid pump 50 (described later) via a liquid inflow hole 42 in the partition wall 41.

The foamer dispenser 1 has a liquid pump 50 and an air pump 60.

The liquid pump 50 is supported by the mounting cap 10 and positioned inside the container body 2. When the head portion 30 is pressed down, it is driven and operated by the stem 20, which moves downward together with the head portion 30, and pumps the liquid inside the container body 2 through the liquid inlet hole 42 into the mixing chamber 43. In this embodiment, as will be described later, the liquid pump 50 is indirectly supported by the mounting cap 10 via a large-diameter cylinder 51b, as its small-diameter cylinder 51a is integrally provided with a cylinder member 51 supported by the mounting cap 10. However, the liquid pump 50 may also be directly supported by the mounting cap 10.

The air pump 60 is supported by the mounting cap 10 and positioned inside the container body 2. When the head portion 30 is pushed down, it is driven by the stem 20, which moves downward together with the head portion 30, and operates by pumping air taken in from the outside into the mixing chamber 43 through the air passage 70 provided between the outer surface of the cylindrical connection portion 22 and the inner surface of the cylindrical body 40.

A foamed member (mesh ring) 80 is positioned on at least one of the stem 20 and the nozzle 31. In this embodiment, the foamed member 80 is positioned at the upper and lower ends of the upper portion 20a of the stem 20, respectively. As the foamed member 80, for example, one can be used in which a mesh is attached to one end of a ring-shaped main body.

Therefore, when the head unit 30 is pressed down, the liquid pump 50 and the air pump 60 are activated, causing liquid and air to flow into the mixing chamber 43. The liquid mixed with air in the mixing chamber 43 is then pumped through the outlet hole 23 into the internal flow path of the stem 20, where it is foamed by the two foaming members 80 and discharged as foam from the nozzle 31's outlet 32.

In this embodiment, the liquid pump 50 and the air pump 60 are configured as follows. However, the liquid pump 50 and the air pump 60 are not limited to the following configuration; various configurations can be used as long as they are supported by the mounting cap 10 and driven by the stem 20 when the head portion 30 is pressed down.

Inside the container body 2, a cylinder member 51 is positioned, supported by the mounting cap 10 by being sandwiched between the opening 2a of the container body 2. The cylinder member 51 has a configuration in which a small-diameter cylinder 51a and a larger-diameter cylinder 51b, which is integrally connected to the upper part of the small-diameter cylinder 51a, are arranged coaxially in series.

The small-diameter cylinder 51a constitutes the liquid pump 50. Although not shown in detail, a suction port is provided at the bottom of the small-diameter cylinder 51a for drawing liquid from inside the container body 2 into the small-diameter cylinder 51a. A suction pipe extending to the bottom of the container body 2 is connected to the suction port. Inside the small-diameter cylinder 51a, a liquid seal body 52 is positioned to contact the inner circumferential surface of the small-diameter cylinder 51a and to slide along the axis O. The cylindrical liquid seal body 52 is locked to the lower end of the cylindrical body 40 and, together with the cylindrical body 40, constitutes the piston of the liquid pump 50.

A spring member 53 is positioned between the liquid seal body 52 and the bottom wall (not shown) of the small-diameter cylinder 51a, biasing the liquid seal body 52 upwards.

A poppet 54 is positioned inside the liquid seal body 52. Although not shown in detail, a valve for opening and closing the suction port is provided at the lower end of the poppet 54, and a valve 54a for opening and closing the outlet of the internal passage inside the liquid seal body 52 is provided at the upper end.

When the head portion 30 is pressed down, and the stem 20 moves downward together with the head portion 30, the cylindrical body 40 and the liquid seal 52 move downward as a single unit, pressurizing the liquid inside the small-diameter cylinder 51a. When the liquid inside the small-diameter cylinder 51a is pressurized, the poppet 54 moves upward relative to the liquid seal 52, opening the valve portion 54a. The liquid inside the small-diameter cylinder 51a is then pumped through the inside of the cylindrical body 40 to the liquid inlet hole 42, which is the liquid flow path, and flows into the mixing chamber 43. When the downward operation of the head portion 30 is released, the liquid seal 52, cylindrical body 40, stem 20, and head portion 30 rise back to their original positions due to the elastic force of the spring member 53. At this time, the valve portion at the lower end of the poppet 54 opens the suction port, filling the small-diameter cylinder 51a with liquid for the next discharge.

The large-diameter cylinder 51b constitutes the air pump 60. The air pump 60 is supported by the mounting cap 10 within the large-diameter cylinder 51b and positioned inside the container body 2. An air introduction channel 61 is provided between the inner circumferential surface of the lower portion 20b of the stem 20 and the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 40. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, four introduction channels 61 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction around the axis O of the stem 20. As shown in Figure 2, the introduction channels 61 communicate with the air channel 70 via an annular space between the upper end of the cylindrical body 40 and the connecting portion 20d.

As shown in Figure 3, three air passages 70 are provided between the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical connecting portion 22 and the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 40, arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction around the axis O. In this embodiment, these air passages 70 are composed of grooves provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction around the axis O on the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical connecting portion 22. Each groove constituting the air passage 70 has a substantially rectangular cross-section, and its cross-sectional area or cross-sectional shape is identical to that of the others. Alternatively, the air passages 70 may be composed of grooves provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction around the axis O on the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 40.

As shown in Figure 1, an air seal 62 is positioned inside the large-diameter cylinder 51b, contacting the inner circumferential surface of the cylinder 51b and slidably along the axis O. The annular air seal 62 is locked to the lower end of the guide cylinder portion 21 of the stem 20, and together with the guide cylinder portion 21, the flange-like portion 20c, and the lower portion 20b, constitutes the piston of the air pump 60.

A cylindrical guide 63 is provided inside the air seal 62, surrounding the cylindrical body 40. A slit-shaped gap extending vertically is formed between the outer surface of the cylindrical body 40 and the inner surface of the cylindrical guide 63. This gap constitutes an air introduction channel 64 that directs air from inside the large-diameter cylinder 51b toward the mixing chamber 43. The cylindrical guide 63 abuts against a flange 44 on the cylindrical body 40 at its lower end, and is slightly slidable vertically relative to the cylindrical body 40. When the cylindrical guide 63 slides upward relative to the cylindrical body 40, its lower end separates from the flange 44, opening the introduction channel 64. Conversely, when the cylindrical guide 63 slides downward relative to the cylindrical body 40 and its lower end abuts against the flange 44, the introduction channel 64 is closed.

When the head portion 30 is pushed down, and the stem 20 moves downward together with the head portion 30, the air seal body 62 is pushed downward by the guide cylinder portion 21, pressurizing the air inside the large-diameter cylinder 51b, and the cylindrical guide 63 slides upward relative to the cylinder 40, opening the introduction passage 64. As a result, the pressurized air inside the large-diameter cylinder 51b is pumped through the introduction passage 64, the four introduction passages 61, and the three air passages 70 to the mixing chamber 43 and flows into the mixing chamber 43.

Thus, with the liquid pump 50 and air pump 60 configured as described above, by pushing the head portion 30 downwards, the stem 20 drives the liquid pump 50 and air pump 60 to operate, allowing liquid and air to flow into the mixing chamber 43 and mix them inside the chamber 43.

As shown in Figure 2, a ball valve B is positioned inside the mixing chamber 43. The ball valve B is located between a valve seat 41a on the upper surface of the partition wall 41 and a valve retainer 22a at the lower end of the cylindrical connecting portion 22. The ball valve B closes the liquid inlet 42 by contacting the valve seat 41a. Furthermore, when liquid is pumped from the liquid pump 50 into the mixing chamber 43, the pressure pushes the ball valve B away from the valve seat 41a, opening the liquid inlet 42.

As described above, the former dispenser 1 of this embodiment has a configuration in which three air passages 70 are provided between the outer surface of the cylindrical connecting portion 22 and the inner surface of the cylindrical body 40, arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction with respect to the axis O.

Furthermore, the foamer dispenser 1 of this embodiment is configured such that the cross-sectional area of the liquid inlet hole 42, which is the smallest part of the liquid flow path between the liquid pump 50 and the mixing chamber 43, is 2.0 ^mm² or more and 14.5 ^mm² or less.

Furthermore, in the foamer dispenser 1 of this embodiment, the ratio of the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the three air passages 70 to the cross-sectional area of the liquid inlet 42, which is the smallest part of the liquid passage, is set to 1.0:1.4 to 1.0:2.8. That is, the cross-sectional area of the liquid inlet 42, which is the smallest part of the liquid passage, is set to a range of 1.4 to 2.8 times the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the three air passages 70. In this embodiment, the three air passages 70 are configured to extend vertically with a constant cross-sectional area. However, they can also be configured so that the cross-sectional area changes vertically. In this case, the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the three air passages 70 is the sum of the cross-sectional areas at the smallest parts of each air passage 70.

The foamer dispenser 1 of this embodiment, with this configuration, can dispense uniform foam free of large air bubbles from the nozzle 31 even when the head portion 30 is pressed down at high speed (for example, 70 mm/s).

Here, if the number of air passages 70 provided between the outer surface of the cylindrical connection part 22 and the inner surface of the cylindrical body 40 is two or less, the balance of air introduction from the air passages 70 to the mixing chamber 43 will be poor, preventing uniform mixing of the liquid and air inside the mixing chamber 43. This results in the problem of uneven foam discharged from the nozzle 31, containing partially large bubbles. On the other hand, if the number of air passages 70 provided between the outer surface of the cylindrical connection part 22 and the inner surface of the cylindrical body 40 is four or more, then, assuming the total cross-sectional area is the same, the sum of the total circumference of the outer shape of each air passage 70 will be longer than in the case of three passages. This increases the resistance of the air passing through the air passages 70, reducing the air velocity and making it easier for large bubbles to form due to the lag between the air velocity and the liquid velocity.

Furthermore, if the cross-sectional area of the liquid inlet hole 42, which is the smallest part of the liquid flow path between the liquid pump 50 and the mixing chamber 43, is less than 2.0 ^mm² , the downward force required to push down the head portion 30 will increase, making the operation even more difficult. On the other hand, if the cross-sectional area of the liquid inlet hole 42, which is the smallest part of the liquid flow path between the liquid pump 50 and the mixing chamber 43, is made larger than 14.5 ^mm² , it will be necessary to increase the outer diameter of the small diameter cylinder 51a, which will result in a larger former dispenser 1 and stricter design constraints on the container body 2 to which the former dispenser 1 is attached.

In contrast, the foamer dispenser 1 of this embodiment, as described above, has three air passages 70 arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction with respect to the axis O between the outer surface of the cylindrical connecting portion 22 and the inner surface of the cylindrical body 40, and the cross-sectional area of the liquid inlet hole 42, which is the smallest part of the liquid passage, is set to 2.0 ^mm² or more and 14.5 ^mm² or less, and the ratio of the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the three air passages 70 to the cross-sectional area of the liquid inlet hole 42, which is the smallest part of the liquid passage, is set to 1.0:1.4 to 1.0:2.8. As a result, the foamer dispenser 1 can be made smaller, the head portion 30 can be easily pressed down, and a uniform foam can be discharged from the nozzle 31.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and it goes without saying that various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of each air passage 70 is approximately rectangular, but its shape can be changed in various ways.

1 Foamer dispenser 2 Container body 2a Mouth 2b Male thread 10 Mounting cap 10a Top wall 10b Mounting cylinder wall 10c Female thread 10d Support cylinder part 20 Stem 20a Upper part 20b Lower part 20c Flange-shaped part 20d Connecting part 21 Guide cylinder part 22 Cylindrical connecting part 22a Valve retainer 23 Outlet hole 30 Head part 31 Nozzle 32 Discharge port 40 Cylinder body 41 Partition wall 41a Valve seat 42 Liquid inlet hole 43 Mixing chamber 44 Flange 50 Liquid pump 51 Cylinder member 51a Small diameter cylinder 51b Large diameter cylinder 52 Liquid seal body 53 Spring member 54 Poppet 54a Valve part 60 Air pump 61 Inlet passage 62 Air seal body 63 Cylindrical guide 64 Inlet passage 70 Air passage 80 Foaming member O Axis B Ball valve

Claims (2)

The attachment cap is fitted to the mouth of the container body,
It has a cylindrical connecting portion with an outflow hole, and a stem that protrudes from the mounting cap,
A head portion equipped with a nozzle and attached to the upper end of the stem,
A cylindrical body having a partition wall with a liquid inlet hole, which is fitted from the outside to the cylindrical connecting portion to form a mixing chamber between the cylindrical connecting portion and the partition wall,
A liquid pump supported by the aforementioned mounting cap, driven by the stem when the head portion is pressed down, pumps the liquid inside the container body from the liquid inlet hole into the mixing chamber;
An air pump supported by the mounting cap, driven by the stem when the head portion is pressed down, pumps air taken in from the outside through an air passage provided between the outer surface of the cylindrical connection portion and the inner surface of the cylindrical body toward the mixing chamber.
The device comprises a foaming member positioned on at least one of the stem and the nozzle, which foams the liquid mixed with air in the mixing chamber,
Three air passages are provided between the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical connecting portion and the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical body, arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.
The cross-sectional area of the smallest portion of the liquid flow path between the liquid pump and the mixing chamber is 2.0 ^mm² or more and 14.5 ^mm² or less.
The ratio of the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the three air passages to the cross-sectional area of the smallest part of the liquid passage is 1.0:1.4 to 1.0:2.8.
An air intake channel is provided between the inner circumferential surface of the lower portion of the stem and the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body, and the air intake channel communicates with the air intake channel through an annular space between the upper end of the cylindrical body and the stem.
A foamer dispenser characterized in that the smallest portion of the liquid flow path is the liquid inlet . The foamer dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the three air passages are composed of grooves arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer surface of the cylindrical connecting portion.