JPS632667B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a foam generation and injection device, and more particularly to a manually operated foam generation device capable of ejecting foam-capable liquids as foam. Foam generation and injection devices are well known in the art. Previously, demand for these devices was driven almost exclusively by freely available independent high-pressure aerosol regulators due to their simplicity and adaptability to product variety and foam generation conditions. was filled with. However, the continuous use of such independent aerosol regulators has recently been raised due to environmental concerns and economic considerations regarding certain types of chemical propellants contained in aerosols, such as Freon. Due to changes, it is being reconsidered. Accordingly, those skilled in the art have begun to look for alternatives that can replace aerosol foam regulators. Those conventional devices that are commonly provided are of the type that include a compressible pin and foam generating cap. A foam-generating cap receives a flow of liquid capable of forming foam from the container;
It comprises a homogeneous element of spongy material with narrow tortuous passages through which air is mixed to form a foam. Representative devices of this type are US Patent No. 3985271, US Patent No. 3973701, and US Patent No.
3937364, and US Pat. No. 3572590. In those devices, the mixture of air and liquid is
Significant flow velocity is lost when passing through a homogeneous element, and as a result such devices can have an undesirably limited reach. That is, these devices are of limited use because they spray foam very close to the surface on which they are sprayed. Furthermore, considerable effort is expended in shaping the foam since the user must strive to inject both liquid and air simultaneously. Furthermore, such devices are uneconomical since the pins are only partially filled with liquid capable of forming bubbles in order to facilitate obtaining the necessary internal air supply for bubble formation. Conventional pump-type foam generators that replace high-pressure aerosol injectors do not appear to be suitable for producing and dispensing foam of commercially acceptable quality. The inventor has conducted extensive research on foam generating devices. As a result, a screen is installed outside the nozzle at the tip of a conventional pump and in the path of the liquid mist, and a means for introducing air into the liquid mist is also provided. It has been discovered that when a liquid that is easily formed is sprayed, the liquid mist turns into bubbles when it passes through a screen.
The present invention was made based on this discovery. Accordingly, the present invention provides a foam generating device to be attached to a container containing a liquid capable of generating foam, the device comprising: (a) a manually operated pump, the pump having an injection hole at the front thereof; (b) a screen disposed on the path of the liquid mist; , the screen has a size in the range of 60 to 200 mesh (US sieve standard), and (c) consists of a chamber containing the injection holes in front of the screen, the wall of the chamber having a conical flow shape. (d) the chamber is large enough to avoid contact with the liquid mist until it reaches the screen; and (d) the screen is movable without removal from the foam generating device. The present invention relates to a manual foam generating device characterized by: The device of the present invention utilizes air existing outside the container to generate bubbles on the screen surface. As a result, the user's effort is used only for ejecting the liquid mist, and no effort is required for ejecting the internal liquid and air as in conventional devices. Furthermore, since essentially all of the liquid mist passes through the foam generator without contacting anything other than the screen surface,
Less reduction in flow velocity due to injection is required when converting to foam in the device. Additionally, the foam generating device of the present invention provides foam of commercially acceptable quality. That is, the foam is relatively water-free and stable, and has little tendency to sag when sprayed onto vertical surfaces. In conclusion, the device is very suitable for foam generation in household cleaners and the like. Regarding figures 1 and 2, manual pump 1
0 is connected by an existing threaded joint 11 to a container 12 containing a liquid that tends to form bubbles in such a way that it cannot be separated. Although it is not a requirement of the present invention that a pump be connected to the container, doing so may be desirable as it increases maneuverability. In general, existing manual pump and container connections appear to be fashionable and desirable for domestic applications. It will be understood that the means for pumping up the liquid which can be turned into foam by the pump is for example through a pumping tube 13 (shown in dotted lines), the pump being able to draw liquid from a container. The type of pump used in the foam generating device of the present invention is not special. For example, it may be of a vertical mechanism, which is well known as a manual type, or of a horizontal mechanism as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. The pump may be of any type as long as it has injection holes 14. For example, by moving the handle 16, the liquid inside the container rises from the draw tube and is injected through the injection hole. As used herein, the term "foam-prone liquid" includes all liquids that have the ability to form foam when ejected by the foam generating device of the present invention. Generally, such a liquid has the following properties: a surface tension in the range of 20 to 45 dyne/cm, more preferably 25 to 35 dyne/cm.
The density ranges from 0.8 to 1.2 gr/cc, preferably from 0.98 to 1.05 g/cc. The viscosity range is from 0.9 to 1.4 centistokes, and more preferably from 1.1 to 1.4 centistokes. As used herein, the term "injection port" is meant to include a mechanism for atomizing liquid through a port or ports. Such pumps generally include a compression mechanism. For example, a piston 15 and a manipulator 16 to force the liquid from the container to pass through the injection hole with sufficient velocity to form a spray. Suitable pumps have diameters ranging from 0.3 to 0.65 mm and land lengths from 0.25 to 0.25 mm.
It is desirable to provide the spray with a velocity of 15-20 m/sec through the mouth canal in the range of 0.6 mm. A typical pump used in the present invention is manufactured by AFA.
AFA7510 atomizer and also Canyon
It is a Canyon CS sprayer manufactured by the company. The foam generating device of the present invention has a bell-shaped housing 20 equipped with a screen 21.
The housing is attached to the pump in any suitable manner, such as by a snap-lock mechanism, the snap-stop consisting of an outwardly projecting projection extending from the nozzle and from an annular groove 23 cut into the inner surface of the housing 20. It's on. The role of the housing 20 is to provide a screen 21 in the liquid mist passage at a predetermined distance d from the injection hole. That is, it is the distance from the position where the liquid mist is ejected from the pump into the atmosphere (this is exactly the same as the position of the injection hole surface 24). In order to produce high quality foam, the distance d is generally preferably in the range 0.8 to 4 mm, particularly preferably in the range 1.5 to 4 mm. Furthermore, the screen size is 60
~200 mesh (US sieve standard), preferably 100 to 180 mesh. If the screen is inert to liquids that are prone to foaming,
It may be made of any material. Plastic screens such as polyethylene and polypropylene are preferred due to their low cost and ability to easily construct a flat surface. Moreover, since such plastic screens are very suitable for ultrasonic or electronic welding, the fixing of the screen to the housing 20 is convenient if the housing is made of a homogeneous material. Other connection methods can also be used, such as suitable adhesives or press-fixing. It should be noted that the shape of the screen can be changed in various ways as long as it has the functional requirements listed above. For example, the cross-section of the screen may be arcuate, for example bulbous. Also, the opening of the screen can take any shape, ie, it does not necessarily have to be square. The foam generating device also includes means for introducing air into the liquid mist so that the liquid mist contacts the screen and forms foam. The means for introducing air into the chamber containing its injection holes before the screen is as follows. For example, a large screen is provided and air is introduced into the interior from the periphery of the area where the liquid inside passes through the screen. This can be better understood by referring to FIG. In Figure 2, the screen 21 has a diameter t, within an area S of the screen liquid passes through the screen, and outside the area S air enters from the periphery and comes into contact with the liquid mist before passing through the screen. do. Another method, shown in FIG. 3, is to install passageways 25 in the housing to allow air to flow into the spray through the walls of the foam generator. Either of these methods or a combination of both methods may be used. However, in either method, in order to generate good foam, the foam generating device must be constructed so as to introduce an appropriate amount of air. The reason why air gets inside is because the liquid mist moves at high speed, which causes the pressure in that area to drop. In order to produce good foam, the foam generating device must be configured to introduce the appropriate amount of air.
Particularly if too much air is available, some of the liquid mist may pass through the screen without forming foam, resulting in undesirable, wet foam being ejected from the foam generator. Become. The foam generating device of the present invention requires that essentially all of the liquid mist pass through without contacting any surface other than the surface of the screen. If the walls of the housing 20 are encountered, mechanical disruption of the liquid mist will be reduced and the velocity of the liquid mist will be reduced, resulting in undesirable dripping from the foam injector. In the present invention, it is possible to move the screen without removing it from the foam generating device, for example as shown in FIGS. means a configuration connected to a generator. When the user needs foam, the user lowers the screen and uses it, and when the user needs liquid, the user raises the screen. Since the screen held on the flap cannot be removed, it has the advantage that there is no risk of the screen being lost. EXAMPLE For the purpose of illustrating the effectiveness of the foam generating device of the present invention, experiments were conducted using two types of commonly available pumps. Namely, AFA7510 spray pump and
The experiment was conducted using a CanyonCS spray pump with and without the foam generation mechanism shown in Figures 1 and 2. The screen is made of 100% nylon screen.
Using mesh (US sieving standard), the distance d is
The distance from the nozzle was 3 to 4 mm, and the diameter t was about 10 mm. One AFA5910 spray pump for comparison purposes.
Tests were also conducted with and without the AFA5912BA foam generator. Surface tension: 31,2dyne/ as a detergent that easily forms foam
cm, density 1.02, and viscosity 1.37 centistokes were used for all tests. The results of these experiments are shown in the table. Those equipped with the 5912BA foam generator are restricted in that the spray shape must be strictly adhered to, and are relatively difficult to operate. In contrast, the foam generating device of the present invention essentially had no predetermined spray shape restrictions and required little effort to operate the pump. Additionally, the foam generating device of the present invention was able to produce foam of very superior quality, almost the same as that produced by typical aerosol systems. 【table】

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a cross section of a foam generating device equipped with an existing manual foam atomizer. Figure 2 shows
FIG. 2 is a front view of the foam generating device of FIG. 1; Figure 3 shows
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of another example of a foam generating device. FIG. 4 is a side view, partially in cross section, of another embodiment of an existing manual pump installation. FIG. 5 is a front view of the foam generating device of FIG. 4. 10... Pump, 11... Threaded joint, 12
... Container, 13 ... Pumping pipe, 14 ...
Injection hole, 15... Piston, 16... Operator, 2
0,20'...Housing, 21...Screen,
22... Protrusion, 23... Annular groove, 24... Injection hole surface, 25... Opening.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A foam generating device to be attached to a container containing a liquid capable of generating foam, the device comprising: (a) a manually operated pump, the pump having an injection hole at the front; (b) having a mechanism for sucking up the foam-forming liquid from the container and spraying the liquid into a liquid mist from the injection hole at high speed and in a conical shape; screen, the screen having a size ranging from 60 to 200 mesh (US sieve standard), and (c) consisting of a chamber containing the injection holes in front of the screen, the wall of the chamber having a conical flow shape. (d) the chamber is large enough that substantially all of the liquid mist does not come into contact with the screen before it reaches the screen; and (d) the screen is movable without being removed from the foam generator. A manual foam generating device characterized in that it is possible. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the chamber has an opening communicating with the atmosphere in addition to the screen opening. 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the screen has a size in the range of 100 to 180 mesh (US sieving standard). 4 The distance between the injection hole and the screen is 0.8
4 mm. 5. The device of claim 3, wherein said distance is between 1.5 and 4 mm.