Patent Grant
10029844
This Application is a 371 of PCT/JP2014/081568 filed on Nov. 28, 2014, which, in turn, claimed the priority of Japanese Patent Application No. JP2013-250442 filed on Dec. 3, 2013 and JP2014-093537 filed on Apr. 30, 2014, all applications are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a plastic aerosol housing mechanism which is arranged close to an upper-end opening side of an aerosol container that stores emission target content and ejection gas and is provided with a housing portion that stores a stem and a stem gasket performing an operation of sealing and ejecting the content and the entirety of which is integrally molded.
In particular, the present invention relates to an aerosol housing mechanism which is a plastic product obtained by integrally molding two parts including a mounting cup attached to an opening side of a conventional aerosol container body and a housing held by the mounting cup so as to store a lower portion of the stem.
In the present specification, a structure obtained by integrally molding the entirety of the mounting cup and the housing will be referred to as an “expanded housing” as necessary.
The present invention relates to a technique of decreasing the amount of synthetic resins used for molding the expanded housing and securing the strength of an aerosol housing mechanism formed of the expanded housing.
In the present specification, a side close to an opening side of an aerosol container (an outer container plus an inner container and an outer container plus an inner bag-shaped container) will be referred to an “upper side”, and a side close to a bottom surface side opposite the opening side in a longitudinal direction will be referred to a “lower side”. A side orthogonal to the up-down vertical direction is referred to as a “horizontal side”.
An aerosol housing mechanism which uses the expanded housing is already proposed (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
The proposed expanded housing has an advantage that it is possible to eliminate the time and labor required for a process step of creating a mounting cup and a housing individually and integrating both and to prevent deformation and damage of the housing during integration.
On the other hand, there is a room for improvement in that the strength as an aerosol housing mechanism is maintained while decreasing the amount of the synthetic resin required for molding the expanded housing as much as possible.
The present applicant has proposed a bag-shaped container structure in which air generated in an upper-end-side space region of an inner bag-shaped container of a dual-structure aerosol container is discharged by deformation of an upper-end-side neck portion of the inner bag-shaped container in a valve unit loading step after raw liquid is ejected (see Patent Document 3).
The inner bag-shaped container of which the upper-end-side neck portion is configured to be deformable has an advantage that the air generated in the upper space region can be discharged to an outside of the container.
On the other hand, there is a room for improvement in that it is necessary to set the shape of the upper-end-side neck portion of the inner bag-shaped container to a specific deformable shape.
The present invention uses the following configuration aspects to cope with the above-described rooms for improvement.
(11) Rib-shaped portions for reinforcement are integrally molded between an outer tubular portion and a central tubular portion that form an expanded housing.
(12) The rib-shaped portions are formed in a radial direction of the outer tubular portion and the central tubular portion.
(13) A vertical concave portion is formed in an inner peripheral surface, close to an outer peripheral surface, of the central tubular portion in which a vertical groove-shaped portion for passage of content is not formed to decrease the thickness of the central tubular portion itself.
(14) Shorter rib-shaped portions are selectively formed between the inner peripheral surface of the outer tubular portion and the rear-side outer peripheral surface portion (=the portion in which the vertical concave portion is not formed and which is located closer to the inner peripheral surface of the outer tubular portion than the vertical concave portion) of the vertical groove-shaped portion of the inner peripheral surface of the central tubular portion (that is, the shorter rib-shaped portions are selectively formed between the inner peripheral surface of the outer tubular portion and the outer peripheral surface of the central tubular portion).
(15) A dual-sealing plastic intermediate cover body arranged on the upper surface of the stem gasket is held on an annular ceiling portion between the outer tubular portion and the central tubular portion.
(16) The outer peripheral surface of the outer tubular portion is protected by a three-layer member including the upper-end-side annular portions of the outer container, the inner container, and the inner bag-shaped container, and an outer annular skirt portion of the cover cap in relation to the annular ceiling portion of the expanded housing or the like.
(17) A slit-shaped portion for entrance of content is additionally provided in a circumferential portion of the central tubular portion of the housing of the dual-structure aerosol container (that is, the slit-shaped portion is provided separately from the vertical hole portion formed in the bottom portion of the conventional center-top tubular portion).
(18) A bypass route for discharging content from an upper end side of the housing into the inside of the housing is provided on an outer peripheral surface side of the housing by setting the housing cover body without changing the shape of the inner bag-shaped container of the dual-structure aerosol container particularly so that residual air on the upper end side is discharged during an initial emission operation.
An object of the present invention including such configuration aspects is to reduce the amount of synthetic resins used for molding the expanded housing while preventing deformation or damage of the expanded housing.
Another object of the present invention is to prevent content from entering and penetrating from a stem gasket to make contact with a metal cover by providing an annular plastic cover in an upper surface portion of a stem gasket.
Another object of the present invention is to allow residual content in an upper space region of an inner bag-shaped container to reliably flow into the housing even when the inner bag-shaped container makes contact with a lower side of a central tubular portion due to a decrease in the amount of content by providing a slit-shaped portion for inside/outside communication in a circumferential portion of the central tubular portion of the housing.
Another object of the present invention is to set an entrance portion (inlet portion) of an outer passage region between a plurality of reinforcement vertical plate rib-shaped portions formed in a radial direction on the lower surface of a flange-shaped portion (annular ceiling portion) between the inner and outer tubular portions of the expanded housing to allow residual air between the vertical plate rib-shaped portions to be reliably discharged.
Another object of the present invention is to provide various techniques for discharging residual air in an inner space region on the upper end side of the inner bag-shaped container in an emission mechanism of a dual-structure aerosol container by setting a new content discharge bypass route formed of the outer passage region of the expanded housing which uses a housing cover.
Another object of the present invention is to realize effective use of an expanded housing and reduction of a product cost in an emission mechanism of a dual-structure aerosol container by the residual air discharging process which uses an expanded housing having a conventional shape, to which a dip tube for entrance of content can be attached.
Another object of the present invention is to eliminate the use of metal in an entire range of regions which make contact with emission target content by using a coil spring (for biasing a stem arranged in the central tubular portion), an inner container, an inner bag-shaped container, and a dual-sealing intermediate cover body which are formed of plastics.
The present invention solves the aforementioned problems using aerosol housing mechanisms having the following configuration aspects.
(1) An aerosol housing mechanism including:
an outer tubular portion (for example, an outer tubular portion 2a or 10a described later) attached to an opening side (for example, an upper-end annular portion 1b described later) of a container body (for example, an aerosol container 1 described later) that stores emission target content and ejection gas;
a central tubular portion (for example, a center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b or a center-bottom tubular portion 2d or 10d described later) formed on an inner side of the outer tubular portion so as to store at least a lower-side portion of a stem (for example, a stem 3 described later) that operates with a content emission operation in an interlocked manner;
an annular ceiling portion (for example, an annular ceiling portion 2c or 10c described later) formed between an upper end portion of the outer tubular portion and an upper end portion of the central tubular portion; and
a rib-shaped portion (for example, a vertical plate rib-shaped portion 2h or 10h described later) formed between the outer tubular portion and the central tubular portion to enhance a structural strength, wherein
entireties of the outer tubular portion, the central tubular portion, the annular ceiling portion, and the rib-shaped portion are integrally molded using a synthetic resin.
(2) The aerosol housing mechanism according to (1), wherein
a plurality of the rib-shaped portions is formed in a radial form to extend from the central tubular portion to the outer tubular portion.
(3) The aerosol housing mechanism according to (1) or (2), wherein
a vertical groove-shaped portion (for example, a vertical groove-shaped portion 2f or 10f described later) for passage of content is formed in a portion of an inner peripheral surface of the central tubular portion, and
a vertical concave portion (for example, a vertical concave portion 2g or 10g described later) is formed in a portion of an outer peripheral surface of the central tubular portion, which is on a rear side of an inner peripheral surface portion in which the vertical groove-shaped portion is not formed.
(4) The aerosol housing mechanism according to (3), wherein
the rib-shaped portion is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the outer tubular portion and a rear-side outer peripheral surface portion of the vertical groove-shaped portion.
(5) The aerosol housing mechanism according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein
the annular ceiling portion includes:
an annular lower end portion (for example, a lower-inner-side step 2k or 10k described later) formed on an inner end side so as to hold an outer peripheral edge portion of a stem gasket (for example, a stem gasket 5 described later) that performs a valve action between the stem and the stem gasket; and
an annular upper end portion (for example, an upper-outer-side step 2m or 10m described later) formed on an upper side of the lower end portion so as to hold an outer peripheral edge portion of an annular plastic cover body (for example, an intermediate cover body 7 described later) provided in an upper surface portion of the stem gasket.
(6) The aerosol housing mechanism according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein
an outer peripheral surface of the outer tubular portion is protected by a three-layer member including:
a tubular skirt portion (for example, an annular skirt portion 8b described later) on an outer end side of an annular metal cover body (for example, a cover cap 8 described later) that covers the annular ceiling portion;
an upper-end intermediate annular portion (for example, an upper-end annular portion 1b described later) which is a portion of an outer container (for example, an outer container 1a described later) and is arranged on an inner side of the tubular skirt portion; and
an upper-end inner annular portion (for example, an upper-end inner annular portion 1e or 1h described later) which is a portion of an inner container (for example, an inner container 1d or an inner bag-shaped container 1g described later) provided in an inner space region of the outer container and is arranged on an inner side of the upper-end intermediate annular portion.
(7) The aerosol housing mechanism according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein
the central tubular portion includes a lower tubular portion (for example, a center-bottom tubular portion 2d or 10d described later) to which a tube for entrance of content is attached.
(8) The aerosol housing mechanism according to any one of (1) to (7), further including:
a housing cover (for example, housing covers 25 to 29 described later) of an upper opening, provided in such a form as to surround a lower side of the central tubular portion to form an outer passage region between the housing cover and the outer peripheral surface of the central tubular portion, the outer passage region extending downward from an upper end side of an inner space region of the container body to an inner passage region inside the central tubular portion, wherein
the emission target content ejected to an outside of the container moves downward from the upper end side along the outer passage region and then flows upward along the inner passage region.
(9) The aerosol housing mechanism according to any one of (1) to (8), wherein
the housing cover (for example, a housing cover 27, 28, or 29:
The aerosol housing mechanism having such a configuration and an aerosol-type product including the aerosol housing mechanism and storing various emission target contents and various ejection gases described later are the subjects of the present invention.
The present invention provides the following effects due to the above-described solving means.
(21) It is possible to reduce the amount of synthetic resins used for molding the expanded housing while preventing deformation or damage of the expanded housing.
(22) It is possible to prevent content from entering and penetrating from a stem gasket to make contact with a metal cover by providing an annular plastic cover in an upper surface portion of a stem gasket.
(23) It is possible to eliminate the use of metal in an entire range of regions which make contact with emission target content.
(24) It is possible to allow residual content in an upper space region of an inner bag-shaped container to reliably flow into the housing even when the inner bag-shaped container makes contact with a lower side of a central tubular portion due to a decrease in the amount of content.
(25) It is possible to allow residual air between reinforcement vertical plate rib-shaped portions of a flange-shaped portion (annular ceiling portion) of an expanded housing to be reliably discharged.
(26) It is possible to realize effective use of an expanded housing and reduction of a product cost in an emission mechanism of a dual-structure aerosol container, discharging the residual air.
(27) It is possible to provide various techniques for discharging residual air in an inner space region on the upper end side of the inner bag-shaped container in an emission mechanism of a dual-structure aerosol container.
The mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to
In principle, in the following description, a component (for example, an outer container 1a) indicated by a reference numeral including an alphabet indicates that the component is a part of a component (for example, an aerosol container 1) indicated by the number in the reference numeral.
In the aerosol housing mechanism illustrated in
1 is a conventional aerosol container in which emission target content and ejection gas are stored (filled),
1
a is a hard outer container which is an upper opening,
1
b is an upper-end annular portion which is on an upper end side of the outer container 1a and in which an expanded housing 2, 10, or the like described later is arranged,
1
c is an annular concave portion of the outer container 1a which is initially formed in a continuous portion at the lower end of the upper-end annular portion 1b so as to plastically deform a lower end of an annular skirt portion 8b of a cover cap 8 (described later) toward the inner side according to conventional crimping processing to fix the lower end in a state in which the cover cap 8 is set on the upper-end annular portion 1b,
1
d is a soft inner container (see
1
e is an upper-end inner annular portion which is on the upper end side of the inner container 1d and is arranged and held between the upper-end annular portion 1b of the outer container 1a and an outer tubular portion 2a or 10a (described later),
1
f is an inner annular concave portion of the inner container 1d, which is formed during blow-molding and is arranged on the inner side of the annular concave portion 1c of the outer container 1a,
1
g is a soft inner bag-shaped container (see
1
h is an upper-end inner annular portion (an upper-end-side inner peripheral surface of the inner bag-shaped container) which is on the upper end side of the inner bag-shaped container 1g and is arranged and held between the upper-end annular portion 1b of the outer container 1a and an outer tubular portion 2a or 10a (described later),
1
j is an inner annular concave portion (an upper-end-side inner peripheral surface of the inner bag-shaped container) of the inner bag-shaped container 1g, which is arranged in an opposing portion on the inner side of the annular concave portion 1c of the outer container 1a and is formed on the lower end side of the upper-end inner annular portion 1h during blow-molding of the inner bag-shaped container,
1
k is a bellows-shaped portion which has a function of expanding and contracting in a vertical direction and is formed on the upper side of the inner bag-shaped container 1g and in which ejection gas can be filled in an inner space region provided continuously from a space between the upper end of the upper-end annular portion 1b and the upper-end inner annular portion 1h in a naturally expanded state before a housing mechanism (described later) to which the inner bag-shaped container having content stored therein is attached is fixed to the aerosol container 1 and in which the inner annular concave portion 1j of the inner bag-shaped container contracts to a portion corresponding to a crimping processing position of the cover cap as illustrated in
1
m is a container inner surface close to the inner space region of the outer container 1a, and
1
n is a pressure application space region which is defined by an annular circumferential portion and a bottom portion between the outer container 1a and the inner bag-shaped container 1g and in which ejection gas is filled.
Moreover,
2
a or 10 is an expanded housing with which the function of a conventional mounting cup is combined, and the entirety of which is integrally molded using a plastic material, and which is arranged in the upper-end annular portion 1b (opening portion) of the outer container 1a and in which a conventional valve mechanism such as a stem 3, a coil spring 4, and a stem gasket 5 (which will be described later) is stored and held in a central tubular portion,
2
a or 10a is an outer tubular portion in which the upper-end inner annular portions 1e and 1h of the inner container 1d and the inner bag-shaped container 1g, the upper-end annular portion 1b of the outer container 1a, and an annular skirt portion 8b of the cover cap 8 (described later) are arranged in a so-called three-layer state in an outer peripheral surface in that order toward the outer side,
2
b or 10b is a large-diameter center-top tubular portion which has the same vertical central axis as the outer tubular portion 2a or 10a and stores and holds the lower portion of the stem 3 (described later) and the coil spring 4,
2
c or 10c is an annular ceiling portion that serves as a so-called ceiling portion between the outer tubular portion 2a or 10a and the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b,
2
d or 10d is a small-diameter center-bottom tubular portion which is continuously formed downward from the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b so as to attach a pipe 9 (described later),
2
e or 10e is an outer annular concave portion which is formed in an upper-end-side outer peripheral surface of the outer tubular portion 2a or 10a so as to hold an inner peripheral surface of a housing gasket 6 (described later),
2
f or 10f is six vertical groove-shaped portions in total for passages of content, formed at equal intervals in the inner peripheral surface of the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b,
2
g or 10g is six vertical concave portions in total for reducing the amount of molding resins, formed at equal intervals on a rear side of the inner peripheral surface in which the vertical groove-shaped portion 2f or 10f is not formed, which is on the outer peripheral surface of the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b,
2
h or 10h is six vertical plate rib-shaped portions in total for reinforcement, formed at equal intervals in a vertical plate form, continuous to the annular ceiling portion 2c or 10c, in a radial direction of the outer tubular portion and the center-top tubular portion between the inner peripheral surface of the outer tubular portion 2a or 10a and the rear-side portion (the portion in which the vertical concave portion 2g or 10g is not formed) of the vertical groove-shaped portion 2f or 10f on the outer peripheral surface of the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b,
2
j or 10j is a vertical hole portion for passage of content, formed in a boundary portion between the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b and the center-bottom tubular portion 2d or 10d,
2
k or 10k is an annular lower-inner-side step formed in an innermost portion of the annular ceiling portion 2c or 10c so as to hold a stem gasket 5 (described later),
2
m or 10m is an annular upper-outer-side step formed immediate above an outer portion of the lower-inner-side step 2k or 10k so as to hold an intermediate cover body 7 (described later),
2
n or 10n is an annular flange-shaped portion which is a portion that protrudes outward from the outer tubular portion 2a or 10a on the outer end side of the annular ceiling portion 2c or 10c so as to hold the upper end surface of the housing gasket 6, (described later),
2
p is an annular downward step continuously formed between the upper end portion of the center-bottom tubular portion 2d and the lower end portion of the center-top tubular portion 2b,
10
p is a vertical slit-shaped portion (see
11 is a tubular flow-rate adjustment member (see
11
a is an annular step (see
Moreover,
3 is a conventional stem attached to an operation button (not illustrated) so as to operate in a vertical direction in an interlocked manner to perform a valve action between the stem and the stem gasket 5 (described later),
3
a is an inner space region of the stem and is an inner passage region for passage of emission target content (raw liquid) and ejection gas,
3
b is a pair of stem hole portions (valve action portions) that allows the inner passage region 3a and the inner space region of the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b to communicate with each other in an operation mode, and
3
c is an inner annular concave portion formed in a circumferential direction of an outer peripheral surface of the stem having such a form that includes the stem hole portion 3b to perform a valve action between the stem and the stem gasket 5 (described later).
Moreover,
4 is a conventional coil spring arranged between the bottom surface portion of the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b and the stem 3 so as to bias the stem in an upward direction,
5 is an annular stem gasket (valve action portion) held in the lower-inner-side step 2k or 10k of the expanded housing 2 or 10 and the inner annular concave portion 3c of the stem 3 so as to perform a valve action on the stem hole portion 3b and a seal action on the inner space region of the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b,
6 is an annular housing gasket disposed closely to the upper-end annular portions of the outer container 1a, the inner container 1d, and the inner bag-shaped container 1g and the outer annular concave portion 2e or 10e and the annular flange-shaped portion 2n or 10n of the expanded housing 2 or 10 to perform a seal action, and
7 is an annular intermediate cover body held in the upper-outer-side step 2m or 10m of the expanded housing 2 or 10 in a form that covers the upper surface portion excluding the inner end side of the stem gasket 5 to perform a so-called dual-seal action on a seal leakage between the stem gasket and the expanded housing 2 or 10 (the lower-inner-side step 2k or 10k).
Moreover, the expanded housing 2 may be inserted in the cover cap 8 without scattering when the expanded housing 2 is attached to the aerosol container 1, and an upper outer circumference of the cover cap may be deformed toward the inner side in a radial direction so as to engage with the lower end of the annular flange-shaped portion 2n.
Moreover,
8 is an aluminum cover cap, for example, which includes a top surface having a central opening for passage of the stem and a side surface thereof and which presses and holds the intermediate cover body 7, deforms the lower end side of the upper-end annular portion 1b and the upper-end inner annular portion 1e or 1h of the outer container 1a and the inner container 1d (or the inner bag-shaped container 1g) toward the inner side by crimping processing in a state in which the housing gasket 6 and the like are incorporated therein, and tightly integrates the aerosol container and the expanded housing 2 or 10,
8
a is an upper annular concave portion set on the inner end side of the upper surface of the cover cap to press and hold the intermediate cover body 7,
8
b is an annular skirt portion formed on the outer end side of the top surface of the cover cap,
8
c is an outer annular concave portion formed on the lower end side of the annular skirt portion 8b by the crimping processing, and
9 is a pipe (see
Here, the inner container 1d, the inner bag-shaped container 1g, the expanded housing 2 and 10, the stem 3, the intermediate cover body 7, the pipe 9, the flow-rate adjustment member 11, and the like are formed of plastics such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyacetal, nylon, or polybutylene terephthalate.
Moreover, the outer container 1a is formed of aluminum or tin, the coil spring 4 is formed of stainless steel, the cover cap 8 is formed of metal such as aluminum, and stem gasket 5 and housing gasket 6 are made of plastic or rubber.
A plastic coil spring or a plastic plate spring may be used instead of the metal coil spring 4. When the plastic coil spring or the like is used, it is possible to eliminate the use of metal.
The followings are basic common features of the aerosol housing mechanism illustrated in
(31) The entireties of the outer tubular portion 2a or 10a, the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b, the annular ceiling portion 2c or 10c, and the center-bottom tubular portion 2d or 10d which form the expanded housing 2 or 10 are integrally molded plastic products.
(32) The vertical plate rib-shaped portion 2h or 10h for reinforcement is similarly integrally molded between the outer tubular portion 2a or 10a and the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b.
(33) The formation direction of the vertical plate rib-shaped portion 2h or 10h is the radial direction of the outer tubular portion 2a or 10a and the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b.
(34) The vertical concave portion 2g or 10g is formed on the outer peripheral surface side of the portion of the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b, in which the vertical groove-shaped portion 2f or 10f is not formed to decrease the thickness of the center-top tubular portion itself.
(35) The vertical plate rib-shaped portion 2h or 10h is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the outer tubular portion 2a or 10a and the rear-side outer peripheral surface portion (the portion in which the vertical concave portion 2g or 10g is not formed and which is disposed closer to the inner peripheral surface of the outer tubular portion than the vertical concave portion) of the vertical groove-shaped portion 2f or 10f of the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b.
(36) The dual-sealing intermediate cover body 7 formed of plastics, arranged on the upper surface of the stem gasket 5 is held by the upper-outer-side step 2m or 10m formed close to the center-top tubular portion of the annular ceiling portion 2c or 10c.
(37) The outer peripheral surface of the outer tubular portion 2a or 10a is protected by the three-layer member including the upper-end inner annular portion 1e or 1h, the upper-end annular portion 1b, and the annular skirt portion 8b.
The following is a new feature of the aerosol housing mechanism illustrated in
(38) The vertical slit-shaped portion 10p for inside/outside communication is formed in the circumferential portion of the center-top tubular portion 10b of the dual-structure aerosol container having the inner bag-shaped container 1g, and the flow-rate adjustment member 11 for adjusting the actual inside/outside communication area of the vertical slit-shaped portion is arranged.
As in (31), (32), and (33), the entire expanded housing is integrally molded in such an aspect that the vertical plate rib-shaped portions 2h or 10h are arranged between the outer tubular portion 2a or 10a and the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b. In this way, the strength of the expanded housing 2 or 10 having the function of the conventional so-called mounting cup is increased.
Due to the reinforcing action of the vertical plate rib-shaped portions 2h or 10h, the thickness of the other portions (the outer tubular portion 2a or 10a, the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b, the annular ceiling portion 2c or 10c, and the like) of the expanded housing 2 or 10 is decreased as much as possible, and a total resin amount required for integral molding of the expanded housing is reduced.
Moreover, as in (34) and (35), the thickness of the portion of the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b, in which the vertical groove-shaped portions 2f or 10f are not present, is decreased and the length in the so-called radial direction of the vertical plate rib-shaped portion 2h or 10h is decreased. In this way, a total resin amount required for integral molding of the expanded housing is reduced.
Moreover, as in (36), when the plastic intermediate cover body 7 on the upper surface of the stem gasket 5 is held by the upper-outer-side step 2m or 10m of the expanded housing 2 or 10 and a plastic coil spring is used as the coil spring 4, it is possible to eliminate the use of metal in the entire portion with which the emission target content (raw liquid) stored in the inner container 1d and the inner bag-shaped container 1g may make contact.
Here, when the intermediate cover body 7 is eliminated, the content may enter and penetrate into the stem gasket 5 due to a seal leakage in the contacting portion between the stem gasket 5 and the lower-inner-side step 2k or 10k of the expanded housing 2 or 10, the permeability of the content itself, and the pressure of the ejection gas. As a result, the emission target content in the container makes contact with the metal cover cap 8, the cover cap may deteriorate and deform and the content itself may degenerate.
The portions inside the container, making contact with the emission target content includes the inner container 1d, the inner bag-shaped container 1g, the expanded housing 2 or 10, the stem 3, the coil spring 4, the stem gasket 5, the housing gasket 6, the intermediate cover body 7, and the pipe 9. The pipe 9 is eliminated in a type which uses the inner bag-shaped container 1g illustrated in
Moreover, as in (37), the circumference of the side surface (the outer peripheral surface) of the outer tubular portion 2a or 10a is covered by a three-layer structure of the upper-end inner annular portion 1e or 1h, the upper-end annular portion 1b, and the annular skirt portion 8b. In this way, the vertical plate rib-shaped portions 2h or 10h are reinforced and the deformation or damage of the expanded housing 2 or 10 against an impact (the vertically downward pressing force applied when the lower end side of the annular skirt portion 8b of the cover cap is crimped to fix the housing mechanism to the aerosol container or the force applied in an inward direction due to crimping) on the annular skirt portion is prevented.
Moreover, as in (38), in the case of the dual-structure aerosol container including the inner bag-shaped container 1g, the vertical slit-shaped portions 10p for inside/outside communication are formed in the center-top tubular portion 10b, and the actual inside/outside communication area of the vertical slit-shaped portion is adjusted.
In this way, it is possible to secure the passage to the inside of the housing (the inside of the center-top tubular portion 10b), of the residual content in the upper space region of the inner bag-shaped container when the inner bag-shaped container in which the amount of content decreases due to a number of content releasing operations shrinks, a portion of the inner bag-shaped container is entangled with the center-bottom tubular portion 10d, and the action of allowing the content to flow into the vertical hole portion 10j is inhibited.
Moreover, by the adjustment of the actual inside/outside communication area of the vertical slit-shaped portion 10p, the balance between the amount of content flowing into the vertical hole portion 10j appropriately and the amount of content flowing from the vertical slit-shaped portion is optimized.
In this case, the stem gasket 5 is in an approximately horizontal state and blocks the space between the inner space regions of the inner container 1d, the inner bag-shaped container 1g, and the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b and the stem hole portion 3b and the inner passage region 3a of the stem 3.
That is, the upper portion of the inner peripheral surface of the stem gasket 5 is in close contact with the upper bottom surface portion of the inner annular concave portion 3c of the stem 3 and the inner-side portion of the lower surface of the stem gasket 5 is in close contact with the lower-side end of the inner annular concave portion.
Thus, the content stored in the container (the inner container 1d, the inner bag-shaped container 1g, the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b, and the like) will not flow into the inner passage region 3a of the stem 3.
When the user performs an operation of setting an operation mode to emit content using the operation button, the stem 3 moves downward while resisting the upward biasing force of the coil spring 4. At the same time, the inner-side portion (the portion close to the side being in contact with the stem 3) of the stem gasket 5 deforms like a so-called “bow”.
With the downward movement of the stem 3 and the deformation of the stem gasket 5, the close-contact state between the inner-side portion of the lower surface of the stem gasket and the lower-side end of the inner annular concave portion 3c is released.
When the close-contact state is released, the inner space regions of the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b, the inner container 1d, the inner bag-shaped container 1g of the expanded housing 2 or 10 communicate with the inner passage region 3a of the stem 3.
As a result, the content stored in the inner container 1d and the inner bag-shaped container 1g is discharged to the outside of the container from a conventional output hole portion (not illustrated) by the action of the ejection gas through “the pipe 9, the vertical hole portion 2j or 10j, the center-top tubular portion 2b or 10b, the stem hole portion 3b, and the inner passage region 3a”.
The aerosol-type product illustrated in
(41) The inner container 1d is incorporated into the outer container 1a in such a form as to maintain the initial height shape thereof, and emission target content (raw liquid) is filled into the inner container from an upper-end portion of the opening thereof.
(42) Subsequently, an aerosol valve (the expanded housing 2, the stem 3, the spring 4, the stem gasket 5, the housing gasket 6, the intermediate cover body 7, the cover cap 8, and the pipe 9) is fitted from above to both inner and outer sides of the upper-end circumferential portion of the outer container 1a and the inner container 1d so that the outer peripheral surface of the expanded housing 2 engages with the upper-end-side inner peripheral surface of the inner bag-shaped container.
(43) Subsequently, the lower-end side of the annular skirt portion 8b of the cover cap 8 is crimped toward the inner side so as to be attached to the outer container 1a using a conventional crimper.
(44) Subsequently, an ejection gas is filled from the stem 3 using a conventional gas filling apparatus.
When the user releases an operation of setting an operation mode on the operation button, the stem 3 which were at a downward moving position moves upward by the elastic biasing force of the coil spring 4, and the aerosol-type product returns to the stationary mode state illustrated in
New reference numerals used in these drawings are A, B, and 25 to 29. The other reference numerals appropriately use the same numbers as those of
In
A is an outer passage region (upstream-side passage region) formed of “a vertical concave portion 2g (described later), a separation portion between a downward step 2p (described later) and each of upward steps 25d to 29d, and a separation portion between an outer peripheral surface of a center-bottom tubular portion 2d (described later) and an inner peripheral surface of each of bottomed tubular portions 25a to 29a (described later)”, extending from an upper-end-side portion of the inner space region of the inner bag-shaped container 1g to an inlet opening portion of the center-bottom tubular portion 2d, and
B is an inner passage region (downstream-side passage region) extending from the inlet opening portion to the inner passage region 3a through “an inner space of the center-bottom tubular portion 2d (described later), a vertical hole portion 2j (described later), an inner space of the center-top tubular portion 2b (described later), and a stem hole portion 3b (described later)”.
Moreover,
25 to 29 is a sheathed housing cover (25 in
25
a to 29a is a small-diameter bottomed tubular portion formed of the lower-side portion of the housing cover and set on the outer side of the center-bottom tubular portion 2d in a separated form,
25
b to 29b is a swelling portion formed at the center of the bottom surface of each of the bottomed tubular portions 25a to 29a,
25
c to 29c is a large-diameter cover-top tubular portion formed of the upper-side portion of the housing cover and set in such a form as to be fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the center-top tubular portion 2b,
25
d to 29d is an annular upward step continuously formed between the inner-side upper-end portion of each of the bottomed tubular portions 25a to 29a and the inner-side lower-end portion of each of the cover-top tubular portions 25c to 29c,
25
e is a large-width annular flange-shaped portion (see
26
f is a small-width annular flange-shaped portion (see
27
g is six radial stair-shaped pieces in total (circumferential upper-end-side pieces: see
27
h is six lower-surface annular portions in total formed of the lower-inner-side portion of the radial stair-shaped piece 27g,
27
j is six upper-surface annular portions in total formed of the upper-outer-side portion of the radial stair-shaped piece 27g,
28
k or 29k is six cone-shaped pieces in total (circumferential upper-end-side pieces: see
27
m, 28m, or 29m is six vertical notch-shaped portions in total which are set in such a form that extends continuously in a vertical direction of the cover-top tubular portion 27c, 28c, or 29c from the gap between the adjacent radial stair-shaped pieces 27g and the adjacent cone-shaped pieces 28k or 29k and which act as an entrance space region to the vertical plate rib-shaped portion 2h when the housing cover 27, 28, or 29 is attached to the expanded housing 2,
27
n, 28n, or 29n is a bottom surface of the vertical notch-shaped portion, making contact with the lower end surface of the vertical plate rib-shaped portion 2h in a state in which the housing cover 27, 28, or 29 is attached to the expanded housing 2, and
29
p is a tapered guiding portion (see
Here, the housing covers 25 to 29 are formed of plastics such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyacetal, nylon, or polybutylene terephthalate.
Here, the characteristic component of the aerosol housing mechanism with the housing cover, illustrated in
A contents discharge passage extending from the upper-end-side inner space region of the inner bag-shaped container 1g to the inner passage region 3a includes the outer passage region A extending downward between the expanded housing 2 and each of the housing covers 25 to 29 and the inner passage region B extending upward inside the housing on the downstream side of the outer passage region A.
The respective components including the expanded housing 2, the housing covers 25 to 29, the valve mechanisms (3, 4, and 5), the housing gasket 6, the intermediate cover body 7, and the cover cap 8 are incorporated into the outer container 1a and the inner bag-shaped container 1g in a valve unit VU form (aerosol valve) in which the entireties are integrated.
The annular skirt portion 8b of the cover cap 8 in the valve unit VU before the incorporation is not crimped.
The aerosol-type product illustrated in
(41) The inner bag-shaped container 1g is incorporated into the outer container 1a in such a form as to maintain the initial height shape thereof, and emission target content (raw liquid) is filled into the inner bag-shaped container from an upper-end portion of the opening thereof.
(42) Subsequently, the valve unit VU is fitted from above to both inner and outer sides of the upper-end circumferential portion of the outer container 1a and the inner bag-shaped container 1g so that the outer peripheral surface of the expanded housing 2 engages with the upper-end-side inner peripheral surface of the inner bag-shaped container and the entire valve unit is separated slightly upward from the outer container 1a.
(43) Subsequently, ejection gas is filled into the lower-side portion of the housing gasket 6 in a non-sealed state and the gap portion of the outer container 1a and the inner bag-shaped container 1g from the gap portion between the upper-end-side outer peripheral surface of the outer container 1a and the inner peripheral surface of the annular skirt portion of the cover cap 8 using a conventional gas filling apparatus.
(44) The valve unit VU is pressed and the lower-end side of the annular skirt portion 8b of the cover cap 8 is crimped toward the inner side similarly using a conventional gas filling apparatus.
The inner bag-shaped container 1g incorporated into the outer container 1a in step (41) does not contract in the vertical direction with the bellows-shaped portion 1k maintaining its initial length but is held in a standing state in which the lower-end portion thereof is in contact with the bottom surface of the outer container 1a. In this case, the upper-end portion of the inner bag-shaped container 1g is positioned above the upper-end portion of the outer container 1a and is in a state of protruding slightly from the outer container 1a.
Moreover, when the valve unit VU is pressed in step (44), the bellows-shaped portion 1k of the inner bag-shaped container 1g shrinks in the vertical direction from the initial state of (41) and the upper-end portion of the inner bag-shaped container enters into the outer container 1a (see
In this manner, when emission target content (raw liquid) is stored in the inner bag-shaped container 1g, ejection gas is filled in the pressure application space region 23, and the lower-end side of the annular skirt portion 8b is crimped while pressing the integrated structure of the valve unit VU and the inner bag-shaped container 1g downward, a final aerosol-type product is manufactured.
The followings are new features of the aerosol housing mechanism having the housing cover, illustrated in
(51) The expanded housing 2 having the conventional structure, which includes the inner passage region B in which emission target content flows therein from the lower opening side of the center-bottom tubular portion 2d and moves upward toward the inner passage region 3a and in which a conventional dip tube (not illustrated) for entrance of content can be attached to the center-bottom tubular portion is used as it is.
(52) The expanded housing 2 having the conventional structure is surrounded from below by the tapered housing covers 25 to 29 to form the outer passage region A between the outer peripheral surface of the housing and the inner peripheral surface of the housing cover so as to continuously extend downward from the upper-end-side inner space region of the inner bag-shaped container 1g to the inner passage region B.
That is, since the upper-end-side inner space region of the inner bag-shaped container 1g is set as an entrance portion of the outer passage region A, when an initial emission operation is performed once or several times before shipping aerosol-type products, residual air in the upper-end-side inner space region is discharged to the outside of the container.
Here, naturally, the residual air in the upper-end-side inner space region of the inner bag-shaped container 1g is discharged to the outside of the container even when any one of the housing covers 25 to 29 is used.
In the case of the aerosol-type product having such a dual-structure aerosol container as illustrated in
This layer of residual air is discharged to the outside of the container in a compressed state together with content (raw liquid) by the emission operation, which becomes the cause of the scattering of ejection content.
The aerosol housing mechanism having the housing cover, illustrated in
In these operation modes, the emission target content (raw liquid) in the inner bag-shaped container 1g biased so as to contract by the action of the ejection gas in the pressure application space region 23 is discharged to the outside of the container through “the outer passage region A, the inner passage region B (the vertical hole portion 2j and the inside of the center-top tubular portion 2b), the stem hole portion 3b, the inner passage region 3a, and an operation button passage portion (not illustrated)”.
The difference from the operation mode illustrated in
The difference in the discharge mechanism of the dual-structure aerosol container illustrated in
That is, in a state in which the housing cover is fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the center-top tubular portion 2b of the expanded housing 2, the housing is set in the following manner.
(61) The large-width annular flange-shaped portions 25e of the housing cover 25 illustrated in
(62) The small-width annular flange-shaped portions 26f of the housing cover 26 illustrated in
(63) The radial stair-shaped pieces 27g of the housing cover 27 illustrated in
(64) The cone-shaped pieces 28k of the housing cover 28 illustrated in
Among these housing covers 25, 26, 27, and 28, the entrance portion (inlet portion) of the outer passage region A when the housing cover 27 or 28 was used is set in the upper-end-side inner space region formed of the inner bag-shaped container 1g and the expanded housing 2 and between the adjacent vertical plate rib-shaped portions 2h.
As described above, in the housing cover 27 or 28, the radial stair-shaped pieces 27g or the cone-shaped pieces 28k or 29k that form the entrance portion of the outer passage region A of the housing cover 27 or 28 are set between the adjacent vertical plate rib-shaped portions 2h.
Thus, a layer of air generated in the upper-end-side inner space regions between the adjacent vertical plate rib-shaped portions 2h when the valve unit VU was attached to the inner bag-shaped container 1g after ejection of the emission target content (raw liquid) flows into the outer passage region A more reliably.
That is, in the case of the housing cover 27 or 28, the air present between the vertical plate rib-shaped portions of the inner bag-shaped container 1g after attachment of the valve unit VU is more reliably discharged from the outer passage region A which uses the vertical plate rib-shaped portions as its inlet portion (entrance) to the outside of the container through the inner passage region B and the inner passage region 3a.
The housing cover 29 illustrated in
The portions that makes contact with the emission target content stored in the inner bag-shaped container 1g include the inner bag-shaped container 1g, the expanded housing 2, the stem 3, the coil spring 4, the stem gasket 5, the housing gasket 6, and the intermediate cover body 7 as in
Naturally, the present invention is not limited to those illustrated in
(71) Various operation buttons such as a press-type button or a tilt-type button (a spout-type button) may be used as an operating unit for driving the stem 3.
(72) The number, thickness, shape, and the like of the vertical plate rib-shaped portions 2h or 10h may be set arbitrarily.
(73) The inner container 1d and the inner bag-shaped container 1g of the aerosol container 1 may be eliminated.
(74) The vertical slit-shaped portion 10p may be formed in a portion of the vertical groove-shaped portion 10f of the center-top tubular portion 10b and the convex outer peripheral surface on the rear side thereof, which does not overlap the inner-side end surface of the vertical plate rib-shaped portion 10h.
(75) The same tapered guiding portion as the tapered guiding portion 29p of the housing cover 29 may be formed in the upper-side portion of the vertical notch-shaped portion 27m of the housing cover 27.
The emission target content comes in various states such as a liquid state, a foaming (foamy) state, a creamy state, a paste state, a gel state, a powder state, for example.
Aerosol-type products to which the present invention is applied include products for various applications such as hair-care products such as hair dye, hair styling agents, hair treatment agents, and hair tonic, skin-care products such as sunscreen, lotion, cleansing, shaving foam, and pest repellents, cosmetics, cleaner, cleaning agents, coolant, muscle antiphlogistic agents, food, droplet products (such as vitamins), medical products, non-medical products, paint, gardening agents, insecticide, cleaners, deodorant, laundry starch, urethane foam, fire extinguisher, adhesives, and lubricants.
Examples of the emission target content stored in the container body include powder-like products, oil components, alcohols, surfactants, high molecular compounds, and components effective for individual applications.
The powder-like products that may be used include a metal salt powder, an inorganic powder, a resin powder, and the like. The usable powder products include talc, kaolin, aluminum hydroxychloride (aluminum salt), calcium alginate, gold powder, silver powder, mica, carbonate, magnesium chloride, silica, zinc oxide, titanium oxide, zeolite, nylon powder, barium sulfate, cellulose, and a mixture thereof, for example.
The oil components that may be used include silicone oil such as dimethylpolysiloxane, ester oil such as myristate isopropyl, oils and fats such as palm oil, eucalyptus oil, camellia oil, olive oil, and the jojoba oil, hydrocarbon oil such as liquid paraffin (paraffin oil), a fatty acid such as myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid, and linolenic acid, for example.
The alcohols that may be used include monohydric lower alcohols such as ethanol, monohydric higher alcohols such as lauryl alcohol and cetanol, and polyalcohols such as ethylene glycol, 1,3-butylene glycol, and glycerin, for example.
The surfactants that may be used include an anionic surfactant such as sodium lauryl sulfate, a nonionic detergent such as polyoxyethyleneoleyl ether and polyglycerin fatty acid ester, an amphoteric surfactant such as lauryl dimethyl aminoacetic acid betaine, and a cationic surfactant such as alkyl trimethyl ammonium chloride, for example.
The high molecular compounds that may be used include hydroxyethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, gelatin, starch, and casein, for example.
The components effective for individual applications that may be used include an antiphlogistic balm such as methyl salicylate and indometacin, a sanitization agent such as sodium benzoate and cresol, a pest repellent such as pyrethroid and diethyltoluamide, an antiperspirant such as zinc para-phenolsulfonate, a tonic such as camphor, menthol, an antiasthmatic drug such as ephedrine and adrenalin, a sweetener such as sucralose or aspartame, adhesive and paint such as epoxy resin and urethane, dyes such as paraphenylenediamine and aminophenol, an oxidizer such as oxygenated water, a set agent such as acrylic resin and wax, ultraviolet absorbent such as 2-ethylhexyl p-methoxycinnamate, vitamins such as retinol and dl-α-tocopherol, humectants such as hyaluronic acid, fire extinguishing agents such as ammonium dihydrogen-phosphate, and sodium/potassium bicarbonate, for example.
Furthermore, besides the aforementioned contents, a suspending agent, an emulsifier, an antioxidant, and a sequestering agent, for example, can be used.
The ejection gas that may be used include compressed gas such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen gas, compressed air, oxygen gas, nitrous oxide, rare gas, and mixed gases thereof, liquefied gas such as liquefied petroleum gas, dimethyl ether, hydrofluoroolefin, and fluorocarbon, for example.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-250442 | Dec 2013 | JP | national |
| 2014-093537 | Apr 2014 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2014/081568 | 11/28/2014 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2015/083642 | 6/11/2015 | WO | A |
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| International Search Report dated Mar. 17, 2015 for PCT/JP2015/050735 and English translation. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20170166390 A1 | Jun 2017 | US |
