Patent Grant
9308541
This application claims the benefits of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-25857, dated Feb. 9, 2012, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference into this application.
The present invention relates to pump-dispensing containers, and more specifically, to improvement of the usability of a pump-dispensing container that prevents leakage of liquid caused by slight vertical movements of a nozzle during transportation or the like.
Conventionally known pump-dispensing containers discharge a liquid contained in a container body from a discharge opening at the tip of a nozzle head disposed hi the upper part of the container body when the nozzle head is moved up and down. That type of pump-dispensing container usually has a liquid chamber (a gap between a cylinder and a piston) in a dispensing pump body and has a primary check valve and a secondary check valve respectively at the upstream end (on the container body side) and at the downstream end (on the discharge opening side) of the liquid chamber. When the nozzle head is raised, the secondary check valve is closed to depressurize the liquid chamber, and the depressurization opens the primary check valve, through which the liquid in the container body flows into the liquid chamber. When the nozzle is lowered, the liquid chamber is pressurized with the primary check valve kept closed, and the pressurization opens the secondary check valve, through which the liquid that has filled the liquid chamber is discharged from the discharge opening.
The secondary check valve that opens and closes the exit of the liquid chamber as the piston is lowered together with the nozzle head is generally designed, in that type of pump-dispensing container, to open immediately when the nozzle head is pressed down, and a slight press on the nozzle head opens the secondary check valve at the exit of the liquid chamber, causing the liquid to leak from the liquid chamber to the outside. Even if the pump-dispensing container is equipped with an over-cap or a stopper, for example, to prevent the nozzle head from being lowered from its highest position, when the containers contained in a carton box are placed upside down by mistake during transportation, the nozzle head may move up and down slightly due to vibration caused by uneven road surfaces and the like. In the container placed upside down by mistake, the primary check valve, which includes a ball valve, would be opened by gravity, and the liquid in the container body would flow into the liquid chamber. If vibrations during transportation move the nozzle head up and down further, causing the secondary check valve at the exit of the liquid chamber to open slightly, the liquid that has flown into the liquid chamber would leak from the discharge opening and would stain the containers in the carton box. There has been another problem that, when a pump-dispensing container in use is carried with its nozzle head placed in its highest position, only a slight vertical movement of the nozzle head would cause unintentional leakage of liquid, and extreme care should be used.
The present applicant has recently addressed those problems by proposing a pump-dispensing container in which a part supporting the lower end of a spring for pushing the piston upward can move up and down within a given range with respect to a cylinder, so that the secondary check valve will not be opened immediately when the nozzle head which has been placed in its highest position is lowered slightly (refer to Patent Literature 1). The secondary check valve that opens and closes the exit of the liquid chamber in the pump-dispensing container is usually configured to open when the spring is compressed; in the pump-dispensing container in Patent Literature 1, the part supporting the lower end of the spring is configured to allow a slight downward movement while the nozzle head is in its highest position. Accordingly, even if the nozzle head is moved slightly downward from the highest position, the spring does not start being compressed before the spring support comes into contact with the cylinder, or the top dead point (position where the spring starts being compressed) of the pump is reached. The secondary check valve will not open immediately, and consequently, unintentional leakage of liquid during transportation or the like can be avoided.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-217283
The pump-dispensing container in Patent Literature 1 has different problems: If the nozzle head is brought up further from the top dead point of the pump in some occasions, such as when the user carries the container with the nozzle head in his hand or when the stopper is attached again, for example, a large force is needed at the beginning when the nozzle head is lowered again to push out the liquid, making it difficult to push out the liquid; and after a large force is applied at the beginning to lower the nozzle head to push out the liquid, resistance drops sharply when the nozzle head is further lowered, making it difficult to control the amount of liquid to be discharged by adjusting the distance by which the nozzle head is lowered.
In view of the problems in the conventional technology, an object of the present invention is to improve a pump-dispensing container structured to prevent leakage of liquid caused by slight vertical movements of the nozzle head, to make it easier to push out the liquid when the nozzle head is pressed down first from its highest position.
As a result of diligent study in view of the problems in the conventional technology, the inventors have achieved the present invention by finding that, in a pump-dispensing container structured to prevent leakage of liquid caused by slight vertical movements of the nozzle, if a primary check valve is configured to open the connection between the inside of the liquid chamber and the inside of the container body in a state in which the liquid chamber is filled with a liquid and the nozzle head is raised to its highest position, when the nozzle head is pressed down from its highest position to push out the liquid, resistance met during the pressing down of the nozzle head is significantly reduced because of the open connection between the inside of the liquid chamber and the inside of the container body, and the liquid can be pushed out easily by applying a small force.
A pump-dispensing container according to the present invention includes a container body and a dispensing pump body mounted on the opening of the container body. The pump-dispensing container discharges a liquid contained in the container body from a discharge opening provided in a nozzle head portion disposed in the upper part of the dispensing pump body when the nozzle head portion is moved up and down. The dispensing pump body includes: a tubular liquid cylinder portion which can be connected to the inside of the container body; a primary check valve which can open and close the connection between the liquid cylinder portion and the inside of the container body; a liquid piston portion which is a tubular member that can be moved up and down together with the nozzle head portion, the outer surface of the lower end being in sliding contact with the inner wall of the liquid cylinder portion, a space enclosed together with the liquid cylinder portion being provided as a liquid chamber, and the liquid piston portion being able to be connected to the inside of the nozzle head portion through an upper open end; a rod-shaped valve body which is a rod-shaped member disposed in the space enclosed by the liquid cylinder portion and the liquid piston portion, the upper end penetrating the upper open end of the liquid piston portion, the penetrated upper end having an enlarged-diameter portion having an outer diameter larger than the diameter of the open end of the liquid piston portion, and the rod-shaped valve body forming a secondary check valve which can open and close the connection between the inside of the liquid piston portion and the inside of the nozzle head portion by blocking the open end with the enlarged-diameter portion in contact with the open end of the liquid piston portion or by releasing the open end by separating the enlarged-diameter portion and the open end; a tubular engagement portion which is a tubular member engaging with the lower end of the rod-shaped valve body from the outer side, the lower face of an enlarged-diameter portion that extends outward in the lower end of the tubular member being able to be in contact with the upper face of a base portion extending inward from the edge of the bottom of the liquid cylinder portion; a spring portion which comes between the lower end of the liquid piston portion and the upper face of the enlarged-diameter portion of the tubular engagement portion and exerts force in a direction in which the distance between the liquid piston portion and the tubular engagement portion is increased; and a tubular nozzle head portion which has a discharge opening in the end and which can be connected to the inside of the liquid piston portion through the upper open end. When the nozzle head portion is brought up further above the top dead point, where the coil spring starts being compressed by moving down the nozzle head portion, the liquid piston portion, the spring portion, and the tubular engagement portion are brought up together with the nozzle head portion, and the lower face of the enlarged-diameter portion of the tubular engagement portion is separated from the upper face of the base portion on the edge of the bottom of the liquid cylinder portion, providing a given distance between the lower face of the enlarged-diameter portion and the upper face of the base portion on the edge of the bottom, and allowing the tubular engagement portion to move up and down in a given range with respect to the liquid cylinder portion. The primary check valve releases the connection between the liquid cylinder portion and the inside of the container body in the state in which the liquid chamber is filled with a desired liquid and the nozzle head portion is brought up to its highest position.
In the pump-dispensing container, it is preferred that the primary check valve includes a ball having an apparent specific gravity lower than 1.00 and a valve seat portion provided in the liquid cylinder portion and having a smaller diameter than the ball.
In the pump-dispensing container, it is preferred that the ball used in the primary check valve be a ball made of a resin having a specific gravity lower than 1.00.
In the pump-dispensing container, it is preferred that the ball used in the primary check valve is made of a resin chosen from among polyethylene, polypropylene, and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.
In the pump-dispensing container, it is preferred that a ball catch portion is provided to prevent the ball from rising.
In the pump-dispensing container, it is preferred that the primary check valve includes a membrane valve body disposed in the enlarged-diameter portion in the lower end of the tubular engagement portion, and the base portion on the edge of the bottom of the liquid cylinder portion.
In the pump-dispensing container, it is preferred that the primary check valve includes a ball and a valve seat portion provided in the enlargement-diameter portion in the lower end of the tubular engagement portion and having a smaller diameter than the ball.
In a pump-dispensing container according to the present invention, structured to prevent leakage of liquid caused by slight vertical movements of the nozzle, since the primary check valve is configured to release the connection between the inside of the liquid chamber and the inside of the container body in the state in which the liquid chamber is filled with a liquid and the nozzle head is raised to its highest position, when a force is applied to press down the nozzle head from its highest position to push out the liquid, resistance met in pressing down the nozzle head is significantly reduced because the connection between the inside of the liquid chamber and the inside of the container body has been released, and the liquid can be discharged easily by applying a small force.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described next with reference to the drawings. Pump-dispensing containers in the embodiments described below are foam dispensing containers which mix air and a foaming liquid in the container and push it out in the form of foam, but the present invention is not limited to those types of foam dispensing containers and also relates to foam dispensing containers that push the liquid out of the container body.
Structure of Pump-Dispensing Container
The pump-dispensing container according to this embodiment includes a container body which contains a liquid, a dispensing pump body which is detachably mounted on the opening at the upper end of the container body, and a tube body which is connected to the dispensing pump body and extends to the inside of the container body.
A skirt-like base cap portion 20 disposed in the lower part of the dispensing pump body 10 according to this embodiment has an internal thread formed on its inner periphery. The opening (not shown) of the container body which contains a foaming liquid has an external thread on its outer periphery, the external thread being engaged with the internal thread on the base cap portion 20 to mount the dispensing pump body 10 detachably on the container body.
The major components of the dispensing pump body 10 according to this embodiment includes the base cap portion 20, a nozzle head 22, which functions as an operating portion and a discharge portion, a double cylinder 24 which includes a liquid cylinder 24A and an air cylinder 24B, a liquid piston 26, and an air piston 28. These components are usually made of a synthetic resin material. For example, a single material, such as polypropylene (PP); a polyolefin-based resin such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE), medium-density polyethylene (MDPE), or low-density polyethylene (LDPE); or a polyester-based resin such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or a mixture of those materials can be used.
The specific structures of the components of the dispensing pump body 10 will be described next.
The double cylinder 24 is integrally formed from a synthetic resin as a single component by injection molding or the like. The double cylinder 24 has the large-diameter air cylinder 24B and the small-diameter liquid cylinder 24A, which are disposed concentrically and formed integrally. The air cylinder 24B has an annular flange portion 24a formed in the open edge portion of the upper end, the flange portion being placed on the top end of the opening of the container body.
The air cylinder 24B of the double cylinder 24 has a tubular part extending from the flange portion 24a, the tubular part including a short large-diameter part having an outer diameter slightly smaller than or equivalent to the inner diameter of the opening portion of the container body and a uniform-diameter cylinder wall having an inner diameter slightly smaller than the large-diameter part. From the lower end of the cylinder wall of the air cylinder 24B, a coupling portion 24b rises and extends inward in a radial direction.
The upper end of the liquid cylinder 24A of the double cylinder 24 is connected to the radially inner end of the coupling portion 24b and extends downward from the coupling portion 24b. An annular base portion 24d is formed at the lower end of the cylindrically-shaped cylinder wall 24c, the coupling portion 24b supporting the lower end of a tubular engagement part 32, which will be described later. A funnel-shaped ball-valve seat portion 24e which becomes a seat portion for a ball valve 30 is formed below the base portion 24d. A cylindrically-shaped lower tubular portion 24f, into which a tube body 12 for guiding the foaming liquid from the inside of the container body to the inside of the liquid cylinder 24A is press-fitted, is formed below the seat portions 24e. The tube body 12 press-fitted into the lower tubular portion 24f extends to the vicinity of the bottom inside the container body.
The air piston 28 and the liquid piston 26 are formed from a synthetic resin as separate components by injection molding or the like and are then coupled concentrically to form a single piston body. They are disposed in the double cylinder 24 such that a sliding seal portion 28a of the air piston 28 slides on the inner surface of the cylinder wall of the air cylinder 24B and such that a sliding seal portion 26c of the liquid piston 26 slides on the inner surface of the cylinder wall 24c of the liquid cylinder 24A. The nozzle head 22 is coupled to the upper end of the air piston 28.
The air piston 28 has an upper small-diameter portion 28b in its axial part and a lower large-diameter portion 28c disposed concentrically with the upper small-diameter portion 28b, those portions being formed integrally through a middle coupling portion 28d. The middle coupling portion 28d is formed on the radially internal side from the upper end of the lower large-diameter portion 28c, and the upper small-diameter portion 28b rises from the inner edge portion of the middle coupling portion 28d. A reduced-diameter portion 28e having slightly smaller inner diameter is disposed at the upper end of the upper small-diameter portion 28b, and the reduced-diameter portion 28e has vertical ribs 28f formed radially on its inner face. The vertical ribs 28f are structured as a slope with its lower face inclined outward. The lower large-diameter portion 28c has an integrally formed sliding seal portion 28a at its lower end such that the sliding seal portion 28a allows sufficient air tightness to be secured with the inner face of the cylinder wall of the air cylinder 24B and also allows vertical sliding on the inner face of the air cylinder 24B.
The entire liquid piston 26 has an approximately cylindrical shape, and a funnel-shaped liquid-chamber valve seat member 26a whose inner diameter increases toward the top is formed inside the upper end of the axial hollow portion of the liquid piston 26. At the lower end of the liquid piston 26, a sliding seal portion 26c is formed to slide up and down on the inner face of the cylinder wall 24c of the liquid cylinder 24A in an airtight state. An annular flat portion is formed inside the sliding seal portion 26c to support the upper end of a coil spring, which will be described later.
The air piston 28 and the liquid piston 26 are integrally coupled to form a single piston body when the upper end of the liquid piston 26 is press-fitted to the inside of the lower part of the upper small-diameter portion 28b of the air piston 28. The integrated piston bodies 26 and 28 are mounted on the double cylinder 24 such that they can move up and down integrally, by inserting the air piston 28 into the air cylinder 24B and by inserting the liquid piston 26 into the liquid cylinder 24A.
The coil spring (represented by a dashed line in
In the structure of the container described above, a space inside the liquid cylinder 24A and the liquid piston 26 is formed as a liquid chamber A, and a space enclosed by the air cylinder 24B, the air piston 28, and the liquid piston 26 is formed as an air chamber B. In addition, a space enclosed by the upper end of the liquid piston 26, the upper part of the air piston 28, a catch portion 38a in the end of a rod-shaped valve body 38, which will be described later, and a porous material holder 36 is formed as a mixing chamber C. A space enclosed by the outer face of the upper part of the liquid piston 26 and the inner face of the lower part of the upper small-diameter portion 28b of the air piston 28 is provided as an air passage D through which air is sent from the air chamber B to the mixing chamber C.
The inner face of the lower part of the upper small-diameter portion 28b of the air piston 28 works as a fitting portion of the liquid piston 26. The outer face of the upper part of the liquid piston 26 has a plurality of vertical grooves formed in the radial direction in the position corresponding to the fitting portion. The grooves form the air passage D between the outer face of the upper part of the liquid piston 26 and the inner face of the air piston 28.
In the part corresponding to the fitting portion on the outer face of the upper part of the liquid piston 26, vertical ribs are provided to form the vertical grooves. The outer diameter of a virtual circle connecting the outer face of the vertical ribs is made approximately equal to the inner diameter of the upper small-diameter portion 28b of the air piston 28 so that the piston can be press-fitted into the upper small-diameter portion 28b of the air piston 28. The vertical grooves or the vertical ribs provided to form the air passage D may be disposed on the inner face of the air piston 28 instead of the part corresponding to the fitting portion on the outer face of the upper part of the liquid piston 26.
The side wall of the nozzle head 22 coupled to the air piston 28 is a double wall that includes an inner tubular portion 22a and an outer tubular portion 22b, and an L-shaped through hole that passes through the inside of the inner tubular portion 22a and that has a bent upper end provides a foam passage E. In the downstream end of the foam passage E, a discharge opening 22c is provided to discharge foam to the outside. By putting the base cap portion 20 on the top of the double cylinder 24 on which the air piston 28 and the liquid piston 26 are mounted and then fitting the top end of the reduced-diameter portion 28e of the air piston 28 into the lower end of the inner tubular portion 22a of the nozzle head 22 and securing it there, the nozzle head 22, the air piston 28, and the liquid piston 26 are integrally coupled, and the mixing chamber C formed inside the upper part of the reduced-diameter portion 28e of the air piston 28 is connected to the foam passage E formed inside the nozzle head 22.
The foam passage E in the nozzle head 22 meets the porous material holder 36 disposed on the downstream side of the mixing chamber C before it is coupled to the air piston 28, the porous material holder 36 including porous sheets 36a and 36b stretched at both ends thereof. The porous material holder 36 may be configured such that the porous sheets 36a and 36b are nets formed by weaving synthetic-resin threads and are fused on both ends of a cylindrical synthetic-resin spacer 36c. It is preferred, in terms of foam quality, that the porous sheet 36b on the downstream side (close to the discharge opening 22c) has a finer network than the porous sheet 36a on the upstream side (close to the mixing chamber C).
The base cap portion 20 and the opening portion of the container body secure the dispensing pump body 10 between them, and the base cap portion 20 includes a top wall portion 20a having an opening in its center, a skirt portion 20b suspended from the outer peripheral edge of the top wall portion 20a, and an upright wall 20c rising from the open edge of the top wall portion 20a. An annular cylindrical portion which comes into contact with the inner face of the flange portion 24a of the air cylinder 24B and another cylindrical portion having a smaller diameter are suspended from the lower face of the top wall portion 20a. The skirt portion 20b of the base cap portion 20 has an internal thread on its inner periphery, which is engaged with the external thread formed on the outer periphery of the opening of the container body, to cap the opening of the container body with the base cap portion 20.
Primary Check Valve
In the dispensing pump body 10 of the first embodiment of the present invention, the ball valve 30 is placed on the approximately-funnel-shaped ball-valve seat portion 24e near the lower end of the liquid cylinder 24A, and the valve seat portion 24e and the ball valve 30 form a primary check valve.
The ball valve 30 in the dispensing pump body 10 according to the first embodiment is made of a polypropylene resin with a specific gravity of 0.90 to 0.91. Since the liquid chamber A of a factory-assembled pump-dispensing container is not filled with a liquid, the ball valve 30 is in contact with the valve seat portion 24e because of gravity, as shown in
When the nozzle head 22 is further pressed to a position lower than the position where the coil spring starts being compressed (the top dead point of the pump) while the liquid chamber A is filled with a liquid, the liquid in the liquid chamber A flows back toward the container body, the pressure of the liquid (pressure exceeding the buoyancy of the ball valve 30) is applied to the ball valve 30 in the inside of the liquid cylinder 24A, and the ball valve 30 is brought down and comes into contact with the valve seat portion 24e, blocking the connection between the inside of the liquid chamber A and the tube body 12. The vertical movement of the nozzle head 22 pressurizes the liquid inside the liquid chamber A, thereby controlling the connection between the inside of the liquid chamber A and the tube body 12, and the primary check valve is structured in that way in the dispensing pump body 10 according to the first embodiment.
Although the dispensing pump body 10 according to the first embodiment uses a ball valve made of a polypropylene resin with a specific gravity of 0.90 to 0.91 as the ball valve 30, a ball having an apparent specific gravity lower than 1.00 would produce the same effect as in this embodiment when a ball valve is used as the primary check valve because general liquid preparations have a specific gravity of 1.00 or higher. The apparent specific gravity here is the value obtained by taking the value obtained by dividing the mass of a substance by the volume of the substance, and dividing that value by the density of water, which is a reference material. If the ball made of a resin, stainless steel, or another material having a specific gravity of 1.00 or higher has a hollow structure or the like to bring the apparent specific gravity to lower than 1.00, the ball will be lifted by buoyancy in general liquid preparations and will produce the same effect as in this embodiment. A solid ball made of a resin with a specific gravity of lower than 1.00 is preferred in terms of cost and ease of production. Resins with a specific gravity of lower than 1.00 include polyethylene (specific gravity of 0.91 to 0.97) and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (specific gravity of 0.92 to 0.95), for example. The shape of the valve is not limited to that of the ball valve, and cone-shaped, rod-shaped, film-shaped, and other known check valves can be used. However, the primary check valve must be open when the inside of the liquid chamber A is filled with a liquid and when the nozzle head 22 is raised to its highest position.
Alternatively, even if the material does not have such a low specific gravity as that in the first embodiment, a valve structure working with a tubular engagement part can also leave the primary check valve open when the inside of the liquid chamber A is filled with a liquid and when the nozzle head 22 is raised to its highest position.
The dispensing pump body 110 in the second embodiment has a membrane valve body 132e in an enlarged-diameter portion in the lower end of a tubular engagement part 132, and the lower face of the membrane valve body 132e forms the lower face of the enlarged-diameter portion. The membrane valve body 132e and the upper face of a base portion 124d in the lower part of a liquid cylinder 124A form a primary check valve.
The membrane valve body 132e works with the tubular engagement part 132 in the dispensing pump body 110 of the second embodiment, and while a nozzle head 122 is raised to its highest position, as shown in
The dispensing pump body 210 in the third embodiment has an approximately funnel-shaped ball valve seat portion 232e in an enlarged-diameter portion in the lower end of a tubular engagement part 232, and the lower face of the ball valve seat portion 232e forms the lower face of the enlarged-diameter portion. A stainless-steel ball valve 230 is placed on the ball valve seat portion 232e, and a base portion 224d in the lower part of a liquid cylinder 224A, the valve seat portion 232e, and the stainless-steel ball valve 230 form a primary check valve.
The ball valve seat portion 232e works with the tubular engagement part 232 in the dispensing pump body 210 of the third embodiment, and while a nozzle head 222 is raised to its highest position as shown in
The second or third embodiment including the valve structured to work with the tubular engagement part can produce the same effect as the first embodiment without using a material having a specific gravity lower than general liquid preparations.
The other components of the dispensing pump body 10 in this embodiment will be described below.
An elastic valve body 34 made of a soft synthetic resin is disposed between the lower face of the outer periphery of the middle coupling portion 28d of the air piston 28 and the upper face of an annular protrusion portion 26b formed on the outer periphery of the liquid piston 26. With respect to an air intake 28g disposed in the middle coupling portion 28d of the air piston 28 and the entry side (on the side of the air chamber B) of the air passage D formed in the press-fit joint of the air piston 28 and the liquid piston 26, the elastic valve body 34 connects the air intake 28g only when the air chamber B is depressurized (serving as a primary intake valve) and connects the air chamber B and the air passage D only when the air chamber B is pressurized (serving as a secondary intake valve).
The elastic valve body 34 has a thin annular outward valve portion 34b which extends outward from the vicinity of the lower end of a cylindrical tubular base 34a and a thin annular inward valve portion 34c which extends inward from the vicinity of the lower end of the tubular base 34a, the two valve portions being integrally formed with respect to the tubular base 34a. The tubular base 34a is secured by the middle coupling portion 28d of the air piston 28. The elastic valve body 34 is disposed in the upper part of the air chamber B such that the outer edge of the upper face of the outward valve portion 34b comes into contact with the lower face (on the side of the air chamber B) of the middle coupling portion 28d on the outer side of the air intake 28g in the radial direction and the inner edge of the lower face of the inward valve portion 34c comes into contact with the upper face of the annular protrusion portion 26b formed on the liquid piston 26. The space between the inward valve portion 34c of the elastic valve body 34 and the lower face of the middle coupling portion 28d disposed above the inward valve portion 34c is sufficient for allowing upward displacement of the inward valve portion 34c.
When the air chamber B is pressurized or is under normal pressure, the outer edge of the outward valve portion 34b comes into contact with the lower face of the middle coupling portion 28d, and the primary intake valve, which opens or closes the air intake 28g, closes the air intake 28g, which forms a connection path between the air chamber B and the outside air. If the air chamber B is depressurized here by an upward movement of the air piston 28, the outward valve portion 34b of the elastic valve body 34 is displaced (elastically deformed) downward to separate from the lower face of the middle coupling portion 28d and opens the air intake 28g.
When the air chamber B is depressurized or is under normal pressure, the inner edge of the inward valve portion 34c comes into contact with the annular protrusion portion 26b of the liquid piston 26, and the secondary intake valve, which controls the connection between the air chamber B and the air passage D, closes the entry to the air passage D from the air chamber B. When the air piston 28 is lowered to pressurize the air chamber B, the inward valve portion 34c of the elastic valve body 34 is displaced (elastically deformed) upward to separate from the annular protrusion portion 26b and opens the entry of the air passage D. The elastic valve body 34 here closes the entry to the air passage D from the air chamber B when the air chamber B is depressurized or is under normal pressure, which means that the entry to the air passage D from the air chamber B is closed while the nozzle head 22 is raised together with the air piston 28. The volume of the air passage D is not changed by the upward movement of the nozzle head 22, and the normal pressure of the air passage D is maintained while the nozzle head is being raised.
The nozzle head 22 is secured to the liquid piston 26 and the air piston 28 from above. The outer tubular portion 22b of the nozzle head 22 has a space where air can pass, and is guided by the end of the upright wall 20c of the base cap portion 20. An air hole 24g is provided in the upper part of the cylinder wall of the air cylinder 24B to guide the outside air into the head space (space above the surface of the foaming liquid) in the container body through the space between the inner edge of the upright wall 20c of the base cap 20 and the outer periphery of the inner tubular portion 22a of the nozzle head 22. The sliding seal portion 28a of the air piston 28 has a shallow U-shaped cross section to block the air hole 24g by covering it from the inside when the air piston 28 is in its highest position. When the air piston 28 is lowered, the air hole 24g is released from the sliding seal portion 28a and connects the outside air and the inside of the container body.
Secondary Check Valve
The rod-shaped valve body 38 made of a synthetic resin is disposed in the space formed by the liquid piston 26 and the liquid cylinder 24A in the dispensing pump body 10 of this embodiment. The tubular engagement part 32 made of a synthetic resin that controls the upward movement of the rod-shaped valve body 38 is disposed in the lower space in the liquid cylinder 24A. The exit at the upper end of the liquid piston 26 is blocked when the catch portion 38a disposed in the end of the rod-shaped valve body 38 comes into contact with the funnel-shaped liquid-chamber valve seat portion 26a disposed at the upper end of the liquid piston 26. When the nozzle head 22 is lowered, the liquid-chamber valve seat portion 26a is lowered, separating the catch portion 38a of the rod-shaped valve body 38 and the liquid-chamber valve seat portion 26a, and the exit at the upper end of the liquid piston 26 is opened.
The approximately-cone-shaped catch portion 38a is formed on the outer periphery around the upper end of the rod-shaped valve body 38, the largest outer diameter of the catch portion 38a being larger than the smallest inner diameter of the approximately-funnel-shaped liquid-chamber valve seat member 26a formed on the inner periphery around the upper end of the liquid piston 26, and the catch portion 38a of the rod-shaped valve body 38 and the liquid-chamber valve seat member 26a of the liquid piston 26 form a secondary check valve. While the nozzle head 22 is pressed down, the catch portion 38a and the liquid-chamber valve seat member 26a do not come into contact with each other, and the exit at the upper end of the liquid piston 26 is left open. As the nozzle head 22 is raised, the liquid-chamber valve seat member 26a rises to come into contact with the catch portion 38a and blocks the exit at the upper end of the liquid piston 26.
In the small-diameter lower end of the rod-shaped valve body 38, a large-diameter portion 38b is disposed to form a step with respect to the upper part, and the lower end of the portion is tapered. A ring-like inward projection 32d disposed at the upper end of the tubular engagement part 32 engages with the large-diameter portion 38b from the outer side to allow vertical movements only in a given range. The rod-shaped valve body 38 is held such that it can move up and down just in a given range with respect to the liquid cylinder 24A, and the rod-shaped valve body 38 limits the highest position of the liquid piston 26. It is preferred that the small-diameter lower end of the rod-shaped valve body 38 generate frictional resistance that will not disturb the vertical movement while it is held by the tubular engagement part 32. In that structure, as the nozzle head 22 is raised, the liquid-chamber valve seat portion 26a moves up and comes into contact with the catch portion 38a, and the catch portion 38a is pressed against the liquid-chamber valve seat portion 26a by frictional resistance, so that the catch portion 38a in contact with the valve seat portion 26a will not be lifted, and a preferred sealed state can be produced.
The tubular engagement part 32 is disposed such that it can be brought into contact with the upper face of the base portion 24d formed in the lower part of the liquid cylinder 24A, and the annular support 32a is formed to jut out in the lower end portion of the tubular engagement part 32. An open tubular portion 32b having a plurality of vertical open grooves or dividing grooves provided radially to form liquid passages is formed above the annular support 32a, and a nonporous cylindrical portion 32c is formed above the open tubular portion 32b. The ring-like inward projection 32d is formed at the upper end of the nonporous cylindrical portion 32c. The annular support 32a formed at the lower end supports the lower end of the coil spring.
The ring-like inward projection 32d formed at the upper end of the tubular engagement part 32 engages with the large-diameter portion 38b formed at the lower end of the rod-shaped valve body 38 and prevents the rod-shaped valve body 38 from moving upward, and, at the same time, the catch portion 38a of the rod-shaped valve body 38 comes into contact with the liquid-chamber valve seat portion 26a of the liquid piston 26, limiting the highest position of the liquid piston 26 pushed up by the coil spring. The inner portion of the annular support 32a disposed at the lower end of the tubular engagement part 32 functions as a ball valve catch portion and prevents the ball valve 30 of the primary check valve from being raised, consequently limiting the distance by which the ball valve 30 can be lifted by buoyancy.
The tubular engagement part 32 is disposed such that it can move up and down in the given range with respect to the liquid cylinder 24A. More specifically, the lower face of the annular support 32a of the tubular engagement part 32 can come into contact with the upper face of the base portion 24d in the lower part of the liquid cylinder 24A but is not secured to the upper face of the base portion 24d, and therefore, the entire tubular engagement part 32 can move up and down in the given range with respect to the liquid cylinder 24A.
With the tubular engagement part 32 that can move up and down in the given range, when the nozzle head 22 is brought up further above the top dead point of the pump (position where the coil spring starts being compressed) as shown in
When the nozzle head 22 is pressed down to compress the coil spring to lower the liquid piston 26, the catch portion 38a of the rod-shaped valve body 38 is separated from the liquid-chamber valve seat portion 26a in the secondary check valve, opening the exit at the upper end of the liquid piston 26. If the nozzle head 22 is brought upward further above the top dead point of the pump, the lower face of the annular support 32a of the tubular engagement part 32 is separated from the upper face of the base portion 24d in the lower part of the liquid cylinder 24A, and a given distance is provided between them. Then, even when the nozzle head 22 is pressed down, the coil spring will not be compressed before the lower face of the annular support 32a comes into contact with the upper face of the base portion 24d, and the exit at the upper end of the liquid piston 26 will not open during that period. Therefore, if the nozzle head 22 is raised forcibly, for example, by disposing a stopper on the outer side of the upright wall 20c, slight downward movements of the nozzle head 22 during transportation or the like will not immediately open the secondary check valve, and unintentional leakage of the liquid can be avoided (refer to Patent Literature 1).
As the primary check valve, conventional pump-dispensing containers generally use a ball valve having a higher specific gravity than general liquid preparations, such as a stainless-steel ball valve. If that type of stainless-steel ball valve were used as the primary check valve in the pump-dispensing container having the above-described structure, for example, when the nozzle head 22 is brought upward further above the top dead point as the pump while the liquid chamber A is filled with a liquid preparation, the stainless-steel ball would be lowered by gravity, and the primary check valve would be closed. To lower the nozzle head 22 to push out the liquid preparation again in that state, in which both the primary check valve and the secondary check valve are closed, a large force should be applied to press the nozzle head 22 downward to forcibly pressurize the liquid preparation filling the liquid chamber until the secondary check valve starts opening. If a ball valve having a higher specific gravity than general liquid preparations, such as a stainless-steel ball valve, is used, a large force might be required to press down the nozzle head 22 first from the raised position.
The pump-dispensing container in the first embodiment of the present invention uses the ball valve 30 made of a polypropylene resin having a specific gravity of 0.90 to 0.91, for example, and the ball valve 30 having a smaller specific gravity than general liquid preparations is always lifted by buoyancy and does not come into contact with the valve seat portion 24e, leaving the primary check valve open, while the liquid cylinder 24A is filled with a liquid preparation. When the nozzle head 22 is brought up by a force exceeding the force exerted by the coil spring while the liquid chamber A is filled with a liquid preparation, the primary check valve is left open. When the nozzle head 22 is pressed down to push out the liquid preparation again in that state, a part of the liquid preparation filling the liquid chamber A flows back into the container body through the primary check valve, which is left open, and the resistance met in pressing down the nozzle head 22 first from its raised position becomes very small.
Operation States of the Pump-Dispensing Container
Operation states of the dispensing pump body in this embodiment will be described next.
In the pump-dispensing container in this embodiment, the container body is filled with a liquid when the container is assembled to a finished product; the liquid piston 26 is raised to the top dead point of the pump by the force exerted by the coil spring, as shown in
In the state shown in
When the user begins to use the container in the state shown in
When the nozzle head 22 is brought up above the top dead point of the pump from the state shown in
In the pump-dispensing container that uses the conventional stainless-steel ball valve 31, after the nozzle head 22 is brought up, the ball valve 31 is lowered by gravity because it has a higher specific gravity than general liquid preparations, and the primary check valve is closed, as shown in
In contrast, since the pump-dispensing container in this embodiment uses the ball valve 30 made of a polypropylene resin having a specific gravity of 0.90 to 0.91, while the liquid chamber A is filled with a liquid preparation, the ball valve 30 having a lower specific gravity than general liquid preparations is always lifted up by buoyancy, and the primary check valve is left open, as shown in
Further pressing down of the nozzle head 22 causes the liquid preparation to flow back, pressing down the ball valve 30, and when the hydraulic pressure due to the liquid preparation in the liquid chamber A exceeds the buoyant force of the ball valve 30, the ball valve 30 is pressed against the valve seat portion 24e in the lower part, and the primary check valve closes, as shown in
While the nozzle head 122 in the pump-dispensing container according to the second embodiment is held to its highest position, as shown in
When the nozzle head 122 is pressed down repeatedly from the state shown in
When the nozzle head 122 is brought upward from the state shown in
When the nozzle head 122 is kept pressed down further, the membrane valve body 132e comes in contact with the upper face of the base portion 124d in the lower part of the liquid cylinder and blocks the connection between the inside of the liquid chamber A and the tube body 112, causing the primary check valve to close, as shown in
When the nozzle head 222 in the pump-dispensing container in the third embodiment is brought up to its highest position, the tubular engagement part 232 is also held up, and the lower end of the ball valve seat portion 232e provided in the lower end of the tubular engagement part is not in contact with the upper face of the base portion 224d in the lower part of the liquid cylinder 224A, as shown in
When the nozzle head 222 is repeatedly pressed down from the state shown in
When the nozzle head 222 is brought up further from the state shown in
When the nozzle head 222 is kept pressed down further, the ball valve seat portion 232e comes into contact with the base portion 224d in the lower part of the liquid cylinder, and the ball valve 230 is pressed against the valve seat portion 232e by the hydraulic pressure of the liquid preparation in the liquid chamber A, consequently blocking the connection between the inside of the liquid chamber A, as shown in
Embodiments of the pump-dispensing container according to the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the specific structures indicated in the embodiments. The pump-dispensing containers in the embodiments are foam dispensing containers, which mix air and a foaming liquid in the container and push it out in the form of foam, but the present invention is not limited to those types of foam dispensing containers and can be applied to liquid dispensing containers that discharge the liquid in the container bodies. The other pump structures are not limited to those indicated in the embodiments and may also be implemented by other conventionally known pump structures. The other components can be modified appropriately in accordance with specific uses.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-025857 | Feb 2012 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2013/052851 | 2/7/2013 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2013/118816 | 8/15/2013 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4887744 | Williams | Dec 1989 | A |
| 5025956 | Linsenbigler | Jun 1991 | A |
| 8496142 | Uehira | Jul 2013 | B2 |
| 20080251540 | Oh | Oct 2008 | A1 |
| 20090008412 | Oh | Jan 2009 | A1 |
| 20090020552 | van der Heijden | Jan 2009 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1980329 | Oct 2008 | EP |
| 2002-011390 | Jan 2002 | JP |
| 2003-321048 | Nov 2003 | JP |
| 2004-217283 | Aug 2004 | JP |
| Entry |
|---|
| International Search Report dated Apr. 9, 2013 filed in PCT/JP2013/052851. |
| Extended European Search Report dated Oct. 7, 2015 issued in the corresponding European patent application No. 13746052.3. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20150001254 A1 | Jan 2015 | US |
