Liquid jetting device

Abstract

To provide a liquid jetting device improved in assemblability while suppressing reverse flow of a content into a cylinder.SOLUTION: A liquid jetting device 100 comprises: a mounting member 3 mounted to a container body C; a cylinder 1 drooping below the mounting member 3; a plunger body 11 provided so as to be vertically movable in the cylinder 1; a stem 6d erected above the plunger body 11 and provided so as to be vertically movable; and a head 30 having a nozzle for discharging a content and fitted to the upper part of the stem 6d so as to be pressed. The cylinder 1 is provided with an outside air introduction hole 1d for supplying outside air taken in through an upper end opening by means of negative pressure in the container body C into the container body C. The outside air introduction hole 1d can be opened / closed by an outside air introduction valve 5. An abutment 5c of the outside air introduction valve 5 with the cylinder 1 is displaced outside in a radial direction to be opened. Above the abutment 5c, a roughened surface 1r more rough than other parts of the outer surface of the cylinder 1 is provided.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a liquid ejector that is attached to the mouth of a container body and ejects the contents within the container body to the outside world. [Background technology]

[0002] As an example of a conventional liquid ejector, as shown in Patent Document 1, there is disclosed a liquid ejector that includes a mounting tubular part that is attached to the mouth of a container body and a cylinder that hangs down from the mounting tubular part, and has an air hole with a check valve provided at the top of a two-way flow path adaptor that is attached to the cylinder, and that can supply outside air taken in from the upper opening of the two-way flow path adaptor by using negative pressure within the container body through the air hole into the container body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-47354 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, in the liquid ejector of Patent Document 1, the material of the cylindrical valve member that functions as a check valve is selected based on compatibility with the contents, such as the degree of swelling caused by contact with the contents. Here, if a material with poor slipperiness is selected for the valve member for a cylinder made of polypropylene (PP), for example, the cylindrical valve member cannot be slid up to the top of the cylinder during assembly. In this case, there is a possibility of problems occurring, such as the pressure relief hole for releasing the internal pressure in the cylinder being hidden by the valve member, and there is room for improvement in this regard.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a liquid ejector that is easy to assemble while suppressing backflow of the contents into the cylinder. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the liquid ejector of the present disclosure comprises: [1] An attachment member to be attached to the mouth of the container body; a bottomed cylindrical cylinder that hangs down from the mounting member; a plunger body that is biased upward relative to the cylinder and is movable up and down within the cylinder; a stem that is provided upright toward the upper side of the plunger body and is movable up and down; a head portion which is attached to the upper portion of the stem in a depressable manner and has a nozzle for discharging the contents; Equipped with the cylinder is provided with an outside air introduction hole for supplying outside air taken in from an upper end opening by negative pressure in the container body into the container body, the outside air introduction hole being capable of being opened and closed by an outside air introduction valve; The outside air introduction valve is a cylindrical member that surrounds the cylinder from the radially outer side, and is opened when a contact portion of the outside air introduction valve with the cylinder is displaced radially outward, The cylinder is characterized in that a roughened region that is rougher than other portions of the outer surface of the cylinder is provided above the abutment portion on the outer surface of the cylinder.

[0007] The liquid ejector of the present invention further comprises: [2] In the configuration described in [1] above, it is preferable that the outside air introduction valve has a cylindrical valve body extending in the direction of the central axis of the cylinder with a gap between it and the cylinder, and the abutment portion is provided integrally with the valve body at the lower end of the valve body.

[0008] The liquid ejector of the present invention further comprises: [3] In the configuration described in [1] or [2] above, it is preferable that the roughened area is provided above the lower end of an inclined portion that is formed on the outer surface of the cylinder above the outside air inlet and inclines radially outward toward the top.

[0009] The liquid ejector of the present invention further comprises: [4] In the configuration described in [2] above, it is preferable that the outside air introduction valve further comprises a gasket which is a separate member from the valve body and is sandwiched between a flange extending radially outward from the upper end of the cylinder and the mouth of the container body, and an upper portion of the valve body is fitted into the inner edge portion of the gasket.

[0010] The liquid ejector of the present invention further comprises: [5] In any of the configurations described in [1] to [4] above, it is preferable that the cylinder has two circumferential protrusions protruding radially outward at a portion facing the outside air introduction valve, the two protrusions are connected by a surface which is a straight line or a curved line convex radially outward in a plan cross-sectional view, and the straight line or the curved line convex radially outward is positioned radially inward relative to the protrusion farthest from the central axis of the cylinder of the two protrusions. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a liquid ejector that is easy to assemble while suppressing backflow of the contents into the cylinder. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front cross-sectional view of a liquid ejector according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 2 is an enlarged front cross-sectional view of the outside air introduction valve area in FIG. 1. [Figure 3A] FIG. 2 is a front half cross-sectional view of a cylinder used in a liquid ejector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3B] FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of a roughened region in FIG. 3A. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2. [Diagram 5] 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of two protruding portions in FIG. 4. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] A liquid ejector 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings (FIGS. 1 to 5).

[0014] In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a cylinder having a flange 2 disposed at the upper end of the mouth C2 of the container body C via a packing PK, and hanging downward through the inside of the mouth C2 of the container body C from a mounting member 3 described later. The cylinder 1 includes a bottomed cylindrical cylinder body 1a, a pressure relief portion 1b whose inner surface expands radially outward at a height position below the center height of the cylinder body 1a, a valve seat 1e having a truncated cone side shape that reduces in diameter downward and on which the suction valve 10 is seated, and an outside air introduction hole 1d and a pressure relief hole 1c provided side by side at two positions, upper and lower, of the cylinder body 1a. The pressure relief portions 1b are formed at a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction, and are provided to relieve the liquid pressure in the cylinder 1 via the pressure relief portion 1b and the pressure relief hole 1c, thereby improving the liquid cut-off at the nozzle when the ejection of the contents is completed. In addition, by providing the pressure relief portion 1b, the air in the cylinder 1 can be collected into the container body C during priming, and priming can be performed appropriately. The outside air introduction hole 1d is provided to take in outside air into the container body C. That is, when the inside of the container body C becomes a negative pressure state, the outside air taken in from the upper end opening of the cylinder 1 is taken into the container body C via the outside air introduction hole 1d.

[0015] In this specification, claims, and drawings, the up-down direction means the upper and lower directions when the liquid ejector 100 is attached to the container body C and in an upright position as shown in Fig. 1. Therefore, even when the liquid ejector 100 is in an inverted position, the direction from the cylinder 1 toward the head unit 30 is the upper direction, and the direction from the head unit 30 toward the cylinder 1 is the lower direction. In addition, the radially outward direction means the direction away from the central axis O along a straight line that passes through the central axis O of the liquid ejector 100 and the cylinder 1 in Fig. 1 and is perpendicular to the central axis O, and the radially inward direction means the direction toward the central axis O along that straight line.

[0016] 1 shows a state before the user presses the pressing member 8, and the right side of the central axis O shows a state when the user presses the pressing member 8.

[0017] In this embodiment, the container body C is formed by extrusion blow molding a synthetic resin material. Alternatively, a glass container or the like may be used for the container body C.

[0018] Reference numeral 5 denotes an outside air introduction valve that covers the above-mentioned outside air introduction hole 1d from the radial outside. As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the outside air introduction valve 5 is a member having a cylindrical shape, and includes a valve body 5a that extends in the vertical direction along the cylinder main body 1a, and a flange portion 5b that is integrally formed with the valve body 5a and protrudes radially outward from the upper end of the valve body 5a. In addition, a contact portion 5c is provided at the lower end of the valve body 5a, which contacts the outer circumferential surface of the cylinder 1 when the outside air introduction valve 5 is closed. The outside air introduction valve 5 further includes a packing PK that is a separate member from the valve body 5a, which will be described later.

[0019] Further, an annular projection 5a1 that projects slightly radially outward is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the valve body 5a. As shown in FIG. 1, the flange portion 5b is sandwiched between the flange 2 of the cylinder 1 and the packing PK, and the inner edge of the packing PK is undercut-engaged with the annular projection 5a1. The valve body 5a is fitted into the inner edge of the packing PK. The valve body 5a of the outside air introduction valve 5 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 1 by the inner portion of the flange portion 5b engaging with the cylinder 1 and the flange portion 5b being sandwiched between the flange 2 and the packing PK.

[0020] For the material of the valve body 5a of the outside air introduction valve 5, it is preferable to use rubber such as ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) having a hardness of 50-70 degrees from the viewpoint of the elastic coefficient. However, when a rubber-based material such as EPDM is used for the valve body 5a, depending on the material of the cylinder 1 (for example, polypropylene (PP)), the sliding property between the valve body 5a and the cylinder 1 may be poor, and the valve body 5a may not be fitted to a predetermined height when sliding the valve body 5a from the bottom of FIG. 1 onto the cylinder 1. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3B, in order to secure a gap between the valve body 5a and the outer surface of the cylinder 1, an inclined portion 1s is provided on the outer surface of the cylinder 1, which is inclined radially outward toward the top. In order to fit the valve body 5a into the cylinder 1, it is necessary to pass the valve body 5a through the inclined portion 1s, which gradually expands in diameter, and fit it to the top, and the frictional force acting between the valve body 5a and the outer surface of the cylinder 1 has become a problem. If the valve body 5a cannot be fitted to a specified height in the cylinder 1, problems may occur such as the abutment portion 5c of the valve body 5a unintentionally covering the pressure relief hole 1c located below the outside air inlet hole 1d.

[0021] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3A, and FIG. 3B, a roughened area 1r that is rougher than other parts of the outer surface of the cylinder 1 is provided further above the outside air introduction hole 1d provided above the abutment portion 5c (the roughened area 1r is shown as a shaded area on the left side of the central axis O in FIG. 3A, and is shown by a thick line in the cross-sectional view on the right side of the central axis O). The roughened area 1r is provided above the lower end of the inclined portion 1s that is formed directly above the outside air introduction hole 1d in FIG. 3B and inclined radially outward toward the upper side. The roughened area 1r may be provided only in a part of the area above the lower end of the inclined portion 1s. The roughened area 1r is preferably provided at least at a height position where the inner surface of the valve body 5a engages, but is also preferably provided below the height position where the inner surface of the valve body 5a engages. The roughened area 1r is provided in the area excluding the flange 2 in FIG. 3B, but may be provided over the flange 2. In this embodiment, the flange 2 refers to a portion of the cylinder 1 that extends radially outward from the upper end portion thereof.

[0022] The roughened region 1r may be rougher than the outer surface of the cylinder 1 at a height position between the pressure relief hole 1c and the outside air introduction hole 1d in FIG. 3A (excluding the circumferential position where the protrusion 1f described later is provided). The roughened region 1r may be rougher than the portion of the outer surface of the large diameter portion 1h (excluding the flange 2) including the height position where the pressure relief hole 1c and the outside air introduction hole 1d are provided in the cylinder 1 shown in FIG. 3A other than the roughened region 1r. The roughened region 1r may be rougher than the outer surface of the cylinder 1 at the medium diameter portion 1j below the pressure relief hole 1c in FIG. 3A. The roughened region 1r may be rougher than the outer surface of the cylinder 1 at the small diameter portion 1k below the medium diameter portion 1j in FIG. 3A. The roughened region 1r may be rougher than all of the large diameter portion 1h, the medium diameter portion 1j, and the small diameter portion 1k of the cylinder 1 in FIG. 3A other than the roughened region 1r.

[0023] The roughened region 1r can be formed, for example, by performing a mechanical treatment such as blasting, a physical treatment such as plasma or laser treatment, or a chemical treatment such as wet etching on a predetermined region of the outer surface of the cylinder 1. Alternatively, the roughened region 1r may be formed by roughening the wall surface of a cavity corresponding to the roughened region 1r in a mold for forming the cylinder 1 by performing the above-mentioned blasting or the like, and transferring the roughened wall surface of the mold to the cylinder 1 side.

[0024] By providing the roughened region 1r with a predetermined surface roughness, the frictional force between the valve body 5a and the outer surface of the cylinder 1 can be reduced, making it easier to attach the valve body 5a to the cylinder 1 at a predetermined height position.

[0025] This roughened region 1r can be formed, for example, by blasting the wall surface of the roughened region 1r or a cavity in the mold corresponding to the roughened region 1r with an abrasive of a predetermined grain size.

[0026] Furthermore, depending on the nature of the contents, the contents may come into contact with the valve body 5a, causing the valve body 5a to shrink, which may prevent outside air from being smoothly introduced through the outside air introduction hole 1d.

[0027] 2 and 4 to 5, in this embodiment, a protrusion 1f is provided that protrudes radially outward from the outer surface of the cylinder body 1a at a height position facing the abutment portion 5c of the outside air introduction valve 5 in the cylinder 1. In this embodiment, the protrusions 1f extend in the up-down direction and are provided at two locations in the circumferential direction, and are disposed at equal radial distances from the central axis O of the cylinder 1. In other words, the distances from the central axis O of the cylinder 1 to the radially outermost edges of the protrusions 1f at two locations are configured to be equal.

[0028] The two protrusions 1f are connected by a connecting surface 1g that is a straight line in a planar cross-sectional view (see Figs. 4 and 5). With this configuration, the connecting surface 1g is located radially inward from the radially outermost end of the protrusion 1f. That is, as shown in Fig. 5, the distance D2 from the central axis O to the connecting surface 1g is shorter than the distance D1 from the central axis O to the radially outermost end of the protrusion 1f. The distance D2 from the central axis O to the connecting surface 1g is the longest at a position on the connecting surface 1g adjacent to the protrusion 1f, but is also shorter at that circumferential position than the distance D1 from the central axis O to the radially outermost end of the protrusion 1f. Therefore, a gap is likely to occur between the outer surface of the cylinder 1 and the outside air introduction valve 5 at the circumferential position where the connecting surface 1g is provided. With this configuration, even if the outside air introduction valve 5 unintentionally contracts, outside air can be easily introduced into the container body C through the gap between the cylinder 1 and the outside air introduction valve 5 at the circumferential position where the connecting surface 1g is provided. In addition, in Fig. 5, when the outside air introduction valve 5 abuts against the protrusion 1f, the outer surface of the outside air introduction valve 5 elastically deforms radially outward to form the protrusion 5f.

[0029] In this embodiment, the two protrusions 1f are connected by a connecting surface 1g that is a straight line in a planar cross section, but the present invention is not limited to this. The connecting surface 1g may be, for example, a curved surface that is convex radially outward in a planar cross section. In this case, the connecting surface 1g may be located radially inward from the radially outermost end of the protrusion 1f, and may be, for example, a cylindrical surface having a radius of curvature larger than the radial position of the radially outermost end of the protrusion 1f.

[0030] In addition, the radially outermost ends of the two protrusions 1f may be located at different radial positions, in which case the connecting surface 1g only needs to be located radially inward from the outermost edge of the protrusion 1f that is farther from the central axis O of the cylinder 1 when viewed in a plane.

[0031] The two protrusions 1f are disposed adjacent to the outside air introduction hole 1d in the circumferential direction and are disposed at circumferentially symmetrical positions with respect to the central axis of the outside air introduction hole 1d. With this configuration, it is possible to provide an equal gap between the outer surface of the cylinder 1 and the outside air introduction valve 5 on both circumferential sides of the outside air introduction hole 1d. Therefore, it is possible to easily introduce outside air into the container body C through the gap.

[0032] In the present specification and claims, "arranged adjacent to the outside air introduction hole 1d in the circumferential direction" means that the angle formed in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis of the outside air introduction hole 1d is within 90 degrees. For example, if the protrusion 1f is arranged at a position facing the outside air introduction hole 1d in the circumferential direction, the effect of making it easier to take in outside air through the outside air introduction hole 1d is difficult to obtain even if the protrusion 1f is provided. In addition, as in this embodiment, when a gap is formed between the valve body 5a and the cylinder 1, the outside air introduction hole 1d can be provided at a position shifted in the circumferential direction from the two protrusions 1f, and for example, the outside air introduction hole 1d may not be located in a circumferential position between the two protrusions 1f. Even in this case, it is preferable that the angle formed in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis of the outside air introduction hole 1d is within 90 degrees.

[0033] In this embodiment, the outside air introduction valve 5 has a cylindrical valve body 5a extending in the direction of the central axis O of the cylinder 1 with a gap provided between it and the cylinder 1, and an abutment portion 5c continuing below the valve body 5a and inclining radially inward, and the two protrusions 1f are provided at a height position of the abutment portion 5c of the cylinder 1 on the outside air introduction valve 5 (see FIG. 2). This configuration makes it easy for a gap to be generated between the outer surface of the cylinder 1 and the abutment portion 5c of the outside air introduction valve 5, making it easy to introduce outside air into the container body C through the gap.

[0034] Furthermore, the two protrusions 1f extend downward from the height position of the outside air introduction hole 1d to the abutment part 5c (see FIG. 2). With this configuration, for example, even if the outside air introduction valve 5 contracts and the abutment part 5c moves upward, the abutment part 5c can be reliably positioned at the height position of the protrusions 1f. Furthermore, by forming the protrusions 1f at the height position of the outside air introduction hole 1d, for example, even if the outside air introduction hole 1d is blocked by the contraction of the outside air introduction valve 5, it is possible to easily introduce outside air into the container body C.

[0035] In this embodiment, the two protrusions 1f are provided at both the height of the contact portion 5c and the height of the outside air introduction hole 1d, but they may be provided at only one of the heights, or at a different height. The two protrusions 1f do not have to be disposed symmetrically in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis of the outside air introduction hole 1d.

[0036] In this embodiment, the protrusions 1f are provided at two positions aligned in the circumferential direction on the outer surface of the cylinder 1, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The protrusions 1f may be provided at three or more positions on the outer surface of the cylinder 1. For example, two additional protrusions 1f may be provided at positions facing the two protrusions 1f shown in FIG. 5 in the circumferential direction, and the additional two protrusions 1f may be connected by a similar connecting surface 1g. In addition, the protrusions 1f may be arranged at three or more adjacent positions in the circumferential direction, and a similar connecting surface 1g may be provided between the adjacent protrusions 1f. In the present disclosure, it is sufficient that the protrusions 1f are provided at least at two positions in the circumferential direction on the outer surface of the cylinder 1.

[0037] Reference numeral 3 denotes an attachment member having a top wall 4 for fixing the flange 2 between itself and the mouth C2, and a peripheral wall 4a that stands up from the upper surface of the top wall 4. The attachment member 3 has a threaded portion 3S on its inside, and is detachably attached to the mouth C2 of the container body C. Note that instead of the threaded portion 3S, an engagement protrusion protruding radially inward from the peripheral wall may be provided so that the attachment to the container body C can be made by plugging.

[0038] The head portion 30 of the liquid ejector 100 according to this embodiment includes a pressing member 8 and a nozzle tip 12, and the contents stored in the cylinder 1 are pressure-fed to the head portion 30 by pressing the pressing member 8 down.

[0039] The pressing member 8 includes an outer peripheral wall 8d, an inner peripheral wall 8e that is provided radially inside the outer peripheral wall 8d and forms a recess 8a, a nozzle accommodating portion 8c that accommodates the nozzle tip 12 therein, and a fitting recess 8f into which the stem 6d is fitted. The contents are pumped into the pressing member 8 through the recess 8a.

[0040] Reference numeral 6 denotes a head base which is an integrated unit of a sub-cylinder 6a, a horizontal wall 6b extending radially inward from the sub-cylinder 6a, and a stem 6d standing from the inner circumferential side of the horizontal wall 6b. As shown in Fig. 1, the sub-cylinder 6a has an inner diameter larger than the inner diameter of the cylinder body 1a in the region where the first piston 11d slides. A protrusion 6c is formed at the inner circumferential end of the horizontal wall 6b in the head base 6, which protrudes radially inward and is abutted against a plunger body 11 described later to close the discharge port A2.

[0041] As described later, the pressure inside the cylinder 1 increases as the stem 6d and the plunger body 11 subsequently descend due to the downward movement of the pressing member 8, and the area of ​​the second piston 11g that receives the pressure is larger than that of the first piston 11d of the plunger body 11, and the difference in the pressure receiving area causes the plunger body 11 to move further downward relative to the stem 6d. This opens the discharge valve 15 consisting of the protrusion 6c of the head base 6 and the inclined portion 11b (valve seat) of the plunger body 11.

[0042] The head base 6 is a cylindrical member that is disposed radially outward of the plunger body 11 and is provided so as to be vertically movable, forming the above-mentioned discharge valve 15 between the plunger body 11 and the head base 6. The discharge valve 15 allows communication between the inside of the cylinder 1 and the nozzle by the downward displacement of the plunger body 11 relative to the head base 6.

[0043] 1, a stem 6d is erected facing upwardly of the plunger body 11. The inner peripheral surface of the upper end portion of the stem 6d is fitted into a fitting recess 8f of the pressing member 8 and fixed to the pressing member 8.

[0044] A liquid flow path L is formed below the inclined portion 11b of the plunger body 11. The liquid flow path L is formed at a circumferential position between flow path ribs 11e that protrude radially outward below the inclined portion 11b. As will be described later, the compressed content in the cylinder 1 is pressure-fed upward through the liquid flow path L and sent to the discharge port A2.

[0045] A first piston 11d that slides on the inner surface of the cylinder body 1a of the cylinder 1 is provided at the lower part of the plunger body 11. In this embodiment, the first piston 11d and the second piston 11g are integrally formed.

[0046] 1, the space above the second piston 11g and the space below the first piston 11d are connected by a liquid flow path L. This allows the pressure inside the cylinder 1 to be maintained approximately equal, and the content compressed inside the cylinder 1 is discharged from the discharge hole 12a via the liquid flow path L and the discharge port A2.

[0047] Reference numeral 10 denotes a suction valve which opens and closes a suction port A1 formed at the bottom end of the cylinder 1 in response to the up and down movement of a plunger body 11. In this embodiment, the suction valve 10 is formed of a ball valve.

[0048] The plunger body 11 is biased upward relative to the cylinder 1 by a spring SP. The plunger body 11 is also movable up and down relative to the cylinder 1. By pressing down the pressing member 8 of the head portion 30 attached above the plunger body 11, the stem 6d and the plunger body 11 move downward, and then the plunger body 11 moves downward due to the difference in pressure-receiving area between the first piston 11d and the second piston 11g described above. When the plunger body 11 moves downward, the space below the first piston 11d in the cylinder 1 is compressed, increasing the pressure inside the cylinder 1.

[0049] A nozzle tip 12 is fitted to the pressing member 8. A discharge hole 12a for ejecting the contents is formed in the nozzle tip 12. This discharge hole 12a is made up of a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion, and can increase the flow rate of the pressure-fed contents to eject them to the outside.

[0050] The liquid ejector 100 is provided with a cover member 50 that surrounds the head portion 30 from above and from the radially outer side (shown by imaginary lines (two-dot chain lines) in FIG. 1). The cover member 50 is provided with a cylindrical peripheral wall 51 and a top wall 53 that closes the upper end of the peripheral wall 51, and is formed in a topped cylindrical shape. The outer surface of the peripheral wall 4a of the mounting member 3 fits into the inner surface of the lower end of the peripheral wall 51, so that the cover member 50 is detachably mounted to the mounting member 3.

[0051] Each member constituting the liquid ejector 100 can be made of, for example, synthetic resin or metal.

[0052] When a user uses the contents in the liquid ejector 100 having the configuration shown in Fig. 1, he or she first grasps the body of the container body C in Fig. 1 with one hand, grasps the peripheral wall 51 of the cover member 50 with the other hand, and pulls the cover member 50 upward. This exposes the head portion 30, making it possible to eject the contents.

[0053] Next, the user presses the pressing member 8 of the head part 30 downward with the cover member 50 removed. When the pressing member 8 is pressed down, the stem 6d fitted in the fitting recess 8f of the pressing member 8 is pressed down, and the plunger body 11 is also pressed down, increasing the pressure in the cylinder 1. Then, due to the difference in the pressure-receiving areas of the first piston 11d and the second piston 11g, the plunger body 11 moves further downward relative to the head base part 6 due to the difference in the pressing force from below and the pressing force from above acting on the plunger body 11, and the discharge valve 15 consisting of the protrusion 6c and the inclined part 11b is opened (see the right half of FIG. 1). As a result, the space below the first piston 11d is compressed, and the contents in the cylinder 1, whose pressure has been increased, pass through the liquid flow path L and the discharge port A2 and are discharged from the discharge hole 12a.

[0054] When the user further presses the pressing member 8, the plunger body 11 continues to move downward relative to the head base 6 while the discharge valve 15 remains open. Eventually, the second piston 11g integrally provided on the plunger body 11 comes into contact with the step 9b of the seal member 9 fixed to the pressing member 8 and the head base 6 by the fitting portion 9c (see the right half of FIG. 1). This restricts further downward relative movement of the plunger body 11 with respect to the head base 6 fixed to the seal member 9. Therefore, even if a downward force acts on the plunger body 11 due to the pressing of the pressing member 8, the second piston 11g of the plunger body 11 comes into contact with the step 9b of the seal member 9 as shown in the right half of FIG. 1, and the plunger body 11 does not move excessively downward. Therefore, even if the pressing member 8 is pressed down vigorously, the plunger body 11 reaches the pressure relief portion 1b earlier than when it is pressed down at a normal speed, which is a disadvantage in that the ejection amount is greatly reduced.

[0055] When the pressing member 8 is pushed down to the lower limit of the movable range (see the right half of FIG. 1), the first piston 11d of the plunger body 11 reaches a position covering the pressure relief portion 1b of the cylinder 1. This releases the liquid pressure inside the cylinder 1 via the pressure relief portion 1b and the pressure relief hole 1c. By releasing the liquid pressure inside the cylinder 1, the downward pushing force acting on the plunger body 11 is also released, and the plunger body 11 is displaced upward by the urging force of the spring SP, the corner of the protrusion 6c is seated on the inclined portion 11b, and the discharge valve 15 is closed. This stops the ejection of the contents from the discharge hole 12a of the nozzle tip 12. In addition, since the liquid pressure inside the cylinder 1 is suddenly released, the ejection of the contents can be finished smoothly.

[0056] When the user finishes using the contents and stops pressing the pressing member 8, the plunger body 11, which had been displaced downward in the cylinder 1, is urged upward by the restoring force of the spring SP and rises to the position shown in the left half of Fig. 1. As the plunger body 11 rises, the volume inside the cylinder 1 increases and negative pressure is generated, and the suction valve 10 seated on the valve seat 1e rises and opens, and the contents inside the container body C are introduced into the cylinder 1 from the pipe 213 via the relay port 205a, the communication passage R3, and the suction port A1. The introduced contents are pressurized inside the cylinder 1 by the next pressing of the pressing member 8, and are discharged from the discharge hole 12a via the liquid flow path L, the discharge port A2, and the nozzle.

[0057] When a user uses the contents in the container body C by pressing the pressing member 8, the remaining amount of the contents in the storage space S decreases, and a negative pressure is applied inside the container body C. This negative pressure causes the abutment portion 5c at the lower end of the valve body 5a of the outside air introduction valve 5 to separate from the cylinder body 1a, opening the outside air introduction hole 1d.

[0058] When the outside air introduction hole 1d is opened, the outside air introduced from the gap between the outer peripheral wall 8d of the pressing member 8 and the peripheral wall 4a of the mounting member 3 is introduced into the container body C from the outside air introduction hole 1d through the gap between the sliding part 9a of the seal member 9 opened by the negative pressure and the cylinder 1. In this embodiment, at a height position facing the abutting part 5c of the cylinder 1, protrusions 1f protruding radially outward are provided at two points in the circumferential direction, and the two protrusions 1f are connected in the circumferential direction by a connecting surface 1g that is a straight line in a plan cross-sectional view. With this configuration, the connecting surface 1g is located radially inward from the radially outermost end of the protrusion 1f. Therefore, even if the outside air introduction valve 5 unintentionally contracts, a gap is likely to occur between the cylinder 1 and the outside air introduction valve 5 at the circumferential position where the connecting surface 1g is provided. With this configuration, even if the inner diameter of the valve body 5a of the outside air introduction valve 5 is too small compared to the outer diameter of the cylinder body 1a due to dimensional tolerances, or if the valve body 5a shrinks upon contact with the contents, it is possible to easily introduce outside air into the container body C through the gap between the cylinder 1 and the outside air introduction valve 5 at the circumferential position where the connecting surface 1g is provided.

[0059] Depending on the nature of the contents, the outside air introduction valve 5 may swell, and the circumferential length of the abutment portion 5c may become too long compared to the outer diameter of the cylinder body 1a. In this case, the tightening margin between the swollen valve body 5a and the cylinder body 1a when the outside air introduction valve 5 is closed may become small or a gap may be formed, causing the contents to leak to the outside through the outside air introduction hole 1d. In order to prevent the occurrence of such a problem, the initial (before swelling) tightening margin is increased and the abutment portion 5c is brought into strong contact with the cylinder body 1a, so that the contents can be properly sealed even after swelling, thereby preventing leakage of the contents. However, it is considered that the initial tightening margin is increased and the abutment portion 5c is brought into strong contact with the cylinder body 1a, making it difficult to take in outside air at the initial stage. Even in such a case, by adopting this embodiment, it is possible to achieve both proper sealing (sealing) and taking in outside air even after the outside air introduction valve 5 swells.

[0060] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, a normal / inverted adapter 201 is provided at the bottom of the cylinder 1 to enable the liquid jetting device 100 and the container body C to jet out the contents even when the liquid jetting device 100 and the container body C are in an inverted position. The normal / inverted adapter 201 includes a cylindrical adapter tube 201a and a main body tube portion 210, and when the liquid jetting device 100 is in an upright position, the switching valve 225 is seated on the normal valve seat 205b of the valve seat member 205 to block communication between the inverted introduction hole 221 and the communication passage R3. When the pressure inside the cylinder 1 becomes negative, the space above the switching valve 227 also becomes negative through the communication passage R3 and the relay port 205a, so that the switching valve 227 is separated upward from the valve body support portion 201b and opened. As a result, the contents in the container body C flow into the cylinder 1 through the pipe 213 attached to the mounting tube portion 201c, the relay port 205a in the forward and inverted adapter 201, and the communication passage R3. In this embodiment, the relay port 205a is provided at only one location in the circumferential direction. With this configuration, the cross-sectional area of ​​the flow path at the relay port 205a can be made smaller than when multiple relay ports 205a are provided.

[0061] On the other hand, when the liquid jetting device 100 is in the inverted position, the lower end of the pipe 213 protrudes from the liquid surface of the contents, but the inverted introduction hole 221 is located in the contents and the switching valve 225 moves upward by its own weight and opens. Also, the switching valve 227 moves upward by its own weight and sits on the inverted valve seat 205c, preventing air from flowing into the cylinder 1 through the pipe 213. As a result, the inverted introduction hole 221 and the communication passage R3 communicate within the normal and inverted adapter 201, and the contents in the container body C flow from the inverted introduction hole 221 through the relay port 205a and the communication passage R3 in the normal and inverted adapter 201 into the cylinder 1.

[0062] In this embodiment, as described above, the cylindrical outside air introduction valve 5 is attached to the radially outer side of the outside air introduction hole 1d. This makes it possible to prevent the contents from flowing back through the outside air introduction hole 1d and entering the cylinder 1 even when the liquid ejector 100 is in an inverted position and the contents are used.

[0063] Even in the case of a liquid jetting device 100 that is not equipped with a forward and inverted adapter 201, there is a possibility that the contents may flow back through the outside air introduction hole 1d when the liquid jetting device 100 is temporarily placed in an inverted position or when the contents are filled beyond the outside air introduction hole 1d. Therefore, the outside air introduction valve 5 of this embodiment can be used even in the case of a liquid jetting device 100 that is not equipped with a forward and inverted adapter 201.

[0064] As described above, this embodiment includes the mounting member 3 that is mounted on the mouth portion C2 of the container body C, the bottomed cylindrical cylinder 1 that hangs down from the mounting member 3, the plunger body 11 that is biased upward relative to the cylinder 1 and is provided so as to be vertically movable within the cylinder 1, the stem 6d that is provided upright above the plunger body 11 and is provided so as to be vertically movable, and the head portion 30 that is attached to the upper portion of the stem 6d in a depressible manner and has a nozzle (nozzle tip 12) that dispenses the contents. An outside air inlet 1d is provided to supply the outside air taken in from the upper end opening into the container body C by the negative pressure in the container body C, and the outside air inlet 1d can be opened and closed by the outside air inlet valve 5. The outside air inlet valve 5 is a cylindrical member surrounding the cylinder 1 from the outside in the radial direction, and is opened by displacing the contact part 5c of the outside air inlet valve 5 with the cylinder 1 outward in the radial direction, and a roughened area 1r that is rougher than other parts on the outer surface of the cylinder 1 is provided above the contact part 5c on the outer surface of the cylinder 1. By adopting such a configuration, even if the sliding property between the cylinder 1 and the valve body 5a is poor, when the valve body 5a is slid from below in FIG. 1 and attached to the cylinder 1, the contact area between the valve body 5a and the cylinder 1 can be reduced by the roughened area 1r provided on the cylinder 1 side. Therefore, when the valve body 5a is slid from below and attached to the cylinder 1, the frictional force between the valve body 5a and the outer surface of the cylinder 1 can be reduced. Therefore, the valve body 5a can be easily fitted into the cylinder 1 to a predetermined height.

[0065] In this embodiment, the outside air introduction valve 5 is configured to have a cylindrical valve body 5a extending in the direction of the central axis O of the cylinder 1 with a gap provided between the cylinder 1 and the valve body 5a, and an abutment part 5c provided integrally with the valve body 5a at the lower end of the valve body 5a. By adopting such a configuration, the abutment part 5c is provided at the lower end of the cylindrical valve body 5a, so that the abutment part 5c is separated from the cylinder 1 with a relatively small pressure difference and the outside air introduction hole 1d is opened. Therefore, it is possible to provide a liquid ejector 100 that can easily take in outside air into the container body C through the outside air introduction hole 1d while suppressing the backflow of the contents into the cylinder 1.

[0066] In this embodiment, the roughened area 1r is configured to be provided from the lower end of the inclined portion 1s, which is formed on the outer surface of the cylinder 1 above the outside air introduction hole 1d and inclined radially outward toward the upper side. Conventionally, when the valve body 5a is slid from the bottom of FIG. 1 to be attached to the cylinder 1, the diameter of the cylinder 1 expands when the valve body 5a passes through the inclined portion 1s, which inclines radially outward toward the upper side, and the frictional force between the valve body 5a and the cylinder 1 increases. In this embodiment, the roughened area 1r is provided from the lower end of the inclined portion 1s upward, so that the frictional force when the valve body 5a passes through the inclined portion 1s can be reduced. Therefore, the valve body 5a can be easily fitted to a predetermined height in the cylinder 1.

[0067] In this embodiment, the outside air introduction valve 5 further includes a packing PK, which is a separate member from the valve body 5a and is sandwiched between the flange 2 extending radially outward from the upper end of the cylinder 1 and the mouth part C2 of the container body C, and is configured so that the upper part of the valve body 5a fits into the inner edge part of the packing PK. By adopting such a configuration, the upper part of the valve body 5a fits into the inner edge part of the packing PK, which is firmly sandwiched between the flange 2 and the mouth part C2 of the container body C, so that the upper part of the valve body 5a can be firmly fixed between the cylinder 1 and the packing PK.

[0068] In this embodiment, the cylinder 1 is provided with two circumferential projections 1f protruding radially outward at a portion facing the outside air introduction valve 5, and the two projections 1f are connected by a surface (connecting surface 1g) that is a straight line or a curved line convex radially outward in a planar cross-sectional view, and the straight line or the curved line convex radially outward is arranged radially inward relative to the projection 1f farther from the central axis O of the cylinder 1 among the two projections 1f. By adopting such a configuration, the connecting surface 1g is located radially inward relative to the radially outermost end of the projection 1f, so that a gap is easily generated between the outer surface of the cylinder 1 and the outside air introduction valve 5 at the circumferential position where the connecting surface 1g is provided. Therefore, even if the outside air introduction valve 5 unintentionally contracts, it is possible to easily introduce outside air into the container body C through the gap between the cylinder 1 and the outside air introduction valve 5 at the circumferential position where the connecting surface 1g is provided. Therefore, the decompression condition on the container body C side for introducing outside air into the container body C via the outside air introduction hole 1d is relaxed. Therefore, it is possible to provide a liquid ejector 100 that can easily take in outside air into the container body C through the outside air introduction hole 1d while suppressing backflow of the contents into the cylinder 1. This configuration can suppress the problem of a decrease in the amount of the contents discharged.

[0069] Although the present disclosure has been described based on the drawings and embodiments, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can easily make various modifications and corrections based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and corrections are included in the scope of the present invention. For example, the functions included in each component can be rearranged so as not to cause logical inconsistency, and multiple components can be combined into one or divided. It should be understood that these are also included in the scope of the present invention.

[0070] For example, in this embodiment, the liquid ejector 100 is unitized in advance, but according to the present disclosure, it is also possible to assemble individual parts to the container body C without unitizing it.

[0071] In addition, in this embodiment, the first piston 11d and the second piston 11g are configured to be formed integrally, but this is not limited to the above, and the first piston 11d and the second piston 11g may be configured to be included in separate parts. [Industrial Applicability]

[0072] The present disclosure can be employed as a liquid ejector 100 in the fields of cosmetics such as lotions and hair styling products, medicines such as insect repellents, and beauty and health products, for example. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 1 cylinder 1a Cylinder body 1b Pressure relief section 1c Pressure relief hole 1d Air intake hole 1e Valve seat 1f protrusion 1g connection surface 1h Large diameter section 1j Medium diameter part 1k small diameter section 1r Roughened area 1s slope 2 Flanges 3 Mounting material 3S Threaded Part 4. Ceiling Wall 4a Peripheral wall 5. Fresh air intake valve 5a Valve body 5a1 Annular protrusion 5b Flange part 5c Contact part 5f protrusion 6 Head Base 6a Sub cylinder 6b horizontal wall 6c protrusion 6d stem 8 Pressing member 8a Recess 8c Nozzle housing 8d outer wall 8e Inner wall 8f Fitting recess 9. Sealing material 9a Sliding part 9b Stepped section 9c Mating part 10. Intake valve 11 Plunger body 11b Inclined part (valve seat) 11d First piston 11e Flow path rib 11g 2nd piston 12 Nozzle tip (nozzle) 12a Discharge hole 15 Exhaust valve 30 Head section 50 Cover member 51 Peripheral wall 53 Top Wall 100 liquid squirt 201 Forward and inverted adapter 201a Adapter tube 201b Valve body support part 201c Mounting tube 205 Valve seat material 205a Relay Exit 205b Upright valve seat 205c Valve seat when inverted 210 Main body cylinder 213 Pipe 221 Introduction hole 225 Switching valve 227 Switching valve A1 Intake port A2 outlet C Container body C2 Mouth L Liquid flow path O center axis PK packing R3 communication path S Storage space SP Spring

Claims

1. An attachment member to be attached to the mouth of the container body; a bottomed cylindrical cylinder that hangs down from the mounting member; a plunger body that is biased upward relative to the cylinder and is movable up and down within the cylinder; a stem that is provided upright toward the upper side of the plunger body and is movable up and down; a head portion which is attached to the upper portion of the stem in a depressable manner and has a nozzle for discharging the contents; Equipped with the cylinder is provided with an outside air introduction hole for supplying outside air taken in from an upper end opening by negative pressure in the container body into the container body, the outside air introduction hole being capable of being opened and closed by an outside air introduction valve; The outside air introduction valve is a cylindrical member that surrounds the cylinder from the radially outer side, and is opened when a contact portion of the outside air introduction valve with the cylinder is displaced radially outward, A liquid ejector, comprising: an outer surface of the cylinder, above the contact portion, and provided with a roughened area that is rougher than other areas of the outer surface of the cylinder.

2. 2. The liquid ejector according to claim 1, wherein the outside air introduction valve has a cylindrical valve body extending in the direction of a central axis of the cylinder with a gap provided between the valve body and the cylinder, and the abutment portion is provided integrally with the valve body at a lower end of the valve body.

3. 3. The liquid ejector according to claim 1, wherein the roughened area is provided above a lower end of an inclined portion formed on the outer surface of the cylinder above the outside air inlet hole, the inclined portion inclining radially outward toward the upper side.

4. 3. The liquid ejector of claim 2, wherein the outside air introduction valve further comprises a gasket that is a separate member from the valve body and is sandwiched between a flange extending radially outward from the upper end of the cylinder and the mouth of the container body, and an upper portion of the valve body is fitted into an inner edge portion of the gasket.

5. a projection protruding radially outward is provided at two circumferential positions in a portion of the cylinder facing the outside air introduction valve, and the two projections are connected by a surface that is a straight line or a curved line that is convex radially outward in a planar cross-sectional view, 3. The liquid ejector according to claim 1, wherein the straight line or the curved line that is convex outward in the radial direction is disposed radially inward of one of the two protrusions that is farther from a central axis of the cylinder.

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