Valve type liquid material dispensing device

Abstract

A valve-type liquid material dispensing device comprising: a liquid material container shaft; a valve holder mounted on a distal end portion of the liquid material container shaft; a valve unit disposed within a range from the distal end portion of the liquid material container shaft to the valve holder; a core fixed to the valve unit and projecting from the valve holder;and a cap mounted on the valve holder, wherein an upper end portion of the liquid material container stem is reduced in diameter, a locking ring is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the upper end portion of the liquid material container stem, a locking piece directed inward is formed on a lower end surface of the valve holder, wherein the locking piece is pushed upward and folded by the locking ring when the valve holder is mounted on the distal end portion of the liquid material container stem, wherein the locking piece is locked by the locking ring when the locking piece is further pushed and passes over the locking ring, and the locking piece has a pivot structure in which a foot of the locking piece is reduced in thickness.;

Description

TECHNOLOGICAL AREA

[0001] The present invention relates to a valve-type liquid material dispensing device, and more particularly relates to a valve-type liquid material dispensing device that can be applied to a writing instrument such as a direct liquid marker provided with a valve mechanism, or to a cosmetic device, a medical device, or other liquid coating devices that can store a sufficient amount of liquid material such as ink, a cosmetic liquid, a liquid chemical, or a coating material, and that allows a liquid material to permeate a core as required for writing or application. BACKGROUND

[0002] Writing instruments, such as markers, are roughly classified into a cotton-tipped type, in which an ink-soaked cotton is filled into a barrel, and a direct-fluid type (raw ink type), in which ink is directly injected into the barrel. Of these types, the cotton-tipped type has the disadvantage that once the tip of a core dries out, it takes time for ink to soak into the core to a degree that allows writing again. In addition, when writing is performed quickly, ink soaking cannot keep up with the rapid writing, resulting in unclear letters. For this reason, the direct-fluid type, which does not have such a flaw, has recently become popular.

[0003] In the case of the direct-liquid type, there is a possibility that ink will excessively soak into a core, causing what is known as ink dripping. For this reason, the valve type is widely used, in which a core is soaked with ink via a valve mechanism that opens when the core is pressed. In this conventional valve-type marker, a valve mechanism to which a core is attached is arranged in a valve holder. The valve holder is generally screwed onto a liquid material container shaft, and an adhesive is applied to the screw portion to prevent disassembly. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-6668 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-87422 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-342950 OVERVIEW

[0004] As described above, in the case of the conventional valve-type marking pen, a method is adopted in which the valve holder is attached to the liquid material container shaft by screwing, and further, an adhesive is applied to the screw portion to prevent disassembly, and therefore, there is a problem that manufacturing labor is required for such steps. The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a valve-type marking pen and other valve-type liquid material dispensing devices in which a valve holder can be easily and quickly installed on a liquid material container shaft. [Means of solving the problems]

[0005] The invention described in claim 1 for solving the above-mentioned problem includes: a liquid material container shaft; a valve holder mounted on a distal end portion of the liquid material container shaft; a valve unit disposed within a range from the distal end portion of the liquid material container shaft to the valve holder; a core fixed to the valve unit and protruding from the valve holder;and a cap mounted on the valve holder, wherein an upper end portion of the liquid material container stem is reduced in diameter, a locking ring is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the upper end portion of the liquid material container stem, a locking piece directed inward is formed on a lower end surface of the valve holder, wherein the locking piece is pushed upward and folded by the locking ring when the valve holder is attached to the distal end portion of the liquid material container stem, wherein the locking piece is locked by the locking ring when the locking piece is further pushed and passes over the locking ring, and the locking piece has a pivot structure in which a foot of the locking piece is reduced in thickness.;

[0006] In one embodiment, the locking piece is provided at eight positions.

[0007] The valve-type liquid material dispensing device according to the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, and therefore, the valve holder can be easily and quickly mounted on the liquid material container stem by merely sliding the valve holder, requiring neither screws nor labor for applying an adhesive, and therefore, it is possible to obtain an advantageous effect of being able to reduce manufacturing labor and manufacturing costs. SHORT DESCRIPTION Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a valve-type liquid material dispenser according to the present invention with the cap removed. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the valve type liquid material dispensing apparatus according to the present invention. Fig. 3 shows a partial cross-sectional front view, a side view, a cross-sectional view taken along a line CC and a detail view of a part D showing the configuration of a valve holder of the valve-type liquid material dispensing apparatus according to the present invention. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the manner of a work progress in assembling the valve type liquid material dispensing apparatus according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0008] A mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description is mainly for the case where the valve-type liquid material dispensing device according to the present invention is mainly a valve-type writing instrument. However, even in cases where the valve-type liquid material dispensing device according to the present invention is basically applied to a cosmetic device, a medical device, or other various liquid coating devices other than the writing instrument, substantially the same configuration and manner of operation and advantageous effects can be obtained.

[0009] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a writing instrument according to the present invention with a cap removed and Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the writing instrument according to the present invention. As shown in these drawings, this writing instrument is composed of a liquid material container shaft 1, a valve holder 2 mounted on the distal end portion of the liquid material container shaft 1, a valve unit 3 disposed within a range from the distal end portion of the liquid material container shaft 1 to the valve holder 2, a core 4 fixed to the valve unit 3 and having a distal end portion thereof projecting from the valve holder 2, and a cap 5 fixed on the valve holder 2. In the following description, the side of the core 4 (the left side in Fig. 1, Fig. 2) is taken as the distal end side or the upper surface side and the opposite side is taken as the rear end side or the lower surface side (the bottom surface side).

[0010] The upper end portion of the liquid material container shaft 1 is reduced in diameter to form a locking ring 6 on the outer peripheral surface of the upper end portion of the liquid material container shaft 1. Although the locking ring 6 is typically continuous, the locking ring 6 may also be discontinuous. An upper edge portion of the locking ring 6 has a curved surface. In the valve holder 2, a small-diameter part 2a, a medium-diameter part 2b, and a large-diameter part 2c are formed in this order from the distal end side, and locking pieces 7 directed inward are provided at a lower end of the inner peripheral surface of the large-diameter part 2c (see Fig. 3). The plurality of locking pieces 7 are separated from each other, and each locking piece 7 is formed in a pivotable state at the lower end of the large-diameter part 2c by reducing the thickness of the base of the locking piece 7, thereby being able to be folded from a horizontal state to a vertical state (see Fig. 4). A diameter of a circular space (see Fig. 3(C)), which is formed by front end surfaces 7a of the locking pieces 7, is selected to be slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the upper end part of the liquid material container shaft 1, the upper end part of the liquid material container shaft 1 being reduced in diameter (see Fig. 4).

[0011] The valve holder 2 is mounted on an upper end portion 1a of the liquid material container shaft 1 with the assembled valve unit, as described later. Before the locking pieces 7 are assembled, each locking piece 7 is directed inward in the horizontal direction (see Fig. 3). However, when the locking pieces 7 are caused to advance toward the upper end portion 1a of the liquid material container shaft 1 during attachment, the front end portion of each locking piece 7 comes into contact with the upper end portion 1a, thereby being pushed and inclined upward, and then comes into sliding contact with the peripheral surface of the upper end portion 1a while maintaining such a state ( Fig. 4(A)). When the locking pieces 7 are further pushed in such a state, a foot-side edge portion 7b of each locking piece 7 finally comes into contact with a curved surface part on the upper edge of the locking ring 6, and thus the locking piece 7 is further folded back ( Fig. 4(B)), and then comes into sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface of the locking ring 6, and is thus brought into a vertical state. Then, when the locking piece 7 is further pushed in such a state, each locking piece 7 steps over the locking ring 6 and moves to a rear side of the locking ring 6 due to the restoring force of the locking piece 7. As a result, each locking piece 7 comes into contact with the rear surface of the locking ring 6 and is thus locked ( Fig. 4(C)). Accordingly, it becomes impossible to subsequently remove the valve holder 2 from the liquid material container shaft 1.

[0012] As described above, in the case of the valve-type liquid material dispensing device according to the present invention, the valve holder 2 can be assembled onto the liquid material container stem 1 by merely sliding the valve holder 2 against the liquid material container stem 1 until the locking pieces 7 of the valve holder 2 overstep the locking ring 6, and thus, assembly work can be performed easily and quickly, thus reducing manufacturing costs. Furthermore, as a result of such assembly, the locking pieces 7 are locked by the locking ring 6, and therefore, it becomes impossible to remove the valve holder 2 from the liquid material container stem 1, and thus, it is possible to avoid the work of applying an adhesive.

[0013] A plurality of core support ribs 8 extending in the axial direction are formed at equal intervals on the inner peripheral surface of the small-diameter part 2a of the valve holder 2. The core 4 is supported in such a manner as to be slidable along the support ribs 8. The valve unit and an ink storage member 9 are arranged in the valve holder 2, wherein the ink storage member 9 stores ink supplied from the liquid material container shaft 1 via the valve unit and causes the ink to permeate the core 4. The ink storage member 9 is a cylindrical body having a core insertion hole penetrating the center of the cylindrical body, and the core 4 is slidably inserted into this core insertion hole.

[0014] In a valve unit housing 11, the valve unit is constituted by a valve element 12, a return spring 13, and a plug element 14. The return spring 13 surrounds the lower half of the valve element 12 and always urges the valve element 12 upward. The plug element 14 is mounted on the upper end opening of the valve unit housing 11. The lower end of the valve unit housing 11 has an ink inlet toward which the lower end portion of the valve element 12 faces, and ink always flows into the valve unit housing 11 from the ink inlet. A tapered surface 16 is formed in a conical shape at the central part of the valve element 12 and forms a valve seat contact part. The return spring 13 is brought into contact with the inner surface of the tapered surface 16, and thus the valve element 12 is always urged upward.

[0015] The plug element 14 is formed by a cylindrical part and a flange, the cylindrical part having an open bottom surface and being mounted in the valve unit housing 11, with the flange formed at the upper end of the cylindrical part. The upper part of the valve element 12 enters the plug element 14 from the lower surface opening of the plug element 14 up to the tapered surface 16, with the core 4 being attached to the distal end of the valve element 12. The edge portion of the lower surface opening of the plug element 14 forms a valve seat and receives the tapered surface 16.The flange of the plug member 14 is held between a flange part and a stepped part and accommodates the ink storage member 9, the flange part being formed at the upper end of the valve unit case 11, the stepped part being located between the middle diameter part 2b and the large diameter part 2c of the valve holder 2.

[0016] When no load is applied, the valve element 12 is always pushed upward by the return spring 13 and the tapered surface 16 of the valve element 12 is brought into contact with the edge portion of the lower surface opening of the plug element 14, thus keeping the lower surface opening closed (the Fig.2). When the core 4 is pushed against the urging force of the return spring 13 so that the valve element 12 is pushed over the core 4, the tapered surface 16 of the valve element 12 is separated from the edge portion of the lower surface opening of the plug member 14, thus opening the lower surface opening to admit ink stored in the valve unit case 11 to the core 4. As a result, the ink storage element 9 is sufficiently impregnated with the ink, and the ink permeates the core 4.

[0017] Furthermore, when the core 4 is directed downward, ink in the liquid material container shaft 1 flows into the valve unit housing 11 from the bottom surface opening of the valve unit housing 11 due to the dead weight of the ink, thus filling the valve unit housing 11. This ink flowing into the valve unit housing 11 remains in the valve unit housing 11 until the core 4 is pushed into the valve holder 2 to open the valve element 12. When the core 4 is pushed into the valve holder 2 to open the valve element 12, the ink flows into the plug member 14 and wets the ink storage member 9.

[0018] The valve unit mechanism described above is merely an example and is not limitative. Other mechanisms may be adopted. Furthermore, the above-mentioned description is for the case where the valve-type liquid material dispensing device according to the present invention is applied to a valve-type writing instrument. However, as described above, even in cases where the valve-type liquid material dispensing device according to the present invention is applied to a cosmetic device, a medical device, or other various liquid coating devices other than the writing instrument, the configuration and manner of operation and advantageous effects are substantially the same as those for the case where the valve-type liquid material dispensing device according to the present invention is applied to the writing instrument, and therefore, a detailed description for such cases is omitted.

[0019] The valve-type liquid material dispensing device according to the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, and therefore, the valve holder can be easily and quickly mounted on the liquid material container stem by simply sliding the valve holder, without requiring any screwing or adhesive application work, and therefore, it is possible to obtain advantageous effects of enabling the reduction of manufacturing labor and manufacturing costs. Accordingly, the valve-type liquid material dispensing device according to the present invention has wide industrial applicability. QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] JP 2008-6668

[0003] JP 2008-87422

[0003] JP 2005-342950

[0003]

Claims

[1] A valve-type liquid material dispensing device comprising: a liquid material container shaft; a valve holder mounted on a distal end portion of the liquid material container shaft; a valve unit disposed within a range from the distal end portion of the liquid material container shaft to the valve holder; a core fixed to the valve unit and projecting from the valve holder;and a cap mounted on the valve holder, wherein an upper end portion of the liquid material container stem is reduced in diameter, a locking ring is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the upper end portion of the liquid material container stem, a locking piece directed inward is formed on a lower end surface of the valve holder, wherein the locking piece is pushed upward and folded by the locking ring when the valve holder is mounted on the distal end portion of the liquid material container stem, wherein the locking piece is locked by the locking ring when the locking piece is further pushed and passes over the locking ring, and the locking piece has a pivot structure in which a foot of the locking piece is reduced in thickness.; [2] A valve type liquid material dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the locking piece is provided at eight positions.

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