Discharge tool for aerosol container

Abstract

To provide a discharge tool for aerosol container such that an operation lever can be pressed down with smaller force than usual.SOLUTION: An operation lever 6 of a discharge tool 1 for aerosol container comprises: a lever body part 6b which is slidable relative a fixation part and comes into contact with a nozzle; a hinge part 6h which can be bent and has one end part connected to the lever body part 6b; a lever extension part 6d which is connected to the other end part of the hinge part 6h, and is displaced between a stack position where it is stacked on the lever body part 6b and an opening position where it is opened from the lever body part 6b; and a contact part 6f at which the lever body part 6b and the lever extension part 6d come in contact with each other at the opening position. When the lever extension part 6d is pressed down at the opening position, the lever body part 6b is also pressed down through the contact part 6f.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a discharge tool for an aerosol container. [Background technology]

[0002] As an aerosol container discharge tool that is attached to an aerosol container and discharges the contents contained in the container, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known. The aerosol container discharge tool of Patent Document 1 includes a nozzle (nozzle body) that is attached to the stem of the aerosol container, and an operating lever (operating piece) located above the nozzle. When the operating lever is pressed down, the stem is also pressed down via the nozzle, and the contents contained in the aerosol container are discharged from the nozzle through the stem. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6612495 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in order to prevent the contents from being accidentally discharged, the stem is given an elastic force so that it cannot be pushed down without a certain amount of force. Therefore, when pushing down the operating lever, a relatively strong force needs to be applied. Here, in a discharge device such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1, which has one nozzle attached to two stems to discharge two types of contents, the two stems are pushed down at the same time, so an even greater force is required when pushing down the operating lever.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an aerosol container discharger in which the operating lever can be depressed with a smaller force than in the past. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention provides an aerosol container discharger including a nozzle attached to a stem of an aerosol container, a fixing part attached to a mounting cup of the aerosol container, and an operating lever capable of depressing the nozzle, The operating lever is a lever body portion that is pivotable relative to the fixed portion and that contacts the nozzle; a hinge portion that is bendable and has one end connected to the lever body portion; a lever extension portion connected to the other end of the hinge portion and displaceable between a stacked position where the lever extension portion is stacked on the lever body portion and an expanded position where the lever extension portion is expanded with respect to the lever body portion; a contact portion where the lever body portion and the lever extension portion come into contact with each other in the deployed position, When the lever extension portion is pushed down in the deployed position, the lever main body portion is also pushed down via the contact portion.

[0007] It is preferable that either the fixed portion or the lever extension portion has a first engaged portion that engages with a first engaging portion provided on the other of the fixed portion or the lever extension portion to hold the lever extension portion in the stacked position.

[0008] It is preferable that the fixing portion has a stopper that comes into contact with the lever extension portion when the lever extension portion is pressed in the stacked position to prevent the operation of the stem.

[0009] It is preferable that either the fixed portion or the lever extension portion has a second engaged portion that engages with a second engaging portion provided on the other of the fixed portion or the lever extension portion to hold the lever extension portion in the deployed position. Effect of the Invention

[0010] In the aerosol container discharger of the present invention, the operating lever has a lever extension part connected to the lever main part that contacts the nozzle via a hinge part, and the overall length of the operating lever can be increased by displacing the lever extension part to the deployed position. In other words, the operating lever can be pushed down with less force than in the past. In addition, the hinge part is bendable, and when the lever extension part is displaced to the stacked position, the lever extension part is stacked on the lever main part, so in this state the operating lever does not protrude significantly from the aerosol container discharger and get in the way. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional side view of one embodiment of an aerosol container discharge tool according to the present invention, in a state where the tool is attached to an aerosol container and the lever extension portion is displaced to a stacked position. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the aerosol container discharge tool shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the aerosol container discharge tool shown in FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the aerosol container discharge tool shown in FIG. 1 with a lever extension portion displaced to a deployed position. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a plan view of the aerosol container discharge tool shown in FIG. [Figure 6] 5 is a cross-sectional side view showing the state in which the lever extension of the aerosol container discharger shown in FIG. 4 is pressed down. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a modified example of the aerosol container discharge tool shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, an aerosol container discharge tool 1, which is one embodiment of the aerosol container discharge tool according to the present invention, will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, "front" refers to the side where the discharge tube 3c is located relative to the upper part 3b described later, and "rear" refers to the opposite side. Also, "upper" refers to the side where the upper part 3b is located relative to the lower part 3a described later, and refers to the opposite side to "lower". Also, "left" and "right" refer to the left and right directions when viewed from the front to the rear.

[0013] First, the aerosol container 100 to which the aerosol container discharge tool 1 is attached will be described. The aerosol container 100 of this embodiment is configured by arranging two container bodies 101 side by side. Each container body 101 has a metallic container body 101a that is cylindrical with a bottom, and a metallic mounting cup 101b that is wound and fixed at the upper end of the container body 101a. The inside of each container body 101 is filled with different types of contents and high-pressure gas. In addition, a cylindrical stem 101c that is biased upward is provided in the center of the mounting cup 101b. When the stem 101c is pressed downward, the contained contents are discharged from the stem 101c.

[0014] The aerosol container discharge tool 1 includes a holder 2, a nozzle 3, an outer cover 4, an inner cover 5, and an operating lever 6. The holder 2, the outer cover 4, and the inner cover 5 in this embodiment correspond to the "fixing part" in this specification.

[0015] The holder 2 has an annular wall 2a surrounding the mounting cup 101b as shown in FIG. 1. The annular wall 2a is formed in a shape surrounding all of the two mounting cups 101b of the two container bodies 101 arranged side by side. The inner peripheral surface of the lower part of the annular wall 2a is provided with a claw portion 2b that engages with the mounting cup 101b, and the holder 2 is held in the mounting cup 101b so as not to come off. An inner wall 2c is provided on the inner side of the annular wall 2a, extending between the two mounting cups 101b and surrounding the mounting cup 101b together with the annular wall 2a. Furthermore, on the inner side of the annular wall 2a, a top wall 2d is provided that extends horizontally above the mounting cup 101b, is connected to the annular wall 2a and the inner wall 2c, and has a hole that exposes the stem 101c.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the nozzle 3 includes a lower portion 3a located at the bottom, an upper portion 3b covering the lower portion 3a, and a cylindrical discharge tube 3c extending forward from the upper portion 3b. The lower portion 3a has two through holes at the positions where the two stems 101c are located. The lower portion 3a also has a fitting tube 3d surrounding the through holes and fittingly retained by the stems 101c. The upper portion 3b has a front side extending horizontally and a rear side inclined downward. The internal space of the nozzle 3, which is partitioned by the lower portion 3a and the upper portion 3b, is provided with a partition wall 3e extending to partition the space between the two through holes provided in the lower portion 3a. The partition wall 3e extends to the base of the discharge tube 3c, but does not extend to the tip of the discharge tube 3c. That is, the inside of the discharge tube 3c is divided into two passages at the base, but becomes one passage halfway through. Furthermore, the lower portion 3a and the upper portion 3b are connected by a nozzle side hinge 3f, and the nozzle 3 can be displaced from a state in which the nozzle side hinge 3f is bent as shown in FIG. 1 to a state in which the upper portion 3b is opened relative to the lower portion 3a and the nozzle side hinge 3f is deployed.

[0017] As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the outer cover 4 has an outer peripheral wall 4a that is track-shaped in plan view and surrounds the annular wall 2a. The front and rear sides of the outer peripheral wall 4a are cut out downward. The upper part of the outer peripheral wall 4a is provided with an outer top wall 4b that is separated into left and right sides and each of which is semicircular, and a central top wall 4c that is located in the center in the left-right direction. The outer top wall 4b and the central top wall 4c are connected at the front and rear sides by a side wall that extends in the up-down direction. Here, the side wall located at the rear side is referred to as the rear side wall 4d. The rear side wall 4d is provided with a rear side protrusion 4e that protrudes in a hemispherical shape from its surface. The rear side protrusion 4e corresponds to the "second engaged portion" in this specification and the like.

[0018] As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the inner cover 5 is located inside the outer top wall 4b, and has an inner top wall 5a that is separated into left and right sides and has a semicircular shape. The inner top wall 5a is provided with a pair of side walls 5b extending vertically. In this embodiment, the front part of the side wall 5b protrudes toward the surface side (see Fig. 3), and there is a step between the front part and the rear part of the side wall 5b. In addition, the front part of the side wall 5b is provided with a recess 5c extending in the vertical direction as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and the rear part is provided with a side wall protruding part 5d protruding toward the surface side. The recess 5c is a part corresponding to the "first engaged part" in this specification, and the side wall protruding part 5d is a part corresponding to the "stopper" in this specification.

[0019] The inner cover 5 also includes a top wall 5e extending horizontally as a portion connecting the pair of side walls 5b, a front wall 5f extending vertically in front of the top wall 5e, and a rear wall 5g extending vertically in rear of the top wall 5e as shown in Fig. 1. The height at which the upper surface of the top wall 5e is located is the same as the height at which the upper surfaces of the side wall protruding portions 5d extend.

[0020] The operating lever 6 includes a lever body 6b connected to the rear wall 5g via a thin-walled first hinge 6a. The lever body 6b in this embodiment is rectangular in plan view (see FIG. 5). As shown in FIG. 1, the lever body 6b is located above the upper portion 3b of the nozzle 3, and a lower projection 6c that projects downward is provided on the lower surface of the lever body 6b. As shown in the figure, the lower projection 6c comes into contact with a portion of the upper portion 3b that extends in the horizontal direction.

[0021] The operating lever 6 also includes a lever extension 6d. The lever extension 6d is generally rectangular plate-shaped as shown, and the root 6e has a larger width in the left-right direction than the middle and tip of the lever body 6b as shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the root 6e and middle of the lever extension 6d extend horizontally, while the tip of the lever extension 6d is curved upward. The lever extension 6d includes a rear end projection 6f that is generally triangular in cross section and projects rearward from the center of its rear end as shown in FIG. 1. The lever extension 6d also includes a hemispherical convex portion 6g that projects outward in the left-right direction from its middle as shown in FIG. 5. The root 6e corresponds to the "second engagement portion" in this specification, the rear end projection 6f corresponds to the "contact portion" in this specification, and the convex portion 6g corresponds to the "first engagement portion" in this specification.

[0022] Furthermore, the operating lever 6 is provided with a bendable second hinge 6h, one end of which is connected to the lever body 6b, and the other end of which is connected to the lever extension 6d. The second hinges 6h are provided in pairs near the left and right ends of the lever body 6b (see FIG. 3). The second hinges 6h correspond to the "hinge portion" in this specification and the like. With this configuration, the lever extension 6d can be displaced between a position where it is stacked on the lever body 6b (hereinafter referred to as the "stacked position") as shown in FIG. 1, and a position where it is deployed on the lever body 6b (hereinafter referred to as the "deployed position") as shown in FIG. 4. In the deployed position, the rear end projection 6f contacts the rear end of the lever body 6b. In the stacked position, the lower surface of the lever extension 6d contacts the top wall 5e and the upper surface of the side wall protrusion 5d as shown in FIG. 1.

[0023] According to the aerosol container discharge tool 1 having such a configuration, if the lever extension 6d is displaced to the stacked position, the lever extension 6d does not protrude significantly from the aerosol container discharge tool 1 as shown in Figs. 1 to 3. That is, the lever extension 6d does not get in the way during storage or the like. When the lever extension 6d is displaced to the stacked position, the lower surface of the lever extension 6d is in contact with the top wall 5e and the upper surface of the side wall protruding portion 5d, so that even if the lever extension 6d is pressed, it is not pushed down, and therefore the stem 101c is not pressed downward. Therefore, in the stacked position, it is possible to prevent the content from being accidentally discharged. In addition, in order to prevent such an accidental pushing down of the stem, an overcap that covers the operating lever 6 has been used in the past (see Patent Document 1, for example), but according to the aerosol container discharge tool 1 of this embodiment, such an overcap is not necessary, which also contributes to cost reduction.

[0024] When the lever extension 6d is displaced to the stacked position, the convex portion 6g engages with the concave portion 5c as shown in Fig. 1. That is, it is possible to prevent the position of the lever extension 6d from being accidentally changed.

[0025] When discharging the contents, the lever extension 6d is displaced to the deployed position as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. When displacing the lever extension 6d, the base portion 6e overcomes the rear convex portion 4e and engages with it, so that the lever extension 6d can be maintained in the deployed position. By displacing the lever extension 6d to the deployed position, the length of the operating lever 6 becomes longer than when only the lever body portion 6b is used. That is, when the operating lever 6 is pressed to push down the stem 101c via the nozzle 3, the force required to push down the tip of the lever extension 6d is smaller than the force required to directly press the lever body portion 6b due to the principle of leverage, so that the stem 101c can be easily pushed down. As shown in Fig. 6, the rear side of the upper portion 3b of the nozzle 3 is inclined downward, and even if the lever extension 6d is pressed down, the lever extension 6d does not interfere with the upper portion 3b significantly, so that the inclination of the discharge tube 3c does not change significantly when discharging the contents. The contents discharged from the two stems 101c pass through the internal space of the nozzle 3, and then join together midway through the discharge tube 3c, and are discharged to the outside world.

[0026] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the spirit of the present invention described in the claims unless otherwise specifically limited in the above description. For example, the configuration of the above-mentioned embodiment can be appropriately added or deleted, and the configuration of one embodiment can be applied to another embodiment. Furthermore, the effects of the above-mentioned embodiment are merely examples of the effects resulting from the present invention, and do not mean that the effects of the present invention are limited to the above-mentioned effects.

[0027] For example, the lever extension 6d in this embodiment has a substantially uniform width in the left-right direction from the middle to the tip, but the width W of the tip may be larger than that of the middle, as shown in Fig. 7. When the width of the tip is larger in this way, the area on which the finger is placed during operation becomes wider, further improving usability.

[0028] In this embodiment, the rear end protrusion 6f is provided on the lever extension 6d as a "contact portion" that brings the lever extension 6d and the lever body 6b into contact with each other, but it may be provided on the lever body 6b. The "contact portion" is not limited to such a protrusion, and may be configured, for example, so that the edge of the lever extension 6d and the edge of the lever body 6b come into contact with each other in a long direction in the left-right direction.

[0029] Furthermore, the aerosol container discharge tool of the present invention is not limited to use with aerosol containers having two stems 101c, such as the aerosol container 100 described above, but can also be used with aerosol containers having one or three or more stems. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1: Aerosol container dispenser 2: Holding body (fixed part) 2a: Annular wall 2b: Claw part 2c: Inner wall 2d:Top wall 3: Nozzle 3a: lower part 3b: Upper part 3c: Discharge tube 3d: Fitting tube 3e: Partition wall 3f: Nozzle side hinge 4: Outer cover (fixed part) 4a: Outer wall 4b:Outer top wall 4c: Central top wall 4d: Back side wall 4e: Rear convex part (second engaged part) 5: Inner cover (fixed part) 5a: Inner top wall 5b: Side wall 5c: Recess (first engaged portion) 5d: Side wall protrusion (stopper) 5e: Ceiling wall 5f: Front wall 5g: back wall 6: Control lever 6a: First hinge 6b: Lever body 6c: lower protrusion 6d: Lever extension 6e: Base part (second engagement part) 6f: Rear end side protrusion (contact part) 6g: Convex part (first engagement part) 6h: Second hinge (hinge part) 100: Aerosol container 101: Container body 101a: Container body 101b: Mounting cup 101c:Stem

Claims

1. An aerosol container discharge tool comprising a nozzle attached to a stem of an aerosol container, a fixing part attached to a mounting cup of the aerosol container, and an operating lever capable of depressing the nozzle, The operating lever is a lever body portion that is pivotable relative to the fixed portion and that contacts the nozzle; a hinge portion that is bendable and has one end connected to the lever body portion; a lever extension portion connected to the other end of the hinge portion and displaceable between a stacked position where the lever extension portion is stacked on the lever body portion and an expanded position where the lever extension portion is expanded with respect to the lever body portion; a contact portion where the lever body portion and the lever extension portion come into contact with each other in the deployed position, When the lever extension portion is pushed down in the deployed position, the lever main body portion is also pushed down via the contact portion.

2. 2. The aerosol container discharge device according to claim 1, wherein either the fixed portion or the lever extension portion has a first engaged portion that engages with a first engaging portion provided on the other of the fixed portion or the lever extension portion to hold the lever extension portion in the stacked position.

3. 2. The aerosol container discharge tool according to claim 1, wherein the fixing portion has a stopper that comes into contact with the lever extension portion when the lever extension portion is pressed in the stacked position to prevent the operation of the stem.

4. 2. The aerosol container discharge device according to claim 1, wherein either the fixed portion or the lever extension portion has a second engaged portion that engages with a second engaging portion provided on the other of the fixed portion or the lever extension portion to hold the lever extension portion in the deployed position.

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