Applicator

Abstract

To provide an environmentally friendly applicator having a replaceable inner cylinder filled with an internal solution.SOLUTION: An inner cylinder 20 has a two-layer structure consisting of an inner layer 20a and an outer layer 20b. The inner layer 20a, which comes into contact with the coating liquid, is made of virgin material, while the outer layer 20b, which does not come into contact with the coating liquid, is made of an environmentally friendly material. The inner layer 20a has a thickness of 0.1 to 0.3 mm, and the outer layer 20b has a thickness of 0.9 to 1.2 mm, and it is preferably processed by a blow molding method.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a direct liquid applicator that stores a coating liquid such as ink, cosmetics, liquid medicine, adhesive, etc. directly in a liquid storage section such as an ink tank and applies the coating liquid to an object (including writing). [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, applicators use an applicator body to apply an application liquid such as ink or cosmetics that is directly contained in a liquid storage section. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an applicator that has a valve device that uses a valve member to switch between supplying and not supplying liquid from the liquid contained in the inner shaft to the applicator body by pressing the partially exposed inner shaft at the rear end of the applicator forward, and that has a partially exposed rear end. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2011-206926 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the applicator described in Patent Document 1 has an inner cylinder with a two-layer structure, with the inner and outer layers made of different resins, and the inner cylinder is blow-molded in the axial direction with the inner layer made of polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) and the outer layer made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and although it can provide an applicator with an inner cylinder that is highly transparent, making it easy to check the remaining amount of solution inside, and is resistant to cracking, it is premised on the container being made from new material, or so-called virgin material, and does not constitute an environmentally friendly container as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that have been called for recently. For these reasons, the challenge is to provide an environmentally friendly container. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] Therefore, the inventors have carried out intensive development and have achieved the following invention. This applicator includes a cylindrical main body with an applicator attached to its tip, a replaceable inner cylinder filled with an application liquid and housed within the main body so that it can move freely in the axial direction of the main body and partially exposed from the inside of the main body, and a valve set attached to the tip of the inner cylinder, wherein the inner cylinder has a two-layer structure consisting of an inner layer and an outer layer, and the outer layer is formed from an environmentally friendly material. If the inner cylinder were made entirely of environmentally friendly material, its physical properties would be unstable, which could have a negative impact on the liquid contained in the inner cylinder. Therefore, by blow-molding the inner layer that comes into contact with the liquid using virgin material and the outer layer using environmentally friendly material, it is possible to achieve both quality and environmental measures by preventing direct contact between the ink content and the environmentally friendly material. Virgin material is a resin material that has not yet been used, that is, has not undergone a usage cycle. It is a resin molded product that is so-called new. Environmentally friendly materials are defined as post-consumer materials or resin materials that contain at least 10% of any of the following: starch, rice flour, cellulose-derived materials, used tea leaves, coffee beans, grain husks, charcoal, bamboo charcoal, seaweed, algae, wood flour, bamboo flour, rice husk flour, used rice flour, or rice bran flour; or biomass materials such as vegetable oils and fats; plant-derived materials; industrial recycled plastics; or plastics derived from marine waste. Furthermore, it is preferable that the environmentally friendly material have a modern carbon ratio of 10 pMC or more. The modern carbon ratio in this invention refers to the value measured by radiocarbon (C14) analysis as specified in ASTM D6866-12, measuring the content of biomass-derived carbon. The carbon content of virgin synthetic resin is less than 10 pMC. The modern carbon ratio can be calculated by measuring the carbon content in the outer layer. Furthermore, post-consumer materials refer to materials described in JIS Q14021:2000. These materials are generated from commercial, industrial, and various facilities that use materials or products discarded from households as products that can no longer be used for their original purposes. They are materials that were once shipped to the market, and are then recovered and reused after use by users or facilities has ended and they are discarded. Furthermore, marine plastics refer to plastic waste such as plastic pieces, PET bottles, and fishing gear discarded in the ocean. The thickness A of the inner layer of the inner shaft is preferably 0.1 to 0.3 mm, and the thickness B of the outer layer is preferably 0.9 to 1.2 mm, and the inner shaft is preferably formed by blow molding. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] By using the above-described means, the inner layer of the inner tube is made of virgin material, which comes into contact with the liquid and therefore does not pose a quality concern for the product, and the outer layer is made of environmentally friendly material, resulting in a structure that is less susceptible to changes in quality due to the liquid, and by using environmentally friendly materials, an environmentally friendly product can be provided. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram of an applicator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an inner shaft of the applicator according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A direct liquid applicator according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The tip refers to the side used for application or writing, and the rear end refers to the rear side of the inner tube that can be pressed. First, the schematic configuration of the direct liquid type applicator of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Fig. 1(a) is an external view of an applicator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 1(b) is a cross-sectional view of the applicator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0009] As shown in FIG. 1, the direct liquid applicator W of this embodiment comprises a hollow cylindrical body 10 composed of an outer tube 1 and a front barrel 2, an inner tube 20 housed within outer tube 1 so as to be movable in the axial direction of outer tube 1, an inner front barrel 30 attached to the tip of inner tube 20, a valve set 40b attached inside the front tube of inner tube 20, and a cap 50 detachably attached to the outer periphery of front barrel 2.

[0010] The application part 11 is in the shape of a marking pen with a porous writing part, but it may be in the shape of a brush, a spatula, or any other shape that allows writing or application.

[0011] The interior of the inner shaft 20 is filled with the coating liquid, and the stirring ball 22 floats inside. The stirring ball 22 may be included in the inner cylinder 20 depending on the components of the internal solution to be contained. The sliding motion enables the internal solution containing sedimentary components to be uniformly dispersed. There is no particular specification for the material to be used, such as resin or glass, as long as it does not alter the internal solution.

[0012] A valve set 40b is installed within the front end of the inner shaft 20, and the valve set 40b and inner shaft 20 are secured together by threaded engagement with the front edge 20c of the inner front shaft 30, forming a cartridge body. A central hole is formed in the center of the valve set 40b and the inner front shaft 30, through which the liquid introduction tube 12 can be inserted and removed. Even if the application liquid inside the inner shaft 20 is depleted by pulling the inner shaft 20 rearward, it can be easily replaced by bringing the inner front shaft 30 side of the cartridge body filled with application liquid toward the front end, abutting the liquid introduction tube 12 against the front end, and then firmly pushing the cartridge body toward the front end. Because only the cartridge body needs to be replaced to refill the application liquid, there is no need to discard the application part, contributing to waste reduction.

[0013] The valve set 40b is composed of a valve stem 41, a spring retainer 42, a valve seat 70 and a spring 44. The valve seat 70 has a seal portion (first seal portion 73 and second seal portion 74) formed at its tip that surrounds the outer side surface of the liquid introduction pipe 12, and this seal portion prevents liquid from leaking from the liquid introduction pipe 12. Therefore, in this embodiment, there is no need for a dedicated part (e.g., a rubber gasket) to prevent leakage of the liquid ejected from the valve set 40b attached to the tip of the inner tube 20, and the number of parts can be reduced compared to the applicators of the conventional technology described above.

[0014] In this embodiment, the valve seat 70 having the seal portion is made of a resin such as polyethylene (for example, HDPE (High Density Polyethylene)) or polypropylene (PP). The reason why the above-mentioned resin is used in this way is that resin has the property of being less permeable to solvent components than rubber parts, and the amount of coating liquid that permeates from the liquid introduction tube 12 to the outside of the applicator W can be reduced.

[0015] The valve seat 70 has a cylindrical portion 71 with openings (71a, 71b) formed at both ends and a through hole 71c penetrating the openings at both ends, and a flange portion 72 formed at the tip of the cylindrical portion 71, and is formed with a cross section that is approximately hat-shaped. In addition, a thin-walled cylindrical first seal portion 73 (a thin-walled cylindrical first seal portion 73 protruding downward from the tip surface of the flange portion 72) is formed on the tip surface of the flange portion 72 of the valve seat 70, which surrounds the outer peripheral side surface of the liquid introduction pipe 12 and is shaped so that it can slide freely against the outer peripheral side surface.

[0016] The thin-walled cylindrical first seal portion 73 is tapered so that the diameter gradually narrows toward the tip. By forming the first seal portion 73 in a tapered shape in this manner, even when the inner peripheral side surface of the first seal portion 73 slides against the outer peripheral side surface of the liquid introduction pipe 12, the inner peripheral side surface of the first seal portion 73 remains in contact with the side surface of the liquid introduction pipe 12 (i.e., in this embodiment, since the valve seat 70 is formed from resin, the first seal portion 73 is made in a shape that is easily flexible). Further, on the lower surface of the flange portion 72 of the valve seat 70, a second seal portion 74 is formed on the outer periphery of the first seal portion 73 and protrudes in a cylindrical shape concentric with the first seal portion 73.

[0017] The valve seat 70 is attached to the applicator W as follows. Specifically, the valve seat 70 is fitted by inserting the cylindrical portion 71 into the opening at the tip of the spring bearing 42 (the cylindrical portion 71 is attached inside the cylinder of the spring bearing 42). Furthermore, flange 42a at the tip of spring retainer 42 and flange 72 at the tip of valve seat 70 are clamped between protrusion 30a formed on the inner wall surface of inner front barrel 30 and front edge 20c of inner barrel 20. This fixes spring retainer 42 and valve seat 70 to inner barrel 20 and inner front barrel 30. Furthermore, first seal 73 and second seal 74 formed at the lower end of valve seat 70 are supported by bottom 30b of valve seat 72.

[0018] Furthermore, the liquid insertion pipe 12 is inserted through the inner peripheral side surface of the first seal portion 73 and the through-hole 71c of the valve seat . This allows the inner circumferential surface of the first seal portion 73 of the valve seat 70 to slide against the outer circumferential surface of the liquid introduction pipe 12 when the user knocks on the rear end of the inner cylinder 20 .

[0019] With the above configuration, the side surface of the liquid introduction pipe 12 is covered by the first seal portion 73 formed at the tip of the flange portion 72 of the valve seat 70, so that leakage of liquid from the liquid introduction pipe 12 is prevented. In addition, in this embodiment, the outer peripheral side surface of the first seal portion 73 is covered with the second seal portion 74, so that the application liquid that has permeated the first seal portion 73 can be blocked by the second seal member 74. As a result, according to this embodiment, leakage of the coating liquid discharged from the valve set 40b attached to the tip of the inner cylinder 20 to the liquid introduction pipe 12 can be effectively prevented.

[0020] As described above, in this embodiment, seal portions (first seal portion 73, second seal portion 74) that prevent liquid leakage from the liquid introduction pipe 12 are provided at the lower end of the valve seat 70. Therefore, in this embodiment, a dedicated part (for example, a rubber packing or the like) for preventing liquid leakage from the liquid introduction pipe 12 is not required.

[0021] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the valve seat 70 is formed from a resin such as polyethylene (for example, high density polyethylene (HDPE)), thereby reducing the amount of permeation of the application liquid. As a result, the applicator W of this embodiment can prevent the application part 11 from drying out, compared to the applicators of the prior art described above. The valve seat 70 is made by, for example, integral molding of resin.

[0022] Next, regarding the operation of the applicator W of this embodiment, when the rear end of the inner cylinder 20 is not knocked, the inner cylinder 20, inner tip barrel 30, spring retainer 42, and valve seat 70 are urged toward the rear end by the spring 44 (urged toward the rear end), and the rear end of the valve seat 70 abuts against the second support portion 41c2 of the valve stem 41. Because the first seal portion 73 of the valve seat 70 abuts against the outer peripheral side surface of the liquid inlet pipe 12, leakage of liquid from the liquid inlet pipe 12 is prevented. Furthermore, because the outer peripheral side of the first seal portion 73 is covered by the second seal portion 74, the second seal portion 74 blocks the application liquid that passes through the first seal portion 73.

[0023] In addition, when the user pushes the rear end of the inner tube 20 (pushes it toward the tip with their finger), the inner tip shaft 30, spring retainer 42 and valve seat 70 fixed to the tip of the inner tube 20 are urged toward the rear end together with the inner tube 20.

[0024] This compresses the spring 44, which is sandwiched between the valve body portion 41a of the valve stem 41 and the spring support portion 42b of the spring receiver 42. In this case, the rear end of the stem body portion 41b of the valve stem 41 passes through the opening at the rear end of the spring receiver 42. In this case, the first seal portion 73 of the valve seat 70 moves toward the tip side together with the movement of the inner cylinder 20 while being in contact with the outer circumferential side surface of the liquid introduction pipe 12 .

[0025] Furthermore, when the user stops pushing the inner tube 20 toward the rear end (for example, when the user removes his / her finger from the rear end of the inner tube 20), the spring 44 urges the inner tube 20 toward the rear end.

[0026] As described above, according to this embodiment, the first seal portion 73 and the second seal portion 74 formed at the tip of the valve seat 70 constituting the valve set 40b are configured to prevent liquid leakage from the liquid introduction pipe 12.

[0027] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the valve seat 70, which functions as a sealing member, is made of a resin such as polyethylene, which reduces the amount of coating liquid that permeates compared to when sealing is performed with a rubber packing. As a result, according to this embodiment, even if a solvent-based application liquid is stored in the inner tube 20 for a long period of time, the amount of permeation of the solvent components is small, so that the deterioration of the operability (performance) of the application work using the applicator W is suppressed.

[0028] Figure 2 is a diagram of the inner cylinder 20 of the present invention. Figure 2(a) is a cross-sectional view of the entire inner cylinder 20, and Figure 2(b) is an enlarged view of a part of the inner cylinder 20 enclosed by a dotted line frame E in Figure 2(a). The inner cylinder 20 has a two-layer structure consisting of an inner layer 20a that comes into contact with the filled coating liquid, and an outer layer 20b that comes into contact with the outside air but does not come into contact with the coating liquid. The inner layer 20a is preferably made of virgin polypropylene material to reduce the effects of deterioration due to the coating liquid. The outer layer 20b is configured so that the inner layer 20a, which covers the periphery of the inner layer 20a, is not exposed to the outer periphery of the shaft. The outer layer 20b is a portion that is less affected by deterioration due to the coating liquid, and is made of environmentally friendly materials such as post-consumer materials, biomass materials, and marine plastics. Specific materials include plant-derived high-density polyethylene resin (SGE7252, manufactured by Braskem), plant-derived low-density polyethylene resin (SLH218, manufactured by Braskem), plant-derived polypropylene resin (HC101BF, manufactured by Borealis), polylactic acid resin (FC0429, manufactured by Fuji Chemical), and plant-derived polycarbonate resin (D5380R, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical), and these are contained at least 10%.The modern carbon ratio of the outer layer should be 10pMC or more, and for more environmentally friendly purposes, it is preferable to use 50pMC.

[0029] The thickness A of the inner layer 20a is preferably 0.1 to 0.3 mm. A thickness less than 0.1 mm results in insufficient strength and increases the difficulty of molding. A thickness greater than 0.3 mm is insufficient as an environmental measure. The thickness B of the outer layer 20b is preferably 0.9 to 1.2 mm. If the thickness is less than 0.9 mm, it is not possible to obtain a sufficient effect of reducing the amount of plastic used. If the thickness exceeds 1.2 mm, molding becomes difficult. The wall thickness C of the inner cylinder 20 is preferably 1.0 to 2.4 mm. If the wall thickness is less than 1.0 mm, sufficient quality as an inner cylinder cannot be ensured. On the other hand, if the wall thickness exceeds 2.4 mm, it is difficult to mold the inner cylinder 20, and if the outer diameter of the inner cylinder 20 is the same, the fillable volume of the inner solution decreases, which is undesirable.

[0030] It should be noted that a manufacturing method using blow molding is preferable for manufacturing the inner cylinder 20. Furthermore, the same effect can be obtained with other environmentally friendly materials, not limited to post-consumer materials. [Industrial Applicability]

[0031] This is a beneficial invention that can be used industrially as an environmentally friendly applicator. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] W applicator 1 outer cylinder 2 front axis 10 Main Unit 11 Application section 12 Liquid introduction tube 12a Hollow part (liquid introduction pipe) 13. Head holding member 20 Inner cylinder 20a inner layer (inner layer) 20b outer layer (inner layer) 20c front edge 22 Stirring ball 30 Inner tip shaft 30a protrusion (inner tip shaft) 30b Bottom (inner tip) 40b valve set 41 Valve stem (valve set) 41a Valve body (stem) 41b Rod body part (valve stem) 41c1 1st support part (valve stem) 41c2 2nd support part (valve stem) 42 Spring holder (valve set) 42a Flange (spring holder) 42b Spring support part (spring holder) 44 Spring (valve set) 50 caps 70 Valve seat (valve set) 71 Cylinder part 71a Opening (valve seat) 71b Opening (valve seat) 71c Through hole (valve seat) 72 flange (valve seat) 73 First seal part (valve seat) 74 Second seal part (valve seat) A: Thickness of the inner layer B Outer layer (inner layer) thickness C Inner cylinder thickness

Claims

1. An applicator comprising: a cylindrical main body with an applicator part attached to its tip; a replaceable inner cylinder filled with an application liquid and housed within the cylindrical main body so as to be movable in the axial direction of the main body and partially exposed from within the cylindrical main body; and a valve set attached to the tip of the inner cylinder, An applicator characterized in that the inner cylinder has a two-layer structure consisting of an inner layer and an outer layer, and the outer layer is made of an environmentally friendly material.

2. 2. The applicator according to claim 1, wherein the environmentally friendly material has a modern carbon ratio of 10 pMC or more.

3. 3. The applicator according to claim 1, wherein the inner shaft is formed by blow molding.

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