Dispenser

Abstract

To provide a discharger capable of suppressing the leakage of a content from an opening / closing part between a holding member and a piston even when an energizing part cannot return the piston to a rising limit position, and smoothly performing initial priming.SOLUTION: The discharger 2 has a cylinder part 5a, a piston 6 having an upper seal part 6a and a lower seal part 6b, and a holding member 7 having a discharge port 7c1, and when the holding member 7 is pressed down against an energizing force, the opening / closing part 10 is opened, and then the holding member 7 presses down the piston 6 to discharge the contents 4 from the discharge port 7c1. When the push-down operation is released, the opening / closing part 10 is closed and the holding member 7 pushes up the piston 6 to suck the content 4 into the pump chamber 9, and the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder part 5a has a resistance part 6a at a part positioned between the upper seal part 6b and the lower seal part 5a2 at the initial position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a dispenser. [Background technology]

[0002] a piston having a contacted part, an upper seal part, and a lower seal part; a retaining member having a contacted part and a discharge port; a biasing part that applies an upward biasing force to the retaining member; a pump chamber partitioned by the cylinder part and the piston; an opening / closing part composed of the contacted part and the contacting part that opens and closes the downstream end of the pump chamber; and an outside air introduction path that introduces outside air into the container body through the vent port; when the retaining member is pressed down against the biasing force, the contacting part separates from the contacted part and the opening / closing part opens, and then the retaining member presses down the piston, causing the contents in the pump chamber to be discharged from the discharge port through the opening / closing part; and when the pressing operation is released, the biasing force causes the contacting part to come into contact with the contacted part, closing the opening / closing part and causing the retaining member to push up the piston, causing the contents in the container body to be sucked into the pump chamber (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-69928 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] If the biasing portion becomes worn (the biasing force decreases) due to long-term storage during distribution, and the biasing portion is unable to return the piston to its maximum upward position, there is a risk that the piston will rise relative to the holding member when an external impact is applied, causing the opening / closing portion to open and the contents to leak. Therefore, if the contacting portion and the contacted portion are configured to be able to slide vertically relative to each other and a sliding margin is provided to maintain a tight contact state between them, this type of content leakage can be prevented. However, if a sliding margin is provided, the contacting portion and the contacted portion may become familiar with each other at the sliding points due to long-term storage, and the opening / closing portion may not open during the initial priming process upon first use, making it impossible to dispense the contents.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a dispenser that can prevent the contents from leaking from the opening and closing part between the holding member and the piston even when the biasing part cannot return the piston to the upper limit position, and that can perform initial priming smoothly. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is as follows.

[0007] [1] a cylinder portion having a vent hole and attached to the opening of the container body; a piston having a contacted portion, an upper seal portion, and a lower seal portion; a holding member having a contact portion and a discharge port; a biasing portion that applies an upward biasing force to the holding member; a pump chamber defined by the cylinder portion and the piston; an opening / closing portion configured by the contacted portion and the contact portion and configured to open and close the downstream end of the pump chamber; an outside air introduction path that introduces outside air into the container body through the vent hole, When the holding member is pressed down against the biasing force, the contact portion slides downward on the contacted portion and separates, thereby opening the opening / closing portion, and then the holding member pushes down the piston, causing the content in the pump chamber to pass through the opening / closing portion and be discharged from the discharge port, When the pressing operation is released, the contact portion comes into contact with the contacted portion due to the biasing force, thereby closing the opening / closing portion, and then the holding member slides upward on the contacted portion, and the piston is pushed up, thereby sucking the content in the container body into the pump chamber, the upper seal portion is in close contact with an inner circumferential surface of the cylinder portion above the vent hole when the piston is returned to an initial position by the biasing portion upon release of the pressing operation, the lower seal portion is in close contact with an inner circumferential surface of the cylinder portion below the vent hole in the initial position; an inner circumferential surface of the cylinder portion having a resistance portion, the resistance portion having an inner diameter that decreases downward to the straight portion, in a portion located between the upper seal portion and the lower seal portion in the initial position.

[0008] [2] The discharger according to [1], wherein the resistance portion is tapered or stepped.

[0009] [3] The dispenser according to [1] or [2], wherein the biasing portion is made of a resin material and is configured as a leaf spring or a compression spring. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a dispenser that can prevent the contents from leaking from the opening and closing part between the holding member and the piston even when the biasing part cannot return the piston to the upper limit position, and that can perform initial priming smoothly. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before a pushing operation of the discharge container in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the discharge container shown in FIG. 1 is being pressed down. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. [Figure 4]4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when a pressing operation is performed from the state shown in FIG. 3. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before a push-down operation of a discharge container in a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when the discharge container shown in FIG. 5 is being pressed down. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 5. [Figure 8] 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when a pressing operation is performed from the state shown in FIG. 7. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, in the first embodiment of the present invention, a dispensing container 1 has a dispenser 2 and a container body 3. The container body 3 has a mouth 3a, a body 3b, and a bottom (not shown) connected in this order, and contains a content 4. The content 4 is not particularly limited, and in this embodiment, it is a liquid, for example, a cosmetic product such as lotion or emulsion. In this embodiment, the direction along the central axis O is referred to as the vertical direction, the direction from the bottom toward the mouth 3a along the vertical direction is referred to as the upward direction, and the opposite direction is referred to as the downward direction, the direction perpendicular to the central axis O is referred to as the radial direction, and the direction going around the central axis O is referred to as the circumferential direction.

[0014] The discharger 2 has a cylindrical cylinder portion 5a having an air vent 11a and centered on a central axis O that is attached to the opening 3a of the container body 3; a piston 6 having a contacted portion 10b, an upper seal portion 6a, and a lower seal portion 6b; a holding member 7 having a contact portion 10a and a discharge port 7c1; a biasing portion 8 that applies an upward biasing force to the holding member 7 and is formed of a resin material and is constituted by a leaf spring 8a; a pump chamber 9 that is partitioned by the cylinder portion 5a and the piston 6; an opening / closing portion 10 that is constituted by the contacted portion 10b and the contact portion 10a and that opens and closes the downstream end of the pump chamber 9; and an outside air introduction path 11 that introduces outside air into the container body 3 through the air vent 11a.

[0015] When the holding member 7 of the dispenser 2 is pressed down against the biasing force of the biasing portion 8, the contact portion 10a slides downward on the contacted portion 10b and releases, thereby opening the opening / closing portion 10, and then the holding member 7 pushes down the piston 6, causing the contents 4 in the pump chamber 9 to be discharged from the discharge port 7c1 through the opening / closing portion 10 (i.e., changing from the state shown in Figure 1 to the state shown in Figure 2), and when the pressing operation is released, the biasing force of the biasing portion 8 causes the contact portion 10a to come into contact with the contacted portion 10b, thereby closing the opening / closing portion 10, and then the contacted portion 10b slides upward, and the holding member 7 pushes up the piston 6, causing the contents 4 in the container body 3 to be sucked into the pump chamber 9 (i.e., changing from the state shown in Figure 2 to the state shown in Figure 1).

[0016] At the initial position (top dead center) when the piston 6 is returned by the biasing member 8 upon release of the pressing operation, the upper seal member 6a is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder member 5a above the vent port 11a, and the lower seal member 6b is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder member 5a below the vent port 11a in the initial position. The inner peripheral surface of the cylinder member 5a has a gently tapered resistance portion 5a2 between the upper and lower seal members 6a and 6b in the initial position, whose inner diameter decreases downward to a straight portion 5a1. The inner peripheral surface of the cylinder member 5a also has a stepped second resistance portion 5a4 below the resistance portion 5a2, whose inner diameter decreases downward to a second straight portion 5a3.

[0017] According to the above configuration, the contact portion 10a and the contacted portion 10b have a sliding margin for sliding against each other in close contact. This prevents the opening of the opening / closing portion 10 due to external impact, even if the biasing portion 8 becomes worn due to prolonged storage during distribution and is unable to return the piston 6 to its upper limit position. Furthermore, the sliding resistance of the upper seal portion 6a when the piston 6 descends from its initial position is increased at the resistance portion 5a2. Therefore, even if the contact portion 10a and the contacted portion 10b become familiar and in close contact at the sliding location due to prolonged storage, the sliding resistance between the upper seal portion 6a and the resistance portion 5a2 facilitates the opening of the opening / closing portion 10 when the piston 6 descends from its initial position during initial priming, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 . Furthermore, if the resistance portion 5a2 prevents the opening / closing portion 10 from opening, the resistance between the lower seal portion 6b and the second resistance portion 5a4 also allows the opening / closing portion 10 to be opened. Therefore, initial priming can be performed smoothly. The second resistance portion 5a4 may be provided so that when the resistance portion 5a2 does not open the opening / closing portion 10, the resistance between the upper seal portion 6a and the second resistance portion 5a4 opens the opening / closing portion 10.

[0018] 1, the piston 6 has an annular base 6c centered on a central axis O, with the upper seal portion 6a protruding upward and radially outward from the outer periphery of the base 6c, and the lower seal portion 6b protruding downward and radially outward from the outer periphery of the base 6c. The piston 6 has a contacted seal portion 6d extending downward from the inner periphery of the base 6c and having a contacted portion 10b, and a sliding seal portion 6e extending upward from the inner periphery of the base 6c and sliding up and down in close contact with the retaining member 7.

[0019] The holding member 7 has a cylindrical stem 7a extending in the vertical direction, a piston guide 7b attached to the inner surface of the stem 7a and having a contact portion 10a, and a push-down head 7c having a discharge port 7c1 and attached to the upper end of the stem 7a, which is subjected to a push-down operation.

[0020] The piston guide 7b has a cylindrical portion 7b1 with a bottom that has an opening 7b2 that allows the contents 4 to pass radially and is attached to the inner surface of the stem 7a by fitting, a skirt portion 7b3 that extends downward and radially outward from the lower end of the cylindrical portion 7b1 around the entire circumference, and a vertical cylindrical portion 7b4 that extends upward from the outer peripheral edge of the skirt portion 7b3.

[0021] In this embodiment, the contacted portion 10b is formed by the outer peripheral surface of the contacted seal portion 6d, and the contact portion 10a is formed by the inner peripheral surface of the vertical cylinder portion 7b4, but this is not limited thereto, and the contacted portion 10b may be formed by the inner peripheral surface of the contacted seal portion 6d, and the contact portion 10a may be formed by the outer peripheral surface of the skirt portion 7b3. In this embodiment, the sliding seal portion 6e slides against both the inner peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the stem 7a and the outer peripheral surface of the piston guide 7b, but this is not limited thereto, and the sliding seal portion 6e may be configured to slide against either the inner peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the stem 7a or the outer peripheral surface of the piston guide 7b.

[0022] The lower end of the stem 7a abuts against the base 6c of the piston 6 to form a push-down portion 7a1 that pushes down the piston 6, and the lower end of the skirt portion 7b3 abuts against the lower end of the contacted sealed portion 6d of the piston 6 to form a push-up portion 7b5 that pushes up the piston 6.

[0023] The push-down head 7c has a ceiling wall portion 7c2, an outer peripheral wall portion 7c3 extending downward from the ceiling wall portion 7c2, and a connecting tube 7c4 extending downward from the ceiling wall portion 7c2 radially inward of the outer peripheral wall portion 7c3 and connected to the stem 7a, and the ceiling wall portion 7c2 has a connecting passage 7c5 connecting the inside of the connecting tube 7c4 to the discharge port 7c1.

[0024] The discharger 2 has a cylinder member 5 having a cylinder portion 5a and a flange 5b extending radially outward from the upper end of the cylinder portion 5a. The cylinder member 5 has a suction port 5c at the lower end of the cylinder portion 5a, which forms the upstream end of the pump chamber 9, and the discharger 2 has a suction valve 12 disposed in the suction port 5c. The suction valve 12 closes the suction port 5c when pressed down and opens the suction port 5c when the pressing operation is released. Note that the suction valve 12 is not limited to an elastic valve as shown in the figure.

[0025] The dispenser 2 has an attachment cap 13 having a flange holding portion 13a and an attachment tubular portion 13b connected to the flange holding portion 13a and attached to the mouth portion 3a, and the attachment cap 13 holds the flange 5b by sandwiching it between the flange holding portion 13a and the upper end surface of the mouth portion 3a.

[0026] The biasing portion 8 is composed of a plurality of leaf springs 8a arranged in a circumferential direction and each extending upward from the flange pressing portion 13a of the attachment cap 13. The leaf springs 8a have an outer peripheral surface against which the outer peripheral wall portion 7c3 of the press-down head 7c slides downward when the press-down head 7c descends due to a pressing operation, and the outer peripheral surface of the leaf springs 8a tilts downward and radially outward. Therefore, when the press-down head 7c descends, the outer peripheral wall portion 7c3 of the press-down head 7c slides downward on the outer peripheral surface of the leaf spring 8a, pressing the leaf spring 8a radially inward and elastically deforming it.

[0027] The dispenser 2 has a retaining member 14 attached to the upper end of the cylinder portion 5a to prevent the retaining member 7 from coming out of the cylinder portion 5a. When the upper seal portion 6a of the piston 6 is below the vent hole 11a, the outside air introduction path 11 allows outside air to pass between the inner circumferential surface of the retaining member 14 and the outer circumferential surface of the stem 7a and then into the container body 3 through the vent hole 11a, thereby alleviating the negative pressure inside the container body 3 that occurs when the content 4 is dispensed.

[0028] In this embodiment, the resistance portion 5a2 is tapered, but may be configured to have a stepped shape (step portion) as in the second embodiment shown in Figures 5 to 8. In the second embodiment, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, the upper seal portion 6a is caught on the resistance portion 5a2 configured as a stepped portion (inclined step portion) when pressed down, thereby opening the opening / closing portion 10. Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the second resistance portion 5a4 is provided below the resistance portion 5a2, but the second resistance portion 5a4 may not be provided.

[0029] As in the second embodiment, instead of the second resistance portion 5a4, a reverse resistance portion 5a5 whose inner diameter decreases upward to the straight portion 5a1 may be provided. In the second embodiment, the reverse resistance portion 5a5 has a stepped shape (step portion), but is not limited to this, and may have a tapered shape. With the reverse resistance portion 5a5, even if the contact portion 10a comes into contact with and pushes up the contacted portion 10b when the pressing operation is released and the holding member 7 rises due to the biasing force, and the piston 6 (lower seal portion 6b in the illustrated example) rises without sliding all the way up the contacted portion 10b, the resistance (catching on the step portion) between the piston 6 and the reverse resistance portion 5a5 can promote the piston 6 to slide all the way up the contacted portion 10b.

[0030] In the second embodiment, the reverse resistance portion 5a5 is formed by the upper end of an annular recess 5a6 provided on the inner circumferential surface of the cylinder portion 5a. The annular recess 5a6 may be configured so that not only the upper end of the annular recess 5a6 functions as the reverse resistance portion 5a5, but also the lower end of the annular recess 5a6 functions as the second resistance portion 5a4. In this case, the opening / closing portion 10 may be opened by the upper seal portion 6a or the lower seal portion 6b being caught on the second resistance portion 5a4.

[0031] In the first embodiment, the biasing portion 8 is configured by the leaf spring 8a, but is not limited to this and may be configured by, for example, a compression spring as in the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the biasing portion 8 is disposed between the pressing head 7c and the retaining member 14, but is not limited to this and may be configured to be disposed inside the pump chamber 9, for example.

[0032] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the above-described embodiments can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1 Discharge container 2 Dispenser 3 Container body 3a Mouth 3b Torso 4 Contents 5 Cylinder parts 5a Cylinder section 5a1 straight section 5a2 Resistor part 5a3 Second Straight Section 5a4 2nd resistor section 5a5 Reverse resistance section 5a6 Annular recess 5b flange 5c Intake port 6 pistons 6a Upper seal 6b Lower seal 6c base 6d Contacted seal part 6e Sliding seal part 7 Retaining member 7a stem 7a1 Press down part 7b Piston guide 7b1 Cylindrical part 7b2 opening 7b3 Skirt Club 7b4 Vertical cylinder part 7b5 Push-up part 7c Depressor head 7c1 Discharge port 7c2 Ceiling wall section 7c3 Outer wall 7c4 Connecting tube 7c5 Communication path 8. Actuating part 8a Leaf spring 9 Pump Room 10 Opening and Closing Section 10a Contact part 10b Contacted part 11 Outside air intake route 11a Ventilation hole 12 Suction valve 13 Mounting cap 13a Flange holder 13b Mounting tube 14 Stopper member O center axis

Claims

1. a cylinder portion having a vent hole and attached to the opening of the container body; a piston having a contacted portion, an upper seal portion, and a lower seal portion; a holding member having a contact portion and a discharge port; a biasing portion that applies an upward biasing force to the holding member; a pump chamber defined by the cylinder portion and the piston; an opening / closing portion configured by the contacted portion and the contact portion and configured to open and close the downstream end of the pump chamber; an outside air introduction path that introduces outside air into the container body through the vent hole, When the holding member is pressed down against the biasing force, the contact portion slides downward on the contacted portion and separates, thereby opening the opening / closing portion, and then the holding member pushes down the piston, causing the content in the pump chamber to pass through the opening / closing portion and be discharged from the discharge port, When the pressing operation is released, the contact portion comes into contact with the contacted portion due to the biasing force, thereby closing the opening / closing portion, and then the holding member slides upward on the contacted portion, and the piston is pushed up, thereby sucking the content in the container body into the pump chamber, the upper seal portion is in close contact with an inner circumferential surface of the cylinder portion above the vent hole when the piston is returned to an initial position by the biasing portion upon release of the pressing operation, the lower seal portion is in close contact with an inner circumferential surface of the cylinder portion below the vent hole in the initial position; an inner circumferential surface of the cylinder portion having a resistance portion, the resistance portion having an inner diameter that decreases downward to the straight portion, in a portion located between the upper seal portion and the lower seal portion in the initial position.

2. The dispenser according to claim 1 , wherein the resistance portion is tapered or stepped.

3. The dispenser according to claim 1 , wherein the biasing portion is made of a resin material and is configured as a leaf spring or a compression spring.

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