Foam dispensing pump

Abstract

The present invention provides a foam discharge pump that can achieve both a strong fit between the upper cap member and the main body member and airtightness of the air piston relative to the air cylinder. [Solution] A foam discharge pump 2 comprising an air cylinder 4, a liquid cylinder 5, an air piston 6a, a liquid piston 7, an air chamber 8, a liquid chamber 9, a lifting unit 10 that moves up and down together with the air piston 6a and the liquid piston 7, and a spring 11, wherein the lifting unit 10 moves up and down to mix the liquid contents pumped from the liquid chamber 9 with the air pumped from the air chamber 8 and discharge it in a foamy state, wherein the air cylinder 4 comprises a main body member 4a and an upper cap member 4b, the main body member 4a having an air cylinder peripheral wall 4a4, and the upper cap member 4b having an air cylinder inner peripheral wall 4b1 that fits onto the inner peripheral surface of the air cylinder peripheral wall 4a4, and the air piston 4 moves up and down by sliding against the inner peripheral surface of the air cylinder inner peripheral wall 4a4.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a foam discharge pump.

Background Art

[0002] An air cylinder that is held radially outward of the mouth by being attached to the outer peripheral surface of the mouth of a container body having a mouth, a body, and a bottom connected in this order, a liquid cylinder that is held radially inward of the mouth by being attached to the mouth of the air cylinder, an air piston that moves up and down by sliding relative to the air cylinder, a liquid piston that moves up and down by sliding relative to the liquid cylinder, an air chamber defined by the air cylinder and the air piston, a liquid chamber defined by the liquid cylinder and the liquid piston, a lifting part that moves up and down together with the air piston and the liquid piston, and a spring that generates a biasing force for lifting the lifting part. A foam discharge pump is known that mixes the content liquid pumped from inside the container body through the liquid chamber and the air pumped from the air chamber into a foam state and discharges it by the lifting and lowering of the lifting part (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a conventional foam discharge pump as described in Patent Document 1, the air cylinder has a main body member and an upper cap member attached to the main body member. The main body member has a mounting cylinder attached to the opening, an annular air cylinder bottom wall extending radially outward from the lower end of the mounting cylinder, and an air cylinder peripheral wall connected to the outer peripheral edge of the air cylinder bottom wall. The upper cap member has a fitting peripheral wall that fits onto the inner peripheral surface of the air cylinder peripheral wall and an annular air cylinder top wall extending radially inward from the upper end of the fitting peripheral wall. The air piston moves up and down by sliding against the inner peripheral surface of the air cylinder peripheral wall. However, in such a configuration, in order to ensure the fitting strength between the upper cap member and the main body member, it is necessary to set a large overlap of the fitting peripheral wall with respect to the air cylinder peripheral wall. If the overlap is set too large, the air cylinder peripheral wall deforms radially outward, making it impossible to ensure airtightness of the air piston with respect to the air cylinder, which may reduce the air pumping performance.

[0005] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a foam discharge pump that can achieve both the fitting strength between the upper cap member and the main body member and the airtightness of the air piston relative to the air cylinder. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

[0007] [1] An air cylinder is attached to the outer circumferential surface of the mouth of a container body having a mouth, a body, and a bottom in that order, and is held radially outward of the mouth. A liquid cylinder is held radially inward of the opening by being mounted on the opening of the air cylinder, An air piston that moves up and down by sliding relative to the air cylinder, A liquid piston that moves up and down by sliding relative to the liquid cylinder, An air chamber partitioned by the air cylinder and the air piston, A liquid chamber is partitioned by the liquid cylinder and the liquid piston, A lifting section that moves up and down together with the air piston and the liquid piston, It has a spring that generates a biasing force to raise the lifting part, A foam discharge pump that mixes the liquid contents pumped from the container body through the liquid chamber with air pumped from the air chamber by raising and lowering the aforementioned lifting section, to form foam and discharge it, The air cylinder comprises a main body member and an upper cap member attached to the main body member. The main body member comprises a mounting cylinder attached to the outer circumferential surface of the opening, an annular air cylinder bottom wall extending radially outward from the lower end of the mounting cylinder, and an air cylinder circumferential wall connected to the outer circumferential edge of the air cylinder bottom wall. The upper cap member has an air cylinder inner wall that fits onto the inner surface of the air cylinder peripheral wall, and an annular air cylinder top wall that extends radially inward from the upper end edge of the air cylinder inner wall. The air piston is a foam discharge pump that moves up and down by sliding against the inner surface of the inner wall of the air cylinder.

[0008] [2] The bottom wall of the air cylinder has a fitting recess that extends circumferentially adjacent to the circumferential wall of the air cylinder and is recessed downward, The lower end of the inner circumferential wall of the air cylinder is fitted into the fitting recess, as described in [1], for the foam discharge pump. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a foam discharge pump that can achieve both the fitting strength between the upper cap member and the main body member and the airtightness of the air piston relative to the air cylinder. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a cross-sectional view showing the state of a foam discharge pump according to one embodiment of the present invention before it is put into use. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] As shown in Figure 1, in one embodiment of the present invention, the foam dispensing container 1 has a foam dispensing pump 2 and a container body 3. The container body 3 has a cylindrical mouth portion 3a centered on a central axis O, a body portion 3b that widens in diameter from the lower end of the mouth portion 3a, and a bottom portion connected to the lower end of the body portion 3b, in this order, and contains the liquid contents. The body portion 3b has a shoulder region 3b1 that widens in diameter from the lower end of the mouth portion 3a, and a body body region 3b2 that extends downward from the outer peripheral edge of the shoulder region 3b1. The liquid contents are not particularly limited as long as they are liquid, for example, cosmetics such as beauty serums and foundations. In this embodiment, the vertical direction is along the central axis O of the mouth portion 3a, the upward direction is from the bottom to the mouth portion 3a along the vertical direction, and the downward direction is in the opposite direction. The radial direction is perpendicular to the central axis O, and the circumferential direction is the direction that circles the central axis O.

[0013] The foam discharge pump 2 includes an air cylinder 4 that is attached to the outer circumferential surface of the mouth 3a of the container body 3 and held radially outward of the mouth 3a, a liquid cylinder 5 that is attached to the mouth 3a of the air cylinder 4 and held radially inward of the mouth 3a, an air piston 6a that moves up and down by sliding relative to the air cylinder 4, a liquid piston 7 that moves up and down by sliding relative to the liquid cylinder 5, an air chamber 8 partitioned by the air cylinder 4 and the air piston 6a, a liquid chamber 9 partitioned by the liquid cylinder 5 and the liquid piston 7, a lifting unit 10 that moves up and down together with the air piston 6a and the liquid piston 7, and a spring 11 that generates a biasing force to raise the lifting unit 10. By moving the lifting unit 10 up and down, the contents of the liquid pumped from inside the container body 3 through the liquid chamber 9 and the air pumped from the air chamber 8 are mixed to form foam and discharged.

[0014] The air cylinder 4 comprises a main body member 4a and an upper cap member 4b that is attached to the main body member 4a and held at the upper end of the main body member 4a.

[0015] The main body member 4a includes a mounting cylinder 4a1 attached to the outer circumferential surface of the opening 3a via a screw fitting portion, an annular cap top wall 4a2 extending radially inward from the upper end of the mounting cylinder 4a1, an annular air cylinder bottom wall 4a3 extending radially outward from the lower end of the mounting cylinder 4a1, and an air cylinder peripheral wall 4a4 connected to the outer circumferential edge of the air cylinder bottom wall 4a3 and centered on the central axis O. The air cylinder bottom wall 4a3 has an outside air inlet 4a5 and faces the upper surface of the shoulder region 3b1 of the body 3b with a gap between them. An outside air inlet valve 12 is arranged inside the air chamber 8, and the outside air inlet valve 12 suppresses the discharge of air from the air chamber 8 through the outside air inlet 4a5, while allowing air to be introduced into the air chamber 8 from the outside air inlet 4a5. The outside air intake valve 12 has a cylindrical body 12a that is mounted on the outer surface of the mounting cylinder 4a1, and a valve body 12b that extends radially outward from the lower end of the cylindrical body 12a, covering the outside air intake port 4a5, and is elastically deformable in the vertical direction.

[0016] The upper cap member 4b has an air cylinder inner circumferential wall 4b1 that fits onto the inner circumferential surface of the air cylinder circumferential wall 4a4, an annular air cylinder top wall 4b2 extending radially inward from the upper end edge of the air cylinder inner circumferential wall 4b1, a flange portion 4b3 extending radially outward from the upper end edge of the air cylinder inner circumferential wall 4b1 and contacting the upper end surface of the air cylinder circumferential wall 4a4, and an inner cylinder portion 4b4 extending downward from the inner circumferential edge of the air cylinder top wall 4b2. The air cylinder bottom wall 4a3 has a fitting recess 4a6 that extends circumferentially adjacent to the air cylinder circumferential wall 4a4 and is recessed downward, and the lower end of the air cylinder inner circumferential wall 4b1 fits into the fitting recess 4a6. The inner surface of the air cylinder circumferential wall 4a4 has a circumferential groove 4a7 extending in the circumferential direction above the movable range of the air piston 6a, and the outer surface of the air cylinder inner circumferential wall 4b1 has a protrusion 4b5 that fits into the circumferential groove 4a7 so as to restrict the upward movement of the air cylinder inner circumferential wall 4b1 relative to the air cylinder circumferential wall 4a4. In this embodiment, there are multiple circumferential grooves 4a7, but this is not limited to that number. Alternatively, the arrangement of the circumferential grooves 4a7 and the protrusions 4b5 may be reversed so that the inner surface of the air cylinder circumferential wall 4a4 has the protrusions 4b5 and the outer surface of the air cylinder inner circumferential wall 4b1 has the circumferential grooves 4a7. The inner circumferential edge of the upper cap member 4b guides the upward and downward movement of the lifting and lowering section 10 in the vertical direction.

[0017] The liquid cylinder 5 has a liquid cylinder wall 5a centered on the central axis O, a flange 5b extending radially outward from the upper end of the liquid cylinder wall 5a, and a liquid cylinder bottom wall 5c connected to the lower end of the liquid cylinder wall 5a. The liquid cylinder bottom wall 5c has a liquid inlet 5d for introducing the content liquid inhaled from inside the container body 3 into the liquid chamber 9. The liquid cylinder 5 is held by the mounting cylinder 4a1 of the air cylinder 4 being mounted on the mouth portion 3a, with the flange 5b being sandwiched between the upper end surface of the mouth portion 3a and the lower surface of the cap top wall 4a2.

[0018] The air piston 6a moves up and down by sliding with respect to the inner peripheral surface of the inner peripheral wall 4b1 of the air cylinder. The air piston 6a has an air piston sliding portion 6e having a cylindrical shape with a constricted middle portion in the vertical direction, and the air piston sliding portion 6e slides up and down on the inner peripheral surface of the inner peripheral wall 4b1 of the air cylinder.

[0019] The elevating portion 10 has a pressing head portion 10a. The pressing head portion 10a has a pressing head 13 having a discharge port 13a for discharging the foamy content liquid, a foaming member 14, and a holding cylinder 15 that holds the foaming member 14 inside and is attached to the pressing head 13.

[0020] The lifting section 10 has a stem 10b that forms a liquid flow path 21 radially inward from the liquid chamber 9 toward the confluence section 16 of the liquid contents and air. Between the push head 13 and the stem 10b, an air piston member 6 is provided, which is mounted on the stem 10b and the push head 13. The air piston member 6 has a stem mounting portion 6b mounted on the upper end of the stem 10b, a push head mounting portion 6c extending radially outward from the stem mounting portion 6b and fitted onto the push head 13, an air piston base portion 6d extending radially outward from the push head mounting portion 6c and connected to an air piston sliding portion 6e, and an air piston sliding portion 6e connected to the outer peripheral edge of the air piston base portion 6d. The air piston 6a extends radially outward from the push head mounting portion 6c and has an air piston base portion 6d and an air piston sliding portion 6e. The lifting section 10 integrally holds the air piston 6a. The air piston base 6d has a cylindrical air piston section 6d1 that extends vertically radially inward from the inner cylinder section 4b4 and radially outward from the mounting cylinder 4a1, and an air piston annular wall 6d2 that extends radially outward from the lower end of the air piston section 6d1 and connects to the air piston sliding section 6e. Between the push-down head mounting section 6c and the push-down head 13, an air passage 17 is formed that flows from the air chamber 8 to the confluence section 16.

[0021] The main body member 4a has a seal cylinder 4a8 extending upward from the inner peripheral edge of the cap top wall 4a2. The pressing head mounting portion 6c of the air piston member 6 has a sealing surface 6c1 that slides vertically on the outer peripheral surface of the upper end of the seal cylinder 4a8. The air chamber 8 is partitioned by the outer peripheral surface of the seal cylinder 4a8, the inner peripheral surface of the inner peripheral wall 4b1 of the air cylinder of the upper cap member 4b, and the air piston 6a. The spring chamber 18 is partitioned by the inner peripheral surface of the seal cylinder 4a8, the sealing surface 6c1, and the outer peripheral surface of the stem 10b. The spring chamber 18 is isolated from the air chamber 8 by the seal cylinder 4a8. The spring 11 is placed inside the spring chamber 18. The spring 11 is a compression spring that expands and contracts vertically. In this embodiment, the spring 11 is made of metal. However, the spring 11 may be made of a material other than metal, such as resin. The spring 11 is supported from below by the liquid cylinder 5 via a retaining member 19 that is held by the liquid cylinder 5 and restricts the stem 10b from coming out upward. When the push-down head portion 10a is pressed, the spring 11 presses upward against the push-down head mounting portion 6c of the air piston member 6, thereby providing an upward biasing force to the lifting portion 10. The above configuration, in which the spring 11 is placed in the spring chamber 18 isolated from the air chamber 8 by the seal cylinder 4a8, is preferable because it suppresses the corrosion caused by moisture entering the air chamber 8 coming into contact with the metal spring 11. However, the spring 11 may be placed in the air chamber 8 without the seal cylinder 4a8. It is also possible to place the spring 11 in the liquid chamber 9.

[0022] To use the device, first, the stopper 20 that restricts pressing the pressing head 10a is removed from the pressing head 10a. Then, the pressing head 10a is pressed against the biasing force of the spring 11, and then the pressing operation is released. When pressed, the liquid piston 7 slides downward on the liquid cylinder 5, causing the liquid contents to flow from the liquid chamber 9 through the liquid passage 21 inside the stem 10b towards the confluence 16. Meanwhile, the air piston 6a slides downward on the air cylinder 4, causing air to flow from the air chamber 8 through the air passage 17 towards the confluence 16. The liquid contents and air merge and mix at the confluence 16, passing through the foaming member 14, becoming foam, and are discharged from the discharge port 13a. As the lifting section 10 is lowered by the pressing operation, the air piston sliding section 6e moves down along the inner surface of the inner wall 4b1 of the air cylinder from the upper end (position shown by a solid line in Figure 1) to the lower end (position shown by a dashed line in Figure 1).

[0023] When the pressing operation on the pressing head portion 10a is released, the lifting portion 10 rises due to the biasing force of the spring 11. As the lifting portion 10 rises, the liquid piston 7 slides upward on the liquid cylinder 5, causing the liquid chamber 9 to depressurize, and the liquid contents are drawn from inside the container body 3 into the liquid chamber 9 through the liquid inlet 5d. Also, as the lifting portion 10 rises, the air piston 6a slides upward on the air cylinder 4, causing the air chamber 8 to depressurize, and air is drawn from outside the foam discharge container 1 into the air chamber 8 through the outside air inlet 4a5. As the lifting portion 10 rises, the air piston sliding portion 6e rises on the inner surface of the inner wall 4b1 of the air cylinder to its upper limit.

[0024] According to this embodiment, the inner circumferential wall 4b1 of the air cylinder of the upper cap member 4b on which the air piston 6a slides fits into the inner circumferential surface of the air cylinder circumferential wall 4a4 of the main body member 4a. Therefore, even if a large interference fit is set, the inner circumferential wall 4b1 of the air cylinder does not deform radially outward, and thus the close contact between the air piston 6a and the inner circumferential wall 4b1 is not weakened. Consequently, both the fitting strength between the upper cap member 4b and the main body member 4a and the airtightness of the air piston 6a relative to the air cylinder 4 can be achieved.

[0025] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, since the lower end of the inner circumferential wall 4b1 of the air cylinder fits into the fitting recess 4a6, even if a large tightening allowance for fitting is set, deformation of the inner circumferential wall 4b1 radially inward can be suppressed, thereby preventing an increase in the sliding resistance of the air piston 6a that would worsen operability.

[0026] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and the embodiments described above can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0027] For example, in the embodiment described above, the air piston 6a is held integrally with the lifting unit 10, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, the air piston 6a may be held in the lifting unit 10 so as to be movable in the vertical direction, and the air passage 17 may be opened and closed by the relative movement between the air piston 6a and the lifting unit 10. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 1 Foam dispensing container 2. Foam dispensing pump 3. Container body 3a Mouth 3b Torso 3b1 shoulder area 3b2 Torso area 4 air cylinders 4a Main body component 4a1 Mounting tube 4a2 Cap top wall 4a3 Air cylinder bottom wall 4a4 Air cylinder peripheral wall 4a5 Outside air inlet 4a6 Fitting recess 4a7 Circumferential groove 4a8 Seal tube 4b Upper cap member 4b1 Inner circumferential wall of air cylinder 4b2 Air cylinder top wall 4b3 Flange section 4b4 Inner cylinder part 4b5 Convex part 5 liquid cylinders 5a Liquid cylinder wall 5b Flange 5c Liquid cylinder bottom wall 5d Liquid inlet 6. Air piston member 6a Air piston 6b Stem mounting section 6c Press head mounting section 6c1 sealing surface 6d Air piston base 6d1 Air piston cylinder 6d2 Air piston annular wall 6e Air piston sliding part 7 Liquid piston 8 Air chambers 9 Liquid chamber 10 Lifting section 10a Press head section 10b stem 11 Springs 12. Outdoor air intake valve 12a cylinder 12b Valve body 13 Press head 13a Discharge port 14 Foaming component 15 Holding tube 16. Confluence 17 Airflow channel 18 Spring Chamber 19 Retaining member 20 Stoppers 21 Liquid flow path O center axis

Claims

1. An air cylinder is attached to the outer circumferential surface of the mouth of a container body having a mouth, a body, and a bottom in that order, and is held radially outward of the mouth. A liquid cylinder is held radially inward of the opening by being mounted on the opening of the air cylinder, An air piston that moves up and down by sliding relative to the air cylinder, A liquid piston that moves up and down by sliding relative to the liquid cylinder, An air chamber partitioned by the air cylinder and the air piston, A liquid chamber is partitioned by the liquid cylinder and the liquid piston, A lifting section that moves up and down together with the air piston and the liquid piston, It has a spring that generates a biasing force to raise the lifting part, A foam discharge pump that mixes the liquid contents pumped from the container body through the liquid chamber with air pumped from the air chamber by raising and lowering the aforementioned lifting section, to form foam and discharge it, The air cylinder comprises a main body member and an upper cap member attached to the main body member. The main body member comprises a mounting cylinder attached to the outer circumferential surface of the opening, an annular air cylinder bottom wall extending radially outward from the lower end of the mounting cylinder, and an air cylinder circumferential wall connected to the outer circumferential edge of the air cylinder bottom wall. The upper cap member has an air cylinder inner wall that fits onto the inner surface of the air cylinder peripheral wall, and an annular air cylinder top wall that extends radially inward from the upper end edge of the air cylinder inner wall. The air piston is a foam discharge pump that moves up and down by sliding against the inner surface of the inner wall of the air cylinder.

2. The bottom wall of the air cylinder has a fitting recess that extends circumferentially adjacent to the circumferential wall of the air cylinder and is recessed downward, The foam discharge pump according to claim 1, wherein the lower end of the inner circumferential wall of the air cylinder is fitted into the fitting recess.

Images