Liquid dispenser and liquid dispenser

Abstract

To provide a liquid spray and a liquid spray container capable of preventing unexpected push-down of a spray head by using a stopper miniaturized in consideration of a cost aspect and an environmental aspect while maintaining a function of suppressing rattling caused when the spray head is pushed down.SOLUTION: A liquid spray 2A comprises: a cap 3 having an inner cylinder 31 and an outer cylinder 32; a spray head 4 having an inner cylinder 41 and an outer cylinder 42; and a stopper 5A having a knob part 51 and an extending part 52 for limiting push-down of the spray head 4. The cap inner cylinder 31 and the stopper extending part 52 are provided with fitting parts 35, 55, respectively. The cap outer cylinder 32 is provided with a through hole A3 into which the stopper fitting part 55 can be inserted. In a state where the stopper fitting part 55 has passed the through hole A3 and has fitted to the cap fitting part 35, the stopper extending part 52 is arranged at a position right under a lower end 42a of the spray head outer cylinder 42. A liquid spray container 1A comprises the spray 2A and a container body 100.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid ejector and a liquid ejection container.

Background Art

[0002] In a conventional liquid ejector, for example, a vertical guide portion (guide groove) is formed in an inner cylinder (inner guide cylinder) of a cap (mounting cylinder member) that can be attached to the mouth portion of a container body, and the liquid in the container body is ejected by depressing an ejection head (pushing-down head) along the vertical guide portion (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] A liquid ejector having a vertical guide portion for guiding the depression of an ejection head formed in a cap, like the above-described conventional liquid ejector, is effective for a large-capacity spray with a large liquid ejection amount. The reason is that, for example, in the case of a large-capacity spray, the pressure on the ejection head becomes high, and thus it is necessary to increase the size of the ejection head. By guiding the ejection head by the vertical guide portion formed in the cap, it is possible to suppress the wobbling of the ejection head during liquid ejection caused by the increase in the size of the ejection head.

[0005] On the other hand, when considering portability, means for preventing an unexpected depression of the ejection head are required.

[0006] [[ID=۴۲]] One way to prevent the spray head from being pushed down is to use an overcap that can be attached to the cap. However, overcaps increase the overall size, increase the amount of resin used, and there is room for improvement in terms of cost and environmental impact.

[0007] In contrast, another example of a means to prevent the spray head from being pushed down is a conventional C-shaped stopper that can be fitted into the inner cylinder of the cap. However, since this stopper means requires the C-shaped stopper to be fitted into the inner cylinder of the cap, there is a concern that the C-shaped stopper will end up being a rather large stopper.

[0008] The object of the present invention is to provide a liquid dispenser and a liquid dispenser container that can prevent the unexpected downward movement of the dispenser head by using a miniaturized stopper, while maintaining the function of suppressing rattle that may occur when the dispenser head is pushed down, and taking into consideration cost and environmental factors. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] (1) The liquid dispenser according to the present invention comprises an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder that stand upright toward the top, a cap that can be attached to the mouth of a container body, an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder that hang downward, a spray head that is pushed down along a vertical guide portion provided on the inner cylinder of the cap to spray the liquid from the container body, a handle portion for the user to grasp and an extension portion connected to the handle portion, a stopper that limits the downward pressing of the spray head, the inner cylinder of the cap and the extension portion of the stopper each have fitting portions that are removablely fitted to each other, and further, the outer cylinder of the cap has a through hole into which the fitting portion of the stopper can be inserted, and when the fitting portion of the stopper has passed through the through hole and is fitted to the fitting portion of the cap, the extension portion of the stopper is positioned directly below the lower end of the outer cylinder of the spray head in the initial state before the spray head is pressed down.

[0010] (2) In the liquid dispenser described in (1) above, it is preferable that one of the fitting portions is formed by two elastic pieces, and the other of the fitting portion is formed by a clamping portion that is removably sandwiched between the two elastic pieces.

[0011] (3) In the liquid dispenser described in (2) above, the fitting portion of the stopper may be formed by two elastic pieces, and the fitting portion of the cap may be formed by a clamping portion that is removably sandwiched between the two elastic pieces.

[0012] (4) In the liquid dispenser described in (2) above, the fitting portion of the cap may be formed by two elastic pieces, and the fitting portion of the stopper may be formed by a clamping portion that is removably sandwiched between the two elastic pieces.

[0013] (5) In the stopper relating to any one of the liquid dispensers described in (1) to (4) above, the extension portion may be linearly extending.

[0014] (6) In the stopper relating to any one of (1) to (4) above, the extension portion is provided with a bent portion, and the knob portion is positioned directly above the upper end of the outer cylinder of the cap when the fitting portion of the stopper passes through the through hole and is fitted with the fitting portion of the cap.

[0015] (7) In a liquid dispenser described in any one of (1) to (6) above, it is preferable that the fitting portion of the cap is provided at a position offset from the position of the vertical guide portion provided on the inner cylinder in the circumferential direction of the inner cylinder of the cap.

[0016] (8) The liquid ejection container according to the present invention includes the liquid ejector described in any one of (1) to (7) above, and a container body to which the liquid ejector is attached.

Advantages of the Invention

[0017] According to the present invention, while maintaining the function of suppressing rattling that may occur when the ejection head is pushed down, considering cost and environmental aspects, it is possible to provide a liquid ejector and a liquid ejection container that can prevent unexpected depression of the ejection head by using a miniaturized stopper.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] [Figure 1] It is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a liquid ejection container according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and the liquid ejection container includes a liquid ejector according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an enlarged view of the liquid ejection container of FIG. 1. [Figure 3A] It is a plan view schematically showing a cap related to the liquid ejector of FIG. 1. [Figure 3B] It is a side view schematically showing the cap of FIG. 3A in a B-B cross-section. [Figure 4] It is a cross-sectional view of A-A of FIG. 1. [Figure 5A] It is a plan view schematically showing a stopper related to the liquid ejector of FIG. 1. [Figure 5B] It is a side view schematically showing the stopper of FIG. 5A. [Figure 6] It is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a liquid ejection container according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and the liquid ejection container includes a liquid ejector according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] It is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an enlarged view of the liquid ejection container of FIG. 6. [Figure 8] It is a cross-sectional view of A-A of FIG. 6. [Figure 9A] It is a plan view schematically showing the stopper of FIG. 7. [Figure 9B]It is a side view schematically showing the stopper of FIG. 9A. [Figure 10] In the liquid ejector of FIG. 6, it is a plan view schematically showing a state in which the stopper according to the present invention is fitted to a cap related to the liquid ejector.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] Hereinafter, referring to the drawings, the liquid ejector and the liquid ejection container according to some embodiments of the present invention will be described.

[0020] In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1A is a liquid ejection container according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The liquid ejection container 1A includes a liquid ejector 2A according to a first embodiment of the present invention and a container body 100 to which the liquid ejector 2A is attached. Reference numeral О is the central axis of the liquid ejection container 1A. FIG. 1 shows a plane including the axis О as a cross section. In the present disclosure, the central axis of the liquid ejector 2A and the central axis of the container body 100 are the same as the central axis О (hereinafter, also referred to as "axis О"). Also, in the present disclosure, the direction extending along the axis О is also referred to as the "axial direction". Also, in the present disclosure, the direction orthogonal to the axial direction is also referred to as the radial direction. Further, in the present disclosure, among the radial directions, the side facing the axis О is referred to as the inner radial side, and the side away from the axis О is referred to as the outer radial side.

[0021] In the present disclosure, the container body 100 is a so-called bottle container. The container body 100 includes a mouth portion 101, a neck portion 102 connected to the mouth portion 101, a shoulder portion 10 connected to the neck portion 102, a body portion 104 connected to the shoulder portion 103, and a bottom portion 105 connected to the body portion 104. The lower end of the body portion 104 is closed by the bottom portion 105. An accommodation space S100 capable of accommodating liquid is formed inside the container body 100. An opening A100 leading to the accommodation space S100 is formed inside the mouth portion 101. The container body 100 can be formed, for example, by blow molding using synthetic resin. However, the manufacturing method of the container body 100 is not limited to blow molding and can be manufactured by various methods.

[0022] The liquid dispenser 2A is equipped with a cap 3, a spray head 4, and a stopper 5A.

[0023] Figure 2 is an enlarged view of Figure 1. The cap 3 comprises an inner cylinder (inner cylinder of the cap) 31 and an outer cylinder (outer cylinder of the cap) 32 that stand upright toward the top, and can be attached to the mouth 101 of the container body 100. In this embodiment, the cap 3 is made of synthetic resin. The outer cylinder 32 of the cap 3 stands upright so as to engage with the inner cylinder 31 of the cap 3. Here, "facing upward" means facing away from the side of the cap 3 (liquid dispenser 2A) that is attached (the side of the mouth 101 of the container body 100) in the axial direction.

[0024] The cap 3 further includes, specifically, a partition wall 33 (partition wall of the cap) that can be positioned on the upper end side of the mouth 101 of the container body 100. The inner cylinder 31 extends upward along the axial direction from the inner end of the partition wall 33. The outer cylinder 32 also extends upward along the axial direction from the outer end of the partition wall 33 so as to engage the inner cylinder 31 around the axis O. In this disclosure, the outer cylinder 32 functions as an outer cover for the cap 3 (liquid dispenser 2A).

[0025] The cap 3 is further provided with a mounting tube (cap mounting tube) 34 that hangs downward. The mounting tube 34 of the cap 3 allows the cap 3 to be attached to the mouth 101 of the container body 100. In this disclosure, the mounting tube 34 hangs downward from the partition wall 33. Here, "downward" means toward the mounting side of the cap 3 (liquid dispenser 2A) (towards the mouth 101 of the container body 100) in the axial direction. In this disclosure, the mounting tube 34 can be attached to the mouth 101 of the container body 100 by screwing it to the mouth 101. However, the mounting tube 34 of the cap 3 is not limited to being attached to the mouth 101 of the container body 100 by screwing it to the mouth 101.

[0026] Furthermore, in this disclosure, the lower portion of the outer cylinder 32 of the cap 3 hangs down to engage the mounting cylinder 34. That is, the lower portion of the outer cylinder 32 extends downward along the axial direction from the partition wall 33 to engage the mounting cylinder 34 around the axis O. In this disclosure, the lower portion of the outer cylinder 32 also functions as an outer cover for the cap 3 (liquid dispenser 2A).

[0027] Figure 3A is a plan view of the cap 3. As shown in Figure 3A, the inner cylinder 31 of the cap 3 is provided with a vertical guide portion 7a, which will be described later. The vertical guide portion 7a extends downward along the axial direction from the upper end 31a of the inner cylinder 31. In this disclosure, the vertical guide portion 7a extends to the lower end of the inner cylinder 31 (the surface of the partition wall 33). The vertical guide portion 7a can be, for example, a cutout (notch) made by cutting out (penetrating) a part of the inner cylinder 31, as shown in Figure 3A. In the liquid dispenser 2A, the inner cylinder 31 of the cap 3 is provided with two vertical guide portions 7a. The two vertical guide portions 7a are positioned opposite each other across the axis O, as shown in Figure 3A. Specifically, as shown in Figure 3A, the two vertical guide portions 7a are each on the YY line passing through the axis O in a plan view, and are positioned opposite each other across the axis O. The YY line is perpendicular to the axis O. However, there only needs to be at least one vertical guide section 7a. That is, there can be three or more vertical guide sections 7a.

[0028] In contrast, a portion of the upper end 32a of the outer cylinder 32 of the cap 3 forms two recesses (32A1, 32A2). The two recesses (32A1, 32A2) are also positioned opposite each other across the axis O, as shown in Figure 3A. Specifically, the two recesses (32A1, 32A2) are each on the line XX passing through the axis O in a plan view, as shown in Figure 3A, and are positioned opposite each other across the axis O. The line XX is also perpendicular to the axis O. Furthermore, the line XX is perpendicular to the line YY in a plan view, as shown in Figure 3A.

[0029] In this disclosure, the extension direction of the XX line is the front-to-back direction, and the extension direction of the YY line is the left-to-right direction. In other words, in this disclosure, the two recesses (32A1, 32A2) are arranged in the front-to-back direction, and the two vertical guide portions 7a are arranged in the left-to-right direction. In this disclosure, the recess 32A1 is formed in the front region of the upper end 32a of the outer cylinder 32. In this disclosure, as shown in Figure 3A, the front region is the region in front of the front-to-back boundary line (YY line) within the front half of the outer cylinder 32 (the region in front of the YY line). In other words, the recess 32A1 is formed in a part of the front portion of the outer cylinder 32. The nozzle 47 of the ejection head 4, which will be described later, can be accommodated in the recess 32A1. Also in this disclosure, the recess 32A2 is formed in the rear region of the upper end 32a of the outer cylinder 32. In this disclosure, the rear region is the rear half of the outer cylinder 32 (the region behind the YY line), as shown in Figure 3A. In this disclosure, the recess 32A2 is formed over the entire rear half of the region. The recess 32A2 facilitates the pressing of the ejection head 4, which will be described later.

[0030] Furthermore, the inner cylinder 31 of the cap 3 is provided with a fitting portion (cap-side fitting portion) 35 that is removably fitted to a fitting portion (stopper-side fitting portion) 55 provided on the stopper 5A, which will be described later. In this disclosure, the fitting portion 35 of the cap 3 is located on the rear side of the inner cylinder 31. In this disclosure, the fitting portion 35 of the cap 3 protrudes from the outer circumferential surface of the inner cylinder 31 toward the rear and is connected to the outer circumferential surface of the inner cylinder 31. In this disclosure, the outer surface 35f of the fitting portion 35 is formed on the rear side of the inner cylinder 31 by an arcuate surface having a left-right width W31b that is wider than the left-right width W31b at the joint between the inner cylinder 31 and the fitting portion 35. In this disclosure, the fitting portion 35 has a cylindrical shape.

[0031] Figure 3B is a cross-sectional view of BB in Figure 3A. The BB cross-section is a cross-section passing through axis O. As shown in Figure 3B, a through hole A3 is formed in the outer cylinder 32 of the cap 3. The through hole A3 allows the fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5A, which will be described later, to be inserted from the radially outside. In this disclosure, as shown in Figure 3B, the through hole A3 is located behind the inner cylinder 31 and is positioned opposite the fitting portion 35 in the front-rear direction. In the liquid dispenser 2A, the lower end of the through hole A3 coincides with the upper surface 33f of the partition wall 33 of the cap 3. In addition, a mounting hole A33 for attaching the pump 6, which will be described later, is formed in the partition wall 33. The mounting hole A33 is a through hole that penetrates the partition wall 33 in the axial direction.

[0032] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 1, part AA. The spray head 4 comprises an inner cylinder (inner cylinder of the spray head) 41 and an outer cylinder (outer cylinder of the spray head) 42 that hang downwards, and is pushed down along the vertical guide portion 7a provided on the inner cylinder 31 of the cap 3 to spray the liquid from the container body 100. In this embodiment, the spray head 4 is made of synthetic resin. The outer cylinder 42 of the spray head 4 hangs downwards so as to surround the inner cylinder 41 of the spray head 4.

[0033] As shown in Figure 4, in this disclosure, the inner cylinder 41 of the spray head 4 is located inside the inner cylinder 31 of the cap 3. Also in this disclosure, the outer cylinder 42 of the spray head 4 is located inside the outer cylinder 42 of the cap 3.

[0034] The spray head 4 is further provided with a guide projection 7b that is guided by the vertical guide portion 7a of the cap 3. In this disclosure, the guide projection 7b of the spray head 4 can move up and down in the axial direction along the cutout shape of the vertical guide portion 7a of the cap 3. In this disclosure, the guide projection 7b is a partition plate connecting the inner cylinder 41 and the outer cylinder 42. However, the vertical guide portion 7a of the cap 3 can be an internal groove formed on the inner circumferential surface of the inner cylinder 31 of the cap 3 instead of a cutout. In this case, the guide projection 7b of the spray head 4 can be a projection formed on the outer circumferential surface of the inner cylinder 41 (discontinuous with the outer cylinder 42). Alternatively, the vertical guide portion 7a of the cap 3 can be an external groove formed on the outer circumferential surface of the inner cylinder 31 of the cap 3 instead of a cutout. In this case, the guide projection 7b of the spray head 4 can be a projection formed on the inner circumferential surface of the outer cylinder 42 (discontinuous with the inner cylinder 41). Thus, the spray head 4 can also be guided by slidably positioning a projection formed on the spray head 4 in a groove formed on the cap 3.

[0035] Referring to Figure 2, the ejection head 4 further comprises a top wall 45. The top wall 45 is the part that the user contacts to push down the ejection head 4. The inner cylinder 41 extends downward axially from the top wall 45. The outer cylinder 42 also extends downward axially from the top wall 45 so as to engage the inner cylinder 41 around axis O. In this disclosure, the outer cylinder 42 functions as an outer cover for the ejection head 4 (liquid ejector 2A).

[0036] The spray head 4 further includes a mounting cylinder (pump mounting cylinder) 46 that can be attached to the pump 6. The mounting cylinder 46 of the spray head 4 hangs downward so as to be surrounded by the inner cylinder 41. Referring to Figure 2, the mounting cylinder 46 extends downward along the axial direction from the top wall 45. Furthermore, in this disclosure, the spray head 4 includes a nozzle 47. The nozzle 47 protrudes radially outward from the outer circumferential surface of the outer cylinder 42. The nozzle 47 is positioned in a recess 32A1 formed in the outer cylinder 32 of the cap 3. Inside the nozzle 47, a spray channel is formed that leads to an internal channel formed inside the mounting cylinder 46. In this disclosure, a spin element 48 with an outlet A4 is attached to the spray channel of the nozzle 47. As a result, in this disclosure, the liquid from the container body 100 can be sprayed from the outlet A4.

[0037] The liquid dispenser 2A further comprises a pump 6. The pump 6 can also be made of synthetic resin. In this disclosure, the pump 6 comprises a cylinder 61 positioned in the containment space S100 through an opening A100 of the container body 100, a cylinder cover 62 attached to the upper end of the cylinder 61, a hollow liquid piston 63 positioned between the cylinder 61 and the cylinder cover 62 and slidable inside the cylinder 61, an inlet valve 64 capable of opening and closing the liquid inlet side of the cylinder 61, a hollow valve piston 65 slidable inside the hollow liquid piston 63, and a valve plunger 66 slidable inside the hollow valve piston 65. The valve plunger 66, together with the hollow valve piston 65, forms an outlet valve capable of opening and closing the liquid outlet side of the cylinder 61. In other words, in this disclosure, the pump space S6 of the pump 6 is formed by the cylinder 61, the cylinder cover 62, the hollow liquid piston 63, the inlet valve 64, the hollow valve piston 65, and the valve plunger 66.

[0038] Furthermore, in this disclosure, the pump 6 includes a stem 67 that slidably holds a hollow valve piston 65 and fixedly holds a valve plunger 66. Inside the stem 67, an internal passage is formed which is opened and closed by the sliding of the hollow valve piston 65 relative to the valve plunger 66. A mounting cylinder 46 for the ejection head 4 is attached to the upper end of the stem 67. This allows the internal passage of the stem 67 of the pump 6 to communicate with the internal passage of the mounting cylinder 46 for the ejection head 4. Furthermore, in this disclosure, the pump 6 includes a spring 68 between the cylinder cover 62 and the stem 67. The spring 68 passes through a mounting hole A33 formed in the partition wall 33 of the cap 3 and biases the stem 67 upward. This allows the ejection head 4 attached to the stem 67 to be initially biased upward. In this disclosure, the pump 6 includes a spring 69 positioned between the hollow valve piston 65 and the stem 67. The spring 69 biases the hollow valve piston 65 toward the valve plunger 66. In this disclosure, the pump 6 includes a valve piston 65 inside the hollow liquid piston 63, which is biased toward the valve plunger 66 by the biasing force of the spring 69. In this disclosure, the pump space S6 can function as a pressure accumulation space. Note that the springs 68 and 69 may be made of metal instead of synthetic resin.

[0039] In this disclosure, the liquid dispenser 2A is a pressurized liquid dispenser. However, the liquid dispenser 2A is not limited to a pressurized liquid dispenser, and the pump 6 may be a pump without a pressurizing function. In addition, in this disclosure, the pump 6 is provided with an annular sealing member 6S. The sealing member 6S is also made of synthetic resin. The sealing member 6S seals the pump 6 and the upper end of the mouth 101 of the container body 100. In this disclosure, the sealing member 6S is sandwiched between the flange of the cylinder 61 of the pump 6 and the mouth 101 of the container body 100.

[0040] The stopper 5A includes a gripping portion 51 for the user to grasp and an extension portion 52 connected to the gripping portion 51, and restricts the downward movement of the spray head 4. In this embodiment, the stopper 5A is made of synthetic resin.

[0041] In addition, the extension portion 52 of the stopper 5A is provided with a fitting portion 55 that is detachably fitted to the fitting portion 35 of the cap 3.

[0042] As shown in Figure 2, the extension 52 of the stopper 5A is positioned directly below the lower end 42e of the outer cylinder 42 of the spray head 4 in the initial state before the spray head 4 is pushed down (see Figure 1 or 2), when the fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5A has passed through the through hole A3 and is fitted with the fitting portion 35 of the cap 3. This allows the liquid sprayer 2A to prevent the spray head 4 from being pushed down by inserting the stopper 5A through the through hole A3 of the cap 3.

[0043] Generally, large-capacity sprays, which dispense a large volume of liquid, require a higher pressure on the spray head compared to regular sprays. Therefore, with large-capacity sprays, it is necessary to make the pressure on the spray head feel as light as possible. One way to address this is to enlarge the spray head to ensure a larger contact area (top surface area) for the user's fingers.

[0044] However, when increasing the size of the nozzle, play is likely to occur in the movement of the nozzle during its vertical stroke.

[0045] Therefore, especially in the case of large-capacity sprays, it is preferable to provide a vertical guide portion in the inner cylinder of the cap to guide the downward movement of the spray head, and to provide a projection in the inner cylinder of the spray head that is guided by the vertical guide portion.

[0046] On the other hand, when considering the portability of liquid dispensers, and by extension liquid dispenser containers, a means is needed to prevent the dispenser head from being unexpectedly pushed down.

[0047] One way to prevent the spray head from being pushed down is to use an overcap that can be attached to the cap. However, since the overcap needs to cover the entire spray head, it must be attached to the outer cylinder of the cap, which is located radially outside the inner cylinder of the cap. As a result, the overcap becomes larger overall, the amount of resin used increases, and there is room for improvement in terms of cost and environmental impact.

[0048] In contrast, another example of a means to prevent the spray head from being pushed down is a conventional stopper that can be fitted into the inner cylinder of the cap. When fitted into the inner cylinder of the cap, this conventional stopper is positioned directly below the lower end of the outer cylinder of the spray head in its initial state before the spray head is pushed down. This prevents the spray head from being pushed down.

[0049] However, since the conventional stopper described above needs to be fitted into the inner cylinder of the cap, the vertical guide portion formed on the inner cylinder of the cap obstructs the fitting of the stopper. Therefore, if a conventional C-shaped stopper is adopted as a means of preventing the spray head from being pushed down, it is necessary to fit it into the inner cylinder of the cap while avoiding the vertical guide portion, which raises concerns that the conventional stopper will end up being too large.

[0050] In contrast, with the liquid dispenser 2A, as shown in Figure 2, the fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5A is passed through the through hole A3 of the cap 3 and fitted with the fitting portion 35 provided on the inner cylinder 31 of the cap 3. As a result, the extension portion 52 of the stopper 5A is positioned directly below the lower end 42e of the outer cylinder 42 of the dispenser head 4 in its initial state before the dispenser head 4 is pushed down. In other words, with the liquid dispenser 2A, it is not necessary to directly fit the fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5A to the inner cylinder 31 of the cap 3, which is provided with the vertical guide portion 7a. Therefore, the stopper 5A is smaller than a stopper that is fitted to the inner cylinder of the cap.

[0051] Therefore, with the liquid dispenser 2A, and by extension the liquid dispenser container 1A equipped with the liquid dispenser 2A, it is possible to prevent the unexpected downward movement of the dispenser head 4 by using a miniaturized stopper 5A, while maintaining the function of suppressing rattle that may occur when the dispenser head 4 is pushed down, and taking into consideration cost and environmental factors.

[0052] In this disclosure, it is preferable that one of the fitting portions is formed by two elastic pieces, and the other of the fitting portion is formed by a clamping portion that is removably sandwiched between the two elastic pieces. In this case, the stopper can be easily attached and detached with a simple configuration.

[0053] Referring to Figure 4, in the liquid dispenser 2A, the fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5A is formed by two elastic pieces 55a, and the fitting portion 35 of the cap 3 is formed by a clamping portion that is removably sandwiched between the two elastic pieces 55a. In this case, it is possible to reuse existing small C-shaped stoppers, which is more efficient in terms of productivity and cost.

[0054] Figure 5A is a schematic plan view showing the stopper 5A related to the liquid dispenser 2A. Figure 5B is a schematic side view showing the stopper 5A.

[0055] Referring to Figures 5A and 5B, the knob portion 51 of the stopper 5A is a plate-shaped knob portion, and the extension portion 52 is also a plate-shaped extension portion. Furthermore, in this disclosure, the knob portion 51 and the extension portion 52 extend linearly, as shown in Figures 5A and 5B. In this disclosure, the knob portion 51 and the extension portion 52 are connected so as to be perpendicular to each other in a plan view, as shown in Figure 5A. As a result, when the stopper 5A is inserted into the through hole A3, as shown in Figure 4, the knob portion 51 extends in the left-right direction, while the extension portion 52 extends in the front-back direction. In this disclosure, the knob portion 51 is exposed from the outer cylinder 32 of the cap 3 when fitted to the cap 3. This allows the stopper 5A to be easily removed from the cap 3. The fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5A is a C-shaped fitting portion formed by cutting out a part of a cylindrical shape along the axial direction. This allows the fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5A to be removably fitted to the fitting portion 35 of the cap 3.

[0056] As described above, in the liquid dispenser 2A, the extension 52 of the stopper 5A extends linearly. Therefore, as shown in Figure 4, in a plan view, the extension 52 of the stopper 5A extends linearly along the front-rear direction when the fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5A passes through the through hole A3 of the cap 3 and is fitted with the fitting portion 35 of the cap 3. In this case, the stopper 5A has a simple structure consisting only of a flat plate portion and a C-shaped portion, making it an easily attachable and detachable stopper.

[0057] By the way, referring to Figure 4, in the liquid dispenser 2A, the fitting portion 35 of the cap 3 is positioned offset from the position of the vertical guide portion 7a provided on the inner cylinder 31 in the circumferential direction of the inner cylinder 31 of the cap 3. In this case, it is not necessary to position the fitting portion 35 of the cap 3 below the vertical guide portion 7a so that it does not interfere with the vertical guide portion 7a. Therefore, in this case, the axial dimension (vertical height) of the liquid dispenser 2A can be reduced. In the liquid dispenser 2A, the fitting portion 35 of the cap 3 is positioned in the front-to-back direction, and the vertical guide portion 7a is positioned in the left-to-right direction, so that they do not interfere with each other.

[0058] Next, Figure 6 shows a liquid ejection container 1B according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The liquid ejection container 1B comprises a liquid ejector 2B according to a second embodiment of the present invention and a container body 100. The basic configuration of the liquid ejector 2B is the same as that of the liquid ejector 2A. However, the stopper structure of the liquid ejector 2B differs from that of the liquid ejector 2A. Therefore, in the liquid ejector 2B, the same reference numerals are used for parts that are substantially the same as those in the liquid ejector 2A.

[0059] Figure 7 is an enlarged view of Figure 6. In the stopper 5B related to the liquid dispenser 2B, the extension portion 52 is provided with a bent portion 52a, and the knob portion 51 is positioned directly above the upper end 32a of the outer cylinder 32 of the cap 3 when the fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5B passes through the through hole A3 and is fitted with the fitting portion 35 of the cap 3. In this case, when the stopper 5B is fitted to the cap 3, the amount of protrusion of the knob portion 51 of the stopper 5B that protrudes radially outward from the outer cylinder 32 of the cap 3 can be suppressed. In addition, in this case, the radial dimensions of the liquid dispenser 2B when the stopper 5B is fitted to the cap 3 can be kept small. In other words, in this case, the liquid dispenser 2B can be made more compact. In addition, in this case, concerns that the fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5B may come off due to unexpected contact during flow can be reduced.

[0060] Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of AA in Figure 6. Figure 9A is a schematic plan view showing the stopper 5B related to the liquid ejector 2B. Figure 9B is a schematic side view showing the stopper 5B.

[0061] Referring to Figures 9A and 9B, the knob 51 of the stopper 5B is a plate-shaped knob. However, as shown in Figure 9A, the knob 51 of the stopper 5B is a curved plate-shaped knob in plan view. As shown in Figure 8, the curved shape of the knob 51 of the stopper 5B is formed in a curved shape that extends in the left-right direction in plan view, following the curved shape of the outer cylinder 32 of the cap 3. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 8, the knob 51 extends in a direction away from the extension 52 from both sides of the extension 52 in plan view. As a result, when the stopper 5B is inserted into the through hole A3, the knob 51 extends in the left-right direction as shown in Figure 8.

[0062] On the other hand, the extension 52 of the stopper 5B has a bent portion 52a. Referring to Figure 9B, in the liquid dispenser 2B, the extension 52 of the stopper 5B has a first extension 52b connected to the knob 51 and a second extension 52c connected to the fitting portion 55, and the bent portion 52a is formed by the connection portion between the first extension 52b and the second extension 52c. In this disclosure, the second extension 52c protrudes in a direction perpendicular to the first extension 52b. As a result, when the stopper 5B is inserted into the through hole A3, the second extension 52c of the extension 52 extends in the front-rear direction, as shown in Figure 8.

[0063] Figure 10 is a schematic plan view showing the stopper 5B fitted onto the cap 3 of the liquid dispenser 2B. The knob 51 of the stopper 5B is also exposed from the outer cylinder 32 of the cap 3 when fitted onto the cap 3. This allows the stopper 5 to be easily removed from the cap 3.

[0064] In the liquid dispenser 2B, the fitting portion 35 of the cap 3 is formed by two elastic pieces 35a, and the fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5B is formed by a clamping portion that is removably sandwiched between the two elastic pieces 35a. In this case, the stopper can be made smaller.

[0065] In this embodiment, the two elastic pieces 35a protrude toward the rear from the outer circumferential surface of the inner cylinder 31 of the cap 3. Each of the two elastic pieces 35a has a fitting projection 35b formed on its inner portion facing each other. In contrast, the fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5B is a bulge that is wider in the left-right direction than the second extension portion 52c. The left-right width W55 of the fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5B is greater than the left-right width W53 of the fitting projections 35b on the two elastic pieces 35a of the cap 3. As a result, the fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5B can be removably fitted to the fitting portion 35 of the cap 3. In addition, since the fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5B is not formed by two elastic pieces like the fitting portion 55 of the stopper 5A, the stopper can be made smaller. In the liquid dispenser 2B, the second extension portion 52c of the stopper 5B is formed by a plate-shaped member. As a result, the through-hole A3 of the cap 3 only needs to have a width in the left-right direction that allows it to pass through the fitting portion 55, which is wider in the left-right direction than the second extension portion 52c. In this case, the through-hole A3 of the liquid dispenser 2B can be made narrower in the left-right direction compared to the through-hole A3 of the liquid dispenser 2A.

[0066] As is clear from the embodiments described above, the present invention provides a liquid dispenser and a liquid dispenser container that can prevent the unexpected downward movement of the dispenser head 4 by using miniaturized stoppers 5A and 5B, while maintaining the function of suppressing rattling that may occur when the dispenser head 4 is pushed down, and taking into consideration cost and environmental factors.

[0067] Although several embodiments of the present invention, including liquid dispensers and liquid dispenser containers, have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be modified in various ways within the scope of the claims. In the above description, the liquid dispenser in this embodiment is a large-capacity spray, but the discharge capacity of the liquid dispenser is not limited to large capacity. Furthermore, although each of the above embodiments has been described as a spray-type liquid dispenser that discharges liquid in a mist, the liquid dispenser according to the present invention can also be a foamer-type liquid dispenser that discharges liquid in a foam. Alternatively, the liquid dispenser according to the present invention can also be a type of liquid dispenser that discharges liquid as is. Specific examples of liquid in the container body include liquid soap, shampoo, conditioner, cosmetics, detergents, and chemicals. Moreover, each element of the liquid dispensers 2A and 2B in each of the above embodiments can be appropriately substituted for each other. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0068] 1A: Liquid ejection container (first embodiment), 1B: Liquid ejection container (second embodiment), 2A: Liquid dispenser (first embodiment) 2B: Liquid dispenser (second embodiment), 3: Cap, 31: Inner cylinder of cap, 32: Outer cylinder of cap, 33: Partition wall of cap, 35: Fitting part of cap, 35a: Elastic piece, 4: Discharge head, 41: Inner cylinder, 42: Outer cylinder, 43: Top wall, 5A: Stopper (first embodiment), 5B: Stopper (first embodiment), 51: Knob part of stopper, 52: Extension part of stopper, 52a: Bent part of extension part of stopper, 52b: First extension part of extension part of stopper, 52c: Second extension part of extension part of stopper, 55: Fitting part of stopper, 55a: Elastic piece, 6: Pump, 7a: Vertical guide section, 7b: Guide projection, 100: Container body

Claims

1. It has an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder that stand upright upwards, and a cap that can be attached to the mouth of the container body, It comprises an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder that hang downwards, and a spray head that is pushed down along a vertical guide portion provided on the inner cylinder of the cap to eject the liquid from the container body, It comprises a gripping portion for the user to grasp and an extension portion connected to the gripping portion, and a stopper that limits the downward pressure of the ejection head, The inner cylinder of the cap and the extension of the stopper are each provided with fitting portions that are removably fitted to each other, and further, The outer cylinder of the cap has a through hole into which the fitting portion of the stopper can be inserted. A liquid dispenser in which, when the fitting portion of the stopper passes through the through hole and is fitted with the fitting portion of the cap, the extension of the stopper is positioned directly below the lower end of the outer cylinder of the dispenser head in the initial state before the dispenser head is pushed down.

2. The liquid dispenser according to claim 1, wherein one of the fitting portions is formed by two elastic pieces, and the other of the fitting portion is formed by a clamping portion that is removably sandwiched between the two elastic pieces.

3. The liquid dispenser according to claim 2, wherein the fitting portion of the stopper is formed by two elastic pieces, and the fitting portion of the cap is formed by a clamping portion that is removably sandwiched between the two elastic pieces.

4. The liquid dispenser according to claim 2, wherein the fitting portion of the cap is formed by two elastic pieces, and the fitting portion of the stopper is formed by a clamping portion that is removably sandwiched between the two elastic pieces.

5. The liquid dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the extension portion of the stopper extends in a straight line.

6. The liquid dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the stopper has a bent portion, and the knob is positioned directly above the upper end of the outer cylinder of the cap when the fitting portion of the stopper passes through the through hole and is fitted with the fitting portion of the cap.

7. The liquid dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the fitting portion of the cap is provided at a position offset from the position of the vertical guide portion provided on the inner cylinder in the circumferential direction of the inner cylinder of the cap.

8. A liquid ejection container comprising a liquid ejector as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, and a container body to which the liquid ejector is attached.

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