JP5088795B2 - Liquid ejector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejector, and more particularly, to a liquid ejector including a display mechanism that can recognize a remaining amount of liquid as the liquid is ejected.

  2. Description of the Related Art There is known a liquid ejector configured such that a liquid in a container body is ejected from an ejection port of a head by an action of a built-in pump mechanism by moving an upper end head up and down. In these liquid ejectors, the container body is generally formed of an opaque material, and therefore the amount of liquid remaining can be confirmed by shaking the container or by removing the pump from the container body. It is necessary to check the inside. In the former case, it is too inaccurate. In the latter case, there is a problem such as liquid dripping from the removed pump. There is also the inconvenience that the surface becomes difficult to see. If the container body is formed of a transparent material, such inconvenience can be solved, but such a form cannot be adopted for contents in which light irradiation is inconvenient.

  In consideration of such points, there has been proposed a dispensing container in which the remaining amount of liquid is known even when a container body made of an opaque material is used (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The dispensing container of the above-mentioned patent document 1 is a pump in which a movable wall for partitioning is tightly fitted so as to be able to ascend in a body part connected to the mouth and neck part, and the contents in the body part above the movable wall are inserted into the mouth and neck part. The barrel is made opaque except for a perspective window formed at least at a part of its upper portion, and a field of view from the perspective window to the barrel is formed on the inner surface of the barrel portion near the perspective window. The obstructing shielding member is fitted so that it can be raised, and the movable wall pushes up the shielding member due to the negative pressure in the body, so that the remaining amount display part formed on the peripheral surface of the shielding member or the movable wall is a see-through window. It is configured to move from an invisible position to a visible position.
JP 2007-062824 A

  Since the remaining amount display part formed on the shielding member or the movable wall appears from the see-through window when the content is reduced, the dispensing container of Patent Document 1 can be replenished with the next container, Since the remaining amount display part gradually appears from the bottom of the fluoroscopic window, it is excellent in terms of ease of use, such as providing a time margin for replenishing the container, but limited to those in which the container body has a movable wall Is done.

  In view of the above points, the present invention can be applied not only to a container body having a movable wall but also to a liquid ejector having a normal bottle-type container body, and only in the final stage in which residual liquid is reduced. In addition, the remaining amount of the stored liquid can be confirmed at all times, and the display is easy to see, and a relatively accurate display to a rough display can be selected and adopted as appropriate. A liquid ejector having various characteristics such as being formed by changing the part is proposed.

  The liquid ejector according to the present invention can be applied to a type in which the liquid in the container is discharged from the discharge port of the head by the action of the built-in pump mechanism by moving the head at the upper end up and down. Therefore, a container body having a movable bottom wall and a type in which the movable bottom wall rises due to liquid discharge, or a so-called delamination type in which the inner layer contracts due to liquid discharge in a container body having an inner and outer two-layer structure. Even if it is provided with a container body of this type, it can be adopted even if it is provided with a general bottle type container body.

  In the present invention, a discharge amount display device capable of displaying the remaining amount in proportion to the depressing width of the head, that is, in proportion to the discharge amount is provided. The discharge amount display device includes a drive shaft that rotates irreversibly only when the head is pressed down and is linked so as to rotate in proportion to the press-down width of the head, and rotates the drive shaft via a gear mechanism. The remaining amount is displayed at the rotation position of the display unit.

  The rotation mechanism that rotates the drive shaft irreversibly only when the head is pushed down and is linked to rotate in proportion to the push-down width of the head includes a friction plate that is suspended from the head and a rotary plate that is pivotally supported by the drive shaft. And the ratchet mechanism or the like is regulated so that the rotating plate rotates only in the rotating direction when the friction plate descends. As the ratchet mechanism, various forms can be adopted as long as the above-mentioned irreversible rotation is possible, but when contact with the friction plate is taken into consideration, a locking tooth constituting the ratchet mechanism is provided on the outer periphery of the rotation plate, etc. A configuration in which a large number of protrusions are provided at intervals and the engaging protrusions protruding at the tip of the elastic plate are engaged so as to be rotatable in one direction is preferable. In that case, it is more preferable that the tip of each locking tooth is formed in a curved shape or a spherical shape.

  The gear mechanism is configured so that the rotation of the drive shaft matches the required rotation of the display unit. Basically, the rotation speed of the display unit with a large diameter is reduced by corresponding to the required rotation speed of the drive shaft. There are various forms of the specific structure.

  The most suitable display unit is a display drum, and a remaining amount display is provided on the surface of the drum and displayed on the display window, so that the remaining amount can be always grasped. Further, instead of the drum, a plurality of rotating bars may protrude radially from the shaft, and a remaining amount display may be provided at the tip. There may be one or more display units. Further, the remaining amount display shown on the display unit may be expressed as a number, or may be expressed by a plurality of divided areas identified by colors, patterns, and the like.

The first means is configured as follows. That is, in a liquid ejector configured such that the liquid in the container A is discharged from the discharge port 43 of the head 42 by the action of the built-in pump mechanism by moving the head 42 at the upper end up and down. It is provided with a drive shaft 61 that rotates only irreversibly and is linked so as to rotate in proportion to the depression width of the head 42, and the rotation of the drive shaft 61 is transmitted to a display unit that rotates through a gear mechanism 66. A discharge amount display device B ₆ for displaying the remaining amount at the rotational position of the unit was provided.

  The second means is configured as follows. That is, in the first means, the display unit is a display drum 67 which is connected by decelerating the rotation of the drive shaft 61 to a predetermined rotational speed by the gear mechanism 66, and displays the remaining amount on the surface of the display drum 67. Is displayed outside through the display window 65.

  The third means was configured as follows. That is, in the second means, a predetermined rotational speed is set to a predetermined rotational speed in which the reduction ratio of the gear mechanism 66 is determined so that the display drum 67 makes one rotation when the liquid in the container is almost discharged. It was configured as follows.

  The fourth means is configured as follows. That is, in any one of the first to third means, the friction plate 44 suspended from the head 42 and the drive shaft 61 are pivotally supported and pressed against the surface of the friction plate 44 to produce a frictional force. The drive shaft 61 is irreversibly rotated only when the head 42 is pushed down by the rotary plate 62 rotated by the rotary plate 62 and the ratchet mechanism provided on the rotary plate 62.

  The fifth means is configured as follows. That is, in the fourth means, the ratchet mechanism includes a locking tooth 63 around the rotating plate 62 and an engaging protrusion 64a that engages with the locking tooth 63 only when the rotating plate 62 rotates in a predetermined direction. The friction plate 44 is composed of a vertical substrate 44a and a flexible and elastic friction layer 44b laminated on the surface of the vertical substrate 44a.

  The sixth means is configured as follows. That is, in either the fourth means or the fifth means, a guide frame 26 for moving the friction plate 44 up and down constantly at a predetermined position is provided.

  The seventh means is configured as follows. That is, in any one of the second to sixth means, the remaining amount display of the display drum 67 is composed of a plurality of divided areas identified by colors, patterns, and the like.

The eighth means is configured as follows. That is, in any one of the second to seventh means, the discharge amount display device B ₆ uses the box 60 having the gear mechanism 66 and the display drum 67 built therein and the drive shaft 61 protruding. There was placed in the rear position of the mounting cap B ₁ which is fitted to the container body opening neck 12.

According to the present invention, since the discharge amount display device B ₆ that transmits to the display unit in proportion to the depression width of the head 42 is provided, the remaining amount in the container body A is always grasped regardless of the form of the container body. be able to. In addition, the display is easy to see and can be selected and adopted as appropriate from a relatively accurate display to a rough display, and the structure has various features such as being able to be formed by changing only a part of the conventional product. .

  The display unit is a display drum 67 in which the rotation of the drive shaft 61 is decelerated to a predetermined rotation speed by the gear mechanism 66, and is connected to the outside, and the remaining amount display on the surface of the display drum 67 is displayed to the outside through the display window 65. In such a configuration, the remaining amount can be displayed over a wide range of 360 ° on the peripheral surface of the display drum 67, so that the amount of information can be increased, and if the number of display drums 67 is increased as necessary, Becomes more prominent.

When the predetermined rotational speed is configured to be a predetermined rotational speed that determines the reduction ratio of the gear mechanism 66 so that the display drum 67 rotates once when the liquid in the container is almost discharged, There is an advantage that information can be provided by the display drum 67 and the volume of the entire discharge amount display device B ₆ can be reduced as much as possible and information can be provided extremely efficiently.

  The head 42 includes a friction plate 44 that is suspended from the head 42, a rotating plate 62 that is pivotally supported by the drive shaft 61 and is pressed against the surface of the friction plate 44 and rotated by a frictional force, and a ratchet mechanism provided on the rotating plate 62. When the drive shaft 61 is configured to rotate irreversibly only when it is depressed, the structure is very simple, and the depression width of the head 42 and the rotation of the drive shaft 61 can be proportional to each other with considerable accuracy. .

  The ratchet mechanism includes a locking tooth 63 around the rotating plate 62 and an elastic plate 64 provided with an engaging protrusion 64a that engages with the locking tooth 63 only when the rotating plate 62 is rotated in a predetermined direction. 44 is constituted by a vertical substrate 44a and a flexible and elastic friction layer 44b laminated on the surface of the vertical substrate 44a, the rotating plate 62 can be accurately rotated when the friction plate 44 descends, When the friction plate 44 is raised, the rotation of the rotating plate 62 can be reliably prevented.

  In the case where the guide frame 26 that always moves the friction plate 44 up and down at a predetermined position is provided, it is possible to reliably prevent inconvenience such as the friction plate 44 rotating.

  When the remaining amount display of the display drum 67 is composed of a plurality of divided areas identified by colors, patterns, etc., there is an advantage that the level of the remaining amount can be grasped at a glance.

The discharge amount display device B _6, by utilizing the gear mechanism 66 and the display drum 67 box 60 projecting from the built and the drive shaft 61, the rear position of the mounting cap B ₁ which is fitted to the container body opening neck 12 In the case of being installed in, it can be formed compact as a whole and has advantages such as easy assembling operation.

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

  1 to 7 show an example of the liquid ejector 1, and the liquid ejector 1 includes a container body A and a pump B.

  The container body A uses a bottle type in which a mouth-and-neck part 12 is erected from a bottomed cylindrical body part 10 through a shoulder part 11.

Pump B includes a mounting cap B _1, a cylinder B _2, and the pipe B _3, the actuating member B _4, and includes a mounting cover B _5, and a discharge amount display device B _6.

Mounting cap B ₁ represents, as well as vertically a threaded cylinder 21 which is screwed into the neck 12 the outer periphery from the rear surface of the top wall 22, and vertically the outer peripheral wall 23 from the top wall 22 periphery. Further, a cutout window 24 for mounting the discharge amount display device is provided in a band shape from the rear part of the top wall 22 to the rear part of the outer peripheral wall 23. A cylindrical portion 25 having a base end opened at the center of the top wall 22 is erected, and a guide frame 26 is integrally extended from the rear portion of the cylindrical portion 25. The guide frame 26 is formed of a pair of side walls 26a, 26a that extend obliquely rearward from the rear portion of the tube portion 25 and have the rear end portions bent sideways. The lower end of the guide frame 26 hangs down below the top wall 22 of the cutout window 24 portion, and the cylindrical portion 25 and the top wall 22 portion between the side walls 26a are in a penetrating state.

Cylinder B ₂ is a cylindrical shape having an open upper and lower ends, and by fitting the flange 30 projecting from the outer peripheral upper portion inner threaded tube 21 circumference upper end of the mounting cap B ₁ is fixed to the mounting cap B _1. The lower surface of the flange 30 is attached to the container body A in close contact with the upper surface of the mouth / neck section 12 via the packing p while the lower part is suspended in the container body A. The upper end of the pipe B ₃ is fitted to the lower end of the cylinder B _{2, and} the lower end is suspended from the lower part in the container body A. Further, the lower end the cylinder B ₂ is provided with a suction valve (not shown).

The actuating member B ₄ is mounted so that the head 42 with the nozzle 41 is fitted to the upper end of the stem 40 that connects a piston (not shown) that slides in the cylinder B ₂ to the lower part and can be pushed down in the upward biased state. By pushing down the actuating member B ₄ , the liquid in the cylinder B ₂ is discharged from the discharge port 43 of the head 42 by opening a discharge valve (not shown) provided in the stem 40. Yes. Further, when the actuating member B ₄ is raised, the discharge valve is closed, the suction valve is opened due to the negative pressure in the cylinder B ₂ , and the liquid in the container A is sucked into the cylinder B ₂ through the pipe B _3. It is configured as follows.

Discharge amount display apparatus B ₆ is provided with a friction plate 44 that vertically from the head 42, and a box 60 which is fixed by mounting the cover B _5. The friction plate 44 protrudes rearward from the rear lower end portion of the head 42, and a friction layer is formed on the outer surface of the vertical substrate 44a suspended from the front end of the horizontal plate 45 fitted between the side walls 26a and 26a so as to be movable up and down. 44b is provided.

The mounting cover B ₅ is for fixing the box 60, and the through hole 51 in the center of the top plate 50 is inserted into the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 25 of the mounting cap B ₁ , and the box 60 is fitted to the rear portion of the top plate 50. In order to do so, it protrudes rearward in a trapezoidal shape. Further, by vertically the circumferential wall 52 of the edge portion excluding the rear edge of the top plate 50, it is fitted to the peripheral wall outer periphery of the mounting cap B _1. A window hole 53 for fitting the guide frame 26 is continuously drilled in the top plate 50 through the through hole 51, and the guide frame 26 is fitted.

  The box 60 has a drive shaft 61 projecting from an upper part of one side of the front surface, and a rotary plate 62 is pivotally attached to the drive shaft 61. A large number of locking teeth 63 constituting a ratchet mechanism protrude from the outer periphery of the rotating plate 62. The outer surface of the rotating plate 62 is pressed against the friction layer 44b. Further, an elastic plate 64 constituting a ratchet mechanism is provided. The elastic plate 64 has a lower end fixed to one side lower portion of the front surface of the box 60, and an engagement protrusion 64a on the upper end is engaged between the locking teeth 63 so that only the direction of rotation when the friction plate 44 is lowered. In other words, in this example, only clockwise rotation is possible.

  A display window 65 is opened on the rear surface of the box 60, and is connected to a display drum 67 having a predetermined rotation speed through a gear mechanism 66 that transmits the rotation of the drive shaft 61.

  The gear mechanism 66 is a mechanism that decelerates the rotation of the drive shaft 61 to a predetermined rotational speed, and various specific structures can be employed. For example, the rotation of the drive shaft 61 is transmitted via the bevel gear 70 to the bevel gear 72 of the shaft 71 that is pivotally supported in the direction orthogonal to the drive shaft 61. The large gear 75 of 74 is meshed, the small gear 76 of the large gear 75 and the coaxial 74 and the large gear 78 of the other shaft 77 are meshed, and the display drum 67 of the large gear 78 and the coaxial 77 is rotated. Naturally, the gear mechanism 66 is not limited to this, and various forms can be adopted as long as the mechanism can transmit the rotation of the drive shaft 61 to the display drum 67 as a predetermined rotation.

  A remaining amount display is provided on the surface of the display drum 67. The remaining amount display in this example is performed by a plurality of types of color coding, and as shown in FIG. 7, sections a, b, c... With different colors are provided, and the color specified in advance as the liquid decreases is displayed on the display window. Configured to appear in 65.

When the liquid ejector configured as described above is used, when the head 42 is pushed down from the state shown in FIG. 1, the liquid in the cylinder B ₂ is discharged from the discharge port 43 of the nozzle 41 by the action of the built-in pump mechanism. At this time, the friction plate 44 is lowered together with the head 42, and the rotation plate 62 is rotated accordingly, and the rotation is transmitted to the display drum 67 through the gear mechanism 66, and the display drum 67 rotates by a predetermined angle. Actuating member B ₄ and releasing the depression of the head 42 is elevated in upward biasing force, whereby the friction plate 44 also rises, rotating plate 62 is not rotated by the engagement between the engaging projection 64a and the engaging teeth 63 The friction plate 44 is raised while sliding.

  When such a discharge operation is repeatedly performed, the display drum 67 rotates in accordance with it, and the color of the remaining amount display that appears in the display window 65 changes, so that the current amount of remaining liquid can be roughly examined.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a liquid discharger. Example 1 It is a partially cutaway rear view of a liquid ejector. Example 1 It is a partially cutaway plan view of the liquid ejector. Example 1 It is a rear view of a liquid discharger. Example 1 It is a principal part expansion explanatory drawing of a drive shaft part. Example 1 It is a cross-sectional view of a box part. Example 1 It is a perspective view of a display drum. Example 1

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Liquid ejector A ... Container body
10 ... trunk, 11 ... shoulder, 12 ... mouth and neck B ... pump
B ₁ … Installation cap
21 ... Screw cylinder, 22 ... Top wall, 23 ... Outer peripheral wall, 24 ... Notched window, 25 ... Cylinder part, 26 ... Guide frame,
26a… sidewall
B ₂ ... Cylinder
30… Flange
B ₃ ... Pipe
B ₄ ... Actuating member
40 ... stem, 41 ... nozzle, 42 ... head, 43 ... discharge port, 44 ... friction plate,
44a… vertical substrate, 44b… friction layer, 45… horizontal plate B ₅ … mounting cover
50 ... top plate, 51 ... through hole, 52 ... peripheral wall, 53 ... window hole
B ₆ ... Discharge amount display device
60 ... Box, 61 ... Drive shaft, 62 ... Rotary plate, 63 ... Locking tooth, 64 ... Elastic plate,
64a ... engagement protrusion, 65 ... display window, 66 ... gear mechanism, 67 ... display drum, 70 ... bevel gear,
71 ... shaft, 72 ... bevel gear, 73 ... small gear, 74 ... shaft, 75 ... large gear, 76 ... small gear, 77 ... shaft, 78 ... large gear
p ... packing

Claims (8)

In a liquid ejector configured such that the liquid in the container A is discharged from the discharge port 43 of the head 42 by the action of the built-in pump mechanism by moving the upper end head 42 up and down, only when the head 42 is pushed down. And a drive shaft 61 that is linked so as to rotate in proportion to the pressing width of the head 42, and the rotation of the drive shaft 61 is transmitted to the display unit that rotates through the gear mechanism 66. liquid dispenser, characterized in that it is provided an ejection amount display apparatus B ₆ which displays the remaining amount at the rotational position. The display unit is a display drum 67 in which the rotation of the drive shaft 61 is decelerated to a predetermined rotation speed by the gear mechanism 66, and is connected to the outside, and the remaining amount display on the surface of the display drum 67 is displayed to the outside through the display window 65. The liquid ejector according to claim 1 configured as described above. 3. The liquid according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined rotational speed is a predetermined rotational speed that determines a reduction ratio of the gear mechanism 66 so that the display drum 67 makes one rotation when the liquid in the container is almost discharged. Dispenser. The head 42 includes a friction plate 44 that is suspended from the head 42, a rotating plate 62 that is pivotally supported by the drive shaft 61 and is pressed against the surface of the friction plate 44 and rotated by a frictional force, and a ratchet mechanism provided on the rotating plate 62. The liquid ejector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the drive shaft 61 is irreversibly rotated only at the time of pushing down. The ratchet mechanism includes a locking tooth 63 around the rotating plate 62 and an elastic plate 64 provided with an engaging protrusion 64a that engages with the locking tooth 63 only when the rotating plate 62 is rotated in a predetermined direction. 5. The liquid ejector according to claim 4, wherein 44 is constituted by a vertical substrate 44a and a flexible and elastic friction layer 44b laminated on the surface of the vertical substrate 44a. 6. The liquid ejector according to claim 4, further comprising a guide frame for moving the friction plate at a predetermined position at all times. The liquid ejector according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the remaining amount display of the display drum 67 is configured by a plurality of divided regions identified by color, pattern, or the like. The discharge amount display device B _6, by utilizing the gear mechanism 66 and the display drum 67 box 60 projecting from the built and the drive shaft 61, the rear position of the mounting cap B ₁ which is fitted to the container body opening neck 12 The liquid ejector according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the liquid ejector is installed in the container.

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