Foam discharge container

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11090664-B2
Application number	US-201716305312-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 30, 2017
Priority date	Jun 30, 2016
Publication date	Aug 17, 2021
Grant date	Aug 17, 2021

Abstract

A foamer mechanism (20) of a foam dispensing container has a gas-liquid contact chamber (21), a liquid agent flow passage (22) through which a liquid agent supplied from a liquid agent supply portion (28) to the gas-liquid contact chamber (21) passes, and a gas flow passage (23) through which a gas supplied from a gas supply portion (29) to the gas-liquid contact chamber (21) passes. The gas flow passage (23) has a gas opening (23a) that is open to the gas-liquid contact chamber (21). The liquid agent flow passage (22) branches into plural branch flow passages (for example, branches into a first branch flow passage (221) and plural second branch flow passages (222)). Each of the plural branch flow passages has a liquid agent opening (22a, 22b) that is open to the gas-liquid contact chamber (21). The liquid agent openings (22a, 22b) are respectively arranged at positions on the both sides sandwiching an extension region (26) of an adjacent flow passage (231) which is a part of the gas flow passage (23) adjacent to the gas opening (23a).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A foam dispensing container, comprising:
a foamer mechanism that foams a liquid agent and produces a foam body;
a liquid agent supply portion that supplies the liquid agent to the foamer mechanism;
a gas supply portion that supplies a gas to the foamer mechanism; and
a discharge port that discharges the foam body produced by the foamer mechanism, wherein
the foamer mechanism has:
a gas-liquid contact chamber in which the liquid agent supplied from the liquid agent supply portion meets the gas supplied from the gas supply portion;
a liquid agent flow passage through which the liquid agent supplied from the liquid agent supply portion to the gas-liquid contact chamber passes; and
a gas flow passage through which the gas supplied from the gas supply portion to the gas-liquid contact chamber passes,

the gas flow passage has a gas opening that is open to the gas-liquid contact chamber,
the liquid agent flow passage branches into plural branch flow passages,
each of the plural branch flow passages has a liquid agent opening that is open to the gas-liquid contact chamber,
the foamer mechanism has a plurality of the gas-liquid contact chambers,
each of the plurality of the gas-liquid contact chambers is surrounded by a plurality of wall surfaces,
the gas opening and a plurality of the liquid agent openings are arranged corresponding to each of the plurality of the gas-liquid contact chambers,
for each of the plurality of the gas-liquid contact chambers:
the liquid agent openings are respectively arranged at positions on both sides sandwiching an extension region of an adjacent flow passage which is a part of the gas flow passage adjacent to the gas opening; and
the liquid agent openings oppose each other across the gas-liquid contact chamber, so that a partial region of one liquid agent opening overlaps with a partial region of another liquid agent opening when seen in the direction of the axis of the one liquid agent opening, and

at a position on the extension region of the adjacent flow passage while sandwiching the gas-liquid contact chamber in between, a foam flow passage communicating with the gas-liquid contact chamber and extending in the extension direction of the adjacent flow passage is arranged.

2. The foam dispensing container according to claim 1 , wherein each of the liquid agent openings arranged at the positions on both sides sandwiching the extension region of the adjacent flow passage is directed to the region.

3. The foam dispensing container according to claim 1 , wherein
the liquid agent flow passage includes an adjacent liquid agent flow passage which is a part adjacent to the upstream sides of the plural branch flow passages,
the plurality of the gas-liquid contact chambers are arranged in a periphery of a downstream side end portion of the adjacent liquid agent flow passage,
the plurality of wall surfaces surrounding the gas-liquid contact chamber includes an outer peripheral wall surface common to the plurality of the gas-liquid contact chambers and an inner peripheral wall surface which is individually arranged corresponding to each of the plurality of the gas-liquid contact chambers,
the plural branch flow passages extend toward the periphery from the downstream side end portion of the adjacent liquid agent flow passage in the in-plane direction crossing the adjacent liquid agent flow passage, and
each of the plural branch flow passages is surrounded by a plurality of wall surfaces.

4. The foam dispensing container according to claim 3 , wherein
corresponding to each of the plurality of the gas-liquid contact chambers, a pair of branch flow passages and a pair of liquid agent openings in one-to-one correspondence with each of the pair of branch flow passages are arranged,
each of the pair of branch flow passages includes:
a first part extending in a radial manner from the downstream side end portion of the adjacent liquid agent flow passage in the in-plane direction crossing the adjacent liquid agent flow passage; and
a second part extending in the in-plane direction which is the direction crossing the first part,

the first part is surrounded by a plurality of wall surfaces, and
the second part is surrounded by a plurality of wall surfaces.

5. The foam dispensing container according to claim 4 , wherein one of the pair of the branch flow passages corresponding to one gas-liquid contact chamber shares the first part with one of the branch flow passages of a gas-liquid contact chamber adjacent to one side of the gas-liquid contact chamber, and the other branch flow passage shares the first part with one of the branch flow passages of a gas-liquid contact chamber adjacent to the other side of the gas-liquid contact chamber.

6. The foam dispensing container according to claim 3 , wherein the adjacent flow passage is arranged in the periphery of the adjacent liquid agent flow passage and extends in parallel to the adjacent liquid agent flow passage.

7. The foam dispensing container according to claim 1 , wherein
the plural branch flow passages include a first branch flow passage and a second branch flow passage,
the plurality of the gas-liquid contact chambers are arranged in a periphery of a downstream side end portion of the first branch flow passage, and the downstream side end portion of the first branch flow passage has the plural liquid agent openings corresponding to each of the plurality of the gas-liquid contact chambers,
the second branch flow passage includes a circulating liquid agent flow passage enclosing the downstream side end portion of the first branch flow passage in a circular manner while sandwiching the plurality of the gas-liquid contact chambers in between,
the circulating liquid agent flow passage has the plural liquid agent openings corresponding to each of the plurality of the gas-liquid contact chambers,
each of the liquid agent openings of the circulating liquid agent flow passage opposes the corresponding liquid agent opening among the plural liquid agent openings of the first branch flow passage via a corresponding gas-liquid contact chamber,
the gas flow passage branches into plural adjacent flow passages respectively corresponding to the plurality of the gas-liquid contact chambers, and
each of the plural adjacent flow passages has the gas opening that is open to the corresponding gas-liquid contact chamber.

8. The foam dispensing container according to claim 7 , wherein
the gas flow passage includes a circulating gas flow passage enclosing the first branch flow passage in a circular manner, and
the circulating gas flow passage communicates with each of the plurality of the gas-liquid contact chambers via each of the plural adjacent flow passages.

9. The foam dispensing container according to claim 7 , wherein
the first branch flow passage is a pillar-shaped space, and
the plural adjacent flow passages extend in parallel to the axial direction of the first branch flow passage, and are intermittently arranged in a periphery of the first branch flow passage.

10. The foam dispensing container according to claim 9 , wherein
the gas flow passage includes:
a circulating gas flow passage enclosing the first branch flow passage in a circular manner;
a radial gas flow passage through which the gas is supplied inward from the radially outer side of the circulating gas flow passage toward the circulating gas flow passage; and
an axial gas flow passage extending in the direction parallel to the axial direction of the first branch flow passage, the axial gas flow passage through which the gas is supplied from a gas supply portion side to the radial gas flow passage, and

when seen in the axi

Assignees

• Kao Corp

Inventors

• Uchiyama Takumi
• Oguri Shinji
• Aoyama Ryohei

Classifications

• B05B7/0031 Primary

  with disturbing means promoting mixing, e.g. balls, crowns · CPC title

• B05B11/1087

  Combination of liquid and air pumps · CPC title

• A47K5/12

  for liquid or pasty soap · CPC title

• B65D47/24 Primary

  with poppet valves {or lift valves, i.e. valves opening or closing a passageway by a relative motion substantially perpendicular to the plane of the seat} · CPC title

• B05B7/0025

  with a compressed gas supply · CPC title