A trigger-type liquid sprayer in which a spring member urging an operation lever is less likely to be fatigued. A trigger-type liquid sprayer includes a sprayer main body attached to a container, an operation lever held to be swingable in a front-back direction with respect to the sprayer main body, and a spring member urging the operation lever forward. The spring member includes a fixed part that is located in front of a swing center of the operation lever and is fixed and held to the sprayer main body, and a projection that is located below the fixed part. The operation lever includes an inclined surface that is inclined upward from downward and frontward from backward and is urged by the projection abutting against the inclined surface.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a trigger-type liquid sprayer that is attached to a container storing a content liquid and sprays the content liquid by swinging an operation lever in a front-back direction.

BACKGROUND ART

For containers storing a content liquid such as a mold remover, a detergent, an air freshener, a repellent, an agricultural chemical, and a chemical, a trigger-type liquid sprayer has been widely used (for example, see Patent Literature 1). The trigger-type liquid sprayer is attached to a mouth part of the container and sprays the liquid in the container in the form of a straight jet, mist, or foam by actuation of a pump provided in a sprayer main body, in response to swinging of an operation lever in a front-back direction, thereby allowing efficient supply of the content liquid.

As shown inFIG. 3, a conventional trigger-type liquid sprayer100includes a sprayer main body102attached to a container101, an operation lever103held swingably in a front-back direction with respect to the sprayer main body102, and a spring member104urging the operation lever103forward. Here, a projection (spring-side projection105) is provided on a lower part of the spring member104, whereas a projection (lever-side projection106) located in front of the spring-side projection105is provided on the operation lever103. When the operation lever103is swung backward, a back end part of the lever-side projection106presses a front wall of the spring-side projection105to elastically deform the spring member104, so that the operation lever103is urged forward by elastic force generated by the elastic deformation.

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: JP 2017-170281 A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

When the operation lever103is swung back and forth, the spring-side projection105is moved in a front-back direction together with the lever-side projection106because the movement of the spring-side projection105in the front-back direction is restricted by the lever-side projection106. For this reason, when the range in which the operation lever103is swung in the front-back direction is to be widened as in a case of spraying a relatively large amount of a content liquid, the spring-side projection105is also moved largely in the front-back direction. As a result, the amount of deformation of the spring member104is increased and the spring member104is easily fatigued.

The present invention has been achieved in order to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a trigger-type liquid sprayer in which a spring member is less likely to be fatigued as compared to a conventional case.

Solution to Problem

The present invention provides a trigger-type liquid sprayer including a sprayer main body attached to a container, an operation lever held to be swingable in a front-back direction with respect to the sprayer main body, and a spring member urging the operation lever forward, the trigger-type liquid sprayer sucking, pressurizing, and pumping a content liquid stored in the container to spray the content liquid to outside by swinging the operation lever in the front-back direction so as to actuate a pump provided in the sprayer main body, in which the spring member includes a fixed part that is located in front of a swing center of the operation lever and is fixed and held to the sprayer main body, and a projection that is located below the fixed part, and the operation lever includes an inclined surface that is inclined upward from downward and frontward from backward and is urged by the projection abutting against the inclined surface.

The inclined surface is preferably a curved inclined surface that is curved in a direction away from the projection.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The trigger-type liquid sprayer according to the present invention is configured such that the urging force of the spring member acts on the operation lever by the projection provided on the spring member abutting against the inclined surface provided in the operation lever. When the operation lever is swung, the projection abutting against the inclined surface moves backward together with the inclined surface while moving relatively forward with respect to the inclined surface. Consequently, the amount of movement in the front-back direction is reduced as compared to a conventional case, and thus the amount of deformation of the spring member can be reduced. Therefore, the spring member can be less likely to be fatigued as compared to a conventional trigger-type liquid sprayer.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a trigger-type liquid sprayer according to the present invention will be described with reference toFIG. 1. In the present specification and the like, □upward□ is a side on which a cover part indicated by reference numeral24is disposed with respect to an attachment cap indicated by reference numeral21inFIG. 1, and □downward□ is the opposite side. Further, □frontward□ is a side (left side inFIG. 1) on which a nozzle indicated by reference numeral3is disposed with respect to a vertical cylinder part indicated by reference numeral22a, and □backward□ is the opposite side (right side inFIG. 1). □Side direction□ is a left-right direction as viewed from the front toward the back (direction orthogonal to drawing inFIG. 1).

Reference numeral1shown inFIG. 1indicates an embodiment of the trigger-type liquid sprayer according to the present invention. The trigger-type liquid sprayer1generally includes a sprayer main body2, the nozzle3, an operation lever4, a spring member5, and a shroud6.

The sprayer main body2includes the attachment cap21for fixing and holding the trigger-type liquid sprayer1at a mouth part of a container A. Although not shown, a male screw part is provided on an outer peripheral surface of the mouth part of the container A, and a female screw part is provided on an inner peripheral surface of the attachment cap21. By rotating the attachment cap21with respect to the mouth part and screwing the female screw part into the male screw part, the sprayer main body2is fixed and held in the container A. In order to fix and hold the sprayer main body2in the container A, other means such as an undercut may be adopted.

The sprayer main body2also includes a passage part22having an internal passage through which a content liquid stored in the container A passes. The passage part22includes the vertical cylinder part22aextending upward from downward and a horizontal cylinder part22bextending forward from an upper end of the vertical cylinder part22a. A cylindrical part22cwith an open front is provided at an intermediate part of the vertical cylinder part22ain a vertical direction. A cylinder22dis fitted and held into the cylindrical part22c.

A piston member23that slides in an air-tight and liquid-tight manner with respect to an inner peripheral surface of the cylinder22dis provided inside the cylinder22d. The cylinder22dand the piston member23function as a pump that introduces the content liquid stored in the container A in the internal passage of the passage part22and sprays the content liquid to the outside. By moving the piston member23in the front-back direction, the content liquid can be sucked, pressurized, and pumped. A connection recess part23aconnected to the operation lever4is provided at a front end part of the piston member23.

The sprayer main body2also includes the cover part24disposed above the horizontal cylinder part22b. A C-shaped bearing part24awith an open back is provided on both sides of the cover part24.

The nozzle3attached to the horizontal cylinder part22bis provided in front of the cover part24. Although not shown, a spray port for spraying the content liquid having passed through the internal passage of the passage part22and an impact plate located at the front of the spray port are provided on a front end part of the nozzle3. As the content liquid from the spray port collides with the impact plate, the spray form of the content liquid is changed by the impact plate. By appropriately selecting a shape, the content liquid can be sprayed to the outside in the form of a mist or foam. The spray plate is arbitrarily provided, and the content liquid may be sprayed directly from the spray port. Further, the nozzle3is provided rotatably with respect to the horizontal cylinder part22b, and can open and close the spray port according to a rotation angle.

The operation lever4is attached to the bearing part24aof the cover part24. The operation lever4includes a lever main body part4athat is a part on which a finger is put during an operation. Further, as shown inFIG. 2, a pair of shaft parts4beach having a columnar shape and projecting laterally outward are provided on an upper part of the lever main body part4a. The shaft part4bis supported by the bearing part24aas shown inFIG. 1, and the operation lever4can swing in the front-back direction around a center (swing center C) of the shaft part4b. A pair of connection shaft parts4ceach inserted into the connection recess part23aof the piston member23are provided on a back part of the lever main body part4a.

As shown inFIG. 2, a recess part4dthat opens backward is provided in an intermediate part of the operation lever4in the vertical direction. An inclined surface4ethat is inclined upward from downward and frontward from backward is provided inside the recess part4d. The inclined surface4eof the present embodiment is provided as a curved inclined surface that is curved in a direction away from a projection5eof the spring member5to be described later (direction away from shaft part4b). As shown inFIG. 2(c), the recess part4dand the inclined surface4eare respectively provided in pairs in the operation lever4.

The cover part24includes paired spring members5provided on both sides in front of the bearing part24a. The spring member5includes a small-diameter inner curved piece5aand a large-diameter outer curved piece5b, and the inner curved piece5aand the outer curved piece5bare connected by a lower curved part5cand an upper curved part5d. In the spring member5of the present embodiment, the upper curved part5dis integrally connected to the cover part24, and the upper curved part5dfunctions as a fixed part to be fixed and held to the cover part24. Further, a projection5eis provided on a lower part of the outer curved piece5bso as to project outward and enter the inside of the recess part4d, and thus abut against the inclined surface4eat its distal end.

The shroud6covers most of the sprayer main body2, and the upper parts of the operation lever4and the spring member5. The shroud6of the present embodiment is slid frontward from backward with respect to the sprayer main body2to be fitted and held into the sprayer main body2.

In the trigger-type liquid sprayer1having such a configuration, when a finger is put on the lever main body part4ato apply force backward, the operation lever4swings backward around the swing center C, and the piston member23moves backward by the connection shaft part4cinserted into the connection recess part23a. At this time, the projection5ethat abuts against the inclined surface4emoves backward as shown by broken lines inFIG. 1. Consequently, the spring member5is elastically deformed so that the inner curved piece5aand the outer curved piece5bare bent. On the other hand, when the application of the force to the lever main body part4ais released, the spring member5having been elastically deformed is restored and the restoring force at that time acts on the inclined surface4evia the projection5e. As a result, the operation lever4swings forward around the swing center C and the piston member23moves forward. As described above, by repeatedly applying and releasing the force to the lever main body part4a, the piston member23can move in the front-back direction to actuate the pump, and the content liquid stored in the container A can be sprayed from the spray port of the nozzle3.

Meanwhile, when the operation lever103is swung in the front-back direction in the conventional trigger-type liquid sprayer100shown inFIG. 3, the back end part of the lever-side projection106abuts against the front wall of the spring-side projection105, and thus the spring-side projection105moves in the front-back direction together with the lever-side projection106. Assuming that the amount of a swing movement of the operation lever103in the front-back direction is denoted by L1, and the amount of movement of the spring-side projection105in the front-back direction is denoted by L3.

On the other hand, when the operation lever4is swung in the front-back direction in the trigger-type liquid sprayer1shown inFIG. 1, the projection5eabutting against the inclined surface4emoves backward together with the inclined surface4ewhile moving relatively forward with respect to the inclined surface4e. That is to say, if the operation lever4is swung by the amount L1of movement in the front-back direction like the trigger-type liquid sprayer100shown inFIG. 3, the amount L2of movement of the projection5ein the front-back direction is smaller than the amount L3of movement of the spring-side projection105in the front-back direction shown inFIG. 3. Consequently, in the trigger-type liquid sprayer1according to the present invention, the spring member5can be less fatigued than in the conventional trigger-type liquid sprayer100. As the amount of deformation of the spring member5is reduced, the force required to swing the operation lever4backward can also be reduced.

While the specific embodiment of the trigger-type liquid sprayer according to the present invention has been described above, the trigger-type liquid sprayer according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and also includes various modifications made within the scope of the claims. For example, the inclined surface4eis described as a curved inclined surface that curves in the direction away from the projection5ein the present embodiment. However, for example, the inclined surface4emay be curved in a direction approaching the projection5e, or may be curved in an S shape obtained by combining these curves. Alternatively, the inclined surface4edoes not need to be curved, and may be a straight inclined surface. Further, the structures of the internal passage through which a content liquid passes and the pump provided in the sprayer main body2are not limited to those in the above-described embodiment, and other structures may be employed.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST