The liquid-pumping container according to this invention comprises: a container consisting of a flexible bag for containing a liquid substance and an outlet block positioned at the top of the bag and provided with an outlet hole for outlet of the liquid substance, a cover block mounting portion, and a box fixing portion; a cover block which is liquid-tightly mounted on the cover block mounting portion of the outlet block; a pump mechanism provided on the cover block for pumping out the liquid substance from the bag; and a box consisting of a pair of box components which are connected to each other through hinge sections for containing the bag by fixing the outlet block on a support block of the box when the box components are closed. The liquid-pumping container has a structure which simplifies the replacement procedure of the bag containing the liquid substance and reduces the cost of manufacturing.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a liquid-pumping container comprising a 
flexible bag filled with a liquid substance and a box-type container 
having a certain rigidity for holding the flexible bag, wherein the liquid 
substance can be pumped out by a pump mechanism and the bag alone can be 
disposed of after the liquid substance is used up. 
2. Background Art 
Containers molded as unitary objects from polyethylene and polypropylene, 
or which are made of glass, are known for containing shampoo, drinking 
water, and the like. 
Recently, however, so-called refill-type containers are in use. In these 
containers, a liquid substance is filled in a flexible bag which is 
replaceably placed in a box having a certain rigidity, and a pump 
mechanism is mounted on the bag to pump out the liquid substance. 
Such a liquid-pumping container has been proposed previously by the same 
applicant (see FIG. 4 and FIG. 5). 
The liquid-pumping container 21 illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 comprises 
a bag 22 filled with a liquid substance and having an outlet block at the 
top thereof, a pump mechanism 23 for pumping out the liquid substance 
having a cover block to be mounted on the outlet block, and a box 25 
consisting of a pair of box components 24 for containing the bag 22 by 
fixing said outlet block. An upper wall 24a of the box 25 is provided with 
a cover wall 26 extending upward for covering the cover block of the pump 
mechanism 23 and a stop shelf portion 27 extending downward for fixing and 
supporting the outlet block (see FIG. 5). A front wall 24b of each of the 
box components 24 is provided with a lock member which is in contact with 
each other when the box components are closed. A lock member clamp is 
slidably fixed on one of the lock members so as to clamp the lock members 
28 when the box components 24 are closed. 
In the above-mentioned conventional liquid-pumping container 21, the stop 
shelf portion 27 for fixing and supporting the outlet block of the bag 22 
extends downward from the upper wall 24a of the box components 24. 
Consequently, a dead space is created in the box 25 between the upper wall 
24a of the box components and the top end of the bag 22 when the outlet 
block is fixed on the stop shelf portion 27. Moreover, when the bag has 
become empty and is to be replaced with a new one filled with the liquid 
substance, it is necessary to manually hold the flexible bag 22 filled 
with the liquid substance for mounting the pump mechanism 23. During the 
replacement, the fluid substance may spill out of the bag. It is not easy 
to mount the pump mechanism while holding the flexible bag. Furthermore, 
the lock member clamp 29 should be prepared separately, which increases 
not only the number of assembly steps but also the manufacturing cost. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An object of this invention is to provide, at a reasonable cost, a 
liquid-pumping container which facilitates simple assembly and simple 
replacement of a disposable inner container filled with a liquid 
substance. 
The liquid-pumping container according to this invention is characterized 
by comprising: 
a container comprising of a bag for containing a liquid substance and an 
outlet block provided at the top thereof, the outlet block having an 
outlet hole for the liquid substance, a cover block-mounting portion, and 
a box-fixing portion; 
a cover block to be liquid-tightly mounted on the cover-mounting portion of 
the outlet block; 
a pump mechanism provided on the cover block for pumping the liquid 
substance out of the bag; and 
a box consisting of a pair of box components connected through hinge 
sections having a support portion for supporting the outlet block in a 
predetermined position by fixing the box-fixing portion of the outlet 
block so as to contain the bag inside when the box components are closed. 
When assembling the liquid-pumping container, the box components are opened 
by rotating the components around the hinge sections and the cover block 
having the pump mechanism is mounted on the cover block mounting portion 
of the outlet block provided on the top of the bag. The bag is placed in 
the box components by fixing the box fixing portion of the outlet block on 
the support block of the box and the box components are closed. Thus, the 
liquid substance can be pumped out of the bag by operating the pump 
mechanism. When the liquid substance is used up, the box is opened and the 
bag is replaced with a new bag filled with the liquid substance. 
As has been described above, the replacement of the bag filled with the 
liquid substance is significantly simplifed. Assembling of the entire 
liquid-pumping container can also be performed smoothly. Such a simple 
structure of the liquid-pumping container also contributes to the low 
manufacturing cost thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in 
detail with reference referring to the attached drawing. 
FIG. 1 through FIG. 3 illustrate a liquid-pumping container according to an 
embodiment of this invention. Reference numeral 1 in these figures denotes 
the liquid-pumping container. 
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the liquid-pumping container 1 comprises: 
a container 7 consisting of a bag 2 for containing a liquid substance and 
an outlet block 6 having an outlet hole 3 from the bag 2, a cover block 
mounting portion 4, and a box fixing portion 5; 
a pump mechanism 9 having a cover block 8 which is detachably mounted on 
the cover mounting portion 4 of the outlet block 6 and used for pumping 
the liquid substance out of the bag 2 through the cover bock 8 mounted on 
the cover block mounting portion 4; and 
a box 11 provided with support block 10 on the top thereof for supporting 
the outlet block 6 in a predetermined position by fixing the box fixing 
portion 5 of the outlet block 6, so as to contain the bag 2 inside. 
The container 7 illustrated in FIG. 2 comprises: the bag 2 for containing a 
liquid substance which is made of a transparent, semitransparent, or 
colored laminated sheet of aluminium and plastics or a polyethylene sheet 
having a certaing flexibility; and the outlet block 6 which is 
liquid-tightly provided at the top center of the bag 2. 
The outlet block 6 is provided with the outlet hole 3 for outlet of the 
liquid substance from the bag 2 and a male thread formed on the outer 
circumference of the outlet block 6. Furthermore, a bag depositing portion 
6a is formed around an external circumference at the bottom of the outlet 
block 6 which is inserted into the opening at the top center of the bag 2 
so as to provide a liquid-tight connection between the outlet block 6 and 
the bag 2. The outlet block 6 is also provided with the box fixing portion 
5 at an intermediate position in a longitudinal direction of the outlet 
block so as to be fixed on the support block 10 of the box 11. 
The box fixing portion 5 has three horizontal stop shelves 5a: an upper 
stop shelf, an intermediate stop shelf, and a lower stop shelf which are 
provided in parallel to one another at a predetermined interval. Each of 
the stop shelves 5a is formed into an approximately octagonal shape when 
viewed from the top (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 3). A groove is determined by the 
upper and the intermediate stop shelves and a bottom surface 5c. The 
groove is used for fixing a notch 13a (see FIG. 2) formed on a ceiling 13 
of the support block 10 (which will be described later) so as to prevent 
horizontal rotation and vertical shifting of the outlet block 6. 
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the box 11 which is molded from a single panel is 
divided into two box components 12 and 12' by a vertical plane which 
passes through the center of gravity thereof. The box components 12 and 
12' are connected to each other through thin hinge sections 14a at back 
walls 14. When the two box components are in a closed position, a space is 
formed for containing the bag 2. Each of the box components has an opening 
end which is not flat and is formed so as to be fitted one into the other 
when the box components are closed. 
A rising wall 17 is formed on the top of the box components so as to 
surround a predetermined length of the box fixing portion 5 of the outlet 
block 6. The rising wall 17 is provided with a ceiling 13 extending 
inwardly in a horizontal direction. The ceiling 13 is also divided into 
two parts provided with a notch 13a which form a rectangular hole 13b when 
the two parts are closed. The groove 5b on the box fixing portion 5 of the 
outlet block 6 is fixed with the hole 13b in such a manner that the cover 
block mounting portion 4 is exposed outside of the box components 12 and 
the cover block 8 having the pump mechanism 9 can be mounted on the cover 
block mounting portion 4 outside of the box components 12 and 12'. The 
rising wall 17 and the ceiling 13 are made into a single block, i.e., the 
support block 10. 
As illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, on one of the box components 12 is 
formed a first projection 19a which projects upwardly to be fixed with a 
second projection 19b which is formed on the other of the box components 
and projects downwardly. The first projection 19a is locked with and 
released from the second projection 19b by elastically deforming the box 
components 12 and 12' (see FIG. 1). The first projection 19a in 
combination with the second projection 19b functions as a lock mechanism 
20. 
As illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the pump mechanism 9 comprises: 
a cylinder 9a fixed on a ceiling of the cover block 8 and extending 
downward; 
a tube 9b fixed at the lower end of the cylinder 9a and extending almost up 
to the bottom of the bag 2; 
a working tube 9c provided on the upper surface of the ceiling of the cover 
block 8 and connected to the cylinder 9a; 
a push-button 9d provided on an upper end of the working tube 9c; and 
an exhaust nozzle 9e provided at a front end of the push-button 9d; the 
pump mechanism 9 passing through a cover block 8 having a female thread to 
be screwed with the male thread 4a formed on the outlet block 6. 
The pump mechanism 9 is constructed in a manner such that, when mounted on 
the outlet block 6, pressing of the push-button 9d brings about suction of 
the liquid substance contained in the bag 2a from a suction hole (not 
depicted) provided at a lower end of the tube 9b through the tube 9b and 
the cylinder 9a so as to push open an exhaust valve (not depicted) 
provided in a flow path of the working tube 9c and to pass out of an 
outlet (not depicted) of the exhaust nozzle 9e. 
The liquid-pumping container 1 is constructed as thus far has been 
described. Description will now be directed to operation of the 
liquid-pumping container. 
In order to place the container 7 in the box 11, the box components 12 are 
opened and the notch 13a provided on the ceiling 13 of the box component 
12 is fixed into the groove 5b of the box fixing portion 5 of the outlet 
block 6. After the box component 12' is closed, the first projection 19a 
is fixed with the second projection 19b to bring about a locked state. As 
a result, the hole 13b formed by the notch 13a is fixed with the groove 
12b and the outlet block 6 is firmly fixed by the intermediate and the 
lower stop shelves 5a which are provided on the inner surface of the 
rising wall 17. Thus, the container 7 is contained in an upright position 
in the box 11. 
The tube 9b of the pump mechanism 9 is inserted into the outlet hole 3 of 
the outlet block 6 which extends upward from the support block 10 so as to 
mount the cover block 8 on the cover block mounting portion 4. Thus, 
assembly of the container 7, the pump mechanism 9, and the box 11 is 
complete. In this condition, it is possible to pump the liquid substance 
out of the liquid-pumping container. 
When the liquid substance in the bag 2 is used up, the lock mechanism 20 is 
released to open the box components 12 and 12'. The container can be taken 
out of the box block 11 by pulling the outlet block 6 in a horizontal 
direction from the support block 10. The cover block 8 together with the 
pump mechanism 9 is removed from the cover block mounting portion 4 and 
the container 7 which is empty is disposed of. A new container filled with 
the liquid substance is placed in the box 11 and the cover block 8 
together with the pump mechanism 9 is screwed onto the outlet block of the 
new container. 
The liquid-pumping container according to the embodiment of this invention 
has the following merits. When the container 7 is contained in the box 11, 
the outlet block 6 is supported by the ceiling 13 provided at the top of 
the rising wall 17. Thus, a space inside the box block is used more 
effectively than in the prior art wherein the outlet block is supported by 
supporting members provided at the bottom of the rising wall. Moreover, 
the cover block mounting portion 4 of the outlet block 6 is positioned out 
of the box 11. This makes it possible to mount the cover block 8 having 
the pump mechanism 9 after placing the container 7 in the box 11. Thus, 
assembly of the liquid-pumping container and replacement of the container 
can be easily performed. 
The octagonal stop shelves 5a of the outlet block 6 are fixed with the 
inner surface of the rising wall 17 which are made into a corresponding 
octagonal shape when viewed from above. Thus, horizontal rotation of the 
outlet block 6 is prevented and, accordingly, rotation of the container 7 
is prevented when mounting the cover block 8 having the pump mechanism 9. 
This makes it easier to mount and remove the cover block 8 having the pump 
mechanism 9. 
Horizontal rotation of the outlet block 6 is also prevented by the notch 
13a of the ceiling 13 fixed into the groove 5b of the box fixing portion 5 
of the outlet block 6. The height of the rising wall 17 and the length of 
the box fixing portion 5 can be decreased to minimize the dead space in 
the box block 11. This also simplifies the external appearance of the box 
block 11. 
Furthermore, the lock mechanism 20 consists of only two members, i.e., the 
protrusion 19a provided on one of the box components 12 and the protrusion 
19b provided on the other box component 12'. The small number of the 
members can lower the cost of the liquid-pumping container. 
The hole 13b formed by the notch 13a of the ceiling 13 and the bottom 5c of 
the corresponding groove 5b of the box fixing portion 5 can be made into 
various shapes such as a triangle or a hexagon, rather than the 
rectangular shape used in the above-described embodiment, so long as the 
shape can prevent vertical shifting and horizontal rotation of the outlet 
block 6. The external shape of the stop shelves 5a and the internal shape 
of the rising wall 17 can also be made into various shapes such as a 
triangle, a rectangle, or a hexagon, so long as the shape can prevent 
horizontal rotation of the outlet block 6. The number of the stop shelves 
is not limited to three as in the above embodiment but may be any number 
more than one.